The End/Beginning

So first, I need to apologize for not posting at all for the last month. I got some complaints, but to be honest, not too much was going on. I didn't travel for the two weeks before exams, so I have some things I did in Rome to share, and then I have the week of travels post-classes to share as well. It was an incredible few weeks to cap off an incredible semester. I sit now in my living room in St. Louis, and it's a very weird feeling. Surreal is the word that comes to mind. I was in Rome two days ago saying goodbyes and exploring the city, and now I'm in my living room. It's a hard feeling to explain. I'm so glad to be home, but I would go back in a heartbeat. Anyways, details from the last few weeks:

I went to a Roma soccer game against Fiorentina two Wednesdays ago. Italian soccer is crazy. Fiorentina scored in the 91st minute to break a 1-1 tie, and I've never seen so many angry screaming Italians in my life. It was a blast, and I wish I'd have gone to more.

After the second to last calcio (soccer) game at JFRC, to make a long story short, I went to a professors house and five of us told stories over 20 year old scotch and Cuban cigars. It was pretty awesome, and I'm sharing it more for my own remembrance's sake.

Two Thursdays ago, we had our end of the semester banquet. We had awards, danced, reminisced, and had a great time. It was the beginning of the end. I had exams the entire next week, which was a lot of work. My final grades were decent, so I guess I did fine. I tried to get out and see as much of the city as possible while still doing enough studying.

The last night that everyone was in town before exams, we went to dinner at our favorite restaurant (Osteria dell'Anima) for Fiochetti (pear pasta), then went for gelato at Giolitti by the Pantheon. On the way back, there was a man playing cello under the entrance way to the Pantheon. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen, and we sat and listened to him for half an hour or so. We went to some of the favorite bars after that, and I said most of my goodbyes. It was very difficult. The Friday of exams, my last exam ended at 10AM, I immediately got into a taxi to the airport, and I caught a 1 o'clock flight to Palermo, Sicily.

Palermo was beautiful. I kind of wish I had gone earlier in the semester. I had trouble getting into it because I was by myself and I missed Rome very much. I did my best though. During the days, I went to the beach and wrote in a notebook about my experiences in Rome, and just enjoyed the sun. I climbed a small mountain on the side of town to get a view of the city which took most of my Sunday up. I enjoyed it very much, and I'll put pictures up on Facebook. Monday, I got on a plane at 7AM to go back to Rome. I got to Rome, went straight to the train station, and I got a train to Venice.

When the train got to Venice, my Italian friend Marco, who lives in Padua (about an hour from Venice), met me and showed me the city. We stayed in Venice from 1PM to about 7PM, just exploring and going to see St. Mark's Square and such, and then Marco's parents picked us up to go back to Padua. We drove on a road along a small canal lined with nice mansions which apparently in the past was used by nobility to drive boats to and from Venice. We got to Padua, and I met Marco's older brother Luca. The Faggin family were some of the nicest people I've ever met, and they treated me like their own. We ate dinner and watched the Manchester United/Manchester City soccer game, then went out for a beer in Padua. We came back early and slept, and the next day, Marco showed me around Padua. We went to St. Anthony's cathedral, got a slushee-like drink called granita, and enjoyed our time together. That night, I caught a train to Bolzano to meet my friends Matt and Mitch.

I got into Bolzano around 9, and the other two weren't supposed to get in until the next morning, so I just hung out in the hostel and got a good night's sleep. They got in the next morning, and in the morning light it was plain to see that Bolzano was one of the most beautiful places I had ever been. It was acquired by Italy after WWII from Austria, and all the signs were in German and the architecture was all Austrian. It didn't seem very Italian, but it was buried in the mountains and it was absolutely gorgeous. We spent the day hiking in the mountains and then just relaxed and played cards at night. The next day we took a cable car ride to Soprabolzano and some other small mountain towns, and just enjoyed the views. Then that night we sat in the park and reminisced about the semester. It was a really great time. That night I took an overnight train from Bolzano to Rome, getting in to Rome around 9AM.

At 10AM, I got back to the Rome Center and caught up with my RAs and the administration. My friend Andrew got in around 2PM, and we put our bags into the hotel and then went for our last gelato. We met everyone else who was in town, our RAs, and the dean of students and his wife for dinner, then we went to a bar for the rest of the night and told stories and such. We said our tough goodbyes, went to sleep, and the next morning got a plane at 1:20PM to Frankfurt, then a 5:40PM plane to Chicago. I landed at 8PM Chicago time, hung out with my roommates and saw old friends all night, and today, drove back to St. Louis. Here I am, and just like that, it was over.

Exactly what I'm feeling right now is really hard to explain. Like I said, I am so happy to be home, but I'd go back in a heartbeat. Last night, right now, everything feels like a dream. Being in America doesn't feel like real life. It's a totally different world. I miss Rome so much, but I missed it here. Being with my family and friends is great. I'm just really torn.

I learned a lot about myself this semester. I don't know what I want to do with my life, or who I am exactly, or anything. It helped me realize how little I knew, how much I took for granted, and just how lucky I am. Many people around the Rome Center have been encouraging me to apply for the RA position in Rome when I graduate, and I think I just might. Who knows. Rome has become a second home, and I know I'll go back.

So for me, it's the end, but it's also the beginning. I learned so much and my thinking has changed so much that I know my life is headed in a new direction. I don't know which, but I know it is. My semester in Rome is over, but it will always be close to my heart. I don't know that I'm ready to talk about everything right away, but I'm willing to start talking, and if I talk too much about Rome, just tell me to shut up!

I want to thank everyone who read this blog throughout the semester. I wasn't expecting the response that I got, but many people said they really enjoyed reading this, and that means a lot to me. I want to see everyone, so please, Facebook or e-mail or call me, and tell me about how your last four months have been! Thanks again, and have a great summer. I leave you with the words of a piece of graffiti I saw at the beginning of the semester near the Colosseum: Ama e sarai felice. "Love, and you will be happy." Arrivederci, my friends.

-Ryan Bedell
May 7, 2012

Barcelona

Hello, all. So this weekend was Barcelona, Spain, and it was a great trip!  Thursday night we went to Osteria Di Anima, affectionately known as "pear pasta place" to us here at the John Felice Rome Center, with my friend Laura's parents and turned in early, which was fun and delicious, then we woke up Friday morning at 5:30 to get our car to the airport and be on our way. We landed in Barcelona around 10 and got to the hostel around 11:30 to find out that we had until 2 until we could put our things in the room. We got some tapas and sangria and then walked to the beach, and then went to Sagrada Familia, which is a church designed by Gaudi which is still under construction, but it was by far the coolest church I've ever seen. Look it up. Then we went back to the hostel and got ready, got some falafel for dinner and made our way to a really cool bar based on a weird stock market sort of system. Prices varied based on how many people bought the drink. So if a lot of people were buying Guinness, the price of Guinness would go up, and the price of Heineken would go down. Really cool place. After that we went back for the night, woke up early and went to an open-air food market and got some lunch. Then we rented some bikes and rode to the top of a huge mountain/hill thing where Gaudi's Park Guell, which is a huge park with incredible views of the city and the coast. We hung out there for a while then rode back to the shore and hung out there for a bit, then went back to the hostel and got ready and went out for falafel and sangria again, then went to an Irish pub to watch the Barcelona football game. It was a good time. We just wandered around on Sunday until our flight, and I am officially tired. I have a huge Italian test tomorrow, so wish me luck. Busy week!  Talent show, end of the semester banquet, calcio (soccer) finals, and last week of classes. Should be interesting. I'll write sometime later this week. Have a good one, all.

