Author: susan

It’s been a few days as another week gets underway and then starts to disappear. I started the week very sluggishly after a full weekend and on Monday there was little to report which is why I got into the habit of missing the daily email.

The weather until now has been absolutely gorgeous so on Monday I time just enjoying it and taking things very slowly. I went for a bit of a wander around the Colosseo but I rapidly get sick of being in amongst all the tourists. I went to the Forum to see what App they had for the Forum but I haven’t been able to make that work yet. I’m saving the Forum to explore with Rose but I wanted to see what worked in terms of ‘virtual experiences’ but haven’t solved that one yet. I also spent time studying a bit of Italian. I haven’t enrolled for classes here but am going through what I have learnt and am trying to retain it.

But that was about it. So to Tuesday when I decided I needed to get off my butt…for some strange reason I feel so guilty if I’m not ‘doing’ something. Anyway I had a lovely day yesterday. I set off to find a way of getting to Via Appia Antica (The Appian Way), the first Roman Road that is lined with Catacombs used for the burial of Christians for the first centuries AD. It was no mean feat getting there. I had to conquer the Metro system and then get a bus but I got there. First I went to the Catacombe di San Callisto. You can only go with a guided tour and a different Salesian priest takes group in each language. I had the misfortune of being with a large group(about 30) of young Fins. It was just them and me!! Wouldn’t you know it the English speaking priest had the broadest Australian accent. I have no idea what the Finnish kids thought of him and how much they understood. He used terms like ‘they got jack of it’ which I’m sure isn’t a term taught in Finnish schools. Anyway until I thanked him at the end he thought I was with the group. Once he worked out I was from Melbourne I couldn’t shut him up…he was from Melbourne too and I got his life story before he let me go.

I then went on to the Catacombe di San Sebastiano. It did test my little short legs getting up and down the steep stairs to the underground tunnels. I think if I’d tried for a third I might still be down there. But they are fascinating. It is like a massive labyrinth with tombs woven into the walls like honeycomb and decorated with stuccoes and frescoes some of which still remain. So that was interesting.

I then started back but stopped on the way to visit the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. Chris had told me that this was a lovely place to visit and it was. It is a beautiful cemetery and full of interesting graves like that of Keats, Shelley, Gramisci, Carstens. It was a most glorious sunny day and I sat in the cemetery in the sun for a while and just absorbed it all. I told you I was becoming a bit obsessed with death!

Today I decided to spend a day in Trastevere checking out a few things. So I set off and again had to work out a bit of navigation to get there. I went to a church (Chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi a Ripa) which holds Bernini’s splendid “Sleeping Woman’ or ‘Beata Ludovica Albertoni’ sculpture. That man (Bernini) was a true master and his sculptures are mesmerising. I then moved on to Basilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere which also has a superb sculpture of Santa Cecilia by Stefano Moderno and some lovely frescoes.
Then I scooted off to the third and final church Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere with its wonderful 12th century mosaics. Phew…busy morning of churches!!! But I love things wonderful works of art within.

Just in time Chris rang to say she had some lunch ready so I walked over the river to her place, had a nice pasta and a glass of wine and then hopped on the bus to come home. As I walked back down to my apt the rain started to spit. Apparently the weather is about to turn really shitty including the weekend!! Chris has friends coming from London for the weekend and is going into the hills with them but sadly for her it looks like its going to be miserable…the forecast includes snow up there!!

For me, I’ll see how it pans out before I work out what to do. I was going to do a day trip to Tivoli (outside Rome) but as that is a lovely garden, bad weather will certainly not make it an attractive option.

Two days to report today and quite a busy couple of days. On Friday I had a fairly leisurely start and then walked up to the National Gallery at Palazzo Barberini. I wandered around there for a couple of hours enjoying the beautiful Palazzo with its divinely painted rooms as much as the amazing art held within. Amazing art is just overwhelming in this part of the world and the settings that holds the art it also mind blowing. Just such a privilege to wallow in it all for such an extended period. I then wandered off. I was going over to Chris’ for tea and taking some ravioli from my ravioli shop. I’m greeted as an old friend and while I wait for my takeaway ravioli he pours me a glass of wine from different parts of Italy and demands to know which I like best. I just love the gorgeous Paolo…definitely a place to take Rosa!!!

I then went and had a capuccino and heard all this massive megaphone noise so went to investigate and found myself in the middle of a huge demonstration. Bugger, last time I went over to Chris’ with lots to carry the busses stopped due to demonstrations and this was 10 times bigger. I was due to head over to Chris with food, wine, washing and overnight gear and again no fucking busses. I rang her and she said that they were heading over her side of town. On my side of town was the left wing protesters and coming from the opposite direction were the right wing protesters and the police were worried about what would happen when they met. Ho Hum, I had to get there somehow so off I headed walking behind the march as it were!! There were helicopters overhead, riot police blocking the roads and the army out in force. On I walked through it all, no-one stopped me so I figured couldn’t be too bad. I think I’m an adrenaline junky. They had all gathered in Piazza Venezia so through the masses I went shopping bags in hand…plod,plod,plod!!!

