Thursday, June 26, 2014
Patience for Posts
I'm going to ask for patience on these next couple of posts. They're coming, but my schedule is starting to pick up. Friends are starting to arrive to visit me, so my evenings are spent in logistical planning and, when they arrive, more adventures, and less blogging. I have photos and stories to tell in good time, but they'll have to wait till more opportune moments. Mi dispiace in advance and keep it Classic.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Pizza for Dinner
The biggest problem in Rome, other than certain language difficulties, is the food. Now this might sound ironic, given I'm in one of the food capitals of the world, but I'm no master chef. My mother is an excellent cook, as is my father when he chooses to be, but I'm not quite as talented. I have a master's kitchen at my disposal, with spices and all the tools, and a wide range of ingredients (all fresh) just down the road, but there's quite a gap between whipping up dinner and staring at ingredients. The inclination is to fall back on the American food, things that are easily made and require little effort. This has meant frozen meals from the supermarket, which, while tasty, don't count as gourmet. The biggest problem, however, is laziness, but, as with a lot of my decisions, there is some logic to my laziness. I have leftover pasta, which I could easily whip up into spaghetti. The bottle of sauce costs 2 euro. I came home around 7 pm today after working all day, and had to choose between that and something else. Now, I could have spent the 2 euro, came home, boiled water, cooked pasta, and eaten within an hour, cleaned the dishes and called it a night. But I didn't. I instead, spent 4 euro, in an Italian pizzeria, trying seafood pizza for the first time. This was quick, easy, and unadventurous. You could argue unhealthy, but I'm about to shoot that argument out of the sky. In health class at ND, we did a nutrition unit. We had to do the usual calorie calculations, and figure out whether we were living a healthy lifestyle or not. I discovered that (girls, if you get jealous of guys for having an easy lifestyle, leave this post now) I need 3500 calories a day. That's if I don't leave the comfort of my bed. I don't know how that calorie count jumps, but walking from my apartment to work and back is about 3 miles, provided I don't go on any other adventures. Today I had an apple for breakfast, and a sandwich for lunch. I guarantee that I haven't gotten 3500 calories a day since I came to Europe. I feel great (Mom don't worry) and am losing some weight (which doesn't hurt) but eating junk food such as pizza doesn't worry me on a nutrional level. To summarize:
Pizza is a little more expensive in cost, but less in time
It's not unhealthy
There's no mess
Yet I feel guilty for choosing that instead of making some authentic Italian dish that takes four hours to prepare. Thus is life.
Pizza is a little more expensive in cost, but less in time
It's not unhealthy
There's no mess
Yet I feel guilty for choosing that instead of making some authentic Italian dish that takes four hours to prepare. Thus is life.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Traffic on Tours
Not a whole lot of news today. I helped with a tour for some Patrons through the museums and gardens. The patrons are from Chicago, and their daughter and son in law went to Notre Dame, so that provided a little taste of my second home. In Papal news, we were right outside of Pope Benedict's house, (which is right near a replica of the Grotto of Lourdes) and then ran into Pope Francis on the walk back. Yes, you read that right, we ran into the Pope on a tour. We took the back way into the museums, past varying security checkpoints, and we finally got to the elevator that takes us from the staff parking to the hallway leading to our office. As we approached, the Swiss guard on duty came dashing towards us, ushered us into a room with a view of the parking lot, and closed the door on us. Two minutes later, his Holiness walked from the way we had just come from, saluted the Swiss guard, and then took the elevator to his official meeting room. Five minutes later, a whole bunch of people in suits showed up (followed by cameramen) and went inside where the Pope had entered. Not a day goes by where I'm not amazed at my luck and blessings at having been granted this internship. Beyond thankful.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Sunday Funday
First off I would like to begin with a big Sunday shout out to my family, especially today my extended family. My parents are huge supporters of me and I draw a lot of strength from them, but I've also received lots of support from my extended family, who are big readers of this blog. So thank you to Uncle Charlie and Aunt Jeanette, Aunt Susie and Cousin Jenny, all of whom have sent their love through comments and email. I hope you guys are enjoying this blog and thanks for the support!
I didn't post yesterday or the day before because I was off adventuring. I get off work at 2 pm on Fridays, so I usually either go somewhere or do something, even if it's just to meet up with friends after the work week. My housing situation is set up as follows: I have my own bedroom and bathroom in an apartment. There's a guy who lives in the apartment who has his own bedroom and bathroom, and we share a kitchen, living room, and terrace. There's another room upstairs, but they only share the entrance way. The two first floor apartments are long term, but the one upstairs is short term, resulting in a shuffling of people everyday. I've given up trying to learn names, but the past two days we've had people from Singapore, Texas and tonight China, so my landlord, housemate and myself often eat with (and watch the world cup) with whoever is in town, occasionally inviting from work over to supplement. It's been interesting and I'm meeting a lot of people with a lot of different views.
On Saturday I got up early and went to Orvieto on the regional train. This is a city on a hill, dating all the way back to the Etruscans (pre-Rome) and it gained a pretty big role in the 16th century, when it became the emergency location for the Pope, who, fearing a siege in Rome, built a huge fortress and church on the mountain to defend himself. The siege never arrived, and now there the second biggest cathedral in Italy (behind St. Peter's of course) is found in this town. There's details to tell, but I'll let the photos run you through my basic day.
