Leisure time

Today we were off from the main study days. So what did I do on my first day of rest? Went to a museum.

It's the Palazzo Altemps. It used to be the resident of a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. The guy had a really impressive collection of artwork, let me tell you!

There were a lot of 1st and 2nd century pieces of mythological figures. I got some good pictures of various gods and goddesses.

Before the museum, Carrie and I went by the Trevi Fountain. Legend has it, that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, you will return to Rome. Yes, I know it's silly. But I did it. It's worked every time so far!

After the museum, we went and found some food. We actually ate Chinese food! In Rome! It was pretty good. It wasn't nearly as greasy as the Chinese at home. Quite nice. Then we spent a little time in a bookstore. I bought a copy of Colleen McCullough's Antony and Cleopatra. I don't have that particular book yet. She has written an entire series about ancient Rome, which I highly recommend if you haven't read it. It's not really, really boringly historical. Pretty entertaining.

Anyway, then I went and got my nails done. 'Nuff said.

Then we came back here to the compound. We did stop on the way home and get a gelato. I had nutella and menta flavors. They were SOOOOOO good! Have I mentioned that I love gelato? I wish I could bring some of that home with me. It is so yummy.

All in all, it was a good day. It was not too stressful, and my feet do not feel as bad today. I don't really have any plans for tomorrow. I'm sure that I will find something to do. I'd like to go back to the Via del Corso or over to the Campo del Fiori. Or down Tritone street. Who knows?

update on pictures

Okay, these pictures are in some semblance of order. At least the dates are. Sorry! It's late where I am!

This is the famous statue of the she-wolf, Lupa, suckling the twins. Those are Romulus and Remus. Romulus killed his brother then founded the city of Rome. Or maybe he started to found Rome, then killed his brother before he finished. Yeah, I think that's it.


This is a room in the Domus Aurea. If you remember, we discussed that this was the emperor Nero's house. Party palace, I should say. You can still see some of the colors on the wall. If you squint and use your imagination!

This is a picture of a little church I stopped at the other day. It is teeny. It's all nestled back in a corner near the Campo del Fiori. I said a little prayer and lit a candle for my favorite sister! Love ya!

This is a sign used by early Christians. I saw it at the Catacombs of Domatilla. Early Christians used this sign to show which way to go to a church service. Remember, Christianity was still illegal back then. Whichever way the fish was looking, that's the way to go!

This is the spina and meta from the hippodrome on the Appian Way. A spina is the middle of the racetrack, around which the chariots would race. A meta is the round part at the far left, called the turning point. A hippodrome is where chariots would race. That's Jason jumping off the meta. They asked us not to climb on the ruins. Oops.

This is a picture from the Baths of Caracalla. It is really hard to get a sense of the grand scale of this place. So, notice the person standing in the foreground. Then look at the rest of the structure. Now, do some math. This place was HUGE!!!

This is me, standing on the Appian Way. The Via Appia was the first road that was made to/from Rome. It went all the way down the coast. The maker was Appius Claudius. Hence the name. This part of the road is actually the original. It's over 2000 years old. And I stood on it. Even walked a few steps! Wow!

This is a pretty fountain in the Piazza della Repubblica. I just thought it was pretty. It has no historical significance that I know of.

This is my buddy Augustus that I've been talking so much about. Octavianus Augustus Caesar. Here, he is dressed in the Pontifex Maximus outfit. That's the high priest in the Roman religion. This is a famous statue. Commit it to memory.

This is a cool inscription from the epigraphy museum in the Baths of Diocletian. It is the funeral inscription of a Christian named Priscus. Note the dove and chi rho at the top, both Christian symbols. The inscription reads: "Priscus, who lived 36 years, died on the 5th day before the Kalends of June (May 28). His brother made this. Rest in peace." And yes, I really just translated that. I didn't make it up.

Anyway, here ends my lectures for today. I will hopefully have more pictures/stories tomorrow!

The Age of Augustus

Caesar that is, not my B-rex.

So, today I learned everything I never wanted to know about Octavian Augustus Caesar. Wow! That boy had it rough. He was adopted by Julius Caesar. Was given a top-notch education, including study in Athens. Then, Julius gets himself stabbed. So Octavian has to come home. Only, people want him dead too. But he gets out of that. Then later, he fights with Julius' old buddy, Marc Antony. And he wins! So now, Octavian gets to rule the world! The Roman world anyways.

