Weekend in Rome.

Had a nice weekend in Rome. Going to Florence this weekend!

These are pictures from my walk this weekend. My favorite thing to do on a sunny day on the weekend is just listen to music and go for a walk.. I conveniently came across Via del Corso which has some of the best shopping in Rome : )

Parents have been requesting more pictures of the Rome in the daytime.. Thought the sky was so beautiful on Saturday. Had to take pictures!

We are in Florence? Oops

What was suppose to be a nice day trip to the Tuscan countryside of Siena turned into a day of train hopping to Pisa!

At 11am on Friday morning, two friends of my friends (Martina and Tia - who both actually go to Pace but we just met here in Italy) and I took the train from Roma Stazione Termini to Siena. Apparently we were suppose to transfer trains somewhere but we were not aware and ended up at the end of the line in Florence. I've never been to Florence yet (we are planning to go either this weekend or next weekend) so it was exciting. At this point we were just discussing our options... It was about 3pm and we could do a quick tour of the city (since Martina has already been here she knows where the important sites are). This didn't really make sense since we should spend a whole weekend here or at least a full day. Being the adventurous girl that I am, I suggested we just go to the tourist information center and get a hostel. We could just like buy toothpaste and soap or something.. But one of my friends wasn't fond of that idea. So we decided if we were going to come back we should just go the extra leg that we probably wont do next time we come to Florence, which was to take an other hour train ride to PISA!

Starlings, Strufolini, & Scarves.

First off, I was not aware that the whole population of starlings migrate to the trees of Rome this month. They especially love the trees in my neighborhood because they are the tallest in Rome. This picture doesn't even begin to capture the amount of birds that are in the sky at once. I don't want to pull out my camera when the birds are going crazy because I have to dodge all the poop. I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that it is necessary to use an umbrella at dusk or you will get pooped on.

Thanks to global warming I get pooped on at least twice a day just trying to go to class. No really, "The abundance of starlings in Rome is partly the result of climate change — they used to go farther south before Roman winters warmed up." http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/magazine/22birds.t.html?_r=1


Went for a walk one night with some friends.. We stopped for a few minutes on this bridge just to enjoy this view of the Vatican. This picture doesn't do it justice at all.

Went to Acqua e Farina ristorante for a friend's birthday. It's all pizzas, focaccia, bread and desserts that can be basically made with just flour and water and no yeast (hence the name Acqua e Farina) I ordered the Acqua e Farina strufolini which is based off the idea of pizza with it's cylinder dough, but it is much different from a stereotypical piece of pizza. It has prosciutto, cheese, lettuce, and a truffle/olive spread on top.

It was very yummy : )

Ps. That is my new scarf that I spent 10 minutes debating the price of with some man on the street. I usually would rather just pay the extra dollar or so instead of debating a price but I was determined. That 3€ = two gelatos! He wanted €8 for it. No way was I paying that when I know I could walk down the street and buy it for €5, but he had the exact colors I wanted.. My goal is to try to buy my next scarf for €4.

Shepherd's Pie!

I made Shepherd's Pie for all my roommates one night during midterm week. I thought it would be a little nice something to do.. Two of my roommates had never even had it before!

Pictures from the"family dinner":

A wine filled weekend in Italy: Part two

Spent all of Saturday at La Tana dell'Istrice (The Porcupine's lair) which is Sergio Mottura's vineyard/villa.

I toured the vineyard and winery (a free planned trip thanks to SAI the study abroad program I am in) along with 35 other students in the same program. We visited the wine cellars and took part in a wine tasting of 10 different wines.

A wine filled weekend in Italy: Part one

Wine wine wine!

Went to the hometown of Frascati white wine

This is the view from the villa we happen to have come across while walking around the little town of Frascati

Rainy days

Today was a cold and rainy day. The sun came out every once and a while to make you think it has finally stopped raining... but the sky would suddenly darken and it would randomly pour again.

It was all okay in the end because I got to see this:

It was the most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen. It was amazing. So bright and right out side our balcony window!

Made me smile.

Sono andato Greece!

