Benissimo...

View from the keyhole, this is incredible! It really is tiny and has the most amazing view... pretty much looks like a postcard!

             Sperlonga!




   Bernini's St. Teresa in Ecstasy 

What a wonderful last few days. I never thought anything could beat Venice but the last few days have done just that! We all turned in a huge paper on Wednesday and proceeded to celebrate till the sun came up on Thursday. One Thursday we went to a hew Churches, one of which was where Robert Langdon in Angels and Demons in order to save one of the Cardinals. We were at the Santa Maria dell Vittoria church with the Bernini sculpture of St. Teresa in Ecstasy. This sculpture was too "risque" for the Vatican,  so it had to be put somewhere else in Rome. But it is a wonderful sculpture. The rest of Thursday we simply recovered from the night before.

On Friday we went on a group excursion to Sperlonga, a beach town about an hour and a half south of Rome. We had the best weather possible! We walked along the beach with our shoes off, it was so nice to feel the sand in my toes and stick my feet in the water. We also visit the ancient "play house grotto" of Tiberias. And we ate a fabulous lunch overlooking the water. Couldn't have been a better day!

On Saturday, a bunch of us decided to be real tourists for the day and go explore Rome. We started off by heading over to the market in Testaccio. This market is a lot like the Campo but has more locals and a lot less tourists, therefore it is much cheaper! We got all sorts of fresh fruits and veggies plus dried fruit and nuts. After the market we headed up to Aventine Hill to check out the "keyhole." The "keyhole" is an actually keyhole in a door built by the Priory Knights of Malta. When you look through the keyhole there is an absolutely magnificent view of St. Peter's Basilica. It is hard to believe that this view is from a little tiny keyhole. We then headed back to the apartment to drop off our groceries and pick up some sandwiches from our favorite deli. And then went on to the Spanish steps. We picked up a few beers, sat in the sun, and ate our sandwiches right on the steps. It was such a beautiful day and it felt like the rest of Rome was sitting on the steps too! After our relaxing lunch we went up to the Borghese gardens and rented bikes. Now these aren't regular bikes, they are four person little "car" looking bikes. We rode around but it was very difficult because the park was INCREDIBLY crowded and avoiding people became quite difficult. But we had a blast. Our great day ended with iced coffee and a wonderful dinner! Can't wait for tomorrow!

Pictures from Venice

They are so extravagant!

     The mask I wore out for Carnivale

Our waiter who also showed us around for Carnivle

On the Rialto Bridge

the grand canal

        Around the Grand Canal!

Trying on the perfect mask!

   Our gondola ride at sunset

     The most intense costumes I have ever seen!

     On top of the Campanile in St. Mark's Square.

View from the top of the Campanile

more costumes...

In St. Mark's Square

Campanile

Welcome to Venice!

Maybe the pictures can describe what happened, because I sure can't put words to the madness that was Carnivale in Venice!

Canals, Masks, Gondolas...Carnivale, Venice 2009

Wow, it has been a whirlwind last few days. This weekend I went with two other girls from my apartment to Venice for Carnivale. We really didn't know what to expect and to be honest, I still don't know if I have the right words to describe it. Pretty much not like anything in the US that anyone has every seen. Carnivale is in a category of its own. 

The weekend started on Thursday with a nice train ride up to Venice. It is a little more than a four hour ride, so we got some reading in a took a little nap to catch up on our lack of sleep. When we finally arrived in Venice I thought I was in Disneyland but I had no idea what was to come. It was like we stepped right into the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. We got on a Vaparetto, pretty much the Venice equivalent of a bus but on the water, and took it to our hotel. We stayed at a fabulous little hotel, Hotel Campiello,  just two blocks from St. Mark's Square. When we finally made it to the hotel, we dropped our bags and headed out to get a bite to eat. The three of us were on a mission to find good seafood and we were successful. We found a little place in San Marco with great clam and mussel pasta. After dinner we grabbed a bottle of wine and headed back to our hotel. We ended up drinking our wine with our professor and her husband who were coincidentally staying the same hotel. After our late night happy hour, the three of us decided to go out on the town in Venice. Unfortunately, Venice is a rather sleepy little town most of the time. So we wandered and eventually wandered back to our hotel.

On Friday we woke up early, indulged in the free breakfast at our hotel and headed out to do some site seeing. It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Venice. We went up to the top of the Campanile and then into the Doge's Palace and then just hung out in St. Mark's Square. The area was full of people dressed up in amazing costumes. We spent the rest of the day walking around and taking in the sites of Venice. And we finished our day with a fabulous sunset gondola ride. 

Saturday was the big day...Carnivale! The streets were absolutely packed, you could barely move. And EVERYONE was dressed up in costumes. There were some of the most magnificent costumes I have ever seen. Anything and everything. We spent the day wandering around and picking out some Murano glass and we all bought masks to wear out that evening. We stopped for some lunch at a little pizza place and the waiter seemed to like us a lot. So we asked him what we should do for Carnivale that night. He told us to meet him back here later and he would show us around. So we went on with the rest of the day and met up with him later that night. And Carnivale isn't just one place or one bar, it is the entire city. I can't even describe it. People were walking around town with bottles in their hands. Throwing the bottles when they were finished. The ground was littered with glass and confetti. We walked around with our new friend and had a great time. We saw fireworks, crazy people, and of course the most amazing costumes.

