Hoof prints in the sand...

Cross "gallop on the beach" off my list of things to do before I die! It was a lot more terrifying than I expected it to be, but it was a kind of exhilarating terror that was such a high! It was amazing.

A picture from the I moresani website, not actually me, sadly since my camera is so big taking it along is not possible. 

I am spending 8 day on a fattoria, an Italian farm, in the south of Italy. The farm is called "I moresani" and is a actual working farm, producing their own goat cheese from their own goats, and olive oil and wine from olives and grapes grown on site. They have 21 horses, a lot of goats, chickens, and one very loud and obnoxious donkey. I moresani is nestled in the hill/mountains of the Campangia region right along the coast (hence the galloping on the beach parts). The views and landscapes here are completely to die for and exactly what I've been needing. Being from Iowa I'm definitely not used to the "big city" and while I really do love Rome, city life has been getting to me. That's a big reason why I decided to get away from urban centers for fall break and not travel around Europe. Also, how amazing of an experience is horseback riding through the hills and mountains and along the coast of Italy?!

I arrived here on Saturday in the early afternoon. Dominico, one of the men who works at the farm, picked me up from the train station and drove me to the farm. He speaks a little English, but after I told him that I'm learning Italian he would ONLY speak to me in Italian and made me only speak to him in Italian. It's really overwhelming and quite frustrating at times, but just in the 3 days that I've been here so far I've improved my Italian so much. Finally being forced to use what I've learned I'm realizing I actually can communicate in Italian, at least on a  really basic level. It really makes my brain hurt though!

I'm here for the whole week riding 5 days with one rest day to site-see and then leaving on Saturday. There are three other women from Holland doing the same program with me. They're all very nice and fun to hang out with. I'm definitely glad that we have a good group of people that make the days and evenings really enjoyable.

Sunday we had our first ride and we ended up spending 8 hours in the saddle! Talk about sore the next day! One our ride that day we were heading down to the beach and had to cross a little bay to get to the beach part. The inner areas were very soft so we had to try to cross out into the ocean a little. Marco tried to find a shallow safe place to cross but couldn't find any areas were the water wasn't up to the horses back. Then Gino tried and after getting soak up to the horses neck his horse actually got stuck in the mud and had to be pulled out! Needless to say we then all backtracked to find a bridge. When we finally got to the beach we started to canter, which quickly turned into a gallop. At first it was terrifying and the horses (we were a large group that day, 10 horses) kind of all went berserk. That part was scary. But, then we regrouped, calmed down and tried again. That part was amazing! There were a lot of locals at the beach that day so it was a short gallop but still an unforgettable experience. Hearing the pounding of the horses hooves on the sand and through the water, feeling the wind in my face, and the shear power of the animal was exhilarating to say the least.

The next day we climbed up a mountain overlooking the sea. I did not know that horses were such amazing climbers! Just like billy-goats! We have to stand up in the saddle when going up hill to make it easier on the horse and to help them balance, and let me tell you, my legs were screaming after like 10 minutes. And we climbed for 3 hours! Up rocky paths, little creeks, washed out dirt roads, straight up embankments I would have had to crawl on all fours to get up! These horses are in the best shape and are so sure footed! Which is a good thing because a lot of the time we were walking along 2 foot wide dirt paths on the edge of a 300 foot drop off. You really have to trust you're horse in a situation like that. But they never made a single mistake, never took a single step out of place. My respect for horse has grown so much on this trip!

Again, a picture from the website, but the guy on the right is our guide Marco, and the horse on the far left is the one I ride, Veila. She is such a sweet heart!

For now that's all, but I'll post about the rest of my adventures in the saddle soon!
Ciao!

I'm now an ocean baby!

I know that Capri is the first island I have ever seen and that there are thousands more across the planet, but I definitely say (and for the record almost everyone else, even those who have traveled the world extensively, agreed) that Capri is the most beautiful island in the world. After the miserable day that Friday was it is as if Mother Nature felt the need to apologize because Saturday could not have in anyway been more perfect. Cloudless blue sky filled with sunshine, perfect 90 degree swimming temperatures with just enough wind. Absolute heaven…

The day started with a program wide walking tour of the island up to the summit to the ruins of the villa of the Roman Emperor Trajan. It was easy to see why he lived here for ten years straight, I sure never wanted to leave, not with those views. The walk up there was crazy though, straight up I don’t know how many thousands of feet, through winding narrow cobblestone streets. I thought after the hills of Rome I was getting in pretty good shape but all of those were nothing compared to Capri. My legs were burning halfway up and jelly by the top. But it was so worth it.

