No Parlo Italiano Part 2: Roma

Alright, I will be officially caught up on blogging about fall semester, just in time for Spring semester!

ROME

Roman Forum

My travel buds and I spent 3 days in Rome, cramming in as much history, food, and adventure as we could. When I was 15, I went to Rome with my high school marching band, so it was really interesting to return. While my first trip to Rome was a blast, a lot of times the sightseeing was pretty rushed and I did not have the best of food experiences. This time around, my friends and I were able to take things at our own pace and choose where we ate, which overall made for a better experience.


Sights:

The Colosseum- The Colosseum was my favorite sight in Rome. While I had been here before with my high school band, it seemed even more impressive the second time around. They had added a lot more information that you could read as you walked around the interior so you could learn about Roman life and what kind of gladiator events took place here. Apart from person on person fights, the Colosseum also hosted sea battles (they would flood the ring!), animal hunts, and reenactments of battles. It was so cool to walk around something so old.











The Pantheon- Fun fact: "pan" in ancient Greek meant "all", and "theos" means "gods," so yes, that's right! The Pantheon was a temple for the general worship of all gods and goddesses. The Pantheon was later converted into a Catholic church. Nowadays it's just a tourist attraction, but it was really cool to see something so old, yet so intact. The columns that held up the roof were HUGE. The dome of the Pantheon was also really cool. It is the only source of light in the building if all the doors are closed.

Large columns, small Caitlin

Outside of Pantheon

Pantheon Roof

Trevi Fountain- The Trevi is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Rome. It's a baroque fountain, originally powered by aqueduct water that features Oceanus, a mythical representation of the ocean. Legend says that if you throw a coin into the fountain you are guaranteed to return to Rome. At least in my experience, this has proved to be true:

Making a wish in the Trevi in 2008

Back again in 2012

St. Peter's Basilica- I knew before touring that St. Peter's was the largest basilica in the world, but I really had no idea HOW big. It is 2 whole football fields long! Every single corner of this building is ornate and symbolic in it's own way.

The band of gold that raps around this old church says every quote from Jesus to Peter in the bible. The letters are 7 feet tall.

St. Peter's is home to one of Michelangelo's most famous pietas. A pieta is a representation of the Virgin Mary holding Christ after he is taken down from the cross.

The Vatican Museum- Apart from St. Peter's the Vatican has a whole museum filled with a massive collection of art from the days of the Romans, to the Renaissance, and beyond. My eyes were seriously overwhelmed by the end of the museum tour.

The most famous part of the Vatican tour is of course the Sistine Chapel. Wildly impressive and ornate, you get quite the neck work out as you stare at the ceiling for over half an hour. Here's some google image pics. You're not allowed to take any photos in the chapel:

Food:

Risotto- Risotto was up there on my list of must eats while in Italy. Our last night in Italy Michele and I got two different types of risotto and went to town.

Spinach & Lemon Risotto

Risotto with Sausage, Cheese,
& Chicory

Roman Pasta- Hands down the best pasta I had in Rome. It was quite simple, but quite delicious. Pecorino cheese melted over pasta with lots of fresh ground pepper. I loved the cheese so much, I got my boyfriend some for Christmas.

Cappucchino- In general, Europeans know how to do coffee better than in America. I will definitely be going through withdrawal once I'm permanently back in the States.

Cannoli- A go to expression of mine is "Holy Cannoli!" I now feel that I actually have the right to use it, having tried my first cannoli.

Adventures:

Seeing the Pope- Most Wednesdays, the Pope gives "Papal Audiences" where he  gives pilgrims and other people the chance to receive his blessing. Tickets are free, and it is most definitely a really cool experience. The Pope gave his blessing in English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, and one or two other languages. He blessed everyone's family and friends and offered to bless any religious objects. It was so incredible to see people from all different corners of the world come to see this one man. My zoom lens is less than stellar, but the white-robed man is the pope:

Papal Audience

Finding the Forum- After touring the Colosseum, we decided to head to the Roman Forum (pictured at the top of this post), an old plaza with a bunch of ruins of old roman government buildings. It was getting later in the evening, and we wanted to walk around before it closed, but for the life of us we could not find the entrance. We ended up walking around the ENTIRE forum, and it was past closing time before we decided to just give up. So we were at least able to see the forum from a distance, which, if you're not a complete Roman history buff, is just fine.


Lessons from Rick- Throughout our entire trip of Italy, my friend Kate had her kindle loaded with knowledge from "Rick Steve's Europe." Whenever we were at an important sight or monument, we'd stop and hear what Rick had to say about it. It was like having a tour guide without really paying for one! Thanks Rick!

