Knee-gate 2008 and the worst best-idea-ever... aka our trip to Florence

We had our very first visitor in Rome!! My friend Maryam surprised me and showed up in Italy with her mother and aunt. It's only appropriate since she studied here with me last year, and the two of us were inseparable in the countless museums of Rome. It just hasn't been the same without her (though my company is most certainly not lacking this time around!)

She was only in town for a week, and desperately wanted to visit Florence... so we went with her!

We started the day with some shopping in the HUGE flea market. I picked up a few pashminas and Graham tried his best to be entertained (it's Italy, but shopping is still shopping...) Then we headed for lunch!
I had a trio of thick Tuscan soups (they add bread to make it thicker), and Graham had fettuccine with truffle sauce, no not just sauce, CHUNKS of truffles. Mmmm, it was so good! Then we headed out to see the artistic sights of the famous Renaissance city! And what better place to start then...
We snuck pictures of the famous stud, even though the "security guards" tried their very hardest (or was it hardly tried?) to keep us from doing so. I even snuck a picture of the most perfect booty in the world...

Yes, that's right, it's Graham getting out of the shower :) Haha, no, Graham wishes he could have buns that perfectly sculpted! Unfortunately, Michelangelo only crafted from marble and not human flesh (but with perfection like Angie and Brad's baby Shiloh, you have to wonder what he's up to now...)

Later on we found slightly more artistic renditions of the famous hero
They were hilarious! And the shop owner was so proud of them. She created each one herself. If it wouldn't have meant going without food for a day, we would have brought one home with us!

We then checked out Florence's famous Duomo. Graham was amazed to discover that the colorful facade owed its striking walls to various colors of marble, and not a drop of paint! (Can't you see the amazement across his face?)

Inside we craned our necks to see the Last Judgment scene frescoed in the dome.

Across from the duomo we oogled Ghibertti's famous baptistery doors. They really were quite impressive. Something between a sculpture and wall decoration, some figures were actually 3D!

Then we headed over to the Uffizi museum. We didn't go inside because Florence's equivalent of the Louvre deserves a whole day (we shall return!) But it was still pretty to look at :)

Under one of the Uffizi arches we spied a gypsy dressed as a bronze statue in a more casual moment. Apparently even statues require cigarette breaks here in Italy!

After that our tummies were a little rumbly and in the mood for something sweet. So after strolling across the Ponte Vecchio and window-drooling at all the pretty jewlery, we spied something that actually made us drool. It was the most amazing warm, sweet heavenly confection that I have ever had the pleasure to inhale. If you could turn warm fresh-out-of-the-drier sheets, and a bear hug from grandma into a dessert, this is what it would have tasted like! It was a fresh, hot belgium-type waffle (there was something a little different in it that I couldn't quite put my finger on) stuffed with cool, creamy vanilla gelato (Graham's choice, I would have gone with something a little more exciting). It was like heaven on a plate. One bite relaxed every muscle and actually made us sigh right there in the middle of the street. Graham couldn't help but wear his feelings across his face. Notice the sublime, heavenly grin and slightly closed, I-could die-right-now-and-be-happy eyes...


After that we weren't really up for anything else too strenuous, so we parted ways with Maryam and took a stroll around the alleys and streets of Florence. We stumbled upon the (closed) church of Santa Croce. And snapped a picture of the sunset over the Florentine skyline from her piazza.

Then we included ourselves :)

After that we meandered our way back to the train station to catch our late train back home. We stumbled upon a little kiosk that sold wine, beer, and... champagne! So we were struck with the best idea ever! After such a fabulous day we should drink the 4 euro champagne on the train ride home! Classy, right?

Graham proudly displays our 4-euro find and the sheer brilliance of our idea. Then he proceeds to untwist the cork... this is where things get a little, hmm, shall we say, sticky? Not one second after he untwisted the last twist of the metal coil, the cork shot free of its embottled prison and let loose a cascade of cheap champagne. Ordinarily, this would be a little awkward, but not horrible. Well, we were on a moving train, and Grahams hand (which was quick to catch the cork before it broke a window) was angled in such a way that it sent the stream of sticky fizzy alcohol straight in my direction... and all over my lap...

