Finally some free time!

Sorry I haven't posted in a very long time! With Mom and Ron visiting Rome the last ten days and a lot of homework during the week, I have had no time to write down everything that has happened. So, I will recap all of the exciting moments since Paris now.

Wednesday, October 23: In the morning, my roommates and I woke up very early and walked to the Vatican for the Weekly Papal Audience. Every Wednesday, the Pope goes around in his Pope-mobile through the aisles of the audience and then does some readings, with translators of many other languages following his words. It was really exciting to see the huge crowds that attended this event. We got seats on an aisle so we were very close to the Pope as he rode by; it was a really cool moment. I brought a rosary that I can now say was blessed by the Pope. I'm glad I was able to be a part of this life-changing experience!

Crowded Audience

How close I got to the Pope (sadly he was looking in the other direction)

Thursday, October 17: Mom arrived in Rome! Mom and Ron arrived early Thursday morning and made their way to my apartment. I showed them around the apartment and then Rachel's family arrived from New York. I had to go to my World Religion class at 1 so we all grabbed a quick lunch at La Scala in Trastevere. This was the only day that Rachel and I's family visits overlapped so we only had this short meal all together. It was nice to talk to each other and share our experiences of being in Rome with our families. After lunch, Mom and Ron walked with me to class and were able to look at our small but cozy facilities at CEA. I had two classes and then took the metro to their hotel. That night, I showed them Piazza Navona and we found Navona Notte, a restaurant that Aunt Gina recommended to me when I first got to Rome. We got a good caprese salad, grilled vegetables, and a margherita pizza, all foods that Mom seemed to order at almost every restaurant! After dinner, we got tartufo at Tre Scalini in Piazza Navona. It was pricey, but it is said to be the best tartufo, so I was glad to experience it! It was really nice to finally see Mom after almost two months, so that night, we just chatted a lot about what I've done and what I've missed (not much) at home.

Rachel and I with our moms in front of our apartment in Rome!

Navona Notte

Tre Scalini's tartufo and cappucino

Friday, October 18: I got up and walked to Mom and Ron's hotel, where I took advantage of their free breakfast buffet. Then, we walked to the Colosseum and got a tour of the inside (for my second time). After that, we went to the Pantheon (my second time again, but it's my job to repeat things as a tour guide when people visit) and then I showed them the 150 flavor gelato place. We went into a few shops and Mom got some nice printed paper before we walked to the Spanish Steps. We walked up the steps to Vila Borghese where a man tried to sell us roses and then wanted to give them to us for free. We politely declined. Finally, we walked along Via del Corso and I got a nice sweater from Gap. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and got some wine and a delicious fried dough mozzarella type appetizer. We ended up leaving our bags at this restaurant but luckily we went back the next morning and they had our stuff! After resting for a bit at the hotel, we walked back towards my neighborhood and had dinner at Dar Poeta, where Mom LOVED the nutella ricotta calzone and keeps saying that she plans to recreate it at home. We'll see if that happens.. 

Mom and I on the Spanish Steps

Flowers still in bloom in late October!

Too good not to post: buffalo mozzarella pizza from Dar Poeta

Saturday, October 19: I got up early and walked to the hotel again. This time, I FELL in the middle of the road, a faceplant, all by myself. I still have a big bruise on my thigh today. But I made it to the hotel for another breakfast before we left to meet by the cat sanctuary for our Cooking Class! The owner of the restaurant that Domina worked at in Rome runs these cooking classes so she hooked us up with a great deal. There were three other couples in our group. We first went to Campo dei Fiori where we got the ingredients for our meal. Sadly, one of the women in our group couldn't eat "anything from the sea" so we ended up with chicken. We got fresh vegetables before heading to the meat shop and the cheese shop (where I finally got some cascavad!). Then, we walked by the Jewish Ghetto in order to get to the island where the apartment for the cooking class is located. The bridge we walked over to get to the island is one of the oldest in Rome, I think it was from 60-something BC (!) and it is still intact. The island is very pretty with one restaurant, one bar, two hospitals, and two apartment buildings. The apartment where we cooked our meal is owned by the Vatican and is apparently where Marlon Brando stayed while filming The Godfather. 

