Italia, Ci Vediamo!

I'M DONE!!!! And no longer having the stress of class is awesome! All in all, it has been a very unique experience, as you've probably figured from all of the previous posts. 

I had my finals today and my history final was stressful beyond belief. We had 10 short "essays" to do in two and a half hours, but here's the kicker: each and every single one was timed. Yeah, that's not exactly the most relaxing thing. But it's all over, and I can finally relax! It's one of my roommates' birthday, so we're going out to dinner to celebrate. But other than that, thus ends my trip in Italy!

Pre-Vacation Vacation?

I got back to my apartment a few hours ago from my lovely weekend at the Amalfi Coast! It was gorgeous of course, and a nice little way to relax before my history presentation, paper, and final the coming week. 


I did this trip through a tour company, so I didn't have to plan anything, which was very nice and stress-free. We left Thursday night at 11pm and got to our hostel around 2:30. Only 4 hours of sleep awaited me, because we were on our way to Capri at 8am. Capri was absolutely beautiful!! We took a boat-tour around the island and went into the Blue Grotto. After a lengthy climb to Anacapri, there was a limoncello and chocolate tasting at a very cute store that also sold custom hand-made sandals. Then I ventured around for a while and took a chairlift to the very top of the island where even more stunning views were waiting. Heading back down to the port, I walked down 1,000 stairs and met a nice Welsh family along the way. For dinner we headed into the center of Sorrento. 


On Saturday, we got to sleep in and were on our bus to Positano at 10. The day was filled with sun and sand. We had the option of shelling out an additional 10 euro to go on a boat ride to cliff jump and cave swim. I figured "why not?" and went. It was pretty fun and very safe, so no worries there. Seeing as most people were jumping off the cliffs, I didn't get a picture of myself on my camera, but there may be one out there in the world. Later that night, we had a buffet-style dinner at the hostel and I met two Canadians who were on a trek around Europe.


Today, we went to Pompei. It was awesome. There was an optional guided tour and my guide was incredible. Maybe it's because I've gotten used to 4-hour classes, but the tour went really quickly despite the heat. For lunch, I got a pizza, because how can you not when you're in the birth place of pizza? Then we all got back on the bus and headed out for Rome.


It was a great weekend, and I'm glad I went. Going made me realize how much I want to get to Spain and finally not have to think about anything related to school for a while! 

Capri from the boat

Inside the Blue Grotto

Silly rich people with their awesome water-slide yachts

Positano

Pompei

A Very Roman Weekend

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of showing Tristan around the city of Rome. And yes, the title of this post is my best attempt at a pun. Anywho, he got in on Thursday night, so our adventures began Friday morning. I'll try not to forget all of the things we saw/did. In one day we hit: Piazza del Popolo, the best gelato place, the Pantheon, the best cafe, Piazza Navona, and Campo dei Fiori. That was all just before lunch to. After a bit of a break in my air conditioned apartment, we headed over to the Vatican and walked all the way to the top of the cupola. Who needs to pay an extra 2 euros to use the elevator? We tried to see the Vatican Museum, but it had already closed by the time we got there. For dinner, we cooked some pasta with the veggies we had bought earlier at Campo dei Fiori. 'Twas delicious. Even after all of that, we still had the energy to go see the Bocca della Verita, Circo Massimo, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps at night. Definitely worth the exhaustion.


Saturday, we headed out to the Catacombs of Saint Callixtus. It was nice and cool underground, but just a tad cramped. People were a lot smaller when the graves were dug... Once we got back inside the walls, we went to the Palatine Hill, the inside of the Colosseum, and the Forum. And we did that all for the reduced price! Yay European citizenships! We went to a pizzeria for dinner and later met up with one of my roommates and her friend from home at the Tiber River shops/cafes/restaurants that are set up just for the summer.


We decided to take it a bit easier on Sunday and spent the afternoon in the Villa Borghese park just strolling around and enjoying the shade. Seeing as Italy is known for its food, we went out to dinner again, and got some delicious pasta, followed by nutella crepes.


It was a very touristy weekend, but fun nonetheless. Here are more pictures! I bet you didn't see that coming.

