On Friday, my roommates and I decided to explore some more of Rome since there is always something new to see. Steph and Sydney were on a mission to find a place they could get their noses pierced, and Cara wanted to see the Vatican since she was in Florence the weekend before when we all went. Korissa and I joined Cara because the Vatican is just so amazing that we didn't mind going back again; however, we didn't do the Vatican Museum because it takes too long and costs money so we just went into St. Peter's. Before the semester is over I want to go up to the dome because apparently it's awesome.

After exploring the Basilica, Korissa, Cara, and I wanted to do some shopping, and we heard that there was good shopping near the Spanish Steps. I didn't buy anything, but I probably should have because I didn't bring nearly enough "going out" clothes! We passed by the Pantheon and went inside for a few minutes. It was a rainy day out (I finally got an umbrella) but it had just stopped raining -- my Rome guidebook says that when you're in there while it's raining, the rain falls through the oculus (the hole in the dome) and splatters on the marble floor then drains. It also says that watching the snow fall is even better. Of course I recognized things from Angels & Demons (thank God I read that book before I came) like the tomb of the artist Raphael.

Korissa and I outside of the Pantheon

Once we left the Pantheon, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. At this point it was dusk, and I think that made it absolutely amazing. It was so beautiful and so graceful (Tara: I know you're going to make fun of me for being corny but that's really the only way I can actually describe it). Of course I made a wish which means I'll one day return to Rome. St. Peter's Basilica and the Trevi Fountain have definitely been my favorite sites so far.

Korissa and Cara ate gelato at this place next to the fountain a few weeks ago so they took me there for a pre-dinner snack. Cara said the mint chocolate chip was good so I got a scoop of that and a scoop of coco. The mint chocolate chip was too minty but the coco was amazing! Coconut gelato is definitely my preferred flavor. At this point, our legs were exhausted from walking all over the city so we headed home.

Making a wish in the Trevi Fountain

Korissa, Cara, and I at the fountain

Saturday, the five of us wanted to go shopping again. Sydney and Steph walked all throughout Trastevere (the part of Rome that I live in) unsuccessfully looking for a place to get their noses pierced and said there were a lot of good shops past our house. We found a store of just random stuff, kind of like a dollar store, and got some stuff we've been looking all over the place for. Cara got a hair straightener, and we all got HANGERS! I was so excited when I saw this because my closet was a complete mosh of clothes and desperately needed to be organized. We spent the whole day going into various shops and making a few purchases. Again, I didn't buy anything because I was really not in the mood to try on clothes, and I hate shopping with other people because I feel rushed when looking around. That night we went to On the Rox which is my favorite bar here. This Sunday they have a Super Bowl party which I'm really excited to watch.

Sunday morning we woke up early to go to the Porta Portese market which is right outside of our apartment and huge. They close down the streets every Sunday morning and vendors set up tents with random stuff they are selling. They had some awesome boots which I really wanted to get but I felt awkward trying them on (plus I was with Steph and, like I said, I don't like shopping with people). I did buy a bracelet for 1 euro which was my only purchase. Cara wanted bargained with a man for a 15 euro belt and got it down to 3.30 euro. Next time I go I'm on a mission to get some new shoes!

Nothing really eventful since then has happened -- besides stepping in dog poop on the sidewalks. They really need some sort of law to change this. I shouldn't have wrote about it in my last blog entry, because I think that I jinxed myself!

I'm determined to become a better cook by the time I leave Rome. Not because I'm in Italy though, but because my roommates are such good cooks. Last night Korissa and Cara made everyone gnocchi from scratch. It was delicious. I think Steph is cooking tonight. I'm going to have to make dinner at some point which will be interesting because the only thing I can really make is rice.

We also booked our flights to Greece for Spring Break. I can't wait; I know it's going to be gorgeous. Before I go, I'm going to have to ask Morgan about her trip there last year and get some advice. We are going to Venice for the day on Saturday for Carnivale and may go to the catacombs on Friday!

A Weekend of Sightseeing!

A large group of us went on the Colosseum Pub Crawl on Thursday night -- it was so much fun but a little disorganized. At one of the pubs I talked to an Australian who was touring the world with his two friends for their summer break. He told me they had been to Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York (they spent New Year's at Webster Hall in Manhattan), London, Barcelona, and now Rome. They were going to Berlin (I think) and Hong Kong after leaving Italy. After their trip, they would have spent two and a half months traveling and about 15,000 Australian dollars (which he said was about $13,000). I thought that spending four months in Rome was cool but traveling the world must be so much cooler!

