Pictures

I ran out of time to write much but I'll post some pictures instead.



Inside apartment

 

 



Roman soldiers by Colosseum

 




Arch of Septimus Severus with Palatine in background

 


Palatine at sunset





Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

 




View from top of Spanish Stairs. Yes! I made it!

 


Street musician




View of St Peters Basilica from below Ponte Umberto





Via Baccina -- the street where we live

 



Colosseum in early evening



The Third Day's the Charm

It is my third day in Rome and already I dislike tourists notwithstanding that I am one.  And it's not just that they are all wanting to see the things that I want to see, and get in my way, and create crowds.  It's the mentality that they are the only ones who matter. The idea that Rome was built entirely for their pleasure and they deserve to stand in the middle of the footpath to take pictures, or talk loudly in their own language, or say stupid things because they haven't taken the trouble to become informed ahead of time.  And really I say "they" but I should be saying "we."

But even more than the tourist I dislike the hawkers who pander to them and prey upon them.  It's bad enough to have to fight hordes of people all wanting to go in different directions but be in the same place at the same time, but the incessant requests for me to buy cheap, tacky items as a memento or gift, or to pay to have my picture taken or to buy overpriced inferior food because it's the only stuff available really does put me over the top.

Today Charis and I were going to walk through the Forum and Paletine hill and the Colosseum.  We walked all around it and took pictures from the outside  but chose not to buy the tickets and venture inside for all the reasons I already stated.  So, here's what you can see if you choose the path less traveled.

Pigeons scavenging for food at your feet.  We sat in a shady spot overlooking the Colosseum and the pigeons walked around within feet of us.

A friendly waiter. As we left the area of the Colosseum we walked past the sidewalk cafe we had eaten in last night.  Our waiter greeted us warmly with a "Buon giorno."
"Buon giorno." I replied.  He put out his hand.  I shook it. He raised mine to his lips and kissed it and then greeted me with a kiss on each cheek. It was a very warm and respectful greeting and made me feel like I had  made a friend.

A Gelateria and sandwich bar. After greeting the man behind the counter with a "Buon giorno" I asked if he spoke English.  "Yes" he replied. We then proceeded to order and to chat a little.  He asked if we were from California.  "No" we said "We're from Minnesota."
"Where is that"
"It's near Canada"
"That's odd" he says "you have a South American accent"
"Haha" we laughed. "It's likely because we've studied Spanish. "  Then we sat outside and ate our lemon gelato first before eating the provolone and dried beef sanwich with some delicious, peppery, fresh herb of which we don't know the name.

The Vespa Diva.  At the front of a long row of traffic waiting at a stop light was a woman  on a Vespa. This is not so unusual. But aside from the helmet on her head she could have walked the runway. She wore a long flowing silky jacket in a gorgeous shade of blue with matching slacks and silver jewelry. On her feet were stylish 4" wedge heeled sandals.  The light turned green and she was off in a flash, her flowing garment billowing behind her. 

We walked to the Museo Nationale and saw the most ancient statuary dating from 500 BC and many fine mosaics and frescoes rescued from the Farnese Pallace. Then we walked back to "our" neighborhood.  It's amazing what just 3 days will do.  Instead of it all being strange and new, now we recognize streets and places we've been.  We feel like we belong on this street -- the Via Baccina. And the adjoining streets are our neighborhood. 

Dia Segundo

Today the 4 of us felt like old pros as we walked along familiar streets to the ACCENT student center for orientation. We arrived 10 min. early and decided next time we will leave earlier because there is a darling coffee place on the way where we'd like to have breakfast.

The orientation was fine. We walked around the neighborhood of the school and found great lunch spots as well as little antique stores and Tabacchi shops where not only do you buy your tobacco products but salt and stamps as well.

Did I mention how crazy the traffic is?  Crossing the street is an even crazier proposition.  The method is to step out firmly into traffic, making eye contact with the drivers and not slowing down or stopping.  Traffic does come to a halt somehow and we get across the street.  You could wait all day on the sidewalk for a break in traffic and not get one.  But this takes as much faith as the Israelites stepping into the Jordan on their way into the Promised Land.  It wasn't until they stepped in that the waters stopped and they were able to cross on dry land.

After orientation we were treated to a fabulous pasta lunch.  I chose the vegetable pasta which was cherry tomatoes, eggplant and little balls of fresh mozzarella scattered throughout the spaghetti. Yum!! The eggplant was actually very tasty and full of flavor unlike the bland stuff I've had before.  For dessert we had tiramisu. I was stuffed!  Then a good portion of the students went to the Pantheon accompanied by the instructor for an impromptu tour.  It really was amazing!

