back in 'ol napoli

Just got back from our weekend trip to Naples, Pompeii & Mt. Vesuvius. We stayed in Napoli but trained in to the other locations. All three places were amazing and completely different from each other. Besides almost going to Italian jail for the dumbest reason ever,(sorry mom&dad) I had a great time!

I was in Naples coming back to Rome and I didn't validate my train ticket because we were in a huge rush and I didn't know it even mattered. The conductor was going around checking tickets and told me that the fine was 50 euro since I didn't get my ticket stamped... and i literally only had 1.20 euro on me. And if i didnt pay the 50 euro, id have to pay 200 euro at the last stop and the italian police would be waiting for me. So, obviously i starting balling crying, like sobbing and anyways he let me out of it because he felt bad because i cried. HA, so classic. I can't get out of a speeding ticket in Illinois, but I can get out of going to jail in Italy. Being overly emotional 24/7 has finally paid off. So if you ever take a train in italy, get it validated!
Napoli, Italia

Da Michele Pizzeria (The pizzeria from the movie Eat,Pray,Love)= delicious

Mt. Vesuvius, Italia

 On top of Mt. Vesuvius.. #athlete

Volcano behind my rome besties & me

Pompeii, Italia

 just playing around on some ancient ruins that were covered in volcanic ash from mt. vesuvius in 79 AD

Mucca

When Angela & I were 10 & 12 our parents took us to Build-a-Bear for Valentines Day. I obviously got a dog stuffed animal ("cane".. I'm so Italian) because I'm normal. But, Angel, the funniest and most interesting person I have ever met, decided to get a cow. Why? I don't know. Who knows. But, since then I've always had a soft spot for the stupid farm animal. Like, when we would drive past a farm on the way to Monticello, Indiana to go to my cottage, we couldn't help but "awwww" as we saw the herds of enormous animals. So, when we went to the Castello Delle Regine vineyard I was so excited when we got to see cows!! Yay!!

I love cows because they are cute. But, I also love eating them. Whoops..sorry Angel. And after a month of eating nothing but pasta, I have never wanted a burger so bad. I think I ate this in 5 minutes flat. I know it doesn't look that appetizing, but what I can I say - Americans love American food.

t-bone steakhouse roma, italia

A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.

-winston churchill 

Museo Nationzale Romana

I enjoy scrapbooking, painting and being creative in my spare time. Sometimes, I think I’m kind of good. That is until I came here and saw the beautiful artwork being preserved in this museum. Frescos, Mosaics and sculptures – the most beautiful and complex ones are on display here. Museum go-ers adore the perfection and realization that each artist put into their work. Since they are so flawless I found it funny that Romans used the mosaics as floor pieces, statues as garden gnomes and the frescos were what you would modernly call.. wall paper. How’s that to having a beautifully decorated home!?

Roman Mosiac: Picture above & below. Used it for the floor. (Displayed on the wall, just to be seen more easily)It starts with a simple geometric shape in black & white with occasional color. The more refined you are, the more tesserae, mosaic squares you used.

How to paint a Fresco: Paint on wet plaster in two layers. Rough plaster (intoncco) is the first layer and on top of it is a smeared white creamy fine plaster, the artist works on this. When plaster dries, it absorbs and becomes permanent within six hours.

Sculptures: Pictures above & below. Romans made copies of Greek original sculptures. They started using more natural and simple poses instead of rigid ones. Contrapposto- movement of body through different planes.

Forza Roma

Marco Borriello. 

AS Roma. 

Rawrrrr.

Burro e Salvia

Yeah, in America a burro is a donkey - an ass to be more specific. Maybe that's why I looked over "burro e salvia" on the menu. But after trying it once I became addicted. You can only eat so much red sauce before getting sick of the chunky tomato taste and opting for a lighter more pleasant one. Burro e Salvia is: Cheese, Butter & Sage. Which in my language translates to a trifeca of perfecta.

La Terrazza

Firenze, Italia

Mimi e Coco

Roma, Italia

 La vie en Rose

Roma, Italia

The Colosseum

Ever since I saw the episode of America’s Next Top Model Cycle Two when the girls had a photo shoot inside of the colosseum, I knew one day I would have to go. I mean I’ve learned about the world famous amphitheater every year throughout middle school. But, in this episode I was able to “go inside” the colosseum and see the interior. So when I ACTUALLY went inside the colosseum I was in utter disbelief. The building is colossal and beautiful. Which is what the Romans must have also thought too because although the proper name of the building is the ‘Flavian amphitheatre’, it got it’s nickname, ‘The Colosseum’ because of the colossal dimensions of the building. All my years of history class and they never taught us that… thanks Mokena Elementary School.

