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Day 43 (7/17/11):
This morning I decided to check out the largest outdoor market in Rome, so I took the bus to Trastevere and walked over to Porta Portese. I know it's the largest market and all, but I was still really surprised at how BIG it was! They have all sorts of stuff there: kitchen items, clothes, jewelry, antiques, souvenirs, flowers, pets (I saw them selling chipmunks!), and lots of other stuff.
While wandering around the market I stopped at Faenas Café for a brioche and caffe. I forget where I heard about this place, but it came highly recommended! I was happy to be able to check it off my list of things to see/do.
I somehow wandered around the market for a few hours before I finally found my way through the stalls of goodies and back on a main street in Trastevere. On my walk back I spotted a delicious looking pasticceria, so I stopped in to try out something tasty. I got an incredible little tart, and was more than happy to find that it was as delicious as it looked. Yum!
As I headed back towards Trastevere center, I decided to check out the mass schedule since a feast was going on. I had some time to spare, so went to Enoteca Trastevere and had a couple glasses of wine while I wrote in my journal and enjoyed the beautiful day. I had a moscato d'asti for my first glass, and it came with a great little plate of biscotti and cookies. My second glass was a nice prosecco. Two great choices!
After my little detour in "wine country", I headed to San Crisogono to see the statue of Santa Maria del Carmine. I was early for mass, so I decided to check out the side chapels in the church after admiring the statue for a bit. This was where I discovered the preserved body of Saint Anna Maria! She is the patron saint of motherhood and families. It was really interesting seeing her enclosed in a glass case on the altar. I sat there until mass started, then joined the rest of the congregation in the main church. It was a nice service, but I still have yet to see a procession or something really "festive" for a real Italian feast.
Day 44 (7/18/11):
Today at school, we did a lot of group activities together. We also had 3 new people join us after the break! Mondays are always pretty interesting, since you never know who will join the group.
After, I had my first intensive lesson with Dora. I was moved up to an intensive course with mostly level 4 & 5 students! It was a little intimidating, but definitely a fun class! I'm excited about the level of difficulty.
After school I went out to lunch with Andrew, Julius, and Pepijn to a small pasta/pizza place near school. Afterwards, Pepijn and I went shopping for a little bit before heading to San Pietro in Vincolo. This church has the chains that Saint Peter escaped from, as well as a large sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo. It was nice to spend some extra time with Pepijn - I can't believe it's his last week! :o(
It wasn't the most obvious building to find, but we finally made it there! The church itself was pretty bare, but Saint Peter's chains were interesting to see. Also, the statue of Moses was huge! I had read a description online that said Moses looked very angry, but I don't think the actual sculpture fit that description well.
After the church, Pep and I parted ways to take our separate buses home. I didn't have too much time back at my apartment before I had to leave to meet a friend in Trastevere. My Italian teacher from home had introduced me to one of his friend's, Lavinia, and we agreed to meet up for an aperitivo at Freni & Frizioni. It was so nice to meet her! She is incredibly nice, and it was so much fun getting to know her a bit. We had a great time, and a few other friends ending up meeting us too. It was a fun night of speaking tons of Italian and getting to know some really wonderful people.
Day 45 (7/19/11):
Today at class we learned the conditional form! I've wanted to learn this form for a while, so I was really excited to start learning it and putting it into practice. Intensive was fun today, too. Everyone is SO good! I definitely feel challenged, but I think it's helping me understand the spoken language more. Dora is a fun teacher, too. She is so enthusiastic, it would be hard to not be excited about class!
After class I went out to a quick lunch with some of the boys at a pizza place near school called Carolla. Afterwards, I went back to the apartment to get my homework done before heading back to school to meet up for an aperitivo.
The aperitivo itself was okay, but I did have a really delicious mango mojito! Of course, the company was the best part :o) The boys were all there, plus some people I haven't met yet, like Teo from Greece! We stayed at the aperitivo place for a long time, even when it started down-pouring! Eventually, the boys decided to go to a different place, and I decided to take the bus home for the night.
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