Viva La Vida (Live the Life!!)

I apologize for the delay in writing about all my travels, but I've been a busy girl, as you will see in my next half dozen or so entries!! So let's start with my trip to London... Not all of you may be familiar with the English alternative rock band, Coldplay, but they were the reason I was on a plane to London! Andy Chen, the other Robert Morris student studying in Rome, asked if I would want to see them in concert in London. Considering I LOVE going to concerts in general, and this would be the end of Coldplay's world tour in their hometown of London, I thought it would be an awesome trip. Plus, who doesn't want to visit London, one of the biggest cities in Europe?

We arrived at the Stansted airport in London and took a bus to the Liverpool Street station, one of the many train stations in the city. The bus ride took almost an hour- I didn't realize the airport was that far outside the city. London was the 3rd European city I would be experiencing, and at first glance, I knew I loved this city. I'm not sure if it's the fact that everyone speaks English, compared to Danish in Copenhagen or Italian in Rome, or the interesting architecture or just the fact that it has been such an important international city for so many years in history. Whatever the reason, I knew right away that I wanted to return to London again. When the bus droppsed us off at the Liverpool Street station, I needed to find some food. They didn't feed us on the plane and I hadn't eaten since breakfast. We decided to try the McDonald's in London- this would be my second McDonald's experience in Europe (I had tried it in Copenhagen and I thought it was mostly the same as in America). No, this was not the case in the UK. It seemed like the English don't really favor Big Macs or Quarter Pounders with cheese because they're not on the menu! I decided on a chicken and bacon sandwich with mayonaisse on it. I was so excited about the mayo because it's really hard to find in Italy. The fries tasted the same as in America and Denmark, and of course, they sold Coke products. After our lunch, I bought a cardigan at a shop in the train station- I forgot that it was the fall season up in England and the windy weather was going to be a little chilly without a light jacket (which I forgot to pack, of course).

Next, it was off to find our hostel. We had some trouble finding the right address, but luckily, everyone speaks English, so it was easy to ask for directions. We were all checked in when we decided to walk down to the LONDON BRIDGE, which was not even 5 minutes away from our hostel. The bridge gives a nice view of the River Thames and is not far from the famous Tower Bridge of London. Soon, we were on the Underground (aka Tube or subway as Americans know it) to Wembley Stadium, where we were going to the Coldplay concert. It took about 45 minutes on the Underground to reach our destination. Wembley Stadium is HUGE and will be one of the places where the Olympic Games will be hosted in 2012. We were meeting my roommate in Rome, Lizz Wilkinson, and her roommate at Chatham, at the stadium. Our seats were in the first row of the nose bleed section, but we were center stage, so it was a great view for the concert. Jay-Z, a rap artist, opened the concert for Coldplay, a rock band from London. These last two concerts, on Friday and Saturday, were the last two shows in their world tour. Jay-Z and Coldplay have a song together, titled Lost, and they performed that song. My favorite song of the night was "Yellow" when they released yellow balloons on the audience and the lights onstage and all over the stadium were all yellow. It was a great performance of the song. I also loved "Viva La Vida", which is another popular Coldplay song on the charts. I have lots of awesome pictures, mostly taken by Andy, of the concert that I can't wait to share with you. The Underground was obviously very, very crowded on our way back from the concert, but I forgot to mention that Coldplay gave everyone in the audience a free CD as we left Wembley Stadium! Pretty cool, huh? Once we arrived back at the hostel, I was exhausted and fell right to sleep.

From Rome to London

So the last time I posted, it was Wednesday and I was on my way to the Roman Forum, which wasn't all that interesting to me. There were lots of ruins from the ancient Roman Empire, but it was hard for me to imagine what the buildings would have looked like so many years ago. Plus, it was raining again as we were going through the ruins, so it was difficult to hold my umbrella and take notes.

