AS Roma Game

Soccer is life here in Europe, and even more so in Italy. In America, when a big game is on, most people go and watch it. In Italy, however, when any game is on, they all watch it. Needless to say, that means that the games are insane. Lucky for us, we were able to score some tickets to the game this Sunday to watch AS Roma beat Fiorentina. Getting tickets has become a hassle here since riots began breaking out at games two years ago. Now to get tickets everyone must present their passport (even Italians), and your ticket actually has your name on it, with security being extremely tight at the game itself. In addition, the opposing team even has a separate enterance for their fans to keep them safe. AS Roma plays at the Stadio Olimpico, which is where the Summer Olympic Games were held back in the 60's. We got in and claimed our seats around 2 :30 for the 3:00 game. The game was amazing. It begins with constant chants against the other team, while security laughs, and everyone from the Roma side holds up their Roma gear. The game begins, and from that point on there are flags waving, chants being yelled, and 80 minutes of constant screaming from both sides. The game gets intense at points, and as scores flash across the board announcing results of other games, fans scream and cheer. AS Roma was the only team to score during the game, making the final score 1-0. The game was amazing. We all had a lot of fun going and doing something that is truly Italian, as opposed to just visiting different monuments where there are more tourists than anything. I definitely plan on going back to another game if I get the chance while I'm here. I hope all is well abck in the states. Keep in touch.

Mike

Amsterdam

So I know it's been about two weeks since I last posted here. That's pretty hard for me to believe. The time is flying by here. Next week I will be halfway done with my stay already, which is even crazier to think about.
This part weekend myself and three of my friends from here went to Amsterdam for the weekend, and had an amazing time. We took a plane on Thursday night at 10:20p.m. local time, meaning we didn't even get to Amsterdam until after midnight. Once we got there, we took a shuttle train from the airport into Amsterdam Central station, and explored the city for a little bit since we were so excited to be there. We ended up going back and finding our hotel, and sleeping for the rest of the night. On Friday, we got up early for breakfast and decided to explore. The city is absolutely beautiful, with canals as frequent as avenues in New York City. We walked to Dam Square, which is the main centre of Amsterdam, and walked around for a bit. One of my brothers from Theta Chi had spent the semester in Amsterdam last year, and told us where we should go, and what to avoid, which helped us find our way much quicker than any book could have. He had us visit one of his friends, Jon, and we couldn't believe how nice everyone is. When you walk into a store or restaurant, everyone greets you as if they know you, something that we're beginning to see a lot throughout Europe. It was also a great feeling being in a place that spoke English again, although we had to train ourselves not to speak Italian. Everyone speaks Dutch and English fluently in Amsterdam, which is great because they welcome you in both, and speak in whatever you respond in. Dutch is almost like a secret language for them that only the locals use. Right down the street from where we stayed was the original Heineken Brewery, which we were looking forward to visiting, but because of renovations, it was closed until the summer. The weather was nice, but colder than Italy by far. Amsterdam made for the first time I had to break out my winter jacket since the plane ride to Rome from the states back in January. We were also very excited when we found a Subway Restaurant (shameful, I know), and ended up having our first taste of American sandwiches in almost 2 months. The city is known to be a party city, which it is, but interestingly enough, the party shuts down around 1am. People live a much more relaxed lifestyle there, and we noticed that stores, bars, and restaurants shut down then they feel like it, not when the sign on their door says they will. Another thing that's interesting is that everyone in Amsterdam also has a very different way of getting around than in most cities I have been to: biking. Everyone rides their bikes so much, that there are actually parking garages for bikes, not for cars. It's really crazy to see.
This Friday, my parents are coming out to visit. I can't wait to see them, and show them around Rome. We're going to be traveling a lot while they're here, and I'm excited for that too. I'll post a new blog right after this about the soccer game I went to yesterday too. Hope all is well back in the states, and keep in touch!

