What paper?

Ciao! Sorry it's been awhile, apparently I get distracted here in Rome. Class is going well. Everything we learn is so interesting. I just am not really into sitting down and trying to comprehend writing a 15 page paper before the trip is over! It sounds as if he is not THAT hard of a grader though. He even said he would have the papers graded and our final grades faxed and hopefully posted within 3 days of our return to Minnesota.

Lately I have been seeing lots and lots of churches. The most memorable was probably St. Peter's Basilica. It. Was. Huge. It would be so amazing to be able to attend Mass here every week. Every detail of the church is grand and thought out. There was a small chapel-like area where there was the body of Pope John XXIII (who died in 1963) in a glass case. We waiting in a short line and walked past and were able to take pictures of his body. It's been embalmed and coated in a layer of wax but it was interesting, and eery, to see. Around the middle of the church (the crossing) there are four corners that hold up the dome and in each corner is a sculpture of a saint with one of the relics that Christ was crucified with. Now, the real relics are put away in a safe place but at one time they were concealed within the statues.

These past few days I have been planning a trip to Capri for 5 other girls, two boys, and myself. We are leaving Rome at 6am on Saturday the 5th and plan on being on the beach by 1pm. Our hotel is on the mainland in Sorrento and we will head back there just at night. Then, after breakfast on Sunday we will go back to Capri and spend another day at the beach and take the train home late at night. The island of Capri has multiple grottos where the rock formations make it so that small boats can float in under the rock but the cave area is still lit by sunlight from under the water...this creates a color effect. The one we want to go to is the Grotto Azzurra (the Blue Grotto) and is the most beautiful glowing blue. Try googling it and look at the pictures. The island has a high point in the center than gives amazing views, there are beaches all around, gardens, ancient ruins, seafood galore, and SUN! I can't wait to get my tan on :)

Lovin it

The first week of class is almost under our belts. Our professor has more energy that all of us young kids do! He walks too fast, never seems to need a break, but is very enthusiastic about the class. Today we only have a 3 hour tour of the piazza del Popolo and then we end early to start off the weekend. Some of the people on the trip are going to Florence but Tarin and I decided to stay in Rome. The people that planned out the Florence trip have an impossible itinerary and it is supposed to rain so we didn't wanna be stressing out about going to a bunch of museums (which is what we do in class all week anyway). Their trip is a one-day trip with a total of 8 hours of riding a train too, not my ideal Saturday. Instead, we are going to start writing our papers and relax because it is supposed to be pretty rainy here too.

Last night 12 of us went out to an official, full length dinner. We left at 8pm and finished at 11. Kate and I shared bruschetta, salad, a green pasta with gorgonzola sauce, pasta with cream sauce and sausage, tiramisu, and chocolate mousse. Our end of the table shared wine too! It was nice to just eat slowly, talk, relax, and enjoy the evening. The only bad thing was the salad. We thought we'd be gutsy and try it--it had ewe's cheese in it--but it was absolutely terrible. It tasted like smelly feet :( I need to go use my new espresso pot now, gotta get my caffeine for the morning walk! Miss you all and can't wait to see some of you at Mom and Dad's anniversary get together on the 19th!

Vatican Museum and such

Yesterday (Monday) was the first day of class. We decided to walk and it took around 40 minutes to get there. We were kind of sweaty and decided to take the bus today because we wanted to smell decent for the 3 hr lecture in a small room! Anyway, lecture was very nice. It didn't feel like a traditional class. I actually wanted to be there and participate. It was more like an informational session that we showed up for! Professor Stoughton is apparently quite recognized in field as an expert in Baroque art (which is what we are studying). He knows the most amazing minute details and it is so interesting to learn about. If you look at my facebook pictures you can see the captions that relate to the photos but I will tell you one story... Apparently one of Da Vinci's first paintings had the man's head cut out of it and it was lost. Well the head part was eventually found in a shoe maker's shop being used as a top of a stool and the rest of the painting was found at a junk shop just a few years in between each other. Miraculously, the two were paired together and reunited. They're now put back together and hung in the Vatican Museums.

