wine festival..

Sooo the rest of this weekend was awesome.

On Saturday Jessie and I made our way to Ostia Antica- basically it's an ancient city. Most of it is in ruins, but for the mostpart it's pretty intact (due to it being an old port city an hour outside of Roma herself). It's also off the beaten path.. meaning that very few tourists bother to leave the Colosseo or Foro to visit it. Jess and I were there all afternoon climbing on ancient buildings, walls, and an amazingly intact amphitheater with PERFECT acoustics (I could hear her whispering even when I was sitting in the nosebleed section). We took tons of pictures- she told me that her dad went in the pit of the Colosseo when he was our age, and now if you try that you're shot by the italian militia. So we speculate that in 20+ years no one will be allowed to treat Ostia Antica as a playground like we did. I had SO MUCH FUN jumping and climbing everything- we saw ancient Roman baths, a wrestling arena, pipes meant for taking the hot water underneath the tiles of the steam rooms, a palazzo, and so many columns. AWESOME.

Part 3 of my amazing weekend started at the one Ukie church in Roma-- Santi Sergio e Bacci. Seriously I felt like I was back in Kyiv, as all the Roman Ukrainians are prosto z Ukrainy. I loved it and it made me miss Ukraina that much more. But so yea, FINALLY got to hear ukrainska mova for a solid 1.5 hours.
Weekend of Amazing continued with yesterday's wine festival in Marino, Italy. Um. So the train to Marino resembled the B line of the Metro= CROWDED. Standing room only. And it was mostly italiani.. we get to Marino and to the Sagra dell'uva (wine fest) and it turns out to be the cutest little Italian town ever. Apparently the stars of this show are the town's white wine, i panini con porchetta (pork sandwiches), and ciambelle (kind of like paska, actually). And the italiani each have a liter of wine in their hands. So we decide to do the same. The only thing I can liken the experience to was an Italian Oktoberfest, with wine instead of beer. Everyone in the entire town was drinking themselves to oblivion. The thing is, Italians do not do the drunk thing. It goes against their la bella figura mentality, that appearance is everything.
On the train ride home we met a bunch of American guys and made friends with them. I checked out the contents of my purse: the phone numbers of not one, but two italiani (Fabio and Gaia) and a pencil that did not come with me to Marino. I still feel sick. But it was so worth it. You're only young and insane once, right?

so che nelle fiave..

Ciao a tutti!

I've been pushing it with the wandering. It's gotten to the point where I get out of class at 12ish (on M/W) and I wander.. and wander.. and explore.. and shop.. and take pictures.. and the next thing I realize, it's getting dark. (note: these classes that let out at 12 are on-sites.. meaning that technically I walk around the city from approximately 9,00 to dark). The blisters on my feet resemble Hell Hike pixuri.

Things I've learned this week:

-the youngest-looking Giolitti scooper knows my face
-so does the head waiter at Miscellanea. that's why Jessie, Caroline, Alysse, I, and Nicole were under the effects of 4ish bottles of fragolina last Thursday
-caffé is my new fave gelato flavor (only at Giolitti)
-the illegal pashmina scarf sellers at the Colosseo are really easily haggled with, hence my new scarf collection
-between Wednesday and Thursday, 3 caribinieri hit on me (militia policemen) oh good
-shopping fever has hit me. crap.
-Napoli is THE place to buy boots (mmmm of the black suede variety)


My roommates are in Perugia and Venice (2 different groups) and I'm in Roma. That's because this weekend was supposed to be Oktoberfest, but because of some Italian train difficulty, it fell through (BUT has been rescheduled!!! all is good). So this weekend has been daytrip weekend. Yesterday Alysse and I went to Napoli for the day to 1) go shopping 2) eat the world-famous pizza 3) shop some more. Success!

Adventures in Campania:

We got fabulous pairs of black suede boots (hers with fringe, mine with 2.3-3 inch heels and really cool strappy ties all the way around), and I bought another scarf, a turquoise necklace and a coral necklace. And we bought matching wooden bracelets. The gelato at Gay-Odin was ..incredible. This place is famed for having over 12 flavors of chocolate gelato. We went twice. First combo: cioccolato fondente//caffé, and second combo: cioccolato bianco//ricotta e pera. The ricotta e pera (ricotta and pear) was kind of amazing-I've never even seen that flavor before! We had pizza at Gino Sorbillo.... so pizza was invented in Napoli. The pizza here was unbelievable, the best pizza I have ever tasted, ever. Ever. The thing about pizza napolitana is that the crust is unreal- it's so soft. Even though it's been through a brick oven and has all the same toppings as those you'd find elsewhere in Italia, it maintains this soft, breadsticklike quality and a perfectly smoky flavor without being super crunchy or overly crumbly. It's a little crispy- but not enough to crack or disintegrate. So. amazing. It was one of my top few food experiences of my life.
And on the train ride back to Roma, our compartment-mates were two middle-aged women who were so freaking motherly that they FED us, a middle-aged man with the HUGEST biceps I've ever seen (turns out he is a caribiniero-- the militia police force that hit on me 3 times this week? yup.), and a guy around our age named Giovanni who. was. GORGEOUS. He was one of the top five best looking guys in this entire country. AND he asked for our numbers/emails. haha. I love Italia.

