Day 50: Ode to English Poets

Tuesday - July 6, 2010:

I'm a list person. I LOVE making lists and checking stuff off -- it's this major sense of accomplishment. So when returning back to a 10 day vacation, I had tasks on my list a mile long! It looked daunting, but somehow I managed to put a really good dent in it so far. In the past two days back at the Chigi Palace, I don't know if I've ever been more productive! Sent emails, slowly put pictures on my blog, caught up on email, homework and a million other things. So Monday night (last night) I was on a productive high and couldn't stop myself from making my lunch for today's field trip and picking out what I was going to wear (nerd, I know) -- but when I woke this morning I was so thankful that I had done those chores because we had a 7:50 departure from the Palace, so I wasn't in my usual rushed frenzy!

As you know, Tuesday's are field trip days. Today we are going to Rome to learn about English Poets (which we all dressed appropriately for in the lightest dresses possible because the temperature is hotter than hades ringing in at 108 degrees!). Here we had two major tours scheduled for us.

The first tour was at the Non-Catholic Cemetery on the edge of Rome. This is the sight where English writers Keats and Shelly are burried (along with a ton of other Non-Italian, Catholic people). We got there using the Metro (we've mastered it by now) and when we arrived and met our tour guide, it took us a minute to realize she is speaking perfect English with not a hint of Italian accent in it. She was completely American and knew her stuff so well! She talked to us about the history of the cemetery (the first plot was used in 1732) and then walked us through it, pointing out tombstones along the way.

{The pyramid the sight is built around}

{Our tour guide}

{She's explaining Keat's grave}

Here is Keats grave. He died from Tuberculosis when he was 25. And on his grave it says "Here lies a man who's name was writ in water" because he didn't want his name on his tombstone, nor did he feel like he was appreciated as a poet. And if you write your name in water, what happens? It disappears. So this is the perfect thing for Keats to put on his grave.

After leaving the Parta Antiqua (Antique Part -- tough translation, right?) we ventured to the newer portion. I was blown away with how pretty the landscaping of this cemetery was. It was packed brim to brim with headstones and statues, yet it didn't feel crowded nor did any one headstone overpower another. Each was equally beautiful and unique! Also, it was incredibly green and full of flowers and plants. I was obsessed with all of the hydrangeas that were the perfect shades of periwinkle, baby blue and violet.

{Shelley's grave}

I thought the ivy around this headstone and the small cross constructed of tree branches was so simple and so pretty.

After this tour we walked back to the Metro, rode it to Termini where we switched over to Line A and rode that to the Spagna (Spanish Steps) stop. This is around 12:15, and Cinzia let's us break for lunch. We don't have to meet back until 2:00, so we are loving this relaxing time off! Most of us have packed our lunches, so we find a shaded area near the Spanish Steps, take a seat on the sidewalk and ear our lunch -- Elementary School field trip style!

We get done with lunch and still have an hour to spare, so we walk along Via del Corso before heading back to our meeting spot at 2. Sidenote: I can already tell how much crowded Rome is compared to during the month of May. The streets and sidewalks are body to body, car to car. So if you can come visit Rome during the spring or fall, I think that'd be ideal!

The second (and last) tour of the day was in the Keats and Shelley Museum (I told you we were loving Keats and Shelley today...). It was right next to the Spanish Steps (Keats had a great view from his room), so it wasn't a bad walk back.

The Keats and Shelley Museum is basically the renovated apartment where John Keats lived right before he passed away. He was originally from London, but when he got sick fom Tuberculousis he moved to Rome in hopes of a more suitable climate. He lived here until he died in this very apartment.

Our guide gave us a history lesson on Keats and the other famous poets before letting us roam free around the little 6 room apartment. I felt bad not knowing any of the answers to his poetry questions, but my World Literature 1&2 at Wallace State Community College didn't necessarily engrave this information in my brain.

{Locks of hair from the poet's Keats, Shelley and Hunt! Creepy.}

{Original manuscripts by Shelley}

{The exact bed where Keats passed away}

{A very creepy plaster mold of Keats' face after he passed away... Not sure how I feel about this!}

{A painting of the poet}

{Just a cool bookcase with pictures in it}

The apartment was small, so the tour was quick -- loving that! We got done at 2:45 and practically bolted to the Metro, hoping to make the 3:06 train to Albano. After sprinting through the underground, taking the steps two at a time and jumping onto the train -- we made it with 5 minutes to spare! Phew!

We rode the train back and prepared for an evening filled with more to-do's. First on my list was to order pictures off Walgreens so I can have them ready for me when I get back -- that way I can go ahead and start on my scrapbook! Walgreens - Check. Then I uploaded two more mid-term break days worth of pictures. Slow, but check. Then a group of 8 of us did Jillian Michael's workout video in the common room. It was hysterical! We looked like our own workout video. We were just hoping no one would walk in and see us all lying on the ground doing superman stretches! Workout? Check. Then dinner. I love that I cook over dinner practically every night over here -- it's so much fun to have this big kitchen and have everyone in there at the same time. You learn a lot from watching other people and I like that. So, home cooked dinner? Check. Then, after much frustration in the downloading process, we watched episode 7 of The Bachelorette. Intenseeeeeeeee, but I love it! Can't wait for next Monday. It also is a major bonding time for us -- we all pull up bean bags and watch it on one computer. We stadium seat-it in the Chigi! So, reality TV fill? Check. Finally, the 11 of us venturing to Amsterdam this weekend sat around and had a pow-wow about what we wanted to do and made some sort of an itinerary. Plans for this ballin' weekend? Check.

Time absolutely flies during the afternoons -- one minute the clock says 4:05 and then, before I know it, it's midnight and I'm getting in bed. I prefer it this way, though, sometimes! Keep's me busy and active. Keeps my mind off of being homesick and missing my friends too much, so I'll take this productivity over boredom any day! No complaints here :)

That's about it for Tuesday -- I'll get off the computer now so I can get some much needed shut eye!