For someone who loves small talk, communication is hard. Not everyone speaks English and although I'm starting to pick up alcune parole (a few words), I can't be my chatty Callie self. However, I have had some interactions.
Things Italians Have Said To Me:
"Sono Solo" is something that I say a lot here. I understood it to mean "I'm alone" and I would say it when I was getting my table for one. Apparently it means, "I'm single." So every time the waiters ask how many people I will be dining with, I've just been telling them my relationship status.
At the restaurant Insalata Ricca one Friday night, I am sat at a table directly next to two older women dining. (They do this a lot in Rome, have you sit with strangers-it never bothers me.) These woman were cute and friendly as we talked about Rome. They told me about the contemporary events of the weekend, giving me their free press passes. When I said, "Sono solo," one of them answered assuringly with her thick Italian accent....
"Better to be single, than to be with someone NOT GOOD!"
Thank you for making me feel more confident about dining alone!
If you are a girl or anything slightly resembling a girl, you are catcalled on the street. For the first month I was here, I kept telling everyone that no Italian men were saying anything to me on the street. I thought it was because I looked like a crazy American tourist. Then, I lost my Ipod. When you are pumping the sounds of "Don't Stop Believing! Hold onto that Feeeeeeling!" by Journey into your ears, of course you can't hear the sounds that are ACTUALLY being heard while walking down the city streets....
"OHHHHHH! It's Goooooood!"
It's good? I turned around and politely told this younger group of Italian men to check their English!
Everyday I wake up and I don't know exactly where my day is going to take me. Leaving my apartment starving in search of a good lunch, the next thing I know I'm on the back of Mario's motorino flying through the streets of Rome. Mario runs the M&J Hostel and I had met him once before when I almost accepted a job working with him. What are the chances that he happens to be walking out the door on his way to lunch at the precise moment that I am wandering in desparate search of food. Being from Rome, he is quite the popular fellow. He KNOWS the places and the people. He brings me into a book store and we do an experiment. He opens one travel book and I open another one from a different company. We both turn the pages to the restaurants near Piazza Navona. Not a single restaurant is the same. "No real Romans go to any of these places." An enlightening conversation over a delicious Japanese meal ensued. He doesn't sugarcoat things. He tells me what I don't want to hear but what I need to hear. He looks at my black flipflops and tells me that I am living in Italy. I need to be wearing nicer shoes. We talk about my "life" situation and he gives me advice. Too often I use the excuse, "I'm too tired." (Sono Cinderella. I turn into a pumpkin after midnight.) When I say this, Mario answered with...
"You're not tired. You're bored."
And I think he's right. So, I take out my pen and my giant crumbled-up map. After Mario circles the city center and draws a giant X through it, he circles the places that I REALLY need to go to.
You never know who you're going to meet or who is going to say what to affect you in what way.
Monday, June 7, 2010
At the Beach in Rome
At the beach in Ostia, I settle up my towel and prepare for that initial first laying down. The DJ immediately starts playing Michael Buble.
"Another summer day, has come and gone away...in Paris or Rome. I want to go home."
I thought, "Nah, I'm not ready yet!"
I've heard a lot of hate for the Ostia Beach. It is the closest one to Rome, or rather the easiest to get to for tourists. In order to get there, you have to take a short 30 minute train and a 10 minute walk to the shore. It's free entrance to the public beaches but they also have a number of private beach clubs. (The kind that you can pay to enter and be served drinks while laying on lounge chairs of all the same color. I can serve my OWN drinks, thank you!). My expectations were so low that I was surprised- I found the beach to be quite nice! It was a Monday and I hear that it's miserably packed on the weekends so that could have been the difference. There was sand, water, and the sounds of Billy Joel playing from the small DJ booth. That's all I really need at the beach! There was a boardwalk and like every beach (and everywhere in Rome for that matter), things being sold to you while you're soaking up the sun.
Ostia, meaning "Mouth" in Latin, was the harbor city in ancient Rome and its main seaport. Like everything else, this flourishing town fell with the Roman Empire. It now holds an ancient archeological site with a number of buildings and preserved frescos and mosaics. Of course with my luck, it was closed on Mondays. Ostia Antica Fun Fact: The Leaning Tower of Pisa was built entirely of materials coming from here.
During the winter, this is a ghost town but it comes alive in the summer with beach bars that open up and apparently it generates quite the nightlife.
There were no "Rum Runners", though. For these precious beverages, go to the outdoor bar Nick's in Montauk at the tip of Long Island. Warning: Watch the amount that you have or you WILL start singing and dancing with the live band that is playing music. A Peroni instead.
