Monday, First Day!

Article posted March 17, 2008 at 07:00 AM GMT0 • Reads 99

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

Hello from Rome, Italy!



As some of us talked about, this week you and I are going to complete some distance projects using our technology as tools.



You will use different software programs!



Some of you will be using Microsoft Publisher.(the program you used for your Language flyers)



Some of you will also be using Audacity, the voice recording audio software program.



Some of you will be using a Webquest for your classwork. It is internet based.



We also will be using this Blog to communicate with each other. You may send me questions or comments. I would love questions about Rome! Maybe you would like me to take a picture of something for you, or maybe taste a certain Italian food for you? Maybe some gelatto? I will check out the flavors for you. yum....



Since we are a global society and economy, your projects will focused on Italy, this week.



Be patient with the technology - you know everything might not work the first time!



Talk to you all soon.

Write me a comment, and give me your thoughts and ideas!

Mrs. Mamula

First night in Rome

Article posted March 17, 2008 at 11:25 AM GMT0 • Reads 44

Hello Everyone,

We left Pittsburgh on Saturday morning, and flew to Atlanta. Because of thunderstorms, our plane was delayed on the runway for two hours. But we were happy to hear the pilot say that he talked to the authorities and they gave him permission to fly faster across the Atlantic Ocean! The only negative about that he said, was he would use more fuel. Upon arrival to the Rome Leondardo DeVinci Airport, we began to look for signs for our luggage. It was all in Italian, so we looked at the pictures! We found the train to the city and got on. We met our friends in the train station where thousands of languages could be heard. Here are a few of the sights that are by our apartment and we walked to last evening.

Fontana di Trevi is fed by an Aqueduct and was made in 19 BC. There were many young people walking around, taking pictures and listening to the music people were playing in the street. We had delicious pizza and salad in a charming café on the brick lined street and went around the corner and walked right into the Pantheon! It is HUGE! It is 14 meters high and has 16 columns. It was built by Marcus Agrippa who also built Trevi Fountain. Look up the pictures on Google Earth. It is amazingly overwhelming. We are off to the Spanish Steps and will have pictures for you next time!

Looking forward to hearing your questions and ideas!

Mrs. Mamula

walk, walk, and more walk!

Article posted March 18, 2008 at 12:36 PM GMT0 • Reads 39

St. Patrick’s Night – Roma!



Buon Giorno,



We have spent the day exploring the country where St. Patrick was born before he went to Ireland to drive out the snakes – at least that is how legend would have it! Believe it or not, there are many green garbed citizens parading around the piazzas and open courtyards of Roma.



The site of the day was the Pantheon, a Basillica in the center of Roma. It was built over 2,000 years ago with limestone, tile and terrazzo is abundance. This dome shaped church has multiple altars available for simultaneous religious services. There are no supports for the huge domes; it was built with ingenious engineering that had the materials become gradually lighter as they approached the round roof. In addition to all that – the width and height of the expanse are both 142 feet! Then the brilliant engineers left a huge circular 30 foot hole for rain to flow onto and clean the tile floor. This convex floor then funnels the rainwater into an elaborate network of grates and an underground drainage system and takes the water away.



We visited the Spanish Steps of Roma – located in the Piazza Spagna. These unique steps are 300 years old and step up from The Sinking Boat Fountain.which is a boat sunk in the middle of the street. One question that I have for you “How many steps are there to the Spanish Steps?” I didn’t count, but kept walking up, and was out of breath at the top! Here at this spot, there were lots of people in green shirts celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in Rome ~ what a great place to be! There were also many groups of high school students from Germany and France.

Strolling back to the high traffic area called Piazza Barbarini, we had lunch.





Getting Around in Roma.



You’ve got to be kidding me! Cars, service vehicles, motorcycles, or as they are known around here Vespas, and people, all moving in different direction. A narrow space anywhere from 8 to 15 ft wide. Does that sound crazy ? In Roma, it’s called a road. “Look out!” There are no lanes for traffic, everyone for themselves. How about J-Walking ? In the USA, as we all know, you aren’t supposed to walk across a street against a traffic light, without being in a walking crosswalk. Here, just cross anytime and anywhere you want. There are very few traffic signals. Just don’t get run over. What a challenge. Man against car. I’m not kidding. You can’t imagine.



