As the saying goes

I spent my first weekend in Rome. Some say that after you have seen this city, you can dies, because you have seen the most beautiful city in the world. I disagree, but I loved Rome nonetheless. Whether it was the comapny, the generosity or the atmosphere I am not sure. I have been into tens of churches in Europe, and now they are all beginning to blur into the same palace. At Rome, I had a very different church experience, in Vatican City. I sat in the confession box and made my first confession, feeling a little holier inthe way out. My dress was too short for St Peters, so I was draped in Cardigans from head to toe, jsut trying to cover up. Thec cathedral is excessively large and majestic, and will make anyone feel infinitessimely small. Perhaps this was why they built it so big. It is very impressive to admire the architecture and the structure that was built so long ago, and recall how small your life is in the grand scheme of the world.

Other sights in Rome were of course the ever-so-popular Colosseum, the Roman ruins, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps,  a stroll along the Tiber river, and the "Bronx". While in Rome I met up with a friend who was studying in Siena with me, and a friend of his (the awkward friend-of-a-friend scenario), was keen enough to lend his bed to me for the night. I was so impressed with his generosity throughout my stay in Rome. It was good to experience Rome through the eyes of a local.

On Saturday night, we had dinner at a not-so-touristy Trattoria, hand-picked by our local roman friend. I ordered Penne with eggplant and zucchini, but I guess they must have been out of eggplant, so they gave me peas and mushrooms instead. I actually felt like I was eating in the dining room of an Italian family.

Back to Siena, in the appartment I just moved into, there are two spanish boys and a slovenian girl. We had around ten Spaniards over for dinner, and my housemate promised to cook something especially vegetarian for me. Bacon is not meat though, right? There was bacon mixed right through the pasta, but I could not be rude and refuse a home cooked meal, so I picked right throught that bacon, and passed the rest onto Maja's plate without being noticed, passing on my remarks of thanks afterwards. I was grateful for the meal, it jsut didn't quite hit the spot.



Tomorrow I'm off to Sicilia, while the professors over here are still on strike.

A presto!