Tivoli!

This weekend we traveled to Tivoli. It is just outside of Rome and the location of Hadrian’s Villa and Villa D’Este. We traveled with a large group and had a lot of fun exploring the ruins of Hadrian’s Villa and the beautiful gardens and fountains of Villa D’Este.

Our travel began at 6:00am. We awoke in search of an ATM, needing money for our trip. We got ready and left to find one near-by campus. Unfortunately, we could not find one. The one we have gone to before was farther down the huge hill we live on. We didn’t have time to make it down that far so, cold and exhausted, we traveled back up the hill. At campus we met the group and left at 7:30. We stood on the bus down our hill. Next we got on a train, then another. Then to another bus. Luckily we got a seat on this 45 minute ride to Tivoli. Then we walked for a long time. A good 5 hours or so. Then we were back on the bus to Rome. This time, no seats and tons of traffic. It took over an hour and we were standing and very cramped. Our legs felt like Jello after. Then we were back in the city and just took the train and bus home. We were very tired though.

We didn’t get back until about 6:30. We ate dinner and then passed out. The twelve hour day really took it out of us. But it was well worth it!

Some information on both sites: Hadrian, an emperor of Rome, built his Villa as an escape from the Roman center city. The walls enclose 300 acres of land and include numerous constructions used for different purposes (baths, bedrooms, theaters, temples, etc.). Apparently (from his poetry), Hadrian engaged in bathing
little boys at his luxurious villa. By our modern standards, that is overwhelmingly disgusting and of course, illegal. Aye. Anyway, today the ruins remain, but some of the original tile flooring and much of some buildings has been well preserved. In comparison to ruins in the city of Rome, these seemed to be better preserved; some fish ponds and fountains are still kept filled with water. Ellen was afraid some of the ruins might just fall on her. She’s basically crazy but I could see why she would think it. The ruins appear to be so fragile and barely hanging on by a string. She survived as did I nonetheless. So, the Villa is also surrounded by a forest, which we enjoyed. It must have been a very relaxing get-away spot.

Villa D’Este was the mansion and garden of the Bishop and Governor of Tivoli. The garden was filled with fountains still in use and was amazing. The inside of the house was also nice, but not as interesting. This area dated back to the 1500s. The largest fountain apparently took about 50 years to construct! The view was great and the gardens were very beautiful.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Sociology of Italian Poop

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS SOME SOMEWHAT DISGUSTING CONTENT. WE HOPE WE DON'T OFFEND ANYONE, THIS WAS ALL WRITTEN IN GOOD HUMOR. IT'S GROSS, BUT TRUE.

On my first adventure through Rome, Italy a couple weeks ago, I noticed something. Yes. While walking on their narrow sidewalks, bumping into at least one person every 10 seconds, I smelled a little something. Yes. a-Something. The potent, revolting stench smosied up to my nose quite a bit, at least, everytime I passed a tree, which is quite often. I didn't think to much of it; I was carrying my luggage, sweating and panting up Rome's steep hills in the process. Maybe it was me who I was smelling? Did I forget to put on deodorant? Was it Nick? No, no, the scent was far too distinct. It was so familiar. So, fresh but so repulsive. It was something that is found quite often on an elderly man's doorstep in a brown paper bag, violently on fire. You guessed it, poop! Dog poop! Everywhere. Why don't they pick it up, I pondered to myself? I was getting extremely irked by this point in my journey (3 minutes approx) because I had to dance, sidestepping any poop that might obstruct my path. Maybe Sociologist Nicholas Branson may help us with understanding Italian dog-walking and the poop they refuse to pick up! Here he is....
Upon first inspection it was unclear whether or not leaving the dog poop on the ground was an intentional social practice. I thought, perhaps this is just a coincidence at first. Then, I realized that no, no, the frequency with which we saw (and skillfully avoided) dog poop along the sidewalks revealed the truth. Another observation supported our conclusion; we viewed multiple specimens of some age. A few exceptional ones seemed to be growing hair, most likely a type of mold, but had such a large amount that it seemed one could give it a haircut. Disgusting, yes, but true. So, I've considered why this happens. It seems in the neighborhood in which we live, many people have a dog and walk them regularly along tree-lined streets. Perhaps the small dirt squares surrounding the base of each tree are meant for dog depositories. Yet dogs have about as good of an aim as a piece of broccoli. So of course they frequently miss their mark while making thier mark. Ellen and I have come to two possible answers to this perplexing question. First, it may be that Italians view retrieving the feces as below them and thus not socially acceptable to do. In the US people are encouraged through penalty fines to pick up their dog's poop. Secondly, Italians might not be as concerned as Americans with cleanliness. Ellen has witnessed some Italians marching straight through the droppings and marching on without skipping a beat. Americans are in several ways rather obsessed with being clean in general. In the media, being dirty has sevearl negative conotations and seems to always be a problem that we must fix. For example, comercials for mouth wash centering around a man with bad breath, a deodarant comcercial where people pass out at the sent of a sweating man. Italians are not a dirty people, to be sure, but it seems that they do not have the same repugnant reaction to getting their shoes a little dirty. They also walk a great deal more than most Americans. In Rome, and several other cities, the streets are very narrow and difficult to drive cars on. Furthermore, traffic is terrible in part for the same reason. So, Italians often walk and more walking means a greater chance of getting rid of anything that might be stuck to their shoes. Those are my thoughts on the Italian dog poop phenomenon.

Our pictures here display a couple of examples that we have come across on our street. In the second photo here we pose the question, is this a catapillar or poop? I assure you, as unbelievable as it might be, that it is the latter.

