"London-Florence" via ACM in Google Reader

Home is Where the Heart Is

2012-05-22T23:03:06Z

It has now been 10 days since my program ended, and almost a week since I have been back in the States. I still can’t believe that this whole experience is now in the past. It’s kind of surreal—the more I tell stories to friends at home, the more I feel like they’re part of some fantastic dream or something. The experiences I have had, and the life I’m in now are two completely separate things. I’m sure they will eventually blend together to some extent, but right now they feel worlds apart.

The final days of our trip were spent in London. My mom and I walked all over the city. We saw Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul’s (in the pouring rain!), visited Earl’s Court (where we lived during the program), Portobello Road, and more!! We went to see Sweeney Todd which was fabulous. I had never seen it on stage before, and the performances from the actors, especially the leads, were incredible. On Tuesday, we went to have high tea at a different hotel from where I had gone in March. It was lovely, and once again I was stuffed to the brim by the time we left. I also decided at the last minute that night to get 5 pound standing-room tickets to the highly recommended Misterman at the National, and I’m so glad that I did. Cillian Murphy, the actor in this one-man piece, filled up the entire, huge stage and held my attention from all the way at the back of the house.

Of course we also spent some time drinking cider and eating steak-and-ale pies. One night, though, we got bruschetta as an appetizer… I don’t think I’ll ever be sick of Italian food. Even though it will never be as good as Mamma’s.

The whole trip with my mom was not only a way to prove to myself that I have learned a ton on this trip—I accidentally gave her a few lectures on some buildings we passed—a great (and fun!) transition from the program, into vacation, and finally into being at home. Our flight was mostly uneventful, other than a short delay (but I would prefer to fly with a working engine, thanks) and a screaming child. But we got back intact with all of our bags and I went straight to St. Olaf. I miss my friends from ACM already, but it was nice to see a bunch of friends that I had been missing all semester. Then I spent some much needed R&R/family time with my aunt and uncle, and am now back on campus getting ready to work for the next couple of weeks before going back to my home in Oregon. It has been great catching up and telling stories, though that separation becomes more and more apparent as I tell more. And I get a lot of the same questions.

What was the best part?

Meeting people. A general answer for a general question, but it’s true. I got to know the other ACM students and be surrounded by different backgrounds and ideas in the classroom. I learned how to strike up meaningful-ish conversations with random strangers at pubs, I was able to communicate with my wonderful family despite a language and cultural barrier, and I met loads of other wonderful people in lines at the post office, cafes, parks, on public transportation, and more. I gained some ideas of other cultures—things I may or may not want to incorporate into my own life (for example, I do want to keep up the confidence in pub talk, eat slower dinners, and hopefully keep up some of my Italian skills).

London or Florence?

I can’t even answer that. They are two completely different places, and my experiences there were totally separate. In London, I had a lot more free time and it was great to see theatre and, with that, more nightlife in a city that has so much going on all of the time. Florence in general required a much steeper learning curve. Not only did I learn an entirely new language and take a fast-paced art history course (which is not at all my area of expertise), but I also lived with strangers and learned how to find my way around brand new places without getting too lost. In both cities I was challenged to manage my time so that I wouldn’t stretch myself too thin by doing too many things at once. Whether or not I ever found that balance is debatable…

Both were incredible. Really. As were all of the other beautiful cities I was able to visit. I know each has a piece of my heart, and hopefully someday I’ll return “home” there.

To quote myself from our first full day, I feel so fortunate to have spent the last four months “in a cool place with cool people doing cool things.” But I guess all good things must end.

Let’s see what adventures await us now…!

Ciao, Italia

2012-05-13T16:52:42Z

Friday I had my last final, yesterday I moved out of my host family’s home, and tomorrow morning I leave Italy. It is crazy to me that this trip is almost over and my study abroad experience will be in the past. I’ve met some amazing people and have seen a lot of incredible things. I’m excited to be back in the US and looking forward to my summer plans, but as the days count down I get more and more hesitant to leave.

This week has been lovely. The beginning of it was kind of boring, but still good. We had final classes and papers and things to get in order. The weather perked up again, though, later in the week (it was actually in the upper 80s and 90s Thursday through Saturday!) and everything—God knows how—was accomplished and turned in. Thursday night we had our “final” for the drawing class which was an art show. It was the last chance for some of us to see each other and everyone was mingling and drinking wine and showing off their best drawings—it was a lot of fun.

