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.

So Close!

After everything has gone wrong here in the States, I can only hope that my trip is, at least negatively, uneventful. That is to say, I hope everything goes right in Rome.

At last count:

The British Airways strike is still in dispute, but has been, as of Wednesday, called off. My flight, however, remains canceled due to the "complexity of the negotiation time-table". Whatever, I'm still paying for something I'm not getting, and I still have to pay for another ticket. BA won't give me a refund, because I booked through Orbitz and not them...
Orbitz won't give me a refund unless I cancel the whole ticket. And even though I've called Orbitz, they still won't stop calling me with their stupid automatic message telling me to call them. Less than pleased. I'll probably come home to no less than 317 unheard messages from various sources...

The cloud of Ash from (insert name of unpronounceable Icelandic volcano here) has dissipated as of Monday, and many airlines are temporarily allowing airlines to operate in higher-than-normal ash densities. This most likely happened to prevent the airlines from losing any more money, but hey, I'm not complaining. Here's hoping this little piece of good luck holds out until Sunday. I'm still nervous. As a kicker, here's a satellite image of the volcano.

The tally so far: Trip logistics: 3
me: 1

È finito finalmente