The first of many 4day weekends :)

After a rainy start Friday morning we had a great night and such a great first weekend in Italy! Friday night, a big group of us went out and met up with nearly everyone else in graphic at the Spanish Steps. Rumor is that Julius Caesar was murdered there... The Spanish Steps are a popular place for Romans and tourists to meet, talk and drink a bottle of wine. We followed along... and finished many bottles of wine between all of us :)

Roma truly looks like a different city at night...
it just glows with romance and energy.

We were walking to the Trevi Fountain when I took this picture. I like it because the streets are empty, which is a rare sight in Roma!

Ohhhh the Trevi.... gorgeous. breathtaking. incredible. beautiful. all of the above.
The rest of the night can be summed up in just a couple words... Alfredo. Guest List. and Beautiful Italian men. It was a great night :)
The party was along the river... SO neat!

La Maison by the River

On to Saturday -- Karen, one of my room mates, was celebrating her birthday on Saturday so we went to the beach and out for dinner. It was such a relaxing day!

Hello speedos of every color, shape, and siiize!

Quick group picture of all of the room mates before going to dinner...
Carolyn, Becky, Laura, Karen, Bethany, Me, & Leah

I am so excited about our first project in my graphic studio 470 class... we are selecting an area or monument in Roma and designing an extensive identity system for it. I selected the Campo de Fiori; its an area I fell in love with when I first walked in! It used to be a meadow (hence the name fiore meaning flowers) and now is an area of shopping, cafes, bars, etc with a haunting bronze statue of Giordano Bruno, a philosopher that was burned to death for his forward thinking.

Campo de Fiori

other things in Roma.....

Piazza della Bocca della Verita below

everything is just beautiful...views from Villa Borghese (an expansive and lush park) on the northern edge of Roma

Piazza del Popolo (the next two)
The street performers are soooo good here!
This man and his suitcase matched the trash bin perfectly!

constant inspiration around every corner!

Bethany and I were sooo hungry mid-afternoon so we stopped for pizza!
SO warm & SO crispy!
All pizza is served 'folded' like this!

Yesterday we spent the day at the beach again :) Ah I love Italy.

I thought of you today, Dad...
can't wait for you and Mom to visit!

We're seniors!

Ohhh yeah... I took a first-day-of-school picture! Classes started today (9-12 on Fridays), but only lasted until half past ten so we took our time getting back.

[Isola Tiberina]

Below are pictures of our fountain at the entrance of our studios and the view from our studio. Our studio is in the jewish ghetto, only meters away from the Tiber River and the heart of Roma. The Cenci family built the palace that ISU now owns and we have classes in. It is gorgeous... homework on the terrace!? walking by the river on a little break from class? I couldn't be happier here...

squisito!

Roma tomatoes, basil,
onions, garlic, peppers,
peaches, and bananas
all for €2.45?!

Like I said... I am in heaven!!

Along with the fruit market we have a supermarket right around the corner, so I have been cooking dinner each night. Until now (Karen just mentioned wanting chocolate chip cookies... yummmm!) I haven't craved anything from home. I made a bruschetta type thing w/ crostini & brie two nights ago for dinner and today for lunch, I made a little platter of form gasperone al peporoncino & salame (pepper cheese and salami) w/ crostini and fresh romas from the market! perfect.

I am in love!

What a day! What an incredible day!!

Our orientation for classes started at 10a this morning, so we hit the road at 9 (just to play it safe). We had compared the tram times to walking and decided to explore the city and walk. It was supposed to take 40 minutes [key word: supposed to].









That 40 turned into an hour and a half.... We took a few wrong turns, didn't have a map, and non parlo Italiano. After walking down busy streets with no sidewalks and wreckless speedy Italian drivers and walking by law enforcements that were holding machine guns (okay, I don't really know if they were machine guns but they were big!) we decided to ask for help. Car approached a women and after saying "scusi," and getting a weird look quickly switched to English to ask if she knew where Trastevere (pronounced Trest-ev-ray) was. The lady chuckled and immediately began pointing out things and helping us. She was wonderful!