For class, we generally meet at ACCENT at 9am and have class until 11:30, then lunch, then we take off to whichever museum, church, or exhibit for the day. On Monday we had class and then walked to the Vatican Museums. The crowds were soooo annoying and made for a hot day--the art was worth it though. I saw so many famous things that I had learned in my other art history class. It was just so special to be there just feet (and sometimes inches) away from priceless history. Other than all the paintings and sculpture at the Vatican there is, of course, the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos in there but it was a sight to see. When they restored it they left a small spot untouched to show the difference of the before and after....it was literally black before. All the candle smoke for years and years built up and now that it is removed the colors are so bright and lively again. Our professor was lucky enough to be there during the restoration process and through his connections was able to climb up the scaffolding and kissed the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel three times. According to him he kissed a toe, a leg, and a "winky." hahahahaha I guess he chose the important appendages.

By the end of Monday I was burnt out and Tarin and I crashed at the apartment and watch the series finale of LOST online. It was a good final episode and ended on a happy, conclusive note. I went to bed at 9pm and slept straight until 6:30am. AMAZING. Today (Tuesday) we went to the Capitoline Museums. After that we headed home to rest for a couple hours before going to the aperitivo. An aperitivo is a pre-dinner meal that gets the appetite going. Many people go to a place for this after work. What they do is pay 8-10 euro for a drink (whether it be Coke or a nice strong mojito) and then they can snack on a buffet as much as they want! Going to a restaurant could be 10 euro just for the entree so its a great deal for students like us. We had some great food and I tried Tarin's drink (a beer cinnamon mojito) and then headed to Abbey Theatre (an Irish Pub). We had a Guinness there and then hopped on a bus to go home. I wore my new heels out for this event and it was a bit painful but worth it. I am exhausted and need to go to sleep now. Buona notte.

First weekend!

Okay, so Nana- there are like 4 or 5 single steps up to my apartment. We are on the first floor but when you look out the window its a lot higher up than our first floors in the US.

On Saturday my roommates and I decided to go shopping and try out the public transportation. We left from the metro (subway) near our apartment and went near the Vatican on a shopping street. There wasn't anything amazing to look at but there were a few outdoor stands. One of the girls found a dress she wanted to try on so she asked the guy and he said yes. She started to follow him down the block (to what we assumed was the inside of a store) but led her to a van with no windows to try it on. We were all watching her and she whipped around and started walking back toward us as fast as she could! We couldn't believe they actually thought we would go in a van to try on clothes. At least we learned not to ask for that again!

After the first shopping street we decided to go to another south of the city. We walked and walked but never found the stores. We were to the point where the maps were no longer useful because we were so far south so we turned around and started to walk back and came across a restaurant. It looked really authentic because only Italian middle aged people were in there so we thought it would be a good choice for real Italian food. I ordered melanzana con parmigiano (eggplant with parmesan). It was so so so good. Then we got tiramisu and creme caramel for dessert to share. To finish it off we got espresso. After lunch we got on the metro again and headed back towards our area. We got off at Spagna near the Villa Borghese. The Villa Borghese is a HUGE park (about 150 acres) just to the side of the Vatican. We walked a ways in and sat down on a bench for an hour and just watched people walk. As we were walking there were tons of couples laying in the grass cuddling, some kissing, and some that were ALL over eachother. It's just a different lifestyle over here. People are much more open. When we got home around 7pm I fell asleep and stayed asleep to almost 4am. Then I woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep so I just got up and got ready.

We left our apartment today (Sunday) at 9am and took the bus to the porta portese. It is a big flea market held every Sunday. I did not buy anything because it was mostly junk but Tarin found a cool ring. We met up at 10am and hopped on the tram to go back near the Pantheon. Every year on the pentecostal mass (last day of Easter season) they have mass at the Pantheon and drop thousands of red rose petals from the oculus of the ceiling. About 6 firemen somehow climbed the 1,900 year old building to perform the task. Apparently this was the 1,401 year in a row they have done this tradition!! We were so lucky to be able to see it. We had to stand the whole entire hour and a half mass but it was cool to be at mass in all Italian. I had a general idea of what part of mass they were in but it was just incredible to hear the old chanting and choir. It was just like at home, too, where common parish people do the readings and are a part of the choir. The pictures on facebook do not do it justice.

