Assisi

I took a day trip to Assisi this past weekend...by myself. This was the first such trip of the summer and it definitely whet my appetite for the longer voyages I'll be taking in the coming months.

Assisi was one of the towns I always wanted to go to while I was living in Florence, but somehow I just never made it. I had heard it was beautiful, but wasn't expecting this view as I made my way to the top of the hill:





It is an extremely spiritual city--more so than any Italian city I have visited--and accordingly there are an incredible number of large churches in such a small town. Because of St. Francis' love for animals and the city's motto as the "city of peace," they have hung up these strings of fake, glow in the dark birds. I wonder what it looks like at night. Here are some of the churches:






And here I am, hanging out in Assisi:





And finally, my artistic photos for the day:

Cibo e Chiese

Since I've seen most of the major touristy stuff Rome has to offer, I've been at a loss for what exactly I can do to enrich my experience here. My solution has mostly been to blend into my surroundings and pop into churches and other short tourist visits here and there as I happen upon them.

The first stop was Santa Maria in Trastevere. What was the first of I'm sure many future visits.



San Pietro in Vincolo. Featuring Michelangelo's Moses.



Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. With some beautiful Lippi paintings.



A stop on my shopping trip in Via del Corso.


Those of you who know me well understand my love for Roman fountains. Here's another one on Via Giulia, right next to the French Embassy (Palazzo Farnese):


Watching the sunset with an Italian friend in a park overlooking the Colosseum.


My sustenance:

(Pistacchio, Amarena and Strawberry)


(Caffe granita. The Italian frappuccino, only so much better)


And finally, my dinner with Chelsea and Kyle on their stop through Rome during their vacation in Italy. At my favorite pizzeria in Trastevere that I'm now told by locals is called "obitorio" (morgue) because of the marble tables. Great food, terrible service...seems to be the trend in Rome these days.

Una passeggiata

Now that I've been in Rome for a few weeks and I've settled in my apartment, I've made it a point to walk around and learn about my wonderful little (almost tourist-free!) neighborhood. Given that I'm a photographer, I thought I would post a photo story of my passeggiata around Monteverde and Roma.

La Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth). I end and begin my daily bus trip in this piazza.



The view I get at the Embassy.



A look at the Tevere from Ponte Sisto.

When in Rome...

I arrived in Rome last Sunday after a sleepless week of paper-writing, a wonderful night out with my favorite grad school friends still left, and a furious day of rushing and packing. Luckily enough, my Irvine high school friend Mario lives here now and was nice enough to let me crash at his place for a couple of days. Immediately after arriving, I went to his friend's birthday party outside of the city and accompanied the birthday boy's girlfriend on a search for a birthday cake, that ended up where these pictures were taken...



In between Mario's place and my summer apartment, the rental agency put me in a temporary place in the same neighborhood, so I had a couple of days to settle in and find my way around before the hectic work schedule set in. My Embassy is wonderful and I'm excited about the other employees, the locations, and the events this summer will bring!

So this brings me to today when I finally moved into my apartment, alone. I have this whole place to myself for another week, but it's amazing! I'm looking forward to getting to know the very Italian neighborhood of Monteverde and to becoming a Roman.

Until then, I'll leave you with a virtual tour of my humble abode for the next two and a half months...

My room. Despite the two beds, this will actually be all mine. Visitors welcome!




The other two rooms (one of which will be the double):



Bathroom.


Entrance.


Living Room.


Dining Room.


Kitchen.




Balcony!



NOTE: As a photographer, you'd think I'd be able to solve the problem of the sideways photos, but despite my best effort I have yet to figure this out. Hopefully I'll be able to fix it by the next post! A presto...