Roman Holiday

The day after the French Open I jetted off to Rome, Italy. OR, should I say, Roma, Italia. This was an interesting trip because I a) flew to and from a foreign country by myself and b) went to a country where neither I nor my traveling companion could speak the language. When I arrived, I realized how little prep I had done for my trip. Basically the only things I had done to get ready consisted of printing a map to my hostel and learning the phrases scusa (excuse me), grazi (thank you), prego (you're welcome) and sono americano ( I am american). I took a bus into Rome from Fiumicino Airport and checked out the Italian contryside from the comfort of my bus window. I liken Italy (from what I saw from the plane ride in and the bus ride into Rome) to what Los Angeles wants to be when it grows up. Beautiful hilltop villas, nice Mediterannean climate. I got lost a bit on my way to the hostel but hey, that's how you REALLY learn a city, right? I was supposed to meet up with Nina  that day at Trevi fountain but ended up getting there too late to find her.

Despite the somewhat rough start, I had an excellent time in Rome. As a kid, I was somewhat obsessed with Greco-Roman history so for me all the ruins-touring was right up my alley. I even busted out my gladiator sandals for the occasion. A lot of my clothes for the trip had either a greek key pattern or could be worn column style or had some sort of ancient empire-y look about them, but I think that's mostly because that's just how I like to dress in general.

The magnificent Trevi Fountain: deceptively large fountain in a deceptively small piazza

The Spanish Steps

Ramp at the Museo Vaticani

How appropo!

On my way up to Palatine hill

Roman Forum!

Pantheon: the coolest of them all

Again, highlighting how unprepared I was for the trip, I rolled up to the Vatican City in a tank dress. Luckily, I was wearing the convertable Amer Apper scarf my sister gave me and I was able to transform it into a tunic that was longer than knee-length and covered my shoulders. The security guard laughed as he helped me adjust it before we went inside. I couldn't move my arms, but I was in!

Hemingway refered to Paris as a "moveable feast" in his memoirs but for me Rome was a moveable feast in the more literal since. Or perhaps,I mean to say that I basically ate until I was almost unable to move. Nina found a neighborhood restaurant that was highly recommended in her guidebook that I was skeptical about until the nightime transformed the humble little restaurant with outdoor sidewalk tables into a scene straight out of a Fellini film. There were plenty of regulars there, smoking and chatting and eating, living la "dolce vita". The fettuccine alfredo with porcini mushrooms was amaaazing.

Sicilian dessert called Cassata

One evening, at my behest, Nina and I got dinner in the Jewish Ghetto to try the famous Carciofi alla Giudia, or artichoke cooked in the jewish style. Unfortunately, it didn't look that good or taste much better. We befriended some Roman gentlemen that we were sitting next to at the restaurant. One of them owned a art studio where he made mosaics, and he invited us up to check them out. This sounds creepy but the awesome thing is that it totally wasn't. Both guys were nice and respectful. I could say the same of the majority of the guys I came in contact with there, which puts Rome head and shoulders above Paris in that regard.

Again, this trip was enhanced by the unplanned things. Wandering aimlessly around Rome is one of the best things in the world. I also had the opportunity to meet some really cool people at the hostel I was staying at, The Yellow. We'd hit up the local pizza joint, where the guys in the kitchen would poke their heads out and try to talk to you. One of the things that really struck me about Rome was how amazing it was that the city co-existed with the ruins. Rome was literally like a living museum. I can't imagine what it would be like to see magnificent structures like the Roman Forum or the Colosseum on a regular basis. I love Rome, hopefully I'll be back soon :)

From the top of St. Peter's

Tennis, Anyone?

Let it be known throughout the realm that Azeezah brought yet another lifelong dream to fruition by attending the French Open at Roland Garros, 2011.

 On May 17th, I, along with fellow Trojan Jamie K. and Aussie Andrew G., went to the first day of qualifiers for the French Open. This may not seem like that big of a deal for most people but for me, an avid tennis fan and recreational player, this was monumental. Because it was the qualifiers for the tournament, it lacked the marquee names of later matches but none of the excitement. Our tickets allowed us to roam freely across the auxillary courts, taking in matches as we saw fit. We decided to use our time rooting for the Australians and Americans competing to move forward in the tournament.

We we we so excited!

This was my first time attending a professional tennis tournament, let alone a grand slam, so it was pret-ty darn cool for me. The wind kept blowing the famous Roland Garros terre battue into our eyes, and each time the linesperson called "FAULT!" I could not only hear but feel the sound vibrations emanating from each bellow.

Suzanne Lenglen Statue

One of the cooler parts of the day had to be when Jamie and Andrew pointed out to me that while we were sitting watching Australian player Luczak play another player, Australian tennis star and former number one Lleyton Hewitt was sitting mere feet away from us, muching on a sandwich, no  less! He eats sandwiches just like us regular people!

Luczak tearin' it up

The Crew

One of the most interesting parts about going to see professional tennis played in person was watching the human drama unfold in front of you. When we watched the Luczak match, we could see the defeat in his posture and on his face when he was struggling against his opponent. When he managed to turn the match around and win, it made the victory that much more amazing. All in all, another great day watching the sport I love in the city that I'd come to call home.

Outta my way, protesters. "Cézanne"n't you see I'm trying to get to a museum?!

