“Can you help me? I can’t find the place spelt U-S-C-I-T-A on the map…”

Spring Break, Milan and Venice, March 14th-17th

The morning after we arrived home from Sicily was the beginning of our spring break! It was also the day I got to see my brother and sister!! After some confusion, I was able to meet up with them on the Tiber island bridge. It was so good to them! After showing them around my apartment and getting some pizza at Pizza Florida, they came back to my apartment while I packed for our adventure and waited for Ian’s luggage to arrive. We were told that it would be dropped off between 1 and 2am, so my sister and I stayed awake waiting, but it never showed up. Lucky Ian! He got to travel for 4 days with the same clothes and everything he came in.

With no sleep, we made our way to the train station to catch a taxi to head to the airport at 4:00 am! We finally were in the air and on our way around 6 am and landed in Milan around 8 am. Because we flew with Ryanair, the airport we flew into was a ways out of the city, so we had to take a 45 minute bus ride to the Milan train station. We then made our way to the Duomo, and after getting lost a couple times, stopping a few shops, and hoping on a metro we finally made it! We climbed to the top and were able to look out over all of Milan. We sat on the roof and soaked up the sun and ate our lunches.



The Duomo



The Duomo through Ian's sunglasses

It was getting close to the time we needed to check into our hostel (we were told that we had a 3 hour grace period to check in from the time we told them we would arrive). After walking for what seemed like 7 hours and waiting outside for someone to answer the door, we found out that the lady in charge was not there and we had to check in through a different hotel. We were then informed that we were late and missed our check in time and had to make a new reservation that we would have to pay for. We explained to her what the email said and told her that we were actually right on time to check in. The lady also took down our passport information (which is normal for most hostels). We weren’t getting anywhere with our arguing but after some time and clarification we paid the money and were shown our room. The room had 3 small twin size beds and a dresser. There was a communal area and bathroom down the hall. The lady then started explaining to us that she wasn’t going to give us a key because they only had one key and the ‘other’ people needed it. This was when we started to get nervous that this was a scam. We told her we weren’t going to stay here unless we had our own key. She then began to tell us that we could leave our bags here and wait until the lady who owned the hostel to come back. After she left, and many phone conversations to ‘Sarah’ the land lord, we decided that we weren’t going to stay here. We asked if we could cancel our reservation, get our money back and leave. She first said yes and that we would get our money back and my credit card would not be charged, then after a call to ‘Sarah’ she told us that we wouldn’t get any money back. This bickering went back and forth for a good 45 minutes. I was starting to feel that someone was going to come in a pick us off. She kept telling us that we could leave our bags in the lobby or in our room and come back “later” and get the key. The whole situation was shady, and we wanted to leave immediately, but they had all of our passport information and my credit card information so we had to make sure they wouldn’t charge me and they would rip up our information. After a hour and half, we got them to agree to not charge my credit card, got our money back and ripped up our passport slips. We then booked it of the area and jumped on a bus back to the center of the city.

We were all a little shaken up by this situation, so we started walking around the city trying find somewhere to stay. We came across hotels that would cost us 130 Euros, 250 Euros and 175 Euros. I guess Milan isn’t the best place to be stranded with no place to stay. Good thing Lindsay had a calling card so we could call home and my mom was able to call the hostel we had booked for Venice and they had an opening for the night and would cost us 75 euro more than we already owed them, but we weren’t going to stay a minute longer in Milan than we had to. We then booked it to the train station, but stopping to buy a pair of tennis shoes of course, one of the only good things to come out of Milan on this trip.

When at the train station, we bought our tickets (which were half the price we thought they would be!) and then waited until it was time to board. Before boarding, you are supposed to validate your ticket, but to our luck, the machine was broken. We boarded in fear that we would miss the train, and hoped we wouldn’t get caught without a validated ticket and be charged the 100 Euro fine. The way this trip was going, I wouldn’t have been surprised if this happened.

