Rome

*Sorry for the lack of pictures. Somewhere between moving out of 704 and moving back in, I lost the converter I use to charge my computer with.*

Once we arrived in Rome, Martin told us we were staying at a very nice hotel, and it was, but no Hotel Embassy. We got checked in and had about two hours to relax. While we rested, Martin got us Rome passes that allowed us free admission, discounts, and transportation all over Rome. We never once used public transportaion in Florence and I never once not used it in Rome. A good indication at how different the cities are in terms of size. Martin took us to our first church. We couldn't tour it though because of mass. I guess Martin is not aware of 5 o'clock mass...We went to the steps that Jesus walked up. Tradition is you do them on your knees. There are other steps to get to the top, but I wanted to stick to tradition and went up on my knees. By end, my knees were pretty tired and a little shaky. We then headed over to Mary's church. It is one of my favorite churches so far. The story goes like this. There was a man in Rome who claimed that Mary had come to him and asked him to build her a church. In this dream, he asked her where he should build the church and Mary told him she would let him know. He met with a ruler of Rome who claimed he had the same dream. On August 8th, it snowed in Rome. And only on this one little hill. And that is where they built the church. And every year on August 8th, it snows in Rome on this little hill, with the help of rose petals.

In Rome we met our other teacher for our last block of classes. Jon had met us in Florence. I'm not taking his class, but he is young and hung out with us a little bit. Real nice guy. Archie, who's business ethics class I am taking, met us in Rome with his wife Priscilla. I met Priscilla first and chatted with her and I adore her. They both are very sweet people and I'm looking forward to his class.

That night, we tried out Roman Kebobs and hung out in the hotel before it was time to go out. Everyone did a pub crawl, but Kari, Brooke, Cameron, and I tried out some Italian wine before we went to the downtown of Rome. And I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. We had a great taxi driver who took us around and showed us the sights of Rome at night before dropping us off in what could be mistaken for downtown Athens on a game weekend. It was crazy! We checked out the bars before deciding on yhe Drunken Ship. We met tons of people (it is a lot easier when everyone speaks English...) and I hung out with some great Aussies! It has been decided that Australia will be my next globe-trotting adventure. After the 2012 Olympics in London with Claire...

Sunday morning Martin took us on a walking tour of Rome. We hit all the highlights before arriving in St. Peter's square to receive the Pope's blessing. We received it, via live stream from his summer home...

After, we headed to the Pantheon, where Rafael is burried. After lunch, a much needed Mc-Ds trip for me, we headed over to the Trevi Fountain. AKA...my favorite spot in Rome. Martin, you gotta stick with him (some people still haven't figured this out), bought us gelato once again. I ventured out and instead of my usual chocolate, I got chocolate with raspberry. Good decision. We hung out at the Trevi for a little while and before we knew it was late afternoon. A quick nap and then we headed right back to the Trevi to see it at night. We had planned to eat dinner outside there, but a surprise rain storm ruined that plan. So, we did what any American would do, headed straight to the Hard Rock Cafe.


Monday (how was it already Monday?!) we went to the few places that weren't closed. First was to see Michelangelo's Moses and St. Peter's chains. Then to the colesium. WOW! Is all I have to say about it! We met a couple from TIFTON! (I wast thinking Tifton) We headed to the Roman Forum and Palentine Hill. I wasn't terribly interested in this, and I found it to be a little boring. Sorry Roman Empire. The Spanish steps were up next. I could sit and people watch for hours! Another trip to the Trevi (told you it was my favorite) was a must since we had forgotten to throw a coin in! This is supposed to bring you back to Rome (well, I did return to Rome, but more on that later...) Katie H and I ventured to the "Bone" Church. All the monks of this church were burried under it and then dug up so their bones could be used as decorations in these underground burial sites. It was one of the most unique things I've ever seen. As embarrassed as I am to admitt this, we returned to the Hard Rock for an afternoon snack. We were just too full the night before to order dessert and the peanut butter pie (I know, how typical of me) was calling my name. Another good decision. That night it was ladies night at our Drunken Ship, so why wouldn't we go back?!

