Cilento: I've never eaten so much pizza.

It may sound like a dream, but in actually eating pizza 5 times in 3 days really gets at your digestive tract. Our school-sanctioned venture to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea began on Friday with a 4 hour bus ride. We stopped at the grocery store before leaving, and a friend and I picked up a slice of pre-made pizza rosso (#1). It was gorgeous as we drove along the Amalfi Coast boarding mountains and the sea much of the time. Living in Rome I am so used to seeing ancient buildings in a crowded city, not so much open terrain. It was refreshing and until this point in my life probably the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. Our first stop was to a farm to see the buffalo that make mozzarella di bufala, a fresh version of mozzarella that is usually the only acceptable kind here in Italy. They were hideous, but damn do they make good cheese. We had pizza there for lunch (#2). 

We then drove further south to a seaport to see how fisherman caught their supply of fish, octopuses, and other sea creatures for consumption. The octopuses (octopi?) weren't even dead as we watched them all squirm around inside their cartons. Our hotel was in a small town called Eboli, not unlike the disease. The restaurant we went to was a classic hometown pizzeria (#3). They had karaoke and the Italians hogged it all. Needless to say I was very upset as I love to sing. We went home late that night as meals were brought our every 45 minutes, and we were dead tired so we passed out early.

The next day we travelled to a little town called Piope to visit...another buffalo farm. Here we got to try their fresh (just made) mozzarella di bufala and pudding and like the first farm, it was spectacular. My expectation for food quality has increased drastically, so America better be able to keep up. We then visited  an aquarium for an hour...which was actually just a room with fishtanks in it. It was cool for 5 minutes, but once you've been to the Shedd, it's hard to compete. Communicating with a small-town Italian butcher was near impossible, but eventually we found ourselves with a lunch: Cold cut sandwich with fresh EVERYTHING.

We then travelled to the ancient city of Paestum, where the ruins of ancient greek temples still stand from roughly 400 B.C. as some of the oldest in Italy. It was unbelievable to see; however, the two hour tour like the aquarium tour was unnecessary and quite lengthy. A nap followed our trip to the ancient city and when I awoke, I found myself at another pizzeria (#4). This was a pizza factory where they made tons of different pizzas, and our group was given a slice of each of around 6 pizzas, including a nutella and peanut pizza for dessert. When we got back, we decided to show Eboli how America does a Saturday night...Eboli will probably never recover from the debauchery (Just kidding...they'll be fine in a few weeks).

Sunday we travelled to the coastal town of Salerno. It had been fairly cloudy all weekend, but the sun came through for us and after yet another "educational tour" to the botanical gardens of Salerno (which looked a lot like my backyard but with a great view) we spent some free time down on the beach. I couldn't have pictures a better way to relax. We had our last meal of the trip at a restaurant called Trinon where we enjoyed a nice pizza (#5). This was different, as it was the best pizza I have ever had. It was called Pizza Forte, and was made with spicy salami, grilled peppers, garlic, basil, and parsly. It wasn't too complex, but the quality of the ingredients made it utterly drool-worthy. The pizza itself was bigger than the plate it was served on, but nonetheless I ate the whole thing. It put me in a food coma that served the 4 hour bus ride back well as the perfect sleep aid.

I cannot express in words how badly I want to go back to Southern Italy sometime in my life, but I tried really hard just now...I may have something other than pizza next time

Barcelona: Beaches and...beaches.

Thank you Dad for hounding me to get on this as I was about to surf the internet for about 7 hours and completely forget. Around yesterday morning at 8am, I got back from my weekend in Barcelona. I didn't do too much there, but what I did do was amazing and fantastic and proved to make Barcelona one of my favorite abroad destinations.

The group I was travelling in got to Barcelona around 11pm on Thursday. We had tickets to a concert at one of Barcelona's premier nightclubs (anked among the top 5 in the world!) So we didn't have much time to waste. The concert was a blast and I even ran into some friends from home who made it out as well. It was a pleasant surprise that made the night that much more enjoyable. We got back to our hostel at the reasonable hour of 7 in the morning. Needless to say the next day was going to be spent relaxing quite a bit.

