Athens

Well, I'm in Athens. The hotel is nice, but unfortunately we have to pay for internet. Our papers were due so we had to suck it up and pay the fee. Today we went to the National Archaeological Museum!! I got to see the Artemision Zeus, Marathon Boy, and Antikythera Bronze. I think Shannon is love with the Antikythera Bronze.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Accropolis, the Agora, and the Kerameikos! Can't wait.

Venice, the week after, and last night.

This was the last weekend of the program. We went to Venice, and it was a very interesting weekend. We were so tired when we got to Venice- we got to the hotel and passed out. So we woke up, got ready and went out. Dinner was nice. We had a great time taking a bunch of pictures, as well as enjoying a few bottles of wine. The night had begun. We wandered around Venice, and we stumbled upon a jazz bar. I ordered a Hurricane- curious to see if it was what it said. Sadly it wasn't, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. There were a couple of guys next to us, and I tried to figure out what language they were speaking. I am normally pretty good and figuring it out, but this I could not. I figured it was a Scandinavian language. They were Norwegian. We talked to them for a while- it was interesting. After a while they left, and soon after we did as well. We did run into them again- which was nice. Then we spent the night wandering around Venice in the rain at times. It was great fun. We made it back to the hotel at almost 5 in the morning- Shannon and I that is. Needless to say we didn't wake up too early. Shannon and Kyle went to the Biennale (Contemporary art exhibits), and Erin and I took our time getting ready and headed to St. Mark's Square. The pigeons were terrifying. Luckily I did not get pooped on this time. (I've gotten pooped on 3 times) Then it was lunch time, and then on to the Peggy Guggenheim. I got to see René Magritte's Empire of Light - very exciting. After some more wandering and going to glass shops, Shannon and I decided to head back to the hotel. If we were going out again that night we needed a little nap. It took us a rather long time to get back to the hotel, and on our way we say a little boy catch a fish. He put it in a plastic bag and started banging it against the concrete wall - a little gross.

Later that night after a little nap, we all wake up and are starving. We got some Döners and drinks. (Saving money for going out) We got some Sangria- it was rather tasty. We go to this little square with a bar stand (we had gone here with the Norwegians). It was an interesting place to watch the people around you. Shannon and I got drinks and were approached by some different sort of guys. But that's a longer story. We ended our night, and we all went back to the hotel.

Then came the last week of classes- I find it sad that this trip in Italy has come to an end. I have really enjoyed my time here. This week we saw some Fascist architecture and a museum full of fakes. Also a church that Nick wrote his dissertation on- S. Paolo's Basilica. We also went to the Capitoline- I got to see a few of the Amazons and the Dying Gaul! As well as the Preening Doves- a mosaic.

Yesterday was our last day of classes- it was a good day, and I got some sun. Last night after our wonderful meatballs and peas dinner we decided to go out to the Irish pub in Rome. It took us a while to get there, but it was definitely worth it. I put on my cute purple dress and borrowed a pair of Erin's earrings. They of course had Strongbow at the pub! I had a Strongbow and a Baby Guiness- love those Baby Guiness. The pub wasn't too busy when we were there, and they had a bunch of different sports on the TVs. We were hoping that they were going to play the LSU baseball game. We were all talking and having fun when a guy came over to talk to me. I love Europe. I chatted with an Australian for quite a while. Julian, the Australian, just came from Greece- so I talked with him about what he saw, etc. (Kyle had said in Venice that he felt like we were going to meet some Australians next- and we did!) We stayed out in Rome for a good amount of time, and then took a cab back to Frascati. (Splitting a cab ride 4 ways was nice) Shannon, Erin, Kyle, and I made it back to the hotel at around 4.30. Shannon stayed with Erin and I because she didn't have her keys. We ended up talking until 5. We had hoped to go to Naples and Pompeii today, but that didn't happen. I wish I would have been able to go, but in the end I saved money by not going. (More money for Greece).

