Home in the 17e...At least for the next 4 weeks!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

Ah! So nice to be in my own space! I officially moved in today around 1:30pm. I should have been here to meet Ignacio at 1pm, but a late taxi delayed me (more and more I am learning customer service is not the strong suite of the French).  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Ignacio needed the extra time to do some final touches on the apartment and get the contract ready.  So here I am...paid, signed, official.

Me in my new 18m square studio apartment!

I am sitting on my bed and sofa :) (holding the ancient key in my hand)...a far cry from the 3700 square foot, 5 bedroom, 4 bath home back in Issaquah. :)

My landlord happens to be gay...which means every little detail has been thought about in this apartment (including those red votives complete with candles on my mini blue coffee table).  The pretty string of lights is one of the final details he took care of before I unloaded my four suitcases on the front steps.  It is from this amazing home store called, Habitat.  Possibly better than Crate and Barrel???  That is still up for debate.

Si Vous Plait, a little tour of my new abode...

The pristine new bathroom. 

 I have about enough room to just turn around in, but the shower has a head that is actually secured to the wall.....so much better than just the hand held shower head that seems to plague this country.

Ma Petite Cuisine!

No oven, but 2 hot plates :)....and when not hot, seem to work perfectly to set a glass of wine.

The refrigo is under the stove and you can see the little clothes washer right next to them both.  No dryer, but I do have a very storable drying rack.

Some potatoes I bought at the market just a 100 meters away from the apartment sit out waiting for me to chop them up for dinner.  Tonight's menu:  Seasoned Pork chops, pan fried potatoes with Herbes de Provence and Mache salade with fresh tomatoes and wine. 

I will be sautéing a lot of garlic in olive oil to get rid of the remodeled-apartment smell.

This is where I will study French :).

The apartment came equipped with cable t.v., internet, and a stereo system.  Right now I am listening to Chante France as dinner is being prepared (BTW, the Shazam app on my iPhone rocks for finding out the names of the songs that really get my feet tapping). 

If I get tired of studying, I can transform my desk into the dining room table....but if I do that, do you suppose I will ever transfer it back....I get worried :)

Shelf that also is suitable for counter work space. 

Efficient use of space is the name of the game here.

Still getting use to it!

Time Elapse: 30 minute (pronounced MEE-NOOT)

My first dinner in my first Parisian apartment.  I couldn't be more pleased.

The neighborhood I am in is a bit less homogeneous than the quartier I spent my first 2 weeks... :)....which at first made me a little nervous.  But after walking through it this afternoon, I feel like I will fit in just fine.  Most of my neighbors, like me, are from far away lands....French isn't our first language, but we are here to be a part of Paris.  I am surrounded by restaurants named "La Mangrove," epiciries that specialize in African, Asian and Indian food, salsa music that blares from apartment windows, Arabic that is spoken on the street corners. I stopped in a general store today to buy a Bialetti expresso maker and was greeted by the shopkeeper in French.  He quickly registered my blank look and said, "Ah, you don't speak French." To which I answered, "Ah but you speak English!"  He was from Madagascar!  Head covered with a  taqiyah and a stiff white beard he welcomed me to Paris and even offered to take a few Euros off the expresso maker.  I ended up not buying it, but I will always remember him....he was the first person I ever met from Madagascar!

Grocery Shopping was actually a huge treat for me here! 

For those who know me well, know that I REALLY dislike to go to the grocery store....for a variety of reasons...but, apparently, put me in Paris and that all changes.  I had a marvelous time amongst the specialty cheeses, fresh veggies, salamis and the French version of "t.v. dinners".  As an added bonus I was able to buy sea salt for .63 euro cents and a jar of Herbs de Provence for .69 euro cents (I didn't believe the price because I paid around $14 for them at William Sonoma!).  I may not have the exchange rate in my favor, but the spices are cheap!

The little treats above are mini-brochettes (seasoned meat on a stick) that you put in the micro-ondo for one minute, and Voila out comes a fun, healthy snack...perhaps even a dinner if I added a salad and baguette!

There was also a micro-ondoable Salmon fillet with broccoli mash potatoes that got my taste buds salivating that I will try sometime soon.

BUT right now what is calling my name is the Gateau au Fromage Blanc (vanilla cheesecake) that I grabbed on the way to the check-out garcon.

Getting a little nervous for my getting prepared for bed...in the past when I slept on my couch, it was because I was drunk. :)  Kinda strange to think that is what I am going to have to get use to here.

Saturday night in mon quartier of the 17th arrondissement.

