In Rome, we skip April showers.

Saturday, April 2

After beautiful weather during the first week of April, we decided it was time to hit the beach to get some color. Sperlonga is a town about an hour and a half south of Rome by train and known for its beautiful, sandy beaches. Sarah and I woke up early to go to the market to pick up some picnic food. We took sandwiches, fresh fruit and chips with us to enjoy a long day of just laying on the beach. The weather was unseasonably warm, so the beach was nice and quiet.

Although the water was too cold, we all went in for a dip to cool off from the burning sun. Forgetting that the sun is strongest in the spring, no wanted to buy sunscreen, which is upwards of 18 euro here. And yes, we all came home with sunburn.

April 7-10

Thank you Leslie for making sure I made it to Cinque Terre. The five towns nestled together along the northern Italian coast could not have made for a better vacation.

While in northern Italy, my friends and I decided to take a look at the leaning tower of Pisa on the way to Cinque Terre. The tower really is leaning. And it is pretty much the only sight the small town of Pisa has to offer...the square was crowded with tourists taking ridiculous pictures with the tower (my group included).

Cinque Terre is the exact opposite of Rome...but the two cities are each perfectly Italian. While Rome is chaos, Cinque Terre is calm. We stayed in a beautiful apartment in the center town, Corniglia, which is set high up in the cliffs and surrounded by a rocky coastline. After being in the town for only a few hours, the locals began to recognize us. Most tourists skip Corniglia when touring the five cities because to get into the city you need to walk up "hundreds of steps." Yes, for once my roommate Sarah's Rick Steve’s tour book was correct. Every time we wanted to go back into the town, we needed to convince ourselves that we could survive another exhausting climb. 

The view was worth it.

Day number two was full of views. We decided to hike between the three northern cites (Corniglia-Vernazza-Manarosso), which we were told would amount to about four or five hours total. The first hike was beautiful. The early morning air was so fresh and we were surrounded in new springtime greenery as we looked down to the waves crashing on the rocks far below.

Once in Vernazza, we treated ourselves to freshly squeezed orange juice and foccacia with pesto (Cinque Terre is famous for its pesto). After touring the city, we made our way towards our second hiking path. After finding that the main path was closed, we got directions to the alternate route. After four hours of hiking up and around three mountains, our tired, sweat-soaked bodies made it to Monterosso.

After another snack, a gelato and exploring the city for a little while, the only thing I could think clearly about was a nap and a shower! We took a train back to Corniglia and miraculously were able to climb the stairs into town for a siesta.

Day three we headed down south to the town of Manarola where we took the “Love Trail” to Riomaggiore. The trail was easy (thank goodness – my body felt the hike from the day before!) and beautiful. In Europe, couples in love will write their initials on a lock and then lock it to a bridge. This trail was covered in locks and all other symbols of affections: baby bibs, colored string, hair ties, and more. It was a beautiful way to end our trip.

still catching up....

Again, I’ve been all caught up in traveling, school and just enjoying the beauty that surrounds me in Roma ever day. Here is a quick wrap up of the rest of spring break (so long ago!) and a couple of explorations since then!

Lisbon (Spring Break, continued)

We spent our second day in Lisbon relaxing on one of their beautiful beaches. Of course, day trips rarely go as smoothly as planned. Our original beach plans were faltered when the train workers were on strike…Europeans love their strikes. Luckily one girl in my group was friends with a Portuguese girl who helped us get to a different beach via a ferry and then a bus.

The beach was beautiful and a well-deserved relaxing day!

Madrid, March 24-26

I see why Jillian has such great memories of Madrid – it is such an awesome city! With her helpful tips in hand, Carleigh and I took on the city!

First things first, we found Jill’s favorite restaurant in Madrid, Malaspina. There we shared a jarra of sangria and patatas bravas. So simple, so delicious.

From there, we met up with some more friends to see what Madrid’s notorious night life had to offer on a Thursday!

On Friday morning, we woke up to take advantage of the free walking tour of the city…in the rain. We made it to Puerta del Sol (Gate of the Sun), the Opera House and the Royal Palace. Compared to Rome, Madrid seemed like a very modern city. When it was time to find food again we stumbled upon another of Jill’s suggestions, 100 Montaditos where we each got a few mini-sandwiches. Not quite understanding what I ordered, I also was served an interesting lemonade-beer combination, which was actually really good!
After a siesta we took advantage of the free end-of-day entrance to Prado Museum before going to watch the futbol game a nearby pub.

By Saturday I was home-sick for Rome. After an early morning walk around Madrid’s botanical garden and the giant central park I had my last Spanish food (tortilla Espanola with brava sauce) and metroed back to the airport, home-bound to Rome!

Spring Break and Spring in Rome

Sitting in my apartment recovering from a long day at the beach, I realize how much I have to update you all on! I will tell you about the beach soon, but I have a month full of adventures since my trip to Florence leading up to this very relaxing day. Let's begin:

Saturday, March 5
Venezia Carnevale!