Tonight we have our final dinner- not at the ususal restuarant. We also have 2 papers to write before we leave here tomorrow- It's going to be a long night.

Greece in the morning!

Luck, Church, Baths, Sweat and Sun.

Well, the alarms this morning decided not to go off, so we had to hurry and get ready this morning. Luckily we made it in time to meet Shannon and Jessica. On the way down the mountain of stairs, I got pooped on! If you know me, you know my reaction to that situation. (To any kind of nature situation). I remember looking down at my arm and shouting "Get it off me! Get it off! Who has a tissue??" And mind you we have about 3 minutes to get to the train. A tissue was found, and Shannon was kind enough to pour water on my nature-kissed arm. We got seats on the train, and I proceeded to take out the hand sanitizer to rid my arm of any remnants of nature. What do I always say? Nature dirty. I am thankful that it was only my arm and not my hair or clothes. Had it been any of those, I would have freaked out more and gone back to the hotel.

We saw some more churches today. Actually, I think it was only one. They're starting to look alike at this point. I know we saw Santa Cecilia. There were some frescoes that were in good condition dating to the 13th century. It was a bonus that we had a nice looking Norwegian man telling us about the frescoes.

Lunch was great. It was cheap and extremely tasty. We had fried rice balls (I cannot remember the Italian name) and smoked cheese pizza. The fried rice ball is delicious! I also had a Cola Light, and we sat on a ledge (very low to the ground) in front of a store window. I've actually been sitting on dirty concrete, grass, and rocks. I think my freak-out earlier was warranted.

On to Justin's class. Today we saw the Baths of Caracalla, and this complex is the second largest in Rome. Second to the Baths of Diocletian. (Caracalla's is the best preserved). Romans loved to go to the baths. Then we hopped on a bus- a hot, sweaty bus. When we found our stop, I heard Shannon yell my name, and I saw a guy with a Purdue Engineering shirt on. I shouted "Boiler Up! ", but I don't think he heard me over the bus. We walked along the Via Appia (ancient Roman road still used today). There is no room for error on this road. You have to stick like glue to the sides or be clipped by someone's car mirror. It was a long and sweaty walk to our destination. It was not as awesome as the Baths of Caracalla, but nonetheless interesting.

Waited at the bus stop for quite a while. My eczema started getting angry and poor Erin's hives were quite bad today. Between my burns and eczema and her hives- we're a mess.

I've got to write a paper before we leave for Florence tomorrow! Don't worry- it's only a small paper.

Uffizi here I come!

Ciao!

Forgot to mention

I also saw a Wounded Niobid, a Crouching Aphrodite, and an Aphrodite of Knidos. (all copies of the originals mind you). Greek originals is what my thesis is on- so this is how I must go about studying these originals- through Roman copies and literary sources.

A day without the Forum

So, today we did not go to the Forum. It's the only day we have not gone to the Forum. We went to the Museo dell' Ara Pacis- which holds the Ara Pacis Augustae. It is the monument that holds an altar which Augustus commissioned. It is in a building designed by Richard Meier- a very modern and contraversial building. Sadly we were not able to go into the Mausoleum of Augustus- they were doing some excavations. Next we went to the Museo Nazionale Romano- Palazzo Massimo. This museum is dedicated to ancient works of art. Some highlights: The Sleeping Hermaphrodite, Frescoes from the Villa di Livia, a Roman Copy of the Diskobolos by Myron, and The Boxer (a bronze original). It was so exciting to see the things that I just studied in an earlier class. The Dying Gaul and his Wife were supposed to be in this museum, but they were moved to somewhere else in the city for an exhibition. I must find that sculpture.

After we were released from class, we decided to get some lunch in Rome before heading back to Frascati. Our Italian is not that great- everytime I go to speak, my response comes out in German. I had some delicious Gnocchi with red sauce and mozzerella.

Now I'm back in the room, and I've been on the internet for quite a while. It is a pleasant surprise. Time to do some reading...

