Trip 13: Farmhouse Experience

(Me with Walsh, and though it might seem like it, my face is not on him. I’m just talking to him because he was freaking out.)

ONE OF THE BEST DAYS EVER! The day began with Italian class first thing in the morning, and was fun as always. Then we all headed down to the dining room for a special treat. We celebrated Father’s Day together in honor of St. Joseph, Jesus’s human father. We had a custard filled croissant that was absolutely delicious, and all of us were laughing and enjoying ourselves. The time flew by, though, because we had to climb into a taxi to go to our activity for the day, which was the Farmhouse Experience. We drove a few minutes into the country to go to the farm, and I immediately fell in love with the place. There was a lot of green space, lots of trees, a large house that is part restaurant, some turkeys, doves, ducks, a horse named Cici and a donkey named Carmella. When we first got there, we met with our guide/owner of the farm and were given an introduction about the farm and what they do there. For example, we found out that the farm contains different types of trees in different areas that represent different countries or regions of the world. They have a lot of olive trees and a large vineyard, and they make their own olive oil and wine that they sell. After the introduction, we walked down to the vegetable garden (after taking a few minutes to play like little kids on the playground they have on the site for the school kids that visit, and even the “adults” were having a blast on the equipment) and learned about the vegetables and how the garden is arranged. The garden is arranged in a specific way, representing different ideas, such as the four evangelists in Catholicism. We met Carmella then, too, as she is kept in the pen adjoining the garden. She is a very happy donkey, and was apparently hungry because whatever grass someone gave to her, she ate with gusto. She was also fond of trying to eat our shirt and jacket sleeves.

We continued on a brief tour of the farm, noticing that a giant pine tree had fallen due to the previous day and night’s wind storm and meeting Cici the horse, who is pregnant. She is also sweet. We saw the turkeys, but what really captured our attention were the sheep, and one in particular: an 8 week old lamb that our guide declared would be called Walsh after our school. We were, and still are, obsessed with the cute little guy. Everyone got really excited when we found out that we could hold and feed him after lunch, too. After we watched Walsh for a little bit, we were led to an orange tree and allowed to pick the oranges. It was a lot of fun, and everyone was laughing and talking the whole time. Some of the bags broke with how many oranges we picked, and we were able to eat a few right after we picked them, too. It was delicious! We were then led to the place where they make their olive oil and wine, and the owner described the process of each product, showing us which tools were used and how everything worked. It was really cool to see. The machines they use aren’t very technologically advanced, like those in America on big farms, but are more simple machines that make great oil and wine. After the tour of the facilities, we were led into the house and into the kitchen to receive a lesson on how to make orange marmalade from the owner’s husband, who is an excellent cook. He showed us how to make it, explaining each step, consulting his recipe book when necessary, and showing us each examples of each step. For example, part of the process requires that one orange is complete chunked up and that another looses its skin, and he showed us how each orange should look. Then, it was lunch time.

Now lunch was an event in and of itself. It was called a “light lunch”, and we were thinking that it would follow something more like a traditional meal, with an antipasti, pasta, main meat dish, and dessert. This is what happened, but the sheer amount of food served was overwhelming! Each plate was delicious, but unfortunately we were sending so much back by the end of it simply because we couldn’t eat it all. The food was so good, though! Everything was made right in the kitchen using ingredients from the farm only. Everything was organic and fresh. Except the desserts, which were so good! We were able to take the desserts we didn’t finish back to campus, thank goodness. All of us were feeling terrible at having to send back so much food, so being able to take some with us helped get rid of some of our guilt. Among the amazing dishes were gnocchi in red sauce, two different kinds of sausage, potatoes, tiramisu, water and wine for the adults, mozzarella balls, olives, two different kinds of quiche, and grilled vegetables, and this isn’t all of it; it’s only what I can remember and that really stuck out to me. Needless to say, though, it was a ton of food and all of our stomachs were about to burst by the end. A couple of us, including myself, went out onto the balcony right outside our table and stood in the sun and looked at the amazing view to let our stomachs settle for a little bit.

We were then given a train ride around the farm, which didn’t help our stomachs at all, but was a ton of fun anyway. We were all laughing because it wasn’t helping our stomachs, and we were excited about what would be at our destination- feeding Walsh. We got to the pen, and each of us took turns holding him and getting pictures with him. Only a couple of us actually got to feed him, but that’s okay. We were just having fun. I was one of the last ones to hold him, which was awesome, and then someone came up with the idea of putting him across my shoulders like St. Christopher. We did it, and everyone was super excited about it, but once Walsh was back on the ground, he took off. He didn’t seem to really like us that much after that.

We rode the train back to the house and went back inside to collect the oranges we picked and our desserts. Some of us also bought some wine, olive oil, or marmalades. Then we climbed back into the taxi and headed back to campus. We relaxed and did homework or other various things until it was class time with Dr. T. Then we had class, and right after class was dinner, which was another event. Brother Mario and one of his fellow Brothers made pizzas for us, and again it was a ton of food! Every time we took a bite out of one pizza, another would be coming onto the table it seemed. So much pizza! But it’s the best pizza I’ve had so far here in Rome, and we loved it so much that we asked Mike and Danilo to ask Brother Mario if we could do it again, which I hope we do. We didn’t enjoy and appreciate it as much as we wanted because we were still so full from lunch. But, we enjoyed what we could, and for dessert we passed around the ones we brought back with us, as well as a Nutella pizzas that Br. Mario made. Delicious!

