Take My Picture

All my photos (ok, almost all of them) are here.

And I'm back...

...But not without a super last minute escapade that's worth posting about here.

I wake up at 5am on a rainy Wednesday morning in Berlin, ready to make the journey back to Rome to catch my flight to Newark on Continental. We get to the airport around 6:45am, and my flight isn't on the departures board. And just to let you know, if your flight isn't on the departures board, you might wanna run straight to the airport lavatories instead of shiting yourself right then and there because that is one hell of a really bad sign. Ends up it left at 6am. Really, really, really big oops on my part.

But somehow, even with having missed my flight, I ended up getting home 2 hours earlier than expected. (How cool is that, seriously?)

Let me explain: So yes, I missed the flight from Berlin to Rome completely and quickly begin to permit a full-on panic attack to rush over my entire being for a whole minute before gaining some sanity back. Regaining about 30% composure and 0% rationale, I head over to the first airline desk I see, Lufthansa (the most expensive one possible, which is the story of my life of course) and desperately ask them if they have any flights going to Rome before (since my flight to Newark goes at 2pm). They reply there is a flight to Munich leaving in 45 minutes that has a 20 minute connection to Rome with the first leg of the trip being delayed about 20 minutes. So, at that point, being of sound mind and body, I decide to take it. For 832 Euros. Luckily, my ATM card serves as the voice of reason when it tells me that I cannot take out more then 500 Euros at one time. Thank you, Bancomat.

It's 7:30am and I'm walking down rows of checkins when we come across the Departures/Arrivals board again. There is 1 transcontinental flight for the next 4 hours and guess what? It's from Berlin to Newark. At 9:20am.

So like a fat kid at a buffet, I bolt to the Continental desk and beg them to change my flight. 50 bucks later, I'm on a direct flight to Newark and got to surprise (or scare the shit out of, same thing) my mom. Hehe.

Moral of the story: Whoever's in charge up there loves me. A lot.

So, as of Wednesday night, I am safely back home. I don't know if it's more bitter or sweeter so that's all I'm saying about that.

I just want to say thanks to all of you who have been reading my blog, posting comments, emailing me, blackmailing me and whatnot. I have greatly appreciated it and I hoped you've enjoyed it as well. :)

...And maybe I'll do it all over again next summer. ;)

How you know you're in Germany...

Went out to a club last week in Berlin called WaterGate. Around 2 am (it was only a Wednesday night and I'm old...) we patiently waiting for a tram to arrive on our journey back to the apartment. Now, in Berlin, the transportation system is so thorough that at each bus/tram/train stop, there is a sign listing the next 5-7 upcoming trains/buses. So, the 2-car tram pulls up in the middle of the platform, obviously unable to fill up the length of the platform that a normal 5-6-car tram would.

As the tram comes to a halt, an older man who had also been patiently waiting for the tram just near the "Next tram is coming in __ minutes" sign, (and who had perhaps been drinking) begins to deliberately go apeshit on the tram driver, screaming at him, stomping around shouting various German profanities and even reaching into the tram window, attempting to physically assault the poor night driver.

The few people waiting alongside us begin to laugh, Michi included. I came to find out that the man gone apeshit was simply frustrated at the tram having stopped at the middle of the platform, and not at the sign at the beginning of the platform. It just doesn't get more German than that...

Holocaust Memorial in Berlin

Yesterday I visited the Holocaust Memorial, which is just down the road from the Brandenburg Gate and a must-do if you're visiting here. The experience is pretty moving to say the least and the monument is one you will probably never forget. Here's some of the stuff I learned about it that I thought I'd share:

It was only recently finished, after some heavy controversy. Firstly, upon digging up the ground to lay the museum's foundation, the excavators found a hidden Nazi bunker- some say it was used by Hitler, some say it was used by his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels. Naturally, some people found this to be a horrible final insult while others wanted to literally 'bury' the Nazis once and for all. They continued building there.

