Nick and Ellen's Excellent Adventures...In ROME!

SB Discovery #6: Sometimes Rick Steves likes Ghost Towns

2007-04-04T13:03:00.001-07:00

Varenna/Lake Como:

When we arrived in Milan we decided that we would check into our hotel and then make a trip out to Varenna, Rick Steve’s favorite spot along Lake Como. It was a nice day and we were worried that the next day might not be so we made our way to the hotel with the plan of returning shortly to the train station. The hotel was a completely different discovery which I have left to another blog entry. After standing for about an hour on the train ride from hell, we finally arrived. We had been crammed in a train car not even by the seat but in between the seating section at the doors of the train. We were all very happy just to get off no matter where we were.

When we exited we took a rest and after regaining our senses realized that Rick Steve’s suggestion did not look so promising. The town was basically vacant. I think we were the only four people on the train to get off at the stop. We began to walk around the town and saw a few people but the streets were basically vacant and everything was closed. I suppose it was off season because the town was small but filled with hotels and restaurants and hotel/restaurants. We had trouble finding an open restaurant though. Apparently it is a big tourist destination, but certainly not while we were there. We actually enjoyed the tranquility though, especially after being in a string of tourist-packed big cities.

We skipped some rocks on the lake for a while and just took in the views of the Alps lining the lake. Always keeping an eye out for George Cloony we attempted to find some lunch. Settling for a one-star hotel’s small attached restaurant we ordered from the waitress. She shortly returned to inform us that we could not have what we ordered because they did not have it that day. Rather, we were to pick from two types of pizza or lasagna. Ellen tried the lasagna, fearing that pizza would make her sick as it had in Florence, and everyone else tried the cheese pizza. Biting into the pizza we all realized that it had been cooked a while ago and microwaved. Ellen’s lasagna shared the same fate and was a dead ringer for a microwavable TV dinner: boiling hot on the edges and ice cold in the center! Delicious. We ate anyway and then made our way back to the train station where the ticket machine was broken and no attendant was working. We would have to buy tickets on the train (we actually were never asked to so we got a free ride!).

As we waited for the train we saw two other groups of people. Not surprisingly one person in each of the two groups was carrying a Rick Steve’s Italy. I guess the only people that would go to Varenna during off season are Rick’s readers, probably because he failed to mention that no one goes until the summer! Ha, oh well. This blog seems negative but we actually had a lot of fun in Varenna and it was gorgeous. The pictures explain. It was one of my favorite places so far. You don’t need restaurants and tourists to enjoy beautiful views!

SB Discovery #5: Sometimes you pick a winner and sometimes you don't

2007-04-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

Cheap Hotels of Italy
In Venice we staying in an amazing bed and breakfast. We were off of a main road on a small side street. The building was nice and the room was great. We managed to get a room with just the four of us traveling together for spring break. When we entered the room we were surprised at how nice it was. We talked about it for a good half hour before bringing ourselves to get out and see Venice. The room had very comfortable beds... real beds. We were all used to simple hostel beds but these were really nice. The bathroom was nice, bidet included of course. The best part was that we had a kitchen and it was filled with all kinds of goodies. It was a bed and breakfast so we had paid for breakfast in the price and they just stocked the room before we arrived. We had cereal, cornettos (croissants), soft bread, hard bread, butter, jelly, nutella, juice, milk, and more I'm sure I'm forgetting. The kitchen was fully equiped too! We had plenty of pans and dishes and a stove. On our second night we ate cheap and decided to go to the grocery store and then cook a meal. Nick cooked some shrimp scampi along with some butter and garlic pasta. He also made an Italian seasoned tomato salad, while the girls threw together a fruit salad and helped with the chopping along the way. It was great and we only spent about 25 euro total! We had fun making the meal and we got to eat at the small dining table in our room. It was great a great B&B and it only cost about 40 euro each for a two-nights stay. Emilie booked it so we have to give her props for this one.

