crazy busy and i think i'm still jet lagged!

I've been so busy and tired this weekend I didn't have enough time to write anything. Friday was the IES group tours around Rome. We were put in all separate groups so we would be forced to meet new people which ended up working out really well. My tour was lead by one of the IES history teachers so she knew a lot about the history of each place we went to. She also had a strong accent so I can't really explain where we were half the time :/. We took a bus around Roma and passed the Colosseum and then got off the bus to see Piramide di Caio Cestio which is a pyramid tomb of Cai Cestio made when Egpytian architecture was the "in" thing.



We then went into a few beautiful churches around that area of Rome (Parco Savello) also called Orange Garden because of the many orange trees. We visited the Basilica of Santa Sabina. We passed the Egyptian embassy that had hard core security outside of it and found a keyhole peephole just down the road in the Piazza Cavalieri di Malta which offers an unforgettable view of St. Peter’s Basilica. It was absolutely gorgeous! After that we found another amazing view of Rome.



We then saw the huge wall in Rome and where they had chariot races. That night my roommate and I got back and made chicken cutlets and some salad and then headed out into town.

Saturday we all slept in till about 1ish and me and my other roommates, Shauna and Jessica went walking around Trastevere and went food shopping. We later went to the Colosseum for a "Colosseum Pub Crawl" which showed us a bunch of different places in Rome we haven't been yet.

Sunday we woke up early to go to the Trastevere market that is held every Sunday. We then got Pizza and continued to explore Trastevere. Later we all walked to the Spanish Steps to see the Carnivale celebrations. The entire area was packed with people and tourists! We walked around for a while there and got some gelato for the first time here!





After having some gelato we went to the top of the Spanish Steps and then found a gorgeous view of the sunset and Rome. After that we walked down to the Piazza del Popolo to see the Carnivale entertainment. Kids were all dressed up in Halloween costumes and throwing confetti everywhere. There were people on stilts dressed up in Renaissance ish clothes. There was even a band and many dancers that we went and watched. After the show ended we walked around the piazza and found a mall in Rome! It was the most beautiful mall I've ever seen (with extremely expensive stores) ... Palisades Center Mall can't hold a candle to this place.

We finally got back home and my roommate and I made tacos! (it was inevitable that it would happen sooner or later) We were going to go out to an Irish pub to watch the Super Bowl but we were all too tired so we stayed in. They had it on our TV but we didn't stay up to watch the entire thing (not the biggest fan of the Saints and Colts anyway).

Today we woke up super early and went to the IES building to confirm our schedules with an advisor. Unfortunately I couldn't take the "Rome as a Living Museum" class because I never took art history at PSU. And I couldn't take the photography class because my camera didn't cut it. Now I am taking Roman Architecture & Urban Design, Medieval Art in Rome, Social Issues in Southern Italy, Italian 101, and From Viewing to Making a Film on Rome. I don't have any Friday classes which is going to work out well for weekend trips.

We planned a weekend trip to Amsterdam in a few weeks and are going to Venice next weekend for Carnivale. I even bought a mask for it already!

After the advising meeting my roommate and I got notebooks for class and found a hair straightener ... finally! We then found a bigger and better supermarket than we have been going to and picked up some food. Made omelets and then ran back to IES for my first intensive Italian class.

I now know the Italian alphabet and knew a few more Italian words than people in my class due to Rosetta Stone (although I think the first day or two is going to be the only time I am 1st in the class). I keep writing the words as if they were in Spanish and keep putting d's instead of t's and b's instead of v's ... hopefully I'll get it down soon.

After class we walked to the Spanish Steps again to pick up textbooks for my Italian class because - I have homework in it already!!! We just made some quick Risotto and I'm going to start my homework after this. Then we're gonna finish the taco stuff and call it a night.

I'll try to update more often because this is a ridiculously long post.

Ciao,
Krista

PS. It hasn't snowed here and its been gorgeous out MWAHAHAHAHA ;)

PPS. I keep updating this album with more pictures so you can always check up on it.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033365&id=1376760021&l=9af6d071ed