After the villa ruins we walked halfway back down the mountain to the Natural Arch. The Natural Arch is this beautiful, well for lack of a better description, natural arch that in eroded out of the cliffs. Very stunning.

At the top of the mountain, from the ruins of the Villa of Trajan.

Yeah, I guess I'd build an imperial villa here if I were an emperor...

Mt. Vesuvius in the background

Then onto the natural arch...

Then they set us loose on the island! Since the day was so perfect and the water looked so enticing, me and 9 other girls headed for the harbor and rented a private boat for a two hour tour around the island. It was by far, hands down, the best 30 euros I have ever spent. I had never been out on the ocean like that, in fact this was only the 3^rd time I had ever even SEEN the ocean. Those two hours helped me to realize that I am definitely an ocean baby. We all kept saying things like “No way is this really happening!” and “Ha, no biggie, this is my life!”. 

 Leaving the harbor

Nothing but blue skies and bluer waters...

A little cave thingy that we were actually able to drive into! (Note the AMAZING BLUE WATER!)

We also got really lucky and had a great driver. He was a probably 30something guy, who was really relaxed and unobtrusive, he played great “American” music and stopped and would explain significant sights and cool spots. Granted he was probably having the time of his life too, cruising around the island of Capri with nine giggling girls in bathing suits, yea… But it was really nice that he wasn't creepy or rude in anyway, just really relaxed and out of the way.

Capri is famous for its Blue Grotto, an cave just on the edge of the water, accessible only by row boat or swimming that from the way the light enters the cave opening glows bright blue. It is supposed to be a truly amazing sight and our driver took us there. 5 of the girls jumped in the water and swam into the Blue Grotto but there were some itty bitty waves that day and since I had never swam in the ocean and the cave opening was only about 3 feet wide I decided not to go. They all said it was beautiful inside and someday I want to go back and swim in.

At the end of our two hours we got to anchor off shore for a while and go swimming. I got up the nerve to jump in (only with Crystal holding my hand!) and boy was it amazing. The water was actually really dirty, tons of trash along the shore line unfortunately, but we looked past that and had so much fun. Just laying back and enjoying the gentle rolling of the waves was so peaceful. I love the ocean so much and can’t wait until I can go back! Especially to Capri!

What a perfect day!

The Best Worst Day ever...

This past weekend the entire program went on a trip to Pompeii, Naples and the Island of Capri. We left Friday morning, drove the three hours to Pompeii by bus, spent a few hours there then ferried to Capri. We spent all day Saturday in Capri and then left early Sunday to head to Naples. One walking tour of Naples later and we were on our way back to Rome. Right now I'm going to focus on the first day, Friday, which was by far the best WORST day of my life. It went a little like this...

The day started cold and rainy, not the best start to a weekend on the coast. We got on the bus (a private tour bus) and headed to Pompeii. We then prompty got into a car accident. It was the other driver's fault completely and in reality it was just a little nudge. But since it was a huge couch bus against a teeny tiny smart car the smart car's side was all scratched up and the side mirror was broken. The best part was watching the exchange between our bus driver and the driver of the car, both must have thought they were in the right and so there was tons of yelling and hand waving typical of Italians. Kind of entertaining actually.

One of the good things about Italy is that an accident like that won't hold you up all day. They yelled at each other for about 3 minutes then she drove away and we were off to Pompeii again!

Here's the part of the day that was definitely both amazing and horrible. It was Pompeii so no matter what it was going to be amazing, but Professor Gadyine must either really hate Pompeii, or been in a very bad mood because he worked us to the bone on that walking tour. We all know he really REALLY hates tourists so it's likely that the close proximity of so many tourists in Pompeii was irritating him, but it was still kind of unfair to us. We were always practically running from place to place, had no time to stop for pictures, and didn't even talk about the volcano or the human remains found. Our whole group was split up into two groups, on with Professor Pestili and the other with Gadyne. Pestili's group got to stop for 30 minutes and have a nice little lunch. Gadyne's group never go lunch, period. And to top it all off, it kept raining on and off the whole time we were there. Retrospectively it was still very awesome to see Pompeii and I did learn a lot from Professor Gadyne, but at the time is was very miserable. 

 Mt. Vesuvius in the background! Almost looks like its erupting...

Had to take pictures while chasing down our Professor! Jessica on the left, Crystal on the right.

Me and Crystal!

Not cool or anything right?

There were stay dogs EVERYWHERE! This little girl followed us around the whole time.

So sad...

