Carnivale

Yesterday I went to Venice for the day with a tour group company, Bus2alps. We left at 7am and arrived in Venice at 2:15ish. I was surprised with how quickly the bus ride went. It's a tour company for American students studying abroad, so they played some movies throughout the ride. Knocked up and Mean Girls were two of the features...as much as I love the Italian movies, it was nice to see familiarity (and watch something in English). The ride was pretty; we drove through some countryside, and were able to see the alps as we got a little further north!

As soon as the bus dropped us off, we searched and bartered for our masks! They were much cheaper than I was expecting, but I guess that makes sense because everyone at Carnivale needs one! (I'm going to miss bartering when I go back to America: 1. because I excel at it 2. who doesn't like watching the price go down before your eyes? I was with a group of twelve people from JFRC, but we all split off due to everyone having different agendas. Mine was just to enjoy carnivale. And I did just that. Brigid, Melissa, and I strapped our masks on and headed for the center. Most of Carnivale takes place in San Marco Piazza (Casanova anyone??). We eventually got there after stopping to try on even more masks, buy confetti (who says you have to be a kid to throw it at random strangers), grab lunch and some wine.

5/12 of us wearing our masks

It was absolutely the most fun I've had on a trip so far! Everyone is wearing a mask. I mean everyone...old ladies, babies, middle aged men...it's quite the site! Many people even get 100 percent into it and dress up. Here are some of my favorite costumes (yes, I was the creeper taking pictures of people I didn't know...and with some of them, but that's what it's all about).

this guy reminded me of the people in wizard of oz...i call them the OREOS because that's what it sounds like they're chanting, but I know it's not...but you know the people guarding the wicked witch's castle?

This is probably my creeping at it's finest.  A family in costumes! I didn't get the guys shoes, but they were legit!  The kids looked pretty tired, it woulda been awkward if I got their faces...well I tried and failed.

This lady was one of my favorites.  I am going back to Carnivale in the future, dressing up like this, and letting everybody take pictures of me.  New life goal.

I even took pictures with other people in them, to step up my level of creepiness.

The three of us even met some new friends. They are studying in Milan, but were from all over (Ireland, Egypt, Malaysia, Poland, Brazil, Germany). They were really nice and we spent a great deal of time talking and hanging out with them.

Some of the people Brigid, Melissa, and I met

I had to pay to go to the bathroom for the first time since I've been in Europe. I've been so good about avoiding it, and finding free public bathrooms, but Venice didn't have that option. It was the only disappointment of the day.

Venice is absolutely gorgeous! Although, it was very crowded, so we didn't get to see too much, but we knew that when we decided to go to Carnivale. I love the little canals, and walking over the bridges. Everyone always says how it smells there, but the only time I noticed strange smells were in some of the smaller alleys (and I have a very good nose that detects even the weakest of smells...makes up for my bad eyesight) .

Looking off of one of the bridges

Someone taking a Gondola ride

Some Gondolas sitting at the gondola station

St. Mark's Cathedral is stunning from the outside. It was closed by the time we got there though, and we were unable to go in. The mosaics were magnificent above the entrance way.

Side of St. Mark's

Front of St. Mark's (they were doing construction on parts of it)

One of the Mosaics

We left Venice at 11pm, we had to hop on a water taxi or bus to make it back to our bus on time, but it was a very neat experience, and I usually hate boats (a strange fear considering for the last 2.5 years I've spent nearly every day in one). We made it back to the bus on time and started the seven hour journey back home. I slept the whole way and we were back home around 5:30am. I was even able to call home since it was only 10:30 at night in Chicago. I actually got a really good sleep in, so going to bed wasn't an option for me, but the others passed out until lunch.

Random Facts
1. We saw one of the fountains have wine spouting from it, rather than the water. They were filling up cups for people.

wine fountain

2. Michelle-When talking to the Brazil guy, naturally I told him about you, and he said that the best Carnivale in Brazil is in, well actually I forget the name of the city, but I'll do some creeping and look it up for you...just in case you want to try it out another year.

3. The Gondola driver-rower-mover type people actually wear the uniforms you see in the movies. Since I was in my creeper picture mentality, I can show you.

Gondola driver person

4. I enjoyed not having a list of things I needed to see and do, and just absorb the holiday. I do hope to go back one day to see the islands and the inside of St. Mark's.

I EVEN SAW PIPY LONGSTOCKING!!

Il Tempo Vola

Time Flies

Monday was a pretty normal day, or as normal as a day in Rome can be. I had class on site again. We met up in Piazza Navona. I've been to Piazza Navona many times, but for some reason had not gone into the church. However, I still have not gone into the church because it was closed. I'll have to go back soon. One quick note about Piazza Navona is that the main fountain has a really interesting story. The fountain is of four rivers. It's the most modern thinking fountain of the time. That might not make sense to anyone that is not in my head, so I'll try to explain it better. When the world was thought to be flat, and a ship could go over the side of the world, and when only four continents were known, this fountain was sculpted to represent the world. Bernini depicts the four largest rivers known at the time (the largest in each of the continents): Europe's Danube, South America's Rio della Plato, Africa's Nile, and Asia's Ganges.
Because we could not go into St. Agnes, we walked over to San Augusto.

Then we went To San Ambroso e Carlos (St. Ambrose and St. Charles)....inside is relic of St. Charles' heart.