Next: to prevent anti-Semetic feelings from potentially defacing a memorial, a special chemical was sprayed onto all the concrete slabs, making it easy to clean off any graffiti. However, A German chemical company, Degussa AG, which provided an anti-graffiti coating for the slabs, was the focus of the monument's latest controversy. Degesch, a subsidiary of Degussa, supplied Zyklon B hydrogen cyanide gas pellets to German concentration camps during the war. The Zyklon B pesticide gas, which was used to delouse clothes during the war, was also allegedly used to kill inmates in gas chambers.

There are now 2,752 slabs of concrete, about eight feet wide and three feet thick and range between one foot and 16 feet in height, said to represent the individualism of all the people murdered in the Holocaust. Some say it looks like a massive graveyard. Of course it's a very solemn monument but from my personal experience, I initially looked over the 5 acre stretch of land covered with concrete slabs and the graveyard resemblance did strike me at first. I didn't 'get' what the memorial really was about. But walking through, I think I got the message. As you're walking through this concrete labrynth, the slabs get higher and higher around you and even though it's perfect daylight around you, you suddenly realize it's dark all around you and you have to find your way out. I think I got the message.

Anyway, I realized a lot of people (mostly youngish as well) had the same problem I had: knowing all about the Holocaust but now knowing why or how it began. Not that it's that important to know the exact the reason why/how it started so much as it's way more important to know what happened in order to never let history repeat itself, but I just wanted to know the details that our shitty history classes in America never teach us:

Cliff Notes: The Nazi regime at the time was just looking for someone to blame for the humiliating state of Germany after World War I.

Long Version: The ideology and political programme of Nazism, the movement that seized power in Germany in 1933, was founded from the first on an abiding hatred of Jews as Untermenschen, or "sub-humans." They were accused of orchestrating the "stab in the back" that stripped Germany of victory in World War I and imposed upon it the humiliating surrender terms of the Versailles Treaty (1919). Exploiting deep anti-semitic strains in German and European culture (see Goldhagen, Hitler's Willing Executioners), along with the catastrophic economic conditions of the late 1920's and early 1930's, the Nazis under their supreme leader or Führer, Adolf Hitler, succeeded in winning a plurality in 1932 parliamentary elections. In January 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor by the ageing German president, Paul von Hindenburg. When Hindenburg died in August 1934, Hitler took over as president, and set about using his police and paramilitaries to murder political opponents and ethnic "traitors" alike. Jews and "Bolsheviks" (communists) were at the top of the list for incarceration in the first "concentration camps."

I <3 Berlin

I'd like to officially declare that I love Berlin.

This city rules. Even during the norm, the atmosphere is that of a metropolis that embraces the electricity of New York but without the skyscapers (undoubtably a relief in my humble opinion), holds onto a greener mentality, and depending where you are, easily resembles the 'burbs. (nb: quiet at night. me likes.) Plus, everything works thanks to zeh German efficiency (I know it sounds weird to say 'everything works', but having just come from Southern Italy, it makes sense!) yet the typical laidback European lifestyle manifests itself despite the industrious German society. I can definitely live here.

Been renting a bike each time I've been here, since the city is flat as a pita and most roads have bike routes, making it pretty safe to be a cyclist. In fact, nearly half of Berlin households don't own a car at all...and considering their extensive public transportation systems (U-bahn, S-bahn, Tram, Bus, Trains), there seems to be no need.

Factoids about Berlin:

• The capital of Germany again as of 1999, Berlin is Germany’s largest city with about 3.5 million inhabitants.
• Berlin (the city-state) covers 891 square kilometers (about 556 square miles), making it:
  1. Almost 9 times as large as Paris
  2. One-third the size of Rhode Island
• The municipal area has more trees than Paris, more bridges than Venice, 3 airports, 3 opera houses, 2 zoos, 150 concert halls and theaters, and 170+ museums and exhibitions.
• There’s more recent construction in Berlin than any other European city (and second only to Shanghai worldwide). But, Berlin’s debt level is around €47 billion (more than €13,000 per Berlin inhabitant).
• The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
• The East German government built the Berlin Wall to try and stop its citizens escaping into West Berlin. In the time it was up (1961-1989) over 5000 people tried to climb over it; 3200 were captured, 191 were killed.

