First weekend trip: Capri

Overlooking the blue waters of Capri. It was pretty on an overcast day. I can't imagine how beautiful it would be with the sun shinning!
Since the Blue Grotto was closed, we decided to go exploring. We just went up ever set of stairs that we could find & explored tiny streets.
There was a castle on one of the peaks of the mountain!
Colleen, Audrey, Monica & I with a view of Capri behind us
Audrey, Colleen, Sarah Anne & Monica during our hike. Our backpacks got mighty heavy by the end of the day!

First weekend trip: Sorrento

View of the harbor
We ate lunch on the side of the harbor, and a random dog decided he wanted to join us.

We found some really steep, moss-covered stairs that lead to the harbor. They were cool.

First weekend trip: Sorrento-Capri-Pompeii-Naples

Trying to look excited while waiting at the bus stop at 5am
Audrey is eating breakfast on the train
More breakfasting!
View from the train
Another view

Wine Tasting

The chef & the owner of the restaurant
Our table: Me, Sarah Anne, Monica, Annette, Noel, Kat, Bridget, Liz, Colleen & Greg
I like all of the different glasses in this picture
This was my favorite wine - not many people agreed with me though...

More campus shots

Another sunset. They're so beautiful!
Hanging out in the lounge. The door on the second floor is the door to our suite
Beth & Maria were having a conversation with four other people - all of whom were hanging out their windows! Haha!
Bonfire

Around Campus

View from my window during the day. The Mediterranean is out in the distance
View from said window at sunset
Another shot!
The roommates & I are studying hard! :P
One of the crazy "How to play football" commercials that played during the Super Bowl. They were hilarious!

More Museuem favs!

Discobolus= way cool!
Sarah Anne found a new boyfriend
Sarah Anne stares down the ancient Roman senators.
Ah! The Laocoon is like my favorite Greek statue EVER!
Another Carravaggio! And the best part about this one is that it's still in it's original location - a side chapel in the Church of St. Augustine. It makes it so much better that it's in a church where it was meant to be, not just another piece hanging in a museum somewhere.

Capitoline Museum Favorites

I love Carravaggio!!!
Again, Carravaggio
"Ecce Homo" not a Carravaggio, but an imitation of his style. Still a cool painting!
La Lupa = symbol of Rome

Me & the hand of the Emperor Constantine

Met.Ro!
Fountain of Trevi
Women's Retreat!
Our whole suite went to the retreat. L to R: Me, Colleen, Beth, Maria, Monica & Sarah Anne!
Me & Sarah Anne at Campo dei Fiori (flower market ish by day)

Random picture from around Rome!

GO BEARS!!

Slow day today. Everyone seemed to sleep in a little bit today because we had such a late night last night. After mass on campus, my friend Monica & I went into Albano to study in the park. I never realized until someone pointed it out to me today, but you can actually see the Mediterranean from the park. The sun was shinning off it today, and it was simply lovely. I wanted to go to the grocery store today, but sadly they all were closed. It was sad.
Currently I am watching the Super Bowl. GO BEARS! Most people think that we are crazy for staying up to watch it. I couldn’t let this wonderful opportunity to watch the Bears in the Super Bowl. I might be a zombie tomorrow, but hopefully it will be worth it. Oh 8am is going to get here waaaaaaaaaaaay to soon. Lol.

GO BEARS!




PS - Prince was scary.

Roma!

We only had to classes today! Art & Architecture got cancelled, so everyone got to go into Rome earlier. It was heavenly. Haha. I sorta invited myself along with my suitemates as they met up with Colleen’s uncle Fr. Robert Tomas, a professor at the Pontifical University of Rome. We had lunch in the school’s cafeteria, and afterwards he gave us a tour of their lovely building. They are currently restoring the building, parts of which originate to the seventh century! It has amazing views of four nearby churches, but there are about ten within a two block radius. It was pretty neat. He showed us an example of one of the classrooms, a former chapel complete with nineteenth century oil paintings on the wall & ceiling, gorgeous windows, and elaborate molding. There were even putti on the ceiling! I don’t think I would ever hear anything that I was supposed to learn if I were in a room like that!
After our tour, he showed us the Pantheon. Although I have seen it before, it was amazing! It’s one thing to remember this fuzzy image or recognize a slide, but it was such an experience to look up and see it. The best part is that we were calmly walking down a tiny street, when we looked toward our right, AND IT WAS RIGHT THERE! I love this city! You really never know what you can stumble across! Following the Pantheon, we went to the nearby church, Santa Maria sopra Minerva. It’s deceptively plain on the outside, but it’s absolutely gorgeous on the inside. It also has the tombs of Fra Angelica & St. Catherine of Sienna. There’s also a lovely Michelangelo statue of Christ by the altar. We spent a lot of time there, before we walked to the Campo di Fiori for gelato. Peach, coffee & white chocolate was amazing! While we were there, we met up with a former UD grad who is now attending the Pontifical University, as well as her roommate & fellow classmate, Alethea! I’m not exactly sure how to spell her name, but she was a co-worker in Chicago a couple years back. It was fun to randomly meet up with people like that!
Following our gelato, we headed to another church, Santa Andrea de la Valle. It was beautiful too! I think it is one of my favorites so far! The paintings were ginormous, and there were some really neat ones about the altar depicted the death of St. Andrew. Way cool. We also walked past the Pantheon again (but this time after dusk), the parliament building (impression: big and LOTS of police loitering about in the square) and the Trevi Fountain. Of course, we couldn’t pass up that wonderful opportunity to throw a coin over our shoulders! It’s a crazy American tradition, but it’s fun. The square was packed with people all doing the same thing. Lol. We also had a crazy time getting back on the subway. Attempting to get on a packed subway anytime during rush hour means lots of sweaty, shoving people & lack of personal space. It’s always an adventure. We even managed to make it to dinner with less than a minute to spare. I’m sure we looked very interesting running from the bus stop back to campus. Lol. This has been the second time this week that this has happened to us. Just as long as it doesn’t because too much of a habit…