It's a love story, baby just say yes! (VERONA)

Verona!!

Woke up eaaarly since we were the 1st shift to breakfast this morning. I took one last shower (trying to get in as many as I can before going back to our freezing/oldschool one), then went downstairs for breakfast. I wasn’t really in the mood for bread again, so I just downed a bunch of cups of coffee. The coffee at this hotel is SO good!!

We packed up, walked around Padova for a few minutes on the search for fruit (mission failed), then were on our way to Verona!


I jammed out to Taylor Swift the whole way, pretty much listening to “Love Story” on repeat to prepare for Juliet's house (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTNSwOFUf30) and throwing in a "Club Love" every now and then, too (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_17b2dVDTbg). 


It was a little over an hour away, so we got there around 10 and had a mini bus tour with our guide, Michelangelo, around the walls of Verona. After about 30 minutes of the bus tour, we got out and walked around for another hour and a half, visiting all kinds of exciting sights!!

Me, Tara, Lo, Katie, and Ally at the Arena

We began in the square (their Roman Arena), and luckily we had a 15 minute bathroom break. That coffee was getting to me, so Ally and I literally sprinted to the bathroom to be first in line. Unfortunately we ran right past it, so we had to wait in line anyways! Most public bathrooms here cost money (lame), so we paid the 70 cents and then were on our way. We still had a few minutes to kill before meeting back with the tour guide, so we stopped in a cute little coffee shop right off the Arena to get a capuccino and some breakfast (since I didn't eat any bread at the hotel). It was probably the best capuccino I've had so far! SOOO GOOD. And it was a perfect pick me up before we continued the tour.

Michelangelo, our tour guide, knew exactly what we all wanted to see - Juliet's house. So we spent just a few minutes talking about the square, then headed straight to the famous balcony. Now remember, this group is composed of 48 girls and 2 boys. It was madness. All the girls were freaking out trying to write on the walls and leave their mark among the millions (probably more) of names and wishes already there (which was alot, by the way - check out the pictures). I went crazy trying to take as many pictures as I could. It was so beautiful, you could feel the energy of all the people who had been there in the past, leaving their little memories and hopes for love.

I tried to look past the insanity of the tons and tons of initials and find little notes or sayings people left. It was so interesting, I found the coolest stuff. It was crazy to think about all the wishes and love notes that people had left on the walls that no one ever saw because they were just glancing at the big picture, not looking past the chaos into the love that went into every single marking. People did anything to get their message across - most of the pieces of paper were stuck on by chewed up gum. People even skipped out on the paper part and would chew gum, stick it on the wall, then write their initials/quote/note directly on the gum! It was amazing how much effort people put into it, how important love was to them.

We didn't have much time (our tour guide was a guy and seemed annoyed that we were all in love with THE place of love), so we kept moving with the tour and decided to come back during our free time later.

holla OHS!

We kept walking through Verona, and I kept falling more and more in love with the city. It was beautiful - the colors, buildings, and general feeling of the city was amazing. I was ready to move there! We went by the Scala Family Tomb and Castle (I specifically remember this from the last time I was in Verona because their gates looked like the Orchard House symbol!!), Romeo's house, a bunch of squares (one with a big Dante statue), the Verona Arena, and ended the tour there. We had a few hours of free time, so (obviously) Katie, Ally, Tara, Lo and I headed straight back to Juliet's house.

my addition to the wall!

On the way we passed by some cool artwork on the streets. One of the smaller paintings I fell in love with and had to buy - luckily it was only 10 euro woo! A great sovenier from Verona. We got back to Juliet's ready this time - we had all written a "Letter to Juliet" (yes we're lame like the movie, you're jealous) and slid them into the walls and tin mailbox on the side of the house. So fun:) I left a little note on the walls as well, just a little quote that I've recently fallen in love with (thanks, ZTS..) that's on the right for you to take a looksie at. I wish I could get across the energy and atmosphere of this little walled in space, it's incredible. Hopefully the pictures do it justice.

We grabbed a quick lunch at a yummy restaurant down a side street, had some wine to prepare for the long bus ride home, then were on our way back to meet the group. We gave ourselves plenty of time to stop in the shops along the road, but sadly it was siesta time (1 - 4 pm in Italy they nap/don't work - do they ever work here??), so we mozied down the streets window shopping.

We passed by a to-die-for looking chocolate shop that was luckily open! We stopped in and I tried the ciccolato calda, the Italian version of hot chocolate. Literally, it's like drinking chocolate fondue. It's rich, thick, steaming hot just-been-melted chocolate. I could only drink about 1/3 of mine because it was sooooooo rich!! Literally you had to use a spoon to drink it if you waited more than 10 minutes because it would start to harden into solid chocolate. It was sooooo yummy though oh my goodness!

We met back at the Arena and took lots more pictures there. This is where I sang with Greater Richmond Children's Choir when I came in 7th grade with Dabney, my mom, and Peggy!! It was so cool to be back and see what I remembered and how different everything looked from how I remembered. The acoustics in the Arena are perfect - that I do remember. It sounded so gorgeous when we sang in there. They hold lots of concerts, operas, and shows in their arena because the sound is literally perfect in every single seat. Our guide had told us that so many famous bands had played there - Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, etc. So cool!

