Paris, Je T'Aime.

Bonjour!

Sorry I've been a little bit lazy about my blog posts...   I got home from Paris on Monday but I just couldn't get myself to sit down and write!

So here is a bit about my Parisienne adventure:

Christine, Danielle and I took the night train from Rome to Paris.  It was quite a long trip.... we tried to sleep but it was quite impossible to get more than 20 mins.  I slept off and on but when I was awake we went through the Swiss Alps which were spectacular! It felt like I was in a snow globe or in some kind of fairy tale.  After 20 hours of travel, we finally made it to magnifique Paris!



We quickly dropped our bags off at our charming little hotel, Hotel Bellan, and then ran over to the Louvre to meet the rest of my roommates and Kathryn! We were only a 15 minute walk and the metro was just down the street so we were in a great location.  We saw all the main attractions there like the Winged Victory, the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and other paintings the rest of the girls recognized from CIV :)  The Louvre is sooo overwhelming so we got pretty tired and decided to head back to the Hotel to get ready for dinner.  My french friend, Marie-Sophie was in town to visit her parents, so Kathryn, Danielle, and I met up with her for dinner at this really cool restaurant called 3 Pieces Cuisine.  There was not one tourist in the place which was so awesome to experience a real French hang out.  It kind of reminded us of someone's basement turned into a restaurant.  It was small and completely packed.  We all ordered a glass of wine and waited for our table. Marie-Sophie said next time we order a drink, you need to get une biere avec sirop de peches (beer with peach syrup), the French love to add syrup to their beer which is actually really delicious it kind of tasted like a Peach soda!  We finally got a table and ordered Croque Monsieurs and I got this eggplant open faced sandwich which was tres tres delicieux.  Marie-Sophie's friend , Elenor, stopped by real quick as well because she was in the neighborhood.  It was such a good time!! I was just loving people watching and finally hearing French again... ahhh such a beautiful language! It was so funny because all of my roommates studied french growing up just like me but now that we have spent a few months in Italy we kept catching ourselves saying, "grazie", "scusi" and "si" to everyone!

After we said bonne nuit to our French friends, Kathryn, Danielle and I searched the streets for a nutella crepe....... which we were just dying to get! I refused to go to bed with out eating one! Our dinner went kind of late so a lot of places were closed :( but dont you worry, I was on a mission and we found a place right down the street from our Hotel!!! This place was tres chic... we ordered trois cafes and two crepe a la nutella.

The next morning I went with Kath to get a fresh croissant and a Starbucks (yes, they have starbucks in France :) ) Then we hopped on the metro and went to Le Musee D'Orsay to see all of my favorite impressionists.  I loved it sooo much more than the Louvre. It is just more open and easier to get around.  It used to be a train station before it became a Museum and you can definitely tell it was by it's design.  

Afterwards, we walked through the Jardin of the Tulleries and then the Rue Saint Honore to find a place to eat lunch.  We stumbled upon a bagel shop called Bagelstein's.  They had the most delicious bagel sandwiches..

Next we headed over to Angelina's for un chocolat chaud.  Oh my goodness. I died. It was the most delicious hot chocolate ever.  It was actually just liquid chocolate.  They give you a pitcher of chocolate for the two of you and a side of whipped cream.  we could not finish it though because it was extremely rich. The place itself was so pretty also.  It looked exactly how you would imagine a tea room to look like.

Afterwards, Danielle met up with us to do a little shopping in Montparnasse.  Zara, Mango, and Princess Tam Tam all were on the list of places to go.  Then we grabbed an olive baguette for a snack and then we headed back to the hotel to meet the rest of the girls.




We all got ready and then headed over to Montmartre for dinner.  We all got french onion soup with galettes (savory crepes) and I ordered beer with peach syrup, just like Marie-Sophie told me to.  Then we climbed the stairs to Sacre-Coeur for the most beautiful view of the city.  We saw the Eiffel Tower all light up but we did not want to miss it sparkle on the hour so then we hopped back on the metro! We made it in time and it took our breath away.... thats what I think of when I think of Paris.  Kathryn said even being there for months, seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle never gets old for her.







