Saturday update - food, falls, fossils

Wednesday night we ended up canceling Greek Club and instead 9 of us went out to dinner for Justine's last night in town. She had heard of this restaurant just north of the Theatre of Marcellus. It was really good - I should find out the name. I had a zucchini blossom, a mixed salad and grilled turbot. We all split some tiramisu for dessert.

Thursday we got up early (which has continued all week and probably will until we leave...) to go on the class trip on St. Thomas Aquinas. First we met everyone at Termini Station - Kristin R. you know it well! We took the train to catch a charter bus to Roccasecca, site of the castle where Thomas was born (see above) - nice country down there.



The locals come to fill up at the mountain spring. We found the road up to the castle closed for construction so we hung out by the bend in the road until a local man filling bottles told us his wife had keys. He drove of to get her while Reginaldus went through the life of Thomas.



He came back with his wife and she led us through the construction out to a small church which turned out to be the first church dedicated to St. Thomas Aquinas. It was lovely, so was the view. R. said that church had always been closed on his visits up there. So no castle, but a nice substitute. She then led us down into the medieval town into a more ornate church before we found the bus and left town.

Our next stop, after the bus dropped us off at the station for a brief train ride, was a tacky little town for lunch. We wandered all over and never found any place nicer to eat than this pizza shop. Their specialty? A fried roll stuffed with french fries and a hot dog. Ew! But Tim loved it - crazy Brit.



I stuck with the mini calzone.

After lunch we took an hour-long bus ride to Formia. I slept the whole way. The beach was as lovely as last time and we swam as long as we could. Despite some gross kids taking pictures while we got our clothes back on over our suits (and their stupid mothers who didn't believe us), the beach trip was relaxing and fun. But when walking quickly back to the station to make the train, I tripped and flew through the air. I somehow ducked my head, avoiding smashing it into the bench I ended up under. My leg wasn't so lucky.



Between our friend's superior Italian and Pat's awesome triage skills, we were able to get everything we needed from the swarm of helpful Italians that came to my aid. Water, ice, disinfectant, bandages - even a ride to the station.

The driver (a dude, or ragazzi, if I ever met one) wanted to take me to the hospital, but I knew it was only a surface scrape and nothing worth that. He got us to the station VERY fast, where the local cab drivers had already heard about the girl who fell. Ha! They swarmed around me and brought more disinfectant, wincing/cheering when Pat used it to clean the cut more.

We met our group and took the train to Fossa Nova, to the monastery where Thomas died.




We walked along the highway to Antonio's for a delicious dinner. Wine, local buffalo mozzarella, olives, pasta, fresh fruit. Love this place. It made me forget my leg (please ignore the salt-water hair and sunscreen face) and have a great night.



After dinner Antonio himself drove Reginaldus, Pat and I to the train station while the group walked. Train, home, bed.

Friday we somehow woke up time for our appointment at the Galleria Borghese. Lovely museum with some beautiful Bernini sculptures and Caravaggio paintings. We declined a walk through the park (my leg was still sore) and a 16 euro drink at Harry's Bar and instead viewed the Cappucine monk bones. Eh. We did duck into St. Andrew's (2nd largest dome in Rome) before having delicious salads at l'Insalata Ricca near the Largo Argentina.



I took a nap when Pat went to class and then we had a nice relaxing dinner at home. Gnocchi with pesto, frozen strawberry cake from the bakery and champagne.

This morning we went on the Scavi tour beneath St. Peter's. Despite their no camera policy and our fellow tourists' inability to realize it's a small space, the tour was fantastic. We walked under the Basilica, seeing tombs of pre-Christian Romans, then Christians and then finally St. Peter's tomb. Even if the validity of the bones is in question, it does seem like the tomb itself is Peter's. Sort of amazing that despite the hill being leveled and 4 churches being built over it in 2000 years, the tomb is still directly below the center of Michelangelo's dome in St. Peter's Basilica.

