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THIS WEEK!  I've been so happy this week! I think it's a mix of returning to Rome, my home, seeing all my friends again, and I've been out in the warm sunshine running nearly everyday ("Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't"). After loads on loads on loads of laundry and only three or four trips to the grocery store I think I'm back to normal. On Saturday night Ginny Kat and I sat down to a wonderful meal together and then when our sweet tooths got the better of us we made baked apples with so many sugar glazes! haha it was a nice night to catch up and relax and sleep in our own beds.

On Sunday Kat and I shared one last fantastic adventure for Fall Break. Our good friend Principe Pepperoni's parents (le Grande Pepperoni or Pepperonis) flew in on Friday for a week to visit him. He, his roommates and our's were still in Paris when they arrived. He passed along Kat and my phone numbers because we offered to show them around a bit (even though they've been to Rome before) and take the out for aparativi or something. On Sunday they called :D  Kat and I had planned to visit the ghetto for dinner but that'll be here any old weekend, it's not often we'll have the honor of meeting the Grande Pepperoni!! So at their generous invitation we met them at their hotel for a glass of (excellent) red wine in the garden before going to dinner together. Nothing could have gone better that night. We've never met these people before, we've only known their son for two months and he wasn't even with us when we met them but they are so warm and friendly and easy to get along with our dinner was great fun! They are really awesome and we enjoyed our dinner. Can see where Pepperoni gets his cool factor (hint: both sides).

Sunday night our final travelers came home and we were so happy to see Julie and Sophia! They were exhausted from Venice, Nice and Paris and so happy to be home. Monday I only had my few morning classes and it was nice to see friends and hear about exciting adventures people had. Places I'm sad I didn't go: Venice, Paris, Prague, Istanbul (Hagia Sophia), Brussels, and there are many more. I'm glad we didn't try to squeeze more out of our break though, we were pooped. Monday was also Halloween! which is totally not a big deal in Rome. When we were in Dublin and Edinburgh we saw lots of Halloween decorations but returning south it's just not as popular. Since we're American and Tuesday was a national holiday (no school) we all dressed up anyway. I tried to be a smurf (un puffo) but that didn't work and I went for peacock instead! Thanks to Julie for the earrings. We went to La Masion which was free(!!) and had decent party music but it was a little crowded for my taste.

Black Swan and Kat

Everyone

Kat, Peacock, and a Wooster Bro (Beta?)

Tuesday was a holiday! We were all trying to deal with daylights savings (yes we're a week ahead of the US) and break and homework and laundry, also there were no open grocery stores. This is a major problem because we wanted to have a potluck in honor of le Grande Pepperoni that night but were having trouble getting ingredients. Thankfully Gatto was all set to make her homemade gnocchi (as good as that sounds, it tasted even better) and Fillippo's was open (hooray 24 hour bakery!). It was just a small group with the Prati boys, Hope, two friends of Hope and Pepperoni's from COW, and of course our guests of honor. They kindly provided us with wine better than I've ever had before, and possibly better than I will ever have again. They were sweet and remembered Kat and I mentioning we eat lots of nutella and olive oil so they brought some of those also! Everyone stepped up their game and the night was a great success! Food, friends and potlucks! After the Pepperonis called it a night and went back to the hotel a couple of us went out to Scholar's for karaoke night! Once there we found some more IES friends and danced to the early hours of the morning.

Party favors

Wednesday was bright and far too early in my opinion but Julie shook me awake and I was trotting to the Pantheon by 9:30. My Renaissance class went to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva which is a fantastic church and it is just about as Gothic as Rome will every be. It was funny after all my Northern Adventures and gothic churches to come back to Rome and visit one. We examined an altarpiece/chapel decorated by Filippo Lippi one of my favorites (his biography is kinda funny if you're looking for a laugh) as well as a statue started by Michelangelo but finished by his apprentice. It was a wonderful experience, thank you to Pier Paolo for keeping me awake! I grabbed a quick slice of pizza from Flippo's and came home to nap, blog, and do homework. When we got out of Italian at 6 that evening it was already very dark, so sad. Julie wanted to go running along the river and I told her she wasn't allowed to because it isn't the safest thing for a girl to do alone at night. The solution was that we would run together for a short run and we got excited to run together and chat about our fall breaks. We had a fantastic run, she kept me going at a good pace as we trotted along the river then up across Tiber Island and past the ghetto, along Via Guila, and home! We covered numerous topics but still wanted to talk more, maybe anther run sometime.

Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

Filippo Lippi's chapel

Thursday I had my two hour lecture for conservation followed by a trip to visit Augustus' monuments with Forma Urbis. Starting with a tour of the Ara Pacis (we were not given enough time to explore the Audrey Hepburn exhibit) which I am in love with, particularly the relief of Tellus and the breezes. We then stepped outside to admire the Mausoleum of Augustus before a short jaunt to the Sundial of Augustus. I spent a lot of our travel time chatting with our professor Gianni which is always enlightening. Thursday was also National Sandwich Day, I (unintentionally) participated, did you? When I went to Filippo's to grab a sandwich I of course was using my best Italian with Walter and then the gentleman at the register. The guy at the register wanted to know if I was studying abroad, which school (there are a couple close by), can everyone at my school speak Italian like me, what was I studying, etc. We had a small little conversation which was fun and only slightly embarrassing when I misunderstood him. It turns out he is Iranian and studying at universita in Rome also, and in fact is studying fisioterpia!! Small world. So I hope I'll get to see him again sometime and we can talk Physical Therapy.

Ara Pacis

Mother Earth/Tellus

Cimabue and garlands

Hope!

Thursday evening I went for another run because we got out of Italian very early. I am feeling more in shape and going for longer runs and feeling less winded, hooray! On my cool down I looked up in the sky and watched maybe ten flocks of birds all swooping and flying around each other above the Tiber. I've seen this before and in fact there are certain spots in Rome where priests used to watch the birds for messages from the gods. With the perfect soft pink and cotton candy blue clear sky in the distance and this mob of swirling black shapes above my head I was really happy. The temperature was great, my run was delightful, people were speaking Italian everywhere and I realized as I turned onto my street I was coming home. Rome has become my city and I am just a speck in it's great history, but I share that role with millions of people before me just as there will be tons of people to follow. I love it here. Last night was the first time I thought to myself, I never want to go home. Rome is now my home.

A clip of the flocks: Click Here