Family Visit: Day 1

Ciao Tutti,

I had the craziest week I have had this semester (not including my spring break).  My Dad and brother came to visit me on Tuesday and spend the week.  I had a great time and it was so nice to see their faces and have their company.

They arrived at Rome Fiumicino Airport, the main airport of Rome, two hours late.  Their plane was late coming into JFK and the tardiness was passed onto them.  I picked them up at the airport at 11:00 AM and we took a taxi to our hotel, Hotel Orange.  We arrived by 11:45 AM, but the room wasn't ready.  I had to be in class by 12:15 PM, so we walked towards my apartment and my school.  After a quick tour of my humble apartment, my Dad and brother, Matt, went to have pizza at one of my favorite take away pizza places in Rome while I went to my three hour film class.

I directed a scene from "Caterina in the Big City".  We had three hours to shoot the whole scene and were not able to waste a minute.  It was the craziest class I've had here, but we shot great quality shots.  We start editing the footage in two weeks.

After my class, I met up with my Dad and Matt outside my school and we took a taxi together to my next class, Italian.  I had a field study in the Testaccio district of Rome where I had to give a presentation on the Pyramid of Cestius.  My presentation went very well, but was a bit of a different style than usual.  Normally, we just present to our class, but this time we also presented to our teacher's 200 level Italian class.

After my presentation, I left class early and met back up with my Dad and brother and we caught another taxi back to the middle of Rome.  We commenced our sight seeing week with a visit to the Capuchin Crypt - the monastery with the monk's bones arranged as artwork that I wrote about two months ago.  Matt got a kick out of it, but my Dad and I are still wondering how the monks came out with that idea.  It does not sound like anything the Catholic church would condone.

After the Capuchin Crypt, I was able to show my navigational skills as we walked to the Spanish Steps.  I brought us right out atop the the steps with a great view of Rome.

View from the Spanish Steps

We then walked down the Spanish Steps to Piazza di Spagna and saw the famous fountain, the Fontana della Baracaccia (Fountain of the Boat) at the base.  We also posed for a few pictures.

Fontana della Barcaccia

Matt & I

Dad & I

Dad & Matt

After this, we walked to the Trevi Fountain and Matt threw a coin over his shoulder which guarantees his return to Rome one day.

Trevi Fountain

Then, we went to a cafe that my Dad and I went to my first week here that had really good Caffe Lattes that we thought Matt might like.  They were not as good as the first time we had them and the coffee taste was a bit too strong for him.  We then went to one of the most famous gelaterias in Rome, Giolitti, for Matt's first gelato in seven years.  It was an expensive gelato, but it was phenomenal. 

After gelato, we went to try and get into the Pantheon, but it was closing as we walked up to it.  We then went to my favorite piazza in Rome, Piazza Navona, and people walked as we walked around it.  It is so beautiful at night and my Dad and brother loved it.  The artists were out painting their beautiful artwork, street entertainers were scattered all around, and musicians were rocking out.  It was perfect!

After Piazza Navona, we walked down to my Dad and I's favorite restaurant in Rome, Monte Carlo Pizzeria, where Matt had his first "real" Italian pizza of the vacation.  The food was great, as usual.

Matt eating his first bite

After our dinner, we took a leisurely stroll back to my apartment to grab my bags.  I showed Matt and my Dad some of the highlights of my neighborhood at night including the Steeler's Bar that I still have not been to.  I did, however, take a picture next to a banner outside of it.

We Are....PENN STATE!

By the time we made it back to our hotel, we were exhausted.  Our room was very, very orange and grey (I guess that's why it was named Hotel Orange).

I will post about the rest of our trip tomorrow. 

Ciao,
Michael

Rome as a Tourist: Part II

Hi All!

Welcome to my new blog. I hope that you find this one a bit easier to follow. Before updating you on the past week, I want to go over the features of the new blog. On the right, you will find a few interesting links to my bucket list, IES Abroad, and two travel companies - Euroadventures and Bus2Alps. You can also subscribe to my blog via e-mail by putting your e-mail address in the "Follow by E-Mail". If you do this, you will receive an e-mail any time I update this blog. Finally, I have links to all my pictures on the right, so you can get a better idea of where I've been and what I've done. I hope this blog will enable me to post a bit more spontaneously and frequently as well.

Changing topics completely, last Thursday was Italy's 150th Anniversary of being a united country. This meant my favorite three words in the Italian lanuage - "non c'e scuola" - or "no school.". To celebrate, many of the museums in Rome were free. I took advantage of this by going to the first public museum ever created - the Capitoline Museum. It was comprised of a bunch of pieces of art donated to the city of Rome by the Catholic Church. It was huge! It had the famous statue of Romulus and Reamulus drinking milk from the she-wolf - I'd heard so much about it and was so happy to be able to finally see it. The museum also had amazing views of the Roman Forum!

On Friday, I took a tour of the Vatican Museum - it cost me €40 but was so worth it. I got to cut the four hour line and a phenomenal tour. I would not have been able to navigate the museum on my own, either. It has 1,200 rooms and 18 kilometers of hallways! We got to see the Belvedere Torso, Laocoon and his Sons, the Map Rooms, Raphael's Frescos, the Sistine Chapel, and the Last Judgement! It was an amazing experience. Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and the Last Judgement were my favorite, though. I'd heard so much about them, but words cannot do it justice. Also, my tour guide put them into context which helps you appreciate them even more! I put the link to the tour group on the right - When In Rome Tours.

Friday night, we went to an area of Rome called Testaccio. It is a bunch of old warehouses they turned into bars. It was the home to quite a nightlife, though. I was happy because it was the first time I've gone anywhere at night that was not dominated by American students. One of the bars was even playing Italian dance music! I had a great time.

I spent the day on Saturday trying to study (even though none got done) and I couldn't do anything on Sunday because the Rome Marathon shut down the city.

My next post will be about midterm week in Rome - fun!