Italy, I have run out of adjectives to describe you

Well hello there, seems I just posted only a few days ago. You may be wondering why I am posting again other than because I love you all so dearly, well its because my weekend was very very wonderful. All of my weekends here have been one for the books but this one in particular was very lovely and is further evidence that we (all of us in this program) are so blessed with all of our opportunities we are given. I also would like to add that this country that I am currently living in is radiant, divine, dream like and utterly harmonious. I am taking a ride on the biggest struggle bus of my life when it comes to trying to pick out words to describe the land and the environment that I experience when I travel to different cities in Italy because all of the places just leave me in awe every single time.

I am so excited to tell you about this so here I go!

Saturday morning before we boarded our bus I went to Campo de Fiori and visited the nut/fruit man for the first time. Some of the other girls here have raved about him and so I decided it would be a perfect snack for our bus ride. The nut man has such a fantastic assortment of nuts and dried fruits in bulk that you can choose from! So I got some dried apples, bananas, apricots and cranberries as well as some cashews. Best bus food ever. I will be going back to the nut man even though it was eight euro for a smallish bag. Ok so we got our food and climbed on the bus and headed to Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli! Here comes a little history but its interesting don't worry. The Villa is the living quarters for the emperor Hadrian and his imperial family, there were apartments, bath houses, dining areas, theaters and gardens, Hadrian even had his own little personal island hide out (which is the same diameter as the Pantheon-fun fact). It was just really interesting seeing and trying to envision what exactly the complete structures looked like back then and recreate the type of life that the people lived and the atmosphere that they created. Colleen and I tried to look at the Villa as if it were a huge house (which is kind of is) and we labeled each of the sites to be a room in a normal house, it keeps us more engaged and interested and plus it was fun so why not? We decided that one of the courtyards would be a perfect place for a Great Gatsby party... we had a good time with that. The weather was prefect and we spent about three hours wandering around the Villa. With the guidance of our ever so knowledgable professors (aka tour guides) I felt very informed and pleasantly satisfied with the visit!

In front of a pool at Hadrian's Villa 

Back on the bus we ate our snacks and headed to Tivoli Gardens. If this place does not ring a bell then I am very dissatisfied. Tivoli Gardens is where they shot a scene in the Lizzie McGuire movie and we were about to go and see the exact fountains that were in the movie. I was pretty stoked. We were dropped off and allowed to explore the whole garden area on our own which I was appreciative of. Sometimes walking around together with 16 girls is just a little too much and it is hard to get the whole vast wonderfulness of the setting. So I walked around with Colleen and two of my other Rome buddies. I can't describe the beauty of this place at all, it was beyond beautiful. Just imagine this.... lush greenery such as trees and tall shrubs that line the paths and make you feel like you are in a very romantic maze, cool dampness that settles around you as you walk, lots of unique (rather steep) staircases that lead to different side fountains and balconies, and best of all fountains! Molte belle fontane! The fountains ranged in size and intensity, some shot up in the air and some poured into a basin or a channel that lined the pathways. We journeyed through the gardens and marveled at everything. We visited where Lizzie and Paolo frolicked under one of the fountains and we watched as a new bride and groom took their wedding photos in front of one of the fountains. Marvelous experience.

My friends that I love and I at the Tivoli Gardens 

These beauties are in the Lizzie McGuire movie

After the gardens we hopped on the bus again and headed to Palestrina! Palestrina was about 15ish minutes from Tivoli and was up on a hill. Our huge tour bus carefully drove up the narrow winding hills and barley made it through a little arch we all had to hold our breaths (if any of us exhaled we wouldn't not have fit though I swear). We got to the tip top of the hill and got out and looked around in the museum for a little bit and then we heard one of our classmates give a presentation on one of the most important features of Palestrina. The Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia (which is a term on our Art History test that we need to know, so thanks to Kate I know this term very well) is basically the whole of what we saw at Palestrina. The sanctuary is huge and has three main terraces. So we were able to start at the first terraces and make our way up sequentially, we walked down a steep grassy hill and then slowly back up again as we were learning about the different terraces and the Sanctuary which people mainly went to to seek the Goddess of Fortune. We got to the top of the last terrace and caught our breaths and than took some pictures of course. That was the end of our touring for the day so we took a little break and sat on the steps and gazed out onto the city which we had the most perfect view of.

Gazing out and thinking about our beautiful wonderful lives

We headed back into town around 5:00 and landed back at our hotel around 6:30 with our Despar (its a little grocery store that has a salad bar) salads and crackers :) We all finished eating by 7:00 and none of us wanted to do anything else. No homework, no going out for gelato, no nightly walks (we did plenty of walking during the day so we could pass for one night). This is what we did. Literally went up to our room, went on Facebook for a while, took a shower, climbed into bed and talked for a little bit and by 10:00 we were asleep. I am not kidding you. This was necessary however because this Sunday morning we got up at 5:45am to head to the Vatican. Sleep was wonderful and we even got an extra hour of sleep because of the time change here!!!! Eight hours of solid sleep and a fantastic Saturday to start out our day today.

So yes we got up way early this morning and headed straight to the Vatican. We got there around 6:30am and it doesn't even open or let people in to sit until 7:00 but we were so glad we got there when we did because as soon as the guards opened the gates (as soon as we got past...we were a little skeptical because I think you had to have tickets but hey we got by cause they didn't even check) we literally ran to the seats in the front of the Vatican. Two of the girls we were with literally got as close as the public can without special tickets and we were a row behind them. Closest we could have gotten, the altar maybe 100 yards ahead of us. This Sunday was a special mass for families that came from all over the world and so we knew it was going to be crowded (they had screens set up blocks down from the Vatican). We waited for mass to start at 10:30 and so to pass the time we people watched and listened and the time went by very quickly. Its so fun to people listen here, especially at the Vatican where so few people speak English. Mass was special and I was better able to pay attention this time because we got little booklets so we could follow the course of the mass. We didn't realize how close up we were until we looked back and saw a sea of people stretching as far down the street leading to the Vatican as we could see. After mass the Pope got on his Pope Mobile and people took lotsa pictures and held up their babies to be kissed and hands to be touched, it was a sight to see. I actually got to see him though my eyes instead of an iPhone camera this time because my phone died and also because I had already gotten pictures of him when we went the first week here. What a novel idea to actually see and experience something with and through your own eyes instead of an actual screen? Something the 21 century isn't too aware of or willing to try these days......

