First Week in Roma....

Bonjourno!!

So much has happened this past week, it has been crazy and busy and hectic and a bit frantic but at the end of the day its been one of the best weeks of our life. We are planning to update the blog daily however this craziness that ensued this week made it tough to find time! So now, our story continues:

Wednesday, September 8-

This story begins on the gloomiest of all the mornings we have seen in our new city. The skies were dark and looked angry that we had to be up so early and they were threatening to ruin our trip to a local "agrotourismo farm" with our host school. However, as you learn in all things life has to offer, the show must go on. So with rain in sight we set off for the farm on a large bus. The 45 minute drive proved to be well worth it when, seemingly out of no where, the most beautiful lake appeared. Our director, Tina, went on to explain to us that the residence of Rome flock to these hills in the summer to get away from the heat of the city. The lakes were formed from the volcanoes that used to be in this region and were actually in the calderas. These lakes are so beautiful (as you will see) and at the top of the lake ridge was one of the most stunning houses we had ever seen. We were wondering if we could convince our dad to get it for us when we found out it was the Popes summer residence, complete with an observatory.... I guess we wont be getting that one any time soon. Side note- for those of you that have seen or read the Da Vinci  Code this is the residence that they go to for the meeting with the Pope.

About 15 minutes later we arrived at the farm. This, however, was unlike any "farm" we had ever seen. It was complete with a bed and breakfast and a vineyard. Not to mention the riding arena and the fully functioning restaurant and farmers market. Everyone was starving and very excited to get right there and eat the fabulous four course meal that Tina had been describing all day when we were whisked off into the wine and olive oil making factory there. It was very informative, although the owner only spoke Italian, and it was exciting to see how it was all made. After this we all nearly sprinted to the lunch tables and were promptly served an antipasti plate, complete with a tomato stuffed with something that seemed like fish and cubes of what Liz is pretty sure was raw ham... Still starving, the first real course came. It was the most amazing, mouth watering pasta with a carbonera sauce we have ever tried. (and, it to date is the only meal that we would love to have every minute of every day.) Now, very full, the second course came- how do Italians eat like this?- it was pork in a cream sauce with baked potato wedges. Then, as if that wasn't enough, they came around with giant plates of homemade cookies and lemonciello. The lemonciello is supposed to be good for the digestion of the meal- I would agree if its meant to make you throw up... I digress.

After the meal we all went to the market and stocked up on fabulous wine, olive oil, jam and the best and cheapest produce we have ever seen. Right as we were all about to leave the sky decided it couldn't just be gloomy any more, it poured harder than we have ever seen.

When we got home we siestad then woke up just in time for dinner. This was the first real meal on our own and we were excited to be greeted as locals at the restaurant next to our school called Risto. The owner, Alessandro, loves us all and is even cooking a thanksgiving dinner for us!! Oh and he calls Liz "Queen Elizabeth", a name that she thinks is extremely fitting.... :)

The only other eventful thing to report is that Kelsey and Rachel ordered what they thought was a small cup of Nutella flavored gelato and turned out to be literally a cup full of Nutella.... which we proceeded to devour and thus felt extremely un-well. 

Thursday, September 9-

A beautiful, sunny and overwhelmingly hot day greeted us this morning as we began the day on a walking tour of Rome. First, however, Queen Elizabeth (Liz) had her first of what she likes to call "little coffees", or to the rest of the world, espresso shots served in the worlds teeny-tiniest baby coffee mugs. The walking tour was beautiful as we went to the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Campo de Fiori. Quick side note- a kid in our tour threw his coin into the fountain and it bounced back out... looks like he won't be coming back to Rome...what a bummer.

After the tour we took a siesta and cooked dinner for our new found best friends, Kelsey and Rachel. (This is where the day gets interesting) We decided we needed to redeem our nutella-gelato mix up by getting some more gelato which led to us all being surrounded by a group of old Italian men who wouldn't leave us alone. They asked for a picture, then one asked if Liz would marry him, and another grabbed Katie's wrist and wouldn't let go.... then Liz grabbed Katie's other wrist, which became a game of human tug-of-war. Liz Won. Later, when we were back in our room going to sleep a metal marble got thrown into our bedroom window. Liz just about lost it. Katie was indifferent, which made Liz more upset....

