Pompeii and Ischia

Last Thursday I was able to fulfill a longtime dream: visiting Pompeii.  We woke up early in the morning and boarded a charter bus at 6:30 a.m.  I slept for much of the bus ride, but was woken up by the sound of rain about halfway through the drive.  Everyone was worried that the rain wouldn't stop because no one had thought to bring umbrellas or rain coats.  It's supposedly the "dry season" in Italy right now, but we have had a fair amount of rain over the last two weeks.  Still, we all figured Pompeii was going to be sunny and unbearably hot, as it usually is.  Fortunately by the time we got to Pompeii the rain had passed.  We were even lucky enough to have some cloud cover, which meant a slightly cooler temperature.

Pompeii was almost exactly as I had pictured it with one exception: it wasn't flat.  I don't know why, but I always pictured Pompeii as this totally flat area beneath Mt. Vesuvius.  However, Pompeii actually has a fair amount of hills.  I was amazed with how well preserved Pompeii is.  Many of the buildings are complete minus their roofs.  The roads are still in decent shape, and the stepping stones are still in place.  I even had some fun posing with friends as we were crossing the street via the stepping stones.  It was my personal version of recreating the Beatles' Abby Road album cover.

We visited the amphitheater and the larger of the two theaters in Pompeii, which were both popular places for public entertainment.  Dr. Rea, who was serving as our guide, showed us the "cat's eyes" in the sidewalk, which are pieces of broken pottery that the Pompeiians mixed into the concrete to create reflective spots that make it easier to see the sidewalk at night.  We walked through an ancient brothel, where the rather graphic pictures are still visible.  We visited a set of public baths and saw the Forum, which used to be surrounded by a two story colonnade.

As with many of the ruins I have seen on this trip I found it impossible to picture what Pompeii would have looked like whole and filled with life.  All I could picture were the crowds of tourists who were climbing over everything and dripping sweat everywhere.  It's really easy to forget that Pompeii was the site of an enormous tragedy where thousands died.  According to Dr. Rea, most of the citizens of Pompeii escaped, but even those who made it out lost everything.  We could see Vesuvius from the Forum, sitting in the distance looking peaceful.  I can imagine what a surprise it would have been to the Pompeiians when it erupted because Vesuvius doesn't look any different from a normal mountain.

While I wasn't able to climb Vesuvius, I did mutter "something's happening to the mountain," a reference to a BBC documentary about the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D.  Someday I will return to Pompeii, climb Vesuvius, and announce that line, said in my best imitation of the documentary.

After we finished touring Pompeii we ate lunch at a restaurant, then boarded the bus to go to Naples.  We toured the National Archeological Museum in Naples, which houses a lot of the relics found in Pompeii.  Many of the exhibits were closed, so we didn't get to see everything that Dr. Rea had described in class.  We did get to see the mosaic of Alexander the Great that was once in the dining room of the House of the Faun in Pompeii, a very impressive and detailed mosaic.  We saw lots of shards of pottery and several other mosaics that have been removed from Pompeii to preserve them.

We finished touring the museum and then boarded the bus once more, which took us to the docks where we were to catch a fairy to Ischia.  Ischia is a small island off the coast of Naples that is the birthplace of one of the instructors on my trip.  It's a very laid back place, with lots of beaches and fresh seafood.  The hotel we stayed in on Ischia is this very cute little place called Villa Cecilia.  The owners grew up with Gianfranco, the Italian Cinema and Culture instructor.  The hotel was beautiful, with much of it decorated in shades of purple, my favorite color.

I took a quick shower and changed out of my smelly Pompeii clothes before going to dinner with a group of friends.  We found a restaurant on the water and I enjoyed a plate of pesto and seafood gnocchi while watching the sun set.  We finished the evening playing ping pong with some of the kids  of the hotel staff.

Our trip to Ischia was a sort of Spring Break for the program, meant to be a relaxing distraction from the stress of our classes.  In keeping with that theme we went to a spa on Friday called the Gardens of Poseidon.  When we entered we were given a map and instructions as to the proper course of the many pools placed throughout the spa.  We decided to follow the instructions and went in search of the first pool.  Each successive pool is slightly warmer when you follow the correct order.  The final pool had two types of water: water that was 15 degrees Celsius and hot water.  According to the instructions you are supposed to submerge to your neck in the cold water for 15 seconds and then go into the hot water.  Most of my friends weren't able to stay in the cold water for that long, but I was able to.  To my surprise, it actually felt nice to go from the icy water to the hot water.

After we finished the course of the pools we all felt very relaxed and ready for lunch.  I chose to eat an Ischia delicacy: rabbit.  Oh my goodness was it tasty!  I also enjoyed some fresh cherries.  Italian cherries, or ciliegie, are huge and taste more like grapes than cherries.  I can't get enough of them.

