First Winter Solstice of the Year

My friend just posted on Facebook, that we enjoyed our second winter solstice of the year yesterday. Took me a minute but I realized that he was right. We were in Peru six months ago, and at Machu Picchu, for the winter solstice in June. I realize I didn't post anything about my trip to Peru on here...so I'm seizing this opportunity of nostalgia to summarize about our incredible adventure. 
A group of us decided about a year ago to plan a trip to Peru. As Machu Picchu had been at the top of my list for as long as I could remember, I jumped at the chance to go. We decided to do the 5 day Salkantay trek which we read was more challenging and less traveled than the Inca trail. 
I flew out the day after the school year ended which was a whirlwind of emotions as not only was I saying goodbye to my class, but I was saying goodbye to my school and colleagues as I had just accepted this job in Italy.
My friend Gabby and I flew into Lima and met up with everyone else. We spent a couple days in Lima, enjoyed the sights and of course, the amazing ceviche and pisco sours. We then flew to Cusco a couple days before our trek left in order to acclimate. Epic fail: I forgot to pick up my altitude sickness medication at the pharmacy before I left. Despite the copious amounts of mate de coca, I still experienced the worst headache and got really sick. Thankfully, Gabby had a couple extra pills which definitely helped. 
We booked our trek through Llama Path and the night before we left, met our group. We left around 5 am and drove to our location for the drop off which was about 2+ hours from Cusco. And thus it began! We started our ascent into the Andes. The first day we enjoyed breathtaking views and gorgeous weather. The second day, my altitude sickness got worse as we made our ascent to 15,000 feet. However, I managed to somehow keep going and make it to the top, getting slightly dehydrated, but still in good spirits. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as cooperative and we experienced quite a bit of rain and snow...but still pretty amazing. 
The rest of the trek was much easier and a lot of fun. We descended into the Andean rainforest and even managed to hit up some hot springs. We had a good group of people which made the trip a lot of fun. 
The final day of the trek, we hiked into Aguas Calientes where we had a bed and shower! The next morning we got up early and hopped on the bus. Now as it was the winter solstice, those Incas intended amazing things to happen at sunrise...however, we were thwarted again by bad weather and the clouds blocked our sunrise. However, nothing could stop the giddiness I felt: I was at Machu Picchu! After years of reading about this place and learning about the Incas, I was finally here! We spent some time in the city and then a few of us had tickets to hike up to Huayna Picchu. It was amazing. Right when we got to the top, the sun came out. The view of the city and surrounding mountains were so beautiful. I sat up there and enjoyed the peace and quiet for a good hour before making my way back down. 
We left Aguas Calientes that evening and made our way back to Cusco. We spent another day in Cusco and then flew back to Lima where I learned how to make chocolate and had my Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby) sighting. I almost ran into him after coffee on a street in Barranco. He was wearing a blue poncho and had headphones in and I watched him nearly get hit by a car. I told Gabby and she was so mad that I didn't alert her in time for a picture. But he didn't look like he wanted to be hounded by HIMYM fans...
Peru was amazing and I would love to go back....¡Ojalá!

Field Trip to the Farm!

