Florence.......Art is admired in the piazza

Piazza of Sculptures.....including the Little David....the outdoor exhibit (not the David in the Academia)

Florence--Santa Croce

Behold!! In this Chiesa (Church) di Santa Croce are where Galileo, Michelangelo, Rossini, and other brilliant Giants of their days have their final resting places.

Dante's massive statue outside makes for a fitting tribute

Firenze's Palazzo Pitti

The ruling families called this palazzo their residence. The Medici Family lived here....so did Napolean's sister...Now, it's a museum

FIRENZE -- The DUOMO

Assissi

More to come of Florence and Assissi....

PARIS...Je t'aime!

PARIS

This is an exclusive Academy for Musique.... Bonne.

NOTRE DAME

Top of Basilica--Sacre Coeur---What a view of Paris!

VERSAILLES

These images are in front of the Palace of Versailles, in front of the Versailles Gardens, and in the King's Bedroom

Hotel de Ville...I believe this is the French Government

This is where Nicholas Sarkozy goes to work everyday......intriguing!

Inside the Louvre

Seeing this sarcophagus made me feel like I was back in Rome....had to take a picture

Outside the Louvre

Mona Lisa

Apology....

No...I did not fall off the face of the Earth..

I apologize for my tardiness with updates. It has been non-stop, but WONDERFUL.

Two weekends ago I returned to USA for my cousin Phyllis and her now husband Chris's Wedding..It was beautiful and wonderful. It was so special and so nice to be with family.
( I flew both ways from Rome to Chicago to Newark then from Newark to Chicago to Rome...which was well worth it but tiring)

That week in between was a whirlwind. This weekend likewise was eventful. I just returned from Paris. C'EST BONNE!

There is so much I want to say that has happened in between my posts,which I will try to fill you in with in the future. With all the craziness, I have lots of school work to catch up on this week.....This weekend, we visit Florence and Assisi with the school. So I'll be busy with that too.

Grazie Mille, Merci Beaucoup and Mi Dispiace or D'esole (All meaning Thank you and I am sorry in Italian and French)

PERUGIA...Chocolate Capital of Italia

Cervello con Carciofi

Yes....you may have guessed it....I had an interesting meal tonight.

The last time I ate in the Jewish Ghetto section of Rome I said I should have taken pictures. Tonight I took one of my entree...

That entree was...Cervello con Carciofo...which is Brains with Artichoke....Such risks I am taking here.

For appetizers, we got fried artichoke, fried baccala, fried zucchini, fried olive, and suppli (fried rice ball with mozzerella)...so good...The way that is most authentic for this is fried...So who am I to change what is tradition....

It was actually quite good. It was fried and extremely delicate.
(Remember double clicking allows for better food-zooming)

I cannot believe I just saw the Pope...again!

It was such a surreal day....My mom had taken me into New York and we saw Pope Benedict when he visited St. Patrick's Cathedral when he visited the US during April of my senior year at St. Rose. It was one of the best days of my life.

It was so great that I complained I was having withdrawals (after Pope Benedict had left)

I lamented that the only way to solve that sort of separation anxiety would be to go the Vatican....I laughed it off because I never saw that happening...

Little did I know what God had in store for me.

Today, I reunited with Pope Benedict again.....Still doesn't seem real..

YAY...I SAW THE POPE...!!!!

I saw the Pope today!!!

Our internship supervisor scooted us up past security and through the Swiss Guards in nano-seconds. Before we knew it, we were in the Papal Audience and Pope Benedict the 16th was right before our very eyes!! He gave the reading and his message in at least five languages....It was unbelievable!!!

JUST A REMINDER: By double-clicking any image, you should be able to zoom in. This will be helpful when trying to see the Pope or any gelato/meal coverage more closely.

Pre-Internship...MAYBE I'll see the Pope today

A girl went back to NAPOLI.....

I really enjoyed Napoli....despite all the bad that has been said about it.....