In the afternoon we went to the beach at Poseidon's Gardens.  We all swam out to a rock that was shaped like a conch shell.  It was a fairly long swim, but once there we climbed on the rock to bask in the sun before jumping off and swimming back to shore.  I spent the remainder of the afternoon reading under a beach umbrella.  By the time we needed to leave I was quite sleepy and sad to go.

I spent the evening eating dinner at a restaurant that Gainfranco recommended and walking around town.  My friend Lindsey and I enjoyed exploring a small bookstore.  We found some of our favorite books in Italian, including The Fault in Our Stars and Harry Potter.  I know those books so well that I was able to understand some of the Italian when I opened them.  We eventually returned to the hotel and played cards with some of the people on our trip.  I slept very well that night.

In the morning many of us had plans to go cliff jumping, but unfortunately it started raining.  Not wanting to waste the day we decided to tour Castello Aragonese, which is a castle on Ischia that has history going as far back as the fifth century B.C.  The castle was enormous and we explored all of it that we could, despite the rain.  By the time we finished touring and ate lunch, the rain was almost finished.

Once the rain was over I set off with some friends to go cliff jumping.  Now, I say cliff jumping, but really we were swimming out to rocks, climbing them, and jumping off.  It would be more accurate to call it rock jumping.  The rock we chose to jump from had a white rope to help you climb onto it and a nice flat surface to jump from.  Some of the guys with us, however, decided they wanted to climb higher on the rock and jump from there.  They didn't think any of the girls would want to do it because the climb took a fair amount of upper body strength.  After watching the boys climb up several times, I figured that I would be able to make it up there.  I'm proud to say that I made it to the top no problem, right behind another girl who was with us.

When it was my turn to jump I had a hard time.  I didn't mind the height, but when I stood I couldn't get myself comfortable near the edge.  I didn't want to hurt myself by falling or not jumping far enough.  Bryan, who had jumped the most, climbed up and helped me figure out how to place my feet.  He described, in detail, how to jump safely and then demonstrated it for me.  While I was still slightly terrified, I didn't want to have to climb back down, so I slowly stood, placed my feet, counted to three, and jumped.  I landed in the water safely, very glad that I had actually jumped.  While it was exciting, I am not sure that it's something I would ever need to do again.

That evening was the festival for Saint Anna, the patron saint of Ischia.  The town was packed with people and every restaurant had a line to be seated.  The culmination of the festival was a fireworks show that took place over the castle.  I sat on the roof of our hotel with most of the group to watch.  The fireworks weren't anything unique, but the effect of the smoke and the lights of the castle was spectacular.  The castle lit up with red light, and through the smoke from the fireworks it looked as if it were on fire.  The music set an eery mood that was simultaneously beautiful.  When someone in the crowd below the castle released a floating lantern I couldn't help but think of the movie Tangled.  I may have missed fireworks on the Fourth of July, but I got to see the equivalent on Ischia.  It was a wonderful night and a perfect end to our weekend there.

Sunday morning we said our goodbyes to Ischia, boarded the fairy, and headed home to Rome.  I had a marvelous time in Ischia, but once again I was glad to be back in Rome.  Rome has become a home to me and the closer I get to leaving the more I want to stay.  I still have places to go and things to see in Rome.  I don't want to have to say goodbye to it.  I only have a week and a half left here and I plan on making the most of it.

-Allison

My friends and I thought it would be funny to take a picture on a prostitute's bed in the brothel.

Nothing's happening to the mountain!

The Gardens of Poseidon

We swam to and climbed the rock in the background.

Ischia from Castello Aragonese

If you look closely you can see the white rope.  I also jumped from the next highest flat place, between the rope and the tree.  

The "burning" castle after the fireworks

The Trash Saga

The greatest part of doing a study abroad programming is experiencing living in a new place.  One of the worst parts is trying to adjust to a different culture.  Most of the transition to Italian life has gone well for me.  I miss certain things about the U.S., such as air conditioning everywhere you go and peanut butter, but there are perks of being in Italy that make up for things I miss.  Gelato, for example, is everywhere and I have been eating more of it than I should.  Fresh fruit is cheaper and tastes better, and my legs are in great shape from all the walking.

One aspect of Italian life that I will not miss and have had the most trouble adjusting to is the trash schedule.  Recycling is very important here, and recyclables need to be sorted and put out in different trash bags on different days.  Glass, plastic, and metal goes in one bag.  Paper and cardboard goes in another.  Organic waste has a different bag from all other non-recyclable materials.  It should be a simple matter of sorting as you throw things away and then remembering what goes down on which day.  If only it were that simple.

