This past weekend, the JFRC facilitated a class-wide trip to Umbria, the literal heart of Italy.
image provided by Wikipedia Commons
Situated just west of Rome, Umbria is by far one of the most rustic and authentic Italian places I have been. I’ll give a basic rundown of the trip because quite honestly, my words cannot describe the antiquity and beauty of it all.
Day One:
taken by Hannah Jarvis, in Deruta, Italy
First stop was a ceramic shop in Deruta. Sounds simple (and kind of odd) enough. But if you are like me and most of my other classmates, you would instantly recognize the beautiful and hand-painted designs that adorn all sorts of plates, vases, tables, candelabras and more. Keep in mind that Saks and Nordstroms buy these goods and sell them for primo $$$.
After the shop we made our way over to lunch which was simply delicious. A five course meal, served under a replication of a renaissance mansion, on a beautiful and luxurious estate.
taken by Hannah Jarvis
Very full and happily buzzed from the delicious wine served with lunch, our next destination was Perugia. Perugia is most famous for their chocolates (which are divine), but what I didn’t know until we got there was how breathtaking the landscape was.
Situated on rolling and very steep hills, the city offers views of Umbria that Bob Ross could only dream of painting. We didn’t have very much time to in Perugia but it’s definitely worth a trip out to Umbria, should you be interested.
After Perugia we made it to our final destination (for the day), to our hotel in Spoleto. After a glass of wine in a local but very friendly bar, I fell into a deep and lovely air-conditioned sleep.
Day Two:
taken by Hannah Jarvis
We started the day off with a tour of Spoleto. The hilly but picturesque walk was led by a lovely Umbrian woman who told us all about the rich history of the small town. She took us through some of the most beautiful areas, including crossing a bridge that would scare the hell out of anyone afraid of heights.
The walking tour was followed by a lovely lunch at Spirito Divino, a beautiful countryside hotel/restaurant, where we ate giant pizzas and drank delicious wine.
The day was concluded with another walking tour in the town of Bevagna, most famous for their medieval preservations and shoppes. Not only was the town relatively flat (a major relief after having climbed around Spoleto and Perugia), it was charming and pretty educational.
Day Three:
The final day was focused around the town of Spello. Another guided walking tour led us through the steepest but (arguably) the most quintessential Italian citta. Prosperous in the Medieval era, Spello was also home to many gorgeous and very old churches, apartment buildings, gardens, and watch towers.
The trip was concluded with an intimate and low-key lunch in a olive grove, surrounded by the rolling hills of Umbria, olives you could pluck off the branch and pop in, and good people.
All in all, Umbria is a must if you are looking for the classic and non-touristy side of Italy.
Recently, I broke up with the United States. After a 20 (almost 21!) year long, committed relationship with only one brief break (to test my feelings for China) it was time to move on. Comfortable relationships are fun, don’t get me wrong. The United States understands me on a level that I’m not sure my new love, Italy, will ever be able to. The U.S. knows that I want a big cup of coffee in the morning, the bus to come on time, and for stores to be open at the reasonable hour of 1 p.m.
Nevertheless, I have to hand it to Italy for catching onto my love for cute side streets, spiraling ivy on brick buildings, intense shots of caffeine, and carbs, lots and lots of carbs.
Any change in life, especially with relationships (particularly those with one’s home country) brings a necessary adjustment of the body and mind, and traveling abroad for the next 3 months has been no exception to this rule. Upon my arrival in the country of wine and pasta, I noticed that a little thing that we in the Unites States like to call “punctuality” is simply optional and frequently opted out of.
As a person who is consistently 30 minutes early to class, gets anxiety when leaving for a destination a little later than planned, and thinks being on time is being late, this aspect of Italian culture has been quite a challenge for me.
