Hello you lovely people, I know it has been FOREVER since I have updated my blog. I have been trying to get my dissertation sorted to not much success, so here we go again.
The other week, I had a visit from my parents and my brother. It was great to see them again, and I got to show them around the city and try out some proper Italian cuisine. I showed them the centre, as many of the sights as we could, many of the places to eat that I like to go to and my church. My Mum especially wanted to see for herself what ICT (International Church of Torino) was like because I had told her so much about it and she especially enjoyed it and felt at home there. Coincidentally, I also bumped into my old staff worker for Bangor CU, who was staying with our Pastor and his family, so it was brilliant to see him again.
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| MUMMIES!!!! |
On the Saturday, I used having my family here as an excuse to FINALLY see the museum on Ancient Egypt which holds the biggest collection of Egyptian goods outside of Cairo. I love all things to do with that era - learning about it was one of the few things I remember learning about in Primary School - and luckily, my brother worked out how to get the flash off my camera (thanks) so I was happily clicking away at all these mummies and artifacts. One of the rooms was full of statues they had in the Pharaoh's tombs and they had a 3d model of what a Pharaoh's tomb looked like on the inside. It has been the thing that I have most been looking forward to seeing since I landed in Turin, and even more so when a friend was showing me a leaflet from it in Bible study one week, so I am now very glad to have seen that wish through.
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| Russian BBQ! |
I took them one night to a trattoria that I had heard about, and the food there was delicious! One of the things I had was black taglitele (hope I've spelled that right), which was gorgeous! Speaking of cuisine, me and my friend Zoe from church had some Russian food whilst exploring a street party in Luigi Cibrario - Russian BBQ to be exact. I never thought of BBQ and Russia together (I mean, I think of stroganoff and caviar), but that was also really good. After that, we went off to Parco Valentino since it was so nice that day - and when it is hot, there is at least half of Turin's population in that one park lounging around. We even saw someone had but up a tightrope (which is called a
corda acrobata in Italian)! It's certainly someone different isn't it?
This last week, it has been the Jazz festival. Like Lyon's "Fete des Lumieres", it happens annually - and I didn't even know about it until about a month ago (similarly with the "Fete des Lumieres", I didn't know about it until
after I landed). There were over 100 different free events throughout the city to go to and enjoy some amazing music. The main events were concerts in Piazza Castello, but there were a lot of smaller ones too such as film showings and smaller bands playing in smaller venues - Alyssa and I went to one event held in a Jazz club, which is now my favorite bar in Turin. When we arrived there were some couples doing some swing dancing in front of the band and there is a balcony area above - which gave me a brilliant view to get some photos. There was a really variety of groups as well: swing, blues, all that good stuff.
The last concert, I have to admit was the best. It was with Mike Stern and Bill Evans, who I have been told are pretty high up in the world of jazz music - and it was apparently their first concert together since they were with Miles Davis in the 1980s. (For those of you who don't know, Miles Davis was one of THE best jazz trumpeters and I remember having to study one of his works for my music AS level - that brings back memories.) Especially since the chocolate festival will apparently happen in November - when I'm not here!!!- I am so glad I got to see a big festival like this in both cities I went to. And it will also be something good to talk about in my speaking presentation when I am in my 4th year. (I have to do one in each language about my placement.)
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| One BIG advantage of family coming over - getting my British supply!!!! Cue girls-night-in in our flat with chocolate and Love Actually!! =D |
Since my dissertation at the moment is going nowhere, and I miss my friends there so much, I have also booked a trip back to Lyon in June - for 3 weeks!! I will be staying with the family again, and seeing my friends a LOT I think, even if I will have to work like a crazy person during the day to get the missing gaps for that _____ ______. But it does mean that I now only have about a month left in Italy! It only seems like yesterday when I had landed, got to the hostel and was in full "find somewhere permanent to live" mode! I CANNOT believe that this semester... well, this whole year actually has been going by so fast! I know friends from Bangor who have already gone home (especially those with teaching jobs) and it is insane!!
I can't think at the present moment of anything to add to this, so goodbye for now. I shall see you soon. So from me and this awesome statue I saw at the Egyptian museum, ciao!
Charlotte =)
On the Saturday, I used having my family here as an excuse to FINALLY see the museum on Ancient Egypt which holds the biggest collection of Egyptian goods outside of Cairo. I love all things to do with that era - learning about it was one of the few things I remember learning about in Primary School - and luckily, my brother worked out how to get the flash off my camera (thanks) so I was happily clicking away at all these mummies and artifacts. One of the rooms was full of statues they had in the Pharaoh's tombs and they had a 3d model of what a Pharaoh's tomb looked like on the inside. It has been the thing that I have most been looking forward to seeing since I landed in Turin, and even more so when a friend was showing me a leaflet from it in Bible study one week, so I am now very glad to have seen that wish through.
This last week, it has been the Jazz festival. Like Lyon's "Fete des Lumieres", it happens annually - and I didn't even know about it until about a month ago (similarly with the "Fete des Lumieres", I didn't know about it until after I landed). There were over 100 different free events throughout the city to go to and enjoy some amazing music. The main events were concerts in Piazza Castello, but there were a lot of smaller ones too such as film showings and smaller bands playing in smaller venues - Alyssa and I went to one event held in a Jazz club, which is now my favorite bar in Turin. When we arrived there were some couples doing some swing dancing in front of the band and there is a balcony area above - which gave me a brilliant view to get some photos. There was a really variety of groups as well: swing, blues, all that good stuff.
The last concert, I have to admit was the best. It was with Mike Stern and Bill Evans, who I have been told are pretty high up in the world of jazz music - and it was apparently their first concert together since they were with Miles Davis in the 1980s. (For those of you who don't know, Miles Davis was one of THE best jazz trumpeters and I remember having to study one of his works for my music AS level - that brings back memories.) Especially since the chocolate festival will apparently happen in November - when I'm not here!!!- I am so glad I got to see a big festival like this in both cities I went to. And it will also be something good to talk about in my speaking presentation when I am in my 4th year. (I have to do one in each language about my placement.)
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