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| petrie & craig |
- woke up at 7:30 for class for the last time in rome. the end of a course is always exciting, though we do still have to write our final 15-20 page paper, so i guess it's not really over
- went down to campo de'fiori one last time with caryn. we bought SPQR (senatus populusque romanus) shirts and a fruit cup
- walked back down the main road toward the vatican, back past the piazza where we have class, only to accidentally run into none other than eric petrie! he had arrived that morning, was looking for the accent center, and had just tried to call tobin craig at a phonebooth to get directions... luckily we found him
- went to lunch at the grotta azzurra with caryn and petrie. it was the last thing on my personal list of places i remember going to from when i was 12, and it was good food at a really reasonable price. it made me happy
- vatican with caryn. we didn't want a guided tour, but we did shell out for audio guides so we weren't completely lost. i didn't like the museum much though. it was crowded, the maps were unhelpful, and it's built/organized like a rats warren. there is no freedom to browse the rooms at your own leisure, going back and forth as you please, instead it feels a lot like ikea... you have to follow a predetermined path and just keep moving forward. we did get to see the sistine chapel though, which is the highlight of the museum and never fails to disappoint. it is a shame that the ceiling is so far away, but my favorite part is the judgement day fresco which is mind blowing. it took michelangelo SIX years!
- headed home, showered, talked to greg and skyped my mom to make sure all our plans are in order for my trip to the uk (which is only 3 weeks away, incredible!) before i fall off the grid in florence. (our apartments won't have internet)
- group dinner with petrie and craig. it was a lot of fun and our group of 20 was just as loud and obnoxious as americans stereotypically are... oh well. the restaurant had a set menu: bruschetta, pasta (i got lasagna), and tiramisu. they also served us lemoncello with dessert, which tastes far too much like the smell of wood polish for my taste
- walked down to st. peter's to take another group picture with the spartan flag and the basilica in the background
- went back to the apartment to get ready to go out for the evening. hung out in the guys' room playing music and being all kinds of ridiculous before everyone was finally ready to hit scholar's
- headed out to scholar's irish pub. since it's an irish pub, the bartenders all speak english and the place is popular with other travelers/foreign students. the music was loud and the place was crowded; it was nice to break up our routine and get out for a night. petrie was there at the begnning, which was fun and made me even more excited for florence! everyone had a great time and caryn and i made two new italian friends: emanuele and mario.
- walked back from scholar's with our group: joe, me, mike, caryn, brandon, brad, amanda, dylan, kari and david. kari, caryn and i hung out briefly in our room before swiftly falling asleep as it was 4 in the morning when we got home!
