Et Cetera – Page 6 – Studio Josie

orvieto: l’ultimo giorno.

L’ultimo giorno.
Our last full day.
Sunday, July 28, 2019.

Wake up, shower, eat breakfast, head out.

The same routine was completed on this day, but it felt different. I knew, in the back of my mind, that it was our last full day. (Actually, I’d say it was in the middle of my mind because it was so hard to push away.) I did everything I could to stay present. I just couldn’t believe it was almost over.

It was Sunday, so going to mass was an option. Since I had gone last time, I decided to pass and instead wander around Narni for a few hours. Up until this point, we didn’t have too much time to explore the town on our own because the schedule was so booked. It was really lovely discovering things that had been right under our noses the whole time, even if it was on the last day.

I was also kind of stressed about buying some souvenirs, so I found a few little things as the mass went on. All I had bought thus far was a scarf for myself and a little homemade bowl for my mom at the art market.

After we shopped a little, we got gelato around 10:30-11 a.m. Of course! It’s never too early (or late) for gelato. This was the final cone I had in Narni, and I enjoyed it inside the gelateria of the main piazza, hiding from the light rain.

I got stracciatella, cioccolato, and caffè.

The street leading to the main piazza. We’d walk this way every day to get to the hostel.

Another slice of the town, right above the Farmacia.

After our shopping and gelato, we still had some time to kill. There was a pathway (pictured below) that we passed every day during this trip but never walked down. I was so curious to see what was down there, but we never had the time to explore it until this day.

One of my friends and I decided to check it out, and it was better than I expected.

As you walk down the narrow stairs, there are a couple of restaurants and houses that face the view of the whole town.

How did we miss this?! I would have been devastated if I got home and realized that this view was *literally* right in front of us the whole time. I’m so glad I got to see it.

Further down the stairs, a jungle of plants and flower bushes sits neatly along the edges.

And then, just as the skies began to clear up, we started walking back up the stairs and stumbled upon a cat. It placed itself in the most picturesque (and somewhat camouflaged) location possible.

Sitting on the steps of the church, waiting for the mass to end. The view here is of the main square in Narni where we’d catch the bus every day.

Then we ate lunch. As we ate, we probably reminisced about our favorite parts of the trip or began planning our reunion. There was a universal feeling of gloom hanging over the group over the last few days, even if some didn’t show it.

After eating, we hopped on the bus and headed to Orvieto, one of the biggest and more well-known cities of Umbria.

A horrible photo, taken through the bus window. This light was absolutely stunning.

The next few photos are of the Duomo di Orvieto. This church was so unique. Check out this article that explains the artistic choices inside and on the facade.

Let’s just be honest: anything involving mosaics has my heart.

The interior. I’ve probably seen twenty or so churches in the past year on my two trips to Italy, but I have never seen anything like this one. The horizontal black and white stripes contrast so beautifully against the detailed stained glass and frescoes.

It was so hard to get a decent photo of the glass! Here’s an okay one.

Outside the Duomo with flowers in the foreground. You can see the stripes remain on the outside, too. It’s very kitschy in comparison to many of the strictly Romanesque churches I saw in Rome, but I think that makes it even more fascinating.

After we watched a concert (yep, another one) in the Duomo, we had about two hours to shop. Orvieto is the place in Umbria to do your souvenir shopping, so I’m really happy we got time to spend there.

Ok, I had to share this. Look how big these dogs are!

I was thiiiiis close to buying one of these Keith Haring Moleskine notebooks, but it turns out, Moleskine is just as expensive in Italy as it is in the US ;). I love his quote “Art is for everybody” and have been thinking about it a lot lately.

And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for: my LAST gelato. I know, I know. I’m trying to hold back tears, too. But of course, I somehow managed to take the most unattractive food photo of all time… sigh. Despite its ugliness here, it was quite delicious.

I hadn’t used many of my euros up until this day, so I had a good chunk of them to spend on gifts and things to bring home. We were allowed to split up for the two hours, so I kind of drifted between each of my friends and ended up hanging with two of them for the majority of the time.

As we were shopping, we got sidetracked and lost track of time, so we began to walk fast to make it back to the bus. We passed by some others in our group who were still shopping, so we stopped worrying and lowered our pace. Apparently, we got a little too confident because literally right as we passed them, we took a wrong turn. The streets slowly grew quieter, and the crowds diminished, so we knew we were going the wrong way.