Today I walked from my apartment, to the Spanish Steps on the North side of town. Here I checked out a few churches. It’s amazing, what we call a church. Here, it’s more like a museum of artwork and sculptures. Strolling back to the high traffic area called Piazza Barbarini, we had lunch. We then walked past the American Embassy (behind locked gates with a two guards out front) and the Hard Rock Café Roma.

Meandering over to the Fontana de Trevi, and on to the Piazza de Navona , where there were many artists with beautiful paintings for sale, we listened to the young musicians on the plaza. After a dinner at an outdoor café, I was forced to consume another Gelato.



Unlike most American cities, which are designed on a grid of city blocks, Roma is a series of streets crossing in every which direction. Very easy to get lost. Can you follow my path? If you were in Youngstown, it would be like walking from Boardman to Liberty. Does that seem possible?



Questions: How many steps in the Spanish Steps,

Why were they built?

Where does the water supply come from?



About the question, Brad we are going to the collesum(sp) tomorrow, and will find that out specifically, but as I remember, it was used for entertainment in the old days.

Yes, you may do Australia, as well. I miss you all too!

The food is not expensive here in the cafes. It is about 8 euro for pasta with fish, or meat. But you have to pay more for a salad or dessert. This keyboard is different in the Internet cafes, so I apologize for errors.

In closing for today, one last comment….”Bella Chaos.”

Colesseum at night

Article posted March 19, 2008 at 03:24 PM GMT0 • Reads 39

Hello everyone!

We went to the Colesseum last evening! What an amazing place. The building was huge, and it was emotional to see the place where so many people gave their lives many years ago. I have sent some pictures to Mr. Schiffhauer via email, I hope you can view them. It was built in 80 AD. The Romans were the first to use concrete, each of the pillars weigh 5 tons. They were great engineers. It had the ability to be flooded for water events. Amazing place. Again, many languages heard there.

Today, this is being written in an Internet cafe at the Vatican City. We just toured the St. Peteràs Basilica and the Tombs of the Popes. The front is all set up with chairs for Easter Sunday already. St. Peter was killed in the area by the Romans when Christians were persecuted. He was the first Pope and therefore they decided to build on that site. It is huge! Michaelango designed the magnificient dome, which still stands today. The inside of the building had statues of saints in gold lining the walls. It has a capacity for 60,000 worshipers at one time. Can you imagine that. We then went underneath to the Tombs which had many but not all the popes in stone caskets with memorials on the top. Many people were standing and praying by the tomb of Pope Paul who died in 2005.

Hope you all are enjoying your week! Talk to you soon!

More on the Vatican City!

Article posted March 20, 2008 at 11:18 AM GMT0 • Reads 34

There are students here from schools all over the world. Today kids went running from the Vatican, and we thought they might be on to something, so we followed them. They were just late for their bus, that’s why they were running. Now, if they were running for gelato, I could understand!



(In case you didn’t know, I can be a little wordy. Sorry.) OK, I’m in Rome having an amazing time. Unbelievable sights everywhere. I’ve decided to tell a few short stories. Hopefully, transferring my experiences to you will be a lesson in itself. Going through a day, no matter where you are or what you are doing, we must create memories. Winning the big game, getting that best grade you can, whatever….all end up as memories. Your life is a collection of these, and if you do it right, you will have many to share. I’m going to share a few from today.



“Road Rage Roman Style”

I’m walking down a small lane, about 15 feet wide. There are cars parked so tight together, I can’t walk between them. Just above is a collection of motor scooters. These are parked perpendicular to the curb, again so tight they almost touch each other. Man. If I bump one, I’m afraid I will start a domino reaction, and you can bet Ole Mrs. Mamula will be running somewhere pretty fast. There is a 2nd lane joining the 1st to become a Y in the road. As I approached, I could hear lots of yelling. Imagine these narrow lanes, surrounded by mountain-like stone buildings, 6, 8 10 stories high. The point here is that this forms a type of Roman canyon, where the sound bounces and amplifies. As I approached, I witnessed a young girl in a garbage truck, trying to turn left. Keeping her from turning is a Mercedes Benz, with a variety of vehicles trailing behind. Coming the other way was a few cars and a service truck. “A good old fashion log jamb of vehicles.” No one was willing to back up. Everyone was out of their vehicles yelling at each other…arms waving in the air. I guess it’s good I didn’t understand everything they said, or we all would be blushing. I did recognize a few comments about the guys ancestry, and of course a lot of “MAMA MIAs.” After about twenty minutes, everyone got back in their cars, the one truck backed up, and all moved on. I loved it.