Our train ended up being an hour late getting into Venice, but it wasn’t that much of a hassle. We had to take a water bus to the canal our hostel was on. What a change from Milan! The guy running the hostel was super nice and accommodating. He gave us a free map and ideas of what to see and tips for traveling around the island and where to eat. I knew from then on that Venice was going to be a great place. And I was right! It ended up being my favorite place that I had been to yet.



Venice!

We were all pretty exhausted from the adventures of the day and we crashed around 10pm and didn’t wake up until around 10 am. That day we walked around to all the different piazza’s and squares on the main island. It was pretty cold and foggy, but we still had a good time. Lindsay and Ian had their first taste of Italian Gelato and coffee, both where a huge hit with them! That night we ate at one of the recommended restaurants called Pizza Ochre. It was pretty good. Ian got pizza with an over easy egg on it and Lindsay had pasta with a full prawn on top, eyes and all! It was a pretty low key night with Lindsay and Ian trying to adjust to the jetlag and all the craziness of this adventure and we hit the sack pretty early again.



Rialto Bridge



I absolutely loved seeing (and photographing) all the different boats!



The masks seen here were absolutely amazing! So intricate and full of emotion.

On Tuesday, March 16th, we visited Murano and Burano islands. These places were by far my favorite places to see. It is amazing to see what can be done with glass. We spent the day walking around the islands and buying gifts for ourselves and friends. It was a relaxing, but fun and exciting day. It is interesting to see how this city operates solely on boat transportation and walking. What a concept! I really enjoyed just walking around and getting lost amongst the many canals and alleys. We wore holes in our map from getting lost and turned around so much!



Burano- amazing



Murano Canals



Gondolas- The famous form of transportation around the canals

The next day we walked toward the University of Venice and went to the bus station to take us to the airport. We didn’t know what else to do in Venice because we thought we had seen everything we could and we all were running low on energy and money at this point, so we went to the airport and hung out there for a couple hours. Our flight home was nice and smooth and we got a cab ride back to Rome, which was an interesting experience for Ian and Lindsay. They were amazed that the drivers read the map and yellow pages AS they drove instead of figuring out where they were going before we left. When we got back we met up with my parents! It was SO nice to see them; I had missed them a lot. That night we had a nice dinner in the Jewish Ghetto and also had some gelato nearby where my family was staying. The next post will be about my visit with my family, which was too short in my opinion!



Sunset from a Ryanair flight

One Million Sicilians

Sicily, Italy
March 8th – 13th, 2010

Our field trip started out with no sleep. We (Laura Farlee, Katie Ehlert, Kristen Reihl and I) stayed up until 1am trying to pack everything we needed for a week full of travels into one small carry-on bag. We all succeeded but it resulted in 2 hours of sleep because we have to be up at 3:30 am in order to catch our group bus ride to the airport. Once we got through security and everyone had boarded the plane, we instantly fell asleep. Most of us didn’t feel the plane take off or land! Now that is a smooth landing!

PALERMO
When we landed in Palermo, we were astounded by the conditions the city was in. There were trash heaps everywhere. It was like there were no garbage collectors to clear out the containers. People just pile on the garbage and it was overflowing into the streets and onto the sidewalks. There seemed to be no effort in trying to clean it up or consolidate the mess either. We all commented on how it felt like Mexico with the trash and dirty streets. This being said, it was hard to enjoy the area; the nicest part seemed to be our hotel; Hotel Casa Marconi. Katie and I shared a room while Laura and Kristen and Kalyssa shared another. In terms of going out, we mostly ate in a close-by restaurant and hung out at the hotel. Seeing the condition of the city, we were all a little nervous and skeptical about going out at night because we did not know what would end up happening.

While we were in Palermo, it seemed like we had a lot of free time, but there wasn’t much to do. Laura did manage to keep up her status and found 2 more pairs of boots. I think her count is now 12 pairs of boots bought since being overseas. Our tours included Capella Palatina, an old church that was COVERED with gold mosaics. Each stone was about a half inch by half inch square with either gold or colored backing on it. The walls were filled! The next day we toured Chiesa di San Cataldo and Chiesa La Martunrana. We then walked to Piazza della Pretoria and saw “the fountain of shame.” The fountain was given this name based on the large amount of nude sculptures surrounding the fountain and it was looked down upon at the time this was constructed. That afternoon we saw Castello La Zisa, but the whole day it had been pouring rain and by the time we got to the castle, everyone was tired of being cold and wet.



