Barcelona and Milan

Oh, also, I have booked tickets to Barcelona and Milan for Spring Break. I am super excited! If you have been to either one, please let me know of any suggestions for restaurants, sight-seeing, etc!

Syracuse, Naxos, and many other things

So many apologies for the lack if posts lately. Last week was the week of tests and papers and not much time for fun things :) All the same, I have lots to talk about so here goes the longest post in the history of the world.

I wanted to say something about my Baroque Art History class. Just about every Wednesday, we go on a mini-field trip somewhere around Catania and look at Baroque art. Unfortunately since we have to take notes, I am not able to take pictures, but I wanted to mention some of the places we have been. First of all, the place where I study, Piazza Biscari, where Coldplay shot their "Violet Hills" video, is a palace. Though we getting to hang out in part of it, it is a very extensive palace with many beautiful rooms so we got to explore that. There are beautiful ball rooms and bed rooms, etc with tons of paintings and beautiful woodwork throughout. This is a picture (courtesy of google) of the ballroom. Gorgeous.



Last week, we went around looking at churches and monasteries which were also beautiful. One benedictine monastery, which is now home to University classrooms and offices, in particular was very opulently done with expensive paintings, etc throughout. (Ironic huh?) Though it was a cold hike to get there, it was well worth the hike. Pictures are on the left and right.



Also last week, we made friends with a lot of the Italian students here at our dorms. We hadn't been hanging out with them much, which I thought was silly, so I invited a bunch of them over to hang with us and now we hang out every night before dinner. They are really funny and fun to hang out with. Some of them speak really good English, but others of them speak no English and only Sicilian, which I can't understand at all so it is always interesting to attempt to communicate. We also had a big party with them for Mardi Gras (though they call it "Carnivale"). Lots of dancing and lots of fun. I love dancing!

On Wednesday, I went to my favorite place for lunch. I go to this place at least twice a week and love it! I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but it is a chicken place (typical southerner seeking out the chicken) where they roast the chickens in a giant clay oven over a fire. It is SO GOOD! Reminds me of Dad's rotisserie chicken. yum yum yum. I get hungry just thinking about it. Anyways, the woman that runs the place (we call her Chicken Lady) with her husband doesn't speak any English so I really like trying to talk to her. She gets a big kick out of me coming all the time. At first, I think she was annoyed at my limited Italian, but now she smiles and laughs every time I come in. Last week she started just spouting Italian and then brought out some freshly cut veil and made me a big steak and introduced me to her daughter. She is like my Italian grandmother. She tells me to be sure to stay away from the boys and go out and groups or they will come and try to take me home with them. :) Great stuff.

On Friday, for our field trip, we went to Syracuse. It had some really great temples: one to Apollo and one to Athena (seen above in it's present state). The one to Apollo is in ruins, but the one to Athena has over time, been made into a Catholic church, so it's columns and such hold up the walls. It was really beautiful. Syracuse is also home to the famous spring of Arethusa.
Click here to see pictures.

This week was filled with lots of studying, but again some hanging out with the Italian students. Friday we went to Naxos, a bit north of Catania. We checked out some remains that were pretty cool, but the area was absolutely GORGEOUS! (Tired of me saying that yet?) I wish I would have had a fish eye lens to be able to have a picture of the entire panorama, but just imagine snow-capped volcano to the left, followed by a light sandy beach and the clearest water you have ever seen and some beautiful foliage on the shore. My pictures just don't do them justice, but check them out anyways. You will get the idea. Click here for pictures. We spent a lot of time walking around, along the beach, and had a really great meal at a restaurant that over-looked the water. I had some spaghetti with a light seafood sauce with shrimp, fish, and mussels. Tasty tasty.

Today, though I thought I would be riding a bus to the beach because it is sunny and in the mid 60s here, I have come down with some nasty virus that is going around. It's not horrible, typical sore throat and a bit of a stuffy nose and I am fine, but I spent most of the day sleeping and taking naps- which wasn't so bad either. :) Anyways, this coming week, we go to Gela for our field trip and then me and a few friends are going to Rome for the weekend. I AM SO EXCITED! I will post pictures as soon as I can the following week and if you have any suggestions of places to go or see, please let me know!

