Freshmen Study Abroad Rome

September 2, 2024

Day 2: A Daily Symphony

August 31, 2024
Bomboloni: Claire and Freya

Claire, morning: I started off my morning in Rome waking up and getting ready to go out with my roommate, Aly, and the rest of the girls on the trip to go find a coffee shop. We discovered that many are closed until the first of September, and as it was the 31st of August, we were out of luck. After a quick google search we discovered that the touristy gelato place we ended up at the night before also sold coffees and treats. I tried a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant, and I was surprised to see that the croissant had Nutella in it, not little chocolate squares like I was expecting. After our breakfast we walked back to the dorm to meet Shawn for the first time, as he was going to lead us to the University of Washington Rome Center, around a 25 minute walk from the St. John’s University dorms we were staying in. While meeting Shawn he asked for our names, and upon hearing mine he asked to take a photo with me to send to my friend, Moa back home in Portland, a rising sophomore at UW, and the person who encouraged me to look into this first year program! After that, we began our walk to the Rome Center, we crossed the bridge and walked through the Piazza Navona, and got a glimpse of the Campo de’ Fiori market. The market was full of local men and women selling fruit & vegetables, many of which I had never seen before, scarfs, handmade jewelry and woodwork, spices, and other small goods. As we walked through the smell of the fruits caught my attention and I noticed a very small elderly woman at the fruit stand, she recognized Shawn and they exchanged a quick conversation in Italian. Afterwards Shawn told us that she was a bit of local celebrity, and that she was in her 90s still selling fruit and veggies. I made sure to stop by and grab a grapefruit later on. At the Rome center, we learned that the building had been built in the 15th century, and once upon a time housed orphan boys and gave them access to education, long before the university bought it in the 1980s. We had a short orientation on culture and norms of Rome, one that stuck out to me is that the heavy carb diet of the Roman’s can create quite a digestion issue, and we were encouraged to indulge in salads and fresh fruit as much as possible since our main dishes would consist of the heavenly Italian specialties of pizza, pasta, gelato and bakery items. The tour we took of the terrace overlooking Campo de’ Fiori was by far my favorite spot we visited in the morning.
Freya, afternoon: After doing our Rome center orientation we went on a walking tour of the surrounding area (Campo de’ Fiori area) led by Shawn. We learned lots of interesting tidbits and heard stories from Shawn’s previous journeys to Rome! Although the streets were gorgeous many of the famous buildings were covered and under construction in preparation for the Popes Jubilee which happens once every twenty-five years. When the walking tour was finished we began to look for a place to eat lunch and found a cute restaurant that was off to the side of the main piazza. I had a caprese salad that was made with olive oil, mozzarella, basil, and fresh tomato’s and I ate it within minutes. After leaving the restaurant we explored the market that was right outside of the Rome center. There were so many different stalls with fruits, vegetables, spices, clothing and more. Throughout the market there were salesmen who were offering free samples and trying to get people to buy their wares. I bought a scarf to bring to the churches were planning to visit later in the trip. Following our exploration of the market we went on walk to surrounding shops and looked at all the crazy architecture that you can find down almost any Roman street. Since we had been walking around for a while we decided to stop at a local gelato store. I got a small mango scoop that was less of a bright yellow and more a mustard color, much different than what I expected it to look like. Full with gelato we decided to head back to the dorms but not before stopping at a really cute stationary store called Tiger. We then purchased bus tickets from a souvenir shop, deciding that the walk would be too much in the hot Roman heat! Overall it was a super fun afternoon and now I feel much more familiar with the areas around the dorm and the UW Rome center! Next we went on a class dinner to a pizza restaurant as a class. We arrived at the restaurant at 6:30 to make sure there was a big enough table for all 19 of us and were the only customers there for a while since Italians generally eat dinner later. I ordered a margarita pizza expecting the stereotypical American margarita with basil and mozzarella but instead got one of the best regular cheese pizzas i have ever had. The thin crust was delicious and the tomato sauce and cheese were both perfect!
Claire, Evening: After our authentic dinner of pizza we ventured through the surrounding neighborhoods around Campo de’ Fiori. One of the coolest things I noticed was a game of street soccer on a plaza we passed through, although one child almost hit me with a ball while kicking it around. The gelato we had that evening was much more authentic, Shawn and Julianna’s suggestion- a place called “Otaleg” or gelato, spelled backwards. I got vanilla to test out how good this place was at doing the basics. We learned that the neighborhood we were in was the section right out side the original walls of Rome, and we even saw the oldest church in the city! After parting ways with Shawn and Julianna, Emi, Katie and I walked back to the SJU dorms. We experienced tourists on Lime scooters rushing around, people gathered on stairs enjoying their night and resting their feet from long days of walking around the city, we smelled lots of cigarette smoke as we passed through streets and alleys to make our way back across the bridge. The most interesting and beautiful part of the journey back was the Castel Sant’ Angelo, which was illuminating in the night. It makes me excited to visit it later on this trip!