The Vatican glows in the early morning 

We were at the Vatican until 1:30. Seven hours of waiting and praying and it was all pleasant but we hadn't had anything to eat so we were so very hungry. We got some food and then I had to come back and do studying for a history midterm that I have tomorrow. I went on the terrace for a couple of hours and was productive which is good. Than we went to Abby Theater for a wonderful American meal and a cannoli afterwards. Now back at the room finishing this up before I am back to studying again.

A happy grateful sigh to this weekend that is coming to a close in about three hours. Tomorrow is another week, but oh yes it is only a four day week cause guess what?! Only four day weeks from now on AND I am going to Greece on Friday and then on Tuesday next week we are all going on a class trip to Southern Italy. Just have to get through three midterms and an Italian composition and then I am off to embark on yet another set of new experiences and memories that will be so great they will end up in another long post for you to read!How does that sound! Pretty fantastic right?

I hope everybody has a splendid week, I will include you all in my thoughts as I reflect on everything that I am continually grateful for.

Andree

One Month.

Exactly one month ago today I landed here in Rome. I was nervous as heck, tired and overwhelmed from all I had been experiencing the past 24 hours. 30 days later, here I am on my bed at my albergo home relaxing from an excursion we took with our Italian professor, and just chillin' in Rome. Everything about this moment is and feels completely natural, like I have lived here for so much longer than just a short month....and my what a wonderful feeling that is.

Wow I do not know whether I feel that these past 30 days have gone by fast or slow, but fast or slow, time and days aside, I do know some things for sure. I am no longer a tourist anymore, I refuse to associate myself as a tourist and even find myself smiling at all the massive tourist groups that flood through Rome and surrounding areas every day (sometimes I do admit I have to pull out that one thing that screams tourist every once in a while to find my way back to our hotel if we go on a walk somewhere but maps are my comfort blanket). My picture taking is becoming slightly less obnoxious and more sporadic and the phrase "una copetta piccola con_______ e _______" at a gelateria is a part of my nightly routine. If the street outside of our window is completely quite at 2am and La Tazza D'Oro isn't crowded, or if you walk by a restaurant and the waiter doesn't beckon you three times before you pass to come to his restaurant then I am dreaming, for all of the crazy and hectic that defines Rome has become so natural and comforting to me. How to dress and interact and make the most out of my every day here no longer takes a lot of planning and thinking, it just is and it just comes. I am truly living in Rome and Rome is living in me.

If I got that just out of one month here in Rome I cannot fathom where or who I will be in two more months. It is completely inspiring to realize how much living in a different city and in a different culture can change you and change your attitude towards things. When I land in America in December, I have a feeling that what I felt when I landed here on September 25th will resurface because I will be leaving my home in Rome and returning to a place that I have been so disconnected from for three months.

TWO MONTHS LEFT. This experience took forever to get here and now each day so quickly yet so fulfilling comes to an end....

You probably do not understand but writing this blog is so difficult at times. Literally I spent too much time thinking about a little "one month tribute" that I could have cleverly put together in this blog that outlines some of the best things that have happened and that I have experienced thus far but I just did not know where to begin. The brief (and when I say brief that is so understated) paragraphs above are just snippets capturing how I have been feeling and what I have been experiencing. Writing is hard in the first place, but when I sit down to write about Rome I have no idea how to begin and I take that as a good sign. If my memory was able to hold as perfectly as it is as a 20 year old 60 some years from now I wouldn't bother writing a blog because I feel like I do my experience a disservice by cutting so many things short, but then I remember this is also for the enjoyment of my fellow friends and family members as well and so I continue to write.

So getting back to filling you in on this past week....

Monday through today consisted of class, tests, a little bit of frustration, a little but of stress, a gloomy blah day for many of us (yes even in La Città Eterna there are blah days), group meals, gelato, friends on fall break from the States visiting friends here in Rome, good food, and limited money. And then before I knew it another week was in the rear...

Tuesday did consist of a blog worthy paragraph. After dinner on Tuesday Colleen and I knew we had to study for an Art History test which we have coming up on Wednesday (it's possibly going to be the worse, most cruel thing ever... memorizing 64 pieces of art when there are only going to be 4-5 on the test) so we decided that we were going to be cultured, take a walk, enjoy the night life, and study at the same time. And that we did! We walked to the Vatican which is about a twenty minute walk and we found a nice quite spot in one of the side column hall things and we studied Art History with the Vatican in plain sight. We were very productive for about an hour but than we decided it was time for a spontaneous photo shoot. Studying, photo shoot, Vatican= typical Tuesday night. Don't mind if I do!