Today, I decided to play "tourist"and spend the day museum-hopping. My itinerary was ambitious- finish Musée Rodin, go to Musée de l'Orangerie, do the 3rd wing of the Louvre that I had missed and then if time allowed, go to Musée de l'Armée. Well, as my mother always says, we plan and God plans, but God is the best planner. I got up at around 10:30 but didn't end up making it out of the apartment until about 1:30. I try to go to Musée Rodin first but-surprise, surprise-I exit the métro to find that there is a major demonstration going on on the street perpendicular to the museum.

On the bright side, at least the riot police guy that told me the museum was closed was nice, and pretty cute to boot. We had a nice little conversation about whether or not women should be able to have a midwife or a "sage-femme"when they give birth, the subject of the protest-du-jour. To be honest, I was slightly surprised how long it took for me to see a protest in France in the first place.  From there, I decided to head over to Musée de l'Armée, since I could see the shiny gold dome of Invalides across the street from where I was standing. It was interesting to see the types of weapons that were used in various wars and how the "tools of the trade," if you will, have evolved over time. For me, the whole ordeal was a bit morbid. When looking at the swords, muskets and tanks, all I could do was wonder how many people had been stabbed, shot, and crushed by said items during various wars. At the same time, bands of boys-and grown men- hurried by me, pointing and "ooh"-ing and "aah"-ing at the various weapons. The costumes the soldiers wore, however, were super neat. The Europeans sure did love them some ornate battle clothing back in the day. 

Connected to the Musée de l'Armée is the tomb of the infamous Napoleon the I, former Emperor of France. It wasn't quite as over-the-top as what I was expecting, but it was nonetheless grandiose. 

Here lies Napoleon, "Nappy B" Bonapart. RIP, homie.

After finishing up at Musée de l'Armée, I finally made my way to Musée de l'Orangerie, a modern art museum tucked away in Jardin de Tuileries. The museum may be small, but it is jam-packed with artistic treasures, ranging from pieces by Cézanne to those of Picasso, Monet , Renoir and Matisse.The main attraction were Monet's Nympheas, huge paintings of water lilies inspired by a pond by his home in Giverny. The exhibit features two large oval-shaped rooms with white walls , each room containing 4 paintings featuring the water lily pond at different times of the day. The paintings wrap around the contours of the walls, giving the viewer a panoramic effect. 

Rodin's "Le Baiser" in front of l'Orangerie

Delicious-looking Renoir peaches

Pre-cubist Picasso work

Soutine work showing the processing of a chicken- #anotherreasoni'mvegetarian

another Soutine

After Musée de l'Orangerie it was too late (and frankly I was too tired) to go to the Louvre. Alas, another day. On the way home I decided to try out a Grand Marnier crepe...unless you like the taste of pancakes soaked in alcohol with a coating of granulated sugar, I'd skip it :) All in all, another great day in Paris!

Marché Richard Lenoir and La Tour Eiffel Revisited

Yesterday I got a bit of a late start...I was supposed to meet some friends at Champs de Mars for a picnic and I didn't end up rolling in until 5pm. At first I wasn't really excited to go because I'd already been to other picnics at Champs de Mars, which has of late been flooded with tourists due to tourist season. I actually ended up having a great evening playing frisbee with my friends and waiting for the sun to set to watch the Eiffel Tower turn on. We waited another hour and we got to see the famous Eiffel Tower "sparkle". The best parts about that evening were just sitting and talking to my friends..people I've been hanging out with a lot in Paris and people that I had just met. I ended up having a really interesting conversation with another USC student who had just finished studying in Germany about China and it's relationship with the U.S. Later I went to dinner at an Indian restaurant in Saint Michel with two girls from Canada that I had met at Champs de Mars that afternoon and we talked about why we had come to study in France and the things we had learned from our experience here. As the semester comes to a close, I feel like things are coming full circle in a way. I started off as a tourist, then tried to transition to being a student and a resident of Paris, and now that I know the end is near I've started transitioning back to being a tourist, but this time with a more nostalgic slant.Watching the Eiffel Tower turn on and watching it sparkle from Champs de Mars wasn't something on my Paris bucket list, but it turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences yet, thanks in large part to the people I was there with.

Sparkling Eiffel Tower

Today, I accomplished yet another item on my Paris bucket list, going to an outdoor market. I went to the biggest and most famous market, marché Richard Lenoir near place de la Bastille in the 11th.

Parisians line dancing? Quick, someone grab a camera...

This is the first time that I have ever been to an outdoor market in Europe and it was awesomeeee. Just watching the different types of people wandering down the rows of produce was a treat in itself. The market also had cheese stands, stalls selling live seafood, jewelry, clothes, fresh flowers, and mini restauraunts selling different types of prepared food like falafels and crepes. I was super happy not only because going to a market in itself is cool, but also because the produce was cheap enough that it was actually affordable to buy! In Paris, it's much cheaper to get food like baguettes and fancy cheeses than it is to get, say, a bag of clementines. Check my haul:

2 heads of lettuce, a grapefruit, 5 peaches and a pack of strawberries for only 4.20 Euro!

This weekend has been fun, but for now until Tuesday morning I have to lock in: my China in the World exam is that morning and I've got to make sure that I finish the semester strong!