When in Rome....You Listen to Rick Steves! ;-)~

One of my best friends from college, Michelle, came to visit me in Italy. She had just finished medical school at USC, and was taking a break before graduation and her residency began. She is great to pal around with, and always up for an adventure! The poor thing was told the wrong directions by some guy on the train to my house, and arrived late - so naturally, I thought the worst until she showed up at my door!!

Her first Italian outing on her first night - a wine tasting with Pasquale at Cantine del Mare. Pasquale is SO into his wine - he makes you eat certain foods with particular wines, smell peppers then drink the wine then smell the peppers again, eat some mozzarella with another (I can hardly complain - bring on the mozz!)...he describes each one as if the wines were his children! (It is pretty fantastic, though, I'd have to say!) This is Michelle, Sondra, me, and Jenna yumming it up!


It was at this wine tasting that Michelle and I decided to attend the Submarine Ball that weekend with several friends. The guy writing the name cards knew me, but didn't know Michelle's last name... well, everyone knew she was there with ME! haha...


Side note - this place is in Naples and has some of the best chocolate and gelato, but has one of the most unfortunate names.
I just had to post this picture- why would anyone wear these pants? No less PAY for them! They look like... well, you know.

And yes, Sir, you're totally right. This IS what COOL looks like. haha, right.
We were able to spend time in Rome for a few days, and she was eager to show me her "Rick Steves' Italy Guide." Eager probably is an understatement. Every time I mentioned something we should see, Michelle would say, "Rick says we should see this first," or "Rick says this about that..." She cracks me up.


So, we're on the metro, heading to the Colisseum. Two feet away I spot an American (yes, they're spottable. Just look at the shoes.) He's holding a...yes, you guessed it.... a RICK STEVES Italy Guide TOO! So, the three of us start chatting, and he becomes our pal for the day! Luke is an airline pilot that only had a day or so in Rome before he had to fly back to the U.S. We had a great day seeing sights, posing with statues, reading Rick Steves' summaries in funny voices, eating some terrible tourist food, drinking wine in a nice bar right off the Piazza Navona - 'twas a great day!


I eventually succombed and read the book too in the Forum...



And the dreaded sign you see everywhere in Italy (if you're even lucky that they even post a sign)... "closed for restoration." Sometimes that's what it means, but usually it's more like, "too cheap to hire someone to guard it and the other guards are too lazy to walk over here to guard it either." But to those for whom a trip to Italy is a once in a lifetime opportunity, the sign really reads, "Hope you weren't waiting your entire life to see this, because it's not going to be open for a couple of years, so don't hold your breath."


The Colisseum...

Guys dress up like Romans so you can take "authentic" pictures with them... of course, they expect you to pay them for the service...


The Pantheon - one of my favorite spots in Rome! Truly absolutely breathtaking! :)


The next day we ventured to the Vatican to see St. Peters & the Vatican Museum... I thought it was only 5 miles of art... nope, just looked it up. It's almost NINE miles (I have way too many pictures, too). And they make you see ALL of the other art before you get to see the Sistine Chapel. They know what you're REALLY looking for! ;)


Standin' like an Egyptian.....


PARMA!



....I would post pictures of the Sistine Chapel, but we only took video! And our videos are too large to upload on here!! :(

When in Rome... You have to see the Pope, right?

One of my friends, Jason, researched how we could get tickets to a mass at the Vatican. We managed to get tickets to the Easter Vigil Mass at 9:00 p.m.



So, Jason (who is sometimes a bit TOO organized) thought we should start standing in line at 3 p.m. Yes. THREE P.M. Despite Easter Vigil Mass being held at St. Peters for probably hundreds of years, the Vatican still manages to fall victim to the chaos of Italy and have almost no plan or organization as to how those attending should line up. We just started filing into a line into a wooden-fenced-off area, kind of like a corral.


Of course, one would think that those individuals who have given their lives to the Lord, i.e. nuns, priests, monks, etc. would be in some sort of Catholic V.I.P. line. Sadly, no. The were thrown into the cattle round-up with the rest of us waiting in the hot sun that afternoon. There did seem to be some sort of a V.I.P. door area, but any members of the clergy that approached the gate guards were quickly shunned and directed to the corral with the rest of us peons.