Today I explored Rome. I wound up giving up around 1, but saw some cool stuff before then. I met a friend from ND at St. Peter's for mass, and then explored the city. I'm currently over stimulated, so I needed an afternoon to detox. Rome is like a dessert roulette wheel. You spin the wheel every time you leave your house. The different desserts correspond to things you might see; pie might be archaeological sites, cake may be art, ice cream may be culture, so on and so forth. Every time you leave the house, you spin the wheel, and have to digest what you find, which is then replaced by a similar dessert of the same kind, but different flavor. You see Michaelangelo and then Raphael, having to eat chocolate cake followed by vanilla cake. Everything is delicious, and I might be whining, but I've eaten a lot of different desserts in a very short amount of time, so I need to detox a bit in order to really appreciate quality instead of quantity. Plus I'm physically exhausted from running around everywhere, but I'm a big boy and will get over it. Anyhow, here are some photos from Rome:
That's all for now. Should be another fun week in Rome! If you like this, and want to here stories from another country, I'm going to go ahead and endorse my former roommate and one of my best friend's new project, found at: http://lbound1.weebly.com/
He's living in Germany this summer and has lots to say. We have different styles of writing, but we're cut from the same cloth and are just two Catholic kids trying to find our way in the world. I know he would appreciate feedback and support, so give him a look. Peace and love everyone.
I didn't post yesterday or the day before because I was off adventuring. I get off work at 2 pm on Fridays, so I usually either go somewhere or do something, even if it's just to meet up with friends after the work week. My housing situation is set up as follows: I have my own bedroom and bathroom in an apartment. There's a guy who lives in the apartment who has his own bedroom and bathroom, and we share a kitchen, living room, and terrace. There's another room upstairs, but they only share the entrance way. The two first floor apartments are long term, but the one upstairs is short term, resulting in a shuffling of people everyday. I've given up trying to learn names, but the past two days we've had people from Singapore, Texas and tonight China, so my landlord, housemate and myself often eat with (and watch the world cup) with whoever is in town, occasionally inviting from work over to supplement. It's been interesting and I'm meeting a lot of people with a lot of different views.
On Saturday I got up early and went to Orvieto on the regional train. This is a city on a hill, dating all the way back to the Etruscans (pre-Rome) and it gained a pretty big role in the 16th century, when it became the emergency location for the Pope, who, fearing a siege in Rome, built a huge fortress and church on the mountain to defend himself. The siege never arrived, and now there the second biggest cathedral in Italy (behind St. Peter's of course) is found in this town. There's details to tell, but I'll let the photos run you through my basic day.
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| Through the ages, as a way to defend themselves in case of siege, the inhabitants dug tunnels. This is a WW1 bomb shelter. The tunnel in the back goes directly to the hospital. Due to the importance of this site, both sides agreed to not bomb Orvieto, but the entire region surrounding the hill was destroyed. |
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| Where I work |
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| St. Peter's |
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| Castle St. Angelo, connected to Vatican to serve as the Pope's fortress |
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| This won't be the last time you see the Ara Pacis. This is a huge work of art for us Classics nerds. I just didn't want to pay the 13 Euro entrance fee today. |
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| Art, but not in a museum |
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| From the Hendrick Christen Anderson Museum. Weird place, more to come |
He's living in Germany this summer and has lots to say. We have different styles of writing, but we're cut from the same cloth and are just two Catholic kids trying to find our way in the world. I know he would appreciate feedback and support, so give him a look. Peace and love everyone.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Aqueducts and Meeting El Papa
I'm a combination of tired and enthused, so we'll see how this goes.
We spent the morning and afternoon visiting the old Roman aqueducts, and then we had mass at 7 pm. We were told by Fr. Mark, our boss, to meet near the Obelisk of St. John Latern, the place where the Pope would be celebrating mass outside in honor of the feast day of the Body and Blood of Christ. He said that we would be with his brother priests, which we all assumed meant better seats than the general populace, but still miles away from the altar. Thus, I only wore a polo and dress pants. We get there, and Fr take us into St. John Lateran, through security, past 40 Cardinals, through the main doors of the church, where on the other side thousands of people are waiting, and sits us ten rows away from the altar. Then Pope Francis comes out of the main entrance and begins mass. Mind blown. Enjoy these photos:
At the end of Mass, Fr. Mark leads us, past the front of the altar to join the procession following the blessed Sacrament to St. Mary Major for adoration. When we passed the altar, Pope Francis was still standing behind it, watching the procession. I must admit, I lost it. I became an absolute tourist, and despite being five feet away from the man, and with him knowing I was there, I tried to take a photo. I felt bad about it, he felt bad about it, it was sacrilegious, but I couldn't help myself. To explain why, we're going to take a trip down memory lane.