I still can't put everything I saw into words. It was just unreal. But an amazing thing to experience. Venice is an amazing city. It was really nice to be out of Rome and away from the city with all the cars. 

 

Finally reached Mecca!

Or at least from an art historian's point of view I reached Mecca today. After seven weeks in Rome I finally made it to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Now you may ask yourself why I waited so long to see what everyone else raises to Rome to see. I had already ventured over to Vatican city numerous other times to see St. Peters and Castel St. Angelo. But I waited very patiently because my program paid for it and I had a very knowledgeable guide to enhance the experience. And even better, we got to wear these cool secret agent, think Jack Bauer, type headsets so we could hear our tour guide. And the best part, we could take them out of our ears when we didn't want to listen anymore! Now I don't think life gets much better than that!

But before I even think of talking about the actual art in the Vatican Museum, I first have to tell everyone about how fabulous today was in Rome. We were taking our Vatican tour in the afternoon, which is the opposite from our usual morning Roman civilization classes, so we got to sleep in and enjoy ourselves. As I've mentioned earlier, Rome has been VERY rainy and cold. We've even had hail and the Tiber River is getting rather high. But today we woke up to the most gorgeous sunny day. The pope himself couldn't have ordered better weather. So I sat outside at the bar, and by bar I mean coffee and food place, and drank a cappuccino and did some reading in the SUN! I didn't even need to have my coat on. It was absolutely incredible. 

After the perfect sunny morning it was time for the Vatican. The Vatican Museums are very interesting because you would think that the Vatican would not have art from the antiquity. Because Catholicism doesn't real match with the polytheistic religion of the ancient Romans. But the popes wanted to show the power of the antiquity, so they have filled their museum with the largest collection of ancient Roman art. It is interesting to see the ancient art because a lot of the art from the Renaissance was based on art from the antiquity. After looking at all of the really old stuff we got to the art from the Renaissance. Architecture from Bramate and the art of Raphael and Michelangelo. I loved seeing the School of Athens in the pope's library.

But by far the most extravagant part of the Vatican Museum was the SISTINE CHAPEL! After taking so many art history classes and spending hours of my life writing papers about it, I can't believe I actually was able to stand in the Sistine Chapel and it is totally worth it to have a sore neck! Everything was perfect. The ceiling where Michelangelo depicted scenes from Genesis to his Last Judgement on the wall of the chapel. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. But I have no pictures because you can't take pictures inside. And I wasn't about to sneak pictures. Plus, I was in such shock that I was actually there, that I didn't even think about my camera! Just an amazing place.

And what kind of amazing day wouldn't end with drinks and dinner with good friends at our favorite Irish Pub in Rome. We headed over to the Scholars Lounge from the Vatican to relax and have a drink. What a fabulous day!

And I'm headed to Venice this weekend for Carnivale!

 

Valentine's Day in Italy

We spent the day in Tivoli!

Don't let the sun go down on me

After days and day of rain and even hail, the sun finally made an appearance in Rome. We have been waiting out entire time for a day like today, sunny all day! We had class this morning but got out early so we could enjoy the sun. Though it was sunny, there was quite a bite to the air but it was well worth it. A few of us went for a walk past Trestavere and into the hills beyond and came across some wonderful views of Rome. Rome comes alive in the sun, much like Seattle does. It is hard to describe in words, but the city is absolutely amazing! Plans for this coming weekend include a volunteer projects, a day trip to Tivoli, and who could forget...a Valentines Day Party! 

I am past the half way point in my program but I've still got lots of time left in Europe. Kelly and I pretty much have our travel plans all figured out at this point. We are starting in Dublin for St. Patrick's day, then headed to London, Bruges/Amsterdam, Paris, Sevilla/Granada/Barcelona, Portofino/Cinque Terra and finally back to Rome. It should be amazing! Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Rain Rain Go Away

The clouds in Positano
Beach in Positano
Katie and I on the beach
Mom and I on the beach
Positano

In front of St. Peters
on top of the Castel St. Angelo
with out audio guides
with mom

So basically it pretty much looks like Seattle in Rome. It hasn't really stopped raining since we got here way back in January. There have been those few occasional days of sun and some sunny spots mixed in, but for the most part, Rome has been pounded by rain. So much rain that the Tiber river is over flowing! The only positive side of rain is that, like Seattle, the cloud cover keeps things a lot warmer. So even when it is bright and sunny outside, it is absolutely FREEZING! We have managed to take advantage of the few sunny days and brave the cold by going on some walks. Yesterday we walked from the Campo de' fiori to Piazza Navona then to the Pantheon, we wandered our way through some neighborhoods to the Termini train station. Behind the train station is the University of Rome, which looks nothing like the UW. Then we made our way back past Victor Emanuel and eventually back to our apartment. One heck of a long walk, about 4 and a half hours, but well worth it. And I'm glad we did it yesterday because once again, it is raining today. 

