The End.

It's hard to believe that my fairy tale adventure has come to an end.  I apologize not for continuing with my posts but I promise I have an explanation for this.

A casual stroll home from school

Every story has its ups and downs and I am lucky enough to have the "downs" happen at the end of my journey when I already fell in love with the abroad experience.  In the last two weeks my computer broke, my wallet including my licence, credit/debit cards and cash was stolen, and my two cell phones (my American and Italian) was stolen.  I basically had 15 Euro to my name.  Here's what happened...

Computer: So me being proactive and such, decided to work on my final papers a few weeks in advance so that I could really enjoy the last week living in Rome without having to freak out about school work.  I was on a roll and had 2 out of my 3 papers completed when... my computer had a power surge with the international converter.  Now, I am not a tech genius so my terminology may be way off - but as soon as I plugged my computer into the outlet my computer went blank.  It figures, trying to be proactive and a huge other obstacle comes about.  I had to find a local computer repair shop and communicate to them in Italian about what happened and figure out how they might be able to fix it.  Of course they didn't speak English which made this even more difficult. What ended up happening was they were able to take the files off of my computer that I needed for school and put them on a USB drive and I would just be without a computer until I got back to America.  I could deal with that - luckily I had an iPad that I could finish the rest of my papers on and somewhat survive.

Wallet and 2 Cell Phones: Last weekend of Rome - my friends and I were ready to andiamo (we go, we go - a term we used a lot for when we wanted to go out).  Wearing a cross body purse that was zipped up and always at my hip, I was aware of where it was at all times.  Or so I thought.  During the night at some point, a pick pocket unzipped my purse and stole my wallet and phones out of my purse while it was on me.  Everyone always expresses how skilled the pick pocketers are in Europe but didn't know it was to the extremes of this.  They also got away with my roommate's wallet as well.  I am so lucky that I had great friends with me at the time who helped me look for my items and pay for the cab back home.  When I went back home I realized I had 15 Euro to my name.  That surely was not enough cash for my last week abroad.  I got loans from my roommate (who for the weekend was me and my other roommates "Sugar Mama") and from my program.  I was able to text people through my iPad and call my poor mother through FaceTime to cancel my cards.  

I think we can all agree that I was very thankful for bringing my iPad abroad.

Before this all occurred I made a day trip to Naples with my roommate Rose.  Her family originated from there and it is the home of pizza.  My brother's number one advice for life abroad was to listen to Rick Steve's book.  Since Naples is known for being a little on the "sketchy" side we decided to really stick to his guide.  We started our day at Trianon Pizzeria - one of the 2 most famous pizzerias of Naples.  I am surprised to say that I finished the entire thing by myself... There goes my waistline.  We also went to the Archaeological Museum of Naples were they had beautiful sculptures, mosaics and a secret room with very explicit artworks from Pompeii (they had veeeeerrrrrry dirty minds).

Then we saw an amazing view of Mt. Vesuvius and drinks at a famous cafe called Gambrinus

My last few weeks in Rome involved friends, last minute tourist stops and amazing views.

Daylong in Piazza del Popolo

Bar San Calisto in Trastevere with great friends

Tazza d'Oro Cafe by the Pantheon

Cappuccinos and Cornettos

Trevi Fountain

Forever Fienaroli (My Street)

On one of my last nights in Rome, my friends and I stayed up all night and visited each of the famous monuments and piazzas.  We reminisced our time abroad and appreciated the city's beauty.  We finish our walk viewing the sunrise in Gianicolo Park and overlooking the city.  

I am so thankful to have had the experience of living abroad for a few months of my life.  The memories I made here will last a lifetime and the knowledge that I gained I will take with me in my future adventures.  The saying goes that "Rome was not built in one day" and I certain for this after living here.  It still surprises me how long the history dates back and that some of the buildings that I stood in had art and structures from the 1st century.  Another saying goes, "All roads lead to Rome" I hope that the next road I take in life will someday lead me back to my home <3

The Entire month of April In Rome

Well.. I suck.. Travel and school has got the best of me and I haven't had the time to update my blog.  Lucky you, here we go - the entire month of April in one huge blog post.  You all know whats coming: Friends, fun and food =)

Living as a Roman

Papal Audience

One of my classes had a field study at a Papal Audience! For those of you who do not know what this is: "Papal Audience are held on Wednesdays if the Pope is in Rome, giving pilgrims and visitors the chance to "see the Pope" and receive the Papal Blessing or Apostolic Blessing from the successor of the Apostle Peter during their visit." - Description from PapalAudience.org 

My teacher has crazy connections in Rome and was able to get the entire class to skip security (saving us hours of waiting time), receive a private tour of a Vatican City cemetery and seats for the service.  Usually, especially in the summertime, it gets really crowded and people have to stand the entire time!  And for anyone that is coming to Rome and wants to be apart of the audience it is free!  Just do your research to know where to get the tickets.  You too can get a Selfie with the Papa! 

