University Life Update and Advice – December 2017

Remember how I was so positive and excited back in this post? Yep, things changed. Exams are nearing (my first one is on the 10th of January) and I am scared af. I have indeed started studying but I already feel like I am behind (which is particularly accurate).

True, I should have started studying as soon as the semester started but being big-headed and egocentric, my ego got the best of me and now here I am, swimming through despair. Okay, I might be exaggerating; there are people who are in way worse situations than me, but still, I feel a bit lost.

As far as Math goes, I think I am at a pretty good point. Some things are new for me too, but I get the mechanics behind them and all it takes is a bit of practice.

Business Fundamentals, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated: I am at a good point with the theory, but accounting is a whole another beast that I still have to truly face head-on. Just like math, getting good at accounting takes time and practice, which is why I will truly study it during my Winter Holidays.

Lastly, Public Law is…boring? I mean, it flows well and the professor is awesome, but it is not my cup of tea. Luckily, this exam is at the end of January so I have a lot of time to study and repeat out loud the most important content.

Now, for some advice:

• start studying as soon as possible: seriously, it is never too early to start. Do not reschedule, do not say “I’ll do it later”, just do everything as soon as possible, while also doing it well;
• do the reading: if a professor tells you what you have to read up on until next lesson or leaves you an exercise to do at home, do it. They do that for a reason and you will feel accomplished;
• study anytime, anywhere: I take the train everyday, back and forth, to and from Rome, and those 80 minutes total can be spent studying or reading something helpful;
• it is okay if you cannot do it, for once: everyone has their breaking point, everyone gets tired, every woman gets pms and feels dead on the inside. Rest is good, as long as you are recharging to push harder next time;
• be nice: simply put, be a nice person, be it to your peers or to professors, do not act superior; everyone is in the same boat as you and professors are there to help and teach, so do not think that they are out to get you and catch you unprepared.

This is what I have to say for now. I will probably update you guys after my exams are over, hopefully bringing you good news.

Than you for reading, once more.

xx

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University Life – October 2017 Update

This last 18th of September I started University and let me tell you, I could not be happier. I love new beginnings and this is the best one yet. Leaving behind all that was dragging me down was something I desperately needed.

I decided to pursue a degree in Business and more specifically Economics at the Sapienza University of Rome. Classes have been going on for the last month and I feel amazingly accomplished regarding the notions learned and the people I have made friends with. Getting to Uni in the morning is not the easiest voyage, but it could be worse: I take the train and walk quite a lot, but I do not mind.

The books are indeed intimidating but once you get into the mood of studying and learning it all flows better. My professors this semester, all women, are great and teach in a very pleasant way. I also got lucky regarding the time the classes are taught: from 9am to 1pm. Very, very lucky indeed.

I love learning how a business is started and what is needed, how the state regulates the privates, and also how law works. Math is the one subject where I feel more advantaged, because the professor is teaching things I already know.

My exams are in January and I have started studying here and there, but I still have to get serious about it. All in all, I am extremely happy and excited with how my life is going.

Thank you for reading.

xx

Haul – 2017 Winter Sale

I finally went shopping this season and I have to say I am not too displeased with the results, although I still need some items.

I went shopping with the intention of buying office attire for my New York trip in March, but I only bought two items with that purpose. Let’s start.

1 .  Huge Scarf – H&M

I bought this extremely long and fluffy scarf because it has been freezing lately here in Italy. It even snowed in Sicily, just to give you an idea. So I got this scarf, although it was not on sale and I could not find it on the website. It is a light grey with a very slight blue tint. It cost €14,99 and it feels like cashmere, although it is 100% acrylic.

2. Basic T-Shirt – H&M

I already have a couple of tees like this, but I could not help myself because this colour is extremely pretty. It is a neutral grey with warm tones and I am a sucker for it. It cost €9,99 and it was not on sale, since basics never are, in my experience. I got in in a size S.

3. Knitted Pullover – H&M

Again, I bought this pullover mainly for the colour but also for the semi-deep v-neck. I love sweaters with this cut, since I consider them very sexy and feminine. On the side I could only find it in the colour black. It originally cost €24,99 but I paid €10 for it. I got it in a size S.

4. Blazer – H&M

I really needed a blazer for New York and I found a pretty simple black on for €24,99 although not on sale. It fits nicely and it is tighter around the waist, which is what I was looking for. I got it in a size US 6, EUR 36.