At this point, it was exactly the time we were supposed to board the bus. We got a text from our WhatsApp group saying that the bus was leaving and got very nervous that they’d leave without us. Eventually, we ended up asking a local (in Italian!) how to get to the Duomo. He showed us (grazie mille, signor!) and we ran so fast — seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever run that fast in my life — and made it back to the bus. That was definitely one of the most exhilarating times of my life, and my friends and I still laugh about it today.

On the bus ride back to Narni, I ate some Haribo gummies, put my headphones in, and took a short nap. I knew the day was ending, and no matter how much I tried to push the thought away, I couldn’t. On the bus, I kept my sunglasses on as I shed a couple of tears. I didn’t want this to be over.

When we got back to Narni, we enjoyed one last dinner as a group. Marco and Benedetta, our two group leaders, prepared homemade pizza for us. My friends and I had our final conversation circle as we ate. After we all finished, we were asked to meet up in the hostel’s downstairs common room to have one last group meeting.

Everyone got into a circle, and we went around sharing what the trip meant to each of us. Five minutes in, nearly everyone was crying. We passed around a roll of toilet paper to use as tissues as we listened to each other’s special stories and memories. I’m finding it kind of hard to share this because it was such a powerful moment. But I do believe that the difficulty of saying goodbye truly proves just how important it was to all of us.

After the crying circle, we went around and gave hugs to each other before dispersing and heading back up to our rooms to pack. I took a shower that night and stayed up until around midnight. And then, bed.

I woke up the next morning — our day of departure — with a sick feeling in my stomach. It wasn’t so much nausea; it was a feeling of nerves and grief and sadness all mixed into one yucky feeling. I tried to eat something for breakfast but could barely finish an apricot. I had no appetite.

After eating around 7:30-8 a.m., we rolled our suitcases down the marble stairs and waited in the lobby for everyone. We turned in our keys, said goodbye to the owner, and made our way to the bus stop.

Remember when we first got to Narni and I told you the walk to the hostel was brutal? Well, it was just as brutal this time. I walked up the cobblestone hills under a literal blazing sun, already ruining my last shirt that wasn’t drenched with sweat.

We loaded our souvenir-filled suitcases and boarded the bus to Rome. I listened to some music on the ride, talked with my friends for a bit, and took a short nap.

Once we got to the airport, we said goodbye to some of our friends from another group who stayed in Narni and had tagged along with us nearly every day. Then, we headed to security (which is an absolute BREEZE compared to the US security) and had free time for an hour or two before our flight to Germany departed. Of course, there were a ton of places to shop in the airport, so I bought a couple of snacks and last-minute gifts.

The first plane ride was only two hours. Compared to the ride from Germany to Italy two weeks prior, this flight was a dream. I felt so miserable last time. Plus, I didn’t know anyone then. This time, I got to sit with my friends for two hours making jokes, looking at pictures, and chatting. Plus, the flight attendant gave out Kit Kats! Best flight ever.

Once we got to Germany, we raced through the airport to get to our gate. When we got there, though, we realized that we had around thirty minutes to spare. I walked down the airport hallway a bit, reflecting on how different I had felt at the German airport just two weeks ago. In so many ways, I was a completely new person.

We boarded the flight and successfully traded seats to be able to sit together. This one was eight-ish hours, so I’m eternally grateful I got to be next to my friends; it just meant we had even more time to spend together.

But as I watched the time on the screen in front of me slowly decrease, I couldn’t help but wish I could stay on this plane forever. I definitely missed the comfort of my own home (especially the bathroom), but I didn’t want to leave this group. I had been with them for two whole weeks and could not imagine my life without them.

Eventually, we made it to JFK. We went through customs and security, trying not to think about the impending goodbye. After baggage claim, we did one last group count-off which is where many of us (including myself) lost it. We hugged each other, took our bags, and walked.

Once we left the baggage claim, we were greeted by rows and rows of family members waiting to see us. I spotted my dad and brother, said one last goodbye to my friends, and headed towards the parking lot.

And, just like that, it was over.

Oh, wow, was that painful! But there ya go. That was my trip!

At the time, my friends and I had a scheduled reunion for September which was nearly two months away. That made the goodbye even harder for us. But thankfully, some of us met up just a few weeks later in August. Since then, we’ve had three reunions in the city (which you can check out here) and I’ve been able to spend some time with them.

