Return to Rome

07/02/2012

I think it was nice to be back in Rome. We checked into our beautiful hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps (with a rooftop bar that has an incredible view of the city... the perks of being a travel agent's daughter) and then proceeded to explore the city. We ate lunch at Il Brillo Parlante which is the restaurant where mom and I had our first dinner in Rome last year. We ordered salad, pizza and pasta and shared it three ways. A delicious meal in my opinion, although dad was unimpressed (and I thought I was hard to please).

Our major visit of the day was to the Galleria Doria Pamphilj which was absolutely incredible. I'm not quite sure what to make of it at this point... still... one month later as I'm writing this. The gallery is inside a beautiful 16th Century palazzo which is just smack dab in the center of Rome. It is extremely easy to miss, in fact we did miss the entrance at least once. The walls in each room are filled from floor to ceiling with works of art. Everything from Titian to Memling to Vasari! The collection is stunning and so difficult to take in, especially because there are probably only ten wall labels in the entire collection, and there are well over 100 works on view (maybe closer to 200?). We were mostly excited to learn about some new (old) artists that we had never heard of before. I'll have to go through my list and organize it, but if this blog becomes what it used to be (posting artworks) I will definitely post some works by these artists.

Before dinner we went to the rooftop bar of our hotel to have drinks. I wasn't too pleased with the drink selection (they don't really like gin in Rome, and I cannot have a Spritz (aperol, prosecco, soda water) like every other person in Rome) so I ordered a White Russian because I know what it tastes like and I saw no problem with it. Apparently it's an after dinner drink, and while the waiter and bartender did not seem to care or to judge me for ordering this, my brother gave me loads of shit for ordering it. Although it's nice to try new things, I know that some types of alcohol get me seriously drunk, and that's never what I'm looking for. I'm not a lightweight, but I'm not going to order cocktails with champagne or tequila because they don't do me right, and most of the cocktails had champagne or tequila.

For dinner we went to an Osteria where everyone else ordered things they were unhappy with, and I ordered Tortellini in Brodo which was fucking divine. I'm really sad that my family was unhappy with some of the food choices they made on this trip, especially in Rome, but I saw the kind of place we were eating and I knew that even though it was 1,000,000º outside Tortellini in Brodo would be prepared just right, and it was.

Turkey is Incredible.

06/26/2012

Turkey is so incredibly different from anywhere I have been before. I found every crack in the sidewalk, every corner turned, and every face absolutely fascinating. We arrived kind of early in the morning (to Kusadasi) and so we wandered through the maze-like streets of the Grand Bazaar when nothing was opening and it was quite magical. It was a similar sensation to walking through a dark alley at night, but it was early morning so the stray cats were about but not frightening, and there were some shifty characters, but they were only in need of a coffee not a killing. The reason why I say it is similar is because it's sort of the same kind of fear you have when walking through a place you've never been before, it's kind of thrilling. As most of you know I'm not really a thrill seeker, but take me through any foreign city before 7 am and I'll love you forever.

We had a fantastic guide, Tamer (not pronounced like a lion tamer, but tah-mer), who was very nice, but also very quick. Some of us had trouble keeping up with him. We first went to the archaeological museum to look at all of the sculptures which have been preserved from the ancient site of Ephesus. Some of these sculptures were really beautiful, and I was almost sad to see them separated from the ruins, but at the same time I cannot imagine what the elements would do to them if they lived outside forever.

After visiting the museum we went to the ancient site of Ephesus (which they have found artifacts for dating back to the 14th and 13th centuries BC). Not only was Turkey hot, but it was also incredibly humid. This made for probably the most uncomfortable visit to a ruin site for us all. I felt that the ruins were just as interesting to look at as the ones we saw in Athens the day before. It was interesting to see what they have already uncovered and restored and what they are currently in the process of restoring. There was one part of the ruin site where there must have been millions of tiny fragments of a fresco, and they are trying to put it together. More jigsaw puzzles, right?

The most beautiful building was the Library of Celsus, which used to hold scrolls and other writings. (Not pictured here). It was also the coolest place to stand. They have a huge Odeon in Ephesus where they used to hold rock concerts, but because the fans were disrespectful to the site, they have closed it down from that type of entertainment. They are in the process of restoring it, and then they plan to hold classical concerts there.