Easter Weekend

So for Easter Break just staying in Rome, which has been a nice break from traveling. For the most part I've just been relaxing. I've had some friends in from Madrid, mainly Kate Buckley and her friends as well as Cameron Harding, so I played tour guide most of the day Friday, then I got dinner with Jim and his parents and then headed to Stations Of The Cross at the Colosseum with the Pope. That was cool, but I hated the huge crowd, so I left in the middle. Then Saturday just kind of bummed around all day, went to Hard Rock Cafe with Andrew, Will, and Aaron for dinner, then just went back because I was tired (and the Cardinals' game was on, but naturally that didn't affect my decision...). Then today, Sunday, I woke up at 6, walked down to the Vatican at 7 for Mass at 10:15 with the Pope which was awesome, and I was only 8 rows back!  All of St. Peter's Square was packed with people, and I had a chair 8 rows back. You can't beat that. There was an awesome choir and band, the Pope blessed everyone and said Happy Easter in 50 languages, and it was a great experience. Not sure what the rest of the weekend holds, but we're talking about dinner tonight in the Jewish ghetto, then I'll probably do homework and relax tomorrow! Hope everyone has a great Easter. Less than a month until I'm back in the States. That's weird. I will miss Roma! Buona Pasqua e buongiorno!

Ireland

Well, it was refreshing to go to a country where everything was in English, for starters. This weekend was in Ireland. Mike, Jim, and I flew out Friday at 11, getting into Dublin a little bit before one since we gained an hour. We went to our hostel and dropped our stuff off, then went around the corner to the oldest pub in Ireland, which was founded in 1157. That is not a typo. 1157 AD. So that was pretty cool; we had our first glasses of Guinness and some fish and chips, and we were happy campers. Then we walked to St. James street to the Guinness Storehouse at St. James Gate. That was pretty cool to see, and it's pretty awesome to be able to say I had a pint of Guinness where they make it! From there, we headed back to the hostel to relax a little. It was Mike's birthday, so we decided to do the hostel pub crawl in celebration. We met some British and Australian guys who were having a bachelor party for their friend, who I soon learned was a fellow Tottenham Hotspur fan, and we hung out with them all night. We introduced them to the game of beer pong, which they had never seen before. We had a lot of fun hanging out with them, then headed back to the hostel after the crawl. Jim and I woke up at 6:00 to get to the Dublin tourist center for a day of travels. We took a bus with MacCoule tours to their family farm, followed by the Cliffs of Moher, followed by Galway City. The farm was great, and we did a little hike up a mountain on the farm, then had some homemade cakes and Irish coffee, then we took the bus to the Cliffs, which were the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and then took the bus to Galway City, where Jim and I got some shepherd's pie and a pint, which was the perfect end to the day. We got home around 9PM, then met up with Mike, who had gone on a hiking tour. We then went in search of some pubs to just relax, and hung out at one all night and played the game from Inglorious Bastards where you pick a character for the person next to you and they have to guess who it is. That was fun, then we slept in the next day. We got some cheap breakfast around noon, then walked around, settled in a pub to watch the first half of Newcastle v. Liverpool, then just wandered around until we saw Ryan's pub, and we had to stop in for a pint in my honor. Then we went back to the hostel and hung out for a bit, then went to another relaxing pub until midnight and just sat around talking to an old, drunk, Irish man named John. He was quite a character. We went to bed, and woke up at 4:30AM to catch our 6:30 flight, and then we flew back. I had class today, and then finished editing my ten page history paper. Busy day, but glad to be done. I'm starring in a film that the kids in the film class are making, so the last two hours has been filming parts of that. I am tired!  Bed time. Have a great week. Arrivederci.

Paris

Little late on the whole Paris thing. Sorry, ya'll. I'm going to do it in brief because it's late at night. Left for Paris last Friday, got in and then went to the Eiffel Tower. Went to Dispatch concert at night, and it was INCREDIBLE. 200 people, small venue, played all my favorites. Couldn't have asked for more. Saturday, woke up around 11, bought a chicken, some bread, some grapes, some wine, and some cheese and had a lunch on the Louvre lawn, then went into the Louvre, then went to Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, then went out with some girls Mike knew to a hookah bar. Then Sunday, went to Musee d'Orsay, climbed the Eiffel Tower, then met up with my good friend Emmy Carragher to go to a Sangria bar, and went to bed early. Set the alarm for 5:30AM, woke up at 7:30AM, missed our flight. Paid 110 euro to get on the next flight. Sat in airport in Beauvais all day. Walked a mile to a McDonald's. Flight left at 9:30. Got into Rome at 11:30. Got home at 1. Slept. Class. The end. This weekend is Dublin, and I am so pumped. I shall write after that, and try to be more prompt!  Have a great weekend everyone. Ciao!

Travel Map

Did this to waste some time today. Thought it was kind of cool!  I am a lucky guy. Paris this weekend. Au revoir!

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World War II Trip

Hello there. Been a crazy week thus far. Ten page paper draft due tomorrow, so I got that done Sunday, and Art In Rome test Thursday, which I need to begin studying for because I basically have a novel to memorize! So should be a busy rest of the week, too. But last weekend I went on the World War II study trip, which was basically day trips on a bus Saturday and Sunday to see World War II sites around the Rome area. We went to a German military cemetery first on Saturday, which was really interesting to see. There was a group of older German tourists there, and there were a lot of them crying, which was in interesting reminder that the Germans who died in the war were brothers, sons, and fathers, too. We went in with the mindset that we were seeing a Nazi cemetery, but went out with a more human perspective on things I think. So that was an interesting start to the morning, then we went to a museum with tons of artifacts and authentic stuff. It was the personal collection of a guy who owned the land, and it was basically 10 or so warehouses filled with stuff. There were planes, cars, guns, uniforms, everyday household items, and tons of other stuff. So that was pretty cool to see. Then after that we went to the American military cemetery. It was really beautifully set up and reminded a lot of us of the Washington Monument. So that was a very informative and interesting day, and I learned a lot about the war from an Italian perspective that I don't think I ever would have if I hadn't gone. The two guides were two Rome Center alumni, Jim and Phil, and they were two of the most knowledgable and nice fellows around. We went out that night to Trastevere for St. Patrick's Day and Jim DeLuca's birthday, so that was a lot of fun, and we got back relatively early to get a good night's sleep for the next day of the trip. The next day was completely based around the events of March 24, 1944. On that day, 335 Italians were massacred at the Ardeatine Caves site. A group of Italian communists had killed 32 German SS members the day before, and the massacre was a reprisal. Hitler first wanted the whole neighborhood leveled, then wanted 50 Italians dead for each German, and then was eventually talked down to 10 Italians for each German that died. Needless to say, it was a heavy morning starting out in the caves where the executions had occurred and where the graves still were. It made me sick, but it was interesting. The hard part to believe is that under the Geneva convention, 320 of the murders were completely legal, and only the 15 extra could be brought to court after the war. It's hard to see how anyone could ever think that was a good idea. So basically, we went to the caves, went to a museum about the liberation of Italy that had some more information, and then we went to the site where the attack on the Germans had happened. Then we all went for lunch and made our way home, and then I wrote my ten page paper. Busy weekend, busy week ahead, lots of busy. But this weekend, I am going to Paris with Jim and Mike to see Dispatch, and I will get to see Emmy Carragher and Chandler Duff, and I am quite excited. Should be a good time. I will write back after that. On another interesting note, I am in the process of signing up for the Bank of America Chicago marathon in October through St. Jude's. I will need to raise $1200, but I want to do it in honor of Chris Zandstra, a kid from my high school class who died of cancer for anyone who didn't know me in high school. Of course I would hope to get well over $1200, but we will see. I have yet to hear back from the people at St. Jude's!  Also, I bought a ticket to Bonnaroo in Tennessee from June 7-10, so that should be fun. And how about them Blues? And Cardinals' Spring Training? I'm missing St. Louis! But I don't want to leave Rome. Pickle. Well, not the worst pickle to be in right? I'll catch you folks later. Have a good week.

