AK Traveler

Last week.

2008-05-29T16:11:00.004+02:00

We left for Alexandria early in the morning in our own little Van. I slept in the back after watching the scenery for a while and we got there in about 2 and a half hours. Alexandria was a very old looking city (which i think is the trend in egypt...) and has lots of tiny streets and markets. Everywhere people had goods laid out for sale from big burlap bags overflowing with just picked cotton to household goods. It was a very busy city and it took us a while to navigate through traffic that included quite a few donkey pulled carts and camels. Our first stop was an old greek tomb site. Our guid informed us that is was one of the few sites that had both greco,roman art and mythology and Egyptian. The mix was very interesting. The site was two holes that had been completely covered until this century and was only discovered when a donkeys foot slid into the ground. taking the stairs down the large wholes you enter a huge tomb complex. Tunnels ran in all directions and there were burial alcoves for dozens and dozens. there were stone rooms with hieroglyphics that were a really cool mix of egyptian and greco roman. We walked around there for a while but couldnt go down to the third level because it had flooded. After leaving that site we went to Pompei's pillar. This is a large obelisk that myth has it is where Pompei's head was placed after he was defeated in his fight with Julias caesar. It was tall and large and underneath were flooded catacombs. We were told that people swim in from the ocean through tunnels and explore underneath. After Pompei's we went to the ocean front and saw where the great lighthouse used to be. It was a huge space, no wonder it was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Right next to it there was an old fortress that sat out in the sea. We went inside and walked all around it but to be honest we were just ready to swim. That day it was just casey and I and we were looking forward to swimming in the mediterraenian. The water was an amazing blue, green and the sand was white. We were going to go to a big hotels beach where foreigners swim but it was too expensive as our guide was kind of uncomfortable taking us to an Egyptian used beach. That was our only option so we went anyway. We saw why he was a little hesitant. Almost all the women (besides 2) were in body swimsuits and some wore the full face cover in the water. After all the hassling Casey got just walking down the street she decided to just swim in a shirt and shorts. We laid out on the beach for a long time and swam some. The water was really nice and warm. After a while we met back up with our guide and headed back to Cairo. Coming back into Cairo we passed right by the Giza pyramids, which is a nice landmark to have. Because it was our last night we had signed up for one of the many options the tour offers, which was a dinner cruise on the nile. We had a few hours so we walked around the neighborhood (the syrian embassy was right next to our hotel, and has very friendly guards) then went to our rooms to change. We were going with a couple other people and we all headed out around 1030. Slowly going through the crazyiest traffic in the world, where people dont use signals, lanes or traffic lights they just honk to get the attention of whoever they are cutting off, we made it there ontime. The ship was much nicer that I expected and had strings of lights going down the sides. This part of Cairo was very nice, with all kinds of nice hotels lining the Nile. We had to wait a while and we happened to share the ship with a wedding party that was having its reception there. We were treated to the brides entrance (she wore a low cut white dress, it was explained that this was the one day in her life where she would be allowed to wear what she wanted) which had trumpets and other horns and singing and the arabic yell which I didn't know was real. It was really cool to see and they all looked like they were having a great time. Inside the ship it was full of people and very nicely laid out. Right next to us was a long table covered with deserts, salads, dips and other foods. The hot food was in the room next door. We were seated and after a while another group of four older men was added. I started talking to one and discovered that they were Iraqi. I felt a little awkward and the whole night felt like I should apologize for whats happening to his country. We talked for a little while and he was a really nice ,intelligent guy and I enjoyed talking to him. He didnt say much about Iraq except that he had a daughter that used to go to school there and that he had to send for her because it might be good there for a short period of time but it keeps getting worse and he couldnt leave her there. Sharing a table with a man who's country mine has invaded was a pretty different situation. The fact that they were all gentlemen made it easy and not awkward. Once they announced the food was ready I headed to the hot food table first. My mistake, I was a rookie. First of all I dont think they use lines here. Everyone would just cut eachother and it made it so you had to push your way forward. Not something an american is used to where cutting in line is a serious offense. When I came back from getting my hot food I saw that the entire cold food/ desert table had been wiped out. I still had a good meal . After dinner I went to the top deck and looked at Cairo as we floated down the Nile. We had some in cruise inter tainment so I headed back down. First was a bellydancer (which caused many women to remove themselves from the room) who had some crazy abs and did an ok job. She pulled some people up to dance with her, including Casey which was pretty funny. After that was a duo of a midget and a male dancer who had some traditional clothes on and did some crazy things while he spun in circles for about 15 minutes. The next morning I packed and met casey downstairs where our tour organizer was. He gave us a couple shirts and helped us get our luggage to the car. The tour went great, everything was smooth and easy. Egypt top view is what the tour company is called. Pretty inexpensive. We took the 45 minute drive to the airport and then had to wait another hour or so before we could check in. Security and airports in general go so much faster outside the US. We got on our Alitalia flight and a couple hours later were in Rome. Egypt was amazing and Im looking forward to going back. From the rome airport we took the train to the main trainstation. I was going to Florence and casey was flying to Spain so after we found our trains we parted ways. Alone again I got into florence around midnight. It was great to be back on last time. Checking my email in rome I had didcovered that the person I was supposed to stay with didnt get their place yet. I was expecting to have to sleep at the trainstation (it happens once in a while) but walked around to all the places my friends hang out at. As most people are gone already i struck out until my last stop: Space Electronica. Outside was my good friend Moe (he works as a promoter with another of our friends, youssef). He gave me his keys so I could shower and drop my stuff off (I had been carrying all my luggage around Florence). That was a life saver. I went back to space and hung out with them for a while. I stayed with Moe until I had to fly to Germany. In my last few days in Florence I did some of my favorite things like; hang out on the Duomo steps, walk around the city, have cappucino and espresso and all that good stuff. This one cafe in piazza republica is world famous for its coffee and cocktails, so i had both. I usually have cappucino there inside at the bar (much cheaper) but this time, since it was my last day. I sat outside and had a cappucino (they really are excellent) then a while later ordered a cocktail. Because it was hot out i settled on a French Mojito. When it came out it was in a very large tall glass and had a large bunch of mint stuck on top, along with strawberrys. A french mojito is champagne, rum, strawberries (mashed) then all the normal mojito ingredients. Pricey but very nice. My flight from Germany was also very quick and easy and once there I took a bus to the town scott lives in. Him and his mom met me at the bus stop and took me home. Once there I was confronted with the two bags i had him take up for me before i went to Egypt (his family drove him up from Italy) and had to figure how to combine them with the 3 bags i had with me. I think Im going to have to pay more money to get home.... The last couple days we've been walking around and enjoying Germany. I leave here the 1st.

Til Now -

2008-05-23T14:13:00.003+02:00

Last week of school went by pretty quickly. I had to take finals, written and practical, pack up, send stuff home, plan for what I was going to do after and show friends around. We had the going away party on thursday at a counts house, the same one as first semesters welcoming party and it was once again very nice. I wore the Italian suit my mom got me when she was here and had great food like prosciutto, cheeses, deep fried basil cheese and vegetables and lots of other appetizers. Wine started flowing at around 9:30 and everyone had a good night although we were all saying goodbye. I met some great people and made connections all over the world which is very cool. Afterwards we went out to a club for a little bit and continued the celebration. The next day I got my ticket to Egypt with casey and a couple other kids from my school also decided to come along. I went with Egypt because of a couple reasons: one, its Egypt! and two Its alot cheaper to travel and do things there than around Europe. So I finally knew what I was going to do after school which was: Egypt for a week then Florence for a couple days then Germany to stay with Scott for a couple days then Anchorage to see family then home to Fairbanks. Friday night we had our last night at The Old Stove, which is a really relaxed pub near Piazza Republica we would all (alot of my school) go to after class or work or before going out. It has a large outside seating area and is in a great setting. This is where the real goodbyes went down. Alot of people cried but we had a fun last night together. Saturday I had to go early to the Mail box place to send some goodies my mom wanted and all the clothes and stuff I couldn't fit in my suitcases. 156 Euros! That was a killer. After that I took most of the day to walk around Florence and say a goodbye. Im definitely going to miss my baby. So many things Im going to miss. Ill do a list one of these days. All packed up and ready to go to Egypt I organized one last dinner with the remains of our gang at semolina. There was about 12 that were able to show up and we had pizza and calzones as our last dinner. Casey's friend left that night and we met Casey at the train station the next morning for our 5:50 train to Rome. To save money we took the long slow regional train. We made it to Roma Termini then took the leonardo express to the DaVinci airport. Going through airports is so much easier and quicker in Europe and we were through with plenty of time. We boarded our Alitalia flight and had an alright in-flight meal during the 2:30 minute trip. Flying into Cairo I could see the green surrounding the Nile turn into a golden desert, just like on the maps! After landing I felt the hit of hot, dry air. It had to be about 90. Right after the gate and before the baggage claim we were met by a man holding the name of our party. Samuel was the one who ran the tour group we were in and he guided us through the Visa process (15$) and helped me exchange some American money (from Grandma for my birthday!). The exchange rate is 5.35 Egyptian pounds to the dollar. So with a wad of bills in my pocket I breezed through customs and into the hot sun. Definitely like no other heat. This was Africa hot. We were led to an air-conditioned van with a bodyguard and Samuel up front. Driving into Cairo I was shocked by the craziness of the traffic and I didn't think that was possible after being in Italy. We were informed that there were no street lights in Cairo and that no one used the lines in the street, if there were any. And this is in a city which we have been told has 27, 22 or 18 million people. That is insane! Here they use there horns like we use turn signals. Constant beeping. Because they dont use lanes they beep to let people know where they are, where they are turning or just to beep. The traffic was literally controlled chaos. (with little control) We drove through the vast city that was teeming with people and old looking apartment complexes. The buildings would look so run-down but then the roofs would be covered with satellite dishes. One thing that surprised me was that most of the ads and billboards are in english with arabic on the bottom. We crossed over the Nile which is very large and seems to have a bridge every half kilometer. Sailboats, dinner cruises and all kinds of little water crafts zigzagged across the brown Nile. Right after the Nile we turned on a side street and pulled up to our hotel “King Hotel” a 3 star that looked pretty nice. The front desk man took our luggage to each of our rooms and I (before I got the hang of the money) tipped him 2 pounds. he tried to explain the money a little but I didn't understand then. When I talked to my friends we realized that I had tipped him about 40-cents. Others being tired Casey and I walked around for a while, which is when the “Abdul” scam was attempted. If you dont remember Abdul check out the blog from when my dad and I went to Tunisia in January. We were looking at a Kabob place and this very over weight Egyptian came up and told us about the Kabobs and was very friendly. When we told him we were just going to walk for a while he asked if he could come because his doctor told him he should walk more to help his back pain. He said he was on a special diet and had to be more active (while he was chewing on bread with jam). I groaned to myself the second he said “lets stop in here real quick, I want you to meet my brother”. This after one block of walking. We let him guide us in and we shook hand with a man that did not look anything like him and was much older. He proceeded to give us a lesson on how he had “real” Papyrus and how to spot fakes. We got out as quick as possible and left the Kabob guy behind. We walked through the streets which, because there are no street lights you have to just decide when you want to cross and have faith that the people are going to stop. It really is like that. There are no cross walks or breaks in the road for people to walk across and these are busy 2, 3 lane roads. You look for a little gap and confidently start walking and then start walking which sets off the honking to another level. Another thing that they honk about is every taxi that goes by will honk, pull up beside you and ask if you want ‘taxi”. Everytime. We finally made it to the river and walked across a bridge. The pollution here is terrible and after the walk my throat was hurting. Once across the bridge we walked some more and now were in the section where they try to sell boat rides so we got to hear about boat rides for the next half hour and I dont think “no” is in there vocabulary. I understand they are poor and trying to make a living but because they refuse to stop asking I will never buy from them. Once in a while Ill find one that will and Ill usually get something from them but it takes alot to keep you patience. Wait until I write about Luxor. That was the worst. Anyway the scenery was great and beautiful but we headed back to meet up for dinner at the hotel. We ate pretty cheaply and then went to the rooftop cafe where I had sheesha - the tobacco from a water hookah. The view was great from the 10th story with alot of the building of downtown Cairo lit up with neon lights. We went to our rooms and went to bed as we had to head out early in the morning. I woke up that monday to a crazy heat. It was about 7 AM and the sun was out and beating down. I had kicked of all my sheets and was still hot. I got ready and went down to breakfast which was pretty similar to what they served in Tunisia but with some meet and cheese, not just bread and jam. We all assembled in the lobby and headed out to the first museum. Our guide was Ahmed and we were in the same van as the day before. The museum was an outdoor one so I put on the sunscreen and brought one of my water bottles with me. There were large statues of Pharaohs and kings made out of limestone, granite and other stone. We learned the meaning of foot-placement, crowns, and some of the hieroglyphics. There was a sphinx that was pretty cool and large statues covered in symbols. I really liked the hieroglyphics and it was pretty surreal seeing them in person IN Egypt. The one indoor part of the museum held a huge 40 foot statue of Rames (I dont remember which Ramses) that was really cool. The leg was broken so it was laying down but it was still impressive. Almost everything at the museum was about 4-5 thousand years old. After that museum we all headed to see Sakkara, the first pyramid ever built. It had a huge columned entry building that led to a courtyard with building scattered around. Amazing how well the desert keeps everything preserved. The pyramid wasn't incredibly huge but was still very interesting. There were Egyptians everywhere trying to sell things or get you to take pictures with them. After walking around the desert for a while we got back into a van and went to the Egyptian Papyrus museum where we learned how papyrus was made and got a tour. I got a little roll for 50EL (10$). From there we headed to the real highlights : Giza. We drove up a road right on the outskirts of Cairo and the pyramids were just right there. I thought they were way our in the desert but they were very close to the city. We pulled up to the great Pyramid, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Usually most things you see all the time in pictures and movies are smaller and less impressive in person but this was the opposite. It was incredibly huge. Amazing and powerful. Each block weighs tons and were dragged from a site down river. From there we walked up to the other two huge pyramids (although smaller than the great pyramid) and went in a little bit on one and got to climb on one as well. It was so hot that the sweat evaporates of the skin but it was so amazing the heat didn't even bother me. At the hill above all three there is a little site where Egyptians sell souvenirs and camel rides. There were about 50 camel to choose from. Casey and I were the only ones interested so we had the guide choose an honest camel guy. A little kid who turned out to be 11 had me get on one and “lean way back” In a motion like riding a bull the camel jerked halfway up then paused, leaving me at a very awkward angle then finally jerking all the way up. The kid alternately referred to himself as “michael Jackson” and Mickey Mouse: and continuously asked “happy?” “happy” It was an amazing experience, riding camels through the desert towards the pyramids of Giza. The camels were a little feisty and didn't listen very well but rode pretty smoothly. Our people met us at the bottom and we drove down to where the Sphinx is. Build out of a single block to guard the pyramid sites it has a head of a man and body of a lion. Ou guide, surprised that I knew the french were to blame for the missing nose explained that when Napoleon came to Egypt he had the nose shot off and proclaimed that he had broken the nose of every Egyptian. The Sphinx is down below the pyramids and had a complex of ruins right next to it. although the facade is broken off the Sphinx the shape has help up amazingly well. We drove back to the hotel and had dinner there before waiting for the train to Luxor, which was scheduled to leave at 10pm. We had another guide take us to the train-station. Mohammed, who couldn't keep a straight face when talking about the train. “Its a nice train” laughter. “Youll be able to sleep” laughter. “Its the first class train” laughter. But he was a really nice happy guy and was just being goofy, not rude. The train showed up an hour late and we went onto our cars. Our travel partners in the next car and we were in seats near the front of the next one. It was an overnight train and we were in seats about the size of first class Airplanes but not nearly as nice. The train was pretty dirty and the bathrooms disgusting but I didn't mind. Im in Egypt and Im not picky. I grew up in a cabin without running water. One strange thing was right after the train started a guard handed the man in front of me a MP5 machine gun with 2 clips attached and he just set it in his lap. Every few minutes during the train ride we would all of a sudden jerk around and look back at the rest of the car. I didn't know whether to feel very safe or very unsafe. We got into Luxor about 2 hours late and the heat there made Cairo seem like Alaska. It felt like you had to move through solid air and breathing in dried your mouth out. The wind was like the wind out of a hairdryer and not a relief at all. Our guide was there and picked up in a little taxi. Luxor was very different that Cairo. Dirt roads and donkey carts were everywhere. The building looked much poorer and not as well kept. He drove us to our hotel and helped us check in. We had a scheduled tour at 4 and it was about 11:30 so we had some free time. We each went to our rooms and put our stuff up then met in the lobby. Suntan lotion applied we headed out. The heat was incredible. Ive never felt anything like it. Walking past a construction site we saw young kids ages 11-16 working in the heat with no shoes shoveling gravel. Pretty powerful image to see in person. I could barely handle walking in the heat, let alone working in clouds of dust shoveling rocks all day. We walked downtown and were greeted by carriage after carriage with the man saying “carriage, you want carriage” or some variation of that. Like the ones in cairo but much worse because there were hundreds of carriage drivers plus taxi drivers on the road side then boat drivers on the Nile side asking about boat rides. So every 30 second you had another guy that wouldn't take no for an answer trying to sell you something you didn't want. We walked to the main temple that was in Luxor (formerly Thebes) which was right in the middle of town near the Nile. Stone structures and columns mixed with statues of gods went on for blocks and were covered by hieroglyphics. It was so hot we stopped in the neighborhood mcdonalds for the air-conditioning and learned that it was a 4 star restaurant. Summoning up the resolve to face the endless attempts at hustling we headed back to the hotel to meet up with the tour guide. When they came we told them that because w had already walked to the Temples we just wanted a little tour by car of the city. They obliged, showing us some places to eat. We actually ended up eating at KFC, a fact I dont feel bad about because I haven't eaten American fast food in a long time. Plus alot of the places were too expensive. I went back to my room as we had an 8 in the morning start. The next morning we met up for breakfast in the hotel, which was much better than the earlier hotel. A full breakfast buffet was there along with a guy there to make custom omelets. We met the tour bus outside and headed across the nile to the west bank where the Valley of the Kings and other sites are. Going into the west bank it got very rural with fields of crops and tiny shanty villages. Ladies carrying huge loads on their heads and kids herding animals. The palm trees and green slowly melted into desert as we were about to enter the hottest place I have every been. The ancient Egyptians created the valley of the kings on the west bank because as part of their worship on the sun and Ra (sun god) they saw that as the sun set in the west the west side was for death and departure. There are over 30 tombs dug into the valley including Ramses 1-4 and king tutankhaman. Getting out of the van at about 11 it felt like stepping into an oven. The guide said it was about 39-40c and it felt even hotter because we were in a white and red sand valley that seemed to bottle in the heat. We got a little history lesson then were allowed to choose 3 of the tombs to see. Our guide recommended Ramses 1,3 and 4 so we headed into those. Going under the ground was even hotter with the added humidity sucking even more energy out. The Hieroglyphics that quickly appeared quickly made you forget about the heat. The other symbols that I had seen had been carved into stone and small but now as I descended into the 1st tomb life size paintings of gods and pharaohs sprung to life in vibrant reds, blues, greens and other colors. It went on for a while with different chambers. It was incredible how well preserved these millennia old picture stories were. I kept thinking to myself “I am in Egypt in a tomb looking at real hieroglyphics”. Each tomb had something different. The first had a large sarcophagus, the second the best, most extensively preserved hieroglyphics and the third the largest. It was a very cool experience. Coming out I took some pics of the area and we headed out. That day we were in a larger group of about 12 people. Next we went to Queen Hatshepsut’s temple and got to walk around in the desert a little bit. This temple was large and had two sets of steps leading up to a courtyard surrounded by columns. Here it had become so hot I had to wrap my shirt around my head. I had already gone through about 3 big bottles of water. Next we saw the colossi of memnon which were two large guardian statues that were pretty cool. After that we were finished with the tour for the day. I stopped by my room for my laptop and we went to mcdonalds for the free wireless which I used to catch up and try to buy my ticket to germany but I am not able to access anything from here. Wellsfargo, use my credit card or anything. After internet and ice cream we went back to the hotel where we went straight to the rooftop pool. The water felt great and it was still very hot. I got to talking with a couple guys who we ended up hanging out with for the rest of the night. One was named Marc who works in hollywood and has done some of my favorite movies the other was Logan, a canadian who works for an oil company. We got along really well and they were nice enough to buy a couple rounds of beers (stella an Egyptian beer that wasn't bad, especially in a pool on a hot day). We talked in the pool for about 3 hours then decided to head out to eat. Marc had a really cool story about how he got into hollywood and we shared alot of the same interests. Hes about 40 and gets to travel around the world for most of the year. Casey came with us from the pool and we found a little place that served Egyptian food. The food quality was pretty bad but we had fun getting to know them and smoked a good sheesha. After that we went back to the hotel and caught our car to the trainstation and another hell train back to cairo. This one took about 11 hours and was filled with snoring egyptians with their bare feet up and loud yelling in arabic on their cell phones at 8 in the morning. But what are you gonna do? When we were picked up we checked into our rooms and went straight to the first sight, the Citadel. Build as a fortress a few hundred years ago it has the most famous mosque of egypt. It was my first time inside a mosque and it was very nicely done. We all had to take our shoes off and the ladies had to cover themselves with blankets they provided. After the Citadel and a little lesson on history and the religion we headed over to the Egyptian museum which has over 100,000 pieces. It was really cool and filled with artifacts, statues and stone tablets covered in hieroglyphics. The highlight was the second floor which was completely things they found in “King Tut’s” tomb (and its a big floor). There were 5 Huge wooden box like cases covered in gold and each went inside of the other, then there were 3 gold sarcophagus’s that went into each other then into the smallest box and finally gold to cover the entire mummy along with countless pieces of gold and precious stone jewelry. The highlight was the darth vader like head piece which was 25 pounds of gold inlaid with jewels. That was just for the body. There were all types of gold artifacts and other things that had been placed in his tomb for when he was resurrected. After the museum we asked the guide to take us to a schwarma place and they took us to a supposedly famous one right by our hotel. It was really good and we actually went back twice today, for pizza then for dinner. Thats it up to now. Tomorrow we all go to Alexandria and the famous library and some roman ruins. Hopefully some beach time too. Any questions, please ask. Ill put pics up for this tomorrow.

Pics

2008-05-22T16:37:00.006+02:00

Workng on the travel blog but heres some pics to hold you over. Going to Alexandria tomorrow. Just got back from Thebes which is now called Luxor.

Egypt

2008-05-18T18:50:00.003+02:00

So I made it! Train from Florence to rome at 6AM then flight to Egypt. Arrived and was escorted through customs and into a car that took us to the hotel where we got our rooms. Firstly I did not know that Cairo had 27 million people. It is incredibly big and busy with amazing old buildings and many buildings that look as if they are about to collapse. The nile is huge and we walked along it for a while. The air is pretty bad but there was a wind so that helped a little bit. Has some similarities to Tunisi but Tunisi had a large French influence while Cairo is alot more like what I thought Africa would be like. Someone already tried to pull the "Abdul" con but I knew what was happening as soon as he said he wanted to show me his brothers shop. Left hi behind quickly. Alot more women in full burkas here, even black gloves and cloth over any exposed area. Food looks and smells excellent. Our hotel has a restaurant on top of the 10th floor thats open until 1AM so I will get to chill and look out at the city. Tomorrow we head to the pyramids!

