Writing Assignment 8 - Solo Trip to Castel Sant' Angelo

Yesterday, a group of 11 of us went down the street to Castel Sant' Angelo. From the first time we drove past it on our first bus ride, I've wanted to visit it. My need to see it increased even more when I remembered that it was the location of the infamous battle scene in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. I must admit, after vising the Castle, then rereading Dan Brown's description of it, I was thoroughly confused on where Brown got his information. In fact, after visiting many of the sites described in Angels and Demons, I'm fairly certain that he actually never visited Rome. But that's a discussion for another blog.

Outside Castel Sant' Angelo

From the outside, the place looks like a giant fortress, impossible to breach. I suppose that's a good thing, because at one time, it was used as a fortress for attacks against the city. The center circular building was the Mausoleum of Hadrian, built by Hadrian himself  between 123 and 139 AD. It was re-purposed as a military outpost between 270-275. In the late 6th century, it was renamed to Castel Sant' Angelo because of the miracle of the angel appearing on top of the mausoleum that ended a plague in Rome.

When you enter the castle, you immediately being climbing the heliocoidal ramp. It's exactly what it sounds like - a ramp (no steps) that goes all around the edge of the circular mausoleum. That felt like it took forever... Carolyn was joking that she should she paid 8.50 to walk around in an endless circle. Ramps are also a lot more tiring than stairs are. By the time we surfaced, we were all pretty tired.

Inside the heliocoidal ramp

Sorry the picture is blurry. My camera doesn't do that well in dark places without the flash. You can see that it still has a very ancient feel to it. The lights are indeed lightbulbs with electricity, but the covers they use and the lack of brightness make it feel like they are torches.

We finally make it out (and I mean finally!), and we find this courtyard with another statue of an angel. Not THE archangel on top (that comes later), but another beautiful one all the same. There was a bit of construction going on, so you can see the fence around the statue. There were also some building materials off to the side.

The statue in the first courtyard

From the courtyard, we entered into a gallery called the Sal'a dell Apollo. Like many galleries and museums, they did not allow photos to be taken, so no pictures of the amazing artwork. Many of the pieces were of course, religious, but I was surprised at how many were not. What also surprised me was the wide array of the time periods that the paintings were from. Some dated all the way from the 15th century, while there was one as modern as 1911.

After the gallery, we made our way out to a covered walkway that circles around the mausoleum. It gave us spectacular views of the city. There were also statues scattered around, some tiny doors to papal rooms, and a cafe, where the pigeons were certainly not afraid to come close.

Beautiful views!

Tiny doors!

Leaning in for a smooch!

We went upstairs to more galleries with amazing artwork. What stood out in this gallery were two unique (at least to Rome) pieces: an ancient Greek vase, and an old Japanese war helmet. All the other pieces were focused around Rome or Christian Europe, so adding in these two pieces hardly made sense. They were extremely interesting.

We made our way up a tiny narrow, curved staircase on last time, and arrived on the top balcony. What a view! We got a near 360 degree view from what seems to be one of the tallest places in Rome. The sight was absolutely beautiful, and it took my breath away to look around. We got a great look at St. Peter's Basilica!

St. Peter's Basilica

Also, sitting right above us, was the statue in honor of the Archangel that miraculously appeared to save the city. It is an extremely moving statue with a powerful pose. Normally, when I think of angels, I think of tiny cute babies with wings, or someone soft and gentle. Not this angel. This angel came in to save the day, and succeeded. My picture isn't the from the best angle, but you can see by him pulling out the sword that he's powerful and means business.

The Archangel comes to save the day!

Finally, we decided to run around on top of the fortress walls. I'm not sure if it goes all the way around because we didn't make it that far, but I would assume it does.

Running around the fortress

All in all, it was a spectacular experience. My only complaint about it was that the map was not clear at all, and I feel like we missed some things. For example, on the map it says there's a room with Cupid and Psyche (one of my favorites), but we couldn't find it anywhere! We think we know where it was hiding, but we believed that those doors were locked and were private. But we had a lot of fun!

Writing Assignment 7 - Voyeur in the Piazza Navona

30 May 2011
11:10 am

Most people in the major tourist attraction areas come and go. After all, they are tourists, designed to see a site then leave quickly. They take their pictures and leave once they've gotten the official tourist experience.

The only people around here who seem to stay are the guards. Comprised of both policemen and military soldiers, they walk around the fountain and the plaza to keep the peace. It seems, on a quiet morning like this, that their main concern is to keep the tourists outside the rail of the fountain.

At this moment, they're not doing a very good job. Two soldiers, a policeman, and someone of a higher rank (a captain, perhaps?) are standing behind me, speaking in rapid Italian, ignoring those who are practically swimming in the fountain. There have been a handful of tourists jumping the rail and sitting on the edge of the fountain. There was even a woman who dragged her dog into the ring and splashed water on it to cool it off on this hot morning.

And just like that, the Italian conversation stops behind me. I turn and a two soldiers and the higher ranking officer have disappeared, and the police officer has begun to circle the fountain again. I spot the two soldiers sneaking through an alleyway next to the coffee shop. I'm not quite sure what happened, but all seems well in Piazza Navona.

Writing Assignment 6 - Solo Trip to Piazza Campo de' Fiore

My first experience with Campo de' Fiore was with Jackie and a few other RomeKids, when she brought us to lunch down that way. According to her, the pizza and sandwiches are the best you can get for lunch. I also had my first Italian suppli, or rice ball, down there. They're much better in Italy than they are in the US!