Emilie also booked the two star hotel in Milan, which was... well... a two star hotel. Just joking, it's not Emilie's fault. It was actually really cheap and had a good location and she was able to find it at a busy tourist week. The room had enough beds for all four of us, so that was a plus and it was only a little more expensive than the place in Venice. The beds were not very comfortable, however. The funniest part of the room was definitely the bathroom. From the main bedroom you had to open the bathroom door, which seemed normal because it stretched to the bottom of the floor... like all doors should. But, surprise, when you open it, you have to take a large step up. The floor of the bathroom was raised above the floor of the main room. Well, that's a bit strange we thought, but didn't mind. Then we realized something else was off... something looked wrong... Sink? no, it looked normal enough. Toilet? nah it was okay the seat just shifted a bit when you sat down. Bidet? well it existed and that was all we needed to know about that. Shower? Check. Wait, Shower? Hm, that's odd the shower is really just the shower head sticking out of the bathroom wall aimed at the bidet. Only a small space was between the shower head and the bidet and apparently we would be showering with the beday. The curtain for the shower sectioned off the showerer along with the bidet... I suppose it would keep you company. Not only that but the floor seemed oddly level and no partition existed for the shower. We couldn't imagine that when you turned the shower on the whole room would just flood. The floor seemed even but it must be slanted toward the drain we assured ourselves. Well we were wrong. The first shower resulted in flood. With nothing to keep the water from running out past the vicinity of the drain, the whole room filled up. Luckily not deep enough to spill over past the long door into the bedroom. The curtain contained it a little bit, dragging on the floor, but some still escaped. After one flood we developed techniques to prevent future overflow. 1. the camp-style: quickly wet yourself by turning the water on then abrubtly off. Then soap up and then rinse again, on, off. You've got to be quick for this one and it won't keep you warm but it worked. 2. the swish: use your feet to sweep as much water toward the drain as possible while racing the clock to finish before your feet are overwhelmed by the amount. 3. the don't-move-the-curtain: we found that if for any reason the curtain was bumped in the slightest bit, what water that was blocked by it dragging along the ground would instantly escape across the rest of the bathroom. This one is not so hard but if you're relying on it and you happen to move too much you're done for. 4. The low pressure: I'm not sure if anyone ever stuck to this for the duration of the whole shower, but this one requires patience and finger nails. Patience to keep yourself sane as you wash your body in water sprinkling down like a light rain and finger nails to scrape off the soap that just won't come off in the steady dribble of water. I'm sure everyone can empathize with this one; everyone has taken one of these showers, not by choice of course. We were not always so orthodox in our ways, though. Most of us used a combination of techniques and we managed. It was more comical than really bad. One last observation we made that we found interesting was the McDonald's paper cup collecting the dripping water from the radiator in the bathroom. It did the job as well as any paper cup could, I suppose. Most of all it made us feel classy. Nevertheless we really enjoyed our time and our travels. We just thought it would be fun to write about where we stayed too.

SB Discovery #4 - Gondaliers know so much about Venice that you might feel like an idiot in their presence

2007-03-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

Quite possibly our favorite city so far, Venice, was a really, really fun place. Many people say that Venice is dirty and smells and is not worth seeing, but we loved it. We had an amazing Bed and Breakfast in Venice which I have left to the next SB discovery. Upon arrival by train we began walking to our B&B and after dropping our stuff, we began to explore.

First we stopped in St. Mark’s Square where we decided that we had to
feed the pigeons. It was really fun. I’m sure that they were dirty and most did not seem to need food, but we enjoyed it anyway. After buying a 1 euro packet of seed we walked to an open spot and began to toss some seed out. The pigeons recognize the food packet and actually start to swarm you before you even open it up! Emilie and Ellen went together first while Elizabeth and I took photos of them and then we switched roles. We enjoyed walking around some more after this. We had a great meal with some tasty sea food of course. On our first day it became pretty cold and rainy so we did not stay out too late. Ellen and I took a nice night-time stroll when the rain had stopped though.

The next day we explored a bit and then took a Gondalier ride. Our Gondalier was a real pro and he told us all about the city. There are some 100 churces and some 300 bridges in Venice. We passed by Marco Polo's house and would have been totally unaware if Emiliano hadn't told us. His boat was named for his sister, Veronica. We loved our ride.

After we got off we explored some more. We traversed the Rialto Bridge several times and did some shopping. Then we went to the

grocery store to get dinner. We cooked in our room! It's in the next blog!

SB Discovery #3 - Galileo's middle finger might seem like a good idea at the time but...

2007-03-26T03:18:00.000-07:00

Before leaving for Pisa, we explored a bit of Florence. We went inside the cathedral (duomo) and then went outside to get in line to climb to the top of the cathedral’s dome. The line was pretty long and we noticed people at the top of the adjacent tower. The bell tower right next to the cathedral is also open to tourists to go to the top. There was no line and it was the same price. We thought it’d be nice to see the cathedral in our view of the city anyway so we began the climb up the tower. The staircases were very narrow and difficult. At one of the break points we were resting when the bell began to ring. We could see it just above us and it was enourmous. It was pretty scary to see such a huge, heavy bell swinging so much. Everyone initially jumped because it was so startling but then we just froze. Ellen and I had to sit down for a minute until it was over. I felt like the whole tower would just fall over with so much noise, ha! The view from the top of the tower was awesome. It was great to see the dome in our view of the city. After climbing back down we decided to make our way to Pisa and when we returned we walked around a bit at night and enjoyed a kebab.

