Pictures!

So today was a very lazy and uneventful day. My schedule allows for no class on Friday, so I have a three day weekend every week! It's definitely something I can live with. I slept late, cleaned the room (although it doesn't take very long), and thought about doing my homework. We had a meeting at 3pm where a representative from the American embassy came to give us advice. Mostly her message was, "don't get drunk and do stupid things." I think it's very good advice, and I intend on taking it to heart.

After the meeting it was time to investigate the neighborhood some (read: we went out before siesta was over and had to waste time until 4pm). After things opened we went to a wine shop and purchased a great bottle of prosecco to have with dinner. Then we picked up some flowers, and stopped by the grocery store to purchase a vase.

It's a little less than two hours until dinner, but I'm famished. I slept through breakfast and because the Art History class had a field trip today it was a bagged lunch for everyone, so my food has consisted of a roll and some cheese. I'm saving a pear until I'm desperate. I could easily get food at one of the many bars in the neighborhood (bar = cafe), but I don't want to spoil dinner. I'm excited for it, this is what is on the menu:

penne al pomodoro e basilico
caprese (mozzarella, pomodoro e basilico)
pesca con gelato

That's basically penne in tomato sauce, mozzarella salad, and peaches with gelato. Is it 7:30 yet?

Since today was so laid back I took the opportunity to get some pictures to illustrate my experience here.

This is the Centro. We share the corner with a church, which explains the prominent statue of the Virgin Mary. At night the statue is outlined in blue lights, it's a sort of beacon welcoming us home. The Centro is the building on the left-hand side of the picture, partially behind the tree.


This is my room. I'm assuming that the bars on the window are to keep other people out, but they could easily be to keep us in. I just realized, however, that we have no curfew. Faith's bed is off camera but that's the only part of the room not shown.



This is the view from my window (beyond the bars). This is the terrace above the garden.

Here's a picture of Faith and me.

These are the flowers that Faith and I bought. If you look closely you may notice that the vase is actually a cut off supermarket brand lime soda bottle. It's fun to be a cheap college student even in Roma.

This is a shot of Carini, one of the streets near where we live. Even though we live in a very residential area there are lots of shops and people around.


This is some random graffiti I found entertaining, supposedly it's Fascist.

And still to come: Emily has her first full weekend in Rome and takes pictures of the Centro's garden, the park, maybe other people, and perhaps even some old things.