I truly never thought I’d have the experience I did. Like I mentioned in the first post, I was really anxious about the trip which led to me not being too excited about it. I was terrified to leave home, but I’m forever glad that I did.

I’m only seventeen, but I know that this trip and the people I met on it will have a lasting impact on my life. It already has! I’ve become a better, more curious, and accepting person because of it. I’ve become more willing to leave my comfort zone, and I’ve become less afraid of change.

I am so grateful to my Italian teacher, Signora M., and the IACE company for presenting this opportunity to me, and to my Aunt Rosanne & Uncle Nino for helping with the plane fare. Grazie mille!

I will never forget this trip, and I can only hope everyone gets the chance to experience something this special in their lives.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading this super long post. I got back from the trip in July and it’s now the middle of November, so… it took me long enough to get these up! I hope you enjoyed the series. I cannot wait for my next adventure.

Arrivederci xo

cascata delle marmore e lago di piediluco

On our second-to-last full day, we woke up, ate breakfast at 8 a.m., and headed to a morning concert. It was *quite long* but, of course, very good. I’m pretty sure this was the violin and guitar one.

After the matinee, we hopped on a bus and headed to a waterfall: Cascata Delle Marmore. It’s about 30 minutes from Narni and very close to Lazio. Once we arrived, we were told to purchase rain ponchos if we didn’t want to get splashed by the water. I decided not to waste my euros, which ended up being a good thing because I didn’t get too wet anyway…and the water felt so nice in the crazy heat!

We got to break up and explore for about an hour on our own. This waterfall was surrounded by a ton of trails and staircases leading to more beautiful views of the falls. Two of my friends and I walked over the bridges and rocks to find the best views. Here are a couple photos of what we saw:

After Cascata Delle Marmore, we headed to a restaurant for lunch. I ate a classic Caprese salad with mozzarella di bufala which I still dream about.

The restaurant was right on the shore of Lago di Piediluco, a huge lake that touches the border of Lazio. After we ate, we got to take a mini-cruise and enjoy the splendid views of the lake…

The captain of the ship spoke in Italian, so I didn’t grasp too much of what he said. However, he wanted to show us something cool, so he told us to scream “CIAO” as loud as we could. After doing so, we heard our voices echo all around the lake!

Ahhh. So picturesque and perfect. This cruise was especially nice because, for once, we weren’t all sweating!

After the cruise, we headed back to the bus and drove to Narni where we stayed for the remainder of the day.

This. House. Come on!! You’d never see a house this fun in America. I love it so much.

The rest of the night was pretty relaxed. We went to yet another concert in the evening before dinner. It was just one man and his acoustic guitar, and it was really wonderful, but I must tell you about it because it truly felt like a ridiculous scene in a movie.

Before it started, we took a little tour of a museum, following a guide and walking in and out of various rooms. The final room we walked in was tiny, and all the walls were painted black. There was a big painting at the front of it and about three rows of chairs. We all knew we’d be going to a concert, but none of us expected this to be the atmosphere.

It was so very small and our group was essentially the only audience members, besides a couple of other adults who stumbled in. Don’t get me wrong — the man was a phenomenal guitar player, and I was blown away for the first five songs or so. But then it kept going on…and on…and on. He probably did around 25, good-lengthed songs. We were all getting very tired and irritable, and everyone was making each other laugh which made our front-row seats pretty hard to deal with. At the (supposed) end of the concert, he stood up and walked away, and as we were clapping, he came back and did more songs for an encore.

Looking back, it felt like that concert would never end. It was so ridiculous and felt like a dream, and the enclosed, dark space didn’t help! But, despite its longevity and our irritability, I loved the music and laughed a hell of a lot. 😉

This is the painting that sat behind the man as he played the guitar. Spot the floating baby heads!

We had dinner a little before 8 p.m. that night and then headed to our final concert of the day. It was in the San Domenico church which is where the first concert took place. My friends and I walked to the side of the church and decided to lie on the stairs, admiring the fabulous painted ceiling for one last time.

After the concert, we hung out in the piazza and ate more gelato. Since we were nearing the end of the trip, most of us didn’t care too much about getting adequate sleep. I stayed up until around 2 a.m. this night, trying to soak up every last minute with my friends. We sat outside the hostel while it was raining and talked for a while. A couple of neighborhood cats came to visit us, too…

Eventually, we went to sleep, and our final day had arrived.

