Easter Day

I was going to go to Church this morning and walked to the center. I got to the church 45 minutes early and decided to walk over and see the Vatican. It turned out to be right when the Vatican services and the Pope were starting. I got to see him from very far away and on a jumbotron! I didn't feel like staying for the whole this though so I decided to go to Castel Sant'Angelo instead. There was a great view of the Vatican from the top of the castle which was really fun to see. 

Sonia decided to make a very fancy Easter dinner. She would have gone home but is in the last 3 weeks of her thesis and can't take the time away from studying. Our lunch group was Sonia, Kim, and me because Sarah is in Greece and Caroline in Napoli. Sonia's friend Aurora also came. Kim and I invited Adam over because his home-stay parents left him alone. We had so much food I almost exploded! We had lobster gnocchi, mussels, scallops, fish skewers, and beet salad. It was fantastic. We also got three of those giant Easter eggs from kinder with awesome toys inside. I actually just found out that kinder eggs, small once at least, are banned from the States because they have a non-edible toy inside. There is no way you could accidentally eat it. I mean, you don't accidentally eat your fork or your bowl, do you? But if customs finds a kinder egg in your luggage they have to confiscate it. 

Some awesome hipster chicks! 

After lunch, Kim, Adam, and I went to Villa Pamphili for a walk and some Brindasi. It is my new favorite card game (Italian cards are crazy cool too!) but I am not very good at it. I can't quite figure out the strategizing of it, but I only learned it a few days ago. 

Villa Pamphili is one of the best places in the whole city. I would stay there all day if I could. Sadly it is going to rain all day this week so I don't think we can really go for a few days. Probably for the best though because I have a lot of work to start doing. 

Cinque Terre

Last weekend was the IES field trip to Cinque Terre. The program includes one free weekend trip. The choices were Venice, Amalfi Coast, and Cinque Terre. I chose 5Earths because I knew I would want some time out of the city and also I'm not actually interested in Venice so much as I know it is a cultural must. The trip was really spectacular and we had a really great group of people. I think it may actually be the most gorgeous place on the planet. I absolutely loved being outside all day and want to go back immediately, though I do love Rome and even if I'm only gone for a few hours, it's always nice to be back.


They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are 7,274 US words or 5,000 Euro words (pretty lousy exchange rate these days): 

Our hike took us up in the terraced farms called terrazzi in the mountains since the low path by the ocean was out because of a landslide. I actually liked the mountain hike a lot better. We walked between the first three towns (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia) but stopped in an extra one (Volastra) along the way. Then we took the train to the 4th town (Vernazza) and sadly skipped the 5th (Monterosso al Mare), but that was OK with me because it was the only one I had been to before. 

Adam, Will, Maria, Jordan, and me in Vernazza. 

Here are some locks from Via del Amore in Riomaggiore. It is the first part of the walk and stretches between the first two towns. Couples are supposed to get some locks and write their names on them. They then lock them and toss the keys into the ocean that way they can never be unlocked. I am really curious to go swimming down there and see how many keys there are. 

A view from the hike. All the Cinque Terre towns were founded as farming villages, not fishing villages as I would have guessed. They have a special type of wine because the grapes grow very close to the ground. The terraces are also rather dangerous because the walking paths go right along the edge sometimes and there are not always fences and the fall would be about 10 feet. I actually almost fell off because I was posing for a photo of the view and my foot slipped off the edge. I started to fall but luckily because I had been posing I had my arm on the fence and my armpit caught it. I'm glad I didn't start the day off by breaking my leg. 

Here's the harbor in Lerici where we went Sunday Morning. We took a boat there from La Spezia (where we were staying) and walked around the castle there. Then we took a boat to Portovenere and spent the afternoon there. Portovenere, along with all of Liguria, is famous for its pesto. I bought 2 jars! I wanted to by an "I ♥ Pesto" shirt but they didn't have my size. I also got a really delicious Salsa di Noci. I had a free sample of it and before I even swallowed it I grabbed a jar to buy. 

Fine Settimana

I woke up kind of early Saturday morning. I needed to go to piazza Navona to reshoot my photos from my photography field study. I rode the 44 to Piazza Venezia figuring I could walk from there. I decided while I was there to go into the Altare della Patria, or the "Wedding Cake" as it's nicknamed. I didn't really know what was inside but learned that it is where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is. There is also the Risorgimento museum and a couple terraces with really good views. After that I went to go do my photos only to discover my camera had died. Frustrated, I went home to drop off the dead weight and immediately turned around so that I could go meet Maria back at Piazza Venezia. 

