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April 25, 2005
Cinque Terre
Scenes from Cinque Terre
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I know I’ve said this before, but I think that I have truly just had one of the most amazing weekends of my life!
This Monday, the 25 of April, is a holiday here in Rome, so we had a four day weekend. A group of us decided to take advantage. We went to Cinque Terre, the five lands in English. The Cinque Terre is a string of five small medieval towns along the most beautiful strip of Italian coastline, on the Mediterranean side. The towns are connected by 18 kilometers of sheer craggy cliffs, terraced hills and vineyards sloping to meat the sea. The five little towns were built between the beach and the hills, they slope steeply up the rocky cliffs and at some points teeter precariously over their edges. This area is known as the Italian Riviera.
It was absolutely breathtaking, words cannot do it justice. Picture the most perfectly picturesque, small Italian sea village colored in rich terracotta, vibrant greens and burnt yellows, offset by the glittering blue green of the Mediterranean; now multiply that by 100 or so and that’s how amazing it was.
We took a midnight train out of Rome on Thursday night. We were lucky enough to get our own compartment, so we were able to get some sleep. At one point the compartment lit up as we rode by St. Peter’s dome on a bridge, very beautiful and unexpected. We switched trains, and then, about 4:30 or 5 a.m., arrived in Monterosso al Mare, the first and most northern of the Cinque Terre.
The first thing I saw and heard as soon as I set foot off the train was the sea. I always forget how much I miss it. The salty sea sprayed air smelled like home, just listening to the gurgling and crashing of the water made my heart happy. We walked a ways through town and down to the beach where some locals kept their boats. We wrapped ourselves in the blankets we brought, and slept on the sand.
I’ve never slept outside like that, it was really cold, but I felt surprisingly safe. We got up at about 9 a.m. the next morning. We went to a little café near the train station for breakfast, and washed up a bit in the bathroom there. Then we got started.
I thought that Monterosso had the best beach, light rocky sand, clear bright blue water. The pastel buildings of the town were built practically right up to the sea. This town is the most touristy: cute little shops, cafes, and restaurants. It was a beautiful day, slight breeze, warm sun, wispy clouds.
The first hike from this town to the next (working our way south) was one of the most difficult. The trail winds almost vertically up the cliffs at some points, the trails are hundreds of years old and wind about 500 to 1,000 feet above the sea, through olive groves and vineyards, orchards and chestnut woods. In some places the ledges are really narrow and hang out over the ocean. I loved it. We were all sweaty and sore, but the physical discomfort was over shadowed by the sheer beauty around us.
I stopped and sketched on this little ledge which had this amazing view of Vernazza, the next town. My pack almost fell off the side of the cliff, but I managed to save it.
Vernazza was my favorite town. It was built into the hills where they meet the sea. It was a vibrant collection of colorful buildings built haphazardly along narrow, winding and steep streets. It was like an idealic dream. Walking into town was just as you would picture it: narrow alleyways, steep staircases, laundry flapping from upper story windows and rambling vines. The whole time I felt like I was dreaming, was this actually my life? We got gelato and wandered around a bit before starting the next trail.
The next hike was hard, too. We walked strait up the cliffs, more narrow ledges, and many more stairs. We met a lot of people on the trail, Americans, Italians and people from all over Europe. We talked to everyone, except the Americans, in Italian. This hike was just as beautiful as the first: broad views of the coast, calm beaches, green vines, red flowers, blue skies – perfection.
The next town, Corniglia was built on top of a rocky cliff dropping to the sea; the views from up there were amazing. This town was also an idealic, rambling medieval town. We wandered around a bit, got panini, and then started on the next hike.
The third hike wasn’t really a hike; it was more of a nice walk through the hills. The second half of the trail was closed, so we had to walk back to Cornigilia and take the train to the next town, Manarola, which dates back to the 12th century. This town was also colorful and beautiful, but we really didn’t spend a lot of time there. The path from Manarola to Riomaggiore is called "Via dell' Amore,” roughly “lover’s lane” in English. It was sort of a tunnel, with huge windows, carved out of the sea cliffs. The whole tunnel is a mural, graffitied in love messages, poems and the names of couples, che romantica!