Turns out, Octavian was really a busy guy. He spent some time in Egypt, where he saw an obelisk he liked. He "asked" some guys to bring it back to Rome for him. Which they did, of course. And he set that sucker up as the pointer of a GIGANTIC sundial. In a HUGEMONGOUS open area. Like the size of a few football fields! And it actually kept track, pretty accurately, of the days, weeks, months, zodiac signs (always important), and even the equinoxes. Pretty coool! Too bad all that has been built over. I say that we should just get rid of all those buildings. They're just the Italian Parliament. Not terribly important. (ha ha)

The obelisk still stands, though it has been moved from its original place. Due to the aforementioned buildings.

We did get to go under a church where archeologists have found part of the sundial. However, since that part of Rome often floods (it's called the Campus Martius), they can't leave it open to be looked at. Since they don't want the church to fall down. I did get to see some creepy cool skulls and bones, though. Neat-o!

Also saw the Ara Pacis today. Augustus had it built to commemorate the peace he brought to the Republic/Empire. Quite impressive. Really, it looks like a giant box with the top missing. But once someone points out all the symbolism in the friezes, it becomes cooler to nerds like me.

Did some laundry tonight. There is a laundromat not too far from the compound. And the lady there just does it for you. So, I have all clean clothes!!!! Except what I have on! Yay!!! It's the little things, isn't it?

A Down Day?

Today was not quite as busy as yesterday. Which is good. I thought I would fall down from sheer exhaustion!

This morning, we visited the Casae Romanae. Those of you with Spanish training should be able to figure out what that is. The Roman Houses! There is a church, whose name escapes me, with 5 levels of Roman housing underneath. Unfortunately, we were only able to see the top-most layer, I think. The rest we could see through holes in the floor, but not actually reach out and touch. Darn it.

The one level was cool though, because it had an inscription about John and Paul, who were martyred for the sake of Jesus. There was also an altar there. And other ancient stuff. Neat!

Then a group of us went to the Baths of Diocletian. He was an emperor in the 3rd century AD. We did get to go in the Baths, but not in the same way we were in the Baths of Caracalla yesterday. These Baths have been rebuilt as other buildings. Like a church. And a museum. And some other stuff. The church we went into is Santa Maria with Angels, or something. It was HUGE and only took up about 1/10 of the total original Baths.

I can't explain it, you'll just have to come see it yourself.

We also went into 2 museums. Yes, I went into 2 museums. In the same day. And my head did not explode, though I seriously thought it would. The first one held a lot of inscriptions. Like writing etched in marble or other stone. It's called epigraphy. It's cool. I tried to take pics of some to show my students.

The second museum had a lot of statues. Including one famous statue of the emperor Augustus (27 BC-14 AD) dressed in his Pontifex Maximus robes. I'd actually never heard of it, but maybe someone else out there has. We specifically went to this museum, the Palasso Massimo, to view a room from Livia's house. It contains the wall paintings (frescoes) from her dining room (triclinium). They are very pretty!

Livia was the wife of Augustus. I think. It's hard to keep all those women straight, especially since very little is written about them.

After that museum, Kate, Carrie, and I went to eat lunch, then over to St. Peter's Basilica. That is also known as Vatican City, for those of you who don't know or may be confused. Since I had just been there last month, I didn't feel the need to go back into the basilica itself. Instead, I just went into the gift shop, where I bought gifts for several family members. And yes, I know they are not all Catholic, but deal. It's from a foreign country. That alone makes it cool.

After that, we went back to the compound/hotel. not too strenuous.

I have been trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to get the past few days worth of pictures off of the camera. It is taking a long time. I promise that I will post some as soon as I finish.

Looking forward to the weekend. Once we're done tomorrow, around 5:00, I am free until Monday morning! Some folks are talking about going to Orvieto on Saturday. I don't know. It is an ancient Etruscan city. And I've never been there. But it requires taking a train. And those aren't cheap. It's like 15 Euro round trip (about $25). Plus food. And entrance to whatever sights are up there. But what would I do if I stayed here? Sit around all day, most likely.

Oh, decisions. If only my Hubs were here! He'd help me decide! Maybe I should have asked him when I was talking to him earlier. Oh. well.

Aliae Villae

So, I have lost count of how many Roman villae I have seen since coming ad Italiam just 2 short weeks ago. Villae are country houses. they are usually a pretty good size, and contain many rooms. Most of the rooms are situated around the central atrium, which was open to the air and often had a small pool in the middle to catch rainwater (impluvium). Remember, these were the days before indoor plumbing was big!

Yesterday, we saw the largest villa of all, by far. It was the Domus Aurea, which was built by the emperor Nero. It took up, I believe, four hills in Rome, not to mention the valleys in between. How did he manage this?

