Out and About in Rome

Last night we were woken up sometime between 1 AM and 6 AM (we didn't check the clock and can't agree on the timeframe) by a thunderstorm.  The thunderstorm itself was pretty awesome (since we rarely had them in San Francisco), but it actually scared us quite a bit, since some windows in our building were open, and the strong winds slammed a lot of doors shut (in a loud, echo-y manner).  Of course, I then made a comment about ghosts (the library here is apparently haunted- stay tuned for more on that in a future post), and this comment led Tom to have stressful dreams about hearing voices in the hall for the rest of the night.

So, basically, that's my long explanation of why I'm home posting on this blog on a Sunday rather than being "out and about in Rome" on this particular day.  But, it does look like it's going to storm again any second, so being a bit tired and lazy today (at least on my end- Tom claimed he was too tired to explore, but is now working away in his office) isn't the worst thing in the world.

However, in our past three weeks here, we have had many chances to get out and see some of the city.

Rooftop Balcony at the Academy

As ridiculous as it might sound, though, we often have to force ourselves to get out there.  It's just that we live in such a great environment that we never want to leave! The Academy has such amazing food, wonderful people, and so many beautiful gardens/grounds/rooftop-balconies-with-views-of-the-city, that it's very easy to just fall into the pattern of spending all of our time here (or, in my, case here and three blocks away at the Park where I run)!  Of course, I didn't even mention the fact that the whole point of being here is so that Tom can get a lot of work done on his dissertation (and when Tom works, I usually end up studying Italian or blogging or reading myself).  And, it's not just us who feel this way.  We routinely hear other fellows lamenting and/or discussing the fact that they rarely leave, and, actually, some of the fellows without spouses hardly do seem to leave at all!

Still, we are always happy when we do manage wander out of this Paradise, because we have had some amazing adventures in and around the city.  In the future, I hope to share more about some of the specific sites and places we visit, but for now, I thought I'd give you a general overview of some of the things we do and see in our free time here.

In the Forum

1.  Walk and Talks

First of all, every week (usually on Friday mornings), the "Professor in Charge" here at the Academy leads any interested parties on brief tours of various significant historical sites throughout the city. (Or, maybe I should say  they are "brief in theory," since our last "two hour" walk actually turned into a five hour saga!) Since our group consists of scholars and artists (and spouses like me!) from many different areas of study, the Professor, Kim, tries to speak on points of broad general interest, although I'd imagine that having some background in Roman History and/or Art History would still be quite helpful.  (Kim also has a somewhat sarcastic sense of humor, which I especially enjoy.)

Domitian's Palace (late 1st Century) on the Palatine Hill

On the first walk we visited the Roman Forum (a site which served as the center of Roman public life over many centuries, and which now contains the ruins of many monuments, temples, and government buildings), and on our second walk we visited the Palatine Hill and the Capitoline Museum (both of which border on parts of the Forum).

The upside of these walks is that you get to learn about these sites from a very dynamic and knowledgeable source (and, of course, you have a whole group of subject matter experts with you who can chime in on various topics from time to time), and it's also a good chance to bond with some of the other fellows here.  It's also really nice that the Academy covers and entry fees that we would otherwise incur to visit these places.  (When I was here back in 2002, entering the Forum was free, but now it costs about 12 Euros to get in.)

Sculpture in the Capitoline Museum (legend holds that the

founder of Rome and his twin were raised by wolves)

The downside, of course, is that there are SO many things to see in each of these locations, and, in such a short time, it's hard to really get a handle on what you're seeing and to place that in a larger framework of Roman History (at least if you're not already studying that for a living).  Of course, you always have the option to stay later, or to return on another date, once you have a sense of the things you'd like to spend more time doing.

Luckily, I've got my own personal expert here with me in Rome, and we definitely plan to go back to the Forum another time. We're hoping to have a picnic on the Palatine Hill, and, hopefully, Tom can show me around a bit more (perhaps after I've done a bit more reading about the sites!).

Typical Monteverde Street

2.  Exploring Our Own Neighborhood(s)    

Another way we get out and about (even if not so far out), is by taking short walks in and around our own neighborhood whenever we have some spare time. It's hard to say what neighborhood we live in exactly, since we are more or less on the border of three different areas (Monteverde to the West, Trastevere to the East, and the Janiculum to the North), but we've spent a decent about of time in all of these areas.

Trastevere, as I've written about before, is the most "happening" neighborhood, and where we often head to if we want to experience some nightlife or eat dinner out. Monteverde is a more residential, less touristy neighborhood.  It's certainly nice, but perhaps less remarkable than other parts of Rome.  Still, it holds a special place in our hearts, since that's the area where we do our grocery shopping (for breakfast foods), or where we go for any other odds and ends we might need (like power converters or that plant we keep saying we'll buy for our room).

