Dave Matthews Band Visits Rome

I have planned many events whether it was with the Evergreens, the Resident Affairs Council or even the tour guides. I have to say the best thing I have ever coordinated was for Rome Loyola to see the Dave Matthews Band in Rome. I started getting things together for this before we even got to Rome and a month and a half after arriving the day of the concert arrived.

None of us really knew what to expect, we were excited and almost all 18 of us had been to one of his concerts before, but that was always in the summer outside. This concert was inside in a basketball arena just outside of Rome.

We got inside, the venue was much smaller than we expected and these were the closest seats I had ever gotten to the stage. By the middle of the show we had all made it down to floor level and were probably about 25 feet from the stage, what was already a great show got even better. There really wasn’t any way that we could have gotten close, it was great. The set list was also really good. He played new stuff, classics, some of my favorites and some rare songs. Overall, this was one of, if not the best Dave Matthews concert I had been to and it was in Rome on the European Tour, when am I going to get a chance to see that again.

Why Rome is Awesome and Everyone Should Study/ Visit

My last few posts have been about my travels through Italy. I had been traveling for the past three weekends and at the end of each trip I could not wait to get back to Rome. This place really has become my home. Following my travels I had two weekends to spend in Rome before Spring Break. These two weekends helped me to realize why Rome is the best study abroad program and I now have my top ten reasons why Rome is Awesome:

10- I have visited almost every place/ piece of art that I have learned about/ covered in my class. Beats reading about it in a book in Baltimore.

9- The language. For one of the first times it has actually been imperative that I use what I have learned.

8- The weather. While its not 80 and sunny everyday, its also not 20 and snowing. I’ll take rain over that.

7- Walking. Rome was a city made for walking. I can walk almost anywhere, anytime and its always safe.

6- The Parks. Many of the old villa estates have been converted into parks that remove you from the fast paced city. Nothing but green fields, trees and tranquil surroundings.

5- No other city has quite the same character or charm as Rome. Small cafes, tiny narrow side streets, cobblestone streets and statues everywhere.

4- Romans love being Roman, they’re all very distinct and very nice. Its rare that you will find a restaurant that is not Italian. Unlike in other countries where you find varieties of restaurants, here its Italian all the time with the occasional kebab or Chinese restaurant.

3- The Nightlife. So many other places in Italy and Europe are dead during the week, not Rome. You can find somewhere to go and have a good time every night of the week.

2- The food. If its not fresh they wont cook it. Whether you’re eating at home or at a restaurant everything is fresh… Things just taste better here.

1- The history, what did you think it would be… Rome is a modern city rooted in its antiquity, like I said, Romans love being Romans and aren’t anywhere near forgetting where they came from. Walking past ancient buildings and ruins on a daily basis, the Coliseum and the Forum on the way home after a night out… nothing comes close to that.

Carnevale

Being in Italy during the Carnevale season and not visiting Venice might as well be a sin. We left on a Friday after our last class for Venice. We took the Euro-Star, the high-speed train, which instead of getting on the high-speed line was on a regular track. Needless to say we were an hour and a half late, the trip was off to a little bit of a rocky start.

We checked into our hotel on Venice mainland, which overcharged because it was literally just a place to sleep, but hey its Carnevale season everyone is doing it. At around 11:30pm we headed to Venice Island to check out what it was like. We were surprised to find that things were pretty dead. There were a few people who were dressed up, but there weren't too many people around. After exploring for about an hour we headed back to the hotel.

We got started around 11 the next morning and it was a totally different experience. I have never seen such large crowds in my life. There were people everywhere, many were dressed up but many people just had masks. It was a beautiful day out, warm and no clouds so we sat outside and had lunch. This was one of the best experiences because we could just sit there and watch all of the people go by. There wasn't just one type of person there. There were young people, older people, families and all different nationalities. It's crazy how something like this can draw so many people from different walks of life.

View down one of the canals

After lunch we just wandered the island. We had no real plan other than finding masks and making it to Piazza San Marco. The island was incredibly unique, the canals, the bridges, the mystique of Carnevale only added to the experience. The costumes that some of these people we wearing were very impressive. They were all extremely colorful, elegant and classical. By 5:00 we had finally made it to Piazza San Marco, thats how many people were there and how hard it was to make it through the streets. The Piazza was set up with a large stage and completely full of people. It was incredible how many people could fit on this small island.

One of the costumes for Carnevale

After, we wandered toward the water and took a water taxi back to where we started our day. There was no better place to be than on the water in Venice as the sun was setting. Once we got back on land we headed to a pub for happy hour until it was time for dinner. It's amazing how where ever you are in Italy you can always find a handful of Irish pubs. After this we got dinner at one of the biggest tourist traps I have seen, the worst part was that we didn't even see it coming.

Sunset on one of the canals

Carnevale has an amazing personality, during the day it is very interesting and relaxed, at night it turns into one big party. The island was still packed, but many of the piazza's now had DJ's in them just blasting music. Not only was this a lot of fun but it was again something I could have imagined. Overall, Carnevale was one of the best experiences I've had on this trip so far. The uniqueness of Venice and this celebration was amazing and something that everyone should do at least once in their lives.

Siena, Arezzo and Assisi

Ok so I apologize its been nearly a month without a new update. Over spring break I took time to collect my thoughts and here they are laid out in the next couple posts.

So, Loyola pays for 2 "educational" trips, (actually we pay Loyola to take us on these trips), one at the beginning of the semester and one at the end of the semester. We went on the first trip at the end of January, visiting Siena, Arezzo and Assis.

Siena was our first stop, three hours north of Rome in the Tuscan region. It was quite possibly one o the most miserable days to visit. It felt like it was in the upper 30's and raining the entire day. We toured the city, visited a few churches and the house of Catherine of Siena. By the end of the day the rain stopped and it became a little more bearable. It was a very interesting city, much different than Rome, much smaller, things moved a little more slowly and it seemed very peaceful. I definitely think it would be a totally different experience if the weather had been better.

After Siena we got back on the bus and headed to Arezzo for the night. The hotel Loyola put us up in was no two bit place, it was actually really nice. The next day we headed into Arezzo for a walking tour of the city. Again it was very different than Rome for many of the same reasons as Siena. We went to mass in one of the little churches, which was in Italian and very interesting and yes I could understand... some of it.

Later in the day we headed an hour and a half outside the city to a 900 year old castle in the heart of Tuscany. Castel del Trebbio was exactly what you think of when you think Italian wintery. It had a one lane road leading up to it with nothing else really around, just rolling hills. To top it off there was an 80 year old gamekeeper who had been in charge of the castle for over 55 years.

The Barrels in the cellar of the Winery

Then we obviously got to taste their wine, a pinot grigio and two types of chianti, which they are known for. Then after the tasting we made a quick stop to the store for gifts. Four bottles of wine and two bottles of extra virgin olive oil later we were on our way.

The guys with the gamekeeper at the castle.

The next day we headed to Assisi which is one of my favorite towns in Italy. The city literally sits on top of a hill and has the best views of the Umbrian countryside. We toured the Basilica of St. Francis, which was amazing. The paintings inside the basilica are one of a kind and indescribable. After we did a walking tour of the ancient city, got lunch and then headed back to Rome. Assisi was definitely the smallest, quietest and most relaxing of all the cities we visited, but it was extremely charming.

A view from Assisi

Overall it was a great trip. It's amazing how diverse Italy is and how each city and region really have their own personality.