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