I expected that there would be an awkward period learning the trash schedule.  What I didn't count on was that none of the instructions we were given seem to be correct.  The company that owns our apartments put a binder full of instructions and useful information in each apartment.  In it there is a schedule for the trash.  However, above our trash cans in the kitchen there is another set of instructions for the garbage.  This set is different from the one in the binder.  My roommates and I discovered that the schedule in the kitchen was the correct one.  That is, it was correct until last Thursday when apparently the trash schedule was changed.  We didn't realize it at first, because we missed the instructions posted downstairs at the entrance to the building.  Because we hadn't noticed we were putting the wrong trash outside for a few days.  It wasn't picked up and then we had to carry it back upstairs where it sat, smelling pretty disgusting because of the lack of a.c., until I noticed the new instructions.  (The instructions were always posted downstairs, so we hadn't realized they were any different.)

I think that we finally have the schedule down, but in the meantime I have had to carry trash up and down the stairs more times than I would like to admit.  My roommates and I have started referring to the situation as the "Trash Saga" because every day we have some new story about taking out the trash.  Sometimes it's a comment on whether the trash was picked up on time or whether we saw trash from anyone else in the building.  (Sometimes I swear we are the only apartment to put out our trash.)    Other times we have a story about our trash bags being cut open to determine if we have the right kind of garbage in there (it has happened, I promise).  The other day someone actually came to our apartment to tell us we did something wrong with the trash.

I appreciate that the Italians want to recycle as much as possible, and we are trying to do it correctly.  All of our mistakes have been due to misunderstandings, not laziness, as we have been checking the posted schedules (just not the correct ones apparently).    Every other apartment has had no problems with their trash schedule as far as I can tell.  My roommates and I laugh about it, but it's rather embarrassing that we can't seem to master what should be a simple task.  I definitely have a new appreciation for the simplicity of taking out the garbage back home.  I won't miss the crazy collection schedule when I am back in Florida, or the pressure of potential fines for putting out the trash at the wrong time of day.  I think part of the issue is that I'm not used to living in an apartment, although I have to sort my recyclables in the dorms at UF.  

Hopefully from now on there will be no more to add to the Trash Saga.

Allison

Week Three: The Vatican, The Beach, and Catacombs

I am now halfway through my study abroad trip.  I have seen and done so much that it feels like I have been here much longer than three weeks.  It's been a crazy busy week filled with a trip to Vatican City, an Italian exam, daily class excursions, a trip to the beach at Ostia, and a trip to the catacombs.

On Tuesday we went on a trip to the Vatican City Museum and Saint Peter's Basilica.  My roommates and I decided to walk to the museum instead of taking a cab.  It was a good thing we allowed a lot of time to get there because it took us 45 minutes and several stops for directions to get there.  (The two most important Italian words I have learned are "dove," meaning "where," and "grazie," meaning "thank-you.")  It was a nice walk, despite the distance because we got to walk along the Tiber River.

Once in the museum we received headsets so we could hear our tour guide.  She took us to a courtyard where I got to see a giant sculpture of Augustus' head as well as a bronze sculpture that was a gift to Saint John Paul II.  Our guide told us all about the Sistine Chapel and explained why we can't take pictures in there.  Apparently when the Sistine Chapel needed to be cleaned the Vatican received the funding from Japanese television companies who to this day own all video and photographic rights for the chapel.  From there we started to walk through some of the galleries.  The Vatican Museum is enormous, and there are always some exhibits closed for restorations.

We saw many works of art from the classical period.  I was able to see my favorite classical sculpture, which depicts the priest Laocoon and his sons as they are being attacked by a sea monster.  The scene it depicts is from the Aeneid, which I studied senior year of high school as well as this past spring.  Everything in the museum was beautiful, from the mosaic floors to the painted ceilings that looked three-dimensional.  I loved seeing the classical art preserved in the same building as Christian works of art.  It was a reminder that despite different beliefs, everyone appreciates beautiful things.  Preserving the past of other cultures is much better than simply destroying anything that represents something different from us.

Our tour of the museum ended in the Sistine Chapel.  I wish that I could have taken pictures, but even then there is no way to capture the magnificence of the paintings.  I can't imagine the amount of work that Michelangelo put into that masterpiece.  The ceiling has the power to make you feel so insignificant as you try in vain to see the whole of it at once.  The Sistine Chapel was so captivating that I didn't even notice the crowds that normally would have made me uncomfortable.

From there we went to Saint Peter's Basilica.  Saint Peter's is a work of art, and a very large one at that.  The building is enormous and is elaborately decorated with mosaics composed of tiny pieces of stone.  After seeing the inside, we were able to climb the dome on top of the basilica.  Some of the group opted to take an elevator part of the way up, but I wanted to climb all of the stairs, despite the fact that I was wearing a maxi dress.  The climb was totally worth it as the view from the top is spectacular.  I could see all of Rome, including some of the sites I have been to on my class excursions.  It made me appreciate living in Rome even more because I get to explore the city I was seeing from high up on the dome.