Well, in 64 AD, there was a big fire, and much of Rome burned to the ground. It makes sense, since everything was made of wood. Anyway, Nero took the opportunity to buy up a lot of property. The complex, and that's really what it was, contained all sorts of rooms and areas. There was a whole section of the house (domus) that was just for entertaining! Nero was a big partier! And one of the valleys, where the Colosseum now sits, was actually an artificial lake. There was also a large statue of Nero as Apollo the sun god (the colossus) outside the lake. The lake was, apparently, in the midst of a large pastoral area.

Nero had more money than sense. Bless his heart!

Anyway, I got to go into part of the Domus Aurea (Golden House) in the afternoon. I had been there previously, in college, but had not been back since. Evidently part of the ceiling had collapse, so they didn't want anyone to get hurt. I got to wear a hard hat!

In the morning, before the D.A., we went to the Colosseum. Since I was just at the Colosseum last month, it was not quite as exciting as you might expect. I didn't really wander as much as I normally do. But I did see this cool exhibit on Roman Triumphs. Roman generals had a triumph when they won a war. It was like a big parade, kind of like a baseball team winning the World Series or something. There were coins, friezes, frescos, etc. I took lots of pictures, which I will share when the time is right. Like when I get them off the camera.

Today, we saw dead people. Well, not really. We went to the Catacombs of Domatilla. That's where early Christians buried their dead. They are underground, in 4 levels. It was cold down there! I recommend a sweater if you visit. It was pretty neat. There was a painting in a vault which depicted Peter and Paul on either side of Jesus, listening to the story of the dead man, preparing to judge his destination. It was neat. No pictures of this stuff. Most of the graves were empty, as grave robbers had stolen the bodies.

Before that, we had been to the Baths of Caracalla. He was an emperor (wasn't everyone?). He built really big baths. See, in ancient times, not everyone had a bathroom in their house. In fact, it was pretty uncommon. So the Romans had public baths. There was a changing room where you left your clothes. A warm bath (tepidarium). A hot bath (calidarium). A cold bath (frigidarium). There were even places to work up a sweat, like a gym (palaestra). And when I say "bath", it's not like they took soap and scrubbed. The "bath" was more a swimming pool.

When you finished sweating and "bathing", you went to a separate room and got rubbed down with oils and perfumes. Then a slave scraped it all off with a strigil. Not exactly hygenic to us, but it was normal back then.

Anyway, we also saw a large tomb today. And then went out to the Villa of the Quintili. It's pretty big also. These brothers, the Quintili, had done well for themselves. They had a big round room and baths. Right in the house! Unfortunately, they got killed when they got on the emperor's bad side. I can't remember which emperor, or else you'd get another lecture.

Tomorrow, we're going to see some church that has the remains of yet ANOTHER house under it. I have never seen this many houses before! Not even when Hubs and I were house hunting! I hope I don't go crazy after all this.

Some pictures!

Here are some pictures from Rome. I have tried to be brief in my explanations, but I can't make any promises! I am a teacher after all!

Pink Puffy tree outside of our hotel. These are actually called mimosa trees. They are GiGi's favorite type of tree!

The Italian flag flying in front of the Victor Emmanuelle building. The building is commonly referred to as a "wedding cake" because of all its layers. The Italians don't like it much. But I thought it was a cool shot.

A piece of the Palace of Domitian. He was an emperor in the first century AD. He built a HUGE palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome. He built over several other former royal residences, so there are layers and layers of ruins there. It's cool!

This is a picture of me (duh) on the Circus Maximus. The Circus was used for horse racing in ancient time. Now, you will notice that there are not any ruins in the background. That's because the Circus was used as a quarry for many other buildings in Rome. So there's nothing left. It's just a big open field. Cool!!!

This is a shot of the Roman Forum from the Capitoline Museum. You will see the Arch of Septimus Severus there in the foreground. All the way over to the right is the Basilica Julia. Strangely enough, in ancient times a basilica was not a church in ancient times. It was used as a meeting place and market. This particular one was named after Julius Caesar's daughter. Daughters were always named after their fathers, just a feminine form. Julius to Julia.

This is the required shot of the Colosseum. The street outside of here, the Via del Imperiori Fori, was actually closed off to auto traffic on Sunday, so I stood out in the middle of the street for this picture. Usually, you can't do that, as there is a LOT of traffic there. It's one of the main roads in Rome.

In the City, the hot, hot city

So, after we went to Capri last week, we had a short session on Friday, then the rest of the day free. I didn't really do much, just some laundry and packing. I picked up a couple of souvenirs for the boys too. Slow day. Honestly, I was wicked bored. I wish I'd gone out somewhere to do SOMETHING. A lot of the group went to the beach in Sorrento, but I'd just gone the day before. And nobody asked me. You know how I hate to invite myself along anywhere.

