Alex takes on Europe

TORINO.

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted! I know, I apologize, but it’s been super-busy! I believe my last post ended somewhere around the first week of class, so I’ll start from there.

WEEK 1:

We installed all of our programs, and got a crash course in all of them. Fortunately/unfortunately, I already have had experience in them, so the first week or so was rather tame. We were placed into groups for our project, I ended up working with Nico again (we had worked together sophomore year for a project) as well as a Columbian student, Juan Monroy, and an Italian student, Lorenzo. The second week Lorenzo got into a scooter accident, and after that we didn’t see him and we became a three person group.

On the weekend, we discovered the Murazzi del Po, a strip of nightclubs and bars along the river that’s just below a huge piazza, Piazza Vittorio (with more bars). Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, the place is packed with people. Most places are cheap or free to get in, so it’s a great way to unwind from the week.

WEEK 2:

For the project, it was revealed that we would be designing a facade system for a building in Torino using an animal as a basis for performance and design. This was the second time that I have done this, so understanding the concept was easy enough. We were interested in frog skin, as it allows for direct transfer of water, heat, and oxygen into the bloodstream of the frog, enabling a few species to not need lungs. The thought is that we’d create a facade system that could do a similar thing, but with air, heat, and light.

A few of us went to a wine festival in Asti, Italia (just a few kilometers outside of Torino) that Saturday. Extremely cheap, extremely delicious wine. It was a ton of fun. I also found a guitar in the street, but it was broken. I tried to fix it three times, but every time it would break as soon as I started tensioning the strings. Oh well.

WEEK 3:

We did more work for our project. The concept became using a system of pipes to channel air into the building, but controlling the direction and angle of the pipes based on sun, wind, and view angles. I of course think I know better than the professor, and build my own population and module system instead of the one given to us. More on that later in the post.

We went out to Murazzi again that weekend. We took a tour of the Lingotto area, which is an old Fiat factory with a test track on the roof of the building. It’s no longer in use (the factory is now a mall) but definitely cool. We also stopped by Eataly, which is this upscale grocery store with totally awesome food. There’s another one in NYC that I may have to check out.

WEEK 4:

Continued to work on the project… I was mostly responsible for the digital design, while Nico and Juan did renders and diagrams. CAD work and such is a strength of mine, but I always hate doing it. The burden of design, combined with the lack of recognition (no one ever knows if the computer model is well-designed or not, people only see renders and diagrams) makes it a very frustrating job. I generally try to create very neat, organized, and legible files, as if I would need to give them to someone else. But this is never shown in the presentation (nor should it be) so it’s almost a waste. This is why I hesitate to offer my services - I am a designer, not a CAD monkey and I’d like to keep it that way.

I think we went to Murazzi again that weekend. Like I said, very cheap, very effective. We also found a pub called Murphy’s that offered cheap hamburgers (extremely delicious) so we became frequent clients. I also tried a drink inspired by the band Brand New - Soco Amaretto Lime. It is:

1. One part Southern Comfort whiskey
2. Two parts Amaretto
3. One lime half, squeezed
4. Pour over ice, shake to mix
5. Serve without the fruit in a rocks glass.

It’s one of my favorite drinks now - just the right mix of kick and flavor. When you make it correctly, of course… I’ve had it made poorly, and it does not taste nearly as good.

WEEK 5:

This was when our final project was due. Nico, Juan and I cranked out a full project, and actually managed to complete it mostly on time with minimal all-nighters.

That Friday night, the school and our professors organized a party at a nightclub on Murazzi. If RPI was this laid back, I honestly think we’d be more productive and create far better student-professor relations. Something about sharing a drink or having a good time together just relaxes the class and actually makes it enjoyable, rather than a chore. Well, maybe. The Politechnico and their students are far different from the ones at RPI, so we could have disastrous results otherwise, haha!

