An Amazing Weekend in San Benedetto & Ascoli Piceno

One of my biggest goals while studying abroad was to visit the town where my grandfather is from and find his childhood home. My pop was born outside of Ascoli Piceno in a tiny little town called Santa Maria a Corte. He came to America when he was around 20 years old, back in the 1950's. He hasn't been back to see his hometown since he left, so this was a big deal for him! I can't wait to explain this whole story to him in person when I get home in December.

This whole weekend never would have happened without help from my Uncle Darryl's relatives who live in San Benedetto, a beach town on the Adriatic Sea in the Marche region of Italy. Valentina and her entire family, especially her dad, Leone were absolute life savers!

Grace and I left Rome last Friday morning and took a three hour bus ride to San Benedetto where we met up with Valentina and her father. We had a delicious lunch at her home, then they dropped us off at our bed and breakfast, where we stayed for the weekend. The place we stayed s owned by another one of my uncle's relatives, so the whole weekend definitely had an awesome family feel to it.

The view from our bed and breakfast! 

We walked around San Benedetto at night, then got up nice and early the following morning to hit the beach. It was one of the best (if not, the best!) beaches I've ever been to in my life. I came to Italy pretty pale, working all summer didn't allow me to get too tan. I left San Benedetto tanner than I've been in probably two years! Back to the main point..we enjoyed the beach in the morning, had a fabulous lunch at Valentina's relative's hotel, and then headed out to explore Ascoli Picerno and attempt to locate my grandfather's house.

Near Santa Maria a Corte, looking down into Ascoli Piceno

Ascoli Piceno is a larger town of about 100,000 people and sits in the middle of a valley that divided the Marche and Abruzzo regions of Italy. The little town of Santa Maria a Corte, where my grandfather is from sits up in one of the mountains that surrounds the city. I came to Italy with a picture of my pop's old house in the hopes of getting to the town and stumbling upon it. Never did I think that I would be so lucky to have Val and her dad there to help me communicate with the people in the town.

Standing in front of my pop's old house with the
 current owners, Domenico and Gina.

We drove up the windy road that led us to Santa Maria a Corte and parked the car. We saw two men sitting on a bench, so we approached them and Val's dad asked (in Italian), "Do you happen to know a  Mario Cagnetti? " I watched them as they got the most puzzled look on their faces. They said that they knew him but seemed confused as to why we were asking the question. Leone proceeded to say, "This is his granddaughter from America and she is trying to find his house. She brought a picture with her." I handed the man the photo, he looked at me in shock and said, "That is my house, and I am the one in the picture!" SPEECHLESS. I was in total shock. The first person we came in contact with was Domenico, the man who now lives in my grandfather's house and who was also friends with my pop when they were young. It was totally unreal! And to add to that, the man sitting with him turned out to be the brother of my pop's good friend named Elvizo, who came to America with my pop. They walked us around the little town and we eventually made it to the house. Domenico's wife, Gina came out and got filled in on what was happening and she was so happy! We all sat around and drank some juice, Leono took a video of Domenico and Gina saying hello to my pop, and it was completely unbelievable.

We left Santa Maria and headed down into Ascoli for the evening. I was so pleasantly surprised with Ascoli, it was busy, lively, and had so much going on. There was a huge festival/market happening throughout the whole city and there were so many pretty views of  the surrounding mountains. My favorite part of the city was the huge cathedral, which I was not expecting at all!

Cathedral of Ascoli Piceno
We ended our weekend with one more day on the beach and then headed to Valentina's Nonna and Nonno's home for lunch. This really felt like home to me, since my Nonna cooks for the whole family every Sunday. Although we could hardly understand any of the conversation going on around us, it still felt very warm and almost felt a little like home. Grace and I left Sunday at 5 and got back to our apartment in Rome by 9:30. Besides us both catching a nasty cold in the process, the weekend was perfect. That was my number one goal in coming to Italy, and it feels amazing to have gotten back to where my grandfather was born. The only thing that I wish was different about the weekend, is that I would have given anything for my entire family to have been there with me. I know one day we'll all get back there together! 

