When I first visited Rome for 3 days in 2004, I had no idea the city would become my home away from home. Today, Rome turns 2764 years young! Rome and I happen to share birthday weeks, and the old girl’s incredible age makes my transition from twenty-something to older-twenty-something feel slightly less traumatic. Auguri […]
Author Archives: Natalie
20
Apr
Apr
When it was finally time to get on a plane to Rome, I agonized over what to pack in my two suitcases. How could I pick just two bags worth of belongings for one year? I eventually managed, even though my poor mother was forced to cart home many pairs of shoes and bottles of […]
11
Apr
Apr
The good thing about Mondays is that they are no longer Sundays. That means the market, which is always closed on Sunday (the one day a week I seem to want to go), is back open. In an under-caffeinated beginning of the week haze, I almost went to the supermercato. I snapped out of it […]
11
Apr
Apr
For some reason, possibly because I am easily entertained, I think it’s hilarious to hear dog commands in Italian. “Vieni!” “Seduto!” I’m not sure why it never occurred to me that if you speak another language, you speak that language to your pet as well. But it’s strange not to hear: “Come!” “Sit!” “Good dog!” […]
07
Apr
Apr
Food. Food. Food. I was really unnerved by these hamburger vending machines in Amsterdam: That just ain’t right.
30
Mar
Mar
In keeping with the Rome-free Sundays, this week we hopped on the train to Bracciano. Bracciano is a small hilltop town in Lazio that overlooks (you guessed it) Lake Bracciano. We got off the train and I proudly announced: “Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got married here at that castle. There. That’s the extent of […]
29
Mar
Mar
It took me almost three months of living in Rome before I made it out to the Vatican. I had been putting it off because I went through the museum on my first trip to Italy many moons ago. I decided to take a tour of the Vatican museums instead of wandering around myself. I […]
28
Mar
Mar
I am not a city girl. I find cities overwhelming most of the time. While I love all of the events to choose from and events to attend, I dislike most of the day-to-day realities of city life. The packed metros, pushy bus riders, angry postal clients, inexplicably closed administrative offices. So every week I […]