Our Grand Finale

Today we savored our last class experiences together, as our program here in Rome now come to an end.

We enjoyed a brisk walk to Piazza del Popolo in the morning, where Ashley gave a fantastic presentation on the Chigi Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. I could not help but notice that the Chigi family has had quite an impact on my time here in Rome, considering my presentation was on Villa Farnesina - it seemed appropriate that our last class focused onthe final resting place of Agostino Chigi, the patron who commissioned the villa. The Chigi Chapel is especially unique because it was designed by Raphael, though ultimately completed by Bernini. This leads to an interesting blend of Renaissance and Baroque styles within the chapel. Ashley did a great job elaborating on the many details contained within the chapel, including beautiful ceiling mosaics of the gods representing all the planets, hybrid-pyramid/obelisk tombs, and Biblical statues of Daniel, Habbakuk, Jonah, and Elijah. We then took some time to explore the church in its entirety, in order to view the stunning works of Caravaggio (including The Conversion of St. Paul and The Crucifixion of St. Peter) and Caracci in one of the other chapels.

We then headed over to Trevi Fountain to toss in our coins. Lisa noted that there a number of myths surrounding what the coins correlate to, though the most common belief is that you throw in one to return to Rome, one to find true love, and one to get married. Before we tossed in our coins however, Lisa shared with us some of the history of Trevi Fountain, which is full of imagery alluding to the power of water. Although the water used to be known as the healthiest in the city, you are no longer encouraged to drink the water directly in the fountain. However there is a small tap next to the fountain which is potable if you want a taste. I also thought that it was particularly awesome that all the money collected from the bottom of the fountain is donated to the Red Cross.

We ended our morning by getting gelato together! Due to the fact that San Crispino (a gourmet gelato hot spot near Trevi Fountain) did not open until noon, we decided to head over to Giolitti (another great gelato spot near the Pantheon). It was a bittersweet moment - all of us enjoying our cones, though not wanting to say goodbye.

At that point we all went back to study our Italian flashcards over lunch, because we still had to take our Italian final... We all aced the final (so we hope) and said goodbye to our Italian teachers (Aurora and Antonella), who have been absolutely fantastic.

And... that's pretty much where it all ends. Everyone spent rest of the afternoon and evening in lots of different ways - finishing up last minute shopping, visiting Mossimo's wine bar, packing very full suitcases, and chatting with each other. Different groups left at different times for the airport, so it seemed as though we were constantly saying another set of goodbyes (of course, my flight had to be just about the last one to leave...).

I hope that you can see from this blog what an incredible time we have had here in Rome! It is so difficult to capture the essence of this experience in words, though perhaps "veni, vidi, vici" come the closest - "I came, I saw, I conquered" - over the course of these past five weeks, we have taken so much in and we have come to feel at home in the beautiful city of Rome.

Posted by Erin

The Final Countdown!

Today was a very very busy day. Starting off the morning we had three immigration presentations back to back. The first presentation was on the Filipino immigrants in Rome, the second on the Kurds, and the third and final presentation was on the “Roma of Rome.” Each group did a very nice job of going out into the city and finding people to interview even though they may not have had a good grasp of the language or prearranged contacts to interview. I was particularly impressed with George’s success in speaking Chinese with a Chinese restaurant owner to set up an interview with two Kurdish employees. One moment of excitement in the morning was when the Kurdish group (George, Jon and Won) lost their PowerPoint presentation and made an entirely new one during the Filipino group’s presentation. Nice save guys!

After the presentations, most of the class congregated once again in the girl’s apartment in the Rome center, due to our untimely removal from our classroom, to work on finishing our papers and get all of our work wrapped up for the end of our courses.

At 3:30 sharp the group left the portone to go to the northern part of Rome to Sant’andrea al Quirinale to see Jon do his Art History presentation. Sant’andrea al Quirinale is a product of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and De Rossi and was built over a period of twenty years, from 1658 to 1678. It is different from most churches we have seen so far because it is not in the shape of a basilica with a long center naive but rather the main chapel is in the shape of an oval. The church’s main contributor was Camillo Pamphilj and his coat of arms has proudly been put on display all over the interior and exterior of the church. For more information on this church please see Jon’s blog http://golden-skies.blogspot.com. After seeing the main chapel we went into the museum to see the old rooms and the memorial to St. Stanislaus Kostka. These back rooms were amazing because they looked the way they would have back in the 17^th century when they were created.