On Wednesday night, we were invited over to my friend Megan's apartment for a "family dinner." Megan and her roommates decided to cook grilled chicken salad with bruschetta (pronounced brusketta- the che or chi makes the "k" sound in Italian) as an appetizer. As the guests, Shelby, Kelly and I brought bottles of wine and a tart for dessert. It was really nice to cook dinner and eat together, just like at home. One of Megan's roommates, Katie, is Italian, and she made her family's bruschetta recipe- it was my favorite part of the meal!

Thursday was very relaxing for me, as I was preparing for my weekend trip to London. I took a walk/jog in the park with Megan, went to Italian class, and then went to a mama and papa restaurant by the Pantheon with about 27 other students from AUR. It was by far the best meal I've had so far and fun to socialize with all those people! I had freshly made pasta with tomato meat sauce and bruschetta as an appetizer again. Of course, I tried the red house wine and we had gelato for dessert. I tried banana and chocolate gelato and it was sooooo good. Of course, Shelby had just chocolate gelato, but I think she might have me hooked on this chocolate ice cream addiction. :)

I got up SUPER early- like 5 AM on Friday morning to make sure we arrived at the airport on time. I was traveling to London with Andy Chen, the other student from Robert Morris studying in Rome, but we were going to the Ciampino Airport in Rome with my roommate, Kelly, since she was flying to Madrid to spend the weekend with her boyfriend. So let me tell you the journey it took for us to arrive at one of the smaller airports in Rome:

Step 1: Take bus to the tram.

Step 2: Take the tram to Largo Argentina (that place where all the cats live by the ancient

ruins)

Step 3: From Largo Argentina, take the bus to Termini Station (biggest train station in

Rome)

Step 4: Take the train to Ciampino

Step 5: From the train station in Ciampino, take a shuttle bus to the Ciampino airport.

Whew! So that was quite a trip- it takes a little over an hour and a lot of patience waiting for public transportation just to get to the airport to wait for our flight. So there was more waiting...We finally boarded our Ryanair plane, and we took off right on schedule at 10:10 AM. We arrived in London a little after noon, but I forgot that there was a one-hour time difference between Rome and London. We passed through customs easily (I now have a Stansted stamp in my passport to prove that I was in London!) and then discovered we had to take an HOUR shuttle bus to get to the center of the city to check into our hostel. I didn't think getting to and from these airports would be this much work, but it was a great learning experience.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

I feel like the rainy season in Rome has officially begun. When we were shopping on Saturday, we narrowly missed the downpour and luckily made it back to our apartment before it started raning. On Sunday night, I didn't get much sleep because there was a thunderstorm booming most of the night and lightning lit up the sky. When I was in my first class on Monday, it started pouring again- and I had forgotten my umbrella, but I just had a short walk to my next class and it stopped raining by the time I had to wait for the bus.

Yesterday, I decided to wake up early (even though I only had my first and only class of the day at 5:15 PM) to go for a run in Villa Pamphili, that beautiful park near school. Because it had rained, the park was a lot greener than the first time I had seen it. There were lots of other people running and walking as well. It wasn't as muddy as I expected, since most of the trails have stones over the mud.

I had lunch with Megan again since it was Tuesday. However, I was late meeting her because I waited 20 minutes for my bus to come. I still don't understand the bus system- sometimes I wait one or two minutes, most of the time it's 5-10 minutes and it can be up to a 20-25 minute wait at the bus stop. I guess I'll get used to it someday soon.

It's Wednesday morning and I have my Art of Rome class today. My class is meeting on site at the Roman Forum and also going to see the Arch of Titus. Of course, it's raining and sort of cold outside today, so I'll take my umbrella and wear a jacket. Today is a busy day of classes for me- but I'm getting really excited for my weekend in London and the Coldplay concert on Friday!!!!

Ciao!

OMG- I'm Living in Rome!!!

So by today, Monday, September 14, I've finally come to the realization that I'm living in Rome and I will get to see all this ancient buildings in the center of the city whenever I want- how cool is that? I'm learning something new about the culture every day, and the more I learn, the more I fall in love with this beautiful city and the culture of the Italian people.

