Atrani

Yesterday I recieved some sad news about this beautiful coastal town where I spent four days last summer. Due to some heavy rains, the town experienced a massive flash flood Sept. 9th. One person, a young woman who worked at the bar where we spent our afternoons at "crazy hour, is missing, presumed dead. Please keep these beautiful people in your thoughts and prayers as they try to recover from this disaster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7Kb7sq12mo

Why Italy's Economy is Failing...

... or "Is Italy too Italian?"

I think this article is very representative of the culture that I got a glimpse of while I was in Rome. The small artisan shop keepers are cliquish and, Americans might argue, overpriced, yes; but I think it is dangerous to assume that Italy should abandon it's celebrated tradition and commitment to quality, simply because the rest of the world is growing at a faster rate. The US economy is only "growing" so quickly because we outsource everything to cheaper labor in China. If we're not careful, China will control or own 90% of the world's GDP in a decade. I think Italy needs to stick by its traditions. In my opinion, that's part of the reason why Europe, or at least Italy, has such a different and frankly, more enjoyable, atmosphere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/business/global/01italy.html

Adventures in Italian baking!

Here's a "traditional" Italian ricotta cheese cake that I baked. My additions include the graham crust, and slightly more vanilla. Only slightly sweet, it works as both a coffee and a desert cake. I think next I will make one with huckleberries...

Final Studio Project

Here is my final studio project, done by hand in watercolor. Please excuse the awful pictures, the boards had been rolled and were warped by the water as well. Everyone's projects were done by hand and they were all fantastic!


As the program winds down, it's fun to reflect on how much I've learned here. In the beginning, eight weeks sounded like such a long time, but it has gone by incredibly quickly. There are things I will miss (and things that I won't) but I'm so lucky to have been given the chance to have such a great experience.

Leaving Rome

I'm leaving tomorrow. Here's a few lists:

Things I will miss about Italy:

fresh mozzarella
Tiramisu
Gelato
Teatro di Gelato
Gelato di san crispino
Giovanni
Cornetti
amazing sketching opportunities at every turn
the Pantheon
Piazza Navona
Fresh, clean, Free, Cold water
My piazzas
good wine
fresh bread
hanging out with friends in the piazzas
friendly Italians
shopping

Things I will not miss:

Mosquitoes the size of Texas
windows without screens
$23 bottles of sunscreen
being stared at. all.the.time
dorky shoes
sunburns
heat + humidity
feeling stupid for not being able to speak Italian
my camera "bling" when it turns on in a church/ museum/ other quiet place
the outrageous price of museum tickets

Visit to Venezia

For my last weekend in Europe, I took a trip to Venice by myself to explore and see sights. Venice truly is unlike any other city in the World. It was built on a series of marshy islands, with the marble building foundations raised on wooden pillars above the waterline. At the time, the depth of the canal was about 16 ft shallower than it is today,so these building were well above the water level. However, each year the average water level rises, compounding the problem of the sinking pillars.

This same system of canals also makes Venice extremely difficult to navigate, even for Europe. In Rome, if the building you want to visit is across the street, you cross the street. In Venice, if the building is across the canal, you find the nearest bridge (not always easy), and then have to return to the original spot. Some streets dead-end in canals, and no stretch of road runs paralell to the canals, even the Grand Canal, for any useful period of time. Sometimes a street will even dead-end in the side of a building that projects farther into the canal than its neighbors.

This meant that Venice was probably the best city to have visited without a set agenda. Sure, I saw the major sites; the Doge's Palace, St. Mark's, The Accademia, Ponte Rialto, but I didn't have to be anywhere at a certain time. I got plenty of time to sketch (paint) and one nice German man asked me if I was "painting to sell"! I was flattered, but told him no, only for school. Venice was probably one of my favorite places to paint so far because everything casts interesting reflections in the canals, even if the buildings themselves are fairly mundane.

I also enjoyed looking at the beautiful Carnival masks (played up due to tourism, yes, but still sutnning). I would love to return to Venice someday during the Carnevale.

The Gondole, also touristy, were decorated in velvets and gilts, and all dressed up for a romantic evening. They appear more sinister than I had first imagined, more like funeral boats or daggers slicing through the water than nostalgic, romantic modes of transportation. They are long and sleek and black, and reminded me of some kind of fantastic assassins guild. The fin on the prow, called a dolfin in Venetian looked more like a weapon than a symbolic representation of the islands and landmarks of Venice. I wanted to ride in a gondola, but it was 80 euro for a 40 minute ride. I took the Vaparetto, the water bus, instead.

