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!
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