Aimless Wanderings

Today  we didn't have class until 2 pm so we decided to utilize the morning for wandering. We wandered from il Vaticano through the historic district to the Piazza Navona, la Fontana di Trevi, and the Pantheon before stopping for a nice lunch along the way back to school. I love wandering around Rome! I see more on foot than I ever could by taking a bus or car everywhere, plus it's fun to just soak up the sights around me. I threw a coin in the Fontana di Trevi! The legend goes that if you throw one coin in then you will return to Rome someday, if you throw 2 coins in then you will find new love and if you throw 3 in you will either get a marriage or a divorce. I threw a coin in it when I was here in July and I guess it worked because I did return! Much sooner than I ever expected too. I'm not sure if the one I threw in today counts as a second coin since I've thrown one in before or if it counts as another first. Either way I'm happy with the prospects! I had my first espresso today when we stopped for lunch. It was fantastic! And the espresso glass was like a baby mug. The entire thing could fit easily in the palm of my hand. So adorable. Class today was rather interesting. In 103 we learned about the "impersonal" verb tense. Like how to say "One often sees tourists at the Trevi Fountain", "Si vedono spesso i turisti a la Fontana di Trevi". Then we had our first Italian Culture class. Ruggero taught us about the different newspapers in Rome: where they originated, how old they are, what political stance they take, etc. It was really interesting to learn that there is even a newspaper published called "Il Manifesto" that's anti-capitalist and still very pro-communist even though that is no longer a legitimate political party in Italy any more. After class two of the girls and I decided to wander from il Campo de Fiori to Trastevere and wander from there home. Trastevere is a really cool neighborhood filled with cool restaurants and shops. It was very quiet and peaceful while we were there and it was a very relaxing walk. On the way back home we decided to walk actually down below the roads on the walkway that follows along beside the Tevere river. That was cool too. A whole new way to see Rome from down below. There were a bunch of runners down there too, which is the first I've seen of people actually exercising here besides walking!  I officially love living in Rome, but it still feels surreal. I want to be able to get up every day and just go walk through the square in front of the Vatican and meander along the river, just soaking up the beautiful sun and enjoying life. This is definitely going to be a great quarter. :)