I know this was a short post, but my previous post was super long, so I figured I’d break it up a little for you. My next post will be about our final day which was spent mostly in the city of Orvieto. Boooo. I don’t want this to end, again!

Buonanotte!

rome & the vatican

The ninth day was very hot.

Well, all the days were very hot, but the heat was ten times more noticeable on this day since we spent the entirety of it outside walking in the sun.

We left the hostel pretty early — around 7-7:30am — since Rome is about an hour away from Narni. We listened to music on the bus for a while, but eventually, we all fell asleep and took a short nap to make up for the hours we had missed.

I didn’t sleep too well on the bus, so once we began arriving in Rome I woke up and looked out the window. I noticed a sudden increase in both traffic and street art.

Here’s the first piece of street art I saw. Hidden in the left-hand corner it says “1984 No Control,” and on the right side it says, ““F*CK NAZIS.” I can’t decipher what anything else says.

We drove around for a while and passed by the Colosseum. Sadly we didn’t get to go to it, but it was neat to see it even from the outside. Since it was so hot, the majority of our group was wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts, so some of the girls had to use giant paper shawls to cover up their oh-so-scandalous shoulders and knees. I had a sweater with me, so I tied it around my waist like a skirt. Quite the fashion statement.

For the majority of the day, we had one tour guide, so once we met up with him, we began the tour at a cafe. We all were a little hungry when we arrived in Rome, so we stopped and ate chips, coca-cola, and other random European snacks.

After eating, we headed to the first sight: San Paolo Fuori Le Mura which translates to “Saint Paul Outside The Walls.”

Here’s the main view when you first walk in. It was very empty, surprisingly, so I got a decent photo here. You can use the person walking to visualize how big it is. The image of Jesus at the end — and the dome behind it — is all mosaic.

I was looking at some info online, and I found out that the windows are not stained glass; instead, the designs on them are made from fine alabaster.

Here’s a little better view of the mosaics. What I seem to love the most about all these churches and pieces of art in Italy is the mixing of styles. Part of it is mosaic, part of it is paint, part of it is sculpture, etc., but it all fits together into one magnificent structure.

After visiting this basilica, we walked a little bit through the city towards a museum very close to the Altare Della Patria. I have done extensive research online but still cannot find the name of this museum! It was cool, though, because it was a mix of art, history, and other random aspects of Italian culture.

A charming house with pretty flowers in the foreground.

This is Dante’s *The Divine Comedy* inside the unknown museum. I’m not sure if it’s the original copy because online it says that the original is in Firenze…

Oh, boy. This was one of the coolest pieces of art I saw. It’s titled “Tutto” and is by the artist Alighiero Boetti whose embroidery work is just amazing.

After the museum, we walked around some more and made our way to an area with a bunch of restaurants so we could have lunch.

I love this building’s geometric design on the bottom half.

Once we picked a meeting spot, we were allowed to break up into small groups and find lunch. My friends and I walked for about three minutes before a man at one of the nearby restaurants tempted us by saying, “We have air conditioning!” We looked at the menu quickly and decided to eat there, a decision we may have regretted later…

Once we got a seat at the restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised to see bread on the table. We were all starving, so we began to eat and drink water. We ordered pizza: one was regular Margherita, one was Margherita con Mozzarella di Bufala (buffalo milk cheese), and one was Pizza ai Funghi (mushrooms). Don’t get me wrong: it was all absolutely delicious; plus, we hadn’t had pizza on the trip until this day, so we were all craving it. But when we got the check, I was a little annoyed ’cause we got scammed big time!

They charged us 12 euro for the bread (which no one ordered anyway) and 4 euro for the water (ugh!) and then the pizzas were around 10 euro each. Looking back, it makes sense that this happened since we were in a pretty touristy area of Rome and we were pretty obviously tourists. We all split the bill, so it ended up being fine, but I was a little ticked off. Oh, well… being scammed was bound to happen at some point in my travels.

We were still a little hungry after the pizza, so we walked around some more and found a fruit stand to grab a snack. Albiccoche (apricots) may be my favorite word in the Italian language thus far. And ciliege (cherries).

The design of this building is so random and scattered, but I think that just adds to its charm.

After meeting up with the rest of the group, we continued the tour and explored more of Rome.

This was one of my favorite pieces of street art.

