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“I like to see people reunited, I like to see people run to each other, I like the kissing and the crying, I like the impatience, the stories that the mouth can't tell fast enough, the ears that aren't big enough, the eyes that can't take in all of the change, I like the hugging, the bringing together, the end of missing someone.”-- Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 

I am about to step on a plane, step onto American Soil, and see my family for the first time in more than five months. It's a beautiful day..

 It all seems so surreal. I've taken advantage of every opportunity to see everything I've wanted to see but I've also taken for granted how amazing everything I've been doing is. I've been dreaming of being in Europe, seeing the world, and having amazing opportunities. I can't believe I'm going back to America and leaving all of these experiences behind.

Gettin' on the plane, see you kids stateside. :)

“Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”

J.K. Rowling said it best, and today those words are especially poignant. Today I am leaving Rome. It's a sad day. As I have written before, I've come to know Rome as my home-away-from-home, so it is tough to say goodbye.

Mary, Laura, and I are going off on a big adventure. We're traveling Europe by trains for 15 whole days! We're starting off in Vienna and Budapest and making our way to Paris. Then we're heading all the way around the continent and ending Florence. Then we come back to Rome for a couple of hours and go our separate ways. Mary's going home and Laura and I are going to see Roberta in Ireland.

I'm going to continue to write about it, but I might not be able to update my blog quite as regularly. I'll be back to work as soon as I get in Ireland. So stay tuned, I'm sure I'll have so many more things to tell all of you about!

Wish me luck!

Arrivederci, Roma.

ROME: Veni, vidi, vici.

I've been here for four months... but I still sound like Brad Pitt in this movie:

When I came to Rome in January, it was so different that I never thought I'd grow to love it as much as I have. The language was daunting (I couldn't understand a word), the city itself is different from anything I was used to, and the people were so different. But now, Rome is a home away from home, a place where I will always remember the best memories.

Rome has been on of the best experiences of my life. I have made some great friends and seen some of the most beautiful places in the world! I've seen a Pope resign and seen a new Pope get elected, I was in St. Peter's square for the white smoke. I've been to the grave of my favorite poet, John Keats, and walked by his home in Rome everyday for weeks. I've seen a crypt made entirely of human bones. I've been to the Vatican Museums and stood in the Sistine Chapel. I've climbed the Spanish Steps, stood in the Forum, and have had a class in Pompeii and one in the Colosseum, and marveled at the Pantheon. I've thrown a coin into the Trevi Fountain, ensuring my return to the eternal city.

It sounds corny... but I grew so much as a person here, I am so much more independent. Everyday here has been a blessing, even the ones with transportation strikes. I'm ready to bring all of my experiences back home and grovel over how much I miss every single thing about it. It has been so much more than I had ever expected.

This beautiful city has made me understand nad appeciate things like family, friends, faith, awe, wonder, and how priceless memories are. Today my room looks like an empty skeleton, it has been stripped of everything that made it mine. It's time for it to be the home for someone else's experiences. As I'm writing the room echoes the sounds of the busy street on the other side of the shutters. Those sounds will not come back to the states with me, vespas and 1 am garbage pickups will be things of the past -- I'm ok with that. I'm only just realizing that when I do come back to Rome, it will never be the same. I won't live here, I'll be a tourist. Things I remember will be gone, people I remember won't be here any longer. People call Rome the eternal city, they're right. Once you've lived in Rome and been touched by all the remarkable beauty and amazingness that eminates from the city, Rome will eternally be in your memories, standing out as one of the most amazing places you've ever been and the place you always want to go back to.

 I will miss the food, the language, the people, and the gelato, naturally. I'm going to miss being able to walk up the street and see St. Peter's when I want to. Take a ten minute ride to the Colosseum, the Pantheon, or a five minute ride to Piazza Navona. I'll miss drinking wine with every meal and how it is totally acceptable to eat pizza and pasta every day. There are so many places I've seen, so many things I've fallen in love with, and so much fun I've had walking down the cobblestone streets with my friends.

To my new friends who are reading this: I love you so much, you don't even understand. It was, honestly, an absolute pleasure for me to be able to experience all of these amazing things with you all -- you're great, you're lovely, you all make me laugh, you're all so perfect, every single one of you.

I can't believe our closing mass and dinner are tonight and people will be flying home tomorrow. I get to spend some extra time here but, it's different. It's over, I can't believe it's over.

An Ode to Gelato

Almond and Cinnamon

I knew before I came to Rome I knew I was going to fall in love with a lot of things... I fell hardest for gelato.

The first picture is some of the best gelato I've had in Italy. It was in San Giminano, they were world record holders for the best gelato. I got Almond and Cinnamon flavors and didn't want it to ever end. I can't even explain how delicious it was, goodness gracious.

My FIRST Gelato: Crema and Nutella

Raspberry and Champagne

Giolitti has some of the best flavors of gelato in the city. Italians almost never get one flavor of gelato, so part of the fun is trying out different flavor combinations. Giolitti has the best selection, there is so much! The Champagne litterally tastes like they froze a bottle and serve the ice, so good.

Frigdarium is literally the best gelato I've had in Rome. It's right between Piazza Navona and Campo di Fiori. Frigidarium is so delicious, it's so creamy and flavorful, and it's homemade, AND you can get chocolate on top... delish. "Frigidarium" is the name of the cold rooms and pools in the ancient Romans baths, so punny. It has become one of our favorite stops. We all  hop on the bus from school, grab our favorite flavors, and talk a walk through Piazza Navona, so woderful. My favorite flavors from Frigidarium are Mandorla and Frigidarium.