5. Bomber Jacker – Pull & Bear

 

I know, I have a problem. I just love jackets and bomber jackets in particular. I already have a black one and an army green one, but I really wanted this one. The colour is gorgeous and I got it even though it was not on sale, for €29,99. It has an edgier look than my other ones and I cannot wait to wear it. I got it in a size M.

6. Crop Top – Pull & Bear

This is a very cropped crop top with a crossover neckline. I would wear it with high waisted jeans or with a high waisted skirt. It is knitted and it was on sale for €5,99 reduced from €12,99. I got it in a size S.

7. Sporty Crop Top – Pull & Bear

This crop top just augments my ambition to have abs. I really want to wear it at the gym without worrying about my stomach. I could not find it on the site, unfortunately. It has “GIRL GANG” printed on the bottom and it looks very nice on. I got it in a size S.

8. Tulle Dress – Pull & Bear

The love I have for this dress is immense. I never thought this type of dress would flatter my body shape, but this particular one does. It is not too short and it fits very nicely, while still being flowy. It cost €19,99 and it was again, not on sale.

9. Knit Dress – Zara

Once again, I could not find this particular dress on the site and it is honestly a shame. It is so beautiful on and not too tight. It must be sold out almost everywhere, since I also got the last one in the store. It was reduced form €49,99 to €19,99, so it is probably the best bargain here.

10. Flowy Shirt – Zara

I needed a shirt like this for my New York trip and I am glad I found it. I love how it is not stark white and how it looks very classic. And yes, you guessed right, it is not on the site anymore.

Well, this is all for now. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading.

xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capitoline Museums – August 19, 2016

This post, which will mainly contain pictures, has been a long time coming. Lately, I have been lacking motivation and determination to keep this blog running, and with school starting again, time has been a resource I have a hard time getting enough of.

Nonetheless, I will try to post every once in a while, especially when I have interesting content to put out.

I hope you enjoy this post.

These are my favourite pictures I took of the works of art on show there. Getting through the museum took ages, since there is so so much to be seen. I highly recommend you checking it out.

Thank you for reading.

xx

Corsini Gallery – August 19, 2016

I was eager to visit this gallery, since I prefer viewing collections which are exhibited in a more private setting rather than a museum. This gallery is located inside the Palazzo Corsini and boasts works of art from the Renaissance onward. It is not as vast nor as imposing as the Doria Pamphilj Gallery, which I spoke about here, but it is very pleasing nonetheless.

Getting to the building is a bit trickier, since it is located on a not so busy street on the other side of the Tiber river. I advise you to either ask for directions or use the Maps iPhone app or similar, if you decide to visit.

 

To buy your tickets, you must first go up the flight of stairs and get to the main lobby, where you can find the workers. The ticket was not expensive, costing only €5. The architecture is beautiful and the stairs as well, although I am slightly obsessed with stairs in general.

 

I did thoroughly enjoy the white theme of the building itself, although the gallery was certainly more colourful. The main entrance to the gallery is a wide but short sort of hallway, where there are a couple of works hanged.

 

Unfortunately, the light was not used well enough, since taking good picture became quite an effort, or it was simply the wrong time of day. If you want good pictures, do not visit galleries in the morning.

The gallery itself is mainly made of paintings hanging on hallway and room walls, since this used to be a private palace.

 

I enjoyed the various rooms and how their walls were all painted different colours, giving a different feel to each room.

 

There is only one floor to the gallery, but there is another flight of stairs which leads to a couple of locked doors. How I wish those doors were open; locked doors in galleries which used to be private residences fascinate me a great deal.

I took the elevator down, which gave me a pretty view of the vast garden downstairs and the landscape behind it.

 

This is it about my trip to this art gallery and I highly suggest you go visit it if you are staying in Rome for some time. I also visited the Capitoline Museums, which took me way longer, but that deserves a whole post to itself.

Thank you for reading.

xx

Doria Pamphilj Gallery – August 12, 2016

I finally got around to visiting Rome again, and this time I decided to walk a lot. I took the train mid-morning and got to the station at about 11am. I decided to not take a bus and walk towards the Isola Tiberina, which is an island in the middle of the Tiber river.

Of course, I had to let something guide me, that something being the Maps iPhone app. I swear, it made me lose so much time, because it made me take quite external routes, only to end up in the same place I would have reached more easily myself. Regardless, I explored some new places of the capital, where there were no tourists to be found, only old buildings.