When I was growing up, I believed in Santa. I believed in the Easter Bunny. I had a so so relationship with the tooth fairy (my teeth were only worth a quarter, kids at school were getting $100, I really didn't care whether she was real or not as long as she was short changing me). All of this went on until about fourth grade. The older kids would always start this fight around Christmas time, saying on the bus, in the hallways, at lunch, after school, that Santa wasn't real. My classmates eventually joined in, until I was that one kid who still believed. I waited for Santa to reward me with more presents for believing, but year in and year out the other kids got more and more stuff. I would get into heated arguments, with anyone and everyone, that Santa was too real and that they were all liars for not believing in him. This is called faith, and I believed in Santa, so much so that I was willing to risk humiliation for it. I remember Dad telling us one year that he had almost caught the Easter Bunny, sneaking out of our garage after dropping off the Easter buckets, and I used this as leverage against my classmates in arguments about the existence of Santa and the Easter Bunny. All of this changed in 4th grade. My parents sat Mark and I down, in their bedroom, and said, quite simply, that Santa wasn't real. Now this presented a dilema for me: either I go against my parents, or I believe them. I had learned at an early age to trust their judgement (still do, their wisdom has steered me this far, why should I doubt it?) and that what they said, be it in life, religion, the house, sports, media, politics, anything was law. I remember being really angry with them and it took me a couple years to really forgive them, not only for crushing my faith in Santa, but for allowing me to be humiliated by the other kids. Now you're asking yourself what this has to do with the Pope, and I get that. Santa is as real as Superman, and the Pope is a modern day Superman. Don't believe me? Let me break it down for you real quick.
The Pope's job description is simple: work until you die for your job. Give all of your time, money, health and anything else, for your job. And it's not a simple job. The man, is old. Old as in he had his retirement letters drafted (and priests retire in their 70s already) and ready to send off to Pope Benedict on a rainy day. He had a nice little retirement home that he was going to move into with all his priest buddies, and spend the rest of his days, reading, writing, meditating and other activities. Then Pope Benedict announced he was retiring, beating Francis to the punch. The conclave is called, and Francis (who had received the second most votes when Benedict was chosen) gets chosen to be the new Pope. He inherited a flock composed of nearly 1.2 billion sheep. These sheep will leave the flock over disagreement with the big issues (gay marriage, female priests etc.) and small issues (mass time change and poor homilies), while the other 5+ billion sheep in the world either feel indifferent to the Pope or hate him. You have to understand, these people are: more concerned with their big macs than loaves and fish, have scientists who can explain everything from the dawn of creation to modern day, can't sustain believe in a big guy who delivers presents, let alone some guy who rose from the dead, with parents who have never seen a tax collector, children who spend mass on their phones, and older people who come to mass, put in an hour, then get back in their granny mobiles and drive home. News flash folks: the church (at least in America) is dying!! Next time you're in mass, look around. In 10 years, how many of those people will still be alive? How about 20 years? The younger generation lacks faith, and with each passing generation, faith becomes a fashion statement and not a way of life. Enter this 70+ year old man, from South America, who speaks no English, and has little global experience.
One year later, and that little 70+ year old man is still killing it. Nuns love him, priests love him, children love him, and nonbelievers love him. Everywhere he goes, people take selfies, laugh with him, listen to him, and leave with joy in their hearts. He has stuck his golden cross in the ground and is prepared to give no more ground, but instead reclaim followers and bring the sheep back to the fold. He is loved, because he loves. People want to ask for proof of God, Francis is (one of) those proofs. He is God's shepard, and so far he's done a fine job. There's a priest at ND, who himself is working to bring people back to the church, and he prays every mass that Pope Francis lives to be 150, so that he can continue being the hero that the church needs. People against Catholicism say criticize Catholics for worshiping the Pope, but damn it all we all need a Superman to look up to sometimes. Francis is one of those figures, and the fourth grader in me wants to just jump and point and show all the disbelievers that God, and is exemplified by people like Pope Francis. Thus, when presented with an opportunity to take a photo, I did, and now I regret it as poor timing and inappropriate, but it was too much for me to handle.
We spent the morning and afternoon visiting the old Roman aqueducts, and then we had mass at 7 pm. We were told by Fr. Mark, our boss, to meet near the Obelisk of St. John Latern, the place where the Pope would be celebrating mass outside in honor of the feast day of the Body and Blood of Christ. He said that we would be with his brother priests, which we all assumed meant better seats than the general populace, but still miles away from the altar. Thus, I only wore a polo and dress pants. We get there, and Fr take us into St. John Lateran, through security, past 40 Cardinals, through the main doors of the church, where on the other side thousands of people are waiting, and sits us ten rows away from the altar. Then Pope Francis comes out of the main entrance and begins mass. Mind blown. Enjoy these photos:
At the end of Mass, Fr. Mark leads us, past the front of the altar to join the procession following the blessed Sacrament to St. Mary Major for adoration. When we passed the altar, Pope Francis was still standing behind it, watching the procession. I must admit, I lost it. I became an absolute tourist, and despite being five feet away from the man, and with him knowing I was there, I tried to take a photo. I felt bad about it, he felt bad about it, it was sacrilegious, but I couldn't help myself. To explain why, we're going to take a trip down memory lane.
