My Status and the future of the blog

So I've safely made it back to Maine and am resting and recharging. I'm hanging out with the family and eating a lot, since we found out today I dropped 25 pounds in Europe, some of which was necessary, some was not.  We successfully put in the paperwork for the visa, and now we're just waiting for it.

This blog, for the time being, is going to become as an as needed basis. I hope to be relatively boring (as in not going to anywhere exotic) so unless I have something pressing to report on, I won't be writing again till I return to Rome. Check back maybe once a week to see if I've posted, but for the time being, I'm out. If you don't want to randomly check back, you can subscribe to my blog (on the bottom of the posts where it says subscribe) and then you'll get an email every time I post. Thanks for reading and supporting me in my adventures, and enjoy the rest of your summer!

RIP Robin Williams. You will be missed, O Captain, My Captain.

Back in the USA

Made it back to the states. In Boston. I'll write more tomorrow. G'night!

Time to, say Goodbye

Yesterday I went exploring the Northeast part of Rome. The guidebooks don't direct you there, and you won't find many recommendations on the web to go this region, but one of the other interns is staying in this area for the summer and claims that it's worth seeing, so I went against all suggestions and went to investigate. I,  of course, found some hidden gems in this mostly residential area:

House joyful, inhabitants joyful

Basically there's one square

And in this one square are four houses

And the owners of these houses

Seemed to decide they could care less about standard architecture

Four houses and a fountain, I lied

And they decided to buck the trend

And using their money/power

Design there houses however they saw fit

Regardless of the architecture around them

And a chandelier. 4 houses, a fountain and a chandelier

Down the road lived two peacocks. And they said there was nothing to see in the Northeast part of Rome

Behind the obelisk, is Mussolini's house. He used to live in this area with his cronies

 Today I had my last day of work. I said my goodbyes to the museums and the other workers, came home to pack, went out to dinner with one of the other interns who also leaves tomorrow and now am writing a blog post. Everything is more or less packed, and the train schedule looks to be in my favor tomorrow (four trains, any of which would get me to the airport on time) so things should hopefully go smoothly. I'm concerned about the weight limit of my checked luggage, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Wish me luck, and if I have enough energy I'll post when I stop in London and then again when I'm at the hotel in Boston with mom. Keep me in your prayers!

A Day at the Beach

I woke up feeling pessimistic, which is going to be pivotal in my mood during today's events, but more on that to come. I decided late last night that I was going to go back to the sea today, since it was going to be hot and humid in Rome. I know the argument "you can go to the beach anywhere, do something you can't do in Maine" but I wanted to go to the Mediterranean sea and eat Mediterranean seafood, which I can't do in Maine. So I found a beach online, about an hour by train and decided to head there. No here's where the pessimism comes into play. I woke up this morning, and realizing I was going to the beach by myself and opening myself to trouble, I decided to pack light. I brought my camera (a must), my phone (for logistics) and my coin purse. I assumed that my stuff would be riffled through while I was at the beach, and maybe even stolen, so with that in mind I only brought things I could part with. I got up at 9, made breakfast, burned my hand fooling with the oven (not that bad, just enough that I felt it) and then missed the first train to the coast, so that I had to wait for the second one. I had 31 euro in my coin purse, and spent 8 on train tickets, since I figured that if someone stole my camera, phone and wallet, they would at least leave me my return ticket to Rome. I got to the beach, and didn't have sunscreen, since the TSA was kind of enough to remove it from my carry on (my own stupid fault) when I flew from Greece to Rome. The cheapest bottle of sun screen I could find was 11 euro, which leaves me at 12 euro for lunch. I got to the beach, swam for a bit, hung out and then went to find seafood. I found a place, and noticed that they had the fish of the day for 7 euro. I figured that I could get a coke and the fish of the day for 10 euro, and then maybe get a gelato on the way back to Rome. I sat down, ordered, realized that there was a 2 euro cover charge (standard in Italy) and scratched the gelato from the menu. The fish of the day was mackerel, which wasn't squid, but I couldn't afford anything more expensive. The waiter brings me a dish 10 minutes later, which I thought was speedy. I asked her "is this the fish of the day" to which she responded "yes it's very fresh." Her english wasn't very good, my italian isn't much better and I wasn't going to argue with her since I assumed she knew best. She didn't, and halfway through the dish the head waiter came over, apologized and told me I was eating fish tartar instead of the mackerel. I confessed that I didn't think it looked or tasted like mackerel, but what did I know. He took the dish away, and ten minutes later brought the mackerel. It was quite good, an entire fish, and I finished it and asked for the bill. He brought it, and to my surprise it was for 23 euro. Turns out, that as well as the 3 euro coke and 2 euro cover charge, that blasted mackerel was 7 euro by hectokilogram. I was in shock and very troubled, and confessed that I only had 12 euro with me to pay. The head waiter and my waiter, neither of which spoke very good english, couldn't understand this and brought the Canadian owner to my table. He was outraged, and ignoring my offer to work off the rest of the tab, told me to leave the restaurant. I feeling, ashamed and dishonest, returned to the beach, swam for a bit, and then got back on an early train to Rome. I intend to mail the restaurant the 12 euro and a letter explaining and apologizing for my mistake, but until then my conscious is guilty. All because I didn't trust people enough to bring my credit card to the beach. Here's some pictures:

There's a full moon tonight, so that's what those last three pictures are. Tomorrow I'm walking to some of the parts of Rome I haven't seen, as well as scouting gelato places out, and then its home to pack and begin preparations for Tuesday's flight. Goodnight!

