Day 31 (7/5/11): Liz left this morning :o( Despite our very late arrival time back into Rome last night, she was somehow able to pull herself from bed and get to the airport on time! Eventually, I reluctantly pulled myself from bed, too, and went to class. At class today we learned about "ne" and how to use it when expressing quantity. It seems pretty straightforward. Then at intensive we had a substitute teacher for the day, and we talked about nostalgia. ...

Day 30 (7/4/11): Happy 4th of July! Liz had a tour of the Vatican and Museums scheduled for while I was at class this morning. At class today we learned about comparisons and when to use "di" vs. "che". I thought it was very easy and straightforward. I'm feeling very smart in this class these days! Afterwards, I had my first intensive class. I'm so glad I signed up for it! I think it will really make a difference in my learning to have an extra 1.5 hours ...

Day 29 (7/3/11): We woke up and enjoyed another amazing breakfast before checking out of the hotel. Then we went to the island to see the Rialto Bridge and check out all the shops in the marketplace around that area. Everything is just so pretty here! Its hard to not want to buy everything in sight. We had some fun searching around the marketplace, and eventually had to leave to catch our 12:50 p.m. train to Verona! We arrived in Verona at 2:00 p.m. and che...

Day 27 (7/1/11): Liz walked me to school in the morning since she had plans to go see the Spanish Steps and Pantheon while I was at class. I introduced her to Gio, a bar/restaurant around the corner from school, and we had our morning coffees there. In class today we did more with the form of Cortesia. It's pretty simple - just use the 3rd person singular or plural depending on who you're talking to. Easy! We also went over the Italian holidays and did a fu...

Day 26 (6/30/11): School this morning went well. We did more review of the difference between direct and indirect object pronouns, then started going over the Cortesia form. It's basically the formal way of speaking to someone. I really like the people in this new class, too. After class I met Liz at Piazza Venezia and we went to a small restaurant by the Pantheon for lunch. While we ate we started chatting with the people at the table next to us. We exchan...