Caffè Italiano

French coffee is pretty damn good, but I was won over by Italian coffee this weekend.  Stopping in coffee shops was a great way to get warm, get caffeinated, and figure out our next moves around the city.  We also got to practice our Italian--"Vorrei un caffè, per favore."  I know how to say this and "prego" and most of the possible pizza toppings.  I'm basically fluent already.

But pizza is a whole separate story.  On the topic of coffee, the first one I tried was a "Marocchino." Obviously I would go for the Moroccan-inspired coffee.  

Not only did it have cacao on top, it also had chocolate throughout, and particularly at the bottom of the glass.  This was a great choice for someone who has as much of a sweet tooth as I do.

Apparently Marocchinos are typically served in glasses because of the aesthetic appeal.  Looks good to me!

Next up was Caffè d'Orzo.  It tasted like coffee but smokier.  Like someone had managed to make burnt coffee taste amazing.

So I just looked it up, and it actually is made from orzo (barley).  I totally didn't realize this when we ordered it... multiple times.  It also apparently doesn't have caffeine.  I've given up on coffee really affecting me, so I didn't notice when I had it that it didn't make me hyper.  This will definitely be my decaf "coffee" of choice in the future.

The third style of caffè from this weekend was the basic caffè, espresso.  I don't know how to describe what really good coffee tastes like, but this was it.

How cute are all the different kinds of coffee cups?  I'm still on the lookout for the fluted espresso cups that we used in Annecy, but these styles and patterns make me smile too.

Torino: Winter Wonderland

As you may have gathered, Rome didn't end up working out this weekend.  Ciera, Thea, and I were supposed to join three other exchange students who had gone down on Thursday. The Italian train workers went on strike, which meant that we wouldn't have been able to leave for Rome until Saturday morning, and spend all day Saturday on the train.

When this turn of events became official, we copped a squat in the waiting room of the Menton train station, across the room from a sketchy homeless guy and his dog.  We were pretty dejected, but we broke out the chocolate, bread, and wine, and tried to make contingency plans.  Ibiza, Corsica, Barcelona, and Paris were all scratched off the list.  We ended up with Torino, Italy, home of the 2006 Winter Olympics, Ferrero Rocher, and the Shroud of Turin.

We left Menton early on Saturday morning, and it took us about four hours to get to Torino.  Part of the train ride was lovely, with lots of ravines and homes built into cliffs.  But as we got closer to the city we saw more and more crumbling factories and industrial wasteland.  And the weather turned colder.  I was terrified that Torino would be like that too and we would have a miserable time.  I felt particularly bad because I was the one who convinced the other girls to go there.

It was raining when we made it out of the train station after a fiasco with Trenitalia.  But the city was actually still beautiful!  This was one of the many piazzas.  If you look closely on the right, you can see the porticos that are all over the place (and were very welcome in the rain).  The style of architecture fits so well with the clean grid layout of the city.

We had a blast despite the drizzle (more to come about Italian coffee, markets, churches, and protests).  But we still much preferred to wake up the next morning and see that the rain had turned to snow, and started to stick!  This is the view from our hotel window.  The distance, price, and amenities made Hotel Napoleon a much better choice than one of the two hostels in the city.

We walked through several of the beautiful Torino parks.  The snow, the thick winter coats, and the heavy square architecture made me think of Russia... not that I've been there.  Can anyone tell me if this is an accurate impression?

The snow got heavier as the day went on, and by the time we made it to the part of the city on the other side of the river, it was probably about eight inches deep.  The deeper snow also meant less slush.

I love snow, and I love how it made the whole city white and crisp.  It might have wrecked the panoramic views, but seeing such a wintery city covered in snow just made sense.  I could imagine the Olympics going on there, and I could imagine coming back for après-ski after a day on the slopes.  In fact, I might head back up there to go skiing at some point.

I put my new wool socks to good use!  And I'm very glad I brought my winter jacket to France for in case I go to Vancouver.  Unfortunately my boots weren't meant for slushy snow, and my feet weren't quite as dry as I would have liked.  By that I mean that I had about as much water in my boots as I do when I'm sailing, particularly in this picture, while the slush still predominated.  Oh well, it was a great excuse to stop into cafes and warm up!

One of the highest points in the city is Monte dei Cappuccini, which houses a church and the Museum of the Mountain (post coming later). Usually, you can see all the way from here to the mountains that surround Torino.  Visibility during out visit was not quite that good...

