Much to my frustration, I slept in until 1 in the afternoon--I'm trying to get my internal clock fixed to Rome time (yes, I am posting this at about midnight--I never said I was good at it), but I also really needed the sleep to feel better. Of course, I took feeling better to mean "hey, let's go out and explore Rome and get some food!" Naturally, I had forgotten that I hadn't eaten a proper meal (or even really snacked much) for close to 20 hours, so I got outside, promptly got myself lost, and started getting woozy from lack of food and water. Oh, and very few things are apparently open on Saturday, even in the afternoon. I did eventually get lucky and found a little tavolo, which is kind of a combination coffee/pastry shop plus bar. The shopkeeper knew English, which was good because my already bad Italian was even worse with me being tired and hungry. I got a tasty little sweet pastry with peach filling, which I took back to the Centro to eat--thankfully I had the foresight to bring my map with me.
I rested for a bit and took advantage of my room's position right next to the stairs to be nosy--any time I heard footsteps, I'd poke my head out and meet the new Centristi, as well as reconnect with the people I'd seen yesterday but not had much chance to talk to. Elliot had been out and about the day before and today, and he had found a little pizza place, and I invited myself along to dinner with him, since I wanted to have real food without getting lost! LJ joined us, and the three of us went to the pizza shop, which was a nice little place with a very patient lady who, while she spoke no English, was able to help us out with our pointing and wild gesticulations so that we could get some food. It was good and amazingly cheap--I don't think any of us paid more than 8 euros, and both of the guys got a bottle of wine. We sat, ate, and chatted for about two hours (we were quick to adopt that Italian custom--it's delightful not to be rushing everywhere) before wandering back to the Centro (making note of a gelato shop on the way back).
A brief note here about prices--when our group visited Italy last year, I was astounded at the high food prices. What I had failed to realize was that a lot of those prices were inflated because we were primarily in the touristy areas. The Centro is in the Trastevere district (tras-across tevere the Tibur river, for the language nerds among you), which my guidebook charmingly refers to as "the grittier and more colorful side of Rome" and prices here are much more reasonable. I am of course relieved, because we're on our own for food on the weekends, and I was a little worried.
We then spent the next hour or so exploring the Centro a bit--it's even bigger than I had realized, with a gorgeous garden walled in by the buildings around us, with a little fountain (with koi in it!), a ping pong table, a few grills, and some tables and chairs. We also found a little spiral staircase that leads up to part of the roof, which has a wonderful view and lots of space. We haven't found a way to the roof from the fourth floor...yet. A few more people showed up, and a while later most of us went out to get gelato--there's a gelateria about half a block away from the Centro, which is fairly cheap, and very good. I can already tell that its proximity is going to be very bad for my wallet and my overall health! We went back to the Centro to eat it (point of interest for anyone unfamiliar with Italian shop custom--generally at any of the smaller places (i.e. not a restaurant) you pay more if you're going to sit at one of their tables instead of getting it to go) and hung out in the garden for a bit to chat and get to know each other. We got to comparing rooms at some point, and I found out that my room, being next to the stairs, is actually a little larger than most, which surprised me since it's a single. Apparently in the other rooms the beds are bunk-beds, and in some there is only one desk and sink. Thank you Mom, for convincing me that it was worth the chance to request a single room! Everyone is of course jealous of me (sorry guys!). Anyway, keep that in mind when you see the pictures of my room.
Tomorrow will probably be pretty crazy as all of the rest of the Centristi show up--my plan is to grab a book and hang out downstairs to meet people as they come in. It should be lots of fun, and I'm quite glad I came in early to be able to meet people one at a time, as I'm not very good with names. Also, it's been great getting to know everyone in small groups--this is a wonderful group of people, and I think the semester is going to be thoroughly enjoyable.
And yes, I have pictures--I know why you people read this :P
These are the pre-unpacking pictures--the fan and two reading lights (one on the desk, one on the bedside table) are provided, which is nice. The artwork on the walls also livens up the place, since we're not allowed to put tacks in anything but the corkboard. Following are the post-unpacking pictures (and the only other pictures of my room you're likely to see--you know, while it's still nice and clean).
Also, in case you're curious, this is the view from my window--at some point I'll open the window properly, raise the screen, and get a better shot.
Finally, to anyone reading this--please don't be shy about comments or questions! I love to know that people are reading, and of course while I'm partially keeping this as an online journal, I'd like it if my babbling also was entertaining/informative for everyone else, so please let me know what you'd be interested in hearing about. Also, I don't know if any of my fellow Centristi have followed my link on Facebook to read this, but if you have any problem with me posting names or activities that we've done together, let me know and I'll remove them. Also also, I'd like to say that the posts won't all be this exhaustively long, but as several people have pointed out, I'm very wordy and I rather enjoy an audience. Still, they may shorten a bit as I have more schoolwork to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment