Food

This was originally a piece I wrote for class, but it's somewhat humorous, so enjoy:

Growing up, we Americans were taught to honor the Food Pyramid, a guide to daily eating that couldn’t go wrong (until they changed it in 2007). The Food Pyramid was built on a foundation of grains, with equal measures fruits and vegetables, smaller equal parts dairy and meat, and balancing on top, like the golden cap on an Egyptians tomb, sugar. When the old pyramid was left to rot and the new one was erected, exercise was added to the mix, depicted by a stick figure happily striding up one side of the pyramid that had been converted into a staircase. Its no wonder we Americans are such healthy eaters and lead such active lifestyles.

Italians, if they ever were to erect a monument to food, would never build a pyramid; they would build a large, domed building with fountains that spurt wine and alcoves bearing statues to every type of food imaginable. The most famous painters of the day would be hired to cover every inch of wall space with frescoes dedicated to the harvesting, preparing, and eating of food. Of course no actual food would be allowed inside the monument, seeing as it is a sacred place.

But let’s humor ourselves and pretend the Italians do have a food pyramid. They still wouldn’t do it like us Americans. First of all they would not build one but three pyramids, probably arranged in some loose illusion to the holy trinity, and built of pure marble. The pyramids would represent Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

The Breakfast Pyramid would be built on a foundation of pastries. The sheer amount of diversity in Italian pastries would cause this pyramid to have a base twice the size of the rest of the pyramid. The next layer, cemented to the pastry base with a layer of Nutella, would be cookies exclusively dipped in warm milk. Sitting atop the Breakfast Pyramid, vibrating dangerously close to the edge, would be coffee. Cappuccino in particular would rule this pyramid, and for many Italians it is the only part of the pyramid they ever actually see.

Next up, a safe distance away from the Breakfast Pyramid, comes the Lunch Pyramid. The Lunch Pyramid is built of one solid block of marble depicting only one icon: Pizza. There may be a few other sandwiches thrown in there along the boarder, but they even look like lunch pizza; square, folded, wrapped in wax paper, and eaten between place of purchase and place of where-you-go-to-make-money-to-purchase-pizza.

Finally we arrive at the biggest pyramid of them all, the Dinner Pyramid. This pyramid has so many intricate layers, you’re going to need to hire a tour guide to understand it all, but here’s a brief overview. The base is antipasti, or in other words, little samples of everything else you’re going to encounter on the pyramid. If you don’t like the antipasti, run away immediately. Next up is primi patti, which consists of just enough pasta to somehow make you hungrier. Third we encounter secondi patti, the biggest section of the pyramid. This section is dedicated to meats of every kind, questionably edible things from the ocean, and sometimes pizza in it’s true round form. One more layer up lies deserts, and lording over it all at the top is wine. Wine rules this pyramid and secretly also rules the Lunch Pyramid, and has been eyeing the Breakfast Pyramid for a few centuries now. Wine flows through all sections of the Dinner Pyramid, giving the Italian appetite the strength desired to climb these colossal monuments.

One last note: the Italian food pyramids would never add a stick figure depicting exercise, but would rather show a happy fat old Italian man leaning against the pyramids, completely satisfied, and laughing at the American stick figure struggling up the pyramids.

Tivoli

Today, thanks to the wonderful suggestion of my Aunt Lynda, I hopped on a bus out of Rome and wound my way up to Tivoli to explore Villa D'Este and Villa Adriana. The sun was strong, the sky was clear, and it was perfect get-away time.

Villa D'Este is a beautiful manor sitting on a steeply sloping hillside which allowed for magnificent fountains to be built by Cardinal D'Este in the 16th century. The Italians (and the French, but who cares about them) have a term for fountains, giochi d'acqua, which literally translated means 'water games', which is exactly how it felt to walk around the gardens of Villa D'Este. Water follows you from the grand terraces of the manor and cascades down the hill, pooling here, spurting up through a fountain there, running along paths and racing you through the garden. Almost every staircase has water running in a cascade down their elaborate banisters, and at one end is a waterfall. The fountains range from a grand fountain over the waterfall to hidden tributes to Roman Gods and Goddesses tucked away between hedges. At the far side of the Villa is a sweeping view of the countryside, as unchanged from the time the Villa was built as it can possibly be. My friends and I ate a picnic lunch at the base of one series of calm pools. I could have stayed there forever, but Tivoli had another grand attraction, and so when the afternoon started to move on we packed up and headed out for Villa Adriana, or Hadrian's Villa.