Closing out

2008-05-16T22:21:00.004+02:00

Its hard to write alot when Im not traveling. Mostly been doing just the daily routine- with a couple trips to the beach and a stop in Rome as the exceptions. The last two weeks were finals oriented and they were much harder than last semester. I think the school is trying to make its credits transeferable to all US schools so has to meet higher standards and be a little more serious about the academic aspect. The last couple days its started to sink in that Im leaving in two days and Ive just been trying to soak in as muck of Florence as I can these last few days. I miss it already and I know Its going to get worse, especially as winter gets close. Ive been picking up a few souvenires and even a couple bottles of wine, which is nice because I didnt think Id have enough money to bring anything back. This last week I had a chance to wear the suit and black jacket my mom got me, to my last dinner at Ganzo and to the going away party that was held at a counts house. Im also really excited because this Sunday im flying to Cairo for a 6 night trip to Egypt! I originally planned on a european tour but searching flights online I saw a cheap flight to Cairo and from there it rolled into reality. A few of my friends from school are going and also my good friend Casey from Alaska who was here visiting Alaskans in Europe. The tours in Egypt are incredibly cheap and it will be nice to be on the goodside of currency conversion. I had a great experience in Africa with my dad and Im looking forward to the pyramids, camel rides and cruises on the nile. If any of you see anything online that looks interesting Id love to hear about it. After Egypt Im heading to Germany to stay with my roommate scott and if I have any money left maybe still see London and Paris. Ill post my Egypt Itinerary too. Im putting up some picks from the last couple weeks and Ill do a semester wrap up soon. Almost home! Itll be good to see Family, Friends, Brittany and good ol Captain John and Shelly again. Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this incredible adventure and for following my blog.

Your tour Itinerary :
Day 1: Arrive Cairo
Welcome to Egypt! Our representative will meet you to ensure a smooth path through immigration and customs. You have time to explore at your leisure before meeting your "Egypt Top View" tour escort and fellow travelers for a welcome drink at the hotel.

Day 2: Cairo/Desert Tour
Full-day outing to Sakkara and Memphis, followed by a visit to the most famous wonderland in the whole world - the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. At 10 pm we catch the overnight train to Luxor.

Day 3: Luxor
Arrive in Luxor and check-in at hotel. Today we visit the East Bank of Luxor:
- Luxor Temple.
- Karnak Temple.
Overnight in Luxor hotel.
Day 4: Luxor
Visit the West Bank of Luxor:
- Valley of the Kings.
- Valley of the Queens.
- Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.
- Colossi of Memnon.
Overnight, we travel by train back to Cairo.

Day 5: Cairo
Arrive Cairo and transfer to the hotel for check-in. Then we're off to the Egyptian Museum where most of the fabulous treasures of the Pharaohs are kept. Then we drive to the Citadel - home to Egyptian rulers for nearly 700 years. Later, we explore many attractions in the old Coptic area including the Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue (the Jewish Temple). Overnight in Cairo hotel.

Day 6: Alexandria
After breakfast drive to Alexandria visits to the catacombs of Kom El Shokafa and Pompeii 's Pillar. Later, the newly-reborn Royal Library of Alexandria, with its amazing architecture, awaits your arrival - followed by an outing to the Roman Amphitheater and the Fort of Qait-Bay. Then we drive back to Cairo and check-in at the hotel. Your evening is free. Overnight in Cairo hotel.

Day 7: Depart Cairo
Farewell to Egypt today. Our tour ends after breakfast. Transfer to Cairo International Airport.

TOUR INCLUDES:
- Transfers from/to the airport.
- All fully-guided tours in Cairo , Giza , Luxor and Alexandria (as per the itinerary) in air-conditioned buses.
- Fluent, English-speaking tour guides throughout your program.
- First-class train tickets from Cairo/Luxor and Luxor/Cairo on an air-conditioned Spanish train with reclining seats.
- All accommodations in 3-star hotels in Cairo and Luxor . All rooms have a private bath, air-conditioning, TV, and include breakfast.
- All transfer and pick-up services.
- All service charges and taxes.

TOUR EXCLUDES:
- Entrance fees of the sites. We do not charge in advance for site entrance fees to add flexibility to your program as you may choose to skip one or more sites depending upon your interests.
- Drinks, phone calls, laundry, tips and any other items of a personal nature

Sean Walklin Wine Paper

2008-05-06T17:51:00.002+02:00

Sean Walklin
Wine Appreciation2

Piedmonte Region

Everything seems to come together to make Piedmonte one of the most important wine producing regions in the world. Great terrain,with plenty on hill sides are a great places to grow wines. Then there is the close proximity to France so the winemakers can mix the best Italian and French techniques to come out with a finer product. Like Tuscany, Piedmonte has its signature grape that is known far and wide. Having a wine called “King of Wines” is usually a sign that production is going well and that your system works, but there is more to Piedmonte than Barolo. Piedmonte has the highest percentage of classified wines in Italy. Piedmonte should definitely be in every wine loves vocabulary.

Piedmonte is located at the top of Italy, sharing a northern border with France. Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, including the MonViso(Mont Vis), where the Po rises, and the Monte Rosa. It also borders with France, Switzerland and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Aosta Valley.Although most of Italys land is suitable for growing wine Piedmonte has some special characteristics. The Northern mountains shield the region from cold northern weather and The Appenines in the middle temper the medditerranean climates. All these mountains create hill sides that are perfect for growing the grapes needed for great wine. The soil in much of the region is especially fertile and full of the nutrients needed to produce the wines that are at such high standards.

Being so close to France means more than having baguette and croissants it means having a French influence on many aspects of live, not excluding wine. The French Barrique, a small wooden barrel that wine can be aged in and adds much flavor is one example of French influence on Piedmonte. Although some traditionalists do not use the barriques, most vineyards make use of the barrels. The traditional large containers do not add any flavor and only produce a wine that has its own flavors. French influence is not limited to barriques but also includes the visuals of the vineyard. Like in France you will see meticulously manicured vineyards. Another French influence is the single plot vineyard, where a person will have there own little vineyard on their property. Tradition to native vines, trend to monovarietal wines, many classified zones no bigger than a single vineyard and vineyard on every south facing slope are all French influences. Although maybe the most important: like in France in Piedmonte wine is a way of life.

Tuscany has Sangiovese, Piedmonte has Nebbiolo. The name nebbiolo is from the Italian word “Nebia” which means “fog” probably because of the fog in the area. 100 percent nebbiolo produces both Barolo and Barbaresco, two very important wines. To produce nebbiolo all factors, such as soil, climate and elevation, must be perfect. The main growing region for nebbiolo is in south eastern Pidmonte.

Piedmonte has the most DOC-DOCG zones and has the largest percentage of its wines classified. More than half of its 700 km² of vineyards are registered with DOC designations. The region is without and IGT zones, for reasons I am not sure of. Main production area is in a town called Alba, near where Barolo and Barbaresco are produced. Due to modern production techniques Barolo and Barbaresco are now easier to drink and more ready and approachable. Also from the Alba area are a Dolcetto and a white Arnies from Roero hills as well as the important Barbera. Some DOCG of piedmonte are: Brachetto d’aqui, Asti, Barbaresco, Barolo, Gattiniara, Gavi or Cortese di Cavi and Ghemme. Barolo is made from 100% Nebbiolo and is aged for 4 years before being released. In 1980, the wines of the Barolo region became one of the first Italian wines to received DOCG status. Some characteristics of Barolo include: Color: not very intense, relatively thin skins. Lighter color in large barrels, darker when aged in barriques. Olfactory: aromas of cherry, plums dark fruits. When aged the aromas of leather, mushroom and smoke appear. Taste: Strong, bold wines. rich, harsh tannins. A very tannic, alshoholic wine. The grapes ripen in October and must be planted on south facing hills. Very hard to grow and have consistency in production. Some say that current global warming has been benificial to the production of the grapes. The wine making industry of the Piedmont played a significant role in the early stages of the Risorgimento with some of the era's most prominent figures-like Camillo Benso, Conte di Cavour and Garibaldi owning vineyards in Piedmont region and making significant contributions to the development of Piedmontese wines. The excessively high tariffs imposed by the Austrian Empire on the export of Piedmontese wines to Austrian controlled areas of northern Italy was one of the underlying sparks to the revolutions of 1848–1849. Piedmonte also is a leading produces of sparkling wine and has the distinction of producing the worlds most popular sparkling wine, Asti. Barbaresco is also an important wine. Being produced from the same grape as Barolo and less then 10 miles apart, there are a lot of similarities that Barbaresco has with it neighboring wines but the slight maritime influence of the Tanaro river helps fashion distinctly different wines. Generally less tannic, Barbaresco tend to be more elegant and approachable in their youth. The Barbaresco DOCG regulation stipulates wines with minimum alchohol content of 12.5% and 2 years minimum aging in the winery for standard labels and 4 years minimum for riservas wines. Being an even smaller zone then Barolo, producers in the region produce a little more than 200,000 cases annually. The majority of Barbaresco production takes place in 3 communities: Barbaresco, Treiso, Neive.The soils in the Barbaresco zone are more uniform across the region which tends to produce a more consistent profile with the wines then what could be achieved across the widely different areas of Barolo.[7]

All in all Piedmonte is a region with diverse history, cultural fusion and a habit of producing some of the worlds best wines. Not only do they produce great wine but they have a great variety. From strong full bodied wines to complex lighter ones to sweet sparkling wines the region has something to go with every meal and every occasion. Even with all the hype the first barolo i tried was impressive.

Closing out

2008-05-04T15:03:00.009+02:00

rainy season in Florence limited outdoor activites. Ive been working at ganzo (http://www.ganzoflorence.it/ganzo.html) two days a week as a waiter. Ganzo is staffed completely by students (besides the manager, chefs and bartender) and uses alot of our affiliated art schools material and design. With prices much lower than usual for the type of food theyLast month or so has been pretty similar. No big trips besides a weekend at the beach. A long serve its a good place to go eat and a relaxed place to hang out. Ill put some of the menu up here next time but the food is excellent and very gourmet. One interesting experience was late one night during service two Itlalian ladies came in with badges and demanded to see everyones passport and permission to stay. Not one person had them. So we all hurried to call people to bring them or headed home (and some live far away). I was an immigrant worker and I was getting my papers checked! Because no one had them they called the polizia and they hung out until everyone came back with the paperwork. I dont know if they were going to take the ones who didnt have it or what. The last couple weeks have been very hot and the streets are completely full of tourists (think all the RVs on Alaskan highways in the summer). Been playing more basketball and starting to plan out my travels for after school. Definitely going to Rome, Paris, London and Barcelona but have too fill out my plans more. When I get back to Alaska Im going to stay with my dad for a little bit and meet my nephew, then head back to Fairbanks. Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Ganzo pics

Pics

2008-04-21T16:00:00.005+02:00

At Apicius all the students not in the masters class have to turn in a menu proposal with a theme. The winner will be head chef for a day in the schools new restaurant, Ganzo, with our menu being served. Here is mine.

Sean Walklin

King Chef Menu

Antipasti
Grilled squid stuffed with tomato
swiss chard envelopes with fontina
prawns with fresh borlotti beans

Primmi
Quail Risotto
Chestnut Tagliatelle with Wild Mushrooms
Gnocchi with Black Pepper and Goat Cheese sauce

Secondo
Grilled Lamb with Peppers and Aubergine Puree
Monkfish with Walknut and Agro Dolce
Poached Capon stuffed with black truffle, with boiled vegetables and salsa verde

Dolci
Mango and Strawberry “Lasagne” with caramel Sponge and Vanilla bean Gelato
Carnaroli Rice and Lemon Souffle
Chocolate Parfait and Chocolate Foam

The reason that I put these particular recipes together was because of my experience at Ganzo. Although I only worked there one day so far and had only one meal I feel like I have a good sense of what Ganzo is trying to be. Not just a restaurant and not just a learning opportunity Ganzo is a place where the people are the most important. The main goal off the excellent food, wine and atmosphere at ganzo is to stimulate people. Stimulate conversation, relationships and new understandings. What I tried to do is put together an interesting menu that would stimulate people. I tried to find recipes that were familiar and new or different at the same time. I did that because Ganzo is the same. New and different but at the same time comfortable and welcoming. When I went to gonzo with my Friends we all ordered different things and were surprised and pleased to see more than we expected, everytime. I want people to share and interact because of what they are eating. My theme is Ganzo.

Sean Walklin’s Menu

Antipasti

Grilled stuffed squid with tomato.

16 whole squid,
2 squid for stuffing
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 large ripe tomatoes
basil
sale pepe

for stuffing:
2 anchovy fillets 4 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves
flat leaf parsely
breadcrumbs equal to anchovy and squid in stuffing
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese

to serve: ciabatta bread, olive oil, basil leaves

make stuffing by putting anchovies, oil garlic and herbs into a food processor until finely chopped, add squid , bread crumbs and cheese and blend.
Stuff squid pockets with mixture (not too full) close with toothpicks.
Put olive oil, diced tomatoes and basil in pan and warm without boiling, season to taste.
Brush squid with oil and quickly grill for about a minute on each side on a hot pan. Remove toothpicks and move squid to the pan of sauce move gently in the sauce for a minute or two. Grill chiabatta bread and rub with garlic clove and drizzle with oil. Serve in bowls with sauce and garnish with the bread and basil leaves.

Swiss chard envelopes with Fontina

2 large swiss chard stalks
2 slices fontina
100g plain flour
2 eggs
3 tablespoons grated parmesan
100g breadcrumbs
500ml oil for frying
3 tablespoons shallot viniagrette
small bunch chives but into batons
salt pepper

Remove chard leaves from stalks blanch stalks in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes until tender then drain and pat dry. Put chard leaves into boiling wate for about a minute then drain and pat dry.
Chard stalks will be pointed at tom where leaf was atatched. Trim off pointed part and cut into thin batons and set aside. Cut rest of stalk into an equal number about 7-8 cm long. Then slice these in half so you have identical pairs.
Cut cheese into slices just a little smaller than pieces of swiss chard. Keep chard slices in their pairs cut side up. Place a slice of fontina on one of the slices then put the other piece on top, cut side down. If chard is dry the cheese and chard will stay together like a sandwich. Place eggs in a bowl and whip. Put flour on large plate. On another plate mis 1 tablespoon parmesan and bread crumbs. dip in flour, egg and breadcrumbs at least twice. Mix remaining chard batons with leaves, salt pepper and remaining parmesan, tos with shallot vinaigrette and arrange on serving plate.
Heat oil and fry the “sandwiches” for about 2 minutes. Season with salt and arrange on top sprinkle with parmesan and chives.

Prawns with fresh borlotti beans

250 g fresh borlotti beans
1/2 head garlic, unpeeled and 3 cloves, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
bunch of sage
10 tablespoons olive oil
12 large fresh prawns (whole)
2 teaspoons sliced sweat chili pepper
1/2 glass white wine
2 tablespoons tomato passata
sale pepe

Cook beans in large pot with 1/2 head of garlic, celery, sage and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover with cold water and put a lid on and bring to a boil, skimming off foam. Cook until sof then leave to cool in cooking water.
When beans are almost ready peel the prawns, leaving the heads. Cut along back and clean. Open up as much as possible (make a stock from the shells also) Cook prawns with olive oil. Add the chopped garlic and sliced chili. Cook over medium heat, not searing. Season, then sear with the backs down. Saute until cooked. With a slotted spoon remove the beans from the liquid into the pan you cooked prawns in. Season and bring to a boil. Add tomato passata and stock to create some sauce. Add prawns and mix everything together.Crush remaining garlic into a paste and chop parsley. Drizzle with olive oil and black pepper. Garnish with parsley and garlic.

Primmi

Quail Risotto

2.5 litres chicken stock
50g butter
1 onion chopped very finely
400g superfino carnaroli rice
125ml dry white wine
12 sage leaves, fried in olive oil
sale pepe

for mantecatura
75g cold butter, diced
100g grated parmesan or grada oadano

for quail stew
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped shallot
1 carrot chopped
1 celery chopped
50 g pancetta chopped
rosemary, sage, bayleaf in bouquet garni
4 quail, breast and legs taken off and separated and carcasse kept for stock
1 teaspoon tomato paste

Put quail carcass in chicken stock, bring to a boil and then turn down the head and simmer for about 20 minutes. To make quail stew heat half olive oil in large pan, add the vegetables, pancetta and bouquet garni and cook slowly until vegetables soften.(about 4-5 min)
In separate pan heat the rest of the oil ad put in quail breast and legs, skin side down and cook 3-4 min until golden, seasoning also. Add to pan of vegetables and toss around for 3-4 min. Add tomato paste, cover with stock and simmer for 30 minutes, adding stock as needed. When quail is cooked, let it cool and pull meat off bones and flake it with your fingers. Put meat back in cooking juices and set aside.

Make risotto by adding butter then adding onion. Add rice and stir around to coat in the butter and toast the grains. Add wine and let evaporate. Add stock as needed and keep stirring. After about 10 min and flaked quail meat and juices. Cook another 7-8 min but make sure risotto will still be al-dente. Turn down heat and add montecatura. Garnish with fried sage leaves.

Chestnut Tagliatelle with wild mushrooms.

400g 00 flour
100g chestnut flour
1tblspns olive oil
15 egg yolks
pinch of salt

for mushroom sauce
300g mixed wild mushrooms
100g diced butter
2 garlic cloves
1/2 glass white wine
handful of parsley, chopped
chives cut in short lengths
30-40g grated parmesan
sale pepe

Make pasta by sieving the flours together and making a well for yolks.

Mushroom sauce: clean mushrooms, trim stalks and tear into even pieces, with stalks on. Heat half the butter in a pan and add garlic. Add mushrooms for 2 min and then the win. Season and take off heat. Boil pasta in salted water. Add pasta to sauce and toss. Add in rest of butter and chopped parsley and chives.

Gnocchi with black pepper and goats cheese sauce.

Gnocchi dough
1 kg potatoes
2 small eggs
about 320g flour
sale

2 tbspn black pepper
3 tblspn milk
160g soft goats cheese broken into pieces
small bunch of chives, some chopped some in batons
2 tblspn grated parmesan

make the gnocchi dough the normal way but with the black pepper added into the dough. Shape the gnocchi.
Warm the milk in saute pan, add goats cheese and let it melt gently to form a thick sauce, grind in black pepper to taste.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook gnocchi. Lift them into to sauce and sprinkle on chopped chives and toss gnocchi carefully. Add parmesan and water if needed. Garnish with batons.

Secondo

Grilled lamb with peppers and aubergine puree

2 aubergines
2 garlic cloves
rosemary
150ml olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 re pepper, deseeded and diced
1 yelllow pepper, diced
3 spring onions
1 tablespoon tomato paste
basil
1 tablespoon tomato passata
4 lamb filets each about 180g
8 tablespoons lamb sauce
2 handfuls mixed leaves
2 tablespoons vinaigrette
sale pepe

Preheat oven to 220c. Halve aubergines lengthwise then set aside. Using a sharp knife cut flesh in angles to make a diamond pattern. Slice garlic and insert into cuts, along with rosemary. Place the aubergine back together and wrap in foil. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Heat a saucepan add 2 tblspns oil and cook onions without allowing them to color. Add peppers and season. Cook 10-15 min until soft but not mushy.
Remove aubergines from foil and remove garlic and rosemary from the cuts. Spoon out the flesh and set aside to cool and dry, then chop finely. Heat oil in a saucepan and cook spring onions. Add aubergine flesh and tomato paste and cook for about 5 min. Add pan of peppers back to the heat, adding basil and tomato passata and simmer, adding 2 tblspns oil. Heat a pan on high and season lamb. Brush with oil and cook for 2 min on each side. Warm lamb sauce and toss salad leaves with the vinaigrette. Spoon aubergine puree on side of plate put peppers in middle and salad on other side. Slice lamb and place on peppers. Spoon on lamb sauce and drizzle olive oil.

Poached Capon stuffed with black truffle, with boiled vegetables and salsa verde

4 capon breast
10g black truffle, thinly sliced
200ml chicken stock
1 carrot sliced
1 celery chopped
8 baby new potatoes
salsa verde
sale pepe

Insert a knife into capon breast and make a pocket, slide in black truffly
season and wrap in cling film. Poach in simmering water.
cook celery, carrot and potatoes in chicken stock. slice capon and arange on plate with salsa verde on the side

Monkfish with walnut and agrodolce

2tblspns walnut paste
2tblspns white wine vinegar
4tblspns olive oil
2 swiss chard stalks with leaves
2tblspns vegetable oil
12 caper berries
4 monkfish tails about 220g each
4tblspns vinaigrette
2 handfulls rocket
sale pepe

for agrodolce sauce
5tblspns white wine vinegar
70 caster sugar
100g capers in brine, drained washed and dried
100ml olive oil

Make agrodolce by putting vinegar and sugar in small pan and reducing. Hand blend capers, slowly adding syrup then blend in oil slowly until creamy. Transfer to small pan and keep on low heat without boiling for about 15-20 min. Leave to cool. Mix 1 1/2 tblspns agrodolce sauce with walnut paste then slowly mix in the vinegar and half the oil the sauce will become paler. Separate chard stalks from leaves. Cut stalks into batons 5mm wide. Blanch in boiling salted water for a couple minutes. then so the same with the leaves. Mix together in a bowl. Put pan on to heat and add vegetable oil. Season fish and cook for 3-4 min on each side then turn heat down and let it relax. Season chard and toss in half the vinaigrette. Mix caper berries with rocket and toss with other half of vinaigrette. Spoon sauce on plates and arrange chard on top. Place fish on that, spoon on pan juices and top with rocket and caper.

Dolci

Strawberry and mango “lasagne” and vanilla bean gelato with caramel sponge

4 ripe mangoes
400g strawberries
for sponge
300ml condensed milk
140g beaten egg
90g flour
5g baking powder
100g butter
2 tblspns golden syrup
pinch of spices (cinnamon, cloves)

Day before serving peel mangoes and slice very thinly. Wash, hull and dry strawberrys and slice lengthwise, just thicker than the mangoes. Keep trimmings from mango and lend to a puree, place in fridge. Line a container in cling film. Line base with mango slices with no gaps. Next layer strawberries. Repeat 3 more times and finish with mango slices. Cover with cling film. Put another container on top then flip so extra juices will run out. Place in fridge for 12 hours.
For sponge, make a caramel then preheat oven to 150 and prepar a baking dish. Wisk caramel and all other ingredients and pour into baking tish and bake for 25 min. When ready to serve cut lasagne into slices. Garnish with sugar and glaze with a blowtorch. Place caramel sponge next to slice and top with vanilla bean gelato. Garnish with mango puree.