My roommates and I woke up at 5:30 A.M. to make our way to Termini Station where we met our Bus2Alps tour guides for our ride to Venice. Eight hours later we arrived to explore the city for the rest of the day.

We immediately went to the island of Burano, which is famous for its lace and colorful buildings. After exploring the tiny city we made our way back to the main island to join the Carnevale activities. After a day of island-hopping, snapping pictures of people dressed in amazing costumes and eating countless pastries in lieu of a real meal, we were exhausted and slept the whole 8-hour bus ride home.

I'm glad to report that my second trip to Venice proved much more enjoyable then my first visit. Being able to freely explore the city and the warmer weather definitely improved my opinion of the slowly-sinking city.

Tuesday, March 8
Festa della Donna and Mardi Gras

Italians know how to treat women. They tell you that you are beautiful, give you free things and even celebrate Women's Day. Italians celebrate this international holiday by making some museums free for women, selling special yellow flowers called mimosas, holding concerts and just treating each and every woman like a princess for the day. Walking to class over Ponte Sisto, I stopped to enjoy the decorations set out for us women.

Also on March 8th this year, it happened to be Mardi Gras. My roommates and I completed our celebratory day right by going dancing at one of Rome's biggest night clubs. It was also an excuse to get another wear of our Carnevale masks!

Thursday, March 17
150th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy and St. Patrick's Day

As midnight stuck, the celebrations began. Rome celebrated Italy's 150th birthday, the Irishmen around Rome celebrated St. Patrick's Day, and spring break officially began for us John Cabot students (after an excruciating week of midterms).

For the special anniversary, Rome organized a midnight concert in Piazza Venezia and fireworks over the Coliseum. I was lucky enough to see both, although I think Italy could use a better party organizer, as the fireworks were not easily visible from the piazza where the concert was just minutes before the firework show began. It felt like 4th of July, but Italian style and without the barbecue.

It was nice to be with two other fellow Irish descendants for St. Patrick's Day. Between Alexis, Alyssa and I we made Irish soda bread and Shepherd's Pie, with a stop by the local Irish pub where we met some true Irishmen in between.

March 18-26
Spring Break!

Barcelona, March 18-22
I arrived in Barcelona to meet my best friend, Carleigh late on Friday night. Her Belgian cell phone does not work out of the country. After walking around for nearly an hour trying to find her at our agreed-upon meeting place, losing money to the airport's broken internet-connection point, and breaking a sweat I walked toward baggage claim hoping she was somewhere different. Upon exiting baggage claim, I immediately heard her boots clacking toward me. Finally! Spring break could begin! Who would have known that there are two Cafe di Fiori in Barcelona's airport?

We spent the next three days exploring all of what there was to see. I absolutely loved Barcelona. The city is a great mix of modern areas, historic parks, the beach and entertainment. My favorite place was definitely Park Guell, a huge park designed by the Spanish architect, Gaudi. I could have spent the whole day exploring the park and examining the mosaics that sparkled among the nature.

Barcelona's markets were also quite the sight. After getting freshly squeezed strawberry-coconut juice from the "Mercat," Barcelona's massive and picturesque fresh food market, it is hard to go back to any other juice. It was difficult to not buy everything in sight when walking down Las Ramblas toward the pier. The markets had everything from postcards to birds.

I was lucky enough to spend my 21st birthday in Barcelona as well! The weather was at its best...perfect for relaxing and taking a nap by the beach. Well rested, we made our way to "el Bosc de les Fades" or "Forest of the Fairies" which is a part of the wax museum. We entered the wax-created forest, complete with mushrooms, trees with faces and thunderstorms. I am happy to say that my birthday was a fairy tale.

Lisbon, March 22-24
Up and out of Barcelona by 7:30 A.M., we arrived in a chilly Lisbon in time to go on the free walking tour of the city at 10:30! As we wandered our way through the maze-like city built among the mountains, the weather warmed enough to convince us to buy summery sundresses from the flea market. As we climbed, the views became increasingly beautiful. The skyline of simple terracotta roofs intertwined with elaborate churches ending only at the coast of the Atlantic was stunning. Our tour led us to a café where we were had a traditional Portuguese lunch which included delicious house sangria, an entrée, dessert and coffee. Our entrée choices included steak, pork, fried fish cakes and a traditional Portuguese potato-cod-egg hash. I had the steak but tried the potato-cod dish which was very interesting! For dessert we had four traditional Portuguese recipes: flan, an orange-soaked sponge cake, a light egg custard drizzled with caramel and pear poached in wine. Obrigado! (“Thank you” is the only Portuguese word that I was able to pick up.)



There is much more to come, but that will have to wait until tomorrow! I’ve done my share plus some of procrastination tonight, from making dinner, baking banana bread and researching my next trip to Cinque Terre next weekend…Buona notte!

The travels begin...

