Home Sweet Rome -- Florence Escapade.

Sooo many amazing things happened this weekend -- from buying beautiful leather goods for people to running back to our hotel in the pouring rain. These past three days have been some of the most fun, eventful and exciting days I've had in awhile... just some good ol' girl and shopping time. 

Saturday, we had class like usual except the weather was not on our side. It was sprinkling, overcast, and super windy so Dr. A let us out early. 

The remains of the Imperial Forum and Trajan's marketplace.

Since our train to Florence wasn't departing until 3:15, the girls and myself went back to the hotel to shower, pack, and eat lunch. We left the Ercoli at 2 o'clock sharp because we wanted to have plenty of time getting there without being rushed, and especially because we had no clue what we were doing or where we were going. So we get there, "check in," and try to find our train on the board. It finally shows on the screen and tells us it will be departing from platform 1es... which is completely different than platform 1.. so we found out. It's like 3:07 and there was still no sign of a train. I was worried anyways about the whole "es" part, and there was a sign pointing to another part of the station that said "Binary 1 est e 2 es," so I suggested we walk down to see what that was all about. Well, needless to say, we wind up running to our train as whistles are blowing, doors are shutting, and we barely make it in. I'm serious when I say it was like a movie scene. All of us were running with huge backpacks and pulling a carry on suite case behind us. It must have been a sight. After three and a half hours of train time, we arrive in Florence and find Hotel Boston. It's a cute little hotel run by an older couple. I loved it a lot and would probably stay there again just to talk and hangout with the couple. So Saturday night, we just found somewhere to eat and then got gelato afterwards. Everyone went to bed pretty early except me -- I got the lovely opportunity to talk to Brandon for awhile on Skype. It was by far one of our best Skype dates because we hadn't seen each other in awhile and we had so much to tell each other. :)

The BEST dinner I've ever had -- gnocchi with a salmon cream sauce. And yes, I'm still taking pictures of my beautifully prepared meals. 

Sunday morning we had breakfast at Hotel Boston and set out for the Academy around 8:20 am. The line wasn't long and we got in relatively fast. I'm in loveee with David! He's absolutely beautiful and I could stare at him for hours. After the Academy, we went to the Uffizi. There were a ton of famous pieces there, it was almost overwhelming. We ate lunch right afterwards and then hit the street markets. I could shop in Florence for forever if I had to. The smell of leather as you're walking down the street was probably my favorite part about the town. But anyways, I was so excited to buy things for people using my handy dandy list I made -- yes, I am my mother's daughter. After shopping for hours, we went back to the hotel and chilled for awhile. Then we decided to go out for a late dinner. As we were walking out of the hotel, it started sprinkling, and we decided not to go back and get umbrellas or anything. During dinner, it starts pouring rain and it never let up. So needless to say, we ran back to our hotel in the rain. The whole time we were laughing and screaming like crazy people. It was so much fun and I will honestly never forget that moment. My clothes were soaked, my hair was dripping, and I was semi-out of breath, but I didn't give a care in the world.

I snuck a picture of Davidddd!

The Duomo.

Monday morning we woke up for breakfast again, packed, and checked out. We set out to shop some more... a few hours later we were all grumpy, overwhelmed, starving, and tired. I'm pretty sure pizza is all of our favorite default foods because that's how we base prices of restaurants and that's usually what we all get. Lunch was much needed, especially because I was able to move into my new leather wallet I had just got -- my big girl wallet. Afterwards, we explored Florence some more and were sad to leave. The train ride back went by faster than I thought it would, and I was so happy to be back in Rome. We got McDonald's for dinner! My first "American" meal since I've been here and it was soooo good! Also, walking back to the Ercoli from the train station must have been another sight to see because we were all struggling so hard with all of our bags. My shoulders are sore from it, not even lying.

The Tiber in Florence.

