Benvenuti a Torino... I think.

On Saturday afternoon we arrived in Torino. It is very different from Rome. Truth be told it is not nearly as exciting. It’s pretty in its own way; it has more orthogonal streets that were constructed around the same time as Paris, and it is much neater and cleaner than Rome.

strange statue on the bridge down the street from my apartment

pantheon knockoff

my favorite space in all of Torino... the only place where people actually go. Plus you can see the alps from here.

Italian flags abound everywhere here

The streets are all decked out in celebration of Italy's 150 years as a nation. Torino was Italy's first capital.

It’s also a lot colder. But it definitely does not have the same energy as Rome. It has a nice park, our school is in an actual castle (Castello Valentino), it has one or two nice public spaces, and much better shopping (I got 2 pairs of jeans for 10 euro!)… but it also has bugs. Since moving in here we have not been able to keep food in the apartment because of some unwanted house guests. My morning cereal currently resides in the freezer where our new friends cannot get to it. Luckily the landlord was pretty fast in calling someone to put bug poison in the apartment. Hopefully we can actually cook dinner tomorrow night. We had some very delicious pizza last night, but it is definitely not worth the 11 Euro and the stomach ache to eat like that every night. Class is pretty intense. We have group work every day from 9 to 6, but we have no homework. Unfortunately there is also nothing to do. After this is posted I am probably going to go exploring. I need to find some sort of past time that will make my stay here more enjoyable. Everyone from last year said they liked the Torino portion of the trip the best. However I (along with everyone else) am really missing Roma right now.

Orvietto

Sunday was our first day trip. We went to the Umbrian hill town of Orvietto, famous for their white wine (Orvietto Classico), their ceramics, and their umbricelli.

Orvietto's main piazza

It was such a beautiful day. Orvietto is a hill town built on a large tufa rock, and the medieval residents, as well as the etruscans long before them, carved caves into the rock and used them as cool places for storage, work areas, and cooling/ventilation. We started off the day with a tour of the caves.

 It was so cool! They even had places to raise pigeons for protein so that there would be a food source during times of siege.

After that we were given a few hours for lunch and exploration. We had the umbricelli that Francesco recommended and it was phenomenal. Orvietto is also known for its part in starting the slow food movement, which emphasizes using high quality, fresh, local ingredients. After eating this, I see why.

Umbricelli al Pomodoro

And of course we took a little time to check out the local shops.

Ceramics

After lunch, we met up again to take a tour of the town church. No one told us that we would be going to a church, so I dressed for the 34 degree Celsius weather… aka 100 degrees. The church recently started not permitting entrance to people with bare shoulders, so I was pulled aside along with several others and told I could not enter. That is until RPI bought us all t-shirts. Best possible scenario.

We then went to the bell tower in the middle of the town, and got to overlook the whole hill top.

After that we took a long walk through the hilly town. It was very warm and a little tiring, but these views made it totally worth it.

Just before leaving we went to the well of Saint Peter. Because the town was built on top of volcanic rock, the only natural water source is deep below the rock, and it would not be possible to access the water outside of the town during times of siege. So the town drilled a 180 ft well that has 2 spiraling staircases, one on top of the other. Donkeys would go town one stair case to fetch water, and up another staircase to bring it back. This allowed for a constant supply of water during times of need. I am proud to say that I was able to join their ranks.

So many new experiences. Every aspect of this trip has been amazing in its own right, and we have only just begun. I am so excited to see what awaits in Torino. 

A Day in the Life

I have officially been in Rome long enough to have something that resembles a routine. I love it here. We have an amazing guide, Francesco, who takes us on tours for half the day. He calls it our “orientation to Rome.” He is showing us all of the major monuments over our initial stay here. We have already gone to the EUR museum showing the history of Rome, the Forum, and the Coliseum. 

EUR

Monument to Vittorio Emanuele

Michelangelo's Campidoglio

our amazing guide Francesco...blocking my shot of the Campadoglio

Roman Forum

Arch of Titus

Colosseum

Colosseum

The only down side is the heat. It is incredible. Our first day someone actually passed out in the museum and had to be taken to the hospital. Fortunately there are fountains everywhere, and the water is delicious. 

The other half of the day we take an Italian class… in a palace. The Palazzo Taverna. It is so pretty. Here’s what a typical walk to school looks like:

Piazza San Cosimato... usually filled with produce vendors. at this particular moment all that was left behind was their trash

Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere. Santa Maria is one of the oldest catholic churches in existance, dating back to the 10th century.

Via del Moro

Piazza Trilussa

Via Giulia

Water Fountain + tourist

Arch of Giulia

Chiesa Nuova

Main entrance to Palazzo Taverna. aka my school

So beautiful. I am a little sad we only have a week left here before Torino…and that we don’t have a whole lot of time to explore on our own. But I can’t complain too much since I am living the dream.

Tomorrow we go to Orvietto, an Italian hill town known for its white wine. I am so excited! I just hope I wake up in time for the train since we are all going to our first discoteca tonight ;)

Au Revoir Paris

Monday was our final day in Paris. It was the first truly sunny day the entire time we were there. And of course no trip to Paris would be complete without a visit to the Louvre. Here were a few of my favorite parts:

The Louvre

Atrium in the Louvre

Winged Victory... seeing this in real life literally took my breath away

Inside the Denon Wing

Madonna of the Rocks- Leonardo Da Vinci

BEAUTIFUL ceilings

real mummy

seated scribe of sagara

best salad ever

After that we headed back to our neighborhood, got the best salad I have ever eaten in my life (lettuce, tomato, toasted bread with goats cheese, and fried potatoes... so good!), picked up our luggage and got on the train to Rome for our 16 hour ride. It was not the most pleasant experience. There is no shower and very little toilet paper on board. But when we finally did arrive it was well worth the wait. Our bus from the train station to our neighborhood, Trastevere, took us right past the Coliseum and the Trajan Markets. So crazy. And our school is in a palazzo… a five minute walk from the Vatican. Unfortunately things have been so busy trying to move in that I have not photographed anything here yet. Its coming soon I promise. Until then, Arrivederchi.   

Catholics and Jews

This morning we got on the metro and headed for mass at St. Sulpice. This church was one of the settings in the Davinci Code, and it has an organist who gives a concert after the 10:30 mass. It was… completely incomprehensible. But the church itself was very pretty inside. 

 

Afterwards we headed to the Luxembourg Gardens, which were right down the street. They were also very pretty. There must have been dozens of statues of ladies who were once members of the royal court. Another perk was that it was one of the best smelling places I have been in Paris. Which was nice for a change. After exploring the park we headed to Marais

Marais is the Jewish Quarter. It is also the only place in Paris that has shops that are mostly open on a Sunday. It was very lively. Marais is also the home of the Pompidou Center, a modern art museum that we also have heard a lot about in our classes. It was designed by Renzo Piano when he was still a student, and his design that pulled all of the mechanical systems to the exterior of the building won in an international competition that included many already established architects. 

Rebecca and I had planned on going to a club called Machine du Moulin Rouge, which is a ways down the street from out hostel. That is until we decided to check out the neighborhood. Granted, its kind of cool that it is literally next door to Moulin Rouge, but after seeing the other tenants on the street, we decided that our time and money would be better served elsewhere. 

 

So instead we decided to get dressed up and go see the Eiffel Tower at night. After dinner of course. 

 

It was absolutely beautiful. It was completely different than during the day. Well worth the extra trip, especially since it was out last night here. In 24 hours I will be en route to Roma!