Tunisia - Spring Break

So, just a warning, this is going to be a long post. Tunisia was ten days long, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The trip had many ups and downs (including a trip to the hospital, which I will describe in detail soon), but it was awesome and life-changing. So, I shall start at the beginning. Friday, March 2,  we departed from the Rome Center by bus at 7:15 AM. All went smoothly with the flight and we arrived in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, at noon, where we quickly made our way to the American Embassy to meet the ambassador. I had heard about the revolution in Tunisia on the news and such, but I didn't really know any details until I arrived to the embassy. The ambassador, two of his colleagues, and a Tunisian student told us about how before the revolution a year ago, they lived in fear of the government and couldn't speak about anything political. They explained that the government is still in a rebuilding process, but the people all want a democracy where they are free to do as they please. We saw this firsthand soon, because a demonstration started outside the embassy while we were inside, and it was one of the groups who opposed a democracy. We stayed inside the embassy until the demonstration ended, but I learned a lot in the few hours there, and it was cool to see how something like that worked. We then went to the hotel and checked in, had dinner, and took a trip to Sidi Bou Said overlooking the Gulf of Tunis and had some chicha (hookah) with the whole group. We woke up the next morning and had a presentation from the professor on the trip about the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, and then made our way to a palace-turned-restaurant for lunch with 40 Tunisian students. I sat with some other Rome students and two Tunisian graduate students, Ines and Eya. We talked about lots of random things like music, and I sang for them, then Eya sang traditional Tunisian music for the group. They talked about how they want the new government to be a democracy with freedom of religion and women's rights. It was interesting hearing their perspectives on everything from alcohol, since they are forbidden to drink it by their religion, to Americans in general, to Grey's Anatomy. It was a great lunch, and I learned a ton, and then they took us to the local market to do some bargaining. That was great, and then we departed for the hotel for the night.

It felt like a paragraph break was necessary there. On Sunday we went on a tour of Carthage, beginning with a visit to the US Military Cemetery for Americans killed in the North African campaign of WWII. It was kind of a heavy start to the day, but Jim, a former West Point instructor and WWII historian who accompanied us to Tunisia told us a lot of really interesting information, and we all really enjoyed the experience. Then we went to the Bardo Museum, a museum with lots of Roman mosaics and artifacts from when the ancient Romans occupied Carthage. Close to there was the Sanctuary of the Tophet, where we learned about the ancient city of Carthage from Professor Alexander Evers, the Dutch wonder, a history professor from here in Rome who led our trip. Then we drove to the southeastern coast of Tunisia and made our way to the hotel where we had lunch and dinner and just hung out around the town. Monday, March 5, we went to a huge Roman amphitheater at El Jem, which is the 6th largest of ancient Rome. It was fun to climb all around the ruins in a way that we can't at the Colosseum! We then went to Gabes for lunch and to a hotel for lunch and a visit to their local market. Then, we went to Matmata and took a visit to the bar where the famous bar scene in Star Wars was filmed. Fun times. Then we drove to our hotel, which was a cave hotel called a "tryglodyte-style" hotel, and got dinner. We smoked some chicha, and by 10 o'clock, I wasn't feeling very great, so I went to bed. This is where the trip takes a little bit of a southbound turn.

Starting at midnight, I woke up and threw up. I won't go into gory details, but let's just say that me and the bathroom became good friends between midnight and 9AM. I had pretty much emptied everything by 9, but I had a fever and every muscle in my body ached. I learned when I went downstairs that some 25 other students had the same issues, and our head of residence life Mike Beasley had it really bad. We had to rearrange our plans for the day, and we spent the morning in a Tunisian hospital, where I got an IV and soon at least a little bit better. When I was in the hospital, I felt both guilty and incredibly humbled. Guilty, because the hospital made many other Tunisians wait in order to get us in, and many were not happy, but humbled because we were treated like family by the Tunisian staff. I saw a French doctor, and had several other nurses, and they were very caring and accomodating. I couldn't help thinking that if a Muslim student walked into a hospital in the US, there is no way that they would receive the care that I did. It was a strange feeling that made me feel a little bit guilty to be an American, and it made me think a lot. I wasn't happy at all to be sick, but I was happy I got to go to the hospital. From there, I decided to tough it out. We went to the next hotel for lunch, where I slept instead of eating, and then rejoined the group for the camel trek. I was nowhere near 100%, but I rode the camel without any digestive drama. It was a blast. Then we went back to the hotel where we got into 4x4s to embark on our journey to the middle of the Sahara to spend the night in tents. I did my best to have fun and be awake, and we had a blast dancing with some local musicians around a fire, then telling scary and supernatural stories around the fire later. It poured down rain, and I didn't sleep much, but so glad I was well enough to make it.

