Ahhh I can’t believe it is already the month of October!!! The time is just flying by and is getting closer and closer to me getting to meet up with my grandparents and mom and step dad.
On Tuesday October 2nd my study abroad program put together an event of attending the Sleeping Beauty Ballet. Ally, Diana, Emily, and I all went and loved it. I was the only one out of the 4 that hadn’t had at least 6 years of Ballet dancing experience. We all got done up and headed over to the Teatro dell’Opera where the ballet took place, 8:30-12 a.m.
On Wednesday night my friend Rachelle put on a Mexican Dinner night. Ahh it was soo amazing… we had chips and salsa, followed by rice and beans and chicken fajitas. In addition, for dessert we had chocolate chip cookies that were bought from the International Supermercato.
Thursday was an intense day. I spent all morning writing a paper that was due that evening and then I last minute decided to go to Venice with Emily, Ally, and Diana. Originally my plan for the weekend was to go to Florence and stay with a friend till Sunday when my grandparents were supposed to arrive. However, my friend forgot and wasn’t going to be home so I decided to go to Venice and then go to Florence Saturday night and figure something out.
Weekend in Venice
We had a great time in Venice. We did a lot of walking around the first day and getting acquainted with the island. We walked around San Marco’s square with the pigeons, took the boat taxi around to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum which was full of various famous artists’ works. We decided that we weren’t going to pay the 70 euros or whatever to take a gondola ride around the canals so instead we took the .50 euro gondola that taxied you across the canal. We didn’t make it to the island of ma… where they are famous for glass blowing, but we did watch a man in his shop make a glass necklace which was pretty amazing. Although I do remember being in Venice 10 years ago, I don’t remember much so I was glad that I went on this short trip with the girls. The next morning it was raining and San Marco Church was closed so we spent the entire afternoon at the Bienale. The Bienale is a huge art exhibit that is done every other year from June to November. This art exhibit was Emily’s whole purpose for going and her day was made when she found out that we could go to it. It was a whole day event with about 100 rooms all dedicated to different artists from all over the world, United States, Russia, Switzerland, New Zealand, etc. Some of it was a little weird for me, but majority of it was very interesting and enjoyable. At closing I ran to the boat taxi to get to the train station because I heard back from my friend Jessie who is studying abroad in Florence and she said she would love for me to come and stay with her. It was quite an adventure; first I missed my train, then I got on the wrong one and was told I had to get off, and then I was in this station alone and had to figure out what train to get on in order to get to Florence for the night. It all worked out and this man helped my locate the last train from Minestra to Florence.
Sunday morning woke up and met with grandma and grandpa at their hotel. It was so nice getting to spend all Sunday, Monday, and half of Tuesday with them. We checked out Piazza del Duomo, walked down to Piazza della Signoria, and to Palazzo Vecchio. We also walked over the Arno River via PonteVecchio, built in 1220. This is the oldest bridge in Florence after being the only one to survive the German army during World War II. The rest of the trip we spent on the double décor bus sight seeing tour. We had a wonderful time but had to board a train Tuesday morning and head back to Rome.
Mom and Brad arrive in Rome!
I spent the rest of the afternoon at school but then planned on meeting my grandparents and mom and Brad at their hotel. To my excitement I received an email that afternoon from my brother letting me know that he proposed to Sarah and that they are getting married! Congratulations to my brother and sister-in-law to be! I met up with the family and we had a nice pizza dinner on the roof of the Campo Di’ Fiori Hotel.
Wednesday I had my accounting class and then spent the rest of the afternoon with the family venturing around various sites in Rome. We met in the Vatican City at San Pietro’s to see and hear Pope Benedict give the Wednesday morning mass. We stayed and watched for a little but then got on the Rome sight seeing tour bus and ventured around the city till we got to the Colosseum stop which is one touristy thing I haven’t experienced yet. From there I went to check out the Palantine and then to class. I met up with the family after class and we had dinner in campo di’fiori at this restaurant that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone. After dinner my mom, Brad, and I took a walk to get gelato, walk through Piazza Navona, see the Pantheon, and the famous Trevi Fountain which is based on Nicolo Salvi’s design and completed in 1762 (famous scene in Three Coins in the Fountain and the Italian classic La Dolce Vita).
