My New Boyfriend David

     Before I left for the weekend in Florence I posted on my Facebook that I was going to go meet my new boyfriend David. This caused such a frenzy. All of my family and extended family threatened to tell my parents that I have a boyfriend abroad. When I told them I was actually going to see the famed statue of David while in Florence the big "ooohhhh" and hand to face moment happened to them all. As a side note, you can actually be arrested if you take photos of this famed statue...just a random fact.
    We arrived at the museum to be pleasantly surprised to turn the first corner to be greeted by one of the world's most famous statues. I had to be the stupid American and sneak a photo of this handsome man for a free souvenir. On the other hand, it would not have been so free if I were arrested. Good thing I wasn't!  I asked Mandy to stop a moment so that I could stick my camera through her hair to snap a few shots. Natalie and I went to go sit down looking up at David's rear end. Yes, we did pinch his behind which caused a fit of laughter like we were again in elementary school. It is such an amazing piece of work. I can't believe Michelangelo would know exactly what he would carve from a single piece of marble. He believed that the statue was living within and all he had to do was unveil it. The veins of David seem to be pumping blood to sustain him under his marble exoskeleton.
      Dr. Whetstine's mom is here visiting for the week. She decided to sit down next to Natalie and I and ask us about the style of sculpture David is styled in. We were quite happy to share our knowledge because this is what we have class for every morning. We learn about art history and then see the art in person. Before we left I decided to sneak one last photo of David's Face. He is apparently looking towards Golithe. I think he is looking at so much more than just the Giant.
   So I said goodbye to my brief encounter with the world's most gorgeous man and moved on to more girlie things like shopping with Natalie, Nicole and Rachel. I took them over to the famous Porcellino Market. I found a lovely leather purse for my mother in the market but I wanted to wait until closing when you get the best deals. We then headed over to the San Lorenzo Market. Natalie wanted to try her hand at the power of bargain that Danilo was telling us about. She tried to bargain a price for a couple of cashmere scarves at the first stand we saw. They were not believing anything that was coming out of her mouth. She said no and lead the group on to the next stall. I have to laugh. She was so confident in her no response to the people at the first stand. We headed over to another stand which had a lovely display of scarves. We gave in and all bought cashmere scarves. My scarf is a lovely light purple plaid scarf. I totally love it. As we were walking around we happened upon this lovely restaurant called Ciro and Sons nestled inside an old palace of the family of Pope Clemens. http://www.ciroandsons.com/index.php It was so cute. We just were poking our noses in and a young man that was labeling the house wine with home made labels. He came out and started talking to us. Boy is he one lucky man to be that good looking. He invited us to come back tonight for dinner. We will most definitely return. We then headed over to the Ponte Vecchio bridge to buy Italian Horns. Don't shop with me because I make everyone buy more than what they want to buy. Natalie spent over 100 euros on a horn and Ali spent 90 euros on one as well. They loved their new necklaces so well that they were so mad at me for "making" them buy one.
          Later on that evening, almost everyone headed over to have dinner at  Ciro and Sons restaurant. We were yet again greeted by the handsome man from earlier today. He apologized to us that we would have to have dinner under the patio. He move plenty of the heaters near us since we were all so eager to eat at such a place. That night dinner lasted around 3 hours. It was just a table full of students, our professor and her mother. It didn't really matter how much we spent that night because the laughs that we had and the sharing of a great meal around the table was worth the entire bill. There is an art to Italian meals. The art of "tutti a tavolo a mangiare" isn't just a place to satisfy one's hunger. It is about the time that one shares with friends and family. Splitting bills is not common in Italy because having dinner together does not just consist of the meal but also the company. Everyone pitches in an even share of the bill because the bill has an invisible charge for the evening's amazing company. It is a living heritage of time shared that makes our daily lives more worth while. I don't mind paying more than my meal because I enjoy a great company of people around my table. A little secret of mine is to sit in the middle of the table so that I can be involved in everyone's conversation. That way, if I have run out of things to say on one side I can switch to another side of the table and continue talking.
      We were having great fun with our waiter Enzo and his brother Giuseppe. When he came around to ask whether we would like any dessert, Natalie got up enough courage to ask Enzo if he were on the menu. He said just wait one moment. While he was bring out our tiramisu, he handed Natalie a lovely plate painted in whipped cream the name Enzo. Yes, apparently Enzo was on the dessert menu. We just all had way too much fun. As we were leaving, we all begged, well, just us girls begged for a photo of the famed brothers for a keep sake of that wonderful dinner.

Giuseppe on the left and Enzo on the right

  

   I have been thoroughly enlightened with the many day trips Dr. Dubs has had us through and will have us through. One of the most interesting while here in Florence was a trip to a medical museum that exhibited post Renaissance wax dissection models exhibiting all sorts or ailments and diseases. Medical students thumbing through the many bibles of medicine would come and study these models for practice. These students would then be prepared to deal with the horrors of the "everyman" disorders and diseases. I found many of the these models quite frightening because they seemed so real. One of the oddest had a rendition of a pregnant mother with a breech baby.
     Studying medicine seemed to be an art for Florentines during the Renaissance. Much of Florence seems to have small moments of the Renaissance all around the city. It is like being in a museum but instead of the stark four walls surrounding you, the cobblestones and torrents of the famed Florentine city surround you. I really can't describe Florence any better than the womb of Italian art and culture. Florence was even the first capital of the unified state of Italy. I wonder what life would have been like to be apart of the history pages of Florence. It would likely be a "who's who" of Italian art and culture. We continued around the museum and came across the many animal exhibits. With Florence being one of the oldest and riches cities in Italy, we were all so interested to see the many exotic animals on display. We even came across a rare Homo Sapien called Matt. haha Many of the animals have been long since extincted. which made their viewing even more interesting.
       Florence is such a different city than Rome or even Naples. The farther one goes North of Rome, the classier everything gets. Rome is a like a pair of Levi jeans compared to Florence's high fashion label lifestyle and artistic moments. I don't really think that one can visit just one city in Italy. Italy is a completely different soul north compared to the south. I have to say that I have enjoyed Florence because it seems like the history pages seem to come to life. The words have taken a breath in front of a visitor at every waking moment. The only turn off I have from Florence is that the people get lost in all of the history, art and architecture. Maybe it would be different if I went out into the Tuscan countryside. I won't make a permanent judgement for now.
   

La Primavera

We arrived here in Florence after a long train ride. We decided to walk around the main square to find a nice restaurant. We came upon this little place that only had six tables and was about the size of the first floor in my parents house which is very small by the way. This picture<<<<<<< shows all the room that was in the place. It was so quaint. The menu was only what the kitchen was cooking for the afternoon. We all had a five layer lasagna with a glass of wine for 7 euros. It doesn't beat the group favorite of Sor Capanna but it comes so very close.

