CLASS FIELD TRIPS

Soo Im not the biggest fan of traveling in groups – the thought of a guided tour with 50 randos of my closest friends and those little microphone things gives me hives. Im more of a gowhereverthewindblowsyou kind of traveler. I appreciate spontaneity and freedom. And I usually prefer stumbling upon those magical little cultural treasures as opposed to learning about every single brick in the Roman Forum.

Don’t get me wrong, the Roman Forum is incredible. I would just prefer to discover it on my own as opposed to getting my soul crushed by the tourism industry (i.e. a bored lady viciously wielding a brightly colored umbrella above her head to instruct the equally bored masses to blindly follow her from masterpiece to ancient masterpiece, all the while snapping awkward solo shots and asking where they can find a cheeseburger)

However. Because the school group Im here with now is relatively small and maintains a relaxed environment, Ive finally learned to appreciate some benefits to group travel.

And by benefits to group travel, I mean really awesome field trips.

So hop on the Magic School Bus, kiddos – here is a play by play of some of my favorite excursions thus far.

VILLA D’ESTE

This place is astonishingly beautiful, as in it gives that little shack Louis IVX fixed up Versaille a run for its money. Once upon a time, this villa was owned by the stately Este family. And then reality hit and they couldn’t pay property taxes (well um yeah, I couldn’t pay the property tax on a palace either) so they family sold it to the country as a historical site.

I have mixed feelings about this.

For one thing, Im really glad they couldnt afford the property taxes because now I get to visit.

On the other hand, I would have really loved to marry one of the Este sons and live there…

Anyways, I could go on forever about this place, but a pictures worth a 1000 words and they’re much more fun to look at so here you go!

view from the palace

palace walls

outdoor stone staircase

one of the pathways through the gardens; I love the stone spiral in the background

bellissima vista!

cool wall fountain

another cool wall fountain

home sweet home

TIVOLI

part ancient ruins, part flourishing gardens, Tivoli was a magical place. 

field of wildflowers 

I thought this was kind of interesting - this ancient brick wall is pretty much completely intact except for this huge crack running down the middle - I wonder what happened? lightening? earthquake? voldemort?

the tree of life.

just kidding. clearly. 

but doesn't this tree look like it belongs in Lord of the Rings or something?

ancient allèe

love the reflection in this photo - and I especially love the ancient scaffolding in the background. really makes the photograph. 

detailing on the top of a column - hard to believe how old everything is!

GALLERIA BORGHESE

Okay so I’ve always been a staunch supporter of the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. As in, it has always been my favorite museum and I never thought that would change.

well, ladies and gentlemen, I think we may have a tie. or at least a close second.

this museum is AH MAZ ING. I literally could have spent hours there. It has the most unbelievable sculpture collection I have ever encountered. Witnessing Bernini’s masterpieces completely changed my thoughts on sculpture. What I used to think of aa a rather cold medium, I now consider almost vivacious in the hands of Bernini.

Here's one of the sculptures - Apollo and Daphne

the delicacy and powerful emotion of this life-size piece almost make one forget that Bernini carved this out of a rock. As in stone cold marble. Its incredible. Oh and Bernini was 27 when he finished this... 

Somebody find me a big block of marble, i only have 7 years to catch up!

In addition to the life-changing Bernini sculptures, the museum also boasted this little beauty by Raphael.

My first reaction to this piece? I have never wanted a tiny unicorn so badly in my life until this moment, someone find me one STAT. then I wished I wasn’t a muggle for probably the third time that day so that I could have unrestricted access to magical creatures. 

Alright people, this post is getting mighty long – even while I write this, I can feel your attention span wan. Allora, check back tomorrow for a post on my favorite field trip! Here, Im nice, Ill give you a hint.

rocks.

if that doesn’t have you biting your nails, sitting on the edge of your seat, desperately waiting for my next post, I honestly don’t know what will. 

It's All in the Details

Ciao i miei amici!


this is a super short post, but these photos are pretty cool. 


Rome is such a beautiful city, in part because of all the detailing on the buildings - no corner, window ledge, or door frame is left unadorned. 


Also, most of the buildings are centuries old - the way the stone wears and erodes is gorgeous.


enjoy!

Catsup!

Catsup?

Strange title, to be sure. But like always, I do have a point. 


Ahem.


