I've just learned how to set up a blog - thank you Jacob. I will begin by blogging our days here in Rome.
Day 1 - 5. A bit overwhelming to arrive at the apartment after no sleep on the plane and see that it is smaller than expected and very dark - 4 small windows - 2 in front main room..one above entrance door - and 2 in the back of apt in the bathroom. However, it is nicely set up and now, after 5 full days of getting our bearings and settling in we are finding the apartment cozy and comfortable.
We are in the area of Trastevere just off a main walking street with many tiny shops and small trattorie. It's late right now so tomorrow I will write about what we've been seeing during these 5 days. I will just say that today we took a bus to the ancient Via Appia and walked for about an hour along the narrow roadway that was the main route between Rome and Capua (near Naples) running in a perfectly straight line, built in 312 BC. There was a long piece of the road laid with large flat stones...no car traffic allowed, we were walking - and one could see the imprint of carriage tracks. I will need to read up to know whether these tracks and stones are what remain of the original road. When we visited Ehpesis in Turkey we saw similar tracks so I'm inclined to believe they could be from the earliest period of the Appian Way.
Photos are from 1st 3 days when it was not raining all day. The photo of the guy reading the newspaper was taken in Upim department store. I was paying for the pillow I had bought and turned around to see the guy behind the newspapers (Pete!) and his monkey friends.
More tomorrow
Io sono Pietro (married to Gianetta). Today we visited Maria Grazia Luffarelli. She painted the little boats that Jacob and Alicia have, the frog that Matt and Alison have, the goat going up the hill that Suzie and Brian have and the birds in the Sun Room in Vermont. She remembered us cordially.
ReplyDeleteLast night we had a fantastic experience in modern Rome - at an enormous shopping mall in a suburb. We took public transportation to get there - an exciting adventure in itself - and then spotted in the distance the brightly lit glass dome of the mall. Tall marble Obelisks punctuated atriums along the first floor corridors. It seems the typical village passagiatta (promenade) has been reestab lished in the mall. Handsome families with babies in strollers, many with accompanying dogs, parade down the aisles. The dogs are brave, not balking at the escalators.
In case anyone is worried we aren't seeing any art, relax. We saw a Bernini statue at a nearby church here in Trastevere and Raphael frescoes in a palace just down the street.
Oh yes, we're aren't starving either.
Curious George(s) not a fan of Berlusconi's print empire - tey are paperless. Great shot!
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