So at that point I was facing a 3-hour train ride looking and smelling like a clumsy drunk who couldn't make it to the restroom in time. Fun. Graham, by the way, escaped without wearing any of it.

And that is how our Florentine adventure ended with the worst best-idea-ever... Needless to say, even if I hadn't been wearing half the bottle, the champagne wasn't very good and we didn't drink it anyway.

A Week's Worth of Rome!!!

So, it's been a little while and we decided another blog post was waaayy overdue. After a couple of lazy days (the storm apparently followed us here from California) we decided it was safe again to venture outside. After taking in St. Peter's and mostly Renaissance era site seeing,we decided to check out some of the ancient views Rome had to offer. The first site was the Pantheon. It was actually just a coinceidence. Treva was really craving some gelato as we roamed Rome and looking for a gelitaria, we stumbled into the giant dome.
It is a really great site to check out: it is breathtaking, has lots of historical importance (the king who united Italy is buried here, as is Rafael the painter, not to be confused with the Ninja Turtle), and you can be done with it in about 15-20 minutes. From there we went to the Vitoriano, a monument to the king buried in the Pantheon. It is a huge marble structure that has amazing views of most of the city's most famous landmarks.

A great view of the Colleseum from the top of the Vitoriano.

Part of the Roman Forum.

The rooftops of downtown Rome (St. John the Lateran is in the background)

Treva taking it all in.

From here we went down the backside of the Vitoriano and checked out the Roman Forum. It's amazing to think that the downtown of ancient Rome still stands today. As you look at it, you can imagine all the shops and hustle and bustle happing that made this the capitol of the world for so long.

Us mugging for the camera in front of the forum.

As we left the Forums, we started our trek home down some back streets of Rome. We started down one that looked like the perfect European street.

Treva decided it wasn't perfect without her.

In other news, we are really settling into life in Rome. Our apartment really feels like home, we've almost unpacked everything (still a few things that we need to find a spot for), and Treva started her job. She absolutely loves it! She gets to work with kids, which she loves, and all she has to do is read to them and help them with their English homework.

An out of focus picture of Treva and the kids.

Anyway, we miss everyone back home and stay tuned for an update that includes our trip to Florence!!

Our life, the fairytale

We're finally here!!

Piazza del Popolo

It didn't quite sink in at first. Even once we'd arrived. Even once we were at the hotel. Even once we walked around and Graham had his first glimpse of St. Peter's. Even once we found our apartment, moved our bags in and gave the deposit. It wasn't until we spent our first night in our own bed and awoke to the sound of the Italian ambulance on the streets outside and the hollers of our Italian neighbors that I began to understand what we are actually experiencing.


I live with a boy. Yesterday I ironed his shirt and slacks and set them on the bed. Later I made dinner as he napped from our adventures of the dinner. Playing house with him would be enough. We unpacked our bags and filled our first closet together. That was as much of an adventure as taking him to Piazza Navona or explaining the symbolism of Borromini's work at St. Ivo alle Sapienza. Simply spending everyday with him would be enough to keep a perpetual smile on my face. But to do it in Rome... is it too much of a cliche to say that I have to keep pinching myself to make sure it's real?


Yesterday we went to St. Peter's. I've been there practically a million times, and feel more at home there than in many places in LA, but it was an entirely new experience to share it with Graham and see his reaction to everything. It was like seeing it for the first time all over again.

We didn't take anything too seriously in the Piazza before we went in. Apparently Christmas is a season-long celebration here, as they still have the big Christmas tree up and an AMAZING nativity scene. But after all, this is the Vatican, if anybody is going to do a nativity right, is should be here. Decorations are up all over the city too, they even have buildings wrapped like presents!


