Aventine Sunset Walk

Highlights of the day include finding a cheaper grocery store, sunset walk with the flatmates, and dinner with some La Salle friends. The weather was so nice today--no rain until after dinner and even then it was just a drizzle. It was hard getting work done--I was hungry and it was a beautiful day. On the walk, the Resgrads of AUR took us to the Aventine Hill. I had already been there with Steve previously, but today we got to see St. Peter's through a keyhole. It was so pretty. I had time to kill after that so I walked around and took the tram for fun. Dinner was nice. Greg was in Rome for the weekend (from Greece) so it was nice seeing him. My pizza was good--mushroom and sausage pizza. Afterwards, Sal, Greg, and I walked to the Jewish Quarter. I had never walked around there. It was nice to explore that. We hopped on the tram, got gelato, and headed home. Looking forward to tomorrow--the market in the morning, church, and studying all day.

Rain and Gelato

Today's adventure consisted of just walking and wandering around Rome. Both my run earlier and my walk later had new roads where multiple times I had no idea where I was. I took the 8 tram and walked to the Pantheon. I wanted to find the gelato place that everyone talks about but I wasn't about to walk up and down all the streets. So I picked one street and hoped for the best. I didn't pick the right one but I got a chance to get lost in the back streets of Rome. I finally found myself by the shopping street. From there, I walked toward the Spanish Steps and got gelato. I think the lady overcharged me but it sure was good gelato (caramel and milk chocolate with hazelnuts and cream on top). After enjoying my gelato, I headed back toward the shopping street, went into the Zara and the bookstore, and headed back to the tram. It was on and off raining, so a little miserable. I really could have stayed forever in the bookstore, even if the English section was tiny. I also could have bought the whole section but I refrained--I'll just put the books on my library request list. Well, that's it for today. I have midterms next week so I have to start studying now. Wish me luck!

View from the Roof

No school today (like every Thursday though)!!! But I did go to school. For my Italian class, I needed to go to one movie that the Italian department presents. The movie today was Lo Sceicco Bianco, directed by Fellini. It was a comedy (rom-com?) about a newlywed couple that goes to Rome on their honeymoon. The husband plans the trip. They are expected to meet his uncle who got them a chance to see the pope. But the wife sneaks off for a quick meetup with the star of a soap opera photo strip (aka the White Sheik). As you expect, she doesn't make it back in time and the husband has to concoct a string of lies. He doesn't even know where she is. It was funny to see the husband worry so much while the wife spends the day with her idol.

So that was my morning. Oh I also finally went to the upper terrace at school. The sun was so strong and there were great views. Probably going to be going up there more. Now I am anxiously waiting for a possible phone interview for a summer internship. Eek! (Do I say that too much?) I'll let you know later.

view from the top of school

ditto

Rain In Roma

Rain. That is what it did today in Rome. And what it is supposed to do all week, at least to Friday (the 15th). Well, according to BBC weather, my go-to weather source here in Roma. It was pretty miserable waiting for the bus and then walking 10 minutes with a heavy bag of groceries. My feet were soaked.


High and low of the day? Oh, I miss La Salle! We used to do this at dinner! But my low would have to be right before and the beginning of my micro class where I wanted to throw up because I was nervous about my paper. My high? Either my Italian test grade or that my micro teacher thinks I'm the greatest thing ever because I review my notes before class.

So there you go. I am getting very excited for spring break. Eek, almost halfway done my time in Rome. It has gone so fast!

I just want to travel and not do work

Stressing

Not much today. But I have been stressing hardcore about everything. I've been feeling pretty bad on top of that. Wah. I just tell myself to take it one day, one week at a time. After tomorrow, I have midterms next week, then Mumford and London. Just make it to then, Katie.

Piazza Farnese

French Embassy

Piazza Farnese

Tuscan Weekend: Part 2

Saturday morning, we had breakfast at the hotel--continental, aka I ate everything. There was a hot chocolate machine and a juice machine, both of which I frequented a lot. After breakfast, we boarded the bus to Florence. We had a walking tour of the city--saw Dante's house, wrote love wishes to Beatrice, saw the duomo, crossed Ponte Vecchio, went to some markets. It was nice to have a tour of the city to get more information and insider tips. The tour took about two hours and then we were let on our own. As a group, we decided to visit the leather market, get lunch, some more shopping, climb the cathedral, and finally see David. While everyone bought something at the leather market, I didn't get anything. I didn't love anything. I was still stuffed from breakfast so I didn't get lunch when we stopped. Our next adventure: climb the dome of the duomo. There are 463 steps to the top. It got a little claustrophobic, especially because at one point people were coming down as we were climbing up. A little cramped and dark, to say the least. But the views from the top were worth it. It was so nice. After the climb, we made our way to see Florence's most famous man: David. The statue was huge. He is very imposing. I got a few souvenirs at the gift shop (secrets). We had time to kill so we just walked around before getting on the bus again.

We had dinner at the hotel again. Some pasta thing, salad/second course like Friday, chicken and fries, and finished with tiramisu. Early morning on Sunday--we were out a full hour earlier than on Saturday. I paced myself through breakfast this time because we were getting lunch at the winery. Once we were "under the Tuscan sun," we had a tour of the place, a wine tasting, pasta making lesson, and finally a huge lunch. We started with a meat and cheese plate, then pasta with meat sauce, chicken and potatoes, and finally a fruit tart. It was a long meal and I definitely gained 10 pounds over the course of the weekend. But then it was time to go back to Rome. It was a great weekend but I missed Rome. I also had homework to do.  It was a fun time--a memorable and worthwhile trip!

duomo

the Arno and me

Ponte Vecchio

Florence

Florence

Fattoria del Colle

view from the winery

Tuscan Weekend: Part 1

So this past weekend I went with AUR to Tuscany! On Friday, we went to Pisa. Saturday to Florence. And today we went to a little vineyard near Trequanda. There is much to tell so I'm breaking it into two parts.

Friday, we left bright and early at 7 am. I guess I was anxious because I kept waking up in the middle of the night. I ran a little bit and then got ready to go. (I decided to have an easy week for miles this week--to take a break.) Anyway, we finally arrived in Pisa. As soon as we stepped off the bus, we were surrounded by guys selling sunglasses and umbrellas. It was cloudy out and very annoying. We had a tour of Pisa (just around the tower and into the duomo). Then we had a lot of time to kill. We got a little something to eat--just a slice of pizza for me. We managed to escape the tourist section and found ourselves near the university and the Arno River. After walking around, we made our way back to the tower to take some typical pictures pushing and hugging the tower. I actually liked Pisa, once you escaped the many stalls selling miniature leaning towers. No day is complete unless you get gelato--mint and vanilla (adventurous!).

After a long four hours in Pisa, the bus took us to our hotel. I was lucky enough to get a room with my friends Katie and Amy. At 8, we had dinner. It was amazing. First course was meat lasagna. Second course was a buffet of cheese/salad bar. Third course was meat (I forget what it was!) and potatoes. To finish off, we had "grandma's cake," which was like vanilla/cream pudding with a crust and powdered sugar. I think I gained 10 pounds after that meal. It was a long day, so I fell right asleep when I got back to the room. More about Florence and wine tomorrow!

the duomo and the leaning tower

inside the duomo

this looks like I have friends

 

Arno River

Galileo doing "Thriller"?

awwww

sorry mom, I didn't buy these

cute, huh?