The next day we really explored Florence. We walked all over the city. We went to the Science Museum where we were fortunate enough to view Galileo’s middle finger! Haha! There was some interesting stuff in the museum mostly about cartography and astronomy. We were a little disappointed, though, especially when we realized that we did not make it in time to the Ufizzi mueum containing the most famous works of Italian artists… oops! We went to see Michaelangelo’s David in the Accademia. The statue is very large, bigger than we expected. No pictures were allowed in this museum unfortunately. We learned that David actually has a broken arm. There are a few cracks that developed while the statue was outside. Ellen read that for years the statue was outdoors but then was damaged and later moved indoors. We could hardly tell that there was a crack because the statue is so big, but close-up photos in the books in the gift shop show it. We also decided that David’s right hand is disproportionately large. It’s too big. Masterpiece? We think not! Ha, just joking of course. We were actually rather astounded by it and stared for a long, long time.

In between our museum adventures we shopped. We also visited Ponte Vecchio and traversed this bridge and a few others that span the river. For lunch we found this great place recommended by our Rick Steve’s guidebook. It was a little, family-run restaurant with a cheap menu and awesome food. We got desert too… the cake we had was chocolate with strawberries which was great. The cheese Emilie ordered was only half-good. We got two kinds and one was good but no one cared for the other except for Emilie. It was hard and dry and like most French cheeses but Elizabeth decided that it tasted like Elephants’ feet. At night we found a gelateria that was recommended to us. Tivoli’s had amazing gelato and a nice atmosphere. It was inexpensive too!

The next morning we got up early and left on the cheap, long, train to Venice…

SB Discovery #2 - Pisa

2007-03-11T13:48:00.000-07:00

Ellen and I went to Pisa after arriving in Florence. There's a lot more to offer than just the leaning tower. We didn't go up it; however, Em and Liz did..30 euros later! The tower is definitely the highlight but we enjoyed walking around the other parts of Pisa as well. It's a small, quaint little town and we liked getting away from the city for a day.
People biked like crazy in Pisa. It was amazing. There is a whole network of streets designated only for walking and biking where cars are not allowed! We saw a lot of little shops and restaurants lining the streets. We wandered a lot but Ellen was really sick so we had to cut our time in Pisa short. Interestingly enough, on a main walkway of Pisa, we found condom dispensers! So much for sexual privacy and abstinence! Could you imagine the outcry in America if that was placed in a town like McHenry? Surely, surburban moms would panic. Ha!

Overall we really enjoyed our day-trip to Pisa. After hopping on a train, we arrived back in Florence at night.

Spring Break Discovery #1 - PASSPORTS

2007-03-11T10:42:00.000-07:00

While more than half of the John Felice Rome Center travelled through Africa*jealous squinty eyes*, we explored more of Italy. Emilie (Ellen's sister) and Elizabeth (Emilie's friend) accompanied us throughout our whole trip to Florence, Pisa, Venice, Lake Como and Milan! Along our journey, we made several discoveries-discoveries that we would like to share with you all.

NUMBER ONE: When Emilie and Elizabeth were staying in Rome for a few days, Nick served as their tour guide. He possesses a copious amount of knowledge from his on-site topography class and he was generous enough to reveal his learnings to us. He'll make an excellent professor someday. Anyway, after touring Rome for a bit, we decided to go to Emilie's hostel. We sat around and drank some wine with their roommates from Portugal and Spain. Then, Emilie out of nowhere asks us, "Are your passports ultra patriotic?" We replied, "No, they are just regular. Blue and plain. I guess there's an American eagle on the cover but that's it." Then, Elizabeth whips out her passport. The cover looked the same but we had no idea what lay behind that hard blue cover. Ellen took it in her hands compassionately, opening it with delicacy. As she fingered through the pages, she trembled. Nick leaned over and thought, "My, the world has changed." So, here it is. New passports.

This is just one of the many patriotic scenes that are now in passports. Mount Rushmore, could you lend us anymore national pride?

This shot is just above the
head shot. Whoa. Eagle.

If you can read that, it says, "This document contains sensitive electronics. For best performance, do not bend, perforate, or expose to extreme temperatures" What are these special electronics? A tracking device? Maybe we're just paranoid but Big Brother is definitely watching us.

Perhaps, one day we'll take our passports to space? I can't wait to get my stamp on the moon!

New Passports. What a discovery. Thank you, Elizabeth.

Sociology of (Italian) Graffiti

2007-03-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

"on the metro"

Graffiti in Italy takes on another name and it's "artistic expression." Here, it's not looked down upon but often encouraged! Whoa. It's everywhere. Even on monuments. The content of the graffiti varies. I've seen just as many political messages and I see..."Ti Amo.." Suprisingly, I've seen a lot of Anti-gay and Anti-God graffiti. "God is Gay"
Sometimes, I'll walk down the street and see a penis as big as a person's head. As for politics, they spray paint communist signs a lot. I wasn't so shocked by that. Although Italy as been under a democratic-pro capitalist conservative (DC) party since 1948, their communist party as had a lot of support and almost beat out the DC when the Italians elected the type of government that would replace fascism. Anyway, here are some pictures of graffiti in my lovely neighborhood. Check it.