Week 1

Week one was very interesting. It was hot majority of the time, and there are way too many idiots on this trip. I went to the Forum everyday this week- I hope I don't have to go again for at least a few days.

Highlights: Euphronios Krater at the Villa Giulia, Pope John Paul II's tomb, Necropolis underneath St. Peter's, and Orvieto.

I got to go the the American Academy in Rome with the grads and Nick & Justin. It was a great. The taxi ride to Termini was also fun.

We went out for the night on Thursday- had a Gin Limonsoda- thought it was going to be good- I was wrong. The plan is to stick with the wine. There was also some interesting conversations that night- religious conversation- Isn't that one of the topics that you shouldn't discuss with people?

Classes are about to begin for the week- then Venice for the weekend. I don't want to leave Europe.

Talked to Justin (my advisor) about my thesis ideas- don't feel as stressed, but still quite nervous. I'm glad that Shannon is working with him as well.

Can't wait to sweat more tomorrow!

Classes

Well today was the first day of classes. They went well, but it was soo hot outside. Everyone in Rome was talking about the high temperatures. It's not supposed to cool down until Wednesday. Guess who gets to go out again in the heat and sun- Me. Me with my Snow White skin. Luckily our bags have arrived, and I can coat myself with the sunscreen.

Today we went into the catacombs of Saint Sebastiano and Saint Callisto. It was really interesting, and it was great to cool down after being in the sun. I also went to the Forum Romanum. Erin and I had to hold up the umbrella to keep from turning into crispy critters. Thankfully I did not burn. Tonight was our first meal as a group. It was way too much food, but it was delicious. I've heard that they serve veal quite a lot. I can't wait for that. Mmmm, baby cow.

Tomorrow I have to venture out into the heat.

Frankfurt

Well, Frankfurt was loads of fun. Especially the last night. We thought that we were going to have a relaxing evening and then head to the hotel for sleep, but we were wrong. We went to dinner at an Irish Pub- 2 army guys bought us drinks, and we talked to them for a while. Then as we were leaving the pub, Shannon was stopped by some Irish guys. Then they bought us drinks. When they left, we decided to stay at the pub to have more drinks and see where the night would take us. Erin bought a round of Strongbow- and an Irish guy helped her bring over the drinks. The drinks were to help us to get on stage to sing karaoke. We talked to the second group of Irish guys. Later we had to move to another section of the bar because they were closing parts down. Keith and Sean (the Irishmen) bought us shots of Baby Guinness (Bailey's and Kahlua). The night progresses- I end up attracting the attentions of Keith- his accent was to die for. Well, I had enough Baby Guinness to get up on stage with Erin, Jessica, and Sean to sing "I Love Rock n' Roll". Shannon would not sing :-( We also took turns learning an Irish jive (not sure if that was it). I was not so good at the dancing. Night continues- the army guys make another appearance. Erin had two guys competing for her attentions- Austin (army guy) and Sean (Irish guy). We ended up closing the bar (at 4 am!) Our flight was at 11 am the next day! In the end it was totally worth it. We got in a taxi (and my German is surprisingly awesome when I'm drunk). and I was able to get us home. Shannon and I ended up talking to two guys. One German/American and then another American. The German- Chris was totally hot. And I could speak to him in German- and he said my German was awesome! Yay me! The other, Tom, was a Buckeye- that was no good. I ended up losing my voice. We paid for it on our trip to Rome though.

We flew Malev Hungarian Airlines. Our connecting flight was in Budapest. I fell asleep for the 1st flight, but I heard it was awful. I had a nice little nap. We got off the plane only to find out that our flight to Rome was on last call, and we had maybe 10 minutes to get to the gate. We made it, but our bags did not. The bags were still in Budapest when we went to the lost bags kiosk. The guy was very nice and told us that they would get here the next day. We found out today that our bags are indeed in Rome, but they will not be getting to us until tomorrow.

We are surviving on what we have- going with the flow of things. It's going to be an interesting time.