So Saturday was another traveling day. We left Pompeii, then went to Formiae, where Cicero's tomb is located. In case you don't know, Cicero was a Roman orator. He was a "new man", meaning his family didn't have old money. He'd kind of started at the bottom and worked his way up. He was also a consul (like a co-president) at one point. Mostly, though, he advocated for people. Lots of his speeches survive, they were just that good! He's not my favorite Roman author, too long-winded for me. He does get grammar and style points, however.

Then, after lunch, which was amazing!, we went to Arpinum. This is Cicero's hometown. We got to go to the piazza, where there is a statue of Cicero. There is also some Roman road that is being excavated. And busts of Gaius Marius and Agrippa. You can look them up if you want. Both were important in Roman times.

Finally, we arrived in Rome. Now, I've been here a few times. The last one less than 4 weeks ago! But we're staying in a different kind of hotel. It's actually a monastery, I think. I know that there is a huge chapel, and people they call "brothers." You figure it out. Basically, you walk in, and there are concrete walls and a gate. It's a bit intimidating. To some people. You know that kind of stuff doesn't bother me!

Yesterday, we had yet another free day! It seems like that's all we do, but I promise that when we tour, we go HARD!

Anyway, I went with some buddies around the city. We started at the Capitoline Museum, which is totally cool. I hadn't been there since college. There are tons of statues and busts (the head and shoulders) of gods, goddesses, and famous ancients. I got a couple of shots of Sophocles and Homer. I hope they come out.

Next, it was off to eat some lunch! Then to the Piazza Navona. There's a really cool fountain there: Four Rivers. However, it has been under construction for like 2 years now. I don't know what they're doing, but they need to finish! You can't see the fountain hardly at all, just the obelisk sticking out of the top. (An obelisk is a tall, skinny thing. Like the Washington Monument. Only these are much smaller.)

Then we walked around to the Pantheon. The over to the Area Sacra. That was cool. They've found these 4 temples which date from the 4th century BC. They've also uncoverd Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus' portico (porch), where Julius Caesar was supposedly stabbed on March 15, 44 BC. Cool, huh?

Then we walked over to the Tiber river, and crossed some bridges. We also went onto the Isola Tivertina (Tiber Island) which is where the Romans used to have a hospital. Good idea, since it's surrounded by water. Keeps the diseases from escaping!

Then it was down to the Circus Maximus. You can't actually see much of the structure anymore, only a tiny corner of it is visible. But there is a dirt track there, which kind of follows the original course. The Circus was used for horse racing in ancient times. It's like NASCAR, but with horses instead. I'd never actually walked on the track before, so that was really cool! I even took a picture of my feet on the Circus. So cool!!!! And yes, that makes me a big nerd, but I'm okay with that.

That was the end of our day. We took the Metro back to the hotel/prison, and settled down for the night.

Hands hurt now. Will update more later. And perhaps add some pictures.

Isle of Capri

Today was such a fun day. I got to sleep in until after 8:00! Then, I went with some of my new friends to Capri. We took the HydroFoil over to the island. It's like a giant speedboat. Very choppy waters on the way over. I almost lost my crossaint. Then we rode up the funicular (cable car) and walked up to the Villa Iovis. It's where the emperor Tiberius lived the last 10 or so years of his life. Anyway, it is all the way up on the northeast tip of the island. It took about an hour to walk up there. But the view!!! So worth it.

Then we went to the beach. I can't wait to show everyone the pictures! The beach is all rocks. Smooth rocks, but still rocks. I had to wear my flip-flops into the water, because walking on the rocks hurt my feet. The water there is so clear! And I think even more so because there is no sand to muck it up. We stayed there for a couple of hours, then went to catch the boat back to the mainland.

The mainland 'porto' is Sorrento. Such a beautiful city! One of my favorite places in Italia. We walked up to the main square and found a place for dinner. I had a yummy pizza with cheese, ham, and mushrooms. So good! And a tomato salad (sliced tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and some herbs - mmmmmm!). Once we all finished eating, we decided to go back to Pompeii where we are staying. We caught the Circumvesuviana (the local train), and headed back.

It was such a great day. Tomorrow, we only have a short session in the morning, then the rest of the day free again. I think some people are talking about going back to Sorrento. We didn't really get to look around there much, and I would like to buy folks some souvenirs!

On the way, to Pompeii

OMG! I have been in Italia for 4 days now. I promise that I will update pictures soon. We have been staying in Cumae at the Villa Vergiliana. The Internet here is really slow, so I have not been able to upload anything. Sorry! When we get to Pompeii, hopefully the connection will be better, and I'll be able to upload some pics.