There was a priest there that looked like he worked for the Priest Secret Service... if there is one. Are priests allowed to wear Oakleys?! ;)


We were surrounded by screaming Spanish kids, quiet adorable American girls reviewing their scripture, frat boys, ...you name the nationality and type, their people were probably there in that line with us. There were several in the group that insisted on chanting as if we were at a soccer match - their voices growing louder as the time for Mass approached.

As time wore on, we had to stand ever closer to each other. There were many line jumpers that hadn't waited in the sun since 3 p.m. and had various members of their groups hold their spots. At one point we were so squished, I'm not quite sure my feet were touching the ground! One would think that having a German pope would put fear in the hearts of those line jumpers!! Apparently, not so much.

Around 7:30 they opened the gates and I saw something I shall probably never see again - THE RUN OF THE NUNS 2009! Everyone was running FULL SPEED over the cobblestones! Everyone sped to the metal detectors, passed through, and then ran full pelt again into St. Peters. Everyone took their seats... a particularly adorable group of nuns rushed to the seats closest to the Pope's path to the altar, giddy with excitement!

The staff handed us each a small candle as we walked in. I BELIEVE the idea was that the pope and bishops light the candles from their candles as they walk towards the altar. Then everyone lights their candles from those, etc. Well, no one really "got this" and they started whipping out their lighters left and right, lighting them all in a random fashion. Then, about a minute later, the Vatican staff just flicked on the floodlights. Totally lost the moment.

Then as the pope passed up the aisle, two things happened. One, totally cute, the other, completely and utterly annoying. The aforementioned nuns were gazing longingly at the pope as he strode past them, just like those 50's movies where all the young girls swoon at Frankie Valli! They were so excited! :) On the other hand, the gaggle of Spanish youths that had nabbed the seats in front of us started STANDING ON THEIR CHAIRS to get a better look. It was like a circus - so upsetting. Mass shouldn't be a spectacle!

The service was nice, albeit long, Of course, I sang along with the hymns, my favorite part. I also particularly enjoyed that they had speakers read different parts of the service in different languages - it really was very unifying.



Hopefully by the end of my tour here I will have seen another Mass at the Vatican... ;)

My Apartment!

Ok, so this is just the view from the terrace of my apartment... I'll eventually post some pictures of the inside of my apartment... stay tuned! :) I look over the Bay of Pozzuoli, where you can see Sorrento to the left, Capri straight ahead, and to the right lie Monte di Procida (and Bacoli, where most of my coworkers live) and Ischia... and when it's really clear you can see Vesuvius on the left as well...looming in the distance!

Arati's Wedding! Harry Hamlin sighting! Tiny Pants!

Well... after a long hiatus, I'm back due to popular demand! I have been traveling to the United States and to various locations in Europe, and having a great time seeing old friends and making new ones!

The weekend of 23 April I was VERY excited to be attending the wedding of my law school best friend, Arati Bhattacharya, in Houston, Texas. On another fortunate note, one of my friends, John, who recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq (for 18 months!) had just arrived in Wiesbaden - just outside Frankfurt. I was able to pass through Frankfurt on my way to Houston. It was John's birthday, so of course I had to take the guy out to dinner to celebrate! In the summer of 2005, I worked for the Army JAG in Stuttgart, Germany, and John was my boss, and we have kept in touch ever since. During that summer I was able to visit my friend Kristin from college, who was working in Frankfurt. One evening we both had a craving for Thai food and happened upon Rama V (on Vilbeler Straße 32; tel. +49 69 21996488). The restaurant is wonderfully decorated, the staff is very pleasant and attentive, and the food….oh, the food! Yum! Anyway, back to the story… I was trying to surprise John, but I clearly had to tell him I was coming so he could pick me up at the airport! We had a great birthday dinner and talked and talked and talked, catching up on the past several years. He had worked with several of my justice school classmates while in Iraq, so we were able to exchange amusing stories! My flight was early the next morning, only about 12 hours later, and I was off to Houston!