Emperor Hadrian was the emperor of Rome from 117 to 138 AD,

when he died at the age of 62, pretty impressive for an ancie

nt Roman. While he was emperor he built up a court in Tivoli, finding Rome too busy for his liking. What probably started our as a country getaway quickly evolved into a sprawling Villa, and eventually he moved his entire court there. The Villa was enormous, and when too became too busy for Hadrian, he constructed the 'Teatro Marittimo'. The Teatro is an island within the Villa, where supposedly Hadrian had a drawbridge he could pull up when he was in a bad mood. Hadrian's get-away from his get-away reminded me quite a bit of my own motives for

being in Tivoli today. Rome is exhausting in a wonderful way, a way that merits a trip to the country side to cool off.

What is left of Hadrian's Villa today is beautiful ruins, as impressive in what has managed to remain standing as it once must have been in all it's glory. We walked around the ruins through the late afternoon, with sunlight pouring through the open archways and ancient windows. Another place I could have stayed in for hours, had the sun not been setting. We didn't even see the entire Villa, but all that means for me is the next time I need a Hadrian-esqu escape I know where I'll be heading.

I took more pictures today than I have since I've arrived in Rome, so choosing what to post was hard, but here is a selection:

Hadrian's

Reconstructed columns at Hadrian's

Villa D'Este, the perfect hide-and-seek location

Grand Fountain at Villa D'Este

Musei Vaticani

Yesterday my good friend Liese and I got up early to explore the Musei Vaticani, or Vatican Museum. I'm not a huge fan of museums; I get overwhelmed by large collections of art, and would much rather see one or two pieces in a plain setting than hundreds and hundreds all at once. Nevertheless I wanted to see the Sistine Chapel, and it can only be entered through the museum, so I sucked it up, waited in the hour-long line, paid my 8 euro, and dove in.

The Musei is an easy place to get lost in, both literally and in mindset. Even inside the Vatican City I never imagined I would see so many pictures of Jesus, they go on for miles. While the collections are beautiful and invaluable I found myself most drawn to the courtyards. They afforded a place to breath I couldn't find within the museum itself, and they are actually quite beautiful and relaxing places despite the crowds. The day was sunny and warm, and one of my favorite moments was taking a break with Liese on a terrace in the sun to eat an orange.

I did manage to find a Dali painting I fell in love with, Angelic Landscape. The horses and angels are painted with simple but bold lines, and it was the most refreshing piece I saw all day.I also loved Bernini's frescos, and particularly how he painted himself into them. Touche, sir.

And then, finally, we were in the Sistine Chapel. I had always heard so much about the ceiling, and it was as brilliant as promised, but what I had never known before was that it's not just the ceiling but the entire chapel that is painted. The areas that aren't depicting Michaelangelo's wildest dreams are painted to look like draped curtains. The building is the largest work of art I have ever seen, and I wanted to stay long past the crick in my neck would allow.

You never know what you're going to see while walking down a street in Rome...

Rome Home

Today I woke up to the Rome I have always dreamed of. The sun was shining, and when I opened my window the light pouring in was warm for the first time since I've been here. I got dressed as quickly as possible to see my street in the sunshine, and it seemed everyone else had the same idea. The little cafe I always go to had filled every table on the sidewalk, and the street vendors were out in full force. I haggled with a jewelry vendor, and I consider getting two euro knocked off my new necklace a landmark achievement in my cultural immersion. Colleen and I then met up with some friends at Villa Borghese, one of Rome's largest and most beautiful parks. There is still snow in the shadows, but the areas in the sun were warm and bright. Villa Borghese is shaded by towering trees, among which are hidden fountains, ruins, museums, and more. Five of us rented a crazy bike cart and drove it around the park for an hour, weaving between other tourists, food vendors, and couples making out on benches. The view from Villa Borghese is amazing, from one side all of Rome sprawls out before you. The picture above is from the Piazzale dei Cavalli Marini, a which centers around a fountain where four sea horses play in the water. I loved the looks on their faces. Most of the statues here are very serious or forlorn, so it was nice to stumble upon one that portrayed sheer joy.

