Goin' South - Blogabond

It’s been a long time since I last updated this! They shut off the internet in our apartment during our last week in Rome. It wasn’t the best timing for me! And since then I haven’t had internet access until now.
Umbria was beautiful. We stayed in a villa and they fed us twice every day. I love not spending money on food! There were lilacs everywhere! And oddly, snails. Perugia is a really pretty place. I bet it’s gorgeous in the winter covered in snow. Nothing too important happened that weekend, though. It was mostly just a nice rest. The beds! The beds were like sleeping on clouds. I never wanted to get out from under the covers. It was difficult to go back to Rome and my cot.
On the 24th we went to the Roman Forums, the Palatine Hill, and the Coliseum. They were pretty amazing, of course. But we didn’t have time to go into the Palatine Gardens, which sounded like fun. I’m planning on going back there with my friends in June, so I can tell you all about it in a month or so. The Coliseum is still my favorite after seeing the inside. It’s definitely not a disappointment, and the crowds weren’t too bad. I had to take a second to picture it put together, but when I did my mind blew up a little bit. I just can’t imagine humans possessing the knowledge of how to build something like that over 2,000 years ago! Think about it! How in the world did they manage it!? I might need to go back and do some more pondering. But I would suggest that you watch Gladiator. It’s a great movie AND you get to see the Coliseum “as it was.”
We went to the Vatican Museum on the 30th of April. That place is always packed with people! I can’t imagine how bad it’s going to be in the summer. We didn’t have much time to look at things, so I don’t have a lot to say. I’m hoping to go back when my friends are here and see a lot more. The one thing we absolutely had to see was the Sistine Chapel. It took quite a while to get there, though. You end up walking in a slow-moving mass of people through a bunch of elaborately painted hallways and past massive sculptures. Eventually you get to Rafael’s rooms. He painted a sequence of beautiful rooms that are almost impossible to appreciate due to the amount of people constantly being crammed into them. There is a description of each in the middle, but getting to it can be difficult. Every room was hot enough to make me sweat within seconds and people were always pushing. If you can manage to find a nook off to the side, though, the paintings are beautiful. After walking past some modern religious art, you finally get to the Sistine Chapel. Everyone spills into this large room and immediately looks up. Every single surface of the chapel is painted, and the floor is covered in people. The whole room looks full. It’s a bit dizzying. At first I was extremely disappointed by the paintings. They looked disjointed and plain. But after finding a good spot on the floor where no one would bump into me, and really looking at Michelangelo’s work, I started to appreciate how amazing it was. The detail is hard to see because it’s so far away, but it really is beautiful. He did a fresco on the wall where you enter the chapel that, in my opinion, is underappreciated. If you get to hear some history about it, it’s pretty cool. His self-portrait in it is grim, but my favorite.
I was more than ready for some good Italian food after that experience, so my friends and I went to a little place called simply, “Pizzeria,” at the southern end of the Largo Argentina (where Julius Caesar was murdered, and where there are now countless cats). It was the best pizza I have ever had. I’m pretty sure it even trumped the pizza in Vernazza.
Since this was our last night in Rome, we decided to get gelato and hang out at the Coliseum. It was bittersweet to say goodbye to Rome. I loved living there. There was always something to see and do and learn. I felt like I had gotten to know my way around and I felt comfortable. It felt almost like home. The girls I lived with and I had become good friends and didn’t want to be without each other. But on the other hand, I couldn’t wait for the south of Italy. The air in Rome is extremely dirty, and city life can be draining. I was also looking forward to seeing a rural part of the country, and staying with a family for 5 weeks.
We left Rome on Friday the 1st of May for a small town in the south called Paestum. It’s right on the sea and has ancient Greek temples from the 6th century BC! The weather was beautiful and I LOVED it. The temples are in a field of wild grass and wheat and blend in perfectly. I was beyond happy to walk slowly around the ruins, through the grass, and just appreciate where I was and what I was seeing. At one point my friends and I stopped in the theatre and sat on the steps. I know I’ve said this a lot, but it was so cool! How often do you get to sit on the same seats, looking at the same view as ancient Greeks did over 2,500 years ago? I can’t believe I’m this lucky.
On the 2nd, we continued on to Rogliano, the small town in Calabria where we would be staying for the next 5 weeks. On the way I saw the most beautiful valley I have ever seen in my life. I don’t know what it’s called or where exactly it is, but I have already decided that I will find it again. It made me a little homesick, though. Seeing that sort of thing makes me want to show my parents, which in turn makes me miss them because they’re half a world away. But thanks to technology, after a quick text to the parentals, I felt much better.
That afternoon is a bit of a nervous haze. My friend Madeline (who lived with me in Rome) and I met our family and were immediately taken home. There are five of them total, Antonella and Cosimo, the parents; Michela who is 17; Francesco who is 12; and Annamaria who is 9. They have 2 cats, 3 pigs, chickens, rabbits, 2 dogs, a puppy, bees, and a horse. I love it here! Over these past two weeks I’ve gotten really close with the whole family. They are wonderful people. Cosimo keeps calling us his daughters and telling us that when we leave in June he won’t be able to eat anything because he will be too sad! They’ve thrown two parties for us and our friends where they made LOTS of food. One of them was at our house, and they made pizzas outside in a real pizza oven! The other was at their restaurant. I eat so much at lunch and dinner that I usually feel like throwing up after every meal! But they keep telling me I need to eat and that I can diet after the program when I’m in Greece. I can’t help but eat more! Antonella taught Madeline and me how to make gnocchi from scratch the other day! I hope I can recreate them at home. And she made the most amazing Tiramisu I have ever had! And the Canelloni! I barely fit my pants anymore…
Tomorrow I go to Taurmina in Sicily with almost everyone from the program. I am looking forward to evening out my tan, swimming, relaxing, and not eating for 3 days! I’m pretty sure I’m going to come home completely blonde. My hair is getting lighter every day, and I’m getting more freckles by the minute! You guys probably won’t recognize me!

written by

kalib on May 14, 2009 from Rogliano, Italy

from the travel blog: Guido Watch '09

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