If you still want to know what I've been up to, I'm usually with Elli, so you can read her blog and get the gist of what I've been doing:
http://lainitalia.blogspot.com/
Michigan State University: Classical Republicanism in Rome and Florence, Italy, Summer, 2011
Thursday, June 30
Monday, June 27
Bad News
Well sorry my blog died for a while, but I was really busy last week, then I left for the weekend, and when I came home my computer wouldn't turn on, so I will be without a computer for the rest of the trip and will have to mooch off of Elli's whenever I can. So I can't promise my blog is going to be updated anymore. I only have a week left in Italy and then I'm going to England, just so everyone knows where I am. Goodbye for now!
Wednesday, June 22
Shwolf Pack 2011!
Day 33: Tuesday
We woke up and headed over to David in front of Palazzo Vecchio to meet with Rocky for another tour. We sat outside in the Loggia della Signoria for about a half hour while he explained to us the history of Palazzo Vecchio and the Piazza della Signoria. Then we walked over to the sculptures and he told us the history of those. At first the Signoria did not put out sculptures because they were worried about vandalism and the political message it sends. Finally, they put out a lion with a shield with the symbol of Florence on it. A while later, they put out a sculpture done by Donatello of Judith. After, the beloved symbol of republicanism, David, went in the square, but shortly after the Medicis took over and the sculptures became more political and more hated. There is one of Hercules which was given by one of the Medici popes as a message to obey the Medici ruler of Florence. Then, the Neptune fountain appeared. People disrespected it so much they washed their clothes, watered their horses, and pissed in it. After getting a history lesson of the political regimes of Florence through the sculptures outside Palazzo Vecchio, we walked over to the Bargello to see more sculptures. Rocky told us the sculptures we saw in there are the greatest ones ever created in his opinion, but I was not struck by them, even after he explained the stories behind them. We saw two bronze panels created by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti in a contest, from which Ghiberti created a door for the bapistry, which they liked so much they commissioned another, from which came the Gates of Paradise. There were also some Donatello sculptures of David, and Rocky pointed out the strangeness of one in which David is nude and looks very effeminate, and it shows discontinuities in the story of David because Goliath is already dead, but David has the rock in his hand still. Then we went downstairs and saw an early Michelangelo sculpture of Bacchus. We learned the Michelangelo used to sculpt in the style of Roman antiquity, then bury the sculptures for a couple months to age it, then sell them passing them off as Roman originals. One of these ended up in the hands of the Pope, and he found out somehow, and told Michelangelo to make another. The Bacchus was the result of this, but it was rejected because it depicts Bacchus as drunk, which was controversial because Roman Gods are supposed to be above human imperfections, but what do you expect from the God of wine?! After that we were free to go, so Elli and I went home, napped, read, and ate. We had class at 3pm, but it only lasted an hour and a half because everyone, including Petrie, was exhausted. After class we bought stamps, dropped our stuff off at home, then walked to the train station to buy our tickets for Cinque Terre this weekend. We had to wait in line for forever, but we finally got our tickets for €18 round trip. Then we picked up some juice and soy bean oil (because it was cheaper than olive oil), then went home and started making dinner. I made scrambled eggs, and Elli made some mozzarella sticks-type things that we bought, and they were delicious. After dinner we hung around for a bit, then started getting ready to go out with Kari for a shwolf pack night, since we don’t have class until 1pm tomorrow. When we finally got ready we decided to go back to the Karoke place, and on our way we ran into them filming Jersey Shore. It was annoying because they were blocking the road and we had to walk all the way around. After a while we got bored of that place and went back to our regular place, the Old Stove. We weren't there long before we decided to go home.
We woke up and headed over to David in front of Palazzo Vecchio to meet with Rocky for another tour. We sat outside in the Loggia della Signoria for about a half hour while he explained to us the history of Palazzo Vecchio and the Piazza della Signoria. Then we walked over to the sculptures and he told us the history of those. At first the Signoria did not put out sculptures because they were worried about vandalism and the political message it sends. Finally, they put out a lion with a shield with the symbol of Florence on it. A while later, they put out a sculpture done by Donatello of Judith. After, the beloved symbol of republicanism, David, went in the square, but shortly after the Medicis took over and the sculptures became more political and more hated. There is one of Hercules which was given by one of the Medici popes as a message to obey the Medici ruler of Florence. Then, the Neptune fountain appeared. People disrespected it so much they washed their clothes, watered their horses, and pissed in it. After getting a history lesson of the political regimes of Florence through the sculptures outside Palazzo Vecchio, we walked over to the Bargello to see more sculptures. Rocky told us the sculptures we saw in there are the greatest ones ever created in his opinion, but I was not struck by them, even after he explained the stories behind them. We saw two bronze panels created by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti in a contest, from which Ghiberti created a door for the bapistry, which they liked so much they commissioned another, from which came the Gates of Paradise. There were also some Donatello sculptures of David, and Rocky pointed out the strangeness of one in which David is nude and looks very effeminate, and it shows discontinuities in the story of David because Goliath is already dead, but David has the rock in his hand still. Then we went downstairs and saw an early Michelangelo sculpture of Bacchus. We learned the Michelangelo used to sculpt in the style of Roman antiquity, then bury the sculptures for a couple months to age it, then sell them passing them off as Roman originals. One of these ended up in the hands of the Pope, and he found out somehow, and told Michelangelo to make another. The Bacchus was the result of this, but it was rejected because it depicts Bacchus as drunk, which was controversial because Roman Gods are supposed to be above human imperfections, but what do you expect from the God of wine?! After that we were free to go, so Elli and I went home, napped, read, and ate. We had class at 3pm, but it only lasted an hour and a half because everyone, including Petrie, was exhausted. After class we bought stamps, dropped our stuff off at home, then walked to the train station to buy our tickets for Cinque Terre this weekend. We had to wait in line for forever, but we finally got our tickets for €18 round trip. Then we picked up some juice and soy bean oil (because it was cheaper than olive oil), then went home and started making dinner. I made scrambled eggs, and Elli made some mozzarella sticks-type things that we bought, and they were delicious. After dinner we hung around for a bit, then started getting ready to go out with Kari for a shwolf pack night, since we don’t have class until 1pm tomorrow. When we finally got ready we decided to go back to the Karoke place, and on our way we ran into them filming Jersey Shore. It was annoying because they were blocking the road and we had to walk all the way around. After a while we got bored of that place and went back to our regular place, the Old Stove. We weren't there long before we decided to go home.
Orange Rooftops
Day 32: Monday
I had class in the morning again, then after we finally got Accent to listen to us about our sink and stove, and we scheduled an appointment for the housing coordinator to come take a look. Elli and I had planned on going up to Piazzale Michelangelo for the afternoon, but we had to be at the apartment at 5pm, so we decided to climb the tower next to the Duomo instead. First, we went home and had sandwiches and I read a little. Then we met Mike at the tower and we paid our €6 to climb. There were 414 stairs, but climbing wasn’t actually that bad. There were three landings where we could stop and catch our breath. The worst part was that the way up is the same as the way down, and the stairs aren’t exactly roomy, so we had to squeeze by people as we went up and down. When we finally made it to the top, we had an awesome view of the city of Florence and the surrounding mountains. I liked that we could see the Duomo from the top. The rooftops of Florence are all orange, but I like how the main churches completely stand out, and that I’m familiar enough with my geography of the city already to be able to tell which ones are which. We wandered around the top looking at the view, took pictures, and then we decided to head down.
Afterwards Elli and I decided to go inside the Duomo, but we had to wait in line for a little bit. The inside is nothing like Roman churches because it’s extremely plain and simple inside. In my opinion, that’s how churches should be. The windows were impressive, and so was the fresco on the ceiling of the dome, but we couldn’t get a good look at it because we couldn’t go underneath the dome. Then we went down into the crypt and archeological site for an older church called Santa Reparata. We used our knowledge from our tour guides to identify some Medicis buried down there, and we saw Brunelleschi’s tomb, which was sadly next to the gift shop, and he was the architect of the Duomo. On our way home we did some souvenir shopping and browsing, and I wanted to buy some nice scarves, but I only bought postcards. When we got home, I took a small nap waiting for Accent to show up to look at our stove. When she did arrive, she realized that our stove actually does not work and that she would talk to the landlady, but not until tomorrow because it was already too late in the day. It only took them a week to believe us, meanwhile we’ve been cooking at the boys’ and been unable to do dishes. After she left, Mike and I decided to go out to dinner, and we ended up going back to the place we went with the first night and with my parents, and I had the calamari and fries again. Then we got gelato, and then I went home and accidentally fell asleep for a half hour. Then I did some reading and chilled until bed time.
Afterwards Elli and I decided to go inside the Duomo, but we had to wait in line for a little bit. The inside is nothing like Roman churches because it’s extremely plain and simple inside. In my opinion, that’s how churches should be. The windows were impressive, and so was the fresco on the ceiling of the dome, but we couldn’t get a good look at it because we couldn’t go underneath the dome. Then we went down into the crypt and archeological site for an older church called Santa Reparata. We used our knowledge from our tour guides to identify some Medicis buried down there, and we saw Brunelleschi’s tomb, which was sadly next to the gift shop, and he was the architect of the Duomo. On our way home we did some souvenir shopping and browsing, and I wanted to buy some nice scarves, but I only bought postcards. When we got home, I took a small nap waiting for Accent to show up to look at our stove. When she did arrive, she realized that our stove actually does not work and that she would talk to the landlady, but not until tomorrow because it was already too late in the day. It only took them a week to believe us, meanwhile we’ve been cooking at the boys’ and been unable to do dishes. After she left, Mike and I decided to go out to dinner, and we ended up going back to the place we went with the first night and with my parents, and I had the calamari and fries again. Then we got gelato, and then I went home and accidentally fell asleep for a half hour. Then I did some reading and chilled until bed time.
Monday, June 20
Leaky Sink
Day 31: Sunday
When I woke up, it was 2:50pm. I’ve never slept in that late in my entire life. I messed around on the computer for an hour, then finally got out of bed at 4pm to go to the bathroom and eat. The rest of the day I uploaded pictures to facebook and read Machiavelli. We tried to do dishes after lunch, but we don’t get hot water long enough to fill the sink with more than an inch of water, which is obviously not enough to wash anything. Then we discovered our sink leaks! Another thing that doesn’t function in our apartment! It took them a week to get our internet to work, we have no hot water, we have no water pressure in the shower, our windows won’t close to block out the sun/noise/mosquitoes, only one stove burner even turns on, and when it does, it turns off as soon as we let go of the button, and now our sink leaks. At least our toilet and fridge work, and we have electricity. Also, we can sleep in our beds, but I feel like they may have bed bugs. And anytime we try to tell Accent about these problems to get them fixed, they assume we’re being petty Americans and complaining because things are not up to American standards, but what they don't understand is that things that are essential to living that should work don't. They’re completely unhelpful and even mean and rude when they talk to us, and they don’t seem to understand that we literally cannot cook a meal in our apartment and have to mooch of the boys, which is really annoying for everyone. Anyway, we made dinner around 9pm, and I got to eat my black olives and it was delicious! Then I read more Machiavelli and went to bed.