The next church we went to was right down the street called San Carlino. This church was remodeled by Borromini in the early 17^th century. This chapel was constructed in a more circular fashion than the church we had just been to. However, even though it had a similar feel to it, it was different in comparison to the other church due to its simple decoration, the other church was very complicated and eyecatching because it was completely covered with ornate marble and gilding. After Lisa’s oration of the chapel we took a vote on which one we liked more and San Carlino won because it was “easier” to go to church in because of its simple decor.

After the presentations we split up into two groups: one group stayed to watch the VCD students’ presentations in the Rome center and the other group went to the AS Roma vs. Inter Milan game. I’m sure the presentations were good but I was not around to see them because I went to the game. 18 of us went to the game all dressed up in our AS Roma gear but sadly after a tough faught game, with a great save made by the Roma keeper during a PK, we lost 0-1. I guess we will just have to have a reunion and come back to see another game where they win. Oh and on the way back from the stadium Ashish and Becca got lost!

Posted by Geoff

Woah...where did all the time go?

There was only a fuzzy line separating today from yesterday. Since seven students had presentations at 9 o’clock in the morning for Immigration/Migration class, seven students went to bed very late, or not at all. In the morning, everyone assembled groggily in the warm conference room to hear about African immigrants in Italy. This stuffy room usually induces a slow start to the day. However, the presentations turned out to be interesting enough to keep the class awake. After class was released, several students celebrated by raiding the bakery.

Most people quietly spent the afternoon catching up on work and sleep; at least half of the members of the program settled down in the Rome Center girls’ apartment, which has become even more overrun by misplaced honors students since the annexation of the first floor classroom.

At 3:30, 20 lucky people got to tour the Pamphilj Palace. (For a short history of the building, visit http://en.wik ipedia.org/Pam philj_Palace.) Lisa served as the tour guide, and although cameras were not allowed…here is a photo from the tour (on the left).

Directly after touring the palace, Teresa presented to the group on its location: the Piazza Navona, a Baroque pride. For those of you that we’re lucky enough to be there, here are some interesting highlights about the piazza:

It is built upon the first century ruins of Domitian’s stadium
and then refurbished by the Pamphilj family (Pope Innocent X’s family) in 1644, to include Bernini’s beautiful Four Rivers Fountain, the Palazzo Pamphilj, and the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone.
The outdoor market was housed there, before it was moved to the Campo Di Fiori in 1869.
For 200 years, the square was habitually flooded on weekends, to allow for mock naval battles and splashy carriage rides.

Teresa in mid-presentation on the Piazza Navona! -->

We ended the day with a potluck dinner at Lisa’s apartment in the Palazzo Pio. By the way, a large, chirping cockroach took up residence inside the drain in Lisa’s sink last night. Does anyone have suggestions for ousting it?

Two more days of class left to go. We can’t believe how quickly the program has flown by.



Posted by Amy
Photos by GEOFFREY!

Day Trip! (in other words, no class!)

Today was a rainy day. While most people would probably lament rain on their vacation, most of our group welcomed a break from the extremely hot, sunny days. It was only the second day of rain in Rome over the course of our trip thus far. A few of us hypothesize that it rained because Rome was lamenting the loss of Steve, who had a red eye flight back to Seattle this morning to fulfill his obligations as an RA. Certainly we all lamented our loss of sleep after staying up most of the night to see him off at 4 a.m.


Our early trip to the train station was a little quieter than usual, but we tried to fix that with a cappuccino before departure. Several of the guys even joined Lisa in her breakfast tradition, purchasing a sausage mcmuffin to eat on the train. The ride north to Orvieto was short, only an hour, but we all fell asleep.

