2 week notice.

Two weeks left, and I'm dreading leaving.

I've had an amazing experience here, and I never want it to end.
As the end gets closer and closer, I realized there is still so much I want to do! I started making a list in my head, and doing things as the opportunity arises.

My Roman "Bucket" List - Things to do before May 8th at 7 am (when I leave for the airport and the states)

For example, today I ate a Kebab in Piazza San Pietro at sunset. It was one of my goals to finally get a kebab here, so I did!

I want to either get gelato or a cappuccino everyday.
I want to get the famous Nutella Calzone from Dar Poeta.
I want to go to the morning market in Campo for dried fruit and nuts.
I want to go to the Sunday Market in Trastevere.
I want to see the Sistine Chapel.
I want to go to Piazza Navona.
I want to see the Bocca Della Verita.
I want to take the Angels and Demons Tour.
I want to go to the bookstore down the street and buy myself a beautiful Italian book that I can't read (YET).
I want to speak as much of this beautiful language as possible.
I want to talk to old ladies on the bus - the 23 and 990.
I want to have the courage to get up in Scholar's on Karaoke Tuesday and SING!
I want to walk along the banks of the Tiber River.
I want to go to an AS ROMA calcio partito! (soccer game).
I want to say "ciao!" to a child.
I want to drink out of the water fountains on the street.
I want the Gnocci with Vodka Sauce from Tony's.
I want to get lost one more time in this amazing city I now think of as my home.
I want to hear the Pope speak on Sunday afternoon.
I want to climb to the top of the Basilica and admire the city.
I want to drink wine and eat bread.
I want to see a movie at the cinema.
I want to cherish every minute of every day in this amazing, wonderful, strange, enchanting place I call home.

I want to know I made the most out of my experience here, and take it all home with me. My 4 months in Rome.
My pocket full of sunshine.

What a Beautiful day in Rome

It was such a beautiful day, with all the flowers and plants on the Terrace blooming,

that I decided to take some pictures,

make a pitcher of sun tea,

and sit out with a good book.

It must have been at least 75 degrees.
Molto Belle!!

Pasquetta at il Vaticano con Il Papa! (Easter at the Vatican with the Pope!)

Easter morning, I wake up at 6:15.
Put on the Easter Dress mom sent (Which was beautiful by the way), and ran to the Vatican. I even forgot to put on makeup!
I get there at 6:45 and stand in line - near the beginning which was exciting.
Christina got there with our tickets at around 7:15, and we wait to be let in. There is a group of Americans behind us, including an old Grandmother, and she was easy to make conversation with. She said she'd pretend to need to be carried in so we could get in faster. We all laughed.
I wished I had a cappuccino and a cornetto, but knew I was getting my Pasquetta Dinner later! :)
Next, the line starts pushing, we're hurried through security, and I step into the square to see... people running.
Like its Supermarket Sweeps or something.
RUNNING in Piazza San Pietro! I walked, and still managed to get a SEAT, near the front of the square. It started drizzling as we sat and waited for the Mass to begin.
The Piazza was decorated BEAUTIFULLY, with trees, beautiful yellow flowers, grass, light pink blooms on the bushes.
There is an old French couple sitting in front of us, and an Irish Nun next to them. There are two young Russians next to me, A group of Mexican students behind me, and an American family, in their best Easter attire next to them.
We're all here for the same thing. So what if we only understand the one reading or psalm spoken in our language.
Its the experience we're here for. Finding God in that cold, rainy Square. Filled with song, hope, and strangers, who would all be brought together by one thing - The Rising of Jesus.
Soon it starts raining harder. And harder. Its downpouring.


The Sea of Umbrellas behind me.