Kittens Fighting

After that we went to a restaurant in the countryside that is owned by this family. There are two ways to eat there. You can order off the menu, or you can eat whatever you want at the buffet. We chose the buffet. We ate every Turkish dish imaginable. The food was excellent. The quality was fantastic and the flavors were so beautiful, and for a buffet the presentation was reasonable. I couldn't even begin to describe to you some of the delicious things we ate, but it was quite fantastic. They had a cookbook (thank goodness) and so we bought a copy because.. the food was really that good. I also tried Turkish tea which was EXTREMELY strong and bitter. It was almost like drinking coffee.

One of my goals in Turkey was to visit the Tuesday produce market, and so I asked Tamer if he would take us there. All of the fruits and vegetables and spices were beautiful, and the way you taste things in Turkey is nothing like the way you taste things in the United States. When we were interested in apricots, they gave us whole apricots to try, not just a sliver. We bought some fresh and some dried apricots. I wanted to buy spices, but I forgot to make a list before I left of what I might need. They let you try spices as well. It was such a beautiful experience. I love markets, especially food markets, because you see the most interesting people there, and also you see people who are just living their daily lives there, and that's a really wonderful thing to see.

Afterwards we went back to the Grand Bazaar to find a whole different scene from the one we saw earlier in the morning. Everyone was out and about, and boy are they pushy about sales there. They'll say anything to you to get you to walk into their store and buy something. I bought two bowls (for my roommates) and I did the best bargaining job I could, but I'm not very good at it. I convinced my parents to buy pillowcases (Which are really kind of cool so I'm glad they went for it).

All in all I think I'd really love to explore more of Turkey, and of Asia in general. I feel so lucky to have seen as much of the world as I have in the "few" years I've been alive, but I'm aching to see more. I wish we had included Istanbul in our itinerary because I feel as though that would have been a magnificent experience as well.

As many of you know I don't really ever drink enough to get drunk, but on this night I was probably about as drunk as I've ever been (maybe not including that one time in London, or those two times in Oakland) but about the same. Thankfully, my dad was having it too. We had lots of laughs together being drunk, but for me it was strange because (being on a ship) I couldn't tell if I was super drunk and everything was moving, or if the ship was just naturally rocking back and forth.

But maybe I should get drunk a little more often, because I turned $10 into $54 at the casino!

London, Day #29

Friday (the day of insanity// last full day in London)

1. Go to the post office and send back two packages to the U.S., expensive, exhausting and time-consuming.

2. Make our way to Abbey Road and soon find out that the underground line we need to take is entirely closed.

3. Arrive at Abbey Road by way of alternative underground/bus routes. Attempt to take photos for about 30-40 minutes. Boy were the drivers there livid!

4. Walk to Regent's Park, split a sandwich and a bag of crisps.

5. Rent a rowboat for 30 minutes, and then proceed with no directions onto the boating lake. End up only going roughly 20 ft. off the shore, to then return after about 26 minutes.

6. Walk to the Sherlock Holmes museum and check out the gift shop, but make no purchases, and do not view the entire museum, just one part that was next to the Loo.

7. Take the tube to Berwick Street Market. Look around, find nothing too interesting except a couple of food stalls, walk to Carnaby street and realize it is not what it used to be, and it will never be what it used to be... again.

8. Walk to Claridge's Hotel, Quickly freshen up in the loo/washroom, check our bags at the coat check.

9. Arrive at the tea room and are promptly seated for tea.

10. Lavender Earl Gray + Pomegranate Oolong.

11. Cucumber, Rocket + Cream Cheese - Poached Salmon + Herbed Mayonnaise - Egg Mayonnaise + Cress - Hummus, Roasted Peppers, Spinach, Red Onions + Artichoke Hearts - Cheddar Cheese + Mango Chutney.

12. Dragon Jasmine Pearls + Bolero (teas).

13. Raisin Scones, Apple Scones, Devonshire Cream, Tea Infused Jelly.

14. Champagne Gelatin + Fruit Compote, Vanilla Cream with Puff Pastry.

15. Free tea tins with their signature blend.

16. Find our way to the Garrick Theatre to pick up our tickets for Pygmalion.

17. Walk to Covent Garden and watch a man juggle a sword, fruit and a functioning chainsaw while in his underwear.

18. Driven in a rickshaw back to the theatre and have a glass of Pinot Grigio, each.

19. Enjoy the wonders of live theatre, enjoying the magnificent talent of Diana Rigg, Rupert Everett and co.

20. Meet Diana Rigg (a charming and wonderful woman), get her autograph, proceed to be starstruck all the way to the tube.

21. Take the tube back to Wimbledon with a temporary stranding at South Ken. Station.

22. Pack.

23. Sleep!