We decided to run in the bathroom before getting on the 7 hour bus ride back to Rome (with no bathroom on the bus ah!), so we went into a little trattoria near the arena. They let us use the bathrooms without buying anything (unusual for the Veneto area), then offered us free ice skating tickets to the rink outside!! I was SO sad to turn them down, because we all know how much I adore ice skating. But the bus was leaving so we couldn't accept them :(

ciccolato calda YUM

The bus ride home was long, boring, and made me realize how exhausted I actually was. We made one stop about half way home, but other than that it was nonstop driving. I listened to some more tswift, watched the Britney episode of Glee (YES MY FAV - psgleestartsbackinaweekyay), and slept most of the way. The plan was to read for class, but I was way too tired and dizzy to do that so I put it off for tomorrow.

We got home around 10:30, waited for bus 280 at the stop for a good bit, then finally made it home around 11:15. What a fun and exciting weekend!! I'm definitely not ready for another week of school - oh well, just have to push through until next weekend's journey to Prague!

Venice time

It’s Venezio day! Woke up nice and early, but there’s not much room for yoga in the hotel so I just did a mini practice then a nice meditation. Breakfast was at 7:30, so we headed downstairs with high expectations. I always forget that “breakfast” for Italians is pretty much just coffee and a pastry - which is exactly what we got. It’s so funny how Italians view nutella in the same way as butter or jam..it’s ALWAYS available in little packets. For breakfast even! Being college students, we stashed a few extras (pastries and packs of nutella) in our purses for later in the day.

St. Mark's Basilica

We took a train to Venice from Padua, which was about a 45 minute ride. I slept for most of it. The first 3 hours in Venice we took a loooooong walking tour, which was really cool, but also very very VERY cold. We walked all over the different islands that make up Venice. Apparently there are around 128 islands, all connected by bridges that make up what we know as “Venice”. So cool! We went through the Jewish Ghetto, lots of Campos (what they call squares, or Piazzas, in Venezio), through St. Mark’s Basilica and St. Mark’s Square (pigeon attack ah!), and ended at the Ponte di Rialto. 

By the end of the tour everyone was frozen (the wind from the water wasn’t helping) and we were ready to warm up somewhere inside. Tara, Lo, Katie, Ally, and I walked to a little ristorante that we saw near the bridge and were soooo glad to de-thaw and get a good meal. We each got a glass of the house wine, which helped with the warming process, and I tried the tortellini. SO. YUMMY. It was just what we needed to rejuvenate ourselves from the chilly weather.

our masks! with the mask painter!

After lunch we walked around the shops to check things out. My goal for Venice was to find a mask to hang in my room. Check out the history of the masks at wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetian_mask. We found some great ones for really cheap at a little store in the labyrinth that makes up Venice. There was a big window out front with a man hand-painting and decorating masks. Mine had little music notes on it which I liked because I love singing and musica. The notes represent the opera in Venice. It also has a little painting of the bell tower and a gondola. I love it, can’t wait to bring it home to remember this amazing little city!

Venice was a lot different than I remember from when I came in middle school. All my memories were little snapshots of things we had done when I was here. It was cool to put all those snapshots together and remember Venice as a city instead of as little moments. It was so gorgeous, even in the freezing weather!

My favorite part of the day: this little old man playing with a HUGE bubble maker thingy. He was so excited!! Every time he made a big bubble successfully he had the most amazed and proud look on his face. Check out the video (I accidentally set the camera in black and white, but I actually like it more..it gives a nice little “memory” perspective) at this link: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1563919949260&comments. There's a pic below, too. So adorable. I could have watching the guy for hours. Watch his face, you'll understand.

on the Rialto Bridge

We made our way back to the Rialto Bridge and took some pictures here. It was such a great view, exactly what I think of when I think of Venice. After asking directions more than once, we got on the right track and began to head back to the train station. We needed our little afternoon pick-me-up, so we stopped in a little cafe to get some pastries and a capuccino. It was a such a precious little shop. We had been told by one of the tour guides to try frittelle, which was their “carnival” specialty. So I got a couple of those to go after being recommended which type to get by the bakers. We grabbed a capuccino there too, and it was just what we needed to warm up! It was so cold that a stop every 30 mins (minimum) was necessary.

capuccino saving me from frostbite. yum :)

Once again rejuvenated, we headed back to the train station. We finally found our way back and met up with the rest of the group at our meeting time, then rode the train back to Padova. I sat next to the cutest old Italian lady who was doing everything in her power to communicate with me and the other girls in the row...even though she spoke zero English and we speak .001 Italian. It was precious. Somehow we got across that we were studying in Rome and she got sooo excited for us. She went off for about 20 minutes, nodding at me and smiling as she talked. I smiled and nodded and said “si” every now and then to pretend like I knew what she was talking about (I guess the “parle un poco Italiano, non capisco” didn’t get across). What a lovely little lady.

On the bus from the train station to the hotel, about 20 mins, we had a little mini singing session..it’s an all girls (well, except for the 2 boys) trip, what do you expect! Rested up for a couple hours at the hotel before our pizzeria dinner. We all walked over to the Oktoberfest pizzeria (random name for an Italian pizzeria) and each got to choose our own “personal” pizza - although I could have easily split it with another person. I got the spicy salami yum yum yum. Ate up then headed back to the hotel to get some good sleep for Verona tomorrow! The plan is to pack up the in the morning then drive to Verona for the day. We’ll be home around 11 tomorrow night - earlier than I expected which is good so I can prepare for another week of classes!

