Finally, the Colosseum!

Sorry, I've been behind my unnaturally good blogging schedule. We have the first draft of our term paper due tomorrow night by dinner, and everyone is very very stressed. So, let me tell you about the last two weeks!
Last week we had yet another day on the Palatine. This is probably the 4th time we've been there. And yet, we still saw things we've never seen. The Palatine hill, right by the Roman Forum, is just a giant mess of ruins that I will have to somehow make sense of before my final... quite intimidating. After wandering around Nero's giant house, spending more time trying to orient ourselves on our maps than actually looking at the ruins, we saw the arch of Titus, which was cool because that's where Israel got the design for the menorah that is now the seal. And then, as promised, we went to the Colosseum! ...which we only saw from outside. There was a mix-up with our tickets and reservations, so we did not actually get to go in. Instead, we had a pointlessly long lunch break, and then visited a museum by Termini, where we saw Pontifex Maximus Augustus. It was a nice 9 hour long field trip to ease us back after Sicily and spring break...

What a great guy, huh?

Wednesday, surprise surprise, we were back at the Forum/Palatine. This time we went into the (special-access!) Temple of Peace, from where we walked to the Forum of Nerva, and then, in a wonderful surprise, they decided to let us into the Forum of Augustus. We saw it a few weeks ago from outside, and it was terribly exciting to actually be inside (especially since we got to see the tourists looking on from where we had been standing last time). Oh, and we also got to go inside the Colosseum! Our professor worked it out so that 13 students were allowed to go in with our ticket, and I responded to the email in time, so I got to go! It definitely lived up to my expectations- amazing, but after 2 months in Rome I've definitely seen more amazing things. If only it wasn't full of tourists all the time. 

Yayyyy

On Thursday night we had a speaker who researches Jews in Rome, and part of her talk mentioned something very close and related to my term project. Apparently I, along with 2 other students, have a meeting with her sometime next week (not by my doing, but hey, I'll take it!) so that will be helpful for life! 

The weekend was very laid back and anti-social. I was collecting my energy for this week, which is the busiest one I've had in Rome yet.
This Tuesday we visited Portus, the ancient port city of Rome. We saw some ruins of warehouses and columns. Not the most interesting day, in my opinion. On Wednesday we had Esquiline day, wherein we walked around the entire Esquiline in the morning, seeing the Baths of Trajan, an arch, a fountain and aqueducts, among other things. And today, Thursday, we went to Isola Sacra, right by Portus, where people used to bury their family members. We had a fun scavenger hunt which involved walking around and into the tombs to find certain things. We do a lot of tomb-invading here... 

Here is tombs

Between all these field trips, I've been going to classes, eating, sleeping and WORKING ON MY PAPER. And trying to keep sane. In light of my attempt to keep my sanity, here is a list of GOOD things:

-My family is coming in 2 days!

-I booked flights to Paris and Dublin!

-I have a great lottery number for housing next year!

-Anna is back from the Pacific and I can post on her facebook without feeling bad about it.

-We had the delicious carrot pasta for dinner this week!

That's it... it's the little things... 

6 Days, 6 People, 6 Languages

Time to write about spring break! Here we go. Barcelona and Brussels!

Let's start with the adventure of arriving at the airport. Forgetting it was Sunday and that the Italian bus system is, well, Italian, we left the Centro at 1:45, 4 hours before our flight. We waited quite a while for the 75 bus, and by the time we reached Termini station the shuttle taking us to the airport had left, meaning we had to wait for the next shuttle, which left us with very little time to check our bags, go through security and get on the plane. But we made it against all odds! Finally, after all that excitement we reached the Barcelona city center. Where we had no idea where to go. We got the help of a friendly old couple who spoke only Spanish, and by the time they finished their argument about where our metro station was, we could have already been on the train and two stops down. It's the thought that counts...

Our hostel was wonderful. It was in a nice safe neighborhood, close to a bunch of stores and restaurants and a metro station. And free breakfast! Anyways, we settled down and went to get dinner down the street. Turns out that every single restaurant in Barcelona is a Tapas restaurant. So we had tapas- the traditional tapas that basically every place has are called Patatas Bravas, basically roasted potatoes with garlic sauce. Yum Yum. 