Jumping ahead to today in which my Italian professor gets the "I know a way to win my students hearts" award. Today we had a Thursday make up day which means I had Theology and Italian as I would normally on Thursdays. Well Italian class is one brutal class to make up because that equals out to about 6 hours in one week of Italian. But today instead of sitting in class we went on an excursion with our professor! We hopped on the Metro at the station which is right by the Colosseum and headed to a more residential part of Rome called Garbatella San Paolo. We walked to the Basilica of San Paolo, which was incredible and massive, and then we walked quite a distance through this little area of Rome. We passed gelaterias, macellerias, salumerias, and latterias (all of which we just studied in class...yes that was the catch) and got to see a little bit of what a normal neighborhood in Rome looks like! It was quiet and quaint, there were trees and there were actually leaves on the ground, it even smelled a little bit like fall, oh I was in love. There were also legit parking lots and parking spaces on the streets, we even saw a gas station and a park. Yes this was not the center of Rome anymore. This would be Andree's neighborhood if she were to live in Rome. It was my kinda place. If that wasn't enough to make me happy, next our professor took us to her apartment/flat. I don't know what exactly she refers to it as but oh my gosh it was one of the cutest and best looking apartments I have ever been in! The decoration was very modern and the furniture was very chic and color coordinated. The kitchen was too cute with its oranges and reds and there were built in bookshelves all along the side wall of her living room. She made five of us espressos and put them in the best looking tazzinas around. Espresso from a home Italian kitchen made by a mother and Italian professor. Oh my. She also served us some chocolate bread and lemon bread and we sat around and chatted for a bit.

The best cappuccinos at my Italian professor's apartment

IT WAS A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. We all realized that we miss the home atmosphere and being in a kitchen and sitting around a dining room table and in a living room. A month in a hotel is a long time so it worked out perfectly that as we begin our second month we were able to spend some time in an Italian apartment, drinking espresso from a colorful kitchen tazzina and chat with our professor and each other. Perfetto. Grazie professora!

The walk back was long but thats ok. I am so used to walking long distances now it doesn't even faze me and I actually enjoy it. I thank the Lord for my TOMS that I brought and I wear them all day every day. I have not gotten one blister yet and many of my friends have been suffering from some pretty nasty ones (flats are not the way to go when walking long distances folks).

It is nearing 6:00 pm here and I think it is going to be a salad night for dinner. Ha just reading that sounds pretty pathetic and yes I admit it is but really you don't appreciate salads until you have eaten in Rome for a month :) Tomorrow we have another all day lectures and tours to Palestrina and Tivoli so it will be long but hopefully enjoyable and of course educational. Cant forget about the educational aspects now.
This upcoming week is "midterms" week so I have three tests. Ha I don't even feel like we have been in classes long enough to have midterms but apparently thats what we are taking this week, so good luck to us I guess.

I think that is about all I have to catch you up on for the time being! Next weekend officially begins the traveling outside of Italy period as we will be heading to Greece on Friday. I cannot wait for that trip. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants inspired my desire to go to Greece and it is finally happening. You will for sure hear PLENTY about these upcoming trips so that only means one thing..... stay posted, I mean why wouldn't you?

Thanks for reading once again. I hope I am always able to make you stare out your window and smile as you envision yourself here with me!

Ciao,
Andree

I say "Mama Mia!" to weekends in Rome

Salve i miei amici!

When in Rome do as the Romans do, eat drink and be merry right? Where in there does it say anything about studying or spending multiple times in the library? Ending week #4 and I am still very disheartened at the fact that I have to stare at PowerPoints and take tests while I am here. Even though it is very annoying and difficult to get myself to do work there are some perks about school here. One, it is almost the fifth week and I haven't turned any thing in or had any tests yet, most of my classes just have a midterm, final, maybe a paper and a on site presentation, so its not like we are doing annoying busy work every day. Two, no classes on Fridays starting next week. I will take a four day week any day.Three, the ability to study in the heart of Rome, which Colleen and I did today. We sat on our wall and pulled out our art history flash cards and began quizzing ourselves while watching mid-afternoon Rome do its thing. So yes I do study and I am a good student so I want to do well but I just find ways to study and be active in the life of Rome at the same time. One thing is for certain, I refuse to spend multiple hours in the library, if my GPA suffers from that then thats that. I would like to think people will be more interested in my time abroad rather than my GPA. Experience vs. decimal numbers. Obvious which one is more meaningful.

Enough about classes.

I have been here for a total of four Saturdays and all Saturdays I have been busy with either traveling or lectures and tours....and it will be like that until I leave. There is only one Saturday in which I have absolutely nothing planned and I may use that Saturday for exploring more of Rome because after all we are in Rome and there is still so much yet that I have to see. We all get caught up in planning trips to other countries and cities and sometimes forget that the city we live in has so so much to offer and explore.

Anywho, this past Saturday we all got up at 6:00 am and all loaded the lovely coach bus to Tarquinia. You know that 6:00 is too early when La Tazza D'Oro is closed, basically all of Rome is asleep at that ungodly hour. Our trip to Tarquinia ( took about an hour and a half) was very interesting and pretty fascinating. We got to visit the necropolis' and go down into some of the tombs which we have been studying in class so that was very relevant and cool. Than we went to the Tarquinia National Museum and looked at some of the famous Sarcophagi and more tombs (whose frescos had been moved to the museum to prevent deterioration) one of which (Tomb of the Triclinium) I did a presentation on for my Art History class. Then we got lunch and headed to the Tyrrhenian Sea. After about four hours looking at tombs and Etruscan Pots, the sea was absolutely splendid. We all took off our shoes, sat on rocks, ate lunch, and explored along the sea shore. The weather was a blessing from above and couldn't have been any better. It was October 19th and I was on a beach in Italy with friends and not a worry in the world. As you can probably guess it was a much needed rejuvenating hour for all of us.

Siamo molto felice!