Friday, after my last final (which I think went well, for those of you wondering), my Mom got into town!! We walked around the city and soaked up the sun while eating gelato… it is officially Summer vacation. It’s really great to have her here, but it’s also sort of weird to have her in this setting that is so very separate from home. It’s a good way to transition, I think. Plus, I have found myself giving her mini-lectures on parts of the city that we learned about in our art history class. She heard all about the doors of the Baptistry… I’m sure she was thrilled. :)

That night, we had our final dinner with Mamma Orsola and the whole family! Rafaelle came home because it was his “sisters’ last night in town.” It was a full table; 9 of us (including my mom!). It was so much fun, delicious as always, and we just ignored the word “leaving” for as long as we could. Saturday morning we all lost it. I miss them so much already. Spero che tornerò presto!!

After many hugs, tears, and more hugs, I left the house and met my mom at the hotel that would become my new home in Florence for a few days. They almost feel like two separate days. Crazy.

We did some shopping in the market and walked around a bit, but our main event for the day was a tour of the Chianti region and wine tasting! It was a bit of an adventure meeting the bus, but we got there and it was SO MUCH FUN! The weather was gorgeous, we made some new friends on the bus, and—once again—the countryside is the kind of Italy that I was expecting all along. And the wine tasting part wasn’t too bad either… hee hee! When we returned, we had a nice, calm evening getting dinner and walking the city by night.

Today the sun has been hiding all day, but we’ve managed to enjoy ourselves still. We attended mass in the Duomo which started as a ploy to see the inside of the church for free. It ended up being a perfect way to wrap up my trip. A great chance to reflect and be reminded of the huge amount of beauty that I have been surrounded by for two months. Four months for that matter!

From there, after stopping for a delicious pizza (you HAVE to have pizza on your last day in Italy!) we went to the Boboli Gardens (still pretty in the rain!) and the Pitti Palace. We walked through the costume gallery full of different outfits and styles from all different time periods which I thought was very interesting, but I might be done with museums for a while. We’ll see. Tonight’s plans include a final dinner and packing. London tomorrow, US on Wednesday. Wow.

Serpentine Pavillion

2012-05-09T16:34:06Z

Serpentine Pavillion:

I saw the construction site! It’s currently surrounded by a bamboo-shoot fence but I peeked my nose in to see what was going on when I was over in Kensington Gardens a few weeks ago. Couldn’t see much, but now I know what I was looking at.

Lists!

2012-05-09T14:55:00Z

It’s almost the end. I have two papers to complete by Friday, a couple of bags to pack, and then two flights to catch on Saturday. I should be writing about the Albert Memorial right now, but I’ve decided to take a break to list off the things that I’ve seen while I’ve been in London. I should really pull this all together a little more concretely, and I’m sure I’ll miss a number of things, but I’ll do my best right now.

Theatre Productions:

After Miss Julie
Shivered
Noises Off!
Sweeney Todd
Master and the Margarita
Big and Little
Cymbeline
Julius Caesar
King John
The Comedy of Errors
Travelling Light
Moon on a Rainbow Shawl
In Basildon
Long Day’s Journey into Night
The Duchess of Malfi
She Stoops to Conquer
Nicholas Nickelby

Museums/Galleries & Historical Places:

Victoria & Albert Museum
Imperial War Museum
British Museum
Museum of London
Tate Britain
Tate Modern
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Churchill War Rooms
Tower of London
Serpentine Gallery
Tower of London
Saatchi Gallery
Hampton Court
Westminster Abbey
Parliament
Whitehall Palace
Barbican Art Gallery

Other:

Hyde Park
Kensington Gardens
Millenium Bridge
Globe Theatre
Harrods
Camden Market
Portobello Road
Covent Garden
Southbank
Spitalfields Market (and neighborhood)
British Library

Olives, Wine, and the Mediterranean

2012-05-06T22:21:00Z

This weekend has shown me the kind of Italy that you see in the movies. I am enjoying Florence as a city, but we got out into the country and I decided that, someday, I will spend a chunk of vacation time in a villa in the hills somewhere. It’s breathtaking, especially in the sunshine!!

On Friday, as a sort of “last hoorah” with the whole program, we went to see some Medician villas and toured Tenuta di Capezzana where they make some of the world’s best wine and olive oil. We were surrounded all day by olive trees and drove by vineyards, and we saw some of the cellars where they store wine (some from as early as the 1930s! They call that area a “library”) and the machines they use to make the olive oil. It all wrapped up with a “snack”—at 2pm with a lot of food—and wine tasting! It was so much fun, but I really can’t believe we’re already at the “final celebration” that they told us about when we arrived in Italy.

