Leave of Absence

I may have difficulty blogging in the upcoming week. I have two eight-page papers and a marketing plan to work on. I want to do as well as possible on these, so I will most likely be spending my time working on those instead of blogging.

Ciao!

Florence

I am FINALLY going to Florence. It was the one place I wanted to visit when coming to study abroad in Italy. There was no way I was leaving Italy without returning to my favorite Italian city.

Alicia and I are heading out at the early hour of 6 a.m. A good portion of the trip will be spent on the train. It takes four hours to travel to Florence from Rome, but the tickets are cheap! We will be spending two nights in the small city. Then, we will be spending the day in Assisi on Sunday.

I am prepared to come home broke after this trip. Number one goal: lots and lots of leather! Number two goal: do not come home with a black eye (could not resist that one).

Ciao!

No Lights=No Good

I thought this might be a good time to talk about some aspects of Italian culture. I am not going to talk about language. I am not going to mention food. Nor am I going to discuss art history. I am going to talk about dog poop.


Ew right? Well, try walking down the streets of Rome and seeing dog poop covering the streets left and right. Romans have a tendency to not pick up their dogs' little presents. As Professor Patania has so often said in my International Marketing class, there is a lack of enforcement in the laws regarding dog owners' picking up after their pets. The dog poop you see on Monday will still be there on Thursday afternoon.

You cannot walk down the street with a carefree attitude. You need to pay attention to the sidewalks, looking for dog poop. Now add a lack of street lights at night. Over the past week, the street lights have not been lit up along the walk home from the metro stop. You cannot see where the dog poop is if there are no lights at night! I just have to hope I miraculously avoid the mess on the streets.

Now imagine what it is like when it rains in Rome...

A Day of Wandering

A group of us decided to take a day trip to Siena on Saturday. Little did we know the adventure we were going to get in that day before we even made it to Siena.

Some of the boys were late getting ready. I, on the other hand, accidentally dismissed my alarm that morning in a sleepy stupor. I woke up ten minutes before we were supposed to meet. I was able to get completely ready in those ten minutes. It is funny that boys make fun of how long it takes for girls to "get ready." That was not the case Saturday morning. Everyone was freaking out on the subway because they thought we were going to miss our train.

We arrived on time, though. A three-hour long train ride goes very quickly when you sleep through a majority of it. Upon arriving in Siena, we chose to take a bus to the center of town. Haley and I asked a bus driver if his bus went to the center of town. He readily answered "si" and waved us onto the bus.


I think this bus driver wanted to play a joke on a bunch of American kids. Twenty minutes into our bud ride, we realized we were no longer in Siena. The bus had taken us completely out of the town. We hopped off the bus to find ourselves outside of a few cafes and a grocery store. After purchasing random food products from the grocery store for lunch, we decided to find our way back to Siena.

We spent a good 30 minutes at the bus stop with a one-armed man carrying a bag of boxed wine (it was noon). He attempted to talk to us in his Italian dialect that none of us could understand. The only word I understood was "tourists", which he asked us if we were about five or six times.

After making the journey back to Siena, we found out we had gotten off at the bus stop right before the bus turned around to return to Siena. Eventually we found ourselves in Piazza del Campo. After wandering the square for ten minutes, we traveled to the Duomo. I found my favorite church when I was in Siena.

Even though the Duomo is not as elaborate as the one in Milan, I loved the colors utilized in the architecture. The black and pink with what I assume is marble created a peaceful but aesthetically pleasing view. Even the inside of the church was completely striped with black and white. Asian influences could be seen everywhere in the church. The engravings on the floor of the church were of ancient Asian warriors and others. I could have sat in that church all day and found so many things to look at.

Porta Portese

I became addicted to haggling when I went to Tunisia for Spring Break (I bet you are still waiting for that blog post!). I easily immersed myself in haggling again when I went to the Porta Portese flea market Sunday morning.

The vendors in Africa and the vendors in Italy are different, though. The vendors at the Porta Portese flea market were much more difficult to haggle with. Men at jewelry stands would offer me authentic silver jewelry for 25 euro. I would offer much lower prices like I had in Tunisia. The vendors here are more difficult to persuade! I would get vendors in Tunisia down to extremely low prices (although, sometimes I had to put a great deal of time into haggling). Here, though, they would refuse to budge on "final prices."

Most vendors, here and in Tunisia, spoke enough English to converse with a majority of the tourists exploring the market. I tried to use as little English as possible. I had an entire conversation in Italian with one vendor. Point of advice: when male vendors ask if you are single, just say no! Otherwise you may be offered potentially unwanted "companionship."


I love flea markets, but the Porta Portese market is basically similar to flea markets in the United States: rows and rows of tables with vendors selling jewelry, clothes, shoes, food and various items you will never need. The only difference was conversing with the vendors in another language.

