Settembre 11, 2010
Today I woke up later than normal, about 8.30. The boys, Mattis, and Nico, were up playing Mariokart while Raffa and Giorgio watched/ read the paper. I got took a shower and got ready to go to the Nazionale Museo. On the way to the museo I saw the car that I am going to own one day. *hint hint mom* I only saw it briefly as we drove by on the bus, but I know it was love at first sight. I don't know much about it, just that it was a black Lamborghini...*sigh*...so back from my daydream...I bought my ticket which was good to see the Museo and the Diocletian baths. I spent a little more than 2 hours in the Museo. Four levels, each one with something different on it. I think I'm going to have to make a separate album for all the pictures... or maybe just a brief intermission in my current album for museo pictures... the terra piano(ground floor); there were a lot of very cool Roman sculptures and some Greek sculptures. Primo piano(first floor); more Greek sculptures. Secondo piano(second floor); a lot of frescos and mosaics of ALL sizes. One fresco in one of the rooms was painted on all four walls of the room, like a garden. One of the mosaics was about a 15X15 foot square on the floor... the mosaics seemed to withstand the test of time the best, besides the bronze sculptures. The basement(interrato primo); had hundreds of monies from Rome and Italy throughout the ages.
I went to Irish pub I'd found after I'd finished the museo and ordered l'acqua naturale and a pizza with sausage, mushrooms, and cheese... delicious. Grabbed a caffe gelato afterwards then headed to the Diocletian baths. I'd lost my museo ticket but the man was nice enough to believe that I'd bought one earlier that day when I tried to show him the pictures I'd taken, but he said it wouldn't do any good since he'd never been to the museo himself. Haha. The baths were once the largest public baths in all of Italy... and the museum had nothing to do with that. It mostly had fragments of sarcophagi and alters with some worn out statues that had been in the weather a bit. It was still a beautiful building and garden, but I'm glad that I didn't pay to get in...
I headed back to the flat and slept for a good hour, I was tired. When I awoke, everyone was gone but Diletta, and she was leaving. I didn't feel like sitting there. So I went for a walk on via Nemorense, it has some neat shops and ristoranti. When I got back Giorgio was home doing finances for something and I read some in my new Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ontology. Nico called and asked what kind of pizza we wanted, I said surprise me, Giorgio wanted Napoli(every pizza has a name, I just don't know them all yet). We watched a Jackie Chan movie, the Babysitter, it was pretty good, much less action than most Jackie Chan movies... Then we went to bed.
Giorgio also talked to me about my pay and asked how much I'd agreed to with the agency I've been working with to get the position. I told him the amount they sent me in an email and he said that seemed low and that I should double check with the agency to make sure it's correct. That would be pretty cool if I was getting paid more! Then I could start saving for a plane ride home for the holidays! :)Surprise money! It's like a pinata, you just start whacking away at it, then BOOM! Good stuff! Ok, not exactly like a pinata.... ;)
I am going to go to an English speaking Methodist church in the morning and see if I like it or not.
Hope you're all doing well. Miss you. Stay safe. and like my freshman biology professor told us... "stay out of trees and don't smoke cigarettes!" :) NIGHT!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Patience, Pubs, and Pasta
September 10, 2010
Today started off as any other day has this week, light breakfast, seeing Nico off to school, then I decided to shave. This was an ordeal. I had to try and get my trimmer to work for the first time in the 220 watt outlet with my converter… well, when I turned it on, it made this horribly loud buzzing sound, like the saw in a horror movie moving closer to the protagonist’s head or groin (depending on their gender). I immediately turned it off, then readjusted some things and tried again. Alas, still death whirring… So with my handy leatherman, I took apart my trimmer to see if I could fix it. After taking it apart, cleaning it, then tightening some things, I put it back together… and… you know that feeling you get when you are working with your hands, on an engine, or a machine, then you fix it and it purrs like a kitten? Yeah, me neither. I turned it on again and still I thought I was being invaded by hundreds of tiny Japanese airplanes in my bathroom. So I got in the shower with my awesome 2 blade razor Raffa bought for me and looked the inevitable bloodbath in the face. Funny thing, even with only two blades, the high pressure of the water made it feel super smooth and didn’t hurt in the least! I love Roman water! It tastes good, doesn’t give you diarrhea, and my shower has LOTS of pressure! After this LONG ordeal, I began to wander around the flat thinking of what I wanted to do today… After getting my laundry hung up on the terrace (terrazzo) upstairs, then trying to figure out how to ask Anita when I should come back so she could let me on the terrazzo to pick my clothes, I started perusing my Rick Steve’s book to give me sight-seeing ideas and decided to check out the catacombs that are smaller, less crowded. Luckily they’re about 5 minutes away walking (on my via Salaria trips, I’d trekked past it twice…).
The crypts are called the Priscilla Catacombs, between via Priscilla and via Salaria. As I got there, I paid the 8 euro (Rick lied, not 6 ;) to see them and decided to take the Italian tour that was leaving now instead of waiting 30 minutes for the English tour. I didn’t get a lot of details from the tour, but did get most of the main concepts. Affondo o nuoto… I sink or I swim. Afterwards, I went to the stazione termini to price train tickets to Milano e Venezia ecc. They were more expensive than I anticipated… Giorgio said the trains were becoming more privatized and so would be more relatively more expensive than they have been in the past. Sad day. But there are cheap-ish tickets I can still get, and apparently, flights out of Italy are more reasonable since there is more competition amongst airlines. Yay! I found a pretty neat Irish pub just near the stazione termini that I would like to go back to for lunch or something sometime… It was large, had a very Irish feel, and was full of Italians. I guess, that’d be a great place to hide from tourists. What tourist would look in an Irish pub for food while they’re in Italy?