The Eiffel Tower and I wish you a bonne nuite.

Temporary Apartment Found!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

So I haven't found THE place, but I have found a really cute little place to lay my head for the next 4 weeks...maybe 8.  Thanks to my language school, I found a furnished studio that was JUST renovated in the 17th arrondissement.  In fact I will be its first occupent and the first to use all the new utensils and linens from Ikea :). This is great news for me because, frankly, my feet need a rest....it is quite possible that I am starting to wear grooves in some of the rues here as I keep up the apartment search.  I move in either this Friday or Saturday...I should know in a few hours when my new landloard, Ignacio, calls me (yes, he is from Mexico City).

Even though it isn't quite my perfect spot, it is still darn cool!

Check out the little peek-a-boo view of the Eiffle Tower from my street!

A Metro stop is close by and there is an award winning Boulanger on the corner.

I think I will be manage here just fine!

I must admit I am exhausted after just 2 weeks into my stay.  I walk more than I expected (mostly my own fault cuz I prefer to walk over the metro in such nice weather) and there is a bit of an emotional fatigue (<- ooooo, which is also a French word!) in having to adapt to a new life. It is all stuff I anticipated, but it is easy to talk about expecting to be tired/overwhelmed...it is a little different to live through it :).  As soon as I settle into the new place, I think I might need to find a spa :).  I start my language class on Monday, so perhaps one of my first inquiries to my teacher will be how to ask, "Where is the closest spa with a 90 minute hot stone massage?"  I wouldn't mind a facial too. :)

I recently jointed an Anglophone group called WICE that provides cultural, educational and social activities to the international community in Paris. I haven't quite figured out what the WICE stands for (and I have looked in many places on their website), but I know it is a non-profit that was started by women back in 1978 to meet the intellectual, professional, and self-development needs of English speaking women in Paris.  Today the group boasts some 900 members (both men and women) and offers 200 - 300 events and courses a year.  It is a pretty fantastic organization from what I know about it after only a week.  Yesterday I participated in my first activity, a market walk of the Les Halles area.

Up until 1969, Les Halles was the central market in Paris (started in the 12th century) and was called "the belly of Paris." We walked through the streets were it once existed and visited some of the restaurant and kitchen supply shops from that time that still exist today. 

This is me in front of one of those kitchen stores! Inside one could buy kettles as large as me or itty bitty tartlet pans. It was a bit like going back in time entering that store.

This little delights are from a pattisserie that was founded in 1730, Stohrer.

It also is touted as having the BEST eclair in Paris...which of course I tried, but I think it could be a detriment that I started with the best!

Francoise, the chef and cooking school instructor at WICE, was our guide.

There is so much I have to learn about food here!

For example, this picture is of one of the best kind of chickens you can buy, Poulet de bresse.  It is also important to look for chickens with black feet (the butcher will take the head and feet off before bringing it home).  I also learned that the French prefer to each female duck over male because the females are plumper.  And always buy peche (hooked or caught) fish at the market vervus farmed, because the farmed fish are fattier on the inside. Never buy scallops out of season.

In case I need a Foie Gras fix, this store is entirely dedicated to it!

The night before the market walk, my girlfriend Kisara was back in town!  We went without seeing eachother for 13 years, but now have seen eachother twice in the last two weeks!  One of the many treats of Paris so far!  We went stumbled on one of Michelle Rostang's restaurants in the 1e.  Dinner was wonderful, and even got some future restaurant recommendations from the Austrian and Parisian gentleman sitting at the table next to us who decided to join our conversation :). Somehow we ended up closing the restaurant down...luckily I still made my metro home.

WICE has a talk on Josephine Baker this afternoon that I am off to join, and then dinner with a local Microsoftie :). 

It is true, "Paris is a moveable feast."

Which you can bet will be the next book on my kindle too :).

So Much For Blending!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

My year in Paris has officially begun!!! Actually it began last Thursday at 10:58am France time when my plane landed 30 minutes early at Charles de Gaul airport.  I welcomed myself to my new home upon pulling up to the jet way, but it didn't really hit me that I was absolutely in Paris with no return ticket until I heard my first, "Bonjour." Yikes!  And then I looked around to see all the signs in some foreign language. Bigger Yikes!  The reality of the dream took hold in that moment...no longer was it a romantic fantasy.....here I was. In Paris. To live.

Day 1!

I am in posed in one of the neighborhoods in which I am looking for apartments.

