You Mean I'm Not On Vacation!?

So far this trip has felt more like a vacation than schoolwork. In all reality I imagine it to stay this way as well. Even though I've had intensive Italian classes all week and I took my first quiz today and all academics start on Monday... All of my classes have field trips and part of the classes are wandering around the city looking at beautiful things. The last section of my quiz today was to order gelato in Italian! Everything is so laid back and relaxed here it's hard to be stressed about almost anything. This is exactly what I needed and at the same time, I'm learning a lot which is what I ultimately came here for.
On Wednesday the roomies and I had our Italian cooking class. We made vegetables au gratin and chicken rolotini. Both were so delicious and easy! After we finished devouring the tasty things we made I had several hours before my class started. I decided that i would spend my time wandering around the city and I just so happened to come across the Pantheon. It was so beautiful inside and was the perfect way to spend my afternoon. However the tourists were a little crazy, especially surrounding the tomb of Raphael. It was still so amazing though. After the Pantheon I of course went for some gelato. So delicious. :] Tomorrow will most likely be a relaxed touristy day for all of us. I think we're going to all go back to the Pantheon, then to the Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, and then look in all of the fabulous stores on Via del Corso that we can't afford. Via del Corso is the main shopping street in Rome; featuring the likes of Gucci, Valentino, Louis Vuitton as well as places like H&M.
It also looks like I'll be going to Paris after the semester is over :D Some boy finally bought his plane tickets for Europe and I'm thrilled to be able to add Paris to the list of fabulous places I'm going to. But let's not get too far ahead. Next weekend (Sept. 16) I'll be going to Pompeii, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast!

The Trade-Off

If you want to eat the fabulous pasta, pizza, prosciutto, cannolis, and other carb/sugar deliciousness then you have to walk. There is no alternative. However, Rome is too fashionable for sensible shoes and even if sneakers didn't scream "American!" it's still too hot to be wearing almost anything besides sandals. The fact the Rome seems to be about 75% cobblestone doesn't help either. Therefore, the more we eat the more we walk; the more we walk the more our feet hurt. Yet, the pain in our feet does not seem to have an effect on our enthusiasm to see Rome and take hundreds of pictures. Yesterday two of my roomies and I walked from our apartment in Monteverde to the Porte Portese in Trastevere. The Porte Portese is the largest flea market in Rome. If you are looking for anything from AAA batteries to crystal chandelier's, this is your place. We walked around the market for at least two hours. After a quick lunch we walked out of Trastevere to the Tiber River and up to Castel San Angelo where we met a friend. Then we walked into the neighborhood by the Vatican, Prati. After just hanging around for a bit we took a bus to the Colosseum. The Colosseum was absolutely amazing! I was so happy to be walking on/in history. The Arch of Constantine is right next to the Colosseum, so we went and saw that too! :D We then took the bus home to rest our very, very painful feet.
Today was the first day of intensive Italian. I'm only in 101 so we learned greetings and the alphabet today. It was fun but I think I'm most looking forward to my cooking class on Wednesday morning. In other exciting news, I am going to Florence at the end of September!!!! We booked our train rides today and everything! This semester is amazing.

I'm on a Boat!

Yesterday I went on a day trip to one of the lakes just north of Rome. The lake is called Lago di Martignano. Lago di Martignano is a volcanic lake and is possibly one of the lakes that supplied water to the famous Roman aqueducts. Another volcanic lake a little more north still supplies water going to one of Rome's most famous neighborhoods, Monteverde (which is where I live!). The lake was so much fun, and very relaxing. The roomies and I went on a paddleboat and just kind of hung around in the middle of the lake. The water was very blue and felt really nice since it's still really hot here. By hot I mean that it is over 90 degrees Fahrenheit here today and Italians think that it's cooling down... After we got home from the lake I wandered around Monteverde and then we made dinner in our apartment. The Italian student that we live with told us that our pasta was a little overcooked but that our sauce was good. By the time we leave we should all be able to make a perfect Italian meal! After dinner we walked around by Castel Sant'Angelo, which used to be the jail as well as the place for public executions. We then went through Piazza Navona and went on to Campo di Fiori. Today, we're catching up on some much needed sleep and going to the market. then maybe we'll just do some walking around. After all, dinner isn't until 9pm!

Dancing the Night Away

So today was a fairly amazing day. Orientation started off kind of slow due to all of the administrative presentations but the lunch they provided was so delicious it made up for any boredom. Italy has already surpassed any expectations that I had for the food. By far. At the end of the orientation powerpoints I was able to sign up for lots of little day trips and extra activities. I think that I am most excited about the cooking classes! I found out that my big field trip will be coming up in only a few weeks as well! The itinerary is to start with Pompeii then spend a day in Capri and then tour the Amalfi Coast. How is this possible to fit into one weekend? Easy! Italy doesn't have classes on Fridays! My roomies and I are also trying to plan some weekend trips to other cities in Italy. We're thinking that we'll probably start with either Florence or Milan. I am just so excited to be here this semester! On a more social note, tonight was spent walking around the Vatican and then exploring the area along the river. Along the river there are lots of tents set up during the summer which house bars and "discos". We ended up at a disco and danced the night away. Rome is definitely a fantastic city for having a fabulous time at all hours of the day or night!

Amalfi Coast

ROME

I FINALLY MADE IT! So far my first day in Rome has been amazing! I've been terribly jet-lagged but that's ok! As the airport shuttle was taking us to our apartment I got to see so many beautiful views and Roman landmarks. I was not expecting to see the Colosseum on my first day! It was amazing. My apartment is the cutest place ever in the wonderful neighborhood of Monteverde. I've already tried to go to one of the local markets but not knowing any Italian really does make things more difficult. This week our orientation includes intensive Italian classes that are five hours long! Hopefully I pick up the language quickly. I think living with an Italian student will definitely help. I'm so excited for the rest of my flat-mates to arrive and to have our first day of orientation tomorrow!

No Longer Homeless!

I finally got my housing assignment! I'm not allowed to address drop but I'm super excited! My apartment is super close to the Vatican which means that I'll spend quite a bit of time staring at the Sistine Chapel!! Unfortunately the IES center is across the river but it's only a 20 minute walk!
Now that I know where I'm living I can move on to more important things like buying all the stuff I need to go and then leaving! In about a month! :D

This will be my life for 4 months!

I'm getting ahead of myself

So, I don't even know where i"m going to live in Rome but I'm just so excited that I had to make my blog. Plus, I saw Kara's and thought that I had better get a move on. Anyways, I leave in two months!