I apologize for not creating any new posts as of late; I have been studying for finals, but stay posted for some great info about my recent trip to Tuscany, as well as my feeble attempts at navigating Italy's train system solo! Ciao!

Post-Exam Cappuccino and Cookies

After taking my aesthetics midterm this afternoon on the strange and misogynist musings of Kant and Schopenhauer, I needed a caffeine break.  In Rome, this issue can be fairly easily assuaged...just a quick walk down the hill of my Balduina neighborhood, and the smell of coffee and Nutella is everywhere.  I decided on the inconspicuous Corner Bar, where I decided on cappuccino and a vanilla wafer dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in hazelnuts.  I spent the rest of the afternoon sipping my beverage and reading up on the best way to get access to Coliseum tickets, all the while stopping to stare at all the dogs that were being walked. 

To note: Romans love their pets.  I have seen so many different types of dogs in the last two weeks...Bernese Mountain dogs, Italian greyhounds (for obvious reasons), and probably at least thirty to forty Yorkies, all of which are much smaller and cuter than their American counterparts.  Old men even put sweaters on their bulldogs--that's pet owner dedication. 

I am about to leave for the Trastevere neighborhood to grab a quick drink and some appetizers, and find dinner later, then off early in the morning for the Coliseum before it gets too crowded!

Tip: The Metro blue train line has a stop that drops you off right by the Coliseum--super convenient, and I've noticed that almost no tourists use the train.  For 1.50 euro, that's cheaper than taking a taxi for a Roman block!

Pear Pasta in Piazza Navona

Last night (6/5), I had one of the best meals I've ever eaten in Piazza Navona, which is a piazza in Rome that is built on the site of a stadium created during the rule of Emperor Domitian in the first century.  It was once used for chariot races, so the piazza is long and oval-shaped.  It now contains the Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini, as well as serves as a selling point for local artists.  The restaurant where I ate dinner was called Osteria dell'Anima, and I had their house specialty: gnocchi stuffed with mascarpone wrapped thinly with pear, served over a savory carrot sauce.  For my antipasti, I had artichoke bruschetta. It was ridiculously good.  Afterwards, my friend and I walked down the alleyway to Gelateria del Teatro, where I got lavender and white peach, as well as sage and raspberry gelato.  This was definitely one of my best food days in Italy thus far!

Here's a review of the restaurant in case you're interested from Tripadvisor! http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187791-d696445-r115427663-Osteria_dell_Anima-Rome_Lazio.html

Pope Francis and the Papal Audience

This morning (6/5), I woke up at 4:30 and walked 2.5 miles to see Pope Francis speak at the papal audience.  I stood in line, doing my best to ward off elderly Italian ladies who knew how to throw a sharp elbow in the ribcage...but, after three hours, I made it into the Vatican, running to the front of Saint Peter's Square.  I managed to get a good seat, and staked out my chair for the following three hours.

At about ten, Pope Francis rode out into the crowd in his "Popemobile," smiling, waving, and kissing babies left and right.  He looked so genuinely happy as the 200,000-something crowd cheered wildly and snapped pictures.  It was a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life: the collective happiness, the sheer joy of being part of such a large group of people in order to see one man who was just as enthused to be there as we all were.

Yes, I was this close!

St. Peter's Basilica on this lovely morning

Pople Francis was so enthusiastic and happy to see everyone!

Kissing babies, a crowd favorite

The 200,000-strong crowd behind me

Rome by Night

Last night, a friend and I decided to walk down to the area surrounding the Vatican to grab a late-night snack.  We headed over to Duecento Gradi on Piazza Risorgimento, which has paninis for just 5 euros with super high quality ingredients.  I had a panini with prosciutto, pesto, mushrooms, and brie cheese coupled with a Peroni beer that made for the best snack trip I've ever made.  Just around the corner, my friend got ricotta and candied pistachio gelato at Old Bridge Gelateria, a local spot with cheap prices and big portions, facing the Vatican wall.  We sat on the steps of the piazza and enjoyed the lack of tourists on a late Monday night.

Here's the link for the panini place: https://www.facebook.com/pages/200-Gradi/92135934454

Verona

On Sunday morning, we left Venice and headed to Verona, the fabled town of where Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet took place.  We got to town, checked our bags into the train station, and headed for a caffe for a cappuccino and a lemon pine nut tart.  Suddenly, cannons shot off! The townspeople were dressed up in 1700's army uniforms and were recreating their battle for independence against Napoleon.  It was really interesting to see, and the people recreating the scenes were super serious and played their parts well.  After watching that for a while, we got some cheap gyros and walked to the fictitious "house of Juliet" and looked around there for a bit.  Then a friend and I went shopping, eventually meeting up accidentally with some people we had traveled with earlier in the weekend, and had dinner with them.  I had penne with pomodoro sauce, which was much better than I expected for being so close to a typical touristy area.  We made a quick gelato stop (gianduia, a kind of chocolate, and pistachio for me) and back to the train station for the three hour ride back to Rome.  I had a great weekend, even though we packed so much travel into three days! I plan on going back to Florence for sure later on.

