Once there, we briefly settled into our hotel and ventured out onto the streets of Rome. Two students went with Julia, the resident director and teacher of a criminology class, to a criminology museum that I was told after was really gruesome and interesting. The museum showcased different ancient to modern time torture devices and methods. Phil told me it was really cool.
Some other kids ventured off to the Coliseum, but I had already done that with my parents and grandmother. So, instead I wanted to go and see some of the things we missed during our stay in Rome a couple weeks prior.
I went to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, the Piazza in Rome that hold the Fountain of the Four Rivers, a supposedly beautiful fountain. I say supposedly because when I arrived, it was covered in scaffolding and I was only able to see a shoulder of one of the four statues that adorn the fountain.
Other than that, the Piazza was a bit uninspiring as it was covered with people selling their art and cafes that didn’t look too welcoming. It was a nice area, but very crowded.
After, I went to an Osteria and had two Roman specialties: Spaghetti alla’cabonara and a lamb shank. Both were delicious.
I went to the Pantheon near Piazza Navona afterwards. The Pantheon is a beautiful building of Roman antiquity, the only building from ancient times that holds is structure. From the audio guide I listened to, I learned that the Pantheon today is very similar to what it looked like to the ancient Romans. It was originally designed as a temple for all gods, but after Christianity was introduced as the official religion of the Roman Empire, it was changed to be a place of Christian worship and is now adorned with statues of the Virgin and Apostles.
Getting late, I decided to navigate the Roman bus system to get back to the hotel. With only a little bit of trouble I found the hotel.
Okay, I lied.
I actually had a lot of trouble getting back to the hotel: I must have gotten on and off a half dozen buses trying to find a bus that would bring me back to the train station. From there, I would be able to navigate my way back to the hotel.
Hopping on and off each bus I was really nervous, because I wasn’t quite paying for all the rides. You see, not all the buses have ticket machines in them. So, I was paying for 45 minutes at a time on some buses, and then when the 45 minutes ran out and I found myself on a different bus without a ticket machine. I was riding kind of illegally.
No big deal though, I didn’t get caught. I’m sure that a lot of locals do the same thing I did, there’s no one to catch you if you don’t pay.
Anyway, side note: If any of you ever go to Rome, there are two train stations, one called the Termini and the other the San Pietro Stazione. I learned that there were two the hard way. But, I finally did get back to the hotel.
Phil was back from the museum, so we went out for a very cheap dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Once again, I was not impressed by the Italian version of Chinese food. Not nearly as satisfying as the version we get in the US. I probably won’t be doing that again.
On Saturday morning we all met Christina at the Borghese Gallery. We took a tour of the Renaissance Palazzo of the Borghese family where I was able to see a lot of impressive art.
The only problem with art is, for me, after you see so much of it, it all looks the same. It was a great tour, and Christina is a great tour guide and teacher, but sometimes art is just art.
Sometimes after a while it hurts my head to have to listen to someone analyze every single work of art we see, providing historical significance, back-story, and artistic techniques used. Not really my thing. I guess that is just the consequence of being in a place that inspired so many different art styles and movements and is saturated with the stuff.
After the tour, some of a few of us took the 2:30 bus back to Ascoli, and a few others stayed an extra night in Rome. After two times visiting Rome, I didn’t feel that I needed to spend an extra day there, so I was off to Ascoli.
From there, the week flew by. School went by as normal.
On Wednesdays, I have been attending a cultural walking tour of Ascoli. A retired professor and novelist leads a few of us around the town and explains the historical significance of things around it.
The tours started two weeks ago: the first week we visited a section of an old B.C. Roman road in a building on Piazza Arringo, and another section of the road in Piazza del Popolo. Last week, we walked up a hill and saw part of an old Roman architectural device and then went to the Roman doors and theatre near my house. We also walked along the medieval road that borders one of the rivers in the city. Once again, I was struck by how much history is soaked into this small city in the Marche region; it’s such a wild feeling.
