Madrid: Better Late than Never

Sorry, Madrid. I like you now

It took me a really long time to board the "Madrid is awesome" train, but I finally made it. Enjoying the city didn't come easy, but it wasn't its fault.

Gray weather = sad weather = unmotivated Noah

As I mentioned in the last Madrid post, exploring the city was harder because my apartment and the study center were far away from anything interesting, so I really had to carve out some time and plan ahead if I wanted to go exploring. Madrid is spread out and thus not very walkable so I really can't wander much. I also still had Rome hangover (which I'm now going to describe as culture shock), so I got frustrated with Madrid initially because it wasn't Rome.

Finally, I was depressed during some of my time in Madrid, mostly during the first couple weeks. The insane pace of the program and drop in quality and amount of sleep finally caught up to me. Combine that with gray, rainy weather (which already makes me depressed) and it made it hard to get out, get excited about things, and put in the effort exploring Madrid requires. Naturally, this contributed pretty heavily to how much I was enjoying myself and the city.

Once the weather warmed up and I adjusted my expectations and realized I needed to sleep more, Madrid grew on me quickly. I spent my final couple weeks in Madrid finally finding all the cool places. I'm happy I found them, but I'm sad I wasn't able to find them earlier and visit them more than once. I feel guilty leaving Madrid because I feel like I didn't really get to know the city in the same way I did Rome. Only at the end of my time there did I realize how cool the city was and I feel like there was a lot I didn't see or do because I didn't give it more of a chance early on.

Tacos from Takos Al Pastor, one of the restaurants I was
able to find in Madrid.

The biggest reason I didn't like Madrid initially is still my least favorite thing about the city: the food. It's really underwhelming. In every city I've been to, I can do some quick searches on the internet and come up with several great places to eat. Except Madrid. In Madrid, the top rated restaurants that weren't way out of my price range didn't impress me. I could tell the ingredients were quality, but my food was usually bland and unseasoned. The flavors didn't dance in my mouth and make me savor every bite and make me fall in love with life like all my favorite meals do. It wasn't necessarily bad food, it was just food--something to go in my stomach to tide over my hunger until the next meal, not a special experience. There are exceptions (I'll do a post in a few days), but they are hard to find. This was a huge letdown, especially coming off the ridiculously high standard of food in Rome. I was told Madrid was a great food town, but I can't say I agree. If you want good Spanish food, head down to Andulucía.

Thankfully, what Madrid lacks in good food it makes up for in other ways.

Parque del Oeste

The parks are my favorite thing about Madrid, hands down. For a major Metropolitan area, you wouldn't think it would have a lot of greenery, but it does. According to the internet, there are a whopping 13 parks and gardens in the city, a couple of which are Central Park-sized. Parks in Madrid were a bit like churches in Rome for me: if I saw one near me on a map, I had to go see it.

Arganzuela

You can get lost in the parks and in some places, it's so green and peaceful, you feel like you're miles from the city despite being less than a mile from a major street. Sometimes I'd go to a park, find a bench or a grassy area and just lay around for a bit as a de-stressor or a much-needed break from spending all afternoon walking around. Retiro Park is the most famous, but my favorites were Parque de Oeste, Arganzuela (along the river in South Madrid), and the lake area of Casa de Campo.

You know what rhymes with free? Dalí.
(From the Reina Sofia)

There tons of student discounts. Nearly every major museum or public service offers some kind of student discount. I've been able to get into a lot of the museums either for free or with at least a 50% discount by showing them that I'm a student under 25. The two major art museums, the Prado and Reina Sofia, are already worth a visit, but since they both offered free admission for students, there's no reason not to go. I saw the Prado in 4 separate trips because I didn't have anything to lose because of the free admission. The monthly public transportation pass is also only €20 for students versus the regular €55 price. It more pays for itself if you're there even for a week.

