Song of the Semester

Drink some wine, turn up your speakers and dance.

We No Speak Americano

tip: the more you drink the better it sounds :)

Ohhh the future is looking bright!!

UPDATE: Bought tickets to Spain (Barcelona), Germany (Rothenburg) and Czech (Prague)!!! I love living in Europe :)

That is all.

Da Rome, con amore!

PS: updated Flickr, check out the latest Shepenmaier adventures!

The Odyssey

So here at the John Felice Rome Center we have this awesome ability to sign up for classes that are called “on-site”. This means that your lectures can be given at the Colosseum or the Vatican or the Trevi Fountain or anywhere else in Rome. This is a great way to learn about the history and culture of this amazing city and actually be present at the place you’re learning about. Pretty cool, huh? Well, Caitlin, Spencer and I have an on-site class together (Writing Fiction in Rome) on Tuesday mornings at 9:30, so this past Tuesday was our first attempt at making this work. This is how it went:

8:17am we leave campus to catch the 913 bus (remember our class is at 9:30, so this gives us about an hour and 15 minutes to get to the Teatro di Marcello (where our class was taking place), plenty of time in a normal city especially since it’s only about a 20 minute drive in a car). We are in sight of the 913 bus stop (fermata d’autobus) and the bus flies past us so we begin to run after it; it’s at a red light so we were really confident that we were going to make it, ya…we didn’t. So knowing the Italian bus system, we figured another one could be coming in a few minutes, or in a few hours. About 25-30 minutes later the bus came, woo! So we jumped on and took it all the way to Piazza Cavour where our professor had told us to take the 30 bus to the Teatro di Marcello. So after waiting about 10 minutes, by which time we only had about 10 min. to get to class we decided, by using my fabulous map of Rome (on which we could not for some reason find Piazza Cavour), that we were close enough to walk to the Teatro. So walk we did. And walk. And walk. And then the 30 bus flew past us. And we continued to walk until we came across a police woman who we asked to point us in the direction of Teatro di Marcello. All I got out of that conversation was “molto camminare”…and I knew exactly what that meant… “long walk”. So, while walking back to the 30 bus stop, it being clear now that we weren’t going to make it to class in time, we spotted a 30 bus coming our way. We all stopped and tried to decide where it was heading…and then we started running. We sprinted after that bus for a good 3 blocks, right when we got to it, just in time, my shoe flew off and in a desperate panic I grabbed it, threw it onto the bus and jumped in after it. An old man sitting next to the door was laughing hysterically at the three of us, as if this was the funniest thing he’d ever seen.

When we arrived at the caffé 15 minutes late after finding 4 more students from our class we realized that our teacher had already left with the rest of our class. So we set off for the Teatro hoping to catch up with all of them there. It took us about 10 minutes and many stops for directions later to figure out where the entrance to the Teatro was. It was, as mom would say it (excuse my Italian), a clusterf*ck to the extreme. Finally getting into the Teatro we realize that our teacher is not there anymore. So we go back to the caffé, call the school, who then calls our teacher, who then calls us and we hear that she is instead across the street on the steps to the Capitoline Hill...

After class we get lost looking for the train back to campus, end up at the Vaticano and finally take the 990 home…

Just in time for lunch :) 

Pictures!

Click!!

Just a little note on Italian fashion

So I’ve been asked to go over some of the popular styles of dress in Italy, so Aunt Debbie, here you go J  

The women almost always wear boots. They love boots. I have never in my life seen so many boots. It might just be a seasonal thing, it being winter here and all, but man do they love their damn boots. I have yet to see a pair of UGGs here though…coincidence? Probably not.

Dark colors are also very popular now. Because of the recession many people can’t afford to buy a lot of clothes, so they go for the darker, neutral colors (like browns, blacks and grays) in order to easily mix and match what they have. They always look fabulous. Even when they are just going out to the grocery store. This is new to Cait and I, who typically live in our pjs and sweatpants, but it’s been nice dressing up…so far. They are dynamite accessorizers, I don’t know, they just know, it’s a sixth sense. Scarves are very popular, as they are cheap ways to switch up a look. They like to wear black tights under knee length skirts with boots. I have seen this a ton here. Dresses will be popular when it begins to warm up because they love to dress up and they will be missing their dresses throughout the winter months, plus dresses are in style now…I didn’t even know that they had gone out of style...