Other interesting things I never learned about The Colosseum until now:

  1)Romans were responsible for wiping out entire species of animals because they were used and killed for sport – not just lions.      

2)Gladiator fights weren’t the only entertainment at The Colosseum... there were circuses.

3)Gladiators were expected to die at the end of the day. So, some faked their death. In order to make sure that didn’t happen a man dressed as the devil (Haydes) with a red hot poker would come out after the fight and brand them to see if the Gladiator was dead or faking.

4)The seats from The Colosseum were made of concrete brick and marble they were melted and used to build St. Peters basilica

5)The inaugural games at The Colosseum lasted 60 days. If you combined every American athlete in the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL – that’s how many Romans died within those 60 days. Insane, right? 

Trevi Fountain

Ellen Glowacki & I write for The Odyssey.. a newspaper back at UofI. Here's a part of our entry: 

Being sentimental girls-our favorite spot is the Trevi Fountain and it's legend.We have always had a slight idea what the Trevi Fountain was, but not until we saw the Lizzie McGuire movie (admit it-you’ve seen it) did we realize how beautiful the fountain is. Although we didn’t get a ride there from a Italian singer on the back of his vespa-we did make the journey there and it was breathtaking. Just look past all the Italians trying to sell you souvenirs and tourists taking pictures and take it all in. You can’t help butfantasize while looking at the beautiful Trevi, which might be a reason why it soon became a wishing fountain. Legend has it, you throw a coin into the fountain with your right hand over your left shoulder while wishing for three distinct wishes. The wishes are:

1. you will return to Rome

2. you will fall in love 

3. you will get married in Rome. 

After making those wishes, hopeless romantics like us feel our trip to Rome has now been complete. We haven’t found our Paulo yet, but if this legend is right, that vespa should be showing up at our apartment any day now!

maggie, gwen & me making our wishes

 me, kelsey & corinne

 my favorite place, ever.

Sweet Tooth

I could eat a bar of chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner - but then I would weigh 400lbs. 

Thanks, but no thanks. 

Since I love it so much, sometimes I spoil myself a little and give in to the beautiful substance. 

Food tastes different in Italy than it does at home, the lack of certain ingredients make the food differ in texture, color and overall taste. However, chocolate is the EXACT same. Every bite of chocolate is a small taste of home. 

...The melt in your mouth, sweet taste of chocolate. Who couldn't be addicted? 

tiramasu - la fate resturant

roma, italia

nonna's cookie shop

roma, italia

nutella martini - friends restaurant

roma, italia

brownie - bohemia bagel

prague, czech republic

chocolate pancake

prague, czech republic

cioccolata calda - grom

firenze, italia

The Roman Forum

Passing the Roman Forum and seeing the random artifacts spread throughout the green grass reminded me of something I would see in Ireland, which is why I was confused. Why was in the center of Rome, what was it and why do you had to pay to go walk down there?

The forum isn’t that big it spreads from the Arch of Titus (below), which was built in 70ad to celebrate the fall of Jerusalem to the Arch of Septimius Severus, to celebrate the victory of beating the slovic tribes of Germany. But, after many floods from the Tiber River and deterioration of soil, the area was buried.

 The Roman Forum was at one time, a traditional ancient Roman neighborhood. It had churches, houses, statues – everything. Julius Caesar Augustus has his home in The Palatine area of the Roman Forum. His huge house was on Palatine hill, which is where the word “palace” got its name. Presently, there is a small little building that looks almost pointless, but it’s actually the temple to Julius Caesar. It was larger but deteriorated over time. The fact that the temple is in the center of the forum has a lot of significance and shows he was very important to the Roman people. After he was murdered his body was brought back to the Roman Forum and his ashes were buried in front of this temple.

Another part of the Forum that I thought was really interesting was the courtyard of the Vestal Virgins. In ancient Roman religion they were considered goddesses who were chosen and trained. They were given certain privileges such as officiating at all the Roman religious festivals and being the only people who could ride in a carriage.  They all lived in one house together until they were around 40 then they were able to retire ad get married. However, they had to take a vow of chastity in order to become a Vestal Virgin. Most obeyed their promise, but for the few who had sexual encounters and broke their vow, they were punished severely. They were buried alive and given a loaf of broad and water – only enough to last a day, so the Romans who buried them would say they didn’t kill them.