I find a church and don't get totally lost for once

Today my first afternoon class was cancelled, which left me with a gap of about three hours between my morning and late afternoon class. So I decided to go find this church I've been wanting to see. I mentioned it in my earlier post, about the Roman catacombs. It's the Church of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere. It's not far from the school so after my morning class I set out to go find it.

Originally she was buried in the catacombs, so I learned about her there, but her remains were moved to her church later, which I where I visited today.

Okay, a little about Saint Cecilia, since she's my favorite saint I've learned about so far. In the second century, real early Christianity, she was this noblewoman. Our tour guide said that she was really young when she died, like, fourteen. So she's this really young girl, and she gets given in marriage to this other nobleman. She prays to God to not let him take her virginity. Now, all the Catholic websites say this was because she wanted her heart and her body pure forever. Personally, I think it was because she was probably around eleven years old, given in marriage to this guy she didn't know and didn't choose, and he was probably more like thirty-five- she was scared! She's still a baby. So she prays to God that no man can ever touch her.

God does her one better. He sends this angel with two flaming swords to watch over her and make sure that her new husband never takes her virginity. She warns him, on their wedding night, that there's an angel watching over her and it's gonna be really mad if he tries anything. (I think Cecilia had more steel that we normally expect from young girls. She sounds pretty sharp from what I've read.) And her husband, of course, is like "wait what. There's an angel now? Where is it? Show it to me." She tells him to go get baptized, and he does, then he comes back and sees this avenging angel above her, guarding her. The angel gives them both these flower crowns.

So they convert to Christianity, and she preaches and converts a bunch of people, and finally the government gets wind of this and decides to kill her. They lock her in the baths in her own home and crank up the fires really, really far, to the point where there's no air in there at all.

Cecilia doesn't die. Cecilia doesn't even sweat. Cecilia sings holy songs the entire time.

After a day and a night of this, they send in an executioner, and again, Cecilia is probably fourteen. The executioner hits her three times in the neck and still, Cecilia doesn't die. She holds her head on and lives for three more days, all while bleeding all over, praying, giving last blessings, and still singing.

Finally she dies, and gets buried in the catacombs. They dig her up centuries later and find her body still perfectly preserved. It's the first instance of this happening in history, and it's seen as a miracle.

Now she's the patron saint of music and musicians, and she's got this church.

Honestly, I wanted to come to this church even before I got here. There's this one blogger I follow that posts a lot of creepy and eerie stuff, like abandoned places and scary stories, and earlier she posted a picture of the statue inside the church. It's a fairly well-known statue. So I wanted to see it.

The church at first surprised me. I was half-expecting a run-down looking building. (A lot of churches are like this in Italy- they look all sad and not taken care of, then you walk in and there's all this amazing art and gold everywhere.)

And the garden was very pretty. Lots of different kinds of roses. It felt like something a fourteen-year-old girl would want.

The inside of the church was pretty typical. Art, decorated ceilings, the usual. Like all churches here, they had these offering stands where you could make an offering, say a prayer, and light a candle- it acts as a blessing. Normally I don't do that- I leave it to the actual Catholics around here- but I've been a little nervous about flying out to Palermo because the airport isn't the safest. So I lit a candle for Jesus and another for Mary and asked them to keep an eye out for me this weekend.

This is the famous sculpture. It's supposed to be Cecilia after she died. It's so weird to look at it in person- it feels like if you look at it for long enough, you'll notice it breathing. The hands have two fingers extended on one hand and one on the other- it's supposed to stand for the father, the son, and the holy ghost.

So, I see the statue, I wander around the church. I'm about ready to go, when I see this sign. It's in Italian, so it takes me a minute to read, but when I figure it out, it says something like "to go down in the crypts is 2.50". And you know me, if you've been reading this blog, I am all about crypts and catacombs and all that stuff. So I find these stairs, pay the old gentleman at the table 2.50, and go down into the crypts.

First of all, I passed someone coming down, but that was all. I was all alone down there, probably because it's 11 am on a Thursday and not exactly peak crypt viewing time. So it's just me. And it's so quiet. But it doesn't feel creepy, for some reason. And it is big. Other crypts, live I've been in at Assisi, is just one room that you go in, see the remains, say a prayer, and leave. This was way bigger. Lots of winding hallways and rooms, and lots more that was blocked off. I wonder how deep it went.

Honestly, the creepiest part was when, after about ten minutes of poking around, I suddenly came to this underground church area. It was just all ruins, and then suddenly this lavish worship area. It kinda felt like I was about to stumble onto some secret cult or something.

And, at the front, behind the gates, is Saint Cecila's remains.

And then I left, got a falafel from a shop nearby, and came back to school. Not a bad morning.