"fuck the gays" "communism"

Il Vaticano: Che maraviglioso!

2007-03-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

Buon giorno. First, we'd like to apoligize for the exreme delay in updating the blog. We've been busy with school work. Now we are on Spring Break, but the last few weeks we have both had a lot of projects, papers, and then midterms in almost every class. So, we haven't been doing a whole lot around the city and what we have done, we've neglected to blog about because we've been so preoccupied. We have quite a bit to say now, though! Ellen and I heard that everyone was getting upset that we haven't added anything new... sorry to disappoint guys, I suppose everyone is living vicaiously though us. Anyway, to the good stuff.

On Friday Ellen and I met up with Emilie and Elizabeth (Ellen's sister and her friend who are visiting) to see the Vatican. Ellen and I had not actually been in the Museums or the Basilica yet because we figured we would wait to go with some company from home. So, we arrived at about 9am and already after 15 minutes of being open a line had formed from the entrance to the museum stretching along the Vatican walls about half way around the city. We waited anyway and the line moved quickly. The inside is enourmous. Each section is connected but there are really several museums focusing on different things. We visited the roman art, egyptian artifacts, the halls of paintings, the Sistine Chapel, and some other areas as well. The Sistine Chapel was gorgeous. Everyone stands in a large crowd and just stares in awe at the walls covered in art. You cannot take photos inside so sorry sports fans, no photos here.

We did see a lot of other great things, though. The paintings that stretched huge hallways and large rooms were equally amazing. The museums seemed to never end.

The egyptian museum was very cool and supposedly it is one of the best in the world. We saw a mummified woman with skin and nails still intact. One eye socekt was a larger hole than the other and the information suggested that her brain was probably pulled out through her eye.

The roman art section contained mostly statues. We had a lot of fun looking at these. Many of them had a leaf covering their private parts but a lot of these seemed to be added later. It didn't match at all. We took several fun pictures with the statues.

After walking around the museum for a little over three hours, and still having not seen everything, we decided we should get to the Basilica soon. We walked over to the Piazza di San Pietro, another photo op, and then got in line again to enter here. This line moved quickly too. Once we were in the doorway of the Basilica we decided to wait in another line to go up into the dome (cupola). This took a while and cost 4 euro but was worth every cent. We took the stairs scaling 300-some steps to the first viewpoint. Where the flat ceiling ends and the dome begins there is a ledge inside of the dome around the circumfrence. This is where we walked first. From here you have a better view of the artwork inside the dome and a great view of the Basilica from above. After looking around for a bit, we began to leave and noticed a small staircase. What's this? we wondered and not knowing began to climb up.

After one strait flight of stairs we reached a spiral staircase that was labeled entrata (entrance), and still unsure of what we were doing continued upward... and upward... and upward... and upward. We figured out while ascending that we were climbing up through the dome to it's peak! The stairs became increasingly narrow and switched between straitaways (with the walls curving inward toward you) and spiral steps leading higher with no handrailing. It was actually quite scary. Ellen started to get a little frightened. The climb is long and difficult too. There's no warning about it and it's a one way route. Once you start you have to go all the way up in order to come back down. It would be very difficult to just turn around because the amount of space is so small. You'd really have trouble squeezing two people by through some of the staircases. We eventually came to a spiral staircase with just a rope hanging down the middle and no center pole or rail along the outside. It was 6th grade gym class all over again. I never could climb that rope very well. Like an anxious gym teacher, the Pope started blowing a whistle at us from behind, hands firmly placed on his hips (just joking!). We all thought, why not trust our lives to an old rope dangling from who knows what and just grab ahold as we made our way up some tiny steps. It was fine, of course, and very much so worth it. We got to the top and found ourselves at the top of the main dome of St. Peter's! There is a balcony outside that has amazing views of the city. A rail lines the edges and you can look over to see everything. The floor you are walking on is slightly slanted, though, which is a bit scary. After circling around the walkway, we returned down, back into the dome to get to the bottom.

Then we walked around the Basilica, which was absolutely amazing. I'm having trouble putting to words what we saw. The pictures will do the work. We saw The Pieta as well, which is behind glass and unfortunately you can only view it from the front. It was still beautiful. Lastly we went into the tombs underneath St. Peter's where the Popes and St. Peter are burried. No pictures here either. We didn't have a problem with this rule when we encountered it; it would be disrespectful to be snapping pictures at some things. We finished by about 4:30. That was our Vatican Adventure. Afterwards we were walking to our next destination (Castel San Angelo/Mausoleum of Hadrian) when we came across the filming of a music video on the street. With the Vatican in the background a group of dancers and one male vocalist sang about Jesus' birthday. Keep your eye out for the video because they sang in English. It wasn't our typical birthday song, but the chorus was "Happy Birthday Jesus, Happy Birthday Jesus," over and over and it was stuck in our heads for a while. It was pretty funny to see. In the evening we took our guests to a few other spots that Ellen and I enjoy. I hope you like the pictures.

feb. 6th

2007-02-10T11:49:00.000-08:00

alright. we blogged about stockholm; however, it's dated febuary 6th because that's when we started to write it but then, we didn't finish the post until a few days later. So, look below and be enchanted!