Tuesday, though, was a good day. I started my morning out with a great run. I met up with my friend, Lauren, from high school and spent some time with her. It's great having one of my best friends in the same city. Even tutoring went well. We read Little Women (well a much easier version of it) in English for a change from the workbooks and the textbook. It is one of Laura's favorite stories (another similarity!)

My first big exam in History of Art was this week. I think it went pretty well, but I hear he rips apart the essays so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.

Which brings me to Friday. A wonderful and relaxing day. I woke up nice and early and got a great run in before meeting up with Lauren. We went to my favorite panino place in Rome,.and then we walked around exploring a bit. We ended up sitting, swinging our legs over the river, just chatting about life. I'm really glad we're both in Rome together, even though we don't see each other too often. Lauren rowed at Madison, so we were both excited to watch the parade of scullers come down the river. It looked so relaxing and peaceful.

A quad sculling down the Tiber.

La Mia Famiglia

My Family

Sabato
Saturday

Ciao! sorry to all (if any) of you who have been following my blog. Last week was a bit busy, and time just got away from me.

Today was an amazing, challenging, interesting,wonderful sort of day. It started a little before noon and ended just after 1am. I was very nervous and excited today. I guess you could call it a very emotional day, because I was so anxious to meet my family again, but self conscious about my Italian. I was worried that I wouldn't understand anything they said, and vice versa. But my fears were thrown away the minute Elio and Gloria picked me up at JFRC.

We very quickly established (and apologized to each other) about our lack of Italian/English. Although, me being the one visiting their country, it should be me that is embarrassed, not them. They were taking me back to their house for lunch, but on the way we stopped at Gloria's favorite view of Rome and at Gianicolo, a park in Rome with an absolutely gorgeous panoramic view of Rome. Elio and Gloria pointed different places out to me, and we just looked for a bit. It was one of those moments that will stick with me forever. Not because of the view, but because I was, for the first time, really getting to know my family. (I met them ten years ago, when I was little, but I spoke no Italian.)

We went back to Elio and Gloria's home where I once again met her daughter, who is 23. Barbara also met up with us there. Once lunch was ready we all sat down. Barbara had made an absolutely delicious antipasta. It was sort of like an artichoke pie. That really is the best way to describe it. It had crust, similar to Chicago Deep Dish, but the bottom wasn't as thick...if that makes any sense at all. It was filled with artichokes. They also had mozzarella, mushrooms, and olives. Gloria made the best lasagna I have ever had for the primo piatto. It had the perfect amount of everything in it. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. For seconda piatto, Gloria made....dessert

Elio wanted to skype with Giuseppe, Claudio, Roberta, and my dad, but only Giuseppe was on to talk. It was very brief, and all I really said to him was hello, how are you, etc (in Italian of course), but he will be in Rome soon (he's studying for his master's in Milan right now) and I will get to meet him again.

Barbara had car trouble, so we spent some time trying to figure out what to do. We ended up following Barbara back to her apartment and she made tea. She also put out ginger cookies. I love ginger, and these were good, but they were so strong. The flavor of one bite stayed in my mouth for many minutes. Barbara is a wonderful musician and we listened to her play the piano. Again, I was awe-struck. I've never heard anyone I know play the piano so beautifully. She played selections from Chopin, Bach, and even played the Pink Panther. Barbara took out her two percussion instruments. I am diligently trying to find the names of them online. She played those for us too, and let me try...most of you know of my wonderful musical abilities...I'm sure I blew them away with my fantastic talents.

Around 8:00pm Barbara was invited to a dinner with her colleagues from work. (She is a psychotherapist.) Elio and Gloria were invited also, so naturally they took me along. I was under the impression, due to me not understanding their Italian correctly, that it was a bigger sort of gathering, but when we arrived (a little after 9:30) I was surprised to find that the table (yes in an apartment) was set for seven. Barbara, Elio, Gloria, myself, and three of her colleagues. I was then served another fantastic meal. I literally will not be able to eat for weeks with how much delicious food I consumed. They had wine to compliment each dish. The primo piatto was a delicious pasta. I felt like a dumb American for this though, because they were holding up hot sauce (which most of you probably know that I don't really have a tolerance for spicy things, but I'll try anything) anyway, I didn't know what they were asking. When this happens, I usually just take a 50/50 chance and hope I'm saying yes or no to the right thing. Well I said no, and apparently they were asking if I liked it, because that was the sauce for the pasta. But they threw some olive oil and tomatoes in a pan for me, which was absolutely delicious, and I don't think too much of an inconvenience, but still I felt stupidio. The main course was lamb and potatoes. The lamb was so tender and delicious. It was melt in your mouth kind of tasting. Again, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. For dessert they had a swiss cake with apricot sauce in the middle. Apparently, it is famous, but I had never heard of it. There were also pastries. My favorite wine throughout the night was the wine they served for dessert. I remember what the bottle looked like, so I am trying to find it online or I will keep my eyes peeled for it in wine shops (or maybe ask my food and wine teacher). It complimented the chocolate so well. It brought out the flavor and sweetness of the chocolate without overwhelming it.

