Hello everyone! It’s been a long time since I have written, but I’ve been busy! My friends are napping right now before we head to the beach so I have a few minutes to share how my week has been. I left off last blog with me getting lost and luckily that hasn’t happened since!
Classes started Tuesday and I had Art Lecture from 8:30-11:50 AM every Tuesday and Thursday. On Wednesdays I have microeconomics from 3-6:30 and on Friday I have micro from 9:00-11:50 AM. Classes are going well and even though I’ve had to write many papers for micro, we have already had one site visit per each class!
On Wednesday, my micro professor treated us to delicious gelato at Gelateria La Romana! I believe that it is ranked #9 of 711 dessert places in Rome and #31 of any food place in Rome. It definitely deserved the high ranking! Our assignment was to visit the gelato shop and observe marketing and economics then write a paper describing what we noticed. In turn, he bought everyone a medio gelato with three scoops. I got lemon, strawberry, and stracciatella (sort of like a cross between chocolate chip and cookies and cream) on a cone. You had the option of filling the cone with chocolate first but I forgot to ask so I didn’t get any. The gelato was the best I have had so far in Rome. The lemon gelato is my new favorite flavor of any type of dessert. It was absolutely incredible. My friends and I will definitely be going back!
On Thursday, we went to the Capitoline Museums with my art class. We took the bus from school to the museum and it was raining so I had a couple of people under my umbrella with me. After arriving, we spent around two hours walking around the three wings of the museum and learning about the history of the museum.
After we finished at the museum, we took the bus back to school and a group of friends and I went to the market Campo de’ Fiori. We had another paper to write over this market so we sat and observed the economics occurring in front of us. My friend Kristin bought a wallet but that was all that anyone bought. I returned home and then went to the Italian H&M with two of my roommates to see what it was like. I bought some new jeans and we headed home where we worked on homework. Later that night, my two roommates, Anna and Lauren, and I went to McDonald’s so we could compare Italian McDonald’s to the American one. Let me tell you, McDonald’s are so different here. When we first walked in, it was just the café part so we had to go farther back to order food. Past some tables were electronic ordering machines where I ordered and paid for my meal. A minute later, our meals were ready and we headed downstairs to eat. It was absolutely freezing downstairs which was unusual since nowhere in Rome has air conditioning. We ate and then headed home.
Yesterday (Friday), we went to class and then my friends Lindsay and Kristin came to my apartment for lunch. I made chicken and asparagus and then we got gelato after (we have to write another paper over gelato). After cleaning up and finishing packing, we headed to the airport to catch a 6:20 flight to Barcelona!!!!
We got to the airport around 4, got some food, then boarded the plane. I wrote a paper for micro about Pompeii on the plane and talked to my friends for a bit before we landed. We were on one of those regional jets (tiny) that you have to be bused from there to the airport so my first steps in Spain were actually outside! We grabbed a taxi and headed to the Airbnb where I am now! Last night we went to a Spanish restaurant and ordered burgers and fries because we were craving American food.
Today, we got up and went to La Sagrada Famila which is absolutely gorgeous. It is still under construction (and has been forever) but it is still beautiful despite the construction. We had lunch at a little Spanish restaurant where we got the actual Spanish dish paella. We shopped around for a bit and visited the FCB museum which was interesting. Now we are back at the Airbnb and my friends have just woken up from their naps so we can head to the beach!
This is my first time in Spain and I could not be more excited. I have now (technically) visited 5 european countries: Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, and the Vatican City (which I recently learned is actually a different country than Italy). I already love the laid back atmosphere here as apposed to the hustle and bustle of Rome. I’ll try to keep everyone updated more often!
Ciao and Adiós!
Taylor
Read more from Taylor at https://taylorsitalianavventura.wordpress.com/
Check out http://studyabroad.uark.edu/romecampus for more information on the U of A Rome Center: Summer Campus.
