The time leading up to xmas was such a whirlwind of, well, whirlwindy things that I completely forgot to wish so many people a happy holiday.
I hope you had a merry fesst, be it for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwaanza (does anyone reading this celebrate Kwaanza? If so, I want an invite for next year!), solstice-related celebrations, etc.
And Happy Happy New Year. I'm a little early for that, so we'll just call it all even.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Last week was a strange week...
Oh, New York. You are a strange and beautiful place. Last week, though, the strange totally kicked the ass of the beautiful. Instead of trying to explain with words just how odd this week has been, I'll show you a few photos that might make my point.
First, in a coffeeshop in Grand Central, Will and I saw this sign for book donations that were to go to Ethiopia. The sign says Donate your used books to support literacy and education in Ethiopia. Nice, right? Send your old books to Africa so the kids can learn to read.
The strange part, though, was the actual donation, Reggie Nadelson's Sex Dolls, (an Artie Cohen Thriller). I vaguely remember learning to read from something in the Dr. Seuss library.
Then, the coffeeshop tip jar. I will never understand this. It sort of bugs me. I lived on tips lo, those many years as a bartender/waiter, so I understand relying on the kindness of strangers. But the 'tip the guy who puts coffee in a cup for you' thing just seems strange. Anyone have any thoughts on this one?
On Thursday, I met my friend Nicole from college over in Williamsburg for a drink and a chat. I took the J from Delancey, a train I don't frequent. I thought this six-year-old reading the paper was about the cutest thing I'd seen in a while. The lady sitting two down from him did not think my taking of pictures was cute at all.
But by far, the strangest thing that hit Will and I last week had to do with New York City yellow cabs.
On Saturday night, we went with Will's family and a whole host of others to see Company on Broadway, and more specifically to see family friend Angel Desai in the show. After the show, we were headed downtown to a club party hosted by my friend, photographer Ian Cuttler.
We were trying to catch a cab in Times Square. When we realized that would be nearly impossible, we walked over to Eighth Avenue. Long story short, this girl tried to jump into our cab. She said she was there first, even though I was already in the cab. She said we would take the cab together, me and Will and her and her two friends. Um, no! I told her no, that we were going downtown. Conveniently, so was she! It took me a second, because this did sound like a good solution to our, em, her problem, but then... NO! Finally, Will had had enough and had to physically remove her from the doorway. She was small, but scrappy, so it's a good thing we've been working out!
Then on Sunday, again we had cab troubles. We were en route to Will's Aunt and Uncle's holiday party in Soho. We stopped in this little Italian wine shop on the Lower East Side for two last little gifts, then headed out to find a cab. We were on Orchard and Stanton when a yellow cab rolled up, his medallion lights shining and ready for business.
The driver rolled down the passenger-side window and asked where we were going. Any New Yorker knows that this is not a good sign, especially if you're trying to go to the outer boroughs or an airport. But luckily, we were only going to Broome Street, a quick and easy fare for him.
Well, weren't we shocked and appalled when he wouldn't take us! He grumbled a haughty "no", turned left on Stanton and turned on his "off-duty" lights.
Now, I understand that 4pm is nearing the end of their shift (as far as I know, cabbies drive from 5 to 5, pm to am or am to pm), but 4pm is not 5pm and Orchard is less than ten minutes from Broome, even with traffic! We commisserated with two neighborhood ladies, who exclaimed "nuh-unh! No he din'nt!", then we walked our present-laden, late selves on over to Soho.
Happy Holidays, Mr. Taxi. Happy Holidays, crazy cab-stealing girl. Happy Holidays, coffeeshop kids around the city! Happy Holidays, paper-reading boy. And Happy Holidays, Ethiopia!
First, in a coffeeshop in Grand Central, Will and I saw this sign for book donations that were to go to Ethiopia. The sign says Donate your used books to support literacy and education in Ethiopia. Nice, right? Send your old books to Africa so the kids can learn to read. The strange part, though, was the actual donation, Reggie Nadelson's Sex Dolls, (an Artie Cohen Thriller). I vaguely remember learning to read from something in the Dr. Seuss library.
Then, the coffeeshop tip jar. I will never understand this. It sort of bugs me. I lived on tips lo, those many years as a bartender/waiter, so I understand relying on the kindness of strangers. But the 'tip the guy who puts coffee in a cup for you' thing just seems strange. Anyone have any thoughts on this one?
On Thursday, I met my friend Nicole from college over in Williamsburg for a drink and a chat. I took the J from Delancey, a train I don't frequent. I thought this six-year-old reading the paper was about the cutest thing I'd seen in a while. The lady sitting two down from him did not think my taking of pictures was cute at all.But by far, the strangest thing that hit Will and I last week had to do with New York City yellow cabs.
On Saturday night, we went with Will's family and a whole host of others to see Company on Broadway, and more specifically to see family friend Angel Desai in the show. After the show, we were headed downtown to a club party hosted by my friend, photographer Ian Cuttler.
We were trying to catch a cab in Times Square. When we realized that would be nearly impossible, we walked over to Eighth Avenue. Long story short, this girl tried to jump into our cab. She said she was there first, even though I was already in the cab. She said we would take the cab together, me and Will and her and her two friends. Um, no! I told her no, that we were going downtown. Conveniently, so was she! It took me a second, because this did sound like a good solution to our, em, her problem, but then... NO! Finally, Will had had enough and had to physically remove her from the doorway. She was small, but scrappy, so it's a good thing we've been working out!
Then on Sunday, again we had cab troubles. We were en route to Will's Aunt and Uncle's holiday party in Soho. We stopped in this little Italian wine shop on the Lower East Side for two last little gifts, then headed out to find a cab. We were on Orchard and Stanton when a yellow cab rolled up, his medallion lights shining and ready for business.
The driver rolled down the passenger-side window and asked where we were going. Any New Yorker knows that this is not a good sign, especially if you're trying to go to the outer boroughs or an airport. But luckily, we were only going to Broome Street, a quick and easy fare for him.
Well, weren't we shocked and appalled when he wouldn't take us! He grumbled a haughty "no", turned left on Stanton and turned on his "off-duty" lights.
Now, I understand that 4pm is nearing the end of their shift (as far as I know, cabbies drive from 5 to 5, pm to am or am to pm), but 4pm is not 5pm and Orchard is less than ten minutes from Broome, even with traffic! We commisserated with two neighborhood ladies, who exclaimed "nuh-unh! No he din'nt!", then we walked our present-laden, late selves on over to Soho.
Happy Holidays, Mr. Taxi. Happy Holidays, crazy cab-stealing girl. Happy Holidays, coffeeshop kids around the city! Happy Holidays, paper-reading boy. And Happy Holidays, Ethiopia!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Will Aspires
Will has really gone above and beyond the call of duty since we've been back.
Last week he accompanied me to not one, but TWO industry functions. For those of you unfamiliar, by "industry function", I mean a bunch of actors and/or other people "in the business" getting together en masse for social and/or networking purposes.
First, we went to my agency's Christmas party. That was great. I hadn't seen any of my agents since I'd been back, and Will finally got to put faces to names. It's also fun to meet the other half of people I see at auditions. For example, I had no idea that my colleague J.J.'s husband was a novelist. He and Will chatted for a while. There was an open bar and lots of snacks. All in all, not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.
Then, later that week, he came along for a ride to an official networking party. The best way to explain it is for you to read his response, posted on his blog, and my response to his response.
It was a fun night, ultimately, and I got to see a couple of people that I don't often get to see, as well as chat with my friend/soon-to-be-partner-in-theatrical-crime, the fantastic playwright Ed Valentine. I'm not sure I mentioned it, but we're starting up a new theater company, Cardium Mechanicum. Ed is finishing up his MFA in Playwrighting at NYU this coming semester, so we probably won't produce much until at least the summer, but something is a-brewin' and I have a feeling it is going to be great!
Last week he accompanied me to not one, but TWO industry functions. For those of you unfamiliar, by "industry function", I mean a bunch of actors and/or other people "in the business" getting together en masse for social and/or networking purposes.
First, we went to my agency's Christmas party. That was great. I hadn't seen any of my agents since I'd been back, and Will finally got to put faces to names. It's also fun to meet the other half of people I see at auditions. For example, I had no idea that my colleague J.J.'s husband was a novelist. He and Will chatted for a while. There was an open bar and lots of snacks. All in all, not a bad way to spend a couple of hours.
Then, later that week, he came along for a ride to an official networking party. The best way to explain it is for you to read his response, posted on his blog, and my response to his response.
It was a fun night, ultimately, and I got to see a couple of people that I don't often get to see, as well as chat with my friend/soon-to-be-partner-in-theatrical-crime, the fantastic playwright Ed Valentine. I'm not sure I mentioned it, but we're starting up a new theater company, Cardium Mechanicum. Ed is finishing up his MFA in Playwrighting at NYU this coming semester, so we probably won't produce much until at least the summer, but something is a-brewin' and I have a feeling it is going to be great!