I've now seen (some of) what there is to see in Rome and am beginning to travel throughout Italy and Europe!

Today I finished booking my spring break trip to the Iberian Peninsula. Over nine days, Carleigh and I will explore Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon. I will see if 10 years of learning Spanish in school will help me at all, or if Italian has truly taken over my mind (I should be studying for an Italian midterm now....). As for my Portuguese…it never existed. Good thing Carleigh and I are equally adventurous and up for a challenge! This promises to be a fun and interesting vacation!

My recent excursions took me to the Tuscan region of Italy, including the lovely cities of Siena and Florence.

I will begin with Siena. A beautiful, ancient, city nestled in the Tuscan hills, Siena was a perfect day-long getaway. We took a bus into the city walls and wandered our way through the streets toward the Piazza del Campo and the Duomo. I was so happy to see people sunbathing all over the Piazza del Campo. It reminded me of "quading" back on campus at American, just sitting on the ground and relaxing while soaking up some vitamin D. The architecture of Siena was beautiful, from the bell tower in the Campo to the massive Duomo nearby. We had a lovely lunch, had a photo shoot, did a little shopping and finished our day with a cappuccino before catching the bus back. Definitely all signs of a good day!

the bell tower in the Piazza del Campo

the duomo in Siena

After a weekend in Florence, I completely understand why so many people love the city. My journey began with a couple new discoveries before even leaving Rome:

• There is a very convenient bus I can take to/from my neighborhood to the train station for only 1 euro. The bus is always crowded, and the bus door hit me every time it opened at each stop, but it definitely beats a 10 euro taxi fare.
• At Termini Station, platform 2E is not the same as 2 Est. After walking to the most distant corner of the train station, I realized that I needed to go even further. Thankfully there is a convenient tunnel under the train tracks which saved me a twenty minute walk. Yes, I caught my first train by myself. (Being comfortable traveling alone opens up so many opportunities!)

Promptly 4 hours after leaving Rome, I arrived in Florence where my best friend, Alexis and her roommate, Stef were waiting for me! They escorted me to Piazza Pitti where they live in a beautiful apartment that looks out to the Pitti Palace (I admit that I am a little jealous!). They quickly showed me to the best pizzeria in town, Gusta Pizza for a late dinner.

The view from Alexis' apartment, the Pitti Palace

I always thought that people overrated Florence, but now I understand why so many Americans fall in love with the city. With a high tourist and study abroad population, Florence maintains traditional Italian culture while somewhat catering to tourists. Most locals speak English (at least enough to get by on), there is a great variety of restaurants varying from traditional Italian to an American diner, the shopping is great, and it is so easy to get around the city on foot! The sidewalks were much easier to walk on than the rough cobblestones that I stumble on over in Rome and I didn't have to worry about being hit by a car every other minute (it may seem funny, but I now appreciate some of the smallest things).

The weekend went by way too quickly! It was great to spend time with Alexis, catching up on life, shopping and eating way too much. I did some damage to my wallet at the leather market, buying two leather belts, one leather purse and a coin purse...it was a good thing the shoes I wanted were out in my size!

I was so sad to leave Alexis and the city, but unfortunately I do have to attend classes this semester and midterms are upon me in full force. Another 4 hour train ride and a walk in the rain later I was warm and comfortable, once again at Via di Monserrato…at least until this Saturday when I leave for Venice to see what it's like during Carnevale!

Classic duomo picture :)

Alexis and Stef made me rub that silly boar's nose so I come back to Florence...let's see if the myth works!

A Taste of Home: baking soda, shopping malls and Mexican food

Whoops! I thought I published this post a week ago! Let me catch you up on everything going on here:

Saturday, February 19th
I finally found baking soda!!! That's right - after a couple weeks of searching, I found "bicarbonato di sodio." I never thought it would be so difficult to find a basic baking ingredient, but after looking in about five different grocery stores I just asked a worker at the largest Despar (a popular supermarket chain here) where I could find the product. He led me past the baking section, past the cleaning products and to the bottled water aisle in a corner of the store. Whoever would have thought that the baking soda would be there?! Anyways, I am now motivated to make as many recipes as possible now that I have the ingredient. Chocolate chip cookies, check. On the way: biscuits, pancakes, banana bread.....

Sunday, February 20th
I am starting to get very tired of the clothes I managed to fit into my two suitcases. With springtime just around the corner, I was definitely due for a shopping spree! I walked with my roommate, Sarah, toward the Spanish Steps which is the best shopping district in town. There we found not one, but two Zaras. They were right across the street from the other and both with three levels. Amazing. And even better, they had a sale. I managed to find a dress, skirt and two shirts...I could have bought more and will definitely be back soon (maybe shoes next time?)

Monday, February 21st
We had our first fiesta! "We" included me and a bunch of Texans (they all seem to stick together) with one thing in common: severely missing Mexican food. Yes, our fiesta was complete with tortilla chips and queso (with good, old, processed Velveeta cheese that one of the boys acquired!), chicken fajitas and homemade tortillas. After nearly two months of Italian cuisine, Mexican food was so refreshing! And listening to country music all night has a special way of warming the soul.

