Days 21-22: Papal address & Musei Vaticani

I saw the Pope!  In all his holy pope-y-ness!
I just like saying pope-y.  Pope-y Pope.

Once again this was another excursion no one else really wanted to go on because of how early we would have to be up.  Like come on guys, if it's not on the itinerary you gotta MAKE the time for it.  Oh well, their loss.

Rosie proposed the idea the night before and was all for it.  We didn't have any tickets so we figured we would have to get there early and get them.  We left St. John's at 6 AM to get there around 6:30, to beat the crowd and the line.  It was a gorgeous morning.  Nice and chilly, the day was just beginning, there was almost no one out, especially those pesky, annoying and smelly street vendors.  It was a wonderful walk to the Vatican, simply calm and tranquil, maybe one of my favorite moments in Rome so far.  Without all the people, without all the cars, without all the noise of the city.  Calm.

At the Vatican the people began to mass at the entrances, but we were able to secure a spot relatively close up to the gates.  As to where to get tickets was uncertain, as no one was able to pass the blocked gates.  Everyone seemed to have tickets out and ready, causing some worry on our part.  But after we asked around we were told we were in the correct line, so that eased our worries for the time being.  For an hour or so we waited and talked to a group that was from New York (I believe) and fended off the obnoxious street vendors who wanted to sell us pope-flags.  They really annoy me.  Apparently the Italians don't think the same however, since I saw a handful of them buying Pope-flags.  Hmm.  I try not to support their practice in hopes that it eventually dies out.  Me and my lofty dreams I guess.

After the floodgates opened though the pace picked up dramatically.  People were running to line up at the metal detectors, even little old ladies were moving along and pushing to get by me!  Apparently the Pope is a pretty big deal or something...  But before we partook in the sprint to the seats, we still had to find tickets.  Rosie asked one of the guards where we could get them, and he told us to just go on through, no one checks them anyways.  Ha! Awesome! So we did exactly that.

We were officially in attendance of a papal address.  In the Vatican.  Like, THE Vatican.  Being a part of that crowd was like being at a concert, like when the gates open and everyone runs to the front, just less intense due to the varied age ranges and groups of people.  Everyone from children to older citizens were there to see and hear Pope Francesco.  In an hour the whole place was packed.

People packed into Piazza San Pietro for the papal address.

Someone came out to read off a list of groups present for the papal address, which created random bits of applause to ring throughout the piazza.  It was so cool to hear groups yelling and cheering all the way from the entrance to the piazza when their group was called.  People from all over the world were present, and it took at least five translators (that's when I stopped counting) to read through them all.  We even heard our own group, somehow over the crowd, "St. Johns University, Rome campus," and we high-fived in celebration.

I say I lost count of the translators and somehow managed to hear our group's announcement because sometime in middle of the announcements the Pope came out to greet the people, totally unannounced.  How humble.  Or maybe this is how they all do it, I don't know.  Pope Francesco made his rounds through the crowd on his little pope-mobile, with his little pope-hat, greeting the crowd and kissing lots and lots of babies.  I was able to snag a few shots of him from my vantage point standing on my chair, but was more exciting was to hear how the crowd chanted his name and rushed to the edge of the path to try and get as close as they could to him.  The children were shouting the same Italian phrases the parents and other adults were, and they chanted his name in unison as he passed.  To hear their voices, see their determination to get to him, and feel the love and passion they had for Pope Francesco was worth the whole experience right there.  I am not particularly religious, but to see greater determination and pride in the Italian people for their Pope than they had during Festa della Repubblica drew a sharp comparison for me, and for the first time I felt how important this figure truly is.

Pope Francesco.

Rosie had noted that he seemed to take his time at this part, stopping frequently to kiss all the babies and show his love for the people.  I have nothing to compare this experience to, but Rosie, as a Catholic who has more experience with Pope stuff, said that he did seem to show a greater amount of compassion than other popes have.  So I'll take her word for it, and you should too.

The address itself was very formal and each translator got a chance to speak on the people's behalf, thanking the Pope for being there today, for all that he does, for how special he is, that kinda stuff.  When he spoke it was in Italian mostly, like for his address to the people.  Something I noticed and really appreciated was how he didn't necessarily stick to his script, frequently looking up and speaking his mind and elaborating on what he just read off.  I'm not sure if he writes his own speeches or has others do it, like our leadership figures in America, but even though I couldn't understand what he was saying I appreciated that he didn't simply read verbatim from his papers.

All and all it was definitely a great experience, and I learned to respect this figure much more than I previously did, I'll admit.  It was the collective conscious of the people in attendance, the love in the people's eyes and voices, and the little things about Pope Francesco I described which left the biggest impression on me.  All the great Italians I have met on my travels so far seem to echo this common idea of love, compassion, kindness and unity, and I love it.  I can feel it changing me.

Anyways, the rest of my day was spent as a free day, relaxing and recouping, but evidently not blogging.  When I finally have the time, I find that I still have so much that I want to do out in this gorgeous city with friends.

And on the following day, the Vatican Museum was breathtaking, more so I think than the Uffizi.
But I think that is because I recognized more artist names and works, and enjoyed the Sistine Chapel greatly as well.  I was more prepared coming to the Musei Vaticani and had some more background on the works than those in the Uffizi and that definitely let me enjoy it much more.

I saw so much there it's impossible to recollect it all, but some of the highlights include the Stefaneschi Triptych by Giotto, works by Raffaello Sanzio, including the Coronation of the Virgin, Madonna of Foligno, Transfiguration, Sistine Chapel Tapestries from the Raphael Cartoons, and the famous Raphael Rooms, containing works such as The Vision of the Cross, Deliverance of Saint Peter and one of my personal favorites, The School of Athens, St. Jerome in the Winderness by Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Communion of St. Jerome by Domenichino, The Martyrdom of St. Erasmus by Nicholas Poussin, and The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio.  Also present in the gallery was the Apollo Belvedereand Laocoön from Greek antiquity, which were incredible pieces to behold.

