European Adventures Part 2: Angel in Lavender Pants

This whole blogging-while-in-Italy thing isn't happening as often as I was planning, but I've also been a lot busier than I was planning... in a good way. I can't believe I haven't written since the first week, but I'll try to sum up the remaining weeks with my family and the beginning of my study abroad.

After leaving Casperia, my dad, mom, and grandmother made our way to the Fattoria Tregole, a charming bed & breakfast in the Chinati region of Tuscany. There, we took a wine tour with a guy named Dario Castagno and learned all about the history of Chianti Classico, complete with tastings all the way through and a five-course meal to finish. It was my favorite day of the trip, until we got lost trying to tour some Tuscan castles and ending up driving through switchbacks for three hours inducing some rough carsickness... I don't want to talk about it.

I started the next day with a beautiful morning run under the Tuscan sun with some new Norwegian friends who were also staying at Tregole-- one of only five runs since I've been here, I'm sad to say. We spent the afternoon in Florence and went on a guided tour with a man named Bernardo, who showed us the Duomo, Michelangelo's David, Brunelleschi's Dome, the room where the Mona Lisa was painted, and Dante Aleighieri's church. Florence is overwhelmingly filled with tourists, but I can see why-- it has SO much incredible history.

From Tuscany, we headed south to Bari, where my grandma's parents were born. We stayed at a place called the Masseria dell'Isola, and I probably gained ten pounds in two days. Our host, Rita, served us endless dinners with so much food that, while delicious, I could barely appreciate because it was just too much. Breakfasts were similar-- cream-filled fried croissants called "Bomboloni," panna cotta, biscotti, and giant fruit plates. If we had stayed there for a week, we all would've been obese. But Rita was one of the nicest and most hardworking people I've ever met, and her passion for food was admirable.

While in Bari, we explored some beach towns and nearby attractions, my favorite being Alberobello. This tiny town has tons of structures called "trulli," little trianglular gazebo-type houses that aren't found anywhere else in the world. No one knows exactly why they're built the way they are, but apparently they're all structured in such a way that if a specific brick is removed, the whole roof collapses. This may have been because the Counts of Conversano, who founded the town, were trying to avoid taxes and needed the town to be quickly dismantled if royal authorities got wind.

The best part of our Southern adventure, though, was seeing the tiny town of Toritto where my grandma's parents actually lived. Almost immediately, we found a street with the last name of my great-grandmother. We also met an English speaker who, after looking at our family tree, told us that several of the last names in our lineage belonged to families who still lived in Toritto. We didn't stay long, since the siesta was going on and it looked like a ghost town, but that one little trip had a big emotional impact on my grandmother. Even after all the difficulties of traveling across the country as an 85-year old, seeing Toritto made my grandma's whole trip worth it.

Next up was Metaponto, another southern region not too far from Bari. We stayed at an amazing resort-like place called San Teodoro, where we soaked up the beach and the poolside and recharged our inner batteries. The best part about San Teodoro was our beautiful host Giovanni, the best-looking Italian I've met so far. :)

From Metaponto we drove to our final spot, Sorrento. Trying to take a big rental car through skinny roads built before the age of cars, handling impatient and speedy Italian drivers, avoiding Vespas that wove between people and cars, and attempting to follow a highly confused GPS was NOT a good idea. After getting stuck several times, almost getting into a few accidents, and becoming hopelessly lost, we were about to lose it when we met our angel. A man on a Vespa, wearing lavender pants and toting a three-year old in front, pulled up to our car and asked in English if we needed help. He then talked to our hotel manager in Italian, handed the phone back, and asked us to follow him. We followed our angel through town for almost ten minutes-- in the meantime, he pulled over to let his son throw away a juice box, stopped to shake hands with a friend, and frequently looked back to make sure we were still alive. When he finally pointed us to the hotel, he waved and drove away before we got a chance to thank him. It completely turned our day around.

Later that day we saw Pompeii, the volcano-destroyed ancient Roman city I've been studying in Latin classes since sixth grade. It was incredible and scary at the same time-- especially the bodies preserved in stone during their final agonizing moments. I would NOT want to get stuck there at night. I was much happier spending the evening eating fresh fish by the seaside and watching my grandma get, in her own words, "toasted" on vino rosso.

