Family Time & Firenze

It's been almost two weeks since my last post and I apologize for that.  I've gotten some great comments from people who keep up with it and I really appreciate everyone's support.  It's hard to believe that it will be December in a few days.  Finally coming home will be great, but I definitely wouldn't mind staying on another semester.

Lots to get to in this post, so let's dig in.

Thursday, November 15
-For Theology, we went to the Benedictine monastery to meet with Father Nicholas, a priest at St. John's who is studying in Rome for five years.  He talked to us about various aspects of the church and what his role is.
-Mom and Dad arrived in Rome in the mid-afternoon and checked into their hotel about 15 minutes from my apartment.  I was able to meet up with them after class and take them to my neighborhood.  We got a small snack before taking the bus into the city center.  I took them around some of the sights before finding a nice small Italian restaurant.  It was great to have them here for a few days.  They got to meet a lot of the people in our group and we definitely saw everything there is to see.

Friday
-Our class had a planned trip to the town of Assisi, so I had to split with the parents.  We took a train to the small mountain town in the morning.  Our Theology teacher, Lori, took us around to all the important religious and historical sites.  We started by exploring St. Francis' original monastery and the home of St. Claire.  Afterwards we got lunch and hiked up the large hill to the medieval castle at the top of the city.  We picnicked on top and then explored the castle.  Before heading back to Rome, we took a tour of the Church of St. Francis, where the saint is buried and home to some magnificent Middle Age art.
-We got back to Rome and I met up with Mom and Dad for dinner.  Afterwards I introduced them to some of the guys in our group.

Saturday
-The three of us got up to head to the sites of Ancient Rome.  We started with the Church of San Clemente.  I had already toured the 4th and 13th Century church with my class, so I was able to (mostly) explain its significance to the parents.
-We then toured the Colosseum with the help of Rick Steves.  Dad had an app on his phone that allowed us to get a free historical tour of the ancient arena.  After lunch, we explored the Roman forum, again with Rick's help.  We also squeezed gelato and a quick tour of the Pantheon in before going back to take a nap.
-Josh, Kayla, and I took Mom and Dad out for Dad's birthday.  We ended finding a secluded restaurant in the rain and got a room all to ourselves.

Sunday
-We all went to mass at St. Peter's Basilica.  It was a nice service that took place in one of the side chapels.  Afterwards we got pizza before heading to the Spanish Steps and the Villa Borghese.
-We toured the Galleria Borghese, a large house filled with renaissance art.
-Some of us in our group bought tickets to the Roman Film Festival.  We saw a screening of "A Glimpse Inside The Mind Of Charles Swan III."  It doesn't come out until March in the states.  Pretty good flick!

Monday
-I skipped class to meet up with Mom and Dad on their last day in Rome.  We headed back to the Vatican to take the Scavi tour, which explores the ruins underneath St. Peter's and contains the bones of the Saint himself.  The tour was a really cool experience.
-After finishing classes, I went out with the parents one last time for dinner.  They left the next morning for Salzburg and Munich.

Tuesday, Wednesday
-For history, we walked around the Ancient Field of Mars to see evidence of the reign of Caesar Augustus.  We saw his Mausoleum and his Altar of Peace.
-Our apartment had a large family dinner with the 7 girls upstairs.  We made way too much food, but it was delicious.

Thursday
-Thursday began our class excursion to Florence with our art history professor, Paolo.  We took a high speed train and arrived in the city around noon.  We stayed at the Hotel California.  Needless to say we definitely "lived it up."
-Before heading to our first art class, some of us found the best panini place in the city.  Seriously some of the best sandwiches I've ever had.
-We toured the Uffizi Gallery for our first art class.  The Uffizi houses some of the world's most famous paintings.  It was really cool to turn the corner and see a painting you immediately recognize.
-The hotel put on a makeshift Thanksgiving dinner for our group.  They told us we were eating turkey, but it was definitely pork.  After dinner, each apartment put on a skit for the whole group.  There were some pretty funny moments.  Afterwards we all went up to the hotel rooftop bar which had an impressive view of the Duomo, Florence's landmark church.

