Back in the O.H.I.O

Our first trip back stateside. I can read the signs without thinking and make small talk with cashiers! The TV speaks my language and there is a Walmart every 10 kilometers... errr, miles.
I promise a full report when we return home, but for now we've had a smooth re-entry. A good flight, no major delays and minimal jet lag. I do miss the Italian coffee though.

Thanks Phil and Cliff!

A special blog shout out today to my old Philly pal, Phil; who was nice enough to forward me an article about a great running route in Rome from this month's Continental Airlines magazine. It is nice to think that when people think of Italy, they are now reminded of me! I am not sure if this is good or bad for Italy, but it is definitely great for me!! Since I just received the article this morning, and it is a glorious sunny Saturday in Rome AND I had just told Josh last night that I really slacked off in running this past week, I took the email as a direct sign that I should try the route out immediately. So after sleeping in a bit and my morning coffee I grabbed my running shoes and off I went. The day is perfect, 75 degrees (that is Fahrenheit thank you very much, I can't figure this Celsius stuff out for the life of me) in the noonday sun, with a slight, cool new autumn breeze filtering through the Cyprus trees. God simply does not grant better days than this. My only hope is that it is similar weather in Central Ohio today, where my Buckeyes are scheduled to kickoff in just a few hours at the Horseshoe.

The route was great, a 2.5 mile loop through Villa Borghese, which most people consider to be the best park in Rome. From my handfuls of experiences there, I have no reason to argue, it is beautiful! Think of 148 acres of green space with winding roads, museums, ponds and fountains. Up and down the rolling slopes, there is a view around every corner that is enough to keep you running to the next to see what lies ahead. Today was the perfect park scene. Picnickers dotted along underneath the canopy of trees, tourists resting with a gelato on the marble steps of the Museum of Modern Art, clear blue water in the fountains and ponds, well dressed Italians out for a Saturday promenade and children riding ponies... you can't make this stuff up!

To get to the park from our apartment in Monti is about a 20 minute walk/warm up trot through some great neighborhoods. I passed by the US Embassy along the Via Veneto, which you might recognize as the street of Audrey Hepburn's famous Vespa ride in "Roman Holiday". Today as I made my way to and from the park the outdoor, street side cafes were just starting to fill up with the ultra hip and trendy neighborhood crowd, this was almost as good as nature watching! I kept my eyes peeled for familiar faces, as there are supposedly many celebs in town, stopping off on their way to and from the Venice film festival for a little Roman Holiday of their own. George Clooney is said to be a very great admirer and friend of Rome's major and Brad and Angelina are rumored to have just bought a new yacht, docked off one of the coastal towns near Rome. Alas, no star spotting for me today, but I am certain I will run into someone at a bar or cafe one of these days!

The city is also abuzz with activity today because tonight is La Notta Bianca, the White Night. All of the major European capitals host this end of the summer festival. All of the piazzas are filled with musical performances or art installations, the museums stay open all night with free entry and in general everyone stays up all night and wanders through the city enjoying the scenes of music, dance, art and people watching. Josh and I are going to give it out best attempt. The whole city celebrates and there are so many things to see, I think it would be impossible to see them all, but there is certainly enough to keep you out all night. My goal is to make it to dawn to see the sunrise from the piazza on top of the Gianocolo hill, by far the best view of the city. We'll see though, we don't exactly have our European threshold of partying up to its full potential yet. Thank god I started drinking coffee!

A Normal Life?

Not much to report over the last few days. Which, to a new expat in Italy, could be considered news itself. This weekend was our anniversary, so Josh and I made a night of it with dinner and a movie. Ben Hur was showing on the outside Terrace of a local Palazzo/Museum...actually, since the movie was so long, we never made it to dinner! We managed to make it through the night on tiramisu alone. This was also an achievement, not being exactly the "domestic type", attempting to make a tiramisu was quite an accomplishment for me. It must have been alright because we both took the time to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan to make sure we ate every last morsel!

To further our status in normalcy this weekend involved one of our favorite US pastimes, Ohio State Football. Nothing can be wrong in the world, even in Italy, when the Buckeyes take the field on a sunny day for the first time in the fall. In fact, a good home opener combined with Michigan's embarrassing defeat made for a jolly weekend all around: even if we did have to imagine the game, since we were relegated to listening to the broadcast on the radio. Luckily we have both been to enough games in early September that imagining the sunlight hitting the sparkly silver helmets and afternoon shadows across Ohio Field wasn't a stretch for either of us. It was a bit odd however to watch a noon kickoff at 6pm, I am a bit nervous about those night games, which will begin at 2am here in Rome. The things you do for football.

