I'm nearly done with my Istanbul log and have already posted the teaser for the Egypt log. Now I will post the teaser for my one month I spent in Rome. I lived in the student's distict near the station with an Italian family and during the mornings I attended Italian language classes. More about all that in the introduction in the post below though.
Unlike my visits to Istanbul and Egypt my month in Italy was a different kind of trip. I had to become one of the locals because you can't stay in tourist mode if you live and go to school in a different country. Some days I visited two places and some days I didn't do anything at all so this log will be a bit different in formatting (no longer day by day reporting) which I hope you won't mind.
I hope it will be as much fun as the Istanbul log was and I also hope it might inspire you to write a travel log of your own or even go to Rome. Enough mumbling now and onto the Eternal City!
July 8 2008 - August 6 2008 is when I spent my time in Rome so these pictures and experiences are over 3 years old now but still fresh in my memory.
Disclaimer:
All of these photographs are mine. None of these photographs can be used for professional purposes. When I use photographs that aren't my own I will mention it. Furthermore I will do my best to research about what I write but I can't promise complete accuracy or factual correctness. Thank you.
Last edited by Boustrophedon; October 04, 2011 at 02:16 PM.
Via dei Sabelli or Via Sabelli (English: street of the Sabines) is where I lived during my time in Rome and it is certainly one of the coolest districts of Rome. The street is located in the lively, central and safe area of Rome University in San Lorenzo, on the east side of the walls built by Emperor Aurelio 1800 years ago around the old inner city, and is walking distance from the Central Railways Station, 1,5 mile from the Colosseum, 2 miles from the shopping district of Spanish Steps.
I loved how all the streets in this area are named after Italic tribes. Goes to show much ancient Rome still lives in this city. The arrival was not easy. A person from the school was supposed to pick me up but once I got there I didn't find anybody and the hall was empty. Not wanting to panic I asked an Italian what the national number of Italy was. He looked at me with an ugly grin and quickly brushed me away with "Scusi non parlo inglese.". Fine then!
I head outside and find a guy willing to drive me to center of Rome for 70 EUR. Thank god I had taken some cash with me on the plane! Only afterwards did I find out that a taxi drive from Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci airport) to Rome costs 45 EUR average. I got ripped off badly and I wasn't even in the country for an hour
I can still remember how I was gazing at the Roman structures and how I almost giggled when passing the huge Aurelian city walls when we entered Rome. I must've looked like a stupid tourist but hey that's okay. I had spent years learning about this stuff and now I was finally here. Truly a spectacular sight. My driver drops me off at stazione Termini (main central station of Rome) and I make my way to the location where the host family had asked me to wait for them.
My host family was very nice and just a really lovely and warm family. A single mom, Arianna, whose husband had deserted her many many years ago, and her two daughters Sole (English: Sun) and Alessia (who I only saw a few times). Sole was a student at Sapienza university at the campus located in their neighbourhood and Alessia was a fashion designer in Milan so she was way up north for most of my stay. Both of them were staggering Italian beauties so living in their house and keeping my guest mentality was...difficult...
After a short introduction in English (I did not speak a word Italian) which Sole translated for her mother I unpacked my things and had lunch with them. My plane left in Brussels in the early morning and the flight was 1h50 so it was still early midday. The lunch was fantastic! Just what all the commercials tell us about the Italian mamma and her cooking skills.
A few notes on eating in Rome. My family was Buddhist and meat and fish were strictly banned from the house. Me and my meat-loving self suffered alot because of that. I'm used to eating meat every day or every other day and now I had to do with only 5-6 meat meals for an entire month. I lost 7 kg in one month time and my parents thought I looked like a corpse when I landed from the return flight! Furthermore eating meat is a strange thing in Italy it seemed. Their idea of eating a piece of a cow is grazing it so it's almost like leather and then serving it on a plate with nothing of vegetables or sauce. Pasta is also served ahead of any meat courses. You eat pasta and then you eat your meat. I'll never forget the strange looks I got when I asked for pasta WITH my meat. It was very un-Italian apparantly
Another thing that horrified the Italians. I cut my pasta with a knife and fork. Looks of horror abound when I started butchering their national pride. "Che massacro!" was not an uncommon phrase when I did my thing again in a restaurant. I had breakfast and dinner at my host family but lunch was not included so I had to find a place to eat every day.
