dalliances

Sites

So I’m going to give you guys a very brief tour of the main sites of Padova. The one closest to my apartment is called the Duomo. It’s the main church of the area.

That’s my history professor giving us a tour all in Italian. We actually weren’t allowed to go inside the Duomo because some girls didn’t have their shoulders covered. 

And this is La Chiesa di Sant’Antonio. It’s super famous, guys.

and here is the side:

Basically, this church is huge. And the third one, Santa Justina, is located in Prato della Valle. Actually, Prato della Valle is the largest piazza in Europe. On the weekends, there’s an open-air market that sells clothes, shoes, linens, etc. for lower prices. 

There’s a really great restaurant called Box located to the left of Via Roma if you’re heading towards Prato della Valle. It’s a little pricey but the food was amazing. 

And this is Caffe’ Pedrochi (the building with the columns on the left),which is famous for being the meeting place of intellectuals who wanted to create a united Italy. This year is the 150th anniversary. 

Okay, and lastly, my favorite place in Padova in Piazza dei Signori. Here is the famous clock tower:

The clock is famous for missing a hand. The benefactor didn’t have enough money to pay for the entire structure, so it remains unfinished. Around the inside are both astrological signs as well as the numbers 1-24 in Roman numerals. The blue dots in the corners show the time (top two) and date (bottom two). And the piazza is named after the rich and power people who have apartments in this area. 

Every Wednesday night is student night in Italy. This means that around 9:30-10pm, university students come with their friends to this piazza to drink Spritz and hang out. Spritz is a popular aperitivo here, and it is either served with campari o aperol, the former being 25% and bitter and the latter being 15% and sweeter.

And later, I’ll tell you guys about Venice and the toga party! Ciao!

CIAO

Ciao guys! I’ve been in Italy for a little over a week. I could’t post anything because Giovanni and I (mostly my fault, oops) broke the wi-fi when I tried to connect my computer so I had to wait for Paolo to fix it. 

Anyways, I have a ton to blog about, but I’m seriously tired from going out every night and speaking mostly Italian, so I’ll just keep it short and simple right now with an introduction to my current way of life.

I have a Vodafone, which is a very popular pay-as-you-go and relatively inexpensive cell phone. 

My friends and I call them “il mio telefonino” because they’re so cute and small and OMG Nokias so I had to change the ringtone. Well, I pay 1 euro a week for 100 texts, and I don’t have to pay when people text or call me. Sweet.

So here’s what my room looks like:

I really love my window. Love it. Italians love to open their windows every morning, despite the weather, in order to air out the house. And they don’t have screens, so I’m getting eaten alive by bugs. No joke. But sta bene (it’s okay) because I have medicine! And a bug zapper. I also have a post-it calendar and some pictures on my wall. My room is super cute, and I love our apartment! Actually, my favorite part is that we have hardwood/stone floors so I go around in my socks and slide a lot, which probably makes me look pazza (crazy). 

I also love my window because I have a fantastic view:

That’s a church with very loud bells that ring at 7:45 every morning. The ringing is never the same either, so I think it’s a guy pulling a rope each morning and evening. Although I, not being a morning person, dislike being woken up at such an hour, I really do love this view and the apartment. And this is the view from la terrazza (terrace) where I like to study:

The tower in the distance is actually another church with some more loud bells, but I love it. I love everything about this view, I love doing my homework outside in the aria fresca (fresh air), and I love the millions of red cobble-stoned roofs. 

So I’ll definitely update more later about school, friends, traditions, and sites. But right now, sono stanca (I’m tired) and want to be fully rested for school tomorrow. Ciao!

Le Parole del Giorno

So from time to time, I’m going to devote entries to certain words or phrases I use a lot during my travels. Even though I still have 5 days until I leave, I want to share some of the ones I definitely expect to say…

(side note: Italians roll all of their R’s)

Puó parlare piú lentamente per favore?- Can you speak slower please?

Puó ripetere piú lentamente?- Can you repeat that slower?

Sono persa- I am lost

Non lo so- I don’t know

Che figata- awesome/cool

Mi dispiace- I’m sorry

Scusi- Excuse me (formal)

Il concerto é stato una sborata*- the concert was really cool
*Alessandro told me that ‘sborare’ literally means ‘to jizz,’ making this word something I am not going to say in front of my host mom. Using the aforementioned ‘figata’ is, in his words, “a little less rude.”

About Padova

I received my welcome email from BU! I’m going to tell you just a bit about Padova (pronounced paw-doh-vah, also known as ‘Padua’ in English). The city is home to one of the oldest universities in the world, and Galileo was actually a lecturer in 1592 until 1610. Padova is only 49 km (about 20 miles) from Venice and is located in la regione Veneto of Italy. (It’s the red dot in the map below)

I will be eating in the mense (cafeterias) on campus during the day usually because I get a student discount. They offer healthy food, and students usually get two plates of food, il primo piatto (pasta) and il secondo piatto (meat), as well as beer, wine, and other drinks. This usually costs around 4 euros. The weird thing is that mozzarella is usually substituted for meat for vegetarian eaters I guess. 

As for local restaurants, authentic Italian restaurants with the 5 or 6-course meals are very expensive and usually take 3 hours to complete. So other lunch-oriented options include la caffe’ where you can order l’acqua, la pizza, e i panini (water, pizza and sandwiches). However, ordering coffee in the morning is way different than in the US. Most Italians go to le caffe’ to drink the equivalent of an espresso shot. The entire process or ordering, paying, and drinking takes about a minute, and most places will not let you sit down to drink your coffee. 

There’s also a farmer’s market every day (except Sundays) to get le frutte fresche (fresh fruits) and other artisan-made items (see below).

Basically, I’m totally stoked for this trip. I leave in 3 weeks! Arrivederci per questa ora!

30 days.

GUYS. 30 days until Italy.

I’ve started packing tonight. Yes, I’m crazy, but I don’t want to forget anything, and I know that if I pack early, I’ll have more time to take more out of my suitcase. So far, I picked out winter accessories (i.e. scarves, mittens, etc.), socks, school supplies, and most of my first aid kid. Tomorrow I’m stopping by the bank to inform them that I’ll be out of the country for a while so that they won’t close my account for strange charges. And I have to find a place to exchange my dollars to euros. I’m so excited.

Also, I just looked up walking directions from my house to the school and it’s 12 minutes at most. Next year is going to be fantastic. 

Host Family!

I finally received the name of my host family that I’ll be spending an entire 9 months with in Italy! My other-mother’s name is Luisa Righetti (ree-geh-tee), and she’s a single mother with two sons, Giovanni (30) who lives in Luxembourg and Paolo (25). She used to be an Italian teacher, which I’m assuming is similar to what we know as an English teacher in America, and her home is being remodeled so she lives in the Duomo area right now. 

‘Duomo’ translates to mean ‘cathedral.’ And below is il duomo di Padova!

I’m REALLY excited now. I know my address! But I’m not allowed to contact the family until I arrive. 4 1/2 more weeks!!