Italians use strollers for children up to the age of about seven.

Today I stumbled upon the Ikea, where I ate meatballs and mashed potatoes and cheesecake (a regular Thanksgiving meal), and bought space slippers which are pretty awesome.


Then I walked past a little park where everyone was locked inside (?) and dancing (but not like professionally..just circles of people casually dancing to music). And everyone else was sitting outside eating peanuts and drinking beers watching them. I hope you're confused because I was too. I spend a lot of time here being confused as to what's going on. But that makes it fun, right?

Introduction to Italian Driving

There must be some rules Italian drivers follow, but they're certainly not the same as American driving rules. Another difference is that driving rules are enforced in America. It seems that in Germany, the rules aren't enforced because Germans like to obey. In Italy, rules aren't enforced because the responsibility is left to the individual, and it seems to work okay for them.
For the rest of us, it's terrifying. Here are a few rules I've picked up on through real-life observation.


For vespa drivers:
If the street is too crowded, you have a few options. You can weave in and out of cars, stopping dangerously close to the sides of busses and humans. You can ignore lights and other driving signs in order to pass everyone you can, especially if your small child is seated on the back and you're eating a panino. You can travel in packs that terrorize the streets. Or, if the streets are just too crowded, you can certainly drive on the sidewalk. Just honk at the pedestrians until they move.


For bus drivers:
Busses can fit through car-sized spaces, so don't be afraid to squeeze in between cars. You don't always have to stop at stops, and you may arrive according to whatever schedule you want to follow (or no schedule at all). You can mess with riders by opening all doors except the one they're standing at, or by shutting doors on their feet. Slamming on your breaks suddenly is usually a crowd pleaser. Also, feel free to stop for smoke breaks at random intervals and stop only inches away from the cars in front of you.


For car drivers:
As long as no cars are coming from the opposite direction, any lane is free game to drive in. If no lanes are available, feel free to create an additional lane in between cars. If pedestrians are crossing, you can still drive even when your light is red. You should probably honk all the time. The Italians have perfected the "friendly honk" (a beep beep for: "hey, you're in my way," "your car's still sticking into my lane a little bit," "I see you're about to back into me, please don't," "will you wait right there for a second so I can pass you?") but they've also perfected the rude honk. And the honking for no apparent reason at all.


When parking:
Even though your car is the smallest car on the market, you can take up a giant space if you want. You can park in the middle of the street (literally the middle. Don't worry, just leave it there over night. It's okay.) You can double park whenever you'd like. You can park the opposite direction on a one-way street, or drive the wrong way on a one-way in order to back up into a parking spot.


For pedestrians:
Consider that you are never safe. If you're on the sidewalk, you could still get hit. If you're crossing when you have a green light, you could still get run over. If you're just walking and minding your own business you'll probably still get honked at. If you're sitting eating at a restaurant, you might have to pick your table up off the street for a minute so that cars can pass. The metro might be the safest route for you.

Weekend Trip #3: Barcelona

This weekend I went to Barcelona with two of my roommates (Caitlin and Kaitlyn) and three other girls.
Caitlin's friend from home (Izzy) is studying in Barcelona, so she was our tour guide most of the time, which was convenient because we didn't have to plan everything out on our own and we didn't get lost at all.


I was surprised at how different Barcelona feels than Rome. Overall, the city is much more with it than Rome. The typically stubborn Romans are happy in their old habits and don't feel the need to modernize themselves or their city. Barcelona has more convenient stores (instead of separate stores--tabacchi shops, farmacias, bancomats, small grocery stores) with more "American" brands like Lays, Pringles, Orbit and Trident gum (I stocked up on normal gum before I left). They have multiple subway lines, which makes it much easier to get around. Of course the architecture is much more modern, which means that stores have larger floor plans and it's not as cramped. 
The people were also very polite. They weren't overly friendly like in Palermo, just more polite. They certainly waited for everyone to get off the subway before they got on, which is much different than the Roman battle to make it inside, or out of, the metro car. They also have a sense of personal space, and will actually walk around you instead of into you, or give you a little room to breathe on the subway.
The streets were much cleaner than Rome's, even though you can see street cleaners all the time here. The women dressed much more fashionably than in Rome. There was a certain energy that carried over into the nightlife that was way more upbeat and seemed to attract a younger crowd. Lot of bars served popcorn, and I liked that. We drank lots of Sangria, and went to a "shots bar," which had a wall filled with the names of shots, but not their ingredients. Basically, you were blindly ordering drinks based on their names. Lots were served on fire. There were also nice clubs and bars all along the beach that were packed every night. It was a much more glamorous nightlife than in Rome!