Venezia
Day 30: Saturday
Woke up at 6:00am for the train to Venice with Elli! Despite being so tired, I was excited to go, and we got ready and headed out for the train station in no time. We found the train and our seats just fine, and it was a short ride to Bologna, where we had to get off and change trains. We found our other train and some seats right away, and the train was completely empty when we got on. We fell asleep right away, and I drifted in and out until we finally arrived in Venice two hours later. We got off the train and, in case we forgot where we were, the grand canal greeted us as we walked out. We put some sunscreen on, had a nice chat with a couple from Maine, and decided to just wander through the streets until we found San Marco. And that’s what we did. Venice is the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen, but its beauty is impossible to capture through photographs or completely soak in. The streets are narrow and confusing and winding because there are no cars or vespas whipping around corners about to kill you. We ran into dead ends because we would hit the water, and we’d have to back track and go a different way. If we were actually trying to get somewhere and not just wandering it would have been frustrating and annoying, but I loved it. We grabbed a slice of margherita pizza and sat on the steps of a church listening to a cellist and violinist while eating. We wandered for about an hour until we found the harbor. We knew we were getting close when we saw a giant cruise ship going by completely taking over the entire city. We wandered down it a ways until we encountered a gondola and decided to go for our ride, despite it being 80euro. It was completely worth it! Our driver was really nice and took us through the city and showed us Mozart’s house, Napoleon’s house, and Ponte Rialto. He also gave us a bit of history, telling us that Venice used to have 1,000 gondolas and they were historically the limo of the rich, but now they only have about 400 because motor boats have taken over. The ride was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done. It was just so peaceful and perfect, and it’s no wonder people wait their entire life to do it. Sadly, our ride had to end eventually, and our driver let us off right by San Marco square. All morning we had been alone and completely away from all the tourists, but now we were surrounded, and it seemed we could not escape them the rest of the day. We saw San Marco church, which looked very Russian/Eastern European compared to all the other Roman churches I’ve encountered. We decided not to go inside due to the line, the fee, and our dresses. We wandered down a bunch of touristy souvenir shops, but they were all so overpriced. Then we were hungry so we wandered down some smaller streets and found somewhere to eat. It was hard to find a place that wasn’t ridiculously expensive or that had nothing but seafood, but we found a nice little place and had pizza with fries. My waiter even told me I was eating my pizza wrong because I cut it instead of folding it! After lunch we wandered across Ponte Rialto and through more shops, wondering what we were going to do for four more hours. We found a piazza, got gelato/grinita and ended up taking a nap on the steps of a fountain in the middle for about a half hour. When we finally decided got get moving again, we walked back to San Marco, resigned and bought some overpriced souvenirs (because I really wanted a Venezia shirt), and then decided to start heading to the train station. We knew we had enough time so it was ok that we got lost somewhat, but we just followed the signs, and we found it without any problems. We were about an hour early, so we decided to sit on a bench in a park, but some guy started talking to us and seriously creeping me out, so we moved to the stairs of the train station. He followed us over there, but he finally went away. We sat on the steps for about a half hour, then went inside to find our train. We got situated in our seats, and a woman was nice enough to switch so we could sit together. There were some annoying American guys sitting behind us, shouting loudly at each other about stupid things like bars and chicks. I put my headphones in to escape the stupidity, and began to force myself to read Book III of Machiavelli. I finished by the end of the train ride, and it was about 9:30pm when we pulled in.
When we got home we found everyone getting ready to go out. I decided to go out with them, but I made a quick dinner first. We went to a place Kellie recommended for me, called the Lion’s Fountain. We found it overpriced and empty, so we decided to go back to the place we always go to by the Duomo, but not before we found the MSU t-shirt on the ceiling. We hung out at the Old Stove for a while (which has a really attractive bartender) then headed home for bed.
When we got home we found everyone getting ready to go out. I decided to go out with them, but I made a quick dinner first. We went to a place Kellie recommended for me, called the Lion’s Fountain. We found it overpriced and empty, so we decided to go back to the place we always go to by the Duomo, but not before we found the MSU t-shirt on the ceiling. We hung out at the Old Stove for a while (which has a really attractive bartender) then headed home for bed.
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| Elli and I on our Gondola |
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| Gondola Driver |
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| "Streets" of Venice |
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| San Marco |
I throw my hands up in the air sometimes
Day 29: Friday
Sorry about the lack of posts, time to post dump to catch up! Class/lecture from 9am to noon. We had a half hour break and I was able to refill my phone with money, and I saw a kitty on a leash at the tabacchi and he was sooo cute. After class we learned that our internet at home was finally working, but they refused to believe that our stove didn’t work. They said they were just there and it worked fine. So helpful. After class we went home and hung out/had a jam sesh/made delicious spiral mac and cheese for lunch, then siesta-ed for three hours. It’s been a busy week so we were out of energy, and finally had time to sleep, so as a result we passed out. After we woke up we made kebabs and mashed potatoes for dinner. We didn’t have enough milk so the potatoes weren’t that good, but we were so full after and it was yummy. Then our two apartments plus Kari all got ready to go out. We went to a karoke place that Breanne’s friend showed us, but we got lost on the way. I liked the place though, but Elli and I had to leave early because we have to get up early to go to Venice tomorrow. I got to watch Kari and Breanne sing Dynamite, and it was awesome. Chris kindly walked us home, then we got ready for Venice/bed.
Sorry about the lack of posts, time to post dump to catch up! Class/lecture from 9am to noon. We had a half hour break and I was able to refill my phone with money, and I saw a kitty on a leash at the tabacchi and he was sooo cute. After class we learned that our internet at home was finally working, but they refused to believe that our stove didn’t work. They said they were just there and it worked fine. So helpful. After class we went home and hung out/had a jam sesh/made delicious spiral mac and cheese for lunch, then siesta-ed for three hours. It’s been a busy week so we were out of energy, and finally had time to sleep, so as a result we passed out. After we woke up we made kebabs and mashed potatoes for dinner. We didn’t have enough milk so the potatoes weren’t that good, but we were so full after and it was yummy. Then our two apartments plus Kari all got ready to go out. We went to a karoke place that Breanne’s friend showed us, but we got lost on the way. I liked the place though, but Elli and I had to leave early because we have to get up early to go to Venice tomorrow. I got to watch Kari and Breanne sing Dynamite, and it was awesome. Chris kindly walked us home, then we got ready for Venice/bed.
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| The Girls |
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| Kari and Breanne singing Dynamite |
Friday, June 17
Art or Jersey Shore?
Day 28: Thursday
Fell asleep early again, then woke up for class from 9-11am. After class we stuck around Accent for a little bit to use the internet and figure out what to do this weekend. We wanted to go to Milan, but it was too expensive, so we decided Cinque Terre, but we couldn’t find a hostel, so we decided Venice, but we couldn’t find a hostel for that either, so we decided to go in the morning and come back at night spending the entire day in Venice. So after we figured that out we went home and made sandwiches, then siestaed and read for about an hour and a half before we had to head to Piazza Signoria by the replica David statue to meet for our tour of the Uffizi Gallery. On our way, we were walking through a market and it got crowded and everyone was taking pictures all of the sudden, and we realized the cast of Jersey Shore were standing right next to us. Even though I’ve never seen the show, the camera crew, trashy clothing, and the number of times I’ve seen them on magazine covers were enough to know that it was them. I took a quick picture and then left. They came over by us later when we were waiting for our tour guide, and I saw the future generation of America run toward them as if they were the greatest thing in the piazza, superior to the 14 foot David and the imposing façade of the Palazzo Vecchio with its hundreds of years of history and republicanism. No, America’s teenagers ran to see Snooki’s short skirt. Hanging our heads in shame we moved on into the Uffizi, where we hoped to be surrounded by more high-minded people, and we were, in fact, in the company of Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, etc. Our tour guide was very spunky, with an Australian-sounding accent (to me), leopard print glasses, and awesome shoes. She talked quickly and enthusiastically, and I really like the tour. We sped through the place and she told us a lot about art history and how it reflects the history of humans and how we think about ourselves and our world. There aren’t many paintings that I find as impressive as Bernini’s sculptures, but there was one painting that I liked a lot after I looked at it for a while. We also got a nice view of the city from the windows.
After the tour was over, Elli and I went home, made some of the Ramen my parents brought me at the boys’ because our burners don’t work, then got ready to head out to run errands. We went to the train station (which is SO much closer than in Rome) and waited in line for forever to buy our tickets for Venice. Then we walked over to the grocery store, which was far for Florence standards, but normal for Rome. It was a real grocery store though! They had so much! And it was crazy busy. But we got everything we needed and it was pretty cheap. They also had Oreos and Twix! Then we carried our groceries all the way back home, and got ready for Shwolf pack dinner, which Mike decided to crash. Elli, Breanne, Sarah, Mike, and I set out for Kari and Kelly’s place, met up with them, then found a place for dinner in a piazza near the train station with the view of a beautiful church. Dinner was good and the red wine wasn’t bad, then we went home and I decided to go back out with David and Andrew. We went to a small bar right by the Duomo and chilled for a tiny bit until we were joined by Breanne and her friend from another study abroad. Later we dropped Breanne’s friend off near the Duomo with her study abroad people, then went home and it was time for bed.
Fell asleep early again, then woke up for class from 9-11am. After class we stuck around Accent for a little bit to use the internet and figure out what to do this weekend. We wanted to go to Milan, but it was too expensive, so we decided Cinque Terre, but we couldn’t find a hostel, so we decided Venice, but we couldn’t find a hostel for that either, so we decided to go in the morning and come back at night spending the entire day in Venice. So after we figured that out we went home and made sandwiches, then siestaed and read for about an hour and a half before we had to head to Piazza Signoria by the replica David statue to meet for our tour of the Uffizi Gallery. On our way, we were walking through a market and it got crowded and everyone was taking pictures all of the sudden, and we realized the cast of Jersey Shore were standing right next to us. Even though I’ve never seen the show, the camera crew, trashy clothing, and the number of times I’ve seen them on magazine covers were enough to know that it was them. I took a quick picture and then left. They came over by us later when we were waiting for our tour guide, and I saw the future generation of America run toward them as if they were the greatest thing in the piazza, superior to the 14 foot David and the imposing façade of the Palazzo Vecchio with its hundreds of years of history and republicanism. No, America’s teenagers ran to see Snooki’s short skirt. Hanging our heads in shame we moved on into the Uffizi, where we hoped to be surrounded by more high-minded people, and we were, in fact, in the company of Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, etc. Our tour guide was very spunky, with an Australian-sounding accent (to me), leopard print glasses, and awesome shoes. She talked quickly and enthusiastically, and I really like the tour. We sped through the place and she told us a lot about art history and how it reflects the history of humans and how we think about ourselves and our world. There aren’t many paintings that I find as impressive as Bernini’s sculptures, but there was one painting that I liked a lot after I looked at it for a while. We also got a nice view of the city from the windows.
After the tour was over, Elli and I went home, made some of the Ramen my parents brought me at the boys’ because our burners don’t work, then got ready to head out to run errands. We went to the train station (which is SO much closer than in Rome) and waited in line for forever to buy our tickets for Venice. Then we walked over to the grocery store, which was far for Florence standards, but normal for Rome. It was a real grocery store though! They had so much! And it was crazy busy. But we got everything we needed and it was pretty cheap. They also had Oreos and Twix! Then we carried our groceries all the way back home, and got ready for Shwolf pack dinner, which Mike decided to crash. Elli, Breanne, Sarah, Mike, and I set out for Kari and Kelly’s place, met up with them, then found a place for dinner in a piazza near the train station with the view of a beautiful church. Dinner was good and the red wine wasn’t bad, then we went home and I decided to go back out with David and Andrew. We went to a small bar right by the Duomo and chilled for a tiny bit until we were joined by Breanne and her friend from another study abroad. Later we dropped Breanne’s friend off near the Duomo with her study abroad people, then went home and it was time for bed.
