I'm Moving

I finally caved and got a domain. Blog is now here.

Drowning Mistakes in Maple Syrup

When I got home from Italy, one of the first things I did was go food shopping. I guess I was just tired from the airport shuttle having dropped me off past 1am, because when I went to Monoprix (basically the French Target) later that morning, I grabbed buttermilk instead of regular. How did I realize that something was amiss? With my first bite of cereal. I used to like drinking buttermilk as a kid, but now...not so much. So what to do with an entire liter?

Having found maple syrup at Monoprix, I decided pancakes were my best bet for using up the buttermilk. But following recipes here is much easier said than done. There are no measuring accoutrements in my apartment (but besides, the French don't use cups and tablespoons anyways), and I left my scale in my locker at school. So it was time for some freestyle cooking.

Les ingrédients

I had an apple in the fridge. Why not use it too?

Caramelizing with butter and sugar. Just like we learned in class.

Voilà!

In the end it turned out pretty well, despite my guesstimations, but I barely made a dent in the buttermilk. Either I'll be eating pancakes for days, or it's time to find some other buttermilk recipes. Biscuits, anyone?

A Comparison of Major International Film Festivals

A few days ago I returned home to Paris (so strange that actually feels true now) from the Venice Film Festival, where I saw a few great films, some decent ones and, inevitably, a couple of that's-two-hours-of-my-life-I'll-never-get-back ones. At the behest of previous editors I've kind of addressed what it's like being at Cannes and TIFF (that's the Toronto International Film Festival for you non film nerds), but instead of doing that for Venice I thought it might be more interesting to compare them based on things they don't tell you before you go. And maybe by the end of this I'll be able to definitively pick a favorite. But first, a little background information.

TIFF: the biggest North American film festival in terms of the number of features (in the hundreds) as well as hordes of press and industry (P&I) people it draws, but still manages to be about the fans thanks to vast public programming taking place in theaters all across downtown. Its mid-September timing makes it a significant launchpad for studios looking to premiere their Oscar bait.

Venice: the oldest international film festival in the world. Taking place slightly before TIFF it's an ideal platform for generating early critical buzz - most notably in recent years for Black Swan and Shame. Less accessible to the public, it's more of a P&I event.

Cannes: taking place in late May, the festival is a bit outside the awards orbit. But who cares? It's by far the most iconic and well-known. And boy do they capitalize upon it. A friend once aptly described the festival as "everything about is really far up its own ass."

Each of these festivals has its own distinct personality, if you will, and serves a slightly different purpose in the big scheme of the movie world. But let's get down to the details. How do they work? And how well do they work? (Bear in mind that as a student journalist I value cheap and free things very highly).

COSTS

TIFF is hands down the most affordable. As a major urban area Toronto offers plenty of options when it comes to accommodation (hostels! hotels! a friend's basement!) and cheap-but-good eats.

There is reasonably priced food to be found in Venice and Cannes if you look hard enough (or are willing to live off of sandwiches from beachside vendors for a week), but it's the accommodation that really breaks the bank. Both are relatively isolated and residential areas, which means that during festival time prices inflate to obscenely high rates.

Venice is possibly worse in that sense, because the festival takes place on the tiny island of Lido. You can ferry in from elsewhere each day, but when it's a matter of getting more sleep between a 10pm screening and a 9am the following morning, time is money.

FREE SWAG

Upon checking in at the accreditation desk, you usually receive a little something extra with your badge. TIFF provided a tote bag filled with mostly promotional stuff, but there was a nice pen and water bottle in there too. Venice went with a simple tote bag (the kind that eco-friendly shoppers take to the grocery store) with the Biennale di Venezia logo. Cannes coughed up a nice messenger bag (big enough for laptop, so I ended up using it for most of the festival) along with a copy of the official festival program, which at the others you would have had to purchase separately.

LANGUAGE

Bilingual signs at the palazzo in Venice

Cannes and Venice are bilingual, meaning that every film not in French or Italian (respectively) is subtitled. If the film is not in English either, it means the dreaded double subtitles. French/Italian subtitles take priority and are displayed in the normal location on the bottom of the screen, while English is projected onto a separate screen slightly below the main one. At best it's distracting. At worst, because I'm short, if I get a bad seat it means I probably won't understand everything that's going on.