Weekend excursion: Day 1 - Padova (aka Padua -there's that language barrier again))

Friday was exhausting, but exciting! I woke up at 4 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING. SO. EARLY. My weekend excursion through JCU to Veneto started at 6 and it takes like 40 mins to get to school and I wanted to do at least some of the regular morning routine. I left the apartment around 5:15 and walked to the bus stop. We were meeting at Piazza Trilussa, about half a block from school. The bus came after a little bit of waiting, and I maneuvered my luggage into it. Met up with everyone at the Piazza and luckily there was a little bar/pasteria open (at 6am whaaaat thank heavens) so I grabbed a capuccino and a croissant.

sorry it's blurry - the bus was going fast!

Tara and a few other girls I know were going on the trip also (Kaylie, Debbie, and Ashley are going to France this weekend), so we sat together on the bus. It was probably a bad idea to get the coffee, because it was hard for me to fall back to sleep! The bus left at 6:30am, and I had rented “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” from iTunes so I started watching it on my ipod since I wasn’t too tired yet. After 20 minutes, I was completely out. Changed my iPod from the movie to Joshua Radin/Caroline Mauck (my 2 go-to chillout/sleep artists because they’re so amazing). The bus was completely silent because everyone was sleeping the whole time!

At 9 we took a stop (the bus didn’t have a bathroom ah!), but I was so exhausted at the point that I slept right through it. Around 11 I woke up and looked out the window - there was a snowstorm outside!! Everything was completely covered in white. It was soooo beautfiul. We must have been passing over the mountains, because about 45 minutes later we were back to the snow-less landscape. It was so exciting to see snow! I miss it!! (Especially since yall have been getting lots of it lately in the states). The next stop was at 12:30 for lunch, and this time I got off and split a pizza with another girl. Not the best pizza I’ve had, but I was starving so it tasted amazing to me anyways!

We got to Padova (where our hotel is) around 1, unloaded the bus, and walked to the hotel. Padova’s a cute, quiet little town half way between our two main destinations for the weekend: Venice and Verona. The hotel is so cool! It’s so artsy - there are interesting mixed media pieces all over the places, and every room has its own special little theme. Ours is orange - the walls, art, and lampshades are all covered in orange paint. It’s pretty neat! I’m rooming with Lauren and Tara, and the two other girls - Ally and Katie - are in another room nearby. We immediately dropped our stuff in the rooms then passed out until our walking tour at 3.

St. Anthony's Basilica. I couldn't take pictures inside
or I'd show you the amazing Relics Chapel!

We walked all around Padova, visited St. Anthony's Basilica and got to see St. Anthony’s remains - tongue, jawbone, and vocal chords (honestly I find this a little weird and creepy, but it’s all good). My favorite part of the chapel was the Relic Church. Although the relics kind of turned me off, the artwork was amazing. It was the only baroque-style art in the church, and it was filled with tons of little putti (the chubby cherbin sculptures/paintings) that were so cute! It was exactly what baroque was all about - fancy, overwhelmingly showy and exquisite art. Amazing.

We walked all over the little town, and actually ended the tour 1/2 an hour early because we were all about to freeze to death! Luckily the tour ended outside of their famous cafe, so of course we headed in there to de-thaw. We heard that the specialty was their mint coffee, so Lauren and I thought that we ordered that but we ended up getting a regular capuccino - the language barrier wins again. We were ready for a little snack before dinner (it was only 6 so we had a few hours until real dinner), so I asked the waiter what he liked best on the “pasteria” section, thinking I’d get a little pastry.

Tara and I with our
interesting food at the bar..

WRONG. He came out with a cup full of a thick yellow substance - it almost looked like cheese - with crackers. It tasted like a mix of thick sugar, lemonish, with a hint of caramel. But then again, my tastebuds were so confused I’m not sure if that’s even a good description. We all tried it out, and the verdict was that it wasn’t our favorite. It was called “Zabaione Stendh”. I kept the receipt to look it up online to see what it actually was...which I still need to do but I'll let you know when I do.

Headed back the hotel, got lost for awhile and had to ask for directions (twice) which was more difficult than Rome because English isn’t as widely spoken here, so I had to exercise my Italian skills. Finally made it back, freezing to death (I definitely should have brought my bigger coat!), so we warmed up in the hotel until dinner watching the Italian version of MTV - curious.

Hello, Padova

Dinner. Was. SO. Good. We were all starving and completely exhausted from the long day, so we were ready for a good dinner. And boy did we get one - a 4 course meal including lots of bread, an amazing chicken pasta, rosemary potatoes, pork, tiramisu, and topped it off with a cappucino (to help with digestion apparently). It was wonderful! I sat with a group of girls that I hadn’t met before and they were all so nice. We exchanged stories of our awkward encounters with Italians and the whol language barrier issues, and gave each other advice on the best places to get pizza in Rome. Yum! :) Headed home after and was soooooo ready for bed. But not after a nice HOT shower!

I am SO ready for the shower here in the hotel..it’s an actual real shower!! With doors! That close! That was the first thing Tara and I checked when we got here...our shower at home is not holding up for us.