After dinner, most of us went with Mike and Danilo on what Mike called a Wellness Walk. We walked up to Castel Gandolfo, saw the lake and walked around, then came back down to campus. It was a nice night for a walk, and the exercise helped us with our stomachs. Once we got back to campus, we separated to do whatever we wanted. I took a shower and went to bed early because the entire day I hadn’t been feeling well, and not because of the food, either. Again, best day ever!

As for the secular world, the farm is definitely related to the religious world, but it’s purpose and functions are in the secular sphere. The secular actions of the farm allow the farm to be educational and fun for everyone.

Trip 12: Pantheon and Piazza Navona

So this day was interesting, to say the least. The night before, right after we walked into campus and were talking with Mike, Danilo and Dr. T, I noticed that our weekly schedule was printed and in our mailboxes. I picked mine up and saw that, to my surprise, my tour of the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona was scheduled for the following morning, even though I was previously told that it would be that coming Tuesday. I freaked out for a minute. I wasn’t prepared fully and the wifi was down, which meant that I couldn’t do all of the research that I still needed and wanted to do. I calmed down quickly, though, because I knew in my head what I wanted to do and the main thing I needed was a set of usable notes. I ended up staying up kind of late to work on my notes, then got up super early the following morning to finish compiling everything. Once my notes were in order and printed out, I got dressed, ate breakfast, and rushed down to class, which I was a few minutes late getting to because of everything that I was doing. We found out that the museum Dr. T wanted to visit was closed, and so we could go in to Rome later than planned, allowing some free time between class and the train ride. I decided to go in early though, right after class, so that I could do another walk through of my tour and double check my notes. It was raining and really windy when I set out, but I finally made it to the train, the subway, and my tour places. I walked around quickly, finding what I wanted to talk about, making mental notes about which way to navigate and how to say different things, and double checking the times on the churches I wanted everyone to visit. I hightailed it back to Termini to meet up with everyone else for lunch on time and got there early. I waited patiently, going back through my notes and changing some things, trying to memorize as much of it as possible while trying to keep my nerves in check. Everyone finally arrived, and Mike suggested an American grill in Termini for lunch. We went there, ate and talked, and all the while I could only think of my tour. I actually pulled out my notes at one point when we were done and just sitting there talking, going over them again and again. Everyone, especially Mike, was telling me to calm down and relax, that it would be fine and to not worry about it. They even asked what they could do to help me, and I responded with the truth: once I started it, I would be fine. Until then, I would freak out. It’s just how I am with public speaking, especially when it goes for a grade.

We finally got on the bus and went to the Pantheon, my first stop. Mike navigated how to get there, and once there I began the tour. I started to relax as I went through it, not giving all of the information I had, wishing I could’ve done a little more research, glad that I was getting it done, happy to share all of the information that I had learned. I answered questions to the best of my ability, let everyone explore the places as much as time would allow, and enjoyed the sunshine that had finally broken through on our way to the Pantheon. After the tour was finished, we headed right back to the bus to catch a certain train back to campus, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief that it was over. I showered when we got back to campus and changed into comfy clothes, then pretty much relaxed the rest of the night with everyone and did some homework. It was also movie night, but I ended up missing it because I had already seen the movie, Life is Beautiful, and I was exhausted from the late night and early morning. I went to bed early, grateful that a big piece of the weight on my shoulders related to schoolwork was gone.

The week’s topic is the secular world and what it contains. The Pantheon is actually a religious site, first a pagan temple and later a converted Christian church. However, based on what I read, the temple was also used for business meetings by Emperor Hadrian, the builder of the current structure that’s standing today (there were 2 previous ones, long story). Based on this information, the religious and secular worlds aren’t necessarily divided, as they go hand in hand and sites generally designated for one purpose can be used for the other. The Piazza is another great example of this. Pope Innocent X was involved in many of the projects within the Piazza, and other popes over the centuries have left their mark in the area as well. The Piazza is used as a meeting place, though, by the Romans, and contains many cafes and shops. It’s also a lively place where artists come and create things for people to buy, rain or shine. The Piazza, then, is more of a secular place because, while there are many churches in the area and many popes have been involved here, the area’s main purpose is not for religious practices, but the secular practices of eating, meeting with friends, and having fun. The secular world and the religious world come together all the time. Depending on the nature of the area and the main purpose, though, one of the worlds will dominate.

Weekend 3: Dublin, Ireland

Apparently, I like Guinness. Someone please explain this to me.

Our flight wasn’t until later in the evening, so all of us just chilled during the day. All of us slept in, too, which was very nice and needed. I got up and started doing some homework in the lounge, waiting for Dom to get up and come down so we could go up to Castel Gandolfo for the ATM and some food. Mike came in, though, and asked if any of us wanted to go with him right then. Maggie and I decided to go, so the three of us began the trek up the hill. Once there, Mike went to the post office while Maggie and I used the ATM and looked around at some of the shops. Then Mike took us to the café and bought us some drinks because he wanted an espresso. On the trek back down, he and Maggie were giving me advice for Dublin because I was super worried about the whole watching-after-my-friends-while-they-drink situation I was expecting to face while there. We ran into Dom on the way, too. After we got back, I did some homework, ate my lunch, did some laundry, packed, and wrote in my journal. Everyone took turns going up to the ATM and coming down at different times throughout the day. We pretty much kept gathering in the lounge, and Mike was with us all day working on post cards and hanging out with us. It was fun and relaxing. Then our taxi arrived and we were off. We got through the airport just fine, waited and boarded our flight, and we finally arrived in Dublin. The flight messed with me a little bit, but not too bad. I was mostly exhausted since it was really late by the time we arrived. We went out in search for the bus to the hotel, and when it didn’t come as expected, we took a couple of taxis. After checking in, we decided to order Chinese, and then Pizza Hut when the Chinese place didn’t work out. We ate pizza together in one of the rooms, decided on our departure time the following morning, and went to bed. It was a long day.