Raffaello has made his way up higher in my ranking of great Renaissance artists.  I was blown away by the Raphael Rooms and how the works within each room interact with one another.  In all the rooms the frescoes depict historical and spiritual events themed to each room, such as how in the Hall of Constantine (which were painted not by the master, but Giulio Romano, Gianfrancesco Penni and Raffaellino del Colle, some of Raffaello's many assistants) each work depicts famous events from Constantine's lifetime.  The next room, the Room of Heliodorus, is all about how God and Christ protect the church and all those who believe.  But the room I took the most interest and appreciation in was the Room of the Signature, where Pope Julius II's personal library was kept and where the most important papal documents where signed, hence the room's name.  This where The School of Athens is located, representing philosophy, in harmonious conjunction with the other frescoes depicting theology, poetry, and justice.  In the corners on the ceiling between each of the four walls are tondos which express characteristics taken from the two walls they rest between, exemplifying the unifying theme of harmony between philosophy, theology, poetry and justice, and exalting "the highest forms of the human spirit... that is to say Truth, Goodness and Beauty."  These relationships are what really blew me away.  To see not just individual works from a master artist, wholly complete within themselves, but to see how these relate around the room to propose a greater depth and meaning to the room in its entirety... wow.  I was simply speechless.

And the Sistine Chapel was nothing short of what I imagined it would be.  It was quite dimly lit though, probably for conservation of the frescoes, but I still enjoyed very much seeing this magnificent work of art by one of my favorite artists ever, Michelangelo.  I see why people bring those little binoculars to this place, and I am now kicking myself in the butt for not doing that myself.  Ah well, I might be making the trip back to the musei if I can read the book I got from there cover-to-cover before I leave Rome, so perhaps next time.

Such beauty in a single day, I don't see how one cannot be moved to learn the reasons why, the narratives and stories behind the work and their creators, and the historical context in which they were created.  So inspired to learn and understand, so that when I return (and I will!) I will have a deeper and more profound appreciation for these incredible artists and what they have created.

Days 18-20: Life in Rome and touring the sites

Rome is magnificent, beautiful, and brutal.
In the few days we have stayed at St. John's University, Rome campus, we have lightly toured the many historic sites to get acquainted with the area and using the metrebus and metro systems.  The fact that there is a metro station two blocks away from campus is extremely convenient, none of us have had to use the buses yet, mostly because the metro reaches everywhere we need to go and none of us know what buses go where.  Besides, walking is better for ya.

On the first day we visited Piazza Cavour and Palazzo di Guistizia, walked on down to Castel and Ponte Sant'Angelo, and to top it off Piazza San Pietro, the main piazza of the Vatican.  Pretty mind blowing for a first day tour, and any one of these places is merely a 15 minute walk from where we are staying.  It was overwhelmingly beautiful.  It was my first (technically second or third) time seeing the Vatican and I am impressed by its architectural might and symmetry.

The next day was June 2, a national holiday in Italy, Festa della Repubblica.  It is the Italian National Day, where in 1946 the Italian people held a vote on which form of government to institute after the fall of fascism at the end of World War II.  Because of another walking tour our class was going on that day, only Rosie, Joanna and I made the trip into town to attend the military parade.  We were told by our professors that the Colosseo metro stop would be closed so we planned to get off at Cicro Massimo.  And when we sailed right through that stop we had to modify our plan, especially since our map didn't cover much past that metro stop.  We hopped right back onto the metro heading the other direction and hoofed it from Cavour to the Colosseo.  So we got our own introduction to the metro before anyone else did, complete with changing metros at the junction and how the whole system works in general.  Remember that I have barely any personal experience on metros or any public transportation, short of following my family on the in Washington D.C. as a child.

And boy was there a lot of people.  Poor Joanna was so short she could barely see, but eventually we found a wall to climb atop and view the procession.  There were all sorts of groups of soldiers marching in all sorts of uniforms with all sorts of weapons, and the music conveyed a profound feeling of national pride and victory, and I'm not even a citizen.  People had flags everywhere and were cramming at the fence to get photos and applaud the military.  If only we held such events in the United States, perhaps we wouldn't feel so separated from our government.  Or at least I wouldn't feel so, anyways.  You could see the pride and excitement in the eyes and voices of the Italian people and they truly loved and supported their military as one.  It was a wonderful event to attend, and although from where I was there was little opportunity to get some good photos, I did get some of a small procession that made its way past us.  A small group of soldiers on horseback, I don't know who or what they were, but they were decorated and fancy.

The decorated and fancy horsemen, not sure who they were.

And for our class tour we visited The Scalinata (The Spanish Steps), Fontana di Trevi, The Pantheon (which was closed that day, as it was a holiday), and Piazza Navona.  I chuckled on the inside as we visited the latter two, as I have already visited these places on my own, but with Dr. Murphy's knowledge it made the experiences more meaningful.  The first visit was wonderful for simply exploring someplace new, and this was wonderful for understanding why these places are so famous.  My favorite part of this was definitely visiting Trevi Fountain.  One, for securing my return to Rome, but also for a certain detail Dr. Murphy pointed out in the fountain.  While the entire fountain is a beautiful work of art depicting the beauty, importance and life-giving properties of water, the detail that struck her the most was the at far right corner, where the corner appears to be broken and in need of repair.  While it may appear this way, it is not because it is actually in need of repair at all, but was intentionally included as a reminder of its destructive power.  Rome has suffered numerous floods, some more tragic than others, and in the construction of this fountain commemorating the greatness of water was included this detail to remind us that water is also a force of nature.

Far right corner of Fontana di Trevi.

The next day we hit the Colosseo, and grand and magnificent it was.  Construction of the Flavian Amphitheater began in 72 AD and was completed in only eight years.  Eight years!  That's insane, especially for the Roman's tallest structure built during their reign!  There is so much I can say about it, but I won't bore you with the facts and just say that you need to see it in person.  Make sure you bring sunscreen, snacks, water and a hat, or you will be grumpy half the time like I was.  But I still enjoyed it.  Photos of it would always confuse me of where the actual area ground would be, but when I was there it was quite clear what would have been underground and where the area would have been.

An overview shot of Il Colosseo.

Afterwards we toured the Foro Romano (Roman Forum), seeing the massive Arco di Constantino (Arch of Constantine), Arco di Tito (Arch of Titus), Basilica of Maxentius (or Constantine), Palatino (Palatine Hill), Atrium Vestae (House of the Vestal Virgins), Templum Veneris et Romae (Temple of Venus and Rome), Tempio di Vaspasiano (Temple of Vespasian), Tempio di Saturno (Temple of Saturn), and a few others we briefly covered.  It was a lot to take in that day, not really having an art or Roman history background.  It has made me want to learn about these things in greater depth though, so that when I do return I will be able to more fully appreciate each and every one of these places.  I wonder what that place much have looked like at its peak, in its full glory...

The first few days have been quite packed with places to see and things to do.  Even if I do not possess the knowledge that some of my fellow classmates do of these historical places, I want to learn.  I want to know.  It is a lot, and I regret not paying as much attention in the single art history class I took freshman year, but there is always tomorrow to read, explore, converse and learn.  Dr. Murphy's perspective and knowledge motivate me to know all that she knows, complete with the little details which sometimes make a work of art so much more than one initially perceives it.

