From the Hills of Umbria to the Walls of the Vatican

Bravo: This past weekend I took a day trip to a town called Assisi in Umbria. It was quite possibly the most beautiful place I have ever been, due to the combination of perfect weather, a beautiful cathedral (st. Francis of Assisi) and a castle tower that allowed you to see miles of rolling hills and mountains all around. On Sunday my roommates, my friend Kyle and I woke early and went to the Vatican Museums. They are free the last Sunday of the month. The walls, ceilings, and of course artwork was all beautiful. The Sistine Chapel is awe inspiring, to think that one person painted all of that is amazing, especially to a person like me who has little patients for tedious tasks like that.

Bruto: At the museum there were lots of pushy, self righteous, extremely short, old Italian women.

Interessante: After a week of mostly rain, this week is forecasted to be sunny and warm all week. We are traveling to Napels, Sorrento, and Pompeii this weekend, so hopefully it remains nice!

Dear Roman Architects, Please Buy a Triangle

Sorry about the lack of blog lately, studio has been consuming my life.

Bravo: Last Thursday my art history class took a field trip to Capitoline hill. This is where all of the emperors and rulers once held their forums. Today it houses a museum that has many famous pieces of art, and the symbol or Rome: Romulus, Remus and the She Wolf. I also took an elevator to the top of the Victor Emanuel monument where you can see almost all of Rome and the surrounding hills. One night my roommates and I walked over to the Vatican. We are planning on returning this Sunday to see the inside.

Bruto: The floor plans we are drawing for our studio are ridiculous. There are absolutely no right angels in any of the plans. This leaves us to a method that involves using a compass and measurements to figure out the angles of the walls.

Interessante: I have discovered that I love every flavor of gelato, no exceptions. I may have to roll home from Rome

The Baths of Caracalla

Bravo: Two of my roommates and I decided to go on an adventure and see the Baths of Caracalla. The baths were built around 200 AD and are surprisingly still very intact in comparison to several of the other ruins we have tried to see. The ruins are huge, it is easy to imagine what the building must have looked like in all its splendor because the majority of the walls are still intact and there are fragments of the floors and wall mosaics scattered throughout the ruins. Bravo #2: My roommate Jami and I made bruschetta and it was delecious!

Bruto: On the way to the baths we realized we were going to pass the Circus Maximus. I thought this was going to be really cool, it is where chariot races used to be held. Sadly, all that is left is a big divot in the ground with an abundance of weeds. Bruto #2: we started measuring our space for our new project which is designing a retail space. All of the buildings are super old here and I'm not quite sure they were capable of producing a right angle back in the day. All of the spaces we have measured thus far are not square and none of the walls are square. This will make for an interesting plan drawing. Bruto #3: the bruschetta though delecious delivered some wicked heart burn!

Interessante: Due to the fact that I have been eating gelato like it has been going out of style, and that I like to run a few times a week I decided to join a gym. I don't think many Italians work out or perhaps they always do so inside becuase I don't think I have ever recieved so many perverse looks before in my life when walking to the gym this morning in my work out attire. It was as if I were a three headed monser or something. Interessante #2: As we walked through the baths all of us began to wonder, what did they wear to a bath house like this? The conclusion: they must have gone naked. I'm sure it wasn't awkward at the time, but the though of being naked with hundreds of other bathers made us all squirm a little.

The Hauntings of ISU in Rome

Second week in Rome, first week of class down.

Bravo: I'm only taking 13 credits consisting of 4 classes. It feels amazing to have some free time after last semesters 18.5 credits and 9 classes. In my spare time I have found a favorite market where they sell about every type of food under the sun, and everything is fresh and delicious.

Bruto: Rome has two types of seasons, the hot dry season and the rainy season. I was unaware that there would be such a drastic change. On Friday it was hot and sunny, then yesterday it rained, today it rained, and every day on the forecast for the upcoming week is rain rain rain. Good think I packed my umbrella and raincoat.

