One of the best things about the study abroad experience at Temple Rome is-besides the obvious, that we’re in ROME-is the three day weekends. Particularly now during midterms, in which 24 hours in the day are not enough to prepare for the onslaught of studio presentations, sketchbook reviews, and assorted exams; however, when Hell Week is not in session, the free Friday-Sunday stretch that we are now very much used to comes very handy in travelling. Three weeks ago (was it really that long?) I took advantage of a discount on weekend rail travel and with a classmate, explored Cinque Terre. Le Cinque Terre (“Five Lands” in Italian) is a collection of five villages in the northern coastal region of Italy called Liguria. The villages are named, in order from north to south, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. They each consist of a jumble of bright-colored buildings stacked along rocky coastline that surges up dramatically to leafy green terraces of grape and olive orchards. Each town except Corniglia features a sparkling blue harbor. Cinque Terre is famed for its views, white wine, pesto, and seafood, and so is a tourist magnet. In the ‘90s the area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the surrounding waters are also protected marine habitat. All of this protection and distinction has ensured that Cinque Terre has remained in fairly pristine condition, and the evident pride that the locals take in their homeland has ensured that all the tourists in the world could not mar its striking beauty. While accessible by train and, of course, by boat, vehicular traffic is limited to local traffic. Each town is connected by a network of footpaths that are popular for hiking and offer a variety of experiences. We chose the popular Sentiero Azzurro (“Blue Trail”) that, for the most part, hugs the coastline. Access to this trail is controlled at each town and there is a small fee for the privilege to hike it. While the higher, tougher trails are said to be free to hike, we only had one day to experience each village and decided to stick to the most direct route. We began our sojourn at 4:30 in the morning, by sleepily trudging down the hill from our residence to hail a taxi that would take us to Rome’s central train station, Termini. From there we had only to wait for our 6am train. Each of us toted a backpack with a swimsuit-we heard there was cliff jumping!-change of clothes, camera, train tickets, lunch and, in my case, a book and my sketchbook. We had a good amount of company, as several other American students from other universities were also visiting Cinque Terre that weekend. I participated in approximately 15 minutes’ worth of conversation before promptly becoming comatose for the majority of the train ride throughout northern Italy. When next I awoke the sun was brightly shining overhead, and it was only a half hour before we got to La Spezia, the town where we would take a connecting train to our final destination. La Spezia was jam-packed with like-minded tourists, and mercifully the connecting train ride was a short one. At about 10:30 in the morning, we had arrived at Monterosso al Mare. My first impression was of a quaint little beach town nestled at the foot of imposingly tall, rocky mountains. There was one main street strung with beachside bars (that’s what café’s are called in Italy) and restaurants. From the street, it was approximately 15 yards to the beach. We walked around the town a bit to stretch our legs, but beyond the main street there was not much beyond residences and sleepy hotels. After no more than 20 minutes’ exploring, we visited the beach. It was an absolutely beautiful beach. The sand was more gravel, true, but the water was the perfect shade of aquamarine, and so clear that it looked deceptively shallow. There was not much to the town besides the beach, however, and we had four more villages to see, and so we hopped a train to the next town, Vernazza. This town was my favorite. After descending from the train station we entered a maze of winding cobblestone streets rimmed with those pretty pastel buildings. Multi-colored restaurant umbrellas and flowering oleander street trees added to the rainbow scene. Rounding one final bend brought us to the marina. It was tucked into a natural stone harbor, dominated at one end by the whitewashed tower of a church that was nonetheless dwarfed by the surrounding hills. Little wooden rowboats dotted the water. I was again struck by the clarity of water, which looked so inviting that we decided to again go swimming. My travelling companion, Nate, went first, and I watched him navigate the large boulders that made up the bulkhead, then cross the mouth of the harbor to the rocks on the other side. While he swam I enjoyed the scenery, particularly the rocky cliffs surrounding the hillside as they gave way to the terraces above. The contrast between the soft greens of the lush hillside and the angular rock faces, contorted over millennia by the Earth’s upheaval, was striking. Before I knew it Nate was back and it was my turn. At first I was excited, but when I made my way over the boulders and into the water, all of those years watching the Discovery Channel and certain Steven Spielberg movies came back to me in a rush. The water was deceptively clear, turning the depths to a rich blue. It looked so inviting, but it was several tries before I got up the nerve to swim those fifty yards across and back. I wouldn’t trade that experience for the entire world, though. All too soon we had to leave Vernazza to hit the trail. We had purchased trail passes at the train station; actually finding the trail, however, took some searching. We found the sign at the foot of a ridiculously steep, stone stairway that climbed and winded its way out of the town. And that was only the beginning. Was this how the entire hike was going to be? What happened to “hugging the coast”? I puffed to myself, and sorely regretted traded my physical activity for gelato and cornetti con cioccolato. Most of the trail was not terribly strenuous, however, and we were rewarded with a constant stream of postcard-like images of rugged coastline and turquoise waters hundreds of feet below us. I firmly believe that it is impossible to take a bad photograph in Cinque Terre. [Edit: Now that I'm looking for photos to post with this blog, I'm forced to withdraw that last statement. Apparently, it's very possible to take a bad photograph there!] The next village was Corniglia. A labyrinth of grape vine trellises welcomed us to the little town, which is not directly connected to the sea. The importance of wine-the two different varieties are called Cinque Terre and Sciacchetra-and olive oil to the local economy cannot be overestimated. We wandered among the shop-lined streets just long enough to snap a few pictures, and then it was time to move on. Manarola spoke the most strongly of the relationship that the locals there have with the sea. A large marble mosaic of seagulls and local fish decorated the entrance square; countless wooden boats line the village streets, and more dot the harbor; and I was surprised to see that even the local ceramics artist decorated the entrance to his store with pictures of his impressive catch of pesce di spada (swordfish). I couldn’t take enough pictures! We stopped for gelato and then hit the final leg of our hike. This particular trail is called La Via del Amore, and is lined with scribbles of affection and lovers’ initials, as well as what seems like a uniquely Italian symbol of love: a padlock affixed to an obliging surface, on which the lovers write their initials. While I had no beau with which to walk the trail, I nevertheless enjoyed the beautiful views all the way to the last village, Riomaggiore. Our main goal here was to find a suitable projection into the water, off of which we could cliff dive. A few friends had commented that they were able to do so, and we couldn’t wait. The best we could find, however, was the eroded remains of a concrete stair that projected over the village harbor, which offered an approximately six- to eight-foot drop. Regardless, it was a fun experience, and we “cliff dove” several times before Nate left to visit a local church. I stayed behind to sketch the harbor in the light of the setting sun. It was incredibly peaceful to sit and look out over the harbor at the end of a tiring but rewarding day. All too soon it was time to catch the trains that would bring us back to Rome. We were tired and covered with a film of salt-the Ligurian Sea is much saltier than the Atlantic! Nate slept while I sketched and read. We got back to Termini just in time to take the Metro back to our residence, at a little before one o’clock in the morning.