It was snowing while we we walking on the bridge

      After our amazing lunch we had a quick walking tour of the city and walked the length of the famous Ponte Vecchio. Then, we headed over to have our tour of the Uffizi museum. I am not the biggest fan but we had to use a headset for our tour. It was one of those headsets that you punch in the number of the famous painting and it tells you a story on it. I would much rather have a person tell me about certain pieces of art and the building itself. However, I stayed optimistic. I was looking forward to seeing the "Birth of Venus" and "Primavera." Both of these paintings were amazing to witness. However, I have to tell this story. I am standing back and glancing at the "Primavera." A group of Asians came by me with their crazy tour guide. She was dressed from head to toe in a baby blue suit. She painted her lips with bright red lipstick and raved in absolute craziness over the Primavera painting. She started to crouch down and then crawl around on the floor next to the wall that the painting was hung so that her tourists were able to understand something. What ever it was I feel that there is some sort of medication out there to put her excitement at ease.  This was such a strange site. She almost knocked this famous painting off the wall. I am amazed by the world and the people in it. There aren't just the black and white standardized procedures that run my Americanized life. Every spectrum of the rainbow can be reincarnated in a baby blue suit and bright red lipstick.

The palace continues to the famous bridge

      After a while I stopped listening to every room and caught up with Ali and Jenna. The Medici family had a huge complex. This whole museum used to be their palace. Ali, Jenna and I kind of did an illegal thing. We went down a handicap elevator that we had no access to and then walked into a private VIP section of the museum that we did not have access to. We received the oddest stares. Frankly, we were just trying to find our way back to the lobby. I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the experience. Museums are just exhausting. I don't prefer to be inside all day while the people pass by and life plays out.
     Later, Nicole and I decided to walk around Florence while the rest of the group went back to the hotel. We were walking towards the famous Duomo and saw the famed baptistery then we turned towards the right and saw one of the best sites. I love when these moments take my breath away. First experiences are always the best.  The church is covered in a marble that I have never seen. Nicole and I decided to walk down to the Ponte Vecchio because she was looking to buy a watch. She wanted to go into the Bulgari store because they had a lot of watches in the window. Neither of us knew of the expensive prices we were about to experience. We didn't know that Bulgari is such a high class brand. First thing is that we had to be buzzed into the store. That should have been our first sign. Nicole started looking at a 3000 euro watch. I immediately laid an egg and wanted out of the shop. They were quite upset that I left and didn't spend any money. I started calling and texting her to leave. These shops can call the police if you are not a serious buyer. They do not like browsers like in the US. She finally came bounding through the door. She told me that it took everything for the jeweler to let her go. Holy moly we almost had trouble. We ended up walking back to the shop that I bought an Italian horn at so that Nicole to look for one. Our last stop was in the Guess shop. Nicole finally settled on a 179 euro watch for her birthday. It had Swarovski crystals around the face. It was so gorgeous.

Sleep can solve a multitude of sin

    I feel so much better after getting some sleep. I awoke today at around 7am because today is Father's Day. We were all going to share Zeppolis in honor of St. Joseph. Zeppolis are a puff pastry delight filled with a burst of magnificent cream. I bet Danilo bought these at the Pope's Pastry Shop Sesta in Albano. St. Joseph is the patron saint of all fathers. As a class, we ended up making a card for our Italian father Danilo. We have become this small family of sorts: Danilo is the Dad and Dr. Dubs is the mom and there are 2 boys and 7 girls in the family. We are a precocious family seemingly challenging the boundaries of communication and interaction each day. We complement each other and fill in the gaps. Some of us speak our mind more than others. Some of us are too afraid to venture out into the unknown. As a whole, we encourage each other to not be afraid and forget time to enjoy the moment.
     After class as usual, Ali and I ventured into Rome by ourselves. She needed to finish up her walking tour and I just wanted to be in the city. I knew my way around well and I thought I would share the time with her. We ended up starting at the Spanish Steps. We had a slice of pizza at a little pizza shop right outside the entrance into the subway. They make amazing pizza. We then walked down Via Condotti and Via Della Corso to the Trevi Fountain. From the fountains of all fountains, we headed to the god of Piazzas, Piazza Novana. We then headed to the Lepanto Metro Station and came back to the intersection of Via Condotti and Via Della Corso. We happened to fall upon my absolute passion: AC ROMA's team shop. I am obsessed with soccer. I played through high school and my first two years of University. My career came to a crashing halt when I broke my left tibia from excessive stress fractures. It never healed right and I haven't been able to run well since.
     It was a constructive day and I enjoyed it. I honestly wish we had more time here. I am starting to feel the end of our semester coming to an end. I feel that there is never enough time in the day to experience all that I would like to experience. I feel rushed most times much like our scavenger hunt the other day. We run by so many beautiful things that I want to cry. Well, I can't wait to go to Florence to meet my new boyfriend David. He lives in the Gallery Anticanna. I heard he just got back from a military battle and will become King. I hope he looks like Prince William from the UK.

Caccia al Tesoro

We had a scavenger hunt in and around Piazza di Novana. Matt, Brittany and I were a group. Of course Matt is a slave driver and has to win.....He actually was quite funny about everything. I have asthma that kicks up when I have not been consistent with my exercises. Chasing after Matt down the sidewalks of Rome almost made with want to vomit. By the time we finished I was drenched in sweat, Brittany was dieing and Matt was bummed that we were told the wrong answers for many of the questions.
   It started out with 10 questions asking a random of facts about Rome. It was written in Italian so that we had Italian practice. My recollection tells me that for example: one of the questions asked about a famous fountain near the famous University of Rome. It was something about a fat guy sitting on a keg barrel. One of the disappointing things about this whole treasure hunt is that a majority of the Romans know nothing about the very eternal city they live in. We asked so many people for the answers to our questions. It was not like the answers were only known to the scholars of the city. They were rather common known knowledge. At one point we begged a bus driver to drive us to our destination. Finally, we became discouraged and stopped in at a travel agency and asked to use her computer. On the positive side, we were able to answer 5 of the 10 questions within the first 5 minutes of the hunt. When we arrived back we saw one of the other groups sitting with Danilo and Dr Dubs. When our answers were checked 2 of the 10 questions were wrong. Are you kidding me? Even the internet and travel agent is wrong. We walked back to Termini Station sulking as sore losers.
   When we arrived back to campus we decided to make plans for St. Patrick's Day in Rome. Let's see what comes of this.

A Day in the Life of Gaudi

       The next morning we headed out to see the famed church of Gaudi, La Sagrada Famili or The Sacred Family. It has been in the construction phase now for over 100 years. You can see when another decade occurred just like the rings in a tree. The stone becomes lighter. The amazing thing about this church is that it is fully funded by private donation. This is why the church has taken so much time to complete. Jenna made the remark that the church looks like wet sand slowly melting into the earth. I wonder if this church will be finished within my life time. As a souvenir, I bought a tile with the church engraved into it. I have been doing this quite often. I have built up a nice collection of tiles. Maybe one day I will use them to decorate my kitchen. Afterwards, we decided to break for lunch. We found a nice little Tapas Bar. Ali protested because she didn't want to try something she knows she will not like because it is not American food. (I want to make a point here. You never know until you try.)