Our weekend ended last night, as class was this morning.. bright and early at 8:30 am. Everyone was exhausted from their little trips -- some people went to Venice and some just explored more in Rome. We went to Ostia Antica today, which was Rome's old port city. (I'll upload pictures tomorrow from today.) It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and all I could think about was the beach which was two stops down on the Metro. After class, we all pretty much went to the beach and I passed out. Next thing I know, the girls were waking me up because a huge storm cloud had rolled in and I was so bummed. Today was a struggle though -- I'm at the point where I'm so incredibly ready to be back at home with family and friends, but at the same time I do not want to leave. We have exactly two weeks left with three finals at the end and I might die. I'm definitely going to start studying tomorrow and getting things prepared for them. I refuse to stress out hardcore at the end to the point where I won't be able to enjoy my last few days in Rome before I leave. Meehhh. Time flies when you're having fun, I suppose.

The Flavian Amphitheater.

I have been looking forward to today for awhile -- we finally went inside the Flavian Amphitheater, or as the rest of society calls it, the Colosseum! It was a sunshiny, beautiful day.

The Arch of Titus.

This was constructed by Domitian, Titus' brother who succeeded him as Emperor after his death in 81 AD. It's absolutely beautiful. The carvings on the inside represent a triumphal procession of Titus coming back after suppressing an uprising in Judea. It also depicts all the spoils they brought back from Judea and on the right and side, you can see a box... what archaeologists believe to have been the Arc of the Covenant!

Found in 2008, these are the remains of what archeologists are hoping to have been the triclinium, or dining room, of Nero's Domus Aurea (Golden House). You can barely see it in this picture, but the concrete cylinder, next to the wooden wall on the right, is the center of the dining room. Eight arches extend from that cylinder and are strong enough to support a rotating dining room, which is what Nero wanted. They have found a mechanism, powered by a cut in aqueduct, that allows a suspended floor to rotate around. It's crazy if you ask me, but it's like an old school Sundial. 

On top of the Palatine Hill where the Imperial Palace built by the Flavian dynasty stood.

AHH THE COLOSSEUM -- even though it should technically be called the Flavian Amphitheater. Long story short, things got mistranslated back in the day, and no one bothered to fix it. Okayyy, I'll tell the long story. The original Colossus Neronis was this enormous bronze statue of the Emperor Nero depicted slightly as Apollo, the sun god, that stood near the current day "Colosseum." Well when Venerable Bede, a famous English author and scholar wrote, "As long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world," he used the Latin term coliseus, which was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian Amphitheater. But you'll find that quote in a bunch of tour guide books and they'll be referring to the Colosseum. I hope that all makes sense.

When I say that I did something with "a few of the girls," these are the ones I'm referring to. Cristina, Kelly, Katrina, and Katie are too much fun to be with and I'm so happy to have met them. -- can't wait to hangout in Aths. :)

After class, I may have fallen asleep for an hour and half.. but I was exhausted from class and we did a lotttt of walking, so it's totally okay. On another note, our weekend starts tomorrow after class and the girls and myself are going to Florence!! We booked our hotel for two nights the other night and then bought our train tickets today. I'm so excited to go shopping and see David and lots of other famous people's artwork! The hotel that we're staying at does have wi-fi, so I'll continue to blog.. probably about my bargaining adventures. So wish me luck!

Becoming a Native.

Today, I realized that large groups of tourists were getting on my nerves. I found myself thinking, "Geeze, do they not know where they're going and why are they stopping every two seconds to stare up at things I walk by every day?" And then I realized that that was me twenty-one days ago. It's crazy how one can adapt so easily to the culture and society that they are placed in. Yea, I still don't know how to speak hardcore Italian, but I'm picking up on some phrases. I'm also learning how to use my hands a lot more when I speak and shorten my sentences into choppy ones that get my point across. But even then, I truly feel like I'm starting to "belong." I'm learning how the Italians walk and their mannerisms when dealing with those large groups of tourists wearing their neck-wallets and fanny packs usually following someone holding up a flag. But don't get me wrong about any of this -- I'm ALL for going places and seeing the world, I just wonder sometimes how the natives feel about it all. Anyways, that was just my thought process today as I was buying gifts for people..