Yesterday I went on a 5 hour bike tour of Berlin with this company (whose tour guides rule, by the way) and enjoyed every second of it. Berlin's too big to do a complete tour by foot, by the way- biking it is way more fun and easier on the feet.

Here are some relatively cheesy pics:


Sitting on Carl Marx's lap. Hrhr.



Not just a parking lot: Hitler's bunker is underneath it, still in tact because of the 12 foot (!) concerete reinforcement that took way too much effort to destroy by explosion. So they just filled it with dirt instead. And just in case you were wondering: no memorial allowed, ever. Spooky: The door to the bunker still exists and is right next to a childrens' playground, which is around the corner from this pic.



The history behind this Fernsehen Tur (TV Tower) is pretty funny: The East German government wanted an imposing symbol of communism, such that the West Germans could But they neither had the supplies nor the laborers to construct it so they snuck in a bunch of Swedish men to build it and secretly led them out when they finished. But the Swedes left a little present that the West Germans had a good laugh about: every time the sun shines on the TV Tower a huge cross appears on the Western side, a blatant sign of Christianity in an legally Atheist country.


Also went to the zoo later on and pet some donkeys and goats in the children's petting zoo (something I apparently missed out on while in Sicily, a region still romping with donkeys in more ways than one) and couldn't help but crack up and take a picture of some monkeys scratching each other's butts. Hehehe. I know, so mature of me.

Greater Greece and medusas attack

I spent 2 weeks there and that kind of explains why I didn't update the blog for a while. Internet is sort of hard to come by where I stay: The town where my mom emigrated from is called Marineo; my dad's is Alessandria della Rocca, both are on the western part of the island of Sicily, Marineo being a little south of Palermo and Alessandria being 1.25 hours south of Marineo.....(Oh, and somehow, both towns manage to have their own websites.)

Anyway, here is my big surpise...On August 20th, I was part of the annual traditional horse parade known as La Cunnutta in my mother's town, Marineo. Basically, the tradition goes back hundreds of years where people on donkeys, mules or horses offer wheat/grain to the Saint Ciro, the patron saint of Marineo (the ritual sounds kind of Pagan, doesn't it?) A friend of my cousin asked me if I wanted to ride his lovely white mare, Esmeralda. It's an honor to be part of this parade, and to be honest, I wish my mom was there to see me! Of course, the stupid city girl in me wears yellow, the color that attracts flies the most, ew:




I also went to see the Valley of the Temples, just outside Agrigento. I was utterly appalled when I read the information signs posted on the scaffolding that covered every single temple, explaining that they will soon be completely reconstructed to their former glory, including a blue/white paint job. I shit you not. I never thought it would be possible to ruin ruins, but oh, now I know it is. Of all the times Southern Italians decide to complete something, this is what they decide to do? Surely the wrath of the gods will strike down them, installing fear and unemployment in them once again, will they not?


Trying to climb up onto a small cove by the temples...

Well, other than that, most days were spent gaining back the weight I happily lost in July, going to the beach with my cousins and doing Litigare come Galline (Chicken Fights) and oh yea, getting stung by the motherload of all medusas (jellyfish in Italian.)

My cousin Claudia and me.

It looked like a film on fast forward as soon as that mofo got me, cuz I swam to shore at about 80mph while simultaneously screaming various profanities in 4 different languages. When I got out and looked at my legs, I saw a nice little present the jellyfish left for me: the tentacles wrapped around my calf. There were so many stings that in less than 40 minutes it swelled up into one huge welt, which kind of looked like a 5 inch cuff encompassing my lower calf...the pain was so bad that I thought my leg was going to explode when I walked. Went to the hospital-clinic nearby to get treated but all they do is put alcohol on it. That sucker burned for 2 days and I still have the signs of the tentacles on my legs.


