May 31

Last night we found a little bar by where our school is and went out with the group. An italian boy bought us all roses from a street vendor so that is a first!

Today we had a lecture about advertising in Italy like usual then went to Campo Di Foire-- a big street market that sold jewelry, purses, and food. I found some great things for a cheap price! I am a pro at bartering now which is great. A got a wallet that was 30 euro and got him down to 10 euro :)! Around 5pm we headed to our wine tasting which we took a tour of the vineyard. I felt like I was in the parent trap. We had a four course meal and headed home.  Instead of natural water they had water with gas, I think it is like soda water which I do not enjoy, so I had learned to love wine even more. I found like I like sweet white wine that is usually served with deserts. Not really an exciting day to blog about, but I managed to have a lot of success shopping so I can't wait to show everyone what I got!

Staying in tonight to catch up on some rest.

Colosseum tour tomorrow--Super excited.

May 30th

Monday
We started off our morning with breakfast at a caffe and had the most delicious cappuccino. The guy even knew how to make designs on it! We went to a two hour italian language lesson which was interesting--don't worry Mom and Dad, I wrote down everything just in case we need it. For lunch we went to an American place to have a cheeseburger and fries--Thank God! I haven't had red meat a week! That was a great way to start the day.
Then a group of us went to the Vatican for the day. What a beautiful city. We went into St. Peter's basilica and thought it was a good idea to go to the top of the dome. It was 5 Euro to go all the way to the top using stairs and 7 Euro to use the elevator. Of course I payed 7 Euro and still died going up the stairs. I missed the sign that said that there was an additional 300 steps after the elevator. People were having to stop and take breaks on the stairs because there were so many. The view from the top was worth it though!
After the vatican we walked home, went to the grocery store, and now cooking dinner.
We are hoping to go out so I will let you know how it goes!

May 26/27/28/29

Thursday morning

We did something different today than spend a day in the city. We went to a farm to see how Ricotta  cheese is made and spent a day on the lake. People swam in the lake, layed out, or just hung out. It was a really nice break from the horns honking and noises from the city. I never knew how relaxing just sitting out in the country can be. It was much needed after all the organized visits and lectures that we have. However for lunch there was a meat and cheese platter which I thought was an appetizer but turns out it was our meal..I love meat and all but not right after I snap shots of pigs on the farm.

Thursday night

We headed to a "Disco" ( a club) in Testaccio (Right next to our neighborhood) with the whole class. It was a blast being out with everyone. American music was being played, and not really different than the American party scene except they had a dress-code and wouldn't let many guys in. We were lucky that the two guys in our group were let in with no problem. The clubs are open until 4am so our bus that left at 7:15 the next day was brutal, but it was worth it. The walk is only 15 minutes so I am loving the area that we are located. Now I know where to take Mom and Dad!

Friday 

We boarded a bus at 8am and headed to Cilento which is on the coast of the Mediterranean and about a four hour drive. This again is different from the city and what you would picture Italy to be. Narrow streets, clothes hanging out on the line, and seafood everywhere. The only problem--once you leave big tourist cities like rome, nobody speak English in little cities. Here we saw how coffee is made which is the strongest coffee ever and what fresh Buffalo Mozzarella taste like. Which is the best!! I will never eat string cheese again.  I also learned how to make pasta from scratch. Basically I learned that everything in Italy is made fresh and they take great pride into what they do. We then went down to the shore and talked to fishermen and saw what they caught that day. He insisted on giving us a ride on the boat. With all 20 of us on a fishermen boat we go over a rocky patch and get stuck. Our instructor was freaking out and it was quite an experience. (I uploaded a video of it on facebook so check it out.) We were so happy when we were all back on land once again. That night we went to a little restaurant which was included and had about a 8 course meal (or at least it felt like it.) The waiter didn't speak english but managed to host karaoke as well as cooking the food. He did everything. Our hotel that we stayed at was really nice and way more modern than our apartments at Rome however; we were only there to sleep and that is it. 

