Monday, March 8th: Day 9

We got up kinda early again because we were going to the Pompeii ruins. Pompeii was like herculaneum, but  on a larger scale. ALso... they had plaster casts of bodies. It was kinda gross and sad, especially the dog, because it looked so sad and in pain. But aside from that it was cool that the let people walk around the place. (Oh yeah, we also got to see the bathes, those were pretty cool)We spent the whole day there, and when we got back it was pretty much free time. I wanted to email people, but the computer wasn't working. Plus, they charged  2 euros for 20 min!!!! so expensive! 

Sunday, March 7th: Day 8

Today was the day we climbed Mt. Vesuvius! In upper el I read a National Geographic article that predicted an eruption around the year i would be on this trip, which kinda freaked me out. However, I am proud to say I went up and saw the crater, then came back alive. We drove most of the way up there, but it was still a hike, and gravity wasn't helping any. It took us a while to get up there, and our taxi was waiting for us below, so we didn't get to spend as much time up there as Clare and I wanted. The mountain view was so pretty, it was worth the cold. I was also a bit paraniod about the weather up there, but with my 4 layers on i was able to tolerate the freezing cold. After going back down we ate at some little restaouant then walked to the Herculaneum. Herculaneum was a little vacation town right under mount Vesuvius that was buried during the famous eruption. there were some really well preserved ruins and it was interesting to get to walk around the ancient ruins and sort of get a better idea of how people lived. 


That basically sums up the day. The pizza place from yesterday was closed so we sent to a cheap but yummy place by our hotel, where i got to try gnocchi. 

Saturday, March 6th: Day 7

After getting up early so we could catch a train, we found out it was delayed by 2 whole hours! ugh.... It was very annoying so to fight the boredom we went to a little cafe in the train station and had a snack while chatting and playing card games. The train (when it finally showed up) was pretty cool, or, at least the scenery out the window was. 
When we got of the train I was surprised with how close the hotel was to the station, and how nice it was. Our hotel room is super cute! it's a 2 story room with 3 beds (I'm with Navy and Erin.) Because we were late getting to Naples we didn't hang out at the hotel very long till we had to go to the museum. The area of Naples we're in currently isn't exactly the best, (i think someone called it 'skeezy') but it's definitely a useful experience. The museum we ent to is hard for me to remember because by that time we were worn out from traveling. (even if it was mostly just sitting there, the stress takes its toll.) From what i do remember there were a couple unusual scupltures, frescoes, and a cool pompeii exhibit. 


for dinner we went to one of the oldest pizza places in the world, where all that's on the menu is 2 kinds of pizza, and drinks. Some people weren't huge fans, but I liked it even though it was super messy. It was a cute little place that clearly had made itself a reputation (fact: they had a picture of Julia Roberts there.) Although the day seemed low key, I'm totally exhausted, and i need my sleep

Friday, March 5th: Day 6 ^.^ >o< (o^.^)o o(^.^o)

La la la laaaaa...... I don't want to write this... T.T


Now that it's later, I guess I should start by saying this was a very slow day. We got to go see the first ever Montessori school. I thought it was really cool to see the little courtayd that they got to play in, even peek inside the classrooms. Don gave a really long speech about how our lives have been changed by this one school after which we called Donna to sing happy birthday. (it was like 3am in Texas.) We got her to answer after 10 tries and celebrated by getting coffee. (another caffe latte, yes!!!) 


The only other thing we did was go to the National Museum of Rome where there were some cool sculptures, mosaics, and frescoes. my favorite thing there was the original walls for a dining room in Livia's villa. They were painted with a super intricate garden scene. I loved that it looked like a real garden and even had little birds painted on. 


After that it was basically free time so I got to email the people back home, play uno with Clare, and even buy a little tart at a bakery nearby.

Thursday, March 4th: Day 5

Today was probably the most relaxing day so far. We took a bus to the catacombs, where Erin and I were technically supposed to present. However, it was really crowded so Don just decided we could go later and we just followed the tour guide. I was really  glad he said that, because I couldn't find a lot of info about the catacombs and didn't want to embarrass my self. The guide was a priest, (he was from Australia and was actually really cool.) I felt a little better about my non-presentation when i realized i knew almost all of the stuff he was saying. Lunch was a Brie sandwich because Linda confused the lady. Yummy but expensive sandwich.

After a small lesson about the Appian way, we went to a small cafe to wait for the bus, and I got some of the most delicious coffee ever. It was a caffe latte, and even though I could have drank it plain, I added a packed of sugar. I now understand my parents obsession with the foam stuff on top of the coffee (crema??) it was so yummy.

I realize i sound a little crazy but it was a good cup of coffee. 

When we got back we actually had the whole afternoon off (crazy!) so we went shopping. After browsing a few stores, we finally found the good ones: a stationary store, a toy store, and the same grocery store as before. The toy store reminded me of an italian version of terra toys. i got a copy of dr.suess' green eggs and ham AKA 'prosciutto e uova verde.' The stationary store was just awesome. i really don't know how to explain this, but it was basically 3 floors very long, but of cute trinkets and office supplies. Unfortunately I didn't get to stay very long, but i left with an amazing alarm clock, and an adorable tape dispenser ^.^

 I'm still just beginning to realize how great of a trip this is, and why they only take the 9th years. I feel like being separate from our lives and being in such a small group of close friends has liberated some people. (not just me.) This is helping us explore who we want to be, not just who we think we should be.

Wednesday, March 3rd: Day 4

Today we only walked 5 miles, but they were fast miles and like Clare said, there were a lot of stairs. IT was also the day of super famous landmarks. we went to the Colosseum, Palatine hill, and the Roman Forum. I'm kind of tired and don't want to write much, so essentially the Colosseum was huge, palatine hill was really pretty, and the forum was filled with cool old buildings. 


Walking around, I was amazed with not just how cool the stuff was, but it had held up really well over time! for how old they were, everything was in really good shape, even the stuff that was in complete ruins. The whole atmosphere was really beautiful i thought, even if it was crowded with tourists and gates stopped you from seeing everything.

we also stopped by the capital, which was a very new, (1900s) very gaudy and ugly building also known as "the wedding cake." The only cool thing about that building was that you could look out into the super expensive shopping district. Ah, shopping..... 


I seem to be getting used to Rome very easily. I'm definitely not having culture shock, and I feel that if I spoke Italian it would be more fun, but i'm getting by as I am. It's 5:14PM and we still have a journal assignment before dinner but_______ (this is where my journal cut off)

Tuesday March 2nd: Day 3

On a normal Tuesday I have about 6 hours of sleep. This morning I woke up less exhausted, with a grand total of 11 hours. I love this trip. The breakfas we had in the convent was surprisingly yummy: bread and jam, little pastries, coffee, or juice. I had some of the coffee with a little milk and I thought it tasted pretty good. (some people complained it wasn't sweet enough though.) 

To get to the Museum we had to take the subway, which was pretty fun. the more time I spend here the more fun I have, and I'm definitely more used to everything being written in Italian. 


the museum was pretty cool, it had statues and replicas of the columns and writing, but I liked the scale models best. they were scattered all around the museum representing different time periods, but there was one of the Roman empire (I don't know what year exactly) that was HUGE. it took up a whole room, and to see it you had to be a floor above it. I thought it was pretty amazing that they were able to build such a detailed model of something that's now in ruins.

oh yeah, both St. Peter in chains and St. Clemente were open today.