We have been all over the Bay of Baiae. We visited the island of Ischia. It is beautiful! Very lush and green. We took a ferry over, which was cool. We saw the inside of a museum. There was also a church with some ancient Greek ruins under it. They were really cool. (And it was nice and cool down there, which was good because it was HOT outside!) Then my new friends Chanda, Diana, Andrea, and I went out to lunch at a restaurant overlooking the beach. We even navigated the local bus system to get there! Then we went swimming!!!! The water was clear, cool, and wonderful. It was perfect after a hot day.

The second day we went to Cumae. I will tell you about that tomorrow. Or whenever.

BTW, if you've not had Italian wine lately, I highly recommend it. We've got this nice wine in a juice carton. Only $2 per box! Red. Try it!

Traveling Man (and Woman)

And children. Our next day included leaving our hotel Tuscany Inn and going back on the road. This time, our last stop would be Rome, the Eternal City.

On our way, we stopped in a couple of different places.

First was the town of Siena. I think even Hubs likes this place. He's not a fan of touristy places, but Siena is so beautiful it's hard to resist.

We walked a lot (more steps!!!) to the Duomo there. Most Italian towns have a Duomo. They are all of varying size, depending on how large the town is. Since it was Sunday, we couldn't get into that one. Imagine, they were having Mass. Actually using the church! So we ended up with a little more free time to walk around and shop. Even the teenage boys found stuff they wanted. And there's a big square in Siena, where they have horse races every year. It's really cool. (I know the grammar there was bad, sorry)

Nice, yes? Our next stop was Ostia Antica.

Little history lesson. Ostia was built at the mouth of the Tiber River by the emperor Nero. Why? Rome was having trouble getting trade, because some of the larger boats could not navigate up the river. So Nero filled in some marshland, and voila! Port city to the capitol of the world!

There are so, so many ruins there. Our guide was very knowledgeable, but he talked really quickly. The kids could not keep up. So, after about 2 minutes, they just tuned out. They did sort of pretend to pay attention, but mostly they just talked amongst themselves. Elena (our travel guru) gave them a stern talking to on the bus. In their defense, they had been on a bus all afternoon. And been to many other places. I guess they were just on overload that day. Teenagers!

We did get to see some baths, complete with mosaics of Neptune on the floors. We also go to go to the theater and the Forum. I wish we could have spent more time there, but I know the children were eager to get going. Sometimes, riding in a bus can really tire you out. Bye Ostia!

In the here and now, I am finally finished with my presentation. Now all I have to do is copy a handout and map, and do the thing! Yay! I have a nifty little powerpoint that I will use for my official project. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint, I will not really have access to a computer/projector for my actual presentation. I will be on-site at the House of Menander in Pompeii. That's the day before my birthday!

Anyway, I'm having fun here in Baltimore. It seems to be a nice place. Warm, sunny. I'm about tired of dining hall food, though. Sheesh!

And I miss my boys something fierce! Wish I could get home to visit them tomorrow. Too far.

Up, Up, and Away!

The next day of our whirlwind trip to Italy as leaders of a group of middle school students. How's that? I talked to my man tonight. He wants to know why there aren't more pictures of him. Well, I don't know. So i will attempt to include more pictures of my man. He's awfully good-looking. I hope everyone enjoys looking at him.

And no, that's not me. It's one of the other chaperones. But I thought it was a cute picture. We were having too much fun!

That leads me to the day in question. Florence. We spent the whole day there. Our first stop was the Accademia, which is a HUGE museum. Now, I'm not normally a museum person. I will be the first to admit that. But this place is pretty freakin' aweseme. There are lots of great statues (which we didn't get to see). And one of them, um, is the David. You know, the big one. By Michaelangelo. Large, naked guy. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures AT ALL in there. So I have nothing. You can look for a picture of it on the web. I'm sure there are some out there. I have one of the imitation 'David' which is in a piazza in another part of Florence:

Evidently the original David used to stand in this piazza. But I guess people kept trying to mess it up, so they moved it into the Accademia. The picture above is just a fake one. This piazza actually has a whole gallery of statues. It is right near the Uffizzi Gallery (spelling?). There are lots of cool statues! I highly recommend seeing this area.

Later that day, we went over to the Duomo. If you didn't know, the Duomo is the main church in a town. It usually has a big dome and is very important. The one in Florence is particularly important. There are lots of famous people buried there. It is quite neat looking on the outside. It's like striped, a couple of different colors.