About 3 minutes after I flew out of the water.



Now here, enjoy a sunset on me. :)

And in the news today...

'Ok, if you think talking on the cell phone is a driving distraction, how about a fully functional espresso machine that lives on the armrest between the driver and passenger? If you're going to indulge in such a silly piece of equipment when it becomes available (it's currently in development, thanks to Audi), we recommend going for the back seat version, so you can't actually become a barista while driving your vehicle.'

People Part Zwei

P.S. Sorry for the long delay.. Details and pics on Sicily coming, plus a huge surprise for all the Marinise reading this blog... (eg, Marinise are people from Marineo, the town where my mom comes from in Sicily :)

The People and Random Signs Post...

Awesome street signs, awe-inspiring 16th century architecture and a jumping pic of me in Prague...what more could you ask for?
































St. Vitus Cathedral (the part of the massive complex of buildings called Prague Castle. People often mistake the cathedral as being the "castle" but it's really a mass of 20 buildings that all form "the castle". Whatever.)
















Prague's town square is the largest in Europe. Didn't know that, didja? Well, don't you feel better now that you do? Yea, thought so. :)








































Flying buttresses on the side of the St. Vitus Cathedral. (I just love saying that. Flying buttresses. Flying buttresses. Flying buttresses.)





















Weeee!















Can you spot the skeleton in this pic?
















In Rome Fiumicino airport... Wipe that drool off your mouth please k thanx.
















On the River Spree in Berlin...Can you see the two statues fighting?





















Haha, this one's on the subway door in Milan. (Ok, maybe not so funny if it actually happens but it's sort of one of those cups of coffee that says "Caution: Hot" on it, you know?)





















Cyclers have a lot of rights (and regulations) in Berlin apparently.















If you ever need to puke your brains out, just head over to the Alexanderplatz U-bahn station where puking is not only permissible but also suggested, as per these signs...

Greetings from Prague and other musings (with a hefty update!)

My wanderlust has gotten the best of me. I am in Prague.

I have completed my month long study in Perugia. Leaving was kind of bittersweet because, usually I feel like there is always more things I could have done. Yes, I am totally the Let's-go-on-that-8hour-walking-tour kind of gal. Life is in the details. (I just got back from the 8 hour walking tour, by the way. Serious!) I've met people literally from all over the world while in Perugia and the funniest thing for me was to see them correct each other's English grammar with more botched grammar and uncommonalities. And apparently, all the non-Americans love to hear me swear when I talk. Finally, my truck driver mouth gets some f%£"in' appreciation!

So. Prague is just marvelous. Took loads of amazing pics today, will add some later tonight, tomorrow at the latest. I think it is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. For one, the architecture is to die for.

Marchi gave me a huge preamptive guide to the city (map and all...thank you!) so I could do loads of things in 3 days. Monday I take the train north to Berlin (a 4.5 hour train ride, running along and then crossing the River Elbe...)

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The hefty update:

Sorry I took this long to update it. I've been delightfully busy. And for some reason I cannot seem to upload pictures onto this site, so I've linked instead. So don't forget to click!

Last note from Perugia: on my last day of class, a street kitten hops up on my lap and falls asleep. When I have to get up and go to class, she follows me into the classroom and does the same thing. How. Cute.

On the way to Prague: God, the world is too darn small. At Rome's Fiumicino airport, I wait on a line that seems deftly similar to what Purgatory would be like. Three passport controls and 500+ people. Only in Italy. So naturally, I hear some American accents alongside me. I look over and see one of their teenage offspring wearing a t-shirt that says 'Prudential - Ridgefield, NJ'. Hah, that's practically the town next to where I live. So I mention that I also live in Jersey and that one of our good family friends owns a Prudential in my town. The mother mentions she works for Prudential and knows that family friend (who is obviously Aldo Meredino). Too. Much. Their plane had left 20 minutes ago and they didn't have the gall to cut to the front of the line but me, eager to get back at all those Italians who cut me in the 15 odd times I've been to Italy, I was revving to go.

