Saturday, May 16, 2015

Agenda for Day 01, 05-18-15

Dear Roman Writers,

What follows is, so far as it is possible to determine, our agenda for day one. This post covers what will happen when we deplane, when we arrive at St. John's, and beyond.

Please take the time to read this post (which is part of your pre-departure review checklist), since not everyone is arriving on the same flight, and since it will not always be possible to speak with you individually or as a group during transit.

(NOTE: Not every post for every day of our tour will be this detailed: that's why we have an Itinerary posted on our website.)

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AT LEONARDO DA VINCI AIRPORT

You might have heard that the International terminal at Rome's airport suffered a fire over a week ago. What this means for us is that the process of going through customs and getting our baggage will require some patience. Dr. Spinner tells me that lines were long and tempers short when he went through last Monday. It might be that the Italian authorities now have better workarounds in place. Regardless, our arrival will probably be the most variable part of our day.

Normally, one deplanes and takes the Skytrain to customs, and then to the baggage claim area. While there will be bathrooms along the way, wait until we're at baggage to heed the call of nature and freshen up. Help us keep our momentum through the airport by staying with the group.

Once through baggage we'll hopefully find our bus driver waiting for us; we'll board and head to Prati and St. John's. Along the way, you might contemplate what Rome is from the standpoint of size. You'll recall from our discussion of the modern city how the Regulatory Plans kept expanding outward from the historic center. This kind of concentric urbanization is what you can expect to see on the bus ride.

Those of you not arriving on the group flight are responsible for getting to St. John's on your own.

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AT ST. JOHN'S

In a perfect world, we'll arrive at the St. John's Rome campus before noon, where Dr. Spinner will be waiting for us, looking relaxed and refreshed.

Here, too, there will be some variability. We know that the staff of St. John's wants to give us a brief orientation. We also know that in order to access the wireless internet, laptops have to be registered by St. John's IT personnel — a process that will require us to physically loan them our equipment so they can install the wireless protocols. If we get to the Rome Campus early enough, this will hopefully be done by the end of the workday. If not, we'll have to wait until Tuesday to have wireless.

At some point we'll be given our St. John's IDs, which we'll need when we return to campus from our excursions, and our passwords for the computer lab, where the computers are hardwired for internet access. And you'll want to get to your rooms, freshen up, explore the area, get money, and eat a little something.

All in all, there will likely be some down time between our arrival on Campus and when we convene in the late afternoon for our first excursion. It is strongly recommended that you avoid sleeping, if you can help it. The later you go to bed this first night, the more your internal clock will have a chance to reset itself.

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OUR FIRST EXCURSION AND DINNER

For now it looks as though we'll convene in the St. John's Common Room at 2:30 (or 14:30 in European time). Prior to meeting up, be sure you have all the must-bring items on your excursion list (as noted on our Syllabus under "Class Participation."). If we haven't yet had a chance to distribute our tour equipment, bus passes, and booklets, we'll do so at this meeting. The instruction team will make some preliminary remarks, and then we'll be out the door.

Our destination will be the Janiculum Hill, by way of Trastevere, which we'll reach via bus. On this first ride, you'll validate your bus pass (which process we'll explain beforehand). Once we reach the summit of the hill and have had a chance to look out over the city, we'll hear our first report from our Peer Mentor on the Fontanone (Big Fountain) of the Acqua Paola.

Following the report and a little time to orient ourselves both on the Janiculum and within the larger cityscape, we'll descend again into Trastevere and have our welcome dinner at Dar Poeta, a wonderful and authentic Roman pizzeria. Our reservation is set for 6:30 (18:30), so we might spend some time in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere beforehand — it all depends.

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BACK TO ST. JOHN'S

One of Professor Curley's favorite things to do, especially on the first night, is meander along Rome's dusky streets and reacquaint himself with some old friends: the Campo de' Fiori, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and many more. If you want to join him on the long walk back to St. John's for any or all of this experience, you are more than welcome. If you'd rather head back to St. John's directly we'll point you in the right direction and/or make sure you get on the right bus. If you'd rather do your own thing entirely, no problem.

Before we part ways, we'll have said something about Day 02. For now just remember that the following morning is reserved for solo excursions and site-report planning. We recommend that you rise as early as you can and make the most of it.

DC/gs

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