What I am enjoying
· All the beautiful places! I look at St. Peter’s and stand in awe. I’ve been in Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, the piazza outside the Pantheon, and various other places tons of times & just can’t get enough of it. The size, the history, the art, the beauty, people everywhere – just can’t get enough! I love when I’m sitting at one of these places & I hear someone’s expression when they see it for the first time…it takes me back to when I first saw it and I can’t help but smile. I also enjoy when I can share any info I have about what to see or where to go with someone else visiting – it’s a bit of a way to share the places with others. And I hope I can find even more ‘hidden treasures’ to share!
I’ve been fortunate enough to be inside St. Peter’s for probably about 10 hrs already (not at the same time, but in total) and am still in awe every time I go in there. I can’t grasp everything that is in there or the size or the beauty. For any of you that have not had the opportunity to see it, I don’t even know how to begin to describe it except that it is amazing. The imagine when the built it and what they were using to build it and how long it must have taken them and just the sheer size of the place – amazing.
Since I’ve been here I have been fortunate to see Pope Benedict 3 times and it probably won’t be the last times. Growing up I never thought I’d get to see the Pope once, much less one Pope 3 times in less than 2 weeks.
I am a 10 minute walk from St. Peter’s, so a couple Sundays I woke up and decided ‘I’m going to go to 12:15 mass this Sunday at St. Peter’s!’ and off I go to attend mass there. I can go see Michelangelo's Pietà any time I want to (for any of you who haven’t see that – it’s an amazing statue…so real and life like I can’t comprehend that it’s actually marble).
This weekend I decided to attend mass in the Pantheon – only took me about 15 minutes to get there on the bus & walking. (you can see links to pictures I took inside the Pantheon during mass here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41661&l=e1c8f&id=800405227)
Do you know how amazing it is to just be able to wake up & say I want to go to mass at St. Peter’s or at the Pantheon. Never in a million years did I think I would be able to do that!
· There always seems to be something to do. Any night if I get bored I just start walking & I typically run into some sort of festival, or can go watch the entertainers in Piazza Navona, or can go shopping (well not at night, but during the day), or just go somewhere & people watch. It’s always something. And during the summer there are festivals all over. In Trastevere (one of the areas in Rome) during the summer they set up booths, restaurants, movie viewing areas, etc. along the Tiber river and have it open every evening. One Sunday I met this guy who showed me around there and we ended up having dinner at one of the restaurants there. We were leaving around 11pm and some people were just getting there – so Romans really do eat late!
I remember when I first vacationed in Rome one of our tour guides was talking about how the emperors would always make sure there were lots of things for the people to do because if they kept them busy and entertained, then the emperors could basically do whatever they want and no one would mind. Thus they had the Roman baths & the gladiator matches at the Colosseum, etc. It still seems like there is a bit of the idea of making sure there are a lot for the people to do here and to keep them entertained – the free festivals, events all the time, free newspapers, and then you even have the free water fountains that are running all the time where you can get water (and it’s good & cold).
Every Friday I think to myself ‘hmmm…what can I do this weekend?’. I’ll go online and look at the events going on (if you ever go to Rome, look at the site http://www.inromenow.com/ , it’s the best!). I typically have a list of 3 or 4 things to go see and don’t think I’ve ever made it to all of them on my list!
This weekend I went to the Valentino exhibit at the new museum Ara Pacis and it was just amazing. The videos and pictures don’t really do it justice, but it was the best that I could do.
You can see my videos & photos of these at the following links:
Valentino videos of dresses:
http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=15021263
http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=15022750
http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=15023899
Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41669&l=33db5&id=800405227
(I have about 65 pictures in total that I took, so if you want to see more let me know & I will send you the link to my pictures that are on kodakgallery.)
Two weekends ago I saw that one of the churches in Trastevere was having this festival honoring the Virgin Mary that lasted for 2 weekends and during the course of the festival they had various processions where they carried the statue of Mary through the streets and the one on the Sunday was down the Tiber river. It was suppose to go close to where I lived, so I headed out there to see what it was all about. It wasn’t really that many people there, but it was interesting to watch. I think more people were in the neighborhood where the procession ended.
For pictures of various places I’ve been and things I’ve seen, see the pictures I’ve posted here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41654&l=f1f60&id=800405227
The shopping is unbelievable. I have never been one for very high fashion and just stayed out of the “high end” stores in the Galleria. But I now I will walk into Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Fendi, Dolce & Gabanna – not to buy, but just to look and to see what type of stuff they have and how much it really is. It’s almost like going into another museum – just a fashion one. I don’t think I’ll ever understand what makes a shirt €800 when it’s made out of the same fabric as a €50 or how people can wear €400 not walk around with a body guard for them, but it is fun to look.
One thing I haven’t quite figured out yet is how the Italians afford the clothes here. Because although they are much cheaper than buying them abroad, even many the non-high end items are a bit expense when you compare them to the salaries people make. For instance I’ve been looking for a pair of dress shoes and have seen very few that are less than €100 – and that’s during the sales! And I’m taking little shops down some small street and all kinds of places, not just the ones by the Gucci and Prada shops.
· The food, caffè (espresso), & wine! Although I am starting to miss some international food a bit (especially Mexican & PF Chang’s- a Chinese restaurant we have in Houston), I must say most of the food here is really good. For lunch I can typically get pizza or pasta for about €5 or less. Dinner if you sit down at a restaurant will be about €10 or as much at €45 (for more typical, full course meals). I have had a couple things I really didn’t like or didn’t think was worth the money, but for the most part I really enjoy it. I have found that buying fresh fruits and vegetables is pretty easy and affordable, especially because of all the open markets and even little food stands that sell them (there is one close to my office open every day).
Caffè (esspresso) after lunch is a common thing – and pretty much every Italian does it. I’ve finally learned how to work the coffee machine in the office which has free caffè, so I’ve started to drink that more often now. It’s not as good as the one in the bars, but it’s free and convenient. Plus it’s fun to watch because the machine actually has this little ‘arm’ that brings out your coffee!
I wasn’t much of a wine drinker back home, but I’m also starting to enjoy having a glass of wine with dinner and have found that the house wines are really cheap and still good. I like both the red and the white wines. I have learned the hard way though to make sure you don’t drink too much wine and/or grappa (a very strong after dinner liquor). It’s not a good combination!
Oh and some things I’ve just fallen in love with and never even knew I liked them…like eggplant and artichokes. Now artichokes I’m still not all that fond of, but will eat it now. But eggplant I love! I even buy it at the market and fix it up myself…never knew I liked it!
Another thing I’ve noticed is that usually lunch is very light (or at least with my colleagues), is not typically long, and most of the time is eaten standing up. Maybe it’s just in the area where our office is, but most of the pizzerias & bars are pretty small so what they will do is set up tables outside where you can stand or there will be benches nearby. So you go and order what you want (pizza, panino, etc.) they give it to you in parchment paper or your pasta in a plastic plate and you stand on the sidewalk eating it. I actually kind of like it that way. You get to stand for a bit, get some fresh air, and don’t spend any time sitting around chatting afterwards. After that you the whole group heads for an caffè.
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