Speaking of dome, after the tour we decided to skip the Vatican museums again (I know, I know, but the long lines and 4 hours needed to view everything keep putting us off) and instead go to the top of the dome. Giving in a bit to my leg, we paid for the elevator for the first part. But then we had to climb the 320 stairs to the top.



Gah! If you are at all nervous of small spaces, avoid this! The walls slant in at one point when you are rounding the dome and I almost lost it - and I have no fear of heights or small spaces. Still, once at the top, there is a great view of the city.



We went down and looked for our friend the nun in the gift shop at the base of the dome. No luck. We did a bit of book shopping on the street before taking the bus back to our neighborhood. We stopped at a middle eastern place and had what they called kebob panini - actually gyro sandwich. Hooray for non-Italian food! But we did stop for gelato also - this time I tried 3 flavors, coffee, nut brittle and fig. Hooray for Italian food.

Since lunch, we came home, napped and Pat went to class. Tonight I'm meeting him and some classmates for dinner out. But we can't stay out too late - tomorrow morning we're braving the giant flea market at Porta Portese bright and early.

Wednesday - more shopping, spaghetti and saints

After last night's mosquito attack, we woke up drained (in more than one way) but managed to meet friends for a second shopping trip. Pat came this time, but bought nothing. Not for lack of trying - his big American feet are not accommodated by the dainty Italian men's shoes. I managed to buy a comfy pair of Gola ballet flats and some gifts for family.

We tried to continue shopping by traveling to the Lateran district and wandered a bit, finding a delicious fresh pasta lunch in a dumpy-looking trattoria instead. Something Abruzzi...

After lunch, Pat and I walked over to St. John Lateran, the 3rd of Rome's 4 Basilicas we've seen. It was really pretty, well, more stately, outside.



But inside it was beautiful. The floors were inlaid with cosmati mosaics and the walls & ceiling were covered in paintings, gold leaf and statues.




We'd heard that the baptistry was must-see but it was closed for a few more hours so we came home.

Tonight Greek club dinner here. Everyone's bringing pizza so I don't have to cook. A good thing since it's HOT here today. Afterward I think we're going out to send off one of Pat's classmates who is leaving tomorrow. I tihnk now is the begining of saying goodbye here until it's our turn in 13 days.

Tuesday fun: shopping, sightseeing and cinema

This morning after a whirlwind pre-landlord cleaning, Pat walked me up to the bus stop where we got coffees and waited for my friends Amanda and Juliet to meet me to go shopping. Pat stayed home to work & deal with the dishwasher repair guy. What a guy! The rest of us shopped briefly around Trastevere before crossing the bridge to the superior sales along the Campo di Fiori and via del Corso. My bargains - a shirt at Zara and a dress (Kristin R. - that cute black and white print one, 30% off!) and shoes at Ethic.

Forced to rush, we cut shopping short to tour the Domus Aurea - Nero's Golden House. It was a letdown since most of the rooms are under renovation. Wait a few years to go. Still, we wore hardhats.



Fun fact: after Nero's death, Trajan filled in the rooms of the golden house with dirt and built public baths above it. In this room they found the only statue not removed to decorate the baths, probably left behind since it was broken and faceless already.



After that, some of us went back to my neighborhood to share a bottle of white wine before their class. I came home and chatted online with Nihad and Melissa for a long time. I'm strangely torn between excitement about going home and knowing I'll miss Rome. But either way I miss my friends and can't wait to see you all in August.

I met Pat up at his class and we went with Martin to check out the Villa Medici's outdoor cinema series. The theme is Dark Side of Hollywood this week and tonight's movie was David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. We took a roundabout route to get there, including our first walk down the via Veneto. George - we'll be going to Harry's Bar some time soon I hope.

We entered the Villa Borghese park and tried to cut through to the French Academy but ended up having to go through the subway station which let us out at the bottom of the Spanish Steps. Bizarre. Anyway, it worked out since we got delicious pizza.

We ran up the steps and into the Villa then up more stairs out to the gorgeous courtyard/roof-terrace in the back where they were screening the movie.



The film looked amazing on projected film (not video) and there was a packed house. And hooray for a non-dubbed movie! Plus we had an amazing view of the park at sunset.



