On top the wedding cake

We survived the first week of classes! And an entire week of being in Roma! What a week... I think I can get used to this whole 3 day weekend thing. Class is totally different than at home. Our studio space has a great view of Campo di Fiori which goes through a full transformation daily from a fresh market to a hot spot in the evening to enjoy food and drink. We also had our first sketching class where we use the city as our classroom. On Tuesday we went out to Sant'Ivo, a church designed by Borromini. I have to say, it was kind of nice to just sit and sketch for a few hours. It is somewhat relaxing. We also started our intensive Italian class this week as well with Alessandra. She is a character and thinks she has some pretty funny jokes... but she is really great and it helps so much just being around Italian all the time. It makes it easier to pick up on certain words as people speak. 


I can start to tell that the "honeymoon" period of being in Rome is coming to an end and culture shock is starting to settle in. We are learning how to shop for groceries in an Italian grocery store, use the metro and bus system, make sure we choose a safe atm, and figure out how to get into the bank. Yes, getting into the bank is no easy task. Its was actually quite challenging and I refuse to go in the ones that make you remove anything you have on you just to take money out. They have double doors and you have to let one completely shut before the other opens but at the same time, you need to remember to push the button before you enter so that the other one will unlock. Yeah, tell me about it... I had an entire bank full of people stare at me as they watched me make a fool out of myself trying to get into the bank. It will take some time to get used to the way Italians do things but I'm sure it won't take long. 


What a day we had today though. We toured the 7 hills of Rome. These consist of the Aventine Hill, Caelian Hill, Capitoline Hill, Esquiline Hill, Paletine Hill, Quirinal Hill, and the Viminal Hill. The hills are populated with buildings, museums, and parks. Before we set out on our journey to the 7 hills, we were able to get a view of them from atop the Wedding Cake, a monument to Vittorio Emanuele II. They just recently, in 2007, added an elevator to take visitors to the top of the monument and the view of the city is unbelievable. Check out the pictures below.


Let's hope the weeks to follow are just as great!