Author Archives: rsp5081

Home Sweet Home!

I’M HOME!!! I’ve never been more excited to get on a plane than I was on Friday. I was so excited all week to get back home. I literally said “I’M SO EXCITED” about 5 times an hour everyday this week. My 10 hour flight from Rome to Philly landed at 3pm and I was so happy to be back in the US. My connecting flight to LaGuardia was supposed to leave at 5:35, but that ended up being delayed until 6:49 and then finally cancelled. I was REALLY annoyed and upset because all I wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed. I called my boyfriend and my family to tell them my flight was cancelled and my boyfriend, being the AMAZING guy that he is decided to drive 3 hours to pick me up! I was so excited because I missed him SO much. We spent an amazing night and day (Saturday) together and I finally got back home last night. It feels so good to be back. I don’t miss Rome too much yet, But I’m sure I will soon. For now I’m just enjoying the company of my loved ones.

Studying abroad was definitely one of the best decisions and experiences of my life and if I could do it all over again I definitely would!

Location: Bronx, New York

Summer Camp!

This past Tuesday we had a feel trip to an Italian sleep-away camp. I had SO much fun there! Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take pictures so I have none to share with you all. 🙁

Before I got to the camp I wasn’t really in a good mood because I really missed home and I just wanted the week to be over already, but once I got there my mood changed completely. The children were so polite and friendly. When it was lunch time, they set the table and served us lunch on the picnic tables outside. They went into the kitchen and brought each course out to us. When they brought the food to the table they served us first, then their friends, and themselves last. We taught them the Cha-Cha slide, and they taught us a traditional Italian dance. We played lots of games with them outside and they just loved everything.They even taught us a little bit of Italian since most of them spoke more than one language. It was really an awesome field trip. I wish we had the chance to have more field trips like this one while we were in Rome.

Location: Rome, Italy

THEY SPEAK ENGLISH!!

While I was in Paris, I took a day trip to London on the Eurorail to visit my friend who’s studying there. The Eurorail took about 3 hours (It should have been 2) because they found a stowaway on the train and we had to wait for the proper authorities to arrive. When I got to London the sun was shining bright and the skies were clear. I called my friend to let her know I was there and she asked me how the weather was outside. At this point I was burning up because I had dressed for rain and cold- the typical weather in London. As soon as I finished telling her how nice it was outside and how I wished I’d brought sunglasses, it started POURING! People always say how unpredictable the weather is in London, but I had no idea it was that fickle.

It was so refreshing to be able to speak English freely and have people understand me! Definitely a nice change from Italian and French haha!

I met up with my friend at Westminster and she took me to see Big Ben and the London Eye. Afterwards we went to and Indian restaurant because we were starving and craving Indian food. I learned that Chicken Tikka Masala (an Indian dish) is actually more popular in London than fish and chips like everyone thinks.

London Eye

Big Ben

I ended the day with some shopping around Oxford Circus before I had to get back to the station to catch my train back to Paris. London was definitely worth the trip!

Location: London, UK

Oui, Oui! Paris!

I went to Paris last weekend and I was actually a little envious that I wasn’t studying there. It LOVED it. So much that I told my boyfriend that I wanted to learn French and move to Paris for a year. He quickly brought me down off of my Paris high and made me snap back to reality.

I loved the French people, the French food, the French music.. Just everything Paris had to offer. I felt like I just belonged there, and apparently other people felt the same way too because I was asked for directions 3 times- in FRENCH. And 3 people asked if I was Parisian. I was flattered, but unfortunately I was no help to the lost travelers.

At the top of the Eiffel tower

During my trip to Paris, I climbed the Eiffel Tower, climbed the Arc de Triomphe, went shopping on Champs-Elysses, visited the Sacre Coure, and Notre Dame, ate croissants for breakfast, and had crepes for lunch. I truly enjoyed Paris and I will definitely be back again. Paris is definitely my favorite European city!

Steps inside the tower

Paris from the top of the Eiffel tower

Champs- Elysses from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe

Au revoir!

Location: Paris, France

Papal Audience

Earlier this week we went to the papal audience gathering at the Vatican and got blessed by the pope, Pope Benedict XVI. He is just the cutest little old man! He rode around the audience in his pope-mobile and waved at everyone. Cardinals that represented all the different languages spoken around the world introduced the groups of people who spoke their language to be blessed by the pope.

At first, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this experience, but it was very interesting and I’m glad I went. It was a really good way to experience the connection between Italians and the Catholic Church firsthand.

Location: Vatican City, Italy

I fell in love with the Amalfi Coast!