Saturday, a group of us took a train to Cinque Terre. We wanted to see the coast, and so many people had told us how beautiful that specific area is, so we crossed our fingers for little flood damage and no rain—and we got it! It was not exactly sunny, but that didn’t take away from the beauty. Nor did it stop us from swimming! It was cold, but so much fun! We walked the “Via dell’Amore” along the mountains between Riomaggiore and Manarola, then took a little train to Monterosso to spend the rest of the afternoon in that area. It all made me realize how much I miss the ocean. I’m so glad I got to see this amazing, picturesque landscape. Someday I’ll come back and see more of it—maybe even when it’s warmer!

Just so beautiful.

It was a wonderful, refreshing weekend before a week that has potential to be kind of stressful (finals), emotional (saying goodbye… woah), and fast. I guess it really is the beginning of the end… crazy!

Avast, it’s the Saatchi Gallery! Pictures and details...

2012-05-06T14:44:12Z

Avast, it’s the Saatchi Gallery! Pictures and details soon.

Glorious offerings at Borough Market.

2012-05-05T13:30:00Z

Freshly shucked oysters

So much beer!

Look at those artichokes. Beauties!

Cheese and olive oil for ye.

The lovliest mushrooms I've ever seen.

A carb-load.

Glorious offerings at Borough Market.

Borough Market

2012-05-05T13:21:00Z

I finally made it to Borough Market this morning. Known for its sheer size and diverse offerings from over seventy vendors, I knew the experience would be somewhat overwhelming. And it was. But it was also pure gold. I was filled with happiness and engulfed in a warm embrace of fresh bread, beautifully cured meats and ripe cheeses. I hadn’t seen so much of the yellow stuff since leaving Wisconsin, so that was a welcome sight, but there were also things like ostrich, wild boar, and truffle oil. A foodie’s dream, really.

One of the best parts of the market was that many of the stalls had free samples. I had some partridge chutney, some great prosciutto, mushroom pâté that melted in my mouth, tortellini filled with wild boar, and a ridiculously robust slice of comté. There was a lovely little beer stall as well, that had offerings from many different microbreweries from Britain but also some good imports (like Anchor Steam!).

Another thing I noticed was that everyone just looked really happy. I know I was squealing and saying “oh oh oh!” the whole time I was there, but everyone else was pretty enthusiastic, too. And it wasn’t just filled with tourists; you could pick out the locals pretty easily, as they had their shopping bags, knew exactly where they were going, and were hobnobbing rather ritualistically with the vendors.

It was hard to decide what I wanted to eat for lunch, but I ended up getting a traditional British pie. I had yet to have one since getting here six weeks ago and I’d be a bit embarrassed if I never got around to trying one. Besides, there’s not many things that are better than piping hot pastry-dough things filled with cheese and other good things.

So I got one with goat cheese (a given) with some spinach and a little bit of white wine. It was wonderful. It was chilly walking around out there, and it had started to rain, so it was a good choice. My friends Duncan and Tyler also got pies, but Tyler got a little fancy and got one with ~~tilapia~~ haddock and salmon. I can’t remember what Duncan ordered but we were all happy with our choices. The only other thing I needed was a good beer.

Bauhaus at the Barbican and Other Friday Happenings

2012-05-04T21:25:00Z

One of our professors decided to do a little moving around with our class schedule this week and we ended up not having class this morning. That meant yet another extended weekend. Hoorah!

I started Thursday night with leftover fried rice and a few bottles of Carlsburg. The beer of champions, I’d say. Hung out with friends at the apartment for a while, then talked to mom and dad for a bit. I got a little jealous when I realized they were eating dinner on the patio and that it was eighty degrees, but I’ll be back in a week, so I’m trying not to complain.

I went to bed later than I should have and was tired when I woke up at ten. I hate that feeling. Regardless, Dawn and I had reserved a table for afternoon tea (!!) at a nice hotel about twenty minutes away. I had some fruity concoction that was a beautiful, lily-like pink, and we had delicious finger sandwiches, the best scones I’ve ever had, and a selection of little pastries. It was such a treat, and certainly something we were glad we got to experience.

