Siena Day Trip and Weekend

           

 On Friday at 6:00 am I got on the bus to go to Siena.  The bus was ride was three hours and most people just slept.  Siena is just 35 miles south of Florence and located in Tuscany.  When we got off the bus we were immediately greeted by our tour guide who took us around the city and showed us all of the main sights.  Siena’s main square is called the II Campo and it is the heart of the city.  Some people say this is the best square in Italy.  Along the side there are a bunch of restaurants, gelato shops, and the town square.  Siena has red brick lanes that cascade in every direction with little shops all around the city.  Many courtyards, sport flower-dead wells, alleys dead-end at roof-top views.  In the city bathrooms are extremely scarce.  In order to go to the bathroom it costs 1 euro and they are extremely old fashioned.  You have to push this weird button to flush and to wash your hands you push your foot on a pedal on the floor for more water.  A main attraction is the Duemo which is an art-packed cathedral with mosaic floors and statues by Michael Angelo and Bernini.  The cathedral is stripped in white and dark green and it sits on Sienna highest point.  The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and inside the ceilings were extremely tall with colorful art inside and out, decorated marble on the floor and stained glass windows.  For two centuries over 40 artist paved the intricate floor with scenes from the Old Testament, allegories, and intricate patterns.  Next to the cathedral there was a museum and on the top called the Panorama del Facciatone we walked up around 10 stories in a tiny tiny circular stairwell and you could seethe entire view of Siena.

            The first church we visited was the sanctuary of Saint Catherine.  St Catherine is the patron Saint of Siena.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside.  She is the youngest of 25 kids and most known for her charm sincerity, and reputation for holiness, she helped convince Pope Gregory XVI to return to the papacy to the city of Rome.  She was then made a Saint 10 years later and her  body parts were distributed to churches all around Italy.  In this particular church was just her head and one finger!  It was kind of gross her head was like detoriating.  Siena’s main drag is Via Branchi di Sopra and it is a bunch of fancy shops.  Siena is most famous for its dessert called panforte a rich, chewy concoction of nuts, honey, and candied fruits and they claim to impress even fruitcake haters

            For lunch we had the best meal I have had yet.  The restaurant was called Galmore.  We had a group of about 50 people so the food had already been ordered for us.  We were escorted to the bottom wine cellar of the restaurant.  It smelt musty at the bottom but the smell went away quickly.  We were first served bread and wine.  The first course was a thick  but soft and chewy spaghetti with a mushroom and beef sauce a toped with parmassian cheese and pepper.  The next course was apple crisped fall off the bone chicken with perfectly buttered and cooked potatoes.  Finally the desert was a fresh selection of fruit soaked in champagne.  Bon Appetite! We got back to the bus around 5 and got back to rome at 9 at night.  Everyone was exhausted and went to bed.

            On Saturday, my roommate was sick so I decided to get out of the house.  I went for a run to my friends apartment across town who I will be going to Ireland with.  We decided to take the tram downtown to explore a little more.  We went through some of the shops and ended at the Trevi fountain.  The fountain was packed with people being a Saturday.  I still threw a coin in but I plan to go back on a weekday and it wil hopefully be a little less crowded.  That night a few of my roommates and I went to a nightclub on the river called La Macion.  The club was right on the river below Castle San Anigo.  There was some grand gala event going on inside the castle because it was lit up purple with candles all around it and there was a red carpet.  I went up to the guard to ask him what was going on but he just kept saying that is was nothing special and to come back to the castle tomorrow to go inside.  Clearly there was something very special going on he just did not want to tell me what was going on! It was gorgeous and at 1:00 am fireworks went off from the middle of the river.  They were the prettiest fireworks I have ever seen.  It was like a 20 minute long grand finale.

            On Sunday I just had a relaxing day and walked through Travestre.  On our way there we walked through Saint Petersburg square and saw two weddings.  As we were leaving we heard a huge amount of cheering and the pope went on the big screens outside.  He was inside at the Vatican but it was being broadcasted live on the outside screens.  I went to lunch with my roommate Tara at a cute little restaurant.  Since we still don’t have internet there was not much to do so I started a book that my roommates recommended called the Anthem by Ayn Rand.  It is a short book and I am already about half way through and it is really good! 

Sienna Day Trip

I have a day trip to Sienna today.  I am meeting at Piazza Truluzza at 6:30 am to get on the bus so I will give details on the trip when I get back with pictures!

Meat Please

Hello. So eating right is extremely difficult in this city. I don’t understand how people do it. All I have eaten here is pizza, pasta, sandwiches with cheese, and bread. Therefore all I have eaten is carbs. I woke yesterday with a bad sore throat and as I went through my day I realized I need to find some protein and vegetables for my body. Believe it or not is is really hard to come by here. I don’t like fish which is the other part of the Italian diet. Today I am going on a hunt for some protein. I wish I had brought peanut butter because it has such great protein! This weekend I am going to buy walking shoes. I came here with just slippers. I feel like I am in great shape. I walk between 6 and 9 miles a day. My apartment is 2 miles away so just from there and back is 4 a day. During my breaks during the day I sometimes plan to just get lost. I just wander around and discover cute little shops and roam the streets. I really do get lost but it makes it easier to get my bearings and then I have to get back eventually so it all works out. I need to figure out to get to the Spanish steps today because that is where the book store that sells all of the books I need for school is located that is after I find some turkey or real food!

