I Miss Ice and Other Random Thoughts

I've been in Rome now for a week.  I'm not really in the mood to blog about Rome at the moment, though.  I'm over halfway through the trip, so here are a few things I've been thinking about:

Living on $30 a day (after accommodation expenses obviously) is more difficult than it sounds.

Despite using sunscreen every day, I am more tan than I have ever been in my life.  This is not saying a lot as I'm still more pale than most of you are during the winter. Also, my hair is starting to turn red, but this is par for the course for me when I spend time in the sun.

I can't wait to see my dad in Amsterdam in a little less than two weeks.

I have not driven a car in nearly two months, and I have only worn heels once during that time. Am I going to forget these very important skills?

Speaking of driving a car, I have toyed with the idea of renting a car to drive the Autobahn in Germany when I'm staying in Salzburg, which is right on the border.  I can't remember which of you told me I couldn't drive the Autobahn without a special license, but I checked and all I need is my TN license and to fill out some paperwork.

One of the best things I have done on this trip is to ship clothes back home - not once but twice! (And yes, they made it.)  I simply brought too much stuff.  Surprise surprise!  I also downgraded to a much smaller rolling bag and dumped my large bag in the hallway of an apartment building since I didn't know what else to do with it.  So on travel days I'm a much happier girl for not having to pull all that weight around, but on the other hand...

I'm going to burn every single item of clothing I have with me on this trip the moment I get back.  One pair of jeans, one pair of cargo pants, two skirts, six tank tops, one jacket.  Those are pretty much my choices.  Oh and a few dresses, most of which will never be worn because they aren't practical but apparently seemed to me like they would be when I packed them!  You would laugh if you could only see all that I shipped home that I thought I would need.   

Is $100 too much to pay to see Madonna in Milan?  Maybe so, but it's Madonna!  In Milan! Add her to the roster of shows I'll see this summer starting with Depeche Mode in Prague next week, which will be awesome, though I'm really hoping to catch them in the States too when I get back.

Other than Kelly keeping me posted about the Obama/fly/PETA controversy, I really have no idea what is going on in the world right now.  I can't read headlines when I walk past a newsstand (at the moment in my life they are all in Italian), and I don't watch TV here.  I'm typically a pretty avid news follower, but I think there may be something to the whole ignorance is bliss thing.

World news aside, I do, however, keep up with people's Facebook statuses.  And from everyone's statuses about the thunderstorms in Knoxville, it sounds like Armageddon at home.

I miss ice.  They don't believe in ice in Europe, which I remember from my two previous visits. During those short trips of nearly two weeks each I started craving ice, so you can imagine how I'm feeling nearly two months in.  One of my favorite things when I've had an apartment is to freeze a bottle of water almost to the point of being frozen and then drink it.  You have no idea how good that is when ice is not otherwise an option.

I miss going to the gym.  Very strange, I know!  Out of desperation I've taken to using a 2 Liter water bottle as a weight.  I am seriously doubting its effectiveness, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something.  I walk at least a couple of hours a day, but I still don't really feel like I'm getting a good workout.  

On the flipside, though, walking in the sun wears me out, and I take naps almost daily - a habit that will need to be broken once I get back and start working again!

And speaking of working, I most decidedly do NOT miss work.  Or rather, I don't miss law.  I'll be excited to land some sort of a writing/editing gig.  I just need to find it...

I also miss, in no particular order: my family and friends, both of my book clubs, my Bunco gals, YPLC and my daily emails with Tiffany, sugar-free mojitos at Sapphire, going to Barnes & Noble to sit with books and magazines for a couple of hours, guac and chips and a Tequila Sundown at La Costa, TC, lunch with Honey at Trio and all the happenings on Market Square (though I don't miss the teenagers at Sundown).  I'll have to get my fix of these things once I get back in August before I take off again. 

I love all the emails and blog comments - keep them coming!  

Venice is for... Me

On Tuesday morning I left Paris for Venice.  I had added Venice into my itinerary because it just seemed like something I needed to see.  I didn't know what to anticipate, though, and beyond gondolas, I honestly wasn't expecting all that much. I had read that I only needed two days to see Venice but had built in three because with all the traveling, it's hard to pick up and go again after only two days.  