After the beach we had one more stop at Cerveteri. At Cerveteri we also visited necropolises but these were a little different from the ones in Tarquinia. These necropolis' contained tumuli which are actual burial mounds with tombs under them! Wow these were so fascinating and to just think about how historic and significant they were, I was actually interested in archeology and history for that hour we were there, go figure. Maybe all it takes it actually taking me to sites so I can actually experience and appreciate what we are studying in class. Thank you lectures and tours for proving the fact that reading history books and slideshows is totally ineffective. Let this be a message to any future educators out there. Ditch the books and go straight to the tombs, thats my motto :)

Back on the bus by 5:00 and back in Rome around 6:15ish. Whew, one heck of a long day. And that is how each and every Saturday is when we have lectures and tours. For dinner two other girls and I walked to a grocery store and got salads and crackers. Solid, cheap dinner. Pasta, pizza, and bread on top of going out to eat almost every night of the week is hard on the body physically and mentally so we designate at least one night a week to light, green, healthy salads with oil and vinegar dressing and Ritz Crackers. Yes, totally 100% American but also 100% acceptable and much needed. After a long day of touring we were not about to go out...... I mean we did go out for gelato but we didn't go out in the normal going out sense. Colleen and I came back to the room, climbed into our beds and watched Lizzie McGuire. Second time since we have been here. Not a speck of shame.

Sunday was here before we knew it and we were off walking our course to our new church, Saint Francis. We like going there because it is in english and the congregation is rather small! We will probably try a different church next week but at least we know there is a close one nearby. After church we needed to get some studying done...oh and also laundry. So we went up to the fifth floor terrace and studied for Theology for about an hour. An hour was enough so then we decided to take a walk to Via del Corso. Via del Corso is the Michigan Ave of Rome and had stores such as The Gap, NorthFace, Puma, H&M, ect. We went into H&M but were not impressed, all of the stores along that strip are so main stream and non Italian so we just poo-pooed it all and left to go to the Spanish Steps to watch the sunset. Lovely evening, with my wonderful roommate and partner in crime. It was a nice different view of the city and we were able to view the sun for a good ten minutes before it sank below a Prada store that was so obnoxiously placed.

We had some fun moments while we were sitting and enjoying our evening there. When we first got there a dance studio must have been doing some form of photo shoot or advertising because there were girls in black leotards doing all sorts of interesting dance moves and positions while parents rapidly took millions of photos. Dance on the Spanish Steps, why not?! After that we made our way up to the very top where they have snacks and painters and other vendors scattered along the street. I also snapped some photos of the idyllic Rome backdrop that we were apart of that evening.

Here is a little side story about the European Water Fountains that we experienced when all we needed was a little drink after a snack up top of the Spanish Steps:
Ha! Who would have thought that drinking from a fountain would have been so difficult, but it really was! These fountains always have a stream running from the spigot and if you want to drink you have to place your finger on the hole so a smaller stream can come up for easy drinking. Well it is not easy. First of all you have to bend down and stick your butt way far out to be even within reach of the damn water and by then you are at an angle that makes it really difficult to swallow once you do get the water in your mouth, not to mention while you are drinking you are also getting water all over your feet and your face and trying not to laugh at the same time. Lets just say I usually don't get enough water to satisfy my thirst because its just too much work but and seems easier than it actually is. We probably looked so out of place drinking out of it and actually attracted a group of onlooking tourists who were getting as much of a kick out of watching us as we were trying to drink. Colleen had the most fun and definitely struggled hardcore but she eventually got it.....

Clear fail as the water swipes right under her chin... I was laughing pretty hard at this point 

 Our "little" mid-afternoon passeggiata turned into a 3 hour and 45 minute adventure and we were back to meet friends for dinner around 7ish. We to Abby Theater for dinner (our Sunday ritual), got gelato for dessert (we don't even think about it we just go), and then came back to our little hotel home and called it a weekend.

Mama Mia!

It's a little odd when I get to sleep in longer on Monday's than I do on the weekend but that's how life here in Rome has been so far and it's all fine by me. Weekends are adventure time and the earlier I get up the earlier my adventure for that day starts!

Class, group dinner, and studying for Theology on the old school chalk boards about sums up my day. It is currently Monday night around 12:30. Listening to Katy Perry while the cool Rome evening air comes in and out of our window and night settles in around our hotel. Looks to be a constant 73-75 degree week here in Rome and I see South Bend is predicted to have snow (so says my iPhone). I am loving this constant weather where I can literally wear jeans and a light cardigan and be perfectly content for the entire day! Don't care about no snow here for now, it is still a little early for that even I say, but when I am back in the states there had better be a nice white scene out there for me. It will be my welcome home gift from South Bend :)

Tomorrow is Tuesday. Another day in Rome and another day to cherish and love.

MISS YOU ALL! Hope your lives are wonderfully blessed at this very moment.

Andreina

"We're gonna make this place our Rome"

Ciao! 

Dinner is over, gelato o'clock has passed, and our nightly walk has been checked off our list for the evening. I am just sitting here at my desk talking to my roommate Colleen and clearly not getting any more homework done so I thought why not write down some thoughts for you all to read. 

It is the beginning of week four here in Rome. Four weeks out of.... never mind let's avoid thinking about that topic completely.

Well classes are actually picking up speed very quickly and the work and memorizing is beginning to pile up higher than we would like. We actually have some tests next week and midterms week is forever looming in the distance as well as projects and presentations that we have to give over the course of the semester. We cope with our stress and eternal shock over the fact that we actually have to study by getting gelato and window shopping, sometimes actual shopping, its a productive use of our time.

So last post I mentioned something about routines and how we are developing some into our time here. Well I have another routine that Colleen and I have developed over the course of the week that we really enjoy. On Mondays and Wednesdays we have a good amount of time in between our first and second classes and instead of going back to our room to take a nap (who does that when you are in Rome...thats just wasting precious time) we walk down Via del Vittorio to a wall that encloses some of the old ruins in the middle of the city and we sit on this wall to talk and people watch around 1 or 2 pm in the afternoon. The Italy sun is at its peak, tour groups and busses pass every few seconds, and locals pass on their lunch breaks while others take their afternoon walks with their dogs. The noise is forever abundant but it's natural as trucks, vespas, and Fiats travel down the road and add to the activity and constant hum in the heart of Rome. This is what we experience as we sit on our wall, usually with a Fanta or a Coke from our lunch that we just ate at Pascucci's. 