When I got back and got my clothes off the terrazzo, Nico got back from school with his friend Mattia. Mattia was a very polite young man and was patient with Nico (he gets a little more rambunctious with his friends). Raffa made some pasta that an old friend of hers had made and given to her with homemade ragu sauce as well… oh my gosh, that was by FAR, the best pasta I’ve ever, EVER had. EVER! We also had grilled zucchini and carrots and pulpitte (meatballs). After dinner we played with toy soldiers in a war of Germany versus Scotland, and I definitely would have won if the Scottish bagpipe players carried weapons on them! What else are they going to carry in those little pouches around their kilts? A small .380! Then we watched the Garfield movie (I really liked it, Bill Murray rocked it, and Odie, so cute) and some Wii action, then headed to bed…
Tomorrow the boys have futbol practice, for their PE team and I’m not working… I just don’t know what I’m going to be doing all day… AH! I’ve just had an apostrophe! Yeah, bolt of lightning struck me ‘ead (Hook)! I’ll visit the National Museum near the stazione termini, then, have lunch at the pub!! I’m stoked! Sweet! Well, I’ll catch you cool cats on the flip side of your pillow. ;)
Rubberducky, out!
Today started off as any other day has this week, light breakfast, seeing Nico off to school, then I decided to shave. This was an ordeal. I had to try and get my trimmer to work for the first time in the 220 watt outlet with my converter… well, when I turned it on, it made this horribly loud buzzing sound, like the saw in a horror movie moving closer to the protagonist’s head or groin (depending on their gender). I immediately turned it off, then readjusted some things and tried again. Alas, still death whirring… So with my handy leatherman, I took apart my trimmer to see if I could fix it. After taking it apart, cleaning it, then tightening some things, I put it back together… and… you know that feeling you get when you are working with your hands, on an engine, or a machine, then you fix it and it purrs like a kitten? Yeah, me neither. I turned it on again and still I thought I was being invaded by hundreds of tiny Japanese airplanes in my bathroom. So I got in the shower with my awesome 2 blade razor Raffa bought for me and looked the inevitable bloodbath in the face. Funny thing, even with only two blades, the high pressure of the water made it feel super smooth and didn’t hurt in the least! I love Roman water! It tastes good, doesn’t give you diarrhea, and my shower has LOTS of pressure! After this LONG ordeal, I began to wander around the flat thinking of what I wanted to do today… After getting my laundry hung up on the terrace (terrazzo) upstairs, then trying to figure out how to ask Anita when I should come back so she could let me on the terrazzo to pick my clothes, I started perusing my Rick Steve’s book to give me sight-seeing ideas and decided to check out the catacombs that are smaller, less crowded. Luckily they’re about 5 minutes away walking (on my via Salaria trips, I’d trekked past it twice…).
The crypts are called the Priscilla Catacombs, between via Priscilla and via Salaria. As I got there, I paid the 8 euro (Rick lied, not 6 ;) to see them and decided to take the Italian tour that was leaving now instead of waiting 30 minutes for the English tour. I didn’t get a lot of details from the tour, but did get most of the main concepts. Affondo o nuoto… I sink or I swim. Afterwards, I went to the stazione termini to price train tickets to Milano e Venezia ecc. They were more expensive than I anticipated… Giorgio said the trains were becoming more privatized and so would be more relatively more expensive than they have been in the past. Sad day. But there are cheap-ish tickets I can still get, and apparently, flights out of Italy are more reasonable since there is more competition amongst airlines. Yay! I found a pretty neat Irish pub just near the stazione termini that I would like to go back to for lunch or something sometime… It was large, had a very Irish feel, and was full of Italians. I guess, that’d be a great place to hide from tourists. What tourist would look in an Irish pub for food while they’re in Italy?
When I got back and got my clothes off the terrazzo, Nico got back from school with his friend Mattia. Mattia was a very polite young man and was patient with Nico (he gets a little more rambunctious with his friends). Raffa made some pasta that an old friend of hers had made and given to her with homemade ragu sauce as well… oh my gosh, that was by FAR, the best pasta I’ve ever, EVER had. EVER! We also had grilled zucchini and carrots and pulpitte (meatballs). After dinner we played with toy soldiers in a war of Germany versus Scotland, and I definitely would have won if the Scottish bagpipe players carried weapons on them! What else are they going to carry in those little pouches around their kilts? A small .380! Then we watched the Garfield movie (I really liked it, Bill Murray rocked it, and Odie, so cute) and some Wii action, then headed to bed…
Tomorrow the boys have futbol practice, for their PE team and I’m not working… I just don’t know what I’m going to be doing all day… AH! I’ve just had an apostrophe!
Rubberducky, out!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Mountains and Valleys
Settembre 9, 2010
Today's blog is brought to you by the letter Q, it should be considerably shorter. You're welcome in advance ;). This morning I woke up and had 'colazione' with Nico, then he headed to school. I perused my "Rick Steve's: Italy 2010" before heading out to see the Cappuccini Monestary/Church/Crypt. It was very interesting and enjoyable. I could still name all the bones I saw, but not all the foramen and such... I'll have to "bone" up on my anatomy soon. ;)
After the crypt, I headed to the Spanish steps which is the most beautiful view of Rome I have found thus far. Climb to the top, then at the entrance of the cathedral turn around and you can see for miles and miles... che bellisimo! I sat in la Piazza de Spagna for about an hour and enjoyed the people, the sounds, and the sun. I "finished" one of my doodles... it's ok, but rough.
