A Really, Really Detailed Recap. Mi Dispiace.

I realized I haven't written about my life in Roma yet, so I'm going to give a recap of what's been going on for the past few weeks.

The first week was a time to settle in, have orientations, start the first few classes, etc. It wasn't too taxing, other than all of us getting our bearings in our new home. We all walked around taking in the sights, trying to see as much as we could as soon as we could. Luckily, I walk by Il Colosseo, Il Foro Romano, and Il Vittorio every day on my way to class, and later that first week a few of my classmates and I went to Il Fontana di Trevi, the Spanish Steps, and Rome's equivalent of 5th Avenue, Via Condotti. That was our first Thursday, and we realized we would miss the Grey's Anatomy season finale. We set out to figure a way to see it, and Sam (housemate) came to our rescue when her dad suggested watching it in real time with a special program. We woke up at 3am to watch 2 hours of American television, something we haven't been able to do since, and without giving anything away, it was well worth it.

That weekend we stayed in the city and went to the Capitoline Museums, climbed the Aracoeli Staircase, and spent some time in Trastevere. All were very cool; I loved seeing the history and conquering the stairs. Sunday I went to Mass at Basilica di San Clemente, and although I couldn't understand anything other than the sign of the cross, I really enjoyed it. The main road, Via dei Fori Imperiali was closed for Race for the Cure, so it was awesome to be able to walk down it without the zooming mopeds or honking cars.

Our second week here we really got into class, discussing our readings and doing our journals and blog entries, but we also took some "field trips" as a class and on our own. We visited the Pantheon, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, and Sant' Ignazio on Tuesday and then the girls all headed to Campo de' Fiori for the open market. After that, Sam, Aimee, Jackie (all roommates) and I went to Piazza del Popolo and Pincio Gardens, which are all the way at the top of the Via del Corso, a main road. On our way back, our tired feet took us to Giolitti, a famous gelato place. Although my order got a tad messed up because I don't understand Italian, it was still delicious. The is, until I ate like a child and spilled some cherry and cream on my white shirt. I'll never learn.

We had big plans for Wednesday, until it became incredibly hot and the thought of planning our weekend took over. The girls and I planned a trip to a town near Sorrento, at Marina del Cantone. Thursday we went to the Vatican to see Saint Peter's Basilica, which was just unbelieveable to actually see it in person. The six students in my program wanted to go to the Museum, but decided to grab lunch first to fuel our bodies for the no doubt long trip inside. After paying at least 10 euro a person for a slice of pizza and a drink, we were told the museum was closed due to it being a Holy Day (Ascension Thursday). We didn't want to leave on such a sour not, so we decided to climb to the top of the dome. After a short elevator ride and 320 winding, narrow steps, we got out and had a panoramic view of the amazing city we are calling home.

Thankfully we didn't have class on Friday so we were able to go away for the weekend. Here is a little recap of how our Friday went:
1. Woke at 4:45 to be out by 5:30 to catch the 6:12 train to Napoli
2. Information boards were broken, so we missed our train, only after just jumping off the wrong one as it started rolling away
3.Finally made a train at 8:15, which went pretty smoothly
4. Took another train from Napoli to Sorrento, filled with an accordion playing teenage gypsy and a breastfeeding woman, both coming right up and asking for money. Also, a third gypsy decided it was too hot so she took off her pants and showed everyone her black training bra and undies
5. Train broke down for 20 minutes, 5 stops from Sorrento
6. Get to the station, only to have to board a bus for what we thought was a 20 minute ride. It was 50
7. Reach our destination, the Villagio Nettuno Resort, only to find that all the restaurants and markets are closed for siesta, and there are hundreds of jellyfish, deeming the sea untouchable
8. Later on, we got some good sandwiches and gelato in our stomachs, shared a bottle of wine, and got ready for a better weekend than our hilariously frustrating Friday

We spent all day Saturday on Isola di Capri, which was absolutely gorgeous. We had to have climbed at least 500 stairs to reach the top of the island and the main town, but it was well worth it. After getting our fill of the town, we headed back down for food and relaxation, and finally some swimming. Saturday night was the same as Friday; we came home from our excursion, showered in our private bungalows, grabbed some pizza (did you expect anything else?), and hung around beautiful scenery.

Sunday was another travel day, although it was admittedly much smoother than Friday. We got back to Termini and our our walk back to the apartment, Aimee, Sam, and I saw Tony Parker and Eva Longoria lunching. We were starstruck and couldn't stop talking about it the whole way home. After almost 60 hours of being away, we were home in Rome and our beds were calling us louder than ever.

Yesterday was a low key day; we had class from 9-11 and broke for about two and a half hours, in which we grabbed some food for our growling stomachs. Joe, Jackie, and I walked around Piazza della Rotunda until we had to get back for a class movie. The computer wasn't working, so we got to go home early where the weekend caught up with me and I hit the bed for a good 3 hours.

Today was a busy one. As a class, we saw the Colosseum, Basilica di San Clemente, and San Giovanni in Laternano. Our two TAs, Mia and Una, our teach Dr. Browne, Jackie and I all decided to go to Scala Santa, the holy staircase. These 28 stairs are said to have been the ones Jesus Christ ascended on his way to Pontius Pilate during his trial, and no feet can ever touch the stairs. They have been covered by wooden boards, and if one wishes to go up the stairs, one must go up on one's knees. Jackie and I decided to do this, and although it hurt a bit, we were both really glad we completed it. After hitting home for some food, Jackie and I went to Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, and the Colosseum. Unlike during class, we were able to walk inside and throughout these ancient places. Seeing where the gladiators and animal were kept before the fights was pretty ridiculous, and it's hard to imagine such things ever happened.

We came back and were home for about 3 hours before we decided to go to the beach soccer game on Viale Aventino, played between Brasil and Italia. It was an exciting game; Italia came back to tie it at 5, but then Brasil prevailed in extra time. This free game was part of the European Champions Cup week, which culminates in the game between Manchester United and Barcelona tomorrow night.

I apologize for what looks to be a novel, but hopefully now I won't wait two weeks to write about my life. Love and Miss you all!