Ciao! Sono Brianna: Friends and Italy

I have stayed in Italy this past month and have loved every second of it. I started out with a trip to Alghero Sardinia with some friends from my program and then headed to Rome to be reunited with my Madison friends. I can't believe that my birthday is in just three days.. which means that the semester is coming to an end. But for my birthday I am headed to Amsterdam and Brussels which means waffles on waffles on waffles. Here is my top 10!

1. Midterm. For the month of April, I haven't had school because of midterms for the first two weeks and then spring break for the last two weeks. Midterms meant that I actually had to study. While all of my friends were off gallivanting around the world I had to study for my midterm which made it extremely difficult to focus because I wanted to join them so badly. But, I pulled through and brought my butt to the library every day to study for some social responsibility which is an Ethics class I am currently taking.

2. Bike rides. Completing the midterm meant that spring break had officially started. We were starting off with a trip to Sardinia, Italy which is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and is an autonomous region of Italy. We were staying at an airbnb which ended up being a villa siting in the middle of an olive oil plantation. It was absolutely breathtaking when the sun would set and you would look out over the patio onto all the trees and surrounding area. There were ten boys in one of the apartments and then us three girls had a six bedroom apartment to ourselves. Myself and two others, who took the midterm with me, arrived two days after everyone else so they had everything figured out for us when we arrived. We didn't get there till 11:30 that night but when we got there I could not have been more excited to be reunited with Emma and Annie. The next day we woke up and had to go rent our bikes. We were staying about 2 maybe 3 km from the main part of Alghero (the city we were staying at in Sardinia) so everyone had rented bikes to get to the grocery store, beach, etc. Well we went to rent our bikes, 5 of us, and then were told that we were going to take a little bike ride to see these amazing cliffs and Neptune's Grotto which is a stalactite cave. So we started out with 9 boys and myself... slowly but surely we started losing people (long story) so it ended up being 5 of the guys and me. Now I was under the impression this adventure would take a few hours and we would be back in time for lunch. I was so wrong. It took us SEVEN HOURS. It was about a 40 km bike ride through Alghero which included hills, hills, and wait for it... hills. I surprised myself though because I led the pack for majority of the trip. To help us get through the agonizing pain we kept experiencing, one of the boys had brought speakers with to listen to music and then I would always ask another one for motivation when needed. As horrible as the trip sounds the whole time we got to witness amazing views. We were biking through the country side, weaving through the streets along the water and of course making our way upwards to the top of the 110 meter high Cap Caccia cliffs. Once we finally got to our destination we were dying. To get to the grotto you have to take a stairway that is cut into the cliff which entails walking 654 steps one way to get to the entrance. The grotto was amazing. They told us that 1 cm of stalactite takes a couple 100 years to grow. After the tour of the grotto we started climbing the stairs back and then had to make the whole bike ride home which was so much easier since it was majority downhill. That night Anthony and Nick made us girls a wonderful meal and then all 13 of us played some card games and hung out getting to know each other better.

3. Burgers by the pool. The next day our bodies were dead. I had a horrible tan line on my back from my tank top and backpack I had been wearing during the bike ride, which the boys said looked like an angel tattoo or something that a biker gang would get tattooed on their back. We decided to take it easy that day and grab some burgers, brats and hot dogs from the grocery store and grill out by the pool. Relaxing in the middle of the plantation, with a pool all to ourselves and eating food that felt like home was the perfect spring break day. The pool was extremely cold since it was not heated and the weather was just starting to get nice so the only time you ever went in the pool was after a bike ride, if you were too hot from tanning or to jump in while someone threw you the football to catch.