On my last full day with the family, we took a bus along the Amalfi Coast, stopping in Positano for lunch, window shopping, and a nap on the beach. We took a ferry home, had dinner at a nice but touristy place in town, and went to bed, all four of us in one tiny college-dorm style room. I know I'm usually away from my family for semesters at a time, but after three weeks of experiencing so much together, I think I'm going to miss them more than I thought.

In the morning, it off to Rome, where my mom came with me to the airport and dropped me off with my Urbino Project study abroad group. I've been here at the University of Urbino for almost a week, but since this post is already long enough, I'll write about my experiences here shortly. So far, though, I've made some great friends, had some late nights of partying, and realized that I'll be working more than ever in "real-world" style journalism for the next three weeks. Bring it on!

Dare e prendere.
Caryn

European Adventures Part 1: Farms, Food, and Phantoms

I can't believe it-- I've been in Europe for a week, and I'm just now finding the time to write. It's not that I haven't had down time, but I've been so busy relaxing, eating delicious meals that last for three hours, and trying to mix French, Italian, and English to talk with people that I've barely thought about the blog I promised to keep up. I've already had so many amazing experiences, and I still have six weeks left! But although I've been to the Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, taken taxis, buses, metros, and trains through bustling cities, and done plenty of shopping, the best moments have been quiet ones in the countryside. I would probably feel like I was missing something crucial if I didn't "see the sights" in famous cities like Paris, Rome, and Florence, but mostly I've found that real French and Italian people prefer to take life slowly. They work in the mornings, take a long lunch break with fresh, delicious food and wine, and have an afternoon siesta. A little more work in the evening, then a light dinner and some family time before bed. Even those with demanding jobs recognize the value of family time and a good glass of wine. It's such a contrast to the constantly rushed lifestyle I have at school in Colorado, and while I love my busy Boulder routine, it's been amazing to see things from a different perspective.

My mom and I spent our first few days in Ussy-sur-Marne, France, a little farming village on the Marne River about 45 minutes from Paris. Moe Delaitre, a former neighbor who has been my "other mother" since I was two, fell in love with and married a French farmer, and she recently moved from the States to France permanently. We stayed at her farmhouse with her husband, Jean Francois, and her 7-year-old daughter, Ella. We spent six days in France, mostly on the farm but including day trips to Paris and Reims. During that time, Moe, "JF,"and Ella were our translators, cultural guides, and dear friends.

And then it was Italy time. Early yesterday morning, we took a plane to Rome Ciampino, and after a long day of traveling, met my dad and grandmother in a tiny, ancient walled city called Casperia. Here, we've had some incredible pizza, pasta, and wine, taken long walks, and enjoyed the mountain scenery from the balcony of our bed and breakfast. It all feels like a dream.

Some of my favorite moments of this week (a LOT of them have to do with food!):

- Fresh farm food in Ussy: Picking strawberries and cherries (which were later made into jam), watching the cows being milked and then drinking that milk the same day, and eating baguettes fresh from the bakery at every meal.
- Drinking champagne at a restaurant in the actual region of Champagne in France with my mother and my "other mother"
- Eating at a tiny creperie in Paris. In the midst of the tourist-filled city, Moe found us an authentic place on a side street where there were only "real French people."
- Going to a party for a Catholic girl's "profession de foi"(profession of faith) at a neighboring farm and seeing the castle that was the inspiration for the one in Beauty and the Beast
- The moment when, after taking a taxi, plane, bus, metro, train, and another bus from Ussy all the way to Casperia, my mom and I finally saw my dad running down the hill from the bed and breakfast to greet us
- The five-course meal made for us by Paola and Franco, two restaurant owners in Casperia who opened their home to a private dinner for the bed and breakfast guests
- Walking with my dad up a winding hill to a monastery where we could see the walled city of Casperia from a distance
- Using my Italian and translating for my family at a pizzeria in Casperia, where I watched my grandmother get tipsy

And the not-so-good:

- The farmhouse in Ussy is truly haunted. I stayed there another summer when I was about 13, and one of the girls I was traveling with got woken up in the night like she had been nudged by someone or something, and it terrified her. On our first night last week, I stayed in that same room, and woke up in the middle of the night to what felt like a poke in the ribs. I was so scared, I slept in my mom's bed the rest of the night, and in little Ella's bed for the nights after that. Moe thinks the ghost is her husband's grandmother, who died in childbirth inside the farmhouse. She's now comfortable with the ghost's presence, knowing she's just "checking in," but it still terrifies me.