I sat in the cold rain and listened to the mass, getting pictures of the Pope (Il Papa!) when I could.
Then, a few Priests stepped down into the Square. They were giving Communion. I don't even remember the last time I had communion - and I couldn't believe they had enough to give the thousands of Pilgrims in the Square that day.
The Mass ended, I hugged my friends and I returned home in the pouring rain to prepare myself a Traditional Italian Pasquetta Feast - Ravioli.
I put on Indiana Jones movies and boiled my Ravioli. Topped it with some Balsamic Vinegar Crema, and shredded Asiago cheese. Yummm!
It was delicious, and soon, I was Skyping with my family, who I missed very much.
Mom showed me the Lamb cake, and I was passed from person to person. It was so much fun, especially seeing how the babies have grown! Ethan looks like a little man with all his blonde hair, and Elliott, was smiley as always.
It was really nice to see Momo and Papa, who I haven't seen in too long.
You definitely take holidays like Easter for granted until your sitting on Skype, being shown what the Easter Bunny put in your Niece's Easter Basket.
It was an amazing experience to be in the Vatican for Easter. The singing. Everyone brought together to experience the Mass for the Rising of Jesus.
I will remember being in the Vatican for Easter forever.

Corn Flakes straight out of the box :)

When we used to go grocery shopping with mom, she would always let us open 1 thing and snack on it on the way home.
Cheese, deli meat, chex mix, grapes. Anything, but everyone had to agree on the 1 item we would snack on.
As I was walking home from the GS mercato, I opened my box on corn flakes and nibbled on a few between the 2 blocks from the GS to my apartment.
I stopped, looked down at the box of Corn Flakes clutched to my chest as I stood at a red light and smiled.
I like random memories, and I especially love traditions and little family things that you don't even realize you do, until your away from them, and standing at a red light in the heart of Rome, with a box of 50 cent corn flakes open and clutched to you.
I miss my family a lot, but its times like this when I realize that I'm blessed to be here, and know that I'll return to them, just the same as when I left :)
Ciao!

Yiamas! Opa! Greece! Spring Break 2010!

So its the Friday morning of Spring Break, and all my friends are going to Greece, London, Paris, Dublin - everywhere, and my plans? Laundry and possibly, mopping the terrace. Great.
Mom calls me on Skype and asks what my plans are for Spring Break - if I booked anything with my friends. Nope.
She asks casually what my friends are doing - and I tell her they're going to Greece with Bus2Alps. Bus2Alps? She asks - and I tell her about the trip they booked. A few minutes she (again casually) asks my passport number, before telling me she booked me to Greece for Spring Break!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its a mad dash to do laundry, go to H&M for some springy shirts, clean the apartment - including the fridge! ew! and start packing!
The next morning I wake up at 7:00 - even before my alarm goes off (which I cleverly made 'I'm on a Boat') and Alicia and I do all our last minute stuff - straightening our hair, putting on makeup and grabbing the trash out of the kitchen. Before I know it, we're on the Metro on our way to Termini to meet up with the group. The first person I see is Mor - and she's STUNNED to see me! We go grab cappuccinos and cornettos, before we make our way back to the group where we meet up with Christina, who was even more stunned to see me!
Such a great start already!
We start our 6 hour bus ride (thank God for movies! We watched Old School and the Italian Job) across Italy to the port. From there we board our first 16 hour ferry. The airline seating is pretty bleak, so Christina Mor and I decide to walk around, maybe get some dinner. Spaghetti and Greek Salads fill everyone up, so we decide to have some wine and watch TV in the seating room. I should have know that with over 100 college students on their way to spring break, it would have been a shit show. Well, needless to say, it was loud for a while. I lay down on the floor with my Lufthansa blanket and soon a Greek Trucker lays down close to me. HELL NO! It was a little awkward getting kicked twice in the night by him! We wake up and head to the cafe onboard for Cornetto and water. We ask one of the waiters how to say "thank you" in greek, and we also ask how to say "hi" and "cheers". So finally the next day we get to the next ferry port where we take another hour ferry to Corfu. We got sandwiches and sat on the deck. We finally arrived in Corfu and took another 45 minute bus to the Pink Palace. Which truly is HOT PINK! We settle in - I was assigned a room with two girls who were studying abroad in Florence. We chat for a bit before I meet back up with Christina, Faith and Mor - and we all pass out for the rest of the day!

We wake up in time for a beautiful sunset, and happy hour and dinner so we head down. Chicken and Potatoes, the most amazing soup and a greek salad! We stay after dinner for some drinks and a little fun! There was traditional Greek Dancing, which I was absolutely hypnotized by, The black white and red, the dancers twisting and kicking, linking arms and spinning around, and soon the dancers reached out and grabbed us and taught us a few moves. Greg and I were linking arms and jumping around only seconds later!

It was a blast. We get back to our rooms around 2:30 am and I fall right asleep.
The next morning we wake up early and rent ATVs. After our EXTREMELY BRIEF lesson - the four of us are ripping all over the island on our ATVs! Soon, Mor is down a ditch, I almost flip mine and so we decide to stop for cappuccinos, free shots of Kumquat liquor and some sun. The kumquat liquor was amazing - and only produced on this Island! They used an amazing process where they crystalized Kumquat branches - so that you could pour vodka into the bottle and reuse the branch 3 or 4 times! Christina and Faith bought some, and Mor bought some Kumquat perfume (which smells amazing!!).
We get back on our ATVs and head back out. We end up on a major road, with cars honking at us and passing us!!! AHHH! We try to find the nearest place to get off the road. We try "off road-ing" up a dirt road, but Mor and I got stuck, so we went back down - next were winding up a mountain and we decide to stop for some amazing pictures of the island. I look over the side, and spot some tiles. We find 4 perfect blue and white flowered tiles, and decide to take 1 each - to remember the mountain. (Mine is sitting on my windowsill). I think I found myself up on that mountain top, as well as the tile. I realized who I am, who I'm not, that shitty things happen to good people, but there's no reason to dwell or let anything keep me from living my best life, or from doing what I want to do. It was so liberating - letting go of almost two years of repressed self-hatred can definitely lighten one's soul.

We get back and shower and get ready for the Toga party! It took me so long to decide how to do mine - but finally we're all ready so we head down for dinner. Meat and green beans. And then after dinner, the toga party begins! We drink some Ouzo and listen to great music - before I know it - more Greek Dancing - there is a circle of fire on the floor and plates are being thrown all around the dancer in the middle of the circle. Soon the lights are back on, and one of the bartenders comes out in a toga and spartan helmet. He's carrying a pot of Ouzo, and is followed by another with a stack of plates. This is intriguing. They start giving shots and breaking plates over peoples heads. How do I get in on this?! Is all I can think. I run to the other side of the circle.

Next thing I know, I have two shots of Ouzo being poured in my mouth, before I even saw the man with the plate, I FELT the plate being smashed over my head! OPA! I bend down and grab 2 pieces of what was once the plate that was smashed over my head only seconds ago. We go to bed early, because the next day was the "Booze Cruise" - of which I will call the "Booze Cruise" lightly. Because A) there were only 15 people, and B) no one drank! The day before, 65 people had gone, and we heard some wild stories. The Pink Palace is know for its crazy Booze Cruise.
So we get up early and are the first in line for the Cruise! Yes! Until we realize, its 65, cloudy, and RAINING! Booo!
So we get some breakfast - corn flakes and Greek Yogurt - yuuummm! Soon we're changed into swim suites, and ready for our cruise. We see that we have to swim about 50 feet to the boat. FREEEEZING! I'm the first person out to the boat. Soon we're on our way. We get to the cliff and I'm the first person out in the freezing water. I'm cliff diving! I'm overcoming my fear I'm just gonna do it! I get to the cliff, and Bartender Mike - who runs the Cliff diving - gives me a couple pointers on free scaling the cliff, and I'm on my way. As I'm free scaling the cliff, barefoot and wild, it felt so instinctual.
I get to the top, and wait for Christina, Mor, and the other jumper to make it to the top. Next thing I know, I'm standing over the edge of the cliff, watching the rain fall down into the sea. I ask for a countdown and they start it at 5. By 2 I've leapt into the air and out over the edge of the cliff.