The first I arrived in Rome, a Sunday I think it was, the weather was still mild and a perfect opportunity to discover the inner parts of Ancient Rome. Colosseum and the Forums as well as the Arcs of triumph! This will be for my next update however. I have selected some 15 pictures but I need to resize them before uploading.
I hope you liked this introduction and until the next update
Last edited by Boustrophedon; October 04, 2011 at 03:29 PM.
Viva Roma!!!
I have stayed there for a weak so i can't wait to compare the city i ve experienced with that of BS perspective!!!!
"Nowadays historians generally agree that the Macedonian ethnos forms part of the Greek ethnos;hence they also shared in the common religious and cultural features of the Hellenic world"M.Opperman under the patronage ofjimkatalanos.Proud member of the fellowship of CBUR project-TGC/proud member of East of Rome mod Quem faz injúria vil e sem razão,Com forças e poder em que está posto,Não vence; que a vitória verdadeira É saber ter justiça nua e inteira-He who, solely to oppress,Employs or martial force, or power, achieves No victory; but a true victory Is gained,when justice triumphs and prevails.
Luís de Camões
Introduction is uploaded and the first post with pictures will be tomorrow or day after that
Originally Posted by neoptolemos
Viva Roma!!!
I have stayed there for a weak so i can't wait to compare the city i ve experienced with that of BS perspective!!!!
Haha viva Roma indeed! I'm very excited to hear what you have experienced and how it compares to my experiences. I lived with a family though and not in a hotel so it will be very different I think. I hope you enjoy the introduction and pictures are coming soon!
I am sure i won't be disappointed!
The different parameters you have set (living within a Roman family) intrigues me to see the photos and descriptions which will follow!!!
"Nowadays historians generally agree that the Macedonian ethnos forms part of the Greek ethnos;hence they also shared in the common religious and cultural features of the Hellenic world"M.Opperman under the patronage ofjimkatalanos.Proud member of the fellowship of CBUR project-TGC/proud member of East of Rome mod Quem faz injúria vil e sem razão,Com forças e poder em que está posto,Não vence; que a vitória verdadeira É saber ter justiça nua e inteira-He who, solely to oppress,Employs or martial force, or power, achieves No victory; but a true victory Is gained,when justice triumphs and prevails.
Luís de Camões
Another thing that horrified the Italians. I cut my pasta with a knife and fork. Looks of horror abound when I started butchering their national pride. "Che massacro!" was not an uncommon phrase when I did my thing again in a restaurant
Looking forward my friend,and maybe also add a city map on where exactly you made the upcoming pictures ?
A single mom, Arianna, whose husband had deserted her many many years ago, and her two daughters Sole (English: Sun) and Alessia (who I only saw a few times). Sole was a student at Sapienza university at the campus located in their neighbourhood and Alessia was a fashion designer in Milan so she was way up north for most of my stay. Both of them were staggering Italian beauties so living in their house and keeping my guest mentality was...difficult...
First of all, I'm terribly sorry for the slow update but I've been quite busy both on TWC and real life. I also had some technical difficulties but they should be gone now! Second of all, I've finally found a picture that will alow me to show where exactly I've been during my month in Rome. It shows the city center and the biggest monuments in a 3D sort picture! Third of all in the spoiler below you can see what camera I used and you will immediately understand why the resolution might be bad sometimes. Without further ado, here's the first real update and it has 14 pictures.