Inside the apartment, we put on our aprons and started preparing our meal. It was really funny to see all of these different people trying so hard (or not trying as hard) to prepare the food in the best way. We made our own homemade pasta and cut and chopped and mixed almost everything on our own. The final menu included a delicious ricotta and zucchini ravioli, homemade gnocchi with buffalo mozzarella, and homemade fettucine with asparagus and tomatoes, along with a potato croquette, a tomato stuffed with breadcrumbs and mozzarella, marinated zucchini, and breaded chicken. After such a big meal, our dessert was cut-up peaches mixed with wine and mint leaves. Overall, it was a really cool and funny experience. I loved it!

After resting at the hotel, that night we went to the Trevi Fountain and ended up going to That's Amore where the workers remembered me from last time as Domina's cousin. I got lasagna and for dessert, we shared a torta caprese. 

Cooking station

Homemade gnocchi

Flattening the pasta

My homemade fettucine and ravioli

The final products!

Sunday, October 20: On Mom's final morning in Rome, we got up and went to Porta Portese, a huge market in Trastevere that is only open on Sundays. They had clothes, shoes, bags, belts, ties, phone cases, scarfs...pretty much anything! I got a new phone case and I finally got a scarf, something I have been wanting to buy here in Rome (well Mom bought me these things). After the market, we went back to my apartment and gathered all of the roommates that were home (everyone minus Rachel and Caroline) before heading to a very early lunch at Tony's. It was really fun for Mom to meet and chat with all of my roommates. We had a great time! Then, I had to say goodbye to Mom and Ron until Thursday, since they left for Praiano that afternoon. I spent the rest of that day doing laundry and studying for my New Testament midterm.

Monday, October 21: New Testament midterm. Can't remember what else happened. Got it back today and got a 96 :)

Tuesday, October 22: With my art history class, we visited two Palaces (one is now the French Embassy). Then, we went to Villa Farnesina, which is right by my apartment, so it was cool to see something that I pass everyday on my way to school. They had beautifully decorated halls that used to hold banquets along with really pretty gardens.

Wednesday, October 23: With New Testament, we went to St. Paul's Outside the Walls, which is maybe my favorite church so far. It is in a less crowded area of Rome with a really beautiful portico (open space that you enter as a transition from secular space to sacred space). The church was really large and it was not nearly as crowded as some of the other churches we have visited. We saw the tomb of St. Paul and the gold ceiling was really beautiful. Also on this day, we went to McDonald's and I only got a cappucino...not really the smartest move. It was actually a really great cappucino but why McDonald's when there are so many cafes all over? Oh well. My management group did a great job on our presentation and this is all I can remember from Wednesday.

St. Paul's Outside the Walls

Inside the Church

Thursday, October 24: I went to my World Religions class before departing for Naples. This was my first time taking an Italian train by myself. I arrived at Termini with only 9 minutes before my train left and got right on the train without double checking if I was on the right one. Luckily, I was. The train ride was easy with comfortable seats. Once I got to Naples, I wanted to make sure I got a pizza from the place where it was invented. Upon MY recommendation, Mom and Ron had already gone to the Eat Pray Love pizza place for lunch. They said it was too far away for us to have time to go for dinner. I was mad. But, we found another place where I thought the pizza was pretty amazing. I had to get it to-go so we could catch our Metro-type train to Sorrento. From there, we got on a bus that led us to Praiano. Once we climbed up the steep hill to the hotel, we got some dessert there. The Amalfi Coast's specialty is definitely lemon. The hotel even has its own lemon garden, so I got a really tasty lemon tiramisu. 

Pizza from Naples!

