Old as I get I will never forget it at all

Friends, there is so much goodness to share! These past few weeks were unbelievably amazing. I don’t think it is possible for me to relay to you how incredible they were, but I will try to anyway.

Rewind two weeks. That week included an absolutely ridiculous trip to the Laundromat, a pleasant God Squad where we learned about the church fathers, a gelato trip with our deacon and seminarian friends, a demonstration of Italian college students that blocked up the streets, an eight-page paper for Archaeology, a moral theology midterm, and piccolo amounts of sleep. All of these things were good (except for the lack of sleep), and when Thursday night rolled around, things became even more brilliant.

I have two words for you: Fleet. Foxes.

If you are not already in love with Fleet Foxes, you should introduce yourself to them and then fall in love. A good place to start is White Winter Hymnal. It is one of their well-known songs. (And it’s my favorite song to sing in the shower.) A few of my current favorites are Bedouin Dress, Ragged Wood, Battery Kinzie…the list goes on. Just check it out, yeah?

After I dominated my religion midterm, my friend Francesca and I hailed a cab and made our way across town for the concert. It was my first time ever riding in a cab, and let me tell you, the cab drivers in Rome don’t mess around. We arrived safely to our destination and waited in line for an hour for the doors to open. Frannie and I couldn’t stop smiling because we were so pumped.

The venue where they held the concert was a club that is usually used as a discothèque, so it was all floor space. Frannie and I made our way to the front; we were stuck behind the tallest person in the entire room (of course), but we were only about ten feet from the stage. Great success! The opener consisted of a chick singer and two men on guitar. I think they were called Alela Diane and the two Toms. They were quite enjoyable. If Florence and the Machine and Fleet Foxes had a baby together, it would sound kind of like this band. They played a nice set and at the end, Alela mentioned that one man was her husband and the other was her father. How cute is that?!

Then came the foxes. And foxes they were.

The concert was absolutely incredible, as were the beards. Fran and I formed a huge crush on one of the members who was a skinny little guy with a big beard and a round head and who could play about 5 million different instruments. The atmosphere and stage presence were just right, and they played all of our favorite songs. I may or may not have cried at one point…go ahead. Judge me. I am going to be so bold as to say that it was the best concert I have ever been too. Well, it’s tied with Avett Brothers.

Fran and I had an epic night and everything went smoothly until it was time to find our way home. When we left the venue, we couldn’t find a taxi anywhere. We waited patiently and finally one drove by. And didn’t stop. Alright, take two. A few minutes later, Fran hailed another taxi. This one did stop, and we hopped in along with three other girls. The driver said, “No, no, no. Only four to taxi. Only four.” The other girls were really nice and said they would just catch the next one. When they got out, the driver was livid. Apparently he only serves blonde females. So he made us get out of the taxi, and then he backed up on the busy street and picked up a couple blondes on the corner. Fran, who originates from Manhattan, was shocked. Never in her life has she been kicked out of a taxi. So, she was irritated. Well, irritated is putting it lightly…It didn’t help that we kept getting up-streamed after that. Finally, Fran hailed another taxi. This time, some girl started sprinting in order to steal it. So Fran sprinted after her. I want you to imagine an extremely angry redhead, who just happens to be wearing a foam crown, running down the middle of a busy street. That was Fran. She beat the girl to the cab, but the girl shoved Fran and made her lose her shoe, which gave the girl time to hop in. So if Fran was angry before, I can’t even describe what she was after that scenario. From my point of view, it was ridiculously funny. We had a good laugh about it afterwards. After that, we waited a few more minutes, but there was not a taxi in sight, so we decided to start walking home. We figured we would catch a cab eventually. About 15 minutes into our walk, Fran hailed a taxi and we were not denied or forced out. We laughed the entire ride back, just glad to be safe and a little warmer. When we got back to our street, the cab driver got out, opened the door for Frannie, and said, “Now I can say that I have opened the door for the queen.” We were confused for a moment, and then we realized that Fran was still wearing her crown that she got at the concert, and we laughed. As we crossed the street, about 30 taxis drove by in a large group. Oh, the irony.

It was quite a beautiful night and it was definitely a growing experience for me. Frannie and I are so different from each other, but we are such good friends, and I am so very thankful to have her in my life.

