Parks, Irish Pubs, and 'Hidden' Rome

When i was in Paris years ago, i was feeling a bit lonely so I went to the Disney Store on Les Champs d'Elysee and bought a hefalump to be my sleeping buddy. In Rome there is a Disney Store as well on via del Corso so i went to find what other character I could add to my collection. I fell for Roo the Kangaroo also from Winnie the Pooh (wow poetic huh?). Sadly though, it was 19 € , and i could not bring myself to spend over $25 on a little stuff toy. Ill just have to find real friends.
This week was a bit more busy and fun. I decided to go to a new part of Rome everyday after work. The most notable discovery this week was the 'central park' of the city called Villa Borghese. In this large heart shaped park, you can find museums, music auditoriums, and above all some peace and quiet away from the bussle of the city. It was very nice to wander near the lake and see the calmer side of the city for a few hours. Another evening, along with some coworkers, we took slices of pizza and ate on the Spanish steps to people watch. The European cup is coming to a close and Germany played Portugal. Several of my colleagues went to an Irish pub to watch the action and have a few pints! The bar was packed with German fans and due to the warm weather, the beer went down easily. Needless to say, I missed my last train and crashed at my friends for the night, dragging into work the next day wearing the same clothes and red eyes. Oh to be young. A different day, I scoped out the Auditorium here in Rome where most of the musical events happen. Next week for example Alanis Morrisette is going to playing there.
When the weekend hit so did the real heat. Saturday night my roommate arranged to meet some of her friends from college out for pizza. Our reservation got pushed back to 1030p to eat in the Parco Torlonya where Mussolini has a home. Our group of six, five Italians and me, ate our thin crust pizza in open air followed by limoncello (a strong lemon flavored liquor) bitters, and coffees. I think i finally made it back near 4am after a lovely glass of red wine (Morenilli) from Tuscany, champagne to celebrate a birthday, and a croissant with nutella. (mmm) Italians eat quite late compared to us Americans. I was famished by 8pm!
The 'Hidden Rome Tour' took up most of Sunday. A fellow intern and I, were guided by a local Roman - Francesco- who also works with the WHO. He drove us all over the city to the parts were tourists rarely see yet are very special indeed. Rome is known as the city of seven hills and was born between three of them. We visited four of them during this tour - all with impeccable views of the city below. A few of the hills show monuments for the founding fathers of the Rome Republic - Garibadi, Cavour, and Mazzini. Aventina boasts a huge monument of Garibaldi who was known as the arm of the city, Cavour the brain - never used force to implement his policies unlike Garibaldi, and Mazzini the heart. Also on the hills are the rich neighborhoods of Rome where you can find embassies, mansions, and beautiful churches and monasteries. We stopped at a monastery and peered through the keyhole to a beautiful garden of the Malta embassy. On Hill Gianicolo is where its thought that Peter was killed on an upside down cross.

We also toured a few secluded neighborhoods that date back hundreds of years including San Saba. You can immediately tell when you are in a modern or ancient area of the city. The architecture changes the materials and colors used. One of the neighborhoods were built like american cooperatives. I took several pictures to use for the design of my house one day = ). Near Piazza Vittorio we stopped for lunch. This area is one of most ethincally diverse neighborhoods of Rome where Indian, Chinese, and African immigrants come to hang their hats. We ate at an incredible Indian food restaurant that reminded me of being back home. Later in the day, Francesco has one more big surprise for us. He drove to the SE corner of the city to the Parco Dellappia Antica where you can find an original foot path to the city that goes on for miles. The great part of this park is the ancient aqueducts ! I got some amazing shots and heard interesting stories about illegals using the aqueducts as one wall of their huts to survive. Prostitution was also rampant in that part of time back in the day. Francesco grew up nearby so showed us little nooks and crannies I bet few people know about. After five hours in 84 degree heat, we parted ways. What an incredible experience- I am so lucky to have a local roman show me around!