View from Janiculum Hill

At this point, the Janiculum is my favorite of the three, although there is still a lot more for me to explore before I can make that claim with complete certainty.  The Janiculum is a very green area, full of gardens and pedestrian walkways.  One particular street, which is lined with the busts of soldiers (Tom and I spent a recent evening deciding which ones we each looked the most like), leads to Garibaldi square, which- you guessed it- contains a enormous statue of the General (on a horse).  Best of all, though, from this area (known as Janiculum Hill), there is an amazing view of the entire city of Rome.  I just only recently discovered this spot (which is only a five minute walk from the Academy), and, have already returned several times since.  The grass-covered overlook would be the perfect place to take a book on a sunny afternoon, and I'm hoping to have a couple chances to do just that once this storm front passes!  

Tom Near the Pantheon

3.  Weekend Wandering

Finally, of course, Tom and I do our best to do some exploring of further-out-there parts of the city on weekends. Last weekend, for example, we took ourselves on a whirlwind walking tour, and stopped at many of the city's iconic sites, including the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps.

Unfortunately, during this time of year on the weekends, these places are mobbed with tourists (I know what you're thinking, but I insist that we're actually "residents"), but we're hoping that we'll get a slightly more intimate view of some of these sites during the winter months.

View from the top of the Spanish Steps.  Can you
pick out the building with the temporary fake facade?

Oftentimes, we just head out with a map, a few Euros, and a water bottle, and see where we end up.  But we also have a few particular places/neighborhoods that we'd like to make a day of exploring just themselves.  Probably next up on our list will be spending more time in the Vatican and also checking out Villa Borghese (an area and Villa similar to Villa Doria Pamphilli, where I run, but on the other side of the city).

We also like to use our wandering as an opportunity to test out two Roman staples, pizza by the slice and gelato, in different parts of the city.  So, hopefully by the end of the year, we'll be able to report back on on our favorite spots on that front, as well!

Alla Prossima,
Erin

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Sunday, Sept. 30:  Cooler (about 70 degrees) and thunderstorms!!!      

A Million Mopeds, Zero Oatmeal (Five Oddities for Americans in Rome)

Even though we've only been living in Italy for a relatively short time, we've already noticed some aspects of life that are very different here than in the US.  As you've probably picked up on, some of these differences are absolutely amazing (the history of the city, the beautiful architecture, and the long and delicious dining experiences are just a few examples).  But, there are also a few things that we're a bit less thrilled about (or at least a bit perplexed by) too.  I thought I'd share some of them with you in this post.    
  
1.  Where's my breakfast?

I love breakfast.  In fact, it might even be my favorite meal of the day.  It's not so much that I need eggs and pancakes every morning (although, actually, that does sound pretty delicious right around now), but I do wake up starving, and need something hearty to hold me over until lunch.  However, most Italians wouldn't agree with me on that one.  For breakfast, the typical Italian will have a cappuccino (mind you that here a cappuccino is exclusively a morning drink, and that, unlike in the US, if you order one after noon people will look at you like you're crazy), and maybe (but only maybe) some sort of tiny pastry.  And that's it!  Somehow they manage not to collapse for the next several hours until they eat again (although lunch and dinner are, admittedly, quite large meals here).  I seriously don't know how they do it.

(not making oatmeal) in the community kitchen

Sadly, what this means for us is that the cereal aisle in any grocery store is totally lacking (occasionally missing altogether) and I can't find my beloved quick oats anywhere (I know, it's a tough life, right?!).  Heck, I'm so desperate that I'd even settle for steel cut oats (the kind that you have to actually boil in a pot), but those don't seem to exist either.  Of course, we haven't been starving.  We do have fruit and yogurt and bread (which we keep in our community kitchen), but, frankly, that's just not quite cutting it for me. Never fear, though:  I have great plans to return to Rome with a suitcase full of quick oats (and peanut butter) after visiting the US for Christmas, so this oatmeal drought won't last forever!

2.  Is that guy/gal on a moped seriously talking on the phone/wearing three inch heels/toting around (several) children?

Mopeds are everywhere in Rome and, yes, I really do see all of these things on a fairly regular basis.  The children actually didn't surprise me, though, since, when I was in Naples ten years ago, I literally saw a family of 4, plus the family dog, crammed onto a tiny moped.  Still, it makes me nervous every time I see a little kid hanging onto the back of one (and it makes me even more nervous that the kid never seems too concerned about holding on tightly).  Likewise, the shoes thing didn't throw me off much, either, since fashion at all costs is much more important here than in most parts of the US. (Sadly for me, you'd never catch an Italian out on the town in flip flops!)  I do, however, find the talking on cell phones to be especially weird.  Normally, they have the phone crammed into their helmet, and so, if you don't look closely enough it just looks like they're screaming to themselves as they drive  down the street.  (Incidentally, Italians often sound like they're screaming when they're talking- even if they're saying something nice, but, I'm sure we'll touch on this topic in some other post.)  At least they are wearing those helmets, though, so I trust their heads will be adequately protected when they inevitably get distracted and crash.

3.  How can I cross the street without getting hit by the previously mentioned heel wearing, cell phone talking, children totting woman on a moped?  

