Our Roman Friends and Family

While living in Rome, we met so many amazing and wonderful people (not all necessarily Italian, but all living in Rome), and we wanted to take some time to mention some of them because they truly added to our experience. 

Firstly, everyone from the Saint Mary's College Rome Program: the professors, administrators, and students. Our director, Dr. Portia Prebys, kept everything running smoothly and we knew that she was always there if we ever needed anything. We greatly respect her and everything she has done for us and the program. All of our professors, from Katie's Italian professor who welcomed students into her home to make tiramisu, to the Art History and Archaeology professors who travelled with us on all of our school trips. Not only were they impressive in their fields, but they continued to show how Saint Mary's professors genuinely care about their students and want to see them succeed in more than just their class. We will miss all of them! Finally, the girls from the fall and spring semesters were all extremely friendly and as excited as we were to be in such an amazing place. This year we made some of our best friendships, and we know some of these girls will be our friends for the rest of our lives. Also, a special shout-out should go to the other four girls who stuck with us for the full academic year: Jennifer, Shannon, Michelle, and Kristin. They were with us for the long hall, and we're so glad to have met them and to have spent the last seven months with them.  

The year-long girls: Katie, Jennifer, Shannon, Megan, Michelle, and Kristin.

The Fall Semester Group

The Spring Semester Group

Those at the Albergo del Sole (our home) were always generous and wonderfully kind to us, even when we didn't understand what they were saying. The two sisters who are the owners always called us "carine ragazze" ("sweet girls") or "le gemelle" ("the twins"), and everyone who worked at reception would do everything they could to help make this place our home. Even all of the maids were so sweet and accommodating, and we loved seeing them everyday. Our favorite hotel worker, Aldo, was especially always there for us. For many of us, a new phrase was born: "Ask Aldo," because if we had a problem, he was sure to fix it, and if we had a question about Italian customs or culture, he would provide the needed clarification. Thanks Albergo del Sole for everything. 

Bar Pascucci, our daily breakfast and lunch spot for which we had meal tickets, really became another home for us. This bar is owned by a family, with brother and sister, Signor Bruno and Signora Patrizia, working daily as well as their nephews, Patrizio and Stefano, and their family friend, Antonio. They were all extremely patient with us as we struggled through conversations in Italian with them, which sometimes consisted of them talking and us nodding our heads as though we could completely understand. Their food is absolutely delicious, and Signora Patrizia always knew she had us when she said she had fresh lasagna or "gauteau di patate" (potato casserole) from the kitchen for lunch. And, as one of our friends always said, their extra ingredient in their cappuccini, caffe latte, and frullati was always love. They are the sweetest and most kind-hearted people we've met, and they truly became a second family to us, genuinely caring about each and every one of the girls in the program. We will miss all of them so much and their fresh cornetti and cappuccini! 

Megan, Jennifer, Stefano, and Katie.

Jennifer, Megan, Signora Patrizia, Katie and Signor Bruno.

The three restaurants where we ate every week with our program, Antica Biblioteca, Grotto del Teatro di Pompeo, and Da Luigi, always served us delicious meals, excellently prepared. The waiters and staff at each place were very respectful and sweet, and we never wanted to disappoint them by not finishing our meals! Other restaurants that we frequented often on our own treated us very well whenever we stopped by for dinner (one of the pluses of being twins--you're very memorable). We're very safe to say that we never had a bad meal while in Rome thanks to all of these restaurants!

Last, but certainly not least, on those nights when we had time to relax and have some fun, we tended to stop by our favorite non-Italian spot, an Irish pub called Abbey Theater. Yes, although we were in Rome, it was a nice place to go hang-out in a fun and relaxed setting. We remember the first time we came to this pub, and we accidentally said "grazie" instead of "thank you" to one of the bartenders, Ricky, who replied "Stop speaking Italian, you're in Ireland now!" This was a favorite place among the Saint Mary's students, and we got to know the bartenders and servers very well. Thursday nights were especially fun, for we would go to the Abbey to watch Ricky sing for a couple of hours. Ricky, Dave, Lenny, and Philip were fun to talk to and very respectful and sweet; we knew they always were there for us if we needed anything. It was especially hard to say goodbye to all of them our last night, but we wish them only the very best in the future - if we don't see them when we get back to Rome! 

Nellie, Megan, Jennifer, Katie and Philip.

Katie, Megan, Lenny, and Jennifer.

Megan, Katie and Ricky.

We're very fortunate to say that we met some of the most kind-hearted people--Roman and non-Roman--while living here. While we will no doubt miss the beauty of Rome, what made this city even more special were the friends and family that we made along the way.