She didn't want to try something that she wasn't familiar with in her America diet??? She found a KFC to have her lunch. KFC? You can get that at home. We are only here once for all we know and will never return abroad. You need to try food before you say no. I think that the international market of American Fast Food Chains has ruined the experience of foreign food for not so adventurous Americans. On the other hand, Ali would never try anything not American. This is her nature. This nature will fail her to gain the most out of this experience. For me, I would try even the craziest of things if I had the chance over eating a "heart attack" on a bun sandwich.

copy right: Emma Coleman

    We then headed to the famed Parque Guell also designed by Gaudi. We had walk up this steep walk way.....scratch that......We had to climb this hill to enter the park. The park is located on one of the highest hills in Barcelona. It was a pure cardio work out.  Matt, Nicole and Brittany were here two weeks ago. They made this video of them struggling to get to the top of the hill. We almost felt like doing the same. I do have to say that when we did arrive to the park it was like entering a dream. Gaudi was a master of twists and turns with exotic patterns and colors. As we walked around the park we noticed that every single corner had a thoughtful design and layout. Exiting the park, we stopped to enjoy a flute concert.
      We then headed down to the beach that we were trying to find yesterday. It was one of the longest walks ever to the beach but it was one of the cleanest beaches the girls have seen. For me, this was my first time seeing a beach. I have never walked on a beach before. I have never enjoyed the sand between my toes or the peaceful nature one feel just sitting in their own make shift armchair made from sand. I have also never experienced the wide variety of nudity. bahaha Some people should never sun bathe nude. It isn't meant for us all. I was enjoying every moment. Jenna was laughing at me because I looked like a five year old visiting the beach for the very first time. We ended up sunning at the beach for about two hours. An alarming thing at first was that this was a nude beach. Every so often we would walk past a nude sun bather or topless woman taking in the sun. The girls and I had a walk through the waves. We wondered why no one was in the water. Well, we found out why no one was in the water. It was ice cold. The sun, on the other hand, was a welcoming warmth to us. We found a nice spot and parked ourselves to enjoy the view. These guys behind us were trying to roll beers down a make shift sand hill to us. I think that they were trying to invite us to play this said tennis game. They were about our age and probably were interested because of our exotic Ohio Accent. We decided to leave the beach before the sun started to set. We wanted to share pyaya, muscles and blue cheese pizza at one of the restaurants along the beach for sun set.
      Ali again chose to order a hamburger and fries. She did not even want to try a bit of our pyaya. She missed out on a quintessential meal of Spain, especially Barcelona. 

     The next morning we started our journey nice at early at the ripe old hour of 6:30AM. We had to travel to Girona airport three hours away. When we arrived we begged for the border patrol to stamp our passport. They thought that we were childish for wanting it stamped. I talked to this guy for 5 minutes in Spanish telling him about why Americans like to have their passport stamped. In the end, we had to end the conversation because Ryanair decided to change our departure time and move it up. Then they changed the gate three times. Needless to say we looked like a "Home Alone" movie running all over the airport.   

I Am Sorry: Lo Siento...non mi dispiace

    After what took like for ever to get cleaned up, we met back at the Travel Bar for a Tapas tour and Flamenco dancing. We met out tour guide Max for drinks. I think he fancied Jenna. Since this was his first week in Barcelona and our first time in Barcelona he wanted to join us. He was a cool guy besides having a wee bit of a creeper side. Oh the people you meet when you travel. He probably thought the same of us.
   I have to share this story. We were walking with an escort to the restaurant to enjoy 20 plates of different tapas and Sangria. We were walking down this rather narrow street just like any other narrow street in Europe. The cobblestones were rather rough as well. Our group was scattered from edge to edge of the of the tiny street. Out of no where a woman comes racing past me on her bike and wipes out so bad in front of us. She flew into some parked Vespas. We were all shocked that we witnessed such a huge wipe out. I swear that even the cobblestones were screaming from the impact of her body against their random texture. Then, out of no where life must have taken its breath because this woman came running over to me so fast that I couldn't even comprehend what was about to happen to me. She starts screaming at me in Spanish that she rang her bell and I should have heard it. She started saying that this was "all of my fault and that I am a fat ass for taking up the whole road." Now I am on the larger side but when did a size 10 mean taking up the whole road. Then, she started digging her index finger into my chest and started screaming louder. I was so shocked that all I could remember is how to say I am sorry in Italian. I have been living in Italy now for 3 weeks. My ten years of Spanish education and communication was not top priority at the time. I just ended up saying nothing. Our escort came over and she decided to pop back on her bicycle and ride away. At this point I started to shake a little. This woman was barely 5 foot tall. I towered over her at my conservative height of 5 foot 8 inches and according to her, my fat ass size 10 butt. Her Spanish character overwhelmed me so much. I can't believe I was intimidated by a short woman for something that wasn't even my fault.
     Five minutes later out of no where I get this shove. She returned this time to attack me. My worst fears, I will beaten up by someone that I would out match. This time she starts verbally attacking me in English. I still couldn't get anything out of my mouth. I just started saying I am sorry over and over again. She wouldn't leave. This time, instead of her index finger, her fist started digging into me. The escort came running over towards us to talk her down. She wouldn't let it be. She wanted a piece of my fat ass size 10 self. It took the escort 10 minutes to talk her down. She became so loud at one point that everyone in the neighborhood started looking at me and her. Finally she dispersed. Through the silence came the funniest comment from an older English couple in our group. The wife said, "She must have been on dope or something." (It sounds so much better when someone English says it.)
    When we finally sat down at the restaurant everyone came rushing over to me. The scene looked like a meeting at the UN. There was probably 30 different nationalities asking whether I was alright. Wow, what a story eh? After a few glasses of the best Sangria and 20 different Tapas, the image of having a near beating by a Spanish lady passed over me. We then headed over to the Flamenco club to watch such an amazing show. My Spanish teachers through the years told me about how in person, this dance can be mesmerizing. The movements are made with such amazing emotion. I couldn't help but to be moved when she finished up her first dance. Even the music that accompanied her was amazing. I was loving every moment of it. Finally, a language and culture that I have studied for years is finally coming to life in front of me.

Gothic Barcelona

Gaudi church: Copyright-Emma Coleman

Santa Eulalia statue

Last night, Marty told us about a free tour of Gothic Barcelona. We had our breakfast and headed out to meet at a travel bar to meet our guide in Central Barcelona. Our tour guide was named Max and he had just arrived from Australia. We walked the way of the great Spanish artists Picasso and Gaudi. Max took us to some ancient Roman Ruins of ancient Catalucia. We almost had to laugh. We see these types of ruins everyday. We were almost not phased by them at all. We have seen more interesting ones in our backyard. One of the most interesting stops was in the area that Santa Eulalia was martyred. She was subjected to 13 tortures. One that sticks with me the most is that she was thrown in a barrel with knives stuck in it. She was then rolled down a steep part of the street over and over again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eulalia_of_Barcelona This website is a nice summary of her history. When she was crucified in the piazza it snowed. It never snows in Barcelona.  She is such an interesting person to read about. I would give in after 1 torture let alone 13 tortures.
    We then headed over to the school that Pablo Picasso's father taught at. This is where he received much of his early art education. The odd thing about this area is that it is considered throughout history to be the "red light" district of Barcelona. One of Picasso's famous paintings of the many naked ladies is said to be of the whores that inhabited that street during his early years. Interesting enough, we walked through Plaza Real and Plaza Tripe. These areas are known for their architecture and for the known drug dealings of Gothic Barcelona. Hmmm, at least this tour was free. One of the more interesting stops was the church that Gaudi frequented. The focus was on the bomb damage on the outside of the church. King Ferdinad ordered Mussolini to drop a bomb in the Plaza as to make known the Spanish regime meant business. The bomb damage can still be seen to this day.
   Our tour was then ended back at the travel bar. We decided to stay at the bar to have lunch and shared a beer with Max. He told us of a man that walks the Olympic beach that is called Elephant Man. His butt is tattooed to look like a speedo and the front like an elephant. I will let you use your imagination. Needless to say, we headed to the beach after lunch only to fail at finding the said Elephant Man. We ended up walking across the Millennium bridge to see all of the illegals selling every knock off brand imaginable. All of these illegals seem to be of Northern African decent. They all have the same look and they all sell the same off brand merchandise that the same group of people sell in Italy. We headed back to our Hostel and came upon the famed street Las Ramblas. To best describe this famous street it is a twist of Las Vegas and Bohemian art. The street performers are amazing. There was this one that was pretending to look like a statue. He was the Devil and when you dropped a coin in the can he would come to life. The weird part of it all is that this puppet he had would turn around and freak everyone out. Everyone seemed to have a marketable skill from statue art to volleying a soccer ball head to toe. My thought is that these soccer people should actually put their skill to work and play for a team not pan handle on the street. I have played soccer both on a university level and semi-pro. My volley skills sucked compared to these men.

