A Bittersweet Goodbye

As my time in Rome comes to a close, I thought I should wrap up my blog with one last look back on the last four months. With that being said, I have done far too much to wrap it all up succinctly, so I thought that, instead, I would touch on some highlights.

Favorite place I've visited in Italy:
Venice



Favorite trip:
A tie between Paris and Praha.





Most authentic Italian experience:
Easy - Naples, the first time, hands down.



Favorite gelateria:
Chicken-Hut, it's just so close and filled with too many good memories with great friends!!



Favorite Italian food:
Pizza!!



Favorite place in Rome:
Another tie, this time between the Pantheon and the Vatican. The Pantheon is so close, quintessentially Italian, and one of the many monuments that Rome is known for. And Vatican City is just incredibly cool and peaceful, at least when it isn't completely overrun with tourists. 





Best/favorite thing about Rome:
You don't have to look very far to find something historic.



Favorite thing I've done in Rome:
Getting lost in the city.



Favorite memory of my time in Rome:
Too hard to pinpoint one thing, so I'll have to say all the amazing opportunities and fun with good friends - all of it!!



Thing I like the most about Rome:
The juxtaposition of ancient and modern that is Rome.



Thing I dislike the most about Rome:
Going to have to go with a tie between the constant cloud of cigarette smoke and inordinate amount of feces all over the city.



Most profound experience:
The Holy See and St. Peter's tomb



One thing I've learned:
Time is most definitely not money in Italy.



Still makes me laugh:
Tie between Tom and I:

Me: "Hey, you speak English!!" Not so bad when you're caught off guard, not incredibly brilliant when said to a known American. It is worth noting that it is still up for debate whether I actually said English or American.



Tom: (Upon answering the phone) "You don't sound sexy..." (click) Halloween was a rough night for some.



I'll miss the most:
First and foremost, my friends!! Coming in with a tie for second would be the food and Europe in general.

Scavi Tour

Finals are done and I am finally free!! So, since I'm pretty much done packing and as ready to go as I'm going to be before I leave, I thought I would, once again catch up on the blog.

Last week was the last week of classes and Friday JCU gave us a study day, so naturally we went to the Vatican. One of the things that I wanted to do while I was here was the Scavi Tour of the Vatican Necropolis - I'd heard nothing but great things about it and, almost even better, a lot of people don't know about it. So I put in our request for a tour, you have to send the Scavi Office precise details as to who wants to go and dates that will work as they only allow 250 people a day into the Necropolis. Luckily, they gave us a reservation for last Friday, so we decided to utilize the morning to learn a bit more about Vatican history - still studying, right?!

Let me just say that the tour does not disappoint, at least not entirely. First we (Nick, his roommate Brian, and I) had to make it past the Swiss Guard - slightly intimidating, but luckily he didn't have a halberd. Once the group arrived (8 in total with 2 American priests) our tour began in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica.

Upon entering the grotteso we stopped at a model of Saint Peter's tomb (it is the main attraction, so to speak, of the tour) and got an incredibly dumbed down, Catholic 101 lesson on Saint Peter, the basilica, and the Vatican itself. Now, don't get me wrong, I understand why this needs to be done, but I did have to bite my lip to keep from laughing with the priests standing behind me, "Fathers, in case you didn't know, Peter is considered to be the first pope and holds the keys to heaven." Duh!!

I digress. We then proceeded downstairs, under current ground level to the necropolis. Let me tell you, this is cool!! Obviously, back in the day, this was ground level, so we were standing in the middle of a street (dating back to the 1st century AD or earlier) that is probably no more than 6' wide, underground, in between buildings that are probably 20' tall that use to house peoples' dead. It should be mentioned that the Holy See has reason to believe that the necropolis extends all the way to the Tiber (that's a long way, believe me), but for obvious reasons can't excavate it all.

After looking in a few tombs, we made it to, what is believed to be, Saint Peter's original tomb. Now, obviously this is the Vatican, the head of the Catholic Church giving this tour, so you have to question the impartiality. With that being said, according to our guide, this is the only location ever referenced as Peter's burial spot and numerous tombs nearby reference being near Peter, so with the information that is available, it is reasonable to believe that it is his original tomb.

This is the one spot that I will say that I was slightly disappointed - let's just say that Saint Peter's tomb, rather anticlimactic. You are kept a good 20' away from it (understandable) behind a railing that stands a couple of feet in front of a wall in which you peer through the doorway, past at least a couple more walls protruding into your line of sight at a rectangular opening that appears to be no more than 2' x 1' of orange light - that is St. Peter's tomb. In hindsight, I don't know what exactly I was expecting from one of the holiest of tombs dating back to 65 AD, but clearly it was slightly more than that.

