Yep, I'm back in dreary, chilly London and have been since Saturday. Of course, in the week I was gone, London decided "yep, let's get this winter season into full swing! No more of this silly autumn stuff. That's for sissies." When I got back from Rome, I hit the ground running with my homework and water polo and didn't have time to update on my final days in Rome.
Last Thursday morning I woke up and, you guessed it, it was raining again. Seriously. Thankfully, I was strategically taking a guided tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel that kept me inside until noon. By then, the rain had stopped and the afternoon turned into a beautiful one. I went to see St. Peter's Basilica after the Vatican, but the line was too long for me to get into the church. I just toured the piazza and then met up with my friend Ethan. I met him through my London room mate, and he was staying in my hotel room for two nights. We dropped his stuff off and explored northern Rome a bit till we ended up at the Spanish Steps. There, a vendor tried to sell me some roses, but I refused. When he said it was a gift, I took one and Ethan and I meandered off. The vendor followed us, though, and demanded payment! Well, I wasn't going to do that, so I simply gave the rose back. I don't think the guy was too pleased, but that was his problem, lol. For dinner, Ethan and I met up with some of his Kenyon friends studying in Rome at a pizza restaurant. We decided to go out that evening, and the Kenyon people took us to a street of clubs right next to the Colosseum...it was incredible! The Colosseum is beautiful in the evening, lit up and all, and I kept looking at it and getting a goofy little smile on my face.
Friday I slept in and meandered down to the Colosseum area to see it in the daylight. Many of the major Roman ruins are in that one area, which makes seeing it all easy. I saw the inside of the Colosseum and wasn't disappointed. it gave me chills to think that people actually sat there once, and that gladiators fought there...so much fun to see it all. Walking back to my hotel, I meandered my way through Rome and did some souvenir shopping along the way. For dinner I met up with the Kenyon Co. again before heading back to my hotel for an earlier night.
When I woke up on Saturday, I didn't have much time before I had to catch my flight. I took a short walk to the Piazza Del Popolo for a little bit of sight seeing and then was off to the airport. It was so nice to be back in London, knowing my way around and understanding the language and all. I've really come to consider London home after two months here, and it was comforting to come back.
Since then, I've finished my Moderns essay and competed in my first water polo match! The game was on Monday and went well from my point of view. Though we lost, I had lots of fun. I've learned that my swimming background/my ability to still swim (to a degree) gives me a major advantage over other players. I was able to get clear of the girl guarding me a number of times, and was passed the ball as a result. The sad thing there, though, is that I'm not good at shooting on the goal, and the goalie caught the two or three shots I took. I clearly have room to improve, and since I've only been playing for about a month I'm not worried. I had so much fun I'm even thinking about joining the water polo club team back at Vanderbilt for something new to do.
At the moment, I'm just ordering my life a bit so that I can get everything done before the end of term. I feel like I still have so much I want to see and do, but time if flying by! Next weekend, for example, I am going to Prague for two days and will see Harry Potter when I get back. Then I have a weekend in London, and the following I'm going to visit Celina, a friend of mine from high school/Vanderbilt in Copenhagen. I'm going to have a whirl-wind end to a crazy European adventure.
Rain has been the common theme of the last few days. Both Tuesday and Wednesday morning in Florence started incredibly rainy, but (thankfully) ended with a bit of sun.
On Tuesday, I took advantage of the rain to get into the Academy Gallery where Michelangelo's David is on display. I got there about an hour after opening and expected a line, but I waltzed right in. It was a great way to get out of the rain for an hour and see some magnificent art; by the time I left, it was barely drizzling and the line was around the block. From there, I meandered around to a number of different sites. I saw Dante's home and the church in which he (reportedly) saw Beatrice. Since I'd been mostly in the western part of the city on Tuesday, I went into the eastern half and explored some more piazzas and all the high fashion shopping streets. I also did a good amount of shopping in some more inexpensive stores trying to find a leather jacket for myself. Leather is a big thing in Florence, and there are leather shops and street vendors everywhere. Sadly, no luck on that front (though I've got my fingers crossed for Rome). In the afternoon I went to the Uffizi Gallery with a guided tour. The Birth of Venus, Raphael, Michelangelo, Davinci; I saw all the big pieces and they were all fabulous. There was even a special exhibit on Caravaggio that we saw, with his Medusa shield and a few pieces by Artemisa Gentileschi (one of my favorite painters).
