Anagni (pronounced a-nan-yee OR never-gonna-find-it)

Eric and I woke up in an adventurous mood on Saturday. We pulled out both of the Rome tour books that we packed and found a couple of day excursion options. We settled on a little town about 50 km from Rome called Anagni. It was wonderful, but the day will mostly be rememebered as a transportation mishap. As the title of this post suggests, it was practically impossible to find. The tour book gave us one sentence about the village's location in the hills with no suggestion as to how to get there. How hard could it be? Please notice the joking (kind of) picture of me hitch-hiking our way into town. Three bus later we found the picturesque town with amazing views. Our trip back included a hefty fine on a train (since apparently there were no more buses for the evening) for not having the appropriate ticket. But the ticket window was closed. But how can you say that to an entirely unimpressed non-English speaking conductor? Well, he did know one word, ticket (both the one he wanted and the one he gave us). Total travel time 6 hours, total time spent in Anagni, 1 1/2 hours. Worth it? Totally.

The Taste of Imperialism?

Allison and I opened this bottle of wine with a Julius Caesar coin and a bunch of Latin on the front this evening. Because I am a geek, I got a big kick out of it.

Wedding season

Eric and I have now happened upon 3 weddings this week. One on a Wednesday evening, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday afternoon (the happy couple stepped onto our bus). We had the camera with us on Saturday, and did our best at crashing the party, without really crashing the party. We sat in the courtyard of the church as the wedding-goers filtered by. What fun! What fashion! Eric tried talking to me as my eyes were panning the crowd. Apparently I totally ignored him. I later explained that it was like me trying to talk to him while he's glued to one of the Pistons final games.

Another parking favorite

Roman Forum

Here's a shot I grabbed today of the Roman Forum. On the left, you can see the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina and the Column of Phocas, in the middle the Temple of Vesta and the Arch of Titus in the distance, and on the right the Temple of Castor and the Basilica Julia. I hope to have some more detailed posts soon on specific structures over at the Campus, where this photo is cross-posted, but at present sleep is beginning to call enchantingly from her window.

Are you there God? It's Me, Allison

Talk about flashbacks. The author of 5th grade favorites Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Blubber, and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume, stopped by the Academy last week. She was visiting some friends that are staying here and decided to hold an inpromptu discussion. It was supposed to be for the enjoyment of the 17 little ones that are here with their parents but the number of adults in attendance far outweighed the kids. I remember 5th and 6th grade being much more awkward than funny--so who could pass up a chance to meet an author that makes you laugh through a little bit of those years?

Un appartamento con i ratti (rats)?

Eric milling over apartment listings. So far we've seen four and have been impressed with one. Which would you rather have, an oven in a decent location or a slightly more ideal location with a bug infested mattress?

Props to Eric as he is wheeling and dealing with landlords in Italian one week after arrival. Me? I just sit and take pictures.

Santa Maria in Trastevere

Today Allison and I took a break from pelting cats with batteries. Ok, actually Allison took a break from the cats and I took a break from writing the Great American Novel. It's about human oddities in the circus.

Anyway, we had two appointments to see apartments today. One was in Trastevere near Piazza San Cosimato. It's a great location, but the apartment itself was sort of dirty. Anyone who's seen the places I've lived before knows that that's not necessarily a problem for me, but with marriage comes new responsibilities. They say that cleanliness is next to godliness. Whether or not that's true, I do know that cleanliness is next to not having to sleep on the couch.

After we saw that apartment, we stopped into Santa Maria in Trastevere, a very old church in the heart of that part of the city. We were in it a couple of weeks ago with my brother Ryan, and decided to stop in again. Here is a gray-skied photo I took of the facade.



And here's a little information on it from the Blue Guide.

The large basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere was constructed by Julius II (337-52), and was probably the first church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin. According to legend a hostel for veteran soldiers existed near the site, and some sort of Christian foundation is known to have existed here under St. Calixtus (pope, 217-22). The great basilica of Julius II was rebuilt by Innocent II in 1140, and slightly modified later. The church and its works of art were restored in 1983-6. The campanile [bell tower] is Romanesque.

The facade bears a 12C-13C mosaic of the Madonna surrounded by ten female figures with lamps (two of which are extinguished), of uncertain significance. The portico added by Carlo Fontana in 1702 (and recently restored) contains an interesting lapidary collection, including Roman and medieval fragments. The worn frescoes of the Annunciation date from the 15C. The three doorways incorporate Roman friezes.

There's also loads of interesting stuff on the inside, so if I get some pictures of that, I'll write (or copy, as the case may be) some more about that.

But for now, the circus calls.

One euro, part two

This bottle of wine also cost one euro. Please keep in mind that it costs 1.50 euro to buy a Diet Coke.

Things That Cost One Euro

I mentioned a couple of days ago that our camera wasn't working due to an absence of the power-giving sap of batteries. What I didn't mention was that we had tried to purchase batteries at an open-air streetside market in Trastevere for 1 Euro. They were in a package of 4; a package of 4 batteries at the supermarket, say, costs around 4.75. So we figured that, for a Euro, it was worth a shot. These little gems were called Green Cells or Green Giants or something to that effect. You know what happened when I put them into the camera?

