italia...day 9...

I’m in Siena, sitting in the shell-shaped something or other right in the middle of the town, where supposedly in the spring they let the horses run through for some festivities. Visited Il Duomo cathedral (molto gothic, built in the 12th C, where I’ve never seen so much in-laid marble. Most of the art was done by Pisarro and Donatello. Thea’s gone and am here by myself, meeting up w/another friend of a friend for dinner. However, for lunch, I had the most pleasant experience. I went to Trattoria Papei, their menu being a bit more extended than other home style restaurants. They had things like Zuppa du Cippola and wet pastas like Papardelle al Cinghiale. Dang, if I were a guy, I could eat so much more of the food here, what a bummer. Anyway, I got the Crostini de pate fegatini di pollo (chicken liver pate on toasted bread) and Fettini di Vitello (grilled slices of veal) w/a side of Carciofi al cartoccio (baked artichokes). Another excellent meal. I was about to ask for the bill, when my waiter brought over a glass of Vin Santo and a single Cantucci (what Americans call Biscotti, very dry dense almond cookie. In fact, biscotti here just means cookie). I think I had just discovered one of life’s most pleasant combinations, especially after a meal! Like rice and kimchee. My waiter pointed to 2 older gentlemen sitting at a table nearby who had so kindly ordered the dessert! How Italian and sweet! I went over to their table and greeted them w/a hearty kiss, a grazie and a arrivederci!

italia day 7

…day 7…today the food was the winner. At Badia a Coltibuono, an old abbey that still produces its own wine. We had the Tortino di Polento con Bacala mantecato al aglio e Cappera fritti (polenta pie w/whisked salted cod topped w/fried capers). The fried capers tasted like Korean seaweed. It was seasoned w/fresh rosemary and this dish was divine, just like the abbey. For the main course, I ordered the Farinata di mais ecastagne con verdure saltalte e pancetta coccante (Chestnut porridge w/steamed vegetables w/crunchy fried pancetta). I had that w/their 98 reserve chianti. YUM! Afterwards, we drove to a very small vineyard called Riecine where the sommelier, Alessandra, gave us a personal tour and chatted w/us for about 2 hours, giving us a firm lesson about Chianti. Basically, you’ve the DOC and the DOCG, the Consortio de Gallo Nero winemakers and it has nothing to do w/standards of taste. To be considered a Chianti Classico, you must follow certain Chianti-making procedures denoted by the DOC. If you don’t and there are many wines that don’t, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not good. Chiantis are made w/at least 85% Sangiovese and either Canolo Nero or Merlot. If they’re made w/anything else, then it’s a Super Tuscan, highly desired despite their non-classification status. At Riecine, I bought the 2000 CC (which needed a few years aging) and a Super Tuscan called La Goia (full-bodied and woody b/d they used new oak barrels rather the Chianti-standard old barrels. These are 100% Sangiovese, even though the standard minimum is 85%. She said the best years for Chiantis are 95 and 97. 98 was a bad year for several producers. We are now at a bar that serves 40 kinds of sandwiches, we’ve eaten cookies from Pasticeria Bini, recommended by my friend who used to live here a few years ago. Tomorrow – Montalcino!

italia…day ?...

made it to Tuscany w/no problemo…despite the scant 3 hours of sleep. The house party we went to last night kept us up till 5 am and it was well worth it. the boys we met the night before threw an awesome party – great food, drinks, and people. I complimented marco, the host, on the jamon Serrano. I chowed down a much needed few slices after some whisky…so, Italian men are very touchy. I had about 3 guys come up and kiss my neck and 1 guy kiss me smack on the lips w/no warning. They even touch each other as a brotherly kind of greeting/affection.

"photo! photo! photo!"

“facciamo el sexo!”
“hi! let’s go gangbang!”
those were some memorable quotes from the party. Great party, marco did not get any action from me, but I believe Gary Indiana did from Thea…

italia…day 3…

we did it. la maratona della citta di Roma. Time 4 hours 33 minutes, baby. What I was totally aiming for. Thanks to the power trio – Thea (left), Mega (right), and me. And after our bath and 3 hours of fashion TV in our hotel room, we headed out to a bar, where we met some boys who invited us to their “Sinatra” theme party…Me affato pudiere conosherti! = pleased to meet you, that’s what I learned tonight. But back to the race…I totally cried when I crossed the finish line. I had no idea I was going to be that emotional…tomorrow, we’re playing things by ear, take it easy, maybe do a little shopping, eat some decent food (b/c that is something that has not been happening in this hotel) I can’t waste more days here eating crap like this. Did I mention all the boobs we watched popping out of the runway models’ outfits on fashion TV? And Thea’s rendition of it? I can’t decide which was funnier…

italia!