I had to quell a potentially loud outburst of laughter when I hopped into the shuttle from the airport to the city because the very first song I hear on Czech radio is Peter Gabriel - Salisbury Hill....followed by Taylor Dane - Tell It To My Heart. Just not exactly the soundtrack I'd imagined to hear upon my arrival in the Czech Republic.

More on Prague: My first impression of Prague wasn't the greatest, although Marki warned me that going to the main train station would be seedy. Within the first 5 minutes, two people beg for money. Then suddenly I hear screaming and running across the station, followed by a big thud. Two men were chasing another man and began to beat him senselessly with no police in sight. All happening around 8pm, still plain daylight. Luckily, this was the only sketchy situation I witnessed during my short stay.

Of course, I did a bunch of sightseeing and walked around the Old City about 10 times back and forth. I couldn't get enough. In fact, I was so happy I decided to take a jumping pic on the side of St. Vitus Cathedral. That's the building everyone actually thinks is the 'castle' in Prague Castle. The Prague Castle is actually a huge complex (the biggest complex in the world, in fact) of 16th century buildings, none of which actually resemble a stereotypical castle, save the cathedral. Here's the view from stop one of the towers (287 steps) of the Cathedral.

And this is the famous Astronomical Clock (Orloj in Czech), the only one of its kind in the world. Legend has it that after it was made in the 15th century, people from Prague blinded the clockmaker in order to prevent him from ever making such a beautiful clock anywhere else in the world. Shocking little tale, isn't it? I learned it on the Ghost Trail Tour of Prague (How much of a dork am I, seriously?) But it's not true.


Other Shtuff:

• Backpacking: I'm too old (and high maintenance though, shhh) to do the whole 'backpacking' thing or something like Interrailing it through Europe, even if I had 20 of my closest friends with me. I get tired too easily. (Hey, I'm pushing towards the downside of my 20s!) Plus, backpackers are usually smelly. And sometimes inconsiderate. Like taking up an extra train seat for their big ass backpack while others are standing. I also nearly got thrown into a wall at Ludicrous speed (yes, that's an official measurement of velocity, after Crazy and then Absurd Speed) after a backpack spun around 90°. And you know what? If you have a backpack on your back that's bigger and heavier than you'll ever be, maybe you should reconsider 'backpacking' in general.
• Fast Food: In Europe, American companies (and disgraces) such as McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King, and even 7-11 (!) all have lounges in them. I'm talking Starbucks style couches and big, fluffy club chairs that make you wanna eat Big Mac after Big Mac while slouching away. Talk about Euro-style. We invent them, they just make it better.
• Don't haggle with Czech street vendors. (Oops.)
• Czech Republic does not use Euros ....even though they are part of the EU (they have to build up their economy some more or else they'll end up like Sicily did after they made the switch.) Anyway, their currency drives me insane, having not been able to keep track of my spending without doing extreme long division in my head at every stop I made. Let me explain: Every 1 USD is approximately 23 Czech Koruna and 1 Euro is 28 CZK. So The price of a pair of shoes in a given store is 1,379 CZK. Your mission: to convert the above-stated amount into Euros or Dollars in under 3 minutes while the shopgirl is waiting for you to make a decision on those shoes.
• The Czech language is even crazier. A Czech woman even told me that more than 30% of the Czech people cannot even pronounce certain sounds correctly in their own language. (I personally will never understand how to pronounce a word that has 12 letters in it, none of which are vowels.)
• CR is really known for their marionettes (puppets, for you lay people). Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to check out a performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni. Well, next time.
• Must Do: If you ever go to Prague and decide to not be a tourist for one night, you must go to a vegetarian restaurant called Lehka Hlava (Clear Head), right off the Charles Bridge. Amazing, cheap veggie food with some of the coolest decor I've ever seen. Here, check it out. The tables glow from inside out. And one more for the road. They put on chill out CDs like Cafe Del Mar and even have crazy visuals on the wall all night long. Sweet. (Get the coconut milk by the way..!)
• Good King Wenceslas was neither good nor a king. Discuss.