Monday morning we got up early, some of us (me) with a stomach bug, and headed down to La Rambla, the main street. The market in there is insane. Stands covered with fresh fruit and different juices, and candies, and meats and cheeses and everything ever. 

Mmmmmmmm

We got some lunch and walked around more, and ended up inside a mall on the boardwalk, where we spent some time shopping. We wandered back up another street where we saw a large Gothic cathedral, and after some confusing misunderstandings about cafés in Barcelona (you can't sit outside if you only get drinks?) we sat down for some Sangria and afternoon Tapas. The rest of Monday was uneventful for me, as I spent it sleeping off the stomach bug.

On Tuesday we went to the Sagrada Familia, which is actually insane. It's a church designed by Gaudi and still being built. It's designed to look like a forest, but is also architecturally crazy. Some pictures:

After that we went back to the market for lunch again, and went back to our hostel for a nap. That afternoon we walked around our neighborhood stores and I spent another terribly exciting night sleeping off the bug.

On Wednesday (finally healthy) we had lunch in our neighborhood and then walked around Barcelona looking at the rest of the crazy Gaudi architecture. It is all insane. Also, we went into maybe 5 H&Ms... We had delicious Paella for dinner and went to the boardwalk for some drinks. Thursday was mostly spent in airport travels, which are not our forté... let's leave it at that.

Skipping those fiascos, we reached our hostel in Brussels! Which, conveniently, was across the street from the Grand Place, the center of Brussels. We decided the most important thing to do straight away was get some french fries. When in Brussels...

Can you see them under all the mayonnaise?

We wandered a bit and walked into a chocolate shop. And now,the story of the amazing chocolate shop French man. Since it was late evening and we were the only ones in the store, the (beautiful) guy working there offered us some free samples and was asking us where we're from. The he turned to my friend Quinn, and in true European political correctness style said 'You are a little bit Chinese, no?" After explaining Quinn's ethnicity he told us about how he left France for Belgium because 'it's like France but without French people.' Then, after Quinn asked him what his favorite food item in the store was, he went on a strange little violent rant about some almond biscuits, which went something like 'there are almonds inside, and you bite into one, and it makes you want to get your weapon, AND GO TO THE COMPANY AND... hehe, yeah.' (Quinn went back in and bought the biscuits.)

Anyways... Friday morning we got breakfast and embarked on our search for the Manneken Pis. Which we only found because I stopped at a nearby waffle stand... So here that is.

In his Irish army uniform for St. Patrick's Day

We spent the rest of the day walking in and out of chocolate shops. That's really all we did all day. At one point we took a nap... we got beer... chocolate... fries... That's all. 

For dinner we had the obligatory moules-frites, mussels and fries, and after a drink to celebrate Mariah's 21st birthday we headed to bed. 

On Saturday we got up, had more waffles, and spent about an hour sitting on benches, wondering what to do. Brussels is quite boring. We ended up finding a Starbucks-type restaurant except with more food, where we could sit for 3 hours with our suitcases and not get kicked out. After another beer (to celebrate Belgium and St. Patrick's day) we left for our final airport adventure! Which, after much traveling, ended us up at the Centro. So lovely to be back... 

Ionic Temples Have Great Dentil Plans

It's Monday morning and I'm struggling to get back into normal class-work after two weeks away. So instead, I will blog! I'll start with the rest of my Sicily trip, and have another post later for spring break. 

SICILY- PT. 2: The Showdown. (not really that epic).

So where were we? Friday? Friday. We started off at an ancient quarry where you can still see unused but quarried temple columns. We also got some awkward pictures of our professors, which was nice. After that, we took a very small boat (which miraculously fit about 45 people) to Motia, a privately owned island off the coast of Marsala. We walked around, saw wildflowers, beautiful views, and a spot where child sacrifice took place! We then boated back to shore and had an amazing lunch at a restaurant by the boat. We then drove up to Segesta where we saw yet another Greek theatre (*sigh*) and a temple. The temple was exciting, because despite the fence surrounding it, a few of us went inside and climbed around. I enjoyed the fact that when the professors noticed their students climbing around a 2000 year old fenced-off temple, they didn't yell at us, but instead used us as pointers to explain parts of the temple. Before we left, I kissed one of the columns. Just so I could say I've kissed a Greek temple. 

