Oggi ho fatto qualcosa italianissimo (Today I did something really Italian)

First of all, pictures from my Cologne/Brussels trip are up on my Flickr page if you feel the urge to see a photo of a leige waffle with a massive bite out of it.  And you know, some other cathedrals and art and stuff.

On a different note, I have to be honest.  I am pretty bored.  There are the mildly bored days, and then there are the bored-out-of-my-mind days, which in general averages out to a lingering boredom over all days.  I know, I know, you are all scoffing at this, thinking "What are you even saying!!??  You are in ITALY!!!"  This is true.  I am in Italy.  But I am also waiting around for a few things:

1.  To take my last exam, which is still two weeks away.

2.  For the weather to get better.  I am so done with winter.

3.  For my friends who are studying abroad for the semester to get here.  And get settled.  And then get traveling with me.

4.  For my new classes to start.  Again, a couple weeks away.

5.  For the weather to get better.

So I hate to say it, but I am in a quasi-state of limbo, where I want a little "pausa" from traveling, where I do need to spend some time studying (though I work best under pressure so that won't really happen until a few days before my test), and yet even with tutoring, studying, and doing crossword puzzles, I have a liberal amount of free time on my hands.  (Note: who would have ever guessed that there is such a thing as too much free time?  I almost - dare I say it - can't wait to have homework again next year.  Or at least to be busy).  So with this free time that I don't know what to do with, I found myself doing something so Italian, it's almost embarrassing.  I looked out my window.

Alright, go ahead and scoff again.  This probably makes no sense.  However, Italy is a country of looking.  Appearances count.  I even was taught in my Italian film class about the "strong tradition" of not just looking out the window, but looking AT people.  Think of the little old woman who sits behind the shutters of her second floor apartment and watches the street below.  Or even think of the old Italian men who sit on park benches or at cafes, watching the people go by.  And though it might be a stereotypical image, it is certainly based on truth, and continually my friends and I lament about how we can never walk outside in sweatshirts and pj bottoms as we do in the US because we would be more or less ostracized.  Get the idea?

So today, I suddenly found myself standing at my window, staring out and watching the street below.  Not to be anticlimactic, but the only thing I really concluded was that the people riding bikes must be freezing their butts off.  And yet, I had my "woah" moment when I found myself then actively looking into the windows of people's apartments across the street, at which point my imagination started to run wild with what sort of people live there and what kinds of situations might be going on behind their shutters.  At which point I freaked out at my own ability to participate in this nutty version of people watching that is such a "tradition" here.

So boredom and free time breeds transformation into an Italian elderly woman.  Good to note.

Up next - the dreaded oral exams.  And not the dentist kind.

Quando la mia vita è odorato di waffles (When my life smelled like waffles)

Ok, so this is slightly overdue...mostly out of my own laziness.  So I figure it's about time I let you all know that, first of all, I made it back to Italy in one piece after a whirlwind tour of the States, and secondly, that I fill you in on what I did just two days after getting back to Europe.  I took what I would consider to be my first really solo trip and went to Cologne, Germany and Brussels, Belgium.  And to preface - only an hour before going to the airport I was on the phone with my mom, contemplating the prospect of moping around Bologna all weekend (it was a pretty lonely place when I returned) versus getting out and taking this trip that I had planned (even at the cost of no internet communication for a few days).  So a definite thanks to mom for lighting the fire under my butt.

The first thing about Cologne - how do the Germans make it so damn easy to get around?  Thank you, Germany, for your impeccably timed and reliable public transportation.  I seem to appreciate this more and more every time I leave Italy.  Upon waking up in Cologne the next day, I set out to do what seems to be the one skill I am really cultivating this year (besides learning to control my blood pressure while trying to purchase fish in Italy): really seeing a place in a very limited amount of time.  So, even though I knew I was going to freeze, I set off for downtown Cologne, determined to take it by storm.  And I have to say I am pretty proud of myself, because I checked a lot of cool stuff off my list (which again is just easier to list, for brevity's sake):

-Cologne Dom (Cathedral): This is literally the first thing you see when you leave the train station.  And it definitely hits my list of top European churches.  It's the most perfect gothic cathedral, and what's more, is gorgeous inside too (those arched groin vaults...thank you art history for making me appreciate them so much).  Then, since I had the time, I decided to climb up the south tower of the cathedral.  But oh yeah, it was 509 steps (and I mean real steps, not wimpy ones) - and it was so worth it for the view at the top.  Plus I then got to see "Fat Peter" - the biggest free-swinging bell in the world!