Saturday was much better. It started out rocky, but quickly turned into a very good day, despite the cold and windy weather. We got up, and I misinterpreted the time for the bus, so we got there a few minutes late, but it ended up coming within a few minutes anyway. We rode the bus into town, then started walking around looking for a place that served an authentic Irish breakfast. Maggie and Kayla broke off early to go do their own thing, and the rest of us went ahead and found a nice café for breakfast. After breakfast, Alli and Gia went off to go do and see things that they wanted to do, so Cat, Dom and I wandered around a bit. Dom wanted to see the Guinness storehouse and try to get something at the gift shop there, so we looked around and finally found it. It was a little expensive to get in, but it was totally worth it. We got inside and followed the tour about how Guinness is made. The place was set up so that everyone could walk at their own pace while learning about the process of making Guinness. Each step in the process was depicted with information on the walls and video stands as well as real examples of the ingredients. For example, the first ingredient is barley, and in the middle of the room there was a huge “sandbox” of barley grains that people could pick up, touch, and smell so as to better understand what barely is. The hops were kept in a glass and climate controlled case, while the water was designed as a modern indoor waterfall that we got to walk under. We saw the history of the company, the history of some of the tools used in each step of the beer making process, and discovered how important the tradition of making Guinness is to the company. After the tour, we got to try some Guinness. I tried my sample, and found that I kind of liked it. Dom and Cat were freaking out with me a little bit about it, and Dom took a video of me trying it. We continued going further up into the storehouse (you follow the tour and the sample bars up through the five floors of the building) and tried different kinds of Guinness beer with different food samples that are supposed to go well with the beer. The first one we tried at the bar, for example, was either a salmon or a blue cheese pate with a regular Guinness draft beer. It was good. We found out that we could pour our own Guinness at certain bars on the floor, so we went in search of that and ended up going straight to the Gravity Bar on the top floor instead because the lines were so long. The Gravity Bar gave an amazing view of Dublin and you could order drinks at the bar there. Instead of drinking there, though, we went back down and found that we could take a “class” on the proper technique of pouring Guinness beer. We went through the “class”, which lasted 5-10 minutes, then sat down and drank our beers that we successfully poured ourselves, cheering our good time and adventure, taking a lot of pictures and enjoying ourselves. Once we calmed down a little bit and finished our drinks, we headed out to Trinity College to meet up with my friend Chris, whom I haven’t seen in 7 years. It was so great to see him! He took us to basically the shopping district and after having an authentic lunch, he pointed out to us some of the good places to go to sight-see and shop. He had to leave because he needed to meet up with another friend, so we explored the park he pointed out to us, taking shelter under a patio when it started to rain, and going souvenir shopping in the shopping area after the rain left and the sun reappeared. We were having a blast, and we found everything that we wanted to buy and then some. There were street entertainers everywhere, performing music and stunts for the crowds of people. We stopped in a Starbucks (yay Starbucks!) and rested for a few minutes, then headed out again to explore and to try to find the others at some point. We ended up at a pub and each of got a Guinness (I actually finished mine this time, the entire glass, whereas in the storehouse I hadn’t), got burritos at a nearby restaurant after walking around a little to digest the Guinness, headed for the bus, went and found the others and checked in with each other, then headed back to the hotel where we chilled for a little bit and made plans for Sunday. All in all, Saturday was long, but so amazing!

Sunday was great too, despite the cold and the rain/snow mix most of the time. Dom, Cat, and I went back into Dublin early in the morning, carrying our backpacks with all of our stuff in them because we knew we wouldn’t be able to return to the hotel before our flight. After a little searching, we finally found St. Patrick’s cathedral, which is small and simple as far as cathedrals go that I’ve seen, and attended Mass there. It was an Anglican Mass, which was cool to see, and it was said in Gaelic mostly, which was super cool. The priest was also very helpful in that he turned to the congregation (which was small and mostly tourists I think) and explained what was coming next and even how to say some Gaelic words so we could participate in Gaelic. After Mass, we headed into town for some food and to try to see some of the parade before heading to the airport. We stopped in a small restaurant and warmed up with some good food, then found another Starbucks because I was dying to have one last hot chocolate (I love Italian hot chocolate, but Starbucks is from home, so I really wanted some). We managed to catch some of the parade, walking around it while making our way to the bus station and stopping to take some pictures of the parade itself, a few of them from me on Dom’s shoulders. Everyone was wearing the colors of Ireland, mostly green and some orange, and it was a real party. We finally made it to the bus station, got on the right bus after waiting for a time, got to the airport with time to spare, and waited on word from the others. We met them after going through security, exchanged notes, and relaxed until heading to our flight. The flight was long and again didn’t mess with me as much as flying has recently, but I was still not feeling well once we landed. We got back to campus alright after we were finally allowed to exit the plane (they didn’t have enough buses waiting for us right when we landed) and had an entertaining dinner with Mike and Dr. T and Danilo, despite finding out that the wifi was down. Everyone else either went to bed or chilled in the lounge after dinner, while I worked on my tour for the following morning in the computer lab, and finally took a shower and went to bed.