Piazza del Popolo

Bird in Piazza Navona

Top of the Vatican

Little lake in Villa Borghese

He's about to jump on the tree. Again: Hardcore Parkour!

Chilling in Rome

Hello, World! I guess you've been wondering what awesome adventures I'm having in Rome, right? Well, admittedly there aren't that many, but I have my reasons. On Mondays and Wednesday, I have class from 2-6pm, which doesn't sound bad and like enough time to go do some exploring. Yes, that would be ideal, but there's a little problem when the temperature is over 90 degrees everyday and all you want to do is stay inside and not shrivel up in the heat. Tuesdays and Thursdays, my class is from 9am-1pm. Again, time to explore after? Not quite. During those four hours, I am walking around Rome in the sweltering heat wearing pants (I have to so I can enter all the churches) and listening to an art history lecture. And after that, all I want to do is sleep. So I want to go out and explore, but it's a little challenging when I have absolutely no energy to do so.


On another note, I actually did something interesting last Wednesday: wine tasting! The event was set up by the university, but it was pretty fun. I can't really remember much of what we learned, because the presenter wasn't very engaging. We tried 3 whites, 3 reds, and a dessert wine. Some were definitely better than others, but I wouldn't be able to tell you why. This coming Wednesday, I've signed up for a cooking class, so that should be delicious.


Yesterday, I went to the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura to do some research for the paper I have to write for my history class. Not only is it a gorgeous and impressive church, but I still can't get over the fact that I just hopped on a bus to go look at such an important monument that I'm researching. Definitely a plus of being in Rome! Unfortunately after I went to the basilica, I had to start writing my paper...


I only have a month left in Europe! That sounds weird to say, but 'tis true. 

The selection of white wines. The one in the back right was nasty.

Weekend in Warsaw

As many of you know, this past weekend I went to Warsaw to visit Tristan, and let me tell you: it was quite the adventure. My flight was at 4:20pm and I had class that ended at 1pm. I knew that for my sanity it was going to be a close call considering I'd never gone from the heart of Rome to the airport by myself. Thinking about it, I'd never had to get to any airport by myself, so I was a little freaked out by that. It also didn't help that my class got locked in the Sancta Sanctorum (aka basically the most holy place on earth) for a while. I did, however, finally manage to get to the metro stop, the train station, and finally the airport. The flight was non-eventful, and I had a hard time understanding all the Polish, and even English over the intercom. Oh well, good thing I know the whole flight attendant spiel by heart.

When I landed, another slight freak-out moment happened. I exited the baggage claim area as soon as I could, because I didn't have any bags to get. I went through the doors, and was greeted by complete strangers. I had absolutely no idea where Tristan was, and I, of course, began panicking. As it turns out, the Warsaw airport has two exists from baggage claim and the boards said I'd be coming out the second one. In the end everything turned out okay, and we headed off to a restaurant- italian of all things! Don't worry though. I've become so used to Italian food that it didn't even phase me.

Friday, we took a bike ride and got some crepes (also super-polish), and later went down town to see some of Tristan's friends. On Saturday, I finally ate polish food! We got a massive plate of pierogis that we couldn't even finish. Once the food coma wore off a little,  there was more exploring of the city. We went to the University Library and walked around the garden on the roof. We also ventured around Old Town, where we saw part of the street theatre festival. After that, there was a 4th of July party thrown by the American Chamber of Commerce, complete with fireworks and little kids running around with face paint.

Sunday morning I had to head back to Rome (which was also quite uneventful). It was an awesome weekend and as much as I love being in Italy, I'm really glad I finally got to get out of here for a bit!

Apple/watermelon and apple/cherry juice

Still decorated for the Euro Cup

Palace of Culture

Pierogi

Old Town

REPRESENT!

Adorable family that I was not creeping on in any way...

Street Theatre: Pantomime

Palace of Culture lit up like a disco

Classes!

First off, I would like to say that it is sad that Italy lost the Euro Cup, because I really would have liked to seen the celebration, but I'm still happy for Spain.