The next morning the rest of our roommates had a very early flight but Danielle and I were taking the train home that night so we had one whole day left there! For breakfast we grabbed a Starbucks and then found a cute bagel shop called Adele's.  It had great reviews on trip advisor, so we thought we would check it out!  It was so quaint and cute! The place was packed though, and apparently we needed reservations.... but the lady was nice enough and set a table up for us outside.  I got a cinnamon spice tea that came with a lavender chocolate and a bagel sandwich and Danielle finally got her lox.

We went to L'isle de la Citte to go to Notre Dame for Sunday mass.  It was such a cool experience because they have the bells in the main church right now.  The old bells' sound were fading so they have brand new bells they are going to install to match the old sound.  During communion, when the Priest held up the Eucharist, they rang one of the bells in the center aisle.  It shook the entire church. I have never felt something like that, it was SO COOL.  You could not help but be amazed.  Afterwards, we headed just down the road to Sainte Chapelle, the church built by St. Louis King of France to hold the reliques from the Holy Land.  It is like a treasure box and the walls are built completely of stained glass.  The colors change ever minute as the sun moves across the sky.  (I also had to go here because I had to write a 15 page paper on it's stained glass for my Medeval Art History class sophomore year....) It made it all worth it!  Danielle didn't have a chance to go to the Musee D'Orsay so  I went back with her.  (you can never get too much of the Impressionists :) ) The right before our train we stopped to get fresh and warm baguettes for the ride and croissants for the next morning.  It was quite an interesting experience to take the overnight train... but since we had beds we slept like babies! It all went well except for the crazy african lady in our cabin who would not get off the phone and i swear for 2 whole minutes, in a monotone voice, repeated the word "amina" over and over... who knows what that means... but Danielle and I tried so hard not to burst out laughing. Wow that was so hard. Butwe made it safely back to Roma and went straight to the Scavi Tour at the Vatican right from the train station!  Stayed tuned for my next blog for details on that!














Tomorrow morning Danielle and I are headed off to Milano for Fashion Week! ( I know, it's a tough life.... )

Bacioni xxxx

VIVA IL PAPA!

This was a week we will never forget! Monday, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignment from the Papacy right after my morning theology class.  We were scheduled for an audience with him in the middle of March with my class but that was definitely not going to happen.... instead my Professor got on the phone right away to see if he could reschedule for this week's audience which would be the first time Pope Benedict would appear after his resignation.  Kathryn was still here during the week so she was dying to get a ticket as well. I emailed him right away asking if it was possible and he said he would but he would not know about the tickets for the whole class until the night before! We were all praying and crossing our fingers....and our prayers worked!!! We were going to be present at one of the last audience with the Pope!

Tuesday was a busy day. Kathryn tagged along to my photography outings to my professor's studio and to a market near the Vatican.  Then I had class until 5:45...  That night was the last night of Carnevale, so we went to Piazza del Popolo for the fireworks and the horse show.  They were spectacular!!! I kept on just thinking how lucky I am to be here in Rome at this time while the fireworks went off synchronized with Italian opera music.  Afterwards, we went to Pizza Re' which was almost a replica of Punch pizza...... Kath and I died.  But we had tiramisu for dessert rather than Punch's nutella pizza.  We went to bed early because we had to prepare for a very exciting morning the next day!

We all got up at 6:30 and headed over to the Vatican.  The audience wasn't until 10:30 but we wanted to get there when security opened at 8.  We got great seats because of our determination!!  The great hall was packed with people from all around the world.  Choirs and groups of students would get up and take turns performing while we waited for the Pope.  It was amazing to be a part of all of this.  We chatted with priests and seminarians and the Missionaires of Charity who sat behind us.  We got invited to their holy hour on every sunday and mass at their home here in Rome (we colllected a few holy cards from them as well).  There was an Argentinian priest who sat in front of us and we passed our time trying to communicate with each other, both only knowing a little bit of Italian and then barely any spanish.  It was such a fun experience even though we were waiting for two hours!  There was also a German band a few rows back decked out in their traditional costumes.  They were from the Pope's hometown and would play a song every once in a while.  