       One of my favorite things about teaching kindergarten is our field trips to the farm. Even in California we did this. Our whole kindergarten, all 26 of us (24 kids and 2 teachers), had been preparing for this trip for quite a while as we had to cancel it the first time due to rain.
      One difference between field trips here and in California is that our chaperones are members of our staff-not parents. We had three other staff members join us so there were five adults all together. This was nice because our chaperones knew all the kids as they work with them regularly. Another difference is that as soon as we arrived at the farm, our host brought out coffees for the adults!
      The first thing we did is we went inside and learned about wheat. Our guide showed us where wheat comes from and how to use the mill to grind it. All the kids got a turn to grind the wheat and sift it. Then we used the wheat to make cookies. Now, ordinarily, the cookies that are made at this farm by the kids contain four ingredients: flour, sugar, olive oil and wine. Wine in cookies??? This was exactly what went through my mind when I heard this. However, because we have two kids who need to abstain from alcohol due to religious beliefs, we had to request that they change it. So, they substituted the wine with apple juice. I do hope to try the wine cookies soon though.
     After the cookies were made, we took a tour of the farm. We first looked at all the crops. This is an organic farm so we found lots of critters. The kids saw many of the foods that end up on their plates in the cafeteria at lunch. We then walked over to see the chickens and donkeys. Now the donkeys are solely there to produce fertilizer. Many of the kids were not used to this smell and did not like it! But for me, it was like being at home. All the kids had a chance to feed the chickens with green vegetables and those chickens ate it up! Would love to get my hands on some of those eggs with diets like those!
    We then ate our lunch and our host brought out after-lunch coffees and cookies for the adults. Now this farm hosts a brunch on Sundays using all of their produce. We decided to book a reservation for that Sunday. A few of us went and ate a delicious meal! I definitely hope to go back for brunch and am looking forward to our field trip next year!

Ariccia

       On November 1st, All Saint's Day, most of Rome closes down as it's a national holiday.  Thus, since none of us had to work, my Italian school organized a "field trip" to Ariccia, a cute town about 30 minutes outside of Rome. Ariccia is famous for its porchetta, pork that is slowly roasted with herbs and wild fennel. According to Wikipedia, it was also famous in Roman and pre-Roman mythology due to its connection to goddess Diana and god Vibius. No clue who they are.
      Before we feasted, our group toured the Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia. This palace was designed by Bernini at the request of Pope Alexander VII (1655-1667) and was designed to emphasize the Roman Baroque style. This palace became the primary residence for the Chigi family. The palace contains original, unaltered furnishings and houses an art history library. It also contains a number of paintings. The collections that stand out in my mind the most were, "The Room of Beauties," which is lined with paintings of the loveliest ladies of the day and the "Nun's Gallery," featuring the nuns from the Chigi family. I wasn't able to take pictures inside the palace but found some online: http://www.palazzochigiariccia.it/english/palace/visit-nobile.htm
    Now, the food. It was an amazing feast. Our Italian teachers ordered everything. We got cheese, porchetta, other meats, bread, bruschetta, marinated vegetables and wine. It was SOO good!

    

Trionfale

 

Trionfale is about a five-minute walk from my apartment and is one of my favorite things about my neighborhood. It is open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 to 2:30. Unfortunately, this means that I can only go on Saturday. It’s a large indoor market that contains a number of venders selling everything you need. Plus it's a great place to practice my Italian! You can get your meats, cheeses, fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, olives, wine, eggs, almond milk, cleaning products etc. Everything seems to be good quality and relatively inexpensive. I can get all my fruits and vegetables for the week for under $5.00. Most of the stalls give you a bucket to fill. Then you pick what you want and they will weigh everything for you and give you the price. The bucket filled below was about 3,50€. The arugula that I bought housed a little snail. I guess you know it’s fresh when you find little critters crawling around!

 I finally decided to try the wine. I thought one liter would be plenty but the Italians were coming with huge jugs and filling up 2 or 3 bottles! Clearly I need to be drinking more wine! I paid 2,20 Euros for my wine, which is about $3.00. The wine is literally cheaper than water.

             

           

Mom and Dad Visit Rome

Following the wedding in Spain, my parents flew to Rome for a visit. I had to work during the day so they walked around Rome until I got home. We would reconvene in the early evening where we would either cook dinner or go out. I showed them my favorite haunts including my favorite bakery, market and of course, my favorite gelato shop, which we visited frequently. 

On Tuesday my mom and I ran over to a church near the Barbaríni stop so we could get her and my dad tickets for the Pope’s Blessing. She was worried that they wouldn’t get them but she was elated to find that her tickets were waiting for her after only reserving them that morning (Normally, you need to reserve them a week in advance). My parents got up early Wednesday morning and made their way to St. Peter’s (about a 10 minute walk from my apartment) and spent many hours braving the rain for the blessing to begin. They loved being there and I know it was a highlight of their trip.