The discussion at dinner was a bit difficult for me to follow. There were parts where I understood everything, and then the conversation would turn to something intelligent involving their work, and the vocabulary was over my head (Gloria later told me that the two older men were using phrases that don't really translate well into English). It also didn't help that they were speaking quicker than I can think...even when I'm thinking in English. As I read this, I realize that I might be making myself sound unintelligent, but what I meant by the vocabulary over my head was that I am not that advance in Italian to be discussing topics of that sort (although my mom, dad, and sister would have a fair argument saying my vocabulary in English also isn't that advanced, but what can I say? I like to make up my own words...they have a certain ring to them).

On the way home (around 1:30am) we passed by a limo with younger girls in it. I don't think many limos are around Italy from the reactions that Elio and Gloria had to it, but Gloria made a funny joke about the possibility of Berlusconi being in there too (because of the underage girls), and it was a good laugh.

Spending time with them was absolutely the best time I've had in Rome. At times, I was very overwhelmed when I didn't understand things, and sometimes there was silence because we didn't know how to communicate what we wanted to say, but getting to know my family was the main reason I chose to study in Italy this semester. I've been blessed so far with so many different opportunities, and they will all stay with me, but I know that the conversations (as broken as some might have been) will be the best souvenirs I'll ever be able to get.

Interesting facts that will just boggle your mind.

1. Italians eat very fast. Even though the meals last for hours, the actual time eating each dish is very short. Or I am just a slow eater. Somehow this did not rub off on my Aunt Marion, because I remember she was a very slow eater as well, but Bern takes the gold in this department. (Bern, you better practice inhaling a bit quicker before coming here.)

2. I'm considering asking the government for a grant to complete a study. Not really, but it was really interesting to observe some of the characteristics and behaviors of my family, because they are very similar to that of my dad. (Dad, Elio really reminded me of you in many of his actions.)

3. I'm very glad I gave up the vegetarianism dealio. Especially after today's feasts. Somehow I know Italy would not be the same if I was just eating their different plants.

Mi Chiamo Laura, Sono Perso

My name is Laura, I am lost.

Perugia
Friday I went to Perugia with my friend, Melissa. Perugia is a town(the capital) in Umbria, north of Assisi. The city's symbol is a griffin, and it is displayed in many places around the city. One of the really cool things about Perugia is that there is a university there that attracts many foreigners. Yeah, doesn't sound so great, but there were so many young people walking around...all speaking different languages...it was nice to be surrounded by students (it was almost like being on a college campus again).

To get to the city center (which is on top of the mountain) you walk through the rocco paulino. It is underground, or almost, in the mountain. There are ancient ruins and it is a very cool way of getting into the city.

The underground tunnels that remind me of Hogwarts' dungeons.

We got there during siesta, so many places were closed. We just looked at the view, and sat by the fountain on steps in front of the duomo. The fountain is famous for it's depiction of the bible stories near the bottom, and the statues of the prophets on the higher tier.

Once the churches began to open, we began our tour of the churches of Perugia. I'll just add the pictures and write about each one as I do. (I promise to have them up this week)

Gorgeous sunset over the mountains

View from the city center.

You can see Assisi in the background, the big section of white on the lower part of the mountain.

Going home was quite the adventure. First, I have a Harry Potter reference, so please feel free to make fun of me, as so many of you love to do. To get back to the train that would take us to Rome, we went on this mini metro; no one drives it, and it is this little car. The picture doesn't show it too well, but it reminded me of what I would imagine going through Gringott's, the Wizard Bank.

Again, I forgot to flip it.  But really, look at that tunnel!  Can't you picture yourself traveling through Gringott's?

Our train arrived to Termini 27 minutes late. The metros were no longer running because they were being worked on, but they have "metro buses" that run the metro route. We got on the one that should have taken us the right way, but apparently there are two different buses, with the same number, that say the same final destination on them, but I learned (the hard way) they are not the same. I wish I could blame this on the metro system, and I do try to, but I think we all know that I am directionally impaired. If I had one wish, well if I had ten wishes, one of them would be to know where I was going, because I think that I spend 27% of my time lost (and not just in Italy, I get lost in Beverly still and I have lived there for 21 years). We finally got on the right one, after having gone in the completely opposite direction, completely out of our way. It took us longer to get from Termini to JFRC than it did to get from Perugia to Rome. But we made it. And that is what matters. On one of the walls that enclose our campus, someone wrote a quote by JRR Tolkein, "All those who wander are not lost", well in this case (and in many cases involving me and directions), I was lost.

Random Facts
1. Life is cheaper in Perugia.

2. Perugia is known for their chocolates, and for good reason.

3. Sometimes life works in your favor. For example, when trying to speak with an Italian, and nothing is making sense, five minutes later they might ask you...in perfect English...if you speak English. When lost, this is the happiest phrase you will hear.

Firenze

Florence

Pisa and Florence

Last weekend was a spur of the moment decision. I hadn't planned on going to Florence, but my friends convinced me to come along.

We left JFRC at 4:30am to catch our 6:15 train. It was a little over three hours to Pisa. There are really only three things to see in Pisa: the leaning tower, the duomo, and the baptistry. We took pictures in front of the tower, but you have to pay to get into everything. The baptistery is the largest in Italy. Galileo is said to have developed his theory of the movement of the pendulum here by swinging it from the naves of the Church. Sadly, I don't know too much more of the history of everything that we saw.

The ten of us in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

We only were in Pisa for a few hours before catching the train to Florence. Brigid, Rachel, and I didn't plan on spending the night, so we walked around for a bit while everyone else checked into their hotel. Once everyone was settled, we headed straight for the Duomo. It is marvelous. Nothing can describe the outside of it, so I'll just put up some pictures. I never imagined it to be so massive. The size is overwhelming.