From the park we followed along the Spanish Steps to find our way back to school for a wine tasting. Some cheese, olives, and prosciutto made for a perfect snack along with our wine, and a visit to the 100-flavor gelato shop for desert (cause after wine and snacks the only logical progression is desert). I had champagne and chocolate-coconut, a weirdly wonderful mix.

Overall today my dream Rome came true. Sun, wine, food, park, friends...I couldn't have asked for more.

Dai Dai Dai!

I've been craving some climbing ever since I left Spain, so today I ventured to the furthest area of Rome I have yet to explore in search of a bouldering gym I found online. I followed the river north of the Vatican for a few miles, and it was one of the most beautiful walks I've had yet. All the Romans were out enjoying the sunshine that is breaking the recent cold snap. Old houses in shades of pink, yellow, orange, and green lined the river, and there were even a few crew shells scuttling about like water bugs, being chased by coaches in kayaks. When I reached the gym I met some fantastically friendly Italian climbers, and after paying up and apologizing profusely for how out of shape I am they showed me around. The gym is a spacious area of bouldering walls and caves, all of which went much higher than I am accustomed to. The routes are designated by tape color; white is the easiest, yellow is medium, black is hard, red is hardest. I struggled around on some white routes for a while before attempting one yellow. Italians are intense! The owner of the gym even took pity on me and set a route for me, which he labeled with smiley faces, probably to make me feel better since I was getting my ass kicked by every other person there. It worked, and I left the most satisfied I've been since Spain, and with a few blisters to brag about. I may not be able to pick up a feather tomorrow, but you can bet I'll be back there as soon as possible.

Can You Spot The Kelly?

Trains, Chocolate, and Dreaming In Italian

After hopping on a slow train to Florence with seconds to spare, Colleen and I arrived in the beautiful Tuscan city around noon on Friday. Rolling through theTuscan country side covered in snow was very odd; it looked more like home than any pictures I've ever seen of Tuscany. The snow looked incredibly out of place, as much a tourist as I was. But the day was sunny if not cold, and my always beautiful friend Holly was there to greet us at the train station. We had afantastic lunch near the Duomo which included bacon wrapped mozzarella balls. We wandered around the famous Duomo for a while after lunch. The Duomo is so beautiful and intricate it doesn't look real. I would have believed itwas made of cardboard over marble. Florence likes to claim the birth of the Renaissance, and after seeing the Duomo I would give it to them any day. From the Duomo Holly took us to see Ponte Vecchio, the famous Flourentine bridge. The bridge is lined with jewelry shops, which makes the entire street sparkle. It was one of my favorite walks so far.

Four other friends from my program in Rome came to Florence as well, so we all rented out a hostel called the Luna Rossa. It's hard to know what to expect from hostels, but this one exceeded my expectations. For 20 euro a night each we got three doubles on a floor to ourselves, with comfortable beds, a tv, a computer with free internet, and private bathrooms. We were most excited by the closet of extra blankets, and promptly took a long nap while the wind raged through Florence for the afternoon. When we set out again for dinner we had another wonderful meal down the street. The restaurant gave us free limoncello, a traditional sour lemon after-dinner drink. We washed the limo

ncello down with gelato (Caffe and chustnut for me) and headed to the Lions Fountain, a great pub.

The next morning we got up early to wander through the leather market. Every day, but especially on weekends, a few blocks of Florence are taken over by stalls selling leather goods, carnivale masks, glass from Venice, and more. It took a lot of will power not to come home with a leather jacket. After meeting up with our friend Shelia we wandered out of the leather market and into a square where more tents were set up and a very distinct smell had taken over the piazza: chocolate. Yes, we stumbled upon a chocolate fair. Tent after tent of chocolate of every kind, shaped like every object (anteater, monkey wrench, high heels, robot, etc) and in every form. The hot chocolate was essentially a melted candy bar. I had a strawberry, marshmallow and grape kebob dipped in a chocolate fountain. Most of the vendors were giving out free samples, and everything we tried was better than any candy I've ever had in the US. We wandered the chocolate fair for a long time, but when it came time for some substantial food

we crossed the river to Gusto Pizza. The guys in Gusto made us pizza shaped like a heart and played us a wedding march.

The best meal of the day however went to the Aperitivo bar we went to for dinner. Aperitivos in

Italy are swanky restaurants that set up buffets for about two hours, and you pay about 8-10 euro for the buffet and a drink. We paid 8 euro and had an endless supply of delicious traditional Italian food, and french fries, which were a welcome surprise. Back to the Lions Fountain for flaming lemon drops, where an Italian boy tried to write "I love you" on my hand, but spelled it wrong. That night however I had my first dream in Italian, which is huge for me. Granted I was selling organic baby food to a supermarket, but hey, it was in Italian.