Looking back, I was very happy that I was able to go to Cinque Terre. It is a wonderfully beautiful place, quaint despite tourism, and offers a view of the past. While we were on the trail, it was easy to imagine ourselves in a time before industry brought the world to everybody’s doorstep. After spending so much time in Rome, I had missed being out in nature too. All in all it was a great trip. If I were to do it again, I would only change two things: eat lunch there (so much great seafood!), and stay for a long weekend. One day is not enough to fully appreciate each little village or explore all the trails I wanted to. However, I feel incredibly blessed to have experienced such a lovely place! Ciao! Kelsey That's what I'm saying to myself right now after updating. I should really get into the habit of posting after each event, and not create this week-long backlog that I’ve currently got to deal with. Well, there’s nothing for it but to push my sleeves up and dive right in. Day Trip to Tivoli Every week, Temple Rome offers opportunities to visit places and take part in events that we might not otherwise get a chance to, whether because they are outside of Rome’s public transportation limits or because they just might not occur to us to try. The opera that Felicia went to is a case in point of the latter situation, and my day trip to Tivoli with Professor Robert Huber is an example of the former. The Friday before last, a busload of students traveled to the town of Tivoli, little under an hour’s drive northeast of Rome. The town was called Tibur in Roman times, and features several villas from that time period. Its surrounding hills are a source of travertine stone, which appears to have been a quintessentially-Roman building material since time immemorial. However, it wasn’t travertine that brought us out there, but two very important villas that I was wild to visit: Hadrian’s Villa and the Villa d’Este. "It's only a model!" The Roman Emperor Hadrian seems like something of a jack-of-all –trades: in addition to ruling the Roman Empire with political and military strategic skill from 117-138 A.D., he was also something of an architect. It was he who rebuilt (or rather oversaw the re-building of) the Pantheon with its well-known oculus light source, and it was he who built Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, which still marks the northernmost limits of Roman conquest and rule. From my high school Latin classes (thank you, Magistra Curry!) I remember that he was known for designing peculiarly pumpkin-shaped domes. We could still see examples of these in several locations at his villa-each was divided into eight groin vaults that rested on concrete and brick piers for support. These vaults joined each other in ridges, so the domes really did look like pumpkins! The entire villa takes up over 250 acres, so we only saw bits and parts of it. However, we were very impressed with what we did see. In his later years Hadrian ruled all of his empire strictly from his villa, and so it had to be comfortable for him and awe-inspiring for his visitors. As such the buildings were enormous and the gardens spectacular. The scale and apparent grandeur of everything seems like it was meant to make you feel small. Let me tell you, it worked! There were several temples. The villa’s overall design is characterized by long, axial pathways that are lined with tall Italian cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens is its scientific name…I’ll post in greater depth about the flora and fauna I see later on, so all you fellow nature enthusiasts stay tuned!). These pathways gave us long corridors down which to glimpse the rest of the complex. One of the first places we saw was Hadrian’s private island, an entirely-manmade structure that was surrounded by a moat. The island itself looked rather like an isolated concrete courtyard surrounded by a circular colonnade, although in its original condition it was undoubtedly paved with marble and surrounded by classical statues. It was here that the emperor could retire when he wanted to be alone. While we didn’t get the chance to access the island, I was struck by the idea and design of it. If only there was such a space that I could retreat to with my thoughts! Professor Huber led us from there to view one of Hadrian’s baths, where we could see the original hypocaust system that heated the water under the excavated floor. The hypocaust was one of the earliest systems of central heating that the Romans developed: a furnace manned by slaves heats the air, which is directed under floor that is raised up perhaps two-to-three feet above the ground by brick or ceramic tiles before escaping the room via a flue system within the walls. In this way the water and rooms can be heated without the need for separate fires in each room. In Roman baths, each of the three pools of water was positioned closer to or farther from the furnace, depending on how warm the bathers desired to be. From there we walked to one of the gardens. As a landscape architecture student I was really interested by its design, of which very little was actually left. Although today it is just a rectangular, grassy field burnt by the summer sun, with a few rows of broken columns and long, concrete basins, in Hadrian’s day it was a well-kept and lush place. Marble statues would have been present within the garden and among the regular white rows of the defining colonnade border; the basins would have been paved with marble and featured ingeniously-engineered fountains. The rectangular shape of the garden, surrounded by similarly-shaped pathways and dominated by the long axes of fountains, would have been the very symbol of order and control. The current state of the complex gives rather the opposite impression. While the buildings are in remarkable shape for their age, over the centuries they were partially covered with roughly three to four feet of soil. The paths and gardens were obliterated, and over them were planted olive orchards. Lizards skitter over the crumbling walls now mostly stripped of their marble and mosaics, while frogs croak and turtles sun themselves where Rome’s ruler once dined and surveyed his domain. Standing in the massive remains of reception halls, you can still see fragments of the finely-carved marble ceilings; the stark contrast between it and the ancient brick façade is startling, and evokes a greater sense of archaic grandeur. The villa feels like it is lost in time. It must be absolutely ghostly at night, when we tourists no longer fill it with our noisy presence. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay long in the villa, and so after only two hours or so of exploring we returned to the bus, to travel to our next destination inside Tivoli… The Villa d'Este After a (rather disappointing) lunch in the town outside the villa, we paid the €11 entrance fee and stepped inside the former home of 16th century Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este. The house itself wasn’t the goal of our visit, but the fantastic gardens attached to it. In our studies of the history of landscape architecture, the Villa d’Este stood out for several reasons. First, its system of terraces and stairways was an ingenious response to the steep change in grade (and it is indeed steep, if you don’t believe me from looking at photos just try climbing it yourself!). The design also combines wide open, grand expanses of lawn and reflecting pools that contrast with intimate, enclosed garden “rooms” that are inter-connected by a series of pathways that I was happy to get lost in. But the main reason why the property is so striking is for its exuberant, joyous use of water. There are very few places within the garden where you are not surrounded by the sound of fountains! Once you descend the stairway that leads from the house to the gardens, the first fountain that greets you is Le Cento Fontane, or the Hundred Fountains: what appears to be a tiered, fern-covered embankment from which head after marble head, carved to look like mythological creatures, pokes out with water gushing out of its mouth. From there you can travel further down the slope to the main fountain, which is actually a collection of fountains that overwhelm the senses. There is a roaring waterfall that you can stand directly above and survey the entire garden and that pours into a large pool from which two tall jets of water that, despite their location several stories below you, still tower overhead. There are small, concrete caverns cut into the walls that each features a dimly-lit water feature; the cavern’s shape magnifies the sound of pouring water so that it is deafening. One of the main attractions of the garden is a “water organ”, in which water is forced down pipes, creating air pressure that makes the music. According to Professor Huber, the Greeks and Romans regularly made use of this remarkable technology, as evidently did the Italians during the Renaissance. However, it was lost over time and had to be rediscovered. For more information on the water organ, check out this link: http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.com/2011/05/rome-water-organ-at-villa-deste.html. After listening to the organ’s music, we explored the rest of the garden at our leisure for about an hour (too short a time for such a great place!) before it was time to return to Rome. The Baths of Caracalla Two Sundays ago I took the Metro (Rome’s subway system) to the Baths of Caracalla with a group of art students who wanted a striking location to portray. I was behind on homework for my sketchbook class-a situation that happily has changed-so I brought my sketchbook, pencils, eraser, and music, and prepared for a day of serious sketching. For those who are unaware, the Baths of Caracalla are located near to the Circus Maximus and, a little farther away, the Colosseum . It is a monumental bathing complex that was completed during the reign of the Roman emperor Caracalla in 216 A.D. It looks a bit worse for the wear compared to its original appearance, but even as a ruin it is awe-striking. In the fashion of most ancient Roman baths, the complex at Caracalla is made up of a series of bathing rooms: a caldarium or hot pool/sauna; a tepidarium which is a lukewarm pool; and a fridgidarium or cold pool. The temperature of these pools was regulated by their proximity to the furnace. Many Roman baths also featured a palaestra or gymnasium, swimming pools, offices, and a library. Their function was not just to get clean but to provide spaces for social and intellectual interaction. Caracalla had all of these, but on a very grand scale: the pool, for example, is truly an Olympic-sized one, and there were two libraries, not just one. The image of its vaulted halls was the inspiration for New York City’s original Penn Station. But mere gigantic scale wasn’t enough for Caracalla’s baths: the complex was originally an artistic masterpiece, with its concrete and brick walls once covered in mosaic of colored and black-and-white marble. Fragments of these still survive, and show mythological figures, imaginary beasts, and athletic figures. Marble statues of athletes and gods lined the walls. The floor was also decorated with abstract designs in black-and-white, red, green, and yellow marble. Each of these types of stone were imported from all over the Empire; as my art history professor put it while we were crossing the Pantheon floor, “You’re literally walking across the whole of the Roman Empire!”. For example, I believe that the red marble is either rosso antico from Greece or the fabulously-expensive porphyry from Egypt; the green is called verde antico and is a form of serpentine marble from Italy or Greece; and the yellow is the highly-prized giallo antico from areas in and around Tunisia. The Romans so cherished porphyry and giallo antico, that their access and use were forbidden for all construction but that of the elite. Unfortunately little of this decoration survives today, but as I said before, the size of the bathing complex is still sufficient to impress. I felt like an ant while walking through those halls! The stripped, crumbling walls are now mostly decorated with climbing vines and weeds, which gives it a wild appearance that I absolutely loved to sketch. We spent a little over four hours making art there, after a great picnic lunch on the lawn outside the ruins’ entrance. Hopefully my little drawings will turn out alright…I may have to go back for more! Throwing Coins in the Trevi Fountain…