The Duomo in Florence

The inside is (please excuse the repetitive adjectives)wonderful. The paintings in the dome are just absolutely gorgeous.

Looking up at the ceiling (inside of the dome)

Then we went to see David. David is huge. I think he stands almost 20feet tall. (I doubt he was that muscular in real life...if he was I don't even want to think about Goliath....it would take giant to a whole new level. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum, but there is a replica in one of the plazzas.

This is the replica of David.  (the high vis rowing shirt has been traveling around with me throughout Europe.  It started out as a way to enter the winter break high vis challenge, but I never sent the pictures in so now I just bring it with me everywhere to take a picture with as sort of a joke.  It will be very cultured)  I also am technologically challenged and can't flip pictures.

We stayed in the museum that David was in for a little bit. I really enjoyed the music room inside the museum. The room housed old pianos, guitars, violins, and instruments I had never seen before. It's interesting to see how much music has evolved throughout the years, and to think about the music they were able to produce on such different instruments.

Dinner that night was absolutely delicious. We went out for a family style dinner at a cute little restaurant. They brought out many delicious appetizers and 3 different kinds of Pasta and of course wine. My favorite was the tortilini, but the ravioli and gnochii were excellent also. I was especially fond of the roasted peppers.

Well, the three of us decided to sneak into their hotel, and we thought we'd leave in the morning. But there was still so much to do, so we ended up staying until 7pm. Note: This explains why I am in the same clothing in all my pictures, because I hadn't packed a bag. Most of the churches cost money to go into, so we really only saw the outsides.

There was a chocolate festival going on outside...and then some crazy parade came by. I didn't get any chocolate, but some of it looked delicious. The parade had people of all ages dressed in medieval costumes.

Rachel and I went to Dante's house and his church. It was previously called Santa Margarita, but now it's really known as the church of Dante. His house was pretty neat, but again we didn't go inside. It's weird to stand somewhere where an actual person walked daily.

We also wandered into a church that played haunting music in it. It was called Chiesa degli ricci, or Church of the Rich. That struck me funny, but I guess the rich need prayers too. Really though, it was a very dramatic atmosphere. The music played can best be compared to the beginning of an old scary movie where the organ is playing itself.

We walked around a lot, just noticing different buildings and markets. I'm a wanderer, so I really enjoyed it. Except for the thousands of bats that stormed the sky. It really looked like a scene right out of Birds.

For having planned absolutely nothing for this weekend, it really turned out to be a blast. We made it back to campus by midnight, just in time for a good night sleep.

Things I've Noticed

1. The Catholics here take advantage of tourists and charge ridiculous amounts of money to enter. I'm starting a protest: "YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY TO PRAY".

2. Things I'm missing out on back home in Milwaukee: armed robberies on campus. Do I really ever have to go back?

3. cutest old man I have ever seen.

This is one of the cutest old men I have ever seen.  I tried to make it seem like I was taking a picture of the replicas, but I'm pretty sure it was obvious that my camera was pointing straight at him.

Calcio

Soccer

This week just flew by. The mere thought of my weeks going by this fast has made me realize how quickly the rest of my time here is going to go. It's been a month already! I feel 100 times more comfortable here than I did the day I arrived trying to figure my way around the airport and completely overwhelmed with my Italian (or lack there of). My Italian class, although still incredibly difficult for me, is becoming more bearable and I'm understanding more and more each class.

Monday's theology class was on-sight. We went to San Giovanni's, the first catholic church in Rome. I really liked the inside. There were statues of all 12 apostles. The sculptures of the apostles were huge, just like the ones on top of Saint Peter's. I found it really interesting that they chose to decorate the church in such away. Each statue was equipped with the symbol connected to the Apostle. These statues weren't added to the nave of the church until renovations were made, but nonetheless they are pretty neat.

Again, for some reason my internet/computer is deciding not to work how I want it too, so I cannot write captions. The above picture is of Thomas, the Apostle.

I'll just add some pictures to show you. The outside looks like a political building. Interesting fact though, this is where the Popes lived for awhile.

above: San Giovanni's

After learning about the history and taking it all in, we went to Santa Maria Maggiore, the second church of Rome, but because it had undergone less renovations than San Giovanni's it looks much older. Inside Santa maria Maggiore is a relic. Enclosed in fancy art, but visible, is a piece of wood from the Manger.

We went to a third church, much smaller, that use to be the baths of diocletian. It is called Santa Maria degli Angeli. It looks so old from the outside, but again the inside is really "done up". The church has some astronomical points. There is a bronze line that supposedly tells you what the day is depending on where it fell. I may be a bit off with my description of that, but I think that's the gist of it.
We ran out of time, which meant we weren't able to go to the Jesus stairs...the stairs that Jesus walked on when he was condemned to death by Pontius Pilat. You are suppose to walk up them on your knees. We all plan on going back sometime next weekend.

Tuesday's tutoring went really well. I decided that just using the books is boring. What girl really wants to do worksheets to learn English. Of course, we have to do these too, but we were able to practice conversation for part of the time, and I found out some of the things she liked. This really is good practice for what I will have to do for Speech Pathology. And guess what? Yep, she likes Harry Potter; it was definitely a bonding moment. And she plays sports. I feel like next week I can come up with something to make the tutoring more fun. She also likes the Simpsons, I'm pretty sure when I was 13 I wasn't allowed to watch that...