Yes, Chef!

 On Wednesday night I had my long-awaited cooking lesson!! Chef Andrea Consoli is one of the nicest Italians I've met so far. He loves students and loves to teach us how to cook (lucky us!). In a group of 15 girls and one boy, we worked together to make a four course meal under supervision of the chef.

Il Menu

Antipasto..............Potato, Cauliflower, Pumpkin and Leek Soup
Primo Piatto..........Gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce
Secondo Piatto..... Straccetti (beef and artichokes)
Dolce.....................Custard Pie with Pine Nuts

It took a good two hours to prepare and cook all the food. Everything was especially challenging as we were working in a tiny, crowded kitchen without good equipment and mostly-clueless cooks. For all the work that Chef Andrea does with John Cabot University, I think that it is about time for the university to give him more of a budget and better workspace. He allowed us to use his personal knives because he couldn't afford more decent equipment, and chopping half of a fresh pumpkin with a 1 euro knife is not easy or safe. I give him so much credit for patience, both with the university and the students most of whom barely know how to cook a box of store-bought pasta, let alone make homemade gnocchi. 

I tried to work a little on each dish so that I have and idea of how to replicate each recipe:
I prepped the pumpkin for the soup - simply peeling and dicing a beautiful, fresh pumpkin.
I made the tomato sauce for the gnocchi - sautéing whole cloves of garlic in olive oil, then adding chopped fresh tomatoes, salt and fresh basil and then mashing the tomatoes into a sauce-consistency.
I thinly sliced a large piece of beef for the second course (I got a hug from Chef for taking on that task alone!).
Finally, I boiled the milk for the custard and helped roll out the sugar-cookie-like dough for the dessert.

Despite the kitchen facilities and inexperienced cooks, Chef Andrea's recipes came out excellently and I enjoyed the well-deserved meal...at around 9:00 p.m. (Also, since my roommates and I stayed to help clean up we were able to take home a TON of leftovers!) Chef promised to e-mail us all the recipes for this menu, so I am looking forward to trying these recipes on my own to share with everyone at home.

Sorry for the lack of pictures for this experience. 1) I forgot my camera and 2) it is difficult to take pictures while cooking. Luckily, Chef was taking pictures to document our experience for us, which he also promised to send us later this week.

I think that the only disappointment of the night was learning that Chef Andrea was married...

One month down, three to go.

 Sorry for not posting as regularly as I'd like but I don’t want to bore you with unnecessary chatter. I have fallen into a nice schedule here in Rome and nothing too exciting has happened in the past week, but here are a few highlights (disclaimer: this post is mostly about food so I apologize in advance if it makes you hungry):

Monday started my week off perfectly – with coffee. And even better, free coffee. That’s right, I found a café just around the corner from JCU campus that treats students to the first coffee of the day for free. And even better, the cappuccinos are the largest I’ve had so far in Rome (probably only the size of a Starbucks tall, but much more substantial than most cappuccinos here) and even more exciting, they give you it to-go without looking at you like you’re committing a crime. I still appreciate that Italians take their time to enjoy their coffee at the café but, hey, I am a student with a caffeine addiction. I like my coffee with me during class.

Monday was also my roommate, Meghan's birthday - yay 21! (Although not quite as exciting here as it would be in back home.) But we did make a nice meal and dessert and sipped a few beers to celebrate! In place of Meghan's favorite all-American meal of burgers and fries, we surprised her with an Italian alternative...hamburger pizza and potato pizza! And for dessert, biscotti and strawberry gelato. Yum!




On Wednesday it was back to traditional Italian cuisine. I met some new friends for dinner at a restaurant that quickly became my favorite so far here in Rome: Tony's. The staff was very friendly and fast! For 10 euro each we had wine, bread, garlic bread (basically pizza dough with butter, garlic and rosemary), and a massive portion of eggplant parmigiana. To top it all off, our server treated us all to tiramisu! We've decided to make Tony's a tradition and I'm looking forward to more Tony's Wednesdays with good friends and food in the future!

On Saturday I found another restaurant that put up some hard competition for Tony's! I met with two of my sorority sisters in front of the Pantheon (yes, I am in Rome and meet my dinner dates in front of historic monuments). The restaurant was just on the back corner of the monument. I don't even know the name but I think the owner is named Mickey, so we referred to the place as “Mickey’s.” Even in the most historic areas of Rome they still love Americans. There was a photo of President Obama at the entrance and we were served potato chips as an appetizer. I had my first spaghetti alla carbonara here (delicioso!) and fragolino, known as "sexy wine." Mickey's is famous for this fragolino which is produced on location every day. It is a sparkling, sweet, strawberry wine and such a treat! I am getting very spoiled here. Again, we were treated to free dessert (ice cream bars) and an extra bottle of fragolino. After dinner, we had a fun night out dancing!