Piazza Novona

After dinner we decided to just take a walk. It was a pretty mellow night being just a Tuesday. We went to Piazza Navona. Piazza Navona, is in the pulse of Roma. There is food  at outdoor cafe's and wonderful musicians. It is a place to to sit and watch the world go bye. After a long flight across the pond it is a place to adjust to a less complex lifestyle. The world of art and leisure unfolds before your eyes. It used to be a site of the Domitians Circus which is why it is in the form of an open space stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the games. That why it is considered to be a circus. Today, the Piazza Navona is surrounded by fine historic buildings constructed in the Baroque style. In addition, it contains some of the Eternal City's best fountains, most famously, Bernini's Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers). The four rivers are supposed to represent the four different parts of the world. The plaza also contains Church of Saint Angese in Agone that is dating from the 17th century. Each of the bell towers has a clock this also is in St Peters. Since I was there late I was unable to go inside. The piazza is very popular and its cafes are good places to observe the many sights in this interesting locating. There are many restaurants along with gelato places along the outside. In the middle of the square there were a couple of painters who were painting and then selling there art work, guitar players, trumpet player players, and a bunch of kids throwing up these light Frisbees’ and trying to sell them. One of my roommates bought a poster that was made write in front of us with spray paint is was really cool. I plan to go back in the daylight and take pictures.

Junior Year has Begun

Yesterday I started my first day of class. I had two classes both in the later afternoon. My first was economics of development. My teacher was an Italian stallion named Burshi Francesco and he had a really thick accent. Long hair, tan, the whole bit. My second class was Philosophy 101 and my teacher is a lady named Brunella Antomarni. She also has a really thick Italian accent. Language is clearly their second language. She loves me tho because she asked the class what is the problem with language. I raised my hand and answered that it limits our knowledge and provides boundaries. She went crazy and called me brilliant (morale booster). Most of the students in my classes are also study abroad students. I feel like I am in high school again as I have classes of no more than 15 opposed to 500 and the teacher actually gives the syllabus and reads word for word opposed to just posting it on their website. Also none of the teachers like to give dates. They will just announce when the midterm, final, and paper when they feel like its the right time. I just got out of my early morning Tuesday class which is Micro Economics and once again a major language barrier. I think he copied and pasted his syllabus from another teacher because he did not even know how to go over it. The classrooms all have decorated tyle on the floor and white board. Also they dont turn on the light they just have big windows and use outside light to save electricity. After class I met up with my friend Stephanie and walked across the river to a small pizza parlor. I got this weird fried ball thingie filled with rice and mozzarella cheese.

 I went to the market for the first time. The market is about a 15 minute walk from my house so I had to be carful what I bought because I would have to carry it home myself. The market was filled with produce and lots of fresh organic meat. I bought a little bit of fruit, bre and mozzarella cheese, bread, cereal (frosted flakes that had twice as much sugar as in the states), milk, crackers, and some weird Italian chewy bars. I did not recognize let alone any of the brands so I just went off pictures. When I go to the checkout the guy was not very happy with me because apparently you are supposed to weigh each fruit in its own bag yourself and then print out a ticket that says how much it is. So he took me over to the produce and taught me how to do. I finally got home and ate a mozzarella cheese and tomato salad for dinner. The mozzarella cheese is the best I have ever had. It comes as a big circular ball and soaked in a couple cups of this salt water I think it is. From afar it kinda looks like you bought a goldfish haha. Also last night Tara and Marni and I had planned a trip to Venice. The flights were really cheap and booked a hostel right downtown. We booked to Venice through this website called easyjet.com. We will be leaving early Saturday morning and returning Monday midmorning. We will be going October 23 for two nights. After class today I am going over to my friend Stephanie and Erins apartment and we are going to do research a Thanksgiving break to Ireland. It is crazy how cheap it is to get from one country to another only 10 euro from rome to dublin and then hostels are 15 euro a night. Except we are a little confused on the conversion from euro to pounds and also our us money but i guess we will figure it out. Ciao for now! ps. you may be wondering if I have picked up much Italian because of my use of Italian my answer is NO its hard!

First Days

Thursday September 3

Today I had orientation where we learned more about the University I will be attending.  There are many different schools that go there including Boston college, Notre dame, saint maries, and Charleston along with other independent programs like SAI.  Also there are some people that are enrolled for all four years or all year.  There are two different campus.  We learned that the hard way and went to the wrong campus at first.  They are about 15 minutes apart from each other. Orientation was pretty pointless they picked a bad time it was two early and everyone had jet lag so everyone basically slept through it.  My roommates and I learned that there are two different campuses the hard way.  We showed up already late and realized that we were supposed to be at the other campus.  They went over some traveling information, housing, and phone information.  They had live music and hamburgers.  The hamburgers here have sausage  mixed in with the beef they are really good.  After orientation I went to the computer lab to use the internet for a little bit because my apartment dos not have internet yet because the system is broken.    John Cabot is an American University in the heart of Rome.  It has been around for 50 years. There are two different campuses one is called the Timbre campus and the other is called the Guarino campus.  One is located on the river and the other is about a 15 minute walk away on a quaint small street located between two delis and cafes.  The entire road is all cobblestone making it hard to look up and enjoy the scenery because you have to look down so you don’t trip!  To get to school I have to walk about 25 minutes approx two miles.  I live on a main street which I walk up and then I go through a tunnel and at the end of the tunnel I end up at the river.  From there I walk on the river for about 15 minutes.

