Field Trips!

lunedi, 30 maggio 2016

Well, today was our first field trips in both both of our classes. In our morning class, Roman Archaeology On-Site, we went to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It was very nice being able to learn more about what we were seeing so we could understand the history of the area. Basically, the Roman Forum served as a general meeting place for people of a number of social classes in Ancient Rome. It served as the center of political, commercial, and judicial life in Rome at the time. They had a few basilicas (different than what we associate with the word now) that served as an indoor version of the open-air forum in case of bad weather (like the weather we experienced yesterday). We also saw several triumphal arches that emperors had built to commemorate military battles in which they were victorious.

Remains of the Basilica Emilia - many buildings had the marble or other materials taken and repurposed over the centuries

Part of the Temple of Concordia

Our professor giving an explanation at one of the sites on the Palatine Hill

Overlooking the Forum

After visiting the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill for class, we walked back to our apartment and stopped at the outdoor market to get some fresh produce. On our way to the market, we also found the Chiesa di Santa Dorotea and stopped in for a little while. We returned back to our apartment, went to the supermarket, and got some key foods that we had not yet gotten and were desperately craving (milk, ground beef, potatoes, etc.) and ate lunch before our next class.

Chiesa di Santa Dorotea

For our afternoon class, Christianity and the Roman Empire, we went to the Capitoline Hill, visited the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, and saw the Roman Forum again (we did not actually pay to go in this time). Santa Maria in Aracoeli was so beautiful!! It was also very nice to have our professor with us to point out many things that we would not have otherwise known about the church, plus she has a sassy personality and is very interesting to listen to during class!

Capitoline Hill and Marcus Aurelius statue

 

Santa Maria in Aracoeli

Tomb of St. Helen in Santa Maria in Aracoeli

After class, we visited a couple of churches, Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano and the Basilica di San Nicola in Carcere. Both were very nice churches, and we stayed in the second church that we visited for a while for our holy hour, which was quite nice. There were a few people talking in the back of the church while we were trying to pray, but I discovered one benefit of being in a foreign country is that it is at least a bit easier to tune out people talking when you have no idea what they are saying.

Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano

San Nicola in Carcere (including an adorable little figures in a model of the church)

Eventually, we made it back to our apartment with rumbly tummies as usual, and were so excited to have the ground beef that we had bought earlier that day! Kelsey made some delicious hamburgers, and we had sides of rice and corn, plus a little bit of gelato from the tub of it that we had purchased to have on hand in our apartment!

Mmmm! Yummy food!

Well, I suppose that is all for now!

Arrivederci,

Allison and Kelsey

The Elements

domenica, 29 maggio 2016

Ciao, bellas!
We had a reaaaaally early start to our day this morning- a whopping 5:30AM (That's 12:30AM for all you US folks). It was a tad brutal, but ya know, we made it out alive! Allison and I packed breakfast and then figured out some more public transportation. We're getting quite good at this bus thing. We also managed to figure out the train uneventfully. Needless to say, I was getting a little worried because everything was going so well. But never fear, for the Lord loves to place obstacles in our way! He was laughing at us a lot today, but I'll get to that more later.

After an hour and a half-ish train ride, we arrived in quaint Orvieto for another Corpus Christi celebration! Oh wait, first we had to ride this freaky little thing called a funicular. Absolutely terrifying. I've included a link so you can share in my terrifiment. (Yes, I just invented a new word, deal with it. This is what happens with little to no sleep.)

https://www.funimag.com/funimag07/ORVIET01.HTM

But Orvieto- it was so beautiful there. It's considered a small town (population 21000), which isn't so small to little Pewamo girl (population <500), BUT it did feel small after the craziness of gigantic Rome (population 2.6 million). I hope you enjoyed your lesson in demographics. Moving on....

Oh, wooow!

Look at those hills

Sass.

She's a model

Anywho, we made our way to the Duomo, which is the Cathedral. We were a little skeptical at first when we saw the stripes on the side, but the front and the inside were absolutely incredible. I'm still trying to comprehend the size of this thing. The fact that it was built over 600 years ago just adds to the impressiveness. We got to the Duomo a little early, so we went wandering around Orvieto and came across a parade! These dudes sure know how to be classy. After the parade, we went back to the Duomo square and waited for the procession with the corporal stained with Jesus' blood. You can read all about the Eucharistic Miracle and its ties to Orvieto here -->  http://www.opsm.it/duomo/003b.html.

Outisde of the Duomo

Inside of the Duomo

Blood stained corporal

The classy dudes in the parade

Okay, so here is where the complications begin: the elements. It has been very warm here in Rome, so naturally, Allison and I dressed for warmth: short sleeves and no umbrella. However, that's not what we got. It started pouring and blowing and getting cold and just ew. The only positive was that we felt like we were right back in Michigan... As we stood there, cold and wet, this nice Italian lady pulled us under her umbrella and treated us like her little ducklings. We were extremely thankful for her kindness. Extremely thankful. The wind picked up some more and started blowing the barriers everywhere, so that was kinda dangerous. The guards decided to let us all inside after that since the procession could not go on due to the weather. We were able to walk around, take in the magnificence of the Duomo, and venerate the relic of the corporal. This was a huge blessing. Then there was mass at noon, so of course we stayed for that! Jesus loves us so much.

