Innsbruck

8:20 pm

Hey everyone! Took me a while on the Innsbruck update - no internet at our hostel there. What a week we've had so far! We left on Sunday for Innsbruck, but little did we know... it would take us 12 hours to get there. 4 trains, 1 bus, and 2 cabs. Yikes. Turns out there was a strike within one of the German or Czech train companies - we never did quite figure that one out. We were barely able to figure out there was a strike at all. When we got to the Prague train station and reached our platform, the sign did not say Munich. Not good. When we asked the nearest worker, all he could say was "Munich, no! Munich no!" Helpful. We found another lady who kindly showed us to our coach, but failed to mention that the train was not going to go all the way to Munich. Again, helpful. Naturally, there are no announcements or mention of the fact that our train would not go to Munich. Luckily, we sat next to this really nice Czech woman and her son, who now live in the US. She told us about the strike, and that they were planning to take us to the border of the Czech Republic where we were to get on a bus to another train station. A few hours on that train and 2 hours on the bus later, we are at a tiny train station in the German countryside. Oh wait, there's still a strike and no train to Munich. We had to get on another train for 30 minutes, get off that train and on another, and finally reach Munich. Except we still had a problem. We were trying to get to Innsbruck. We had missed our connecting train by 2 hours, so we hopped on another one that was luckily leaving soon after we got to the train station. 12 hours later, hello Innsbruck. After one long day and weeks of travels, Innsbruck was the perfect place for us to be! A littler smaller and slower paced, we were able to explore the city at our leisure. Getting to see the beautiful Alps, the ice blue river full of glacier water, and the quaint architecture of the city, we definitely loved being there! We also got to see a bunch of people from both USC and UGA that are studying in Innsbruck! It was so nice to be around some familiar faces for a change! Our time in Innsbruck was a much needed break from the big cities we had been used to. Now, we are back in the city, and glad to be here! We've been on a bike tour around the city and to see the concentration camp Dachau - what an amazing experience! We're headed to Hofbrau House soon, and tomorrow to Neuschwenstein, the famous castle outside the city! Will upload pictures when I have a sec! See all of you in 5 short days! Love ya'll!

Corinne

Prague!

6:00 pm

So... it's safe to say that I'm never leaving Prague. Ever. Sorry, Mom and Dad. It is, I think, the most beautiful city I've ever been to! We have had such a great time! When we got to the airport, we saw what the Czech language looked like - absolutely nothing like any language we've ever seen. Encouraging, right? Luckily, we found a nice cab driver who got us to our hostel - which is quite possibly the nicest hostel in Europe. After we got settled in, we decided to just walk around the city and get a feel for our surroundings. We quickly realized that Czech people are much friendlier than other Europeans, especially the French. How refreshing - Abby and I have been complaing this entire time that no one in Europe has any manners - guess they weren't raised in Macon, Georgia, though. We have been too afraid to try the native food - when we asked the front desk guys at our hostel what it was, they said dumplings and goulash. That was enough for us - like we did in France, we decided to stick with American-ish and Italian restaurants. Can't go wrong with pizza. On Friday we had quite the eventful day. We successfully navigated ourselves through the Metro and over to Prague Castle. We went inside the Lobkowicz Museum first, which was really cool. Our tickets came with free audio tours, so we actually knew what we were looking at. It was really cool to learn about Czech history, since it's usually not included in our history classes at home. After that, we went farther into the castle grounds. As as we were standing outside St. Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, and a few other buildings. we hear a lot of commotion behind us. We turn around only to see Michelle Obama walking out to a car!!! Naturally, we sprint over to her, and naturally, my camera wouldn't turn on. But we saw her. We literally stood there for a solid 5 minutes saying, "I can't believe we just saw Michelle. I can't believe it." It was so so cool! After recovering from our celebrity sighting, we went into the beautiful St. Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace where we got the most insanely gorgeous view of the city and took a million pictures, inside the Basillica of St. George, and read about the Story of Prague Castle. After that, we stopped at a little cafe that was placed on the side of the hill where the castle sits and got to look out onto the beautiful view of the city while we relaxed for a little while! It was awesome! We walked over to Charles Bridge, which gave another beautiful view of the city from the river. This place is unreal. The bridge was packed with street performers, artists, and people like us. Charles Bridge is very close to the Jewish Cemetery, so we decided to visit that, as well. They had a Holocaust Museum, several synagogues, and the cemetery. It was really cool! On Saturday, we had a more relaxed day and went to the Old Town Square, which is a historical part of the city. We got to walk around there all day and have lunch. Behind that area is where all the nice shopping is, so we stopped over there for a bit too! We are so sad to be leaving tomorrow - Prague is such a cool city with so much character! We are excited to see Innsbruck and celebrate the 4th quietly with ourselves! I will post pictures soon! Happy July to everyone - see you soon! Love ya'll!

