To say that the past week has been a whirlwind would be the biggest understatement ever. Although I have only been in Italy for a week, I feel like I have been here for a month. Having spent the first week in Rome, we were constantly been on the go, seeing something new and amazing everyday. Now that we have finally settled into Todi with our respective host families however, I have much more time to write a proper entry about our first week in Italy!
I arrived in Rome last Friday afternoon, and after settling in a bit and taking a short nap, I met up with the rest of the group who had already arrived. We chose to meet at the Colosseum, which is an extraordinarily beautiful part of Roman history. The small group of us then went out to dinner, where we enjoyed delicious pizza, pasta, wine, and even had a couple people playing the accordion for us right next to our dinner table. It was literally the perfect dinner to have on our first night here.
Sunday, we finally met up with everyone else in the program, took a walking tour of some churches and other well-known sites in Rome, and then went to a late lunch. We unfortunately got stuck in a sudden downpour, and were all soaked from head to toe! I think the lack of sleep and jet lag had finally caught up with me, because as soon as we got back to the hotel, I fell right asleep!
Monday was our first day of touring as a group, and we visited the Roman Forum followed by the Colosseum. We then had the afternoon to ourselves, so we grabbed a bite to eat then did some shopping around the Trevi Fountain. Later Monday night, we all found a restaurant, Taverno Flavia, where we were once again treated to delicious food, wine, and live guitar playing. A few of us then wandered around Rome a bit, to get a feel for what was around the hotel area.
Tuesday, we went to the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s as well. All of the artwork in the museum was beautiful, and at the end of the tour, we saw the Sistine Chapel… it was absolutely gorgeous. We also climbed all the way to the top of the dome in the Vatican… over 1000 stairs up and back. It was a bit tiring, but so worth it. The views from the top of the church were breathtaking, you could see all of Rome. It. Was. Awesome.
Wednesday, we went to the Borghese Gallery, where we saw a variety of beautiful paintings and sculptures. We had the rest of the afternoon free, so a group of us walked to the Spanish Steps and then grabbed lunch at the McDonald’s nearby… Judge if you want, however this McDonald’s was nicer than many restaurants back home… Tile floors, marble walls, semi-circular booths, and a great decoration style. It was by far the classiest looking fast food restaurant I have ever seen. We then went back to the hotel to rest a bit, and we all went out to dinner at a restaurant we had come across earlier in the week in Rome near the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain.
Thursday morning, we left Hotel Montecarlo, and were en route to Todi, where we will be living for the next six weeks. On the way, we stopped at Villa d’Este, which has beautiful gardens and fountains. We then had our first semi-art lesson, and each had to do three different drawings in our sketchbooks, including a close up and architecture.
We arrived in Todi Thursday afternoon, and met our families in town. We all left with our host families, and got all settled in. Pictures of Todi are not yet uploaded to my computer, but will be up soon! I am living with one other student, Serena, kind of a little ways out from town but still beautiful. I’m so excited for all the adventures Todi has in store for us, more to come soon!
Ciao!
Location: Todi, Italy
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The views and the patterns of the city are so well-planned and beautiful!
I love your photo of the spiral staircase!