Next time, I won't pretend that I do not need sunscreen. I looked like someone painted me red for an art project.
"Another summer day, has come and gone away...in Paris or Rome. I want to go home."
I thought, "Nah, I'm not ready yet!"
I've heard a lot of hate for the Ostia Beach. It is the closest one to Rome, or rather the easiest to get to for tourists. In order to get there, you have to take a short 30 minute train and a 10 minute walk to the shore. It's free entrance to the public beaches but they also have a number of private beach clubs. (The kind that you can pay to enter and be served drinks while laying on lounge chairs of all the same color. I can serve my OWN drinks, thank you!). My expectations were so low that I was surprised- I found the beach to be quite nice! It was a Monday and I hear that it's miserably packed on the weekends so that could have been the difference. There was sand, water, and the sounds of Billy Joel playing from the small DJ booth. That's all I really need at the beach! There was a boardwalk and like every beach (and everywhere in Rome for that matter), things being sold to you while you're soaking up the sun.
Ostia, meaning "Mouth" in Latin, was the harbor city in ancient Rome and its main seaport. Like everything else, this flourishing town fell with the Roman Empire. It now holds an ancient archeological site with a number of buildings and preserved frescos and mosaics. Of course with my luck, it was closed on Mondays. Ostia Antica Fun Fact: The Leaning Tower of Pisa was built entirely of materials coming from here.
During the winter, this is a ghost town but it comes alive in the summer with beach bars that open up and apparently it generates quite the nightlife.There were no "Rum Runners", though. For these precious beverages, go to the outdoor bar Nick's in Montauk at the tip of Long Island. Warning: Watch the amount that you have or you WILL start singing and dancing with the live band that is playing music. A Peroni instead.
Next time, I won't pretend that I do not need sunscreen. I looked like someone painted me red for an art project.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Panino dell'Uovo
How to Make the Perfect Saturday Afternoon Egg Sandwich in Rome:
1. Go the fresh markets and use your Visual Italian English book to get ingredients.
2. Crack open the eggs.
3. Season to taste.
4. Cook the eggs.
5. Prepare the buns.
6. Layer the cheese.
7. Add the perfectly cooked eggs.
8. Pose for a picture.
9. Sit on the terrace and enjoy!
Please Note: I had no part in the actual making of this breakfast. Thank you, Hasan.
1. Go the fresh markets and use your Visual Italian English book to get ingredients.
2. Crack open the eggs.
3. Season to taste.
4. Cook the eggs.
5. Prepare the buns.
6. Layer the cheese.
7. Add the perfectly cooked eggs.
8. Pose for a picture.
9. Sit on the terrace and enjoy!
Please Note: I had no part in the actual making of this breakfast. Thank you, Hasan.
MAXXI Opening
With advertisements all over Rome saying "We are Open," the brand new modern museum, MAXXI (Modern Art of the 21st Century), had it's grand opening on May 30th. The building design, by Zaha Hadid, has integrating curved and linear levels with complex shifting scales. At the entrance of the museum you are greeted with a giant sculpture by the Italian artist Gino de Dominicis. There was an entire gallery on the top most level devoted to his drawings of portraits, each one containing that very same cone-shaped nose. (I'm still trying to understand this fascination with this distinct honker. I looked up a picture of what the artist's nose looks like. I was expecting it to be GINORMOUS but it's actually not that big.)
The architecture wing of the museum was definitely the most interesting, showing designs, photographs, models, and paintings of Italian architecture, all the while comparing it against other recent trends in different areas of the world. Spazio. Space is the theme of MAXXI, more so than the art found within. "The museum is a staging of architectural space, it is an element of the collective imagination within the urban context, a machine for communicating." And that is exactly what the building reminds you of- being in a machine.
The art in MAXXI was more -how shall I put this- "experimental" than the other museums. Let me explain with some examples:
This video projection of two skinheads making out in the Trevi Fountain.
Or Kutlug Ataman's video of him wandering blind folded and barefoot through a dessert. Like all modern art, it just needs some good old interpretation. The video was supposed to reference the legend of Layla and Majnu,n as he plays the part of the hero "blinded by love."
I was nearly shocked (and thankful) that on its first day open, there were no crowds! This could have been because it was specially open on a Monday when most museums are closed, and also because it lies a few metro stops outside of the city center. If you're interested in architecture-MAXXI is a must. Also a must: Having an OPEN mind!
