Song of the day: Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel This song is a lot of things, but above all it is a picnic song (a personal opinion as well as a broad sweeping statement). And what a pleasant little picnic it was that we had today. What a beautiful face / I have found in this place / That is circling all round the sun / What a beautiful dream / That could flash on the screen / In the blink of an eye and be gone from me / Soft and sweet / Let me hold it close and keep it here with me…
We had a lovely/leisurely, free morning in Trastevere, largely comprised of visiting a beautiful flower garden and greenhouse (fleur garden) and eating salty meats (my ideal date, honestly). There was a hilarious amount of cacti, and it made me think of my tiny little cactus back home in Pittsburgh that’s probably thirsting to death as I’m lusting over the opulent Italian cacti. I’m pretty generally bad at keeping things alive.
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There’s an efficient little grocery store next to our hostel that has tasty produce and snacks, and so we decided to pack a picnic for the four of us. We looked into some parks to potentially walk to, and ended up taking about a thousand and a half steps to summit the top. We were supplied with a knockout view of the city, and we partook in our spread – taking full advantage of the local Italian foods at our disposals – fresh cheeses, super cured meats, crispy bread, fresh strawberries. The list goes on, but I won’t bore you. Truly, it’s only at this point in this trip that I really started to realize that I’m here, that this is real, and that I’m actually in Italy with three wonderful, adventurous people. Long after I leave this place, the image of this city, the red of those berries, the purr of the scooters clipping past us, the snap-snappingping of camera parts opening and closing – they will unfurl themselves in my mind’s eye and I will see and feel happy.
Following, we attended a lecture on Italian media at the American University of Rome, a Point Park affiliate. It was absolutely wild (and I mean wild) to see how emphatically poorly women have been represented in Italian media. It was an eyeopening presentation. Additionally, I’ve always been amazed by those who study abroad. I adore traveling and love the feeling of experiencing newness, but I have truly come to realize that I like having a home base a little bit more than I would like to admit.
We advanced to the Colosseum, which was one of the single most breathtaking experiences of my life. While being completely and entirely visually overwhelmed and stimulated in the best possible way by the unbridled beauty of the architecture, I learned an incredible amount while I was there, thanks to a fantastic, adorable little curly-headed tour guide. A lot of the notions I had developed about the Colosseum turned out to actually just largely be propaganda and misconceptions. I love when this happens, really, and think that everyone should be open to experiencing the feeling of knowing you were completely wrong about something. It forces you to remember to check your truth. This is something I have always admired about my friend Dylan, in that he is usually incredibly accepting in that he is always ready to admit that he was wrong about something he assumed. He could be a journalist, probably. He’d probably be the first journalist in history to ask too many questions. Here are some photos of the Colosseum, or as I like to call it, the murder hut. We also took an extensive look at the Roman Forum, located in a knoll tucked away from the Colosseum. Here are some of my classmates looking fancy shmancy.
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Also, Beth and I split a hot dog from the Colosseum cafe, which for some reason, makes me feel legendary.
Our night concluded with some above average creme brûlée coupled with a false Simon Cowell sighting. Both were delicious.
Affectionately,
Em