I will add a rar-file tomorrow which you can download so that you can enjoy the pictures in their original resolution!
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
I very much enjoyed those first moments with my host family because I had no idea what to do or say and that doesn't happen very often to me. For now we all seemed content to just eat and enjoy each other's company without talking a whole lot, mainly because I couldn't speak a word of Italian. I picked up alot though in my month in Rome.
Here's a picture of where I spent the day: I visited my school (blue) and visited the old center of Rome (pink)
After the delicious meal I talked about it was high time I took a look at Rome like a dirty tourist should: with a beverage in my hand, fannypack and camera in the other hand hehe. After finding my way to the metro station I take the linea B, which is one of only two metro lines in Rome going roughly from north to south while linea A goes from east to west. I even remember the terminus names after 3 years which is a bit strange hehe. So I buy a ticket, which was pretty expensive for a single ride so buy a week or month ticket if you are staying for a long time, and arrive at the stop called Colosseo where obviously I arrive at the Colosseum.
Note: the metro is very clean and it has trains every 2-3 minutes so it is highly adviseable to use the Underground !
On to the glory of Ancient Rome though...
Ah the Colosseum... I would end up spending alot of afternoons there, relaxing in the shade of a tree and reading a book or listening to some music. Truly a massive construction, even with today's standards! Very very tourist heavy but I guess that was to be expected in full summer and in the afternoon. Remember that posing with actors clad as Romans usually costs a bit of money. It was in a bad condition though and I felt sad at how much history could be lost if they didn't restore it enough to stand another two thousand years.
Historical fact: the colosseum was actually called the Flavian amphitheatre but the enormous statue close by (colossus) gave its name to what we now call the colosseum.
This construction below was also quite impressive but I'm going to explore this in more detail later so it will be for a next update. The panels you see in the bottom left corner are 3 panels that show the expanse of the Roman empire from village to its expansion after the Punic Wars and its expansion after Caesar and it finishes with a panel showing the Empire under Hadrian, when it was at its largest.
The forum of Nerva below was a very artistic place and even with millenia of damage and robbery and all that, it still looks and feels like art of the very highest quality.
Another shot.
Patron godess of the forum of Nerva. Lovely lady, isn't she? It's all so very artistic, unlike modern times where functionality always holds the most importance when constructing new buildings.
I loved the Forum of Augustus in the pictures below but its horrible condition was very saddening and it really pained how little is left from what was once a majestic site and a busy hotspot of commerce. The pillars are of what was once the Temple of Mars Ultor (the Avenger) but as you can see it has all but vanished.
Here's an artist's view of what it could have looked like (source: Wikipedia)
Statue of Augustus, the man himself. Possibly and probably one of the most important men in Western history. This statue is ofcourse and idealized version of himself, but the cuirass and scepter leave no doubt about his tremendous power. The via dei fori imperiali is lined with about 10-20 of these statues, all of them emperors and alas all of them defiled with grafitti, a very common thing in Rome unfortunately. I know every city has to deal with this but in Rome the damage is many times worse than in a city of skyscrapers where no real history is lost this way. About the statues, I'm not sure they're real but they are made of bronze so I imagine it's a modern copy. Still, it's a shame that people feel the need to ruin it.
Forgot what this was but again I was confronted with the damage that the millenia have done to this place. I'm sure old Caesar would have a heart attack if he ever saw his beloved Rome in such a condition. So little is left to be seen and even less is still standing...
Excavations are still very much ongoing, which gave me some hope for the future of this wonderful city. I only hope the government would just invest more in conservation of sites such as the brick-built archivolt below...
Girl in the picture right corner below is a Dutch girl I met in the school I would be taking language classes. She was gorgeous and we ended up spending quite some time together (14 days of my 28 I think) with a few others. So even though I left for Rome alone, I was never really alone. I could always call a classmate to go and explore a part of Rome, such as this random church near the Imperial Fora.