Before I did any of this I went to Vodafone and got a mobile phone. I bought 20 minutes on it which, since I am only using it in case of emergencies, should be plenty. The phone itself is just a loner from Raffa, it was one of her old phones that I actually had at one point as well. It's a good phone. :) (I don't think I'll be giving out the phone number to anyone besides the family though because I don't have many minutes and I'm cheap/frugal.) When the woman at my school asked me my phone number yesterday, I told her to just email me... I don't want 40 girl au pairs calling me every time they can't open a jar of marinara sauce...
After the Piazza de Spagna, I headed back to the flat(no troubles) and went for a run in Villa Ada. I think I'm going to go there more often to workout. It seems people go there to show off the benefits of working out. Italians are attractive. I'll just leave it at that. :) However, I planned poorly, it was 1400, and hot. I ran about 5 miles and then tried to cool down. It didn't work so well. I was still warm after a cool shower. Next time, I know better.
There was a lot of learning today at the flat, how to help Nico with his shower, how to get him ready for bed, la uva fragola (a grape that is sweet, but tastes like strawberries), pasta chitarra (egg pasta), marker will come off of a wood table after its bled through with enough elbow grease and wood polish, and how to do my laundry in the new (for me) washing machine. Soon I'll have this all down and it will be cake!
I'm hoping my Italian is getting better, I can't really tell, I think I can speak better, and understand a little more, but I'm still a little uncomfortable with it. Ok, that's all for now, remember to turn off your computers when you finish, turn off the lights when your not in a room, and save water when you can. Save energy. Save Money. Save the Earth. ;) (I just came up with that.)
Ciao ciao!
Today's blog is brought to you by the letter Q, it should be considerably shorter. You're welcome in advance ;). This morning I woke up and had 'colazione' with Nico, then he headed to school. I perused my "Rick Steve's: Italy 2010" before heading out to see the Cappuccini Monestary/Church/Crypt. It was very interesting and enjoyable. I could still name all the bones I saw, but not all the foramen and such... I'll have to "bone" up on my anatomy soon. ;)
After the crypt, I headed to the Spanish steps which is the most beautiful view of Rome I have found thus far. Climb to the top, then at the entrance of the cathedral turn around and you can see for miles and miles... che bellisimo! I sat in la Piazza de Spagna for about an hour and enjoyed the people, the sounds, and the sun. I "finished" one of my doodles... it's ok, but rough.
Before I did any of this I went to Vodafone and got a mobile phone. I bought 20 minutes on it which, since I am only using it in case of emergencies, should be plenty. The phone itself is just a loner from Raffa, it was one of her old phones that I actually had at one point as well. It's a good phone. :) (I don't think I'll be giving out the phone number to anyone besides the family though because I don't have many minutes and I'm cheap/frugal.) When the woman at my school asked me my phone number yesterday, I told her to just email me... I don't want 40 girl au pairs calling me every time they can't open a jar of marinara sauce...
After the Piazza de Spagna, I headed back to the flat(no troubles) and went for a run in Villa Ada. I think I'm going to go there more often to workout. It seems people go there to show off the benefits of working out. Italians are attractive. I'll just leave it at that. :) However, I planned poorly, it was 1400, and hot. I ran about 5 miles and then tried to cool down. It didn't work so well. I was still warm after a cool shower. Next time, I know better.
There was a lot of learning today at the flat, how to help Nico with his shower, how to get him ready for bed, la uva fragola (a grape that is sweet, but tastes like strawberries), pasta chitarra (egg pasta), marker will come off of a wood table after its bled through with enough elbow grease and wood polish, and how to do my laundry in the new (for me) washing machine. Soon I'll have this all down and it will be cake!
I'm hoping my Italian is getting better, I can't really tell, I think I can speak better, and understand a little more, but I'm still a little uncomfortable with it. Ok, that's all for now, remember to turn off your computers when you finish, turn off the lights when your not in a room, and save water when you can. Save energy. Save Money. Save the Earth. ;) (I just came up with that.)
Ciao ciao!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
All Roads Lead to Rome
Settembre 8, 2010
First of all, I'm sorry, but for some reason this site will no longer allow me to add pictures to my blogs. Sad day, I know. However, there is a photo album on facebook titled Rome 2010. I will be adding pictures throughout the year to keep you all in the loop of what's going on here, at least when I remember to have a camera. ;)
*side note* I saw a LOT of people today, tourists, locals, everyone. Upon looking at these people (it's what I do, people watch), I noticed no matter what the age, sex, or expression, the reason Italians are so attractive is their eyes (obviously, there are exceptions both ways). No matter what they are doing Italian's deep emotion embedded in their eyes (angry, romantic, despondent, curious, or endearing)the passion of the emotion is carried over.