Anna DEAD?

2007-02-08T14:53:00.000-08:00

Whoa. I can't believe it. She's actually dead. I'll be honest, I feel bad. She was the butt of every joke for the last few years and now she's gone. Forever. She just gave birth to a baby not even a year ago, a few days after that her son overdosed on drugs and died, and now she, too, has met her maker! Apparently, she just collapsed in her Hotel room. The cause of death is unknown at his point.
Nick and I are going with an overdose on Trimspa, BABYY!
I don't know. I just can't believe it. I'm gonna accept that she has faked her death along with rapper, Tupac Shakur. Aye.

Nick and I will post more about Italy and SWEDEN soon! No worries. We haven't forgotten. But for now, let's remember Anna.

Now Jimmy Carter

2007-02-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

Along with Mel Gibson, former-President Jimmy Carter now has been added to the list as JEW HATER. What? Jimmy Carter? That's correct. Him, too! I cracked open the International Herald Tribune today and found Jimmy on the second page accused of Anti-Semetism. Carter wrote the book, "Palestine Peace not Apartheid" last year, in which he severly criticizes Israel. He accuses Israel for colonizing the Palestinian territory while applying a "system of opression, apartheid and sustained violence." Nancy Pelosi (d), the House Speaker, responded furiously to his attitudes. Speaking for her Party Pelosi says, "We stand with Israel now and we stand with Israel forever!" FOREVER? Wow. That sucks. Perhaps, we could only take about a third of what America gives Israel a year and drop it into America's economy and social systems? Or maybe help other countries who really need the assistance? Because I'm definitely not in a state of euphoria when I think about my tax dollars buying the weapons for Israel to kill, innocent Palestinians. I really do not understand our undying love for Israel. Can anyone help me?

" The Israeli government is the largest recipient of US financial aid in the world, receiving over one-third of total US aid to foreign countries4, even though Israel’s population comprises just .001% of the world’s population and has one the world’s higher per capita incomes. "

www.palestinemonitor.org

I suppose anyone who supports Palestine gets to be luckily branded with Jew Hater. Even a great humanitarian such as Jimmy Carter.

ellen.

for laughs...

2007-02-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

because arrested development is absolutely amazing and nick and i miss having all three seasons at our disposal...YouTube will have to do for now...

Top 10 Reasons To Go To STOCKHOLM, baby

2007-02-06T02:25:00.000-08:00

To spice things up a bit, Ellen and I decided to do a top ten list. We have listed ten things that we found absolutely amazing about Stockholm, Sweden. We traveled to this Stockholm on February 2 to the 4th. Many of you might not have know about this trip and other did know. Anyway, we found some very very cheap tickets and decided to go on short notice. It was a great weekend and we really loved Stockholm. Here are some of the reasons...

10. At crosswalks, a green little man is not the only thing displayed when it is okay to walk across the street. They also have "tickers." When you press the button to cross, a ticking sound comes from the pole. If it ticks slowly, it means STOP, do NOT walk! However, if you hear a fast clicking sound, it's a-okay to go, grab your partner's hand, and walk safely across the street. This "ticker" system accomodates to the blind, unlike ours in America. Aye. So, if you are blind, go there. You will be pleasantly suprised and assisted!

9. Like Skate on State in Chicago, Sweden also has this! Their skating park is not as huge but the view is absolutely gorgeous. The vibrant colors of the buildings emit into the air a feeling of happiness, which the ice skaters get to breathe in. We watched an elderly couple dance to the music they were playing, which was mostly light jazz and polka tunes. Then, at the same time, little kids were slippin' and slidin'; they even laughed when they fell and the parents also laughed at them, as well. Also, this ice rink gives out helmets free of any rental fee for whoever, mostly kids use them.

8. The whole city is extremely family-friendly. Seriously, every 10th person you see on the street has a baby stroller. This is so common that they even built staircases that help these parents out. Off to the side of most of the staircases, there are ramps for parents to wheel the strollers up with ease. How about that for social awareness! YEAH! They take their babies everywhere with them. Outside resturants, Nick and I saw STROLLER PARKING LOTS!