OK, so I know it's been a while since I last posted (a week!), but I've been pretty busy. On Tuesday, I only have one class at 5:15 PM. :) It was my Italian class, and I even had some homework due on the second day of class. I had lunch with my friend Megan, who I met at the airport. That night, our school had invited us to go to an aperitivo at a bar in Trestevere, which is the medieval neighborhood in Rome. I needed to buy some high heels for the swanky event, since I only packed one pair of heels. I was excited to go shopping for my first time in Rome. I went near my apartment and found a great deal- a black pair of heels for 15 euro on clearance! I was excited to get dressed up and wear my new shoes with a black and white dress my roommates helped me pick out. An aperitivo is almost like a "happy hour" in America. You pay about 8 euro for your first drink and unlimited appetizers are included in that price. So it's a pretty sweet deal- some of the appetizers included pasta, salads, black and green olives, and potato dishes. A lot of other students from AUR were there and it was fun to mingle and socialize and have some drinks.

Wednesday was another full day for me! I had my first Art of Rome class and I thought my professor would just go over the syllabus and lecture and then we would be free to go. But we actually went to the Pantheon on the first day of classes. It took us almost an hour to walk there from my school, but we definitely took the scenic tour and didn't use any public transportation, so I think it's closer than that. I still had two more classes (Consumer Behavior and Italian) to go to after learning about the Pantheon, which is the best preserved ancient building in the world. It was a temple back in the day and now it is a Catholic church inside. After cooking dinner at our apartment that night, we walked down the street to get some gelato. I had strawberry (fragole) and lemon (limoni) in a cone, so it almost tasted like strawberry lemonade. I never order chocolate gelato because I never like chocolate ice cream, but my roommate Shelby always orders it, so I always have a bite of chocolate and she tries my newest favorite flavor.

On Thursday, I was able to sleep in again since I only have Italian class in the evening. After class, Shelby and I grabbed some pizza at my favorite pizzeria near campus (Simone's) and I had two slices with mushroom (funghi) and sausage (salsiccia) while we were waiting to leave for our "sunset stroll" with other AUR students and the Res Grads. The AUR Res Grads (Alex, Carina, and Amin) have been planning most of the events I've attended at American University of Rome. The sunset stroll was a walking tour of one of the prettiest parks in Rome, and the sunlight was just perfect at dusk. The park is within walking distance of our campus, and it's called Villa Pamphili. It wasn't as green as I had imagined it would be, but that's because the rainy season hasn't started yet here in Rome. Let me tell you, it was about to start any day now, though, we were warned by Alex. After our relaxing walk, we decided to check out more of the night life in Rome. We went to La Maison, which is a night club right next to the Tiber River. The outdoor backdrop to the night club is this gorgeous old castle, since it's below the Castel Sant'Angelo (part of the Vatican). Shelby and I had lots of fun dancing the night away to American hip hop and R&B.

