Jeanette's Blog

So after some techinical difficulties, which always seem to find me, I’m submitting my first blog to you. Sorry about the delay.
It all began with an 8 hour flight from Newark, NJ to Rome, Italy. I tried to sleep as much as possible to avoid jet lag, but, alas, it did not work. The jet lag plague will get you no matter what you do it seems. We arrived at 8 am with a full day of sight seeing ahead of us. The term ‘sight seeing’ does not do justice to what really was in store for me.
Imagine taking a bus from an airport to a hotel and in every direction you are smacked in the face with ancient Roman ruins. Can you imagine?! It was an immediate culture shock. These places and structures that I had seen in books, photographs, postcards, these two-dimensional figures were suddenly very three-dimensional.
We’re talking about The Sistine Chapel, The Roman Forum, The Colloseum, The Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica, The Spanish Steps. I breathed the air that runs through them, over them, and around them! I touched The Colloseum where in history was the meeting place for all of the Romans to be entertained and to battle. I saw famous paintings and sculptures by Raphael and Michaelangelo, the originals that have been preserved. It’s incredible and extremely educational.
I experienced their meal traditions as well. For colazione (breakfast), Italians have coffee, cappuccino, or tea with pastries. For pranzo (lunch), you have the choice of a panini (sandwich), or you can sit down and enjoy bruschetta or some sort of appetizer for the first course, pasta for the second, and then cold cuts for the third. White wine is usually served with the first course and then red wine with the second course. This could change depending on what you’re eating. For cena (dinner), the first course is rice or pasta, the second is meat and a vegetable, and the third is cold cuts with cheese, and then you have dessert. Red wine is served with dinner. Fruit is always present at every meal. They have wonderful fruits and vegetables.
I am always hungry here if you can imagine that. I have breakfast at 7:15, lunch at 1 or 2, and dinner is at 8. So there is a lot of time in between meals and a lot of walking. Not to mention the brain exercise I do trying to learn the language. It’s delightfully exhausting.
There is a night life in Rome, but at this time of year Italians don’t normally go out. It’s too cold for them. This was an interesting thing for me to learn, because 45- 50 degrees is far more pleasant to go out in than what Buffalo is experincing at the moment. However, this is their winter. If you find yourself aching for a nice cold brew an illuminated Guiness is always a good sign. Irish bars seem to be the norm, but discotecas are all the rage. Not for me, though. It’s a good time, even if you’re the only ones there. haha

Posted by Jeanette at 10:17 AM |