Last set of pictures

Barcelona: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002782&l=7a716&id=1235880049

Parma: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002783&l=ee63e&id=1235880049

Grenada: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002781&l=d2f50&id=1235880049

Amsterdam and Brussels: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002780&l=44196&id=1235880049

Ireland (my pictures): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002778&l=f1e9a&id=1235880049

Ireland (my friend Hank's pictures): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2002735&l=8061d&id=1235880049

First: Yeah, I know I haven't posted in a while. Blah blah blah.

Second: I'm posting a link to a video (Italy hates fast internet, making it impossible for me to upload the actual video at the time) taken by my friend Chelsea over our fall break. It shows all of us watching the sunset over the Spanish city of Granada. It was one of the defining experiences of fall break and one of the moments that made me stop and appreciate how happy I was with my decision to go overseas, and I thought you would enjoy it.

On top of Granada

Third: Today is Election Day. Go vote.

Ciao,

Frank

Pictures of me

Some of you (read: my family) have been clamoring for pictures that actually feature yours truly. However, as I am not my sister, I have not taken any pictures of myself here, preferring instead to focus on ITALY. Call me crazy.

Anyways, here is the link to my Flikr account. I've stolen some pictures from my friends and put them up there so I can demonstrate that I am, in fact, in Sicily and not just posting pictures from somewhere else, say, Kansas.

Ciao,
Frank

Some pictures: Western Sicily and the Aeolians

Western Sicily 1

Western Sicily 2

The Aeolians

Ciao,

Frank

A Note and The Aeolians: Day 1

Let me start by apologizing for the wait since my last update. The fact is that this is really my first time living completely on my own as an adult, and it is far more time consuming than I'd intended it to be. I'd also like to point out that, though it may not seem like it, I am, in fact, a student and I am, in fact, attending classes with professors that do, in fact, assign me work. Though I enjoy keeping it and I like sharing this experience with all of you through this blog, it is certainly not my top priority here. I'd much rather focus on experiencing Italy than documenting it. That said, I have been slacking a bit on updating, but I am very aware of this and am doing my best to keep up and, though I know for many of you this is the prime way of staying in touch with me, I ask you to understand that I am not going to be able to keep this as regular as we all might like.

Carrying on...

This past weekend, I took a vacation from my (sort-of) vacation and went to the Aeolian Islands. I woke up at four in the morning on Friday and packed and showered before meeting the girls at the Temple of Apollo... at five-thirty. It was a long ride (about three hours in a van and another two or three waiting for and riding on the boat), and we arrived around 11 in the morning. We'd made the decision to switch around our itinerary for the weekend due to weather concerns, and, after checking into our hotel and taking a brief practical tour, hopped on a small boat bound for Vulcano, the (surprise) volcanic island situated next to our host island of Lipari.

Let me stop here and make one thing very clear: The Aeolian Islands are the most beautiful place I have ever been, and I have a very, very difficult time imagining anything that can compare to them. They have blown everything I have ever seen out of the water. The effect that they have on you is a mix between the surreal and the exhilarat

ing, and it's a feeling completely new to me. I'll post the link for the pictures I took in a little while, since I want to steal some pictures from (and accredit them to, of course) my friends.

Anyways, we hopped on the boat and slowly made our way to Vulcano, stopping for a quick swim. While we made our way to the little cove we jumped in at, our guide pointed out rocks and cliffs that supposedly looked like something or another. The only one I saw was "La Mummia," which resembled a mummified pharaoh... sort of. It was silly. 

When we finally did stop, I jumped in and was pleased (though not surprised at all) to

 find the water very warm and calm. I could see the bottom easily, but it took me several tries before I could dive down low enough to touch bottom. Our program director gently nudged us to get back on the boat in the interest of time, and as we looked over the sides heading away, we saw

 that the current had brought in a couple dozen very large jellyfish (soccer ball size). 

After taking on the jellies, we landed at Vulcano. The weather was... less than optimal. It was still pretty warm out, but the sun was behind the clouds most of the day. Despite this, we knew that Friday may have been the only nice day of the weekend (it wasn't), and we started walking inland. 