Once I arrived in Venice, I took the bus from the airport to Piazzele Roma.  This is as far as you can get with ground transport.  From there, it's either a private water taxi ($$$) or a vaporetto, which is basically like a ferry bus with stops throughout the canal.  I opted for the vaporetto, and it was very easy and cheap. It was also a great introduction to Venice, which was so picturesque and with the canals, obviously so different than where I had been so far.  Four stops later I was at my vaporetto stop right in front of San Stae Church.  From there I had instructions to get to the hotel, which was just one street and a private bridge away.

The hotel, Al Ponte Mocenigo, was great.  It was small - only 10 rooms - and included breakfast each morning in a really beautiful outdoor courtyard. I was surprised that nearly everyone staying there was American.  Because they had to move my room after one night (and I offered to pay in cash), they gave me a greatly reduced rate well under my daily budget.  Hotels in Venice during the summer are expensive, so I was lucky to find this place.  Also, it was far removed from the touristy areas, which I found out later was a good thing, and near some really great restaurants, cafes and bakeries (now that I'm a bakery junkie and all, that is important to me - the madness has got to stop).

I spent the day on Wednesday wandering around and seeing the tourist sites - the Rialto Bridge, St. Mark’s Square including St. Mark’s Basilica, the Clocktower, Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs.  I went in and out of shops where I could actually afford things and stared in the windows of all the big designers where I couldn’t - Gucci, Missoni, Chanel, Louis Vuitton.  

My splurge for the day was a 15 Euro bellini - yes, a cocktail that cost nearly $21.  And it was tiny.  But it was delicious and worth every penny, or Euro, uh, cents.  I was at Harry’s Bar, which claims to have invented both the bellini and carpaccio.  The bellini and carpaccio aside, I wanted to go there because it was a favorite place of Ernest Hemingway’s.

On Thursday I debated whether to take a gondola ride.  Yes, it’s probably a tourist trap, but it looks like fun.  Two things held me back - one, it wasn’t the kind of thing I ever envisioned doing alone (I’d rather wait to go back with someone some other time) and two, it cost 80 Euros.  That’s $110 and beyond my budget, so a gondola ride was most definitely out.  I had read about a traghetto, though, which is another means of public transportation and is a way to cross from one side of the Grand Canal to the other.  A traghetto used to be a gondola, just stripped of its fancy chairs and trimmings.  Also, instead of one gondolier maneuvering the boat there are two - one in the front and one in the back.  The best part is it costs .50 Euro.  That’s 70 cents.  It seemed like a no brainer - I’d still get the feel for riding in a gondola and it was $109.30 cheaper.  There are seven traghetto stops throughout Venice, so I just went to a traghetto stop, waited in line for the next traghetto, paid the money to the guy and got on board with several other people - mostly locals, it seemed, as opposed to tourists.  Traditionally instead of sitting like on a gondola, you stand during the crossing, so I stood.  The crossing was short, but it was fun being out in the middle of the Grand Canal.

After my traghetto ride I walked through Venice's fish market and fruit and vegetable markets. Beside the fish market was a restaurant called Pronto Pesce, and as I passed it I noticed a sign in the window that Anthony Bourdain had eaten there last year and recommended it on his show.  I stopped in for a look.  It was a tiny little restaurant with just a few bar stools to perch at a little ledge in the window.  Some people opted to stand outside while they ate.  All the food was behind a counter and was pretty much different varieties of tapas.  Everything was in Italian but not being traditional Italian food that I was used to, I had no idea what I was seeing.  The man working there was very helpful and tried to explain what each thing I pointed to was.  I ended up with three tapas (each 2.50 Euro) and other than a brioche with swordfish, mascarpone and tomato, I have no idea what I ate despite his explanation, but it was very good.

The people in Venice were so nice.  I don’t say that just because I had come from Paris and the stark contrast was apparent.  (Parisians weren’t so bad - just a bit standoffish and aloof.)  Even going into a small hardware store to buy yet another power adapter (long story but this is the fourth power adapter I've bought AND I brought one with me - I didn’t know Italy’s adapter was different than the rest of Europe), the shop owner joked with me about whether I was an Obama or a Bush American.  He liked my Obama American answer.

The streets in Venice were like a maze - very narrow and winding through the town.  The odd thing is that I found it easier to navigate there than almost anywhere I've been so far in Europe other than London.  The streets were very well marked, the map the hotel gave me was easy to navigate and there were signs pointing the way to all the major tourist attractions, so I never felt lost.  I went out one night because I wanted to see the city from the Rialto Bridge.  The streets were not well lit at all, so I did worry about finding my way, but I didn’t have any problems and it was worth it being able to see the city at night.

