(No)Snowpocalypse

We found out yesterday that class would be cancelled today after the first substantial snowfall in over 26 years hit Rome over the weekend. I had been debating whether or not to stay up for the Super Bowl (which, I’m disappointed to say didn’t include any commercials), but this discovery was the deal-breaker. After waking up at noon and lounging around in my pj’s for about an hour, I decided I should probably do something productive with my snow day. So, some friends and I put on the warmest clothes we’d brought (which isn’t saying much seeing as a snowstorm hadn’t really been in the cards this semester) and went out to lunch at a fabulous little restaurant just off the Piazza Navona. (Thank you again to Rick Steves - you haven’t failed us yet!) We then walked over to Piazza Navona to work on “perspective” drawings for our art class.

Cringing, but reminding ourselves it was the view we were paying for, we purchased some grossly overpriced coffee and desert at a cafe inside the piazza and sat and sketched until they kicked us out at closing time. (Most Italian restaurants close around mid-late afternoon and re-open around 7pm for dinner.)

(My unfinished “perspective” drawing - hopefully the professor understands!)

It was my (along with one of my best friend Mairead’s) night to cook dinner for the apartment, and we had planned to go shopping right before dinner. However, whether it’s because deliveries have been delayed because of the “extreme” weather, or Italians feel the need to prepare for the next doomsday, we found that grocery stores in Rome have almost been completely cleared out of everything. So after searching three grocery stores in the city for ingredients to make BBQ chicken pizza (our original plan), we finally gave up and moved to Plan B: good old-fashioned hamburgers and french fries. Crisis averted, we were able to feed 9 hungry roommates, but not before almost setting off the fire alarm. Needless to say, we’re still learning our way around the kitchen…

Today was wonderful - a day to sleep in, take in the city, and recuperate from a busy week. There was really no reason that class was cancelled today, seeing as almost all the snowed had melted yesterday and there wasn’t a cloud in sight last night or today.

But hey, you won’t find me complaining…