This woman was making sand sculptures of dogs that are creepily accurate.

More stickers on a mailbox. I was reminded of the mailbox I saw in Enna, Sicily earlier that year! I still really admire its design.

More stickers — “This beautiful moment is ours.” I found this artist’s website online.

Ok ok this is the last photo of stickers, I swear. We were only in Rome for a day which isn’t nearly enough to explore its entirety, but for the short time I was there, I was really attracted to the street art and how much it brightened up the city.

Next we went to the Trevi Fountain. It was the middle of July — peak tourist season — so the whole area was extremely crowded. I’m glad I can cross this off of my bucket list. It’s great to see the touristy places once or twice, but I know that there are plenty of other areas that allow for a more immersive travel experience I’d like to visit next time.

And yes, I did throw coins into the fountain!

After that, we headed to yet another church. This one was one of my favorites: Chiesa di Sant’ Ignazio di Loyola. The paintings within it are just mindblowing.

This isn’t a great picture, but the ceiling looks like it has a dome structure, right? Well, I learned that it’s actually an illusion and the ceiling is really just flat…so freaking cool!

On the way to the bus, we stopped by the Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi. The lighting was so pretty here, and I really like these two pictures:

Oh, and I can’t forget to show you this hilarity…

Some of the group wanted to get water and/or gelato, so we stopped at a gelateria. I didn’t want to get anything, so I just walked around and looked at the flavors. Then I came across the neon blue-colored one and discovered that its flavor was…*Viagra.* Everyone was cracking up and slightly confused. I later found a couple articles online about it. So weird!

We hopped on the bus and drove a couple minutes until we reached the Vatican City. I guess I technically visited two countries on this trip!

Oh, God… it was *so hot* and there was absolutely no shade in sight. That’s the one thing I don’t miss about this trip! We had to stand in line for a half-hour to get inside St. Peter’s Basilica, so everyone was very cranky and sweaty.

Despite the heat and the long wait, I’m glad I got to visit this basilica. I could say this about nearly all the churches I’ve seen in Italy, but the amount of time and dedication put towards their creation astounds me.

This was probably the biggest of all the churches we saw, so you could easily spend a whole day exploring it. We only had about twenty minutes, so here are some photos I took as we wandered around.

Perfect spotlight on two of the statues outside the basilica.

Once we left the church, we headed back to the bus and made our way back to Narni. We changed out of our sweaty clothes and watched a very memorable student performance that ended around 11:30. After that, we probably had more gelato and then went to bed.

The day we spent in Rome had its ups and downs, but I really liked this city and am excited to visit again someday when I can spend more than a day exploring!

There are only two days left of the trip to share with you 😦 Writing about it and sharing photos makes me sad because it feels like I have to say goodbye all over again. My friends and I would try our best to live in the moment every day, but as our departure date drew nearer, it got harder and harder to not think about saying goodbye. But anyway… there are still two more full days left, so it ain’t over ’til it’s over.

Ok, buonanotte!

ponte d’augusto & narni sotteranea

On our eighth day, we woke up and ate an 8 a.m. breakfast in the hostel. The daily breakfast assortment was made up of espresso or juice, pastries, and fresh fruit. My favorite was the chocolate croissant; I looked forward to it every morning.

After breakfast, we walked towards the bus where we would drive to Ponte d’Augusto, an ancient arch bridge in Narni. Half of it is collapsed which, I learned, happened as a result of natural disasters. We didn’t spend much time here, but I took a couple of photos. We were really close, however, so I couldn’t get any great ones. Here’s a faraway shot I found online for you to get a better sense of its size.

After visiting the bridge, we headed to Covestro… a plastic factory.

Yup, on this trip I toured both a steel and a plastic factory. I certainly never thought I’d witness either in my lifetime, but here we are. I enjoyed Covestro a lot more than the steel factory, mainly because I wasn’t jet-lagged and sweaty the whole time. We sat in a fancy conference room (with A.C.!) for the first hour or so, learning about the factory and watching informational videos. Then, we got on fancy goggles, shoes, and hard-hats and began the tour.

These are mini pieces of plastic that were hung up in frames down the hallway I passed on my way to the bathroom. They look like sprinkles! (Oh, and the bathroom was **really** nice, in case you were wondering or if you ever, for whatever reason, visit Covestro.)