I will forever miss Madrid's metro. Oh god, it's so good. I know I already touched on this in the previous post, but I've only had one incident where it was even remotely slow. It's clean, safe, works like clockwork, and gets you everywhere. I'm going to be so sad going back to L.A., where the public transportation is none of those things. I took it everywhere. It's a godsend.

At a concert I went to. The
moment the frontman pulled
out a ukulele, I knew it was
going to be good.

Finally, Madrid is a city of doing, not of seeing. What I mean by that is the city is all about what you can do in it versus what you can see. You shouldn't go to Madrid to see the monuments and buildings. Places like the Royal Palace and Cibiles Plaza are really nice, the parks are pretty, and so forth, but the vibrant heart of Madrid lays in its bars, clubs, restaurants, and events.

Pinchos, which are like tapas but different.
I couldn't tell you the difference.

         Even the food is an event in Madrid. Tapas bars, the most popular form of restaurant in the city, are made specifically for going out with a few friends and drinking and eating the night away together.
I think that's part of the reason the food is not as good as other cities. The food is merely one part of the experience of dining out, and therefore if the service and atmosphere are good, the bar for food can be lowered because it is not the only thing people go out to a restaurant for. This also explains why there are hardly any takeout or fast food places that aren't international companies.

         All of this is important to know when visiting Madrid, and something I wish I'd known when I first got there. I spent too long waiting to find the cool sights--Madrid's answer to the Colosseum and the Vatican--that I feel like I was totally missing the point of the city.

Cibiles Plaza. I'm really proud of how good this picture looks.

Though I like other cities in Europe more, Madrid really grew on me. It's a beautiful city filled with life and culture. I definitely want to come back to Spain at some point, so I imagine I'll stop by Madrid when I do. I'd like to come back and give it a second chance and an apology, though I'd bring more friends and money than I had this time around.

So until next time, Madrid, Adiós.

A Weekend in Lisboncisco

The tales are fake cause it's not actually San Francisco.

I love San Francisco. It's a great city with many unique, unmistakable features. A few highlights are:

The hills:                                                                    
The cable cars:
            


The specialty dessert shops:                                                        

The beautiful architecture:















The gorgeous bay:

                              



The seafood:

The massive bridge connecting the two ends of the bay:

And of course, who could forget the famous, one-of-a-kind, Golden Gate Bridge:

Oh wait. Never mind. That's Lisbon, Portugal.

Lisbon is Europe's answer to San Francisco. Or, San Francisco is America's answer to Lisbon. I'm not sure which. It seems like a chicken/egg thing because while Lisbon is much older, there are a lot of modern features the two cities have in common, such as the bridge that looks too much like the Golden Gate to be a coincidence. The similarities are too uncanny to ignore. It started when I'd see something in Lisbon and think, "hey! This reminds me of San Francisco" and the similarities kept piling up over the weekend.

I didn't know that much about Lisbon or Portugal when I booked my trip there, but it was listed on some website as one of the best value cities in Europe and the flights were relatively cheap, so I decided to go for a weekend. It was great.

Here's some of my notes about the city, other than the fact that it's Europe's San Francisco:

The hill down from Barrio Alto

The hill down from my hostel

Hills, hills, and more hills: You need a topographical map to explore Lisbon. My hostel was a quarter mile from one of the trendy neighborhoods in town, Barrio Alto. What they don't tell you is that while it is a quarter mile away, that quarter mile involves going all the way down a hill and all the way up an even steeper one. "Barrio Alto" literally translates to "high neighborhood," so I'm not sure what I expected.
        Every day is leg day in Lisbon. I guarantee you will walk up at least one steep hill per day if you do the city on foot at all. It's just part of life there. It'll leave your legs extremely sore by the end of the weekend, but it's a good workout and it justifies splurging on the food.


The Portuguese can be called many things, but "good drivers" is not one of them: They're on a par with Roman drivers and possibly a bit worse. You kinda have to time it and run if you want to cross the street when there's no stoplight.