A brief aside about pizza

Hello readers! I haven't posted much lately because it's the worst week ever here as far as schoolwork goes (four group projects, three papers, an oral exam, a term project, and exams are next week) so I've been working basically every spare moment I have. I go to an American school in Rome, but it still ended up with some traits of European education- namely, the part where most of your grade relies on a big test or a project right at the end, as opposed to scattered tests through the semester in America.

Also last weekend was my trip to Germany! I'm going to make a post about it later, I haven't had a chance to upload my photos yet onto my computer. The German people are very friendly. I think they're the most friendly in all the countries I've been in so far. And on Friday I'm traveling again! Whew, I'm exhausted.

But I still wanted to make a post updating on my life. I'm mostly just sad that my leaving date is 13 days away (I need more time!). I have a few regrets that there were some places I couldn't go- I would have loved to see Spain and Greece- but the thing is I wouldn't give up any other of my trips, and when I talk to people who did travel a lot, they really regret not spending more time in Rome. So I guess either way, you can't have it all. I'm glad I chose to spend a few weekends in Italy, and that I chose to travel Italy. This is my host country, I want to know it. I'm pretty happy with what I chose to do. I guess the only thing I regret in the end is not having more time.

I got nominated by a professor here to be a study abroad ambassador back home! It's sort of an honor here, so I'm very excited. Plus it's essentially ground-level marketing- my first marketing job! I can finally put something that feels more relevant on my resumè. (Not that my current jobs aren't good, but I still haven't had any customer service experience). I get to go to study abroad fairs and talk about studying in Rome, and I also get to work with my study abroad office and talk to students who are thinking about/about to go to Rome. They gave us a little drawstring bag and an AUR window cling and everything.

So, aside from my life, I wanted to talk about pizza, since judging by my page views, the things that get people the most interested on this blog is food. And I don't blame them. Hey, if you come to Italy, you gotta love food.

There's this place down near the university called "Pizzeria da Simone" (pronounced See-moan-ay, not Sim-ohn). It's my favorite place to go when I have a long day and I want some lunch. Basically, places like this are the Italian equivalent of fast food. And up here, in a non-touristy area, it's good. (I've been to similar places in touristy areas…not great. Not great.)

Basically you've got everything from five to fifteen types of pizza laid out, like this.

Depending on the demand and what they want to make that day, the types vary. There's some that are around most of the time, but it always changes. Like, usually there's margherita pizza (the most simple, mozzarella, tomato, and basil), but sometimes it's gone and they just haven't made more yet.

See how some pizzas don't have sauce? I mentioned it before, pizza in Italy does not automatically come with tomato sauce. And you know what? It doesn't suffer for it. It's still delicious.

My favorite kind is pizza 'nduja. It comes from Calabria (in Italy). (I found this out today when I asked a resident student here who got the same thing. I don't know what most of these are called, and the people there don't really speak English, plus the place is always busy.)

'Nduja is a spicy, spreadable pork sausage. The pizza is pretty simple, but so good. So good.

This is what it looks like flat. So, you go into this place, wait for the person to notice you, and order your pizza. Usually I just point, since I don't know what they're called anyway. The person will slice off a strip of pizza (they usually hold the knife over a width and look up to see if that's how much you want. Since I don't speak Italian, I hold my hands closer or farther apart to indicate more or less. This is, unless you're getting the last bit of pizza, then you're getting what you're getting and don't argue.) Then they weigh it, charge you by the weight, heat the piece up in the back, then cut it in half, put it together like a sandwich, and send you out. Italian fast food.

This is what it looks like ready to eat.

Usually a good piece costs between 2 to 5 euros, depending on how much you want. And it's a very good meal! You really can't compare this to American quick lunches. Pizza 'nduja, I am gonna miss you most of all.

Lemons, Volcanoes, and the Beach

This weekend I went on a class trip out to the Sorrento area. This is gonna be a really picture-heavy post, I just hope everything loads correctly here.

First we departed AUR around seven am. The bus ride was the same as always- I fell asleep as soon as the bus started moving and only woke up to have a cappuccino and an incredibly delicious pastry at a rest stop. Near eleven we got to our destination: Mount Vesuvius! This is the volcano that destroyed Pompeii in the first century AD. Our bus took us pretty far up, and then we had to hike the rest of the way up. It was…kind of tiring, as an understatement. Let's just say it was an awesome calf workout.

We walked all the way up, gaped at the volcano for awhile, and ate lunches that we'd packed at the top. The thing about Vesuvius is that it's not done- it's just dormant. "Sleeping". There could be another eruption at any time. So, as our graduate student guide told us, "if you feel an earthquake, run for the mountains."

The inside of the crater

The view from the top. That's Naples down there.