Sunday, December 10, 2006
The Holiday Season Has Begun
I know that Xmas decorations have been in store windows since Halloween, but I still think that the official start of the holiday season is your first holiday party.
Our holiday season started last night, at Will's friend Gerry's loft (that's us with my friend Rita in the middle). And this morning, we realized that we are out of shape for holiday season!
It's not that it was such, a crazy party, it's more that it's been a while since we're rolled in at 4am. Ok, so maybe I could have skipped that last glass of wine, but more importantly, I should have forseen trouble when we didn't arrive at the party until 11pm.
But it all turned out ok and we ended up having a very New York sort of day. We headed out to brunch, and when the place where we wanted to eat had what looked like at least a 30 minute wait, we went to a less crowded place down the street. (We realized that it was near empty for a reason as we proceeded to have one of the most lame and mediocre brunches of my life!)
We planned on seeing the new James Bond film at 3, but it was only 130, so we took a little stroll through the Strawberry Fields part of Central Park. On our way into the park, we encountered Conan O'Brien, who looked like he, too, had a late night holiday season kick-off. But he had it worse than us as his daughter who he was pushing in a stroller looked like she had a good night's rest and boundless energy. Poor Conan. Poor hungover Conan. I love New York.
So we walked around and killed that hour, then headed over to Lincoln Plaza for our movie. After waiting what seemed like half my life in a line for some M&Ms, we finally got into the packed theater and found the last two decent seats-- everyone who came in after us was front row bound.
I don't have a very good track record for staying awake during movies. Whether in the theater or at home, it's rare that I don't have at least a little snooze. These chairs were some of the more comfortable movie seats I've ever encountered, so I was convinced I'd be out shortly after previews.
What I didn't count on, however, was that Casino Royale was really really good. Like adrenaline rush, heart-pounding-in-your-throat good.
I was wide awake through the whole thing. And now I'm completely exhausted. And holiday party season has only just begun. I'd better go rest up!
Our holiday season started last night, at Will's friend Gerry's loft (that's us with my friend Rita in the middle). And this morning, we realized that we are out of shape for holiday season!
It's not that it was such, a crazy party, it's more that it's been a while since we're rolled in at 4am. Ok, so maybe I could have skipped that last glass of wine, but more importantly, I should have forseen trouble when we didn't arrive at the party until 11pm.
But it all turned out ok and we ended up having a very New York sort of day. We headed out to brunch, and when the place where we wanted to eat had what looked like at least a 30 minute wait, we went to a less crowded place down the street. (We realized that it was near empty for a reason as we proceeded to have one of the most lame and mediocre brunches of my life!)
We planned on seeing the new James Bond film at 3, but it was only 130, so we took a little stroll through the Strawberry Fields part of Central Park. On our way into the park, we encountered Conan O'Brien, who looked like he, too, had a late night holiday season kick-off. But he had it worse than us as his daughter who he was pushing in a stroller looked like she had a good night's rest and boundless energy. Poor Conan. Poor hungover Conan. I love New York.
So we walked around and killed that hour, then headed over to Lincoln Plaza for our movie. After waiting what seemed like half my life in a line for some M&Ms, we finally got into the packed theater and found the last two decent seats-- everyone who came in after us was front row bound.
I don't have a very good track record for staying awake during movies. Whether in the theater or at home, it's rare that I don't have at least a little snooze. These chairs were some of the more comfortable movie seats I've ever encountered, so I was convinced I'd be out shortly after previews.
What I didn't count on, however, was that Casino Royale was really really good. Like adrenaline rush, heart-pounding-in-your-throat good.
I was wide awake through the whole thing. And now I'm completely exhausted. And holiday party season has only just begun. I'd better go rest up!
Friday, December 8, 2006
if it wasn't for MySpace...
I might never have learned that today is Bodhi Day.
from my friend Mikki:
I also learned that the last thing my friend Ben bought was a 2-liter bottle of coke and a bag of doritos, but that isn't exactly a holiday...
So, in honor of Bodhi Day, let's all close our computers and meditate!
from my friend Mikki:
Happy Bodhi Day! December 8 (Bodhi Day, also known as Rohatsu) is traditionally recognized as the day that the Buddha attained enlightenment. It's a day to remember our own innate potential to do great things.
I also learned that the last thing my friend Ben bought was a 2-liter bottle of coke and a bag of doritos, but that isn't exactly a holiday...
So, in honor of Bodhi Day, let's all close our computers and meditate!
Theater Work
Back in New York and back to planning for 2007. I've had a lot of talk with a lot of people recently and am really excited for big stuff in the new year.
Talk is a-brewin' for the next installment of Piper McKenzie Productions' Bizarre Science Fantasy series. The Bizarre Science Fantasy folks are the ones responsible for this photo.
I don't want to spill the exact details yet (mainly because I don't know them), but let's just say it looks like the bulk of the old crew is going to get back together and stomp on some new ground. It looks slated for production at the Brick in the summer.
I've also been talking to my old pal from college, James Vesce, who is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. James directed me in the last show I did in college, Tales of the Lost Formicans. (click here to see some more priceless photos of me, circa 1998, with lightly feathered hair)
James is looking to produce Formicans again this spring, with me reprising my role from just about ten years ago, as well as the hilarious Jay Morong who played the whack-o next door neighbor. I'm really excited-- I've never really revisited a role before, and there's always that feeling of wanting to do more with it once the show is over. The best part is that now I'm just about the age that the character in the play is. When I was a 21 year old UMASS student, I don't know that I really pulled off the 32-year old New York mom/divorcee-to-be. I think that the last ten years of my life have better prepared me for the task at hand. We'll see!
That looks like it will happen in the Spring, and hopefully won't conflict with the aforementioned Bizarre Science Fantasy.
The other big project on tap is a collaboration with my friend Ed Valentine on a theater company, Cardium Mechanicum. Ed is a brilliant playwright and I'm excited to be working with him!
I've also been talking about trying to work on some more dance-y stuff with people I've worked with before on various shows.
Oh, and I booked a steady voiceover gig with a production company out of North Carolina that is branching into the on-hold messaging market. I can't say that I actually knew there was an "on-hold messaging market", but hell, if it gets me a steady gig, I'll believe in it!
So even though there is a lot in the works, it's all still in the planning stages. I'm really itching to get back to the theater, back to rehearsals, back on stage. The ideas are exciting, but not nearly so as the execution. And the collaboration. And the goofing off that leads to good work.
Time to get to work!
Talk is a-brewin' for the next installment of Piper McKenzie Productions' Bizarre Science Fantasy series. The Bizarre Science Fantasy folks are the ones responsible for this photo.
I don't want to spill the exact details yet (mainly because I don't know them), but let's just say it looks like the bulk of the old crew is going to get back together and stomp on some new ground. It looks slated for production at the Brick in the summer.
I've also been talking to my old pal from college, James Vesce, who is a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. James directed me in the last show I did in college, Tales of the Lost Formicans. (click here to see some more priceless photos of me, circa 1998, with lightly feathered hair) James is looking to produce Formicans again this spring, with me reprising my role from just about ten years ago, as well as the hilarious Jay Morong who played the whack-o next door neighbor. I'm really excited-- I've never really revisited a role before, and there's always that feeling of wanting to do more with it once the show is over. The best part is that now I'm just about the age that the character in the play is. When I was a 21 year old UMASS student, I don't know that I really pulled off the 32-year old New York mom/divorcee-to-be. I think that the last ten years of my life have better prepared me for the task at hand. We'll see!
That looks like it will happen in the Spring, and hopefully won't conflict with the aforementioned Bizarre Science Fantasy.
The other big project on tap is a collaboration with my friend Ed Valentine on a theater company, Cardium Mechanicum. Ed is a brilliant playwright and I'm excited to be working with him!
I've also been talking about trying to work on some more dance-y stuff with people I've worked with before on various shows.
Oh, and I booked a steady voiceover gig with a production company out of North Carolina that is branching into the on-hold messaging market. I can't say that I actually knew there was an "on-hold messaging market", but hell, if it gets me a steady gig, I'll believe in it!
So even though there is a lot in the works, it's all still in the planning stages. I'm really itching to get back to the theater, back to rehearsals, back on stage. The ideas are exciting, but not nearly so as the execution. And the collaboration. And the goofing off that leads to good work.
Time to get to work!
Will, newly fancy (well, newly fancier)
While we were in Italy, Will got an email from a friend and former colleague saying that he knew a guy who was looking for a guy for a start up. He was looking for someone who knew this programming language (I think) that Will knows. (this is the very simplified version of the story, obviously). Emails were exchanged and exchanged with Will in Italy and Ejovi Nuwere, the guy with the start-up, in Japan. And now, officially, Will is the CTO of Gather.at!
I will admit, I'm not entirely sure what that fully means or entails, but it is very exciting nonetheless. Yay, Will!
Monday, December 4, 2006
Inspiration Lurks in the Strangest Place
Since I've arrived back in the states, I've wondered just what on earth would happen to my little blog. Documenting exotic vacations is one thing, but documenting the day-to-day of my "regular" life is just, well... maybe a little self-indulgent. Are you dying to know that I'm meeting a friend for lunch today? Can't wait to know whether or not I made it to the gym? Tuned in to see if I'll ever unpack from the trip?