Rossio Square, where a lot of this happens

Waiters and drug dealers are aggressive: I couldn't go through Rossio Square or any other main area of town without hearing someone ask me, "hashish?" Sometimes it was just a passing whisper as I walked by, but other times guys would call me out and be like, "Hey, buddy! Hashish? Marijuana?" while walking towards me, showing a small bag of weed or a lighter in their palm. Restaurant waiters in the tourist area are also bad about this. I stopped once to glance at a menu and after realizing it was too pricey and probably not that great, I walked away and a lady came out and shouted, "Sir! Come back!" so I turned around and she said, "why don't you want to eat here??" like it was of some great offense to her. All this freaked me out at first, but by the end of the first day, I realized that Lisbon's vendors are slightly shadier versions of the people who stop and ask you if you want to donate to save the oceans or something like that. You just have to look forward and ignore them and they won't pursue you any further. It's an acquired skill. Shoutout to the gay rights activists and CALPIRG at UC Davis for preparing me for Lisbon.

Vasco da Gama's tomb in the St.
Jerome church in Belem

The Portuguese love Vasco da Gama: He was an explorer in the 16th Century who put Portugal on the map and paved the way for its large colonial empire. His remains are on display in the St. Jerome church, one of the statues in the Belem area shows him leading all the other figures out towards sea, and many roads and buildings bare his name. I have to think he is linked with national pride, something that has not always been easy to come by in Portugal, particularly in the last century.

A lot of people speak English well: I was shocked at how many people in Lisbon spoke English really well. While people do in Spain and Italy, it's usually pretty broken, but in Portugal, I'd ask someone if they spoke English and they'd understand what I was saying and respond clearly. This made getting around a lot easier, considering I knew absolutely no Portuguese coming to Lisbon. It's an interesting language. It's kinda like Spanish, but it sounds more like French when it's spoken, but it nonetheless confused the hell out of me.

The Food:
-Cervejeria Ramiro: Since it's, you know, kind of in a bay, Lisbon is known for its seafood. The specialty dish is bachalau, which is salted cod. I didn't have any because I'm not a big fan of seafood. Still, I felt like I had to eat something from the ocean while in Lisbon, so I went to a famous restaurant called Cervejaria Ramiro. I'd heard of it because travel show host Anthony Bourdain goes there in an episode where he visits Lisbon. The place is pretty easy to spot because of the long line outside. I waited about 25-30 minutes, but this seems to be the norm and part of the Ramiro experience.

Said display case of seafood I sat next to. My garlic shrimp was
the picture I used for "seafood" in the intro.

       I sat right next to a display case where they kept live seafood. A chef would occasionally come by, open the lid, and take a lobster out and take it to the kitchen to be cooked. I also heard from a fellow tourist that the restaurant has giant tanks in its basement where it breeds all the animals it cooked. This means it's extremely fresh, which is a great sign. I'd been eying the garlic shrimp (shrimp is one of the few types of seafood I like) from the moment I saw the menu earlier in the day, so that's what I ordered. It was delicious. You could definitely tell how fresh these shrimp were. They were meaty, just the right level of tenderness, and above all, smothered in garlic. If you like seafood, I feel like Ramiro is kind of a must. It's pricier than a lot of places, but not unreasonable.

The inside of the restaurant. The grill is
against the wall.

-Frangasqueira Nacional: The best meal I had in Portugal was from a place called Frangasqueira Nacional. It's a place tucked away pretty far from most of the action of the center of town on a side street, marked by only a simple banner in front. The restaurant itself is one room, divided by the counter. There are two tiny chairs, but otherwise no seating whatsoever. The other three quarters of the room contained the register, a prep station with a cutting board, and a pretty big grill that had several birds, ribs, and sausages grilling at any given time. There was one cook, who would move the birds across the grill.