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| Pont Vecchio and Florence |
Wednesday, June 15
The Medicis
Day 27: Wednesday
Once again I fell asleep right away last night, and we got to sleep in about an hour, but it didn’t really help much. We met at 10am at the Medici Chapels for our tour with the same professor from yesterday, Professor Ruggeiro, but we like to call him Rocky. The tour was excellent and we learned a ton about art and architecture. First, we entered the crypt where we learned that the Medici family died out in the 1700s. For those who don’t know their Western European history, the Medici family members were major political players from the late 1400s until the 1700s when they began to lose power and die out. Our tour guide told us the story of the family’s coming to power. The patriarch of the family, Giovanni, established the Medici bank, which made the family rich and famous. Then, his son, Cosimo, propelled the family into prominence. First he was condemned to death for treason by his business rivals, but he was able to pay people off to reduce the punishment to banishment. He was only banished in Venice for a year before the newly-elected rulers of the Republic of Florence brought him back. From then on the family rose to power, until eventually they became royalty. The family produced two popes, a queen of France, and many dukes and grand dukes. We learned all this as we walked through our tour, looking at the burial places of the men Rocky was referring to. After the crypt we entered the Chapel of Princes, where the Medicis who became grand dukes are buried. Rocky told us an interesting fact that the material called porphyry, which is purple in color and extremely valuable and rare because it comes from Egypt, is only used for structures for royalty. The Medicis had porphyry on their graves, putting them on the level of kings and empowers. Next we entered the New Sacristy, designed by Michelangelo, where four more Medicis are buried. We spent a lot of time there discussing what Michelangelo was trying to do with the room. It is the first room where Michelangelo tried his hands at architecture, and at first it looked completely unremarkable, until Rocky told us everything that was going on inside. There was so much contrast and conflict within the room that it’s impossible to explain, especially when you’re not looking at it, but basically everything in the room is opposite, and the design of the alter implies that Michelangelo found his artwork far more important than the Medici family which it was designed to house (Michelangelo loved the Republic). Another interesting fact is Michelangelo did not finish the room because he voluntarily exiled himself from Florence when the Medici took over as royalty and the Republic ended. He literally left his sculptures piled in the middle of the room, three of them unfinished. Another artist later on came in and assembled the sculptures, but no one is sure if he did it correctly or not, and the entire theory of the theme of the room is thrown out the window if this is true. The favorite fun fact I learned about Michelangelo is that he never sculpted women's bodies, but instead sculpted a man's body, then placed breasts over it. I never knew so much information could be taken from such a small and relatively unimpressive room. Finally, we entered the church of San Lorenzo. We entered the Old Sacristy which also housed buried Medicis, then finally the basilica of the church, where in the middle Cosimo is buried under a giant symbol of the Medici family, a shield with balls on it. At this point the tour was over and it was already noon, although it didn’t seem like a two hour tour, and I went home to get ready to go to lunch with my family. Mike decided to come with, and we crossed the river to find a place to eat, and ended up eating right next to Accent.
After lunch Mike and I walked along Pont Vecchio back to Accent, then it was time for class. I was so tired I could barely stay awake during class, but that’s what happens when you’re sick and don’t get a siesta! We’ve been so busy everyday for over a week that I need a day to sleep, but I don’t get one! Thankfully class was only two hours, and I wanted to nap after, but I was meeting my family for dinner, so shortly after we got home, Elli and I headed over to the hotel to meet up with them. We decided to go to the restaurant we ate at the first night because I didn’t want anymore pasta or pizza, so I got calamari and fries. After dinner we got gelato, then my family came back and picked up a bag of my stuff that I decided to get rid of, as well as the souvenirs I bought for them, and then they headed out. It sucks that I only got to see them for a little bit and all we did was eat because I was so busy with class stuff everyday, but I’ll be home soon enough. They are headed to Rome, so I showed them all the places to go on the map. After they left I wanted to go straight to bed, but pretty much everyone else left, so I decided to go over to the boys’ and steal their internet so I could post and actually use the internet. I’ll be going to sleep soon though, probably without reading for class again, because I need to sleep in order to recover from this sickness. I felt slightly better today though, and I can finally breathe, so I’m hoping by tomorrow night I will be well enough to go out on the town in Florence. We’re having a hard time figuring out what to do this weekend since Milan is too expensive and all the hostels in Venice are booked, and we have no internet to look things up except during class. We’ll figure something out I guess. Tomorrow we have class and then another tour of the Uffizi, but we should be done by 4pm so I can finally siesta. Then Friday we only have class, thankfully! It’s been a busy week, but I’m in love with Florence. So many beautiful people everywhere! Can’t wait to explore more of the city when I’m not sick and we actually have time.
Once again I fell asleep right away last night, and we got to sleep in about an hour, but it didn’t really help much. We met at 10am at the Medici Chapels for our tour with the same professor from yesterday, Professor Ruggeiro, but we like to call him Rocky. The tour was excellent and we learned a ton about art and architecture. First, we entered the crypt where we learned that the Medici family died out in the 1700s. For those who don’t know their Western European history, the Medici family members were major political players from the late 1400s until the 1700s when they began to lose power and die out. Our tour guide told us the story of the family’s coming to power. The patriarch of the family, Giovanni, established the Medici bank, which made the family rich and famous. Then, his son, Cosimo, propelled the family into prominence. First he was condemned to death for treason by his business rivals, but he was able to pay people off to reduce the punishment to banishment. He was only banished in Venice for a year before the newly-elected rulers of the Republic of Florence brought him back. From then on the family rose to power, until eventually they became royalty. The family produced two popes, a queen of France, and many dukes and grand dukes. We learned all this as we walked through our tour, looking at the burial places of the men Rocky was referring to. After the crypt we entered the Chapel of Princes, where the Medicis who became grand dukes are buried. Rocky told us an interesting fact that the material called porphyry, which is purple in color and extremely valuable and rare because it comes from Egypt, is only used for structures for royalty. The Medicis had porphyry on their graves, putting them on the level of kings and empowers. Next we entered the New Sacristy, designed by Michelangelo, where four more Medicis are buried. We spent a lot of time there discussing what Michelangelo was trying to do with the room. It is the first room where Michelangelo tried his hands at architecture, and at first it looked completely unremarkable, until Rocky told us everything that was going on inside. There was so much contrast and conflict within the room that it’s impossible to explain, especially when you’re not looking at it, but basically everything in the room is opposite, and the design of the alter implies that Michelangelo found his artwork far more important than the Medici family which it was designed to house (Michelangelo loved the Republic). Another interesting fact is Michelangelo did not finish the room because he voluntarily exiled himself from Florence when the Medici took over as royalty and the Republic ended. He literally left his sculptures piled in the middle of the room, three of them unfinished. Another artist later on came in and assembled the sculptures, but no one is sure if he did it correctly or not, and the entire theory of the theme of the room is thrown out the window if this is true. The favorite fun fact I learned about Michelangelo is that he never sculpted women's bodies, but instead sculpted a man's body, then placed breasts over it. I never knew so much information could be taken from such a small and relatively unimpressive room. Finally, we entered the church of San Lorenzo. We entered the Old Sacristy which also housed buried Medicis, then finally the basilica of the church, where in the middle Cosimo is buried under a giant symbol of the Medici family, a shield with balls on it. At this point the tour was over and it was already noon, although it didn’t seem like a two hour tour, and I went home to get ready to go to lunch with my family. Mike decided to come with, and we crossed the river to find a place to eat, and ended up eating right next to Accent.
After lunch Mike and I walked along Pont Vecchio back to Accent, then it was time for class. I was so tired I could barely stay awake during class, but that’s what happens when you’re sick and don’t get a siesta! We’ve been so busy everyday for over a week that I need a day to sleep, but I don’t get one! Thankfully class was only two hours, and I wanted to nap after, but I was meeting my family for dinner, so shortly after we got home, Elli and I headed over to the hotel to meet up with them. We decided to go to the restaurant we ate at the first night because I didn’t want anymore pasta or pizza, so I got calamari and fries. After dinner we got gelato, then my family came back and picked up a bag of my stuff that I decided to get rid of, as well as the souvenirs I bought for them, and then they headed out. It sucks that I only got to see them for a little bit and all we did was eat because I was so busy with class stuff everyday, but I’ll be home soon enough. They are headed to Rome, so I showed them all the places to go on the map. After they left I wanted to go straight to bed, but pretty much everyone else left, so I decided to go over to the boys’ and steal their internet so I could post and actually use the internet. I’ll be going to sleep soon though, probably without reading for class again, because I need to sleep in order to recover from this sickness. I felt slightly better today though, and I can finally breathe, so I’m hoping by tomorrow night I will be well enough to go out on the town in Florence. We’re having a hard time figuring out what to do this weekend since Milan is too expensive and all the hostels in Venice are booked, and we have no internet to look things up except during class. We’ll figure something out I guess. Tomorrow we have class and then another tour of the Uffizi, but we should be done by 4pm so I can finally siesta. Then Friday we only have class, thankfully! It’s been a busy week, but I’m in love with Florence. So many beautiful people everywhere! Can’t wait to explore more of the city when I’m not sick and we actually have time.
The Family Arrives
Day 26: Tuesday
Last night I fell asleep at 10:30 without getting any reading done, but I definitely needed it. I still don’t feel better, and it sucks sitting in class having to sniffle and cough every couple seconds and be that annoying person. Thankfully Dylan brought me some tissues from the bathroom! We can sleep in longer than in Rome because the walk is so much shorter. Since barely any of us could get on the internet to get our readings we just talked a little about Machiavelli in general, but Petrie’s classes are rarely structured anyway. After class Elli, Kari, and I wandered to Pont Vecchio and saw all the beautiful and expensive jewelry. Then we grabbed sandwiches at a café and ate them sitting outside Chanel looking at the Palazzo Vecchio and the replica David. While we were eating a gypsy lady came up asking for money, and usually if you don’t make eye contact and ignore them they go away, but she sat there forever begging at me and I just ignored her, and finally she kicked my foot to get my attention and then walked around yelling something. Apparently gypsies are more aggressive in Florence!
After lunch we walked home and I took a shower and a nap because I was still exhausted. Then we had to go back to the Accent center for a lecture on Florentine history. The lecturer was good, and he’s giving us our tour tomorrow, and he taught us some interesting things. It’s hard to pay attention when our only connection to the internet is at the center during class, but our internet at home seems to be improving. The boys’ network works better, but ours still doesn’t work at all, and Accent is completely unhelpful. All they did was give us a phone number, but they don’t speak English and just hung up on us. Accent Florence seems to be even more unhelpful than Accent Rome! After the lecture, Elli, Brandon, Joe, Dylan, and I wandered into the church that’s right off the piazza where class is (which has a market during the day!), which was cool, but not as extravagant and some Roman churches I’ve seen. Then we went home because it was time to meet my parents soon, and at 5:45pm we made our way over to the Duomo where I said I would meet them. They were waiting for me on the steps! After we said hello we decided to go somewhere to eat, but we passed right by my apartment so I showed them around, and they got to meet a bunch of people on the trip. Then we wandered back along the river toward Pont Vecchio where we found somewhere to eat, which was pretty good, especially the gelato. After dinner we wandered back over to Palazzo Vecchio where we had lunch so my family could see it, then we went back to their hotel. As we walked along the river the sun was setting and it was absolutely beautiful! Florence is the most picturesque place I’ve ever been. Their hotel room also has a beautiful view of the river. We hung out there for a while, then decided to come home to get reading done and get ready for bed. We got lost getting out of the hotel, and we found it funny we could find our way around anywhere in Rome, but couldn’t find our way through a hotel. We have all busy days this week, and I’m still exhausted all the time and I wish I could breathe normally. Hopefully the sickness passes soon!
After lunch we walked home and I took a shower and a nap because I was still exhausted. Then we had to go back to the Accent center for a lecture on Florentine history. The lecturer was good, and he’s giving us our tour tomorrow, and he taught us some interesting things. It’s hard to pay attention when our only connection to the internet is at the center during class, but our internet at home seems to be improving. The boys’ network works better, but ours still doesn’t work at all, and Accent is completely unhelpful. All they did was give us a phone number, but they don’t speak English and just hung up on us. Accent Florence seems to be even more unhelpful than Accent Rome! After the lecture, Elli, Brandon, Joe, Dylan, and I wandered into the church that’s right off the piazza where class is (which has a market during the day!), which was cool, but not as extravagant and some Roman churches I’ve seen. Then we went home because it was time to meet my parents soon, and at 5:45pm we made our way over to the Duomo where I said I would meet them. They were waiting for me on the steps! After we said hello we decided to go somewhere to eat, but we passed right by my apartment so I showed them around, and they got to meet a bunch of people on the trip. Then we wandered back along the river toward Pont Vecchio where we found somewhere to eat, which was pretty good, especially the gelato. After dinner we wandered back over to Palazzo Vecchio where we had lunch so my family could see it, then we went back to their hotel. As we walked along the river the sun was setting and it was absolutely beautiful! Florence is the most picturesque place I’ve ever been. Their hotel room also has a beautiful view of the river. We hung out there for a while, then decided to come home to get reading done and get ready for bed. We got lost getting out of the hotel, and we found it funny we could find our way around anywhere in Rome, but couldn’t find our way through a hotel. We have all busy days this week, and I’m still exhausted all the time and I wish I could breathe normally. Hopefully the sickness passes soon!
