paris est très magnifique

I did not plan on this trip to Paris. Josh’s family was spending the weekend there as the conclusion to their London visit, and had invited me along months before. I turned them down numerous times due to the busy schedule I had in November. However, the discovery of relatively low airfare and the cancellation of one of my classes soon changed my mind. So on an impulse I bought a ticket and left for France almost immediately after Rosanne had departed for the States.

It was Thanksgiving morning and I had to wake up before the crack of dawn to take a train to Pisa in order to catch my 8am flight. I landed safely in Paris and took a taxi to meet Josh and the Dees at the hotel around noon. His mom, dad, grandmother and sister were all there to meet me.

Because of the transportation strikes we headed out on foot walking most of the city, seeing the major sights along the river. We walked past the Louvre, the Grand Palais, the Champs-Elysees, and the Arc de Triumph climbing all the way to the top. We ended the day at the Eiffel Tower just as it was getting dark. Seeing the Eiffel Tower at night was one of the highlights of the trip. We climbed to the top floor to see wonderful views of the City of Lights. It was absolutely spectacular. That evening we went out to dinner and after headed back to the hotel. It was wonderful to spend Thanksgiving with friendly faces from back home, and the Dees certainly are a fun group.

The next morning we woke up and headed to the Louvre. We made our way immediately to see the Mona Lisa. It was much smaller than I thought it would be, but still very beautiful. Afterwards, Josh and I took a tour through the Napoleon Apartments and exhibits featuring the Northern Artists. We saw some Ruebens and other Dutch painters, concluding our tour with another DaVinci Code moment by the pyramids.

After the Louvre we walked towards Notre Dame, where we ate delicious French crepes. Last we headed to the Musee D’Orsay. I love the Orsay. Its halls are filled with works by all the major Impressionist artists. Although we arrived just before closing and had to take a quick tour through, I was happy to see the pieces by Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, and Renoir—some of my favorites.

Saturday, our final day we headed up to Monte Marte a beautiful cathedral at the top a steep hill. Street performers and artists were scattered around the streets of a quaint little neighborhood surrounding the church. We spent most of the afternoon there enjoying the beautiful weather. I had French onion soup for lunch and Josh had his picture taken with a snowman (check out my photos. It’s a funny pic).

That late afternoon I said goodbye to the Dees who were taking a train back to London in order to catch their flight home the next day. After I met up with Jacque, a friend from GW, who was kind enough to let me bunk with her my final night in Paris. That evening we went out to dinner with some of her friends from school in the Latin Corner at this great sidewalk café/restaurant right by Notre Dame. The food was great and her friends were very nice. The next morning I again woke up before dawn to catch a bus to Beauvais Airport to fly home.

I spent an absolutely perfect weekend in Paris. I was worried about the transportation strikes but everything cleared up and was back to normal by Saturday morning. It was great seeing Jacque and of course spending time with the Dees.

Cinque Terre Revisited

After the family headed home I was fortunate enough to have Rosanne stay with me for an extra week. That weekend we went to Cinque Terre to go hiking.

Getting to Cinque Terre was perhaps to most memorable part of the trip rather than the hiking itself. Ro and I got up early Saturday morning to catch an early train to the coast. Making the necessary change over in Empoli and Pisa we had one more two-hour leg of the trip to go. However when we arrived in Pisa we were met by a massive crowd of young students. A train conductor informed us that the crowd of maybe 200 was on their way to Genova to join a mass demonstration. Lucky us, the train to Genova heads through Cinque Terre, so we had to share the ride.

Despite the general noise and crowding, the kids were pleasant on the train, undisruptive and in good spirits. We arrived in La Spezia, which is the stop ten minutes away from our destination in Riomaggiore—the first of the five towns. However, for a reason we will never know, the train was delayed in La Spezia for a great deal of time. Thirty minutes passed. Forty-five. Nothing. The kids were getting antsy, people hopping off the train to by snacks from the vending machines, smoke cigarettes, and stretch their legs. Finally, Rosanne and I decided to get off and try and find another train that would pass through to our destination.

As we stood up to leave a voice from the student crowd shouted excitedly for everyone to get off the train. We pushed our way through the crowd, off the train and onto another track where fortunately another train to Riomaggiore was headed. As we were about to climb on the student protestors decided that if they couldn’t make it to Genova they would protest in La Spezia. Waving flags and singing songs, the crowd made their way across the tracks sitting down blocking trains from departing or arriving. Rosanne and I were stuck.