Hey! I'm in a temple!

We then drove to Palermo, which is, in my opinion, a terrible city. On Saturday morning we drove to Monreale, about 15 minutes outside of Palermo, to see a cool mosaic-ed temple and have some free time. We then returned to a museum in Palermo to see 2 things and then had free time. During said free time we wandered the literally shit-covered streets looking for a place to eat. Finally we found a sketchy little street stand selling sandwiches (those are always the best!) and got some delicious food. After the lovely break we went to Zisa Palace, an old palace from the Muslim inhabitants. I thought it was cool, but many people were confused as to why we were there. After that, another 4 free hours! We found a market and some cafes, had an awkward run-in with an umbrella sales-man, and managed to get back on the bus with minutes to spare! Then it was time for the boat. 

The boat was interesting. For some reason we all got it into our heads that we were embarking on some lavish cruise with a swimming pool and movie theater and all that... that's how rumors spread. The boat was pretty crappy, and a lot of people got sick. Luckily for me, I don't really get motion sickness. At about 1 AM I went outside with a few people and walked around the entire boat in what felt like hail... it was scary but fun! 

The boat docked in Naples at about 7:00 the next morning, we all got on the bus and slept our way back to Rome. Once in Rome, I had 3 hours to unpack, pack, shower, eat, and leave again, this time for Barcelona! 

TO BE CONTINUED...

An Offer You Can't Refuse

I'm sitting here in a 4-star hotel, enjoying the first internet I've had in 4 days, and I decided to attempt updating my blog, which at this point is quite an endeavor. I may give up half way through and end with a 'To Be Continued...'
Let's begin, shall we? I'm in Sicily! Wheeee! The Centro takes us on two long trips, one to Sicily and one, in about a month, to Campania. We were warned about the intensity of this trip. We were told that this is 'the moment' people often pick out as when they really got into this program and Classics- or didn't. (This has been the subject of many jokes- 'oh god guys, is this the moment? is this it?') It has been intense. We're in a different hotel every night, after full day field trips of walking around in any kind of weather or sitting through long bus rides. But I'm loving every minute of it! I've definitely had my moment. :P
So, for you my avid blog audience, I'll go through the high lights of every day of my trip so you can enjoy it too! Because that's how this works, right? (note: keep in mind that after 6 days of this trip, we are all going insane).
It all started on Saturday. *DUN DUN DUNNNN*. We left bright and early, and after a picnic lunch it was time for our first Greek temples! We visited 3 temples, a forum and the museum in Paestum. Around 5:30 we got to go watch the sunset at the beach, which was exciting. A few brave people even got in the water- I couldn't even stand to put my feet in for too long... too cold! After dinner, we got our first Franco Surprise (TM). We took a walk back to the temples and got to see them in the dark. Very cool. Here are Paestum temples (get ready for lots of temple pictures!)

Next, it was Sunday! And we still weren't in Sicily! Sunday was pretty bus-filled. We stopped on the way to see an inscription in Polla, and spent an hour at the museum in Reggio Calabria before heading up to the hotel there. We had a lovely dinner in a room with a panoramic view of the beach, and went to bed. That was the last of laid back days.
Monday was the day we finally made it to Sicily! In the morning we took an exciting 15 minute ferry ride and then drove up to Taormina, where apparently classy movie stars all vacationed in the 50's. We saw our first Greek theater. I will say no more about it, but show you these pictures which even I can't believe I have on my camera:

 Choosing only 2 was like picking my favorite baby

Behind the theatre

After the most breath-taking view of my life, we had free time to walk around in Taormina. We had lunch and then embarked on the search for our first Sicilian Canoli. Which was the best. EVER. 