Anyway not to over dramatise a good story I got to Chris’ with food and me intact, even unhindered I would say. But its a 3km walk which is fine without the shopping but with it is quite tiring. Chris and I had a nice night with good food, nice wine and a movie. We watched Citizen 4 which is something to raise your paranoia a few degrees. As for my complicated password…no more complaints from me Ham Bam, though I haven’t changed anything else yet!! This morning we attempted to get an early start for Ostia Antica but fail to some degree by the time we got out of the house, went to the market to get supplies for a picnic lunch, have a cappuccino etc. We had to be at the Necropolis by 11am for our ‘appointment’. Just made it in time!! That was great it really was interesting with some lovely floor mosaics and frescoes decorating the burial sites of the ancient Romans. We then headed off to Ostia Antica but not before we’d travelled all over the countryside along the Trevere river looking for a suitable picnic spot. We didn’t find one mainly because all the nice spots along the river were private property.

So we resolved to picnic within Ostia which we did. we took our bottle of wine and our roast pork panini and sat on a grassed area above the ruins in the sunshine, it was lovely. It’s great going somewhere like Ostia with Chris. She really is incredibly knowledgeable and knows exactly where to go for the most interesting things to see.

Anyway it was a really lovely day and I got the bus home when we got back. Must say I was glad to get the old shoes off!!
I’m really liking Rome, I think (well, maybe have always known) that I’m a city person, I love the hustle and bustle and being out amongst it and I’m enjoying my area ‘Monti’.
Not sure what next week will hold but maybe a low activity day tomorrow…we’ll see.

This will be a short missive tonight for a quiet but enjoyable day. So as I said yesterday I got a SIM for my iPad and I diligently downloaded the App for Ostia Antica. So I thought I’d head off there today. Was just about to head out the door when Chris rang. She told me I couldn’t go to Ostia Antica because she had arranged for us to go on Sunday. she had even booked to go to a site that isn’t open to the general public. So I was stopped in my tracks.

Then what to do. My main problem is that I feel I always have to be ‘doing’ something so I took a deep breath and decided on a low activity day. But first I wanted to find an electrician/ electrical shop to see if my kitchen wiz stick could be revived. I went to 2 places that spent endless time trying everything. The second place was fantastic but in the end pronounced it ‘morte’. I was very, very sad about that and I do feel awful…so sorry Ham and Az. How stupid of me not to have given it a try before I left London.

I had a whole cauliflower and some potatoes in anticipation of my wiz working so I decided I wasn’t going to waste them. I chopped them into tiny, tiny bits (with a bread knife!!) and started to make a good old mess using 2 saucepans to cook it all up. End result…delicious soup!! I went for a couple of walks, sat in the lovely sunshine, did some Italian revision and before I knew it the day was done.

Chris just rang to suggest we have tea tomorrow night at her place and watch a movie so I’ll take some cauli soup and I’ll buy some yummy ravioli from my ravioli shop to take over. Maybe I’ll stay the night to go to Ostia Antica on Sunday am or maybe I won’t. I’ll see how I go.

How’s that for a domestic day for a very undomestic Mumma.

Not too much to report over the last two days, I’ve had a fairly quiet time. Yesterday I set off to get myself to a part of town that I hadn’t been too. The big Piazza del Popolo on the northern edge. I found a bus to get me half way and then I set out walking. But I got distracted half way there when I stopped at a “Wind’ office (Wind = Telstra). I wanted to top up my phone and I also wanted to see about a Sim for my iPad because there are these good Apps that can recreate sites like Ostia Antica and The Forum. I thought this would be cool, not to mention I could also use Google maps if needed. So after getting all the info I said yes, I’d get this Sim. Once the transaction had gone beyond the point of no return I realised that I’d tucked my passport away in my apartment and guess what? You can’t get sim cards without photo ID. So…around I turned and back I went and then back again. My quiet little day was turning into another day walking, walking. Anyway to cut a long story short I did it and got my Sim. Only time will tell now whether it is going to be worth the cost which is fairly hefty but not too bad.

I finally got myself up to the Piazza but by now it was starting to drizzle and there was no enjoying the Piazza for a while. I trotted and bussed my way back to my ‘hood’. I know you’ll be thinking I deserved a gelato after that, I know that’s what I thought and got one forthwith…pear and ricotta + rice and honey a bit of Italian revision.

