Toga party in the Tiz? Anyone game?

Ciao Blog friends,

Here's the scoop. We know that we haven't posted in forever, but we have had a ridiculous week. Actually, the whole program has. It's been nicknamed "The Week From H***" -- I'm sure you all can fill in the asterisks for yourselves. You'll hear about it in detail the next time we post/vlog.

We made these vlogs last Saturday, October 20, but as usual, internet problems plagued our uploads. Then, our week started, and we didn't have time to upload. But, alas, here we are! We decided to post these videos while we had the chance. Hopefully, we'll tape a few vlogs and catch up soon.

http://youtu.be/Gz23fNZBek4 - Lectures and Tours: Tarquinia and Cerveteri

http://youtu.be/bfYI7tr9hB0 - A Week in October

When in Rome, dress as the ancient Romans did!

I bet you are all wondering what the title is about. Well, last week, Lauren, Claire, Chelsea (Lauren's roommate), and I decided to work through an Italian reading together. To brigthen the mood, Claire decided she wanted to wear a Toga. So, we made a toga. It only took two bedsheets and several safety pins. [Thanks for making me take them Mom!]

Claire was able to complete the outfit with a perfect pair of sandals. Next goal -- find a wreath of laurel leaves and an obnoxious gold brooch.

We're hoping to convince our archeology professor to have a toga party in class. Wear a toga to class day? Yeah, I like the sound of that.

That's all I have for now. Hopefully, we'll be posting soon!

Love,
Julia

Trip Randomness Continued...

Hey Everyone! Come state?

We hadn't sat down to tape a vlog for a while and we figured "Hey! Why not? We bet they miss our faces as much as we miss talking to a computer!" ...It also helped that we had some interesting things to talk about.

This weekend, on Lectures and Tours, we saw two Villas: Villa Giulia (you have no idea how hard it is to type that in Italian, when you usually spell it the English way) and Villa Borghese. As we talk about it, we also venture into a random side conversation or two.

After our vlog with a purpose, we had nothing else to do (except play Nancy Drew: Shadow at the Water's Edge), so we decided to share our randomness with you while wearing our sunglasses... yup. I can't see anything through the entire thing; it's rather amusing.

Sunday seemed to be music night in Rome. We encountered several musicians and every single one was amazing; they were not the normal street artists. We decided to tape two of them and share them with you! The cellist is sitting in the porch of the Pantheon. A huge group was sitting and watching him. I'm not going to lie to you all, I cried while listening to him. Later that night, we were sitting at a restaurant and heard a woman singing opera. Again, we taped her for your viewing pleasure. She teaches music at a local university. Her husband was also playing the guitar and singing. We had the pleasure of meeting her daughter...


After we watched her parents perform, they came by our restaurant to use the restroom. They proceeded to leave their daughter outside and she meandered over to our table, immediately becoming enchanted with Nia and Claire.

The little girl with Nia's camera!

She took pictures with Nia's camera, but for some reason, she really disliked Danahy. As they went to leave, the little girl threw a fit, grabbed onto Claire's chair, and refused to let go. Her father managed to wrangle her off the chair. She forgot her water bottle and purse, however. Suddenly, she threw herself at Danahy; we all thought that she decided to give Danahy a hug, but a look of pain quickly crossed Danahy's face. The little girl BIT her. No, you read that correctly; Danahy was bitten by an Italian child.

Why hello bite mark! I didn't see you there. 

After we realized that no blood was spilled, Nia, Claire, and I laughed hysterically. It's possibly the funniest thing we've seen here.

I'm pretty sure that's all that has happened. So, I guess I'll share our vlog links now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUQPJ1hwpE0  - Lectures and Tours - Villa Edition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuo2Z-B6QB0 - "I wear my sunglasses at night"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRDGyJZDiSs - Evening cello concert at the Pantheon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuIh5EPCzH0 - Opera Singer

Love you all,
Julia

Mass at Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Lectures and Tours: Piazza del Popolo and Villa Giulia

Second Week In Rome