Mike

La Terme dei Papi - Viterbo

This week was a good week here. On Thursday tickets went on sale for the AS Roma game that all of us wanted to see, but getting them quickly became a nightmare. The computer system that handles all of the tickets (all 65,000) crashed, meaning that tickets were not available until 4:00 p.m., instead of 9:00 a.m. Big deal when tickets don't go on sale until 3 days before the game. We decided that there would be other games, and didn't even wait. There was one group of people who got tickets, and they ended up waiting over 7 hours. The big event this week though was "La Terme dei Papi" in Viterbo (The baths of the Popes), about 50 miles north of Roma. The baths are natural sulfur hot springs (sulfur water) that flow into a pool. There are a few places like this throughout Italy, where springs have been found and pools have been built around them. The water comes out of the source at about 120 degrees fahrenheit or more in some instances. The water is somewhat cloudy from the sulfur, yet the smell is faint. Near the source, the pool is shallow enough to sit in, as as it gets further away from the source, it gets deeper and colder (yet still warmer than bathwater, don't let the term "cold" fool you). The baths became popular when Popes began using them to relax, and have became popular ever since. The baths are actually covered by insurance here in Italy if your doctor prescribes them, and they are often prescribed for anything from relaxation, to skin conditions, to physical therapy. The sulfur makes your skin as smooth as it has ever been, and you feel amazing once you leave. we stayed in the pool for about 4 hours, alternating between the hot and cold areas, and taking a break for lunch. The pool costs only 12 euro, which is amazing. There are much less "commercialized" pools in other areas, but they also don't offer as many amenities as this one did. The school set up the trip for us, and had a private coach bus take us there through the rolling countryside of Italy. The entire day was amazing, and all 30 or so of us that went were more relaxed than we had been in a long time. This weekend I've spent relaxing and exploring some more, and I'll make sure I update again soon. As of today I have been here a month, and the time has flown by. Midterms are next week already since it will be the middle of classes (although not the middle of our time here, since there are a lot of breaks later). I hope all is well back home, and please keep in touch. Also, the pictures I added are from the Viterbo website, since I did not have my camera. Enjoy!

~Mike

Superbowl

So when you think Italy, you don't really think about going out to watch the Superbowl. However, when you're in Italy with tons of New Yorkers, and New York is in the Superbowl, it becomes required. So here's how the night went down.
We found a nice pub that shows international games, specifically, American football. The place was called Abbey Theatre, and it's a nice pub, 2 floors with a lot of TV's. There are a lot of Americans studying in Rome this time of year, however, and we needed to make sure that we actually got to see the game. So, since the game started at 12:15 AM our time, we decided to get to the bar at about 8:30 (yes, almost 4 hours early). When we arrived, the bar was already packed. We found a table upstairs in a back room that we sat down and had dinner at, but we were told that once the game started we would have to move downstairs, since people live right above the room we were in, and since those people have a habit of calling the police when the pub is too loud. We knew that downstairs would be packed to the ceiling, so we talked to the manager, and he told us that if we could make sure that we didn't scream, we could stay up there, but that the second someone yelled, he would be forced to close. We very kindly agreed, and began the quietest Superbowl ever. Now, imagine if you will, a very small pub, that has shut the metal shutters over the doors (you know, the security shutters that they roll down when they close) so that no one knows their open, covered the windows, and has about 400 people inside trying to watch the biggest Superbowl game ever, and not be loud. It was an interesting night. The night was filled with very quiet "ahhhhh's" and "yes" followed by "shhhhhhhh". Also remember though, that the game did not end until 4:30 A.M., so this was understandable. We watched the game, and when it was over, screamed as loud as we could, because there are just some things you have no control over. As we left the pub, they quickly reclosed the shutters, and we heard chanting coming from somewhere. We looked down a small street to our left to find hundreds of Giants fans in the streets of Rome. As we continued to walk to our bus, we saw more and more Giants fans coming out of pubs across the city. It felt like we were in New York. Locals were out too, people were coming out to their balconies to see what all the noise was about, and it was one of the greatest feelings ever. We were all pretty tired today, since we got back to our apartments at around 5:30 this morning, we crashed pretty hard. The only thing most of us wish is that we could be back in NYC for the parade, but being in Rome beats it out in the end. This week should be fun. Ken and I are going to try to get tickets to the AS Roma soccer game for this Sunday, which should be fun. If we go, I'll make sure I update everyone. A bunch of us from St. John's are going to the Thermal Baths this Friday, which is supposed to be an amazing experience. I'll keep everyone up to date on what's going on over here. It's hard to believe I've been here about a month already. Hope all is well back in the states. Talk to you soon.

Mike