Selfie with Papa Francesco

Catacombs of Priscilla 
A second field study that I went to in April was the catacombs, and it was actually for the same class that I went to the Papal Audience with.  This catacomb is known as the "queen of the catacombs" because of the amount of martyrs who are buried there and the ancient paintings on the wall.  In this catacomb exists the oldest portrayal of the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus on her lap.  If there is one thing I have learned abroad its that Madonna with Child is EVERYWHERE -- and this is where is all began! Or at least the oldest known portrayal of it!  Sorry for the bad quality pics, we weren't allowed to take pictures... ooops.







Participated in Rome's Birthday Festivities

This year on April 21st, I was able to help celebrate Rome's 2767 birthday! I went to a parade where Roman's dressed in clothes from ancient times and there were also reenactments.  Everything that the people in the parade wore were of the same quality of time period that they represented.  It was really cool because you could really picture what life was like back in the day.  Following the parade, my roommates and I had a picnic in Villa Pamphili,  a huge park that is located right by my favorite spot - Gianicolo Park.  We also met up with some of our fellow classmates and played some soccer to get in with the Italian spirit

 

Molto Museums 

Though my other classes I was able to visit:

St. Peters Basilica and see Michelangelo's Pieta.

Capitoline Museum

I saw the She-Wolf of Rome, Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius Statue, The Spinario (thorn puller), The dying Gaul and Capitoline Venus just to name a few.  

Capitoline Venus

The Spinario - another do not take pictures picture.

Vatican Museums

Sistine Chapel, Belvedere Torso, Laocoon, Gallery of Maps, and the School of Athens.

Selfie in the Sistine

Apollo Belvedere

Villa Farnesina

In Trastevere, lies one of the most beautiful ancient Villas that I've ever seen, Villa Farnesia.  A wealthy Sienese banker Agostino Chigi commissioned several painters including Raphael Sanzio to paint his house.  I love the love story behind one of the paintings The Loggia of Psyche.  It relates Chigi's real life love story to a mystical one.  

Borghese Gallery

Probably my favorite art Museum hands down.  Walking into the gallery my eyes didn't know where to look first!  The main sculptor Bernini is amazing and I feel like he has not received enough recognition in the states for his work.  Maybe it is because I never took an art history class before or he was not one of the Ninja Turtles, who knows... but I do know his work now and I will rave about it.  

Apollo and Daphne, David, Pluto and Proserpina, and Truth unveiled by Time.  

Apollo and Daphne (from Gallery's website)

Another amazing piece of art that I saw there was Canova's sculpture of Pauline Bonaparte - Napoleon's sister.  

Pauline Bonaparte (taken from website)

Easter in Rome

Catholicism is the state religion of Rome - you could only imagine the amount of people who flocked to Rome to step into a church.  I couldn't walk around my neighborhood without bumping into 20 people or eat at a restaurant without making reservation the entire weekend.  In my opinion, if you can't beat them... join them!  And that's exactly what I did.  

I accompanied my roommate Rose to mass at our local (and very prestigious) Basilica Santa Maria in Trastevere.  You could tell that half the people in the congregation did not understand anything that the priest was saying because the service was entirely in Italian, but I seeing everyone's excitement for being in the church for the holiday.  We also enjoyed an Easter brunch in Testacchio. From the top left corner: Caponata di melanzane (Mix of Sicilian Vegetables), Carciofo alla giudia (Jewish style Artichokes), Fettuccine alla vignarola (Spring Vegetable Pasta Stew typical of Lazio), and Tiramisu.  We also accidentally had baby lamb -- story behind this is that we wanted to test our Italian out and tried speaking the entire time in Italian and only received an Italian menu.  So we had the waiter choose three things from each section of the menu and we chose which one we wanted.  I call this the Brian (my brother does this all the time at home - I wonder if he started doing this when he studied abroad in Rome).  One of the items on the menu said: Abbacchio Cacciatore.  Recognizing the caccitore as a dish that my grandmother makes with chicken, I assumed that the dish was made with some part of the chicken.  JK we looked up what abbacchio was when we got wifi: baby lamb.  The picture of the cacciatore was not pretty so I did not include it in my collage but I have to say - it was pretty good!  And I'm proud that we were able to communicate purely with Italian! 

We realized that you get treated with so much more respect if you butcher the Italian language but still attempt to speak the dialect.  You get better service, food and even limoncello!

Travels:

Florence

My Renaissance class took a day trip to Florence where we saw more churches and museums.  The Uffizi Gallery, Galleria dell'Accademia, Santa Maria Novella, and Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine.  The next day my roommate Irem and I did the fashion museums: Museo Salvatore Ferragamo and Museo Gucci.