Carnaroli rice and lemon souffle

200g carnaroli rice
2 litres milk
1/2 vanilla pod, cut sideways
25g orange juice
50g castor sugar
50g unsalted butter
3 big lemons, preferably sorrento, or oranges
65g cornflour
3 gelatine leaves soaked in water and squeezed
for meringue
250g egg whites
190g castor sugar

Put a tray in fridge. Heat over to 200c
put 80g of rice in a pan with half the mild and bring to a boil. Simmer and overcook until rice is really soft. Blend with a hand mixer anf put through a sieve. Put rest of milk in a pan with the vanilla pod, scraping in seeds and bringing to a boil. Add remaining rice and cool al dente. Drain through a sieve and take out vanilla pod and spread rice on chilled tray. Set aside. Warm orange juice and sugar in a pan, when dissolved take off heat and add butter and whisk. Set aside. Trim edges of fruit and cut in half. Scoop out flesh and discard. Put halves in fridge for about an hour. Brush insides of fruit with orange juice mix. Lay upside down and place back in fridge for 5 min. Chop cooled rice into smaller pieced. Take ricemilk mix and heat, except about 4tblspns. When heated add cornflour and add gelatine. Pour mixture over rice grains. Make the meringue by whisking egg whites and add sugar. Fold meringue with rice mix. Spoon mix into empty fruit and bake about 8 min. Top with sugar.

chocolate parfait and foam

225ml whipping cream
170g amedei chuaco at least 70% cocoa
75g egg whites
70g castor sugar
30g dextrose

for foam
225g amedei toscano at least 70% cocoa
20g castor sugar
250g still mineral water

Whisk cream until firm and holds peaks. Put in fridge.
Melt chocolate. Put eggwhites and sugars in a separate bowl over simmering water, whisking until sugar is melted and mixture is hot to touch. Take off heat and whisk until it is cold and firm.Fold in meringue to chocolate. in slowly and add the cream. Line a tray with cling film and spoon in mixture. Freeze for at least 3 hours.
For foam
melt chocolate. Put sugar and mineral water into a pan and bring to a boil. Take off heat and whisk in chocolate a little at a time. Put through a sieve then into the soda siphon. Close and charge with gas, while liquid is still hot. Shake and put in fridge. Serve parfait sliced with foam next to it

Pics

2008-04-08T13:54:00.006+02:00

To watch the college championship we had to wait until 3 AM. Luckily my wine class was switched from 12 today to a field trip to a vineyard on friday. A bar stayed open past regulations to show the game. There was a pretty large group of Kansas fans there in Jayhawks jerseys and I was rooting for them also as they had an Alaskan, Mario Chalmers who played high school ball at the same time I did. Pretty exciting game with the Alaskan hitting a big shot to send it to over time, where they won. He also got MVP! Anyway I just wanted to put some pics up so here they are, all from this semester.

Dinner Party

2008-04-07T19:03:00.004+02:00

Last monday, at the end of my baking techniques class (Monday 9AM to 1130) the head instructor Andrea asked for volunteers to help with a dinner that night. Scott and I volunteered and we were asked to come in at 3 with our chef gear on. We got there a little early and were put right to work. My school had just opened a restaurant called Ganzo (means cool in italian) near Santa Croce which was staffed by student volunteers and had food cooked by students from the masters class. The affiliated art school (FUA where Brittany went last semester) helped design many parts of the restaurant and menu layout. Anyway due to the restaurant being open almost everyone was always halfway across town so they were short handed for a dinner they were putting on at the school for about 50 english doctors and scientists and their families. As soon as we got there we began prep work. I cut up quail eggs, atichoke and asparagus in assorted shapes and sizes. After the chopping was done I made a fondue out of 600 ml of milk which i brought to a weak boil and then took off heat. I stirred in a large bag of parmesian and put on heat for about 30 seconds, after which i periodically added milk out of the 1000 ml carton while the pot was off heat until all the milk was added. When the consistency was right I added salt and a little nutmeg. After the fondue I was put to work creating the appertivo. First I used a pastry bag to spread a salmon mousse onto crostini and then put canals of caviar (canal is a technique using two spoons to put thick sauce or puree on a plate in an attractive way) topped with a sprig og green and they were done. I also cut up pecorino and arranged it on a plate with walnut and honey.We spent about an hour putting together all kinds of appertivo. After the antipasti were finished we began to prep the main courses. We made gorgonzola gnocchi, toasted the artichoke risotto and seared beef with rosemary and olive oil . Andrea was skilled with molecular cooking so we mixed olive oil with a powder that was odorless and tasteless and made the olive oil a solid. It was placed inside ravioli and had a excellent taste. For pasrt of the dessert they made a foam out of espresso and baked a special kind of sugar in silk sheets that created an amazing crystal, glass effect that looked like ice sculptures. At about 5 we all ate a meal of pasta with ragu and red wine. Once guests arrived we started cooking! We finished the risotto and cooked the ravioli, which we plated with lightly sauteed radicchio and the fondue. We cooked the gnocchi with a tomato confit (lightly cooked) and plated it with basil and other herbs that we had fried previously. The sauce was a saffron olive oil. We also had a broccoli quiche that was excellent. It was fun actually cooking and plating food for real people instead of for ourselves or teachers. Second course we finished the beef which we plated with a blueberry sauce and an edible flower in applesauce. For desert there was a tomato sorbet to cleanse the palate and then tiramusu with the sugar crystals and coffee foam. After the night was over we had spumante and relaxed. It was alot of fun and a little taste of what working in a restaurant could be like.

Spring Break- new pics on this post and one below

2008-03-31T13:41:00.003+02:00

Wednesday Alex and Nami got back from visiting Rome, Venice and Verona and had one more day in Firenze. Last week I had taken them to get reservations for the Uffizi and Accadamia (where the statue of david and lots of other art is). Because I had just been to the Uffizi with my mom and grandma I decided to meet them after they were done and then go to the david with them. How can you pass up a chance to see perfection? We met at the Duomo and headed over to a cafe in piazza della republica and had cappucino. We walked around as our reservation wasnt until 3. The tourists are here in force, although still not quite up to summer levels. Last time I was with Alex and Nami we covered alot of ground and had fun walking so I knew that they would be happy walking around and seeing some of the areas they hadnt been yet. When we reached the accadamia we saw a long line wrapped around the building, but since we had reservations only had a 1 or 2 minute wait. Once in the museum (my5th time!) i took them through the usual route. Into the early renaissance frescoes then into the middle ages and renaissance musical instruments then into the long hallway filled with incomplete sculptures by michaelangelo that leads into the domed room that acts as a frame for The Statue of David. After spending a good 10-15 minutes looking from all different angles we headed through to the plaster mold and statue room then up into the pre-renaissance and russian art rooms. After the museum we went to the duomo to climb it. Although I had a pir of my Italian boots on I decided the climb must be done as it was their last day. We waited in line for about 30 minutes before beginning our acsent. Although there were a few stopping areas it was a pretty straight shot. The stairs at one point are almost vertical, but it makes the amazing view even more appreciated. It was a perfect day to climb. Warm and nice but with large clouds that let huge rays of sunlight through, shining like a spotlight on various parts of my city. Alex is a photographer and he brought along his camera and a couple lenses so he was able to take some amazing shots while he was here. After climbing down We decided that we deserved some gelato so we headed over to Vivoli, the famous florentine gelateria. Nami and i had a couple flavors but Alex, sensing that this could be his last opportunity went for the American size 4 flavor gelato! After gelato we walked to a street market so they could buy a couple souvenires to take home. Using a little Italian I was able to get the prices down a little, although not too much. We then walked across the Ponte Vecchio and around the other side of the arno for a while. We walked dont to the bed of the river, where you used to be able to walk along a concret slab into the liddle of the Arno. Now, since its been raining so much you cant even step onto it. We relaxed there for a while then set off for dinner. I decided to take them to Semolina, the place I have been going to ever since I discovered it with my mom, thanks to Damiano. We started walking when all of a sudden rain started pouring down. We decided to cab it there and arrived relatively dry. We sat down and ordered vino rosso della casa and acua naturale. For antipasti we had insalata caprese, nread with olive oil and balsamic and sliced meats and mozzarella. For primi we had seafood pasta, clam shell pasta and giant ravioli with ricotta and spinach. Secondi we had the seared tuna I wrote about last time and a cheese pizza. Coffe with tiramisu was desert. A very satisfying last meal. I gave a toast to Alex and my new sister Nami and they promised to show me around Japan. Next was my usual farewell trip. I took them up to piazza Michaelangelo to overlook the city. It was great getting to know Alex again and meeting Nami was great too. Shes a very nice young lady and I look forward to getting to know her better. We parted ways at the ponte vecchio with kisses on the cheeks. My roommates and I had to take a train to pisa where our flight left at 1 so we had to be up around 9. That night there was an American rapper named Twista so we went to that so we could see off our friend Al. Al was from Atlanta and had been studying gemology. Although we were our a little late we got up in time and made all out connection to Amsterdam... I have to go to work now but I will pick this back up tomorrow, along with the pics for last post and this one.

Mid-may, ,More pics coming.

2008-03-31T08:59:00.002+02:00

So the blogging has been slacking..... Again. Its been about two weeks, busy weeks (no excuse), since my last confession/blog. After Pisa my grandmother and mother settled into their apartment on Vial Delle Terme, a road that dates back to Roman times and means “Road of the Baths”. Although today devoid of any baths this cobblestoned, windy, narrow road was filled with character and a feeling of age and depth. Old building looked across the road at each other with their red roofs and identical green shutters. Alleys to markets, the Arno and little piazza’s split away seemingly at random. The road was about one block from the entrance to the ponte vecchio and about 2 blocks from Piazza della signoria (the plaza with all the statues, the palazzo vecchio and the replica david). It was a great spot not because of its proximity to landmarks but because although my grandma could get out and walk her endurance isnt what it used to be so home was usually a short distance from wherever we were. The apartment was beautiful inside with a price daily that was better than most hotels, especially for two people. We spent the days exploring the cities, expanding my circle of known areas. We visited the street markets and back alleys and just about everywhere possible. That weekend we headed out at 7AM to Rome. ( I have to quit throwing coins in the Trevi fountain or Im going to be back in Rome every few weeks) We arrived in Roma Termini about 2 hours later to a warm, sunny Rome. We walked to the departures board, which lists the departure times to all cities all day. They are usually at the end of the platform near where the trains are, although you can find them other places in the station. There were a few trains back to Firenze but we settled on the 7 PM one. We walked through the mall-like trainstation down to the metro area. In Europe alot of the trainstations are also large shopping complexes with restaurants and nice stores. To get to the Metro lines you have to follow the red “M” signs down about 3 flights of stairs. In rome there are only two lines and there are posters on the wall the show where they run. You go either left or right for your selected line and buy a ticket from a little automated machine for 1 euro (its good for 45 or 90 minutes). The trains are usually pretty crowded and you definitely need to keep an eye on your stuff. We were traveling light since it was just a day trip so we just had to hold onto our wallets or purses. There was even a lady playing the accordion on this train, which I think we all enjoyed. We unloaded a stop too late so we had to walk a few blocks to the Vatican, which unfortunately, is closed on Sundays.... Disappointed but realizing it wasnt the only show in town we headed for St.Peters Basilica. Outside of the Basilica there was a mass of people, secret service type guards and helicopters buzzing. The Pope was giving mass somewhere close and although we didnt see him there was a energy to the crowd that made the visit a little more interesting. We looked around the enormous piazza ringed with large columns that were toped with saints and other religious figures. There were dozens. We went pretty quickly through the line and the metal detector and into the enormous church. Mom and grandma were appropriately awe struck. On these return visits I’ve found I almost like watching the people Im showing things too as much as I like looking for myself. Maybe I should run tours? Bill I need a website! We went through the treasury museum, something I hadnt done yet. It was filled with all types of amazing artifacts and religious jewelry, covered in Diamonds and jewels and all kinds of precious metals. Sensing nonna was getting tired we headed out and had lunch at a cafeteria. Feeling refreshed we went outside where we saw one of those double decker sightseeing buses. As we only had one day we decided to try it out. For about 10 or 15 euro you get a pretty good tour of the city, with explanations of everything you go by explained through headphones. We sat on top although it had become cloudy and sprinkles came down every once in a while. After riding through the city for about an hour we go off at the colosseum stop and walked around it marveling (again) about how intact it still was. We went inside for a while before heading over to look at the forum. It had just closed right when we got to it but we walked around the hills a little bit before heading back down to the colosseum. Grandma was getting tired but there were a couple things they needed to see so we got a cap and visited the trevi fountain (we all threw coins in) the Pantheon (mom really liked that one) and finally the top of the Spanish steps (right at sunset) then on to the trainstation. We made it home having seen a pretty good introduction to Rome. The week went by pretty quickly with lots of walking and sightseeing. After and in between classes(we made a great pork roast stuffed with dates and garlic and rolled in a sage, rosemary, sale pepemix. We also baked apple with sweet wine and honey and baked potatoes.It went together very well) I would walk over and either hangout at the apartment or we would walk around. We covered the highlights of Florence and many backstreets that tourists usually dont see. I definitely got to know the shops of Florence as many people had asked for certain kinds of gifts. Feeling the pressure of finding the right Italian souvenire we had nice walks through the large shopping areas, which was good because I had limited experience in those areas. I found alot of cool little shops and inexpensive clothes. We also made it to the Uffizi, an amazing museum that I hadnt been to yet. Having made reservations we didnt have to wait in line, which at this point of the year is geting longer and longer each day. Its a very large U shaped building connected to the Palazzo Vecchio. The main part of the museum is on the second floor. We made our way up and into a long hallway. The hallway went all the way around the U and the art was in side rooms. Although there was so much amazing art my favorites were easy. The masters Botticelli, Rapael, Leonardo Da Vinci Michaelangelo and so many others were represented very well. One amazing thing was seeing one of my friends mother. Jussaly Hetman, a girl I went to school with for years and who was babysat by my sister, her mother was walking around the Uffizi with a friend. We talked for a few minutes and I gave her my number to show her around, but wasnt able to get in touch. Im really glad I got to see the Ufizi. Great museum. My mom also got me some great souvenires, including an excellent book: Florence, the biography of a city by Christopher Hibbert and a poster of ancient Florence. Tired from walking for hours we took Grandma home. Mom and I continued on and walked for a while together before climbing up the Duomo. She did great, climbing steady like she was back on Angel Rock. The day was perfect and she got a great view of Florence. After class that night Grandma was still resting so I took mom for a long walk around the river area and Santa Croce and finally to the most famous gelato place in the world, Vivoli of Florence. Great gelato, very smooth and authentic. The last weekend they were here we took a day trip to Venice, which was great. I knew my way around the Canal and the streets immediately surrounding it so we had a pretty easy time. We left Florence around 8 and got to Venice a couple hours later. I had bought a pack of Italian cards so they could also learn. We practiced on the way, which made time go by alot faster. When we arrived in Venice we walked out of the trainstation and were faced with the grand canal. To the immediate left there is a little stand selling bus passes (water bus). We bought some that lasted for 12 hours. You can buy up to a week pass. Although I have been off and on the water busses in Venice about a hundred times and never had my ticket checked, the fine is pretty big if you dont have it. As I like to do we cruised up the entire length of the canal down to Piazza San Marco where the main church is. We got off the water bus and walked through the Piazza with all the pigeons, feeding them of course. I got some good pictures of mom and grandma covered in pigeons. Then we went inside the church, something I hadnt done yet. The inside was completely covered in gold. Walls to ceiling. It was definitely older than most of the churches I have been too and in remarkable condition. We walked around inside for a while then walked into the large rectangular courtyard facing the church. Along the courtyard there were restaurants with outside seating and musicians playing classical music. Of course since its Italy there was plenty of wine drinking and making out. Public displays of affection are not taboo in Italy. We wandered around some back streets before taking the canal bus back up to the middle, where the large white bride is. We went back into a neighborhood I was familiar with and found a little restaurant to have lunch in. We had a Venetian White wine and pasta. We spent some time looking through the unique mask and glass stores along with the incredible pastry and candy stores. On the way back to the trainstation we had a nice walk in the back streets where they have their fresh food markets. On the ride back we had a nice ride back, playing scopa and relaxing. We got back at a decent hour so we went out to eat at the trattatoria on my old street, trattatoria, San Zanobi. Since Im kind of a regular we were treated to sliced meats and cheeses and fresh olives. We sampled a few plates and had a nice Italian style dinner. The next day was their next to last day so we stopped by for some gelato at the place where I had my first gelato, near Hotel Roma. After, since its such a long walk for grandma we took a taxi un to piazza michaelangelo. Mom and I had walked there but I thought it would be a good goodbye for grandma to see the whole city at night. The next day was the last and we got some more good walking in and picked up the last of the gifts and souvenires. Mom was quite generous with everyone and I got somethings I would never be able to get normally. I thought I was going to go home with just pictures and memories, which would be fine with me. Coming home with some Italian clothes and shoes is so much better tho! That night I wanted to take mom to an authentic tuscun Restaurant so I called my friend Damiano and he recommended Semolina a restaurant near San Ambrogia market. We arrived around 9 to a restaurant stuffed full of only Italians, a very good sign. The walls were painted wildly and there was a fun but intimate vibe in the restaurant. Noisy groups waving there hands around and eating amazing smelling foods were all around. Damiano had told me to say he sent me so I told the waitress and out came his friends one by one to give me a very friendly hello. We ordered the standard Italian first course, water and vino. We ordered a mixed meat and cheese plate followed by gnocchi (know-kee) and a seafood pasta. The meat was excellent, with many different cuts of meat of perfect quality. The gnocchi was perfectly cooked and formed. The seafood pasta had exceptionall flavor and plenty of shrimp, mussels, clams and more. After that we ordered a tuna dish, not knowing what to expect. What arrived was a tuna steak perfectly seared only on the outside on a bed of perfectly cooked carrot, spinach and other veggies. Covering the fish and veggies was a thick, tangy sauce. The dish seemed to resist at first, with the crispy searing then melt in your mouth with raw fish and the very complimentary sauce. We then had our coffee and desert, cappuccino and tiramisu. Followed by the italian digestive, lemoncello. Definitely and Italian meal. Perfect. It also was fun to have dinner with my mom. On her trip we had a great time together, which was great because we had missed eachother. Their flight left at 7 so I walked over to her apartment at 4 and we left for the airport at 430. I helped them through until the security point, then went home to get some sleep. Im sure Ill remember some more from the trip and write about it later but overall mom and grandma became Florentine for a couple weeks and really took to the city.  The next day I had a day to myself and took the opportunity to take my bike and go play basketball. With my new wheels an hour walk each way became a 20 minute ride. You definitely have to keep your head up when you ride a bike through Italian traffic. After basket I rode around the city for a while. The next day I had my last final and my step brother Alex and his wife Nami were scheduled to come in but they missed a connection so wouldnt be in until the next morning. My good friend Mario was also intown for a week so we went to hangout with him and his little brother and friend who also came with him. The next day I met Alex and Nami at the Duomo and gave them a nice 6 hour walking tour. We covered tons of ground and went into many churches and shops. I took them to Vestri a little shop that makes its own shop and bought them some chocolates. Anyone who comes to Florence needs to make a stop there. We finished with a nice dinner and since it was pouring rain they took a cab home. The next day we met again at the Duomo and walked to the Ufizzi to make reservations. We were also able to make reservations for the david. We tried to make it to a soccer game but the timing didnt work out so I suggested we head to Pisa. It would be a good chance to introduce them to the trainstation as they were going a few places. Pisa was fun, once again I bought a pack of cards and taught them some scopa. The clouds in the sky were crazy and I got some great pics. So what if it was my 5th time there. I like going to pisa. When we got back We walked around for a while before walking them home. It was Marios last night so we all went back to Semolina and had a great dinner. There was about 8 of us and we all sampled each others food and everything was excellent. Damiano took us to a local Italian hangout and we stayed there for a while. So far this week its been really rainy but today the sun is shining so Im going to take the bike out. I head for Amsterdam with my roommates thursday so that should be fun.

p.s. Finishing up last of Alex and Nami and.......... My trip to amsterdam. Which was incredible and a mix of Las Vegas, Italy and New York. Everyone should go there once. Also a special thanks to mom for the emergency transfer that allowed me to Fly home in time for school....

2008-03-19T12:01:00.000+01:00

coming today or tomorrow. Having midterms this week.

This week.

2008-03-06T17:46:00.005+01:00

Last week in creative food design we made a couple things. We made sheets of fresh pasta then placed a layer of ricotta and parmesian cheese and the a layer of speck (smoky italian bacon) then an endive leaf. We rolled them up like a spring roll and placed them in a casserole dish. We covered them in a bechamel sauce and baked them. We also made fresh tagliatelle amd a duck sauce to go with it. To make the duck sauce we boiled duck down with lots of red wine and tomatoes aand tomato sauce, along with spices. Traditionally it is cooked for at least a day but can be sone in a few hours. It was a great sauce to go with the fat, fresh pasta. I was sick all weekend so I didnt do much. Monday in Baking and pastry we spent the whole 2 1/2 hours making puff pastry dough. We made two kinds, one with white wine and one without. From those two kinds we made two variations with different kinds of butter. Because it has to sit in between folds and needs time we only made the dough for the recipes we will make next week. Wednesday we made cheese (parmesian, smoked mozzarella and pecorino) ravioli with a light cherry tomato and caper sauce and a broccoli and cheese quiche with red peppercorns. In Italian we worked on past tense verbs, possesive speaking (mine, my yours and all that) and sang some songs. I have a rough translation of one and it definitely sounds Italian. Download it! Here are the lyrics in Italian and in English.
La Canzone Del Sole by Lucio Battisti
Le bionde trecce gli occhi azzurri e poi
the blonde braids the blue eyes
le tue calzette rosse
your red socks
e l'innocenza sulle gote tue
innocence on your cheeks
due arance ancor più rosse
colored red and orange
e la cantina buia dove noi, respiravamo piano
the dark cellar, where we breathed quietly
e le tue corse l'eco dei tuoi no, oh no
your run, the echo of your "no, oh no"
mi stai facendo paura
You are scared of me

dove sei stata cosa hai fatto mai?
Where have you been, what have you done
una donna, donna, dimmi
now your a woman, a woman, tell me
cosa vuol dir sono una donna ormai?
what does it mean that you're a woman, what have you done?
ma quante braccia ti hanno stretto tu lo sai
to become a woman how many arms have held you, you know
per diventar quel che sei
to make you what you are
che importa tanto tu non me lo dirai purtroppo
who cares, you wont tell me, unfortunately
ma ti ricordi l'acqua verde e noi
do you remember the green water
le rocce e il bianco in fondo
the rocks on the white sand
di che colore sono gli occhi tuoi?
of the color of your eyes?
se me lo chiedi non rispondo
if you ask me i wont respond

Oh mare nero, oh mare nero, oh mare ne..
oh black sea, oh black sea
tu eri chiaro e trasparente come me
you used to be transparent to me
oh mare nero, oh mare nero, oh mare ne..
tu eri chiaro e trasparente come me

Le biciclette abbandonate sopra il prato e poi
we abandoned our bicycles and then
noi due distesi all'ombra
we layed in the shade
un fiore in bocca può servire sai
a flower in the mouth can help, you know
più allegro tutto sembra
everything seems happier
e d'improvviso quel silenzio tra noi
and there was an unexpected silence between us
e quel tuo sguardo strano
your strange glances
ti cade il fiore dalla bocca e poi..
the flower falls from your mouth and then....
oh no ferma ti prego la mano
oh no your hand....
dove sei stata cosa hai fatto mai?
from where do you know what you have never done?
una donna, donna, donna dimmi
now you're a woman, a woman, tell me
cosa vuol dir sono una donna ormai?
what you want to say you are a woman now?
Io non conosco quel sorriso sicuro che hai
I dont know that confident smile you have
non so chi sei, non so più chi sei
I dont know anymore who you are
mi fai paura oramai, purtroppo
you scare me now, unfortunately
ma ti ricordi le onde grandi e noi
do you remember the waves
gli spruzzi e le tue risa
the spray and your laugh
cos'è rimasto in fondo agli occhi tuoi?
does it remain anywhere in your eyes?
La fiamma è spenta o è accesa?
the flame is gone or is it here?
Oh mare nero, oh mare nero, oh mare ne..
oh black sea, oh black sea, oh black sea
tu eri chiaro e trasparente come me
you used to be transparent to me
oh mare nero, oh mare nero, oh mare ne..
tu eri chiaro e trasparente come me.