Coming Soon...

...will be the People Post.

It will comprise of various pictures, some completely random which bear absolutely no significance (if not some humor at the very least), and some of signs from restaurants, beaches (yes, sections of beaches have names here in Italy), buildings and shops that bear the names of people I know and love.

You will be shocked and amazed. So watch out, as your name may soon be in lights.

Forces of Nature...

This weekend my classmate Marchi (Czech) and I went to Senigallia, a small city on the Adriatic coast, famous for its 'Velvet Beach'. A quaint Italian town (pop. 30,000 if you must know) with a beach that was on par with Miami without the high prices. Pretty darn nice.

We went without train nor hotel reservations (though I had my reservations about that-- sorry for the stupid pun), and we were promptly notified that the EuroStar train we wanted to take was sold out. Not wanting to wait another 3 hours for the next train, we hopped it all the same and sat in the exit vestibule thingee. Whatever, we made it. Kind of annoying that it takes 3 hours and 3 trains to get to a place that should take no longer than 2 hours but, yea, see my previous comments on the Italian train system, also known as the bane of my existence.































The first pic is the view from our hotel room, the next is the nice fountain in the center of the city. (and woah! me in a bikini! eh!?) Speaking of hotel, I walked into the first hotel I set eyes on and absolutely had to book a room when I found out the name was Hotel Beau Rivage, coincidentally the same name of the hotel where my family and I used to stay in every summer in Wildwood, NJ. :) (Both hotels are fantastic, by the way.)

Anyway, I have never experienced such a scorching beach in all my life. I'm a total beach bum; I love lying on the beach until I absolutely cannot stand the heat any longer then I dive deliriously into the water (hands in the air and all...just like a madwoman, I swear)...Usually takes a good 3 hours to get to that point. But in Senigallia, I was in the water every half hour. The sea is nothing short of gorgeous, just as one imagines the Italian Adriatic riviera (can I say that?) to be.

I couldn't help but laugh when I realized that, at night, the same exact thing happens wherever you go in Italy. People get all dressed up and they walk. And walk. And then they get an espresso. Maybe a gelato too. And then they walk some more. The same skeevy guys give catcalls, the same Marucchini sell crappy jewelry in kiosks at the sides of the main roads. Still, it was nice. Especially being next to the sea.

On the way back, (here comes another train story...joy!) the 2nd train was overcrowded with no air conditioning. So naturally, the passengers opened every possible window, which were many. However, I realized that physics was working against us because despite (and because of) the high speed of the train, no air was actually coming into the carriages. Just a whole lot of noise. Only when we arrived at or took off from the various train stops did nice breezes allay us suffering passengers. I can safely say it was about 85 to 90 inside the train. Oh, and then the doors wouldn't open once we did arrive at the 2nd connection station. I swear Trenitalia is conspiring against me.

However, on the last leg of our trip, we came into a huge storm that covered the land as far as we could see. Since the landscape consists of rolling mountains covered in forests and patches of vineyards and wheatfields, it was quite a sight to watch spikes of lightning pierce the mountaintops. Somehow, Umbria is just as beautiful with a storm hanging overhead as it is with blue skies and sun.

That pukey kinda feeling...

There's a heatwave going through Europe at the moment and Italy isn't even among one of the countries that has been hit. Yes, 100°F daily is normal. Meanwhile, people are dropping like flies over France and Germany because of the same temperature.

