More Adventures Around Italy!

Now that we have settled into Rome a little bit more, the past couple weeks have been full with traveling and exploring places around the city. One of the things I was most excited for coming here was the opportunity to see more of Italy and so far have loved every place I have seen!

One of the first experiences out of the city was taking the train to Milan to watch the USA men's simifinal hockey game (which we won!) at the Olympics! It was exciting to see how many people from around the world came to be there, and it was my first hockey game which made it even more exciting.

For our Art History class we also visited Tivoli which is just outside of Rome. There we explored Villa d'Este and Hadrians Villa. It was really interesting getting to learn context on some of the things we are learning about and contrasting the town with Rome as it is much smaller compared.

And our last and most recent trip was to Siena. It was also very different from Rome, the streets were smaller but still packed with people and there was so much culture and history we learned from our tour. After exploring for the day we spent the night in a small town in Tuscany called San Quirico d'Orica which was a nice change from the busy and loud cities we have gotten used to.

The next morning we took a short drive to the Salturna Hot Springs, which were the prettiest and most fun natural hot springs I have ever been to!

Now that I have been here a little longer, I am starting to get a better idea for daily life in Rome. Getting around the city has become a lot easier, and I am slowly getting used to the streets, public transportation, smaller grocery stores, and the slower pace of life here. My classes have also been really interesting so far, especially because we are learning about things that surround us in the city and important parts of its history. My professors have been amazing and really encourage us to explore Rome outside of the classroom. I have also loved trying different and new foods and cafés around the city, and it has been fun discovering new places with friends from the program. Living and studying here already feels like such a unique experience, and I am excited to keep learning and sharing

more about the culture and the city as the semester continues!