It is in the 17th arrondissement...and not too far from the Arc du Triomphe and all that shopping on Champs Elysee (please excuse lack of accent marks over the "e"s in Elysee...it is but one of the things I have yet to learn how to do here...that and speak French.)

However, one thing I have learned is that I do not pass at all, let me repeat, at all as a Frenchy :).  I can be walking down the street eating a baguette, wearing a cute little scarf, NOT wearing white tennis shoes and not saying, singing or humming an English word....yet if I am bumped or if I just look in someone's direction I am greeted with perfect English!  WHAT! Can't they pretend I speak French and let me stumble around with my words enough to tell then I don't...if nothing else it would be amusing to them!  The other night I determined my lack of blending was at the ridiculous level when I stepped into a restaurant to use their bathroom.  Before my mouth even opened, the server looked at me and said, "Toilette? Eet eez downstairz." Sigh. So downstairs I went....stomping the whole way.  

On my first Saturday in Paris I met up with a dear girlfriend, Kisara, who I haven't seen in 13 years!!!

She and I lived in Costa Rica for a year back in 1998. It wasn't until now and in Paris that we were able to reunite. She currently lives in Dusseldorf, Germany and was in Paris on business. Kisara was just as remarkable and joyous as had I remembered, and meeting her husband, Das, was an added bonus!  He flew in from Germany to accompany Kisara on her business trip. We were quite the international group; Kisara from Japan, Das from India, Jen from America and my friend, Adel, from Algeria.  We met at Willi's Wine Bar which is credited as being the first wine bar in Paris.  It opened was in 1980 by an Englishman.  We all took great pleasure in a glass of tasty Touraine Sauvignon Blanc (okay, maybe I had 2!).  The wine was almost as perfect and harmonious as the English all the servers spoke there.  It was clearly an Anglo-Saxon hangout....which was a purposeful choice of mine.

So I have been to the museums of Paris, I have been to the shops of Paris and I have been to the restaurants of Paris, but never have I been to the flea markets of Paris.  That all changed on Sunday morning when I decided to go visit Paris' largest and oldest flea market, Les Puces de Saint Ouen (or just Les Puces...which translates to The Fleas...appropriate, eh?)

My idea of a flea market is clearly different than Paris' idea.

 I had visions of dusty antiques in open stalls where I would barter with gypsy-looking folk who may or may not have missing teeth.  Hardly.  At times I felt like I was more in a museum than in a modest market.....like I had literally walked into one of Napoleon’s apartment rooms that I had seen at the Louvre last November.  Mirrors were ornate, furniture was gold gilded and the tapestries were all silk.  It was clear the 40 Euro I have shoved into my Tumi purse before I headed out the door to hop on the metro wouldn't get me far in this place!  But it was incredible. Once I get my apartment, I will head back to Les Puces to find a few vintage prints to dress my walls!  I have become a fan of the Paris flea market scene.

Much to do tomorrow...and it is midnight now...plus I am fighting my first cold in France.  A girlfriend asked me today if a "cold feels better in Paris??"  :)  I can't say they do, but the "Bonne Nuit" Ricola cold medicine sure was fun to try....in fact, I am going to take some now.  Bonne Nuit!

Up-close details of one of the four main sculptures on the Arc du Triomphe.

La Résistance de 1814

Driving up Champs Elysee!

What a site!

T-Minus 1 Day! The City of Lights Awaits!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

Ah, back to blogging....I kept warning I would start my blog back up once I got to Paris, and I am true to my word. Well, I am a little ahead of my word.  I actually don't leave to Paris until tomorrow.  In fact tomorrow morning at this exact moment I will be at the Missoula International Airport checking my 2 gargantuan pieces of luggage and praying that both are under the 50 lb limit -one of my bags was 20 lbs over the limit on the flight from Seattle to Missoula which meant I had to fork over $90 to the Delta agent.  I refuse to do that again as $90 USD is probably good for at least a week's worth of croissants and baguettes in gay Pairee....however, at the current Euro to $ exchange rate I may be being generous :).

Oh, and YES, I am going to Paris...not Provence as my last blog post suggests.  Paris seemed like the more obvious choice after some research and an inspiring coffee date with a woman author who lived in Paris for over 3 years.  I think the fit will be perfect. Me = Love for food, wine, shopping, people, Paris = great food, wine, shopping, people.  Therefore: Me + Paris = Harmonious Match   :)  Of course, I do have to learn the language to maximize the experience, which I will.  I plan on spending the first 3 months in an intensive language school broadening my current vocab and mastering the French accent (ha!).  Lets hope the Parisian folks are patient with this American girl.

