Update, finally

So this is overdue and I should have written when I got back from Genova, but I've been lazy, sorry!

Where to start... I guess with last Friday. As it turns out, Italians aren't all that great at organizing even strikes. There definitely were buses running with little to no disruption that I noticed. Trains, I don't know, because I stuck with my plan to leave for Genova on Saturday morning. On Friday I ended up having lunch with Lucia, then we went over to the faculty of Literature and Philosophy to look for third course possibilities. After a bit of browsing, I actually found a good possibility! To skip to the end, there is a course called "Social Philosophy" which starts November 4, and doesn't conflict with my other courses. (It is only going to overlap by one week anyway.) I hadn't been thinking of doing philosophy over here (ie in another language), but Lucia said she knows a really good tutor for philosophy, and that Georgetown students have done it before here. I have an outstanding philosophy requirement for graduation at Georgetown, so this could be really handy. What's more, the building where philosophy classes take place is actually really really close to my house, so it's convenient to get to! At this point I am pretty much set on doing that, so I have found my solution and will start in a couple weeks.

The other two courses are going pretty well. Only thing is, I have realized how soon exams are coming up! At least for one of them, I will have a written exam on November 6... so basically rather than reading and studying from time to time I really need to concentrate. It's all good though, since I have been pretty lazy about schoolwork up til now. It has been confusing just getting to class this past week, as the protesters have occupied one class building, and we've been moving class times so they don't conflict with demonstrations and assemblies, so it's kind of day to day. I am managing surprisingly well though, just trying my best to follow along with the changes. I am more and more certain all the time that going back to Georgetown classes is going to feel so organized and serene!

Finding that philosophy was a good thing that came out of Friday, and not leaving for Genova. On Saturday I DID leave for Genova, arriving around 11 in the morning. To summarize before going into specifics, it was a great weekend. This Italian friend of mine, Deneb, is someone I met at my summer internship in DC (this past summer). She just finished up her degree at the University of Genoa and is headed back to the US to work with the Smithsonian Institution in about a week!

Interjection: I just heard some yelling on the floor below me in the library... the center is open, and the computers are all around the center, and a bunch of the other people on computers peered over the ledge to see what was happening. There are still heated voices... I have no idea what's going on... I speak Italian but not well enough to know what is causing the commotion. There is certainly tension in the air. Wow, you never know what is going to happen here!

So yes! To continue! Deneb just finished her degree and actually left for her hometown (north of Genoa, in the mountains) Sunday evening, when I headed back to Florence. It was really great to see Genova and sightsee with a local. And beyond that, it was so nice to be with a close friend again. There is definitely something about talking to a close friend in person that nurtures the soul! On that line, Kristen's visit is getting ever closer which is really exciting!

Anyway, on Saturday Deneb and I walked around Genova, I got to see the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, the Palazzo Ducale, the huge fountain in the middle of town. Compared to Firenze and other cities, Genova is a city of hills, very narrow streets, and tall buildings. It is pretty much smushed between the sea and the mountains, so they have to make the most of the available space. The architecture on the whole seemed very Victorian to me, with esquisite detailing on so many of the buildings! Down by the port, we went to the museum of the sea (which had a cool Ellis Island type of exhibit) and the aquarium. This aquarium is one of the best in Italy, and yes I have been acquariums in the US which might be even better, but I learned that they are always fun! Above all, I had a blast watching the dolphins there, and it brought me back to my middle school days when I was obsessed with dolphins and visited Mystic Aquarium many a time! It definitely made me happy!

Also on Saturday, we grabbed lunch at a place that makes pasta pretty much exclusively, and I tried the traditional Ligurian nut sauce that is a specialty in the region of Liguria. Eating local in Italy is always a good idea!

Toward the end of the day, we took the bus back to the part of the city where Deneb lives. Just before getting on the bus, we saw what they say is Christopher Columbus' house... but Deneb finds this claim dubious. I just took a couple pictures and that was enough for that particular site. It is an appreciable bus ride out to where Deneb lives, but along the water, so that was really pretty. After we got off the bus, we walked up the path leading to Deneb's house, which I think is technically a street, but to Americans it would seem like an upward sloping path with steps. Deneb lives (lived) in the top level of this house, and it has a balcony overlooking the sea! It was absolutely stunning! (Pictures are on Picasa by the way, someone let me know if I need to provide a link.)

After dropping my things off, we headed down closer to the water, where there is a beautiful pathway along the coast. We had dinner at a restaurant near the path, still overlooking the sea! I got focaccia with cheese, another Ligurian specialty. Basically the bread was nice and puffy and flaky and delicious, and there was melted cheese inside... yum. After the restaurant, we stopped into another place for dessert, and then headed home for the night.

Sunday morning, we headed out and stopped first for some breakfast at a cafe. Then we went downtown and deposited my baggage at the train station, since it would be bulky to carry the entire day. We made a day/afternoon out of visiting three museums all in the same group and on the same street - Palazzo Bianco, Palazzo Rosso, and Palazzo Tursi. They all used to belong to important Genovese families, and now for the most part house art collections and other interesting exhibits. I really enjoyed a lot of the art and other exhibits there. In Palazzo Rosso, we got to take an elevator to the very top of the building and go to this little platform which has a beautiful view of the city! It was amazing to see it spreading out on all sides, with the port and the sea in one direction and the hills and mountains in the other!

After the museums, we stopped at another cafe where I got some gelato and Deneb got some yogurt. I saw an H&M across the street, and since I don't have H&M here in Florence, I asked if we could stop in. Above all, I was thinking of looking for a winter coat, which was still on my outstanding list of clothing needs. Sure enough, we made decently quick work of finding me a jacket in the style and price range I wanted, so that was really exciting! The weather isn't cold enough yet (actually today especially it is beautiful outside) but when the cold does arrive, I will be ready!

After H&M it was time to head back to the station. Deneb's train was about 30 minutes before mine, so we parted ways (which was sad, but we will be seeing each other come next year, when I get back to the US!) and then I waited out the rest of the time til my train came. At the very end of that trip, right before I arrived in Pisa (to change trains), some of the other passengers in my little compartment (6 of us in total) started making conversation. I was pretty cautious overall since I am foreign (and American to boot!) but they were quite nice and said I spoke Italian really well! It was an amazing feeling to have 5 Italian strangers pretty much concur on the fact that I am good at the language. It was a much appreciated confidence booster.

So that was my weekend! I'm so glad I went, and like I said relating to a close friend on a personal level was something I hadn't gotten to do in a while - but I was still practicing Italian! As we discussed, it is really natural for Deneb and I to speak English in the US and Italian here... so our conversations were almost entirely in Italian. Plus Genova definitely had a character and spirit of its own and it was really fun to discover that. Another Italian city to check off my list!

This weekend I am thinking of catching the end of the Eurochocolate Festival in Perugia, with some friends from orientation school (sort of the same group I was with when I went to Lucca). We'll make a nice daytrip out of it. I mean, it's a chocolate festival... I think it's pretty obviously an attractive and enticing daytrip!

I don't remember at the moment if I had more to add, but I got the most important things updated! Hope you all are well!