After we left Pompeii, still with no lunch and it was 3 o'clock by this time mind you, we headed to the Naples harbor to take a ferry to the Island of Capri! It had stopped raining by this point, and we had a little time before our boat left so I ran over to a little bar (the Italian name for cafe) and got some much needed food!

Unlike Rome where no building is allowed to be taller than St. Peter's basilica, Naples looks more like a modern city.

Just like in Rome-go ahead, park ANYWHERE you like.

FINALLY FOOD!!! Naples pizza...yum

Our ferry

Mt. Vesuvius again. It started to rain on the crossing over...

The boat ride started off fine enough, the ocean seemed pretty calm. But about 10 minutes into the 40 minute ride we began to hit some waves and it began to storm again. We were hitting pretty big waves every couple of seconds and so the ride turned more rollarcoaster than anything. You know that feeling you get in your stomach right when you go over a big hill to fast and you hit weightlessness? We were experiencing that every 20 seconds. Needless to say the puke bags came out after a few more minutes and pretty soon there was a chorus of upchucking going on. Thankfully I had taken a motion sickness pill an hour before and so was fine, but sadly, my friend wasn't so lucky. The program has been going to Capri for ten years now and the director said the crossing over has NEVER been that bad. Oddly enough, I wasn't ever scared, just more oh-why-are-we-doing-this.

The harbor of Capri-Note the American flag-no matter how far you are from home you can always find a small part of it. 

After that fantastic ferry ride we had to take mini buses up to our hotel. The island of Capri has two main towns on it, Capri at sea level and Anacapri on top of the cliff. We were staying at a hotel in Anacapri. The roads that lead up to the top of the mountain were incredibly narrow and twisting and so a regular bus would have no chance of making it. So, instead we crammed 52 people into two minibuses in ways that would be so illegal in the US. The aisles had little fold out seats, people were sitting on the steps, next to the driver, against the door. It was unbelievable and an excellent addition to the events of the day. Not to mention we had all our luggage with us. 

While the whole day was in the end an amazingly exciting adventure, it still definitely qualifies as the 

Best Worst Day of My Life.

We made it! Let the adventures of Capri begin!

First weekend in Rome!

This weekend Lily, Crystal-two of my friends here-and I decided to hit the beach. The weather here is still nice, high 80s everyday and this weekend was absolutely beautiful weather. Not a cloud in the sky. The beach was on our list of must dos so we asked out resident advisor, Tunde, a 27 year old permanent Rome resident where the best beaches were. She told us that there was one quite close, but it was very touristy and very crowded. She then went on to say that there was one farther way that she and her friends all go to. So, we all got our bus passes, loaded up on the sun screen and headed for the farther away but "locals" only beach. It was a little stressfull trying to find the right train and the right stop, then getting off and finding the right bus. But we did it and boy was it worth it! I've only ever seen the ocean once before and so it was still a very exciting moment for me.

We ate at a little bar right on the ocean and then went swimming (Yes I know you're supposed to wait an hour, but it was the ocean, come on!). I was very glad the waves were small because they totally still freak me out. I completely forgot that it was salt water until a "huge" wave hit me in the face and I drank a mouthful. It was quite a shocker, but only added to the "OMG I'm at an Italian beach!" feeling. The beach was crowded, but it was a beautiful Sunday so it was to be expected. It definitely was mostly natives though, and since Italians around this area are quite dark skinned my paleness stood out like a freakin' polar bear among brown bears. I did lay out a little, but the Mediterranean sun is too intense for my skin. I put sunscreen on like 3 times in the 3ish hours we were there. It was worth it though, because I did not get sunburned anywhere!

The sand was so pretty I took some home in a water bottle!

We WILL be going back!

Night on the town...

Tonight I went out to Campi di fiori with a bunch of friends, had a lovely dinner, then used our direction following abilities to find a gelateria (ice cream store) recommended as the best in Rome. The night started as a simple walk with one of our directors to a gym that we have the option of joining while here in Rome. I miss my gym back home so I went along just for kicks. This gym was located in the Campi di fiori, a small square located about 20 minutes on foot from the convent. Since we all didn't remember how to get to the Campi di fiori a bunch of us went along planning to get dinner around that area afterwards. There are tons of great little places to eat ranging from simple pizzarias to full scale fancy dining and we were feeling like a nice sit down outside meal. So, after the gym tour we asked our director directions to the Campi di fiori and a good place there to eat. He did so, and though we had every intention of going to the place he recommended, after entering the Campi di fiori we got distracted by this restaurant on the way and decided to eat there. The square is a popular night spot for people to hang out, locals and tourists alike, and there was music, street venders, and artists everywhere. We ate outside and our waiter was this hilarious Filipino man who spoke a fair amount of English. He made everything funny and entertaining, like when we would try to flag him down across the tables he would wave back and yell "I love you, too!", or when he brought our water bottles he said "Vodka for you, gin for you..." It was all very funny. I had a delicious tomato and mozzarella pizza. Fantastico! It was really cool just to chill there, talking, listening to the music and bustle of the square, and enjoying some fabulous Italian cuisine.