Today I set off to go to a church not too far from here with a magnificent Bernini sculpture in it. I got there and there was the Bernini statue completely covered in scaffolding with just enough peeping out to let me know what I was missing…bugger! So I wandered around, popped into another church built on layers of previous ancient places of worship that was fascinating. Then I did a massive supermarket shop to buy lots of cleaning products to keep this place in shape…they provided nothing which is a bit annoying. I found an electrical place to get an adapter for my kitchen wizz but I sadly haven’t got that going yet. I wonder if the wattage is different here??

Another day has vanished. I’ve got my Ostia Antica App going so may head off there tomorrow to see how that works. That is if I can find my way there.

4 weeks until Rose gets here…wow!!

Two days to report, all about settling into Roma and trying to get the most out of a city that holds extraordinary wealth.

So back to yesterday. Always my morning coffee with cornetto (or without)… cornetto = croissant. Then I set off to do the ‘mosaic walk’. I have to thank Sally and Frances for sending me these walks. The first was in my own street and truly hidden…you have to be bold to work out how to get into the church. You will forgive me being boring but I want to record the names of the churches here for my own sake. This was Chiesa di Santa Pudenziano and it was just lovely. Then I went to one nearby, Chiesa di Santa Prassede which was probably the days highlight really with extraordinary mosaics of C12. I got really excited here!! Then onward to Basilica di San Clemente and onward again to Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano and its Baptistry. This was amazing too. It is the second most important church in Rome and the Pope’s parish church (not St Peter’s). Lastly I went to Basilica di Quattro Coronati which has amazing C13 frescoes…but it was closed so I had to go away and contemplate when to return. At this point I was fatiguing so I headed back around the Colosseo to get myself home. But not before I’d stocked up on my wine and had another coffee. I was tired I have to say.

Then my landlord was supposed to come with the second set of sheets I was supposed to have so I had to be tidy and neat but she didn’t show and didn’t show so being tidy and neat was starting to pale i.e. I had to make a mess to eat etc. She eventually came after 10and left them on the doormat so why did I bother??!!

Today I decided I had to complete yesterdays mission and go back to B di QC. So I set off. I had also worked out that the Number 3 tram took me to Villa Giulia, the Etruscan Museum that I had been wanting to go to ever since I (and Rose and I) went to the City of Bologna Museum which told us all about the influence of the Etruscans. The number 3 tram went from near the Basilica…easy!! So I went and saw these amazing frescoes that I really loved. It was truly amazing. It is an order of sisters and you have to ring a bell and a nun appears behind an iron grid. She asks for a donation and then buzzes you into this little chapel which is SO beautiful. It also has a wonderful cloister, so I really enjoyed that.

Then off and found the tram which took me god knows where but did end up at Villa Giulia and I enjoyed the Etruscan heritage which is amazing. For some reason I was very tired today so by the time I’d spent a few hours there and got myself back to the tram stop I was ready to collapse at home.

Not to collapse for too long I decided to do some washing and then got into making my first soup. I got it all ready for mushing with my new fantastic magic kitchen wiz stick. Hooked up the adapter and guess what…fucking nothin!! How disappointing was this??Now I have all this soup ready to go and no wizen. I’m sure the problem is Chris’ adapter so I think I’ll find a place to buy a new one tomorrow and try again. It’s too much not to be able to complete the task about which I had got very excited.

So I am now cooking some tea (spaghetti) for tonight…how impressive am I???? It takes a shitload of vino to get through these challenges!!

My final word is to announce that Roses birthday present is a course in Mosaic creation and it will be my mission to inspire her when she is here!!! Sorry darling!

I’m writing this on Sunday afternoon but need to go back to Friday to do a bit of catching up. First of all, the weather has definitely decided to embrace Spring and for the last few days I have discarded my coat for the first time in a few months. It actually feels weird without it as it has been constantly on my back since before I left Bologna. The sunshine is just wonderful, it just warms your bones and you realise how much you have missed it.

Chris is going away for the weekend and she has suggested that I stay at her place on Saturday as she has set up this wiz bang home theatre thingo as per Hammy and on Hammy’s advice. I thought this was a good idea as I do want to catch up on a few films but also want to get a load of ‘heavy’ washing done like my jeans etc that are too hard to do by hand. So this entailed going over to her place again to learn how to use the home theatre gizmo. So I set off on Friday morning and walked over to Via Monserrat again. It is about 3 kms and takes me about 45 mins, so (for me) its a good bit of exercise for the morning. We had a coffee and then I had a lesson in how to use the very delicate home theatre system as well as how not to electrocute myself using the washing machine etc. I also borrowed a Europe/ UK adapter so I can use the kitchen wizz I got for Christmas. Chris had a couple of errands to do so she suggested I tag along. One was trying to get an appointment to get into the second largest amphitheatre in Rome that isn’t open to the public, so that was really interesting. The other was delivering signatures for a petition to stop horse drawn carriages in Rome because of the poor treatment of the animals. So it was an interesting tag along! Back to her place and I then went and enquired about Italian lessons at the school near Chris and then got on the bus to return to my area.