Art in Rome was also on-sight and we went to the Pantheon and Ara Pace. The Pantheon amazes me. The dome weighs over 5000 tons and the building is still standing. The Dome wasn't added until later, but it such an impressive piece of architecture. Raphael is buried there. The only downside was how freezing it was inside. Although, I'm sure any of you reading this are probably thinking you'd rather be inside the Pantheon than in the negative degree weather you're stuck with at home.

The Altar of Peace was pretty neat too. I think I appreciated it more so than others because of my Latin Days. It is located in a modern building. To me, this takes the importance and significance of it away. It probably would have overwhelmed me more had it been in it's original spot, not surrounded by modern walls.

Wednesday night was my first soccer game. Indeed, I did sign myself up for soccer. I thought it would be fun, and a good way to meet even more people. I hate not being good at a sport, but I think I'll catch on quickly. My team's pretty good though. We're the black the team and call ourselves The Blackout. We didn't win our first game, but it was close (we weren't losing until the very end). Too bad you have to excel at soccer to play in college, because there are definitely a lot of pros to the sport. Soccer is more fun than erging, although erging would have helped me keep my abs from all the carbs here. Soccer is also cheaper than crew. There are no weigh ins for soccer...big stress reliever. You get to run while playing soccer. I forgot how much I liked contact sports. We play at night, not at 5am. Too bad I don't have the skills to continue this at MU. Soccer:6 Crew:1. I'm looking forward to our next game.

Some Interesting Thoughts

1. When you enter San Giovanni or Santa Maria Maggiore you are no longer in Italy, because the Property still belongs to the Vatican...even though it's not near Vatican City.

2. John Felice Rome Center use to be a convent. I bet NONE of you thought I would ever live in a convent. Goes to show anything's possible.

3. Rome has more of the Egyptian Obelisks than Egypt does.

Cielo Azzurro, Ma Niente di Cielo Azzuro

Blue Skies, Nothing But Blue Skies

I will eventually get around to putting the pictures up, but my computer hasn't been working very well so it makes this task very time consuming and drives me to insanity.

On Top of The World
For starters, I love that every weekend for me is a three day weekend.  Second, this weekend I had the luxury of 60 degree weather....I'm sorry for all of you back home (I take back what I previously said about wanting to play in the snow). Third, You can never run out of things to do in and around Roma.

Friday morning I set out for a day in Rome with my friends Rachel, Crissy, and Alyssa. Our first stop was St. Peter's again, but this time we went to the cupola.  The Cupola is the view from top...we were able to go all the way to the top of the dome.  There are 551 stairs; it is worth every one of them.  There really are no words to explain the view.  The pictures don't even capture a fraction of the beauty.  It was such a clear day that you could see so much of Rome: the snow covered mountains in the distance, the Colosseum, the Victor Emmanuel building, the Roman Forum, etc.  You really felt like you were on top of the world.

view from the top of St. Peter's.  We were luck to have such a clear day!

This is also from St. Peter's, but shows more of the Vatican Gardens.

This is actually from the lookout at Villa Borghese, but I can't get the picture to move.  I'm with my friends Rachel, Alyssa, and Crissy.

We ended up spending over 2 hours there.  The middle balcony allowed you to be so close to the statues of the saints.  Although I was behind them, I was still very excited to be so close to St. Matthew.  They are enormous when you are so close up to them.

These are some of the statues on top of St. Peter's.  It's so neat how close you are to them!

This isn't the very top of St. Peter's, but we were getting close!

Inside, you really get a good view of the details in the mosaics. You don't realize how ginormous everything is when you are standing on the ground. It's like looking at cars from a plane.

Next we wandered over to Villa Borghese...a famous park in Rome.  You could literally spend days just wondering aimlessly around the park.  We had our picnic lunch around a fountain before wandering further into the park.  

Fountain in Villa Borghese that we ate our lunch by. 

Here we saw many people running, biking, taking a nice little stroll (fare passeggiata) and just enjoying the beautiful day that it was.  There is also a zoo in Villa Borghese, but it cost 12 euro, so we opted to avoid it for today.  However, I did see an armadillo! We stayed in the park for four hours just enjoying the weather and basking in the sun.

My Pilgrimage
For my theology of pilgrimage class, I must complete 2 pilgrimages, one within Italy.  I did that one this weekend.  Saturday I went to Assisi with the same friends I spent Friday with.  The train to Assisi is just over 2 hours from Rome's Termini station.  Our train was at 7:45am, but we decided we would leave at 6am just to be on the safe side.  We'd need to take a bus, metro, and then get our tickets.  Well good thing we left early, because we decided to walk to the metro stop....maybe a little over one mile, maybe two...since we didn't see a bus coming. Once we got to Termini and got our tickets we had maybe 8 minutes to find our track.  Sounds simple enough, but what no one tells you is that the track number and train number are not on the ticket.  Luckily we were able to talk to someone who pointed us in the right direction and we ran, no sprinted, to reach our train just in time.  I don't mean sprinted across the street; we were running for quite a while. This was a bit stressful due to the time that we had, and the next train wasn't for another two hours.   Once we were on the train the conductor made us move our seats twice.  I'm still not quite sure what that was about.