Thursday morning woke up early and met the family and went to the San Pietro Basilica. The line was really long but moved along quite quickly. We went in and headed straight for the Copula which took you up a huge flight of stairs to the inside of the dome to look down into the church. From there you could take another 320 steps to the outer top of the dome. At the top was a spectacular view of all of Rome. I had to leave for class while my family stayed to check out more of the church and then head to the Vatican Museums and see the Sistine Chapel. I told the family to meet me at my apartment around 6:30 for dinner that Emily and I wanted to prepare for them. It was a really nice dinner; we had my family, Emily’s mom, and the twins over. We had bruscetti as an anitpasta, followed by dinner which consisted of salad, ravioli, and the famous Yogurt Torta.
Friday morning I met my mom and Brad at the airport for Greece. We had a great weekend in Athens and fun on the Island Aegina where we took a short day trip. We did a lot of sleeping while in Athens. Our bodies were pretty much worn out every evening from all our exploring during the day. On our first day there we went to the Plaka and had a fabulous Greek lunch/dinner. I had a gyro which was absolutely amazing especially since my stomach hasn’t had much of anything besides pastas and breads. We spent the remainder of our first day walking around and planning what we were going to do the next day. That night we got to experience Athen’s first rain after 4 months, I think my mom and Brad brought the cold rainy weather to both Rome and Athens.
Saturday morning we did most of our sight seeing by going to: the Acropolis where we saw the Partheon, the temple of Athena Nike remains. Then we walked around ancient Agora, the plaka which is full of small stores, and then took a public bus to Glyfada (a coastal city where we had dinner/ lunch). The water was amazing and we got to watch the sun set over the ocean. The hardest thing for me in Athens was the Greek writing and not having even the slightest idea of what things said unless they were written in English. On our last full day, we took a ferry to a nearby Island called Aegina. We took a 45 minute ferry ride over and walked around the quaint island. We had lunch and returned to Athens with just enough time to take a walk for dessert and to the 1st Olympic Stadium built in 1895 for the 1898 Summer Olympics. The stadium was made entirely of marble and was absolutely breath taking.
Monday we took a taxi to the Athen Airport to fly back to Rome and then up to Cinque Terre for a couple of days. On our way to the coast we stopped in Pisa for an hour which only gave us enough time to run to the leaning tower of Pisa, snap a picture, and run back. Tuesday we spent the entire day hiking along the 5 various little villages which make up Cinque Terre (The five Villages). The hike took you all along the ocean and that connected all the villages. For lunch we ate a pesto pizza and then headed back to Manarola where we stayed so that I could shower and get to the train station. It was time to say good bye to my mom and Brad as we headed our separate ways. It was a blessing that my family was able to come and visit me while I’m in another country and wouldn’t have changed it for anything else (no not even to have my camera back).
Wednesday night (after my big accounting Mid-term) we had dinner at Ally and Diana’s house. Ally and I went to their house together and did the cooking while Emily and Diana did some last minute things at school.
Thursday made for another travel adventure. This time we were headed for Barcelona, Spain. We had a little trouble getting to the Ciampino airport and I thought for sure Emily wasn’t going to make it to check in on time. However, to my amazement she arrived just in time and we flew to Barcelona. I stayed in my first hostel ever called Gothic Point and it was absolutely wonderful. We met a lot of very interesting people and everyone was so nice.
Friday we spent the entire day walking all around the city. We walked to the National Art Museum of Catalunya, down to the Olympic Stadium, took a bus over to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia church, and then down to his Casa Batiló (fish house). After returning to our hostel and having dinner we meet three boys who are studying abroad in Germany and ended up going out with them to a club called The Catwalk. Saturday was not such a good day, I seemed to have caught a 24 hr. flu and felt horrible for the whole day but still got in some sight seeing. We went to the Picasso Museum for a couple of hours, then walked to the Parco de Ciutadella, to the beach, and then to our cooking class. On the first day these girls told us about a cooking class where you can learn to make: Sangria, an appetizer, and paella. I am really glad that we decided to do it because it was really good in spite of me not having much of an appetite.
