11/12 - 11/21

11/12 - Monday (Family Week!)

For my Liturgy class today, my professors thought it would be perfect timing to go to the Vatican Museums & the Sistine Chapel! So I went with my family during my class time. I had to rush back though to register for classes, but the rest of the day was great! We went to lunch at Cafe` Prati down the street from St. John's and I got to catch up with Armando, one of the brothers who owns the place.

11/13 - Tuesday

For Roman History class, we all went to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatine Hill. There's a combo ticket you can buy to go to all 3 since the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill are across the street from each other with the Arch of Constantine in between. BUY THE COMBO TICKET when you're in Rome! It's worth it and the tickets lasts like 2 days. So if you run out of time at the Colosseum, you can return the next day to see the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. 

11/14 - Wednesday

We got up really early to see the Pope at the weekly Wednesday Papal Audience! It was amazing, though everyone was cheering like it was the Olympics. I also had my 2nd Italian presentation today on History.

11/15 - Thursday

We had Philosophy class at the Galleria D'Arte Moderna...again. I liked it the first time, but we came back to talk about particular pieces this time.

I went to dinner with my family before they left for home. We went to one of my favorite restaurants near Castel Sant'Angelo, which they loved. 

11/16 - Friday

My family took the earliest flight out of Rome to Milan to fly home. We watched a movie called 100 Steps (I Cento Passi) in Italian class. There was a dinner tonight for people going to Florence on Saturday - another day trip.

11/17 - Saturday

The day trip to Florence was great! Florence is known for their leather, so checkout their belts, purses, and another leather things while you're there. Florence has street vendors that are able to put up with your haggling for good prices, so don't be afraid to tell them you'll pay something less than what's there. Also, the vendors give 60% discounts to students so make sure you have your ID on you just in case. I didn't show my ID to any of them. Just tell them you're from Rome. If you look like a student, they'll give it to you for a lower price. I bought a ton of stuff in Florence and saved a bunch of money. I also bought an amazingly expensive leather jacket for a price that was not even close to the ticket price. Just haggle - it's that simple. It's easier in Florence than in Rome.

11/20 - Tuesday

I had my presentation for Roman History at the Museo Nazionale on Roman Sculpture, which was pretty cool. I enjoy art and I can spend hours in a museum - that's just how I am. Others can tolerate art for a certain amount of time and leave, but that isn't me. If it's art that I like, I'll spend more time there. This museum was really cool and tied into everything we're learning about - Roman Emperors. Definitely checkout these museums in Rome, especially the little ones that no one's heard of, they're worth the adventure.

11/21 - Wednesday

The amazing night with President and Mrs. Garvey! We were lucky enough to go out to dinner with them tonight to a nice restaurant in Rome. They bought dinner for us and all of the CUA students were able to have a really fantastic time with them. We drank with them, we talked to them about things we're doing next semester, and most of all - about Rome and Italy. They seemed sincerely intrigued about our semester abroad and President Garvey said this to us:

"I told my son, when he studied abroad, that I don't care what his grades are - if he learns a new language and is able to use it, that's the best education there is!"

That definitely stuck with me.