JCU doesn't offer any Friday classes so Korissa, Steph, Sydney, and I took advantage of the first day of the three-day weekend to go sightseeing. We decided to go to the Colosseum; we've seen it multiple times since we arrived but we hadn't been inside. It cost 12 euro to get in (no tour or headphones included) which is about $18, so it's pretty pricey but I know that I have to go at least once in my life or else I would regret it later. It was cool inside but not too much to see because of its simplicity. It was fascinating to think about how old it was and that it's still standing. We wandered around for an hour or so and realized that we were all starving, as well as freezing (definitely the coldest day that we've been here for so far). We walked to Piazza Navona which has some good restaurants plus Fontana delle Quattro Fiumi, which is a fountain by Bernini that I recognized as the fourth Illumanti marker in Angels and Demons! However, it's currently under construction and has no water which is kind of a bummer. We didn't go out Friday night because we wanted to get up bright and early for Vatican City.

On Saturday, we left our apartment just before ten and took the tram then walked a bit to Vatican City. We first went to the Vatican Museum which took at least two hours to get through. I was excited when I saw the painting "The School of Athens" by Raphael since I learned about it in my Art History class sophomore year. There were also so many ceiling paintings that my neck was sore from looking up so much. They had about 20-30 signs that said "Capella Sistina" which was a tease since the Sistine Chapel was all the way at the end of the museum and the museum was huge. When we did finally make it to the Sistine Chapel, however, it was just as amazing as I had thought. Sydney got a headset for the museum and she let me listen when we got to the Chapel. I learned that Michelangelo had little experience as a painter before painting the ceiling since he was mainly a sculptor, and it took him four years to complete. He had to paint so many people with such detail that I'm impressed that it didn't take him longer. My favorite part was the Creation of Adam which is the famous scene of God giving life to Adam through his finger. It was also so surreal to be in the room that is the site of Papal conclave. I really wish I could have gotten a picture of the ceiling but the guards were getting very angry at the people that tried. Apparently, their biggest concern is that people will use the pictures for commercial reasons and try to make a profit off of it.

The Sistine Chapel was the last stop in the museum so after that we went through security for St. Peter's Basilica (also known as Papale di San Pietro in Italian) which was free admission. St. Peter's is by far the most amazing place I've ever been. It is absolute beautiful and so huge. To the right as soon as you enter is the Pieta by Michelangelo! All I said all day was how excited I was so see the Pieta. From reading a few Rome guidebooks I found out the reason why it is in a glass case -- in the 1970s, a man stormed the sculpture and screamed, "I am Jesus Christ" while taking a hammer and damaging Mary's nose and some of her fingers. It is also historically inaccurate because Mary is portrayed as much younger as she really was at the time of Jesus' crucifiction. There were so many other beautiful pieces of art. The alter by Bernini is over the tomb of St. Peter, an apostle and the first Pope. There was a small, quiet room off of the side where Sydney and I went in to pray for a few minutes that was not any less beautiful than the rest of the basilica. I was so overwhelmed by everything there that I am definitely going to go back at some point to take it all in again.

After our long day of sightseeing the Vatican, we stopped at the supermarket and bought ingredients for dinner. Korissa was the mother of the night and made us bruschetta, salad, and pasta while we drank wine. I don't like tomatoes so I didn't eat the bruschetta but it looked delicious! That night Korissa, Sydney, and I went to a bar in Campo di Fiore, the "Drunken Ship", which had a lot of Italians. A few groups of them came up to Korissa and me to chat. I still don't know anything in Italian except how to say "Non parlo Italiano" (I don't speak Italian) but a lot of them had a pretty good understanding of English so it wasn't too difficult to communicate. Plus, Korissa took a semester of Italian at St. Mary's so she knew a little bit. One of the guys was Roman but lived in Morocco for a while so he knew French too (this was the first time I heard that they speak French in Morocco). I pulled out some of my knowledge from my seven years of taking the language and tried to talk to him in French -- I'm trying to practice for when I go visit Paris which is number one on my list of places I have to see while I'm in Europe! We went home rather early, and I slept in this morning and have had a lazy day. Class tomorrow -- I'm beginning to forget why I'm here in the first place!

PS. Last night, I booked a flight to Barcelona for the weekend of February 18th to visit Jenna Shulman who is there for the semester! At least two of my roommates, Cara and Sydney, are coming too. I can't wait to see her, and I heard Barcelona is awesome!