The first time we sat on our wall we talked about how much we think we have changed from just being here three weeks and we talk about how beyond grateful we are for this experience and all of the invaluable things we are learning here. We also decided that everybody needs to study abroad, make it happen any way possible. We will plead and beckon you when we return so be prepared. Studying abroad is nothing like you could ever imagine. Do not let anything keep you from studying abroad....even you nursing majors have no excuse... summer school is a pain but this opportunity can not be explained in any amount of words, it has to be experienced. 

Our view from our wall on Via Vittorio

Other rituals that we have established as we begin our fourth week: 

Nightly walks to Trastevere, specifically to the best gelato shop in the city. Its only 1,50 euro, they give you a generous amount and it is the richest, creamiest gelato you will ever taste. Plus the guy that works there knows us cause we come every night and we found out after asking "Come ti chiami" that his name is Aimon (I have no idea how to spell that). We tell him "a domani" every time we leave cause we know we will be coming back. 

Nightly walks after dinner, to see and experience as much of the night life as we can.

Weekly stop at La Tazza d'Oro for the famous Granita di Caffe. 

La Tazza D'Oro with my pals and my iced coffee

On Monday night we had our first optional meeting with God Squad which is a group of about three to four seminarians that are studying here who meet with us to talk about faith and anything else we really want to talk about. The first meeting was nice and afterwards we got gelato with them at a new place we have never been to before. Yes, for more gelato options. 

We went out to dinner tonight to a restaurant about 10 minutes away called Da Luigi's. According to Professor Checca, they have the best gnocchi but it is only served one night a week and so we found out it was Thursday's and we went! It was incredible. The gnocchi was covered with a layer of cheese and had a nice thin layer of red sauce mixed in with a little bit more cheese. It made your stomach and soul feel warm and radiant. I never speak of American food so fondly and there is a reason for that.... 

Tomorrow is Friday. But it doesn't feel like it because for one, every day of the week here is a blessing and a joy so I don't really find Friday as relieving as a Friday back home, and also because on Saturday we have an all day group trip to Tarquinia for which we have to wake up at 6 am. I am not looking forward to the early morning. 

So it's October 18th almost 19th here, the weather and temperature have been about the same for the past week, 72 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather, absolutely perfect weather I have nothing to complain about. However it feels a little odd. Here in Rome there is no sense of a season, it does not feel like fall at all. Do they even have fall here? The only sign of fall that I have seen is in a window display of a caffe/restaurant where they have like two small pumpkins and some fake leaves spread around. There are no trees or grass or anything really associated with nature here in the city so there are no leaves falling and no changing of colors. It will probably stay like this through December, it will get a little colder but I don't think much else will change. It is different. I love Rome. I undeniably love Rome but I do miss the fall back home. I also miss autumn scents, pumpkins, and the sense of change in the season and the weather. Never really thought those would be the things I miss but you never realize what you miss until you don't have it anymore. Of course as soon as I am back in South Bend I will want to be back in Rome but I thought I would give my good ole hometown some credit and acknowledge that I miss it just a little bit :) 

To all my friends back at home I wish you all a wonderful Fall Break! Please play in the leaves and take a huge breath of crisp fall midwest air for me. Exhale and send it into the sky, maybe it will get to me somehow... As for me, I will continue to play in the streets of Rome and take in a huge breath of the Italian October air filled with the scents of pastries and vino, and the sounds of violins and accordions and beautiful Italian chatter that is as constant as a clock ticking and as natural as a heart beat....I will exhale and send it away to you....

Well thats all that I have to catch you up on since I last posted. Not anything too exciting, just the workings of Andree's mind that is always buzzing with what I want to say in my posts because every single hour here is worthy of jotting down. But I unbiasedly think that any post from Rome is a worthy post to read. I hope you feel the same way. 

Buona fine settimana! 

Andreina 

*Post title credit goes to Katelyn Smith and her obsession with "Home" by Philip Philips

It's gelato o'clock somewhere

Buona domenica! Its Sunday night and that means it is blog time. I think that I have designated domenica sera for blogging time just because during the week I have class and the week days do not usually have enough blog worthy information for me to make you jealous with but by the time Sunday rolls around I have a novel of events to tell you all about. As I write each blog and hear feedback from all you readers I get more and more excited to write a post because I just love telling you all about this incredible life I am currently living….

So I believe I left you all off at Tuesday night of last week so I will begin with the next day, Wednesday! Wednesday through Friday evening were kinda the same routine, class, eating with our group at different restaurants, eating at different café’s for lunch (oh I did go to Subway one day for lunch and I ordered a 15 cm sub, gotta love that metric system), walking, enjoying my life in the Eternal City ect… Oh yes I can tell you about our new dessert experience Wednesday night! We heard about this little hole in the wall café right across the street from one of the main roads that has the best mini cannoli's, so we went after our dinner and ordered some. They have chocolate or vanilla filled ones and they are so delish. Perfect size and perfect price. 80 cents for about 30 seconds of utter Italian joy. Instead of having two gelato stops a day, we now have substituted this cannoli stop for one of our gelato stops, it just works out perfectly that way. Cannolis in the mid afternoon and gelato at night. I am really enjoying these little routines that we are building into our days here, just makes me feel more and more at home.

Mini Cannoli stop after dinner!

This next segment is also about food and I have already done a lot of food talking but remember the movie Julie and Julia…. she wrote a whole blog about food so I think I am ok. PLUS I am in Italy and she wasn’t so I have a way better excuse to write about food and you all better like it cause frankly food here is an art, it is authentic and real and it just keeps on coming. On Friday evening we went to a restaurant just a block behind the Pantheon called Miscellanea or Micky’s for short. All of the Saint Mary’s girls love this place because the waiters love us and are extremely friendly and welcoming and the meal deal that they have is just magnificent. Let me tell you what they give you when you order their “15 euro deal”. Water, unlimited white and red wine and when I say unlimited I mean it, they just keep bringing it out, a huge plate of bruschetta, a plate with two different kinds of pasta on it, a big plate of pizza to share, a dessert pie and at last the fabulous “Sexy Wine”. The whole time we were there it seemed like they just kept bringing plates and wine out and it was fantastic. One of the best meals that I have had here thus far. I was full after the plate of bruschetta but you just cannot reject those plates, and by the end you hate yourself for eating so much yet you feel so wonderful because you have just filled your stomach with some of the best Italian food. The “Sexy Wine” was also just so heavenly, red wine with a hint of strawberry….ahh yes. 

