Finally in Rome

Ciao! Finally made it to this fantastic city with not missing any flights, losing luggage, or getting (too) lost. Rome is so much better than I had imagined. My apartment is located about 4 or 5 blocks from the Vatican, and right in the middle of MANY shops and stores. I share the apartment with 5 other amazing girls. My roommate is from Mexico and goes to college at Chapman in California, another lives in Utah and goes to school at Chapman as well, another from California going to Chapman as well, one from Texas, another from Ohio, and me! The apartment has 3 pretty good sized bedrooms, with tile floors, and high ceilings.  We also have a living/dining room with a big table, and the kitchen the size of a closet. It is an older building, but it is still really nice. Our windows look out onto the street and the peach-colored building across the street, and our first time looking out the window there were 3 pairs of underwear just flapping in the wind! What a nice welcome to Rome. There is also a market right across the street from our building, where everything is SO fresh, and very reasonably priced. There are bins and bins of fresh oranges, minestrone, wine, meat, bread, and a very wide variety of vegetables, the smells are varied between good food smells and the not-so-good smells of the city. I have had so much pizza prosciutto, and carbs, carbs, carbs. We went to our orientation for school this morning, and walking through the streets was like something from a travel magazine. Cafes with coffe, croissants, breads, paninis, so much motzerella, tomato, and of course gelato. Walking to class we also passed by squares with fountains, had to cross the river with beautiful sculptures, and lights in the nighttime especially. Walking by the Spanish Steps is also part of our trek to school, not 5 minutes from where we have our classes. It is very surreal. On our way back from the orientation, we walked 5 minutes south/southwest of our school to see the Fontana di Trevi, which is so much larger than I had imagined it to be, and so beautiful. More to come on classes and the weekend here!

xoxo Erica