Mosaics from the church that covered almost everypart of the walls and ceiling.

On Wednesday the 10th, we packed up our stuff and finally headed out of Palermo! None of us could wait any longer to leave this place. We hopped on our coach tour bus and headed for Castellammare! Along the way we stopped at Gibellina Nuova. Here we visted the remains the monument “Il Cretto” by Alberto Burri to the town destroyed by the earthquake in 1968. This was a fun part of the trip because we got to do some hiking and after being stuck in Palermo and on a bus, we were all ready for a break.



In order to make a monument to this town, the ruins were simply covered with concrete, and the roads were left as they were. The new town is now moved about 15 min away.



Katie and I on top of the ruins!



Laura and I looking out over the fallen town.

After everyone let out some built up energy, we headed for Segesta to visit a Greek Temple and Amphitheatre. Little did we know, that major hiking was involved at this stop as well. All the girls were wearing boots or shoes unsuitable for mountain climbing. It was an adventure for sure! The views of this part of Italy were breathtaking! We were able to see the rolling hills of Sicily that went on until we couldn’t see past the horizon. After taking in these views, we left and checked into our hotel in Castellamare del Golfo, but before we did that, our bus driver stopped at a local bakery for us to try the local Cannoli. It had chocolate mixed in with mascarpone cheese, wrapped in a pastry shell; everyone loved it!



View from the amphitheater looking out over Sicily.



Greek Temple which we also explored.

Selinunte was the destination of our next day excursions. Here we explored ruins and excavations of Greek coastal town and temples. These were interesting at first, but then the repetition of ruins and rubble made for a long day. On our way back into Castellamare, our bus driver once again stopped on top of a hill looking over the coastal town of Castellamare. What a site! It was beautiful to see the town that was surrounded by water on one side and mountains on the other. Such a difference when compared to the trash dump of Palermo.



This was the site of the Greek temples we visited. Everyone had fun climbing them.



Katie, me, Kristen and Laura at the fallen Greek Temples



Looking down on Castellamare del Golfo

That night, we all went out to dinner for some local seafood and loved all of the dishes we ate. I split two dishes of pasta with Laura, one with salmon and the other with prawns and lobster in it. It was delicious! After dinner, our bus driver took us on a “party bus” (the coach bus we had rode around in all day, but blasted music while heading to the bar) to a local Italian bar with Karaoke. Everyone had a great time singing to Michael Jackson tunes all night!

On Friday, March 12th, we took a ferry to the island of Mothea. Here we were able to explore the island and rest from our busy fieldtrip. After this visit, we had a group lunch, again served with local seafood and foods from the area. It was delicious but a lot of food. We all tried to hold our selves back from the delicious food because that night we were having a group dinner, hosted by Coopertiva Libera. This group has been in charge of taking 600 acres away from the mafia and changing it into local farms and vineyards. They oversee all of the work and products that come from these places, making sure the mafia has no connection or contact to anything they produce. The food we had for dinner was all organic and wonderful! We were all stuffed and fell asleep on the bus ride back to the hotel. Once we got back, we all packed our stuff up, because the next day we were leaving to come back to Rome and begin our spring break! Everyone was anxious to begin their travels and adventures they had set up for the following week.

The following are some pictures of what we saw when driving around this part of Italy.









Windmills were everywhere on the countryside!

Spring break adventures will be the topic of the next post!
Love,
M

snow? it doesn't snow in Rome

I forgot to add in my last post, that the weekend after Valentines Day (Feb 19th) Rome had a blizzard! I woke up one morning for class and looked out the window to HUGE snow flakes. Thinking class might be cancelled (i had been told that people in Italy freak out when it snows)I jumped on the internet, but sure enough, class was still being held. The flakes were starting to be mixed with rain so I thought that the freak snow would be over shortly and it would just rain for the rest of the day. I was wrong! As the morning went on, the snow got thicker until it was a full out blizzard. Rome hasn't got snow since 1996 and had accumulated that much snow since the 80's! It was crazy! Everyone was out checking it out, some of the kids we also having snow ball fights. You could tell that this doesn't happen very often (and that baseball isn't that popular here) because they could not hit their target when he/she was 8 feet in front of them!

