Day Wednesday

Today was interesting to say the least.

I did present about Augustus and the Ara Pacis. It went pretty well I think. Lisa seemed to like it, so I'm pretty happy about everything.

The actual altar was actually pretty unimpressive I thought. Though it's one of the best remaining examples of Roman art and propaganda, large sections of it were missing. In fact, almost all the walls and steps were restored pieces. The actual Ara that Mussolini put back together must have been simply pieces of marble (in the case of the Roma panel, literally). Only the Tellus panel survived to a reasonable degree.

The Pantheon however, was a lot different.

What can I say? It looks terrible from the outside, but on the inside, it is simply stunning. There is no doubt in my mind that it is indeed the greatest building currently existing in the world. The oculus, the drainage system, and the humongous dome are all mythical marvels of engineering.

Sidebar aside, I had a weird mozzarella sandwich for breakfast this morning. That fresh cheese can really make anything good, even cheap Despar bread.

For lunch I had cookies and San Pellegrino. The food of champion obese people.

I had a little experiment for dinner.

I had: two old eggs, tomatos, garlic, EVOO, tomato puree (the cheap ones from the fishy store), cheeses, and of course, the ubiquitous pasta mix".

It makes sense that eggs could go with tomatoes could go with pasta could go with cheese, right? I'm frying eggs, I'm adding tomatoes, I'm adding sauce, I'm seasoning. It's sort of a fusion of Mexican, Asian, and Italian cuisine. At least, that what I'm calling it.

It was an nightmare to make. Our terrible stove top which refuses to boil water is really not conducive for making good pasta. The end product is always really mushy, and sort of "al dente".

To be honest, it was quite good! The cheese really just puts anything over the top.

I bought a fifth of vodka for Friday. I'm excited to finish my paper and my daily blog post, the brunt of Lisa's class. (note to self: to finish something you must actually do it)

I also bought a new bag of cookies. They're all good, to be honest.

Another interesting fact of the day. The guitar I've rented was played by everyone. Who know there were so many guitarists among us?

I must wake up early to do the reading for tomorrow. I'm too tired tonight to do anything (except for tetris duh).

Cheeky. I love everyone on this trip. I would and will hangout with any of you once this dream is over.