Il sole quando sorge sorge piano e poi
when the sun goes up the calm comes
la luce si diffonde tutto intorno a noi
the light spreads around us
le ombre di fantasmi nella notte
the shadows and the ghost of night are like
sono alberi e cespugli ancora in fiore
trees and bushes stealing the fire
sono gli occhi di una donna ancora pieni d'amore
like the eyes of a woman, still a flood of love

We also sang a couple disco songs and others but this is the one she helped translated completely. IN this weeks creative design class we made some interesting things. We made pears that we partially hollowed out, peeled and boiled in moscato (desert wine) sugar and water. 2 parts water for each part moscato. We placed a paper towel dipped in the mixture on top of the boiling pears. While that was cooking (about 25 minutes) some of us made crackers out of crushed regular crackers, melted butter, sage and walnuts. We spread the mix onto wax paper and baked it. Others made a quiche or souffle out of a bechamel that we melted pecorino into, whipped egg whites and freshly made pastry. We also melted white chocolate, spread it into a sheet and placed chopped dark olives on top, the put it outside to cool. After it had cooled we chopped it into squares and placed gorgonzola cheese on top. After the pears were done boiling them we quartered them and sprinkled on sugar. With a torch I got to flambe the sugar into a caramel color. We also made a honey based syrup. We plated everything and it all turned out pretty good, especially the pears. After that I went and met up with mom and grandma. It was kind of late so mom and I headed out for a walk. We had walked around the other day for a while but this time we had a good 2-3 hour walk. We walked through a good part of the city and up to piazza michaelangelo, where I had taken the over city night shots previously. I had also taken dad there and gone up a few other times but as I have found it is impossible to get tired of these things. Especially since I am starting to get the feeling that I will be leaving soon. Not a good feeling. She loved the walk and enjoyed the view. If I didnt love it so much here the excitement of my visitors would remind me how amazing it is here. One of the last nights we had also gone to see the Oscar winning "no country for Old Men" which we liked. There is an amazing theater called "the Odeon" that is in a building that is, of course, hundreds of years old. Its been a theater since 1920 and its beautiful inside. Google it. The next day I met up with them pretty early and headed to the Accademia to see the David. The summer crowds are starting to come in (even tho we are in a cold snap)so I almost had to make a reservation but we were able to get in without waiting more than 5 minutes. My grandma particularly enjoyed the 6-700 year old musical instruments and mom took a liking to Davids hands. After that we went and met up with the owner of the apartment they are renting so they could settle in. It was a beautiful place in a 700 year old building. It will be good for grandma to have a steady place to come home too. After settling in we headed out to Pisa to see the tower. Its good that I keep returning to these places because now instead of just having been there (i know "just") I am getting to know them. Especially Rome, which I feel pretty comfortable with, especially the transportation system. Tomorrow morning we are planning on heading there for a day trip, which should be fun.

Company

2008-03-05T14:19:00.001+01:00

My mom and Grandma flew into Florence yesterday. Seems that since I didnt go home for Christmas all my family is coming to me. Been really sick for about a week, went to the english doctor here on monday so hopefully Ill be better soon. Write more soon.

Slow week

2008-02-25T16:48:00.003+01:00

I finally put pics on the last post. Ive been having trouble with the internet here lately. Its getting warmer here after a couple weeks of cold nights. Havent done much, just playing basketball, going to class and going out with friends once in a while. Looking to go on some trips soon. Classes have been good, we have been cooking alot more things than last semester. We made some really good creme filled pastries last monday, then on tuesday we made a creme and onion sauce and a balsamic vinegar caramel (that was really cool to make) to go with a seared veal filet that we rolled around in spices and wrapped in italian bacon (so different and 1000 times better than american bacon) and braised in balsamic until tenderand also a vanilla bean gelato. We actually used the vanilla beans and scraped the seeds out to use to make the gelato. We but the balsamic caramel on the gelato and it was excellent. The veal was great too. On thursday for creative cuisine we made a stew and polenta and cheese ravioli. Both of those were excellent also. Today im planning on actually buying one of the bikes ive been looking at and tomorrow im going to the Into the Wild Alaska movie that is showing in the theater here, with some friends.

Back Home- Pics Up, Finally!.

2008-02-18T08:51:00.003+01:00

Our last day in Tunisia we checked out of our hotel and walked around the city killing time. We had booked passage on a ship that went all the way to Rome but it didnt leave until 10pm that night. The hotel let us leave our luggage there so we were able to walk around easily. We had some “joo”, the fresh orange juice and headed toward the Medina. There were about 7 entrances to the medina, all with large stone arches in front. Behind the arch was a open courtyard with a fountain in the middle. Once you were past the courtyard and into the medina you were in these tiny little streets filled with people. Lining the streets was shop after shop with every single owner standing in their entyway calling out to people to buy their goods. It got very annoying because if you stopped for just one second to look at something interesting they were all over you trying to sell it. And they definitely do not take no for an answer. Little Abduls. It was good to see because there were alot of interesting things but the mystique wore off quickly, due to the hassling owners. The crowds were so thick down the tiny streets that it was hard to go where you wanted. You kind of had to go with the flow. it was almost single file, with people wanting to go the other direction waiting for an opening. They were all locals too, only the rare foreigner. Dad and I got out after a little bit and sat down in outdoor cafe in the courtyard right outside of the Medina. We ordered coffee and people watched for a while. After that we decided to head to where the ship left from, the area where we stayed the first night in Africa. We picked up our bags and headed to the train station. We waited for a train that wasnt full so we could have a seat and took the 15 minute ride to “Le Goullette”. We walked to the hotel that we had stayed in and I asked if I could use their wireless, as we still had about 3 and a half hours to kill. I was able to put the last post on there but not pictures. I also got to Skype a little bit. With about an hour and a half to go we walked along the beach to the port. It was the same street that we had first came upon after getting to Africa. That night it had seemed so dark and foreign but now it was just another street with palm trees. We went to the station and turned our vouchers into tickets and then sat down to wait. Tunisia had blown Italy out of the water for about of smoke you had to put up with. After living in the US, Europe and Italy especially was shocking with the amount of smoking there was in public areas and in general. Tunisia was way worse. Everywhere you went there were people smoking. In restaurants, joo bars, in every building pretty much. In Italy at least you cannot smoke in buildings, except trainstations and airports. Anyway we were sitting there waiting and half the people in the room were smoking. And you couldnt go anywhere, you had to wait in the room. After a while they opened the doors and we headed out to board the ship. This one was actually bigger than the one from Naples to Palermo. It was huge. We walked to the loading area and waited in line for a while before taking the elevator up to the registration area. This one was much fancier than the previous one, and included a swimming pool and jacuzzi. We settled in the shared room but soon the noise, smell and smoke of the Tunisians drove us out. We found these doorways that were like compartments with doors on both sides and settled in there. We awoke a little bit before arriving in Palermo (one stop before Rome) and headed up to the deck to look. My dad realized his camera was missing and we searched for it. We never found it and how it disappeared is a mystery. Poor Poppa! I told him he could use my camera for the rest of the trip, as we were going to my city and I didnt need to take pictures. We walked around Palermo for a while and picked up some goodies for the cruise to Rome. The ship food is very expensive and we got some pizza, a panino and eggplant parm. I watched some movies on my laptop for a little while and then found my dad. We had coffee and played scopa for a while in the cafe. Almost all the tunisians had been replaced by Italians so there was no more smoke or noise on the ship. The wind picked up and the seas got a little high but the ship was so massive you couldnt tell the difference. We arrived in Cittivechio, which was a 30 minute train ride from Rome early that morning and set off to find a way to get to Rome. A shuttle driver was kind enough to drop us off near the station, so that was easy. The next train was there right when we got tickets so we didnt have to wait and were on our way to Rome. Once in Rome we decided that it would be easiest if I went by myself to Hotel Lodi to get the bags we had left there before we went to Africa. I left dad my phone so he could try to call Jackie and all the bags to guard and took the subway to where the hotel was. I grabbed the bags and headed back, taking a bus this time, as the subway station was a ways away. I found poppa safe and still in possession of all our bags and we bought tickets to Florence. An excitement began to build up. I was going home! The train didnt leave for about an hour so we had some pizza and patate frittes with mayo and were hassled by about 6 different gypsies. We settled into the train (the right one this time) and prepared for the 2+ hour ride. This train was one of the older ones but not in too bad a shape. It took a different route than I had taken before but was very scenic and went through alot of cool little villages and near many castles. Dad was snapping away with the camera and seemed to enjoy the Tuscan landscape. Seeing the red roofs of florence was a great feeling. I love my city and I had missed her. I was also very excited to shoe her beauty to my dad. It was about 4 or 5 pm and we decided to look for a place to stay so we wouldnt have to carry the bags around. As we were leaving we were approached a few times by guys with broschures about hotels. Some of them were pretty reasonable but dad had one he wanted to look at. I took him to the street and it turned out to be not such a great deal. We tried a couple more but they werent very good either. We decided to head off and try one of the ones recommended by the people at the trainstation. We found one right behind the trainstation called Hotel Montreal that was a good price and actually pretty nice. We settled in then went out for a walk. We went pretty much straight to the Duomo, and a couple streets from it I told him to just walk straight so he wouldnt know it was coming. Like I wrte when I saw it is an awe-inspiring building. He walked around it for a while and we looked at the gates of paradise that are across from the duomo, in the baptistry. We then walked along the river and down to the other major church or Florence, Santa croce. It was getting dark but I gave him a good tour and we stopped at the student favorite Oil Shop for sandwiches and homemade fries and homemade barbeque sauce. We walked the longway home so I could show him some more of my city and the places I go. I showed him my old street and the place that I get homemade wine at. We settled back in the hotel room and watched some Italian tv. The next morning I went to checkin at the study abroad office and get my keys. I dropped some stuff off at my new apartment and then went to the hotel to get dad so we could bring the rest of my stuff back. My new apartment was a couple blocks away from my old place and 1 block away from the central market. My new place was much nicer than my old one and I only had to share it with 3 other people, instead of the six of last semester. I share a room with Scott and we have our own bathroom, complete with a towel heater. The kitchen is very nice with a large breakfast bar that will be nice to make pasta with. The next few days were great, I showed him the little shops and restaurants and areas I hang out at along with taking him to see the David, the top of the Duomo and my favorite church. We also became regulars at my little bakery where we got pizza, bread and bomboloni’s everyday. Con crema of course. We had a great time in Florence and it was a lot more laid back than some of the other parts of our trip because we had a long time to see things and Florence is such an easy city to walk around. We had a great side trip to Pisa to see the tower and I finally got to take him out when I took him to my favorite trattatoria, the one I wrote about last semester. We had risotto, gnochi, the truffle ravioli and a nice caprese. We had gotten along great the whole trip, which usually doesnt happen when you add the stresses of traveling to being with the same person 24/7 for 3 weeks. It was great to have no really set plans, just general things we wanted to do. Because of the excentricities of Italy that is a great way to travel. He had to catch a 5:45 train to Rome where he was flying out of so I met him at his hotel at 5:15 and walked him there. It was sad to loose my traveling partner and I had definitely had an adventure Ill always treasure because it was just me and my dad and we did so much. That weekend my school and our sister school, FUA had the welcoming party at the same discotech they rented for the going away party. Good food and music and alot of friends I had missed. We (me and my roommates) also went to an American rap concert with Lil Flip. Monday was our first day of school and we had our Baking and pastry class. The chef is named Maximillian and he’s a younger little man that is serious about his pastry. We made some Italian cookies that have half the ingredients that american cookies have and tasted like shortbread cookies. We also made batches of pastry dough that we would use next class for pies and cakes. Tuesday I have my advanced introduction to wines class with the same teacher as last semester, carlotta. After that I have restaurant management with Francesco the wise old man that Mario and I had our sauna adventure with last semester. Wednesday I had class taught by Damiano, my friend that I play basketball with. That was traditions of Italian food 2 and we made spinach dough and rolled it very thin and baked it on top of an upside down tin cup so it formed a bowl. We then made polenta and then sauteed beaf, veal and chicken with onion, garlic, wine and at the end sliced truffles. When it was all done we made a bed of polenta and placed the spinach break bowl on top filled with the meat and truffle mixture. I was told that mine was the best, which is always good. I liked that this semester we were the larger kitchen and we had enough space so everyone made everything themselves. After that class I had a couple hours before Italian intermediate which is about a 30 minute walk away. Thursday I had food design where we learn how to plate food and about artistic cooking. That was something that I had never had any experience with so I was excited. We made a few things. First we made saffron mingon (small and round) bread then made a liver mousse pate. To do that we made the Pate the normal way only passed through a strainer with tiny holes then made whipped cream (unsweetened) and mixed them together. Finally we made an onion and cherry balsamic jam by cooking down the onion and balsamic with bayleaf for a long time on low heat. When we were ready to plate he talked about how you can use the plate as a guide and how to make canals (like a shaped line for thick sauces or foods) and other designs. The food was excellent too, especially the jam. This week we made a few different kinds of cakes and pies in baking class then a truffle risotto with veal rolls that we stuffed with truffles and some cheese then rolled in egg and breadcrumbs and fried in Damiano’s class. He also gave us a lesson about cheesemaking that was very interesting and then made a really good fondue out of fresh fontina cheese. In class thursday (food design) we seared some red tuna (we were told it is rare and expensive) that we had rolled in sesame seeds until just the outside was cooked. They were excellent. I also tried some raw and that was very good too. The chef, Fabio, talked about the rules of plating and the connection between presentation and the brains reaction. We then made a pretty cool dish. We boiled a potato each and scooped out the inside. After that we made a cream sauce out of bechamel, fontina cheese, a little brandy and worchester and sale pepe. We then mixed truffle cream with ricotta cheese and seasoning. We put a layer of ricotta cheese inside the potato then a raw egg yolk and then sealed it in with another layer of ricotta and truffle. We then placed it in a tin and cooked it bem marie (SP?) style (where you have a layer of water) in the oven for about 10 minutes. When we plated I made a circle of the cream sauce then placed the filled potato half in the middle. I placed pieced of sage around it and It turned out pretty well. The dish was really cool to eat because when you cut into the potato the egg yolk started erupting out like a volcano down the sides. Definitely a visually stimulating dish. This semester all my classes are interesting so far and it should be another good semester. In my spare time Ive been walking around the city and playing basketball when I can. Ive been shopping for a bike so the journey to the basketball court doesnt take so long. (Dad you saw how long it was) I actually just got back from playing. Its good to be home.

Sean Walklin

2008-02-11T11:42:00.001+01:00

Almost done. Should be on tomorrow morning at the latest.

Ok!

2008-02-02T16:02:00.000+01:00

So my just left this morning. We had a great time and he took good care of me the last few weeks. Writing the new blog now but until I post it you can look at the previous blog- I put alot of pics on it.

Up until 24-1-08.

2008-01-26T17:24:00.001+01:00

Having trouble loading pics....... So much to show you. Hopefully a better connection in Italy.

Now With pictures!