Ahh Houston! A wave of humidity washed over me, reminding me of my home in Florida… Two of Arati’s friends were nice enough to pick me up at the airport – Diya & Natasa. Both of them were so friendly – we were quickly laughing and talking in the car and then on our way to the Hotel Derek to change for the pre-wedding festivities!

Barrett, Arati & Me

Arati’s father is a resturanteur and his food was amazing! I’m a total spice-wimp (to which any of my Texan friends can attest), but the food was just spicy enough, the sauces were rich and flavorful, and I simply couldn’t get enough! (I was going to be having my navy physical fitness test the next week, so I was a bit paranoid about eating so much tasty food – especially when I could tell it wasn’t exactly low calorie! However, there aren’t many good international restaurants in Naples, so I knew I had to get it while the gettin’ was good!) We danced and danced and danced and danced! Arati was my crazy dance buddy in law school, and of course, we continued our tradition that evening!

Truly jetlagged, I didn’t stay up too late, knowing that there was going to be more dancing the next day! That Saturday, we took part in the ritual before the wedding ceremony in which Anu (her now-husband) rides in on a horse!! From my understanding, it is to symbolize the groom being brought to the house of the bride (symbolically the foyer of the Hotel Derek…) We danced alongside the horse, and the two families met inside. They exchanged garlands, placing them on each other’s necks, celebrating the unity of the two families.

Anu - the Groom

It was also a mini law school reunion! I was able to see several of my friends from a few years ago, and hear about everyone’s families and careers.

Christine, Me, Chanel, Kelly & Liz

We all sat next to each other during the wedding ceremony – truly happy that our two friends had found each other and made the ultimate decision to get married. Arati and Anu are two of the most truly generous human beings I have ever met – it was such an honor to be part of the celebration! What made the whole day even more exciting – Arati had loaned us some traditional Indian garb to wear that day! I had such a fantastic time that the hours flew by! We ate (of course! YUM!) and danced and danced and danced! I like to think that I burned off all the calories I ate, but I didn’t even come close!! ;-)

Natasa & Me

Arati - the Bride & Me (doesn't she look GREAT?!) :)

The day after the wedding we enjoyed MORE food at a tasty brunch at Arati’s father’s restaurant and had one last meal before we parted ways. Next time you visit an Indian restaurant, I would highly recommend that you indulge in a “Mango Selassie” – it’s like a mango smoothie…it was so good I just wanted to bathe in it. Mmmmmm!

So, after the brunch, my new buddy Natasa (one of the best hotel roommates I could ever ask for!) and I went to the mall… had some tasty Starbucks (yes, yes, I know, feel free to chastise me for drinking Starbucks. Too bad, people. It's about 100x tastier than the everyday espresso here - no one around me serves Illy, only Kimbo and some other not so tasty kind, and no that's not a travesty to say if it's totally true)... and I saw HARRY HAMLIN (and his wife… Lisa Rinna). I have loved Harry Hamlin ever since the first time I saw Clash of the Titans… (http://kol-knightlydelights.blogspot.com/2009/04/harry-hamlin-revealed-clash-of-titans.html)

I’m not sure how old I was when I saw it, but I couldn’t have been that old… I couldn’t believe it – we walked right by them! He still looks good and she still looks like she’s received a little too much help from her neighborhood surgeon wielding a tube of collagen. I almost wanted to rush back and get Natasa to take my picture with him, but I figured, if they’re hiding out in Houston in jeans and t-shirts and her with no makeup on, that probably means they really don’t want to be bothered. And even though I’ve loved Harry Hamlin since he was fighting the Krakon and saving Andromeda (probably before Lisa Rinna even MET him, so I can call dibs, right?), I thought I’d let them be. I’ll just have to live with the memory! ;-) While at the mall I made several successful purchases – one pair of throwaway white pants for Pamplona (where I would be heading in July), and some jeans.

