Sorry my posts have been so few and far between, we had a three day group orientation trip this past weekend and we've been really busy, but hopefully things will settle down now since orientation activities are over. Unfortunately it rained basically all weekend, but we still got to see some really interesting places. We left Rome Friday morning and went to Herculaneum first. Herculaneum is a town that was destroyed by lava when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D., so it's similar to Pompeii but is preserved much better. The lava hardened into stone and buried the whole city until it was accidentally discovered in the early 18th century by people trying to build a well. It's amazing that so many details, such as the paintings on the walls of the homes, have been preserved so well for almost 2000 years and it was really cool to see how the inhabitants of this town lived back then. We had lunch in Pompeii but unfortunately didn't get to look around so hopefully I can go back sometime for a day trip. Then we went to Salerno, which is right on the sea and surrounded by mountains. I was actually surprised as we drove south from Rome how mountainous the region is, because the only mountains I think of when I think of Italy are the Alps up north. The next day we went to Paestum, which was originally a Greek city built to honor Poseidon, the god of the sea. It was eventually taken over by the Romans but three Greek temples still stand there today, so we saw the temples and took a tour of the museum there. On Sunday we went to Sorrento, another town on the water, which was very charming. They let us explore this town by ourselves for a couple hours so we basically just wandered the streets in the rain, going into any place that looked interesting. Sorrento is famous for its limoncello, which is an Italian lemon liqueur drink traditionally served after a meal. So naturally there are lemon trees all around Sorrento, which make it very picturesque. Overall it was a great weekend! I'm glad that for this trip they took us to smaller towns that I otherwise probably wouldn't have ever heard about or visited. Traveling with a group of about 200 people is hard though, so I'm excited to start traveling with a small group of friends (starting this weekend with Milan). My friends and I met some Italians while we were out over the weekend, which was one of my favorite parts of the trip because meeting the people definitely gives you insight into the culture of a country!
Here's an update on how the first week of classes went. I switched my classes around a little so here's what I'm taking now: Intro to Opera, Honors: Encountering Contemporary Europe, Cultural History: Foods and Wines of Italy, and Society in Literature. I haven't had Foods and Wines yet, but the others seem like they'll be interesting classes, and the professors seem great too. Two of my professors are Italian and two are Americans who now call Italy home, so they all have varied backgrounds which is nice. Last Thursday night, with my Opera class, we got to go see an opera! It was my first opera, and I was so excited, but since it was an American opera called "A View From the Bridge" it was in English, which just didn't seem as authentic since I was expecting it to be in Italian. So hopefully the next time our professor gets us tickets they'll be for an Italian opera! But it was still a great experience and the opera house here in Rome is beautiful! I don't have much to say about my other classes yet, but I'll keep you updated if anything exciting happens.
In case you're interested (but more because I'm so excited that I want to share with you!) these are the future trips I have planned so far:
January 28-31 Milan
February 26 day trip to Venice for Carnival, which is basically like Mardi Gras
March 4-13 GREECE!!!
April 1-3 Tuscany
There's just so much to see in Europe, it's hard to pick and choose where to go, so I have a lot more planning to do. But I also want to be sure to spend enough time in Rome, since it is my home while I'm here and there are countless places to go in the city!
Sorry there aren't any pictures on this post, my laptop is acting up so I gave it to the IT guy here, but I don't have it back yet. Hopefully later this week it will be fixed and I can add some! Thanks for reading!
Ciao,
Allison
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
All roads lead to Rome...
Well, I'm in Roma! My first five days here have been amazing, but we've been really busy with orientation stuff, so I'm ready for classes to start today so that I can get back into a normal routine. The weather here has been beautiful, unseasonably warm for January, so I'm hoping it will stay this way, though it'll probably rain in the near future because it generally rains a lot here in January and February. Loyola's campus in Rome, the John Felice Rome Center (JFRC) is located northwest of the city center on top of a hill called Monte Mario. There are a few connected buildings that make a U-shape around a charming little courtyard that has orange fruit trees in it. My roommate Ashlee and I have a tiny balcony connected to our room, which looks out over the courtyard, so we definitely lucked out as far as the view is concerned! The food here has been delicious of course. We have lunch and dinner at the mensa (cafeteria) on campus, which serves traditional Italian food. I've also been out to two nice Italian restaurants for orientation events, where amazing Italian food was just brought out to us course by course. Let's hope I don't get tired of Italian food anytime soon!
My friends and I haven't wasted any time in terms of exploring the city.
