Rome Sweet Home

We are finally in Roma!!

We arrived safely last Friday. Nothing really exciting to tell about on the trip down (which is how you want it). The only thing note worthing is the cost of the toll: 50 euros! We were dumbstruck when we saw that number on the screen.

Our apartment is in Trastevere and on a little street right off the Ponte Sisto and near the Villa Farnesina. If you look up Vicolo Moroni on google maps, you can see where we are! We are in the building on the left and our windows are on the fourth level.

Here are some pictures of our apartment. (Village friends: this apartment makes me look forward to the Village apartments and view them as a luxury.)

We made our night stand into Georgie's play table. We also bought a little chair for him in Torino. George saw it sitting outside of a chair repair shop and the owner was basically trying to get ride of it. So with his chair and table, he has this awesome little play area!

The blue blanket in the doorway is our attempt to make a door so little George can sleep while we sit at the table in the evenings talking or working.

To reach our apartment you have to ascend three flights of steep, narrow (about 3 ft wide), marble spiraling staircases. Keep in mind that one is doing this with a baby, stroller, purse and any other bags you may have with you. The huge pro is that I am quickly getting more fit and have noticeably lost weight! George and I both have!

After we settled into our apartment a little Friday afternoon, we walked around Trastevere becoming acquainted with our new home. I think the highlight for little George was that when we stopped for gelato, the lady gave him his own little cone with a little gelato in it for free! He was in seventh heaven and devoured about haft of it! I have never seen him hold onto something so tightly.

Maybe because we were all on a little sugar high, we decided to walk to the Vatican. (Its pretty close to us, maybe a 15 minute walk at a quick pace). It was awesome showing Georgie the Vatican! It was great starting our time here with a visit to St. Peter's. I know we will be visiting it often!

Saturday was filled with tons of walking and visiting some of George's favorite spots. We ate lunch at Forno's in Campo di Fiori (mmm remember that pizza Dan and Bethany?) I could eat that everyday! Little George loved seeing the sights. He sometime slept but most of the time flirted with the people walking by. Since he was willing to be out, we were able to see so much in just one day! We went to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the Vatican.

(I have not taken too many pictures recently because in these first couple of weeks, I just want to soak it all in. I know I am going to be visiting all of these places over and over again in the next few months.)

At the Vatican, we mailed some post cards to some of you. I had intended on sending all of you postcards and trying to sending you a few while here. Well that was before I knew the price of mailing a simple postcard... Know that we are thinking of you all and think of the blog as a virtual postcard!

Where Pope John Paul II is buried

On Sunday, we went to church at Santa Maria's in Trastevere. Wanting to take advantage of one of the few days left that George was not going to be in studio, we walked around the Forum and to the Colosseum. We headed home by way of the Pantheon and Campo di Fiori. (Ahh how wonderful it is to have these be the sights we see when walking home!!)

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the bride and groom. How cool to have your wedding photos taken in the Forum! This was actually the 2nd couple we saw doing this.

Monday was a more practical day for us filled with figuring out how to do laundry here and where to shop for the different things one needs. Our washing machine is on the roof of the next door building (a workout to get there) but the terrace it is on has wonderful views. Little George had a ball up there splashing in the puddles and walking around! The grocery store that was recommended to us ended up being in the basement of a department store. It was so hard to find because you have to actually go through the department store to reach the grocery store. Odd!

We went on an evening stroll and saw some breathtaking views. I could not help but take this photo. This is from the Ponte Sisto.

Tuesday the rest of the architecture graduate students arrived! It is nice to have the other wives to spend time with.

Wednesday morning was the last straw! We had been asking the landlord since Saturday to fix our toilet and our internet. (Neither really worked at all...) I mean is a working toilet too much to ask for? By Wednesday, we were both fed up (I in tears, George insanely angry) so we asked the assistant at the ND Rome program to help us. She promptly called the landlady telling her that the toilet needed to be fixed now. Also that the internet had to be working by the end of the day for all of the students or ND was going to get internet and that the landlady would have to foot the bill. (Woohoo go Pamela!!)

I came home to find the man working in the bathroom but in order to fix the toilet he was pouring multiple large containers of chemicals down the toilet. So clearly Giorgio and I could not be there. We wandered around for about an hour and then Mercedes, one of the wives saved me from my boredom. She came by and we decided to head out to eat lunch and do some errands together.

We had a family picnic on the Janiculum hill on Thursday morning. The views of Roma are breathtaking from there. George's professor told them that one should fall in love with Roma and that from the Janiculum you can have a romance with it. I want to go back there many times over my time here. It was also wonderful to be in a park. Little George could walk around freely and enjoy a little of nature. He actually walked pretty long distances by himself here. (He normally takes just a few steps, plops down and then crawls.) He continued this at home so maybe this is the start of a whole new stage!

This is where we live! Right above the trees to right is a dome. That is the church that is literally right behind our apartment. To the left of dome is our apartment, then to the left of that is the convent that is across the street from us. (Not sure the order.)

 Pointing to one of his favorite things, motorcycles!

Little George likes his melon!

In the afternoon, George went to his first class of his semester in Roma. He loved it! They went to the site of their first project which is a garden near the Colesseum and while walking there the students had great discussions with their professor. He is very excited about this semester. Meanwhile Mercedes, Giorgio and I meandered around Campo di Fiori, looking at all of the wonderful foods. All of the wonderful ingredients are inspiring me!