The town of Orvieto is unique because it is on top of a rock plateau. From the train station, the fastest way to get to the town is by the Funicolare. This is similar to the trolleys found in San Francisco although more modern. In true Italian style, it is supposed to be able to hold 75 people on each trip, so we were literally packed into the car like sardines. At the top we hopped onto a tiny bus that took us to the Duomo.

The Duomo is a 10th century church located on the summit of the hill that is said to have been built at the site of a miracle. The story goes that during a discussion about the blood and body of Christ, the host started bleeding. The blood was wiped up with a scarf/cloth that is now the primary relic of the church.

We were set free at the top of the hill to go exploring, so we broke off into little groups and wandered the streets. My group went to get coffee for the second time in as many hours before hitting the town. We saw boar’s heads, truffles, wine, and olive oil in tin cans, all typical to the region. Mostly we just wandered down the narrow streets taking goofy pictures and admiring the view from our hilltop fortress.

Many of us found our way to a little restaurant where we could warm up after our rainy day escapades. The food was excellent, and we all enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere. After lunch we wandered a little bit more and then made our way back down to the Funicolare, and then the train. Everyone agrees it was an enjoyable and restful day away from the bustle and noise of Rome.

Aston

A Little Bit of Everything

“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow there will be another one.”
-Dr. Seuss

Sorry for the long post but today was special! Today started with a bang and it ended with a pop. After waking up at 7:00 AM to catch the 8:00 AM little 116 bus near Blue Ice, we packed into the bus and filled literally every nook and cranny. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to try and fit ten people into the yellow IKEA slug bug they always use in their commercials? Well, I imagine that it would be similar to riding the busses here in Rome during rush hour. It’s a memorable experience on its own. The 116 bus led us to Museo de Villa Borghese where Won led us on an in-depth tour about the history of the Borghese and the Villa and the amazing statues and paintings they acquired.



One of the Borghese’s patrons was Bernini who produced marble statues of incredible detail. My favorite statue was of Apollo and Diana. There’s an indentation on Diana’s leg from Apollo’s forceful hand and two tears dropping from Diana’s eyes.The Museo also featured some of Caravaggio’s most famous paintings, including “Boy with Fruit Basket” and “Madonna del Serpe.” Caravaggio was one of the first artists to use a dark backdrop for dramatization and use real, everyday people as models in his paintings.

After grabbing a quick bite for lunch from Aristocampos, we all met in the classroom at 1:30PM to discuss our thoughts on the Fallaci and the Economist article for our IM class. Then everyone ran back to prepare the presentation of our heraldic crests and get jazzed up for our last group dinner together. It was sad because Steve had to leave early to return to Seattle so tonight was the last night that we would be all together. The guys were in mourning and everyone was sad to see Steve leave. Where once there were 8, there are now 7, but he’ll always have a place in our hearts.

The Trastevere girls (Ashleigh, Amy, Elizabeth, Jen and Risa) presented their beautiful heraldic crest first. It consists of a gelato cone and it has the five girls and their first initials.



Then the Pantheon girls (Carissa, Erin, Jenne, Theresa and Laura) presented their yummy heraldic crest next. The coat of arms was made of cookie crust and it was coated with nutella and white sugar in the shape of a white dove.



Afterwards, the Campo boys group 1 (Sam, Steve, Ashish and Geoff) presented their heraldic crest made of tomato sauce, nutella, eggs, an orange and grapes that also doubled as a map.



Then the Campo boys group 2 (Jon, Won, Aston, and George) created tickets for everyone to attend a soccer game where Jon sold us soda.


Last but not least, the Rome Center girls (me, Johanna, Shannon, Rebecca and Julia) presented our heraldic crest that consisted of an orange coat of arms with a butterfly, a flip-flop, a snake, a yellow rose, topped by a snake winding around a yellow rose.


Each of the crests were beautiful and unique and they’ve shown us all how much we’ve each grown and learned about each other in the four weeks that we have spent together. Afterwards, the gang of us went to Pier Luigi’s and sat outdoors where we enjoyed wine, filets of steak, two different types of pasta, and chocolate cake covered in whip cream. We all took a group photo (the last one with Steve in it, sniff sniff) and ended the night stuffed to contentment.