I don't have any classes on Friday and there was no planned excursion for this weekend, so on Friday I decided to go to the beach with some of my friends.  We caught a bus to the metro station in the morning, and from there we caught a train to Ostia.  Ostia was the port of Rome in ancient times, and I hope to be able to make a trip to Ostia Antica before leaving Rome.  The beach at Ostia was beautiful, but the sand was unbearably hot.  I felt like I was burning my feet when I would dash from my beach towel to the cold water.  I alternated between cooling off in the water and reading a book in the hot sun while laying on my beach towel.  I made sure to apply sunscreen every hour and I managed to avoid getting badly sunburnt despite being out there for a few hours.

A friend who has been to Rome before recommended to me that I visit the catacombs, and others on the trip had been wanting to visit them, so on Saturday a group of us went to the Catacombs of Priscilla.  Priscilla was a noblewoman who converted to Christianity and donated her home to the Christians to be used as a burial site.  Thousands of Christians were buried there from the 2nd to 5th centuries.  The catacombs were carved out of volcanic rock that is radioactive, so we were limited to 30 minutes on our tour.  Most of the bodies have decayed to dust by now and most of the remaining bones have been removed since the tombs were vandalized for the marble after the rediscovery of the catacombs.

The catacombs were rather creepy and smelled awful, and I felt like I was intruding on people's final resting place, even though most of the bodies are gone.  Nevertheless it was an interesting experience.  The catacombs contained several frescoes that are still visible.  One of the images is the oldest depiction of the Virgin Mary, which is dated to around 220 a.d.  Other images were of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and the Three Wise Men visiting baby Jesus.  I was very glad I made the trip to the catacombs, as I got to see something that not many people who visit Rome get to see.

This week I have two midterm exams for which I have spent all of today studying.  This weekend, however, I get to travel to Pompeii!  I have been looking forward to visiting Pompeii all summer, so be on the lookout for a lengthy post about my experiences there.

Until then,

Allison

Laocoon and his sons being attacked by a sea serpent

I had to fight my way through a crowd of other tourists to get this picture.

St. Peter's Basilica

On top of the dome

I took off my shoulder wrap after the lengthy (and hot) climb.

The beach we went to in Ostia

Florence

Ciao!

This weekend I traveled to the charming Tuscan city of Florence.  The entire group caught a train from Rome early Friday morning.  It was a much shorter train ride than the one to Venice (1.5 hours versus almost 4).  Once there we walked to our hotel to drop our bags off before heading to the Uffizi Gallery.

The Uffizi was once an office building for the powerful Medici family, who effectively started the Renaissance.  The gallery contained many impressive works of art, including busts of all of the Roman emperors, Leonardo DaVinci's first painting, and Botticelli's Birth of Venus (which I have discussed in several of my classics courses).  The museum was spectacular, even for someone who has never studied art.

After the Uffizi we were given time to eat lunch and relax.  I opted for a gelato lunch (rum raisin and blackberry-yum!) before exploring the leather market in Florence.  I was mesmerized by the maze of stalls containing leather purses, wallets, and belts of every style and color imaginable.  There were also stalls containing stunning silk scarves in a myriad of patterns.  The smell of leather was everywhere, putting the finishing touches on the market atmosphere.

When I had seen my fill of leather, Lindsey and I went back to our hotel to move our bags into our room and freshen up.  I say hotel, but really the place we were staying was a converted castle, complete with a tower.  It was very rustic, with uniquely shaped and furnished rooms and giant tassels on the room keys that had to be left at the desk when you went out.  We didn't have time to explore the hotel, however, as we needed to meet the group to go to the Accademia Gallery.

The Accademia is better known as the home of Michelangelo's David.  Although we saw other works of art there, including some other Michelangelo pieces, the majority of our time was spent looking at David.  He was huge, and beautiful, and looked almost alive, especially his eyes.  His pupils are heart-shaped instead of round, which makes his eyes appear to exhibit many different emotions depending on what you think you see, which makes them look more life-like.  David is remarkably well-preserved, and I hope he will remain that way for many generations to come.  I understand why he is such an important work of art; he really is very impressive.

After the Accademia we were given free time to explore and shop.  I opted to explore while shopping, and returned to the leather market to do so.  I also found the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence, and the Duomo and Campanile, both of which visitors can climb to get a spectacular view of the city.  I climbed neither on Friday, and instead returned to the hotel to climb the tower there.  I was breathless at the view of the city.  I could see the Duomo, the Campanile, the clock tower near the Uffizi, the Ponte Vecchio, and basically all of Florence from the comfort of my hotel.  It was absolutely mesmerizing.  It was cooler than normal for July, and there was a steady breeze, so it felt like I was higher up than I really was.  Florence is such a charming little city, with so much history and art.  I fell in love with Florence on top of that tower.

