-Under the Tuscan Sun
Wow... i feel overwhelmed right now because I have so much to catch yall up on! So much has happened since my last post, I'm not sure how to go about writing this one. But as Frances Mayes puts it so eloquently in Under the Tuscan Sun, "the Etruscan wall above the house dates from the eighth century B.C. We can talk. We have time."... so here goes!
Wednesday, Feb 11
First real class day in Rome! We did so much! We started all together at the Spanish steps, then pair-by-pair we lead each other through the city. Pairs of two were assigned to walk the group from one spot to the next using a map. Kelly and I were the first group... I was anticipating a disaster because I can't read a map (i was born without a sense of direction) but thankfully, our spot, the Antico Cafe Greco, was directly across the street from the Spanish Steps... so we walked for about 2.5 minutes to get there. Easy! The Antico Cafe Greco is the oldest cafe in Europe and is very famous.
Old poets, painters, and philosophers who we read about today in history books used to meet here to talk about intensely deep things over a cup of coffee and a pastry. It's crazy how some things never change over the years. After a couple more stops, we arrived at the Piazza Calonna, my "expert of the day" topic. 
As we tour through Italy this semester, each of us have a couple expert of the day topics in which we research about a place, person, or thing and make a short presentation to inform the group about what we are seeing. The Piazza Calonna is a very important part of Rome. It is actually considered the dead middle of the city. In the middle is a tall column depicted with pictures of Marcus Aurelius' reign. and was dedicated to him back in 394 B.C. (i think) and it has never been moved or altered since that year except for a statue of a Saint that was placed on top. The coolest part about this Piazza is that it is home to the Palazzo Chigi! This is where the Chigi family called their permanent residence. Now, that building is the home of the Italian Government!! How cool is that? My family is so awesome, every day I am more amazed by how famous we are... not to brag or anything. These are some pics of my fam symbol in the Pantheon and the piazza di popolo... ok, im bragging...
The rest of the day was long, but so good. I took so many pictures, I can hardly sort through them! But I learned so much and saw so much more than I could have ever found if I was touring through Rome on my own. Thursday, Feb. 11
Probably.... no, DEFINITELY the best day I have had during my time in Italy so far. To some, it would have been stressful and irritating, but it was just my style--laid back, unplanned, long, and slow. One of our school assignments is an ancient Rome scavenger hunt. We have a list of places in Rome to visit and take pictures of, then we have to make a power point presentation with all of the pictures. I was planning on going to go to Rome with a bunch of girls, but Becca and i were running a little late (im sure that surprises none of you). We walked briskly to the train station, calculating we would have 5 minutes to spare when arrived. Well, we made our way to the train and when we were about 5 yards away, you guessed it, it started pulling away. Im now actually kind of used to the feeling of helplessness when your mode of transportation leaves without you... that's probably not a good thing. All we could do was laugh and sit on a bench to wait for the next train. During our 45 minutes waiting, we talked about our family lives, passions, beliefs, and everything in-between. It was so exciting to meet someone on this trip who shares all of the same values and passions as I do. We had such great conversation all day. Such a fresh breath of air. As we got off of the metro right in front of the Coliseum, we ran into a nice German guy who offered us a tour of the Coliseum and Roman Forum. We took his offer and had a fabulous 3 hour tour off all things ancient in Rome. This is a pic of our classic tourist guide... notice the fanny pack.
I learned so much! For example:*Did you know that Christians were never killed in the actual Coliseum? They were killed only in smaller, wooden "coliseums" around the city.
*Did you know that after a while, the Coliseum was considered pagan, so the people of the city tried to tear it down. In the middle of the process of destroying one of the most famous and important parts of Rome, the pope at the time declared it a holy place and placed a cross in it. He knew that no one could destroy a holy place. This is why the Coliseum is still standing today.
*Did you know that the entire Coliseum: floor, ceiline, seats, stairs, columns... were all made out of marble? Now, all of that marble is what makes up the Vatican. It was just recycled.
*Did you know that Emperor Diocletian had a home right next to the Roman Forum that contained his own personal arena? He was a very introverted man and had a sick sense of humor. In addition to gladiatorial matches, he had women gladiators and midgets fight to the death in his own backyard. He literally rounded up all the midgets in the kingdom and made them fight each other for his own enjoyment.
*Did you know that the entire roman forum was covered by dirt in the middle ages and was left completely underground? The area was a field where cattle grazed. This was done because it was viewed as a pagan place. During the Renaissance, people started to take an interest in the forum, so it was dug up and preserved into what we know today.
