I'd write more but we're running late for our flight to Ethiopia! We'll spend 2+ weeks there before heading to Tanzania - still have some details to work out with that :) Will try update this blog with some Rome pics soon!
Monday, October 31, 2011
ciao, roma! -- UPDATED w/ pics
October was an incredible month. We loved Roma - the beautiful buildings, artwork, markets, "apertivo" (happy hour w/ free gourmet hors doerves), cappuccinos, "vino svuzo" (house wine - you can even fill a plastic bottle to a wine shop to take home!), our apartment that was walking distance to everything, our 34-hour trip to Florence, hanging out with my Dad, Matt's sister Heather and her boyfriend Will, the pizza, pasta, etc. We'll also miss the attitude of the Italians, who let nothing interfere with their fantastic food and drink - we got shooed away from a restaurant when we showed up at opening time and found the staff just beginning their lunch - with wine! They not-so-nicely told us we can come back in half an hour!
I'd write more but we're running late for our flight to Ethiopia! We'll spend 2+ weeks there before heading to Tanzania - still have some details to work out with that :) Will try update this blog with some Rome pics soon!
I'd write more but we're running late for our flight to Ethiopia! We'll spend 2+ weeks there before heading to Tanzania - still have some details to work out with that :) Will try update this blog with some Rome pics soon!
Friday, October 21, 2011
When in Rome ...
... drink espresso or "expresso" as my dad would say
... drink water from a fountain - thanks again to the ancient romans and their system of aqueducts
... eat like the romans - lotsa pizza, pasta and gelato; shop at daily markets, only a block away, which cath lovingly turns into delicious meals
... get to know the butcher - after 1 visit, he remembered us and our order (1 chicken) three days later. both times, he gave us bones for soup ... free of charge!
... get lost - while looking for a camera repair shop, we stumbled on this circle with a fountain where the old folks from the neighborhood congregated;
other things we found while "lost" - cool bars with people spilling onto streets, an amazing concert by a group of german teenagers playing only guitars at an old church. for the closing number, everyone - orchestra and audience - broke out out into a german folk song (except us)
... watch the birds fly at sunset during make-shift happy hours - liberal european laws on open containers + the italian penchant for socializing in piazzas and bridges make for a fun and scenic happy hour
...get a cold - the day after your birthday, have your wife nurse you back to health; give her the same bug then nurse her back to health ... call home for "rossu" recipe (polish chicken soup) ... since i made that, i'm practically polish ... one step closer to my EU passport and one step closer to becoming james bond.
... run along the tiber river - except when the banks are flooded from the rain (i.e. yesterday)
... admire st. peter's - the most beautiful church we've ever seen
... hang out w/ the pope - it's on our list; weds and sundays, the pope blesses the followers in st. peter's square
... soak in the history - the rich and fascinating history of rome is on every block; the colosseum, forum are mind-bending; at its' peak, it took 3 months to travel (and communicate) across the 4000km roman empire ... imagine what they could've done w/ email
... get swept up in slow food - the slow food movement started here; lingering over long dinners is the european way. the bill doesn't come unless you ask for them; even if there's a long line to get in
... visit with friends and family - cath's dad visited for 4 days; my sister, heather, just arrived; her boyfriend, will, is here too for a week before heading to india where he's organizing a rally to provide health care to indian villages, check it out: Rally For Health
... admire the style of the italians - even the street cleaners look they're ready to go clubbing and, based on the mannerisms, everyday conversations seem to have life-and-death implications; Q: how do you keep an italian from talking? A: tie his hands behind his back.
... go to florence - we took the train to florence for 2 days, good times. cath should be posting about that shortly ...
... plan the next phase of our trip (africa!) - ethiopia on november 1st, then tanzania for a serengetti safari and climbing 19000' mt kilimanjaro ... fwiw, i've spent more time researching and planning the safari/climb than the rest of this trip.
... drink water from a fountain - thanks again to the ancient romans and their system of aqueducts
public drinking fountain
... eat like the romans - lotsa pizza, pasta and gelato; shop at daily markets, only a block away, which cath lovingly turns into delicious meals
... get to know the butcher - after 1 visit, he remembered us and our order (1 chicken) three days later. both times, he gave us bones for soup ... free of charge!
