One Completed Week in Rome.

The forum today was magnificent. It took awhile to go through all of archaic Rome, but it was well worth the long morning. I took a ton of pictures that I'll have to upload tomorrow. Currently running out of time right now -- uploading pictures to my blog takes foreverrr, especially with the internet here, and I want to be able to tell more of the history of each picture. Plus it's the weekend and a group of us want to explore the Roman nightlife -- apparently the city looks pretty at night when all the fountains are lit up. 

Tomorrow = tanning day! I can't get too far behind on my usual summer tan, especially since I have a Panamanian to keep up with, i.e. Brandon. But everyone is so excited to hit up the beach.. in Italy!! How cool does that sound.?! I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm here. This trip, by far, will be one of the best memories I'll ever have!

Ciao.

Purple Flowers are Now My Favorite Flowers.

Today was an incredible day -- full of beautiful flowers on rolling hills, old Etruscan artifacts that were looted from their burial sites, and sunshine on my skin. 

Crazy hair, don't care. Loved the view here.

Obsessed with these flowers.

Perfect picnic place.

The inside of a tomb in Tarquinia. They are much smaller and more preserved than those in Caere.

After we went into 12 of the 16 underground tombs in Tarquinia, we headed to the museum there to observe what was taken from these tombs. We couldn't take pictures. :( But after that we went to eat and headed to Caere, which was 25 miles north of Tarquinia, I think... 

Tumuli, which are mounds of earth and stones raised over a grave, are all over the place in Caere.. too bad most of them have been looted, thus making it very difficult for archaeologists to pinpoint a date on them because they don't know which artifact belongs to which tomb. 

The most preserved tumulus in Caere -- it still has the frescoes painted on the walls. So neat.

After exploring the mounds of graves, we came back to Rome. I'm so exhausted today from all the walking and being out in the sun without sufficient water supply.. this lack of fresh water on hand is starting to get old. But dinner was delicious, as usual, and we also got a special treat afterwards because it is Kelly's 20th birthday today.

Villa Giulia.

So I am veryyy glad I went ahead and brought my camera because we were able to take pictures outside, just not inside. Today was a beautiful day, the weather really couldn't have been more perfect. Below are some incredible pictures I was able to snap of this gorgeous Villa from the 16th century that currently houses the largest collection of Etruscan artifacts.

By far my favorite of the day.

Most of the girls that are on the trip with me. 

I thought the turtle looked cute next to the papyrus.

After class, we went around to some shops we had found earlier in the week. I didn't buy anything -- five more weeks left in the program, I'll take my time. Don't want to spend too much, too fast. After shopping, we all came back and eventually succumbed to sleep. I walked in the girls room next door and all three of them were passed out with the light still on, it made me laugh. So then I took an hour and a half nap, waking up just in time for dinner. Apparently it was pretty obvious I had fallen asleep on my stomach with the right side of my face on the pillow because I still had little indentions on my face.. haha ohh well. Dinner was delicious, as usual, and I feel like I could just pass out again. But I'm currently, and patiently, waiting for Brandon to get to the library so we can have our second Skype date. Yayy! :) 

Rainy Day = Not Productive Day.

I had every intention of getting completely caught up on my reading today, but somehow it just didn't happen.. Today's weather sucked -- it would rain hardcore, then stop and get pretty and sunny, then rain again -- totally not like Georgia weather. Because of this, Dr. Anderson decided to do class inside that was just an overview of the three courses we're taking while here. After class, I read some, went to grab a caffe latte and hang out with some girls, came back, fell asleep reading, woke up for dinner, ate, got gelato, and here I am. So today was pretty uneventful you could say. 

Tomorrow we're going to the Villa Giulia where most all the Etruscan artifacts are... and I'm pretty excited! Everything they did was beautiful and even more advanced/intricate than the Romans. They lived very lavish and luxurious lives and I'm sad I won't be able to take pictures of the remaining artifacts. A very strict "no camera policy" is enforced -- to the point where Dr. Anderson told us to just leave our cameras at the hotel, but I'm thinking about still taking mine. 

The First Day I Haven't Napped.

Since I didn't post pictures from yesterday, I'm going to combine yesterday's and today's. These past four days of being here, I've taken 279 pictures... whoops. So needless to say, my computer's memory is going to be super full by the time I get back home. 
On the 20th, we went to:

The Church of Saint Andrew at Quirinale. 