Friday
-Florence is known for their vast leather markets along the street.  It was a prime tourist shopping area and we all spent a little more than we care to admit.  I bought mostly Christmas presents, but I did get a nice leather jacket for myself.
-Our second art class took place at the Bargello Museum, which was mostly dedicated to sculpture.  We saw some true masterpieces from Michelangelo, Donatello, and others.
-After lunch we paid to climb the stairs to the top of the Duomo.  It was quite a hike but the view was worth it.  The dome was built in 1436 and has ever since been a symbol of the city and the entire renaissance.
-Paolo took us on a walking tour of the city to study its renaissance architecture in the late afternoon.  Some of us also toured the church of Santa Croce.  Michelangelo, Donatello, Machiavelli, and other important figures were buried within the church.  We all took a nap afterwards before going out to eat for Miles, Amanda, and Melissa's birthdays.  After dinner we walked across the river and up a hill to get a good view of the city at night.  We had a great time enjoying the view and playing improv games as a big group.

Saturday
-Our first part of art history was spent at the Academia Museum, which houses the world famous "David" by Michelangelo.  I've seen pictures of David everywhere, but I was truly blown away when I first saw the statue in real life.  It stood six meters high and was incredibly detailed.  After visiting the David, Paolo took us to the Church of San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapel.  Inside was an ornate burial chapel designed by Michelangelo himself.
-After getting lunch, we headed to Florence's Biological museum.  The museum consisted of rooms upon rooms of stuffed animals.  Seriously, almost every animal imaginable was in the museum.  They also had an exhibit which displayed 18th Century wax models of the human body.  The models were made by doctors for study.  It was all a little eerie.
-A few of us went to Saturday night mass at the Duomo.  Afterwards we went out to dinner as a group and spent the rest of the evening wandering around the city.  Around 2 a.m. we found the famous "black market bakery."  It's a baker who sells donuts and croissants late at night for really cheap.  Selling after midnight is illegal in Florence, so the bakery rotates to different buildings every night.  We just had to use our noses until they led us to the right location.

Sunday
-I finished up some shopping at the leather market before heading to the Gardens of Boboli.  The gardens were beautiful and had great views of the city and the Tuscan countryside.
-Our train got back to Rome later Sunday night.

That was a lot.  Kudos if you made it this far.  Only 18 days until my journey ends!  I'm planning on making the most of it.  Below are an assortment of pics.

Ciao!
Dan

Cheers!

Dinner with Dad

At the Pantheon with Mom

Walking through Assisi

Looking over Assisi

Medieval Castle at Assisi

Church of St. Francis

In front of San Clemente

At the Colosseum 

At the Roman forum

Getting gelato at Piazza Navona

Going out for Dad's birthday.

Mass at the Vatican

At the Villa Borghese

Looking over Florence.

Looking up at the Duomo.

From the top of the dome.

Looking out towards the Ponte Vecchio.

Having fun with the group.

Biology museum.

The Duomo at night.

Gardens of Boboli.

A great view of the city.

When In Rome...

"When in Rome" might be cliche, but after being here for about 3 weeks we are really starting to adapt to the Italian culture.  I've got the crazy bus schedule down, I know which restaurants to avoid, and the difference between the many famous piazzas.  Unfortunately we only have about one month left of our awesome semester.  But I can't think about that quite yet.  Here's a recap of what I've been up to since my last post.