On one particular day, as I set out for my first on-site class, Art in Rome, the bus simply did not come for 45 minutes. I had initially left campus before 8 o’clock for the 9:30 class with the intentions of being early enough to grab a cappuccino before the lesson began. However, standing there at the stop with about 20 other Rome Center students, I started to realize that this simply was not going to be possible. 10 minutes passed and I was still optimistic, but once we hit the 20 minute mark I became frantic to get on a bus. One after another the wrong bus passed, and I contemplated jumping on one, despite not knowing where it was headed, in an effort to simply go somewhere, anywhere.
Eventually, after almost an hour, the correct bus (the 990) turned the corner to the stop and the crowd of us began cheering at the sight of our salvation. We were all about ten minutes late to our class at the Roman Forum and Colosseum, but our teacher was very understanding, as the bus situation in Rome is a bit spotty. I realize now how thankful I am for the CTA in Chicago and will likely never complain about waiting 10 minutes for the Red Line to come ever again.
So yes, this break up has been very hard to do. I miss the familiarity and reliability of the United State’s public transportation system, and I certainly miss Chicago, the city that probably will always have my heart. Yet, Rome, thus far, has been an exhilarating adventure I would not give up for anything. What this new love may bring, we have yet to really know. Time however, time will tell of all the excitement to come.
What everyone will tell you about studying abroad boils down to one big fact: it’s super cool. As boring, as generic, and as monotonous as that sounds, it’s completely true.
In the first five days since I’ve been in Italy, I’ve seen things that I can’t even talk about without shivering. The Vatican at 3 a.m.; the villas in Tuscia; all the piazzas in Rome; the Colosseum, the Forum; and this is just day five. Day Five.
The Vatican at night
The other thing that no one will tell you, (or maybe I didn’t talk to the right people), is that the whole experience is surreal.
Seeing sights that I’ve learned about from staid textbooks and lectures where I was half-awake has been almost too much, almost unbelievable. Taking a step back, putting away my Iphone, not taking pictures, and taking a deep breath has been the only way to truly internalize what I’ve been seeing.
Where do I go from here? Well, in the next couple of weeks, I’m heading to Venice for Carnivale, Barcelona (if I book the flight), Munich for a Bayern game, Florence for a week, and the Balkan countries for my spring break.
Hopefully I’ll catch some soccer in the interim, and truly understand why AS Roma fans are such fanatics about their sport.
My first 20 days in Italy have been extremely busy but productive! Since arriving all of us at the JFRC have been learning how things work in Rome and on campus, and we all got to spend a weekend in the beautiful region of Umbria! Now that classes are picking up and routines are settling in, I have found I have more time to relax.
This past friday I spent the day roaming around Rome; shopping and sipping cappuccinos in a cute cafe while watching the rain. Friday night, however, was one of my favorite nights so far. Earlier in the week we had the chance to sign up to distribute Panini’s to the homeless in St. Peter’s Square. I signed up, excited about visiting Vatican City.
When I first walked into the square, I was taken aback by how massive it is. I have been in some pretty big stadiums and buildings, but combining the size and historical significance made it feel tremendously magical. It was strange knowing Pope Francis was somewhere in the Papal Apartments right above me.
I was assigned to bag fruit for the homeless to take with them after they got their meal. A few of us set ourselves up in an assembly line and started filling bags with apples, peaches and plums. They all gladly accepted the additional food and thanked us profusely. It was eye-opening how a few small pieces of fruit put such a big smile on their faces and hopefully, eased some of their stress. Everyday at the dining hall there are apples to take and I don’t blink an eye, but there in the middle of Vatican City, apples were revealed to be much more valuable than I assumed.
After that night I could not stop thinking about how important small things are. For example, on Saturday a few friends and I took a day trip to Pompeii. Last semester I took a class on Pompeii for my history minor, so walking around the streets I had read about was something I had been looking forward to for a while!
Toward the end of the day, we were standing in the forum when something caught my eye. On the ground in the middle of the large open space was the imprint of a sea shell in the stone. It was so small and the only reason I saw it was because I noticed a hole in my shoe.
It was such a sharp contrast to everything else we had seen. I felt like I had been looking up the whole day, admiring the mountains outside of the city and the architecture that had been so well preserved after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. After seeing the shell I started to notice details that I might have missed, like the carving of a gladiator in a home and a stone that looked like a lego.
