Scendi?

Ciao!

As the weeks pass, I am running out of city-appropriate superlatives to use to describe Rome.  I know this line is on repeat, but the city truly does amaze me everyday!  This week I had a lot of everyday thingsto take care of--going to a cobbler to fix my shoes that the cobblestones are destroying, going to the drycleaner, echetera, echetera (this is how Italians pronounce "etc", and I love it), which normally would not be anything to take note of.  But, because I had to figure it all out in Italian, running errands became little adventures filled with mispronounced words.  Luckily, everyone is very patient with my Italian!

I also discovered this week, belatedly, that designers such as Prada and Gucci were participating in the semi-annual sales that have been going on around Rome since early January, offering MASSIVE discounts.  Unfortunately (fortunately), the sales ended on Wednesday.  I have taken note of this fact for the next round of sales in June!

This weekend a friend and I headed to Tivoli, a town that has been a vacation getaway for Romans including Julius Caesar and the Roman Emperor Hadrian.  We saw the ruins of Villa Adriana, Emperor Hadrian's palatial countryside retreat (compared to the likes of Versaille) and the amazing Villa d'Este, which was home to an exiled Roman cardinal. E'stata una bella giornata!

What is left of Villa Adriana which was built back around 120 A.D!

Audio guide!

Tivoli was very kind to put directional signs everywhere, however, we still could not find Villa d"Este.  We kept walking back and forth between two directional signs that pointed the opposite direction, we knew it HAD to be somewhere in the middle...oh my. 

Once we found it--Villa d'Este. 

So many fountains!

La dolce vita!

Ciao!
Il tempo vola!  This week was really busy, lots of work, pizza and appertivi!  A friend took me to a pizzeria, Dar Poeta, where I had the best pizza I have ever tasted.  When you all come to Rome, to visit me or otherwise, you must go!  Also this week, my Canadian friends threw a Quebecois Carneval party, so I had a taste of North America with poutine and a drink called Caribou (so Canadian, eh?).

In honor of Valentine's Day, I went to the Ciocciolentino Festival in Terni, a quiet little town about an hour outside of Rome.  All of the best chocolate makers from around Italy were there with amazing chocolate displays. Certo, I stocked up on lots of delicious chocolate!  I also had some adventures there...I recently commented to a friend that I had yet to encounter the "aggressive" male Italian, you know, the ones who supposedly chase you down the street telling you how beautiful you are.  WELL, Terni was FULL of them.  It was rather shocking actually, and reminded me of the scenes from movies where you literally have to run away!  (Not as scary as it sounds, it was daylight and there were tons of people around).   I guess I am now truly getting the Italian experience...which included me yelling "BASTA!!" "ANDARE!!."

Today, I wandered around Rome, did some shopping and soaked up the sun!

The Spanish Steps.  Look familiar? 

Apparently, the Spanish Steps, now always packed, became a popular destination after the movie, Roman Holiday.  This is where Gregory Peck's character lived and the address that Audrey Hepburn sleepily/drunkenly gave to the taxi driver is now an incredibly expensive hotel! 

Piazza Venezia

At my work party this week, we talked about Rome's constant struggle with graffiti.  In my co-worker's opinion, graffiti is destroying the city--I think this is kind of interesting, though.

Chocolate from Perugia, Italy's chocolate capital! 

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  Baci e abbrachi da Roma <3

Come si dice?

Ciao!
It is almost impossible to believe that I have been in Roma for a month now.  It feels both like I just arrived, and like I have lived here forever. I realized just how quickly I have acclimated when I was crossing the street the other day.  Crossing the street is much like playing a game of Frogger or maybe even Chicken. The cars never stop, but rather swerve around you as you walk across.  I didn't realize this my first week here and so, I kept waiting for cars to stop and let me cross.  They never did.  But now, I cross with ease, barely even noticing the chaos!

I have also taken on the strategy of asking "Come si dice?" about everything that I don't know how to say in Italian (in other words, EVERYTHING), to improve my vocabulary.  So far, it has been very effective :-)

This weekend was gorgeous, sunny and warm.  I headed out to explore Villa Borghese, a park in the center of Rome.  I rented a bike and so was able to see the entire park.  It was absolutely beautiful!  On Sunday, a friend and I attempted to go to a calcio match to watch Lazio play.  My Roma-fan friends mislead me into believing that no respectable Roman was a Lazio fan and therefore, tickets would be easy to acquire.  But, actually, there are quite a few Lazio fans and unfortunately when we got to stadio olimpico, the game was sold out!  Next time!

I finished off the weekend with an impromptu night walking tour with my Roman friend. He showed me all of these amazing hidden piazzas, fountains and churches and then we ended the tour at an fantastic enoteca in Campo.  E' stato molto bello!!

Il week-end perfetto!

Villa Borghese

A Roman drinking fountain...looks kinda of sketchy, BUT the water is clean and cold! 

We supported Lazio by drinking Peroni while sporting Lazio gear!  Better than actually going to the game?