The men here are very conscious about how they look as well. It’s weird sometimes, especially when it’s clear that some of them probably take longer than I do to get ready in the morning. They wear pants and dark jeans and either very nice tennis shoes, like those weird colorful ones the ‘hip’ stores are selling these days, or nice dress shoes. They like to use a lot of gel in their hair, which, unfortunately, reminds me of Jersey Shore. Button down shirts and nice jackets are key staples in their wardrobe.

Just to go back to the shoes for a minute (shoes are important to Italians), I haven’t seen many women wearing high heels. The streets are cobblestone and walking is the transportation of choice for most of them, therefore comfortable walking shoes are what they go for…like boots. 

This one time in Salerno…

*Friday January 21*

This morning Cait and I woke up at 5:30, already a questionable start to the day…now add to that a few SLAs (Student Life Assistances, basically RAs but with fancier names) belting, and I mean BELTING, through megaphones for everyone to wake up and you get 200 REALLY crabby students. Once our floor’s SLA had reached the end of the hallway we could hear a shrill voice call back “Shut the f*ck up!!” and knew instantly it was Christina. Man, I love my friends.

At 6:30 we were all stumbling towards the four buses, about to set out for our first stop in Herculaneum. Most of the students immediately fell back asleep but I thought it would be nice to watch the sunrise over Rome; it’s such a beautiful city. The drive out there was pretty uneventful but the mountains were fantastic. I have never seen mountains before!! (well, before this trip…and Virginia, but that doesn’t count).  Unlike taking bus trips in the United States, where all you see are corn and soy fields, in Italy there is always something to look at. The drives are interesting and beautiful (and no, family, they don’t drive on the other side of the road, their highways and roads are very similar to ours, except for the crazy weaving in and out of motorbikes and the “suggestion” to stop at stop signs). So we get to Herculaneum in about three hours and it starts raining immediately, thank God I had remembered to “borrow” mom’s travel umbrella and bring it with me, sorry mom, I promise I won’t lose it. We saw the ruins of this old city which is similar to Pompeii (same volcano eruption) and in the background you can see Mount Vesuvius (the said volcano) hanging out, looking all innocent. It’s strange to think that such a beautiful structure can do so much damage in a matter of hours. The ruins were great, like all ruins are, and there were even a few skeletons we were allowed to look at (so cool!). After the tour of the ruins we were loaded onto the buses once again and drove to a Neapolitan pizzeria. A plate of antipasti was served with Peroni beer, this first course was delicious, almost everything was fried. Fried mashed potatoes with gooey cheese in the middle, more fried gooey cheese, fried rice balls, fried dough (no idea what it was but I was really diggin’ it) and lastly bruschetta with tomato and basil. After this huge antipasti plate the waiters brought out margherita pizza for everyone. This was the best pizza I have ever eaten (EVER), this is not one of those over-exaggerations I am known to make but seriously…just seriously. Christina and I almost cried, ok I cried a little, it was just sooooo good and I was so happy to be in Italy surrounded by people I love; it was a moment I will cherish forever.

So after we ate everything (we’ve decided to go easy on the food when we’re eating here in the Mensa (school dining hall), eating lots of fresh veggies and fruits, and just go crazy when we go out, sounds like a legit diet plan to me!) we all loaded up into the buses and headed to Salerno. The Amalfi Coast is unbelievable. I cannot adequately describe it with words, like many places here. Just Google image it. Perfect. Now, riding in a huge bus on tiny streets on the top of a mountain on the other hand…is a little scary. Once we got to Salerno we were immediately place into hotel rooms with, in my case, three random girls I had never met before. It was a little weird but what made it that much stranger was that out of the four of us we were only allowed to have one key. So instead of making friends and hanging out with each other, which I’m sure is what Loyola intended, the girls in my room decided to just stick the key under the rug outside our door. I have to admit, this system worked out rather well!