For those of you who know me well, three words you would probably never use to describe me are decisive, spontaneous, and overly confident.  In the US this is just fine.  I like to think it just means that I'm a very organized, non-obnoxious person.  Unfortunately, though, not having these traits is more of a problem for me here, since they are the very three qualities you need to successfully cross the street in Rome. 

Basically, street crossing works like this:  Occasionally you will find traffic lights, but usually you have- at best- just a marked pedestrian crossing in the road (and sometimes not even that).  However, cars certainly do not stop for people just standing at or near the crossings like they do (or at least are supposed to do) back in the States.  Instead, if you want to cross, you must just confidently step into the street and immediately proceed to the other side, maintaining a quick and steady pace.  If you show the slightest bit of hesitation (by slowing down, stopping, or (god forbid) turning back in a panic), all hell breaks loose (you'll be honked at, yelled at, and I haven't ruled out the possibility that the mafia might come after you).  So why in the world would you hesitate, you ask?  Because even when you follow these instructions perfectly, the cars don't stop- or even really brake!  They just take their foot off the gas the tiniest bit so that they will maybe be only a foot away from you at the point where you meet (rather than mowing over you).  And so, I don't know about you, but when I see a moving car heading straight for me, my natural reaction is to panic!

But not to worry, I have been practicing, and do think that I'm starting to get the hang of it.  Of course, my other favorite trick is to slow down/speed up as I'm approaching a street so that I can time my crossing with someone else's, and then position myself on the other side of the car from them so that I have my very own human shield!  See?  My planning ways are good for something, I guess!

4.  Why is EVERYONE making out?

Neighborhood make out spot

Anyone who has traveled in Europe has probably noticed that Europeans are a bit more, uh.... expressive than Americans when it comes to public displays of affection.  But, I swear, the Italians take this attitude to a whole other level!  Oftentimes, when walking around the city (especially if I'm anywhere near a park or a monument or a fountain (especially the fountains)), I feel like I've mistakenly walked into some sort of college frat party.  Except that no one is drunk.  And the couples aren't all young.  And it's often the middle of the day.  I find this strange.  But then again, maybe I'm just a "prudish American" who needs to lighten up... 

 5.  Why are the stores never open?  

I tell you, Italians really have the right attitude about working, as they seem to only do it when they feel like it.  In the afternoon (from about 2:30 to 4:30) many of the stores (especially smaller ones) are closed for an afternoon siesta.  This is a bit annoying for us, since that's about the time that Italian class and lunch are over and when we have a break in the day to run some errands.  But really, who am I to begrudge the tradition of the afternoon nap?!  Many things are also closed on Sundays, and, of course, even if a store says it's going to be open on a certain date or time, you can never entirely count on that.  All of this means that it can be a bit difficult to get things that you need when you need them.  (Tom and I still lack Italian cell phones for this very reason, although we haven't really needed them much yet anyway), but if you're willing to be a bit flexible, things always work out.  And, if not, you can always drown your failed shopping sorrows in a giant bowl of gelato (thankfully that's one thing you can ALWAYS find around here, day or night!)

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Tues. Sept. 25:  Partly sunny and warm (although I'm a bit sick and so was roasting all day!)

Dining at the Academy (and the Rome Sustainable Food Project)

When we found out that Tom won the Rome prize, there were so many things to be excited about: the opportunity for Tom to have an extra year off of teaching to finish his dissertation, the chance to make new friends and professional connections, and, of course, getting to live in and explore Rome for an extended period of time.  However, despite all of those amazing things, I have to admit that one of the things that I was most excited about was the fact that the Academy provides most lunches and dinners for fellows and their families.  In other words: no cooking or dishes for an entire year!  

Of course, Tom and I always shared cooking and dishes duties (although there was an ongoing good- natured dispute about who actually did more of those dishes), and I like to think that we're both halfway decent cooks.  But, as most of you probably know, the task of having to decide on, shop for, prepare, and clean up after meals (even when you have no kids!) can get rather exhausting, especially after a long day of work. Plus, despite it's cozy charm, our kitchen in San Francisco was impractically small, and so it was never really possible for us both to work on preparing anything at the same time.  It also lacked a dishwasher, a feature I will never again undervalue when searching for housing!

So, like I said, having all of our meals prepared for us was a very exciting notion, but what is even more amazing is how ridiculously good- and responsibly produced- the food here turned out to be.

Academy Gardens

Things weren't always this way, though.  As recently as 2005, the food here was apparently just awful, which was a problem for several reasons.  First, and most obviously, no one likes to eat horrible food (food which has been described to us as very much like bad elementary school cafeteria grub).  More problematic, however, was the fact that this bad food often led to fellows skipping meals altogether (and eating off-site).  Since meals are one of the few times when all of the fellows gather together, this trend really undermined one of the major aims of the Academy, which is to foster cross-disciplinary discussions and relationships between its fellows.