I’m more than excited for tomorrow!! It’s our Venice day! It’s an early morning so we’re getting in bed early before our train to Venezio. I went to Venice and Verona when I was in 7th grade with Greater Richmond Children’s Choir for a competition in Italy, so it will be interesting to see what I remember and how different it is from my memories. I can’t wait! :)

lazy(ish) thursday

Although I didn’t have any classes on Thursday, it turned out to be a very busy day. I got lots of much needed sleep, waking up around 11 or so, but once  I was up it was go, go, go all day long! Kaylie and Debbie headed to the bookstore and Ashley and Tara had class, so I did a little bit of yoga and meditation then headed out. Plan for the day: work on some homework, finish my first layer of the wall for fresco painting, and (hopefully) make it an exhibit of one of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings before it closes Sunday.

lime + sand mixing = sore arm/hand

I walked to school listening to my “Goodbye Happy” playlist that Page made for me at Jada and my goodbye party...it put me in the best mood ever! (thanks pagiee). Got to school and somehow found my way to the library. I had my Honors Art History syllabus with me to photocopy the mandatory reading for the week. I didn’t realize it was SO MUCH READING AH. It took me about 30 minutes to copy everything I needed, and I didn’t even have enough money on my card to get the last page and a half - goodness me! Oh well, it seems like interesting reading at least. And I have a 7 hour bus ride Friday to work through it.

the finished wall!

After I finished up my copies I headed to the art studio to finish up my wall. I didn’t have any time before class other than Thursday to do it because I’m heading to Veneto - a northern section of Italy where Venice, Verona, and Padova are located - and I’m pretty booked up Monday with yoga and Tuesday and Wednesday with class. So I figured I’d get it done nice and early!

I was the only one in the studio, so I opened the doors to air out the dust, turned on my ipod to the “goodbye happy” playlist once again, and started working. It took about two hours to finish, but I got it done! My hand and arms are going to be soo sore from mixing the lime and sand together (“it’s like mixing hard butter and sugar” my professor explained) and flinging it onto the wall. It’s really fun though! I love it because it’s hands-on art like ceramics and sculpture, which are my favorites:)

working hard

By the time I was finishing up it was about 5:30, so I headed home and decided to stop in a new bar to get a little pick-me-up treat. It was a bar we pass every day on the way to school and it’s always full of locals, so I figured it was worth a try. I got a capuccino and a baby pastry - so yummy! They were super nice, too. Uaxupe, you have competition now..

Got some pizza from across the street for dinner. It was sooo yummy BUT once again there was a little miscommunication. Kaylie and Debbie ordered a cheese pizza, and when asked “only cheese?” they said YES. So, we got a cheese pizza. No sauce, no tomatoes, no seasoning. Just  bread with cheese. It was really good though - like the ultimate cheesy bread (not quite as good as the one we got that one night in cville with feta, though...haha). The rest of the night consisted of some skype-age and booking a flight to France with Jada for February!

tearing down the walls. literally.

This morning I woke up feeling well rested, which was unusual for me..hopefully that means I'm finally fully adjusted to the 6 hour time difference!! Yoga, meditation, breakfast, then stopped at Uaxupe (my fav cafe) for a capuccino with Ashley. We walked to school this morning - although I usually walk to school instead of taking the bus, we didn't have a choice today. The bus workers were on strike, apparently that's a usual thing here. So there were lots of walkers today!

Debbie in fresco painting

I had my first Art History 370 Honors class today (Special Topics in Northern Italian Renaissance Art: Coreggio to the Caracci) since our first meeting was cancelled last week. It's definitely going to be my hardest class. There's tons and tons of reading and seems like lots of work, and since I'm taking it at an honors level there's even EXTRA readings, too! But I find it exteremely interesting so I'm no really worried. I guess at some point I have to actually study here...I meeeeaaaan I AM "studying abroad"! We went over the syllabus, went through some slides to get a good intro the material, then were let out a little early.

I had to finish up my "Permit to Stay" paperwork (it's this mandatory thing you have to do if you're staying in Italy for a long period of time), so I headed to the Tiber campus to get that done. The line was sooooo long but luckily Ashley, Tara, Debbie, Kaylie, and some other people I know were there also. Ashley and I finished up first and didn't have much time before our next classes, so we left to get some lunch. We tried a new pizzeria between the Tiber and Guarini campuses, tucked in a corner, almost unnoticeable. IT. WAS. FANTASTIC. I got a slice of spinach and ricotta..to die for. And it was only a little over a dollar! There are so many good lunch places by school, soooo exciting.

Ashley and I split up to head to our different classes, I stopped by the coffee vending machine and tried to decipher it (do I need a cup? or does it give you one? where does the coffee come out?) and failed miserably. Maybe next week. I ran into another girl from UM who I've met a couple times and we attempted to exchange numbers - another fail. The numbers are so confusing here. I never know if I have to add the country code or not, then the regular part of the number is 12 numbers long. I don't get it. Then I was off to fresco painting!

there was so much dust that i had to turn the flash off
or it ended up picking up the dust particles like this!
(notice the girl with her sweatshirt wrapped around her face)

I knew that we were breaking down the old frescos from last semester in class, but I had NO idea the craziness that I was in for. We literally took hammers to the walls. He warned us that we would be covered in dust by the end of class, but I guess you can't understand unless you were there. Dust was EVERYWHERE by the end. We literally had to take breaks and run outside to the balcony to be able to breath. People's hair were completely white with dust from the walls, and we all were using our scarves or sleeves to cover our noses and mouth to keep from inhaling all of the lime particles floating around. It was insane!! My teacher came up to me and another girl since we'd both tied our scarves over our faces so they'd stay and so we could breath, and was like "you guys look like terrorists.." haha casual.

cleaning up our mess (dusty dusty dusty)

It was really fun though, my arms are definitely going to be sore tomorrow from all the work. I took a bunch of pictures because it was just such an experience - when will I ever destroy frescos on a wall again? I had to turn off my flash in all the pictures, though, because if I left it on it picked up the dust particles and made the picture all crazy looking. That class is definitely my favorite (well, so far!).