Hhhhhokay. So fast-forward a few hours to Friday morning. Gracie and I wake up before the sun so we can catch a four-hour train to Venice. We slept for the majority of the ride, and when we heard the stop for Venice, we hopped off. After the doors of train closed and it began to leave the station, we realized that we had gotten off at the wrong stop. Oops. Apparently, there are two stations in Venice and we got off just a tad early. We dubbed the section of town we were in “fake Venice” because there wasn’t a drop of water in sight, and we were expecting gondolas and everything. We grabbed a cappuccino and then caught the next train to “real Venice.” When we got off the train and walked outside, we finally saw water. And oh how glorious it was! The streets of ancient Venice were waterways, and so many of the buildings had doors that opened up to the water. There were bridges and boats and gondolas galore, and the sun sparkled on the water. We could tell it was going to be a great day.

We walked around the city, wandering in and out of shops that had walls lined with handmade masks. We stumbled upon a park with trees and a play area for kids. Of course we had a turn on the swings and I climbed all over the jungle gym. Oh, to be young again…

In the afternoon, we took a gondola ride. Yes, we had a dude with a striped shirt and a sweet hat. No, he didn’t serenade us. But that didn’t make it any less good. He actually told us all about the history of the city as he rowed us along. We were impressed at how well he navigated the narrow alleyways and managed not to crash into other gondolas and boats as we passed them in tight spaces. Seeing the city from the perspective of the boat was amazing and refreshing. Grace and I may have made a slight attempt to rock the boat, but it was an epic fail. We did get a lot of funny looks from passersby on land. People must have thought we were lovers. I’m sure our constant giggling and smiling at each other probably didn’t help. Sorry we’re not sorry…

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city. We absolutely fell in love with Venice, and we were so sad to leave. Someday, we promised ourselves, we will go back. Sigh.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with lots of learning and growing and loving. You know, the usual. I spent some good quality time with my friend Libby, and I fell even more in love with her. (As if that is even possible.) We had some amazing conversations and ate good food and she was present when I bought a kick-ass pair of boots. It was quite the weekend.

On Sunday night, Grace came back from hanging out with her parents, and while we were talking, we discovered that a bird had defecated in her hair. After she had a minor freak out (nothing is minor with Grace), she stuck her head in the shower and I helped her wash the poo out of her hair. Talk about friendship! We take good care of each other for sure.

I realize that this post is already ridiculously long, and I’m not even close to being done. I am going to quit for the night, but we will pick up again soon. I promise. Oh, the tales I have to tell.  

So many foreign worlds, so ready for us.

Greetings, beautiful people! Long time, no see. I apologize for the lack of blog posts as of late. I know how devastated you all are… :)

But you know me; I am abastanza bene at filling my schedule to the brim and then having time management problems. But I’m getting better. (At least that is what I tell myself.)

There is so much to tell you all! And I know that I won’t be able to hit everything, so I will elaborate on the highlights of the past few weeks. Buckle up.

Ok, let’s rewind to Saturday, October 22, 2011.

Gracie and I woke up bright and early for our all day tour. Our first stop was to see the tomb paintings in Tarquinia. I was stoked because we have been learning so much about tombs and necropolises (personally, I think it should be necropoli) in Archaeology, and now we were actually going to see everything in person. The tombs were relatively big, and the paintings were impressive. Knowing the symbolism behind the art made it even more meaningful and interesting to experience. Also, there was an abundance of lizards in the fields surrounding the tombs. I spent a fair amount of time running around like a six-year-old trying to catch one and make it my pet. Maddie would be proud.

After spending the morning hanging out in underground tombs, we headed to the Mediterranean Sea to have our lunch break. The water was a gorgeous blue color and it glittered in the sunlight. I ate the best apple of my life while I was stretched out on the rocks, soaking up the sun and even getting a few freckles on my face. Who knew that was possible?! The beach was deserted because the summer season is over and it’s chilly now, so we had the seaside to ourselves. I stuck my toes in the water and walked along the shore, picking up bits of driftwood and sea glass to take home to my momma. I even did a few cartwheels. The sea always seems to make me revert back to being a kid. I think part of it has something to do with how tiny I feel next to the infinite abyss.  It’s a good feeling to have once in a while.

I was sad to say goodbye to the beach, but pumped for our next stop: the necropolis at Cerveteri. A necropolis is a city for the dead; they were usually built on the outskirts of actual cities. This particular necropolis was a series of cute house-like tombs that were carved out of tufa, a kind of volcanic rock. The tombs were covered with vines and plants, so it felt like I was walking into the secret garden. Some of the tombs were rather plain, but others had furniture and other objects carved into the rock. Some of them even had stone pillows! The Etruscans were good about paying respect to their dead.

I got to sit on one of the funeral beds. It’s only as creepy as you make it…

Tarquinia and Cerveteri were amazing and I was able to relate what I was seeing and touching in real life with the material I have been learning in my classes. Saint Mary’s critical thinking skills at work! Now that is what I call education.

