Italy, I just can't quit you.

GET OVER IT.

Sometimes, that's what I imagine people mentally think when I start a sentence with "When I lived in Rome..." or "One time in Italy...". So, I try to be aware. I try to listen more than I talk and think with a smile on my face without ever moving my mouth.

I'm struggling a little bit. My job is great, but I'm a get-up-and-go girl. I love my sense of adventure, but I look around and I don't see much. I'm sitting at a desk for 8-hours a day with the same nighttime routine prettyyy much every night.

So, when I come across an article like "39 Reasons Studying Abroad in Italy Ruins Your Life", I'm intrigued. The title is way too dramatic because Studying Abroad in Italy makes your life. It doesn't ruin it. What is ruined are the preconceived notions you may have had about your future, the path to take. Maybe money stops being so important. Maybe you learn to love the simple pleasures of life, like a good cappuccino instead of obsessing over television. Or maybe, like me, you become more conscious about where your food comes from, choosing a farmer's market over a traditional big box store.

At any rate, each one of those photos associated with the 39 Reasons made my heart flutter, especially "#36: The Way Roma Glows At Night". As beautiful as Rome is during the day, it came alive at night. The music, the loud conversations and the Orange Glow started off as the unknown and became a treasure during my 110-day visit.

Leave it to BuzzFeed for yet another incredibly relatable list. It's as if they hopped in my head with the thought, "Hm, what would Clare write?" and to be honest, I'm offended they didn't.

Though I will say, Italy pretty much ruined American pizza for me. Is that too dramatic? 

Departure Eve: July Eurotrip

Oh yall. 

I could hardly sleep last night. There's so much to do!! I'm leaving tomorrow for the trip of a lifetime with my sister. We're going to the Greek Isles and Cinque Terre!!

July 1: Athens

July 2-5: Santorini 

July 5-8: Paros

July 9-12: Cinque Terre

We'll be taking planes, ferries, trains, cabs and (fingers crossed) mopeds to explore these incredible Mediterranean vistas. As always, I'll tell you all about it on LT&C.

Happy Saturday!!

Philadelphia

 There's just something about cities. The energy, the people, the stories... Ah, I love it. Before Christmas, I went to visit my roommate and other friends from Rome in Philadelphia. What a cool place. My friends live in the city. I'm talking skyscrapers outside the front door, on the subway line... It's awesome. They were awesome hosts and I think enjoyed being tourists in their own city. I certainly loved seeing them after seven months!

We took trains everyone, explored Old City, South Street and hit all the big tourist spots. As a big fan of America, I freaked out a bit at the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall but the food, art and time spent exploring with friends was incredible.

Friends / Plaque Commemorating the First Meeting of the Supreme Court in Independence Hall/ Wideshot of Independence Hall/ Room of the First Continental Congress (GW sat in that actual chair)

Presents @ the Independence Gift Shop- Great Quote / Ornament from China... what?

 

Philly Pretzel with Mustard / My leftover Cheesecake / Pho

Asian Ceramics/ Painting of a Beautiful Dress/ Matisse / Crystal hangings at the Barnes Museum and Philadelphia Museum of Art

"Friendship is the new black". Right?

Great Gift Idea for Study Abroad Students!

If you're studying abroad, taking a big trip or want to give your parents and family a nice thank you gift upon your return, I would definitely recommend doing something similar to my project!

My roommate, Sam, came home from an awesome ski trip in Switzerland and explained the idea to our apartment. I knew my parents and grandparents would absolutely love it. 

Here's the gist:
Take a photo of yourself in front of an important location in the cities you visit. Ask to borrow a piece of paper from the hostel front desk or bring your own. As you can tell, I wasn't consistent with the type of paper I used, but I think it made the whole thing look authentic. Use "Thanks for Giving Me the World" or come up with your own special phrase!

I started in early March with my trip to Brussels (holding the beer at Delirium Tremens). It was so fun to plan it and think about how the final result would look. I printed the pictures, framed it for my parents and grandparents and gave it to them about a month after I got home. 

Thanks- Under the Eiffel Tower

For- Outside the Prague Castle

Giving- In the Courtyard at AUR

Me- Inside an Ancient Coliseum in Pompeii

The- Delirium in Brussels

World- Fontana di Trevi

Seriously, do this. It doesn't take that much work and you'll smile every time you look at it. 

The 5 Stages of Grief: Study Abroad Edition

1. Denial – The days leading up to May 16, packing, saying goodbyes, throwing a coin the Trevi, heading to the airport, getting on the plane... Is this really happening? We're not actually leaving.. right?

2. Anger – I'm just mad I had to leave Rome, my friends, a wonderful school, the opportunity to explore and be on my own. This anger stage still comes out from time to time. Ask those closest to me. 

3. Bargaining –"Ok, Mom & Dad... Just let me stay for a few weeks after to travel. I reallyyyy wanted to go to Budapest and Munich..."