Sardinia: Caligari and Alghero 

My roommmate Rose and I took a spur of the moment trip to Sardinia: an Italian Island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.  The beaches were crystal clear blue and there were wild flamingos in the water.  Since it wasn't tourist season yet, the beaches were empty and we got to hang out with the locals and really enjoy the views.  In two days we saw 2 cities, 5 beaches and Neptune's Grotto.  This was all thanks to the convenience of a car.  In Italy it is legal to rent a car if you are 20 years old.  After a lot of research Rose and I decided that it would be best to drive because there was no real public transportation service and we wanted to really see the Island.  It was really easy to navigate the streets and highways too despite the language barrier.  I will definitely make a trip back here when it is a little warmer!  There really is no comparison. 

 Umbria: Perugia, Orvieto and Spoleto

This field trip was through IES Rome.  We went to the Perugia chocolate factory where we sampled their famous Baci chocolates and saw the factory where the chocolates are made!  Umbria is the only region of Italy that is not bordered by another country or the sea - it is literally the heart of Italy.  Truffle is the one of the regions specialties and we had an amazing truffle pasta at one of the restaurants.  Umbria also has amazing views and fresh air.  It is a relief to go here from Romes city smog.  I also saw the most beautiful church I have ever seen in Orvieto. 

Sampling Chocolates

Truffle Pasta

Orvieto Cathedral

Love at First Sight - Venezia

Venezia 

When I was little, my family and I would go to an Italian restaurant named Carrabba's Italian Grill.  The waiters would give my brothers and I little balls of bread dough and we would kneed artistic creations out of the dough for the cooks to bake for us.  The artistic works of art included: fish, faces, a "ball of dough", and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  The restaurants bathroom would play "How to Speak Beginning Italian" videos over the loudspeakers and I would find myself lingering in the bathroom an extra 15 minutes so I could hear how Italians spoke.  I always felt like I had to be the best bread dough maker or know all the words on the CD because I was Italian.  But one thing that Carrabba's introduced to me about Italy was Venice.  The kids menu/place mat had images of gondoliers riding around in canals with their striped shirts and circular hat.  Growing up in Florida, I was familiar with boats but have never seen anything like it before.  I asked my parents what this "funny" kind of boat was and they explained that they were special kinds of boats in an Italian city where the boat was the only mode of transportation.  I never fully understood what that meant but began to become curious with what this magical city was and wanted to know more about its beautiful, simple charm.

After this introduction, I started seeing Venice everywhere: my mothers Venetian mask collection, souvenirs and pictures in my grandparents house from their travels, the movie The Italian Job (though watching it now I see it is so cheesy, but I still love it anyway).  I needed to see it for myself - to uncover the mystery, to see the beauty and to ride in a gondola.

I couldn't leave Italy this semester knowing I didn't go to Venice - and I made it happen.

My roommate Rose and I were supposed to go to Venice with a student group called Bus2Alps.  There were not enough people on the trip so they had to cancel it.  We were very upset at the news but took the initiative to plan our dream weekend in 2 days (the organization gave us really last minute notice and this was one of the few weekends that we had available to go to Venice so we needed to make it happen).  We researched trains, hostels and restaurants and managed to book everything literally within just a few hours before our set departure.

We arrived at Santa Lucia Train Station late Thursday night.  There was not much to see - but at the same time it was everything we needed to fall in love immediately.

Boat ride to our hostel

DAY 1

 We started our first full day in St. Marks Square since our hostel was located very close to it.  I was told to look out for the crazy people and the pigeons.  Luckily only the pigeons were up that early in the morning.

After, we went to the Rialto Bridge - the oldest bridge that crosses over the Grand Canal that connects the San Polo and San Marco regions of Venice - and the Rialto Market - a market known for its fresh fish and friendly locals.  

Grand Canal

Rialto Bridge

Rialto Market

Then we walked around Venice, stopping at every bridge (there are so many) to gaze into the canals and sneak in a picture.  We stopped in several mask stores that are famous for their great quality and specialize in the Commedia dell'arte (for example: Ca' Macana and Atelier Marega).  Of course we had to try them on ;)

 

Rosa and I

After we worked up an appetite we had lunch at a restaurant (that ended up being very highly ranked on Trip Advisor) Trattoria da Remigio.  Me and Rose split a spider crab antipasti and spaghetti with white wine  and fresh fish entree.  And we cheers to Venice!

Prosecco

Spider Crab Antipasti

Spaghetti with Wine Wine & Fish

 As it was getting dark, we found a cute restaurant overlooking a canal and decided to sit down and enjoy the view.  But one thing I learned about being in Venice after the first day: the view is literally perfect no matter where you go.