There it is! My trip to Venice in a nutshell. With only four more days in Rome, everyone is buckling down on studio and piazza projects. I can't believe this trip is winding down so fast!

Ciao! a domani,
Laura

P.S. if I can't come home with a Roman cat, can I come home with a Vespa?

vittoria!

I made my final purchase today! And yes, they have less arch support than a piece of matzo, but they're molto carino, no?

Alright,

My last post was a bit of a novel and I apologize. So, succinctly put: I have more pictures on Flickr.

Ciao!.

Vatican Scavi

Today I got the great privilege to visit the Vatican Necropolis, or the excavated area under Saint Peter's Basilica. I wasn't even allowed to have a camera, so no pictures unfortunately. By some stroke of luck (or providence?) I missed the original bus I was planning on taking and got to the excavations office 10 minutes late for my scheduled tour. The office was kind enough to let me step in on the next tour, which only consisted of myself and an older couple from Virgina. The other tours that we saw passing us consisted of ten or 12 people. What luck!

A jolly Englishman lead us through the excavations after explaining a brief history of the various layers of the present St. Peter's. (The High Altar of St. Peter's is built directly over the Tomb of St. Peter). This tour tied together so much information that we've been learning so far, from the martyrdom of St. Peter and the persecution of the Christians, to the legalization of Christianity by Constantine, to the adaption of Pagan rituals and symbols by the Christians.

The tomb of St. Peter itself is visible only as a small, triangular pile of red burial tile from the front side. (St. Peter was given a poor man's burial in haste during the night after his crucifixion). However, I think this make the experience of seeing his tomb more worthwhile.

In all the gilt and pomp of St. Peter's, it is comforting to be reminded that Peter was just an "ordinary" man. His grave is surrounded by the graves of Roman citizens (one whose epitaph condones indulging in drink and beautiful women). Peter's supposed bones are described as belonging to a robust 5'7" man, those of a fisherman. While it is easy to utilize various Christian metaphors of fish and fishermen, the fact remains that Peter's was an honest and difficult profession, and his physical body showed signs of this difficulty. Seeing St. Peter's burial site reminded me that, every sarcophagi I've seen, every bust portrait or epitaph, belongs to a departed soul that once inhabited this same planet. Each of theses souls starts and ends the same way, each gracing the planet for a minuscule flash of 80 years.

Gandhi and Buddha were ordinary people. Einstein and Gallileio, Da Vinci and Raphael, President Lincoln and Queen Elizabeth ; all were ordinary people. What makes us human is the possibility that our life has the power to inspire others. While St. Peter's grave is the holiest of places for some, for me it represents the potential of life; the idea that a seed planted by a small , visually insignificant grave, may someday grow into a gilded basilica; the idea that one, plain life is poised to affect change is countless others.

Happy 4th, Roma!

Happy 4th of July from Rome! This is probably the quietest 4th I've had in a long time. This morning I went and tried to tour a church (it was closed), and went to Trajan's Forum and Markets. These are some old buildings that used to house, obviously, markets and are very well preserved/ restored. There are some very interesting spatial compositions due to the markets being reconstructed over the site of old Temples, as well as retro-fitted structural enhancements after the original structure started to collapse.

It was a neat day exploring the markets, and I got some time to watercolor, although it didn't turn out very well, so I won't post it :P.

On the way home I stopped and got some potato chips to celebrate, and although they are not as satisfying as my favorite "Sweet Onion" chips at home, they weren't so salty that they hurt your mouth, like Lays. (A good thing). I wish I had a delicious veggie burger and some state-shaped Jello to go with!

Tonight the roommates who aren't in Florence and I are going out to a fancy dinner, and maybe try to find some fireworks somewhere.

Love from Italy!
Happy Birthday America!

...

I know, I know,Vatican Museums and pictures... honestly I've been so busy and I don't think I'll have time to sort everything out here I might just post that stuff when I get home...

So instead, here's a stream-of-consciousness piece I wrote while sitting in Largo Febo contemplating the possibility of dinner...

I'm sitting in Largo Febo, wondering if I should eat dinner at St. Lucia even though I promised Mike we would go together this weekend, and watching tourist after tourist exclaim and snap photos of the ivy-covered facade of Hotel Raphael. The terrace of Raphael is too expensive (22 euro for risoto), otherwise I would eat there.