Friday meant another day of sleeping in- I have zero classes on Friday, thanks to the wonderful staff at AUR who decided not to schedule classes on that day. :) Shelby and I met Megan for lunch by Piazza Venezia and then we had our entire afternoon to shop. There were so many stores everywhere you looked! I mostly just tried on some outfits but really couldn't find any clothes that I loved. I'm still holding out to find the perfect leather jacket! We were also pretty close to the Spanish steps, so we decided to venture over there. It was still crowded with tourists, but then we heard someone say that Julia Roberts was nearby. There was a crowd of people outside Bulgari, and so we went down to check things out. There were several police officers and other guards outside the store front, so we figured we would wait and she would come out pretty soon. I had my camera ready to take a picture- Shelby had heard that she was filming a movie in Rome, and I knew that she was playing the role of Elizabeth Gilbert in the movie based on Gilbert's book, "Eat, Pray, Love." I read that book over the summer just because I was studying in Italy. I would highly recommend it. :) Anyways, long story short, we didn't see Julia Roberts; the police kept telling us to go away, there's no one inside the store to see. We had wasted about an hour of our time and we were dying in the heat of the afternoon, so we decided to go back to the apartment to take a siesta and cook dinner. It was time for dessert and I was craving some gelato or something sweet. We decided to go to Piazza Navona, since it's my absolute favorite place to go so far at night. The Steelers bar is also very near Piazza Navona, so it's almost like it's close to home. Shelby had heard about this excellent restaurant in the square that invented this dessert- it was called tartufo. OK, if you've gotten hungry from reading my previous posts, you're definitely going to get hungry after reading the next few sentences. Tartufo is a chocolate-covered cherry, only better. My mom would love this dessert, since she loves cherry cordials. The cherry is in the center of the dessert and they cover it with a huge scoop of chocolate gelato (which I actually enjoyed, btw!) and a layer of hardened chocolate surrounds the scoop of gelato. Add whipped cream on top and now you have to start digging for your cherry in the middle. It was really, really rich, but also soooooo delicious! After that, Shelby and I grabbed a drink at the Steelers bar and talked to Giovanni, the owner, for a bit, then called it a night. Luckily, the Steelers had won Thursday's game in overtime, so I was glad to be from Pittsburgh. I'm definitely going to watch at least one game at the bar this semester. All in all, it was a great Friday in Rome!

On Saturday, we woke up in time to travel to Ostia to the beach yet again. Shelby and I just wanted to relax again and get our tan on! We only swam in the Mediterranean for about 10 minutes because the water was colder than it had been the last time we visited the beach. We had plans that night to do a pub crawl, so we took the train ride back towards the city of Rome (it takes about 25-30 minutes) and didn't get lost once on our way back to the apartment. I'm starting to get better acclimated with the city, but I still haven't been to even half the neighborhoods yet. Saturday evening started at my friend Megan's apartment. We met there to leave for the pub crawl, which began at the Spanish Steps. Megan signed us up for VIP treatment, so we were allowed into each bar first and we got T-shirts. They even served us pizza at the first pub! A pub crawl basically is visiting several bars in one night; in this case, it was four bars all around the city of Rome. It was really fun and we ended at Coyote Bar, which was more of a dance club. I won't say what time we arrived home because my grandmother would not want to know and she reads my blog regularly (LOL) but it was pretty late.

Sunday was another relaxing day- I had some homework to do, but not too much, so Shelby and I went to the center of the city for lunch. We tried a restaurant that someone had recommended to us on our first night in Rome. It was called Rosso Pomodoro, which translates to the Red Tomato. They have really good salads there and I tried the marinara salad with shrimp and a lemon dressing- it was refreshing to eat a good salad after all that pasta and pizza! We walked around the center of the city some more, and then I was ready to talk to some people back home on Skype. On our way back to the apartment, it started pouring down rain- Alex was right, the rainy season was about to start!! Luckily, I had my umbrella in my purse, so it covered Shelby and I until we were safely under cover. Sunday was Grandparents' Day, so I was able to talk to both of my grandmothers and my Pop Pop. I also talked with my mom and dad. I miss everyone back at home, but I know they enjoy hearing about all my stories and my new life in Rome, Italy!

Today, I had classes from 12:30 until 6:10, with some breaks in between. My opera class is still new to me- our professor gave us CDs to listen to and an assignment for next week. During the last half hour of classes, though, a reporter and crew came to our class from the Italian national TV station. I guess they broadcast all over the world, too, not just in Italy. They are putting together a story about American students studying in Italy and our view of the Italian culture. My roommate, Kelly, and I were both interviewed, so I might be on Italian news television in the near future! My marketing class (consumer behavior) was again really interactive and I like the group discussions in that class. Italian class is getting a little easier, as I'm trying to speak the language when I order at restaurants and speak it whenever I can. There are TONS of rules in the Italian language, though, and along with homework almost every night, it's a lot of work, but hopefully I'll be able to have a conversation in Italian by the end of the semester. I just worked on my Italian homework and did some reading. I guess it's back to the reality of being a student. I'll have to do more reading than normal this week, since I won't be back in Rome until Sunday evening. So it's pretty late and I'm getting tired, but I'll write again soon!