4. Dinner with everyone. That night we had to get rid of all our food so we did a huge pot luck dinner and two of the boys were able to make a bunch of different things with everyone’s ingredients and it felt like a family dinner. I contributed by making the meat plate for an appetizer, setting the table with the others girls and then doing the dishes. No idea how by doing the dishes it ended with me getting completely soaked. Again that night we all just hung out outside on the balcony looking at the stars and talking. Many of my friends in different programs have said how lucky I am that I get along with the people in my program and I would have to agree with them. Our trip to Sardinia was perfect and the group that we went with could not have been any better. (ps of course during the trip I embarrassed myself multiple times. It included dropping two glass bottles, one at the grocery store in front of everyone and then another by the entrance of the pool. I also got mocked the whole time for how I always yell for Emma and how different things I say/ do remind all the boys of how I am in a sorority. I also got made fun of during the card game BS because I am a horrible liar which I took as a compliment)

5. Vatican City. After Sardinia, I had a few days here in Milan and then Annie and I took a 2 day trip to Rome. We left on Tuesday morning at 5 am and arrived in Rome around 9 am. I can sleep during any part of travel and Annie cannot. I even fell asleep while the plane was taxing (Annie was not too happy with me). Once we got into Rome we headed straight to Vatican City. Annie had already been to Rome so she was like my tour guide throughout the whole trip. The line to get into the Vatican wrapped around St. Peter's Square so we thought it would take us all day waiting in line but it only took 30 min. During that wait there were two couples behind us, one from France and the other from Spain. We ended up finding out the husband from Spain was the abroad director for the school that my friends are studying abroad at in Seville. They were able to give us different pointers and directions about things to see in Rome and how to get to the Colosseum (which was our next stop for the day.) Once inside St. Peter's Basilica I was shocked. The church itself is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Annie told me that the Cathedral in Saint Paul was made to look like Saint Peters but you can fit about 6 of those cathedrals into Saint Peters since it is the biggest church in the world. I also did not know that the Vatican is a city itself and is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world. The dome inside the Vatican is breathtaking. The amount of detail that is on it and the paintings are something that cannot even be described. Written on the dome is "Peter, you are the stone and on you I will build my church and give you the keys to heaven." Even though I am not catholic the church still amazed me. My dad’s grandparents are catholic so I took pictures of about every inch of that place so when I show them the pictures they will hopefully feel like they were actually inside. Annie’s favorite part of the Vatican and something that made me laugh so hard were the guards uniforms. Annie told me that they were designed by Michelangelo himself and boy he must have loved the circus or something because that’s what I immediately thought of when I saw the uniforms.

6. Colosseum - After the Vatican we made our way over to the Colosseum to meet up with a few of my girlfriends who are studying in Rome. We were told to meet my girlfriends at Altara della Patria also known as Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II. My friends explained that the monument holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame. The body of the unknown soldier was chosen in the 1920s from among 11 unknown remains during WWI. The tomb is always guarded by guards and the flame never goes out. It reminded me of the tomb that the US has in Washington D.C. We then started our way to the forum before the Colosseum . The Roman forum is surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings and was originally a marketplace. It was for centuries the center of Roman public life which meant it was the sight of elections, public speeches, criminal rails and even gladiatorial matches. You can still make out where various buildings or homes were but it was fascinating just thinking about how old the buildings were and that some parts of them still stand today. Our walk through the forum was pretty fast because huge storm clouds starting rolling in and then all of a sudden it started down pouring which quickly escalated into a full blown thunderstorm. We started running to the Colosseum and since we had bought the forum tickets before hand we were able to bypass the line and go right into the Colosseum. The Colosseum was a lot bigger than I could have ever pictured. Reading some of the information throughout the Colosseum was quite interesting. It was the largest amphitheater of the Roman Empire and is still considered to be one of the greatest works of the Roman time. The Colosseum could hold anywhere between 50,000 - 80,000 spectators and seats/sections were split up according to class and gender. The Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles which would last all day and could consist of multiple shows throughout the day. After the Colosseum the girls took us to their favorite bakery and gelato shop called Old Bridge. I was so full from eating periodically throughout the day that I couldn't even finish my gelato…a first for me. We were staying in the area right outside the main part of the city called Trastevere. It is exactly what you would picture streets of Rome to be like, cobbled streets lined with Medieval houses.

7. Dinner in Rome. After getting into our bed and breakfast and taking a quick power nap, the girls came to pick Annie and myself up and took us to the best dinner we have had in Italy. We went to a restaurant called Roma Sparita and the inside felt like it was inside someone’s house. We all got the same thing: Cacio and pepe (a famous Rome dish) but what made it so wonderful was that it was served in a Parmesan bowl. I had never had anything like it. After wards we went to a few different bars to catch up and chat and at the last bar, I was able to meet up with two of my best guy friends from school. After that Annie and I went back to the bed and breakfast and fell asleep within minutes.