Once mass was over, Allison and I were both rather hungry, so we found a nice pizza place. We ordered pizza with corn and sausage. I know adding corn sounds weird, but it was actually fabulous. Hooray for happy tummies!!

Yes, we ate the entire thing. No, we are not ashamed.

We then proceeded to church hop (surprise surprise).  By this point, it was pretty hot, go figure. All of the churches in Orvieto are really, really old. Many of the churches in Italy are old, but these churches did not hide their age. They were still quite lovely though. At one point, while we were hunting for more churches, we were looking at a map on a sign, comparing it to our paper map, and using the compass on my phone. There was no hiding our American. We apparently can't fool anyone...

Santa Michanchanga 

Deo et Virgini Perdolenti

La Chiesa di San Domenico 

Della Chiesa die Sadti Andrea e Bartolomeo

Sanctus Iuuenalism

We headed back to the funicular (still scary) and the train station with rumbly tummies and tired everything. We were so hangry by the time we got back that we made food as fast as we possibly could. Shout out to our parents, especially our moms, for always feeding us and keeping our tummies happy. Love you lots!
Kelsey and Allison

Churches and Food- 2 of the Best Things in Life

sabato, 28 maggio 2016

Well, somehow we've managed to have yet another busy day! Fortunately, it did start out a little more slowly with some much needed rest and relaxation. We slept in and took our time getting ready in the morning and also used the time to plan some of our future weekend adventures (keep posted for more about those as they come).

Around 2:00 we ventured outside to find a shop to buy some bus tickets, but discovered that everything was closed up for the afternoon. Though we are well aware that most businesses here close for a few hours in the early afternoon, we still keep forgetting about that when we actually try going out to buy something. Eventually, we'll get the hang of this!

Without having bus tickets, we did what we've basically been doing all along since we arrived in Rome, which is walking where we need to go. Though it can be quite exhausting, especially on a hot day in Rome, we've learned to have a great appreciation for shade as well as all of the neat places that we happen to come across along the way!

Kelsey and I have discovered a slight problem in that we are not able to walk anywhere all that efficiently because each time we come across an open church, we just can't seem to pass by it without stopping in. Most places, this wouldn't really slow people down much. However, this is Rome. Rome has a lot of churches. Therefore, we stop a lot.

The first church that we stopped at was Santa Maria Della Consolazione. It was a very nice church and clearly quite old as some parts showed the wear that it had endured over many years.

Santa Maria Della Consolzione

After that stop, we continued on only to find that, in our usual fashion, we had stumbled upon yet another famous Roman site, the Roman Forum, so we found it only fitting to take a few quick pictures while we were there.

Do we look like tourists yet?

Within that area, we also found another church that we stopped at, Chiesa dei Santi Luca e Martina. This was another very large church and even had a crypt below in which some saints were buried.

Chiesa dei Santi Luca e Martina

In the crypt of Chiesa dei Santi Luca e Martina

Continuing on from there, guess what we found?? Another church! This one was the Chiesa di Santa Caterina da Siena a Magnanapoli. It was so beautiful! They appeared to be setting up for a wedding, but we were still allowed to go in and look around.

Chiesa di Santa Caterina da Siena a Magnanapoli

We continued on toward Santa Maria Maggiore, and even found a straight road that led the whole way there! It seems quite difficult to find a direct route anywhere in this city, so we were excited to see that road on the map! Eventually we got to the basilica and looked around for a while. It was so big and had many side chapels as well! While we were there, we even were able to see a relic of the manger from Bethlehem!

Santa Maria Maggiore

Next, we continued on to Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (church #5 of the day in case you're losing count), where we had heard that there would be an English mass through the parish of Santa Susanna, an American parish based here in Rome. This was another beautiful basilica that Kelsey and I both loved, plus Kelsey was very excited to find a huge organ as well! We continued on to find the smaller chapel in which mass was held. Mass was so wonderful! It was so nice to speak English, sing familiar hymns, hear an excellent homily, and most importantly, be able to receive the Body and Blood of Christ!!

Left to right: St. Therese, a giant organ Kelsey loves, and the front of the church

Leaving mass overjoyed with the love of Jesus, we went to a restaurant just down the street that was recommended in the bulletin. Da Giovanni was such an adorable little restaurant that seemed to be run by an older Italian couple. Everyone there was super sweet and Kelsey and I had a lovely dinner together. We each had a delicious soup and also tried some of the house wine. For the main course, I had Saltimbocca alla Romana (veal topped with sage and proscuitto and a very tasty sauce). Kelsey had Maialino Arrosto e Patate (roast pork and potatoes). Quite honestly, I think she just got it because she saw potatoes in the name. We enjoyed the dinner and sat and talked for quite a time, while sharing a piece of tiramisu, though we were both a bit surprised by how much we enjoyed it considering the fact that neither of us like coffee. Overall, it was such a wonderful experience of trying some traditional Italian food and stumbling our way through the language. Fortunately, the waiter was so nice and would help us practice our Italian as we ordered, though he did know English and was certainly willing to help us out when we were a bit stuck. We would very much love to go back to this restaurant, though we will continue to try other places in Rome as well!

Delicious dinner and great service at Da Giovanni!

Overall, it has been a wonderful day!

Ciao!
Allison and Kelsey