Day #16 in Orvieto (Roma trip)

This is the sunset from last night!

I had the hardest time trying to walk on these... I fall all the time on cobblestones

March 10, 2013 – Sunday

On Sunday morning, we slept in a little bit and then had to pack up and leave the apartment by 9ish. We brought our bags up to Karen’s apartment (she was in charge of us for the morning while Prof. Doll went back to finish getting our new monastery ready!).  Laura, Sarah, and I went to a different café this morning, where I got another cappuccino and a Nutella-filled pastry. Like I said, they LOVE Nutella here. We then made our way across town to go to mass at St. Peter’s at 10:30. On the way, we stopped in a few shops and we each bought a bunch of cat postcards. People here also love cats, especially cats on postcards and calendars. The shop owner definitely thought I was crazy when I showed up at the check out with ten cat postcards and two cat calendars. I was happy though. We continued on our way to St. Peter’s, along with a million other people, all pushing their way through the St. Peter’s security line to get inside. It was a little bit crazy but it was such a cool experience to go to mass there. We then looked around a little more once mass was over, because it’s easy to spend forever in there just looking at stuff. It was so hot outside so we met up with a few other girls from our group and made the walk across town to Giolitti, for our last gelato. Four the third time, I got dark chocolate and coconut. The coconut fell off the cone and into my lap, but thankfully I had my gelato spoon (its like the size of a toothpick) so I easily picked the gelato back up and ate it. If it had fallen onto the ground, I might’ve cried.

We then went back to Karen’s apartment, had mozzarella and basil sandwiches again (my favorite) and then walked to the train. On the train I just put in my iPod and slept. Everyone seemed to be sleeping… A few minutes before we reached Orvieto, I looked out the window and saw the rolling green hills, little houses, and breathed a sigh of relief. It just felt so good to be back home! We took the funiculare up to the top of Orvieto (it’s like the first part of a roller coaster or amusement part ride – everyone crams into the little box thing and then it chug-chug-chugs up the mountain. Hannah greeted us at the top (Hannah and Alessandro couldn’t come to Rome with us because they were working so hard to get the monastery ready). She led us to our new home and everyone was so excited and just freaking out, Alessandro was videotaping us, and we got a tour of the newly renovated monastery. We saw the kitchen, the dining room, the lobby, the humanities classroom (where my classes will be), the studio (where the art classes with be, of course), the living room/meeting space, some office spaces, and then the best part: the one long hallway where all of our rooms are, known as “the residential corridor.” In our rooms we have brand new beds, two side tables, one desk and chair, one wardrobe, and a bathroom. I’d never thought I would be able to share a wardrobe with someone, but Becky and I unpacked all our stuff and we still have a ton of extra space! There is one problem though: the heat doesn’t work yet. It was painfully cold last night but thankfully we have fluffy and luxurious down blankets and comforters. So it felt like I was sleeping on a cloud last night, but the moment I woke up and got out of bed, I almost cried (almost) it was so cold. Anyways, back to Sunday night… we then had a brief meeting concerning some specifics about the monastery, where things are, etc. We then walked to the palazzo for some dinner and Internet time. Becky and I were late though because we forgot that we now have to walk a little farther to reach the palazzo now.  Hannah made us pesto pasta for dinner along with salad, bread, and cookies. After battling with the wifi for a while (it rarely works even when we have it), I walked back to the monastery with a few people, Becky and I finished unpacking, and then we finally crawled into bed after a long and exciting weekend!