Love and prayers, Alli

Megara Hyblaea and Acicastello

After a week filled with translating Homer and reading, we all went on our first field trip for our Mediterranean Cultures class. We went to the ancient ruins of Megara Hybalea. Though in the few pictures I have it only looks like a big pile of rocks, it was actually very interesting (surprisingly so). As you began to look closer and closer to the piles of rocks, you started to see the foundations of what used to be houses and public buildings. It was really very interesting to study how colonies are formed and how they progressed since I'm really into the whole community development deal. The trip was a lot of fun minus the fact that everyone "forgot" to pack our lunches when in fact no one knew we were supposed to bring them. But we got back mid-afternoon in time for some tasty sandwiches and pizza. I also had the BEST GELATTO ever- half coconut and half "black" aka dark chocolate. It was like a giant mounds bar. Daddy Brookes would be so proud :)

On Saturday, a bunch of girls and I went out shopping for most of the day time. I got a pair of really cute jeans. (Everyone in Italy-including the men- wear super expensive designer jeans.) So while I am usually not into the whole designer thing, I decided that these would be my souvenier of the trip. I got a pair of $300.00 jeans on sale for $60. They are super cute. A man later that night stopped in the middle of the street, rolled down the window, looks at me and goes "WOW" to which all of my friends laughed and said it was because of the jeans :) That night, Zac (one of the guys at the program) cooked up some yummy dinner and then we had a Valentine's Day party at the dorm.

Sunday, a few of us got up early and went for a enviromental clean-up at the beach of Acicastello, home of the rock where the Cyclops lived in "The Odyssey."

There was a ridiculous amount of trash- the Italians don't really understand the concept of picking up trash. really they have no concept. When we would tell them that we were picking up the trash as an answer to their inquisitive stares, they would simply ask "Why?" But it was lots of fun and we also stopped at a Norman castle that was built along the coast. The area was beautiful (of course)! We also stopped for a great lunch at a resturant near-by. We had some squid, shrimp, appetizer trays filled with cheeses, meats, cooked peppers and mushrooms, etc and some good pasta followed with some coffee. (I'm spoiled I know.) As we left, the owner pulled me aside and said "What a woman!" to which I laughed, said thanks, and left. Then I came back and did lots of studying..... which is what I am going to do now so be sure to check out all the pictures from this weekend here:

Megara Hyblaea- http://picasaweb.google.com/adove87/MegaraHyblaea#

Acicastello- http://picasaweb.google.com/adove87/Acicastello#

I will add captions soon so check in the next day or so again. Unfortunately, I have to get homework done at some point ;)

Love you all! Alli

added captions....

Hey I added some captions to the pictures from Taormina so things might make a little more sense. Just thought I would let you know :) Also, I am going to start teaching English classes to third graders on Thursday mornings starting next week. I am really excited! I just asked around and our RD, Alan found me something. Friday is our first field trip out and about for my Mediterranean Cultures class and on Sunday I am going to the beach for a "nature clean-up" day so I will be sure to post about these soon! Miss you all! Love, Alli

Festa della santa Agata

This past week was the Saint Agatha festival in Catania (that I mentioned earlier). It is the biggest festival in Sicily all year and one of the biggest religious festivals around. It goes on for about half a week and includes lots of parades and fireworks. On Thursday night, the biggest event- the parading out of the relics of Saint Agatha- occurs. Lots and lots of people fill the streets, many of them dressed in white robes. The "devotees" carry around these giant 4' tall, almost 1' wide candles and take breaks to line the way for Saint Agatha. All of the students at the Centro went with our RA, Alan, to see the happenings. It was really amazing and a little overwhelming with all of the candles and the people. Usually, a few people are trampled to death every year, but they are always honored as martyrs for Saint Agatha. I don't know if anyone was this year, but I see how it can happen.

See the pictures and learn more here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/adove87/StAgathaFestival#



Also, a group of us went to Taromina this weekend. It is a town North of Catania. We hopped on a bus early Saturday morning and rode about an hour out to this beautiful town. We will actually be going there for class, but we will be studying some of the ruins there, which we didn't go to on our trip. We tried to hit up all the pretty places we would have time to see. Basically we spent the day walking around, looking at the beautiful landscapes, chilling at the beach, walking through the public gardens and eating good food. You can see more details via my pictures. The day was a bit overcast so some of the pictures don't do Taromina justice, but check them out here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/adove87/Taromina#