One of the coolest parts of the day was after lunch. We had some time to kill before our cooking lesson. We had 3 choices: climb the cuppola of the Duomo, climb the belltower, tour the Bapistry. Unfortunately, there was only time for one. I "chose" to climb the Duomo. I don't remember the exact number of stairs, but it was a fairly large number. The kids that made the trek thought it was pretty cool. It was a hard climb, I won't deny it. I huffed, and I puffed, but I made it. And the view!

Aren't we cute? We were so excited to make it to the top!

After that, we had our cooking lesson. We went to the Koine Cafe. The ladies who run the place taught the kids how to make pesto sauce, tomato sauce, and a mushroom sauce. Then they made pasta. From scratch. And rolled it out. And cut it. We had linguine and bow tie (they call it butterfly). It was great!

Ahhhhh! The finished product. Looks good, no?

After dinner, we went on to our hotel. The kids were a little hyped up, but overall okay. It was a good day.

On the Water and In the Fields

So, on Day Two of the student trip, we went to Venice. I have had a special request from my mom to include lots of pictures. She's never been, and might not make it there anytime soon, but she does ask a lot of questions. I also took lots of pictures so that I could explain it better to Cheese. He really doesn't get the whole "city on the water" thing. Which is pretty crazy to explain to a 5-year-old. So, without futher ado, here are some pictures of Venezia:These are just generic Venice pictures. In fact, I think I took them on the water bus over. Yes, there is a bus, on the water, that goes from the mainland to the islands. Did you know that Venezia was actually built on over 200 individual islands? And that there are lots of natural sandbars that provided protection? I am just full of useful information!

These are pictures from the Palazzo Ducale, otherwise known as the Doge's Palace. This is real 24-karat gold leaf!

Shiny! Pretty! Wish I could have climbed up there to "borrow" some!

Lucky us. We even got to ride a gondola. It was fun! I had not been on one before, so that was a special treat.

And, yes. Hubs got to ride too!
We also went to a glass-blowing factory, which was cool. We watched a guy make a vase in less than 4 minutes! Honest. There was barely time to get a camera out, which is why there are no pictures of that. By the time I got it out and turned on, he was almost done. In my defense, no one else got pictures either. Guess we're just slow.

Day Three: To Modena and Fiesole. In Modena, we got to see how balsamic vinegar is made. We even got to taste several varieties, and learned all about the local history. Only certain b.v. is allowed to be called authentic. And it has to be aged at least 25 years! Wow! It was pretty cool. They let it ferment in black barrels, the oldest of which was from 1860.

Honestly? Not a big fan. However, I have started using oil and vinegar on my salads. No more dressings for me! Well, at least until I get home.

After Modena, we went to Fiesole. One of the highlights of the trip for me. I had never been there, and it was really, wicked cool! Fiesole was originally an Etruscan town. Those were the people who lived up north from the Romans. The Romans borrowed (stole) a lot of religion and stuff from them. Then they conquered them. The Romans conquered the Etruscans, like they did nearly everyone else. Anyway, Fiesole has some neat ruins. A theater, a temple, some baths. Totally neat! (I know, I'm a nerd. Deal.)

This last picture is of the cold water pool. The calidum et tepidarium were up the hill a bit, closer to the furnace. Makes sense, since you'd want the water to be hot and warm. Smart guys, those Romans!

Okay, almost halfway done. I'll work some more tomorrow night, maybe. And definitely I'll finish this weekend. Just in time to update from this second trip! I'm still in Baltimore. We're translating like there's no tomorrow. Now I understand why my students panic whenever I hand them translation. After all this time, I've forgotten how it works!

Big Ideas

Well, I had this whole plan that I was going to be updating my blog with all my fun adventures. Then, turns out, I didn't have Internet access the entire first trip to Italy. Of course. I took TONS of pictures, but didn't get to post any of them. I will try to get those up. Well, some of them.

I really had a great time. I think Hubs did too, even if he did complain about some of the parents. We got to see some really great places.

The first day, once we arrrived, was mostly on a bus. We flew into Bologna (not pronounced Baloney) and got on a bus to Verona. In Verona, there is a totally cool arena. An amphitheater, like the Colosseum, only in better shape. They were actually getting it ready for opera season, and there were stage props and stuff for Aida.



Pretty cool, huh? Then we stopped for some gelato. I did not partake. That day.

Then it was off to Juliet's house. You know, like Romeo and Juliet. Her:

Anyway, we know she probably wasn't a real person, but still. Shakespeare wrote a whole story about her and Romeo, and now Verona has this statue of her. If you notice, her chest area is a slightly different color than the rest of her. That's because the rumor is: if you go up to her, and rub/touch where her heart is, you'll be lucky in love. Well, I did that in college when I was there last, and I got Hubs. Obviously, the luck worked!