But again, I think I prefer the solid white snow.

Umbrellas were popular for this wet snow.  Even I gave in on occasion.  But umbrellas have a negative connotation for me; I associate them with rain, not snow.  So it was strange to see people using them for this kind of weather...

Especially when I was considering sledding down the hill on my butt.  I did end up running down one of the hills like a little girl, and I still don't understand how I didn't end up falling.  I think I was sliding more than running.

This was my first time in Italy! And although it wasn't Rome, it showed me a different side of Italy, namely the side that reveres nature and the mountains, and respects their power.  Just like in the photo below, harsh snowy weather is an essential aspect of Alpine or Piemontaise life.  I find it kind of exhilarating.

Pour les Filles: Mes Achats de Nice

As I mentioned, Nice was pretty much just a shopping trip.  I didn't go crazy, but I found two things I liked.

Wool socks:

I felt like Dumbledore, when he tells Harry that all he wants for Christmas is a pair of nice, thick, wool socks.  Of course he was lying, but there really is something wonderfully cozy and wintery about wool socks.  I was kind of wishing for winter weather, since I missed the snow back in the States, and Menton is much warmer than I'm used to during the winter.

These actually come up to just under my knees, and I really liked the pattern.  They turned out to be a good choice--you'll see them in my pictures from Torino.  That whole "in the mood for winter" idea came to fruition this weekend.

The funny thing is that I got the socks from H&M.  It's a little silly, that I'm all the way over here in Europe, and I went shopping at H&M.  I like to think they have better items in Europe... (cognitive dissonance?)

On a bit of a random note, did you know that H&M stands for Hennes & Mauritz?  I didn't actually find that out this trip, I saw it spelled out once on an H&M in Switzerland.

The second item is this blue and white striped shirt from Le Petit Bateau.  The picture is on our balcony, taken by my roommate Anaïs while we were enjoying the sun out there.

Anaïs found the shirt highly amusing, because she has one almost identical to it.  Hers is even from Le Petit Bateau too!  I'd been looking for a shirt of this style, and I really like the rather heavy weight of the fabric.  I must confess, it didn't hurt that Garance Doré recently did an ad campaign for the company. If any contemporary figure epitomizes carelessly chic French style, it's her.

It's great to be in France during the sale seasons, les soldes, although I've learned to not put too much stock in it.  Mostly because I always seem to be here during les soldes, so it seems like they happen all the time.  If only!

Nice

Popped over to Nice with Maryam for the afternoon/evening.

The train ride is incredible--next to the water almost the entire time.  It wasn't the best weather, a little cloudy, but the cliffs going down to the water were amazing!

Once we arrived in Nice, our first order of business was shopping.  There will be pictures of my achats later.  Nice has a thing for weird lighting: check out this cool pink chandelier off the main street...

The other interesting part of the lights and the architecture of Nice was how it all changed from day to night.  Here is the church on the main street:

The main plaza also changed completely from day to night:

Ignore the rando, check out that super-modern tram going through the very old city!

Sans tram, sans rando

The same plaza.  Yes, those are neon men sitting on top of poles. Yes, they were there during the daytime.

We didn't notice either, until they started GLOWING

It seems that Nice doesn't go to bed quite as early as Menton, and shops still looked inviting even after the sun had fallen.  

 The buildings are just as vibrantly colored as in Menton, and much more so than in the north.  I love the contrast of the red against a gray sky, but I have a feeling the entire city feels like it should be colored in these fire tones when it's lit by a summer sun.  Fittingly, the central figure in this fountain is Apollo, and the whole thing is La Fontaine du Soleil (Fountain of the Sun).

  

 Not exactly sure what this is... some sort of ruin above the city.

 Map painted on a building highlighting lots of cool sites in Nice... we didn't make it to most of them, so we'll just have to go back.

I blame Maryam for making me take creepy pictures of this quintessentially French couple. So classy.  Them, obviously, not us.

 This was such an easy trip, just a few hours out of our day.  I'm sure we'll be going back regularly.  And as with most journeys, good company made everything more enjoyable.

Coming soon: Torino (my first trip to Italia)

Au Pays du Citron

When Oren first told me, I found it strange that Menton has a Lemon Festival.  Then I arrived, and I realized that citrus (lemons and oranges predominate, from what I've seen) is everywhere.  Here are just a few photographic examples of citrus in the life quotidienne de Menton.