We walked into the Campo de' Fiore from the Typewriter. As we entered, we saw stall after stall, selling fresh fruit, vegetables, other food goods, and knick knacks. Wandering through the market was phenomenal. I could see myself buying fresh food from them every day if I lived around there. The prices were great too! Maria bought just under a pound of strawberries for 2.50 euro (just around $3.50 - try finding those prices at P-Chops!). They were spectacular too... so sweet and juicy. I'm sure all the fresh food is like that. Another American University is just around the corner, so the people there are very used to speaking English (which, honestly, almost all Italians are). 

My first impressions of the Campo de’ Fiore were that it was loud, noisy, busy, crowded. But people were laughing and enjoying themselves. It was clear that the sellers liked being there and liked what they were doing. And they were all so friendly and not pushy at all! Even the tourist trap sellers (those who attempt to sell useless things over priced to tourists) weren’t nearly as pushy as they were any place else you find them. I don’t particularly like being in large crowds with a bunch of people surrounding me, but this was enjoyable. I liked walking around the markets, looking at all the goods they were selling.

There really is no place to sit in the Campo de’ Fiore. They had set up an awning for something near the restaurant where we bought our lunches, so we camped out there and enjoyed our food. The bustle of the people in both the markets and the surrounding stores was a bit stressful to be a part of, but entertaining to watch.

At night, it’s a completely different space. All the tables and stalls that are set up for the market are gone, and it’s a completely open space. The bars and restaurants spread their chairs and tables out further into the plaza to make more room for the customers. There’s a statue in the center of the plaza which I didn’t even notice when the stalls were up. The plaza is full of people socializing and having a good time.

Night time Campo de’ Fiore is completely different that it’s daytime counterpart. My impression of the night time space is that it was relaxed, slow, a much different kind of noisy. It still had that enjoyable, fun feel. It was a place that I wanted to continue to be at.

I think the Campo de’ Fiore is the epitome of Roman life, or at least what I think it is: enjoyable, fun, friendly, sociable. It was also bizarre to see how the same place can become so different at night. It’s definitely a place I want to return to before we have to leave!

Writing Assignment 5 - Ekphrasis in the Galleria Borghese

Today we went to the Galleria Borghese, which is filled with amazing pieces of art by many incredible artists. Our job was to pick one piece out of hundreds of fantastic pieces and give a bit of a description of it.

The piece I chose is called Il Sonne (which means The Sleep) by Alessandro Algardi. Made of black shiny marble, it depicts a young child, presumably a boy, sleeping on a cloth of some sort. He seems to be wearing a cape as well, which is decorated with squares with rounded edges. He has his right arm raised above his head, though he's not resting on it, and his left arm is down by his side. By his left shoulder, there is a strange looking animal curled up sleeping next to him: it is either a small fox or a very large rat. His hair is also decorated with flowers. Laying between his left arm and side are a few bottles, perhaps wine jugs. It looks like the tops of the bottles are decorated with the same flowers that are in his hair.

What's most interesting to me is his position. It does not seem comfortable or natural; rather, it seems like he's fallen and won't get up again. Although sonne means sleep, isn't death the ultimate sleep?

The Colosseum is Awesome!

26 May 2011

Today was an absolutely phenomenal day! We got to do so many incredible, once in a life time things!

We started out with a guided tour of the Colosseum. Except this wasn't any ordinary tour. RomeKids got VIP access to all the cool places! We had our own tour guide who showed us all around, including the very bottom level (I thought it was the basement, it's actually the ground level), and the very top level. These places are usually off limits unless you buy better tickets.

The whole tour was great, but being at the top was what was the most amazing. We could see everything in the Colosseum, and got spectacular views of the rest of the city. Of course, we took a whole bunch of photos. I think we were technically allowed five minutes to run around on the top for pictures, but I'm pretty sure we stayed a bit longer.

After the Colosseum, we went to the Palatine Hill (admission came with our Colosseum tickets). It's an absolutely beautiful, open space full of gardens and ruins. We were supposed to see the House of Livy, but unfortunately it was closed (and Dan got us a bit lost again). At that point, Dan and Jackie said, "Have fun! See you tomorrow!" We were left on our own, and we had to find our own way back.

A group of 12 of us decided to stick together and walk around, because we all wanted to see Castel Sant' Angelo together afterwards. We explored the gardens, even tried to get an orange from one of the many orange trees (no luck!). We came across the gardens, ruins we could actually touch (and climb on), even a pair of feral cats. 

We then went out through the Roman Forum and sat in front of the Temple of Venus and Roma, which was, at one point, the most important temple in Rome. We just sat together, took out our journals, and relaxed. It felt amazing to sit in front of such a part of Rome's history and not be rushed, but just to sit quietly and reflect on everything around us.

Getting home was easy! I was a bit nervous without Dan or Jackie to point the way, but we still had the 12 of us, and we figured it out fairly easily. There's a metro right by the Colosseum, so we took that home. I'm really happy that we all stuck close together. We took care of each other. We came up with our own counting system and used the buddy system on the subway (you're never too old for the buddy system in a busy metro area in a foreign country). 