I walked away with a decent amount of silver jewelry and beads to make earrings for my family. Since I was so absorbed in haggling, I did not take pictures at the market. So, thank you internet for the pictures displayed in this post.

Keyhole

The dome of Saint Peter's Basilica is one of the most recognizable symbols of Roman culture. You can see the dome from any aerial view of the city and some unusual places throughout the city. I took some friends to probably the most unique way to see the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica: the keyhole.

Walk up the Aventine hill to a military square at the top filled with obelisks and military trophies. Carabinieri guard the Priory of the Knights of Malta with a wooden door with a small elaborate keyhole. Look through the keyhole. The first time I went to the keyhole I was scared to look through the keyhole. Was a joke going to be played on me? What was I going to see through this keyhole? My friends' exclamations of incredulity today was the same reaction I had the first time I saw it. Each person would walk up to keyhole, exclaim how awesome (and in Mike's case "magical") the view was, leaving our other friends wondering what the view was.


You can see the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica perfectly framed by the circular keyhole. Two hedges line the gravel path creating the frame around the dome. Unfortunately, my camera could not capture the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica (the picture above is borrowed from the internet).

Some cool facts I found on the internet:
- The piazza was designed by Piranesi in 1765.
- The sovereignty of the Knights of Malta, the last surviving order from the Crusades, is recognized by the Italian state.

After looking through the magical keyhole, we wandered into an orange grove that overlooks the city. We relaxed on the ledge before being overtaken by tourists. Matt climbed a tree and picked us all oranges. Unfortunately, these were not tasty oranges. They were more like orange-colored lemons- so sour. Everyone then decided the un-eaten oranges were the perfect baseball. We played catch until we grew hungry enough for our dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

What you are now we were, what we are you will be

Is seeing the bones of 4,000 monks from 1528 the neatest thing or the most disturbing thing you have ever seen? I am leaning towards the neatest.

The Capuchin Crypt, which is located under the Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, is the "resting place" of over 4,000 Capuchin friars that died between 1528 and 1870. The skeletons of the friars were de-constructed and arranged in designs throughout six rooms. Each room has a theme and unique display of bones, such as the Crypt of the Pelvises and Crypt of the Resurrection.

It was both creepy and fascinating at the same time. Unfortunately, pictures are not allowed in the crypt. There are fully intact skeletons still dressed in friar robes and even several skeletons of what I am assuming are children. Jaw bones, skeletons and smaller bones were aligned to create intricate and elaborate designs on the ceilings and walls. Hundreds of skulls are arranged as resting places for whole adult skeletons in friar robes. There are even entire chandeliers created out of bones. Below the bones are the graves of monks. The soil for the graves was brought from Jerusalem!



In the last room, the Crypt of the Three Skeletons, an entire skeleton is placed on the ceiling holding a scythe, a symbol of death that cuts humankind down, and scales, a symbol of the evil and good deeds considered by God when he judges the soul. It is the size of a small child. Below the skeleton, a plaque reads:

"What you are now we were, what we are you will be."

Haunting.

Saint Patrick's Day in Rome

I never thought Saint Patrick's Day would be a popular holiday in Rome. Apparently I was wrong.

We determined that the Irish pubs around the city would be packed with Americans. The other option was to go to an American/tourist trap with a nightlife. You know what that means: Campo! Apparently everyone else in the Temple Rome program, not to mention Italians, thought the same thing.



I am not sure if Saint Patrick's Day is popular in Rome. I would have thought so because Italians love the idea of Irish Pubs..why wouldn't they love the Irish holiday? Campo di Fiori was packed, mostly with Italians. You could see giant "Saint Patrick's Day 2010" hats and people under 30 everywhere. Just from looking at the piazza, I determined Saint Patrick's Day is a popular holiday. Probably just so the Italians could hang out, watch, and "another verb of your choice" the Americans.

Campo was a disaster by 1:30 a.m. Bottles littered the square, whether they were empty or broken into pieces on the ground. Drunk Americans and Italians were running around the square with Saint Patrick's Day toys and trinkets that were bought from the gypsies.

A small group of us decided to investigate Scholar's. We got in without paying thanks to Richie's name dropping. For a half hour, we danced and sang (sometimes not knowing what we were singing) with a live band. Then we took the bus home..

"We All Live In A Yellow Submarine" was never more entertaining.

A Weekend in Bed

It is a very good thing I did not go to Florence this week. I woke up Friday morning in serious pain. I could not go back to sleep, but I could barely walk when I tried to get out of bed. I spent the entire day trying to sleep. My body refused to feel better. I spent the entire day today doing the exact same thing: laying in bed attempting to sleep and hoping the pain would go away. Here I am, though, at midnight on Saturday night not feeling any differently than Friday morning.

