Store Openings
Even though a store in Rome says they are open on a Saturday or a a certain time, it does not mean that they are open. For our lighting project, we were asked to go view selected lighting stores. Katie and I went together 2 Saturdays ago, to find only one store out of the 4 open and according to each store's hours, they were supposed to be open! Oh well. Katie and I went back yesterday to one of the stores to pick out a light to draw for our Made in Italy class. The store said it'd open at 10, but by 10:30ish it still had not opened. I guess that is Rome for you.
ISU Tailgating from Rome
For those who don't know, this past Saturday was the Iowa State vs. Iowa game. I think Iowa State won, right? Ha. Since Katie and I wouldn't be in attendance and we couldn't find a bar to show the game, we decided to tailgate Italian style and watch the game via Skype. Our Italian tailgating food included bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms, and homemade pizzas. It was all delicious and made up for the embarrassing ISU loss! And yes, we got our ISU gelato (raspberry and mango/passion fruit).
Beach Babe
This past Sunday Katie and I went to the beach! It was about an hour commute away but very worth it. We struggled a bit to find what part of the beach we could go to. There are a lot of places to pay and go into, but we were looking for free. After a ten minute walk down the strip, we found a sliver of free beach. The beach was filled with all types of people: men in speedos, women without tops, people wearing swimsuits that they shouldn't, lovebirds, people looking for a tan, people looking to relax, families, and the rowdy group of teenagers. Every few minutes we'd have a guy come up to us and try to get us to purchase something, too. It was a relaxing way to spend our afternoon. I managed to not get burnt (or tan) without putting sunscreen on and the sun was out in full force. I found that quite odd. I sure hope we can make it back to the beach before it gets cold!
Narrowly Getting Robbed
On the way to the beach, I got a nice little reminder that I always need to carefully be watching my belongings on public transportation. I was carrying our backpack and on the bus I had to stand in the aisle with my back in it. I don't know if it was my subconscious or maybe I felt something, but slowly I started to readjust how I was standing. When I went to check my bag, I felt that my zippers had been unhooked (they were clipped together) and one was halfway unzipped. Luckily, nothing was taken. I either had moved at the right time or the guy didn't find himself to be interested in stealing our towels. Lesson= learned!
Self Navigating
I'm really starting to understand how to get around Rome. Everything is a short walk away from something else. Going to the Piazza Navona? Might as well go to Campo di Fiori and the Pantheon. Colosseum? Better see Trajan's Column, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Roman Forum. And the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps will make a nice addition to a shopping trip. :-) Today, for my mixed media class we were walking around to various places, sort of just wandering, and we happened to be in the area where I live. I was rather excited about this, so of course I showed off the exterior of my apartment to my classmates and instructor. At this point, my instructor wanted to go to the Piazza Navona but didn't quite know the way (she was tired-- not thinking straight), so Katie and I got to guide the class to the place! I felt very accomplished.
Fireworks Show
On Saturday, there was a fireworks show going on along the Tiber River by my apartment. Upon hearing the loud "booms", I rushed up onto our roof to watch the show. I'm not sure what it was for, but it was beautiful! Might even rank higher than an American fireworks show. I feel like that makes me very un-American to say such a thing? The fireworks here seemed much brighter, louder, and a larger variety. Being able to watch it from my rooftop with other Roman rooftops and the fireworks in view, made it pretty spectacular. It was one of those moments where I almost had to pinch myself and ask if it was real.
Missing You
There are things about home/America that I miss so ever much. Yesterday, I had a HUGE craving for either pancakes or waffles. Today, I wanted either cupcakes or a cake. Who knows what I'll want tomorrow. I'm starting to miss seeing and getting to hang out with people that I normally would at this time of the year. I'm especially upset that I missed Miss Molly O'Day's lavaliering and candle passing! I'm sure I'll really miss Homecoming when all the Greek events start to get into full swing for it. I just have to remind myself of how lucky I am to be here, and that I still have nice hot weather! :-) I've already been in Europe for a month; time flies!
No comments:
Post a Comment