After that, we hopped back on the bus and drove the rest of the way to our hotel. It was nice. We were just the right combination of tired and worn out. I slept deeply and well.

More on the rest of the trip later. Right now, I've got to do some research for the second trip!

Leaving On a Jet Plane

In about an hour, we will leave to drive down to Atlanta. There, we will meet my dad and stepmom who will be watching the boys while we're away. Then, off to the airport to meet all the children and parents who have entrusted their younguns to me. We fly out tonight just before 9:00. We fly into Paris in the morning, then off to Bologna. We're scheduled to arrive at 2:30 local time in the afternoon.

I am so excited! This time tomorrow, we'll be almost there! Right now, I have to go call the banks and credit companies to let them know I'll be abroad. So they don't block my account or anything.

I'll be checking in, hopefully with pictures. What an awesome day!

Oh, and happy anniversary to me and Hubs. It's eight years today!

Craziness I tell you

I must have lost my mind. I actually volunteered to be the head Latin person for the district while T is on maternity leave next year. What was I thinking? That means that I'll be the go-to person for all 6 of the Latin teachers in the district. I'll be in charge of the paperwork, the meetings, the curriculum, the in-services, everything. Yikes! Well, it's only one year. Then T will be back. She'd better come back.

I leave for Italy in 6 days. Am I ready? Well, I thought so. It's the biggest trip yet, 30 people! 17 kids ranging in age from 9 to 14. 13 adults. (I'm counting Hubs as an adult, even though he won't admit to actually being one.) What am I thinking? I'm thinking that I love it over there. That it is worth any price just to see the land again. To feel the ruins under my hands. To smell the lush fields and taste that gelato. We're going to Venice this time. When I think about the last time I was there.... it was a different time. I was so young then. Only 21! There will be no wandering around the various bridges this time. It will only be a day. Wish we could stay there longer. And Verona. And Florence! Maybe we can take a look at those leather markets again. I need a new belt, since the ones I bought back in college will NOT fit me anymore. That was a while ago.

Anyway, just waiting now. Hubs is on his way home with his parents. They want to see the kids and take us all out to dinner. Sweet! I was looking forward to a simple pizza at home, but whatever. They're paying. I'm tired, as I often am when Hubs is gone. I can't sleep without him here. I think that I finally turned off the light last night around 1:15. And then got up at 6:00. I've averaged about 5 hours of sleep a night while he's been gone. And my nose is all stuffy. (by dose is all tuffy.) That's not exactly a recipe for a reunion: Hubs' parents, me tired, me not feel good. Should be a fun evening.

D's Wings, huh? Great. I hope the kids behave!

BTW, I will have use of the school laptop this summer. I hope to be able to update this blog on a regular basis. Well, not during the first trip, probably. Hubs won't let me, I'm sure. But during the long trip, when I'm on my own. I'll write it for him, and the kids. They can keep up with me while I'm gone. I'm a genius! After all, this blog IS called My Summer Vacation. It's almost 2 years old now. Who knew?

NKOTB!

I about had a heart attack when my sister emailed to say that the New Kids on the Block were going to be performing in Atlanta. Seriously? So I said Hell, yeah, I'll go! Then I went to the "official" NKOTB website to check it out. And she was right! Argh!!!! And they have a new single out! I would link to iTunes, but I don't know how. I have already purchased it, of course. I closed my eyes, and it was almost like being 13 again. Sigh. I did love some NKOTB. Sis and I had the sheets, the tees, the everything. We even had our own singing group with our friend Angela (she was my friend really) named Shades of Color. (Don't remember why that name, but whatever.) Our plan was to make it big and tour with the boys. They, of course, would fall in love with us, and we'd each marry the Beantown boy of our dreams. Sis was going to marry Joey. Angela was into Danny. But my favorite was, hands down!, Donnie. He had that whole bad boy thing going on. And I loved it.

So, will I be in Atlanta on Oct. 29? Yep. And I plan on downloading the whole new album as soon as it's released. Crazy? Probably. But how many of us get to relive our childhood fantasies like that? Just because I'm married with 2 kids. Donnie is STILL on my list. I can't wait to tour with them!

Reality Check

Wow! I just booked a flight into Baltimore for June 23. Why? Because I have to go to Baltimore for a week before my BIG 4 WEEKS IN ITALY! I found out over a month ago now, but it hasn't really seemed real. However, now that I have a plane ticket on my credit card, it is really real.

I still can't get my head around the fact that I'm spending almost 6 weeks of my summer vacation in Italia. It is crazy! I have been dreaming of this since I was in high school. Really. And now, in just over a month, the dream comes true. Who would have thought?