We finally got back, and a group of us decided to go out for drinks downtown. We head down to the Piazza Navona, only a few metro stops away. Except the metro stops at 9, and at this point, its just after 11. So we took a bus down in hopes that it would stop near where we wanted it to. After a few stops and a bit of walking, we make it down town to where we wanted to be. The night was fun! The city is absolutely beautiful at night, and is completely different than it is during the day. We also made it home safe and sound, after a bit of confusion, thanks to a lovely young (and very cute) Italian boy.

All in all, a very good day!

In which Dan gets us lost... again

25 May 2011

So this evening was full of transportation errors! Jackie took us to meet two of her artist friends and have them discuss being contemporary artists in Rome. Their gallery wasn't too far away, just a few bus stops. However, while we were on our way, the bus decided it was a good idea to break down. The bus driver, for whatever reason, only let around 2/3 of the passengers off the bus. Guess who was part of that 1/3 that was left on while the bus driver attempted to restart? Me! And Dan. And a bunch of other RomeKids. Having never been stuck on a bus in Rome before, we really had no idea, but Dan kept reassuring us that this was a common occurrence. Great, that's given me faith in the public transportation system. The RomeKids that had gotten off the bus already stood and laughed while Dan and the rest of us made funny faces. We even got a couple of Romans to laugh along with us. Finally, the bus driver gave up and let us off the bus. As Dan exited, he screamed "Libera!" (means free). He got a few weird looks, but mostly laughs.

Both of Jackie's friends are contemporary artists that have their own gallery, which is pretty rare. They are both absolutely amazing artists! She makes jewelry by hand that is absolutely phenomenal. Even Carolyn looked at a few pieces and had no idea how she made them. He is an incredible painter who uses so many different styles and techniques. He had landscapes, cartoon-like paintings, life-like portraits of people (including a very... interesting one of Jackie).

They told us about the difficulties being contemporary artists in a city known for it's ancientness. Everyone, especially tourists, want classical looking art to associate it with Rome. Neither of them had any classical looking work at all.

After we finished talking to them, we took Francesca (the jeweler) out to dinner. Francesca, being a Roman and not a tourist like the rest of us, wove in and out of the roads like a pro, and we hastened to keep up with her. She brought us to a nice little restaurant, and we all sat in the back.

I had my first real Italian lasagna! It was absolutely amazing! It wasn't that cheesy (which surprises me that I still liked it as much, because I love cheese), and the tomato sauce was very light and creamy. Francesca got a kick out of my excitement. To her, this is everyday life, but we don't really have real Italian food like this America.

After we finished, we said our thank yous and goodbyes to Francesca and started our way back to the university. Jackie and a group chose to take the long, scenic way back so they could bet a view of the city at night. The rest of us went with Dan to take the tram back. If you don't know what a tram is, it's similar to a subway, only it's above ground on tracks.

The way back to the university is fairly simple: head towards the Tiber River. Most of us weren't paying that much attention while on the tram - we broke out another game of Bobby's World to those RomeKids who didn't know the trick (did you figure it out yet?). All of a sudden, while at a stop, Dan yells"get off the tram!" We all rush off and try to figure out what is going on. He begins rushing down the road with the RomeKids right behind him, trying to catch the tram going in the opposite direction. The thing nearly runs me over as it leaves without us. Dan then explains that he got disoriented and got us on the wrong train. We should have hit the Tiber in less than three minutes from where we were. Ten minutes later, when we still didn't reach the river, it dawned on him that we were going the wrong way. Good thing he was paying attention... the rest of us would have gotten lost way on the other side of the city.

Writing Assignment 4 - Q & A

So for this discussion, we're supposed to discuss something that has confused us. After a bit of discussion with some of my fellow RomeKids, we're mostly in agreement: this trip has been really clarifying, not confusing. So many of my questions and concerns have been answered through physically walking around the city. I've realized so many things being here that I wouldn't have learned through a textbook or a class. Experience is what is really important.

I guess there is something that I've been pondering, but I'm not sure I'll get an answer. I'm pretty sure there just isn't one yet.

When you think of Rome, you think of the ruins (eventually, after food, sites, parties, etc). That's exactly what they are: ruined. Once upon a time, there stood magnificent buildings. Scattered around were phenomenal statues. Amazing columns were erected with extraordinary detail. Walking around the Roman Forum yesterday really made me realize that these are indeed ruins.

My question is, where did all the material go?

Take the Colosseum for example. I cannot even begin to fathom how many tons of marble it took to create it originally. What's left now is still grand of course, but much of it is missing. We know from our tour today and our history books that the Colosseum essentially became a quarry for material during the Middle Ages; that is, people came in and took the marble and other materials (like the metal brackets), and used them for to make something else (bullets, coins, etc.)

But we know what happened to the Colosseum. What about all the statues that stood in the arches? According to our tour, we've found fragments of three, but where did the rest go?

Similarly with the Colossus. We have many pieces of him left: his head, the foot, and elbow. But there's not enough to put him back together. Pieces are missing. Where did they go? The same goes for statues and buildings all over the place that are ruined.

There are a few theories I can make, but I think that's all they can be until we have decided that there are no more excavations to ever be done (which I doubt will ever happen). The remains simply could just be rubble and dust now. Italy has experienced many earthquakes; it's not unfathomable that whatever is missing is just rubble now. Archaeologists are also discovering new sites all the time, we just saw one on the Palatine hill today! Who's to say we'll never find the Colossus' missing knee, or the missing heads to all the Vestal Virgins in the garden?

How I almost got left behind by myself at a subway station.

