Busy Saturday

So I had a super packed morning to get everything done before Mumford (!) tonight, St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, and London on Monday. Well, I ran, through laundry in, and hurried to catch the tram. I went to Piazza Navona to see Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in Agone. I walked around Piazza Navona, headed to Campo de Fiori, walked through the Jewish Quarter, and finally arrived at Il Vittoriano. I took the elevator to the top--some amazing views up there. I could even see the people on top of St. Peter's! It was all very cool, but I needed to get home to eat and prepare for the busy next couple of days. It was nice having a (sort of) set schedule and then spontaneously walking down a road or into a random church.

Oh! But when I was on the tram, there was an older guy who was definitely making verbal advances to this girl next me. I was super uncomfortable and I don't even know Italian. She didn't respond at all to him, which I think was a good move. But it was icky. When he got off the tram, she heaved a sigh of relief, and I looked over at her to smile. We shared a common moment of relief that the guy had left.

Piazza Navona

Four Rivers Statue

pasta

Campo de Fiori

Campo

the synagogue

 

that's me

Via del Corso

the Colosseum

Forum

Roma

Forum

Pi Day (A Little Late)

I just realized that I didn't write about Pi Day at all yesterday!! I'm such a bad person! It's my favorite holiday and it is a chance for everyone to appreciate the wonderfulness of math (even though they have to be bribed with actual pie). Well HAPPY BELATED PI DAY!!

lol

stop it!

absolutely amazing

next halloween. any takers?

The Red Balloon

Well, my spring break officially started yesterday night. To celebrate, I saw the new pope. So what exciting things did I do today? I slept in late (8:45), ran to a new place, went to the library, and now just wasting time until bed. So exciting. My flatmates left around 6:00 pm for their spring break adventure (Budapest, Vienna, and Prague), so I've been here, all alone. I went to the grocery store, but I am bored out of my mind. I don't even have a book to read. But luckily I found a website that has free educational videos (you are all thinking I'm a dork right now). I found a decent amount of free movies. What I actually watched was The Red Balloon, a short film about a Parisian boy and his red balloon. I love this film. In high school, we watched it in French class, but I had seen it before. I remember my friend Maryellen saying that she wasn't surprised that I had already seen it. Ahead of the curve, I guess. But you can watch the whole film online if you haven't seen it. It's magical.

The New Pope

Steve and I were on the bus home tonight, talking about the Pope. We both agreed that they would pick him tomorrow. We wondered whether we should have gone to the Vatican tonight, but we were confident that it'd be tomorrow. Goodness, we were wrong. I ran around my apartment like a crazy woman, trying to get all my things together. My roommates ran around after me, trying to get their things together. We all ran to Steve's apartment, ran to the tram, and ran from the tram to the Vatican. We did a lot of running. But it was well worth it. Streets were packed with people and cars. There were police and people everywhere. It was exhilarating running towards St. Peter's, knowing I'd be there for history. It was hard to see but it was still amazing. Pope Francis I came out, speaking Italian. (I caught a few words, here and there.) There was cheering and chants. And then everyone left. Sal, Steve, and I made our way closer to St. Peter's. We passed many languages and ages. So cool. Wow, it was amazing. Just being there was exciting.

 

PS--And you thought you were going to get another post about midterms and rain in Rome!

Desert Boots in the Rain

Midterms galore. Three tomorrow. My art history one today was very easy--although I know I got two wrong. During the test, it started to downpour and thunder. My first thought was that my new shoes were going to get ruined on the first day I ever wore them. Way to focus on the test. The whole way home after the test (it stopped raining, by the way) I felt like I was in the world of Mary Poppins. I had a spring in my step and no cares in the world (except for not dirtying my shoes). Even on my run I was having fun thinking of weird events that could happen. I don't know what came over me--maybe it was the cookies I had for breakfast...

new shoes

I'm going to wear these all the time

the inside pattern is cute too!

PS--For those who have been reading awhile, I mentioned getting a pair of shoes at TJMaxx. I ended up returning them, just so you know.

PPS--My outfit today was very quickly thrown together but ended up looking good. My boots, black cords, white tee, tan sweater, flowered scarf, and my trusty green jacket. Probably sometime next week I'll talk about how I'm doing with the stuff I packed.

PPPS--Don't you think it is funny: desert boots in the rain. Because it doesn't rain in the desert!!

Cookies

Highlight of the day: bought cookies at the grocery store. Lowlight of the day: teriyaki sauce was 7.25 euro!!! We just learned about utility in my microeconomics class, so my whole walk to the bus consisted of me saying that the sauce does not give me enough utils to spend 7.25. But I have midterms this week--one tomorrow and three on Wednesdays. I have to go study now. Well ciao. Wait, no was at the park this morning, which was very weird. It was hardcore down-pouring two hours before I ran so that might have been the case.

the neighborhood

The Little Prince

Busy morning today. I went to Porta Portese market--a big flea market held on Sundays in Rome. It was huge and crowded with very cheap stuff. I'm not a good shopper--if I question something, I don't buy it. So I walked around, taking in the whole thing. I then hopped on the tram to go to church. The gospel was about the prodigal son, which I hate that parable. But I was able to get some orange juice and cake afterwards, which was nice. As I was walking back to the tram, I stopped at Despar (a grocery store) and picked up a salami sandwich and a soda. I was hungry and I needed to break a twenty if I was going to buy things at the market. I headed back to the market where I bought desert boots (I'm so excited right now) and The Little Prince in Italian. I want to immerse myself more in the language. Yesterday, Greg recommended I read the circular for the grocery store to pick up on some words. I can understand some things (some number and phrases) but not nearly close to understand conversations. I mean, if I'm at the grocery store, I can figure out what the cashier is saying but that is from habit, you know?

cute store near Argentina--but really, Peanuts in Italy?