Sunday has become market day. The massive Sunday flea market is the largest in Rome and seemingly endless. It could easily keep me busy for an entire day. I don’t think I will ever get tired of looking at all the things they have to sell, from beautiful leather jackets to cacti to…well, junk. However, I have decided that Americans and Italians don’t see eye-to-eye when it comes to fashion. Italians have beautiful leather items, nice basics and pretty scarves, but I will continue to dress in American style.

I hope things are going well for everyone at home and for all of you spending your semester in various cities around the world. Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! Xoxoxo <3

Back to being a tourist...

Not much has happened since my trip to Veneto. I've just been enjoying the beautiful weather we've had lately -- every day is sunny with highs around 60 degrees :) But with the warmth comes allergies. (At least what I assume is allergies...time to go on a scavenger hunt for Claritin D in Rome? I think so.)

Carleigh visited this weekend, which was perfect timing. I needed some sparkle in my life as I begin to miss home a little bit. At the same time it is so crazy to think that nearly a month has already gone by and I only have four months left!

Carleigh's visit was the perfect excuse to tour Rome yet again. This time I was the guide, successfully navigating my way to the train station, Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Spanish Steps! I might be slightly obsessed with the Coliseum, here are a few pictures I took there (and by a few, I look about 100)!
Thanks to Google maps and my handy map of Rome...and to Carleigh for conveniently forgetting that you get Google maps on your cell phone until the last night here, my fears of getting lost in Rome are long gone!

Carleigh had an early flight home on Sunday. After saying goodbye and going back to bed until 11a.m. I forced myself out of bed to get some fresh air.

My roommates happened to be heading on a day trip to Castel Gandolfo which I tagged along for. It is a small lake-side town just a 45 minute train ride outside of Rome. Castel Gandolfo does not have a castle, but it the location of the pope's vacation home on top of the mountain. We had a nice lunch in town and enjoyed the scenery - a great way to wrap up the weekend :)

Pictures!

As my lovely roommate Kristiana occupies the kitchen to prepare some pizzas for our family-style dinner tonight, I made an attempt at creating a Flikr account. I quickly I gave up. Making a Flikr account would require me to re-organize and re-tag all of my many pictures that already exist in my Facebook albums (and apparently a limit on how many pictures I can post?!).

My goal is to keep all of you non-Facebook users up-to-date with the many pictures I am taking on my travels, which usually go hand-in-hand with my blog posts. So, once again, Kristiana is taking care of me and pointed out that I can post a public link for my Facebook albums so anyone can see!

Here are my albums so far if you'd like to take a look!

"Home in Rome"
Location, Rome
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039051&id=1227570674&l=d3be76e530

"Don't be afraid of the little rivers and lakes, they like them here"

Location, Venice, Verona and Padova

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039409&id=1227570674&l=3ede8c2b64

Some other quick updates:

Twice now I have been asked in Italian for directions in Rome. (I won't lie--I had no idea where they needed to get or how to get there. I'm just flattered that I look like I know where I am.)

Also, we are working on nicknames for our apartment mates. So far we have:

• me - Betty Crocker
• Kristiana - the Chef
• Sarah - "Mom"

Hwe will have the rest decided on soon!

Okay, I'm to help out in the kitchen! Enjoy! xoxo

Padova, Venezia, Verona and Venezia again!

It was definitely a long weekend! Four days full of adventures....
(I apologize in advance for the length of this post...I'll do my best to keep it interesting!)

Thursday, January 27: Roma

I'm still on the search for the perfect pair of brown leather boots. Of course, with my luck every pair that I like are way over my 80ish euro budget or not available in my size. The search continues.

After dinner, I finally got to catch up with my friend Gabby, who is studying in Rome as well but in a different program. We went to the American bar nearby to catch up and then went dancing (I love that I can go out and not have to walk more than 15 minutes from my apartment, whether I go to a restaurant, club, bar, gelato...). I got to meet a bunch of new people who just arrived in Rome as well and had a great time! At the bar, I put my name into a raffle with a popular tour company called Bus2Alps with the hopes of winning a free trip(...to be continued). Anyways, thanks to a late night I was able to sleep for most of the 7 hour bus ride to Padova in the morning!

Friday, January 28: Padova

"Sharp on the nose" at 6:00 a.m. three of my roommates and I made it to a small piazza near JCU campus where our tour group gathered to await our bus. Our chaperones were fellow students who worked with JCU Student Activities and were all full of personality! (We listened to Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, the Beatles, Spice Girls and much more thanks to David's iPod).

By 1:30 our tour group made it to Padova, one of the largest cities in the Veneto region of Italy. Padova is home to a famous university where Galileo Galilei once taught, the 2nd largest square in Europe, and the beautiful Basilica of Saint Anthony. We had a nice tour of the city and then had some free time when I did some shopping and tasted my first chiccolata calda! The thick, rich drink was just what I needed to warm up! I don't think I can ever go back to American hot chocolate...