-Julie

A Day of Bees

Hello all!! It’s finally my turn to tell you about our day. Just sit back, keep your feet and arms inside the ride at all times, and enjoy the ride.

This morning began with our immigration class. Of course, this meant getting up about 30 minutes before it started to slowly meander our way into class. Today was the first day of immigration presentations. Geoff, Erin and Steve regaled us with tales of the Chinese immigrants here in Rome - their plight as immigrants and one woman’s anger at the group for not ordering enough food in her restaurant. Following this presentation, Risa, Julie, Julia, and Shannon presented on the Eastern European immigrants. They had an abundance of personal stories to tell making the presentation very entertaining and personal.
After immigration it was time for lunch!! I found a wonderful slice of focaccia with tomatoes on it at a large forno just off the Campo. Mmm, mmm, good! I came back to find that half of the Rome Center apartment girls were sleeping, in addition to about a quarter of the class throughout the 1st floor classrooms and apartments.

Geoff fell asleep in the chair next to me, finally able to relax after finishing his presentation.
Eventually we were roused from our sleep to meet with Lisa at the Portone in order to make the long trek to Palazzo Barberini.




It turned out, however, that she was taking the bus so a few of us decided to walk it instead. We managed to make it to the palace with 5 minutes to spare. Lisa wasn’t at the entrance so we thought that we had beat the bus… unfortunately, this was not so, we later found out that she was waiting with a group in front of the palace itself. Lisa gave us a quick tour of “her house”, paying close attention to the room that she did a lot of her work on and the salone, the more famous room in the house.




After the palace we made our way to Piazza del Popolo where Johanna presented on the role of the piazza as the main entrance into the city. After snapping a shot of Johanna between the twin churches, we made our way down the Via del Corso to the Trevi Founatin for gelato at San Crispino’s, stopping on the way for much window shopping. We eventually made our way back to the UW Rome Center and, sadly, parted ways for the day.
And so, our journey has concluded. I hope you enjoyed a look into our world here in Rome.

Teresa

What we learned in school today...

For the girls in the distant Trastevere apartment, the alarm clock sounded particularly unpleasant this morning. Our 9am Art History class was to meet at a church that is about an hour’s walk from our apartment. Although I have grown accustomed to our morning treks, I didn’t feel up to the challenge today; I decided to buy a cappuccino and a bus ticket instead.


Shortly after the clock chimed nine (literally), Jen began her presentation on Santa Maria Maggiore, the first church in Rome to be dedicated to the Virgin Mary. We learned about the miraculous snowfall that determined the church's shape, and Jen told us about how much the church has changed since its original construction in the 4th century. It's a beautiful building, and we couldn't help but stand in awe of its incredible ceiling and chapels.



Next, we headed over to another church named Santa Prassede, where Lisa gave us a mini presentation of her own. A much smaller and simpler church, Santa Prassede was built in the 8th century to house the bones of saints. The church is known for its gorgeous mosaics, particularly those found within the Saint Zeno Chapel, which Lisa aptly described as “a little jewel box”.



Then it was time for our final presentation of the day, which (wouldn’t you know it) was located all the way back in the Trastevere neighborhood at the top of a huge hill. Thankfully, Lisa treated us all to a cappuccino and cornetto before we made the journey. In the end, the hike was well worth it; at the top of the hill, we found a beautiful fountain, an incredible view of Rome, and candy (thanks, Elizabeth). Elizabeth gave a great presentation on the fountain and Acqua Paola, the acqueduct that flows to it, both of which were created in the 1600s at the behest of Pope Paul V. Cool stuff.

And then a miracle occurred: we were done by noon and the rest of the day was free!

Grazie mille to those in charge,
Ashleigh King

Scavi Day

Monday started late in the morning with one of our last language classes. I can’t believe how fast this program is going! After a quick lunch we all crowded onto the number 64 bus to make our scavi tour appointment at the Vatican. At the gates, we passed the colorful Vatican guards in their purple and yellow (and probably made it into a lot of pictures other tourists were taking of the guards). Breaking into two smaller groups, we waited for our tour guides then descended into the necropolis below the Vatican. Our guide led us through layers of burial grounds; at the bottom lie the mausoleums of rich families from the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Later this was covered in dirt to build a church which preceded the modern St. Peter’s, and after that, the modern St. Peter’s was built up even higher.