7. Their toliets. The Swedes are all about conserving their water. On each toliet, there are two buttons. If you one urinates and nothing else, you should push the button that has only a circle. However, if one does a little more than just...well, ya' know...then you should push the other button that has a half-circle, indicating that it needs more water to flush one's waste down the pipes.

6. Hostels. It is Swedish custom to take our your shoes when you enter a house or an inn. This small tradition kept the hostel floors extremely clean and free from any grime. I'm not sure about every hostel in Sweden but the one we stayed at offered a lot of nice features for travellers who are on a tight budget. They offered FREE tea, FREE coffee, FREE pasta, FREE morning sauna, FREE internet, FREE cable tv, and FREE information from the helpful staff. In addition to those luxaries, the beds that they provided were exceedingly comfortable, like a lower end of the "Tempurpedic" but still, amazing. ALL of THIS for a cheap cheap cheap price that's equivalent to 20 bucks a night!

5. Bike lanes! In Chicago, bike lanes are part of the street...if they exist at all! This can be hazardous to the biker, for she or he may get "doored" by a parked car or just be run over by a unfit driver. However, in Stockholm, bike lanes are on the sidewalks! This location is a lot safer! These bike lanes do not make the sidewalks narrow either. Stockholm is so well organized that their sidewalks are nice and wide! So, pedestrians are not in danger of these bikers! There is enough room for everybody!

4. Bilingual Swedes! Most, almost all, Swedish people have excellent English in addition to speaking Swedish. We were relieved to have such an easy time communicating in Stockholm. In Rome, we struggle with Italian because we do not know that much yet and the Italians generally do not speak English. Not to say that we think everyone should speak English, definitely not. Rather, we are just impressed at how well the Swedes know English. They must learn throughout their years of school in their excellent public education system!

3. Stockholm is a city built on the water. The city is composed of several small islands and peninsulas of land. The bridges connecting each section are numerous. These waterways make the city very beautiful. It seemed like the water was also very clean. We had fun watching the ducks and swans in one calm river. On Saturday it rained so much that the city flooded, but the Swedes just pulled out the viking ships and got on with their day.

2. Health. Not only does Sweden have a great public health system, but they are very healthy in their diets in general. Tasting the food we noticed that Sweden seems to use healthy ingredients in their food. The juice is not made of water and hyfructose corn syrup, it's actually juice! Real fruit, what a concept. Also, they offer healthy alternatives, even in the vending machines! This picture is of a vending machine in the train station. That's right, a juice box and and APPLE!!! By the way, the public transportaion is amazing! The metro is safe, fast, clean, and comfortable.

1. While on the subway, Ellen and I noticed something interesting. Two young boys, about 12 or 13 years old got on the train. A newspaper was laying on one of the seats. One boy picked it up and began reading. He was generally interested in the news. This is rare in the US. We found this interesting. Politically and socially aware youngsters.

Tivoli!

2007-01-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

This weekend we traveled to Tivoli. It is just outside of Rome and the location of Hadrian’s Villa and Villa D’Este. We traveled with a large group and had a lot of fun exploring the ruins of Hadrian’s Villa and the beautiful gardens and fountains of Villa D’Este.

Our travel began at 6:00am. We awoke in search of an ATM, needing money for our trip. We got ready and left to find one near-by campus. Unfortunately, we could not find one. The one we have gone to before was farther down the huge hill we live on. We didn’t have time to make it down that far so, cold and exhausted, we traveled back up the hill. At campus we met the group and left at 7:30. We stood on the bus down our hill. Next we got on a train, then another. Then to another bus. Luckily we got a seat on this 45 minute ride to Tivoli. Then we walked for a long time. A good 5 hours or so. Then we were back on the bus to Rome. This time, no seats and tons of traffic. It took over an hour and we were standing and very cramped. Our legs felt like Jello after. Then we were back in the city and just took the train and bus home. We were very tired though.

We didn’t get back until about 6:30. We ate dinner and then passed out. The twelve hour day really took it out of us. But it was well worth it!

Some information on both sites: Hadrian, an emperor of Rome, built his Villa as an escape from the Roman center city. The walls enclose 300 acres of land and include numerous constructions used for different purposes (baths, bedrooms, theaters, temples, etc.). Apparently (from his poetry), Hadrian engaged in bathing
little boys at his luxurious villa. By our modern standards, that is overwhelmingly disgusting and of course, illegal. Aye. Anyway, today the ruins remain, but some of the original tile flooring and much of some buildings has been well preserved. In comparison to ruins in the city of Rome, these seemed to be better preserved; some fish ponds and fountains are still kept filled with water. Ellen was afraid some of the ruins might just fall on her. She’s basically crazy but I could see why she would think it. The ruins appear to be so fragile and barely hanging on by a string. She survived as did I nonetheless. So, the Villa is also surrounded by a forest, which we enjoyed. It must have been a very relaxing get-away spot.

