rome at last

I am here!

We got in at around 8.20 local time, which would be 2.20 AM Eastern time. The flight was long but uneventful, although some confusion arose when the in-flight movie came on and people kept pushing the buttons to summon the flight attendant instead of finding the controls for their headphones and the volume. Once we got to the Rome airport our baggage came through quickly and without problems. We took a shuttle bus to the convent. Spent the rest of the afternoon moving in, going over some basic orientation stuff, and catching naps here and there to try to deal with the jet lag. Went for gelato at around 20.30. It was pretty obvious we were all monolingual Americans but everyone tolerated us in good humor. :) And the gelato was deliciozo. Came back to the convent for a short game of Balderdash, and now it's lights out. Pretty early still by college-student standards, but everyone is just about exhausted. Our day tomorrow starts with breakfast at nine.

Here are some pictures I've snapped so far... this one is the view from our window:


And this was our first Italian meal -- cold salami and pork, fruit, and amazing crusty bread:


Finally, here is the gelato place, on the Via di S. Costanza:


I haven't even been here a day yet and I'm already thinking that I won't ever want to go home. :)