When I was growing up, I believed in Santa. I believed in the Easter Bunny. I had a so so relationship with the tooth fairy (my teeth were only worth a quarter, kids at school were getting $100, I really didn't care whether she was real or not as long as she was short changing me). All of this went on until about fourth grade. The older kids would always start this fight around Christmas time, saying on the bus, in the hallways, at lunch, after school, that Santa wasn't real. My classmates eventually joined in, until I was that one kid who still believed. I waited for Santa to reward me with more presents for believing, but year in and year out the other kids got more and more stuff. I would get into heated arguments, with anyone and everyone, that Santa was too real and that they were all liars for not believing in him. This is called faith, and I believed in Santa, so much so that I was willing to risk humiliation for it. I remember Dad telling us one year that he had almost caught the Easter Bunny, sneaking out of our garage after dropping off the Easter buckets, and I used this as leverage against my classmates in arguments about the existence of Santa and the Easter Bunny. All of this changed in 4th grade. My parents sat Mark and I down, in their bedroom, and said, quite simply, that Santa wasn't real. Now this presented a dilema for me: either I go against my parents, or I believe them. I had learned at an early age to trust their judgement (still do, their wisdom has steered me this far, why should I doubt it?) and that what they said, be it in life, religion, the house, sports, media, politics, anything was law. I remember being really angry with them and it took me a couple years to really forgive them, not only for crushing my faith in Santa, but for allowing me to be humiliated by the other kids. Now you're asking yourself what this has to do with the Pope, and I get that. Santa is as real as Superman, and the Pope is a modern day Superman. Don't believe me? Let me break it down for you real quick.
The Pope's job description is simple: work until you die for your job. Give all of your time, money, health and anything else, for your job. And it's not a simple job. The man, is old. Old as in he had his retirement letters drafted (and priests retire in their 70s already) and ready to send off to Pope Benedict on a rainy day. He had a nice little retirement home that he was going to move into with all his priest buddies, and spend the rest of his days, reading, writing, meditating and other activities. Then Pope Benedict announced he was retiring, beating Francis to the punch. The conclave is called, and Francis (who had received the second most votes when Benedict was chosen) gets chosen to be the new Pope. He inherited a flock composed of nearly 1.2 billion sheep. These sheep will leave the flock over disagreement with the big issues (gay marriage, female priests etc.) and small issues (mass time change and poor homilies), while the other 5+ billion sheep in the world either feel indifferent to the Pope or hate him. You have to understand, these people are: more concerned with their big macs than loaves and fish, have scientists who can explain everything from the dawn of creation to modern day, can't sustain believe in a big guy who delivers presents, let alone some guy who rose from the dead, with parents who have never seen a tax collector, children who spend mass on their phones, and older people who come to mass, put in an hour, then get back in their granny mobiles and drive home. News flash folks: the church (at least in America) is dying!! Next time you're in mass, look around. In 10 years, how many of those people will still be alive? How about 20 years? The younger generation lacks faith, and with each passing generation, faith becomes a fashion statement and not a way of life. Enter this 70+ year old man, from South America, who speaks no English, and has little global experience.
One year later, and that little 70+ year old man is still killing it. Nuns love him, priests love him, children love him, and nonbelievers love him. Everywhere he goes, people take selfies, laugh with him, listen to him, and leave with joy in their hearts. He has stuck his golden cross in the ground and is prepared to give no more ground, but instead reclaim followers and bring the sheep back to the fold. He is loved, because he loves. People want to ask for proof of God, Francis is (one of) those proofs. He is God's shepard, and so far he's done a fine job. There's a priest at ND, who himself is working to bring people back to the church, and he prays every mass that Pope Francis lives to be 150, so that he can continue being the hero that the church needs. People against Catholicism say criticize Catholics for worshiping the Pope, but damn it all we all need a Superman to look up to sometimes. Francis is one of those figures, and the fourth grader in me wants to just jump and point and show all the disbelievers that God, and is exemplified by people like Pope Francis. Thus, when presented with an opportunity to take a photo, I did, and now I regret it as poor timing and inappropriate, but it was too much for me to handle.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
A Slow Day at Work
Mi piace/ voglio comprare pizza con acciughi. Andare. Italian phrase of the day, meaning I would like to buy pizza with anchiovies, to go. This is a somewhat easy expression but one that's important for any shopping experience. I used that for dinner tonight and it worked pretty well. The girl behind the counter corrected my pronunciation, but that comes with the territory.
I spent the day at the priests' residence. My boss, Fr. Mark is a member of the Legionaries of Christ, so he had some of interns come to the Legionaries house and help him with his forthcoming book. Nice place, good food and everyone was really friendly, but it's not my cup of tea. We did get to celebrate a Latin mass, which I really enjoyed and had my essentials peanut butter for an afternoon snack (that's Hannaford brand!!!), and the priests were pretty cool to talk to, so not a bad way to spend a day. We have tomorrow off for the Body and Blood of Christ (perks of being a Catholic organization on feast days), but we might try to go to the Papal mass, so that will take some of the day. I hopefully to have a picture with the Pope for you all tomorrow, since I haven't had many photos in the last couple photos, but I'm not making any promises.