2008-01-26T17:23:00.001+01:00

We left hotel Lodi and headed for Rome Termini at about 10 AM. The hotel let us keep a couple bags there, which was great because we had a pretty heavy load as it was. We got tickets for Naples and had to decide between the two trains listed. Both headed for Naples at the same time and looked the same. It ended up being the wrong train and for some reason we had to pay more money when we were onboard. The conductor said it was the “intercity” train. I’ve had a few bumps and mistakes traveling around Europe but that was a new one. We enjoyed the scenery and played scopa (an Italian card game that has its own deck of cards). The ride took about two hours and at one point we ran along the Mediterranean and a little town build next to it. Very nice. When we got to Naples we were guided to an office that sold ferry tickets right in the train station. We bought a one way ticket to Palermo, Sicily that left at 8:30PM. We had about 6 hours to kill before we had to board the ferry so we decided to head to where it left and walk around there. We had to take a bus to get to the port so we bought bus tickets in the trainstation and headed to the bus stop. Stepping out of the bus stop into Naples was a little shocking because it was the dirtiest looking Italian city I’ve ever seen and very very busy. The buildings just looked like they had a grimy, dirty coating on them and were the box type of architecture you wouldnt think to see in Italy. On the way to the bus stop we bought some bread, cheese, water and frittatas for later. We went the wrong way on the bus, taking it to the end of its run but that was okay because then it turned around and headed the way we wanted to go, plus we got to see more of the city. As we got further and further away from the bus stop Naples started transforming. Although there still was trash on many streets (there is a mafia relater strike) the buildings were no longer cookie cutter boxes and the dirty feel was less pronounced. When we got to our stop the transformation was complete. A large castle welcomed us to the water front and Italian style homes and shops were everywhere. The port was full of huge cruise ships and cargo ships. We found where the check in office was and set off exploring. We were dragging around our luggage, which wasn’t pleasant, but we needed to balance out the pizza eating anyway. We walked past the castle and into this neighborhood of tiny alleys where mo-peds zoomed by with barely a beep of warning. There were all kinds of restaurants and shops, including bread and butcher shops. We found a little pizza place and sat down. We figured we couldnt come to the home of pizza and not have any. The pizza was very very good. We ordered a little margherita each and it was a simple but perfect pizza. Cheese, basil and sauce mixed together perfectly. Home made cheese, sauce and dough in perfect compliment. After pizza we headed to the port and sat down on a bench for a while, watching the sun set and all the people handle their business. There was a dog laying there that I tossed some bread to but it didnt seem interested. We went into a little cafe and had a couple espressos while we waited. At about 6:30 we headed to the ticket office and turned our reciept into the boarding tickets. Hardly anyone so far on our trip (except for the deskman at hotel Lodi in Rome) spoke english, less and less as we headed south) so I was glad that I practiced with Mario and each day my Italian has been getting better. After the ticket office I stopped and petted the dog and that brought about an instant change. He hopped up and would be our guard dog on the way to the ship, barking at mopeds and strangers never getting more that a few feet from us. The way to the boat was a little confusing, with signs pointing to a bus loading area and stopping there. I played catch with the dog while we figured out which way to go. We tried a dark side street and it turned out to lead right to the loading area. Our ship was not a little ferry, like we thought it would be but a huge mediterranean cruise ship called “Snav Lazio”. We had our passports checked and leaving our companion behind, headed aboard. The ship was beautiful. At check in we were informed that we could find our seats on two different decks (we had chosen not to pay for a cabin) and we saw listed on the decks casino, disco, bar, restaurant, movie theater and game room. This was not some little ferry! We settled in a back room with large comfortable chairs around little table. No one else was back there so it was like we had our own, large room. We took turns exploring (as someone had to watch the luggage) and I saw the luxury or each previously listed area. Because it wasnt the summer high season some areas were not active (the disco, casino and game room) but they had a cheap bar and poppa and I had a corona on the top deck as we left the dock. We made a nice dinner with the cheese, tomato, bread and avocado we had bought and although for a little while there were some loud Italians we pretty much had the area to ourselves all night. While dad slept I went up to the top deck and saw the beauty of a nearly full moon shining on the black mediterranean. I was all alone up there and for 360 degrees it was only me and the sea. Warm with a slight wind and beautiful clouds and clear constellations It was a great spot to soak in the fact that few people (especially where I am from) would ever be able to see this. I woke up at about 5:30 to dad singing to his Ipod and we went to the top deck to see the sunrise and Palermo come into view. We waited to disembark with the other passengers (an Italian soccer team included) our arrival time about 6:45AM. When we got off we saw the ferrari brand trucks unload the cargo and made our way out of the port. I talked to a guard and found out where the ticket offices were to buy berth on a ship to Tunis was. We had a few hours to kill before they opened so we set off to explore Palermo for a while. We found a nice piazza with sculpture and old buildings where I talked to Bill and my sister and had a nice happy birthday song sung to me by them and my nieces. I was 22.... I know pretty old. It was hard to imagine that 4 years ago I was a senior in highschool, not a care in the world only thinking about what I would do on the weekend and what team we would play in basketball that week. Feels like 10. Time ebbs and flows and at times feels like its going by in warp speed but mostly it crawls by. Especially when I sit back and think about everything Ive done then It really feels like more that 4 years. I feel like Im really good at living in the moment and dont spend too much time thinking about the past or what could have happened or things I should/could have done. I think that can be a good or bad thing but Im pretty good about learning from my mistakes. Living by the things my parents have imprinted into me - caring about family, trying to be a good, generous person taking care of myself and always taking the highroad I have done pretty well. My biggest regret would probably the way I handled my first few years of college. Anyway back to the trip! Palermo is a beautiful, very old city full of historic buildings and little streets through ancient neighborhoods. We got a map from a hotel and the guy at the desk told me that there were three old markets that were in the most authentic areas. We decided to do a big loop through town and hit all of them. It took a few hours and we missed the ship to Tunis but it was worth it. The markets were really cool, filled with much different foods than in Florence markets. All kinds of fish and crustaceans were the biggest difference but with the different climate there was also tons of fresh fruit. (It was hot in Sicily!) We found a bus station that had tickets to another town that had ferrys to Tunis. The bus left every hour and we ate clementines as we waited. The bus was nice, beautiful, sunny countryside with cactus and light blue ocean were the highlights. We arrived in Trapani about an hour and a half later. We had no map of Trapani so we just walked from the bus stop until we found the ocean. We saw that Trapani stuck out like a little peninsula. We reasoned that since there was no port on the side we were on that it must be on the other side. It was strange walking through the town because there was not one person in the streets and no stores were open. All that was missing was the tumbleweeds. It was hot and the buildings were all painted white and mostly one floor. They looked very much like the ones in mexico but with an Italian twist. When we made it to the otherside there was some traffic and the port with large ships were in site. We found a ticket office and found that there was no ships until monday. We looked around for hotels for a while until we found an inexpensive one called “Hotel Moderno” The streets were full of stores but still completely empty. It felt like one of those movies where the people’s car breaks down and they end up dying in the weird, deserted town! But it was too beautiful and sunny to be too weird. Although it was odd. The hotel was nicer than its price and we settled in for a nap and showers. We decided to go out for a walk around 7:30 and to our shock the streets were full! I mean full. Not with cars but people. Wall to wall as far as the eye could see people were walking and laughing and hangingout. Mostly young people too. Darker than up north with more piercings but the same dressed up sense of style they filled the streets with energy and laughter. We walked around enjoying the architecture (in the center there were many old churches and nice buildings) before stopping in “the jumping cafe” for a espresso with brandy for a birthday toast. We found and amazing pizza place called “calvinos” That was completely full of people that busted out a pizza a minute but still couldnt keep up with demand. While I was waiting I got to talk to my mom for a few minutes and got a happy birthday from her. For about 8 Euro we got a huge sicilian margherita pizza. I cant remember what pizza hut says a sicilian style is but they are definitely wrong. We went home and watched “American Gangster” on my laptop and enjoyed the pizza. The big difference from other Italian pizzas was that it was heavily seasoned with spices and had more cheese than you usually get in Italy. We fell asleep happy. Good birthday. The next morning we headed to the beach and although I didnt swim i took my shoes off and walked in the water for a while. The sun was shining and the sea mixed light green and blue to a beautiful shade. I love the beach. We walked along it for a while picking up rocks and pieces of pottery and tile that had to be hundreds of years old. We walked around for a while but once again during the day it was a ghost town. The grocery wasnt even open! We had a laid back day in the sun before heading out for espresso and gelato. We had an early night and packed up as we were heading to Africa in the morning. We managed to figure out where to buy tickets (one thing about southern Italy is that it is much harder to get information to do anything that up north. Nothing is marked and although people are pretty friendly they seem to only give you the minimum of information. It would be even harder without someone who spoke some Italian) We went to the ticket desk and got two seats for the “Gianni” which was scheduled to set off at 10:30. We had to have our passports checked by Italian police and then a cursory look at our luggage by Tunisian officials. Due to some kind of loading problem we didnt leave until about 11:45. We were scheduled to arrive in Trapani at 9:30. The checkin lady was kind enough to lock our big bags in a room so we didnt have to lug them around and keep an eye on them. The view from the top deck was amazing. Hills of Sicily turned into the peninsula that Trapani was build on. Sun shined on beautiful water. Brittany called and I talked to her for a while before we set off and my phone stopped working once we were out of Italy. Me and poppa sat on top for a while watching the ocean and seeing all these cool little islands, one in particular that was tine but had a church or villa on it. We went down stairs and had a lunch in the restaurant. This ship was a cruise ship again but smaller and older than the one we were in from Naples to Palermo. The portions were huge and we probably could have ordered less but we didnt know. There was the obligatory obnoxious passenger, who actually passed out for some reason (alchohol maybe?!?) and had to recieve some kind of shot. He had been begging for food (alchohol?!?) money from everyone shortly before he passed out. After they gave him some food and cigarrettes he seemed fine. About an hour later he was at the bar trying to get a drink but to their credit they cut him off. He also decided that it was his ship and that he could smoke cigarrettes in any room he was in. Of course he was always where ever we were. We played scopa for a while and I must admit dad won his share. We saw a beautiful sunset and after that the moon was out again. Big and bright it shone in rays through the clouds. As we got closer to Tunis we met a guy (Ibraham) who lived in Tunis and worked in Italy. He was really nice and talked to me in Italian, which I translated to dad. He had a friend who spoke english and filled in the gaps. He showed us an island that he said let you know you were close to Tunis. He spoke lovingly of his home and said he hadnt been there in months. He seemed very excited. It was a good sign. You always hear horror stories about going to Africa (one I had heard in Italy was that a mad was walking with his wife in a market and he turned to look at something and she was gone. That was 12 years ago and he hasnt heard from her since) but also we were going to a muslim country and the US isnt exactly held in the highest esteem. I wasnt worried, I think I could go anywhere in the world you just have to be careful and smart, but I hoped that it would be fun. We docked about 2 hours late - 11pm. We went through customs, got our passports stamped (Im proud of my passport- I wish you had it stamped in all the European countries but once you’re in the EU you can go to any country) and headed out. We didnt have a hotel reservation but dad had a list. It was really cool seeing the arabic writing everywhere, its a beautiful script. We went outside and decided to skip a cab and walk. Cabs are for lazy and rich people. We, being neither, were content to walk. Palm trees and whitewashed houses with unique architechture greeted us. Dad took out some Dinars (its about 1$ to 1.25 Dinars. Sad that we are barely above a tiny African nation.) They are large, cool bills. 1000 is equivalent to 1 dinar so there are lots of coins involved. We started walking and asked for directions at a police station, but to our dismay we were told it was impossible to walk to Tunis, we were still going to try but then the policeman said why. It was 20 kilometers away! Tunis used to be run by the French so many speak French and I had a European guidebook with me that had some phrases in each language that came in handy. We asked where a hotel was and went in the direction he pointed. We came to a beach that was beautiful and had a large gate as its entrance. We passed the first hotel because it looked really expensive and settled on the next one, which coincidentally was named “Hotel Lodi” just like our hotel in Rome. Fortunately they spoke Italian and we got a room. The room was very nice and since they were pretty empty we got a corner room with a balcony facing the beach. I ran to a corner store (that spoke Italian!) and got some water and snacks. I saw unedited Al-jazeera in the room and for some reason they had “Con-Air” on in english on another channel. We fell asleep watching Nicholas Cage trying to speak in a southern accent, which made the movie a comedy instead of whatever else it was trying to be. We were woken up by the beautiful song of the morning call to prayer. It sounded strong and sad at the same time but was undeniably beautiful. Good thing it was early too because it enabled us to watch a red sunrise over the blue mediterranean sea. We got directions from the front desk to the train station. We walked a few blocks through my first Islamic neighborhood, adds for coke in arabic, cigarrette smokers everywhere and buildings with intricate tile. The train ride took about 20 minutes before we arrived in Tunis. Where the train ends there is parallel rows of trees on either sides of a open area for walking, with streets on the outer sides of the trees. I also pictured the people to be black but everyone was arabic looking. We wandered around for a while checking on hotel prices and taking in this new world. When I pictured tunis I saw rows of grass roofed building on the beach but this was a pretty large city with nice French architecture and street design. Little food shops and juice bars were everywhere. There were also men in uniform with machine guns everywhere guarding certain buildings. They were pretty serious about not having their picture taken and one even came over to check my camera to make sure I hadn’t. We found one of the hotels on my dads list (Mason- Doree) that had a good price, dropped our luggage off and started walking around. In the center there was the Medina, which was one of the worlds oldest markets and we were near that when one of the guys that worked at our hotel (Abdul) spotted us and told us he would show us around the market and that he knew a place that had some rugs that were sold only in certain times of the year. He sped us through deep into the market, stopping at one time to show us where he lives. He was very friendly and took us to a large building where he introduced us to his “brother” who was a very old man. The building was full of amazing rugs of all sizes. Some of cashmere and some of camel hair along with other threads. There were pictures of all kinds of different dignitaries and leaders in the shop. He took us to the top of the building to an amazing view. The entire roof was covered in magnificent tiling and mosaics and you could see the whole city. He began explaining different sights. Directly in front of us was the largest mosque in Africa. After that he took us past an old throne room that a king lived in “with his 4 wives” that slept “two on each side”. He then took us to a sitting room where his “brother and two guys began telling us the history or all the rugs. He began talking about how when we buy one it will be shipped to you directly. Thats when I first began realizing what was going on. He began unravelling rug after rug and having us touch each, with dad and I growing more and more uncomfortable. We felt that just to leave would be rude after the kindness we had been shown but we had not intention of buying one. I said we were not going to get one and he kind of shrugged it off and kept pulling down rugs. Feeling like I had at least let him know I figured the awkwardness would be gone but he then began quoting prices and asking which ones we liked. When we both said we had no intention of buying any he then began lifting each one up, one by one and asking if we wanted it. Dad and I looked at each other and being as diplomatic as I could I said “We are not going to buy a rug”. He shrugged and said “I make my business it is okay”. We were then allowed to leave. Abdul then sped us back through the market to his “Mothers” shop. He said he just wanted us to meet his mother. Feeling another set up dad and I looked at each other. Outside the door i pulled him aside and said “I dont want to be rude to your mother but we are not going to buy anything” he looked offended and said “Abdul is good man. Just come in, make yourself at home” Feeling better we came in. Inside he introduced us to another “brother” and then pointed to a painting of a woman and said “That is my mother” dad and I groaned to ourselves. Here we go. The shop was a perfume and glassware shop. He sat us down and had us put our bags down and take our coats off and began to show us everything. He actually had some nice glassware. When he got to the perfume he began opening them up one by one and having us smell them. After we smelled them he told us how to use them and that they were “All natural, no chemical”. He then, seeming like it had just come to him asked us which were our favorites. To humor him since they were nothing either of us would use (dad especially) we picked a couple. Seeming excited he said “here, take these!” and put them in tiny bottles. He then looked at dad and said “One more, for your wife!” Dad and I laughed at that because Jackie is the last person who would want some cheap perfume, being unable to be around that kind of thing. Because explaining it would be impossible dad humored him by picking one, hoping that if we moved along we could get going quicker. He wrapped them up and put them in dads backpack. He then looked at us and said “ok now pay my brother.” I laughed out loud. He wanted 90 Dinar for 3 tiny bottle of crap. We started telling him no and the price kept dropping and his voice kept rising, trying to bully the tourist into a purchase. He got close to dad and i stepped up and he tried to shush me but I looked at him and explained that I had told him that we had no intention of buying anything. His “brother” looked embarrassed but Abdul would not give up. He said “Ok big man 25 dinar” we said “No!” I thought I was going to have to get physical but he finally in a huff took the perfume back and walked us outside. We started walking away and he said “What about me?” I said “what about you?” He told us about all the trouble he had gone to. I said all the trouble you had gone to so you could sell shit. To appease the situation dad gave him 10 dinar (the tour and the chance to be in the palace rooftop that we never would have been able to be on was actually worth at least 10 dinar) but then he said “more” and that got me pretty mad. I told him to “get out of here” and we left! It was a little hectic for a minute but we were laughing about it 30 minutes later. Those are the stories that make traveling. We would joke that we saw Abdul peeking around at us around the corner or imitate his “Abdul good man”. We had read in the guide books that everybody that offered help or game you directions would expect money in return. Unfortunately this would be way more common than the guidebooks let on. We eventually made it through the maze that was the Medina and once back into some form of civilization went looking for something to eat. While we were looking for a restaurant I had a schwarma (what they call kabobs in florence) and it was excellent. Loaded with olives and different veggies and a distinctly different flavor of meat it felt more like a sandwich than the ones in florence, which are like fast food. (although delicious) That night we walked around for a while and tried to get to know our neighborhood. There were tons of coffee and hicsh (hookah in NY) bars (hopefully I’ll get a chance to try one) and little food stands everywhere. I must say the women here are amazing. Even more so than Italy the streets are full of very attractive women. Cleopatras. There is about a 30-70 mix of women in muslim covering with more being without. We settled in at the hotel, deciding that the next day we would find a new hotel because we didnt feel like we could trust our things in the room while we were gone if Abdul had the key to our room. We scouted rooms and found one that was 24 dinars a night for 2 people, breakfast included. So Abdul was a blessing in disguise. Good ol’ Abdul. The next day we had breakfast at our hotel (coffee, pastry) before checking out and taking out luggage to the new hotel, which was about 2 blocks away. We stopped in the internet cafe and communicated with the outside world. We spent the day walking around the city, trying local food and enjoying the “joo” (juice) which is anywhere from 600 to 1,200 dinar. (60c to 1.20.) Shopping for anything from juice to postcards to food you WILL be ripped off if you don’t lock down a price first. Ive gone to the same place for water/ coke light and payed different prices for the same thing everytime. You order without getting a price and they will get you. They will give you the wrong change or sell you something you don’t need. One example is that its 700 for a stamp to us and one place sold us a bunch or 600 stamps and said we had to use two for each stamp. We are learning tho. Im a veteran now! Although they are sneaky and will still get you. If you know the way to do business it would never be a problem. They just see tourists as a way to a quick buck, feed themselves and their families, or buy some cigarettes but at least they all do it with a smile on their faces. The people are pretty friendly, but I think thats part of the con. Alot of times, especially when I walk alone at night (in the main streets) guys will come up to me and ask me what im doing. If I say I’m going to eat they say they know the best place and that they’ll show me. I don’t think its to rob me or anything its just that they would want me to give them money for showing me. Nothing is free in Tunis. After we had Joo we got some pizza from “pizza the best” which turned out to be just clever marketing because it was not the best pizza. The hotel was nice but simple. Two twin beds and a shower in the corner filled up the room and we had a medium sized balcony overlooking the street. I know Tunis probably sounds rough but it is a beautiful city and once you know how to handle the beggars and con men you can have a great time. The next morning we set off to see the ruins of the once great city of Carthage. Destroyed then re-built by the Romans thousands of years ago I think its the main reason dad wanted to come here. We set off about 9AM by train and got there in about a half hour. Right when we got off the train we walked the two blocks to a beach, through a beautiful suburb lined in palm trees. When we got to the golden beach a thunderstorm came out of nowhere and sent us hiding under a overhanging roof for about 15 minutes. The rain left sun behind and we walked along the beach for a while, finding some really cool rocks. (dads smile was ear to ear, he loves rocks) We bought a museum pass that covers all sites (about10) and walked to the first one. The ruins were really cool, and in pretty good shape. The walkways were clear but right off the path the jungle was closing in. We walked around old burial areas and still standing structured for a while. One end shared a wall with a presidential palace and guards with machine guns pointed us in the opposite direction. We then moved to the next side which was the Roman reconstruction. Beautiful mosaics were the floors in some areas and a headless Roman statue looked over the wall down to the sea. We walked on top of an old Roman wall for a while and one area had hundreds of old tile and pottery broken and forgotten on the ground. If I wasn’t honest I would have some nice souvenires. We next headed out to an old amphitheater where my goofy dad belted out some lines from some old play, arms up to the sky. Suburbs bumped up against all the sites and we walked to a little supermarket (on the way we picked some eucalyptus from the trees on the sidewalk) and got some water and french baguettes. (I also got some sardines for a sandwich) we sat on a little bench in the sun and rested our feet. We walked around for a while before heading to a city by the sea, Sidi Bou Sad which was about 5 stops down on the same train. This little city was full of beautiful blue and white homes, orange and lemon trees and cactus gardens. We walked around for a couple hours, going up to a cliff that overlooked Tunis and the sea. Up on top there was also a Muslim grave yard, which was pretty. In front of the headstones were coffin length tablets on top of the grave with islamic script. We headed back down and took the train back to Tunis. We ate at a little food stand that stuffed something like frybread with hot sauce, potato and egg. I had tuna in mine. Very good. They were something like 30cents each and they also had a few other fried goods. We explored tunis some more, before going to the hotel to relax. For dinner we walked around until we found a place that had stuff dad could eat. It was called Mamma Mia (but it wasn’t an italian restaurant?) and I got a schwarma plate, which is everything you get in a schwarma but on a plate, not in a sandwich. Dad had the same but without the meat. We also ordered a pizza (I think because it was 4 dollars for a huge pizza we could eat later and the next day) The plates came with this great bread that had fennel and other herbs on top. On the way home we stopped at our joo bar. We watched movies on my laptop and fell asleep. This morning we headed out early again and went to the Le Bardo museum, which is famous for its mosaic collection and has many relics of Carthage. The tram ride to the museum was very cool because we got to see lots of the town we hadn’t seen yet. Away from the center you could really see the poverty. The museum was surrounded by a tall fence and who would have guessed- guys with machine guns! The museum was really cool. Room after room of incredible and huge mosaics. There were also lots of statues, of Roman craft. We were there for a few hours after which we ate some cheese and bread dad had bought that morning. We sat on a bench in the sun and for desert we had fresh dates and some amazing oranges. On the way back dad wanted to stop at one of the tram stations to take pictures and squeezed through the doors as they closed. I didnt have time to get out but I knew my way back so I went to our internet place then walked around for a while before heading to the hotel to finish my blog. Its too bad Im so behind because I forget so many details but Im having a great time, Tunis is beautiful and very stimulating. Its good to be off the beaten path. Ive only seen one other tourist who speaks english and its great to see different ways of life. Like I said in Italy, laughter and smiles are the same in any language and North African muslims are no different. You could come here with alot of money and stay in expensive hotels and take taxis everwhere and eat inside but you would never really have a feel for Tunis. Hopefully my next blog wont be so long away. Hope everyone is well at home.

In Tunis

2008-01-22T10:07:00.001+01:00

So we made it in last night from trapani sicily to tunis tunisia. Safe and ready to explore.

Back on the road...

2008-01-17T06:01:00.000+01:00

So Sunday at 7:25 I flew out of Ney York City. I had a great time getting to know the city, Mario's family and I got to see Kobe play! I got to hang out with 2 of my good friends from Alaska and saw sides of NY that most visitors dont get to see. NY really is an amazing city, with the most European feel of any US city I have ever been to. The thing for me that stands out about European architecture (besides the age) is how the builders always seem to put in the extra detail and every house and building doesnt look the same, NY also had a diversity of design and detail that reminded me of Europe. Europe doesnt have anything like the height and size of NY buildings, which make you feel like you are entering some strange world when you come in over the bridges. I loved how (especially in Manhattan and Queens) how you walk for 5 or 10 minutes and you are in a completely different cultural section. NY would be my second choice, after anywhere in Europe, to spend the rest of my youth. Marios family gave me an experience I will never forget, from Mario showing me around to his Mother making me feel at home, to His aunt giving me a taste of her Queens famous tiramisu, his grandma making me laugh with her mischievious sense of humor and his little tough guy brother Gianni with his mohawk. I love traveling and flying is a part I dont mind too much, although I always think about what kind of person I will be siting next too. My least favorite isnt the obese guy or the baby or any of the other annoying possibilities but the sick people. Having some stranger coughing next to you for 8 hours is no fun, especially when you are stuck in a big can. Its like a guarantee you will be blowing your nose and taking medicine in a couple days. Everyone always gives the sick person dirty looks, even more than the lady with the crying baby. I was lucky this time tho, I sat next to a pretty normal guy and because the flight wasnt very full i got to go sit by myself - in a middle row no less so I got to stretch out. I dont sleep on planes so I read a book Ian and Christen got me called "the omnivores dilemma" which is very good and about the food industry in America. I recommend it so you know its good. The flight was very quick - about 6 1/2 hours which actually turned out not to be in my benefit. We got in at about 8AM Germany time and my flight to Rome wasnt until 8PM. So I had about 12 hours to kill. I had to take a bus to a smaller airport so I got my baggage and tried to find the bus stop. There was a USO station that let me use their internet and gave me directions. It was good to be back in Europe, it seemed more familiar to me that NY had. I got on the bus, which was 10 Euros and slept about 20 minutes out of tthe hour and a half ride. I got to the Frankfurt - Hann airport around 11:30 and walked around for a while. I was pretty tired and a little disoriented from the time change but still had about 8 hours before I borded. I found a little corner out of the way and put my bags all around me and watched Evil Dean 1. Pretty stupid movie but funny stupid so it was ok. I had a bunch of movies downloaded onto my hard drive, along with some seasons of tv shows like Lost, Californication (good), nip-tuck, Entourage and a few others. I started getting really tired so I slept on the floor for a while which was very uncomfortable but I had to sleep. I got up and went to check in and discovered that I had to pay 40 Euro for my luggage, which was over weight by a 5 kilos. Ryanair is a discount airline so they allow you only so much weight. That sucked because Im poor but what can I do, I need my things. The plane we boarded by walking onto the tarmac (something almost every european flight does) and up into one of two staircases into the plane. It was a choose your own seat flight and wasnt full so I had plenty of space. The flight to Rome was quick, about 1 1/2 hours and I could see the Colosseum lights when we were descending. Good ol Rome. When I got off the plane and went inside I was happy to see the new AK traveler so-star, my poppa, Gary Walklin. We hadnt really set up concrete plans so I wasnt sure if he was going to be there. It was very surreal to be in Italy with my poppa. Im so used to strangers and people Ive only known a few months that It was good to be with someone that I grew up with. We got my bags and headed for the bus that would take us to our hotel. I used my rusty Italian, which felt good. We made it to the hotel, which was a discount one but very nice and welcoming and perfect for travelers. Hotel Lodi was the name. It was very close to the main Metro lines and had free wireless, both of which earned it points. It was also right next to a large chain of the aquaduct, which was in great shape. The next morning we went downstairs and had cafe and croissants with honey. We walked in the wrong direction for a while before I got my bearings. I was excited to show him what I knew about Rome because I had had such a great time when I went. We took a tram up to the central station (called Rome Termini) and started walking from there. Termini is a huge transportation hub with bus lines, the subway, trains and taxis all there, plus the top level is a large mall. We were planning on looping south through the city to the ancient Rome area that contains the Colosseum, Arc of Constantine, Roman Forum, Palatine and others. We both got Roma passes that were good for three days and allowed you on any form of transportation and gained entry into many of the museums and landmarks. When I had came to Rome with the school we walked through the city alot but it was always walking TO somewhere, we were just walking to walk. It was fun walking around with my dad because he is an engineer so he had a different perspective than I did (he loves the aquaduct that is near our hotel) and he enjoyed all the architecture. We walked through some beautiful gardens and down through part of the financial district. We had a quick lunch at a middle eastern cafe that was pretty good. The Roman kabob has nothing on Firenzes tho. After that we went on pretty much a straight line to the Colosseum which is always impressive. When I had gone before we just looked at it but my Dad and I went inside. You really get a feel for the size when you go in and it really is in good shape. We walked up to the top level and looked down on the area where the action used to be. Alot of the stadium had been gutted for building materials but you could still imagine what used to happen here and couldnt help but think about how many people had died there. You could see the lower chambers where the animals and gladiators were kept until they were raised up by pulleys and also where the seats used to be. It was great to see inside and it is very comparable in size to the stadiums of today. After the colosseum we walked by the Arc of Constantine and up through to the Palatine, which was where the massive imperial palace was, from which Rome ruled over a large part of the world. Again we got to see tons of stuff that I hadnt seen previously (a theme that would continue through the rest of Rome). We walked up roads and side streets that were full of gardens and churches. We used our Roma passes to go into the Palatine ruins and I was surprised by how massive they were. We walked by where the Emperors throne used to be (it was raised 2 meters when it was there) and to the courtyard where they had games and races for all the rich and important people. We then continued down into the Roman Forum which is pretty broken up but still impressive. There are some very old churches and impressive arcs scattered through the ruins. It was hard to imagine what things used to be like and to even imagine how old they were. Over 2000 years old and still standing. Do we make anything today thats going to be there in 2000 years? Besides plastic? My dad saw somethings that he remembered from his elementary school books, which i thought was cool. I dont even remember much from my highschool books, let alone elementary school. We took some steps out of the bowl like depression that held the forum and moved onto the street. From walking in a field of ruins, using your imagination to put yourself back in time to walking across a busy Roman street, trying to avoid cars, is a jarring transition. We walked along a tree filled park that had metal statues of ceasars to the front of the large white palace that had the chariots on top. It started raining kind of hard so we stopped into a cafe so I could buy my dad his first Italian beer. Birra Moretti is the kind I usually get and they are about a euro each for about 30 ounces. Its very good beer and we sat under a patio outside for a little while before putting the last into a plastic cup and heading out. A year ago I never would have imagined that I would be walking through Rome drinking beer with my dad. I took him up Via Corso to the Pantheon, which he really liked and showed him the tomb of Raphael that is inside. After that we headed to Piazza Navona which is an open courtyard that holds three famous fountains. We stopped for some pizza before heading over to the trevi fountains. The trevi fountains are beautiful and lighted up very nicely in the dark. Although we had been walking for a long time already we headed up to the modern capitol building and around to the spanish steps to look over the city. I thought there would be a great view at night but its acually much better at night. Rome has few buildings over 4 stories so there wasnt much to look out on. We headed down the steps and took the subway home. The next day we woke up at about 7:30. I talked to Brittany a lil bit on Skype (Meadow Bill, Mom, you need to pick up the slack and Ia you need a microphone) then we headed to the Vatican. The subway stopped about a block away from the massive Vatican walls and it was only a couple blocks to the entrance. Going throught the museum I thought I had seen everything but it turn out the tour guide skipped alot of rooms he didnt think were that important. We went through an ancient Middle Eastern and Egyptian section (i saw my first mummy) and two long hall ways that were filed with hundreds of statues. It was great going through again at my own pace, as there is so much inside that I could go 10 more times and it wouldnt be enough. The Sistine chapel didnt hit me as hard as it did the first time and I was able to appreciate it a little more for what it really was instead of just looking around in awe. Still very powerful and amazingly beautiful I could spend hours inside. We got a bite to eat in the Vatican cafe before heading over To the massive St.Peters. This was also good to see again and there were areas that had been closed off that were now open. We were exhausted from walking (the Vatican takes about 5 or 6 hours to walk through). And headed home with a Birra Moretti and canoli's. We turned on a movie but we both fell asleep in about 2 minutes. I woke up really early and dad got up about 7 and we got ready to head out. We set off in a defferent direction than normal and it turned out to be a good thing because we found a great little market with fresh fruit and veggies. We bought some clementines and had coffee and fresh, hot creme filled pastry. I also got him a bomboloni (italian doughnuts filled with creme) and those are so goo. My dad has a book about walking tours in old neighborhoods in Rome so we set off to do one. We took the subway to a stop near the Tiber river and after a little while of searching we found the starting point. The book gives street by street descriptions of all the important buildings (there were alot) and historical happenings on the streets. We started near the Caesar Augustus mosoleum and headed into this ancient Roman neighborhood. Suddenly after a few drops it started pouring rain. Really pouring. It was really warm and not windy so it wasnt bad and was actually a nice vibe to explore ancient Rome. The rain in a way drowned out the city noise and made it easier to get into the exploration of the neighborhood. These buildings were not ruins. They were inhabited residences and businesses that happened to be hundreds or in some cases a thousand years old. Very beautiful and powerful houses we walked through street after street seeing beautiful churches, doors, windows and all kinds of things. It finally stopped raining and we stopped into a grocery for some lunch supplies. We got some fresh cheese, bread, prociutto for me, mixed olives, a bottle of wine and some mustard. We walked down to the river and sat on the bench and made paninos and drank the bottle of wine. Like true Alaskans we peed under the bridge. Next we finished up the walking tour and came out looking at
a large castle that sat against the Tiber river. Castle San Angelo it was called and the bridge that led to it was rowed with statues. We used our Roma passes to get in and started exploring the ancient castle. It had rooms that were complete covered in paintings and filled with old weaponry, armor, crowns and other historical objects.