That night we had a group dinner.  I got to eat wild boar, which is a Tuscan specialty, and ate so much food because it all tasted heavenly.  Afterwards I went to an Irish pub near the Duomo with some friends to finish the long, but exciting day.

Saturday began with a tour of two churches in Florence.  The first, Santa Maria Novella, is home to the first painting by Michelangelo that he did when he was seven years old.  The painting is part of a fantastic mural behind the altar.  The second church, Santa Croce, contains the tombs of many famous people, including Michelangelo, Galileo, and Nicholas Machiavelli.  It was quietly serene, but slightly creepy, as we were walking on people's tombs.  We finished the morning with gelato near Santa Croce.  I enjoyed my amaretto and coconut gelato, which I have decided are two of my favorite flavors.

Saturday afternoon was all free time.  I went with a group of people a sandwich shop that is supposed to have the best sandwiches in Florence.  I didn't get one, but they were huge-about the size of a person's face-and were full of fresh ingredients.  All of my friends thoroughly enjoyed their sandwiches, so I guess the reputation is well-deserved.  We then went and bought tickets to climb the bell tower (the Campanile).  I really wanted to climb the Cupola of the dome, but the line was too long and I already had plans to go to Pisa afterward.  I don't regret climbing the Campanile; it was an amazing view of Florence and I got a nice workout climbing the 414 steps (even though I only counted 412).  I took a ton of pictures from the top, including a picture of the tower on our hotel that I was able to pick out even from that high up.  In the distance we could see a line of storms heading toward Florence, and several times I saw lightning strike in the distance.

Once our feet were back on solid ground (and our legs stopped shaking from the stairs), Lindsey and I headed to the train station to catch a train to Pisa, which is about 50 minutes away from Florence.  We  bought our tickets with no problem, but had a hard time finding the train since it was in a side terminal.  When we finally found it we weren't sure how to properly validate our ticket.  We were all worked up because the train was supposed to leave soon when we finally got the tickets validated and found seats.  We were on board in plenty of time, and I managed to catch a 50 minute nap while on board.

Lindsey and I erroneously thought that the tower would be right near the train station.  Fortunately Pisa is a tiny little town and we found the Leaning Tower of Pisa with no problem.  We took pictures, including a Gator Chomp pose, and several bad attempts at "holding up" the tower.  By then it was dinner time so we got pizza in Pisa before catching a train back to Florence.  As it turns out, we were lucky we left when we did.  Less than an hour after our train left the trains went on strike and another group of students from our study abroad group was stranded in Pisa.  Luckily they were able to get internet access to contact other members of the group, who found out there were buses from the airport in Pisa to the Florence train station.  The stranded students made it back to Florence that night in one piece and with a great story to tell their friends and family back home.

That night I went up to the tower of the hotel and sat talking with a group of people on the trip.  Florence is even more beautiful at night, with the moon shining over the red tile roofs of the city.  It was so peaceful up there that I almost didn't want to leave to go to sleep.

The next morning we said goodbye to Florence and boarded a charter bus to Chianti.  We toured the Castello di Verrazzano winery.  The castle is the birthplace of Giovanni da Verrazzono, who explored the bay of New York and is the namesake for the Verrazzono Narrows Bridge.  After the tour we got a lesson in wine tasting before eating yet another large and delicious meal.  I particularly enjoyed dessert because I got to try another Tuscan delicacy: vino santo.  Vino santo is basically biscotti dipped in a sweet wine.  After lunch we spent a few minutes looking out at the Tuscan countryside.  We were high on a mountain, so we had a great view of the vineyards below us and the surrounding land.  It was another breathtaking view, and I could have spent forever looking out over the peaceful hills, but we had to get back on the bus to return to the train station.

We caught our train home and although I loved Florence, I was glad to be returning to Rome.  I enjoyed the beauty and renaissance history of Florence, but I know much more about the history of Rome.  Rome has become my home for the time being, and I'm starting to get more familiar with it.  I'm looking forward to visiting the Vatican and St. Peter's tomorrow, as well as all of the almost daily excursions in my Ancient Rome class.


-Allison

The David

 If you look closely you can see his heart pupils.

The Ponte Vecchio

The Duomo and the Campanile, as seen from the tower of the hotel.

On top of the Campanile

The tower of the hotel, as seen from the top of the Campanile.

Doing the Gator Chomp in Pisa

Castello di Verrazzano 

Exploring Rome: The Colosseum and the Forum

Earlier this week I was able to visit two places I have been dying to see for years: the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.  Both are within walking distance of the classroom building (which I have come to realize is in the perfect location as everything is within walking distance of it).

