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Once More Around the Bend

This is my second to last post here in Italy. I haven't been able to update this past few weeks because of finals week. And then myself wanting to make the best of the time I had left. Especially now, after finishing all my finals, and I have three days left. I'm not ready to go yet. I stay up past 2 AM because I don't want the night to end. So I stay up lying in bed in the dark with my mind still running hundreds of miles a minute, going back to these past four months, to all the places I have been, all the people I have met, all the things I have learned, and all the emotions I have felt... 2 days left. It makes me so upset to say that. I feel that I have so much more to do, so much more to experience. But you know what? I'm embracing what I've gained thus far. I'll come home with a full heart, thousands of pictures and new lifelong friends.

It's been a while, I have a lot to catch up on.

On the weekend of April 11th-12th, I went on my last real excursion with API to the Amalfi Coast. We went to Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri, which was beautiful. The overnight trip wasn't long enough for me, because I wanted to see more of the architecture and museums and villas, but I was able to experience the Sorrento town, a boat-tour of Capri and get a chairlift to see most of Capri's coast and the ocean, and drink limoncello. I would definitely go back to Sorrento and Capri. I want to go back to Capri especially.

Sorrento: http://slickpic.us/436043NIzW
Capri: http://slickpic.us/436041m5TT

I wish I had more time to share all my photos because just choosing a select few only shows part of the story. If I could, I would want to describe each of them for you so I hope someday I can show you these photos in person, and share my stories with you all.

The weekend after was Easter Weekend. I had a research paper and another philosophy paper to finish, while Brittany visited her family and my other roommates were gone for Amsterdam (I think), and Taylor was in Tunis in Africa. So I was alone and had the apartment to myself all weekend. I got all my stuff done, and I was able to visit the Vatican City during the mass on Easter Sunday morning. I went early and got a spot, but only got a glimpse of Pope Francis speaking and I had to leave since I suddenly got sick after standing for 2 hours in a crowd of millions. Took me 15 minutes to even leave Vatican City!


 Eyyyy, Papa Francis!

Then it was the last week of classes. I handed in my papers. I went to a ballet show at the theater one night with API at the Teatro dell'Opera, which by the way, was really beautiful and interesting. I handed in my sketchbook. I performed a managerial debate. And then I was done. I decided that before I really began to study, I could afford to do one last trip. Just one more. So Taylor and I took a day trip to a place called Civita di Bagnoregio. We had to take a train to Orvieto and then take a 30-minute taxi to Bagnoregio. Civita di Bagnoregio, we thought was tourist free, turned out it's a destination for Italian tourists. After wandering around and waiting longer to even get a spot for the very few restaurants there for lunch, we headed back. We got back to Orvieto earlier than expected and saw that they had a funiculare - basically an uphill tram. Since we were so early, we spontaneously took a ride up for 1,30 euro and found the actual town of Orvieto (dubbed Old Orvieto). We saw photos on display in some stores of a great church, so we decided to find it, and found the Duomo. It was so BEAUTIFUL and dominated the piazza. It really reminded me of Florence.

Ballet night (one photo)... and....
Civita di Bagnoregio and Orvieto: http://slickpic.us/436045zD33

After that great day, it was down to the grind for finals. My first final was Management on Sunday morning (ugh). Then financial accounting on Monday. Philosophy on Tuesday and finally, art history today - Wednesday. I don't feel so good about my first three finals, but I think I kicked butt on my art history final! Good, because I was feeling awful about my other finals and studied beyond my brain's capabilities. There was a point where I couldn't process any information at all that I had to take a break! So that paid off!

After my art history final today, I treated myself by going to the cat sanctuary in Largo Argentina off Via Arenula with Brittany. I mentioned it a lot in my posts, especially in the beginning. If you come to Rome, you'll see that Largo Argentina is actually a ruin of temples. But if you look closely, you'll see a cat, or 20, laying around in the ruins. Today Brittan and I actually ventured inside the shelter itself (under the ruins) for the first time, and I was SO surprised by all the cats inside! Apparently they shelter over 200 cats. There were lots of disabled cats - cats with an arm or leg missing, cats with one eye missing, a cat completely blind, a brain-damaged cat (I first thought it was injected with anethesia, but it wasn't), and I met a cat that was deaf and she was a bit of a jerk. I wanted to adopt 4 particular cats, even that mean deaf one. They were all so perfect in their own way.

Brittany and I dubbed this cat "Crimson Chin" (Fairly Oddparents reference), because of its jaw, but it most likely had a disease or disability of some sort. He's a bit shy but friendly.










 This one was missing its ears (but still can hear), and had some impediment that make them stick their tongue out often. But it was so happy cuddling us. They kept purring like a motorboat and pushing their head into our chest and arm nook for warmth. I got droolmarks on my shirt from this one. So cute!!!!

Because we were in there for 2 hours, the volunteers had to move us out of the nursery room to make room for more visitors, haha. Too bad. So we each donated 5 euros for the good cause and headed to Tiber Island to sit down by the shore. On very sunny warm days, people often "sunbathe" here on Tiber Island while on their breaks.




Later in the evening, we headed for the last meeting with our API RDs, Naike and Alessio, for a big dinner with the rest of the group. We had a fantastic meal, and my friends and I stayed behind with Naike and Alessio to talk with them more because for me, it was so hard to say goodbye to the two nicest and most wonderful RDs anyone could ever ask for. I'm so glad I had the chance to meet them. 












So it's 3 AM now. I'm still wide awake and I don't want to go to bed yet. I'm just stretching time on now at this point. Tomorrow (well, today) is May 1st - Primo Maggio, which Italy celebrates as a national holiday for labor workers with the Festa dei Lavoratori. It's basically Italy's labor day. So tomorrow, my friends and I will walk around Rome to finish our errands (me: print my plane ticket, get remaining gifts......if the stores are open, that is). Also, in Rome to celebrate Festa dei Lavoratori, they hold a great concert sung by Italian and foreign artists! Trams and buses will be closed for a period of time, so we'll be figuring out the best way to get to the Laterano Square! 

We'll be finishing off tomorrow night with a nice dinner with all of our friends, as a way to say "see you later" because it's definitely will not be a goodbye! We're so fortunate that we all live in the New England area, so we are all relatively close to one another. There will be planned reunions for us in the future. :)

2 more days.