I spent the day at the priests' residence. My boss, Fr. Mark is a member of the Legionaries of Christ, so he had some of interns come to the Legionaries house and help him with his forthcoming book. Nice place, good food and everyone was really friendly, but it's not my cup of tea. We did get to celebrate a Latin mass, which I really enjoyed and had my essentials peanut butter for an afternoon snack (that's Hannaford brand!!!), and the priests were pretty cool to talk to, so not a bad way to spend a day. We have tomorrow off for the Body and Blood of Christ (perks of being a Catholic organization on feast days), but we might try to go to the Papal mass, so that will take some of the day. I hopefully to have a picture with the Pope for you all tomorrow, since I haven't had many photos in the last couple photos, but I'm not making any promises.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Learning Italian
I'm starting to get comfortable in Rome. I've gotten over the first week, star struck tourist mentality, and with that comes the realization that this is real life. I'm going to be in this city, more or less till December, and I'm starting to reach the point where I'm ready to get control back. For the past week I've been the confused American, who is unable to speak Italian and is just bouncing, pinball style, from one place to another, asking directions and hoping to stumble upon enlightenment. I'm going to work past that, and get to a point where I can manage myself in this place, and take better control of the things around me. Professor Hernandez, when he dropped me off at the ferry from Albania to Corfu looked at me and said "Tom, learn Italian." There was no wishy-washyness, no "it would be good to," he simply combined the vocative (o Tom) with the imperative (learn Italian now!). That's probably the biggest struggle right now. I can figure out subways and buses, I can learn transportation, but the big thing holding me back, from visiting the local delis and pastries shops, to hopping on the buses, is my lack of Italian, and my fear of looking foolish or getting myself in trouble. Professor Hernandez suggested I learn one phrase a day. Forget grammar, don't bother learning tenses, just learn phrases that come up in everyday life. One a day, and by the time December comes, I will have it figured out. I'm going to do this, and I'll try to post my results. Today I caught the grocery girl off guard. I've been stopping in the same little grocery store everyday, and I've always been the confused American, who doesn't speak the language and holds up the line. Today instead of just mumbling the appropriate buonasera, I threw in a come stai. She gave a start, laughed and then responded with a bene. I'm going to pick this up, for myself, for my visitors coming in and because there really is no better time. Leggo.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Daily Revelations in Rome
Happy Monday everybody. First off, a big thank you and shout out to you, my readers. I'm over 1000 views on this little project, and I really appreciate the love, support, and continued readers. As always, thank you to my parents and brother, who probably make up 500 of those views, but it's still a big accomplishment for me and I'm pretty thrilled. Cheers to many more views!
Rather uneventful day today (meaning I didn't meet the Pope), but it's still Rome, so there's adventures to be had. An update on last night. I had stayed up till 4 am on Saturday to watch the soccer match (when in Rome) and so I gave myself a day of R and R on Sunday. I woke up around 11, and knew I needed to get to mass during the day. I haven't had an English mass since I left the States, so I wanted to try to get to an English mass, but I really didn't want to walk the 1.5 miles to get to the train station and connect to the rest of Rome. I went on masstimes.org, which has been fairly accurate to date, and it said there was an English mass at 11 pm a mile from my house. In case the time wasn't scary enough, this mile was also through the woods, on a road, but one that turned out to not be lit and barely have a sidewalk. Let's just say I'm an idiot, I admit it, I try to be a good Catholic, but I don't always make the wisest decisions. I cross checked masstimes.org against the Catholic directory, which also said there was a mass at 11 pm, and I took off to walk to church. Fun fact: I used to be scared of the dark, mostly because my imagination is dangerous, and the only thing boosting my confidence is the fact that I'm 6'3 and could handle myself in a fight. About half way through the woods, I started to get jumpy. Cars were flying by, so I was fairly confident a random band of gypsies wouldn't jump out and mug me (it could happen!), but I was still somewhat concerned about a creature taking a go at me, but I was hopeful the cars would keep anything larger than a wild dog away.
I made it through the woods and found the church, only to have the Italians inside laugh at me. Instead of taking the walk back through the woods, I decide to search for other transportation. I happened to find a Marriot, but not before running into a guy wearing a Notre Dame hat. I inquired at the reasoning behind this, and he said that while he wasn't an alum, he does work for the Men's Basketball Team who are looking for connections for their visit to the Rome in August. I said I would speak to some people at the Vatican and see what happens. If I hadn't made the choice to come to mass in a strange circumstance, I wouldn't have met this fellow. We'll see what comes of it, but I don't believe in coincidence and things have a funny way of working out, especially if God has a hand in it, which I'm learning he does more and more. I wound up getting a taxi from the Marriot, back to the room and went to sleep after talking to one of my friends from school.
Today was good, and I took some photos of the view from our office. The next three are from one of the explorations I went on this afternoon. There was, just recently, a walking and bike path opened near where I live. I walked to one end, near the Vatican, yesterday and thought I might see if I could find the other end today. I walked for an hour and covered some good ground (photos from the walk) but I decided to quit at 5 and walk back to my apartment, without having reached the end. More exploration is needed and I might take the bike out and see if I can't get further. I suppose I could always use the internet and check it, but I need the exercise and this world seems to shrink and lose some of its mystery everyday. I like to act as if I'm exploring new territory, even if it is just a well kept bike path winding North of Rome.