For some odd reason, ALL women’s pant styles in Italy presume that ladies here have legs like little toothpicks. For the most part that is true, and you always hear everyone say, “There really aren’t many overweight Italians despite the fact they eat lots of cheese all of the time.” Well, most Italians aren’t overweight, but I’ve definitely seen my fair share of “muffin tops,” one of my particular pet peeves. Girls here SQUEEEEEEZE themselves into jeans that barely fit their thighs, which leaves all of their chub to be compressed upwards, creating a splendid spare tire perched on top of their designer jeans. At some point I will be compiling collections of both "muffin tops," and the ever-present-in-the-summer SPEEDOS! ;)

Anyway, purchasing some pants in Houston where they have regular people sizes was nice. It’s normally too depressing to go pant/jeans shopping here! I could go on for days and days talking about the fashion here, but I’ll just leave it by posting some of my favorite pictures spotted in Rome…

I think I found the grown-up Pippi Longstocking...and she lives in Rome.

It's Mr. Rogers's dorkier Italian cousin... the one that didn't get his own T.V. show.

This one isn't so much his clothes, but that hair. No, there was no fierce wind blustering through the piazza. He blow dried and gelled it like that.

Golden Boots? Really.

They also make some hideous furniture as well... What IS this? An Indiana Jones netting set of designer leather rocks? A pirate ship baked potato? Whatever it is, it certainly doesn't look very comfortable.


And I just thought this was kind of funny... this was a phrasebook in a tourist shoppe in Rome. It has been there since BEFORE I WAS BORN. I think it said copyright 1973 or something. Guess those Swedes either (1) don't care to learn Italian, OR (2) they're so prepared when they come to Italy that they already know enough of the language to get around! I look forward to meeting bunches of Swedes in August when I go to Kicki's cottage in Henan!

AFTERSHOCK!!

So just when I think the earthquake is over, the AFTERSHOCK hits! I'm sitting on my bed yesterday evening, around 7:45 p.m. ish munching on my buffalo mozzarella and tasty cherry tomatoes, and the bed starts shaking, plate glass in the windows bangs back and forth a bit (don't even TALK to me about Italian construction!), and about 10 seconds later it's all over.

Fortunately, I was awake for this one, so I was fully aware of what was going on. If I needed to take action I would have been much more ready to do so than I was at 3:30 a.m.! I sent a text to a friend asking if he felt it, but he said he was in the pool....so he was blissfully unaware, obviously! People in downtown Naples felt it, but those in Bacoli/Monte di Procida didn't, interestingly enough.

The poor city of L'Aquila is just rescuing individuals from the 6.3 earthquake that rocked the city on Monday, then come a fresh wave of aftershocks on Tuesday. It's almost Easter, one of the eventful holidays in Roman Catholic Italy and these individuals have to deal with being pulled out of rubble!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30083979

If you check out www.usgs.gov (which I fully don't expect you to do, but the nerd that I am, I now check it out for the latest seismic activity), it shows multiple aftershocks. I'm surprised I didn't feel more than I did.

However, the fact that I had a spectacular three-hour-seafood dinner with a great group of friends (that I think included eating sea monkeys, or what looked like sea monkeys in my opinion) in Monte di Procida, and that I'm now sitting on my exquisite terrace facing the water with the smell of Nutella crepes wafting up from the cafe below seems to make it all seem a bit better.... ;)

EARTHQUAKE!!!!

...3:30 a.m... 5 April 2009... Jocelyn's first Napoli earthquake. Hopefully the first and the only! This morning an earthquake hit the town of L'Aquila, approximately 60 miles east of Rome. I'm located in one of the "suburbs" of Naples, just a bit northwest that is covered by a light turquoisey-blue blob in the map above.

I was sound asleep and the rumbling actually woke me up! I could feel these weird shifty vibrations for a bit, and remember thinking, "Wow, that must be a really big truck going by in the street for me to feel it!" Yeah, well, not so much a truck as the earth shifting underneath me! I thought I must be crazy for thinking it's an earthquake and that no one would believe me at work when I told them I felt it. However, as soon as I got to the gym this morning CNN was showing footage of the poor destroyed small town! So, I felt a bit better that I wasn't imagining things. But then that quickly turned to... great, I leave California managing only two small tremors, possible tornadoes in Texas, brave an almost-hurricane in Mississippi, now I'm dealing with earthquakes AND a volcano in Naples! THE FUN NEVER STOPS!!! I'm hoping that earthquake wasn't a harbinger of doom for Vesuvius erupting again!