Tuesday October 23rd was the most depressing day thus far. I had bought a plane ticket to London with the twins to stay with their cousin who is going to school in Oxford, however my merciless, stubborn, and annoying social psychology teacher wouldn’t let me take my test before I left so I had to cancel and rebook my flight for the weekend of November 15th. I still can’t believe that my teacher was being so ridiculous especially when the only reason I bought the ticket for that day was because she said the test was going to be today on this Tuesday.
Wednesday night I went with my friend Rachelle to JCU’s first soccer game of the season. We got there after half time but got to celebrate in our 2-1 win.
Weekend in Rome
Saturday the entire apartment, Kassandra, Alex, Emily, and I took a trip to Piazza Argentina to have lunch at Insalata Rica where we each got a nice big salad. We then walked around and went to the various vintage stores around the area in search of boots for the cold rainy season to come. Emily and I went to this boot store and each found a pair that we liked. Now I have my very own Italian Leather Boots which I bought for 59 euro. That night Emily and I got ready, dressed in our boots, and went to the 2007 Rome Film Festival to watch the Premier showing of the American film Juno. As we were entering we saw one of the actresses from the movie, Olivia Thirlby, who played Leah. The movie was great and very entertaining.
Sunday I woke up and took the longest running adventure around Rome. I didn’t intend on being gone for 1 hr. 22 minutes but I took a road that took me in a big loop all the way around the outer wall of the Vatican City. It was such a beautiful day though so I didn’t mind being outside running at all. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and not getting any studying done for the next days test.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Month of September!
So my original plan in terms of journaling was to do it once a week, but as you can see I haven't been doing so well. As I have mentioned, we do not have internet access in our apartments so we can only use our computers by walking a mile to school or by paying to use it at various cafés around the area. It makes blogging a little inconvenient. However I will work on doing a better job and getting some good pics up, I'm still not in the routine of things. I can't believe the month of September is already over and that I have been living in Rome for 5 weeks now! I have been spending a majority of my time with 3 of the greatest girls in the world: Emily (my rommie), Ally, and Diana. We do just about everything together and have been planning various trips to take while here. The first major trip that we planned was our trip to Capri! Our original plan was to go to Pompeii for a day and then Capri for a day, (however our rafting trip got switched to Saturday from Friday and were no longer able to do that). As a result, we decided to wake up early Friday morning, catch the 6 am train to Naples and then take a ferry to Capri where we could spend the entire day doing whatever we want. We arrived at the station with just enough time to jump on the "Harry Potter train" and sleep until our arrival. We made it to Capri around 10 and took a boat tour around the island to see all the various sites and grattos along the way. The water was magnificent! The boat trips main purpose is to take you to the "blue gratto" (azzura grotto) which in my opinion wasn't worth the extra 9 Euros to see. Basically it’s a grotto that’s completely closed off from the sunlight by the cave walls of the island and the sea, except for a small opening in the side of the rocks that is only about 5 feet across and 4 feet high. Once inside the water is illuminated by the sunlight shining from outside through the sea but it’s mostly just dark. In order to go in though, you have to leave the tour boat and squeeze into a tiny boat that can fit in through the tiny opening. All in all, the boat tour around the island was nice and really there is no other way to tour it since the coasts are all sheer cliffs. The weather was perfect and it was breezy, but the boat was crowded and after two hours I was ready for some exploring of my own.
We got back on land at about 3:00 and enjoyed a bit of time on the beach. The water wasn’t too cold and the beach was made from smooth pebbles instead of sand! It was beautiful but painful to walk on without shoes. After drying off I was ready for a new adventure and to actually go around and explore the city and shops of Capri. Within our little quartet Ally and I are the fast paced, direction oriented girls, whereas Emily and Diana are the slow, relaxed, no sense of direction girls. My favorite episode with Emily was the first week of school when Emily still needed help finding her way to school. Ok enough of the side note, the four of us started walking and we came upon a sign that read, Centro Capri so I said hey lets follow the sign and see what’s up there. I thought the twins were going to kill me because we walked for a very long time up this steep narrow walk way which looked like it was going to take us no where. However I was determined and had faith that we would end up somewhere amazing. After about 20 minutes of walking, vuala we arrived at spectacular view of the ocean and the island below. After finding the center I still was not satisfied and took the girls on another adventure in search of a church called, Chiesa San Michele. After finding this tiny little church all tucked away off a small side road we decided it was time to head back down to the dock and wait for our ferry home.