Last weekend I went to the Amalfi Coast with a couple of the girls in my program and I LOVED IT! I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast in a small town called Maiori. Our B&B was called Palazzo Coco & we had to climb 170 stairs (yes you read that right) to get to it, since it was situated at a higher level than the main roads. The view was beautiful and so worth it though! Even though we were struggling and complaining the whole way up, we immediately stopped once we got to our B&B and saw the amazing view and hot tub on the roof!

Antonio, the owner of our B&B was amazing! He booked a cruise to Capri for us, made breakfast and brought it up to our balcony, and recommended this AMAZING restaurant where I had the best meal of my life!

Our food at dinner was amazing and the waiters were so wonderful. They gave us so much free wine and dessert. The service was just great. We liked the food so much that we went to the same restaurant for dinner the next night.

We also took a boat inside the Blue Grotto. Pictures just don’t do it justice, but I’ll share anyway.

If you ever go to the Amalfi Coast, stay at the Palazzo Coco in Maiori & I gaurantee you will love it!

Ciao!

Location: Maiori, Amalfi Coast, Italy

Tiramisu!

Today my professor came over to our apartment for our first Italian cooking lesson & we made chocolate tiramisu (which was DELICIOUS). At first I was a little apprehensive because we weren’t using expresso or raw eggs like you’re supposed to, but it ended up being great anyway so I didn’t mind. We split into two groups of 7 and made two batches of tiramisu. (I think my group made the better batch! lol)We watched a movie about the Medici family from Florence after we finished making it so we could put it in the fridge for it to set for a few hours.

Here’s the recipe we used!

Semi-Classic Tiramisu

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes Ready In: 2 Hours
Servings: 12

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs, separated (eggs MUST be refrigerated)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup whole milk
2 packages mascarpone cheese (250 grams)
1 (300 grams) package ladyfingers (Savoiardi) 3 cups espresso (or chocolate milk)
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder,
for dusting

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine egg yolks, milk, and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whip yolks until thick and lemon colored.

2. Add mascarpone to whipped yolks. Beat until combined. Put in the refrigerator to cool. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whip egg whites to stiff peaks. Gently fold into yolk mixture and set aside.

3. Dip the lady fingers in either the espresso or the chocolate milk, and line the bottom and sides of a large glass bowl. Spoon half of the egg filling over the lady fingers. Repeat ladyfingers and filling layers. Garnish with cocoa. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

And here are some photos of the finished product!

My group’s tiramisu

Tiramisu showdown!

Ciao for now!

Location: Trastevere, Rome, Italy

Oh Italy!

As of today I have been in Italy for 17 days (Wow! It doesn’t even seem like it’s been that long). I am staying in a neighborhood called Trastevere in Rome where I live with 14 other girls at the Santa Maria in Capella apartments. So much has happened in the past two and a half weeks, I don’t even know where to begin!

When I first got to Rome, so many places reminded me of New York City, and it didn’t really feel like I was in Italy for a while. I’m still not exactly sure when it hit me, but now I have fallen in love with this country. During the second week of my program, we had a field trip to Venice and Florence. After Florence, I went to Cinque Terre with two of the other girls in the program. That was probably one of the best weeks of my life. In Venice, we rode on a gondola across the Grand Canal and bought Venetian paper mache’ carnival masks. In Florence we bought leather purses and bags from the leather markets, saw the David at the Accademia and visited the Duomo during our walking tour of the city. In Cinque Terre (which means “five lands”) we hiked through the 5 towns on the coast and watched the sun set as we lay out on the rocks by the water. At the end of the week, I couldn’t wait to get back to Rome because I truly missed it.

The third week of my program is coming to an end already and before you know it I’ll be back at home in the Bronx. I’m trying to enjoy this experience as much as I can while still managing to stay on top of my work. This past week the work load was pretty heavy, but I’ve gotten through it. Our readings and papers for class coincide with our many field trips, so it’s really interesting to be able to apply what we’ve learned from our readings when we see the historic monuments in person. Last night we had a reading about the Di Veroli family, who lived in Rome’s Jewish ghetto and today we took a field trip to visit the Jewish ghetto. While we were there, we actually saw the site where Umberto Di Veroli had his shop in Italy sho many years ago.

Rome has become my home away from home. I will continue to gorge myself on pizza, pasta and gelato as much as I can until it’s time for me to say arrivederci to this place. Here are some of the amazing pictures I’ve taken so far.

Sunset in Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre

Hiking in Cinque Terre

Water in Cinque Terre

Color replica of the David

The Duomo

Florence

Grand Canal

Venetian Carnival Masks

Trevi Fountain

Inside the Colosseum