 

All in all, Venice was one of my favorite spots so far on the trip.  Its only flaw was on cruise ship day.  St. Mark’s Square was teeming with pigeons and American tourists, neither of which were pleasant.  And yes, I realize I am an American tourist as well, though when someone speaks to me in Italian and I nod my head and smile and seemingly have an entire conversation with them and they never realize that I have no idea what they said I hope that I’m blending in.  :)

I'll Probably Get Struck by Lightning for Saying This, But...

Come on people, it's just the Mona Lisa. I really don't understand. Let me explain.  

Last Sunday, being the first Sunday of the month, was free museum day in Paris.  I wanted to go to the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay and Pompidou Centre. Because the Louvre was open the earliest of the three and Pompidou Centre was open the latest, I intended to see the museums in that same order.  Before I arrived at the Louvre, I envisioned that the line would take forever to get through, but it wasn't so bad - I was in line for no more than 10 minutes.

  

Once inside, the Louvre was nothing like I remembered.  I had been there when I was 17, and I recalled seeing the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the gift shop and that was pretty much the extent of my memory.  The Louvre is massive, and I wandered around for awhile with no real agenda for what I wanted to see.  I did go check out the Mona Lisa, and 17 years later, things were definitely different.  When I was there before, no one was allowed to take photographs, though I do remember sneaking one, despite a guard bearing down on me. This time it was like the freaking paparazzi were swarming around Katie Holmes and Suri.  I have never seen anything like it. Flashes were going off everywhere, hands were in the air waving cameras around, people were pushing to get closer, I heard a few Americans cussing trying to get through the crowd.  I didn't attempt to get any closer than you'll see in the below pictures or I truly might not have made it out of there alive.  I joke... but seriously, it was ridiculous and just reinforced to me that the Mona Lisa is not as cool as everyone thinks.  Forgive me and my non-arty opinion.

 

Pretty soon after seeing (or attempting to see) the Mona Lisa, I decided I had had as much of the Louvre as I could take for one day.  It was an unexpectedly beautiful day outside (rain had been forecasted), and I decided to take a break for lunch at an outside cafe.  I hadn't eaten escargot yet in Paris, and as it seemed like something I should do I found a restaurant with snails on the menu.  I really love escargot but had never been to a restaurant where I actually had to remove them from a shell, so that was interesting.  I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman ("Slippery little suckers!") but thankfully one did not go flying, and they were delicious.

My lunch break threw me off schedule, and I realized that I probably needed to make a choice whether to go to Musee d'Orsay.  I wanted to see both the Kandinsky exhibit and the regular museum at Pompidou Centre, so I decided to skip Musee d'Orsay (I can almost hear Melissa saying "No!" as she reads this - her favorite museum in Paris if I remember correctly.).  It was a good thing I did considering how much time I spent at Pompidou Centre.  Like the Louvre, I had also been to Pompidou Centre when I was 17, or at least the outside of it (Did we go in?  I can't remember) where the Stravinsky fountain with the mechanical pop-art'esque structures including the lips.  

 

Once inside Pompidou Centre, I purchased a ticket for the Kandinsky exhibition (exhibitions are not part of free museum day) and headed to the top floor to see that first.  The exhibition gave a very interesting look into his life and how that had affected his art.  I loved seeing the progression of his work from his very early years as an artist through his death in 1944.  The colors and vibrancy of his art are amazing.  After seeing the exhibition, I headed down into the regular museum and was greeted with the poster pictured below. Pompidou Centre had dedicated an entire floor to their women artists, which I loved seeing.  It made for a very interesting collection of work, not least of which was a dress made entirely of cured meat, as pictured below.  Yes, meat.  (I saw the before picture of the model wearing the raw meat version of the dress.  I would not have wanted to be that model!)  I then went upstairs one floor where the "regular" modern art is - Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, etc.  Pompidou Centre is my favorite museum so far in Europe with the Tate Modern in London being a close second.

I just read that President Obama, Michelle and the girls were also at Pompidou Centre the day I was.  I had no idea.  Everything felt pretty relaxed while I was there - no real signs of security - but of course I could have missed them that morning while I was at the Louvre.