I came back from the walk and went to the grocery store. I'll leave you with two observations from Italy. There are more, but I'm off to go read a book. The first strange thing about Italy is that they start buildings on the 0 floor. Ergo, on the elevator at my apartment I hit 0 for the ground floor and -1 for the basement. The second is at the grocery stores they charge for carts. People put one euro in the machine to unlock the cart, which they then receive back when they return the cart to its stall. This is brilliant, would save all of us a lot of hassle at Hannaford, and should definitely be considered in the states. Never will be, but you would all think differently if you're the guy pushing 8 carts through the snow in the middle of winter. Loved the supermarket, but when the jerk in the truck leaves his cart at the other end of the parking lot, best believe I'm wishing we charged for cart usage. We'll see what tomorrow holds.
Rather uneventful day today (meaning I didn't meet the Pope), but it's still Rome, so there's adventures to be had. An update on last night. I had stayed up till 4 am on Saturday to watch the soccer match (when in Rome) and so I gave myself a day of R and R on Sunday. I woke up around 11, and knew I needed to get to mass during the day. I haven't had an English mass since I left the States, so I wanted to try to get to an English mass, but I really didn't want to walk the 1.5 miles to get to the train station and connect to the rest of Rome. I went on masstimes.org, which has been fairly accurate to date, and it said there was an English mass at 11 pm a mile from my house. In case the time wasn't scary enough, this mile was also through the woods, on a road, but one that turned out to not be lit and barely have a sidewalk. Let's just say I'm an idiot, I admit it, I try to be a good Catholic, but I don't always make the wisest decisions. I cross checked masstimes.org against the Catholic directory, which also said there was a mass at 11 pm, and I took off to walk to church. Fun fact: I used to be scared of the dark, mostly because my imagination is dangerous, and the only thing boosting my confidence is the fact that I'm 6'3 and could handle myself in a fight. About half way through the woods, I started to get jumpy. Cars were flying by, so I was fairly confident a random band of gypsies wouldn't jump out and mug me (it could happen!), but I was still somewhat concerned about a creature taking a go at me, but I was hopeful the cars would keep anything larger than a wild dog away.
I made it through the woods and found the church, only to have the Italians inside laugh at me. Instead of taking the walk back through the woods, I decide to search for other transportation. I happened to find a Marriot, but not before running into a guy wearing a Notre Dame hat. I inquired at the reasoning behind this, and he said that while he wasn't an alum, he does work for the Men's Basketball Team who are looking for connections for their visit to the Rome in August. I said I would speak to some people at the Vatican and see what happens. If I hadn't made the choice to come to mass in a strange circumstance, I wouldn't have met this fellow. We'll see what comes of it, but I don't believe in coincidence and things have a funny way of working out, especially if God has a hand in it, which I'm learning he does more and more. I wound up getting a taxi from the Marriot, back to the room and went to sleep after talking to one of my friends from school.
Today was good, and I took some photos of the view from our office. The next three are from one of the explorations I went on this afternoon. There was, just recently, a walking and bike path opened near where I live. I walked to one end, near the Vatican, yesterday and thought I might see if I could find the other end today. I walked for an hour and covered some good ground (photos from the walk) but I decided to quit at 5 and walk back to my apartment, without having reached the end. More exploration is needed and I might take the bike out and see if I can't get further. I suppose I could always use the internet and check it, but I need the exercise and this world seems to shrink and lose some of its mystery everyday. I like to act as if I'm exploring new territory, even if it is just a well kept bike path winding North of Rome.
I came back from the walk and went to the grocery store. I'll leave you with two observations from Italy. There are more, but I'm off to go read a book. The first strange thing about Italy is that they start buildings on the 0 floor. Ergo, on the elevator at my apartment I hit 0 for the ground floor and -1 for the basement. The second is at the grocery stores they charge for carts. People put one euro in the machine to unlock the cart, which they then receive back when they return the cart to its stall. This is brilliant, would save all of us a lot of hassle at Hannaford, and should definitely be considered in the states. Never will be, but you would all think differently if you're the guy pushing 8 carts through the snow in the middle of winter. Loved the supermarket, but when the jerk in the truck leaves his cart at the other end of the parking lot, best believe I'm wishing we charged for cart usage. We'll see what tomorrow holds.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Saturday in Rome
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| Rome at Midnight on Friday the 13th, full moon over St. Peter's |
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| Entrance to Capitoline Museum |
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| Marcus Aurelius on a horse |
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| Depiction of wolf who fostered Romulus and Remus |
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| View of Rome from Capitoline |
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| Not sure I like this depiction of Jesus |
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| Copy of David and the line to see him |
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| Killing it |
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| Forum from back of the Capitoline |
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| Car getting ready to transport the bride and groom from the church |
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| Random protest band |
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| 5 minute walk from Vatican |
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| 5 minute walk from Vatican |
Friday, June 13, 2014
Plans for Weekends
Pretty quiet day today here in Rome. This post is going to be open ended, as I need some feedback on my summer. I'm going to be in Rome a lot this Fall, and through the Centro (name of the program I am participating in, here's a link for more info) I will be able to visit some of the greatest monuments and museums Rome has to offer. We take week long trips to Campania and Sicily, as well as an excursion to Ostia, but other than that we stay mostly in the city. With that in mind, I'm aiming to travel in Italy and see some of the things I won't get to see this Fall. I'm hoping to travel as long as my parents, money, and health permit it, but in order to begin planning I need some suggestions. Here are my thoughts so far:
Weekends:
June 14th-15th=In Rome due to Rain
June 21st-22nd=Assisi
June 28th-29th=In Rome, friends are visiting from ND
July 4th-5th=Pompeii to visit friend doing excavations
July 11th-12th=Rome
July 19th-20th=Ravenna or Meet Austin in Milan/Northern Italy
July 25th-26th=Ravenna or meet Austin in Milan/Northern Italy
August 2nd-3rd= Bologna/Florence
August 9th-10th= In Rome for Last weekend
What are your thoughts or opinions on these? I haven't asked any of my friends whether these weekends work for them (or my parents! love you guys!), so this is just a very preliminary sketch, but I thought I might get opinions on places "you have to visit" while spending time in Italy. Everyone of these dates is flexible except the June 14th-15th, the June 28th-29th, and August 9th and 10th. Shoot me an email (tinmantom@gmail.com) or drop me a comment of your thoughts and opinions about my plans.