This is a picture I took when I was in Paris in November of last year.

The weather will be decidedly better when I land on Thursday....temperatures will be in the 70s and 80s!

It will be nice to be reminded what sunshine looks and feels like!!!

So with my year long French Vistor Visa (Carte de Sejour) squarely adhered to page 18 of my US passport (I only had to travel to San Fransisco and promise to name my first born son "Sarkozy" for that thing!), a bag of M&Ms, and enough clothes and toiletries to get me through the summer I think I finally feel like I am ready. That feeling of course will change once I land....but I will enjoy it for now.

Me in front of my parents' pond in Montana.  

I am posing with my coveted French Visitor Visa!

I read a quote recently in an article on France that my financial advisor gave me that I think I need to remember as I embark on this journey.  The quote was made by a French Michelin three-star chef to the ariticle's author.  He said, "Please tell people in America that Parisians are not unpleasant only to them.  They are unpleasant to everyone."  Well, good to know. Then I won't take it personally :).

Il n’y a que deux endroits au monde où l’on puisse vivre heureux:  chez soi et à Paris.
(There are only two places in the world where we can live happy: at home and in Paris.)
-Ernest Hemingway
Let's go find out!

Diggi, Diggi

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

It has been exactly 2 months since I concluded my 62 day adventure to West and North Africa and Europe.  I arrived home Saturday, November 27th at 11:30pm.  Dutifully my dear girlfriend, Dianne, picked up her jet-lagged friend at the airport and somehow we shoved my 54 lb-stuffed-to-the-brim-34"-roller duffel and overloaded backpack into her gold convertible, hard top BMW.  Once she made sure I was safe in my apartment, she turned to the door to go home and said, "You owe me one!".  "One" is the least I owe her!

On the flight home I had challenged myself not to sleep during the 10 hour trans-Atlantic jump from Athens to SEA (despite my plush business class seat!) in hopes that once my head hit the pillow that night I would easily and blissfully start jet-lag recovery. Ah, what is it they say about the best laid plans?  I don't think sleep came for 3 days!

 On the flight home.

Apparently I was thirsty! And excited to get home...

I didn't leave the screen tracking my flight back to Seattle.

I started getting particularly excited around Nova Scotia ;)

During my trip, when I told people about my travels...where I had been and where I was going...it was often met with looks of amazement and inevitably followed up with, "You are very lucky."  I would often smile back and say, "I suppose I am."  Now that I am home I can look back on my trip and recognize that not only was I very lucky to have successfully and safely ventured and returned home from the 8 country sojourn, but so blessed for the unforgettable people I met along the way and the lessons taught me.

My biggest lesson was in Africa...Mali specifically. It was a simple one...perhaps one most people already know. And everyday as I settle back into life back home and look to establish my place in our wonderful world I try hard to practice it.

In Pays Dogon in Mali the word in the local language for "slow" is diggi.  This word was taught to me within hours of meeting my Dogon Country guide, A.G. (pronounced in French as "Ah Jay").  As A.G. led me to the edge of the Dogon plateau to introduce me to the beautiful, vast land he was a bit surprised and even taken aback with the number of questions I asked him as he was laying the foundation for our 3 day journey together.  After the 3rd or 4th question, A.G. looked at me, tilted his head slightly and said, "Jen, diggi, diggi. You will learn all the answers to your questions, but diggi diggi.  Life is diggi, diggi and so will be our time in Dogon. Now just listen."  Wow!  I wasn't expecting a little lecture from the guide who I was PAYING to be my source of information in this unknown country.  I felt jolted...who wants to be scolded by a stranger, especially one that you need to get along with for the next 3 days as you trek village to village in sweltering heat and minimal access to showers.  However, not wanting to dwell too long on the uneasy feelings, I decided to heed his instructions, limit my questions, listen and enjoy.

A.G. and I passed an unforgettable 3 days.  During the day he would share with me the mud villages of  his home land, the history and mysticism of the countryside and the slowness of life that is so characteristic of the people of Dogon. In the evenings we would settle into our campemente and spend the night listening to music from my iphone and enjoy cous cous and conversation to the light of a dying flashlight.  After dinner I would go to my roof top bed and count the shooting stars from under my mosquito net while I listened to the burros, chickens and goats all nestle down to bed below me. Life in the Dogon was pure, simple...and indeed slow. Each day I would end it more content than the day before...and, A.G. was right, over the course of our time together all my questions were answered...and they were all worth the wait because I learned them at their intended time making them more meaningful and memorable.  Life is diggi, diggi....I was starting to understand that. Peaceful is the soul that finds pleasure and purpose in the simplicity of living each day and allows life to provide answers not all at once, but as it unfolds. I left Dogon wanting to approach life more how I had lived for those 3 short days...slowly, in the moment and allowing life's answers to come to me at their intended time and not when I demanded. 