Drinks at Dusk

                                     

Rose, Campari Spritzers and Sunset

 After our "Appertivo" we continued to walk around the city and find a place for a light bite.  We stumbled across a little restaurant with a waiter named Micheal.  When we sat down he said that the drinks for the rest of the night were on the house.  Feeling bad - we ordered caprese so that the restaurant would make some revenue off of us (being in hospitality I always feel bad getting stuff on the house) - BUT that ended up on the house too!!!! Since he grew up in Venice he knew so much about the city and little secrets that the guide books don't tell.  For example, in St. Marks Square, there are two pillars.  Prisoners would have the opportunity to walk around the perimeter of each column without holding on to anything - those that could successfully cross lived - those that fell were killed.  Me and Rose attempted the task and lets just say we would have been killed! The perimeter was so small that one could easily loose his or her balance.  The secret though is that the two pillars are two different sizes and it is not noticeable to the eye unless you attempt this task. I know I am not explaining it right but when you see me in person I can demonstrate it to you.

He also told us the story about the Bridge of Sighs located in St. Marks Square.  The bridge connects the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace.  The view was the last view of Venice that prisoners saw before they were sent to prison.  He also said that there is a local legend that says that lovers will be granted eternal love and bliss if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the Bridge of Sighs as the bells in the square ring.

Me, Micheal (the Venetian) and Rose in St. Marks Square

The Bridge of Sighs



DAY 2
The next day we left Venice and went to the islands of Murano and Burano.

Murano

This small island is known for it's beautiful glass and glass making.  Me and Rose attended a glass making demonstration and spent literally hours walking through each of the showrooms and speaking with the salesmen about the history of our favorite pieces and what makes them so special.  I was not able to take that many pictures of the work because they are so special but mark my words my future house will be filled with these beautiful pieces of art. 

Here are some of the pieces of art that I was able to capture.

Burano

The island of Burano known for its lacework and beautifully colored houses.  Each of the houses are uniquely colored and if someone wants to repaint their house: they have to submit a proposal to a Although the island seemed very empty when we visited - it may have been because we visited the city when it was not "in-season".  Lucky for us though because we got to see the beauty without big crowds and chaos.  

Beautiful Park

Burano Lace

Unique Houses

After a quick visit to these islands Rose and I made our way back to Venice for the long awaited GONDOLA RIDE. We picked up some Bellini's, cheese, bread, salami and tasty sweets for a typical Italian picnic on the gondola.  We seeked out and auditioned a few different gondoliers to find our perfect match... which led us to Hugo.  He promised to sing to us (and he whistled too) and was very nice.  While on the gondola, Hugo gave us a tour of the canals and told us about more fun facts about Venice.  For instance: the islands are all man man and the buildings are constructed on wooden piles. The foundations of the piles rest on the piles, and buildings of brick or stone sit above the foundations. The piles penetrate a softer layer of sand and mud until they reach a much harder layer of compressed clay.  There are also 118 islands!!!!

Me, Hugo and Rose

We had the BEST time!!! Riding in a gondola has been my biggest dream ever since I saw what a gondola was at Carrabbas.  I am so happy that I got to share this experience with such a great friend that I met while abroad and someone who was just as equally excited and in love with Venice as I was.  After we parted ways from Hugo and the gondola we found a quaint little dock overlooking the Grand Canal and finished our picnic.

We then went back to the hostel, gathered our things indulged in some free Wi-Fi and made our way to where we had dinner reservations.  The restaurant was called Ostaria Da Rioba and we found this gem on TripAdvisor before we left and made reservations ASAP after looking at the menu and guests comments.  The atmosphere was very contemporary and seemed like a place where art gallery experts would go to discuss the next up and coming gallery.  It was the perfect balance of traditional Venetian cuisine with a cozy, warm atmosphere.

It was also located very close to the train station so it was a perfect pit stop on our way home.  

Traditional Venetian Fish Antipasti
Clockwise: Grilled Octopus with Potatoes, Scampi, Sardines with Onions, Raisins and Pinenuts, and Dried Cod with Polenta

My entree: Baked monkfish fillet with crust of dry fruits served on 
raw spinach , dry tomatoes and red onion

Rosa's Dish - Grilled “ scampi “ prawns on mix salad and herbs chicory hearts strawberries and citronette of lemon.

Melt in your mouth Tiramisu... and my first Tiramisu in Italy!!

Overall I am SOOOOOO unbelievably thankful to be given the ability to make this dream come true.  The city provides the right amount of mystery, culture and love that can make any person say "That's Amore".   It was the most perfect weekend and I literally could not have dreamed of a better Venetian experience.  My dreams literally came true.  I am counting down the days until I get to see this wonderful city again. 

I have to only agree to what Elizabeth Berkley once said:

"I will never forget experiencing Venice for the first time. It feels like you are transported to another time - the art, music, food and pure romance in the air is like no other place."