Settling In

Now that it's been two full weeks since landing in Rome, I can honestly say it's starting to feel normal. Yes, normal is a tricky word to use here, because everything about this experience is abnormal. Passing 2,000 year old monuments on a daily basis, riding Rome's Metro like I've lived here my whole life, and classes consisting of 3 hour museum and site visits..anything BUT normal! But in the midst of all of this activity, I'm finally getting settled into a routine and I'm fully aware of the fact that I'm halfway around the world.

Another sign that I'm settling in is that I'm starting to get frustrated with little things that phased me during the first two weeks here. Language barriers are becoming more evident, places are getting difficult to locate, and basic things that I would do with no trouble at home are becoming harder and harder. Today was my first really stressful experience- I needed to locate a bus-ticket vendor to buy tickets for a trip I'm taking this weekend. I went alone after class, and walked around one neighborhood for a good two-and-a-half hours with no luck at finding the place. I found my way back to school with no tickets in hand, and am now trying to find another way to make it happen. Even though right now it's a little frustrating, I know these tough little situations will help me out A LOT in the future, so I can't let them get to me. It will only feel that much better accomplishing something knowing that I had to work hard to make it happen.

I find that my weeks are much more packed than I imagined, and that they fly by so quick. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning I am on site somewhere in the city, either at a museum or monument. My classes this semester are Art & Architecture of Ancient Rome, Italian High Renaissance, Baroque Art in Rome, and Pop Culture in Modern Italy. I love them all so far, and will definitely be seeing a lot of Rome thanks to them!

This weekend I am traveling to San Benedetto, on the eastern coast of Italy to visit with my uncle Darryl's relatives who live in the area. Saturday, they are helping me get to Ascoli Piceno, the town where my grandfather was born. I'm hoping to find some of my relatives in his home town! I have a picture of his house, and a few pictures of him and his family, so hopefully I will get the chance to meet some of my relatives while I'm there.

Todi & Titignano

This past Sunday, the entire Temple Rome program took a day trip the the region of Umbria, about two and a half hours north of Rome. We first stopped in the medieval hill town of Todi, then continued to the estate of Titignano where we enjoyed a huge lunch, similar to an Italian wedding banquet.

Walking into Todi

Todi, which I have seen in pictures before, was even more gorgeous than I could've imagined. The buses couldn't make it up into the town, so we had to climb up to the top before even entering the city. This was the most serene town I've ever seen in my life- hardly any cars, church bells ringing all around, and people wandering around taking their time. This was the first time all week where we could relax and just wander around- I LOVED it! This is a video I took while we were walking up a little alley way, and church bells started to ring as I was filming! (just try and block out my obnoxious "oooh's" and "ahhhh's" haha).

We left Todi at noon, got back on the buses, and headed to the Titignano Estate, which was about an hour from Todi. This esate holds weddings and has places to stay for the weekend. We were served a traditional Italian wedding banquet, with over 12 courses! As most people know...I am one of the pickiest eaters on the planet. I made a promise to myself, that while in Italy, I would try anything put in front of me as long as it wasn't raw. Surprisingly, I liked EVERYTHING I tried! From asparagus risotto, to wild boar, the meal was fabulous. We finished with tiramisu, biscotti, and sweet desert wine. The long, winding bus ride home wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world, but all in all the day was perfect.

Outside where we had some antipasti!

Inside the estate..Temple Rome had the place PACKED!

Wild Boar with pasta

Dessert- tiramisu, biscotti, & very sweet dessert wine

First Few Days in Roma

Sitting here in my apartment, five days after landing in Rome I still feel as though I'm on vacation. I saw more landmarks and attractions than I ever thought I would this soon into the program, and I feel like I haven't quite been able to catch my breath yet.

The flight here was my first international flight (3rd flight ever) so I clearly wasn't able to fall asleep just due to excitement. We left at 7pm from Philadelphia and landed in Rome by 9:30am- it got dark then light so quickly which was a little mind-blowing to experience. Each time I could spot land, I had the "Oh I'm finally looking at Italy!" reaction- and it wasn't until about the 5th area of land that it actually was Italy. Landing, getting our luggage, and taking the shuttle ride to the Residence was a chaotic two hours, but was all worth it when I finally got to see the place I'd be living for the next three and a half months. Our apartment has a large common area, with a kitchen, dining table, and sofa which leads into a bathroom. There are two bedrooms- my friend and roommate for the past two years, Grace and I share one room, and our other two roommates, Sofia and Alexis, share another bedroom. Myself and Grace's room have a door that lead out to a huge balcony overlooking the front of our apartment complex.