On Monday the group walked to the Colosseum in the afternoon.  I walk pretty quickly, and I had trouble keeping up with Sherrie and Dr. Rea, who were worried we would miss our appointment time at the Colosseum.  We wove in and out of groups of people at a brisk pace all the way from the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (commonly referred to as the "Wedding Cake") up the street to the Colosseum.  I could see it all the way down the street, and gradually more and more of it came into view.  From my perspective the left half of it was covered in scaffolding, which is the part of the Colosseum that is the tallest and most intact.  Once the group caught our breathe we listened to Dr. Rea as she explained the origins of the Colosseum to us. She also described the Arch of Constantine that was directly behind her as she spoke.  


We then entered the Colosseum, which I think is aptly named as it is enormous even in its relatively dilapidated state.  We climbed a set of steep stairs to the upper level, where we looked out at what remains of the stadium  floor.  I tried to imagine how impressive it would have looked back when it was first built, with the floor complete and covered in sand, white marble covering much of the stone, and retractable awnings to provide shade for those in attendance.  I wish that it still looked as it did then because I am not sure I can truly imagine how magnificent it was.  I was awed by the experience, and grateful that we still have the Colosseum as a testament to the achievements of the ancient Romans.  

Tuesday afternoon we visited the Roman Forum, which is right next to the Colosseum.  Whenever I heard about the Forum as it is today I pictured a flat, dusty rectangle with a few columns and the footprints of some buildings.  What is actually there is much more complex.  The ground is far from flat as much of the Forum was built on the Capitoline hill.  While almost everything there is in ruins (with the exception of a few temples that were converted into churches) archeologists have unearthed many remnants of temples that are still identifiable as buildings.  We saw the house of the Vestal Virgins, the Law Courts, and the Rostra, where orators would stand and speak (or have their heads and hands displayed after their deaths, as in the case of Cicero).  I wrote down in my notebook as many descriptions and names of the sites as I could, but there was so much there to see that I know I missed some.  I took a bunch of pictures, though, so that I can at least remember what everything looked like.

We also got to climb the Palatine Hill and see the remnants of the supposed Village of Romulus.  We walked through the remains of the Imperial Palace, which was so incomprehensibly large that I have no idea how the Romans built it.  As with the Colosseum, my mind is incapable of picturing the ruins as they used to be, even though much of it remains.  The President of the United States lives in a shack in comparison, that is how large the palace was.  Unfortunately we weren't able to go into the Palatine Museum because it is closed for renovations for Augustus' 2000 birthday.  

It was a long, tiring afternoon and I forgot my sunscreen, but the weather was cooler than is usual for July and there was a nice breeze most of the time.  I find the ruins to be beautiful, especially since they are what remains of buildings that truly were beautiful once upon a time.  I enjoyed my afternoons walking where the Romans walked, imagining what they would have seen.  I am so lucky to be able to spend the next few weeks continuing to explore ancient sites and living in the heart of Rome.  

This weekend I am off to Florence with the entire group.  I'll return to Rome on Sunday, with a post about the weekend to come shortly thereafter.  

-Allison

Inside the Colosseum

View of the outside of the Colosseum

The Arch of Constantine

View of the Roman Forum from on the Palatine Hill

Domitian's Stadium, part of the Imperial Palace complex

Venice

As promised, this post will detail my trip to Venice this past weekend:

While my study abroad program does include weekend excursions to Florence and Pompeii, I really wanted to see Venice as well.  Luckily for me another student organized a trip to Venice that I was able to join.  Paulette organized everything, from finding the hostel to picking the train time to providing us with a link to buy water taxi tickets.  She successfully herded 15 other college students to Venice with only a few minor setbacks in ticketing.  (I joked on the trip that we literally would have been lost without her figuring out the water taxis.)

After a four hour train ride full of getting-to-know-you conversations, we arrived in Venice at 11:30 Friday night.  Excited, we all boarded a water taxi that took us to the island where our hostel was located.  We checked in and headed to our room.  All 16 of us filled a dormitory style room furnished with eight sets of grey bunk beds.  Although we were exhausted we were also thrilled to be in Venice, so we stayed up later than we should have that night.

Saturday morning we all got up and took our turns showering in the community bathrooms.  Most of the girls put on maxi dresses so that we could have our knees covered to go into St. Mark's Cathedral.  We boarded the water taxi that took us to St. Mark's Square and began exploring.  Our first stop was the cathedral, and while waiting in line I made sure to slather on the sunscreen because I didn't want to spend the next week looking like a tomato.

It's hard to find words to describe St. Mark's Cathedral.  The lighting was dim, which lent a majestic air to the place.  The ceiling was covered in mosaics composed of pieces the size of a fingernail.  The whole place had a somber feeling, and there wasn't much noise besides a few tour guides whispering into headsets.  Photography was prohibited, so I bought some postcards so that I can always remember what it looked like.