After we destroyed the wall we were each assigned to a different area of it to recreate. We learned the first step of fresco painting - Arriccio. There are 3 layers of wall that you have to make before you get to the painting part. So we made up the 1:3.5 ratio of lime and course sand and began to (literally) fling it onto the walls. Homework for this week: finish the first layer of arriccio. Yes, please.

After class I went to JCU to try once more to figure out this whole yoga ordeal. SUCCESS! I'm officially teaching Monday afternoons before my photo class. Perfecto:)

Walked home, even though it was starting to get dark. It was a beautiful walk, I'm definitely walking home more often (usually I walk TO school and take the bus home). I passed by this awesome street art that I'd never noticed before., and I could actually translate it myself, which I was so proud of! It means "a blank page and a poem hidden" ... just a little food for thought. I don't know, I loved it. I got home, tried to figure out my weekends and traveling (the usual), detoxed my body from all the lime dust (literally sneezing out plaster -TMI i know but this is real life), and showered. But the hot water isn't working. again. The shower situation is probably the only thing I WON'T miss about Italy when I get home.

OH! And I found out my address today! Packages are a no-go bc Italy's super weird about them and it would be lots of money and take months and months to get here (sad, I know), but I'd love letters or postcards if you're feeling snail-mail-y. (If you send me one, I'll send you one! haha) Here ya goooo:

Kelsey Butler, Mailbox #412
John Cabot University
Via della Lungara, 233
00165 Roma, ITALY


Time to chug some water to flush the dust from my lungs, eyes, and sinuses, and get to bed. No classes tomorrow - the weekend started tonight! But I still have lots of exciting events planned, no worries:)

officially on-site

Roman Forum

Tuesday was my first experience of actually taking an on-site class. Verdict: it's freezing. but also abolutely amazing. The day started as usual with yoga and breakfast, then Kaylie and I took a new bus (81 WOO) to Piazza Venezia. Her on-site class was meeting fairly close to where mine was (she was at Capitoline Hill and my class was meeting at the Roman Forum), so we luckily didn't have to try out the new bus alone. We left suuuuper early - 8:15 for a 9:30 class - because we wanted to make sure we weren't late, and ended up being about 50 minutes early to our classes. Luckily there were lots of little bars nearby, so we stopped in one of them and grabbed capuccinos. After our yummy drinks we headed in our own directions.

walking to class - il Colosseo
at the end of the street

I still had lots of time to kill, so I wandered around Via dei Fori Imperiali taking everything in. The Colosseum was at the end of the street, and the Foro Romano was all down the sides of the street. I was amazed at how these ancient ruins were surrounded by everyday traffic, buildings, and lives of Romans today. Funny story: as I was busy taking lots of pictures and admiring the scenery, an Asian man came up to me and asked if he could take a picture, so I obliged, not really sure why I was being asked - apparently he was excited to be in Rome and see someone with blonde hair (all the while being carefully aware of my backpack - not trying to be pickpocketed this morning). His friend popped out of nowhere and took the shot, then the man quickly thanked me and said "so beautiful, thank you thank you" and was on his way. So if you see my face on a random international website with an Asian fellow, you know why.

Eventually made my way over to our meeting place, and spent the morning with my Roma Aternae class wandering the Roman Forum, learning all kinds of stories that made up the amazing place where I'm living these few months. I wrote down lots of them, so visitors - get excited! I'm definitely taking you there when you come and telling you all the insider info :) We got to see where Julius Caesar was buried, wandered through the Arch of Titus, etc. etc. etc. Absolute craziness. That was one of my favorite places I'd been to so far.

so many people have walked here. COOL

Rome is made up of layers...as the years went on the different periods just built on top of their old civilizations. They've excapated thousands of years of layers, and the level that we were walking through (slash the cobblestones we were walking on) were from about 2000 years ago - the Augustan Period. There were even buildings there dating back to the 15th and 16th century BC. THAT'S SO LONG AGO. And here we were, walking around what was left of the streets, the same thing people were doing thousands of years ago. Woah.

snack time

We took a little break on the steps of the Templum Veneris et Romae (the largest temple in the Roman empire), overlooking the Forum with the Colosseum at our backs. Our professor laughed at us and took out her camera. "Most people pose for pictures with il Colosseo, but here you are eating snacks on this beautiful day and the famous structure happens to be behind you perfectly. May I take a picture?" This of course started a string of cameras from different students (if someone tags me on Facebook I'll add it in here somewhere for yall). It was SO FREEZING that morning (by far the coldest morning so far), so my toes and fingers were completely numb, but it was clear skies and sunshine, so that made up for the cold.

After our snack we went to the Coloseum and I got to go inside it for the first time! It was so crazy. I can't believe this used to be the meeting spot for the Romans. COMPLETELY CASUAL. There are little box exhibits all around the stairs leading up the Colosseum with bones from animals found there, seeds from fruit, stone carvings, pillars, and even toothpicks the ancient Romans used during the games! We walked all the way around the upper layer (well, as "upper" as you can get nowadays), learned some more cool stuff, then class was dismissed. I walked back to campus (a 15- 20 min walk) with a few other kids in the class, grabbed a slice of pizza, got my (hopefully last) supplies at the art store, then headed to painting.

this doesn't do it justice.