Walking up to the Pantheon is unbelievably awe inspiring.  The immense scale of the building and the immense antiquity of it are very moving.  It was originally built as a temple to the pagan Roman gods.  Then the Roman Catholic church took it over and removed the idols and put statues and pictures of their saints in their place.  In any event, it is an astounding and powerful place. I loved soaking in the atmosphere. 

We ambled on over to the Piazza Navona and wandered among the street vendors selling paintings.  It's too overwhelming to try to choose one to buy.  But it was very entertaining.  After returning to our apartment for a rest period we once again ventured out and found a bakery to buy bread for breakfast and had to try a sample of some awesome treats.  Mine was like crispy phyllo dough filled with nutella. YUM!

We ate supper at a sidewalk cafe just across the street from the Colosseum.  Sometime this weekend we will take that tour. But just having it for a backdrop is amazing.  As I ate my tortellini and prusciutto I thought to myself, "Wow! here I am in Rome! How amazing is that!"

The First Day

The first day (which really just felt like a continuation of the traveling day) started off with the bus ride from the airport. At first it seemed like a normal ride on a freeway.  The airport in Rome is actually quite a distance outside the city.  Our housing coordinator was handing out packets showing us where our apartments would be and little maps indicating the nearest grocery store, bank, etc.

Then I decided I needed to look out the window instead of read the packet.  I could catch up on the reading after we'd reached the apartment.  I began noticing the traffic and it seemed the vehicles were in no hurry to indicate which lane they had a preference for.  They just sort of floated in and out of the lanes at will. As we got closer to the city center it became apparent that the notion of lanes was really only all in my head. It clearly was not a concept the drivers were aware of.

Then we started driving by things that were old.  I mean REALLY OLD! And they were big -- REALLY BIG! These half-tumbled down ruins of ancient buildings are still so impressive with their magnitude and what they speak of former times and people. We drove past many very old buildings that were very large and grand and not tumbled down, but plainly still in use.  The statues are immense.  The doorways are immense. And the sheer volume of it all seemed larger than life as we made our way in the bus.

We stopped at a place that looked like a town square or piazza.  I could not tell if the bus was stopped in the middle of the road or not, or whether when we were left standing there we were in the middle of the road or not.  The cobblestones covered the whole area and if there had been any street markings, they had long since faded and worn away. We were bundled into our taxi -- the four of us girls who will share an apartment on Via Baccini. And sent on our way.  Not too long and he came to a stop and indicated that our apartment was up that street there and he could not get his taxi through there.  So we tumbled back out onto the cobblestones,  paid him for the ride and began lugging our suitcases in the direction indicated.

We found a door in the wall that looked pretty much like all the other doors in the wall and the key did fit, but there was a little bit of anxiety as Sarah turned it this way and that before finally the door gave way.  We walked through a narrow tiled corridor, up ancient marble stairs two flights to the door on the left.  Again a little battle with the key,  but eventually we were in our new home. It's a pretty basic place but clean and adequate; two bedrooms for four of us, two bathrooms, plenty of desks and modular closet space.  We have views onto neghboring apartments and rooftops although we do not have a balcony.

The rest of the day was our own.  We all felt like going to bed but we needed to explore our neighborhood and become familiar with getting around.  Besides, we only wer provided with an almost used  up roll of toilet paper.  We HAD to find out where to purchase some of that before very much longer! So we hit the streets.

We tramped here and there before finally gaining the courage to actually go in a place.  We were hungry and there was a multidude of good things to eat on display but the whole procedure was foreign.  If I had been able to communicate more easily and had a clearer idea of how much things cost, I would have ordered one of the delectable looking sandwiches.  As it was, I ordered a lemon gelato and it was delicious! And I felt so victorious.

We decided to walk to the ACCENT student center where our classes will be held and find the way on foot instead of bus.  I think it must be almost 2 miles if you take a direct route.  We did not.  We had to keep getting out our map and trying to figure out where we were and what street are we looking for again? We finally did find it.  I was pretty sure I'd rather take the bus back but the rest of my young apartment mates wanted to hoof it back too.  We chose a different route back and it seemed a bit more direct.  We found a "dollar store" type shop where we bought t-p and soap. Then we navigated dinner at a nearby restaurant and made it home again. I took a hot bath that felt wonderful! I had wanted to blog before going to bed but I was falling asleep sitting up.  So I gave in and went to bed around 8:45, the sound of dogs barking, intermittent sirens in the distance and the local night life alive and well outside was my lullaby.

