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.

Here's Mike and I in high school with our friend Steve. We look awful.

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?

The crowded Spanish steps

View of the city

Panini and cappucinos in the sun

Mike and I at the Trevi fountain

ruins!

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.

Salerno at sunset

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.

the streets of Sant'Arseno

the view I got to wake up to every morning

La piazza (the square) in Sant'Arseno

Il Pastio- the fresh pasta store! my heaven.

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.

Angelo makes his own pizza!

Carmen making cafe

Out for pizza and beer

Mike and Zia Pinnoucia in her beautiful kitchen

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 port in Salerno. What a gorgeous day!

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.

Entering Positano

Cafes by the sea

Here I am!

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.

View from the hostel. for only 20 euro! thank god for low season

View from our window

Limoncello shop in Amalfi

Boat sailing in

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.

Marina Piccola

The main port of Capri

Us with our death trap

Capri

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. 

gated villa

streets of ischia

colorful fruit stand

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.

view from the castle

mike and i in the castle

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.

Carmen and I

Church at the top

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.

ahh humans

a former restaurant

ruins and vesuvius

a former theatre

a former battle rink that actually got shut down for a few years because the fights got too barbaric

streets of pompeii

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...

a bed in the brothel

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.

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!

Email from a former student

The unfortunate thing about being a teacher: leaving students behind.  I recently got this email from one of my favorites (now that I'm gone, I can pick favorites- right?)

ninateachar!
my name is mary
ninateacher finished go home America april classroom friendeverysad.
newteachar name is staveteachar.
ninateachar&staveteachar is very different
game different learning different anyway I miss you……
good-bye

I could criticize her punctuation and spelling... but it's just TOO CUTE.  Glad to know I'm missed!

Moving Day and Seoraksan

On September 23rd, after a year in Eunpyeong, Seoul, my contract was up and I was ready to move on.  I felt sentimental for about one second about leaving my adopted hometown.. then I remembered I had about a million things to look forward to: staying with Matt in Dong Song, being close to my friends, going to Italy, visiting with family in the US, a trip to Vietnam and Laos in the winter, etc.

I was leaving the best mondu-guk restaurant in Korea behind, and had some tears in my eyes while saying good-bye to my favorite co-workers.  I was especially upset having to say goodbye to Eva, my favorite Korean co-teacher.. we had a lot of fun together and also made a great teaching team.  She was the one I turned to whenever I had a question about something "Korean".  She definitely made my life in Seoul much better! 

Eva and I on my birthday

Other than that, there was not much else to be sad about.  I was honestly pretty sick of my school and had been counting down the days until it would be over.  We had a strict curriculum that the teachers had to follow, and it was the same old thing every day.  After a year, it got tiresome and I could tell that the kids were bored of it- but it was frowned upon to stray even a little bit from the book.  I was also tired of working national holidays.  I know it sounds like a petty complaint, but those extra vacation days really make a big difference.  And last of all, I got really irritated by bureaucracy of the private academy.  I don't want to go into it on a public blog, but the business/school was run inefficiently and I had no power to make suggestions or change it.  So, when moving day came, my amazing boyfriend and friends came into Seoul to help me pack up, clean up, and move out.  And that was that.

I spent 10 days after the end of my contract in Cheorwon.  It was supposed to be a relaxing 10 days of hiking, biking, and cooking.. but it turned into a lot of job-coordinating, paperwork, unpacking and repacking.  I think it's a sign you're getting old- when you spend your whole vacation doing work.   I did get a few hikes in and made it to Seoraksan (a national park/ mountain range in Sokcho) for a long weekend with Matt, Scott, and Jerusha.  We had a really good hike to a peak that none of us really knew the name of.. but it was stunning none-the-less.  I had been to Seoraksan the year before to hike Ulsambawi with friends, but I really enjoyed this new peak because it was "off the beaten path," so to say.  The only other people up there with us were intense hikers and rock climbers.  My 10 day vacation in Korea was a whirlwind, but it was great to spend some time with Matt and the gang before I left on my big solo-journey.