After the mass we headed to trattoria da luigi for lunch. The restaurant was recommend to us by Professor Stoughton so we trusted it would be good...and it was. I got lasagna and it was so different than what I am used to. It had larger pieces of pasta and it wasn't stacked up all neatly and the cheese was runnier and it had a white sauce mixed in. It was so delicious! Tarin and I shared that and a pizza con funghi (mushroom pizza). Very good lunch. Now it is 3:30pm and time for a nap. I want to try and get my body on schedule. I don't think it's a good idea for me to be going to bed at 7pm and waking up at 4am every day. Buona sera!

What a long amazing day

Buona sera! (good evening) Today was filled with many activities. I woke up at 5:30am for some reason and was wide awake. I went on my ipod and noticed Tarin's boyfriend Dave was online so we chatted a bit and then Tarin woke up so I let her talk to him. I took a lovely hot shower and got ready. Then all of us girls headed to the tabbachi (store where you can buy coffee, croissants, donuts, gelato, candy, cigarettes, etc) and got coffee. I got a caffe macchiato and it comes in a tiny little cup and is very strong but delicious. The guy at the bar kept telling us to "pay after" but apparently he meant to pay before so we finally figured it out and you pay for what you want then show the receipt and they make it for you. We then embarked on our first attempt to walk to ACCENT instead of bussing it. It was 2 miles and took about 40 minutes. I think I will take the bus a lot because the walk it not easy. The roads and sidewalks are paved with stones and they are uneven and very hard on your feet. We all have massive blisters now.

We continued past ACCENT to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was built in 126 AD and is amazing. It is remarkable how they built these buildings with the modern technology we have. Inside is the painter Raphael's coffin, a few other tombs, paintings, and altars. The ceiling has a round hole in the center and at summer solstice it shines directly in the center of the flooring. There are many photos of it on facebook from Tarin and I if you want to see! Outside of the Pantheon is a McDonalds...kind of ridiculous if you ask me! We sat outside by the fountain and ate sandwiches we made. Mine was fresh mozzarella, salami, prosciutto, tomatoes, and mayo.

Then we headed back to ACCENT to meet with the other kids who wanted to go to the Colosseum, Forum, and Palentine. One of the staff members at ACCENT gave us a tip to wait in line at the Forum for tickets instead of the Colosseum. Since we did that we only had to wait like 30 min in line instead of an hour or longer. Gotta love those insider tips! We then were able to walk around all three places freely without any more lines.

After that, we walked part way back to ACCENT and found a little restaurant called Pizzeria Ristorante Imperiale and 7 of us ate there. Most of the time the group splits up because it's too hard to keep 19 people together. Kate and I ordered bruschetta to share, pesto, and seafood linguine carbonara. The food was amazing. The carbonara had mussels and oysters that were delicious. It worked out to be around 11 euro for my portion which is pretty good compared to Olive Garden, hahaha. We then walked the rest of the way to ACCENT with a slight detour to a gelateria. I got tiramisu and crema fiorentina flavors, YUM! By this time it was just Tarin, Marisa, Lisa, and I left and we hopped on the 46 bus that took us a block from our house. It was a much needed break for our feet because we had walked over 8 miles over the entire day. When I got home I literally set my purse and camera down and went to sleep immediately. I slept for 3 hours and so now I am wide awake. I just warmed up some of the pasta we made last night and it was so good. We didn't really think about how to warm stuff up without a microwave. I just tossed it in a pan and fried it up for a few minutes. We also have to make toast in the oven because we have no toaster!