The two best things about Sicily

Later we stopped at an ancient fort outside of Syracuse. We got about an hour to wander around the ruins, crawl into tunnels, get lost, and realize we were somehow back at the entrance again. It was fun! Unfortunately I left my camera on the bus for that bit, but all my pictures would have been of the dog that decided to follow us around the ruins, so you didn't miss much.

What day are we on? Tuesday. Right. After a disappointing breakfast (disappointing because it was not served by a 4-star hotel in a panoramic top floor room) we drove to Ortigia island off the coast of Syracuse. We saw some temples and a spring, though I was mostly distracted by this:

After that we had another Franco Surprise (TM). He took us on a 'tour' of the free market, which was basically us following him through fruit and fish stands as he said 'look at these oranges... oh, great strawberries, don't you? Ohhh fish. Look, octopus!' Gotta love Franco. Finally, we ended the tour at a cheese shop where we got to try some baked ricotta. So naturally, as soon as the Franco Surprise (TM) ended, I returned with a few friends to the cheese shop, and we purchased half a round of said ricotta. While 2 friends and I were outside buying our cheese, our friend Dan called us into the store saying they had a 'present' for us. Sketchy sounding.... we went inside, and the guy at the counter was just making us free sandwiches. 'For my American friends!'. Best. Sandwich. Ever. Baked mozarella, fresh dried tomato paste, fresh cut prosciutto. And he opened a bottle of wine for us. Then he let us taste some of that morning's fresh mozarella. All just because he was a nice guy. He didn't try to sell us anything, and the cheese we bought wasn't even that expensive. (2 euro whaaat). After that amazing experience we bought a loaf of bread for 60 euro cents, a little thing of the best strawberries I've ever tasted, especially for early march, and stood by the ancient temple of Apollo eating ricotta with our hands. What can I say? Centristi are classy. Then, as if we didn't have enough food, we went into a bakery where I had this pastry that was basically cake, then ricotta, then marzipan, then icing. I might just move to Sicily. 

After lunch we saw another theatre and then our first ampitheatre! We also saw a kitten. After that, we had a two hour drive through the part of Sicily that the godfather takes place in to get to our hotel. After dinner, Franco taught us how to play Scopa, a Napolitan card game that, according to Franco, no one is smart enough to play except Naples natives and Centristi. 

INTERMISSION. Go get a drink or something. 

Wednesday! We started the day at an ancient villa in which all of the floors are covered in amazing mosaics. We met our dog companion for the day (there's one dog that follows us at every site...) and saw the famous mosaic of women in bikinis. Everyone knows what I'm talking about, right?

After seeing that we had a very interesting discussion about preservation and the challenges that come with both wanting to preserve the ancient things and also wanting to show them to the world. Tricky stuff. We then drove off to Agrigento, where we were met by terrible rain clouds. We spent as much time as we could in the museum, where we kind of walked in on an Italian high school dress-rehersal of Euripides' Medea, but eventually, alas, we had to go see the so-called Hellenistic quarter. Once I got over the rain and wind it was pretty cool- we got to climb around the remains of a giant complex of ancient houses and shops. Afterwards we drove to the shelter of our 4-star hotel and after dinner I finally watched the Godfather! Now I know all about the Sicilian mafia. 

Finally, we're on today! Today was a temple-filled day. We started the morning in Agrigento, where we saw some nice, more-than-usual intact temples. We also got to 'sneak' into a temple, which was justified by our professor with 'this side doesn't really have a fence... in some areas...do it quickly.' After lunch we  got to see more temples (shocker!). It was quite exciting, because we got half an hour to climb the ruins of a huge temple. And by ruins I mean it was just a giant pile of giant rocks. Dangerous? Nahhh. After the exciting climbing we had our first official autoptic. That means we had half an hour to sketch out a temple we had never seen before with semi-accurate measurements and a good idea of what it looked like without piles of fallen rocks on top. It was a painful experience for all, made better by some more climbing that we got to do afterwards. Then we headed to our hotel where we had a lovely women's day dinner with balloons, flowers, and live music (a middle-aged Italian guy and his keyboard). Now I must go to bed for yet another long day tomorrow!