Turning Point

I've decided it's time for another required post... the topic: Turning Point.

I'm essentially using this post as an announcement that I've decided I'm going to hold myself accountable for seeing as much as possible while I'm here. The last time I was in Italy a few years ago, I barely left Florence (except for a couple day trips to Chianti, Siena, Pisa, and a weekend in Rome) because it was just too stifling hot to get up the energy to go further afield. As a result, I passed on trips to Cinque Terre and Venice.

This time, I've also been sticking fairly close to my home base in Pistoia, as it is very remote here and takes quite a bit of time and effort to get anywhere. Although I have gotten away a few times, so far to Croatia, Florence, Rome, Viareggio and Lucca, I have decided that from this point onwards I'm going to make the effort to see as many places as possible (as soon as possible... the deadly weather is imminent!).

The next couple weekends I'm going to make it my mission to get to Bologna, Parma, and possibly Perugia (although the train schedule to Perugia will make it a bit of a hassle). By the end of July I aim to have made it to Venice and Cinque Terre. Then in August I'll be able to knock Palermo and Milan off my list!

Parents in Italia

My parents and their friends during their tour of Celle

This past week my genitori (parents) were visiting Italy with their friends. It wasn't their first time in Italy, so rather than racing around to see the sites, they were able to just relax and enjoy the tuscan lifestyle for a few days. They stayed at a beautiful villa about 15 minutes from where I'm living, named Villa San Simone. On their first day they picked me up and took me for groceries (a MASSIVE favor considering what a mission it is to get groceries here) and then I went back to Villa San Simone for dinner with them. The couple who owns the Villa, Sandro and Lydia, are extremely nice, and the dinner that Lydia cooked for us was incredible. Zucchini risotto, melon & prosciutto, flaky bread sticks, a variety of cheeses, caprese salad, onion frittata (best frittata I've ever had) and so much more. Dessert was homemade yogurt gelato, and I would sell my right arm to have some more. It was incredible!

Another day of my parents' visit, after I finished work for the day, I joined them in an afternoon trip to the walled city of Lucca, which was very pretty.

On the thursday, my parents and their friends John & June came to Villa Celle for a tour of the collection. They thoroughly enjoyed it, and afterwards we had lunch in the house with Katie and Miranda and Signor Gori. It was cool that my parents got to see first hand where I've been living and working, and who I've been living and working with.

On Friday I was supposed to go to a big lunch with my parents at a big farm called La Petraia in Radda in Chianti (about 2 hours from here). Unfortunately, though, I had a dental problem (a piece of my tooth broke off) and the only time I could get in to see the dentist (Signor Gori's daughter) was Friday afternoon, so I had to miss lunch, which was unfortunate because A) as nice as Signor Gori's daughter Patrizia is, going to the dentist is never fun, B) I passed out when she started the reconstruction surgery... soooo embarrassing, and C) my parents informed me that the lunch at La Petraia was THE MOST incredible meal they have EVER had.

Last night was my parents' last night in Italy and they spent the night at their favourite hotel in Florence, Antica Torre di via Tornabuoni. Via Tornabuoni is Florence's posh shopping street (Tiffany & Co, Gucci, etc.) and the hotel is as nice as you would expect from that area. I joined them in the evening for a buffet dinner on the rooftop terrace of the hotel (see pictures below).

Now they're gone and I'm facing a busy week at work! Well... not so much busy as tedious. I'm burning 20GB of documents and images onto DVD, and the computer is taking it's sweet time....

Ciao!

Graffiti in Lucca

Church in Lucca

My mom & John during their tour of Celle

My parents during their tour of Celle

My parents and their friends during their tour of Celle

View of Florence from Terrace of Antica Torre Tornabuoni

View of Florence from Terrace of Antica Torre Tornabuoni

Earthquake!

I know it's been a while since I posted... just sort of been waiting for something exciting to happen. 30 minutes ago I felt my first terremoto (earthquake)! So I guess that qualifies. According to my research, it was a magnitude of 3.6, so nothing dangerous, just pretty cool.

Yet Another Lovely Weekend

Out on the town :)

Yesterday after a miserable tour (half of the "very trendy" Italian participants clearly had no interest in being there) the September intern Carolina picked up Katie and I and took us into Pistoia. She showed us this GREAT bar where 5 euros gets you a glass of wine AND a plate which you may then proceed to pile with delicious snacky food from the bar buffet. (The plate itself is super cool.. one of those foam things that's shaped like an artist's palette with a hole on one side that holds your wine glass so you can actually hold both and have a hand free to eat and at the same time). Then at about 11pm we had some sandwiches at a very busy restaurant, sat on the patio, and had an all-around good time. Afterwards Carolina offered to let us stay at her place since it was too late to go back to Celle (the gatehouse people are usually in bed by about 10pm). Carolina has an awesome yellow lab named Wendy.