This morning, I got up with only a few hours in Florence. I finished up my shopping in the San Lorenzo market and meandered through the city for the last time. I was so sad to leave, but Rome was calling! I got into Rome around 1:30 and finally got to my hotel around 2:30. Of course, it had started to rain again while looking for the hotel on the Via Tacito, so there was a great deal of relief when I finally found it. After getting a map, I set off on foot to hit a few of the major sites. I found the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain, a delicious pizza place (I have a new faith in olives), a few churches that had their doors open and the Piazza Del Republica. I also thought I might check out the opera tonight, since it's next to the Piazza d. Rep, but no luck. Either I was way too early when I got there at 6, or there's nothing going on tonight. As I was all the way on the other side of town, I took the metro back to my hotel and have been doing some internet stuff every since. My stomach is rumbling though, and I think I'm going to get a pizza and bring it back to my room.
On the plus side, tomorrow and Friday should be sunny and warm...keep your fingers crossed anyways! I'm taking a guided tour of the Vatican tomorrow morning including the museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. I'm not sure what I'll do in the afternoon, but some of my friends from UCL ill be in town and hopefully I can hook up with them for dinner or something.
Ciao!
I had a much better second day in Genoa, starting off with a delicious croissant filled with Nutella. It was a day filled with narrow alleyways and hidden gems. One of these was a two story tall fountain hidden within the entrance way of a museum. I went into another church, but I was wearing a skirt that showed my knees and this nun in the entryway glared at me in a very severe tone of voice. I decided it wasn't worth it to cause an uproar for a few photos and left quickly. I found a restaurant for dinner at 5:45, but since they didn't open until 7 I was forced to occupy myself with some gelato. I know, dessert before dinner and all...but it was delicious! Anyways, for dinner I had a linguine-esque pasta in pesto sauce and it was incredible; simply divine. Afterwards, I meandered back to my hotel and watched a movie on my iTunes before bed.
Up at 7, I caught a 9:00 train from Genoa to Florence. I arrived around 12:30 and found my hotel shortly thereafter. To my great delight, my room is on the fifth floor of my hotel and has a view of the Duomo. The DUOMO! Imagine my delight, I was so excited that I couldn't stay in my room long. I (basically) ran out to the street and, all of a sudden, found myself in front of the Duomo. I seriously couldn't believe it. The church is beautiful, in a mix of blackish-green, pale red, and white stone; the detail is exquisite. I walked around and then inside for a bit before heading to the south of town. I got a pizza and ate it in a plaza surrounded by statues (I still can't believe I'm actually in Florence). The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur of hill top views from Piazzale Michelangelo, gelato (I can't get enough of this stuff!), and a million and a half leather vendors. I bought myself a purse, but the perfect leather jacket proved elusive. Dinner was a fun affair as well, with ravioli, a traditional T-bone steak second course, and some local dessert recommended by my waiter.
Now I'm off to bed. I plan on getting in line for the Accademia tomorrow morning to see David. I'm also going to the Uffizi hotel in the afternoon on a guided tour and plan on doing some more shopping in between : ) I'll update later.
The enormity of traveling through a foreign country on my own didnàt hit me until I touched down in Genoa earlier today.
Italy is an incredibly challenging experience when one doesn't know the language (or what the keys mean on an international keyboard!). I went to Mexico once, but that doesn't really count as a foreign language experience. So much of Genoa looks like what I've seen in the US or UK...some of the architecture is different, and the cars all look kind of funny, but it's got the same basic set-up.
It's the language that gets me. I'm completely surrounded by people yet utterly alone. I've got a few phrases in my guide books and that I printed from the internet, but I'm definitley not as prepared as I would like to be. For example, I realized that I don't know how to say "and." This makes ordering a piece of pizza AND a bottle of water rather difficult (in fact I bought my water at another store because I wasn't on the ball enough when this developed). The language barrier isn't a negative situation or one that detracts from my visit; it simply makes for a more memorable experience. I've realized that if I'm too timid, I could end up eating pizza and gelato the entire time I'm in Italy because those are very easy to point to (lol)! I reslove, therefore, to go to a real restaurant tomorrow and have something delicious.
