A Visit from Home

This past week I was blessed to be visited by someone from back home, my mother!  I was so happy to see her!  I was sadden that my sister and father weren’t able to take time off from school and work to come and visit too.

Twins in green and black?

My mother and I had an amazing time together.  I was able to show her where I have been studying and living for the past three months.  During the week she was here, we explored the Vatican, including St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum, the Colosseum, Ancient Forum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and, of course, the Pantheon.  One of my favorite things we did was going to an Italian Opera.  We went to see the Italian Opera Tosca the night she arrived.  My poor mother I’m sure was still jet lagged and just wanted to sleep by the time the opera started around 10pm.  However, we had a great time listening to their amazing voices.  Thankfully, I was smart enough to print out a synopsis of what the opera was about in order for us to follow along.

Dinner in the Jewish Ghetto

After our 300m climb in Cinque Terre

On Friday and Saturday, my mom, two friends from my program, and I took a train north to Cinque Terre.  Cinque Terre is on the coast of the Italian Riviera.  “The Five Lands” are comprised of five coastline villages.  It is a beautiful region with terraces and cliffs overlooking the sea.  There is a train that goes between the five towns but the scenic way to get to the towns is by walking or hiking the trails.  We were able to walk the trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola called Via Dell’Amore (“Love Walk”).  This trail is very well known because it is decorated with locks from hikers.  It is customary for “lovers” to walk along the path and put a lock on of the many fences overlooking the sea and then to throw the lock into the ocean binding their love.  Too bad I had a lock with me but no lover. Haha.  The scenic path from Manarola to Corniglia was sadly closed due to possible landslides.  Instead, we took a trail up the hill that would then go to Corniglia.  This was not a walking path but a hiking path!  My mother was such a good sport!  She made it up the entire 300m hill and kept up with us the entire time.  It was an exhausting hike and all of us were sweating by the time we reached the top.  It was definitely worth it though because the views were amazing!  The path we were on led us through vineyards that overlooked the sea.  We finished our day of hiking with a great meal and the local Cinque Terre wine.

I had such a good time showing my mom around the city that has become my home.  But most of all it was great to have someone from home to show my new home to.

(P.S. Mom, I hope you realize you get jet lagged both coming to Rome and when arriving back home haha)

Florence, Verona, and Venice

After my week of independent travel, I traveled with my program to northern Italy to visit Florence, Verona, and Venice.  From Monday, March 14 until Friday, March 18 I was once again living out of my backpack from hotel to hotel.

Baptistry and Duomo

We stayed in Florence for two days and visited many architectural sites and was able to meet up with a few friends.  I saw the Church of Santa Maria Novella, Ospedale degli Innocenti (Foundling Hospital), Pazzi Chapel, Laurentian Library, Palazzo Medici, Baptistery, Duomo, Piazza Republica, Palazzo Pitti, and many other architectural significant buildings.  While the architecture was amazing, I was able again to see my Smith roommate who is studying Italian in Florence.  I was also able to connect with one of my high school teachers from Rocky Hill.  The week before I left for Greece and Turkey, my mother emailed me saying that a group of Rocky Hill students would be traveling to Italy for Spring Break.  She thought that I should meet up with them when they were in Rome.  Oddly enough I wasn't going to be in Rome when they were, but I was going to be in Florence at the same time they were going to be there.  So, I was able to meet up with the group from Rocky Hill one night for gelato.  I sadly only knew one of the students who was a freshman when I was a senior.  I couldn't believe that she was now a senior!  Did I feel old!  It was great though to reconnect with students who went to the same high school I did.

Ponte Vechio

Meeting up with RHS

Michelangelo's David

Mid week we went to Verona.  It rained the entire day and Verona did not become one of my favorite place.

For the last two days of the week, I was in Venice.  It was absolutely amazing!  Venice is a collection of islands; it is a city built on silty clay.  The architecture is specifically built for the land.  Instead of having a lot of vertical qualities, the architecture is more horizontal.  This is because the vertical pressure ultimately causes buildings to shift.  Ultimately, there are very few towers in Venice.  In 1903, the Tower of San Marco collapsed in the middle of the night.  Besides observing architecture and art history, I was able to enjoy the Venetian ways.  I took a gondola ride with three other people among the canals of Venice.  It was great!!

Tower of San Marco

Gondola ride!

During the week, Italy also celebrate its sesquicentennial anniversary of its unification.  It was an amazing sight to see such a patriotic spirit among everyone.  It made me feel proud to be in Italy during such an important time in Italian history.

It's all Greek to me, unless it's Turkish

It has been a crazy past two weeks!  I am so sorry for not being able to update my blog, but I have not had access to my computer.  It is nice to finally be back in Rome and clean all my clothes after living out of my backpack for fourteen days.

As many of you know, I decided to travel to Athens, Greece and Istanbul, Turkey for my spring break.  I spent my first five days in Athens and the last four days in Istanbul.  I left Saturday morning on March 5th for Athens with a group of girls in my program who were also going to be in Greece.  It turns out that all the other girls in my apartment, besides my roommate, decided to stay at a hostel by the coast.  Oddly enough two other girls from the program, who are from Penn State, were staying in Athens when we were.  We ended up spending most of our time together when we were in Athens.

Acropolis at night

Athens is a lot like Rome that its heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city.  It has a lot of archeological sites that are definitely worth seeing.  When I was there, I went to a lot of sites and museums.  In a nutshell, I went to the Acropolis Museum, Acropolis, Parthenon, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Theater of Dionysos, Ancient Agora, Temple of Poseidon, National Archeological Museum, Museum of Cycladic Art, and others.  