Once he thought they were done, he would lift the bird off the grill with a pair of tongs and masterfully scissor it into bite sized pieces in a few quick and deliberate snips. He would then put it in the tin and brush it first with a yellow/green oil and then with a red oil before giving it to the customer. I had to wait a while because of some big orders they had, but I didn't mind because this process was mesmerizing. I ordered a mishta, or mixed plate, which had half a bird plus ribs (he gave me two extra because he said he could tell I was a nice guy) and a sausage, with a side of homemade potato chips. Lunch was a glorious feast of meat. I don't know what they do to their meat, but it was incredible. I walked away satisfied and extremely stuffed. I finished lunch about 1:30 and wasn't hungry again until around 9:00.

A pastel de nata

-Pasteis de Belem: The last notable place I went was a pastry shop called Pasteis de Belem. It's been open since the 1830s and it's where the Portuguese specialty pastry, the pastel de nata, was invented. To say a pastel de nata is a custard cup wouldn't be doing it justice, but I'm not sure how else to describe it. The sugar is burnt and caramelized on top and the surrounding pastry is so flaky and gives just enough of a crunch before it gives way to the sweet, fluffy custard center. This is another place that almost always has a line, but it moves quickly and with pastries this good and this cheap (1 euro each), it's worth it. The history behind the bakery makes the pastry even better, knowing that you are getting THE original.

-The beer: The icing on the cake of the delicious food is the fact that the Portuguese beers are really good. There are two: Super Bock and Sagres. I really liked both of them. They're your run of the mill mass-produced beers, but I felt like they were a pretty big step above the standards I've had in Italy and Spain. I think Super Bock is better, but I wouldn't complain if I had either in my glass.

The Sights:

-The Castelo de São Jorge: The castle is the best thing to do in town, if you ask me. You have to climb to the top of a really steep hill (It's Lisbon. You should be expecting this) and I think the entrance is something like 8 euro, but it's absolutely worth the money. You get a beautiful view of the bay and the city,first and foremost, and then you get to go up and climb around in a FREAKING CASTLE. How cool is that??? If you don't think climbing around in a castle and getting views of Lisbon is cool, then you're beyond lame and frankly, not someone I want to be friends with.

The St. Jerome monastery/church in Belem

-Belem: Belem is district about 4 miles from the main area of town, a 15 minute train ride away. I went to Belem expecting to spend an hour or two, but I ended up spending about 4 hours there. The two famous landmarks of the area are the Torre de Belem and the St. Jerome Monastery. The St. Jerome Monastery is a huge, gorgeous gothic-style church. I think it's more impressive from the outside, but it is also really beautiful on the inside and admission is free, so there's no reason not to go in. It's definitely up there with my favorite churches in Europe. The Torre de Belem is sort of a mix between a lighthouse and a castle. It looks like a castle, but was used to keep watch over the bay and make sure nobody unwanted came through the harbor. I didn't go in because I'm cheap, but it was still cool to look at from the outside.


-The Expo Area: I actually stumbled across this area on accident, because I wanted to go to the aquarium (it got a ton of great reviews on TripAdvisor) and while I did go to the aquarium, the Expo sights around it were even better. Apparently Lisbon hosted the World Expo some time in the 90s and this area is where it was held, so it's full of really cool, futuristic-looking buildings. It feels pretty empty (though I was there in the morning), but it's really cool to walk around.

From an Observation point in Barrio Alto

Lisbon was awesome. It was one of those cities that I just had a good feeling about before visiting, and I wasn't let down at all. I had three great days and would definitely go back next time I'm in Europe and would definitely recommend it a heartbeat. It was historical, beautiful, and full of life, food, and culture. You can't ask for much more from a city.

It's also now become a goal of mine to tell someone about my weekend in Lisbon in a vague enough way to make them think I'm talking about San Francisco.

Meeting My Arch Nemesis: Italian McDonald's

Ignore the fact that this is actually about relationships

Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned.
I broke one of my cardinal rules of traveling: don't eat at a chain restaurant.
I also broke of of my guiding principles in life: don't eat at a fast food chain unless there are no better options.
I ate at a McDonalds in Rome.

