Leaving Rome

Well, my time in Rome is coming to an end. It's been almost two weeks since I 'moved in' to the apartment that I have called my home in Rome. I've seen a lot of art and architecture and ruins, and I've walked a lot. I've gotten to know the neighborhood where I've been staying, including getting to know a little bit the family who run the bakery and pizzeria downstairs.

While I finish packing and get ready to head to the train station for the next portion of my adventure, here are some pictures from Rome. Ciao!

Location:Via del Banchi Vecchi,Rome,Italy

One and a half weeks in Italy

Two weeks ago, I was in Seattle. One week ago, I was in Siena. Now, I'm sitting down to lunch in Rome (or I was when I wrote this).

So far, Italy has been awesome, in the full sense of the word. Just to see the ruins of Ancient Rome and the churches of Siena, Florence and Rome and the Vatican and walk where so many people from history have stood is breath taking.

They've also inspired a lot of picture taking. Here are some of my favorites. So far, in a week and a half, I've taken over 1200 pictures. I may need a care package with a few memory cards for my camera!

Here is a brief summary of what I've seen and done:
Day 1 - arrive in Florence, see the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, the Pitti Palace and the Boboli gardens. Go to bed early
Day 2 - shopping in Mercato Centrale and the booths outside. See the Duomo again, more awake this time, more exploring. Take the bus to Siena. Walk with luggage through the streets of Siena. Visit Il Campo for dinner and then walk around more. See the Dumo exterior at dusk. Ate gelato
Day 3 - visit the Duomo. Go through the museum and climb to the top of the unfinished expansion project. Lunch at Il Campo. More walking and a little shopping. Ate gelato.
Day 4 - train to Rome. After we got settled into the apartment that is my home for two weeks, we went walking. Well, first we got some pizza at the bakery downstairs. We walked past Castel Sant'Angelo, found a cute street called Via Coronari, got some groceries. We walked to the Vatican and Piazza Navona and got more gelato.
Day 5 - time to see Ancient Rome. We went to the Colosseum, walked through the Forum and around Palatine Hill. Then, we went to the Pantheon
Day 6 - we were up early to tour the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. In the evening, we walked Via del Corso down to Piazza del Popolo, climbed the Spanish Steps, three coins into the Trevi Fountain and got lost
Day 7 - we started the day at Campo de'Fiori. After lunch, we toured Castel Sant'Angelo. Then, we split up and the girls went shopping. We walked a lot.
Day 8 - we took it easy and just walked to Trastevere, had lunch and then walked home.
Day 9 - I went with Mom and Dad to the airport to see them off. Then, I took the train to Termini and made my way home via the Baths of Diocletian and the Spanish Steps. I like Rome in the early mornings, but my quite enough to wake up early enough to experience it again. Then, I did laundry and took a nap
Day 10 - I went to Campo de'Fiori for some groceries, then I went to the museum Montemartini, where there are statues in an old electric plant. I walked to St. Paul Outside the Walls, then I took the bus back, got gelato outside of Vatican City and read a book in the park outside Castel Sant'Angelo.
Day 11 - today. I have been shopping a little this morning, but I haven't bought anything because I don't want to carry anything. After I finish my lunch, I'm going to the Borghese gardens and the Borghese museum. I had better finish up and head over there.

I'll try not to wait another full week and a half to post, even if all I do is post a few pictures.

Location:Rome,Italy

A real post to come....

....I promise. I wrote it over lunch, but I want to add pictures of everything I've seen the last week.

In the meantime, I thought I'd give an update. I am sitting at the ristorante in Borghese Gardens, cooling off after my bike ride through the park.

Ready to go

As most of you are checking out my blog to see what I'm up to on my sabbatical, I thought I'd start by telling you about getting prepared.

This trip has really been in the planning for 5 years. Up until about 6 months ago, it was a fun day dream to think of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see and do. Then, as it got closer, it became a bit more stressful. The low point may have been when a friend pointed out that I had less than 90 days before my trip and I hadn't bought plane tickets (queue thoughts of project manager creating spreadsheets for sabbatical readiness assessment).

But, now my bag is packed (that's right, one suitcase) and I'm fixing to leave for the airport.

Below are the books (and movie) that I read to prepare for the trip. A biography, a memoir, and a travel book....not you're normal reading list, I know. I'll let you know if I am adequately prepared by my research after I get there!

Normal Sunday Night

What is a normal Sunday night for me? Laundry, something on Netflix, a light dinner, and packing for the next week. It doesn't involve posting here on my blog, as is evident by the 10 1/2 month gap between this and my last post. Oops.

Truthfully, I thought it had been longer since my post. But, it's time to dust off this volume and turn to a blank page and begin writing again. I could go back and write about everything that's happened since I last blogged - the travels, the three month sinus infection, the (lack of) craft projects - but I prefer to look forward....to my trip-of-a-lifetime coming up starting in two weeks.

So, in addition to packing my suitcase to head south for the week, I also have clothes spread out across my bedroom to start whittling down to the necessities for my month in Italy. That includes the seven pairs of shoes I have lined up at the foot of my bed (one is a pair of flip flops). Wow. I have my work cut out for me. I'm gonna head back to that and leave this blog alone again after just one lousy post. But, I promise more in the coming days/weeks. Including a conclusion as to how many shoes make the cut.