Roaming the Streets of Rome

I am going to try and update my blog every day, but I just don't think that is going to work out. We did so much yesterday that I had no time, but I will make up for it now. Yesterday was our first real class of Layers of Rome. The whole class met at the Tiber Island. It was rainy a little today so it put a damper on our visit, but we still learned a lot. We sat inside the church that is built on the Island, called St. Bartholomeo. While listening to the professor, we observed the church and admired the paintings and architecture within the church. Like I said in my first post, I never have liked history that much, but after today and being on site to see where the history started, I really enjoyed what we learned. I was amazed at how much history the Tiber Island
has. Once the rain stopped, we were able to walk around the island and see how the island is shaped like a boat. It amazes me that there is a hospital located on the island.

The picture above was taken inside the Basilica. It was constructed in the late 900's over the old temple of Aesculapius and was used as both a church and a forum.

After Layers of Rome, a few of us got lunch and walked aimlessly around Rome. I love just walking and seeing what is in Rome. We walked by so many churches, its incredible. Their architecture is fascinating! We had to go back to school for Italian and Italian Society and Culture. Almost every other week we have a quiz or test in Italian, but it should not be too hard. Society and Culture is just a discussion where we sit and listen to our professor talk for 1.5 hours. The first hour was fine, but then I could not keep my eyes open. I hope this class starts to become more of a discussion and engaging, because right now its not. After class, we went back to our apartments to get ready for dinner to celebrate Morgan, a girl on our trips, 21st Birthday. We went to this restaurant called Le Fate. It was a three course meal for 10 euro. The meal started out with brushetta with artichoke, garlic, and tomato spread. Then there was a pasta with a spicy marinara sauce and tiramisu for dessert! It was delicious! Oh and you also got a glass of wine with that! We were stuffed after the meal, but it was amazing! Each day is a different set menu, so we plan to go back often! It is right in our neighborhood and we get a student discount! After dinner, we went back to celebrate Morgan's birthday!


The pre game was so fun! I got to know the people a lot better! They are all so great! But the night kinda died after wards. We tried to go to a bar called Coyote Ugly, some people got in, but others didn't. I was tired/cold so a few of us went back to the apartments and hung out. We didn't go to bed till 4 am, so we slept till about 12pm today because we had no class. A bunch of girls got up and went exploring again on the streets of Rome. We saw the Trevi Fountain, tossed a coin in the water, walked up and down the Spanish steps, and found a cute little restaurant to eat at. Everywhere I eat, the food is incredible! The place was known for its pastries, so we got one and shared. It was like a lemon/ginger filling in a pastry roll. So delicious! It was a little cold today, so we decided to take the tram back to our apartments and start booking flights for weekends. Most of the group booked a trip to Prague next weekend! I am so excited! I have heard so many great things about this country, I cannot wait to see it! We are going for 3 full days so I hope to experience everything that Prague has to offer!

Now its time to do some homework, maybe? I keep forgetting that I am in school, but we do not have much going on Sunday, so I hope to do my reading then and see the Bears game at scholars!

Ciao
-Marisa