I feel like I may be bombarding Graham with a bit too much art history all at once. It seems everywhere we go I'll stop him, point something out, explain it's meaning, context, purpose, and relation to every single thing around it. He humbles me though, and at least puts on a good front that he enjoys it. Occasionally I do have genuinely interesting things to add :) Like...
The pope gives his weekly papal addresses from the top floor, second window from the right.

Once we made it through the metal detectors, it wasn't long before Graham continued his habit of spotting superior quality speakers :)

Apparently the Vatican really does buy from Bose! (Ok, I may have been more excited about this than him). My favorite part was that they painted the speakers inside so that they blended in with the marble they were up against.

Inside we were instantly speechless. It's hard not to be. We probably stood for a good 5 minutes, motionless, and just took it all in. St. Peter's is so massive that I don't even know how to articulate in words or capture in photos. Imagine a 10 story mall, empty out EVERYTHING so that it is one GIANT room, and you might get some sort of fuzzy glimpse. No matter your beliefs about religion, you can't help but feel humbled and reverent within its gilded and marble walls.

We spent a good couple hours slowly exploring everything. I think it might have awoken the good little Catholic boy within Graham. He became somber and serious. We both became very calm and aware. There weren't any jokes or giggles. We left them outside. We then went downstairs to the tomb of the popes. We saw the grave of John Paul II and the altar for the remains of St. Peter. When we came back up, mass was starting in the front of the cathedral beneath Bernini's Chair of St. Peter. We stopped to watch. No pictures. After a while, the attendant motioned for us to sit. So we did. While a may have no words to describe the beauty of St.Peter's, I have even fewer to describe experiencing mass there. It was magical and brought me to tears. Uncontrollable tears. To be there. Under Bernini. In Rome. With the love of my life. I cannot begin to tell you how much it moved me.


Today we went to the open market. It's like a gigantic farmer's market. I went there all the time when I was here studying abroad. It's such a buzzing vibrant environment full of bustling locals. They sell everything from fruits and veggies, to fish, to pizza, to flowers and sheet sets. It's absolutely amazing, and we had so much fun!

Graham even found "perfect" tomatoes :) Judge for yourself... the picture we took of them is now the page header!

Across the sea

January 4th-January 5th, 2008
We arrived on time at SFO, we checked in our luggage without additional fees (even though each of our 4 bags exceeded the 50 lb. limit...), sped through security hassle free and made it to our gate after leaving Pops and Marian in only 20 minutes. Unfortunately... the weather had other plans. Due to the GIGANTIC storm (see crazy sized rain in the background above) all planes were grounded at SFO and we were stuck. Graham was a teensy bit worried that our flight would be cancelled like so many others, but I remained optimistic (see smile above). After 3 hours of people watching, including plastic mini bowling and free magazines, all provided by our airline (Go Virgin America!), we finally boarded the plane.

Graham got his leg room, and I got my window seat :) The view was absolutely amazing!

Detroit

Fuzzy New York

Fuzzy Manhattan

Graham of course missed all of this because he was busy playing video games on our personal entertainment systems...

Ok, he may have glanced over a few times :)

We then had our dazed midnight layover at JFK. Nothing really memorable except bad food that we didn't have to pay for because we had free food vouchers... oh yes and once again we didn't have to pay luggage fees :)

Once we boarded the plane to Rome, we immediately passed out. Well, passed out as well as one can on a tiny cramped airplane where everyone is speaking Italian. But it was an experience... I don't remember much, since I was basically only awake to eat. But when I woke up, I looked out my window and saw...

At least the scenery was beautiful, because after 28 hours of traveling, and less-than-optimal sleeping conditions for 7 hours, we looked like this...


Slightly different from when we first set out, but the smiles are still there. When we got off the plane in Rome, we somehow managed to make it through the airport to baggage claim where (SURPRISE!) all of our baggage finally made it's way to us. It was a very lucky traveling day indeed. We took a slightly costly shuttle to our hotel and promptly... fell asleep.

Overall, it was a very good day!