cinque [chin-que]

This past week was spring break..wooohooo! Reagan and Lynsey came to visit and see the wonderful Roma. Too bad we had the worst weather possible, including hail, hug hail, I mean seriously. Well despite the weather conditions we had so much fun. Okay I really think it rained more than it didn't...oh well. We ate at our favorite restaurant, Mapi, three times. I thought we should switch it up for their sake, but I wasn't complaining. My favorite thing to order is a pizza with a sunny side up egg on top..yummm! In the middle of the week Reagan, Lynsey, David and I went south to Sorrento and Capri. Sorrento is right on the coast and Capri is an island 30 minutes on a ferry. It was wonderful! We stayed at a bed and breakfast right by Sorrento right on the water, we couldn't have asked for a better place. We hiked up and down Capri all day on Thursday and was so happy when the sun finally came out. It was great since it wasn't tourist season quite yet and we only saw a hand full of people when we got off the main roads. I really want to go back when it is warmer and swim in the bluest water I've ever seen.

Well now we are back at school and yesterday we got to see Zaha Hadid lecture, well only a select few were actually in the same room as her, most of us were watching on a projected screen. It was still pretty sweet though. Man she has some crazy stuff going on in her head, but I guess that's what makes her work renowned.

Quattro

So I'm slacking a little bit...but time is seriously flying. This past month has been filled with great times. First off my Mom was here and it was so good to see her, and to get to show her around Rome. She had never been to Italy before, and is already coming back next month. When I was in class she would go around Rome sightseeing, and we would meet up for dinner! We took a trip north to Cinque Terra, italian for five villages. We stayed in Vernazza and it was adorable, such a cute little town, only like 600 people I think. One day we hiked from there to Monterossa which was all along the water, up and down through vineyards and a hilly landscape. Seriously probably some of the most gorgeous sights of the ocean I have yet to see in my life.
The next weekend was Florence and Siena, which was with school and such a blast. Florence is a pretty big city, and a lot different than Rome, so it was a nice change. We climbed the Duomo, shopped (bought some shoes), and ate good food at a place called Yellow. Sad to say it rained half the time we were in Siena but we still had a good time. The ride home through Tuscany was incredible and I tried to say awake as to not miss anything. I'm glad to be back in Roma, but can't wait to see more of Italy.
Reagan and Lynsey are coming for Spring Break!! Yippie!

Tre

This past weekend me and 5 other guys went to Bologna, Italy. We had a blast! Didn't really know too much about it before we went, but ended up being so much fun. We took a train on Friday morning and it was only about a 2 and a half hour ride, not too bad at all. I was going to sleep but was afraid if I closed my eyes I would miss something cool out the window, so I stayed awake. Bologna's architecture was a lot different than Rome's, a lot more medieval, which makes sense since it came about of course after Rome. Oh yeah Kappa Sigma is supposedly founded in Bologna, and there were two of them on the trip..so yeah for them. Well we climbed 468 steps up this sweet tower and checked the whole city from above which was way cool. We ate some good Mexican food, chips and hot sauce were a bonus and went to a crazy concert where I inhaled the most amount of second hand smoke a human beings lungs would allow them to. Needless to say we made it out alive and with a yearning for a Pat Green concert, but I don't think I'll be finding one of those anytime soon.

Due

So Fridays here are allotted for traveling, no school, just checking out what there is to see in Italy. This past Friday our class went to Pomeii, it was a 2 hour bus ride there and back but since we took a charter bus is was not bad at all. We stayed the whole day at the ancient ruins, which even dates back to before the city of Rome. Thanks to Mt. Vesuvius the whole city was covered in ash and was preserved and forgotten about for 1600 years. So today is in pretty good condition considering how old it is. The water was nearby but we didn't get to stop, sadly. Yesterday we went to an AS Roma futbol match. They were playing Sienna and won 1-0. It was a pretty good game and hopefully won't be our last one. The fans were crazy if you can imagine. And there were security guards lined everywhere around where Sienna's fans were sitting, I guess things can get pretty out of control.

Una

I can't believe I'm finally here, I mean we've only been talking about it for four years now. Since I decided to go to Arkansas...you mean I HAVE to go to Rome. No complaints from me for sure. Being here has opened my eyes to how big this world really is.
So I've never done the whole "life stories on the Internet" but since talking on the phone costs an arm and both legs this seemed like a great idea. So most all the stuff I post will be about my stay in the ancient city..ahh. Rome, its the land of fast mopeds, endless square pizza and wonderful public transportation. Enjoy!