The fancy popsicles!

The first day we had lunch at Bo de B's, a super famous and delicious sandwich place [they had seasoned and grilled chicken on a baguette, topped with fresh peppers, olives, lettuce, tomatoes, and some special sauces]. In the afternoon we got popsicles at a little place that had fresh fruit popsicles that they could dip in whatever you wanted--milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and different kinds of nuts. I had kiwi dipped in milk chocolate, which was interestingly tart and sweet. For dinner we went to a tex-mex place (interesting choice of meal in Barcelona, I know, but we're starved for good mexican food in Rome). I had the most delicious burrito of my recent life (I'm craving Chipotle so much right now). The next day we got some Starbucks! (which we're also lacking in Rome). That night we went out for a typical tapas dinner (kind of like a lot of plates of appetizers you share with the group). We had some seafood, some fried potato balls, some fried potatoes with fancysauce on them.


Here are some of the sights we saw:

The square where they apparently
welcomed Christopher Columbus back
from discovering America
(questionable).

The carrer del Bisbe, the Bishop's street,
a famous skywalk linking the
President's house to the Catalan
Government seat in the Gothic district.

La Seu Cathedral, also in the Gothic
district of the city.

La Seu Cathedral from the inside.

La Boqueria, a large market filled with
all kinds of fresh fruit juices, chocolates,
fruits, and meats.

The beach! Probably a little bit more
fun while it was still warm out.

The view from way high up in
Park Guell.

A beautiful fountain in Ciutadella Park.

The Arc de Triomphe

The square where they do the castell,
the human towers.

The Arenas Shopping Center

The "Magic Fountain," which dances
to pop music and changes color. I love
the silhouettes in front of it.

The second day I fell in love with Gaudi. I had no idea how many of the important buildings in Barcelona he designed. [Gaudi loved architecture, religion, nature, and Catalonia. He led the Modernism movement around Barcelona, and nature as an inspiration is very obvious in his architecture. He was interested in all kinds of crafts including ironwork, ceramics, carpentry, and stained glass, all of which are evident in his designs. He was influenced by the Gothic Revival and died in 1926, during the Arts and Crafts Movement.] Here are some that we saw:

These are from Park Guell. The entrance has two gingerbread looking buildings that you can see in the first picture. The roof line is very organic which is typical of Gaudi. All three pictures have the broken ceramic or mosaic look. The mosaic lizard is probably one of the most famous icons of Barcelona.

This is Casa Batllo (hiding behind a tree), originally built as a house that's now rented out as apartment buildings. It's supposed to look like a bone structure on the bottom with skull-esque balconies, but you can't really see those in the picture.

Across the street from Casa Batllo is La Pedrera, another Gaudi apartment building. Here you can see the building, again with it's organic, nature-inspired waves, the structures on the roof below that, the view from the roof on the right, and the view out a window of one of the apartments. The roof is like a double-figure-eight, with stairs going up and down and all around the pathways. There are arches inside these spiral structures, which are covered in mosaic decorations. Inside the apartment there are Gaudi-designed wooden chairs, iron floral balconies, and Art Nouveau furniture and decorations.

And, of course, Sagrada Familia:

The top left photo shows the BEST view of the whole thing, as seen from the roof of La Pedrera. Next to that is an inside wall and ceiling. What an optical illusion, right? To the left is a stained glass window, which Gaudi loved.

Below on the left is part of the facade, which has geometric, stylized sculptures on it. And next to that is the ceiling, which feels like a canopy.
I have to give some photo credits to Caitlin because my camera died.

Oh, Mamma Mia!

Last night I went to see Mamma Mia! (in Italian!) The theater was much more modern than I was expecting. The show was really fun, even if I didn't know what they were saying most of the time. Apparently "money money money" and "dancing queen" don't translate to Italian, because they kept those phrases in English.
It was the best when they turned it into an ABBA dance party after the final bows. Does this always happen at Italian musicals? Sign me up for more.


Today the city flooded. The metros were closed for a period of time, and not all the busses were running. I got to walk to school in this. And then I got to take a really hard mid-term in soaking wet jeans. Wet like I just jumped in a pool. Wet like my chair had a puddle on it when I got up after two hours. Also, the exam was terrible. I'm the only person in the class. Thanks, prof.