... get lost - while looking for a camera repair shop, we stumbled on this circle with a fountain where the old folks from the neighborhood congregated;
other things we found while "lost" - cool bars with people spilling onto streets, an amazing concert by a group of german teenagers playing only guitars at an old church. for the closing number, everyone - orchestra and audience - broke out out into a german folk song (except us)
... watch the birds fly at sunset during make-shift happy hours - liberal european laws on open containers + the italian penchant for socializing in piazzas and bridges make for a fun and scenic happy hour
birds over the tiber river
...get a cold - the day after your birthday, have your wife nurse you back to health; give her the same bug then nurse her back to health ... call home for "rossu" recipe (polish chicken soup) ... since i made that, i'm practically polish ... one step closer to my EU passport and one step closer to becoming james bond.
... run along the tiber river - except when the banks are flooded from the rain (i.e. yesterday)
... admire st. peter's - the most beautiful church we've ever seen
... hang out w/ the pope - it's on our list; weds and sundays, the pope blesses the followers in st. peter's square
st. peter's
dome of st. peter's - 452' high
... soak in the history - the rich and fascinating history of rome is on every block; the colosseum, forum are mind-bending; at its' peak, it took 3 months to travel (and communicate) across the 4000km roman empire ... imagine what they could've done w/ email
roman forum
trajan's forum
roman colosseum
... get swept up in slow food - the slow food movement started here; lingering over long dinners is the european way. the bill doesn't come unless you ask for them; even if there's a long line to get in
... visit with friends and family - cath's dad visited for 4 days; my sister, heather, just arrived; her boyfriend, will, is here too for a week before heading to india where he's organizing a rally to provide health care to indian villages, check it out: Rally For Health
pizza in trastevere with tata
... admire the style of the italians - even the street cleaners look they're ready to go clubbing and, based on the mannerisms, everyday conversations seem to have life-and-death implications; Q: how do you keep an italian from talking? A: tie his hands behind his back.
... go to florence - we took the train to florence for 2 days, good times. cath should be posting about that shortly ...
... plan the next phase of our trip (africa!) - ethiopia on november 1st, then tanzania for a serengetti safari and climbing 19000' mt kilimanjaro ... fwiw, i've spent more time researching and planning the safari/climb than the rest of this trip.
Friday, October 7, 2011
hitting 'play' on life
Before we ventured off on this trip, I found myself telling people that the intent was to "hit 'pause' on life for a little while." We'd been working and going to school for 3 long years and wanted to take an (extended) break. That's still true and, because of that hard work, I believe we earned this. A little more than halfway through our journey now, I realize my initial explanation needs revision: this time is about hitting 'play' on life.
Reflecting on the last 3+ months of travel, I realize I've never felt so alive, so connected to this world and cognizant of the teeny-tiny space I occupy in it. This perspective is due to the complete break from our daily routine. We've been exploring new places, spending lots of time walking (and getting lost, which some say is the whole point, though i think that depends on the day), trying new foods and drinks, meeting new people... It's been incredible to experience some of what our amazing world has to offer and I think I could travel forever. But of course I won't. :)
Our trip has been largely unplanned. We didn't know where we'd be in October, for example, and we definitely didn't plan our days. An unanticipated benefit is being able to give in to your wants every day. I think: "What is it that I want to do right now, at this moment?" And, within reason, I do just that - whether it's sleeping late (took me awhile to get over my guilt for this indulgence), checking out a museum, wandering aimlessly, doing yoga, having a drink (time of day is absolutely irrelevant), reading a book solely for pleasure, going for a run, etc. Don't worry, the sheer luxury of this is not lost on us. We are deeply grateful every day and very aware of how insanely lucky we are, on many levels.