Overall I had another amazing weekend!
I am excited to get to know Rome better in the coming weeks and will hopefully notice more of the small and unconventional details while still gazing at the bigger things.
Ciao! My first day in Rome was spent partly on planes. The first was traveling across the Atlantic Ocean from Chicago, and the second was traveling from Ireland to Rome. Upon arriving in Rome, the first thing I noticed was temperature. It was 90 degrees which explained why everything looked dry. I was amazed by the types of trees native to Rome, especially the palm trees. I was told that Rome was currently in a drought and resembled weather like that of a tropical climate. Leading up to leaving the United States, I did not do any research on what the weather was going to be. I made the mistake of wearing all my heavy fall-like clothing. This clothing included my north face jacket, a vest, a hat, a scarf, and booties.
This is an image of me standing on the second level of the Colosseum.
I flew with the group-flight and was happy tosee many familiar and new faces. After catching up with many of them, I realized that all our feelings well under similar categories. I was told that as soon as we stepped off the plane into Rome, orientation would begin. This later proved to be true because upon walking into the John Felice Rome Center, our whole entire next five days were mapped out. We had to register and turn in paperwork before heading to our rooms. The more interesting thing I learned about the campus was that it used to be home to nuns. Knowing that really helped me understand the reason for the strange lay out of the building. The worst thing I learned was that there was no AC in the dorms, this was super disappointing because it was 90 degrees outside and felt like 100 degrees inside.
This is an image that shows some of the JFRC campus and the many palm trees. To the left is the cafeteria and above that is the library.
Orientation is planned for a full two weeks. I had meetings with the SLA’s (like RA but graduated students), Director, Dean, and many others. They had two ‘Survival Italian’ sessions we were required to attend. During these sessions, I learned the alphabet and how to pronounce things. My professor told the class that if we knew these two things, we would be about to say any Italian word. After a few days in Rome, I started to be able to easily pronounce words even if I didn’t know what they meant.
The Colosseum and all it’s glory.
This beauitful view is from an outcrop in The Forum looking over Rome. On the horizon you can see the Vatican.
I had officially finished one week of orientation and my three favorite experiences were going to the Colosseum, the Forum, and the beach day. The Colosseum and Forum could be summed up in one world: WOW. I was so taken aback by the immense size and fact that millions of people had walked on the same stones I was. Thousands of years ago, these two areas were the center of Roman life. Today, they still held a similar way of life but for tourism and the residents of Rome. The beach day was neat because I found out that I was about to swim in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The water was salty and the strong, everyone had to be careful not to be pulled out too far. We had our own area of the beach rented out for all the students and it resembled a very nice beach resort. There were beach chairs, beach beds, volleyball, and a bar and restaurant.
This is an image that perfectly describes what the area around the JRFC looks life.
The area that the John Felice Rome Center is in is called Balduina. It is very different than the historic center of Rome. It is very quiet and family friendly, with many stores, food and drink places. Everything all of Rome is in Italian which can be confusing and immediately made Google my best friend. The city isn’t built on a grid and no such thing as ‘block’ exist, it is constantly up and down. I am really enjoying my time at the John Felice Rome Center and in Rome. I have seen so much beauty, art, and history with in the few days that I had been here. I look forward to the many more adventures that I had for the next three months.
On August 29, the group flight departed from Chicago, headed to Rome with a quick stop in Dublin. We arrived in Rome in the early afternoon, and the first thing I noticed was the heat. It was a little above 90 degrees, but luckily I was clad in my usual t-shirt and shorts. Other people were wearing sweatshirts, which were quickly shed, and jeans. We all had at least two giant bags with us, and 21 unlucky people lost their luggage (later located and returned).
View from the 3rd floor of the residence hall at the JFRC.
