One last thought.....

Day Thirty-One (Final day)

Well, the time has come. My final day in Rome, I leave for the airport in just four hours. Tonight was a very special time. We toured one last church and then we listened to Tojo give a presentation about Roman aqueducts and fountains. With everybody's work finally complete, Chris and Susan had a surprise arranged for us, a final spectacular group dinner at a really great place. The food, of course, was unforgettable, but the highlight of the evening was getting to spend time together as one large family, reminiscing on our time in Roma. We ate, laughed and drank for a good few hours and then Chris took us all out for one last cone of gelato. Our final event as a group was to all simultaneously throw three coins over our left shoulder into Trevi fountain guaranteeing us love, luck and an eventual return to the eternal city. 

Now, I must leave Roma behind and step into the next phase of my life. At my age, I have already experienced several important turning points. They come few and far between. My time in Roma has definitely qualified as a life changing event and I leave her behind reluctantly. So I depart with heavy bags and a heavy heart but really can't wait to see my Rachel and the dog-child again and as I said the other day....Rome is slow to change and I look forward to my next visit here....

Thanks for following my blog throughout the trip!

Grazie e arrivederci!

~Giuseppe

Day Thirty

I finished up my book project this afternoon and am now going to have a celebratory Peroni in the Campo....

Day Twenty-Nine

Although it is technically Day Thirty now, I am still up late in the studio working on the final project. We had a fun day today. Yoon gave his presentation of St. Peter's Basilica, of course he did very well. I don't think anyone had a question that could stump him. We got to do something this time around that didn't do last time I came here. We climbed the dome to take in the view from the cupola. And what a view it was! It would have been worth it just to see into the fantastic vatican gardens, let alone the entire city of Rome.

Also, here is what has been keeping me up so late. This is the first book I've ever made so it has definitely been a learning experience but also very enjoyable. It is satisfying work and has gone smoothly for the most part until now. I have to figure out how to get all the paged bound into the cover so that they will stay put, but also still be able to be turned nicely.....hmmmm....sounds like a design problem. Anyway, I am too tired to attempt any radical procedures on this thing tonight so I am headed back to the apartment for some rest.

Day Twenty-Eight

I am entering the final days of my stay in Rome. I must admit, I do not feel quite ready to leave yet... Now that this place is really starting to make sense to me. I feel comfortable and at home in most any area of the city. I recognize a lot of faces in my neighborhood that I see daily and some even recognize me and wave or say hi. The days here are all very similar, everything runs like clockwork. It is comforting to know that the Roma I have fallen in love with on this trip will likely be the same Roma that I can return to a year from now, ten years from now, a hundred years from now, Roma...the eternal city. a constant.

Today we visited Villa Borghese as a group and went inside to see some fantastic artwork by the likes of Bernini, Caravaggio and Raphael. Terry was our guide for the day and did a really awesome job, he seemed to know a little something about every painting in the massive collection and a whole lot about Bernini's sculptures.

Afterward Chris took all of us for Pizza. I ordered a pizza with Pumpkin flowers on it. It was really damn good, though I am not sure if the flowers had much of a flavor to them....

I also fear Alitalia

Inspired by Dana's post, or maybe more worried by it, I began checking in on Alitalia this week. They are supposed to be flying me to Amsterdam on Thursday, but it looks like it could be hit or miss as the company is in complete chaos. Crossing my fingers.....

Alitalia May Have to Ground Flights for Lack of Fuel

Pope asked to pray for Alitalia as investors move closer to walking away

Italy seeks last-minute deal to save Alitalia

Alitalia in chaos as flights are cancelled

Day Twenty-Seven

Yep, that's right, my self-portrait shooting is officially out of control. I actually took a photo of myself while riding a bike today. A previous UW student left a bike here with a note on the bulletin board detailing its location and the combo for the lock. I have really been missing my bike lately and have been intending to go track down this one for a couple weeks now. It was in pretty rough shape, flat tires, no brake pads, every bolt on the thing was loose or rusted out. So, I spent the morning fixing the bike up and got it back to (just barely) rideable condition. It goes pretty well, but lacks the stopping function. So, I chose a pretty flat spot to ride where I hopefully wouldn't need brakes. I rode about 6 miles down the Tiber River, stopped at a grocery store to pick up lunch (Fontina, pomegranate and olives) and then headed north again. My whole intention for fixing this thing up was so I could ride on the Circus Maximus. So I did just that, I took about eight laps around the old track. The whole time the chain was rubbing up against the chain guard making a noise just like a roaring crowd. I pictured myself at the reins of the fastest racing chariot in ancient Rome. IT WAS SO GREAT! I won the race of course....I was the only chariot out there today. Then I sat down in a shady spot and ate my lunch. Now I have napped and showered and am heading out on the town to celebrate Notte Biancha. I don't really know what that entails but I intend to find out.