Villa D’Este was the mansion and garden of the Bishop and Governor of Tivoli. The garden was filled with fountains still in use and was amazing. The inside of the house was also nice, but not as interesting. This area dated back to the 1500s. The largest fountain apparently took about 50 years to construct! The view was great and the gardens were very beautiful.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Sociology of Italian Poop

2007-01-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SOME SOMEWHAT DISGUSTING CONTENT. WE HOPE WE DON'T OFFEND ANYONE, THIS WAS ALL WRITTEN IN GOOD HUMOR. IT'S GROSS, BUT TRUE.

On my first adventure through Rome, Italy a couple weeks ago, I noticed something. Yes. While walking on their narrow sidewalks, bumping into at least one person every 10 seconds, I smelled a little something. Yes. a-Something. The potent, revolting stench smosied up to my nose quite a bit, at least, everytime I passed a tree, which is quite often. I didn't think to much of it; I was carrying my luggage, sweating and panting up Rome's steep hills in the process. Maybe it was me who I was smelling? Did I forget to put on deodorant? Was it Nick? No, no, the scent was far too distinct. It was so familiar. So, fresh but so repulsive. It was something that is found quite often on an elderly man's doorstep in a brown paper bag, violently on fire. You guessed it, poop! Dog poop! Everywhere. Why don't they pick it up, I pondered to myself? I was getting extremely irked by this point in my journey (3 minutes approx) because I had to dance, sidestepping any poop that might obstruct my path. Maybe Sociologist Nicholas Branson may help us with understanding Italian dog-walking and the poop they refuse to pick up! Here he is....
Upon first inspection it was unclear whether or not leaving the dog poop on the ground was an intentional social practice. I thought, perhaps this is just a coincidence at first. Then, I realized that no, no, the frequency with which we saw (and skillfully avoided) dog poop along the sidewalks revealed the truth. Another observation supported our conclusion; we viewed multiple specimens of some age. A few exceptional ones seemed to be growing hair, most likely a type of mold, but had such a large amount that it seemed one could give it a haircut. Disgusting, yes, but true. So, I've considered why this happens. It seems in the neighborhood in which we live, many people have a dog and walk them regularly along tree-lined streets. Perhaps the small dirt squares surrounding the base of each tree are meant for dog depositories. Yet dogs have about as good of an aim as a piece of broccoli. So of course they frequently miss their mark while making thier mark. Ellen and I have come to two possible answers to this perplexing question. First, it may be that Italians view retrieving the feces as below them and thus not socially acceptable to do. In the US people are encouraged through penalty fines to pick up their dog's poop. Secondly, Italians might not be as concerned as Americans with cleanliness. Ellen has witnessed some Italians marching straight through the droppings and marching on without skipping a beat. Americans are in several ways rather obsessed with being clean in general. In the media, being dirty has sevearl negative conotations and seems to always be a problem that we must fix. For example, comercials for mouth wash centering around a man with bad breath, a deodarant comcercial where people pass out at the sent of a sweating man. Italians are not a dirty people, to be sure, but it seems that they do not have the same repugnant reaction to getting their shoes a little dirty. They also walk a great deal more than most Americans. In Rome, and several other cities, the streets are very narrow and difficult to drive cars on. Furthermore, traffic is terrible in part for the same reason. So, Italians often walk and more walking means a greater chance of getting rid of anything that might be stuck to their shoes. Those are my thoughts on the Italian dog poop phenomenon.

Our pictures here display a couple of examples that we have come across on our street. In the second photo here we pose the question, is this a catapillar or poop? I assure you, as unbelievable as it might be, that it is the latter.

Thank you, Nicholas, for your sociological ingenuity that you possess within your mind, body, and soul. We are all better people after reading this small yet incredibly insightful analysis.

i rule.

2007-01-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

this has nothing to do with rome at all.

i just wanted to say that i am awesome and way cooler than nick because everytime i post and put up pictures, people comment on them. therefore, i rule.

hehe, i'm just kiddddinnnngggg

yup. i love everybody a lot.

more updates soon!

Longest walk EVER!

2007-01-22T01:32:00.000-08:00

We walked a lot on Saturday. We walked SO much that our feet are all cramped up. Roughly, the hike was about 10 miles throughout the whole day. Yes. We’re gonna be extremely buff when we return to America. For part of our trip, we went through the Roman Forum, around the Teatro di Marcello, and into the old Jewish ghetto.

The Forum was fantastic. There were ruins everywhere. People even sat down on them to rest and eat some lunch. Most of the buildings were destroyed, of course; they have taken a beating the last two thousand years.

The Teatro di Marcello, on the other hand, was extremely kept up and in very good condition. It resembles a smaller version of the coliseum. After that, we walked to the Jewish ghetto and saw one of the seven synagogues in Rome.