 

Barcelona: late night arrival.

    After our very odd trip through the catacombs: Rachel, Jenna, Ali and I raced back to Termini train station to grab our bags and jump on the train to Ciampino Airport. We are headed to Girona and then on the bus to Barcelona. We are not due to arrive until 1am Barcelona time. But who cares? I am excited to just see another city in another country. It will be our first time flying within the continental Europe. When we arrived in Spain we walked straight through customs. We were all shocked because we were used to being stopped and getting a stamp in our passport. We later learned that the Schengen agreement allows free movement across boarders between all signed countries. Being American however, we wanted our passports stamped. Total bummer! Exiting the airport, we found the proper bus to Barcelona and bought a return ticket. The ride was about an hour and a half to two hours into the main Barcelona bus station across from the subway. A thoughtful conversation was started on the bus. The question was asked what we were all trying to make of this semester abroad. Rachel asked me why I am trying to get so much out of this trip and not worry about friends so much. I think Rachel noticed that I was trying to distance myself from her. I told her that I wanted her to have her own trip. I wanted her to challenge herself without the comforts of me being around. For me, I wanted to examine my life in different ways. I wanted to challenge the boundaries that I have become comfortable with in my life. I also, and most importantly for me, I wanted to breath life into the history and stories of my Italian grandparents. I wanted to have a sense of where they came from and why the family left.     When we arrived to Barcelona and got into the subway we had to call Matt. Matt, Nicole and Brittany traveled here two weeks ago. We weren't too sure how to buy our tickets. We had to get on clot and transfer to the purple line and get off at Pep Ventura. No one was on the train and it was also 1am. Being women and traveling outside of our comfortable Rome, we were afraid of pretty much our own shadow. When we arrived we pretty much walked out of the subway and right into the hostel. We were staying in Barcelona Dream: http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Be-Dream-Hostel/Barcelona/11639?source=adwordsbarcelonanamesbff&KID=1136577&AID=2&sub_keyword=barcelona+dream+hostel&sub_ad=e&sub_publisher=ADW&gclid=CMCIvJT2prkCFYFhMgodVhoAaQ. It reminded us of an art student's dorm room. It was so nice. Marty, the guy at the front desk told us that we might have a guy staying with us. We told him that we would prefer not to have anyone in the room. He agreed to keep it just us which is rare when staying in hostels. They pretty much throw anyone in a room with you. The room was cozy, there were lockers and we felt quite safe. We tried to get some food but nothing was open. Marty fed us with spaghetti. We ate while we spoke with some Irish girls who shared a can of beer with us. It was like college living all over. Marty pretty much told us everything we needed to know. The hostel even had free breakfast.

TOMBS, TOMBS, TOMBS

     Yesterday was an over all stressful day. I think that it has finally set in for everyone that we are living in a foreign country. Today is Dr. Dubs birthday. We decided to go to the United Color of Bennetton store and buy her something pink to cheer her up. Danilo gathered us all up and told us to get Dr. Dubs to have a meeting with him. We were to set up the sitting room with the pink champagne and the birthday cake made by the Pope's pastry shop in Albano. Danilo said that he would make up some story that we were bad and he wanted to talk to her about it. When she walked in, she was in tears. She said it was one of the best surprises for her. Yesterday just put her over the edge. We danced around for the night to music and had a great time. Tomorrow we are headed to the Catacombs of ancient Rome. It shall be interesting walking around in the catacombs.

     Jenna, Rachel, Ali and I are headed out to Barcelona tonight immediately after we visit the catacombs. All of the catacombs are outside of the old Roman walls. Christians were not allowed to be buried within the walls. One thing that I find interesting is that one woman donated the majority of her family land for the Christian cause of burial. I have to admit that I was not expecting what I was about to experience. Death and cemeteries always carry a certain cord with me. I can just hold it together enough to look like I have it together. When we arrived to the catacombs we walked into a nice brick building. Now, if this is what it is going to be I will be rather surprised. Out of the darkness of descending stairs to the levels below comes our tour guide. I have to say that she was about the weirdest tour guide I have ever met. She introduced herself in this spacey type voice. She kind of reminds me of Professor Tralawney from Harry Potter. She only said one thing to us before be descended down stairs into the necropolis. She stated that we are to never stray from the group. A researcher years ago got lost down there for 3 days before someone found him. That is how vast these tombs are. We all exchanged a look of fright towards each other as we walked down the stairs.

     "Tombs, Tombs, Tombs," our guide exclaims as our eyes adjust to the dimly light darkness. The tombs were dug out into the volcano dirt. The best way to describe what the tombs look like would be a maze of hallways of volcanic dirt. In the walls are the coves that the once whole bodies were laid to rest. The majority of the tombs were opened and the bodies removed. The closed tombs have either a tombstone of sorts over the opening or it is bricked up. Our guide suggested we put our hands in one of the open tombs to feel the cold volcanic ash. She stuck her hand in to show that it was not going to disappear on us. When she pulled her hand out she did something so weird. She smelled her hand. WHY??? I don't have a big problem with death as long as I don't linger too long. Our tour guide was lingering too long. We all started to freak out a bit. She did explain that the rich would be buried in a family room of sorts. In these rooms were paintings off the disciples or of Jesus. Little dishes were carried down to the tomb filled with oil that would light the way.  Towards the end of our tour, our guide took us to one of the most famous rooms. This room was very different than what we have been walking through. This room had vaulted ceilings. On one part was a painting of the last supper about the main tomb. She told us that this tomb was most likely the patriarch of the family. It is hard to put into words how beautiful this room was. How can death be beautiful? As we ascended the steps back to the living, I felt in awe of what I had experienced. I think it is honorable to be able to see where populations past were buried and now are an example to the present.

   Rachel, Jenna, Ali and I had to rush back to the trains station because we were headed out to Barcelona later this evening. We decided to fly out tonight so that we have a full day tomorrow. This will be our first experience flying with RyanAir, the student's discount airline that can either be a dream come true or a nightmare. Now, we have to fly into Girona which is really close to France. Then, we will have to take a 2 hour bus into Barcelona where we will catch the subway to our hostel. This shall be interesting.