Painting wasn't very eventful today. We're working on color, so after he lectured for awhile our professor but out hundreds of little sheets of colorful paper and had us put them in order from lightest to darkest value. It was harder than you'd think! The HUE and INTENSITY of the colors has nothing to do with the VALUE, so it was pretty tricky (capital words were our "words of the day").  I learned a lot, though! I feel like that'll be a cool class once we begin our projects. Homework: make a color wheel with our new paints. WOO!

We got out pretty early so I headed to Via del Corso to run some errands. Exciting news! I used the metro all by myself! After using it lots of times with the roomies, I realized that it's only really sketchy if you LOOK like a target. I haven't seen/heard of/had any problems with pickpockers or theives, I was completely confidant about where I was going, and it wasn't dark out yet, so I decided to go for it. It was a success! I got there and back home within an hour - way more conveniant than the buses. Still, I'm going to avoid it at night. Just in case.

The plan for the night was to go to an "ice bar" near the Colosseum, but that fell through pretty quickly. Hopefully we'll get to experience that at some point (perhaps when it's warmer out?), because it should be an experience. It's a bar completely made out of ice - here's the website for it: http://www.iceclubroma.it/. Instead, I went to a meeting about my Veneto trip this weekend, relaxed, ate an amazing dinner that Kaylie and Debbie made (pesto pasta baked with fresh mozzarella, chicken, and tomatoes SO GOOD), and got some good rest after a long and exciting day.

photographia = little stories of life

First day of Monday classes for me! I was sooo excited for the photography class that I've switched into. It's nice because it's in the afternoon (2:15 - 5), so I have the morning to run errands, sleep off the weekend, and whatnot. I woke up semi-early (last night was a little crazy because all the roommates got home at different times in the night so it was a lot of waking up then dozing back off) and did my usual routine. I was planning on making Mondays my market day - I couldn't wait to go back after how awesome last week was! - but I had a little dilemma.

supplies for the day

I've been trying to get in touch with the head of athletics at JCU to figure out my final teaching schedule. He told me that I would either be teaching Thursdays or Mondays, but never confirmed this. After a few emails and attempts at getting in touch with him, I decided to just head over to school early in the day to try and meet him face to face to figure everything out. Last night I planned out a class just in case, so I was prepared either way, I just needed to hear back from him! Market day is now postponed. So I grabbed my yoga mat, my beautiful sketchbook that Marshall gave me as a goodbye gift that I've decided to plan classes in, a book of yoga poems that was a gift from my mother, and headed out for the day.

You NEVER see people carrying yoga mats here. It's weird (well..for me I guess. others might not feel the same). That's why I was surprised on my walk to school- as I was walking by the Tiber a couple ran up to me, pointed to my yoga mat, and asked excitedly, "Scusi, scusi! Parli Inglese??" I answered "Si" (although looking back I should have just said yes if they were looking for English..). It was an American couple looking for a yoga studio in Rome. Sadly I told them I hadn't found any in the few weeks I'd been there and that the class at JCU was students only. Shoot. Of course, me being me, I felt terrible that I couldn't help them so I spent the afternoon looking up studios in Rome 1. so I could find one to try and 2. so I would be able to answer questions like that in the future

I made it to school and what do you know, Antonio wasn't in the office. Luckily someone who worked for him was and checked the schedule to let me know I wasn't on the schedule until Thursday. I'm going to try to change the class to Mondays since I now don't have Thursday classes - more time to travel! So I left a note for Antonio and headed to meet Ashley for lunch. I still haven't gotten used to the slowness of Italian time yet! I got a yummy pizza (folded-over style, of course) around school and picked up some stamps, then chilled out at the Guarini campus until my photo class at 2:15.

Photography was so awesome. The professor was such an artist. I really can't think of a better way to describe it. Well, I'd say he reminded me more of an artist/dad/kid-at-heart kind of guy. Two other people switched into the class this week also, so I wasn't the only new person which was nice. Serafino (the professor) was so good at making sure everything made sense to the newcomers. It's such an interactive class, I think I am going to learn a lot. He has a few old cameras that we can use for 30euro, but I'm considering buying my own for a little bit more money (he said basic ones are a little less than 100) - especially since my books only cost me 20euro and usually they're closer to $500! I'm going to go by the camera store on Thursday and check out my options.

Serafino spent the first hour and a half explaining our class blog, going through the pictures students posted last week one by one, telling us about the general functions of a manual camera, etc. I loved that he would interupt himself every now and then to give his own two cents:

"Photographia is little stories of life. Different than written stories. We have to make them seen, they cannot be made in our minds like paint."

or

"I am an eight-year-old," [sidenote: when he first said it he accidently said 80, then realized his mistake when we all laughed] "every stops growing at one point. If you're 16 or 17 that's bad. If you're 2, too young. You might not know yet your age, but you will." His english is moderate, but he tries - when he doesn't know a word in english he says it in Italian over and over until it comes to him. I love it.

this looks like a painting - one of my favorite pictures i've taken so far!