We woke up the next day and went back to the hotel where I snuck in a shower. I still hadn't eaten since dinner two nights before, but I was perfectly okay with it. Stomach was not ready for Tunisian food. We got into the 4x4s and drove across the Chott el-Jerid salt lake which took most of the day and it was absolutely beautiful. Views like I had never seen before, lake with mountains on the background, and the road went right through the middle. We made our way to our hotel which was in the middle of the Sahara, and I managed to get a little bit of bread and water down for lunch. We made a trip that afternoon to the site of Luke's house on Tatooine in Star Wars, which was fun, then made our way back to the hotel to spend the night. Good day overall, and I was starting to get back up to speed health-wise. The next day we woke up early to catch the Red Lizard Train, a slow-moving train through the Sahara rock formations that stopped at particularly beautiful sites so we could get off and take pictures. I had purchased a camera in the airport in Rome, but it broke before I got this far (not really sure how, said I have a lens error) so I'll have to steal other people's pictures I guess. I digress. The views from the train were awesome, and that was a great day. We then went to the Roman ruins at Sbeitla, which were incredible, and then headed to the hotel for the night in Kairouan. We woke up the next morning to go to the 6th most important mosque in Islam, and the most important mosque in North Africa. It was huge and beautiful, and all of the girls on our trip covered their heads out of respect for the holy place, which was very cool to see. We then went to a famous mausoleum and the market there, then left on the bus for Hammamet, the last city on our trip. We got to Hammamet and checked in to a very awesome resort hotel, and at 9:30 there was a magic show for entertainment and then we all went to the chicha bar and hung out for the night. The next day was a free day in Hammamet, and I slept until 12:30, got a massage, a peel, and an algae wrap, then sat outside under an awning watching the rain with my iPod. Just the relaxing day I needed to get back to 100% health. Then at night, Mike Beasley and Sander Evers, the two chaperones of the trip, took us to Club Havana, a small Latin club where all 70 of us took over. They bought us all a round of drinks, and we danced the night away. It was a perfect end to the trip. We woke up the next morning, drove to the airport in Tunis, and sat in the airport all day because our flight was delayed, and we got back to Rome around 10PM. It was an incredible trip, and I can't really describe it, but it changed my life. Dr. Evers said to us, "Africa runs in your blood once you've been there." Besides the obvious Africa in my blood from the IV, in a more figurative sense, I think he was right. Tunisia was the most beautiful country I've ever been to with some of the nicest people I've ever met. It was one of the best weeks of my life, and it made me want to explore the world further. Anyway, this post has been long enough. Chill week this week, then next weekend is two day trips to some World War II sites around Italy. Should be a chill weekend. If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later. Arrivederci.

Madrid

Hola! Just got back to the hotel after a long weekend in Madrid. It was a great trip. Really awesome to see my good friends Sophie Mair, Cameron Harding, and Chandler Duff, and Pierce Ganassin. Good feeling to see some random Loyola faces. We started out Thursday leaving campus around 5:30PM via taxi. For some reason, the driver took a random route through the city to the airport instead of taking the highway, and we arrived at the airport at 7:10, and the gate was supposed to close at 7:15. We lucked out, and got rushed through passport check and security, and they didn't even start boarding the plane until around 8, but it was a pretty stressful start to the trip, and by far the closest I've ever been to missing a plane. But the flight was good, and we got into Madrid around 10:30, and we were immediately greeted by a smiling (and almost crying) Sophie Mair. She and her boytoy Walker took us by bus to the plaza where our hotel was supposed to be located, and we spent the next hour and a half or so asking for directions and trying to find the hostel without much luck. Eventually we stumbled upon it and put our things away, then went for a quick beer at the Irish pub down the street called O'Connel's, and then called it a night. The next morning we met at 10:30 in Plaza del Sol and went on our way. We started the day by going to see the palace of the king and queen of Spain, which was pretty cool. We hung out outside there for a while. We got on the Metro to walk to a giant park (don't remember the name??) by Walker's apartment, and unfortunately, Paige got her wallet stolen, so that was a damper on the morning. But then we picked up some bread and cheese and a few bottles of wine and had a picnic in the park, then rented a rowboat to take out on the lake in the middle. The weather was gorgeous, and it was an incredible afternoon. We met up with Cameron Harding there, who I was quite excited to see, and we walked to a random building downtown that you could pay 2 euros to go to the top and see a view of the whole city. That was pretty incredible, and then being true Americans, we went to Taco Bell, which was really delicious (pathetic right?) having been deprived of fast food for a month and a half. After that we went back to the hostel to take a siesta and freshen up for the night. We hung out with everyone there for a while, then went out to a sangria bar where (according to Walker) Hemingway had written a novel or something. It was packed, so we had a pitcher of sangria then split. The girls were tired, so we took them back to the hostel, and I continued to an Irish pub with Pierce, Sophie, and Walker which was called Dubliner's. I had a drink there and met some of the Madrid crew's friends, then walked back to the hostel and crashed. We slept until 11 the next day, and woke up basically without an agenda. We wandered the main shopping street called Grand Via, and I was dragged by the girls into H&M and a few other places. Then we met up with Pierce and he took us to an area with some smaller more retro stores and such, and we walked through there for a while, and we met up with Chandler Duff! It was a pleasure to see her, a fellow Marquette Hall fourth floor veteran. We walked with them for a while then grabbed a Nutella crepe at a corner store and then parted ways. After that we went back to the hostel to get ready for dinner, and we went to a place called El Tigre, which was packed. You paid for a beer, and then they brought you all the tapas you could possibly desire, which were delicious. So that was a nice authentic Spanish dinner. Then we went to a couple of random bars for drinks, and Cameron posed the challenge to me to try to get pictures with 15 Spanish girls throughout the night. He taught me the correct phrase (Puedo sacar una foto contigo?), which I will probably remember forever, and we had some fun attempting that for a while (see Facebook for products). I didn't get anywhere close to 15, but it was pretty funny. We just wandered the city for most of the rest of the night and then made our way back to Plaza del Sol. There, Cameron and I had the best crepe of my life. Kinder bars, chocolate chips, and Nutella, all in one delicious bundle. I think my life was changed forever. Outside of the crepe shop, three Italians walked up to Cameron and handed him a bottle of gin, vodka, and rum. Cameron was a little bit confused, and he asked them "Con Rufies?", which may win quote of the trip award. But I got to work out my Italian, and the man explained that he was very drunk, and simply did not want the drinks anymore. Cameron didn't trust him, and forced him to take a drink of each before he would accept them. The man obliged, and we spent the next half hour or so talking to them outside of the crepe shop. They were kind of creepy towards the girls (as typical Italian men are), but overall they seemed like nice guys, and I kind of impressed myself with my Italian (even though there were lots of ums, uhs, and pauses). They wanted to go out, and we were headed home, so we parted ways and went back to the hostel. The people above us were having a party, so I didn't really sleep for the whole night. We checked out of the hostel at 11AM after about an hour of sleep total, went to Sophie's apartment and set our stuff down, then went to the big Sunday outdoor market. On the way, we met a guy from New Jersey who said he'd just gotten out of the army in Israel. His name was Yair (spelling? pronounced Yah-ear), and he tagged along with us for the rest of the day. Nice kid. Said he was just traveling Europe by himself and finding places to stay at night as he met people or finding hostels. Sounded like he was having some serious adventures. We went for Tortillas Espanola (Spanish omelets) right by the market, then walked through the market very quickly, stopped for empanatas, parted ways with Cameron and Yair, and headed back to Sophie's apartment. We picked up our stuff, said goodbye to Sophie, and picked up a bus to the airport. Everything was smooth this time around, until it came time to land the plane. I'm not a great flyer as it is, but there was tons of turbulence, rain, and lightning as we started to descend, and me and the Italian woman next to me were having a pretty good freak out. The plane landed in the rain, and I think my heart stopped a few times, but I'm here to tell the tale. Got back to campus, ate a quick dinner around 9, skyped my parents, Conor Duncan, and Rachel Haller, and then came back to the hotel here. Now, I am headed to bed. Good weekend. Up this week is a big outline for a research paper as well as a philosophy midterm, so busy week, then Tunisia begins this weekend!  So excited. Also, we started the soccer league last Wednesday (5-3 defeat, rough loss). Looking forward to another game this Wednesday. Have a fine week. Arrivederci.
-Ryan

Rest of Firenze, etc.