- I've already accepted the fact that with all the pasta, pizza, gelato, and wine, and without all the triathlon training, I'll have a lot of work to do fitness-wise when I get home. I ran once in Ussy and again today in Casperia (very hilly!), and we've been walking a lot. Still, it's nearly impossible to try and stay a triathlete and be part of the traditional small-town Italian lifestyle at the same time. But I'm okay with taking a step back for a few weeks, I think. When I get to my study abroad in Urbino, which is hilly like Casperia, I'll work on finding a running buddy and getting back into it. I've also been assigned to the "Outdoor" section of the magazine we'll be creating, so hiking and caving, here I come! :)

Pictures coming soon!!!

Dare e prendere.
Caryn

A New Set of Priorities

I'm home! Here I am in Annapolis, Maryland, sitting at a table outside the City Dock Cafe in 70 degree sunny weather. It actually feels like summer here-- shorts and flip flops, ice cream outings, and that beautiful Chesapeake Bay. At the Naval Academy, the freshmen-to-be will be starting Plebe Summer soon (I'll feel sorry for them the next time I'm running on the Navy track in a tanktop and they jog by wearing camo and backpacks, but I admire what they go through.) Best of all, Annapolis is hosting a triathlon this Saturday! At the Tri-Rock sprint triathlon, athletes swim in the Chesapeake, bike by the Naval Academy, and run through historic colonial downtown. Live music all through the course! The race directors were in desperate need of lifeguards, and since Oscar is officially sold to my roomie and I'm therefore bike-less, I'll be seeing the race from a perspective other than a competitor this time. I'll most likely be on a float or boat out in the water looking out for tired swimmers-- and meanwhile, I'll get a chance to check out people's open water swimming techniques and maybe get some tips. :)

I'll only be here for ten more days, though. On May 23, my mom and I fly to Paris. We'll spend a few days in France visiting my other mother, Moe Delaitre, at her farm in Ussy. After that, my dad and grandmother will fly out to meet us and we'll tour Italy for a week or so-- my grandmother is especially excited to see Bari, the southern Italian town where her family grew up but which she has never visited. On June 10, my family heads home and I meet my group in Urbino, Italy, where I'll spend four weeks doing a study abroad in magazine production and international reporting. :) The University of Urbino is one of the oldest colleges in the world, founded in 1506. It's in central Italy near the Adriatic coast. We'll spend our mornings taking Italian language classes, have a break from 1 to 3 according to Italian custom, and do reporting, interviewing, seminars, or one-on-one coaching in the afternoon. Our end goal is to create an English-speaking magazine called "Urbino Now" about the community, its culture and customs.

Our course description tells us that the magazine "will be a reflection of your explorations and discoveries in this beautiful rural region of ancient fests, traditional crafts, slow food, and slower living." It sounds like the perfect summer to me. One thing I'll have to make peace with, though, is that I won't be training a whole lot. I won't have a bike, so riding won't be possible. I'll spend some time in a pool if there's one nearby, but I'm not going to spend hours a day in a place that's probably just the same as any in the U.S. I have been thinking over the possibility of some open water swimming in the Adriatic, but we'll see if that's realistic. I'm definitely going to try and run, but I've heard that if you run in Italy, people thing you're running from the cops or something, so I'll just have to see how it goes. These six weeks will be a chance for me to enjoy the "slower living" described above. My priorities will be learning as much as I can about writing and reporting, stepping outside of my comfort zone, exploring new places, meeting new people, and taking the time to savor Italian meals of pasta and red wine. I'll have all the time in the world to get moving again once I get back to Annapolis, but in Italy, I'll go slow.

Dare e prendere.
Caryn