It is frustrating being sick while I am in Rome. I feel like I wasted a weekend that I could have been exploring Rome and seeing things I still have not seen. Instead of exploring, I have not left the residence in about 36 hours. Kelsey wanted to take me to the hospital, but I did not want to go. Partly because I am not fond of hospitals and partly because I did not want to pay for the expensive cab ride there. Not knowing what medicine would be best for me from Italy, I have been taking the over-the-counter pain killers my roommates brought from home. They are not working that well.

Overall, I have been lucky health-wise since I have been in Rome. Until now. I am driving myself crazy looking at the walls of my apartment and laying down for hours upon hours. It is even worse when friends from home are visiting for the week and I cannot see them because I can barely stand. It has not been a very good weekend unfortunately.

Spring Was in the Air

Well, it was nice weather for about one day. That may be an accomplishment for Rome. I returned from Spring Break very late Sunday night. Monday was an unusually beautiful day in Rome. It was warm and sunny. Everyone had spring fever in Rome. Since I had been gone for over a week and a half, I have no idea what the weather was like while I was gone. The difference from when I left to when I returned was noticable, though.

On my walk to school, I saw so many people out in the streets. Usually it is a little cold or rainy, and people tend to stay indoors. Not yesterday, though. Romans were outside enjoying the weather. I saw shop owners talking to other Italians outside. Students and families were walking around, laughing and talking with each other. Many more street vendors had tables set up along the sidewalks. Even the men I usually see selling roses or umbrellas were selling bright yellow spring flowers.

The warm weather just puts everyone in a better mood. I know it made me happier yesterday, even though I had to be in class all day and not outside celebrating the weather.

And then the rain came... I woke up at 7:50 a.m. this morning when I had to leave at 8:00 a.m. for my on-sight class. I threw moccasins and sweatpants on. Poor choice. It ended up pouring, and I am now soaking wet for the rest of the day. I have no desire to venture outside for lunch. I would rather sit in this computer lab and wait for classes to be over. Rome was just teasing us yesterday. Aftering being in the warmth of Tunisia for a week, this makes me long for warm weather even more. At least I am not in Philadelphia with feet and feet of snow every week or so..

Africa

I would blog about my last day in Sicily, but I do not have the energy and there is no time. Instead, I will write a farewell for the next week and a half or so. We are leaving to spend Spring Break in Africa in the morning. We will be there until next Thursday. Then, we will be spending the weekend in Budapest.

Ciao until then!

Sicily: Day Three

After an unusual night with Patania, we had to wake up early again for the next day of excursions. As soon as I got on the bus throughout the weekend, I tended to fall asleep. Getting about six hours of sleep each night does not do it for me. I do not really know what parts of Sicily we passed through. I would just wake up when we arrived at our destination.

I woke up at the Colleroni factory, an orange packing plant and orange grove. We were lead on a tour around the plant by one of the owners of the company who did not speak English. Patania had to translate for him. I do not mind this at all, because it gives an aura of authenticity to the company. We saw workers picking through the oranges for the good and the bad ones. Oranges were being sorted and washed throughout the plant. They were then waxed and sorted by size.

Colleroni packaged oranges under their own brand name, but also packaged goods for supermarkets. The company bought the products needed for packaging from another company. I had not previously thought about factories and plants not owning each product it needs for placing its products on shelves even though it is obvious once you consider it. I remembered that the chocolate and candy factory bought the prizes for its chocolate eggs from another company. See? I did learn something about marketing this weekend.



We were able to taste tangerines or mandarins, some of which were individually wrapped for decoration. We were able to stand outside and see the view from the factory while we ate them. It was set in a valley and I could see the hills all around me. After our tour around the plant, we were taken into the offices and offered fresh squeezed orange juice. We watched the owner and his wife squeeze oranges and blood oranges to offer us tastes of their fruit. I am not a fan of pulp, but I could not care less at this point. Have you ever been offered fresh squeezed orange juice at the location where the oranges were picked just that morning? I do not think so. When am I ever going to get an opportunity like that again?

It got even better, though. We then boarded the bus again, and the owner, his wife and his daughter took us to a blood orange grove. We got to relax in the orange grove and pick blood oranges off the tree. We picked fresh blood oranges native to Sicily off the tree and ate them. Perfection!


We visited an oil production plant, Buccheri, after the orange grove. After the excursions that we had had the day before and that morning, the visit did not compare to the others. We did not have a tour around the small plant, but Patania explained how an oil-production plant was run because he used to work in one. Most of the people were satisfied with this visit after 15 minutes. Many of the students were playing with the dogs running around outside instead. We even found one lying in a bed of olive leaves. Eventually, though, we were able to see the oil being extracted. Buccheri was testing oil with an orange flavor. I tasted it, and it was disgusting. I would never even think of using this oil to cook. I wonder if the Italians would like this product or if it would be successful anywhere. We were also able to taste the olives they used to create the olive oil. They were a bit salty and bitter, but decent enough.

