1/25 Amanda comes to visit!

Nothing in the city runs on a schedule!!!

My friend Amanda's flight was coming in at 5pm on Sunday and I was going to meet her at the airport to bring her back to my apartment.  I left my place at 3:30pm in order to give myself enough time to get there.  The airport is outside of the city and it costs 40 euro or about 55 dollars to take a cab there.  I decided to take the 11 euro train ride there instead so that I could save money.  The main station called Roma Termini has a train that runs every 30 back and forth from the airport.  I was told that the train stop by my apartment also would lead right to the airport so I thought it would be easier to just jump on there rather than trying to get all the way to the main station....WRONG!!!  I got to the stop around us and of course the ticket office was closed because it was Sunday.  When that happens you simply buy your ticket from an automated system.  One of the options on the kiosk was the airport.  So logically, I bought that ticket.  The problem with the tickets are that they don't say which gate you need to be at for the train.  So I decided to practice my Italian and ask around.  No one seemed to know.  One nice man helped me figure out that I needed to still go to Termini station before I went to the airport.  So I waited for the train to come that takes me to Termini.  The train is supposed to come every half hour.  35 minutes went by and I went back to check the schedule.  For some odd reason, the train took a break from 1 until 5:30pm on Sundays!  I needed to pick Amanda up at 5, so that was not going to work.  I ran to catch a bus that would take me to Termini.  (Mind you I had already boughten my ticket)  I got on the bus that said "Termini" thinking that it was taking me right to Termini.  45 minutes later, I arrived at Termini.  The bus had just come FROM termini and I needed to get on a different bus.  I ran inside to try and find what gate was to the airport.  I asked the main ticket place and the man said that the train had left 3 minutes ago so I would have to wait another 30 minutes for the next one.  It was already quarter to 5 and Amanda would be in any minute.  I asked him what gate number I needed and he said 25, but that I needed a ticket.  I showed him the one that I had just boughten, but I guess you can't use that ticket at this station.  I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ROME HAD MORE THAN ONE STATION!!!  They are all the same trains, but because I was getting on somewhere else I had to pay another 11 euro ( By this point a cab sounded great).  I waited for the train and hopped on.  Amanda called and said she got off ok so I had her meet me at the train stop at the airport.  We lifted 200lbs of luggage onto the train and headed for Termini.  I had looked up keeping her big luggage at the station so that we didn't  have to try and bring it all back to my place on the bus.  There were signs that showed a luggage bag and a key above it.  To me, this would be a sign that points to where you can lock your luggage up.  Apparently, it means something different to Italians....because the sign didn't lead to anywhere.  I tried asking someone where we could go to do this and no one understood my italian.  I felt really bad for Amanda because she hadn't sleep in two days and the station was huge so we were walking around with 100 lbs of luggage each.  Finally I got someone who could understand my Italian and we were headed in the right direction.  When we got to the area where baggage drop off was, there was a sign pointed down meaning to go downstairs to drop it off.  The only problem was that they were doing construction by the elevators so we couldn't go down.  I saw a booth for Avis the car rental place so I went over to ask.  There was a sign that said "No information about Trains" in front of the booth.  I asked how to get down for bag drop off, and the woman just pointed to the "no info" sign.  I explained that I knew we had to go downstairs but that I wasn't sure how to get down.  She sighed and then explained where another elevator was.  Amanda and I dragged the suitcases down to the other end of the hall and got in the elevator.  Once we got in, the buttons wouldn't work.  We sat in the elevator trying to make it go up or down and it didn't want to do either.  So we got out and Amanda found escalators to take.  Well I have a big fear of escalators from when I fell down them so I wasn't about to try and take me and 100lbs of bags down one of those machines!  Our only other option was the stairs but I knew that it wasn't possible so I said a prayer and braced myself.  I stacked the two bags on each other and rolled it on.  That went well except that now I had to get on!!!  The bag was going down fast so I hesitantly stepped on.  I was leaning really far because I was 3 steps behind the suitcase.  Amanda thought that it was the funniest thing in the world, and I almost peed my pants!  We finally dropped the luggage off and headed home on a bus.  Our long adventure made us hungry so we grabbed Amanda's first taste at Italian pizza.  She said that the trip was worth it, even if she just got to taste the pizza and leave.  I wasn't able to show her around Rome much because I had class and it was raining really hard, so she is planning on coming back after she settles in at Florence.  I promised her that her next experience in Rome would be MUCH better!!

1/24 Ostia Antica

Saturday was a very interesting day.....

