When in Rome, be a tourist.

Ciao a tutti! It's amazing how things really are getting busier all the time. While me being busy here is not even closely representative of the chaos of a normal spring semester, I'm having trouble checking off my "to-do" list. There's so much to do and to see that it's hard to ignore the constant pressure to do them before it's already time to come home. But again, this is really less of a complaint and more of an observation of my "difficult" life abroad.

I've been traveling a lot more on the weekends than I imagined I would, but I'm trying to find a balance. Last weekend I went with some friends to Rome and had a truly fantastic time. Leaving early nella mattina, we boarded the bus to Rome and arrived around noon. Getting oriented, we made a bee-line to Vatican City. It was truly breath-taking to see some of these masterpieces and to be able to tell you "what it smells like in the Sistene Chapel" (Good Will Hunting). I also really loved walking around in St. Peter's Basilica, but my favorite part of the day was when the 3 other girls and I ate some of the best gelato EVER and soaked in the sun, the people, and the experience in the Piazza del Papa'.

After checking in at the hotel, we took a nap before going to dinner. All weekend we ate wonderfully (and cheaply) thanks to Rick Steves and some other guidebooks! After dinner we went on a grand tour of the city at night. My host parents were surprised about how much I actually did see in just a day and half, which made me feel really good. :) But among this crazy tour was the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the Fountain of the Four Rivers (my favorite!). I didn't see them in the day time, but everything looked GORGEOUS at night. Surprisingly, we also had some opportunities to speak in Italian. Rome has a bit of the same feeling as New York City with a big tourist fingerprint. I heard more English than I had in a while and couldn't wait to get back to Siena and Italian.

Sunday morning we split up for a few hours and my friend Julissa and I went back to the Vatican to see the Pope. The crowd was insane! He said a prayer, talked a little about "La Festa Delle Donne" (which I'll explain later), and made some shout-outs in German, French, English, Spanish, and Italian. Then we went to meet up with the other travellers at the Colosseum. After a 10 minute wait for a ticket (incredible!), we got our tickets per gratis. That's right--FOR FREE! La Festa Delle Donne, or the Day of the Women, was created after the Women's Rights Movement. While I question if it's any less commercial than Valentine's Day, it was certainly an unexpected and very welcomed surprise. But getting back to my sight seeing, I loved the Colosseum and the Roman Forum! Standing there in the remnants of everyday life from centuries ago definitely sits among my favorite moments of the trip.

Tomorrow, the women of the school are going on a retreat of sorts to another agriturismo but this time in Maremma, the beach region of Tuscany. We'll be visiting a park and going on a wine tasting and I've heard rumors that the food is out of this world! You'll get another update later. But for more pictures of Rome, check out "Le Fotografie" under links.

Buona giornata!