Saturday morning was wonderful because I was able to sleep in until 10 am or so. From there, Emily took a trip to the supermarket, Simply, and bought some groceries. In surprise and disbelief the cashier explained to us that there was a problem with the bank lines or something, and they couldn’t accept credit or debit anywhere in the city until they were fixed! Can you imagine what that would do to shops and stores in America! We were a little behind schedule so we had to rush home, pack our lunches, and run to Piazza Trillusa to head out for our white-water rafting! We arrived at the location where we received a 40 minute tutorial, got suited up, and headed to the drop point. We were dressed up in the most attractive suits you can imagine. I felt like I was going to train the dolphins. The drop off spot was amazing. It was directly under what is the largest waterfall in Italy and maybe in all of Europe. The entire ride was about forty minutes with a few particularly exciting jumps and slides. The river banks were beautiful and it was warm enough that the water wasn’t uncomfortably cold. No one from my raft fell out but the raft just in front of us lost two boys overboard! When we got back to the rafting center we got a chance to shower off, change, and eat at the café before getting back on the bus at 6:30. On the way home everyone was knocked out and slept till we arrived back at our familiar location of Trastevere.
As a roommate to a vegetarian I have been learning to add a variety of new fruits and vegetables to my diet. I have grown to love, which most of you are going to want to say, “Duh”, peaches, oranges, nectarines, and green beans. This is still only the second month, so maybe by the time I get home my list will have doubled. I have actually grown accustomed to pasta and carbs for every meal and cooking every night, it gets costly.
With the topic of food, Emily and I decided to host an International potluck at our house on Thursday night. We ended up having a larger turn out than what we had expected. A total of 10 fellow classmates arrived at our house around 8 where we spent the next couple of hours eating various types of food. Our main items were, spaghetti, vegetables, rice, tofu, chicken, veal, beans and onions, horse fillet, and a variety of wines. It was a wonderful event we conjuring up our next potluck idea, “American Breakfast Potluck”. For dessert we had my cousin’s famous yogurt torta and the twins Diana and Ally’s home made crepes. They were both excellent and everyone seemed to have a great time.
Friday night was “cooking for the Italians night”. A friend of mine Rachelle promise three Italians a fine home cooked meal so I told her that I would help. The menu of the night was Chicken Parmesan, garlic bread, and spaghetti con Bolognese. It was very good and even the Italian approved of it. From there Rachelle and I went out with a group of Italians and got into the club Chalet right away because one of the bouncers knew one of the guys we were with. It was really packed but ended up being a lot of fun. We got home late and had to be at our bus at 5:45 am so we decided to stay up, eat the left over chicken parmesan and go to the bus headed for Ventotene.
The four of us (anytime I say four of us I am referring to Ally, Diana, Emily, and I) joined a group of 15 other JCU students and loaded a bus and headed for the coast and Ventotene, which literally means “keeps wind.” It’s an island on the Amalfi Coast not too far from Capri. The Island and weather were absolutely perfect, not too hot and not too cold. Once we settled in, we jumped in a small boat and toured around the island. We pasted by various spots where you could get out and jump of rocks so Emily and I decided to go for it. Saturday night, we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach, but it really wasn’t all that yummy so we had to go back up to the town and find some gelato for dessert. There wasn’t a whole lot to do on the island as far as the night life was concerned; however there was a drum circle performance that was going on so we stood around for about an hour to listen.