Also, the snow only lasted until about noon, then the sun came out and was actually a pretty pleasant day. If you were not up before noon, you would have no clue of what had happened in the morning. On saturday (the day we went to Tivoli), it was the best day we have had here up to that day. Crazy this Italian weather! Here are some pictures I got of this madness!




What the snow started out as



What it turned into!



On our walking tour for class

Italy or America? You decide....

Italy vs. US
1. There is NO carpet anywhere
2. Romans walk very slowly…they would never make it in NYC
3. Yogurt comes in packs of 2…and in flavors like kiwi, pineapple, and pear with cinnamon
4. There is no such thing as buying in bulk
5. Restaurants don’t start opening until 7 or 8pm for dinner
6. Slices of meat are paper thin, so is the crust of the pizza
7. Pizza at a “buy by the slice” place is cut by scissors in the amount that you ask for..you don’t buy by the slice
8. Driving is an expertise, if you aren’t a race car driver, you wouldn’t survive
9. Sons seem to walk with and with their arms around their fathers more often than mothers and daughters are seen together
10. Most stores are closed on Sundays
11. Stores also close for a couple hours during the day for lunch (usually from 1 or 2 then open up again around 4)
12. Carbs Carbs Carbs! Pasta pizza paninis more pasta…can’t forget the wine!
13. Markets are very popular and you can get usually anything you want for a cheap price
14. All the food is fresh, no preservatives
15. There is NO Mexican found anywhere in this country…if you want to buy a pack of tortillas it will run you 5-6 euro for a pack of 8
16. Milk is not refrigerated in the grocery store and is sold in a cardboard carton
17. The refrigerators in the supermarkets are kept at just slightly colder than room temperature
18. The grassy areas are meant for dogs and animals, not for people to sit and enjoy the space
19. NO ONE picks up after their dogs, so watch where you step =]
20. Bread slices are about half the size of a normal piece in the US

It has been a while since my last post, but there really isn’t anything new to report. We have had a lot of little projects the past couple of weeks, and because of this we were told not to travel. One Saturday we did take a day trip to Tivoli and visited Hadrians Villa and Villa d’Este. Both are beautiful gardens, but both very different from eachother. Villa d’Este is very structured and well groomed, where as, Hadrian’s Villa is let to grow whichever way it pleases. In order to get to Tivoli, we had to take a hour train ride out of Rome. The train just drops you off in the city and goes on its’ way. We had no idea how to get where we wanted, and used a mix of Italian, Spanish and English to get directions and instructions on taking a bus. We finally made it to our destinations and we were not disappointed. I have posted some pictures from both places below.



Hadrian's Villa



View from Hadrian's Villa



Reflection pool in Hadrian's Villa





Villa d'Este



Villa d'Este

Last weekend was Laura and Jacob’s 22nd birthday, so the weekend was full of parties and celebrations and gelato! We have successfully found our favorite gelato place with over 100 flavors (even soy flavors). I haven’t been disappointed yet! So far, my favorite combination (you get 3 flavors everytime you visit) is banana, coconut and caramel. And it is in the perfect spot, just far enough not to get it every time you crave a sweet, and close enough to walk to when you can’t seem to live without it.

On Monday, we travel to Sicily for our week long fieldtrip. Here we will be traveling to little cities and seeing what Italy has to offer. Apparently it is the home of the blood orange! I can’t wait to test this theory (more than once). Hopefully we will get to visit a orange grove! When we get back from this trip, Lindsay and Ian will be waiting for me in Roma! And then we take off for Milan and Venice and when we return, my mom and dad will be waiting for us! I can’t wait to see everyone and show this great city to them. It will be interesting to see the city through a ‘newbies’ eyes.