We woke up around noon Friday and headed toward our next hostel for the weekend...too bad it didn't exist! We searched and searched and searched but after checking the address three times and even going into the building it was suppose to be in, we still could not locate it. we found a nicish hotel with vacancy for only a night, so we decided to book it in hopes that something else would open up the next night. After getting settled, we headed toward the beach area to have lunch at a little place called "Bo de B." It has since become my favorite sandwich place in the world. They take a baguette, fill it to the top with marinated chicken, and then put on your ingredients. After the feta, avocado, lettuce, tomato, corn, lentils, and peppers I could barely fit it into my mouth to take a bite...but barely was enough for me. I vow to go back to Barcelona simply for the sandwich. 

We made our way to the beach finally to catch some rays. It turned out to be a lot of rays, as we were there for around 5 or 6 hours! People were enjoying the 80 degree perfect day and deep blue sea that spanned as far as you could see. There were women walking up and down the beach offering oil and massages for 5 euro. I didn't get one, but I saw the subsequent sunburn that resulted from it after my friend got one. 

That night Marisa and I met Jenna, my friend who is studying abroad there for dinner. We went to a vegetarian place called Sesamo. Despite the horrendous service (seated at 930, fed at 11!) we had a lovely dinner and caught up on tons of stuff. After dinner we were so tired we decided to go home, but as we were walking we heard some great music coming from the building above us. It turned out to be a jazz club called 41 North where the artist was playing something called flamenco fusion jazz. It had a very unique sound and we ended up staying there for a good portion of the night.

The next day began at the beach again, as our attempts to sneak into the W hotel to use their luxury pool was thwarted by the doorman. To be honest I never really expected it to work (with four 20 year olds saying that they stayed there) so I wasn't terribly disappointed. After a few hours there one of my suite-mates and I decided to venture to Las Ramblas, the famous street of shopping and pickpocketing to try what was purported to be the best falafel in Barcelona. After an hour of searching it was evident that, while not the best that I've had, it was really really good. Stuffed, we realized with the discrepancy between geographic location and time zone that it was 7pm, despite the sun still blistering above. We went to a restaurant pretty soon after that, but I didn't eat much. After that I turned in early and decided to rest up for the next day instead of go out.

Sunday I was excited and poised to do some real sightseeing. We began at the Segrada Familia which, as you'll tell by the video I've uploaded, is the most spectacular structure I've ever seen hands down. It is an utter mastery of design, and it is safe for me to say that Gaudi is now my favorite architect. It is very pagan in style and is grandiose in so many ways I cannot describe. Please do your best to feel as infinitely humbled as I did upon my first steps into this extravagant church.

We left Segrada Familia to enjoy yet another meal from the sandwichery-from-heaven Bo de B, after which we continued our Gaudi tour and went to Parc Guell, which is the park which Gaudi designed. Gaudi did to this park exactly what he had done to the church, which is made it absolutely spectacular. The shapes, constructions, and layout was unlike anywhere I had ever been before. His work inspired me to actually emote as opposed to stare and simply say "cool." I have never been moved by artwork as much as I had been this day. That night's dinner was spent at one of Barcelona's most exclusive restaurants, Carpe Diem Lounge Club. It was asian themed, and as you'll see, far more decadent than we had expected, but of curse a delicious meal ensued. To sum it up, I may like sushi now.

The last part of my trip was spent at a bar called Dow Jones. The concept of the bar was that they treated drinks like stocks. When demand for one particular kind went up, so did the price; on the other hand, when drinks weren't being purchased frequently, prices went down. It was an amazing idea and a great time as well. I hope someday i will find a bar like that in the states, where the bar does not only provide the beer, but the games as well.

All in all I can whole-heartedly say that short of a few unavoidable gripes, Barcelona was an absolutely amazing city and I plan on going back if I ever get the chance. Updates on Spring Break still on their way...sometime;.

Rural Italy is awesome Italy

So this week I went to a farm just north of Roma. This farm produces mainly cheese from its various sheep and goats, but it also makes and grows all of the food used in its on-site restaurant. As we entered the farm we found ourselves traversing up a long and winding road and ending up next to a gorgeous lake surrounded by hills on all sides. This place truly was a paradise (next to the poop smell). We met the owner and learned about different kinds of cheese production and...well just that, but we got to make some ourselves as well! After a quick tour of the farm and its goings on, we came back for a lovely lunch of cheese, bread, cheese, quiche, cheese, artichoke something, and more cheese. A lot of the cheese was actually fairly bland, and not well liked by me, but one was exceptionally good. Needless to say this was like a dream lunch come true and felt quite nauseous (happily) the rest of the day.

I'm also off to the Roma vs. Juventus soccer game today. Roma has lost 10-11 of their last match-ups, but tonight could be different...right? RIGHT?

