Last Wednesday, on what seemed to be the hottest day of the year, our program visited Vatican City. Unfortunately for us, we had to follow a strict dress code of covered knees, covered shoulders, and covered toes. The security guards were incredibly strict about these rules, because it's not like the Vatican has bigger problems to deal with or anything. For future reference, don't get caught taking pictures in the Sistine Chapel. They'll have you deported. (It's like a two minute walk, it's totally fine) By the end of the day it looked like I had showered. Also, I found out that I was dehydrating myself by drinking mineral water that had a substantially high concentration of sodium. I'm all for electrolytes but I was practically drinking designer ocean water. It wasn't the healthiest thing in the world. After I got back to campus and took about twenty showers, I drank my weight in Gatorade and sat down to do homework. I had almost forgotten that study abroad has to involve studying somewhere. Pity.
On Thursday we visited a few of the National Museums of Rome, most of which had a fantastic amount of statues to imitate. Our textbook probably put it best: "oh no, not another pile of broken marble!!" The beauty of Rome is in its ruins, but it's hard to keep a group of thirty something college kids focused on the beauty of a pile of marble. This weekend we're going to Florence and I'm very excited to finally see some Renaissance paintings! I love marble, and all, but there are about as many broken statues of Roman emperors here as there are nail salons in New Jersey. (Possibly more...which is saying something.)
Before the sun rose on Friday morning, we boarded a bus for our first weekend trip: Pompeii, Paestum, and Naples. I had seen Pompeii 10 years ago when my family had visited Italy, but I had honestly forgotten most of it. With more mature eyes, I couldn't believe how extensive Pompeii was. As a ten year old, I'm pretty sure I only had pasta on my mind and I didn't take in all of the historical and archeological facts. Because Pompeii is practically in the desert, it was also hot as hell. However, there was zero dress code so I was free to wear hiking attire. Thank God. The inhabitants of Pompeii might've invented cross walks, bakeries, and bath houses, but they didn't invent shade or air conditioning. I mean it's not their fault, they only had rocks to work with. (Notice a theme?)
After our tour we took a shopping break and I managed to talk my way into a half priced necklace. However, the owner of the shop kept creepily calling me a beautiful Italian woman so I probably shouldn't have fostered his business. Europeans seem to know no boundaries. (Side note: today while walking through a Piazza, I ignored a street vendor and he said I was ugly, told me not to come back to Rome, and said that I didn't deserve a vacation. Lovely people here. Simply lovely. Points for creativity, sir, but my ancestors will probably kick you in the butt. So beware.)
After Pompeii, we traveled further south to Paestum, which seemed to be the world's smallest beach town. There was one super market, three restaurants, two clothing stores, and one hotel. I'm pretty sure we gave the town more business in one weekend than they've gotten in about three years. The hotel we stayed at was nice, but it had strange quirks. For one, the WiFi password was afrodite69. So, if Aphrodite had an afro? Also, the showers only emitted cold water, which made for some bitter wake-up calls. We decided to go to Paestum in the first place because there are incredibly well preserved ruins of Greek temples dedicated to Hera and Athena, as well as fresh Buffalo Mozzarella. (It's Godly, no pun intended.) In one of Paestum's museums we saw the Tomb of the Diver, which is the oldest painting that was ever found. It's strange how such a small town can have such an extensive portion of history.
Apart from priceless and ancient art and architecture, Paestum also had a lovely beach, even though it was about the size of PC's quad. We spent the majority of our time tanning and swimming in the Mediterranean. The salt water and sea air were cathartic, as well as the tanned and toned natives who played soccer in front of us. Talk about nice views. However, by the second night, our bus driver was so bored that he took us to the neighboring town of Agropoli to watch a soccer game. Er, football match. Even though we were deep in the heart of Italy, the majority of the natives were rooting for Barcelona to win.
On Sunday, after we ran out of things to do in Paestum, we traveled to Naples to visit an art museum. I had an oddly sentimental feeling being in Naples, considering a majority of my Italian great-grandparents lived there at one point and departed from its port to settle in New York. In fact, one of my great-grandfathers left Naples twice, because New York denied him the first time. So Naples must've been quite a bad place to live at that point in history. That's Mistretta dedication.
The pizza in New York is great and all but the pizza in Naples was unreal: like the direct opposite of Rhode Island pizza. (Sorry, New Englanders, it's not your fault you have bad water.) We had lunch at the critically acclaimed "second best Pizza in Italy," because the restaurant that made the number one best Pizza was closed on Sunday. But the second best was pretty fantastic. I miss that pizza already. With full stomachs and happy hearts, we boarded the bus for one last time and came back to home sweet Rome. As much as I loved experiencing small town Italy for a weekend, I had really missed the atmosphere in Rome. Many people compare Rome to Manhattan but there's really no comparison. Manhattan is crowded, loud, rushed, and grey. Rome is crowded, hushed, slowed down (except for those vespas) and colorful. You can't find the history of Rome anywhere else in the world. Every ally way, every street corner, every Piazza has so much character and history and ease. I feel so at home here, but I don't want to un-do the Americanization that my ancestors tried so hard for. So yes, friends and family, I will eventually return to the states. But for now, Rome is my hometown.
Ciao,
Sue :)
The inhabitants of Pompeii were short, so I found a door that was just right.
Paid my dues to the Goddess Athena.
"AND I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU"
This guy kinda looks like my ancestors.
Tomb of the Diver: the oldest painting recovered.
Content with my fedora and sandwich.
My heart is happy, that you are. <3
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