Rome is Where the Heart is: Having Too Much Fun to Blog

Sorry I'm not sorry avid readers. With my time in Rome barely over two weeks I have been spending as much time with friends and experiencing this city around me (ok and final projects are due). Quick overview of my week.

Last Friday was the first time I woke up alone in our apartment and it was a wonderful experience. I slept in a bit and then roll out of bed to enjoy some left over Thanksgiving food for brunch (mmm stuffing!). With the peace and quiet of the morning and empty apartment I settled in to work on my Baroque paper about St. Peter's Chair. I love that Bernini. Later Pepperoni stopped by after the Woo Thanksgiving lunch which was just in time for dinner! I think I've inherited my Mom's genes in that I get joy from cooking for others. So we made an easy yet elegant dinner of broccoli pesto pasta with bread and caprese to join our wine on the table. We were all hanging out together while Pepperoni helped me settle on a tattoo idea that has been haunting me for five and a half years now.... Depending on the money I have left when I get back to Pittsburgh maybe I'll get myself a Christmas gift? We turned on Alice in Wonderland while tattooing it up. Gatta came home from her adventures with Julie and wanted a snuggle party so we all squished together to watch Kung Fu Panda 2, well ok I might have napped during a large part of it.

Decent tattoo design? :)

Saturday was one of those days that the bright sunshine and chatter from the street outside my window made me want to explore! Ginny had planned a trip for San Clemente's crypt so I tagged along! I've been to San Clemente with Pier Paolo to look at Masaccio's frescoes but this was so much cooler! First of all Ginny worked her magic and got us discounts on the already cheap tickets. We walked down into the darkly lit remains of the original San Clemente church. There were a few poorly preserved frescoes and columns, the altar was still intact and we could wander all around the aisles and nave. It gets better. Underneath that level there was a maze of ancient Roman rooms and temples and houses!! We went to the lowest level which is essentially a cave, one room leading into the next. There was a spring running underground in what used to be a house, natural running water in a house! That's awesome! It was so cool and between what I know from Gianni's class and resident expert Ginny I could make sense of everything better than any tourguide would explain. Sadly we didn't visit St. John the Latern because by the time we had explored to our hearts content I needed to scurry home to prepare for the evening.

Looking through all the doors

Mithra

The 4th century church

Oh boy. That night. The Woo Crew (you guys now have a nickname) were all going to go on a pubcrawl together with Ekate and her friends. I was kindly invited since my friends have insisted a pubcrawl be on my Roma bucket list. Before the crawl Pepperoni and I were determined to check out the Saturday Surprise at Le Fate. Gabriella was happy to see us again, glad she likes us as regulars! The bruscetta had arugula, the pasta was oil/garlic, and dessert was an apple strudel with raisins from their new oven! mmm so good! Then we meet everyone else at the Colosseum for the pubcrawl which was entertaining. I even got a t-shirt! We went to three pubs and only one club (the second kinda fell apart) but it was a good group of people and a great night. Only thing that would have made it better would be a classico at the end.

Moving onto recover/homework Sunday! I watched a few tv shows, did homework, and made chicken noodle soup! Between Julie's broth and veggies and my chicken and pasta we made an incredible warming comfort soup. That was an unexpected treat that warmed me right up during the chilly late afternoon. To warm my heart that night Syira Libra came home again!! Nico's puppy (she's growing so quickly) came to visit us for a day so we all were crawling on the floor playing with Syria.

Monday was a rough morning for me. I was having trouble staying awake during two hours of lecture from Federica. Solution: two espressi. Mistake! By the end of Renaissance I felt awful and jittery. The good news was that motivated me to go for a run! I had a great jog along the Tiber in the middle of the morning when the sun was shining, it wasn't too hot yet, and the paths were nearly empty. I felt great, even came home to try some of those butt and gut routines! Syria greeted me with a pounce once I walked in the door and I was happy to see Isotta was over. Nico and Isotta spent most of the day coming and going from the apartment walking Syria, shopping etc. They had friends over for a dinner at our place. After my dinner I popped over to Prati and watched Cowboys vs. Aliens with Pepperoni and Aven.... if you haven't seen it, don't. If you have, that is hilarious! The whole reason I wanted to see it was because I like Oliva Wilde but she turned the movie from boring to absurd. More discussing of the tattoos took place.

All weekend long Sophia's family came to visit, Sam had arrived earlier. They came and went from our apartment and it was a pleasure to meet them. I hope they enjoyed their time in Rome.

Tuesday morning was fabulous because my Baroque field study was lead by Pier Paolo which means Julie was treated to two hours with this fabulous man we all have class with except for her. She thinks he is adorable also :) We had to push our way through a farmers protest/strike to meet up with everyone but we survived. Together we toured San Andrea al Quirinale, a Bernini, and San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, a Borromini. Let the fight begin! They were big rivals but had very different styles. Sophia is a Borromini girl, I am a Bernini girl. They are both stunning churches and even those who don't care about art or architecture think so. Try and stop by if you're ever in Rome. I hardly ever go to the Quirinal hill and I don't know why! It was so charming! We said ciao to the Moses fountain again and then popped into Santa Maria della Vittoria and said hello to St. Teresa in Ecstasy at the end. Of course I love P.P. and chatting with him in Italian. The only downside was that I thought it was Wednesday all day because that's when I normally have a field study with him. After Forma Urbis with Gianni I returned to the apartment and worked on that darn paper. I might have taken a distracting three hour break but I got it close to perfect, leaving only a little editing for the next day.