Here is a video that a fellow foreigner sent to me. In 10 minutes, it really shows what it feels like to be in South Korea. For those far away, I thought you might enjoy this!
Monday, December 26, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Thanksgiving in Korea
While I usually assume the holidays are going to be a sad time to be away from home, this Thanksgiving was one of my best yet. Naturally, I missed my family and our big family dinners at my grandparents' house. But, I got to skype with my mom and the McBrides after their feast.
Thanksgiving this year went something like this:
Friday night: The plan is to cook. Friends ccome to town from all over Korea. It is a joyful reunion. We go to the supermarket to get ingredients. We stock up on veggies, potatoes, milk, pounds of butter, pounds of cheese, etc. MJ shows up with 6 bottles of wine. Matt breaks out a bottle of whiskey. No cooking gets done.
Saturday morning: We wake up and get to work on the food. Matt peels and mashes 24 potatoes downstairs. Upstairs in Scott's apartment, we have one oven. Jerusha makes a sweet potato and spinach gratin covered in cheese. I make two trays of the mac and cheese, clearly smothered in cheese- that Massey proceeds to fry. Andrew K makes a green been casserole with the french's fried onions that his mom sent from the USA.. we then covered that in cheese. Needless to say, it's thanksgiving, and we're going all out.
In the afternoon, we head to the pension to meet our friends. In case you're unfamiliar with a pension, it's basically just part of a house or apartment.. it usually has basic kitchen supplies and bedding for everyone to sleep on the floor. It's perfect for get-togethers like these. There are about 20 people coming up to Cheorwon for the Thanksgiving festivities.
We spend a few hours playing apples to apples and watching football before our friends arrive. When everyone is there, we go around in a circle and give thanks- and then the feast begins! Along with the things we brought, there was stuffing, cornbread, honey glazed carrots, homemade hummus, pumpkin dip and ginger snaps, roasted veggies, more greenbean casserole, home-made cranberry sauce, fresh baked bread, pumpkin pie, apple pie, fresh whipped cream, and real butter.
After dinner, everyone is in a food coma. We spend the rest of the night playing scrabble, having a sing-a-long with the guitar/piano, and of course- having a dance party.
And like I said, this was in a pension with about 20 people, so here was one of the rooms the next morning:
So all in all, it was a fantastic holiday. Everyone really went all out on the food and a good time was had by all. With friends like these, it really makes being away from home not so bad. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving this year went something like this:
Friday night: The plan is to cook. Friends ccome to town from all over Korea. It is a joyful reunion. We go to the supermarket to get ingredients. We stock up on veggies, potatoes, milk, pounds of butter, pounds of cheese, etc. MJ shows up with 6 bottles of wine. Matt breaks out a bottle of whiskey. No cooking gets done.
Saturday morning: We wake up and get to work on the food. Matt peels and mashes 24 potatoes downstairs. Upstairs in Scott's apartment, we have one oven. Jerusha makes a sweet potato and spinach gratin covered in cheese. I make two trays of the mac and cheese, clearly smothered in cheese- that Massey proceeds to fry. Andrew K makes a green been casserole with the french's fried onions that his mom sent from the USA.. we then covered that in cheese. Needless to say, it's thanksgiving, and we're going all out.
In the afternoon, we head to the pension to meet our friends. In case you're unfamiliar with a pension, it's basically just part of a house or apartment.. it usually has basic kitchen supplies and bedding for everyone to sleep on the floor. It's perfect for get-togethers like these. There are about 20 people coming up to Cheorwon for the Thanksgiving festivities.
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| Carla makes mojitos (a rarity here in Korea) |
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| the boys goofing around |
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| Apples to Apples before dinner |
We spend a few hours playing apples to apples and watching football before our friends arrive. When everyone is there, we go around in a circle and give thanks- and then the feast begins! Along with the things we brought, there was stuffing, cornbread, honey glazed carrots, homemade hummus, pumpkin dip and ginger snaps, roasted veggies, more greenbean casserole, home-made cranberry sauce, fresh baked bread, pumpkin pie, apple pie, fresh whipped cream, and real butter.
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| around in a circle, giving thanks |
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| Carla does work on the turkey |
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| Matt makes gravy |
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| Carla makes a plate- look at all that goodness |
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| Everyone enjoying their meals |
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| The feast! |
After dinner, everyone is in a food coma. We spend the rest of the night playing scrabble, having a sing-a-long with the guitar/piano, and of course- having a dance party.
