My attempts to keep blogs have
never really been successful in timeliness or consistency of posting, so
I’ll admit that. My apologies. And...here is another go:
You’ll all be relieved to hear
that I have, against all odds, not gained any weight from my culinary hobbies
in Italy. Maybe it waits to really pack itself on in the final weeks or
something. Or maybe I’m not trying hard enough?
So, last summer was a complete
gift and after finishing up my work at the vineyard, I traveled to France,
Germany, Turkey, Norway, and then back to Germany and finally Italy to start my
first semester of graduate school at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies (or SAIS), Bologna Center. Some quick highlights from
that:
Paris, France: I met up with the lovely Sam and Micha, as well as
fellow William and Mary and DC bud Dave in Paris. The afternoon I arrived I
was completely sleep-deprived, but couldn’t help but gush over everything I saw
to the confused taxi driver as he drove me to meet up with everyone near the Champ de
Mars. Along the Seine, every landmark was practically glowing in this hot,
summer afternoon light. I think I might have overwhelmed (umm annoyed?) my
three friends with my enthusiasm in light of their collective jet lag. That early evening, we ate duck fat and so forth at a nearby bistrot and then lay in
the grass below the Eiffel tower until it began to sparkle.
The following day
we went to the Louvre where I revisited some of my most favorite paintings from
my boarding school Romanticism classes (yeah, really), such as
"The Raft of the Medusa" (Here’s to tragedy and cannibalism!). That night we ate a fantastic meal at Bistrot
Paul Bert to meet my demand for steak et frites after two weeks of nothing but
pasta on the farm. We went out that night by spending the whole evening at the
same (gay?) bar decorated around the theme of the four elements. The place had pretty
fun electronic music, and we probably made up 25% of the total patrons that
night. We walked in and I think the bartender yelled “You’re here! We’ve been
waiting for you!” And that was a great time.
Sainte-Preuve, France: Dave and I had a joyful reunion with W&M
friend Helen and her husband Jesse at a rental car place in Paris. Not only did
we stop at a truly sketch truck stop side-road hot dog stand in the countryside (who knew the French even had things like that?)
for perhaps the most greasy what they called “American” sandwich, but while
driving through some tiny villages, Helen and I performed the
opening to Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The part where the villagers are all popping their heads out of windows to say "Bonjour" to Belle.
Micha’s place was beautiful
and had everything a group of countryside-partyers could want, including an
inflatable pool, bocce, archery, airgun practice, soccer, and badminton! (perfect for Asians) Dave and I went for a run through the fields between the two
villages to touch the door of the other village's church, passing through the rolling hills of grains and flowers which seemed to go on forever. A deer literally bounded through the fields as we passed. I am from the country and I had never seen a deer bound like that. Looked fun.
Istanbul, Turkey: Micha and I spent a whole week exploring this
spectacular city at a leisurely pace. Our first night we had dinner with Helen
and Jesse at Mikla Restaurant. The view was something I will remember
for the rest of my life. It was a hot summer evening, and while Micha and I had
drinks on the rooftop bar prior to dinner, we watched the ships sailing
around the Golden Horn and out into the Bosphorus. The sky was bright blue with
a few fluffy clouds, which eventually faded into pink and orange sunset. We
happened to be visiting during Ramadan, and as we sat down to our table for
dinner (with practically a 270 degree view of the city), the sun set and the
mosques all over the city lit, and we could hear the calls to prayer across
the city.
Many thanks again to Helen and Jesse for that memorable dinner. And thanks to Micha for being wonderful in general.
As for touring in
Istanbul, the Hagia Sofia is definitely the most awe-inspiring building I have
ever stepped foot in. As soon as I walked inside, the sight was just
breathtaking. After this trip I think I can safely say I prefer mosques to
churches. I like the massive, sky-like domes of mosques and the understated
décor, all the geometric patterns and calligraphy. Micha and I stayed in a
comfortable and perfectly well-equipped studio apartment through Sue Akyel on
Airbnb in the Taksim area. We were very happy with our accommodations, which were easy to get to from the airport, close to all the nightlife
of Istiklal street, and affordable for the great room and friendly, helpful
hosts! The Çemberlitaş Hamam was an impressive one, and I just remember lying
on this marble bathing platform (more like an altar of sorts, ha) under this
big dome and having this older, topless Turkish woman rubbing all the dead skin
off my body with steamy pleasingly aromatic soapy, warm steam filling the air
around me. I can understand that a lot of people might be a bit…shy for the
experience, but I very much enjoyed it.
Oslo, Norway: I visited Oslo in for a glorious reunion with my
friends from Shanghai 2007 and Saya from DC, as well as attend the Øya music festival. Saya and
I went on a run, oh you know, just a few miles down a wooded path around a
beautiful lake complete with tree-lined island in the middle. After the run
Saya fed me my all-time favorite everyday cheese: Norvegia complete with knakebrod (spelling?). With the entire
group, besides laughing ourselves to death in Kevin’s apartment and day
drinking cider in Oslo’s main park, we danced like crazy (often by ourselves, I think
a lot of Norwegians avoid activities that have the potential to make them look
uncool) to Dam Funk, Metronomy, the Black Keys, and Florence + the Machine. For
the Black Keys concert, the ladies wore fake mustaches provided by Sanna and
Steve, causing a stir and reporter briefly interviewing us..........
Revisiting all of this several
months later, it’s amazing what one can remember with nothing to do but spend
all day in the comforts of Mario’s apartment in Frankfurt! Again, last summer
was a gift and a great way to take some time to explore and spend time with
people I love and make me laugh from all over before starting graduate school. Writing
this certainly puts me in a good mood.
Next up: recap of my first semester at SAIS.
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