The last town, Riomaggiore, felt bigger to me. It worked its way almost vertically up the cliffs away from the sea. The streets were wide and steep. By this time it was about 8:30 p.m., we watched the sun set over the ocean, and then took the train back to Monterosso.
We ate dinner at this really cool little restaurant built up on stilts over the water, the area is known for its pesto so I got pesto lasagna. Then afterwards we went to a wine bar, I got a glass of Cinque Terre white wine (I have developed quite a taste for white wine in my time here). It was kinda cool to know I was drinking wine from one of the vineyards I had hiked through earlier. We stayed there until they kicked us out at closing.
We walked to where we had slept the night before, and fell asleep on the beach again. But it was so cold; we woke up in the middle of the night, and walked to the train station and slept on the floor there. We got up at 7 a.m. the next day. Went to our café, ate and cleaned up as best we could.
To get back to Roma from Cinque Terre we have to travel through Tuscany, so we decided to stop in Pisa and Florence. We spent an hour in Pisa, saw the tower, took funny pictures, and then jumped back on the train. We got into Florence at about 1 p.m. I really liked Florence; it still feels very medieval. First we hiked up this huge hill to this piazza/park which had an amazing view of the entire city. Then we went on a whirlwind tour of the city.
We walked across the Ponte Vecchio, a famous bridge now covered in jewelry stores; saw some of the famous churches, piazza, fountains, statues and the Duomo. Florence isn’t as big as Roma, but there is a lot to it. The whole city feels like it was built in stone. You can feel the reminders of the medieval and Rennissance.Secrets, stories, memories, and history lurked in every corner and hid in every shadow.
We ate dinner at this really good restaurant called La Spalda (the sword), and then got drinks in a small bar called the Art Bar. I got a very good, very strong mojito.
Then we walked to the train station. We thought that we could take a train at 1 or 2 a.m., but the next train wasn’t until 5:30 a.m., so we spent another night on a train station floor, until they closed and kicked us out. So we slept outside of the train station. Good times.
Once we finally got on our train, we couldn’t get a seat so we had to sit on the floor. We got back into Roma at about 8:30 a.m., so dirty, so tired, and so happy. Roma was a madhouse. It was Sunday morning, and the day of the Pope’s inaugural mass. So everyone and their mom had come to the city from all over Italy and Europe for it. It took forever to get home. I had to take three different metros home; it was so crowded. I got home and took a much needed shower.
It was too late to get a spot in St. Peter’s square, so we watched it live on CNN, which was kinda funny because it was happening just a block or two away. We could hear the church bells ringing all over the city.
The scene in the Square was a familiar one by now, jam packed and peppered with flags from all over the world. The atmosphere seemed to be one of hope and possibility for the future. The day felt fresh, perfectly sunny, at least while the mass was taking place. The weather seemed to reflect the feelings of newness and hope surrounding this new papal administration.
The crowd broke into applause several times throughout the service, which is an Italian sign of respect and admiration. The crowd seemed to be pleased with the messages presented by the new pope. It was a new day, and a new chapter in church history. I felt happy, and satisfied, pleased and overwhelmed with my adventure, but happy to be back in Rome, my mood fueled by the good mood permeating throughout the city.
Posted by Lauren Lester at 07:11 AM
April 19, 2005
"Habemus Papam"
Pope Benedict XVI, not quite the same ring as GP due, but all of the people here seem to be excited about him just the same.
My roomies and I watched the start of conclave on CNN (our one English channel) in our apartment on Monday. I was very cool, very formal, and very ridged. Some of those cardinals are in their 80s and looked like they just wanted to go home to rest instead of sitting on uncomfortable pews and going through the repetive process of talking attendance and swearing in. Maybe that's why they finished so fast. We all had expected it to at least take two or three days. So when we heard the bells we were totally confused.
