and now for something completely different...

Rome has a ton of graffiti and some of it is really good. Of course, lots of it is junk, but there are some really creative, witty, and talented artists who are on display in the streets. I need to take more pictures of them because I've missed some of the best ones I've seen. Here's a little taste of a couple of our favorites. These two are both in our neighborhood.

We had quite a weekend. On Saturday we went to the Broghese Gallery which is an old residence of a cardinal, who collected obscene amounts of art and displayed them through out his place. It is an incredible, huge park surrounding his villa which is pretty much wall to wall, ceiling to floor art. It was quite incredible.
Not only that, but we went to the Vatican Museum yesterday and it was just about the only place I've seen more art packed in than the Borghese. There is really no way to describe it or to capture it in photos, but I will post some here. We didn't have time to see everything in the Vatican, but the other parts are free on a regular basis so we will go back and visit again. Of course, the highlight is the Sistine Chapel. But the entire thing was just huge hallways of art leading to it. One of our favorites was Raphael's 'School of Athens', and all the maps of Italy which took up an entire hall. We went with a couple of new friends, one of whom is Italian, but he had never been there either. Our heads were swimming after viewing so many amazing pieces of art in such a short period of time, but it was very enjoyable. Since it was the free day, it took us almost an hour to get in, and it was pretty much wall to wall people in the Sistine Chapel. You kind of shuffled along with the current, which was slow, but steady. There were staff everywhere, but they definitely weren't enforcing the no-photo rule, so we gave in to peer pressure and snapped some shots.

Here's the courtyard before the entry to the museum.

Laocoon, the high priest of Troy, being killed by snakes, with his two sons, when he tried to warn against the Trojan Horse.

The ceiling of just one of the many halls in the museum, leading to the Sistine Chapel.

Would like to play a game of Settlers on this:

The Liberation of St. Peter, by Raphael

School of Athens, Raphael

John in the Sistine Chapel.

(I've only posted a tiny fraction of the pictures taken, and I only took pictures of a minuscule fraction of the art we saw.) I'm sorry I couldn't get better photos of the details, but nothing would do them justice besides appreciating them in person.

We also saw the Trevi fountain, which was probably my favorite thing so far! It is really fun how you come upon it from tiny streets and it is just in a small piazza, but is such a grand piece. It is so beautiful. When it gets warmer this will definitely be my favorite place to eat gelato.

There was crypt that we stopped into, which was very bizarre. It had thousands of skeletons of past monks and the bones were arranged into works of art on the walls and ceiling. It was like a halloween haunted house. Imagine a chandelier made of jaw bones, or a wall hanging of hip bones. It was not my favorite, but I have to give them credit for creativity and working with what they had. We couldn't take pictures, but trust me, your imagination will be enough on this one.

We are now planning our trips for the coming months and have a lot of exciting things to see! Next weekend will begin our travels around Italy with a short trip to Civita di Bagnoregio, which is a hill town, not far from Rome.

Well, I'm confined indoors today. Mostly because I had to wash my coat and it's freezing outside, so I am taking a day to rest and study some Italian. We don't have a dryer so it will take some time for my coat to dry, and I am kicking myself for not thinking of it last night. Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow. I am reminded, though, of how we had to hand wash our clothes in Ghana, and I'm thankful (though there would be no need for a coat there, and if there were it would dry pretty quick in the heat!) Anyhow, I'm also trying to plan some weekend trips for us to stay in some hostels and monasteries around Italy.
This weekend we are planning to tour the Vatican museums, since they are free the last Sunday of the month. And visit a lunch fellowship on the outskirts of Rome which we were invited to. I have had lots of time for cooking, which I haven't done too much of in a while, and it's an adventure to come up with recipes and ways to cook things without my customary ingredients and utensils. Good thing my menu is generally Mediterranean anyways so it's not too much of a stretch.
We have a little tangerine tree on our balcony, and some herbs, and the courtyard of our building has lots of lemon trees.
Our neighborhood produce stand is run by a couple of Egyptians so I have been using my Arabic more than Italian (mostly because my Italian much more limited). In true Egyptian form, they are very pleased and gracious for my attempts to speak with them and always knock off the price of a few veggies in return. Seems like a reasonable exchange, don't you think? I'll pretend to say a few things in your language, and you give me things for free! Makes perfect sense. I love Arabs. Apparently Italians work this way too, I just haven't had enough relationship building opportunities to try it out. Maybe once I learn more than 5 phrases.
There is supposed to be a public transportation strike tomorrow, but we've heard various rumors about what hours it will be. Sometimes they just hold the strike during working hours so the commute isn't effected. The day we were moving into our apartment, last week, the taxis were striking (probably one of the only times we would take a taxi) so we had to bring our luggage over by metro. Strikes are quite common and we will start to get the hang of how they work soon.
I've been reading a bit about Paul's time in Rome, which is quite interesting and always takes on a different light when you are in the location.
Obviously, my life is pretty mellow right now, which I'm okay with. But I'll be sure to write more when things get a little more eventful.
Ciao!

John started work today. But before that we did a little more exploring and getting lost around the city. Here are a few glimpses.

and on to Rome!

here's a view from the window of our mini-apartment

Spanish Steps

Piazza del Popolo

then on to the Bahamas, on a Nelson family vacation!

here we are being touristy

and all of us together

This will be a series of pictures, starting in DC, saying goodbye to some dear friends...