WEEK 6:

Our real final presentation was the Tuesday of this week. We did very well in our presentation - probably one of the best sells I’ve ever done. I don’t think our project quite pushed boundaries, but it wasn’t at all like the other groups and that was very important to us. I mentioned earlier that I built a completely different computer model rather than use the one given. While the one given probably had more intelligence in it, for our group’s design requirements it was very limited. Plus, I feel that if I hadn’t tried to improve and make my own model, I would not have grown as a designer. Simple plug-ins isn’t my thing; I guess I have too much punk rock in me to be cool with the status quo.

Overall, a successful workshop! I met a ton of cool people, people who worked so hard to make sure we had a good time and were well taken care of. I wish they could all come to RPI, I would love to be able to return the many favors they did for us - taking us out to lunch, showing us around, showing us great places to have fun, and so on… the trip would not have been as awesome as it was if it were not for them.

Project images in the next few posts!

Man, so what a trip! Things have finally slowed down enough that I get time to write this post.

So we finally arrived in Torino late Friday night after a week long trek through Central Italy. When we arrived, we found that the apartments we were supposed to be staying in were absolutely in no shape to be used - not enough space for the occupants, not enough beds, no internet… I guess in perspective just trivial, first world problems. But late at night, after spending an entire week travelling, it was definitely not at all something we wanted to deal with.

On Saturday we were introduced to the Italian students. They all seem pretty cool, and the range of their English-speaking abilities range from not much more than my Italian to nearly fluent. I feel awful my Italian is terrible, but they’re nice enough to let me know they’ve been studying English for years, as compared to my mere 2-3 months. We also went out dancing to a row of free clubs. Lots of fun, a definitely something the group is going to do more often.

Apparently on Sundays Torino shuts down. Almost nothing is open. This means that we all pretty much just vegetated in our apartments all day. However, I did wake up early that morning (slightly hungover), and helped moved a couple of beds around to solve the apartment issues I mentioned in the second paragraph.  

Monday was the first day of real orientation - we basically spent 7-8 hours getting introduced to the program and then installed programs. Not entirely my idea of fun… though I have to give lots of props to my teacher who had to deal with ~30 people having computer issues. I tried to help out a little bit, but my natural tendency to hate being an IT guy got in the way. Sorry folks, I’m an architecture major, not a compsci one.

Later that night we went out for food and drinks with the whole group. I wish we had that in the States. I can’t say I know the Italian students or my professors that much better, but I definitely feel far more friendly to them. That whole “mistrust of strangers” that people usually have gets taken down by something as simple as a meal together. Adding alcohol of course makes it even easier!

Tuesday was Matlab day. About 7 hours of Matlab. On top of that the sun hadn’t shown all day and it had been chilly and rainy… probably one of the worst days I’ve had here in Italy.

Today, Wednesday, was 3DS Max day. Fortunately I had already learned the program last semester, so today was very easy. Plus, the sun shined! A decent day.

I guess now that I write it all out, it’s been quite a bit going on, even if you don’t include my tour through Central Italy. There’s no way anyone has missed my pictures from the trip, because I’m stupid about self-promotion.

looking forward to: discotecas

not looking forward to: 8 hours of class every weekday

(view from my apartment window)

Roma is unlike any other city I’ve ever visited. The streets, the buildings, are all built in an archaic structure, following the topography of the land and built before numbering the streets was considered an adequate naming convention.

For a couple days now, I’ve had to navigate through the city to a couple of different places. I’m not claiming to be a master, but I think I’ve figured out a decent method.

1: Figure out what the address is, and the general direction it’s in from your current position.

2: Find out where you are, street/city wise.

3: Basically head in the direction of the street you want to go.

4: That’s it.

While you might not find the fastest route, or the most direct route, you’ll almost always make it somewhere interesting. Rome has so many hidden gems - I’ve stumbled upon monuments I didn’t even know were on the way. Oh hello there, Pantheon, nice to see you loom out of nowhere as I turn the corner.

In fact, that’s the whole point, not having a clear set of directions. Getting lost has recently been one of my favorite things to do (even though it freaks most others out). So many places I’ve discovered from just randomly walking around. It’s the same as when I was in NYC; the streets are just a little more disorganized. Take risks, friends. The greatest rewards go to the greatest of risktakers!

