Viva Roma!

My first trip to Rome was when I studied abroad back in the spring of 2008. I was taking business courses and definitely should have taken a tiny bit of time out of my schedule to study the basics in Italian. You feel so much more comfortable when you travel if you know the basics of the language! In 2008, I loved the time I spent there - minus a few major apartment-mate issues.

My apartment was situated in Monte Verde near the Trastevere region.

A few of the roomies on a cold walk to our apartment!

It is pretty cold and dreary in Rome the first few months of the year. It held a certain life, though, and I came away with some great memories. It all started with my extremely last minute decision to study abroad from Baylor University. I believe it was the day after the deadline for applications when I saw the advertisement and spontaneously decided I was going to Rome. I hurriedly ran it past my parents, contacted one of the administrators, and set the paperwork in motion! I would be going completely on my own. I didn't have any friends going with me, and I knew absolutely no one from the group. Oh well, this was an adventure!!

When I arrived in Rome, I met my future housemates. I came to like all of my roommates except for two, who were just not my kind of people. Excluding the disasters they caused, the house got along pretty well. We had one shower for eight girls, a tiny kitchen, and four small bedrooms on the fifth floor of the building - I believe. Fifth in Europe means sixth in the United States because the ground floor is just that - ground. Including the stairs up to our floor, we all had to trek over 600 stairs one way to go to school. That means a ton of blisters for me. 

One very small excerpt of the daily hike.

One of our very first (good) eating adventures was on Trastevere. We were called inside by the restaurant workers, who ushered us to a table and exclaimed they had amazing pizza. Of course, we had to try a pizza in Rome! I don't think we knew we would be faced with a personal, medium-sized pizza when we asked for it. They were right about having good pizza, but our untrained American bellies couldn't quite stomach a full pizza just yet.

Of course, after that, we found several different delicious places to try and even made a friend at Le Fate Restaurant from our many cooking classes. Andrea Consoli is an amazing chef and an entertaining teacher. He hosts cooking classes in Rome at his Trastevere restaurant for all who are willing to sign up. I would highly recommend his cooking experiences to anyone who is going to Rome. It is a day you will never forget, and you have the recipes, as well as the memories, with you for the rest of your life! Check it out here: Cooking Classes in Rome. 

A few cooking class excerpts!

Campo de Fiori market for ingredients.

With the class you get a full four- or five-course Italian meal (that you made yourself!), a potential excursion into the open air markets for hand selecting your ingredients, picture documentation of your experience, the recipes to take home, knowledge of local cooking traditions, and even new friends. 

During breaks from our classes, we definitely made sure to explore the typical tourist spots and take advantage of the off-season. There were virtually no tourists (amazing if you think about how crowded Rome is during the summer) and we got to explore on our own time. 

A few of Rome's top spots!

There are more than a few really cool places to shop around Piazza del Rotunda and the Pantheon. Some are touristy and some aren't. Of course, if you are a coffee lover, Italy is the place to be and you can get amazing coffee from pretty much any cafe. One of the most famous ones, though, is in Piazza del Rotunda. I bought my parents some of their coffee for home use when I was there, and when I brought them back to visit just this past June, they really enjoyed hanging out there while my sister and I went exploring. 

Cafe Tazza d'Oro has some pretty delicious coffee.

Another cool place to stumble upon - for amazing gelato near the Pantheon.

Giolliti is often crowded and not directly around the corner from the Pantheon, but if you visit and want some incredible gelato, definitely check it out.

Piazza Navona is another one of my favorite hot spots in Rome. Usually filled with cheap artists, street performers, and sometimes music, the original place of the Stadium of Domitian buzzes with life and I love looking at all of the art offered there. It may not be the best quality, but I have found a number of beautiful pieces during my visits. The most recent visit produced an incredible acrylic street scene of a small Italian town... I can't wait to get home and frame it!

Of course, if you visit Rome, you have to make the obvious stop over to Vatican City to see one of the biggest art collections in the world at the Vatican Museum. Make sure to dedicate a full day to the Vatican, because it is exhausting and there is so much to see! I had no interest in climbing to the top of St. Peter's Basilica because of the massive lines, but that is also an option which I hear has incredible views. The Basilica itself is incredible and the massive columns and intricate artwork throughout truly takes at least a good hour or more to take in.

St. Peter's at sunrise

The Altar 

A cupola inside the Basilica

The Vatican Museum is where you really get overwhelmed. The name of the game must have been intricacy, because it completely blows your mind when you try to wander through the multiple sections, culminating in the Sistine Chapel. I definitely recommend a guided tour, as you can skip the ridiculous line (hours long during peak season) and you can learn a lot more history than you would have on your own.

This is someone else's photo.

When you are in the Sistine Chapel, you are not allowed to take pictures or speak, so I borrowed this from somewhere years ago. Unfortunately, many people don't care about the Sistine Chapel being regarded as a holy place, so they gab on and on and ruin the atmosphere by taking illegal pictures. If you go, I hope you preserve the environment and the artwork and keep your mouth shut and cameras off. 

The spiral staircase at the end of the museum.

