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Published: February 26th 2009
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Part of the crypt
That is all skulls Yesterday, Jordan said that he heard about this Mexican restaurant that was near Via del Corso. I have been craving a taco since I got here, and already having a fair share of pasta, decided that we should go to it for lunch in between our three hour class break. So Jordan looked up the location on the computer, and Al and I joined him in the quest to find it. We walked along the streets and took a while to find where it was suppose to be. Finally getting to the street, only two restaurants were on it, both Italian. So then Al tried to ask this small group of Italians where the restaurant would be. Luckily one of them spoke really good English and told us it was near this Gelaterria a few streets away. We get there and still no sign of it, but the Gelato place was huge! So we wander down a side street, and with the beginning of class looming over us, decided to eat at a restaurant. It was six euros for a personal plain pizza, bruschetta, and a drink (tip included) so it was a really good deal. After that we headed back
to class, and decided to continue the search another day...
Also, while Al and I were waiting for the bus to get to class, these two Italian women were waiting with us. One started talking to the other, and from what I could understand was asking which bus would take her to Via Vittorio Emanuele. That is the main road right by our classes. Then the lady turns and looks at us to double check that the 870 (our bus) was the right one. I told her it was, and the stops name. The woman asking for directions then proceeded to ask more questions and I asked her to speak slower cause I can't understand when they speak that fast. She then said, "Oh, American" and asked the other woman we were with about her question.
Today was my day off. However, everyone in the IES center had meetings with their advisors, so planning a day trip was out of the question. After the meeting though, Al, Jordan and I walked around Rome to see more of the sights. We went to go to a Mosuleum but it ended up being something that you couldn't walk into and
was just seen from the outside. It was right next to a modern art museum, which is also possibly the only modern building in Rome that I have seen yet. But we decided against going in since we are not big fans of modern art. We then decided that to head to this crypt that I heard has bones incorporated into the art.
I did not realize that the bones were the artwork. The "murals" were done by monks who dug up the bones of 4,000 friars from Jerusalem. There were arches made of skulls and arm and leg bones. The jaws were removed and framed the doorways, while ribs and vertebrates adorned the walls and almost looked like they were flowers. There were also full skeletons in robes that were standing or resting. Some still had rotting flesh on their face. There was a sign at the end of the room that said in five languages, "What you are we once were, what we are you will become."
I just wanted to show you what I saw. Pictures were not permitted of course. So that was interesting.
We then walked around Rome a bit more and
saw the outside of the Coliseum. That was enough sightseeing for me. I got back and was starving so my roommates and I decided to go to a restaurant that is right next to our apartment. It is a Trattoria, which means it is a family owned restaurant so the food is cheaper and generally better. It was fun and we tried to learn some things about the Italian language and difference between Roman dialect and the rest of Italy, although none of us were able to hear it. Isotta tried to clear up a few things about the English language too, and was a little confused about the word 'huge.' She thought it had many meanings, like big or nice. When we asked her more about what she meant, she gave the example, 'He is huge'... which she thought meant 'he is nice.' Haha. So that was nice to have our first dinner with just the four of us.
The pictures I included of the crypt were from
http://photos.igougo.com
http://farm4.static.flickr.com
http://2.bp.blogspot.com.
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Nina
non-member comment
Wow
Oh my... that crypt is so cool. i wish you were allowed to take pictures that sounds so awesome. And this was a cute entry. :) and to the "oh, american" YEAH, AMERICAN.