Market Day

Today was the first day of classes. Unless you have my amazing schedule and don't have classes Mondays or Fridays! I got up early anyway, because I had a lot of fun activities planned. Did my regular yoga and meditation practice, then made a yummy breakfast in our lovely kitchen. Debbie doesn't have class until late Monday evenings and Kaylie's first class wasn't until the afternoon, so they got up early and we decided to head to the local market for some fresh fruit. The closest market is a few blocks away. We didn't know what to expect (how much it would cost, how big the market was, if it was just food or an assortment..), so we just headed towards our destination with no expectations.

It was incredible. We got there and there was soooo much to see! The market was tucked into a little street/alley type of thing along the road. There were clothing stands, fresh bread tents, meat stands, kitchen supply stands, and most importantly...HUGE fruit stands! We tried to figure out what the stand people were telling us about the directions for getting fruit, and after lots of gestures and words we semi-understood we got started. There was so much to choose from!! I was soooo excited because i could live off of fruit and veggies and had definitely been lacking them in my diet lately. We stashed up on lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, bananas, snow peas, etc. etc. etc. The vendors were so helpful and helped us reach when we couldn't quite grab something, bagged our food for us, and threw out the bad fruit that we accidently grabbed. I tried to have a conversation with the man helping me..I think we were talking about where I was from, but I can never be too sure. After we got everything we could imagine, we went up to pay. It was very cheap, I was so surprised. Only a few euro for all our goodies! Definitely making this trip a weekly routine.

We walked back to the apartment and dropped off our goods, then headed out again to get some school supplies. Everything's pretty expensive here, so I just opted for a single notebook until I went to my classes to see exactly what the professors want us to have. On the way home we stopped by the international food store to top off our pantry with a little peanut butter and granola (food we can't find in stores here), then were done with our errands. Hooray!

Debbie at the fresh market

As we walked in the door, Luis (our doorman who barely speaks inglese) jumped out of his office and waved a big package in front of us - OUR MODEM FOR THE INTERNET!! He helped us set it up and after soem struggling with the language situation, the internet started working in the apartment. Finally!! It's such a relief to be able to check class schedules, emails, and of course .. facebook and twitter. The girls on the floor below us who had been letting us use their internet were relieved, too. No more random appearances at their doorstep begging for 30 minutes of internet access!

Kaylie had class at 2, so I decided to take a bus to John Cabot University (our college) with her to check up on a few things before class tomorrow. All of my art history classes are on-site - we meet at different places around Rome - so I wasn't sure where the first classes were. Luckily there was a big sign with all the on-site classes meeting places right at the entrance of school so I wrote down everything and was all set to go. I headed into the computer lab and switched around some classes. I changed into a painting class instead of a 4th art history (the mandatory weekend trip for the class was when India and my dad are visiting..not okay), so I'm SO happy with my schedule now and cannot wait to start classes!

I decided to walk back, it's such a beautiful walk it's hard to bus by it. The walk to and from school is all along the Tiber river, with the gorgeous bridges, passing by the Castel Sant'Angelo and Saint Peter's Basilica, and so many cute bars (cafes), shops, and parks. I love it. It's a good 30 - 40 minute, walk, but it's definitely worth it. Check out the pics below - they're all from that walk.

st. peter's basilica

Got back to the apartment but not before stopping by my favorite cafe down the street to grab a cappucino. They gave a free pastry today! Hopefully that means one of my goals is being accomplished: they're beginning to recognize me and remember me from stopping by so often. Then again, I honestly have no idea because they speak zero english. Come to think of it, that pastry may not have even been free... i suppose next time I'll ask "E gratiz?" to be sure.





The rest of the afternoon was lazy and relaxing. I finally got a chance to upload pictures to my blog as I'm sure you've seen (enjoy!). Got in a few skype sessions (good luck traveling to Spain tomorrow, Jada!!) and planned a reunion with Raphi (she's in London..we're trying to meet up for tswift's European tour!). Kaylie made an amazing dinner of meatballs and pasta for all of us, while I helped with the homemade bruschetta. I made a yummy bruschetta-like addition with mozerella, salami, and garlic on fresh bread. It was veeeeerry good. Our apartment dinners together are so great, it's nice to sit down all together and enjoy the company.

trees hanging over the Tiber = my fav

After dinner I was SO excited because I had a skype date with my momma! It was a crazy night in the apartment with the dish washer running, all the lights on, internet plugged in, and a load of clothes in the wash. About 2 minutes into my conversation with my mom, our whole apartment turned pitch black. THE POWER WENT OUT. We freaked out and all huddled in our room together calling our landlady, flipping every switch possible trying to get it to come back on with no success in sight. Maria (our landlady) finally got the the apartment but not after we were scared to death from Ashley's comment ("what if we're getting Taken???!). Maria fixed everything, badgered us about being careful about electricity, then was on her way. We'll be more careful next time!

Ended the night with some more skype sessions and figuring out my schedule for tomorrow. It's soooo nice to have internet in the apartment, especially with classes starting up now. Enjoy the pictures that I posted up here! I also put up an album on facebook, so be sure to check those out too. Have a wonderful day in stati uniti today :)