After free time was time for dinner, in true Italian style. The meal lasted two hours with endless food. First off was pasta with meat sauce and rolls, followed by roasted pork loin and rosemary potatoes and finally a large tiramisu and coffee. This is probably the best part of being in a large tour group -- being fed well and not having to worry about which restaurant to go to or the check at the end of the meal.



By 11:00 p.m. I was showered and in bed, exhausted from long day.

Saturday, January 29: Venice 

I managed to wake up on time for the 7:00 a.m. breakfast at the hotel. Two coffees later, we headed to the train station to catch a train to Venice! Within two hours we reached the city and began our tours. We walked through the beautiful city with canals instead of roads (for the first time since being in Italy I didn't have to worry about being hit by a car). Among many other facts, I learned that Venice is known as  "Venezia e un pesce" ("Venice is a fish") because the city on built stilts is shaped like a fish (thank you to our handsome Italian tour guide who was full of all kinds of fun stories!). I took countless pictures all the way to St. Mark's Square where we began our 2nd tour.
The next tour guide had a lot to say. We stood for a long time in the freezing cold weather. I really wish I could have appreciated St. Mark's more but my mind couldn't be distracted from the increasing loss of feeling in my feet. As soon as this second guide finished her history lesson I nearly ran to the closest restaurant I could find.

 

I sat here with my roommates and some new friends for lunch and a spritz, a drink which our first (and better at keeping us warm) tour guide suggested. The drink was made of wine, seltzer and aperol, a bitter liqueur which gave it a bright orange color and was different from anything I’ve ever tasted. My roommate, Sarah, had been talking about the traditional Venetian tapas-like food called cicchetti for days before going to Venice. The dish varies from restaurant to restaurant, and she bravely ordered it without asking for any description. Let's just say I'm glad I stuck to lasagne....

 

After an hour or so, I had finally thawed. A few of my friends went for a gondola ride, but I was done with the outdoors and ready for shopping! The Venetian glass was beautiful and I couldn't get enough of it! Eventually we decided it was time to find our way back to the train station and our group.
Of course, we got lost on the way -- "follow the yellow signs to the train station" doesn't get you very far in Venice but on our winding way we found a bakery in the Jewish ghetto. Ready to try another food recommended by our tour guide, we entered and ordered the traditional Venetian Carnevale pastry called "frittella" which is a sweet dough studded with raisins and pine nuts that is fried and filled with cream. Delicious. 

We eventually made our way back to the hotel in Padova for some free time, dinner at a German Pizzeria called Oktoberfest (as to why our tour made reservations at this restaurant, I have no idea), and finally, bed!

Sunday, January 30

Up, packed, and caffeinated by 8 a.m. and again on the bus, this time to Verona, the Veneto region's largest city and home of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet! I was thrilled when our forth (and last!) tour guide, Michelangelo, announced that we would have a bus tour of the city before a short walking tour. After two days of long, cold tours I couldn't have been happier to sit back and relax. We saw all the sights, from the ancient theater to Juliet's balcony and Romeo's home. I loved Verona. It had the charm of a classic Italian city with the perfect mix of history and modernity and great shopping!

 My favorite part was the main square. Apparently Sunday is family-fun day in Verona. We walked through the main square around lunch time to see all the families with small children outside to enjoy the day! There was a van there which had brought all kinds of games for everyone to enjoy, from dress-up clothes to stilts to chalk boards. Everyone (including my tour group) had a blast! After a few hours of free time for lunch and shopping (I bought a belt for only 3 euro!) we got on the bus for the final leg of our journey -- a six hour bus ride home.


Home in Rome:

At around 11 p.m. we arrived in Rome, which I’ve decided is still my favorite city Italy. On our short walk back to Via di Monserrato, I talked the trip over with my roommates. I informed them that Venice was beautiful city, but I had no desire to go back...the weather had scared me away. Of the three cities, Verona was definitely my favorite (what girl could ask for more than a city with nice weather and good shopping?).

Naturally the first thing we all do once home is check our e-mail. I thought something was wrong then Alyssa gasped, "Laura Olson won a free trip to Venice Carnival!" It turns out that that going out the night before my trip and putting my name in that raffle was more than worth it!

I have never been very lucky before coming to Italy but these last few weeks have been full of lucky surprises! But could this strike of luck be any more ironic? I think that Venice wants me to give it a second chance...hopefully it will be warmer on March 5th when I arrive, masked and ready for Carnevale! I'm sure that adventure will make a very worthy blog post, so stay tuned!