The crowd went crazy when he entered the great hall.  I have never seen so many energetic people in one room waving flags and shouting, "VIVA IL PAPA!" He smiled and stretched out his arms welcoming everyone.  He was the cutest thing.  I seriously could not stop smiling! He was this sweet little old man, yet he is one of the most respected and holiest men in the world.  It saddened me a bit seeing how old and frail he looked though... yet there was still a certain strength to him. He gave an address to the crowd in Italian first.  I could only pick up on a few things he said, but I could definitely tell he said something about his resignation and to continue to pray for him, the Church, and the new Pope. Then he gave an address to the main nationalities present (7 different languages!).  I can't believe he did that.  I was just tired sitting there but he managed to give 7 different and personalized speeches to each of the different countries present.  In his address to the english speakers he gave a special blessing to all of our families back home and said he is praying especially for all of the students present :) so that we can all grow in our faith during this lenten season.  My favorite part of the audience was when this group of small Italian children stood up in the crowd and sang to our Pope.  He was absolutely beaming.  It was so precious, he gave a special thank you to them and told them that that was very dear to his heart.  It was the only thing that he said that was not rehearsed or written down.  I will never ever forget this and all of my friends present said the same thing. Everyone was so moved by this experience even those who aren't Catholic couldn't help but to be touched by this.  It was amazing that people can gather from all over the world just to see one man and that everyone can unite through the faith.  We are experiencing history!!!

That night we went to Santa Susanna for Ash Wednesday mass.  We also had tickets for the ballet Giselle at the Teatro Dell'Opera which was just right down the street.  It was so beautiful and the theater was just how you would imagine a royal opera house to look like.  I felt kind of like a princess and a little girl at the same time... because every little girl at one time dreamt of being a prima ballerina.

My life is absolutely crazy right now: I saw the Pope at such a historical time, I went to the ballet, and then the next night I left for Paris... I can't even explain how extremely grateful I am for my experiences and this opportunity to be able to study abroad.. these are the times I will never forget!!!

Bacioni xxxx

Blair and Serena Reunite

Ciao ciao,

This week just flew by!

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were just average school days in Roma.... but Wednesday night we had a Pasta making class!  Ahhh it was so much fun!  We had to do it ALL by hand (even mix the eggs with our hands... which, not going to lie, was the best part for all of us).  We felt like little kids playing with Play-Dough.  I struggled a little bit making fettucini so I decided to master tortellini instead.  We also learned how to make ravioli.  Afterwards, we went home and cooked all of it..... I don't think I have ever consumed so much pasta in my entire life.  Our teacher said since it was pasta fresca we needed to cook it as soon as possible since there was raw egg in it so we just HAD to make it all (not going to complain).



The next day Danielle and I did not have class until 5:00, so we decided to go to the market to get ingredients for Pumpkin Tortellini since we had a whole extra half of dough left.  We decided to check out the little market across the street from us.  This market is family owned and is the cutest little place.  The old man who works there loves Danielle and I because we always stop in and always try to speak with them in Italian (let me add that they do not know ONE word of English).  When ever we walk in he gets the biggest smile on his face.  So.... our mission was to find pumpkin.  We knew the Italian word for pumpkin "zucca" but we were looking for canned pumpkin because thats what we were expecting to find.  He told us he did not have a pumpkin in the store but would find us a big one tomorrow! (Imagine hand gestures accompanying this.. it makes it so much funnier) We were so shocked and couldn't stop laughing.  We then tried to tell him we were trying to make pumpkin ravioli, but he thought we were asking if he had any pumpkin ravioli..... so he told us he would get some in his store for us next week! He was so funny.  I guess in these small markets if you really need something they will go out and try to find it for you.  We tried to tell him it was alright and we would try to find it somewhere else but he insisted!  (So I guess we need to go back and get the ravioli next week!)   We had to rush to class without finding pumpkin.  We asked our Italian teacher where we should look and she told us it was in season so we should be able to find it anywhere!  So, after class we went to a our grocery store Tuodi, and found chopped pumpkin in the produce section!