Interessante: Our design studio is located in the old Cenci Mansion. Most people in Rome know the story of the famous family. The husband was known in society and was also well known as an adultor and for beat his children and wife. They schemed and murdered him. After the murder they were found out, the women beheaded and the men hung. September 11th (2 days ago) was the anaversary of their death.

French Press Coffee = Fail

After having possibly the best coffee of my life one of my roommates and I were inspired to purchase french press thermos'.

Bravo: The coffee we consumed to inspire this endevor was like no coffee I have ever had before, it was delicious (probably because it was made with whole milk).

Bruto: After boiling water, measuring coffee grounds and finally "pressing" the coffee I managed to make 8oz of diesel strength undrinkable coffee. No amount of milk or sugar could cure it. It had to be dumped.

Interessante: I now know: the coffee purchased is super strong and using less than the recommended amount would have been a good idea. Also, be extremely careful about the whole getting grounds in your liquid situation because its not fun to pick them out of your teeth. Creamer is essential. And if all else fails it can be used to make hot tea, which is pretty much fool proof.

Do I have to go to class???

It is the first official week of school, and I'm not sure I want to leave summer behind! After living in Rome for a little over a week I'm starting to get the hang of daily life and how much walking is going to take place over the next 4 months.

Bravo: It has finally started to cool down, I'm not quite sure when I started to consider 85 and sunny cool... but it beats 95 and sunny. I'm not sweating by 7 am and can actually sleep with a blanket! Bravo #2: I'm starting to get the hang of cooking. My roommates and I are switching off every other night with cooking dinner. Thus far my roommate Jami and I have successfully made dinner 3 times, tonight we are attempting stir fry, hopefully this doesn't end up in the next bruto section!

Bruto: The roads of Rome are like pick up sticks thrown haphazardly all over the place. People use them as a place to walk, ride their bicycles, scooters, and drive like crazy people. People also ride their scooters and bike on the limited sidewalks as well. This has made finding a good place to run rather difficult. Today I ran by the river but there are an abundance of homeless people, uneven cobbelstones, and homeless people urine. I'm not sure I will frequent this spot.

Interessante: On Saturday a group of friends and I ventured to the Medeteranean, which was beautiful. The waves were huge! It was exactly what we all needed after such a scorching hot week. The beach itself wasn't interesting, but it was all of the vendors everywhere! They sold everything from watches to fake Prada to iced coconut. Interessante #2: I'm not sure if I am starting to look more Italian or less like a tourist or if people are just hopelessly lost but I have been stopped and asked directions twice now.

Some Like it HOT

3 days ago I packed up in Paris and shipped off to Rome to begin my actual schoolwork. I have not stopped sweating since!

Bravo: My apartment is really nice (also 500 years old), it is a little on the small side, especially when it comes to the kitchen but the living room and bedrooms have ample space. Studio is only a 15 minute walk which will be really convenient. Last night we went to the Pantheon, which is HUGE, and smack dab in the middle of a bunch or random buildings. I'm really excited to go inside it and have a look around. We also went to the Trevi Fountain where I tossed in my coin and made a wish. During the walk between the two my roommates and I got gelato, I don't know if it was because I looked hungry or what but i was served a scoop the size of a large mango atop a tiny sugar cone!

Bruto: If you couldn't tell from the title, it is extremely hot here. At home I don't think it was over 90 degrees once this summer. It was 97 the first day we got here and hasn't gone down much since then. At first I thought it a nuisance that shops were closed between noon and 3. Now I know it is because it is too scorching hot to do anything but lay sprawled out and take a nap!

Interessante: PDA: it is everywhere. If you are out with your significant other you have to have some sort of personal display of affection at all times, no expections. We have deemed this to be due to the fact that many people live with their parents for much longer than we do, thus they never get to have alone time except on the streets. Interessante number 2: the street vendors! On our journey to class every day we pass many street vendors, they sell everything. Need a new bag, got that, new shoes, got that, new underwear, they have that too! No, I have not purchased new underwear from the street vendors, but hey, who knows, when in rome! (just kidding)