Now that the politics is taken care of: CLASSES! Because I don't get to spend five weeks in Rome wondering about doing nothing. Well, classes started yesterday and my first one was digital photography. That one should be interesting. It's a four hour lesson twice a week and the way the professor described it, it seems like for half the time we'll be inside learning how to work our cameras , and the other half we'll be walking around the city taking pictures. Sounds nice, right? Kinda... I'm all for taking pictures, as you all know, but now I actually have to use a manual setting on my camera and think about things like exposure and white balance. *Ugh* It's a bit of a hassle right now, but I'm hoping that I'll get used to it quickly.

My other class, Medieval Rome and Its Monuments, met for the first time today, and it scared me a little bit. My professor seems really intense compared to what I thought it would be like. We had a three and a half hour lecture today covering basically all of the history of Rome up until Constantine's time. I think the only time it has ever been covered more quickly is when I was in AP World History. Thursday is our first class on-site and it'll be interesting to see how that goes.

And believe it or not, after only two days of class, we have a day off! Yes, July 4th is celebrated by John Cabot University, so most of the students are going to the beach. It'll be a nice way to cool off from all the heat I've been living though. Then on Thursday, I'm off to Poland! Whoo!

When in Rome...

So after the intensity that was Ferrara, I made my way down to Rome by train. The journey was uneventful, and I even got picked up at the station by my parentals. The next few days included walking around the city and seeing some typical, touristy sites. Lots of pictures were also taken. One very interesting aspect, though, was going to see the opera. It was the closing night of "Midsummer Night's Dream," and I figured we could go see an opera in Rome, because, well, it's Rome, so why not? The first seats we sat in were on the side of the house and only half the stage could be seen, so we moved during the first intermission. I thought that overall it was a good production. The singing was in English with subtitles in Italian, and the costumes were very elaborate. I think it was a good experience, and now I never have to go to an opera again.


Finally, on Thursday, I moved into my Roman apartment (that has air conditioning, a perfect wi-fi connection, and a shower I can stand in!). I have four roommates, and the apartment is really nice, way better than I was expecting it to be, and decently close to where the rest of the university is located. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were all filled with orientation shenanigans and lots of sweating (it's currently 95 degrees here, and it doesn't look like it will be cooling off any time soon). Classes start tomorrow, but tonight....


FORZA AZZURRI!!! (aka GO ITALY!) It's the EuroCup finals, and yes, Italy made it! Most likely I'll be heading out to a piazza to partake in the festivities and hopefully not get trampled by a mob... It should be an experience to say the least!


Now, it's picture time!

Vatican City

Inside the Opera House

Trevi Fountain

Roman Forum

Colosseum

Fireworks off of Saint Angelo's Castle for a holiday

The Yale Wiffenpoofs came to visit JCU on their tour

Last Few Days in Ferrara

So, my time in Ferrara has come to an end, but don’t let that fool you. I’ve been doing plenty of things here to occupy the time.

On the 17^th of June, there was the Palio, which is a horse race that usually takes place every May, but was delayed this year because of the earthquake. The city is divided into “contradas” or neighborhoods that each have their own horse and jockey that race. And it is a very big deal here. The day before the Palio, we all went to a dinner that one of the contradas was having. The food was… interesting..., but it was fun to see all of the people. The day of the race, there was a parade which two students actually walked in and dressed up for! It was probably the longest parade I’ve ever seen (not including Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade).

Then the festivities began. First a race for the boys, then the girls, then some donkeys, and then finally the main event, the horses. There was one horse that was particularly finicky though who refused to get into the starting position for well over an hour. Once the (illegal) start happened, the race only lasted a few minutes, if that. A few jockeys fell off (but that doesn’t matter since the only the horse needs to finish the race) and then there was one horse that wouldn’t stop running around. They had to corner it, and I felt really bad because the horse was very scared and had no idea what was going on. As you can imagine, there are always a few animal-rights’ protests that happen. Overall, I’ll call it an experience, and probably never see one again.

On the 20^th, we had “gelato making,” which basically meant we watched as a pro made gelato and then we got to eat some. I’m not really complaining, because, hey, free gelato.

Don’t start thinking that my time in Ferrara has been all fun and games though. In the 6 weeks of class here I’ve completed: 12 chapters of material, 9 readings, 8 credits, 5 tests, 4 essays (with 2 drafts each), 2 text books, 1 oral exam, 1 final exam, and countless grammar exercises. All somehow without losing my mind on a daily basis. So these may or may not have been the most productive 6 weeks of my life.