Dublin was an adventure. I learned a lot about myself, my friends, and Ireland while I was there, and I loved it. I had fun, explored, and tried a lot of new things. There were some difficult times, but we powered through them. I definitely want to go back.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. And a Happy Birthday to my dad as well. (I called him while in Dublin).

Trip 11: Castel Sant’Angelo

This was a good day. We didn’t have much planned because everyone thought the new Pope would be elected today, and not the day before. So all we had planned was seeing Castel Sant’Angelo. We were originally scheduled to arrived in Rome super early to watch the conclave before our tour. We were allowed to catch a later train, then, because of this. Maggie, Dom, Dr. T and I decided to go in early anyway, though, and we found and went inside Saint Mary Majorie. Apparently, we had just missed Papa Francesco’s visit there, though there were still camera crews in the area filming the church. We ignored them while we were there. We went back to Termini and met up with everyone else, then got some lunch and headed out to Castel Sant’Angelo.

The day was sunny and warmer than it has been. We waited for a little bit for our guide to arrive, and in that time Mike reappeared after separating first thing in the morning. He decided to come on the tour with us. We got our tickets and talked, then met with our guide. Each of us got a radio with an ear bud to hear her better, which was nice. We began the tour outside at the bridge along the Tiber, then proceeded inside to see everything. It was a really cool place to see. It was big, built of bricks, and had some interesting artifacts with good stories connected to them. We slowly made our way to the top. When we reached it, I couldn’t pay attention to our guide’s information. The view was so incredible! We could see for miles around us, all the way to the mountains. It was spectacular! I took a ton of pictures that don’t really do the view justice, but they are still super cool. I didn’t want to head back down into the castle, but I had to follow the group.

After our tour, we were given a free day, and all of us went our separate ways. We had lunch together first at a little pizza place near the Vatican, then headed out. I immediately decided to go to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona once more before my tour on Tuesday because it was the last chance I would get to go. Everyone was trying to figure out what to do on the way to the metro station, and Dom eventually decided to come with me. We talked a little bit on the way, then I gave him a quick series of facts once we were there. We took a quick look around the Piazza, then tried to figure out the best way back to the metro and then to Termini so we wouldn’t be late for our train. We decided to take a bus, and it didn’t exactly work out as we had planned, but we got off at St. Peter’s and crossed the square, running into Mike and Danilo on the way, and made it to the metro outside the Vatican. We got back to Termini in time and took the train back to campus for class with Dr. T.

After class, we had a little time before dinner, and we all just relaxed and began to prepare for our trip to Dublin. We had a nice dinner, checked out with Mike for the weekend, and then I went to bed somewhat early, because I needed the sleep. It was a decent day.

Trip 10: We Have the Pope

Wednesday March 13, 2013 will forever be imprinted on my brain and in my memories. I will never forget this day: the day I was present in St. Peter’s Square when the new Pope was elected and announced.

The day began with a fun Italian class. Bruno knew about our trip to Ireland coming up, and stressed that it’s Dom’s duty to make sure that all of us ladies come back home to Rome safely and that it’s my job to make sure everyone stays safe in Dublin with all of the drinking. It was pretty funny, though you could tell he was being serious about the staying safe part. After class, Maggie and I took the first train into Rome, where we separated and went to different areas to do different things. I went back to Piazza Navona to do some searching for my tour next week. I got a little lost and didn’t find everything that I was looking for, but I found the more important parts that I really wanted to find. The weather was cold, rainy, cloudy and windy, but everything was at varying strengths and degrees throughout the day. During my wanderings, I managed to stay warm and relatively dry, which was nice.

Anyway, most of us were planning on going into St. Peter’s for the day to be there for the conclave. Mike and Danilo had cancelled everything for the day besides Italian, which meant that we didn’t have Mass and dinner at campus that night (which I am now extremely grateful for). I called Dom to find out where they were, and then called Danilo for the quickest route to St. Peter’s, and got lost on the way. I didn’t really have my map with me, but I did manage to find my way there. I came in from the front for the first time, and it was a really cool way to go.

When I got there, I called Dom again to see where he and those with him were. He told me to call Mike because Mike was already there in the square and had been there since early that morning. I called and met up with him, and together we talked and waited for the rest of the group to arrive, which contained everyone minus Maggie and Dr. T. Mike and I had not eaten lunch yet, as it was around 1300 by this time, so he, Danilo and I went off to find some food and left the others to guard our spot. We went to a little restaurant and had some food, then Mike and Danilo decided to get some pastries for everyone from Vatican City. Danilo was able to get in, and told the Swiss Guard who checking everyone that Mike and I were with him. Mike went through just fine, but I was stopped by him. I thought he wanted to check my bag, but he just looked at me. Mike realized I wasn’t behind him, got Danilo’s attention, and after Danilo told him that I was with him, the guard let me pass. It was cool and scary at the same time.

We went in a got some pastries, then headed back into the square. We passed through security, where I again was stopped, this time to check my bag. We went in and rejoined the others, eating our treats and hanging out in the rain and cold. We eventually moved to the columns and took shelter there for awhile, for we had been standing in the middle of the square in front of the obelisk. We tried to relax under the columns, and as it got closer to 1600, again took positions in the square, this time really close to the barricade leading to St. Peter’s Basilica. We stood, talked, tried to keep the rain off us and did our best to stay together, warm, and lively, as the cold and waiting was beginning to get to us. The square had been mostly empty since we had gotten there, and was quickly filling up, so we started to get pressed and pushed by other people behind us. We managed to keep an eye on the chimney, though.

