Roman(+Florentine) Holiday

I am back after skipping a week of blogging...Last Monday I was busy with school work plus not that much happened the week before but I will recap a bit now. Then I will talk about my Italy trip(so yes this will probably be a long post)

Tuesday for Industry class we went to a homeless shelter where this theatre group, Cardboard Citizens(who performs for the homeless) was performing that day. It was so interesting to see and really opened my eyes to a different kind of theatre that is really affecting and helping people.

Tuesday night I then saw Hairspray with Kat, my roommate. Though I have seen the show before I went to see the people Sam worked with this summer. It was a really fun time! Always a fun show! I went to the stage door afterwards to tell people Sam said hi, I did get a few autographs too.

Wednesday after classes I met up with Katie to wait for the Frost Nixon Premiere. The red carpet London premiere was that night & we stood outside in the cold waiting for it to start. We had a good time though & got to see Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, Ron Howard, Jim Broadbent & Matthew Mayfayden. I had a fun time yelling out names in British accents as everyone else was.

Thursday morning I went and watched the British Olympian parade. They had a parade because they were proud of how well their Olympians & Paralympians did this year. I didn't know any of them & felt weird not being British, but it was still fun to see. Then that night for weekly Theatre Thursday for class we saw A Disappearing Number. It is a show about math actually and follows the relationship between a math professor and her husband alongside two mathematicians with math interconnecting them. There was lots of movement with dance and there were really cool projections. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, unlike anything I have ever seen. I even understood some of the math from calculus which was scary & funny that I liked it..haha

That Friday we headed to Stratford Upon Avon with Shakespeare class. Stratford is a really cool place but was less exciting thinking about how Marina told us Shakespeare was just an actor who didn't write the plays. It was still neat to see some of the places(Shakespeare's birthplace-on the left, Hall's Croft, Holy Trinity Church) The most fun part was Mary Arden's house(who was Shakespeare's mother). Her house is on a farm & there were lots of farm animals. The man who worked there thought I was crazy when I asked if I could touch the animals(which is what came out instead of asking if there was a petting zoo). My favorite animal was Larry the sheep but there were also some really cool birds, including a falcon show. It was a nice day spent with some good friends.

The rest of the weekend and up to Tuesday was filled with paper writing, studying & midterms with movie watching breaks to keep us sane...haha! Then Wednesday after my outside class I left for Rome....

I got to Rome around 8:45pm & then had to venture to our hostel alone(because Steph & Kristen were already there). It was less scary than in Germany cuz though I don't know Italian, it's still easier to understand and read I think. I finally got to the hostel, which ended up being a long journey & went to sleep to rest for the next day of sightseeing.

Our first stop on Thursday was the Trevi Fountain(after having our first yummy pizza is Italy). The Trevi Fountain is absolutely beautiful, definitely my favorite thing in Rome. I threw a coin in over my left shoulder(after throwing it over my right shoulder & told that was wrong) & therefore I shall return to Rome one day. Also by the Trevi Fountain I had my first of many gelatos...SO delicious!!

Next we headed to the Colosseum, passing some sweet ruins & such on the way.(& all the trees I am obsessed with! I forget the name of my favorite tree which is all over but I love the palm trees too!)It was pretty sweet to be somewhere that was such a huge place so long ago. We got a tour inside where I learned some cool things. We then took pictures pretending to be spectators watching a bloody event as they did back then. After the Colosseum went continue to the Roman Forum & Palatine Hill, the other ancient sites in the area(which is all included for the price of one..haha). Again it was hard to grasp how long these buildings, now in ruins, have existed. It was pretty cool to walk around & take it all in.

After much walking and sight seeing we went to have our first Italian pasta meal, which was quite delicious of course! Afterwards my dessert was another gelato cone...duh!haha! We then walked around Rome at night which is really pretty. We visited the Spanish steps which is especially pretty! After walking around a bit, we went back to the hostel for bed, tired from walking so much. Plus I was waking up early the next morning to go to Florence!!

5:30am came & I woke up & got ready to journey to the train station for my then long train ride to Florence. Though long(which was cheaper than the much shorter train ride...i am poor! haha) it wasn't that bad & I spent my time listening to songs in Italian(The Light in the Piazza & Josh Groban) while looking out the window at the Italian countryside. I finally made it Florence where Abbie was waiting for me. She is studying there for the semester & agreed to show me around for the day! yay!

I will try to remember the order of where we went....haha! First we walked around the train station area & saw Santa Maria Novella. We then went inside the Duomo. Then we walked around even more through Piazza della Republica and then explored the Boar market a bit & I rubbed the boar statue's nose which means I am going to return to Florence too. We also passed through Piazza della Signoria & The Uffizi Gallery. We then journeyed to the other side of the Arno(walking along the river a bit first seeing Ponte Vecchio & then walking over it) & hiked up to Piazzale Michelangelo. This was probably the most beautiful spot. There is a great picturesque view of the city of Florence as well as the Tuscan countryside. Abbie also treated me to yummy gelato which was probably the best flavor combination I got the whole time in Italy(carmel & coffee). Afterwards we headed back into the city.

