Author Archives: harrietjones2

My Last Month

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Hello all,

I hope you enjoyed my little video tour of Sapienza. My friends and I spent a while filming all the little clips, including parts on the beach in Sicily!

This will be my last post on my year abroad blog. Everyone warned me, but my year abroad went by so quickly. It really feels like only yesterday I posted the farewell picture on Facebook and boarded the plane to Italy. With my final exams over (and successfully passed), I had some time to see all the final bits I wanted see in Rome. Friends came to visit me to celebrate their graduations/my end of exams and together we saw some of Rome’s ‘best bits’. Continue reading

Romans on the Road

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Being on an Erasmus year isn’t just about studying. I spent a large chunk of my first semester settling down in Rome, adjusting to life at university, and strengthening friendships with Italians and internationals alike. I did a lot of travelling inside the city of Rome, but I didn’t venture out (apart from to Milan for Christmas). I have more than made up for this in the second semester. I’ll give you a quick summary of a few places I have been and just let the photos speak for themselves! Continue reading

What I Wish I’d Known Before Coming Abroad

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Hello again 🙂

I had many, many thoughts about what my year abroad was going to be like. It felt like I had imagined every possible outcome of every possible scenario. However, what has actually happened has been something completely different. Continue reading

Just Food

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I was drafting a post about the week after exams. My friend, Fiona, came and stayed with me for 46 hours (we only had to buy one transport ticket, bonus) and we visited the entirety of Rome in that time. I also ate more pizza than I ever thought possible, but it’s Italy so why waste the opportunity!? However, I was flicking through my camera roll the other day and I came across quite a few photos I’ve taken of food. So, for a bit of variety and sparkle, this post will be dedicated to some memorable meals I’ve eaten. Continue reading

Up to my eyeballs in exams

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Ciao a tutti!

I am writing this from the depths of week 8 of exam season. Week 8. Luckily my exam season is 9 weeks long so the end is in sight!

Having been chained to one desk or another for most of the last few weeks, my news is not up to its usual level of Exciting. However, I can now give you an insight into the study set up of La Sapienza university, in case you are planning on coming here for an Erasmus year. Continue reading

I Musei Vaticani, Jan 2016

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Yesterday (31st January) I went to the Vatican Museums because they have free entry on the last Sunday of the month.

Waking up at what felt like the crack of dawn (it was really 7am but STILL), I met up with my friends and travelled on the metro to Ottaviano, the stop closest to the Vatican. By the time we all got there and met up (Italians usually consider 40 minutes late as ‘still on time’) it was 9am and we were panicking at the length of the queue. The queue stretched all the way around the walls of the Museum and down towards the arches to St. Peter’s Square! All in all, it took us the best part of 2 hours to get to the front of the queue, including a heated argument with a couple who tried to queue jump after we’d spend 80 minutes waiting in line.

The wait was absolutely worth it though. We spent a good few hours wandering around the Museums and finally made it to the Sistine Chapel. Photos of the ceiling were banned, as was talking and standing still. There were security guards at the front who repeated into microphones “NO PHOTO. NO STOP. SILENCE PLEASE.” over and over again.

Rather than explain the trip in great detail, I think a few beautiful pictures of the statues will suffice.

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View from one of the windows in the Museums over Rome

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What happens on a 21st in Italy?

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Hello there again 🙂

This update is coming to you a little later than I had intended – but more about that in the *next* post! – but here I’m going to tell you all about my birthday weekend!

My birthday was something that I had been worrying about before I came to Rome. This year I celebrate my 21st birthday, a universally accepted Big One. The thought of being away from my friends, away from my family, and in a new city really bothered me. What do they do in Italy for birthdays? Will there be anywhere fun to go and celebrate? Well, when 17th November rolled around, I got a chance to find out. Continue reading