The Jewish ghetto is tiny. It’s about a block long but 5,000 lived there! However, at the end of the street was the synagogue. It was quite grand in size. The structure was very pretty and well built. From there, we continued on, but we will leave that for another post.

Coloseo

2007-01-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

On Friday, January 19th, we visited the Coliseum (Coloseo). The subway stop is directly across from it and we walked out and just stared in awe. The area is filled with tourists and merchants selling all sorts of things. We didn't mind hearing and seeing some English, but we weren't conned into spending a bunch of money. That's the nice thing about the location of our campus; we are not in a tourist area, so you can really see how Italians live, not have to pay the high prices of the tourist areas, and practice our Italian. Anyway, we decided to go in, which was definitely worth it. We had a good time walking around and touching the walls n' such. Our minds can't comprehend how old it is. It's marvelous because America is so new and we are here, where everything is a 1000 + years old! We were surprised because the Coliseum was built on the site of a drained lake. Just thinking about how it was constructed boggles the mind. We also learned that on the inaguration day, one animal was slaughtered every ten seconds for the entire day as a sacrafice, which comes to somewhere around 5,000 animals in a day! Not to mention all of the people that died there. We enjoyed this site and then were off to explore...

For Mom and Dad: They wanted pictures of me

2007-01-20T14:50:00.000-08:00

(2)
(1)

So, this statue looks older than it does. It's actually apart of
the capital building, which was built in 1885 to celebrate the
unification of Italy. There is a giant fountain to the right of it;
unfortunately, it's not visible in the picture but it's there and
it's grand! Instead of the fountain, you get me, making out
with the man's feet. Believe it or not, he's actually quite tickle-ish!

In picture two, I'm in Palentine Hill. This hill is massive. You could
spend a day just wandering around in it. There are pieces of ancient
ruins everywhere--many archways, baths, columns, etc. It's very
stoney. This site was were royalty/wealthy folks went to in order
to just indulge in great pleasures, host parties, and relax. There
also was a vineyard, too! I'm not sure what the building behind me
was used for but I'm sure it was for something spactacular...hopefully.
I bet I just jinxed it and it was actually a kitchen or where the
emperors kept there slaves. Nope nope, there was something
magnificent in it. I feel it.

Assisi, Umbria - Italy

2007-01-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

The past couple of days, Friday, January 12 and Saturday, January 13, we traveled to Assisi. The school took us on this trip as part of our orientation. It was a great experience. We were tired at first because we had just arrived in Rome at the campus on Thursday but were pleasantly surprised by Assisi.

A little about the town of Assisi: Assisi was the home of both Saint Francis and Saint Clare. Each has a church dedicated to them in the town. Additionally, the remains of both saints reside in Assisi. The town is located on a high hill in Umbria and built into existing slopes and curves. Most roads are narrow and brick and ascend or descend as they wind through the town. Some streets for cars exist, but most people seemed to walk throughout Assisi, up and down steep hills and lengthy stairways. Several structures in the town date back 2000 years. These old buildings have had some repair in some cases, but most of Assisi is very old.

At Assisi we took guided tours and explored on our own as well. The churches are amazing. The walls inside are lined with beautiful frescos. The Saint Francis cathedral is actually a building of three churches, one built on top of the other. We saw the tombs of both Saint Clare and Saint Francis. The town houses several other churches as well which each have different character. Under the church of Saint Clare, an ancient Roman road was excavated and glass plates allow you to view the stone path.

We also enjoyed the other buildings in Assisi and the great view. We hiked up several hills to look over the countryside and the town. It was fun to get a little lost in Assisi and just explore by walking through any side street. On a few occasions we traveled without a particular destination in mind but rather just to explore. The people of Assisi are friendly and kind. Many townspeople work in local shops and restaurants. Our experience in Assisi was great and we look forward to more adventures like this in the near future.

first day!

2007-01-11T08:26:00.000-08:00

ROMA!!!!

We finally arrived. After many confusing endeavors, we are here in one piece!

Loyola's Rome Center couldn't be any smaller. Honestly, we walked around it in one minute. I swear that is not an exaggeration! Basically, everything is in one building. The dorms, the classes, the dining area, lounge, gym, and even the chapel...seriously, everything. I guess it's nice but I think it will be easy to get stuck in this tiny, Americanized community. I can't wait to explore. The next couple days are going to be really busy unfortunately. We already have a trip. Tomorrow, all the students are going to Asissi *the town where St. Francis and St. Claire grew up*. It's about three hours away. It kind of sucks because most of us are extremely tired and definitely jetlagged. I'm shooting for an early bedtime. Wahoo.

In the next few days, we should have some pictures--give a little visuals. I've been video taping the sites that interest me. Especially, the orange trees outside!!! Heck yes. It's basically a paradise and we can't wait to see more!

It's definitely a culture shock that's for sure (I'll write about it later..Too Tired)!