But now I have ten days off school, and I think they'll be the best ten days of my Roman life! Tonight I'm off to Barcelona.

The Best Sunday Ever

Today is an excellent day. Here's why:

The weather is gorgeous. The air is cool and crisp, but there's lots of sun. It's finally fall in Rome and it feels great!

I just made chocolate chip cookies. Easier said than done in Rome. My roommates' first batch was a disaster, and they were impressed I could make cookies from scratch. (I don't think that should be that surprising. They're my favorite food and they're super easy.)

I also just made bagels! Everyone is allowed to be impressed at this one. They don't really have bagels here, and I've been dying for them. These were the best bagels ever. It was an entire day's work that we ate in ten minutes.

Now it's time to skype my parents then have a roommate family dinner.

Yay, Sundays!

After almost a month and a half in this apartment, we're finally cracking the Italian repairmen. 4 appointments later, we got our hot water mostly fixed so that (most of the time) we can take (fairly) hot showers. They just cleaned out our shower head so that more than a drip of water comes out (water pressure is a gift). They're coming today to clean out the shower drain so that it actually drains the water. Yesterday they cleaned out the sink drain so that that can drain the water. We got our dishwasher fixed so that it is able to clean dishes. I think we have the maintenance number memorized.
We got a roommate trash schedule down so that the trash is actually being taken out, as well as a sign up sheet to buy essentials like toilet paper, soap, and napkins so that they're always in stock.
We also learned to be quiet all the time so that our neighbors stop complaining about us.
Now we just need to buy a few more pots so that there's not a line of 8 people waiting to cook pasta for dinner. And maybe a few more bowls since we seem to be down to 2..
We might be a little slow, but we'll get this Italian living perfected eventually!

Weekend Trip #2: Soriano and Sicily

Soriano nel Cimino, about an hour and a half
bus ride from Rome

This weekend we took our second longer trip. First, half the API group went to Soriano nel Cimino, a small medieval town  for the day on Friday. There was a sword fighting troupe whose "performances" (synchronized sword fighting, fights, towers of people, and marching band) are based on the town's ancient traditions.
The town was located up a mountain, and it was the chilliest I've been since I got to Italy. It was a overcast all day, although it only actually rained for a few minutes. (Actually, it began raining right when a prisoner was killed in a reenactment. The timing couldn't have been better-it was just like a movie.)

The human tower the swordsmen made

First we walked up the mountain to see the area that they originally had to survey and pretended we were searching for a place to set up camp. While we were looking at our leader, Davide's, new campsite, he got attacked by another swordsman! They killed the intruder, but still thought it was best that we all learn how to sword fight just in case.
We began with wooden sticks and learned a few moves to attack people, block attacks, and slit peoples' throats. Then we were quizzed on our moves by the swordsmen. When we passed, a few of us were handed real swords (slightly scarier) and practiced our coordinated moves with those. Once we had earned our certificates in sword fighting (literal pieces of paper), we had a four course lunch in a little restaurant in the town, complete with bread, pasta, meat appetizers, red wine and sparkling white wine, and a delicious kind of shortbread dessert.

A view through a little alley of the town

Then we took the bus back to the actual town, which was located on a steep hill, allowing for lots of vertical staircases, hills, windy streets, and little alleys. We walked up to a castle, which was partially renovated; still not much of it was able to be seen. Here, we were greeted by a jester, who revealed that she was a ghost that haunted the castle and then gave us a little tour. We saw a prisoner get killed (that's when it rained), as well as some other slightly confusing skits. Then the swordsmen came back and performed for us. It was fun to watch the synchronized fighting in their matching outfits. They also did series of rolls and jumps over each other, and formed a human tower. [They seemed a little out of practice--it's their off season. They usually perform during the chestnut festival time, but they did this one just for us. Consequently, they kept injuring themselves. One littler boy accidentally slammed his head on the stone ground. One guy had a welt near his eye from getting hit with a sword. Needless to say, by the time the human tower came around I was pretty nervous for their lives.] They were accompanied by a marching band, who greeted us right when we got out of the bus and then continued to follow us around to get us in the medieval mood.

