Week 7 At SVF

October 2nd - October 8th

*The week in Rome was from October 4th to October 11th so I will post for this week and then the rest of the Rome trip will be next week

The two days before we went to Rome went by so slowly. Monday (måndag) we were assigned a project in Mediterranean World for when we are in Rome. Olivea and I were assigned to give a presentation on the Trevi Fountain, which is an Italian landmark. We spent the day researching for our presentation. Tuesday (tisdag) Swedish class we learned about clothing words and how to say them in Swedish. Tuesday (tisdag) was also Reading Day. This meant that those who wanted to present something on a book they enjoyed or wrote they could and students could come and listen to them speak. Some of us decided to go hear Rachelle (the American teacher from North Park) talk about her book that she wrote about her Grandmother. That night, after we packed, some of us decided to play some games and then head to bed for the day of traveling in the morning. We woke up around 6 the next morning to get the bus to Stockholm at 7. We ate a quick breakfast, and then headed to the bus. The bus ride was around 3 hours. Jack and I sat next to each other and slept most of the way to the airport. We got to the airport, checked our bags and got on the airplane to Rome! I sat next to Elin and David on the way there. The plane ride was not long and soon we were in Italy. When we landed we had to take a bus ride to our hotel. The bus ride was about an hour to our hotel. I instantly noticed the trees (of course I would notice trees), and how they were almost similar to the trees in California. I pointed out to Kajsa that there were Palm Trees! It had been a while since we had both seen Palm Trees and were excited. There were also these trees that were tall, skinny and had all the leaves at the top of the tree which was long. The trunks were skinny and bare. They were beautiful. When we got to the hotel, we checked in and I was rooming with Elin and Louise. We unpacked in our room and then went out to dinner and a walk around the city. We went to this very nice restaurant where the majority of us got pizza, whereas I got ravioli. We also had bruschetta with spicy sausage. It was delicious. While we ate, a street musician came up to our outside table area and played guitar while we ate. After dinner, we went for a walk and visited some historical landmarks. We also visited the Trevi Fountain (which Olivea and I would now present on). The Trevi Fountain is the magnificent fountain that you see in almost all movies based in Rome. When you throw coins into the fountain you are supposed to throw the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder and make a wish. 100% of the money thrown into the fountain goes to the hungry in Rome. The fountain had huge statues and pillars. It seemed like everything in Rome was grand and majestic. We also visited the oldest comic strip in the world (which I will post pictures of ). Thursday (torsdag) morning we woke up and had breakfast across the street from our hotel. We had a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant. We left to go visit some churches where some of the other students gave their presentations. The church that we went into was huge, and had a dome with an open ceiling. I decided to sit here and pray, as I was in the most beautiful church I think I had ever been into. Jack decided to sit with me and asked me if it was ironic that the church was so expensive as a way to worship and glorify God. I told him I didn't think it was because the intention was in the right way. When Jesus was born, he was brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. After the church we decided to go to the tourist square to have lunch. We saw another church that might have been bigger and a fountain that was right outside the church but it was under construction. Kajsa, Lukas, Calle, Jonaton, David and I decided to sit at this restaurant and eat lunch. We all ordered the same thing which was Carbonara with garlic bread. The food was amazing, and the reason was because the noodles were handmade, soft, and buttery. It was the best plate of pasta I had had at that point. After lunch we walked to The Vatican. We had a tour guide and walked to the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican was beautiful. The Museum we went into was draped with artwork. Everything, the walls, the floor, the ceiling was covered with paintings from ancient times. Nothing was not gold. When we reached the Sistine Chapel, we were told we were not allowed to speak, or take pictures so we were told the information about the artwork and the buildings before we went into the Chapel. The Chapel was no different than the museums. The artwork displaying stories from the bible blew me away. I had felt so at home with God in these buildings. The Sistine Chapel was immensely crowded but nonetheless was breathtaking. After we left the Sistine Chapel we went to another church which was gold, and grand just like the other churches. There was an awning which stretched I don't even know how high, for