SOCIAL SCENE

Fireworks at the Firefox Flicks party at Cannes 2012

Festivals are also known for their parties, but since I am neither high-ranking nor well-known I usually don't hear about them until after the fact. However, I will say that certain Cannes parties are relatively easy to crash. This is because many take place in the tents of the beachfront pavilion, or on yachts. Access to TIFF and Venice parties, I assume, is more restricted.

VOLUNTEERS/STAFF

TIFF recruits an army of volunteers each year, so even if the first person you ask doesn't know the answer to your question, it's okay because there is guaranteed to be at least five others people nearby!

Security on the red carpet at Cannes.

Cannes and Venice prefer to employ bouncer-like men who stand at all major entrances and exits wearing suits and sunglasses. If you ask them a question not in their native language, the default answer will most likely be, "No," or, "It's closed."


VENUES

TIFF's recently-constructed Bell Lightbox is the main hub for press, with large comfortable auditoriums, good wi-fi connectivity and a press lounge that serves free food and coffee all day. Thanks to the press lounge, I spent very little pocket money during the festival.

Theater seating 1300 at Cannes.

Cannes and Venice have relatively similar palazzos that are restricted to the public. The grand architecture is all very nice and beautiful but the bathrooms are terrible. Simply put, there are not enough for the thousands who pass through each day. I'm sure you don't want to read that much detail as much as I don't care to write it, so let's just say that I kept myself intentionally dehydrated to avoid having to go very often.

Main entrance to the Palazzo del Casino

As for press facilities, Venice set aside practically an entire floor of the palazzo for their use, with decent wi-fi connectivity across the entire festival area. No free food, but there were multiple pop-up cafés set up with reasonably priced options.

Cannes' press room was much too small considering the number of journalists and photographers present - at peak hours it was difficult to even find a place to sit on the floor! But it did have a nice view of the water, and the red carpet leading from the photo call area to the press junket room passed right by the window.

Walter Salles, Viggo Mortensen and Kristen Stewart promoting On the Road

No free food at Cannes, but you could drink espresso to your heart's content thanks to sponsor Nespresso. Much to the dismay of the press, wi-fi access was restricted to the press lounge, and in order to connect each time you had to input your individual un-memorizable sequence of letters and numbers.

WHAT YOUR PRESS PASS GETS YOU

In order to facilitate the thousands of journalists that come each year, Cannes has a hierarchy designated by badge color. Certain screening rooms require press to queue according to their badges, with access granted by descending priority. Basically this means that the top three levels are certain to get in, while it's not unheard of for lower level press (namely, me) to wait in line for an hour and be denied access because the theater is full. And this is for press-only screenings.

Venice separates press into Daily, Periodicals and Media Press, with the former taking priority during entry. Although with my Periodicals badge I never had any problem getting turned away from a screening because it was full.

TIFF, thankfully, is egalitarian in its accreditation. All P&I have the same badge, which grants access to all P&I screenings and industry events, as well as five tickets to any public screenings of the badge holder's choice. (Or at least this was the case in 2011. Hopefully they haven't changed anything).

FINAL VERDICT

While I would gladly return to any of these festivals, I think TIFF wins.

Travel Diary: Venice

My first view of the Grand Canal

I arrived in Venice just in time for the first rain in several months, according to my host. Sure enough, as soon as I finished lugging my suitcase up to the fourth floor apartment (Venetian buildings don't have lifts), there was a clap of thunder followed by screams from outside - presumably from tourists caught unaware. By the time I had showered, changed and mapped out a plan to find a place to eat dinner, the rain had let up and only a brisk wind remained. But after the sweltering heat of central and southern Italy, I welcomed it. The storm made the pavement slick and ridden with puddles, but it also cleared the sky, leaving behind streaks of clouds that made it look like an Impressionist painting.

My tour guide, a Venetian local, likened her hometown to living "in a museum." The entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage site that runs on tourism, meaning that residents must comply by keeping up traditional appearances. Despite Venice's myriad museums and churches, the only major sites I visited were St. Mark's, the bell tower and the Grand Canal via boat tour because, as Rick Steves' aptly put it, the best site is the city itself.