Upon arriving at JFRC, we had the next five days mapped out for us for orientation. We picked up our IDs, discovered where the IC, bathrooms, Rinaldo’s, and Mensa were located, settled into our rooms, and got lost countless times as we tried to navigate the layout of the building. The worst thing to discover was that our dorms didn’t have air conditioning! The rooms themselves are cute, with bunk beds, desks, a sink, and plenty of storage. I’m on the 3rd floor, and the first thing I did when I got in there was to open the windows. The 4th floor rooms have small balconies, I’ve been told, and all floors have communal-style bathrooms. As I lived in Simpson LLC for my freshman year, this was a change for me. The first night at JFRC was difficult, simply because all of our rooms felt like a sauna. Luckily, eight days in, the weather has cooled off considerably, and now the high averages 80 degrees.
My first gelato!Photo of the Castle of St. Angelo, taken on my first outing downtown.
Orientation consisted of a formal welcome by the Dean and other faculty members, survival Italian lessons, and sessions held by the SLA’s (like RA’s) to help us get acclimated to living in Rome. One of the first memorable activities was a scavenger hunt. The SLA’s gave each team a list of sites to visit and take pictures of with point values assigned to each, and set us loose downtown. That trip was a great leaning experience because it was the first time for me using the public bus system and being in downtown Rome. They also organized a trip to the beach in Maccarese, in which we all piled into three charter busses. That day was gorgeously sunny and windy, and the Mediterranean was quite warm. There was a buffet-style lunch, and I sat reading in a chair most of the time.
Beach day in Maccarese!
In addition, they took us to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Both sites summed up in one word: AMAZING. There really is nothing else like it. The Colosseum is huge, and you can’t really imagine it until you’re there. I could feel the history around me as I walked around the arena, imagining thousands of Romans crowding in. The Roman Forum was beautiful in its own way, and offered gorgeous views of the city.
The Roman Forum.
JFRC itself is located in the beautiful, quiet neighborhood of Balduina. It is quite different than the touristy centers of Rome, and was not what I was expecting. Despite that, I’ve come to love it. The neighborhood is constantly up and down, and when going to the grocery store or out for a drink one encounters many hills. But hey, exercise! Most of the area is residential, which offers a great opportunity to interact with the locals and to really put our Italian to the test. When I first arrived, I wondered how in the world I would ever remember how to get anywhere, with the way the streets curve and aren’t on a “standard grid” like Chicago or St. Louis. Now, having walked around, I’m beginning to get a feel for the place (although Google Maps is still my best friend). I look forward to the next three months, and I know I’ll be sad to leave when the time comes.
The past 5 days have been a crazy hot mess but I never want to leave Rome! There has been so much information overload and at times it stresses me out and makes me really grumpy and not so fun to be around. But then I have moments like this one where I am sitting in the computer lounge with my friends and just jamming to Disney music and talking about life. There are so many places to explore, things to do, and food to eat that I’m getting worried I won’t have time for it all. Here is a photo montage of the highlights from my first week:
Guinness tasting during the layover in Dublin from the group flight
This past weekend was our last bit of orientation to Italy with a trip to Umbria!
Friday morning started bright and early with a bus ride to Narni (the inspiration for Narnia) where we visited an underground monastery and torture room that dated back to the inquisition over 3000 years ago. As a new(ish) Catholic I have never learned about the inquisition and as my friend Christopher put it “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam means something totally different now than it did then.” Visiting this site really shook my perspective of the Catholic Church.
The tour of Narni was concluded by a lovely glass of wine and some snacks and followed by a rather strange lunch on a beautiful island.
Drinks with Francie and Christopher!
Saturday we toured le Cimate vineyard and had a lovely wine tasting and lunch! The rolling hills, sweet grapes and massive barrels are all etched in my mind forever (PC: Melissa C.). Not to mention the yummy rosé that I bought two bottles of….
A nice nap on the bus lead us to il Museo delle Mummie e la Chiesetta di S. Stefano where we saw perfectly preserved human remains from the 13th century and a beautiful mass at the ’Abbazia di San Pietro in Valle lead by Father Al (PC: Duncan C.).