-EL-DE Haus: so slightly more sobering, but very cool nonetheless - EL-DE Haus was a gestapo prison during WWII, which today has been preserved and also has a memorial/museum on the upper two floors.  To be honest, I didn't last very long - not exactly the happiest of places - but the best part was the jolly old beret-wearing German guy at the front desk who talked with me for a solid 20 minutes.  I swear, this guy was so excited that I was just an American with German roots, and he was even more excited to tell me about the incredible history of Cologne (which was a capital of the Roman empire at one point, did you know?  In fact, they just have Roman and medieval walls kind of lying around in the middle of the city). 

-Schokolad Museum:  Ok, obviously I needed a pick-me-up.  So I walked along the Rhine down to the Chocolate Museum, which I think is owned by Lindt, because not only do they have three floors of exhibitions to bring you through the history of chocolate and how it is made, but they have a legitimate factory in there where you can watch women in white lab coats (sadly, not oompa loompas) bag little milk chocolates that start as mush at one end and somehow end up in little gold wrappers in about 30 seconds.  And yes, there were samples.  Duh.

So I was pretty content with my sightseeing and felt that the next best thing to do, after a quick coffee warm-up, was to grab a pretzel (I mean, I was in Germany after all) and walk around some of the roman ruins.  Since it was cold and dark at that point, I made it back to my hostel - and here is the beautiful thing about solo travel AND hostels - where I ran into Liam.  Liam, an Australian guy about my age, strikes up a conversation and before I know it we are making dinner at the hostel and enjoying multiple liters of koelsch (THE beer of Cologne, which is absolutely delicious).  So I made a fast friend, and now I have someone to visit in Sydney if the moment arises!

The next day I caught the train to Brussels, which turned out to be a blast (as only high speed trains through the Belgian countryside can be), and I arrived there midday.  I was so determined to hit the Beaux-Artes museum (it was a Sunday, and since all museums close on Mondays, it was my only shot!).  Well, I have to say, Brussels turned out to be a bit trickier to maneuver than expected.  So I trekked all over searching for this place for a couple of hours, and when I still hadn't found it, I decided it was time to throw in the towel.  Which is when I had the most heavenly experience of my weekend - for, there in front of me, in this huge plaza overlooking the city, I saw my very first waffle truck.

Now, it is important to note that there are actually two types of waffles in Brussels.  And I am wholly unconcerned with the inferior, but more famous Belgian waffle (the rectangular, deep dish type that is way too crispy for its own good).  No no no - there is another type of waffle in Belgium called the Liege waffle, and this one is what you get when you go to the waffle vans.  So, frustrated with my futile museum search, I go up to the truck and ask for a waffle, completely unaware of how amazing this is about to be as I hand over my 1.50 euro.  Seriously, I have never had such an awesome waffle - they warm it up, so the edges are a little bit sticky and crispy, but the waffle itself is really dense and - get this - has sugar crystals inside it.  I ate 4 in two days.  Though I feel totally justified because I won't get to eat waffles for another 6 months.  I should have just bought myself a waffle truck and stayed.  But seriously, the most amazing thing about these trucks - and really all of Brussels - is that, I kid you not, it smelled like freshly made waffles at all hours of the day.  Who wouldn't want to live in such a place?

I did some good sight-seeing in Brussels too, though it is definitely a bigger city so it was harder to figure out in the limited time I had.  But I went to the Museum of Musical Instruments (mostly because it was in this incredible art nouveau building), saw some Tin Tin comics, saw Mannekin Pis (the peeing boy statue!), the Grand Place, ate some more waffles, and got my own personal tour of the European Parliament (life really is all about the people you know)...but I'll spare you the boring details (instead you got to read in too much detail all about waffles, hooray!  Obviously I have my priorities straight).  I'll post my pictures as soon as possible!