Venice: Water everywhere

Welcome back! I'm sure its been a while since anyone has checked this...probably because it's been a while  since I've checked this. I have all of spring break to write about. Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, and London will all be written about in due time, but since it's a lot to cover I'll be spreading those posts out over the course of...a bit of time. For now however, let's play a little game of catch up.

So a long time ago I went to this place called Venice. Although I was only there for one day, I accomplish a lot of what I had hoped, and found the city surrounded by water to be one of my favorite up to that point. One of the most amazing views I have had abroad was from the train on the way to Venice. Surrounded by industrial areas at first, I wondered what was so spectacular about Venice, and even began to debate whether I should've gone...and then I saw it. One second I was looking out at cranes and dirt and stuff; the next second I could see nothing but calm blue waves and the sea on all sides. It took me completely by surprise and immediately a wave of tranquility fell over me. It wasn't long before I was on the island and realized that I was surrounded by canals: All boats, no cars.

All in all, Venice was pretty straightforward. I walked from the train station to Piazza San Marco, which despite lacking quantities of old gigantic buildings was still a fantastic sight due to its quality. My roommate and I hopped on a student tour of the San Marco Palace where the old monarchy found itself and parliament held office. We skipped the tour of the basilica, but it certainly looked interesting from the outside. We then met up with a couple of the girls on our trip and took a gondola ride around Venice. Seeing Venice from the water looking up was a perspective I could never imagine without seeing it for myself and it was breathtaking. After the gondola ride, we all went shopping for murano glass, a specialty of Venice, and truth be told there was some beautiful glass on the Rialto Bridge where all of the nice shops are. I bought a vase for my mommy.

After that night fell. Dinner and a night of wandering aimlessly and sneaking into Hilton hotels on neighboring islands ensued...the water is very still at 5 in the morning.

Spring Break really sneaks up on you

I promise to update Venice soon, I've had midterms all week...and now I leave. Wow.

My trip consists of Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin, and ending in London. Jetsetter.

Excursion #4? I can't remember

I'm bad at timing things but um...I'm going to Venice for the day. Hope I can cram in as much as possible like gondolas...and some other stuff...

Go water.

I should really start carrying my camera around...

There are few truer statements than the above. I often times find myself in the most interesting places, yet have no means of capturing their beauty due to my lack of foresight. This week really took the cake in that regard.

On Wednesday night we met our Italian counterparts for dinner in an area of Rome we had never been before called Magliana I believe. I might be wrong, but its been typed and its too late to google whether or not it is in fact the name of where the restaurant was located. Anyways, it was a lovely time (language barriers and all) and we planned on meeting Thursday morning to go to another place we had never been called EUR, which is on the outskirts of Rome and is known as the affluent part of the city. We missed the first bus there by mere footsteps, and the next bus came 45 minutes later. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

We finally got to the area and were all immediately struck by it. Unlike the center of Rome, which is nearly all metropolitan with old buildings and streets as wide as my wingspan, EUR was covered in lush green grass and skyscrapers. It was clear we were in a totally different area. We walked past a manmade lake on a path called "Passegiata Giapponese" which means "Walkway of Japan." I could not give a good reason it is called this, as it looks nothing like Japan architecturally, naturally, or otherwise; however, it may be due to the overwhelming sense of serenity that passes over you while looking out onto the blue lake and fountains. We continued to explore the area, coming across the Square Colosseum. This was a building erected in 1935 under the fascist rule of Mussolini. It is mainly a convention space now, but our Italians told us that due to it's origins, they oft do not promote the building, despite its intriguing facade.

I also went to a club last night called "Goa" which is supposedly one of the more exclusive clubs in Rome. As we entered we immediately noticed that unlike many other clubs and bars where other exchange and foreign students frequent, this bar was nearly 100% Italian. It was a very cool building with tons of decoration that purported its exclusivity.

Clever Title

I must be getting really lazy. Like outrageously so. I am surely going to look back on this post above all others and think,

"Wow...I certainly must have worked my ass off to get out of bed this morning, let alone blog. I think I deserve a break and I'll just make the title...shit."