Ok, so everyone who knows me, knows 2 things about me. 1-I can be stubborn. 2- I don't curse. Well, this morning starting off, I decided I was not going to look at a map all day, I would just hop from bus to bus, see what I thought I wanted to see and go from there. I hopped on the appropriate two buses and walked a little ways(there was some confusion amongst locals where the street I was looking for actually was, we figured it out in the end) to get to my school so I could talk about my classes and when they'd start and what level I would be at ecc. As I was entering the building, another girl was, it turns out we are going to be taking classes together, and she's from Austria. After we talked about school stuff I headed off to look at some sights, without a map, or direction in general... I walked past San Angelo's Castle then hopped on a bus that took me to Colonna Traiana (a big column that tells about the history of Roman victories), then to il Vaticano (a big deal amongst everyone, especially Catholics), and Fontana di Trevi (a big fountain originally used to show off Rome's water system). It was getting close to time for me to get back to the flat when I realized I had no clue where I was, I had wandered away from the Vatican and knew I had crossed the river, but unsure if I crossed it once or twice... so, I looked for a bus stop. If I could find one that would at least take me to the stazione termini I'd be fine. I couldn't find one... I walked a little while, still nothing... so I found one that said via Salaria, score, I know this backfired last time since I didn't realize how far via Salaria went out of Rome, but this time, I was ok with walking the 30 minutes back to the flat. So I hopped on the bus and went to via Salaria. When I got to via Salaria, I thought, "Poo. This does not look the same." So I started walking anyway. I asked one man where Villa Ada was, he didn't know. I asked another, he gave me a general direction, so I continued that way, then I saw (for reals) an Olympic training center. I stopped and asked which direction Villa Ada was, the guy was very nice and helped me, but felt bad for me because it was a long walk... I continued to walk, and walk and walk... (next time I'm just looking for via Nemorense, it's closer to the flat) I got back and found out from Giorgio e Raffa, via Salaria is one of the five original roads of Rome, it actually goes to Germany and France. I think I might have crossed a border illegally. I made it back in time (barely) and am still in one piece.
While I was "bus hopping" I came around a corner and saw a GIANT building, Victor Emmanuel Monument. While I don't curse, that doesn't mean I don't know how to, just that I know how to restrain myself. While I rounded that corner, the first thing that popped in my mind from the sheer size of the structure was, "Holy f***-tarts!". I know it's not appropriate, and that is why I didn't say it, but I sure did think it, that building was HUGE! The statue in front of the building is of King Victor on a horse. The horse is 40 feet long and Victor's mustache is 5 feet long. It is the largest horse statue in the world. I'm telling you, GINORMOUS.
After the day was over, I went and helped Nico with his homework and we played at his cousins'. When Raffa got home we went and got some books for school for Nico then came back. Nico forgot to mention he had both English AND Italian. So Raffa was working with him and he had been in a tired, I-don't-know-why-i-am-crying, mood and he wasn't making it easy to help him with his work. Raffa got mad, and did some yelling and such, I felt like I was in trouble and I had no clue why. We got everything sorted out, I made some pasta and Raffa made some fish, both dishes were magnifico (the fish was better). After dinner, I went to Fontana di Trevi at night and enjoyed the less populated scene. I stopped at a gelateria for a small tiramisu gelato, then headed home. No hiccups, no missed buses, just on, off, then home. It was a beautiful day.
Sorry for the LONG post, just an eventful day. If you'd prefer shorter, less detailed posts, leave a comment and let me know. KTHXBAI.
First of all, I'm sorry, but for some reason this site will no longer allow me to add pictures to my blogs. Sad day, I know. However, there is a photo album on facebook titled Rome 2010. I will be adding pictures throughout the year to keep you all in the loop of what's going on here, at least when I remember to have a camera. ;)
*side note* I saw a LOT of people today, tourists, locals, everyone. Upon looking at these people (it's what I do, people watch), I noticed no matter what the age, sex, or expression, the reason Italians are so attractive is their eyes (obviously, there are exceptions both ways). No matter what they are doing Italian's deep emotion embedded in their eyes (angry, romantic, despondent, curious, or endearing)the passion of the emotion is carried over.
Ok, so everyone who knows me, knows 2 things about me. 1-I can be stubborn. 2- I don't curse. Well, this morning starting off, I decided I was not going to look at a map all day, I would just hop from bus to bus, see what I thought I wanted to see and go from there. I hopped on the appropriate two buses and walked a little ways(there was some confusion amongst locals where the street I was looking for actually was, we figured it out in the end) to get to my school so I could talk about my classes and when they'd start and what level I would be at ecc. As I was entering the building, another girl was, it turns out we are going to be taking classes together, and she's from Austria. After we talked about school stuff I headed off to look at some sights, without a map, or direction in general... I walked past San Angelo's Castle then hopped on a bus that took me to Colonna Traiana (a big column that tells about the history of Roman victories), then to il Vaticano (a big deal amongst everyone, especially Catholics), and Fontana di Trevi (a big fountain originally used to show off Rome's water system). It was getting close to time for me to get back to the flat when I realized I had no clue where I was, I had wandered away from the Vatican and knew I had crossed the river, but unsure if I crossed it once or twice... so, I looked for a bus stop. If I could find one that would at least take me to the stazione termini I'd be fine. I couldn't find one... I walked a little while, still nothing... so I found one that said via Salaria, score, I know this backfired last time since I didn't realize how far via Salaria went out of Rome, but this time, I was ok with walking the 30 minutes back to the flat. So I hopped on the bus and went to via Salaria. When I got to via Salaria, I thought, "Poo. This does not look the same." So I started walking anyway. I asked one man where Villa Ada was, he didn't know. I asked another, he gave me a general direction, so I continued that way, then I saw (for reals) an Olympic training center. I stopped and asked which direction Villa Ada was, the guy was very nice and helped me, but felt bad for me because it was a long walk... I continued to walk, and walk and walk... (next time I'm just looking for via Nemorense, it's closer to the flat) I got back and found out from Giorgio e Raffa, via Salaria is one of the five original roads of Rome, it actually goes to Germany and France. I think I might have crossed a border illegally. I made it back in time (barely) and am still in one piece.