Before you call me a sellout and rightfully question my decision-making, let me just say that I did this purely for the experience. I've heard McDonald's is different around the world and it looked radically different than any McDonald's I'd ever seen before.

"What do you mean by that?" you may ask. I mean it looks like this inside:

And there's a balcony:

So with curiosity and some encouragement from a slightly less than sober roommate, I decided to go and document my experiences. I went twice; once with my roommates during dinner and again a few weeks later during lunch.

Keep in mind it's been about 4 years since I've been in McDonald's for any reason other than to use the bathroom and it's been even longer since I've ordered anything from one, so my comparisons are based on old memories.

If it weren't for the Italian, could you tell the difference?

Once you get inside, the counter looks familiar and ordering works the same way it does in the US. The menu is sprawled out on signs behind the cashiers. They had the typical fare: burgers, fries, milkshakes, sodas, chicken nuggets, etc. The only item I saw that was different was beer. Yeah, they sell beer at Italian McDonalds.

McDonald's is surprisingly pricey in Italy. A standard burger or a meal costs €7-8. That's still not super expensive, but I feel like it definitely costs more abroad. Normally I can get a killer panino or plate of pasta €6-7 max, so that's also what I'm used to. Since I wanted to spend as little as possible while committing this foodie sin, I opted for the value menu.

I ordered a McBeer because I felt like I had to just to say I did. I also ordered a chickenburger off the value menu, and I got an order of fries when I went back during lunch because I wanted to experience a "complete" meal.

The chickenburger & beer

The Chickenburger is a chicken patty with mustard on a bun. Its stripped-down nature is the price you pay for, well, not paying the full price. The first thing I tasted while biting into this thing was the cheap, dry, almost papery bun. It felt like the bun was pushing the definition of "bread" a little because I'm pretty sure actual bread shouldn't taste like paper. The patty tasted like one of McDonald's chicken nuggets, just thinner and wider. I'm not entirely sure it's purely chicken, but it tasted vaguely like chicken between the blandness. It was one of those things where you end up tasting the texture more than the flavor. Then you got to the mustard, which was a gross, greenish sort of thing. You could tell they were aiming for a mustard-like flavor, even if they didn't meet their goal. It added a new flavor, but I'm not sure that's a good thing. It tasted about how I remember it tasting in America and reminded me why I never go to McDonald's. I thought the food might be different in Europe, but I guess standardization is key for big corporations. Overall, it was bland, cheap, and a little gross-- about how I view fast food in general.


The fries were a surprise. On a french fry scale of "basically just crispy, fried potato" to "potato wedges," these fries were definitely more towards the "basically just crispy, fried potato" end. There was not a ton of potato inside, but they were pretty crispy and tasted kind of potato-y. They were a bit bland, but they definitely got better when I put some salt on them. I could tell they were low quality and not exactly made with fresh ingredients, but they were decent and tasted about like the ones I've had in the US. Granted, it was about 1:45 and I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast when I had these, so my hunger may have exaggerated my feelings towards them a little, but I've had worse fries.

I was severely disappointed that the beer wasn't called a McBeer or a McBrew. It was a can of Birra Moretti, which is one of the cheap, standard Italian brands. The first thing I noticed was the lack of carbonation. Like, it was there, but only barely. I'm not a huge carbonation fan, but it still felt a little wrong. The beer was watery and lacked a little in flavor, especially with the aftertaste, but it was still pretty drinkable. However, before my 21st birthday in March, I had never had a beer, so maybe I haven't tried enough of them for my standards to be too high yet. Still, I thought it was decent. It was one of the better parts of the experience and I can now definitively say I've had a beer at McDonald's, even if it was a letdown that it wasn't called a McBeer.