After the movie (creepy, confusing and cool as when I first saw it), we admired the view of the city before heading home on the always exciting night bus.

Our Morning with the Caravaggios

IMG_3816.JPG, originally uploaded by pbartleby.

Our friend Tim recommended a Saturday morning sprint to see all the Caravaggios tucked away in the churches of Rome. Needless to say, it was a morning filled with highlights, including the Inspiration of St. Matthew at S. Luigi dei Francesi.

Follow you, follow me

Yes, we went to the free Genesis concert along with 500,000 of our closest Roman friends. But first...

After a late night with the Greek group Wednesday night, we got up fairly early and went up to the Vatican bookstore. We walked around the Borgo (neighborhood of Vatican City) and had a lovely lunch at Borgo Antico. It's Slow Food certified and the eggplant terrine is delicious. Any hungry Vatican-goers who want to avoid the overpriced trattorias should look for it on Borgo Pio.



Stayed in Thursday night and relaxed Friday. Friday night we had friends over for dinner again - grilled squid, fresh pasta and salad. Plus a new drink - coke and bitters. Then poker. Yikes, a late night.

Despite that we got up early Saturday morning and met Lukas and Tim in Campo di Fiori to see the Caravaggio's at all the churches Tim had researched. They were amazing!



We also saw some Raphael frescos - I love how the best stuff is sometimes in churches and free to the public here instead of locked in a museum (I'm looking at you, Vatican) where you'd have to pay to see it. Well, you have to pay the 10 cents to turn the lights on in the churches... Plus it was great to go along with someone else's plan for once.

After we met up with Amanda at one of the last churches, we went out to lunch of pasta and saw all the SALDI signs on the stores. That's right, it's the month-long summer shopping sale in Rome. All the shops observe and I think we're going out Tuesday to check them out. Weak dollar be damned!

We walked over to the Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) Museum on the Tiber after lunch. We had planned to check it out eventually, but the opening of the "45 years of Valentino" exhibit sealed it for me. It was so cool! I loved all the Valentino gown-decked mannequins surrounding the beautiful altar like Vestal Virgins.



The exhibit itself downstairs included all the famous gowns worn to the Oscars, more clothes and accessories though the years and, my favorite, his sketches from the 50's through next season.



This is me with the Oscar gowns (Cate Blanchett's to my right) smiling before I saw the 07-08 sketches. Hint - small bows are going to be everywhere. Hmm...maybe 45 years is long enough. The Ara itself was beautiful, surrounded with relief of Romans enjoying the years of peace Augustus brought to them. Very serene in the modern setting of the museum.

After the museum, Pat and I went to a grattachecca stand along the Tiber. Yum - shaved ice with fresh fruit syrups. Lemon-citron for me, orange for Pat.



We crossed the river and wound our way through Prati before busing home. Quick nap for Pat before class. I met him and some of his classmates after class for dinner at this LAME American-style steak place. The food sounded gross so we just ordered beers (draft, good!) and ended up getting a slice of pizza afterward instead. Good choice, since the nachos looked like they were drowned in canned cheese. But they were showing "Endless Summer" on the TVs, so that was kinda cool.

Speaking of kinda cool, we then walked through Trastevere, across the Tiber Island and went to the Circus Maximus for the Genesis concert. It was crowded, dusty, silly and awesome. Phil Collins is both a cheeseball and a great performer. We all rocked out (as much as that is possible) to the surpisingly good sound system and sang along to the hits.

This kid did not enjoy Genesis, but Pat and Dave (seen here as only a cheering arm) shared the crowd's excitement.





I couldn't believe how many people showed up - the news estimated 500,000 - based on the scooters parked nearby it seems like a low-ball figure.



Sunday we slept in a bit, skipping the weekly class trip (the Forum this week, which we've seen many times) and opting to meet friends to go out to Tivoli instead. We saw parts of Rome new to us, full of pushier suburbanites and more annoying public transportation. But we also saw this:



First we went to Hadrian's Villa and wandered the ruins before checking out the museum and the huge Egyptian-style pool.