Alas, the main reason my title is lacking the creative juice flowing through many of the others is because this week I, again, didn't really do much. I spent the majority of my week practicing for my Italian oral midterms. The first was a 3 minute presentation on my younger brother, Sam. My teacher now knows that my brother likes rap, girls, and the color purple...my descriptors were very limited (sorry to Sam if my description lacked depth). The second was a 5 minutes dialogue I wrote with a partner that had to be performed...naturally, our dialogue was about two of the Ninja Turtles searching for their teenage mutant brethren in every pizzeria in Rome. Thankfully, our teacher knew who the Ninja Turtles were, so I think we did pretty well.

I also went on two field trips this week. The first was to staple coffeeshops and eateries around the Pantheon area of Rome. Armando al Pantheon is a restaurant that has bordered the Pantheon for over 60 years and has been family run since the beginning. Tazza D'Oro is located squarely on the Pantheon plaza area and has also been providing Romans their coffee for over half a decade. My favorite stop had to be the Roscioli Forno. Around for years as well, Roscioli has some of the most delicious bread I've ever had...and I know my bread. Also, they had fantastic suppli (those deep-fried rice things I adore). I've already found myself back there for rolls and other small unnecessaries of the like.

The other trip was to a local television station in order to see what the media scene is like here...unfortunately we only toured the direction room (which I've seen numerous times visiting my daddy at ABC) and the set for an Italian cooking show. The creepy Fabio lookin' boy to your right is the host. It wasn't too bad minus the 3 hours of downtime. I played a lot of Euchre. Also we met the former Ms. Italy! She was very charming and was really... charismatic. We left there after a while and began our Unofficial celebration.


I woke up the next morning. Woo.

Paris: I owe my feet an apology

To those who have been patiently awaiting this post...sorry. I met my first week of actual work here so its been a bit difficult to sit down and write this out.

Me and my travelling companions arrived in Paris at 9 in the morning, and didn't spare any time...except getting to my living quarters. My hotel was located in the area near Bastille (that place that was stormed that one time). After getting situated, we took a walk down the side of the Seine, the main river in France. It was cloudy, but it felt eerily comforting. We stopped to look at Notre Dame, the church where Quasimodo and Esmerelda fell in love (says folklore and Disney). We took a walking tour of Notre Dame and learned some interesting things, like the vain architect who renovated it in the 1800's added his own sculpture to those of the kings of France. We also ventured into the heart of medieval France, where the inspiration for Sweeney Todd took place. We continued our long walk along the river until our collective hunger got the best of us and we stopped for some baguettes. A French baguette is nothing to be fooling around with, nor did we. They were gone as fast as they were purchased.

After walking quite a distance we came upon the Eiffel Tower. What's that you ask? Its a big tower that really serves no purpose other than generating revenue; however, it served as a base for scientific research once upon a time. We decided to save going up it for a nicer day, but remained near it through the sunset. The tower began to light up, glow and flicker. I was certainly taken aback by the beauty...until I recalled how far we had to walk back. I learned about the extremely convenient metro the next day.

I woke up the next day and took the aforementioned "1" line to the Lourve...its this museum don't worry if you've never heard of it its quite small actually. After entering my first pyramidal structure ever I found myself in the depths of the museum. I saw the Egyptian exhibits, ancient Roman statues, Napoleon apartments...I don't think I can let it escape that I did not see the Mona Lisa. To be fair I was forewarned it was highly unimpressive and having seen "The Da Vinci Code" I figured I could do without and just go to exhibits that I found interesting. After 3 hours and shin splints, I met up with the group for a bit to eat inside the museum. I then left to find my friends who are currently studying abroad in Paris. Torey took Miotti (who was fortunately also visiting) and I out for crepes....mmmmm....crepes. Miotti and I then ventured to the Centre Pompidou, Paris' modern art museum. It may have been my favorite place in Paris. The art was so engaging and right up my alley culturally, I felt very connected to the ideals and movements explored through the works of art I was examining. Also the building itself was an art piece, looking as if the structure was flipped inside-out.

I had a bit of a repeat of day one on Sunday, except for the croissant I started my day out with. It was amazing. I met the group who hadn't yet seen Notre Dame there, yet this time I explored the inside of it during mass. It was an unexpected feeling being there experiencing the traditions of another religion with people from all across the world. We then went back to the Eiffel Tower, this time going up it. I made it to the 2nd floor, but decided to save the top for the next time I come to Paris (now I have to, right?) Plus, the line to the top was an hour long. Some of us decided we'd rather continue to sight see. We found the Arc de Triumph, which although modeled from ancient Roman arches was much larger and more grandiose. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing it and comparing it with the arches I'm learning about in my classes here.

