ultimo fine settimana.

My family got back into town on Friday night from their tour, but since I had Clara's gallery, I didn't meet up with them until Saturday morning. I was going to meet them for breakfast, but by the time we were supposed to meet, I was only halfway to the hotel. The combination of public transportation and the fact that their hotel was literally in the middle of nowhere equaled huge fail. So instead we decided to just meet in front of the Vatican museum, which was our destination for the day.


We got through all of the picture gallery, as well as the Sistine chapel. Plus it gave me an opportunity to study for my final by playing tour guide!


After the museum we grabbed some lunch and then just shopped around. It was a very nice afternoon.


That night Mickey, Edgar, Vivi, Clara and me went out to dinner in Trastevere. It was really busy so we ended up in the back of some random restaurant that really wasn't all that great, but at least we had good company. After dinner we went to On the Rox, which is a bar in Testaccio. They have a drink called the "Zombie" so we all got that and did a cheers to "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?" It was epic if I do say so myself. We had a lot of fun playing marry, date, or dump with the people that walked by, and watching drunken girls in heels fall on the hidden curb by our table. I know, I'm a terrible person, but it really was entertaining.

The next day my family came to my apartment in the morning to go to the Porta Portese market. We gave everyone 2 hours and walked around. The majority of us went to get pastries from my favorite pasticcerie, which I was definitely okay with! :D

After the market, we went to the center of Trastevere for lunch. We had such a good time just catching up and enjoying some quality Italian food that wasn't over priced and touristy (which my family ran into everywhere they went). Both my grandma and great aunt are painters, so after lunch I took them to Piazza Navona, otherwise known as the painter's square. It's my favorite piazza, so needless to say pictures were taken!





After gelato and some more shopping, I said goodbye to the family as they were leaving bright and early the next day. It was soo much fun having them come to Italy and I wouldn't trade it for anything! My last weekend was the perfect mix of friends, family, and Rome, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

venerdì.

My last Friday in Rome was quite a full day. I started the day by hanging out with Vivi and going shopping for souvenirs. As we passed the sights I took them all in as I knew that the end of my stay in Rome was in sight. After shopping around we met up with Stephen, his friend Laura, Taylor, and the deacons at AUR for a tour of Arcibasilica Papale di San Giovanni in Laterano, or in English, The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. Before the tour we went to a cafeteria at the university across the street. It is where Michael (the deacon and tour guide) goes to school. Let me tell you, Italian universities know how to do cafs. It was really good, and really cheap. After lunch we headed over to the basilica. It is the number one bascilica in the world and is the official church of the Pope. I was really surprised to learn this, as I always assumed that St. Peter's at the Vatican was top dog. Guess not. Michael did a great job giving us the tour and it was really interesting. After we got done, Vivi and I went back in and took some more pictures, here's the result:

The main alter at St. Johns.

St. Peter and St. Paul. It is said that a piece of each of their skulls are in the respective statues.

The last supper, supposedly a piece of the actual table is behind this work.

The Pope's chair.

Me in front of the doors. They are from an ancient basilica in the forum.

Detail on the doors, pregnant women would rub the acorns if they wanted a boy.

After leaving St. John's we went and walked around Verano for a bit just enjoying the nice weather and chatting.

Verano.

Kitty.

Flowers.

Afterward we went to Clara's gallery. She is in an Art Gallery Management class at AUR and the final project was putting on a gallery. They had six different artists and even has a graffiti artist doing live art during the opening. A lot of people I know came and it was a very relaxing evening.

Work of the graffiti artist.

Colosseo.

The night ended with Danielle, Stephen, Vivi, Marina, Jessica, and me sitting on the river with a bottle of wine. Good times.

Tiber.

loves of my life!

Two weekends ago I had more of my family come and visit. My grandma, my great aunt, my aunt, and my great aunt-in-law all made the trip out to Italy! And as a surprise to them my mom came in as well! :D It was sooo much fun having them all here. I'm going to break this down by days!

Also, expect MANY pictures! You get me and my mom together and you know the camera goes into overdrive! :D

FRIDAY:

Everyone got into Rome and I met them at the airport to help them figure out where to go and what to do. My mom stayed with me, but the rest of the gang headed off to their hotel. After some power naps by all, we went to the historic center for dinner. After dinner we walked to the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. To get everyone back to the hotel I introduced them to the public transportation system. My mom and me left around 10:30 to get back to my apartment, but didn't end up getting home until around midnight! Did I mention how much I love the public transportation here?