Now, many people go to the Vatican when in Rome. It is the Catholic headquarters of the world. History has been made there for thousands of years. Numerous saints are entombed (buried) there. Well, I got a taste of heaven today, up in the clouds with the saints and angels. No, I didn’t get run over….or are you hoping I did? Hey, who said that? The Basilica in the Vatican is huge, to say the least. I’m not going to try to explain it. There are no words. Check out some pictures. Take a football field on end…it’s taller. There are over 330 steps to the top of the cupola, and that’s after you’ve climbed up numerous steps to get to the church itself. I can’t say enough about the artistic collection decorating every inch of this palace of the Pope. But, above the altar, rests this cupola. I need you to find some pictures of Saint Peter’s Basilica, inside and out, and about the artwork inside. Also, about the cupola, itself, height, history, etc. Then you will appreciate this story. I read where you could climb up to the top of the cupola, you know, the highest point where they put the cross, and where the pigeons like to rest. Out of respect for the Church, in a primarily Catholic town, no building is every permitted to built at an elevation higher than this one. I figured it would be a pretty good view. How tough could it be? I started out on a stairway about 4 feet wide. They continued up in a circular manner, to a level, even with the roof. I said to myself, “this isn’t so bad.” Then I entered a small door, about 2 ft wide, and continued up again. Now the fun really started. The steps spiraled tighter and tighter. Still I thought I was doing pretty well, only a bit out of breath. Onto another flat area, turning right again, and OH NO, here it really started. Imagine, the wall to your left sloping in against you, while the wall on the right slopes into you as you climb. The steps are getting closer and closer together as you climb upwards. Now I’m in a climbing stairway so tight, there is a rope hanging to help keep balance. After a few more minutes, I ended up at the very top of the cupola, looking down on the entire inside of the church. UNBELIEVABLE. What I thought were paintings on the ceiling, were actually ¼ - 3/8 inch tiles, to form this masterpiece of art. I held my breath in awe. I couldn’t go down, I had to look and wonder how this was ever built, so many centuries ago.

( OK…you wise guys, my legs did hurt and I was out of breath.)

After a bit, I walked out onto the roof area where I could look over the entire city. Here I was-standing next to these statues of the saints, that from the ground appeared so small, but now were probably about 20 ft tall. I gazed out over the city, into the clouds of the Roman afternoon…..frozen in disbelieve and amazement. I wanted to cry at the beauty. OK, enough of that, time to crawl back down. Yes I made it, only took about 90 minutes in all. Disney could never design anything this, so incredible, remarkable or astonishing.

Tomorrow we are off to a place that has been frozen in time, do you know where?

I hope that you all have a wonderful Easter Break, keep checking back. I enjoy your comments and questions. Bon Giorno ~ till next time!

Food and Fashion

Article posted March 20, 2008 at 11:41 AM GMT0 • Reads 33

Your comments are wonderful, and I have enjoyed them. It is about 60 degrees in the day, and about 40 in the evening. I just need a light sweater. The flowers are just beginning to bud. In Ohio we should get that soon, I hope! The Trevi Fountain is down the lane about a block, and it is huge, and the water is very clear, as most of the fountains here. It is legend, it is true that you throw a coin in and wish to return. I have thrown a few in for you all to have the chance to come here too. You would love it I think!

The pizza and pasta is out of this world. It is a thin crust and they laugh and call American pizza "bread", because it is too thick they say. The pasta sauce is lighter and features more of the pasta itself.

There are many fashionable stores, and I think you all would enjoy an afternoon of shopping. One store had beautiful shoes in the windows just perfect for one of us! The window displays are so colorful with all the spring fashions, belts, scarves, and shoes. Many girls and women wear scarves with their cute jackets, they are called pashminas, and perfect for the cool mornings. These scarves are for sale on every corner and store. I have pictures and will share them with you all. It is difficult to upload pictures at the cafe ' they only allow three at a time. The teenagers seem to wear lots of converse tennis shoes. They must be comfortable for walking! Again, everyone have a wonderful and safe Easter Break!

