Venezia :)

This past weekend I went to Venice! There were 8 of us who went. Venice is a beautiful city. It is what you picture in your mind when you think of Italy. We flew there on Saturdy and arrived in the late afternoon, checked into our hotel and did some sightseeing. We basically walked around for the afternoon and looked at all of the shops and then found a place to go to dinner. I took over 100 pictures (oops!! And then my camera died, of course!!) Then we found a karaoke bar and continued to take it over singing every fabulous American song we could think of and tons of American students studying abroad showed up! On Sunday we went to Piazza de San Marco and saw the Basilica di San Marco and the palace. I have sooo many pictures and will upload them to like Kodak Gallery soon at some point but I will include a few :)

This weekend we are staying in Rome to celebrate the Fourth of July and see the sights!! Last night we had an art lecture on historical art in Florence which, to me, was very interesting!! Tomorrow we are going to the office of the Attorney General of Italy!!

Buongiorno!

Today is truly the first day that I have felt completely normal and not tired! That is probably because of the fact that we did so much on Tuesday and Wednesday that I was really exhausted!! Anyway, here's what I have been up to the last few days!!

Tuesday--I had my first classes (8:45-12) and then that afternoon we went on an Orientation Tour of Rome. We went to the catacombes of Sebastian and the Basilica of St Peter and we were supposed to go the the Forum but there was a strike so we weren't able to make it!! We also drove past the Colleseum and I took a couple of pictures out of the bus of that. Definitely will have to go back there!! My camera died on Tuesday so I didn't get many pics the first few days but I will steal some from my roomie and once I get them I will post them on here!!

Then we had a group dinner at an restaurant in the neighborhood (the whole group). Meals are very long here and everything is served with wine. You have appetizers, salad, pasta, dessert, and wine. Then we walked home and stopped at a little bar on the way home for a beer.

Wednesday--We got up REALLY early in order to get spots at the Vatican to see the Pope. If you go very late, you won't even get in there. He began to speak around 10:30 am. We took the train down to Vatican City and got in line and got the best spots in the place!! We got up in the seated area and sat in the very last rows so that when he drove around the place in his little cart, we were RIGHT there. Like practically could have reached out and touched the cart!! Being that I didn't have a working battery to my camera, I didn't get any pictures but the guy next to me got some amazing pics of the Pope! He does an address to the crowd in Italian and then different priests address the crowd in their own language and then the Pope does a shorter version of his address in each language. Then there is a prayer and Our Father is sung in Italian (words on back of ticket) and then he blesses the crowd and any religious items you bring! I had my silver cross that I got for Christmas a few years ago so now I can say that it has been blessed by the Pope!

A couple of friends and I then walked around Rome and ate lunch at a little ristorante where we had panninis (again) and gelato. We then caught the bus back to the school, did a little reading and had class at 3:45-7 pm. We then had a big barbeque outside and came in to finish some homework for class this morning.

Last night we booked tickets to go to Venice this weekend and we fly in there Saturday afternoon and stay until Sunday evening!!

Today I had class from 8:45-12 and then I did some solo sightseeing/walking around the neighborhood. We live in Monte Mario, a neighborhood in the Northwest area of Rome. It is a middle class neighborhood so there aren't many stores. You defnitely can't find things as convenient as in America!! The other interesting thing is that EVERYTHING shuts down after lunch for siesta. Like every store completely shuts down!! That would NEVER happen in America. People are always busy and always in a hurry. Today when I was walking around I stopped in a caffe to get a sandwhich, and the guy was soooo appalled that I was taking it to go. He knew I was American right away because I didn't sit down and eat!! Italians eat for hours and very slowly!!

Well I better jet--I am going to do some reading over the weekend since I won't get home until practically midnight from Venice!!

Ciao!

Day One!!

I have arrived in Rome!! Traveling by myself in a foreign country wasn’t as bad as I had thought. Everything is in both Italian and English. Sometimes asking questions is a little annoying but most everyone speaks at least a little English!! Getting myself here was quite a chore!! I went home after Christy’s wedding, and had to leave Williston by 2 am. Thank god I had so much help :) I slept the whole airplane ride to Minneapolis where I got off at 6:15 am and had to sit there until 10:30. When in Minot, the lady checking my baggage told me she could arrange to get it all the way to Rome being that I had booked my ticket from Minot to Minneapolis separate from my ticket from Minneapolis to Rome. Hello? Big mistake. Duh. Anyway, when I got to Minneapolis and got my boarding pass before getting on the plane, the lady called down and asked if my bag had been transferred from Northwest yet. She said it hadn’t but that it wasn’t a big deal and she would take care of it. When I got to Charlotte and Philadelphia I asked about my bags and of course, no one knew anything and they couldn’t check on it even though I had my baggage receipt. I’m pretty sure at least point you can figure out what is going to happen just like I did!! In Philadelphia, I met a lady who was going to meet her husband in Rome and he had given her VERY explicit directions on everything!! This lady went way above and beyond. I decided to ask her if I could stick with her once we got there to figure everything out! (Smart move.) Once we landed we met up outside of the walkway thing and we got through passport control and everything pretty easily. She then went on to “change up her act” as she called it. She took a small purse out of her fanny pack (YES!!) and changed her money and passport and put it around her neck and in her shirt. She then tied her fanny pack around her belt, and put on a different shirt over it. Whoah. I get it that there are pickpocketers but this seemed a little extreme!! Anyway, then we went and stood by the baggage claim for about 45 minutes while everyone’s bag slowly trickled in. EVERYONE EXCEPT MINE!! Sure enough, I went to the customer service line and they had left it in Minneapolis. They had, however, realized the mistake and the bag was on its way to Rome and would be there in about 5 hours. This was at 10:30 am and as I write this now, I have yet to see my luggage and it is about 10 pm!! No one seems to be in a hurry to do anything here!! Except drive. (More on that later.) So Debbie left because she had to meet her husband and I stood and filled out a claim forever to get my bag. I finally got up to the train station and got my ticket. I still have no clue how I figured this all out being that I speak no Italian, but I somehow did. I took the train to Termini which is like a City Center of Rome. I then found a taxi to take me to the school. I had planned on taking a taxi from the airport but Debbie convinced me this was the way to go!! I probably saved myself 40-50 euros doing it this way, and I haven’t quite figured out the exchange, but in the airport, 60 euros was equal to $97. So I saved some cash!! The taxi driver almost killed me and everyone on the road every second of the drive but I got here!! It blows my mind that everyone in Italy does everything soooo slow, but when it comes to driving, they are maniacs. Like SERIOUS maniacs. Why drive so crazy to get somewhere and then be so slow?? I don’t get it. Anyway, I am here. I start class tomorrow even though I have no clothes, no books, nothing. I borrowed my roommate Emily’s shampoo and conditioner, etc. so I could shower, and I have been sleeping all day trying to catch myself up! Pictures to come soon!!

Ciao!

PS--the pic is from my room window!