I cannot believe my time in Rome has come to an end. It's surreal having to think that, or even putting it down in words... These have been the absolute best five months of my life. It took a lot of adjustment, learning, hard work, and hand gestures, but I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. After a grueling few days in major study hermit mode and hand-cramping finals I was freed from academics and my summer adventuring began. I picked up mama from the airport on Wednesday night and our mother-daughter bonding began with a dinner out in Trastevere where I demanded she try the buffalo mozzarella and give risotto another try. After rushing to move out of my apartment on Thursday I had to go to work and help hang the 50/50 Selected Artworks gallery show at VISIVA which was super awesome since we got to get up close and personal with all of this amazing artwork by artists we had been following around the city finding street art all semester.

After work was the program farewell dinner where we merrily ate and drank and listened to one of our friends serenade on the guitar, reminiscing about all of the funny stories from the course of the semester, and our night concluded with a 6 hour night tour of Rome. It was the perfect way to share this incredible experience and walk through the city that had brought us all together. From climbing the Aventine and looking through the key hole and looking out over the city from the garden of oranges to walking past Circo Massimo and crowding around the Colosseum, making our way through the ancient forum and frolicking across Piazza Venezia to arrive at the Trevi fountain where we spent a few hours just hanging out, saying goodbye to our beloved Italian intern friends in front of the Pantheon which we had all to ourselves and ending at the near-deserted Piazza Navona right next to school, we covered everything by foot and with happy memories but tears in our eyes.

I resumed playing tour guide on Friday as mama and I walked around the Vatican area stopping for photos in Piazza San Pietro and grabbing some gelato at Gelateria del Teatro before busing to ancient Rome and looking over the ruins from Piazza del Campidoglio and making our way to the Colosseum. I was even able to show her the Monti neighborhood which she really liked, and we returned to Trastevere for pizza at my favorite restaurant Dar Poeta. Saturday was another day of retracing my favorite paths in the city starting out with my daily route to Largo di Torre Argentina and then routing around the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori, Via Giulia, and a stop by Bar Amore where I said my goodbyes to Fabio and the gang who make the best cappuccinos in Rome. We made our way to Via del Corso for some shopping to celebrate our trip while popping into famous churches to look at the masterpieces of Raphael and Caravaggio before heading up the Spanish Steps to Villa Borghese for a lookout over the Renaissance landscape. A few hours to kill before appropriate dinnertime called for a detour to the Trevi fountain where we threw our coins in together before heading back across the Tiber to eat suppli and grab a selection of piatti from Franchi, my favorite gastronomia, and then we headed home to enjoy our food on our balcony with the bottle of Orvieto wine I'd saved from my day trip a few weeks back. We just happened to pass by the Vatican on the way back, as Franchi is in the Prati neighborhood, and we realized we had gotten ourselves into the middle of 300,000 people gathered to attend the Pope's special childrens' greeting mass this weekend. The thousands of people filling the small streets like lava was reminiscent of the canonization event a few weeks back. At least we were able to see the area in all of its chaotic glory?

Sunday morning we headed out to go market-hopping, starting out with Campagna Amica for some yummy food samples and a panino con porchetta that we shared later before heading to Porta Portese for the massive flea market. An exhausting morning on our feet behind us, we took a quick lunch break in our room before heading back out so as not to waste our last day in Rome (still weird to think that). We started out by going to San Giovanni in Laterano to see the golden gilded ceilings and Papal Throne before walking through Basilica di San Clemente on our way to see Michelangelo's Moses in San Pietro in Vincoli. I then realized there was one more famous church that I had never seen before despite its importance and my four months here, so we trekked up to Santa Maria Maggiore where we were again overwhelmed by the beauty of the artwork filling these buildings. I wanted to enjoy my last dinner in Trastevere, the neighborhood I lived in this semester, so we made our way across Ponte Garibaldi with a spectacular view of Michelangelo's duomo before meandering through the small streets of Trastevere in search for a spot for dinner. We sat outside at a quaint little restaurant with the nicest waiters and got the most Roman dinner I could think of -- carbonara and amatriciana (delicioso!). Dinner was topped off with another trip to Gelateria del Teatro for a cup of my favorite flavor salvia e lamponi before we made our way back up the Janiculum hill to head home. I can't believe this is it... I'm heading out tomorrow morning for Siena to embark on my crazy six week adventure around Europe, leaving behind this city that I have grown to love so dearly. I have a weird feeling that I'll be back in no time, though, and considering I threw my coins into the Trevi it has to come true, right? It's all just a bit surreal to think I won't be back in this place that has become home to me over the past few months but the memories I have made here are priceless and I'm glad I got to check all of the wonderful things off of my list again over the past few days, sharing my stories from all of the places I've been and sat and experienced.

Roma ha cambiato la mia vita. È la cosa più bella che è successo a me. Grazie a Roma io posso comunicare in una lingua bellissima che io non ho mai pensato potrei parlare così bene. Per due anni era il mio sogno a imparare italiano perché ho voluto di tornare in Italia e andare al mercato e prendere buone cose per mangiare in italiano, vedere i film o ascoltare la musica e capire che stanno dicendo, o anche fare una piccola conversazione con una barista bevendo un caffè. Io ho fatto tutte queste cose, e più. Roma me ha introdotto le nuove passione, persone tante brave e simpatiche, e un desiderio a tornare qui per camminare nelle queste strade che adesso io so così come le mie mani. Ora Roma non è solo una città nella mappa — è una delle mie case nel mondo. Ora io so che tutto è possibile e non ho paura di provare niente. Roma, grazie per tutto. Ti amo e non voglio mai lasciare!