After dinner we took a walk around the city. It was much needed and also very relaxing. Did I mention that I love the night life in Rome? Maybe I have just a few times ;) Well walking after dinner has become another one of our rituals, it is the perfect ending to a usually very busy and exciting day. Walks are a perfect way to stroll through the busy streets and let Rome come to you. I feel like throughout the day we are always trying and doing new things and eager to immerse ourselves in Rome as much as we can which is great yes, but I also like to just stand by and observe, let the night life come to me and take it all in….

5:50 am on Saturday I woke up and ventured out to the bus stop with three other girls. We were headed to Florence! Florence was so perfect. It is similar to Rome but it seemed a little less hectic even with all the tourists scrambling from shop to shop. Before coming to Florence we decided we wanted go to on some form of guided tour so we could see as much of Florence as we could in the amount of time we had and still leave room for shopping, so we looked at our options and decided to book a bike tour. So our first three hours in Florence were spent on bikes with baskets and bells, with about 15 other tourists guided by a wonderful tour guide who lead us to many historically significant places throughout Florence. We stopped at Cathedrals, The Duomo, the copy of the Statue of David (we didn’t have time to see the actual statue), and the Santa Maria Novella Square as well as many other places. I couldn’t help but smile to myself as we whisked past shops and cafes, rang our bells for the pure joy of doing so (and to avoid collisions with people in tight streets that we had to pass through at times), and experienced the city of Florence on bikes. Sounds like a scene from a movie doesn’t it? Well it most definitely was the most beautifully directed scene from the movie of my life.

With my skills I was able to snap a shot of my friends on their  bikes!

After our tour we ate great food and drank classy wine. Then we shopped around for the remainder of our time in Florence. I had my mind set on finding some boots in Florence and that I did. After all, Florence is the leather hub of Italy so I thought it would be appropriate to purchase my desired boots in Florence. I wore them today and love them dearly, it was the perfect purchase. One step closer to looking more Italian every day. My goal it to step off that plane when it lands in Chicago looking like an Italian stepping foot in America for the first time, its gonna be epic. Watch out mom and dad! Back on the train around 5:45 and back in Rome at 7 pm. I felt especially proud after that trip because I was able to navigate Termini Station and Firenze SMN Station for my friends and I pretty well. We all worked together and figured out what platform our train left from and what time, it was a job well done. Every trip we go on is an adventure and every trip provides invaluable traveling and navigating experiences that I will forever be grateful for. Train stations, train delays, bus numbers, map reading, the act of asking for directions, all of which I have dealt with and am ready to do it again! My dad will be proud of me.

Whew. That’s how I feel after a day of traveling. It's perfect to be able to come back, go out to dinner with friends, and return to the hotel to watch Lizzie McGuire (because we are basically her right now, except for the Vespas and a Paulo but we will work on that) and crawl into my bed that is so welcoming to me every single night.

I have finally reached Sunday! Today was a very nice day. Colleen and I decided we wanted to go to an English mass so we walked about ten minutes to the nearest church that had mass in English. Every church that you walk into in Rome is different and almost all of them are massive but exceptionally striking. We went to mass at Saint Francis with a congregation of about only 60-70 people and Colleen and I got to bring up the gifts. We felt pretty special after doing that and gave each other a subtle high five when we sat back down in our seats. I mean who else gets to bring up the gifts at mass in Rome?! Special moment for two special and very blessed girls. After mass we had lunch at L’insalata Rica, a restaurant near our hotel that has teriffic salads. Salads were about the only thing that sounded good to us after a weekend full of pasta, pizza and more pasta. We came back to the room, did homework for a little bit then decided to take a walk to around Rome. The sun was just beginning to set and the evening was so calm. Here is the view of the city from up top.

Dinner this evening was American. We went to Abby Theater and it was totally all American. If I blocked my view from the street I could have been in the U.S. It's not something we should do often because we are in Italy but it was kinda nice to have chicken and hamburgers while listening to “Footloose” play in the background and to get ice with our pitcher of water. We found ourselves talking about life back in the U.S at dinner and about Saint Mary’s. Gosh I guess that’s what being in an American Bar will do to yeah…. I have decided that we can’t use the words South Bend, U.S or Saint Mary’s any more. They just come up in conversation sometimes and yes we may miss those places a little cause they are home but right now we are in Rome. After we remind ourselves that, hello we are in Rome, we immediately stop conversation about home and continue on with our Rome talk. That’s the best kinda talk.

After dinner it was gelato o’clock time (thanks to Deirdre for that wonderful phrase). We got gelato and walked around for a while. Perfect night once again. Now I am finally finishing up this blog and it is 1:20 am here. This post was long but that’s what I get for not posting for five days. You all like long posts right? Cause when you get to the end you have to go back to your life, which is not in Rome, and that’s tough isn’t it? So that’s ok that I make these long, its good for you and it’s good for me.

I could just go on and on but life in Rome does not stop for me, so the sooner I go to bed the sooner I am able to wake up and enjoy what Rome has in store for me and my fellow friends this week!

BUONANOTTE!!

