Mass of the Holy Spirit

    Tonight, John Felice Rome Center hosted a mass for the students. The mass was held at San Ignacio church right next to the Pantheon near Piazza Novona. Following the mass was a dinner at a local restaurant.
     My friends and I got all dressed up and ready for church. On the way to the mass, we got lost. It took us over an hour to get to the church, but we finally made it. When we walked in, we were all shocked. This was not a little catholic church down a side street. San Ignacio is enormous. I could not believe I was attending mass there with only a few other students. It is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever been to. Tom was asked by Father Al to read during the mass, and many of the faculty members and students sang and played instruments.
     After mass, we went to dinner at an osteria. Here, I had the best meal yet since I have been here. The first course was a stuff tomato with ricotta cheese, drizzled in balsamic and pesto. Then, we were served their famous ravioli, stuffed with pear and carrot. I recommend everyone come to Rome just to try this dish. Finally, we had pork tenderloin and fresh vegetables. The whole meal was outstanding, and it was a great way to reflect on how lucky we all are to be studying abroad in such a wonderful place.

Baci,
Nikki

Torna a Sorrento

This weekend, we had our orientation trip to Sorrento. We left early Friday morning at 7:00am. We drove straight to Ercoleum, a town that was destroyed from the eruption of Mount Vesuvio, which buried most of the town. We walked around the excavated part of Ercoleum and saw the ruins of what had been a surprisingly civilized town. From there, we left and went to a wine tasting, right outside of Napoli. The vineyard was at the base of Mount Vesuvio. At the vineyard, we were served a three-course lunch in the same room with the barrels of wine and tasted four different wines. After lunch were went to our hotel, the Hotel Flora, which was a beautiful hotel in the heart of the small town of Sorrento. Saturday morning, we woke up and left for a buffalo mozzarella farm. At this farm, we were able to take a tour of the stable where the buffalo were housed. This farm was very different from anything I had in mind, especially knowing farms in the United States. Mozart plays for the buffalo in the mornings to relax them and there is a large brush that rotates in the stable to give them back massages. After the tour, we were able to taste the fresh mozzarella cheese, which needless to say, was an experience after justing seeing and smelling posthe stable. We left the farm and went to Paestum, which was an Greek colony with Greek ruins. We walked around the museum and among the three surviving temples. From there, we went to a restaurant and ate traditional Neapolitan pizza. Today was our last day in Sorrento. We checked out of the hotel and headed to the palace of Charles III of Bourdon. While taking our tour, we learned that Charles the III wanted a palace that was more beautiful than any other palace in the world, including Versailles. So, it goes without saying that it was one of the most beautiful places I've seen. The last place we visited was Montecassino. This was by far my favorite site. Montecassino is a monastery on top of a mountain north of Napoli. It was bombed during World War II in an effort to relieve Italians from the fascist party. Saint Benedictine built a church which mainly survived the bombing. The inside of the church was absolutely breathtaking. We also visited Saint Benedictine's cellar, which is where he slept. The whole experience was fantastic. We were able to see so much history, along with meeting new people and forming relationships that will last forever.

Baci,
Nikki

Among the Ruins

     This weekend, we went to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum on Saturday, and a walled city called Viterbo on Sunday. The Colosseum and Forum are breathtaking. I couldn't help but get goosebumps walking around places that existed in ancient Rome.
     Today, we went to the walled city of Viterbo. It was beautiful. I took so many pictures, but they do not capture half of the beauty that lies within the walls of the city. Every street, alley way and apartment home looked as if it was out of a movie. For lunch, we ate at Ora Domus La Quercia, which was a former covent of the Sanctuary of Saint Maria della Quercia. It was a quiet Sunday, spent outside of noisy Rome, in one of the most picturesque places I have ever been to. I wish I could bring all of you to see the true beauty of Viterbo, but until then here are some pictures.

Baci,
Nikki

A Night to Remember

     Tonight was the perfect night. My brother and I were tired from a long day of meetings, so we decided to skip going out and just go to dinner ourselves. We took the bus to Piazza Cavour and from there, we walked to the Vatican. When I was in Rome four years ago, my family and I visited the Vatican. I remember the crowds of people and long lines of tourists waiting to see everything. Tonight, there were about fifteen locals. My brother and I were in awe. Without thousands of people standing around, I could appreciate the beauty and importance of what I was staring at.

     After that, we decided to go eat dinner. We had no idea where to go, so we just walked. After about fifteen minutes, we found a little underground restaurant with some of the best pasta I have ever tasted in my life. It was the perfect way to end a long day.

Baci,
Nikki

Getting Lost

After a very long day of travel, I am finally in Rome. As soon as we landed, a bus picked us up from Fuimicino aiport and took us to the John Felice Rome Center. From there, my brother, friends and I decided to go exploring. After dinner, we took the 913 bus at about 8:30pm to the heart of Rome. The city was all lit up and everybody was out visiting. The culture in Rome is very different from that of the states. We wandered into a little cafe that was about to close, however, the owner, Antonio, stayed open an extra hour to let us drink wine and experience the city. Leaving Antonio's, we got lost. Instead of worrying about it, we embraced the opportunity to learn about the city and find new places. We stumbled upon a gelateria called Giottorio, which had some of the best looking gelato in Rome. Walking back, we tried to use the little bit of italian that we knowto speak to the locals and get directions. Amused and willing to help, a little old man who was driving one of the busses pointed us in the right direction. So here I am. Laying in my bed at 12:00 in the morning in Rome. And I could not have asked for a better first night to start our journey.
Baci,
Nikki

Anticipating the Eternal City

My suitcases are packed, my ticket is printed and my city is waiting. As I kissed my best friend goodbye today, I realized that this extraordinary journey that I have been planning for endlessly is right around the corner. Tomorrow at 4:00 in the afternoon, I will be off to Italy for six months to study at the John Felice Rome Center. During these six months, I hope to embrace new cultures, visit new places and learn all about food, wine and fashion. I have created this blog to remember each wonderful aspect of my trip and share them with all of you. So here I go! Wish me luck.

Baci,

Nicole