Things I've seen so far in Rome:
1. The Trevi Fountain
2. The Spanish Steps
3. The Colosseum
4. The Roman Forum
5. The Pantheon
6. The Tiber River
7. A bunch of Piazzas, Piazza Navona and Piazza del Popolo being the most well-known I think
Random things I've observed about Rome so far:
1. There are palm trees here...that was unexpected!
2. Everyone has a dog (or so it seems)
3. The notorious reputation of Italian drivers is absolutely true (generally speaking)
4. It is legal to have open containers of alcohol in public, though it'll still feel illegal until I get used to it
Yesterday, as part of orientation, there was a group day trip to Orvieto, a city about an hour and a half away from Rome. It's a little city built on top of a cliff made of volcanic rock. Orvieto was so charming, exactly what you would expect from how Italy is portrayed in movies and stuff. Cobblestone streets and narrow alleys around every corner, brightly colored buildings all connected, clothes outside drying on clotheslines high above the streets, it seemed like a very pleasant place to live! We took a tour of the beautiful Basilica, which is the most famous architectural building in the city. It was nice to see the Italian countryside as we drove to and from Orvieto, and I'm really glad they planned a trip for us outside of Rome. Next weekend, we have a three day group trip to the southern cities of Herculaneum, Salerno, Paetrum, and Sorrento, which I'm excited for!
Well, I'm off to class now. I have Italian 102 and Intro to Opera today, so I'll update you all soon on how the first week of classes goes. Thanks for reading!
Ciao,
Allison
View of courtyard from our room
At the Trevi Fountain
At the top of the Spanish Steps: Laura, Lexi, me, and Megan
The Colosseum
My friends and I haven't wasted any time in terms of exploring the city.
Things I've seen so far in Rome:
1. The Trevi Fountain
2. The Spanish Steps
3. The Colosseum
4. The Roman Forum
5. The Pantheon
6. The Tiber River
7. A bunch of Piazzas, Piazza Navona and Piazza del Popolo being the most well-known I think
Random things I've observed about Rome so far:
1. There are palm trees here...that was unexpected!
2. Everyone has a dog (or so it seems)
3. The notorious reputation of Italian drivers is absolutely true (generally speaking)
4. It is legal to have open containers of alcohol in public, though it'll still feel illegal until I get used to it
Yesterday, as part of orientation, there was a group day trip to Orvieto, a city about an hour and a half away from Rome. It's a little city built on top of a cliff made of volcanic rock. Orvieto was so charming, exactly what you would expect from how Italy is portrayed in movies and stuff. Cobblestone streets and narrow alleys around every corner, brightly colored buildings all connected, clothes outside drying on clotheslines high above the streets, it seemed like a very pleasant place to live! We took a tour of the beautiful Basilica, which is the most famous architectural building in the city. It was nice to see the Italian countryside as we drove to and from Orvieto, and I'm really glad they planned a trip for us outside of Rome. Next weekend, we have a three day group trip to the southern cities of Herculaneum, Salerno, Paetrum, and Sorrento, which I'm excited for!
Well, I'm off to class now. I have Italian 102 and Intro to Opera today, so I'll update you all soon on how the first week of classes goes. Thanks for reading!
Ciao,
Allison
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
One week until the adventure begins!
First of all, since you're reading this, I want to thank you for visiting my blog! I figured this would be an easy way for my family and friends to keep up with me while I'm abroad for the semester. As you all know, I leave for Italy in one week, and I couldn't be more excited! I'm also getting nervous as the departure date gets closer, but I'm sure that will disappear once I get over there. Actually, most of my nervousness will disappear once I get my suitcases packed and I'm finally ready to go!
For the past several years, I've had a growing fascination with Italy--its people, language, culture, and of course, its food! So I feel very blessed to have this wonderful opportunity to live and study in Italy for the next four months, and I couldn't be more grateful to my parents for their love and support in everything I do. Naturally, as people have found out over the past year that I'm going abroad, I've received many tips about living and traveling in Italy. I would say the two most common tips I've been given are: 1. watch out for pickpocketers and 2. watch out for Italian men. All I can say is I will try my best and thank you to everyone who has shared their knowledge and experiences with me!
In case you're wondering, the name of my blog, "la dolce vita", means "the sweet life" in Italian, which I think will sum up these next four months!
Stay tuned, my next post will be from Rome!
Until next time,
Allison
For the past several years, I've had a growing fascination with Italy--its people, language, culture, and of course, its food! So I feel very blessed to have this wonderful opportunity to live and study in Italy for the next four months, and I couldn't be more grateful to my parents for their love and support in everything I do. Naturally, as people have found out over the past year that I'm going abroad, I've received many tips about living and traveling in Italy. I would say the two most common tips I've been given are: 1. watch out for pickpocketers and 2. watch out for Italian men. All I can say is I will try my best and thank you to everyone who has shared their knowledge and experiences with me!
In case you're wondering, the name of my blog, "la dolce vita", means "the sweet life" in Italian, which I think will sum up these next four months!
Stay tuned, my next post will be from Rome!
Until next time,
Allison
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