Anyway, our first stop was before heading up the hill to Assisi.  We went to Santa Maria dell Angeli.  It was a gorgeous church.  Absolutely huge, there was a chapel inside, the Porziuncola, this reminded me of a more elegant Joan of Arc chapel (for those of you who don't know, I am referencing the chapel at Marquette).

San Francesco has three levels: the Lower level church was my favorite, although the upper level church was beautiful also.  The churches are so beautiful, and they are full of color and decoration.  However, it's different than most of the other churches I've seen.  All the decoration is frescoes, rather than mosaics and huge statues.  Not that the other churches are flashy or gaudy, but I guess they could be described as show-offy (which was what they were aiming to do at the time they were built); San Francesco was simple and humbling.
We weren't allowed to take pictures when we went down to his tomb, but this part is going to be hard to describe with words.  His tomb is surrounded by four other tombs of his fellow Franciscans that helped found the order.  His tomb is huge in the middle, but again simple.  Some people were sticking pictures and notes into the tombs, but what I found most fascinating was the people who were brought to tears.  Old women, middle aged men, college students, people of all ages...were just staring and their eyes were glistening or their tears were free falling.  It's inspiring to see people that have faith that strong. In the chapel by his tomb there were the most beautiful chandelier lamp lighting things. Sounds strange to mention, but they were absolutely the prettiest decoration I have seen.

San Francesco with the sunset!

We wandered for a bit, and saw some great views.

We hiked to the the top of Assisi to Rocca Maggiore, the Castle.  Crissy and Alyssa went in for a tour, but Rachel and I decided that we would explore the grounds and just eat our picnic lunch while having the greatest view we could never have imagined.  How great is that?  Not many people can say they ate lunch while looking out onto the town of Assisi.  We watched people make their own pilgrimages or just people who were doing the same things we were. We were so close to the peaks of other mountains, that the snow seemed only an arm's reach away.

We also went into a few other churches along the way. All with interesting history and fascinating art. I'll just put in some pictures, but won't drag on about each one, unless you are interested in something particular. The churches I visited included San Rufino, Santa Maria Maggiori, and an old Roman temple that is now a church.
I also saw where both St. Francis and St. Claire were baptized.

Santa Chiara is the other patron saint of Assisi. She founded the order of the poor ladies. The church, again, is absolutely beautiful. Many of the frescoes on the wall have not withheld through the years, but the ones that have are magnificent. The cross that is said to have been the one that St. Francis spoke to is in this church.

Saint Francis had his vision in front of this cross.

Underneath the church is Santa Chiara's tomb (her body visible) and relics.  I am always amazed at the saint's bodies, but the relics were what really intrigued me.  They had the actual robes of both St. Francis and St. Claire, locks of St. Claire's hair, copies of letters they had written, and a few more things.  You always see St. Francis in his brown robe in the pictures, but to see the actual robe and cord in front of you is an eye opening experience.

I also saw the house of St Francis' parents.  They use to live above a tapestry shop, which is now a chapel.  This chapel reminded me so much of the Joan of Arch chapel at Marquette.  It was the closest I've felt to home since being here.

This is where St. Francis and his parents lived.  It is an old tapestry shop.

Fr. Bohr, my theology professor, explained to us the difference between a pilgrim and a tourist.  It wasn't until actually being in Assisi that I was able to put myself in the first category.  Visiting the different churches and seeing the relics also allowed me to be more aware of my surroundings.  It was so interesting to people watch while others were experiencing the same things I was.  I saw pilgrims and I saw tourists; the tourists were the ones running from church to church, snapping photographs, and moving right along.  The pilgims weren't necessarily only the ones that were moved to tears by being in the mere presence of these places and relics, but the ones that you could tell were taking it all in.  Sure, the pilgrims took photographs too, but for example, when we were visiting St. Chiara's tomb there were pictures and stories (in multiple languages) depicting her life.  Some people would rush right past, not even pause to look at their surroundings.  They probably didn't even look at the ceiling which was a wonderful blue with gold stars.  It was more a tourist attraction to them.

I also saw an authentic butcher's shop with the meat hanging from everywhere. It reminded me of what I think of my papa when I think about him being a butcher.

traditional butcher shop

The day could not have ended better.  We watched the sunset over the mountains while sipping some white wine (Umbria is famous for their white wine...I wish I could say it's the best I've had, but it was a 3 euro bottle of wine, and didn't taste much different than the other cheap wines).  Regardless, it was so serene and peaceful, and it was the perfect ending to the day.  The colors were so vibrant, and watching the sun fall behind the mountains was another thing I was lucky to experience. 

sunset over the mountains

Random Facts
1.  I love mindlessly walking around.

2.  Scrambled egg sandwiches or panino con frittata = marvelous

3. Rome really is the top of the world.

JUST GOOGLE IT

I think I've done a fairly good job at not complaining throughout my blog thus far. So naturally I must put one thing in here. I think the most frustrating thing about JFRC is that the SLAs act like they will be helpful. They always say that they are willing to help and to come to them, and when you do 9 out of 10 times there answer is "Just Google It"
Things I have asked or I have heard other people ask:

-I'm confused with these direction, is there a faster way to get there? "Just google map it"

-Upon hearing them talk about watching a tv show someone asked..."What site are you watching the show on; I cannot figure out how to watch American television"...just google it

-What are some cheap things to do around Rome?...........Just google it

-tonight, the question that drove me to this rant....spoken to the SLA who is fluent in Italian, "I know that we aren't suppose to ask you for homework help, but seeing as we don't have a book and I only have 2 other people in my class, I was wondering if you could explain this grammar to me (literally a small thing)"
Response: Look in your book or ask a class mate
Me: I'm in 251, we don't have a book and there are only 3 of us (other 2 didn't know answer...paper due tomorrow evening...)
Response: JUST GOOGLE IT

Thanks for all the help JFRC, really, you've been wonderful to every student...I have heard no complaints about how helpful you are to everyone.

