Hey America! Things are going good oversea's, I love it more and more each day. This weekend I had the chance to experience more of Italy. My roommate, Megan, and I decided we wanted to go to the beach because we had a three day break; so that was our weekend adventure. On saturday morning we left the apartment around 10am with our backpacks stuffed with towels, swimsuits, and sunscreen. We had no tickets, or plans, all we knew was a general idea of which direction the train station was. So we started walking. Now, just try to imagine two extremely american ladies walking mindlessly through a large city. Just like our Italian, it was a disaster. Eventually we needed help and somehow Megan managed to ask for directions from a small man in a mini-mart. Luckily, he understood her stupid rendition of "Trastevere Trainstation" and pointed us in the right direction. Twenty minutes later we arrived, purchased our tickets to Civitavecchia, and sat our happy selves down on the bench to wait for the train to arrive. The train came, as you could imagine, and we got on then decided to get off at the stop before Civitavecchia, called Santa Marinella. Although Santa Marinella had HORRIBLE hamburgers and charged 2 euro to use the beach, it was a lovely day. It was really nice to get away from the city for a couple hours. Fortunately for us our train tickets do not expire until the end of July, so you can expect more beach pictures coming your way. When we got home we were welcomed by 3 of Anna's sweet friends who are currently backpacking across Europe. We decided to give them a home for the night and they were great house guests. Mollie, Matthew, and Chloe, if any of you happen to be reading this; thanks for giving me the pleasure of meeting you. Safe travels, dear friends!
Sunday we didn't do much besides eat and sleep. But, Monday was a national holiday and let me tell you Romans love their holidays. There was a parade (which we didn't attend because we overslept) and everyone was out celebrating. I'm not actually sure what holiday it is, but nonetheless it was a fun one. Monday afternoon Meg, Mikayla and I went shopping in the main shopping district. H&M was hard on my wallet, but when in Rome…. right? Following up some intensive shopping was a night out on the town, where we discovered our love for italian night life. We actually found a place where foreign exchange students hang out; it was good to meet people who spoke our language and understood our love for late nights.
Tuesday we started classes. I had my art history class at 9am (too early for me) where we discussed Grecian art then proceeded to visit a museum. I highly enjoyed everything about the class and what we got to see/ learn. It's more substantial when you know the background information of what you're looking at when you go to a museum. After class I walked back to Trastevere and decided to go on a run because my roommates were all in class. Down by the Tiber river there is a track for running/biking, so i jogged there for awhile then headed home when I decided that I was about to die from dehydration. I can honestly say that running by the river was one of my favorite things I've done because I got to see all parts of the city, I even ran along the side of the Vatican. It was also good to get some exercise after eating an ungodly amount carbs last week. Today I had class at 9am, again (yay). The class was transatlantic relations; and although we sat in class for 3 hours I love my professor so it made things a bit better. After class, a couple girls and I went to a pizzeria down the street where i ate the best pizza I've ever had in my life. I will make it a habit to go back.
This afternoon I was feeling homesick, so my sweet roommate suggested some retail therapy… and it worked. It kept my mind off missing my friends and family for a little while. But the absolute best part of my day was finding the McDonald's which we had spent hours searching for the days before.I'm sure you're all wondering what Italian McDonald's are like so let me tell you, they are weird. They actually serve pasta and wine (typical right?). It was rather expensive, too. I paid nearly 7 euro (which is roughly 9USD) for a regular sized meal. I was also surprised when they did not ask me what I wanted to drink, they just gave me a coke with no ice. And for those of you who know me personally, could probably guess that I'm sad that they don't serve ice here seeing as i have an infatuation for it. With disregards to the lack of ice, eating a McChicken really did soothe my homesick self.
Sunday we didn't do much besides eat and sleep. But, Monday was a national holiday and let me tell you Romans love their holidays. There was a parade (which we didn't attend because we overslept) and everyone was out celebrating. I'm not actually sure what holiday it is, but nonetheless it was a fun one. Monday afternoon Meg, Mikayla and I went shopping in the main shopping district. H&M was hard on my wallet, but when in Rome…. right? Following up some intensive shopping was a night out on the town, where we discovered our love for italian night life. We actually found a place where foreign exchange students hang out; it was good to meet people who spoke our language and understood our love for late nights.
Tuesday we started classes. I had my art history class at 9am (too early for me) where we discussed Grecian art then proceeded to visit a museum. I highly enjoyed everything about the class and what we got to see/ learn. It's more substantial when you know the background information of what you're looking at when you go to a museum. After class I walked back to Trastevere and decided to go on a run because my roommates were all in class. Down by the Tiber river there is a track for running/biking, so i jogged there for awhile then headed home when I decided that I was about to die from dehydration. I can honestly say that running by the river was one of my favorite things I've done because I got to see all parts of the city, I even ran along the side of the Vatican. It was also good to get some exercise after eating an ungodly amount carbs last week. Today I had class at 9am, again (yay). The class was transatlantic relations; and although we sat in class for 3 hours I love my professor so it made things a bit better. After class, a couple girls and I went to a pizzeria down the street where i ate the best pizza I've ever had in my life. I will make it a habit to go back.
This afternoon I was feeling homesick, so my sweet roommate suggested some retail therapy… and it worked. It kept my mind off missing my friends and family for a little while. But the absolute best part of my day was finding the McDonald's which we had spent hours searching for the days before.I'm sure you're all wondering what Italian McDonald's are like so let me tell you, they are weird. They actually serve pasta and wine (typical right?). It was rather expensive, too. I paid nearly 7 euro (which is roughly 9USD) for a regular sized meal. I was also surprised when they did not ask me what I wanted to drink, they just gave me a coke with no ice. And for those of you who know me personally, could probably guess that I'm sad that they don't serve ice here seeing as i have an infatuation for it. With disregards to the lack of ice, eating a McChicken really did soothe my homesick self.
Anyways, it's been a great week and I'm sure it will just keep getting better. We will be traveling to Florence this weekend, so for friends and family who are trying to get in touch with me I may not be available until Sunday afternoon. On a final note, I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm missing my bed and good water pressure. Be thankful for long and hot showers, readers.
Until next time,
T