*Did you know that the Coliseum had a portable ceiling made entirely of silk that would be rolled out if it was raining or too hot so the people didn't have to sit through harsh weather?
*Did you know that admission into the Coliseum was completely free for everyone, and for any event?
*Did you know that the Coliseum was built by 40,000 jewish slaves in the span of only 8 years?
Sorry, I know that's boring... but I get excited and can't help myself! After our tour of all things ancient, we continued to the museum of Capitoline Hill. This museum is fabulous and I recommend it to anyone traveling to Rome! We had such a fun time walking from room to room, every time finding something even more jaw-dropping than in the room before. We saw the famous bust of Medusa, the famous statue to Marcus Aurelius on his horse, the ancient ruins of the Temple of Venus that was on top of the hill before the Capitol buildings were built. But most important of all, we were there in time to see a special exhibit of Michelangelo. I wasn't expecting to be so moved by his art, but the very second i walked through the door and laid eyes on a figure study that he loosely sketched probably in less than 5 minutes, my eyes filled with tears and I could hardly move.
Piece-by-piece, the exhibit got more and more impressive. It went into great detail about parts of Rome he had planned out. Sketches of Capitoline Hill, St. Peter's, and other impressive Cathedrals that are still considered engineering wonders. "Wow" is all I can say. The only word to express his extreme talent is God-Given. Literally, I have no clue how any human can posses such wisdom of line, light and perspective.As we left that exhibit, we had one more thing on our list to find: the Ancient Roman coin collection. This room was in the innermost recesses of the museum and we could NOT find it. For a little while, i questioned its existence. We asked probably 7 museum attendants to point us in the direction.. but getting directions in another language pretty much does NO good. All we knew was that we had to find the stairs, so we found the door clearly marked with a green sign that read "uscita" (exit) and assumed it would lead us there. As soon as Becca pushed the door open, an alarm sounded through the entire museum. Stupid Americans! As we coward and sheepishly turned in the direction of the next room, a museum attendant walked into the room flustered by the alarm; he shrugged and looked a bit irritated when he realized it was just us... the American girls who had asked him earlier how to get to the exhibit. He let us go and we eventually found the dang coin room. By the time we got there, it was dark outside. But our God is so great! As Becca and I walked alone into a dark room at the end of the museum, we looked out of the beautiful, old, floor-length windows and found the most beautiful night skyline I have ever seen. Rome is a flat city--the highest buildings are the most important ones such as St. Peter's Cathedral and the Capitol building. So, the lights of the city are subtle, calming and not blocked by any modern skyscraper monstrosities at night. In the distance, we could see the green dome of St. Peter's lit by strategically placed lights and as God smiled down on us, a fireworks show started directly above Vatican City. We stood and watched it in silence. Alone in a dark room of the museum located on the highest hill in Rome, watching a fireworks display over the most beautiful city ever built, I could feel God's strong arms gently wrap around my weekend and paralyzed body. Talk about memorable moments. This one sits now at the top of my most unforgettable list.
After resting our tired legs a moment by gawking at this amazing site, the show was over and it was time for us to make our way back to Ariccia. The night is not over yet! We made our way back to the Coliseum and got on the metro. We made it back to the train station right as our train took off... left AGAIN! What is it with me and trains?? If you ever have to travel by train, make sure I'm not with you because if I am, you will miss it for certain! We freaked out for a split second until we realized there was another one coming in 45 minutes. Just enough time for dinner! We found a nice little panini place in the termini; as we sat down and enjoyed our sandwiches, we didn't realize that time was creeping away. We made it back to the train schedule board only to find our train had left us ONCE AGAIN. At this point, its just a laughing matter. But not to fret my dear reader, there was still another train on its way. In the meantime, we decided to get gelato. See a pattern? We like food... a lot. It's probably unhealthy for us to be together because when we are, I complete the day with a satisfying diet just of gelato, pizza, and pasta. Heart attack anyone? Oh, and while we are on the topic of food, did you know that McDonalds is so much better here than in the U.S? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my cheeseburger and McFlurry, but the fast food is quality in Italy. If you come to Italy anytime soon, make sure to try the McItaly. Ok... back on subject... So there we are, standing, gelato in hand, watching the times on the schedule board, praying that we still have a train to take us home. In a moment when we should be considering cheap hostels in Rome, I feel strangely content. That's when Becca looked at me with head cocked sideways as she licked her dripping chocolate gelato off of her hand and said "for some reason, chaos and stress are a foreign concept when there is a gelato in your hand". I laughed in agreement as I realized how completely true her statement was. The world looks so much better, even in the middle of a storm, when I have an ice cream! And I thank God for the man who invented Gelato. In fact, I need to research that man in order to praise him for his wisdom. The train did come and we sat, so content, as the train took us through winding tracks back to our sweet home. We talked about everything we learned and laughed about all of the stupid things we did that day. My heart is full.