Not to be pushed to learn, but to be inspired to learn.  These are the people I need to surround myself with.
Goodnight everyone, I hope you all have a wonderful day and continue to follow my adventure over here in Italy.  Love and miss you family and friends.  Buonanotte a tutti!

Quick update blog

I know it has been a while,
and for that I apologize.  There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the world.  We are so busy, going so many places, taking notes, snapping photos, we just never seem to get a decent break.  Not complaining, no no not at all, on the contrary I would rather the trip be this way.  It just distracts insanely from the blogging and the photo editing when the only time I get is at the end of the day, and we have early mornings constantly.

If you follow my Facebook or Flickr you will have a more up-to-date perspective of my travels in Italy.  Since Massa Marittima we have traveled to Florence, Perugia, Corciano, Assisi and we are now in Rome.  I know that is a lot of places to cover in two weeks and a lot of days to go without blogging, but if you can imagine traveling to those places, plus Ostia for a day, and the activities we have crammed into these past two weeks, perhaps you will understand.

But I still just wanted to jot a bit down tonight, for all of you who I know want to know what's going on in my life at the moment.  I am very happy to be back in Rome.  Compared to Tuscany and Umbria there is more to do and more things open past 6 PM, and compared to Florence it is larger and therefore not so polluted with tourists and annoying street merchants.  I swear, I am about to have some shirts made with photos of the typical vendor gimmicky crap with the words "Non Grazie" brazened across the front so they will not even bother.  I don't think it will work anyways though.  Rome is comfortably spacious and more like a functioning city, and I appreciate the reliable public transit system and abundance of raw material to record in pictures.  Which are, yes, still coming...  It is a lot to go through.

Anyways I know that just mentioning where I have been is hardly enough for some of you to live vicariously,
And when I have the time I will describe more in greater detail.  I need to put aside a good, seven hours or so with wine and just knock out all my photo processing and blogging and such and get all caught up.  Perhaps on the free weekend.  I need the break from touring all that Italy has to offer to share it all with y'all.

Heh, no one here says y'all.

Happy Festa della Repubblica!

Days 6-8: It is safe to say that my life has been changed

These past six days have been nothing short of life changing.
In particular the first of these six days, during the time spent out in Massa Marittima, Tuscany.  Not even the famous cities of Rome and Florence compare to what I experienced from two artists we met out on the Tuscan landscape.

Massa Marittima is a quaint, small, hillside town which used to be a popular mining town.  I don't quite remember what it was exactly what they mined, but the hills in this area were and still are fairly rich with iron, copper, mercury and lead.  When the mines were closed many people left the city, and now it is much quieter and simple.  Because it is a hillside town there are lots of elevation changes and we all certainly became a little more fit from walking up and down the numerous switchbacks and steep streets.  It had the cramped and confined feeling of most Italian cities though and being here reminded me of a quieter, less busy Rome.  There were no street vendors, no people trying to sell you sunglasses, roses, gimmicky toys, purses, paintings or prints on every street, and people would actually say hello as you passed them on the street.  I think I would take that over the city life any day.  Call it heresy, but with each days we spend in Florence I like it less and less.  Sure there are grander buildings, richer history and more to do, but that is not what I'm about.  There are a lot of things I don't like about Florence and most have to do with the tourism, but I won't dwell on those or bring down your opinion or expectations of this gorgeous city.  I just prefer the simpler, slower, kinder life.  I am too polite to ever live in the city.

But what really makes me love Massa are the people.  While we didn't really get to know many people in Massa, the ones we did meet were kind to us, and the artists we met were incredibly moving, each in their own way.  These two individuals which changed my life there were Marco Zeno and Rodolfo Lacquaniti.  Rodolfo is the one who moved me the most, and I am still processing and contemplating on what I experienced, so when I have finally comprehended what happened and can organize my thoughts I will share them with you all.

Marco is an incredibly happy individual who loves to share his happiness with those around him, in particular the ones who want to listen and learn.  He is a sculptor of clay and wood as well as a painter.  Listening to him describe his art and what it means to sculpt was moving in itself.  He explained concepts that might have been summed up in one word, such as passion, understanding, sharing and love, but chose instead to describe them artistically and in detail with many words, really explaining what those concepts meant to him.  He was a beautiful combination of insight, wisdom, happiness and fun.  He explained what it was to mold clay, how it is an extension of one's self, as all art is, but also showed us this fact.  He really showed me how to mold clay with feeling, not just technique.  He showed me how to let go of the perfectionist I am and be free and simply have fun with the clay.  There was no pressure to be perfect but to complete the work.  He said that this was the lesson he taught to children who first touch the clay, and some of us there were touching clay for the first time in our lives.  He would encourage us to create and idea and then create that in the clay, and he was so happy to help each and every one of us with our works and give us pointers and make us laugh.  He was so incredibly happy to talk about his passion, share it with us, and guide us along our own works, and it was evident in everything he said and did.

I found it a bit strange though, that while he went around to every single one of us and asked us what we were doing, what we needed help on and gave us assistance, when it came to mine he would look at me and basically just "check up" on me.  He didn't ask me what I was doing, I never had to explain my idea, and I wasn't looking for ways to improve my piece, he simply would walk by and give me a questioning thumb up as if you say "you good?"  I would smile and nod, and he would go onto the next person.  I don't mean to say that he didn't want to help me, or that my piece was so bad that it never got around to the detail stage, or that I am somehow special and he seemed to think I knew what I was doing; it's none of these things.  I was having my own experience working with the clay and was reflecting on how he viewed his art and art in general.  To be dirtying my hands with the clay and being free from worrying about its perfection was liberating in itself for me, and I think he seemed to know that.  I didn't really have an idea, because I was simply happy to be free forming art without the pressure that I put on myself for no reason.  That was what he taught me and showed me how to live out, and that was all I needed.

The moving part though was how he was showing me how to be who I really want to be.  And even more personally, exactly how I used to be when I was so incredibly happy with my life.  Please, Mom, Dad and my whole family, do not think that I am not grateful for everything that you have made possible for me, because you all are the reason I am where I am today and you are the reason I am in Italy now and had the opportunity to meet these beautiful people, but the past few years at college I have let go a lot of who I was and let lesser important things dominate my life.  I work hard in my classes and my jobs, and that is important, but every other moment outside of what responsibilities I have has not been spent being who I want to be.  Things which are lesser, distracting, worthless, unproductive, and I wonder why I am unhappy so often.  I find it ironic now, that I created a grumpy-faced man, as art being an extension of oneself, and didn't even consider it at the time.  Perhaps that person is no longer a part of me now.  Marco took me back to my roots of who I was and who I have been struggling to be for some time.  That is what moved me the most, was the liberating and self-realizing factor, I think.  He showed me his perspective of art, and in it I saw the old me and the me I want to be.  Rodolfo did this as well, but his work and the journey that he took us hit home in this respect, but went much further and encompassed things much greater than myself.

