30 April 2012

Instagrams of April

Ciao regazzi! I got back from Barcelona yesterday, and I'm still in shock over how much fun I had. You'll have to give me a few days to process it before I write about it.

Allora, I've been taking some pretty great pictures on my ole iPhone, especially when I'm too paranoid to take my nice camera out on ordinary days. Observation: days when you don't think you'll take great pictures, you'll find great things to shoot. The next few weeks, I think I'll be taking a lot my pictures, trying to remember as many small moments as possible. Man, am I going to miss Rome.

April 7th- The Pantheon. Paris.
April 8th- Paris.
April 8th- David Guetta Concert. Paris.
April 13th- My 21st Birthday. Sorrento, Italy

April 18th- Studying at AUR. Rome.
April 18th- My Street. Rome.
April 21st. View of St. Peters from St. Angelo. Rome.
April 22nd- Chocolate Shots. Rome.
April 24th- A little montage to Rome.
April 25th- Dream Villa in the Neighborhood. Rome.

April 25th- Prapti at the Dining Room Table. Rome

April 25th- My favorite study spot, across from the Trastevere Train Station. They even have Wi-Fi! Rome.

24 April 2012

Weekend With My Sorella... & a Mild Breakdown

It's getting down to the wire, people. And I'm freaking out. A little. The rest of my time in Italy goes something like this...

April 26-April 29th: Barcelona
April 30th: Final Oral Presentation in Feature Writing
May 2nd: Italian Cultural Presentation
May 3rd: 2000 word essay on Gibraltar due & Sarah arrives in Rome!
May 9th: Final Feature Writing Story due
May 11th: Italian Final & UGA Graduation
May 14th: Film Final
May 15th: Mediterranean World Final
May 16th: I'm out. Or am I?

Can't believe it. The last few days have been wonderful. My sister came in town on Friday and stayed for the weekend. We walked, and walked, and walked.
Day One
School!
Park by AUR
Happy Hour in Santa Maria in Trastevere
Day Two

Largo Argentina: End of the Tram Line. Cat Sanctuary. Where Caesar was stabbed on the Ides of March.
St Peters
Castel St. Angelo. Some of the most beautiful views of Rome!
Am I right or am I right?
Fontana di Trevi
The next day, our Mom was flying in on a trip from Atlanta. They surprised me and my dad came along, too. I haven't seen him since I left for Roma and I was exstatic. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever experienced. I missed him so much! So, the four of us walked around the city for the day and finished at Tony's. Dad was so excited. I don't think the lasagna disappointed.

Thanks for the lovely day! I'll be home before you know it. Promise. 

21 April 2012

Pompeii



More than 2,000 years ago, Pompeii was a thriving Roman town. Located just a few miles from the Mediterranean, it was a center for commercial and economic activity. Then, in 79 BC, nearby Mt. Vesuvius erupted. Four thousand meters were blown off the top of the mountain and everything was covered in hot ash and completely covered the whole area. The ash cloud rose more than 30 km in the sky and the coastline was pushed back a several miles. 

Can you imagine what the people must have thought when they saw the volcano erupt? They didn't even know what volcanoes were! These photos are casts found in the space between the ash, where people were buried. The organic matter has long since decayed, but archeologists created these molds.

Lucky for us, Pompeii's demise has today allowed archaeologists and historians to understand what life was like in an ancient Roman town. And luckily for me, I got to go see it last weekend. Even though it was a little rainy, Pompeii was incredible. There was so much to see! Our guide told us that to see everything, you would need about three days. We had four hours.



The frescos and decorative features of the buildings were incredible. Look at that tile work from 2,000 years ago! We also saw some of the more risque parts of Pompeii. Brothels were a normal part of life.
I hope Blogger doesn't get me in trouble for this.
Brothel Bed
The Roman Baths were also beautifully decorated and were a popular meeting place for citizens.

At the end of the tour, we went to an old Colosseum, older than the one in Rome. It's a bit smaller, but incredibly well preserved. It's amazing to think about the abilities of humans two thousand years ago and at Pompeii, their abilities are impossible to deny.

18 April 2012

Food in France | Refuge des Fondus

If you go to Paris and love fondue, you have to go to Refuge des Fondus. It's in the Montmartre area, and the stairs up to Sacre Coeur after dinner may make you feel a bit better about the amount of food you'll consume.

It'd be easy to walk by during the day, but at night, it's hard to miss. Iris called earlier in the day for us to get a reservation for 3 on Saturday night. They offered us 6 PM and 10:30. Obviously we went with 10:30 and there were about 15 people waiting outside.

The walls are black, red, and full of graffiti. The waiter holds customers hands as they step over and across the banquet tables to sit against the wall. And it's hot and small with low ceilings. Luckily, the staff kindly asks for you to hang your jacket up in the back of the restaurant before you're seated.


To start, they bring a plate of appetizers with sliced meats, olives and, of course, cheese. Then we got to pick between meat and cheese fondue. I suppose we could have gotten both types, but with three people, that would have been a struggle. We chose cheese fondue and nearly finished the entire bowl. I was slightly disgusted with myself.
Apparently some UGA kids have been before, too!
For wine, you have two options: red & white. Both are served out of baby bottles. I guess it helps people prone to spilling, yours truly. It feels a little awkward at first, but it adds to the quirkiness of the whole place.
Our nice Spanish friends

Such a fun way to spend a Saturday night in the City of Lights!
What other restaurants should I visit on my next trip to Paris?

Ventuno


Thursday Night in Rome, wee hours of my birthday.
Welp, I'm 21! We went to the Amalfi Coast for the weekend and even though it rained or drizzed the whole time, I still found a way to have an unforgettable time. The bus left ISA at around 10:30 and we headed south, about an hour past Naples to our base of Sorrento. Because it was so rainy, most of our time was spent indoors, at the hotel or in various cafes.

A little dysfunctional, yes, but I wouldn't want it any other way.
For dinner, a group of 24 of my sweet lovely wonderful awesome incredible fantastic friends went to a restaurant recommended by the concierge called Ristorante il Pozzo. I had such a wonderful time!

'Happy Birthday Clare' was written in Balsamic, not chocolate.
Our Waiter
Cheers to Limoncello!
Thank you all so much for your sweet messages for my birthday! I'll be home in less than a month, and we can celebrate again.

Part II of Amalfi coming up tomorrow, or soon. I'll be a little busy tomorrow because my sister is coming to Rome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

15 April 2012

Oh, Paris.

Amalfi was spectacular this weekend. I can't wait to write all about my 21st birthday, but I realized I haven't even blogged about Paris!

I was there for Easter weekend, from Friday to Monday. It was a lovely weekend! On Sunday night, Prapti, Iris, Lisa and Jillian went to the David Guetta concert. We bought the tickets in October, and I'd been looking forward to the show ever since. He didn't disappoint. Fortunately, I got pictures of almost every major monument in Paris. Enjoy!
Notre Dame
The Pantheon
The Steps from Midnight in Paris
The Luxembourg Gardens.
Sacre Coeur
Eiffel Tower lights up every hour on the hour after the sun sets
Easter Morning
Arc de Triomphe

The Louvre

On Saturday night, Prapti, Iris & I went to this amazing fondue restaurant that I'll tell you about tomorrow!!