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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Un Viaggo a Roma


Another busy week!  Once again, I’ll focus on the most memorable events. 


Wednesday afternoon I went with my friend Hannah to Piazzale Michelangelo, a famous square with a panoramic view of Firenze.  To get there we climbed up a steep zigzagging road.  Hmm…steep climbs & rewarding views:  this seems to be the story of my life nowadays!  Literally and figuratively.  At the top we stumbled upon a beautiful wooded trail, surrounded by rolling hills.  It was one of those moments when the colors seem more intense than usual, when life feels cinematic. 


   The view from Piazzale Michelangelo


    The view from another direction.  On the right side of the river is my neighborhood, Gavinana.

     A beautiful trail

Saturday morning my school group (20 students and two of our professors) took the Eurostar to Rome for the weekend.  We got there in just an hour and half! We somehow saw all the most important touristy places in about 30 hours: the Vatican museum (including the Sistine Chapel), St. Peter’s Basilica, the Villa Borghese, the Colosseum, Campidoglio, Fori Imperiali, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc.  While I’d seen many of these sites on a previous trip to Rome, some were new to me.  I most enjoyed seeing Bernini’s sculpture, Apollo and Daphne at the Villa Borghese.  It shows the scene from Ovid’s Metamorphoses when Daphne turns into a tree as she tries to escape Apollo, who has been hit by Cupid’s arrow.  I’d learned about it in art history, however, this is one work that you can’t feel the full effect of until you see it in person, until you notice how her toenails are turning into roots! So cool!


We stayed in a 4-star hotel called Homs, (http://www.hotelhoms.it/) located in the historical heart of Rome.  I roomed with the other new students on the program:  Sarah, Rebecca and Hannah.  A memorable  part of the evening was our hour long conversation about whether or not to raid the mini-fridge!  In the end we decided against it, figuring that the program directors wouldn't be too happy with us.


                  The Vatican Museum


    Taken from near St. Peter's Basilica 


    Castel Sant'Angelo

     Most of the students in my school, standing in front of the Trevi Fountain. 


    Sarah, Rebecca and me infront of the Colosseum

On our lunch break Sunday I went with a few friends to Giolitti, the gelateria that set my standard for what gelato should taste like. I’d been there once before on the recommendation of my cousin Beatrice, who lives in Rome, and I’d dreamed of going back ever since!  At Giolitti, you choose three flavors for a small cone.  The serving size is huge, and they put a dollop of homemade whipped cream on top.  I chose gianduija, bacio, and nutella – all combinations of chocolate and hazelnut.  The nutella was the best, and tasted more nutella-y than Nutella itself! It had a lighter density than the other flavors, but the flavor was more intense. 

Before we left Rome we had an hour of free time to wander around, and Rebecca, Hannah and I accidentally (I swear, it really was accidental) stumbled upon Giolitti again!  We took it as a sign that we were meant to return.  This time we ordered hot chocolate.  You know the hot chocolate I wrote about in my last post, that I said was amazing?  Well that might as well be water compared to this.  We ate it standing at the bar, like true Italians. This cioccolato-caldo tasted like a really good dark chocolate bar (think, some fancy European brand…Lindt or Perugina perhaps) melted – but not completely.  At first I thought they’d accidentally forgotten the whipped cream, but then I realized it came with a separate cup piled high with whipped cream, for the three of us to share.  We ate it wordlessly – it was that good. “Grazie mille!!!”  I enthusiastically told the barista. (Literally translated:  thank you a thousand times…it’s actually a pretty common phrase though; I’ve noticed Italian have a tendency towards the dramatic.)


    Gelato at Giolitti 


    Hot chocolate and whipped cream at Giolitti


One more food story:  At breakfast Friday I mentioned to my host mom, Giovanna, that I had a cold.  She asked me if I wanted orange juice, and I replied “si.”  I expected her to open the refrigerator and pull out a container, but instead, she grabbed a few oranges sitting in a bowl on the kitchen table, and made freshly squeezed orange juice!  Everyday this week I’ve had homemade o.j. (called “spremuta” in Italian.) Spremuta is so delicious that  I’m almost sad my cold is going away!

Better go fare i miei compiti (do homework).  Lately I’ve been forgetting about the “studying” part of “studying abroad.”  But perhaps this is a good thing!  


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