i compiti

You have GOT to be kidding me. My homework for Advanced Comp is such:

PRENDENDO SPUNTO DALL’ULTIMA SCENA DEL FILM E DA QUESTI DUE ARTICOLI PROVATE AD INTERVISTARE TRE PERSONE DI ETA’ DIFFERENTI (20 – 40 – 70) PONENDO LE SEGUENTI DOMANDE:

L’ISTITUTO DEL MATRIMONIO E’ DESTINATO A SCOMPARIRE?

LA FAMIGLIA SUBIRA’ UNA TRASFORMAZIONE?

Yes, that's entirely correct. I have to find THREE TOTAL RANDOS and ask them their opinions regarding marriage. Problem #1: um.. la lingua? Problem #2: if I ask a man of 20-40-or-70 years, he'll probably follow me. And definitely ask for my number. Good.

il turismo

So there are a lot of tourists here. July-September is big-time tourist season here in Roma, which kind of doesn't make any sense to me because it is SO FREAKING HOT HERE during those months. Well, whatever. Since we've been here a month, we have seen thousands of weeklong vacationers pass through our pretty city. And yes, I do roll my eyes and dodge them (my walk to class is along the Vatican wall, aka Vatican Museum territory and St. Peter's Square..daily) but it makes me so happy to be living here for real. So... one day after class I decided to play Tourist.

These pasticcerie (bakeries!) are every five feet... but the cheapest crostatine you will find near Medag. They're also the best... pictured is one on via del Corso-- the 5th Avenue of Roma. I have such trouble passing these up.

The Ginaculo is relatively undiscovered by tourists. It's a hill overlooking the city and has beautiful views...
Lots of ancient temples and ruins are now sanctuaries for unwanted cats. Note the kitsia.
This is yours truly taking a picture of herself in front of the Roman Forum. I can't really articulate how touristy I felt taking this. I generally am somewhat annoyed by tourists because they walk in huge, sloooooow groups. It's all for you, my friends. . I know you miss my shining face.
... But this guy LOOKED like a tool, legit. I've seen some tourists get a huge kick out of men dressing up like pharaohs or the Statue of Liberty and standing reallllllllllllly still..
In addition, there are tourists of the Eurotrash variety. They are typically found snuggling or exhibiting extreme PDA in extremely public places. Like Piazza Venezia, for example. Note this man's leg and hand/face placement.

Oh yea, and I updated my Picasa site with pictures from a hiking trip I took to Monte Circeo. Our guides were these crazy old italiani who kept asking me "sei italiana?" Translation: you one of us? I loooove that my mova is getting better. Not quite a native speaker... but getting way, way better!! Oh, Roma... no wonder everyone falls in love with you.

Viaggi

Real update later, but for now.. this is going to be my own notepad. Planning travels is actually picking up now (as in.. excursions to Termini to buy tickets and stamp the Eurail are happening like crazy).. soo new and updated travel plans in order:

ottobre:
-3 daytrips-- Napoli, Ostia Antica, then some rando village for a wine festival
-(staying in Roma for midterms, possibly traveling with Alysse?)
-ZURICH! (tickets bought a few weeks ago!)
-PARIS (tickets booked a few hours ago!!!)

novembre:
-MUNCHEN (tickets just booked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
-London!! (thanks for the 40Euro roundtrip, RyanAir!)
-(staying in Roma while ND London comes here)
-SALZBURG
-(pending- Firenze? Sicilia?

dicembre:
-(Roma the weekend before finals? or crazy last-minute trip?)
-go home to Ohio.

Vitellone

I did just post yesterday, but today (rather-tonight) was so epic that I had to share. It all involved copious amounts of Italian food and wine and gelato.

Earlier today- Jacqueline, Katrina, and I went to church in the Pantheon. Because when else are you going to get to go to church in a building built before Christianity even started? Afterwards we kind of roamed that neighborhood for a bit, consulted Rick Steves, and decided on a place for lunch, a little trattoria on Via delle Collonne. It turned out to have the second best pizza in Roma, secondo me (La Scaletta in Trastevere being the best). Afterwards we tried Della Palma [usually not an option for me due to its proximity to Giolitti] where I had cioccolato fondente (seriously BLACK chocolate) and tartufo palma (cherry liquor-dark chocolate-chocolate shavings). More wandering. Some Americans in Piazza Navona asked me to take a "PHOTOGRAPH of THEM, pear favoraaaayy, GRATZI, GRATZI SEEGNOREENA" thinking that I was not, in fact, American.

