"Until Further Notice"

It used to say until Monday...

We only thought we were joking...

Alyx, Chris and I went out to Campo Di Fiori to watch the soccer game last night. Roma had a rough start but ended up winning it which I can only assume was a big deal because the ENTIRE city was out honking car horns and waving flags. We spent our 30 minute walk home, cheering and yelling with all the Roma fans. I thought it would be calm and quiet by the time we got towards the Vatican and our residence but it just kept going. 

As we walked towards the vatican we made jokes about the Pope being a Roma fan only to find an AS Roma banner in a vatican window. hmmm maybe we only thought we were joking...

1

1 week and I'll (hopefully) be flying home.



If the volcano interupts my plans, I'm moving to Cinque Terre, living in a beach town, working at a bed and breakfast, and in my spare time I'll hike and go to the beach for the rest of my life.

This could be interesting...

Volcano affecting air travel in Europe. hmm am I really leaving in 8 days?

Look what I did in Italian Class!

Tiramisu!

Not Real.

Motion

My parents and I started the day off with mass at my church, Santa Susanna, then went to the vatican to see  the Pope who was actually not there, so instead he broadcasted his blessing and sermon. Next we tried to go to the Roma game, only to find out you have to buy the tickets at least a day in advance. Oh well. The bus was sooo crowded, we were packed in as tight as possible and the fans were all singing fight songs the whole way to the stadium. It was an experience anyway, even though we didnt get into the game. These are some of the pictures I took for my final photo project "Rome in Motion".

On the move again

• We woke up and took our time getting ready then headed out to wonder around the beach which is literally right across the street from our hotel. I could totally live like the people in this town. There was a man down on the beach with his fishing poles set up. Others were out with their dogs and I also have noticed a lot of people out running in the morning. Everyone gets around by bike. We collected some pretty stones along the beach and did a little walking (although after yesterday, I’m pleased we can walk at all).


• Went back to the hotel for breakfast and then walked the town a little more before it was time to go to the train station and move onto our next destination: Pisa.

• With only 3 hours to spend there, we stopped for Panini and carried them to the lawn right next to the tower for a picnic lunch, complete with leftover wine from last night. There isn’t a whole lot to do in the town other than a few museums and shopping so it’s the perfect place for a 3 hour picnic lunch next to the tower. Oh and of course we couldn’t resist taking our turn to “hold up” the tower. 

Now back to Rome...

This place is not real.

• Breakfast in the hotel overlooking the ocean and the gorgeous mountains. I can’t believe we are still in Italy, I feel like I’m on an island. Or in a fairy tale, really. It’s not real. We at delicious cornetti- actually probably the best I’ve tasted so far, really, really good “American” coffee (they had a cappuccino maker but I realized that at this point, the American coffee is more of a treat to me), and yogurt with granola.


• Set out for our hike but first, a few stops along the way in Levanto to pick up bread and fruit.

• Began our hike through the Cinque Terre. The first and second towns were incredibly hilly and had a rocky, narrow path with a drop off down the mountain to the right. The path was lined by vineyards and trees but most surprisingly, there were often houses on the sides of mountains. I could not imagine living in a place like that! The majority of the 11K hike had a view of the sea as well. 3 of the 5 towns we passed through you could stop at the beach/sea and relax. We started off in the first town where we did not stay long enough to explore but this was the first sand beach and a great photo op. We were in awe of the clear, blue water that went further than you could see, with tall, green mountains on either side. This place is not real. When we got to the second town we bought cheese and pesto to complete our lunch and had a picnic on the rocks at the beach, under the sun. I have to say, it was nice to see colorful sun umbrellas and Italians dressed to live in a beach town (colorful and relaxed clothing). After wondering around the town a bit we headed on our way for the rest of the hike. The third town was off the trail so we didn’t stop at it. The fourth was a rocky beach where we sat for a bit on the rocks and stuck our toes in the water. The last bit of trail was only 20 minutes of walking until we got to the 5th town. At this point it was about 5:30 so we decided not to stick around. We boarded the train and headed back to Levanto.

• Had a nice dinner at a restaurant called “Le Palme” where I had seafood for an appetizer and the regionally made pasta, troffe, with seafood and olive oil sauce. Afterwards we got gelato (hazelnut and caffe) at the same place we at pizza last night and headed for the hotel.

• Had a little feel of home when Mom found the Iron Pigs afternoon game broadcast on the internet. I have to say, it was kind of weird listening to radio commercials from the Lehigh Valley and hearing “Cedar Crest” and “Rodale”. We fell asleep to the game…then I woke up a while later and it was still on. A great way to end my day.

Off to Cinque Terre!

My parents got to Rome and I picked them up at the train station around 12:30. After that we went back to my room, had lunch and reorganized then set out for Cinque Terre.

• Dad almost got pickpocketed. The distraction: 2 women on the train got into a "fight." The result: they realized all they got was his dirty, broken, old, dollar store reading classes and case. They dropped it and got off. In all seriousness, it was the first attempted pickpocket I've encountered. Pickpocket-0 Us-1

• The loudest little Italian I've ever encountered and she was no more than 6 sat near us on the train. Her mother was just as bad. She stuck stickers all over the window, yelled, talked, ran around and caused general ruckus. The guy in our box was so funny and just kept rolling his eyes. Eventually she came and joined us in our box. Loudest Italian EVER.

• I managed to get us off at the wrong Cinque Terre stop. Luckily the ticket allowed us to get on the next train. 15 minute delay but it could have been worse. Train-1 Courtney-0

• Made the 10 minute trek across Levanto litarally from one side of town to the other. I love Cinque Terre, I walked 2 streets and saw the entire town of Levanto.

• Had a late dinner at a little place right around the corner from the Garden Hotel where we are staying. Dad and I had pizza and Mom had a regional pasta with pesto.

• Back to the Hotel where the front desk guy is so helpful. Mom and I discovered the balcony which far surpasses my apartment balcony.

overall, a good start to the weekend.

Easter Sunday!

First picture is the pope splashing Holy Water. Note the positioning of the umbrella.

(Remind you of Holy Trinity in Egypt?)

Easter morning, Alyx and I trecked out to Vatican City in hopes of being able to stand outside St. Peters Square and hearing mass- and maybe seeing some of it on the screen. Turns out we were mis-informed and you didnt really need a ticket to get into the square, they were only to get into the seating area. We got a pretty good spot to watch mass but it poured the ENTIRE time except for communion. Most of the time we only got to watch on the screen but it was totally worth it.

The second picture I think pretty much defines our time in Rome- Lots of rain!

The last one is of Pope Benedict giving his Sunday Blessing which he always does at noon. This was his Easter Sunday Blessing.

Ostia Antica

Took a pit-stop on our way to the beach to visit the ruins of Ostia Antica. We anticipated no more than an hour here but realized there was tons to see. We still didnt get to see everything since we did want to go to the beach. It was definitely worth visiting and I think it would even be worth another day-trip. Great places to have a picnic lunch, ruins to explore, and an atmosphere you can't find in the city setting of Rome.

Good Friday

These are of the Papal Good Friday
stations of the cross at the Colosseum. Alyx and I attended the Candle-lit service and sat up on the hill, however there was a huge crowd on the ground, right in front of where the pope was. It was all in Italian except the titles of the stations so we had to work to understand bits and pieces but it was the experience that matters!