We decided to take a trip to Ostia Antica which is a town on the Mediterranean that has a bunch of ancient ruins.  There is a tram that runs from Rome to the coast and it is supposed to be easy to get to.  Well it's easy once you find the right station, but we had to take 3 different trains in order to get on the one that will take you to Ostia.  The train ride was only 15 min from the correct station to Ostia so it is a quick trip.  However, it took us an hour to find the right station.  I have been working really hard on being ok with getting lost.  I don't like being lost because I feel like I am wasting time, but here it's good to be lost because then I learn about the city.  Each time I take the train, bus, or metro, I am learning more and more about how to get around.  You can walk anywhere here if you have enough time, but once I figure out all the bus and train stops, it will be great.  I just keep thinking to myself that next time I'll know how to do this the first time, and know how to do it faster.  

Once we got to Ostia, we visited a Castle called "Castello dei Ostia" Very original I know.... We didn't go inside but we wandered around outside of it.  It is a very small castle and in my opinion shouldn't even be called a castle.  Pope Gregorio started building the castle for a weekend place, and never got around to making it very big.  The town of Ostia is very small and run down.  There is a section of it that is medieval with a beautiful old church and small shops.  The town is famous for the ancient ruins that are from the 2nd century BC.  Ostia used to be the harbor port for Rome.  It is at the mouth of the Tiber river which runs through Rome and out to the Mediterranean.  The water has changed in that time and now the town is about 3 kilometers from the ocean.   When Rome was expanding its territory, Ostia was used as a naval base.  Since it is the rainy season here.....it of course was down pouring for our visit.  We were going to maybe head back because the wind was making the rain come at you in all directions and we had no escape from getting wet, but we had already made the trip so we toughed it out.  As you walk through ancient ruins, you really have to have an imagination.  To me, everything looks the same because there are no roofs and most of the walls are knocked down.  Ancient Ostia was considered a city back in its day.  It was very interesting to see how structured and in line all the houses were.  I am very amazed at how much intricate work goes into the ancient towns.  The floors in the buildings are all mosaics, and most of the buildings have some sort of design on them in brick.  We walked around for about 3 hours in the rain and then it finally let up as we were getting ready to leave!  It is hard to explain how large of an area this was.  We tried to explore as much of it as we could, but after a while, it all starts to look the same.  What is cool about this park, is that they let you climb on the ruins.  Most places don't let you do that because of how old things are, but it gave us a better sense of how they lived their lives.  The coolest part about Ancient Ostia, was the stadium or amphitheater  type place they had.  I am assuming that it was just used for meetings in the town because the "floor" was very small.  We climbed to the top and took a bunch of pictures so they should be on the slide show soon.  We made it to the end of the park when it started to get sunny.  After about 5 minutes of sunshine the rain came again but only in one part of the sky.  The rain was pelting us from the side and we all destroyed our umbrellas, but we were able to witness a double rainbow over the park!  It was so pretty and a great end to our trip.  We made it back much easier than we came and I am looking forward to going back to the little town when it gets warmer to go to the beach!

School!! 1/22

We had our first week of school and I am very disappointed.  I forgot that I came to Italy to study, not go on vacation :-(  Overall my classes seem like they will be interesting.  I walked into my italian class the first day and the professor said nothing in english!  She said that class would be taught entirely in Italian.  This is good but I have not had Italian in over a year now so I am a little rusty.  Good thing I can walk outside and practice!!  Professors here like to show up late for class or cancel class often and then tell us we have to stay longer!  They take their tardiness out on us which kinda stinks.  Also most professors have a very heavy accent to you really have to pay attention if you want to learn anything.  Class sizes are about 15 students here.  It is very small which is good for learning, but bad for wanting to miss class to travel.  On Tuesday they showed the Inaugural speech here.  I was very surprised by how much Italians are up to speed on American Politics.  Most bars had the speech airing and our school had a really big party for it.  The italians seem to really like Obama (which is said with an accent) and think that he is going to change many things.  I have managed to get lost several times this week while trying to find the bookstore, the supplies store, and all the other separate stores for school.  It was good because now I know my way around more, but I had my first migrane here in Italy.  We have been making traveling plans this week so hopefully they will come through.  We are going to Barcelona Spain for Carnevale which is like Martigras in the States.  Venice puts on a really nice show also, but it is very crazy there so we want to see it when tourists aren't around.  We found a round trip ticket for 60 euro which is about 75 dollars!  Except we didn't realize that the airport we are flying into is an hour-and-a-half from Barcelona!!  There is a bus that takes us to and from so a group of 7 girls are going on an adventure!!  My friend Amanda from Grand Valley is coming on Sunday.  She is studying in Florence for the semester but she had her plane drop her here so she could stay with me for a night.  I am going to pick her up on Sunday and do a very fast tour of Rome.  We are also planning on going to the Mediterranean on Saturday because the train takes you there for only 2 euro!  Its not warm enough to swim but it should be fun!

Museums Museums Museums 1/18

Hello,

We finally got the internet to start working again.  It decides when it wants to work.