Venice

After walking to the Ponte Vecchio on Saturday morning,

which was absolutely beautiful, with no other tourists around, we got a quick cappuccino and cornetto (like a croissant) and got on the train to Venice.  We arrived in the city around 1:30, and took a bus to Marghera, a neighborhood on the other side of the canal to save some money.  After wandering aimlessly around trying to find the hostel, we found it, the Nuovo Locanda Belvedere.  It wasn't much, but it was relatively clean, and had doors with locks, so we dropped our bags off and headed back to Venice.  We went around the alleyways, following the signs leading to San Marco and the Rialto Bridge, all the while stopping in various artists' glass galleries and purchasing Murano glass pendants, which all look like miniature rose windows.  We eventually made our way into the massive Piazza San Marco, with hundreds of other tourists making their rounds around the Murano shops lining the piazza. We got into the relatively short line for the church, and saw some of the prettiest mosiacs and Cosmati floors.  The Cosmati were a Roman family who made some of the most detailed geometric patterned floors throughout churches all over Italy.  While leaving, we had to walk over scaffolds, because the water levels were so high outside the church, which is sinking slowly.  After leaving, I ran into a friend by accident who had been in Padova that day, and we all met up and went to dinner, followed by a Vivaldi concert in San Vidal Church.  It was a beautiful concert, and I had front row seats! My friend that I sat with is a violinist, so it was interesting getting her perspective on the concert.  Afterwards, we all made the trek back to the piazza, went behind the bell tower, and bought gelato, all the while enjoying a lovely classical music performance in front of the gelateria.  When we finished our gelato, (I had pistachio and chocolate), we took a water taxi back to the bus station, which ended up being a gorgeous tour of Venice at night.  We took the bus back to our hostel, and left in the morning for Verona.

Florence

On Friday (5/31), I took a 7:30 train to Florence, my favorite place that I have visited thus far.  We got to the city around 9:30, and, upon making our way out of the train station, accidentally stumbled upon the San Lorenzo leather market just as it was opening for the morning.  The bold, pungent smell of leather permeated the alleyways as vendors did their best to get me to stop and try on jackets, hats, and lambskin bags.  I bargained and haggled for a leather jacket, and got a few thin leather bracelets, all with the official Firenze stamp.  The group I was traveling with checked into our hostel, "The Academy" hostel, which I would highly recommend to anyone.  There was free wifi, breakfast, tapas, and clean beds with a towel provided, all just a block away from the Duomo.  After dropping my stuff off at the hostel, I climbed the Duomo with friends, all 463 steps!

Then, I stood in line for only about a half an hour for the Accademia, which houses Michaelangelo's David, carved in Carrara marble and standing over five meters tall.  I stared at that statue for about 30 minutes; it was mind-boggling that at just 26 years of age, Michaelangelo carved that statue using one block of neglected marble.  

For dinner, I had Florentine steak with arugula, and it was absolutely amazing.  The small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant seated a small number of people, all of which were locals besides us.  I went back to the hostel afterwards and went to bed after walking around the beautiful city all day.

Assisi

This past Thursday (5/30) I went to Assisi on a pilgrimage for my theology class.  My professor just happened to be driving to Assisi that morning in order to show one of his friends around the town, and he offered to drive my friend and I there.  We readily accepted the free ride, and just bought a train ticket back from Assisi to Rome. Upon arriving to Assisi, we went into a little caffe and ordered cappuccinos and what looked like strudel...turned out to be the town's most famous pastry, "rocchiata," a layered, flaky pastry with bits of apricot and almonds.  The shop owners laughed at us for not knowing what was in it, but it didn't matter...it was delicious!

We then went to the Basilica of Saint Francis, which had the most gorgeous mosaics...so much glittering gold and vaulted ceilings.  We went down to the crypt of Saint Francis, and it was a very spiritual experience.  Upon leaving the basilica, we turned around and I snapped this picture right before it started hailing:

My friend and I took cover in a little trattoria and I had the best polenta with ragu...so good.  After it stopped hailing, we went to Saint Claire's church, and then we went to San Damiano, where Saint Claire lived, and the walk was gorgeous. Here's a few photos from that walk:

After this, we went to Santa Maria Degli Angeli, which is the basilica that Saint Francis built around a small chapel lower in the valley.  It was gigantic, and a Mass was going on, so I quietly walked around and looked at the side chapels.  My friend and I went and got croquettes, which are fried rice balls with mozzarella and ragu inside, for only two euros.  Then, we hopped on the train and went back to Rome for the two-hour ride back.  It was a beautiful day trip, even with the storm! So many little alleyways and secret staircases around every corner!