So we headed home, boiled our pumpkins and whipped up some pumpkin tortellini with a sage butter sauce!  Everything seems to taste so much better when you make it your self:) We worked so hard for this meal and it was so worth it!  Now we want to make all kinds of pasta! Our roommate Sarah even made chocolate tortellini the other day!


That night Kathryn came in really late but I still brought her to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, because, as I have said before, are soooo much more beautiful at night.  The next morning, we climbed St. Peter's Dome.... 551 steps, but it was totally worth it.  The steps were not that bad, what really got us was when the hallways got tighter and tighter and then started to curve inwards... it felt like we were in Alice in Wonderland or something.  It was breathtaking at the top.  It was also the most gorgeous day so everything felt absolutely perfect.  Afterwards we decided to venture to the Jewish Ghetto because we heard the food is incredible.  (We also wanted to find bagels.....) We found it because of Kath's handy travel advisor app on her phone.  We never found the bagels but we got some delicious falafel with Pitas.  The Jewish Ghetto is actually famous for their artichokes so I will definitely be coming back just for those.  We were exhausted from a long day of walking so we went home for a nap and then went to the family restaurant across the street that we are absolutely in love with, and all have secret crushes on the waiters... I guess not so secret actually :)

Getting a little claustrophobic... 

The next morning my French friend Marie-Sophie came! Kath and her wanted a little tour of Rome so I brought them on a walk from the Colosseum all the way to the Pantheon and showed them all the cool stuff in between.  We then went to the pizzeria I have talked about before that is famous for the pumpkin pizza and then took them to Della Palma, the gelateria with 150 flavors.  Then we met the rest of my roommates at Piazza del Popolo for dinner at Brunetti's, the restaurant with the amazing Cacio e Pepe.  I ended up getting the Risotto di Frutti di Mare (a mixed seafood dish).  Kath was brave and even tried a bite of the squid in my dish! I didn't exactly tell her it was that at the time... but she liked it.  (I actually just told her five minutes ago....) Piazza del Popolo was decked out and all set up for Carnevale, which is more of an equestrian festival here.












Sunday I took MaSo and Kath to my favorite church, Santa Maria della Vittoria and then went to dinner and got gelato at White and told Kath to get the Coconut of course.

I have been in my glory with Kath here :) I get her all to myself for an entire week and then I go to Paris to be with her this weekend!!! Im going to be spending more time with her here in Europe than I would be if I was back in the US!

 Bacioni xxxx

Pizza and Gelato. Pizza and Gelato.

Ciao!

No traveling for us this week which kind of made us happy.. we love to be in our beautiful Roma :)

The school week really flew by for me... A couple highlights:

For photography class we went inside of Santa Maria del Popolo and I got to see two more Caravaggio paintings I love and have studied: The Crucifixion of St. Peter and the Conversion of St. Paul on the Road to Damascus in the Cerasi Chapel.   Then we went to the incredible and huge Villa Borghese gardens.  I am really really enjoying my photo class and have now been using my manual settings where ever I go!

Limone e Frutti di Bosco Sorbetto from Eataly

For my Food and Wine class we went on excursions to two different markets in Rome.  The first was a place where you can get incredible deals on everything you can imagine... fresh fish (ranging from octopi to scallops), dried fruit and nuts, olives, produce, candy etc. etc...) Barely anyone spoke english the vendors, our teacher explained, were mostly Bangladeshi, Chinese, or Arab.  The second market was my version of heaven...... it is called Etaly.  It is a high end market with the best of the best in terms of quality food.  There was one floor dedicated to olive oil and wines alone... Anything you can imagine is there.  There are also about 3 mini restaurants each floor that prepares meals with food found in the store.  They have food, chocolate, wine, and olive oil tastings; celebrity chefs come in and do demonstrations; and cooking classes as well.  They actually built one in NYC and LA, and there is plans for one in Chicago, so the States have a chance to experience this place!!! Check out their website:

http://www.roma.eataly.it/

(that totally just sounded like a sales pitch)