After eating lunch in the employee’s cafeteria and getting a loaded goodie bag from them, we headed back to the town. We got off the bus and decided to have some gelato at the gelateria in the main piazza.

I thought it was so funny that they wrote “???” instead of “mistero” (mystery).

Maia and I shared an affogato (espresso poured over gelato), and it was insanely delicious. Once I got home, I tried to make one with coffee and ice cream, but, unsurprisingly, it didn’t even come close to this 😦

A gelato, because I couldn’t survive solely on the affogato — lol. This is pistacchio and melone. I love the color combo.

After gelato, we went to another concert. This was a student piano player we watched in one of the churches. The one thing I will forever remember about this concert was the bat that flew around throughout the entirety of it. We saw lots of bats, especially on the hostel’s balcony, but this one was inside the church and it flew around a lot. I was pretty nervous watching it swoop constantly, and I kept thinking of this scene from The Office.

Watching the student performer… I wish I knew his name so I could link you to his music!

We had dinner at 7:30 and then began walking to our final destination of the day: Narni Sotterranea. This had to have been the coolest tour ever, and I’ll explain more in the captions below. Before coming here, I had no idea it existed, and it just makes me wonder how many other hidden gems there are all around the world.

Before our tour began, we watched the sunset and this unbelievable view.

I have no words! I remember everything about this moment: the light breeze, the sound of my friends laughing, and the smell of crisp summer air. It was perfect.

Posing with my lovely friends before taking the tour.

In the 1970s, a group of young men discovered this underground, twelfth-century church filled with frescoes on the wall. After uncovering the church, they found additional rooms that were all connected. Narni Sotteranea is the museum that it was turned into, and it is such a well-done and fascinating tour.

This is the church that the men first discovered. Behind this, there was a large TV screen that we watched a video on. The video was made up of visuals highlighting how they believe the church had been altered over the centuries. That was the moment my eyes opened and I became super invested in the tour.

Here’s another shot of the church and the frescoes.

They built glass over the original floor and added lights so you can see underneath.

I didn’t take any photos, but we went into a torture chamber that was just next door where they would, well… torture people who were convicted of witchcraft, heresy, bigamy, etc.

The next few photos are from my favorite part of the tour. After the torture room, we were led into a small cell. A man named Lombardini was imprisoned here, and during the time he spent there, he drew symbols and characters on all the walls. This article states that he was imprisoned because of his interest in “Masonic rituals” and he was “convicted as [a] heretic.” I recommend checking out that article I linked to if you’re curious to read more about it since I can’t explain every detail myself.

Do you see the yellow-colored drawings? To make those, Lombardini used a mix of wall dust and **urine**. So crazy, right?!

After seeing the cell, we walked upstairs and were surprised to be inside the San Domenico church which is where the tour ended. We were just there the day before for the gala concert, so it was crazy to know that there was so much history right underneath us we didn’t even know existed until that moment. Here’s a sixth-century mosaic they found in the church. There’s glass over it, so you can see right into it as you walk by:

Here’s the link to Narni Sotterranea’s website. If you ever find yourself in there — or even in Umbria — I highly suggest visiting this place and taking a tour. I genuinely had no idea this existed until we walked into the underground church, so it was a thrilling experience for me. Surprisingly, there isn’t as much info online as I would think. But regardless, it was one of the coolest things ever, and it is well worth your time.

The next day was pretty uneventful, and I don’t have too many photos to share anyway. To sum it up, we went to three different concerts and ate gelato. By the final concert, we were all exhausted and concert-ed out. We all sat in the back row of a huge church, making little puppets from the pamphlets we got and giggling at the worst times. So while we were all so tired and bored, we made the best of it. I have so many great memories from that night.

But anyway…
tomorrow we go to ROME!
Buonanotte!

narni, again!

We took a tour of Narni during the second week, and to be honest, I wish we had taken it on the first or second day. Learning the history and knowing the names of certain places/ structures we had passed every day made me appreciate our temporary home that much more. But, regardless of when it happened, it was still very interesting and a great morning.

The tour began as a history lesson. The teacher, who was also our tour guide, was super fun. The lesson was about an hour, so after the slideshow (which I included some funny transitions and pictures), we headed outside and began to tour the town.

This is one of the painted pillars of Chiesa di San Francesco. I have no idea whose hand that is, but I think it makes the photo a little more interesting 🙂

This is the outside of Palazzo Comunale di Narni which, from what I remember, is the main governmental building within the town. This is also where we met the mayor of Narni a couple of days prior.