10 minutes (or 3 seconds) later, I'm in the water and swimming back to the boat. There I watch my friends jump. Faith, then Mor, Christina, the other kid, and finally Mike.
We all did it! Next we're on our way to some caves, then a beautiful secluded beach. I got two rocks to bring back one day, and

took some beautiful pictures. I got to drive the boat for a while, and took the captain hat. Haha!
So now its 6 pm and we decide to shower, get dressed, pack, bring our bags to the luggage room, and head down for dinner. Spaghetti. We head back up and get ready to leave for our bus to the ferry. We get up there to realize that I've been put on a different bus than the other girls. Boo! Its an hour before we reach the port, and load onto the ferry in the rain. The ferry feels like days but was only a few hours. We board the buses again for our overnight ride to Athens. I fall asleep and wake up many times on that trip - but we finally end up in... Athens? THIS is Athens?? But this is dirty and run down - it doesn't look like the Athens I've dreamed of. We load into our hostel where I'm the first to take a shower. We grab some breakfast before we head out on our walking tour. We see The Temple of Zeus, The Arch of Hadrian, The Acropolis, the Parthenon and a central square, where we got our first Gyros! We stop at... wait for it... STARBUCKS!!!!!!!! Where I had a Zen Tea. (I know, how did I go to Starbucks for the first time in MONTHS and not get some kind of foofy whipped creamy blended coffee drink). Then we head back. We get ready for dinner and headed out. The entire group goes to dinner where we get a sampling of traditional Greek food. A Greek salad, Calamari, Lamb balls, and Fried Feta (my new obsession). Then we got 4 traditional entrees - Chicken and pork kabobs, Mousaka, and veal. Everything was so delicious! Fruit for dessert (aww maaaan no Baklava??) (Mor and I were pretty disappointed). We make our way back to the hotel - the obnoxious Americans that everyone makes sure to stare at! We get home and get right to bed. It was a looooong day.

We wake up early for our Greek breakfast - cereal and yogurt - not as good as it was in Corfu - but who's complaining?! From the Hostel we take the Metro to a bus to a ferry and we're on our way to Aeina - a quaint little island. I saw my first blue and white church - and fell in love.

I walked in and asked if I could take a picture. This church was no bigger than my room at home (including the walk in closet) but was painted so beautifully, with a tiny place to light candles, and a box of postcards placed on a folding table near the door. I bought one and continued out and through the island. We walked around the island and stopped for lunch on the boardwalk. I ordered the fried feta and some tzatziki. An old couple next to us hears us speaking english, and the woman perks up. She's British, and her husband is Greek. They lived in Athens for 30 years before moving to Aeina 9 years ago. They celebrated their 44th anniversary on Tuesday. :) We talk about what we like about Greece, what happened to Athens, Obama, and how she hoped we made it back to the island one day.
I was so happy as I sat listening to her stories, as I dipped my hunk of break into my creamy tzatziki. I sat soaking in the culture as well as the sun on that boardwalk, listening to everyones conversations in Greek. Its like Italian, but dirtier - like, a gritty language for the sailors sailing from Island to Island, trading and selling.
We go through the maze of back streets, taking pictures, and getting whistled at from boys in passing cars.

We finally make our way to the beach and I fall asleep. After soaking up all the sun the day will let us, we decide to get our desserts. We find a nice cafe and order. We all got "Freddocinnos" - which was like a coffee drink which I swear was blended with chocolate ice cream. Christina and I got huge slices of Baklava, and Mor got a different dessert. I cherished every bite of that Baklava - wanting to read it poetry, and take it for boat rides on a small lake. I'll remember my first bite of Baklava, as I sat in a shaded cafe, sand in my hair, my friends to my left and right.