We had fun but I had thought I'd read about fountains. Turns out I was thinking of another estate in Tivoli, so Pat and I parted ways with the group when they were heading back to Rome (a decision helped by their bus being packed with belligerent & drunken teens) and instead took the other bus into Tivoli proper.

After a bit of confusion about the location, we wandered down Medieval streets to the Villa d'Este. The admission was high and we only had an hour, but we soon forgot that once we went inside.



Huge views of the countryside, gorgeous fountains and lush (in an area where we'd witnessed 3 hill-side fires that day) gardens. Every turn made me gasp. We heard the Fountain of the Organs but sadly didn't see it in time - apparently the water pressure makes the different notes.

The gardens were filled with water and modern art, my new view of heaven. Long pools and a huge variety of fountains. Seriously, my favorite place of the trip so far.





After that we walked out into the town square again and saw the view from the Garibaldi Walk but wanted to get back to Rome before nightfall. The bus-subway-bus trip home wasn't so bad and we ended up observing our Sunday tradition of non-Italian food for dinner. This week - Indian at Jaipur in Trastevere.

We'd forgotten to eat all day so we ended up getting the Sunday dinner for 2 - samosas, tandoori chicken, lamb masala, eggplant puree, chana dal, chicken korma, beer, pistachio ice cream and milk pudding. A little of everything and man, was it tasty. Better dal than NYC, but honestly, it was just nice to taste some different spices. Plus our waiter was adorable, greeted us with champagne and gave us magazines when we left.

Despite dropping a shelf on my foot getting to bed and almost giving Pat a heart attack, our night was relaxing. And so is today. This week, tours with friends, shopping the sales, the beach and the Scavi under St. Peter's.

Another week of living, not posting

Around Sunday I realized I hadn't posted here in a week with an update. And then I realize how long it would have to be and went swimming instead. Now 3 days later I'm making time - and the update will be even longer. Feel free to skip to the photos.

Monday & Tuesday last week were spent catching up on some sleep and hosting a couple of Leah's friends here. We went out for dinner at Dar Poeta for the best pizza of my life. Seriously, it was amazing. Oh, I wandered around the Campo di Fiori and saw several art galleries. Otherwise a chill couple of days.

Wednesday Kristin R. arrived and I met her at the train station. We brought back her stuff and went shopping for our BBQ that night. Pat brought home the Greek group and we had a great time. Yes, we had to get the butcher to hand-grind several kilo's of steaks into burgers and yes, the hot dogs were so small it was 2 to a bun, but it was as American as we could manage. There was even an impromptu singing of the Star Spangled Banner by our international crew and a lively debate about global politics. How patriotic was that?

The next day Kristin got us on the tourist track and we all headed out to see the Palazzo Borghese - an art museum in the largest park in Rome. The buses weren't co-operating though and we were going to miss our appointment. So since we were already close, we went to the Capitaline Museum instead. It was like the greatest hits collection of Roman art. Mostly intact statues, famous mosaics, the original bronze of Marcus Aurelius. After that, we walked through the Forum and tried to go to a lunch place I'd read about but it was closed and since it was after 3PM we had to brave a tourist spot. The food was fine but thank goodness we checked the drink prices before ordering - 1 beer was the same as 1 of our lunches.

After that Pat headed to class and Kristin and I shopped, not getting much. We met Pat after class at al Pau for dinner. The food was delicious (especially the "linguine al pao" which had porchinis & clams) but we had to turn down gelato-man on the walk home since we were all stuffed.

Friday was another action-packed day. We again woke up really early and took the train up to Florence. We paid for speed but even the Eurostar took 1.5 hours. It was completely worth it though.

Firenze was incredible. I'm not sure how Katie and I could have hated it in 1999 (although I blame lack of sleep and crappy weather), but I think it's gorgeous now. Our preparation had been a quick read of the NYT's 36 hours in Florence and a brief web surf, but I think we did a surprising amount of fun stuff in one day.