Mike, Alli, and I had planned on going out of St. Peter’s and into another part of Rome to try to attend a daily English Mass at another church at 1800. We decided, as the crowd began to grow, that missing Mass was okay. We would go another time together. We just really wanted to see the smoke, black or white. (I had just missed the black smoke earlier that day, by the way. Oh, and we did some more Conclave Countdown shots, the sequel to our Popewatch parody). As the night came on and the crowds pressed closer, I grew colder and more still, waiting for something to happen.

Then it finally did. I was attempting to put something in my bag when I heard a shout. “Bianca!” White! The white smoke appeared! I already had my camcorder out and ready, so I simply turned it on and started recording. We had a new Pope! I couldn’t believe it! I was actually there, in St. Peter’s, when the new Pope was elected! I wasn’t expecting that at all, and couldn’t stop crying for awhile because of it. I continued to record everything that happened afterwards, and was excited to learn that our new Pope is from Argentina, and has taken the name of Pope Francis I. My excitement simply increased, and I took part in the crowd’s cheering and praying, never letting my camcorder stop for too long.

After Pope Francis (I love writing that!) said good night, it was a madhouse trying to get out of the square. I wish that experience on no one. I actually got yelled at a couple times because I had to literally elbow and push my way through people to get back to Danilo and Alli. All of us had become separated in the crowd, but we had a meeting place. Alli and I managed to stay with Danilo, and he led us to the meeting place. After getting a snack and figuring out a plan (it was pushing 2130 at that time) we took the subway to Termini, got dinner at McDonald’s, and took the train to Ciampino (not our normal stop) and took a taxi home to campus. Maggie was waiting for us with a sign on the door, music playing, and a toast of wine to our experience and the new Pope.

The whole day was absolutely amazing, and became more and more surreal as time passed. I’m still having trouble believing it! The day was amazing, and I’m so glad everything worked out the way it did. Perfect.

Aver Imus Papa!

Trip 9: St. Peter’s Scavi and Adventures…

Today was one of the best days ever! We not only saw the scavi, where St. Peter is buried, but we also heard and saw bits and pieces of the Mass for the cardinals before they begin the conclave! Today began with the usual breakfast and meeting up with everyone early in the morning. We went into town on the early train, and went straight to St. Peter’s. We heard, and managed to see, parts of the Mass for the cardinals on the big screens outside in the square. We went through security to enter Vatican City, then got our tickets and met our guide. We went into the scavi, and it was nothing like how I expected it to be. I honestly was expecting it to be more like the catacombs that we visited yesterday. But it wasn’t! They’ve uncovered actual mausoleums, some mostly intact, along a central main corridor that twists and turns at points. Some of the mausoleums have frescoes inside on the walls, and while most of the people buried there are Christian, some of them are pagan. It was really interesting and cool to see and learn about. We had to cross through a Renaissance chapel in the middle of the tour to get to St. Peter, and it was literally inside the Vatican! But more on that later. We crossed to the other side and we finally saw the place where his grave was. Then, we saw the place where his tomb is. The Mass of the conclave was going on during our tour, so most of the time we had to be silent. But as we walked through the scavi, we could hear the cardinals singing during the Mass, and we could smell the incense! There are grates in the floor of the basilica that open into the scavi. When we looked up, we could see the cardinals and everything. We were standing in front of St. Peter, the first Pope, while being right under the papal altar of St. Peter’s during the Mass for the conclave. Surreal! The true impact of the moment has still not fully reached me yet.

After that amazing experience, we walked back outside to discover that it was still raining. We went to get lunch and then, because so many people were at St. Peter’s for the conclave, Gia’s tour of St. Peter’s was postponed and we were allowed a free day. Gia, Alli, and Kayla went shopping around the Spanish Steps; Cat and Maggie got lost and made their way back to the train; the adults went to do their own thing.

Dom and I went off to the Pantheon. Dom wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, so I invited him along with me and he decided to join me. We walked to the Pantheon and then over to Piazza Navona, just so I could see it again and possibly glean more information out of being there for my tour next week. We were both tired and stressed with the amount of homework we needed to get done, so we tried to head back to the metro. We ended up getting on a bus going somewhere, somehow ended up and got off at the Vatican, crossed the square of the Vatican (meeting Mike and Danilo for a minute there) to the metro station outside the Vatican. We got on the train back to campus and found Cat and Maggie there. We enjoyed the ride and came back to campus, where we chilled out and did homework before going to class with Dr. T. After that class, we had an hour before Italian with Professor Bruno, which was animated and lively as always. He joined us for dinner, which was a lively and eventful affair. Dom and I got bonus points for using Italian at the table, and Bruno even called me out as the DD for Dublin, which was seriously cool.

Now homework, with brain food provided by Mike to help us study. I still haven’t figured out what I’m going to do tomorrow. It’s a free day after Italian class, so I’m thinking about going into the city after awhile and camping out at St. Peter’s for a little bit to try to see the smoke from the conclave, and then maybe visiting the Piazza again. We shall see.

Rome is definitely a city of faith. Not only is Catholicism dominate in the area, but the ruins of the pagan religion are still there to stand as testimony to the religious history of Rome. The fact that pagans and Christians are buried in the same area together demonstrates that religion is meaningful to those who practice it, regardless of the faith and rituals.