Fast Forward to Friday, October 28.

We no longer have classes on Fridays, so we get three-day weekends to travel or to experience Rome to our heart’s content. On Friday morning, Grace and I joined a few other girls and we went with Deacon Cory to the Basilica of Saint Clement and St. John Lateran Cathedral. Oh. My. Goodness. Words cannot express how awesome our morning was. Cory had a plethora of knowledge about both churches and their art, and he shared that knowledge with us. It blew my mind twice. Actually, more like a million times to the infinite power. It made me want to learn more about the faith and the saints and history in general. Cory will be a great priest and teacher one day. And he has a ginger beard. Fifty points to Ravenclaw.

Not only were the churches amazing, but the people we went with were tops as well. I became better friends with Ashley and Libby, who are both part of the program, and they are fantastic, not to mention hilarious and adorable as well.

On Saturday, we had an all day tour to Palestrina and Tivoli. I could spend ages talking about everything we saw, but I will just tell you about my favorite part, Villa D’este. If you were to mix Alice in Wonderland with The Secret Garden and throw in the scene from the Lizzie McGuire movie, you will have Villa D’este. I could have spent weeks there. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is a giant garden that twists and turns its way down a giant hill. There are various fountains, hedges, statues, and trees. Everything looks so lush and green and the water makes it seem ten degrees cooler, which was lovely because it was such a hot day. We were only given 45 minutes to explore, but Grace and Libby and Ashley and I had a magical time. Hopefully I will be able to go back again and more thoroughly appreciate it.

Fast forward to Halloween. I rocked my two hardest midterms and I prepared my presentation for the next day. No fun. I was super bummed that they don’t celebrate Halloween here because it is one of my favorites. But we got to go out for gelato with some of the seminarians after God Squad so it turned out to be an awesome night.

On Tuesday, we left for our long weekend in Naples. We spent the first day in Pompeii, which I absolutely loved. We got to see the ancient city, including the amphitheatre and many of the houses. I was particularly smitten with the Villa of Mysteries. The triclinium (dining room) of the house contains a fresco that is quite fun to look at. The painted figures are slightly under life-size and the warm colors make the room seem informal and inviting. Plus the different scenes are fascinating. 

In one section of Pompeii, they had plaster casts that contained the skeletons of people that had died in the eruption of Vesuvius. It was so sad to see the people who weren’t able to make it out alive, and it made the experience more real to me.

After our tour of Pompeii, we headed to Naples. They weren’t joking when they told that the city is dirrrtay. There is trash all over the place. But somehow, the city is also beautiful at the same time. Especially near the water. In Naples, I had the best pizza and coffee that I have ever consumed in my entire life. They sure do know how to make their pizzas, and there is something special about their water that makes the coffee extra delicious.

The streets were a bit rough, but we always travelled in packs and my friend Fran, who hails from New York, taught me the body language and face of a mean city girl. I am awful at it, but it’s a good trait to have so that the guys who are not gentlemen do not mistake you for a vulnerable piece of meat.

One day we drove along the Amalfi coast, and the scenery was breathtaking. Our big bus miraculously wound its way down a tiny road of mountainside and managed to get us safely to Amalfi. We spent part of the afternoon in the small town, and in that short time I fell in love with the place. The breeze from the sea was so refreshing after being cooped up on the bus.

On Friday, we went to two of Italy’s (if not the world’s) greatest museums, both located in Naples. The first museum contained tons of ancient statues and frescos. The second had gorgeous paintings from the Renaissance period. I am a sucker for art, so Ashley and I had a blast looking at all the paintings and sculptures and learning the stories behind them. I also could have spent weeks in the second museum, analyzing and overanalyzing each piece. I am excited to paint again when I come home at Christmas.

We were supposed to go to Capri today as our last part of the trip, but the threat of storms kept all the boats at bay, so we came back to Rome. I was bummed that we weren’t able to see Capri, but Dr. Prebys said she would try to work something out. There is still hope! And I am quite happy to be back home. And by home, I mean Rome. I do love it here. It was an overcast day, perfect weather for listening to Ryan Adams and relaxing before round two of midterms starts punching me in the face.

So there is the extremely condensed version (believe it or not) of the past few weeks. I will try to stay on top of this blogging nonsense so I can be more descriptive without writing a novel every time I make a post.

A little shout out to Grace, who is currently in the US for her brother’s wedding. Great job travelling by yourself, champ! The room is lonely without you. Hurry back.