It has been rainy most of the time here, which makes it hard to go out and experience the city. We have to always remember to bring our umbrellas everywhere we go because it seems the days that we don’t bring them is when the rain comes, even if the weather says no chance of rain. The weather is so unpredictable over here. After spending my summer in California, where the weather never changes and them coming here where it is constantly changing is a big adjustment!

For one of our walking tours last week we visited St. Peters Basilica. What a structure! It is truly remarkable. Some of my favorite facts about this place was that because the building is so large, they have changed details in the building to make everything seem not so large, and like an airplane hanger. One example is that words that go around the dome, are 1/3 larger than the ones that are close to the ground, so they seem close the same size as the ones that are actually closer to us. The proportions on the top are also 1/3 larger than most of the other parts that are closer to the ground. How innovative! My favorite work of art here was Michelangelo's Pieta sculpture. He did this when he was 22, right before he did The David sculpture, that is held in Florence. It is stunning! Mary is made to look very large when compared to Jesus, because it is to seem as if she is holding a baby (babies are easy to carry, she isn't straining to carry this full grown man).



St. Peters



Dome of St. Peters



Michelangelo's Pieta

Also, tomorrow (Saturday March 6th), not only will I have already been here for 2 whole months, a bunch of friends and I are going to the AC Milan vs AS Roma soccer match! AND David Beckham will be playing! hopefully I can get some pictures!
More to come later, after all of my adventures!

Here are some more pictures I have accumulated over the last couple weeks...Enjoy!
Peace and Blessings
Meagan =]



Pantheon



Roofing of an abandoned building near my apartment



Trevi at night

"I'm so glad this is going so smoothly!"

Sorry it has been a long time since I have updated! I have been busy with travels and our first big drawing is due tomorrow (Thursday Feb. 11.)

Last Thursday and Friday (Feb. 4th and 5ht) we went on a class fieldtrip to Perugia, a hill city located in the region of Umbria, just North of Rome. Along the way we stopped at Villa Lante. It has two huge gardens; one is a more refined, kept up space where the other garden is more wild and free. It was gorgeous here! We all took a lot of pictures of the water fountains, the gardens and the views of the surrounding Mountains.



We then went to Palazzo Farnese, which is about an hour from Villa Lante, but it ended up taking us longer because there were many detours. But this time gave us all time to catch up on our sleep! I think everyone slept each time we were on the bus; which was a double decker bus! It was neat to sit on top level and see over the top of the trucks that drove by. You definitely can see more when you are up higher on the road. It was so beautiful seeing the countryside of Italy and driving the Hill Country. Palazzo Farnese was not that interesting, but it was funny watching the huge double decker bus try to fit down the tiny, twisty streets of Italy. Eventually the driver gave up and made us walk to our destination. After we toured the Farnese family’s mansion, we went to a little family owned store for food tasting. We had bread with three different toppings: olive oil, artichoke dip, and sundried tomatoes. We also had wine and locally grown hazelnuts. Everything was very tasty!
After Palazzo Farnese, we were own our way to Perugia. We ended up getting into the town around 530, and once again had to be dropped off a little ways from the top of the hill and hike into the old part of the city. Perugia is very pretty, and because where we were staying was the older part of the town, we looked out over the newer part and out to the Mountains. After some wrong turns, we finally found our hotel! It was cute, and like every other hotel and hostel, was tucked away in a back alley.



After everyone was settled in their rooms, we were told that there was a 3-course dinner all set up for us at a local restaurant. Boy, they sure did underestimate how much food would be served! The “1st” course was brought out to us was bread with 2 different cheeses, salami and prosciutto, garlic hummus, and barley rice salad. Once that was gone, they brought out another course. We all thought this would count as the 2nd course seeing how they specifically told us it was going to be 3 courses. This round consisted of more bread, something that resembled a mix between a pizza roll and a quesadilla, and mini ham and cheese sandwiches. Also, during this whole time, we have unlimited amounts of wine, which was very delicious! The best wine I have had in Italy. So after this second round of appetizers, came the spaghetti. Seeing how this was the 3rd round of food and it had meat sauce, we all thought this was it. We were all content and happy that the food was so delicious. But to our surprise, the waitresses brought out salad and potatoes and thin slices of pork. The potatoes were deliciously roasted in olive oil with garlic and salt and pepper drizzled over top. These were definitely my favorite part of the meal. And yes, we got yet another round of food after this. This round consisted of pork chops and sausage; both equally delicious. By this time, everyone was starting to moan and not being able to move because we were getting so full. After all this food, they then brought out chocolate pie and coffee. I wasn’t even disappointed that they didn’t have a second dessert option because I was so full.

