five days in rome and other insanity

Hello all,

It has been awhile; I am alive and back in Barcelona. First week of classes went off without a hitch. Only one of my classes seems like it will be particularly demanding, and the others seem interesting but not overwhelming. I get to go to museums every fourth class for Art y Aristas, and watch movies in Imagenes del Cine Contemporaneo... so, good times. Birthday festivities were very very fun. But, onto the main event, Rome and Venice! I'm going to give the highlights only, otherwise you could be reading for awhile. E-mail me for more detail and pictures (up on facebook shortly).

Day 1: Barcelona --> Girona --> Rome (Friday, October 3)
Since it was a Thursday night, staying out all night and then going to the bus station to get a 5:15 bus to catch my 8:30 flight seemed like a grand idea. Either way, I was exhausted by the time I got to Rome- RyanAir is great, but travel is more extensive, since you have to take buses to get to the more remote airports. I finally arrived in Termini train station, made it to my hostel without getting too lost, and dropped my stuff off to do some solo sight-seeing, since Mimi (my friend from Tufts who I was traveling with) would not be in til that evening. I ambled around the Quirinale, which is where the government offices are, as well as the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, and then paid a visit to Santa Maria degli Angeli, Michaelangelo's last work. I met up with Mimi back at the hostel, and two other girls from Tufts; Mimi's friends who were studying in Italy and joined us in Rome for the weekend. We had a nice dinner out at Est!Est!Est! pizza, at the recommendation of my dear friend Kyle, who might never have spoken to me again if I hadn't (it was a good choice, Kyle). We briefly thought about going out to explore the nightlife, but having a multi-hour dinner and then walking back to the hostel a few blocks away to sleep was far more appealing, so that's what we did.

Day 2: Rome (Saturday, October 4)
This was our big sight-seeing day; we woke up really early to make the trek to Vatican City, where we spent a good five hours. It is amazing there; we basically traversed the entire Vatican museum- Sistine Chapel, Raphael rooms, etc. After that, we went to St. Peter's Basilica, another amazing and overwhelming place. We were pretty exhausted after spending half of our day there, but ancient Rome called out to us...so we headed to the other end of the city to visit the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine- all amazing. You'll have to check out my pictures, a description can't really do it justice. Kate introduced us to the very Italian concept of aperitif (wine and snacks, kind of like tapas) and we went to bed early again.

Day 3: Rome (Sunday, October 5)
On our last full day in Rome, we took it easier, already exhausted and still gearing up for two more days of travel. We visited a few more sights at our leisure- Palazzo Venezia and the Pantheon, and made our way up to the north of the city to Piazza del Popolo where we saw more amazing cathedrals. Kate and Andrea left to go back to their programs, and Mimi and I ended our day with a walk down the river and dinner at Campo de Fiori, a really cute area of shopping and restaurants.

Day 4: Rome --> Venice (Monday, October 6)
Early flight to Venice...again, we were exhausted when we arrived on the island. Venice is really a beautiful place, and I expected not to like it for being overly touristy, but I actually think there were far more tourists in Rome. Anyway, we mostly walked around and explored the streets the first day. Headed to the Rialto market, where we ate some delicious fruit, tried desserts from every bakery we saw (go to Venice just for the baked goods. you will not be disappointed), saw a few more glorious churches, went to the old Jewish ghetto, and took a tour of the Doge's palace, which was quite impressive (the Doge used to be the appointed figurehead ruler of Venice). We weren't able to ride in a gondola (wayyyy too expensive, and Mimi and I just don't have 40/50 euro each to ride around in a boat) so we bought water bus passes, which was still really cool, since you can still see everything.

Day 5: Venice --> Barcelona (Tuesday, October 7)
Rounding out our 36 whirlwind hours in Venice, we went to the island of Murano to see a glassblowing demonstration, which was incredibly cool. We then spent more time walking/sitting after that, because the trip had really taken it out of us. Now, I'm finally back in Barcelona!

I didn't realice how much I had missed speaking Spanish. Now back to classes and Spanish life...for two days...and then Mimi, Sarah and I go to Stockholm. I know this sounds a bit ridiculous, but it just happens that I'm stacking my travel towards the beginning of the semester, where I am less worried about projects and tests for class. I am really excited to go to sweden. Also, if you go to Europe for study abroad and don't travel, there's something wrong.