Let's go the beach, beach...then let's go see some tombs.

Someone at Pascucci loves me!

 Well, the last couple days have been crazy. I love life in Italy, but I am always exhausted. Thank God for Pascucci's caffe latte's! Besides Saturday's lecture and tour for school, my weekend was pretty relaxing, thank goodness!

My dream ride!

On Thursday (10/18/2012), I celebrated Kamryn's birthday with a little shopping with my friend Maddie. I treated myself to a new purse as a birthday present in honor of Kamryn's life. This was very comforting since I couldn't be with Kam or my family to celebrate her 13'th birthday! Maddie and I ended up walking about 5 miles that day, so I relaxed and did some homework the rest of the afternoon. Later that night, my friends Hannah, Maddie, Kathy, Kendra and I enjoyed some red wine and cheese at one of our favorite ristorantes here in Roma, Ciro Ciro. It was so nice to just relax and have a little girl talk and "wine a little" after a busy week.

Happy 13'th Birthday, Kamryn!

 Friday night was very chill as well. After class, I was able to relax for a bit. I have been so sleepy lately, so I got to take a nice nap. I NEVER NAP. There must be something in the air here. After my nap, my friends Hannah, Mackenzie, Shannon and I went to the beach to relax for a bit. It was an easy ride there, but our true Italian skills were tested on the way back. Our train was experiencing technical difficulties, so we had to take a series of buses to get home. It was a little hectic, but I was very proud of the 4 of us in the end! Since we had to wake up early on Saturday morning for tours, I hung out with my friends Maddie, Kendra, and Kathy in their room. We watched a movie and painted nails. Typical girl stuff that you can never get too old for. We enjoyed a glass of sweet white wine together and then got some much needed sleep.

Photo courtesy of Hannah Ziegeler

Entrance of an Etruscan Tomb

Saturday was a very long day. We started our lecture/tour day at 7am! Mamma Mia! We took a two hour bus ride out to Tarquinia, Italy to see some ancient Etruscan tombs. I bet you can only imagine how interesting this was. Thank God for the beach break we got in the afternoon. We were given a couple hours to hang out at the beach in Tarquinia where we took many pictures, ate gelato, and enjoyed the Tyranian Sea. Later that day we went to Cerveteri, where we saw even more tombs. I don't know what more I can really say about this, except for I was DEAD tired by the end of the day! Get it? Dead? Tombs?

Fake Etruscan body to represent the layout of the tombs.

A larger Etruscan tomb made for a family.

Hannah, Kendra, Maddie and I

Karli, Kendra and Maddie

Kendra, me, and Maddie

Sunday was a pretty relaxing day as well.  I got to sleep in for the first time since the last Sunday which felt amazing! After I woke up, I studied and had lunch with Maddie and Kendra. I later relaxed in my room, taking yet another nap! I don't know what has gotten into me! I haven't napped this much since I was an infant! I later hung out with my friends and had dinner with them near the Pantheon. Well, there is my week in review! Nothing too interesting yet, but just wait until November!

(10/19/2012)
*RIP Ziqi-You will be greatly missed by your SMC sisters! Once a belle, Always a bell! We love you!*

Travel Update!

Ciao tutti! Within the last week, I finally planned and booked two trips within Europe while I am here.

Over thanksgiving break, I will be spending four days in London, England. I am SO excited! London seems to be a growing trend in this day and age and I cannot wait to experience it for myself. I am traveling with five of my friends and we will be staying in the heart of the city. Our hotel is located within walking distance of Buckingham Palace, Parliment, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the Eye of London. Sorry Kay and Kam, don't be too jealous!

My next trip will be in Paris, France. My friends Maddie, Kendra and I will be traveling there December 7'th through the 9'th. I have always wanted to visist Paris, so I am so thrilled that this trip was made possible for me. Once again, our hotel is in the heart of the city, conviently located near the Eiffel Tower.

I am beyonde excited that the two trips I will be going on outside of Italia were my top two choices! I cannot wait to experience life in a different place and the beauty that comes along with it. I am truly a lucky girl to be able to grasp these amazing opportunities given to me, and I won't take a second of it for granted! A presto!

Rainy day in Roma! Photo courtesy of my FAVORITE photographer, Hannah Ziegeler!

Mia prima settimana a Roma!

Ciao! Today’s entry is about my first weekend spent in Roma! 

SMC Pennant at the bar!

My Friday night consisted of lots of wandering. My friends and I walked around the city, looking for a place to have dinner. We ended up finding a cute restaurant decorated like the streets of Italy, cobblestone streets and all! I had the pasta alla carbonara, one of my favorites! It was SO delicious and reminded me of my Nona’s cooking! We then ate gelato at a gelateria that served a variety of 150 flavors! It was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make, but I ended up ordering the stracciatella e pistacchio a.k.a vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips mixed with pistachio ice cream. Talk about a dream come true! Later that night, we went to a bar called Scholars. Scholars is an Irish Pub that is down the street from our hotel. It is a common spot for students studying abroad. It also plays the Notre Dame Games live on game day, SCORE!

On Saturday, we toured the Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, and the Colosseum as part of our lectures and tours course. Our first stop was Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in which Rome was built upon. It is known for its ruins of ancient imperial places. Palatine hill is one of the most historic parts of Rome, for it overlooks the Roman Forum and Circus Maximus. The Roman Forum, our next stop, is the center of the city of Rome, where many ancient government buildings were located. Lastly, after having lunch back at the hotel, we visited the Colosseum. The Colosseum is the largest amphitheater ever to be built in the Roman Empire. As many of you already know, the Colosseum was the arena ancient Romans used to hold gladiator contests and public spectacles.

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill overlooking the city of Roma.