Italin Language

Article posted March 20, 2008 at 03:58 PM GMT0 • Reads 34

In answer to your questions...Italians have a colorful language. They do speak with their hands too. So, have I! When I need a bus ticket, I point to a bus. When needing a stamp, I point to it on the postcard. Yesterday, though, I asked at a restaurant where there might be an Internet Cafe, and the lady gave me a menu. Sometimes, we have a hard time communicating! But, most Italians speak a little English, and they smile a lot. It must be funny for them to listen to us trying to say thank you in Italian, and I still am not sure what words go with what things. I asked for a receipt yesterday, and the lady said she did not know what I meant. We discussed it, I showed her some paper, she still looked puzzled. So, hey, it wasn't that important, anyways! Choi!

Transportation and Gas

Article posted March 21, 2008 at 12:07 PM GMT0 • Reads 38

The cars and scooters here coexist on the road, but I think that there are more scooters, which we call motorcycles. At every red light, the scooters weave their way through the cars, and move up to the front of the lanes. Then, the light turns green, and they are off! It seems like they are in a race every time, and you had better not be in front of them, or you are in big trouble. There are many women in suits on scooters as well as the men in their business suits. Helmets are mandatory, so you see everyone walking to their jobs carrying them. The gas is around 4.50 or 5.00 a gallon when it is converted to gallons. They use liters, and the gas stations are just little pumps on the side of the roads. You could really miss them if you are not looking for them.

Someone asked about the exchange rate and the costs of things. Currently, the exchange rate is 1.00 us to 1.66 euro. It is very high right now. When going to a restaurant, you pay for your salad as one price, pizza as one price, pasta as one price, nothing is together. The tip is sometimes included in the cost of your bread, and pop is more than wine. Hey, it is Italy, right? Also, they do not offer water, unless you buy it in a bottle - even at McDonalds. The food is delicious and worth every euro! Talk to you soon, and thank you for your comments!

Ostia Antica in Rome!

Article posted March 22, 2008 at 11:58 AM GMT0 • Reads 35

It is raining today, but at least it is not snowing!

A few miles south of Rome lies the remains of Ostia Antica, an old city of 60,000 people, which thrived around 620 B.C. Not only was it a major port city on the Tiber river, bringing supplies to the Roman Empire from all of their conquered territories, it had an abundance of salt mines, which was very important for preparing and preserving meat for eating. With the eventual fall of the Roman Empire, the town became abandoned…..people simply left town. Over thousands of years, silt and mud from the occasional flooding of the Tiber River buried the city. Ironically, this amazingly protected it as well. All the roofs are now gone, but archeologists have uncovered the entire town, and for us to see and learn, their lifestyle is ever evident. Imagine, I stood on mosaic tile floors, over 2 thousand years old, where Romans once lived. I walked on an actual arena floor and looked up at the area where they once sat to watch plays and various other forms of entertainment. I gazed at the floors, and even touched the same surfaces which had very elegant artwork on surfaces of what would be the pools of the Roman baths. They were decorated with scenes of sea creatures, Neptune and more.



Think about it…..I bent over and touched a 2000 year old floor known as the Roman baths. This world has so much to offer us. If you think American History is a hard subject with a few hundred years of history, try Italian history, going back thousands of years. School in USA isn’t so bad, what if you were a student in Italy..



“Off to make some more memories.”

Roman Ruins are amazing!

Article posted March 24, 2008 at 06:45 PM GMT0 • Reads 33

Hello Students, Family & Friends,

Sitting here at this computer and trying to explain the history here. It is very amazing! You walk around a corner, look at your map, and there is something historical, whether it be a church, fountain, or another statue. We went to the Museum yesterday that had rooms upon rooms of statues of the Romans, some of them were damaged from invaders many years ago stealing them. There were murals on the wall of the times, which were painstaking done in vivid colors, and there was a huge gold statue of Hercules. The oil paintings were beautiful, and the colors were not even faded. Today, we toured the Roman palace of Caeser and Augustus, and the Circus Maximus.

For a bit of current events, we walked across to a Harley Davidson store, but it was closed today as this is a National Holiday! Oh well, we got our exercise, anyways. The city is a bit quieter today, because of the holiday. The only action is all of us tourists walking around looking at our maps!

Off for a gelato!