Trip 8: San Giovanni and the Catacombs

We got an early start to the day on Monday, which wasn’t really fun because we didn’t get home from Venice until after midnight. But, we did it. And the day was great. We finally saw Mike in the morning, and we were all very happy to see each other. He didn’t go into the city with us, though, but that was okay. Anyway, it was Dom’s day to do his tour, which was San Giovanni. I promised him that I would take my camcorder and record him, so I began to record him when he started the tour. We toured the Holy Staircase first, which was amazing. There were many people praying on them, adding to the solemnity of the place. The whole building was covered in paintings of Bible stories and there were statues of Jesus in various poses and with different people there as well. I was amazed and overwhelmed while in there. I could feel the holiness of the time and the place in the few minutes we spent there. After that, we toured the church and the connected baptistery. The artwork in the church was phenomenal. There were statues of many of the saints in the church, lining the central nave, with various chapels along the side aisles. It was a very impressive church, but again overwhelming. I can’t describe what I was feeling while in there. We had a few minutes to go back to the gift shop inside and explore a little more if we wanted to when Dom was done showing us around and passing on his knowledge about the place.

We went down a street and had some lunch, stopped at another shop for some sweets, and then went on our way to the catacombs by bus. The area was very nice, with lots of grass and flowers. We went inside and had the tour with an archaeologist who was working at the site. He was very informative and nice, answering questions and keeping us moving. Once in the catacombs, I became uncomfortable. I’m not claustrophobic, but being down there was creepy. It didn’t help that I was the last one in the line, and eventually Dom came to be in the back, which made me feel better. The tour ended with our guide showing us a map of the currently known excavations of the catacombs, and after that we were on our way back to the city.

We ended up going to another church nearby San Giovanni, though we were so tired from the weekend and the day that it wasn’t the best experience. I still enjoyed it, though. Then we came back home to campus, where we all proceeded to chill out. I went for a walk in the garden behind the dorm and listened to music while watching the sky, as it was close to sunset. I went onto the balcony a few times to see the view as well, but mostly cleaned up my room and unpacked from the weekend, did laundry, and did some homework. Dinner was a fun affair as always, and Mike and Danilo had gotten us some pastries for dessert, which were delicious. Then we had movie night with Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We needed the good laugh, though a few of us did some homework during it. It was a very relaxing evening, and I went to bed early to try to get some sleep and prepare for another early morning and long day.

Weekend 2: Venice, Italy

This weekend was amazing! We travelled as a group, with Danilo and Dr. T, to Venice for the weekend, and we did so much! We had to get up at 4am to catch our plane there, and of course I felt somewhat sick after the flight, but I got over it. Friday was National Women’s Day, so Danilo got all of us ladies flowers on behalf of himself, Dr. T, Dom, and Mike. We were thrilled to get them, and they made my day. We checked into our hotel, took an hour to get settled in, then went out to eat pizza for lunch at the near-by beach along the Adriatic Sea. The others went searching for shells and I just enjoyed hearing the waves and smelling the salty, fishy air. It reminded me of my very own Lake Erie back home. It was soothing. Then back into Venice proper we went. We visited a couple of museums, then headed back to the island (Lido it was called) that our hotel was on, and napped for awhile before having a nice dinner out in the town. Then we kids went to the bar next to the hotel and talked and laughed there for awhile. The others got drinks and I had pop and wrote in my journal, though it was a ton of fun. Then we basically passed out for the night since we needed to get an early start to Saturday, too.

We got up early on Saturday and had a free breakfast in the hotel, then went to Murano to have a tour of a glass-making company. The guy whose company we visited is a friend of Danilo’s, and he was very informative about everything. We had a demonstration of the glass-making, first without blowing, then blowing. It was super cool to see. I was thoroughly amazed at the techniques used to make the glass change into the different shapes, which usually involved spinning the rod that the glass was attached to in a certain way. After the demonstrations, our guide (Danilo’s friend) took us around his shop/show room and described the different glass products that we were seeing. He was telling us things such as the price, how long it would take to make certain items, and how to tell the difference between real Murano glass and Chinese copies. We saw different shapes, colors, and styles. Some were simple, others extremely ornamented and elaborate. My jaw was dropping every couple of steps just seeing all of the different designs and being able to appreciate how long and how many different people it took to create some of the items. After the tour, we went down to the gift shop, where most of us bought a couple things as gifts for ourselves and others back home. We walked around Murano for awhile, got some lunch and ate near the water, then went back to Venice proper. We had a gondola ride, which was so amazing and relaxing. We stayed in the smaller canals within the city and our gondolier was very informative about the area and buildings we were passing. We even got Danilo to join us, which he said he has never gone on a ride with his students before, so we are apparently special. After the ride, we stopped at a bar and tried some spritz (an alcoholic drink that I didn’t care for), then went and found a shop that sold authentic Mardi Gras masks. Maggie was the most excited to be there, but many of us bought something. I got a really cool mask for my little sister back home, because she is a huge theater person. After the masks, we went and found San Marco, the most popular church and plaza in Venice. We were only there momentarily because of trying to catch the next ferry back to Lido, but the area is very large and impressive. There’s stone and marble everywhere, and the church is covered in statues and mosaics. Very cool. We got back to Lido and had some time to ourselves before dinner. We went and got gelato, then stopped at the beach again. It was dark out by this time, and it was very peaceful. I went and walked along the shore by myself for a little bit, though Dom and Alli followed me at a distance and eventually caught up to me. We went back to the hotel for showers and rest, then had a nice dinner together. It started to rain during dinner, so instead of going back to Venice to see it at night, we went back to the hotel and relaxed/went to bed. I went into Dom’s room and we did homework together for a little bit. Then bedtime.