Fortunately for us, however, this has all changed. Several years ago, with the help of Alice Waters, the Academy started the "Rome Sustainable Food Project."  As its name suggests, the Project focuses on providing seasonal, healthy (largely plant based), and whenever possible, local, foods to the Academy community.  In fact, some of the fruits and herbs even come from the Academy's own grounds, where several gardens have been planted. Another really cool part of the Project is that it serves as an internship program.  Similar to the Rome Prize itself, young up-and-coming chefs can apply to work in the kitchen for three month stints in order to further develop their talents, and learn more about sustainable consumption. (Obviously, this is only a very brief overview of this very interesting and inspiring project, but if you're interested in learning more about the Rome Sustainable Food Project, you can find a lot more information, here, on the Academy's website.  The New York Times also wrote an interesting article about the Project a few years ago, which is definitely worth a read.)

Of course, as I have mentioned, the food is also ridiculously delicious, drawing on influences from both Roman cuisine and California cuisine (in the tradition of Chez Pannise).  Honestly, I don't know how we will be able to handle going back to our own cooking after this (and even our weekend dinners out in Rome have paled in comparison to the Academy's kitchen!)  If you're prone to food jealously, you might not want to read any further, but for those of you who are curious, let me tell you a bit more about our actual meals here:

Setting up for Lunch in the "Portico" 

First of all, while the weather is warm enough (hopefully for another few weeks yet), we eat our meals at one enormously long table under an open air archway attached to the courtyard.  (Tom says this is called a "portico," but, really, does anyone else know that word? I certainly didn't.)  There isn't assigned seating (although sometimes a few places are reserved when important guest are in town), so you just choose a spot wherever you like.  Once it gets too chilly to be outside, we'll eat in the indoor dining room, at various smaller tables.  Between all the fellows, visiting scholars, and other community members and guests, there are usually anywhere from 40 to 70 people at any given meal.

Lunches are served at 1:00, and are buffet style (although you can also get a "picnic" lunch of a sandwich or salad if you prefer to work through lunch and/or will be off-site).  A typical lunch consists of a vegetable based soup (today's was cream of tomato, for example), bread, a pasta dish (anything from gnocchi to pinwheels with lentils), and then about five side dishes/salads (again, often heavily vegetable-based like green beans, squash, eggplant, or caprese salad).  I'm really not doing these meals justice, though, because everything is cooked and seasoned so perfectly that it's never "just eggplant."  It's more like "the most amazing eggplant you've ever had in your life seasoned with flavors you've possibly never tasted before." The other day, for example, a salad had fruit in it that literally tasted like grape candy.  It took us a while to realize that the fruit was, in fact, actually grapes.  (Who knew that that artificial grape flavor actually came from something?!)  You're welcome to take as much or little as you want of anything, and can always go back for seconds.  At each lunch they also have a table of yogurt, amazing honey (I will never again eat honey that comes out of a plastic bear after this!), and fresh fruit, such as plums, pears, and grapes.  The lunches are great for me because- at most- there will be one dish involving meat, and, more often than not, these meals are entirely vegetarian!

Academy Dinner (although from a past year)

Dinners are equally delicious, but are (with the exception of Fridays) a bit more formal than lunches.  (In fact, as was written in our orientation materials, fellows know that dinner is ready to be served "when the candles are lit.")  You don't have to go so far as to wear a suit and tie, but you're expected to dress up a bit more than at lunches, and you never see anyone in a sweatshirt.  Dinner begins at 8, and often lasts until 9:30 or even 10 (which I think, is part of why time seems to go by so quickly here!).  So far, most of the parents haven't been bringing children to the dinners (I assume most are in bed by that time on school nights), but Fridays are "family nights" and children are especially encouraged to attend that night's buffet, kid-friendly style meal.

Delicious food! (picture taken from the Academy website)

On Mondays through Thursdays, dinner involves wait staff, who serve separate appetizers, entrees, and desserts, and there is always plenty of wine set out on the table. (Well, actually, there is wine at Friday dinners, too....see, what I meant about the not getting pregnant thing?!!!).  Most (but not all) entrees are served family style, with six individuals sharing each platter.  Many of the dinners (maybe two per week), are vegetarian for everyone (sustainable food means eating much less meat that most American do), but on the meat nights, vegetarians (like me!) get served their own veggie option meal.


Just as an example, here's the menu from our favorite dinner (which was vegetarian for all) this week:

Arugula salad with pomegranates, persimmons, and aceto balsamico
Carrot sformato with leeks and fennel
Olive oil honey cake with raisins and marsala

In case you are wondering, a "sformato" is a souffle, and, yes, they seriously prepared individual souffles for about 50 people (to be served all at once!).  It was, not only the best dinner I've had here, but, perhaps, one of the best dinners I've ever had in my entire life (but that sort of things seems to happen often around here).  

Are you feeling hungry yet?!

I know I say this in practically every post, but we truly feel so fortunate to be part of the community here. Despite the outward formality of many of the meals, people still chatter away, laugh and joke around at them, and we've gotten to know/started building friendships with more people here at meals than in any other context.  Of course, I don't think you can underestimate the role of good food and wine in that relationship development process, and we can't wait to share this experience with our visiting friends and family in the coming year!