One really amazing thing that most people do not get to experience is a nearly silent street, empty of tourists, a sunrise chasing you as you run through this city. If you enjoy distance running, it is definitely worth the early morning start. Of course, you will get called "crazy" for taking a four a.m. run around Rome, but it is definitely worth it to enjoy the entirety of the sites in their full glory - without the tourism cheapening it. We began at the Vatican, and ran in a large circle hitting the top spots around Rome as the sun was slowly coming up. When the sunrise is in its most beautiful state, you end your 9-mile run by crossing Ponte Sant'Angelo (with incredible angelic sculptures) to Castel Sant'Angelo and turning to view the Vatican, still silent in the sleepy morning, and the sunrise casting pink and gold hues on St. Peters. I have run this route twice now, and the views are breathtaking. Here is a quick link to the running route for those of you who might be interested: 4 a.m. Roman Running Tour

The pre-sunrise sites

Sunrise sites

So that's plenty to read right there - I hope you can travel to Rome and enjoy it the way I was able to with my family! I will continue this post at a later date with our trips to Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri, Naples, Tuscany, and Milan. Ciao!

A Small Hiatus

Well apparently I forgot to keep writing here in the midst of all of my crazy finals, trips, and life. So the very interesting topic of today is stuff I've been doing while I've been away... Probably very short so I don't bore anyone who accidentally trips across this.

SO.

My last post was about the Disney Princess Run... since then I suppose you could say my life has taken a few different turns. At that time, I was getting pretty good at running faster than I had before. Now, I am a lazy bum it seems and it's a little difficult to get outside and run!

Then: I was up in the air about a love fiasco that had seriously taken a turn for the worst and I thought I was pretty much going to be single for a long time.

Now: We are back together, and after that reality check, things seem to be going swimmingly. We have never been happier!


Then: I was living in the U.S.A. and deciding whether or not I would spend the summer in Germany.

Now: I am totally in Germany - couldn't resist coming back here!


Then: I was pushing towards finals, wondering if I could pull out a good GPA.

Now: I am really satisfied with three A's and two B's. 


So since my last entry, I have traveled to Texas with Steven, the aforementioned love interest. We went to his cousin's wedding, which was pretty fun. There was a little family drama, but mostly everyone got along and had a fantastic time trying to look nice in 107 degree weather. Fun!

Oh! Also, I got a minor stress fracture which led to me being a lazy bum lately. Thanks feet!

So here are a few pictures of Steven and I, the goofy couple, enjoying dry sausage (Steven's addiction) and margaritas.

Very entertaining.

Pretty much we didn't take any pictures of the now-natural disaster that is Texas - just of the excuse for traveling there.

Here are Steven's younger brothers.

And... a nice group pictures of the kiddie table. ;)

We had a great time and enjoyed the friendly Texas environment. We knew the only things we had to look forward to in Maryland were our puppies! (And my upcoming adventure to Germany!)

Who wouldn't be looking forward to such a dork!

Run Like a Princess

So after a very long delay caused by multiple midterms and projects pre-spring break, I finally have some time to fill you in on my latest adventure to the sunny parks of Orlando, FL. On February 24-26, Macy (my roommate) and I took a trip to Orlando, FL to embed ourselves in the magic that is Disney World! The main purpose of this trip was to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon, but a great extra benefit was that we got to spend a few days in the parks! The entire three days we were there we probably had only 9 hours of sleep, but it was well worth it! Our first park was Animal Kingdom, where the highlight was a very realistic safari. We even narrowly escaped being charged by a rhino! I could have touched him! We also saw a lot of other animals - here I am with some alligators.

 Another cool ride at Animal Kingdom was Expedition Everest - the line was even interesting! Here, Macy, Kennedi, and I are standing in front of the Mt. Everest look-alike ride!

After that we got to explore Disney's Hollywood Studios where I finally got to ride the Tower of Terror! I've always wanted to ride it and it was really fun - the special effects were amazing and the view when the doors opened to the outside of the building was spectacular!

We also rode the Rock'n'Rollercoaster, but the line was 75 minutes long - in my opinion, not worth the wait! Don't get me wrong - very cool ride - but not worth a 75 minute line. We were hungry after that, so we ventured to Downtown Disney to try to get into some cool restaurants. We wanted to eat in the T-Rex restaurant or eat some big Italian food to prepare for our race the next morning! Unfortunately, everything had a two hour wait and we were delirious with hunger, so we ended up settling for El Pollo Loco! Hahaha - fried chicken, the perfect race fuel? It was really delicious - but probably because we were way too hungry. We got to sleep at midnight and very unhappily woke up at 2:45 am the next morning to get up and going for our 5:45 race start! Here we are at 4-something in the morning heading to our race corral! My princess was the Black Swan - the only one in the 17,000 participants, and a really big hit with the spectators!

After our very early 5:45 am start, we booked it up to mile 9 - ten minutes ahead of our normal pace! We started at Epcot and ran to Magic Kingdom, through Magic Kingdom, and back to Epcot. Even though after our 9th mile we started to slow down, we both hit PR's and my time was 1 hour and 53 minutes! I placed 445th out of the 17,000 participants. Proud finisher and intense competitor--->

 Obviously, my make up ran. Kept up until about the 13th mile though! Overall, I think this costume is a win. :)

Crossing the finish line!
