September in the Greek islands was absolutely blissful and the month flew by! We visited 4 Cycladic islands - Santorini, Folegandros, Milos, and Naxos - each with their individual charms and personalities. Our days, by design, were leisurely since we wanted to be pretty relaxed for our upcoming time in Rome and Africa. We spent our time exploring villages on our scooter, discovering new beaches (17 different ones - black stone, colorful pebbles, red sand, white sand, limestone formations, black slate - many of which required a bit of a hike to find), having picnic lunches on the beach, which was fun and saved money. (at first, our typical lunch was pb&j sandwiches, but we couldn't find peanut butter anywhere so switched to cheese sandwiches with tomato, cucumber and peppers), reading, snapping photos of the breath-taking landscapes and bluest of blue waters, watching the sunset, and last, but certainly not least, eating delicious food. Lots and lots of greek salads, fresh fish (the freshest one had been caught a mere 2 hours earlier), saganaki (sautéed cheese), and baked feta cheese. We feasted :) Fun fact - hummus is not Greek, we didn't see it on a single menu!
We spent a fun week with my Mom and Szymon in Milos, scootering all over the island, more eating and drinking and took a day trip to the nearby island of Kimolos, which has been untouched by tourism. It was wonderful to spend some quality time together and we're grateful for their visit. In our last week or so, a fierce mistral-like wind blew, making it a bit less fun to go swimming and downright cold at night! Still, we were sad to say goodbye to the Greek islands. But, having visited only 4 of the 100+ inhabited ones, we'll be back!
And now we are in Rome and in love. With each other, of course, and with this magical city :) More later as I need to run: a sacred time of day is approaching: dinner. :)
Ciao!
Reflecting on the last 3+ months of travel, I realize I've never felt so alive, so connected to this world and cognizant of the teeny-tiny space I occupy in it. This perspective is due to the complete break from our daily routine. We've been exploring new places, spending lots of time walking (and getting lost, which some say is the whole point, though i think that depends on the day), trying new foods and drinks, meeting new people... It's been incredible to experience some of what our amazing world has to offer and I think I could travel forever. But of course I won't. :)
Our trip has been largely unplanned. We didn't know where we'd be in October, for example, and we definitely didn't plan our days. An unanticipated benefit is being able to give in to your wants every day. I think: "What is it that I want to do right now, at this moment?" And, within reason, I do just that - whether it's sleeping late (took me awhile to get over my guilt for this indulgence), checking out a museum, wandering aimlessly, doing yoga, having a drink (time of day is absolutely irrelevant), reading a book solely for pleasure, going for a run, etc. Don't worry, the sheer luxury of this is not lost on us. We are deeply grateful every day and very aware of how insanely lucky we are, on many levels.
September in the Greek islands was absolutely blissful and the month flew by! We visited 4 Cycladic islands - Santorini, Folegandros, Milos, and Naxos - each with their individual charms and personalities. Our days, by design, were leisurely since we wanted to be pretty relaxed for our upcoming time in Rome and Africa. We spent our time exploring villages on our scooter, discovering new beaches (17 different ones - black stone, colorful pebbles, red sand, white sand, limestone formations, black slate - many of which required a bit of a hike to find), having picnic lunches on the beach, which was fun and saved money. (at first, our typical lunch was pb&j sandwiches, but we couldn't find peanut butter anywhere so switched to cheese sandwiches with tomato, cucumber and peppers), reading, snapping photos of the breath-taking landscapes and bluest of blue waters, watching the sunset, and last, but certainly not least, eating delicious food. Lots and lots of greek salads, fresh fish (the freshest one had been caught a mere 2 hours earlier), saganaki (sautéed cheese), and baked feta cheese. We feasted :) Fun fact - hummus is not Greek, we didn't see it on a single menu!
We spent a fun week with my Mom and Szymon in Milos, scootering all over the island, more eating and drinking and took a day trip to the nearby island of Kimolos, which has been untouched by tourism. It was wonderful to spend some quality time together and we're grateful for their visit. In our last week or so, a fierce mistral-like wind blew, making it a bit less fun to go swimming and downright cold at night! Still, we were sad to say goodbye to the Greek islands. But, having visited only 4 of the 100+ inhabited ones, we'll be back!
And now we are in Rome and in love. With each other, of course, and with this magical city :) More later as I need to run: a sacred time of day is approaching: dinner. :)
Ciao!
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