Thank you, Nicholas, for your sociological ingenuity that you possess within your mind, body, and soul. We are all better people after reading this small yet incredibly insightful analysis.

i rule.

this has nothing to do with rome at all.

i just wanted to say that i am awesome and way cooler than nick because everytime i post and put up pictures, people comment on them. therefore, i rule.

hehe, i'm just kiddddinnnngggg

yup. i love everybody a lot.

more updates soon!

Longest walk EVER!

We walked a lot on Saturday. We walked SO much that our feet are all cramped up. Roughly, the hike was about 10 miles throughout the whole day. Yes. We’re gonna be extremely buff when we return to America. For part of our trip, we went through the Roman Forum, around the Teatro di Marcello, and into the old Jewish ghetto.

The Forum was fantastic. There were ruins everywhere. People even sat down on them to rest and eat some lunch. Most of the buildings were destroyed, of course; they have taken a beating the last two thousand years.

The Teatro di Marcello, on the other hand, was extremely kept up and in very good condition. It resembles a smaller version of the coliseum. After that, we walked to the Jewish ghetto and saw one of the seven synagogues in Rome.

The Jewish ghetto is tiny. It’s about a block long but 5,000 lived there! However, at the end of the street was the synagogue. It was quite grand in size. The structure was very pretty and well built. From there, we continued on, but we will leave that for another post.

Coloseo

On Friday, January 19th, we visited the Coliseum (Coloseo). The subway stop is directly across from it and we walked out and just stared in awe. The area is filled with tourists and merchants selling all sorts of things. We didn't mind hearing and seeing some English, but we weren't conned into spending a bunch of money. That's the nice thing about the location of our campus; we are not in a tourist area, so you can really see how Italians live, not have to pay the high prices of the tourist areas, and practice our Italian. Anyway, we decided to go in, which was definitely worth it. We had a good time walking around and touching the walls n' such. Our minds can't comprehend how old it is. It's marvelous because America is so new and we are here, where everything is a 1000 + years old! We were surprised because the Coliseum was built on the site of a drained lake. Just thinking about how it was constructed boggles the mind. We also learned that on the inaguration day, one animal was slaughtered every ten seconds for the entire day as a sacrafice, which comes to somewhere around 5,000 animals in a day! Not to mention all of the people that died there. We enjoyed this site and then were off to explore...

For Mom and Dad: They wanted pictures of me

(2)
(1)

So, this statue looks older than it does. It's actually apart of
the capital building, which was built in 1885 to celebrate the
unification of Italy. There is a giant fountain to the right of it;
unfortunately, it's not visible in the picture but it's there and
it's grand! Instead of the fountain, you get me, making out
with the man's feet. Believe it or not, he's actually quite tickle-ish!

In picture two, I'm in Palentine Hill. This hill is massive. You could
spend a day just wandering around in it. There are pieces of ancient
ruins everywhere--many archways, baths, columns, etc. It's very
stoney. This site was were royalty/wealthy folks went to in order
to just indulge in great pleasures, host parties, and relax. There
also was a vineyard, too! I'm not sure what the building behind me
was used for but I'm sure it was for something spactacular...hopefully.
I bet I just jinxed it and it was actually a kitchen or where the
emperors kept there slaves. Nope nope, there was something
magnificent in it. I feel it.

Assisi, Umbria - Italy

The past couple of days, Friday, January 12 and Saturday, January 13, we traveled to Assisi. The school took us on this trip as part of our orientation. It was a great experience. We were tired at first because we had just arrived in Rome at the campus on Thursday but were pleasantly surprised by Assisi.

A little about the town of Assisi: Assisi was the home of both Saint Francis and Saint Clare. Each has a church dedicated to them in the town. Additionally, the remains of both saints reside in Assisi. The town is located on a high hill in Umbria and built into existing slopes and curves. Most roads are narrow and brick and ascend or descend as they wind through the town. Some streets for cars exist, but most people seemed to walk throughout Assisi, up and down steep hills and lengthy stairways. Several structures in the town date back 2000 years. These old buildings have had some repair in some cases, but most of Assisi is very old.

At Assisi we took guided tours and explored on our own as well. The churches are amazing. The walls inside are lined with beautiful frescos. The Saint Francis cathedral is actually a building of three churches, one built on top of the other. We saw the tombs of both Saint Clare and Saint Francis. The town houses several other churches as well which each have different character. Under the church of Saint Clare, an ancient Roman road was excavated and glass plates allow you to view the stone path.

We also enjoyed the other buildings in Assisi and the great view. We hiked up several hills to look over the countryside and the town. It was fun to get a little lost in Assisi and just explore by walking through any side street. On a few occasions we traveled without a particular destination in mind but rather just to explore. The people of Assisi are friendly and kind. Many townspeople work in local shops and restaurants. Our experience in Assisi was great and we look forward to more adventures like this in the near future.

first day!

ROMA!!!!

We finally arrived. After many confusing endeavors, we are here in one piece!

Loyola's Rome Center couldn't be any smaller. Honestly, we walked around it in one minute. I swear that is not an exaggeration! Basically, everything is in one building. The dorms, the classes, the dining area, lounge, gym, and even the chapel...seriously, everything. I guess it's nice but I think it will be easy to get stuck in this tiny, Americanized community. I can't wait to explore. The next couple days are going to be really busy unfortunately. We already have a trip. Tomorrow, all the students are going to Asissi *the town where St. Francis and St. Claire grew up*. It's about three hours away. It kind of sucks because most of us are extremely tired and definitely jetlagged. I'm shooting for an early bedtime. Wahoo.

In the next few days, we should have some pictures--give a little visuals. I've been video taping the sites that interest me. Especially, the orange trees outside!!! Heck yes. It's basically a paradise and we can't wait to see more!

It's definitely a culture shock that's for sure (I'll write about it later..Too Tired)!