Old Friends in New Places

After being in Italy, separated from family and friends for these past months, my weekend in Milan with some friends from home was a really nice change of pace. I got to see Sarah and Katherine for a few days and see the sights of Milan, which is very different from the other Italian cities I have visited so far. More than anything, it was great to see familiar faces and share our stories from Italy and Spain. The weather was gorgeous, so we spent most of our time in the park or up on the rooftop of Katherine's apartment enjoying our time together. 

Leonardo da Vinci

(We even got to Skype with Jared and Jennifer while we were in Milan, so it was a fun TU reunion even though we are half way across the world!)

Siena & Cinque Terre

A couple weekends ago I went on a weekend trip to Siena, a beautiful city about three hours from Viterbo, in Tuscany. My friend Elly's mom and aunt were visiting, so they came with us, and everyone had a great time. The weather was perfect and it was a very fun and relaxing day seeing the city. The next day we went to Cinque Terre, which means "Five Lands." The five old fishing villages along the coast are linking by a train and walking trails, so we spent the day seeing each unique town and soaking in the sun.

 

"Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives."
- C.S. Lewis

Holiday from Real

March 21-25

After every journey and new experience I have had here in Italy, I always think that it couldn't get any better, the scenery couldn't get any more beautiful, the people couldn't be more interesting, but once again I was proved wrong during our week on the Southern Italy Field Study. I saw so many awesome sites, and seeing as I am behind on my blogging, I hope a brief description and pictures captions will do for this entry. When I am home I would love to tell all of you about each place in more detail, but if I tried to type it all out, it would take forever! Just picture bustling cities, quiet seaside towns, ancient ruins, an active volcano (you may have heard of it...), gorgeous blue waters, tall white cliffs, Mediterranean cathedrals, views from mountain tops, royal palaces, massive gardens, and some delicious food with all of those scenes, and then you'll have all the basics of my trip. It's really a tough life here, isn't it?

To begin the week, we took a bus from Viterbo on Monday morning and reached Naples in time explore the city a little and walk down to the harbor before eating their famous Neapolitan pizza for lunch. After lunch we spent some time in the archaeological museum of Naples, then jumped back on the bus to make our way to the hotel in the nearby town of Sorrento, our home base for the week.

For anyone who loves history like I do, the second day at Pompei and Mt. Vesuvius was fantastic. Because the massive eruption in 79 A.D. completely buried the whole city in ash, it was preserved remarkably well so that when it was rediscovered in the 1800s, it was a city frozen in time. Unlike most ancient Roman cities which were looted of all their marble and valuables, or destroyed during invasions, Pompei was protected from all outside disturbances and is now available for us as an example of what a flourishing Roman port city really looked like. After visiting the site, we got to hike all the way up to the top of Mt. Vesuvius, which was freezing and windy, but so worth it. The view from the top was a little hazy (so my pictures aren't the best), but still quite the site to see. 

Wednesday was our free day, so most of us used that time to visit the nearby island of Capri. If any place was ever to be called picturesque, this would be the one. It is hard to describe all of the sites, sounds, smells, and tastes of the island, but needless to say, it was another wonderful day in southern Italy.

Next up was the wonderful little town of Amalfi, which looks out at the Gulf of Salerno. We got to explore the town, relax by the water, eat some great seafood with pasta, and tour St. Andrew's Cathedral. The church was really beautiful and interesting, and we learned that the architecture and design had not only Roman influence but also Spanish, French, and Byzantine aspects since each ruled parts of southern Italy at one time.

"If you left it up to me, every day would be a holiday from real....And when it's all over, I'll come back for another year." -Jack's Mannequin

Roma, revisited.

A few weeks ago I made a trip to Rome with a few friends, and even though this was my fourth time in Rome, there was still so many new things to see and do. We were also there at a great time, because March 17th is Italy's celebration of the country's unification, and this year is their 150th anniversary. The city was full of people there to celebrate and some of the buildings were lit up with green, white and red of the Italian flag. It is a little strange that a weekend trip to Rome is no big deal now that I have been here for a few months. I still appreciate it as an amazing city full of history, but I can also think of it now as just another familiar place, which is pretty unreal.

The weather was less than ideal for the first two days, as it poured rain almost non-stop, but our last day was beautiful and warm, as you'll notice in the pictures. Despite the weather, we got to see some things that we still hadn't visited in Rome, like Castel Sant'Angelo near the Vatican, the ancient site of the Circus Maximus where the Romans raced chariots, and the beautiful park at Villa Borghese, where I got to lay in the sun and catch up on some reading. In addition to those new experiences, I also go to revisit some familiar sights like the unification building and the Pantheon, but I saw them at night this time, which gave them a completely different look and feel. Rome never disappoints, and I enjoy it more each time I go there. Here are some pictures! 

"I don't even know what I was running for - I guess I just felt like it." 

- J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye