Buona Pasqua in Rome

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  Happy Easter from Rome! I was fortunate enough to spend Easter in Rome, which was an incredible experience. 
  On Easter Sunday, we arrived to St. Peter's Square at the Vatican a bit later than when the 10:15 mass started. The Basilica, where the mass started, holds 15,000 people and the square holds much more. Approximately 150,000 people showed up from all different religions to gather and see the pope. Pope Francis came out onto the balcony and addressed the people in Latin and Italian. It was quite a different Easter morning that what I am used to having. Here, I don't have to wake up for the sunrise service but I missed seeing all my relatives at home.
  



  The rest of the weekend sped by. Some friends and I stayed at an Airbnb apartment near the Piazza Navona. The Piazza is famous for it's grandeur, the oval shape of the plaza and it's pickpockets. We ate our Easter dinner in the area at Osteria dell'Anima, a restaurant I'd gone to a few weeks before when I visited my friend Connor who's studying in Rome. He and his friends introduced me to their pear pasta, tortellini stuffed with cheese and pear, with a carrot cheese sauce. It's as interesting as it sounds. This time around, however, I ordered the eggplant parmesan (they apparently don't do chicken parmesan here and think it is the worst thing in the world to combine those two ingredients). Our evening ending in perfection when I brought my friends to the Frigidarium (introduced to me by Connor), which not only produces the best gelato in Rome, but the gelato of your choice in dipped in either white or dark chocolate and hardens over your dessert.

Saturday was one of my favorite days. While two of my friends went to take a tour of the Colosseum, my friend Courtney and I went to the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, and is known as the Bohemian area. We found this unique shop that sold anything from crystal balls and compasses and old maps and jewelry. It truly is an artisan area. It was quieter than the center of Rome as well, and if I ever was to live in Rome one day, I would want to rent an apartment in the Trastevere area.
Shop in Trastevere

A quiet, Trastevere neighborhood

We saw most of the famous sights too. I'd been to Rome before and taken tours of the Vatican and the Colosseum, and seeing them again brought me back to 16 year old me being out into the world for what felt like the first time. I remembered making my Trevi Fountain wish and made the same one this time around. The Trevi Fountain is beyond anything I had ever imagined, and even seeing it for the second time I was surprised at how large it really is.

Pantheon

Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

Making my Trevi Fountain wish
Colosseum

   My favorite part of the trip was when I split up with my friends and went into the Keats Shelley House, the museum next to the Spanish steps that honors the great poets John Keats, my all time favorite, and Percy Shelley. The museum was once the apartment that Keats lived and died at. I was not too familiar with the life and works of Percy Shelley, but seeing the original letters, first edition copies of his poems and the room where he died was unbelievable.



View from his apartment

His bedroom where he died



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Catania and Taormina, Sicilia

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Taormina, Sicily
   My friends and I took a weekend trip to the infamous island of Sicily this past weekend. Sicily is everything and nothing like I expected. The island is much like it's own country, and reminds me of Texas in it's pride. One of our tour guides joked to never call a Sicilian an Italian, because they are Sicilian. 

   We stayed in the city of Catania, one of the largest on the island at an apartment through Airbnb. For those who are not familiar with Airbnb, it's a website where people rent our their apartments to travelers. If you can find the right deal and go with other people, it can be just as cheap as a hostel if you divide it up. I prefer it because most have kitchens, and we can save on food by buying our own and making it. 

  On Thursday night when we arrived, the owner of the apartment gave us a quick tour of the city. He didn't speak English, but he spoke French and I became the unofficial translator of the tour. It was refreshing to practice my French again, and made me more excited to visit France at the end of my program. He brought us past the famous cathedral, along the main shopping street, and showed us some good bars and restaurants to visit.

The cathedral in the daytime
   Catania is situated on the foothills of Mount Etna, the largest volcano in Europe. I somehow find myself constantly in the vicinity of volcanoes. We took a bus and drove past Etna on our way to Taormina, a quaint coastal town located on the opposite side of Etna. 
   Taormina is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. With some of the best views and beaches in Sicily, Taormina borders the Mediterranean Sea and in the distance, you can see the Calabria region of Italy, the mainland where the boot touches the island. The town itself lies on top of a cliff and is home to many pizzerias (though Sicily is not known for it's pizza) and cafes. We took a cable car down to the Lido Beach, which is supposed to be one of the best beaches in Sicily.
The town

Cable car down to the beach

Lido Beach
   After an unsuccessful attempt at getting tan, we made the spontaneous decision to take a boat tour around the coast of Taormina. Carmello, our guide, took us to to grottos and caves, one of which had orange coral under the water. He pointed out good dives spots and tunnels to swim into in the caves. The blue of the water reminded me of the blue grotto in Capri.
   Carmello took much joy in pointing out some of the filming locations of some of The Godfather movies. We rode by five star hotels and houses that had indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a couple million dollar house owned by a famous Russian woman. He also showed us a World War II memorial, and the Isola Bella. 
Relaxing on the boat

The orange coral

the WWII memorial to the left, and Etna in the center

Etna

Elephant rock (the symbol of Catania is the elephant)
  We finished our day exploring Isola Bella, an island with a museum at the center. We had to walk through 2 feet of water for a minute to get to the island based on the time of day we went to the island, but it was worth it.