The Last Week of the Summer Internship

Hey everybody,

So sorry for not posting the past couple of days. I fly home on Tuesday so the past two nights have been dedicated to celebrating with friends. On Wednesday, I went to the beach with my landlord and several of his friends that I've become friends with during my time here. On Thursday, I went out with friends after work and had aperitivo, which is where you pay for a drink and then have an all you can eat buffet, which suited me just fine. Both of those were late nights, so I wasn't really prepared to write a blog post. Also, I've been touring through the museums when I have a chance, because I think it would be ridiculous to have worked there all summer and not know every piece of work. I'm including some of my favorites from my visit. Finally, on Thursday I joined the Notre Dame Men's bball team for a tour of the barracks of the Swiss guard. Remember that guy I met at a bar in the middle of the night when I was looking for a church? No? Well go back and read my entire blog, I have a whole post dedicated to that night. Anyhow that connection paid off big time, so I have photos of the barracks and armory and other cool stuff. Here's some photos, but first, a big shout out to Carina Suarez, who got the name of the movie that I quoted in my last post. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go back and read my last post, and while you're at it, watch the movie I quoted, Hercules. Aside from Disney leaving out the whole bit of the story where Hercules gets really drunk, kills his wife and children and then has to perform his 12 labors (all referenced in the movie, if you know where to look) the movie is really entertaining. Anyhow, pictures.

Sunset at the beach on Wednesday

But mom, what do you mean I can't drink out of the toilet?

Not supposed to take photos, so I did so discreetly, in a manner where I didn't see what I was taking. Worked out alright

Garden of Eden by Peter Wenzel in the Pinacoteca (painting gallery) of the museums

I'm ready to be home, have been like that for a week or two. Couple more days and that will be a reality! I have some options for this weekend and I'm spending tonight figuring things out, so I'll let you know what I decide! Love to you all

A Day in the Life

Today was pretty normal, and since it was normal, I'll run you through some of the mundane (aka boring) challenges of my day. I went to work, got off work at 6 and decided to go adventuring. First step, is I had to get changed from my work clothes to my gym shorts and a t-shirt. Now, I hear some of you scoffing. I was told "you can't wear gym shorts in Rome." I don't take can't very well, and I'll wear what I like, thank you very much. Here's why I wear shorts: 1. It's too hot. It's going to be upper 80s this entire week, and I can't go hiking through the Roman hills in long pants and long sleeves, or I will melt. 2. More importantly, is that when I'm in the Vatican, I'm relatively safe. The outside world, not so much. When I go out into Rome, while I'm not expecting trouble, but in case there is I like to have options. This boils down to fight or flight. If I get into a pinch, I want to be able to throw a punch or turn tail and sprint off, depending on the problem. Both of these are tough to do in dress clothes, so when adventuring I change. As it turns out, this almost came in handy today, but more on that to come.

So I didn't want to change in the Vatican, and stroll out through the Apostolic palace (former residence of the Popes, before Pope Francis moved his residence) in gym shorts and a t-shirt. I was headed to the Circus Maximus, which took me through Termini, the central station of the Rome metro and so I figured I would change in there. Turns out, I had to pay 80 euro and buy a second ticket (1.50 euro) in order to use the bathroom, but that's Rome for you. I changed and went to the Circus Maximus and the Aventine Hill, from where I intended to view the sunset. Here's some photos, since you're all tired of reading:

Circus Maximus

Baths of Caracalla

Yeah! 'Murica!

Three countries- Looking into the gardens which are in Malta territory at St. Peter's which is in Vatican territory while standing in Italian territory

Watch these two

So I nearly had a run in with some presumed pickpockets while checking out the sunset from the Aventine hill. The two boys in one of the photos were lurking around the photo taking area. First off, at the photo taking area, "I haven't seen this much love since Narcissus discovered himself" (name that movie) and it's all tourists. When I got there, I immediately spotted one kid, probably 16 years old, walking around the little terrace that photos were being taken from. He didn't have a camera out, and wasn't even looking at the sunset. No, he was pacing back and forth, walking all around the terrace. I waited for someone to claim him, a parent or a girlfriend or a brother, and a couple minutes later, I noticed another boy, about the same age, moving in a similar pattern. They were exchanging hand signals, but weren't speaking to one another, and were watching people as they came and went. Every once and a while, they would get near a couple who was having a PDA moment and then slowly move away, or move into the back of a group, and then move away. For a while, they hovered around me, like wolves around a lion, as I was taking photos and had my backpack on the ground next to me. Frankly, I was waiting for them to try to snatch something, either from me or someone else, because I've been itching for a fight and nothing would sooth my nerves like chasing down and tackling some punk who tried to steal from me, and beating the snot out of him. I began watching them, and I caught them looking at me a couple times, as if sizing me up to see if they could grab my bag and run before I could catch them. Once they realized I was watching them, they slinked off into the park, which is when I grabbed the above photo. Maybe I was being overly paranoid, but when two adolescents show up at a tourist attraction and start lurking, with no interest in the attraction itself, that raises some alarms for me. They slinked away, I left a little while later, caught a bus and then a train home and now I'm here. So that was a "normal" afternoon in Rome. A week from today, I'll be back in the USA in Boston. I'm really excited to be home, as I miss my family, and need to recharge a bit before returning to Rome for the fall semester. Be well, and we'll see what tomorrow brings!