St. Peter’s grave makes this a very holy location, and on the tour we got to see his tomb. Did you know there are bones in his tomb that might not be Peter’s? When the excavators discovered his burial place, they found no bones. Some hypothesize that the bones disintegrated since he was buried right in the ground. Another scholar found some bones that had been removed from the general site. She believes these are actually St. Peter’s bones, and thus these have been returned to the tomb. I guess we’ll never know for sure.
--Elizabeth

View of the Vatican

A Relished Retreat

September 8, 2006
Today began early with an alarm and a cup of caffe latte. One look into the refrigerator confirmed that it was the end of the week--scant leavings required a little experimentation; Jenne made a pesto sandwich, and I made a pear and parmesan sandwich. Prepared and caffinated, we headed out to catch the bus to the Monasteries.

The double decker bus provided an excellent view of the city and time to play cards and catch up on journaling. When we finally arrived at the first Monastery, of San Benedicto, of the Sacred Cave, the hillside view was astonishing. Our first glimpses of trees and forests for quite a while since entering Rome were studded with weaving roads and red-tile roofs. Stepping into the shaded cavern, we veiwed the Medieval frescos and read the story of Saint Benedict in the same way illiterate church-goers would have: without printed Italian. We then visited the cave which, as the tourguide tells, is where Saint Benedict lived and prayed for three years to avoid distratction, until he was found by the shepards who became his disciples. After a quick stop at the gift store, where we perused the monk-made products, honey and wine, and I purchsed the Rose Honey, as a souvenir of San Benedicto (Saint Benedict once rolled himself in roses to distract himself from impure thoughts, giving himself a reputation for purity and a symbolic connection to roses).

The next stop was the Monastery dedicated to Saint Benedict's twin sister, Scholastica, a pituresque mishmash of different architectural styles, from Roman to Renaissance, to Baroque. We were rushed out of the monastery so the monks could complete their pre-lunch prayer, and we could visit the biblioteca, library. Saint Benedict's Order required the study/maintainence or books in order to enhance understanding of religion and the Bible and in line with this policy two German printers, expelled from Germany due to their radical and dangerous printing ideas, were invited to the Monastery, which still houses the first printed books.

The collection we saw was filled with illuminated letters and gold leaf, with several folio-sized works about an inch and a half thick. You could actually see the six attachments in most of the books (signatures to spine), and the beginnings of tears where centuries of display and use had begun their inevitable work on the collection. However, unlike the books of today, the binding was hidden within folds of thick-weight textured material, and the leather covers looked much newer than the Special Collection leather that I have seen in the Mendary, which is from 1880 at the oldest, and suggests either better leather and leathercare or some preservation/restoration work. The display even had a minature printing press above the books and what might have been glue vats in one corner, though by the time I got to them it was time to leave. I suppose being the continent or country doesn't matter, I always seem to be the last one out of the library.

On the way back, we refueled (ourselves) with the ex-pear-imental sandwiches and some gelato and ice cream bars, before proceeding to Villa d' Este. There, we frolicked in the fountains (not quite, but very tempting) and enjoyed the same shade and gravity-powered sprays of water that the grandchildren of Pope Alessandro did.





Once back 'home,' following the plot hatched on the bus, Shannon, Teresa, Julia, and I retired to my apartment and made mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, salad, and hard-boiled eggs. By some entirely inexplicable phemnomenon, we all were missing the home-cooked food that we never ate at home, but which were quintessentially American. After dinner, we accompanied Julia to the Pantheon for a juggling session, where she made a record amount of money. As we walked back, feasting on the spoils of her labor, Gioletti Gelato, we noticed music just floating serenely out of an empty courtyard, a welcome change from the business of the tourist district. The white marble and music combined in an almost heavenly peaceful ambiance, and a little later, our walk brought us to the white marble face of a church, with a nearly-full moon shining silver and framed by the white-gray fluffs of clouds.