Ciao!

First Day of School!!

I mentioned before that AUR sponsors trips to several different places around Italy- including Tuscany, Capri, Assisi, and Pompeii. Well, sign-ups for those trips started on Monday morning at 9 AM, the first official day of classes at AUR. My roommates and I decided to wake up early to make sure we signed up for the trips we wanted. I will be traveling for a weekend in Tuscany (Florence and Pisa), a weekend to the island of Capri, and day trips to Assisi and Pompeii. I'm so excited to be able to travel around Italy and all over Europe. :-)

I didn't have class until 12:30 PM, so I went back to the apartment with Shelby. We stopped at a fruit market right by campus before going back and bought some fresh strawberries and grapes. I was glad that I finally found some strawberries to eat with my Nutella! Before going back to the apartment, I tried to go to the post office. The one closest to the bus stop was closed, so I had to walk like 5 or 6 blocks before I could find the next closes one. Then, I waited in line until I could try to use the little Italian phrases I know to order stamps and mail several cards to the States. I want to thank Aunt Gail for the CD and little book with important Italian phrases- it helped me buy 20 stamps or venti francobolli. It took almost an hour just to get to the post office and back- again, patience, patience, patience!

After grabbing a quick lunch at the apartment, I was off to my first class- it was Masterpieces of Italian Opera and I had class with Lizz and Kelly. The class is going to be a bit challenging, as I can't sing, but we get to see two operas as part of the class. Since opera was founded in Italy, I think that will be an awesome experience! My next class was Consumer Behavior, and after meeting the professor, Marshall Langer, I knew that I would love the class. It's really interactive and I know that I will learn a lot as long as I participate and become engaged with the rest of my class- I think that this class might help me with my career choice, but we'll see what happens. My last class of the day was Elementary Italian, and I think it's also going to be challenging, but it will force me to learn the language and be able to have some simple conversations in Italian.

Since it was Labor Day back in the States, I was able to talk to my parents again, as they both had the day off work. I recapped my "first day of school" to them and told them about my weekend. Then, Shelby, Liz, and I decided to see some of Rome at night- we ventured to the Pantheon, the Fontana di Trevi, and the Piazza Navona. I really love the Piazza Navona when it's lit up at night. There are several fountains in the piazza and lots of restaurants to choose from- it made us so hungry. But I had just eaten some caramel and chocolate gelato, so I was too full to sit down and eat a meal. Then, we tried to find the Steelers bar, La Botticella, near Piazza Navona. We easily were able to find it and met Giovanni Poggi, the owner of the bar. There was a Robert Morris flag hanging up in the bar, given to Giovanni by President Dell'Omo. It was pretty ironic that there was an IUP flag hanging up next to the RMU flag with a Virginia Tech penant underneath. I go to RMU, my mom went to IUP, and my brother, Donnie, goes to VT. It was nice to see some familiar things even though I was halfway across the world!

First Weekend in Roma

It was Friday already and I have been living in Rome for two whole days now! I still can't believe that I can walk by the Colosseum or Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi in Italian) whenever I want. And it's not really that far from our apartment- with public transportation, probably around 45 minutes to that part of the ancient city. One of the oddest places in the city, with its quaint charm, is the ancient ruins by Largo Argentina, the end of the #8 tram line. The ruins have become a refuge for the stray cats of the city. I know my younger brother, Aaron, would have loved to see it. Next time I pass by, I will take a picture and post it here just for him!

I also want to introduce you to my roommates. The girl I share a room with is Lizz, who attends Chatham College in Pittsburgh. She is from Michigan. Shelby is another roommate from New Jersey who attends Towson University. Kelly also goes to Towson and she's from New York. Liz attends Goucher College in Maryland and is from North Carolina. And finally, last but not least, Robin goes to UMBC and is from Maryland. So I would say we're a somewhat diverse group of girls living together in Rome! I'm so excited to grow, learn, and share in this study abroad experience with these girls.