Even with a map I found it tricky to navigate so I spent a good part of my stay wandering aimlessly, reassured by the fact that I could never get too lost on an island. My apartment was about a 25 minute walk to St. Mark's, a trip I made many times, but because all the "streets" look vaguely identical it meant that each time my route was slightly different. And while the high cost of living has led to a considerable exodus of locals within recent decades, the upshot for visitors is that it means the streets are quite safe, even after dark.

San Marco post-storm and exactly how I like it: without tourists and pigeons.

Shopping in Venice was a treat, thanks to all the specialized artisan shops. Venetian specialties include elaborate Carnevale masks, prints and paper goods, but there are also outlets for lace and handblown glass from the nearby islands of Burano and Murano respectively. But perhaps the most surprising (and random) Venetian tradition I partook in was attending a lively performance by Interpreti Veneziani at Chiesa San Vidal. I'm not generally a huge Vivaldi fan, but when most bars are closed Sunday night it's a fun diversion.

Travel Diary: Rome

Il Vittoriano on Piazza Venezia

Apart from the blazing heat during the day and being eaten alive by mosquitoes at night, I quite enjoyed Rome. And even though I managed to make my way to most of the big tourist attractions (e.g. the Colosseum, Forum, Spanish Steps, etc.), I found it most fulfilling just to walk around and people watch. 

I spent most of my time in the historic Pantheon neighborhood. At night, when the temperature dipped to a pleasant balminess, the old town came alive with buzzing trattorias and osterias and people sitting in darkening piazzas, admiring the floodlit landmarks and absorbing the atmosphere.

Spanish Steps at night.

I was sad to leave and can't wait to return, in part because the food there was excellent. Some of my favorite places, by way of a friend who visited Rome last summer, are:

- Il Cartoccio for deep-fried fish, artichokes, cheeses, you name it.
- Sant'Eustachio for coffee/espresso.
- Old Bridge for gelato.
- Le Fate for their fixed price student menu. (10€ for appetizer, pasta, dessert and glass of wine).

Travel Diary: Vatican City

Since I'm not a religious person, my interest in the Vatican primarily stems from my high school obsession with Angels & Demons. That, and everything about it is sort of shrouded in mystery and scandal. I'm sure at some point I learned some things about it in AP European History but that knowledge is long gone. Luckily I had a great tour guide to explain what I was looking at in the museum and church.

St. Peter's Basilica

I don't usually enjoy guided tours because the explanations provided tend to exceed my attention span, but Valerie (of Rome Walks) was awesome. She paid each person in our intimate five strong group careful attention, answering all our questions and catering to our specific interests. Valerie was both highly knowledgable and engaging - less like a historian and more like a storyteller.

The School of Athens by Raphael. Michelangelo is the melancholy figure in the center with his head on his hand.

She spoke at length about Michelangelo and Raphael (the artists behind the Vatican's most famous paintings) and their differences in style and personality, as well the scandal and drama stirred up under various popes - like the Borgia pope who allegedly organized orgies and Julius II who was the driving force behind the city's most ambitious building projects.

The Gallery of Maps - my favorite room in the museum.

After going through the museum, we took time to admire the Sistine Chapel before ending the tour with the famous St. Peter's Basilica. No words can describe the beauty, grandeur and intricacy of it. Not even the photos do it justice.

One of many photos from St. Peter's Basilica. Check out the rest on Flickr.

Note: Tour groups get to skip the line to get inside. Queuing outside for hours to get in might not be such a big deal in cooler months, but in 90 degree weather it's probably the last thing anyone really wants to do. And unless you're already a Catholic history nerd, you'll probably learn something new.

Travel Diary: Sorrento & Capri

The best way to enjoy Italy despite the searing summer heat is, hands down, on a boat in the Mediterranean, where you can either dive into the perfectly blue water or sip an ice cold Nastro Azzurro as you zoom past the villa-studded Amalfi coastline. It's divine.

Sorrento

Leaving Sorrento (gorgeous seaside town about an hour's train ride from Naples), behind, a small contingent from my hostel in Naples jumped on a boat and headed for the island of Capri. Our driver took us the long way around to the marina, stopping periodically so we could jump in and swim through some of the island's many caves and grottoes.

Yup. Swam through it.

During our afternoon break we stopped at the marina on the far side of the island. Although there was a lovely beach right by the pier we decided to take the funicular up to the hill-top town of Anacapri.

