May 16-18 (Rome Weekend)

When in Rome....

Friday May 16
We left Ariccia early in the morning to catch a train in a nearby town. This day was specifically with the class. All of us were assigned 2 points to get to, so we learn how to get around..and read that reall big map! And sometimes it gets you lost:) We started at the Spanish Steps, I pictured it being alot bigger...but it was really cool and very crowded even at 9am. From there we went to Cafe Greco, the oldest coffee cafe in Italy (2nd in the world.)

Next we saw the Trevi Fountain. I knew it was going to be beautiful but I was blown away. It was way bigger than I thought. Rome is so good at preserving all their historical sights. There people constantly cleaning to keep the beauty. I love that. From there we went to the Pantheon. We got to walk inside, the top is open to the sky...It was really incredible. All of us wanted to get married in there, like royalty. We went to Campo di Fiore, this market in the day and huge social scene at night. We experienced both. I ate the best pizza/panini thing.....my favorite.

Friday night we went to a more local social scene for Italians suggested to us by our Professor Maurizio. It was this Sushi Bar that was created underground. It was a great atmosphere, like we were in an elite club in New York! We went to this discoteca next door, which was very interesting. Imagine dalmation seats and strobe lights. Very European.

Saturday May 17
We started the day very late. First thing we wanted to do was to go to McDonalds by the Spanish Steps. Its one of the biggest McDonalds. Don't picture a McDonalds in the states because this had several stories and marble floors, countertops etc. We absolutly loved having some American food. Saturday night we went out for one of the girls 21st birthday. Ps* we met the ambassador of Bush to the Pope.

Sunday May 18

We had planned on going to St. Peter's to go to mass with the Pope. But we slept right through the alarm! But no worries, we will go back again. We hopped on the train back to Ariccia. We are probably a little too proud of ourselves for navigating the city (metro, train, bus, taxi, and the glorious walking)

More Pictures

May 14

Ciao!!!

Here's a brief summary of the past few days. The first day we went to a local pizza joint that overlooks all of arricia. Perfect view. Had some delicious pizza and vino. There was a local festival going on, so we went to watch the fireworks. Then came up to the roof of the hotel and enjoyed some wine.

(This picture is where we stay..Hotel Arricia)

The second day, we went to the Palazzo Chigi (where are classes are) and got a tour/introduction to the summer. The palace is soo cool. Lots of huge original paintings everywhere. Then we went to meet the Mayor of Arricia. It was interesting, he spoke no english. Asked us if we were for Hillary or Obama. We said neither! We went to a local restaurant for lunch. It lasted 2hour+ l..It was a full course thing. I've tried bunches of stuff already;) We had this amazing cheese!!!! and fresh pea things. Then we had huge balls of mozzarella, sausage, this frushetta, and this really thin dried pork. Then some random kind of pasta. Long meal, lots of yummy food, cute waiters!!!!

Yesterday, we had our first day of classes. Conversational Italian and Mediterranean History. Our professors Marco and Mary Lou Antonini are soo precious, they are in their 70s probably. They basically bought the Chigi Palace and helped start our program. Their son Maurizio is another one of the program directors. They have traveled everywhere possible. Marco Antonini speaks 5 languages. Then there's Francesco this cute short Italian man, he teaches us lots of different things. Our other professors/program cordinators are Jessica, Cincia, Roberta, Dr. B, and Susanna.

Today we toured the Castelli Romani region that surrounds Ariccia and several other towns. Aricia sits between Lake Albano and Lake Nemi. We hiked around both lakes. We ate at this really cool restaurant in Nemi that overlooks the lake. Gorgeous. One of our waiters is an Elvis impersonator...he was hilarous..very interesting. We went to this town called Castle Gandolfo, which is the Pope's summer home. There was great cheap shopping there! Instead of riding the bus, 5 of us rode in Maurizio's car to get the local driving experience. It was very exciting haha. One of his friends, has some land right on Lake Nemi..where he has his own vineyard, just as one of his hobbies. He didn't speak much english so it was very difficult/fun to get to hear him speak about the process. We tried some of his wine that was purely grapes...no extra unhealthy junk...so basically it was organic (no chemicals). Also*** The gelato is amazing!!!!!!