While I was "bus hopping" I came around a corner and saw a GIANT building, Victor Emmanuel Monument. While I don't curse, that doesn't mean I don't know how to, just that I know how to restrain myself. While I rounded that corner, the first thing that popped in my mind from the sheer size of the structure was, "Holy f***-tarts!". I know it's not appropriate, and that is why I didn't say it, but I sure did think it, that building was HUGE! The statue in front of the building is of King Victor on a horse. The horse is 40 feet long and Victor's mustache is 5 feet long. It is the largest horse statue in the world. I'm telling you, GINORMOUS.
After the day was over, I went and helped Nico with his homework and we played at his cousins'. When Raffa got home we went and got some books for school for Nico then came back. Nico forgot to mention he had both English AND Italian. So Raffa was working with him and he had been in a tired, I-don't-know-why-i-am-crying, mood and he wasn't making it easy to help him with his work. Raffa got mad, and did some yelling and such, I felt like I was in trouble and I had no clue why. We got everything sorted out, I made some pasta and Raffa made some fish, both dishes were magnifico (the fish was better). After dinner, I went to Fontana di Trevi at night and enjoyed the less populated scene. I stopped at a gelateria for a small tiramisu gelato, then headed home. No hiccups, no missed buses, just on, off, then home. It was a beautiful day.
Sorry for the LONG post, just an eventful day. If you'd prefer shorter, less detailed posts, leave a comment and let me know. KTHXBAI.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
A new way to see Rome.
Settembre 7, 2010
So today I was supposed to meet the woman who got me the Au Pair position and meet with her about what all it entails outside the flat, so at the house, I clean up some, make sure Nico takes his showers, brushes his teeth, gets ready for school on time, you know, stuff like that... well Ines, the woman I went to meet, told me that just having the one kid to look after was pretty lucky and I told her it was even better because he was easy to look after. She said if I feel like I have a lot of free time and want to make some money I could teach English for about 10euro an hour, as long as my family is ok with that. I'm not sure whether I want to or not, I mean an extra 20-30 euro a week wouldn't be bad... but I like my free time for wandering.
Speaking of wandering, so today Raffa bought me my student transportation pass which cost 18 euro and normally costs 30. It allows me to get on and off the bus or metro as many times as I want with no troubles... I LOVE IT! So today, instead of walking until my feet hurt, I got on a bus, rode until I felt like getting off, got off, then wandered some, then got on a bus again. Almost all the buses go to the "stazione termini" which is the central hub of transportation, both trains and buses. I eventually found my way there after looking in some beautiful basilicas and piazze(plazas). I found where I could get tickets to visit my friend Kristina in Bonn, Germany (but I haven't priced them yet) or to Milan, or even Paris... I'm excited! Well after lunch I decided to start trying to figure out how I should get back to the flat... I forgot to grab my bag when we left this morning because we were running late and it had my map and sketch book and water bottle... so I just started asking people where the park was near my house... I found out which bus ran that way, but I couldn't remember which stop was next to the house (when I say next to, I mean about 200-300 yards away). So I looked at the options on the list of stops. I recognized the street, Via Salaria, it runs right by the house **Just to let you all know, it is now raining** and yesterday when I found my way to it, I was saved because it was easy to find the flat from there. SO, I decided to just get off on via Salaria **it stopped raining** and figure my way out from there. Oops. Via Salaria is a LONG street, and I got off at the end of it... so while walking 20-30 minutes back where I needed to be, I was asked by someone where Villa Ada was, I thought, "I totally know this!" lost all my composure, forgot to tell them in Italian that I was going in that same direction and it was just behind this wall we are standing by and instead pointed in the direction of the flat I was heading towards... FYI you can get there the way I went, but I think it was better they didn't follow me there.
After Nico got back from school, he, Alessandro (classmate) and I played wii, and then some soccer near the garage, they taught me a new game with the keeper and didn't fully tell me the rules until we were finished... I lost. But 1-on-1 I totally was OWNING those nine year olds!! BOOM! Ha! But they were really good for being just nine. Alessi is like Nico, very well behaved and polite and funny too. His English isn't quite as good as Nico's but he also speaks French.
It was all and all a good day, no pictures since my camera was in my bag, but more to come, now I know where I want to take some in the basilicas I visited... class starts on the 27th of Settembre, the day before my birthday! YAY! tomorrow the plan is to go to the school, get acquainted with the bus routes, and meet the woman I've been communicating with. Let's hope it all goes according to plan, or not, whatever. ;) LOVE YOU GUYS!
So today I was supposed to meet the woman who got me the Au Pair position and meet with her about what all it entails outside the flat, so at the house, I clean up some, make sure Nico takes his showers, brushes his teeth, gets ready for school on time, you know, stuff like that... well Ines, the woman I went to meet, told me that just having the one kid to look after was pretty lucky and I told her it was even better because he was easy to look after. She said if I feel like I have a lot of free time and want to make some money I could teach English for about 10euro an hour, as long as my family is ok with that. I'm not sure whether I want to or not, I mean an extra 20-30 euro a week wouldn't be bad... but I like my free time for wandering.
