"Travel like a sponge, not a rock."

Taking pictures in Villa Borghese

Anonymity is a strange thing. In the case of the quote listed above, it is said to be spoken by someone anonymously. I wish this weren’t true, as I would like to know exactly belongs to such wise words. In the two and a half weeks I have spent in Italy, I can tell you that it is impossible to not be like a sponge. I want to soak up everything.

On a completely separate note, more pictures are up! They are almost all of a beautiful park called Villa Borghese. Enjoy! https://picasaweb.google.com/100853123413362137278/LaDolceVita?authkey=Gv1sRgCI6NoeLsqoHy_QE#

I’ll start with the simple things, as sometimes they are the most precious. One thing I want to soak up in Italy is the sun. It is truly splendid. The air is crisp and light, free from the humidity that weighs down the warmer air at home. The days have been averaging in the low 60s with glorious sunshine. Oddly enough, Romans are still dressed for the “winter season” and are wearing parkas and fur coats, whereas I have official broken out my light trench coat in celebration.

One of the benefits of this weather is that it has encouraged me to walk more to and from school (as have the pastries I’ve been eating). On three separate occasions, I have been walking between my apartment and school and shared this journey with a charming little dog named Layla. Standing small at about 1 foot high but sporting a tail that makes her much taller, she trots with a jolly sort of spring in her step. Her owner walks slowly behind her, letting her wander off leash. Every 20 feet or so, Layla pauses, makes eye contact with the man, and then proceeds as he draws near. Sometimes she will wait patiently as he approaches her slowly, as if she wants to make sure he feels included in the walk. When I begin to pass them, as I walk at a slightly faster pace, Layla and I synchronize our steps. She walks next to me, stops to wait for her owner as I speed ahead, and then she rejoins me as she returns to her original pace. Eventually we get out of step and I pull ahead entirely, sad that we can’t continue the walk together. In a city with millions of people and almost as many dogs, I am amazed that I have seen Layla so many times. As odd as it may seem, the familiarity of her routine makes me smile. I look forward to continuing our walks next week.

It is little things like my times with Layla that make me happy. Similarly, I passed an adorable little boy walking besides his mother several days ago. I am absolutely enthralled when children speak Italian. Here is a language that I want to learn so desperately, and it is flowing out of them like words fly out of a writer after a remarkable breakthrough in his story. Though, oddly enough, it was not the little boy’s conversation that was so enchanting. Rather, his mannerisms. As he passed me, he let out an enormous burp, to which his mother promptly turned to him and cried “Eduardddoooo,” in a voice laden with reprimand, disbelief, and subtle amusement. It was too cute, I couldn’t help but laugh. Let’s move away from these cutesy stories and onto what I’ve been up to recently…

While most days I pack a turkey sandwich for lunch to save a little money (and a few calories), Thursday is gnocchi day at the pizzeria near AUR, and I was told that they are a must. Naturally, I am inclined to indulge in all of my food desires (considering I’ve had gelato three days in a row now, I’d say I have indulged), so I went to celebrate Gnocchi Thursday with some friends. I got broccoli that was sautéed with whole garlic cloves and enough butter to melt your heart. The main dish was gnocchi in a tomato cream fish sauce. Wow! It was savory and fantastic.

Thursday after classes were over I made a quick dinner before heading to a program recommended by my school called Extreme Language Exchange. Every week people can sign up for this free program where Italians and Americans converse in an attempt to teach each other their language. It is held at a bar in Trastevere called Mate Bar, a fun, relaxed place that offered an apertivo and drink for only €7. Apertivo is a local tradition that involves a drink and small food buffet. It’s not exactly dinner, but a nice snack or their equivalent of Happy Hour. After a little food and drink, we headed into the basement of the bar where there was more seating and began the night. It ran similarly to a speed-dating set-up, where people would rotate to a new partner every ten minutes. I spoke with a man named Andrea who wants to move to the US to be a musician, a man who is learning English for his job, a woman who teaches Spanish but wants to learn English, and several other people who were just interested in enhancing their language skills. While I truly enjoyed the ability to meet local Italians, it was incredibly exhausting to attempt to converse knowing basically no Italian. The locals did speak an impressive amount of English and were very kind in teaching me what they could of Italian. After the two hours were over, I was mentally drained. It was a fantastic experience and I am looking forward to going back when I have a wider selection of vocabulary to use. To treat myself, I stopped at a gelato place with my roommate after the evening ended and I tried banana gelato for the first time. In Italy, if you get yellow banana gelato, it is artificial. If the gelato is gray or off-white, it is the real deal. Let me tell you, this was the real deal all right! I also got it with straciatella (vanilla with thin chocolate chunks mixed in) and it tasted like a chocolate covered banana. La dolce vita indeed!