My wise and fabulous guide in Dogon, A.G.  

Today I count him as a friend.

I have wanted to write this wrap-up blog post for sometime, but somehow have found free moments for everything other than this.  Part of the procrastination has been finding the right words to articulate a lesson learned that might SOUND important to an anyone who reads this....However, I think much more has been my frustration at myself for not living better what I purport to be the most important lesson of my trip. Life always has its challenges, and this has to be one of the more challenging times of my life.  But divorce should never be easy.  And as I write this I feel like I am in those first few hours in the Dogon with A.G., and I want him to answer all the questions that are swirling in my head...What happens now? Will crying spontaneously ever stop? How will I make money? How do I make my dreams come true? Will I find my place in this world? Will I ever be truly happy?...I need to know the answers now!

Each time I fall into this pattern, I reach into my memory and pull out the look that A.G. gave me when he told me "diggi diggi" that first time.  It is a simple lesson.  All the all answers I seek will come. I just need to breathe, live each day and listen for them.  The hard part is practicing this....but I suppose that will take time too.

So, in conclusion, this girl is wrapping up one adventure only to start another. And as I start on this new journey, I can only hope that I can come out of it as strong, successful and enriched as I did after my 2 months across the Atlantic.  Life is diggi, diggi....as long as I believe in this and myself, the world will continue to be my oyster. I know I can make all  my dreams come true.

Speaking of dreams...I have always wanted to live in Europe for an extended period of time.  Hmmm, what do you think about Provence? :)  My next post may be from there.....stay tuned!

"Sometimes life has more imagination for you than you do for it."
-Habibi

Saying Good-bye to Italy...

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

****

Well, as stated earlier in my travels....travel companions, although glorious to be with, do not lend to consitent blog posts.  As it happens, I am actually in Greece right now :)...having a light cheese plate, glass of white wine and listening to Mark and Adam talk about the importance of the UN.

I left Italy yesterday on an Alitalia flight from Rome to Athens.  Since my last post I spent 3 nights in Sorrento, 2 nights in Positano and 3 nights in Rome.  My time in the Almafi Coast was the most furthest south of Rome I have ever been.  I, of course, had seen many pictures of this beautiful coast line prior to my arrival...and it was just as impressive in real life.  The Limoncello was pretty amazing too :).

The ruins of Pompeii are about 20 minutes outside of Sorrento.

Our first full day in Sorrento we took the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii and explored this well preserved Roman city that was buried under 20 feet of ash when Mt. Vesuvius errupted in August in 79 AD.

Frescos in Pompeii.

In the glass cases are casts of a few victims found when the site was being excavated.

Of the 20,000 people that lived in Pompeii at the time, 2,000 were buried alive.

These are just a few of the people that didn't run fast enough.  The casts are created around their ancient bones, so if you look close enough you can still see their teeth, skull and toe bones. 

One of the victims had teeth that were quite nice.

\

The crew :)

Mark, Rosie and I in the forum in Pompeii.

I certainly look short compared to those guys :)

After my time in the hammam in Algeria, I have been dying for another similar experience.

This roman bath is akin to the hammam, but unfortunatley the last time steam dripped from these walls was at noon on August 27, 79 AD.

It sure was lovely...even in ruins.

The fountain I am standing next to was bought for the public bath by 2 politicians of the day.

Still today you can see their names in bronze in the fountain...I am not sure it that was their way of garnishing votes, but seems like a pretty neat contribution nonetheless (campaign finance laws were probably a bit more lax back then :) ).

Some of the incredible detail in the bath in Pompeii...this, of course, was the bath for men.  Something tells me the women's bath was a bit less ornate.

A picture of Sorrento from the port.

On the island of Capri :).

Maria Carey's house is apparently behind me...somewhere in the distance...not that I cared :).

We took a chair lift up to this point....oh lord was it chilly on that thing!  My feet hurt when I had to hop off after the 15 minute ride up in the wind.  Not sure it was worth the 8 Euro....live and learn.

Shopping in Capri!!

There may be a Valentino dress in that little blue bag :)....how could I resist??

I was in Capri....plus I look really cute in it :).  I swear!

A view of the port in Capri before we headed back to Sorrento....to celebrate Mark's birthday!