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I forgot to do this last time, but:
Friday, Sept 21:  It was a warm and sunny day with highs in the upper 70s.  Absolutely perfect.

Exploring Trastevere

I really can't believe that we've been living in Rome for one week already!  It's funny, in some ways it feels like we just got here (I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!), but at the same time, (since the Academy is so homey and we've already gotten to know so many people) it feels like we've been living here for ages.

However, since we do feel so at home here, I think we (or at least I, since I don't have a dissertation to write) need to be careful not to fall into the trap of spending ALL of our time on the Academy property.  Part of my excitement about coming to Rome was to have time to explore the different neighborhoods, learn about the city and its history, and to interact with some of the locals (or at least the local merchants if no one else will talk to us!), and so I do want to make those things a priority.  

Somehow, though (despite my current lack of a real job) I never seem to have enough time. Today, for example, I got up around 7:30, went for a run, and then had Italian class from 9:45-12:45 (I'll have to tell you all about that in another post sometime).  Lunch was from 1:00-2:00, and then we attended a reading given by Toni Morrison (who's currently a visiting artist here) from 2:00-3:30 (that was really a special treat for us).  Since then, I've done my compiti (that's homework, and it took forever!), worked on this blog post, and, before I know it, it will be time for dinner at 8.  I tell you, the life of leisure is actually a very busy one (that's a quote from Tom, and it perfectly describes my sentiments)!

One of the Stairways Down to Trastevere

Fortunately though, we did have a bit of time to do some exploring over the weekend (partly due to the fact that the Academy does not provide meals on Saturday evenings or on Sundays), and much of that exploring took place in Trastevere.

Trastevere is a fun little neighborhood, just east of us and down a very large, steep hill (good thing we've had good practice walking up and down hills in San Francisco!).  It also borders the Tiber, and is the neighborhood that we'll walk through any time we want to take a bridge over to the east side of the river (where the majority of Rome's neighborhoods are located).

Trastervere itself is perhaps the neighborhood that best embodies the "Italy" that Americans conjure up when imagining life in Rome.  The streets are narrow, winding, and (often) crowded, and there are ristorantes, trattorias, and bars ("bars" here are more like coffee shops- hence the term "barista") everywhere you look.

Most of the buildings are colored in warm hues (reds, oranges, and yellows), and there are an abundance of street musicians and performers entertaining the masses in hopes of tips.  I'm sure that most locals find these musicians and performers annoying, and view them as tourist gimmicks (like how I feel about being at Pier 39 in San Francisco), but, at least for now, I find them charming. There seems to be an unwritten rule that any street music must involve at least one accordion, but the rules clearly don't require exclusive play of traditional Italian music.  (I'm not sure that I can fully explain how hilariously awesome it was to realize that one familiar song I was humming along to was actually an accordion rendition of ABBA's "Super Trouper.")    

Piazza di Santa Maria

On a more serious note, Trastevere is also the home to Basilica di Santa Maria, one of the oldest churches in Rome (parts of the building date back to the 340s!)  The Basilica is beautiful, and the piazza
(or "town square") it sits in is perhaps the heart of social life in Trastevere.

In the past couple of days, Tom and I have really enjoyed just walking around, learning our way around the winding streets (admittedly, we've gotten turned around a couple of times), and doing some people watching.  The area seems to attract all types of people- everyone from older foreign tourists dining at fine restaurants to local Italian teenagers just hanging out in the streets.  No matter what time of day (meaning even well after 10 PM) there also seem to be all sorts of parents with infants and/or toddlers out on the town (perhaps they get their kids on different napping schedules than American parents do?).  One of the most comical things we've seen so far was a little girl fussing in her stroller (nothing was seriously wrong; she was just cranky) while her father nonchalantly pushed her down the cobblestone path, smoking a cigarette. We've also loved strolling along the river in the evenings.  It's so beautiful to see the city lights reflecting on the water, although in the interest of full disclosure, this picture might actually make things look even prettier than they do in real life!

Looking up the Tiber Toward St. Peter's at night:  

In any case, although it maybe sounds like we already have a good handle on Trastevere, I'm sure we've only barely scratched the surface of what there is to see and do here.  We're looking forward to taking many more evening strolls, enjoying more delicious meals (we've already received three separate recommendations to go to Le Mani in Pasta and can't wait to try it), and (with any luck), hearing more ABBA songs on accordion here in the months to come.

Running in Rome (Part 1): Villa Doria Pamphili

As a (fairly mediocre but very dedicated) runner, I was a bit worried about running in Rome.  When I tried to go on a couple of runs during a visit to Greece (way back in 2002), people literally looked at me like I was crazy, or would even try to stop me to ask if I needed help.  Clearly, in their minds, the only good reason to run is if you are running away from something!