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| food coma |
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| Lisa's solo of the Little Mermaid soundtrack |
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| singing |
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| scrabble |
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| makgeoli bottle microphone.. nice |
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| bailey's |
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| leftovers, of course |
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| baileys shots in chocolate covered strawberries |
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| limbo |
And like I said, this was in a pension with about 20 people, so here was one of the rooms the next morning:
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| cozy! |
So all in all, it was a fantastic holiday. Everyone really went all out on the food and a good time was had by all. With friends like these, it really makes being away from home not so bad. Happy Thanksgiving!
Cheorwon Chamber Ensemble Winter Spectacular
On December 1st, I attended a wonderful show in Sincherwon (the town over) hosted by the Cheorwon chamber ensemble. There were a variety of acts- orchestras, child violinists, solos, a capella, etc. And the best part? Along with the talented Koreans, my friends were performing!
Johanna was the M/C. She was paired with a Korean girl to do the translation. Jojo was so hilarious, but her counterpart was realllly not into what she was saying. Jojo would tell long stories or make jokes and then the girl would translate it into about 3 words. This whole situation was really funny in itself.
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| The M/Cs |
Scott and Claire each performed a solo, and Scott performed with the chamber ensemble. Of course, my favorite part of the show is when Matt, my boyfriend, got up and played 3 songs with Claire and Scott. Their band is called "The Clatt," which stands for Claire, Matt and Scott. I know, their name sounds like a disease. They played two songs that Matt had written, and then a Korean song that the audience got really into. Here are the videos posted below! I got the first and third song. The first video is "Fireflies" and the second one is a Korean song that none of us know the name of.
I apologize in advance for the end of the video being shakey. In all honesty, my arm got tired (I know, lamest excuse ever).
When the show was over, all the acts came on stage. Everyone was given at least two bouquets of flowers.
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| the whole show |
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| The Clatt |
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| Matt and I after the show (he later gave me the flowers) |
Friday, December 2, 2011
English Complexity
This is a really cool video that I used to teach a lesson to my adult students. (Actually, my friend Jerusha made the lesson, so I can't totally take credit). It really gets you thinking about how complex (and overwhelming) the English language is. It uses nine words: play, blow, break, split, run, fly, fall, light, and space.. and it makes you think about how many different meanings each word can have. For example, run: run in your tights, to run (jog), runny nose, running water, run a bath, running paint, run a red light, run away, run way, run a class, run machinery, etc. Or split: banana split, do a split (gymnastics), split up (break up), split wood, split your pants, a split in bowling, etc. Pretty crazy! They really enjoyed the lesson, and I really enjoyed the video. I hope you do too!
Monday, November 28, 2011
My New Town
As many of you know, I've returned to South Korea for a second year. After a long hiatus from any form of work, a trip to Europe and a nice visit with family and friends in the USA, I'm finally back.
As of now, I've moved to an area called Cheorwon (철원군). I've mentioned Cheorwon a lot in former posts, so my moving here is not totally random. I've visited a lot over the past year for various events. I've finally gotten to join my boyfriend and a great group of friends that are teachers up here.
First I'll tell you a little bit about Cheorwon. Cheorwon is a county of about 50,000 people. Below, you'll see a map. The big red line is the DMZ (demilitarized zone separated North and South Korea). The area highlighted in green that says "North Gangwon-do" is North Korea. As you can see, Cheorwon is on the border. The county actually straddles North and South Korea because it was split after the Korean war. Where I live is about 2-2.5 hours from Seoul, by bus.
Being on the DMZ, Cheorwon has a very interesting history. Before the division of Korea, Cheorwon was populated area and a transportation hub for the country. It was actually larger than Chuncheon, which is now the state capital of Ganwon-do. After the division of Korea, Cheorwon fell under control of North Korea because it is located above the 38th parallel. During the Korean war, it became a bloody area. As the southern point of the Iron Triangle (a major invasion route to Seoul), the city was wiped off the map (sort of). Much of where "old Cheorwon" was is now inside the DMZ, which can't be accessed by civilians. But, new Cheorwon is now my new home.
Cheorwon has three main towns- DongSong, Sincherwon, and Wasu-ri. I live in DongSong, which is the biggest of the three. We have almost everything you could think of that you might need- a large supermarket, a gym, some bars, good restaurants, etc. Almost everything is in walking distance, which is nice. There is a small downtown-ish area located on the main street that runs through town.