Sunday was leaving day but first we spent the whole morning/ afternoon at the beach. Ahh it was soo beautiful and the water was crystal clear. We laid out, swam, and took a short break for a boat ride to the small neighboring island which used to harbor a prison, Alcatraz. However, before the prison it was home to the royalty offspring to relax. The prison was closed in 1965 due to financial reasons, which was the same year Alcatraz was closed due to psychological reasons. After our tour we continued enjoying the beach and jumping off the nearby rocks up until the time we had to pack up and go home. It was a wonderful weekend at Ventotene with all the girls and the new friends that we made.
On the last Wednesday of September, Ally and I joined our Study Abroad Italy group for a special Language Exchange night. We still aren’t quite familiar with how to get from one place to the other on the buses so it took us about an hour to get the meeting location which made us late. However the night ended up being a lot of fun and was able to practice and work on my Italian skills before my second date with an Italian friend of mine. The event was put on by the SAI organization as a way for us Americans to get out of our bubble of other American friends and meet and greet with some Italians. It was really nice experience and we got snacks and drinks with it.
The last weekend of the month was spent here in Italy. On Friday we took a bike tour around the area known as Via Appia Antica. Via Appia Antica is located in the very South Eastern part of Rome and is beyond the original wall that enclosed Rome. On our way to the bike tour we began noticing that all the public transportation buses that were driving around and the tram that runs in front of our apartment all had the word, “Deposito” which we came to find out means that yes the buses are driving around however they are on strike so they aren’t making any stops to pick people up. This was not good due to the notion that by that time we had about 30 minutes to get to the bike tour location. I was able to use my trusty Italian handbook to ask a driver how to get to that part of the city. He proceeded to point to a general direction in which we began walking, if you are wondering why we didn’t have a map the answer would be yes we had a map but it didn’t cover that region of the city. We finally arrived on location and began our bike tour. The tour guide was full of information, too much information, so we ended up doing a lot of listening and less riding. All in all it was a lot of fun and we had the last stretch to do free riding back to the shop. We spent the rest of the afternoon napping, eating, packing, and getting ready to go out to a club called, “The Loft”. At the gym that Emily and I work out at, we met these two American guys, Sam and Jason, who have been living here in Rome for the past, 2 and 1 years (respectively). They called us and told us about their friends band who would be playing at this club and that we should come. Emily and I got ready and headed over to the twin’s house where we would be sleeping because we had an early day in the morning. The club was pretty fun, got in free, and danced for a couple of hours. Saturday called for a long day of transportation and hiking. We woke up at 6 a.m. and took a bus and train to the outskirts of town to be driven to Monte Circeo in the town of Latina which is just South of Rome. We spent the whole day hiking along the top of the mountain ridge which was located on the coast. The view was spectacular and you were able to see the ocean from every angle as it surrounded about ¾ of the mountain we were on. We took advantage of our weariness by going to bed early to get to the Vatican Museums early on Sunday morning. If you ever decided to take a trip to Rome and want to go to the Vatican Museums free (regular 12 euro), then you should schedule your trip to be there for the last Sunday of the month because the Vatican Museums have free entrance. I had my own personal tour guide, Emily who was able to walk me through a majority of the art collections and explain what they represent and who the makers were. The highlight, of course, was the Sistine Chapel- painted by Michelangelo followed by the Lacoön which was sculpted by an unknown artist. This last sculpture was a Roman replication of an authentic Greek work from the 4th C.B.C. which shows Lacoön with his two sons locked in an eternal struggle with the serpents. This sculpture has become the symbol of classic male beauty, rivaling Michelangelo’s David statue. I had such a wonderful time listening to Emily explain and inform me about the various aspects of art and the fight between Michelangelo’s passion for sculpture and Leonardo Da Vinci’s passion for painting. After using up all our brain power in the museum we were in dire need for some chibo (food). My carabiniari friend Rossando met up with us and we had some pizza in Piazza Cosimato. We had a terrific time and a great way to end the month of September.