Friday, October 25: Mom's Birthday! We had breakfast in the hotel, where they brought out a cute little cake with a candle for Mom's birthday. Then, we walked down to the Sita bus stop and rode to Rivello. We looked at some of the shops in Rivello before taking the long and steep pathway down to Amalfi. The views on the Amalfi Coast are unlike anything I have ever seen. Everything is so beautiful and out of this world. The pictures really don't do it justice. In Amalfi, we went into a few more shops before going to a delicious lunch. We got a caprese salad and some really great pizza with sheep's cheese and onion. Then, we got some really good gelato. I think the Amalfi Coast definitely has the best pizza, gelato, and seafood. After that, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. Dinner that night was only so-so. We went to a place called La Strada where the service was great and there was an amazing view of the lights of Positano on the roof terrace. We started with really good bruschetta and ricotta-stuffed zucchini flowers but my seafood risotto was not that great. I thought risotto was supposed to be creamy but this was really just rice. And, sadly, Mom didn't really like her pasta dish on her birthday! But we finished the meal right with some delicious profiteroles.

Mom's birthday cake at breakfast

Top of Rivello

Beautiful view on the way to Amalfi

Amalfi

Cool cave-like staircase at La Strada

Saturday, October 26: This was my favorite day in Praiano because we went kayaking! We woke up and had breakfast and then walked all the way down to Praiano's beach. There, we met up with our kayaking guides and a couple from Paris who had just gotten married. The kayak trips are usually three hours but ours ended up lasting FIVE hours! We left the little Praiano beach and made our way towards Positano. They don't normally kayak all the way to Positano but since all of us were experienced and October is not a busy time on the water, we ended up doing it! First, we went in some caves which were really cool. One even had cutouts inside the roof of the cave where people could stand on a glass floor at a popular club in Praiano. About halfway to Positano, we stopped at another little beach where we were able to swim in the water for a bit. Then, we kayaked all the way to Positano, which has the most beautiful view of houses stacked on top of each other in pretty colors. We stopped at the beach in Positano where our guides bought us some delicious gelato! After another little break, we had to make our way back to Praiano. It was pretty tiring going all the way back without any stops. My arms were so sore! But what made it all worth it was when our guide spotted dolphins jumping through the water on our way back. He kept calling my name and telling me to kayak closer to the dolphins but I didn't want to get TOO close. It was such a cool experience seeing multiple dolphins jumping in the water though! Not many people can say they kayaked the Mediterranean Sea and saw dolphins. After the five long hours, we were tired and wet so our guide offered to drive us back to our hotel. Everyone in Praiano was so genuinely nice and helpful. It really made the trip that much better. 

That night, we wanted to go back to Positano for our final dinner, but the bus was not on time so we didn't want to risk being rushed once we made it to Positano. So, we stayed in Praiano and went to Tramonto d'Oro Restaurant, which ended up being a GREAT place for our final meal. They had a beautiful roof terrace with a view of Positano. For dinner that night, we had an incredible caprese salad with pesto and buffalo mozzarella that made it that much better. My meal was gnocchi with provolone cheese and walnuts, so flavorful. And for dessert, I had a delicious chocolate souffle with warm chocolate sauce inside and strawberries and strawberry sauce on the side. It was a great end to a great trip! 

Also, after dinner, we went to a really cool church in Praiano where I lit a candle for Grandma and Gretta's mom.

Chocolate souffle (had to post it, too good)

Mom and I on our final night!

Church in Praiano

Sunday, October 27: We had to wake up early before having one last breakfast together at the hotel. Then, we had a driver bring us to Naples where we dropped Mom and Ron off at the airport. I was sad to say goodbye to them after such a long and memorable trip. Then, I got dropped off at the Naples train station and took a train back to Rome. That afternoon, I did laundry and caught up on homework. And we finally booked Venice! I am so glad that I will not be missing out on Venice while I am in Italy. We leave Thursday morning. I CANNOT WAIT!

Site Visits and PARIS!

I haven't had much time to blog so I will just highlight some interesting things that happened before I talk about Paris!  Last week's site visits included the Vatican Museums and the Jewish Ghetto.  The Vatican Museums were very cool.  There was so much to see!  When we got in, I had to check my backpack, which I later regretted.  Then, we went through a ton of different rooms and saw many paintings and sculptures.  Some parts were very crowded with people and you could hardly get through to make your way to other rooms.  The most notable painting was "The School of Athens" since I have learned about that in many of my classes at home.  At the end of the museums is the Sistine Chapel, which I rushed through before booking it through a ton more rooms in order to get my bag.  I remember that the walls were very detailed and intricate looking.  I then had to run to my World Religions class since I had a quiz and my presentation.  It was pretty stressful but I made it to CEA with two minutes to spare.  My presentation went well, even though the projector wasn't hooking up with the computer, so I couldn't show my PowerPoint.  Luckily, no points will be taken off and hopefully I will get a good grade.

