La Citta Eterna

Overnight field trip to Rome was quick, really fun, and not nearly long enough. It's sad because I'm not sure I'll get back there before coming home in about a month. The city's big - Florence is more the size of a Roman neighborhood - but not as overwhelmingly big as we may have imagined. The Metro is limited but useful - really, it covers only the areas that would be more than a half-hour to walk - and otherwise it's easy to find your way around. plus we tended to move in groups of at least five or six, which probably meant we were going more slowly.


We stayed at the Albergo Sole near Piazza Navona, which was accommodating and comfortable. Then we went to the Villa Borghese to see some Bernini sculptures, including my favorite: Apollo and Daphne. Check it out:

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/b/bernini/bernini_apollo.jpg

Then we wandered on foot to see the Trevi Fountain


and ate at a small pizzeria before wandering into the pantheon at night.


The next morning we walked over to Saint Peter's, but there was such a crush of people we couldn't go in to see Michelangelo's Pieta. What a scene! We stuck around in the piazza for a few minutes to take it all in.


Then came the rain.


Thanks to Madeleine for the great umbrellas shot.

The afternoon was all I had for Rome because I met up with Josh Cook, who is taking the semester off from Georgetown to travel through Europe working on organic farms. A self-made man. He came back with me for a few days in Florence, and it was a pleasure to have him over. Check him out at organicjosh.blogspot.com

In the hours we had left in Rome, Madeleine, Lynsey, Deirdre and I went to the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill.




Back soon, I hope -- much more to see in the Eternal City...

Capoeira fighters, Barcelona:

Fun in the Sun

It's a funny time in the semester. Only a little more than a month left, but it doesn't feel like anything's coming to a close for a while. But everything will happen fast, I am sure.

In our Psychology class ("Madness, Genius, and Creativity") we are each writing a substantial final paper. The draft of this paper is due at the end of March, and since Josh Cook is coming to visit next weekend as well as Dad and Libby, I'd really like to get it in good form for the end of this week. Today, however, is kind of a bust. Slept in a bit (that I don't regret) and after a few hours of working out on the front patio we'll be going to get pizza in Fiesole. Then, downtown to the Red Garter to watch the Georgetown basketball game.

Yesterday a group of us went to Viareggio, a small beach town north of Pisa, an hour away by train.


The ride was only six euro each way, and we brought picnic food so we could enjoy our time on the beach. We went swimming, played cards, and did the Villa bonding thing. It's definitely still off-season for Italians, so we had the whole beach to ourselves. The water was cold, but comparable to Cape Cod in the summer.


A nice break from everything, to be somewhere new that didn't demand a lot of walking and sightseeing. Climbing out of that freezing water, my head had been cleared. Catharsis in the Mediterranean.

Here's my favorite photo of the day: Kevin drawing a vapor trail in the sky with his magic stick:



Off to do some more Psych reading - wish me luck,

Love, Hunter.

Spring Break : Barcelona

Hunter, putting up two blogs on the same day - impossible, you say?

To pick up the story again:
Kevin came to Paris on Monday, and we spent a few days wandering together before flying down to Barcelona for the last four days of Spring Break.

From Park Guell, on top of a hill above the city:


I was expecting my Spanish to emerge from its cramped dormant state (after 6 years of cultuvation, only to be put away and supplanted with Italian!) but in Barcelona everyone's speaking Catalan so I never knew what the hell was going on anyway. The Catalan dialect seemed as different from Spanish as Italian. But I was still able to sort out enough Spanish to get by.

Some interesting Catalan words:
- "with" (Spanish: "con," Catalan: "amb")
- "only" (Spanish: "solo," Catalan: "suelto")
- "beach" (Spanish: "playa," Catalan: "platja")
- "milk" (Spanish: "leche," Catalan: "llet")


It was 70-75 degrees the whole time. Maybe half a dozen clouds in the sky for the whole weekend. It was an unreal place, more relaxed than Florence and Paris, but not immediately similar to the southern Spain I lived in during high school. The hostel was fabulous. It's called the Sant Jordi Diagonal - centrally located and very homey. Recommended. A good place to finish "The English Patient," also recommended.


It took us an hour or so of walking (down the central street Passeig de Gracia and then down La Rambla, the big pedestrian street) to find older Barcelona. The Barri Gotic neighborhood is small and thick in ways unlike the rest of the sprawl, and the Barceloneta neighborhood by the water is charming low-key residential. This, and also several Starbucks downtown (dare I sound excited?) offering the simple pleasure, unheard of in Italy, of walking with a hot drink.


Parc Guell, a tiny portion of which is pictured above, is Gaudi's grand architectural and landscaping project on the hill near Vallcarca, and it was fun to climb up to see the view with Kevin. We had an easy few days together, eating tapas when we could (although this gets expensive for small-time travelers like us) and checking out the young life. In the parks, lots of guitars, drums, martial arts and capoeira, and more juggling than I imagine I'd see in Italy all spring.