The best part was the top, which offered a 180 degree view down on Rome. An amazing view. To the right was St.Peters and the vatican. A little to the left of the middle was a diagonal row of the Pantheon, the palace with the chariots and the Colosseum. The sun was coming out and turned rome golden. It was now very warm and sitting on the marble seats looking over Rome was very relaxing. After enjoying the view for a while we walked across a bridge to the other side of the river to see the Spanish steps in daylight.
On the way we stopped at the Piazza di Popolo, or Plaza of the Pope. This had two large, twin churches and many fountains with an obelisk in the middle of the plaza. We then continued on towards the Spanish steps, only stopping for espresso, gelato and water. At the top of the steps was a beautiful view of a sunset over Rome. Reds oranges and blues mixed beautifully and we looked over the city for a while. We then headed home on the subway, stopping to pick up different cuts of pizza some Peroni (a different kind of Italian beer) and clementines. We found a park next to out hotel and had dinner and talked for a while. Once again when we got to the room we immediately fell asleep. And this morning I wrote the blog! Today we are heading out of Rome, South to Napoli by train then onto a Ferry to Catania, Sicily and then by bus or train to Palermo,
Sicily and then if everything works out a ferry to Tunisia, North Africa. Yes Africa. Hopefully by my birthday I will be sitting on a nude beach drinking something cold! If we make it to Africa I think we are planning on staying there for about a week before heading up to Florence. I dont know how much internet they will have in Tunisia but I have the journal Bill and Meadow game me so Ill keep everything fresh and take notes. A special thanks to Brittany for the Birthday money, which I am going to use to buy a bike in Florence.

Roma

2008-01-16T07:45:00.000+01:00

Sooo.....

2008-01-15T21:38:00.000+01:00

1ust Italy's subtle way of showing how they feel about the American president.

Left Over pics

2008-01-15T00:53:00.000+01:00

Going back

2008-01-13T21:50:00.000+01:00

After a great 3 weeks in NY Im going back to Europe! Meeting my dad in Rome tomorrow. Ill try to post soon.

After Ellis

2008-01-12T21:59:00.002+01:00

Okay so back to Monday. After leaving Ellis Island Scott and I walked around Battery park for a while, watching street performers and enjoying the sun. We walked North up through wall street and saw the famous big bull of Wall street. We kept walking for a while and headed up to the WTC site. In the day light it was very different, you could watch the work being done through tears in the fence covers that went all the way around ground zero. There was one observation area that I found where you could get a decent view and ever tho I had seen it before the size of the devastated area was awe inspiring. We headed up towards Rockafeller Plaza to try and get into the Conan O'brien show, passing through broadway and by radio city music hall. There were some great shows like: Blue Man Group, Young Frankenstein, Lion King, Chicago, Mary Poppins, Grease and others. Maybe one day I'll come back at see one but right now I'm too poor. So we made it to NBC studios which is a large, black building right next to where they film the Today show. We walked in and it looked like the inside of a 5 star hotel only with posters of NBC shows, past and present, everywhere. We went up to the Conan area only to be told that there were no more extra seats. We then headed off to Central park so I could see Balto. Central park is massive! Its a very nice park also, even in "winter". Statues and nice landscaping were the theme. It was also very open and seemed like it would be alot of fun in the summer. There were horse carriages and bike pulled carts everywhere, but we stuck to walking. The park was so big we missed Balto a few times but finally found him. The NY Balto is jacked! Compared to the Anchorage Balto this dog was definitely on the juice. Leaving Balto behind we took the Subway back to Atsoria, Queens to meet Mario. Tuesday we didnt do to much, mostly just hung out in Queens and then checked out the nightlife. Queens is very very international and a fun place to go. Wednesday we helped marios Grandfather empty out an apartment in one of his buidings that he was renovating. After that we headed into the City to meet Elle, one of our friends from Florence. Elle was leaving to do volunteer work in Africa on Friday so we wanted to hangout with her before she left. We had a mix-up and didnt get to meet up with her that night so we just walked from Washington Sq. Park through the East and West villages. Those are pretty unique areas, known for being counter-culture, non mainstream areas. Filled with shops and restaurants and interesting looking people it was a fun area to walk through. We then went down Mulberry St. into Little Italy (according to Mario its not the authentic one) and I was abe to use my Italian to talk to some lady who was outside a restaurant trying to get people to eat inside. We decided to try it and it was alright, nothing special. Little Italy had a surprising number of Asian owned shops and was only a few blocks in size. We continued down through a little bit of China town and walked for a while before taking the subway home. One thing I've loved doing is walking around Manhattan because every 3 blocks it really is a different place. So many different ethnic areas, shopping areas, surreal areas like Times Sq. and pretty much everything you can imagine. Thursday we hooked up with Elle at her Washington Sq. Park apartment and started walking. We took the subway up into Times Sq to get a bite to eat at ESPN Zone, which is a sportsfans palace. The main eating floor was facing a wall with two huge screens and about 20 others, all with different sporting events on. It was alot to take in. I was very happy to see about 8 basketball games one at one time. There also was a screen at out table that was touch operated and allowed you to bring up any of the 20+ games that were on the wall. The food was very good also and they had a great selection of beers on tap. I got a gorgonzola cheeseburger that was decent. (by the way we went out last Saturday to a gentlemans club and had a couple or a few drinks and one more thing I've learned in NY is that 30 whitecastle burgers between a couple guys does not feel good in the morning) After eating we walked around the always crazy Times Sq and started walking downtown. We spent about an hour walking around NY before taking another subway to a stop near her house. One thing about NY is that it's a very clean and safe feeling city. The subways actually feel cleaner than many in europe (at least italy). I also have a safer feeling than in many other American cities I have been in. It might be because of the 100,000 NYPD officers there are but it's definitely different than I expected. All the New Yorkers explain that it was Guiliani's work that made it this way. After we got off the subway we walked to the hollywood diner for milkshakes. We hung out there for a while, talking about Italy and remembering some of the things we did. After we walked her to her apartment we had some fun wrestling in the streets before the mood was dampened by the realization that Marios jeep wasnt where he left it..... After some phone calls we discovered that it had been towed- about 40+ blocks away.(near the meat packing district This was at about 2AM but we decided to walk. As we walked through the different neighborhood we saw all the clubbers coming out all dressed up and jumping into their sportscars and limos. It was a pretty nice walk, still pretty warm and the streets for the most part were pretty empty. We made it to the tow lot at about 3:30AM and it took about 45 minutes for them to process his car out of the lot. Next update- Coney Island and last night.

Almost done.

2008-01-11T02:40:00.000+01:00

I've got about 4 days left in NY and we've been taking it kinda easy. On Monday we got up at 6 AM and went to visit the Statue of liberty and Ellis Island. Mario had to go to his school and sign up for classes so we (Scott and I) separated at the Lexington subway station and went down to the Battery Park station. There was a nice park there with some war memorials and a giant Eagle. We got our first clear look at the Statue and it looked tiny! In all the movies it seems like it would be huge - bigger than the empire state building. We went to Fort Clinton and bought the fairy tickets. It was about 8:30 AM and we joined the line waiting for the first fairy to arrive. We got there at a good time because about 10 minutes after we got there the line really started getting big. We were definitely some of the few Americans in the line. I heard about 8 different languages while waiting there. We went through a security area that was exactly like getting on a plane. The fairy was pretty big and had 3 decks, each with a little cafeteria area. We went up to the top and settled in. It was a very warm day and pretty clear, although there was a little smog. We were leaving the southern tip of Manhattan and as we pulled away we got a great view of the city line, including the Empire state building and the gap where the twin towers used to be. As we got closer the Statue we realized how big it really is. It was a very impressive statue on a very nice looking island. We docked and began walking around Liberty island. We did a full loop reading the little information stands they had all around. The pedestal was also huge. We had been given two of the few tickets that lets you go into the pedestal. Since 9/11 no one has been able to go up the statue itself. To get into the pedestal you had to go through a security area that was a little more intense. We had to stand in these big machines that puffed air up from the ground in short, intense bursts until the light turned green then we were led to another metal detector and x-ray machine. The pedestal's base was made from the remains of an old fort and had many masonic symbols on the outside. Once inside we walked through a museum that told the story of the statue of liberty. Once through there we walked about 200 steps up to the observation area, which was pretty close to the feet and offered a beautiful view of Manhattan, Jersey, Brooklyn and Queens. We stayed up there for a while before heading down to catch the next ferry to Ellis Island. The ride was about 10 minutes and by now it was about 65F out. Beautiful day. Ellis Island was the first stop for millions of immigrants and I was interested to find out if any of my relatives records were inside. Once on the island we went into the main processing building and walked around the immigrants museum for a while. We then went to look up our family names in the hall of records. Volunteers over the years had but all the paper records into digital memory so they had banks of computers where you could view search results. Scott went first and found records of his Pangrazzi ancestors. I went next and put in Walklin. There were a few different results from different areas but I put in what information I knew and came up with

First Name: Charlotte
Last Name: Walklin
Ethnicity: German - Germany
Last Place of Residence: Hannover, Germany - U.S.A.
Date of Arrival: Oct 28, 1912
Age at Arrival: 35y Gender: F Marital Status: M
Ship of Travel: Cincinnati
Port of Departure: Hamburg
Manifest Line Number: 0021

It also lets you see the original copy of the ship manifest, which shows she came with two more little Walklins. This is the text version of the manifest.
0021. Walklin, Charlotte F 35y M German - Germany Hannover, Germany - U.S.A.
0022. Walklin, Walter M 9y S German - U. S. born Hannover, Germany - U.S.A.
0023. Walklin, Herbert M 7y S German - U.S. born Hannover, Germany - U.S.A.

It was really cool because it showed the answers to all the questions they asked like if they could read or what their profession was. http://www.ellisisland.org/

I'll finish the update soon!

In the works....

2008-01-09T21:39:00.000+01:00

Statue of Liberty, Ellis island, finding immigration records of (maybe) my relatives, eating on Mulberry Street, White Castle, and more wandering around Manhattan........

A couple class videos.

2008-01-05T20:29:00.000+01:00

Rome Videos

2008-01-05T20:24:00.000+01:00

These are some videos that i shot in rome.

Thanks Mr.Bailey

2008-01-05T20:21:00.001+01:00

Big Brother Bailey has made it possible for me to share videos with you all. We are in the process of figuring out how to put pod casts on as well. Next semester Ill be able to share my experiences even better than before.

This is a video I shot in piaza di signoria in Firenze. Its the site of the original David, although now there is a replica. There are over 20 statues in the piaza and the palazzo vechio is also located there.

Thanks again.

2008-01-04T20:13:00.001+01:00

I just got a package of gifts from Mom, Jack and April and Ian and Christen. Thanks alot! Going to the gym to try to work some of this food off and then to central park to see Balto.

Looking back

2008-01-04T07:47:00.000+01:00

So I was sitting in bed bored so I decided to look at my first post..... And got hooked. To be honest after I write and put pictures on a new post I never read it or even edit it. Its very draining, especially putting pictures on. I love doing it but once Im finished I want nothing else to do with it. Anyway I started reading the blogs from the beginning and I love how it brings everything back. Im really glad Ive stayed with it. Maybe I can make it into a book or something when this is over. Anyway thank you all for reading and posting comments. It means alot to me. Ciao!

Catching up

2008-01-02T16:52:00.000+01:00

Just like the comments the posts have been slow coming also! I've done so much in the last 6 days I hope I can remember everything. Time here goes by much slower than when Im in Italy. I think its because in Italy I'm aware of the fact that my days there are numbered and the days are slipping away like time in an hourglass. New York is amazing but living in Italy is like a dream that you dont wake up from. So even tho I'm busy all day here and doing tons of things time doesn't fly. So where did I leave off? day before Christmas? Christmas eve dinner was done in a traditional Italian way with no meat dishes, only fish. I was asked to cook the brown sugar salmon recipe that I made in Italy. There was also lobster, shrimp in a cream sauce, fried calamari, bacala ( a kind of white fish), pasta with clams, pasta with anchovies, things like hummus and other dips, bread and other sides. There was so much food! After dinner came out plate after plate of desserts served with espresso. After playing chess with Marios little brother I went upstairs to take a nap and although I had planned to go back downstairs The food kept me asleep until morning. Christmas morning after coffee me mario, his two sisters, his brother and his mother gathered near the christmas tree. Although I had said they really didnt need to get me anything these people are too generous not to. His aunts family and his both got me gift cards. After they opened their presents we went and watched a movie for a while and just relaxed. A while after noon we started getting ready for the Christmas dinner which would be at Zia's house (italian for aunt) and once again would include the whole family. While waiting for everyone to arrive we ate finger food that consisted of excellent Italian cheeses and meats, chips and homemade dip, the bacon that was cooked on the roast and other goodies. Remembering that I had said I used to bartend they put me to work making them their pomegranate martinis. Glad to help in anyway I could I made the best martinis possible. When every one arrived (grandma and grandpa, uncle and cousins) we all sat down and started eating. Once again their was great food and wine. Mario had brought back some homemade wine from his relatives in Italy and they also had store bought Italian wines to go with dinner. There was roasted garlic (a whole clove cut in half and baked with cheese and bread crumbs on top) scalloped potatoes, veggies, fresh bread and an excellent roast rubbed with rosemary and stuffed with panchetta. Basically I had two nights of excellent food and good company. Another good thing was that I was able to talk to everyone in my family on the phone. I think it was easier to be away from home than it normally would be because my parents have been divorced for a long time so I've always been apart from part of my family on Christmas. After christmas dinner we had some drinks and hung out for a while. The next day (still feeling full) Mario, his cousin and I headed into the city to go to the gym he used to work at and burn some Christmas food off. That was my first day taking the subway (im a pro now). From Steinway st. in Astoria, Queens we rode the subway to a stop right next to sity hall. City hall was beautiful with fountains and antique street lights. We met up with Marios workout partner and discovered that his branch of the club was closed. We made our way to the next branch (located off wall street), passing by the NY stock exchange building. The building was huge with columns decorated with lights to look like the american flag. The gym was very cool, with huge windows and great equipment. We were there for a couple hours and I got to work out, hit the speed bag and take a nice steam sauna. After the gym we headed to battery park area of Manhattan to visit one of Mario's friends, Samir. Samir lives about one block up from the World Trade center site and it was crazy to see the actual size. Everything in New York is different than I expected it becaue I've seen enough on TV to have expectations but generally all my expectations have been wrong. The size of things is what has been incorrect the most. I always visualize things being bigger or smaller than they are. The World Trade Center ground zero was definitely much larger than I expected. There were construction crews going 24/7 but it still looked like they hadn't even removed all the rubble yet. There were two HUGE holes where the towers used to be. It was very surreal when I actually started thinking about what happened and what it would be like to be there. After hanging out at the apartment for a while we headed back to queens on the subway which is very easy to use and not as grimy as I thought it would be. The next day we hung around the house for a while before deciding to take on Brooklyn. Although Queens and Brooklyn are connected we went through the city (what they call Manhattan) and over the Brooklyn Bridge. Every time I go over a bridge into the city it is awesome (especially at night) but it can never compare to the first time, which felt like I was driving into a movie. The first time was amazing and crazy and like nothing else Ive ever experienced. Anyway Mario, Gianni (his lil Bro) and I went over the bridge into Brooklyn and made our first stop, the pizza place that I posted pictures of previously. With multiple recommendations as the best pizza place in NY I had high expectations. Called "grimaldi's" (http://pizzatoday.com/features_articles.shtml?article=ODkyc3VwZXI4ODlzZWNyZXQ4OTY=) it was under the brooklyn bridge and apparently other people had heard good things because there was a line. While they waited in line I walked around and took pictures. Once inside the packed restaurant my eyes were drawn to a massive (http://www.grimaldis.com/) coal heated oven. The smell inside was the kind of aroma that makes a hungry man hungrier and a full person realize they have a little room left. We squeezed into a corner and ordered a sausage, red pepper pizza and a carafe of wine. Its alot harder drinking wine with every meal here in the US because wine is so much more expensive than in Italy. The pizza was excellent with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes imported from Italy. Easily some of the best pizza I've ever had. After Grimaldi's we headed out for another culinary landmark: Juniors. World famous for it's cheesecake and deserts it was located in the heart of Brooklyn. We got out and walked our way to the restaurant, which looked like a classic diner (although very large) from the outside. (http://www.juniorscheesecake.com/)The inside was decorated with signed pictures and memorabilia from famous people, New Yorkers and otherwise. I ordered a cheese cake and a glass of milk and while I was waiting used the restroom, which for some reason had a bathroom attendant. The cheese cake was so good! Milk was a good choice too. Very smooth and rich it had excellent flavor. We drove around for a while before heading back to Queens. The next day we headed out to JFK to pick up Scott, who was flying in from Germany. After we picked him up there we had perfect timing. Right after we walked out of the airport two cabbies got into a screaming match which included very graphic death threats. Scott just put his head down and walked by very quickly. Welcome to New York. Although Ive felt completely safe since Ive got here it was the stereotypical NY scene and we had fun teasing him with made up stories about what he was in for. The next day we headed into the city with Marios whole family. We walked around times square (which will never be normal) and his mom took us all out to dinner at a tuscan themed restaurant. It was very good and we ordered in Italian. The food was tasty and was authentic. After we ate we headed to check out the tree at rockafellar center and then some stores. There was a mass of people out due to the holiday weekend. We stopped to watch a huge building that was covered in lighted stars that turned on and off in time to christmas music that played out of speakers. We also checked out Grand Central Station, which was beautiful and the nicest station Ive ever seen. We separated from most of his family and headed out to see the night life in the east village, which was pretty fun. The next day Scott, Megan (one of my friends from AK who goes to school in the area) went to the Natural history museum, which was very cool. The building itself was incredible and huge. It was stuffed full of all kinds of things that would take days to take in. We got to watch an Imax movie about dinosaurs also. After the museum we walked along central park for about 20 blocks, seeing trump tower (I dont have any pictures from this day because before I left the house I though it would be nice to have a day where I could just enjoy things and not have to worry about taking pictures. I wont do that again) and lots of other landmarks. Central park was enormous. We took a subway to Times square and we took turns picking stores to look in. There was actually a 4 story store solely for M&M's. Crazy. My favorite was the 4 level massive Virgin Mega store. It had massive floors full of every movie, cd, book that you could think of from around the world. We tried to eat at restaurants like the Hard rock Cafe and ESPN zone and a few others but each had waiting times of about 90 minutes each. I led us to a little Japanese restaurant that I had seen a couple times and we had a very nice meal. Bento boxes all around with Sapporo and tempura. After that we walked around some more before heading back to the subway where we found some real NY flavor. A very charismatic man call "the pots and pans man" was playing drums on pots, pans, buckets and other objects and sounded gread doing it. After watching him for a while we moved towards our train before being stopped, this time by the sight of a group of young kids doing break dancing. They were very talented and funny and put on a great show. Both performers incited random people to start dancing all around and in general made the subway a fun place. We met Mario back in Astoria, Queens and he took us to his favorite Hookah bar. He told us that hookah bars were typically non alchoholic places that people go to socialize and relax. It smelled great when we walked in. We ordered two flavors of tobacco and middle eastern drinks. The hookahs were water cooled and very smooth. We had peach and tobacco out of two, over 4 foot tall, hookahs. After we met up with one of Marios sisters at a little bar/ cafe and had a drink. The next day (New Years Eve) We headed into the city around 6pm. There was definitely a different vibe in the air. Everyone was happy and excited and there was an electric feeling going around. And it was only 6! We got to Times Square around 7 and all the way around and a couple block from Times square there was a ring of police and barricades. They kept saying there was a way into Times square a couple blocks down but after following their advice a few times it became apparent that it was just a clever play to keep large groups of people from piling up at one place. Each street had a row of 20 officers flanked by police cars in v formation and police in riot gear with M-16s. They were serious. At one point a long line of about 35 mounted police trotted past. Once again NY made me feel like I was in a movie.We were able to sneak past a couple barricades and were about 20 feet from the festivities. We were right in front of Miles Cyrus (one of the musical groups playing that night) and the sight of over a million people was crazy. We stopped for some pizza and decided to head downtown and return to Times Square later. We took the subway to Chinatown and purchased a relaxing beverage, which we enjoyed while walking through Chinatown (where I purchased some early release movies) and little Italy. There were people all over the streets laughing and celebrating. Very fun just walking around. We walked up to soho and through east and west village, where we were when it turned midnight. Happy new Years everyone! Mario picked us up the next day and we headed over to his aunts house for a family New Years dinner. Once again there was excellent food and good company. After dinner we headed back into the city to meet up with a girl that we went to school with in Florence that was staying with a friend for the night. We hung out at her apartment for a while. She had an amazing apartment in battery part that had a great view of the Statue of Liberty. After catching up there we headed out to a little pub frequented (according to Mario who went to school in the area) by college kids. We had some great food there, simple (fried chicken and irish fries) but very good. We dropped our friend off and headed back to Queens. The 2nd (yesterday) was just a lazy catch up day for us. After the holiday season and about 2 weeks of sight seeing I enjoyed a relaxing day. We walked to the neighborhood grocery store and got some groceries to cook with and that was about it for activity that day. This morning we woke up early and picked up Mario's Grandma before heading to the Bronx. Mario told us how the real little Italy is located in the Bronx (not manhattan) and that its a lot more authentic than the one in downtown Manhattan. Marios Nonna (grandma) used to live there and told us how it used to be over 10 square blocks but now has shrunk to only a few. We went to a bakery that had excellent bread then a market that was similar in content if not size to Florence's central market. We followed that up with a stop in a homemade cheese store and a fresh Italian coffee store. After we finished shopping we went to Yankee stadium and walked around there for a while. The Yankee stadium was cool to see, especially because they are building a new one and are about to tear down the old one. There! Its good to catch up. I brushed over a few things so feel free to ask questions.