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| Kari and I on Pont Vecchio |
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| Pont Vecchio |
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| My Family with David |
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| Arno and Sunset |
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| View of Florence from Hotel |
Tuesday, June 14
Welcome to Florence
Day 25: Monday
Made it to Florence! We woke up at 6:45am in order to have enough time to get us and all our luggage to Termini by 8:50am. We left the house around 7:40am and there was a bus in no time, which we were worried about being full, but we made it on. The only struggle was lifting my bag up there. I have my huge suitcase plus a heavy duffle bag full of all my books and all our community kitchen and bathroom stuff. We made it to Termini and found the rest of the group with about a half hour to spare. I feel horrible because I'm now full-blown sick with a cough and a runny nose and congestion and a sore throat and a headache. That combined with the carrying of all my stuff to the station made me pass out on the train, and we were in Florence before I knew it. Getting off the train was much easier, and soon we found the Accent lady who took us outside and updated us about the day and our apartments. We got cabs to our apartments, and now it’s just me and Elli in one room and Sarah and Breanne in the other. Some of the boys, Mike, David, Chris, Don, Alex, and Andrew, are across the hall from us, but Kari, Kelley, and Amanda live in a building around the corner, while Brandon, Dylan, Joe, and Brian live far away. The apartments are amazing though! Not only is the location much better because there are actually people outside and we live in the shopping district about five minutes from the Duomo, but the apartments are just better than Rome. They’re huge, and we have so many more dishes! Our shower actually has a place to hang the head so we don’t have to hold it the whole time, and it’s full sized. We have a living room area which is huge with a couch and two chairs and a table and a tv. The only thing about the apartments is the internet. Ours doesn’t work at all, and the boys’ is spotty and goes in and out all the time. So that will be fun.
After we dropped our stuff off we decided to go eat, and we found a café right across the street where I got a mini pizza and some fruit. Then we walked over to the Duomo because we were meeting the Accent people at 1pm, and it’s amazing! It’s way bigger than I thought it would be, and the façade is gorgeous because it has color! Greens and pinks! It’s amazing, I can’t wait to see it more.
We had a small walking tour of the area in which they showed us all things we don’t need to know about and did not show us a grocery store, which is the only thing anyone cares about. Then they took us across the river (I got to see Pont Vecchio!) to the Accent center where we had a short orientation where we learned almost nothing of importance that we didn’t already know. We got our class schedule, which really sucks because we’re going to be super busy this week and I will barely get to see my family when they’re here tomorrow and Wednesday. Thankfully Petrie decided not to hold class today though because everyone was struggling and needed a siesta. We went home and tried to figure out the internet to no avail, but I managed to send an email to my parents and a message to Jordan to let them know I made it. Then I gave up and decided to take a nap since I was tired and still not feeling well. When I woke up we were all starving so we wandered out to find a place to eat, and we didn’t go far until we found somewhere. I had four cheese risotto but it was way too cheesy and I would’ve much rather have had what Mike had, calamari and fries. After dinner we had to find groceries, so we found a grocery store near the Duomo but the selection was extremely limited, but we got enough to last us until we’re better oriented and can find a better supermarket. We stopped for some gelato on the way home, then desperately tried to get on the internet, which worked out better than before. I was able to check all my email and tweet and post a status, but it took forever. I have pretty much given in to the fact that our internet is going to be shit the entire time and I’ll just have to go on the internet at the Accent center during and after class. So pictures and blog posts may be significantly less frequent while I’m in Florence. It’s a beautiful city though and I’m already so in love with it. Since we live in the shopping district everyone is even more well-dressed than normal and it is amazing. Gucci and Louis Vuitton and Tiffany’s and many more are literally right down the street. All day there’s been balloons outside, and there’s people out there jamming to guitar now, and they let the balloons go over the city and it was beautiful. I’m not looking forward to a busy day tomorrow already and trying to figure out everything with trying to see my family, but I am so excited to see them and show them my cute apartment and introduce them to my friends. I’m going to try to get some reading done for class I guess since there’s no internet and nothing else to do, and then I’m going to try to get to bed early tonight because I’m still exhausted and sick. First day in Florence=success! (I'm able to post during class...sorry Petrie).
Made it to Florence! We woke up at 6:45am in order to have enough time to get us and all our luggage to Termini by 8:50am. We left the house around 7:40am and there was a bus in no time, which we were worried about being full, but we made it on. The only struggle was lifting my bag up there. I have my huge suitcase plus a heavy duffle bag full of all my books and all our community kitchen and bathroom stuff. We made it to Termini and found the rest of the group with about a half hour to spare. I feel horrible because I'm now full-blown sick with a cough and a runny nose and congestion and a sore throat and a headache. That combined with the carrying of all my stuff to the station made me pass out on the train, and we were in Florence before I knew it. Getting off the train was much easier, and soon we found the Accent lady who took us outside and updated us about the day and our apartments. We got cabs to our apartments, and now it’s just me and Elli in one room and Sarah and Breanne in the other. Some of the boys, Mike, David, Chris, Don, Alex, and Andrew, are across the hall from us, but Kari, Kelley, and Amanda live in a building around the corner, while Brandon, Dylan, Joe, and Brian live far away. The apartments are amazing though! Not only is the location much better because there are actually people outside and we live in the shopping district about five minutes from the Duomo, but the apartments are just better than Rome. They’re huge, and we have so many more dishes! Our shower actually has a place to hang the head so we don’t have to hold it the whole time, and it’s full sized. We have a living room area which is huge with a couch and two chairs and a table and a tv. The only thing about the apartments is the internet. Ours doesn’t work at all, and the boys’ is spotty and goes in and out all the time. So that will be fun.
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| Living Room |
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| Kitchen |
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| Bedroom |
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| Duomo |
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| View out of the window of balloons |
Monday, June 13
Last Day in Rome
Day 24: Sunday
Woke up around 11:30am, made sandwiches for breakfast/lunch, then got ready to go out to the market to get a couple last things. We went out with Brandon because he wanted us to help him find scarves for his mother. We didn’t make it out until about 12:30 so we knew they wouldn’t be open much longer, but I managed to find a pair of shoes for ten euro and a scarf for one euro. Elli bought two pairs of sunglasses, a new purse, and these shoes that I really wanted if they had them in my size. Brandon found a scarf for his mom and some sunglasses! Then we walked down to the river to the lemonade place, but there was some confusion about our order this time and we didn’t get the same thing we wanted, and it was more expensive. Oh well, it was still good. Then when we got home I got to talk to Jordan for a bit, then I siested until about 7:30pm. Then it was time to start packing and getting ready to move out of Rome! I finished packing in no time, but it’s going to be a struggle with my heavy bags tomorrow. Then we ate the rest of our food and did the massive pile of dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and took the trash out. I started not feeling very well, as in a sore throat and headache and feeling hot and cold at the same time, so I hope that doesn’t get worse. It’s so crazy that I’ve been living in Rome for three weeks. It feels like I haven’t been here at all, and at the same time it feels like I’ve been here for forever. When I was going through my packing stuff I found my American money and it was so weird to touch and look at! And when I tried on a t-shirt yesterday it felt weird and uncomfortable. I am glad that I got to experience Rome, but I don’t think I could stay here for a longer amount of time. I feel pretty much like I’ve done all there is to do in Rome that’s worth doing. It’s just that everything here is so beautiful but so degraded from the tourism industry. I won’t miss the morning tram, and certain things about Rome and Italians make me so angry. Of course there are the things I love and will miss though, like the fountains everywhere! I am going to miss being in Rome and I can’t wait to come back eventually, but I am also very excited to get to Florence. My family made it to Venice fine, so I’ll be seeing them on Tuesday in Florence after I figure everything out. The train leaves early in the morning and I have to get up around 6:45, and I really need to sleep. Rumor has it we don’t have wifi in our rooms in Florence, so I can’t promise that I’ll still continue to blog as much as I have been since it will be much more difficult to access internet. Time for bed! Finally!
Gay Pride!
Day 23: Saturday
Slept in until 10:30, stayed in bed doing nothing until noon, got up, made eggs for lunch/breakfast, then got ready to go out to Santa Maria Cosmedian to see the Mouth of Truth and a couple other churches. The Mouth of Truth was one of the most disappointing things about Rome so far. You wait in a line and then you have about five seconds to snap a quick picture and then you’re on your way. I don’t even know what the thing looks like besides from pictures because I never actually got to look at it.
After that we met up with Kari and David and watched them setting up for the gay pride rally at Circus Maximum for a bit, then they went home and we headed over to San Clemente, a church which exemplifies perfectly the layers upon layers of history of Rome. It’s literally a 12th century church built on top of a 4th century church built on top of a 1st century Roman neighborhood. It was really cool to walk through all of it. There was even a water spring inside! After San Clemente we started walking to St Peter’s in Chains to see Michelangelo’s Moses, but we stumbled upon the gay pride parade instead! We got really excited and forgot about going to the church, and watched the parade go by and eventually decided to join. I’ve never done anything that political at home! It was so awesome! Eventually we ran into Brad and Amanda on the side and they joined us. We walked from St Peter’s in Chains all the way down to the Forum, then around the Colosseum, and down to Circus Maximus. We stayed in until the Colosseum when we decided to go home and eat and then come back. It was amazing how well-ordered it was and there was almost no visible police. It was very peaceful and just fun and happy. All the tourists on the side of the road were taking pictures of us, and it felt so awesome to be a part of this once in a life time experience!
After we got home we decided to try the Chinese place by our apartment that we’d been meaning to try, but it was extremely disappointing. Our food took forever and it wasn’t even that good. By the time we were done eating the concert was already over, which was disappointing because we wanted to see Lady Gaga perform, but oh well, we got to be in the parade! We were all really tired and were planning on going to bed, but everyone else was going back out to Scholar’s and convinced us to go. When we got there almost everyone was there, and we just hung out for a bit talking to people. We met some more Italian men, and some Scots, and some Australian girls. The craziest part was that Elli ran into a guy she went to New Zealand with on study abroad two years ago! Elli and Kari left, but I stayed and hung out with Mike, Alex and Brian until it was time to leave. We were lucky enough to encounter the one tram that we saw the entire time. Elli and Kari just so happened to be on the same tram as us because they stopped for fish and chips by the river, but I went over to the guys' room to chill and talk. Finally I decided it was time to go home since I was basically asleep on their couch anyway. Tomorrow is our last day in Rome!
Slept in until 10:30, stayed in bed doing nothing until noon, got up, made eggs for lunch/breakfast, then got ready to go out to Santa Maria Cosmedian to see the Mouth of Truth and a couple other churches. The Mouth of Truth was one of the most disappointing things about Rome so far. You wait in a line and then you have about five seconds to snap a quick picture and then you’re on your way. I don’t even know what the thing looks like besides from pictures because I never actually got to look at it.
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| Mouth of Truth |
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| Flags in the Gay Pride Parade |
Saturday, June 11
"I would totally pull a Lucretia!"