When the new Pope was selected, and the ballots were burned so as to produce the white smoke, all of the church bells in Rome also were sounded. The bells rang out all throughout the city, in all or nearly all of the 900 or so Roman churches. I was up on my bunk bed when I heard the cacophony. "They picked a Pope!" I shouted while I jumped down and ran into the other room to see if Sam and Bri thought so too. We flipped on the news, saw the shot of San Pietro, and then scrambled around to get our shoes, jackets, and cameras. The three of us ran out the door and then followed the Vatican Wall to the already packed Piazza. People were headed into St. Peters in droves. Throngs pushed themselves into the square, jumping over gates and around pillars, completely ignoring the Cabinari's lackluster attempts in crowd control.
Once we made it in, we pushed our way through the labyrinth of people until we found a spot within sight of the Basilica's main balcony. The sky was a pale blue, with huge billowing light grey clouds peering up from the back of the dome. It was sunny, and started to rain slightly, I almost expected a rainbow, which would have been very fitting, but I didn't see one. Va Bene.
Allora, soon the Cardinals lined the balconies on either side of the main one where the head Cardinal came out, "Habemus Papam!" "We have a Pope!" he shouted. Benedict XVI emerged, said a few words and then gave his first "Urbi at Orbi" (for the city and for the world) papal blessing. And I was there! We kept pinching ourselves.
The whole ceremony couldn't have lasted more than an hour, but when you put it into context, and think how that single hour is so incredibly historically significant, it is mind blowing! Again ... amazing, I still cannot believe that I was a part of this, one of the tens of thousands gathered in the Piazza. I am still pinching myself, even now.
Posted by Lauren Lester at 04:14 PM
April 13, 2005
Bella Roma
Ciao a Tuti,
Roma continually amazes me. When I first arrived in January, it all seemed so foreign. Six months seemed like a lifetime. But now I feel at home here, and like my time here is slipping by so fast. I am really trying to just take it all in. I want to leave her without regrets.
Most of the pilgrims who were here for the funeral have left; it is possible to get around the city again, which is nice. But there are still tons of tourists, especially around the Vatican. People travel here from all over Europe, the US and Asia. We have to walk through the line of them waiting to get into the Vatican museums everyday one our way to school. It can get frustrating. I try to make sure that I speak Italian to the tourists; I guess I’m trying to differentiate myself from them. I find that if I pretty much keep my mouth shut, except for the few Italian phrases I know well, and try not to walk around smiling at people, then I can pretty much fool people into thinking that I’m Italian too. It’s just embarrassing when Italians stop me and ask for directions, because usually I have no idea what they are talking about, and I totally blow my cover.
I only had one class today, Ancient Roman Civilization; it is really amazing to be able to actually visit all of the ancient ruins as we study the history behind them. To day during our site visit, we went underneath a church where there are the ruins of three temples dating to the early imperial period. Most churches are like that, ruins below their crypts. Amazing. Rome is a city of layers, literally. The buildings from the imperial period were built over the buildings of the Republic, just as buildings and churches from the middle ages were built right over the imperial temples. Ground level today is actually about 20 –25 meters above the ground lever of antiquity. Again – amazing.
There are some many secrets in this city, narrow alley ways, hidden shrines to saints and Mary, pieces of ruins that you would miss if you didn’t know what you were looking for, little doors which lead to I don’t know what. Rome is also a city of contrasts, marble temples next to modern retailers, cobble stone streets with high tech smart cars, catholic churches built on the remains of pagan temples. I love it here. I don’t want to leave. My life here seems normal to me now. There are so many differences from here and home. I am just concentrating on appreciating those right now, drinking a lot of Italian espresso (which is SO much better here than what the sell at home), and exploring as much as I can.
Ciao for now,
Lauren Lester
Posted by Lauren Lester at 07:19 AM
April 10, 2005
Attending the funeral
St. Peter's square scenes
Lauren in St. Peter's square 
Lauren holding a candle 
Maneuvering the crowded square 
Crowds reflected Lauren's sunglasses |
We did it! We attended the Pope's funeral. I wasn't sure if we would be able to, people had been discouraged from going to St Peter's for the funeral, I think the "administration" here was worried about possible security and safety issues. We were told that making it into St. Peter's would be "impossible" (a typical response to a plethora of questions asked over here). We were all encouraged to got to the stadium, circus maximus, or one of the various piazzas to watch the funeral on screens they had set up in each location. So when Sam insisted we could make it in, and that we should camp out to do so, I had my doubts. but that didn't mean that I wasn't going to try.
