"through the age of silent sunrise..."

As I breathed in such powerful words, inhaled its beauty in hope that it would caress the soul, the towering trees creating a protective shade that filters all but a few rays, I felt such pleasurable isolation. Oh what splendid joy. Oh what...a mosquito! I gave him a glare that signified disgust and quickly swatted it away. I attempted to submerge myself in the realm of Ms. Woolf once more, but I knew it was of no use. The mosquito would return. Normally, I would not have let an insignificant blood sucker ruin such joy, but these incessant pests have taken a liking to my blood. As it stands now, I have about eight, itchy bite marks all over my body. An increase in that number is not an option (although I know it is likely to increase), so I departed from that haven and made my way down to the more frequented path. Thus, my excursion to Il Castello Miramare ended and I made my way towards La Barcola, a promenade along the Adriatic.

The Castello Miramare is a very beautiful sight. It is situated on a cliff overlooking the Adriatic. There is also a huge park that makes up the area. Definitely a sight to explore. Once you leave the park grounds, La Barcola begins. Since Trieste lacks any real beaches, people lay their towel on this promenade and sunbathe there. It was interesting to see everyone taking in the sun and enjoying the beautiful weather. It was also nice to see the freedom people exercised while sunbathing, something I'm not accustomed to in the USA. I brought my running attire and decided to jog from the beginning of La Barcola back into the city. Oh what exhilaration one feels while running and taking in the beautiful and free-spirited atmosphere. I eventually reached my destination, Trieste's central train station. Drenched in sweat, I boarded the number 17 bus and made my way back to the university.

Besides this wonderful excursion, I haven't partaken in anything of real interest. I spent four days and traveled to 5 different offices in order to apply for my permit of stay. Unfortunately, my application was two days past the due date (Italy only gives you 8 working days to complete it). I hope it won't be a problem, since much of the delay was out of my control. I have also chosen my courses for the year and I'm very excited. I'll be taking some philosophy courses, some political science courses, and some history courses...all in Italian. This week I hope to start meeting more people. I am attending a meeting with an organization directly involved with ERASMUS (the study abroad organization of the EU) and I plan to join an Italian-American group in October. Classes begin the first week of October, so I really want to do something exciting before they begin. Hopefully I can take a weekend trip somewhere.

Oh, and I killed my first mosquito last night. Hopefully that will serve as a warning to the other mosquitoes that I am no longer playing nice.

Here are some pics: Click here!!!