The last 3 days have been spent going into many museums.  We bought a pass called the Roma Pass, which allowed us free transportation and free admission into museums for 3 days.  We went to the National Museum which was full of ancient ruin artifacts.  The museum consisted of three different buildings around the city so we ventured into all of them.  One building was of all the old artifacts from the Roman Baths.  There were many old sculptures and remains in the buildings.  The National Museum was cool........but once you have seen one sculpture, you have seen them all (in my opinion).  After the museum we went to Trevi fountain which was designed by Michelangelo.  It was a very calming place and was very large as well.  It started to get dark when we left the fountain so we decided to go SHOPPING!!  The stores are MUCH more expensive here then they are in the United States.  Also the exchange rate doesn't help.  I have to keep reminding myself that when something is 20 euro, it is really 28 US dollars.  The shops here are not big department stores, they are all little botiques so the prices are generally higher as well.  Clothing stores are everywhere.  Every shop specializes in a different product so you spend a lot of time searching for a complete outfit.  

The next day we went to the Museo di Roma.  It was full of paintings, drawings and clothing from different Roman times.  I decided that I like paintings more than sculptures.  They tell a better story.  Museums take a long time to fully explore, so we all got a little hungry.  It is about 60 degrees here in Rome, so warm enough to eat outside.  We found a little restaurant on a side street that had outdoor seating and heat lamps above.  The best places to eat are the restaurants that have specials like a salad, pasta, meat, and a glass of wine for 15 euro.  We dined true Italian style by staying to eat dinner for almost 3 hours.  It is a very relaxing place.  They drive very crazy, but life itself is very slow paced.  I am starting to get used to it but I am having a hard time slowing down.  

So far, the best thing I like about Rome is that each part of town has a different style.  The area by the Colosseum is very spread out and large.  It reminds me of a big city.  The part where our school is at, is very tight and cobblestone streets.  The buildings in the Vatican area are newer and this part of town is not as "Italian"  

We took a mini tour today and a local Italian brought us around to see the ancient parts of Rome.  We saw the remains where Julius Ceasar was assassinated, and where the old Roman Theatre was.  We also were brought through the "Ghetto" of Rome, which is where all the Jews live.  Rome's Jewish community is the oldest in Europe.  It is a very large community and it is very important in Rome.  On the tour, the guide explained how much higher the city is now, than it was when the Emperors lived.  Over the last 2000 years, the city has gained many layers of dirt and sediment.  Every artifact/ancient sight is dug down very deep.  You are looking down at the remains when trying to gaze.  

I have found a new love............GELATO!!!  (No, I haven't found a soccer player yet)    We have a gelateria right down the street from the apartment and I know it will become dangerous.  The good thing though is that they only give you a little bit.  This gelateria also has coffee and is a mini grocery store.  I am having a hard time getting used to the coffee here.  Most italians drink espresso throughout the day, so each time they get one, it is usually small.  When you ask for a coffee here, you get an espresso.  If you want coffee like in the States, you ask for a Cafe Americano.  All this is is an espresso shot with a little water. The drink is very small I am missing my large cup of coffee in the mornings.  Also Italians don't often take their coffee to go, they stay and drink it at the bar.  So when I ask for a coffee to go, they give a small plastic cup that I am pretty sure melts when the drink goes into it. The Cafe Americano is very very strong... I am getting used to it however.

If the internet stays on long enough, I will add another slideshow.

Ciao

Colosseum/Palatine/Roman Forum

Hello,

Thanks everyone for posting comments....I am putting up slideshows but I cant get the pictures any bigger so I'm sorry about that.  Sarah...I have not found a soccer player yet, but I am trying ;-) Dad, Mr. Bear is doing great.  He loves it in italy!!!  Mom, you would be so proud of me today!!  We decided to cook tonight for the first time and when you get chicken here, they don't cut off the skin or fat or take out the bones, so I did all that WITHOUT GAGING!!!  YAY ME!  Bud, I hope bball is going good for you!! Jaimerz, thanks for the wonderful posts bella!  Ariel,  I am so glad that you are interested!  Keep up with your Italian and we will have conversations when I get home.  Heather, thanks for posting, tell everyone I say hi.  Maybe I will email some pics so that you can see them better.  Tell Mikey that Im working on the girl to bring home.  We got the hot water working but you cant do dishes and shower within 2 hours of each other lol.  

It has been hard to find things that we need because each store is like a boutique and they are all really small!  Each store is specialized for a different thing and we spend hour just looking for stores.  My school is about a 20 minute walk from the apartment, but it is a beautiful walk.  Everyday has rained so far and all my pants are soaked.  The style around here is flat boots, so I bought a pair so that my pants dont get wet up to my knees.  

Yesterday we figured out the train and the subway....It didnt seem productive, but really it was.