But for school, we went back to the National Museum of Rome to start the Flavian dynasty.

The Portonaccio Sarcophagus.

I'm not sure if you can really see it in this picture, but the central figure on the horse is faceless. This is because no one was actually buried in it. They found it in a basement where it was stored since its creation between 180 and 190 AD. Sculptures and sarcophagi were getting to the point where they were being mass produced and then personalized once purchased. Many of the same scenes were popular, so it made it easier for the sculptor to do this. 

Fountain of the Four Rivers in the Piazza Navona. 

This fountain is the location for one of the scenes in "Angels and Demons." However, when the guy is drowning and Tom Hanks goes to save him and swims for like an hour -- which I know is an exaggeration, but still -- is the biggest lie everrrr. It's like four feet deep. So all I have to say is: that's Hollywood for ya.

The Ludovisi Throne. 

The middle figure represents Aphrodite getting out of a pool by the help of two girls. It's of Greek marble from around the late 5th/early 4th BC.

Suicide of a Gaul.

It's a Roman copy of a series of statues from Pergamum after 230 BC. This sculpture shows a Gaul chieftain in the act of committing suicide after just killing his wife. They did this so their wives and children couldn't be sold into slavery.. which makes sense to me, I suppose.

After class, we made our way back to the hotel, had a cheap lunch, took a nice break in our cool, air conditioned room... and then the AC broke. Sooo... yea. Pray that they can get it fixed or something because it's starting to get hot here in Rome, and I would love to have it up and running again soon. 

The Day of Augustus.

As you all may know, Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire -- ruling from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD. After the beginning of his reign, he constructed his family's mausoleum in 28 BC. 

The Mausoleum of Augustus.

It's currently under major renovations, so there was a lot of fencing.. plus the trees are all in the way. 

One of the most hated buildings in Rome that holds one of the most beloved artifacts -- the Ara Pacis. It was designed by Richard Meier, an American architect, who won a contest held by the Mayor of Rome, Gianna Alemanno. Since its completion in 2006, it has been decided that modifications will take place in order to make it more "Romanesque." 

A little model of the Ara Pacis.

The front side.

Yesterday, when I was talking about picturing everything being colorful, this is what I was talking about. 

Ever since the excavation of the Altar of Augustan Peace, determining who the carved figures are has been an ongoing argument -- like to this day. There are soooo many theories on who they are, what they are doing, and when they were doing it.

The back side. 

This obelisk used to be in the Campus Martius and was apart of a sundial Augustus had built.

On the way to the obelisk, we passed by the restaurant that invented fettucini alfredo! Just a normal bowl of this cost 20 euros.. Yes, I will be buying cheap lunches for a week or two so I can go all out and eat a crazy awesome lunch here. Eeekk :)

And we also stumbled across one of the most famous places to get gelato at in Italy -- Giolitti. It was established in 1900 and has been doing business since. I didn't have any gelato today with the others, but I will be gettin' some here before I leave.. no doubt about it.

I must say, today has been a pretty long day. I don't know what it is, but everyone's allergies have been giving them a hard time. At first, I was doing just fine, but these past few days haven't been the best -- congested and snuffly and blah blah blah. So I'm trying to hardcore get better, if that's possible with allergies.?, I don't know.. but I'm going to try and find out. Gotta stay healthy and positive. Which reminds me, I ran tonight.. third time this week! Boo-yaa to those who said I was going to gain weight on this trip. ;)

Bay of Naples Excursion.

Soo I know it's taken me awhile to update and I do apologize. Sunday, when we got back, the first thing everyone did was get on their computers, i.e. Facebook, and reconnect with the world again.. so I didn't even bother with trying to upload pictures to this thing. Then on Monday, we didn't have class, but a few of us girls decided to wonder and shop around Rome for a bit. We got back to the hotel, I ran laps around the block, and then we had dinner. Today, we pretty much did the same thing, except I ate gelato instead of running :/ ... help. 