The next day, we were told our drawing assignments and were supposed to explore the city on our own for 6 hours! We spent the 1st our completing our drawings, but by this time our hands were so cold that we could not even move our fingers. It was definitely colder on top of the hill with the rain coming down. But overall, this trip was a success and got to see some beautiful places I would not have known about if I was traveling on my own.



VALENCIA, SPAIN:

The day after we got back from Perugia (Saturday Feb. 6th) Katie, Laura, Kristen, Kayla, Sadie, Anna, Chase and myself all flew out to Valencia, Spain for our only 3 day weekend. What a great time we had! We weren’t really sure what to expect seeing how we kind of randomly chose the trip because it was relatively cheap and the dates worked with our schedule. I was kind of expecting it to be like Mexico, but I was surprised how much I liked the country. I would definitely go back.
We were also very skeptical about the airlines we were flying with. Once we got through the minimal security and to our gate, we were surprised to see groups of people sitting on the floor because there were like 5 benches for people to sit on. By the time it was time to “line-up” to board, people were huddled around the desk, hoping to get to the plane to get a good seat (no one is assigned a seat, it is first come first serve). We then had to be shuttled to our plane and get on by climbing stairs that attach to the side of the plane. I thought it made me feel like the president or an important person who gets to board from the tarmac. I don’t think the people running from the shuttle to the plane felt that way. But low and behold, everyone got seats next to each other and the flight was pretty smooth; slightly scary at moments but overall it wasn’t too bad. But I couldn’t help to think that the airlines track record couldn’t have been that good because when we landed, people started cheering because we made it safely.

Seeing how Valencia is on the coast, we all wanted to see the beach. The weather was really nice, 65 and sunny, so we decided to try and walk to the beach from our hostel, Home backpackers. Turns out, we weren’t as close as we thought and we ended up finding the beach an hour and a half later! We did walk by the soccer stadium, however. It was neat because someone had just scored right as we passed and everyone was cheering and yelling.

That night we all had Paella for dinner because Spain is supposed to be famous for this dish. All of our meals were good, but fairly pricey for the quality and amount of food we got. We also all had a glass of sangria which was delicious!

The next day (Sunday Feb 7th) we headed out of our hostel relatively early to hit some shops and head to a park created by Santiago Calatrava. It is still weird to me that all (or most) shops are closed on Sundays and most restaurants or cafes do not open until at least noon. So much for a rush for business! We found the park and it was gorgeous! It tops central park in my books. There were so many palm trees, fountains, dogs, rollerbladers, runners, walkers, elderly etc. Everyone was out enjoying the day. On our way to the Calatrava buildings we decided to rent 4 person bikes and stroll around the park for a half hour. Some of the looks we were getting were priceless! I guess seeing 8 American college students ride 4 person bikes would be a site to see!



In this park is also a series of Calatrava Buildings (pictures below). These are simply amazing structures. They are truly revolutionary and inspiring. They bring a whole different meaning to the word ‘modern.’ One of the buildings in the series is called Oceanographic, which is a mix of a zoo and a giant aquarium. There were so many different species from all different parts of the world. We also went to a dolphin show which is always exciting! We couldn’t understand what the announcer was saying but it was still and entertaining show. The entrance fee to get into this place was 20 euro but we all felt like it was worthwhile.
