Laura Eiford

Another day in Roma...

Thursday September 7, 2006

Today was an indescribable day of presentations by both Erin Shields and Sam Al-Khoury. This morning we met as a group at the Villa Farnesina just across the Tiber from the Campo de’ Fiori. There, Erin gave her presentation on the function and decoration of a villa and also, Raphael’s Loggia di Psyche. We started outside of the villa where, although difficult to see due to restoration, Erin gave us a brief history of the Chigi family villa (later bought by the Farnese family). In its time the villa would have functioned as a country home where the family would have come for vacation or to entertain guests. Originally, the loggia would have been completely open, connecting Raphael’s frescoes with the gardens outside, but it was later closed off from the weather in order to protect the beautiful art. We also saw work by Peruzzi, an early example of the use of perspective in art…it was gorgeous!



On the way to the Jesuit churches we made a quick pit stop in order to re-energize with either a café latte, cappuccino, spremuta or acqua. For me, this was my first Italian cappuccino, well my first cappuccino ever…it was good. Thanks Lisa for treating us!



Highly caffeinated, we arrived at Il Gesu where Sam started his presentation on the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church. He talked about the founding of the order by Ignatius (later canonized) and others, specific characteristics of the Jesuits that set them apart from others in the Church and their influence in the Counter Reformation and in the modern world. One interesting fact: the Jesuits adapted their missionary work to each location by learning the language, culture and beliefs of the people. This made conversion to Christianity much easier for them and successful. Oh yah, random fact: Gonzaga University and Seattle University are both Jesuit universities (the Jesuits are known for their dedication to education). We also visited St. Ignazio church. Both churches are beautiful and full of details that glorify the name of Jesus on High.



Il pomeriggio we had Italian…ciao.

Ciao, Carissa

The Dog Days of Roma

All across the city, the electricity of a fresh Roman morning filled the air, invigorating everyone for the new day and creating a potentially dangerous situation if it rained. People awoke to begin their days just as any other: fruit stand owners sold their fresh fruit, Carabinieri began their naps on the hood of their 'macchinas', and in Campo di Fiori, UW Honors students convened for another session of Immigration and Markets. Upon entering class, everyone got a sharp blow from the pleasant stick as we learned that Kathy was not only back from her trip to Sarejevo, but that she would be heading class to tell us about it. Her talk proved to be both interesting and informative. She passed around postcards, and told us of the destruction she saw on her journies. She also gave us pointers for our own field interviews which we will have to conduct for our final projects.

Next up on the agenda was a quick jaunt through the Jewish Ghetto, masterfully led by Shannon. Despite the afternoon heat, Shannon's breezy delivery made the blazing Roman sun feel pleasant. The historic area is still home to the Jewish community, and houses several bakeries in which one could find many delicious foods. Along the way, we learned several interesting facts. For instance, due to its proximity to the Tiber, the Ghetto used to badly flood every year. Markers still exist to commemorate the water's height during various floods throughout history.


After our trip to the Ghetto, everyone headed to the Capatoline Hill, were Aston regailed us with a rousing description and history of this important Roman landmark. With several magnificent statues, including those of Pollux and Castor, as well as of Marcus Aurelius, and glorious views from high atop Rome, this presentation proved to be a crowd pleaser. At least until we learned that we would be forced to see the Capitoline Museums on our own. That sucked.

After a full day of class and presentations, everyone was pooped, and decided to split up to work on their immigration projects, take naps, or perhaps enjoy a mountainous cone of sweet, cold gelato.

Love,
Ashish

"Dear Diary"

What a glorious way to start the day. With nothing scheduled for the morning, a few residents of the UW Campo de Fiori apartment took advantage of this opportunity to sleep in.

But, at 9a.m. that apartment was empty. Why? Because the combination of being in Rome and sleeping in is almost a sin and the more time one spends in confession means less time set aside for gelato. Thus a dispersing of the troops occurred in the Campo. Some marched off to infiltrate the streets of Rome and hopefully score an interview for their Immigration Studies class. Others stormed the UW Rome Center and worked on their Art History project.