Comfy Feet and Mac 'n Cheese

I am starting to get used to my weekday routine here in Rome. It was my turn today (thanks to our handy roommate chore list) to take out the garbage, which was a success! In case anyone is wondering, on Tuesdays between 9:30 and 10:30 residents of Via di Monseratto can take out plastic/metal/glass recycling to the nearby Piazza Farnese where the garbage men are very nice! By 10:30 I found my way to the Campidiolgio for my drawing class. Hooray for Google Maps! After three hours of drawing beautiful statues and architecture outdoors (but soaking up lots of Vitamin D, thanks sunshine!), I was ready for lunch and to warm up.

Later, after class #2 (this time on campus) my roommate Alyssa and I explored. We found the coffee machine on campus, where for just 35 cents you can purchase anything from hot chocolate to cappuccino! Even better, it comes in a little to-go cup (at most cafes here baristas look at you like you’re crazy if you ask for your coffee to-go). On our way home, we decided to find the elusive supermarket that is supposed to be super close to our apartment...and I wanted to buy flour so I could make macaroni cheese and crepes. We found it! This supermarket also has a much better selection (including tortillas for Mexican food! Yes, I miss Mexican food). After 20 minutes of wandering the little supermarket we finally found my flour, ("farina" in Italian) hidden under the shelves of pasta.

A note about our kitchen --
It came very well equipped with cooking necessities, often to the point of ridiculousness. I decided to organize the kitchen, because if you know me, you know that I like my kitchen to be spotless and organized at all times. I found that we have a very mismatched assortment of pots and pans, about four cheese graters, a giant mincing knife and three spring-form pans (cheesecake, anyone?). However, we apparently have no measuring utensils of any kind. How will I satisfy my baking cravings? I will look to buy some, but until then I think I am going to test my estimation skills (thanks, Mom for teaching me so well!) and visiting bakeries often.

My dinner of Italian-style mac 'n cheese turned out surprisingly good for my first attempt! Substituting cheddar cheese and bacon for asiago and panchetta never hurt a meal! Nutella crepes will come later...my roommates don't believe I can do it, but they don't quite yet understand my domesticity.

That's all for now, I have some European adventures to plan with Carleigh Rixon! Only four classes between me and the weekend....

You know you're in Italy when...

Here I will collect all my observations about living in Italy I will update this list as the semester goes on.

You know you are in Italy when....

1. You don't feel guilty for eating pizza every day.
2. You begin to use the big side of the cheese grater for parmigiano-reggiano (which goes on everything). Or even skip the grater, eat a slice of this amazingly rich cheese alone or with a cracker.
3. You see people (locals and tourists) eating gelato all year round, despite the weather.
4. Your clothes shrink in the washer. Italian water settings seem to be either caldo (hot) or freddo (cold) with very little variation in between. This goes for the shower too.
5. You dream about getting Dr. Scholl's gel insoles for all your shoes. Hello, cobblestones.
6. You buy a 1 kilogram jar of nutella and your roommates are EXTREMELY excited/jealous.
7. The ATM gives you cash in 50 euro bills but every cashier expects exact (down to the very last cent) change...is this why they have change including 2 euro coins and 2 cents? The man at the market stared in my wallet today to prove that I had the exact 2.20 euro....now I am completely out of change and scared to break my 20 euro bill.
8. You get something free with almost every meal at a restaurant, from bottles of wine to tiramisu to roses.
9. There is a tour group outside of your apartment.

One week in...

I've been in the lovely city of Roma for one week now :)

I still can't get enough of the city and can't even think of leaving it to travel elsewhere quite yet. Within these seven days I've encountered some challenges, found some new favorite things and made some accomplishments.

Challenges:

1. Where do we put our garbage? Which piazza has the truck at which day of the week and at what time of day and for which type of waste? Why are Italians so specific about their recycling? Does paper go in the blue bag or the white? What is that red bag for?....
2. My discussion-based European history class has only five other students and is intended for history majors...Food and Agriculture, here I come. (Learning about food is always more interesting than learning about early European wars in my mind, and my history professor reminded me of a LARPer...)
3. Power outages. Every time we try to run our dishwasher the power circuit breaks...repeatedly. I'm currently sitting in the living room in the dark.
4. Fish. I decided to be brave and order fish at a restaurant. It was very authentic...the head was on my plate. I'll wait to order fish again when I'm back in the U.S., I prefer pizza here.
5. Mon cheri....dark chocolates filled with cherry liqueur. You think it would be delicious. It isn't. I rinsed out the liqueur and ate just the chocolate.
6. My bed. Definitely not my comfy mattress at home with two layers of memory beneath two plush mattress covers. I think the pillows are 80% dust mites by now....icky.