 Fun fact: If Vesuvius was going to erupt again, there is no possible way to get everyone safely out of Naples. They've run scenario after scenario, even planning to evacuate people on boats- it just isn't physically possible to get everyone out. If you live in Naples and Vesuvius erupts, you're majorly screwed. Yet a lot of people still live in Naples. Personally, I'd be panicking all the time. Even staying there for a day, we were all a little nervous. We like safe, volcano-free Rome.

Snapping selfies with the volanco

There were a ton of lizards around and on the volcano. I counted twenty-seven. 

It started to rain just as we were leaving. I scored some souvenirs and used the worst bathroom in Europe, I'm pretty sure, and we all climbed back on the bus.

It's worth mentioning that my shoes finally started to fall apart. I bought these tennis shoes for nine euros in a flea market on one of my first weekends here. Honestly, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did. But they served my purposes pretty well. They're super dirty and getting ragged now- I just need them to last for three more weeks, honestly. I was never planning on bringing these home.

After Vesuvius we got back to our hotel in Sorrento around one and had free time before dinner at seven. We decided to find the beach. (My roommates are all super obsessed with beaches. I'm not so much- I think that comes with coming from Michigan. Lakes for life.)

The view from the rooftop terrace at our hotel

Also on the rooftop (featuring two of my friends claiming the chairs)

Sorrento is a lemon town. It seemed like a good third of it was lemon farms, and the parts that weren't were devoted to selling, buying, and eating lemons. I can't communicate the amount of lemon I saw this weekend. Lemons, lemon candy, lemon ceramics, lemon decorations, lemon juice, lemon aprons, limoncello, lemon lemon lemon lemon. It was only semi-touristy, too. These people just. Like. Lemons. I ate so many lemon things this weekend. Are lemons good for you? Because I ate more lemons this weekend than in the past year all together.

One of many lemon product shops

These lemons were as big as a baby's head, I kid you not. Look at those apples. Those are normal apples.

And of course, after some walking around, we decided to get gelato (which is always what we decide to do at any given moment). However, once inside the shop, the man working there told us that the lemon slushes were super popular- because lemon- and they used lemon juice from Sorrento. So we went for it. And we did not regret it at all. This was nothing like the lemon italian ice you buy in America. This makes American lemon ice look like a pathetic joke.

The view from above a main street. Look at that ocean.

These purple flowers sprung up overnight a few weeks ago and now they're everywhere in Italy. Actually everywhere. It's insane. They aren't lilacs, but they're pretty and smell good.

One of the shopping streets in Sorrento

We did find the beach but none of us were dressed for beaches (we were all dressed for hiking a volcano) so we just sat on a bench and soaked up a little sun before heading back to the hotel.

On Saturday we headed out bright and early to the island of Capri. We had to take a ferry from Sorrento. When we got off, it was a little cold and overcast, but we didn't let it rain on our parade. (All the girls were wearing skirts and dresses because we all had this faint hope that we were going to get some sun on our sad pale legs.)

Coming into Capri

My favorite cat. Just chilling in a bike basket.

We forked over seventeen euros to take a two-hour boat tour of the island. It was well worth the money. Capri is absolutely beautiful and you can't appreciate it from the populated part alone. The sun came out as we were on the boat and it was so nice. We couldn't hear much of what our tour guide was saying, but he didn't talk all that much so we just mostly drank in the island.

The port of Capri from the back of the boat.

Couples are supposed to kiss as they go under this arc. Single people are supposed to make a wish. I feel like the single part was added to make single people like me feel better but whatever.

Look at the color of this water. This picture isn't filtered. That's actually what color it was.

Jellyfish!

They took us to this cove called "The Blue Grotto" in English and took people in with these little rowboats. It cost thirteen euros to go in for about ten minutes- if you wanna talk about piracy, that's piracy right there. But it was on so many "places to see before you die" lists that everyone on the boat reluctantly paid and went in. Highway robbery. But you can't leave Capri without seeing this.

The whole thing about the blue grotto is that it glows. The water glows a vibrant blue in the dark. I can't tell you why, but it's absolutely beautiful. The only opening is a tiny hole that's so narrow that when our boats (four people all crammed in sitting on the floor and one rower) went inside, we had to lay down on each other or else we'd be too tall to fit in.

Despite the price, it was well worth it. The pictures don't do it justice. After our boat tour, we walked around Capri for awhile longer. We ate at a disappointing touristy restaurant (boo) but afterward we got lemon slushes- again- because lemons. And it was delicious.

Now my roommates were fixated on finding a beach today. So much so that we all wore bathing suits under our clothes. Again, I was kinda "eh" on the beach, but they were really into it, so I decided why not. 