2:30 came along, serving as a rally call for all to congregate in our incredibly small classroom for a lesson in Immigration Studies. Now we all know why there didn’t use to be many cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church: the Sistine Chapel would be “hotter than a Swedish girl”. Resat Kesaba chaired this particular conclave. Class progressed as usual, with a discussion regarding Imperialism and Mussolini’s Italy, followed up with designating the day each group would be presenting their findings.

Then came the rather interesting part of the day: wine tasting. All were so eager to participate, that we showed up too early. In an attempt to placate a semi-restless mob, Lisa led us to the bakery and bought everyone a piece of pizza bianca. Delicious.

Finally, the time to learn about wine tasting arrived. We were greeted by Massimo, the owner of the establishment. Three glasses of wine awaited each individual wine taster. Massimo then began an introduction to the history of Italian wine and the grapes from which Italy’s wine is fermented from. It was interesting to learn that the grapes of Italy were almost wiped out from blight, and were saved by help sent from the United States, who grafted healthy grape vines from the U.S. to the ailing Italian grapes.

After much ado, we were given the flash course in wine tasting. First and foremost was the correct handling of the wineglass. The taster is supposed to hold the glass at its base or its stem, thereby prevent any odors on the hand from mingling with the smell of the wine. Next was to tilt the glass away from yourself, preferably over a white surface, so you could judge the coloring of the wine from the “fingernail” that forms. Colors of red wine ranged from Garnet and Ruby to Orange, white wine ranged from Light Green and Light Yellow to Gold. The density of the wine could be determined by staring down from the top of the glass and seeing how clearly your finger showed through the wine. Next was the sleep inducing part.

Apparently the smelling of wine is quite important. In fact, to prevent overwhelming your olfactory senses, you’re supposed to first sniff the wine with one nostril at a time. Then swirl the wine within the glass, a feat which Massimo accomplished with seeming ease, and which I failed with seeming ease. Evidently the time it takes for the swirled wine on the edge of the glass to coalesce into streaming droplets, and the number of these droplets, determines the relative alcohol content of that particular glass of wine. Then you finally sniff the glass of wine with your entire nose. But not too deeply, because I did and it made me somewhat faint headed for a while.

We, the novice wine tasters, were then allowed to finally taste the wine. And even then Massimo stressed a slight chewing action of the mouth to fully experience the wine. He also pointed out the particular taste buds in the mouth, and their locations. It would seem that with regards to wine, the more important regions of the tongue include the front tip to taste the sweetness of the wine, and the back of the tongue to determine the bitterness of the wine. The dryness of the mouth after the wine also greatly affected the taste of the wine. For a few tastes, I just left the wine far too long in my mouth, resulting in serious cases of dry mouth which led to a numb tongue on my part. With that knowledge, we were supposedly able to determine the tannin, acidity, and body of the wine. Personally, I initially could not perceive much of a difference between the three wines we tasted. It took me towards the end of the session before the disparities between the wines really revealed themselves to me.
Massimo was kind enough to wrap up our wine tasting sessions with plates of food for all. Not sure what the actual name of each item is, but the plate included sliced eggs, a grain salad, re-constituted cod, biscotti, meat on a breadstick, and “pretzels”.

Thus ended the wine tasting and major highlights of the day.

~George

September 4, 2006

Monday September 4, 2006

Today was quite possibly the most anticipated day of the program amongst all the students and definitely contained one of the coolest things I have ever done as a traveler or student.

Risa began our day by presenting on the church of St. Peter in Chains and Michelangelo’s Tomb of Julius II. The tomb was originally designed to be an unprecedented work containing more than forty larger than life marble statues but it was never completed because Michelangelo was routinely called to other works including the Sistine Chapel during Julius’ reign. After the death of Julius II the size of the tomb was scaled down and Michelangelo never finished the grand project. Some of the statues that were left off the final tomb are the haunting slaves now lining the procession towards David in Florence.

Risa’s presentation tickled our imagination as we prepared for the activities coming later that night. Her introduction to Julius II and the della Rovere family set the stage for Carissa’s presentation on Rafael’s stanze and our PRIVATE TOUR OF THE VATICAN MUSEUM.