School of Athens

On Wednesday, my New Testament class was combined with a CEA visit to the Jewish Ghetto.  There was a tour guide leading us around the neighborhood which was pretty boring.  But the neighborhood itself had a lot of really cool shops and restaurants and bakeries so I definitely want to go back.  And we did learn about how Jews were crowded in this one area in Rome and they had very few rights.  This was interesting because this occurred way before the Holocaust.  After that, Nanny and Aunt Mary Lou were in town for just one night, so they took me and five of my roommates out for dinner.  We went to Taverna Trilussa, a very nice restaurant that Rachel recommended which is right behind our apartment.  It was really nice to see some family and catch up over some great Italian food.  I thought it might be awkward with the roommates but it went really well and they all thought Nanny and Mary Lou were cool, cute, and funny!  My big regret is that I didn't get a picture with Nan and Mary Lou!  But of course, I got pictures of the food... I need to re-prioritize.  After dinner, they came were able to see my apartment before heading back to the hotel before their morning flight.

Carbonara (yet again) at Taverna Trilussa

The most exciting part of this past week was my trip to Paris!  On Thursday night, Rachel, Emmy, and I took a cab to the airport.  We made it through security, even though Emmy and I were both given an uncomfortable full-body "pat down" by a (female) security guard.  Then, we got some pizza and snacks before boarding the plane.  We flew with Easy Jet, a cheap but pretty nice airline.  Within two hours, we had arrived in Paris!  From the airport, we took a shuttle and then the Metro in order to get to our hostel, St. Christopher's Inn.  At this point, it was midnight.  We checked in and then looked at the hostel's bar before heading to bed.

On Friday morning, we woke up and had breakfast at the hostel before meeting our WSA guide, Kevi. He was really great at showing us around throughout the weekend.  Since we paid for the WSA program, Kevi had metro passes ready for us everyday and we got to skip the lines at all attractions.  First, we went to Sacre Coeur and Montmartre.  Along the way, we saw the neighborhood that is highlighted in Amelie, which was cool since I watched that movie senior year of high school.  We had to climb up a bunch of steps in order to get to the church, but the beautiful view of Paris made it worth it. We walked through the church and then continued on to see the Moulin Rouge.  We took some picutres in front of it and then left for Notre Dame Cathedral.  This year is the 850th anniversary of the cathedral so we saw some cool mini exhibits of the church, along with the beautiful stained glass windows inside.  Next, we continued on to see a lock bridge (not the original but still full of locks) and then walked around the Latin Quarter.  We got lunch at a small cafe where a sandwich, a sugar and butter crepe and a drink was 5 euro.  

We then walked around some more and came upon the Eiffel Tower, where we took a bunch of pictures.  We walked by a few more sites and then left for dinner.  We went to a small, traditional restaurant where I had a delicious warm goat cheese over bread, escargots (kinda weird but not bad), beef bourgignon, and some great chocolate cake.  Our WSA program had a great group of people that I got to know better at dinner.  It was cool to learn about everyone else's study abroad experience.  After such a long day, we then went back to the Eiffel Tower which is beautifully lit up at night.  We skipped the line and took the elevator to the top where we saw the city of Paris all lit up.  It was freezing at the top, and in general Paris was much colder than I expected! I am really glad Rome has such nice weather. We decided to take the stairs on our way down from the top.  This seemed cool to me at first, but realizing how high up we were made me a bit anxious, so I had to walk down really slowly while staring at the ground.  That night, we went to a bar in Oberkampf where we met up with Emmy's friend who is studying in Paris.  We got some crepes before taking a cab back to the hostel and heading to bed.