But now, I’m in Roma, and a new adventure is about to begin!

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene…

Verona- the city of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, also known as the city with few tourist attractions, but way too many tourists. Despite the slight over-crowding, it’s actually a pretty cool city. Again, this was a little organized day trip that was included in our program, so we were all jammed on the smallest bus possible. When we got to there, we had a tour that took us up on a hill that overlooked the entire city. It was pretty cool to see the whole city at once and all of the terracotta roofs. Then we finished our guided tour along the river and through the streets, where we learned all about Giulietta e Romeo and how apparently they did exist (according to our guide), and of course, all of the other interesting historical shenanigans. We got to see piazze, Juliette’s house (chalk-full of tourists), the shopping street, and the arena before one of the best lunches ever.

And I do not exaggerate either. We started out with pasta (of course) with eggplant and tomato. Then, while everyone else was eating salmon, another girl and I got steak with roasted veggies and potatoes. To finish it off, delicious molten chocolate cake. We were all so happy that we decided if we died after that lunch it would be okay. Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t do all that eating and then just sit around. Oh, no. We climbed a bell tower right after lunch. Over 360 stairs to the top. It was a bit of a struggle, but the view was awesome.

Afterwards, we had a few hours of free time to explore the city. Basically everyone went back to Juliette’s house to take a picture with the statue, and then we split off into little groups. A few other students and I walked around the market and bought gifts for people, then wandered around, and eventually ended up at the castle. The bridge was also very cool and while taking pictures, an overly enthusiastic rafting tour group started waving and cheering. Oh, Italians…

And that was our trip to Verona. 

Romeo's house

Juliet's Balcony

The bell tower we climbed

Milano Madness

This past weekend two friends and I took a weekend journey to Milan. And yes, journey is the right word. We left Saturday morning and got to the city around 2:30 after taking two separate trains. After walking about an hour from the train station, we were of coursed amazed by the duomo. There are no pictures that can do it justice. Honestly. I tried, and I’m sure that they don’t compare. We then walked around for a while, went into a few stores, and found a restaurant where we ate dinner and I watched the Dutch play their first game in the Euro Cup. After that, we made our trek to the hostel.

Oh, the hostel. Not only did they say that they had changed our reservation (which had accidentally been made for the wrong day), but it started pouring rain right as we got there. The person at the desk call another hostel and said we could stay there for the night. So we were driven there by some random person we had never met in Milan’s worst thunderstorm basically ever. Needless to say, we were pretty freaked out. We were put in a room with two Czech guys who were actually pretty cool, and did not seem like the type to steal our stuff, so that made me feel a little better. I didn’t sleep very well, because the bed wasn’t very comfortable, but it was loud.

The next morning, we decided to walk to the Pinocoteca di Brera which is one of the best art museums in the city. Little did we know that this was over an hour and a half walk away from where we were and that it was going to start pouring again. I’m just glad we all had an umbrella; otherwise we would’ve been completely miserable. The Pinocoteca was really cool though, lots of paintings of Jesus and whatnot. We also stopped by the castle where two Africans were very persistent on getting money from us. We handled that just by walking away. Then we made our way back to the train station for another adventure to Parma.

We had looked at the train schedules before we left and knew that we had to take two trains. But we did not know that we wouldn’t be able to by the ticket for the second one at the other train station. This meant a few minutes of freaking out, because we didn’t think we’d be able to buy tickets (and in Italy, if you don’t have a ticket, you get a HUGE fine). But a random guy at the station told us that we could buy the tickets on the train and it’d be fine (BONUS: that all happened in Italian! Yay learning stuff!)

We got to Parma, and everything was closed, but it was a really cute city just to see. Not too big, but it had some interesting buildings and shops to look at. After all that, we head back to Ferrara without a hitch. An exhausting weekend for sure.

What up da Vinci?

You can see the some of the stained glass from outside in the evening

Parma! Meat and cheese galore!

Also- before all that, we had a pasta-making lesson on Wednesday. I didn’t get to take pictures of the process, because my hands were covered in pasta-stuffs, but here’s a picture of the final product! And yes, it was delicious.