Get your bucket lists out everybody.....Rome is waiting

Ciao!! I figured it would be a good idea to post tonight since about a week has passed since my last post and I am already forgetting everything that I want to tell you. Its Tuesday night, October 8th and tomorrow marks the second week of my time abroad and it seems like I have been here for a month. Each minute of every day is so stimulating and full new experiences that by the end of the day I feel so fantastic, more cultured, and less American but also molto stanca (it's a good and refreshing kind of tired if that makes sense).

Last time I posted I was rambling about classes which isn't too interesting so I will spare you from more about that. However I should let you know that every hour that I spend in the library I feel guilty that I am not out spending time in the city so yeah I am not in the library that much. My books will just have to find their happy place in my backpack until midterms and finals show up. Time is too short here and I will find a library and plenty of work when I return to SMC in the spring. I will not however find Rome and this beautiful life that I am currently living (and dreaming it seems at times), therefore I am dedicating all of my time and energy to what is only temporarily right outside my window, the city I have come to trust and feel apart of, the city that offers something new every day and that bring challenges and opportunity for growth and joy.....Ok enough with the sappiness, sorry I cant help it.

Friday after classes were over, me and a group of about five others went to a restaurant that is literally right in Campo de Fiori. We sat outside and I got to eat gnocchi with my best friends while listening to accordion music from a musician on the square and watching all of the night life being to awaken. Tourists, locals, vendors selling dancing dolls and pink light up Mickey ears, kids making HUGE bubbles that ascend into the air for a good seven seconds before popping, and all the waiters that beckon anybody that walks by to come and eat at their restaurant all make up the night life which is one of the greatest scenes in Rome that I have experienced so far. Its impossible to describe, and I am just not doing it justice so here is a picture to give you a sense of the pure bliss that I feel when I am out in Rome at night. 

After we went out to dinner we all decided to go out and have some Roma fun. There is a part of town called Trastevere that is about a 7-10 minute walk from our hotel. As soon as you cross a bridge you enter a part of town that has a slightly different feel. One of my friends describes it as a more hipster part of town and I would say that is pretty accurate. This place has gelato shops, bars, restaurants and more bars. It was hoppin' on Friday night when we got there around 11 which is still way early for all those bar and club goers. First we stopped at this quaint bar that looked like a bookstore and a bar in one. It was so cute and unusual and most people just go in there for one particular thing they have and leave... I dont think its a place you hang around at. We went in and eight of us tried one of their famous chocolate shots. Picture this. A small chocolate cup filled with a type of alcohol cream (I will spare you from the exact name) and topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. I will just say it was an interesting shot and quite the experience. We had a laugh about it later after we watched a video one of our friends took while we took the shots. After that we walked around, talked to people outside of bars and went to a Harry Potter bar. Yes they have a Harry Potter bar, how cool right? It was a fun, exciting night and we all got back home to our wonderful beds safe and sound.

We had to get up early on Saturday for lectures and tours. Lectures and tours are on select Saturdays and count as one credit, so yeah its like going to class on Saturdays but obviously way better than class. However, this Saturday was not particularly enjoyable. I love seeing sights and historical monuments and actually stepping foot in places that are in history books but I am not a fan of all day visits at museums. On Saturday we paid a visit to the Villa Guilia Museum and Villa Borghese. We learned a lot about the Etruscians and saw lots and lots of pottery and vases and some more pottery and vases, we also saw some tombs which were pretty cool I do have to admit. We also walked (it was a far walk) to the Villa Borghese gardens which were really beautiful and peaceful but at that point in our tours it was 1:00 and we all felt like we were going to collapse from hunger and walking so much. Plus it didnt help that we were in museums for three hours prior to that. We are going to go back sometime and experience it when we are well nourished and in better moods cause none of us really appreciated that particular visit on Saturday. Guilty about this next part. Our tours guides/professors told us about nearby restaurants and caffe's we could go to for lunch (this was like 3:00 so it was like late late lunch) and as soon as they told us there was a nearby Hard Rock Caffe we were off to find it. We were kinda craving American food and wanted to sit down for a while at a nice place so yes we got American food. It was well deserved after all that walking and a fabulous meal which is a good thing because it was molto caro $$. After lectures and tours we were done for the night. Literally had a small snack for dinner, got our nightly gelato and came back to our albergo. 

Sunday marked the beginning of our travels within Italy! We got up bright and early again to catch a van taxi to Termini Station and took a train to Assisi. Words will not do Assisi justice what so ever so here you go. 

This was the view from behind as we left Assisi around 5:00 p.m. I kept looking back and tried to soak this beauty into my mind and my being.

Andree and Andree showin' some peace in front of the PAX in the lawn.

Assis was a wonderful and perfectly timed day trip. We walked up and down lots of hills, went to an Italian mass, ate at a ridiculous restaurant that charged us 2,50 euro for each piece of bread in our basket, shopped for souvenirs, had a photo shoot (why wouldn't you when you are in Assisi?), visited the paternal home of Saint Francis which was really neat, walked down narrow streets that were so cute I had to take pictures of them, saw lots of stray dogs that didn't look well fed which made me sad because I knew Saint Francis would have cared for them and would have given them some yummy Italian dog food. We laughed and talked and walked and had Assisi gelato and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Assisi had a very different feel from Rome. It was very peaceful and calm, much less people and there was not a constant buzz of activity all around. There was one point where we were walking up a street after dinner and it was totally quiet. I miss that so it was very nice.

We left the postcard picture perfect city around 5:00pm and headed home. Ah, notice how I naturally refer to Rome as home now? Every day that I wake up and open my shutters to let in the mid morning light I feel as if I am letting more of myself into the city and allowing more of myself to feel apart of this city. 

Monday was a new week of classes and nothing real post worthy occurred. But I do have one last story to tell you before I close up this (once again) long post. 