Runners in Dora Pamphilli

Fortunately, though, either things have changed a bit in the last decade, or Italians are more into athletics than the Greeks are, because there seem to be plenty of other runners here. Moreover, I am extremely lucky in that we live only a few blocks away from (what I hear is) the best running park in all of Rome, Villa Doria Pamphili.

I can't wait to tell you all about my running adventures, but, first, a brief bit of history:  The Villa Doria Pamphili was originally a private villa (as you may have guessed), which was owned by the Pamphili family (as you may also have guessed) back in the 1600s.  Throughout the next few centuries (as the Villa was passed down through successive generations), the family added all kinds of cool features like fountains, gates, and gardens.  The Villa actually didn't become a park until the late 1960's, when the city bought the property from the Pamphili family.  It is now Rome's largest public park.

The Villa with Landscaped Gardens

So, what is Villa Doria Pamphili like today?  Well, if you can, imagine NYC's Central Park (or Golden Gate Park for that matter), and then clear out about about 80% of the people (at least on weekdays) and 100% of the cars.  Next, remove any possible views of skyscrapers from your imagination, and then picture all of the paths as dirt or gravel (rather than blacktop). Finally, (and this is the best part) add in all of those cool old fountains, structures, and gardens, and now you have the Villa Doria Pamphili!

It's truly an unbelievable place to run (or just visit!)  Not only are you surrounded by scenic beauty (there are a wide variety of landscapes here- everything form a lake, to wide open spaces with palm trees, to landscaped gardens, to woodsy trails), but art, history and culture, too.  I believe there is a museum somewhere at the Villa, and I will definitely have to go there soon so that I can understand more about what I am seeing on my runs!

Animal Head Drinking Fountain

I also especially enjoy the drinking fountains all around the park (which are constantly running, as I mentioned in an earlier post).  Not only do they come in handy if you forgot your water bottle or just need a refill, but many of them involve some sort of sculpture.  Today I took a drink from a wolf's mouth (at least I think it was a wolf, given a famous Roman myth, but it also could have been a skinny lion or a bear or something.  It was hard to tell...)

So, now, please humor me and let me tell you a little bit about my actual running here (for those of you non-runners, you can just scroll down and look at the pictures!)

In my short time here, I have already been to Doria Pamphili twice.  Once on Wednesday and then again yesterday (Thursday).  The first time, I mainly stuck to one big main path, and only meandered off of it very carefully, one little stretch at a time.  However, yesterday, I just ran every which way I pleased trusting (or maybe just really hoping!) that I would now recognize enough of the landmarks to at least orient me back toward the right general direction.  I also had a hard time finding the park entrance on the first day, and ended up near some random administrative offices (and possibly a convent?)  I must have seemed rather out of place because, luckily, a kind maintenance worker stopped to give me directions (most of which I couldn't understand, but I did pick out the words for "to run," "gate," and "left," and managed to find it from there). 
 

Satellite Image of my Run

You can see my route from yesterday on the map to the right (thanks to my awesome Garmin GPS watch- for any runners who don't have one, I highly recommend it!).  As you can see, the park is really big, and at this point i haven't even figured out how to cross over that big street in the middle of the park to get over to the west side (in fact I haven't even found the street itself!)  That red line represents about 3.3 miles of running, with my starting and stopping points (they were the same) marked on the right-hand side.

Scene From the Park

I know what you're thinking.  Only 3.3 miles?!  Isn't this girl a long distance runner?!!  Has she already been wined and dined so much that she can't manage to run any further?!  It's true, 3.3 used to be nothing for me, but I swear that running here is actually much harder than in San Francisco!  I'm putting in about the same amount of effort that I always have, but am running 30 seconds to a minute slower per mile than I usually do, and am feeling like 10 miles sounds like more work than a marathon!

This has been kind of a bummer, but I have four (not necessarily mutually exclusive) theories on why this may be the case:

1) It's been really humid here.  I'm not used to it, and it really wears a person down (yes, Mom, don't worry, I'm drinking plenty of water).  In related news, I think my formerly slightly "wavy" hair might now be decidedly curly; 

Swan on the Lake

 

2)  Jet lag.  I'm not sure if this is actually true, but I'm telling myself that when I go out for a run at 10 AM, my body actually thinks I'm making it run at 3 AM (which isn't exactly my fastest time of the day).  Really, though, the jet lag has been tough.  We've been feeling exhausted all day, but then feel wide awake just when it's time for bed;

3) Running on dirt and and gravel is way harder than running on blacktop.  I know that some of you trail runners love this sort of terrain, and I know it's supposed to be easier on your body, but I now remember why I hated cross country so much!  I'd take track or blacktop over this stuff any day!  Plus, I probably emotional/mentally connect dirt trails with dislocating my finger while running in high school (yes, really), which slows me down (that's a totally legitimate excuse, right?);

Wall (which I need to find out more about) in the Park

4) It's too beautiful to run fast here.  These pictures don't even quite do the park justice because of the cloud cover on the day I took them (I just stuck a camera in my running belt).  You'll have to trust me, though, that when it's sunny, and everything is lit up and sparkling, you really just want to plop yourself down on a bench and take it all in.  Maybe this tiredness is my body's way of telling me to (literally) slow down and small the roses (or look at some fountains as the case might be).