I did a good shop on the way home to stock up a bit on food, wine etc. I spent the afternoon wandering around, having a gelato and sitting in the sun reading. I come back to the apartment in between and try to do a bit of Italian study as well as planning places to go in the days to come.

Chris was supposed to leave in the AM on Saturday but her plans changed and she didn’t go until the afternoon. So she rang me to say she was going to the market in the morning and did I want to come. So I packed up my washing and enough gear for the night and set off to catch the bus over to her place. But I waited and waited and no busses came, so with all this gear I once again started to walk. Chris said sh’e pick me up half way but when I got down to where we were to meet it became clear why the busses weren’t running. There was a massive demonstration and all of Piazza Venezia was cut off. So…nothing for it but to keep walking. Living on the other side of town to Chris is good for my fitness!! Anyway, all fine, we went to the market and I bought stuff for tea and veggies to make my first soup.

Chris finally set off and I indulged myself in 3 movies. I saw ‘Boyhood’, ‘Gone Girl’ and ‘Whiplash’. I saw Whiplash because I couldn’t get ‘Birdman’ to work which was a disappointment and I wasn’t enthralled with Whiplash. That was just so indulgent but I enjoyed doing it. I got up this morning, collected all my gear and headed off back to my apartment, praying that the busses were running because with laundry still damp and stuff bought at the market, I was buckling under the weight of my load. Fortunately they were running and I only had to stagger from the bus-stop…phew. I dumped all my stuff and went for a coffee, a walk around down to the Forum area to people watch a bit. I then decided to go to my new-found friends at the ravioli shop to eat there. It is just so delicious I can’t tell you!! That was divine, then a lounge about in the local piazza and a read of my book. Now I’m back to try and wrap my head around trying to learn a bit more Italian and have a quiet afternoon.

It is definitely the challenge of stopping in places for a long time, trying to stop being a tourist and then what do you do? I need to feel more comfortable doing mundane things like at home, but somehow it’s different. But having Chris here in Rome makes all the difference. Although I don’t see her all that often (or for too long) I don’t feel so totally alone in a big city.

Two days have gone by as I find my feet in Roma and settle myself into life.

Yesterday started with me having a bee in my bonnet about dying my hair. So first thing in the morning I was up and getting that going.

OMG….Disaster!!! Bright orange!! I nearly flipped, was calmed down marginally by Rose’s sage advice and went out to brave the world for my morning cappuccino.

Nobody started to laugh spontaneously so I kept walking around the place. I went up to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore…one of the big 4 Basilica’s in Rome. Gorgeous mosaics!!
So I kept walking around the place just getting my bearings in this area.

It was a beautiful, beautiful sunny day. I swear in the sun it must be at least 17 degrees. I thought I was getting sunburnt at one point…and maybe I was!!

I went home for a bit of Pizza Bianca and cheese for lunch then went out again for some more walking. I sat in the sun and had a pear and ricotta kindle and read while I ate my gelato. This was bliss. Then I got this wild idea…I was totally obsessing about my hair so I plucked up the courage to go to a random hairdresser and ask for a cut. My hairdresser was a trans-sexual woman with a very deep voice called ‘Joanna’. It is a good cut much to my relief and it did make me feel better about my hair. On Rose’s advice I’m embracing it and adjusting to the transition from ordinary blonde/grey old lady to ex-hooker, orange haired, flamboyant old lady…I think I could like myself in this new genre!!!

Came home and did a bit of Italian with Al Jazeera in the background. My old friend AJ is back! Also a few episodes of VEEP compliments of H&A.

This morning I was up early and heading off to Chris’. I went up to catch the bus after my coffee but I was early so decided to walk…about a 40 min walk all up. When Chris was ready we went and had coffee and then loaded up her car with my luggage and off over to my area. Luggage up and down stairs but finally ensconced back in my apartment. Chris and I wandered around Monti for a while and then headed off to do a few errands all over the place. We then went and had lunch in an old convent that is now a women’s refuge. They have a restaurant and we sat outside in the sunshine under a magnificent Magnolia tree. This was really just lovely. Chris and I then parted company and I came back here.

Now…I’ve been searching for a place with good food I can take home, heat up and enjoy, like the one I relied on in Bologna. Chris had sent me a link to a little place that specialises in Ravioli and meat balls. So I went there to see if they did ’take home’. They were totally adorable and I am sold!! Not only do they do ’take home’ but have some wonderful ravioli AND he was so charming. Offered me a free glass of wine and had one with me. I bought the ravioli with a filling of rabbit…delicious, and I will enjoy it as soon as I finish this email. Got my wine at my wine shop and came home. Spent the next couple of hours unpacking all the luggage I had left with Chris. Retrieved things like my sunglasses that look as if they’ll be needed again and settled down for the night.

Goodnight all.