In the lack of euphoria that was the tomb, we moved on to the next room where we learned about its discovery - this was actually quite interesting. The excavations of the necropolis took place under Pope Pius XII (I could be wrong, but I believe that is correct). Apparently an archaeologist found St. Peter's bones at some point when he was alone, so, naturally, he boxed them up and put them in the Vatican Archives for safe keeping. The problem here being that the archaeologist failed to mention this to anyone. (Next time someone tells you that communication is not important, just remember that you could lose St. Peter!!)

So, at some point not too much later, the excavations continue (with the pope present, if I remember correctly) and bones are pulled from one of the adjacent tombs. The story goes that the pope had a doctor (our guide claiming the doctor to be an opthamologist, hardly an expert) analyze the bones. Upon inspection the doctor returned with a nearly immediate, "yes, looks like the bones of a 60-something-year-old male in good health." Unfortunately, once the true expert got a look at the bones this was disproven as there were apparently 6 femurs, 2 of which appeared to be female.

If this isn't Saint Peter than who is? At this point, Saint Peter is lost.

In the end, and I don't remember the rest of the details, Peter was found in the Vatican Archives, at which point his bones were divided in two, one half being placed in the chapel in the Pope's residence and the other half being reburied within the so-called graffiti wall.

At this point we were taken in to visit Saint Peter and did actually get a look at his remains. (I should mention that, once his remains were rediscovered, the actual expert verified that the bones appeared to be that of one 60-something-year-old, healthy male. That, along with the location in which they were found, is what leads the Vatican to believe that, without the ability to do DNA testing, they are indeed the remains of Saint Peter. Faith.)

The tour ends, back in the grottoes, in the Chapel of the Head (I think that's what it's called) which is dedicated entirely to Saint Peter. The chapel is so named, if I am correct, because, per his original burial, it is where his head would have been.

Fittingly enough, directly across from the chapel is the tomb of Pope Pius XII. Due to the crucial role he played in the excavations and the locating of Saint Peter's remains, he was buried opposite the chapel.

Having made our way back out to the basilica itself, we all agreed that the tour was definitely not overrated - undoubtedly the coolest thing any of us have seen in Rome (technically the Holy See). And, as a slight addendum, I cannot even begin to put into words what it meant to me as a Catholic. Vatican City will take anyone's breath away, let alone a member of the Church, so to be able to visit the Vatican Necropolis was incredible!!

2 days and counting!! Can't wait to see everyone and happy holidays!!

Ciao, ciao!!

*Oh, I apologize for the lack of pictures once again, but, rather understandably, pictures were not allowed on the tour. Use your imaginations and know that if you ever make it to Rome, you should definitely do the Scavi Tour.

Goodbye Parentals, Hello Papers and Finals

It appears that I have, once again, managed to fall behind. Although, in my defense, I have been rather preoccupied with school and, more recently, some sort of vicious illness. But I will admit that, perhaps more than anything, I have turned procrastination into an art form. With that being said, I'll keep the recap brief - well, that and there really isn't a whole lot to tell.

Mom and Dad left a week ago Monday and I delved back into school - as much as I could with 2 classes being cancelled all week. (Couldn't complain about that.) The last few days of their trip were rather laid back, we were all pretty exhausted by that point. We spent a day exploring churches - Rome does after all have an inordinate number of them. From Santa Cecilia in Trastevere we ventured over to Santa Maria Maggiore, (the farthest east I've been in this city), and San Pietro in Vincoli (also known as St. Peter in Chains, for those that don't speak Italian). While churches do have a way of blending into each other after you've seen a few, they were all impressive in their own right.

Saturday we spent the day, or at least part of it, in Spoleto - the other town recommended by my brother's friend that lived in Rome. Perhaps not quite as impressive as Orvieto, but, as always, it is fun to be able to explore new places. The one major advantage I will give Orvieto is the funicular. Despite the amount of walking I may do in Rome, I have to admit that when we got off the train, I thought "there has got to be a better way!!" Nonetheless, we had a good lunch, walked around town, and saw the basilica, all before hopping back on the train for Rome.

Finally, Sunday, Mom and Dad's last day in Italy, was spent trekking up 1 of the 7 hills of Rome - a great view of the city on a beautiful, mild winter day. After refueling with lunch, Mom and I spent the afternoon searching for some last minute souvenirs while Dad headed back to the B&B to rest. And to bring the trip full circle, we ended it the way it began, with pizza.

