Im starting everyday at the bakery.

I should have known it was going to be an AWESOME day when it started with a 60 cent cornetta (croissant) with fresh peach filling from the little bakery up the road!! Ahhhh love love love

Fast forward 14 hours ahead and Ive accomplished a lot!

4hr extensive tour through the Roman Forum -- incredible history. I took tons of notes. lots of pictures. loved almost every second of it.... just got a little long

6 hour Advanced Type studio class -- love our project. love my professor. love getting to talk, listen to music, and snack while designing... I really could not have picked a better major. Loooooooove it.

a quick stop by the Floral Market for a room mate -- so fun and the packaging & flowers are perfectly Italian and perfectly tacky!

a long list of "family" things to do this weekend -- all of my room mates will be staying in Roma this weekend and we have quite the list of things to do! [Breakfast together, dinners together, 'family' watercoloring in a park with a picnic, visiting 3 markets, party at our neighbors, etchetera etchetera etchetera as my Italiano teacher says it]

and now we are planning our trips for the semester... Ah Greece! France! Vienna! Yay! Cant wait :)

One of three arches in Roma...
two are in the Roman Forum
which is the oldest portion of Roma by far.
It looks like 'ruins' because throughout history the church
dismantled pieces/marble/statues/columns have been
torn down or dismantled to be used
in Christian churches and basilicas
instead of here in the most historically Pagean
place in Roma.

Check these doors out! This is a church made for Romulus
and the hinges and doors are ORIGINAL & WORKING bronze doorways
from the 4th century. That is 300 a.d. They still work.
Pretty amazing!

Va bene, this amazed me today. Whenever I imagine old Roman palaces or statues I picture pristine gleaming white marble. Do you!? I was way off! The marbles, woods, bricks, granites, frescoes, everything was so colorful! The picture below are marble samples of the exact marbles used. Look at the gorgeous deep purples, reds, tawny golds, and blacks. So colorful and completely different than I had imagined! This is a photo taken of the fresco paintings that are in Augustus Caesar's home on Palatine Hill. Not exactly bland creamy white marbles, huh!? Today was so impressive and inspiring! Have I mentioned that I am in love with the vibrant colors of Roma!? :)

random things around Roma

I woke up early this morning and think I caught the only sun we'll see today. Its been rainy and stormy all weekend and looks like it will be all week! bummer.

Taking a break from sketching... here are a few random things about Roma that have been on my mind...Details, engravings, architectural elements, everything is just gorgeous...
I could stare for hours and hours, days and days

I've noticed that there are just as many
beautiful young priests
as there are beautiful churches :)

There are books everywhere...
many vendors selling old books at the market, small stands in on the cobblestones streets...
Im waiting find that perfect one for my little 'project'...

The colors! ahhhhhh Love them

You can find every type of cheese you would like
at any age you want
and at any price you are willing to spend.
I'm loving my pepperoncini, ricotta, and mozzarella right now...
I think I have cheese with every meal...

Have a great day!

mozz!

If I could snack on something every single day I would definitely choose yogurt & granola or chips & salsa.... Ah I love them! After I discovered a tiny bag of tortilla chips is 4 euros and a small container of salsa is 4,70 [thats over $12 for a tiny snack that I would devour in one sitting!] I decided I had to make my own! Not that I dreaded the thought of making it, but I kind of miss my favorite brand of salsa and I was not looking forward to making my own chips in the oven...

but its a cool, dark and damp day in Roma so our trip to the market was a bit shorter than we had hoped. I did find a couple cool little things though! I started chopping and about 15 minutes later I had a great blend going on! I was too lazy to start the oven, plus I don't really know how, so I had my salsa with crostini and fresh mozzarella! I love the mozz here... so moist!

Roma gets smaller each day!

After I stocked up yesterday at the market I had everything for an American breakfast this morning! Eggs (they are not in the refrigerated section here in Roma...), toast (made in a pan with olive oil!), and a nectarine (not an apricot, Eric) all hit the spot this morning. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's breakfast :)

Roma is feeling smaller each day! Bethany and I shopped all day today and as we walked we kept recognizing certain roads, shops, or areas. We tried to get lost and couldn't! I can't wait for it to cool down so I can start wearing cute scarfs and jeans and so I start looking different in my pictures....