That is right. After a couple-hour break, Italian class, and another couple hours for lunch, all of us threw on the nicest clothes we brought across the pond and met at the front of Palazzo Pio to make the pilgrimage across the river. This short journey (probably only about 3 km) was much more difficult than the average Seattle Metro rider would ever guess. I have a new game for all the readers – try to fit 24 medium sized adults onto a bus where people already fall out the door when the bus stops. Needless to say we all became very close that night (physically and socially) as we squeezed as best we could onto the public transportation, but it was all worth it.

In case a mistake was made reading this post, we did have a private tour of the Sistine Chapel and everything else held inside the Vatican Museum. My only regret about seeing the museum in this fashion is that I am not fully convinced all the students understand how wonderful this was. Last summer standing under Michelangelo’s famous ceiling I felt as though I was on a Rome city bus and had great difficulty enjoying the artwork. This summer there were never more than 30 people within a 500-foot radius of me. I was able to search for bike routes through the Chianti in the Map Room without being bumped; I stood in Raphael’s Stanze and never heard anyone attribute the works to Da Vinci; I appreciated Michelangelo’s masterpiece without hearing the guards sternly whisper “NO FLASH!” to the American next to me.

Reader, if you ever go to the Vatican Museum, you too will then understand what a treat this opportunity was. Standing outside after the tour was over – smiles fixed onto our face by Michelangelo, Rafael, and all the other great artists we were lucky enough to see – we realized what a great trip this has been.

Steve

Tour de Tuscany

The last day in Florence began with an early morning. After a long night of socializing with other Honors students, some of us woke up very early. We not only had to leave early to get bus tickets to Siena, but had to pack and set out to the Museo Bargello. Why the Bargello? The day before, the class did not get a chance to visit this museum, so we (Steve, Geoff, Jenne, Laura, Aston, and I) decided to gain group intelligence. The highlights in this museum included the two competition panels by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, and the two David replicas. It was unfortunate though because we only got to see Donatello's David and not Agostino's David. The section containing Agostino's David was closed. Following the museum, we met the rest of the group at the Cappelle Medicee, which was a museum dedicated to the Medici family.
Inside were the tombs of the Medici line. It was amazing to see the grand dedication to the Medici and is still there for many to see.

The class then went to Mercato Centrale for olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting. We tasted different types of balsamic vinegar, the olive oils all tasted the same (which should not have been the case, but I probably did not have sophisticated taste), and delicious truffles. Once this was done, the entire group separated. Some of the students went back to Rome, others went to Cinque Terre, and the rest went to Siena.

After riding the bus for a few hours, the group I was with, including Won, Geoff, and Ashish, arrived in Siena. We were lucky to meet the rest of the group that came to Siena before us when we got off the bus. From here, half of the group went on the first van to our hostel, Castello di Selvole. The other half waited for the van to come back. While waiting for the van, we went grocery shopping for dinner. The list comprised of pasta, vegetables, water, and wine. When the van had arrived we all got on except Steve. Steve had rented a bike to ride around the city and to visit the family he stayed with last year. However, he did not know how to get back to the hostel. So Steve, in his new, pink, bike jersey and his road bike, decided to follow the van to the hostel. Not knowing how far this hostel was, we were in the van feeling like the cameras following the bikers in Tour de France. But no...this was Steve in our Tour de Tuscany.

Going past streets and busy roads, it seemed to be a simple track for Steve. However, problems occurred in the country side. The brutal road conditions turned to extreme slopes, up hills, down hills, and the pattern continued for a long time. At one point in time, Steve caught up and toward the window he said, "My life sucks ... but the view is great!"

Yes...Steve was right.
When we arrived in Tuscany, the view was extraordinary.
The hostel was part of the winery so all the grapes were in mathematical rows one after one another. That night we had pasta, which Won prepared, and wine. After good stories from life and a few games of Mafia, we all went up to the hill to see the stars. Our first day in Tour de Tuscany was...
N~ICE!

-Jonathan