That night Christina, Caitlin, James, Katie, Spencer, Lauren and I went out to a local bar down the street from our hotel. We wanted to get some shots of Limoncello which is made where we were, in the South of Italy. Once we walked into the bar we noticed that there were three very drunk Italian girls, probably about 24 years old, sitting in a corner, laughing loudly and singing to the music (Kid Cudi “Day ‘n’ Night”, who can blame them??), this didn’t bother any of us, it was actually kinda funny to watch. The bartender came over and asked us where we were from, he was clearly wasted as well, and when we told him Chicago, he became really excited and told us to wait, he was going to put on a song for us. A few minutes later a not so well known, and very slow, Michael Jackson song, which I still can’t remember the name of, began playing. This was followed by about 30 minutes of oldies.

Once our waiter/bartender decided to turn on a song that wouldn’t be played on Delilah, Lauren decided she wanted to get up and dance with the local drunk girls, and so did Katie, Caitlin and I. So with no alcohol to blame for our actions we all began to dance with the local girls who began to get a little…uh…aggressive. Besides that, we had a great time and they LOVED us, but they could only dance for a good two songs or so until they had to sit down so they didn’t fall down. It was a great night.

*Saturday, January 22*

The next morning we were given free breakfast (first real breakfast in a few weeks!) and they actually had real ‘american’ coffee (and cocoa puffs!!!). The coffee was a little funky but kudos to them for trying! In Italy if you order ‘un caffé’ you’ll get an espresso (my beverage of choice), ‘un caffé americano’ will be espresso diluted with water, order ‘un cappuccino’ after noon and you’ll get weird looks; they consider this strange, something about the milk being filling and their mentality is that if you’re hungry you should eat ‘un cornetto’ (croissant) not drink ‘un cappuccino’!!! Don’t ask, they’re pretty sensitive about their food and bevs. Anyway, enough of the lesson on coffee, I could go on for hours on this subject.

That morning we left bright and early for Paestrum, the drive was, like usual, magnificent. Once we arrived in this small little village it began raining again. So we walked around a wet field staring at very old Greek temples for two hours, which would have been amazing had we not been soaking wet and freezing. It was still amazing but I would love to go back on a sunny day, wearing shoes that actually cover my feet (fail on my part, note to self, invest in some good quality boots, don’t worry Aunt Deb, I will describe fashion in my next post!!). For lunch we went to a VERY nice hotel, where we did not fit in at all given the fact that we all looked like drown rats. There was wine though. Both red and white; hence the picture. Hey a girl’s gotta warm up somehow!!

We went back to the hotel and decided to walk around Salerno for a little while, the weather had cleared up by then and it was only misting a little bit. We went to bed early that night knowing that we would have to be up extra early the next day to pack up our stuff and check out.

*Sunday, January 23*

Once we were all packed and loaded onto the buses we headed to Sorrento, which we were all very excited about since it’s the furthest south we would be going on this trip, and Caitlin, Christina, Katie and I were all excited about the Limoncello. We had heard from many people, our teachers included, that they make the best Limoncello in Sorrento. Once we arrived in this beautiful town it began raining, again. So once again we all got soaked and were freezing. Therefore, right off the bus we went in search of a bar (they call cafés “bars” here, so if you want alcohol you don’t want to go to a bar, I’m not really sure what you would call a place that sells alcohol…a bar Americano I guess). We wanted to find a place where we could get some hot chocolate and attempt to dry off and get warm. The hot chocolate was perfect after such a cold weekend but I could not seem to warm up. With about 30 minutes remaining before we all had to meet for lunch we went in search of Limoncello and found the cutest little store with the cutest little Italian women. We were allowed to sample their Limoncello which they insisted was the best in Sorrento (and therefore the best in the world!). They also said that Danny DeVito himself gets this specific brand shipped to his house…who knows if that’s true, but they were cute and it was raining so we decided to buy a few bottles, what the hell, right?!