Sunday was a bit of a bummer as we were rained out of our planned visit to the Partenza per Carsulae di epoca Romana (Archaeological Site). Instead we visited the (rather small) museum about the site and then made our way to lunch at La Taverna dell’Arco. Finally, we piled on the busses one last time to make our way back to campus and after a weekend of amazing conversations, views, and laughs we all passed out.
This weekend we went to visit the beautiful Umbria. Despite the fact that we had to get up at 7am every day, the trip was overall a good introduction to the Italian countryside. On the two hour bus ride there, it was captivating to see the scenery change from urban to less urban, and then to flowing fields and mountains. Everyone did a lot of napping on the trip, which was much needed after going to sleep around 12am and rising at 6am.
Our first stop was the quaint town of Narni. We met up with our tour guides, and then split into groups for a walking tour. The town is beautiful, with little shops and houses. It offered gorgeous views of the valley, and we got to visit a underground place where prisoners were held. After that we boarded the buses again and headed out for lunch.
Valley view from Narni.The view from the restaurant where we had lunch!
We took a boat to the other side of a small lake where lunch was going to be served. It was situated almost on the water, and was beautiful. Across the lake we could see rows of colorful houses that we associate with seaside towns. I’m beginning to realize that in Italy meals are meant as much a socialization thing as they are meant for the actual meal. We were there for about three hours, in which there was a three course meal. Another thing I have to get used to is the fact that Italians love their fizzy water, and sometimes do not even put out a pitcher of “regular” water.
After that we went headed to the hotel where we would be staying for the weekend. The SLAs divided us up into rooms of either three or four. I had two other people with me, who were roommates back at JFRC and had been for the past two years. My roommate was across the hall with two other girls. That evening we had dinner at the hotel, which was very good. There was always wine served with dinner, and at least three courses.
The weekend continued much in the same fashion. We’d wake up early, have breakfast at the hotel, and then head out for the day’s activities. We visited historical sites in various towns in Umbria, and had meals at local restaurants. My favorite place we went to would have to be the vineyard. It seemed like we drove up and up forever, and finally came to a good sized vineyard on the side of a hill. We got a tour of the facilities, and learned all about the process of making wine. The most surprising thing to me was that it takes 3-5 years after harvest for the wine to be ready to sell. It has to sit for a few years (different depending on whether it is a white or red wine), and then sit in its bottle for another year or two. It’s an extensive process, and although there may be a large spacious and hundreds of grape plants, harvest only takes a little over a week. After the tour we got lunch and then got to just wander and enjoy being at the vineyard.
Le Cimate winery.Friends at lunch at the winery.
The last day we were in Umbria, it rained all day. We therefor didn’t get to go on the archeological tours that were planned, and instead simply visited the sites and then went to lunch before heading back to JFRC.
We’re back now, and just stared our second week of school. It’s not hard to slip back into my school routine, and I know that in a few days I’m going to miss the freedom of being here without a schedule. However, we have three-day-weekends so we can travel all we want!
I’ve been in Italy for about a month now and honestly, I like it more now than when I first arrived. I think I came with so many expectations of how Italy would be that I forgot to stop and think about what it could be. To experience Italy myself instead of pictures I saw on Instagram. In some sense it took away that aesthetic appeal that allows you to feel ‘awe’.
After a three hour delay, I arrived in Rome where my aunt and uncle came to pick me up and we went to Padova. I stayed in Padova for the first two weeks of my trip, traveling to various near by cities.
The day after I arrived, we took a train to Venice.
First impressions of Venice: it’s so hot and crowded.
I don’t think I’d ever go back though. The buildings are beautiful and Venice itself is, don’t get me wrong, but I just didn’t feel impressed or that something different was there. If you plan on going to Venice in the near future, I suggest you go around or after 6 pm, that way you get to see the city during the day, but also during the night. Plus, it won’t be a scorching 92 degrees!! Also, a lot of people that I know that have taken a gondola ride, have said it’s amazing. But for me, I thought I was gonna drown the entire time because the boat was literally tipping to one side. And the water smelled really salty, not sure if this is recent, but it gave me a headache. But, I’m sure your experience will probably be better than mine.