24 May 2011

11:30pm - St. John's University

So we just got back from our first outing not as a full group. What an interesting adventure.

Carolyn and I were dying for some real Italian pasta, and when we mentioned it around, almost everyone else agreed. In the end, 16 of us convinced Jackie to come out to dinner with us so she can show us a good place to get a great meal! She needed to head down to the Spanish Steps anyway, so she would show us one of her favorite restaurants in that neck of the woods.

To get to the Spanish Steps is really easy for us, it's only two stops away from our metro station. Nice and easy, right? Except we went during rush hour. Which meant the subway cars were PACKED, and there were also tons of people waiting to get onto the subway. Add a group of 17 people who are trying to stay together, and you have yourself a crazy mess. 

The train comes, and all the experienced Romans jumped ahead of us and pushed there way onto the train. We split up and tried to get into two different doorways. I was last of the group, and there was literally no room for me to get on. The group of RomeKids I was with tried to grab me in, but it was too late; the doors closed, and I was on the station by myself, screaming NO NO NO!

Luckily, the conductor saw the poor helpless American jumping up and down by herself, and opened the doors again. I'm pretty sure the train was still moving, but I literally jumped into the crowd of people, and the RomeKids caught me. We spent the two stops huddled together holding on to random people. Carolyn had her arm around me, and I was holding onto Guerry... it was a mess. But a really fun experience.

We finally get off and the Spanish Steps, and are essentially pushed along the way by the crowd. Since we're going back to the steps later on as a group, most of us didn't particularly want to climb up that night, so Jackie said she'd show us the elevator. Except we lost Jackie, so we were forced to go up anyway. Seriously, I think I've walked up more stairs so far these past few days than I have at Skidmore in three years.

We were at the top of the stairs for what seemed like forever, so Allen decided to give us a riddle. It's called Bobby's World, and your goal is to figure out the rules. In Bobby's world, there are walls, but no windows. There are heels, but no shoes. Figure it out :) Allen and the others who knew the trick tormented that with us for a half hour until we finally figured it out.

After a getting a bit lost several times on the way to the restaurant, we finally made it (much to our relief, it was a killer walking day). We get into the restaurant, the (male) server takes one looks at the group, and says, "You 15 ladies come with me! You two boys, get out!" Of course he was joking, but his flirting with Jackie was pretty funny. 

Dinner was great! Katie W and I were both debating over the same two plates (pesto and a local red sauce), so we decided to each order one and split it. Excellent idea! Once we were stuffed and ready to go, we attempted to make our way back to St. John's. By this time, it was just around 9:45.

Except none of us remembered that all the subways close at 9. Whoopsies. Fine, let's find a bus. For some reason, that was just an impossible mission. We could not find a bus if our lives depended on it. So we ended up walking back. And getting lost, yet again. Jackie needs to learn her left from right.

By the time we got back, all of us were in so much pain we just wanted to collapse. Seriously, all of us say that we've never been this exhausted before. But, in retrospect, the pain was all worth it. It was a great night!

Did you know that Italian subways have ridiculously funny warning signs?

Time to play catch up!

24 May 2011
2:30 pm - Roman Forum

Today has already been ridiculously long and fun, and it's only mid afternoon. We started out early this morning with our first ride in the metro (or subway). The metro is so easy to figure out! As of now, there are only two lines that cross like an X on the east side of the river. The signs for the stops tell you what major monument or feature it's letting you off near, which is perfect for us tourists. You can hardly get lost down there! (Knock on wood... I don't particularly feel like getting lost down there my first time without Jackie or Dan!)

After switching lines and a few stops, we got out by the Colosseum. I mean, we literally walked outside and there it was, right in front of us, right across the street. Again, this mixture of modern and ancient structures is so bizarre, but so fascinating.

We head over, and the first thing I notice other than the Colosseum itself is the two men in front of it dressed as gladiators, taking pictures. Of course, I had to run up and take a picture with one. Nobody else would with me! Sigh, RomeKids, sigh. Apparently it's polite to tip them, but I didn't have any Euro coins on me. Whoopsies.

We continue our stroll, and there's the Temple of Venus and Roma, pretty much right next to the Colosseum. I knew that they were close to each other, but seeing them in person neighboring each other really made it click. All of a sudden, we were at the Imperial Forum, looking down at the ruins of many of the ancient buildings.

And then I had my first encounter with a gross Italian man. The gladiators aren't just in front of the Colosseum, they're pretty much scattered all over the surrounding area. As we were walking towards the Column of Trajan, another gladiator appears. Here's the trick if you don't want to be bothered: don't make eye contact. Don't acknowledge them in anyway, but if you do, don't make eye contact. If you do, they'll jump all over you. I was watching as the line of RomeKids walked by him and looked at him. So when I began to pass him, he grabbed my hand and demanded a picture. I said no, tried to pull my hand away, but he held my hand and scratched the inside of my palm (like you would if you were playing that murder mystery game). I yanked my hand away and ran up to catch up with the rest of my group. Apparently, that's some secret code for "let's have sex." Gross. No, please. You were certainly no Paolo.

Anyway, I get over that, and we continue to walk around a bit. We come up to the Monument of Vittorio Emmanuele II, also lovingly (sarcasm) called the Wedding Cake or the Typewriter. This monument was built by Mussolini, and is really not favored by the locals. It honestly does stick out like a sore thumb. He meant to make it look like the classical, ancient buildings, which it sort of does, but it's made of bright white marble and is just so grandiose and exaggerated that it's slightly ridiculous.