the pope. There were also domes on the ceiling and gold and artwork everywhere. After the church we left The Vatican and were free for the rest of the day. Some of us decided to go back to the hotel to sleep as we had had a very busy day of walking and standing. After we all rested, the girls in our group decided to go out to celebrate Linneas birthday. We found this beautiful restaurant near the hotel where we sat and ate. I ordered an appetizer of pasta with cherry tomatoes and basil, chicken as the main dish and a fruit cup for dessert. We also ordered a bottle of white wine for the table which was wonderful. After dinner, we decided to treat Linnea to gelato. We walked around (for not that long as there was a gelato stand on every corner) and found a place to get gelato for Linnea. I got dark chocolate, and Pistachio gelato which was the best gelato I had every had. After gelato we met up with the boys and decided to try to go to this place called Yellow Square which was recommended to us by the students who went to the Rome trip last year. We ordered a drink, but the bar was incredibly crowded so some of us left to go back to the hotel for some much needed rest. The next day we woke up early and went to Campitelli ruins. The view was vast, and covered with stones from years and years ago. We saw the Arch of Titus which looked more like a sculpture than an Arch because it had such intricate designs on it. After this we walked to Capitoline Hill and the Alter of the Fatherland. The Alter of the Fatherland was the most magnificent building that I had ever seen. It had statues all around it, stairs going up for miles, and had a million different designs and sculptures of gold and white everywhere. We stayed here for a while before going to lunch. Lukas, Calle, David, Malin, Elin, Axel, Jonaton and I decided to go to this small place right next to the Alter of the Fatherland. Most of us ordered the Lasagna but Axel, David and Calle ordered the pizza. We all decided that the food wasn't really that good, and we later found out we were charged 3 euro for half a bottle of water and there was a fee for just sitting at the table. We left and were rather upset by the fact that we spent a lot of money at a place we didn't really enjoy. After lunch we went to another church, but only saw the outside because there was a service going on at the time. Some people decided to leave, but Elin, Kajsa, Jack, Olivea, Malin, and I decided to go across a bridge that dated back to the time of Jesus. After we crossed the bridge and took some pictures we decided to head back and hit some stores to shop for a little bit. That night some of us decided to stay in because of how tired we were from the day. Saturday (lördag) we got up early again, had breakfast at the same place we had been for the past couple days, and headed to Riserva Naturale Litorale romano, which were wide open ruins where we were given the freedom to explore on our own. Kajsa brought her nice camera so Elin, Kajsa, Olivea and I took many pictures of each other and the beautiful space we were in. We also sat in an old theater where there used to be performances. The structure was built upwards (I will post pictures) in that way so that the singer could be heard from far away. Kajsa went to the bottom of the stage and sang something and the voice echoed across the theater. We explored for a little bit and then headed to the beach. We got to the beach and instantly ran into the ocean. The water was clear and warm. While we were swimming around it dawned on me that I was swimming in the ocean in Italy! It was a surreal feeling. We stayed for a long time. We slept, bought ice-cream, went for walks and then headed back to the hotel for dinner. That night some of us went out and walked around the city. While walking around Kajsa and I bought the same skirt in different colors. Mine was a burgundy stripped and Kajsas was a gold color with white strips. After walking around the city we headed back to the hotel and went to bed. Sunday (söndag) morning we were given the day off. Kajsa, Elin and I decided to go shopping. We met up with some of the boys and headed out to go shopping. We found this nice place where I bought a jacket that seemed to be very popular in Sweden. After we were done shopping we went back to the hotel for a little bit of rest before heading to dinner. Some of us found a nice Chinese place that was near the hotel. There were no hidden fees in the check and the food was really cheap but very good. We ordered a bottle of white wine with dinner and then went to get gelato. Jack and I decided to go for a walk where we talked for a couple hours just walking around the city. It was calm, and beautiful and one of the most deep and satisfying conversations I have had with anyone in a really long time. We stayed out talking till around 1am. When we decided to go back to the hotel and fell asleep. The days so far we had in Rome were going so fast we barely had time to think or process the beauty and history that the city held. We settled in the hotel ready for the last two days in Rome before heading back to Sweden.