But aside from all the mushy stuff, everyone loved Marco.  He was a performer, truly he was.  He knew how to make us all laugh and to make us all feel confident in our works, and by the end of the time we had to sculpt we did a mini showcase sort of thing and everyone got to have their work held up to the light and admired.  I got lots of photos of everyone's work, so you will get to see all that we created that day.  He and his family fed us a fantastic Italian lunch and he was happy to share his food, wine and beer with us all, and we listened to his stories all through a happy and fun lunch.  We have officially invited him to Jacksonville, so when that happens in the future I will be sure to see him again and perhaps put on a grand meal that could hope to rival the one he shared with us.

Marco Zeno, an amazing, beautiful person, with an amazing and beautiful family.  They have a son, who was only a few months old I believe when we were there.  That child is going to have the greatest childhood in the history of childhoods, ever.  Like, we were all jealous of that baby, and we all wanted to just be adopted by his family.  Again, family I love you all very much and would never do that.  

I know I am very far behind, but just know it is because I am very busy and don't want to miss a thing with everybody here.  My instagram, twitter and flickr are more up to date, so follow those for more updated information.  I will write on Florence and all we have done here soon, but now I have to work on photography.  That's the one that is for a grade, so I gotta get to it.

Miss you all back home, I wish some of you could be here with me to see what I see, meet who I've met, and experience what I have.  If everyone could, the world would be a much better place.

Buonanotte a tutti!

Day 5: Traveling to Massa Marittima

I apologize for the delay, but I've been busy having the time of my life.

I'm sure you will understand.

After a wonderful breakfast at the Ostia hotel we quickly packed up and headed for Massa Marittima, Tuscany, for a monastery called Domus Bernardiniana.  Massa is a Tuscan hillside town, 380 meters above sea level, or 1,250 feet.  Like everything in Italy, this place is so incredibly beautiful, and I will have photos up soon, it is just that now that I am on the study abroad trip we have lots of things to do in the day and dinners at night with interesting discussion over wine.  Lots of wine.

The town is divided into two parts: the old city and the new city (which have Italian names).  It is set fairly high on a mountain/hill from back when malaria was a problem.  Apparently the higher up you were the safer you were from the disease, which if you think about it translates to "bad air" (mal-airia).  But so far here we have visited Massa Marittima Cathedral and the Palazzo Pretorio the cathedral overlooks.  This Tuscan hilltown is, well, very hill-y, and to get anywhere you either travel up or down 10 meters, or both depending on which way you go.  Dr. Murphy is very well versed in the artworks and architecture of the cathedral, but also noted that this particular cathedral is sub-par to what we are going to see later in the trip.  We come here for the town and the people more so than the monuments, but the view overlooking the Tuscan valley is gorgeous.  It reminds me of being in Colorado, if the towns in Colorado were build in the 13th century, and at a much lower elevation.  No snow, but then again it is summer.  This town used to be a popular mining town but the mines have been abandoned and the town has declined in popularity.  Still it is beautiful and full of small shops to peruse and enjoy.

And the Domus is quaint and adorably old.  The employees are wonderful and kind and keep the place in excellent shape.  The weather couldn't be any better, with a cool breeze under a clear sky during the day, and a chilly bite at night.  Watching the sunset over the mountains is particularly gorgeous.  I missed the sunrise this morning, where I agreed to wake up for a run at 6:00 AM, which might not have been the best decision after sharing three bottles of wine between five people and staying up til 1:00 AM talking about art and photography.  Probably wasn't the best of ideas, and probably won't happen tomorrow.  I need my sleep.

And speaking of sleep, I should probably get to it now.  Massa doesn't have much to see as far as famous or ancient things go, but it is still Italy and is still beautiful.  I can't imagine anything that goes on in the world touching this place or affecting it in any way, it feels so removed from the rest of the world.  But of course this is just my tourist perspective, I am not involved with political affairs here, but it sure would be an interesting topic of discussion if the chance ever arose.  I shall practice my Italian and be on the lookout for the chance to ask about it.

Another night I am exhausted, another good night indeed.  Buonanotte a tutti, e sogni d'oro.  Goodnight everyone and golden dreams.

Day 4: Meeting up with the group and touring Ostia Antica

Today I said goodbye to central Rome and hello to Ostia.

My three days of roaming Rome by myself are now over.  I said goodbye to Stefano and thanked him for all he’s done and how much help he has been in the past few days.  I asked if there was anything from the United States he wanted or something that I could do for him, and his only request was that I write him a review of his B&B.  It is the very least I can do.  Five stars, across the board for his hospitality and kindness, I know that if I am ever visiting Rome again I will be going back to My Guest Roma to stay.  Maybe the Panini shop workers will remember my face.

I took the bus to Termini, Rome’s central train station.  From here trains go everywhere and to all the big transit centers, like Fiumicino Airport, which made it real easy for me to get there.  What wasn’t easy was finding the train.  I wrote down in my phone what the electronic signs said regarding the airport, but in the end it was a stroke of luck that put me on the right train.  I was walking down the right side of the rails (there is about five rows to walk down) trying to find a match to the numbers I had took down from the signs, when a train passed that read “Fiumicino Aeroporto.”  I asked someone who was about to board if this train went to the airport, just to be sure, and he said that it was.  How lucky that was, especially as I felt the pressure of time beginning to set it with an hour till 11:00 AM, the time I aimed to be waiting outside baggage claim for my class.

Now, it was my understanding that a metrebus roma ticket was good for 1 metro/train trip, even says those exact words on the back of the ticket.  I was told to board a train at Termini by Stefano, but not told that I needed to buy a train ticket as apparently the airport is OUTSIDE of Rome.  As the ticket checker came around the train I asked the man across from me if this was what I needed, and he nodded and said it was.  My worries were lifted and I let out a sigh of relief.  So when I confidently handed my ticket to the ticket checker, I felt like a straight dumbass from the look he gave me.  Apparently my ticket wouldn’t work on that train, since it travels out of Rome, which I was completely unaware of.  I thought Rome encompassed the airport but apparently not.  So today I am €64,00 poorer (roughly $90.00).  Such bullshit.  Funny thing, I didn’t feel the gravity of the cost until I made the conversion to USD, and then I was aggravated.  Makes sense I guess, not being used to this form of currency.  Lessons learned the hard way.