Scared?

2007-12-31T19:12:00.000+01:00

2 comments in the last 4 blogs? Where did everyone go? Eat too much Christmas food and now you're lazy?

Thanks!

2007-12-28T23:53:00.000+01:00

A special thanks to Meadow, Bill, Ella and Simone Bailey for their generous donation to the Sean Walklin Travel and Enjoyment of Youth Fund. (or SWTEYF). Thanks again to everyone else who has contributed along the way!

2007-12-28T11:18:00.000+01:00

Christmas time

2007-12-28T07:43:00.000+01:00

New York, New York

2007-12-24T16:08:00.000+01:00

Since I posted last I have done many things so I'll try to remember them all. Saturday morning Mario made breakfast then we went and picked out a Christmas tree with his family. It was their first real tree so they were excited. After the tree was set up Mario and I got ready to go into the city (manhattan). Before we headed in we stopped by and visited some of Marios friends, a couple of which decided to join us. We took the Queensboro Bridge into manhattan a ride which only takes about 15 min from Marios house. As we rode across the bridge Manhattan rose up in front of me. It was an amazing view. Wanting only to enjoy my first real look at the city i refrained from taking any pictures (that doesnt happen very often). The size, amount of lights, beauty of the buildings and the realization that millions of people lived there was not overwhelming but realized. I was surprised at how different most of the buildings were from each other. I was expecting the same office buildings over and over. We drove down Park Avenue, where My friend Casey was staying and then a few blocks later it was daytime again. Although it was about 1 AM we had driven into Times Square. The streets were full of people and there were thousands of lights, televisions and billboards. A very cool place. After driving around manhattan for a while we went to visit one of his friends in Grenwich village. On the way there we drove past ground zero. I was amazed at how large the holes were, and that they had not built anything in their place. Instantly made me think of where I was on 9/11. His friend had a nice apartment and we stayed there for a while before heading out to check out some of the NY nightlife. That morning Mario dropped me off at Caseys and her mom sent us out to a little deli to pick up some breakfast supplies. Her grandparents own a beautiful apartment on Park Ave that is full of beautiful painting, antique furniture and elegant styling. It even has a doorman! We made breakfast of bagels and waffles and bacon then set out for the game early so we could sight-see on the way. From Park ave we went down Madison ave, Broadway and many other famous sights. I saw Rockafeller plaza, the Giant christmas tree, all the TV studios, where today show does its walk around, radio city building along with countless stores and other landmarks. After about a 30 minute walk we arrived at Madison square Garden and worked our way through the crowd to our seats. Although on a higher level the arena isn't that big so we had an excellent view. After talking with Caseys mom Casey and I decided to go see if we could get a close look. First let me tell you that Ive been a laker fan since I was about 12 and mostly a Kobe fan. I've wanted to go to a Laker game so badly for many years. I've always worried that Kobe would be injured or out of his prime before I got a chance to see him. So this was big for me. The Lakers only play in NY once a year so I definitely lucked out. Thanks to Caseys mom, who got me tickets to the game as a Christmas present. We made it down to the court while they were warming up and saw many open seats. We sat in some that were about 5 or six CHAIRS up from the court. We were so close it was chairs not the rows of seats. Seeing them in person was really cool and I had my camera out pretty much the whole game. The knicks were getting beat pretty bad the whole game and I got to join in the gameday ritual of chanting "fire Isaiah" (I did it for you, Jon). Kobe played great. In person alot more than on TV you could see that he controlled the game whenever he was in. He did whatever he wanted and was incredibly fast and in control. At halftime they introduced the celebrities that were at the game. Rosie Perez, Q-tip, Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Rev Al Sharpton and one of the characters from the Sopranos were all there. We happened to be sitting only a few feet away from the court than they were! During the game it was fun to see Spike lee and Kobe trash talking and joking around. Towards the end Phil Jackson (the lakers coach) put in his subs and the Knicks crawled back to within one. Kobe came back in and calmly hit shot after shot. The Garden came alive during the Knicks rally, which was fun to hear. The lakers came out victorious and Kobe finished with 39 points 11 rebounds and 8 assists. It was a great experience. After the game Caseys mom took us out for lunch before Mario picked me up. When Mario picked me up he had his 12 year old brother Gianni with him. We headed off to meet up with a girl from our school in Italy that lives in the East village. We met her family and then went walking around the village looking for somewhere to order food for everyone. East village was very cool and we also walked through part of the NYU campus. The feeling I got walking around in NY is very similar to the way it felt to walk around Rome. They both have a energy that you can feel. Theres something electric about both cities that makes them exciting to be in. We finally settled on Thai food and headed back. After spending some time at her apartment Mario Gianni and I set off. Mario drove me around and showed me SOHO, tribecca and other neighborhoods. Since we were going to be busy with Christmas the next couple of days I wanted to hangout with Case some more before she left so we picked her up. We decided to do a cool NY type thing so we went to the brooklyn Bridge, parked and walked to the middle. The view was amazing. Manhattan with its breathtaking skyline on one side, Queens and Long Island on the other. To the right you could see the statue of liberty. The moon looked full and it had just rained so the air was nice and fresh. Amazing view. After enjoying that for a while we went to look at the seaport which also had a great view. We decided to show Casey Marios neighborhood so we took her to Astoria, Queens. Because it was sunday at about 1 there wasnt as much going on as usual but we found a nice cafe to get something to eat in. We hung out for a while before heading back to Manhattan to drop Casey off. I was pretty tired and kept falling asleep in the car. I woke up right when we pulled up to Marios house. It was a great couple days getting to know a little bit of the city. Thank you mom! The ticket here was an amazing christmas present! Im having an amazing time and I still have almost 3 weeks to go.

LAL (17-10) 31 24 20 20 95
NYK (8-19) 21 16 24 29 90
Final
12:00 PM ET, December 23, 2007
Madison Square Garden
New York, NY
Kobe is youngest to score 20,000 points as Lakers win

· Complete Schedule: Los Angeles | New York
NEW YORK (AP) -- From the jawing with Spike Lee and Chris Rock to the postgame news conference with his daughters on his lap, Kobe Bryant enjoyed every minute of his return to Madison Square Garden.

Youngest to 20,000

Kobe Bryant eclipsed Wilt Chamberlain in NBA history as the youngest player to 20,000 points Sunday.

Player Years-Days
Kobe Bryant 29-122
Wilt Chamberlain 29-134
Michael Jordan 29-326
Oscar Robertson 30-97
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 30-34230 players are in the 20,000-Point Club: 18 are in the Basketball Hall of Fame; 10 are not yet eligible. Only eligible players not in Hall: Tom Chambers, Adrian Dantley.
Making history made it even better.
Bryant scored 39 points, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the New York Knicks 95-90 Sunday.
Bryant added 11 rebounds and eight assists in his first game at the Garden in nearly two years. His 3-pointer in the opening minute of the third quarter allowed him to reach the milestone at 29 years, 122 days.
"I always like playing here, period," Bryant said. "Last year I didn't have an opportunity to play and I was upset about it. This is my favorite arena to play in so I'm just happy and relieved that I was able to play tonight."
Before Bryant only Wilt Chamberlain (29 years, 134 days) and Michael Jordan (29, 326) had gotten there before turning 30.
Bryant's last basket came in the final minute after the Knicks had trimmed a 25-point deficit to one. The victory capped a 3-1 road trip for the Lakers, who headed home to host Phoenix on Tuesday.
Jamal Crawford scored 31 points for the Knicks, who were again without Stephon Marbury and have lost two straight and eight of 10. David Lee had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Nate Robinson scored 16 points.
After the Knicks fell too far behind to make a comeback likely for the second time in three days, coach Isiah Thomas said there would be lineup changes when the Knicks play their next game, against Orlando on Wednesday.

Like great players before him, Kobe Bryant has starred in the NBA's most famous arena. The Lakers star has shined in his recent appearances at Madision Square Garden, including Sunday's 39-point effort.

Game notes
Bryant became the 31st player with 20,000 points.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271223018

Cake recipe

2007-12-22T17:50:00.000+01:00

This is the cake I made for Brittany on her B-day. Its pretty simple to make and is an authentic Florentine cake. Try it out.

Found in:

Found in:A Cook's Tour of Italy: More Than 300 Authentic Recipes from the Regions of ... By Joe Famularo
At:http://books.google.com/books?id=1rqiksCI2_UC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=florentine+orange+cake&source=web&ots=aAxw8Cxlnm&sig=VNozbRodBQg17o3jJotkn2BkPRE

2007-12-21T22:36:00.001+01:00

file:///Users/seanwalklin/Desktop/AK%20traveler.band/

Closer to the city.

2007-12-21T20:49:00.000+01:00

Today I woke up about 6 AM. It must be the time change becuase I couldnt go back to sleep. I was scheduled to go with Marios aunt, Antoinette, to shop with her and Mario's nonna (gma). She arrived with bagels, muffins and coffee and me her and Rosa, Marios mom, had breakfast. We set off for Astoria, Queens to pick up her mother. Her mom was a nice old lady with a playful smile. We went to a store called BJ's which is like Sams club to pick up bulk stuff for their Christmas eve dinner and then went to a organic fresh foods market called raspberrys that had lots of Italian goods. We also stopped in a deli called Sorriso (smile in Italian) that made me feel like I was back in Italy. It was full of meats and cheese and Italian goods. Antoinette has been going there for over 15 years so she knew what was good and they recommended new things to her. After we dropped off her mother Antoinette took me out to lunch at a bakery that served panino's and was in Astoria. After lunch she took me to Long Island City so I could take pictures of Manhattan.

feels good to travel...

2007-12-20T14:57:00.000+01:00

Germany was great. I got a chance to walk around A LOT and use the trains many times. Scott was a great host and showed me some really cool places. His parents were also great. Very generous and nice. Scott and I cooked the ravioli recipe that I invented for my final for his parents and they enjoyed it. The morning I left we went to a different christmas market first. I had some glovine which is mulled spiced hot wine and the best potato soup I've ever had. We also had some fried potato batter which was called krampuffin or something. Scott took the train with me to the airport and walked me as far as he could go. I was flying air France and I had heard that they weren't that great an airline. The people checking me in had been great tho. My flight was leaving about 4 and I was there pretty early so I watched a movie on my laptop and shopped in the airport stores. It was amusing seeing that the airport had better stores than Alaska. I boarded (touching the side of the plane, of course) and sat in my aisle seat. This first part would be only about an hour and a half so I barely had time to put a movie in before we landed. when we landed in Paris I had about 2 hours to kill. I found the gate I was supposed to board then wandered around. The stores here were even better and I enjoyed walking around listening to people speaking French. Italian and French are the "romance language" but to me Italian sound much smoother. The Paris airport was beautiful and much more user friendly than any US airport I have been to. There were long rows of computers to use (for a fee) couches set up where you could play playstation 3's (for free) and an area with desks and plug ins incase you have a laptop. I found one of those and looked through my photos for a while. With about 30 minutes to departure I started wondering why there werent that many people waiting there. I looked at the screen and in red letters it was blinking a different gate number and the word "boarding" in french and english. I was surprised that they hadn't made an announcement. I had enough time to get to the other gate so it was okay. To get on the plane I had to show my boarding pass about 5 times. The plane was huge, with pretty nice seats and a new feature that i had never seen on a plane. There were video monitors in the headrest in front of me that were touch screens. You could touch them to select from about 20 movies, different TV shows, games, news, sports or flight information. I was sitting next to a young guy from Haiti that only spoke french and a young lady from Brasil They were both nice. I was beginning to think that who ever said the airline wasnt a good one when my thoughts were confirmed. They begin passing out free champagne, wine or beer and we weren't in first class! That was followed by the best airplane food Ive had. It was bree cheese, a baguette, wine, beef and rice in a kind of tomato sauce with eggplant, a salad yogurt and a little desert. That was followed by more drinks. After they were done serving drinks they put soda and water and fruit juice at different stations for people to help themselves to. Pretty good service. I couldnt sleep so I read for a while and watched Seinfeld. With about 2 hours to go they served a sanwhich and a couple other little snacks. As we begin our decent I started to get excited. Europe (especially Italy) and New York are the 2 places I've always dreampt of going too. Now I was doing both! After We landed I made it through customs pretty quick. waiting for my baggage took a while tho. When I walked out of the arrival area I searched the crowd. Mario had sent me his sisters myspace page and said she would probably be the one to pick me up. I saw a lady with a "Sean" sign and after she asked my last name she introduced herself as Mario's mother. I could tell right away she was a good person. We loaded my bags and set off for the house. Although it was about 5AM my time I was excited. Just on the way from the airport I saw the New York times printing facility, Shae Stadium (where the mets play), the US open tennis court and 2 huge bridges. We drove by Flushings which she explained was chinatown. She was a good tour guide! We went through a nice neighborhood and pulled up to a beautiful house with large columns in front. She explained that they were doing some renovations but that I would have the 3rd floor to myself until Mario came. Even with the work being done they had a beautiful home. Nice wood floors and antique furniture. My room was awesome. With wall to wall windows on one side I could see the two bridges and across the water, part of the city. Beautiful. I met one of his sisters and I could tell it was going to be a nice stay. They were the type of people who make you feel at home in a place you've never been. I loved getting into the big bed after the little thing they give us in Italy. I woke up this morning about an hour ago and I'm getting ready to head out and explore. P.S.: I HAVE LAKER TICKETS!

Brief Retrospective

2007-12-20T14:29:00.000+01:00

Until I had the ticket in my hand I never really believed that I would be going to chef school in Italy. I felt stuck. I didn't have enough money to go to school and the school I was going to was uninspiring and at the same time I had no clue what I wanted to do for a career. I had taken out school loans and had no interest in taking out more to waste when I wasn't applying myself as well as I can. I had always wanted to go to Europe and coincidentally Italian (especially Roman) history was one of my favorite subjects as well as my favorite food. (since then I have learned that gambardellas and every other Italian restaurant I have been too is not real Italian food. Anyway I knew Italy would be the perfect place for me. Even if I don't end up being a chef I believe in the quote of “Its not what you know but where you’ve been”. Traveling and meeting new people is so important. From the first step I took of the plane from Alaska to Germany I have been absorbing everything I can and trying to become the best person I can be. I have seen amazing things and met great people. Seeing the sistine chapel still has an impact on me. Put that together with Tuscan countryside, the Duomos of Milan and Florence, the statue of david, lake como, Leaning Tower of Pisa, St.Peters Basilica, amazing paintings, not to mention the incredible food I’ve tasted and learned to make. I have a decent understanding for the Italian I hear and speaking it is beginning to click. I’ve watched the sun set over Florence from the top of the duomo. I’ve explored the streets where Dante and Michaelangelo lived. I’ve heard Germans, Italians, Greeks, Japanese, Senegalese, Middle Eastern and Russians laugh and realized that they all sound the same. I feel more like a part of the world than I ever have. I know how to keep from being pick pocketed, how to find the right trains, what time to go to the fresh markets and many of the other little things that makes traveling easy. I know that using your hands when you talk makes the language barrier smaller. I know the italian words for pass, shoot, rebound and that the butt slap after a good play is international. I know that Mcdonalds is the same garbage whether its in Fairbanks or a quarter mile from the Duomo in Florence. I’ve made life long friends and dozens of acquaintances that I wouldn’t hesitate to look up. I learned to say “Prost” when drinking with the Germans at Oktoberfest. I’ve laid on a beach with my girlfriend on the Mediterranean Sea. Ive eaten Sangiovese grapes right off the vine. The dishes I learned in this 1st semester in my BEGINNERS class would make any restaurant in Fairbanks that served them the nicest one in town. I haven't watched TV in 4 months and haven't been to the movies in longer. I’ve learned how supportive my whole family can be and how generous they all are. This semester has been great and I’m looking forward to an even better next one.

Meintz

2007-12-18T12:06:00.000+01:00

Im in meinz (SP?) Germany right now until the 19th and its beautiful here. Scott took me to a christmas market yesterday and then we walked around the city for a while. Its a beautiful place right on the Rhine river. Its also the site of the worlds first printing press. On the way back to his house we walked over a huge bridge and he showed me an area with incredible grafitti.

In Germania

2007-12-17T13:46:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone. Sorry so little writing lately but with finals, moving out and saying goodbye to everyone Ive been really busy. Hopefully in NY it will slow down. Im in Garmany staying with one of my Florence roommates, Scott. Yesterday I got to go on the autobahn!. Ill try to put some pics on soon.

Some of Brittany's art from beginning of semester to the end.

2007-12-14T20:28:00.000+01:00

We love you Mom!

2007-12-13T01:29:00.000+01:00

My Grandpa, David Pennell has recently passed away. Although I never met him in person whenever I talked to him he was a very outgoing, smart, interesting and kind man. To my mom: I'm very sorry for your loss and I want you to know that you never have to go through anything alone. We are all here for you. Love you.

2007-12-10T15:11:00.000+01:00

Dear Students,

The SAI Florence staff hopes you have enjoyed your semester here in Florence! We have enjoyed getting to know you this fall.
Here are some local events for your last week in Florence:

Mon, 12/10- Movie in English- THE NANNY DIARIES (USA - 106’) by Shari Springer, Robert Pulcini with Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Paul Giammatti, Nicholas Reese Art, Alicia Keys. Odeon CineHall in Piazza Strozzi Shows: 4.30 – 6.30 – 8.30 – 10.30 pm
Thurs, 12/11- Movie in English- THE KINGDOM (USA - 110’) by Peter Berg with Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman, Jeremy Piven, Danny Huston. Odeon CineHall in Piazza Strozzi Shows: 4.00 – 6.10 – 8.20 – 10.30 pm

Thurs, 12/13- La Musica degli Alberi- Chorus and Orchestra Desiderio from Settignano. Church of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi. Borgo Pinti 58. 9 p.m

Thurs, 12/13- Tell Mama, a Janis Joplin Tribute. Rex Café on Via Fiesolana 25, 10 p.m. Free

Event.

Thurs, 12/13- Nite Bite, an instrumental lounge trio, will be performing at Jazz Club, Via Nuova de’ Caccini 3 at 10:15 p.m. 7 euros entry fee.

Thurs, 12/13- La Zurda (rock and pop band) at the Auditorium FLOG. "Patchanka Latina dall'Argentina" Via Michele Mercati, 24 at 9:30 p.m.
Thurs-Sat, December 13, 14, 15- Play in English- “The Butterfingers Angel”-Come and enjoy a unique, theatrical, touching and humorous telling of the Christmas story. This production is a family entertainment advisable for ages 8 and older. Teatro di Cestello in Piazza Cestello - San Frediano between Ponte Vespucci and Ponte alla Carraia.English language theatre with Italian subtitles. Regular price is 12 euros. Purchase in advance for a reduced price of 10 euro. The show on the 13th and 14th begins at 9 p.m and the show on the 15th begins at 4 p.m. Student ticket price10 euro. To purchase ticket vouchers with cash or check please visit one of our two points of sale: The Paperback Exchange, via delle Oche 4/R or Dolce Emporio - Borgo San Frediano 128 R. For further information write: info@florencetheatre.com or call 055 239 9949.

Fri, 12/14- FUA & Apicius Farewell Graduation Party at Space Electronic, Via Palazzuolo 37 at 8:00 p.m. This is INVITATION ONLY!
The night will be filled with food, fun & some surprises as we share our memories & bid a farewell to the Fall 2007 semester.
Dress Code: Black & White Attire with a hint of red. *Your personal drink card must be presented upon departure. Please do not lose your card! (Kandace already sent out the drink card via e-mail).

Template

2007-12-07T02:32:00.001+01:00

I changed the template. I did it because in the other one there wasnt enough room for the pictures and the words would be just a line down the side of the picture. What do you think?

Italian Wine 1st semester.

2007-12-06T21:01:00.000+01:00

Here are the notes from our final review tuesday. A summary of what we've learned.

Italian wine is classified in a pyramid system. At the top is DOCG (denomination Origin Control Guaranteed) with the most regulations and limit in production. DOCG came into practice in 1979. DOC (Denomination Origin Control) is next and was started in 1963. Third is IGT with the fewer regulations and was created in 1992. At the bottom (but not bad wine) is vino di tavola, or table wine. Italian wine was not regulated until the 60's and was not considered to be of high quality.

Wine appreciation.
Visual. By looking at a glass of wine you can tell color, limpidity, fluidity (alchohol level) and if sparkling effervesence. Color can tell you climate the grapes were grown in, age, grape variety and vinification techniques.

Olfactory. Intensity in the smell is a measure of quantity persistence is a measure of quality. Swirl, sniff then strong sniff. Taste the wine with your nose. There are aromas. 1st is grape variety 2nd fermentation process 3rd tertiary aromas which are the flavors (flour, fruit etc...)

Gustative.
Tasting stages: Attack, middle palate, finish. Finish is the aftertaste. First attack is the first 5 seconds. Middle palate is the next 10 seconds. Finish is the aftertaste. Sence of taste: bitterness on the back of tongue acidic on sides sweet on front of tongue salty behind sweet. Kinds of acid in wines: tartaric:hardness, malic:sour apples, citric:sharp lemony, lactic:milky tartness, succinic: salty bitterness, acetic:acidic.

Sence of touch when tasting.
Texture:from sharp to smooth, soft, well rounded
Astringency: Tannins from red, acidity from whites
Temperature: Temperature and ethyl alchohol
Body: Sense of weight and structure of wine
Prinkle: In sparkling wines

Vinification: How wine is made.