Below are some photos that I have taken around DongSong. It really is a beautiful town. There are a lot of gardens/ farms off of the main road. A bit outside of DongSong are big rice padis. We have a large mountain, Geumhawk-san (san meaning mountain) that is a tough hike, but definitely worth the views.
As for my job, I'm currently working a brand spankin' new English academy called Thanks Mom English. My students are great. I still only have a few because it's such a new school, but they're slowly coming. My boss is really nice and has helped me a lot with visa issues that I had. She's really encouraging and we get along really well.
I have a few different levels right now. I have advanced adult students, a university student who's brushing up on (aka learning) English because he's going to the US to teach taekwondo next month, and a few elementary school students. It's been nice making my own lesson plans and deciding what we'll do each day.
A lot of the Koreans think I'm crazy for leaving the exciting city of Seoul to move to a much more rural area. And maybe I am. But... I love it! I love the small town feel, the simplicity, and the beautiful of countryside. I like how excited the people here are about meeting me and learning English.
As of now, I've moved to an area called Cheorwon (철원군). I've mentioned Cheorwon a lot in former posts, so my moving here is not totally random. I've visited a lot over the past year for various events. I've finally gotten to join my boyfriend and a great group of friends that are teachers up here.
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| Here's Matt and I doing some grocery shopping |
Being on the DMZ, Cheorwon has a very interesting history. Before the division of Korea, Cheorwon was populated area and a transportation hub for the country. It was actually larger than Chuncheon, which is now the state capital of Ganwon-do. After the division of Korea, Cheorwon fell under control of North Korea because it is located above the 38th parallel. During the Korean war, it became a bloody area. As the southern point of the Iron Triangle (a major invasion route to Seoul), the city was wiped off the map (sort of). Much of where "old Cheorwon" was is now inside the DMZ, which can't be accessed by civilians. But, new Cheorwon is now my new home.
Cheorwon has three main towns- DongSong, Sincherwon, and Wasu-ri. I live in DongSong, which is the biggest of the three. We have almost everything you could think of that you might need- a large supermarket, a gym, some bars, good restaurants, etc. Almost everything is in walking distance, which is nice. There is a small downtown-ish area located on the main street that runs through town.
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| DongSong at rush hour |
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| We have fine wine available at our local supermarket: "House Wine Red Wine" |
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| Fresh Mondoo (Korean dumplings) |
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| Only the best pizza toppings- peaches and olives |
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| The road that leads to our apartment |
Below are some photos that I have taken around DongSong. It really is a beautiful town. There are a lot of gardens/ farms off of the main road. A bit outside of DongSong are big rice padis. We have a large mountain, Geumhawk-san (san meaning mountain) that is a tough hike, but definitely worth the views.
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| Geumhawk-san |
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| The road leading up to Geumhawk-san, where you can get the freshest spring water |
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| DongSong |
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| View from the top of Geumhawk mountain |
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| View of DongSong from the top of Geumhawk mountain |
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| walking through town |
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| outside of the apartment |
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| my new running route |
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| along the stream |
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| view from our apartment |
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| great place for running |
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| the alleyways of DongSong |
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| you know how it's really close to North Korea? Here's a war bunker in the mountain |
As for my job, I'm currently working a brand spankin' new English academy called Thanks Mom English. My students are great. I still only have a few because it's such a new school, but they're slowly coming. My boss is really nice and has helped me a lot with visa issues that I had. She's really encouraging and we get along really well.
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| Street that the school is on |
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| It says "thanks mom english" in korean |
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| here's the school |
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| classroom for the little ones |
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| classroom for adults |
I have a few different levels right now. I have advanced adult students, a university student who's brushing up on (aka learning) English because he's going to the US to teach taekwondo next month, and a few elementary school students. It's been nice making my own lesson plans and deciding what we'll do each day.
A lot of the Koreans think I'm crazy for leaving the exciting city of Seoul to move to a much more rural area. And maybe I am. But... I love it! I love the small town feel, the simplicity, and the beautiful of countryside. I like how excited the people here are about meeting me and learning English.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Food tour of Italy
On August 7th, I boarded a plane at Incheon Airport and headed towards Italy. After a brief layover in Moscow and a flight where the child behind me screamed in Russian and/or kicked my seat the entire time, I landed in Rome. I met Mike, my best friend since... forever.. in baggage claim. We've been talking about going to Italy together since freshman year of high school so we were really excited to be there together, especially after not seeing each other for almost a year and a half.
