A "Professional" Intern: Trains, Mountains, Volcanoes and Travels!

Since I’m currently waiting for an episode of Glee to buffer, I have plenty of time to review the last few weeks.

I got home from spring break, and my friend Em arrived from Oxford for a week. We mainly hung out in Rome, but over Easter weekend, we traveled by train, and it was a totally epic weekend! We started on an overnight train to Milan, where we were upgraded to first class because the ac in the car we were in didn’t work. So, we managed to avoid two women who didn’t understand that it is forbidden to smoke on trains in Italy. They were smoking in the car, and the smoke was so thick Emily and I had problems breathing.

We got to Milan, transferred trains, and headed to Stresa, Italy, which is on the shores of Lake Maiggore. It was stunningly beautiful! Where, in the same place, can you see palm trees, a large lake, and snow capped mountains? We managed to get out to the Islands in the lake, and wandered around them for a few hours. We didn’t go to the Castle, because by the time we realized what it was, the entry fee wasn’t worth it.

We left Stresa, and after confirming trains with an Italian women who spoke absolutely no English, we headed back to Milan, took a train to Bologna, ate dinner, then took a train to Ravenna. We were exhausted by this point, but we still had to find out hostel. Which was closed when we got there. L The receptionist was still at the front desk, so we managed to avoid being homeless for a night, and got a really great night’s sleep.

After breakfast, we wandered around Ravenna, a small town known for 1st and 2nd century Mosaics. Em and I saw them, and then made our own sights. Like the Piazza di JFK. We also took pictures of almost every flower we passed, and spent quite a while frocking in a field right beyond a castle. Have I mentioned my life is amazing?

We saw everything Ravenna had to offer, so we headed back to Rome via the high speed train. While there, we had some interesting encounters with REAL LIVE ITALIANS and chatted with some fellow AUR students who were on the train.

We spent Easter in Rome, but it was raining so we didn’t feel like going to Mass. We went to the Vatican later on in the day to see the Basilica decked out in all her beauty, and surprisingly, there weren’t all that many people there. The flowers outside, on the stairs, were beautiful.

We woke up early on Monday, and headed down to Naples, one area of Italy that I honestly never have to see again. We eventually found Herculaneum, one of the cities buried by Mt Vesuvius. It is amazingly preserved, the frescoes are so cool! Oh, and the pizza we had for lunch was delicious- Naples is the birthplace of pizza.

Classes have been sort of blah recently, nothing of note happening. I spent last weekend and this weekend in Rome, the weather has been fantastic, so I’ve been out exploring the city. Two of my friends had birthdays in the past week, so we went out to dinner for those, and I spent most of yesterday on the beach. The wind was cold, but the sun made up for it. I spent yesterday morning at the Catacombes of Saint Sebastian, which were almost everything I imagined them to be.

Last weekend, I spent a day with my friends Sam and Hilary at Tivoli, another set of ancient ruins just outside of Rome. Just outside the village of Tivoli, the Emperor Hadrian set up his estate, Villa Adriana. The villa itself is massive- it can hold the entire property of Ancient Rome and have extra space leftover. The ruins are impression in their own right, and the property is so massive and green, it was really pretty. Plus, it was my first time going anywhere with both Sam and Hil, so that was really fun.

One of the best things about traveling with Emily and the rest of my group is that she takes pictures of everything, so we were matched on the picture taking front. Here are some of the best, in no particular order.