We walked up via del Corso and met Jake at Piazza del Popolo. From there we all went together to Villa Borghese and towards the zoo. We never actually went to the zoo (I will have to go back though because it is something I really want to do). Instead, we rented a row boat on the small lake and attempted to paddle around. Most of our twenty minutes involved avoided the raining bird poop and getting our oars untangled from the sea/lakeweed. After the lake we walked around and got some cotton candy. That night I went and met up with Tyler again in Trastevere. He wanted to revisit his old stopping grounds from when he studied in Rome a few years ago. 

Sunday got off to a slow start because I basically slept until noon. I actually got up at 8:30 and started my laundry but then accidentally went back to sleep for awhile. When I got up I went back to Piazza Navona to try again to take my photos, this time with more success! I came home and did some homework. Kim and Caroline got back from their trip to Venice. For dinned, Sarah, Kim, and I went to Abby Theater and got some burgers and then came home kind of early. 

Last Week...

So I never really covered what did in Rome last week (before Orvieto): 

Monday was a normal class day. It was annoying to have to go back to school after discovering summer (not just spring) vacation for a week. Kim and I walked to class though which was really nice. That's my favorite part about Mondays. I had a photography field study at Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. It's nice to have class be three hours outside with a camera. I think it would be better though if one week he told us to go anywhere and take pictures that way when we had las discussions on them, they wouldn't all be the same photos. After classes, there was an olive oil tasting class organized by Jordan and his internship at Slow Food. I am so jealous of that internship. I would have been awesome at it. The lecture part was OK, I learned about olives and re-learned about Slow Food. Then we got to taste two different kinds of oil and eat lots of olives. Next week, tomorrow actually, is salami and cheese! 

Tuesday was internship and Italian class. In Italian we had to write a "What I did during my vacation" essay. Half the class went on vacation together though so all of the were about the same things. That night, Kim, Will, and I went out to Scholar's Irish Pub for the first time. It is a favorite place for the stereotypical American students so we tend to avoid it. We decided to go and actually had a lot of fun because it was Karaoke night. I never thought I would ever do karaoke, but the three of us got on stage and sang a song together! 

Wednesday I had two field studies. The politics one was at the crisis aid department of the Foreign Ministry. It was one of the more interesting studies we had had for that class so far.  We had to meet way up by Flaminio, right next to the giant Mussolini obelisk. While we were waiting there, a bus full of middle school looking kids drove by and they all leaned out and shouted "Baaaastardo!!!" at it. My other field study was at the Colosseum!! I've been here for more than 2 months and that was the first time I went in. It was incredible. It's one of the easiest ruins to really imagine what it would have looked like. I love it. After class, Kim and I went and sat Tiber Island in the sun which was really nice. Then we went and met my friend Tyler from Princeton High School who was here in Rome for the week looking for a job. 

Thursday I had more internship. They always send me home earlier than I need to. When I tell them I can stay a few hours longer, they always say "Why bother! Go enjoy yourself." It's nice life attitude but not really a good one for the work place. That night, Sarah and Sonia cooked dinner for us all. Sarah made a spinach and ricotta pizza thing and brie and berry tartlets. Sonia made some lemony meatballs. 

Orvieto today? Perché no!

Friday I went with Maria and Marina to Orvieto for the day. Maria suggested it Thursday night and we all just thought "Why not?!" It was a really easy train ride, just over an hour and only 7 euro. Orvieto is a beautiful town on top of a big hill in Umbria. Considering how small and out of the way it is, it was very touristy. The train drops you off at the bottom of the hill/mountain and there is a weird tram thing that takes you up to the town. From there we just walked around. It was a beautiful day and there were a lot of Italian High School tour groups. Our main goal of the day was to get a really good lunch. We walked away from the center but hit the edge (literally a cliff edge) of town pretty fast. We knew we didn't want a tourist place to eat so we asked a couple locals walking by. One didn't seem to know of any good restaurants in the town but the second guy sent us to Mezzaluna Trattoria. We got lost trying to find it and had to ask directions from a guy who seemed really excited that we were going there. When we asked if it was good he grinned really big and said "Siiiii, troppo buono!" (Yes, too good!). Perhaps his cousin was the owner. We finally found it and got the only empty table. We each ordered a pasta. I got Amatriciana, Marina got tortellini with cream sauce, and Maria got a mushroom something. All of them were some of the best dishes I had ever had in Italy. None of us talked during it because we were too busy eating and "Mmmmm"-ing. We then got a mixed grilled meat plate which was equally delicious and then the owner brought us dessert on the house. The lunch ened up taking more than 2 hours (we were only in Orvieto for 4 and a half hours!). After lunch we all wanted to pass out into food comas and lay outside for awhile by the view. Then we walked to the duomo and looked inside and then lay outside in the grass some more. It was a lazy day but a really good trip. We definitely want to do another day trip soon. 