Nothing. Then Allison noticed that, on the negative end, these things didn't even look like normal batteries. Huh. I'm not sure what they were--probably rabbit pellets wrapped up in metal coating.

Anyway, turned from the error of our ways and acknowledged the hubris of trying to get cheap batteries. We then bit the proverbial bullet and resigned ourselves to the check-out line selection at the supermarket. So the moral of this story is: don't try to buy cheap batteries at the market. Or buy them, and throw them at stray cats out of your second-floor window.

Just kidding, Mom Long.

But then on Sunday afternoon we went to antoher open-air market, this one called Porta Portese. Here we found a veritable cornucopia of other things for 1 Euro that didn't seem to be defective, two of which we bought. We have modelled them for you here.

First is me, striking a sassy pose in a blazer I bought for 1 Euro. I kid you not: this jacket cost 1 Euro. And there aren't even any holes in it, nor have I found the pockets to be filled with rat poison.



Next is Allison, who gazes mysteriously into the corner of our ceiling, sporting a fancy fleece that also cost ONLY ONE EURO. she looks bella, no?



So the moral of this story, I guess, is save up your 1 Euro coins and come visit us--YOU TOO CAN LOOK THIS GOOD!

Desidero Un Apartamento

Allison and I have begun the search to try to find (is that verbose enough for you?) an apartment here. Today we picked up an Italian publication called Porta Portese that comes out twice per week, and it is basically a newspaper classified section on steroids, and it is basically all in Italian. The apartment ads all have phone numbers listed, so I tried to call some of them. What I did first was to look up a bunch of words and phrases in Italian and to try to get them in the memory bank, or at least on paper in front of me, before calling, knowing full well that, even if I articulated them passably, as soon as the person on the other end of the phone started talking, it would be game-set-match in favor of someone other than me.

Despite this premonition (foreboding as it was), I called some of the numbers. I had almost made an appointment with one guy for Saturday at 12:20 (I think) when I asked him what street the place was on (the ads don't always list such information). He said a bunch of stuff, but he might as well have been speaking in tongues. So I asked him again. He said a bunch of stuff again and I sort of sat here, breathing heavily into the phone.

Then he hung up on me.

I don't blame him. I would have hung up on me too.

Home sweet home

I've meant to take some fantastic pictures of the Academy but I just don't know how to do it appropriately. So what we have here is a pretty poor sampling. Everytime I took a picture I was disappointed with the way it turned out. They definitely don't capture the true feeling of walking in the front doors. You initally walk through a massive wrought iron gate. When you get buzzed in by the guard, actually only a cut-out the size of a normal door opens, which is embedded in the main gate. You then walk around a foutain and up to the set of stairs in the photo. This gets you into the courtyard, from where you can enter (through the door pictured) into the housing area, library, billiard room, etc. Another picture is of one of the sides of the courtyard where we eat when we have lunch outside.

Run anyone?

The Villa Doria Pamphilj is Rome's largest park and we are lucky to have it just a few blocks from the Academy. First thing in the morning I try to head here to take a run (though sometimes it turns into a walk). The size and excitement of this park prove to be good motivation for putting on athletic shoes. It's always full of fellow movers: soccer players, readers, dog walkers, bikers, but especially, pairs of old jogging men wearing matching spandex or assorted sweat suits. The park has been here since 1644, so I imagine that some of them have been doing the same route at least half that long. Here are some photos from various parts of the park. Don't think traditional park with one large open space; think many, many open spaces connected by paths, trails and plains. One of my absolute favorite things about the park are the pockets of Umbrella trees that can be seen from most any vantage point.

In the Ghetto

Tonight before dinner Allison and I took a stroll down the main street of the area known as 'the Ghetto', right across the water from Tiber Island. There are several ancient ruins adjacent to and within the area, including the Theater of Marcellus and environs. I tried to photograph some of these, but our camera doesn't like to take pictures at night, and the camera batteries died soon after anyway. The area today is beautiful and dotted not only with ancient ruins, but medieval ones as well. The area's past, however, is not quite as pleasant as its present manifestation is to pedestrian tourists. It is a deplorable fact of history that from July 25, 1556, all Jews in Rome were forced to live in this area inside a high-walled enclosure. According to the Eyewitness guide to Rome, they were only allowed out during the day. The walls were not torn down until 1848 (Blue Guide).

Many Jews still inhabit the area today, but from what I hear, it is also becoming a rather chic neighborhood in general, and thus very pricey for housing.

We hope to get back there sometime soon in the daylight to take some pictures and explore a little more. If so, we'll then share with you the fruits of our investigation.

Piazza Navona

Since Allison posted a couple of shots of us in Piazza Navona, I thought I'd reproduce a little history of the spot, which is the site of the ancient Stadium of Domitian. This from the Blue Guide for Rome:

Its form, preserving the dimensions of the Roman building which could probably hold some 30,000 spectators, represents a remarkable survival within the modern city. The name, too, is derived from the athletic games, the 'Agoni Capitolini' held here after the stadium was inaugurated in AD 86. In the Middle Ages the piazza was caled the 'Campus Agonis'; hence 'agone', 'n'agona', and 'navona'. Historic festivals, jousts, and open-air sports took place here, and it was also used as a market place from 1477 until 1869. From the 17C to the late 19C the piazza was flooded every weekend in August, for the entertainment of the Romans (the nobles enjoyed the spectacle from their carriages).