The main staircase of the Wedding Cake (much easier to type than the full name) is a very patriotic place. On the top of the stairs is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, guarded by two military officers in full uniform. It's a very respectful place, and visitors are not allowed to eat, drink, or sit on the stairs.

After passing that, we climbed about halfway up the building to a balcony which also gave amazing views of the city. Right next to the Wedding Cake is the Theatre of Marcellus (again with the proximity to everything). Unfortunately, my camera chose this time to die and I didn't get any pictures :(

After lunch, we made our way over to the Roman Forum. It was surprisingly much smaller than I was expecting it to be. I've studied the maps and new where everything was, but the layout was honestly still surprising to me. Once we got in, we sat down for a few minutes, prepping for our first writing assignment (see below). Then we made our way to the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, where Gia, Shannon, and Katie W gave a great presentation. After their presentation, we continued to walk around the Forum for a bit.

We finished that, and decided to head back to St. John's for some well deserved rest and relaxation. Our plan for the night is to find a nice ristorante with great pasta. After that, who knows! Free night tonight!

Writing Assignment 3 - Solo trip to the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere

Front of the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere

On our first day, all the RomeKids were taken out and about town to get some beautiful views of the city (after much hiking, mind you!). We came to rest in the Plazza of Santa Maria in Trastevere on a large fountain in the center. Realizing that we had some time before our reservation for dinner, Dan and Jackie let us have a bit of free time to explore the area.

A few of us chose to head into the church that sat right in front of us. From the outside, in blends in pretty well with the surrounding area. I honestly didn't even notice that it was a church until somebody pointed out the four statues and the mosaic behind them to me. Dan told us that it was the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, and that we could go inside as long as we were dressed appropriately (knees and shoulders covered), which luckily, we all were.

The Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere is one of the oldest churches in Rome; the original floor plan dates back to the mid 4th century. Inside the foyer area (not technically inside the church yet), there are ancient stone plaques posted on the wall with Latin, ancient Greek, and some illegible words written all over them. It is difficult to read what the say, because many of them are old and faded, or broken, but it was fascinating trying to read them.

Stone plaques on the walls of the Santa Maria in Trastevere

The foyer and all the plaques were so amazing to see, but the inside truly took my breath away. For not standing out so much in the Plazza, the interior was absolutely phenomenal! I was overwhelmed by everything that was going on: the colors, the lights, the decorations, the patterns on the ceilings and floors. I could not believe that something so beautiful, so magnificent, could stay inside such a plain exterior.

The sheer size was also overwhelming. Looking from the outside, I did not think the ceiling would be so high, or the walls would be so far apart, or it would go back so deep. Remember that tent they had in the forth Harry Potter book, where on the outside it seemed like a normal, small tent, but when they went inside, it was huge and grandiose? That literally happened here.

The view when you first walk in

The entrance that I came in through was on the back wall to the right, not the traditional center doors that I'm familiar with. There were center doors and a door to the left of them, but they were closed and locked. I would assume that they would be open during celebrations (as the sign inside called them).

Once I got over my visual overload, I heard a priest singing with a beautiful tenor voice. The acoustics are absolutely phenomenal in there! I must admit, I spent a good time peeking around corners to find this mystery priest. Instead, I found a speaker where the music was coming out of. That was a little saddening, a priest singing would have made the experience so much more... breath-taking. But it is an area open to the public, and a priest would get tired if he had to sing for 8-10 hours a day.

As I walked around, I noticed that people were in the alcoves of the church, praying. It hit me then: this isn't a museum, this isn't a bunch of historical stuff all piled together, this is a real place of worship, where people come daily to pray and practice their religion. I felt like I was intruding a bit. I've been to Catholic church plenty of times and I'm familiar with many of the traditions, but I wasn't in that church as a Catholic, but a tourist. From there, I tried to be as quiet and respectful as I could. I decided to not use the flash on my camera so I wouldn't disturb anyone, hence why many of my pictures came out dark (except for the previous one - lucky shot!).

Another thing that struck me was the ceiling. The ceiling itself was a work of art. It was so intricate and decorated. And so colorful! I think this is what struck me most. The church that I took my grandmother to at home is a very nice church, but the interior is all painted the same cream color with dark brown wooden beams. This church is so decorated with so many different paintings, mosaics, and statues!

The ceiling of the church

All in all, the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere is absolutely beautiful, and such a surprising experience. I wanted to load a video that I took of inside the church so you could get a better idea of the sheer size, but alas, either blogger or the internet is just too slow, and it won't load.

I'll leave you with one last gorgeous picture of inside the church!

By the way, all these pictures I took myself, no using Wikimedia this time!

Writing Assignment 2 - Ekphrasis in the Capitoline Museum

On the ground floor in the Palazza Nuovo is a beautiful statue called the Capitoline Venus, placed in it's own little corner called the Gabinetto della Venere (or the cabinet of Venus). The Capitoline Venus is one of the most celebrated statues in Rome. She was discovered at some point during the 1600's, bought by Pope Benedict XIV in the mid 1700's, and hidden away by Pope Gregory XVI because of her nudity.