Anyways, that wasn’t the end of my stresses though.  I arrived at the airport to realize I had no idea what terminal to wait at.  And there were six terminals.  With haste I ripped my laptop out of my bad and waited impatiently for it to boot up so I could check the excel spreadsheet with everyone’s flights on it.  But it told me nothing of real use.  The best I got was that Dr. Murphy was flying out of New York, as denoted by NYC, but I had no idea what CLT stood for.  And even more frustratingly, the wifi at the airport, the one labeled “Fiumicino free,” wouldn’t connect to anything for shit.  Pardon the profanity, but remembering my frustration makes me relive the stress and frustration I had.  By now it was 10:30 AM and the flights were close to landing or had already landed.  From the sign just off the train, the one of five that was for arrivals, I saw that New York flights were arriving at terminal 3.  So with a somewhat doubtful decision I headed that way.

And then it took me a while to figure out that arrivals were on the first floor.  I was on the second.  But when the elevator doors opened I found myself in the same place I arrived at.  So I walked to the boards over there, saw that New York flights had landed, and hoped that they would come out of this terminal.  I was stressing hard, as I was unsure if I had the right terminal.  It was 11:00 AM by now.

But then I saw a familiar face!  Katherine-Ann was waiting nearby for the same reason, and at that moment my stress dissipated away, knowing now I was in the right spot.  And after 10-15 minutes of chitchatting, professor Trice walks right on by, along with 10 other familiar faces.  The relief I felt was enormous, finally finding my group.  After another 30-45 minutes Dr. Murphy joined us with the rest of the group and we got on our bus and headed to the Ostia hotel.

Ostia is much different than central Rome.

Not nearly as many people and the lines on the road are still visible.  I liked Rome better, I liked all the people, the buildings, the city aspects.  I could walk around forever there and be surprised at something new.  Here it is less developed and there are less people, but it is still Italy and I still love it.  I just like Rome more.

After a lovely lunch of pasta, salad, fruit and sparkling water we boarded the bus and headed into the ruins of Ostia Antica.  It was comical how many people didn’t know what the ticket was for when Dr. Murphy handed it to them, some people even came to me to ask how this whole thing works.  Silly Americans, hahaha.  Oh wait…  Anyways the ruins were interesting and we had the opportunity to walk around and in them.  It would have been better with an audio tour I think though, so that one could differentiate between the buildings and what their intended purpose was way back in the day.  I got a lot of photos, but it wasn’t really a photogenic site for the most part.  I will have to rely on my panoramas and photo editing skills to make these work.  It was just really nice to have American company and people to talk with as we perused around.  We stayed for about two hours before heading back to the hotel.

Dinner at the hotel was nice as well.  The servers started us with a sort of vegetable soup, but not with a tomato-based broth like I am used to.  Afterwards the servers brought around ketchup and mayonnaise packets to the tables.  We couldn’t imagine what they would be for.  On the mayo packets were a picture of french fries with mayo on them, which was a bit bizarre.  Shouldn’t they have been on the ketchup packets?  And what again were these for?  Turned out to be french fries, served as a side with turkey in some sort of sauce.  It was comical, to get french fries with our dinners way out here in Italy.  That can’t be a typical Italian side.  And for desert we had a delicious tiramisu served in fine glass dishes with tiny little spoons to go along with it.  Now that was truly something delicious.

The rest of the time was spent hanging out and around with everyone.  A few of us trying to take advantage of the scant trace of a wifi signal which seemed to only exist in the lobby watched this crazy game show that looked like an Italian version of Deal or No Deal.  We couldn’t understand what was going on or what was being said, but if we had it probably wouldn’t have seemed so random and crazy.  There was dancing, singing, a phone which rung randomly and seemed to dictate the future of the contestant, an aquarium with fake fish, and instead of suitcases there were boxes with certain euro amounts.  The show concluded fairly anticlimactically, which just added to the randomness of it, but we all had a lot of fun trying to figure out what was going on and laughing at the sheer randomness of it all.  Did I mention it was really random?

I didn’t get a chance to work on photos today, but perhaps I will have some time tomorrow.  I took 500 more today so expect maybe 50-75 out of that.  Wifi is barely passable and I don’t know how it will look in the coming weeks so bear with me on blog posts and flickr updates.

As always these are wonderful and adventurous days, and now will be even better with people to talk to and share work with.  Still loving Rome, even if I am €64,00 poorer.

Buonanotte a tutti!

Day 3: More exploring Rome and walking all the way back

Really, really, REALLY glad I brought comfy shoes to Rome.
As I learned to do yesterday, I planned my sightseeing route a little better, ahead of time, and used two maps to make sure I didn't get lost.  I did get lost once though, and all I needed to do was turn around to find that I was too busy eating my gelato to notice I had passed the street I needed to venture down.

So today I had another wonderfully simple and delicious breakfast at 9:00 AM, a croissant with cherry jam, cherry tomatoes and espresso.  Two espressos actually.  Always two.  It was funny, the first time Stefano asked me if I wanted coffee, he then asked me "American coffee?"  I replied,
"No thanks, I would like something Italian."  And with a skeptical expression he said,
"I don't know if you would like our coffee.  It is a bit.... small, compared to what you're used to."  Then I told him,
"I'm tired of American everything, I want to know how you guys do it."  To be honest I like it better.  It is a tiny thing, the espresso.  Comes in a tiny cup, and only fills the cup about half way.  You typically just add sugar, I think.  The way it is served, in such concentration and in such moderation forces you to sip on it and enjoy it, less you be overwhelmed by the strength of the taste.  Such a foreign concept, for someone from a country that preaches materialism and screams "MORE IS MORE!"  It is a refreshing contrast.

Afterwards I worked on photos and updated the blog posts from the last two days with photos.  Pictures along with the words help illustrate the journey for all those who can't be here with me. This has been my morning routine, and it is intensive work, so ya'll better appreciate this stuff!