Hopefully, though, this is just the beginning of an exciting year of fun (and hopefully somewhat faster) running adventures.  I'm sure I will have many more days exploring the park, but would also like to get some runs in along the Tiber River, and anywhere else I can think of.  And, if I can manage to stay injury free, I'd love to do the Rome Marathon in March.  I'll keep you posted.  After all, I labeled this post "Part 1" for a reason!  

PS:  I've decided to add a weather update to the end of each post, so.... 

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Friday, Sept 14:  After some warm sunny days, today it's cold and rainy.  Supposedly it's 57 degrees, but it feels more like 40!

Siamo Arrivati a Roma!

At least, I *think* that's how you say "We've arrived in Rome!"   Actually, one of my favorite Italian phrases is "sono arrivato" (which, if you're a man, means "I have arrived") because it sounds like it should be followed with "Mr. Roboto..."  (yes, clearly I'm a child of the 80s).  But I digress...

So, yes, we're in Rome!

The flight over was a bit long, but manageable.  We flew from MSP to Chicago, had a brief (2 hour-ish) layover, and then flew from Chicago to Rome.  Some highlights from the flight were: 1) watching the 49ers destroy the Packers during the first half of the game during our layover, 2) seeing a 60-ish year old woman on our flight sporting a rat tail (you remember, kind of like a mullet but with just one small chuck of hair- generally a style sported by 11 year old boys around 1990?), and 3) hearing- for the first time- the Lesley Gore song "That's The Way Boys Are" on the "American Jukebox" radio station on the flight (I'm so glad it's not the 1960s anymore!  As some of you may remember, the lyrics seriously say things like this:  "Well he treats me rough and acts as though he really doesn't care/ Well, I never tell him that he is so unfair/ ....'Cause that's the way boys are"  What???).

On the other hand, The low points of the flight were:  1) the fact that we had no individual seat TVs and the movie on the plane was Julia Roberts' "Mirror Mirror," 2) neither of us got much (if any) sleep, and 3) on a truly sad note, there was a medical emergency on the plane at the end of the flight and we're not sure whether the passenger made it or not.  I don't want to get all philosophical, but things like that really do make you realize how important it is to appreciate every day in life!

On a happier note, our first day in Roma (that's the Italian pronunciation) was fantastic.  It basically went like this:  The American Academy had someone pick us up from the airport, which was extremely fortunate, since taking the train with all of our luggage would have been rather difficult.  We then "checked in," had lunch, settled into our room, took a brief nap, took a passeggiata ("evening stroll") to the Vatican (about 20 minutes each way), and then had dinner.  The neighborhood, the Vatican, and food here at the Academy are all ridiculously amazing, but I'll have to save those topics for other posts.  We then managed to sleep for about 13 hours- from 10:30 PM to 11:30 AM!!  Although catching up on our sleep was great, we really need to get a clock in our room (clearly our blinds work a bit too well)!

So, I wanted to use this post to share with you a bit about our living space.  First of all, the grounds here are breathtakingly beautiful.  I've only seen little bits and pieces, but I plan to make it a priority to walk around tomorrow and explore a bit more, and will share more after I do.  Suffice it to say, though, then when we first arrived, I felt like i was living in a dream- or maybe that someone had mistaken us for royalty!

Our room

Our actual room, on the other hand, isn't all so fancy, but still quite nice.  It has tiled floors and a massively high ceiling with a large ceiling fan, which we've already put to good use (temps are probably in the 80s but it's very humid)! In addition to our bed, we have a bookshelf, a little chair, a dresser, and an armoire, which are all great and functional, but totally mis-matched pieces (for some reason I find this very funny).  However, I really like it.  It feels very homey here and we have a beautiful big window, which looks out into the courtyard, and gets good afternoon light.

looking down from our window into the courtyard

The courtyard has a beautiful fountain, which we can see if we look down from the window.  I'm not sure whether it runs year round or just in the summer, but I love the sound.  It's so soothing and runs both day and night (I think Italians enjoy running water because the drinking fountains also never turn off- they just run a constant stream of water!)

Our bathroom is tiny (standing room for one only), and you sort of have to contort yourself into an odd shape to actually get under the shower head, but I can hardly complain with how wonderful everything else is here!

In addition to our room, Tom has his own study, where he will work (as he is doing right now) and where he can keep his books and papers.  This is really nice because our room, while totally sufficient, is on the smaller side.  There is also a common kitchen area where we can make breakfast, and other common living spaces, which we've yet to fully explore.

