Pams come to Italy

I haven't done a very good job of keeping up with this, but I've been fighting illness for about three weeks now, and I think I've finally kicked it. When I'm sick I find it difficult to make time for the necessities (like waking up, and leaving the room), let alone writing a journal entry. Also, I've been busy. Not that I need to make excuses, but it makes me feel better to know that I have sort of legitimate reasons. Anyway.

Mom and Pam were here last week, which is why I was busy. They arrived on the 7th, which was during my midterms, so in between tests and studying I was showing them around Rome. It was a lot of fun, but very different actually living the tourist life here. As a student I have been to a lot of touristy places and done a few tours, but I usually do it with other students who also live here. The first day they were completely jet-lagged and tired so I took them to Trevi, Spanish Steps, and my school, and then to the best gelato (Old Bridge) I've found so far. I kind of pushed them to do more than they should have, but it was fun.

The next day I had a midterm until 6, so I only met them for dinner. We went to a restaurant that I'd been eyeing since I got here, and it was a great meal (Taberna de Grachi). We had annoying Americans sitting next to us, who, when they found out I spoke some Italian, enlisted my help in translating the waiter's Italian accented-English. I was kind of annoyed at them, but at the end of the meal the most annoying guy handed me a card and said, "You don't look like the kind of girl that would need this, but I'll give it to you anyway". It was a get of jail free card from the Chicago Police Department. Score.

Thursday was the first day that I had mostly free. We went to the Vatican Museum and saw the Sistine Chapel. I had saved this for when they were coming, so it was really cool for me too. Word of advice---nothing in the Vatican is labeled, so if you ever go, get an audio guide. I would look at a statue and be like...I know what that is but I have no idea why. The Sistine Chapel was pretty cool. I was a little underwhelmed at first, but once I started looking I began to appreciate why it's the Pope's chapel. Every surface of the chapel is covered in pictures and painted tapestries and they're all perfectly proportioned. It's pretty incredible.

Friday was our last day in Rome, so mom and I did a tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. It was also very cool. They had just opened up a part of Augustus' home that had been pretty well preserved--it still had frescoes on the walls and the paint was still bright. I was very excited about that.

Saturday we went to Florence by train. This was my second trip, but I liked the city much better this time. I had more time, and I was able to see more. My favorite part was the Santa Croce church, which held the tombs of Michaelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli. It was beautiful and full of history. I think I have more interest in the Renaissance than I knew. The facade looked a lot like the Duomo.

We also went to the Piazzale Michaelangelo, which is above the city so you can see all of Florence. We went right before it rained so it was a bit cloudy, but the view was still great. We went to the Uffizi galleries, which were way more impressive than the Galleria Accademia (where David is) because they housed so much more art.

We also took a cooking class at the hotel we were staying at, which had about 8 rooms in total and was very cute but out of the way. The cooking class was fun because we made it fun--Mom and Pam bought chef hats for us at the Ponte Vecchio which made the chef laugh. She didn't speak English, so her daughter was translating. Once she found out I spoke some Italian, she directed most of the cooking lessons at me, and while I understood most of it, I had to ask for clarification a few times from the daughter. We took the class with a mother and daughter from Florida, who were interesting. We had a good time, and the food was delicious. We learned how to make Tuscan tiramisu. So good.

After Florence we went to Venice. More on that later, I need to sleep.