The second half of the class we walked around Rome as he went around to each student and explained their cameras to them. Every now and then we'd turn around and he would be nowhere to be found, before suddenly appearing out of the crowd trying to balance 4 different cameras in his 2 hands. It felt so "Rome" walking around with that class - at one point we were walking across a bridge and a band started playing THE typical Italian music (you can hear it now, I know you can..) as we walked together, looking at the sunset over the bridge, everyone holding an old-school camera, taking it all in. I literally laughed out loud thinking about how cliche it was. Ahhh, Romaaa :)

Oh! Exciting news! Remember a few days ago someone asked me for directions and I freaked out and didn't know what to do because I didn't understand? It happened again today. But this time, I gave the directions. Valid, she asked me in Italian and I said "Parli Inglese?".. so the convo was in English but I did give an Italian directions to the closest gas station. SUCCESS. Next step: be able to do it speaking Italiano.

Tonight the plan is do start on some homework (my first hw since May AH SO EXCITING!!). Debbie's excited because the bus came right as she was getting to the bus stop, so she volunteered to make us a yummy stir fry dinner. YUM! Homework, by the way, includes finding a photo I like and writing a blurb about it, doing some sketching and watercolor painting, and maybe doing a few pages in my research workbook.

Oh the life of a Roman...

rain, rain, go away

Sunday Sunday! I woke up early, did some yoga and meditation, then headed out with Ashley for what we had been looking forward to all weekend - the Porta Portese flea market! This is apparently the biggest flea market in Rome, open every Sunday from about 7am - 1 or 2. Ashley and I decided to go towards the second half of the day, to see if we could get some bargains. Check out this little article about the market: http://www.roninrome.com/%20shopping-dining/porta-portese. It wasn't raining (yet) when we headed out, which was a nice break from the rest of the weekend! It was still bitter cold, though, so we bundled up.

Oh my goodness, I can't even explain to you how BIG this market was! Thousands and thousands of people, soooo many vendors, and so much to see. I was overstimulated to say the least! Ashley and I had a few things in mind to keep an eye out for, but we didn't expect there to be so much of everything! The majority of things being sold were clothes, shoes, and bags, but as we walked deeper and deeper into the market there were countless treasures. Chandeliers, vintage paintings and posters, ancient books, a cactus stand, blown glass, handmade wooden boxes, screen prints, prayer flags, anything you could imagine for your kitchen, furniture, CDs, ... I even found some Singing Bowls! It was insane. People were everywhere. Ashley and I heard that it was a favorite place for pickpocketers, so we were careful with our bags. My muscle in my thumb was actually sore from holding onto my purse so tight at some points throughout the day! But we didn't have any problems, thank goodness.

We walked through the market for hours - completely amazed at everything going on around us. So much for buying things there.. we were too busy looking at everything there was to see! I'm definitely going back there (maybe when it's warmer out) to get some treasures to bring back with me. We tried out our haggling skills, and were actually fairly successful at some places ("Please miss, come back! Discount for you 6 euro! Please! Okay, 3 euro just for you! Bella!"), but ended up walking away in the end because it was just too overwhelming to comprehend.

It was interesting hearing where the vendors guessed we were from.. for Ashley it was almost always "Parli Italiano?" but for me it was more varied (must be the blonde hair that throws them off). I've gotten guesses including Scottish (the bus man), Russian, and lots people today thought I was Hispanic. And of course, after their random guesses they always turn to "Inglese? Americano?"

We got lost for a little while and tried to find our way back to familiarity, which took a good 10 - 15 minutes, but finally managed to get back on track and figured our way out of there. Definitely recommended for anyone thinking about visiting Rome, it really gives you a feel for "do as Romans do"!


Since it wasn't raining, our plan was to make up for all the walking that we didn't do yesterday. SO we headed towards the Colosseum since we hadn't seen it in the day time yet. The walk looked way different than it did at night! We passed by il Palentino, Circo Massimo, and of course, il Arco di Constantino on the way to the main attraction - all these things (well, besides the arch) we didn't see the first time we walked there because it was so dark outside! The Colosseum was huge - it seemed even bigger in the day time. There were quite a few more people there too, but probably because it was a Sunday afternoon (and not a random Tuesday night). We spent a little while walking around the whole thing, took a bunch of pictures, then hurried into the metro station right across the street to jump in the metro to warm up.

Arco di Constantino (left), Palentino (center)
Colosseo (right)

Since Rome is usually a ghost town on Sundays in Prati (since it's more of a locals neighborhood than a touristy area), we got off at the Trevi Fountain stop and looked for a place to grab a pizza or sandwhich there. We walked for awhile when we realized we weren't seeing signs for the Fountain anymore, only for the Spanish steps. Oh well, we figured that's touristy too, so we headed in that direction for some food. My main priority was a nice warm capuccino - my hands were completely numb. At this point it had started to rain, too, which wasn't helping with the coldness!



We walked right into the top of the Spanish steps - literally. Our road ended at the top of the steps with that GORGEOUS view. Ashley and I walked down the steps for the third time that weekend and decided to eat at our favorite little gelateria in the area. It's the one with that cool cone sculpture inside. They had paninis there, so we grabbed them to go (and a capuccino, of course) and decided to sit on the Spanish Steps to eat our meal..something that I've been wanting to do ever since our first visit to the steps.

the view from the top of the spanish steps(taken on a sunnierday last week -

my fingers were too cold to get my camera out today!)