Isola Bella



  The next few days we explored Catania and saw what the city had to offer. Catania is one of those overlooked cities that doesn't get the attention it deserves. It has character, a rich history, exquisite architecture and not to mention a stunning location. The city has been controlled by the Greeks, Romans, Spanish, and Italians all at different times in history. During WWII, it was bombed many times, but you wouldn't guess it based on what it looks like now.



Ruins of an old amphitheater

Villa Bellini Gardens



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Italian Word of the Day: Bar

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A bar in Italy is quite different from the ones in the US. During the day, bars act as cafes, serving mostly coffee related beverages and pastries. There's one bar in town run by the Leilo, the best English speaking Italian in Castellammare, and they are the best bar during the daytime. However, at night these bars turn into your average American bar with alcoholic drinks and loud music.
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Capri Round 3

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    I ended up in Capri again this weekend, my third time visiting the island and still I haven't gotten enough. Two weeks ago I came with my sister and her friends, last weekend with my friend Lauren who was visiting from Spain, and this weekend on a spontaneous Sunday with my American friends here. Three sketchy Circumvesuviana (the regional train) rides to Sorrento, three ferry rides from Sorrento to Capri and three incredible experiences.

  This past Sunday, my friends and I woke up at the unfortunate hour of 6:30 to take the train to Sorrento. My friends are lucky I don't know them like my family, otherwise I would have been full on grumpy gills. Our first activity on Capri was to go to the Blue Grotto so my friends could explore. However, when we got to the town and climbed the steps down near the entrance, we were informed it was closed for the day because the water levels were too high. 
Steps down to near the Blue Grotto entrance

Right before a wave came up to my shorts and soaked me

Kelly, Brendan, Monica, Rachel, Cailtin and Jody

Testing the water
    Our next adventure was back up to Anacapri, the more tranquil and less touristy town than the main town of Capri. We took the rickety chair lift up to the top of Mount Solaro, the tallest point on the island. Every time I visit Capri I always find more and more vistas and incredible views to admire the island from. The top of Mount Solaro was beyond anything I'd already seen.

Anacapri







       After a fabulous lunch where we each ordered our own pizzas (and each finished them with much enthusiasm) and wine, we relaxed on the rocky beach for the rest of the day. Brendan, who was the champion at falling asleep anywhere possible, immediately passed out while Rachel, Monica and Caitlin waded into the sea. I was the official photographer for the day, so I was in charge of taking pictures, and my black stockings prevented me from joining them splashing around in the water. I wasn't very good at my job, however, because I missed Rachel being knocked over by a wave and plunging in the salty sea. We couldn't stop laughing.
   One of our favorite toasts to make here is "To great wine, great friends and the best experience of our lives" and I think this day embodied our declaration. 

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Cantina Del Vesuvio

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    Last week, our class took a day trip to a local vineyard, Cantina del Vesuvio. It's located at the bottom of Mount Vesuvius and produces some of the most prestigious wines in the region. It's so renowned that it's only sold at the vineyard.  The vineyard has been family owned since the 1950's. Previously, they'd focused on mass production of the wine. However, since the current generation has taken over, they've put an emphasis on quality over quantity.

   The soil that the vines grow in are rich in minerals from the volcano which adds a unique flavor to the wine. That, and the sea air from the Bay of Naples. The family grows both red and white grapes. The red grapes are grown in lines, whereas the white grapes are grown in a canopy fashion because they are more delicate and more susceptible to the sun. Harvesting season is during September and October, so right now the vines are cut back and bare.
White grapes vines

Red grape vines
    The family doesn't use any pesticides. The way they tell if the crop has been affected by anything is to plant rose bushes at the end of each row. If the roses have been affected, the vines have been affected.

   Next came a wine tasting at their restaurant. The first wine was an aperitif white wine. Apparently, an option during wine tastings is to spit out the wine after tasting it, but it was just too good to waste. We had the first wine with bruschetta, cheese, and bread with olive oil.

   We were next served a rose with our appetizers, which is pictured above. Our next course we were served a red wine and ate spaghetti. The picture below depicts a simple spaghetti and tomato sauce dish, but I have to say that it was the best spaghetti and tomato sauce meal I've ever eaten. I shouldn't be surprised it tasted so well, as the tomatoes and olives for the oil were grown on site and everything was fresh. We were also served a reserved red wine, stored since 2007.

   We finished our meal with dessert and a shot of peach liquor. 
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