We left Sorrento and even though it was nice to be out of the rain and into a nice warm bus, it was sad knowing that we had to leave such a beautiful and truly majestic place. I DID NOT get a chance to sample the seafood down there and therefore I refuse to leave this country without going back. Perhaps on my birthday weekend Cait and I can take a special trip back down to Sorrento, buy some Limoncello and eat as much seafood as possible…I hear Sicily is nice that time of year ;)

Da Roma, con amore.

vino, mi amore

Orvieto

*Sunday, January 16*

Today we took a trip to the small village of Orvieto, about an hour and a half north of Roma. The bus ride through Italy was beautiful and was the first chance we had at seeing what the true Italian countryside (la campagna) looked like. Cait immediately fell asleep so I followed tradition and snapped a quick photo of her in all her glory (see it in pics below, truly a sight to behold). I have never seen a landscape quite like that of Italy. There are rolling hills, yes, and tons of sheep (my calling) and of course vineyards, but there are also cliffs, castles, and other ancient ruins scattered all over the place. People will build their houses, modern ones, right next to huge 700 year old wells, or barns, I can never imagine living on a plot of land that old, saturated in history dating as far back as the Roman Empire (and in many cases earlier!). And the colors! Let’s talk about the colors. The hills were shades of green that you just can’t find in America. A camera, like the view off the cliff in Orvieto, just can’t capture the true essence of this country. Even the sky seems clearer, bluer, as if you’ve left this earth and suddenly been transported into one where flaws don’t exist. But anyway, enough of the sensitive crap, let’s talk about the food…

When we finally arrived at Orvieto we all climbed up the six long flights of stairs to reach the top of the village (it’s perched right on top of a massive cliff, check out the pics below and on my flickr and just think of how well this place must have been protected!! All you’d really need are a bunch of archers and you’re good to go!). We walked through the small town to reach the restaurant we were scheduled to eat lunch in, called Restaurante dell’ Ancora. We sat down and were instantly brought wine and aqua naturale, as usual. The wine was amazing. We were unfortunately sitting at the end of the table next to a bunch of boozer guys (you know the type), so the one bottle of wine we were all supposed to share didn’t quite make it to me until there was about a fourth of a glass left, however, I am grateful that I was able to taste it and I attempted to savor it throughout my meal. First course (primo corsa), zucchini lasagna. Best pasta dish I have yet to taste in Italy. The noodles were silky and super thin, covered with many thin layers of ricotta cheese and sliced green zucchini, the top covered in mozzarella and baked until brown (mmmmm brown cheese…). Just looking at the picture makes me swoon, those layers…Second course (second corsa), braised beef and mushrooms, this is pretty popular in Italy, boiled potatoes with rosemary and a salad with light lemon/oil dressing, absolutely delicious. The guy sitting across from me was a vegetarian and man did I feel bad for that kid. He got the veggie plate; it looked like a dark green quiche with bits of beige running through it... Italians don’t really believe in being a vegetarian, I don’t think they understand it. Dessert was a raspberry rum cake (a sign from the gods to me); it was soft and rich in flavor but light as a pillow, dusted with cocoa powder. These people know what they’re doing.

During lunch Katie and I went to the bathroom, I didn’t lock the door, having had previous bad experience with getting stuck in bathrooms (recall Amtrak), Katie however did lock the door…and got stuck. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a long time, thank God I had waited in the bathroom for her. It locked with one of those old-fashioned keys and she couldn’t get it to work, I just remember us looking at each other through the keyhole, me laughing and her freaking out. I told her to give me the key and I would try it on the other side, so she slid it under the door and it unlocked immediately. Now keep in mind that this is in a really nice, authentic Italian restaurant; I’m kneeling on the floor dying of laugher, Katie is hammering away on the door and all the other girls in the bathroom and looking at us like we’re insane. Never laughed so hard in my life. I don’t think Katie will ever lock a door again.

After lunch we took a tour of the little village, saw many old people walking arm and arm, many little Italian children playing in the streets and of course the ever popular strings of laundry hanging out of windows across alleys (like all good tourists I took a picture of this). We stopped at a huge church (reminded me of La Notre Dame), it was very cool and very, very old (built in the 14th century). The façade was spectacular. When we reached the cliff that this city is built on I almost fainted. We were sooo high up. It was fantastic!! I can’t imagine ever getting used to that view…

Da Roma, con amore.