Mike and I had both been to Italy before, so we collectively had one goal: eat as much as possible, all the time. I had been eating rice for the past year, and was ready for unlimited pizza, cheese, pasta, and gelato. I didn't want to seem like a total fatass so... I'm really glad that Mike was on the same page as me. We started our trip off with pizza, pasta, and a liter of red wine.
We spent our first day in Rome wandering around seeing the touristy sights. Like I said, we had both been to Rome and were kind of stressed out by the big crowds around the city. We did see the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps, but we spent a great deal of the morning wandering around, eating panini, drinking cappuccinos, and catching up on what has happened over the past year. One of the reasons I love Rome is that everything is SO friggin' old. There are just ruins everywhere. Even if you don't go to the big sight-seeing spots around the city, you will see historical buildings and monuments everywhere you go.. on big streets, on side streets, and in alleyways. I think it would be really cool to live in Rome, because the backdrop of your daily life is stunning art and world-famous architecture designed by some of the greatest artists of all time. It would be so cool to be on your way to.. say.. the bank.. but pass the Colosseum as if it's no big deal. And, OK, their subway sucks.. but you can't even blame them- every time they start digging, their work is interrupted by some more unbelievable archaeological finds. So cool, right?
In the afternoon, we boarded a train bound for Salerno. Mike's dad is from Italy and still has a lot of family there. I had met them before and was SO excited to see them. They picked us up at the train station in Salerno and drove us back to their village in the mountains.
Below is a zoomed in map of Campania.. the "state" that Mike's family is in. They live in a small village called Sant'Arseno. It is about 45 minutes south of Salerno.
Sant'Arseno is a tiny town of about 2,000 people. Everyone knows everyone else, and people often stopped Mike because they knew his dad growing up. I loved the atmosphere and the friendliness of everyone.
Mike's family was soo nice and very hospitable. We spent time with the whole clan.. Zio Pinnoucia, Zio Jonny, Zio Carmello, Michele.. all the nicest people. They didn't speak English but we somehow were still able to communicate and had a lot of laughs. Zia Pinnoucia is possibly the best cook in the world. On 2 separate occasions, she cooked up 5 course meals for the entire family. Fresh ravioli, beef, chicken, salad, fish, spaghetti, pie, crem brulee.. the whole shebang. We mostly hung out with Mike's cousin Carmen, and her husband Angelo. They are a lot of fun and brought us to a lot of cool places in the area.
After spending a couple of days in Sant'Arseno, Mike and I headed to the Amalfi coast to do some sightseeing. I have always wanted to go to the Amalfi coast so I was very excited. We took an early bus to Salerno, ate pizza for breakfast, then boarded a ferry to Positano.
The ferry ride itself was stunning. We sailed past villas and hotels built into the rock. We then arrived in Positano, one of the picturesque towns on the Amalfi Coast. Positano was beautiful and quaint.. it was filled with tiny shops selling ceramics, limoncello, and of course.. tacky souvenirs.
After spending a few hours wandering around Positano, we boarded a ferry bound for Amalfi. Amalfi was less picturesque than Positano, but also quieter, which was nice. We stayed in Amalfi for the night and had a gorgeous hotel room overlooking the sea.
The next morning, we were due to leave Amalfi and had the plan to stop in Sorrento. Turns out we missed the only boat, so we wound up going to Capri instead. Not a bad choice. It was stunning, but it wasn't my favorite spot. It was super touristy (of course) and kind of stressful. We also made the mistake of renting a scooter to drive around and explore the island. Sounds like a great idea, right? Matt has a scooter in Korea and he often lets me drive it, so I thought I knew what I was doing. Capri was VERY different from the flat rice padi roads of Cheorwon. It was steep, mountainous and curvy. Mike and I almost died about... 12 times. The roads were narrow and huge buses kept coming within inches of us. Not to mention, our scooter broke down while we were going up a hill, leaving us stranded. What was supposed to be a relaxing afternoon of exploring Capri turned into stressful, life-threatening experience. Mike wasn't too happy but.. I had fun nonetheless.