Monday, Tuesday
-Had our first field trip with our art professor Paulo.  He took us to some of Rome's oldest sites to study Roman architecture and how it influenced the renaissance.  It was difficult to keep up with Paulo and his speed walking for four hours, but I definitely learned a lot.
-We found a gelato shop that has over 150 flavors.  So far I've had 8.  Only 142 to go.
-Josh and I have been experimenting more and more with cooking.  We've already cooked way more in Rome that we ever did in Greece.  Our specialty is Super Spicy Spaghetti, or SSS.  It's basically spaghetti with tomato sauce that has hamburger and red peppers to give it some heat.  We even tried baking cookies from scratch.  They didn't look very good, but everyone said they were delicious.  Nowhere near Grandma's though.

Wednesday, Thursday
-Our history professor, Jan, took us through some of the sites of the Republican age of Rome.  It's pretty amazing how knowledgable he is.
-Our first Theology class was spent at the church of San Clemente.  This was definitely one of the coolest things I've seen in Rome thus far.  The church consists of three levels.  The the basement is the foundations of a Roman home from the 1st Century.  The second floor is a Christian church from the 4th Century.  And the top floor is another church from the 14th Century.  We were led through each by a great Irish Dominican monk named John.
-Kayla's mom and two aunts were visiting, so we took them to see some of the sites of Rome and had dinner near Piazza Navona.

Friday
-The whole group took the metro out of the city to the Appian Way, the original road into ancient Rome.  We all rented bikes and went on a bike tour led by two guides.  It was a beautiful day for riding and exploring some ancient ruins.

Saturday
-Saturday began our class trip to the Bay of Naples and its surrounding area.  We took a three hour bus ride and arrived at the site of Pompeii, the famous city that was buried in 79 A.D. when Mount Vesuvius erupted.  After getting lunch at the site, we were led through the city by a guide.  We all thought this was the coolest ancient site we had been to.  When we were in Greece, the ancient sites were interesting, but you definitely needed to use your imagination to understand what they looked like back in the day.  Not the case with Pompeii.  The ash covered the city and left it mostly in tact.  We were able to walk through houses with multiple levels, paintings on the wall, and tiles on the floor.  It really made me understand how elegant and advanced Roman life was.
-After Pompeii we took a bus south to our hotel in Sorento.  Sorento is a beautiful town on the coast.  It's known for its many lemon-flavored products.  After checking in the hotel, we explored the town and bought some lemon sweets and drinks.  We were provided a nice dinner by the hotel.

Sunday
-We drove back north to the city of Naples.  Our first stop in the city was the Archeological Museum.  The museum houses most of the important artifacts and sculptures from Pompeii.  We saw many cool pieces of art as well as everyday items and tools.
-After the museum, we were given a few hours of free time in the city.  Naples is most famous for its pizza, so we all sought out the best pizzerias.  We waited an hour and a half at one restaurant before leaving.  We finally found a small place that wasn't too crowded.  The pizza definitely lived up to its reputation.
-We left Naples in the late afternoon and returned to Rome.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
-We again had field trips in art and history.  This time we explored a renaissance villa, as well as the parade route of the Triumphant Procession.
-A few of us checked out the Villa Borghese, Rome's biggest park.  It was a really nice area of the city with great views.

Mom and Dad arrive in Rome tomorrow and I'm really excited to see them and take them around the city.  We are also heading to Florence for a few days next Thursday.  

That's all for now, pics below

Ciao, Dan

In front of the Colosseum 

Biking along the Appian Way

Walking the streets of Pompeii

Temple of Apollo at Pompeii

Sean, Alex, and I at Sorento

Enjoying our Naples pizza.

The view from Villa Borghese

The Start of the Roman Adventure

It's been a little while since my last post, so I'll try to catch up to where I'm at.  I arrived in Rome on Wednesday, October 24th, and finally got settled the next day.  We live in a residential neighborhood with lots of parks, churches, grocery stores, and pizzerias.  The whole group has adapted to the Roman lifestyle without much trouble.  We all loved Athens, but we are glad we started there instead of the other way around.  

Here's a rough outline of what I've been up to during the last week and a half.

