Dia Segundo

Today the 4 of us felt like old pros as we walked along familiar streets to the ACCENT student center for orientation. We arrived 10 min. early and decided next time we will leave earlier because there is a darling coffee place on the way where we'd like to have breakfast.

The orientation was fine. We walked around the neighborhood of the school and found great lunch spots as well as little antique stores and Tabacchi shops where not only do you buy your tobacco products but salt and stamps as well.

Did I mention how crazy the traffic is?  Crossing the street is an even crazier proposition.  The method is to step out firmly into traffic, making eye contact with the drivers and not slowing down or stopping.  Traffic does come to a halt somehow and we get across the street.  You could wait all day on the sidewalk for a break in traffic and not get one.  But this takes as much faith as the Israelites stepping into the Jordan on their way into the Promised Land.  It wasn't until they stepped in that the waters stopped and they were able to cross on dry land.

After orientation we were treated to a fabulous pasta lunch.  I chose the vegetable pasta which was cherry tomatoes, eggplant and little balls of fresh mozzarella scattered throughout the spaghetti. Yum!! The eggplant was actually very tasty and full of flavor unlike the bland stuff I've had before.  For dessert we had tiramisu. I was stuffed!  Then a good portion of the students went to the Pantheon accompanied by the instructor for an impromptu tour.  It really was amazing!

Walking up to the Pantheon is unbelievably awe inspiring.  The immense scale of the building and the immense antiquity of it are very moving.  It was originally built as a temple to the pagan Roman gods.  Then the Roman Catholic church took it over and removed the idols and put statues and pictures of their saints in their place.  In any event, it is an astounding and powerful place. I loved soaking in the atmosphere. 

We ambled on over to the Piazza Navona and wandered among the street vendors selling paintings.  It's too overwhelming to try to choose one to buy.  But it was very entertaining.  After returning to our apartment for a rest period we once again ventured out and found a bakery to buy bread for breakfast and had to try a sample of some awesome treats.  Mine was like crispy phyllo dough filled with nutella. YUM!

We ate supper at a sidewalk cafe just across the street from the Colosseum.  Sometime this weekend we will take that tour. But just having it for a backdrop is amazing.  As I ate my tortellini and prusciutto I thought to myself, "Wow! here I am in Rome! How amazing is that!"