Another lovely picture of the Forum of Trajan, which somehow reminded me of Soviet barracks haha. Here's some more information:
The picture below is the base of Trajan's column, a massive project that details his war against the Dacians and if you look at the people in the background you can get a sense of how big it is..
I continue along the way to the west and pass by this huge monstrosity. I'm not a fan of this building and I even consider it a bit obscene. Right in the middle of all that history and beauty they placed this huge thing...
Close-up of the nationalism on display. Gotta love it, I mean, it's not like nationalism killed hundreds of thousands of Italians. Oh wait...
I'm not a fan because it almost seems as if it's a statement to make all the ancient sites nearby irrelevant, which would be hugely arrogant. It's a lovely building and it's quite artistic but they placed it right in the middle of everything Roman and it just reeks of arrogance. Sorry for being so harsh but I just didn't appreciate it at all. It also doesn't serve any real purpose and it blocks the view.
Here's a picture of me with a bit of a disguise. I'm not that keen on showing my face after the whole Tony incident. Picture taken by the Dutch girl..
It was a lovely day though and I couldn't wait to do some more exploring! I hope the next update won't take as long as this one, but exams are coming up so you never know! I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story
Last edited by Boustrophedon; November 22, 2011 at 08:35 AM.
people wrote on the everything in Rome even in the ancient times, they just didn't stop it and now it's grafitti.
Also, why not mention there's a mcDonald's every 100 meters, especially around Termini
people wrote on the everything in Rome even in the ancient times, they just didn't stop it and now it's grafitti.
Also, why not mention there's a mcDonald's every 100 meters, especially around Termini
I tend to avoid anything "modern" like Starbucks, McDo etc etc.
Also I know about the grafitti but it's just a damn shame to ruin monuments like that. Something I saw in Egypt ALOT!
Originally Posted by MorganH.
Awesome pictures +rep
Looking forward to the next update and the RAR-File!
After the next update I will place a link in the OP where you can download the pictures in full resolution.
Originally Posted by Babur
I think you missed out that part
Hehe I was definitely interested but way too shy to approach here that way. I also didn't want to scare off my travel companion because I had 4 more weeks to share with her lol!
Wonderful! I was in Italy summer before last and had a great time. The city's quite inconvenient to get around in my opinion but the sights cannot be argued with.
When I went they were digging up some stuff to the right of the Victor Emmanuel III monument and towards the Trajan's market. Amazing to think that they are still finding new stuff all the time. Definitely agree things could be preserved better though.
Awesome travel log I feel there are untold stories concerning the Dutch girl though
Wonderful! I was in Italy summer before last and had a great time. The city's quite inconvenient to get around in my opinion but the sights cannot be argued with.
When I went they were digging up some stuff to the right of the Victor Emmanuel III monument and towards the Trajan's market. Amazing to think that they are still finding new stuff all the time. Definitely agree things could be preserved better though.
Awesome travel log I feel there are untold stories concerning the Dutch girl though
Yes, getting around Rome can be a drag. Not because it's such a big city, but because (as the legend says) it's built on 7 hills and you can really feel it in your legs if you go on foot everywhere! Metro and bus are really indispensible means of transportation or else you will die!
Yes they did some digging as well when I went there. That really makes you wonder just how much is left undiscovered, waiting for us to dig it up!
Ah the Dutch girl I can't even remember her name, but it's been nearly 3,5 years since I went there so I tend to forget the details. We didn't stay in touch after our trip to Rome, but we had some very good times during our month stay. She was truly a joy to be around not to mention very beautiful hehe!
Yesterday I went by my school, near stazione Termini, to fill out all the forms and take the aptitude test to determine what class I should be in. Naturally I was in the rookie class for absolute beginners. After a lovely breakfast and a shower (COLD water!) I said goodbye to my host mother and left for school. No idea what was going to happen once I got there and I was a little scared if the teacher and classmates would like me. On the way to school I had to walk along the old city walls. The Aurelian Walls were a daily sight for me...
