the joys of tiramisu, obelisk hunting and public transportation

The highlight of yesterday, apart from my first Italian class (from which I retained next to nothing) was the extravagant welcome dinner the Centro put on for us. It was a warm, gorgeous night and we ate outside in the garden; they had candles lit around the fountains and served us pretty much every delicious Italian dish you could imagine. Pasta, prosciutto, fresh bread, tomato and basil salad, red wine, tiramisu and of course, espresso. It was just such a wonderful night! I had a great time chatting with the people at my table, and the staff's kids running around the place added an element of hilarity...especially when Professor Roman's six year old daughter advised our table on the wisdom that comes from "tasting both younger and older boys"...we were all choking with laughter, but maybe you just had to be there ;)

I slept really badly last night--I just couldn't fall asleep--but today was so much fun I didn't even care. Seriously! I had been dreading the obelisk walk that was supposedly going to last for eight hours, but it turned out to be more of an Amazing Race-esque scavenger hunt for certain monuments all over the city. We split up into groups of three and, reliant on our wits alone (normally an unreliable resource at best), ventured throughout Rome to locate several obelisks, do some first-hand research and return with proof that we had been there. But somehow we figured out the bus lines, the maps, and everything else, and after we found our Obelisk (in the Villa Celimontana, the most obscure location possible), our group decided to have lunch in the Piazza della Rotonda, in front of the Pantheon. We ran into another group of Centristi in the middle of the Piazza and all ate lunch together on the steps of the fountain. After lunch we explored the Pantheon for a bit (I was hoping it would rain while we were there, but it didn't until later) and broke off from the other Centristi in search of the famed gelateria in the area. Our search ended pretty quickly, though, when we remembered all gelato is delicious beyond belief and settled for the nearest place we could find. From there we took what would soon become my least favorite bus, the 64, to San Pietro. The bus was packed completely solid--you could barely move your head from side to side--and I since I was wearing my backpack I was especially nervous about pickpockets. My anxiety worsened when I was separated from the group and some random Italian man began miming to me to watch out, there was a pickpocket behind me. Greeeeat, I thought, nervously trying to inch my way to the corner of the bus by the door, eying everyone around me with extreme suspicion. Luckily, the bus cleared out a bit pretty soon after that, and for the rest of the day I clutched my bag desperately to my chest. (Later at dinner one of the Latin professors was telling us that bus 64 is notorious for pickpockets. That would have been good to know before I got on, but oh well, no harm done.)

Autumn is definitely setting in. The street along the Tiber is littered with crunchy leaves, and it's much cooler outside today. There's a soft breeze coming in through my window and surprisingly, the air smells almost exactly like autumn in Washington...who would have thought?

ciao roma!

I'm finally here! I got in yesterday afternoon (after minimum taxi terror, might I add--the cab driver only ran two red lights), and mere minutes after my arrival a bunch of us decided to walk to Vatican City. I was exhausted but determined not to miss out on actual sightseeing, so I went along. This turned out to be a foolish mistake, as I had not eaten since 5 am on the airplane. Luckily I bought a bottle of water (non frizzante! yay) on the side of the road to tide me over. St. Peter's Square was beautiful, but smaller than I expected...the basilica, on the other hand, was enormous. we saw the Pieta, St. Peter's tomb, and took a stroll through the grottoes (Pope John Paul's tomb has an armed guard!) After the Vatican, we walked along the Tiber in search of food and photo ops. Eventually we came across a little pizzeria in what I think was Trastevere, but at that point I was delirious with hunger so I can't be sure. Our group of 10 split up and we sat in smaller groups outside. Alissa, remember when you almost got hit by that bus in France? Well, I was having vivid flashbacks last night at dinner--our tables were literally in the road. I had to pull my feet in several times in order to avoid getting flattened by passing trucks, scooters and yes, the occasional bus. Even eating dinner here is a life-and-death experience. Will we live through the appetizers?? God only knows... Anyway, after dinner, two other girls and I broke off from the group and headed back to the Centro, but we of course got lost and spent a sizable chunk of the night wandering through Trastevere, trying to read our maps in the dark and trying not to get hit by cars (sidewalks are rare in this neighborhood...)

This morning was perhaps the greatest adventure thus far--a trip to the Italian grocery store! I remembered what Jules said about weighing your own fruit and luckily avoided getting yelled at in Italian...although I didn't have exact change, and the checkout lady was none too pleased about that. If I have learned one thing so far here, it is that the Italian people love exact change. After our excursion to the grocery store, we went to lunch at an adorable cafe a few blocks from the Centro, where I had a salami panini and "cafe freddo," which I expected to be like iced coffee but was actually a cold shot of espresso. Still, it was tasty, and I followed it up with some yummy blended strawberry ice drink. Deeeelicious!

Since then I've pretty much just been unpacking and staring adoringly out my window at the gorgeous view (that's the photo at the top). Most of the group is moved in now, although we're still waiting on a few stragglers. I'm completely in love with the Centro--the sink and furniture in my room is nice and new, much better than Roho was! The bed's sort of a cot in disguise, but it's not bad. And the most glorious thing of all? There's an ice machine in the basement! YES!!!!!!!!!!! Life is good.

posting for the prima volta (eh? eh??)

As I sit amongst my suitcases on the eve of my departure for Rome, the realization hits me: for the first time, I am not facing a packing crisis of epic proportions! (I know, it came as quite a shock to me too!) By some act of god I have managed to fit all the necessities into my bags with a little room to spare. This has never happened before! I just don't understand it. There must be something huge I'm forgetting. Like a circus tent or the like. But no, I've triple-checked my lists and everything seems in order (knock on wood)...I haven't attempted to actually lift my suitcases yet, but that is a trifling detail at this point. Wouldn't you say? (The answer is yes.)

It's kind of strange that I'm not nervous right now. There's no gut-twisty feeling of anxiety, no preliminary nervous spasms...nope, I'm feeling pretty good! For now anyway...once I'm faced with the terror that is the Roman taxi ride, the panic will surely take hold.

Wish me luck! This time tomorrow I'll be over the Atlantic...