The statue of Venus herself (not including the podium on which she stands) is slightly larger than life sized, standing at about eight feet tall, and is made of white marble. Although she is nude, she is attempting to be modest and cover herself up. Her dress is folded over a stool next to herself. She seems to have just taken her clothes of; most scholars believe she was preparing for a purifying bath. Taken by surprise, her right arm reaches in front of her top, while her left hand blocks her bottom half.

Her pose is extremely similar to the pose she makes in Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. It's the same attempt of modesty with her hands in almost the same exact position. In fact, when we turned the corner and saw the statue, the painting was the first thing that came to my mind. Is this a Venus pose or something? Even her right knee is pent the same way as it is in the painting. She certainly does seem a lot more startled in the statue, whereas she's much more relaxed in her painting.

 Images from Wikimedia. I'll get my own up eventually!

Writing Assignment 1 - Space and Place in the Roman Forum

I don't feel enclosed when walking through the Roman Forum. If anything, I feel like it's much more open, especially in comparisons to many of the other ruins we can only view. When we were at the Imperial Forum, we could only look down and few what is left from a far distance at pretty much an aerial view. We weren't in any enclosure; we were on the outside, looking in.

Rather, it's much more open and personal. We are free to walk around, switch roads, and get decently close to many of the ruins. The Forum itself is fenced in, but we're inside with all the history, walking the same pathways that have been around for two thousand years. We are walking on the same roads that Julius Caesar once strolled himself. We ambled around the gardens that the Vestal Virgins once tended to. How is this possibly enclosed?

The roads themselves are now mostly blocked off. There is only one entrance to get into the entire Forum (there are multiple exits scattered around). If you tried to follow the Sacra Via out of the Forum, you would walk into a wall or a gate. In that case, yes, this is enclosed. But to me, it's like comparing a normal zoo to a petting zoo: you can only view what's inside the cages in a zoo, but in a petting zoo, you can experience what's inside.

I felt very much like a tourist inside. I wonder how many people inside the Forum were actually citizens of Rome? I don't think there were that many. We certainly were not the only tour group inside. There was a large group of small (and very loud) children running about, and I'm pretty sure I heard a tour guide speak to a smaller group of older adults in what I think was German.

Again with the comparisons: if you go into the Met or MoMa down in Manhattan, how many of those visitors actually live in the city? Probably not many. To them, it's just another part of their city. It's always there and it always will be. I think that's how citizens of Rome feel, no? I'm sure they've already learned all of their history and know exactly what it is, and to them, it's just there. Something huge that's a part of their city. They'd certainly miss it if it was gone, but they don't necessarily take advantage of it because it's something familiar.

Which, of course, means that if there aren't any Romans inside the Forum, we must all be foreigners. And it's true! Everyone we ran into had a camera with them, taking pictures of all the ruins, because it's not familiar to them. It's not something that they've had in their backyard and can go see at any time. This is quite an experience for a tourist!

A successful end to our first day in Rome

23 May 2011
11:20 pm - St. John's University

Today was an extremely long day, and even though it's pretty early compared to when I usually go to bed, I am ready to crash. Literally almost fell asleep at dinner. Rested my head against the window on the bus, which worked out fine til we hit a bump, which made me hit my head. Gonna keep this pretty short so I can just head to bed.

First of all, Romans are crazy drivers. All of them. Even the bus driver. All the cars they drive are those silly little smart cars or something of equal size, or they drive motorinos... in any case, they drive fast and crazy. I swear, they're all from either Massachusetts or Jersey. At least New York drivers are prepared to stop when pedestrians cross the road (most of the time...).

So, to pick up from where I last left off, we left St. John's just around 5 oclock. Dan and Jackie explained what we're doing tomorrow and gave us our bus passes. Then we took a bus down to Trastevere! Trastevere is an area in Rome, located in the 13th region (bonus points, Dan!), where the roads are narrow, windy, and are not paved. More like cobble stones, or however you spell them. We saw a woman wearing stilletos attempting to walk around - bad idea. Anyway, you are very likely to get hit by a smart car or motorino while walking around, so make sure you walk slowly and on the side of the road.

We climbed up some steep steps and hills, and ended up with an absolutely amazing view of pretty much the entire city (pictures to come tomorrow, when I get wireless on my own laptop!). We sat up there for a while, taking in the beautiful sites, taking group shots, etc. Probably one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen.

We then traipsed down more steep steps with low branches (I got hit in the face with one of them. Seriously, I thought I was short enough to avoid that!). Then the RomeKids sat around in the Plazza of Santa Maria in Trastevere for a while. There was a fountain in the center that, again, we took advantage of for a whole lot of funny group photos.

At this point, we had an hour or so until dinner, so we split up and explored for a bit. A bunch of us went into the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, right across from the fountain. That little adventure deserves its own blog post, coming tomorrow (hopefully with pictures and a video!).

So then Dan led us to the restaurant where he had made reservations (after getting us a bit lost and refusing to ask for directions. Typical man.). The pizza there was EXCELLENT, and we all enjoyed sitting around two huge tables for a few hours.

After dinner, most of the RomeKids and I followed Jackie as we got gelato (waaaaay better than ice cream), then took the bus back to St. John's. The others walked back. Normally I would have joined them, but considering I'm like the walking dead now, I'm not too sure I would've made it back.

All in all, our first day in Rome was a success! We're being kept plenty busy for the next two weeks, but it's all amazing and enjoyable! Off to bed with me!

After an orientation that really didn't orient us to anything...

