Bella Roma!

Well... it's 11 pm, the end of my first day here in Rome. Wow!

Libor and I got up super early because my flight was from Prague so we had to take an E A R L Y bus from Brno for the 2 1/2 hour ride to Prague center, then another 45 minute bus to the airport outside of Prague center. We arrived an hour early, which was fine because I didn't want to rush things and we were able to relax and have a nice conversation, exactly what I wanted! :-)

European airports and especially budget airlines, have different weight requirements from US airlines. So while I definitely pared down everything and brought with me today less than half of what I brought with me from the US, I was still over the weight by 9 kg. Agghhhh!! And I'd already pared down to my essentials! Luckily we were in line at 10:30, and my flight didn't leave until 12:30, so we moved aside so I could go through my bags and pare them down even more. All except 3 books had to go. :-( The only books I could take were my 2 lightweight reading books, and my Italian-English dictionary because I can't imagine surviving here without that at least. Clothes all remained. Toiletries - got rid of non "essentials" (although they technically were essentials), got rid of my boots for snowshoes (had to leave snowshoes behind last night because my 2nd bag was getting too full)... it was looking pretty bleak. Finally Libor said, your bags are still over the limit (20 kilos), but I think she'll let you through (he worked his charm speaking Czech to her). Sure enough, my bags weighed in at 22.5 kilos, but she just handed me the boarding pass and let me go. Whew. We had a long goodbye. Good thing he's coming next month or I would have been bawling more than I did!

This was my first flight SOLO in Europe. Wow. :-) The flight went without any problems, then we arrived at the Fiumincino airport, which is outside of Rome. My taxi driver (hired by my mentor in Rome) was supposed to meet me outside of the terminal she THOUGHT I was going to be exiting, but by the time I got there, he was gone. There was a nice airport employee who gave me some advice what to do, and then as I turned to find the taxis, another official-looking guy came up to me and advised me to go to this booth for a car to take me into Rome. I knew the fare was supposed to be 40 euro (thank god I'm being reimbursed), and they were going to charge me 50. No, mi dispiace, grazie, walking away. I ask at information, who kindly points me another way. I head out the door to find a line of official city taxis. One driver came straight up to me, and I was smart, asking him straight how much it would be. 65 euro. No, no, walking away. He gestures, speaking rapid Italian, throws his hands up and walks away. I walk up to a city taxi and after he finishes his conversation on the phone I find that I need to go to the front. After several attempts before to say where I wanted to go, I was asked to write it down (turns out I was saying Trastevere wrong - Trah steh vER eh, not Trah stah vehr). When I asked this taxi driver the cost, he says, eh, running on meter. I knew I found the right taxi. Off we go. Palm trees! Wow! It's already quite warm here - 50's, and now I'm starting to realize just what a Mediterranean city Rome is! We drove quite a ways, I'm keeping an eye on the meter and out the window. Without a doubt, this is different from Czech Republic. You don't need to talk to anyone to notice that right away.

We start entering Rome proper, and as they say, "All roads lead to Rome" - the road becomes narrow, we are now between what looks like ancient stone walls, and then going through ancient stone gates. This is so cool! History, alive and breathing, if it is possible! The air of the place is entirely Mediterranean, reminding me of being in Spain, and also reminding me a little bit of L.A. (can't put my finger on it). Then, the driver is heading down a winding road on a hill. All of Rome opens into view. I gasp unconsciously. The driver turns around and gives me a smile, slows down a little so I can enjoy more of the view. It's amazing. The whole city lays before me, all ancient and modern at the same time, domes of churches everywhere, modern buildings everywhere. It's too much! Another curve, the driver knows now the dramatic effect of slowing down so I can marvel in the wonder that is Roma.

He drives down winding streets, and I'm thinking, just HOW can I possibly find my way around in this??? He pulls up in front of the house, and says, eh, via Garibaldi, settanta? (70) Yes, yes. I'm here. aahh.

My hostess was not there when I arrived. The seeds of panic start sowing itself in my mind, what should happen if I don't get in? Oh! After a few minutes of ringing the bell and gesturing to a woman walking her dogs, scusi, sono sorda, eh, I cannot hear. She looks at me oddly. I know I'm saying the right thing, but she still doesn't understand me. But she stands there with me and listens as I ring the bell. Then I see a blond woman waving at me across the street. *sigh of relief* thank god. I smile at the woman and she goes on. I don't think she understood me at all.

My hostess is from Texas. Her bubbling personality becomes apparent as she arrives at the door, hands full of bags. We spend the next couple of hours talking about things ranging from what we are doing on Fulbright, about the Fulbright itself, etc etc. I really didn't realize just how hungry I was for a flowing, in person conversation with another woman! :-) Finally I realize the sun is setting, and I haven't walked around! So I excuse myself and equipped with a map, keys, and instructions, I head out. She has told me to head to a nearby square with the instructions of "following the flow of people". And so I did. I think just walking through the streets was more pleasure than I could ever get than seeing the beautiful squares and arts in them. Each street is unique, and with their own character and goings on. Trastevere is one of the remaining "Italian" neighborhoods of Rome. Tourists don't go here very much, even though Trastevere is listed as one of the top walking tours of Rome. :-) There's so much art, so much beauty, so much activity, that my eyes will never become bored. Truly. I know it's only one day, but I know that's how it will be with me in Rome. I didn't take pictures this evening because I knew I will need a few days to just process everything and really appreciate what it is I'm taking pictures of.

I find out that Rome is considered by southern Italy to be part of northern Italy, and by northern Italy as part of southern Italy, so it's quite a unique boundary here.

Dinner is spent in the company of my hostess (an archaeologist and art historian) and a friend of hers, a PhD candidate from Princeton doing his dissertation on Medieval Art here in Rome. Conversation is rich and very much on an intellectual level I have not experienced ever before. It was very nice and I look forward to much more conversations such as this!!

The apartment I'm staying in is a one bedroom place that is rich in character and history. It's filled with silver and antiques, including one old painting on the wall of an Italian nobleman with the bottom part of the painting deteriorating (looks like it was on the floor when it soaked up water). What a stay.

Tomorrow will be spent on tour in Rome with my hostess as well as other Fulbrighters staying here. It should be alot of fun! :-)

I'll write more later, but wanted to share this while my impressions are still fresh in my mind.