Tuesday (again, where does the time go?!) was Vatican Day!Inside, it was more of a museum than I had thought it would be. I enjoyed all the ancient Egypt stuff, even if Martin claims it is all replicas and none of it is real. We toted around, saw Rafaels Stanza room and then on into the Sistene Chapel. Man do they wind you all around that place. Michelangelo's sistene chapel was almost surreal to see in person. I snapped a few photos illegally...St. Peter's was next. Michelangelo's Pieta is in there and it is, too, very impressive. That Mikey... Martin showed us how the woman who jumped the Pope at Christmas did so. She had some good hops because it wasn't an easy jump. We climbed to the top of the dome for a very impressive view. The hike up was pretty intense. We opted to not take the elevator and we were surprised when the part that the elevator took you to was the easiest. Honestly, anyone could have walked it. Even the girl on crutches (Crip as we call her) in our group could have done it. The next part that everyone has to walk was very difficult. It was narrow, slanted at some points, and the spiral staircasses were tiny. We saw a man have a mild heart attack-scary. We took in the view for a while because it was such a beautiful day.



We grabbed some lunch (pizza with ham and mushrooms as always) and went and sat on the Spanish steps. Side story: There are illegal immigrants all over who sell little touristy knick-knacks. The police won't arrest them, but if they can't provide papers, all of their loot gets taken. We watched some undercover cops make a bust and I felt extremly sad for the man. All the other men selling things, took off. Even though I never bought anything from them, they are hard workers trying to make it.

After my little sad-fest, I went off to see Rome on my own. It is a big city, but I felt safe the entire time. I had read about a National Geographic exhibit at one of the museums that I wanted to check out. It was tons of photographs that had yet to be published but were incredible nonetheless. Fran, you would have been in NG heaven.

That night, Martin had arranged a less than spectacular group meal that left me a little hungry. The obvious thing to do next, head to Italy's first ice cream shop and get the biggest chocolate milk shake I could. That night was an early one, as we were headed to Spain the next day!

Florence

After handing in my final for Laris, I was giddy getting my things together for Florence. Group trips are for some reason my favorite thing. I think it is because someone else does the planning and logistics and I just get to sit back and follow the crowd. It took us under 4 hours to get to Florence and because I had some iTunes giftcards (preesh Kevin and Nicole) I bought some movies for my iPod. And the trip south zoomed by. Once we got all settled in our hotel, Martin (as he always does) showed us what we needed to know. We walked through the shopping market, by the duomo, and tried out some gelato. That night some of us wanted to try out what we had seriously been missing. Some good mexican food. Katie and I went Picante's style and got a pitcher(s) of margs. And queso! It wasn't necessarily Taco Mac's, but it curbed our craving. We checked out the town a little bit and saw probably about 1000 of the 4000 American students studying in Florence. The next morning we went to Santa Croce church where Michelangelo, or as Martin calls him, Mikey, is buried. There is this elaborate tomb for him, but he is actually buried in the wall next to it. After, we grabbed lunch before heading to the Uffizi. It is one of the most famous art museums in the world. It was nice and housed some beautiful and famous works, but I personally enjoyed the Louvre more. After field tripping all day it was time to catch a snooze before dinner. I forgot to mention how wonderful our hotel was. When I first saw Hotel Embassy I thought Embassy Suites. Nope. HotelEmbassy is a 4 star hotel. And it gets this food addicts stamp of approval because of it's breakfast. Helllooo yummy eggs and chocolate croisants!
That night we went to Dante's...a place that is rumored to serve wine and water water for free to students. We weren't positive about this, but once our bill came, it was true. Had we died and gone to heaven? No, we had found Dante's. Then, the owner (we nick-named him Dante), took a liking to us. Hmmm 14 girls, I wonder why. He moved us to the table in the window. That and the 18 bottles of wine that followed...definitely felt like we had died and gone to Italian heaven.
The next morning it was time to go see the famous David. Seeing the David was incredible and I also liked seeing Mikey's "Slaves." Martin said the rest of the afternoon was ours, but that he was going to walk around to go inside the Duomo and whoever wanted to join him was welcome to.I went with as did a few others. We went inside the Duomo (if you've ever seen pictures of Florence and the big red dome, this is the church it sits atop). Inside, we couldn't walk under the dome which is above the alter. Martin found this very strange as every other time he's been there he has been allowed to go under it. He took a few observations and came to the conclusion that there was going to be a wedding. And I had to agree, all the white flowers look a little wedding-like. Martin also said that whoever it was getting married, she (mainly her parents) had to be pretty important to be getting married there. When he asked some of the guards, they all had the exact same response. Just, "there will be a private mass." Yup, definitely an Italian royalty getting married...
I knew sticking with Martin was the right choice. Gelato on Martin, thank you very much. Martin had to go find a hotel for the summer program (sorry friends, I don't think you'll be staying at Hotel Embassy) we wanted to check out PonteVecchio. It literally means Old Bridge and on it are a bunch of shops, mainly jewerly shops. I didn't even realize we were on a bridge until I looked through a store's window and saw the river!
After, we went to a great sandwhich shop and I finally got a turkey sammi!
Martin's wife had passed on some shopping advice. And that was to not buy anything until the last day you are in Florence. That way, you know what you like and after you buy it, you won't have anything you like more or less expensive. I made a few purchases...for myself and for some others that shall remain annonymous until I make my return.
Katie H. and I needed a beer after that shopping and it was well deserved. We sat right outside the duomo and just took in our last afternoon in Florence. The weather was perfect for it, too!

