Arrivederci...and Hello

Goodbye to Rome

And back in Albquerque - to fall colors and an out of control crop in the garden

Zenit

A lot of strident posters around town...not sure what they are about...anarchists?

Shoes

I, too,  wonder about the potential for twisted ankles on Roman paving.

Street Performers

Santa Maria en Trastevere 2 floor, ceiling, altarc

Santa Maria en Trastevere 1 (sorry if its sideways)

The rest of the Chicago girls have snuck in to Rome, Cara on horseback (?), Jasmine by train, and Adele on a gelato truck. Well done, Benvenuto a Roma ragazze !

Trajans Market

Enough of these big meals, lets just have a sandwich for lunch !

Words and Pictures

Thousands of words...

The Sandwich

Sometimes it can't be beat ..

Braesola and Rucola and Parmesan Shavings......and a Suppli

Carciofi Fritatta

and speaking of simple - ar Filetto - fried bacalao - not to be confused with fresh cod - this is the Norwegian dried Stoccofisso,  reconstituted and deep-fried - a different taste

Trajan's Market

Not so interactive...

But plenty of ancient bits, and evocative architecture.

Egg and Dart

Ancient Roman Road

Looking into Trajan's Forum

Trajan's Market, the first shopping mall, with contemporary sculpture

Trevi Fountain

Completely under scaffold - but don't worry....you can still throw your coin....into a bathtub.

Drum solo on the via del Corso (for Matias and Felix, the only drum players I know)

street music at the Viale Foro Imperiale

Funghi Porcini....again

We're becoming picky...this at Galletto - slightly narrower noodles - tagliatelle - garlic, oil and deep funghi flavor.  But when the cook cut up the mushrooms that morning, she doused them with just a bit too much lemon - so the lemon taste became too prominent.  Just didn't seem right with the mushrooms.

Happy Birthday Dani and Sofia from the Santa Cecilia "mixed seniors Choir" in Trastevere !

Less we all swoon and gush about things Roman (pasta, art, antiquities, fashion) let us not forget the cursed Roman shower and hot water tank. Noting has changed in 30 years except that now the shower stalls are big enough that if you drop the soap, you can avoid the water spray which cycles from cold to scalding in 15 second cycles, without having being scalded.  (Susan informs me their shower is small, but they never drop the soap)

Just arriving on their motorino, 2 Roman teens welcome guests to Dani's art show in the Piazza Navona.  Welcome to Rome guys !

The Farnesina

Opulent villa of the Chigi family, around 1500,  he a Sienese banker with branches in London and Cairo. The decoration done by Raffaello and others.  No Christian motifs in evidence - only mythology and a rendering of the marriage of Alexander the Great to Roxana.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Farnesina

Cut back on eating day, sandwiches for lunch from il Forno

Hers and His

Religiousity

In Assisi.
 St. Francis born here in the late 1100's into a life  of ease, his father a cloth merchant.  The crucifix below spoke  to him, God  asking  him to repair his church that was falling down.  St. Francis then renounced all his possessions, traded clothes with a beggar, and preached humility and kindness to all living things.  He was made a saint within a few months of his death.

A place of pilgrims and art lovers - Giotto's frescoes from 1400's (no photos allowed) are remarkable.  Images on   http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Saint_Francis_cycle_in_the_Upper_Church_of_San_Francesco_at_Assisi