Otherwise, the weekend was spent here in Catania working on homework and catching up on sleep. I went to the same restaurant where the owner gave us free wine, an appetizer, and some drink (canella I think- it was good, very cinnamony) for dinner when we got back from Taromina. This time, I didn't think I would get any free stuff since he had given us so much last time. But this time he gave us free wine, another not so good drink, two dessert which included tiramisu, and chocolates. It was awesome. He gave me extra chocolates too. I think he likes the blonde hair :) He is very nice though. Not a creeper. I think I'll have to go back though considering I only pay like 8 euro total for dinner which includes a whole pizza, water (always bottled), two desserts, two drinks, and chocolates. It's hard to beat :) Anyways, till the next post- peace and prayers, Allison

Lezioni

Classes have started! woohoo. I am taking Ancient Greek- reading "The Odyssey," Italian, Mediterranean Cultures (aka History of Sicily), and Baroque Art History. Thus far, they look like they will be really challenging, but worth the effort. All of the professors are cool and there are only 2 people in my italian class, which means I should really improve my language skills.

In other news this week, I have continued to do lots of exploring throughout Catania. There is a big festival for Saint Agatha going on that started on and goes through this weekend. I have been woken up or classes have been interrupted by fireworks numerous times, but despite the disturbances, the energy of the city is really cool to experience. People walk around in these all-white robes and schools and businesses are closed to celebrate.

In my exploring, I try to eat lots of different things. There is an awesome fish market here in the city every morning. It is essentially a farmer's market because besides fish it also has all kinds of fresh meat, cheese, veggies, fruits, olives, bread etc. Unfortunately for me, I don't have access to a kitchen, but I like to go and find things to eat that are already cooked. I ate some really really good cheese yesterday and some fresh mussels (yum!) with a side of some fresh baked bread. I followed that up with some gelatto. I love going out and getting gelatto. 1)It's cheap. 2) It's really tasty. 3) The main reason- it gives me a lot of opportunities to strike up conversations with random Italian people and people watch as I devour my snack. I'm starting to be able to pick up on a decent amount of Italian and have small conversations. But we grabbed our lunch and ate it in la Piazza Duomo (the square) and watched old men joke around, little kids chase each other through the streets, and such. This is pretty much my favorite thing to do. Eating time always brings about forced interaction with Italians which I love. I'm even becoming friends with a little cafe owner. At first she hated me because I was so indecisive, but now as my Italian skills have improved, she loves me and laughs and chats with me when I come in. She also has great food, which she cooks (the meat at least) in a giant wood-burning roaster. The roasted chicken is to die for and so are the veggies and shish kebabs.

I have really started to notice how much attention my blonde hair gets. Yesterday on the way to school an old man (probably about 70 years old) was driving in his car and continued to honk. Usually people here honk when they are turning just to let you know there is a car coming and you better hurry your little butt up and cross that street- but I wasn't anywhere near a crosswalk. After the man passed me, he stopped his car in the middle of the road, leaned out the window and waved at me. All I could do is laugh and wave back. I have had several similar expereinces. There aren't really any Americans here in Catania so I REALLY stand out. The people are really nice though. They never harrasses me- they just stare for several seconds and then move on.

Tonight we are going to part of the Saint Agatha festival so I will have to post soon. Until then, ciao!

Vendicari e Noto

So everything has been very busy. With just about every moment of free time, we (all of the students) go explore the city even from 1-4pm during "il pranzo," which is the equivalent to a siesta or nap time. On Saturday we took a field trip for orientation to a nature reserve called Vendicari about 90 mins from the dorms. It is the home to many birds migrating to and from Africa. Though we didn't see many birds, the area is on the coast which was beautiful. We rode a bus along the coast to get there and the area was filled with fields and fields of orange and lemon trees. The beach itself was gorgeous and the weather was gorgeous. I even got sunburnt (in January) as we ate our lunch on some Byzantine ruins and baked in the sun. We had fresh bread, prosciutto, and mozzarella sandwiches for lunch with fresh fruit. yummm! We did lots of walking (as always) and exploring of the different flora and fauna of Sicily.


Then we stopped at a town called Noto on the way back. It is the capital of Sicilian Baroque. The buildings were beautiful, but unfortunately we didn't have too much time to explore. The town was much smaller than Catania and had a very small-town feel, which of course I liked.
Overall, it was a very wonderful trip. Pictures are posted on an online album so check it out.

Click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/adove87/VendicariENoto#

If you have trouble, let me know.

Peace and Prayers