Rome Is Where the Heart Is: First Day of Class

So you have NEVER been lost until you are without a phone, in a foreign city, with a language barrier, completely alone, and you have a time limit before class starts... That was me this morning. None of my roommates had class this morning so I decided to try to venture to class by myself. I gave myself an hour and fifteen minutes just in case and I needed it. I walked very quickly and didn't linger too long anywhere. Of course I got lost on the way there and on the way back. "Stupid American" didn't know there was a big difference between Navona and Nuova but I did make it to class and I will not be going alone ever again! I will admit it was a very victorious feeling when I finally made it.

My art history and world civ 1 class were combined today and I had no idea how it was going to go. Both professors Jacobs and McCoy lectured for about 30 minutes each, although they didn't get as much as they wanted in and they took a little longer than they wanted to. Then it took us 30 minutes to get to the site we were touring today, Musei Capitolini. We got to view the Greek art that we had talked about in class and it was a great reinforcement to look for the style and characteristics of each time period. Professor McCoy added some of the historic backgrounds of sculptures and inscriptions such as the bronze of the she-wolf and the twins Romulus and Remus which came from the legend of the founding of Rome. We took a lot longer than our class from 9-12. We actually went until 1:30 or 2. But it was so worth it and what better way to spend time!

On our walk back to the University we went by 3 gelato shops that all had different flavors. It's amazing! Did you know that 55% of gelato in Italy is handmade? Good thing we walk everywhere!

By the time I finally found Anne and Kat I was so desperate to finally be back at the apartment after getting lost so much I like attacked them haha. We went to another grocery store and found breads, jams, fruit, juice, and pasta so we don't eat out so much. It's so fun having our own kitchen!

This afternoon we went to the big street with lots of shopping. We bought shirts, Anne found a sweet leather jacket, I found a leather belt, and it was so hard not to impulse buy. But we had so much fun. Then we had dinner at this lovely restaurant outside and I got handmade tortellini filled with pumpkin, cheese, and topped with sage and butter. WOW. It was so delicious. We saw the Trevi Fountain by night and walked allllll the way back to our apartments.

I am absolutely exhausted after every day. There is too much to do and not enough time to sleep, oh the college life ;)

We are going on a day trip to Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este with our big group tomorrow!

Salve!

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius - the fake one in front of the museum.

Bronze Capitoline Wolf with Remus and Romulus added during the Renaissance

Early Greek Paintings on jugs. This one is a black-figure.

Marcus Aurelius real bronze - ultimate portrayal of an emperor's power

Hellenistic Period sculptures were developing more realism - detail of the lion biting and the horse's expression of pain

Capitoline Venus - Greek beginnings of female nudes and this portrays the contrapposto where the body's weight is shifted with a bent leg and starting to turn. This emphasizes movement.