Mi Sento Molto Santo

 I'm Feeling Very Holy

 PICTURES TO COME

As of Monday, I thought I was beginning to form a relatively regular routine, but come Tuesday, my week went in all different directions.

Tuesday started out normal enough:  wake up. workout. sheet exchange (I love that they wash our sheets for us!). class.  Well, I started tutoring Laura (here Laura is always pronounced Lowra...although it sounds much prettier than it looks).  She is 13 years old, and she needs to take an English exam in June.  I'm working on conversation, vocabulary, and the different tenses with her.  Her mom came to JFRC to show me the way to their house, so that in the future I would be able to get back and forth.  (good thing because we all know how terrible I am with directions)  Anyway, when she picked me up she spoke no English.  This really frightened me, because I was told that the family already knew a little English.  As I said before, my Italian is slowly improving, but it is still not to where I am comfortable speaking it all the time.  Back to the story: so, we are able to make a little talk on the way, I see where the different bus stops are, (although it's only about a  20 min walk) and also how to get into their building and to their apt.  Laura and her two  younger siblings were at the door to meet me, along with who I am assuming to be their Nonna (grandma in Italian).  Again, very little English...actually none...was spoken.  But once I sat down in Laura's room with her to work on English things went much better.  She's very good at reading it, and I was able to explain, in Italian, the words that she did not know.  We also worked on past tense verbs.

I had to basically run back to JFRC to be there in time for speaking partners.  Speaking partners is a program with the English school here at JFRC that allows us to practice our Italian and Italians to practice their English.  I met a nice girl, probably a few years older than me, and a nice woman about the age of my mom/aunts.  It was enjoyable.

Wednesday morning classes were canceled because we had tickets for a Papal Audience.  Holy cow.  I guess that saying might be sac-religious in this case, but wowza it was crazy!  I was four rows away from the Pope.  No big deal or anything.  I've gotten pretty lucky in this aspect of my life, because when I was in Rome 12 years ago with my parents and sister we were only 12 rows away from Pope John Paul II.  But back to present day:  We left at 7:30am, but the Papal Audience didn't start until 10:30 (which is why we got such good seats).  Pope Benedict XVI speaks 7 languages and read in all of them.  All the large groups there were presented to him...some sang to him (and he even clapped), while others (like JFRC) just cheered when their name was called.  This sounds tacky, and it was, but everyone was going nuts....some people were even waving flags and banners...it was more like a concert than a holy event.  The Pope extended his blessing to all of us, our religious belongings, and to our families and friends.  So you were all apparently blessed by the Pope yesterday.  (unless you're a stranger, thus being a stalker by reading this blog...but in a sense you now know my life, so perhaps the Pope would consider you a friend of mine also)  He also extended his blessing to all of our children.  I was going to entitle this blog : My womb is blessed, but I felt that that might offend some people, and was probably not the holiest of holy things to do.

For those of you who don't know, this is the Pope.

This Picture was taken by my friend, Kaitlyn...my camera made the pope come out as a white blob even though we were so close.
Also during the Papal Audience, a  little kid ran up onto the altar and knelt before the Pope.  The Pope blessed him, and I'm sure you're all thinking awwww how cute.  1.  The guards didn't catch him...doesn't make the Pope's security look too promising.   2.  How does a 4 year old know to kneel before the Pope.  Maybe 'cause his dad was there ready with his camera to take a picture of it. If I had run past the guards I would have been tackled or shot down. 
http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-de-noticias/details/pope-security-is-breached-by-young-brazilian-boy-who-wanted-a-private-/4932/

http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/02/02/5975803-boy-gives-vatican-security-guards-the-slip-to-greet-pope-benedict


After the Papal Audience we bought tickets for a AS Roma Calcio game.  Going to a soccer game was on my list of "must dos" and it was really fun.  There was a big group of us that went.  We got to the game after it had already started (due to walking in several wrong directions, a usual for me) and let's just say it was quite the experience.  For starters, I  thought I was going to miserable, because upon entering the stadium I was patted down.  And they have no idea of personal space.  They patted everywhere....very uncomfortable.  More security than for the Pope...this seems a bit backwards.  All the carabinieri and police had huge machine guns...which for some reason made me a little more uncomfortable last night.  But after the initial entering of the stadium, I enjoyed myself.  Don't expect to have a seat at the game...even if your ticket has one on it.  Everyone piles into a few sections and is crammed together.  We stood among all these Roma fans and it was unlike any other sporting event I have been to.  The crowd is so focused on the game, and everyone...literally the whole stadium...is singing the same cheers (and they have many). It was definitely  a great time.

The AS Roma fans wave their flags like crazy and sing and chant with each other.  A crazy experience!