No (significant) events

Yesterday was a very long day.  It was actually 2 days...or if you consider that I lost 7 hours maybe it was more like 1.75 days.  If that sounds confusing to you, imagine how I must be feeling right now!

We left home just shortly after 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday the 17 of May.  The 2.5 hour trip to the airport was uneventful although we did run into some traffic before reaching it.  All the parking lots were full so my wonderful daughter, Adele (who was driving) just unloaded us at the sidewalk and was on her way.  It felt like we had just reached the top of a very long roller-coaster and were about to make our descent. We had no difficulty going thru security and getting checked in.  We had plenty of time which we used in getting to know some of the other students on the trip.

The 'profesore' collected our assignments and we were ready to board for Chicago. It was a pretty rough flight. I had taken my usual half-dose of motion sickness prevention but I was still feeling woosy.  It didn't help that just two rows ahead a young man had lost his cookies...apparently no one told him that's what a barf bag is for!  Yeah, it was pretty disgusting. I'm just glad I was not the flight attendant!

We had plenty of time in Chicago and were very hungry by that time so Charis and I found a Macaroni Grill and ate Italian before getting on the plane for Rome. After our experience with the rough flight from Minneapolis, I decided I would take a full dose of my motion sickness medicine before boarding the plane on top of the half-dose I had taken earlier in the day.  It always makes me feel very sleepy and drugged up...but I wanted to sleep on the plane anyway so I thought it might help.

We were served beverages immediately after takeoff and then supper shortly after that.  I was ready to start sleeping! I took my down blanket out of my bag and it sure was cosy. I was glad I had brought it. However, sleep was a little hard to come by.  The movie they were playing was "The Tourist" which was entertaining so I watched it for awhile.

The main problem was I was seated in the middle section of the plane on the aisle seat. There were three seats across and the girl in the middle really needed 1.5 worth of space.  That meant that each of us on either side needed to give up about 1/4 our space to accomodate her.  Not only that, she was a fidgetter.  She was either digging through her bag or getting up to use the toilet and just when I thought I was falling into some real sleep she would move and bump me awake again.  Many times throughout the night I prayed that God would give me compassion for her and that my annoyance would not overflow.  Really, since the plane was full there was nothing to be done in the situation except try to be gracious. I just closed my eyes, tuned my headphones to classical music and tried to be as still as possible -- which wasn't too difficult in my drugged state. The flight was smooth. My tummy was calm and we were well on our way to Rome!

Every so often they would display a screen showing where we were along our route.  We flew north over Canada, over the Grand Banks, across the ocean, over England and Paris and I think it was Austria. At some point our cruising "land speed" was over 1000 mph and the outside temperature was -59 degrees F. I thought that was pretty cool.

And then before you knew it we were landing in Rome.  It seemed like it could have been Arizona or any place for that matter.  The airport had its big signs with arrows pointing us toward Baggage Claim in both Italian and English.  We waited for our bags and trailed our professor through customs and out to the ground transport area. While we waited for our bus, we found an ATM and exchanged our "virtual money" for "play money." Now we're set...

Itinerary

Tuesday, May 17 is departure day -- and I still can't really believe I'm going to Italy! I thought I'd post our itinerary.  That way you can follow along and google any sights you'd like to see.

May 17   
  11:30 am -- depart Minneapolis
   1:20 pm -- arrive Chicago
   4:50 pm -- depart Chicago

May 18
  9:15 am -- arrive Rome, Italy (local time, which is 7 hours ahead of CDT)
  We are told to "find your apartment on a map and explore the area. Buy groceries for the evening meal...and try to overcome jet lag by staying up at least until 10:00 pm."

May 19
  Orientation at ACCENT (student center) followed by a walking tour and lunch provided. For the rest of the day we are encouraged to explore...suggested sites are the Pantheon and the piazza Navona.

May 20
  Continue with the exploration of ancient Roman sites - the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine or the nearby church of San Clemente. Or visit one of the most important museums of ancient Roman art, the Museo Nazionale Romano.

May 21
  Various suggestions for sight-seeing and exploring include the church of Santa Maria della Concezione, with a cemetery decorated with the bones of over 4,000 deceased monks. Or visit the Protestant Cemetery where the English poets Keats and Shelley are each buried. It is near the Spanish Stairway.

May 22
  Options include attending mass at Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (designed by Borromini.) Or find the Porta Portese where beginning early Sunday mornings the largest flea market in Europe takes place.

May 23
  Class begins with a lecture in the morning and a visit to Musei Vaticani in the afternoon.