On Friday, they rented a car and picked me up from school. They met my students, some of my co-workers and walked around my school. We then drove up to Tuscany and spent the weekend visiting Siena and Montepulciano. Both beautiful and very special places! We enjoyed the churches, architecture, food, wine and scenery.

We spent our last night at my apartment enjoying a home-cooked meal. My dad made chicken and zucchini while my mom prepared a salad. We finished the night with a walk around the corner to Lemongrass Gelato. I miss them already and can’t wait to see them again!  

A Spanish Wedding

      The first weekend in October, I flew to Madrid. The occasion? Pablo and Natalia’s wedding! A year ago, Pablo informed us that he and Natalia were getting married and that he wanted us to be at his wedding. I remember thinking logistically how I would take a week off from work to fly to Spain without getting in trouble. I remember joking that it would be easier to, “just move there.” Funny how at times passing remarks can be remarkably prophetic.

      Greeting me at the airport were my mom and dad who had flown in from California earlier that day. We drove to Salamanca and attended the “preboda” on Friday night. We were served delicious meats, cheeses and drinks and enjoyed our reunion with Pablo’s family.

            The next day we made our way to the beautiful Salamanca Cathedral for the wedding. For the most part, weddings in Spain and weddings in the US are very similar. However, one thing I don’t think you would expect at most weddings are the many tourists walking around listening to their audio-guides pausing to watch the nuptials take place.

            All guests were given confetti made from recycled paper to throw at the newlyweds. We were then escorted by bus to the reception that lasted until11:30 pm. The wedding was beautiful, the food was delicious, the company was fun and I can safely say we all had a great time due to the live Twitter feed that was being projected with positive tweets for most of the night. ;)

My Italian Apartment

Finding a place to live was no easy task. Having only spent 4 days in Rome in the past, I wasn’t sure of the various districts and when choosing a place to live, you kind of want to know the characteristics of each area. However, after talking to teachers and doing a bit of exploring, I decided to look in Prati. The commute from work isn’t that far and has a lot of areas to explore. Prati is also home to St. Peter’s and the Vatican-which I’m only a few blocks from.

            One thing that I was NOT aware of, that would have been good information to know, is that many listings for apartments in Rome are listed by agencies. If you find a place through an agency, it is your responsibility to pay an agency fee. This fee is roughly about one month’s rent.  Furthermore, if you find a furnished apartment, which is what I needed, you need to put down two months deposit. So when all is said and done, you are basically looking at four months rent down in order to move in. Yikes. I didn’t bring over nearly enough money and my first paycheck doesn’t come until the end of September so thank goodness, Laura, the woman I’m renting from gave me an extension for my second deposit.

            Laura and I had met a couple of times prior to my moving in and I liked her immediately. She’s about my age and really sweet. When I finally moved in, she was here to welcome me and took me on a tour around the neighborhood. She showed me the best places to get gelato, pastries, pizza and the best market to do my weekly shopping.

            There are many differences between European apartments and American apartments. One of the main differences is there are no screens on the windows. There are shutters that you need to close at night and when you leave. My first thought was that being on the fifth floor, I wouldn’t have to worry about thefts…but alas, Italian thieves enjoy scaling walls so no such luck. Another difference is most places only have a washer and you dry your clothes on the clothesline. My clothesline is hanging outside my kitchen window so I’m taking bets on how long it will take me to drop something into the courtyard below…

The last major difference is that most bathrooms have a bidet. I don’t even know what to say about my bidet...:)

            My place is quite spacious. It has two bedrooms, one of which will most likely be used as a living room. However, there’s a bed in there and the couch also turns into a bed…so plenty of space for visitors. The kitchen is one of the largest I saw when looking at places. It actually has an oven and refrigerator, which surprisingly isn’t standard in all apartments.