However, the day picked up again. We then went to lunch at a restaurant in the middle of a valley. It was literally the only thing in the valley. You could walk onto the decks and look out onto the hills. We had a multiple-course Sicilian meal that rivaled the seafood meal from the night before. We enjoyed glasses of red wine and relaxed for the afternoon for a couple of hours.


We ended the day with a trip to Siracusa. I thought that we would be visiting another plant or factory, but Patania lead us on a walking tour around the city instead. It was a nice alternative to seeing another factory. It was a beautiful small town on the water. Boats were everywhere. We were lead into churches where we saw the embalmed remains of bishops, if I remember correctly. As unique as this is to see, it is creepy! You are looking at the several-hundred-year-old remains of a human being. Weird.

After returning to Catania from Siracusa, a small group of us went in search of food. We bought pizza and sat in a piazza to relax and enjoy dinner. Later that night we explored bars and the night life in Catania. For reasons that are not necessary to explain, I had to find my way home at three in the morning without a map. I had to rely on my Italian skills then. Thanks Gitti (my Italian 2 professor)!

Sicily: Day Two

We woke up early for day two of our weekend in Sicily. We took a bus to Compagnia Meridionale Caffè Torrisi, a coffee company and factory in Sicily. We were offered coffee and snacks for breakfast by Mr. Torrisi and his son who now run the company. Then we were taken on a tour around the company by the Torrisi family. The older Torrisi barely spoke English, so Patania had to translate. His son spoke decent English so he was able to speak with us directly about his company.


We got to see the process of roasting and packaging the coffee beans. We were able to try the beans during the cooling-off process. I do not think I am a fan of eating coffee beans by themselves (let alone drinking coffee in general), but it was an interesting experience. I have never been inside a factory before, so to see the whole process is fascinating. The Torrisi family was incredibly sweet. After our tour, they gave each of us gifts: coffee beans and tea cups. They even gave our bus driver a gift. It was one of the nicest, cutest things I have seen someone do. Obviously, it is smart public relations move from their perspective. I am left with a very positive impression of Torrisi.

Then we traveled to the Condorelli sweet factory. We were supposed to be greeted by Mrs. Condorelli herself but she was unable to make it. We were lead on a tour by one of the workers instead. She spoke very decent English even though she kept apologizing for how bad it was. The Condorelli specializes in small candies and giant chocolate eggs with presents inside. The eggs looked amazing. If I remember correctly, eggs that size are around 230 euro!


The woman let us try dark and milk chocolate that was left over. I had giant pieces of milk chocolate for a mid-morning snack. We watched women wrap the eggs in green fabric and tie them into elaborate shapes with flowers embedded into the design. After the tour, we were each given a bag of the small candies as a present. Another amazing adventure at the candy factory.

We then ate lunch at the Condorelli bar that launched the Condorelli factory. I got rice balls with meat sauce, which is one of the foods that Sicily is known for. I had a desert with mixed berries and cream on angel cake- amazing!


AND THEN..we went to the Harbor of Augusta, where Patania grew up. The Commander lead us on a tour around the harbor on a tugboat of the Italian Coast Guard. I saw a few sunken ships, an academic building in the middle of the harbor, and some attractive members of the Italian Coast Guard. It was decently warm and sunny, so it was great to be on the water. I forgot how much I love being on boats and by the water. One of the students, Bob, has a boating license so he was allowed to drive the boat for a while! I am now very tempted to get a boating license when I return home. I do not know when I would get to drive a boat, though, considering I do not own one...


As the last planned event for the marketing class, we were taken to meet the mayor of Catania. I honestly do not remember much about this experience because I was so obsessed with taking pictures. I do remember being lead on a tour around City Hall but the man in charge of public relations (great opportunity). We were shown several rooms in City Hall and the art in each of these rooms. I fell in love with one statue there named "Paolo e Francesca."


We then had a chance to actually meet the mayor- the same man who also has a position in the senate (it's a bit of an unprecedented move in Italy right now). We were offered the chance to look out on the square from City Hall. During our group picture, the mayor took some kind of liking to me because his hand was on my shoulder...I was also able to get a picture with the mayor by myself. He said "Ciao bella" when we left. Interesting man.


That night, Patania took us to a seafood restaurant on the Harbor of Catania. We had courses and courses of food. I have never had so much food in my life. I had octopus, anchovies, multiple kinds of pasta (one tasted like black licorice so I could not even force myself to eat it), whole shrimp with eyes, and so much more. I love trying new food. I think Patania even got a little drunk!

We explored the main square for a little while, and that was the end of my night. An adventurous day two!

Sicily: Day One

Obviously I have not blogged in a while because of my internet situation, which still has not been fixed. I do not know why the internet refuses to work for me. I brought my computer to campus today, so I am currently blogging from the library.


This past weekend, I went to Sicily with my International Marketing class. Patania took up our entire weekend. We left at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday afternoon and returned at 9:30 p.m. last night. I had one of the best weekends ever, though. I completely do not mind having my weekend stolen by Patania.