On Wednesday we were supposed to meet our Theology class at the Jewish Catacombs .... but never actually made it there.  WE GOT SO LOST. We ended up roaming along the Apian Way for about 2 hours, which is not too shabby and we also stumbled upon the Baths of Caracalla and some other ruins!  The directions the program gave us were so confusing... last year they tried to do the same excursion but not one person made it there.  They tried to improve them this year (they did a little bit because some people eventually found the Catacombs after wandering for about only an hour).  Other people like us were hopeless... Our professor felt so bad.. It wasn't his fault at all though.  He heard this happened last year so he wanted to go to Catacombs that were easier to find, but the Jewish one's are on the property of a friend of our program director.  I was so upset we didn't make it but were going to other ones later in the year.


Wednesday night, we had a school sponsored pizza and gelato crawl...  my dream.  We went to two pizzeria's: Al Forno in Campo di Fiori and Florida which is in Largo Argentina.  Florida was incredible... they are famous for their pumpkin and prosciutto pizza which was to die for. I got the eggplant parmesan pizza and the zucchini pizza which were both absolutely delicious.  We then went to this gelateria called Della Palma famous for having 150 flavors.  WOWW I have never ever seen so much gelato... and so many interesting and  delicious flavors.  I can't even begin to name them all so here's a link to their website :  http://www.dellapalma.it/  (another little promotion).  We have decided we want to attempt to try all of them... there are 5 of us so if we each get three different flavors each time it might be manageable... we also decided to take flavors like tomato off the list so that might make it a bit easier! I got coconut and hazelnut mousse, almond and honey, and kiwi.  So yummmy.


Thursday, Danielle and I decided to go out and enjoy the beautiful sunshine and 60 degree weather.  We went to Campo di Fiori to the markets there and shopped.  We both ended up getting a hat (which was one of our goals for the trip).  We decided this is the place to experiment with fashion!  For lunch, we had to go back to the pizza place we went to the night before for the pumpkin pizza :)


Thursday night one of my best friends, Nicole, came to visit all the way from Sevilla!!!  I was so incredibly excited to see her!!!! She tagged along on our excursion to St. John Lateran and Santa Croce on Friday morning.  St. john Lateran is the official Cathedral of Rome (many people think St. Peter's is).   It was incredible.  I was so blown away by the art inside.  Santa Croce is right down the road and used to be the spot of Constantine's Mother's, St. Helena,  palace.  St. Helena is the one who found Christ's Cross, crown of thorns, nails, and sign.  This church holds all of these relics and we all had a chance to see them which was unbelievable.  They also had St.Thomas's finger in
the reliquary as well (which was a little creepy).

Coco America in Roma!

Later that night we decided to take Nicole to dinner at the Pantheon. I got penne arrabbiata.  It was good but since this restaurant was so close to the pantheon, it was a bit touristy. But I guess thats the price you pay for a cool view. We sat outside because the weather was just wonderful.  Afterward, we just had to bring her to Della Palma (we were also dying to go there again).  This time I tried pistachio creme, cappuccino, and yogurt.   Nicole left for florence the next morning :(



Sunday we had to find a way to watch the superbowl so we went to a place in Trastevere (which is where sooo many American students live) called T-Bone Steakhouse (a kind of place you dont see in Italy everyday).  It was our first taste of red meat since our arrival and it tasted so good to us.  We all got burgers and a Birra Moretti.  They had the super bowl streaming from ESPN international which means we missed ALL of the commercials... :(  Kick-off did not start until 12:30 AM here and I was already almost falling asleep.  We left after halftime because my eyes were literally closing, we didn't get home until like 3AM... I was exhausted the next day.  Good thing our early class was with our only American professor so he was feeling the exact same way!



I am so excited for this weekend because my best friend KATHRYN comes!!!!!

Bacioni xxxx