Mount Vesuvius

So Friday, we went to Mount Vesuvius. We drove up the volcano and walked about 30 minutes to the top. I don't know what I expected but it was pretty much just a big hole. A bit of a let-down. I really wanted to see lava or something. We could see Naples and the bay and the coast. We ate lunch at the top and hurried back down to get the bus to Sorrento where we were staying. Our hotel was a little out of main street Sorrento (but Sorrento was so small that it didn't matter). We walked around a bit before dinner with the whole group.

no lava

Bay of Naples

view from our hotel room

Sorrento

Quick Glance at Amalfi Weekend

Just spent the last three days exploring the Amalfi Coast: Mount Vesuvius, Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii, and Naples. I saw so much and experienced many things that I can't tell you all about it now. I have to do some work--it is called "study" abroad after all. But I promise tomorrow there will be a recap. But for now, drool over these gorgeous pictures and the vibrant colors.

in Sorrento, looking at Mount Vesuvius

Capri

on top of the mountain in Capri

Beautiful Day to Walk

I got a late start today because I slept in...to 8:30. I wanted to run to the Olympic Stadium today and I did, but I couldn't run on the track. And on the way back, I missed my turn but I ended up being near things I knew. But my Roman adventure this afternoon consisted of illegal bus/tram rides and lots of walking. My first stop was the Isola Tiberina. It is the smallest inhabited island. Many people were out, sunbathing and enjoying the warm weather.

My other to-do spot was the church of St. Peter in Chains. I walked by the Forum. There are so many people in Rome now. So many tourists. I've only been here 2.5 months and I don't feel like a tourist--I know the norms of life here, or something like that.

No trip is complete without gelato. I unsuccessfully tried to find Gelateria Fatamorgana a while ago but today I succeeded. I had to wait in a longish line to get my peanut and prince's kiss double scoop gelato. It was delicious. The woman behind the counter was patient with my bad Italian. Yum.

I finally made it to St. Peter in Chains. It is closed from noon to 3, so I sat outside for a few minutes, waiting for it to open. Inside, I saw chains that supposedly were from St. Peter, along with Michelangelo's Moses. Then I headed home. I was extremely tired from all my walking. 

Buying Some Lonza

For Italian class today, we had to buy something from the salumeria, aka the deli. We had to buy some sliced meat and a piece of bread. We planned on going at 4:30, leaving plenty of time before class. Well when friends from class came back at 4:30 and they said everything was closed, I freaked out. Oh no, but there was hope. I saw this place on my way home the other day so we hightailed it there. It was open and we ventured in. I went first--Could I have 50 grams of lonza? And a rosetta roll? The guy was very nice but I had no idea what he was saying. His mom worked the cash register. It was such a nice place with nice people. And it was nice to practice my (bad) Italian.

I also had a dream last night about it. My class was all sitting on steps, like in a lecture hall except we were outside. Class was about to start but then I remembered I forgot my meat and bread. I asked my friend Ryan (from high school) if I could have some salami. He gave some to me and I got some flatbread from someone else. I was worried because a lot of other people forgot too so everyone had pretty much the same thing. My teacher would know we all forgot. Next thing I know I look back at Ryan and he is tossing out salami slices to the class. Weird dream right there.

Vatican Museums

My on-site art history class took me to the Vatican Museums. With no bus pass bought for April, I decided to not ride illegally but to walk the three miles there. It was a beautiful day so I didn't mind. There were a few glitches in the beginning, but it ended up working out. It was a bit of a hassle exiting because they corral you in one direction through the Sistine Chapel. I can't imagine what it is like in the summer. It was packed today and it was a Tuesday in April. There was a lot to see--the place is huge. We just hit seven or eight pieces because we gave group presentations. Honestly though, being in Rome has made me sick of religious art. So much of it everywhere.

hey, you're supposed to be in Paris!

on my walk this morning

one part of the Museums

some art we looked at

St. Jerome by da Vinci

Madonna of Foligno by Raphael

coolest exit ever

DON'T FALL!

a beautiful day in Roma

Tuesday Blues Spill Into Monday

Tuesdays are always my worst day of the week. I always feel stinky and down in the dumps. But now it has spread into today! Why?? I just want to eat gelato and cookies and go for runs. Ugh. But today was nice. My economics professor loves me and thinks I'm the greatest thing ever. He quizzes us at the beginning of class. Today, I noticed he purposely avoided asking me. He said, when everyone didn't know, "I didn't want to play the Boligitz card but..." That made me laugh. And then we had an oral exam for Italian. We split into small groups (3 in our group) and had to create a conversation with them in a certain situation. It well extremely well and we even made our professor laugh at a few points. But dinner today was so nice. I made sausage with peppers and onions and bought a baguette to put it on. Yum. One of my favorite things to do is grocery shop. I like looking down all the aisles and trying to see if that store is cheaper than the one I usually go to. I'm weird, I know.

I need to pace around her room and tell her all my problems

Running and Links

This here is procrastination at its finest. I need to get my art history presentation together but it is the only thing I have to do. Not too much pressure to get it done now but I really need it done today. This morning, I woke up to run with the Roma Road Runners Club. We had to take a bus and the metro (for an hour total) to get to a park by the aqueduct. It was so pretty. Rome just ends and green fields spring up. You run along the dirt paths, through so much history. It was very cool. And the members were so nice. They took us around the park and made sure we felt at home. One guy even was like paparazzi, taking our pictures all the time. The weather was also beautiful--high 60s and sun. On my way home, Sal even gave me a Butterscotch Krimpet!

But here are two links that I recently been thinking about. The first is a new release by Noah and the Whale. Their new album is out on May 6 (hint hint) and I cannot wait. The second is an article about walking from Vienna to Budapest. It follows the same route that a traveler wrote about in the 1930s. I would love to walk across something: PA or the Appalachian Trail??