And that about wraps things up for semester one! For the past 3 weeks I have been back in the States, enjoying time with friends and family. The time has flown fast, and I am heading back to Spain on Tuesday! This semester will be a little bit longer than the last, because I am taking a few of my classes through the actual University of Sevilla. It's a little bit intimidating, but after one semester in Spain, I'm sure I will be able to do it! I will be back in the US in late June. It kind of seems like a long time, but I'm sure the 5 months will fly. I hope everyone had a great winter break, and I wish you all a great 2nd semester!

No Parlo Italiano Part 1: Venice/Florence

Playing some catch-up here sooooooooo let's begin!

After final exams, I got up bright and early the next day for a week long backpacking adventure through Italy. My friends and I hit up Venice, Florence, and Rome, and had an absolute blast experiencing the Italian lifestyle. Shout out to Michele, Jessica, Greg, Lizzie, Kate, Tara, and Jess for being such fantastic travel companions!

A day by day description would probably bore y'all stiff, so I will just mention the highlights from each city. We packed so much into 7 days, it will be hard to choose my favorite bits!

VENICE

Venice was our shortest leg of the trip. We had about a day total there, spread out over 2 half-days. This means we didn't get to see a whole lot, but nevertheless we got to experience a little bit of the magic that is Venice.

Sights:

Venice "Streets" - Venice is well known for being a city of canals. While I knew to expect this upon arriving, I was still amazed by the charm and uniqueness these streets of water bring to Venice. We probably crossed about 100 bridges during our time there, each one different, leading to another charming corner of this old city.

The Rialto Bridge- The Rialto Bridge is one of the oldest bridges in Venice, and goes across the main canal. We got to see the bridge by night, decked out for Christmas.

St. Mark's Basilica- Sometimes called "the church of gold," St. Marks was definitely the most impressive sight we saw in Venice. The inside of the Church is completely covered in Byzantine mosaics made of gold, bronze, and other stones.  It was stunning. You weren't allowed to take pictures of the interior, which is just as well because the pictures probably wouldn't capture how ornate these mosaics are. Lions are found all over the church. The lion is a traditional symbol of St. Mark, who is the patron saint of Venice.

Food:

Hot Chocolate Gelato- Of course, gelato is a must have on a trip to Italy, but in Venice I learned of the magic combination of gelato with hot chocolate. It was a lot colder in Venice than in Sevilla, so the warmth of the hot chocolate was quite pleasant.

Coffee Gelato with Hot Chocolate. Yum.

Spaghetti Carbonara- Carbonara is possibly one of my favorite pastas on this earth, and it was on the top of my must have list in Italy. For our dinner in Venice we went to a restaurant of a distant relative of mine. My uncle's cousin owns a restaurant in Venice called the Conca D'Oro. It has all your basic Italian foods: pizza's, pasta's etc. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet my Italian relative because he wasn't working that night, but we had a fine time regardless. My friend Michele and I split the carbonara which was quite delicious.

Carbonara at the Conca D'Oro

Adventures:

Walking to our Hostel- Our hostel in Venice was located outside the city center, within walking distance of the airport. Instead of paying to take the bus, my friends and I decided to hoof it there on foot. With a minimalist map and some directions given in broken English, we managed to find our way. The streets we walked on were not meant for pedestrians, so we had to walk in single file along the shoulder, praying that Italian drivers would not crash into us as they came speeding along the bends in the road. We got a lot of weird looks and a few honks, which made the rainy walk a bit more fun. This struck me as one of the more comical events of the trip, one on which I will always look back and chuckle. 

Meeting Nina (Again!)- My high school friend Nina, who met me in Belgium in November, has been studying abroad in Padua for the semester. Padua is a short train ride away from Venice, and she was able to come down for the short time that I was there! It was so great to see her again, especially in the country that she has been studying in! Nina was a great help, helping us navigate the city, and asking for directions when needed. We would have never found the Conca D'Oro without her. I can't believe we got to meet not once, but twice while abroad. 

Nina and I crossing the canals :D

Flooded Venice- Our 2nd (half) day in Venice, we got to experience the phenomenon known as "acqua alta," or "high water." Venice, located on the Adriatic, is a city below sea level. This means that during high tide, the city oftentimes becomes flooded. St. Mark's Square, which we had walked around the night before, was completely flooded with about a foot of water the next morning. 