We took a rented bus to Fiumicino airport. I have not been at that airport since arriving in Italy over a month ago. Twenty of us had to get our tickets and go through security. I have never been through a more unorganized security line than the one at Fiumicino. There were no distinct line, and one "scanner" for every two "lines." Eventually, we all went through security and arrived at our gate. Patania had a tendency to just let us fend for ourselves. Although it is great he assumes we can handle ourselves, we would have benefited from having some direction from him.

We eventually boarded the plane for an hour and 50 minute flight into Catania in Sicily. We quickly got our luggage and took a bus to our hotel. We were regular American students and stayed in a Best Western. I sort of wish we had stayed in a Sicilian hotel so we could experience something other than the standardized American hotel.

A very large group of us went out looking for a restaurant to eat at. It was pretty late so we were looking for places that still were serving dinner and not focusing on drinks. We eventually had to split up because there were so many of us. A group of us found this small restaurant to eat at. We were served house wine out of a water bottle (sketchy). I ordered spicy pasta because I am dying without spicy food here. Since we had gotten to Catania so late, it was around midnight by the time we were finished with dinner. We went back to the hotel to sleep. It was a relaxing first night.

No Internet

Mi dispiace. The internet hates me. I have not been able to do anything on the internet at the residence in a couple of days. Hence why I have not blogged in a week.

I have so much to do before tomorrow, so this is my post for today while I am still at school. I will blog before I leave for Sicily tomorrow. Ciao everyone!

Haley's 21st Birthday

An American 21st birthday is a reason to celebrate and usually to drink a lot. How do you celebrate a 21st birthday in Italy, though?

My roommate Haley turned 21 yesterday. She decided to have an authentic Italian experience to begin her birthday. A group of us went to a wine bar near the Colosseum for dinner on Tuesday night. I had never been to a wine bar before. I do not think any of us expected to get appetizer type meals, but those are the type of meals offered at wine bars. I ordered mixed types of wild board and hummus. I never thought I would find hummus in Italy! We ordered a couple of bottles of some very good white wine. Haley picked a great place to have her birthday dinner.

The next day, Kelsey and I had a little surprise for Haley when she got home. I blew up balloons while Kelsey made us all dinner. Having balloons spread around the apartment was a bit funny because Kelsey is terrified of balloons. Kelsey drew a birthday card, and we got a bunch of people to sign it. Bridget made a birthday cake. Bob made great salsa and bought chips. We had a great, homey celebration with a bunch of us in our apartment.


The rest of the night we wandered around trying out different bars. It was much different from the American 21st birthday, and perfect for Haley.

Should Have Walked2Alps

A smart person should know not to sign up for a pre-organized bus tour for college students to Venice for Carnival. I am apparently lacking in the common sense department regarding bus tours. Having said that, a group of us signed up for a Bus2Alps trip this past weekend to Venice for the kickoff of Carnival.

I wanted to say that I had been to Carnival in Venice. So, we decided to do a quick bus trip up to northern Italy instead of planning our own train and a stay in a hostel. Kelsey and I bought masks to wear, bought food for the trip and stayed in the night before to be well rested for an early wake up the next morning.

For reasons not under my control, I unwillingly got two hours of sleep that night. I will leave it at that. We arrived at Termini station by 8:30 for our 9:00 departure. As soon as we were loaded onto the buses, I went to sleep. I woke up around noon at our rest stop. I decided I wanted to stay asleep, so I was the lone girl still sleeping on the bus for the duration of the rest stop. I did not stay asleep for that much longer, though.

We were supposed to arrive in Venice around 3:00 p.m. However, we did not get to the city until 4:30 or so. I found out later that the bus drivers got lost by taking the exit for Milan instead of Venice. Everyone on the buses were a bit annoyed, but excited to finally be in Venice.



My time actually in Venice was amazing. (Thank you to Kelsey for all of the pictures in this blog post.) We wandered the streets for a few hours. It is impossible not to get lost in the tiny, winding streets of the city on the water. It is almost pointless to use a map. That is one of the great parts about Venice, though. You do not know where you are going to end up.

We had been told that Venice is known for its cuttle fish. Joe, Kelsey, Bob and I decided that we wanted to try cuttle fish dishes. It took a while for us to decide on a place, but we eventually got our cuttle fish. Our meals were the craziest looking meals I have ever had- all black. I know Drew will enjoy the picture of my meal. They were absolutely delicious, though. I am so glad I am now addicted to trying "crazy" Italian dishes.



We found our way back to San Marco for the opening ceremony of Carnival, which included a play in Italian. It is a bit difficult to keep your attention focused on an Italian play when you understand one out of 20 words. So, we eventually decided to explore elsewhere. We found a piazza playing DJ sets and spent the rest of the night there dancing. We had to leave around midnight to make it back to the buses in time for departure.

The next 12 hours were probably some of the worst hours of my life. We left a handicapped girl behind in Venice; we never found out what happened to her, so I am hoping she is alright. I took a sleeping pill upon boarding the bus. I fell asleep for several hours and woke up around 3 or 4 a.m. to the buses stopped on the side of the road. I was a bit confused for some time because of the remnants of my sleeping pill. Apparently, we were no more than 10 minutes outside of Venice. 10 minutes, 1-0 minutes. We should have been much farther on our journey back to Rome. I had completely slept through a first stop, too. The bus drivers were attempting to fix the buses. One boy who went outside to ask how things were going said the bus drivers were poking at things with screw drivers. Like that is really going to help.

Several different kids were on the phone with Bus2Alps trying to get the company to remedy the situation. My grasp of the conversations did not bode well for us. Eventually, things were determined to be fixed enough to continue on, and I went back to sleep. I woke up a little while later to our buses stopped on the side of the road-again! Until the early hours of the morning, we stopped about every 45 minutes for the bus drivers to do who knows what. By 7 a.m. when we were supposed to have been back in Rome, we were nowhere even close to the city.

We found out later that the other bus was having mechanical problems. Bus2Alps had ordered my bus to continue on without the other, but the bus drivers decided to ignore that order. My bus finally returned to Rome around 12:15 p.m. Our six-hour bus ride home turned into an almost 12-hour journey. I half-slept the whole time in a tiny seat crammed between two people. By the time the bus pulled over in Rome, I thought I was losing my mind. I have since realized that I am a bit claustrophobic.

Students were livid. We arrived home to an e-mail from a Bus2Alps representative apologizing for the situation. By the way, how were we supposed to receive those e-mails while on a bus on the side of the highway? Many people sent hate e-mails back to the company requesting compensation for the trip.

We learned on Monday that every student on the trip will be compensated 100% of the ticket price. Basically, we got a free trip to Carnival. We were also offered a 10% discount on the next Bus2Alps trip we booked. Never again, Bus2Alps. Never again. I would rather have walked to Venice.

The Flower Guy

"The flower guys" are the probably the most hated group of people in Rome. If I see one coming towards me holding roses, I know immediately to look down or away from him. Some of them are very bold and force the roses into your hand. This exact scenario turned into a ten minute conversation with "the flower guy" the other day.

Tyler and I were sitting in Piazza del Popolo before returning to school a few days ago. I will just say that we were sitting like Italians. Take from that what you will. A flower guy came up to us and dropped a white rose into my lap. I said I did not want the flower, but he would not take it back. I ended up pushing the flower to the ground. We then began a ten minute conversation in English.

The flower guy asked if Tyler and I were married, then asked us a few minutes later if we were cousins. How do you go from married to related? Mystifies me. He told us that he was a student of science and when we inquired as to what he studied, he responded with physics, chemistry, and biology. I think he just said any general study of science that he could think of.

I am curious as to how someone decides to sell flowers in Rome. I have this image of a rose mob boss organizing the rose selling industry in Rome. The flower guy told us he needed to make 300 euro a month. When I asked him how he got into selling roses, I did not get an answer. I do not know if I will ever get the answer to this question, though.

Clearly, the rose selling industry is not where the money is. I suggested that he go to America instead to work at McDonald's. This comment may have been in jest, but he seemed to consider it..

In the end, he still tried to give me a rose. He would not take no for an answer. Tyler gave him 27 cents and he gave me a white rose.

We basically ripped off the flower guy.

Exploring Villa Borghese

I hate routines (at least to a certain point). I do not like doing the same thing every day. I have been going stir crazy coming home to the apartment from classes, making dinner and sitting around chatting. I would much rather get lost in the city.


I decided I was going to wander Rome after my classes were over yesterday, and Tyler joined me. I was excited to explore, and then the rain came...I refused to let the rain stop me, though, so I walked around in the rain for three or four hours without a map. Walking around without a map is kind of liberating. You are forced to rely on language and directional skills in order to find your way home.

There is a strange statue in the Villa Borghese that I came upon while wandering. It is a statue of a man with a crutch and a stub of a leg. I tried to read the inscription on the base of the statue, but my Italian skills are seriously lacking in that department. Sometimes I wonder what made sculptors choose the subject of the piece: what made the sculptor of this one-legged man choose to render a cripple?

I love photos of texture and shape. Another statue near the cripple was of a woman without a head in a delicately sculpted dress. I took a close-up photo of the folds of the woman's dress that I love.


Even though I was soaking wet after the few hours walking around outside in the rain, I was much happier than I would have been talking in the residence. Tyler was a bit grumpy after the walk, though, So, I found us a trolley back to school- I am usually hopeless with directions. I am going to continue exploring even if I have to go by myself.

Non-Catholic Cemetery

"It might make one in love with death, to think that one should be buried in so sweet a place," wrote the poet Shelley.

The Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome is the resting place of poets John Keats (buried next to close friend Joseph Severn) and Percy Shelley, as well as Antonio Gramsci, a founder of European Communism.

My Museum History class was lead on a tour through the Non-Catholic Cemetery by a dedicated volunteer. He showed us a cemetery filled with other authors, diplomats, sculptors and painters.

Not only does the cemetery contain the graves of Protestants, but it also consists of Jews and other non-Christians. The Non-Catholic Cemetery has the only grave in the world with both a cross and a Star of David.


The cemetery is filled with simply decorated blocks, crosses, sculptures, and elaborate tombs. Half the cemetery lacks crosses due to an early prohibition against crosses in the Non-Catholic Cemetery. Even a Pagan symbol, the Pyramid of Cestius built into the Aurelian Walls, borders the edge of the cemetery.

It became a place of pilgrimage, especially for authors. Oscar Wilde proclaimed it as "the holiest place in Rome." The cemetery still buries one to two people per month if people "qualify."


It seems a bit morbid to say, but I love cemeteries. The combination of the sculpture incorporated into the graves and the quiet throughout the cemetery is comforting and relaxing. I cannot decide if it is sinful to take pictures or not, though. It was too beautiful not to. As Haley said, I was able to find the beauty in a place associated with sadness.

La Birra

This is beer in a vending machine. Enough said.

McItaly: McDonald's Speaks Italian

I read an article once that stated if you cannot find the American Embassy, McDonald's will do just the same. Although McDonald's is the symbol of American globalization, it bothers me that I can find McDonald's next to historic places like the Pantheon.

Even if I had the desire to eat fast food while living in America, I have no desire to eat McDonald's while living in a country with such a strong culture surrounding fresh food. So, of course I was upset when Tyler and Brandon dragged me to McDonald's for dinner on Saturday evening. I am in Rome- I do not want to eat McDonald's!


At least this McDonald's was not bright red with giant golden arches. It had outdoor, rooftop seating. The inside looked nothing like the traditional McDonald's, but more like a trendy Starbucks. The employees were wearing orange McDonald's sweatshirts- nothing like the American uniforms. I am not too sure what executive made the decision on these "stylish" uniforms or what aspect of these uniforms relates to the Italian culture..

The only Italian-oriented dish on the menu is the McItaly burger. Ads boast "McDonald's Speaks Italian." This is McDonald's attempt at specifically targeting the Italian population. The burger is made with 100% Italian ingredients, but the Italians have not been receptive of the addition.

"The menu of McItaly burgers includes various combinations with artichoke spread, Asiago cheese, Italian olive oil, beef, bread, smoked pancetta, bresaola (air-dried salted beef) and Parmesan cheese. The ingredients might make a foodie’s mouth water, but instead there is a collective scream best articulated by Matthew Fort of The Guardian, the McItaly is 'monstrous act of national betrayal,'" reports The Independent.

The government was hoping this would be a successful introduction to the classical McDonald's menu. The ads even include a governmental seal, according to The Independent. The burgers will be offered for the next seven weeks as a trial of its success.


If I even had the slightest inclination to eat at McDonald's in Italy, I would at least try the Italian option. Tyler and Brandon did not try the Italian burger, but opted instead for the typical American "cuisine." They claimed the reason they went inside to see if the menu was different than in America. The next thing I knew, the boys had American hamburgers and milkshakes and we were eating on the always classy "rooftop deck."

I hope that is the last time I am in a McDonald's. Period.

Roberto Capucci

I fell in love with Roberto Capucci on Thursday afternoon. That is right. I fell in love with an 80-year-old man that I do not know and will probably never meet.

For those who are probably very concerned about me right now, do not worry. My Inside Italian Design class took a trip to see the Roberto Capucci fashion exhibit at the Odescalchi Castle in Bacciano Thursday afternoon.

Roberto Capucci is an Italian designer that created his own fashion house around 1950. In the 1980s, he withdrew from the fashion world and began creating one line per year each to be presented in a different city. The exhibit was a collection of Capucci's "sculpture" chosen specifically by the designer.

We were not supposed take pictures inside the castle or of the exhibit. I had already been reprimanded at the beginning of the tour for taking pictures, so I was scared to take pictures during the majority of the procession through the exhibit. Each collection was presented in one room of the castle. The wedding dress collection was presented in an armory room, as was the red collection. He had chosen an earthy collection and a gold collection as well.


By the time we had reached the last room filled with dresses, I decided I was going to be too angry with myself afterward for not taking pictures to not attempt using my camera. There may have been some 007 moves (minus the suit) in the process of getting the photos. I was able to get pictures of most of my favorite dresses in the last room.

Even if I had been kicked out of the castle, taking the pictures was completely worth it. New life goal: Have Roberto Capucci design a dress I cannot move in, while looking a little bit like Lady Gaga..