Dinner at Capperi

Gelato, Vaticano, Colosseo...Perfecto

*Friday, January 16*

After our welcome buffet we all met in the lobby and decided to take a trip to the Vatican and check out la casa di le Pope. We jumped on the 913 bus and headed towards the city. Now, I know what you’re thinking, the Vatican is huge, and there’s no way anyone could miss it. Well, we did. We got a little lost. So we walked around for quite a while, asking “Di dov’e le Vaticano?” Of course everyone spoke English back to us, which was probably for the best considering that none of us would have been able to understand them anyway. Finally we found it and it was absolutely beautiful. As we walked up to it we entered at the end of a white columned, U-shaped spaced that surrounded the Vaticano. It was dark but all of the columns were lit up by soft orange light casting a majestic glow all around. In front of the Vatican stood a huge, extremely detailed nativity scene. About fifteen minutes, many pictures and one very bad video later, the bells started tolling and that is when you get the true effect of this little city. It was, literally, divine ;)

When we had stood around long enough and all had their fill of da Pope’s casa we decided to search for a gelatoria (which was, in all honesty, the main reason we went there), well not just any gelatoria, but the Old Bridge Gelatoria. This was my first (real) gelato experience in Italy, and let me tell you, it would put Randy’s (Lake of the Ozarks) to shame. I ordered black cherry, raspberry and caramel (I know that sounds like a strange combination but the gelato guy was cute and adamant about me getting a third flavor so I told him to choose it for me). In Italy they don’t eat just one flavor of gelato; they typically have at least two or three. Regardless of the flavor, all of it was amazing. It was so creamy but very light at the same time. While eating no one said a thing, except to mutter a quiet “ohmygod this is amazing”. We all literally struggled to leave, seriously considering going back to get more. It was painful. We decided not to be fat Americans and that we will be here for 4 months…therefore there’s no need to rush things. Keep cool baby, keep cool.

*Saturday, January 17*

Today Cait and I woke up, went to the IC (Information Commons, we have one of these on the Loyola Chi campus, it’s basically a computer room) and caught up on our emails, fb, blogs, picture downloading and what not. We then went to a lecture about the Palatine Hill, Roman Forum and The Colosseum, which was being given by one of our history professors, he’s Dutch and very passionate about what he teaches. The lecture was great but went into overtime so we were rushed through lunch (didn’t sit down for more than 10 min, can’t even remember what I ate) and herded into 4 huge buses. It took about 20 min to get to downtown Roma and let me tell you, I thought the Vatican was cool (which it was)…when I saw the Colosseum I literally squealed out loud and started crying. Everything downtown is eye candy. You can’t swing a cat down there without hitting something famous and ancient. I wish I could describe everything we saw down there but I can’t. Words won’t even begin to cover the vastness and the magnitude of the Colosseum, the amount of genius that went into creating Roman architecture, and the persistence of the ancient artifacts. It really is a wonder to behold.

Once we made it through the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, which we are planning on doing again because one day just isn’t enough (get the pictures in one day and then really get in deep the second time), we headed to the Colosseum but we weren’t allowed inside, they closed early so we could only see the outside. But not to worry! We will be going back sometime very soon!!

Da Roma, con amore.

Food, lots and lots of food

This morning I woke up in Italy.

*Thursday, January 13*
I don’t think this will ever sink in. I woke up, looked out my window and realized that I was in Rome, a city founded in 750 BC (BC!!!). I was in the same city as the Colosseum, the Pope, and some of the best food found on Earth (not to mention some of the most distinguished fashion designers). I am so lucky, it’s hard to even find the right words to describe the emotions this city can pull out of a person.

Due to excitement and a slap in the face we call reality, I knew that sleep was no longer going to be an option for me. I climbed down the tiny ladder on my bed as carefully as I could (I’m on the top bunk so chances of me stepping/falling on Caitlin are pretty high), went down to the basement, where the Mensa is located, and bought an espresso from the coffee machine (€0.60). It was amazing. No, the word ‘amazing’ isn’t suitable. Perfect(o) is more like it. I have never tasted espresso as rich as this one in the United States, and keep in mind, this was out of a machine! Now this I could get used to, but who would want to?? After another shot of espresso my head started to feel smaller and I could respond to staff members’ greetings (‘Ciao!’ instead of a slurred “sshhiaao” while very ungracefully wobbling down the stairs in my best paint-stained sweatpants). This espresso changed my life.