On Friday my roommate and I decided to go to the Van Gogh exhibit at a museum downtown. It only runs until February 20^th and I had heard that it was a must-see. Everyone who said this was entirely correct, the museum was stunning. Well, the museum was fine, the artwork was stunning. While I do not pretend to be a connoisseur of the arts, I do appreciate the work of people so immensely talented. I found myself staring at awe at the miraculous works of Van Gogh. My favorites of the day were Interior of a Restaurant, Apricot Trees in Blossom, Cypresses With Two Female Figures, Bank of the Oise at Auvers, and Paris Seen From Montmartre (by Maximilien Luce). These five paintings presented colors that only exist in dreams, yet still managed to convey scenes that were so real they left me wanting to step into the painting. After Van Gogh we walked towards Campo di Fiori for some delicious pizza and pastries. The night was later topped off by a return to Mate Bar with friends for a girls’ night out. A perfect end to a great day.

Interior of A Restaurant (not my picture, as no photos were allowed)

Today (Saturday), I decided to be ambitious and make pancakes! I combined flour, milk, and an egg to make the batter. It looked like pancake batter, it smelled like pancake batter, but would it taste like pancake batter? Well, kind of. With no baking powder or baking soda, they wound up rather flat and rubbery. Without any spatula, I had a hard time flipping them, but I was finally able to do it. Normally I make chocolate chip banana pancakes, but I had to improvise with chocolate covered raisins instead. I also was lacking syrup, so strawberry jam filled in decently. While they were not perfect, the pancakes were a welcomed break from the cereal, yogurt, or granola that I have eaten every morning. I am looking forward to finishing the batter tomorrow!

After the fun breakfast, several friend and I headed into the center of the city to go to Villa Borghese, a heart-shaped park near the Spanish Steps. Before this we stopped off at a Panini place where we’d eaten before. Salami and fresh mozzarella warmed between two pieces of outrageous bread- simple yet wonderful. When we arrived at the Spanish Steps it was cloudy, but still beautiful. Not quite the sunbathing weather of my first visit, but good enough! We went inside the church there before heading to the park. Villa Borghese is a charming park, with fair grounds for children, fountains, park benches, and much more. Many people rent bikes, Segways, or golf carts to explore the area. It also boasts many museums, art galleries, flower gardens, and even a zoo. We strolled along leisurely until a strong desire for gelato set in and we made our way to the Pantheon where I treated myself to gelato- chocolate, caramel, and pear flavors this time. After gelato I bought a beautiful purple necklace from a street vendor- I tried to haggle but he wouldn’t back down and I decided that his price was actually pretty fair compared to what I would have paid in a store so I went for it. This is my first non-food or non-travel purchase of the semester. The final destination of the night was Piazza Navona, a piazza with two large fountains that is completely surrounded by restaurants, stores, and churches.

 

Villa Borghese

Flowers in a garden at Villa Borghese

Regarding churches, I have to say that I am stunned by every single church I’ve seen. In Rome, churches are open to visitors when not being used for mass. Each church is ornately decorated with sculptures, frescoes, paintings, mosaics, and gold. Regardless of what you believe in, these churches can give anyone the chills. Not only are they breathtakingly beautiful, but they are centuries old and hold immense amounts of history. Even those that seem so unsuspecting from the outside can feature incredible stained glass, art, and historical artifacts. I hope to continue to visit the many churches of Rome.

On a different note, this Tuesday I will celebrate my 3 week anniversary, so to speak, of coming to Rome. I feel like I have lived here forever, which is good and bad. I want the semester to go slow so that I can savor it, while, at the same time, I am ready for the excitement of the next month to begin. Official countdown: two weeks until Venice, three weeks until Tuscany, three and a half weeks until Steph comes, four and a half weeks until Julie comes, and six weeks until my parents come. I can’t wait!

I’d like to leave off this post by saying how truly blessed I feel to be here. I had a moment on the tram home tonight where I found myself thinking, “This is real, this is my life. I live in Rome.” Several days ago my teacher asked us what our favorite city was and I had to think about it for a while. Never again. This is my favorite city. This place of so much beauty, art, passion, and history, it is everything a city should be. Of course, there are the parts of the city you will never see on a postcard or in a movie. There are smokers everywhere, graffiti on many buildings, and people begging for money in the streets. But there’s also glory, grandeur, and magnificence. Sometimes I find myself going about my days as if I’m so used to being here, but then there are other moments, like tonight, where I can’t believe my life. This is truly the life I lead and I have never felt so lucky. I am in the most incredible place, I have the most incredible family and friends at home who have been wonderful in keeping me connected to my life in the US, and I have had experiences that I could have only dreamed of. I wish I knew exactly how to describe this feeling. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more full of joy. Buonasera and grazie to you all.