Well, friends, I can't really give you any of that. But what I can offer you is just about the cutest little burst of pre-holiday cheer I've seen yet, and it doesn't involve a bell or a fat guy or any candles.
It's a poem.
From Will's cousin, Francesca (age 8), the poet laureate of Broome Street, I give you The Cookie Poem
Well, friends, I can't really give you any of that. But what I can offer you is just about the cutest little burst of pre-holiday cheer I've seen yet, and it doesn't involve a bell or a fat guy or any candles.
It's a poem.
From Will's cousin, Francesca (age 8), the poet laureate of Broome Street, I give you The Cookie Poem
It's sweet
To meet
But the cookies are so small
I hope they don't fall
Let's talk a bit
About the chocolate
And don't think twice
Before you try the spice
And your diet collapses
When you try the molasses
You'd have to go far
To find a cookie as good as the star
And your taste buds are freed
When you try the anise seed
And perhaps one will linger on your finger
When you try the ginger
And try not to let the gingerbread
Go to your head
And don't worry about how much it's costing
Just use the colored frosting
Let her rip
To the chocolate chip
And we used a lot of tin bowls
When we made the cinnamon rolls
All the other cookies will go in the gutter
When you try the butter
Friday, December 1, 2006
Do You Know What Today Is?
From a friend in the press:
I went to the light-a-candle sight and the maximum donation they'll make is $100,000. It's already been reached, but it's nice to see anyway. This is an issue that is very important to me, and I hope you'll take the time to take part.
December 1st is World AIDS Day.
Today ONLY Bristol - Myers is donating $1 to AIDS relief every time someone goes to their website and moves the match to the candle and lights it. It might take a while to get a connection, but worth it. Go to: www.lighttounite.org
Today is also the launch of of the 2nd annual BID 2 BEAT AIDS, a massive entertainment memorabilia auction on eBay to benefit for LIFEbeat, the Music Industry Fights AIDS. The auction features memorabilia from over 500 celebrities including: MADONNA, JACK BLACK, JAKE GYLLENHAAL, BRUCE WILLIS, JESSICA SIMPSON, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, PRINCE, JOAN COLLINS, RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, GLENN CLOSE, ERASURE, DEBBIE GIBSON, CHER, SUSAN SARANDON, HUGH JACKMAN, COLIN FARRELL, WILL FERRELL, THE KILLERS, KELIS, CYNTHIA NIXON, PANIC! AT THE DISCO, JENNIFER HUDSON, JOAN RIVERS and many, many, many more -- from CAROL CHANNING to MEGADEATH! Bid on autographed DVDs, video games, CDs, posters, photos, clothes, set lists, instruments, magazines,sports equipment, jewelry -- a perfect opportunity to get a unique holiday gift and support a very worthy cause! Visit www.Bid2BeatAIDS.com or go directly to eBay and search "Bid 2 Beat AIDS."
Pass this email along to friends!
I went to the light-a-candle sight and the maximum donation they'll make is $100,000. It's already been reached, but it's nice to see anyway. This is an issue that is very important to me, and I hope you'll take the time to take part.
I'm really back. I swear.
Wow. So we're back in New York. We arrived late Sunday night and have spent the week slowly adjusting back to the pace, the people, the largely monochromatic money and the plain and simple fact that we're not in Europe anymore.
The weather in the city is unseasonably warm. Damp as hell, but no bitter cold or snow in sight. Not having to bundle up to within an inch of my life makes the transition much easier.
We're staying with Will's friend Sang in an apartment that is the polar opposite of mine in every way. He's on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, while I'm used to the Lower East Side. He's got a doorman and an elevator while I've got some rickety old stairs and a drunk super who comes to fix the toilet in his towel. He's got a gym in his building while I'm used to having to trek blocks and blocks to get to my gym. But conveniently, both of Sang's roommates moved out recently and he has graciously invited us to stay.
Speaking of the gym, I should be there now. Sang and Will are, and I'm sitting here on the computer. Talk about a role reversal!
Oh, and I know I haven't written in a while, but I've been busy making myself a sort of work website. I finally finished, and you can check it out at veryrobinreed.com. I wanted to use just plain old robinreed.com, but that's taken by some English dude selling firecrackers.
The weather in the city is unseasonably warm. Damp as hell, but no bitter cold or snow in sight. Not having to bundle up to within an inch of my life makes the transition much easier.
We're staying with Will's friend Sang in an apartment that is the polar opposite of mine in every way. He's on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, while I'm used to the Lower East Side. He's got a doorman and an elevator while I've got some rickety old stairs and a drunk super who comes to fix the toilet in his towel. He's got a gym in his building while I'm used to having to trek blocks and blocks to get to my gym. But conveniently, both of Sang's roommates moved out recently and he has graciously invited us to stay.
Speaking of the gym, I should be there now. Sang and Will are, and I'm sitting here on the computer. Talk about a role reversal!
Oh, and I know I haven't written in a while, but I've been busy making myself a sort of work website. I finally finished, and you can check it out at veryrobinreed.com. I wanted to use just plain old robinreed.com, but that's taken by some English dude selling firecrackers.
Friday, November 24, 2006
jet. lag.
Wow. So this is what it's like to have gone to bed at 730pm and to be WIDE AWAKE at 4am. I guess I'm still on Europe time. I was hoping it was maybe just the turkey.
Got back safely after the world's longest day of traveling. Left Lake Como at 730, flew out of Milan at 1030. Landed in Paris at 1140. Got searched and searched and patted down and searched again checking in for our flight on Air India (lamb curry makes for very good plane food, by the way). En route to board, had a request in French to take off our shoes. After mild confusion and a quick translation, shoes off.
(note to self: it's not really ok to wear argyle socks that don't match your outfit and think nobody will notice because you're wearing high boots)
Shoes on, down to the plane. Before the door, got searched again, this time even more thorough than the last two. Bags searched, patted down again. Wow. I felt safe.
I'm terrible, though, in those situations. I am always half an inch away from cracking a joke, either hugely inappropriate or just plain dumb. It's that odd nervous feeling that keeps me on the verge of a giggle fit. This is where choosing a focal point and taking some breaths can come in handy. The nice security guards are smart enough to figure out how to unzip my bag. They don't need my help.
I have to tell myself this over and over again so as not to rouse suspicion. There's always some lurking guilty feeling in the back of my mind. 'Are they going to find my nail clippers? Maybe I didn't pack them in my checked bags like I told the other lady at the check-in gate. Maybe there are dangerous nail clippers sitting there in my little toiletry bag. The one with the flowers, that's right. And maybe, just maybe I put them there intentionally as part of some greater diabolical plan to give manicures on the sly to sleeping passengers! Maybe deep down under this trying-not-to-giggle exterior lurks the mind of a criminal. Bwah-ha-hah!'
It's 430am. Maybe I should try to go back to sleep. Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!
Got back safely after the world's longest day of traveling. Left Lake Como at 730, flew out of Milan at 1030. Landed in Paris at 1140. Got searched and searched and patted down and searched again checking in for our flight on Air India (lamb curry makes for very good plane food, by the way). En route to board, had a request in French to take off our shoes. After mild confusion and a quick translation, shoes off.
(note to self: it's not really ok to wear argyle socks that don't match your outfit and think nobody will notice because you're wearing high boots)
Shoes on, down to the plane. Before the door, got searched again, this time even more thorough than the last two. Bags searched, patted down again. Wow. I felt safe.
I'm terrible, though, in those situations. I am always half an inch away from cracking a joke, either hugely inappropriate or just plain dumb. It's that odd nervous feeling that keeps me on the verge of a giggle fit. This is where choosing a focal point and taking some breaths can come in handy. The nice security guards are smart enough to figure out how to unzip my bag. They don't need my help.
I have to tell myself this over and over again so as not to rouse suspicion. There's always some lurking guilty feeling in the back of my mind. 'Are they going to find my nail clippers? Maybe I didn't pack them in my checked bags like I told the other lady at the check-in gate. Maybe there are dangerous nail clippers sitting there in my little toiletry bag. The one with the flowers, that's right. And maybe, just maybe I put them there intentionally as part of some greater diabolical plan to give manicures on the sly to sleeping passengers! Maybe deep down under this trying-not-to-giggle exterior lurks the mind of a criminal. Bwah-ha-hah!'
It's 430am. Maybe I should try to go back to sleep. Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!
Friday, November 17, 2006
Will has a Blog, too!
Will has dusted off his blog over the past few weeks and actually taken to posting once again. Yesterday he put up a bunch of photos and stuff from our trip to the Slow Food Festival in Torino.
He also, after an unforseen mention in a Phillips ad in the New York Times, updated his menumaps site, a handy little tool that joins Google Maps and Menu Pages and makes ordering in or going out in New York, LA, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philly and DC much much easier.
