Eat. Play. Love Italy.: The Highlight Reel: Close to Home

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." -Henry Miller

Hometown Love in Rome Sweet Rome

Initially, I was crushed by the realization that I would not see Greece this fall break. I wasn't ready to lose my money, I didn't want to come home, and those drivers on strike would just be getting a piece of my mind as we bartered our way to a hostel from the airport. But sometimes thing don't go as planned and there isn't a thing you can do. This phenomenon of the diverted agenda (nothing new, I know) seems to occur quite repeatedly on study abroad and it is one I have always struggled with. When things don't go 100 percent right, it is my natural reaction to freak out...a lot. Being abroad, you learn that you really just have to suck it up and proceed onward. And when I returned to Rome a few days earlier than expected, I realized what a privilege it would be to see my home city with new eyes, free from the constraints of classes and deadlines.

I developed a new, predictably ambitious agenda for Roman sightseeing and was again made aware that things don't always go according to schedule. I am not superwoman and I need sleep. When we got in Thursday midday, I expected to tackle a few sights right off the bat and learned that I needed a solid day of recovery from all of the Spanish travels. So I cut myself some slack, threw in the laundry and planned for Friday. Luckily, we did make it to the Jewish ghetto midday Friday and headed to Taverna del Ghetto to try some fried artichokes, salted cod and zucchini fritters. The crispy, crunchy cod was definitely our favorite and I am glad we finally figured out where the small ghetto was located in relation to the rest of the city. It slipped my mind that the restaurants would all close up for Shabbat so we are anxious to make our return for creamy pastries from Boccione, winning Roman Jewish cuisine at Ba'Ghetto and a tour of Rome's gorgeous synagogue (see photo below). We also visited the Portico of Ottavia next door, dedicated by Augustus, Rome's first emperor, to his sister in the 1st century BC. The portico has an interesting history of destruction and resurrection and once served as the city's fish market in the late 1900s.

Our afternoon consisted of another tour through Trastevere. I have made many a mention of the vibrant neighborhood on my blog and that is because it is so chock-full of great restaurants, lively markets, and happening bars. It is a focal point for all study abroad students I have encountered. We finally savored a view of the Church of Santa Maria--its crisp golden detailing is shown below--so lovely! We also stopped into a few sweet shops for chocolate pastries and finally found the location of the world's best cannolis (I don't need to sample any more, I strongly assert their top-contender status).

Maybe our day wasn't revolutionary. We weren't in Portugal or Turkey, we weren't wandering sun-kissed beaches, we didn't climb Mount Kilimanjaro. But we were truly savoring the meaning of living in such a spectacular city. We're seeing things a new way (see H. Miller's quote). Sure, some days I need to bury myself under the covers or Skype with my best friends from home who I'm aching to eat tubfuls of Ben & Jerry's with. Still, I cannot forget how much there is to embrace beyond my apartment door. This last month and a half, I am striving to see better. Not necessarily to see more, but to praise and prize the cobblestone beneath my feat, to treasure each church tour no matter how many darn cosmatesque floors I have seen, and to truly appreciate the experience that has been handed to me. So I am grateful that, despite a few shattered plans, I was given this comfy cozy Roman weekend.

One of my International Relations teacher's recommendations

The Jewish Ghetto

Portico of Octavia

By Rome's Synagogue

The hospital on an island in the Tiber...crossing over to Trastevere

Chiesa di Santa Maria in Trastevere

You've got to love that golden sparkle and shine!

Burnt Sienna

After a day of genuine gratitude for Roma, we decided to extend our appreciation to greater Italy. Destination: Siena. Remember Burnt Sienna? That almost auburn shade in your crayon box that you were always puzzled by (when you weren't musing over the mystery of how green-yellow and yellow-green are two different Crayola colors)? Well, that shade was actually named after this medieval Tuscan hill-town. The buildings surrounding Il Campo, its central piazza, are the same color as the maroon soil of the city. Hence, burnt sienna (alternate spelling of Siena), a color I always resented a little when I had to churn out three acrylic paintings overnight for high school art class, but have now come to appreciate, especially after our short visit.

After de-boarding our train and taking a brief bus ride up a windy Tuscan hill, we stopped into the Basilica of San Domenico where you can see the actual head and thumb of Saint Catherine. The church was satisfactory; after seeing so many beautiful, immaculate places of worship in Roma, "pretty" just doesn't cut it. And the whole decapitated head of an actual saint thing...sort of creepy.

Next up was a straight shot to Trattoria La Torre for lunch, a Rick Steves recommendation. I was particularly struck by the fact that you don't get a paper menu at this place. Our waiter came up to us and asked us point-blank what pasta we wanted. When we couldn't respond in the next ten seconds, he ordered for us and I wasn't angry about this. He waltzed over with green tortellini filled with fresh pesto, cheesy, plump ravioli with a brown butter sauce and thick, stringy noodles in a hearty meat sauce. The pastas were followed by veal ossobuco in a rich tomato sauce and a crispy spiced duck platter. Energized, we headed to Il Campo to plan out the rest of our day.

After consulting Megan's guidebook, we decided to climb 300 steps to the top of Torre Del Mangia, the clock tower that offers the perfect panorama of the entire city. While I had to duck and curve into some odd and unnatural positions for a tall girl while winding up the very narrow staircase to the top, the trek was so worth it. Megan, Kristen and I also wanted to see the duomo, but a religious ceremony prevented us from entering. Ultimately, the day was comprised of a lot of wandering, espresso drinking and gelato eating. We were all frustrated when we were kicked off of our train home for not having printed tickets. Guess they don't do the whole smart phone check in thing in Tuscany. Had to learn that one the hard way, but we boarded the next train a few hours later and were home sweet home in Monteverde by around midnight. All in all, I would say that we saw 70 to 80 percent of the town in the six hours we were there. So I realized that while I liked the visit, I could never study abroad in such a confined town.