At twelve the group I was placed in had to meet in a classroom… to fill out paperwork in order to become legal residences in Italy, something that I hear people who have been at the JFRC (John Felice Rome Center, aka J-Force) for 6 months still haven’t received…this is, so I’ve learned, the typical Italian way of business, “I’ll get to it when I get to it, no problem!” The paperwork was painless and given the importance of it, the staff basically held our hands the whole way through it. After this we went to the lecture on “how to speak Italian to the locals” which somehow turned into “how to order coffee from the local bar (café)”.

Knowing that we would be indulging in a full-course, legit Italian meal later that night Cait and I decided to eat a light lunch. I had a stacked eggplant, tomato and mozzarella salad and a bowl of blood oranges, absolutely delicious, and she had an apple and a bag of stolen snack mix from the plane (classy). We met up with our friends Austin and Christina there in the Mensa and decided to explore the neighborhood and pick up a few things from the little shops around town.

So far I’ve learned not to smile as much as I do in America and not to greet people. Both of these actions can get women in trouble. Advice from one of our leaders, “Put your best bitch face on and you’ll fit right in”, haven’t been bothered since. Instead of spending money on a coffee maker and, with that, coffee and filters, Cait and I decided to buy €2 coffee mugs and just “borrow” a few shots of espresso from the Mensa during dinner, put it in the fridge and heat it up in the microwave (in our lounge) in the morning. We were raised to be efficient. *We later found out that we are not queens of the microwave here in Europe like we are in the US, they are much more complicated here!*

That night we went to Capperi for dinner, about 100 of us in total. First course was the antipasti (of course) little bruschetta with three topping combinations; tomato/basil, tuna/artichoke, and one with a black olive spread. I had an artichoke/tuna and it was delicious, a perfect combination, drizzled with fresh olive oil. Vini bianco e rosso were available as well as aqua naturale (still water). After the bruschetta the servers brought out huge plates of little sandwiches; tuna and artichoke with fresh olive oil, gorgonzola cheese, prosciutto, and Italian salami. All of these were perfect but the Italian salami seriously made my head explode. Its flavor was rich, perfectly spiced, and amazing. I’m never leaving this country. The pasta course was penne pomodori con pancetta affumicata (bacon), it was slightly spicy and the bacon gave the dish a subtle smoky flavor. All of the dishes are so simple, yet the thought that goes into them are intense. There is never an ingredient thrown in for the hell of it, they all have a reason for being there; this is what makes Italian food amazing, no fuss, just love. Dessert was intense. We were all so full from dinner but just couldn’t resist being tempted by what the servers brought out to us. It’s hard to describe what it was, the only way I can think of describing it is to say that it was a parfait that seemed deceptively light. On the bottom was an airy sweet crème covered by crumbled phyllo (filo) pastry and finally topped with a rich cioccolato ganache dusted with a tiny bit of powdered sugar. The texture was incredible.

After dinner Katie, Spencer, Christina, Cait and I all went out to the Cubbyhole, a tiny bar just down the street from campus. The girls all had prosecco while Spencer had a tequila sunrise. We went back to campus after one drink, still feeling the effects of jet lag….lame.

*Friday, January 14*

Today has been another one of those Loyola orientation days. We’ve had meetings all day, ‘how to order coffee in Italy” and others on rules (guidelines really… :)) along with some helpful stuff, and some not so helpful stuff. I didn’t even make it outside until about 7:30 pm when we all went down to la citta del Vaticano. Our reception dinner buffet was very nice! Cait and I downed a bottle of prosecco before going and had a great time!! I think we should start doing that before all of our meetings. There were a bunch of little finger snacks (which I’m soon coming to realize is THE way to eat Italian food), little sandwiches with prosciutto and a creamy cheese (we’ll say mascarpone), flat disks of chewy bread with asiago cheese baked on top, delicious roasted potatoes (tossed in rosemary and pork fat…really, does it get any better than that??) Well guys, it does! Dessert. Fruita de bosco (fruit of the woods, aka mixed berry) tart. Again, words fail me. Let me put it this way, I stole almost half the tart and put it in my fridge (Christina stole the other half). Halfway through our lovely dinner, Cait drops a ravioli down her shirt, cleary upset (not sure what upset her more the fact that she messed up her shirt or that a perfectly delicious legit Italian ravioli was now on the floor) and then proceeded to have a 10 minute conversation with our Dean of Students, Cincy Bomben. Drunk and sloppy. She then turns to me and asks, in all seriousness, “You think she knew I was drunk?”…

Da Roma, con amore.