Piazza Novona... something we just stumbled on!

Breakfast at Tiffanys is now on and I hear a Bueno Bar calling my name... hope you're having a great weekend!

Venerdi

I packed 3 goals with me on my trip to Italia...
1. Really experience the culture [do what the locals do, become a regular at a cafe/market/bakery]
2. Bring back something that reminds me of how Roma makes me feel [photos, Roma projects, great memories, etc.]
3. Find a gorgeous ring as a souvenir. [I found a jewelry store yesterdaaay! Bethany and I headed back today!]

Soooo since I arrived, I have been trying to take pictures that really capture Roma and what it means and feels to me.... I've only gotten a few that I feel really capture Roma's personality and the one above is definitely one of my favorites! The sun seeping through the alleyways, the golden terra cotta color of the stucco, and the constant flutter of laundry out to dry wraps Roma up perfectly.

I ventured out by myself twice yesterday... the first was with only my camera and my watch. It was oddly freeing and exhilarating! As I walked passed the Pantheon and saw gobs of tourists with bags strapped to their fronts and earbuds in listening to tour guides, I felt confident and like I had done this so many times before. For the first time I didn't feel like a (total) tourist! I also sketched/observed at Campo dei Fiori and trammed it home... only one creepster 'architect' that insisted on chatting after I told him I didn't have an accendino and a pit bull behind me on the tram.

One BIG stop at the market and frutteria and I ended the night with vino de bianco with my room mates. It was a great day!

All of this produce for €4,15

I've said it before... I'll say it again
I love Roma!

Cinque Scole

Quick pictures of our library and studio space below.

Campo dei Fiori

Classes have officially started.... our family and dining room is littered with paper trimmings, xactos, sketch books, and girls. We spent the morning with our art history professor walking through a few amazing churches. Santa Maria Maggoriore (intricate amazing mosaic work), Basilica de Prissade (spelling!?) (insane mosaic work), and finally St. Peter In Chains Church.

skip this paragraph if you don't want to hear what I learned in art history this am: Michaelangelo was commissioned by Julius II to sculpt an extravagent program (set/grouping) of 40 Roman beaurocrats for his tomb, but after being pulled away from this project by many other paintings and little things, he was only able to start and finish the main figure of Moses. That sculpture is now in St. Peter In Chains (along with the chains... we got to seem them, as well. I expected more, but they were neat, nonetheless. Its hard to fully comprehend the immense history here) Va bene. Back to Moses... Its breathtaking. Pristine. Powerful. And glossssy looking (Up until a couple decades ago people were allowed to touch him. One can still see where he was touched most frequently, because of it his knees and legs are extra shiny and a little stained.) Immediately as you walk down the side aisle along the nave you catch his gaze... it was really neat. The tension in his hands, tendrils of his beard, and his muscular legs are just incredible. I still marvel at the smallest things here in Rome; its just unbelievable. Moses is a gorgeous piece... I cant wait for my parents to see him.

I was lucky enough to 'have' to spend the entire morning on Wednesday in Campo dei Fiori for one of my graphic studios. I was sketching, taking photos, observing, journaling... just ideation for our identity system project.

I love this piazza...
a daily market w/ fresh food
quaint cafes
charming tree-lined terraces
and dried mangos!!
I can't wait to go back and pick some up :)

pasta, anyone?!
doesn't this picture make you want to whip something up!?

one last observation.... ha too cute!

deelish!

Homemade spaghetti sauce with fresh-from-market onions, peppers, basil, and tomatoes?! mmm... Yes I love Italia!! I made spaghetti tonight (with weird little noodles that I need to use up because I feel like a first grader eating spaghettios!) and have been making wraps with sauteed tomatoes, garlic, peppers, onions, kidney beans, lots of pesto and a big smear of ricotta cheese!

brownies for dessert?? ... I wish!