05.30.2011 Rome in a day

12:50 am. Rome.

I am so tired. So so so so tired! My knees are sore, my thighs are sore, my calves are sore…

Today we woke up at 730am, ate breakfast at the hotel, and then left for our sightseeing adventure. The buses were on strike today as well! But some buses were working so I don’t really know how that works. Anyway, we got lost, again. But our goals list was kept short because I figured I’d get lost getting to any place I want to go to I say we because I had some company today, but she is also a directional idiot. She can’t see clearly, so reading the road signs were difficult for her, and we were prone to circling around a destined location instead of directly reaching the location. Today’s goals were: The roman colesium, contantin’s arch, the gate on Aventino Hill, orange garden, the pantheon, and cool stores, followed with other events in the evening arranged by our prof.

First, the colesium. The colesium was, collosal. Seriously, it’s massive, and magnificent (so many alliterations!) it’s really neat how it was built so many years ago and it still stands strong. Just imagine, in the same place, the entire city gathered there to watch fights. I think we spent 2.5 hours there taking a gazillion pictures at every angle.

  there are water fountains you can drink from. If you put your finger under the water, you can cover the hole and water will spurt upwards instead of downwards.

Then we wandered our way to the gate on Aventino hill and the orange grove. The orange grove is on the top of a hill and has real oranges on trees! Unfortunately you can’t eat them. I wish we could, how cool would it be to pluck an orange off a tree and devour it. I think it’s too cold in Canada to grow an orange tree. Anyway the area is supposed to have the best view of the city so we’ll be going back again to catch the sunset. Next to the grove is a seminary and Rome’s oldest church?

And then next to that was this green door. The door was locked, but you could peek through the keyhole and when you do, you can see the Vatican! Perfectly framed by the shape of the hole and pruned foliage in the garden behind the door. It was soooo tiny yet so perfect. It was like finding a little secret. Everyone who visited the door tried to capture the experience so they can take it home with them, but it is very difficult. Just imagine trying to take a picture of something far away in a tiny tunnel.  Nonetheless, I tried too and failed. But my friend got it!!

 

the view!! Thanks to Shannon.

I saw this girl taking pictures with her macbook. I guess if you are desperate for a camera, you gotta do what you gotta do!

We stopped at the Roman ghetto for food. It’s a jewish area so there was a lot of kosher food, so I assumed that there would be more vegetarian options too. For some reason, their specialty is fried artichoke. I never thought of artichoke being jewish, but alright. I didn’t try it though… I don’t know if I like artichoke.

 spending quality time with Pinocchio

paving cobblestones

look how timy the people are!

My legs were starting to feel like falling off. Lunch was a good break because we could sit down, but standing up after the meal was difficult. We walked to the pantheon, not really getting lost this time because I was wandering around there yesterday. We came across it from the back so I made my friend walk past it without looking to she could walk around the corner to approach the Pantheon the same way I came across it yesterday. I really think it is the best way to experience it! It just comes out of nowhere and is so massive it’s a beautiful surprise.

Shaved ice.

Lorenzo took us to try Italian slush. They usually sell it next to gelato, but this one was just a slush stand. It's not like slush at home!

We were invited to the opening of an exhibit about the Compass d'oro, meaning golden compass, which is Italy's design award. They were displaying 60 years worth of winners classified under different topics such as lesiure, workplace, kitchen, etc. and at the same time displaying the evolving timeline of Italian design. A lot of people in the design field came out that night, but I didn't know any of them. Nonetheless, the content was nice. Oh, and we were TOTALLY underdressed. Even though I specifically packed my shoes for this event  I forgot to wear them.

 

entrance 

 

There were these people from the Industrial design school in Rome who were putting people in picture frames and taking pictures of other Industrial design students. At least I think that was their motive..! Anyway supposedly, you can see our pictures posted here: unicitadeldesign.it but I haven't had time to check it out.

Just look at all that CHEESE

The next party we went to was at the MACRO museum. They had free dinner so we all wanted to go because we figured that the dinner would be worth more than the cab fare back home (since the buses weren't working) The exhibit here was about this year's nominations for the Compass D'oro. Anyway, it was well worth it, not only because the new products was like walking through a design show (but better curated), but because the food was abundant and the dinner atmosphere was very posh!

 

doing stretches

We got home pretty late after the event. I think we very luckily caught the last bus of the evening because it was running for some strange reason. I did some stretches, and passed out on my bed.

goodnight!