On a final note, the people here all seem to be very nice.  We are probably some of the youngest here (I'd say the average age, excluding kids, is about 40), but the fellows range in age from probably late 20s to maybe their 60s (it's always so hard to know.  Today, for example, I met a woman who I was sure was no older than 35 and then she started talking about her kids being in day care "20 years ago...").  I was a bit worried that I'd feel excluded, since I'm not an academic myself, but everyone is in such a variety of fields that the conversation tends to center around other things.  There are still so many people we haven't met yet, though, and we really need to make some time to start studying names in the picture directory.  I haven't met my temporary best friend yet, but it's only been a day, so I'm going to give it some time...

Well, I'm off to meet with the other fellows and their families for a walking tour of our neighborhood!  We love and miss you all, but can already tell we are going to have a very, very good year here!

We're Moving to Rome!

Even though we've known since last March that we'd be moving to Rome for a year, it still feels rather crazy and surreal that it's happening THIS Sunday!  It's also rather fitting that we're moving in early fall, because I'm dealing with that strange combination of nervousness and excitement that I've only really ever experienced right before starting at a new school.  Will I like the other kids?  Will they like me?  Do I have the right clothes?  Will my teachers like me?  (Inevitably, the answers were always, yes, yes, you would if it were two years ago, and, of course, you suck up!  But hopefully there at least won't be any teachers to please this time around.)   

I could spend hours ruminating on my thoughts on moving abroad, but, for now, I thought I'd address the top five (well, really six, but that doesn't sound as catchy) questions we get asked about our upcoming adventure:  

Q:  Why are you moving to Rome?
A:  In short, because my husband is awesome!  The longer answer is that Tom is the recipient of a Rome Prize in Ancient Studies, sponsored by the American Academy in Rome.  This means that he gets to spend the year working on (and hopefully finishing!) his dissertation, and becoming better acquainted with the historical sites, artifacts, books, etc. in Rome and the surrounding areas.  He'll also have an opportunity to share ideas and experiences with the other Rome Prize winners, who come from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds.  If you are interested, you can read more about Tom's project, and the other fellows, here.

Q:  Will YOU be working?  Won't you get bored?
A:  I was lucky enough to get a leave of absence from my job (I work as a labor/employment attorney at a large federal agency), and actually can't seek employment in Rome under the terms of my visa, so I will not be formally working in any way.  As far as getting bored, are you kidding me?  I plan to take an Italian class, train for the Rome marathon, read some good books, explore the city with my (hopefully) new friends, take a couple trips in Europe to visit old friends, and really just enjoy being immersed in Italian culture for a whole year without any obligations.  I feel so incredibly lucky to have this opportunity and plan to enjoy every second of the experience (was that last sentence too yearbook-y?  I told you I'm in a back to school mindset!).  

Q:  Where will you live?
A:  Fortunately, the American Academy provides housing for us.  Our private space will be limited (essentially we'll have a bedroom with an attached bath), but there is a lot of common space for all the fellows and their families to share, which will helpfully hope to establish a strong sense of community (almost like going back to college, I imagine).  We will also be eating most of our meals at the Academy with the other fellows and their families. 

As far as our location within the city, here's a map of Rome for your reference.  If you look in the lower left quadrant, you'll see two green spaces, Villa Doria Pamphilj and Villa Orto Botanico.  We will be living approximately on the southwest border of Villa Orto Botanico, just west of Trastevere.

Q:  Do you speak Italian?
A:  Si, I wanta pizza pie-a!  That's Italian, right?!  Seriously, though, Tom and I have been working on our Italian (him mostly through textbooks, and me through audio programs) for the past few months.  We also practiced writing endless lists of verb tenses on a white-board in our apartment, which left a giant hole in the wall when we took it down (here's hoping we still get all of our security deposit back!)  At this point, we can talk about simple every day stuff, but only if the other speaker talks very slowly and doesn't speak in a regional dialect we're not used to! However, we'll continue to learn and study throughout the year and hope that by the time we return we can definitively say that we speak Italian!

Q:  Ooooh... You should use this year to have a baby (don't you think?)
A:  Ooooh... Don't take this the wrong way, but are you completely nuts?!  (You'd be surprised how often we get asked this- especially by random people we hardly know!)  Although I do think my nieces and nephew and my friends' babies are awfully cute, there are about ten million reasons why it makes absolutely no sense to get on the baby train at this station.  These include the fact that I plan to drink lots of wine with my pizza (and perhaps with my gelato, too), we plan to do a lot of traveling- possibly to some areas lacking in amazing medical care- and there is no way I'm going to chance spending my one year abroad hunched over a toilet (unless maybe it's some cool ancient toilet that Tom makes me go see...) But don't worry, if we need some baby time, there will be 22 kids running around the Academy (a record number this year), and I'm sure their parents will appreciate all the help they can get!

Q:  Are you going to start a blog?
A:  I think the answer is obvious, but I'm excited to share our thoughts and experiences and keep in touch with everyone while we're abroad.  If you notice that this blog has a decidedly girly air to it, that's because I have had/will have far more time to design and update the blog than Tom will.  However, I hope that he will guest blog from time to time too!  Please feel free to comment away or ask us any burning questions you have about life in Rome!  Ciao!