Corinne

A Few Paris Pictures

The Pantheon in Paris

Garden of Luxemburg!

At the Garden of Luxemburg!

Montmarte overlooking Paris!

At Montmarte overlooking Paris!



Paris!

6:15 pm

Bonjour everyone! I finally arrived in Paris around 9:30 on Saturday night and couldn't have been happier! As I was checking into my hostel, Abby walked in the door, thank goodness! It was so nice to see a familiar face! Luckily, I didn't have very much trouble getting myself through the Rome or Paris airports, but it was still nice to finally get here and see Abby. Saturday night we went to dinner at a place near my hostel - turns out French food isn't the best - there's lots of duck and seafood with the eyeballs still attached. No thanks. So Abby said they usually resort to Italian food... I can't complain about that! Sunday, we went to a fun district in Paris and shopped around and she showed me some of her favorite places to go. On Monday while Abby was in class, I borrowed Abby's map and found my way to the Pantheon in Paris - very cool! I also brought my book and went to the Garden of Lumexburg and wandered around for a while and read for a bit in the garden! Strangely enough, I had a man approach me while I was reading and tell me that I had the most beautiful toes he had seen in many many years. Toes, yes. How strange. That's the French for you, I guess. I was very proud of myself - instead of taking the Metro to meet Abby for lunch, I used a map and navigated myself to her dorm on foot... guess I'm not so directionally challenged, after all. Monday afternoon, we went to one of the most famous tea houses in Paris called Laduree - it was absolutely delicious! I had my first macaroon... huge success. I'd have to say that chocolate was my favorite, no surprise there, but my second favorite was Abby's recommendation, the orange blossom. Tuesday, I explored my area of Paris while Abby was in class, and then met at another of her favorite restaurants for lunch. Today, we had the lovely task of shipping suitcases home - which takes about an arm and a leg to do - we even had to fill out a piece of paperwork on just our shoes that we were shipping home. Ridiculous. We had sandwiches from one of her favorite places to eat lunch, and then spent our afternoon at Montmarte - where Mom, Dad, MB, and Maggie - the 3 of us had our portraits done when we came to Paris a few years ago! It was a really cool area and had the beautiful Basillica of the Sacred Heart and a great view of the city! Tomorrow, we leave for Prague on a 9:50 flight, so it will be an early night for us tonight! Meeting Abby at 7:00 am for the airport... yuck. I will update on Prague when I can - again, not sure of my internet situation in each city. Cross your fingers! Only 13 days until we return to the States - can't believe it! Love ya'll!

Corinne

Last Day

9:30 am

Wow. I can't even begin to describe the experience that I've had here and the people I've met. Margaret and I have been a wreck for 2 straight days having to say bye to our new "family." I don't know how these past 5 weeks got away from me so quickly. I can honestly say that this trip has been hands down the best experience I've ever had in my life. Yesterday Joe was the first person to leave, and I kept looking at him with tears in my eyes saying, "How did this happen? How did we get so close, so fast, and how is it already over?" My four best friends, Margaret, Joe, Jonathan, and Steve are four of the best, most genuine people I've ever met, and it absolutely amazes me how well we meshed so quickly and easily. I have been literally sick to my stomach as I say bye to each of them, Margaret being the last. Good news is, I'm going to hop on a plane to Paris late this afternoon and finally get to see Abby! It will be so nice to spend time with someone from home, a nice comfort. I will be in Paris until June 30, then we will travel to Prague, Innsbuck, Munich, and Amsterdam - 3 days in each city. I know my travels through Europe will only add to this incredible experience I've had. Mom and Dad - I can't thank you enough for letting me have this time here, because it has been 100% amazing. I don't know what our internet situation will be in each city, so I will update my blog whenever I have the chance! I miss everyone so much and can't wait to see you on July 12th when I return to the lovely state of Georgia! PS - Mom and Dad - remember the rules... Chick-fil-a immediately upon my return. Not an option. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Talk soon! Love to everyone!