We got back on land at about 3:00 and enjoyed a bit of time on the beach. The water wasn’t too cold and the beach was made from smooth pebbles instead of sand! It was beautiful but painful to walk on without shoes. After drying off I was ready for a new adventure and to actually go around and explore the city and shops of Capri. Within our little quartet Ally and I are the fast paced, direction oriented girls, whereas Emily and Diana are the slow, relaxed, no sense of direction girls. My favorite episode with Emily was the first week of school when Emily still needed help finding her way to school. Ok enough of the side note, the four of us started walking and we came upon a sign that read, Centro Capri so I said hey lets follow the sign and see what’s up there. I thought the twins were going to kill me because we walked for a very long time up this steep narrow walk way which looked like it was going to take us no where. However I was determined and had faith that we would end up somewhere amazing. After about 20 minutes of walking, vuala we arrived at spectacular view of the ocean and the island below. After finding the center I still was not satisfied and took the girls on another adventure in search of a church called, Chiesa San Michele. After finding this tiny little church all tucked away off a small side road we decided it was time to head back down to the dock and wait for our ferry home.
Saturday morning was wonderful because I was able to sleep in until 10 am or so. From there, Emily took a trip to the supermarket, Simply, and bought some groceries. In surprise and disbelief the cashier explained to us that there was a problem with the bank lines or something, and they couldn’t accept credit or debit anywhere in the city until they were fixed! Can you imagine what that would do to shops and stores in America! We were a little behind schedule so we had to rush home, pack our lunches, and run to Piazza Trillusa to head out for our white-water rafting! We arrived at the location where we received a 40 minute tutorial, got suited up, and headed to the drop point. We were dressed up in the most attractive suits you can imagine. I felt like I was going to train the dolphins. The drop off spot was amazing. It was directly under what is the largest waterfall in Italy and maybe in all of Europe. The entire ride was about forty minutes with a few particularly exciting jumps and slides. The river banks were beautiful and it was warm enough that the water wasn’t uncomfortably cold. No one from my raft fell out but the raft just in front of us lost two boys overboard! When we got back to the rafting center we got a chance to shower off, change, and eat at the café before getting back on the bus at 6:30. On the way home everyone was knocked out and slept till we arrived back at our familiar location of Trastevere.
As a roommate to a vegetarian I have been learning to add a variety of new fruits and vegetables to my diet. I have grown to love, which most of you are going to want to say, “Duh”, peaches, oranges, nectarines, and green beans. This is still only the second month, so maybe by the time I get home my list will have doubled. I have actually grown accustomed to pasta and carbs for every meal and cooking every night, it gets costly.
With the topic of food, Emily and I decided to host an International potluck at our house on Thursday night. We ended up having a larger turn out than what we had expected. A total of 10 fellow classmates arrived at our house around 8 where we spent the next couple of hours eating various types of food. Our main items were, spaghetti, vegetables, rice, tofu, chicken, veal, beans and onions, horse fillet, and a variety of wines. It was a wonderful event we conjuring up our next potluck idea, “American Breakfast Potluck”. For dessert we had my cousin’s famous yogurt torta and the twins Diana and Ally’s home made crepes. They were both excellent and everyone seemed to have a great time.
Friday night was “cooking for the Italians night”. A friend of mine Rachelle promise three Italians a fine home cooked meal so I told her that I would help. The menu of the night was Chicken Parmesan, garlic bread, and spaghetti con Bolognese. It was very good and even the Italian approved of it. From there Rachelle and I went out with a group of Italians and got into the club Chalet right away because one of the bouncers knew one of the guys we were with. It was really packed but ended up being a lot of fun. We got home late and had to be at our bus at 5:45 am so we decided to stay up, eat the left over chicken parmesan and go to the bus headed for Ventotene.
The four of us (anytime I say four of us I am referring to Ally, Diana, Emily, and I) joined a group of 15 other JCU students and loaded a bus and headed for the coast and Ventotene, which literally means “keeps wind.” It’s an island on the Amalfi Coast not too far from Capri. The Island and weather were absolutely perfect, not too hot and not too cold. Once we settled in, we jumped in a small boat and toured around the island. We pasted by various spots where you could get out and jump of rocks so Emily and I decided to go for it. Saturday night, we had dinner at a restaurant on the beach, but it really wasn’t all that yummy so we had to go back up to the town and find some gelato for dessert. There wasn’t a whole lot to do on the island as far as the night life was concerned; however there was a drum circle performance that was going on so we stood around for about an hour to listen.