It is known as the "pearl of the Baroque" because it was designed by Bernini and displays the Baroque style magnificently. The walls and columns use revetment, which was developed by 1st century BC Romans to create and catch natural light by using different colored marbles. 

The Trevi Fountain.

It's definitely one of the most famous fountains in Rome. Designed by Nicola Salvi, it was completed in 1762, and serves as a facade for the terminal of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct that ancient Romans used to retrieve water from. 

Just got done throwing my coin in. Yayy. :)

Thought this guy was pretty neat.

The Victor Emmanuel Monument.

When I came to Rome seven years ago, I always thought this was a huge building that was used for the government or something. But it's really just a facade to an old church that backs up behind it.

Thank God for Sweep Panorama.

This is the view from the top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument. I almost died when I turned the corner and saw this.

My wild boar at Il Buco. 

The floor in the Basilica of San Clemente. I want this in my future house!

And this is the ceiling in San Clemente. I absolutely love the ceilings in the Baroque churches. So beautiful, and sooo flashy. Also, San Clemente is built on top of four layers of buildings. The layer below the current church is a 4th century AD basilica, the layer below that is a second story turned first story house, and the layer below that is the first story of a mansion thought to be the house of a relative of the Emperor Domitian. It was incredible going down the stairs to each different level of centuries. 

Colosseum!!

The Santa Maria Aracoeli Church in the Palazzo Senatorio.

And this is where I get my water from almost every day. The water from the faucet is safe to drink but doesn't taste all that good; yet, this water tastes pretty darn good and is very safe to drink. Hard to believe.

We saw a lottt more buildings and statues than the ones I've posted about, but these were the coolest ones to me. Oh and we went to the Capuchin Crypt today instead of napping.. you weren't supposed to take pictures, but I snuck one.

It was absolutely amazing what kind of artwork they could create with the bones of the body. I loved ittttt. I got to use my anatomy skills!

Tomorrow it's supposed to rain all day, so we're staying at the hotel and having our introductory sessions for the three classes I'm taking over here. And we don't meet until 10 AM, woot woot!

Oh and P.S. I'm starting to really love the people I'm on this trip with -- the girls are so much fun!

First Day of Class in Roma.

Today was considered the first day of classes and was semi-overwhelming. We went around like we've been doing, except we're supposed to take notes on everything he says. It's really hard to do so when you're trying to take pictures of what you're learning about, hear over the crowds of people and the traffic going by, and worry about other people bumping into you. But I did learn a lot today and I'm excited to build off of it. I would post pictures of the places we went to; however, it's now after midnight here and I'm running out of time anddd I'm getting behind in my reading... whoops. But I'll catch up, no worries. 

At the end of "class," a group of us went to the Salvador Dali exhibit, and ohhh myyy goodnessss, it was so incredible. It was definitely worth the 9 euros. I didn't realize how much he did -- covers for magazines like Vogue and Time, he worked with Disney to create a cartoon, he did Mickey Mouse stuff, he made costumes for renditions of Shakespeare plays, and he helped with sketches of the famous Don Quixote novel. So talented.

For lunch, the same group of us went to Il Buco, which is the only restaurant in Rome that serves wild boar from Tuscany. It was to die for! Like I've never had anything come close to being as good as that wild boar was. I took pictures of my food -- major tourist thing to do, but I don't even care anymore. 

We made our way back to the hotel and I may or may not have taken a nap... I've got to get out of the habit of falling asleep when we get back. But after my incredible nap, it was time for dinner. I hardly ate because I was still full from lunch. 

But my favorite part of the day was being able to Skype with my incredible boyfriend. (Sorry I lied to you on Skype, Brandon, and told you that my favorite part was learning more about the Victor Emanuel Monument.) It was so good to see his face and hear his voice. :) Made me miss him even more. I keep telling him that we're going to come here one day so I can give him a run down/history lesson of the city. Plus, I just wish I had someone close to me here so that they could experience what I'm able to experience. Nowhere in the U.S. will ever be like it is here, I can't even explain the sense of energy the city gives off, it's amazing. And to be able to share that energy and explore one of the oldest cities in the world with someone you love, gosh, I can't even imagine what that would be like. But so hopefully I'll be back... I mean I did throw a coin over my right shoulder into the Trevi Fountain today, so as legend has it, I will be! :D