Roma Adventures 2008: 03.08

After this weekend, and the incomprehensible beauty of the place I visited, I questioned if good ol' Jersey is really the place I should be. I mean, south Jersey is striking, and I don't know if I could really ever leave behind all that it has to offer: Route 130, the vast Delaware river, Willingboro Marketplace, Boost™, and the perfume of the air there, but this place sure did tempt me.

Cinque Terre was a 4 hour train ride from Rome, we got there on Saturday around noon, checked into our apartment, and then did the famous 5-town, 6 hour hike. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather, it was such a nice change from the crappy weather we've been having in Rome.

i wonder if this is a WWOOF farm...

lunch break view

best gelato ever: spicy chocolate with peperoncino & crema catalana

VIDEO

this is what we were climbing up for the last 2 hours

and trekking along narrow paths with cliffs to the left

On Sunday morning we explored our little town, and found out that there was a train strike and we wouldn't be able to take the local train back to the station to get the train to Rome. Instead, we were offered a more exciting option- to take 2 ferries to the place we needed to go. We got a great view of our town and cliffs from the Mediterranean.

here comes the ferry

our apartment was in the pink buildings in the top. the steps
just to get to them were more intense than the entire hike.

you can see the snow-capped Alps in the background

Even though it was just a day trip, Cinque Terre was the most gorgeous place I think I've experienced so far in Europe. I hope you can go see it too someday. I'll be back.

Sorry to say it, but I did pretty much absolutely nothing all of Easter weekend. It turns out that we had the worst weather I've seen yet in Rome, the entire time. So instead of going to see the Pope I stayed in bed, cooked a little Easter brunch with the crew, caught up on sleep, watched movies and read. I'm gonna do my best to go see that dude before I leave Rome though- and my time is going away real fast.

As a matter of fact, there are a lot of things I haven't seen or done since I've been here that I will kick myself if I don't do.

I have not been to the Vatican yet. I know, I know.
I have not been INSIDE the Colosseum yet.
Various museums: Capital Line, Modern Art, etc.
I need to explore more in Trastevere/Testaccio, day and night.
I need to visit the Pantheon at least a few more times.
Gotta try traditional Roman food: oxtail and tripe.
Also hope to visit: Pompeii, Naples (for the pizza), Venice, Florence...
Go to mass/see the Pope.

Instead of doing sightseeing and things, I've again been occupied with a variety of tasks inside this week; communicating with a possible company to intern for, arranging interviews- interviewing Caterina Crepax for a paper due 4/8- writing a biography for my smart fortwo ad campaign from last semester that's being entered into TURF/CReWS back on main campus-painting-tweaking old ads-researching-taking photos...

Anyway, Monday. It was gross outside. We went for burgers at a place down the street. They were disgustingly huge burgers.

Tuesday and Wednesday= not much besides class, homework and other tasks.

Thursdays are usually good days because I have 2 on-site classes. I went to see an exhibit on speed & velocity (lots of cool old cars, bikes, etc) and an exhibit on Contemporary Chinese art. In the morning for digital imaging we went to a few areas and a photo exhibit on St. Peter's. Here are some detail shots I got around Piazza Navona, the Jewish ghetto and Trastevere.

in the ghetto

Trastevere

Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
Apparently there's a really awesome sponge somewhere inside.

More to come about my weekend. For now, here's a look at what a day is typically like for me in Rome. (it was this week's assignment for digital photo)