Paris felt like traveling. Barcelona felt like a vacation.


Much of the beach area was under construction, but can you really complain?? It was a really fun place: the sunny ease of southern California combined with the old-world compactness and the deeper histories of Europe.

Can't say the week was especially relaxing, though. I think it took us all by surprise how much we enjoyed coming back to something familiar. Where's the fun sensation of traveling, after all, if you're not departing from somewhere meaningful? The whole story of travel is always, in some form, about the return as well.

See you soon (especially Dad and Libby - so excited),

Love, Hunter.

Spring Break : Paris

Hey everyone,

So I'm finishing up my first week back in Florence. Imagined the return might provide some time to coast since we had four midterms last week, but we're back in it deep again. Villa life is in many ways a comfort, though, after some barebones meals and less-than-great accomodations over Spring Break. We came back to Florence thankful for clean beds, familiar scenery and friends reliably close-by. Funny, how most of us
now refer to it as coming home.


Left on an overnight train to Paris an hour after Psychology class on Thursday evening. Ten days to ourselves, starting with some travel with the ever-reliable Eden Schiffman on an overnight train. Not especially comfortable to sleep suspended in the air on a narrow foam pad rocking around on an iron frame, but we slept the best we could to get ready for a busy week. At Bercy station we parted, Eden going to meet his girlfriend and spend a few days in the Latin Quarter. I found my way to Friends Hostel up near Montmarte (a dank impersonal dorm-style place, not especially recommended) and then explored the neighborhood.

Montmarte is the highest point in Paris, and if you get off the main streets nearby full of bad discount clothing stores you find yourself in a quieter neighborhood of flower shops, cafes, and bakeries -- even an old colorful carousel. Amelie, we imagine, lives nearby. It's a lovely slice of the old city.


By the end of Saturday my intrepid spirit had completely outworn my legs and feet. Walked down from Montmarte to Île de la Cité and Notre Dame, then up along the river and sat on the grounds of the Louvre near the pyramid. Then walked through the Tuilieries to the Hôtel des Invalides, then to the Tour Eiffel. After taking a break to read another solid 50 pages of "The English Patient" and watching the families stroll by, I fixed my eye on the tall dark Tour Montparnasse in the distance and set off toward the horizon. Near the tower, an hour later, I found the lovely Cimetiére du Montparnasse, where Sartre and Emile Durkheim are buried. This was the first place that day where I felt I could really rest -- how relaxed can one be while guarding a backpack around the Eiffel Tower? Later, I visited the Luxembourg Gardens, the Panthéon, and crossed the river once more and walked to the Opera House. Finally, I headed back to the hostel. I am one, after all, who wants to feel like I know where I am. And this grand circuit helped me fall asleep that night.

Didn't make it back right away, however, because I bumped into fellow Villains Laura Larson and Lynsey Weston in the Metro. We went out to dinner in the Latin Quarter, and of course I had a better time with them than I would have eating out of a grocery bag back on the dark Boulevard de la Chapelle.


The rest of my Paris trip was wonderful. Many museums in Paris are free on the first Sunday of the month, so Lynsey and Laura and I visited the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre. We also climbed the Arc du Triomphe and from the top admired the sharp symmetry in the layout of downtown Paris. Had a few treats, such as hot chocolate at Angelina's cafe near the Louvre, but overall lived economically and got to know Paris from the street merchants and the families in the parks rather than from grand hotel doormen or the staff at Louis Vuitton. Explored some of the smaller cracks in-between the icons, and as a result I feel like I'm walking away with something more special. The sight-bus equivalent wouldn't have felt real enough to me, I don't think.


I was happy to realize that a city of such cultural importance might not be too overwhelming for me, after all. Who am I, I had thought, compared to what a city like Paris represents in the minds of my friends and in my culture? I had been wondering on the overnight train if I might not be knocked over completely and submerged in something deeper, more beautiful, and more profound than myself (I later reminded myself that, ideally, this is why we travel at all). But by the end of my stay in Paris, I knew I could stand my own ground in this new place. I began to feel the city lived inside me, not just the other way around. It must mean I've found something of Paris of personal importance, even if it was quick and temporary. It'll mean something next time, too.

Off to Barcelona -- Love, Hunter.

View of Lucca from yesterday:

See Facebook album "Lucca" for more.

Back In Shape: all about me in Italy

Hey everyone,

OK, here we go -

THE VILLA
Georgetown University acquired Villa Le Balze (roughly, 'Villa on the Cliffs') in 1979 from a relative of the Rockefeller family. The property is tucked against the steep hills of Fiesole, a small village above Firenze well-known for its expansive views high above the city. Even arriving in January felt like coming to a retreat - the building is surrounded by gardens, with olive trees growing down the side of the hill below. The soil is clean, the leaves are green, the view is great. The air is smoky outside in the mornings because neighboring farms do a lot of burning of brush etc, but this and the morning haze burn off quickly. It is a steep but short walk up to the center of Fiesole (which looks, Parnass/Styles family, a bit like Niguelas in Spain with slightly more shops and traffic). Chiesa di San Girolamo, the church where "The English Patient" takes place, is a hundred meters up the hill. See the website, villalebalze.org for more.