This nice lady turned out to be from Minnesota- where all of my extended family is from!- and her husband is the U.S. Ambassador for Holy Seas (I think I got that right...). She resigned her position at St. Benedicts and St. Johns (where, ironically, my mom went to school her freshmen year). They just moved to Rome last Thursday and will be here for at least the next 4 years or maybe longer if Obama is re-elected. She gave us her map and sent us on her way.... soo nice of her! We followed her directions and found ourselves walking in to our studio just as our orientation was finishing up. ha! at least we tried!












Our fountain and entrance (directly behind the fountain) to our studios where all of our classes are held. Joelle, me, and Carolyn on the right.


The group of girls we traveled with in Dublin live in the opposite direction as we do from the studio, so we were going to spend the afternoon checking out their apartmentand area. Buuut on the way we came across something pretty amazing.... as we turned the corner to we saw these and then THIS! The Pantheon!!


It is in the 90s here every day and humid, but when I saw this I had chills. It took my breath away. The immense size and intricate detail was amazing.......

The rest of the day was incredible too. We strolled through the streets and woooow I am in love with all of the colors that create this city!! Pumpkiny oranges, mustards, tawny and rusty golds, olives and charcoals, ohhh I am loving this city and its colors! After gawking at the Pantheon we stumbled upon the cutest little pizzeria just meters away from the Pantheon. It was here that I had my first Italian pizza. Thin, crispy, and chewy... how do they do it!?
I'm not sure, but I am a fan!



Walking to and from school or the market or anywhere, for that matter, is an adventure. (I need my bandana, right Jon!? haha) It was a bit overwhelming at first because things are so beautiful, extravagent, and each and every building has unique characteristics and history, but it is already becoming second nature to be walking the streets and just take it in stride. Gorgeous. I'm in love!

















Once we made it home, we freshened up and grabbed the others girls and headed back out to find H&M! First, none of us brought a lot with us; secondly, it is hot-hot-hot and sUHweaty every day; and lastly, our washers leave our clothing sopping wet and there are no dryers! Needless to say, we were in search of light dresses and tanks. On the way we ran into something for the second time that day.....



Amazing. I live in the most beautiful city. I am sooo blessed.

We found the mall...nothing is ordinary or small or plain, as you can see... €24 later I walked out with an adorable cream top and an airy shirt dress. As we were leaving the mall we ran into this... Trajan's Column.

We continued to stroll down the small alleyways and streets that are lined with shops, ristorantes, and small cafes. Its so quaint but large and so lovely....



Speaking of lovely... we turned the corner and ran into the Trevi Fountain. (Literally, you turn the corner and see these amazing monuments... all of the apartments are so tall and beautiful and the monuments are tucked tightly in between.) It was breathtaking! The immense size, detail, extravagance... wow. Mom, you will be amazed. It is breathtaking!











On our way home we walked by the Piazzo Venezia... in the past 2 days we have walked by this palace many many times. It is located on Via del Corso, which is a very busy and popular street with great shops! The monument in the front is the Victor Emmanuel Monument; made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Italy's first king.

If you're still reading this.... wow, grazie! You must have a lot of time on your hands... just a couple more photos.... :)

Ohhh I am so in love! I'm off to the produce market! ciao ciao!

Dinner!

My first dinner in Roma included all classics..... spaghetti, crostini w/ brie, white wine (vino for .99?! I think yes!!), and iced tea (definitely not Guinness). So good!

let me take you on a tour!

I gave you a sneak peek yesterday, but here is the grand tour! Our apartment is colorful, clean, spacious and filled with 6 other spunky, open-minded, adventurous room mates! I am so blessed! Let's start here... Inside our doorway there is a medium-sized foyer and to your left is our family room. The book case is already filled with design books, notebooks, sketchbooks, cutting mats, CDs, converters, and swatch books.
Off the living room is our dining room with a balcony...
that connects to our kitchen!
Down the hall to our bathrooms and bedrooms... look at the wall of storage on the right!My bedroom... I share with Bethany and Carolyn...
And our huge closets... again, so big and clean and cute! There are two other 2-person bedrooms to our right and left...
And finally, our bathrooms...

Bulmer's

You know you're a graphic designer when...

you try a drink because you LOVE the design, color scheme, and varnish on the drink's coaster ad. Bethany, Carolyn, and I all tried a Bulmer's pear hard cider at The Stag's Head in Dublin and loved it!