In the meantime, I'll show you the famous NAPOLITAN PIZZA....

I have so much more to share about this excursion...words I'd like to say....as well as pictures (they just take so long to download)...

I look forward to doing that...but I have an essay that needs to be my priority for the next couple of days...and I am feeling a bit under the weather...So I apologize if there is a delay in my postings in advance.

Ciao.
Deb

Positano......

Last Night in Sorrento...

We dine at Leone Rosso......the Red Lion...

All students and our professors enjoy a lovely meal...

Pennette with eggplant, sausage, basil and mozzerella...yum...and lemon cake...and more...then the Gelato after..of course...

This was after the fun-filled Saturday I spent exploring Positano with two of my friends.

BEST GELATO ON THE AMALFI COAST

Nociatella (hazelnut/nutella hybrid) at PRIMAVERA in SORRENTO

I did research and gave each gelateria a visit....This won hands down!!

It was given a double visit!!

Pope Benedict the 16th, when visiting Napoli, had Primavera construct a cake for him--out of signature lemon-cake/pastries..

(I decided this place was the best...even before this unbelievably positive reinforcement.)

Sorrento...Arriviamo

Ciao Sorrento

Beautiful area..practically on, or part of, the Amalfi Coast...I loved its downtown area where I went on a gelato, church, trattoria crawl...

Perfetto!

Gnocchi con Gorgonzola at Dinner in Sorrento

....One can GNever have too much GNocchi.....it is always good until the last GNocho...

Pompeii, Sorrento, Positano, and NAPLES Extravaganza

PIZZA IN POMPEII....

I had always been fascinated by Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii....This began after I had been little and went on the Pompeii water ride at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, VA in the Italy section....

Friday...I got to climb through the ruins myself....in the rain...which gave it an even more dreary effect...

Pizza in Pompei proved to be phenomenal...after all its close to the all famous Napolitan Pizza

Thai in Roma......

I went out for Thai food in Roma....Perhaps, that is taboo to do...but I could not stop myself...The Pad Thai (with a request for extra peanuts) was so good.

I want to apologize for not posting pictures of the food...as that would be what I would want to see. Normally, I am so excited once it arrives, that by the time it occurs to me to take a picture, the plate or gelato cup is empty...wiped clean.

In the meantime, feast your eyes upon some Pad Thai....which of course was followed up with some gelato on the bus.

Also, today, I had my internship. It was wonderful. We archived Pope JP II documentaries and next week may help at the Papal Audience..the head of the History Channel (in the US) may be present. I really hope this happens.

Also, after doing laundry, getting a gelato at lunch, and running around Termini Train Station, I did a half-hour presentation for my Values Seminar on the Aeneid. I hope it went well..I got positive feedback, so hopefully that'll translate well grade-wise. (I am tired, as I've really worked to prepare this well the past few days...I volunteered to be the first person to make a presentation....but, in doing so, did not give myself a lot of time to prepare).

Tomorrow, I pack for Pompeii, Sorrento, and Naples this weekend.
Also, if I am ambitious I may try to draft my essay that was assigned for the Values Seminar...I may need gelato later as an incentive to get this done...Hmmm..that may work...I'll keep you posted....Ciao!

Visited with the Gladiators this morning

Many memories at the Colosseum....

This structure is unbelievable...so much history.

CAVEAT: Lots of gladiators outside....requesting money or a kiss if you want a picture with them.
(They can't stop you though from taking a picture for free)

ADVICE if you are on the METRO--just look out the window to see which stop you are at...because today the metro was announcing all the wrong stops on the way back from school and I had to point some confused tourists in the right direction...

This is not the first time....I escorted a family from Iran to the Colosseum the other day and I pointed a French family toward Fontana di Trevi.






o

Piazza Venezia...one of the most beautiful structures in Rome

Although that I've read that it is an insult to call this building the "Wedding Cake" (that, in my opinion, should be a huge compliment), all I can say is the building is absolutely breathtaking...(I have gelato research to do across the street)