Thanks and happy weekend!
Weekends:
June 14th-15th=In Rome due to Rain
June 21st-22nd=Assisi
June 28th-29th=In Rome, friends are visiting from ND
July 4th-5th=Pompeii to visit friend doing excavations
July 11th-12th=Rome
July 19th-20th=Ravenna or Meet Austin in Milan/Northern Italy
July 25th-26th=Ravenna or meet Austin in Milan/Northern Italy
August 2nd-3rd= Bologna/Florence
August 9th-10th= In Rome for Last weekend
What are your thoughts or opinions on these? I haven't asked any of my friends whether these weekends work for them (or my parents! love you guys!), so this is just a very preliminary sketch, but I thought I might get opinions on places "you have to visit" while spending time in Italy. Everyone of these dates is flexible except the June 14th-15th, the June 28th-29th, and August 9th and 10th. Shoot me an email (tinmantom@gmail.com) or drop me a comment of your thoughts and opinions about my plans.
Thanks and happy weekend!
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Thursday Stories
Thought I might run down the past couple of days.
Monday-
Arrive at work for the first time, work for an hour, head down to the Museum library for a render-vous with the Patrons of the Arts from Belgium. Ushered them for a private tour of the Marble restoration lab, including the hall of sarcophagi, a part of the museum currently being renovated. They then had lunch on the rooftop terrace of the Vatican museum, followed afterwards by a tour of the Vatican archives.
Tuesday-
The Patrons of Belgium had a special mass, celebrated by HE Cardinal Bertello, aka the governor of Rome, aka second in command to the Pope. Just so happened that a server was needed for the mass, and it just so happens that one of the interns has 12 years of service under his belt, and was eager to use his gifts to help the Cardinal. We were all a little shell shocked by the importance of Cardinal Bertello, but he was extremely soft spoken and seemed a very gentle man. The day that you are star struck on the altar is the day you make a mistake, and having learned from my father (many things, but some have stuck more than others) that all men put their pants on the same way, I was able to serve the mass efficiently and without messing up. Other than the paten. I've served hundreds of masses, and have done every mass there is to do (Vigil, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Baptism, Funeral, First Communion, Wedding) and helped with incense, sprinkling and everything in between. However, when Fr. Mark, the leader of the Patrons in Rome handed me the paten and told me to assist the Cardinal with Communion. Now we Maine Hites are not high society kind of folks and I have never, in my 12 years, served a mass or recall seeing a mass in which the paten was used. I kind of assumed it was to be used as a precaution in case the Holy Eucharist fell, but not knowing for sure I didn't want to just thrust it right under the governor of Rome's nose and risk offense. Wound up confusing the Belgians, the Cardinal and myself, but that's life. Live and learn I suppose.
After mass we had a private tour of the after hours Vatican museum, devoid of visitors. We got to see a lot of the art up close and personal, without being disturbed by jostling or people talking. One such work of art is the Sistine chapel, which we had a semi private tour of and were able to spend some time in. I can honestly say I have never seen anything as beautiful as that work of art. I just kind of melted into the floor and tried (but failed) to take it all in. Every little aspect of the painting tells a story. On the outside, it's the Biblical stories of Moses (Old Testament) and Jesus (New Testament) sandwiched by the Last Judgement and the Creation story. On a deeper level, all the minute decisions of the various artists tells a story of politics, history, and personal expression. Fr. Mark was a spectacular tour guide, and he pointed out a lot of details I would have overlooked. One such detail was the recurrence of a little white dog in many of the scenes. This was Michelangelo's dog, and like many pet owners he loved to "take pictures" of it to "post on his wall." Only difference is his wall was the Sistine chapel. Really a mind boggling experience.
We ended the evening with a private dinner in the Greek and Roman antiquities section, at which was served steak and potatoes (a little finer quality than what my mother makes, but still steak and potatoes) which was delicious and provided some much needed energy after the tour. We were also served champagne and white and red wines, straight from the Vatican museums storage. Truly a magical night, which I was honored to be able to attend and help out in any way possible.