Lazy Week in Rome

Since being back from Malta, I really haven't done much. A lot of sleeping late. Thursday I spent the afternoon with Jillian and we went to get gelato at this really good place that reopened for the spring. For dinner I did aperativi with Maria and Marina. It was really beautiful out and a lot of fun. Friday, Jillian and I took a really long walk in Villa Pamphili. It was really crowded and lively. Tons of dogs and runners and kids playing soccer. We then came back to my apartment and cooked dinner and watched the Notebook. Saturday, we tried to go shopping but didn't see anything and instead just walked around. We stumbled upon a peace rally in Piazza Navona. It also had a bunch of communists. I have good pictures of the rally that I will post later. Today, Jake and I met and had lunch. We went to a restaurant right in front of the Pantheon. It was one of the places where you pay for the real estate more than the food. It was really fun and we sat for a few hours and just swapped spring break stories. Kim was home when I got home and we chilled and then Will came over and we made brownies after watching Charlie do it on youtube. 

Malta Day Three and Four:

Tuesday morning we woke up early, a little reluctantly though. We decided that it would be a good day for an actual breakfast even though pastizzis make the best meal any time of day. We went back to paparazzis where we had gone for lunch the first day right on the harbor. We got full English breakfasts (Malta was real big on the English foods, lot's of fish and chips), which are not as good as full American breakfasts. They were eggs, toast, Canadian (flat ham) bacon, sausages (really more like hotdogs), baked beans, and grilled tom-mah-toes. It hit the spot though. Biggest breakfast I have had in ages. 

After breakfast we caught the bus to Valletta and then another one to Zurrieq (??) to see the Blue Grottos. The bus dropped us off in kind of the middle of nowhere and we followed the road down through some flowers and cacti. Then we saw the ocean and a tiny little village. We saw the restaurant that Christ had told us about and stopped in to say "Ciao" to his friend Lee. There was also a really cute jewelry store and I got some really beautiful silver earrings. I wanted to buy a really cute cat necklace but some of the group said no because it symbolized the beginning of the slippery slope to crazy-cat-lady-dom. I really wish I had gotten it though. After our shopping break, we went further down the hill to the harbor and bought our boat tickets. We piled in a little fishing boat and got driven (boated?) out to the grottos. The water was SO blue! Bright turquoise and bright cerulean and you could see all the way to the bottom of the water. Incredible!! 

After our boat excursion, we caught a cab to Mdina. According to Lee at the restaurant, there were no buses. We would have had to go back to Valletta and then back to Mdina. The cab driver was really nice and took all 6 of us for 20 euro, even though we didn't technically fit. He didn't have all of his teeth but kept telling us all about the places he and his girlfriend like to go. Mdina was a crazy town. It is really old and completely closed to cars. Only pedestrians and horse carriages. It's located right in the center of the island and is up on a hill so you can see all the coasts. There is a famous cafe called Fontana that has fantastic chocolate cake. So chocolately, so delicious. After our snack, Erika had to leave for the airport because she was flying out to Belgium that night. The rest of us walked around for awhile and then headed back to St. Julians. 

For dinner we wanted to eat Maltese food and found a little restaurant. It was a little strange and the waiter was really out of it. He kept forgetting things and didn't even take all of our orders. It wasn't bad though. Overall, the food in Malta was a little underwhelming. I don't know if it was our student budget or the places we were choosing. Nothing was bad, but other than the BBQ, things were just OK. After dinner, we went out and met up with some of our new friends from the hostel and had a fun last night. The next morning Jillian and I left a little early so we could have time to go to Valletta and see the Caravaggios before leaving. We met the others at the airport and watched a VH1 countdown of the top 10 Celine Dion videos while waiting for the plane.

Malta Day Two:

Monday morning we woke up pretty early and left the hostel around 9. We went and got pastizzi, which are a Malta specialty. They are puff pastries filled with either ricotta cheese or mashed up peas. The best part is that they only cost 25 euro cents. Pretty good deal. You can get a meal for 50 cents! We caught a bus up to the north point of the island and caught the ferry to Gozo (we actually knew what we were doing this day because we got good directions from Chris the hostel owner). Gozo is the second biggest island of the three Malta islands with people on them. The ferry ride was fun and pretty quick, only about 20 minutes. When we got there, we wanted to go see this cool rock formation called the Azure Window, but the buses that went there weren't running that day. We ended up waiting for awhile for the nonexistent bus for awhile but there was a fruit stand next to the bus stop and we had an impromptu picnic. We ended up just catching the next bus that came and went to a small town called Xlendi (pronounced: shlendy). There was a beautiful harbor/bay with a small beach. We hung there for the afternoon and tanned. Well, I didn't tan, I put sun screen on. There was also this path that went up over the hill and went into a cave on the other side. I can't describe how beautiful it was. We got a late lunch at a restaurant on the water and then headed back. 

