The weather was absolutely brutal today, but it wasn’t a total loss. I met Paige for a trip to her photography store. I got a bunch of good stuff for my camera (as evidenced by the fact that I can now take long-exposure night shots)! I stopped by Piazza St. Pietro and got a lot of shots at night.

I had dinner at Pizzeria Ivo. Ivo is a pretty cool place. The walls are covered in memorabilia from various football (soccer) teams and players. The Pizza was excellent, so was the antipasto misto (of which I am a huge fan pretty much anywhere)!

This was, without a doubt, the best meal I’ve ever had in my entire life. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that it was the best meal I’ll ever have!

Both Dad and I got the chef’s tasting menu (7 courses), and thought it was a bit pricey, I’m pretty sure it was worth it! Paige got a 5 course chef’s menu, because she doesn’t like eating the mammals. Oh well, her loss

Though the whole meal was fantastic, a particularly high point was the sublime creator of cocktails. I was drinking entirely fruit-based cocktails that were the most surprising, complex flavors I’ve ever had in my entire life!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous today! Rome was supposed to be cold this week, but I found that I was too hot in my blazer!

Dad and I spent some time walking around the city today because it was both my first real day in the city, and his last. We walked all over Trastevere and ventured across the river for some shopping and shooting. We went to the Pantheon, and the Cat Sanctuary at which my sister volunteers. You heard me! My hippy sister volunteers at a sanctuary for stray cats located in ruins in the middle of Rome. An aside — these ruins were actually where Julius Caesar was killed, but I digress. After the Cat Sanctuary, we walked to the Pantheon, and then up Via del Corso to the Piazza del Populo and the Spanish Steps. I was looking for some sunglasses, but as it turns out, Italian Eye-wear is almost as gaudy as their churches (and only slightly less expensive than your own Duomo).

I got some great shots today, and things are only going to get better if the weather keeps up!

I am definitely looking forward to dinner tonight. We have reservations at La Pergola, one of the best restaurants in all of Italy (if not the world).

So I’ll be the first to admit it, jet-lag owned me!

I was absolutely exhausted when I got into Rome, and spent most of the day taking a little nap. I did manage to go up to the hill overlooking Trastevere however. The hill overlooks Trastevere in the foreground, and Centro Storico and Vatican City in the Background.

For dinner we went out to a little out of the way place called Roma Sparita. It was out of this world! Paige, Dad, and I had a 3 course meal for well under 80 Euro, and that included the wine that they had. I know meals can be had for cheaper, but honestly the food was amazing!

As of Tuesday, I’ll be in Italy! I leave tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll blog my trip when I have time/net access!

The title says it all! It’s been a weird ass couple of weeks. Ben got in a car accident, so I had to go down to Orlando from Syracuse and pick him up (my parents were out of country). I had to drive back to Atlanta, fly to philly to get a new passport (because I lost mine on the way down), and then fly back to Syracuse. I think I’m honestly still exhausted!

I’m a little nervous about the MPREs on Saturday. But that’ll fade as I actually do some studying.

I’m super psyched about Rome. If anyone is out in Europe, give me a call on my European Cell (though I’m changing numbers, I’ll post the Italian one later). Feel free to drop and email or whatever. I’ll be on the continent for 2 weeks, and I’d love to see everyone.

I am in Philly right now getting a new passport. I lost mine 4 days ago on my way down to Orlando.

It’s been a really long week, I’ll post more completely when I get back to Ithaca.

I’ve got the MacBook Pro. It’s sick. I will also post a review tomorrow or the next day.