My grandma and Aunt Nadine in front of the Pantheon. Two of the greatest people I know!

Grandma and Jan.

Invisible man street performer.

Tossing coins in the Trevi Fountain. Lisa, mother, grandma, Nadine, and myself.

Pizza. I'm going to miss this when I get home!

SATURDAY:

Saturday everyone slept in and then my mom and I went to the hotel to have lunch with everyone. We were going to go out and about, but it was May 1st, which is Labor Day, thus almost everything was closed. So after wandering around for an hour looking for the restaurant that the hotel assured us was close, we gave in and just bought sandwiches and a bottle of wine from a street market. Since my family was going on a tour Sunday through Friday, they had a meeting in the afternoon. While they were at the meeting I took my mom to Aventine Hill. We had a fabulous time just walking around enjoying the weather. After we got back to the hotel I took everyone to see my apartment. We were going to go to my favorite restaurant for dinner, but they were all full. We ended up going to one down the street though, and it was delicious! After dinner I was going to take them back to their hotel by means of bus, because one conveniently lead from my apartment to their hotel, but after waiting 45 minutes for the tram, we decided to just get them a cab. Unfortunately since it was the holiday almost all of them were booked!! Luckily I was able to flag one down and get everyone home!!

Orange garden on Aventine Hill.

There was a wedding in one of the churches.

Dome of St. Peters.

Church courtyard.

Cute windows.

My beautiful mother.

Me and my grandma in my apartment.

SUNDAY:

Sunday was the first official day of my family's tour, so while they were touring Rome, I took my mom to Tivoli, Italy. We had such a good time! We went to Villa d'Este and the gardens were all in bloom! And this time almost all the fountains were up and running! It was great! We spent many hours just wandering around, then walked through town a bit before going back to the train station. Just our luck, since it was still considered the holiday weekend, the trains weren't running on the usual schedule, so we had an additional 2 hours to kill. We spent the first hour sitting by the river which was fabulous, but then it started to downpour! We finally got on the train but since everyone was headed back to the city after their weekend vacations, there were no seats available. When we got back into Rome, it was still down pouring! We got back to my apartment and got into dry clothes and then went to eat dinner at the hotel. We just picnicked in the hotel room and it was a really good time! That night we said goodbye to everyone, as they were headed off to Venice at 6 AM.

The water organ, if you look closely you can see the pipes. It is completely played by the water in the fountain.

Madre.

Fiori e fontana.



Photo shoot time!

Madre's turn.

Tulip.


Me being a Pegasus.

Oranges.


Oh how we love public transportation.

Can you feel the love?

MONDAY:

Originally my mom was going to leave on Monday morning, but since we were having too good of a time, she ended up staying an extra day! We started off the morning by going to Cimitero del Verano. It's one of the largest cemeteries in Rome. I know a lot of people think it's weird, but both me and my mother share an odd fascination of cemeteries. I find them very calming. After walking around there I took her to Arcibasilica Papale di San Giovanni in Laterano, otherwise known as St. Johns. It is the most important basilica in Rome, and is the Pope's church. After that we were going to go to the baths, but they closed early on Mondays. Instead we cooked lunch in my apartment. We then went back to the city center and I dropped my mom off at the Spanish Steps. I figured I would be a good student and go to at least one of my classes. After class, I located my mom at the Pantheon, we then dropped off our stuff and went to my favorite restaurant, Le Fate. We had a lovely meal and I even got a free shot of Limoncello (my mom's came with her meal)! I think they're starting to recognize me! That's probably a bad sign! After dinner, I had to pack. I sent almost everything home with my mom, as I didn't want to haul my suitcases around Europe at the end of semester!

Angel in Verano. Taken by me, edited by my mother. I'm pretty much in love with this photo!!

Verano.

Cat in Verano.

St. John's, I'll have another blog on this, so stay tuned!

Piazza Navona, taken by my mother.

Spanish Steps, taken by my mother.

Trevi Fountain, taken by my mother.

Tuesday morning my madre left and I had to return to reality! The joys of school.....speaking of which I should probably be studying for my final today! Oops!