Pictures from lately

Fountain that was used to bring in water from the countryside - overlooking Rome

Vatican Museum!

Vatican Museum!

My favorite painting at the Vatican Museum - the Wall of Philosohpy by Raphael

 Vatican Museum

Wall of Theology by Raphael at the Vatican Museum

At the Coliseum - Steve, me and Joe

 Coliseum sideways

Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel

4:15

So today I got a lot of Roman things accomplished. I got lost. Twice. I took the wrong bus. Twice. And I explored the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. First of all, imagine me literally sprinting down the street in my Sistine Chapel-appropriate long pants and covered shoulders outfit, trying to navigate to the Vatican from streets where I've never been and not be late for my class. And it's about 8:15 in the morning. I'd been up since 6:30. As we like to say, "no bene" or "not good." But I made it. Breathless and unhappy. But let me tell you, it was totally worth it. The giant Vatican Museum was full of incredible ceilings, sculptures, and paintings in literally every direction you look. Thankfully, I've been learning about some of the art that's in the Museum, so I was able to better appreciate what I was looking at. As cheesy as this may be, it really does make a huge difference to know details about the art instead of just admiring the colors and shapes without any of the meaning behind it. Some of my favorite things I saw in the Museum was the Wall of Philosophy painted by Raphael for Pope Julius II - we discussed it for an extended period of time in class, and I know why. It's an incredible painting to see, especially in person. While I obviously didn't know about a lot of the things I saw, just because of the things I've learned from my teacher in this one class, I was at least able to recognize some details. When we were standing in the Julius II's library, I even had a woman come up and ask me a question about the Wall of Theology. And I answered her. Correctly. Hey Mom and Dad, looks like I am good at this whole school thing, huh? The Sistine Chapel goes without saying, but it was absolutely beautiful. We learned about each scene on the ceiling, the painting of The Last Judgement, and a few scenes about Jesus and Moses that appear on the walls. While there were quite possibly one million people in there and about 50 large tour groups, we were able to enjoy the art for a while and see in person what we've been discussing for weeks. My friend, Megan, and I were talking about our favorite scene on the ceiling, the scene where Adam and Eve are being sent away from the garden by God, and one of the professional "shh-ers" as we like to call them, came and "shh-ed" us because you're not supposed to talk. Oops? Anyway, it's fair to say that it was a amazing experience that I'll never forget. I'm not finished yet though. So I go to leave, and a girl in my class tells me to take bus 23 back to our area of town. I should've realized it was a bad idea when I didn't really recognize any of the stop names at the bus stop, but I did it anyway. And I rode that  bus in the complete wrong direction for an hour until it circled back to the Vatican. That was fun. I decided to ditch the bus idea and just walk. In my pants. In Rome. In June. Hot doesn't begin to describe it. Needless to say, I was speed walking so I could get back that much sooner, and was a hot mess when I met Margaret for lunch. No bene once again. It also led me to a giant nap and a large bottle of water. Thank goodness for free water refills all over the city of Rome due to an endless supply of free fountains! I'm now off to finish studying for my Italian test tonight, but I will post the few pictures that I took today soon - my camera died halfway through. Of course. Anyway, ciao for now! Love ya'll!