Day 22: Friday
Last day of class with Tobin Craig! He basically let us talk about whatever we wanted, so we started a discussion on factions, which moved to a discussion on virtue, and then to liberty. My Machiavellian beliefs are shocking for Tobin to hear apparently because every time I said something he told me I was breaking his heart. Maybe I just need to wait until we get to Florence with Petrie and are studying Machiavelli. After class Elli and I went to Campo de’Fiori to buy t-shirts, and the guy selling to us was super nice, and they were only 5euro so I didn’t haggle with him. Then we started walking toward the restaurant we wanted to eat at because Elli remembered it from when she was little when all of the sudden we ran into Petrie. Literally! He was at a payphone and turned around and we recognized him and were shocked. It was lucky too because he was lost and had just arrived, so we showed him the Accent center, and then he came with us out to eat. He had a hard time keeping up with us, not being used to the traffic and amount of walking. We also gave him a crash course in what it’s like to be in Italy, and told him about our adventure from Monday. He paid for our lunch which was very nice, and then we dropped him off at Castel Sant’Angelo hoping he could find his way back because we were headed to the Vatican Museums. There was no line that we could skip with our tickets, and it was all very confusing inside. Finally we found where we were supposed to go and found audioguides, then we began to just wander. We somehow missed most of the first level, but we had really no designs to see anything in the museum specifically except the Sistine Chapel. We did find a bust of Socrates, and we used our audioguides to learn a couple interesting things. We wandered through the Etruscan museum since we know who the Etruscans were through reading Livy. The Hall of Tapestries was interesting because there were these HUGE tapestries on the walls depicting scenes of people killing babies and children! It was absolutely horrific, and we just sort of walked through with our mouths open in a grimace. Next we walked through a room that had giant maps on the wall of all the regions of Italy. The coolest part was the two maps of all of Italy from now and antiquity. Elli and I were able to find cities from Livy like Veii and Tarquinia. We kept wandering and wandering through halls with soooo much art, it was crazy! There was a series of four rooms painted by Raphael which took him eight years, and they were absolutely incredible. Every inch of the room was filled with immense detail. Finally we made it to the Sistine Chapel, which was very disappointing. The best part is the wall depicting Judgment Day, but the ceiling is so far away it’s impossible to admire it properly. And I’m not quite sure why the image of God and Adam’s hands is so famous because it’s only one small and relatively unimpressive part of a much larger fresco with more striking images, in my opinion. It was also annoying because the guards were shouting the entire time for everyone to be silent and to not take pictures, but it’s impossible to get a large crowd like that to be silent, especially when people are giving tours. I would much rather look at a close up picture of the ceiling than stand there breaking my neck trying to see the detail. We left Sistine Chapel, then wandered through a little of the Vatican library, then decided to call it quits after about two to three hours in the museum. We walked back to Argentina, then hopped on the tram home. We had a group dinner planned for 8pm, so we showered and started getting ready, and Elli skyped her family. We made our way over to the restaurant at about 7:30pm and everyone was already there when we got there, except Petrie of course. We had a choice between five dishes, and I chose cabonnera, which was good but I didn’t like the ham in it. We also got Tiramisu and lemon drinks for desert! While we were eating there was a tv playing videos like AFV and it was hilarious. We were laughing so hard from them! After dinner we all walked down to St. Peter’s to take a group picture, which was a clusterfuck but we succeeded! Then we ran home really quickly to change. At 12:30am we were ready to go and made for Scholar’s, a bar that everyone else in our group went to. When we got there a bunch of our group was already there. It was me, Elli, Kari, Mike, David, Brandon, Joe, Dylan, Amanda, Brad, Chris, Don, and Andrew, but the last three left pretty soon after we arrived. We hung around talking to randomly different people, and I met some Minnesotans and they knew where Prior Lake was and one was from Eagan and the other one’s roommate went to my high school. It was so exciting! We also met some Roman guys who couldn't say my name. After a while we decided it was time to go home, and we had to walk all the way home because the tram was no longer running. It was a good night hanging out in Rome and finally meeting some people not from our group.
Last day of class with Tobin Craig! He basically let us talk about whatever we wanted, so we started a discussion on factions, which moved to a discussion on virtue, and then to liberty. My Machiavellian beliefs are shocking for Tobin to hear apparently because every time I said something he told me I was breaking his heart. Maybe I just need to wait until we get to Florence with Petrie and are studying Machiavelli. After class Elli and I went to Campo de’Fiori to buy t-shirts, and the guy selling to us was super nice, and they were only 5euro so I didn’t haggle with him. Then we started walking toward the restaurant we wanted to eat at because Elli remembered it from when she was little when all of the sudden we ran into Petrie. Literally! He was at a payphone and turned around and we recognized him and were shocked. It was lucky too because he was lost and had just arrived, so we showed him the Accent center, and then he came with us out to eat. He had a hard time keeping up with us, not being used to the traffic and amount of walking. We also gave him a crash course in what it’s like to be in Italy, and told him about our adventure from Monday. He paid for our lunch which was very nice, and then we dropped him off at Castel Sant’Angelo hoping he could find his way back because we were headed to the Vatican Museums. There was no line that we could skip with our tickets, and it was all very confusing inside. Finally we found where we were supposed to go and found audioguides, then we began to just wander. We somehow missed most of the first level, but we had really no designs to see anything in the museum specifically except the Sistine Chapel. We did find a bust of Socrates, and we used our audioguides to learn a couple interesting things. We wandered through the Etruscan museum since we know who the Etruscans were through reading Livy. The Hall of Tapestries was interesting because there were these HUGE tapestries on the walls depicting scenes of people killing babies and children! It was absolutely horrific, and we just sort of walked through with our mouths open in a grimace. Next we walked through a room that had giant maps on the wall of all the regions of Italy. The coolest part was the two maps of all of Italy from now and antiquity. Elli and I were able to find cities from Livy like Veii and Tarquinia. We kept wandering and wandering through halls with soooo much art, it was crazy! There was a series of four rooms painted by Raphael which took him eight years, and they were absolutely incredible. Every inch of the room was filled with immense detail. Finally we made it to the Sistine Chapel, which was very disappointing. The best part is the wall depicting Judgment Day, but the ceiling is so far away it’s impossible to admire it properly. And I’m not quite sure why the image of God and Adam’s hands is so famous because it’s only one small and relatively unimpressive part of a much larger fresco with more striking images, in my opinion. It was also annoying because the guards were shouting the entire time for everyone to be silent and to not take pictures, but it’s impossible to get a large crowd like that to be silent, especially when people are giving tours. I would much rather look at a close up picture of the ceiling than stand there breaking my neck trying to see the detail. We left Sistine Chapel, then wandered through a little of the Vatican library, then decided to call it quits after about two to three hours in the museum. We walked back to Argentina, then hopped on the tram home. We had a group dinner planned for 8pm, so we showered and started getting ready, and Elli skyped her family. We made our way over to the restaurant at about 7:30pm and everyone was already there when we got there, except Petrie of course. We had a choice between five dishes, and I chose cabonnera, which was good but I didn’t like the ham in it. We also got Tiramisu and lemon drinks for desert! While we were eating there was a tv playing videos like AFV and it was hilarious. We were laughing so hard from them! After dinner we all walked down to St. Peter’s to take a group picture, which was a clusterfuck but we succeeded! Then we ran home really quickly to change. At 12:30am we were ready to go and made for Scholar’s, a bar that everyone else in our group went to. When we got there a bunch of our group was already there. It was me, Elli, Kari, Mike, David, Brandon, Joe, Dylan, Amanda, Brad, Chris, Don, and Andrew, but the last three left pretty soon after we arrived. We hung around talking to randomly different people, and I met some Minnesotans and they knew where Prior Lake was and one was from Eagan and the other one’s roommate went to my high school. It was so exciting! We also met some Roman guys who couldn't say my name. After a while we decided it was time to go home, and we had to walk all the way home because the tram was no longer running. It was a good night hanging out in Rome and finally meeting some people not from our group.
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| Group Picture at St. Peter's |
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| The girls ready to go out |
KITTIES!
Day 21: Thursday
Class was interesting today because we had a guest speaker who talked about contemporary Italian politics. Crazy stuff! First, their premier owns ALL of the television stations (except one small one) so all of the media bias is what he wants it to be. This makes it difficult for opposition to get the word out about voting or anything like that, and there’s a vote on Sunday. Instead they hold a bunch of big events all around town so they’re very visible, and the media can’t ignore them. As our speaker said, “It’s hard for the media to ignore a bunch of people running nude through the city.” Another interesting thing about Italy is that apparently you have to be convicted of a crime three times before you can actually go to jail (although you can be held during your appeals for up to six years). Our speaker also told us that Italian politics is largely influence by the Catholic and communist background and history of the country, and interesting combination, to say the least. There seems to be a lot of political contradictions in their politics, including a Nazi Maoist party. After class we went home to eat lunch and drop our stuff off, then I headed out for Palatine Hill with Elli, Brandon, Joe, Dylan, and David. We walked to Circus Maximus where they were setting up for the gay pride rally on Saturday. Other than that it was basically just a crater. Next we explored the Palatine Hill, which was cool but at this point I’m not excited by ruins anymore. We slowly made our way into the Forum, where Elli and I took pictures in front of the House of Vestal Virgins with the pond and statues. She also found a giant flower that she took a picture with when she was younger, so she was excited about that, and comparing the pictures is pretty awesome. Then we walked in the direction of the Colosseum to take pictures outside, but we didn’t go in even though we paid for the tickets to do so. We also saw Trajan’s Market and Column.
Then we split up because David hadn’t been to Trevi fountain yet, and Elli, Brandon, Dylan and I wanted to go to the Argentina cat sanctuary (well Elli didn't want to, but she came to take pictures). It was so awesome! SO MANY KITTIES! Elli took pictures of us playing with them even though she’s deathly allergic. There was one kitty that was black and white, and its feet were all white except one black toe, and another tall gangly one that liked playing with my necklace. There were literally cats in every direction no matter which way you looked. Apparently they have 250! Then they were closing so we had to leave, but I am satisfied with the fact that I got to play with the kitties who live where Caesar was assassinated. After that Elli and I went souvenir shopping, and I bought some stuff for myself and other people. We made our way home to make dinner, then hung around not worrying about class since there’s only one left and there’s no way we’ll get to talking about the reading. I also finally got to skype Jordan again! Elli and I were exhausted and planned on going to bed early, but we went to get gelato one last time at our favorite gelateria/bar at like 10:30pm. I got mango, which was good, and biscotta, which was good too, but not together. Looking forward to finishing up class tomorrow! (Sorry about my posts being delayed, I've been busy in Rome.)
Class was interesting today because we had a guest speaker who talked about contemporary Italian politics. Crazy stuff! First, their premier owns ALL of the television stations (except one small one) so all of the media bias is what he wants it to be. This makes it difficult for opposition to get the word out about voting or anything like that, and there’s a vote on Sunday. Instead they hold a bunch of big events all around town so they’re very visible, and the media can’t ignore them. As our speaker said, “It’s hard for the media to ignore a bunch of people running nude through the city.” Another interesting thing about Italy is that apparently you have to be convicted of a crime three times before you can actually go to jail (although you can be held during your appeals for up to six years). Our speaker also told us that Italian politics is largely influence by the Catholic and communist background and history of the country, and interesting combination, to say the least. There seems to be a lot of political contradictions in their politics, including a Nazi Maoist party. After class we went home to eat lunch and drop our stuff off, then I headed out for Palatine Hill with Elli, Brandon, Joe, Dylan, and David. We walked to Circus Maximus where they were setting up for the gay pride rally on Saturday. Other than that it was basically just a crater. Next we explored the Palatine Hill, which was cool but at this point I’m not excited by ruins anymore. We slowly made our way into the Forum, where Elli and I took pictures in front of the House of Vestal Virgins with the pond and statues. She also found a giant flower that she took a picture with when she was younger, so she was excited about that, and comparing the pictures is pretty awesome. Then we walked in the direction of the Colosseum to take pictures outside, but we didn’t go in even though we paid for the tickets to do so. We also saw Trajan’s Market and Column.
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| Palatine Hill |
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| House of Vestal Virgins |
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| Colosseum |
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| Petting a kitty! |
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| Kittttttttty :) |
Wednesday, June 8
Warm, wet, and wild...must be something in the water
Day 20: Wednesday
What a perfect day. We made it to our meeting place just fine, then proceeded to the train for Ostia Antica. Despite a slight delay, we made it! It was much like Pompeii but smaller and with less people, and we walked around on our tour from Dr. Westal for a couple hours, learning about the baths and the bakery of the city, as well as seeing beautiful mosaics. I did not enjoy his presentation in class on Monday, but today was much better, and he was by far the best tour guide we’ve had. The best part of the trip was that Tobin’s family came, and he has three small ADORABLE children aged four, two and a half, and nine months. I even got to have a nice chat with his wife on the train to Ostia. They are such an adorable family!
After the tour, it was about 12:30pm, and we were ready to beach it up, so a group of me, Elli, Kari, Breanne, Sarah, Mike, Alex, Chris, Brian, Andrew, Brad, and Amanda went back to the train to head toward the beach, then hopped on a bus…well all of us but Chris, who got left behind. He found us though! Then some people went to McDonald’s while the rest of us chose the pizzeria next door. Kari and I decided to share the pizza with the fries on it, and it was delicious. The pizzas took FOREVER though. After we ate lunch, we went into the first private beach we found, for six euro. It was fantastic! There was almost no one else there, and we got chairs. We found the rest of our group, changed into our swimsuits, put on more sunscreen, and ran into the water. It felt so good! It was hot and sunny, even though the weather said it was supposed to thunderstorm. It was perfect weather! I tried to read some Livy, but I just wasn’t having it, so I sat around enjoying the beachness: went swimming a couple more times, buried Brian in the sand, got thrown into the water by Mike and Andrew, thought I stepped on a fish and made Elli carry me, and bonded with everyone. It was the perfect day just chilling around on a beautiful beach and forgetting for a while that I was still in Italy. Finally the beach was closing, so we sadly had to leave, but we went to McDonald’s for fries and mcflurries. Then we rode back home on one of the most hilarious train rides I’ve ever been on. On the train Mike was so tired he was leaning all over the place. He started to fall asleep on Brad next to him, and Brad’s face was priceless. The best part is that Mike fell asleep with a cigarette still hanging in his mouth. Then Brian started sticking them in his nose and ears, all the while Mike was rocking around completely asleep and completely unaware. We were all crying and taking pictures, and even the old Italian couple sitting next to us got a kick out it. They were pointing and laughing! Finally our stop arrived and we had to wake Mike up, and he was so confused and didn’t know what happened at all. It's impossible to describe how hilarious this was for all of us. We got on the 3 bus home, and I was exhausted when we finally made it back. Being at the beach just drains you like that. We showered, had dinner, uploaded pictures, and I finally started my paper. I’m halfway done with it, and I’m just going to finish the rest in class tomorrow. We have a guest speaker, so I don’t expect to get to a lot of Livy, and I finished Book VII except the last ten pages, so I’m not too worried. I wanted to be asleep like an hour and a half ago, so it’s time for bed. Tomorrow we have plans for more old stuff, going back to the Forum and seeing the Palatine! Still trying to catch up on pictures....
What a perfect day. We made it to our meeting place just fine, then proceeded to the train for Ostia Antica. Despite a slight delay, we made it! It was much like Pompeii but smaller and with less people, and we walked around on our tour from Dr. Westal for a couple hours, learning about the baths and the bakery of the city, as well as seeing beautiful mosaics. I did not enjoy his presentation in class on Monday, but today was much better, and he was by far the best tour guide we’ve had. The best part of the trip was that Tobin’s family came, and he has three small ADORABLE children aged four, two and a half, and nine months. I even got to have a nice chat with his wife on the train to Ostia. They are such an adorable family!
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| Theater of Ostia Antica |
After the tour, it was about 12:30pm, and we were ready to beach it up, so a group of me, Elli, Kari, Breanne, Sarah, Mike, Alex, Chris, Brian, Andrew, Brad, and Amanda went back to the train to head toward the beach, then hopped on a bus…well all of us but Chris, who got left behind. He found us though! Then some people went to McDonald’s while the rest of us chose the pizzeria next door. Kari and I decided to share the pizza with the fries on it, and it was delicious. The pizzas took FOREVER though. After we ate lunch, we went into the first private beach we found, for six euro. It was fantastic! There was almost no one else there, and we got chairs. We found the rest of our group, changed into our swimsuits, put on more sunscreen, and ran into the water. It felt so good! It was hot and sunny, even though the weather said it was supposed to thunderstorm. It was perfect weather! I tried to read some Livy, but I just wasn’t having it, so I sat around enjoying the beachness: went swimming a couple more times, buried Brian in the sand, got thrown into the water by Mike and Andrew, thought I stepped on a fish and made Elli carry me, and bonded with everyone. It was the perfect day just chilling around on a beautiful beach and forgetting for a while that I was still in Italy. Finally the beach was closing, so we sadly had to leave, but we went to McDonald’s for fries and mcflurries. Then we rode back home on one of the most hilarious train rides I’ve ever been on. On the train Mike was so tired he was leaning all over the place. He started to fall asleep on Brad next to him, and Brad’s face was priceless. The best part is that Mike fell asleep with a cigarette still hanging in his mouth. Then Brian started sticking them in his nose and ears, all the while Mike was rocking around completely asleep and completely unaware. We were all crying and taking pictures, and even the old Italian couple sitting next to us got a kick out it. They were pointing and laughing! Finally our stop arrived and we had to wake Mike up, and he was so confused and didn’t know what happened at all. It's impossible to describe how hilarious this was for all of us. We got on the 3 bus home, and I was exhausted when we finally made it back. Being at the beach just drains you like that. We showered, had dinner, uploaded pictures, and I finally started my paper. I’m halfway done with it, and I’m just going to finish the rest in class tomorrow. We have a guest speaker, so I don’t expect to get to a lot of Livy, and I finished Book VII except the last ten pages, so I’m not too worried. I wanted to be asleep like an hour and a half ago, so it’s time for bed. Tomorrow we have plans for more old stuff, going back to the Forum and seeing the Palatine! Still trying to catch up on pictures....
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| Burying Brian in the sand |
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| The Sea! |
Santa Maria Overload
Day 19: Tuesday
In class we spent our time discussing whether or not it was rational or irrational for the Romans to stay in Rome after the sack by the Gauls and whether the arguments Camillus used to get them to stay were rational or irrational. I thought it was completely pointless, but it had nothing to do with the reading we were supposed to do that I didn’t do, so I was glad it went on for the entire first half of class. During the break I got a delicious canoli, then after class we started talking about Book VI of Livy, which I read maybe 15 pages of. Participation died, but Tobin tried to keep it going. After class finally ended we had big plans, so we (me, Elli, Kari, David, Kelly) headed out right away. Our plan for the day was to have a Santa Maria day, aka visit a billion churches. First we went over to Campo de’Fiori market and they had the sweatshirts we wanted to buy, but we didn’t want to buy them then, so we walked away, unknowingly bartering with the man trying to sell them, and we got them all the way down from 22 euro to 15. Then we went to the Jewish Ghetto for lunch, and found a place called Ba’ Ghetto. I was extremely disappointed. The food was nothing spectacular and was excessively expensive. I ordered ravioli, which had close to nothing inside, and I only got five pieces. For 12,50 euro! We also got deserts, so by the end my meal was 21 euro and nowhere near enough food. We didn’t even have a cute Jewish waiter! I did get to see adorable Jewish children when we walked back, so at least that made me happy. We went back to Argentina and got on the 40 bus to head to our first church: Santa Maria Maggiore. It was huge! There was a canopy over the alter on the inside which reminded me of St. Peter’s, but it was nowhere near as spectacular. The ceiling was all gold, and it reminded me of what I imagine Versailles to look like. Next we made our way to Santa Maria delgi Angeli dei Martini, which is a super old church right off Piazza Nazionale. It was also a huge church, and when we walked in a man was playing to organs, which was really cool to hear and see. The chapel and alter was designed by Michelangelo, and there’s a meridian through it that accurately tells what day it is. Next stop was Santa Maria dell Vittoria, but it wasn’t open yet, so we moved on to Santa Maria della Concezione, which was by far the most interesting. The inside was nothing spectacular, but there’s a crypt that’s made from the bones of 4,000 monks. The bones are all arranged in all kinds of decorations, and even the lamps were made out of human bones. It was beyond creepy. I tried to use my anatomy skills to identify the bones, and I think I did a pretty good job recognizing the coccyx, scapula, sternum, femur, and the lumbar spine bones. There were some S-shaped ones that I had no idea what they could possibly have been. The skeletons seemed way too small to be grown men and all looked like children, which made it even more creepy. I wish I could’ve taken pictures of it all because it’s incomprehensible. The creepiest part of the entire thing was at the end there was a sign that said “Comme vous nous étions; Comme nous vous serez,” which means something like “Like you we once were; Like us you will become,” but it sounds much more poetic in French. Next we went back to Santa Maria della Vittoria, which is the church for Fire in Angels and Demons and has the St. Teresa in Ecstasy statue by Bernini. It was slightly disappointing because it was so far away and up high, but Bernini’s talents once again never cease to amaze me. Reading the description of the scene the statue depicts was quite entertaining because the entire thing is a big “That’s what she said.” Next we hopped on the Metro (first time using it!) to Piazza del Popolo for Santa Maria del Popolo. We wandered into the wrong church at first, but it was kind of cool. We ran into Brandon, Joe, and Dylan in the Piazza, and they had just come from the church and Castel Sant’Angelo. They told us to check out the Caravaggio paintings in the church, so we went in, and I was on a hunt to find the Angels and Demons location. Kari found it, and we saw the hole in which the first Cardinal is found for Earth. Unfortunately the Bernini statue which points Professor Langdon in the next direction was covered up. We looked at the Caravaggios, but I was particularly inspired, much like the ones from Galleria Borghese. Next we decided to try to make it back across town for Santa Maria Cosmedian, the Mouth of Truth church, and hopped back on the Metro. We tried to transfer trains at Termini, but the B line never showed up and the amount of people waiting was ridiculous, so we decided to skip it and just head home. I tried to start reading Book VII of Livy when I got home, but I fell asleep right away. After I woke up I managed to read half of it, and then Elli, Kari, and I went over to the boys’ to have American Dinner Night with David. We made mozzarella sticks only in balls fried in oil, burgers, and fries. Such a good break from pizza and pasta and to finally have a meal that can fill me up! Then we hung around for a while talking and reading Livy, then David started watching Angels and Demons, so we watched about half of it, getting excited about all the things we’ve seen and know about. Tomorrow is our last excursion day, and we’re going to the ancient port of Rome, and then the BEACH! So excited to relax and catch up on class reading for the day! I also have a paper to write and a huge list of things I still need to see before I leave Rome…so busy! (PS I know a lot of my last posts haven't had pictures, and I'll try to get them in there soon, I've just been very busy trying to finish up Rome, like I said)