After dinner we decided we needed gelato. We had been told by our resident assistance, Tunde, that the gelateria Fior di Luna in Trastevere was her favorite in Rome, and since Trastevere was very close to the Campi di fiori we decided to go. We had gotten directions from Francesco-the man who took us to the gym-and we tried our best to follow them. It was a mixture of his directions, our memories from orientation, and stopping and asking taxi drivers (luckily two of us spoke pretty good Italian, thank you Jessica and Chrystal!) where it was. But we found it, and oh my goodness was it good. Best I've had so far, definitely worth the walk. Not half a bad night at all!

Buonasera a tutti!

Getting around…

 So, the first time someone ever rides a subway should probably not be in a foreign country right? That would seem like a logical piece of advice. But, unfortunately there’s not a lot of subways in Iowa (ha funny…) or much public transit of any kind really so, in fact, the first time I ever rode a subway WAS in a foreign country. Ok, in reality it was all fine, I didn’t get lost, didn’t get pickpocketed, and everything went 100% perfectly, but STILL. It’s hard enough trying to read the subway map in Italian, let’s make it even harder by it being the ONLY subway map I’ve ever tried to read.

 All of this was for my first walking tour class this morning. Here at Trinity some of the classes consist of two parts, a 50 or so minute lecture class at the convent on one day, and then a 3 hour walking tour around the city on another day. I absolutely love this concept because it really lets you learn while being out and part of the city, but it does necessitate getting to the meeting points your professor specifies. And the professor is not going to meet you at the convent, no, you will have to travel to whatever location her or she specifies as the start of class, be it around the block or 40 minutes away. And of course, my first walking tour’s location start was in a subway station 2 stops away. All in all though, I guess it could have been worse. The nearest subway station is only a 5 minute walk away and from there it was only 2 stops. I was with 4 other girls who were in my class and all of them had taken the subways back home countless times. It took us only like 25 minutes to get to the meeting place and it really was easy. It’s still just a little funny to me that the first subway, and really the first public transit I ever ride is in a foreign country.

The Aventine Hill

Where I live...

As part of our three day orientation here at Trinity in Rome we have a bunch of walking tours around the city. On the first day we started with a tour around the neighborhood that we will be living in on the Aventine hill. I love this area because it's away from the touristy area of Rome. We are still well within walking distance to the Colosseum, the Spanish steps and Trevi fountain, but the area we are in is a nice quiet residential area. Walking around I see mainly natives, not tourists and that really helps me feel like I'm living here, not just visiting. It also gives you the best opportunity to speak with locals, especially in Italian. Near the main tourist attractions everyone just speaks to you in English and won't bother to listen to your bad Italian, whereas around here most don't speak much English, if any.

Just around the corner from our convent. So quiet and peaceful...

We get meal passes for three dinners a week to 4 local restaurants and 1 local groceray store. So far, we have eaten at two of the restaurants and they are fantastic. It really is true that all food is better in Italy. I don't normally like pesto sauce and when I heard that's what we were having at il Rino (we didn't get options there) I was a little worried, but I tried it and it was AMAZING! Seriously, it tasted like Christmas (because of the PINE nuts...lol).  The pasta itself is just a 1000 times better than in America and the sauces are sooo good. There's just no way to describe how much I am loving Italian cuisine! We had a mushroom risotto the other day at lunch and I could not stop eating it, it was so fantastic. Even when I ordered a carbanara at L'insalata last night and it was a little too spicy for me it was still fantastic. 

And don't even get me started with the gelato... Coming here I knew about the famed gelato, but honestly didn't think I would be that in love. I do like ice cream back home so I knew I would try some for sure, but I did not think I would be so obsessed with it. I had my first gelato on the first night and I WILL be eating it everyday. It is the most heavenly, delicious, amazing, perfect thing I have ever eaten. It's so much thicker and creamier and richer than American ice cream it can't even be described as the same thing. So far I've tired this one shop's dark chocolate, milk chocolate, vanilla with chocolate chip, and peanut butter flavors and they are all amazing......now I just really want gelato....

Luckily it's now lunch time since all this talk about food has made me starving!

Ciao!