I know you're probably shocked since you thought that I wore the computer-geek pants in this duo, what with this fancy blog and all. But it's actually Will. He's just been on vacation.
He also, after an unforseen mention in a Phillips ad in the New York Times, updated his menumaps site, a handy little tool that joins Google Maps and Menu Pages and makes ordering in or going out in New York, LA, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philly and DC much much easier.
I know you're probably shocked since you thought that I wore the computer-geek pants in this duo, what with this fancy blog and all. But it's actually Will. He's just been on vacation.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Full-blown Season Change
No sooner do we get back to Italy, Will's dad put us to work! Farm work. Olive picking. From a tractor.
Living in Manhattan, I don't often get a chance to see a tractor, nevermind ride in one! And in the scoopy part, too! That's right, Will and I climbed into the bucket and up we went to the heights of the trees and picked picked picked our little hearts out.
I never really knew much about the life cycle of an olive-- from the tree to the martini. Olives don't start out as those salty little guys like you might think. After your workers (in this case, me and Will) pick them, there is a 3-day to 3-month process by which you de-bitter them before you can soak them in vermouth.
Using a mix of water and patience, you soak the olives for 3 days with lye or three months without. They turn the strangest and most beautiful shades of green while the lye sucks all the bitter gunk out of them.
Will's dad stores them in water without salt, so when you eat them, the flavor is more reminiscent of olive oil rather than a jar of olives. The field work is definitely worth it!
Everything else around here is turning the orange-y golden shades of fall. The leaves are long gone and there's a hint of frost and a ton of fog first thing in the morning. The kaki (persimmon) tree, however, is holding out just a bit longer. It's like nature's little modern art piece.
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Back in Italia
We left Berlin yesterday after an art, history and fun-filled week. It was a fun week and the perfect warm-up for re-entry to New York. I'll put more photos up when I can; for now, you can see a little obsession I found with street art in my photos here.
We are in Milan, where a friend of Will's just moved for work. Will's friend called Berlin 'the new world center of creativity'. I think he's on to something.
We are in Milan, where a friend of Will's just moved for work. Will's friend called Berlin 'the new world center of creativity'. I think he's on to something.
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Floods in Venice, etc.
Our travels for the past week or so have met with some interesting weather. You might have read something about the acqua alta that hit Venice last week.
Will awoke early that morning to some friendly air-raid sirens. Apparently I can sleep through something like that-- my resting powers are unstoppable. Next thing we knew, the lady who managed the apartment we were renting was at the door taking all the furniture up off of the floor and securing the place for the expected onslaught of water. She was really funny about it, just kept sort of smiling and shrugging, saying "Venice!"
It seemed as if it should have been a freakier thing, but it sort of made sense. Everyone, resident and tourist alike, just rolled wtih it. The city put up these temporary wooden walkways everywhere, residents (like the waiter above) got out their waders and some tourists scrapped all hopes for dryness, took off their shoes, rolled up their pants and trudged barefoot in the knee-high waters. That's what you get in exchange for all those charming little canals!
Besides water-filled weather and a couple of strange encounters with pigeons (we found one dead on the floor near a mosaic peacock in St. Mark's Church, then another, um, relieved itself on my coat sleeve outside of a shop), Venice was an incredibly alluring city. It's really built for tourists, but there's something very dark and mysterious in all of those tiny alleys and canals. It's also home to Peggy Guggenheim's phenomenal modern art collection, housed in her equally phenom palazzo on the other side of the canal. We got there by a 50-cent gondola ride.
After Venice, we spent a nice day in Verona. We stayed in this funny little hotel in the center of town. It was run by a sweet sweet sweet little old lady, who I think was also in charge of the interior design.
After Verona, we hit the Slow Food Festival in Torino, another city we both really liked. I have photos of it, which I'll share just as soon as I remember to buy some batteries for my camera-- poor pictures have been trapped in there for a few days now.
We're currently in Berlin, and have found yet another city to fall in love with. Feels like all the good parts of downtown New York, which is a nice sort of warm-up for heading back home.
We're off to explore... more later!
Will awoke early that morning to some friendly air-raid sirens. Apparently I can sleep through something like that-- my resting powers are unstoppable. Next thing we knew, the lady who managed the apartment we were renting was at the door taking all the furniture up off of the floor and securing the place for the expected onslaught of water. She was really funny about it, just kept sort of smiling and shrugging, saying "Venice!"
It seemed as if it should have been a freakier thing, but it sort of made sense. Everyone, resident and tourist alike, just rolled wtih it. The city put up these temporary wooden walkways everywhere, residents (like the waiter above) got out their waders and some tourists scrapped all hopes for dryness, took off their shoes, rolled up their pants and trudged barefoot in the knee-high waters. That's what you get in exchange for all those charming little canals!
Besides water-filled weather and a couple of strange encounters with pigeons (we found one dead on the floor near a mosaic peacock in St. Mark's Church, then another, um, relieved itself on my coat sleeve outside of a shop), Venice was an incredibly alluring city. It's really built for tourists, but there's something very dark and mysterious in all of those tiny alleys and canals. It's also home to Peggy Guggenheim's phenomenal modern art collection, housed in her equally phenom palazzo on the other side of the canal. We got there by a 50-cent gondola ride.
After Venice, we spent a nice day in Verona. We stayed in this funny little hotel in the center of town. It was run by a sweet sweet sweet little old lady, who I think was also in charge of the interior design.
After Verona, we hit the Slow Food Festival in Torino, another city we both really liked. I have photos of it, which I'll share just as soon as I remember to buy some batteries for my camera-- poor pictures have been trapped in there for a few days now.
We're currently in Berlin, and have found yet another city to fall in love with. Feels like all the good parts of downtown New York, which is a nice sort of warm-up for heading back home.
We're off to explore... more later!
Monday, October 23, 2006
It's Rainy Here in Venice
We're in Venice. It is really a very odd place, all at once incredibly creepy, suspicious (ok, Will and I read a detective novel set here), dark and absolutely one of the most beautiful places on earth.
It's packed packed PACKED with tourists. Imagine if your front door was ON Broadway and 43rd. Yes, I know it really could only be there if you lived at the Police Station, but if you did and you had to cut through that many tourists every day, that's what I imaagine life to be like here in Venice. Except with more languages.
But there's definitely something about it. As Will says,
(The whole 'plenty o' family in Abruzzo' thing is in reference to the fact that he's related to pretty much exactly every resident of this one town in Abruzzo. It's really nuts. When he goes there, everyone knows him as 'figlio di Maura', which translates, roughly, into 'son of his mother, Maura'. That's village life for ya!)
We were en route the other night to see some baroque music thing in a church. Crossing over this one little bridge, I spotted a sign for a dance show that looked like it showed a photo of people scaling a building. Around the corner, we saw a giant line. At the post office. I asked someone in line, and sure enough, this was where the dance show was to be.
We went in, and yep. It was a dance show with two dancers hanging from ropes attached to the third and fourth floors of the post office's inner courtyard.
It wasn't the most groundbreaking (no pun intended) performance, but they performed at the post office!
I made a note to myself to find publicly funded performance spaces in New York. Yep. Right after I launch that rocket ship I've been building on my rooftop.
Maybe New York isn't going to start forking over free space any time soon, but the show got me thinking again about trapeze and flying classes.
We're off tomorrow, headed to Torino. Well, Torino on Wednesday. Tomorrow, either Verona or Milan. Better go look at a train schedule!
It's packed packed PACKED with tourists. Imagine if your front door was ON Broadway and 43rd. Yes, I know it really could only be there if you lived at the Police Station, but if you did and you had to cut through that many tourists every day, that's what I imaagine life to be like here in Venice. Except with more languages.
But there's definitely something about it. As Will says,
We're in venice right now, which I highly recommend. The food isn't as good as Bologna, the weather isn't as nice as Rome, the people not as friendly as Umbria, the family not as plentiful as Abruzzo, but still, it's got something. Should have come here sooner...
(The whole 'plenty o' family in Abruzzo' thing is in reference to the fact that he's related to pretty much exactly every resident of this one town in Abruzzo. It's really nuts. When he goes there, everyone knows him as 'figlio di Maura', which translates, roughly, into 'son of his mother, Maura'. That's village life for ya!)
We were en route the other night to see some baroque music thing in a church. Crossing over this one little bridge, I spotted a sign for a dance show that looked like it showed a photo of people scaling a building. Around the corner, we saw a giant line. At the post office. I asked someone in line, and sure enough, this was where the dance show was to be.
We went in, and yep. It was a dance show with two dancers hanging from ropes attached to the third and fourth floors of the post office's inner courtyard.
It wasn't the most groundbreaking (no pun intended) performance, but they performed at the post office!
I made a note to myself to find publicly funded performance spaces in New York. Yep. Right after I launch that rocket ship I've been building on my rooftop.
Maybe New York isn't going to start forking over free space any time soon, but the show got me thinking again about trapeze and flying classes.