The Adriatic Sea

No doubt about it - i must live near the ocean! I am feeling particularly refreshed after this weekend. As a result of my down and homesick week, I decided to get a change of scenery and visit an old friend in Pescara, Italy. As luck would have it, Pescara is located on the eastern coast of Italy on the Adriatic Sea about 2.5 hours from Rome by bus. I left early Saturday morning and was welcomed by my Italian friend Licia, her family, and her boyfriend Paolo. Even though it was pouring, we found a way to visit the city, the nearby village of Ortuno, and the beaches and ports. The sea was brillant color blue and the coasts have lovely cliffs that reminded me of Senegal. People from all over Europe flock to Pecsaras beaches for holidays. The water so warm-like bath water! I found a silver cross necklace on the beach that day- i think my luck is changing... In the evening, they took me to a restaurant for local food. We had beef kebabs, fries, and beer - i felt right at home! After dinner we strolled along the boardwalk that follows the coasts eating ice cream and discussing all good things Italian and American.
The following day was beautiful so we headed down to the sand right after breakfast. We stopped to see all the yachts in the tourist harbor and strolled in the glorious sun. I was really happy to have spent a lovely weekend seaside with a now good friend. I spent time with her italian family and that is always a great experience to see how the locals live. I didnt want to come back to Rome at the weekends conclusion, but i did.

Piramide, FAO, and San Gio - Who?

So work was slow one day and i wanted to check out the Food and Agriculture Organization (cuz i might work for them one day) to visit their English library. The structure isnt so interesting and sadly I arrived when the library was not open to the public! I thought I didnt come all that way for nothing, so i snuck in past the guard and saw i must say a pathetic library compared to the ones at UW-Wisconsin. After a quick stroll through the building, I realized i had a bit of time so decided to see why one of the metro stops was called piramide. Was there in fact a pyramid? YES THERE WAS! The pyramid was included in the Aurelian Walls, and is close to Porta San Paolo. The pyramid is a funerary monument built about 12 BC as a tomb for Caius Cestius, a member of one of the four great religious corporations at Rome and is made out of white marble. The Roman Empire had conquered Egypt a few years before, in 30 BC, and the ancient culture of the new province became fashionable for a while; at any rate the tomb is unique among ancient Roman monuments. It was a nice surprise after a tough week.
Earlier this week, i had another nice surprise. I was wandering in a new part of the city and came across a beautiful church! Later i looked it up and discovered it was the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano - the oldest and ranks first among the four patriarchal churches of Rome; it is the head of all churches throughout Rome and the world. Originally the palace of Constantine, it was later adapted to serve as the church of the Pope. Not a bad discovery i must say! http://rome.arounder.com/san_giovanni_in_laterano/index.html

Italian remarks on america

Starbucks was here for a few months then promptly closed. McDonalds is found in several piazzas with higher prices and better quality food -yet you pay for the ketchup. Italy is against letting to many foreign (including Spanish Zara) companies in. They hope to keep Italy -Italy.
Bush is here in Rome this week to urge Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to expand his military support in the Middle east and to visit with the Pope.... and the Romans were waiting Monday, ready to protest his presence here, the fact that 3,000 parking spots were vacated for his arrival and as well as the blocked cell phone signals he caused. 10,000 extra cops are in the city this week due to Bushs visity so as you can see Italy is not exactly Bushs best buddy these days.

Forza Italia!

The great part about June, is the European soccer tournament (Europai 2008)! From the 7th until the 29, there are matches almost every night to see who is the european champion. Last night, my roomate and i huddled around the Italy vs Netherlands game in our flat as people from all over europe on vacation or business in Rome gathered in bars to cheer on their favorite. Sadly, the Netherlands had a solid game and came out victorious 3-0 against the Italians. The enthusiaum of soccer in unavoidable here and I have gotten hooked on watching the matches (george and benn i think you have something to do w/ this!). Im going to root for Italy and France since they are close to home for me now and when they play each other on the 17th -let the best team win = ) Check out all the details on the tournament at http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/

a word about transport and 'foreign food'

I use the public transportation everday in Rome to reach my destination. I must say that without it i would be completely lost as far as getting around but I also need to say that if you come here , you must experience it. Not because its a hoot and a holler, but because its an unpleaseant but large part of the big city culture. Imagine yourself a sardine, pinned on either side by fishy smelling Italians. They naturally have their armpits exposed as they hang onto the overhead bar and have no qualms about practically massaging you with their failing appendages as the train or bus jolts. I am sure that Italians wear deoderant and perfume and unlike that old cliche - Europeans dont always smell. But the transportation is always cramped and the bodies created quite the sauna. Everyone sweats, i just think Italians have the best genes for it. So needless to say, I dont exactly look forward to my 45 minute commute twice a day.