Crazy, small world moment of Mom and Dad's vacation, and quite possibly of my 4 months here: we met a girl at dinner from Kingston, of all places. My WA people should understand that, but for those of you that don't know, Kingston is a very small town that sees little more than ferry traffic.

But I digress. It was good to see the parentals and fun to be able to show them around. Unfortunately, once they left I had 2 papers and 4 finals looming. Luckily, I can say that I have finished, turned in, and even already gotten back my Public International Law paper on the legality of U.S. interrogation techniques post 9/11. Nice, light subject, right?! Now I just need to finish my paper for History and Politics of the Middle East on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - another cheerful paper. My course load is nothing, if not uplifting this semester (read sarcasm). Next week is finals week and, of course, I have one for every class - yay for blue books!!

On the plus side, that means that I have exactly 10 days until I am home!! While I can't complain, the past 4 months have been incredible and I wouldn't trade it for anything, I am so ready to be home. There are definitely things that I will miss about Italy, probably the food more than anything, but I think the thing that I will miss the most is the accessability of Europe. I love the States, but there are many things that Europe has done so much better than we have. Even with that though, there are many American things I miss: my American-size apartment, the understanding that smoking can kill you, a concept of time (at least in regards to some things), mexican food, In-N-Out, seafood (both good quality and Ivar's - D, I want a ride on the Belafonte, or its replacement if it comes to that, to dinner this coming spring/summer), and, of course, all the people!! My Washington withdrawals have been so bad lately that I have literally been dreaming of Seattle - I can't wait to be home!!

Okay, time to put my nose back to the grind stone and write this final paper so that I can start studying for finals - woohoo!! Hope all is well Stateside and the holiday spirit is strong - looking forward to it looking and feeling like Christmas!!

Ciao, ciao!!

*Sorry for the lack of pictures, but I am lazy and, quite frankly, there really aren't many/any.

Thanksgiving Italiano

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, which means that in Italy it was Thursday! Truly an American holiday that was hard to feel over here. Given the day off from school and the lack of any Italian holiday we decided to do a day trip to the town of Orvieto. Daniel, (my brother for those of you that may not know), has friends that lived in Rome for a couple of years and recommended Orvieto and Spoleto as two relatively close and easily accessible hill towns to visit. So based on the forecast, we decided to do Orvieto on Thanksgiving and Spoleto on Saturday (tomorrow).

After a long week and day yesterday, we opted for a lazy morning today, so I am catching up on my blogging and laundry (now that our washing machine is finally working again - hoorah!!), before heading down to the B&B.

I'm not entirely sure what all to say about yesterday though, so I'll keep it brief and let you explore the pictures. Orvieto is divided between the new town, where the train arrives, and old town, the real attraction up on the hill. Once off the train you actually have to take the Funicular up to the top of the hill - kind of cool. We really just strolled through town on our way to the Duomo, the town's main attraction.

It is a very cute, little hill town and I am grateful to have been able to spend the day there with my parents, but I do have to say that it had a very similar feel and look to just about every other small town I've been to in Italy so far. I don't say this as necessarily a bad thing, but a mere observation that, so far, I have not seen a whole lot of distinction between rural landscapes.

But I digress. The Duomo was incredible! Crazy impressive. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside, so you'll just have to take my word for the fact that the interior is, maybe not quite as grand as the facade, but a sight to see nonetheless.

After a brief stop for lunch, Mom and I wanted to shop, so we really just poked around town exploring the streets and myriad of ceramic shops. Apparently, in conjunction with the Duomo and Classico wine, Orvieto is known for its ceramics. Mom made a few purchases along the way, and I almost bought her Christmas present, but alas the shop was unable to supply the gift in its entirety - oh well.





















We made it back to Roma by about 5p and headed back to the B&B before walking to my apartment for dinner. After a brief stop at Dem, the grocery store across the street from my apartment, I made a "traditional" Thanksgiving dinner of my pasta specialty - like I said before, not terribly Thanksgiving-y. With that said, it was delicious. And to make the holiday complete, we were able to Skype with D after dinner and revel in the dreary PNW weather - don't envy that!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, whatever form it may have taken. Mine may have been far from traditional, but it will definitely be one to remember. While I try to keep focus and take stock regularly, yesterday was after all about giving thanks. So I will reiterate my immense love and gratitude for all of my family and friends, whether newly found in Italy or the oldest of friends back home - I hope you know how much I love you all, what you mean to me, and that I would not be where or who I am without each and every one of you. And, of course, I cannot let this year pass without expressing my thanks for the opportunities that it has afforded me - kicking off my senior year in Italy, don't think it gets much better!!