We're off tomorrow, headed to Torino. Well, Torino on Wednesday. Tomorrow, either Verona or Milan. Better go look at a train schedule!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
It's Better to Talk to Strangers
We are now in Padova, after stops in Trieste and the teeny-tiny one horse town of Aquileia.
Trieste was a cool town, on the border of Slovenia with heavy Eastern European and Austrian influences. These influences are blazingly apparent in the architecture as well as the cuisine (I think there was a sliced hotdog on my pizza).
Unfortunately, we arrived on Sunday and left Tuesday morning without realizing that they basically shut down on Sundays and Mondays. We managed to see the Andy Warhol Timeboxes exhibit, which was interesting as much as it was strange-- in addition to being an art installation, it also manages to be a historical piece on Manhattan from the 60s through the 80s. The man who sold us our tickets was very excited to hear that we were from New York.
We also got to see the best street sign ever... (it's basically saying "be careful not to fall into the sea")
and Will wonders if capes shouldn't have more of a presence in today's fashion.
We were lauded once again for our hometown at dinner. We had stopped for a drink in what seemed like the "downtown" area and asked our waiter where we might have a nice dinner. After a five-minute, multi-lingual conference with another patron, the very kind Letizia sent us to place called Buffet Vittorio and gave us a note to give to Claudio, who works there. We arrived, chatted, handed over the note, and had a delicious dinner. The chef later came over to our table and told us that he also had lived in New York and worked at a restaurant in Midtown for a few years. It's amazing to see over and over again what a small world Manhattan can be!
We left Trieste yesterday for the town of Aquileia, which Lonely Planet had a small listing about. It seemed like they were noted for their Roman ruins, for having the largest mosaic tiled floor in Europe (760 mq.) in their basilica and for a museum of archaeology.
Frankly, we've seen more basilicas, churches, tiles and ruins than I ever thought humanly possible in the past six months and I'm sure there are more to come. But that was not really the big draw for Will or me. What caught our eye in the guide book was a listing for "the best in town" 3-star hotel/restaurant with a "well-stocked wine cellar".
Thinking we'd take sort of a day off from serious travel (with touristy Venice and the Slow Food Festival in Torino coming up), we booked a room for two nights. Who knew we'd see just about everything there is to see during our five-minute walk from the bus stop to the hotel?! We chalked it up to being in the middle of nowhere and looked forward to dinner...
...especially after seeing this in somebody's yard!
When we arrived downstairs in the restaurant, we were the only guests beside another table of four Italian (probably local) men. The waiter, although nice enough, just seemed bored out of his mind with so little to do. I remember this feeling from my table-waiting days-- I'd rather have waited on nobody than on just two tables-- the boredom is excruciating. But I'll quote my good friend Fany Gerson here and say that "it's not my fault if you don't like your job."
Overall, dinner was a huge disappointment. After our dinner plates were cleared, we waited probably a good fifteen minutes to be offered coffee. When the waiter never arrived, we figured we'd just forgo the caffeine anyway and head up to the room. We exited the dining room through the adjacent bar to find the waiter eating his dinner, not even realizing that we were still there! So much for 3-stars. And the wine cellar? Well, I don't know if it was "well-stocked" because we never saw a wine list. We said we'd like wine, he asked 'red or white', we said red and he just brought us a bottle. It's often the norm in small Italian trattorias, especially the family-run ones, to drink the simple vino della casa. It's also often the norm that it's remarkably inexpensive and good if not delicious. Unfortunately, this place wasn't the norm, and the wine wasn't anything we liked.
We did better in Trieste asking a stranger were to eat than following the travel guide. But then again, it just makes more sense to get food advice in Italy from a full-blooded Italian than from a book written by English, Australian and American tourists/travel writers. You live, you learn, I guess...
Here's one of Will and I, in Trieste on the last day of my 30th year.
(Thanks for all the birthday wishes!)
Trieste was a cool town, on the border of Slovenia with heavy Eastern European and Austrian influences. These influences are blazingly apparent in the architecture as well as the cuisine (I think there was a sliced hotdog on my pizza).
Unfortunately, we arrived on Sunday and left Tuesday morning without realizing that they basically shut down on Sundays and Mondays. We managed to see the Andy Warhol Timeboxes exhibit, which was interesting as much as it was strange-- in addition to being an art installation, it also manages to be a historical piece on Manhattan from the 60s through the 80s. The man who sold us our tickets was very excited to hear that we were from New York.
We also got to see the best street sign ever... (it's basically saying "be careful not to fall into the sea")
and Will wonders if capes shouldn't have more of a presence in today's fashion.
We were lauded once again for our hometown at dinner. We had stopped for a drink in what seemed like the "downtown" area and asked our waiter where we might have a nice dinner. After a five-minute, multi-lingual conference with another patron, the very kind Letizia sent us to place called Buffet Vittorio and gave us a note to give to Claudio, who works there. We arrived, chatted, handed over the note, and had a delicious dinner. The chef later came over to our table and told us that he also had lived in New York and worked at a restaurant in Midtown for a few years. It's amazing to see over and over again what a small world Manhattan can be!
We left Trieste yesterday for the town of Aquileia, which Lonely Planet had a small listing about. It seemed like they were noted for their Roman ruins, for having the largest mosaic tiled floor in Europe (760 mq.) in their basilica and for a museum of archaeology.
Frankly, we've seen more basilicas, churches, tiles and ruins than I ever thought humanly possible in the past six months and I'm sure there are more to come. But that was not really the big draw for Will or me. What caught our eye in the guide book was a listing for "the best in town" 3-star hotel/restaurant with a "well-stocked wine cellar".
Thinking we'd take sort of a day off from serious travel (with touristy Venice and the Slow Food Festival in Torino coming up), we booked a room for two nights. Who knew we'd see just about everything there is to see during our five-minute walk from the bus stop to the hotel?! We chalked it up to being in the middle of nowhere and looked forward to dinner...
...especially after seeing this in somebody's yard!
When we arrived downstairs in the restaurant, we were the only guests beside another table of four Italian (probably local) men. The waiter, although nice enough, just seemed bored out of his mind with so little to do. I remember this feeling from my table-waiting days-- I'd rather have waited on nobody than on just two tables-- the boredom is excruciating. But I'll quote my good friend Fany Gerson here and say that "it's not my fault if you don't like your job."
Overall, dinner was a huge disappointment. After our dinner plates were cleared, we waited probably a good fifteen minutes to be offered coffee. When the waiter never arrived, we figured we'd just forgo the caffeine anyway and head up to the room. We exited the dining room through the adjacent bar to find the waiter eating his dinner, not even realizing that we were still there! So much for 3-stars. And the wine cellar? Well, I don't know if it was "well-stocked" because we never saw a wine list. We said we'd like wine, he asked 'red or white', we said red and he just brought us a bottle. It's often the norm in small Italian trattorias, especially the family-run ones, to drink the simple vino della casa. It's also often the norm that it's remarkably inexpensive and good if not delicious. Unfortunately, this place wasn't the norm, and the wine wasn't anything we liked.
We did better in Trieste asking a stranger were to eat than following the travel guide. But then again, it just makes more sense to get food advice in Italy from a full-blooded Italian than from a book written by English, Australian and American tourists/travel writers. You live, you learn, I guess...
Here's one of Will and I, in Trieste on the last day of my 30th year.
(Thanks for all the birthday wishes!)
Friday, October 13, 2006
A Special Treat
This post is brought to you by the magical wi-fi connection at the place next to the hotel we're staying at in Bologna.
We have left Umbria on a little trip through Northern Italy. We are currently in Bologna, home to the very first university. It's a bona fide college town, and yes, it's painfully obvious that we're not 22 anymore.
We're here in Bologna for a few days, then East to Venice then West to Torino, stopping in Milan at some point as well and a trip to Berlin in early November. As I'm writing this, I'm trying to find us a hotel in Berlin (not as fun as it sounds!) and just came across this joint that lets you choose from sleeping in a coffin or a prison cell, among other unique works of art. I'm still searching.
It's definitely different, being sort of "on the road" again (no Kerouac or Willie Nelson references intended). Back in Umbria, the days, although beautiful, were getting kind of long. Sure, we picked grapes and took Italian lessons and I made enough soup to feed most starving nations. But there was also time enough on my hands to make this. And no, it's not in Italian.
Oh, and a crazy little small world thing happened! The night we arrived in Bologna, we stopped for a glass of wine and a little snack at this "Prosciuttoria", which Will totally loved since it's filled with prosciutto, just like him.
We got to chatting with our waiter, who, upon noticing our not-so-Italian accents (we were actually speaking in Italian), asked where we were from. We said New York and he told us that he had lived in the city for six months in 2004. And where did he work? At Supper, the restaurant and wine bar we frequent in the East Village. On East 2nd St. And I live on East 3rd. You do the math, we were like neighbors!
We have left Umbria on a little trip through Northern Italy. We are currently in Bologna, home to the very first university. It's a bona fide college town, and yes, it's painfully obvious that we're not 22 anymore.