Capri as seen from the funicular.

The main shopping street boasting designer names was packed with tourists both foreign and national. Since I wasn't really in the mood to splurge on a Roberto Cavalli bikini or pair of diamond earrings, for me it was more enjoyable to take in the views and get lost in the town's winding, labyrinthine passageways.

Off the beaten path at Anacapri.

We returned to Sorrento tired, slightly sunburnt but very content. I enjoyed a nice dinner and wine at a seafood restaurant overlooking the piazza with some newfound friends before hopping the Circumvesuviana train back to Naples, where we passed the time playing charades.

Travel Diary: Pompeii & Herculaneum

"Drink lots of water," advised the California couple I met on the Circumvesuviana train en route to Pompeii.

"Otherwise you might end up like one of those mummies!"

...this could have been me

The ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum were the reason I forewent Milan and Florence for southern Italy, because I felt like I would be a bad anthropologist if I didn't make an effort to see such remarkably preserved evidence of early civilization. My dedication proved crucial, as it was over 90 degrees and the stone ruins offer no shade. But luckily (at least at Pompeii) the old fountains are still fully operational with cool, clear drinking water.

The Macellum at Pompeii - the city's main market

While I'm glad I saw Pompeii, ultimately I preferred Herculaneum because the former felt too touristy and too big - like if you got lost you could unwittingly spend an entire day there, or perhaps never make it out... (Also I was expecting to see more petrified human remains, so that was a bit of a disappointment).

The Sede degli Augustali at Herculaneum

Herculaneum is a lot more intact as a site, both in terms of its physical structures and its art. The paintings, mosaics and statues retain their vibrancy despite being nearly two thousand years old, which is pretty remarkable. It also provides a more intimate experience, as there are less visitors and you can get a good look around the entire town in under two hours. I didn't even get lost once!

Travel Diary: The National Archaeological Museum of Naples (SNSFW)*

Salone della meridiana

While Pompeii & Herculaneum are pretty incredible to explore in person, visiting the museum in Naples provides a fuller experience because that's where a majority of art and artifacts wound up after excavation. Thus you can get a better sense of who those people were.

Each of these faces pretty much sums up how I feel in 90 degree weather.

In the museum you have your standard paintings, frescoes, statues, relics and, my favorite, the mosaics. But the most memorable gallery by far is what is officially known as the secret room, or perhaps more appropriately the sex chamber.

That piece on the left is a good indicator of what's inside.

Upon entering the secret room, the first thing you see are giant stone phalluses. And from there it only gets weirder. There are frescoes depicting couples having sex in various positions, sculptures capturing acts of bestiality, and mysterious humanoid figurines. Don't believe me? Take a look.

I was going to get this as a postcard for a friend, but in the end chose a more tasteful one.

Poor goat.

If you're thinking they're just standing on one leg...they're not.

Who knew Romans were so kinky?

*SNSFW = sort of not safe for work

Travel Diary: Naples

I was warned not to go to Naples at all by friends who were concerned about my safety. After all, the city does have some of the highest crime and unemployment in the country. You can even sense it when wandering the streets - no wait, the restlessness is probably just due to the uncomfortable heat of summer.

But it is pretty after dark. Especially down by the water.

In truth Naples is fine within the confines of the tourist area, which is basically the triangle between the train station in the east, the Archaeological Museum in the west and the Royal Palace in the south. Even so there's a bit of a gritty feel to it; the one time I was out alone after dark I was a bit paranoid but I kept to the busy main streets. Having just arrived in Rome last night the contrast is quite stark. (Polizia! Everywhere! As compared to not a single one seen in Naples).

The view down via Mezzocannone.

Honestly I didn't spend a whole lot of time in Naples; my first day I went out to visit the famed sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the second was spent on a boat circling the island of Capri. But it was definitely worth wandering the city's historical center, which has amazing classical architecture, beautiful churches and lots of cool (albeit touristy) shops. Oh, and the pizza! Naples is the birthplace of pizza so I made sure to try out a few different restaurants.

Inside Gesù Nuovo.