Quick background, for anyone who doesn't know already: In my school, there are twenty-nine students. Nine are guys, twenty are girls. In my program, there are eight people. Seven are girls, and one is me. I went to the Aeolians with my program and five other girls. 

While the benefits of this arrangement are quite obvious, the fact is that, when it comes to choosi

ng activities, I get about the amount of representative power as Wyoming (more, in actuality).  

So, because we were on a volcanic island that was like 

a Reese's Cup if a Reese's Cup was filled with rotten-egg-smelling sulfur, and because they're all girls and like girly things, I geared myself up for the thermal baths and hot springs (I did have the option to go off on my own, but since they're all very pretty and I don't like being alone, it wasn't much of an option).

The thermal baths were kind of disappointing. The jets built into the pools were very cool, but the water wasn't really heated to a warm enough temperature. I suppose when the water is 

heated by a volcano, consistency isn't really a consistency. They made us wear these weird shower caps too. The girls said I looked like Ali G in mine. I have my beard 

again, so it's not really that far off.

The mud bath was, if anything, at least more interesting than the thermal baths. Normally, the image that immediately pops into your head when you think "mud-bath" is an actual bathtub filled with actual mud. On Vulcano, however, it's less about the mud and more about the sulfur that heats and infuses it. The bath itself was pretty much just a giant simmering mud puddle that was stinky, but it was still pretty cool. We all reeked of sulfur for a day after and some of us got irradiated (more on that next post), but now I can say I soaked in sulfury mud-water. Hooray!

After a particularly chilly ride back to Lipari, we went back to the hotel and showered (not enough to remove the smell, however) before meeting at the girls' hotel (I was in a single room in a separate hotel with the other girls, who hadn't arrived yet) to go and get dinner. We went to a local pizza place where I got Pizza Diavola (the DEVIL'S PIZZA), which is really just pepperoni. It was, just like everything else, delicious. As we were in the process of paying our check, however, God got pissed and started raining half the freaking Mediterranean on us, out of nowhere. The girls waited til the rain let up a bit then scurried back to their hotel, but I hung back in the restaurant to wait for the other girls' boat to arrive. I ended up waiting for a while inside before walking around the corner to the harbor. The rain had mostly let up by then, and I spent the time til they got there watching a thunderstorm over the Mediterranean. By the time they finally arrived and we got back to the hotel, it was around midnight. Given that I'd been up and going pretty hard since about four in the morning, I collapsed pretty much as soon as I got them to the hotel safe.

I'll go over the rest of the weekend in the next post.

Ciao,

Frank

New pictures, and plans for fall break

First of all:

Agrigento

-and-

Catania Historical Tour

Agrigento is a city almost right in the middle of the south coast of Sicily. It is a bus ride comparable to  getting to UMass normally, and we hit traffic for... reason. It was entirely worth it, however, as the sites nearby have some of the best preserved Greek temples in the world, as well as a fantastic museum. I've got to do a site report on the area, so I'll give you a better idea of what's there after I finish it, but if you've got the time, check out the Temple of Olympian Zeus, because it's awesome.

Catania was, frankly, a tad disappointing. It was sort of nice to see a larger city, and the WWII museum was the first time that our professors have acknowledged that anything has happened here after the birth of Christ, but most of the things we were supposed to visit ended up being shut for restoration, and the city lacked the charm of Syracuse and the grandeur of Rome. We amused ourselves, therefore, with taking candid pictures of the philosophy professor and academic director here at MCAS, an Englishman by the name of Dr. Scott Burgess. 

Secondly, I've decided what I'm doing over fall break (mostly). The first two days are still up in the air, but the rest of my break is taken up by Spain, Brussels and Germany (I think) as well as one night in Milan. The best part is that it's all relatively cheap travel (all economy air travel) at around 200 euros each. We haven't paid for lodging yet, but we know people at half of our stops and hostels are inexpensive, so we should be all set. I'm looking forward to it, and I'm glad it's doable.

Ciao,

Frank