Ostia Antica and Orvieto (July 11th- July 19th)

Ostia Antica

 As a part of my Survey of Art and Architecture class, we go on day trips in and around Rome. Ostia Antica is about 45 minutes outside of Rome by metro. On an early Thursday morning, the eight of us made our way to Termini metro station where we met Dominico. Dominico is one of the staff here at St. John's and he would be accompanying us to Ostia Antica. We met up with our Professor at the site and began our day of touring. 

Ostia Antica is an ancient city of Rome, set up like a military camp. What remains of it are merely ruins, but with the help of our professor, we learned and attempted to envision what it would have looked like in its prime. Ostia Antica is laid out on a grid-like system, with two major roads intersecting in a main square. Though it used to be covered in marble, the only structures still standing are brick. While walking along the road, our professor offered us native plants and berries to try. Jennifer and I eagerly tried blackberries, fennel, and pine nuts. We didn't get sick, thank goodness. We did come across the plant used to brew hemlock. (We refrained from trying that one). Our professor also warned us to be on the lookout for lizards and...vipers. Well thank you for that warning, sir. Keeping my eyes open. We walked around this old town for about three hours or so, coming across old mosaics, public restrooms, public baths, and basilicas. It began to rain around 1 o'clock or so for about twenty minutes which cooled things off, temporarily. After lunch/snacks at a cafe on site, around three o'clock, we hopped back on the train and headed back to Rome, hot and exhausted.

Marketing and Management Exams

This week I had my second exams in both my Marketing and Management exams. The summer semester was officially two-thirds over, which put things into perspective. Only 3 weeks or so left in Italy before I head back to America. Not very exciting stories, but worth mentioning, as I spent many hours studying for these two exams rather than blogging. Both went well.

Orvieto 

Orvieto is an old hilltop medieval town about an hour and a half outside of Rome. Our teacher paid for our train tickets and we headed to Orvieto on another early morning excursion. By early morning, I mean around 9:00 a.m. Just for reference. When we arrived in Orvieto we took a people mover up the side of the mountain. Not quite a roller-coaster ride, but exciting nonetheless. The view from the top of Orvieto was gorgeous. Contrary to Rome, Orvieto overlooks miles and miles of orchards, groves, and open fields. My kind of place. Our day in Orvieto began at the Duomo (cathedral). Most of the cathedrals in Rome look almost identical inside and outside, so it was nice to see a different style of architecture. The Duomo is a Gothic building, standing tall and complete with gargoyles. The outside is painted in black and white stripes, giving it a very distinct appearance. The inside was a large open space with beautiful columns and murals.

After touring the Duomo, our professor let us have the rest of the day in Orvieto to explore and wander around. Kaleb, Jennifer, Shelley, and me grabbed lunch at a small cafe. Melissa, Joanna, Jenn, and Katie went to lunch elsewhere. Jennifer, Kaleb, and me had this very strange gnocchi. It was bright green and we couldn't find the source of the green color. Despite its odd appearance, it tasted like pasta and Parmesan cheese, so we were happy campers. We spent the rest of our time in Orvieto walking along the old medieval streets, trying to peer over walls to catch glimpses of the view, and shopping. Orvieto is famous for its ceramics...and boy were they everywhere. Every store was filled with colorful ceramic pots, plates, mugs, and more. I'm not particularly a fan of ceramic, but it was very cool to see the trademark of Orvieto. (Similar to Sorrento and lemons). On the way out of town, we picked up some delicious gelato  and headed back down the mountain on the fun people mover. Kaleb, Jennifer, Shelley, and me headed home earlier than the other girls because we had an early morning train the following day to Florence, Italy! 5:00 a.m. always comes faster than you think.