Every time I've moved in the past several years, I find the local drivers to be increasingly worse and more ruthless than the last. (I've previously lived in the Bay Area, New York, and now Paris). But Italy takes the cake on aggressive drivers with no regard for pedestrians. To cross the street one pretty much has to stay on the heels of a local, otherwise risk being stranded on the sidewalk for a very long time. If there aren't any around, though, you just have to take a deep breath, step out onto the street and stare down whatever car or scooter is speeding unrelentingly toward you.

If you do go Naples, use Hostel of the Sun as your home base. The staff are incredibly friendly and knowledgeable, and you're sure to meet some cool people who can become your new friends and travel buddies.

Food Diary: Burgers in Paris, Part Deux

Les nomz

Just when I was starting to get used to living in a French atmosphere I went away to Scandinavia, where everyone speaks nearly flawless English. In some ways it was almost like being at home, except that they use strange currencies and everyone is very blonde and blue-eyed...

Okay, so I guess it was more like being in an alternate universe, but the point is that I could communicate with people without wildly gesticulating and looking like an idiot. And then I returned to Paris, where my brain now struggles to form simple sentences in French. 

If you asked me during my first week here whether I would ever want go to back home, the answer would probably be no. But now that the blinders have come off a bit I'll definitely be ready to leave by next summer. There's no denying that Paris is a beautiful city, but one tends to spend most of the time looking down at the ground avoiding piles of dog poop - seriously, it's worse than Manhattan.

Le camion. Probably easier to spot by the long line that forms at lunch time.

For these reasons and more I've been feeling a little homesick, which is why I decided it was time to seek out Le camion qui fume - one of only two burger-grilling mobile food joints in Paris. Whereas Cantine California focuses more on...California/Mexican-influenced street food, Le camion qui fume is all about straight up burgers. Oh, and their fries are better than In-n-Out's.

Yes, I went there. Come to Paris and prove me wrong.

For more objective assessment on the cultural significance of food trucks in Paris, I suggest you read this NYT article.

Paris Plage

Each summer for about a month or so the city of Paris brings the beach to the Right Bank of the Seine, importing god knows how much sand and dozens of palm trees. (Note: these have nothin' on Stanford's Palm Drive). You can't swim in the Seine so it isn't quite like a real beach, but that doesn't stop bikini-clad girls from tanning and precocious toddlers from playing in the sand. It's popular enough that one should bring her own towel to sit on rather than banking on snagging a beach chair (even with a majority of Parisians away on holiday!)

If and when you do get a seat, it's a great place to relax and people watch. Vendors are on hand selling gelato, hot dogs, fries and ice cold drinks. Or if you want to be a little more active, there are foosball tables and organized exercise classes. Beyond the boundaries of the beach, toward the Louvre, a group of men and women have set up of stools offering free 10 minute massages.

For those who can't actually get out of the city, it's a nice afternoon escape. (And did I mention it's free?)

Travel Diary: Copenhagen

It's hard to pick one favorite thing about Copenhagen, which is easily my favorite city on the Scandinavian tour. From the quaint bike-friendliness and hip college-town vibe to the deep sense of history and national pride manifest in the preponderance of beautifully maintained castles and churches, Copenhagen manages to feel both cosmopolitan and traditional. And whereas other cities felt as though we had exhausted all the major attractions within less than two days, I would love to stay here longer. (Or, alternatively, come back real soon).



We got our royal family fix at Christianborg Palace, Amalienborg Castle and Rosenborg Castle, but outside the city proper are even more regal residences. Because apparently it was a thing for newly anointed kings to build their own castles rather than inheriting the one from his predecessor. I especially liked Rosenborg because the surrounding gardens reminded me a lot of Central Park.



The Rosenborg grounds are located just a bit inland from The Little Mermaid, which honestly was a little underwhelming up close; the sheer volume of tourists detracted from the experience. South of the statue, at Ofelia Beach, the Copenhagen Sandsculpture Festival displays impressive works by artists from all over the world. Their medium is a mixture of sand and clay, which is then periodically sprayed with water to prevent drying out. The exhibit has been going on since the end of May so, sadly, some of the sculptures looked as though they were beginning to decay.



Copenhagen has a plethora of museums, but after visiting all those castles we were feeling a little burnt out on looking at old things. Even so, we still enjoyed Thorvaldsen's Museum and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek - both sculpture museums. The latter is also renowned for its architecture, with an inner courtyard that's like a greenhouse.



