Autumn in Rome

We've settled into a nice routine (well, sometimes) now that we've been back in Rome for a few months. It has been a busy fall, so I thought I would share some highlights! The weather turned beautiful, cool nights with big moons, perfect for sleeping! We went to a play last Friday and this is the view we caught on the way home. The play was in English, but we've been discussing the idea of trying to see a production in Italian, a good way to learn!







One Saturday we headed out the Parco del Musica, with its amphitheatre and campus designed by Italy's own Renzo Piano. The Rome Film Festival also happened to be in full swing during our visit, so I happily kept an eye on the red carpet while Josh oogled over the good design. We saw some famous Italians, but still have no idea who they were. The crowd seemed to like them though...




I ran my first official Roman race, a 5k on World Food Day to fight hunger! I did pretty well, those cobblestones are still tricky though. There was a pretty decent turnout and it was nice to see all of my fellow runners come out. There wasn't nearly as much male spandex as I had prepared Josh for, the weather was a bit chilly, so everyone was pretty well covered. Josh spotted a Will Ferrell look alike lining up at the start of the race, he was an interesting character! He was jumping around, stretching out, but his outfit was the best, at first we thought he was a joke!











Halloween, one of my favorite holidays, hasn't really caught on American Style here in Italy yet. There are a few things out in the stores, but no trick or treaters and excessive costuming. The Italians aren't really up for the secular holidays; I think they spend most of their efforts on all of the individual Saints days that we always seem to be celebrating. After a bit of effort and almost a full day’s work, I did manage to find a pumpkin. The man at the market thought I was nuts for wanting the whole thing, I had to explain to him that this zucca (pumpkin) was very important in my culture to celebrate Halloween. He let me have it, but watched me drag it all the way up the street to my house. Apparently people eat the pumpkin here and they actually use the insides for stuff... imagine! We carved him this weekend to really freak out the neighbors, so far we haven't received any formal complaints!



We may be thousands of miles away from home, but one tradition we have managed to uphold is our beloved Ohio State football. We have managed to watch most of the games, thanks to the wonders of technology; we can watch the games live through a little miracle called the Slingbox. The little gadget, after much prompting frustration and phone calls to IT, connects to the cable feed in the Mackley's house in Groveport and sends the signal across the world directly to our internet connect!

Unfortunately for us EuroBuckeyes, there were quite a few night games this season. An 8 o'clock kickoff starts at 2am in Rome! We worked out quite a nice little routine and by this past weekend (a thorough routing of Penn State) we breezed through the night quite enjoyably. I took a good healthy nap before the game (Josh of course, was too excited to sleep). We start the pre-game prep at 1:30am with some light stretching and jumping to promote blood circulation. Before the game starts we load up on salty snacks and start downing the Diet Coke through the first quarter. We are alive and well through the 2nd quarter and then during halftime (4am ish), we make coffee and pancakes. The caffeine and sugar high then serve nicely until the end of the game and post game discussions, taking us right up to dawn at 6am ish! Of course, it helps when your team is #1 and dominating.

Fall in Rome has treated us well. The weather is nice, there are lots of things to do and see and the Buckeyes are the number 1 team, no matter where you hang your helmet.