Sunday was leaving day but first we spent the whole morning/ afternoon at the beach. Ahh it was soo beautiful and the water was crystal clear. We laid out, swam, and took a short break for a boat ride to the small neighboring island which used to harbor a prison, Alcatraz. However, before the prison it was home to the royalty offspring to relax. The prison was closed in 1965 due to financial reasons, which was the same year Alcatraz was closed due to psychological reasons. After our tour we continued enjoying the beach and jumping off the nearby rocks up until the time we had to pack up and go home. It was a wonderful weekend at Ventotene with all the girls and the new friends that we made.
On the last Wednesday of September, Ally and I joined our Study Abroad Italy group for a special Language Exchange night. We still aren’t quite familiar with how to get from one place to the other on the buses so it took us about an hour to get the meeting location which made us late. However the night ended up being a lot of fun and was able to practice and work on my Italian skills before my second date with an Italian friend of mine. The event was put on by the SAI organization as a way for us Americans to get out of our bubble of other American friends and meet and greet with some Italians. It was really nice experience and we got snacks and drinks with it.
The last weekend of the month was spent here in Italy. On Friday we took a bike tour around the area known as Via Appia Antica. Via Appia Antica is located in the very South Eastern part of Rome and is beyond the original wall that enclosed Rome. On our way to the bike tour we began noticing that all the public transportation buses that were driving around and the tram that runs in front of our apartment all had the word, “Deposito” which we came to find out means that yes the buses are driving around however they are on strike so they aren’t making any stops to pick people up. This was not good due to the notion that by that time we had about 30 minutes to get to the bike tour location. I was able to use my trusty Italian handbook to ask a driver how to get to that part of the city. He proceeded to point to a general direction in which we began walking, if you are wondering why we didn’t have a map the answer would be yes we had a map but it didn’t cover that region of the city. We finally arrived on location and began our bike tour. The tour guide was full of information, too much information, so we ended up doing a lot of listening and less riding. All in all it was a lot of fun and we had the last stretch to do free riding back to the shop. We spent the rest of the afternoon napping, eating, packing, and getting ready to go out to a club called, “The Loft”. At the gym that Emily and I work out at, we met these two American guys, Sam and Jason, who have been living here in Rome for the past, 2 and 1 years (respectively). They called us and told us about their friends band who would be playing at this club and that we should come. Emily and I got ready and headed over to the twin’s house where we would be sleeping because we had an early day in the morning. The club was pretty fun, got in free, and danced for a couple of hours. Saturday called for a long day of transportation and hiking. We woke up at 6 a.m. and took a bus and train to the outskirts of town to be driven to Monte Circeo in the town of Latina which is just South of Rome. We spent the whole day hiking along the top of the mountain ridge which was located on the coast. The view was spectacular and you were able to see the ocean from every angle as it surrounded about ¾ of the mountain we were on. We took advantage of our weariness by going to bed early to get to the Vatican Museums early on Sunday morning. If you ever decided to take a trip to Rome and want to go to the Vatican Museums free (regular 12 euro), then you should schedule your trip to be there for the last Sunday of the month because the Vatican Museums have free entrance. I had my own personal tour guide, Emily who was able to walk me through a majority of the art collections and explain what they represent and who the makers were. The highlight, of course, was the Sistine Chapel- painted by Michelangelo followed by the Lacoön which was sculpted by an unknown artist. This last sculpture was a Roman replication of an authentic Greek work from the 4th C.B.C. which shows Lacoön with his two sons locked in an eternal struggle with the serpents. This sculpture has become the symbol of classic male beauty, rivaling Michelangelo’s David statue. I had such a wonderful time listening to Emily explain and inform me about the various aspects of art and the fight between Michelangelo’s passion for sculpture and Leonardo Da Vinci’s passion for painting. After using up all our brain power in the museum we were in dire need for some chibo (food). My carabiniari friend Rossando met up with us and we had some pizza in Piazza Cosimato. We had a terrific time and a great way to end the month of September.
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