I wrote this post while traveling. I had (and still have ) a bad feeling about publishing it, given the situation and my mood, but I decided it provides a good distraction from what might happen in a few days, so here it is:
I am sitting in the Venice train station and I am really bored. So even though I don’t have access to the internet, I thought I can use this time to write a post to update later.
I spent a week in Rome and three days in Venice. I won’t bore you with too many details but here are some highlights of my trip.
1- Romans are really nice and friendly. If you can’t find your way just ask. They are helpful and friendly even when they can’t speak English. That is perhaps why there are no street signs in Rome, just ask people and they will give you directions :)
2- There are too many artistic details everywhere, statues and marble and fascinating mosaics everywhere you look. There are so many of them that it becomes boring after a while. Every time there is an empty space, just throw in a statue as if it is that easy to make. In one single building you can’t find two similar ones, they all pose differently. I must have seen over a thousand statues in one week and that is not an exaggeration.
3- The most brutal of the dictators made the most magnificent of the buildings. My friend said “When you don’t care how many people are going to die over it, making large buildings becomes so much easier” and I think she was right.
4- I loved Michelangelo’s work. He was amazing. I wish I could take pictures of the Sistine chapel.It is believed that he himself hated painting and preferred to continue sculpting, but I think he was amazing in both of them.
5- Venetians are not nearly as nice as Romans. Venice is amazing, but is too much of a tourist’s city. There are so many rich tourists wondering around that they basically made Venetians opportunistic somewhat mean people (not that I am generalizing. but business owners in this city try to reap you off as much as possible). I particularly disliked the most famous parts of Venice such as St. Mark square. It was beautiful but the shear number of people and shops made it impossible to enjoy. If you ever travel to Venice, go to random alleys and streets. It is guaranteed that you will hit a dead end (all other roads end somewhere full of tourists) but you will find it nice and quiet and magnificent.
6- I love the clothing lines here. It just reminds me so much of my childhood. It is also so much better for the environment than the drying machines so popular in US and Canada. There is even a law in Toronto that you can’t hand cloths on your balcony because it destroys the image of the city. Now there is debate revising that decision, because of the environmental impact of this law. I hope it gets revised.
7- Oh! You made it this far? Still reading this post? Ok, let me tell you about one of the most interesting handicraft of Venetians. The mosaic glass. Venetians have been making different colored glass by blowing (yes the mold existed even before then) from the first century. There is a tiny island near Venice called Murano where the business of glass has been their main source of income for centuries. Only during Bonaparte’s time the industry declined, but now a days it has made full recovery. I could not resist but to buy a very tiny mosaic glass (almost the size of my hand) for about 50 Euros. It is expensive but I think well worth it.
8- In Iran we have this art called “Khatam” where they make a mosaic of tiny colored pieces of wood and they made really amazing hexagonally packed patters. The mosaic glass is exactly the same but it is made of glass and it is made in much higher temperatures. The similarities and resemblance was really interesting.
9- Finally what is the most interesting end to a conference about glasses and liquids? Visiting an island which specializes in the art of making glass and visiting another with open Mediterranean Sea. I went to the island Lido, just because my friend had told me to do so. I got there and I saw much more modern buildings that were somewhat boring, so I set up to go to the International film festival and see whether I get a chance to watch a movie. As I was walking over I saw it right in front of my eyes. A nice sandy beach with the beautiful sea. And I realized once you go far enough from the mainland you will eventually leave the canals which are build to protect the base of the city from the waves of the Mediterranean sea.
10- This last one I am writing from the airport. Tow things in Italy annoys me a lot, second hand smoke, which I am hypothesizing is the reason that Italians are so thin despite the food and disorder. Disorder is everywhere from the lines to the timetables, to the signs that directs you to your destination.
P.S. Last night our train was broken and I was really worried that I will miss my flight. It reminded me of the Kerman trip with all “avano ansar”. Sima joon remember that “magical” night we spent in the broken train? There was a rumor that we hit a camel sleeping on the tracks.
I am sitting in the Venice train station and I am really bored. So even though I don’t have access to the internet, I thought I can use this time to write a post to update later.
I spent a week in Rome and three days in Venice. I won’t bore you with too many details but here are some highlights of my trip.