Friday, September 10-

Tivoli Day!!!! For those of you that don't know about Tivoli and the old Villa de Este (not the hotel) it is a beautiful hill town on the outskirts of Rome that has beautiful gardens and castles and an adorable town. Oh and, most importantly, it is where many scenes in the Lizzy McGuire Movie were filmed!!! (This clearly put Liz back in a better mood, for those of you that were worried.) We spent almost an entire day there, check out the video for so much more on this as words literally can not describe the overwhelming beauty of this place. Side note-Katie is getting married there.

When we got back our dear friends Rachel, Kelsey, Emma and Jordan made us dinner at their apartment, which we got very lost trying to find.... Then we all went out to Campo di Fiori for a fabulous first night out in Rome. We met up with Kelsey's boyfriend Chris and all of his roommates and many other kids from our program that made for a very fun night.

Saturday, September 11

We want to first say God bless the USA, as we remember the terrible tragedy nine years ago.  It is expected but sad that no one here even thinks twice about it. We decided that since orientation was finally over, and we no longer needed Arcadia to change our diapers for us we would wander through the city ON OUR OWN! This meant navigating our way around and riding the tram by ourselves. Kelsey, Rachel, Dan, Eric, Chris and Jon all joined us as we set out into the picture perfect streets of Rome. We saw the Pantheon, the Spanish steps and The Trevi Fountain. All I can say is thank goodness for Liz.  She claims to know anything and everything about the historical sites in Rome, and was quick to tell everyone all she knew about who died where, why he was important, where his tomb is...yada yada yada. She must get that random trivia thing from Mom.  The boys thought this was so funny that they wanted to steal/find a flag for Liz to hold up to signify her official job as tour guide.

Now, we have to stop for a moment to tell you about our glorious stop for dunch (or linner). We went to McDonalds. This was unlike any McDonalds we have ever seen. The doors parted and in we walked. There was a bar to our right serving anything from espressos to wine, and to the left there was a soft serve and gelato bar.  We walked downstairs, under a tunnel and climbed our way to what we now know is the most wonderful McDonalds in the world!!! It looks like a chic, modern night club, only its swarming with heathens. I would have guessed the middle school just got out, but it was Saturday. So the girls wear their bras up to their necks on their backs, and like to wear tops that show as much as their bra as possible. Oh and they sag their skinnys to show the matching thong! Classy. Really though, where are their mothers? We ended the day by going out in Testacchio to the clubs. We danced literally all night long on the roof terrace of Coyote. Clubs don't start bumpin' until 2am here, so needless to say it was a long night, but we had an amazing day!!!

Sunday, September 12-

Today Katie needed some extra sleep while Liz got up and decided to wander the streets of her new town. Her friend Jordan accompanied her and they began their long trek to the Vatican from Trastevre. It was a beautiful walk full of delightful conversation and an excess of getting lost trying to find the Vatican. We then went to meet Katie (who almost got lost on the single line tram... go figure) so we could all make our way to the Colosseum. Along the way we discovered the difference between a panini, a panino and a panina- all various types of sandwiches given specific names based on their "classifications".... (ok maybe we had to much time on our hands for this one...) The walk along the forum was beautiful and to be honest seeing the Colosseum really never gets old.

After a lovely dinner, that Katie made, we went with a bunch of friends down to the Scholars Lounge- an Irish bar- to watch some good old fashioned American Sunday football! It was an amazing time with some AMAZING American food- wings, nachos, fries.... mmmmm! We also met some amazing people, including a couple from England with the best accent we have ever heard and some other students studying in Rome including our new friend, Cuyler (like Tyler with a C instead of a T). We then went to a McDonnalds in the Pantheon Piazza. We must ask, why is McDonnalds so nice in Italy? It could have been a five star restaurant with the amazing view.

And thus, we must end the story of the longest week ever. The search for la vita bella continues....


Ciao, for now!