Story of stories, here.  Now, I know other people may have had worse travel stories, and that 90% of this is my fault, but here it goes:

Up top is a picture of the Dublin Airport at around 6am Dublin time.  But let me start out with when I woke up:

NYC:

9am: I wake up to my old job calling me about the work I did; apparently there’s an issue and I need to tell them how to fix it.  I’m unable to fix it over the phone so I try to hand off the job to someone else.

10am: My dad calls me about the same problem.  Again, unable to fix it.  Then I shower, get ready to run errands.

11am-1pm: Visit a bank and ask to exchange money. They give me the name of another place that can.  I take the subway down to J&R, and buy a Nikon D3000 DSLR that was on sale, plus a tripod and carrying case. Then I take the subway up to 51st Street, go to the exchange place, run 5 blocks to HSBC because they don’t accept credit, run back those 5 blocks to the exchange, get enough Euros for a couple weeks. Take the subway back down to Stipi’ place.

2pm: I check into my flight online, then try to figure out how to get to JFK from the apartment. Now, something I’d like my readers to keep in mind: I am currently carrying 100lbs of luggage with me. Going up and down stairs, in and out of doors is… a little difficult.

3pm-5pm: I get to the airport after some scrambling for directions, then check in to my flight. I have about 10 minutes before I have to get on the plane.

5pm-6pm: We all get on the plane; I’m flying Aer Lingus. For anyone who wants to know, Aer Lingus is a fantastic airline and I would highly recommend their services.  I wish I had pictures, but I sat in leather seats. LEATHER SEATS, MY FRIENDS. Apparently everyone’s first class there.  I can dig it.  Our flight was expected to be delayed two hours due to weather, but fortunately we were allowed to take off immediately. I sat next to a cute Canadian/French/American girl named Flaum. I think that’s her name. I’m not sure. Anyway.

DUBLIN

6pm-5am (6 hour flight, across time zones): We land in a rainy Dublin (pictured above). I wait an hour or so before my next flight takes off.

ROMA

7am-11am (3 hour flight across time zones): My flight to Roma. Fell asleep for an hour on the plane from exhaustion. Sat next to a dude who could speak a little English but was a native Italian. Managed to tell him an accurate story about what I was doing in Rome in Italian. I am proud of my Italian for a few minutes (minuti).

11am-12pm: I make it to the train terminal. I get directions from an attendant about how to get to where I need to go.

(train terminal at the airport)

12am-3pm: I take the train to Trastevere, just like the attendant told me.  We passed by lots of housing projects, as well as these things… I have no idea what they are.

While trying to get off, some idiot Italiano stood in the doorway while everyone was yelling “Scendare! scendare!” (Get off, get off!). In the scuffle, I was able to get off, but my camera I had just bought came loose and fell off in the train - whose doors had just shut. I quickly realize this, pound on the doors to get them to find the camera, then the guys inside stop the train while the conductor yells at me in Italian. I manage to get on the train, grab my camera, give out a stream of “grazie grazie” and get back to my luggage.

Then while at the station, some dude named Constantino side tracks me while I’m looking for a tram the attendant at the terminal told me to take. In his broken Italian/French/English, he complains about my Americano-ness while also giving me directions.

I take his directions, and when I exit the station, I quickly discover he was absolutely wrong. What the hell, Constantino. I trusted you.

Talked to some street cleaners, who directed me to another subway stop - Lepanto. Which… is also wrong. Finally, I figure out how to get to where I need to be via bus and I manage to get there in about 20 minutes.

(This is a castle. This is where my classes take place.)

3pm: I manage to find the place, where I ask the security guard there about the guy running the Rome program. He doesn’t speak any English, and somehow I manage to convey to him what I need in Italian, even with a few misunderstandings. Finally, I get a phone call from the professor, telling me the center is closed and I’ll have to find some place to stay tonight.

Keep in mind I have no phone, I am running on 1 hour of sleep for 27 hours, and I’ve been carrying 100lbs of luggage with me the whole time. Also, I have no place to stay if I don’t find one that night.

