Weekend Adventures

This weekend was not the most exciting of weekends, but several things are probably worth noting. Friday, as posted earlier, was the trip to Tivoli. That was indeed exciting. Saturday we walked to Villa Farnesina and saw a few famous works of art. One of my roommates had to go for her Art History class and I had nothing better to do, so I tagged along. Rafael's Galatea and some frescoes of Alexander the Great are what I can remember seeing. That afternoon we booked and planned our spring break (and dropped loads of money in the process)  and took another ridiculous trip to the supermarket where we could not locate bread crumbs. Yesterday, Sunday, I went with a friend to the Pantheon for Mass. It was very beautiful. Afterward we went to La Feltrinelli, the bookstore, where I purchased a cookbook -in Italian! Later in the evening we baked a cake and the same friend came over and cooked a delicious stew for dinner. While it was an enjoyable weekend, homework is now pressing in on all sides!
I'll update again soon! Ciao!

Tivoli Field Trip

This was another week of stressful challenges, including bank frustrations and a cell phone that ceased to work. I did get my new camera, however, which happens to be amazing! I definitely went click-happy today on the field trip to Tivoli. It felt pretty good to be able to take my own pictures again. We explored the ruins of ancient Hadrian’s Villa in the morning and then rode up into the town of Tivoli for lunch. Two friends and I ate in a little café and then went to Villa D’Este for the afternoon. The Villa belonged to Cardinal D’Este during the late 16^th century and was somewhat modeled after the splendor of Hadrian’s Villa. It has been very well preserved because it was from a later time period, so we saw a lot of paintings, sculptures, and architecture. The gardens were definitely my favorite part, though. They were so expansive and beautiful! Here are a few pictures from this trip. I'll try to get some photos up on Facebook soon as well.

Hadrian's Villa

Hadrian's Villa

Hadrian's Villa

Villa d''Este

Villa d'Este

The Famous Wall Walk

Sunday, the 22^nd, was the famous Wall Walk with Professor Jan Gadeyne. We traipsed around Rome from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm with only two small breaks in the middle for coffee and lunch. Our incentive to continue was a soda and signing our name to a piece of paper. At the beginning that did not really seem worth the effort, but twelve miles later we were ready to drink some soda and proudly write our names in ink. Throughout the walk we learned about the ancient walls and how they correspond with modern Rome. On Monday the list was prominently displayed right outside the school door for everyone to see. At least I didn’t die –he jested that some of us might! I can now say I have survived the Wall Walk with Professor Gadeyne. 

Beginning and End: St. John in Lateran

Professor Gadeyne preps us for the walk

The Walls

Frustration and Innovation

This weekend was definitely filled with its’ frustrating moments, beginning with Friday’s art trip to Tuscania. First of all, Tuscania is not, as you might imagine, in Tuscany. It is still in Lazio (the region where Rome is located) and was not what I had thought it would be like. The countryside was pretty, but the town was not as beautiful as Todi from the week before. It was also very cold and even snowed a bit. After the first week of warm weather we have become pansies and can’t handle the cold weather! Anyway, we began drawing inside a medieval church. The church was also not what we expected since it was bare and frigid. I tried drawing a rose window and experienced terrific frustration the entire two hours while my fingers became numb and I could occasionally see my breath. We then moved to town for lunch and spent quite a while wandering around looking for something cheap. Sara and I decided upon a café where we had extreme difficulty communicating and found ourselves severely embarrassed more than once. After lunch we drew Etruscan tombs inside a museum. I admit I was bored and was having difficulty drawing. I sincerely hope I can improve my drawing skills this semester.

Tuscania

Among other frustrating things this weekend were grocery shopping and public transportation. My roommates and I feel like we’re constantly visiting the fresh market and the supermarket for groceries. Once a week works just fine for the U.S. but everything goes bad so quickly in Italy. Milk only lasts a few days, juice comes in such a small container that it needs replenished often, and bread gets stale in nearly one day. Everything is so different in these grocery stores too. How can you tell the difference between powdered sugar and baking powder when it’s written in Italian? We tried asking for sliced cheese at the deli and apparently that was really odd. Also, maple syrup does not exist. It takes so long to find the best prices on bananas, apples, oranges, and clementines in the fresh market. Saturday evening we couldn’t figure out how to catch the bus to La Feltrinelli (kind of like Border’s books). When we did find it we only had 15 minutes to look before catching the bus to the church where we saw the sculpture of The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa by Bernini. 

This weekend was filled with a few positive innovations, however. We did our laundry together and then hung it up to dry all over the apartment in any strange place available. We also made our own pasta sauce. It turned out alright, but next time we need to use canned tomatoes because ours were not exactly ripe. Anyway, the weekend was filled with learning experiences. The only problem is we are sick of learning experiences. Hopefully sometime soon we’ll begin getting things right the first time!