When we first came for dinner, the restaurant was not that busy, but by the time we left, around 8:30-8:45, the restaurant had filled in quite a bit. Italians eat late, so this isn't too much of a surprise. During dinner, there were several families with small kids, 3-4 couples, two pairs of friends, a couple groups of young, hipster-esque guys, and one man sitting by himself.  During lunch, there were 7 or 8 people sitting alone who looked like they were out on lunch breaks, two moms with young kids, a couple groups of young friends, and a few couples. Interestingly, most of the customers were relatively young, and no one looked, at least from simple observation, like they were poor, disheveled, or obese, which are three things you expect to see at an American McDonald's.

The atmosphere was the best part of Italian McDonald's. The restaurant has several large bar-like tables plus a few small two-person tables and a good amount of booths.. There's also a nice outside area with a few tables, an umbrella, and a space heater. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go up on the balcony. It was closed when I went for dinner and when I started walking up the stairs during lunch, the door was locked and an employee shot me a look of, "sorry, man." It had been raining earlier in the day, so maybe that was why it was closed. The way it was designed, it seemed like more people ate the food there than took it home.

The restaurant is really bright and colorful inside and had an olive green/brown/white theme that splashed the walls, tables, and chairs. It felt more like I was in a Panera than a McDonald's and it gave it a fun, almost artsy and upscale vibe to it. Both times, I sat at a long bar-like table in the center of the restaurant that had a power strip for people to plug phones and laptops into. There was EDM playing in the background during dinner and then standard radio songs during lunch. It seems like McDonald's here puts effort into creating a bit of an atmosphere.

Italian McDonald's is basically an American McDonald's plus beer and minus the despair, obesity, and poverty. Overall, it was the worst meal I've had in Rome, though Rome sets an extremely high standard. If you must go, get the beer and fries, but steer clear of the main courses. I hope this is the last time I order food at McDonald's for a long, long time.

Ok, you made it through the fast food. As a reward, here's a picture of a delicious plate of pasta with parmesan and cream sauce:

From Il Pastaio di Roma, one of the places you should go in Rome

More Notes on Rome

Song

You know those movies or books that are basically just a collection of short stories or vignettes, loosely united by a common theme? That's this post. Imagine me as Tarantino minus the cartoonish violence.

Rush Hour- Growing up in Los Angeles, I'm no stranger to traffic, but Rome's rush hour is pretty insane. I normally walk to class instead of take the tram because it's cheaper and the exercise justifies the plate of carbonara I'm most likely going to shove down my throat during lunch, but I've had the (dis)pleasure of being a part of Rome's rush hour a couple times. I live in Trastevere, which is a neighborhood West and across the river from the center of town. In the morning, every street on my route to class, in the center of town, is gridlocked. Cars try to squeeze through any way they can on the narrow streets, creating lots of honking and near misses.

The train on a day I walked to class.

         "Wow, that sounds bad, Noah," you're probably saying, "but you should take the train and you'll be fine, right?" Wrong. One time, I was going to take the train to class with a few classmates. The train showed up and it was so full that it was physically impossible for me to get on, even when everybody squished in as far in as they could. There was nothing I could do. I'm not small and neither is my backpack, so as the train doors closed and departed with my classmates inside, I was left at the station. It felt like one of those old movies when someone says goodbye to somebody leaving on the train, except it was more of an, "oh crap. I guess I'm walking" reaction instead of a teary, heartbreak-filled goodbye.
           However, this only seems to be a problem outside of the downtown touristy area. Once I got to the center of town (this was about 9 AM), the streets were surprisingly empty. I guess the tourist area doesn't get busy until later in the day.

Cappuccinos are the best. Never let anyone tell
you otherwise.