             

To get to St. Mark's Basilica, we had to wait in line on these platforms the city had set up. It was quite a unique sight, and lead to an interesting morning in Venice. We had to do a lot of roundabout navigating to find ways to get to certain parts of the city without having to wade through the water.

Overall, Venice absolutely charmed me as a city. It is probably at the top of my list  of places I would love to return to one day. There is so much more to see!

FLORENCE

We spent two nights in the beautiful city of Florence, a city that was poppin' back in the days of the Renaissance. We saw a lot of art and had a lot of fantastic food, and also got to enjoy the Christmas decorations while we were there.

Sights:



Piazza della Signoria- This square in Florence is home to some pretty cool buildings as well as some pretty fantastic pieces of art. The Palazzo Vecchio is the city's town hall. All around the Palazzo Vecchio are some replicas of quite famous statues, the most famous being a replica of the David.

Palazzo Vecchio in the Background

The David
Replica

Rape of the Sabine
Women

The David is about 17 feet tall, which makes him pretty gosh darn impressive. Renaissance sculpture was all about anatomy and the beauty of the youthful human body. Michelangelo captured that idea brilliantly with the biblical figure of David, who is pictured standing pensively. We got to see this replica in the Piazza as well as the real deal in the Academia, a museum which houses the David as well as several other Michelangelo statues.

My other favorite sculpture that we saw was called "The Rape of the Sabine Women." Now, before y'all judge me and my statue choices, "rape" back in the day of the Romans, which was when this historical event took place, really meant something more along the lines of "abduction." Back in the early early days (the Romulus and Remus days) when Rome was establishing itself as an empire, men would abduct women from various tribes to take them as their wives. Records actually claim that no sexual assault took place during the abduction of women from the Sabine tribe, that in fact Romulus offered each woman civil rights and property rights. (I'm no historian, so if that isn't actually true don't sue me). Regardless, the Renaissance statue by Giambologna is a  masterpiece. Giambologna is known for creating movement in his statues, and you can definitely see that in this statue, whose figures twist 360 degrees.

The Uffizi- The Uffizi is another museum in Florence, which has a lot of... you guessed it: Renaissance Art! I got to see a lot of really fantastic paintings, but I won't bore you to tears describing them.... well except this one:

The Birth of Venus

"The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli is probably one of the more well known paintings the museum has. It depicts Venus being born out of the sea, greeted by the goddess of the seasons on the right, and Zephyrus and Aura, two wind gods, on the left.

Ponte Vecchio- The Ponte Vecchio is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) bridge in Florence, which crosses the Arno River. Fun Fact: During WWII, this was the only bridge in Florence to not be destroyed by the Germans. The bridge is quite beautiful, and looks out over the river and the beautiful Italian buildings... ahhh nostalgia.

Duomo (Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore)- Florence's Cathedral is absolutely stunning. The exterior is made of green, pink and white marble. Sadly we didn't get to see the inside, but we spent a great deal of time oogling at the outside.

Food:
All the food I had in Italy was great, but I would have to vote Florence as the best food city. We had some splendid meals, and my taste buds are already begging me to go back.

Pasta- Our first night in Florence we went to a fantastic restaurant which I have already regretfully forgotten the name of. My indecisiveness actually worked to my benefit for once and I tried a pasta sampler. I had spaghetti with zucchini, tomatoes, and olive oil, a meat lasagna, and a pear ravioli with walnuts. The ravioli was the most interesting dish of the night. Mmmmm

Pizza- I'm convinced good pizza can be found on almost any street corner in Italy. It made the perfect morning snack, lunch, post lunch snack, dinner....

Gelato- Let me tell you, I had a lot of gelato in one week, and tried a whole bunch of flavors. Overall, Florence had the best gelato.

Michele and I with stracciatella and pistachio gelato

Tiramisu- I had only heard the name of this dessert before going to Italy. It was on the top of my friend Jessica's list of things to try, and I'm so glad it was. Tiramisu is ladyfingers dipped in coffee with a layer of mascarpone cheese on top. Heavenly.

Adventures:

Impromptu Christmas Concert- Most of our adventures in Florence were Christmas related. One morning as we were all regrouping near the Duomo, we stumbled across a surprise Christmas concert given by what I believe was some branch of military:

Christmas Market- There was also quite an adorable Christmas market. We spent a lot of time meandering around looking at all the sweets, food, and crafts. It was a great way to spend the afternoon during the holidays.

Dulces

Street Performers

Well, this post has already gotten pretty long, so I will save Rome for another post, which I will hopefully get up before I head back to Spain on the 13th!

All the CIEE travelers  :D