I'm watching a young woman wobble by in heels and I'm reassured about wearing my dorky Keens even while contemplating the wide-spread availability of cute sandals. I want to buy another dress (yes, another) and a cute pair of sandals, but I'm living on borrowed money as it is. The sales ladies here are not shy and will open the curtain mid-dress to see if everything is "ho-Kay, madama" no matter how many times you assure them it is.

A man with fake Coach bags draped over his arms wanders by and a woman is wearing a lace dress that I'm sure would be very attractive with a slip underneath, except that she's not wearing one and I've just seen more of her upper thigh than I would care to. Another, older, woman walks by with two women who I would like to think are her sisters. They are arguing in American Southern Drawl about which street to take and I'm reminded of how much I wish my sisters were here with me.

I have fallen head over heels for this city! I do not want to leave here, even though the nice waiter at the cafe, who asks me if I am lost because "it has been many times I have walked by" says that one of two months here is nice, but living here is hard. I want to sit and watch the beautiful women with their high heels and cigarettes carry their expensive designer lap dogs in their expensive designer purses. I want to plop down on he cobblestones right in front of a speeding Vespa and lay back and watch the Swifts chase each other through the fiery rays of setting sun, and eat gelato and drink wine forever!

I want to stay in Rome forever!
...

Yes, I am aware that this isn't the finest piece of literature. It's really cliche, actually. But that's OK because it's how I feel about Rome. Providing that I had the company of certain people and the luxury of a toilet with a seat, I really think I could stay here for a very long time and be quite happy.

Finally: St. Peter's!

I'm so exhausted I can barely write this, but I feel like I need to get it online before I forget everything. Today was our group trip to St. Peter's and the Vatican museums. I had never been inside before (having visited the exterior only once before), and I was in for a treat! Unfortunately I wore my "good" shoes (to be more respectful) and not my comfortable ones, and my feet are not pleased...

Asides aside, My favorite part of the Basilica was either the dome or Michaelangelo's Pieta (I was pleasantly suprized to find out you are allowed to take pictures anywhere inside the basilica). Unfortunately, the statue is behind a rope in a bulletproof glass box 5m away after someone attacked it with a hammer in the 1980's (?). It was still beautiful and awe-inspiring, nonetheless. (click pics to enlarge).

I also got to climb the inside of the dome of St. Peter's. (I should note here that I didn't get to, I paid 5 Euro for the "privilege". But why wouldn't I?! )

Here is a picture from the lower edge of the drum, on the interior of the church. It isn't very good because of the 1" metal mesh safety screen.




The stairs after this point are tiny and wedged between walls leaning at a crazy angle. This picture is taken parallel to the stair on which I'm standing. It was a little claustrophobic and, with my sense of balance, probably a little dangerous!

This picture is from the Verrry top, just under pinnacle swoop above the main dome, looking out over St. Peter's square. (Which, by the way, Dad, was designed by both Bernini and Michelangelo at some point...)

...aaaand here's me being a dork in St. Peter's square :)

I think the Vatican Museums deserve their own post, so I'll put more of that up tomorrow (as well as more pics on flickr if I ever get the chance!)

Ciao Vediamo, Buona Notte!

Perugia and Assisi

Last weekend, our group went to Assisi, home of St. Francis.

The best night, we hiked up to the Rocca Maggiore, or castle at the top of the hill, and enjoyed wine and cheese while watching the sunset. Assisi is a magical place. Not only is it the pilgrimage site for St. Francis, it is spatially and visually fascinating. In the 1920's most of the stucco facades were removed, exposing the stone structure underneath. A local rose-colored stone is used, mixed with white/yellow stone, and this lends each building its own unique charm.

The tourists are nicer and calmer, and everyone is more polite, perhaps out of respect to the presence of St. Francis. He is buried under the Basilica that shares his name in a quiet, dramatically lit chapel of the lower church. I thought a side chapel filled with relics was one of the more fascinating spaces in the church. The relics included St. Francis's robe, worn by him almost 800 years ago and pieced together with hundreds of patches upon patches, as well as a piece of calf-skin that was placed over his side to help ease the pain of the Stigmata which he received later in life. These relics did not look 800 years old, and were located in a brightly lit, non- air-conditioned room. I have trouble believing that they are the actual relics themselves, but I cannot imagine replacing the originals with duplicates, as that removes all the power of a relic in the first place. Nevertheless, I felt honored and blessed to have the rare opportunity to be in the presecense of such a great force of good in the world.

