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I Made It!

This morning I awoke to the sound of bells ringing in the distance. The pleasant noise was coming from the Duomo, Florence’s largest cathedral which is located two blocks from my apartment. As I lay in bed, I reflected on the past week I have spent in Italy. It has truly been a whirlwind. I arrived in Rome on Sunday morning, and quickly settled into the hotel that my group was staying at before heading out to explore the city. Rome is unlike any place that I have ever been. I have never experienced a city which houses such a unique blend of old and new. Vespas buzz past ruins from before the birth of Christ and the “Wedding Cake”, a huge memorial structure in the center of the city built a hundred years ago is considered modern. On my first day in Rome I threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain (superstition says that this gesture will ensure my return to the city), climbed the Spanish Steps, and sampled fantastic gelato. The next day we toured the Coliseum and the Roman Forum with our tour guide Paolo, who did an excellent job of giving us a sense of what life was like for the people who lived in ancient Roman times. We saw where the gladiators prepared for battle, where the Vestal Virgins were housed, and where Caesar Augustus was cremated.

Even though I thought that the ruins in Rome were well preserved, I was completely unprepared for the fascinating tour of Pompeii the next day. The city, uncovered just a couple hundred years ago, seems almost unchanged from the time when it was a bustling metropolis. It was truly a history lover’s dream. We toured through homes of wealthy merchants with preserved frescoes, bars and shops, and even the famed brothels of Pompeii. From Pompeii we headed to Sorrento, a seacoast town on the Almafi Coast. Sorrento is an incredibly beautiful place, and the water of the Mediterranean was a welcome respite from the heat and humidity. Swimming in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius was a real trip. After returning to Rome that night we headed out the next morning to travel to Florence. We took a stop in Siena, a peaceful medieval city in Tuscany with some very quirky traditions. The city is divided into sixteen sections, each with a different animal representative. Each section of the city sponsors a rider for the Il Palio, a huge horse race in the main square held twice a year. Our tour guide (a funky Italian lady named Donatella) told us that for a up to week before the horse race, married couples from different sections of the city (say a caterpillar and an elephant) refuse to speak to one another because of the fierce competitiveness associated with the race. After Siena we finally arrived in Florence.

Amalfi Coast

Though I have only been here three days, I can already feel myself falling in love with this city. It has the hustle and bustle feel of a larger city, yet it still maintains the charm of a smaller one. In this way (and this way only) Florence reminds me of Boston, and I am feeling more at home here everyday. My apartment, located near the city center, is truly amazing. Spacious and modern, it is a recently converted bed and breakfast (I live in the “green room”) and has spectacular views of the city, along with a large terrace which is my first stop when I wake up in the mornings. The people on the trip and those who I live with (six guys from all over-my roommate is from South Africa) are really nice and I’ve already made friends with many of them. I can already feel my Italian improving and I’m getting a sense of what life is like here and starting to settle into a daily routine. I have so much more to say and many pictures to post (my internet connection is not so great) but am super tired and need to get some rest. I will go to sleep tonight knowing and loving the fact that I will be woken up by the bells.

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