Friday, February 12
This is the day I ventured to a land called Bologna. The land of tortallini and gelato. In fact, the slimy lunch meat we feed our toddlers is originally named after this Italian town. But for real, this city is called "the food-lovers haven", "the fat cow", and "la grassa" (translation: fat). Tortallini originated here, as well as Bolognese sauce. But to give it credit for something other than food, Bologna is one of the richest cities in Italy and it is very historical. The oldest university in all of Europe is located here. Cool, huh? I went with three great girls names Becca, Madelin, and Ali. We had such a great time together. When we left the palace early that morning to walk to the next town in order to catch the train, we found, to our surprise, that it had snowed the whole night before. We lugged our suitcases through a fresh, thick blanket of snow. It was so gorgeous to see this beautiful little Italian town covered in snow. Getting snow in this region is an even bigger event than the ever-so-occasional snow day in Georgia or Alabama--the last time it snowed in Rome was 25 years ago! The Ariccians were freaking out. If they dared to drive in the extreme weather, they were going no more than 7 mph and stalling out every 10 minutes. It was so funny to watch all the paranoid drivers and to see the small children come outside with amazed looks on their faces. God is truly blessing me in new ways everyday!
By the time we arrived in Bologna, we were a little worried about our hotel because it had such big claims of greatness, but was the cheapest one on the internet. We were very pleasantly surprised when we jumped off the bus (literally jumped off--Madelin almost knocked an elderly woman fall flat on her face because we couldn't figure out how to get OFF of the bus... we aren't the brightest group). The Hotel Grand Elite was actually a very pleasant surprise. He had a huge 70's style room that was very clean and a HUGE buffet breakfast in the morning. We crashed in our clean beds and took a 2.5 hour nap. That night, we walked around the city, looking in every boot store window. We walked into one store and the lady who owned it (obviously very proud of her country) lectured us in Italian. She called us "stupid americans" and told us that we were rude for coming to a country in which we could not speak the language. 
She would say a rude comment, pause, then laugh because she thought we had no clue what she was saying. Little did she know, we did. Uh, RUDE! Despite her rudeness, we had a great night. We took a lot of silly pictures with statues and ate the best pizza I have had yet. We also found a creperia (we like to call it the "creeper-ia"). They make crepes with anything you want on them right in front of you, then dust it with powdered sugar. We tried Nutella (pretty much chocolate peanut-butter) and cream. SO good! Then, we found our way back to the hotel and went to bed. Saturday, February 13
Day two in Bologna. We had a great time walking around the city, checking out it's historic district, trying out free museums, and fooling around. A lot more silly pictures were taken. The things I found most entertaining were the twin leaning towers still standing from the Etruscan times (way before Christ) and the fountain in the main square. It's the best fountain I've found so far. The women on the base are spewing water out of their breasts. Maybe a sign of fertility? Whatever it means, I liked it.
After checking out the historic district (where the fountain was, and also a church, a library, and a couple other beautiful old buildings), we headed to the twin towers. These towers are built during ancient Etruscan rule. Families of wealth would build towers to symbolize their wealth and social standing; the higher the tower, the more prominent the family. Through the years, the towers were used for different things. At one point, i think there was a civil war of sorts and families would fight each other from their towers. The area was peppered with them. But now, centuries later, only a handful remain standing; the most famous of which are the twin towers. Both towers are leaning in opposite directions. One leans 7 meters from the parallel and half of it had to be removed a few years ago so it wouldn't fall. Tourists are not allowed to enter this tower for obvious reasons... but the other tower is still sturdy and ready for climbers! We climbed the 498 stairs to the very top and the 498 stairs back down to the bottom. 