From the left: Kay, the resident director's son, Phil, Ben, Cameron, Chelsea, Sam and me
On Thursday afternoon, the group of us UNHers went to Laliva, a trattoria located off of Piazza Arringo, for cooking classes with the chef, Marinella. While we were there for a few hours, she taught us how to make two different types of sauces.
One of the sauces was made with celery, carrots, onions, olive oil and tomato sauce. Once everything was cooked and soft, she blended everything together and created a smooth sauce. It was really sweet and delicious. I have never seen anyone add celery and carrots to a pasta sauce, but I made it myself the other tonight for dinner and it was really good!
We also made a veal dish and Marinella cooked up some of her stuffed olives for us. Next class, she said she will show us how to make them. There are three more cooking classes, each Thursday at four. Afterwards, we eat what we made. It really was an awesome experience to cook with a chef in Italy and I’m looking forward to the next classes and to the Thursday night dinners!
Sunday, I got back from a weekend trip to Florence. I had been there before when I came to Italy in my senior year of high school, but since I have the opportunity to see it again, I took advantage of it and on Friday I hopped on a 6 am train to San Benedetto del Tronto. From SBT I went to Bologna and from Bologna I arrived in Florence on a third train.
The unfortunate thing about living in Ascoli is that it takes a few extra steps to get to other cities and towns in Italy. Bologna is actually located north of Florence. Since there is no line from SBT to Florence, I had to go to Bologna, which has a large train station that serves as the hub and gateway from the south to the north of Italy. So, I caught that train and arrived in Florence in the afternoon with little trouble at all. This train experience was by far the smoothest I had, and although I wouldn’t call myself a pro at navigating the system quite yet, I sure am getting there.
Once I got to my hotel, Hotel Signoria, a surprisingly cheap hotel right near the Ponte Vecchio (or Old Bridge in English), and a short walking distance from all the “must see” attractions in Florence, I dropped my bags off and headed off to explore.
I walked through Palazzo Signoria and then walked to the Duomo. I almost convinced myself to climb up to the steps of the Duomo to see Florence from there, but after briefly recalling my fear of climbing the tower in Bologna, I decided it would be better to keep my feet on the ground this trip.
I walked on the Ponte Vecchio, one of the only bridges in Florence that was spared in World War II, apparently because Hitler thought it was too beautiful to destroy. A long time ago, the bridge used to hold a fruit, seafood and meat market in the stalls that line the bridge, but a king, not sure which one, thought that is smelled too much, so he kicked them all out and replaced them with the gold merchants that line the streets to this very day. The gold was beautiful and very expensive. No purchased were made.
On Friday night, having honed my cooking skills the night before, I signed up for a Tuscan cooking course across the Ponte Vecchio. I met a few Australian students and a few older American couples traveling through Italy on vacation. There, we made gnocchi, panecotta, crepes, and a few other dishes. It was a good experience, but I have to say that compared to Marinella’s class the night before, it wasn’t as good. Still though, I learned a lot that I will be able to take back home and that will help me show up my dad in the kitchen!
Saturday, I took a tour of the Academia and the Uffizi Gallery. After a half hour in the Academia that similar feeling about art felt in the Borghese Gallery came back again, and I started to get bored. Still though, it was a good tour. I got to see Michelangelo’s David for the second time and then went to the Uffizi for the first time and was able to see a lot of Renaissance masterpieces. Of all the paintings in the museum, Leonardo da Vinci’s Annunciation was by far my favorite. Although online pictures don’t do it justice, I suggest you google the picture and take a look, it really is quite a stylistically impressive and beautiful painting.
I walked around the town some more, and then headed to bed for an early return to Ascoli Piceno on Sunday. As getting to Ascoli on Sunday can be a bit of a hassle because trains don’t run to Ascoli on Sundays, I decided to give myself the day to get back.
Once again, the train system provided no hassles. I was lucky that once I got to San Benedetto, there was a bus to Ascoli leaving in 20 minutes. I hopped on and got back to my apartment around two in the afternoon. I did some homework, made dinner, studied for a test I had the next day and soon went to bed.
And now it’s Tuesday. I’m doing well and hope you all are too.
Alex
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