Entrance/Kitchen/strange light!

Dining room/living space

Me and Grace's room

Our bathroom! (bidet and all)

View from the balcony outside of our room

The first night we had a pizza party at the Temple Rome building, where we had our first, true Italian food. We then wandered around the streets behind campus and stumble upon the gorgeous Piazza del Popolo, which was much larger than I pictured:

Piazza del Popolo

We continued down Via del Corso (amazing shopping!), got to peek inside of a gorgeous church, then ended up at The Spanish Steps. We hit it at a perfect time, the sun was starting to set and I had my first goosebump moment. I could see three or four domes in the distance, and the city had the prettiest glow from the sun setting. Chills aside, we kept walking and eventually found ourselves walking along the Tiber, towards the Vatican. We first saw Castle Sant'Angelo, an ancient fortress very close to the Vatican. From there it was a dead straightaway to St. Peter's...SECOND goosebump moment of the night. For so long, I've waited to get to this amazing city, and there I found myself walking around St. Peter's square with a fabulous group of people who I had jut met a few hours before, taking everything in. Absolutely amazing.

View from a bridge over the Tiber; standing in front of Castle Sant'Angelo, the Vatican in the distance

Castle Sant'Angelo

Walking into St. Peter's Square

Grace & I in front of the Vatican

So yes, that was all in one night, and yes our feet and legs are feeling the pain! I need to keep reminding myself that I'm not here on vacation.. I'm living here for the next three and a half months. I'll get a chance to see all I want and more! I could go on and on about the first two days in Rome, but will have to cut this post short. I have a little catching up to do with writing, this first week has been a little hectic!

I will hopefully post tomorrow about some other things we did this past week, and of course about tomorrow's day trip to Todi!

P.S. To all of my family and friends at home, I love and miss you all so much! Wouldn't be here without you. :)

Good night from Roma! (this is at the top of the Spanish Steps @ sunset!)

One Week until Take-off!

As I look back on all of the applications applied for, countdowns counted down, and identification cards registered for, I am in total disbelief that I leave for Rome in just a week from tonight. I'd say that every one of my Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or just about anyone with whom I've come in contact with over the past year knows how excited I am to be studying abroad in Rome, I can't help being excited!

The day I got accepted to my program feels like yesterday- I heard that notifications went out via email regarding acceptance, so I ran to the nearest computer on campus, clicked open the email, and immediately started to cry in the middle of a room full of people. This is such a huge and important trip for me, and the fact it begins in 7 days is unreal!

This is the entrance to the apartments where the Temple Rome students live for the semester:

And here is the Temple Rome building, where all of my classes will be. (Hopefully to be replaced with REAL pictures soon!)

So until next Monday night, I will continue to pack, pack, pack and enjoy my last few days in America. I will drink as much Dunkin Donuts as possible, wear my flip flops proudly, and will savor every last moment with my family and friends. I was always raised to be proud of my country and respect people who fought for our freedom, so leaving America will be a very sad thing to do. However, I am excited to learn how another culture lives and I cannot wait to live my daily life as a true Italian.

35 Days and Counting... First post on the New Blog!

I'm one of those people who gets excited to open up a brand new notebook- fresh, clean pages just waiting to be filled with countless bits of information. One can only imagine how that feeling translates over to starting a new blog. This isn't just any old 'new blog' however. This is the space that will eventually be filled with every detail of my time in Rome, and the one thing aside from pictures that I will be able to look back on and remember how I spent my time abroad.

As I sit at my desk at work, I wish more than anything that I could see this blog finished right now in front of me. I want to read where I went, who I met, and what I discovered while in Rome. I have to tell myself to just be patient, because soon enough I'll be doing just that and wishing I was back in Italy.

I have a little over a month until I leave, and have plenty to do before take-off. I've spent my summer working two jobs tirelessly, and have just started to go through my things seeing what I need, what I don't need, and what I really need to get moving on. As much as I want this next month to fly by, I also want to enjoy it. I want to spend as much time with my family as possible, and see as many people as I can before I head out. And packing- lets not get started on that topic...

If anyone has some good tips for a first-time traveler, send them my way!

Grazie!