Saturday

We went to a place where they produce olive oil. We tasted different kinds of olive oil and had probably one of the best meals there. We ate our meal outside which look like a wedding could be held here. We then went down by the Mediterranean and sat by the beach all day just to relax. The beach was much needed. The water was cold but it felt so good and I didn't even burn!! I experienced my first cup of gelato and wish I hadn't because it is going to be addicting. After the beach we went back to the hotel to clean up then went to a pizza factory which we had a pizza tasting. I am never eating pizza again. The food was so good but they kept coming out of the kitchen with more types of pizza before I could finish the slice that I was eating. The wine is great here--but the only pop they have is Coke, Coke "Light" and Fanta. I miss my pepsi! Cilento had a Buffalo Mozzarella festival being held in their village so we all went out and explored that. I have never got so many stares, all of us stuck out like a sore thumb in a little town like that. The teachers went out with us and it was alot of fun. These bars did not play American music so we just made our own. 

Sunday

Today we went to Salerno and toured the botanical gardens which every plant in Italy can be found here. We had a tea tasting that included herbs and spices. The garden was 5 stories high which overlooked Salerno with a beautiful view. After that, we walked along the sea and shopped at the local market. We ate lunch at a sea food place all together then headed back to Rome. As soon as I got to the apartment I got on facebook because I had with-drawls! Small villages like that have awful internet connection, I don't know what they do. Tonight we are taking an easy and staying in. It's nice being back in Rome but it was a nice break from the city.

Tomorrow 

We are going to learn a little bit of Italian and then sight-see the vatican then hopefully hit the town tomorrow night!

Mom: I don't know why you can't get through to me on our phone. Lets just plan on you calling around 7pm noon your time tomorrow. I will give you a call to let you know I am home.

arivaderchi!

May 23/24/25

Monday night we decided to venture off into a different area that we have previously gone to for a farmers market. We found this Brazilian bar due to the fact that many places aren't open on Monday nights. We made friends with the bartender and she recommended many places around the area so now we kind of know where to go next time we head that way.

Tuesday morning

We had class Tuesday morning that started at 10. From 10-12 we watched a powerpoint about the Mediterranean diet (The italians eating patterns from the past) that was given by Dr. Laura Rossi who works for the National Institute of Research for Food and Nutrition. From 12-1 we had lunch which consisted of a panini with tomatoes buffalo cheese and lettuce for only 2 Euro. We are definitely going back there again soon. From 1-4 professor Carlo Alberto Pratesi who is the Director and Professor of Economics and Management at Rome University. He talked about some of the advertising strategies that works with Italians and the difference between U.S and Italy marketing which was very interesting...for an hour. We had to take a break because so many students were starting to drift off. Since there are only 17 of us  you can definitely tell. On our break we went and got an espresso which I am learning to love. It is just a little tiny drink and it will do one wonders. After that I was ready to get back in the classroom. Tuesday night we went to a pizaria that cooked all of our pizza in a brick oven. The pizza was delicious! Then a group of us went to an American bar for karaoke night which reminded me of KAMS. Bars here are filled with people drinking but eating more. They look down upon public intoxication so I feel classy going out here! :)

Wednesday Morning

Today we got the opportunity to cook a Ancient Roman meal. We were in the basement of the restaurant that we had the four course meal at the first night and worked directly with the chef. The meal consisted of soup (that was gross), bread served with either anchovie spread or honey (I picked honey), Salad that was eaten with only the hands, and wine that was diluted with water. We tried to do everything that they did back then so there was a person that came around after each course to wash our hands. The meal was lit by candlelight and was very nice. We walked around the city, had dinner with the students in our program then took a nap. That is when you called--I'm sorry again I was still sleeping when I was talking to you! You will have to try again soon!

Tonight we stayed in to relax because tomorrow we leave at 9am to go to a buffalo farm to watch how cheese is produced. 

At 8pm tomorrow we are going to a Museum designated for advertising. Then maybe go out for a few drinks. 

arivaderchi! 