Of course, every turn I made led me to an inclined road. That app led me to a knot of small streets, where there were literally no people. I reached a tiny street I had to take, only to notice that said street was blocked due to construction. On this day I acquired a new ability : finding new streets. Yes, while the voice from the app was trying to make me turn back and take that street, I completely ignored it and found my own way. So much independence.

I then finally reached the tiny island. The river is not known for being clean, but it was a very nice day, so even the water looked nice. The island hosts two hospitals and two churches, which I did not visit.

I then started making my way back towards the centre of the city and only stopped because I saw this statue on my way.

I finally reached the Doria Pamphilj Gallery, where I payed an €8 fee because I am under 26 years of age. The Gallery is located on Via del Corso and it is very easily reachable. Also, there is a free audio guide in more than two languages, if you want one. The building surrounds a tiny garden.

To reach the actual Gallery, one must first go up a couple flights of stairs, where you can find various busts and even the family coat of arms, since this building is still privately owned by the royal Doria Pamphilj family.

Firstly, I entered the Poussin room, which held a great number of landscapes, mainly works of Claude Lorraine. It was probably on of the most visually pleasing rooms in the Gallery, because of the contrast between the walls and the paintings.

Adjacent to this room, there is a smaller red room, which also holds some paintings and a huge mirror. Of course, I could not help myself and had to take some shameless mirror selfies.

Next up another small room, this time mainly yellow, which from what I gathered used to be the ballroom, was mainly empty, but the tapestry and lighting were amazing.

The Gallery also has a chapel, where the family saint is buried. There is no dome, but there is an optical illusion on the ceiling resembling one.

After this, I entered the real gallery, which is an ensemble of four corridors filled with paintings and some statues. I was excited to see some works by Raphael and some other artists I studied, like Titian, Caravaggio and Veronese.

My favourite part was the small hall of mirrors, which resembles the one in Versailles. It was so pretty I even published a picture on Instagram.

There were also smaller rooms which held a few paintings, where natural light was reduced.

There is also another huge room which holds three paintings by Caravaggio and one by Raphael. I was very excited when I saw that there was also a painting by Vasari, who, if you have ever studied the Renaissance period, always had a lot to say about every artist in Europe.

This museum trip was successful and I plan on going on a couple more before school starts in September, even if I have to go by myself. I hope you liked this post and thank you for reading.

xx

 

Lake Albano – 31 July, 2016

I finally got around to coming back to this lake and it has been great. Lake Albano is a lake in Lazio, of volcanic origin and with extremely clear water. It is the deepest lake in the region. It is in the town of Castel Gandolfo, where the papal summer residence is. So, if you want to get to this lake, all you have to do is get the train from Rome to Albano and stop at Castel Gandolfo. The ticket costs €2,10 so very inexpensive. Or, if you live nearby you can get there by car.

The thing I like most about this area is that, despite its touristic potential, it is not very busy with people. Yes, the part of the lake shore arranged to accommodate people was almost full, but everybody knows the owner there, so they are regulars. On the other side of the lake though, there are some houses hidden in what remains of the volcanic walls and, from the looks of it, a hotel.

The water is very, very clear and the sand is almost black. There are tiny boats that you can rent and last year there were various ducks around, but this year I did not see any.

I wore a bathing suit that I got from Zara some time ago and that I cannot find on the site.

I also want to talk about how I protected my skin from the sun. As you may have noticed, I am pretty fair, therefore I get burned more easily. Before putting on my bathing suit that morning I applied a sunscreen scary, so I would not have to bother when I got there. I also reapplied that sunscreen once more during my three-hour stay. It has SPF 30 and it is from a brand called Frais Monde. The only problem was that the first time I applied it, it sprayed wide and evenly, while the second time it was more concentrated in one spot, but it worked regardless.

On my face and on my tattoo, I used a Nivea Sun Kids lotion, which has a 50+ SPF, as I do not want premature wrinkles.

I also used a tanning oil on top of my sunscreen. I know it may have not done anything, but I wanted to tan safely. I got all of these products at the pharmacy, so they all have a very pharmaceutical smell, but they do their job. I found the oil here.

Now, last and not least, my favourite product. This after sun milk spray left my skin so moisturised and soothed. I love it, but I could not find where to buy it, although the product’s page is here.

So, this was my day and thank you for reading.

xx