Mom was here this past weekend. We had a great time hanging around Rome and on Saturday we went Pompeii, Positano, and Naples. It was a fabulous day and it was fun to get away from Rome. We explored Pompeii for a while and then headed down to Positano which was beautiful. We stopped by a roadside stand and bought some delicious mandarine oranges and tomatoes. Our day ended with pizza and beer in Naples, real Italian pizza.

On Sunday we went to the Porto Portese flea market which was quite the experience. Lots of crap followed by even more crap. Pretty much if we wanted kitchen supplies, cheap clothes, or scarves, that was the place. And once again, it rained like hell. Thank goodness for umbrellas. We also went to a bar to watch Roma play Genoa in a soccer game. It was really interesting to see how people act in a bar here versus in the US. In Rome, nobody talks during the games, the only loud cheering is when one team scores a goal and thats it! But it was a fun game to watch, especially because Rome won!

And to round out the trip nicely I made dinner for my mom on Sunday night. We made fresh tomato sauce out of the tomatoes we bought in Positano which was delicious. I also sauteed lots of veggies and our favorite Italian sausage. Put the entire thing together with some pasta and it was perfect. Especially with a little wine and bread. A perfect way to end a great weekend.

Last night was the 21st birthday of one of the guys in my program so we all went out for some fun. It was really neat to have my entire program out together, even with one of our professors. The night seemed to go on forever but we all had a great time. And we are having a Valentines Day party at our apartment on Saturday, can't wait!

Mom in Rome!

Week 5 in Rome...can you believe it?

Notice my shirt...

Beautiful Orvieto, Umbria Countryside

So I've only got time for a little update as I should probably be studying for my midterm on Thursday or writing my response paper that is due on Monday. I am very excited because my mom will be arriving in Rome bright and early tomorrow morning. We have a big weekend planned (maybe not) but it will be a blast whatever we do. Hopefully we will make it up to Tivoli and down to the Amalfi Coast. Lets all hope the weather holds out. She will be staying right around the corner from my place at the Campo de' fiori hotel which conveniently enough is about a stones throw from the UW Rome Center. I can't wait to show her around Rome and all of the fun things I've learned. My person best "new fun thing" is figuring out the open air markets, even though I don't speak any Italian. But I am working on it. I can now officially count to ten...uno, due, tre...and I can say please and thank you among a few other words here and there. I need to get back to the studies, but I am posting a few recent pictures from Orvieto and the superbowl viewing extravaganza at the Hard Rock Cafe!

 

Ugh...

So the Cardinals lost, but it was a great game! And I watched it in the middle of the night from Rome, can't get much better than that! Good football, good friends, and crappy beer, that is what life is all about! I even made a shirt to wear to watch the game, I got a lot of compliments on it. I will be sure to post pictures of what it looks like! 

A little weekend with a big finish!

This past week was quite interesting. We came back from Florence a little battered and bruised and Rome didn't look very promising. The weather here looked a lot like Seattle, perhaps even a little more rain than usual. Alas, the rain finally subsided on Wednesday and gave way to blue skies and freezing cold temperature. We managed to take a walk to the Borghese gardens and enjoy the sun, while still wearing our coats and gloves. Thursday was just as gorgeous and just as cold. And the inside of ancient monuments is even colder. Not to reader: do NOT go in the pantheon when it is cold outside!

On Friday a group from our program headed up to Orvieto, a small hill town in Umbria north of Rome. It was a beautiful day but unfortunately all of those little towns take siesta quite seriously, which meant a very sleepy town for us to explore, but it was fun none the less.

Saturday one of my room mates and I decided to head out and explore a market to get some fresh veggies. It was about a 25 minute walk but well worth it. The market, unlike the campo market, was full of locals and the produce was cheap! I got eggplant for dinner and some dried apricots and almonds for snacks! The rest of Saturday we relaxed and enjoyed the sun.

And Sunday was the big day, not only is it SUPERBOWL SUNDAY, but I accepted my offer from Teach for America. So beginning in the fall, I will be teaching elementary school in Phoenix. Who knew I would be back in the valley of the sun. I am very excited but also a little nervous about this wonderful opportunity. Though I am very happy to be close to my family again. I will miss Seattle and UW, Go Huskies! As for TFA, I'm not sure of all the specifics yet, but I will also be a graduate student in the ASU Masters in Teaching program, so GO DEVILS! Back to my roots! With all this teaching excitement, who could forget the Cardinals! I never thought they would make it this far, let alone while I am in Rome. So, I have convinced almost my entire program to watch the game at the HardRock Cafe in Rome. The only catch is the game doesn't even start until just after midnight here! But I guess that is what espresso is for! 

In other news...my mom is coming to visit this week and I can't wait. We are going to have a fantastic time and I will be sure to post some pictures. Hope all is well back home!