Wednesday-
We visited the Holy steps with the Belgium chapter today. These steps are the same ones Jesus climbed after having been condemned by Pilate to death. One of the Pope's gave orders for the marble to be cut straight out of its fixtures in Jerusalem and brought to Rome. We climbed the steps together with the Patrons, and then were allowed into the Holy of Holies, an inner sanctuary, with an altar containing the head of one of the saints and a piece of the wood of the cross! We saw neither of these things (thankfully) but you could almost feel the aura. We finished this tour with a trip to the scaffolding. The Holy Steps are housed in a building with a beautiful mural, which is currently being restored by the Patrons, which we were allowed to go, climb the scaffolding, and see the restoration process up close and personal. On the subway back to my apartment, I happened to run into one of my buddies from ND, who is in Rome taking classes. It's a small world we all live in. More to come tomorrow!
Monday-
Arrive at work for the first time, work for an hour, head down to the Museum library for a render-vous with the Patrons of the Arts from Belgium. Ushered them for a private tour of the Marble restoration lab, including the hall of sarcophagi, a part of the museum currently being renovated. They then had lunch on the rooftop terrace of the Vatican museum, followed afterwards by a tour of the Vatican archives.
Tuesday-
The Patrons of Belgium had a special mass, celebrated by HE Cardinal Bertello, aka the governor of Rome, aka second in command to the Pope. Just so happened that a server was needed for the mass, and it just so happens that one of the interns has 12 years of service under his belt, and was eager to use his gifts to help the Cardinal. We were all a little shell shocked by the importance of Cardinal Bertello, but he was extremely soft spoken and seemed a very gentle man. The day that you are star struck on the altar is the day you make a mistake, and having learned from my father (many things, but some have stuck more than others) that all men put their pants on the same way, I was able to serve the mass efficiently and without messing up. Other than the paten. I've served hundreds of masses, and have done every mass there is to do (Vigil, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Baptism, Funeral, First Communion, Wedding) and helped with incense, sprinkling and everything in between. However, when Fr. Mark, the leader of the Patrons in Rome handed me the paten and told me to assist the Cardinal with Communion. Now we Maine Hites are not high society kind of folks and I have never, in my 12 years, served a mass or recall seeing a mass in which the paten was used. I kind of assumed it was to be used as a precaution in case the Holy Eucharist fell, but not knowing for sure I didn't want to just thrust it right under the governor of Rome's nose and risk offense. Wound up confusing the Belgians, the Cardinal and myself, but that's life. Live and learn I suppose.
After mass we had a private tour of the after hours Vatican museum, devoid of visitors. We got to see a lot of the art up close and personal, without being disturbed by jostling or people talking. One such work of art is the Sistine chapel, which we had a semi private tour of and were able to spend some time in. I can honestly say I have never seen anything as beautiful as that work of art. I just kind of melted into the floor and tried (but failed) to take it all in. Every little aspect of the painting tells a story. On the outside, it's the Biblical stories of Moses (Old Testament) and Jesus (New Testament) sandwiched by the Last Judgement and the Creation story. On a deeper level, all the minute decisions of the various artists tells a story of politics, history, and personal expression. Fr. Mark was a spectacular tour guide, and he pointed out a lot of details I would have overlooked. One such detail was the recurrence of a little white dog in many of the scenes. This was Michelangelo's dog, and like many pet owners he loved to "take pictures" of it to "post on his wall." Only difference is his wall was the Sistine chapel. Really a mind boggling experience.
We ended the evening with a private dinner in the Greek and Roman antiquities section, at which was served steak and potatoes (a little finer quality than what my mother makes, but still steak and potatoes) which was delicious and provided some much needed energy after the tour. We were also served champagne and white and red wines, straight from the Vatican museums storage. Truly a magical night, which I was honored to be able to attend and help out in any way possible.
Wednesday-
We visited the Holy steps with the Belgium chapter today. These steps are the same ones Jesus climbed after having been condemned by Pilate to death. One of the Pope's gave orders for the marble to be cut straight out of its fixtures in Jerusalem and brought to Rome. We climbed the steps together with the Patrons, and then were allowed into the Holy of Holies, an inner sanctuary, with an altar containing the head of one of the saints and a piece of the wood of the cross! We saw neither of these things (thankfully) but you could almost feel the aura. We finished this tour with a trip to the scaffolding. The Holy Steps are housed in a building with a beautiful mural, which is currently being restored by the Patrons, which we were allowed to go, climb the scaffolding, and see the restoration process up close and personal. On the subway back to my apartment, I happened to run into one of my buddies from ND, who is in Rome taking classes. It's a small world we all live in. More to come tomorrow!
#TBT
For those who aren't aware, TBT stands for Throwback Thursday, and is popular on social media sites. For those who may have missed it, I wanted to have a mini throwback (and shout out) to Albania. One of our group just posted some videos documenting our exploits, and I thought you all might get a kick out of seeing a less serious side of me. What can I say, I love to dance.
Post by Gloria Bolzoni.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
The Images
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