We couldn't have asked for a better trip to Florence. It was sunny and warm and perfect. I truly enjoyed our time in Florence. I am on the bus to Rome and Martin just got done telling us all that we have planned and I'm ready to get there! If we have the weather we had in Florence, it is bound to be a good trip. Someone said this the other day and it is so true, "To appreciate the sunny days, you have to have had some rainy one." We've put in our rainy days and now we're being rewarded! Here are some of the funny/interesting/just random things that happened in Florence:
-I've come to appreciate a good salesman, thanks to Kevin and my dad. And I only bought from the best. One had some good chatter, "Oops you dropped something...it is my heart."
-Every night in Florence, we were from somewhere different. Yes, the winter games in Vancouver were wodnerful!
-We met girls that go to Florida. And I pulled a Burles. "It was so nice to meet you girls, see you at the game...in your jorts."
-The best strawberry daquri I ever had was in Florence at Art Bar. It had fruit on top that was bigger than the glass
-We made reservations at Dante's under the name Sweetie Honey, and somehow they lost it...

Spring Break Numero Dos

With the second block of classes quickly coming to a close, we are packing up our things for spring break numero dos. And I say numero dos because in a few short days I'll be in Espana! First we have our group trip to Florence, where we'll be fore two days, and then to Rome, where we'll spend 5 days. A few of us will fly directly from Rome to Valencia where we'll meet up with another UGA study abroad program. We'll visit with them and beach it up until we head to Barcelona for two days before finally heading back to Verona. This is going to be a wonderful big trip before we start our last block of classes.

School. Hmmm. That's a funny thing to call it. It doesn't feel like school. And I'm actually excited to take the final tomorrow to show our teacher how much I know on this topic. (WHOA. I know what you're thinking. I thought I was reading Allison Feeney's blog.Yes, same blog, but this doesn't mean I like normal school).

Not a whole lot is new here. It has been beautiful lately and very green. I walked downtown today (by myself, a very rare thing to be by yourself here). Currently, the Tesser and I are packing up the infamous 704. VinItaly is coming to Verona and we have to move out of our apartment for the week we are gone to allow for the hotel to use our rooms. VinItaly is one of Italy's largest wine festivals and we're headed out of town for it. Who's great idea was that...?

As we're coming into the final month here in Italy (where did the time go?!), I'm starting to miss a few things American. And here are the ones topping the list:
1. Chick-fil-a.No explanation needed. Except that Terminal A better be ready for me on May 7th.
2. Georgia spring-time. It's just not the same here. Not as many flowers, and no bar-be-ques.
3. Alpha G. Can't believe I'm missing out on a datenight...at Bourbs. Melbax, keep it classy :)
4. Braves Baseball. Looks like it's going to be a great season, so Braves, please don't play all the exciting ones before I get there.
5. Diet Coke. FountainDiet Coke, actually. With ice.
6. TV. What can I say, I'm a Feeney. And I can't wait to watch LOST. Hear who won Survivor. And log some serious couch time.