Change of Tide

    Have you ever had one of those days when you think that everything will be great but turns for the worse real fast? I have and today is that day. I woke up to the most beautiful skies in Castel Gandolfo so far. I can even see the Mediterranean Sea from my window. Being here, everything seems to speak in a different light. My pictures are loading currently from the weekend trip. I am waiting until we head into Rome for the day. We are headed to Trestevere neighborhood.

    OKay, I knew today was going to be weird. I ended up taking a ten minute shower and took nearly an our to get ready. Most mornings it is the other way around. This was the first day that I did not feel welcomed in Rome. Every time I tried, I seemed to mess something up or get blamed for something else. When we were on the bus, we struck up a conversation with an older lady headed to one of the hospitals to visit family. Danilo took advantage of having an Italian lesson.
    The first church was okay. It was designed in the Byzantine style. The church is well known for the St. Anthony statue. Adorers from around the world write letters to St. Anthony asking for help. Well, since today was about to get worse, I asked for Serenity to accept the day and move on. After our visit at the church we went over to Blue Ice to have gelato. I didn't want any and everyone kept baggering me to get some. Dr. Dubs came over to talk to me and asked what was wrong. I just burst out crying. This was the first time that I did not want to be in Rome. Everything just seemed overwhelming. In the end, I needed a good cry.
    The group ended up splitting up in two: one group went to the Jewish Ghetto and my group went to go buy Dr. Dubs birthday present. Her birthday is coming soon. We headed to the Louis Vitton store since it is her favorite to buy her a small gift. We ended up running into the Colorado couple that we met on the boat to Capri. It was so random. We ended up exchanging emails in hopes that we could see pictures of the shared moment together on the boat. We took a look around and didn't find anything. This day just needs to end.
     Looking back on this day I think that it is important to remember. I think up until this point my head was in the clouds walking around Rome. This brought me back to life or else reality. I needed to have a day like this to remember that one must pay attention every single moment. Catastrophe can happen when least expected. The day did continue to get worse for me......accidental accusing of stealing, turning my back on one of the most holy Madonna statues in Rome, tripping over a valuable set-up, etc......like I said it got worse. Everyone needs a day like this to remind themselves that they are human.

Sorrento to Capri::Capri to Sorrento

      We hurried down to the docks to buy or round trip ticket to Capri. It cost around 27 euros. It covered to and from. The trip across took 20 minutes. The rest of the group backed out because they felt that it cost too much money for only 2 hours on the island. We got back late from Pompeii so that is why our time was cut short. Still, none the less I do not regret the short trip. I think it was one of the best moments being abroad. It was the first time that we were able to break away from the "Walsh site visits" and experience something on our own. Ali, Brittany, Jenna and I hopped on the boat and walked up to the top deck. We were getting odd looks from all of the locals down below in the enclosed area. It is early March time and still quite cold in southern Italy. Especially cold crossing a good piece of water. We didn't care. We wanted to see everything. Jenna was so afraid that she was going to get sea sick crossing over to the island. The waters were choppy. A few waves were collapsing on the top deck that we were enjoying our view. We met this Colorado couple spending two months abroad in Italy for vacation. They started asking us questions about why we decided to visit Capri, about our university and such. A big no no.....we kept a lot of our information quiet. One never knows when they will meet a creeper.

      I had to call home to my parents and tell them where I was headed. I didn't even pay attention to the time difference. It could have been the wee hours of the morning. Yet, my parents answered the phone with a lovely tone. When I told them I was on a boat to Capri my mother told me that my grandparents went there when they went back to Italy. My grandfather was born in Italy and my grandmother born in the states. When they went months before he died in 1974, it was the first time he had been back since he was born. I felt so honored to have the chance to travel the same path they were able to travel. The water was so beautiful.
      The homes of Capri were speckled over the side of the island like an ancient God had to sneeze and they fell into place. Each house screamed a bright color that could be seen just off the coast. When we got off the boat we wondered all the way to the top. It was odd to look back across the water and imagen viewing our classmates mad that they missed this view. After a bit of wondering around we headed back down to the bay to have an espresso and wonder around a bit before we headed back to the boat. Our tickets to Sorrento came in a pair. The Sorrento to Capri tickets were taken when to headed to Capri and the second half we taken when we headed back. When we went to get back on the boat, I was stopped because apparently my ticket was incorrect. I had the Sorrento to Capri ticket. I never looked at the ticket when the ticket guy gave it back to me heading to the island. He stopped me and told me that I could not get on the boat because of the wrong ticket. I told him frantically that it was a mistake. I wasn't given the proper ticket back heading over. He was addimit  about making me stay on the island. I panicked and called Danilo telling him that I was about to be stuck on the Island of Capri for the night. The first boat back was not until 6am the following morning. We are suppose to leave and head back to Rome tomorrow. I wouldn't be able to get back home. He told me that there wasn't much he could do for me. I started panicking again and then Jenna, ALi and Brittany came off the boat and started to help me. Finally, the ticket guy caved in and let me on the boat. I think that if I were a more experienced traveler this event would not have phased me. Since this is the first time for me being abroad I was overwhelmed by shear panic.
      We headed up to the top deck again and were joined by our Colorado buddies. We told them what happened to me. They were astounded that the ticket guy was so rude. Never less, I don't regret going. It was an amazing 2 hours on the Island of Capri.

In the morning, a few of us headed to mass at the Cathedral of Sorrento. This Cathedral is famous for the hanging cross suspended over the main alter. There was a cute little choir that sang the hymns for the mass. It was such a lovely experience other than the massive amount of incense. After Mass, Jenna and Rachel joined me shopping for shoes. I found a lovely pair that were originally 100 euros and bought them for 40 euros. When I told the lady that I wear a 42 in shoes she nearly died. She looked down at my feet. hahah Yes, I have big feet join the club! When we got back to the hotel I showed Danilo what I bought and he said that the high heels are made in his hometown. Today also is Women's Day. The boys bought us mimosa flowers. The day is in remembrance of a clothing factory fire in New York City. 150 women lost their lives. I find it intriguing that a fire and loss of life in NY is celebrated around the world like this.

The Pompeii Sandwich

Mount Vesuvius 

I woke up earlier than everyone else and decided to head down to breakfast. I saw the two NYU girls and decided to chat with them until my group joined me for the morning.

Pompeii Bathrooms

I was excited to see Pompeii today because unlike the Baths of Caracalla, you can walk in and out of the buildings. One can really get a sense of what ancient life was like. After breakfast we met our "Alec Baldwin" look-a-like tour guide. Such good looking man. He took us through the highlights of the cite. He did mention that to this day, much of the cite is still being discovered. The reason why much of the area was not flattened by the volcano is because the architecture saved the buildings. The vaulted ceiling held the wait of the ash and did not collapse upon itself. Thank God for Roman engineering. Mr. Alec Baldwin stated that around 3,000 citizens were killed. Many more could have died. However, many people left during the hours between the explosion and the gas that emanated from the volcano.
    One of the oddest places we walked past were the public toilets. Just picture a board running across the prongs that stick out here. Picture a couple people sitting down to have the chat while they do their business. Now that isn't that weird. What I thought was weird was that there was a communal sponge to wipe your butt. Ewww. That is how diseases are spread. The funny thing is that the saying wipe with your left and shake with your right also came from Pompeii.
      Another crazy thing about Pompeii is the "red light district" or the translation of the Wolves Quarter in Italian. The whores were taxed like any other person. The picture to the side here shows the sex position that the whore specialized in. When the men would come into the house, the lady would stand below the position that she was good at. The men would glance up at the photo. If he liked that position then he would offer a price and they would get to work. One of the strangest positions is called the Pompeii sandwich. I won't get into details but holy crap....I don't know what to think about these ancients.