Speaking of wandering, so today Raffa bought me my student transportation pass which cost 18 euro and normally costs 30. It allows me to get on and off the bus or metro as many times as I want with no troubles... I LOVE IT! So today, instead of walking until my feet hurt, I got on a bus, rode until I felt like getting off, got off, then wandered some, then got on a bus again. Almost all the buses go to the "stazione termini" which is the central hub of transportation, both trains and buses. I eventually found my way there after looking in some beautiful basilicas and piazze(plazas). I found where I could get tickets to visit my friend Kristina in Bonn, Germany (but I haven't priced them yet) or to Milan, or even Paris... I'm excited! Well after lunch I decided to start trying to figure out how I should get back to the flat... I forgot to grab my bag when we left this morning because we were running late and it had my map and sketch book and water bottle... so I just started asking people where the park was near my house... I found out which bus ran that way, but I couldn't remember which stop was next to the house (when I say next to, I mean about 200-300 yards away). So I looked at the options on the list of stops. I recognized the street, Via Salaria, it runs right by the house **Just to let you all know, it is now raining** and yesterday when I found my way to it, I was saved because it was easy to find the flat from there. SO, I decided to just get off on via Salaria **it stopped raining** and figure my way out from there. Oops. Via Salaria is a LONG street, and I got off at the end of it... so while walking 20-30 minutes back where I needed to be, I was asked by someone where Villa Ada was, I thought, "I totally know this!" lost all my composure, forgot to tell them in Italian that I was going in that same direction and it was just behind this wall we are standing by and instead pointed in the direction of the flat I was heading towards... FYI you can get there the way I went, but I think it was better they didn't follow me there.
After Nico got back from school, he, Alessandro (classmate) and I played wii, and then some soccer near the garage, they taught me a new game with the keeper and didn't fully tell me the rules until we were finished... I lost. But 1-on-1 I totally was OWNING those nine year olds!! BOOM! Ha! But they were really good for being just nine. Alessi is like Nico, very well behaved and polite and funny too. His English isn't quite as good as Nico's but he also speaks French.
It was all and all a good day, no pictures since my camera was in my bag, but more to come, now I know where I want to take some in the basilicas I visited... class starts on the 27th of Settembre, the day before my birthday! YAY! tomorrow the plan is to go to the school, get acquainted with the bus routes, and meet the woman I've been communicating with. Let's hope it all goes according to plan, or not, whatever. ;) LOVE YOU GUYS!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Day 1: Get 'lost' in Rome (check)
Settembre 6, 2010
So this morning, I woke up, had breakfast with Nic e Raffaella e Giorgio, here a breakfast is generally just a cappuccino or a small cafe with maybe some bread/fruit. Very light. After breakfast, Nic headed to school, I cleaned some, Diletta slept, and mom e dad went to work... at about 9.15 I headed out with my map, water, camera, and wallet (which had no cash in it...). The goal was to go see the large park, Villa Borghese... I was heading in what I thought to be the right direction until I looked at the map. Upon perusing the map, I came to the astonishing conclusion this is not the map I meant to grab. This map did not have the northern side of Rome, which is just where I happened to be. So I wandered a bit further and eventually found myself on the map... I wasn't where I thought I was... I was much further from the park than I intended to be. So, I headed to a nearby "bar" got un panino (a sandwhich) and ate the delectable morsel ravenously. After eating, I doodled some and then decided to head back to the flat... I left at about 1300 because it took me almost 3 hours to get where ended up because of the circles I walked around myself. Needless to say I didn't want to take any chances getting back because I was supposed to go with Diletta to pick up Nic. So I ended up finding the street that runs right by the house and got home in about an hour... then I took a nap... oh that was a good 25min nap... :)
After we went to pick up Nic, Diletta dropped us off at one of Nic's classmate's flat for a birthday party. There were about 20, 9 year old Italian children there, being loud, rambunctious, and having a good time. No one there spoke much english, but I am glad, that will help me pick up the Italian faster I'm hoping, I could understand a good bit of what was being said, but could not quite communicate in the same way... with time, with time. ;) Tomorrow I'm going to meet with the woman who helped me get my position here and is going to help me coordinate my classes, I also need to look at getting a bus pass, and possibly a mobile phone... not sure, Diletta apparently knows a bit about phones so I will have to ask her.
This picture is of one of the streets I wandered past in my lackadaisical trek this morning, I was excited because I studied this scientist in my Microbiology class this spring! He disproved the theory of spontaneous generation, that creatures do not simply spring forth when the conditions are appropriate. I got a kick out of it anyway... then again, I am kind of nerdy... whatever. ;)
So this morning, I woke up, had breakfast with Nic e Raffaella e Giorgio, here a breakfast is generally just a cappuccino or a small cafe with maybe some bread/fruit. Very light. After breakfast, Nic headed to school, I cleaned some, Diletta slept, and mom e dad went to work... at about 9.15 I headed out with my map, water, camera, and wallet (which had no cash in it...). The goal was to go see the large park, Villa Borghese... I was heading in what I thought to be the right direction until I looked at the map. Upon perusing the map, I came to the astonishing conclusion this is not the map I meant to grab. This map did not have the northern side of Rome, which is just where I happened to be. So I wandered a bit further and eventually found myself on the map... I wasn't where I thought I was... I was much further from the park than I intended to be. So, I headed to a nearby "bar" got un panino (a sandwhich) and ate the delectable morsel ravenously. After eating, I doodled some and then decided to head back to the flat... I left at about 1300 because it took me almost 3 hours to get where ended up because of the circles I walked around myself. Needless to say I didn't want to take any chances getting back because I was supposed to go with Diletta to pick up Nic. So I ended up finding the street that runs right by the house and got home in about an hour... then I took a nap... oh that was a good 25min nap... :)
After we went to pick up Nic, Diletta dropped us off at one of Nic's classmate's flat for a birthday party. There were about 20, 9 year old Italian children there, being loud, rambunctious, and having a good time. No one there spoke much english, but I am glad, that will help me pick up the Italian faster I'm hoping, I could understand a good bit of what was being said, but could not quite communicate in the same way... with time, with time. ;) Tomorrow I'm going to meet with the woman who helped me get my position here and is going to help me coordinate my classes, I also need to look at getting a bus pass, and possibly a mobile phone... not sure, Diletta apparently knows a bit about phones so I will have to ask her.