Our last excursion through Paris consisted from a search for the purported best falafel in Europe.  We found ourselves at Las Du Falafel, where I in fact did have some of the best falafel I've ever had (sorry Pita Inn but its gonna be close). After that hefty snack we joined back up with everybody for a final French meal at a traditional cafe. I had a french onion soup (its not called french here) and an omelette...it was economical. Exhausted I went to bed pretty early Sunday night so that I could be up by 430am to catch my flight home Monday at 8am. Made it just in time for class too. I am a baller (someone who is good at things for those reading this who are slang-challenged).

This week was lame

Kinda. Nothing exciting happened this week except I ate some Falafel.

Leaving for Paris and its 415am. Woo.

Siena/San Gimignano/Pisa: Italy is sweet

Original title right? I'm going to jump right into this because there's a lot to cover. We arrived in Siena around 1030 Saturday morning, meaning we woke up around 5am to make our train. Despite the obnoxious process of being awake at such a godforsaken hour the ride wasn't too bad. We watched as the terrain became decreasingly urban and gave way to rolling hills and countryside as far as the eye could see. We stumbled around Siena for a bit looking for our hostel (bed and breakfast actually), but it was not terrible. Siena is absolutely gorgeous and, as it's located at the top of a hill, overlooks the countryside and all of it's beauty. We walked across the town in about 10-15 min (its only a mile long) and found our B&B right outside the walls of Siena, which circumvent the whole city. The place was called Casa di Alfredo and in addition to its prime location, it turned out to be really nice as well. After checking in, we found a bike rental right inside the walls that cost 5 euro for the whole day.

We rode around the city and found a restaurant called Pizzeria di Nono which was recommended by various travel books and the like. They turned out to know their stuff as the restaurant look off over a horizon of medieval houses and properties on the hill across from us. After the delectable meal, we proceded to ride our bikes out of Siena down the side of the hill and try to venture into the countryside that looked so beautiful from above...unfortunately we found out that the city and the country are separated by an extensive highway and road system that would've been far more dangerous to traverse than we had intended. Looking back up the hill and thinking about the arduous task of riding all of the way back up, we decided to try and ride around the base of the city to ascend back up the hill...we made a series of wrong turns and ended up having to climb a ridiculous number of staircases and even take an elevator to get ack to Siena, bikes in-hand. When we got back to the top we explored the center of Siena, Piazza il Campo. We got a well deserved gelato from supposedly the best gelato maker in Europe (it was very good, but not the best...Giolitti in Rome...maybe i'm biased) returned the bikes and took a little nap at our hostile to recover from the workout.

We went back out that night to Trattoria Papei, another restaurant recommended by some publication. The food was excellent, but it was the restaurant itself that made the meal unforgettable. The wait staff was friendly and conversational. Our waiter's name was Mario and he treated us to sarcastic quips about Rome as well as free dessert wine and biscotti. We told them we had plans to go to a jazz club after, but he told us that we should go to a bar called Caffe del Corso, as the jazz club was f***** g** (i'll leave it to your imagination to fill in the blanks). It turned out to be just a regular bar with no seats and a long bartop, except there was a DJ in the corner playing amazing party throwbacks (that had probably just gotten to Italy). We were the only Americans and it ended up being a great end to a phenomenal day.

We woke up early Sunday morning to catch our train to San Gimignano at 915...except the train left at 845. The next train left at 1140, so we went back into Siena for a little bit to kill time. We found a Foot Locker that had cool shoes and apparel in it so I spent some money there (sorry to the rents). We caught the train and found ourselves in San Gimignano around 1pm. It was even more beautiful than Siena. Although there wasn't much to do in San Gimignano, just seeing it just amazing. While trying to find a way to occupy time there, we heard music in the distance, and decided to try to find out where it was coming from. It turned out to be coming towards us, as Sunday marked the first day of Carnivale, the ancient Italian celebration that proceeds lent (known to us as Mardi Gras). There was a huge parade and people dressed in costumes everywhere throwing confetti. The video below pretty much sums it up.

After the Carnivale in San Gimignano, we had to get back to the train station to go to Pisa. When we arrived in Pisa, we had about an hour and ten minutes to get to the leaning tower and back before our train back to Rome would depart, so we had to power walk (two workouts in two days...yikes). We saw the tower, although the pictures can't do it justice as it was nighttime already. After trying to look like I was holding up the tower like everyone does I gave up and booked it back to the train station, stopping only for falafel (the only thing I would ever stop for). We made our train by mere minutes and made it home safe and sound.