Corinne

Week 3

9:00 am

Early morning today! Margaret's family is going on a Mediterranean cruise this weekend so she had an early train this morning... she is going to meet them for the night - what will I do without my companion? Maybe I'll be able to survive on my own for the 24 hours she'll be gone. Only maybe. So it turns out Rome isn't as big as I thought... last night my friends are I were walking around an area called Campo di Fiore. We're standing outside talking to each other, and I hear someone call my name. Turn around and who do I see but Mary Rabun! For those of you who don't know, Mary's one of my best friends from high school. I knew she was going to be in Rome this weekend, but I hadn't talked to her yet, and we just happened to bump into her! Needless to say, my new friends got to see a very excited Corinne. Small world. Besides that, my week has been fairly low key. The other day, Margaret and I woke up with no plans for the day, so we decided to just start walking around. We walked in an area that we had never been to before, and came across a huge, beautiful fountain on a hill that over looks the city of Rome. I asked my art history teacher about it, and he said that the fountain was used to bring water into the city from the countryside and fill all the fountains within the city. He told me that it was a beautiful place to go at sunset because "the city turns gold." Will I be returning there soon? Without a doubt. How cool is it that I can just step outside my door and find a place like that? Yesterday in my art history class, we talked about the Sistine Chapel for FOUR hours. Don't get me wrong, it was incredibly interesting to learn about all the insane details of the ceiling and the Last Judgement, but 4 hours was a little lengthy. Now that I know a little more about the actual paintings and the reasoning behind them, I can't wait until my class gets to visit the Sistine next Thursday! I'm very thankful that I get to take this class, and as my teacher says, not act like a typical tourist and "pivot around" the artwork staring, not knowing what you're looking at. We're planning to stay in Rome this weekend - everyone is starting to get sad because we're into the second half of our session, and no one wants to leave, because we've grown to love Rome too much! I think we will have an exploration day today - the best way to discover the "hole in the wall" places in Rome that you wouldn't normally think to visit - and go to the beach for the day tomorrow! I'm excited to see another beach and compare it to Capri - I'm sure there will be no comparison, but hey, the beach is the beach. In Italy. I can't complain. Until next time! Love ya'll!

Corinne

Coastal Pictures!

Bodies in Pompeii

Pompeii ruins

Ruins

Ruins

Capri!

Margaret, Katie, and I during our first night in Ischia!

The Mediterranean!

Margaret and I on the boat inside a cave!

Everyone swimming in the Mediterranean!

Caves during our boat tour!

Beautiful Capri!

Pompeii and Capri!

4:00 pm
Hi everyone! I'm just in from our weekend on the coast! It was super fun, but absolutely exhausting! Let's count the number of different types of transportation I've used since Friday: 4 trains, 2 trams, 5 boats, 2 buses, and walking. Cities I've been in: Rome to Naples to Pompeii back to Naples to Ischia to Capri to Ischia back to Naples again to Rome. Wow. SO much traveling! Pompeii was pretty cool - the ruins are crazy... they even have molds of peoples bodies that have survived all this time - it was very strange, and slightly unnerving! Naples was not my favorite place in the world... it's easily the dirtiest city I've ever been to - thankfully we were only there for a short period of time while waiting to catch our ferry. After starting our travels at 8:00 am, spending all day in the hot sun in Pompeii, and navigating ourselves through the dirty streets of Naples, we were a tired bunch. When we finally got on our ferry, though, everyone immediately perked up. The Mediterranean is insanely beautiful - the bluest blue I've ever seen! We stayed on a small island called Ischia - it was a tiny little town, but it had so much character! We ate dinner overlooking a gorgeous sunset and the Mediterranean and had a great time just enjoying our view. The entire weekend, everyone just kept saying "This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life." Saturday was my favorite day I've had so far in Italy! We took a ferry over to Capri and took a boat tour around the island! Our guide spoke very broken English, but took us to see some awesome caves, and parts of Capri that I never would have seen otherwise. We got to swim through one of the caves, and we only had one casualty - Sean got stung by what we think was a jelly fish... yuck! As we were swimming through the cave, I hear Margaret screaming behind me, because the water was so clear that we could see the jelly fish swimming near us - kind of cool, but also scary! The boat ride was 100% worth while and one of the coolest things I've ever done! Saturday night we ate a yummy dinner and walked around Ischia... very relaxing! We also majorly lucked out with our hostel... it was actually pretty nice, and they had breakfast for us in the morning - thankfully our travel agent/roommate, Margaret, does a good job! Just in case you were wondering, yes even in tiny Ischia, they are terrible drivers. I think that is one aspect of Italy that I will never get over. When we were riding the bus to get to our port yesterday, I was actually afraid the bus driver was going to run into the cliff on the side of the road - it is absolutely unbelievable. Anyway, I'm about to nap off all this traveling and go eat a yummy dinner later on! Pictures soon! Love ya'll so much!