We went to a lovely one star Michelin restaurant in Sorrento called, Il Buco.

Campagnia does a good job with thier food and I really enjoyed the wines that night...but having just come from Emilia-Romagna it was tough to compare (if I am to be honest)....although the lemon risotto was enough to bring me back.  The company and conversation really made the evening that night.  We stayed for 4 hours...I think I was in tears laughing twice during the evening.  Finally around midnight we were gently pushed to the door....who knows, we may still have been there :).

The beautiful town of Positano.

After Sorrento we spent 2 nights here in this little gem.

We didn't have a hotel reserved, but Rosie and I stumbled upon a "residence" that opened one of thier apartments to us.  It was 2 bedroom, 2 bath with a kitchenette and a balcony with an amazing view of town and the Mediterranean (which pretty much looked exactly like this picture). 

This is Boo Boo.

He is one of the stray dogs in Positano that gets taken care of by all the towns people.

He has been given a little collar so he doesn't look stray...which keeps him safe from the dog catcher.

The people of Positano take turns bathing him to keep him clean as well.

We saw this little guy all over town just enjoying his freedom...he refuses to stay at any one person's house.

For one night he adopted us and followed us to dinner.  He is just taking a little nap here as we eat our pasta next to the sea.

The dome of Positano's main church.

The church next to the town's only bar.

During the high season, locals don't frequent the only bar in town (the orange building next across the street from the church) because it is overrun by tourists.  Since we went at the end of November, tourists were few and far between...which meant the locals had been able to reclaim their bar :). It also meant it was much more convenient for them to go pray before and after a drink. :)

Next fermata...and final stop in Italy: ROME

Here she is...uh, maybe he is.

Anyway no introduction is needed to this magnificent Catholic tribute, religious shrine and tomb to St. Peter.

I had been at the Vatican 16 years ago...and my experience was much more intimate and awe-inspiring then.  Back then I was one of a few walking the Sistine Chapel with my little audio guide.  It was me, St. Peter and Michelangelo as I stared up with amazment and revery at the ceiling that has inspired art movements and millions of people....God seeking and secular.  This time was SOOOOO different!

We were in Rome during a low season, yet the line to get into the Vatican Museum was 3 hours long...in the rain.  We opted for the 45 Euro tour that got us to cut in front of the line (it costs 15 Euro to get in, so the plus 30 Euro to get our wet feet out of the puddles was well worth it).  Once inside we were part of a sea of humanity being moved from room to room....

The ceilings in the tapestry room.

The tapestries in this hall were once hung in the Sistine Chapel.

Okay, just have to break for one second....as I write this, the song, "I Had the Time of My Life" just came on over the stereo in my little Athens hotel bar.  So appropriate!!!!

In the Hall of Maps.

This hall has all the regions of Italy painted on its walls.

Believe it or not, I was the only one on my tour of over 30 people from all over the world who had Italian heritage....so when our guide got to this hall he yelled out for the Lady from Torino...and then preceded to show me the map of the region where my relatives are from.  This is a picture (although a bit blurred) of that map (Piemonte).

The Rafeal rooms were amazing...which is an understatement.

This is Rafael's tribute to philosophy...one of the four disciplines taught at University at the time.

Plato and Aristotle take center stage in this masterful piece.

The "surprise" is the prominence of Michelangelo....he is the gentleman in purple in the front of the painting with his elbow on the table lost in thought.  History says that Michelangelo was very secretive about his Sistine Chapel project...yet right before completion, Rafael snuck in to look at it.  He was so taken aback by its glory and mastery that he wanted to acknowledge Michelangelo as the master he was.

By placing him with such prominence in this piece, Rafeal is acknowledging that Michelangelo was in a league of his own...the best of the best.  Big compliment!...but deserved.

No pictures of any kind were allowed in the Sistine Chapel...but really no pictures need to be taken as so many perfect images have been captured over the years.  Who isn't familiar with the image of God giving life to Adam...after all it is the centerpiece.  The disappointment of this sacred place was the fact that we were packed in like sardines....shoulder to shoulder we all stood.  Guards would yell for us to keep moving, to be quiet, or "Madame, NO PHOTOS"....frankly, it was a HUGE disappointment to me given my experience of 16 years ago.  I didn't feel the sacredness of such a holy site or the respect it deserved from its temporary visitors.  The Michelangelo I stood with as a twenty-something year old was as lost in the crowd as I was...God seemed far away as Japenese tourists sneaked their iPhones out for an illegal image.  I forgot where I was...and really just wanted to get out.  It was a shame.  I guess even in the Eternal City...things change.  Not always for the better.  I will not be going back to the Vatican again....unless children compel me to in the future. :(

One thing that is always neat about the Vatican is their Swiss Guard.