From Capri, we took a ferry to Ischia- which turned out to be one of my favorite places in this world. It was a pretty big island that I have been dying to go to ever since I worked at Luca's Ristorante when I was 15 (the owners were from Ischia). It was beautiful and relaxing. We stayed at an awesome hostel (Ring Hostel) and the owners were really helpful. The workers at the hostel said that we were two of about ten americans to ever pass through there.. which I was really surprised about. I guess Ischia isn't really marketed towards Americans (like Capri is), so it's mostly a vacation spot for Italians and other Europeans. Needless to say, Mike and I were feeling pretty smug about ourselves for choosing to go to such a hidden gem. It is definitely a place that I want to go back to and stay... forever.
The landmark of Ischia is Il Castello Aragonese (the Aragonese Castle). It was built on a rock near the island in 474 BC. BC!!! It kept switching hands between ancient people like the Romans and the Parthopeans. Then it became a convent, then it was a prison. It's been around for a long time so it's been a lot of different things. In 1912, it was sold to a private owner.. which actually wound up being the aunt of the people who own Luca's Ristorante in my town in NJ. You can go inside the castle and there is a cafe up there, so Mike and I ate ice cream and wrote post cards. I seriously want to move in. Or at least have a big party there. These photos don't even do it justice.
After some time in Ischia, we headed back towards Sant'Arseno. We had to go through Napoli, which was one of the weirdest places I've ever seen. I had wanted to stay and walk around before we got there, but Mike convinced me that it was a bad idea. Now, I completely understand why. It was dirty, run-down, mafia-run, and people were creepy looking (which is a rarity for Italy).
We spent our next day in Sant'Arseno and Carmen took us up to the top of Monte Carmello. It was a beautiful day and we had a great view at the top. There is a church at the top, and there is one day of the year that everyone in the town walks/hikes/processes to the top of the mountain before dawn. At sunrise, the town gathers at the top of the mountain to pray and be together as a community.
After our nice day at the mountain, Mike and I headed to Pompeii for a day trip. It was a gloomy, windy day so it was actually perfectly creepy. We walked through the ruins with Mount Vesuvius looming in the background. I remembered studying Pompeii in like.. elementary school.. but I kind of forgot about it since then. Not that I forgot about it, but I don't exactly think about Pompeii on a regular basis. It was really cool seeing the ruins and re-learning about the disaster. We humans always love disasters.
A lot of people (well.. some) believe that the Pompeiians were actually wiped out by a volcano because they were being punished for their sins. It was supposedly a society of heathens that just loved partying, adultery, being naked, and partying more. There was a brothel, and check out the paintings on the walls...
Pretty crazy to think that humans haven't really changed in.. all of time.
After Pompeii, Carmen and Angelo picked us up from the train station in Battipaglia, which is famous for their buffalo mozzarella. We had the freshest cheese in the world, with tomatoes, prosciutto and everything was amazing.
As our trip drew to a close, Mike and I headed back to Rome. He caught a flight back to DC and I stayed for a couple extra days to explore. I made some friends and did some sight-seeing before I left for New York.
I had a great trip and we packed a lot into those 10 days. I will always love Italy!
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| Here's Mike and I in high school with our friend Steve. We look awful. |
We spent our first day in Rome wandering around seeing the touristy sights. Like I said, we had both been to Rome and were kind of stressed out by the big crowds around the city. We did see the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps, but we spent a great deal of the morning wandering around, eating panini, drinking cappuccinos, and catching up on what has happened over the past year. One of the reasons I love Rome is that everything is SO friggin' old. There are just ruins everywhere. Even if you don't go to the big sight-seeing spots around the city, you will see historical buildings and monuments everywhere you go.. on big streets, on side streets, and in alleyways. I think it would be really cool to live in Rome, because the backdrop of your daily life is stunning art and world-famous architecture designed by some of the greatest artists of all time. It would be so cool to be on your way to.. say.. the bank.. but pass the Colosseum as if it's no big deal. And, OK, their subway sucks.. but you can't even blame them- every time they start digging, their work is interrupted by some more unbelievable archaeological finds. So cool, right?
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| The crowded Spanish steps |
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| View of the city |
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| Panini and cappucinos in the sun |
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| Mike and I at the Trevi fountain |
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| ruins! |
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| more ruins! on a random street. that we loved. |
In the afternoon, we boarded a train bound for Salerno. Mike's dad is from Italy and still has a lot of family there. I had met them before and was SO excited to see them. They picked us up at the train station in Salerno and drove us back to their village in the mountains.
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| Salerno at sunset |
Sant'Arseno is a tiny town of about 2,000 people. Everyone knows everyone else, and people often stopped Mike because they knew his dad growing up. I loved the atmosphere and the friendliness of everyone.