Parthenon

One of my favorite sites was the Acropolis that houses the Parthenon (not to be confused with the Pantheon!).  The Acropolis, meaning high city, is about 500 feet high and was the location of temples paying homage to the goddess Athena.  On the Acropolis is the Parthenon which is a temple dedicated to Athena, the protector of Athens.  It was constructed in 432 BC and is a great example of the Doric Order with amazing sculptural elements on the metopes, friezes, and pediments.  Most of these sculptural elements can no longer be seen on the site because of the deterioration over time, but there is a reconstruction of all of them at the Acropolis Museum.  The Parthenon originally was used as a treasury and a place for a large statue of Athena.

Temple of Poseidon, Cape Souinon

Another favorite site of mine I saw when in Greece was the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Souinon.  It took about an hour and half bus ride to get to, but it was definitely worth it!  The temple sits on a cliff overlooking the sea.  It was built around the same time as the Parthenon and is also a Doric temple.  The temple is gleaming white and once served as an icon of comfort for ancient sailors who when they was it they knew they were almost home.  Lord Byron visited the temple and carved his name on one of the columns.  I agree with Byron when he said, “Place me on Souinon’s marbled steep, Where nothing save the waves and I, May hear our mutual murmurs sweep…”

Also, I couldn’t leave Athens without getting myself a pair of leather sandals.  I went into a shop with my friends and we tried on sandals.  Well, I found a pair I loved yet they were too wide (which is no surprise).  The man who made the sandals said “no problem” and customs fit them to my feet!  Never before have I had a pair of sandals fit perfectly on my feet!  The man who sold me my sandals had also sold sandals to Barbara Streisand, Jackie Onassis, and John Lenon (just to name a few).

Bronze statue of Poseidon in the National Archeological Museum

Athens was absolutely amazing, despite the fact the weather was overcast and even snowed (I thought I left the snow in New England!), I didn’t let it ruin my experience.  Greece is a beautiful country and I only hope that I can come back again when the weather is warm and take a trip to one of the islands and go swimming in the Aegean Sea. 

Celebrating the last night of Carnivale in Athens

I flew to Istanbul, Turkey late on Wednesday night, March 9th with Emily, my roommate from Rome.  There is so much to do and so much to see in Istanbul that I feel that our three full days of touring the area didn’t give the city justice.  Turkey, a Muslim nation, is so different from the United States and Italy.  You hear the Muslim call to prayer five times a day and it is an amazing sound! 

In a nutshell, I visited Haggia Sophia, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque, Dolmabache Palace, Pera Palace Hotel, and Turkish bath.  

Interior of Haggia Sophia

Having tea at the Pera Palace Hotel

One of my favorite places to visit was the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world.  It has more than 58 covered streets and over 4,000 shops!  Supposedly it can attract up to half a million visitors a day!  I’m sure it is no surprise then that Emily and I got lost in the Bazaar and spent over 5 hours in there.  We weren’t lost the entire time, we spent the majority of it haggling for good deals.  I started my day with nothing and left holding many bags,  Most of my shopping was for gifts for everyone back home.  Hopefully, you all like your gifts!

The Blue Mosque was also another favorite site of mine that I visited.  The Blue Mosque, officially known as Sultan Ahmed Mosque, was built in the early 17th century and faces the Haggia Sophia.  The design is the culmination of both Ottoman mosque and Byzantine church architecture.  The interior of the mosque is well known for its blue tiles, which gives the building its nickname.  When I went to the mosque, I had to cover my head with a scarf and take off my shoes because it is a holy building.  If you are wearing a short dress or shirt, you will be given a sheet to wear.  Stupidly, I went to the mosque wearing a long shirt that came to my mid thigh and black spandex pants.  Because I had no clean pants left, I didn’t even think that it was going to be a problem.  Well, I guess my spandex were considered more as tights and I was handed a sheet to wear.  I was so ashamed of myself!  I would never have worn spandex to a church and I’m not sure why I didn’t plan head to wear something else.

In the Blue Mosque

I also had a very interesting experience in the Turkish bath!  It’s like a spa but A LOT different.  They exfoliate your skin, give you a massage, wash your hair and bathe you.  It is very much like an ancient Roman bath.

I had so much fun in Istanbul and wish I was able to have stayed longer.  It has an amazing culture that can only be understood when you see it for yourself. And, as always, the food was amazing!  Gyros and kebabs were a great break from pizza and pasta!  I was excited to go back to Rome, even if it was just for one evening because I had to leave for Florence the following day.  Rome has become my home and it was nice to return to it after an exhausting, fun filled vacation.

Galata Tower, Istanbul

View from Galata Tower, Istanbul

Dervish Whirlers

View of Haggia Sophia at night

Spring Break Plans

Hi everyone!  Tomorrow morning is the start of my Spring Break!  I am very excited to start a week of traveling.  I will be spending 5 days in Athens, Greece and 4 days in Istanbul, Turkey.  About 8 people from my apartment are coming with me to Greece and my roommate Emily and I will be going together to Turkey (Emily's Aunt works as a teacher in a city south of Istanbul).

Packing is going to be a little tough...the first airline we are flying with allows you one free carry on item, otherwise you have to pay an enormous fee to check luggage.  I will be using a large backpack, so hopefully I will be able to fit all I need.  Thankfully, the hostel we are staying at has washer machines that we can use.

In Athens, I am planning on seeing the Acropolis, the Parthenon, Ancient Agora, among many other museums and archeological sites.  Hopefully, one day we will be able to go hiking and another day go to the beach (it will still be cold to actually wear a swim suit but it will be nice just to relax and read on the beach).

In Istanbul, I want to go see the Haggia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar.

Right after I get back from my independent travels, my program has a scheduled field trip that everyone has to attend that will be going to Florence, Verona, and Venice.  Talk about traveling!  The next two weeks are going to be packed tight with lots of sight seeing!  Wish me safe travels.