Last Wednesday was an interesting mixture of experiences. We started if off by meeting our art history professor in front of the Vatican Museum to personally experience the masterpieces of Giotto and Raphael. Giotto will have to forgive me if caffeine withdrawal kept me from properly admiring the best of his works, but I perked up a bit more in the light of Raphael’s tapestries. They were massive! Unfortunately time had faded them, but you could still see an amazing amount of detail. Raphael was a master of light, movement, and emotion. The one silk tapestry that he designed portrayed the story of Jesus calling Simon and Andrew to be His disciples, and in it the master perfectly captured the strain of the fishermen as they hauled in the miraculous catch of fish, and the play of light on the water of the lake. He also included the fishermen’s faces reflected in the water, and even drew the fish with such accuracy that I could tell the different species (dogfish, skate, ballyhoo, and sea robin, in case you were curious). One of Raphael’s most famous paintings was of the Transfiguration of Jesus, and that was displayed in a prominent place in the same room. Even though the room was dimmed to protect the paintings, the colors of this masterpiece shined with Technicolor clarity. The emotions of the disciples and of the people below the mount witnessing the scene were dramatic. I’m running the risk of my words not being enough to describe the painting, and so not doing it justice, and so I’ll have to stop here and not say enough about it. But Raphael is definitely my favorite painter of the Renaissance…after Leonardo da Vinci, that is. The rest of the day passed uneventfully until dinnertime. At around seven or eight Felicia, a friend, and I took the metro to the Trevi Fountain area to eat dinner at a restaurant. Despite being in a tourist-y area, the food was excellent! I had my first cacio e pepe, a dish of tagliolini noodles with cacio, a sharp cheese, and pepper. It was wonderful. Felicia had gnocchi in a red sauce which was equally delicious. After dinner we made our way to the Trevi Fountain (first designed for Pope Urban VIII by Bernini but actually built by Nicola Salvi, both of them Baroque-era sculptors). While it is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Rome, we were very surprised at just how many people were there! It was packed with visitors taking pictures, tossing coins, or just people-watching (a pastime that the Romans have gotten down to an art and a science). More on the coin-tossing later, first let me give some background on the Fountain… Called La Fontana di Trevi in Italian, it is located in the Piazza di Trevi near the Barberini metro stop in Rome, which puts it relatively close to other tourist destinations such as the Spanish Steps and the Piazza Navona, as well as Rome’s central train station, Termini. It was designed and sculpted in the emotional and dramatic Baroque style-originally by the famous sculptor Bernini, but the fountain as we know it today was officially begun by Nicola Salvi and finished by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762. The main fountain features a statue of the god Oceanus, before which Tritons grapple with two winged hippocamps (fish-horse amalgamations), which are said to personify both the wild and the tame characteristics of the sea. Water gushes around these figures from all directions, and splashes noisily over the marble basin rims carved to look like natural rock. The whole fountain, lively and naturalistic, contrasts beautifully with the formal, Classically-inspired façade of the Palazzo Poli which forms its backdrop. It sits at the bottom of a cobblestone amphitheatre, providing ample seating for all to admire. It really is a spectacular sight and a fantastic public space! You may be familiar with the legend surrounding the Trevi Fountain, specifically about what happens when you toss a certain number of coins in. For those who are not, it is said that if you toss one coin in, backwards, with your right hand, and over your left shoulder, you will return to Rome. Two coins will ensure that you meet someone while in Rome, while three will guarantee your marriage in Rome (some sources say divorce). For this reason, a BBC article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6188052.stm) states that over 3,000 Euros worth of coins are tossed in every day! This money is then collected every night to subsidize a Roman supermarket for the poor. I did not know about the charity that I was supporting at the time. All I knew was that I wanted to return to Rome, and so Felicia and I tossed in our coins-I tossed in one (it just barely missed a lady sitting on the fountain rim, and splashed in with fortunately no harm done), and Felicia tossed in two. What happened next was a fabulous coincidence… I was sitting below and in front of Felicia on the stairs overlooking the fountain. I turned around to talk to her, and my eye was caught by a man leaning on a large, marble bollard to take a picture of the fountain. My first thought was, Wow, he looks a lot like Antonio Banderas. My next thought was, Woah, that’s Antonio Banderas! “Felicia, look behind you.” It was Antonio Banderas, come to take photos of the Trevi Fountain and, with two of his friends, toss coins in. A crowd gathered, photos were taken, and coins were tossed, no more than ten feet away from us. We decided to ask for our turn to get a photo with him, too. He seemed like a very gracious gentleman, and, while the photos below don’t exactly portray him nicely, it was still a pretty neat experience. Opera Night:
Okay, so through the school there was this opera performance being held at the historical Roman Forum. Now I know I've been to the Forum before, but it didn't really hit me until later (aka: until we got there) that this performance was outside. Like .. outside OUTSIDE! It was soooo cool how the logistics of how the opera worked. Now, I use the term "opera" loosely here, mostly because it was more of a "dance opera". Yes they had people singing in Italian, but it was all half-naked people prancing around in leotards the entire night. The dancers were separate from the singers. The show was based around the story of Homer's story of Odysseus. It's a good thing we got scripts in English before we headed to the show that let us know what was happening when. However, I didn't want to feel like a schmuck and read a piece of paper to tell me what was going on so I tried my shot at interpreting what was happening through my memory of the story from when I watched "Wishbone" and through the movements of the dancers. I think I did fairly well =) .. We even got pictures with the cast and everything after the show. I unfortunately don't have them but I'm sure I can find someone who has documentation of it. GILDA: Now seeing as though I had felt like a wet blanket for the past week or so, otherwise known as "since I've been here" I decided to test my luck with actually going out on the town with the roomies. The nightlife in Rome isn't much different from that in Philly, with the exception that is never stops .. ever. The place we headed to last friday (holy crap, i really need to step up my blogging game ..) was a ritzy club called Gilda. Originally we were just going to sit and drink some delicious 2 euro wine (yes, the wine cost less than water around this neck of the woods). Now, I hadn't' felt well all ALL that entire day, I couldn't even get