I imagine it would feel about the same as visiting Ghandi's tomb in New Delhi.

Also-as a side note- We had the BEST bathroom in Assisi. It's nice even by American standards (and, I've noticed, we really are too picky about the size/ quality of our bathrooms) For Italy, it was unheard of.

Re:

Gelato!

My most recent adventurous flavor conquests:

Ricotta Basil
Almond
Lemon Torte
Zuppa Inglese (cream English Trifle)
Rosemary
Chocolate chili
Tartufo
and

Nutella.

All were delicious, even if slightly little less than adventurous...

Update!

I've been so behind on my blogging lately, I don't think I can ever catch up! But I'll try for a quick summary. (It's still going to be long, though, so bear with me.)

I've been busy with class and school. The weekend was fun, if not hectic.

On Friday, after visiting the most amazing art gallery, Galleria Borghese, we browsed around town visiting several churches and monuments. Most noteable of these was probably the Capuchin Monastery, Santa Maria Della Concezione. While the monastery was being built, the brothers needed a place to bury their dead, so they piled them in a side chapel. The chapel now holds over 4000 bodies of monks, mostly broken apart and used for decorations, but some are whole. We also visited Mussolini's old Villa, although it has now been converted to a botanical garden for Sapienza. There was no mention of Mussolini's name anywhere in or around the Villa, not even on the street signs. I though it was interesting that, given Rome's massive history, it is this most recent period that they would like to forget.

We took a trip to Tivoli and Villa D'este on Saturday. These are beautiful gardens are designed around fountains, commissioned by Ippolito d'Este after he lost his papal bid in 1560. The villa was abandoned under the Hapsbrug family, and fell into disrepair. It passed through several more hands, finally becoming property of the Italian state in 1920. It was damaged again in WW II, but has been undergoing renovations almost constantly since the 1980's.

All the Fountains rely on old mechanics and water pressure to function, making this feat of engineering even more impressive.
I thought the best fountain was the organ fountain, which was originally powered by forcing oxygenated air through the pipes while someone manually played the keys. I'm not sure how it works now, but it goes off automatically every 2 hours. Luckily this coincided with the end of our visit, so we got to hear it play. The picture is of the "walk of 100 fountains".

On Sunday I went to the Porta Portese market as I mentioned before, and on Monday we managed to catch an exhibit of Monets, as well as some other impressionist work that was quite nice. They didn't have any postcards of my favorite paintings, otherwise I might have gotten some.

As a tangent, I read somewhere that, before tomatoes were really used, Italians put fruit on their pasta. I had some extra peaches lying around, so for Tuesday dinner I made up a recipe and it wasn't too bad!

et Alors: Pasta Pesca Balsamico!
Basamic peach pasta. Cosa molto Buona!

Tonight we have a group dinner, so I won't have to make up interesting pasta variations of my own. Tomorrow we have another mid crit for studio, and then we are going to Assisi, home of St. Francis, for the weekend. I hope it is as nice as Amalfi!

Ciao tutti,
A piu tardi!

Porta Portese

Today, despite the rain, I braved the crowded and infamous Porta Portese flea market. Literally miles of stands sprawled across the neighborhood, selling everything from pots and pans, discount clothes, and fresh flowers to... vintage dirndls? I'm not sure about that one, either...

I wandered all morning looking through the stands, and, although I didn't find much, it was fun to wander. The crowd, at least this morning, seemed to be mostly Italians, and it was fun to people watch and get some local flavor.

I met a man selling jewelry from Bangladesh. He looked to be about 24 to 25, and said he had just finished school in Rome. He said his name was Ashrav, "In English, Alexander", and he was going to Washington D.C next week to try and help with his cousin's business. Overall it was a fun day exploring some of the bustling, international culture in Rome.

And did I mention it was raining?

Piazza Propositions

Today, I was in one of my piazzas staring through a grated doorway looking into a mechanical room. I was trying to see if there were any doors beyond the boiler to finish drawing a floor plan, when I heard a question in Italian behind me.

I turned to see a young blond man sitting on a scooter. He repeated the question, and I thought he was asking if I was trying to get into the mechanical room. I tried to explain that i was just drawing, and gestured to my sketchbook saying, "no, no".

He laughed and repeated the question, smiling flirtatiously and gestured to his scooter. I think he was offering me a ride. I stood there dumbfounded, and he must have understood I had no idea what was going on because he laughed and made fun of my prostests. He blew me a kiss, said "Ciao, Bella" and drove off, leaving me flattered and flustered at the same time.

