Day 67: Midterms to Midnight

 Monday October 21: Midterms on the Brain 

My roommates and I studied our buns off for the two back to back midterms, starting with New Testament. This class is the source for my weekly Cathedral Photos and the bane of my non-religious existence. For the exam, we had to write two on demand essays, and answer 5 short identification questions while citing the texts and the on-site visits from the whole first half of the semester, in only 55 minutes. In my typical test taking fashion, I was the first one to hand everything in: which can go one of two ways, either I killed it, or I bombed it and didn't know what the heck I was talking about. I am hoping for the first option...

Tuesday October 22: 

Don't know why, but I throughly enjoy this...

Our Art History class met in Palazzo Farnese, which was SO CLOSE to our house for a change. We are on our high Renaissance unit (probably my favorite) and started in a Piazza right near Campo di Fiori. One of my favorite stops was the Palazzo Spada. Here's the façade:

The building is now owned by the Italian Government and is used as a judicial court of sorts. My favorite part was inside the central courtyard.

Why I didn't take a photo of it I am not totally sure....

BUT, one of the coolest art creating mastery of things branches off the central courtyard and that is Borromini's piece The Perspective. At first glance, it seems that the hallway is your typical high Renaissance portico. 

WRONG. Borromini, being the genius that he is, actually used the trompe l'oeil technique in a small space to make it seem like there was a long hallway with a triumphant statue at the end of the gardens. Actually, the piece is all a mathematical device that distorts your perception or perspective. Too cool. For this class, we have a 5-6 page research paper and I asked my Professor if I could research this piece. She said yes, and that there is actually a very comical even sarcastic tone to the building and construction of this architectural trick. Being such an Art History buff, I love the idea that even in the height of the Renaissance, people were messing with each other. Here is a picture of how the piece actually works:

Al Roker also did a nice Podcast Episode on the piece as well:

From Palazzo Spada, we crossed the River to the Villa Farnesina which is literally the backyard of our Apartment building. This Renaissance Villa was designed to throw lavish dinner parties on the River banks and host lighthearted philosophical discussions about astrological signs and greek mythology. Exactly my kind of place. This is just one of the ceilings:

From a leisurely morning at Art History class, we had to haul butt to campus for yet another midterm. This time in Culture of Food & Wine. Which is a much harder class than everyone thinks it is! We had to know at least 6 chapters from the text book in their entirety, be able to write another on demand 2 page essay and be able to compare the wines and food dishes that we tasted throughout the semester with very specific details about aroma, visuals, ingredients, DOP/DOC/DOCG and my personal favorite, "mouth feel." I felt like the test went okay... I wrote a kick butt 2 page essay on the history of Pasta.

By the time I left, this is how I felt about Midterms:

Wednesday October 23rd: St. Paul's Outside the Walls

Was a trek and a half trying to get to yet another Catholic Basilica. Pictures are better than words...

Italian Class after that had only 3 people in it, which meant that there was not a lot of down time. The problem with advanced conversational language classes is that there is no way that you can turn your brain off the whole entire 2 hours that you're in there. Dead. 

Thursday October 24:

VINI AND GEORGIA CAME!!!!! I was so so so so so excited for them to come to Rome that I didn't really so much with the bulk of my day... I think I went grocery shopping? 

Unfortunately, they didn't get in to Rome until MIDNIGHT, so I killed time at GBar until they showed up. Our reunion (of only three weeks, but who's counting?) was a bit like Doug from Up. 

Of course as soon as they threw their stuff down, they got dressed to go out with me back to the infamous GBar to meet up with the rest of my roommates, and just by chance famous Yankee player Robinson Cano was there. 

Throwin up the Gamma  

So good to be reunited, but honestly, it's like Vini's been here the whole time. Everybody loved both of them and it ended up being a great night... Maybe because of VIP at AKAB and dancing on lit up tables until 4:30 am like this:

But maybe looked more like this: 

Kidding.

Friday October 25:

After going to bed at 5, we were in for a rude awakening when the alarm went off at 9:30 for our 10:15 tour of St. Peter's Basilica with my New Testament class. With little to no breakfast, we headed to the middle of the Piazza of St. Peter's and ended up standing in the security line for HOURS in the baking heat. Because it is St. Peter's, there is a very strict dress code: shoulders and knees covered no exceptions. Jeans and a tshirt were making me drip sweat that the second we got out of the tour we all went back and put dresses on. Here are some photos I took while inside, the others are on Vini's camera still...

Michelangelo's Pieta

Bernini's Cathedra Petri

After collecting our hungover selves, we were craving some good ol' greasy foods. Let me introduce you all to T Bone Station. Again. T Bone Station is the token 'american food' restaurant in Trastevere that makes the best 'Golden Fried Chicken' and 'Spicy Fries' you will ever eat.

Powered up and ready to go we made way to Via del Corso for shopping, obviously, but hit only 3 stores because it was a Saturday and SO CROWDED. We came back, napped, rallied and got ready to go out again.. This time to the Black Apple event themed: J's On My Feet. Yup, like the Miley song.