The train conductor told us that a taxicab would cost around 50 euro, but with limited hours of daylight left and deadline to check in at our hostel, Rosanne and I headed outside the station to try our luck. We offered the cabbie thirty euro for the trip and he eagerly agreed. I wonder what the actual price would have been. Nevertheless, we were on our way.

We arrived at our hostel, threw down our things and quickly headed out onto the trail. With only 2 hours or so before dark and not knowing if the trains would be running, we started out on the closest path taking a leisurely stroll through “Lover’s Lane”. The sites were beautiful, the weather not too cold and we had the trail mostly to ourselves. All those things paired with the greatest mozzarella cheese we’d ever eaten, made up for the struggles it took to arrive.

We returned to the hostel after dinner, ready to relax after a long day however more antics ensued adding to the craziness of the day. With the sun having set it was very chilly in the apartment so we turned on the space heaters in the three rooms. Unfortunately, with added electricity flow from the lights being on and the TV tuned to CNN, the power cut out. Frantically searching for the breaker box, twenty minutes passed until we found the correct switch outside our room, down the stairs and just inside the main door to the apartment building.

Next, getting ready for bed we went in to the one bedroom only to find a giant grasshopper nesting on the top of the window curtains. We frantically removed all of our belongings from the room and closed the door so the gigantic bug would not visit us in our sleep.

Finally, as if things couldn’t have gotten any worse, while trying to drag the two single beds closer together the leg broke off and wouldn’t stand anymore. We finally fixed the leg in a relatively secure position, but Rosanne had to sleep very still that night. What a nightmare.

The next day we headed out on the trail. The trains were running again, the sun was out and the water was beautiful. It was a really great day. On our way back to Siena we even took a little detour in Pisa to take silly pictures by the Leaning Tower. It was a fantastic trip.

Rosanne stayed in Siena for a few more days entertaining herself with the shops and museums while I went to class. We went out to dinner at some great restaurants and had a wonderful time just being absolutely silly together like sisters do. It was great to spend that much time together since we don’t see each other that much during the year. I’m so happy she stayed.

Palatucci Tuscan Adventure

As predicted, November flew by. I was so busy—travel, visitors, exams and papers—that my blog became an unfortunate victim. So here I am playing catch-up. But better late then never, right? Pictures have been posted, so here are the words…

Five days after my return from Barcelona, the family arrived in Siena! Mom, Dad, Rosanne and Alex all came to visit me in my lovely little Tuscan town. How wonderful it was to see them all yet a little strange at the same time. I had been planning in my head for so long how the visit might play out that I thought the day would never come. But there they all were on the cobble-stoned streets—all five Palatuccis together again. I had so many things I wanted to show them in a short amount of time.

The first day we took a trip to San Gimignano a small Tuscan hill-town not far from Siena. We drove through the beautiful Tuscan hillside past the golden fields and autumn leaves. The grape vines even change color in the fall, many turning to a deep red color. Arriving at the city’s high stonewalls, we entered, walked around the town, took in the gorgeous views, and stopped for a bite to eat at a great restaurant run by an older Italian couple. The food was delicious, everything homemade and hand prepared. We arrived back in Siena with our stomachs full of food and our cameras full of pictures.

The next day we woke up early to catch another bus, this time to Florence. The weather wasn’t as nice but we walked around the sites seeing the Duomo, Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia, the Ponte Vecchio and San Lorenzo and it’s market. I showed the family the places I’d visited while in Florence during the summer. They even got to see the hotel where I stayed. It was a fun trip.

The best part of the vacation had to be staying with the family in the apartment we rented right in Siena’s city center. We had plenty of space to relax and a big kitchen to cook dinners together. Family dinners are what I miss most from back home. Particularly because with me at school and Rosanne up in Boston, it’s not often that we get all five of us around the table. It was really special. We had a great time cooking together, sampling the fresh vegetables from Siena’s market, a delicious Brunello from my wine tasting trip in Montalcino, and the olive oil from the vineyard where I picked grapes.

It was sad to say goodbye to my family. Because of the point in time in which they arrived (past the halfway point of my semester) I could have gotten on the plane with them right then and there to go back home. It’s a bit odd, but I was almost homesick during their stay, and even more so after they left. A little taste of family left me wanting more. Nevertheless I was so happy to have had the opportunity to share Tuscany with them. They got to see my apartment, my school, and experience what life is like for me in Siena.