Buona Pasqua

This was the first time we have stayed in Verona for a weekend. And I'm very happy that we did! I feel like I know my 'hometown' that much better and feel very rested! I'm going to have to be rested. I counted and for our second spring break, we'll be gone 12 days and 11 nights. We head out Wednesday afternoon for Florence! I'm looking forward to seeing everything we learned about in our first block of classes. Thursday night we wanted to venture away from our go-to bar and started the evening at Camelot. The owner dated a girl from UGA a couple years back when she was on the Verona program and he is very nice to us! After Camelot, a few went home and a few of us stopped by Campus to check out ERASMUS night. ERASMUS is Europe's version of study abroad. It's more like an exchange, however, and most kids stay for an entire year.
Friday morning was the first morning I've woken up without an alarm! It was so nice. The team this weekend was a little smaller, only six of us, but we managed just fine. We went to the Roman theatre (different than the arena) and walked up to the top. This is probably my new favorite place in Verona and I will definitely be bringing the mama there when she comes in just 2 and a half weeks! There is a small park at the top and we just sat there enjoying the beautiful weather! It was the prettiest day in Verona thus far. After, we did what we always do when in town, get gelato. Mom, get ready for this...
That night we wanted to go out to eat. Marco, our nice desk-man and one of our friends, suggested a place and even came with us. I had some unbelievable duck and Marco picked our some fabulous wine. Now don't be getting Marco confused with Martin. Martin is our trip coordinator and Marco works the desk. Anyway, Marco had horse meat and everyone who tried it said it was delicious, but I wasn't ready to try it. Maybe next time.
Saturday was supposed to be a yucky day, and it was, so Kari, Katie, and I planned to check out the mall. We missed the first shuttle there, so the only one we could take was at 4 PM. This turned out to be ok though. We had been warned that the grocery store would be closed on Monday because it too is a holiday just like Sunday. So, we got the essentials until it would reopen on Tuesday. The mall was packed. And the best part was, we found Target. Ok, fine, it wasn't Target but it was the Italian's version. We didn't have time to check it out, but we will be back. Oh yes, we will be back. Wayne's World anyone? Anyone...?
Since I was confused and thought I had signed up for a semester in Antarctica, I needed a few basic warmer weather clothes. Hello Zara and H&M. I just needed enough to get me through Spain, since it will be much warmer weather. Hopefully we'll be on par with Atlanta and be enjoying some 80-degree weather. The mall was great fun and the free shuttle bus to get there wasn't bad either.
This morning a group of 5 headed to our neighborhood church for Easter Sunday Mass. We weren't sure what to expect, but I knew it couldn't be that far off. It was exactly the same. We even had a warm welcome, "Welcome our friends from America. From Georgia!"Yes, hello, thank you for having us. Like you didn't already know we're American... Sidenote: We stick out like a sore thumb everywhere we go. It's like we are dressed in Red, White, and Blue and sing the Star Spangled Banner or something. Back to Easter. Buona Pasqua means Happy Easter and everyone you come across says, "Buona Pasqua" to you. People are very kind on Easter. OH! I almost forgot! The Easter bunny came, too! The Italian Easter Bunny that is. Would the American Easter Bunny put a wine juice box in an Easter basket...I don't think so! Maybe a Miller Light's in Uncle Kevin's...? I have some little candies and a chocolate bunny that I have already eaten the ears off of :)

It is supposedly going to rain today, but for now, it is a beautiful Easter morning. I'm excited to hear how everyone's weekends were. There were a few others that stayed here that we would run into from time to time. One at Lake Como. A couple at Lake Garda. And there were two groups in Cinque Terre. I am so excited to go here with the mama. The people that have come back from the 5Terre have LOVED it. I can not wait!