Pope at Vatican

Article posted March 26, 2008 at 04:55 PM GMT0 • Reads 33

Hello all,

As we continue to explore Rome, together, I want to share a bit about the Vatican Museum which we went to today. Since it is one of the spotlights of Rome, the line forms at eight a.m. for the opening at 10 a.m. We arrived at eight and the line was already around the building. It moved quickly, and we went into the museum! It is four miles to go all the way through, and took us about three hours. Again, there were beautiful paintings on every ceiling of every room, and statues of early Roman times. Even the floors were marble. They told us that the more colorful the tile, the farther away the Romans got it, and this museum and the Vatican are filled with beautiful red marble. There is also gold in many of the paintings on the walls and ceiling.

At the end of the museum tour, we entered the Sistene Chapel that was painted by Michaelangelo and Raphael. This is the chapel where the cardinals stay when they are electing a new pope. We could have stayed there for hours and not have seen all the paintings over every inch of the walls, and ceiling. It is said that Michaelangelo was 60 years old when he painted this chapel. People were asked not to speak in this room, and being that there were about 500 people craining their necks to see everything, and share what they were seeing with their families, the men in charge were constantly shhhhhhhhhhhing everyone.

After leaving this amazing place, we walked to the Vatican where the Pope was out visiting with the crowd. He was giving blessings to newlywed couples who were dressed in their wedding garb. Then, he got into his white Popemobile and went back into the Basicila as everyone cheered and clapped. It was a scene I will never forget in my life!

Talk to you soon! Please keep commenting, and I will post for you.

Firenze ' The place of Beauty

Article posted March 28, 2008 at 02:36 PM GMT0 • Reads 35

So, we wanted to visit Florence...

Traveling around by train is easy here. Florence from Rome is only 30 euro and about two hours away. A little note about our train ride. We observed a tour group of American students playing a card game of MOW. They said that it is like life, you don’t know the rules, but learn as you go. They weren’t allowed to talk, just play. They only asked a question, if they said °Point of Order. It was entertaining to watch them as the new players tried to figure out the game. It was the quietest I have seen students in a long time!

Arriving in Florence we walked the brick lined charming streets with the shops all snuggled together. The DUOMO is perfectly situated in the heart of the city. The Cathedral is all covered in rich greens and white marble with exquisite artwork carved all around. Inside the vast hall were marble columns that were the largest I have seen here. They extended to the high ceilings, that were covered in paintings. Extending around the entire top of the ceiling there was a wooden design that I realized was a catwalk, and people were walking on it and waving to us, but they were so small they looked like ants! That is how high the ceiling was! There are 44 stained glass windows that depict the Old and the New Testament saints. It was an amazing and beautiful place.

The trip would not be complete without a visit to see Michaelangelo's Pieta. It was a sculpture that was completely created in marble. He completed it at the age of 80, the tour guide said, and got mad because the marble chipped, and so he did not finish it, but had a friend do it. That's what friends are for, right?

After returning from Florence we are going to eat an American breakfast in an Irish pub in Rome, Italy. How is that for going multicultural?

Thanks for the comments, and I can not wait to get back and show you all the pictures as we celebrate Italy!

Lucca, Italy and the Beach

Article posted March 30, 2008 at 04:31 PM GMT0 • Reads 83

Hello All,

The city of Roma is filled with history, but as we found out, so is the rest of Italy. We traveled by train again to Lucca in the Tuscany region. It is a walkable walled city that is very charming and has some more beautiful churches and monuments to see. The Duomo is Gothic in description, and like most of the churches we have seen, there are three altars. The Duomo is being restored, and the folks journaled the progress they are making. I think it might be ten years. They have to painstakingly take off the inches of dirt off the pictures in order not to damage them. They can not spray the sculptures, they too must be intricately cleaned inch by inch. It does not look easy!

After walking around Lucca, we got on a bus for 2.00 and went to the Ligurian Sea to the beach. The little town which reminded us of Virginia Beach was called Viareggio. The beach was filled with people enjoying the sun, and a few brave ones were surfing! This looks like a place where many families go to vacation and get out of the city, when it gets too hot in the summer.

Summing up Italy, I would say to you all, come visit! It is easy to walk around and catch transportation to all the sights. We have been captured by the beauty of the language, foods, and the people. I have learned a lot, and hope to share it with you all when returning shortly. So, until then, Ciao!