On Friday, I still hadn't bought a converter for the electrical outlet, so I borrowed Shelby's to use to call my parents via Skype. I'm talking to them more than I thought I would be able, so it's good to stay in touch and see them on the web cam. I had orientation at AUR with Lizz. At orientation, we asked someone for directions to a store near school where we could buy electrical outlet converters. And we found the place and I finally had one to call my own! I was so excited to find a hairdryer too- it was only 9 euro, and I would be sharing it with Robin and Shelby.

Friday night, Lizz and I met up with our other roommates at Largo Argentina to see the Spanish Steps. It was really crowded with tourists- I will need to come back after the tourist season ends. We walked down a street with shops like Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, and Louis Vuitton. I knew I couldn't afford anything in those stores, but it was nice to look. We took the tram back to Trestevere and I had dessert- organic peach gelato in the Piazza di Santa Maria. It was delicious, as usual! Shelby, Liz, and I decided to go to a bar to have a drink. I tried limoncello for the first time- it's a lemon licquer. I liked it, but I probably won't drink it every time I go out. Liz told me that it tastes a little bit different at every bar, so I will try it a few more times while I'm in Italy.

On Saturday, we all took our time getting up and ready for the day. Then we went to the barbeque at AUR. We had burgers and it reminded me of a typical American picnic, with lots of music and people and fun. They were also having sign-ups for clubs- I decided to sign up for the Business Club and the Culture Club. I was also anticipating signing up for trips to travel around Italy, but those weren't until Monday. After the barbeque, I went back to the apartment with Kelly and Liz and indulged in my first Italian siesta. I wish more Americans took a break in the middle of the day to nap and relax. It felt so good to take a nap, even in the hot afternoon. Saturday night Shelby and I went out to an Irish pub, Scholars, where the bartenders speak English and there is lots of good music, just like at every typical pub. We met some more AUR students there and it was a fun night.

We were going to the beach on Sunday! The beach we were going to is called Ostia, and it's right outside Rome. I was so excited for this trip- I hadn't been to the beach all summer. I went to the beach in Copenhagen with Maria and the water was so pretty. Now I was excited to see the beautiful ocean in Italy. It took a long time to get to the beach- I'm slowly learning more patience. We met up with other AUR students on the #8 tram line. We had to take a bus to the train station- about 50 of us showed up for the trip! So it was difficult traveling with that many people. We caught the train and took it all the way to the end of the line. We had to take another bus to one of the prettier beaches, and then it was time to relax and bask in the sun! I swam for a little bit in the ocean, but sun-bathed most of the day. Only my back and a little bit of my chest was sun-burnt the next day. On our way back, Shelby and I were so hungry from our day in the sun, so we stopped at a ristorante. I had a traditional serving of bruschetta with tomato and basil drizzled with olive oil. Then I ordered cheese ravioli and some red house wine. It was a delicious meal! I tried some of Shelby's penne with vodka sauce, and it was good. And for just the two of us, the meal was only 24 euro- not too bad! I went to bed early so that I would be fully rested for my first day of classes at AUR.

When In Rome...

My flight to Rome from Copenhagen left at 9:45 AM on Wednesday morning, which meant I needed to be at the airport by 7:45 AM. Maria's mom normally drives by the airport on her way to work, so she picked me up at Maria's apartment and helped me check in for my flight. I had no problems at the airport; I've just learned that airports = lots of waiting! But patience will be something I need to gain in Italy anyways! My flight arrived earlier than scheduled- we were supposed to land at 12:20 PM, but we landed right at noon. I had to wait a little longer for my luggage, but I was lucky again- no lost luggage! Alex from California is a graduate student at AUR and he was the first person to greet me at the Rome airport. I made several friends with other students, including Megan and Tyler. After waiting for more students to arrive, we hopped in a van to our apartments.