We make it back to the ferry at 5 and wait for the rest of the group. We load the ferry and return back to Athens. The four of us decide to have a quiet night, and we order pizzas and risotto, watching CNN in the Hostel before packing and heading to bed. We wake up early the next day - check out and have enough time to butter my 2 pieces of toast and run. We load the buses - again on another bus than my friends, and I read the entire 3 1/2 hours to the port. We stop at a rest stop where we see the historical canal that connects mainland Greece with many of the surrounding islands.
Soon we're on the ferry. The 21 hour ferry. Bleh! We find the aptly named "bat cave" a secluded room with less seating where many of our friends were, and unload our things.
We walked around, grabbed some dinner (Greek salad and Baklava anyone?) and walked around the ship. The Baklava was an obvious choice for me. My last chance for a piece of the layered honey nut goodness. As we're paying and waiting the kitchen manager walks up and sees Mor and I with our traditional desserts, and Faith with her cheesecake. "You can get that anywhere! " He says, "but these desserts are special!" He grabs her cheesecake and says he'll be back with her Baklava. He returns with two plates. Baklava for Faith, and a dessert for us to share, made of syrup and flour - meant to cleanse the palate. Interesting. I thought it tasted like the peanut cookies from Chinese Kitchen, but who was I to complain - free desserts in Greece? Sold.

We sit and talk until we're asked to please leave, they're beginning to clean.
We go back, sit, talk and paint our nails. Not much else to do on a 21 hour ferry.
I actually got some descent sleep and woke up at 9 am the next morning. After cornflakes, Greek yogurt and a chocolate cornetto, we pack up and wait for our arrival in Italy.
We get in 2 hours late, and unload from the ferry. Mor, Christina and I make a beeline for a sandwich stand on the boardwalk, and it was so nice seeing everything in Italian, and not strange Greek letters I only see on hoodies or charm bracelets back home.
I tell the woman behind the counter how much I love Italy, and how happy I was to be back and speaking Italian. She smiles and agrees as she hands me my rustico panino and coca cola light.
We wait around for an hour or so before loading onto the buses. Its a 6 hour ride back, and we watch The Departed and Mean Girls.
The views of the snow covered mountains on the way back to Rome were AMAZING. I loved it so much.

It was one of the best weekends, and I'll definitely never forget it.

"Sto Piovende" ("Its Raining")

The Roman Rain is my favorite thing here, and as I am officially at the half-way point (AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!)
I decided to take a video of the rain out my window on my street to remember the sight and sound forever.
It starts with the dog across the street, sleeping just out of the way of the rain, down to the orange tree in the courtyard of my apartment building, down to the busy street in front of me, and ending again with the dog. (I can't help it - he's too cute!)
Enjoy :)



My Italian Professor told us in class that its not normal for it to rain this much in Italy..
I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I love hearing it hit my windows, and seeing the shadows it casts from outside at night.
I love stepping in puddles, I love how it cleanses the city, how it perfumes my clothes when they're out drying.
I love how violent the Tiber River flows after a hard rain, pushing over its banks and bringing tree branches down its path.
I love the Italians and all their umbrellas, a sigh of relief as they step onto the 23 and shake off their umbrellas as they find an open seat.
I love staring out the window in class as the rain falls.
I love way the plants on the Terrace are that much greener, thankful for their drink.
I love seeing old men standing in the doorway of Tabacci's with their hand out, feeling the rain, deciding when to leave the dry warmth and head to their destinations.
I love walking in the rain, feeling it on my face when I move my umbrella.
I love seeing Italian children in their bright rain boots stomping through, their old grandmothers holding their hand, but away from their bodies to avoid getting splashed.
I love the soggy newspapers used as makeshift umbrellas as we get off the Metro.
I love everything about this Roman Rain.

Ciao!

St. Peter's Basilica

I went to St. Peter's Basilica this Sunday, and it was absolutely amazing.
It was such a spiritual experience. Words will do it no justice, nor will the pictures, but I'm going to post a couple of my favorites, rather than talk about it - needless to say it was an amazing experience and I hope you enjoy the pictures :)


This one is by far my favorite.



This was a close second, she was filled by the Holy Spirit. But my favorite thing about this, is that her body forms a cross on the ground in front of here. Amazing.


I loved the high domes, with the beautiful artwork. It was so colorful and bright.


There were a few windows that made me know that the Holy Spirit was inside that Basilica.


This is a frieze off near the tomb of Pope Innocent I believe.


Again with the high amazing domes.


This is one of my favorite pictures. I don't fancy myself a photographer at all, but I really like the composition of this one.



The Holy Spirit shining down through the high windows.


Again, I like the composition of this one, with the marble column framing the dome behind it.