View from the top.. that's the sea out there

The boys at the start of the hike

Matt and I at the top. Doesn't it look like lord of the rings?

View from outside the cave

da big buddha

Seodaemun Prison

During my last week in Seoul, I finally found some time to do something touristy and learn a bit more about my area.  So I got on the bus 702A and headed to Dongnimmun Station (독립공원) (subway line 3) to check out Seodaemun Prison- it sounded interesting and gory (always a good combination).

Dongnimmun Park and Independence Gate

The prison itself was located in a gorgeous park (a rarity in Seoul) with great memorials, fountains and a view of Namsan Tower.   In the park is the historical Independence Gate (독립문).  The gate was built to represent Korea's movement away from Korea's dependency of China.  Independence Gate actually replaced another gate (Yeongeunmun Gate), which was used by Korean officials to welcome Chinese diplomats to Korea.  Yeongeunmun also means "welcome gate for obligation"- so building Independence Gate holds a lot of significance in Korean Independence (hence, the name).

Independence Gate

Seodaemun Prison
The prison itself was built in 1908 by the Koreans and was originally named Gyeongseong Gamok.  When Japan entered Korea and started to take away national sovereignty, many patriotic Koreans started an Independence movement against the Japanese.   In 1923, the name was changed to Seodaemun Prison.  It was used by the Japanese to imprison the many Korean freedom fighters, and the conditions were terrible.  The prisoners were beaten, tortured, cramped, underfed, overworked- you name it.

The prison grounds are actually quite beautiful with the bright red brick and groomed grass.  Despite their beauty, they hold an ugly history.

Prison grounds

Before going the prison, I was actually expecting a lot more anti-Japanese sentiment.  It would have been only appropriate considering the prison's history.  This would have been awkward though.. because.. I like Japan.  However, the museum was really tasteful and gave a lot of information without condemning the Japanese too much.  It definitely inspired Korean pride.. if I was one of the many Korean students there on a class trip, it would make me proud to have such heroic ancestors.

The prison is comprised of many different buildings.  The first part of the prison walk is through a museum giving information on the history of the prison.  It had a large room with the pictures of the many freedom fighters (over 500) that died in the prison from the terrible conditions.  The museum had old authentic uniforms, handcuffs and chains.  Apparently, the prison was also used as a factory where the prisoners were forced to work day and night making clothes, weapons and other materials for the Japanese to use.

Heading down into the basement is where it got scary.  It was the "torture section" of the prison and the curators made life-sized mannequins displaying the different torture techniques.

ouch

interrogation

They had displays of people (mannequins) hanging upside down with their head in a bucket of water... "people" having their finger nails removed, etc.  They had a box with spikes inside where they would put people and shake it.  There were also closet-type things that made were impossible to sit down in but also built in a way that you couldn't stand up straight, either.  They actually left those opens so that you could try it out yourself.  I went into one and some brat on a class trip tried locking me in!! It was like being in an upright coffin.

The prison also had the rows of prison cells open (with mannequin guards, of course, which kept startling me).

very creepy

solitary confinement cell for the "extra patriotic" fighters

There were multiple buildings with rows and rows of cells.  They were usually over-cramped without toilets, heat, or aircon (obviously).  They also had the execution building open for viewing but there you weren't allowed to take pictures.  There were also tunnels for the disposal of bodies that weren't even found until recently. 

Overall, I really enjoyed seeing the prison.  Before I went, I saw on other peoples' blogs that the museum was about cultivating anger and hatred towards Japan.  I was expecting to see anti-Japanese graffiti and such, but I didn't see any of that.  I think the museum encouraged visitors to have respect for the patriotic ancestors that fought for their beliefs and sacrificed themselves for independence.

Getting to Seodaemun Prison:

Dongnimmun Station- Orange Line 3 OR bus 702A/702B
Enter the park.