After spending about two hours at tea I took the Tube over to the Barbican, a “multi-arts venue” (says that on the website) that we’ve seen a few plays at. Rather than another performance, however, I was there to see the newly-opened exhibit ‘Bauhaus: Art as Life’. After reading about it in the Barbican’s promotional material since the first week we’d been in London, my pal Tyler and I were quite excited to see it. We got into the exhibit around 3:30 and spent over two hours there. The show was fantastic, and I have nothing bad to say about it aside from wishing the exhibition catalogue hadn’t been £35… I would’ve bought it in a heartbeat if it were about £10 cheaper. It was comprehensive in its collection and the information it presented, and had a broad scope of focus. Equal attention was paid to the metalworking, painting, textile, architectural, graphic design and typography schools within the German institution. It was amazing to see such a large and diverse collection of the output belonging to one of the most forward-thinking and dynamic group of young artists in the twentieth century. It was all just incredibly enjoyable to see, and the attitude of the Bauhauslers (good name, right?) was what enabled that; an energetic collective, they believed in freedom of form, of experimentation, and the purpose and necessity of beauty in all design. And from the personal photographs they had on display I gathered that they also threw some pretty good parties, too.

It was a thrilling show but there was a ton to see, so by the time I had gotten back to the flat I was exhausted. I made some pasta with roasted asparagus and percorino romano that’s been sitting in my fridge for two weeks. I’m impressed by the longevity of hard cheeses. I’ve been stationary for most of the night- I should really just get to bed. Planning on going to Borough Market and making the trek up to the Northern Suburbs tomorrow… but more on that later. Have a lovely Friday evening, and let’s all hope the Brewers can actually pull out a win tonight. Lincecum’s back to his old self again. Yikes.

A Good-Looking Protest

2012-05-04T20:20:02Z

A Good-Looking Protest:

I’d say this reaction is warranted. Or at least it’s certainly appreciated.

Just a couple things I saw this week. And photo credit to...

2012-05-04T20:16:00Z

Clear skies warrant exclamation points!

'The Shard' on a foggy morning.

The Globe Theatre before 'Julius Caesar'

Thumbs up for the Globe!

Just a couple things I saw this week.

And photo credit to Stephanie for that dopey picture of me cheesin’ at the Globe before ‘Cymbeline’.

I stopped by Tate Modern today and checked out Damien...

2012-05-02T23:12:35Z

'For the Love of God'- Inside

I stopped by Tate Modern today and checked out Damien Hirst’s ‘For the Love of God’ in the Turbine Hall. The rest of his retrospective is ticketed, but, interestingly enough, what is arguably his most famous work is free to the public.

And I couldn’t help but compare this standalone construction that houses Hirst’s piece to the Kaaba. Yeah, like the one in Mecca. I can’t wait to go there on a Saturday and see it swarmed by the faithful. Maybe it’s a big coincidence, but it’s quite the humorous comparison considering Damien’s ouvre and general attitude towards the masses.

And if you were wondering… it was shiny. Quite. But that’s all I’ve got to say about it. The Francis Picabia’s upstairs were much more engaging. And a lot less alienating.

Wednesday's Happenings

2012-05-02T07:09:25Z

Well, here’s what I’m seeing today:

http://globetoglobe.shakespearesglobe.com/plays/cymbeline/english-44

and

http://globetoglobe.shakespearesglobe.com/plays/julius-caesar/english-33

Wish me luck.

When in Rome...

2012-05-01T23:05:51Z

Our whole program spent three (sunny!!) days in ROMA at the end of last week. I actually think I prefer Rome to Florence, although I got to know the city in a much different way than I am getting to know Florence. Both cities obviously have a ton of history, but I love the way that Roman history explains the formation of civilization and parts of western culture! I find it fascinating.

I wasn’t feeling well at the beginning of our trip and missed a couple of the first attractions (for example, I never saw the inside of St. Peter’s… guess I have to go back someday!) but I joined up with everyone as soon as possible to go through the Vatican museums and see the Sistine Chapel! Security in these places is ridiculous, but there are a lot of beautiful things. And seeing Michelangelo’s ceiling… actually everything was a lot smaller than I thought it would be, probably because there are so many elements and tons to look at! Amazing. I’ve actually developed a fear that I will be bored by buildings—especially churches—when I go back home. I think it’s a reasonable concern.

That night we decided that we HAD to see the Trevi Fountain after dinner—the Olsen twins and Lizzie Mcguire all made important wishes there, so obviously we had to! It was beautifully lit and there were a ton of people there, all in happy, friendly moods. It was just lovely.