Right now I am sitting in the living room drinking some naranja rosso (blood orange juice). It is sooooo good! I've heard of a blood orange but have never had one or tasted the juice before. Tomorrow we decided to take it easy and sleep in. We might go to the shopping district and the Campo de Fiori which is a huge market with food, clothes, trinkets, etc. My fingers hurt from typing and adding all those photos so I am going to go soak my tired feet and maybe do some reading. We are trying to plan a trip to the island of Capri. Buona notte! (good night)

Grocery shopping is hard

I realized I wrote "right" instead of "write" in the last post...haha. I will blame it on the jet lag. Shopping for groceries is hard when it is all in Italian. Good thing the pictures of food come in handy but most of the meats and cheeses remain a mystery to me. Tarin and I shopped together and decided to buy everything to share so it'd be easier to cook together. Tonight we are making linguine with a fresh basil and garlic tomato sauce with fresh romano cheese. The stove is a gas one that you have to light so I hope I don't explode the kitchen.

Earlier today the ladies from ACCENT came to show us some technical things in our apartment. We already had blown a fuse from a hair straightener (not mine) so they showed us how to fix that. Apparently we cannot use any two appliances at once. The washer is really finicky as well, and takes up to 3 hours to wash a load. Another weird thing is the front door locks once you enter so say there was a fire, you would have to unlock the door (using 2 keys) just to get out! Another weird thing is that you can't hail a taxi, you must wait at a stand for one or call one.

Ciao Roma!

SIIIGH! So we finally made it. We left from Minneapolis on Tuesday at 7:30pm and got into Amsterdam at 4am (11am for me) and left 3 hours later on a 2 hour flight to Rome. We got to Rome at 4pm (so 9am your time) and then were taken to our apartments. (Rome is 7 hours ahead of USA Central time). We unpacked and walked around the neighborhood to find the super market and places to eat. We shared some pizza and gelato and some wine and called it a night early around 10pm. There are 5 of us living in our apartment, everyone has their own room except Tarin and I share one. There are 2 bathrooms, a living room, and kitchen with dining room. Today we had to meet at the ACCENT center (where our class is) for an orientation. They gave us a ton of tips for how to use transportation, what to do to keep safe, what to do in an emergency, where to buy necessities, etc. To get to the ACCENT center we were supposed to be able to follow the directions on a map they gave us..too bad the map had north on the bottom of the page and so we confused left turns for right turns and so on. Luckily we were able to figure it out with the help of a man on the bus and got going in the right direction. After the orientation they took us on a little walking tour and then we all ate lunch together at a restaurant and have pizza, bruschetta, and french fries. I guess they thought we'd want american food, but fries were the last thing I wanted! The pizza here is so good! I also had a sandwich this morning with the freshest mozzarella I've ever had. The traffic here is NUTS. Absolutely NUTS! They kind of drive in lanes, but if they want to turn they just go around other people and cut people off. Mopeds weave in and out and drive SO fast! Everyone is on the defense when driving so there aren't any accidents because everyone expects others to drive stupidly. To cross the street you have to be aggressive and go for it or you'd never get across. They only stop to let you walk if you are in their way. We are going to go grocery shopping right now so I will right more later.

Flying out today!

Tarin and I (and the rest of the group) fly out today from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, then to Rome. It looks like there are already some delays due to the ash clouds. Yesterday they closed the Amsterdam airport from 1am-2pm so hopefully today will go smoothly. We are supposed to take off around 7:40pm and get to Amsterdam at 11am their time. Once we arrive in Rome the plan is to take a taxi bus to the ACCENT center (where our class is taught) and get our apartment addresses. Then, we are on our own to locate them! Well, I better head back to packing! I still have that to do, plus the last part of the homework assignment that is due before we check-in at the airport! Arrivederci!

Leaving soon!

In one week I'll be all packed up and ready to go to ROMA! I have 3 projects due tomorrow, a final exam on Friday, and 2 projects due Friday. I should have plenty to keep me busy while anticipating departure! Stay tuned for my updates while I am in Rome!