Ciao Roma!

My experiences in Rome exceeded my expectations I had before I had left. Rome offered more than anyone could imagine. I was constantly surrounded by history, thousands of year old buildings, shops, people, wine, food, etc. I fell in love with the city of Rome and loved that I was surrounded by the Italian culture every where I went. The experiences were amazing and the sites were more than I could have asked for. Now that I am back at home I realize how much I miss Rome and my life there. I love being home so much but just to be able to think back to what I have experienced while I was over there is beyond me. I completely immersed myself into a culture with such wonderful people and friends. I am so glad I came out of this experience wanting to see more countries and cultures and leaving with amazing memories of places and friends!

Farewell Rome Shopping

Rome is known for the people dressing to the nines at every hour of the day so what better place to shop around to add some more style into your life than Rome! I have more than enjoyed the shopping in Rome and had taken full advantage of the multiple streets and store choices to shop in. Rome is such a beautiful place filled with beautiful people, places and shops. The shopping streets of Rome have plenty to offer. I am going to miss walking down the cobble streets stopping in every shop to see what they had to offer. The stores on Via del Corso, down the Via Della Condotti and every street in between have a variety of clothing, jewelry, handbags, etc. to offer. These shops offer a wide selection of styles to different people. Rome is the perfect place to shop and I would recommend shopping for the styles that interest you in all of the stores.

So long Campo de' Fiori

After my program had ended I was lucky enough to be able to stay at Campo de' Fiori hotel with my family for an extra five days and experience the everyday market and night life the piazza had to offer. I had told my parents to try to stay at this hotel because it is close to many popular tourist locations and offers different scenes day from night. Campo de' Fiori lived up to my parents expectations that they had imagined from this place. I have come to know Campo de' Fiori very well at all hours of the day. From the day time market to the loud night life, tourists as well as the local society of Rome are intrigued with this place as they visit weekly if not daily. This piazza has so much to offer to people from all over the world and I will miss this eventful setting that was so close to my home in Rome.

Tabbachi

Campo de' Fiori is a popular piazza known for its night life and open-air markets. But a more convenient shop that are also located all over Rome is a Tabacchi. Campo de' Fiori has a Tabacchi that offers postcards, souvenirs, lottery tickets and bus and metro tickets. The bus and metro tickets are 1 euro for a one way and 2 euro for a two way ticket. It is a great little shop to stop in for something little such as a refreshment. These refreshments include soda, juice and water usually. The prices at a Tabacchi for drinks are cheaper than you would get at a restaurant or pizzeria. The size of all the Tabacchi's are very small and can get crowded quickly so it is a quick store to get into and get out of. If you are looking for a Tabbachi you will see a sign with a big T on it above the store.

Gelato Tour

Part of being in Rome during the summer time a nice refreshment is much needed in the hot weather. Gelato is the perfect snack that will cool down anyone who is feeling over heated. I am going to map out a tour of five gelati places that on can access from various points around Rome!

My tour begins at a gelato shop on Via del Corso (name will be added). Once we leave () you will make a right back onto Via del Corso. Once you come to the end of the street you will want to make a right onto Corso Vittorio Emanuele. You will walk down all the way to the end of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and on your right is the second stop at the gelato place (name will be added). After enjoying a nice gelato you will make a left out onto Corso Vittorio Emanuele again and walk down until you see Via dei Baullari on the right. Via dei Baullari will lead you to Campo de' Fiori. Once you get into Campo de' Fiori you will find Via dei Baullari continued across the way. On Via dei Baullari is a gelati place, Blue Ice, which is a chain throughout Rome. Once you are standing facing Blue Ice we will continue going to the left, straight across the piazza square of Campo de' Fiori continueing on Via dei Baullari. Once getting to the end of the street, you will take a right onto Corso Vittoria Emanuele II. You will cross over to the other side of the street and take a quick left onto Corso del Rinascimento.

Once you take a left you will want to keep an eye out for V. dei Canestrari on your left hand side. Taking a left will lead you to Piazza Navona which will be on your right hand side. This left will take you to the one end of the Piazza. If you walk straight through the piazza all the way to the other end you will find a gelato shop Cafe Mariotti. After tasting the yummy gelato of your choice you can make your way back to the Corso del Rinascimento and take a left. Once you have taken a left onto this street you will want to keep an eye open for a right turn onto Via Giustiniani which will lead you to the Pantheon or Piazza della Rotonda. Once you enter into the Piazza you will see side streets to your left that will lead you to the street V.D. Colonnelle. V.D. Colonnelle offers a gelato place called San Crispino on the right hand side. Upon entering San Crispino on the right you will see a chalk board with flavors that "marry well" meaning that those flavors go well together. San Crispino does not offer visual sight of each flavor, instead keeping them in covered metal bins in the window. Once enjoying a nice gelato you will move back out onto V.D. Colonnelle making a right. Make a left onto V. del Collegio Capranica. Once rounding a corner you will then want to make a right onto a side street called Guardiola. At the end of this street you will make a right onto Via D. Uffici D. Vicario.

Finally, Giolitti will be on your right hand side where you can try the famous gelato that is talked up by most. I have been to Giolitti before and it was very good. You first pay for the gelato and then you go up and order your flavors! This tour is filled with gelati places that all offer great flavors. I chose this tour because I love gelato. Almost every flavor I have tried offers a true flavor and is a great refreshment. I hope everyone has the chance to try these gelato places as I have over the past five weeks!

Botanical Gardens

Last week a group of us went to the Botanical Gardens to take a look around. The Botanical Gardens are located in Trestevere. The gardens were beautiful and offered so many different kinds of plant species! There are about 7,000 plant species located in the Botanical Gardens of Rome. These plant species are from around the world. The Botanical Gardens also consist of a main fountain called Fontana dei Tritoni which is located almost in the center of the entire garden and is surrounded by benches and a lush green field with plam trees.

One of my favorite parts of the garden was the bamboo which was extremely tall Upon entering the gardens you are given a map that tell you the general area and location of plants. The map is not overwhelming in the least bit. There are only, at the most 15 marked areas of plants even though the Garden holds thousands of plant species. The neat thing about the Botanical Gardens is that there are views of the city of Rome throughout the walk and you have the option of actually walk through some of the gardens. I was able to walk through the bamboo by a path that was created to do so. I would recommend making a stop at the Botanical Gardens if you get a chance to do so. The price was about 4 euro per person.