my money's worth and suck it up to go to the Tivoli trip that I had already paid for =( however, I figured I would finally just suck it up and head out anyways. I mean .. it's not like I was doing anything else besides just chilling at the Spanish Steps. WRONG! It's a good thing I had on a nice shirt at least, because I wound up going to Gilda right from the steps. My roommates had heard of this place through some promotor that helps Temple kids out .. like woah. The unfortunate part was that the drinks (no matter where you go out clubbing) were ridiculously expensive. Let me just give you my arm and leg. It's a good thing we were pre-gaming, if you even want to call it that. And there's always that awkwardness when going to a club where it dance a while to feel the vibe and actually start getting jiggy with it. It was a lot of fun though; I'm so glad I had a spontaneous streak that night. Word to the wise ladies: BRING A SAFETY, just in case! There were some .. strike that .. a LOT of creepers scoping out the scene. I'm not really sure how, but the group that I went with made up the majority of the XX chromosomes there. Little fishy if you ask me, but I was having a good time so I didn't care. We wound up not getting back until after 3o'clock in the morning. And it was still going on after we left!! And if you think 3o'clock is late, the next night was even LATER! I honestly don't know how I managed to function after a late night Friday and an all day excursion around the city the next day (pictures of the museum "aka: 'The Wedding Cake'" coming soon), but somehow I came around. Our guide to Italian lifestyles, Gianni, had told us about this place that's .. for lack of a better term .. a little different that most places, but it's the best decision I've ever made .. FOREVER EVER? FOREVER EVER!! GAY VILLAGE: Everyone who I had talked to that headed out to this place said it was absolutely amazing. And I would definitely have to agree. It was like the Kingda Ka of all roller coasters. The title pretty much describes the demographic of people who were there/performing at this .. well .. it was like a rave. But since there was easily "thousands" of people there, I would have to say a good portion of them were as straight as an arrow. I've never seen so many people in one field at the same time. The people that we were with who'd been to this place before said that this was nothing compared to last time. Mostly because it was the last night of this event so I guess everyone who's anyone had to be there. And if you just imagine what a gay pride parade looks like, that's what this place was .. times 5. At first we couldn't even find the line to get in, simply because there were just people everywhere. And the Italians don't believe in lines, so really we just kind of pushed our way up through this crowd of people to find something even resembling a queue. After fighting our way through the crowd we finally make it in to get our free drinks and miraculously find more Temple-ites at the bar we were standing at. Now at one point I was seriously considering leaving, mostly because somehow I got separated from my group and was just in a sea of people bumping and grinding (ughh, I wanted to die). So eventually I just made my way out to "get some air" (it's ironic because I was already outside haha) when a friend of mine spots me and drags me back into the crowd. Thank goodness he found me because I was seconds away from leaving .. and I'm sooo happy I didn't. I don't know how it happened, but it was like fate. Out of this ocean of heads we find even MORE Temple-ites!! At one point we were so close to the stage you could touch the performers! The people on stage absolutely loved us (I'm not sure if it was because we were American or whatnot .. ), so we didn't leave until like 4am-ish. We probably would have stayed longer if we hadn't left the crowd to take a breather, and then this overwhelming sense of fatigue just smacked us in the face. it's absolutely amazing at how a horrible night turned into the best time of my life. More to come =) Felicia Let's see, where did I leave off? Oh yeah that's right .. it's been OVER A WEEK since I last updated. Sorry for the delay, things are starting to get pretty hectic now that we're pretty much in the swing of things over here. Guess I'll start from Todi and work my way up the week =) Todi was absolutely AHH-MAZING!! Pretty much how Kels described it. It was a lot of walking but it was so worth it the views were absolutely incredible and I wouldn't have wanted to miss that for the world. After our treacherous walk through the mountains of Todi, we hopped our buses (BUS #4!!! WOOOO) to head to our glorious 7 course feast in a castle at Titignano. I really wanted to sleep during the bus ride, even if it was for only 45 minutes, however that didn't happen. Gianni, the captain of our bus ride, wound up keeping us completely entertained for the duration of that ride. Kareoki galore, you name it .. we probably sang it. Mixed with a few good dance routines and we were pretty much set for bus ride. What do you know .. dinner and a show haha. The dinner that they gave us was sooo delicious. Cheese quiche, risotto, some type of stroganoff, venison, lamb, chicken, potatoes, salad, tiramisu, coffee .. I'm sorry .. "cappuccino", and fruit. I'm SURE there was more that I'm forgetting, but never the less, I don't think I've ever eaten so much food in my entire life. I was afraid of what would happen with my motion sickness after devouring this heap of delicious goodness. I honestly don't know how some people could go for seconds .. CLASSES: So classes started September 5th, yes yes I know I'm waayy late on this update lol. It's interesting not having to change buildings to get to your next class, of course I could mayhaps do without the 4 flights of stairs up to our glorious architecture studio, especially after the 45 minute walk to class. To the Romans, 45 minute walk to school is "close." I was told by our ever so bubbly tour guide to never ask an Italian for directions, because they have no sense of distance. Right around the corner could be a mile down the road. I think I've lost like 10lbs just walking all over the city. Lol. Two classes a day, with Friday's off?? YES PLEASE! .. It's kind of a bummer that for those taking an Italian class it's offered everyday, but I guess it could be worse. At least my teacher's really nice and is very patient with us. Along with that, I have an Art History course which is completely amazing. Our teacher's British and so knowledgeable/passionate about the subject that it really makes me analyze things in a different light. Every week is