This picture is of one of the streets I wandered past in my lackadaisical trek this morning, I was excited because I studied this scientist in my Microbiology class this spring! He disproved the theory of spontaneous generation, that creatures do not simply spring forth when the conditions are appropriate. I got a kick out of it anyway... then again, I am kind of nerdy... whatever. ;)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
The Longest Day
Settembre 3-5, 2010
Well, entry number two (departure day: September 3, 2010) of this fantastic trip! After a tearful goodbye from my Mom, Dad, and Sis, I finally made it through security and onto BA194 bound for London. I have to say, when your mom is holding up the 150-200 people waiting to go through security so they can get on their plane by crying and hugging and crying some more, then hugging some more… then giving her son a kiss, then asking the woman mediating the impatient line of traveling patrons if the deodorant she has is ok to pack in the carry-on bag because it’s 3.5 fluid ounces… not 4, has a unique way of making a son love the fact that his mom is so ridiculously off the wall and doesn’t care what anyone thinks! The woman working the line even wanted to give me a hug after the ordeal. I’m really excited about this phenomenal trip, but I am going to miss my family a whole lot!!!
I think in the airport I was being a little more paranoid than normal, I brought both my carry-ons (each weighing about 25 pounds) into the bathroom with me for fear of someone thinking it was an explosive device of some sort. Then, when a guy asked a woman to watch his stuff while he ran to the bathroom (which the airlines advise against doing) I was thinking, “EXCUSE ME!!! This guy is a terrorist!!!” , leaving an Xbox 360 box with an unmarked black bag next to a densely populated airplane terminal!? Are you kidding me?! So after he left, the plane started to board and the woman “watching his stuff” got in line to board the plane… so there was this luggage (bomb) sitting there by itself, when an airport worker noticed it and came and took it. I thought, “Well, if it’s not a threat, this dude, just got ripped off! His fault.” Turns out, he was on my plane, and he came back from the bathroom, the world is NOT actually out to get me. ;)
On the plane I got the best seat ever, back row (I can recline as much as I want without feeling bad about the person sitting behind me, and I don’t have to wait in a line to get in the bathroom, AND I can just turn sideways and kick my feet out and stretch out) when I started talking to this guy on the other side of the middle seat next to me (he also knows the back is the best for the above said reasons). He was a friendly, talkative guy, Mike, and we started talking. Well, we were in mid-conversation when the woman that was supposed to sit in the middle showed up and asked me if she could get by. I was confused at first since she asked me to move the items in the middle seat and never actually said she was sitting there. So I moved the stuff in the seat and she asked if I’d like to sit there so we could continue our conversation… well, I didn’t want to seem like a jerk and completely ignore the conversation I was having with Mike, but… my sweet awesome seats… turns out the middle of the row isn’t so bad. Mike and I continued to talk about our families, his job, traveling, sports, US, UK, etc… The woman was really nice about letting me by when I had to pee or just stretch my legs. When I get to London, Mike said there was a Museum just across the Thames from the Tower of London about the history of surgery, since I was interested in medicine, he thought I would enjoy checking it out, I think it sounds interesting… but after all, I do only have 10 hours in London… we’ll see. ;)
So today is going to be one LONG post because that’s all it seemed to be… a long day… after I got to London I tried to get out of the airport. There’s no easy way to just leave terminal 5 of the Heathrow international airport… You have to have an escort take you out of the building, and then you have to take a train (I’d recommend the Heathrow Express, if you’re willing to spend 23£) to actually get to London. Well… about 12pm I arrive to London… get to see Hyde Park, Covent Garden, and SoHo. Before I decide to leave at 3pm/1500 (all times will hence forth be 24H so I don’t get confused…) so I could make it back to Heathrow and get my carryon bags, which were too heavy to carry around so I had the airport babysit them for 16£, and go through security again, and make it to my plane before it left me, at 1800. Well, I got my bags and made it through security by 1715… the plane didn’t leave until 1930… oh well… ;)
Keep in mind, this is going on 24 hours with no sleep because I was talking with Mike, or watching movies the entire plane ride over… well on the plane ride to Rome, I was barely able to stay conscious long enough to get a sandwich down then fall back asleep… so I woke up and we were landing… 2 hours of sleep… then went to get my bags from the carousel and had to wait almost 30 minutes, then piled the almost 150 pounds of luggage up and headed for the exit. I had my fill of airports for the “day”. I left the airport at 2315, a taxi driver, Paulo, found me and asked if I needed a ride. WOW! Apparently taxi driver’s have a license that says ‘I can drive however I want’, because he was speeding, almost hitting pedestrians, and driving on the railroad tracks… but we got to the flat just around 0000 which was late, but I was just glad to be there. ;) Briefly met Giorgio and Raffaella (dad & mom), then headed to bed.
September 5, 2010
This morning I woke up at noon and we went to the park next door (Villa Ada, for those keeping track of my exact location at home ;) for lunch. After lunch we had some gelato and looked around the neighborhood. I met some more of the family that had just returned from the US that lives on the first floor of the same building, the two daughters are 9 and 6, and very sweet. The grandmother who lives nearby stopped by to meet me, as well as the landlady/housekeeper. All were very nice. The view out my window is amazing and full of Roman life! Giorgio, Raffaella, and I ended the day by watching a great American film about WWII with John Wayne and Sean Connery and some other people appropriately titled, “The Longest Day”. Tomorrow is Nicoló’s first day back at school, he gets very good marks and is very smart. I’m excited to get out of the flat and wander around Rome some, I probably won’t get very far from the flat, but I’m ok with that. ;) Ok, time to get to bed, I’m going to wake up early and see Nic off to school.