We're here in Bologna for a few days, then East to Venice then West to Torino, stopping in Milan at some point as well and a trip to Berlin in early November. As I'm writing this, I'm trying to find us a hotel in Berlin (not as fun as it sounds!) and just came across this joint that lets you choose from sleeping in a coffin or a prison cell, among other unique works of art. I'm still searching.
It's definitely different, being sort of "on the road" again (no Kerouac or Willie Nelson references intended). Back in Umbria, the days, although beautiful, were getting kind of long. Sure, we picked grapes and took Italian lessons and I made enough soup to feed most starving nations. But there was also time enough on my hands to make this. And no, it's not in Italian.
Oh, and a crazy little small world thing happened! The night we arrived in Bologna, we stopped for a glass of wine and a little snack at this "Prosciuttoria", which Will totally loved since it's filled with prosciutto, just like him.
We got to chatting with our waiter, who, upon noticing our not-so-Italian accents (we were actually speaking in Italian), asked where we were from. We said New York and he told us that he had lived in the city for six months in 2004. And where did he work? At Supper, the restaurant and wine bar we frequent in the East Village. On East 2nd St. And I live on East 3rd. You do the math, we were like neighbors!
Monday, October 9, 2006
'Tis the Season...
...for making wine!
It started as a gloomy-looking Saturday, but off we trudged into the vineyard to harvest this years' crop.
When we got there, however, the grapes were ripe for pickin'!
We started just before 10am, picked for a while, got caught in a touch of rain and headed in for lunch. That's when the reserve workers arrived-- neighbors and family. Will's mom cooked up a delicious and hearty meal-- prosciutto and fresh figs, fresh pasta with ragu' and roast chicken. We worked on finishing off the wine from 2004, had a little coffee (and grappa for a brave few) and again hit the fields.
The afternoon pick went quite smoothly and the sun actually made a brief cameo before it rained again.
In my opinion, the work went well thanks to keen management, courtesy of neighbor Rocco, seen here working out some quality control issues:
He also drives a mean tractor!
We loaded the back of the tractor with bucket after bucket. We figured it was probably around a ton of grapes in total, which will ultimately be turned into around 700 litres of wine!
Will and his dad started right away de-stemming and crushing the white grapes, under management's watchful eye.
And keeping it a family affair, Rocco's brother Nico also kept watch.
And here's how the magic begins...
The grapes get dumped whole into the destemmer,
which separates the stems, etc. from the fruit,
and leaves you with this pile of stuff,
as well as the juice and skins.
The juice and skins then get pressed into mosto, to which you add yeast. The yeast eat the sugars and magically ferments the juice into wine!
As I mentioned, we're drinking the 2004 vintage now, so we'll have to wait a while to see how this year turns out. I bet it might be pretty good.
Now that the work is done, Will and I are taking off for another round of travel. We leave tomorrow for Bologna. We don't have a strict itinerary, but are thining of traveling through to Torino, Milano, the Veneto, perhaps back to Provence, through Switzerland and up to Berlin. There's also talk of trying to follow whatever warm weather might be left with a trip south through Sicily, the Greek Islands and over to see a friend of Will's in Istanbul.
So many options... so little time!
It started as a gloomy-looking Saturday, but off we trudged into the vineyard to harvest this years' crop.
When we got there, however, the grapes were ripe for pickin'!
We started just before 10am, picked for a while, got caught in a touch of rain and headed in for lunch. That's when the reserve workers arrived-- neighbors and family. Will's mom cooked up a delicious and hearty meal-- prosciutto and fresh figs, fresh pasta with ragu' and roast chicken. We worked on finishing off the wine from 2004, had a little coffee (and grappa for a brave few) and again hit the fields.
The afternoon pick went quite smoothly and the sun actually made a brief cameo before it rained again.
In my opinion, the work went well thanks to keen management, courtesy of neighbor Rocco, seen here working out some quality control issues:
He also drives a mean tractor!
We loaded the back of the tractor with bucket after bucket. We figured it was probably around a ton of grapes in total, which will ultimately be turned into around 700 litres of wine!
Will and his dad started right away de-stemming and crushing the white grapes, under management's watchful eye.
And here's how the magic begins...
The grapes get dumped whole into the destemmer,
which separates the stems, etc. from the fruit,
and leaves you with this pile of stuff,
as well as the juice and skins.
The juice and skins then get pressed into mosto, to which you add yeast. The yeast eat the sugars and magically ferments the juice into wine!
As I mentioned, we're drinking the 2004 vintage now, so we'll have to wait a while to see how this year turns out. I bet it might be pretty good.
Now that the work is done, Will and I are taking off for another round of travel. We leave tomorrow for Bologna. We don't have a strict itinerary, but are thining of traveling through to Torino, Milano, the Veneto, perhaps back to Provence, through Switzerland and up to Berlin. There's also talk of trying to follow whatever warm weather might be left with a trip south through Sicily, the Greek Islands and over to see a friend of Will's in Istanbul.
So many options... so little time!
Monday, October 2, 2006
Hunting Season / You Learn Something New Every Day!
It's not that nothing has been going on, dear reader, it's that we're working on dial-up. Pokey old dial-up. It's reminiscent of those first glorious days of cable TV, when channel changing at our house was done on that fancy, albeit corded, brown box. It was done from the comfort of the couch, and it was fast. But when I went to some less, ahem, technologically advanced friend's house, you still had to get up to turn the dreaded dial.
We all went on a walk yesterday. Well, we tried to go on a walk. A neat walk that follows part of the trail that Hannibal's army took when they totally kicked Rome's army's ass. It was a beautiful day and just as we got underway, we were met with this:
Wild Boar Hunting Season has begun! While it means that Umbrian restaurants will be serving up delicious ragu con cinghalle, it also means that most of the cool walking trails will be filled with hunting clubs. There's something about a group of men in matching outfits that always just gets me...
The other earth-shattering news is best told with this picture:
Will's mom taught him how to mop the floor today. The fun just never ends!!
This week, we will all travel to Florence to hear cousin Jacopo defend his thesis on Bankruptcy Law. He insists it's "fascinating"... we'll see. I'm not expecting to understand much, but it will be a good test of our language skills. Over dinner, maybe we'll play the "Then I think he said" game!
And we'll round out the weekend with the harvesting of the wine grapes. And just in time-- the hunted cinghalle have been having an absolute field day each night, breaking down fences and feasting on wine grapes, figs and walnuts.
Soon, I guess, we'll feast on them. Sad, but true. And delicious!
We all went on a walk yesterday. Well, we tried to go on a walk. A neat walk that follows part of the trail that Hannibal's army took when they totally kicked Rome's army's ass. It was a beautiful day and just as we got underway, we were met with this:
Wild Boar Hunting Season has begun! While it means that Umbrian restaurants will be serving up delicious ragu con cinghalle, it also means that most of the cool walking trails will be filled with hunting clubs. There's something about a group of men in matching outfits that always just gets me...
The other earth-shattering news is best told with this picture:
Will's mom taught him how to mop the floor today. The fun just never ends!!
This week, we will all travel to Florence to hear cousin Jacopo defend his thesis on Bankruptcy Law. He insists it's "fascinating"... we'll see. I'm not expecting to understand much, but it will be a good test of our language skills. Over dinner, maybe we'll play the "Then I think he said" game!
And we'll round out the weekend with the harvesting of the wine grapes. And just in time-- the hunted cinghalle have been having an absolute field day each night, breaking down fences and feasting on wine grapes, figs and walnuts.
Soon, I guess, we'll feast on them. Sad, but true. And delicious!
Sunday, September 24, 2006
The Ends of the Earth
I've been a little out of touch-- we extended our August traveling into September. But we're back. And on dial-up! I guess you can't ask for everything.
After 10+ days of Silent Camp (yes, I did it without talking. The whole time.), we headed to Juan-les-Pins, a beach town in the South of France just outside of Cannes.
There, you can drink fruity cocktails from coconut monkey with a hat.
And then this is the view during the day. This is where Will conveniently suggested I start looking for work in films headed for the Cannes Film Festival. I think he might be onto something.
Once back from France, we headed to Sardegna.
We stayed at the Hotel Da Cecco, run by the lovely DeCecco family. The design was maybe a little dated (think Miami Vice and candy canes), but you really couldn't beat the service...
or the view.
After I got over a brief fear of drowning and being eaten by sharks (which don't actually exist in Sardinian waters), I was finally certified as an official scuba diver. Didn't get any photos from that part of the trip, mainly since a wet suit and goggles isn't exactly the most flattering
outfit. Also, my trusty camera might not be so trusty when wet.
Then back to the mainland. Sang and Lisa came for a visit. Will's dad arrived. Sang and Lisa headed to Rome and we headed to Abruzzo to hike up a mountain. A big mountain.
Here we are at the beginning. I had no idea what I was in for.
We literally climbed above the clouds.
Clouds? Check. Mountains? Check.
I have no idea why they put a "No Hunting" sign all the way up here. It seemed that all you could really hunt were rocks. And the occasional butterfly.
Maybe the "No Hunting" warning should have gone in the field with all the sheep. This was near the end. Near the car. I was never happier to see sheep.