a different excursion out in Rome: we've already hit the Pantheon, the Capitoline Museum, Santa Maria's Church in Trestevere, and Santa Cecilia's Church. I was almost given a scarf to wear when going into the churches. How dare I walk around in 90 degree weather and then walk into a church in shorts while there's naked beings on the walls. I call hypocrisy!! I definitely wasn't prepared for this kind of weather, I feel like I'm in July! Our Architecture Studio is at 8:30 in the morning, which makes Monday's and Thursday's pretty rough. Good thing I bought that monthly Metro pass, so I just hop on the bus/Metro and get to class in half the time. The only downfall is that EVERYONE takes the buses/Metro in the morning to get to work. The Romans REALLY don't believe in personal space .. ever. To quote a friend from the program "I hope you like sardines, cause you're about to be one." And it's so true. You just have people all up in your business, it's really uncomfortable for those of us who like our little bubble outside us. But having the pass is good, mainly because all you do is stamp it once in the beginning of the month to get on the bus and you never have to worry about stamping it again. BUT, you do still have to bring it with you. Even though the buses and trolleys run on a "trust system" people still get busted for not paying when there's a ticket checker .. I'm sure there's a better, more intelligent word for that .. on the bus. The Metro kinda reminds me of the Broadstreet Line, except A LOT NICER. There's no distinction between the different cars, the entire Metro train is completely open, like a long hallway. It even tells you what side of the train the stop is on .. I wish Philly had something like that =) The days are starting to blur, especially since I've waited so long to post things so I'm just going to breeze through some Euro Adventures really swiftly .. Dinner Night: Kelsey made risotto for everyone =) It was DELICIOUS!! The food here just tastes sooo much better than in America, mostly because it's so much fresher. And naturally we had to have wine with it. The Vatican: Piazza di San Pietro has to be one of my favorite spots, especially at night. Give me a cone from Old Bridge and good company and I'm a happy camper. I've never actually made it inside the Vatican yet, that's on the to do list though. Walking Around: We've hit so many places walking around it's ridiculous; from Piazza de Popolo, to the Pantheon, to the Spanish Steps, to the Isola Tiberini, to .. well .. I don't even remember. It's great how walkable the city of Rome is, except at night gets a little sketchy when alone. There's more that's happened since then, but I need to get my bearings together before I can post anything else .. Felicia. Since Felicia covered our stroll along the Tiber and to the Colosseum, as well as our orientation forced march, I think I'll skip ahead to briefly cover the last few days... Friday the 2nd saw us configuring our laptops to receive wireless on campus, plus another introduction to life and culture in Rome. After that, it was time to buy food for the apartment! My laptop was weighing me down, but I bought a few things, and I think I’m really getting the hang of ordering stuff in Italian! The first, Il Mercado Trionfale, is on the walk to school and is an open-air type of place. Each stand has a specialty: pane, frutti, verdure, formaggio e latte, carni, etc. Kind of reminds me of the Reading Terminal Market. The food is local, cheap, and quite delicious. I’ll be stopping there more often, and definitely be taking pictures! Next up was a more American-type supermercadi, where they pretty much carry everything but it’s a bit pricier. As a Pennsylvanian I still have to get used to the luxury that is buying alcohol in a supermarket. What surprises me-not sure why-is that, next to the wine and the limoncello and such…is Jack Daniels and Malibu rum. É uno mundo piccolo! Saturday the 3rd was our Permit to Stay ordeal and cell phone rental. That's right, we've got cell phones! So, supposing the company's got us all set up by now, we can keep in touch with each other and the folks back home (nothing beats Skype, however). An explanation about the Permit to Stay: in Italian it's called il Permesso di Soggiorno, and the Italian government requires us to have it in addition to our student visas so that we can stay in Italy, and travel outside of it and re-enter, for over 90 days. So now that our permessi were more or less taken care of (we still have to wait for an email with further instructions), it was time to get gelato! We had heard that a gelateria called Old Bridge was the best place in all of Rome to get gelato, so of course we had to check it out. And it was right near the Vatican (like, right across the street), so it was close to our residence. So we stood in line, excitedly anticipating the experience. As you can see from the photo (taken later that night), Old Bridge is a small place. You take two steps in from the street and you're looking through the glass display into at least a dozen tubs of gelato flavors. They've got melone (melon), limone (lemon), crema (French vanilla), cioccolata (chocolate), Nutella (the best!!!), amaretto, caffe (coffee), stracciatella (Italian fudge ripple), pistacchio...the list goes on! No matter what size cone or cup you order you get a choice of three flavors. For one and a half Euros, you'll be more than satisfied. Oh! And did I mention that they can top all that with panna, the richest, creamiest whipped cream you can imagine? We all got different flavors to compare. I chose caffe, Nutella, and amaretto. One taste...wait, did I just hear angels singing? Gelato is so creamy and delicious, regular ice cream can't compare! Che ottimo! Sunday, September 4: Todi! The next day we all piled into four buses to explore the picturesque hill town of Todi. Founded in ancient times but really developed during the Middle Ages, Todi is about two hours due north of Rome, in the region of Umbria. The countryside is hilly, with forests fading into olive orchards and golden brown farm fields. It looks like a postcard! Todi itself is equally gorgeous. It's location at the top of a hill means that it has spectacular views of that beautiful Umbrian countryside. The town is full of windy, cobblestone streets, lined with stuccoed houses and crossed by narrow alleyways that just beg to be explored. However, since we only had two hours to try and not get lost, we stuck to the main road. This took us to Il Tempio di Santo Fortunato. As you can see, it's a beautiful church on the outside. But that doesn't begin to cover the half of it. When you enter its doors, you