After class all day and a trying walk/metro ride home, I changed, grabbed an apple, and at about 7:30 p.m. headed out with Sam. The two of us went to figure it out and to stake out a place for some of the others in our program who were meeting us later. we walked as close to St Peter's as we could. People were already camping out, tents and all.
We wandered around, Sam (who has lived here for 3 years and came speak Italian) asked the police where we should go, it took us awhile to get some sort of helpful information, but once we did, we took out a place in Piazza di Risorgimento, in the intersection of a cross street that leads to Saint Peter's. We were literally just sitting on the asphalt. My second night this week sleeping in the streets of Rome.
The Piazza and streets were packed, there was little or no space to walk. Everyone was huddled together, sitting and lying practically one on top of another trying to stay warm. We were laying down in one of the primary Polish camps. For awhile I forgot where we were. We were surrounded by Polish flags, Polish songs and chants, and Polish Poles. At one point, they got into a shouting match with the pilgrims from Spain who were camped out nearby.
Eventually, my roommate Emily met us, along with our friend Stephanie (Moreno-Aguilar). Luckily, some people had just moved so they could sit with us. Emily was smart and brought a blanket. Sam and I used my backpack as a pillow, and the Polish man next to me shared some of his mat and blanket with me. They had shared their Polish sausage with us earlier. The atmosphere was very communal, even though we didn't speak the same language, there was this uniting feeling that we were all there for the same reason.
We laid there from 8 p.m. until 4 a.m. or so, trying to sleep, but mostly just talking. we were all delirious. It was Thursday night, I had only gotten 8 hours of sleep since Tuesday, Sam was running on 5 hours since Tuesday, and Emily had only slept a little more than me. It was a surreal night. It should have been miserable, but it was surprisingly positive.
At 4 a.m., all of the Poles got really excited for some reason. They all packed up and stood up, starting to move toward the barricades where they would eventually let us into move toward the Square. But they weren't letting us in until 5 a.m. or 6 a.m., which in Italy means 6:30 a.m.-ish. but there was no way for the Italians in charge to explain this to them, they shouted orders in Italian, but this had no effect. So eventually, we had to stand as well, we had continued to lay down, but it just wasn't safe in the middle of a pushing crowd. So we spent between 4 a.m. and 6:30 or so standing, smashed, and stagnant.
Once they finally started to let us in, it took a frustrating 2 hours to finally make it into the square. Lines, on any scale, are non existent in Italy, so crowds turn into pushing herds. Va bene, we eventually made it in and claimed a space at about 8:30 a.m. We spread our blanket out and slept until mass started. The square was packed, the crowd was alive, trembling, everyone was so exhausted, but so grateful just to be there.
Flags from all over the world peppered the sea of people, the red and white Polish flag outnumbered any other by at least 10-1. All of the Polish flags had a black ribbon tied at the top, a sign of mourning for It Papa.
Mass was three hours long, very official, but broken with applause, cheering, and chanting from the crowd. But this time the chants and songs weren't only in Italian. Polish, German, Spanish, and English could also be made out in the din. It was such a surreal experience. Everyone was so joyful and thankful to be there, but then so so sad at the same time. Again, I had to pinch myself, I can't believe that I got to be there. It was incredible.
Once mass ended we all went home to catch up on some sorely missed sleep. It was over. I felt so exhausted and overwhelmed by the amount of emotion still resonating from the hoards of people there to support and mourn Giovanni Paolo Segundo. I felt relieved that it was over, but also sad, tired, changed and deeply touched. It was an experience and a feeling that I will most likely never be able to fully describe.
Rome has quieted down, so the people and media have left. Life is returning to a form of normalcy, well as normal as it ever is here. Yesterday evening, Sam and I walked through St. Peter's Square. The makeshift shrines and memorials were still there, along with a small gathering of people.
