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| Lion Statue in Villa Borghese |
Ciao! My last update was on Monday, so here goes since then...
Tuesday I had classes. My art class met on site at the Pantheon. We learned about the Pantheon (nothing particularly useful or exciting), and we had to sketch the pantheon. Please keep in mind that I have no artistic talent. Then we walked to the Ara Pacis, or altar of peace. I didn't even know that existed, so I suppose it was interesting. The downside was that we had to sketch that as well. I'm not liking this whole sketching thing. And we had to show our sketches to the class... ugh. I also had Theology, which was as boring as usual. I'm tired of hearing how everything relates to Christianity, especially while we're supposed to be learning about Buddhism! I would enjoy the class much more if we learned what we were supposed to learn.
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| Piazza del Popolo |
Tuesday was one of the girls' (Miranda's) birthday. We went out to the Hard Rock Cafe to celebrate. It's a long walk, but well worth it. I ordered a BBQ bacon cheeseburger that was absolutely delicious, and a welcome break from the usual italian fare. The waitress sang Happy Birthday to Miranda, and we walked back to campus. We didn't get home until after 1 am, so I crashed pretty much immediately.
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| A Roman Palm Tree! |
Yesterday, I slept late because I had been up so late the night before. When I got up, I decided to go to Villa Borghese by myself to explore. I walked to Piazza del Popolo, which took about 15 minutes. It was a nice walk, too. I like Piazza del Popolo because there's all sorts of people there, and its different than most of the Piazzas because it seems secluded. It isn't lined with shops and cafes like most piazzas, but instead has a ring of traffic buzzing around it constantly. I took some pictures in Piazza del Popolo and watched a homeless man attempt to swim in one of the fountains. Then, I ventured up the stairs to Villa Borghese.
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| One of the millions of fountains in Villa Borghese |
First, I stopped at the Pincio, and looked out over Piazza del Popolo and all of Rome. It's a really beautiful view from up there. You can see for miles, and have a clear view of St. Peter's Basilica. I watched the skyline for a little while before venturing off into the park. I didn't really know where I was going, or what was even in the park, so I just wandered around for a few hours, and came across some pretty awesome things.
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| One of the hundreds of turtles that I found! |
I wandered for hours looking at different fountains and statues and trees. Eventually, I sat down under a big tree far away from everyone else and did some homework. It was actually quite pleasant. After that brief break, I continued my exploring and found a small lake! The lake had little row boats that you could rent for 3 euro for 20 minutes. I would have done it, but I was alone, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to row it by myself. So I walked around the lake and watched the ducks and swans and people in boats. Going around the edge of the lake, I found a little alcove that was full of at least a hundred turtles! I stopped and watched them for a while; they were so interesting. Some were just tiny babies and others were huge. They were all pushing each other around, trying to get in the sunlight. And the ducks kept coming over and snapping at them to keep them under the water. It was actually very funny. The lake also had fish in it-- really big fish; at least 2 feet long. While I was watching the fish and trying to figure out what kind it was, an older Italian man came up to me and asked me something in Italian. I told him I didn't understand, and he started speaking English. It turns out he was from Capri, and was in Rome for the first time ever! He asked me questions about what to see and what to skip. I was the local, and he was the tourist (even though he's italian and I'm not)!!
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| Duck! |
After the little pond, I found myself a bench on one of the main paths and sat down to do some reading for my theology class. I picked that place so I could do some people-watching, and it ended up being a very good place for that. I stayed there for an hour or so, and then continued on my journey. I was interested in seeing where the Galleria Borghese was, because I'm very interested in going there to see all the famous pieces. I saw some signs that pointed towards it, so I followed them. It's in a really beautiful building. Of course, I couldn't go in, because you need to make reservations well in advance, but now I know where it is for when I actually can go inside.
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| Galleria Borghese |
I wandered around a little more, and found the area of the park where everyone brings their dogs to socialize. I didn't have a dog, so I didn't stick around. Eventually I figured I should make my way back to campus because I didn't want to be stuck in the park after dark. So when the sun started getting low, I found my way back out, and headed home. On the way, I treated myself to some fragola (strawberry) gelato, which was delicious. I got back here and finished up some work before having to go to bed.
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| Twin Cathedrals in Piazza del Popolo |
This morning I woke up bright and early to go to Italian class. We reviewed verbs, which wasn't exciting, but oh so necessary. We talked about the service requirement for our class, and there is a service opportunity at the school across the street. It turns out, they have a girl there who just moved to Rome from France, and she only speaks French. They would like someone who speaks both French and Italian to help her. It would be one-on-one tutoring. I volunteered, but I'm not even close to fluent in French, so I suggested that if someone with a greater knowledge of French stepped up, they should definitely let them do it. If I don't end up doing that, then I will be helping out with the nursery children across the street. So either way, I'm going to be doing something enjoyable! :) I'm actually really excited about this. It would be pretty cool to work on my French and my Italian... I just can't seem to escape French!
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| Sunset over Roma! |
I also had theology class today, which is not worth typing about. Other than that, it was a pretty chill day. I have a killer headache right now, presumably because I've been grinding my teeth. Stupid jaws. My plans for my fall break have changed once again, but this time they're almost definitely final. Now it looks like me and Katey will be going to Prague for 6 days and Copenhagen, Denmark for 3 days. I know, it sounds completely random, but we both really wanted to go to Prague, and Copenhagen is the cheapest place to fly from Prague, so that's just how it worked out. Plus, how many people can say they've been to Copenhagen?!? Exactly. Well, that's all for now. Buona notte!
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