Before too long we were back out in the sunshine deciding where to go next.  There was a brief period when we didn't know where half of the group was because they were still in the cathedral and we didn't know where Paulette was after she told us she was going to the bathroom.  The bathrooms are few and far between in Venice (and cost money to use).  I'll admit that I was freaking out slightly because I didn't want anyone to get lost.  I never should have worried; before long we were all reunited and went off in search of the Rialto Bridge, agreeing to meet those who went off in smaller groups back in St. Mark's Square at 4:00 for a gondola ride.

We walked along the streets of Venice, stepping into whatever shops caught our eye.  Before long we found the Rialto along the Grand Canal.  We took pictures of ourselves and the canal then decided it was time for lunch.  A group of five of us went off in search of a restaurant with seating by the Grand Canal.  We found one that looked promising and were seated right away.  I split a delicious mushroom, salami, and ham pizza with my Jaime.  Our waiter was hilarious; we taught him to say rooster in English (there were roosters on our plates) and he helped us order in Italian.  Jaime did most of the communicating with him as she has already taken Italian 1 and 2.  He seemed to like us, and he even gave us a free bowl of the best cherries I have ever eaten.  Normally I am not that fond of cherries, but these were fresh and huge and tasted like grapes.

We met up with the rest of the group after lunch and then we did some shopping.  I loved looking at all of the interesting things the stores had for sale.  There were mask shops and glass shops and high-end clothing shops and tourist shops and lace shops and basically a shop for everything.

We returned to St. Mark's Square to reunite with a few members of our group and then set off looking for a place to get a gondola ride.  We found one along the grand canal and split into two gondolas.  I was surprised at how well the gondolier kept us balanced because as we were getting in the boat it tipped precariously to the right.  Although he didn't sing, our gondolier pointed out churches and told us their names as we went along.  Occasionally he started humming and at one point I really thought he was going to sing to us.  Our ride went through some of the side canals that tourists don't normally see unless they are on a gondola.  We passed under bridges and by backdoors of buildings that opened right onto the water.  The whole ride was peaceful and all of us in my gondola were nodding off by the time we returned to the launch point.

That evening we returned to the hostel early to freshen up before finding food.  The group I was with accidentally got on a water taxi heading the opposite direction we wanted, but we knew it would get us to the hostel eventually so we decided to stay on it and enjoy the trip around parts of Venice instead of getting off.  I spent a good part of the evening sitting by the water outside of the hostel talking with Jaime.  It was a relaxing end to a wonderful day.

On Sunday we were all so tired that we got a later start than planned.  We checked out of the hostel and put our luggage in a storage room there.  We took a water taxi to Murano, a small island where they make the famous Murano glass you can buy all over Venice.  We watched a master glass blower create a vase and two figurines that he promptly destroyed as they were only for show.  I couldn't believe that the beautiful things he was creating were only crude examples as even the "throw away" pieces were spectacular.  We walked around the island, going into numerous shops to see the glass products there.  Murano is a cute little island with lots of bridges perfect for photo opportunities, including group selfies with my friend Carlos' "selfie stick."  (The "selfie stick" is a metal extension pole with a device on it to attach your phone to so you can take an Ellen-esque selfie with ease.)

Although we had a train to catch at 4:30, we had just enough time to squeeze in a quick trip to Burano, the island where Venetian lace is made.  Burano is a teeny island that is so picturesque.  We took a bunch of pictures of this canal that was bordered by brightly painted houses that looked like they came out of a children's book.  I bought a delicious hazelnut gelato before we had to get back on the water taxi.

By the time we got back to the hostel to pick up our luggage we were getting worried about making our train on time.  We all made it, but it was a close call for a few people who were on a train that left ten minutes earlier than the one most of us were on.  I slept for most of the train ride, but managed to get in some studying for my Italian exam that I had today.  All 16 of us made it back to Rome in one piece, exhausted but with lots of great memories.

As Paulette said, "I left my heart in Venice."

-Allison

View from the train window as we left Rome.

The Bridge of Sighs

In St. Mark's Square

The Grand Canal.  From left to right: Carlos, Paulette, Emily, Kiersten, Jaime, and me.

Someone told me that swimming in the canals is frowned upon.  I didn't swim in them, but I stuck my feet in the water.

By the Grand Canal

Jaime, Madison, and Mary Kate on the gondola

The Rialto Bridge.  There were signs all over the city directing tourists to it.

On Murano looking over a canal. 

Burano really was a picture perfect town.

We noticed a group of paddle boarders while on the water taxi to the train station.  We think it's a class of future gondoliers.  