That was probably one of my favorite things I've done so far in Italy. Ashley and I found a nice seat on the steps, about half way up the first platform. It was the absolute ideal spot for people watching. We slowly ate our sandwiches and drank our coffee while we watched everything going on around us. There was so much to see! Groups of girls taking pictures together in funny poses, lovers cuddling away, old Italian couples having their afternoon walk, parents racing their kids up and down the steps, the vendors trying to sell roses to annoyed tourists..it was fascinating. Seeing so many different kinds of people all enjoying the (cold, but still beautiful) day just made my heart so happy:) We sat for awhile, not caring about the coldness anymore now that we had food in our tummies, pointing out all the different stories going on around us. I'm planning on making this exercise a weekly occurence, for sure. It's just such a great reminder of how crazy and wonderful life is.

my cannoli - it was so good,
I only thought to take a picture after it was almost gone

After awhile, we decided it was time to try a pastry. We chose a random side street to walk down that looked like it was full of little pasterias, but we were wrong - apparently we chose the fancy street. On our right was Prada and on our left was Gucci, and it just got more expensive from there! We ducked into the only pastry shop on the block. It looked super fancy, but the desserts looked TO DIE FOR. The cannolis were made-to-order! I had to get one. I got a chocolate chip creme stuffed cannoli to go, watched her make it right in front of me (cool!), then we walked outside and tried it. Just as we suspected..to. die. for. Probably the best cannoli I've ever had. Magnifico!


We made our way home, at this point the rain was coming down little by little and the sun was completely gone. Our toes, fingers, and noses were frozen, but it was worth it. What an extraordinary day of exploring! Time to rest and recouperate for the first REAL week of classes - and this week I actually have a class on Monday, so I have to be prepared. Sighhh.

rainy days in rome

The weekend was filled with lots of sightseeing, yummy treats, and trying to stay warm. Friday night Ashley and I made our way back to Centro Storico to find some authentic Italiano food. The weather for the weekend wasn't looking good - we were getting a cold front and rain all weekend, but we decided to head out anyways and just layer up to keep warm.

We didn't feel like using the map because we're beginning to recognize our surroundings, so we just headed in the general direction of the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. As we were wandering the streets talking about how cool it was that these ancient buildings were used as everyday shops and offices, we came upon a huge catle-like looking building. How exciting! A new monument! - we thought at least. As we made our way around the "monument", we came to the front and realized it wasn't new at all - we were at the Pantheon. You have no idea how different it looks from the back, I suppose you have to see it to believe it:)

We wandered the streets between the Trevi and the Pantheon, walked into a few cute looking stores, then settled on a little Ristorante that had outdoor tables with candles, flowers, and (most importantly) outdoor heaters. How romantic! It was a wonderful meal. Ashley got her gnocchi and it was terrific, while I tried a traditional Italian dish called Cacio e Pepe. We shared a house bottle of vino to stay warm, and at the end of the meal couldn't resist trying a dessert. I don't even know what we ordered..all i remember is the waiters making fun of us for finishing it so quickly! It was soooo good. Some sort of creme puff ball smothered in chocolate and creme. YUM. I don't feel bad about trying all the food here, because we always end up walking it off throughout the day. I probably walk at least 7 - 10 miles every day, maybe more (depending if we get lost or not).

a famous toy shop - Bartolucci - in Centro Storic

After dinner we walked around some, but the rain started up and the wind by the Fountain was too much to handle, so we came home and rested up for Saturday. The plan was to get up early and go all over Rome, but when we woke up it was even rainer and colder than the day before! We decided to stick it out anyway (when in Rome, right?) and headed to the bookstore. This time, we remembered the directions. We found it very easily, it was only a street over from where we had been looking yesterday! They only had 2 of Ashley's books so she wasn't too happy because she has to come back next week to see if they've come in. They had my book, so now my only school supplies needed are the rest of my art supplies. We asked the cashier where the art store was (I forgot the directions to THAT store today), and then were on our way.

We searched for about 20 minutes with no luck, and gave up (IT WAS FREEZING). We made our was to the Trevi Fountain and treated ourselves to Nutella e Fragolas Crepes. Ashley got hers from one creperia and I decided to get one from across the street. They both were superb! My crepe maker tried to make conversation while he made mine, but it was a little rough. He knew about as much English as I knew Italian. Although he did tell me I have kind eyes, which made my day! We ate our crepes overlooking the Fontana di Trevi, then decided it was too cold and rainy to do the rest of our exploring today.

Fontana di Trevi at night

We came back to the apartment and tried to figure out trips for the rest of the day. On my list of must-go-to's are: Switzerland (I just love how the name of the country rolls off the tongue..plus it would be amazing to snowboard in the Alps), Prague, Spain (flight booked - Taylor Swift here we come), Sicily, Greece (we're going for some of spring break), France, Turkey (my mom and I are going in April!), Vienna...to name a few. It's much harder than you'd expect to plan all these travels. Some airlines don't fly to the right places, we have random make up days for classes, etc. Oh well, we'll figure it all out soon enough! And if I don't make it to everywhere I want to go, I can always have an excuse to come back:)

For dinner we took a bus to Campo di Fiori, near Storico Centro. In the mornings there is a big market in this plaza, with fresh fruit and clothes galore. At night, it becomes THE place to go for bar-hopping. Whenever we're in the area we always see cute looking restaurants, so we figured we'd give it a try. We decided on one of the places around the plazza and sat inside (it was the coldest night it's been!) listening to the Roma Futbol game on all the TVs in the place. It was a good meal - my favorite part with the little old Italian lady all by herself with 2 glasses of wine (one red, one white). She was so sweet looking! She must have been a regular because all of the waiters and cooks came out to talk to her throughout the meal. So precious. I wish I had gotten a picture, but that would have been a little creepy...so I decided against it. Maybe next time..