I had an amazing time and really want to go back, but I doubt i'll have the time with all the other travel plans I have. I just booked a bunch of flights, and am set to depart for Paris Friday morning. Let the jealously ensue.

Markets and m...vineyards

I was going for alliteration, but alas there are no synonyms for vineyard that start with an 'm'. We met up with our Italian counterparts yesterday morning to go to an area of Rome that Americans generally never go to called Trionfale Market. It was just a simple market, but it was quite large in size and there was not an American in sight. It was very daunting observing a true Italian marketplace experience. There was typical stands there for fruits and vegetables, along with an extensive and rank-smelling seafood sections (with no less than 6 severed swordfish heads...awesome) and meat stands. 

The meat stands had meats hanging from the ceiling as well as 'fresh options' (the squeamish should not look at the picture you've inevitably already looked at to the right). Our Roman compatriots told us that we couldn't leave the market without trying something. This something was Pizza Bianca (Pizza dough cut through the middle glazed with olive oil) with Mortadella (Italian sausage cold cut) sandwiched between it. They called it "Le Morte Sua" which translates to "It's own death"; however, in Italian its a phrase used to describe the best food you could have. They weren't kidding around as it was one of the best Italian snacks I've had since I've been here.

Today out whole program went on an excursion to a vineyard on the outskirts of Lazio, the region Rome is in, in a place called Umbria. The vineyard is named "Castello delle Regine" (Castle of the Queens) and with 10000 acres in its possession is one of the biggest vineyards in the area. We toured the vineyards themselves, although we are out of season so the plants themselves were bare. We continued on to the rows and rows of vats that they store and ferment the ten different kinds of wines produced in the vineyard. Finally we found ourselves in a classy downstairs hall where we found the cellar in which is housed the finest wines that Castello delle Regine produces. We had a taste test, trying to identify the differences between Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sangiovese...I wasn't that successful. The more I practice though, the better I'll get (I promise to practice a lot).

We ended our trip with a luncheon at the vineyards country house, where we had a real wine tasting: Two Poggio delle Regine, one red and one white. We also had a red wine from 2002 (almost 10 years old if you weren't already doing the math). Both Poggio delle Regine were delicious, while 2002 was a bit strong and mineral tasting for me. We enjoyed a delightful apertivo (take a guess) and penne 
arrabbiata. I proceded to slip into a food coma and fall pleasantly asleep on the bus ride home.

I'm leaving for Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa tomorrow morning at 630am...good thing I took that nap. Next update to come after my (hopefully) fantastic journey. Ciao!   

Im officially cultured

The above refers to today's happenings; however, let's cover yesterday briefly as well. Our Layers of Rome class led me to the Basilico di San Clemente, a 13th century church that is built upon the ruins of a 6th century church, which in turn is built upon the roads of ancient Rome. As we entered the church, a gypsy tried to take something out of a girl's bag...quite a scary moment for all of us, but we got past her harm free. The atrium of the church surrounded a natural spring that spurted up from a moderately lackluster fountain-pipe thing. We then walked into the church, and found it looked like many of Rome's multitude of church, with the exception of the staircase leading to a centuries-old excavation site where the old church used to stand. It was fascinating walking through the hallways and chambers buried underground, as well as seeing the frescos and other lasting decorations of the time. After we left the church, I ate my unsatisfying turkey wrap I made that morning and proceded to buy a roll from a premier bakery in Rome. Yummy.

Back to today. Hi (just thought I'd side note with a greeting). Our wine unit followed up with a trip to a place called Ketumbar, located in the late night club district known as Testaccio, where we met our professor, a writer for Gamboro Rosso (famous Italian food critique), as well as the staff of the establishment. We were treated to a hands-on lecture about the process of cultured wine tasting and how to have an educated drinking experience. Until this moment I didn't actually understand what the phrase "educated drinking experience" could possibly mean, but I can assure you that my appreciation for the art has increased exponentially over the course of an afternoon. We tried four different wines; two white wines (one called Muller Thurgau and the other escapes me), a chianti, and a sparkling wine called Moscato. The chef also treated us to fresh focaccia bread, which I also didn't appreciate until this excursion. With much appreciation we thanked both the staff and our professor for this amazing experience.

I'm excited now about my trip this upcoming weekend to the gorgeous city of Siena and neighboring it, the purportedly equally beautiful San Gimignano...and to drink Chianti in its region of origin (properly). I anticipate it being a blast and a half.