This morning we packed up and set out to spend one last morning at the chocolate fair. After all, strawberries covered in chocolate is the breakfast of champions. We got a panicked call fom a friend at the train station who said trains were being cancelled due to snow, so Colleen and I ran to the station with two other girls from our program to try and catch the 11 train, which seemed to be the last one leaving all day. After trying to ask an old lady behind the ticket counter if we could upgrade our 17 euro tickets for the slow train to the 50 euro (ugh) tickets for the fast train she just shrugged and shut her window down. We ran out onto the platform at 10:55 and I found a conductor who seemed to speak some English. I took my ticket out to ask him if we could change it and he just waved us onto the train, so we played along and ended up on the fast train for Rome. We were home in an hour, didn't pay the difference, and there was no snow to be seen. Italians.

Firenze

While the Romans enjoy their second snow in the past half-century, I'm headed for sunnier (if not warmer) streets. A last minute train ticket to Florence means I'll be silent for a little while, enjoy your weekends.

St. Peter's Cupola

Today we climbed to the top of St. Peter's Cupola, the gigantic dome on top of St. Peter's Basilica. We finally had a clear and sunny day, and the view from the Cupola was incomparable. All of Rome was laid out before like a pop-up map; the Vatican and St. Peter's square were right below us, the Wedding Cake (Capitol building) rose up before the Forum in the distance. We could peer into the Vatican Cities walled gardens, which were clearly beautiful even from a few stories away. It was strange to see the famous statues of the saints that watch over the square below from behind; it surprised me to find that they are no carved all the way around. Their backs are smooth rock; only three sides are sculpted. After we had our fill of Roman view, we headed over to a restaurant I had heard about that served gluten free pasta. The owner of the restaurant, it turns out, is also celiac. When I asked about the pasta he was so excited he gave me a hug, and brought me rice-cakes to eat with my pasta, which was delicious! I am definitely going back there.

The Pope, Snow Days, & Astrophysics With A 7-Year-Old

After a weekend of snow Sunday dawned clear and sunny. The Pope speaks at the Vatican on Sundays at noon, so a bunch of us ventured down there to see what he has to say. A pro-life rally was happening in St. Peters Square, and while it was a little awkward, they all had green balloons which gave the snow-topped square a festive appearence. The fact that the Christmas tree is still up in St. Peter's helped, too. I was expecting the Pope to come out to some grand balcony, but he just sort of popped his head out of a window, waved, gave a short sermon, and then impressively greeting us in no less than seven languages. After that I went home with the mindset to do some work, but school called and said that all schools and public offices were cancelled in Rome for the next day. Snow Day! 'Snow' Day today was more like 'occasional icy sidewalk day', and in fact the weather was the best it's been here in the past five or six days. I had a lazy morning with my host brother. He was playing with a globe and insisting the sun rotates around the earth and we got into an argument (mostly through gestures) about the workings of the solar system. I felt a bit like Galileo telling the Church that the Earth in fact rotates around the sun. Not because I had just made one of the most important discoveries in history, but more because my host brother still doesn't believe me.

Fantastic lunch out today and some exploration of Piazza del Popolo and Via del Corso. Here's an awkward picture of a man trying to sell flowers to my friend, another (wonderful) Kelly:

Buonanotte, tutti!

Neve

C'é neve a Roma!

There is snow in Rome! The mayor has cancelled school and my 7-year-old host brother, Dani, could not be more excited. He woke Colleen and I up this morning by running into our room, wielding an umbrella like a sword, and babbling away happily about snow. Unfortunately 'snow' here is what we in the North Country call a 'wintery mix'. It doesn't even stick to the sidewalk, which is crushing my dreams of skiing down the aqueduct.

Today we are going to the Musei Capitolini, to see a rare exhibit of Leonardo Da Vinci work alongside Michael Angelo's. I'm hoping they will have some of Da Vinci's notebook pages, and if they do, I'm taking notes on how to build a renascence helicopter. I have a feeling Dani's umbrella will come in handy in the construction.

Gluten Train

I think I just got hit by the Gluten Train.

But it's ok, because Italian cannoli are worth it.