I'll be sure to chronicle every step of my journey so that my loving family can keep up with me. I wish, kind of, that I could take them with me. Well, Hubs anyway. We would have such a good time. Wishful thinking, though. At least he gets to go on one of the trips with me.

My Personality

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards. You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's Your Personality Type?

Late.

It is past my bedtime. I don't think I'll be sleeping any time soon. I've got a lot on my mind. I can't even really explain it. I don't know that I'm free to, since my mom reads this blog occasionally. I'm just tired and frustrated.

I hate teaching. Period. On some days, I don't even like the kids any more. They are so mean to each other. One girl, Madi, called some other girls in class "stupid" today. And they were her friends! A couple of other kids are so annoying, I could gladly take an axe to their heads, just to make them shut up. One is a 7th grader, so I have another year with him. The other is a 6th grader, and he says he's signed up for my class for next year. Which means 2 more years with him.

None of them think before they open their mouths. Ever. At least my 2 worst classes are in Washington this week. So I don't have to deal with them. They are all so whiny. At the slightest bit of work, they start to whine. I think they are smart. So why can't they understand that whining is not the way to go?

I'm tired of B-rex saying "NO!" everything. That is his favorite word these days. We've tried Bonnie's idea of just giving him choices for everything, thereby taking away 'no' as an answer, but even that doesn't always work. Tonight, he threw a fit because he didn't want to brush his teeth before bed. Then, when Hubs closed his door, B-rex decided that he DID indeed want to brush his teeth. Only, Daddy had already taken that choice off the table. So he just had to go straight to bed instead.

I feel like I just want to curl up in bed and sleep for a week. I have had it with people.

So Far, So Good

We are now 4 days into the new year, and things are going okay. There have not been any MAJOR issues yet. Just one, small, teensy-weensy problem. My car.

I went to go start the car before leaving for work yesterday because it was freakishly cold, like near freezing. Which for SC is very cold. (I know this is not a good idea. Evidently there have been a few break-ins when people have left their cars outside warming up. Although can you really call it a break-in when you leave the door unlocked?) I put the key in the ignition and turned. It made some strange whirring/grinding sound (if you call, I'll do it for you) and the inside lights came on. But it did not start. I tried again. Same thing. So I ran back into the house to get Hubs opinion. We decided that I should take his car. And I did.

So I get to school, 10 minutes after I was supposed to be there for morning duty in the gym. I served my time in the gym babysitting the sixth graders. Went back to my classroom. The phone rings. It's Hubs. "My keys to your car are in my car." So, since I had MY keys on my keychain, he had no keys. And the first bell would ring in just 10 minutes. Not enough time for me to get home and back. So Hubs stayed home with the kiddies yesterday. Cheese did not go back to school. B-rex did not start his new daycare. Oops. But really, who keeps a set of car keys in a car?! Even if it is a different car?

Of course, when Hubs tested the car when I arrived home after school, it worked fine. Damn thing.

And then AGAIN this morning, it wouldn't start. So I took Hubs' car again. Only this time, I left him my keys. But he called at 8:00 to let me know that HE couldn't get it to start either. And I have no jumper cables in my car. We have some, apparently, but they are guess where? In HIS CAR! Sigh. So a friend came by and took Cheese to preschool, since she works there. Thank God for Sharon. And Hubs called his buddy Fred to come help. Only Fred's wife had run over his jumper cables and smushed one end. So he had to go buy a new set. And us a set. THEN he jumped the car and all was well. This was around 8:45-ish. Hubs finally got to work a little after nine. Then had to leave early to go over to the Seminary to talk to them about his readmission for the fall.

Anyway, that's our drama. We're looking into getting a new car for me. Since mine doesn't want to get up early anymore. Hubs bought it a new battery and got its oil changed, but I don't think that will work in the long run. It is older than most of my students. We're looking at the dreaded mini-van. I've wanted one ever since I found out I was pregnant with Cheese. We've held off for a while, but I think it is just a matter of time. Oh, and money. I don't know HOW we would pay for that. We've never had a car payment before. I'm trying not to think about that though, even though it is the most important part. I suppose we'd find it somewhere. Like the kids' college fund. Such as it is.

Like I said, so far not so bad. If the broken car is the worst of it, it is going to be a GREAT year!

B-rex did start his new daycare today. Ms. Amy said that he had a great day! He just jumped right in like he'd been there forever! I am so glad that he is so adaptable. He didn't even notice when I came in to pick him up. He was like "hi mommy" and kept on playing. After a moment, he did run over to me, but obviously he was having a good time. I'm glad. I wish we'd never taken him out of that daycare to begin with. His home daycare was nice, but he just really needs to be with more kids his own age. I think this is going to be so good for him!