 

Also, a note about the trees on the Menton streets.  While the fruits have orange rinds, they taste like lemons.  No one I've talked to really knows what they are.

There are even stores devoted to citrus!  This one (below) is a particularly cute example, but they're everywhere.

And of course, what good would it be to have citrus trees everywhere if we didn't pluck them?

Maryam stealing a lemon after getting back from Nice

I can't wait to see what it looks like when the Lemon Festival actually starts!!

Sous le Soleil

Enfin, je me suis promenée autour de la ville, avant 18h.  Le voilà ce que j'ai vu:

  

Les palmiers en France! Qui l'aurait pensé? Mais on est au sud...

 

Je me suis remarquée que les couleurs sont (1) bien forts, (2) si different de ce qu'on verrai à Paris ou au nord de la France.  Je viens pas encore à croire qu'on est sur la Mediterranée 

Voilà Italie: Ventimiglia

 Les rues piétons sont tellement incroyables.  On ne doit pas se concerner des voitures, il y a des petits cafés, les gens s'arrêtent pour se parler...

Ce sont des lieux comme ça qui me font souvenir comment petite soit la ville.  J'était au Carrefour, où quelqu'un avait laissé son chien à l'entrée du magasin... dès qu'il est parti (avec son chien) ils ont tous commencé à en parler... "Mon dieu, c'est la deuxième fois qu'il est venu avec ce chien..." ou "Et bien il disait qu'il ne serait qu'un instant, mais nooonnn, il s'est promené..."

C'est ça qui se passe dans une ville petite peuplée par des vieux... des vieux qui portent toujours leurs manteaux de fourrures.  Il fait pas même froid !

Alors, ça c'est tout pour l'instant... à venir: Rome!

Pour les Filles

I didn't bring shampoo or makeup remover with me, partly because my bags were overweight and partly because I've heard French toiletries are amazing.  So here is what I picked up at the pharmacie:

The makeup remover (left) is so-so, but I really like the chamomile & the citric acid in the shampoo.

Shampoo in French is just such a great word.  Shampooing.  It's up there with pamplemousse and fauteuil.

Bienvenue à Menton

View from my window

I didn't get to do much this weekend because I was holed up studying procrastinating on exams.  That said, here are just a few thoughts and photos from the past couple days.

Planes. I had forgotten how dehydrating they are.  And turbulent.  I ended up rushing to the airport 3 hours early, barely packed, because my original flight was cancelled (I have a feeling it wasn't full enough to make it worth the trip for them).
 I also managed to fall asleep the second I sat down, anywhere.  I don't remember takeoff from Philly.  I don't remember takeoff the next morning on my LHR - NCE leg of the trip.  I don't remember most of the bus ride from Nice to Menton.  I remember being in Monaco, and the next thing I know it's the end of the road and Menton, when I thought we were still in the principality.

Before I even got to France, I had an interesting experience.  I set off the metal detector in Heathrow with just a necklace, even though the same one hadn't set off the Philly metal detector.  Anyway, I got patted down.  It was the most invasive pat-down I've ever experienced.  I definitely would have freaked out had it not be a woman doing it.  She felt under the top of my waistband... that must be even more awkward for her; she practically apologized as she did it.

View from the Sciences-Po St. Julien building

When I arrived in Menton I was glad I had taken the earlier flight, because it meant I made my trek to the Sciences Po building in the daytime.  Most of the streets we take are pedestrian, rues piétons, and having to do all that on foot, with bags, in the dark would have been no fun.

Just to go quickly through the next few days... met my référent, Alexis.  He took me for coffee and we chatted about Menton, and the courses, and basically what to expect.  Didn't get anything useful done like buying a telephone, or setting up a bank account, of course.
Met a ton of the students--échange et non--at Casa Italia, the nickname for the Italian kids' apartment.  Staying in my room studying over the weekend, and taking my finals and my Arabic placement test.

Finally finished all that today (yesterday by now), and finally got to breathe and see the town with relaxed eyes.  Tout d'un coup I saw things I hadn't noticed, little nooks and crannies.  It was dark by the time I started walking around, so these pictures don't quite capture everything. But they're a start.

We got coffee here

Just another square...