We went to where Abbie takes classes & I met a few of her friends. We then went to a nearby place to get lunch where Abbie & her friends go sometimes & they are known there. We got very delicious paninos(I mention ood a lot cuz it was Italy & all delicious so I ate lots haha). We then wandered the city even more passing through Santa Croce(where we saw a super weird puppet show) and by the Duomo again. We then went to Galleria Academia where the David statue is. The whole place has some really cool artwork but the David definitely is the star. He is even bigger than I imagined & the detailing on him is so amazing. I also learned, from Abbie who is taking an art history class & was very informative the whole day, that he was originally supposed to go on top of the Duomo so his hands and feet was very large and not proportionate to his body. I couldn't get over how big they were!! It was really cool to see him in person. Sad you can't take pictures of him(though some people illegally were, I followed the rules...)

We then headed to the San Lorenzo market. It was fun to shop around though the salespeople are very persistent in trying to make you buy something. We met these crazy men selling leather products who asked who we were voting for and would hug you if you said Obama. The one then led Abbie away & me & her roommate who was with us at that point were very confused. The guy then took us to her in their shop where they had her try on so many different leather jackets. They were quite amusing but hard to get away from. Abbie finally said she didn't have money now and would come back when she did. They were quite hilarious though & it was quite an adventure.

After the market we walked around some more, past some places I had already been. We ended up in Palazzo Pitti for a bit & posed with a statue, unfortunately not the turtle statues there cuz there were always people around them(lame). We then traveled back toward the train station, seeing more pretty Florence on our way. I then got something to eat and Abbie waited with me until the train came. I also unexpectedly ran into my roommate who I knew was in Florence, but it was still random. My train then came & I said by to Abbie, who was a fabulous tour guide for the day. I am definitely glad I decided to visit Florence.

The next day, back in Rome, we headed to the Vatican. We first went to the Vatican museums(after getting ripped off by the man selling paninnis-oh the tourist areas). The museums were really cool. I knew the Sistine Chapel existed but not all the rooms and artwork leading up to it. There were so many pretty rooms with pretty statues and paintings. It seemed to go on forever as I joked that we would never reach the Sistine Chapel as every room leading to it had a sign with "Sistine Chapel" on it with an arrow. We finally did reach it though & it was more than I expected. The whole entire room is just filled with paintings in bright colors. It was a definite sensory overload! I also kind of couldn't believe I was straining my neck looking directly up at the real Creation of Adam painting. Again it was sad not to be able to take pictures but I did see those magnificent paintings with my own eyes!

Afterwards we took a gelato break(always needed in Italy haha) & then headed to the Vatican & St. Peter's Plaza where the Pope comes out. Unfortunately he did not make an appearance that day. We hung out a bit there in the shade(it was hot in the sun that day) which was very relaxing. We then continued to explore Rome, getting a delicious huge donut on the way. We walked by the Castel Saint Angelo & along the Tevere River. We then got a very early dinner, giving into the delicious pasta. We then walked around a bit. I found my first cannoli in Italy which made me super excited & it was super good. We then passed these ruins that are in a very random place & were not discovered very long ago. Interestingly there are a bunch of cats from a shelter that like reside there. It was very strange to see but kind of cool. Kinda felt like I was in the musical Cats though..haha!

We then decided to visit some of the major sites at night, like the Colosseum & the Trevi Fountain. Both are super pretty. Since we ate so early, we got pizza & gelato at the Trevi Fountain(love it! haha). We then journeyed back the hostel after another grand day of walking. We however gave into McDonalds again, which is by the bus stop. We each had McDonalds as our first meals in desperation but then kept going back cuz they had curly fries & would get them...so good! haha

Sunday we didn't have any big plans so we just spent the day wandering Rome before our flight back that night. We saw the Pantheon where we ate a delicious pizza lunch, which was probably the best pizza I had the whole time, though definitely the messiest. We then headed to Piazza Navona, where we spent most of our day. We got more gelato and then spent time watching some of the many street performers, who were quite fun. We then proceeded to wander the city a bit more(where I found another cannoli.. a bigger one this time..yummy!) but came back for dinner to Piazza Navona where they advertised free bread! haha! I had a nice dinner & my first glass of wine while being in Italy. It was nice to sit outside in the piazza for dinner, especially since it was a nice day. We then began our walk to the metro to head to the airport, stopping at the Trevi Fountain one last time and having our last gelato of the trip. It was a very nice end to our time in Rome.

The journey home then seemed like an eternity since it was so late by the time we got back, but the trip overall was lots of fun. I got to see things I have heard of & only seen pictures of & I still can't believe I saw some of them. The food was definitely amazing & it was nice to be a country where they speak a different language. It makes it more difficult but definitely feels like I am learning more about the culture. My new favorite word is grazie(thank you)..hehe! Definitely glad I went. I feel super lucky to be having these opportunities here!!

This week I gotta get back into classes & schoolwork. This coming weekend should be fun staying in London & having a few Halloween & Guy Fawkes activities.