This morning we came back and have managed to squeeze in a bit of sunbathing. Now I'm heading back into Pistoia for dinner with my cousin David again. Sort of dreading this upcoming week... I'm going to be extremely busy with afternoon Italian tours nearly every day, plus some office work. Wednesday I've got the day off and I'm going to a hairdresser in Florence, so that will be fun, yet also an exhausting day.

Ciao tutti

The Cuz Does Italy

Wandering streets looking for somewhere to eat

My cousin David has arrived in Italy! It's his first time and I'm psyched to get to show him around a bit. Before arriving, he spent a few days in Switzerland and went canyoning, which sounds super intense. Now he's staying in Pistoia.

After I got some errands done in Pistoia I met up with him on Tuesday right after he arrived around 3:30pm. We found a nice little patio and had some great white wine. Then we had some terrible gelato (it was served at room temperature, had a bizarre texture, and after sitting out in the sun for 30 minutes, it hadn't melted at all... I'm terrified about what it may have been made of...). Then we tried to find somewhere to eat around 6pm, but, as Pistoia is not a tourist centre and therefore is a true example of "authentic" Italian life, no restaurant opens before 8. I refused to settle for crappy pizza once again, and we finally managed to locate a great restaurant that opened at 7:30 and they let us sit down a bit earlier. I had to explain that the last bus to my home leaves Pistoia at 8:10 so that's why I needed to eat early, however I didn't end up making the bus and I learned that the cab ride to my place is only about twelve euros.

But yes, back to our dinner. First of all, the menu was only in Italian and our awesome waiter translated the WHOLE thing for us word-for-word (I needed the translations for many things too, as it was a very fancy restaurant and I didn't recognize a lot of the Italian words and types of cheeses and meats they had). We both got crostini (toast) to start. Mine had a smokey sort of spanish cheese with whole peppercorns in it, plus prosciutto. David's had some sort of liver paté that he said was amazing. Then for a main course, I got beef from some region of Tuscany that is like their version of Kobe beef. It was incredible... so tender, simply done with just some salt, pepper and olive oil. David got tortellini filled with cheese and vegetables in a cream sauce. I'll definitely be going back to that place!

Yesterday I had a French morning tour which was a total disaster... the group of ANCIENT French people who showed up had promised they would do the whole 4-5 hour tour, but after an hour (40 minutes of which they spent in the bathroom) they said "we're going". Miranda was not happy, and I was frustrated that I'd spent more time making sure I knew the entire tour in French than they spent actually doing the tour.

In the afternoon I went back to Pistoia to hang out with David more. We went back to our new favourite wine place and relaxed and people watched for a few hours. Then Katie came into the city after her tour and the three of us went for dinner to this great restaurant called Home. Katie and I started with a simple pasta with cheese and black pepper, and then we split a steak (that was good but not as nice as the one the previous night). David had some sort of fish pasta and then a fish main course.

Katie and I caught a cab back and then had quite a magical, wildlife-filled trek up the driveway to our apartment. First of all, the forest around us was absolutely sparkling with fireflies, which was indescribably awesome. Then as we walked along a stone wall that borders the back pathway we take at night, we saw a big-ish creature running along the base of the wall. We were both like "Oh dear God, giant rat" but when I pulled out my cell phone to illuminate it, it was a big European Hedgehog! (See below pictures). Then I went into our bathroom and there was a fairly large lizard, which isn't scary at all because there are tons of them around, but there was something about it sitting on the bathroom wall with it's funny little feet with its bulbous little toes. I squealed for Katie to come see, and we were both looking at it, but then we moved the door for a split second (we essentially just blinked) and it was GONE! Must have been our bathroom spirit...

Today I have an English tour in the afternoon for a German art association and David is going to join, and then we'll probably hit up the chocolate shop next door. Then it's off to Florence tomorrow.

Ciao tutti!

Statue in Pistoia

In Piazza Duomo

Tower in Piazza Duomo

Giant group of people and children linking hands and dancing around a bush in Piazza Duomo

My incredible Tuscan Steak!