Photograph I Love

I just wanted to post this photograph that I took a while ago. Enjoy!

The Rome Metro System= The Philadelphia Subway System

I have come to the decision that Rome's metro system is the equivalent to Philadelphia's subway system. Both the metro in Rome and the subway in Philly each have two lines: Rome has Line A and Line B, while Philadelphia has the Orange/Broad Street Line and the Blue/Market Street Line.

The A Line is relatively similar to the Market Line in Philadelphia. It is cleaner, there is less graffiti and it is more modern. The B Line is covered in graffiti and dirtier just like the Broad Street Line.

In general, the Rome metro system is much more efficient and modern than the Philadelphia subway system. The metro is not broken up into cars as it is in Philadelphia and it is much more crowded. Personal space on the metro does not exist.

Although we have been told that Italians stare, I am still attempting to get used to being stared at on the metro. I am not sure if it is the English or that we look like Americans that causes the Italians to stare. Either way, I have never been comfortable with people staring directly at me!

I started taking the metro on a regular basis when my classes began the on-site visits during the week. I was not originally going to buy the monthly metro pass. After I realized that I needed to take the metro multiple times a day for on-site classes, I decided that I would buy the monthly metro pass for February. That is number one on my "To Do" list for tomorrow.

Fingers crossed for not getting pick-pocketed!

Walking Around the Aurelian Walls

The Temple Program participated in a walk that normal Romans would never even consider. About 115 students met at the basilica at the San Giovanni metro stop at 8:30 a.m. An infamous professor, Professor Gadeyne, took us on an eight hour, 12.3 mile walk around the Aurelian Walls of Rome. These walls mostly circle the entire city.

I am glad I did not go out the night before and got a solid eight hours of sleep. Otherwise, I would not have been able to make it through the entire walk. We stopped at key locations along the Aurelian Walls to learn about the history of the walls and the important stops.

Half-way through the walk we came upon a bunch of children dressed up in costumes throwing confetti. I am not entirely sure what they were celebrating, but they were adorable! I got a picture of a little kid right before he threw a handful of confetti at Matt. Best picture of the entire day.

We stopped for lunch at the monument of Giuseppe Garibaldi. We had a view of the entire city, ate lunch and watched children running around throwing confetti.

Tyler was recruited by Gadeyne to hold up a map of the city with another guy who isn't "vertically challenged" to show our progress. Since he was in Gadeyne's good graces now, he started selling out the people he knew arriving at locations later than others. There- he'll be happy he made my blog now.

Gadeyne took us down along the Tiber. Unfortunately, the last half of the staircase down to the river banks was completely covered in mud. We had to jump or slide down the side in order to get down the stairs. I think Gadeyne took some twisted pleasure in watching 100 or so students struggling to get down the stairs. Kelsey seemed to enjoy sliding down the stairs on her butt.


My feet and my shoulder only started to hurt the last hour of the walk. I was relatively impressed that my body held up that long! We returned to San Giovanni around 4:30 p.m. where everyone was offered a free soda from Gadeyne. We signed a paper that confirms we completed the walk and it was hung on the window at school today. A few people left during the middle of the walk. Although it was a rough walk, I can say I am crazier than a Roman and walked around the Aurelian Walls.

Walking Around Vatican City

Last Saturday after we finished our Permit to Stay information, a few of us decided we wanted to walk to Saint Peter's Square to see the nativity scene before it is taken down. Ashley, Kelsey and I walked from school to Saint Peter's Basilica.

At this point, we still did not know our way around the city. We used a map to get from the Temple Rome "campus" to walk to Saint Peter's. I tend to let Kelsey make the decisions about directions regardless if the decisions are right or not. I am directionally impaired and do not want to lead people in the wrong direction. This was one time Kelsey was not right.

Kelsey ended up leading us around almost the entire Vatican City before we got to Saint Peter's Square. It was a hard walk that was up-hill a majority of the time.

On the way around Vatican City, the three of us saw a man and a woman with a great "invention". The woman stood at the bottom of their apartment building and tied their groceries to a long rope. The man stood on their balcony and pulled the groceries up to their apartment on the fourth floor. Creative.

I wanted to lay down by the time we got to Saint Peter's Square. You would think after playing field hockey for 11 years I would be able to get through a walk like that. Stupid Fibromyalgia. We got great pictures of the nativity scene, though.

New Update

I have not updated in a while. I have been caught up in being in Rome. I will do a short update now about what we did today.

A bunch of us signed up for a day trip today along the Via Cassia. It is an ancient road that leads out of Rome and goes toward Florence. We first stopped in a small town- Sutri. We spent a brief time in the amphitheater and then walked around the town.


Then we went to Caprarola and went to the Villa Farnese. We explored the town and had lunch in a trattoria.



Lastly we went to Veterbo to explore another medieval town. It was a very worthwhile trip.