GOODNIGHT EVERYONE! (as said in an old school Walton family way; Old school tv, don’t worry if you don’t get it.)
Well, entry number two (departure day: September 3, 2010) of this fantastic trip! After a tearful goodbye from my Mom, Dad, and Sis, I finally made it through security and onto BA194 bound for London. I have to say, when your mom is holding up the 150-200 people waiting to go through security so they can get on their plane by crying and hugging and crying some more, then hugging some more… then giving her son a kiss, then asking the woman mediating the impatient line of traveling patrons if the deodorant she has is ok to pack in the carry-on bag because it’s 3.5 fluid ounces… not 4, has a unique way of making a son love the fact that his mom is so ridiculously off the wall and doesn’t care what anyone thinks! The woman working the line even wanted to give me a hug after the ordeal. I’m really excited about this phenomenal trip, but I am going to miss my family a whole lot!!!
I think in the airport I was being a little more paranoid than normal, I brought both my carry-ons (each weighing about 25 pounds) into the bathroom with me for fear of someone thinking it was an explosive device of some sort. Then, when a guy asked a woman to watch his stuff while he ran to the bathroom (which the airlines advise against doing) I was thinking, “EXCUSE ME!!! This guy is a terrorist!!!” , leaving an Xbox 360 box with an unmarked black bag next to a densely populated airplane terminal!? Are you kidding me?! So after he left, the plane started to board and the woman “watching his stuff” got in line to board the plane… so there was this luggage (bomb) sitting there by itself, when an airport worker noticed it and came and took it. I thought, “Well, if it’s not a threat, this dude, just got ripped off! His fault.” Turns out, he was on my plane, and he came back from the bathroom, the world is NOT actually out to get me. ;)
On the plane I got the best seat ever, back row (I can recline as much as I want without feeling bad about the person sitting behind me, and I don’t have to wait in a line to get in the bathroom, AND I can just turn sideways and kick my feet out and stretch out) when I started talking to this guy on the other side of the middle seat next to me (he also knows the back is the best for the above said reasons). He was a friendly, talkative guy, Mike, and we started talking. Well, we were in mid-conversation when the woman that was supposed to sit in the middle showed up and asked me if she could get by. I was confused at first since she asked me to move the items in the middle seat and never actually said she was sitting there. So I moved the stuff in the seat and she asked if I’d like to sit there so we could continue our conversation… well, I didn’t want to seem like a jerk and completely ignore the conversation I was having with Mike, but… my sweet awesome seats… turns out the middle of the row isn’t so bad. Mike and I continued to talk about our families, his job, traveling, sports, US, UK, etc… The woman was really nice about letting me by when I had to pee or just stretch my legs. When I get to London, Mike said there was a Museum just across the Thames from the Tower of London about the history of surgery, since I was interested in medicine, he thought I would enjoy checking it out, I think it sounds interesting… but after all, I do only have 10 hours in London… we’ll see. ;)
So today is going to be one LONG post because that’s all it seemed to be… a long day… after I got to London I tried to get out of the airport. There’s no easy way to just leave terminal 5 of the Heathrow international airport… You have to have an escort take you out of the building, and then you have to take a train (I’d recommend the Heathrow Express, if you’re willing to spend 23£) to actually get to London. Well… about 12pm I arrive to London… get to see Hyde Park, Covent Garden, and SoHo. Before I decide to leave at 3pm/1500 (all times will hence forth be 24H so I don’t get confused…) so I could make it back to Heathrow and get my carryon bags, which were too heavy to carry around so I had the airport babysit them for 16£, and go through security again, and make it to my plane before it left me, at 1800. Well, I got my bags and made it through security by 1715… the plane didn’t leave until 1930… oh well… ;)
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| My new room, small but perfect! |
Keep in mind, this is going on 24 hours with no sleep because I was talking with Mike, or watching movies the entire plane ride over… well on the plane ride to Rome, I was barely able to stay conscious long enough to get a sandwich down then fall back asleep… so I woke up and we were landing… 2 hours of sleep… then went to get my bags from the carousel and had to wait almost 30 minutes, then piled the almost 150 pounds of luggage up and headed for the exit. I had my fill of airports for the “day”. I left the airport at 2315, a taxi driver, Paulo, found me and asked if I needed a ride. WOW! Apparently taxi driver’s have a license that says ‘I can drive however I want’, because he was speeding, almost hitting pedestrians, and driving on the railroad tracks… but we got to the flat just around 0000 which was late, but I was just glad to be there. ;) Briefly met Giorgio and Raffaella (dad & mom), then headed to bed.
September 5, 2010
This morning I woke up at noon and we went to the park next door (Villa Ada, for those keeping track of my exact location at home ;) for lunch. After lunch we had some gelato and looked around the neighborhood. I met some more of the family that had just returned from the US that lives on the first floor of the same building, the two daughters are 9 and 6, and very sweet. The grandmother who lives nearby stopped by to meet me, as well as the landlady/housekeeper. All were very nice. The view out my window is amazing and full of Roman life! Giorgio, Raffaella, and I ended the day by watching a great American film about WWII with John Wayne and Sean Connery and some other people appropriately titled, “The Longest Day”. Tomorrow is Nicoló’s first day back at school, he gets very good marks and is very smart. I’m excited to get out of the flat and wander around Rome some, I probably won’t get very far from the flat, but I’m ok with that. ;) Ok, time to get to bed, I’m going to wake up early and see Nic off to school.
GOODNIGHT EVERYONE! (as said in an old school Walton family way; Old school tv, don’t worry if you don’t get it.)
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