...day 1...today I leave for Rome and yesterday the Iraq war started…

…day 2…figured out how to take the bus to the Cappucin Museum. No, we didn’t stare at a bunch of coffee; rather we looked at piles of skulls. Yes, it was apparently OK to bury priests and monks inside churches, and so there lie inside the museum the bones of 4000 friars, ornately and tediously placed among 6 rooms (altars). 1 room had like the entire wall full of skulls, the chandeliers made of arm bones and vertebrae. There were some princes and princesses buried there as well. One of the popes had ordained it ‘plenary indulgence’ or some term I can’t quite remember and you automatically become holy yourself if you visit on the first day of October….

sucks to be ecuadorian

it's terrible what is going on in ecuador. there is a golpe de estado (coup d'etat) that has enunciated the president and he is detained and the army and indigenous political organizations have closed down the supreme court and congress. the leader or at least instigator of all
this is the ex general of the army who is now a senator in the congress, can you believe that? quito and the entire country is in chaos, protests going on everywhere, military about everywhere, but little violence unlike the coup that happened in chile with pinochet. the coup in E. is not accepted by the international community and the US supports the president. but the extreme economic measures that the president imposed on the people, the cuts in so much
social spending and the attempt to dolarize the economy has driven the people to this. transportation is stopped. my colombian friend who is trying to return to his pais is stuck in quito and had to backtrack to guayaquil to avoid the blocked via panamaerica. i wonder how my ex companeros are doing in cuenca. i haven't heard from them, but i know that they are against the dolarization of their econommy. i don't quite understand how that would affect everyone. i need to learn more about that. well, i left 1 week be the national protests started and i am so lucky bc had i waited a bit longer, i wouldn't be able to leave the country bc all the municipalidad and immigration offices are probablay chaos or shut down and since i was illegally staying in eucador, i would have had serious problems leaving.
this is actually such a crazy thing to be happening, so close to me, to the country where i had lived for half a year. i only read about golpes(coups) in texts mostly and once or twice in the newspaper about some sub-saharan african coutnry. so to be right here when all this is going on, in my generation, blows me away. i feel terrible for the ecuadorians. all year, i witnessed the rapid deterioration of the economy; the super-high inflation driving people to agitation and anger, rushing madly to buy dollars(only means of monetary security for them), with weekly bursts of protests from the police sector to the transport sector to the national health to students(which became the norm) having lost complete faith in the democratic process bc the president and his political interests worked so fervently and selflishly to pursue their greedy
interests, and having the people pay for their corruption by freezing down all current bank accounts while the state cleaned the bank "corrupt" financial system. i was there, as an extranjera, although wroking voluntarily for children, enjoying the fucking extremely low prices of everything that my strong dollar was providing me. i am so lucky and fortunate.
so these are my latest news, i am now in cuzco, tying up my trip like a big circle.

i am buttfucking tired for not having slept in the last 2 days, but i will rest, go out, and hopefully do some trekking in a couple days. i miss you all and for those of you in the states, NOS VEMOS PRONTO!

sea lion attacks tourist!

i am back in cuenca and it is good to back at the base. or maybe, it is just good to be back on land for more than a stretch of an hour. although, the repercussions of the week long catamaran ride

around the galapagos are still being felt as i stare at the computer swishing and swashing like the waves ofthe ocean. sometimes, i need to take a deep breath and remind myself that i am on stable ground. it isn´t too bad as i can reminisce about the fucking amazing animals that i saw and swam with and the cool people i shared a lovely dream vacation with. hmmm... some reflections-

*the aforementioned subject above refers to the male sea lion that chased me, mistaking me for one of its male competitors. that made me doubt the shape of my body and the slimming down i have done- is it all an illusion? i dont think i am that big. or maybe they are near sighted mammals...

*once again, i met a group of cool dutch people.

*adrenaline and terror equals it really can give one superhuman powers- at that precise moment when the sea lion came after me, i turned into a record breaking freestyle swimmer.

*oh, the giant tortoisess are so cute!

*we were fed like queens and kings with a top notch chef on board that catered to all our gastronomic needs. lekker!

*in Baños, we biked halfway to the jungle. let me remind you that i hadn´t been on a bike for over 5 years so my cofidence wasn´t all there, yet i made it miraculously, dodging buses and trucks passing us not particularly driving like they cared for these stupid tourists getting in their way on this dodgy road with a cliff and no railing on one side. i can give myself a pat on the back for that one. i won't even go into details about being stuck in a tunnel w/no light reflectors as this truck came speeding towards us...

well, those seem to the highlights of my trip. now i am apartment hunting and i might just have a place in a couple days. need to get out of this hostal- it just so happens that this is where is the prostitutes go and i discovered peepholes in many of the bathrooms and rooms. hmm, not the best place if you are looking for privacy or a decent chat with the other customers.