Be be qualified, you have to be Swiss, between the age 19 - 25 and Catholic.

They only allowed pictures "with distance."

So here is Mark and I giving them their distance :)

In Rome we stayed steps away from the famous Spanish Steps (no pun intended!).

I stayed up in the loft while Rosie and Mark slept below.  The Philipino caretaker of these 4 rooms, Norman, was quite the detail man.  He meticulously rolled up all my electronic cords and folded my clothes each day!!!!  He also was persistant about setting me up with "Mr. Fabio" (a friend of the owner, Mr. Stefano)...but that never transpired :)

Dinner at a wonderful and homey trattoria.

A prix fixed menu was served with vigor and personality by Mama Paola.

We felt like we were in someone's home....just with a lot, a lot of other people!!!

I couldn't get enough of the home made potato chips...oh, yes!  You didn't misread that...these delights aren't "to die for"...but rather, "to kill for" :)

Ah, the Trevi Fountain!

Now that I think about it, I didn't cast my mandatory 2 coins..uh oh...does that mean I won't be back to Rome!!!!!  Yikes!!!

Final Photo from Italy:

In case there were any doubts that Italians eat pasta :)

This just made me laugh...and it is a picture from a LITTLE store in Positano...beyond the pasta there wasn't much more in the small space :)

One thing about Italy, it ALWAYS charms and enchants.  It is a place that I know I will come back to time and time again and will never get tired of its food, people and melodious language.  I will also NEVER get tired of Italian men calling me "Bella" or "Bellisima"....frankly, I need to bottle a few "Ciao Bellas" and unbottle it whenever I may be feeling down....cuz there is nothing more uplifting than those 2 words from a tall, dark, handsome man with an Italian accent :).

Ciao Italia!!!





Modena! Modena! Modena!

NOTE:  As of January 17, 2012, I have moved my blog to my new website:  www.onegirlsadventures.com

I will still be doing duplicate posts on this website for the next 6 months or so, but plan to close it down after that.  Please go to my new website and subscribe!!

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

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My last night in Modena  (pronounced MO-deh-nah), my adorable server, Luca, asked me, "Why did you come to Modena?"  The simple answer: to eat...of course!  The medieval town is not the tourist mecca that some other towns in Italy draw...but the Emilia-Romagna region is touted as having the best food in Italy.  The famous Parmigiano Reggiano is made just one short train stop away, traditional balsamic vinegar is the pride of Modena and the fresh tortellini, tortelloni and tagliatelle is on every trattoria and osteria menu.  The question for me was more, "why would I NOT come"...versus Luca's inquiry.

I was definitely one of a few out of town visitors to this special town...but that was fine with me cuz I came to eat like a local. And mission accomplished! Even though I dined alone each evening, I somehow passed hours at each restaurant.  I literally savored every moment in this town, the birth place of Pavorati, home of the Ferrari and Maserati (Lamborghini is made one town away!)...and the only place in the world where traditional Balsamic Vinegar from Modena is lovingly made in the attics of locals' homes.

I apologize in advance for the parade of food photos that are to follow (especially if you are hungry!).  But like I said, I went to Modena to eat...and it would be a shame not to share the artistry of the food...even if only in pictures.

                                                     

The streets of Modena. 

Like many towns in Italy, its history dates back to ancient times. It was a Roman colony at one point, but the "centro storico" of today is a perfectly preserved medieval town with cobblestone streets and a beautiful 12th century duomo.

My first meal in Modena was at a very casual trattoria about 5 minutes from my hotel.

I started the meal with an antipasti of local cured hams and gnocci fritto...which are typical to this region and are kinda like large fried, doughy ravioli.  Quite delicious.

For my primi (and secondi) I had the handmade tortelloni with pureed zucca (pumpkin!)...oh wow, with the fresh grated parma-reggia it was something to linger over...which I did for about an hour cuz I didn't want the meal to end:).

Dessert was the owner's favorite, coconut semifreddo with drizzled hot chocolate sauce.

I rolled home that evening....and was happy to do so!