8. All the other tourist stuff Rome has to offer. The next day was spent seeing some of the other sights Rome has to offer. We started the day off with breakfast at a cafe where we were able to meet up with Jess and Carlie and say our goodbyes. They then helped us get on our way to the Spanish steps. These steps were built by the French to connect the Piazza di Spagna and the church at the top of the steps. They are so beautiful because they are covered in flowers and have a few different parts where it levels off for a lookout over the Piazza/buildings surrounding it. After that we made our way to Piazza de Popolo which we recognized immediately from the Lizzie McGuire Movie when she rides on the Vespa with Paolo. There are twin churches on one side and fountains in the middle and on each end. We then realized we were far away from the rest of our sights so started the hike back to the main area. We took a quick food break though at a beautiful restaurant and ate our pizza outside. After our tummy’s were filled and our feet had gotten to relax we headed to the Trevi fountain in hopes of finding Paolo. The Trevi fountain has no roads going up to it so no cars can drive by, it only has streets which made it a little bit difficult for us to find (since we had NO MAP THIS WHOLE TIME) but we just started following the various tour groups who led us right there. The fountain is gorgeous. Neptune is in the middle and then there are various statutes surrounding him. I of course had to get the cliché trevi pic so thank goodness Annie was patient because I threw a few coins into the fountain that day. After that we headed to the Pantheon, which honestly was smaller than I thought. It’s not small at all just after seeing the Vatican and Coliseum the day before my eyes got used to the huge sights. The Pantheon means "all Gods" and was commissioned to be a temple to all gods of ancient Rome. The dome is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome and at the center there is a perfect circle where you can see the sky. After that was Piazza Navona and in the middle is a fountain which represents the four rivers of the world. Throughout the Piazza there were various street vendors selling a variety of items and then surrounding the Piazza were restaurants and Spanish colored buildings. On either end are two other fountains. The Piazza throughout time has hosted various events, activities and festivals. We then decided to try to find Campo di firori and then make our way back over to the Colosseum (right after #9) to see it while it was nice outside. On our way we stopped at Largo di Torre Argentina which is a square in Rome that hosts 4 Roman temples and the remains of Pompeys Theatre. My friends told us that located in it is the Toree Argentina Cat Sanctuary, which is a shelter for homeless cats and many people go down there to feed and take care of those cats. Since I don't care for cats, we did not go down there.

9. Falling on the side walk. So far my trip to Rome had no moments of me dropping something or falling but that was about to change. With less than two hours left on our trip we were trying to find our last sight of the day before we headed back to the airport: Campo Di Firori which is another Piazza in Rome and is known for having some of the best markets. Well we couldn't find it and finally gave up so on our way to the Colosseum, while walking on the side walk, I tripped over my own feet and fell super hard. My camera, since it was around my neck, also fell with me and so I was laying there worried that I broke my camera while Annie was worried I broke my ankle or something worse since I wasn't moving. Also, during the time of me on the ground a few Italian taxi men ran up to me to see if I was okay but I wasn’t answering to them either. When I finally found out my camera worked I got up and started laughing, so Annie knew I was okay. We were dying of laughter but then all of a sudden looked at my knee and it was starting to gush blood. Luckily Annie had horrible blisters so she had a few extra Band-Aids and then just my luck a random Italian man was walking by with bags of paper towels so gave me a few. After the Colosseum we made our way back to the airport and were on our way home to Milan.

10. I have about 7 friends studying in Rome and being able to see all of them was wonderful. Jess, my roommate from freshman, sophomore and next year spent the most time with us and was a wonderful tour guide. Seeing some of my best friends, even if it was for a quick time, made the trip worth it. Most of them have been traveling together and I have been traveling with my program so it is nice to be able to actually talk and hug them in person rather than a quick 10 min Facebook chat conversation every few days. We would not have been able to do Rome without my friends so a special thanks goes out to some of my favorite girls!