So what did I do this weekend? I bonded with my friends here in Rome, while realizing I have a short 4 weeks left.
Friday: I finally went to Le Terme dei Papi. This is an Italian spa! It is built upon the natural hot springs right outside Viterbo, and literally translates to the bath of the Popes. It is a very popular location for Italians to relax, and I wanted to do what the Romans do, so we hit the shuttle at 8:30am on Friday. It was a beautiful hour and a half ride in a small 30 person bus (halfway through more people came on than there were seats so Clarisse and I befriended two Italians who speak English and transferred into a van that the spa sent for us to sit more comfortably in. This awesome shuttle service that takes you directly to the middle of nowhere was only 8 euro round trip, and along the way we even got to see some gorgeous vineyards and caves! We arrived to the sweet smell of sulfur, so we knew we were in the right place. (By “we”, I mean Megan, Clarisse, Lauren, Will, and I) Apparently, in order to partake in the springs, we had to get our blood pressure taken by an Italian doctor, to which we pretty much shook our heads when she spoke in rapid Italian to us, without having any idea what she was saying. Afterward, Will and Megan got Italian massages, while Clarisse, Lauren, and I suited up for the underground. We had paid 13 euro for the “Grotto” and a cave is just what we got. Basically, the woman showed us to the “prep room”, closed the door, where we promptly freaked out. IT was hot. VERY hot. We were in a natural sauna, heated by magma within the ground, in a tight cave with water dripping from the scalding hot rock. Luckily, we learned how to relax, regulate our breathing, and actually enjoy the heat. At which point we had to leave the prep room and walk into the full on heat of the hot springs. It was 136 degrees Fahrenheit. So yes, we were swimming in sweat, but it was completely surreal to sit in an ancient Roman hot spring cave which has been cleansing Italians’ bodies for many many years. We went in and out a total of 3 times, loading up on water in between, and the final time we exited entirely, where a worker promptly led us to a relaxation room, had us lie on beds, and wrapped our bodies up to our heads like mummies in order to bring our body temperature down gradually. It was a bizarre feeling to say the least, but the cold shower that followed felt amazing. We took the 1pm shuttle back to Rome, feeling detoxed and fresh. We even had the rest of the day to get work done, and I spent the hours between 3 and 7 working in the darkroom, getting my final projects underway. Allison and I walked back from school, made dinner, showered, then went back out with Lauren at 9:30 to explore and take some night photos. Lauren knew where the observatory was located, so we hiked up there and got an amazing view of Rome. It was one of those breathtaking night views when everything is aglow, you know your camera will never capture what you see, so you just enjoy the view while you can and know you will remember it forever. Lauren and I are in Photo 1 together, and we had to shoot a roll of film at night to push process, so she brought her external flash and I brought my tripod, and we did some fun “painting with light” shots, where Allison held the shutter down while Lauren and I ran around and popped the flash behind trees and against railings, making our own scene with artificial light. We will develop the film this week, and I really hope it comes out, but even if it doesn’t the three of us had a lot of fun just running around this random hill at night, making fun photos without ever being able to see what would actually come of it. Film photography can be fun like that.
So overall I had a great day- cleansed my body ancient Roman style, got some work done in the lab, and photographed Rome at night from an amazing hilltop vantage.
Saturday: So today was titled “Pumpkin Day”! Allison and I had been planning this for some time with Kelsey, but when the three of us came home with a 13 pound pumpkin from the market, it kind of turned into pumpkin weekend. And it may stretch into pumpkin week…
This day is best described by photos. But here is what we made:
Pumpkin cookies (with a sugar glaze)
Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin glazed salmon
Pumpkin pancakes
Needless to say, Kelsey, Allison, Sara, and I had no problem staying in all day, as we ate our way through it.
Sunday: Another day indoors, but still equally as successful. I slept in until 11:30- the latest since I can remember! I spent most of the actual day working on my video for the Jam Session coming up in 2 weeks. Gianni and Temple Rome organized this type of talent show (which will be the 22nd ) and I signed up to have a video projected on stage, and here it is:
We had a movie night after everyone got their work done for the day and Allison made 2 kinds of pumpkin pizza to go with it. Very interesting. We are going to try for pumpkin soup tomorrow night! Note to self: get a smaller pumpkin next time…
Anywhoo that was my weekend. I am super pumped for next weekend, which will be my FIRST trip outside of Italy- I know it took me a long time to do it but I have really enjoyed Italy and there is so much to see so I don’t regret it at all. I am going to Poland with my friend Leann, and I already know it is going to be an amazing time (I have never seen someone so excited about a trip as Leann is to see her home country). And then after that I will be going to Berlin the next weekend, than one more weekend in Rome until I come home! I can’t believe it! I am a ball of emotion right now, between being excited to go home and wanting to cherish every moment here. I can tell I am catching the traveling bug… One month before I go back to work to start saving for the next trip!
No comments:
Post a Comment