It was the best thing I did all weekend! The view from the top is gorgeous! Red terra cotta roofs as far as the eye can see, 
and to one side, there is a view of the snow-covered mountains that border one side of the city. At the top of the tower, we met a boy named Matt from Connecticut! He actually went to the rival high school of my friend, Becca, and now he is an exchange student studying at the University. If I haven't mentioned already, the University in Bologna is the oldest University in all of Europe! Matt recommended a local favorite restaurant for us to visit for dinner. I love getting advice from locals! It always ends up being fabulous! We walked around the city a little more, window shopping and enjoying the best weather since we arrived in Italy. After much searching, Becca and Madelin found the perfect boots! 
They are so European and very "in". We had fun talking to the sales girls in broken Italian while they tried talking in broken English. After their purchase, we continued back to the hotel to take an afternoon rest and get ready for dinner. We found the restaurant that Matt recommended and ate the best meal of the weekend! I had some awesome spinach and ricotta ravioli and a great "greek" salad. The salad was more of a bowl of vegetables- it had a ton of sliced tomatoes, onions, peppers, olives, and big chunks of feta cheese. I felt so healthy when I finished! After dinner, we were on a mission to find Gelato. The Bolognese must not like Gelato because we couldn't find it anywhere!! At 9:50, we realized that there was an "antique creamery" right next door to our hotel... and it closed at 10. We practically ran half-way across the city to get there in time. At least be burned off the huge dinner we just ate! We got there just in time. Becca was the first to enter and im sure she scared the girl behind the counter. She ran in huffing and puffing and (a little effected by the wine we drank for dinner) yelled "are ya'll still open?? can we eat gelato??" the Italian girl just laughed and nodded her head. That was the best gelato I have had in Italy... I would go back to Bologna just to have a scoop of that dark chocolate ice cream.... my mouth is watering as I write this. 
Sunday, February 14
Happy day of Saint Valentino! We got up early again in order to enjoy breakfast full of yummy goodness, then headed out to check the oldest University of Europe off our list. Because I am so directionally challenged, Ali taught me how to read a map and I led the group all the way to the University. It really wasn't that hard... I just had to learn how to hold the map the right way.... The University was pretty cool even though we didn't get to see a lot of it. We went to the museum which was actually quite entertaining. There was a creepy exhibit of birth defect models that made me feel a little sick, but other than that, i liked it! We didn't get to see a lot of the museum because we had to rush back to the hotel in order to check out on time.
Next: trek to the train station. Mental note: just because you get on a bus at the right bus stop doesn't mean it's going to the right place. We rode the wrong bus around town for 45 minutes before we realized our mistake. Luckily, some nice locals directed us to the correct bus... which dropped us off at the station in just a few minutes. When we got to the train station, Becca was so anxious not to miss our train again that we boarded it about 30 minutes too early.... too bad we were on the WRONG TRAIN! Public transportation is NOT my thing. The frustrating part was that the train we boarded was going to Rome (where we needed to go)... but it was the faster and more expensive one. We were kicked off at the next stop and forced to board our original train. The train we paid for was easy to find because it wore a colorful dress of fresh graffiti. This ride had potential for great awkwardness. Me, Ali, and Becca were together in a little room with 2 italian guys (probably in their late 20's) and an Italian lady (i never saw her face..). For half the time, we all read books or wrote in our journals while the 2 guys stared at us. In Italy, people stare unashamedly.. they don't think it's awkward... but i really don't mind; i think it's funny. For the second half of the trip, we talked to the staring guys--their names were Cristiano and Mattao. Mattao owns an airsoft store and they were on their way home from an airsoft tournament in Rome. No one here has a normal occupation; I have yet to meet an accountant or a lawyer. Airsoft, for those of you who don't know, is a game a lot like paintball in which everyone shoots tiny plastic pellets at each other with "airsoft" guns. Cristiano and Matteo didn't speak a lot of English, and we don't speak a lot of Italian. So our conversation was pretty basic, but lots of fun. We are now all friends on facebook--the international language. Just like in the U.S., everyone has facebook here--even restaurants... even nice restaurants. We passed a restaurant on one of the nicest, most historical and artistic streets in all of Rome, and they had a frame advertising their facebook site on the front door. Even though I hate change, and the new forbearance for tradition through the globalization of culture, I do have to admit that I don't know what i would do without the internet. I talk to my family and friends regularly through the internet.. i mean, i don't just talk to them... I SEE them. FOR FREE! The internet allows me to sit in my room at the Palazzo Chigi, 5000 miles away from the United States, and talk to someone face-to-face in Augusta, GA. How amazing is that? Now that im done ranting... i just would like to remind all of my readers that all roads really do lead to Rome. I know this to be true now, so come visit me! Buona Serata!
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