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:
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| Trevi Fountain at night. |
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| Piazza Navona |
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| Mass with the Pope. |
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| Kevin and I at the Vatican |
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| Arriving in Venice |
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| Erik and I at the Grand Canal |
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| Venice from above. |
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| In front of San Marco |
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