New favorites:

1. Pizza, gelato. cappuccino. mozzarella bufala. pork panino. I am still searching for my favorite places to eat but there are more than enough good restaurants and cafes to keep me occupied this semester.
2. Wine. Tonight I had my first professional wine tasting. 3 white, 3 red, 1 dessert. The variety ranged from the cheapest bottles costing less than 5 euro, to nice wines costing over 50. Now I know what is good and can't wait to continue to refine my palate.
3. Grocery shopping. Way better than DC’s Safeway. My fresh veggies come from the open market at Campo di Fiori, bread from the local bakery, and cheese is fresh from the formaggeria. There are so many food options I hardly know where to begin!
4. Window shopping. My plan for the weekend is to make some memorable purchases. Apparently all the best shopping is by the Spanish Steps, so that's where I'll be! I'll be looking for new boots :) Apparently January is the month for sales, as the word "saldi" is in every store window!
5. Nutella. Yes, I gave in. Usually I don't go for the chocolate-hazelnut combo, but this wonderful spread goes well with everything. Bread, crackers, apples, crepes...the possibilities are endless.
6. The weather: 60°F and sunny. It is perfect for walking around the city, getting myself lost and eating gelato!

Accomplishments:

1. Navigation. I can (finally!) walk by myself from my apartment to both campuses!
2. Speaking Italian. With the help of my professors, my roommates, and the Italians that I encounter in stores and restaurants my language skills are definitely improving!
3. Free stuff. As posted earlier, I already won a free trip to Siena and even got a free Italian textbook today! Is this luck or destiny telling me never to leave this city?
4. Battle: cobblestone streets v. Laura. So far, I'm winning. No falling yet but I have not attempted to wear heels yet.


Lastly, here are some pictures from my walking tour of ancient Rome last weekend. I'll be taking a tour of fountains and piazzas this weekend!

I love free things

It's about 5:30 in the evening here and I've been out and about since 11:00. This morning I walked around the city with my roommates and stumbled upon St. Peter's Basilica. We then made our way to campus for a free welcome “American style BBQ.” The fries and burgers and hotdogs were accompanied by freshly baked buns…not quite American, but delicious nonetheless. Right after the BBQ three of my roommates and I participated in the photo-scavenger hunt organized by the orientation staff.

Not many people attended, so basically everyone who participated was guaranteed a prize, ranging from JCU gift bags to a free day trip. Of course, my team was in it to win it. We started out at a good pace, walking to get metro tickets and found landmarks from the student medical center to the Spanish steps. To our luck, one boy in our group, Euginio, had GPS on his cell phone…we didn't get lost once and won the contest!

Courtesy of JCU Student Activities, three of my roommates and I won a day trip to Siena (saving us about 30 euro)! We celebrated with a well-deserved gelato and will take a siesta before going out to see what Roman night life has to offer!
Ciao ciao!

Ciao!

It's my third day in Roma and it's hard to believe that I will be living here for the next four months.

I was lucky to arrive on time -- I barely escaped the snowstorm in DC and successfully found my flight connection in the dreaded Heathrow airport with time to spare. There were about eight other John Cabot University (JCU) students on my fight so we found the Hilton Hotel together where we were greeted my JCU staff and shuttled directly to our BEAUTIFUL apartments.

I couldn't believe my eyes as we approached my own building and remained in shock as I walked though the short hallway and unlocked the gate to a small courtyard. Finding my apartment was interesting...apparently, “1° piano, scala B,” means I have to go up three flights of stairs and play around with finicky Italian locks to get in. Of course none of the rooms are clearly labeled so I had to try two other apartment doors before I found my own which is labeled “Lucia Antonelli” (luckily a JCU staff member helped me with my luggage and finding my room! Grazie!).

My apartment is awesome. It is a spacious and authentic Italian three bedroom with tons of character, from the kitchen tiles to the linens. I have five roommates who are each great and come from all over the U.S. - Texas, New York, Wyoming, California and even one from my hometown, Rockville!

It is a quiet building on Via di Monserrato and all the other residents are Italian. The owners are a sweet little old man and woman who sit in an office by the gate and greet us as we come and go. Last night the lady helped us turn on the furnaces and either she doesn't speak a word of English or she was testing our Italian skills.



View 34 Via di Monseratto, Roma in a larger map

Our location is fabulous. We are just a 10 minute walk to the JCU campus and around the corner from the Campo di Fiori. There is everything I need within walking distance - tons of restaurants, pizzerias, little bakeries, cafes, bars, gelaterias and of course the open air produce market during the day in the Campo. I went grocery shopping there for the first time today and can't wait to go back!
Buying fresh food is quickly becoming an addiction, which will only increase as I become more confident with speaking the language and learning the words for all the food. I got half a loaf of fresh bread for only 70 cents and a huge piece of fresh parmigiano-reggiano for only 4 euro!

The weather is perfect. With just a light jacket and I'm ready to walk around for hours...I hope it stays this way! However I don't think that the Italians think it is so warm. I see them wearing down coats in the mid-50s weather.

Some funny things about Italian law:
A bar must have a specific license to allow dancing.
The city observes quiet hours from 11pm-7am and from 1pm-4pm...this is enforced by the police.
Meanwhile, drivers are crazy and park very creatively.

I think that is all I have for today! Off to get an afternoon espresso and maybe a sfogliatelle with my roommate :) ciao!