May 22nd/May 23rd

Our second day in Rome--
Sonia, our tour-guide, took us around the Trevesvere area which is where all the clubs and restaurants for young people are located. She's really good and recommending where the go--the only things is we can never remember where everything is once she is gone. After we went to dinner at Antica Biblioteca Valle which consisted of a four course meal as a welcome dinner. (pictures below) It was so fancy and nice but I rather chicken nuggets or corn dogs because of the mysterious meat that I consumed. The dinner took about two hours because they wait 20 minutes in between meals. Two hours of unlimited wine so after dinner we went ahead to the bars as a class. Not sleeping for 36 hours at this point, it was definitely brutal so we all agreed to go out earlier so we can go back earlier. We quickly found out that no one goes out until midnight.... 10 pm is when people were eating dinner so finding somewhere to go was a challenge. We found an empty bar so we just went in to start the night. We missed Aperitivo, so we ordered drinks at full price and convinced the bartender to give us Aperitivo discounts and he agreed. Aperitivo is the Italians' version of "Happy Hour" except it works a bit differently. You pay for one discounted drink and get to eat a buffet for a pre-dinner. We have yet to try it so I don't know exactly how that works. Aperitivo goes from 7-10 pm then they eat dinner at 10pm so everything is just a bit later and I find it hard to adjust because  I tend to eat at the same time everyday.When we walked in the bar--music was playing songs that none of us ever heard of --they soon started playing American Pie and chanting USA by the end of the night. Every drink that we bought came with a free shot of Rumplemints so we have plans of going back there soon.. Definitely a good way to start the trip.

The next day we were awoken up at 8am from a farmers market that was setting up RIGHT outside our apartment (below) which varied from cute clothes to jewelry, to power tools. Some things were so neat and other parts I felt like I was at a garage sale. There were thousands of booths and definitely overwhelming. It happens every Sunday, and I am hoping to hit up the next one! We got back from the market about 2pm then it started to rain so the beach was out of the question. We all took naps then headed for the Colosseum to eat dinner walk around ect by using the Metro and get there, no problem. We soon found out that the restaurant that we agreed to go to did not have a server that spoke English so we had to talk to the cook. We decided to not rely on the metro but to walk back and try to meat our other friends at the bar because it looked like a short distance on the map. It took us two hours to walk back but we happened to run into the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon so the night turned out okay! My feet are definitely feeling it today.

Third day in Rome--
Today was officially our first day of class. We were lectured about the history of Roman food from 10-1 then had an hour break from 1-2pm for lunch. We then had a tour around Rome visiting the most popular and authentic restaurants. We got to meet the chefs-- visited a wine cellar that had a bottle of wine for 15,000 Euro, had an espresso, and topped it off with gelato. For tonight we are going to make pasta in our apartment then head out later!
arivederchi!

May 20th, 2011 --Arriving to Rome

Finally arriving at the airport made the trip that I just talked about for months actually seem real.
Our plane left at 3:30 pm on May 20th and we arrived in Rome on May 21st at 8am. Staying with the Lannons, it made it very easy to get to O'Hare because it was just a quick 10 minute drive. Everything was going smooth until I had to go through security. Since I am backpacking after this trip is done, I was going to check my backpack--but the lady working the counter insisted on me carrying on the backpack to save $55--so I agreed. I did that without thinking about all the liquids that I had in my backpack that you are not supposed to take on a plane. Security had to pull my bag aside and not check it once, but three times due to hairspray, body wash, and toothpaste that had to be thrown away. The worried faces of my instructors and fellow classmates were priceless. The flight did go as planned but a very long 10 hour flight that consisted of free unlimited wine. :) The 2 hours of horrible sleep that I managed to get during the flight is starting to catch up with me am not going to bed until tonight so we will see how that works out.
Our apartments are very cute and we are located in a great area filled with young Italians. Grocery shopping is what we accomplished today with the group. 87 cent wine is what we purchased along with meats and cheeses that I can't pronounce. I had salad, but failed to find the salad dressing so just gave up. One thing to not--Rome does not carry Tequilla or Burnettes :O. We are going to a four course dinner tonight and have plans of possibly going out so we will see where tonight will take us.
Arivaderchi!