1- Romans are really nice and friendly. If you can’t find your way just ask. They are helpful and friendly even when they can’t speak English. That is perhaps why there are no street signs in Rome, just ask people and they will give you directions :)
2- There are too many artistic details everywhere, statues and marble and fascinating mosaics everywhere you look. There are so many of them that it becomes boring after a while. Every time there is an empty space, just throw in a statue as if it is that easy to make. In one single building you can’t find two similar ones, they all pose differently. I must have seen over a thousand statues in one week and that is not an exaggeration.
3- The most brutal of the dictators made the most magnificent of the buildings. My friend said “When you don’t care how many people are going to die over it, making large buildings becomes so much easier” and I think she was right.
4- I loved Michelangelo’s work. He was amazing. I wish I could take pictures of the Sistine chapel.It is believed that he himself hated painting and preferred to continue sculpting, but I think he was amazing in both of them.
5- Venetians are not nearly as nice as Romans. Venice is amazing, but is too much of a tourist’s city. There are so many rich tourists wondering around that they basically made Venetians opportunistic somewhat mean people (not that I am generalizing. but business owners in this city try to reap you off as much as possible). I particularly disliked the most famous parts of Venice such as St. Mark square. It was beautiful but the shear number of people and shops made it impossible to enjoy. If you ever travel to Venice, go to random alleys and streets. It is guaranteed that you will hit a dead end (all other roads end somewhere full of tourists) but you will find it nice and quiet and magnificent.
6- I love the clothing lines here. It just reminds me so much of my childhood. It is also so much better for the environment than the drying machines so popular in US and Canada. There is even a law in Toronto that you can’t hand cloths on your balcony because it destroys the image of the city. Now there is debate revising that decision, because of the environmental impact of this law. I hope it gets revised.
7- Oh! You made it this far? Still reading this post? Ok, let me tell you about one of the most interesting handicraft of Venetians. The mosaic glass. Venetians have been making different colored glass by blowing (yes the mold existed even before then) from the first century. There is a tiny island near Venice called Murano where the business of glass has been their main source of income for centuries. Only during Bonaparte’s time the industry declined, but now a days it has made full recovery. I could not resist but to buy a very tiny mosaic glass (almost the size of my hand) for about 50 Euros. It is expensive but I think well worth it.
8- In Iran we have this art called “Khatam” where they make a mosaic of tiny colored pieces of wood and they made really amazing hexagonally packed patters. The mosaic glass is exactly the same but it is made of glass and it is made in much higher temperatures. The similarities and resemblance was really interesting.
9- Finally what is the most interesting end to a conference about glasses and liquids? Visiting an island which specializes in the art of making glass and visiting another with open Mediterranean Sea. I went to the island Lido, just because my friend had told me to do so. I got there and I saw much more modern buildings that were somewhat boring, so I set up to go to the International film festival and see whether I get a chance to watch a movie. As I was walking over I saw it right in front of my eyes. A nice sandy beach with the beautiful sea. And I realized once you go far enough from the mainland you will eventually leave the canals which are build to protect the base of the city from the waves of the Mediterranean sea.
10- This last one I am writing from the airport. Tow things in Italy annoys me a lot, second hand smoke, which I am hypothesizing is the reason that Italians are so thin despite the food and disorder. Disorder is everywhere from the lines to the timetables, to the signs that directs you to your destination.
P.S. Last night our train was broken and I was really worried that I will miss my flight. It reminded me of the Kerman trip with all “avano ansar”. Sima joon remember that “magical” night we spent in the broken train? There was a rumor that we hit a camel sleeping on the tracks.
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سلام
بعد از یه هفته غیبت اومدم سر کار و پستت رو خوندم.
فکر کن بعد از یک ماه انگلیسی خوندن و یه امتحان خفن انگلیسی خوندن یه پست به انگلیسی چه حالی بهت میده :)
بگذریم.
ایتالیا یکی از کشورهایی که من آرزو دارم ببینمش. قکر کنم دلیلش هم احساس نزدیکی که بهش می کنم واسه همین پستت رو خیلی دوست داشتم.
migam khoobe omadi yeki ye comment bezare :) az toolani boodanesh khodamam khaste shodam.
omidvaram emtehanet khoob shode bashe
من یادم رفت بگم که کار خوبی کردی که این رو نوشتی چون قرار بود اینجا ما از تجربیاتمون حرف بزنیم واسه هم.
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