living in history

Rome is full of history, as I'm sure you all know. 

the monuments, Caesar, Catholicism, the Pope, you get the picture.

that in itself attracted me to Rome because I'm a nerd and love history. little did I know, I would be living in a major historical event while I'm here.

Pope Benedict XVI officially resigned as Pope of the Catholic Church on February 28, 2013. 

this is the first time a pope has resigned in 600 years. that's a big deal. Pope's just don't go around resigning all the time.

well yesterday, I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to go hear his resignation speech at St. Peter's along with thousands of others. 

we stood and cheered as the Pope went around in his car waving to everyone. we sat and listened to all the different Cardinals address us in their native language.

we heard the Pope's resignation speech in Italian. 

we heard him address us in each major language represented. 

he blessed each of us and our families. 

and we heard him sing in Latin.

it was unreal.

literally a once in a lifetime opportunity.

 he is the little white dot sitting there.

now all of the Cardinals around the world must be locked in the conclave and elect the new pope.

I'll be looking for that white smoke.

lots of love.

hidden treasures

thermal baths. hot showers. cheese factory. bath robes. 

these are just a few of the things that were included in my program's free trip this past weekend, entitled "the hidden treasures of Italy."

we stayed in a villa in Tuscany where we ate free food, swam in thermal baths, and just relaxed. we toured around some smaller towns in the area that I had never heard of before, but were all so beautiful. we also toured a cheese factory and tasted some of their yummy creations. that was too fun.

the weather was not ideal though. we saw hail, rain, snow; basically every form of precipitation, which is not ideal for Tuscany. however, the sun thankfully came out for a bit the last day when we were touring Orvieto, this amazing town set on a hill with the most beautiful views. it was breathtaking. 

it was a good, relaxing, and free weekend despite the crummy weather conditions. 

I think my new dream is to have a vineyard or farm of some kind in the countryside of Tuscany. pictures cannot capture how gorgeous this Italian countryside is. I am obsessed. 

one of the hilltop towns.

 friends.

the beautiful church in Orvieto.  

my future castle. 

Tuscany is so beautiful. 

it was a good weekend getting away to the countryside and hanging out with friends. now back to the city life of Roma.

lots of love. 

overwhelmed

I am overwhelmed.

but in the best way possible.

overwhelmed with thankfulness, humbleness, but most of all with awe. 

I was walking to class the other day, looking around, and I just was overwhelmed with this feeling of awe. 

I live in Rome. 

yesterday was my 21st birthday and my roommates took me to dinner where we ate looking at the Pantheon. 

as we were eating, I was overwhelmed with awe. 

I live in Rome.

I have been here for a little over one month which is a crazy thought to me. as my roommate and I were walking to class today, we were just talking about the first day we arrived here.  I went back to that day in my mind thinking about my feelings as I was traveling to the unknown adventure awaiting me. 

I was scared. I was excited. I was overwhelmed. 

there were so many emotions going on inside of me that I had no idea what to think or feel. it was a big change, but I knew the Lord was sending me here for a reason. 

I am learning so much about myself and who I am and who I'm supposed to be.  I am learning about life.  I am making mistakes and learning to be okay with them.  

I am shocked at myself for doing this and incredibly glad that I did.  this adventure has helped me realize so many things about myself that I might not have learned if I had stayed in my little bubble. 

I still have a little over 2 months here, which makes me sad to think about.  I like this adventure.  I like this way of life and I love the people that I have met.  

but it's not over yet because 2 months is a long time and I plan on not wasting any of it.  I want to experience all of Rome and what God has planned for me here.  

words cannot express how thankful I am to be here and to be able to do the things I am doing. my parents are the most wonderful people to allow me to do this. 

this is an incredibly sappy post I know, but hey I'm 21 now....not sure what that means, but go with it.

lots of love sweet people

day trip

the beauty of living in Italy, or any European city for that matter, is the train system.  you can buy a train ticket to really anywhere and just go for the day.

and that is precisely what we did. 

we bought a ticket to Pisa and Lucca and went there for the day.  it was wonderful.  they are both very small cities, so it was nice to be in a quiet little place for a bit. 

our journey first started in Pisa.

now, all I have ever heard about this little place is that there is nothing to do except see the Tower of Pisa. this is in fact true, but it was still so fun. we went the long way to the Tower and were wondering where it was when we turned the corner and found it. 

we did the touristy thing of course and took pictures, while laughing at how silly everyone looks trying to get the right angle. 

it was a beautiful day with the sun shining and the sky bright blue. we were loving the warmth. 

our next stop was Lucca. it was so peaceful there and I just felt so calm. we walked around the little town and discovered they were having a flea market of sorts. there were all sorts of lovely treasures and I even bought myself a birthday present. 

the people of Lucca just seemed so at ease and peaceful as they walked around or rode bikes through their little town. it was refreshing. 

 loved this carousal. 

we ate a wonderful meal and then took a stroll along the wall that encloses the whole city. it had the most amazing views of the mountains and the streets of Lucca. there were people jogging, riding bikes, and just strolling along like us. 

the sun set was glorious. 

it was a wonderful day trip with lovely friends.

now to start a new week of classes.

lots of love. 

the sinking city

on Saturday, I went to Venice to experience their version of Mardi Gras, also known as Carnivale. 

it was unreal.

Venice looks just like the pictures, but better. it is a dream city, like something out of a fairytale. 

there were people dressed up in ball gowns, capes, masks, you name it. there was even a group of smurfs walking around. everyone gets so into and I love it. 

it was such a cool experience, complete with getting confetti thrown on me, wearing a mask around the festivities, and taking pictures with people dressed up. 

we also visited two separate islands, Murano and Burano. Murano is known for it's glass-blowing, which we got to see first hand and Burano has brightly colored houses and is just beautiful. there are neon green and hot pink houses everywhere and if you want to change the color of your house you have to get permission from the Italian government. pretty cool. 

oh and it started snowing when we were leaving. so romantic.

it was a long day of traveling, but so worth it. I can't wait to go back to Venice one day. it's one of those places you have to revisit, and I plan on it. 

lots of love. 

photography

for photography class this week, we went on a field trip to Piazza Navona. it's a great place to creep on people and take their pictures, which is exactly what our professor wanted us to do. 

and luckily, the rain had stopped and revealed this beautiful day for us.

my professor in his natural state. 

today also marks my one month anniversary of being in Rome. 

wow.