I'm Not Dead Yet!

Last weekend I was sans internet for four days while we went to the Amalfi Coast. It was delightful! The coast line is peppered with houses clinging to the cliff-sides which cascade down to the water's edge. The stairs in this place are... creative. None are parallel, and most are over 8 inches tall. After a hike up to the town of Ravello involving hundreds of stairs, I was suddenly grateful for building codes in the US which prohibit stairs with a rise over 7 inches. Despite the calf-killing hike, the view was breathtaking. Pictures and sketches do it no justice, and words cannot describe.

Back down in Amalfi, I did some watercolors. I got a few compliments, and had an interesting conversation with a man from Naples who spoke no English.

He asked what I was painting, and I pointed to my subject. He asked where I was from, and what I liked to do for fun. I said "sto studio architettura", and he pantomimed running, so I think I might have misunderstood his question, but it was a good conversation nonetheless. He told me to see the Duomo, and said something about a boat, and then left me sitting on the pavement.

Flickr

Hey all, since sharing photos on here is a pain, I set up a flickr account. There's not much there yet, I still have a lot of organizing to do, but keep checking back!

Ciao tutti!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/50657046@N07/

A "Romantic" Day!

Today was an absolutely indescribable day of adventure! The map is annotated below...


I started at I, our apartment and walked to C, the Trevi Fountain, passing the Pantheon (B) along the way. There were hardly any people there at 8:30 in the morning, so I took the opportunity to linger, tossing 3 coins over my shoulder into the fountain, ensuring a return to Rome! Here a nice British lady offered to take my picture, if I would take hers.


Next, I walked down to D, the museum called Scuderie del Qurinale, where I waited in line for 4 hours to see and exhibit of paintings by the Baroque master Caravaggio. The picture is obviously not my own, but this was one of the paintings at the exhibit, known as The Taking of Christ c. 1602. Caravaggio's paintings have a sense of internal light that seems to emanate from the figures, especially Christ, that does not translate at all into pictures.

After this, I popped into Palazzo Barberini, E, for a quick look at the gardens, passing by Boromini's Quattro Fontane in the process. (sorry, no pictures...)

On the way to the Spanish Steps to see the Keats-Shelly House (F), we also stopped by Santa Susanna, the American church in Rome, as well as Santa Maria Della Vittoria, home of Bernini's
The Ecstasy of St. Teresa.


After the Keats-Shelly house we strolled down Via di Condotti, where there is lots of high fashion shops (Prada, Gucci, Valentino, etc.) We walked into Prada and it was fun to pretend I could afford $500 pairs of shoes... We also stopped into Cafe Greco, the cafe where Keats, Shelly, and Byron would drink and smoke while writing poetry. I had a caffe Corretto, which is a shot of espresso served with Sambuca liquor and a coffee bean for good luck.

We stopped by Richard Meier's contemporary Ara Pacis (G) museum, built over the site of an ancient temple, but it was closing for the evening and we couldn't get in.

Crossing back over the Tiber we found Ponte Sant' Angelo (H), named for its proximity to Castle Sant' Angelo, a fortress used to defend the ancient Roman walls during the emporer Hadrian's time. Angels decorate the bridge. There was a wedding party on the bridge taking pictures with a view of St. Peter's in the background. You couldn't ask for a more perfect setting, or a more perfect day!



P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I got you a present, but you won't get it until I get back :) Love you!

New Pizza place and other assorted adventures

I found a new pizza place called Pizza Pazza. Aside from the waitstaff being cranky, it was the best pizza I've had. I tried the potato and mozzarella. It was pretty much like eating scalloped potatoes on delicious, delicious toast.

Here are some "documentary" sketches from my sketchbook. I would post some more representational sketches, but I don't have any that I'm particularly proud of just yet. (Also, I had to take pictures, because the scanner in studio is woefully incompetent, hence the weird colors). Click to enlarge

Enjoy!

And Here's what I had for dinner. Carciofi alla Giudia or Jewish-Style Artichokes. They are cleaned and trimmed and then fried in olive oil with garlic. The sketch above is a recipie for Roman Artichokes, which are slightly different. In any case, it was delicious. It's too bad artichokes are so hard to find here...