Sunday was great as well. We got up and had breakfast, got all of our luggage packed up and locked away for the day, then headed to Venice once again to attend Mass at San Marco. It was very interesting. The tide had come in during the night and flooded the plaza, creating small ponds within the area. There were boards set up everywhere for people to walk on so they wouldn’t have to go through the ponds. The tide had gotten into San Marco as well, so in order to go into the church, we had to walk on the boards, which was fun and interesting to do. We found out that the Mass time had switched to be a half hour later than what we originally thought, so we went and saw the fashion streets that are attached to the plaza. Danilo had us walk through one of the ponds on our way there, which was funny and entertaining, but we didn’t want that experience again. All of our shoes and socks were soaked for awhile after that. We went to Mass, and I did but didn’t like it. I loved being at Mass on a Sunday, even though it was in Italian. It was a high Mass, too, so much of the Mass was sung and there was incense. I didn’t enjoy the vastness of the church. It’s so huge! I come from a small church, and I love the feeling of being in a small church, so sitting in that vast space, surrounded by elaborate mosaics of gold on every inch of the ceiling, was overwhelming and uncomfortable. I’m glad we had the experience, though. After the Mass, we got lunch at a little café, and then were allowed to explore Venice before we had to leave for the airport. Dom, Cat, Alli and I went to the mask shop again because Cat wanted a mask, and right next to it was a shop selling real Murano glass items, which I wanted to buy and did for family back home. When we were done shopping, we went and got ourselves lost in Venice. Yes, we really did it. We took off down one street, then at each intersection we would take turns calling out a direction to go, and we would go that way. Dom took quite a few pictures of us along the way, and we had a ton of fun. We made our way back to the ferries and then to Lido. Once back on Lido, the four of us found and rented bikes for two hours and biked around Lido, taking random pictures at random spots along the shore and enjoying the sunshine, which finally broke through right after Mass. We had fun, despite Dom’s bike seat not cooperating. We turned in the bikes and met the rest of the group at the hotel, chilling out for an hour before leaving for the airport. Once there, we got our tickets, grabbed some dinner, went through security, and relaxed at the gate. Then we boarded the plane and were home in Rome an hour later. I felt really sick after the flight, and after finally getting Dom’s luggage unstuck from the belt (long story and super annoying) we made it home to find a sign with balloons from Mike welcoming us home. We all went to bed, then, because we had an early start on Monday.

Venice was amazing. The entire trip was like a dream. The first two days, the entire area was covered in fog, adding to the dreaminess of the place. It felt like a fairytale. It was also a fun weekend to relax and enjoy ourselves while still learning a lot. I found out that while planes don’t agree with me, boats apparently do. I’m comfortable on the water. All in all, great weekend.

Trip 7: Etruscan Museum

Today was super long. We had to catch the early train into town today, which was fine. I managed to get up and get some breakfast before leaving, and it consisted of hot chocolate with two pieces of toast covered in Nutella and a yogurt. It was delicious. After eating, we kids walked up to the train station and got there with plenty of time to spare. Dr. T and Danilo were right behind us, and Mike didn’t go into town with us today. After taking the train to Termini, we got on the subway, then took a tram to the Etruscan Museum.

The museum was really cool. It looked like a typical Roman villa on the outside, and was very modern on the inside. Our guide was very knowledgeable and very nice, the art was cool to see, and the history was amazing to learn. However, it was too long. The tour took roughly three hours, which I can usually deal with. Today, though, I was so tired that it was hard to focus and the tour seemed to take forever. Also, the monotony of the artifacts didn’t help. Every room was filled with vases, which is really cool to see and to hear the various stories behind, but after the fifth one it became redundant and tiring. There was a lot of other artifacts to see, such as jewelry, weapons, and funerary objects, but the majority were vases.

I wanted to cry, as a museum studies student. The sheer amount of objects on display was overwhelming and I couldn’t take it. There’s no reason to have that many objects on display at once. I was impressed, though, with their security and preservation measures. They had a special film over all of the windows so the natural sunlight didn’t damage the artifacts as much. All of the artifacts, with a few exceptions, were completely enclosed in environment controlled cases, which was encouraging. Every room also had security cameras, as well as a museum employee walking around in each room to watch the visitors and make sure they weren’t touching anything. The personnel made me nervous and feel safe all at the same time. I liked that they were there, but I also felt guilty, like I was doing something wrong, when they followed us around simply because we were the only people in the room.

Regardless, the museum was nice and modern, and also very big. I enjoyed being there.

We took a ten minute break during the tour and got a snack for a short burst of energy. Then we toured the outer villa and the gardens. It was so nice to be out among nature, and it smelled wonderful because of all the rain yesterday. I felt better immediately. The villa was pretty cool, too. It’s currently under restoration, so it smelled a lot like plaster and tools, which I like. The frescoes inside it were amazing! And the artifacts weren’t bad, either.

When the tour was completely finished, we made our way to the Piazza del Popolo for lunch. I got pizza, tea, and souple again. It was delicious! After that, we walked back to the Spanish Steps and got gelato on the way. I’m officially addicted to the stuff. We took the metro back to Termini and took the train back to campus, where I tried to take a nap and ended up listening to music for awhile instead. Our conservation class went well, and I actually learned a lot, despite being really tired during it. Our Venice orientation came next with Danilo, and I’m so excited to leave in a few hours to get there! It’s going to be great! The “adults” went out for dinner tonight, so it was just us kids and the volleyball kids for dinner, which was nice. We cleaned up, and I’ve been doing homework ever since.