For similar reasons I also tend to get bored of visiting churches but the Church of Our Savior, a baroque masterpiece, is not to be missed. The interior and altarpiece are quite intricate, but the real reason for going is the 90 meter corkscrew spire. And maybe I just have a thing for heights (I've realized through writing that a majority of places I choose to visit tend to be up high), but the view from the top is unbelievable. Another tower we visited was the Rundetårn, or observatory. While not quite as tall as the spire it's equally interesting structurally.



There are also lots of little things that I like about Copenhagen; small details that I tried to capture in photos. Like the way that locals congregate near the water - either on the wharf or in private boats - soaking up the sunshine and each other's company, perhaps drinking a bottle of wine or sharing some ice cream. Or sitting at a café on the sidewalk watching people go by (Copenhagen is much cleaner than Paris so it makes for a more enjoyable outdoor dining experience).



On our last night we visited Tivoli, the world's second-oldest amusement park and supposedly the inspiration for Disneyland. Secluded by trees in the heart of the city center, once the sun had set and the park lit up, it truly felt like a magical place to relive childhoods long gone.

Drink Diary: Ruby, Copenhagen

"Classic drinking, forward thinking."

Thus reads the inside of the leather-bound cocktail menu at Copenhagen's hidden gem Ruby. Behind an unmarked door just opposite the canal from the Thorvaldson Museum sits this unassuming but elegant bar. In fact, if it weren't for the bottles lining the far wall of the front room, one could easily be tricked into thinking she accidentally stumbled into some emeritus professor's flat.

Leather chairs and velvet footstools are artfully arranged in secluded enclaves, lit by flickering candles and antique light fixtures. Vintage liquor posters, photos and trophies accentuate the khaki and tan striped wallpaper while jazz classics from the likes of Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington play softly in the background. Not to mention the attentive servers who, clad in suspenders and horn-rimmed glasses, strongly bring to mind that one cute film studies TA...

Aside from a handful of classics-with-a-twist, much of the menu is seasonal. My Berry Club Fizz of strawberries, Hennessy, absinthe, and soda with a touch of citrus was like a tangy lemonade - a refreshing end to a hot day.

After a full afternoon of sightseeing neither of us was feeling up to braving blaring music or overcrowded dance floors. (Also it was Sunday, so probably not the ideal going out night anyway). Ruby was the perfect alternative because, thanks to its strong but well-crafted drinks and intellectual ambience, it's highly conducive for sinking back and having a good conversation.

Travel Diary: Tallinn

A 90 minute ferry ride away from Helsinki sits the Estonian capital where even the Finns go to have fun. (Or so a tour guide told us, but judging from the list of things to do in Helsinki I don't think she was wrong). After disembarking at the pier, beaching Tallinn's rough, industrial exterior immediately gives way to the rustic and quaint Old Town, where one could easily spend several days getting lost in its winding cobblestone streets full of specialty shops, cafés and ancient churches. We only had the better part of an afternoon, so we tried to make the most of it.



For 2 euros, St. Olaf's Church provides a bird's eye view of Old Town from the top of its immense spire, which at one point was the tallest in the world. The view from up top is well worth the price of admission, but the climb up the uneven stone hewn steps is not to be underestimated; let's just say it reminded us of how out of shape we are after a month of making and tasting pastries.

 

Afterward we rewarded ourselves at the nearby Beer House's happy hour, where one can find 0.5 L portions of select drafts for 3 euros and generous plates of German delicacies for 8-12. Tasty, but it's a good thing I'm not vegetarian any more. Just a few steps down the road is the town square, whose market makes for good souvenir shopping.



Following some more aimless wandering we made our way over to the Hotel Viru, which houses the world's first and only KGB museum. I'm not usually much of a museum person (looking at old things tends to lose its novelty real fast), but this was easily the best guided tour I've ever been on. I mean, come on, it's the KGB! How often do you get a chance to look at some of the original equipment they used to spy on people?



On a more serious note, though, having been indoctrinated via an American public education that communism is bad, it was fascinating to get a more nuanced perspective on what life was like under Soviet rule. Our guide, an Estonian native, didn't leave us with any doubt that her country is quite happy being independent, but she did have some pretty incredible anecdotes about how things were before independence.

Bottom line: When in Scandinavia, go to Tallinn.