In class we spent our time discussing whether or not it was rational or irrational for the Romans to stay in Rome after the sack by the Gauls and whether the arguments Camillus used to get them to stay were rational or irrational. I thought it was completely pointless, but it had nothing to do with the reading we were supposed to do that I didn’t do, so I was glad it went on for the entire first half of class. During the break I got a delicious canoli, then after class we started talking about Book VI of Livy, which I read maybe 15 pages of. Participation died, but Tobin tried to keep it going. After class finally ended we had big plans, so we (me, Elli, Kari, David, Kelly) headed out right away. Our plan for the day was to have a Santa Maria day, aka visit a billion churches. First we went over to Campo de’Fiori market and they had the sweatshirts we wanted to buy, but we didn’t want to buy them then, so we walked away, unknowingly bartering with the man trying to sell them, and we got them all the way down from 22 euro to 15. Then we went to the Jewish Ghetto for lunch, and found a place called Ba’ Ghetto. I was extremely disappointed. The food was nothing spectacular and was excessively expensive. I ordered ravioli, which had close to nothing inside, and I only got five pieces. For 12,50 euro! We also got deserts, so by the end my meal was 21 euro and nowhere near enough food. We didn’t even have a cute Jewish waiter! I did get to see adorable Jewish children when we walked back, so at least that made me happy. We went back to Argentina and got on the 40 bus to head to our first church: Santa Maria Maggiore. It was huge! There was a canopy over the alter on the inside which reminded me of St. Peter’s, but it was nowhere near as spectacular. The ceiling was all gold, and it reminded me of what I imagine Versailles to look like. Next we made our way to Santa Maria delgi Angeli dei Martini, which is a super old church right off Piazza Nazionale. It was also a huge church, and when we walked in a man was playing to organs, which was really cool to hear and see. The chapel and alter was designed by Michelangelo, and there’s a meridian through it that accurately tells what day it is. Next stop was Santa Maria dell Vittoria, but it wasn’t open yet, so we moved on to Santa Maria della Concezione, which was by far the most interesting. The inside was nothing spectacular, but there’s a crypt that’s made from the bones of 4,000 monks. The bones are all arranged in all kinds of decorations, and even the lamps were made out of human bones. It was beyond creepy. I tried to use my anatomy skills to identify the bones, and I think I did a pretty good job recognizing the coccyx, scapula, sternum, femur, and the lumbar spine bones. There were some S-shaped ones that I had no idea what they could possibly have been. The skeletons seemed way too small to be grown men and all looked like children, which made it even more creepy. I wish I could’ve taken pictures of it all because it’s incomprehensible. The creepiest part of the entire thing was at the end there was a sign that said “Comme vous nous étions; Comme nous vous serez,” which means something like “Like you we once were; Like us you will become,” but it sounds much more poetic in French. Next we went back to Santa Maria della Vittoria, which is the church for Fire in Angels and Demons and has the St. Teresa in Ecstasy statue by Bernini. It was slightly disappointing because it was so far away and up high, but Bernini’s talents once again never cease to amaze me. Reading the description of the scene the statue depicts was quite entertaining because the entire thing is a big “That’s what she said.” Next we hopped on the Metro (first time using it!) to Piazza del Popolo for Santa Maria del Popolo. We wandered into the wrong church at first, but it was kind of cool. We ran into Brandon, Joe, and Dylan in the Piazza, and they had just come from the church and Castel Sant’Angelo. They told us to check out the Caravaggio paintings in the church, so we went in, and I was on a hunt to find the Angels and Demons location. Kari found it, and we saw the hole in which the first Cardinal is found for Earth. Unfortunately the Bernini statue which points Professor Langdon in the next direction was covered up. We looked at the Caravaggios, but I was particularly inspired, much like the ones from Galleria Borghese. Next we decided to try to make it back across town for Santa Maria Cosmedian, the Mouth of Truth church, and hopped back on the Metro. We tried to transfer trains at Termini, but the B line never showed up and the amount of people waiting was ridiculous, so we decided to skip it and just head home. I tried to start reading Book VII of Livy when I got home, but I fell asleep right away. After I woke up I managed to read half of it, and then Elli, Kari, and I went over to the boys’ to have American Dinner Night with David. We made mozzarella sticks only in balls fried in oil, burgers, and fries. Such a good break from pizza and pasta and to finally have a meal that can fill me up! Then we hung around for a while talking and reading Livy, then David started watching Angels and Demons, so we watched about half of it, getting excited about all the things we’ve seen and know about. Tomorrow is our last excursion day, and we’re going to the ancient port of Rome, and then the BEACH! So excited to relax and catch up on class reading for the day! I also have a paper to write and a huge list of things I still need to see before I leave Rome…so busy! (PS I know a lot of my last posts haven't had pictures, and I'll try to get them in there soon, I've just been very busy trying to finish up Rome, like I said)
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| Santa Maria Maggiore |
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| Santa Maria delgi Angeli dei Martini |
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| St Teresa in Ecstasy |
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| My burger :) |
Adventure is out there!
Day 18: Monday
Today we had a guest speaker on Livy for the first half of class. I thought he was unbearably boring and went on about things that were irrelevant for lengthy amounts of time, such as how Emperor Augustus got his name for at least ten minutes. And he said “What should we say?” every single time he paused. I’m not excited for him to take us through Ostia Antica on Wednesday. By now Tobin has realized that most of the class is not caught up with the reading, so we talked about things that were basically irrelevant to Livy but were very PTCD. After class we went home, had scrambled eggs, went to the grocery store, and then set out to find stamps. Every Tabacchi we go to tells us they don’t have stamps or they only have a couple, so I haven’t been able to send any of my postcards. Finally we found one that had plenty! Then walked down to the photobooth so Elli could take passport pictures and went to our favorite lemonade place and got more deliciousness. Then we walked back home, dropped our stuff off, and went to a camera shop to get Elli’s camera fixed. It was way on the other side of town we haven’t been to, on the very southern part of my map. We took a while to get there and got a little lost of the way, we when we finally found it, Elli realized her camera was a Sony, and the place only dealt with Canon. Luckily, we had an address for a Sony place, so we hopped back on the bus, then hopped off to find a taxi. We found a taxi driver who was about 70 years old and had no idea where we wanted to go, so he asked another taxi driver who knew where it was, but we still had to go with the old man, who drove tame for an Italian driver. As we drove, him and the other driver were yelling at each other across the intersection directions. Finally it seemed that our driver knew where we were going, so we just sat back and waited. We went literally all the way across town. We passed the Palantine and Circus Maximus, the Vittoriano, the Tiber, and up behind the Vatican, to the very Northern part of my map, where the driver dropped us off in exactly the right place. Accent, however, and sent us to a place that no longer exists. It has been closed for quite some time because the signs are turned around and there was mail shoved in the gates of the door. Realizing our defeat, we decided to head to a main road and try to find a bus with a bus stop we recognized. We ended up in the Pantheon area, and decided to visit Trevi while we were there. We also found a McDonald’s and rewarded ourselves from our journey with fresh hot French fries. We headed toward Argentina and browsed through souvenirs, then finally got on the tram for home, making it back four hours after we left. The best thing ever awaited us at home because Kari made dinner! It was so delicious! After dinner we failed at reading for class and had a jam session instead. After our adventure today I am confident that I could never be so lost in Rome that I could never find my home. Using huge churches as monuments doesn’t hurt!
Today we had a guest speaker on Livy for the first half of class. I thought he was unbearably boring and went on about things that were irrelevant for lengthy amounts of time, such as how Emperor Augustus got his name for at least ten minutes. And he said “What should we say?” every single time he paused. I’m not excited for him to take us through Ostia Antica on Wednesday. By now Tobin has realized that most of the class is not caught up with the reading, so we talked about things that were basically irrelevant to Livy but were very PTCD. After class we went home, had scrambled eggs, went to the grocery store, and then set out to find stamps. Every Tabacchi we go to tells us they don’t have stamps or they only have a couple, so I haven’t been able to send any of my postcards. Finally we found one that had plenty! Then walked down to the photobooth so Elli could take passport pictures and went to our favorite lemonade place and got more deliciousness. Then we walked back home, dropped our stuff off, and went to a camera shop to get Elli’s camera fixed. It was way on the other side of town we haven’t been to, on the very southern part of my map. We took a while to get there and got a little lost of the way, we when we finally found it, Elli realized her camera was a Sony, and the place only dealt with Canon. Luckily, we had an address for a Sony place, so we hopped back on the bus, then hopped off to find a taxi. We found a taxi driver who was about 70 years old and had no idea where we wanted to go, so he asked another taxi driver who knew where it was, but we still had to go with the old man, who drove tame for an Italian driver. As we drove, him and the other driver were yelling at each other across the intersection directions. Finally it seemed that our driver knew where we were going, so we just sat back and waited. We went literally all the way across town. We passed the Palantine and Circus Maximus, the Vittoriano, the Tiber, and up behind the Vatican, to the very Northern part of my map, where the driver dropped us off in exactly the right place. Accent, however, and sent us to a place that no longer exists. It has been closed for quite some time because the signs are turned around and there was mail shoved in the gates of the door. Realizing our defeat, we decided to head to a main road and try to find a bus with a bus stop we recognized. We ended up in the Pantheon area, and decided to visit Trevi while we were there. We also found a McDonald’s and rewarded ourselves from our journey with fresh hot French fries. We headed toward Argentina and browsed through souvenirs, then finally got on the tram for home, making it back four hours after we left. The best thing ever awaited us at home because Kari made dinner! It was so delicious! After dinner we failed at reading for class and had a jam session instead. After our adventure today I am confident that I could never be so lost in Rome that I could never find my home. Using huge churches as monuments doesn’t hurt!
Monday, June 6
In Napoli Where Love is King
Day 17: Sunday
I got so much sleep, it was amazing. Some man wandered into our room and started making noise at about 8am, and I drifted in and out of sleep from then until 10am when we decided to get up. We realized it was raining outside, but that didn’t stop us. We left our stuff at the hostel and made our way toward the first castle. We stopped at a shopping gallery and a piazza with a really cool church (Galleria Umberto and Piazza Plebiscito). We got to go inside for a brief moment before they kicked us out because service was about to start. Then we stopped to eat and I got a cheese pizza, which was better than the corn and ham one. It was still raining when we finished so we decided to order desert. This was a good choice. I got warm little doughnuts with sugar and nutella on it, Elli got white pudding/cheesecake stuff with strawberries (which was the best in my opinion), Dylan got a coffee thing called a BeBe, Joe got the same as me, and Brandon got a chocolate cake-type thing with ice cream and whipped cream and topping sauce. After our delicious desert, out waiter strangely made us tip him, which never happens in Europe, so he probably ripped us off. Oh well, it was only two euro. Then we made our way to the Castel Nuovo despite the rain, but we were disappointed to find it closed when we got there. We walked around the outside and took pictures, and we were right by the water, so we made our way down to the other castle. There was no beach so we walked along the piers that had just rocks where beach would’ve been. We saw some kitties on the way! When we arrived at the other Castle (Castel dell’Ovo) it was also closed, so we made our way back across town to the Duomo. It was strange that we saw little girls everywhere wearing wedding dress-looking dresses and taking pictures. We stopped at a piazza to get Grinita drinks and Dylan chased the pigeons. We had little hopes of the Duomo being open when we got there, and it wasn’t, but we sat outside chilling and deciding what to do next. Then a tour group came up and opened it, so we followed them inside. We couldn’t take pictures, but it was beautiful. We wandered around there for a while, it being the only thing we actually managed to see all day, then headed back to the hostel. We decided to see if there was a train earlier than the one we planned on taking, and there was, so we rushed to the train station and managed to get seats, but not together. The train was super crowded and there were a lot of people standing. I read all of Book 5 of Livy, which was surprisingly actually good and exciting. Finally! The Gauls arrive in Rome and it is very suspenseful. We got off the train and found the bus to Argentina, then got on the tram and finally made it home. It made Rome feel more like home because we were coming back from somewhere else to here, which is familiar. We showered, made dinner (buttered noodles), and I skyped my family and Jordan. Looking forward to sleep before class tomorrow, and it should be a busy last week in Rome trying to see all the rest of the sites. (I'm posting from the weekend so my my last post was actually written earlier, but now I am finally caught up! YAY!)