Needles to say, none of us had any Jordans of any variety on our feet, but it did not stop us from having another great night. Dancing on elevated surfaces yet again:

Saturday October 26th:

Slept in, and took the girls to Dar Poeta aka the Nutella Calzone and Pizza place for lunch/breakfast. Delicious.

Both Vini and Georgia then caught the 6:00 train to Florence to meet up with Porter and sight see until they come back to Rome on Tuesday. I cannot wait. 

The best part of being somewhere with your best friends is this feeling:

I loved looking over my shoulder, (or across the club) and catching eye contact and thinking to myself... heck yeah, we are in Rome together right now and it is so freaking awesome... Memories for a lifetime for sure. 

Can't wait for more of it this next weekend!!!!!

Sunday October 27: 

Sundays are for blogging and homework, Oh and French Toast:

 Still in my pajamas, never even left the house today...

AND MY PARENTS/GRACE COME ON THURSDAY WOOOOOOOOO

Devotissimo Suo, 

M

Day 62: Chocolate Weekend

The highlight of this last week/weekend was the chocolate festival in Perugia, Italy... which if you are friends with me on facebook, you've already seen all of the photos from. 

BUT there were other good things that happened this week too:

Tuesday Oct 15th:

Art History was a full 3 hour lecture on the Sistine Chapel that we had visited the week before. But Food and WIne was another eating day. (yay) We had Piedmontese food and wine that consisted of a Risotto with Cheese Fondue and Truffles and then a beef dish with gravy. So yummy. That was about it for Tuesday.

Wednesday Oct 16th: 

For my New Testament class, we got the chance to go to the Papal Audience which was quite an experience. Every Wednesday the Pope comes out, rides around on his pope-mobile and makes a speech to a crowd of about 60,000 people which is pretty nuts. Here are the photos:

St Peters. It was soooo cloudy/on and off rainy

Papa Francesco himself

Gotta love that 30x zoom 

You can see the body guards handing off the babies to be kissed by the Pope, too funny. 

After that I went to Dar Poeta (restaurant in Trastevere) for lunch with a friend and died and went to heaven. Shared a Peporino pizza with my roommate and then ate a NUTELLA CALZONE. Yes, a nutella calzone. Heavenly.

Wednesday was also my first midterm. Yuck. Feeling mostly confident about my italian midterm but I get it back today so we will see how it actually went. 

Thursday Oct 17th:

A shopping spree was definitely in order. Treated myself to a new dress from Brandy, tall socks and a big comfy sweater. Thursday night it was only Danielle, Venesha, Emmy and myself at home so we had a little dance party in our house complete with customized playlist. Too fun to have a girls night out.

Friday Oct 18th:

The beloved Chocolate Festival. There happened to be a transportation strike this day so we took a taxi to Termini. Boarded on the bus, took a nice nap and we were in Perugia. Perugia the city is at the very top of a hill that you have to take a mini metro to get up to. 

View from the Pizza Place

Once we were there, we were adamant about getting some real food before we went chocolate crazy. We got some cheap pizza and went on our chocolate tasting ways. 

Yes this is chocolate. Poured in molds and covered with cocoa powder.

We had chocolate and Nutella on strawberries, hot chocolate, chocolate bailey's, chocolate cookies, 

chocolate letters, chocolate fudge that all we wanted by 3pm was salty savory flavors.

Nutella Dispensing Machine

We posted up at one of the restaurants and shared some red wine and appetizers that totally hit the spot. 

Proscuitto, Mozzarella di Buffala, grilled Zucchine and Foccacia

By the time we finished eating we wandered around the cities and took in the italian charm. 

Sleepy Kitty under a Fiat

Made our way home on the bus and didn't get in the front door until 10pm and took a loooong nap. My roommates woke me up at 12:30 to see if i wanted to go out and debating going out for probably 15 minutes. BUT, there was a snapbacks and tattoos party at the club i haven't been to yet, so I rallied. Good decision on my part. Had way too much fun dancing our buns off and being goobers with some friends that might or might not play MLB....

Being a total Goober

And a goober again

Saturday Oct 19th:

Slept in, studied and went out again. Kind of a bum day compared to Friday.

Sunday Oct 20th:

Can only be summed up by food. Slept in until 11:30, went to lunch with roommates parents and had a big ol' serving of Chicken Parmesan for breakfast/lunch. Came home, studied, and ate my chocolate from the chocolate festival... Then got chicken nuggets and french fries for dinner from the American restaurant T-Bone Station followed by another nutella calzone from our roommates parents for dessert. Needless to say I had an apple for breakfast today... 

From now on, my weekends are completely booked. 

Vini and her roommate come this weekend and stay here for a whole week. ( EEEEK!!) Porter is also coming after Saturday then my parents come on the 30th, my great aunt and uncle on the 31st. After that weekend, I get on the cruise to Spain with my parents, followed by Florence (again) and then Amsterdam, and then Paris (with maybe an impromptu trip to Ireland in the middle) then its already December, for my Vienna and Salzburg Christmas market trip and Prague to see Porter at the very very end. Crazy stuff.

But can't wait!!!

Devotissimo Suo,
M