When I was about 5 or 6, my Dad was going on a bike ride with one of his friends. Being the precocious little princess that I still am  was, I insisted on tagging along. So I changed into my traditional bike riding gear - pink dress, pink jelly sandals, and pink, preferably sparkly headband (really necessary to have good hair whilst riding a bike), and set off on what turned out to be The Longest Journey of my Life. 


Clearly, my short little preschooler sized legs simply could not keep up with two full grown men. So at regular, 30 second intervals, I would make everyone stop for a break.


Apparently, this got kind of old. 


So Dad suggested that just I stop, and then when I was ready, I could catch up with them...


Well here's what my not-yet-developed brain thought about that one...




FINALLY ON MY OWNNNN! I HAVE BEEN GIVEN WINGS! I CAN FLY! I HAVE FINALLY REACHED BIG GIRL STATUS!!!!




So again, at regular 30 second intervals, I would take my well-deserved, big girl break all by myself and yell to Dad, "Catch up!"


Except, being five and all, my not-yet-developed brain could not yet instruct my not-yet-developed tongue muscles to speak English correctly. So it sounded more like "ketch-up". Yes, like the condiment. 


The theme of this particular post is kind of a "catch up" if you will of little things I've stumbled upon in the past few weeks. 


And therein lies the long-winded logical thought-process behind the title of this post!!


ps - sorry for ruining that bike ride Dad! hehe.....


Allora.


What have I been wearing? Here are four of my favorite outfits!

clockwise, starting in upper left 

dress, MARC by MARC JACOBS. belt, J.CREW. pedometer, ACADEMY (iamnotashamed)

blouse and skirt J.CREW. belt and shoes - from my sweet Mama's closet.

dress, REBECCA TAYLOR. jacket, DVF. sunnies, GAP. shoes, unknown.

blouse and trousers, ANTHROPOLOGIE. sweater, CALYPSO. scarf, HERMES. 

And what have I been accessorizin' with? 

("I'm not playing, I'm accessorizin." - movie reference... anyone? anyone? Bueller?)

the answer is..... S O C K S.

one of my favorite wacky trends of all times - socks with chunky, strappy wedges; although I'm really digging the neon with my blush pink brogues. 

from top to bottom

brogues, J.CREW. socks, J.CREW.

wedges, NORDSTROM. socks, GAP.

I'm going to take this moment to explain the outfit posts - I am not a victim of narcissism, I simply really truly appreciate the beauty of clothing and the skill of assembling an ensemble. When I look back at this blog, months, years, or even decades from now with my children, I want to remember what it was like to being young and experiment with my personal style in one of the world's foremost fashion capitals. Which, speaking of experimenting, I wore a turban to Caroline's house the other day... Jury's still out on whether or not I'm allowed to wear it in public... 

Caro's reaction was priceless: Heyohh what's on your head? Ohh..

My response was pretty typical of myself: Hey, Prada started it!

Anyways, the beautiful thing about experimenting with fashion in a foreign country is that, if it isn't quite the groundbreaking trend you hoped it would be, you never have to see these people again!

thus the turban. 

and the shoes with socks. 

Anyways,

what have I been eating? 

prepare yourselves. 

homemade gnocchi with tomato sauce

egg souffle with prosciutto and mozzarella 

spinach and ricotta cheese puffs (kind of like the filling inside ravioli sans the pasta) 

lush basil from Antonietta's garden

the fish Antonietta brought home for dinner - I didn't ask if she killed it herself...

and then she ripped its head off......

(I didn't include the picture I have of her cutting its tail off with scissors...)

I came home one day and Antonietta was hand making pasta. again. 

stop it.

no. 

don't. 

incredibile!

the finished result!

typical dinner - roasted potatoes, tomatoes stuffed with seasoned rice, warm bread, and mozzarella.  

OH YEAH.

homemade tiramisu. 

be jealous. 

andd finally, what have I been learning?

I stumbled upon this paper shop and he showed us how to make beautiful, patterned paper!

bellissima!

the Italian equivalent of Time Magazine I've been painfully trudging through reading effortlessly.

don't you love that its called l'Espresso?!

and I had the opportunity to attend the Opera! I saw La Boheme and it was incredible - I cried at the end. 

snagged a great seat annd I got a student discount on my ticket!

(why do people want to leave school. ever. I dont understand? hellograduateschool)

inside of Teatro dell'Opera in Rome. 

love.

Attention World...

ANNA GRACE BURNETTE IS 21 TODAY!!!

Happy birthday babe! So glad I get to spend it with you in Roma!!