Quality of wine comes mostly from the quality of the grapes used. Quality of the grape comes from their variety, weather, soil and time of harvest. The combination of these factors is called terroir.
Wine is an alchoholic grape juice. Sugars + yeast = alchohol and carbondioxide. The sugars and yeast are in the grapes. Yeast is in skin of the grapes.

During primary fermentation yeasts feed on sugars in the must ( crushed grape mix) and multiply producing carbon dioxide and alchohol.
The temperature during fermentation efects the taste of the wine and speed of fermentation.
For every gram of sugar converted about 1/2 gram of alchohol is produced. To produce 12% alchohol wine the must should be 24% sugar.

Harvesting.

First step in wine production. Done mechanically or by hand. Harvest time decided by level of sugars and tannins, acidity and weather.

1st fermentation.
Red wines.

Must is transfered to containers to ferment. Temperatures reach as high as 86* F. Skins are left in contact with juice (that part is called maceration). This process extracts from the skins the polyphenols that give the wine its color and assure its longevity in addition to providing the aromatic substances that make the boquet. The wine is de-vatted and separated from the pressings. It is drawn off into tanks where a second fermentation takes place. This second fermentation is called malo-lactic fermentation and aggressive malic acid is turned into softer lactic acid. To secure a limpid beverage the wine is raked numerous times in the next few months. Some wines are aged in barriques (a type of oak barrel) which adds flavor.

White wines.

White or red grapes are processed with a quick crushing and transfered to the press to avoid contact with the skins (where the color comes from) Temperature is lower in fermentation than with reds. Only one fermentation takes place.

Rose` wines.

The dark skins are left in contact with the juice just long enough to extract the colors that the winemakes desires. The must is then pressed and fermentation continues as in white wine.

Misc info.
Containers can be stainless steel, large wooden containers or small wooden barrels. The small wooden barrels hold about 60 gallons and are always handmade. Flavors from containers are: stainless steel makes a light to medium weight wine. Clean , fresh, crisp style. Aromatic fruit flavors.
Small wooden barrells: Usually fuller, richer style. More rounded, complex, multi dimentional.

Sparkling wines

Two main methods: Champenoise method and Charmat methos.

Champenoise/ Metodo classico
Assembling: Grapes ( not too ripe to retain high acidity ) go for the alchoholic fermentation and are blended in an individual cuvee` which may include different vintages.
Tirage: The basic wine is bottled (with a metal cap) and the liquer di tirage is added (cane sugar and yeasts)

Refermation: The yeasts transform the sugar into 1 or 2 degrees of alchohol as carbon dioxide builds up to a pressure of 5-6 atmospheres

Aging on the lees: Now the wine has to age on the lees for about 2 years. The absence of oxygen consumed in the refermentation lets the wine develope a natural stability.

Riddling: once the aging is completed the spend yeast must be removed. The bottles are placed face down at 45* in some A frames known as pupitres then agitated and twisted for a few weeks, gradually declined in the A frames until the deposit rests against the cap of the bottles.

Removing the sediment: Degorgement. In the past done by hand, the neck of the bottle is dipped in a chilled solution, freezing the deposit. Set up with the cap off the gas in the bottle expells the frozen deposit.

Topping up: Now the bottle must be topped immediately with a cork. The champenoise spumante recieves a dosage (liquer di expedition) Different dosages, different classifications.
Production takes about 20 months.

Charmat method.

Same as other method except stored in stainless steel containers and unwanted material taken out with a filter. Takes about 4-5 months to produce.

REGIONS

Northern Italy

Four areas: Valle d Aesta, Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria.
Because of different topography each area produces different wine.
General characteristics: Reds: North West: Great, important, complex, long aged wines. Brilliant red colors. Elegant and very persistent wines.
Whites:North East: Highly acidic, fresh and crispy flavors. Pale in color, fruity in flavor.

Piedmont: Produces many of the most important Italian red wines. Typical grapes are: Red: Nebbiolo grape which makes Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco (makes many more but those are 2 of the best). Region also makes a great white moscato.

Lombardy: Typical grape: Red: Nebbiolo which makes Valtellino DOC. White: Chardonnay and Pino. (Also makes Francia Corta DOCG sparkling wines.

North Easter region of The Northern area is known as Tre Venetzia. Typical grape variety: Friuli Giulia, Trentino alto adige.

TUSCAN DOCG wines
Greatest percentage of DOCG wines come from Tuscany (where I am!)

Reds(some, all DOCG): Chianti, Chianti Classico, Nobile di Motepulciano, Brunello di Montalcino, Carmignano.
Only one white DOCG in Tuscany: Vernaccia Di S. Gimignano.

Grape Variety: Sangiovese (Ive actually gotten to eat these off the vine a few times and they are great) is the main grape. Others used are: caniolo, colorino and international grapes such as cab sav, merlot. Wines in this region must be made with at least 75% Sangiovese.

New Vineyard must wait 4 years after planting to begin production.

Southern Italy

Regions: Compagnia, Apulia, Basilicate, Calabria.

Climate: Some areas very hot.

Characteristics: Reds: Great intensity, fruity, concentrated, rustic, less elegant style, dip in color, high alchohol.
Whites: Great intensity, good, not so high acidity, usually golden yellow, high alchohol.
Stand out wines: Tavarsi DOCG, Castel del Monte DOC.
Usual grape: Aglianico.

ITALIAN ISLANDS

Sardinia's best wine: Vermentino di Gallura (one of only 4 Italian DOCG white wines)

Red grapes: Connonao, Carigiano, Nebbiolo
White grapes: vermentino, moscato.

Sicily: Great production, great quality. Creates many desert wines: Marsala, moscato and passito which is made with Nebbiolo grape.

Red grapes: Nero d'avola, cerasuolo, internationals.
White grapes: Moscato, marsala, inzolia, alcano.

Here is a review of italian wines I found at:http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.edining.ca/pictures/Chianti%2520Classico.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.edining.ca/viewarticle.asp%3FID%3D262&h=300&w=300&sz=48&hl=en&start=15&sig2=kG5XbtWhfRFveBT2zTirrw&um=1&tbnid=esr3kI8ZPNk_mM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&eid=H4JYR8GeKqeO-ALMzbzgCg&prev=

talian Wines

Italian wines are usually ranked among the best wines in the world. The demand for Italian wines is so high that this small country produces around 8 billion bottles of wine each year. But the growing number has not resulted in deterioration in quality, as most Italian wine producers are known for their strict quality control.

The history of Italian wine dates back around four thousand years. Perhaps, what has helped Italian wine stay ahead of its competitors is the fact that Italy has more local grape varieties than any other country on earth. Italian wine is considered unique due to rich blend of diverse wine cultures that exist in various wine regions in the country. There are certain general qualities of Italian wine which make it stand out in the crowded wine market.

It is better to take Italian wines with food, as they have relatively high acidity levels. Italian wine bottles are full of earthy aromas and regional flavor. This is also known as ""earthiness"". It helps make an Italian wine complement the food, not compete with it. Most Italian wines are not heavy. They are moderate in nature, though there are some heavy wines, too.

A number of grape varieties that do not grow in other parts of the world are grown in Italy. These varieties are used for producing wines which have unmatched taste.

Italian wines are available in a wide range of prices. Some of them are very expensive, but many of them are easily affordable. A number of Italian wine stores sell these wines online. Most popular department stores also sell Italian wine bottles from different parts of the world. It is better to buy Italian wine from an authorized store, as many ordinary wines are also sold as "Italian wine" in the market.

Italian Wine provides detailed information on Italian Wine, Italian Wine Regions, Italian Red Wines, Italian White Wines and more. Italian Wine is affiliated with French White Wines.

Commonly known as Italian reds, Italian red wines are world famous. As compared to red wines produced in other parts of the world, they stand apart due to their tarter taste, higher acidity, and aroma.Unlike French wines, Italian red wines are not named after the grapes used for making them; instead they are named after regions in which they are produced. Italian red wine makers use different varieties of grapes. Many of these varieties are not available in any other part of the world.

Due to their sharper taste, Italian red wines are not preferred for simple sipping, but a bottle of red wine is a perfect companion during a meal. Valpolicella, Chianti, Barolo and Merlot are some of the best-known red wines. Valpolicella is named after a famous wine-producing region in Italy. There are three different varieties of grapes-- Rondinella, Corvina and Molinara--which are blended together to produce excellent red wine in this region. Valpolicella is a relatively lighter wine. Chianti, on the other hand, is considered to be a perfect companion of an Italian meal. It is produced in a region of the same name.

Barolo is another impressive red wine produced in the region having the same name. Unlike Chianti and Valpolicella, Barolo is made from a single variety of grape called Nebbiolo. It takes around ten years for Barolo to age perfectly. A perfectly aged Barolo has a distinct aroma of roses, raspberries and earth.

If you prefer a simple Italian wine, Merlot could do the trick. The region of Tuscany also produces a number of great Italian red wines. Some Italian red wines could cost you a fortune, but many of them are quite affordable. Italian red wines can be purchased from online stores, exclusive outlets or any of the stores which stock them.

Final Week

2007-12-06T19:08:00.000+01:00

This week we had our practical finals in the cooking classes. Monday we made tiramisu and gelato, Tuesday we had to make up recipes again. I made a pasta di mare or seanfood pasta with mussels, calamari and a white wine sauce as well as a rosemary chicken and potato dish. Wednesday we made squid ink risotto with calamari. All the dishes turned out well. We had our reviews in Italian and nutrition classes as well. Next week we have the going away party at a discotech that the school reserved. There is also three days where the school is turned into a restaurant and all the students particpate. The masters class made a menu and is making the food. Everyone else is either serving, doing dishes, hosting or other restaurant jobs. Everything is still going very well (except for the internet being out at the apartment.)

Lost in my laptop- Pictures coming

2007-12-01T23:23:00.000+01:00

So its December and I think I'll be spending the rest of the semester watching lost on my laptop! Not really but I did just download the 3rd season.... Its definitely Christmas season in Florence. The shope all have the decorations up and the streets are draped in lights. There is a german holiday fair in Satna Croce with amazing bratwurst, saurcrout, mulled wine, beer, crepes, potatoes, whole pigs, tents of candy and other great food. Also lots of arts and crafts. Pretty cool. We've been going and filling up the last few nights. On thursday for our nutrition class we went to the first brewery in Florence that makes very good beer. We walked about 30 minutes to get there and met the class. First they gave a tour of the production area (which was in the bar) and then they told us how they made their beer. They produce 3 kids, a light colored beer, a red and a double malt. They then sat us down and to our surprise out came sliced meats, bread and pizza after pizza. On a hard crust there was about 6 different kinds, each coming after the other. With a pizza for every 4 or 5 people there was alot to go around. Cheese was followed by prociutto followed by mushroom then mixed veggies then a white pizza then a pesto pizza then a caper and anchovi pizza a spicy red pepper pizza and finally the classic basil mozarella and tomato. The beer was easily the best I've had in Florence and they served us with pitchers of each kind. It was a great class! After that we met up with Brittany and then went to the german market. Yesterday Mario me and a couple other guys from school walked to Cacine park to play some basketball. We were met there by our teacher, Damiano, and a few other kids from school. Surprisingly there was a crowd at the court - about 25 people were there. The most Ive seen there previously was 10 so I was very excited. We got to play full court and half court games for about 4 hours and Im proud to say that I didnt loose a game! Included was a game winner in my teachers face! Its fun playing with Italians because its a chance to learn alot of words that I wouldnt learn in class. Not just cuss words but slang and other everyday words that they dont teach. After our teacher gave us a ride home we went back to the market to try some different sausage and walked around looking at decorations. There was about a 3 week period where the streets seemed slow and unpopulated but its picking back up now with the holidays and the streets are full of energy again. I cant believe that Im Packing up in 2 weeks and going to stay in NY. Sometimes it feels like its going by really fast but then I think about everything Ive done and I know that it hasnt. Next semester should be even better because supposedly we are getting the nicest apartment available and Ill be able to do more. I had been limiting my travel because I didnt want to run out of money next semester but now that I made it throught this one Ill be free to do more. Althought I wish I could see everyone at home Im really excited to go to NY. Especially for 3 weeks because Ill actually be able to get a feel for the city, instead of just going for a weekend. I'm looking forward to all the touristy stuff as well as trying to get on Conan O'brien and SNL. Not only that but two of my best girlfriends will be in NY for the holidays so I'll get to spend time with them. Then its off to Rome to meet big Poppa and conquer Europe! He's a great explorer so we should have a very interesting time.

Pisa, Cooking, Taste of USA.

2007-11-27T15:20:00.000+01:00

Well my ankle is getting better, I was able to play basketball on it yesterday (even full court) at the "basket camp" which was fun. Happy thanksgiving to everyone that I didnt get to talk to. My computer finally came in after about 3 weeks of sitting in customs so I plan on having a little more content and more frequent posting.
Last Friday Scott, Brittany and I decided to go to Pisa and Lavorno. Pisa because you cant come to Italy and not see the leaning tower. Both are about an hour west by train. We purchased tickets from the machines in the terminal (Bill I put a picture on for you) for 5.40 Euro and only had to wait about 20 minutes for the next train to Pisa. We ate the salami sandwhiches we had made and enjoyed the short trip. As usual a gypsy came along asking for money with a handout in english and Italian. The Pisa station was one of the plainer stations I'd seen and on the smaller side. Outside it was drizzling a little bit but humid and warm. We didnt have a map so we took a taxi (only the 3rd time ive been in a car since Aug 27th and it felt weird) for only 5 Euro to the city center where the "Field of Miracles" was. Its always shocking but surprisingly common in Italy to be driving or walking down a street and BAM there will be one of the most beautiful or awesome buildings you've ever see. The field of miracles was a large open area with very green grass. to the left of where we came in was the round baptistry, in the middle was an impressive Duomo ( Not like our Florentine Duomo tho) and closest to us was the tower. Around the outside of the field was a cobblestone street, shiny from the rain. Outside of that was a line of little market stalls selling tourist goodies and post cards. The corner we came in from was city buildings and the other 3/4 surrounded by a medium height red brick wall. From our angle the tower didnt have much of a lean to it but was still beautiful and larger than I had expected. Layered like a wedding cake with columns all around it would be important architecture even if it wasnt leaning, especially considering that it was built over 800 years ago. Moving to the left towards the baptistry the lean became more and more pronounced. When we were between the baptistry and the Duomo the tower couldnt be seen so we spent some time looking at the carving and designs on the two buildings. The doors, especially on the duomo were nice and interesting with biblical scenes similar to the gates of paradise in Firenze. Once around the Duomo the full tower was in view, this time from the best side to see the Tower. Sunken into the ground on one side the Tower was at an impossible angle. I laughed out loud at seeing it as it didnt seem possible that something that big could stay standing. I suggested walking back to the trainstation so we could see more of the city than just a cab and the field. I love getting away from the tourist sights, although they are important, and seeing what something is really about. Thats something Im looking forward to doing when my dad comes because hes the same way. Scott and Brittany agreed and we set off in the general direction of the station. I knew it was on the other side of the Arno (the Arno flows through Pisa also. Back when Pisa and Florence were rivals Florentines would pee as much as possible in the arno as Pisa was downstream) and generally a straight line from the tower. Pisa was alot more laid back and slower paced than Firenze and we got to see some of the christmas decorations being put up. As we got into a residential area we felt unsure about the direction so we asked and were only slightly off. When we go to the arno we crossed and found ourselves walking next to a castle that was in great shape. Some of it actually arched over the road and we walked though it and saw throught the bars a large garden and tall turrets. The drizzle picked up a little and I could tell that Brittany might have been regretting the walking decision, but she stuck it out and we made it to the station reasonably quickly. At the station we debated going to Lavorno. Scotts dad works for the military in Germany and has a military ID so we had been planning on going to the U.S. base in lavorno but now it was about 6:15 and we werent sure if it was still open. We wanted to go to the base strictly for American food, which doesnt sound very reasonable but I look at it like this: Although I always complain (often reasonably) about American food its like a girlfriend that you have been going out with for years (20 for me) and even tho shes not a very good girlfriend you cant help but miss her. I've been missing things I dont even eat at home. The stuff I walk by in the grocery food on the way to the feta cheese and Italian bread. Cooler ranch chips, breakfast cereal (the bad ones), reeces, macaroni and cheese (theres no cheddar here), and junk in general. Anyway Im sure it sounds crazy to you all but this is an issue that has been coming up for all of us over her. So we decide to go to Lavorno and buy the 1.40euro ticket and hop on a new, double decker train, which I hadnt been on yet. When we got off we were greeted by something Im sure all of you wouldnt mind seeing............ Palm trees. Scott offered to pay for a cab and we headed off. About 20 minutes later we were at the base which had pretty intimidating defenses and a mixed guard of Italian carabineri and US marines. The marine we talked to was very nice and amused at our quest for junkfood. We gave our passports to the Italians and the took about 20 minutes to process them. The marine told us its much quicker if only one of them does something. Italy isnt known for its efficency. Although the PX was closed the shoppette was open so we made our way. Before we made it to the shop we were stopped by the amazing sight of a vending machine next to an ATM that dished out DOLLARS, which dont feel like real money anymore, just like Euros didnt feel real when I first held them. The dollar felt huge and ridiculus, not to mention ugly. Walking into the shopette WAS a kid walking into a candy store. I figured I hadnt had any processed junk for 3 months so I might as well go with it. I loaded my basket up with velveeta, chips, oreos, reeces pieces, poptarts, rice crispy treats and a basketball magazine. Paying in dollars was good tho. 20 dollars actually was 20 dollars. When I pay with Euros 20 turns into 30. Walking with our heads held high we carried our bulging bags of sugar and fat to the front gate, where we took a cab to pisa, which was actually closer than Verona. We caught a train home around 10.It was a fun trip and after the first few treats I started passing out the rest.
Monday in class we made a swordfish wrap with a large piece of sword fish that we filled with a mix of, capers, parmigiano, bread crumb, olive, pine nuts. Held closed with tooth pics we seared it quickly in tomato, olive and olive oil. Pretty tasty although I dont really care for pine nuts. Last night I went and played basket with our teacher and about 7 other students. I played pretty well altough I had no strength in my ankle. This morning we had a great class. In introduction for professional cooking we had a review for our final for about 30 minutes then the Chef surprised us. He pointed to two huge baskets of food and said "You have 45 minutes to make up a recipe". I was excited because this is what I'm best at, improvising and making something out of whatevers lying around. This wasnt like at home tho. This was two baskets of the freshest food in the world. The meat we were working with was chicken leg. At first I thought about doing a chicken marsala type dish but then I thought of something that I didnt think anyone else would come close to. I decided to make a chicken, pancetta, artichoke stuffed ravioli with a broccoli, celery, zucchini cream sauce. Yea i know it sounds good! First I deboned the chicken and trimmed the arichoke down. I sauteed onion and garlic for a minute before adding the chicken and artichoke. I let that cook while I cut the veggies for the sauce. After about 10 min I turned the chicken down and added the pancetta. I started the cream sauce by making bechamel, which is 50g butter, 50 g flour and 500 ml milk. You start heating up the milk with sale, pepe and nutmeg then in a seprate pot melt butter on high and slowly whisk in the flour. When its smooth you add the hot milk and whisk more. When that was done I set it aside and sauteed the celery, broccoli and zucchini for about 6 minutes which I then tossed into the cream sauce, which was then placed on low heat and stirred well. To make the pasta I measured out 100 gr flour and made a bowl out of it on the table, which i broke an egg into and topped with sale, and a little olive oil. I mixed it with my hands set it aside, wrapped in plastic wrap. I took the chicken, artichoke and pancetta mix and blended it with a food processor until smooth and placed it in one of those baggies that people use to put on frosting. I rolled out the pasta until thin tossed flour on top and then used a brush to wet with water and used the baggy to place the filling. Pressing around each filling ball I sealed the pasta, then cut with a pasta cutter. While I put the ravioli on to boil I checked the sauce and noticed that it was too thick ( i wanted it to be more liquid than thick) so I added milk and salt and pepper. Dont be shy to use salt in the sauce. When the pasta was cooked (about 10 min) I put some sauce and pasta in a saute pan and let it mix together. Plating it I spooned the ravioli on and topped with lines of olive oil and sprinkles of parmigiano. I was proud of my dish, as it tasted great and looked good also. Everyone did a great job in the class but It was good to hear the chef say that mine was the most creative and that he thought it was "Molto Bono" or excellent. For you vegetarians you could substitute the chicken and panchetta pretty easily. I typed up a recipe pretty quick so if I forgot something go ahead and ask.

And home!

November 27, 2007

Ravioli con Pollo y pancetta alla Alaska
Serves 2
Filling:
Chicken breast
onion 1/2
garlic 1 part
olive oil
artichoke 1
Pancetta, 1 strip (or use 2 strips of thick bacon)

Sauce
50gr burro
50gr white flour
500 ml latte
3/4 celery stalk
3/4 zucchini
1broccoli head &stalk
1onion
sale pepe, nutmeg
Parmigiano

Pasta
100 gr Flour, 1 egg, drops of olive oil, sale

First cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces. Chop onion and garlic and set aside. Cut top and bottom and all unwanted parst of artichoke, quarter and set aside. Chop pancetta and put with rest of filling. Heat up olive oil in saute pan on med high heat and add garlic and onion when hot. After about 5 minutes add chicken, artichoke and more olive oil. After about 10 minutes add pancetta and turn to med heat, while making the sauce be sure to stir filling occasionaly. Start the sauce by making a bechamel sauce using the butter, flour and milk. Put the milk in a pot with sale, pepe and nutmeg (pinch).Heat the butter on high heat and slowly add the flour while whisking. Once milk is hot add it into the butter flour mix while whisking continuously. Once mixed set aside. Chop celery, onion, zucchini and broccoli into small, almost minced pieces. Saute with olive oil until cooked (about 10 min) and add to cream sauce. Put cream sauce back on stove and cool on low- med heat. Take filling off stove and blend with a food processor until very smooth. Set filling aside and start the pasta. Make a bowl out of the flour and fill with the egg, sale and olive oil. Mix by hand and knead for 5-10 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Roll by hand or with pasta machine until thin. Spread into a sheet and powder with flour, then apply a light coating of water with a brush. Put blended filling into a sleeve and place at even intervals along sheet, staying in the middle. Use the sleeve to place small balls of filling the same size along the sheet. Fold pasta over the filling and press all around to seal. Cut with a pasta cutter and set aside. Turn sauce on low heat and add milk if sauce is very thick. Sauce must be more liquid than thick. Put water on to boil, adding a pinch of sale. When boiling add ravioli and cook for about 10 minute. When ravioli is done mix with sauce, about 3 spoon-fulls for every 4 ravioli. Plate and garnish with olive oil and parmigiano.

P.S. Postcards coming

Ciao

2007-11-20T12:14:00.000+01:00

Rolled my ankle playing "Basket" last week.
Tuscan rooftops
Me and B cooking some spaghetti alla carbonara

Happy early thanksgiving everybody! Im glad I already had my thanksgiving meal at my sisters before I left but Im looking forward to seeing the Italian version. We've been cooking some great recipes lately including lasagna (very different here), pastry and many fish dishes. Ill put the recipes on later. Making sea bass
Ciao