Sam pointed out that even though the media is gone, and for most of the world this chapter of history has closed, for these people, and scattered groups everywhere, it isn't over. They will continue to come to this spot to light and relight candles, to read and add letters.
One day, when I come back to Rome, I will be able to show those burnt stones to my children, I will tell them that I was here when those spots were made, and just how significant they are.
I Love and miss you all.
Baci,
Lauren
Posted by Alicia Hoffman at 11:48 AM
April 06, 2005
The pope's death
Ciao a Tuti,
OK so the Pope Giovanni Paulo Segundo (as we Italians know him) has died ... 2 million plus people have decended upon the city. And since I live a block from The Vatican, and have to walk through St Peter's to get to and from school, there is no way for me to ecsape it. It is completely overwhelming. Entire streets will be blocked because the square is filled wall-to-wall solid with people. I feel like I might have a panic attack at times.
That man has completely consumed my life for the past week. Sam (Morgan), Bri (Briana Toms) and I spent most of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights in St Peter's Square. We were with all the people holding the vigils for the pope. There was singing, praying, chanting, cheering (an Italian thing, they like to clap), tons of candles (I had mine), makeshift shrines and then moments of complete silence, which is very eerie in a crowd of 70,000 plus people. We were there when we found out he died. The whole experience was very very moving, I can't even begin it explain it.
The first time I saw his body was when they carried it through the square it to the Basicalla where he is lying in state for public viewing. I kinda got into line by mistake, and Sam met me there. There was a big crowded line to get into the square. I was herded in along side a group of Italian nuns, so I started saying the rosary with them, in Italian I must add. So, I got to be in the square when they carried him through. It was so sad. On the night he died, the Bishop of Rome said something to the effect of: "we all feel like orphans tonight," which I think is true for a lot of people here. The procession was very grand, you could tell that it is a ritual centuries old. And then after, no one really knew what to do with themselves. The people all seemed really lost.
Then Last night, Sam, Bri, Em (Emily Leithton) and I went to actually see his body inside the Basilica. We got in line around 12 a.m. and didn't get in until 11a.m., 11 hours strait of being tired, cold, hungry, and shoved around by pushy Italians. There was no way to sleep, and we stood for the whole time practically. When the line was at a standstill we kneeled or sat, but it was really dirty because we were just outside in the streets of Rome. It was pretty miserable. By 5 a.m., we were all delirious, it was kinda funny. There were some nice moments, between the hours of 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. when they closed down the Basilica for cleaning. So, the line was pretty much stationary. Around 3:30 or 4 a.m. the four of us were all huddled together on the ground, when some people started to sing, it sounded really pretty actually. then Sam told me to listen, and that he couldn't believe were were part of this. He asked me "If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?" I told him "Right here." "Exactly," he said. That's how we all felt, even though it was miserable.
We were in sight of St Peter's about 9 a.m. The early sunlight was filtering through this misty haze around the Dome, and they were blasting this really epic religious music, and very dramatic prayers. It seemed like a scene from a movie. It was like seeing St Peter's for the first time all over again. We all felt really triumphant, like we had really been through something, and this was our reward. I felt like I had been on a real pilgrimage, and for a lot of people that's what it was.
Seeing the pope's dead body was really surreal, I've never been that close to a corpse before. He looked like a wax figure. It is hard to believe that that is the same man who blessed me and the crowd in the square from his window. I can't really explain it. This whole experience has been trying, but incredible and very profound. I can't believe I got to be a part of this very special piece of history.
I had class at noon. A site visit, so we were walking around looking at ruins and not in a classroom, so i had to go strait there instead of home. I got home finally about 3 p.m., took a shower and went to Sam's to say hi, and then came home to sleep. I worked it out, and I think that I had been up for about 34 hours strait or something ridiculous like that.
Tomorrow night we are going to see if we can camp out in the square so we can have a good place for the funeral on Friday. We shall see. I don't know if that is even a possibility, but we are goin to try. So many important heads of sate will be there, it is really crazy. Prince Charles even postponed his wedding for it.
I am so tired I can't think anymore. I miss and Love you all.
Baci baci,
Lauren
Posted by Alicia Hoffman at 11:47 AM