Flying into Genoa was uneventful, though I got an amazing view of the city as we flew into the airport. From there, I took a shuttle bus to the city center train station. There it took me (quite) a few minutes to get my bearings, but once I did it was only a fifteen minute walk to my hotel. It's a little B&B place, owned by a family that lives on the first floor. They consist (so far), of three middle-aged women, one man, a tween aged girl, an old lady that watches a baby that wails like a cat being given a bath, and a dog. I like the dog, he's really cute.
Once settled, I ventured into the city! Genoa is very compact in the city center, so I walked through a few piazas, explored an antique fair in the Ducal Palace, saw Christopher Columbus's childhood home, and attended part of a mass in the San Lorenzo Cathedral. All in about two hours. There was some sort of international science fair being held around the Palace as well, and I picked up some delicious cheese focaccia from an outdoor vendor. It was absolutely the best piece of cheesy-bread-deliciousness I've ever tasted.
I called it an early night at got back to my hotel room around 7, but I don't want to stay out too late on my own here and I'm tired after a full day of travel. I'm up bright and early tomorrow, and promise to post some photos when I can get them in better light.
Ciao!
At least I don't feel that way any more. I've gotten into the rhythm of things here and am starting to feel like I'm a normal Londoner. Of course, this isn't always the case; I still have to watch when I'm crossing the street and study the tube maps when I'm heading somewhere new. Overall though, homework is starting to limit my explorations in London and I'm not visiting as many tourist locations.
Over the past two weeks, a few things have happened to me...
I got sick two weekends ago with a major fever and sinus infection. A sad day, I was forced to stay inside and watch tv shows online (aka Mad Men, my new obsession). I caught up on a bit of sleep though, so it wasn't a waste of a weekend. I also went to Camden Town Market on Sunday for a bit. I wanted to get out and walk around, and this market is a really cutting edge, artsy market for clothing and crafts. I definitely want to head back; it was difficult to actually do any shopping while I just took everything in on my first visit.
I changed one of my economics courses. The initial class, market structure, was intensely math based at a level that I was simply not prepared to battle with. So I dropped a third year econ elective for an introductory level economics survey class called the world economy. It's a pretty basic class for me, but taking a class like this makes changing so late in the term easier.
Last Thursday I went to dinner with Elissa's parents who were in town for a week. The four of us went to a local bar called Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, open since the mid-1600s. It was fun to catch up with people from Glen Ellyn and talk about my London experience with them.
Yesterday was my 21st birthday! A little anti-climactic in the scheme of life, but I had a great night out with my friends. I started at a restaurant called Little Bay for dinner, where the waiters sang Happy Birthday and Elissa gave me some fabulous little gifts from Bath inspired by Jane Austen. There was a slight snafu when we went to a bar that was closing upon our arrival, but then we went to a club in Soho with student cover called Moonie's. It was one of those kinda cheesy places with lots of light strips and a smoke machine, but fun music for dancing. All-in-all, it was a great nice of relaxed fun. Definitely the way I wanted to spend the night.
Now, I'm looking forward to my Italian Adventure! I have reading week next week which translate into a time for me to travel, and I'm doing a tour of Italy. I'm flying into Genoa, then traveling to Florence and Rome. I'm going to be alone for Genoa and Florence because my travel buddy had problems obtaining a visa (she's Pakistani and had issues with red tape), but I'm meeting one of my friends Ethan in Rome. This means that I'm going to be careful and aware of what's going on around me; not staying out too late; staying to the major tourist areas. I think it will be nice to have a few days to myself though (and in hotel rooms!), since I really enjoy having personal time to recoup from life. I also have a paper due the Tuesday after I get back, so I'll have to do some studying/reading abroad (just like the name implies, I guess).
Hmm...the only other thing between then and now is lots of work on my English paper (the meaning of the soul in Picture of Dorian Gray and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man...which might be edited down to one book depending on the time available) and having some fun on Friday, November 5th. "Remember, remember, the 5th of November," AKA Bonfire Night. I'll let you know how it goes later this week.