We started by buying a map and wandering the streets, stopping in to a small church, passing the Duomo, seeing the Ponte Vecchio and heading back in to the Uffizi. We decided to eat lunch before dealing with the line. We lunched at the Osteria Belle Donne - delicious non-Roman Italian food despite a brusque waiter - then walked past Dante's house and bought fantastic jewelry nearby. Back at the Uffizi, we waited for 2 hours to get in, taking turns walking around the square. K. bought wonderful gifts at the Market of the Little Pig but I couldn't decide on a purse for myself.

Once we got into the museum, it was worth the wait. The guides said to try to make it through tthe first 12 rooms but we somehow walked through all 45. The first rooms housed gold-leaf altar paintings from the 13th century - amazing even out of context. But it was the Botticelli's that almost made me cry. I can't explain the amazing experience of seeing these paintings in person. We wandered through the rest of the rooms but I had to go back one more time. We wandered downstairs to leave and saw yet another exhibit (so much art!) but just walked through to the gift shop(s!!) and outside.


After that we were a bit dazed but energized so we crossed the river to the bar the NYT's recomended for free food with your cocktail. They weren't kidding - forget dinner, we ate a feast at the bar. On the way to another bar, we spotted a staircase and started climbing. My feet were about to fall off at this point but we made it to the top. The view was incredible.

We didn't have time for a bar after that and so we hobbled to the train station only to find out our train was delayed. Gah! We collapsed on the platform but finally made it home around 1AM. Birthday calls to the folks & bed.

Saturday I turned 30 and celebrated by sleeping in. Kristin and I went to the Colosseum and tried a friend's trick for skipping the line. It worked! You just walk up through the Forum to the entrance of the Palatine Gardens and buy the ticket there. In 10 minutes, we were done. At the Colosseum all we had to do was walk through security and we were in. I found the structure itself interesting, but mostly felt the same way viewing it from outside. After spa pedicures, Kristin's first gelato, naps and primping, we went out to dinner with John, Leah and Amanda at Dar Poeta again. It's that good. After that, drinking in the piazza - what a way to ring in my 30th birthday. By acting 19...

Sunday morning came early but we rushed to the train station Amazing Race-style (aka arguing, running and general chaos) and made the train to Formia with Pat's class. After a nice walk around the town we came to the main draw for me - the beach. I'm slightly horrified that in over a month this is only our second time at the beach. Formia is gorgeous though - clean water, uncrowded beach, soft sand. Despite a hilariously bad service at lunch (I had to wait 2 hours for my food - hahahah!), we persevered, some of us opting to skip Cicero's tomb and returning to the beach instead. Lovely.

Monday was a comedy of errors, but it worked out in the end. Kristin R. went to the Vatican and I was supposed to meet her at a bridge at 1PM. Somehow we got the bridges confused and I waited at a different one than her. I'd been shopping all morning with Amanda & another classmate's wife and we couldn't find the stores we were looking for either. A rough start to the day. Eventually we got lunch and I picking up Pat's keys from class. Luckily Kristin had found her way home and we eventually laughed about it. We bought steaks and veggies for dinner and grilled out for her last night in Rome, beginning it as she started it. We had so much fun just hanging out in the yard talking and drinking wine until very late.

Tuesday we took Kristin to the train station to get her to the airport - sorry to see her go. She's a fabulous houseguest! Pat and I wandered around the booksellers and a church, which we mistakenly thought was the one with the monk's bones, then got sandwiches and walked up to St. Peter in Chains church only to find it closed too. We did get to walk through the stairway where one Borghia killed another (Lucrezia?).

Today we had everyone over for Greek club again so I made lasagnas (one vegetarian with spinach noodles, one with sausage), salad and grilled peaches. Pat and I had attempted a trip to the Vatican this morning but gave up on the buses and went shopping instead.

The most exciting news is that we heard from the Scavi tour people today - we will get to go on one of their tours of the catacombs beneath St. Peter's next week! We'd heard July was booked but maybe there was a cancelation. Should be claustrophobic, gruesome fun.