My last day in Paris, Monday, was the worst weather I've had on the trip yet - pouring rain.  I still wanted to see the Arc de Triomphe so I grabbed the umbrella and set off for the metro. Later I went to Le Bon Marche department store as it had been touted as something to see, but it was definitely no Harrod's.  I ended the day (and my time in Paris) in perfect Parisian style - going to a patisserie and sampling yet another croissant... and a pain du chocolat.  My body is going to go into pastry-withdrawal.

What's My Theme?

On Tuesday I switched apartments in Paris.  The first apartment I was in was not available for the entire 15 nights I'm here, which actually worked out well considering it gave me the opportunity to stay in two different districts.  In Paris, the districts, or arrondissements, are each numbered.  The first apartment I stayed in for eight nights was in the 6th arrondissement, and the second apartment that I will be in for seven nights is in the 7th, the same as the Eiffel Tower.  I haven't necessarily preferred one arrondissement over the other, though the second apartment itself is much nicer than the first. The first apartment was closer to the metro.  The second apartment is closer to better shopping and restaurants. The first apartment had the Pont Neuf and Pont des Arts bridges with their amazing views practically at its doorstep.  But the second apartment has the Eiffel Tower! 

Switching apartments aside, I have a better reason for not having blogged in a week than simply moving around.  I've been waiting for a theme to develop.  As I have looked over my past couple of blogs, they have each had a theme or central event that stood out among the rest - the French Open, the bullfight.  So as I asked myself what the theme for my time in Paris would be, it came to me.  Except it's not so much a theme for Paris as it has become a theme on my trip in general.  Before I left Knoxville several people asked me what I wanted to do on this trip.  Are you wanting to see historical sites or view art or go to museums?  Yes, yes and yes, though at the time I couldn't put my finger on exactly what I wanted to do while I was here.  As I have progressed from city to city and done the pay-10-Euros-to-see-yet-another-historical-artistic-something-or-other, I've realized that that is not when I'm happiest. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some amazing things while I've been here, but it's the days when I don't necessarily have an agenda and allow myself to just be anyone else living in the city that are the best.

Of course I've been to see the big things in Paris like Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Place de Trocadero, Jardin des Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, Sacre Coeur, Place des Vosges and Maison de Victor Hugo. The Arc de Triomphe is on my list before I leave. Tomorrow is free museum day in Paris (the first Sunday of the month), so I'm going to hit three museums in one day - the Louvre (which I know could take the entire day if I let it, but I've already been there before), Musee d'Orsay and Pompidou Centre where I am excited to see the Kandinsky exhibit. 

 

My favorite tourist attraction in Paris has been Pere Lachaise cemetery where Jim Morrison, Frederic Chopin and Oscar Wilde are buried.  Each have a tribute to them of some sort at their gravesite.  Morrison's is graffitied with messages and fans have left behind flowers, letters, beers and packs of cigarettes; Chopin's has flowers and Wilde's is covered in lipstick kisses. More than seeing the most famous graves in the cemetery, though, I just loved walking around looking at the tombs and gravesites, which are each unique works of art in themselves.

 

But like I said above, for me, my time here is not best spent being a tourist.  So the major tourist attractions aside, what have I been doing with my time over the past week?

-browsed the flower, fruit and vegetable, cheese and charcuterie markets along Rue Cler

-sampled croissants from different patisseries to decide which one is my favorite (Jean Millet on Rue Saint Dauphine)

-stood in line to buy mini macarons from what is said to be the best macaron shop in Paris, Laduree (I'm a believer)

-inhaled the delicious fragrance coming from inside a restaurant where every menu item includes truffles

-lusted outside the windows of the designer boutiques along the Rue du Fauborg Saint-Honore

-ate breakfast outside at a cafe while watching Paris go by from behind my sunglasses

-marveled at David LaChapelle's insane genuis at an exhibition at the Monnaie de Paris

-sat on the edge of a sidewalk and ate a crepe while listening to a bluegrass band (bluegrass or not, I definitely wasn't in east Tennessee!)

-watched the Eiffel Tower at night from the Pont des Arts bridge (where Big and Carrie kissed at the end of the last SATC episode for those who keep track of such things)

My happiest moment in Paris, though, has been my simplest one. Last Saturday afternoon.  75 degrees and sunny. Eating a cup of mango sorbet.  Sitting by the Seine with a book. Perfection... almost.