23 May 2011
4pm - St. Johns University, Rome, ITALY

We're finally here!

The rest of the plane ride was fairly uneventful, save for one thing. At some point, somebody fainted or something, so they announced over the PA asking if there was a doctor on board. Somebody jumped up to help. Jordan and I looked at each other, astounded. We thought that they only did that in the movies. Other than that, I watched Black Swan (great movie!), then fell asleep rather squished. I'm happy I slept though, even if it only was for 3 hours. The benedryl certainly helped me stay asleep. A few people didn't fall asleep at all. Hopefully they'll make it though the day. We're pretty much all ready to crash.

We were stuck inside the airport for two hours. Customs, security, and finding our luggage was surprisingly quick (I did miss my bag the first time it passed me on the belt though). What took the longest was waiting for our driver.

St. John's was supposed to have a shuttle bus for us (public bus, no more!), but when we finally got by the exit, where there were at least 50 drivers ready to pick up their customers, our driver was no where to be found. We sat around the food court for maybe an hour or so.

Italy greeted us with beautiful weather, but now that we're here and unpacking, it's starting to thunder and rain. We're getting ready to head out soon though. We hvae about an hour and a half to unpack, wash up, and get settled. Carolyn and I are sharing a room. It's pretty nice with all new furniture. We're lucky - we have two single (separate) beds. A lot of the rooms are stuck with bunkbeds. We seem to be the only room without a sink though. How strange, all the bedrooms have sinks but ours.

I absolutely love listening to the thunder, especially when I sleep, but we're about to go walk around and tour a bit of the city, so let's hope the rain stops for a few hours!

Grumpy plane turns around - just kidding, kids, we're going to Florida!

22 May 2011
10:35pm - somewhere over the ocean

So we've taken off and are finally in the air! We're at just about 24,000 feet heading about 520mph. There are maps on the TV screens, showing where the plane is in relation to New York and the rest of the North-East coast.

Take off was fun, but it lasted forever. We starting moving and getting in line to take off just around 9:40 (the time we were supposed to take off),  but we didn't actually leave until a bit before 10:30. the six of us in our neighboring rows (Maria, Jordan, me, Gia, Shannon, and Jovany) held hands during the take off. Maria has never been on a plane before, and this is my first time in 13 or so years, so it was pretty exciting. I don't remember it at all from my last flight - only that my ears absolutely killed me. This time it wasn't so bad. I'm chewing gum and remembered to yawn a whole lot.

I didn't realize that the take off was so fast. Of course, it would need to be, but it felt so bizzare. Jordy and Gia were laughing at me because I was so excited, but Maria understood.

The camptain made a long announcement all in Italian, then someone else repeated it in English, only the quality of the speakers mixed with his accent made it difficult to understand him. I'm not planning on running around throughout the plane to cause a ruckus, so I should be fine.

Right now we're actually pretty close to the coast of Massachusetts. In Just about 15 minutes, we traveled 240 miles, and we're at 37,000 feet above ground, going closer to 600mph. It is so weird to think that I'm moving at 600mph.

To those of you out there reading this who are well traveled, you're probably laughing at me, getting excited at these little things. But this is something pretty much completely new to me. I could find a lot to complain about, like the ridiculously cramped quarters we're in or the fact that the woman in front of me already put her seat backwards and refuses to sit still. All of this is part of an absolutely amazing experience that I'm very happy to be a part of!

I'm considering knocking back the benedryl soon. I'm honestly already so sleepy, I doubt falling asleep will be a problem. Soon we'll be able to start a movie, so maybe I'll just curl up somehow into a bal and hopefully fall asleep. When I wake up, we'll be in Rome!

Why isn't this pen working? Oh, because it's a pencil...

22 May 2011
9:20pm - JFK Airport

Thankfully Maria gave me a pen that actually works so I can start writing all this down. My pretty new mechanical pencil wouldn't work...

I'm currently sitting on the plane, a Boeing 777, cramped beyond belief, but totally ready to be off to Rome! I have no idea how I'll sleep on the plane, but hopefully the benedryl I packed will knock me out.

The plane is supposed to leave in 20 minutes! That means eight hours and 34 minutes later, we should be landing in Italy. We're supposed to be heading straight to St. John's University as soon as we land, rest for a few hours, then head out to walk around for a bit. I think we're taking a public bus to the university. That should be an interesting experience. Dan was joking that he "wants to put Belcastro on the 64," which apparently has somethig to do with gypsies, and is not very safe. Thanks Dan.

Jackie is sitting maybe three rows ahead of me on the other side of the plane. We could hear her laughing and exclaiming, "Hell yeah!" to somebody. I'm not quite sure where Dan is. I thought they they were going to put all us RomeKids together on the plane. I'm lucky... my row consiss of Jordan and Marie, and the center row across from me is Gia, Shannon, and Jovany. Jordy unfortantely is in the row behind us wit two random girls, cramped in the corner. At least they seem nice.

We're starting to take off! They dimmed the lights, had us put our seatbelts on, and had us put our trays up. We're moving backwards now. What a weird feeling. They're showing instructions of how to do everything in both Italian and English. I mean, there are literally explanations for everything, even to make sure you take your high heeled shoes off before you jump down the inflatable slide into safety.

Ok, I think we're actually starting to go!

Just a quick explanation...

Part of our class here is to keep a journal on us so we can physically do our writing assignments on scene at different places in Rome. I've been keeping my journal since we got on the plane, so even though I might update my blog three times a night, they were all written at different times that I'll specify in blog.