Coffee- Coffee culture is everywhere and I love it. Every restaurant or snack bar has coffee, every street vendor sells espresso makers, and I've even seen a few coffee vending machines. This all means that I haven't had a bad cup since I've been here (I'm not doing that cup I had on the plane the decency of calling it "coffee"). Cappuccinos have become my drink of choice. For those of you who don't know, it's a shot of espresso with warm, foamy milk (and sometimes cocoa powder) on top. It's simple, but delicious. It's cheap as hell too. The most I've paid for coffee here is €1.5, which, even with the exchange rate, is still cheaper than any halfway decent cup of coffee I could get in the US. Granted, the portions are smaller since coffee and espresso mean the same thing here, but it doesn't matter because it's so good and these little shots of espresso pack a punch in terms of caffeine. One shot of espresso does me just as well as a 16 oz drip coffee. Unfortunately for me, an avid iced coffee drinker, it's a lot harder to find cold coffee. It exists and is called either a freddo (basically sweet cold brew espresso) or a shakerato (made by shaking ice, sugar, and hot espresso together in a cocktail shaker), but they're usually a little more expensive and harder to find.

Have a generic crowd shot for lack of anything else relevant

Clothing- People seem put a lot more effort into fashion here than they do in America. The Romans dress well and seem make an effort to look nice and put together outfits. As someone who puts next to no effort into fashion as it is, I feel a bit underdressed. This is especially true when I wear shorts. Wearing shorts is a great way to immediately be identified as a tourist. The only people I've seen wearing shorts, even in warmer weather, are foreigners. The only Italians who don't have their legs covered are women wearing skirts and children. Ever since I realized this, I've tried to wear long pants when I can and when it isn't too hot, but since the rest of my wardrobe consists of t-shirts and tennis shoes, I still look like an underdressed foreigner. Part of me wants to try to dress the part of a European a little more, but the other part of me knows I don't have money to burn (I'd rather spend it on food) or an adequate knowledge of fashion to make it happen.

Sandwich with chicken, pork, lamb, and chicory. Oh god yes

The Standard of Food: One of the things I've noticed is that in Italy, the standard of food seems to be much higher than in America. There are very few chains, meaning every other restaurant is locally owned. This makes me happy. There also seems to be an emphasis on fresh ingredients and local products. It's like this place was made for a food lover/hipster like me. Both of these things make a huge difference in the quality of food (free cooking tip while I'm at it: Fresh ingredients absolutely matter). Even the more average meals I've had here are as good as the above average ones in America. Though I still try to go to the highest-rated places, there's much less of a risk at ending up getting a subpar meal than if you wander into any restaurant in the US. I'm not going to lie, the food is probably my favorite thing about Rome.

The Communist Party door I mentioned. I love the fact that it's
red. It's so cool, it's Com-rad. I'll see myself out.

The Presence of Communism- In America, thanks to Mr. McCarthy and others, "communist" and "socialist" have (unjustly) become dirty words few are willing to publicly associate with. However, the only Red Scare in Italian history was called "fascism," and we all know how well that went over. Therefore, Communism doesn't have the stigma it does in America, so it's still alive and kicking. It's pretty common to see the sickle and hammer graffitied on walls when you're out walking, and I've also seen some campaign posters for Communist politicians. On my way to class, I also pass by an office for the Communist Party, sitting there amongst the gelato shops and a gift stores on a big street. It's something that shouldn't surprise me but does. Communism is such a taboo thing in American politics that I've been led to believe it's a dead philosophy nobody but extremists believe in any more. That may be true in the US, but definitely not in Italy.

Taken in downtown Naples, on one of the major streets. 

Crosswalks- Pedestrian signals are completely arbitrary. Crossing the street is all about being opportunistic. There are pedestrian signals (which look like stoplights, but with a pedestrian silhouette), but following them might actually be more dangerous than just jaywalking. Often times, the light will be red but no traffic is coming, so it's perfectly safe to go. Other times, the signal is green, so you step out in the street and almost get run over by a Porsche, a taxi, and 3 motor scooters, who all honk at you to get out of their way. For big roads, the signals do help, but in general, it's best to disregard the signal and cross when others cross or when there's no traffic coming. Roman drivers also think they own the road and won't hesitate to honk at you or speed past you when you're a foot or two away. I never want to drive here. I feel like I'd get in a crash within a week, and I consider myself a pretty good driver.

