Day 38 (7/12/11):

We had a couple new people in class today! It seems like such a rare thing these past few weeks, when it was so common my first few weeks here. We spent the class reviewing homework, then did group activities for a while. At intensive, I was the only one there for the first 10 minutes! It was weird, but kind of nice to have so much talking time with AnneMarie. Eventually a few more people showed up, and we listened to an audio conversation and tried to understand what they were talking about. It was a little difficult, but good practice.

After school I wanted to sit for a bit with lunch and catch up in my journal. I went to a place called Insalata Ricca and had a great salad of mixed greens with red peppers, egg, shrimp, and chicken. Yum!!

After lunch I went back to my apartment for a short while to double check some information on things I wanted to do for the afternoon. I figured I would take my Rome book an do a walking tour of Trastevere to get to know it a bit better, then go to the top of the Gianicolo Hill to watch the sunset and see the view.

My first stop in Trastevere was the Church of Saint Cecilia, where the crypt of Saint Cecilia is. There is a replica of the tombstone in the catacombs. Then I walked to the Church of Saint Francis. The doors were open a bit, so I slipped inside, but there were 4 women there saying a prayer aloud, and I felt like I was intruding so I slowly backed outside. The altar looked beautiful, though. My next stop was Santa Maria in Trastevere, where I learned that a feast would be starting soon! I love the feasts in thee North End at home, and was really looking forward to experiencing one while in Italy.

I noticed a museum along the way to Gianicolo, and it was nowhere near the time for sunset (the best time to be at the top of the hill), so I stopped inside for a bit. Galleria Corsini was okay. I may have been a little too hot and tired for it at the time, but it is very small for what it costs to get inside, and 95% of the museum is filled with religious paintings that I've seen at other museums. It was a little disappointing.

From there, I began the ascent to the top of Gianicolo. The first terrace had a really great view of the city center, and I sat there for a while doing some homework and enjoying people watching. I guess I looked like I belonged, too, because people asked me for directions in Italian! The second level had even more beautiful views! Lots of people were there, enjoying a drink or a gelato, and the sunset was gorgeous. I stayed there for a while, and then eventually made my way down the hill and walked back home for the evening… not before stopping at my favorite gelato place, of course! ;o)