Thank you Leann Ziobro for always summing things up perfectly.
1) It’s ok to talk to strangers, sometimes even in English
2) Initially you’re a tourist, then you just get annoyed by them and wonder if you behaved that way…you did
3) Hell is Termini Train Station
4) Personal space in Italy does not exist…anywhere
5) You will never dress as well as an Italian
6) The sewer rats in the Tiber have evolved and grown gills
7) You might cry the first time you see the Coliseum
8) Napoleon stole A LOT
9) Some people actually do like modern art
10) The top of Piazza del Popolo in the Villa Borghese at sunset is breath-taking
11) If you don’t finish the Wall-Walk – LIONS
12) Jan Gadeyne is the man, even if you don’t have him for class
13) There are ruins EVERYWHERE in Rome, but seriously
14) Most of your communication with Italians can easily be done through smiling, nodding and pointing
15) If you’re talking about the buses or public transportation with Italians, looking angry, shaking your head, and pointing does the trick
16) If you never made a blog before, you probably won’t keep up with it *points finger at self
17) The Spanish Steps are pretty darn romantic, and it’s kind of funny that whatever country you visit you’ll find something named after Spain
18) Venice is incredibly beautiful. Enough said.
19) Some people might love the European train system, but it’s not all that great
20) You will be constantly infuriated that it costs less that $100 to go to another country but in America in can cost $500 to go to another state.
21) RyanAir plays fun music when you land on time
22) The Polish people and the Irish people are insanely nice
23) The word for photography in Gaelic is ridiculously long
24) Nothing is open in Italy on Sundays
25) You will hear “is this real life?” an inordinate amount of times. And you will repeat it yourself quite often
26) You will stare at the bidet, not know how to use it, and then watch an animated video with your roommates about its use. Then you will laugh at yourself for being strange.
27) When your apartment is rather small, it’s best to refer to it as “cozy”
28) It’s pretty hard to beat a 15-course meal
29) Vodka in Poland is the best
30) Sometimes some hearty Irish food and 4 different kinds of potatoes really hits the spot
31) Italians refer to cream cheese simply as “Philadelphia” which can makes things a little odd when you refer to where you’re (sort of) from
32) There’s no place like home for the holidays, but watching the sunset from the top of St. Peter’s with one of your best friends from home is a pretty amazing substitute
33) Paris is one of the most magical cities in the world
34) You might develop an obsession for climbing to the top of things, just to get an even better view
35) Skydiving in Europe with people who are not so fluent and/or functional in English is the way to go
36) See the Coliseum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and St. Peter’s Square in the day time and at night
37) The 24-hour bakery tastes even better at 3AM
38) Life is short and if you really want to see something or do something, you better do it
39) Adventure, adventure, adventure!!!
40) Italy REALLY needs to upgrade its Internet. Like right now.
41) Walk around. Take everything in. The little things sometimes resonate the most.
42) Cooking is insanely fun, even when you have to improvise
43) There is SO much PDA in Italy, and Europe in general
44) Women drivers honk their horns, men will just run you over
45) Spiral staircases can be quite dangerous
46) Umbrella sellers can literally pop up out of nowhere when the slightest drizzle starts
47) When you receive 5 roses, there is a reason behind each one (ha)
48) Italy is not connected to Spain…oops
49) You can get into Ostia Antica for free by passing around an art history syllabus
50) The craziest/awesomest/coolest 3 months of your life will go by faster than you could imagine, and everything you did won’t really hit you until you’re home.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
I'm Home!!!
I am home, and I couldn't be happier. My flight was fine, I sat next to a nice kid from the Temple Rome program and we watched comedies the whole way back. The customs line was long but moved pretty fast and my luggage came out right after I used the restroom, so I was among the first group to be reunited on "the other side". I was beaming as I saw my crazy family, right in front- first family through the doors- waving American flags. Yupp, they're mine. I bawled my eyes out from the second I heard Eric speak and had a hard time hugging him since he apparently grew a foot while I was gone. Dad was the first hug and he wore the sweatshirt that he kept from May 4 1991- he wore the same blue sweater he wore the day he held me in the hospital for the first time. My family is kind of amazing like that. Driving home was surreal but in usual Bellitto fashion I stayed awake until 11:30 US time- so 5:30am Italian time! And yes, we decorated the tree and cozied up with coffee and snacks just like I wanted!!! It was the perfect end to the perfect once in a lifetime experience.
I saw Joanna just 2 days later and we cried in the train station and got Dim Sum and Bubble Tea in Chinatown, where Elliott met up with us and we laughed like old times. From the very start it just felt like I never left.
So now I have been home several weeks and life just went right back to normal. Working at the Cheesecake Factory and William Penn Inn almost every day, constantly obsessing about my business and photographic future, planning for a wedding, etc. It kind of feels like I took a really long nap and living in Italy was all a dream. But I know will all the thousands of pictures I hjave I'll be able to look back and relive the memories when I need it most.
To answer the most frequent question: Yes, I am happier home than abroad. It was tons of fun but there is nothing in the world like being surrounded by the people you love. I never take a single day for granted. Thank you to everyone who supported me and followed this blog. Hopefully one day you will travel to Italy too!
CIAO!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Wednesday Dec. 7th
Today was awesome. I woke up at 11 (woah!), ate some clementines and cornetto with nutella for breakfast, and began an adventure day with Sarah! We took the Metro to San Giovani, then visited the Church of San Giovani (breathtaking as usual). From there we walked to La Boca della Verita (The mouth of truth), and the church that it is attached to, as well as Hadrian’s crypt below. Then we walked to the Jewish quarter and got the BEST pastry of my life. It was crunchy nutella goodness. THEN WE WATCHED THE SUN SET FROM THE TOP OF ST.PETERS! Yes, we met up with several other friends at the Vatican and all climbed up 551 steps to the very top of St. Peter’s dome to watch one of our last sunsets. It was exhausting to get up there but totally worth it! 3 MORE SUNETS LEFT IN ROME! AH!!!!!
O, then we went to a Christmas market in Piazza Navona. So naturally Sarah and I had to watch a Christmas movie (called Love Actually), and now it is 12:22 am my time and all I want to do is decorate my Christmas tree and listen to the Bellitto Christmas cassette and hug my hugely tall brother and quote silly movies with my dad and smell my mom’s amazing pumpkin coffee that she makes and kiss my fiancée and be happy and warm by my fireplace on 9 Clyston Circle.
3 MORE NIGHTS UNTIL I AM BACK ON MY BED!
But I will enjoy every last one of these remaining sunsets in ROMA!!
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