Now we're back in Umbria, nursing sore legs (read: walking around like creeky old folk). The upcoming plans involve picking some wine grapes in October and perhaps some travel through Northern Italy.
Although, the temptation to travel south and stick with more warm weather activities is great... wearing a sweater now actually makes me kinda miss the scuba suit...
After 10+ days of Silent Camp (yes, I did it without talking. The whole time.), we headed to Juan-les-Pins, a beach town in the South of France just outside of Cannes.
There, you can drink fruity cocktails from coconut monkey with a hat.
And then this is the view during the day. This is where Will conveniently suggested I start looking for work in films headed for the Cannes Film Festival. I think he might be onto something.
Once back from France, we headed to Sardegna.
We stayed at the Hotel Da Cecco, run by the lovely DeCecco family. The design was maybe a little dated (think Miami Vice and candy canes), but you really couldn't beat the service...
or the view.
After I got over a brief fear of drowning and being eaten by sharks (which don't actually exist in Sardinian waters), I was finally certified as an official scuba diver. Didn't get any photos from that part of the trip, mainly since a wet suit and goggles isn't exactly the most flattering
outfit. Also, my trusty camera might not be so trusty when wet.
Then back to the mainland. Sang and Lisa came for a visit. Will's dad arrived. Sang and Lisa headed to Rome and we headed to Abruzzo to hike up a mountain. A big mountain.
Here we are at the beginning. I had no idea what I was in for.
We literally climbed above the clouds.
Clouds? Check. Mountains? Check.
I have no idea why they put a "No Hunting" sign all the way up here. It seemed that all you could really hunt were rocks. And the occasional butterfly.
Maybe the "No Hunting" warning should have gone in the field with all the sheep. This was near the end. Near the car. I was never happier to see sheep.
Now we're back in Umbria, nursing sore legs (read: walking around like creeky old folk). The upcoming plans involve picking some wine grapes in October and perhaps some travel through Northern Italy.
Although, the temptation to travel south and stick with more warm weather activities is great... wearing a sweater now actually makes me kinda miss the scuba suit...
Wednesday, September 6, 2006
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Schedule for 4 September 2006
6am Wake up to go to bathroom. Knowing I have to be up by 8 to pack and check out of hotel, become aggrivatingly unable to fall back to sleep. Play solitaire on computer and try to avoid waking Will.
6:05am Will wakes up and wonders if I have completly lost my mind to a computer card game addiction.
6:06am Quit card game. Get in shower.
6:15am (or maybe I took a longer shower, but we'll call it an approximation) Get out of shower to find Will packing. Watch in horror as he crams clothes into suitcase willy-nilly. Ask Will as nicely as possible "do you not think it might be just a little easier if the clothes were folded?"
6:15-6:30am After much discussion, ecide to agree to disagree and zip suitcase closed. Shudder slightly at the difficulty of closing bulging luggage, but decide to breathe deeply and let it go.
6:30-7:15am Dress and dawdle and wait for Will to finish shower. Resist urge to play one more game of solitaire. Cram the last few things in the front of suitcase, convinced it will explode.
7:30ish Say a final ciao to the nice man who runs the Hotel Castel Mistral.
just after 8am Hop on a surprisingly full bus from Juan-les-Pins and head to the airport in Nice. Sleep most of the way, but get woken up ten minutes before arrival by Will who is excited to show me four roosters and a hen who happen to be in this little grassy knoll in the middle of the highway. Ah, France.
just after 9am Arrive at Nice Airport. Check in. Realize that a lot of women who travel first class have deep tans, tight jeans, large designer luggage sets, tiny yappy lap dogs and confused husbands.
9:30 Coffee. Finally.
10am A gate is assigned for our flight to Rome. Head downstairs.
10:15 Notice that everyone around us waiting at the gate seems to be checking the departure monitor, sighing and heading back upstairs.
10:16 Check departure monitor. Sigh. Head back upstairs. Gate change.
11:15 After a delayed boarding, take off on time. Ailitalia serves us gelato.
12:20pm Land in Rome. Watch Flight Steward politely chastise an Italian male passenger for getting up to get his bag from the overhead compartment before the plane has stopped moving. Will and I giggle a bit and realize that we can understand enough Italian to get some jokes.
around 1pm After waiting what felt like an eternity for our overstuffed suitcase, it comes first out on the conveyor belt and we head to the train.
around 2pm Arrive back at Rome apartment. Check email, pack our last few things.
around 3pm Call the people from whom we sublet to set a time to meet to hand over our keys. Check schedule for Ferries to Sardinia.
around 4pm Hand in keys, say goodbye and the trusty 'if you're ever in New York' and leave our sweet sublet.
4:10 Print out ferry tickets and finally fax my long overdue taxes to my accountant.
4:15 Get car from garage. Head to Civitavecchia, the port town where from where we'll take the ferry.
5:30 Arrive in Civitavecchia. Park. Go to cafe for snack. Observe local color.
7pm Sit for dinner at a local pizzeria. Will extols the virtues of Italian cuisine over French. We eat mussels and pizza.
9pm Get the car and head to the ferry. Wait in enormous line of cars.
9:30 Drive onto ferry. Check in. Head to cabin. Reminisce about the cruise with Becky, Matt and Chris in 2002. This one is slightly different-- fewer piano bars, more nuns.
10:30 Hear a key in our door. Panic at the thought of having to share our double bunk-bed room. Will answers the door. They've got the wrong room. Sigh a huge sigh of relief and fall back on my top bunk.
11pm Set sail. Realize that today we have traveled on every major form of transportation. Fall asleep.
11:30 Boat turbulence? I awake thinking that we've arrived and I've had the most insane good night's sleep. Will tells me I've been asleep for like 20 minutes. I fall back to sleep.
5 September 2006
5:30am The captain announces basically to wake up, we're almost there! Will and I head out to the deck to confirm, then back to the cabin to get our things.
5:45 Check out and get coffee from a machine. The coffee is surprisingly good.
6am Sit in parked car on boat garage. Assume we're never getting off.
6:30-noon Drive off boat. Cruise through Sardinia. Watch sunrise. Look for more coffee. See insanely manicured resort town. Decide to look for a town with a little more flavor, less landscaping. Consult Lonely Planet Guide to Italy. Decide on Saint Teresa de Galluria. Find hotel that looks straight out of Miami Beach 1984. Stub toe on shoddy sidewalk. Go to farmacia for bangages. Have lunch. Nap.
post nap Set out to find Scuba school in English. Decide to go with the man who talks to us while taking a shower in a Speedo. Realize that if he can sell us on a course while drying off, the language barrier will be no problem.
6 September 2006
morning Go to internet cafe. Catch up on email and write way-too-detailed blog post.
still to do Get the official 'ok' from the Medical Guard to begin Scuba course. Have passport-style photos taken for Scuba license. Figure out how the hell I'm going to wear flippers with a giant boo-boo on my big toe. Stop writing every little detail on blog.
6am Wake up to go to bathroom. Knowing I have to be up by 8 to pack and check out of hotel, become aggrivatingly unable to fall back to sleep. Play solitaire on computer and try to avoid waking Will.
6:05am Will wakes up and wonders if I have completly lost my mind to a computer card game addiction.
6:06am Quit card game. Get in shower.
6:15am (or maybe I took a longer shower, but we'll call it an approximation) Get out of shower to find Will packing. Watch in horror as he crams clothes into suitcase willy-nilly. Ask Will as nicely as possible "do you not think it might be just a little easier if the clothes were folded?"
6:15-6:30am After much discussion, ecide to agree to disagree and zip suitcase closed. Shudder slightly at the difficulty of closing bulging luggage, but decide to breathe deeply and let it go.
6:30-7:15am Dress and dawdle and wait for Will to finish shower. Resist urge to play one more game of solitaire. Cram the last few things in the front of suitcase, convinced it will explode.
7:30ish Say a final ciao to the nice man who runs the Hotel Castel Mistral.
just after 8am Hop on a surprisingly full bus from Juan-les-Pins and head to the airport in Nice. Sleep most of the way, but get woken up ten minutes before arrival by Will who is excited to show me four roosters and a hen who happen to be in this little grassy knoll in the middle of the highway. Ah, France.
just after 9am Arrive at Nice Airport. Check in. Realize that a lot of women who travel first class have deep tans, tight jeans, large designer luggage sets, tiny yappy lap dogs and confused husbands.
9:30 Coffee. Finally.
10am A gate is assigned for our flight to Rome. Head downstairs.
10:15 Notice that everyone around us waiting at the gate seems to be checking the departure monitor, sighing and heading back upstairs.
10:16 Check departure monitor. Sigh. Head back upstairs. Gate change.
11:15 After a delayed boarding, take off on time. Ailitalia serves us gelato.