It takes a 30 min bus ride, a three hour train ride, a 13 hr boat ride, a ferry for 2 hrs, and THEN an other 30 min bus ride to get to Corfu. But it was worth it... I got to go to Greece : )

Four of my roommates and I went on a second trip with the travel company that organized our trip to the Amalfi Coast. It's nice to not have to worry about coordinating all the different means of transportation.

I saw part of Igoumenitsa, Greece (which is a port town on the main land) by walking from one boat to an other. I saw the majority of Corfu island from the back of 4-wheeler on a "Quad Safari" trip. I glad I didn't drive because a lot of the road were really steep and made me nervous. Also I was able to take picture since I wasn't driving : )

Although it was rainy and cold the first two days we still had a really fun time. Overall it was a fun weekend: I'm pretty sure I ate lamb, almost got landed on by a sky diver and his parachute while I was sun bathing, I got to watch crazy old men smash plates and dance, and even went to my first toga party (I know it's really cliche, but it was fun)

I made pasta!

Pictures from my cooking class:

I'm going to be VERY sore tomorrow..

Yesterday I walked up about 30 flights of stairs to get to Dori Pamphili Park. It's a "hike" through Trastevere and up Janiculum Hill (which is one of the tallest hills in Rome) but the view is worth it. There are so many statues, fountains, palm trees, and views of the city... I only probably only saw 1/10 of the park because it is so huge. I can't wait to go back there soon and explore more!

I found a typewriter and red beans!

This morning my roommate and I got up early and walked around the neighborhood near school. It's nice to get a chance to walk down the streets I see everyday in passing but don't have time to venture down. We came across an open air fresh fruit/vegetable market and a little park. It's funny how we walk right by things without realizing that just on the other side of that building there is a market!

This is Piazza Santa Maria, which I walk by everyday to class. This morning I decided to take a picture because the sky was such an erie color. There weren't a lot of people there today since it was drizzling, but this piazza is actually fairly popular nightspot for people to gather. I was there last Friday night and the piazza was filled with people. I can see why it's popular spot since there are a lot of pubs and restaurants around the piazza and the surrounding streets.

Some random pictures from the week..

I've noticed there is a lot of graffiti. It is everywhere! Now from going to school in NY I'm pretty immune to a large amount of spray paint.. but this is different. Yes, there is the usual spray painted names and nonsense words but here there are so many pictures and stencils. It's kind of cool finding these random pictures everywhere. The giraffe is my favorite. Who wouldn't smile walking by a giraffe randomly painted on a building?

When you travel for a week you are just trying to survive..

I've become an early bird! I know my mom wont believe me. Believe it or not I have. I love Rome in the mornings. Its different than mornings in New York when I wake up and its only construction workers and business people around. Here the sun is up, stores are opening, coffee shops and bakeries smell so good. Plus there is nothing keeping me awake past 10 or 11. I don't watch tv (we do have a tv but I don't think any of us have even tried to turn it on) and I'm done with all my homework by then.

I was up by 7am yesterday, I got so much accomplished all before noon! I really didn't think that was possible. I even had time to walk around school to take pictures for my photography class, it was nice because I walked down streets that I see everyday but never had a chance to walk down.

I'd like to think that I'm finally adjusting to living in Rome, Italy, and even just Europe in general. My International Marketing professor said "When someone travels for one week they are just trying to survive." After living here for four months I will get just a glimpse of the Italian culture. Even by December I wont be able to define to you what it means to be Italian, I can only tell you what I see. No one can define being Italian... "we eat pasta, move our hands when we talk, and have a funny accent" haha. He said that it probably takes about 15/20 years to understand a culture, which I find mind boggling for I'm 20 years old... does that mean I'm finally understanding what it means to be American? haha. I'm learning a lot of intersting concepts from this class, which I guess is a good thing because International Marketing is my major haha. He also told me that I'll never see my home in the same way, I'll be much more critical of my own culture. I guess this will be a good thing as well? I wish that everyone could get the chance to leave their own country and comfort zone and experience a different way of life other than their own.