come upon a deceptively simple-looking space: the ceiling is high and vaulted, and mostly white-washed. Relics and paintings line the walls. The pews are simple and wooden. The windows don't contain stained glass. But a hush still fell over us when we entered. A recording of Latin singers played softly in the background, and the light streaming in from the tall windows lit the whole chamber beautifully. An brazier near the front burned incense, which had an almost-overpowering perfume and created a cloud around the head of the resident saint, who is buried here. For two Euro each we chose to climb Il Campanile, or the bell tower. It commanded such a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside! We stayed almost the whole two hours, taking pictures and soaking in the scenery. All too soon we had to leave Todi, and underwent a long drive up steep, twisting roads to the castle Titignano, where we would be served an authentic (read: completely homemade) and generous (read: HUGE) Umbrian lunch. Felicia will have to give an account of the majority of the lunch because, unfortunately, I spent most of it suffering from an unprecedented case of motion sickness. I will say, though, that the asparagus risotto, pasta with sauce of wild boar, and tiramisu were all phenomenal. After lunch, I came outside to find that several of my new Temple friends were playing soccer with two little Italian girls! They were so cute! The oldest spoke very clear English, and they both were very patient with us as we stammered out a conversation in Italian. We were so proud of our language skills! So, in all, the day ended very well. Monday, August 5: Classes begin, and a coffee-making tutorial. Felicia and I both started our day with our 8:30am architecture studio class. We were not looking forward to such an early start! I needed caffeine, so I decided to make some espresso. I had attempted to make espresso using the apartment's little moka or coffee-maker before. Reading the suggestions on the back of my package of Italian coffee (with considerable help from Google Translate), I figured that I had it down...only to find that most of the water boiled off, creating the strongest teaspoon-ful of coffee that I had ever tasted in my life. Felicia's research on Youtube gave me enough confidence this morning to make a second attempt: This is a moka. The top part, with the spout, is where the coffee is made. First, you fill the bottom half (it screws onto the top half, separated by a small funnel-like cup with holes) with cold water-but only to the bottom of the funnel. Next, you fill the cup with ground coffee. Once the water boils it comes up the funnel, through the holes, and infuses with the coffee. The coffee then boils up into the top chamber, as you can see in this picture. Once the chamber fills up with all the coffee, it's ready to pour and drink! That should be plenty for now. Until next time, Ciao!
Kelsey I can't believe it's only been day three and I feel as though I've done soooo much already. I don't even think I know where to begin .. might as well start with the airport. The eight hour flight from PHL to FCO was interesting to say the least. I personally could have done with the the PDA next to me and the constant bathroom breaks of PDA couple. They were nice - don't get me wrong - however, it would have been nice to not be interrupted every hour on the hour especially when I'm trying to get as much shut eye as possible to prevent jet lag. Yeah, that plan didn't work out as well as I had hoped; jet lag's pretty bad right about now. Oh yeah, and the screaming child didn't help things either ..
After getting situated into our new home (The Residence Medaglie d'Oro) we found out that ALL OF US wound up on the same floor .. go figure. We can all adapt to the culture shock together =) Between the toilet system, fancy shmancy foot bath, windows that open queerly, and the stove you need a match to light (okay, so maybe that last one isn't so bizzare to me since I wind up doing that at home anyways) regardless, things even before I got out into the city I was just trying to adapt to. And THEN the city walking came into play. Now, I knew that Temple's Rome Campus was a good 45 minute walk (depending on people's pace) from the Residence. But that didn't actually kick in until I was walking there for the pizza party. That's when I realized we're not in Kansas anymore. No matter where you are, walking is one of the number one modes of transportation here. It probably wouldn't be AS BAD if I actually knew how to get places. I knew I should have taken Italian in High School; It'd be nice to actually know some more phrases in Italian, it makes things a lot easier especially when asking for directions. Bright side .. I figured out how to say water lol. Yesterday we actually did the "official" Rome Orientation ordeal. So everything we need to know about the Metro and getting bus passes, to people stealing wallets, all the way down to the lack of personal space. "In Rome, we don't have space for personal space." Which I found out very quickly on the bus ride back the day before. After all of us finish our orientations, we decided to attempt to get bus passes and groceries. It's weird here in Italy, not in a bad way or anything, but it's just the fact that there's not as many choices. You can maybe have a selection of 4 brands, and that's about it. It's nothing like America where you go into Acme and there's 5 bagillion bread options to choose from. Makes shopping here a little bit easier actually. So Kelsey and I decided to split the cost of food and have our first home cooked meal in Roma. 'Twas delicioso (probably not the right language, but you get the gist). Since we were pretty much dead from jet lag the night before, we decided to go out on the town. By that I mean, hit up a gelateria down from where we live. Unfortunately by the time everyone got situated to go, it wound up being closed. Luckily this group of Temple kids were right by the Cipro (Metro Station) and there was some festival going on down by the Tiber River that they were heading to. Guess who tagged along? Lol. Now, remember that whole thing about asking for directions I said earlier .. yeah DEFINITELY could have used that last night. We had to take two buses to get to the Tiber, and of course we didn't know where they were. Thankfully the people here are super helpful for pretty much everything! Philly should take a few lessons. After asking for directions from four Italians and two French people, we finally hit the River and walked along it to reach the Isola Tiberina which was an island right off the river. There wasn't much there when we went