However, Capri is not known for its beaches, because as you might be able to tell from the pictures, it's basically all cliff and rock. The beaches are all rocks. Walking to the water barefoot was really painful. And then the water was like- you know Lake Michigan? Put that in the freezer for awhile. That was the Mediterranean. But I stuck my feet in long enough to get a picture.

Then we climbed some rocks, because…rocks? I don't understand why I always want to climb rocks when I see them. Is it some evolutionary human instinct? Is it taught? Well, for whatever reason, we climbed up some rocks- probably seven feet up- and sat there for awhile.

After that we were kinda bored, when we saw a sign that said "al centro" which basically means "to the center" (city centers are like the main piazzas) and we followed it. It went uphill on winding narrow paths for a good ten minutes. Have you ever walked uphill for a straight ten minutes? It doesn't sound bad but at a certain point your lungs are burning and your calves are on fire and we're all getting passed by these old Italian ladies.

I'm gonna have calves of steel by the time I leave here.

The centro was awesome. It was filled with all these bougie little shops and the view was incredible. We were disappointed we hadn't had lunch up here, with all these good local restaurants.

See the shoreline? That's where we walked up from.

We were bummed that we hadn't discovered the centro earlier, but it was still a nice day, and we headed back to Sorrento around four.

After that we still had free time before dinner, so we went back to the public beach (because we did not wear our bathing suits for nothing, darn it). Nobody brought towels so we just laid down our clothes we'd worn over our suits and laid on those. I stuck my feet in the water again, but it was too cold for me, so I didn't swim. Then we all laid out and soaked up the last of the sun for the day.

On Sunday we left a little less bright and early for Pompeii. Pompeii is one of the best preserved ancient cities in the world because a) when the Romans invaded, they just surrendered and were included in the Roman empire instead of fighting and getting their city destroyed b) the barbarians never came over here so a lot of the destruction they did in Rome just didn't happen here. 

This city was huge. Way too big to walk in one day, or even in a few weeks.

This is a theater for plays and musicians. The Japanese tour guide before us burst out into some quality opera.

These stones were in the road because the ancient people didn't have sewage systems and they just dumped it out in the road. People who, ahem, didn't want to get their feet dirty, walked across on the raised stones from sidewalk to sidewalk.

Also people in Pompeii were way shorter than we were. Like, the guys were around five feet, and the girls were around 4'9''. So tiny. Our tour guide was talking to a really tall guy in our group and said he was "like two gladiators".

This isn't really a body. When the ashes fell on the bodies in Pompeii, they solidified around them. Then the bodies decomposed, leaving holes behind. When they started excavating Pompeii, they began to inject plaster into these holes, leaving them with exact replicas of the body, like this one.

The main square with Mt. Vesuvius in the background

The Casa del Forno

Pompeii was also super windy so there were random dust storms. I had to keep wiping dust out of my eyes and by the time we left my hair was full of it.

After Pompeii we went to Naples. Now, Naples…Naples has character. It's a little gritty, a little loud, a little dirty. Some people like that. I wasn't so charmed with it, but whatever. (Especially because our resident student told us about nine times to keep track of our stuff because Naples has an even worse theft problem than Rome.)

Castle in Naples

However, Naples more than redeemed itself with the food. For those not obsessed with food like me, Naples invented pizza, and they still do it the best. We ducked into this tiny, loud, super busy restaurant, and had the best pizza I've had in Italy. And everything was so cheap!

We also ordered this plate of calamaretti because it was on special and we wanted to have some seafood before we left the coast. Calamaretti are these little squids, served fried. You squeeze lemon sauce onto them. Delicious.

Even though I wasn't thrilled with Naples, the view was spectacular.

We also got gelato and yet another lemon slush (this was the weekend of lemon slushes). Both were super good. On the way out, I stopped at a famous coffee place to try a Naples espresso. Some people claim Naples has the best espresso in Italy. Something about the water they make it with. So I decided I'd be the judge of that.

I am slowly getting good at ordering coffee in fluent Italian. Honestly, it's the thing I'm best at doing it Italian. Ciao. Prendo un cappuccino. Quanto costa? Grazie. Solo il cappuccino. E un cornetto con marmellata. Pesca. Si.

Fighting my way to the coffee bar like a real Italian

The famous Naples espresso. I wasn't wowed by it. Well, I mean. Better than anything in America, but not the best I've ever had. Not that I drink a lot of espresso. I'm a cappuccino girl.

We rolled back onto the bus, full and ready for a nap. I dozed on the way home and after returning to AUR, we took a bus back to our apartment because we were all feeling too lazy to walk. I showered immediately, getting that layer of Pompeii dust off, finished some work, and flopped into bed. It was a great weekend, but traveling is so tiring. I'd better get used to it though- I'm traveling again next weekend. And the next. And then again- to MICHIGAN.