David with his pasta

My incredible daily breakfast - scrambled eggs with pancetta and shallots

Hedgehog!

First Glimpse of Pistoia

So Pistoia's pretty great... definitely better than I had expected! We didn't think there would be much going on on a Sunday, but in fact several places were open, and the central piazza was quite abuzz with some sort of performance going on (including some talented teenage dancers, some hilarious kids performing an epically dramatic number from Cats, and a very cool group of drummers). The market also had quite a few stalls, and I'll probably go back soon to buy some pesto and olio di pepperoncino (spicy oil).

The visit to Pistoia was also my first chance to get a nostalgic glimpse of Italian guys... unfortunately I wasn't prepared with a snappy Italian response to "I'd like a piece of that". Next time...

We only spent about 2 hours there, and I'm excited to go back and explore more... fortunately the bus wasn't difficult at all. But now back to the work week.

Below are some Pistoia pics. Enjoy!

I'm not quite sure what they put in Italian Chupa Chups... looks intense!

Primo Giro (First Tour)

Yesterday Katie and I decided to spend our afternoon doing a walk around the entire property to see all the art (or as much as we could). Today we'll be tagging along for our first official tour, with an English-speaking group (led by Miranda of course). There really are no words to describe how incredible this place is, and pictures don't do it justice either... (fyi, you can click on images to make them larger

Olive Orchard

Bird of Paradise

First Night

From the hall, looking through the kitchen to the bedroom

I made it! And it's beautiful! Above and below are some pictures of my apartment (which I'll be sharing with the other intern who arrives today) and our lovely view. I slept like a log after watching some episodes of 30 rock and Parks and Rec that I had downloaded to my computer before leaving, and now I feel quite refreshed. Unfortunately there was no hot water, but the plumber is fixing it now so I'll have a much needed shower tonight.

Once I arrived around 3pm yesterday I was able to settle in with my things and come to the office to use the wifi (oh glorious wifi!). Then, since I hadn't had a chance to get into town for groceries yet, I was able to come to the main house and the very sweet housekeepers, Elena and Lily, fed me very well, and then sent me back to the apartment (about  15 second walk from the main house) with some household staples (cleaning rags, dish soap, olive oil, and red wine).

More pics to come when I've seen more of this incredible property :)

My bed :)

View from apartment

Cute little kitchen

Bedroom

Getting there... Frankfurt Airport

Since I've got some time to kill at the Frankfurt Airport I figured I'd update. I managed to squeeze all my stuff into my (now very overweight) suitcase, paid 2 arms and a leg for overweight fees at Pearson, had the best wings ever at the Caseys in terminal 1, and hopped on my fairly uneventful 8-hour flight to Frankfurt. I must say Lufthansa left a lot to be desired in terms of leg room...

Now I'm at my gate in Frankfurt after an epic journey through this terribly signposted airport. I also stopped along the way for the worst sausage and stalest pretzel ever. Last time I was at this airport I had the most dreadful Ostrich steak... but to be fair, it may have been a bit ambitious of me to expect good ostrich from an airport. Regardless, my Diet Coke, Yogurt-covered Pretzels, and Maynard's Juicy Squirts are keeping me satisfied, and the über-hottie customs agent helped to brighten my day as well...

I guess I'll also take this opportunity to elaborate a bit more on who I am and what I'm doing in Italy, mostly for the other YIIP interns reading this whom I have not yet met. I'm halfway through a communications & culture MA at York, with a focus on media and culture. I did my undergrad in a joint program between U of T and Sheridan college and graduated with an HBA in Visual Culture & Communications, with a minor in French. Also during my undergrad, I did some Italian courses and spent a summer in Florence attending a language school... which has led me to where I am today: interning in Italy!

My internship is with the Gori Collection of Site-Specific Art, located about 15 minutes outside of Pistoia, which is a 40 minute train ride from Florence. Most of what I know about the organization and my role there is from the website and some minimal communication with my contact there, so I'm not certain of what to expect! I do know that my job will involve giving lengthy walking tours of the impressive property and the fantastic art works there (and yes, I have to do the tours in both English and Italian... eek!). I'm super excited though, and I'm also pumped to meet the other intern I'll be working and living with, who arrives tomorrow from the USA.

Other plans for my time in Italy involve meeting up with some friends and family who will be in the area, soaking up the sun, reading for pleasure (feel free to give me book suggestions!), shopping, eating well, aaaand so so so much more!

For now though, I think I need to do some more Italian studying. A più tardi :)