Around noon I went out into the world.  I went to the tabacchi shop across the street to buy a bus ticket only to find that it was closed for the day.  I had to remember that it was the weekend.  The date certainly does get away from me when I no longer run on a schedule.  So I decided to mull over what to do over lunch, and went to my favorite shop just down the street for a sandwich.  Turns out, I can buy metrebus tickets there too!  I bought my ticket and what I hesitate to call a burger.  I hesitate because it was swimming in grease when he cooked it up, had ciabatta bread for the bun and a nice layer of mozzarella cheese.  I think it's a disgrace to call it a burger, but I don't know what else to call it.  Anyways, I took it and my water down to Villa Torlonia and sat in the grass and the sun and enjoyed my lunch.  While I was there I got some more photos of the villa, a whole side that I hadn't even seen before, and stayed for a little while to listen to a live band play Italian pop/rock music as well as some American songs as well.

So it was around 1:30 PM by the time I actually got on the bus and headed into Rome.
I wasn't anxious about using the metrebus this time and knew exactly where I was going.  The monumental Altare della Patria was once again the first thing I shot.  I can't help it's so damn majestic and colossal.  I walked around to the right side instead of the left this time, right to Piazza del Campidoglio.  I wasn't missing out on walking up the long staircase and fully taking in everything in the piazza this time.  Too bad I can't tell all the people to go away, I would have loved to have shoot that place without the congestion, but I'm sure every photographer there was thinking that same thing.  Perhaps I will go to into downtown Rome tonight and see these places lit up.  Probably not though, and the reason will be apparent soon.

After Campidoglio I headed towards the Pantheon, passing on my way a few places Stefano had suggested I go see on my map.  On the way I passed Santa Maria in Campitelli (or Santa Maria in Portico, a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, if you're into that sort of thing.  Was still very beautiful), Piazza Mattei, Area Sacre (an ancient ruins site which was the home to a bunch of cats, how bizzare), and a street called Via Florida (and stupidly forgot to get a photo of the street plaque...).

The Pantheon was very busy, as I should have guessed would be the case on a Saturday.  I asked someone if tickets were required to enter, and he responded "I don't speak English."  So I asked another person, and they told me that tickets are not required, but that there was some sort of mass going on.  It seemed odd to me that a mass would be held in a building which was built in dedication to the gods of Roman mythology and literally translates from Greek to mean "all the gods."  The crowd outside was quite large and no one was getting in, so I took photos from the outside and decided to save going inside for another time.  There will be other chances to visit in the coming weeks.

I then ventured over to Piazza Navona and enjoyed a street performing comedian.  Dr. Murphy, our faculty leader on my study abroad trip, wasn't kidding when she said look out if you stand close to the edge of the circle, as he pulled maybe 5-6 people over the course of his act.  But he was really funny and barely spoke during the performance, everything was acted out and done with props.  The children he volunteered were great because he would make them run around or do stupid things.  I want to explain everything he did, but I know that my recount of it wouldn't be nearly as good as seeing it in person.  He was hilarious though, so if you are ever in Rome take the time to watch these street performances, they are well worth your time.  Not like I had anywhere I needed to be anyways!  

While in at the piazza I went into Sant'Agnese in Agone, a beautiful 17th-century church which contains the skull of Saint Agnes within a shrine.  There were many beautiful sculptures and paintings, created by many different people.  The alters, except the high alter, have marble reliefs dedicated to various martyrs depicting the circumstances of their deaths.  Bernini's protege also did some of the paintings in the church.  It was extremely beautiful, I wish I could have gotten a few snapshots, but I didn't want to get thrown out or in trouble for sneaking a photo.

Afterwards I continued along my path, stopping by some more places Stefano had suggested.  next up was Piazza San Pantaleo and Piazza della Cancelleria, where I bought my first gelato since being in Italy.  I had a most of terror when I almost dropped it right off the cone, which would have been sad.  Luckily I caught it on the side of the cone and managed to lick it back into place.  And in all of this I walked right on past the street I needed to go down to reach Campo de Fiori, which was the only time I got lost today!  The campo was largely a market, something I wasn't interested in, but I did manage to get some shots of the Statue of Giordano Bruno.  Next I ventured to Palazzo Farnese and Palazzo Spada and then headed back to Piazza Venezia to head on back, having walked my route and gotten around 600 photos.

Throughout my adventure today I noticed large pockets of Carabinieri and Polizia di Stato in various parts of Rome.
At first I thought they were just there because it was a tourist area, but there were many places where there would be 2-3 cars or trucks and between 8-10 armed law enforcement officers just hanging around.  If you tried to ask them anything they all responded in perfect English "I don't speak English."  I didn't do it, but I saw it happen 4 or 5 times today.  It was peculiar, but I just assumed it was business as usual.

But when I returned to Piazza Venezia I realized why.  There was a demonstration, or a protest going on where lots of people had flags and banners, and leading the way was a very loud car blasting music and giving voice to what appeared to be the voice of the movement.  There were various sorts of flags and there appeared to be more than one group of people walking together, like a parade.  I was able to ask one person what was going on, and he said that the people were voicing their disapproval on matters like oil in the oceans, lack of money given toward public works, and a few other social issues I can't remember.  The law enforcement was there to block off certain sections of street and direct the movement as they paraded down the streets.  So I had a field day with what room on my camera I had left photographing the protesters and the police.

Unfortunately, some of the places the police had blocked off were the entrances into Piazza Venezia, and so there were no buses coming in or going out.  The only way I knew to get back to where I was staying was officially cut off.  My options were to take a taxi or find the bus outside the barrier.  So I started my walk back, trying my best to find and follow the main roads the buses drove on.  After a while of not seeing my bus (#60, the only one I knew would take me down Via Noventana), and not even having a bus ticket in the first place, I kept on walking.  And walking.  And walking.  All the way till I got back to the room.  I have routed the path that I took on Google Maps, and in total I walked 4.9 km, which is roughly 3 miles.  It felt like more though.  Rome's huge buildings made me feel like I walked much farther than the same distance from my apartment to the UNF campus, but hey I didn't invent distance.  I can say that I have a greater appreciation and better understanding of the size of Rome now.  Those water spout things sure did come in handy, you can in fact drink the water!

The route I took walking from Piazza Venezia to my room.  4.9 km which took about 1 hour 45 mins to walk.

So, again, I am very exhausted.
But it has been yet another fulfilling and adventurous day.  I'm glad I have been able to get a full three days out of my pre-study abroad time in Rome, the city is lovely and I'm glad that when the study abroad trip starts I will not be completely new to Italian culture.

Alright, I've had my panini for dinner and got started on this blog entry early so that I can actually get to bed in a reasonable time.  Tomorrow I meet up with my study abroad group at the airport, so it is a bright and early day tomorrow.  Photos will have to wait for a little while, probably within the next few days I will be able to work on them, or tomorrow evening, I'm not sure yet.

I hope everyone's summer is going well and that everyone is having fun.  I miss my friends back home and in the Bahamas, and wish a few of you could be here to see all this with me.