Friday September 4

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I LOVE YOU!

Early on Friday we had a welcome day at Ostia Antica.  At 8:45 am we meet at Piazzza Trilusa which is a square at the center of town.  Ostia was the ancient port city of Rome. Unlike Pompeii and Herculaneum, it wasn't devastated by a natural disaster like a volcanoe. It was however, eventually abandoned after continuous attacks by pirates. The harbor thus silted up as a result to a drop in sea level. Today, the city is a couple of miles from the sea and is quite well preserved. There are superb remnants of mosaics and wall paintings as well as the buildings themselves.  Once a busy port at the mouth of the Tiber, siltage, disease, time and neglect saw the harbour abandoned and the town disappear under several metres of river sand and rubbish. The shoreline changed and today the town, although still lying on the Tiber, is 3 kilometres from the sea. Very much a working port, there are no great temples, public arenas or grand villas here, rather there are the functional buildings of commerce and workshops, housing for working folk and middle class officials and managers, communal baths and latrines and the usual mix of warehouses, shops, hotels, bars and brothels that you'll find in ports all over the world to this day. Mosaics floors lie open to the sky and fragments of sculpture are everywhere.

Excavations began in 1801, mostly for private gain and use - an marble statue for a garden here, a pillar and an inscribed tablet for a folly there, though some pieces did make their way to the museums of the Vatican and the Lateran. Controlled and serious excavation began in 1907 and continues to this day.  Above is a picture of me right across my campus on the river as well as a picture from the day trip to Ostia Antica.

Saturday September 4

More orientation activities at school to get our Permit to Stay in Italy, then a night out at Campo di Fiori. 

Above is a picture of me right across from campus, a picture in my room, and two prictures from Ostia Antica

Jet Lag Day 1

The internet system in my room is broken so we do not have any internet so the only way I can get service is on campus which is why there is such a delay

Tuesday- August 31

My alarm clock went off at 3:30 am this morning.  Punkie wasn’t too happy about it.  I said goodbye to my mom and my dad and I left in the truck at 4:00 am.  We first arrived to SFO international but were quickly informed that even though the flight is international I should be in the domestic part of the airport because I will be first flying to Washington DC.  We checked in my luggage and it weighed in at 48.5 pounds.  I had one and half pounds to spare!  I said goodbye to my dad and proceeded through security.  I then proceeded to gate 82 where I boarded my flight at 7:00 am.  The flight was easy and I had an aisle seat which was nice.  I was so tired I don’t even remember take off.  I fell right asleep.  My flight arrived early into Washington DC.  It was really hot!  I then went to gate C8 and waited for my next flight.  Three hours later I was on the plane heading to Rome.  I sat at a window seat next too a nun I think.  She had a black head piece, long white shirt, and a long black skirt.  Towards the beginning of the flight I decided to ask her why she was traveling to Rome.  Turns out she is hard of hearing and I had to repeat the question 6 times louder and louder as she took off her black headpiece to hear better.  Finally she understood the question and gave a quick response that didn’t even make sense.  All I could make out is that she was connecting somewhere else.  8 hours later we landed in Rome at 8:30 in the morning.  I got off the plane and met a group of kids who were in the same program as me.  Luckily my luggage arrived and I then walked a mile with both my luggage to the Hilton Hotel where I had to cheek in.  I received my phone and keys and was then shuttled off to my apartment with eight other people in a Mercedes taxi van.  The cab driver pulled over to the side of the road got my luggage out of the car and zoomed off leaving me on the side of the rode by myself.  It took awhile to figure out where I was going and I finally found the apartment.  I have to go through 4 different keys just to enter the apartment .  Luckily three of my roommates were home and they are all really cool.  The apartment is one of the nicest apartments I have ever been int.  All new hardwood floor, three double bedrooms all with there own bathroom and showers, a big kitchen and living room.  The lady told us we had the nicest apartment in the program.  My roommates were hungry so right away I put my stuff down and went to a deli right across the street.  Just crossing the street was a struggle.  I swear when a car sees you crossing the street they put there foot on the gas.  I got a Panini with tomato and mozzarella and brought is back to the apartment to eat.  My roommate is named Tara and she is here with her friend Marni who live in Florida.  My other three roommates all live in South Carolina.  After a nap, we went out to explore and went to dinner at Campo di fiori.  I ordered a pasta with a mushroom sauce.  Above is a picture of all my roomates.  In order from left to right is Me (Duhh), Maddy, Marni, Carly, Bridget, and Tara.