Before I even go into Sunday... http://espn.go.com/mlb/spring2012/story/_/id/7592459/mlb-day-1-renewed-cardinals-title-defense OPENING DAY IS SO CLOSE. Let the countdown begin. But anyway, the rest of the Florence was good. I woke up at 10:30, went back to the duomo and walked from there south to the river. I got some gelato and a panino, and walked some more and looked in some shops. I sat in a plaza in front of a church for an hour or so just people watching, then made my way for the train station. I bought a cardigan in a shop outside the station, and then found the schedule for my train and just hung out in the station. Overall kind of uninteresting day, but relaxing and worth the stay. On the train ride home I ran into the girls coming back from the Orvietto study trip, and I caught a cab back with them from the station at Termini. Got back to campus and ate dinner, skyped the family, then Mikey and Jake, and then got some shuteye. Great weekend overall. Did I mention how excited I am for Cardinals' baseball? Distance makes the heart grow fonder they say. Anyhow, have a fine week everyone. I shall post as it progresses. Ciao!

Firenze Night One

Assuming nothing too exciting happens between tonight and going back to Rome tomorrow, I figured I would post here from my hostel in Florence while everything is still fresh. I've taken some pictures with my phone, so I'll post those on a second post later. Started the day out leaving at 10:30 from the Rome center, and missed my train by about 2 minutes, so I bought a ticket for the next one, and was into Florence by 1:30. Stopped by the hostel, called Archi Rossi Hostel, and dropped off my stuff and was reaaaally impressed. I have a private room with a bathroom, two double beds, a TV, a computer, a closet, and a spectacular view for a pretty decent price. So I was happy from the get-go. I started off in Piazzo Duomo, got a piece of pizza in the shadow of Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. I think it's my second favorite church of all time to the St. Francis church in Assisi. Architecturally gorgeous, and I paid 8 euro to climb up to the top of the duomo. It was an incredible view, and I stayed up there for probably a half hour to 45 minutes. After that, I ran into a couple of girls from Loyola, which was kind of funny. I said a quick hello to them then started roaming the city. I went to Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge here that has a ton of jewelry shops on it. Brought some serious deja vu from when I was here in high school, more so than the duomo for some reason. I did some more walking around from there and stumbled into a market dedicated solely to chocolate. It was pretty awesome, and I bought some white chocolate with cranberries in it, which I am still working on. I then headed for the Mercato Centrale, which is where most of the leather and silk and such is sold. Did some shopping there (Mom finally got something for you) and then some more roaming, and headed back to the hostel for a short break since I had walked forever and climbed up to the duomo. I stayed in the room for half hour or so, then set out on a journey for a nice meal. I decided to splurge a bit, and went to a restaurant right next to the Cattedrale and had a 3 course meal with dessert. For antipasti, I had bread with melted mozzarella and prosciutto, delicious. For pasta, I had the house lasagna, delicious. For main course, I had Tuscan beef in some sort of sauce, delicious. Had a glass of the house chianti to drink, which was also delicious. Then, finished it off with a ricotta cheesecake with wild berry sauce. It was the single best piece of cheesecake man has ever created. It was a long day of telling myself "It's just money," but really worth it. I had a great day, and some seriously needed alone time. After dinner, I walked around a bit, then went to an Irish pub to watch the first half of the Juventus soccer game and have a Guinness. That was very nice, and here I am back at my hostel by 10 o'clock. I feel like an old man. So tired. But it was awesome, and I'm happy, so good times. I'll write again when I get back. Blues are up 3-0! Yeah, buddy. Buonasera!

The Daily Grind

Been a busy week with school and such. Had a great start with karaoke night Monday night. From 9:30PM to 2AM a great majority of the 200 students on campus gathered in the cafe (called Rinaldo's) and sang and danced. Anyone who knows me well knows that this is right down my alley, so naturally I participated extensively. They served us wine, which was really kind of odd at a school sponsored function. You'd think I'd be used to being legal after a month, but I think I associate dances with people trying to sneak drinking before or in the bathrooms, and it was strange to see people just openly drinking. It was a blast though, and there were some pretty funny performances (including 2 football players from John Carrol performing "I Got You, Babe"). One of the most fun nights I've had in Rome. Tuesday began studying for this morning's Art In Rome test. It took forever because there was an incredible amount of information, but I think the test went well. Tomorrow, for my history class, we are on site at the Victor Emmanuel II monument, affectionately known as The Wedding Cake here in Rome, because of how the monument looks. Anyone from SLUH Eurotrip junior year will remember this as the monument that the massive gay pride parade was in front of. It will be my first time going inside, and I am excited. Tonight, my philosophy professor is taking us to dinner in Trastevere as opposed to having our make-up class tomorrow. He is lazy like we are and has no desire to have class on a Friday. Valentine's Day went well, and being single and bitter, Jim, Andrew, Julia, Julie, Mandaline and I decided to celebrate by having a few beers and watching The Lord Of The Rings. It was a good night. Jim and I also enjoyed the Cuban cigars we bought in Brussels. I'm not smoking cigars all the time, but the US really needs to get on lifting that embargo. I suppose the biggest news of this week is what I'm doing this weekend. Everyone's been telling me I need to take a trip by myself for the experience, and quite frankly, I'm getting to the point where I'm crabby because I'm seeing so much of everyone here, so I booked a hostel in Florence and am taking a trip there by myself Saturday and Sunday. I am a little nervous, but I am really looking forward to it! I'm planning to go see the David and the big church there (name?) and do some leather shopping. I'm a little curious what I'm going to do at night, being that it maybe kind of weird to go to a bar or club by myself, but I guess we'll see. I'll be sure to update on that one when I get back. Via e-mail I've been keeping in good touch with Conor, Mikey, Suzanne, Olivia, Cath, Nic, Mary, and my good friend Sarah Moore, and I am loving it. If you're reading this, e-mail me. It's great hearing from home. Also talked to my cousin Liz Buhn back in Chicago this week, which was very nice! I am really looking forward to going to Madrid on February 23 to see my good friends Sophie, Cameron, and hopefully Caroline and Grace. After that, the next trip I have planned is the school trip to Tunisia for Spring Break. It's ridiculous how fast time is going. I think when I graduate I want to apply for the SLA (basically the same thing as RA) position here and maybe spend some more time getting to know Italy (don't freak out too much, Mom). Who knows. Anywho, lunch time. Have a great week, and to anyone who is still bothering to read this blog, thanks. Arrivederci!