12:20pm Land in Rome. Watch Flight Steward politely chastise an Italian male passenger for getting up to get his bag from the overhead compartment before the plane has stopped moving. Will and I giggle a bit and realize that we can understand enough Italian to get some jokes.
around 1pm After waiting what felt like an eternity for our overstuffed suitcase, it comes first out on the conveyor belt and we head to the train.
around 2pm Arrive back at Rome apartment. Check email, pack our last few things.
around 3pm Call the people from whom we sublet to set a time to meet to hand over our keys. Check schedule for Ferries to Sardinia.
around 4pm Hand in keys, say goodbye and the trusty 'if you're ever in New York' and leave our sweet sublet.
4:10 Print out ferry tickets and finally fax my long overdue taxes to my accountant.
4:15 Get car from garage. Head to Civitavecchia, the port town where from where we'll take the ferry.
5:30 Arrive in Civitavecchia. Park. Go to cafe for snack. Observe local color.
Here, local color refers to a group of dread-locked or shaved-headed teenagers hanging out and looking bored. The girls read. The boys play cards or stare into space. Then one of them arrives after what I can only call "a day's work" with a mesh bag full of fish and crabs. He is looking to sell his catch and offers us an opportunity to purchase all this fresh seafood for only 20 euros. Thankfully, we know enough Italian to decline. One of the card players buys the catch. Local color, indeed!
7pm Sit for dinner at a local pizzeria. Will extols the virtues of Italian cuisine over French. We eat mussels and pizza.
9pm Get the car and head to the ferry. Wait in enormous line of cars.
9:30 Drive onto ferry. Check in. Head to cabin. Reminisce about the cruise with Becky, Matt and Chris in 2002. This one is slightly different-- fewer piano bars, more nuns.
10:30 Hear a key in our door. Panic at the thought of having to share our double bunk-bed room. Will answers the door. They've got the wrong room. Sigh a huge sigh of relief and fall back on my top bunk.
11pm Set sail. Realize that today we have traveled on every major form of transportation. Fall asleep.
11:30 Boat turbulence? I awake thinking that we've arrived and I've had the most insane good night's sleep. Will tells me I've been asleep for like 20 minutes. I fall back to sleep.
5 September 2006
5:30am The captain announces basically to wake up, we're almost there! Will and I head out to the deck to confirm, then back to the cabin to get our things.
5:45 Check out and get coffee from a machine. The coffee is surprisingly good.
6am Sit in parked car on boat garage. Assume we're never getting off.
6:30-noon Drive off boat. Cruise through Sardinia. Watch sunrise. Look for more coffee. See insanely manicured resort town. Decide to look for a town with a little more flavor, less landscaping. Consult Lonely Planet Guide to Italy. Decide on Saint Teresa de Galluria. Find hotel that looks straight out of Miami Beach 1984. Stub toe on shoddy sidewalk. Go to farmacia for bangages. Have lunch. Nap.
post nap Set out to find Scuba school in English. Decide to go with the man who talks to us while taking a shower in a Speedo. Realize that if he can sell us on a course while drying off, the language barrier will be no problem.
6 September 2006
morning Go to internet cafe. Catch up on email and write way-too-detailed blog post.
still to do Get the official 'ok' from the Medical Guard to begin Scuba course. Have passport-style photos taken for Scuba license. Figure out how the hell I'm going to wear flippers with a giant boo-boo on my big toe. Stop writing every little detail on blog.
Monday, September 4, 2006
To Be Continued, Continued
When last we met, it was Bastille Day in France. What else have we been up to, you ask?
We spent a couple of weeks out at Will's folks house in Umbria, where we took a few more Italian lessons and I finished up the translation of an Equestrian catalog (don't ask).
Following a book from the house called Circular Walks and took a few walks around Montone and Umbertide (oom-BER-tee-day, not UM-ber-tied). On one hearty hilly walk, we climbed a hill and came across the land where religion meets technology. Upon closer examination, we found it to be even stranger...
Ok, I swear, I will get to the rest of this story, but right now we're taking off for Sardinia where I am apparently about to learn to Scuba. Who knew?
For now, I leave you with Will and I in the South of France. More when we return to the land of an internet connection.
We spent a couple of weeks out at Will's folks house in Umbria, where we took a few more Italian lessons and I finished up the translation of an Equestrian catalog (don't ask).
Following a book from the house called Circular Walks and took a few walks around Montone and Umbertide (oom-BER-tee-day, not UM-ber-tied). On one hearty hilly walk, we climbed a hill and came across the land where religion meets technology. Upon closer examination, we found it to be even stranger...
Ok, I swear, I will get to the rest of this story, but right now we're taking off for Sardinia where I am apparently about to learn to Scuba. Who knew?
For now, I leave you with Will and I in the South of France. More when we return to the land of an internet connection.
Sunday, September 3, 2006
Looking for Work
Anybody got a part for me in a movie they intend to take to the Cannes Film Festival?
We took a nice long bike ride yesterday around the gorgeous Cap d'Antibes. In the midst of our trek, Will asked if I couldn't get into a movie going to Cannes so we could hang out here more often.
I don't know how on earth I never thought of that myself!
I mean, I love the theater, I love the Brick, I love Hope and Jeff, Caveman Robot and working for free (ok, one of these is a slight exaggeration). But I must admit that I would give away all the glamour of unpaid rolling around on the theater floors of Brooklyn for the chance to hang out South-of-France style again. And again. And again and again and again!
So seriously, if your film just ain't complete without a dark-haired lady like me, be in touch.
We took a nice long bike ride yesterday around the gorgeous Cap d'Antibes. In the midst of our trek, Will asked if I couldn't get into a movie going to Cannes so we could hang out here more often.
I don't know how on earth I never thought of that myself!
I mean, I love the theater, I love the Brick, I love Hope and Jeff, Caveman Robot and working for free (ok, one of these is a slight exaggeration). But I must admit that I would give away all the glamour of unpaid rolling around on the theater floors of Brooklyn for the chance to hang out South-of-France style again. And again. And again and again and again!
So seriously, if your film just ain't complete without a dark-haired lady like me, be in touch.
Saturday, September 2, 2006
An Update (from the South of France)
Despite a number of technical difficulties (namely, the cord that connects my camera to my computer being loose for whatever reason), I have finally managed to retrieve my photos from the bulk of our Trans-Atlantic summer. Here's a little of what we've done, up until now.
It all started with the World Cup at Circo Massimo, where 300,000 people gathered to watch TV.
At the end of June, we flew briefly back to New York for our friends' Mark and Sari's wedding. All I can say is that a 12-piece Funk Band played Havah Nagilah. Wow.
Then it was on to Paris for Bastille Day.
We got to spend a bunch of time with my friends Kate Ward and Jon Evans, as Kate was working on her upcoming Travel Channel Show Not Your Average Travel Guide. I believe the Bastille Day episode will air sometime in October. Barring any cutting-room floor incidents, you may see me on a picnic and a man-on-the-street interview with Will, where he talks about how French food has too much butter. Details forthcoming.
We spent a day at this beautiful market, where I drank a coke and Will took some pictures of fruit and veggies.
And it's great to be with the press! Kate and her trusty TV Camera got us whisked into the Fireman's Ball the night before Bastille Day. It was a big party at the fire house, where all the French firemen played bartender for the night. Really, it's a girl's dream, although I was really just there for the Champagne.
On Bastille Day itself, we spend another afternoon with Kate and her film crew (us, Jon and some French dude with a scooter and an accent) having a picnic at the Champs Mars, right in front of the Eiffel Tower. Will realized that Kate didn't quite prepare properly for the picnic, so he went and got us another bottle of wine. And a quiche. And two more bottles of wine. I wonder if he remembers the fireworks...
I have much more to share, but my battery is about to be kaput, so I'll give you the skinny on July 14th to the present ASAP.
It all started with the World Cup at Circo Massimo, where 300,000 people gathered to watch TV.
At the end of June, we flew briefly back to New York for our friends' Mark and Sari's wedding. All I can say is that a 12-piece Funk Band played Havah Nagilah. Wow.
Then it was on to Paris for Bastille Day.
We got to spend a bunch of time with my friends Kate Ward and Jon Evans, as Kate was working on her upcoming Travel Channel Show Not Your Average Travel Guide. I believe the Bastille Day episode will air sometime in October. Barring any cutting-room floor incidents, you may see me on a picnic and a man-on-the-street interview with Will, where he talks about how French food has too much butter. Details forthcoming.
We spent a day at this beautiful market, where I drank a coke and Will took some pictures of fruit and veggies.
And it's great to be with the press! Kate and her trusty TV Camera got us whisked into the Fireman's Ball the night before Bastille Day. It was a big party at the fire house, where all the French firemen played bartender for the night. Really, it's a girl's dream, although I was really just there for the Champagne.
On Bastille Day itself, we spend another afternoon with Kate and her film crew (us, Jon and some French dude with a scooter and an accent) having a picnic at the Champs Mars, right in front of the Eiffel Tower. Will realized that Kate didn't quite prepare properly for the picnic, so he went and got us another bottle of wine. And a quiche. And two more bottles of wine. I wonder if he remembers the fireworks...
I have much more to share, but my battery is about to be kaput, so I'll give you the skinny on July 14th to the present ASAP.