Rome is quite the international city and hosts a variety of cusines. You can eat Indian, Chinese, Sushi, Mediteranean, etc. On the via Veneto where the United States Embassy is you will see the Cafe de Paris, and even A Hard Rock Cafe! I checked out the menu as I walked by and it will cost you 13,75€ (about $22) for a normal hamburger. This is the only 'American' restaurant besides McDonalds listed in the WHERE magazines special dining issue. As far as sweets are concerned, you can stop just about anywhere for something terribly bad for you. The infamous gelato is found everywhere, baked goods like sweet crossaints and cream puffs made daily tempt you from behing glass cases, and so far my favorite the Lindt Chocolate bins at Termini train station. In the Lindt shop, you can go in and scoop your favorite varieties of Lindt roulettes into plastic sacs by the kilo! Its like jelly bean bins at home but with the best chocolates in the world = )

Pizza is THE fast food here-found on every corner and sold by weight. I have had some terrible pizza that was almost too salty to eat (ham) and i have also had some tasty slices with lots of tomatoe sauce and vegetables. So be picky about your piece and you will land on a good kind.
I have discovered some other Italian foods that I do quite enjoy. Pasta tomatoe and fresh mozzarella salad, tiramisu, and McDonalds Italian version of baked goods are quite nice. Ill be sure to talk about Italian cuisine in the future but for now I think France has this country beat.

Getting Involved - As an expat

In my last entry i was feeling a bit down and lonely due to my language frustration and the fact I dont know anyone here. So to beat those blues, I decided I had to stop living like a visitor and start living like an expat. In Rome there is an enormous expatriate community. My Irish colleague informed be about the American and Irish Clubs of Rome. They plan numerous events and provide support for expats in the area. It is hard to determine who is Italian and who immigrated here for other reasons because it is such and international city.
So to my movement to 'get involved' started Friday night. The ladies in the WHO office arranged a girls night out. So at 6p we went for drinks in the place where Tom Hanks was spotted earlier that day. He is currently in Rome filming for Angels and Demons. After that, we went to Sex and the City in its original version with Italian subtitles. It was a good girls night choice and quite funny yet dramatic. The conclusion of the movie led us to La Gustto which a very modern restaurant in the same area. The ladies had to help me translate the menu, Italians have about 50 words for pasta and 50 more for cheeses! I called it an early night since i didnt know how late the buses ran to my neighborhood. One metro was already closed so i had about a half hour walk to the other which stops at 1am. The walk allowed me to see the sights of the ancient city at night which are all lit up. It was a great night. Then, luckily the bus runs all night so i made it home just fine and met a nice french speaking Tunisian man on the way to boot.
Saturday after chilling all day with a sore throat and ear ache (either the pollution is getting to me or some teeth are coming in) I went out to a typical European saturday outing location. IKEA. My roomie, her boyfriend, and a spent hours there - it was a good thing there are beds in the store = )
I also heard that the Irish club was hosting a picnic this weekend at the Irish College downtown. The college has about 50 students from all over studying to be a priest. The grounds of the college were perfect for a picnic full great foods, sack and egg, races, and table triva! I spent several hours meeting Irish expats who live in Rome for a variety of reasons and who work in diverse areas. It was a lovely day hearing about the many success stories of foreigners moving and loving Italy. The American Club has a big 4th of July celebration planned and I already have a date. Even though my italian is slowly improving, it feels really great to meet new people that i can completely communicate with.
On the way home, I had a run in with the cops. I am technically not a resident here because my stay is less than three months. I have however the metro pass for a resident recommended by my roomate because its cheaper. I was stopped to see my pass in the metro. If they discover foreigners with such passes there is a hefty fine. The policeman eyed me for a good 5 seconds and then asked me for my identity card (well i think thats what he said cuz he didnt have any objections when i then gave it to him). I gave him my university ID for some reason i thought it would be more believable..He studied for a moment, then me a bit more as i thought 'dont talk, dont panic, dont show fear!' and he said ok and let me pass. WHEW! I think what saved me is my Italian last name - the ID clearly has university of WISCONSIN in huge letters. Hurray! I can blend in!