That night, the hostel had barbecue on the roof-top terrace. It was all of us, the three other hostel people, and a bunch of their european friends. I think as a group we represented 9 different countries. They grilled a bunch of chicken, meat, and maltese sausage. There were other maltese specialties plus cole slaw and American ketchup! All in all a really amazing dinner. Afterwards, we all went out together. It was fantastic to have such a summer night during March. I completely miss the beach and the sun and the warmth. I'm really getting ready for summer! 

One really cool thing about Malta are the buses. They are all old retro buses painted and decorated. Apparently they all used to be decorated differently according to the lines. All the buses are also owned by the drivers so they can personalize them or play music and stuff. They were all a little bit random. One driver had a picture hanging of him, his wife, and a technocolored Jesus. Most just had weird quotes painted on the walls. Sadly, Malta is replacing all the old buses with new ones before the summer so we got there just in time. 

Spring Break in MALTA!

Malta is one of the most amazing and strange places I've gone. It's very small (all three islands together are less than 2 Washington D.C.s, according to the CIA at least) but there are enough things to see and do. There was the perfect balance between sights to see and time to relax on the beach, especially since many of the sights are on the beach. It's also a really strange country because it is such a combination of everything and seems very contradictory at times. People speak Maltese (a weird combination of Italian and Arabic), Italian, and English (almost everything was in English). It felt really weird to be in such an obviously European/Mediterranean country speaking English. Most of the locals also had really American/English names like Justin, Alison, Billy, etc. It was strange. The landscape is really mediterranean and beautiful and the buildings are all the same dusty light yellow-brown color. They are apparently doing a lot of building though. From the terrace of our hostel, I could see 14 of those giant cranes. Malta was also strange because there would be this really old church right next to a Pizza Hut. There were a lot of American chains but a lot of strange local places. There were also a lot of British and Irish bars and pubs. It's a really popular place for European tourists and we never saw any other Americans there. Apparently a lot of young Europeans move there to learn English and/or get a job. 

Day One: 

We left early Sunday morning. The big curve ball was that Saturday night/Sunday morning was Day Light Savings in Italy. I changed my clock before going to bed only to discover the next morning that it changed itself too so I ended up trying to meet Jillian at the tram stop at 4:30 AM instead of 5:30 AM. Better that than what happened to Will though. He didn't wake up at all and ended up missing the flight and trip completely. Our group ended up being Me, Jillian, Michelle, Maria, Marina, and Erica. When we landed in Malta we discovered how little we had planned stuff out but it all worked out really easily. We caught the only bus from the airport and went to Valletta and then asked which bus went to St. Julians (there were 5 or 6) and managed to get off at the right spot. 

From there we had no map or idea where our hostel was (nor could we pronounce the street) but we asked and got sent up the right street. They told us to just go up the hill all the way to the top. Right at the point of frustration with the hill, we saw Hostel Malti! The owner, Chris, was really nice. We had our own room since there were six of us. After settling in, Max, a Swedish guy staying at the hostel, took us around the area and showed us the restaurants and beaches. We ate at this really great place on the harbor called Paparazzi's. We then lay on the beach for awhile and relaxed. Then we all walked to Sliema where there was supposed to be a short ferry to Valletta. We were walking along the promenade next to the water and asked a police office where the ferry was and he said "You have to go closer to the sea" and pointed inland. After that fabulously confusing tip, we found the ferry which had stopped running for the day and instead caught a bus to Valletta. We went to see the main Cathedral which has some Caravaggios, but it was closed. Jillian and I went to the Archaeology museum instead which was having a Mucha exhibit. We went back to the hostel and got ready for dinner. The other people from the hostel joined us. Jitka (Czech), Romeo (Amsterdam), Marco (Zurich), and Max (Sweden). Our group couldn't agree on a place to eat and we all went to different ones. Jillian, Romeo, Marco, and I went to the pizzeria. It was a strange dinner all around. The food was kinda gross. There were so many flavors and things on the pizzas. We learned that Romeo was from Surinam but grew up in Amsterdam and was in Malta doing an internship at an Import-Export business, whatever that means. Marco was there just for the weekend. After dinner, we all met up for ice cream and then went back and tried to watch a movie but were all too tired.