Fortunately, no damage to the building, just a bit of shaking. The shaking only lasted approximately 20 seconds from what I remember - just enough time for me to worry about what I should do, and then it stopped...

BUFFALO MOZZARELLA!!!

Paestum

BUFFALO!!

As I’m sure most people reading this blog know, Buffalo Mozzarella (mozzarella di buffala) is one of my favorite foods. I have been to the Paestum area of Italy 3 or 4 times (there are really nice temple ruins as well as good quality Greco-roman replica vases) and have had the mozzarella, but had never seen a buffalo. Mom and I had grown to be a bit suspicious of whether there really WERE any buffalo, or if it was just another Italian way to sucker us into buying something. My office mate, Jason, told me that he'd seen some buffalo, but I wasn't about to take anyone's word for it until I laid my OWN eyes on the animals. Well, last weekend I SAW THE BUFFALO!! My friend Luke was gracious enough to invite me on a group trip to Tenuta Vannulo (http://www.vannulo.it/) right outside the Paestum area. It’s an organic buffalo mozzarella, yogurt, gelato, and milk maker, and we had a great guided tour. Among the group of us who speak Italian, I think we managed to understand at least 85% of what the tour guide was telling us…

So, we were able to see through a glass window how they make the mozzarella by pulling and reshaping it multiple times. The guys stick their hands (no, Mom, they don't use gloves. As if that's a big surprise) in this scalding hot vat of water to get out the globs, put them in another vat, then re-transfer them to the original vat... it's all very confusing and labor intensive! They use the final glob to make a braided mozzarella, as apparently it’s a bit tougher than the earlier pieces. And OF COURSE, free samples per tutti!…

The best part (well, besides eating mozzarella and gelato) was seeing the buffalo. They live in a sort of large open metal shack, and are milked for about 265 days per year. The rest of the time they’re let out into the fields on the property to mill around and more than likely eat grass, I’m assuming. Our lovely tour guide told us that they give all of the buffalo names (which sound much classier in Italian) such as “couch,” (divan) “artichoke,” (carciofo) “Berlusconi” (the prime minister of Italy), and we were informed, however, that they don’t have an “Obama” yet, much to our surprise.

One of the buffalo had just given birth two hours before we had arrived, so we were able to see a baby buffalo as well (it was about the size of a full-grown Labrador, so not so “baby,” really).

During the tour, our guide showed us an old stool that the milkers would use back in the day… they would strap it around their waist and go from buffalo to buffalo, squat, get up, next, squat, get up….

But the most interesting thing we learned about was the milking machines. They’ve started the newer buffalo on this machine that looks fairly similar to a small car wash (the older buffalo prefer the hand milking method, apparently!). All the buffalo have a necklace with a microchip in it that the milking machine apparatus is able to read. They are milked at most three times per day, and the buffalo are allowed to just wander over to the machine when they want and get milked. If they’ve already done their three times per day, the machine diverts them out, and won’t let them be milked again. The machine is able to keep track of how much milk was given by that buffalo, when they were last milked, what teat was last milked, etc. It was quite amazing. After each buffalo, the machine self-cleans, and then permits the next buffalo to enter. If the machine senses there is something wrong with the milk, it does not dump it in with the good milk, it funnels it out, and the sick buffalo is corralled into a sort of infirmary area so it can be taken care of. One wouldn’t think the buffalo would be lining up to get milked, but there were several buffalo traffic jams when we were there – we couldn’t believe it!

But the funniest part of the day was one particular buffalo… In the corral area they had two sort of car wash scrubbers where the buffalo could scratch their itches. One particular buffal was just goin’ to town on one of the scrubbers and wouldn’t let any of the other buffalo take a turn. Every few minutes another buffalo would try and get in on the action, but this one buffalo was having none of it. Either he’s totally selfish, or he really had a lot of itches to scratch…

We ended the day with a great meal and a stroll around Paestum (then a big nap later)!