So Tuesdays are pretty nice days for me class wise. I have italian at 9:35-11:35 (I know two hours is a lonnngggg time for a language class) and then I dont have another class until 5:30pm. After I spent too much time in the library today trying to read for Art History and doing italian homework Colleen and I decided we wanted to walk around a little bit. Another friend joined us and we headed to La Tazza D'Oro, a caffe which means The Golden Cup located just diagonally from the Pantheon. We had a special reason to go to this caffe because our Italian professor at SMC, the wonderful Dr. Checca, told us that this was a place that we had to go to. We liked Checca so much that I think we are literally doing and eating everything that he recommends to us. All throughout the year last year he told us that we need to go to this caffe and get Una Granita di Caffe con Panna (iced coffee with whipped cream), sit by the Pantheon and people watch. That is exactly what we did and that is what we will be doing on a regular basis every week starting today at the same time. THIS SMALL CUP OF ICED COFFEE WAS UNREAL. Starbucks I am sorry but you ain't got nothing compared to this piece of Italian heaven. This was no frappuccino. This was literally espresso with small shards of perfectly sized ice slivers layered with whipped cream, another layer of espresso and ice, and whipped cream on the top. Thank you Dr. Checca, I am now looking forward to Tuesdays at 3:00 for this wonderful moment of iced coffee and people watching. It is the perfect mid day italian experience and I LOVE IT! 

Granita di Caffe

Guys, its only 10:35 here. I am getting better about not posting at 1:00 in the morning. This is only because I do not feel the need or want to do any form of reading right now. We are going out for gelato at midnight anyways so I had to find something to do until the ritual gelato consumption arrives.

Oh and I don't know if I will post before Saturday (I probably won't) so I might as well tell y'all that I am going to Florence this weekend and I am so looking forward to that for many reasons. 

Leather boots. Quality leather boots.

The David

A vineyard and wine tasting.

Another beautiful city in Italy.

It's gonna be a great trip.

Also, I sent a postcard today and it cost me about $4 to send that damn thing. So to those of you that are expecting one for me, y'all will be lucky if you get one. Just saying :)

That is all for now my dear followers. Thanks for reading and keeping up with my randomly timed, lengthy posts that make you (and should make you) very jealous of my life. I hope my blog has made you add another number to your bucket list that says "visit Rome" :)

Have a great day/evening/night wherever you may be in this world!

Buonasera!

Uhhhh what... we have CLASSES?!?!

Buonasera! I made it back for post number two and only a few days have passed since my last post, you all should be proud.

Ok so where to start. WELL we started these things called classes on Monday and I was kinda really out of wack. You have to understand I have been out of regular semester classes since May 10th (I did take summer school but still) so I was not at all ready for these classes and as a matter of fact I am still not. My thoughts going into class were "Ok I am in Rome, these classes can't be too bad after all, I will be seeing most of the things we are talking about. My thoughts coming out of class were "uhhh what, excuse me but I do not have time for pages on pages of reading while I am in the best place on earth for a limited time...learning can wait". Yes it really was that bad. My first class was philosophy which is going to be a struggle. Most of my professors have really strong italian accents that are all slightly different, and my philosophy professor has a particularly difficult accent to understand. If that were not hard enough, the first class was a jumble of words and phrases that I just did not understand. Philosophy is hard, it involves thinking and I mean thinking, and I was not ready for that. We will see how the class progresses over the course of this semester. Art history and history followed after a break for a small lunch at a nearby caffe Pascucci's. Art history is a lot of reading as well and a lot of memorizing. History followed... also lots of reading.

Today I had an italian placement test and theology. Italian will be difficult but good for me. Obviously being in Rome is the perfect place to be able to and to force yourself to use the italian you are learning...easier said than done as I am experiencing...so I hope this class will freshen my italian and make me feel a tad more confident to speak it in more coherent and intellectual sentences instead of pointing at the food I want and saying "un cornetto e un aqua per favore" every morning. I was proud of myself and my roommate Colleen today though! We were reading in one of the sunrooms on our floor and we got locked out of our room so we went to the maid and I said, "puoi aprire la nostra porta?" to which she immediately knew what I was asking and unlocked our door. YES GO US. Progress and little baby steps are important. Theology was pretty fantastic. Our professor is a priest and is just so interesting to listen to. I could just sit and listen to him talk about ethics and christian morality all evening. It is going to be one of those classes that I truly look forward to going to, oh and there isn't much reading. I can't complain.

I will let you know how these classes are going in about a week or so, my attitude will probably be more positive as it should be, but right now it is all kinda rude and stressful. I will learn in just a few short days that it is ok to put down the book and go for a gelato. It is going to be alright.

Other than classes some other noteworthy happenings in Rome would be the difficult task of planning where and when we are going to do our traveling. Our schedules this semester are packed so tightly and while we have many three day weekends, there are only about a total of five weekends that are free for us to travel. All the other weekends are either too short or we have lectures and tours on Saturday. So we all had a pow wow tonight on the terrace outside and tried to organize ourselves. We realize that we all want to go so many different places and we also realize that we are in Italy so we should take advantage of that and travel in the country as much as we can. Who knows we may never be back (thats why we throw that coin in the Trevi Fountain, so we do return) and so its important to take advantage of Italy while we are here. Our most current plan is for a day trip to Assisi this upcoming Sunday to which we will be transported by train.

We have group dinners every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at three different restaurants around 7:30. It is a nice opportunity to talk to new girls and share a nice meal and conversation as we unwind from the day. The other days we are on our own for dinner and my friends and I have realized cheap is the only way to go. It is easy to spend 10-15 euro a night on just dinner, and although I like my italian food, I like my future italian boots and my trips much better. We share and order tap water, maybe occasionally wine. After dinner is a necessary gelato stop. Its just what you have to do at night in Italy. Go out for gelato, people watch and enjoy the atmosphere. It is quite spectacular. (I should get a photo  of this wonderful night life so you all can see what I am talking about).

It is 2:00am. I have 8:00am philosophy in the morning. Its bedtime for me. Rome is still awake and active, but Andree is winding down. Night all!

Arriverderci