My week in a nutshell, sorry it took so long

Whew. What a week. Although I've certainly had the time to post, I definitely have not had the energy. Enough with the small talk on my end, let's get into the good stuff.

Tuesday I went with my class to the National Museum of Rome where remnants of ancient Roman villas have been put on display after being dug up. Both fragments of beautiful mosaics and whole panels decorated the walls of the museum. These frescos, or paintings on hardened plaster typically covered the inside of many homes of ancient Rome's emperors and senators. I found myself taking my second trip to McDonalds abroad, which was extremely satisfying and to be a little more technical, yummy. We later met our Italian companion students, who we are working with on a project about bruschetta (i think). We are going to the market with them this week to get shown around parts of Rome that tourists/abroad students don't usually see, so I can't wait for that.

Wednesday took me on an adventure around to places of Rome I had never seen before. I decided that I could no longer go on after seeing the Villa Borghese Gardens without having a frisbee to throw around when it gets really nice out. I found out to my dismay that the closest place that sold frisbees in Rome was two buses and an hour away in a mall called Porta di Roma. Needless to say, as I'm telling you this story, I made the trek (well, ride) out. It turned out to be a really nice, Northbrook Courtesque mall; however, as I went in between classes I had no time to dilly...or dally for that matter. I found what I believe to be the only frisbee in Rome and a basketball for a friend, and wasted no time. Another hour and another two buses later I found myself on time for class by minutes. I wasted no time in getting my money's worth, as right after class I found myself playing catch as opposed to buying unnecessary food for the first time.

Thursday nothing happened. Nothing.


Friday something amazing happened. Matthew Miotti arrived in Rome and spent the weekend here. We met him and and my roommates friends Ben and Jacob at the Pantheon and spent the afternoon walking them around the city, and Matt and I picked up tickets to the Rome vs. Naples (Roma-Napoli) soccer match. That night we went out to dinner with Jeff (our friend from home whose living across the street from me). I got Gnocchi Ragu and went to heaven. We spent the night back in Testaccio and had a great time at a club called "Akab" where they had Rock Night and played a fantastic selection of classic and modern rock music.

Saturday I showed Miotti around the center of Rome and went into the Colosseum again. We read up on the some more of its history and spent a lot of time just hanging out there after running into a few of his trip mates. Afterward we went to an AS Roma store and each bought an official Roma scarf. It's definitely going up on the wall of my room next year. We got home fairly early in order to get ready for the soccer game and after a few drinks we left for Olympic Stadium. The Roma side of the stadium was packed with fans who weren't quiet for one second of the match. The atmosphere is totally different, as no matter how far back you sat, fans were still unruly...the back row were kicking the backs of the stadium and the security were fairy supportive. As fun as the game was, Roma ended up losing 0-2 so that was a downer; however, we wouldn't let it get us too down. We followed up the game with an adventure to a bar called Brasserie 420, where they had a selection of over a hundred different types of imported beer. They also had an amazing rooftop where they grilled food and had picnic tables filled with Italian socialites. It was a really fun time, especially since they played Queen all night.

Sunday (woo made it!) we went to the Vatican City and walked around St. Peter's Basilica. It was equally as massive as it was when i went a month ago (I can't believe it's already been a month!) While they walked to the top, my roommates and I started on our venture to the international food store, only to find out that it was closed on Sundays. Poop. We went home dejected and I proceded to watch an episode of Smallville to get over it. When everyone else finally got home we went out to a final dinner to this wonderfully, simultaneously cheap and delicious restaurant called Casetta di Trastevere where I got an awesome and surprisingly rare Minestrone soup, as well as some bruschetta and lasagna. It was the perfect end to a perfect week.

As the title explains, sorry it took so long. Now everything is back in order and I should post more regularly. Hopefully things stay interesting around these parts, but I suppose that is up to me, ain't it?

Vacation in Rome continued...kinda

Let me start this post off where my post about Saturday let off. Me and the others that remained in Rome whilst everyone else was in Florence went to the jazz club I was talking about before...for about 15 seconds. The show was letting out just as we got there; however, my first experience with jazz in Rome would not elude me much longer (I will explain this in a little bit; don't worry intrepid reader).