Friday
-We began our orientation with our new school, CEA.  The staff was very helpful at orientating us with the neighborhood and the Italian culture.  Our schoolhouse is a very cool old Roman villa.
-CEA held a welcome dinner for our group at a local cafe.

Saturday
-Had our first class with Mario, our Italian language professor.  He's a really fun guy and really helpful with the language.
-We all met in the city center for a tour of Rome's most famous sites.  Our tour guide showed us Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps.

Sunday
-We all woke up around 4:30 to catch the 5:00 bus that took us to Vatican City for the 10:30 papal mass.  We waited in line for about three hours before entering St. Peter's Basilica.  The mass commemorated the end of the synod of bishops, so there were hundreds of cardinals and bishops in attendance.  We snagged a spot right on the aisle, so we were only about five feet away when the Pope processed down the aisle.  The mass was a great experience.  It was read in mostly Latin, but also some Italian, German, English, and French.

Monday
-Monday began our first full day of classes.  They are basically the same as Greece, they are just centered around Italian culture instead.  All the professors seem very knowledgable.  Jan, our history prof was featured in the History Channel special on the Roman Empire.

Tuesday
-Tuesdays are a bit rough for class.  We have a four hour Art History class taught by Paulo, who is pretty intense.  Luckily this is only once a week.
-Tuesdays are also karaoke night at a local Irish pub.  The whole group had a fun time trying to sing.

Wednesday
-Halloween!  It's not really celebrated here in Italy, but we dressed up anyways.  We went out to the center of Rome and I met up with my high school friend, Tom Wilsey.

Thursday
-All Saints Day is a national holiday here, so no school!  I went to a nice mass at a church across the street.
-Skyfall, the new James Bond movie opened here two weeks earlier than in the U.S.  We found a theater playing it in English and the whole group went.  It was a lot of fun just to see a movie, and the film was really great!  Two thumbs up.

Friday
-About 21 of us decided to plan a last minute trip to Venice.  We booked our train tickets and hostel just a few days before we left.  Our train departed Rome around 11 and we got to Venice at 4.  Venice is a city you hear about all the time, but I still wasn't sure quite what to expect.  I found it to be very unique.  Very touristy, but still very cool.  Lots of tiny alleyways and canals.  My favorite part of the city was how easy it was to get lost in.
-We ate our first Venetian meal at a small pasta restaurant.  Followed shortly after by our first Venetian gelato shop.
-We checked out the main areas of Venice like San Marco Square and the Grand Canal.
-We stayed in a hostel on the mainland called the Camping Jolly.  We really didn't know what to expect.  After getting lost and walking through a foggy field in the dark, we finally found the Jolly.  It wasn't quite a campsite, but it was pretty close.  Erik, Miles, and I stayed in a very small and very cold bungalow.

Saturday
-We checked out of the Camping Jolly and went back into the city.  Venice doesn't have a lot of attractions to go see.  The main attraction is just walking around.  We shopped around and then went back to San Marco Square.  We toured the basilica of San Marco and took the elevator up the tower to get a good view of the city.
-Venice was very cold, so we had to stop and warm up every once in a while to get hot chocolate.  We also tried some hot wine, which was actually really good.
-We ate dinner at a nice place where I had the best pizza I've had on the trip thus far.
-Our train back to Rome left at 11 that evening.  The night train was nice, but I don't think anyone really got any sleep.  We got home around 6 and then crawled into bed.


Only 9 days in and we are loving the Roman portion of the trip.  I've also updated by Youtube channel.  It includes some highlights from Greece as well as a walking tour of my Athens neighborhood.

Here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz4nLEnE0FA&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM-Rbhr2ut0&feature=channel&list=UL



Ciao!
Dan


Here's some pics from Rome and Venice:

Trevi Fountain at night.

Piazza Navona

Mass with the Pope.

Kevin and I at the Vatican

Arriving in Venice

Erik and I at the Grand Canal

Venice from above.

In front of San Marco