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| the streets of Sant'Arseno |
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| the view I got to wake up to every morning |
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| La piazza (the square) in Sant'Arseno |
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| Il Pastio- the fresh pasta store! my heaven. |
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| Sant'Arseno |
Mike's family was soo nice and very hospitable. We spent time with the whole clan.. Zio Pinnoucia, Zio Jonny, Zio Carmello, Michele.. all the nicest people. They didn't speak English but we somehow were still able to communicate and had a lot of laughs. Zia Pinnoucia is possibly the best cook in the world. On 2 separate occasions, she cooked up 5 course meals for the entire family. Fresh ravioli, beef, chicken, salad, fish, spaghetti, pie, crem brulee.. the whole shebang. We mostly hung out with Mike's cousin Carmen, and her husband Angelo. They are a lot of fun and brought us to a lot of cool places in the area.
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| Angelo makes his own pizza! |
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| Carmen making cafe |
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| Out for pizza and beer |
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| Mike and Zia Pinnoucia in her beautiful kitchen |
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| the port in Salerno. What a gorgeous day! |
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| A map of the Amalfi coast |
The ferry ride itself was stunning. We sailed past villas and hotels built into the rock. We then arrived in Positano, one of the picturesque towns on the Amalfi Coast. Positano was beautiful and quaint.. it was filled with tiny shops selling ceramics, limoncello, and of course.. tacky souvenirs.
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| Entering Positano |
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| Cafes by the sea |
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| Here I am! |
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| Best meal of our lives- Gnocchi Sorrentina, pumpkin ravioli, and a bottle of Pinot |
After spending a few hours wandering around Positano, we boarded a ferry bound for Amalfi. Amalfi was less picturesque than Positano, but also quieter, which was nice. We stayed in Amalfi for the night and had a gorgeous hotel room overlooking the sea.
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| View from the hostel. for only 20 euro! thank god for low season |
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| View from our window |
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| Limoncello shop in Amalfi |
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| Boat sailing in |
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| Marina Piccola |
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| The main port of Capri |
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| Us with our death trap |
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| Capri |
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| gated villa |
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| streets of ischia |
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| colorful fruit stand |
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| view from the castle |
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| mike and i in the castle |
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| napping kitty |
After some time in Ischia, we headed back towards Sant'Arseno. We had to go through Napoli, which was one of the weirdest places I've ever seen. I had wanted to stay and walk around before we got there, but Mike convinced me that it was a bad idea. Now, I completely understand why. It was dirty, run-down, mafia-run, and people were creepy looking (which is a rarity for Italy).
We spent our next day in Sant'Arseno and Carmen took us up to the top of Monte Carmello. It was a beautiful day and we had a great view at the top. There is a church at the top, and there is one day of the year that everyone in the town walks/hikes/processes to the top of the mountain before dawn. At sunrise, the town gathers at the top of the mountain to pray and be together as a community.
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| Carmen and I |
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| Church at the top |
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| Carmen, her friend Monica, and Mike |
After our nice day at the mountain, Mike and I headed to Pompeii for a day trip. It was a gloomy, windy day so it was actually perfectly creepy. We walked through the ruins with Mount Vesuvius looming in the background. I remembered studying Pompeii in like.. elementary school.. but I kind of forgot about it since then. Not that I forgot about it, but I don't exactly think about Pompeii on a regular basis. It was really cool seeing the ruins and re-learning about the disaster. We humans always love disasters.
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| ahh humans |
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| a former restaurant |
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| ruins and vesuvius |
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| a former theatre |
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| a former battle rink that actually got shut down for a few years because the fights got too barbaric |
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| streets of pompeii |
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| streets of pompeii |
A lot of people (well.. some) believe that the Pompeiians were actually wiped out by a volcano because they were being punished for their sins. It was supposedly a society of heathens that just loved partying, adultery, being naked, and partying more. There was a brothel, and check out the paintings on the walls...
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| a bed in the brothel |
After Pompeii, Carmen and Angelo picked us up from the train station in Battipaglia, which is famous for their buffalo mozzarella. We had the freshest cheese in the world, with tomatoes, prosciutto and everything was amazing.
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| truly spectacular |
As our trip drew to a close, Mike and I headed back to Rome. He caught a flight back to DC and I stayed for a couple extra days to explore. I made some friends and did some sight-seeing before I left for New York.
I had a great trip and we packed a lot into those 10 days. I will always love Italy!
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