School was an interesting activity. In my class were 3 Swedish people (including one crazy buff guy who would go jogging in the park wearing jeans while it's 30°C outside!!), 4 Dutch people, 3 Americans (including an Ivy League graduate who worked for IBM), two Brazilians and some other people who I didn't have alot of contact with. I loved Milany, a Dutch speaking girl from Curaçao who was just the most joyful person to be around haha!
My teacher was Sicilian woman called Antonella and she was a very patient and lovely person, which is necessary if you want to teach complete beginners a new language. She was quite attractive as well despite being 32 (15y older than me at the time) and it was a joy to be in her class. We started off by introducing ourselves and some games like where we are from and asking each others' nationality etc etc.
The class only lasts until the midday, when we can go find something to eat somewhere in Rome! I socialize a bit with my classmates and a group of us (Dutch people+Curaçao chick+me) goes out for lunch. I noticed how people tended to stick together according to language. Everybody speaks English, but we still tended to stick together hehe. Not all the time naturally, but if we went to visit a monument or do a trip then it was usually with a steady group. The remarkable thing is that the American IBM guy hooked up with everybody. He would get together with the Brazilians, the Dutch, the French...everybody! A very social and cool guy too!
After getting cosy and getting to know some of my classmates I head home and have dinner with the family (everyday at 7 PM) though when I couldn't make it the host mother would leave some for me in the oven! ^^ Lovely woman! A true Italian mama
Dinner was great with LOTS of food! I also met my "roommate", a Russian girl from Siberia. To be honest, she was a stuck-up spoiled brat. Painfully obvious she was a rich daddy's girl who didn't really want to go to Rome. She also didn't appreciate the food that our Italian mama cooked for us so she ate alot of candy in her room. If there's one thing that insults a host family then it's leaving your dinner on your plate but secretly eating candy in your room.
Funny story: she was really brown, as in "spends every day at the beach" but I knew she was from Siberia. Not exactly the most tropical location so I asked her how come she has such a brown skin. Her answer: "Papa has tanning salon"... epic fail lol! Seriously a weird girl that one! Spent alot of time indoors, which was just such a crazy thing to do in a city like Rome!
Moving on! I wanted to do some exploring at night (like I did in the Istanbul log for those who read it) and took some pictures. Not that great or interesting subjects but I like nighttime pictures They can transform a scene completely! Here they are...
I hope you liked this little update! The next update will be a very big one with over 30 pictures from the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill! Until next time, chaps!
Uhhh, pasta and meat? Or cutting pasta?? The dude? That's almost as bad as German/American tourists asking for ketchup. It would be less offensive if you used the Italian flag as toilet paper.
Also vegetarians, you really missed a huge opportunity to taste bazillions of Italian dishes.
Last edited by Basil II the B.S; December 02, 2011 at 05:05 PM.
"Nowadays historians generally agree that the Macedonian ethnos forms part of the Greek ethnos;hence they also shared in the common religious and cultural features of the Hellenic world"M.Opperman under the patronage ofjimkatalanos.Proud member of the fellowship of CBUR project-TGC/proud member of East of Rome mod Quem faz injúria vil e sem razão,Com forças e poder em que está posto,Não vence; que a vitória verdadeira É saber ter justiça nua e inteira-He who, solely to oppress,Employs or martial force, or power, achieves No victory; but a true victory Is gained,when justice triumphs and prevails.
Luís de Camões
One month in Rome, the Eternal City
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Originally Posted by Conscript Stavroforos
I can't even remember her name, but it's been nearly 3,5 years since I went there so I tend to forget the details. We didn't stay in touch after our trip to Rome, but we had some very good times during our month stay. She was truly a joy to be around 
dude? That's almost as bad as German/American tourists asking for ketchup. It would be less offensive if you used the Italian flag as toilet paper. 