But, about the Bay of Naples... It was an incredible experience. My mind still can't wrap around what archeologists can do in order to preserve what they've been able to.

The Temple of Hera I. 

It's a Doric style temple built between 570 and 560 BC. As the years were passing by, and the temple was becoming outdated in style, the Greeks decided to build another temple dedicated to Hera. It was too sacred and special to knock it down, so they left it standing.

Temple of Hera II.

Constructed about 120 years after the first temple to Hera, the Greeks built this beautiful Doric style temple. Just a reminder to everyone, you have to try and picture these temples/ancient ruins as being extravagantly colorful and embellished. The Greeks and Romans loved to "overdo" everything. The entablature, which is the space between the top of the columns and the roof, would have had carved and painted mythological scenes depicted on squares or tablets. I wish they would fully recreate a temple, so one could see what it really would have been like.

No one really knows what this was. There are many theories -- ranging from a fish breeding ground to a public pool.. or maybe even both.

Temple of Athena.

It's located on the highest level of Paestum, is Doric in style like the other two, and dates back to around 510 BC. 

Talk about feeling like you own antiquity. :)

The forum of Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius looming in the background.

Stumbling across casts of bodies like this was strangely one of my favorite things. They have them randomly placed throughout. But anyways, during excavations they kept coming across these air pockets. Well, someone had a bright idea to pour plaster into these pockets, and shapes of bodies were the result. The ash and pumice that fell from the eruption were so hot that they incinerated the bodies and left an air pocket in the 13 to 20 feet of debris.

Some of the casts brought out bones that were left behind. This poor fella still had his teeth...

...and this one still had some phalanges. But also, the positions of the body show their element of surprise and how fast the process of being burned alive was. It's so sad to think about, especially when there were casts of little children displayed.

The theater in Pompeii. It's been mostly reconstructed, and sometimes people do perform here, or shows are held.

The Temple of Isis. 

Isis is the Egyptian goddess of protecting the sarcophagi in the afterlife, guarding women and children, and bringing the annual flood that provided harvest. 

The peristyle of the House of the Menander. 

Okay, so we got super lucky because the House of the Menander hadn't been opened in 22 years! But we got in and this is a fresco of Menander himself. He was a poet/writer and had one of the largest inner-city mansions. 

The amphitheater of Pompeii.

It's one of the earliest surviving amphitheaters we have.

The inside of the amphitheater. In 59 AD, a riot broke out between gladiators and the people and Nero punished them for 10 years -- no usage of the amphitheater.. and if you ask me, I think that was a tad bit too harsh.

The Cave Canem -- beware of the dog -- mosaic.

The House of the Fawn.

A replica of the Alexander the Great mosaic in the House of the Fawn. I can't believe something this intricate and detailed was used as the floor for a dining room. I wish I could be that rich.. 

Villa of the Mysteries.

The Villa Oplontis. 

This ancient Roman seaside villa belonged to Poppaea, Nero's second wife, and her family. She was later kicked by Nero and fell down stairs.. oh and did I mention she was pregnant.?. yea, not a nice guy.

Late second/early third style frescoes in a dining room of the Villa Oplontis.

Just an olympic size swimming pool in the backyard... nbd. 

Harmodius and Aristogeiton. 

These two men put down bad tyrants when they came to rule, essentially being the liberators of Athens.

The Weary Hercules.

He just completed one of his labors -- obtaining the apples of Hesperides.

The real Alexander the Great Mosaic.

Scipio Africanus. 

He was best known for defeating Hannibal at the final battle of the Second Punic War.

Hermes -- the messenger god -- with his winged sandals.

On the way back to Rome from Naples, we stopped at an AutoGrill and I found this. I had to get it because it essentially summarizes the American diet.. and it had been too long since I had french fries. Yummm.

Overall, I had a blast and learned so much! I can't wait to go back and just wonder around and explore, without having to worry about class or taking notes. But tomorrow we start back class in Rome again. :)