Belgium

So, this weekend was Brussels. It was incredible. Left very early Friday morning (I slept on campus in Jim's room and woke up at 5:30AM to get a cab to the airport) and got in to Brussels around noon. We took a bus from the small airport about an hour outside to get to Central Station at Brussels city center, then took the subway to the suburbs to the apartment where Linda lived. Linda is a family friend of my good friends Allie Faust and Elizabeth DiMaggio, and via Flannery Bohne's communication, she was nice enough to allow 6 of us to stay in her home. She was hysterical. She bought us pizzas and made us breakfast, and she told us to come back as late as we wanted. She is originally from the UK, but has lived all over, and lives in the US during the summers, and winters in Brussels. She had a thick British accent, and endless amounts of energy. Her boyfriend Tim was a 'jolly' fellow who I had a nice time talking football and rugby with. I digress. After we dropped off our stuff, we went to downtown Brussels and saw the Grand Plaza, which was beautiful, and Manneken Pis, which is a statue of a little boy peeing that Brussels is famous for (a little weird? Yes. I thought it was weird until I saw the statue of the little girl peeing on the other side of town. Weird Belgians.).  We got some Belgian waffles, mine covered in Nutella, and they were delicious. We walked into about 20 different chocolate shops, but I was waiting for the one that felt right to make a purchase. More details to come. After that, we just kind of roamed around, but got cold quickly. We sat down in a very nice bar that used to be some sort of landmark in Brussels. It has a big statue in the middle, an art gallery around the outside walls, and it was nice and quiet. Had a beer there, then got some Thai food for dinner. After Thai food, we went to Delirium. Anyone reading this who likes beer needs a trip to Brussels for this sole reason. Delirium is a bar with 2500 (not a typo) different types of bottled beer, and 27 types of draft beer. The girls had chocolate beer, pear beer, passion fruit beer, and pumpkin beer, which were all delicious, and they were happy. I tried Addrian (sp?) Brouwer Dark, which was pretty good, and had Delirium Nocturnum, which was a darker house beer. Jim tried Leroy Christmas, which I thought was disgusting. But it was a really cool, very crowded place. After that, we tried to find a place to just sit down and relax, but after a long day of traveling, we gave up in favor of going back and getting a good night's rest. We woke up the next morning and met our other friends in Brussels at the train station and caught a train to Brugges. This is a smaller city in Belgium, but I think it was definitely my favorite city I have been to so far. My sister's friend Lauren Smith from Sheffield suggested that I go there, so I think I owe her a thank you! It was a beautiful little town with small winding cobblestone streets, and several large bell towers that were big tourist attractions. We walked around for a while before stumbling upon THE chocolate shop, called Depla Chocolatier. I can't really describe the beauty, but the chocolate was just too goodlooking for words. I will try to steal a picture from one of my friends and put it on Facebook, as I still don't have a camera. Needless to say, I bought a half a kilogram of assorted chocolates and tried to ignore the price tag (good advice from Brad Zandstra: in Belgium, go to chocolate store, buy now and think later!). I've only tried two so far, chocolate with cherry liquer and an almond inside, and chocolate filled with dark chocolate mousse, and they were delicious. After that, we went to a small shop to get hot chocolate and sit for a while because it was freezing. Space was limited, so we had to split up. My friend Julia and I sat down and I ordered a white hot chocolate, and she ordered dark. We were surprised to receive a cup of steaming milk and a plate of chocolate and biscuits. The waitress explained that we simply pour the solid chocolate in and mix. It was hands down the best beverage I have ever consumed. The restaurant and hot cocoa were perfect. Julia just kept saying "This isn't real. It's too perfect!" Then, to make the experience better, an older British couple sat next to us, and we got to talking. The woman, Geraldine, was a teacher in Manchester, and her and her husband were checking out Brugges in preparation for a trip her school was taking there in the spring. We talked for a half hour or so, and at the end they gave us their e-mail address and said that if we're ever in the UK we have to contact them, and we could stay at their house. Best day ever? I think yes. After leaving there, we did some shopping and wandering around, then split up into two groups, and Jim, Julia, Julie, Mandaline and I went to a small bar for a drink and snack and then went to a chocolate museum. It was pretty interesting. Chocolate originally came from South America for anyone who didn't know, the Belgians just did a damn good job of perfecting it. After that we made our way back to the train and headed back to Brussels. We went back to Linda's place and made some pizzas, had a glass of wine, and met her for the first time (she was at work when we went Friday, and was up and out before we were up Saturday). We had fun talking to her, then got ready to go out. We started the night at Delirium again, and then made our way to the 'dance on tables' bar. Everyone kept calling it that. No idea what the real name was. We got there around 11:30, and we were informed that at midnight, people would start dancing on tables. It wasn't a joke. 12 o'clock sharp every table in the entire place was crowded with people dancing. Anyone who knows me knows I'm not much of a dance-on-tables personality, but I even participated for a while. It was a blast. From there, we went to Celtic, an Irish pub and hung out for a half hour or so, then made our way back to Lindas, where we promptly crashed. We woke up the next morning, had breakfast with Linda and Tim, and then said our goodbyes and thank-yous and headed out. We met Laura and Luke and went to Atomium, which is a big metal monument shaped like an iron atom, which was pretty cool. It reminded me of the Arch and St. Louis!  After that, we went back to the train station, caught a bus to the airport, and got to the plane just in time. Flew home, and here I am. Really incredible weekend. I think my friends think I'm cranky when we travel. Possibly inherited from my dad, I get a little stressed out when traveling. I feel responsible for making sure the group is there on time and such, so I'm pushing everyone to go, go, go and double check and blah, blah, blah, and everyone is like "Dude, shut up. It's going to be fine." I always laughed when my Aunt Lillie said she was a worry wart, but I guess I picked it up from her a little bit after all. Other news from the week, I wrote an article for the monthly Rome campus newsletter called Ciao, Roma. I titled it "My Right Way To Study Abroad" (clever right?). Basically, I wrote about how I'm glad I am studying abroad by myself. I miss my friends so much back home, and I think they know that, but I'm meeting new people and branching out and being challenged. I like it alot. Julia was a bit offended when she read it, as she's here with a few of her best friends, but I didn't say it was the single right way, just the right way for me you know? It was a realization that came out of the first few weekends of travel. Anywho, this quickly turned into a novel. Hope all is well for anyone who took the time to read this whole thing. Have a great week, and I'll write more when I need to. E-mail me! Arrivederci! -Ryan

Promesso & Snow

So, today was the final step of the "permit to stay" (permesso) process for staying here in Italy. We had to go to a really sketch government building about an hour away and get fingerprinted. Lots of fun. Had no class today or yesterday because of the snow, so that was nice. Headed to Brussels Friday and still haven't gotten a new camera. Yuck. But in other news, for anyone who hasn't seen my Facebook page, I am taking a hiatus from Facebook, so you can contact me via e-mail (rbedell@luc.edu). Please do contact me via e-mail. Love to hear from people back home! I will post again after Brussels. Arrivederci.