Buonanotte a tutti.  Goodnight everyone.

Day 2: 4-5 hours of nothing but Rome!

Well, I'm glad I packed some comfy shoes.
But regardless of that my feet and legs still hurt.  Whether it is the still getting acclimated to being six hours ahead of the east coast or how much time I spent perusing the streets of Rome, I'm glad that I am actually getting tired around an appropriate time.

Today I figured out how to use the metrobus system!  Now I know that figuring out the public transit system might not seem like a big deal, but in Rome it is a bit more complicated than back in the states.  The metrebus system is comprised of both buses and metro trains.  Here it isn't free and you have to buy tickets which vary in type depending on what you plan to do, and you have to validate the ticket when you get on the bus.  Well, I say have to, but the ticket validation part works on the honor system.  Lemme esplain.

So to buy a ticket you have to visit the tobacco shops and purchase one in there.  You can also find tickets at a ticket machine, but I don't know what those look like, and can't read the Italian anyways.  Luckily there is a tabacchi right across the street from where I'm staying, so that made things easy.  You have a couple of choices.  From what I understand, one option is a single-trip ticket, another is a daily ticket.  The first costs €1,50 and the other costs €6,00 euro.  There are also other tickets available for purchase which last a few days, a week and a month, but I wasn't interested in these, as soon I will be traveling with my study abroad group.  Although the single-trip ticket sounds pretty straightforward, you can get multiple uses out of this type of ticket.  Once you validate this ticket on the bus you are cleared to use the metrebus for the next 100 minutes, regardless of how many transfers to other buses you make.  However, it is only good for one metro trip only.  So to get the most out of your ticket, it is best to use the buses first to get to a metro that will take you to your destination, after which you ticket is invalid.  Stefano was very helpful explaining this system to me, but I still had to look up some of this stuff online.  The daily ticket lets you ride the bus or metro up until midnight of the date you purchased it on.  Since I planned on going into Rome and back again, I saved €3,00 and just bought two single-trip tickets.

The whole thing works on the honor system.  The driver doesn't check to make sure your ticket is valid or that you even have one.  Rome is much too busy and so many people use the metrebus that checking every single person is impractical and wastes too much time.  However, from reading about this online, there are ticket checkers which sometimes will be on the bus and if they suspect that you haven't the proper validation will demand to see you ticket.  The fine is either €50,00 on the spot or about €100,00 if you chose to pay later.  I think I stand out being American, so I wasn't going to risk it.  Once on the bus you pop your ticket into the validation machine, which are bright yellow and located in two places on most buses, and it time stamps it and spits it back to you.  From there the clock is ticking.

But single-trip tickets do usually work for a single trip.  To get into Rome it took me nearly 15-20 minutes, but leaving at around 5:00 it took upwards to 30-40 minutes.  Rome is a bustling city and tourist center, so traffic does slow things down.

After I arrived at Piazza Venezia, a huge piazza where most all buses passed through one way or another, as it is pretty much in the heart of Rome, I went into to shutter-bug mode.  The first thing I shot getting off the bus was the obvious one, the Altare della Patria, or Alter of the Fatherland.  It is a huge, monumentally enormous, beautiful pure white marble structure which was built in 40 years (1885-1925) to honor King Victor Emmanuel II, who was unified Italy's first king.  It is 440' across and 230' high, not including the statues atop it, which are also beautiful.  After I was down gawking in awe and taking photos, I ventured around the beast and walked south along Via dei Fori Imperiali, along a route that Stefano suggested I take.  The Colosseum lies along this route, but I wasn't interested in visiting it quite yet, as I know it is very, very, very packed with tourists pretty much all the time and I know my study abroad group will be making an excursion there at some point.  Instead I ventured around Foro Romano and Piazza del Campidoglio and took photos of all the old Roman architecture and structures.

Alteare della Patria "The Wedding Cake," Piazza Venezia.

Statues on Alteare della Patria.

Panorama of Foro Romano (Roman Forum).

I was more interested in simply walking around and seeing everything I could, and I didn't realize that I was standing in Piazza del Campidoglio when I was today.  In fact, I didn't even notice the huge plaza with it's symmetrical design and only got photos of some of the sculptures in front of one of the Palazzo Senatorio.  I realize where I was now that I am looking up info on all these places, and am sad I missed out on truly appreciating where I was standing.  Tomorrow I will have to plan better and do research beforehand, but today was a great day just wandering around, the only thing to guide me being a crudely drawn path. After about 45-60 minutes of walking around I finally found where I was on the map near Cicro Massimo and continued my route to someplace near Piazza Cavalieri di Malta, which Stefano had marked on my map.  He told me that in that spot I could see clear over Rome to St. Peter's Basilica.  The path led away from the bustling part of Rome and soon it was very quiet.  It was a nice contrast from how many people were in central Rome.  I don't think I quite found the place Stefano marked though, but I was able to see St. Peter's Basilica from wherever I ended up, so I considered it a success.  I'm sure had I found Piazza Cavalieri di Malta, or if I noticed it as I most likely walked right by it, I would have gotten a better view.

A sculpture outside Palazzo Senatorio in Piazza del Campidoglio.

The view of St. Peter's Basilica from where I was standing.

And here I got lost again, trying to find a bridge called Ponte Sublicio to cross the river which runs right through Rome, the Fuime Tevere.  Since I was on higher ground to see the Basilica, I had to walk quite a distance before I found the water and then I followed that to the bridge.  After I crossed, I got lost again... and wandered in what I thought was the way to Ponte Garibaldi.  I eventually recognized an intersection on my map and was back on track to the next bridge to bring me back to the heart of Rome.

Fuime Tevere.

It was when I found my way again I began to pass a great many people as the sidewalks I traversed turned into streets of their own which no cars drove on. This was near Piazza Sidney Sonnino, but not quite there.  I stopped here for lunch at a small pizza parlor.  It's simplicity and small size lured me in, a contrast to mostly restaurants or busy cafes I had passed up to this point.  Lucky for me the clerk, server, I don't know what to call them, spoke English well, and I chose a pizza which I thought only had tomatoes and olives on it.  I began eating to discover that there was a distinct fishy taste and smell, which I assumed was anchovies.  It wasn't half bad, however I chose not to keep them on for what pizza I had left.  It was too strong of a taste for me to keep them on.  I have never had anchovies on pizza before, but if there was any place in the world to try it for the first time, I would think it would be Italy.