Palazzo Giardino Giusti
Next, I went to Verona on the evening of my fourth day in Italy. We first went to Palazzo Giardino Giusti, basically there is a traditional renaissance garden with lots of statues. I highly recommend wandering around the gardens, there is quite a view at the top. Next, we went to Casa di Giulietta (the most awaited). It was very crowded, but definitely reminded me of the scene from ‘Letters to Juliet’. When I turned into the corner to her house, both sides of the walls were filled with letters, bandaids, big black heart outlines, and a statue of Giulietta (in bronze which is considered to be lucky) at the end of the entrance.
A few days later, we went to Switzerland!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (can you tell that I was excited for this?) I had always wanted to go to Switzerland and I was so happy that we were able to make this happen before school started, however, I would want to go back to spend more than a day there. In the time that I spent in Switzerland, we went Berne, Lake Brienz, Lucerne, and Interlaken. There’s so much to see and the VIEWS are absolutely breathtaking. It’s so beautiful!!
LucerneInterlakenLake BrienzGiessbach Falls
***Lowkey wish that I studied abroad here (not that I don’t like Rome)***
My two favorite places in Switzerland were Interlaken and Lake Brienz because I felt it was something different from what you normally would see and feel. There was just a pure sense of serenity. We wondered off a little from Lake Brienz and found this magnificent waterfall that was hidden. Its called Giessbach Falls in Obwalden, it’s literally ten minutes from Lake Brienz (sorry I can’t upload the video:/ ). But, the view will not disappoint after you’ve hiked a little. Lucerne was nice too, but it’s just more of a city.
I can’t wait to go back someday! I’ve left a piece of my heart in Switzerland, for sure!
Came back to Italy for a quick trip before school started, but there wasn’t much to see in Pisa or Florence. Sort of wish I had more time to explore the town.
In Pisa, we saw the Torre di Pisa and the surrounding buildings. The architecture was beautiful, however, I wasn’t a big fan since I live near a replica of the tower anyways (I see it almost everyday, LOL). But it was interesting to see the real thing in person. I found out that the tower was built on soft grounds (because it’s between two rivers) and the first level started leaning right after it was built. It took a 100 years, before the construction of the tower started again. Even then the tower leaned at 0.4 degrees. Right now, the tower leans at about 5 degrees and they believe that it should be stable for another 200 years, hopefully.
In Florence there are a lot of churches, and each of them has something unique about them. The outside of Duomo – Cattedrale di Santa Maria dei Fiore was fascinating with the different colors that were used, but also the detailing. By the time we got to Duomo the tickets were sold out for the day, so plan ahead. We decided to look around before we went to Piazzale Michelangelo, where there was a breathtaking view of the city.
During the orientation days after we started school, we had the opportunity to tour the Colosseo and Foro Romano. This was the first time that I got to see Rome since I’ve been in Italy. We walked around the coliseum and then went to see the inside. Afterwards, I walked through the forum and at the top there was an awesome view that overlooked the ruins, but also the coliseum on the other side.
Just a few tips when traveling:
You don’t always have to go to the major tourist attractions. I think the main thing I liked about going to the places I did, was that I tried to find a few hidden gems that normally tourists would miss. It’s because they are too focused on things they want to post on social media to show back home. I am guilty of this, it’s very hard! But there is so much to see and enjoy. So unplug(, if you can)!
It’s okay to wander without having a set plan. It’s a great way to learn how to find your way throughout the city, learn to talk to locals and maybe even learn to use transportation. You also find places that you’d never see if you just went from point A to point B. After all, it is about the experience. Mind as well immerse yourselves into the culture.
You don’t have to leave Italy!!! There is already so much to see and experience in Rome. And since you’ll be staying in Rome for three and half months, I highly recommend that you take this opportunity to get to know Rome.
McDonald’s in Italy to avoid hanger
