Most of my friends are heading to Cinque Terre right now so we decided to celebrate last night. Everyone came over after class around 8 and we walked to a restaurant about 15 minutes away. I had an amazing dish that reminded me a lot of the paella that I had in Spain and we were served free sparkling white wine since one of my friend’s food was out later than the rest of ours. After the delicious dinner, we headed for our first dessert of the night (in typical Italian fashion) at Gelateria La Romana.
If you have read my previous blogs, you might be familiar with this gelateria. We visited the La Romana location by Termini train station for class a few weeks ago, but I have just recently discovered that there is a second location that is only a 5 minute walk from my apartment!! I got my typical cone and then we headed back to my apartment to have cake. I got the cake from a place called Brown & Co. that my roommates and I sometimes go to for dessert. It was white frosting with white cake (my and my grandma’s favorite, I know I’m making her mouth water) and a fudge center (my mother’s favorite). Our friends sang happy birthday to Anazaria and I and we enjoyed cake before they headed home around 11:40. I FaceTimed my mom around 11:50 and we talked for a little under an hour so she was able to wish me happy birthday in Italian time.
This morning, I had to be at Parco della Musica by 9:15 AM so my roommate and I left at 8 AM. The trip included a 15 minute walk to a metro station, a 5 minute metro ride, a 10 minute tram ride, and a 5 minute walk to the park entrance so we were there at 8:45, well ahead of schedule. We waited for everyone to show up and once they did, we went inside for a tour before performances and rehearsals began at 10 AM.
Parco della Musica was once the site of the 1960 Summer Olympic Games. After the games, the area was left with lots of unused space, so in 1993 they decided to transform the space into a “City of Music.” Construction got delayed but it was finally finished in 2002. We saw the outdoor concert area first that holds 3000 spectators, the largest hall next which holds 2800, the middle hall next which holds 1500, and the smallest last which holds 750 people. I absolutely loved seeing this part of Rome that I had not known existed before today.
In the middle sized hall, there was a trio rehearsing for a performance later in the day so we were able to sit back and listen to the beautiful music they were making. After the tour, I headed back to my apartment where I am now. I am getting ready to head out to buy myself a birthday present that I will post a picture of later
Thank you again to everyone for making me feel loved on my birthday!Ciao!
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.