Amsterdam

So before I get into Amsterdam, a bit about the week before. Went to a chocolate bar in Trastevere, which was awesome. They give you a chocolate shot glass, and the shots are topped with whipped cream, and then you just eat the whole thing. Cool little place tucked in a corner on a tiny Italian street! But Thursday we just kind of hung out and watched The Big Lebowski since we knew we had to be up early Friday to catch our flight. We left at 6:30 AM from here at the Rome center, got to the airport around 7:45, and we were on our plane by 10. The flight went smoothly. Ryanair is pretty funny. They play a little trumpet at the end of the flight to celebrate "another successful Ryanair flight" and everyone cheered. Once we got on the ground in Eindhoven (about an hour and a half from Amsterdam), we went outside to catch the bus to Amsterdam. If I thought coming to Europe meant avoiding the winter weather, I was sadly mistaken. It snowed all of Friday in Amsterdam, and the bus ride ended up taking 3 and a half hours as a result. We got to Amsterdam around 5, checked in at the hostel, and went out for dinner. The hostel was a lot nicer than I expected. At 20 euro a night, I thought it would be flea-infested and sketchy, but it was nice. There were 20 people in the dorm, and the four of us guys (me, Mike, Jim, Andrew) had beds right by each other. The majority of the other inhabitants were college students from around the world. We had clean sheets, felt safe the whole time, and got breakfast each morning. After dinner on Friday, we basically just went from bar to bar until about midnight, when we all hit a wall from the long day of travel and went back to the hostel to crash. Saturday morning we were up at 9, and then started out our day at the Anne Frank Huis (House). I think this was my favorite part of the trip. I hadn't read The Diary Of Anne Frank since about 5th grade, but it quickly came back to me. The house was fascinating and moving. I am currently half way through rereading the diary, and I suggest it as a read! After that, we went to the Van Gogh Museum, which was also very cool. Got to see a lot of famous painting that I had seen or heard about in the past, and learn a little bit about his life. Then we grabbed some lunch, and went on the Heineken brewery tour, which was a lot of fun. We got free beer at the bar inside after and hung out there for a while, then took a free canal tour from there to right by our hostel. We got Chinese food for dinner, and then went to a nearby bar. We went back to the hostel after this to drop off souvenirs from the day, and then went out to a bar to watch some live music. Sometime during the music, I realized I didn't have my camera, and I never found it, so that was really the only downside to the trip. I'll have to go buy a new camera sometime this week. Bummer. Regardless, had a blast. The flight today was delayed about 4 hours because it snowed a few inches in Rome, which basically puts the whole city in a standstill. I talked to the guy who works in the cafeteria Lorenzo, who is a really nice local fellow, and he said that it snows in Rome only every 25-30 years or so. There are trees down everywhere, fallen on cars, in the street, and thus far no effort has been made to do any cleanup. The bad winter would come when I get here right? Next weekend is Brussels. Ought to be fun! I'll try to collect pictures from others for a look at the Amsterdam trip. Arrivederci, people.

Two Full Weeks

This past Tuesday marked my being here in Rome for two weeks. Feels like much longer! I've already got a few favorites. Favorite wine: Montepulciano D'Abruzzo. Favorite Gelato: nutella and banana from Old Bridge gelato by the Vatican. Favorite restaurant: Osteria di Anima just outside Piazza Novona, and the best dish is Friochette (spelling?), which was a small pasta noodle stuffed with pears, and it is the best thing on earth. I'm starting to get the hang of using the buses and getting around the city and such, but all of the public transportation (buses, taxies, trains) keep going on strike because the government's all messed up, so it's been tough working around that. Dealing with it though! Another successful week of classes. Wednesday was Mass of the Holy Spirit in San Ignazio Jesuit church down by the Pantheon, so that was fun, followed by group dinners. I find it kind of funny how Jesus was all about hanging out with the poor people, and you see the Vatican and churches around here and they're clearly worth enough to feed lots of poor people. Just an interesting observation I guess. Two orders of business for next week: figure out where I'm going to volunteer, and start working to get Christmas on Campus in Rome! Nothing too big going on this weekend. Just exploring the city and hanging out. I think tonight we're watching Gladiator and hanging out (ought to be interesting to see after a few visits to the Colosseum!). A week from today I'll be in Amsterdam! Can't wait. So far, on the list is to take the Heineken tour, go to Ajax's stadium, and possibly Anne Frank's house? Who knows. Not too much else going on. Have a good weekend and week everyone, and I'll get back on if anything interesting happens! Arriverderci.

Orientation Trip Weekend

It has officially set in that I am in Italy and will be for a while. It was a great weekend. We started out Friday at 7AM with a 3 hour bus ride to Reggia di Caserta, the palace of the King of Naples back in the day. It was pretty incredible, but rainy outside so we didn't get time to tour the gardens really! Then we went to lunch at a really cool hotel in Caserta. After a weekend of nice three course meals and unlimited wine, it's going to take a little adjusting back to on-campus food. Been here a week and already a food snob! We drove to Salerno and spent the rest of the night there. It was gorgeous. Right on the water, and the city itself was pretty awesome. Lights hanging over all the streets, lots of people out and about. We had a group dinner at 8 in the hotel, and heard from all of the administrators and such. We are the 50th class at the John Felice Rome Center, which I guess is a pretty big deal. We've also been the best behaved class in recent memory apparently, as no one has been sent home yet, which the resident director said is rare. We went out and roamed the city after dinner. The next morning, we went to a buffalo farm and ruins from a Greek colony at Paestum. Both were pretty fascinating. At the farm we saw how they make mozzarella and leather products, then at the Greek ruins we just kind of hung out while our tour guide struggled through trying to explain everything to us. It was very cool to see though, especially knowing some of the Greek and Roman history from high school Latin with Dr. McConaghy. SLUH follows you everywhere, doesn't it boys? Then we had one of the best lunches I've ever had. Prosciuto, pasta, and pizza, and this awesome band came out and played traditional Italian music and we all danced. Delicious and fun. Then was the best part of the trip. We went a small distance to Agropoli and watched the sunset from the top of a castle. There's really no adjectives I can use to describe it, but the pictures give a small idea of how breathtaking it was. That's when it hit me about the whole "I'm in Italy and will be for a while" thing. One of the coolest experiences I've had in a while. Today, we went to The Convent farm in Sorrento, which was about a half hour ride up narrow, windy roads, which was pretty terrifying, but awesome. We saw the lemon trees and got food and samples of limoncello, which is a very strong, very popular Italian alcohol. To my sister: if you're reading this, I bought you a bottle. Then stopped for some lunch at 5, and made the long bus ride home, getting back around 9. I am tired, but it was an incredible weekend. See Facebook for pictures. Just another week of classes ahead, so until next time, arrivederci!