4. Depression – Not even Crazy, Stupid, Love, Casablanca and an ice cream sundae on the airplane could ease my heavy heart. I woke up from my nap wondering where my roommates were and if the kitchen was clean only to find myself on the airplane headed to Atlanta. Yeah, I cried. Then cried again when my sister gave me a collage of pictures of my trip. Then cried again when I was singing by myself in the car.

5. Acceptance – When the plane landed in Atlanta, we were one of the first group of passengers to go through the new terminal. It opened earlier that day. The employees were excited, the walkways were beautiful and I got to see my family for the first time... in a few weeks. It's been a little overwhelming since then, but I'm happy. Driving is more fun than I remembered. I love having Netflix on Demand. I can stretch out my arms in bed and not touch a wall. There's no sirens, no neighbors yelling at 8 AM, no dirty floors. My friends smiling faces and genuine happiness at my return gives me a little slap in the face. Life is good and all of the exciting things happening at home makes me feel ok about being back. It happened. It was wonderful. Now, get on with your life but don't forget a second. 

Before I left, there was a C.S. Lewis quote that I constantly repeated when I was sad or anxious about spending four months away. "There are far, far better things that lay ahead than any of those we leave behind." Lewis is a smart man and I believed his words. Now, I'm repeating it again and looking at things lying ahead. I may turn around a lot and think of Italy, but hey... who wouldn't?

Ciao Amici.

...and by 'Ciao', I mean 'a domani', because the blog is keeping on. 

T - 6 Days

Piazza Navona

This is my 100th blog post. Can you believe it?

Time is fading away in Rome. I'm a bit devastated. I don't know how else to say it. Hence why I haven't been blogging too much lately.

Luckily, my friend Sarah was here this weekend remind me about how great life is back at home. She left on Monday to head to Florence for the rest of the month.

Fiori

We had a great weekend, slept a lot, walked around Roma, had some amazing food. This week, I spent a lot of time working on a 2,500 word paper about the Italian perception of McDonald's. I turned it in yesterday. One class down, three to go.

It's really frustrating that my last week in Rome is getting filled up with studying. I'm in the courtyard studying for Italian for a bit, then spending the afternoon walking around this beautiful city. I'll be home this time next week and I couldn't be more grateful for my four months in Rome.

No doubt, I'm taking that home with me. I'll be spending my summer, and the rest of my life, happy about my time in Rome.

Not going to get to sappy, yet. Time to study for Italian. Andiamo.

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. 

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.

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, Why Bring Sand to the Beach?

Last Friday, my lovely friend Robbie rallied a crew to head to Ostia for the day. We took a train, which cost ONE EURO, as much as the Metro within Rome. After one bus from our neighborhood, a train from the Piramide station and a ten minute walk, we were looking at the Mediterranean. In all, the trip took about an hour and was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. We didn't get to go into Ostia Antica, the beautiful old time, but just headed straight to the beach. Hopefully when my sweet sister comes to visit in two weeks (eeeeekkk!!), we can make a day trip out of it! Sound good, Nat Nat?

  

Lauren, Lee, Megan and I brought sheets to lay on and a few provisions picked up from the local market. The sand was dark and had a lot of smooth, beautiful rocks near the waterline. No trash, no insane amount of seaweed. The water was frigid but the weather was so beautiful, we didn't need to cool off. I only ventured in to about my knees.

Robbie & I--- Check Out His Blog!

It was a day of lovely conversation & relaxation, coupled with some Frisbee action. Jim, I'm still down to join your Ultimate Team if the offer stands. Rome felt so far away from the beautiful stretch of beach. Most of the restaurants were still closed and it was very obvious the tourism season has not officially begun. Leave it to the Americans to be the only people on beach. Whatever, we didn't care.

BENNY BENNY BENNY

Last night was incredible. Started off with dinner at Tony's, a great restaurant in Trastevere that we college students frequent all too often.

Mommy & Friends at Dinner in Trastevere!!

Then, we sent Mom home and the big kids went out for Benny Benassi. He's an electronic artist from Italy, internationally famous and big in the night-club scene and at music festivals like Ultra. I'll get there one day.

The venue was called Atlantico and it was about 20 minutes outside of Rome, which made it very inconvenient to find a cab home at the end of the night...

SO FAR SOUTH

Benny Benassi and the artists who opened for him were so much fun to watch and listen to.  We (our group of 10) bought VIP tickets, luckily, so we were able to sit down for a while and leave our jackets in a safe place. I ended up needed to sit for a while because I fell and bruised my spine on a set of marble stairs on Wednesday night. So graceful.

ME & PRAPSTAR

The show started around midnight and we didn't leave until almost four. We finally caught a packed night bus to the Colosseum by about 5 AM and stumbled upon this scene...

... as the birds began to welcome in the day. Finally, we got a cab and I arrived back at the hotel to a very delierious Mommy. We went to the large street market today along viale de Trastevere and had a wonderful time looking at jewelery, antiques and avoiding the used clothing booths..

Midterms this week! How has this semester gone by so fast?! One thing is for sure: I won't running back to Atlanta when May rolls around, I love Rome.