On Saturday morning we had a walking tour of the Forum and the Coliseum! I loved it!! It was hot and we walked a lot so we were all pretty tired by the end, but our tour guide was engaging and the information was so interesting! She talked about how certain places provided the history of the words “capital,” “palace,” “money,” and more! (Again, there’s that Linguistics geek showing herself). I was in awe thinking about the fact that we were surrounded by 1st century constructions and planning. And our tour guide told us there are probably 7 or so more layers underneath where we were! I still can’t really wrap my mind around that.

The Coliseum was definitely that: colossal. It’s was so interesting to see ancient settings for public spectacle, and to think of what those were! We watched The Gladiator on the bus on our way home (which I actually really enjoyed, by the way) because our guide had said they did a great job of portraying the battles that took place at that time, in that place. I liked feeling like I had some kind of inside information from having been there!

For the rest of the weekend, I had a mix of led and independent exploration in the city, which I think is why I liked it so much. I attended one of the two optional tours with my professor who took us to churches and piazzas and treated us to gelato at Giolitti (quite the experience in itself! It was SO crowded!).

After that tour, I met with a friend from high school who just finished her abroad program studying all semester in Rome, and we went out to dinner with her mom (who had just arrived to do some post-program travel with Annie) in a really fun and bustling part of town! We had a blast catching up and swapping travel stories, and I absolutely loved seeing more of the city and some more nightlife with her.

During the second optional visit, I decided to walk around the city some by myself—something that I think, in itself, is quite an accomplishment and maybe one of my biggest areas of growth thanks to this program. Had you dropped me in the middle of Rome by myself on a Sunday morning 2 months ago, I probably would have had a panic attack. Now I think it’s a valuable opportunity to get a sense of the city and get in some serious people-watching!

On my independent adventure, I saw the Pope!! After wandering around a market for a bit with some friends, I decided to head back toward St. Peter’s just because I had missed out on Friday morning, and as I walked up I could hear the choir singing and see the tail end of mass projected on giant screens outside of the Basilica. When the mass was over, I took my cue from the crowds of people around me and waited around. Shortly, the Pope came to one of the Vatican windows to give his weekly blessing. It was quite emotional, actually. At the end, after a call-and-response in Italian, everyone (or a large number of the people) in the piazza sang “Amen” together, and after an incredibly brief moment of silence, a group of people next to me shouted “VIVA IL PAPA!” and everyone cheered and waved flags. It was amazing. I felt very present in the middle of a community of strangers.

This is not at all to say that I don’t feel this way in Florence. Last night, during the “Notte Bianca”—the night before today’s Labor Day-type holiday—the streets were incredibly crowded and there was music and dancing around every corner of the city. It was so great! And today, since it’s a holiday and there were no classes, I had a day of wandering around Florence (in the rain… oh well…). So I definitely feel energy and community here as well, it’s just different. And I only have about a week and a half left to soak it in… amazing. Where does time go?

On a real Charley Harper kick lately.

2012-05-01T10:20:14Z

On a real Charley Harper kick lately.

Big Night for Braunie

2012-05-01T09:46:08Z

Big Night for Braunie:

…too bad the game didn’t start until 3am here, otherwise I would’ve been listening.

Monday, April 30th

2012-04-30T20:24:00Z

Today was a busy one. I couldn’t fall asleep last night and ended up only getting a few hours, but there was so much going on that I didn’t have time to realize that I was a little sleepy. Today was finally, FINALLY nice. It was beautiful all day long. Sunny with a little bit of a breeze and about 60 degrees or so.

Our day started with a tour of Parliament with MP Dennis Skinner. He’s a sarcastic 80-year old Socialist that’s been in Parliament since 1970 who has an affinity for the New York Yankees. He’s been booted out of Parliamentary sessions at least ten times and has made a few inappropriate comments about a number of fellow MP’s, Margaret Thatcher and the Queen. Though he had some nice things to say about Meryl Streep. This also happened a few hours after we finished our tour with him: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17900567

After our tour I went to St. James’s Park with a few friends to eat lunch and enjoy the weather. I ate a PB&J on the whitest white bread ever and reveled in the sunshine and prime people-watching spot we were in. St. James’s Park is only about two blocks away from Buckingham Palace and I hadn’t been there yet, so Anna, Tyler, Joanna and I strolled down there. We had heard it was pretty anticlimactic— and it was— but at least we got to see some pretty flowerbeds.