The First Week Of Classes

Wake up call. I'm actually here to study! Classes have been intimidating. My Italian teacher forbids the use of English in the classroom, so that has been quite a challenge. I come out of the 55 minute class exhausted, and my effort in the classroom probably sounds like a toddler, but I guess the bright side is, it will probably greatly improve my speaking ability. My philosophy teacher is pretty funny. He said he usually has 7-8 kids in his classes, and he has 27 in each this semester, so as soon as we walked in, he started encouraging everyone to drop the class because he doesn't want to grade all the papers. Once we actually got into class though, it was pretty fascinating. It's an Italian Renaissance philosophy class, so we discussed different points of view such as idealism and materialism, how the Church fits in, and Plato and Aristotle. It was just him sitting behind a desk for 75 minutes, but I liked it. My writing intensive Italian history class will be a handful, but the teacher seemed nice enough. Tomorrow is the first day of Art in Rome, and I heard it's basically just going over the syllabus. Despite only taking 4 classes, I think my hands will be full. On a different note, today I got an e-mail from SLUH icon Richard Keefe, which made my day. It brought down my stress level and made me feel a bit closer to home. It's been a week filled with planning, so I am stressed to say the least. I signed up for the school Spring Break trip to Tunisia, which includes camping in the Sahara Desert and a camel trek. I signed up for a day trip to see World War II sites. I bought the flight for a trip to Amsterdam from February 3rd to 5th, and I have the school orientation trip this weekend to various destinations such as Salerno and the Amalfi Coast. Other trips in the works include Spain to see my Loyola and SLU friends, Sicily, Venice, France to see the band Dispatch, Brussels, London, and Ireland. I would really like to go to Cairo to see the pyramids, but I think my poor mother might kill me for even mentioning it. We'll see what comes of that idea. Too many places to go, and too little time and money. I keep telling myself this semester is a once in a lifetime experience to make myself feel better about watching my bank account dwindle. My godfather told me a few weeks ago when we were discussing him possibly coming to visit, "It's only money, right?" You only live once. Why not? I'll try to throw as many Hallmark clichés as possible to make myself feel better. I miss my family and friends. Hearing from people at Loyola is tough. The Sandy Pilgrims, my band at Loyola for anyone who doesn't know, is releasing the CD we recorded before Christmas at a show this weekend. I am disappointed to not be there, but as a shameless plug, be sure to check my Facebook this weekend for a link to the free songs. Nothing else is really new. I hear the Blues are doing quite well. I leave the country and they turn it on. Maybe I can get some superstitious season ticket holders to buy me a house here. I doubt I'll be able to write this weekend, so I'll try to recount my adventures when I return on Sunday. Have a great rest of the week people, and stay in touch. I love hearing from you. The picture is me in the library, which is a really cool room. That's all I got. Buonanotte!

Tivoli

The last two days have been kind of crazy. Yesterday, we went to the Colosseum and the Forum. Major dejá vu from going in high school. I think I could hang out in the Colosseum all day. Last night we went to Trastevere, which is like an area with lots of bars that is more Italians than Americans. Small cobblestone streets lined with shops and bars. It was awesome. Tried some beer called "Elephant", which was good. Pretty much my first beer experiment. I also got a Guinness in a bottle. Never again. Today, we went to a small town about an hour away from Roma called Tivoli. We went on a tour of Villa D'Este, which is the home of a Catholic Cardinal from Roman times. Lots of awesome artwork. Beautiful garden with amazing views. Incredible fountains. It was the most incredible house/property I've ever seen. The Church has always had money. No doubt there. After that we went to a small restaurant that was inside of a site that was over 2000 years old. Yes, 2000. The owners of the restaurant said there's still more to be excavated, but it was basically like eating in a cave, and the food and wine were delicious. Then we wandered around the city for a few hours, got some gelato, and enjoyed people watching in the main piazza. It was a great day. Classes start tomorrow. Yuck. I think it'll make me realize that I'm here to stay, which is good. So far it's felt like a nice vacation. I don't really like the way this thing uploads pictures, so look at Facebook if you care to see photos. Arrivederci, i miei amici.

The First Night On The Town

So, been here a few days, and these are things I've learned: first, generally, the Italians are the nicest people ever and have the utmost respect for you, so long as you're not an idiot, and they really appreciate it if you make an effort at the language. Second, Italian men between the ages of about 16 and 50 are generally the creepiest humans on earth. Before coming here, I thought America had a lot of disrespectful assholes. There's certainly a culture difference; staring is normal. It takes a little getting used to, but everyone stares at you. However, men will see a pretty girl, turn completely around and stop what they're doing, give a girl 3 looks up and down, then start trying to suavely throw out their "Ciao, bella" and "Buonasera, bella". We were in a bar last night, and men stopped outside the window of the bar and peered in the glass to look at the girls we were with. The creepy guys has probably been the weirdest realization. Third, the food and wine are really good. Plain and simple. Fourth, I will be walking more this semester than I ever will at any point in my life. Walked for about 3 hours last night, and saw the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and some other cool fountains and landmarks, then wound up at an Irish Pub watching the Bruins play the Capitals. Not exactly out of a storybook, but it was a blast. Today, I took my first train adventure and bought a guitar at a local music shop. This was definitely the first time my Italian speaking skills were really tested. Jim and I asked for directions about 4 times, then the guy at the store didn't know any English, so I fumbled through telling him what I wanted. It worked out well, and I have a beautiful new Italian guitar! Pictured above. Tonight is a 5 course meal in the neighborhood, so looking forward to that. Some pictures of the room and from the night out also. Buonasera!

The Beginning

I pretty much can't believe I'm in Rome right now. Twenty four hours ago I was just taking off at O'Hare, and now I'm here. In a hotel. In Rome. I think that will take a few weeks to set in. I didn't sleep much on the plane at all. A half hour at most I'd say. Was on the group flight, so met some nice people right away and saw some old friends. I spent the majority of the flight reading the second Hunger Games book, pausing only to attempt sleep and eat. Despite the lack of sleep, it seemed like no time at all before I was on the ground in Frankfurt. 3 hour delay, and I think the culture shock started to set in. No English, and switching to Euros. The flight from Frankfurt to Rome was basically take off and landing, and the next thing I knew it was a beautiful morning in Rome. Mid 60s and sunny. I missed the majority of the bus ride from the airport to campus because I was so tired I could barely hold my head up. When I got on the bus it was about noon Rome time, so roughly 5AM for all of you in the central. Didn't help that I stayed up late the night before with Jake. The last of many tough goodbyes. Really missing my friends and family right now. Rome is beautiful though. Campus is like a scene out of a movie. Pillars, statues, green grass, palm trees. Pictures to come!  I was so caught up in orientation and such today that I didn't even think to bring my camera from my room. We had registration and some info sessions, met the staff, ate dinner. Just the business side of things today. Tried some of my Italian on the kitchen staff, and it went decently well. Could communicate that I wanted the pizza and the potatoes (a hearty first meal, right?). After dinner, my good friend Jim DeLuca and I roamed the neighborhood, scoped out the 20 minute walk from the hotel to campus, and found a small deli where we purchased our first alcohol legally. Nothing too crazy, just a bottle of Perroni and some other random Italian beer for each of us. Jim played his left handed guitar while I sang in his room, and we made some more friends. I caught a nice second wind, and here I sit at midnight in the hotel, having trouble getting tired. Five months. Five months. Saying it doesn't make it any more real. It feels like the beginning of a vacation. Class starts Monday, but from what I hear, not too much studying happens. Today is just day one. It's going to be a wild ride. Buonanotte, i miei amici. One hell of a first day in Rome.