THE PROGRAM
We're not exactly exposed to the sharp wild edges of Italy while wrapped up in this Villa program, but with an intrepid attitude you can get out often. Classes here, unlike most abroad programs, factor into our GPAs back home. This is "Georgetown extended" up here - faculty are considered international GU faculty and we are under some strict guidelines here that we'd often prefer to live without: no overnight guests of any kind (!), no wine on the premises besides at lunch, etc... the downside of holding ties to an American school structure.

THE KIDS
27 of us -- 20 girls and 7 boys. Eight live with families nearby; the rest of us are in the bedrooms in the Villa. For coming from a school of 6500 undergrad back in DC, a surprising number of people here know each other and have lasting friendships already established. This is something I have had to get used to, but I am trying to spend good time (not just chat-time at lunch) with everyone and so far I'm in a good place with it. A couple of them are difficult to deal with, but the rest are friendly and approachable (I'm sounding like Jane Goodall right now). Have even had a heart-to-heart with a few that I'm especially interested in being friends with.

THE FACULTY
I am taking 5 classes:
Italian language (Professor Paolini is a short Italian woman who is greatly enjoyable), Italian Cinema (Professor Fallani is funny and speaks English very well having lived in CA for many years and worked as a film editor on the Godfather trilogy and Dead Poet's Society), Italian Renaissance Art History (Professor Reynolds is tall, British, and very odd socially but is very clear with her material), Sociology of Italian Culture (Professor Birindelli is like a bearded, slightly awkward teddy bear who speaks English with a thick Italian accent - sounds uncannily like Arnold Schwarzenegger and can't seem to cover much material), and a great Psychology course called Madness, Genius, and Creativity taught by Professor Finkel, who came over with us from GU's main campus this term.

INTERLUDE
A technical note: scrap the Webshots idea. Sorry. It takes forever to get everything up. Most of you have accounts on FaceBook.com, and can see my photos on that site, okay? For those who don't, feel free to make a free Facebook account (should only take a minute), search for my name, and when you find my profile make a 'friend request' and you'll have access to my photographs. I'll bet you it's worth it. I will still put up occasional pictures on this page for illustration, so if you choose not to do the FaceBook option I'll try to tide you over until I return with piles of pics.

THE CITY
Florence has not been explored as much as I'd like, but I'm making headway. By now I can find my way around, having been to several art galleries, restaurants, shops, bars, and clubs, but usually I still need a map. I like to be able to wander freely, so I am trying over the next few weeks to feel even more solid in my bearings. It's really an incredible city - tightly-packed, somewhat dirty (the Duomo could do with a big hose-down starting 50 feet up) and, really, full of history. London, Paris, Berlin and the like have surpassed its grandeur in the modern age, but during the Renaissance this city was THE metropolis - the center of art and Christendom. Walking across the whole city does not take long, but you are guaranteed to get turned around on the twisting streets. This coming from the guy who can always find his way out of the woods.

THE LIFE
During the week it's tricky to get far out into the city, since Monday through Thursday is pretty thick with class. Once or twice a week we will go downtown for some drinks and socializing (Everyone gets along surprisingly well and we often go out in groups of 6-8 and up). Fiesole also has a Post Office, restaurants, and a small grocery store, which provide good opporunities for walks and runs between classes. The computer lab downstairs (4 desktop computers) is our opportunity to get in touch with friends and family (it is where I sit now, in fact). Many of us have cell phones on a group plan with free calling within the group, so finding each other is never too difficult. Free time during the week is often spent doing homework outside in the sun. I plan on putting up a photo album on FaceBook soon of what this property looks like and where we hang out.

WHERE HUNTER'S BEEN
We have taken organized trips to Pavia, Milan (where we saw the Last Supper), Vigevano, and most recently Lucca (yesterday, actually - check out the lovely pics on FB). With various groups of friends I have also taken substantial trips through Padua, Verona, Siena, Bologna, and Venice. Each of these destinations has a respective photo album on FaceBook.

HUNTER'S PLANS
Spring Break begins at the end of this coming week. I will be in Paris from March 2 to March 7 and then in Barcelona from March 8 to March 12. I will be in Rome from March 23 to 24 on another organized trip. Much more to do, and now it's time to pack it in.

So that's what I've been up to.

Here is a picture of the view onto Firenze from our Villa patio:


Here is most of us, from the first night (I'm taking the photo):


And here is me at a bar downtown, wishing you the best until next time.


All my best to you. Missing home, but increasingly comfortable here,

Love,

Hunter