Today was good, but again long, a recurring theme over the past two weeks. As for Rome being a historical place, we learned all about the Etruscan civilization today, and how they were greatly influenced by the Greeks. This interaction eventually led to the modern Rome we know today. Simply put, Rome is based on a very long and complicated history based on fact, legend, and myth. Rome is full of history and stories, and we may never know the entire story behind this great city.

Trip 6: Own Adventure

This past Wednesday was a new experience. After Italian class in the morning, which was a lot of fun, I went out into the city with only Alli and Cat to find the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona. I didn’t want to travel on my own yet, but I needed to find them to try to get more information about them for my tour. We got on the train to Rome with Dom, who was also going into the city to do research for his tour. Mike and Danilo appeared on the platform with us and they sat with us on the train, going off on their own once we entered Termini. It was fun. We took the subway to the closest stop to the Pantheon, Barberini. All of that went really well. After getting off the subway, we got a little turned around and lost. We couldn’t find the right street to go down because the intersection was with five different roads and the street signs were terrible. We finally found the one we wanted and began to hike towards the Pantheon. I mentioned that there is a restaurant in the Piazza that was recommended to me for the tartuffa, a chocolate ice cream dish with cherries in the middle and whip cream on top. Alli and Cat agreed to wait to get lunch until we got to the Piazza and we could try the tartuffa. Well, we found the Pantheon just fine, and proceeded to find the Piazza, which is only a couple streets away from the Pantheon. We found the restaurant right away and sat down for some lunch. The tartuffa was nine euro! But it was absolutely delicious! Everything else on the menu was really expensive, too, so we agreed to not get anything else to eat until we got back to Termini, Castel Gandolfo, or simply wait until dinner depending on the timing of everything.

The weather wasn’t great that day. It was cold, extremely windy, and rained. A lot. So we didn’t spend too much time wandering the Piazza to find different things. We just got too wet too fast. We went back to the Pantheon to try to get a pamphlet for information, then headed back to Barberini to go to Termini to head back to campus. We got to the train for campus in plenty of time, and as we sat on the train and waited for it to pull out, Mike suddenly appeared. We rode back with him and talked with him a little bit.

Then the real fun began. Alli and I got off the train at Castel Gandolfo, which is one stop before campus, to go to the town so I could get money out of the ATM for our weekend trip. The rain was still coming down and the wind was still blowing and we were still getting soaked and cold, but we were laughing and talking and having fun. We managed to find the stairs that climb and switchback on the hillside. We climbed them instead of going all the way around the hill on the road and possibly being splashed by the all of the passing cars. The stairs weren’t as bad as I originally thought they would be, though I still had some trouble breathing due to the cold, my heavy back, and the steep incline. We got to the top and congratulated ourselves on our success, as well as taking in the view of the lake with the rain and the low clouds. It was really cool. We went up to the ATM, used it, and made the careful climb down the hill towards campus. I slipped once on the slick cobblestone sidewalk, but didn’t fall or anything. We made it back to campus safe and sound, though completely soaked through and cold.

After a shower and some fresh clothes, I went downstairs to do homework. I did laundry at some point, as well, before Mass and dinner. I sat in the laundry room as the machines were going, and almost fell asleep on my backpack while sitting there (I took my backpack in with me because it contained my homework books, and I was trying to do some while I waited). Once my laundry was done, I headed over to the chapel to get ready for Mass. Maggie was the only other person there, so I knelt and prayed for a long while. Mike came in and we spoke for a few minutes. After the rest of the group had come in, Mike asked if anyone would read. Since there were no other volunteers, I said I would and looked over the readings.

Mass went really well. We then went over to campus for dinner, which was incredibly entertaining. We all talked, laughed, complained about the cold and the rain, and told of our adventures. After the “adults” gave their announcements and left to have a meeting, we kids had a ton of fun. We had gotten out the milk to drink with our chocolate cookie desserts, and we were having a blast. We were laughing and talking as if we were drunk, and were joking that the milk was spiked and that we were going to order spiked milk at the bar. It was so much fun. It was one of the first times all of us together really bonded over something. It was great to be a part of. And it was great for all of us to be our silly, loud selves for a little bit. I think part of it was exhaustion from the day we had.

After cleaning up and going upstairs, we waited for Mike to get back from dropping off Fr. Brown in Albano so that Maggie, Kayla and Gia could show all of us a video they made of them complaining about the rain. Apparently, Mike had told them to go out and do stuff despite the rain, and they were complaining to him and put it on camera. It was hilarious! Danilo had a bad day and looked like a lost puppy needing a hug, or some cheering up, so we decided to do the Harlem Shake for him in the entrance hall (the spiked milk was getting to us). Mike caught it on camera and Danilo was so embarrassed and excited that he just laughed and caught it on his phone. I hope we helped him out. It was so much fun, and I’m not used to putting myself out there like that, though it was worth it for Danilo.

When our fun was done, I went back to the computer lab to do homework. I was sitting at one of the computer desks and Dom was sitting at the back table on his laptop. He called me over to sit with him since I was also working on my laptop, and we did work together. He was answering interview questions about the Pope for someone and asking me to check his grammar for him; I was working on homework and read him some of the blogs I wrote to check for accuracy. It was getting really late, and I was getting really tired, so I went to bed. It was a good, though long, day.

Rome as a historical city…..The Pantheon and the Piazza Navona are excellent examples to answer this question. Both have been around since the ancient times, and both have been updated to the modern era. Both places demonstrate that the past can still be useful in the present and the future, and the history behind the places adds to the character, and the fascination with, each of them.