These are some pictures from the huge Sunday market that is literally outside of my apartment. (The building on the left is my apartment)



I had Indian food for the first time! This picture doesn't have our food in it but I had Chicken cooked in yogurt and spices. It was delicious!

Adventure to Amalfi

This weekend was amazing! I can honestly say that this weekend I saw some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my entire life so far. I hope that there will be many more experiences like that come! My six apartment-mates and I decided on a Tuesday night that we wanted to book a trip. Once we started researching and looking seriously at weekend trips we decided that the upcoming weekend would probably be the best... as in leaving in two days! We are crazy but I'm happy we actually did it. Out motto was that we are in Italy for adventure. This would definitely be an adventure. Why not! Haha. Our adventure consisted of Sorrento, the island of Capri, and Positano in the Amalfi Coast. (Under the Tuscan Sun movie reference: Positano is where Marcello lives! So we ran around yelling "Marcello! Marcello!" hahha)

I'm really glad we went to the Amalfi Coast, its one of the destinations I read about last summer (The House in Amalfi by Elizabeth Adler) when studying in Italy was just a dream and reading about Italy made it seem closer. I recommend Elizabeth Adler books to anyone who is looking for fun reads about Italy.

These are pictures from the island of Capri. We went on a day cruise around the island with the company that we booked the trip with. It was a lot of fun because it was a trip with a bunch of other people our age from our school.




This looks like we are swimming in a pool but It's the Mediterranean! It was so beautiful because the driver just stopped the boat and everyone jumped in. We swam through a little cave, I'm pretty sure it was called grotto verde.

These next pictures are from the next day when we took a bus to Positano. The little beach at the bottom with the orange umbrellas is actually where we walked down to! We spent pretty much the whole day there and at about 6pm we had an amazing dinner at this restaurant on the beach (the fish platter is what Shea had for dinner, it was so pretty I took a picture of it haha) I had some of the best mussels on top of spaghetti.






This is the town we stayed in, Sorrento. We walked all the side streets and explored the last day before we got back on the bus to Rome.





I saw this on a side street and just thought it was beautiful.. "i love you"

First week: Colosseum, Vatican, and more!

So I have been in Italy for exactly two weeks TODAY! Probably the longest two weeks of my life haha. The adjustment of moving to Italy has definitely been interesting, as well as very exciting. I live in a beautiful apartment with seven amazing girls from all over the United States.

These are my roommates. (Right to left)Lindsay, Shoshanna, Shea, Molly, and Tia

I live and go to school in a very residential part of Rome. The area wasn’t what I expected at all. It's better. Our cobble stone street is filled with apartment buildings, restaurants, “coffee bars”, and many shops. Trastevere is described as one of the most charming areas of the city. The walk from the apartment to campus is about 30 minutes and I love it. I pass so many shops and “bars” on the way to class I actually love starting my day this way even though it can be crazy at times. For an example, I feel like I’m playing frogger across the sidewalk sometimes because Romans apparently aren’t required to clean up after their animals. Also I get hit by a car almost every day because Italians drive like crazy people. Stop signs, lights, and speed signs seem to just be a suggestion. haha Cars squeeze down cobble side streets and go as fast as they want into tight intersections. I guess when you drive such a little car you can get away with more things than a American Suburban can. haha

This is the view from my balcony. I can usually smell what my neighbors are making for breakfast and hear ambulance sirens all night long. The sirens are very different in Europe, I knew this from when I went to Spain in 2005 but I guess it didn't really faze me. In conclusion I will forever cringe at the sound of European sirens at night... haha

This is my room and bed area. It's very white and we can't put anything on the walls.. but it's not bad. It's kind of refreshing and simple : )

These are just some pictures I took from walking around the first week : )
The first one is on the way to school, the second is the Sant'Angelo Castle, the third is ruins near the Colosseum. My roommate has the "classic colosseum" picture with me and all my roommates standing in front of it but hasn't been able to upload it. So i'll post it soon!


Also I went to the Amalfi Coast weekend! I'll post about that later tonight hopefully.