Roman Holiday

I spent the Christmas holidays in Rome.  It was the first time I was away from family & friends and, while I missed them, it was a really great vacation.  Someone remind me while I haven't traveled on my own before?  I get out of bed when I want and there's no one to feel guilty in front of when I spent a little too much on that great pair of Italian leather boots.

I stayed in Trastevere, across the Tiber from the main tourist attractions.  Its a fantastic little neighborhood with great shops and restaurants.  I wish I could have afforded a piece by Gioielli Etnici when I stumbled upon the tiny shop that fronted his workspace (www.anticoa.com).  I really enjoyed my AirBnB host, Mario, and the apartment I stayed in, which looked out onto a lovely little courtyard.

It had taken me over an hour and two different means of public transportation to travel from the airport to Trastevere.  I'm amazed I didn't get lost, considering I had 4 lines of directions from Mario and had done no prep for the trip.  That's what happens when you have 3 finals in the week and a half before leaving.  I was feeling pretty darn good when I dropped my bags and wandered out into the city.  I still laugh at myself when I think about my first afternoon out.  I had just crossed the pedestrian bridge when I saw a small fence enclosing a 20'x20' hole in the ground.  Ruins!  I spent at least 15 minutes snapping shots of grass-covered stones from every angle.  It wasn't the towering Ionic columns I had pictured, but, really, what tourist destination fully lives up to expectations?  Then I took a few steps down the street, turned a corner, and ran into real, actual ruins:

Now we're talking.  The remnants of an ancient fish market.  There are seriously ruins around every corner here. This was in the Jewish neighborhood, where I ended up spending a lot of time.  I had a very nice kosher couscous dinner with an Israeli white wine on Christmas Eve.  And I found open shops to peruse on Christmas Day.  In other parts of the city there were great Christmas markets, like the one in Plaza Navona that sold ornaments, candy, and everything you could possible need to set up a 1:25 scale model of the Nativity and the entire surrounding city.  I'm talking tiny fireplaces that flicker, working water fountains...you name it, they had it.

The streets were decorated with, um, jellyfish, and other...festive...things.  People in general seemed to be in a great mood.  There were lots of little performances going on as well.  Choirs singing carols in a square and a neighborhood putting on a live re-enactment of the birth of Christ, complete with live donkey & camels.  Thank goodness the weather was so nice.  It was between 55 and 60 degrees every day - everyone but me was bundled up in a heavy parka, scarf, hat and gloves.

I saw all the standard tourist spots - Pantheon, Colosseum, Forum, Trevi Fountain, Trajan's Market, some Christian crypts from 2,000 years ago...

 Most spots were swarming with tourists.  I have a picture of a mob of people, which was actually a picture of the Spanish Steps, which were under the people somewhere.  I've heard there are 3,000 Euros thrown into the Trevi Fountain every day.  I only tossed in 20 cents.  Does that mean I'm destined to come back to Rome for, like, 6 hours?





Coming from the consumerized-US, I was surprised to find so many of the sites free.  Both the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain were just...there.  In the street, surrounded by apartments and restaurants and souvenir shops.  Lots and lots of souvenir shops.



St. Peter's Square in Vatican City was also free.  I was there for the Pope's Christmas Day address. Me and 50,000 other people.  He's in his balcony on the upper right, but also on the big screen in the lower left.  I bought a St. Christopher's medal for my charm bracelet in the Vatican gift shop.

The Colosseum and the crypts weren't free, but they were worth the small cost.  As gung-ho as I was about the crypts (I even wanted to explore the ones that snake below the streets in Paris, but I knew Mom would never go for it), I'm not sure I'd do it again.  Even with a group of people and a priest leading the tour, it was far creepier than I had anticipated.  Maybe it was the knowledge that so many of the people buried there had not died of natural causes, but for their beliefs.

  St. Peter's Cathedral seemed to dominate the skyline and lot of my pictures, even though its not in the heart of the city.  I'm guessing its a popular tourist destination or something?  I took a guided tour on one of my last days in the city - the wealth in the Vatican museums is staggering.  And the Sistine Chapel is breathtaking.  I'm not religious nor am I particularly appreciative of fine art, but it left me speechless.





Somehow I managed to be on a bridge or on top of a building for several magnificent Roman sunsets.  Its nearly impossible to take a bad picture here, even with the world's worst cell phone camera.





Overall, the trip was amazing.  The people were friendly & helpful, even if no one spoke English.  I got by on a mix of French and Giada De Laurentiis.  The public transportation was a breeze to navigate and interestingly operates on the trust system, just like here in Copenhagen.  The food was, holy cow, just fantastic.  I could do a whole post on what I ate, but I'll spare you.  I'd definitely go back, but not before I see a few other new cities first.

2012

I have no idea where December went.  Well, that's not entirely true, I remember spending a lot of it sitting at my desk studying.  The few times I looked up from my books it was snowing outside, so I went back to reading.  Two terms down, term 3 begins this week.

2012 was a year unlike any other for me.  So many changes, nearly all of them for the better.  

New countries visited:

Mexico, Iceland, Denmark, Italy, Vatican City

Fantastic experiences:

Standing on the edge of a continental plate in Iceland and looking over the edge

Drinking 400-year-old glacier water while hiking on said glacier

Standing under the Eiffel Tower, both the real one and the one in Vegas, about two weeks apart

Seeing the Grand Canyon from the air

Touring Mayan ruins

Riding a bike in Copenhagen, like the locals

Standing in the Roman Colosseum

An audience with the Pope - me and 50,000 other people on Christmas day

Moving to a new country

The complete 180 degree life change was by far my biggest accomplishment.  Leaving a job, a spouse, my home country, my support network.  I'm thankful everyone was so positive and supportive of a move that probably looked a little like an early mid-life crisis.  There are a few things I wish I had done more of, like searching out live music, and a few things I wish I had done less of, like worrying about the small stuff.  Overall, though, I ended 2012 happier, healthier, and with a more positive outlook than when the year began.  

Goals for 2013:

A permanent residence outside the US

A job I can get passionate about

Visit at least 2 new countries