(Joanna, me and Anna next to some impressive royal flowerbeds)

We had about two hours between the time we finished our lunch and when we had to be at the National Theatre for a lecture, so we decided to walk towards and across the river instead of taking the Tube. I realized that I feel like I’ve seen so much less of London because I’m always underground when I’m travelling; in Florence I was either walking or taking the bus. I was always seeing new things there, noticing little quirks in the urban landscape of that city. London’s much more disjointed, as I just go in and out of Tube stations. The bad weather hasn’t helped, either.

We crossed over Westminster Bridge while expressing our concern for Londoners during the Olympics. It’s already so crowded with tourists now that it’s hard to imagine how awful it’ll be in July and August. Good thing I’m getting out of here before that. We continued to walk on the South Bank towards the National Theatre and spent some time perusing the used book market under Waterloo Bridge.

The lecture we attended at the National featured the actors and crew of ‘Moon on a Rainbow Shawl’ and was focused on black British theatre. It was two and a half hours long and while there was some really great commentary, discussion and excerpts from other pieces of writing, the talk did seem to lag at some points. It was a wonderfully intelligent group, though, and I really enjoyed the experience.

I got home around six and threw some leftover chicken, rice and veggies together for fried rice. Now I’m just sitting here, feeling quite content and contemplating whether I want to go out for a beer or not. Maybe I should avoid pubs tonight, though… Chelsea is playing somebody else in some playoff match or something. That probably means I should actually attempt to do something productive… or just watch more Cornetto advertisements, like this one:

http://youtu.be/biL6zAMkOQs

Photo

2012-04-29T00:19:00Z

Stealing whole temples was in style.

Obligatory Banksy shot. Yipee.

This one's pretty clear...

I liked what this was doing.

Recently

2012-04-29T00:03:26Z

Things are wonderful here. The weather has been awful, but things are looking up for early this next week. Potential two days of sun in a row? I feel like it hasn’t stopped raining since last weekend.

I got to see a lot of different things this week, including two productions at the National Theatre; one was very bad and one was very good. On Tuesday we saw ‘Travelling Light’ which was basically about an aspiring director in a shtetl around 1900. The acting was poor, the plot was predictable and the characters were all just perpetuations of basically every Jewish stereotype ever. There was even a scene with a child-prodigy fiddler or something. Really? COME ON. I was so glad when that was over.

Luckily the show we saw on Thursday was much, much better. Probably my favorite production we’ve seen so far, actually. It was the rarely-staged ‘Moon on a Rainbow Shawl’ which is a story of a group of neighbors in post-WWII Trinidad. Poverty is the protagonist in John’s drama, as the neighbors all attempt to navigate the racial and economic landscape of a nation only a few years from independence. The acting was incredible, and I was completely absorbed in the story from beginning to end. The set design was also fantastic, and the small, intimate theatre lent well to the action that was centered around the confined space of an apartment-building courtyard.

(here’s a promotional image for ye)

I also happened to see ‘Noises Off!’ earlier this week, but that wasn’t one for class- I just went with a few friends on a whim. We took advantage of a student discount and got tickets for £12, which was a great deal. It a play about a play production: it was a farce, and it had everyone laughing the whole time. Almost all the plays we’ve seen for class have dealt with serious themes, so it was a relief to see something that didn’t leave me feeling exhausted and burnt out for the rest of the night.

Today’s activities included visiting the British Library and finally getting around to visiting Portobello Market. It rained and rained and rained, but my clothes have finally finished drying after an incident with the washing machine and I concluded my evening with a beer from the pub across the street. A Fuller’s Honey Dew, if you wanted to know.

More tomorrow. I’m trying to keep posts abbreviated.

Saturdays are great…

2012-04-28T23:47:00Z

Today, despite the terrible weather, was a great day. I got up pretty early, I’m not sure why, and made breakfast. Eggs, toast, home fries, and bacon, it was pretty satisfying and I got to catch up on Sponge Bob. Afterwards I took a little nap and watched Man V. Food and then got dressed to go to the West Side Market in Ohio City. I made out with a lot of great things including some nice instagram photos and some carrot apple juice. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get what I went there for, a sausage that I tried yesterday in a steam bun from Noodle Cat. I literally have been thinking about this sausage since 2 in the afternoon yesterday.

After getting some great food and herbs at the market we went to Johnny Mango, a casual café/restaurant deal that has a lot of vegetarian and gluten free options. I got the fried plantains served with pico di gallo and the nachos with grilled chicken. It was so good, those plantains were out of this world.

Now am at home trying not to fall asleep, but I’m thinking a nap is in order. The market was super crowded and crowded places are so exhausting.