Week One

I can't believe I've been in Rome for over a week now!  Thus far my trip has been full of excitement and pretty much non-stop activity.  I have enjoyed every minute of it, but I am definitely feeling the physical and mental stress.  Here's what I have been doing since my last post:

On Wednesday Dr. Rea, who is teaching the Daily Life In Ancient Rome class, took the entire group on a tour in the afternoon.  We saw the Porticus of Octavia, a public structure containing art, temples, and libraries which the first Emperor of Rome, Augustus, dedicated to his sister.  She then showed us the Theater of Marcellus, dedicated by Augustus to his so-in-law.  We walked along what used to be the Triumphal Way in Roman times, where victorious generals would enter the city to receive their triumphs.  We also saw the Mouth of Truth.  You put your hand in the mouth and it is supposed to crush it if you tell a lie.  I took a picture with my hand in the mouth and my hand is completely fine.  We finished our tour on the Aventine Hill, where we could see out over the city.  It was a beautiful sight.

On Friday, we went to Tivoli and toured Hadrian's Villa and the Villa d'Este.  Hadrian's Villa is an enormous complex that would have housed around 450 members of the Praetorian Guard, numerous slaves, and any of the emperor Hadrian's guests.  He designed the villa and although it is in ruins now it was once full of fountains and cool pools and places to exercise, read, and relax.  According to Dr. Rea, Hadrian spent most of his time at his villa instead of in Rome, to the displeasure of many Romans.  I was impressed by the sheer size of the place.  Not only did it cover a large area, but every room was huge.  Much of the disrepair of the villa is due to pillaging of the marble for other construction works, including the marvelous Villa d'Este.  After a filling lunch in an underground restaurant where we learned how to make pasta we went to the Villa d'Este.  The Villa was full of floor-to-ceiling paintings and contained extensive gardens, which my friend Lindsey and I walked around together.  There were many sparkling fountains and more stairs than I could count.  In all, it was a wonderful day.

The night after returning from our Tivoli excursion I boarded a train to visit Venice with 13 other students on my trip.  It's getting pretty late here so I'll write all about it in my next post.

Until then,

Allison

 Mouth of Truth

 View from the top of the Aventine Hill

Hadrian's Villa

Caryatids at Hadrian's Villa

Villa d'Este

Pictures from Rome: Part 1

As promised, here are a few pictures from the first few days of my trip. 

I live two blocks away from the Tiber river.

The Largo Argentina ruins.  They are down the street from where classes are held.

The Pantheon.  Also right down the street from class.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the beautiful ceiling of the Pantheon.

Behind us is the Trevi Fountain.  It is currently under construction.  I was bummed I can't throw a euro in to guarantee I come back to Rome some day.

More pictures to come later,

Allison

Highlights of the First Days of Class

Most of the last two days I have spent in class and getting familiar with Rome.  So far I know how to introduce myself and how to ask where someone is from and how they are doing in Italian.  I had to relearn the alphabet slightly because letters are pronounced differently.  When my instructor called on me to spell my name I pronounced the "i" like and "e," which would make for an interesting name of Alleson.   I've always had trouble with my vowels, but Italian is helping me be more precise with them.

So far I am loving my Ancient Rome class.  Yesterday I got to share the Cliff notes version of Romulus and Remus' backstory with the class, and I learned there are over 50 versions of that story, which didn't bother the Romans at all.  It makes my obsession over continuity within the X-Men movies seem rather pathetic.  Today our class time was spent outside exploring the Largo Argentina, the location of Pompey's Theater, and the Pantheon.  It was simply amazing to see things I have been learning about for the past six years.  I love that I can see a part of history that until now I only read about.  I have been obsessed with the Romans for so long that I still can't believe that I am living where they once lived.  Last night, I ate dinner in front of the Pantheon.  I kept marveling that I was actually here in Rome.

Outside of class I have been sampling Italian food and exploring the city.  Last night my roommates and I went grocery shopping at a supermarket.  I was struck by how similar it was to a U.S. store, but was so different at the same time.  I learned that Italians weigh and bag their fruit before going to the check-out and that milk is apparently not as common of a drink as in America.  (Perhaps the milk scarcity is due to the high amount of calcium in the water here. . . .)  The aisles in the store were very narrow and branched off at various angles, unlike in Publix where all the aisles are in straight lines.  I saw some comforting food items from home, including my brand of shampoo and Pringles.  My friends and I tried to buy authentic Italian food to cook instead of buying, say, the Pringles.  So far what I have tried has been delicious.  I can't wait to try the different pastas we bought.  There were so many fresh varieties to choose from that we bought several with plans to try them all.

One of the many perks to being in Italy for the summer is the gelato.  I absolutely love it and will probably end up eating way more of it than I should.  Last night I tried kiwi, passionfruit, and grapefruit gelato.  I enjoyed the passionfruit, loved the grapefruit, and decided not to get kiwi again.  Today I opted for another fruity trio: pineapple, mango, and green apple.  Two thumbs up for all three flavors.  It was a refreshing snack on the way back from visiting the Trevi Fountain.

Tonight I'm going out with other students to watch the World Cup game.  Go U.S.A.!

I'll post pictures of the last two days tomorrow

Until then,
Allison