the Weekend!

Here's some pics from the weekend. Went out to many bars / areas. On friday we went to San Lorenzo, a place where Italian students hang out from the local university, and we got to see a live band play in a tiny, cramped bar. It was awesome!

Soon I'll have pictures up from some of my other drawings.

Ciao!

More Pics from Forum and Colosseum

SO heres some more pics from the Forum / Colosseum.

Hadrian Villa and Villa d'Este

So today I tagged along with the Art History course to go an excursion through an ancient villa that was built by Emperor Hadrian way back when. Then we went through what was the most stunning place I've seen yet, Villa d'Este. Check it out in my pictures.

Colisseum and Forum

Today was nuts!

Went to the Colosseum and the Forum in center city Rome!

Me and my 3 friends, jess , val and joe took a 3 hour tour there. It was awesome. Since you all know me well, you should not be surprised to know that I forgot to bring my camera. So , I'm waiting on the pictures my friends took, which will be up soon. In the meantime, I'm leaving you with the first picture up; its 2 gladiator guards in front of the Colosseum taking a smoking break. Be back soon with more pictures.

Paul

My First Sketch

Here's a copy of my first sketch. It portrays a specific spot within the St. Augustine Church in center city Rome. The sketching class is great; there's a lot of advanced students, so its fast paced, but I'm learning a lot. This type of sketch is "gesture" drawing, which is basically a quick way to outline a scene and develop a sense of perspective.

Until next post,

Ciao.

Pop Champagne

Self Explanatory.

Pictures of Me (By request by my Mom)

CLASS, First Impressions

Both classes I had today were great!

The sketching class is the real deal. We had to buy even more supplies than the ones I came with, and in our first class we jumped right into the work. We began with an exercise called blind countour drawing. You couldn't look at your paper and just had to draw the lines of the images you saw, pressing harder on the paper to give the image a 3 dimentional character. The teacher kept saying that contour sketching is useful for giving an image texture. We were supposed to evoke tactility. The only difficult part of the class is the walking/hiking we have to do. Its hard, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Everyone in Rome walks and hikes and climbs stares. As they say, do as the Romans do; or as our Italian liason Gianni calls it, "Go with the flow."

My second class, Italian Due (2) was amazing. My teacher, Giovanna, is extremely helpful and charismatic. The class only has 4 people in it, and only 3 showed up today! I learned an incredible amount today, learning the terminology to order all types of foods at different stores: alimentari (delis), pizzeria (you know) and bars (snack shop).

I'll check back in with more pictures soon.

Arrivederci

Meal at Titignano

For the Meal:

Course 1. Cured Meats and Bread

Course 2. Cheese pastry (creamy goat cheese freshly made)

Course 3. Risotto Asparaghi (Asparagus)

Course 4. Lamb and Crispy Potatoes

Course 5. Dessert Wine with Biscotti (Custom to dip biscotti in wine after the toast)

Todi Pictures

Todi and Titignano

This is definitely going to be the longest post yet.

Today I went to Todi, a medieval town. Again, it is impossible for my description to fit the emotions I felt walking through the town. I feel like even trying to do it isn't fair. Because at the end of the sentence, I know what I've said is disingenuous. As beautiful and articulate as words can be, it is incomparably less miraculous as seeing the ancient buildings and feeling the spirit of the plaza.

So, I'll post the pictures and let your imagination take you there.

Next, we took a 40 minute ride to a hilltop resort that also has rich history (there since circa 1100 CE). We had a 10 course meal. I got most of the shots of the food. And since all the food came from the resort's personal farm, I was treated to one of the greatest meals I've ever had. So after Todi, I'll post those pictures.

Comment on the pictures, I want to know what you think about everything!

Ciao

Walking Tour in the City

Went to the heart of Rome today.

Walked through the Piazza del Popolo, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and a bunch of other incredible sites (there are SO many packed into one city, it hard to remember all of them - my Italian teacher guiding us had trouble herself remembering everything!)

It was utterly awesome. Can't really describe what it was like - you kinda just have to be there to get it.

First party foul

AH! broken glass!

One cup down, 14 to go.

Man its great to be in a foreign country

Some Beginning Pics!

So I basically just got here, and yet, I've already experienced SO much.

I'll attach the pictures I've already taken. They're from the surrounding community around are sweet apartment building.

In the pictures you'll see the kids on my floor, minus my two roommates I just met. We just got back from touring the community. There are so many cafe's and local markets; it was idyllic.

Check out the pictures at let me know what you think. Oh and if you have any requests for places for me to visit, or sites for me to take pictures of, post a comment!

And last but not least, FOR MOM AND DAD, my magic jack isn't working. I'm trying to fix it. And for mom especially, I put the mattress protector on to prevent bed bugs.

Until next time,

Ciao.

The Night Before (HOLY CRAP!)

Hey everyone!

This is the first and only post I'll be making in Philadelphia. Just a test-message to see if everyone can read the blog. I can't describe how I excited I am to see Rome (and leave Lower Moreland) for a month and a half!

I look forward to sharing the crazy journey I'm about to embark on with you. Next time we talk, I'll be 7 hours ahead of you, not having to worry about waking up to a rainy day or a getting a bad meal.

Until then,

Ciao!