Wowee, another week gone by! This week was a little lapse back into my Berkeley lifestyle as midterms seriously snuck up on us (we semester system kids are used to having so much more time before the first, or in this case only, round of midterms). The quarter system goes by so fast and I didn't think we had covered all that much, but the nature of my exams required me to know everything from the beginning of the semester which meant some late nights were spent memorizing title, artist, date, patron, and location of about 40 renaissance art pieces and palazzos (along with their backstories and historical significances) as well as analysis materials for urban growth and street codes, gender, history, and family dynamics in the sociological study of Rome. Sounds like a bunch of fun, doens't it? Yes. Especially when it's finally blooming into spring weather and Villa Pamphilj is bursting with flowers. Missing out on the sunshine did justify a trip to Giolitti, though, to make up for the endless hours spent at a desk.

To celebrate the end of midterm madness my friends and I decided to go out for a nice dinner in Monti on Thursday night. One of my friends and I spent a couple of hours wandering around beforehand which landed us in Taza d'Oro next to the Pantheon to delve into some coffee granitas (freshly whipped cream, iced coffee slush, and more whipped cream -- it was delicious!) and afterwards had us dodging around tour groups full of children and seniors as we ran into the Trevi fountain, up the Quirinal hill, and into Palazzo Barberini. It was such a beautiful space with columns in the loggia and marble spiral staircase leading up to the back gardens, especially at golden hour right before sunset. We left the front gate and saw an obelisk in the distance and decided to follow the path towards it on the most adorable little street full of boutiques and trattorias until we realized that the obelisk was the one in Trinità dei Monti, or the top of the Spanish Steps. We then hurried our way back to Piazza dell'Orologio to gather the group together before we headed back towards the Quirinal hill and into the hipster-central neighborhood of Monti. Even in the evening the one-of-a-kind clothing shops full of sample pieces by aspiring designers, the adorable living room cafes, and modern art galleries were lit up and the main piazza was bustling with Italians. We decided upon dinner at Ai Tre Scalini, which features sort of an Italian version of tapas. We started out with mozzarella di bufala and prosciutto, and also ordered the best potato gateau EVER (it was so fluffy and melt-in-your-mouth), along with porchetta and traditional meatballs. It was a great way to dispel all of the stress that had been building up for the past few days and enjoy a nice long meal in good company.

Unfortunately with all of that studying and lack of proper adapter my camera was out of commission this week, but I finally stopped by the TIM store to pick up a new adapter to recharge everything in anticipation for spring break! By the time this post goes up I will have spent two nights in Barcelona, and will be headed to Bordeaux to visit my friend who is studying abroad at university there on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll do a better job of keeping up with my adventures there than I have for my first break (those Prague posts are still in my drafts folder...).