FRIGIDARIUM: Mandorla (Almond) with White Chocolate Topping

Frigidarium (Chocolate Cookie in Caramel) with Dark Chocolate



Frigidarium







Frigidarium with White Chocolate

 


Canoli Cream



We have a gelato place right across the street from school. Its a Sicilian place and they have really cool Sicilian flavors. I don't go there often, but when I do I get the canoli flavor. It's great.

I can honestly say that I am going to miss gelato so much. But --  there is a place in Asbury Park that I will be frequenting for my Roman fix.

Beach Day!

Yesterday, a few of us decided to combat the stress of finals week that is starting to engulf us. We all have the same philosophy-- we have a limited amount of time left, so we are going to make the most of every day!

After class, we packed up or backpacks, put our suits on, and headed to the beach. We had a bit of trouble getting there because of the transportation strike (we have one about every week) but we got there.

It was a lovely, black sand beach near where Marisa's family lives. We set up our blankets, got in the not-so-warm water, snacked, and relaxed on the sand until the sun set.

What a beautiful day.

.CHRIS.squared.

These are my friends, Chris and Chris. Tonight we had a delish dinner and discussed our time in Rome, which lead to blog-speak. They wanted to be included in my bloggin', so I (being the amazing friend I am) have decided to oblige.

Chris (left) and Chris (right).

They're pretty nice kids. We've had some fun conversations about amazing bands and movies, and these two are always fun to be around. They just bring you up, no matter how down you are.

I met Chris(tine) in DC, but really got to know her here. She's so nice-- absolutely one of the sweetest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. She has the best sense of humor... and she tells me when my jokes aren't funny-- always a good thing. I'm really happy we got to be really close and even became "pope buddies" and future roomies/ suities! She is absolutely one of my best friends here. Love her, so amazing.

Chris is really nice, I met him here in Rome. We're both from New Jersey (represent!), I know his cousin which is awesome and weird at the same time-- small world. We got to know each other in our Italian class, the friendship was solidified when Chris belted out an extremely talented version of this song (partially in Italian) for the whole class and when he told me he also loves The Black Keys-- sold.  He's hilarious, makes me laugh so hard... sometimes unintentionally, and he's super sweet. Chris, you're a good kid.

Hope you guys loved it, now you know how I really feel about ya. But seriously, I love ya both. You are such amazing people. :)

Wien-ing

Just got back from my first German-speaking country, Austria! It was a lovely parade of chocolate, schnitzel, strudel, and palaces.

We had a little trouble getting there. Our plane was delayed, so we missed the bus into the city from the airport. So we had to spend some money on a cab... bummer. But, we got there and it was great. The first night we literally fell right into our beds. On Saturday morning, we lazily got out of bed and headed to my favorite place in Vienna, Schloss Schönbrunn.

Schönbrunn is the Imperial Palace of Vienna. It was home to Maria Theresa and her oodles of children, including Marie Antoinette. It was so beautiful, the rooms were gorgeous. It reminded me a lot of the rooms inside of Reggia di Caserta. The most impressive part of the palace was the gardens. We went too early in the spring to see many flowers and all of the fountains were empty, but it was still extremely beautiful.

Christine and I decided to climb to the roof of gloriette (the little building) on top of the hill to see an incredible view of the city.

Then, we relaxed on the hill staring at the beautiful view before exploring more of the gardens.

After spending time in the gardens, we went to see how the palace bakery makes apfel strudel... and tried some samples, delish.

We left the palace behind and moved into the city center for the first time. The heart of the city is Stefansplatz, it's dominated by a huge gothic cathedral with the most beautiful roof.

The inside of St. Stefan's was really beautifully illuminated with the most lovely spectrum of colors from the stained windows. When we were inside, there was a mass going on, so we didn't stay very long.

We crossed the street, got some money (seeing a 100 euro bill for the first time!) and walked to the candy store. Mozart Chocolates were EVERYWHERE. They are not too delicious, but we did find one we liked and ate two bags of them in three days, yum.

For the rest of the first day we walked around exploring. It was so nice. We visited a few churches that had PEWS! We don't have pews in Roman Churches, the ones in Austria are beautifully crafted  and look like artwork themselves.

We shopped, laughed, and we found the most famous schnitzel restaurant in Vienna. Despite it being booked until Tuesday, we got a table and feasted on the Austrian specialty.

The next day, Sunday, was really relaxing. As in most European Cities, most businesses were closed on Sunday, so we spent most of the day walking around and even got to watch some of the Vienna Marathon. We ducked into an American Bar for some nachos (with real nacho cheese!).

 Of course, the minute we found a Starbucks we had to go in. It's a repercussion of living in Rome where there are absolutely none. I had a Chai Tea Frappuccino, I didn't even know that existed!

We found a cute little park with a golden statue of Strauss and a clock made of flowers. Near Karlsplatz we found some graffiti that gave us our Viennese version of Rome's Carpe Diem.

Our last day in Vienna was great. We went to Schloss Belvedere, another palace. This palace is an art museum. We spent some time in those gardens, but they weren't as impressive. Then we went inside and saw 'The Kiss' by Gustav Klimt. It was amazing!

Then we headed back to Stefansplatz to go to a Resturant that Chris' friend recommended to us. Inigo was located right across from the Jesuit Church in Vienna. It was a real Viennese Restaurant. There was  absolutely no English on the menu, and the servers spoke absolutely no English... weird.

 I got some chicken wings and potatoes with mushroom soup... delish. Chris got some weird noodle - potato thing. The waitress realized she didn't love it when we were done, so Christine got her meal for free. We love Austria!

Then we headed to the airport to find out that our flight was delayed again... boo. We got some Starbucks and cracked open some more chocolate and waited it out. I loved Vienna, it was so sweet, pretty, and different from the other parts of Europe that I've seen so far! :)