Palermo, Sicily, about a 45 minute flight from Rome

We took the bus back to Rome, then Taylor, Kaitlyn, Meg and I jumped right in a taxi to go to the airport to fly to Sicilia. This was my first flight within the EU. And it was crazy. It was a small plane and there were no assigned seats. That means it was a complete free-for-all getting on. Then, while we were flying, the other passengers had no problems leaning completely on to me in order to look out the window (I was in the middle). The turbulence was terrible because of the rain and lightening, and people were literally screaming and gasping every time we hit a rough patch. It was probably the choppiest flight I've ever been on. Once we landed, everyone exhaled like they had just personally flown across the ocean. Once they announced that we had arrived, everyone clapped and cheered. It was kind of fun to be so encouraging of the pilot, but kind of scary that everyone was so glad we had landed..maybe I take landing alive from a flight for granted!

Storm clouds

It was pouring rain when we left the airport and waited for a taxi and arrived at our "hotel" (I use the word lightly). Before we arrived, the "hotel owner" had been texting me, asking me when I thought we would arrive because there wasn't always someone there to check us in. We were late because we hadn't anticipated waiting for a taxi for so long, and he reprimanded us for that (I will give him a break though..he was waiting in the rain for us in the middle of the night). When we got inside, it looked nice enough. He told us we had to be out by 11 on Sunday ("What time?" "Eleven."), that we had to take our trash out. Then he handed us our bedsheets, snapped a picture of Taylor's passport with his camera phone, and left us. We asked him where our breakfast was, because we had paid extra for it already, and he said, "Oh, you wanted breakfast? I'll bring you something in the morning, but remember that this is a budget hotel so it won't be much." We opened our cabinets and saw the cockroaches then went to bed.

Santa Rosalia church. The chapel walls
literally came out of the cave walls. It
was really pretty!

The next morning we got up, killed a few more roaches, and left before our breakfast arrived. Due to lack of planning, it took us basically all morning and part of the afternoon to go up to Santa Rosalia's cave on the top of a mountain. [We had to wait at the bus stop for a few hours..we ended up being there so long and asking the men at the information desk so many questions that they ended up literally walking us onto the bus. It seems there were only four drivers in the whole city because they all knew where we were going, and continually pushed us off busses and onto other busses. We literally had no choice in where we were going. This being said, the men here were all SO friendly. Everywhere we went old guys were passing each other on the streets and waving. They all knew each other and they were all so excited to help us. I heard we would have to be super wary of pick-pocketers and the mafia, but we didn't encounter this at all.] It was part chapel and part cave which was really beautiful. She's Taylor's adopted saint, so it meant a lot to her to get to see it. Due to more lack of planning, we had to wait forever for a bus back down the mountain.

The Capuchin Catacombs

Then we began our poorly planned trip to the Capuchin Catacombs. [At first, only the Capuchin friars were buried in these catacombs. It was an experiment to see how well they could preserve bodies. Eventually, other people began paying to be buried there. There were a few different preservation methods. The most preserved body was a little girl who was injected with certain chemicals. The method died when that scientist died, however, and nobody's sure how he did it. Other were dehydrated on racks then cleaned with vinegar, dressed in clothes of the time period, then placed up against the walls of the catacombs. There's a section of monks, a section of women, a section of children, and a section of professionals.] Some were really well preserved with skin and hair still. Others were mostly just bones and clothing. Either way, they were all really creepy. We finally made it back to the "hotel," then went out to dinner. I tried some seafood pasta, and ate my first muscles and clams. I strongly disliked them, but what better place to try them than in Sicilia? We got some dessert, walked around a little bit, then went to bed.

The group I went with near
the ocean

On Sunday, we got up early to find the market, but it appeared to be closed. So we got some spremuta d'arance (freshly squeezed orange juice) and headed back to check out of our hotel. We were literally kicked out at 11:07, so good thing we were ready to go.

Il Cattedrale di Palermo

Even though it was overcast and windy, it made for a beautifully dramatic day near the beach. After spending some time there, we made our way to the duomo, Il cattedrale di Palermo. Then we wandered for a while with our luggage before accepting a taxi tour in a little tour guide rickshaw. The tour guide was really fun because he played us fun Italian music and blared it for us and danced with us. He forced us to get out at all the monuments to take pictures and drove us past some of his friends. He also let us stop at our favorite cafe to get some snacks. Eventually, we ran out of things to do in Palermo, so we went to the airport a little early and waited for our flight.
Although we got to know Palermo pretty well, I'd love to go back to Sicily sometime to see the rest of the island!

I'd like to let one Mr. Dave Hartman know that I'm working on a new blog post! Sorry it's been so long..I'll try to be more regular.

I love my second parents.