SO let me recap from last post with more high low updates.
Wednesday Sept 4:
Started the day off with our New Testament class at the Church of San Clemente. Kind of a trek to get there by 10:30 am with it still being almost the height of tourist season. The site is actually quite incredible and the history is really amazing. So nuts to think you are walking on herringbone pattern brick that was laid, (on the most bottom level), in the 1st Century AD. BUT, I won't bore you with the history. If you are interested, here is the link to the website: http://www.basilicasanclemente.com
Some of the best (and nerdiest) moments for me is when I can flashback to learning about all of the 12thCentury Mosaics in Mrs. Talle's AP Art History class in high school and then see it in person. Here's a photo I took inside Basilica San Clemente:
Class got out at noon and my roommate and I took a bus to another bus to another bus to get home and CHANGE. Wearing leggings and a sweater in order to be suitable to enter the Church was not the business in 90+ degree heat. Later that afternoon I had my Italian class where we learned the oh-so-helpful "Vattene!" which means go away in english.
From there we had our Pizza and Gelato crawl leaving from Campo di' Fiori.
Our second stop was near Rome's infamous 'Cat Sanctuary' at Torre Argentina. "Known as Largo di Torre Argentina, this archaeological wonder was excavated as part of Mussolini's rebuilding efforts in 1929, revealing extensive multi-level temples that lie sunken 20 feet below modern street level. Besides several different temples, Torre Argentina also contains part of the famous Theater of Pompey, upon whose steps dictator Julius Caesar was betrayed and killed in 44 BCE. Today, volunteers at Torre Argentina care for approximately 250 cats. After the site was excavated, Rome's feral cats moved in immediately, as they do all over the city, and the gattare, or cat ladies, began feeding and caring for them. " You can check out more here: Atlas Obscura
Here are some of my photos:
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| AWWW suh cuuuute! |
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| Mean Kitty |
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| Ok this is completely unrelated but I think it is so so so funny. Lolz. |
Our tour ended up right near the Pantheon where we got a good group pic of all the ladies on our trip:
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| Let's hear it for tha LADIEZZ |
From there, we (comically) made way to The Drunken Ship (it is exactly how you would imagine a place named Drunken Ship to be)...
WHEN IN ROME: Order Power Hour at Drunken Ship and make way to Scholars for Karaoke Night. Power Hour = as many beers as you can drink in an hour for 10Euros. I won't mention how many I had, but let's just say I got my money's worth. :) Thursday nights at Scholars (Irish Pub) are way too fun for anyone's good. We sang, we drank, we were merry.
Thursday Sept 5:
On Thursday, I actually met up with my great cousin Laura! An Italy Guru and great travel resource, she met up with some of my roommates and I at Caffe Ciampini which makes its own gelato ON SITE. Heaven.
It was so great to catch up with her and talk about family, friends and our mutual love of Roma! Too cool. :)
From there, we worked our way towards the Spanish Steps and the 'Rodeo Drive of Rome.'
WHEN IN ROME: (still on my bucket list) Dress up like a million bucks and shop on Via di Corsi like you could buy the place. Dolce&Gabbana, Burbery, Fendi, Prada. Drool.
Later Thursday afternoon we went to a discount grocery store and got SO MUCH FOOD FOR SO CHEAP. I got wraps, eggs, green beans, butter, bread, peaches, proscuitto, parmesan, yogurt and a bunch of other stuff for ONLY 12 EUROS! And,........ I think that it marked the beginning of my Nutella obsession.
Nutella toast, Nutella Crepes (yes that happened at 1am last night), Nutella PIZZA! I am not kidding, I have had more Nutella over the last 2 days than I could ever put into words.
After a repeat of Wednesday almost, (G Bar, Scholars, etc.) I was exhausted.
Friday Sept 6:
After an early wake up from our housecleaning service, the roommates and I made our way out in search of the International il Feltrinelli (bookstore) that had some of the girls' textbooks. WE WALKED ALL OVER THE CITY TRYING TO FIND IT. We never actually did, but in route we stopped by all of the major landmarks: Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese, Piazza Venezia, Trevi Fountain. We must have clocked in at least 6 miles, but it was totally worth it.
When we had lunch with my cousin she said that the first time she threw her coin into the Trevi Fountain she was 14. I threw my first coin at 15, then again at 19, and now for the third time at 20 years old. The legend stands that if you throw a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder you will be returning to Rome. I sure do hope so.
Devotissimo Suo,
M
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