"vacation on vacation

it's weird" - kaitlin

on tuesday we saw some more ruins

ostia antica

we played hide and "peek"

this is the bus that totes us around

and enrico, our driver

next we went to a glorified moundville

"The Etruscan site of Cerveteri. The Etruscan civilization flourished before Rome and deeply influenced the building of the Empire and its customs" says our itinerary.

the mounds hold tombs like this

Thursday we went to the Abbey of Montecassino & Pompeii

they have doves that look like turkeys

margaret anne, me, meredith, claire, meghan

the abbey was destroyed in world war two

a couple of things survived, but not much

please note the size of lemons in italy

unreal

positano

where we spent the weekend

the view from our bedroom

my dinner

it had eyeballs

our beach

made of pebbles

kaitlin and amy digging for jewels

treasure

we went to "music on the rocks"

basically a disco in a cliff

reb, you would have loved it

we went to capri on saturday

i found a redhead with a scrunchie bracelet wearing capris in capri

awesome

it was beautiful

had enough yet?

oh hey kaitlin

chinese restaurant

great idea, right?

yeah we thought so too.

we tried to read the chinese translated to italian translated to english menu 

which was a struggle

so we just ordered the safe classics: sesame chicken and orange chicken...

yes, that's soggy chicken soaked in orange juice

yes, it's was as gross as kaitlin's face suggests

even though it was awful, it was a great experience

that's one thing i've learned here...

things don't work how they're supposed to

but you just start to appreciate things for what they are

even if it's literally "orange chicken"

we spent the whole weekend in rome

the colosseum was amazing

we turned in our solo-shot project, so this might be your last one

the inside of the colosseum

below is the maze of trap doors/elevators

what the floor would look like is in the back

arch of constantine

and the sun

dear mom, this is why my feet were so dirty

rough terrain

the stones are about 3" high

notice that everyone is looking down so they don't break their necks

dear mal, i like to copy you

wildflowers

don't you wish ours were this pretty?

the roman forum

"ruins" became a funny word that day

dear em, i found your paradise

tons and tons of delicious, cheap fruit 

(i know you don't see the strawberries, but they're there)

today i went to the market & bought 4 apples, 4 bananas, 1 peach, 1 plum, 1 mystery fruit (loquat?) & some green beans for 5 euros

our group in front of a statue of marcus aurelius on capitoline hill

we took this picture at about 5:00

it stays light here until 9

i have this weird liking for taking pictures of ceilings

this is the capitoline museum...

...which houses this incredibly famous statue

founders of rome, anyone?

back by popular demand

dear reb, sorry i'm not sorry

dear alex, happy birthday

today we went to see the schools in ariccia

dear cohort c, i kept thinking of y'all teaching little kids like this

this is a 1st grade class

i'm learning the same things as the first graders

cohort c, consider putting this on your word wall

if i could take some italian babies home, i would

precious girl reading to the class

i think i have 1/16th of her hair

and for today's finale..

red on red on red

dear katherine, please note her blue scrunchie (& matching nails)

i love italyyyyyy

ciao

war eagle moment

we had a family reunion, y'all

dear mal, i think we share a lack of enthusiasm for that phrase
all i could think about was our flight to glendale...you know what i'm talking about.
hahahahahaha
war eagle, but really


we walked allllll over the rome today!
i'll post & explain some of my favorite pictures


rome is the hotspot for the redheads

jenny on the spanish steps
with her friend in the pink tank

dear betsy, no one speaks spanish on the spanish steps
but you would

the church at the top of the spanish steps

dear mally, you'd like this place
it's a coffee house that was established 250 years ago
john keats (the poetry guy) & the hans christian anderson (the thumbelina guy) got coffee here

and they wear tuxes to serve you coffee

a blue hair on a bike
literally

hey solo shot
with the column of marcus aurelius
built in 193 AD

it tells the story of the danubine wars

zac, see if dad will buy you an italian police car

 trevi fountain
it's huge

it's also the hotspot for pick-pocketing

probably because everyone is reaching in their wallet to grab 3 coins to toss over their shoulder for good luck

3 in a row
jackpot

the pantheon
i saw it in real life
indescribable. unreal. favorite thing i've seen yet.

it's the largest unreinforced dome in the entire world
that's a hole in the ceiling (the oculus)

so what happens when it rains?
no big deal, the water just rolls out the front doors.

it's 1,931 years old

the sunspot from the oculus

peek and her redhead friend inside the pantheon

front doors of the pantheon
20 tons each
that was not a typo

probably the most vibrant redhead spotting today

i don't remember which one this is
they're all beginning to look the same

kate and me in front of the fountain of the four rivers

it was designed by bernini
basically he designed the whole city

dear zac, i found your girlfriend
nice catch

point made
i'll stop posting these shots
if you want more, i'll mosttt likely have an album dedicated to them on my computer.
redheadforlife

dear leslie & melissa, please remember that if you get arrested, the american embassy can only "bring you cookies"
thank you pre-departure class

national monument of victor emmanuel ii

it's entirely marble

mussolini gave his speeches here

another church

good natural lighting

amy, leslie and melissa with their metro (bus) passes

we were ready to go home

but we'll be back tomorrow

ciaooo