Corinne

Quick Update!

Thursday, June 2. 4:45 pm

Hello to everyone at home! Today is the anniversary of the day that Italy changed from a monarchy to a republic, so it's kind of like their 4th of July - it's been a crazy day! There was an abnormally huge crowd at the Vatican, and instead of the roads being full of the crazy Italian drivers, they are pretty bare and most stores are closed. We had the day off from classes for the holiday, so we spent our morning at the Vatican -- WOW! It is so beautiful! We went inside the Basillica and saw the unbelievably decorated ceilings and beautiful sculptures of all the past Popes, Jesus, Moses, and Mary. It was so cool! We stayed in the Basillica for a while, and then climbed to the top of the dome - 551 stairs later - and were over looking Vatican City and Rome! It was so cool! It's hard to decide which view I liked better - the one in Rome or in Florence! After that, it was definitely time to stop for lunch... we were absolutely starving after going up and down over 1,000 steps. There were even a few children who were going to the top with their parents - yikes! Not something I would've enjoyed at age 7, I don't think. After we ate lunch, we decided that the line was too long to get into the Sistine Chapel so we decided to go to the Roman Forum instead. My Art History class takes a trip to the Sistine Chapel, so I will get to see it in a few weeks anyway! We had to take the Metro from the Vatican to the Forum - luckily 2 of the guys in our group are from New York and were able to push us through the crowds and get us through the Metro station quickly. After all the walking and climbing stairs we did, we are all absolutely exhausted! We leave early tomorrow for Pompeii! I'm super excited! We're going to be in Pompeii for about half a day and then we're staying on a small island on the coast. This island is a short ferry ride away from Capri, so we're planning to rent a boat in Capri and spend our morning relaxing and looking out onto the Mediterranean! We're going to try to make it to Sorento on Saturday too, but we'll see how that goes. I will post pictures of my trip to the Vatican and from my weekend on Sunday! Have a great weekend, everyone! Love ya'll!

Corinne

Weekend Pictures!

Margaret and I in front of the Leaning Tower!

Leaning Tower!

Typical picture - got to do it!

A pretty dome in Pisa!

Statues in Florence!

More Florence!

Street Art in Florence

Ceiling of the huge duomo/cathedral we went into!

Margaret and I over looking Florence - those 463 steps were worth it!

Our Florence group!

Sean, Margaret, Joe, Steve, Jonathan, and me

Solo shot with Florence in the background!

Absolutely gorgeous!

One of the many huge, beautiful cathedrals in Florence!

Pisa and Florence!!!

