Another Gelato Never Killed Anyone....

ROME!

Hey Y'all!
The past couple days have been a blur starting classes.  (Don't worry, I showed up for every one! Pretty good for the first week!) My opera class on Monday night was great.  The teacher is so nice and it's a lot of memorization, but it's all so interesting, which makes the memorization come easily.  Plus, we watch operas in class.  I love in-class movies...

First day of classes!

Yesterday I switched it up and dropped a class in order to beg my way into a European literature class.  I went to try and get in and found out the class was full.  That's all I had to hear.  At that moment I decided to stalk the professor like an animal hunts it's prey....I found him at the lunch table by himself and there I pounced.  I'm in the class now....and he probably thinks that I am crazy.  But it's ok!  Since I read a lot of books out of class, no matter which literature class I took I would have already read 2-3 of the 5 books on the syllabus, but these seemed the best.  I'll keep y'all posted.

Today I had my art class.  I'm loving art history.  Being a museum curator would be such a fun job.... Anyway, the class is on-site so after today we will be in the city for every class.  He says no photos are allowed while we are in class, but don't worry, I won't disappoint y'all.  This blog will have photos.

View from the Spanish Steps

Signing the guest book at the Keats-Shelley museum!

So I've had my heart set on visiting the Keats-Shelley House here in Rome which is a museum dedicated to those poets. I wrote three papers on Keats this past quarter, so I felt it was my duty to visit. It was so beautiful.  I love Keats because he wrote so beautifully and had such a tragic life.  He died when he was only twenty five, and he died in the house in Rome which is now the museum.  It overlooks the Spanish Steps!  AND we took the metro and bus to get there without getting lost.  We rewarded ourselves with gelato on the Spanish Steps for our ability to follow directions.

Gelato on the Spanish Steps!

After this, we climbed the Spanish Steps and enjoyed the view.  That lasted about three seconds until we had to buy umbrellas because it started raining.  I bought a pink one to match my dress.  Anne says that I shouldn't be wearing this dress after Labor Day but the Italians loved me.  But I promise y'all I won't wear it past September.

Pizza at dinner!

We found a little cafe to get dinner and sat there for 3 hours in true Italian fashion.  Since we felt bad for ourselves struggling to get around earlier, we took a cab to Trastevere, a hip little area in Rome where there are lots of cool bars and restaurants.  We met up with some friends and ended up where we wanted to go--the Chocolate Bar.  It's really called Cioccolata e Vino, but you go in and pick a type of liqueur.  Then it's placed in a chocolate glass and topped with whipped cream and sprinkles.  You basically bite the bottom of the glass and eat/drink the whole thing at once.  It was a fun experience.  The best thing about Rome is the police.  We got lost going to the Chocolate Bar, but there are police everywhere. So for the second time in the evening, we approached the uniformed men and asked directions.  They are always super helpful and funny.  We chatted a little in Italian as they gave us directions, and as we left, they called after us in English to "behave ourselves."  Italy is great.  Love them!

Chocolate shots at the chocolate bar!

Now I am back in my little room getting ready for classes tomorrow.  This weekend we are going on a little trip to Tuscany and Umbria as an orientation trip.  Hopefully there will be great photos and stories from that trip!

Lots of love from Roma!