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.