Sacre Coeur

Moulin Rouge

Notre Dame Cathedral

Inside Notre Dame

Rose Window

Lock Bridge

Eiffel Tower by Day

Eiffel Tower at Night

On Saturday, we went to the Louvre all morning.  The highlight was the Mona Lisa, which is as small as people have told me.  Next, we took the metro to the Champs Elysees, where we took some pictures in front of the Arc de Triomphe.  We finally had some free time so we did a little window shopping before finding a restaurant on a side street.  I got the croque madame that I had been craving since my last visit to Paris.  Then, I definitely wanted to find Laduree, where I got delicious macaroons on Easter Sunday with Kathy and Brittany 5 years ago.  We came across one on the Champs Elysees so we all got some macaroons before heading back to the hostel.  We put our stuff down and then left again for a bike tour around the city.  This was a really fun part of the trip because we got to bike through busy areas and it was funny to see some inexperienced bikers.  One girl fell at one point!  It was so funny.  In between the bike ride, we took a Bateau Mouche along the River Seine.  We got some good views of the Eiffel Tower and other monuments again, but it really was SO COLD in Paris.  After returning our bikes, it was 11:30 so we went to a crepe stand that was recommended by our bike tour guide.  He said the best crepe was chicken, egg, tomato, and cheese so pretty much everyone got this one.  But it was cool because I was one of the only people in the group who knew French, so I translated the menu for everyone.  Besides this time, I didn't use much French because we had Kevi with us almost all the time.  I wish we had more free time to do whatever we wanted, and it would have been cool to use more French in a more local area.  But overall, the trip was definitely worth it because, as you can tell, we packed so much into two days.  

Mona Lisa and I

Croque Madame

Laduree! (Chocolate, Vanilla, Pistachio, Lemon, Columbian Chocolate, Raspberry)

Bike tour!

Arc de Triomphe

Eiffel Tower

On Sunday, we had to wake up at 4 am in order to catch our 7 am flight.  In the cab, we heard "Sympathique" and "Je serai la", two songs that I've listened to in many of my French classes, so it was really cool to end the trip on that note.  Paris was great, but I was glad to come back to Rome and its warmer weather.  Going to Paris helped me realize that Rome really is the BEST place to study abroad.  Can't wait for my mom to arrive on Thursday!

Shelby's Visit!

Shelby arrived on Thursday around 12:30 right as I (sadly) had to leave for class. Luckily, Rachel showed her the walk from our apartment to our school, so they met me at 2:20 when I finished my World Religions class. Together, we went to "the best gelato place in Rome" which is in Prati right by our school. My Italian teacher and I think Domina (if it is the same place) recommended this place and it really was delicious! Then, we did a little window shopping in Prati before heading back to CEA to show Shelby our school. To her, it seemed very small with only 2 classrooms and the lounge. Then, I had Italian class, so Shelby and Rachel explored by the river while they waited for me to head back after class. That night, we went back to Dar Poeta which was delicious yet again! It was so great to catch up and finally see Shelby again after last seeing her in June.
On Friday, we woke up and hit up most of the major sites: Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Colosseum. We went inside the Pantheon which was very cool with the big open hole at the top of the structure. I was confused about what happens when it rains, but then we found the two small holes in the middle of the floor that act as drains. After the Trevi Fountain, we knew we were close to That's Amore, the restaurant that Domina worked at when she lived in Rome. We had some trouble finding it, but after asking three different people, we finally made it! I absolutely loved this restaurant. When we got there, there was a cooking class going on in the middle of the small restaurant. When my mom comes, I plan on taking a class. We told the people who worked there that Domina is my cousin and they were excited to hear that she is pregnant! I had a delicious carbonara and I cannot wait to go back to try something else. After the Colosseum, we stopped for some gelato and then rested at home. That night, we took Shelby to Tony's for dinner. Then, we got the infamous chocolate shots before showing her G Bar, where everyone always goes out in our neighborhood. Sadly, it was raining, so it was a lot less crowded than usual but at least we walked by and gave her a glimpse of Italian nightlife.

Reunited!

Top of the Pantheon

We finally found That's Amore!