Today, although only 10:30 has been great.  I went for a run outside with my friend, Crissy.  We attempted to run to the Vatican, but didn't turn and ended up going much farther out of the way.  It was a great work out though.  I love running outside; it is so much more challenging than a treadmill, and in Rome there is so much to see while you run.  Unless you are looking at the ground to avoid the dog poop.  So, Mom and Dad, I know you were worried about me running by myself and getting abducted by an Albanian, but you do not have to worry anymore.  Actually, you might, because we almost had a few fatal accidents by dogs, cracks in the really terrible sidewalks, buses, and vespas that do not stop.  Oh yeah, and Italians look at you like you have 5 heads when they see you running.  No one here runs.  They don't mind blocking your way, breathing smoke into your face, or pointing and laughing at you.

Random Facts
1.  I'm becoming an expert at avoiding dog poop.

2. Apparently pot isn't illegal in a soccer stadium...I mean it is, but looking around everyone was smoking it, and the smell was very strong.

3. Churches are not the place to stop on a run if you are looking for a bathroom.

4.  As  much as I love Rome, and don't take this the wrong way, because I do not want to come home right now, but I wish I was sledding in 2+ feet of snow....although having it be 45ish degrees last night was really nice. But a week of snowdays would have been swell too.

Bisogno il latte

I need Milk.

Saturday

Yes, I went to the Vatican again.  But, bare with me, I only have a few more things I’ll share with you.  (unless [BERN]you are completely curious to what else I’ve learned about it, then you can just ask me…such as the smoke for a pope, where exactly St. Peter was martyred, what material something was made of, or my personal favorite: why the nativities are still up in all the churches.  Today’s tour was given by one of the Jesuits that teaches at JFRC and is in charge of the Campus Ministry program, Fr. Al.  It was a completely different tour than my class on Monday for two reasons.  1. Fr. Bohr’s was more art oriented, while Fr. Al’s was more history. 2. Fr. Al works at the Vatican (he’s the one who was able to get us tickets to Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, and the Papal Audience).

Top 5 things I think will interest you from my morning/afternoon at the Vatican.

1.       Pope John Paul II declared Pope John XXIII “blessed” and had his body brought from the grotto to the basilica. Before Pope John Paul II died, he asked to be buried where Pope John XXIII had been.  He is, but now that he is being beatified he will also be brought up from the Grotto.  (They are building an altar for him to be buried under right now…pretty interesting to see it all going down)

2.       If any of you have seen Angels and Demons, (if not…YOU MUST) you know that there is a path that leads from the Vatican to Castel S. Angelo.  It actually does still exist.

3.       Beneath the grotto is the scavi.  We did not go, (1. There were about 20-25 of us and 2. You have to pay and preschedule a tour….looks like another visit will be in my future.)  Anyway, they only let about 12 people down there at once, because of lack of oxygen….they actually pump oxygen down there.  Probably not best to visit if you are an ultra claustrophobic. 

4.       St. Peter’s remains are not actually in the box in his tomb.  Some tour guides will tell you this, though.

5.       In the Vatican square, beneath the basilica, there use to be a pagan cemetery.  As people were being martyred for their faith, they would also be buried there.  Eventually the pagans were basically pushed out of the cemetery, thus creating a catholic cemetery.  This is where the Mausoleum that contained St. Peter’s bones were found.  They were carbon tested and dated back to the first century, from the area where he would have lived with Jesus.  To confirm even further, there were symbols around his grave, such as the key, and purple cloth (in which he was most likely buried in).  Oh yeah, and one of the things or facts or whatever you want to call it that gives even more confirmation is that there were no bones of the feet or hands found.  St. Peter did not want to be crucified in the same way as Jesus, so he was nailed upside down.  They either had a really strong stomach, or no regard for the dead, but rather than taking them nicely off the cross, they would usually just chop them off at the hands and feet where they had been nailed. This explains why St. Peter’s hands and feet are missing.

I explored with some people…had a great eggplant and zucchini panino, bought some gifts….some of you lucky ones will be getting one, and went back to relax, caught up on reading, and ran before meeting up with Fr. Al and more JFRC students for dinner.  I also ventured to the grocery store in a hunt for milk.  I’ve been craving milk since pretty much the day I got to Rome.  I found some, and it was the happiest moment of my day.  Which might seem sad, but I really like milk J and want strong bones.  I’m on a mission to beat the osteoporosis that runs in the family.  

Random things:

1.       I think Italians cheat their bus system also.

2.       The Swiss Guards make up about ten percent of the Vatican’s population.  There are a little over 100 that reside and work in the Vatican.  I feel like I write way too much in this blog, but I have another interesting fact about the Swiss Guards.  When the Spaniards attacked Rome and Pope Clement, it was the Swiss Guards, who after the rest of the Roman army was down, fought to their death to protect the pope.  This is why it is the Swiss Guards that still protect the Pope today.

3.       To be a Swiss Guard you must be single.  They all are younger guys, so maybe I’ll find myself a nice Swiss Guard if my hunt for an Irishman doesn’t work out. 

4.       Why is it that 99.9 percent of the young guys in the seminary are the good looking guys?  I mean, they are devoting their life to God, and He doesn’t care what they look like, so shouldn’t the good looking people be left for those who are available?  I think so. 

Also, there are, as one would think (so if this surprises you, please do not admit that it does) many nuns around the Vatican.  They are all cute and all, but none are like my nuns