I am directed to a possible Wi-fi kiosk, when I stumble upon the Piazza Navora.

Which is very beautiful.  I buy what’s essentially a slurpee (the name escapes me), it’s pretty good. Since arriving and walking around Rome, I’ve discovered everything is so goddamn beautiful. Literally everything. Eventually I’ll have to stop taking pictures of buildings because how many pictures of Hollywood or postcard-perfect streets do I need?

6pm: It’s 6pm, and I’ve been wandering around Rome for 7 hours with all my luggage across cobblestone roads and with almost no English used.  I come across a tourist information kiosk, and the attendants there are extremely helpful. They find me a cheap hotel in Trastevere. I carry my luggage to the Tram 8 - the exact tram that the original attendant from the airport told me to take. People: if you ever go on a trip, never depend on locals for directions. Never.

6:30pm: I’m getting discouraged in Trastevere, and I start to worry that the people at home think I’ve died and have no way of knowing my status. I stop into an internet cafe, write a quick email, find the hotel (just a few blocks down) and check in.

(doorway to the hallway where Etsy is)

When I got to the floor the hotel was on, a short fat Italian man opened the door. He took one look at me, asked me if I had a reservation, how many people, and for how long. I must have looked like a wreck, even for an Americano, because he offered me a room at 10 euros off the regular price. This is the room:

(for reference, my back is up against the furthest wall, which has a window)

Extremely basic. But for a drop-in and 35 euros, you can’t ask for much better.

Here’s a pic from outside my window:

After I got the room, I showered, changed clothes.  Took some pictures from my camera.  At this point I realize I haven’t eaten in about 30 hours.

8pm: I take a walk, happen upon Osteria Pucci, a cafe on Viale di Trastevere. As my first real meal in nearly two days, and my first Italian meal (it was a pizza), it was by far the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. Sorry folks at home who may have cooked me something before - it just won’t compare.  The waiter made me finish the entire pizza, I left satisfied and exhausted.

10pm: I make it back to Etsy. I collapse on my bed, and sleep for about 10 hours straight.

At 9am the next day I wake up, pack up my stuff, and leave for the meet-up place in Rome. From there, I look around for a cellphone store and the other students. Finally, I come across my roommates, and finally finish my trip to Roma.

Overall I went about 11km around Rome. About 6 miles.

The good news is that I know a little bit about Rome now!

Arrivederche!

My good friend Tom Buttner suggested I start a travel blog.  And I think to myself, why not?  I have no update schedule planned but as soon as I have something I’ll try and post it.

Anyway, here’s the schedule:

Sunday: take Amtrak down to NYC from Rochester, crash at Stipi’s place.

Done and done.  My brother and I ended up getting slightly lost trying to get to the train station, which meant that if the train was on time I’d have seconds to spare.  However, the train was about 15 minutes late getting to the ROC, and then further delays meant that I didn’t get into NYC until 1am.  Oh well, such is government funded railway transit.

I ended up talking to this dude Nick (who wore jean cut-offs like Tobias, no lie) who sat next to me for a good two hours.  We ended up talking about art and architecture for the whole time.  Nothing extremely stimulating, but he seemed excited for me about my trip to Rome.  Everyone seems to be real excited for me, telling me how lucky I am to be able to go on a trip like this. Feels good knowing I’ve got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here and I’m able to take advantage of it.  Not everyone gets that chance, and I definitely appreciate being able to do it.

Monday: run errands, fly to Dublin and then to Rome.

Post office to mail Cat some things, then sorting out some housing and bank issues.  Then to J&R to purchase me a DSLR camera.  This wouldn’t be a decent travel blog without the pictures, no?

Then it’s off to JFK, where I’ll leave this country for 4 months (that’s the longest I’ve ever been away from home, this’ll be a guaranteed experience folks).

Tuesday: check into Rome.

Apparently I might not have my apartment yet.

Wednesday: start program.

Man I just realized I should totally use the Italian names for days of the week.  It’s 3am though so I’m gonna go back to my job as a professional Zzz catcher.