Because Modena is associated all over the world with balsamic vinegar, I made it my mission on my first full day in Modena to learn about this syrupy sensation.  I read online that there was a place just outside of the center that did free tours...and since the price was right, I set out to find it.  When I rang the doorbell, I didn't realize that I would be ringing some one's home nor that I technically needed an appointment. Giorgio, the owner of the home and the maker of the traditional vinegar, let me in.  He let me into his home which has been in his family the past 150 years and up the stairs to the attic where he keeps the Modena tradition of making balsamic vinegar...learned from his grandmother.  Giorgio didn't speak much English, so our time together was more tasting the final product than learning about the process to make it...but after about an hour his wife, Giovanna, came home to give me the 411 on the ingredients (just Trebbiano grapes!), methods, timing and extreme passion that goes into this 350 year old art.

Over the course of 25 years, the boiled down juices from the local trebbiano grape are aged in the barrels of different woods. Each year liquid from one barrel is moved in small quantities to the smaller barrel next to it. Over the course of the 12 - 25 plus years the juice ages. It become thick, black and develops a stunning, sweet and a bit acidic flavor.  The smallest barrel contains the product that may merit bottling.

The process to create balsalmic vinegar in Modena is very strict and government regulated.  To be considered a "Traditional," a producer needs to live within the city limits of Modena, follow a strict process to create the vinegar and pass the blind taste tests set up by the local Chamber of Commerce.  It is only with their okay that a producer can bottle their 12year bottle or reserve bottle (25+ year) of Modena's "black gold."

Giorgio's reserve balsamic aged in cherry wood definitely passed my taste taste :).

This 35 year old liquid gold was intense, smooth and begged me to take home a bottle.

Giorgio is one of 45 producers of this vinegar in Modena. He sells his most expensive reserve, 25+ year old bottles, for over 100 Euro...which is a steal considering these vinegars can cost up to 200 Euro.

Giorgio does this art because of his love of the tradition and his passion for the product.

He does not make any profits off the sale of his vinegars.

How do you REALLY know a balsamic vinegar is a TRADITIONAL balsamic from Modena?

Just look at the bottle!!!

The real thing is identified by its mandatory DOP label and by its only legal container: a square-footed bottle designed by Giorgio Giugiaro, whose other projects include cars for Maserati and Lamborghini!
This is my little bottle that I am bringing home...can't wait to put in on cheeses, meats and desserts!!!

After seeing how the balsalmic was produced, I needed to see it presented!

My 2 star Michelin restaurant that I wanted to go to was booked (argh!)...so I opted for this one star Michelin alternative :).  I am so happy I did! 

When in Modena, eat like the Modenese...and I did.  My starter was prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiana-Reggiano with a few small drops of the fabled Tradional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena...getting hungry again just remembering it....

My primo piatto was a handmade tagliatelle with a 5 meat ragu sauce...and my secondo was a bolognese cutlet with prosciutto-parma cream sauce and little itty bitty square potatoes...really you think that would be enough, but yes, I had dessert too. All was paired lovingly and expertly with local wines....

Yet I rolled home another night in Modena!!

The beautiful and bountiful market in Modena.

Fresh pasta available to buy at the daily market.

Outside the Modena market...it was pretty inside and out!

I bought fruit, water and the local Lambrusco wine (light frizzante wine made from the Lambrusco grape) from this market.

I had gotten a half bottle of Lambrusco my first night in Modena from my hotel...it was good, but not great. So when I went down my 3rd night to try a different wine, I told the man at the front desk I wanted something besides Lambrusco.  He said, "Yeah, I understand.  Lambrusco is like Coca Cola."

Ah, I love being in a country where they compare their wines to soft drinks!!!

A quick look inside the 12th century duomo.

No pictures were allowed...except this one :)

I wrapped up my eating adventure in Modena with this delicious, flourless 70% cacao cake at a little enoteca.

I had already delighted my tummy with tortellini, cheeses and salamis...so this seemed like the perfect cap for the evening and my entire time in this culinary haven.

On the way home I said my good-byes to Modena and captured a few of her pretty piazzas at night on camera. 

That evening, prior to setting out to my restaurant of choice, I had asked the hotel receptionist (who I think is also the owner) his opinion on several restaurants...like I had done the 2 nights previously.  Upon finishing my list of a few places I wanted his local, expert opinion on he exclaimed, "Wow, you know EVERYTHING about Modena!"  Actually, no....correction....not everything about Modena, just everything about your restaurants, because that is what I set out to do...and I am proud to say I was successful.

SO if you are going to Modena, send me an email...I have a list of some GREAT places you can eat at!

Next stop Sorrento and the Almafi Coast...where I write this from now!!!  I met my friends, Mark and Rosie, down here....so nice to be with friends!!!!