Since we were having such an American weekend anyway, we continued on with more less-than-cultural pursuits including two trips to IKEA (hey, it is "global" I suppose), vacuuming, moping and my personal favorite, rearranging the furniture! I moved "my office" and the computer into the main living room so that we will be able to "watch TV" (with our Slingbox technology) on our couch, furthering our normalcy, instead of in the bed. Watching TV in bed is nice we decided, but better as a treat than a norm.

A Papal Retreat

This past weekend Josh was fortunate enough to not to have to go into work, and I myself being of the unemployed/yet to be employed category had a bit of free time to spend as well. After some discussion about another whirlwind trip to visit old churches in yet another Italian city, we agreed that a change of pace might be quite nice in light of our recent traveling adventures and decided to stick around Rome. Knowing my love for sitting in the sun while burning my skin with harmful UV rays Josh received a recommendation from one of his colleagues about Castel Gandolfo, on Lake Albano. Home in the summer, to the world’s catholic head-honcho and exalted Roman figure, the Pope himself.

I figured it is good enough for the Pope, who has a very nice tan by the way; it will suffice nicely for me as well. So we hoped a local train out of the Termini station for a quick 25 minute ride to the lake. Josh tells me on the way up that the lake itself was formed by two ancient volcanoes and now basically sits in its own crater… how does he know these things? We arrive at the station, which isn’t much more than a spot where the gravel beside the rail bed widens and follow the road down to the lake. The view was wonderful. Although not the most majestic site I have seen since arriving in Italy, what it lacked in grandeur it made up for in pure charm. The popes really know how to relax! Indeed the small lake was nestled inside a continuous ring of gentle slopes. One side of the lack was completely covered in nature, pine trees and green vegetation, while the other side has the picturesque town and summer homes dotted along the rim and down the slopes. There is a main beach area, complete with all of the typical Italian “pay beaches”. These are new to me, but as I am learning, a very common practice. Instead of having a long shoreline of public beaches, as in the states, there are lots of little private beaches where people pay a nominal fee to the owner to rent all the necessities of towels, chairs and umbrellas. After a quick lunch, we found Giorgio’s beach rented pedal boats by the hour to take out on the lake and set sail for an afternoon of peaceful swimming and sunning in the middle of this freshwater oasis. It was one of the best days I have had, the water was deep and perfectly clear, cool, but not cold, perfect for a late day in August. Because we were out on the little boat, we were away from the usual noise and bustle of the beach, which gave me the luxurious feeling of privacy, something that you don’t get a whole lot of when living in a city like Rome (with a weird neighbor).

After a few happy hours of peace and pedaling, we took a short walk through the little community, where they were preparing for a festival that involved an annual tradition of taking a statue of Mary out to the lake and parading her around the lake in decorated boats. I didn’t see the pope, but think he would approve of the celebration, although I am uncertain of what he must think of all of the scantily clad folks that sun themselves on the shoreline of his lake. Maybe next time I will stop by to ask. On the way home, I made a mental note to look up the winter residence of the Pope, so far, he has shown to have excellent taste.

Name the Neighbor Contest

Have I mentioned the mysterious and somewhat creepy neighbor who lives across the street? He is a middle aged man, wears a thick gold chain, is balding and has a hairy chest and a hefty spare tire. I know this because he is constantly out on his balcony and seldom wears a shirt, thanks to the stifling August heat in Rome. See me secret footage photo above. His balcony is directly across the street and one floor above our apartment. I saw him out when we initially moved in and didn’t think much about it, other than a twinge of jealousy at his good fortune to have such an outdoor space in the city. As the weeks go by, he has become a source of annoyance and mystery to me. He is out smoking on his balcony at all hours of the day and night. Occasionally he is joined by a larger woman in a flowery dress, who I assume to be his wife. They don’t disturb me or make much noise, but it bothers me that they are out there peering off their balcony and by default, peering into MY windows. Of course, for me to notice this behavior, I am constantly looking up onto their balcony, curious as to their goings on. They don’t bluntly stare, but there isn’t much happening in our little corner of Rome, so here we are, day after day, in a neighborhood stare off.
Normally I would make up a name for him and his lovely bride, and after probably a funny story about this man does and how he has come to stay home all day. You see, I am home at all hours of the day, so I know that he is home… doesn’t he work? Does he work at night? I see him out there pretty late? He is a communist watching me and taking information about my democratic activities? You see, the possibilities for a good story are endless and so, before judging Mr. X for myself, I have decided to turn this over to you, my loyal readers to help me provide a name and story for this man.
Entries may be submitted via email, or preferably by posting a comment to this blog entry, so that all may enjoy and vote on your story!
Act now, don’t delay, big prizes will be awarded!