because it got too late and stands had already closed up but it was fun regardless. There's a lot of ritzy bar areas down by the river that we decided to check out, and then walked away after seeing they wanted like 8 euro for A BEER. Kthanksbye. We did stop eventually to get something to drink from probably the cheapest place there, and then we decided "hell, it's still early what else is there to do??" Colosseum hear we come!! Wound up walking past this huge outdoor party going on at Circus Maximus on the way; I almost thought they were lighting kites on fire .. but then I realized it's one of those light lanterns floating around the sky above them (note to self: totally on my bucket list now) lol. Finally made it to the Colosseum after a few obstacles and it was to die for, no pun intended. There was no one there because it was past midnight and the up-lighting on the arches were spectacular. Then it kicked in .. HOLY CRAP MY FEET HURT!! I hadn't realized how much we had walked until that very moment. And since the buses don't run past 11:30 here, we were kind of S.O.L at the moment and had to walk back. Thankfully we hit some piazza, couldn't tell you the name of it, but it was like taxi heaven and I swear I looked like I had just received a gift from God himself! Today = the official "walking tour" of Rome, put on by none other than our Temple Professors. Greeeeaaat, more walking. Maybe this'll prepare us a little bit more for that 13 mile wall walk next weekend. But anyways, we wound up having technical difficulties with trying to figure out public transportation our own. Uhmm .. fail. We were a half hour late for the tour and had to quickly attach ourselves to the closest group. I learned a whole bunch of landmarks, best places to eat, where tabacci shops were, hit some piazzas, and whatnot. We got dumped off at the Campo de Fiori which is a marketplace that tourists tend to take up, and then decided to get paninis and this thing called a granita. This had got to be the BEST iced coffee I've ever had. It was like .. coffee water ice .. with italian whipped cream. OH MY GOSH! Talk about heaven .. .. And then heaven came crashing down on me when I noticed the tomato color of my shoulders and chest. YUP! This genius forgot to put on sunscreen while walking the streets of Roma, and now I've turned into a giant lobster =( I'm hoping that it turns to tan before our trip to Todi on Sunday. I already stick out like a sore thumb for being an American .. and now to add the Irish burn to the mix REALLY makes me feel like I fit in .. Oh well, it is what it is. Until next time. Felicia. I wish I had a bit more time to make a more legit first post, but as I only have nine minutes before I have to leave for orientation, I'll have to do my best.
To begin, we have arrived. Our flight was Monday evening, and we arrived without incident (crying children besides) in Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport (a.k.a. Fiumicino) yesterday morning around 9:30 am Rome time. We spent the day in our apartment, Medaglie d'Oro a.k.a. The Residence, unpacking, losing in a battle against jet lag, and tentatively exploring a few blocks of the neighborhood. Sei minuti. Last night also included a pizza party at Temple's Rome campus, which is comprised of a beautiful, four or five-story mansion called La Villa Caproni, on the banks of the Tiber River. It's about a 45 minute walk along some really busy streets! A combination of Roman traffic and the heat found us sweating on the steps of the villa. But the pizza! Thin crust, crispy, every-conceivable-topping-besides-pepperoni goodness...think roasted peppers, potatoes, artichokes! Part of the reason I'm waxing poetic about this has got to be that we didn't really eat yesterday, but still...that was some good pizza. Jet lag finally kicking our butts, we took the bus home (more on that later), finally connected to the Internet, and crashed for the night. Pictures (Fotos), a name change for this blog, and an account of today to follow later. But for now, ciao!! Kelsey Okay, so it's officially official. SEVEN DAYS (creepy Ring impersonation ..) and we're off to none other than the LOVELY ROMA, ITALIA!! And of course, being the college students we are, naturally we've procrastinated until a week beforehand .. or at least I have anyways. It hasn't really hit me that I'm going away for three months on an overpriced vacation to another country where I'll have homework and the only words I know are "grazie" and "prego". Well hell, at least I'll be polite =) Knowing my luck I'll wind up freaking out once we're on the runway preparing for take off. I have impeccable timing like that.
I've recently started having mini-freakouts though, one of them being the packing process. I had to start making a list of EVERYTHING I want/should bring with me because I started losing track. I never pegged myself as a person who needed much, but this whole studying abroad thing really snapped me back to reality. I somehow have to manage fitting three months worth of clothing, shoes, three months worth of toiletries (I'm unfortunately very particular when it comes to them), drafting supplies, and a computer into a suitcase, duffel bag, and purse. I know when put into those broad categories it doesn't sound like a lot, but if you saw my detailed list .. you'd cringe. Do you think they sell those bags that Kris Kringle uses to deliver Christmas presents? I may need one. Between that mini-freakout trying to scramble with what to bring along, I also experienced the mini heart attack that dealt with my passport. Don't worry, I don't mean a LITERAL heart attack. It hit me maybe two weeks ago that I hadn't received my passport from Temple after submitting it for the Visa form. TALK ABOUT LAST MINUTE!! Sheeesh, Temple really likes to keep you on your toes. Nothing like getting the most important international document one week before leaving the Land of the Free. Funny part was that the day before it finally came in the mail I asked probably three of my friends attending our Study Abroad Program if they'd gotten theirs. Looks like I jumped the gun. I'll keep you's posted on when the Official Freak-Out Session commences, but until then, back to the pre-departure to-do list. Always, Felicia Obviously we need to start brainstorming on some clever titles .. haha. Hickory Dickory Dock .. The girls look at the clock The plane will be leaving There's no need for grieving JUST ALL KINDS OF PRE-ROME SHOCK!! good thing poetry's not my niche, because clearly this is juveniley horrible lol .. i don't even know if that's a real word. Always, Felicia |
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