Today we figured out the bussing system on our way to the Colosseum.  The Colosseum was a very impressive sight.  The building is HUGE!!  It stopped raining for about 15 minutes when we walked in and we got some really cool pictures.  I will be putting them up soon but the internet is not very good here.  After the Colosseum, we went to Palatine Hill, which is where all the wealthy lived in ancient Rome.  The ruins were much still intact and it was an amazing sight.  On the bottom of the hill is where all the markets were and where the peasants lived.    Because it was raining we got to see how many of their water systems worked.  The area where the town used to be, was enormous.  We walked around for about 3 hours just looking at the sights.  *Fun Fact*-----The marble that the Vatican is made out of....Came from the Colosseum!!------

We are going into some smaller museums tomorrow and we are going to do a little shopping!!

The Vatican!!! 1/13

Today we made it to the Vatican.  I cannot explain how huge the place is!!!  We spent an hour just looking around the church.  I don't know what comes over you when you walk inside, but the beauty of the place simply takes your breath away.  I am glad that there weren't many people there today.  I went with a group of girls and we didn't say a word to each other the whole time.  You look up in awe and it is hard to think of anything to say but "Wow".....   As many of you know, I am not a very emotional person but I do not think that I have ever seen something so beautiful in my life.  I had tears rolling down my eyes as soon as I walked in.  There is just so much history, sweat, and blood all around that you can't help but be emotional.  Being Catholic, I also felt very at home.  I kept thinking to myself how much my grandparents would love to be here and see this!!  We were allowed to go down into the Catacombs of the Popes as well.    I was able to see Pope John Paul II's tomb but pictures were not allowed.  Pictures weren't allowed in the catacombs (I didn't know this until Pope JP-II)  but they had guards all around Pope JP-II and you could only stand for a few seconds to look.  We are going back thursday to climb up in the dome because the last few days here have been really rainy so we wouldn't be able to see much now.  We are also going to see the museums and  the Sistine Chapel.  

I have been meeting a lot of great people who have already been to Italy, as well as many other countries.  They have a lot of experience when it comes to finding places to eat, and bars to to go.

Tomorrow we plan on going to the Colosseum because Pope Benedict has an outdoor prayer on Wednesdays and the Vatican will be very busy.

Day 3 whithout hot water!!! 1/12

We moved into our apartment 3 days ago, and still know hot water!!!   We called the maintenance office but they cannot tell us when it is going to be fixed.  Now I understand why Europeans smell, their hot water is not working half the time! I may have gone into shock the first time I tried to shower.   My apartment is 2 BLOCKS from the Vatican!  It is a two bedroom place, with a bathroom and a kitchen.  It is much bigger than I thought it would be.  I am definitely not used to the time difference yet.  We have been staying up really late and sleeping really late also.  This will have to change when classes start!!!  The Vatican still has up the Christmas tree and also a life-sized Nativity scene.  It isn't very busy right now so we are going to try and do a tour soon.  John Cabot has set up a "Meet and Greet"  every night for us.  I have met a lot of new people.  My roommates are Emily, Lindsey and Yasemin.  They are all great!!!      The walk to school is about 15 min, but everything around is so beautiful that it doesn't seem like much at all.  I haven't done much sightseeing yet because we have been trying to find stores to buy the essentials.  You need a different store for everything.  The shops are cool but it is a little frustrating to find all the stores on our own.  Tomorrow is our orientation for school and we are hoping to do more sightseeing the next couple of days!!!

I made it!!! 1-10-09

Hello everyone!!!

I made it safe after too many hours in a plane!!!! We waited in the Rome airport for 2.5 hours before a shuttle picked us up to come to the campus. Seven of us rode in a taxi/van and I sat in the front. Italians drive crazy! If there are two lanes, there are three cars side by side. We almost hit an old lady crossing the street!! I must have said 10 hail mary's on the way to campus...... No one in the car knew any italian and the driver didn't know english so I was able to translate a little! I have been assigned housing in an appartment by the Vatican!! It will be so much fun. I am off to move into my new appartment and hopefully get a cell phone. I will keep posting about my first day...

Arrivederci

Getting Ready!!! 1/4/09

Hello Everyone!!! Thanks for being so excited about my trip. I have worked very hard to make this dream come true and I want to thank everyone for their support along the way.

Jan. 9th my flight leaves Detroit at 6:10pm. I am traveling by myself and have only flown twice in my life so I am a little nervous. My first flight is into Frankfurt, Germany. I have a three hour layover and then I fly into Rome at 12:40pm (Rome time).

My goal is to post every couple days and also put slideshows up of my latest pictures. You will be able to comment on my postings if you wish. I will be able to use Skype and also AIM to get in contact with people via video chat. My AIM screenname is Christiebball25. Please feel free to email as well. cp.brynaert@gmail.com I look forward to hearing from all of you.

Wish me luck!!!