     Many of these human plaster cast were creepy to view. A hollow spot was discovered and someone decided to fill it with plaster to see what came of the spot. Many of these cast contain the human bones and remains of the person who died. The one here is a woman who is pregnant. She is wearing the "pregnancy" belt just below her breast area to hide her pregnancy. The majority of the casts and artifacts from Pompeii are on exhibit in the museum in Naples. We did not get to visit the museum but I have been told it is a must for anyone who is visiting the area.
     After our tour of Pompeii we headed over to a maker of Limoncello. Limoncello is a digestivo drank after meals to help digest the food. Limoncello is made from an 80 proof or higher alcohol flavoured with lemon peels. This mix can sit for around a month so that the lemon peels can infuse the alcohol properly. Then, a whole lot of sugar is added. We tested three different flavours: chocolate, cream and regular. Many of us bought bottles to bring back with us to America. I ended up having a sandwich and me and a few of the girls headed back because we wanted to travel over to the island of Capri.

Appassionato

Padre Pio tucked among the rocks in the Bay of Naples

    I have to say that Naples, for me, is where the true understanding of what Italian appasionato or passion can be found. Naples is every crayon in the box. It is every chocolate ate swirling around in a crazy flavour. Naples is not just about the crime or the birth place of pizza. Naples is about the passion for life that Italians seems to have been bread with and live their lives for. We were prepared to not wear anything of value. We were warned to keep a close eye on our cameras. I think this warning is what turns everyone off from Naples. Just warning everyone, we did have a close call of a Rolex watch attempted to be stolen and a few butts grasped while on the bus but we all survived. Looking past this, Naples is an amazing city.
   From the train station we headed to the subway to get off at the Mellegina stop. We are going to walk along the bay in the rich area of Naples. Wow, to be rich and live along this bay would be lovely. Most of the buildings are now grande hotels. A century ago, these buildings were grande mansions. I am amazed by this bay because this is the bay that docks all of the huge cruise ships. This is also the bay that millions of Italians left Italy for America. This is the Bay that my great-grandparents left from to head to America with their 12 children to achieve the American dream. We rounded the bay and I had to stand on one of the rocks to view the same view that my great-grandparents had. As we continued on, we came across these gentlemen selling the catch of the day: octopus, squid and small fish. One of the guys started playing with the octopus enticing one of us to buy it for our lunch. Sorry guys, we are having pizza.

 

Castle Nuovo

    Danilo stopped us to talk to us about the locks of Naples. The youth of Naples are so passionate about their love. When they want to express their love, they come down to the bay and write their names on a lock. They lock it up on one of the fences lining the bay. On the lock the names of the two lovers is written. Then the key is thrown into the bay. This is passionate love.

Piazza Plebiscito

    Danilo, stopped us again to talk about about Castle Nuovo. This once was the castle that housed the King of Naples and Palermo. There is also an old story that there was a golden egg thought to have been housed in the castle. The castle is placed perfectly in the bay surrounded by three sides of water. It is almost impenetrable. We continued around the bay until we reached Piazza Del Plebiscito. It is named after the plebiscite that brought Naples into the unified Kingdom of Italy. It is one of the largest piazzas in Naples. There is so much international history in this piazza. We just kept walking because we needed to head to lunch.
     To the right of this piazza and up about a block is an amazing hole in the wall family run restaurant that serves some of the most amazing Italian dishes I have ever tired. This little old man was waiting outside of the door for any sight of Danilo and us. He was a cute little thing. He quickly sat us down at our table inside and started laying everything imaginable in front of us to eat. There were so many variations of bruschetta and many different antipastas. I chose to order the mazzerella di buffala pizza or buffalo's milk mazzerella pizza. This was my first time trying the buffalo's milk mazzerella and I have to say it was amazing. Honestly, it was a food coma. We had to walk in order to get the food to digest. Danilo said that for the afternoon we would walk through old Naples. This is where we had to pay special attention to our personal belongings. Many people are robbed on the streets of old Naples.

Procepia (nativity scenes)

There is a huge difference from the grande boulevards of the bay area compared to Old Naples. The streets are closer and the buildings are taller. I think the idea of "craming" the most people into a smaller area can be understood here. This is where many of the dreamers leaving Italy to go to America stayed. This is also one of the poorest area in Naples. However, I find it one of the most interesting areas I have walked through. I think that the very passion of the Italian people lives in every square inch of this place. The best way for me to describe my experience here is that it is like walking into a fiery pit swirling around with every emotion possible. Many of the shops display rare trades that are only found in Naples. Paper flowers are made in one shop. In another shop statues are made of every Saint around the world. I tired my luck in this shop. I have been trying to find a statue of Saint Laurence or San Lorenzo. His is the patron saint of cooks. He was char grilled to death. Before he died he yelled out "turned me over I am done on this side." Many Italian kitchens have this statue displayed on a shelf overseeing the Sunday Pranzo with extended family and friends. My luck ran out because the shop only makes this statue on request. I don't have time to wait for a statue to be made. Darn!!! One of the more interesting stores was one that makes manger scenes. In Naples these scenes are called procepia. Every home will have one displayed year round. The restaurant that we had pizza in even had one on display. I would have loved to buy one and bring it back for my parents but most were too large. Jesus' birth was displayed in many settings even in an Eskimo village.
   We toured two of the most famous churches in Naples: the Jesuit Church of Jesus Nuovo and Santa Chiara. In one of the small chapels of the Jesuit Church holds Ex-votos in forms of different body parts asking for grace or thanks. They are hung in a chapel in dedication towards a doctor in the early 1900's that had the knack for curing his patients of all aliments. We took a bathroom break. We were all going to meet in this side hallway just so we were all together. I was the last one to return from the bathroom. Apparently everyone from my group had been removed from the area. What I was told by the group is that there was an exercisim happening. A Priest had removed them. Natalie was rather freaked out by the whole thing. As creepy as it was....I felt like I had missed something big.
   We had to catch the bus back to the train station to catch the train into Sorrento. On the bus back, apparently Matt had someone trying to steal something out of his pocket. We were packed so tight on the bus that he couldn't tell whether it was one of us bumping him or someone really was trying to steal something out of his pocket. The swirling concern of having something stolen echoed around the bus. We were finally able to get off at the bus station and catch the Circumvesuvian train into Sorrento. We are staying that the Ulyssess Deluxe Hostel. http://www.ulissedeluxe.com/sorrento-inexpensive-accommodation.html  When Danilo said it was a hostel we all thought oh crap it is going to be trashy. Were we ever in a surprise. While on the train, I stood with Rocco and we started chatting with these two American girls who are students at NYU. They are studying in Florence for the year and headed down to Sorrento for the weekend. They just so happened to be staying at the same place we are staying.