I was the only person in my van to be dropped off at the apartment. All the other girls were living together in an apartment closer to school. I made sure my keys worked and was greeted by four of my roommates, who went through Towson's study abroad program to come to Rome- but more about the girls later. After spending some time unpacking, I went to the campus of AUR with my roommates. They were having a walking tour of Rome, so we would get to see some of the sights. I was trying to take in the streets of the city as we rode the bus to the university. I hoped that I would remember how to get to school and back on my own.

The walking tour of Rome was another great opportunity to meet other students and see the city. Only a block away from the university is a breathtaking view of the ancient city. Then, we walked down to the medieval neighborhood of Trestevere to the Piazza of Santa Maria. Finally, something familiar- the church of St. Marys in Trestevere is one of the oldest in the city, and the Pope even comes to say Mass there every so often. All the piazzas in Rome are so beautiful, filled with lots of people, with at least one water fountain. There was an organic gelateria near the piazza- I had blueberry and white chocolate gelato as my first taste of gelato in Italy. It was so delicious. There are lots of pizza places and other restaurants in Trestevere. We also walked past several ruins, by what is left of Caesar's Palace and the Roman Forum, and we ended at the Colosseum at night. It is a beautiful sight to see when it's all lit up at night!

On Thursday, we hopped on a bus again and caught the tram to go grocery shopping. I really hope I get the hang of this transportation system- it's a little bit harder to learn than the Metro in DC. We had somewhat of a difficulty finding the grocery store called SMA. But we also found a UPIM next to the grocery store. At UPIM, we could find clothes and shampoo in the same store- Shawn, a student from RMU who studied in Rome in the spring semester, told me it was like a mini-Ikea. I found some slippers to wear around the apartment, both as a courtesy to my neighbor and to keep my feet from getting dirty. After unpacking our groceries, I went back to the university to fill out my paperwork for my permit to stay and got my Italian cell phone. I still needed to find an adapter for the electrical outlet and a hairdryer. Thursday night we went to the opening of a bar called Anime in Piazza Navona. Piazza Navona has lots of fountains and was one of the filming locations for the movie Angels and Demons, starring Tom Hanks! I also know that the "Steeler Bar" in Rome is near the Piazza Navona, so I'm sure I'll be in that area again. I went to the bar with 3 of my other roommates, and it was lots of fun! It was an American bar, so I was able to order in English and many American students were there.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=137612&id=528998034

Above is the link to more pictures from Denmark!

Danishes in Denmark

OK, so I know that I haven't written in almost a week, but I've been busy seeing Copenhagen and other places in Denmark and as soon as I get a routine going in Rome (yes, I've made it to Italy since you've last heard from me!!), I'll figure out the best time to write and keep you updated.

Now on to my last three days in Denmark. I started getting used to the time change, and Maria's parents offered to take me to tourist sites in Copenhagen and Helsingor, two cities in Denmark. Before leaving Copenhagen, we stopped by the Little Mermaid, a statue of a mermaid right in the harbor. The Disney movie (one of my favorites- some of you remember that I had a Little Mermaid sheets and a comforter on my bed when I was younger!) is probably based somewhat on the story by Hans Christian Anderson. Maria's parents thought it was important that I have a picture with the Little Mermaid, who is supposedly traveling to China or somewhere in Asia to be on display there. We also drove by the Danish queen's home on our way out of the city.

To Helsingor, Denmark we went! Here is the "Hamlet Castle," better known at the Kromborg castle to the Danish people. Supposedly, this castle inspired William Shakespeare to write the play Hamlet, with Prince Hamlet of Denmark as the main character who carries out the famous "To be or not to be, that is the question" monologue know to so many around the world. In the courtyard of the castle was a stage where actors perform the play daily. The day we toured the castle, Jude Law was playing Hamlet for the last time, but we missed the performance by a couple hours. The castle had lots of medieval aspects to it- I loved looking at the old fireplaces and mantelpieces and the artwork on the walls. We drove back to Copenhagen along the coast again and the ocean here is really blue. The beaches aren't really as big as they are in America. And Sweden is so close to Denmark- at one point, I think the strait of water dividing Denmark from Sweden was about 4 km. So if you were a strong enough swimmer, you could probably swim from one country to another if you wanted to. On our way back to Copenhagen, we stopped at a cafe and had a smorrebrod, which is an open-faced sandwich. Mine came with chicken, tomato, bacon, cucumber, and two slices of toasted, dark rye bread. It was delicious and I'm glad I was able to experience an authentic Danish meal. That night, we also went to a neighborhood past the Copenhagen airport near a harbor where there were lots of typical Danish houses. I really enjoyed just walking, but it's a little bit cooler in Denmark than it is in St. Marys, PA, right after dinnertime.