Also, time changes and jet lag has made me loopy. Sorry for any typos or mistakes I make!

Today's the Day!!!

Holy Smokes! TODAY IS THE DAY!

My family is taking me to the airport is just about five hours. We'll be meeting Jackie, Dan, and the rest of the class in about seven hours. Then all of us will be flying off to ROME in just about 10 hours! 

We're leaving at 9:30 pm on Sunday night, getting there at 12:30 pm on Monday afternoon, and it's only an 8.5 hour flight. Time travel... whoa. 

I'm not too excited for waiting at the airport itself, but at least I'll be with 21 good friends and two awesome professors. We'll make it entertaining somehow! 

So the next time I will post, I'll be posting in ROME!! Once we get to St. John's University, we'll have a few hours to unpack and relax, so I'll make sure to update on how the plane ride was an everything. WOOHOO WE'RE SO CLOSE!!!

Predictions

The first thing I notice as we begin our first adventure through the streets of Rome is the aroma of coffee in the air. My stomach drops and I bite back a sigh... having given up coffee and most things caffeinated due to health reasons, this just is not fair at all. Of course I know all about the coffee and espresso culture here; it is perfectly common to have four, five, even six cups of coffee or espresso a day. We walk past the bustling coffee joint and pause to take a peek inside. The counter is crowded with people, some in business suits, others in casual clothing. Some shouting out multiple orders of different coffee drinks, others having a noisy conversation with their neighbors. At the few tables inside sit some men in suits attempting to hold a conversation, but I noticed the youngest of the men is eying the cute female barista.


Just as we begin to walk again, a group of young men step out of a perpendicular road and stop. The young ladies of us ROMEKIDS begin to giggle excitedly and nervously. Erika checks her hair quickly while Jordy tries to push her way up to the front. Jovanny and Allen roll their eyes and laugh at the girls' childish antics, while I can feel the frustration nearly burst out of Dan. He quickly walks behind us and begins to herd us like sheep to our destination. Giggles continue with whispers about Paolo are exchanged between the girls.


We walk by a small gelato shop, and we all begin begging to stop to buy some spectacular flavor of gelato that we know we could never have with our ice cream. I recall the first time I ever tried gelato... I was down in Baltimore in a cute little Ma and Pop type Italian restaurant. They claimed that they made all of their gelato right in the back of the store. It was the most wonderful dessert I ever had. The tiramisu gelato far surpassed any ice cream that I ever tried. I wonder if gelato made in Rome is even better, what with the wonderful water supply from the aqueducts.


As we continue on our walk, the realization hits me: we are in Rome. We are passing by buildings; some might have been built yesterday and others centuries and centuries ago. Who has walked the path that I'm now walking? Has the great Augustus ever walked down this path? Have the sights that I'm seeing been viewed and written about by Caroline Carson? How many times has that building been discussed, whether it was in a classroom or between friends?


When I was first accepted into this program, I talked to a friend who is very well traveled. She told me of all the places she has ever been (and there have been plenty of them), Rome was by far her favorite. It is the only place where you could be walking past a beautiful modern building, then turn a corner and come across an ancient ruin. And how true that statement was.


All the sleepiness has officially left me. I know I will be exhausted in a few hours, but right now the adrenaline of being in such a magnificent place has pushed any feeling of jet lag out of my system. We are in Rome right now, and I intend to enjoy every second of it.

Reflections

When I began the Reading Rome course, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of material we needed to cover. The mythology, the history, the architecture, the culture... everything we possibly would need to know, we were taught. Everything was absolutely fascinating, yet a little daunting for our final trip.


I took pride in my prior knowledge of Rome. I became a classicist at a very young age, loving the ancient mythological Greek and Roman tales. Once I entered high school and started taking Latin, my knowledge grew even more. My Latin teacher, who to this day I still keep in touch with, was one of my favorite teachers of all time, partially because he taught my favorite subject, and partially because he took an already interesting topic and made it so much grander, so much more unbelievable.


Coming into CC 265, I thought perhaps that I would have a better understanding of some things, but in reality, every student in that class started off on equal footing, whether you were a classics major or an econ major. Through all of our struggles and a few of our triumphs, we certainly bonded as a class, and I am very happy to call all 21 students (and even the two professors) friends of mine.


So am I ready to go to Rome? That's a really tough question. I think once I get my footing (and get over my jetlag...), I'll be able to tell you where I am in relation to certain monuments. I'll be able to point out structures and buildings and give you a brief explanation of their importance. I'll even be able to appreciate the importance of espresso and gelato in the current culture (coffee and ice cream, anyone?). But am I ready for Rome?


I think I am. We've read so many different perspectives of those who have traveled and lived in Rome, from all the way back in ancient times to more recent years (a century is nothing in comparison to over two millennia). I have so many expectations, but I think the most important thing for me to do is to go in with none. To just experience whatever it is that I experience. Sure, there are places I want to see and things I want to do, but if I tell myself I'll do absolutely everything, I'll end up missing something. Who knows, maybe the best experience I'll have in Rome is seeing the Colosseum or sticking my hand in the La Bocca della Verita. Or maybe it'll be just finding a quiet coffee shop on the corner of a forgotten street and having a flirty conversation with Paolo.


I think the question shouldn't be "am I ready for Rome?" It should be "is Rome ready for us?"