On the Train Heading to Naples.

All roads or at least train lines lead to Italy. Not really, but it does lead to my very first ride on a fast train. I was talking to Danilo earlier this week about how in America trains are not the biggest mode of travel. The only time I have been on a train was to travel on a scenic route through Amish country or through Gettysburg Civil War Battle field. The trains I rode on then were the old cold/steam engines from pre-world war 2 era. I have never been on a modern train nor a fast train. The fast train is supposed to travel at around 200 miles per hour. I started to have these wild images in my head that the train would travel so fast that I would not be able to decipher what I was viewing out the window.

This weekend we are headed to Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii and Capri. This is our first weekend that we as a group will be traveling together. As a student of the Rome Experience, we are to travel together as a group for three separate weekends to specific destinations. This weekend happens to be one of those weekends. We woke up this morning at 5:30am to get ready and head into Rome to catch the train. Jenna blew the electricity because she was trying to straighten her hair.

Rocco is sitting across from me while on the train. This French couple is sitting next to us. Rocco and I decided to strike up a conversation about Mona Lisa just to see if they spoke English. Within the randomness of the conversation, we both found out that the lady actually works at the Louvre and handles the Mona Lisa daily. She told us that Mona is painted on about an inch think piece of wood. The painting is on the small side. Much smaller than one would think. The couple even taught Rocco and I a few words in French. They asked us what we were doing heading to Naples. We told them that we are American students  studying in Rome and are headed to Naples for a trip with the class. We have been warned to not divulge too much information about ourselves because one can never trust people too much.

Epic Tours of Palentine Hill with Bobo.

Our Lovely Tour Guide

   It has been raining the past couple of days and many of our visits have been canceled due to the rain. We were to walk the main two miles along the Roman Aqueducts but that was canceled as well. Yesterday, we had a tour of Palentine Hill. This is the great hill and home of the ancient rulers of Rome. I have to say that this was the first time that a tour was disappointing. Our poor tour guide barely spoke English. Plus, she barely knew anything about the site. She showed pictures from a book that any tourist could buy based on Palentine Hill. One of the main reasons why we were touring Palentine Hill was to see the home of Augustus Caesar. We have seemed to be receiving disappointment after disappointment this week. The home was closed. We were just able to peak over some guard rails to glance at the proposed home of the founders of Rome: Romulus and Remus.
   We were introduced to Bobo the wooden monkey during our visit to Palentine Hill. While waiting in line to enter the site, Matt start bartering with the Africans selling all the cheap crap . He managed to work his Italian barter skills to get this wooden monkey that was originally 20 euros down to 7 euros. This wooden monkey became our mascot. It sort of became a "where's Bobo" game and who could take pictures of him in the oddest place. We are an optimistic group. We turned a horrible tour into an exciting photo opt.

      It was a grande place to walk around in. I remember glancing up at the hill while we were walking around in the Roman Forum. I was so intrigued by the grande arches of the Palace. In the ancient days, these arches held the windows that the inhabitants of the hill could glance through down onto the main street of ancient Rome. I am impressed with the fact that this site is probably the most intact site in all of ancient Rome. Well, at least the most intact of all the places I have seen so far.

Matt with Bobo on his shoulder

   



.........Okay, Italian class is so stressful. Well, for me it is. I find it so difficult because I have studied Spanish for 10 years and I am a fluent speaker/ translator. Spanish is so close to Italian. I have such a hard time turning off the Spanish switch in my head and leaving on the Italian switch. The other problem is that I translate my Italian into Spanish. I translate my Spanish into English. Danilo is our Italian professor. He always makes the comment "Emma, this isn't Spanish class. This is Italian class." Danilo, I am trying so hard. You know I am because I am the first one to speak up while out in public. On this day, we had a two hour lesson of Italian while on campus. Then, we went out into Rome. When we came back we had an additional two hour lesson for Italian up in Castel Gandolfo at Cafe Baruffa, Andrea's Bar. Ugh, I just had enough time to digest the Italian from this morning and the practice while in the city. Give me a moment to breath.
      Actually, the two additional hours at the cafe were un-expectantly pleasant. Sitting beside us was a group of ladies chatting away. Danilo decided to have us talk with them. One of the ladies, Assunta, whom owns the restaurant that we will have our farewell dinner at ( http://www.sorcapanna.it/) became so interested in us. These ladies reminded me of my Grandmother Frances and her sisters talking with each other at the table. This was my high for the day. It is my high for the day because these ladies were so nice to us and really wanted to help us with our Italian. This moment took some of the stress off of me. Language is suppose to be enjoyable not stressful. At the end of our lesson we had to tell them a little paragraph about each of us. They listened so tentatively. The ladies then got up to say good bye to us. One of the ladies stopped to finish her chocolate. The rest of the ladies turned around to this friend and told her in Italian that if she continued to eat so much chocolate it would go to her ass. I laughed and they turned to me and asked if I understood it. I admitted yes. This was the first time that I felt like I was truly understanding Italian.
      We headed back down the crazy steep hill to campus. We were going to watch the movie The Gladiator. We were about 3/4 the way through the movie when the fire alarm went off. Oh, no. I don't want to loose my things. We were all rushed out of the building. Danilo and Brother Mario were running around to see what tripped the alarm. While we were standing outside a storm started to blow up. It was so windy. We were looking for the smoke to start billowing out of the building. We stood there for 40 minutes when we decided to come back inside because it was cold outside. Many of us were in our casual lounge clothes and didn't have a jacket on. Finally, Danilo and Brother Mario found that someone blew a switch in their room. The power conversion isn't working out too well for us here. All of our electronics keep blowing the breakers and alarms.
        Okay, this is becoming ridiculous. I seem to be tripping over any and every cobblestone possible. Today, while heading up the hill to town to have our additional Italian class, a cobble stone jumped out of no where. I happened to trip over it and fly clean into the street with my Italian book in hand. I was almost ran over by a few of the crazy drivers coming around the corner. They were so mad that I didn't get up fast enough. Danilo was driving the car up to town. He came out of the driveway and saw that I was limping up the hill. Ali stopped the car and asked if I could get in. Everyone started to laugh because by now, my tripping everywhere seems to be funny.

Crazy Woman Stealing Pizza

The Vice President of the University has arrived with his family for the week. It is rather stressful and we all feel that we can not enjoy our experiences as much. It is just for the week so we will all survive. A few of us broke off today with Dr. Dubs to walk near Piazza Nova. We had lunch down a side street at this little pizzaeria. The only crazy thing for the day is that towards the end of our lunch a homeless lady started screaming up and down the street. She came over to our table and Matt was trying to be nice and talk with her. As soon as we blinked she stole the rest of his pizza. The waiter said that she is the queen of the street. He has a hard time keeping her away from the restaurant. Homeless is a problem any where in the world. We had been told that the homeless and the gypsies are slick at stealing things and money for the bill right off the tables at outdoor restaurants. Matt had his hand on our bill money the whole time she was near us.

The Black Wolf Who....