Me outside the Colosseum

Maddie, Kendra, me and Hannah inside the Colosseum!

A much needed sleep session took place Sunday. I was so tired and run down by then that I couldn’t resist my bed. After I woke up, I had a delicious salad (I slept through breakfast…) with my friends at one of our favorite restaurants so far, L’Insalada Ricca (or “Rich Salad”). L’Insalada Ricca is known for their amazing variety of gourmet salads, along with bruschetta and pasta selections. After we were well rested and fed, we were ready for the event we all had been waiting for: shopping down Via del Corso. Via del Corso is the Michigan Avenue of Rome, consisting of many high end stores belonging to the world’s most popular designers. For barginista’s like me, there was an H&M, Gap, Zara, Sephora and my new favorite, Brandy Melleville. We had a great day together that ended with infinity knot bracelets (representing our friendship and our time spent together in Rome) to be shared between Kendra, Maddie, Hannah and me.

Overall, my first weekend in Rome was a huge success….and it was only the first! Look out for more posts on my weekends abroad, for they will consist of my traveling experiences throughout Europe! Arrivederci!

Collegio Santa Maria a Roma

The Trevi Fountain!

Buona Sera! I wanted to share the details of my education while I am in Roma. I am not just eating and drinking, I'm here to study too! This semester I am taking intermediate Italian, Philosophy, Mass Communications, Business/econ, and a lectures and tours class. So far, I like all of my professors, even though they are all kind of crazy. My classes are pretty easy compared to those at SMC which I like A LOT! I get done with classes in the early afternoon every day, giving me lots of time to explore the eternal city that is ROMA! I love that! Also, come November I don't have classes on Friday's for the rest of my time here. Love that too! All in all, this experience is a blessing and I am a very lucky girl.

My communications and business/econ classroom.

Assisi, Umbria

So, as I said in my previous post, the first five days of my trip to Italy were spent in Assisi for orientation. Assisi. Assisi is a small, mid evil town located in the mountains in Umbria, Italy. We stayed at a small hotel called the Casa Fanchi.

The first tour I went on in Assisi was to the mountain top castle. This was quite the climb. We walked uphill for 25 minutes on stones prior to our arrival to the castle. It was very difficult and energy consuming, but the view from the top of the city was worth it!

The Hill Top Castle In Assisi

View from the Hill Top Castle

The next day, I toured The Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. The Basilica was so beautiful and full of life (and other Americans!). This basilica is one of the most important of christian pilgrimages in Italy.

The Basilica of Saint Frances of Assisi

We later toured the Church of Saint Claire (the patron saint of television), and San Damiano. We were able to see Saint Claire's preserved body, her hair, and the clothes she wore. We also learned about how Claire pretty much gave up her life and privileges at the age of 13 to follow Saint Frances.

The Garden in San Damiano

My first glass of vino rosso!

While visiting in Assisi, we had LOTS of free time. When we weren't touring or recovering from jet lag, we spent time in the Piazza. The piazza was the center of the city where all the action took place. We would often sit at cafe and drink coffee, sweet red wine, prosecco, or eat gelatto. We made friends with the waitress, Amelia, at our favorite bar, which was called "Bar." Very original, I know.There were also lots of cute shops in Assisi that we looked through numerous times.

My first gelatto!

Our favorite bar in Assisi.

Goodbye Home-a, Ciao Roma!

Ciao! Sorry it has been so long since I have updated my travel blog, wifi is scarce on this side of the earth! I will try my hardest to keep things up to date!

Well, my trip started off with some painful goodbyes. It was so hard to leave my mom, my sisters, Kayla and Kamryn, my aunt B, and my boyfriend Ryan at the airport. The tears were in heavy flow that day, and continued occasionally the first couple days. Each day that I am here in the beautiful country gets a little bit easier, but that doesn't mean I will miss them (along with many others!) any less.


After saying goodbye at O'Hare airport, my good friend Maddie and a new friend Stephanie headed to Newark, New Jersey to pick up my good friend and former roommate, Kendra. It was great to reunite with my friends after a LONG summer, but the four hour wait in the airport was definitely long and tiring, making my emotions quite dramatic!

Our nine hour flight landed in Fiumicino airport in Rome on Wednesday, September 27 at 7:30am. After gathering out belongings, we made our way to the area where we were to meet our RA and the Rome program administrator. We ended up waiting until 3PM to leave the airport because of a flight delay in Chicago. Thank god I wasn't on that flight.

After finally being able to leave the airport, We boarded a coach bus and headed out to Assisi, Umbria. Assisi is a small, mid evil town in the mountains. This trip toned up my legs so much! I had never done so much uphill walking in my life, and my legs still hurt to this day! Assisi is also the city in which Saint Francis and Saint Claire are from. When we arrived, we had a quick dinner and went to bed. We were all exhausted and had to wake up super early for tours in the morning. I will get into more detail about my tours soon!


Considering Assisi is such a small town, we ran out of things to do fast! We would usually shop around the stores, or sit in the Piazza at a cafe, drinking prosecco, sweet red wine, cafe freddo (iced coffee), or eating gelato. Never have I ever had so many great tasting meals, desserts and drinks...and it was only the beginning.

On Sunday, September 30, we finally arrived in Rome! We are staying at a beautiful hotel right in the heart of the city. We are only a 5 minute walk away from the Pantheon, which we enjoyed over margharita pizza and champaign on our first night there.

The next day I started my classes. This semester I am taking communications, philosophy, intermediate Italian, business, and history. My classes end early every day, giving my lots of time to explore the eternal city!

Well, I am done for now, but will be updating my blog tomorrow in further detail about my trip to Assisi, my room, my friends, the food, and much, much more! Ciao, love you all!