Some pics from our adventure around Roma!

More Pictures at this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/58037397@N05/

Roma, Chapter Uno, L'areoporto e JFRC (J-Force)

After we said our goodbyes we passed through security at the airport (no full-body scans, no pat downs to my great dissatisfaction), the trip went rather smoothly. We boarded the plane, asked a few people if they would mind switching places with us, and we all three, Christina, Caitlin and I, sat in a row together, in the middle of the plane (Dad, it was a 2x3x2 seating pattern, Boeing…that’s all I know). The rest is pretty boring. Dinner was great!! Broccoli and braised beef in a mushroom sauce, béchamel cheese lasagna with nutmeg (to give it a fantastic little zing!) and a fresh carrot salad, it was hardly what I would call typical plane fare (although I notice a lot of students weren’t eating it…)!! And the blood orange juice was AMAZING! (Mom, we need to consider looking for this the next time we go to the lake, add a little Russian water and you got yourself a party!). They played The Social Network and Benvenuti al Sud (Welcome to the South), the latter a very funny Italian flick. Cait and I tried to sleep but were just too excited. Finally after about 7 or 8 hours into the flight we could see mountains, actual MOUNTAINS!! It was absolutely stunning and that’s when I started to become really excited!

When we finally touched down, got through customs and picked up our bags I didn’t think we were going to make it to the Loyola shuttle bus. The bags were extremely heavy and we each had 3 of them!! I seriously thought Cait was going to die. In all fairness, it was a long walk to the shuttle buses, trying to dodge Italian motorists who consider stop signs just as suggestions.

No one could deny it, Italy is beautiful. There’s green foliage everywhere and hills are scattered with a mix of ancient houses and contemporary apartment buildings, and there are palm trees!! (PALM TREES!!) It was about 50 degrees when we landed and got up to about 58 during the day. The climate definitely suits me!! Our campus is lovely. There is a pathway leading up to the entrance of the main building flanked with pseudo-ancient roman marble statues. Olive trees are scattered all over the campus grounds along with beautiful orange trees, which Christina has already staked out as her main breakfast supply. The building is a dark salmon color with intricate moss-green grates and wooden shudders. Everything in Rome seems to be dated, but in a very elegant way, it’s just part of the beauty of this city.

Today we are scheduled to do more paperwork and go to a ‘how to speak Italian to the locals’ lecture. Cait, Christina and I also decided to take a trip to the local supermarket to buy a coffee maker of some sort, the mensa (dining hall) is open for lunch and dinner only, so no caffe al mattino, this will be a problem. We also need to get a few bottles of vino and perhaps a few items for breakfast (although we’ve been stocking up on stolen yogurt and fruit from the mensa). There will be an all-inclusive dinner tonight at a local restaurant for a few of us to get to know each other better which should prove entertaining…free wine (!!)…(minus a trip to the ER and head staples…). All in all this seems like a pretty good start to the semester. Will post more soon!

Pictures!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/58037397@N05/

Da Roma, con amore.

Ciao!

Buongiorno!

Before leaving many of you told me to keep you updated on my travels throughout Italy and Europe…so here you go! This trip is an opportunity of a lifetime for me and I cannot wait to share all of our stories with you guys! I’ll try to update this blog as much as possible, and attempt to leave out the boring bits…but promise never to censor the good times we have ;) !! What happens in Europe will NOT stay in Europe (sorry Cait). Every detail, from our dorm room (sure to be lovely, as all Loyola dorms are) to what we ate and, of course drank, will be posted, along with pics (because I know the pictures are really the only reason you all are reading this). So please leave comments, I would love to hear from you all!!

Da Roma, con amore.