 So, we decided against going to Asissi and decided to go shopping in Albano, the next town over and last stop on out train line. When we got off the train we had to walk up this crazy leveled walk way up into the town. Everything is up hill in Italy. I am so tired of walking up hill both ways to see a village. The older women amaze me. Their cardio endurance must be amazing compared to my college cardio endurance. Their legs are so defined. My legs on the other hand are like tree trunks. We found this beautiful little park and had a nice walk. I liked the main thorough fare of the park. Each side of the gravel path was lined with Italian Cyprus trees. In between each tree was a park bench. Sitting on each park bench must have been the local men's club. They had their dogs marching around the bench proudly while the men seemed to yell at each other from one bench to another. The cutest little thing to watch.
      I like Albano in a different way compared to Castel Gandolfo. Albano seems to have less of the ambiance of the Pope and local gossip. The older women are hanging their clothes out to dry from the lines dangling just outside their windows. They yell down to the people in the street to ask how everyone is doing. The children run around kicking their soccer balls into the building walls. Occasionally, one ball gets away from them and slips into a store front.We found a pizza shop to have lunch in for the afternoon. I had un pezzo pomodoro con prossutto e mazzeralla with a bottle of orange Fanta. Danilo has got me into Fanta. Every morning he grabs a bottle of Fanta at Johnnie's shop before we get on the train. None of us found anything worthy of buying so we headed back on the train and went back to campus.
    A couple of us headed outside to sit in the Kiwi vineyard to have a chat. Jenna, Rachel and I were talking about what we want in a guy. Jenna recommended that I make a list of things that I want in a relationship and what I want in a boyfriend. I made a list and found that my boyfriend Ray did not fit many of the things that I wanted. It was at this point that I realized that I did not want to be in a relationship with Ray any more. I had been dating him for seven months now. He wanted to marry me but I didn't. I realized that he was not going to make me happy. We sat outside until the sun started to go down. The group was heading up into town to have an apperativo before we had dinner at Cafe' Baruffa or Andre' Bar. Next door to campus is the Agriturismo Casale degli Archi. They have a restaurant that opens after the farm work is done. Agriturismo's are family run farm houses that rent rooms and sometimes have restaurants. They are a wonderful experience.
     We were sat down stairs in this lovely brick room that we had all to ourselves. Danilo started this game called "the black wolf who." It is a memory game of sorts. The first person starts it: The black wolf who wears shoes. They next person says the black wolf who wears shoes and eats babies. The game became so outrageous that we got into this laughing fit. Then, it turned into pure banter. It was one of those moments that anything seemed funny because we went beyond reality and into craziness. I love moments shared around a table with good company and great food. These memories are the ones that I cherish the most. We all learned about the art of the digestivo. One can choose to have an espresso, a shot of jagermeister or a shot of limoncello to finish off your meal. The idea behind the digestivo is to help digest your meal. My bill at the end of the night was 30 euros. I would have paid 100 euros to have another night like this again. 


 

The Baths of Caracalla

    We visited the Baths of Caracalla today. The baths are near the Stadio Olympico where AS Roma plays, my favorite soccer team. Today was the first day that I actually felt that I was able to walk in ancient Rome. We had to wait outside for our tour guide today. Rachel came up with the idea to play charades. We were all sitting around in a circle guessing various different phrases. I ended up guessing Rachel's phrase which was broccoli trees. I remembered her telling me that she thought the Italian trees looked like a stock of broccoli. Since I guessed her phrase it was my turn. I settled on my old stand by of "cocktail dress." Needless to say the guesses started to become rather pornographic. Every time I play charades I always use that phrase. I blame it on a time I was at a friend's house in high school for a party after a musical I was in. We were playing charades and she used that phrase. Since then I use that same charades phrase.
     Finally, our tour guide came. He was the same man that guided us through the Capitolini Museo days earlier. He was an excellent tour guide then so I was looking forward to learning about the baths. The baths were the earliest form of the spa but more manly. First thing the men would do is come into the baths and disrobe. The term gymnasium has root in "becoming nude." These men would then head to the gymnasium nude. They would do their various exercises and sweat out all of the impurities. Additional heat would be added to warm the floors of the gymnasium. The technology of the additional heat area is interesting. The floor would be elevated off of the base floor where the heat could circulate through heating the tiled floors. It would even travel up through the walls. The Romans were ingenious. They developed this system that would recycle the humidity off the walls back into the heating system. After the men would sweat out all of their impurities they would then head to the pool area to wash off the sweat. The pool area here in Caracalla.was among the largest in ancient Rome. After the men had a few laps and washes by their slaves boys or boy lovers, they would move on to the fridgidarium or the cold room. Moving to this room would help close the pores of the skin. This is important so that impurities do not get into the skin and cause irritations. This area is so different compared to the Roman Forum. The over crowded Disney nature that the Forum had did not exists here. We pretty much had the place to ourselves. It doesn't seem to be frequented by the tourists.

Doc Dubs

      Our guide left us to wonder around the area. Doc Dubs had just bought a new coat with a pleat in it this morning at the train station. She was walking around modeling the coat. Out of no where she threw her scarf around her head and exclaimed she was a movie star. Cheers to being the movie star for that brief moment.
    Every where we turned there was another new exciting bit of the place we could explore all to ourselves. After much hiking around we gathered near the entrance. We were parting ways with Matt, Nicole and Brittany for our first weekend because they were heading to Barcelona, Spain. I had opted to stay for the weekend to explore some more. Plus, there were talks of going to Assisi. I was dieing to go there because Saint Frances is whom my beloved grandmother is named after. She was born on his feast day. I am not too sure whether we will go but it would be nice. We have to travel in a group. We are not allowed to travel alone unfortunately!
   

Matt is showing Danilo his picture and Jenna and Ali are pretend sleeping. 

On our way back to the train station Doc Dubs wanted to head over to the Trevi Fountain for the first time. I couldn't pass this up. I have been dieing to see the fountain. I have this burning desire to wade in the waters much like what was done in the movie La Dulce Vita. Thinking smart, I best not because I will be arrested.

I loved the walk up to the fountain because you can hear the waters causing such a noise. Rounding the corner and there it is, Fontana di Trevi, a beautiful site. I walked down to the water surface to get a look at the carvings closer. I love this creature off to the side blowing on his horn. He beckons the water creatures up from the depths to join Neptune on his throne of power. The water creatures seem to breath life into the drowning powers of water. It is an amazing piece of work. We did not throw our coins into the fountain because one is supposed to throw their coin into the fountain on their last day in Rome. That way they will return to the eternal city.

When we got back to campus, Fratello Giovanni gave me a birthday card. He is this cute short old man whom has dedicated his life to the Brothers of Christian instruction. he is probably nearing his mid 80's. He is no taller than 5 feet and wears thick framed glasses. He pretends that he understand English when he approaches us. He even tries to ask in the cutest way for English lessons. He was so cute when he walked up to me. He said while handing the card to me: "For you. Happy Birthday Beautiful." Now, Fratello Mario is rather hard to read. He is the Brother that runs the main house and our campus. He is very business like compared to Fratello Giovanni. He scares most of us because he seem unapproachable. He very rarely even talks to us. The majority of the time he comes in during dinner and talks to Danilo about us and walks out. He seems to always be complaining. I think he needs a good hug. hahah.