We got some really nice medals and a few epic pictures out of the race along with our PR's and, despite our exhaustion, hit Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day!

Poor Macy hurt her foot during her race, but still set a PR! Go Macy!!

We had to catch a 6 am flight the next morning, so after 3 more short hours of sleep, we made the hour drive to Tampa and made it home safe! The most incredible half marathon and miniature spring break I've ever had!

Zombie Tired

I am running off of 9 hours of sleep for the entire weekend. Disney World + Princess Half Marathon + short amount of time = Complete. Utter. Exhaustion.  It was probably the most epic and eventful weekend ever, but it came at a high price of delirium induced by sleep deprivation. The things we do for Magic Kingdom.

Assault by Hail.

I decided this morning when I walked outside to a surprising 60 degree weather morning in the middle of February that I would run outside. Thought process: It's beautiful!-->You are running a half marathon this weekend in Orlando.-->Tomorrow will be spent frolicking around Disney World-->You probably won't run tomorrow.-->You should run a good run outside today-->Ok.

So I run outside and on my way back at around mile 3, TORRENTIAL RAINS. I had my phone playing Pandora so I could hear epic classic rock while battling the massive hills on the return trip, so that was the first negative thought that crossed my mind. But, then again, running in the rain feels great because it cools you off. Then, it gets better. Lightning is ripping through the air and the winds pick up and soon I find myself being assaulted by dime sized hail balls that are shredding my skin! I definitely picked up my pace and darted from tree to tree while people looked at me through their nice, warm, protective car windows. Yes. Geographical difference here. Ready?

In Texas, someone would have helped me.

In the D.C. area, everyone watches you get ripped apart by a hail storm.

Anyway, it's a funny story now that I'm safely in my apartment. Watch out for flash t-storms, they'll get ya.  On the bright side - fastest 5 miles of my life! 40 minutes.. PR. :)

Independence - Summer 2005

I finally learned how to use a camera and embarked on this three week study-abroad immersion trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico. The first time I traveled without my parents! Exciting. My brain almost exploded from trying to comprehend so much Spanish around me, but the places we visited were amazing.

Taxco - City of Silver

 Fun times in the town where silver rules. They used to mine it in a big way, but now it's mostly a tourist attraction. They still sell really great silver jewelry and silverware. Plus there are these guys everywhere selling hats - makes it worth the trip:

We were able to take a nice little trip through an underground mine - or what touristy remnants there were. Plus, we got to take in all of the nice jewelry and silverware for sale. I thought the most interesting part of this city is their Holy Week, where processions and ceremonies have gained international fame for the self-penitence a select number of groups still practice very openly. Chained, some group members stay bent at a 90 degree angle for the entire time, carrying small crosses on their backs. Others carry about 100 pounds of thorny blackberry canes on their backs. Still others carry a 100 pound cross and a whip with metal hooks that tear holes into their backs.


Moving to cheerier topics, however!

The Ballet Folklórico in the Palacio de Bellas Artes is a festive must-see in Mexico City. Formed by Amalia Hernández in 1952, the ballet has a repertoire of traditionally costumed dances that reflect the history and culture of Mexico.

I was sneaky and got a shot inside the theater - no flash photography. I can't recall now if they actually allowed any photography.

We did some good work while we were there learning about the culture. We visited a local orphanage around the Cuernavaca area and spent the better part of a day with the children there after we had brought them clothing and other items. They tried to get me to speak Spanish to them, but I'm sure they couldn't understand anything I tried to say.

The Robert Brady Museum in Cuernavaca is an interesting place to visit - a collection of art gathered by Robert Brady, an Iowa native who collected art for a good part of his life. The colorful rooms are exactly as he left them, and are filled to the brim with really interesting artifacts.

Wild colors.

He was into crucifixes.

After the Robert Brady Museum, we visited several other fun spots around the general area. We visited Teotihuacan, Xochicalco, and Tenochtitlan. At least that's what I can remember off the top of my head.

Sun or moon? I don't even remember. By the size of the people at the top, I say sun. 

Visiting a panadería is a great adventure. The bread is so delicious, and you can see how it's made right there in front of you. I wanted to eat so much bread. By the way, bread is my favorite. Along with cheese. 

Xo

chicalco

 So, despite my inaccurate descriptions due to my cloudy memory 6 years later, I do have good memories of the amazing people I traveled with as well as the fantastic times I had while visiting my first foreign country - on my own.

My First Serious Adventure

So, my first serious travel adventure was really when I was six years old. I went with my mom to Austria to visit friends for the summer. I remember picking strawberries on the Austrian hillsides, watching strange men milk huge, angry cows. I remember picking on other six-year-olds as we ran mostly naked through the streets during the heat waves (apparently that's what you do when it's hot). I also remember despising the bread they fed me - rye. Terrible bread. I still hate that bread today. One thing I don't remember is taking pictures. That's probably because six-year-olds don't take pictures yet. Oh well. I suppose this first adventure is left up to my memories and your imagination.