Afterwards I continued across Ponte Garibaldi.  As I looked at my map I noticed that the Pantheon was nearby and decided I wanted to go there.  Yet somehow I managed to get lost again, and before I knew it I was staring at Piazza Venezia again.  From here the Pantheon seemed much too far to travel after the four hours I spent walking and getting lost again and again, I simply didn't have it in me to make the journey or figure out the metrebus to get there more quickly.  I decided to call it for today.

I went to the place the bus originally dropped me off in the piazza.  After waiting about 10 minutes it arrived, and I traveled a whole 50 yards before it stopped and everyone got off.  What I thought was a bus that ran a single route in circles all day wasn't so.  Turns out that when this bus finishes it route at the piazza, you have to board another bus, with the same number, to run the route back the way I came.  Heheh, I feel like such an idiot, I sat in a seat near the back for a good 15 seconds with the bus driver looking at me the whole time before he motioned for me to get off the bus.  Good thing I'm a tourist.  I waited at that stop and waited for the next #60 bus to come around.

This bus got packed, fast.  I chose not to take a seat, which was a horrid mistake.  After the first two stop I didn't think we could fit any more people on it.  People were so close to the door that they were moving just barely out of the way for it to close before pressing themselves up against it.  We were shoulder to shoulder the whole ride back, and I was paranoid that someone would pickpocket me and I kept checking my pockets to make sure everything was where it should be.  I didn't carry my money in my wallet, but I still had my ID in it and was not looking forward to having that replaced later.  When what I thought was my stop arrived (turned out to be 2 stops too early, my aching legs!) I didn't think I would make it to the door before they shut again, but somehow I managed to squeeze on out.  I carried my tired self to my room, began the photo transfer, and then passed out for a hour.

So today was a good, busy, wonderful, wandering adventure of a day!
If I made it sound like I didn't enjoy it in the text above, it is probably just because I am recounting this now at 12:16 AM and am very tired and want to finish typing this.  In all honesty it was truly a wonderful day, I must have had a stupid grin on my face 90% of the time today.  The weather was perfect, the air was cool, the sun was behind a mild overcast and it didn't rain too!  This city has so much history and the culture is so rich.  I love it here.

I have finished uploading the photos from day 1, and will probably work on the ones from today tomorrow morning before venturing out again.  I want to return to Piazza del Campidoglio and see and photograph it fully tomorrow, as well as visit the Pantheon.  From where I go then I will either figure out tomorrow morning or just venture off like I did today.  It will be another adventure.

Alright, good night everyone.  Once again I am exhausted, but it is a wonderful feeling to finally have again NOT at 3:00 in the morning (as is usually the case back in Florida).

Buonanotte everyone.

Day 1: Flights and getting situated

*On the flight from Orlando to Gatwick Airport*

Well the journey to Italy has begun.
I have never flown over the Atlantic towards the East before, but man is it bizarre.  Time seems to speed up.  I took off around 5:45 and found myself staring at the sunset an hour later.  Night was soon upon us and I felt I should sleep with three hours to go.  When I woke up two hours later, it was day time again.  The night lasted literally 4 whole hours.  Ridiculous!  I woke to the sound of everyone opening their breakfast packs, wrapped in plastic, which sounded like popcorn crawling up the cabin.  So quickly time seems to move, and everyone aboard seemed to operate along with it like it was nothing special.  I can’t keep up with these brits.

I swear I haven’t heard one person with an American accent on my flight so far.  And I love it.

And now tea is being served, at 6:30 AM local time.  How splendid, I love it!  The earl grey smells so incredibly lovely.  Heh, already I am using key words of their vocabulary and I have only been around them for a few hours.  A few seven hours to be precise.  I probably shouldn’t be typing this out with it on my laptop, but what the heck is a warranty for.

We are about an hour out now.  Local time is 6:30 AM, and the time on the east coast of the United States is currently 1:30 AM.  Such a difference, I can’t believe it.  But there have been so many things I can’t believe so far.  Every time I look at the map which routes our journey, I smile at the fact that I can think to myself “I have never been here before.”  Even if it is just ocean, I don’t care.  The fact that I am about to be in Great Britain is still something I can’t quite believe.

Ah!  And the true excitement is setting in.  I literally can’t stop smiling.  Everything is so different and I haven’t even gotten off the plane yet.

So let me go enjoy my tea now.

Snow capped mountains, somewhere over Europe.

*Sitting in my room at the B&B completely exhausted*

It the title didn't tip you off, this isn't going to be a very long post.

The jet lag or whatever has caught up to me.  It is the first time I have been tired at 9:30 at night in a long time.  I was going to go out and see Rome at night and how alive and lit up it is or isn't, but right now sleep is calling my name, as soon as I move these photos over and clear my camera for tomorrow.

Breakfast is at 9:00 AM and the owner of this B&B, Stephano, has been extremely helpful with getting me settled here in Rome.  He said he was going to look into when the museums open at the Vatican tomorrow, because apparently they aren't open all the time or something.  Italy is a very confusing place if you have never been before, and here I am for the first time since I was a baby/toddler setting foot on European soil.  Or rock.  Like how New York is called the concrete jungle, I would call this place the stone jungle.  It is a city, as grand and busy as some in the United States, but Rome has been around waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy longer than anything in the US and is crafted by the Italian and many European cultures.  It truly is a beautiful city.

On this first day I didn't stray too far from the B&B (I'm just gonna call it a hotel from now on), perhaps an hour walk through the streets and another hour around two different parks.  The first park I visited was one Stephano recommended, called Villa Torlonia.  I perused around for a while longer, got yelled from across the street to stop taking photos of a stoplight (they were in military uniform, so I assume it might have been an embassy of some sort they thought I was photographing), wandered around another beautiful park and then grabbed a authentic Roman panini on my way back.  I'm still getting used to barely hearing any English spoken regularly and buying things with euros.

Photos should be up by tomorrow.  It is my effort to make a blog posting each of the three days I get to have before the study abroad group arrives, but when the summer semester begins I am unsure how frequently I will be able to keep ya'll updated (I've had to remove that word from my vocabulary around here).  Photos will get posted as soon as I finish editing them as I go.

Have fun everyone, I know I am!  Good night Floridians and Bahamians, where the time is currently 3 fricken 30 in the fricken afternoon.  This is gonna take some getting used to.  Good thing I get the time to before everyone else get here, so I'm ahead of the game.

Ciao ciao!

An obelisk in Villa Torlonia.

The museum at Villa Torlonia. 

Villa Torlonia itself.

This was the photo I was taking of the stoplight when I was yelled at to stop by the military.  You can see their camo truck across the street, between the stoplight and streetlight poles.

It followed me here!