I can't wait to see everyone when I get home next month, but in the meantime...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Roman Holiday

The parentals came in last Friday, the 18th, for a 10-day vacation and we've been pretty busy ever since. Sadly, their flight from Amsterdam to Rome was less than ideal and their baggage was lost somewhere along the way, but it did manage to show up at their B&B by the end of the next day. 

So the first night, we took a leisurely stroll through Trastevere, ran into Camille by school, and had some quintessential Italian dinner. The pizza was delicious, as always, but more than anything, Mom loved the bruschetta, fiori di zucca, and wine - I think she enjoyed the proof that wine really is cheaper than water!!

The next day we hit the ground running with the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. The weather was great and the Colosseum often closes when it rains due to flooding, so I wanted to make sure that we were able to get that in. There were, of course, lots of people, but it was really cool to be able to see the inside of the Colosseum with my own eyes - it is indeed quite massive.







Having spent a good 2 hours being touristy, we decided it was time to take a break and find some lunch. This time Mom and Dad were introduced to Italian pasta. It was all very tasty and provided some much needed fuel.

Next we made our way to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum by way of the Arch of Constantine.





We took a leisurely, although somewhat abbreviated, stroll through the Palatine before making our way to the Forum. Mom was, going in, just about ready to call it day, but upon entering was very happy see a much more natural setting. Excavations date settlements back to about 1000 B.C., and, perhaps even more significantly, Palatine Hill is believed to be the site where Remus and Romulus were found with the she-wolf. (INSERT LINK TO LEGEND HERE??) And, of course, being 1 of the 7 hills of Rome, there are some pretty good views. 











Having taken in the city views, we made our way back down the hill and into the Roman Forum. What was, at one time, the center of Roman life, is now, in places, not much more than piles of granite that used to be columns and buildings. Nonetheless, with the Arch of Titus and the Basilica of Constantine, it is not difficult to imagine what the Roman Forum once was. A literal walk through centuries old history - very cool!











Sunday, we made the mandatory reservation and visited the Borghese Gallery - this was on the top of Mom's list of things to do in Rome. They only allow 200 people in at a time in 2-hour windows. We saw a lot of Caravaggio and Bernini, but most of all we walked away with the sense that Borghese had way too much money - even in his day.



 Finally, on our way back to Trastevere, Dad wanted gelato, so I figured that I should start them out right and let their first gelato experience be at Giolitti's. Being the most famous gelateria in all of Rome, it was, as it so often is, crazy busy. A little experience will go a long way though. With that amount of people it is fairly similar to Ivar's (for those that will understand the reference) - no real line, make your way to the counter, tell them what you want, and they'll get you out of there in a snap. While I will say that Giolitti's is not really superior to any other gelato I've had, it is worth it for the experience, and it definitely never disappoints. So, with our gelato in hand, we slowly made our way back to Trastevere.

Monday, I had class and a presentation, so we decided to meet up around lunch time in Piazza Santa Maria - an easy to find mid-way point with one of the oldest churches in all of Rome. From there we decided to walk to Vatican City, have lunch, and go in Saint Peter's Basilica. I've done the entire Vatican experience myself, but Saint Peter's in absolutely incredible and wanted to go back, so I was happy to lead the way.











To wrap up the week, I had class all day Tuesday, so I sent Mom and Dad to the Vatican Museum - definitely an all day thing. They said they were exhausted by the time they made it back to their B&B, as they should be, but were glad they were able to see it all. I met them for dinner and we decided to stay in and watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. 

Wednesday was another somewhat lazy day, I was to meet them at their B&B following class, but ran into them in Piazza S. Maria. They'd been out exploring the Jewish Ghetto and found an Irish Pub of all things, so we made our way back for lunch. As unexciting as it may be, we then headed back to the B&B to relax for a little while. Eventually we decided to do a night walk across Rome. We took the bus to the Spanish Steps (they had yet to see them), walked over to Trevi Fountain, and planned on making our way back to Campo de Fiori for dinner at La Carbonara - the restaurant that invented Carbonara. However, we ran into a fellow SMC student and Seattlite at Trevi with her parents and decided to have dinner with them instead. I think Jillian and I both found it somewhat funny, but all in all it was a lot of fun - a little PNW time in the heart of Roma!!





Thanksgiving I will save for a separate blog. So far, busy busy busy in Rome, but it's fun to see the parentals and be able to show them around. And low and behold, even though she thought otherwise, Mom is getting her bearings in the city and is learning her way around - BENE!!

Ciao, ciao!!