Gallerie d'Arte Moderne e Le Bianche Notte

Yesterday was a very fun day...

It started early with Sarah and me going to the photo development place near the Vatican to drop off my film. The website said they were open every day, however once we got all the way there the sign said Mon-Fri. So I am just going to have to do that after my photograph class on Monday- oh well. Sarah and I took the bus back towards school where we were going to meet the Culture Club (oh ya- we all joined this club) to go the museum. We got there early though so we just went to a bar across the street and got a cappucino and split a chocolate cornetto!

We met Lindsay, Leah and the rest of the group a little bit later to catch the bus to the Gallerie Nazionale d'Arte Moderne (National Gallery of Modern Art). It was an amazing gallery with modern art. We spent 3 hours there and Emily (the president of culture club) somehow got is in for free- which was awesome! I got to see art by a lot of names I recognized: Polluck, Kadinsky, Marinetti, Monet, Picasso, and Twombly; and then of course a lot of other ones I didn't know. I will try to put up pics on Facebook soon.

We decided to break off from the group and head back ourselves so that we could eat and rest up for Le Bianche Notte! We took the bus to the Centro in order to catch the tram. But first we took a much needed food break...I got Potato Pizza :) After getting off of the tram we went to SMA to buy food for dinner. Then we finally walked back up to our apartment and crashed...I slept from 5-7...which is a very long nap for me! When we woke up we made and ate dinner: prosciutto and melon, cheese, tortilini w/ spicy sauce, sausage, and dipping bread. Then we got ready to hit the town!

Le Bianche Notte is a once a year festival that takes place in September under a full moon. (Unfortunetly is was quite overcast so we really couldn't see the moon...but it didn't rain!) But its a night where shops, restaurants, and bars stay open all night; transportation runs all night; and certain piazzas have concert venues. We headed to the Pantheon first and we just sat around the fountain in front to take everything in: sounds, people, smells, etc. It was packed- there were people everywhere! From there we went to Piazza Nuvona. There were local artists who were selling there work and a tango music concert! We pretty much just walked around the whole night, sometimes we knew where we were and other times we had no clue. So we just walked until we got back to something familiar. From Piazza Nuvona we went to the Colesseum (mainly in search of public restrooms, which were closed!); then to a bar for a bathroom and gelato break (!); then the Trevi Fountain and then back to Pantheon. We pretty much did one huge figure eight around the city. But it was such a nice night (its finally getting cooler) so it was a good time be out. We didn't get back to our apartment till a lil' past 3am. So a good day, but a long one!

I slept in a little this morning and had some breakfast. But now I need to start my drawing homework - my self-portrait :( So we'll see if it ends up looking anything like me!