Ciao, Roma!

Hard to duplicate the experience, but I've tried to string together some of the sights and sounds so that you can get a feel of the atmosphere.

Two options for viewing the photos below. Either way, the historical context is trivialized: first by the photoshow speed, then by the scrapblog template. But these are sacrifices intended to keep you from getting bored because of the number of photos. :)

For a better look (and place names), check out my Flickr page.

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The gelato diary

[updated 10:29am-inserted scrapblog show]



Seven consecutive days of ice cream. (It could have been eight if I bought some at the airport before we left, but I thought, nah, seven should be enough). Not all authentic gelato, but still a treat.

Sunday: stracciatella (chocolate chip) and pistaschio from Metropolitan near Piazza del Popolo
Monday: cherry and nocciola (hazelnut)near Fontana di Trevi
Tuesday: chocolate flavor, after-dinner dessert at the residence
Wednesday: chocolate flavor, complimentary dessert from Domiziano
Thursday: frutto di bosco (wild berries), caramel cream and coconut from Blue Ice Cream near Piazza Navona
Friday: strawberry flavor, after-lunch dessert from Lo Stregone, near Pont S. Angelo
Saturday: after-Easter vigil Cornetto from the shop on Regina Margherita

I didn't expect it to be a daily thing (otherwise I'd take pictures of them every day). A lucky coincidence, I guess?

I'm trying out scrapblog.com. Let me know if you like this better than the photoshows.

UNIV 2007

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It's no joke bringing over a thousand students to Rome.

Eight student papers. Four guest speakers: an Italian professor who talked about American TV series, an Armenian writer who spoke about the story of her family and her novel that became a bestseller in Italy, a Spanish screenwriter who showed us how to create compelling characters, and the actor who played Barabbas in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.

This is me with the English delegation.

Roman holy days

[updated 8:52] More photos here.

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It was Easter after all. Walking the streets of Rome, you'd find a church in every other street, so there's no excuse not to pop in for a visit.

We also found ourselves in the presence of the Pontiff a number of times. The closest I got to the Pope was five feet from him, when he entered St. Peter's Square for the Mass on the second death anniversary of John Paul II. I didn't have a camera then, but I made sure I had one during the general audience. We also saw him on Palm Sunday and heard (but couldn't see) him when he was celebrating inside the basilica. On Easter Sunday, we skirted the square for his blessing (lugging our stuff around, ready to go to the airport). I've never heard so much Latin in my life.

This recent NYT article on Benedict XVI is a good read.

The Eternal City

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The bumpy Air One flight from London City airport to Rome Fiumicino did not give me a clue of what was ahead. A group of us from England (around 20 in all) were to be together over the next week, taking in the sights and sounds of the Italian capital. We stayed at I Gigli della Montagna, a hotel run by nuns north of the center. I shared a room with Virginia and Jayne, both of whom I had known from my autumn stay in London.

Roma. I've never seen a lovelier city.

More photos to come. No time to color-correct, just had to trim down 600+ photos to 200 to fit Flickr (will upload soon), then just selected even fewer still for the blog posts. Grazie to everyone who left comments the other week. :)