Day One Part Two
I was able to meet up with two other girls in my group who were on my same flight. Thank goodness! I don’t know what I would have done if I was stuck in Italy alone. After we had our passports stamped and luggage in hand, we waited a little over an hour for Steve and those on his same plane to arrive. It was during that time that I made this blog and wrote the first post.
Steve took us to the bus where I immediately fell asleep. When we got to the hotel, I fell asleep on the couch. We got our room key and I fell asleep before lunch.
Lunch was a culture shock. For the first course, we were served a dish which included cold rice, artichoke heart, eggs, olives, raisins, corn, and tuna. The taste was so weird, I could only eat a little bit. The next course was just lettuce. It was bitter and I didn’t eat more than two bites. One girl tried stuffing her “salad” inside a roll. The roll was hollow so it didn’t help much.
After lunch, we were allowed a short nap. My short nap lasted over two hours. When I finally woke up, it was time to explore the city and fight the jet lag. So far, my favorite part of Italy is the architecture, and it's not necessarily the ancient buildings that I like. The modern buildings are built with incredible shape and so many fun colors. With the vivid blue sky in contrast, it was perfect for pictures.
The first stop on our walk was Steve’s favorite gelato place. There’s a quote from the Lizzie McGuire Movie that says that gelato “has twice the sugar of American ice cream which means you’re going to want two scoops.” I don’t know if the sugar thing was accurate but I definitely wanted more! Steve bought all 20 students gelato. Next time, though, we would be on our own. I got two different flavors for my first gelato. The chocolate colored flavor was called something like "boccia," which translates to "kiss." The white colored flavor was chocolate chip. The two together were a match made in heaven. Maybe I'll try something different next time but it's unlikely. It was just so good!
The next stop was The Vatican City. We would be coming back to study it in greater depth but it was perfect as a taste of what was to come. The Vatican City is an independent country from Italy even though it’s right smack in the middle of it. This is where the Pope lives or at least where he presides. There are these Swiss guards from Switzerland who go through intense training in order to work there. The guards wear outfits like they were the minstrel from Disney’s The Sleeping Beauty; they wore puff pants and everything. It’s supposed to be a very prestigious job!
The square was designed by GianLorenzo Bernini, an Italian Baroque artist. He and his workshop created dozens of sculptures of saints and other significant figures to watch over the square. In the middle of the square is a giant obelisk, which is a tall monument that the ancient romans stole from the Egyptians. Some date back to several thousand BCE. There are several of these monuments around Rome.
At the end of our walk we ended back at the hotel where I started writing this post but fell asleep. Again. My roommates woke me up in time for dinner which was much better than lunch. It was a meatless lasagna, lemon chicken (which I didn’t eat), fries, peas, and chocolate pudding. The hotel staff served the food and they must think we are hearty Americans because they keep giving us massive portion sizes. Following dinner, we ran to the ATM to withdraw some euro for tomorrow and went back to the hotel to sleep for the night.
Right now it is not even 8:40PM but I think I could sleep for days.
Steve took us to the bus where I immediately fell asleep. When we got to the hotel, I fell asleep on the couch. We got our room key and I fell asleep before lunch.
Lunch was a culture shock. For the first course, we were served a dish which included cold rice, artichoke heart, eggs, olives, raisins, corn, and tuna. The taste was so weird, I could only eat a little bit. The next course was just lettuce. It was bitter and I didn’t eat more than two bites. One girl tried stuffing her “salad” inside a roll. The roll was hollow so it didn’t help much.
After lunch, we were allowed a short nap. My short nap lasted over two hours. When I finally woke up, it was time to explore the city and fight the jet lag. So far, my favorite part of Italy is the architecture, and it's not necessarily the ancient buildings that I like. The modern buildings are built with incredible shape and so many fun colors. With the vivid blue sky in contrast, it was perfect for pictures.
The first stop on our walk was Steve’s favorite gelato place. There’s a quote from the Lizzie McGuire Movie that says that gelato “has twice the sugar of American ice cream which means you’re going to want two scoops.” I don’t know if the sugar thing was accurate but I definitely wanted more! Steve bought all 20 students gelato. Next time, though, we would be on our own. I got two different flavors for my first gelato. The chocolate colored flavor was called something like "boccia," which translates to "kiss." The white colored flavor was chocolate chip. The two together were a match made in heaven. Maybe I'll try something different next time but it's unlikely. It was just so good!
The next stop was The Vatican City. We would be coming back to study it in greater depth but it was perfect as a taste of what was to come. The Vatican City is an independent country from Italy even though it’s right smack in the middle of it. This is where the Pope lives or at least where he presides. There are these Swiss guards from Switzerland who go through intense training in order to work there. The guards wear outfits like they were the minstrel from Disney’s The Sleeping Beauty; they wore puff pants and everything. It’s supposed to be a very prestigious job!
The square was designed by GianLorenzo Bernini, an Italian Baroque artist. He and his workshop created dozens of sculptures of saints and other significant figures to watch over the square. In the middle of the square is a giant obelisk, which is a tall monument that the ancient romans stole from the Egyptians. Some date back to several thousand BCE. There are several of these monuments around Rome.
Right now it is not even 8:40PM but I think I could sleep for days.
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