Went home, did a little homework (what little that I have..) and went out for din-din to Sexy Wine, aka Micky's, aka Miscellanea. The meal started out fairly normal- fettuccine ai funghi was it, and it was great. These two guys from Stanford were eating next to us (apparently studying at Oxford this fall), so we chatted with them for a bit. Then I noticed that the three women sitting diagonally from us were speaking.....ukie. Chysta ukrainska mova, like hardcore ukrainski slova, no rosiyska mova/slang/verbs/anything. So I listened more to make sure. Yup, def ukie. Definitely. So eventually, after lingering for like forever, the Stanford guys left and the waitstaff took over. They wouldn't leave us alone, and yours truly consumed several glasses of fragolina (potent strawberry wine- so so good) because the waitstaff kept refilling and I totally wasn't paying attention. So in the midst of all of this, I start talking to the ukie women, who turn out to be from Lviv (sweeeeet!) and we talk about Roma, Kyiv, Ukraina, the diaspora, Ukraintsi in Roma, and Trastevere. In the midst of THIS, my vision is getting fuzzier and my speech much less effective, and the two guys (30s) sitting over THERE come over to our table and pull up chairs. They buy us MORE wine, yes MORE WINE, calling me furba, which I think is an accurate description of me. Yes, oh yes, so we talk to these two italiani for a solid two hours, during which Batman, il doppiaggio, gli sottotitoli, Heath Ledger, our lack of homework, Roman wine, the upcoming American elections, gelato flavors, and various other topics were discussed AT LENGTH. Plastered. Not on purpose. Then we all went and got gelato- myself, Jacqueline, Katrina, Alessandro, and Valerio. Who did not pay for our gelati. Vitelloni to the MAX.

I love this country.

come bello il mondo insieme a Roma

Ciao! Come state?

Sorry about the last post. One of you suggested that I post one day in italiano, so when I was in an obnoxious mood I went for it. Basically it was just a recap of my day. ANYWAY.

Classes are going well. I really love my art histories (especially Ancient Rome& its Monuments) and italiano is cool because my pffssa. is really hilarious/the natives in my class are really cool (Dario, Linda, Paolo, and Ada). The workload is not even minimal. I had a viewing assignment for my Baroque class worth a significant portion of my overall grade.. and my quest was to visit the Galleria Spada (once upon a time the palazzo and private art collection of Cardinal Spada, now a gallery and government building) really close to Ponte Sisto on the Tevere. That was yesterday.

Yesterday was probably one of my favorite days I've ever spent in Roma. So it's been significantly cooler here (FINALLY) and slightly rainy recently. It usually warms up midday, and even on the cooler days it'd get up to like 75-80. Yesterday was a "make up day" mandated by the school because they give us Thanksgiving off, so we had to have an extra day of Thursday classes. Two of my professors rolled their eyes and said that there was no WAY they were coming in an extra day (haha! I love Italian defiance to authority- it's so funny) so I only had my history class at 9,00. After that, I decided to go to Zara on Via del Corso to buy this gorgeous cream wool jacket that I'd found the day before while wandering. So I did, I bought the probably overpriced jacket, and it's a good thing I did- the skies above Roma opened up and poured and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees. So it was probably in the upper 50s. (in settembre? a Roma? che schifo!) So anyway, there I was, strolling around Roma with my umbrella and black messenger bag, wearing this awesomely italiana giacca (jacket) midmorning as the tourists ducked for cover and as the natives barked into their telefonini.. as the pasticcieri (bakers) unveiled their crostate and pane, their panini e i formaggi. The rain flowed in rivers around the grey cobblestones, the statues on the bridges stood keeping their watch, bored shopkeepers sat watching the world go by, and Roma- medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, ancient, and modern Roma- stood true to her eternal beauty. I watched as a man bought a huge bouquet of pink flowers wrapped in brown paper at Campo dei Fiori, probably as a surprise for his someone. I bought a crostetta in a tiny pasticceria on Via Candia. Wandering through the back streets of centro storico, I blended in and soaked it up- the rain, the beauty, the la bella figura. Just- ROMA. This place has a way of making unsuspecting people fall head over heels in love with it. Its history, attitude, art, colorful gelato, two-hour lunch breaks, evening passeggiate, singsong language, impatience, love for beauty, and hot Mediterranean sun have a way..

This place is incredible.

oh yea, ps--> TRAVEL PLANS! Europe is the greatest place in the world..

SEPTEMBER- Cinque Terre (check), Abruzzo (check), Rome (check), Lazio hiking trip
OCTOBER- Munich (Oktoberfest!), Rome, Zurich (CHOCOLATE), Paris (YAY!)
NOVEMBER- [TBA--Brussels? Sicilia?], London (birthday!), Rome, Dolomites (mountains!), Firenze (shopping!)
DECEMBER- Roma!