I take classes in this building.

Classes- Oh yeah, those. That's right, Noah's actually doing studying in Europe and not just taking a 3 month vacation. Kinda forgot, right? I'm taking one about 20th century Italian history through film and one about Early Modern Europe. They're alright, though it's hard when they have to cram a quarter's worth of work into 5 weeks. If you thought the quarter system was fast-paced, try this on for size. Because of this tight schedule, the classes are 3 hours long. I don't care how interesting the class is--that's brutal. Oh, and I'm procrastinating on them by writing this post. Whoops.

Church Hopping

"Say what you will about organized religion. Those bastards knew how to construct an edifice.” -Ron Swanson, Parks & Recreation.

Screw it. 2 intros. I just found this song yesterday and I like it.

Rome is a very religious city. Naturally, it has a lot of churches, and most of them are open to the public when they're not doing worship services. A fun thing to do is to go church-hopping: going from church to church across the city. That may not sound like a lot of fun if you're familiar with the ordinary-looking churches in the US, but here, they're a main attraction.

The churches in Rome are ridiculous. Walk into any church in Rome and I guarantee you'll be impressed. And I do mean any church. Even the less elaborate ones are still insanely beautiful and blow away anything I've ever seen in the US.

You walk into one church and are impressed at how lavish, ornate, and beautiful it is:

You think you're in the most beautiful church you've ever seen. Then you walk into the one a couple blocks down the street and see this:

OH MY GOD, CATHOLIC CHURCH. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? THAT'S INSANE. NONE OF THAT IS FAKE GOLD.

I've gotten in the habit of laughing when I walk into a new church just because of how ridiculous and over-the-top each one is. I imagine the early modern Catholic Church as John Hammond from Jurassic Park constantly bragging that he, "spared no expense" in his park. Of course, his dinosaurs ended up escaping and killing people. You could probably make an analogy out of that, but I'm not going to.

It feels like churches in Rome were built for the specific purpose of topping each other, like its builders were compensating in the same way people with huge, lifted pick-up trucks are (and knowing the history of the Catholic Church, I think it's safe to assume that's at least somewhat true). I can see why many during the Renaissance criticized the Church for its excess. I mean, look at this and then look me in the eye and tell me this isn't excessive:

San Carlo al Corso, my favorite church in Rome. This and the
previous picture were taken there.

Inside the gold thingy was the remnant of one
Saint's heart

Each church has between 6 and 12 different altars on the side to complement the main sanctuary. Sometimes they're just pretty altars and other times they're dedicated to a particular Saint, or to Christian martyrs from a particular place.

I've seen a few resting places of famous Saints as well, but I don't know enough about them for it to mean much to me (Protestants doesn't revere saints). There were signs that explained what everything was, but I couldn't read any of them because they were all in Italian. I really wanted to and ask someone about the history of the church, because I'm sure it would add to the spectacle that's already there, but I don't know the language well enough. Even if I could ask, I don't think I could understand them well. I'm not at that point yet.

Oh, nothing. Just some Renaissance masterpiece
art on the ceiling. Just an average Tuesday.

Each church also has a little table where religious pamphlets, candles, rosaries, and even postcards are sold. I'm not sure whether or not these booths were affiliated with the Church or not, but it was a little weird seeing makeshift gift shops inside a place of worship. I have a feeling they're also partly there to monitor the church and make sure nobody starts vandalizing the art, but I couldn't help thinking it was a way for the Catholic Church to make a quick buck, especially when I'm standing in a Vatican-endorsed church that's at least 100 feet tall, covered in stunning art, and lined with gold.


If you're in Rome, I highly recommend going church-hopping. It's a great way to get to know the city, and you won't see more beautiful art anywhere else. The churches sometimes grossly excessive, but absolutely breathtaking in equal or greater measure. Just forget the questionable church policies that created them and appreciate them as the works of art they are.