Today (Sunday) we also had extremely good food. It was probably some of the best I have had since I have started my travels. For lunch we found a place that sold Kebap’s. They are like gyros, but with chicken and a slightly different sauce, but boy were they amazing! This meal also came with fries and a fountain coke, which added to the goodness of the meal. For dinner that night we went to a restaurant called Wok to Walk. It was stir fry that was made in a wok and you could pick and choose the different ingredients and sauces, then once it is done cooking they put it in a to-go container so you can ‘walk with your wok.’ It was so good we went back the next day and had it for lunch! I don’t know if it was literally that good or it tasted that good because we had not had that kind of food since we have been in Italy.

Sunday was also the day the Super bowl was on, so all day we were trying to find a place that was showing the game. It was kind of tough finding somewhere, but someone finally told us a bar called Finnigans MIGHT be showing it. So after drinking some wine and relaxing, we headed to Finnigans to watch the game. When we got there, they were showing the game, but they kicked us out at 2 am (which was halftime of the game) because they were closing.

The next day we got up hoping we could go shopping, which ended up being successful! I did not buy anything, but it was still cool to walk through the shops and see the Spanish style, which I personally really liked. It was more relaxed and unique style, unlike here in Rome which seems to be more polished and pristine. After shopping, we had to leave for our plane, which like going to Valencia, was a bit scary at times but we still made it home safely.

I loved Spain. It was nice to get a break from everything being so old all the time and looking at ruins and churches. Even if the buildings were old, they were still nicely kept up and clean. Neither place is better than the other, it was just nice to see a change in the countries styles. I couldn’t complain about the weather either. It was gorgeous! I was able to walk around in a t-shirt and jeans one day and a dress and leggings the next. It was 65 and sunny on Saturday and 65 and cloudy on Sunday but it was still comfortable. My “perfect” weather!

These last couple days have been filled with studio from 9-5 with only an hour break. Talk about a long day of drawing! I am extremely grateful of all my experiences here and learning not only about architecture and the culture, but also about myself and loving it! Some days are harder than others (especially the rainy ones) but this is a great opportunity that I am learning more than I ever thought I would have when I first started this journey. I can’t believe a month and a couple days has already passed. Time is flying!

"Lots of Cheap Crap"

That's right, lots of cheap crap. This morning, Sunday January 31st, we went to the sunday market. It is said to be the biggest in Rome. There were millions people there, rummaging through piles of clothes, shoes, purses. Anything you could possibly want you can find there. Halloween costumes, nail clippers, makeup, even a laundry bag that looks like a lady bug. It is nuts! I ended up getting a pair of sneakers and a scarf for myself and a couple of presents for other people. It is a nice little walk to get out of the apartment in the morning. Katie and I were going to make it a tradition of getting a cappuccino and cornetto before we went but we were up to early for the coffee shop to be open. The morning started off as a disappointment but ended as a success for everyone. When we got back, everyone was tired and we took naps and had a low key afternoon of drawing and movie watching.
The weekend wasn’t that exciting. It rain all day Saturday, so we stayed in and drew a bunch of drawings that were due for class on Monday. That night we went to a Chinese/ Thai restaurant that looked really good and cheap! We are all pretty sick of pasta and pizza so we thought we would give it a try. After trying to figure out the Chinese menus in English that are in Italian, we all ordered fried rice and some kind of chicken dish. Laura and I both got crispy chicken and some seasoning (coconut or mango). Crunchy chicken basically means fried. When it showed up, the bone was in it still (fried alongside everything). Both our chicken was really sketchy and Laura’s was even pink in parts. Low and behold, she ended up getting sick Sunday night and we both came to the conclusion it was from this weird restaurant. We probably won’t be going back there even though the fried rice was very good, but that’s probably because we all hadn’t had it in a very long time.
The beginning of this week (Feb 1- 5th) wont be too interesting, but on Thursday we are going to Perugia, Umbria for a field trip until Friday. Then on Saturday 8 of us are going to Valencia, Spain! We are all very excited to see what Spain has to offer us. We will be there until Monday night.
This week in class we went to the Cyrpta Balbi Museum. It was kinda neat how everything here was found or preserved so well. It is interesting to me to think how different it would be if some of these “clues” were not found.
The following pictures are a conglomeration of pictures I have taken lately.
Ciao! Buononoche!

=]