Ciao everyone! I'm just back from my weekend away! We had SUCH a great time! On Friday, we went to Pisa with a group from my university in Rome just for the day. Turns out Pisa is fun for about... 30 minutes. We got to see the Leaning Tower and the surrounding buildings, and then we saw a few other things, but to be quite honest, I have no idea what they were. We were in one of those typical tour groups where you follow your guide while they hold up a neon umbrella or something so you can see where to go... needless to say, it wasn't my favorite place in the world. However, the Leaning Tower was really pretty cool, and we got to take the typical "pushing the tower over" or "kicking the tower down" pictures so that was entertaining. We had booked a train to leave from Pisa to Florence, so after we took all those pictures, we made our way to the train station. Which was tiny... and not super nice. So we waited for our train in a cafe outside, and when we finally got on our train, we found out quickly that we were on a regional train... not as nice as the train we rode from Florence to Rome. So we sat with our bags in our laps and chatted with each other until the hour ride was over. We fell in love with Florence the second we got outside the train station! It is unbelievable how different it is from Rome. Rome is very fast paced and noisy, while Florence is much more quiet and relaxed. We soon recognized the difference in paces - when walking in Florence, we walked slowly, in no rush. In Rome, things are hectic and people are everywhere... so much different. We call it our "Florence pace" and our "Rome pace." It was definitely a nice break from the big city. So I thought before that I was bad with directions... now I know, after attempting to help navigate to our hostel in Florence... that I am absolutely AWFUL with directions. After a few minutes, I decided to not participate in the decision-making process of where to go, and just follow the group. I think everyone appreciated that. We finally got our room, and were pleasantly surprised. For a hostel, I'd say it was pretty nice. We ate a yummy dinner and enjoyed our first night in Florence! On Saturday, we got up fairly early, and without my help, found our way to several cathedrals and beautiful sights. Like I said, Florence is absolutely beautiful - definitely somewhere I'd love to go again. Saturday night, I was lucky enough to go with my roommate, Margaret, to see a friend of hers who is native to and lives in Florence. This man, Margaret's old horseback riding coach named Claudio, was so hilarious. He took us to a delicious restaurant that was beyond the touristy places we tend to choose, and we got a true Italian experience. Complete with 4 courses and tons of conversation, it was without a doubt the best meal I've had since I've been in Italy. Mom and Dad, you would be proud. I tried everything that was put in front of me... including bruschetta with LIVER on it. Yes. I ate liver. And I didn't hate it. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. After dinner, we met back up with our group and watched a soccer game at a little Pub near our hostel. We successfully made our way through the Florence train station, and got to look at the countryside during our ride home. Definitely a great way to end our weekend! Florence was definitely a great experience, and I'm glad we made it our first city to venture to! A few pictures to come soon! Love ya'll very much!

Corinne

End of Week 1

Wednesday, May 25 10:45 pm

Ciao everyone! What a busy week it's been! I had my first Art History class yesterday, which was so overwhelming but very exciting and interesting! My teacher is one of the most intelligent people I've ever met - he seems to have a never-ending amount of knowledge on everything Rome! Because so much of Rome's history is based around Christianity and the birth of the church, I am also learning so much about the history of Christianity as well as the city itself. With my class, we will have half of the classes in lecture, which means 4 grueling hours of reviewing slides of artwork and sculpture - yikes -, but the other half of my classes are "on site." I am so excited to have an expert show me around the city and explain the significance of the historical places I am seeing. It is absolutely amazing to be in a city where almost all of the places you pass by everyday have a significant historical background and have lasted throughout centuries! It is insane to me that I have only been here for a week, I feel like I've been here months! Last night, my friends and I went to an Irish Pub for karaoke night! For whatever reason, many Italians listen to American music. In stores, restaurants, and even on ipods, we hear familiar music all over the place. At this Pub, there were tons of Italians singing American music. From Journey to the Grease movie soundtrack, they sang just about every genre of music we have in America. It was so hysterical to watch them trying to sing along to the American music. Hilarious. After my classes tomorrow, it will finally be the weekend! A group of us are taking a day trip to Pisa through my university in Rome and then are leaving straight from Pisa to go to Florence! We will be in Florence Friday and Saturday night - I absolutely can't wait to get there! I will take tons of pictures and can't wait to post them for everyone to see!

Have a great weekend! Love ya'll!
Corinne

Open Air Market

Beautiful flowers that are on every street corner - wish I could bring some home with me when I leave!

The market!

The delicious fresh fruit at the market!

Margaret and I in the Piazza Navona!

I Came Here to Study?