Another happy couple

This gelato alone is worth the trip over here. Me, vanilla and cafe, Eric, cafe and chocolate!

UPDATE: Eric here now. I just wanted to point out that this is the first picture that shows a direct contribution to what will perhaps be the growing rotundity of our happy pants.

How do you say, 'will you please take our picture' in italiano?

We thought that we would post some pictures of us together, since you don't often get to take pictures together when travelling as two. We braved asking strangers on these occassions. The first picture catches us trying to tell the gentleman that you 'just have to hold the button down a little longer', woops! The second is from last night on Piazza Navona.

Hootenanny!

Allison has a job interview tomorrow!

She'll tell you more later.

Ward Shelley

We had dinner with this visual artist last night. Discuss.

You've got to have vision

This is the latest and greatest in the quest for Allison to find a hobby. With a little help from my mom and sister I zeroed in on a possible lead. Unfortunately it's called 'Victorian bouquet'. Not that I have anything against those Victorians (V, we all love Thomas Hardy)--but I've never thought it was the ideal home decor. And here I am committing my next 2 months to a very Victorian endeavor. It's a classic needlepoint that I'm hoping to work into an ottoman cover. Fingers crossed! The second pic is what I've got, the first is what I'm hoping for!

Thanks mom!

Make that two waters, please!

It's a bit funny travelling to see a fountain in the rain. But it was well worth the drenching. These photos are from Saturday afternoon. Here is a detail of the fountain, and a pic of fellow touristas!

Mozart's Requiem

Last night we went to see the same group mentioned below, along with the Philharmonischer Chor der Region Niederrhein, perform Mozart's Requiem at St. John Lateran, the first Constantinian basilica in the city of Rome (though it's been substantially changed since then, especially in restorations after fires, earthquakes, etc.; one part even had to be repaired after the Mafia exploded a car bomb in front of one of the facades in 1993). It was pretty incredible. The choir had 195 singers, and with full orchestra, they made the building ring. The Requiem is one of my favorite pieces of classical music (not that I know a lot of pieces of classical music), so it was really wonderful to hear it. The Dies Irae effectively showed the terror of the judgment and wrath of God, and the Sanctus proclaimed the majesty of His holiness. Most powerful, perhaps, was the Kyrie ('Lord, have mercy'). The whole thing was just fantastic. It's been nice this weekend, because this same group has performed three times for free in different churches in the city (Saturday we heard Mozart's Te Deum and Coronation Mass at St. Ignatius). In St. John, where last night's performance took place, there are some great statues of the Apostles. Here is John the Evangelist, with his characteristic symbol of the eagle:



and Thomas the Doubter, demonstrated by his outstretched right finger:

Ostia Antica

If anyone is interested in picture of old stuff, I've posted a couple sets of pictures from our visit to the ancient Roman port town of Ostia yesterday at the Campus.

For the ladies

Mom, Kel, and the ladies, I thought you might like this shot. My clothing for 8 months! I'm pretty proud. When it was all stuffed in the pack it seemed like so much more. Eric doesn't know how much worse this really could have been.

Parking delight

This is the best parking spot that we have seen yet. Who does this?

Roman in the Rain, Haydn in the Church

my brother came down to visit for a few days this weekend, so allison and i took the bus to meet his train. it was raining. really hard sometimes. so after finally figuring out where to buy bus tickets, here is a shot of each of us.





we finally all got together. the big event of the evening was a free Haydn concert at Santa Maria Maggiore performed by the Collegium Musicum Krefeld, an outfit apparently from the Lower Rhine-Westphalia area. This is my brother and I on the steps in front of the church:



photos inside weren't working out too well because of the lighting, but here is one of the church's cosmatesque pavement:



finally, this is also where bernini is buried, so i've included a picture of his marker:

The Journey Home

Here are two shots from the drive back to Michigan taken somewhere in Ohio. I've converted the second one to black and white just for kicks.




and one of the wiffle behind the wheel.

and finally, the ohio countryside sometime around dusk.

2 More from the Aforementioned Night

D, E, AH, SH

me and the wiffle

these are a couple more from the same night as the previous post. sorry for going back in time a ways, but we need to bring you up to speed with the world according to our camera.

e

Last Night wit Da Ladeez and Boyz

The Wiffle, Sarah, and Mo

D-Mac, Nickel, Eroc, Mikey, Dre

N.B.: we'll try to post a few more pics from this night soon. nick--hope you like your new nickname. i thought about calling you 'nikki 5-fingers' or something like that (why? who knows!), but so far i think loose change is pretty good. i mean, i love loose change! peace folks--more soon (we hope).

a/e

The View from Our Window

we've made it and plan to write more soon; just thought we'd give a view to y'all for the moment from our bedroom window. expect more soon.

but don't hold your breath.

because allison is still learning how to do this.

ha ha!

a/e