My 10 fave pics so far

In no Particular Order:

Pantheon during Pentecost

Stairs in Villa Giulia-
More like a steep ramp, used to bring in horses during sieges

Villa Giulia Gardens

Santa Maria Della Pace

Ponte Rotto

Obleisk Fountain- Piazza del Popolo

Poppies Near the Theatre of Marcellus

Neptune Fountain, Piazza Navona

Fontana Del Moro, Piazza Navona

Foro Romano

La Citta da Sola

Here is a blog post that I did for our class blog. Each of us are supposed to post about once a week, although I think a lot of us are falling behind...

This morning I left the house early to explore the city a little on my own. It really felt like I had Rome to myself. While Rome is inundated with noisy tourists, it is hard to image the city as it existed, even 200 years ago.

While wandering the empty streets, I could sense how the city might have been. Quiet and picturesque, yes, without the noise and clutter of the cars, but also much more. With the city to myself I could feel more of its history seeping through the cobblestones. Each space was waiting for me alone to discover it; explore it; influence it. I always knew Rome would change me. Now I understand that my presence here changes Rome as well. Each and every visitor to Rome leaves some trace on the cobblestones, affecting the city for good or ill, changing the course of its history, however minutely. I believe have found my favorite way to discover Rome: da sola.

A little cheesy, I know. But I think that's what my professor was aiming for...

After my solo adventure, we walked up to the Spanish steps (AMAZING SHOPPING, although I didn't have time today and will have to come back). Then we walked to the Piazza del Popolo, Via Guilia, and down through Villa Borghese. Overall, counting the time I spent wandering around lost near Navona, I walked over 8 miles today. Needless to say, my feet hurt. Even with my good shoes...

P.S. The photo is one I took of "Fontana del Moro" or The Moor Fountain in the Piazza Navona. It takes its name from the group of sculptures in the central pond representing an Ethiopian fighting with a dolphin, although that's not the sculpture in the picture.

Room with a view

Here is the view from our studio window, looking into Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, towards the church.


And here is lunch; Pizza with cocomero (watermelon) gelatto. (I saved the cone tip for you, Alice, but I had to eat it... :(. Watermelon isn't my favorite flavor. So far that is lemon or creme-caramel. Maybe green apple. But is wasn't bad. The pizza had spinach, olives, mozzarella, and fresh tomatoes, along with some spices and sauce.

Pizza here is delicious. It is the fast-food of Rome. Pizzeria are all over, some better 2qqquality, or less expensive than others, obviously. The square pizzas are laid out on a counter, and you ask for the kind you want, sort of like a U.S. ice-cream store (they are often labeled, otherwise you can just point). They slice a piece off with scissors, and you pay by weight. Then they cook it while you wait. If you have a small enough piece they will fold it and wrap it sandwich-style, so you can eat it and walk around.

Overall it was a good day. After a brief sketching tour, I went and finished up some studio for a preliminary pin-up tomorrow, and ate lunch. Although it wasn't a productive day in terms of producing good work, it was a good learning day, and I feel like I improved, even just over the course of a few hours. I might post some sketches tomorrow, if we can get the scanner to work in studio. I sketched some more, and then went grocery shopping had dinner at another student's apartment. (You were right, dear, you apparently CAN milk sheep, as I bought a "loaf" of sheep cheese (formaggio di pecora).

After that we went to explore the spot where we will meet for our first history walking tour tomorrow. Hopefully I will catch some time for studying my own piazzas, as I have only been in each one twice now.

I miss you all! I found some watercolor post-cards (Post card blanks I can paint myself), so if you'd like one let me know so I know how many to get!

Ciao Bellisimo, Bouna notte!

Apartment Tour

For a virtual apartment tour, here are some pictures. I tried adding humorous tags, but it was a royal pain, and I'm pretty sure that most stuff is self explanatory... except the door... I'm still working on that one...

Living room:

Kitchen

My side of the 2 bedroom

and... the door.
It has, count them, FIVE deadbolts... you turn the key four full turns to the left, pull the doorknob (not pictured here, but egg-shaped and in the center of the door) towards you, then push the door in. This door is AFTER two exterior locks, each with a different key, and a Buzzer. Just in case...

Some pictures

In the guise of pretending to avoid Facebook while I'm in Rome, I'll post some pictures here.
This is the view I woke up to while flying from London to Rome. Well hello, Alps!
Descending into Rome. You can just make out the rainbow near the planes wing.


Rose petals pouring through the Pantheon's occulus for Pentecost mass.
A view into the courtyard from our apartment's kitchen window.