I got so much sleep, it was amazing. Some man wandered into our room and started making noise at about 8am, and I drifted in and out of sleep from then until 10am when we decided to get up. We realized it was raining outside, but that didn’t stop us. We left our stuff at the hostel and made our way toward the first castle. We stopped at a shopping gallery and a piazza with a really cool church (Galleria Umberto and Piazza Plebiscito). We got to go inside for a brief moment before they kicked us out because service was about to start. Then we stopped to eat and I got a cheese pizza, which was better than the corn and ham one. It was still raining when we finished so we decided to order desert. This was a good choice. I got warm little doughnuts with sugar and nutella on it, Elli got white pudding/cheesecake stuff with strawberries (which was the best in my opinion), Dylan got a coffee thing called a BeBe, Joe got the same as me, and Brandon got a chocolate cake-type thing with ice cream and whipped cream and topping sauce. After our delicious desert, out waiter strangely made us tip him, which never happens in Europe, so he probably ripped us off. Oh well, it was only two euro. Then we made our way to the Castel Nuovo despite the rain, but we were disappointed to find it closed when we got there. We walked around the outside and took pictures, and we were right by the water, so we made our way down to the other castle. There was no beach so we walked along the piers that had just rocks where beach would’ve been. We saw some kitties on the way! When we arrived at the other Castle (Castel dell’Ovo) it was also closed, so we made our way back across town to the Duomo. It was strange that we saw little girls everywhere wearing wedding dress-looking dresses and taking pictures. We stopped at a piazza to get Grinita drinks and Dylan chased the pigeons. We had little hopes of the Duomo being open when we got there, and it wasn’t, but we sat outside chilling and deciding what to do next. Then a tour group came up and opened it, so we followed them inside. We couldn’t take pictures, but it was beautiful. We wandered around there for a while, it being the only thing we actually managed to see all day, then headed back to the hostel. We decided to see if there was a train earlier than the one we planned on taking, and there was, so we rushed to the train station and managed to get seats, but not together. The train was super crowded and there were a lot of people standing. I read all of Book 5 of Livy, which was surprisingly actually good and exciting. Finally! The Gauls arrive in Rome and it is very suspenseful. We got off the train and found the bus to Argentina, then got on the tram and finally made it home. It made Rome feel more like home because we were coming back from somewhere else to here, which is familiar. We showered, made dinner (buttered noodles), and I skyped my family and Jordan. Looking forward to sleep before class tomorrow, and it should be a busy last week in Rome trying to see all the rest of the sites. (I'm posting from the weekend so my my last post was actually written earlier, but now I am finally caught up! YAY!)
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| Castel Nuovo |
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| Piazza Plebiscito |
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| By the harbour with Vesuvius |
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| Il Duomo |
Pompeii
Day 16: Saturday
After three hours of sleep, which felt like none, Elli and I reluctantly woke up and started getting ready. At 7:15am we made our way to the tram, then to a taxi stand because we didn’t want to talk to Termini Station. The taxi driver totally ripped us off too. Then we tried to find our platform, but apparently not all the screens have all the trains, so we asked a man and he told us. We walked down the train looking for empty seats, and we passed a car that had some, so we got on it and got situated. A little while later Dylan realized we were in first class, so we had to move to a different coach with yelling mothers and screaming babies (good thing they got off soon after). So strange how we managed to randomly pick the one car on the train that’s first class. After we moved and got resituated I tried to sleep but it wasn’t working so I just sat and listened to my music. I think I finally fell asleep for a little bit, but I woke up and got excited about looking out the window. I did a horrible job at reading any of Livy, but oh well. We arrived in Naples at about 11am, and stepped out into another new place. People had told me that Naples is kind of sketch, but so far I haven’t seen any of that. I think where they get this impression from is that Naples is definitely not as clean as Rome, and the buildings are not as well-kept. We started making our way toward our hostel, getting assaulted by men selling us iphones “for no money.” The other thing we noticed about Naples compared to Rome was that it seems like people actually live here, whereas in Rome you only see tourists or businessmen. Here you see children playing, laundry hanging everywhere, and people just hanging out. The drivers are almost even more crazy because they drive their vespas on the sidewalks and don’t wear helmets. It also seems to be the vehicle of choice for a family of three. The walk was longer than we would’ve liked, but we finally found the place. We rang the doorbell and called a billion times, but no one was answering. So we just waited outside until finally someone came and let us in. As he was checking us in, we started getting into a political discussion (of course we did, we’re Madison). He was also an American, so we updated him on the situation with the 2012 election and Obama and the lack of serious Republican candidates, and about the birther controversy and the Osama thing. We were getting so into it that we got yelled at twice by some bitchy Quebecois girls who were trying to sleep still, at noon. Finally we got to our room, which is shared with the guy who checked us in and another guy, both Americans with lots of tattoos. We put our stuff down and immediately got ready to head back to the train station to go to Pompeii. We stopped at a place for lunch where I had the most interesting meal I’ve had yet in Italy: A pizza with ham and corn. I definitely tried to order penne pasta, but I got this pizza instead, but oh well, it was good, just very strange to think of. After lunch we went to the train station, bought our tickets for Pompeii (4.50 euro round trip), then waited on the platform for the train. We weren’t 100 percent positive about what we were doing, so we watched the other group of American tourists and got on the train they did (it also said Pompeii, so it seemed promising). The train ride was about a half hour, and we were already exhausted. We finally made it to Pompeii though! Elli was lucky with her UK passport and only had to pay 5,50 euro, while the rest of us stupid Americans had to pay 11 euro. Oh well, it was totally worth it. I had pictured in my mind Pompeii to be as big as the Roman Forum; just a place to walk around and take pictures of for a couple hours, but I was completely wrong. First of all, you don’t just get to take pictures of the ruins, you actually walk on them and through them, just as Pompeians did. Another thing is that it slips your mind that Pompeii was an actual city. And not only was it a city, but most of it is still there. So we were amazed by how it just kept going and going in literally every direction. We walked around for hours taking pictures, and it was so awesome to walk through the streets and see the buildings that are so old. It is much easier to picture what it would’ve been like than the Roman Forum because the buildings are so well preserved. Another thing that struck me was the color. I had always imagined old Roman cities as being completely brick and marble with no color, but many walls in Pompeii had red or blue and pictures painted on them, as well as mosaics, which made me realize that it actually was more than bricks and marble. We were so happy when we found a functioning water fountain, and we stumbled into a big theater. I felt that we were able to appreciate the city a little more than other tourists because of our interest in and devotion to studying ancient Rome. We wandered back toward the front, where we bought postcards and realized there was a lot we hadn’t seen. Even though we were exhausted and just wanted to go home and go to bed, we decided to go back out and venture toward the giant amphitheater. It was cool, but not the Colosseum. Finally we made our way back to the train station, stopping for some slushies and sandwiches on the way. We had to stand on the ride home, which was unwelcoming since our feet hurt already, and of course I couldn’t reach the bars to hold onto. It was about 8pm when we finally wandered back into our hostel, where we collapsed, changed clothes, and went online. The host made a pasta dinner for everyone, so I wandered out to check that out, and there was the tattoo guys from our room, the bitchy Quebecois, a Brit, and a bunch of Asians. I had some pasta and started talking to some Asian girls, whom I found out were South Korean. We chatted about Italy, Asia, and America, and they were amused by the random Chinese sayings I know. After dinner I went back to the room, and now it is time to read some Livy until I fall asleep, very welcomingly. I’m exhausted.
After three hours of sleep, which felt like none, Elli and I reluctantly woke up and started getting ready. At 7:15am we made our way to the tram, then to a taxi stand because we didn’t want to talk to Termini Station. The taxi driver totally ripped us off too. Then we tried to find our platform, but apparently not all the screens have all the trains, so we asked a man and he told us. We walked down the train looking for empty seats, and we passed a car that had some, so we got on it and got situated. A little while later Dylan realized we were in first class, so we had to move to a different coach with yelling mothers and screaming babies (good thing they got off soon after). So strange how we managed to randomly pick the one car on the train that’s first class. After we moved and got resituated I tried to sleep but it wasn’t working so I just sat and listened to my music. I think I finally fell asleep for a little bit, but I woke up and got excited about looking out the window. I did a horrible job at reading any of Livy, but oh well. We arrived in Naples at about 11am, and stepped out into another new place. People had told me that Naples is kind of sketch, but so far I haven’t seen any of that. I think where they get this impression from is that Naples is definitely not as clean as Rome, and the buildings are not as well-kept. We started making our way toward our hostel, getting assaulted by men selling us iphones “for no money.” The other thing we noticed about Naples compared to Rome was that it seems like people actually live here, whereas in Rome you only see tourists or businessmen. Here you see children playing, laundry hanging everywhere, and people just hanging out. The drivers are almost even more crazy because they drive their vespas on the sidewalks and don’t wear helmets. It also seems to be the vehicle of choice for a family of three. The walk was longer than we would’ve liked, but we finally found the place. We rang the doorbell and called a billion times, but no one was answering. So we just waited outside until finally someone came and let us in. As he was checking us in, we started getting into a political discussion (of course we did, we’re Madison). He was also an American, so we updated him on the situation with the 2012 election and Obama and the lack of serious Republican candidates, and about the birther controversy and the Osama thing. We were getting so into it that we got yelled at twice by some bitchy Quebecois girls who were trying to sleep still, at noon. Finally we got to our room, which is shared with the guy who checked us in and another guy, both Americans with lots of tattoos. We put our stuff down and immediately got ready to head back to the train station to go to Pompeii. We stopped at a place for lunch where I had the most interesting meal I’ve had yet in Italy: A pizza with ham and corn. I definitely tried to order penne pasta, but I got this pizza instead, but oh well, it was good, just very strange to think of. After lunch we went to the train station, bought our tickets for Pompeii (4.50 euro round trip), then waited on the platform for the train. We weren’t 100 percent positive about what we were doing, so we watched the other group of American tourists and got on the train they did (it also said Pompeii, so it seemed promising). The train ride was about a half hour, and we were already exhausted. We finally made it to Pompeii though! Elli was lucky with her UK passport and only had to pay 5,50 euro, while the rest of us stupid Americans had to pay 11 euro. Oh well, it was totally worth it. I had pictured in my mind Pompeii to be as big as the Roman Forum; just a place to walk around and take pictures of for a couple hours, but I was completely wrong. First of all, you don’t just get to take pictures of the ruins, you actually walk on them and through them, just as Pompeians did. Another thing is that it slips your mind that Pompeii was an actual city. And not only was it a city, but most of it is still there. So we were amazed by how it just kept going and going in literally every direction. We walked around for hours taking pictures, and it was so awesome to walk through the streets and see the buildings that are so old. It is much easier to picture what it would’ve been like than the Roman Forum because the buildings are so well preserved. Another thing that struck me was the color. I had always imagined old Roman cities as being completely brick and marble with no color, but many walls in Pompeii had red or blue and pictures painted on them, as well as mosaics, which made me realize that it actually was more than bricks and marble. We were so happy when we found a functioning water fountain, and we stumbled into a big theater. I felt that we were able to appreciate the city a little more than other tourists because of our interest in and devotion to studying ancient Rome. We wandered back toward the front, where we bought postcards and realized there was a lot we hadn’t seen. Even though we were exhausted and just wanted to go home and go to bed, we decided to go back out and venture toward the giant amphitheater. It was cool, but not the Colosseum. Finally we made our way back to the train station, stopping for some slushies and sandwiches on the way. We had to stand on the ride home, which was unwelcoming since our feet hurt already, and of course I couldn’t reach the bars to hold onto. It was about 8pm when we finally wandered back into our hostel, where we collapsed, changed clothes, and went online. The host made a pasta dinner for everyone, so I wandered out to check that out, and there was the tattoo guys from our room, the bitchy Quebecois, a Brit, and a bunch of Asians. I had some pasta and started talking to some Asian girls, whom I found out were South Korean. We chatted about Italy, Asia, and America, and they were amused by the random Chinese sayings I know. After dinner I went back to the room, and now it is time to read some Livy until I fall asleep, very welcomingly. I’m exhausted.
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| Chillin in Pompeii |
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| Columns |
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| Elli and I |
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| Being statues |
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| The group in the Forum with Temple of Jupiter and Vesuvius in the background |
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