Yesterday, I couldn't even make it to class when a bout of sudden dizziness and nausea combined with the feeling of being cooked from the inside out took over me as I waited patiently at the bus stop, behind the pole that displayed the bus routes, for the teeniest sliver of shade. (My poor feet couldn't fit into the shady area and got scorched.) I suddenly realized that I couldn't sweat, my head began to pound and I felt like I was about to internally combust so I walked back to my apartment to lie down asap. Perhaps a bit of heat stroke. And by the way, all this happened at 5pm.

Later on I had dinner with a bunch of girl friends at their apartment (I made pasta with garlic and oil, my mom would be so proud) and then returned back to my place, where Fran greeted me at the door. Strangely enough, the same dizzy-nauseating feeling washed over me after he invited me to see a movie with him. Of course, I immediately but politely declined (this is the 3rd or 4th time he has invited me out with him) and then, just to be a bit social and remain on his good side, I asked him what it was about. He tells me it's an erotic film. O_o Oh, okay, well good thing I'm not going then, I say. He replies: 'What, you don't like erotic films?'

o_O

Just another 'wtf' moment in my Perugian life.

You win some, you lose some...

Every once in a while, something happens to you that makes you certain (well, at least momentarily) that fate exists. That was Friday for me. Serendipidity is an understatement:

Friday morning I decide to wake up early to get my hair colored at this funky salon in the center of Perugia. Get there at 9:30, plenty of time before I had to get the train to Rome at 1:30, right? Wrong. Having arrived so early, I am the second person in line, the first person being some old lady getting her hair blow dried. Great, I think, she's almost done and I'm next. Being slightly scrupulous and I thought perhaps a little ludicrous, I tell the receptionist/shampoo girl that I absolutely must escape (my exact words) here at 1pm to catch a train to Rome because I´m flying out to Berlin tonight. Of course I'd be done way before that, she assures me. So, I feel assured.

I explain what I want done to my hair and he begins to mix the color and puts it on my hair. 40 minutes pass. Slowly, as people begin entering the salon, I begin to realize that he (only stylist there is at the moment) is doing everyone´s hair simultaneously. I sit. I wait. And wait. And wait. Meanwhile, I´m nervous because I have a complex about people doing anything at all to my hair (my mom has the same complex but we´re not skilled enough to do our own cuts and color of course so we face our fears every time we visit the salon). It´s being double processed so this first stage is only 1 of 3 processes I have to go through to get highlights in my hair. The hairdresser is too much of an artist to explain to me what he´s doing with my hair, despite the fact that I tell him of my various salon phobia as well as my control-freakishness and my tight schedule (of course, tight since I was on Italian time...) He just tells me to stay calm and everything will be fine. Ugh.

It´s noon and I finally have the base color rinsed out. My hair is dark, darker than my natural color. Not what I was going for. Nice color though. Need more blond. It´s summer damnit. 1pm comes, highlites are just getting put in. Great, I missed the first train at 1:30pm.......The highlights are rinsed and I sit in the chair with my head wet for another 40 minutes...And I proceed now I miss the second possible train...

At 2:30 I get up, walk into the adjacent room where my conniving hairdresser (who I now hate for not telling me what he´s doing to my hair and making me wait so long) serves 3 other women and literally beg him to finish my hair. I tell him I´ve already missed two trains and I must get the hell out of here. After 5 minutes, he finally begins to finish the job. I like the colors a lot, despite the fact that it was not what I wanted (and I thoroughly explained with pictures what I wanted...I guess hairdressers here just don´t care because they are too busy being artists to serve their clientele.) I pay an arm and a leg and finally run for my life out of what I thought was an eternity as some sort of spectator of a nighmarish scene akin to Beauty School Dropout. So now I'm auburn with blond highlites. Or something.