Monday, May 23 10:40 pm
Buonasera! Good evening! So it turns out that my time in Rome isn't only for exploring the city and spending relaxing afternoons in a piazza. Today was my first day of classes. Luckily on Mondays and Wednesdays I don't have class until later, so I still have the whole day to fill as I please. This morning, Margaret and I went to an open air market and ate some of the best, freshest fruit I've ever had! We walked around the market for a while, and then found our way back to the place where we ate dinner on our first night, the Piazza Navona. As is popular in any big city, there were the human statues along with many tourists, as well as tons of street vendors. I bought a gorgeous little painting of the Tiber River, which is right in the area where my apartment and campus are located. Just as we have many times before, Margaret and I struggled slightly with our sense of direction and found ourselves walking single file in order to avoid being hit by mopeds and cars passing in the tiny alley ways, but we eventually made it back to our area, Trastevere. When I got home, I realized that I should probably locate my classroom numbers and teacher's names, so I was on the computer a good bit in the afternoon getting everything ready for class. Luckily, I have a friend from my program, Sean, who is also in my Italian 101 class, so I think we will be able to help each other out a lot! My Italian 101 professor is a native Roman and will only speak Italian in the classroom (with a few small exceptions). At some points during class, Sean and I would look at each other in utter confusion after our professor gave us directions in only Italian. However, our teacher is very patient and is willing to help when we seem lost... which is often. I think I will learn a lot from this class - I've been wanting to learn more about the Italian language, so I think this class will be the best way to do so! My Art History class meets for the first time tomorrow morning at 9:00 am, so I'm very excited to see what we will be doing in there!

Love ya'll!
Corinne

Tourist Pictures

In front of the Pantheon - love the solo shot

The ceiling of the Basilica di Ignazio! Absolutely beautiful!

With the gladiators at the Trevi Fountain - he let me borrow his hat and sword!

Trevi Fountain!!!

Tossing my coin into the fountain - tossing one coin means I will return to Rome someday!

 The Roman Forum - a massive, gorgeous building!

Margaret and I at the Roman Forum!

The square in front of the Roman Forum!

Today I was a Tourist

Ciao! My roommate, Margaret, and I have just returned from a very interesting day of visiting most of the Roman tourism hot spots. Complete with our cameras, lack of Italian language or any sense of direction, and fair skin, we looked like tourists to the max. We started off the morning at the Pantheon which was absolutely beautiful! It houses tombs of the very first Italian kings and beautifully painted walls - it was a great place to start off our day. We then made our way to the Fontana di Trevi, or the Trevi Fountain, where we took pictures with men dressed as gladiators and threw our coins in the fountain backwards... just for good luck. The whole nine yards. As we were walking to the Spanish Steps, we noticed a sign for a Basilica and decided to have a look. Turns out it was absolutely beautiful and one of my favorite places I've seen. The Basilica di Ignazio had gorgeous painted ceilings and ornate decorations in every direction. We finally reached the Spanish Steps (we got slightly lost on the way... oops!), a tourist favorite, and it was nice to see but definitely the least exciting place we visited today. We then had a yummy lunch outside at a restaurant called "Misellenea." One of my favorite tidbits about Italian culture is that restaurants always have outside seating which is so nice right now, as the weather is perfect for that. We even had a man come play the accordion next to our table - so cliche, but we thought it was so great. True to the Italian way, our waitor was completely sarcastic and constantly joking with us. Feeling a little bold, Margaret and I both began to joke back with him, and he absolutely loved it. So much so that he served us a free dessert wine called "Fragolino." While it wasn't exactly what I wanted on a warm day after walking all morning, he was so thoughtful to do that for us. He also gave us directions to the Roman Forum which is a marvelous building on a huge square in Rome. Surrounded by beautiful old buildings and two gorgeous chapels, the Roman Forum and the surrounding area was definitely one of the coolest spots I've seen thus far. While my feet are slightly blistered and I'm sure I have a terrible sunburn, Margaret and I had a really great day acting as tourists. We like to joke around and say that we are "locals" and try to blend in as much as possible. Our waitor today asked us where we were from and I responded "the US," and he looked at me with a dumb look and said "Oooh no kidding. I couldn't tell." Guess we don't fit in as much as we thought? Oh well... maybe by the end of this trip we will become Italian, no? Ciao for now!

Corinne

Pictures from the Tiber River!

This is the area right in front of our campus and across from the Tiber River - so gorgeous!

The beautiful Tiber River!

A few of us in front of the Tiber - such a beautiful bridge!