May 24
  Morning lecture followed by visiting Campidoglio and then Musei Capitolini.

May 25
  Morning lecture and then going to Santa Maria della Pace; Pasquino and Galleria Doria-Pamphili.

May 26
  Morning tour of Sant'Agostino; Sant'Ivo alla Sapienze; San Luigi dei Francesi; piazza Sant'Ignazio; Sant'Ignazo; Il Gesu; Sant'Andrea della Valle; Santa Maria in Vallicella and Oratorio di San Filippo Neri. Lecture in the afternoon (I must remember to have a double esspresso with my lunch so I don't fall asleep!)

May 27
  Again touring in the morning -- Santa Maria del Popolo; Piazza di Spagna; Spanish Staircase; Sant'Andrea delle Fratte; Collegio di Propaganda Fide followed by an afternoon lecture.

May 28 & 29
  The weekend is free to do what we want.  I may look into traveling to Florence and seeing the Ufizzi Gallery.

May 30
  Meet and tour Ponte Sant'Angelo; St. Peter's; La Zecca. Lecture in the afternoon.

May 31
  Morning lecture followed by touring Palazzo Farnese; Santa Maria della Quercia and Palazzo Spada in the afternoon.

June 1
   Morning tour of Santa Maria degli Angeli; Santa Maria della Vittoria; Santa Susanna; San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane; San Andrea al Quirinale; Palazzo Rospigliosi Casino d'Aurora.

June 2
  Morning lecture. Afternoon visit to Palazzo della Cancelleria; Fountain of the Turtles; Palazzo Mattei; Santa Maria in Campitelli and Santi Martina e Luca.

June 3
  Meet at the top of the Spanish Staircase. Visit Casino Ludovisi; Santa Cecilia in Trastevere; San Francesco a Ripa; San Pietro in Montorio and Tempietto.

June 4&5
  Weekend free to do what we'd like.

June 6
  Lecture in the morning. Piazza Navona; Sant Agnese in Agone; Santa Maria sopra Minerva; Elephant Obelisk; Santa Maria in Via Lata; Palazzo Doria-Pamphili (exterior) and Chigi-Odescalchi in the afternoon.

June 7
  Morning lecture. Galleria Borghese in the afternoon.

June 8
  Classroom work in the morning followed by a visit to the Piazza Barberini; Triton Fountain and Fountain of the Bees.

June 9
  Morning tour of San Giovanni in Laterano; Santa Maria Maggiore; piazza al Quirinale; Palazzo della Consulta; Trevi Fountain; Accademia di San Luca; Santi Vincenzo de Anastasio; San Lorenzo in Lucina; Palazzo Ludovisi (now Montecitorio.) Work on finishing course paper in the afternoon.

June 10
  Turn in final paper. Travel to Tivoli and spend the day at Villa d'Este. A farewell dinner is served in the evening.

June 11
  11:30 am -- depart Rome
   3:10 pm -- arrive Chicago
   5:45 pm -- depart Chicago
   7:15 pm -- arrive Minneapolis

Home, sweet home!!
 


 

Packing

I can hardly believe departure date is just one week from today!! Every time I think of it I get butterflies in my stomach! So I've been thinking about how I want to pack things.  I have my basic wardrobe of 2 black skirts, 1 black trousers, 1 black capri pants and half a dozen short sleeved blouses to mix and match, along with a black lightweight cardigan.  I'll wear my shoes and pack my sandals. I'll wear the jewelry I plan to wear the whole time. (I bought some basic silver hoop earrings and an abalone shell pendant on a silver chain because of course I didn't want to risk losing my favorite accessories!)

My plan is to pack my clothing in a small carry-on suitcase and put that inside a larger suitcase that I will check. This will give me a suitcase for bringing home anything I might purchase while I'm gone.  I will carry on a backpack with my toiletries and one change of clothes in case my luggage gets lost. Also in the backpack will be my down blanket (I never travel without it.  It is lightweight, warm and squeezes down to practically nothing,) and my travel pillow. On the return trip, the backpack will pack flat without taking up too much room.  In my handbag I will have my camera, my guidebook and an empty water bottle I will fill after going through security. The only thing is to see if the double suitcase with all my clothes will still weigh in below 50 lbs.

I washed clothes yesterday so everything is clean and ready to go.  I am able to fit all but my sandals in the small suitcase, and yes, it fits inside the large one!  And good news -- altogether it only weighs 35 lbs!  But, of course I forgot the textbook I still need to pack and my sandals (which I will wear this week) These will easily fit inside the larger suitcase around the edges. I'm confident now that my plan will work. Yay!