Grab the latest possible train from Perugia to Rome. Of course, the first train is 10 minutes late. No problems...except the connection time between train 1 and train 2 is exactly ten minutes and I don´t realize it til I get there and don´t see the other train waiting. I proceed to miss the connection train. The next train to Rome (now I´m in Foligno, the middle of nowhere, Italy) runs at 6pm, getting to the main train station at 8pm. My flight is at 8:45pm. No chance in hell. I start thinking of crazy ideas to get myself there: getting a cab (but it´s impossible because all the taxis in Rome are on strike and it´s forbidden that any other taxis enter the zone as well), hitchhiking with some random person there (but there´s too much traffic at this time, I wouldn´t get there any sooner with car than by that 6pm train). I sit down and feel a few tears and lots of anger welling up, cursing myself and condemning the hairdresser to hell.) Then, out of no where, I pick up my phone and call the hairdresser, cursed him out and tell him that I never want to come back to that place, and if I ever do, I´ll make sure I don´t have anything to do and I won´t pay a dime. He proceeds to ask me when I want to come back to get my hair cut for free and I hang up. The girl that I met at the Perugia train station who is travelling with me on the first leg of my trip is now serving as my shoulder to cry on, telling me that everything will be alright, giving me sane advice to not choose insane alternative modes of travel and keep my mind on track because no matter what, the trains are the fastest way to get there at this point anyhow. (Thanks for all your help again, Noella.)

I prepare for the inevitable, call the airline to see if there are possible delays and subsequently call a friend in Rome to ask if I could stay with her for one night before catching the next flight at 8am. I´m now on my 2nd train, filled with nuns that just came from Assisi, trying to convince myself that all is not lost, just delayed. The last modicum of hope I hang onto with the skin of my teeth would be at least a 1 hour flight delay...but what would the chances of that be, with a German airline? Zip.

5 minutes before we reach the main train station in Rome, I call Air Berlin to tell them to rebook me on the morning flight because I won´t be able to make tonight´s flight. I cannot believe my ears when she tells me the flight actually has been delayed for one hour! I started screaming at my phone, cursing in 3 different languages and the nuns are now making the sign of the cross and bidding me farewell. God loves me, I run to the express train to the airport and board the plane.

Lessons learned:

1a. You just never know.
1b. So don't lose all hope.
2. Never go to a hairdresser in Italy unless you have absolutely nothing to do for at least 8 hours.


The LoveParade was a lot of fun, we got to ride on one of the 35 floats for a few hours by pulling some connections (hah, how else) but it was certainly not what it used to be, of course, before the 2 year hiatus. My favorite is always seeing people dancing on street lights, 20' tall street posts, and 30' high street signs. Despite a crowd of 500,000, I finally met up with a fellow New Yorker after years of path-crossing just missed. After the parade, our group made several attempts to go clubbing but an unlucky one of our friends was wearing Bermuda shorts, a surefire non-entry for most clubs. By 4am, we were beat and decided to call it a night, despite the fact that this weekend is thee prime clubbing weekend of the year in Berlin.

The next day was most spent catching up on sleep, walking around the city and then making a second attempt at clubbing. I get kicked out of a club before even entering, because I drank water. The bouncers were downright nasty, telling me of all people that they 'know what happens to people who drink water inside clubs in NYC'...uh nothing? Because I've done it about a thousand times. After some completely unwarranted attitude against me (he even yelled at me because I was continuing to smile even though I had done something so unbelievably rude such as drinking water after being ID'd outside a club), I just leave the pathway. Who wants to go to a club that treats their patrons like that anyway? Jumpin' jiggawatts, sorry for being human.

Back to school now.

Oh yea, and now I have a huge cold sore on my upper lip, something I get every coupla months from excessive sun exposure and/or stress. Great.

Edit: Sorry for such a long post! Won't do it again. :)

Congratulations are in order...

...to the newest member of the Barcia Family (my mom's side): Valentina Rose Barcia, daughter of Marisa and Pietro Barcia, born on July 10th at 7:07pm, weighing 8lb 6oz and measuring 20.5 inches. Can't wait to meet you, little cuz. :)