Some really intricate detailing on this otherwise generic structure.

Ahhhh. This photo takes me back. We walked this stretch every day to and from the hostel. It was right in the center of town, and it was always filled with people.

Here’s a headshot-like photo of the Pope right near the entrance of the Cathedral of Saint Juvenal. This was the one we went to mass in, and it was my favorite of all the churches.

Here’s Mary in one of the corners of the church.

Excuse this blurry picture. Our tour guide said that this corner near the ceiling was the only piece of mosaic (besides the floor) within the church. I found this science journal that has some cool info on its preservation and history if you’re interested.

This is one of the most beautiful pieces of art I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure what it is about it — maybe it’s the mid-century looking wings around the frame or the glitter star that was added to the woman in the painting — but I couldn’t stop staring at it. And even now looking at the pictures, it takes my breath away! So gorgeous.

Here’s an up-close shot of it. I really want to learn more about this piece of the church but can’t find any info online. If you find anything, please share it with me! I love the mix of styles so much and would really like to know who the artist (or artists) is.

Here’s the side of the same wing. I love the rose design up near the ceiling and those long lines that match the wings on the golden frame.

Here’s another part of the church (sorry for my lack of church geography terminology!). It was really hard to believe that we had mass in here because we didn’t see any of the insane details until we actually took the tour.

This area in the very front of the church is *all* marble.

This is right above the stairs that lead to the marble. When I attended the mass, this was mainly all that I could see. It’s still incredible, but I am so happy I saw the rest of the church or I would have missed out big time!

Alright, this is from another church: Santa Maria Impensole. It is a lot smaller than the other one, and many of the original, 8th-century *frescoes* still remain.

After touring the churches and learning a bit about the town, we had some lunch and then went to a mosaic-making class! As you know, I love love love mosaics, so I was really looking forward to this.

One of our chaperones took this photo. These are some of the natural materials that they use in the mosaic pieces. Before designing our own, we each learned how to use the chopping tool to break a piece of the stone into tiny pieces.

They gave us some templates to work off of, but we were allowed to choose whatever colors we wanted.

This is mine before placing down the pieces.

I was really excited to do this project since I’ve never made any type of mosaic before, but I’m not too happy with the final outcome. I think it looks a bit like cat puke. But, oh well. If anything, making one myself made me appreciate the process more than I did before.

My friends and I used the back of our mosaics as “yearbooks,” and we all signed them with little notes and messages. Despite not really liking how mine looks, the messages written on the back will make me love it forever!

Surprise, surprise… another gelato. This time I was in dire need of chocolate (hello, period!), so I just got some classic *cioccolato* and some sort of Oreo flavor.

Hanging out with the neighborhood kitties while we waited for dinner.

After dinner that night, we had to go back to the hostel to change into nicer clothes for a concert. This was the big gala concert for the Narnia Festival’s grand opening, and since part of the scholarship was attending the festival concerts, we were all invited to attend. It was held at the Chiesa di San Domenico, a church that was elegantly decorated for the event. Despite the modern decor and design, its history was still very much preserved, presenting a lovely contrast as we walked through the doors.

For some reason, our group was not saved any seats in the audience. We were told to move to the side of the church and sit on the steps behind the walls next to the audience. This was a bit unexpected, but it ended up being a perfect surprise. My friends and I lied down on the steps, staring up at the most idyllic ceiling and listening to Vivaldi music. It felt like a dream, and I often wish I could go back in time and relive this moment.

Here’s the phenomenal painted ceiling we admired while taking in the music.

Halfway through the (very long) concert, we noticed people beginning to set up food behind us. It smelled so good, and there was so much of it, so we all got kind of antsy and were dying to eat. Once it ended, we were the first ones to get to it (score!). I can’t remember much of what I ate, but I do recall having some very good pizza and some sort of pesto pasta salad.

This is taken from the stairs we were lying down on; the audience is just past that wall. Once or twice during the concert, we noticed a photographer taking a photo of us all lying down and staring at the ceiling. I really wanna know where that photo is! Maybe we’ll be in the festival’s pamphlet next year 🙂

Believe it or not, that was just one day. The next day was a little less eventful, so I’ll share that tomorrow since it will be a much shorter post. Then, ROME! Ahhh. Buonanotte, i miei amici!