Sunday morning started a little earlier, but not without its share of hinderances (a splitting headache that was the result of the night prior's activities and 100% my fault). As soon as it subsided, my compatriots and I left Trastevere where we live for the area of San Lorenzo. We read that it was a very interesting part of Rome filled with a thriving ethnic area as well as the majority of the younger population in Rome, so we wanted to check that out as part of our self-guided tour around the bustling city. We took a different route there than our guidebook told us to go, mainly because we forgot to bring the guidebook. The way we went showed off the less than beautiful side of San Lorenzo, bordering the Termini train tracks and graffiti-covered pseudoslums. After about ten minutes of increasing concern we finally reached the more central and thriving part of San Lorenzo, more specifically an urban park area populated with native Romans sitting on park benches and lounging casually about. We encountered in the center of the park the ruins of the old Trophies of Marius, which served centuries upon centuries ago as a large fountain with two sculptures adorning it, representing the triumphs of an ancient Roman Caius Marius over barbarian invasions. We were also greeted by the oft-stereotyped presence of cats littered about the city of Rome. There were probably nine or ten residing within the ruins picking at leftovers left for them. 

Looking up from epic grooming session (as you can see) right as I took this

We continued to walk around, and stumbled upon a church that we proceded to enter and mildly interrupt the service going on within it. Still, it was a beautiful church, as most churches in Rome end up being. As we continued on our journey around San Lorenzo we bumped into something rather un-Italian. On the street we were walking was an Egyptian protest rallying against Mubarek and the Egyptian government. It was very daunting; however, once we noticed the non-violent nature of it we embraced what was occurring in front of us and realized its historic value. Very few times can I or will I be able to say I have seen a product of a country overthrowing it's government. We left as it continued on past us, as we did not want to become too engulfed in the fiasco. 

Having walked around the whole day, we decided to bus it back to our tram stop. We didn't end up boarding the tram though, as outside the tram stop were a group of Italians dressed in black and pink playing brass instruments (the return of my Italian jazz experience) who called themselves the Pink Puffers. We couldn't helped but get swept up in their music. For street musicians, the were very good (and even managed to convince me to buy a CD!) This is a video of the last song we stayed for, which consequently ended up being the best one. Fast forward to about 3:20 for some sweet percussion.

The rest of my sunday was spent sleeping and preparing for what would end up being one of the greatest nights of my life (you can guess why). After hopping around two irish pubs filled with Americans packed like rats, a friend and I ended up at a small, pretty empty Italian restaurant called "Miscellanea" that was showing a game. The owner offered us bow-tie pasta in a spicy tomato sauce...on the house. We delightfully accepted. We met a few Americans from another study abroad program who were dumb Steelers fans, but very nice nonetheless. Over the course of a fantastic football game, around 3 liters of beer, and a lovely conversation with the family over skype following, I found myself submitting the previous post to you all. 

Green and Yellow

That's about it for now. It's 5am here and I'm spent.

The other side of Rome

So not much new has been going on here. I've had a bunch of school and and learning quite a bit about the history of Italian food and the culture it is apart of and creates. I had six hours of lecture on it in two days! I don't know if I've digested all of it (no pun intended, although I have to admit that is quite funny) but we have a test already next week so wish me luck.

This weekend everyone went to Florence to explore...except me. And a few others. I woke up late today as opposed to the 4am everyone else did to catch the train. I met up with the other couple of us who stayed back to save a bit of euro and went walking around Rome, looking for an intracity tour type deal. We ended up at the Spanish Steps where I had never been and had a delightful panini. We decided to walk a little deeper into Rome than any of us had until this point, and explore the Villa Borghese Gardens. None of us knew what to expect, but it turned into quite an adventure and a place I will definitely return to again.

The part of the Villa Borghese Gardens that we explored was essentially a large park district within the confines of Rome that borders its center and takes up a good amount of space. When you walk into it, you almost forget you're in Rome. Surrounded by trees, park benches, and nearly all native Romans on this 60 degree sunny afternoon, we felt for the first time that we were truly inhabitants of the city. There was a rollerblade demo going on with young Romans doing various tricks, giant balloon play structures, and open grass where we found the youth of Rome playing and enjoying a lovely weekend with friends. It was certainly a sight to behold as we absorb Roman tranquility for the first time. The Gardens are elevated so we could see the horizon of the whole city as the sun set behind it. It was truly awe-inspiring as the cool breeze rushed past us (certainly not as brisk as the subzero breezes at home though. Jealous...maybe). I'm off to a highly reputable restaurant in Trastevere that will hopefully be a place of future dining experiences, and then off to a jazz club. Maybe this is turning into a little Roman vacation after all.