The architecture wing of the museum was definitely the most interesting, showing designs, photographs, models, and paintings of Italian architecture, all the while comparing it against other recent trends in different areas of the world. Spazio. Space is the theme of MAXXI, more so than the art found within. "The museum is a staging of architectural space, it is an element of the collective imagination within the urban context, a machine for communicating." And that is exactly what the building reminds you of- being in a machine.
The art in MAXXI was more -how shall I put this- "experimental" than the other museums. Let me explain with some examples:This video projection of two skinheads making out in the Trevi Fountain.
Or Kutlug Ataman's video of him wandering blind folded and barefoot through a dessert. Like all modern art, it just needs some good old interpretation. The video was supposed to reference the legend of Layla and Majnu,n as he plays the part of the hero "blinded by love."
I was nearly shocked (and thankful) that on its first day open, there were no crowds! This could have been because it was specially open on a Monday when most museums are closed, and also because it lies a few metro stops outside of the city center. If you're interested in architecture-MAXXI is a must. Also a must: Having an OPEN mind!
Art on the Streets
Art can be more easily found on the streets than in the museums!
Back on May 7th was an event called "Outdoor" where a group of urban artists collaborated to project their art on the walls of a few different buildings in the Garbatella area. These interesting poster facades were granted with permission by the city and challenge the graffiti art found all over Rome. The installation, only lasting a month, aims to show how street art can enhance urban spaces while being more accessible than the closed spaces of the galleries. The Outdoor group of artists suggest:
"Treat the walls of your city like the walls of your home”
At night in Piazza Navona, but also found all over the city center, are artists working stylistically using the technique of spray paint. Why work in a studio when you can paint and sell your work right in front of your very customers? Crowds always stop to watch in awe as blank canvases transform into different scenes. They work fast, quickly grabbing each can of color spraying away as you're standing there thinking, "How are they doing that?!?" They finish and hold it up to the audience where anyone is able to buy it for only 10 euros.
This particular piece was of the Colosseum. 
Another artist at work using oil paints.
In the middle of the Roma Termini for trains and buses there lies a giant four sided canvas that invites passerbys to write and draw whatever they like. Providing this space and utilities gives a controlled area for graffiti. Graffiti is going to happen. Why try and fight it when you can just embrace it? 
And of course, chalk on the sidewalk!
Il sole con un sorriso! A sun with a smile!
Back on May 7th was an event called "Outdoor" where a group of urban artists collaborated to project their art on the walls of a few different buildings in the Garbatella area. These interesting poster facades were granted with permission by the city and challenge the graffiti art found all over Rome. The installation, only lasting a month, aims to show how street art can enhance urban spaces while being more accessible than the closed spaces of the galleries. The Outdoor group of artists suggest:
"Treat the walls of your city like the walls of your home”
At night in Piazza Navona, but also found all over the city center, are artists working stylistically using the technique of spray paint. Why work in a studio when you can paint and sell your work right in front of your very customers? Crowds always stop to watch in awe as blank canvases transform into different scenes. They work fast, quickly grabbing each can of color spraying away as you're standing there thinking, "How are they doing that?!?" They finish and hold it up to the audience where anyone is able to buy it for only 10 euros.
This particular piece was of the Colosseum. 
Another artist at work using oil paints.
In the middle of the Roma Termini for trains and buses there lies a giant four sided canvas that invites passerbys to write and draw whatever they like. Providing this space and utilities gives a controlled area for graffiti. Graffiti is going to happen. Why try and fight it when you can just embrace it? 
And of course, chalk on the sidewalk!
Il sole con un sorriso! A sun with a smile!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Suggestions Welcome!
Have you been to Rome or Italy? Is there something or anything that you think I should see/taste/touch that I can share with you here? Leave a comment below and let me know! :)
(Thanks to Luca for the photographs taken during Alessandro's weekly photography class held on Sundays!)
(Thanks to Luca for the photographs taken during Alessandro's weekly photography class held on Sundays!)
Shoutout!
Hey Stony Brook! Hey varying parts of the world holding the people that I love! Probably the most difficult part of this voyage is not being able to first hand share it with you. When I am out in the city, I always think I see people from home. Catching a glimpse of someone walking down the street having similar features of someone I know, and I understand that there's NO possible way it could be them but that corner of my mind still hopes. I wish that I could give you a lick of my gelato or a bite of my pizza, sit with you on the bus for my daily tour of the city and have you here with me in this crazy place where your senses utterly takeover. Wandering is wonderful but it's nice to know that one day I will be wandering right back to you.And so I try my best to share my experience. Check out my article on Living in Rome for the Times Beacon Record!
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