Amazing Chicken Parm at Tony's

On Saturday, we slept in before heading to the Castel of St. Angelo. We paid 10.50 to go inside, which was really cool because I pass this castle everyday on my way to CEA, but I had never been inside until this day. There were multiple levels of the castle with great views of the city of Rome. Of course, the best view was at the top. After that, we got some lunch and then headed to the Spanish Steps for some pictures. We ended our day shopping along Via del Corso, where there are endless stores all along one main strip. That night, we skyped with Rachel (who was visiting PC) and Brigid! It was great to hear from them and find out what has been going on in their lives and what is happening at PC! They gave us a tour of what will be our apartment next semester. Then, we had our final dinner with Shelby at the restaurant behind our house. I had an amazing egg pasta dish with shrimp and zucchini flowers. We walked to Sweety Gelato for dessert and discussed our favorite parts of the weekend.

View from the Castle

Top of the Castle

Homemade Pasta!

I think we got a lot of good sightseeing in for Shelby in just a couple of days. I'm so glad she was able to visit us. Can't wait for Paris next weekend! I leave Thursday night. :)

More on Churches and Food

I wanted to get in a blog post before this weekend because my friend Shelby is coming today from Limerick, so I know I will be busy. Since last Sunday, I have mostly been working on my difficult and boring research paper for my Church and its Major World Religions class, so I haven't done much besides a ton of reading and writing. Luckily, I just sent in my first draft of the paper to my teacher, so I can finally have some fun this weekend (before cramming and doing a ton of homework again on Sunday after Shelby leaves).
I did manage to have a few exciting moments this week, despite all the homework I had. First, on Sunday night, Rachel and I ventured out to try a frozen-yogurt-type gelato place called Sweety Gelato, where you choose your flavor of gelato and get to put on your own toppings. I saw an ad for this place on Facebook and realized that it is only a 0.4 mile walk from our apartment. Deadly... On a rainy Sunday night at 11:15, the place was swarmed with locals and stays open until 1:30 am. I got a delicious coffee and chocolate gelato with twix, a cookie, and multiple sauces on top. So good. I will be going back soon (probably this weekend with Shelby).

Sweety Gelato

Next, on Tuesday, my art history class visited the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere which is right near my apartment. Unfortunately, there was a convention going on inside the church so we didn't get to go inside, but since it is so close, I'm sure I will make it back. As a backup plan, my teacher brought us to the church of St. Cecilia, which is also in Trastevere. I enjoyed this church because it seemed more unique than the other churches I have seen here, with ancient columns combined with a later refurbished facade.

St. Cecilia

Inside St. Cecilia

On Wednesday, my New Testament class visited yet another church: Santa Maria Maggiore. This was definitely the most exciting site visit yet. The interior of the church is covered in gold and there are many images and dedications to the Virgin Mary. What was awesome about this visit is that a guide took us up onto the porch above the church to view the mosaics of the coronation. Then, we got to see a very cool ancient marble staircase. THEN, we got to go on the roof of the Church. And THEN, we went even further up by climbing another tight spiral staircase (it was kind of claustrophobic but it was so worth it). At the top of the stairs was an amazing view of the entire city of Rome. We could see the Wedding Cake and the Colosseum and the roofs of numerous other beautiful buildings. Apparently, this tour is not normally open to "tourists" but somehow our teacher got us this special privilege, so I am very grateful for this experience.

Santa Maria Maggiore

Inside the Church

On the rooftop

We walked along this bridge to get from one side of the rooftop to the next.

On Wednesday night, some of my roommates and I went out for dinner at a restaurant behind our apartment. The window in my bedroom looks right out at this restaurant, so Rachel and I always get whiffs of their delicious-smelling food. We have been dying to try it. It is called Osteria Ponte Sisto da Oliviero and we had a really great experience. I got tortellini with spinach and cheese which was good but not as exciting as what my roommates got. I had just been craving tortellini. But, Danielle got a delicious cacio e pepe dish and Emmy got fettuccine with tuna that looked and tasted amazing. Next time, I will branch out and order something more exciting.
Other than that, this week has been pretty boring but I cannot wait for Shelby to arrive in hopefully a few minutes! I'm so excited to show her around Rome!