My Monday in Copenhagen was nice and relaxing! We had pizza for lunch, after I woke up at 12:30 PM (I guess I still had jet lag at that point). Maria had taken a physics exam earlier that morning, so I really hope she passes. We went shopping for awhile at H & M, and then sipped lattes at a cafe before going to her parents' house for dinner. They cooked salmon and rice and it was delicious! And of course, we had ice cream with pineapple and raspberries for dessert. It felt like I was almost back home as I sat down to eat with Maria's mom, dad, sister and her sister's boyfriend, except for the fact that they spoke Danish sometimes and their family doesn't look like the Meier family at all!

But on Tuesday, I was ready to go and see the sights. Luckily, Maria owns 2 bicycles, so we were going to see Copenhagen from the perspective of riding a bike around the city. Maria's mother told me that it's the easiest form of transportation because so many citizens ride their bikes to work and school and it's a very environmentally-friendly city because of that fact. There are bicycle paths on almost every road, but I hadn't ridden a bike in almost 7 or 8 years, I bet. The city is mostly flat, so I only had to climb one or two hills. Maria wanted me to experience what a real Danish pastry tastes like, so we went down toward the center of the city to a great bakery. I chose a pastry with frosting and sprinkles as my breakfast. It was so good and now I had energy to go for the entire day. We sat by the canal that was in the city for a little while, then we were out to see the sights.

Our first stop was a church with an interesting story about its spire. Supposedly, the architect who desired the spiral tower for the church thought it should go one way, but they builders constructed it backwards, and so the story goes, the architect was so upset, he jumped off the top of the tower. We were going to go to the top to see the view of the city, but it cost too many kroner and I got a much better picture of the church from a view at the Copenhagen harbor.

From the harbor, you can see landmarks of the city. We saw a harbour bus, which is a boat used for public transportation. We also saw the Copenhagen Opera House, built about 4 years ago and designed by the same architect as the Sydney Opera House. Also, the architecture school in Copenhagen is down by the harbor. Maria's roommate goes to graduate school there.

We rode our bikes about 15 minutes to the beach and just enjoyed the sun there for a while. On the way to our next destination, the chain on my bicycle came off from riding over a bump. What an adventure! Maria was luckily able to fix it, and we were on our way again! Then, we went to King's Garden, another place in Copenhagen complete with a castle. We didn't go near the castle, though, we just had a blanket and laid out in the sun on the grass. Lots of young people go there to talk and just relax. Then, we went to the Hans Christian Andersen statue to get my picture with him. Copenhagen's City Hall is right next to the statue as well as hot dog vendors. I had a real Danish hot dog with roasted onions and ketchup. And even though I normally don't like my hot dog buns toasted, that's how they serve them in Denmark, and I thought it was delicious!

On our way back to Maria's apartment, it was around 5 PM and it was rush hour. I had to be a lot more careful on my bike to make sure the chain didn't come off, but both of us arrived at Maria's apartment in one piece. That night, we went to Tivoli Gardens. It's an amusement park not too far from her apartment. The amusement park is full of gardens and restaurants, not like the typical Six Flags in America. There are lots of lights and a concert stage and fun rides. Maria doesn't like riding, so I bought a ticket to the Demon, which is a roller coaster where you go upside down. I hadn't been to an amusement park at all this summer, so it was fun to have the wind blowing in my face as I was riding. Our night at Tivoli was really fun and a great ending to a visit with my friend, Maria. Now I was off to Rome!