Here is a peak at most of the pictures I did this week for Girl Gone International on Instagram. Enjoy!!!!!! 😉 🙂 🙂
Chasing rainbows
Night view of the Colosseo
So the weather in Rome is very strange these days. It rains (or I should probably say it pours down) for some time and then the sun comes out. It’s cold in the morning, you dress up (still a leather jacket and no coat) and then it gets warmer. However today it seems that winter has finally arrived here. Leather jackets don’t work anymore (at least not for me) and I also need some gloves…. Been forced to buy a pair of these rubber boots which are not very comfy to walk in and your feet start to boil after a while. But have no choice since my leather ones took 2 days to dry……. It does feel a bit like we will need soon to build Noah’s Ark …
So yesterday I was on the train in between classes (English and Italian…) and of course while I was walking to the train and waiting for it, it was pouring but the moment we got inside it stopped. Not only this but even the sun came out from behind these dark clouds and for a split second among the buildings I caught a glimpse of a rainbow :). For the next few stops I was chasing it, sitting on the train and looking out of the window but to no avail. It was gone as fast as it had appeared. Sorry I couldn’t take a picture of it……..
Piramide between the showers 🙂
One of the things I have discovered to dislike in Rome is the inefficient and unreliable public transportation….. For such a big city (population:close to 3 mil + tourists) it only has 2 lines of metro (just like in Bulgaria 🙂 and the third one, which was supposed to be open this year, is nowhere near to being opened any time soon. When you add the constant flow of tourists, the train stations very often feel like super crowded stadiums during an important game. Did I mention that the two lines intersect only at 1 stop?! On the days of transportation strike (which is pretty much every two weeks)….. Let the force be with you! Buses seem a bit more reliable even though at night they are not the best. Having a car is not a better option either as traffic is horrendous and parking in the center is impossible. I do have to say though that there is one thing I like about the metro and that is the music at the stations ;). Very often I hear songs which remind me of friends and family and I can’t help but smile. So way to go with the music station!!!!!
I love these!!!!!!!!!
Let’s talk about something more positive: food! I promised you food in every post so here it comes. I’m afraid to report that my cooking skills have not improved much. They consist of: pasta with pesto, pasta with tomatoes, gnocchi with pesto, tortellini, ravioli. Do you see where this is going? However I am happy to report that the other day I cooked a veggie soup. Apparently I still don’t know how to cook in small quantities and have been eating the damn soup ever since! The chicken in the picture (it’s quite hard to say what it is) turned out also good and it was a complete experiment: on the stove with onions and tomato sauce. During the day I’m very often on the go with classes in the morning, then another location and so on. Lunch is pretty regularly pizza :). I have this idea about signing up for cooking classes and will keep you posted if I go with it :).
Typical dinner at home….
I cooked soup and chicken!
Typical lunch between classes….
Lindt chocolate in Rome :)
I can cook!!!! :) Apparently I can make pancakes (Bulgarian style). Was supposed to do only about 5-6 but there you go – we have for breakfast and lunch and dinner :) :) :).
Discovering Rome with a friend
I wish I could live in a perfect world where I could see my good friends a few times a year for a few days (if we can’t be in the same country, continent or city…). Lovely to discover and show (I know some things by now 😉 Rome to a dear friend of mine! It seemed like we hadn’t seen each other for a few days not years… Such a great time exploring the many neighborhoods and sites, the food and drinks, the monuments and just enjoying the sunny and hot weather at the end of October.
As you can see the posts and pictures of food are continuing and I think they will be here for a while. We had some amazing pizza, pasta (of course….), mozzarella di Bufala, tiramisu, gelato and wine :-). I never thought I’d admit this only because I thought it was too pretentious but…. Italian food in Italy is different and much better than Italian food outside of the country. It’s a fact…..
I’m looking forward to seeing more friends here. I hope I will still be awed and fascinated by all the sights in Rome after I take each visitor there and will lose my breath for seconds while I marvel and admire them. It is the idea of the habit that scares me a bit. I want to ‘wow’ and ‘ah’ every time I pass by the Colosseo and not get used to it like everyday things everywhere else. Can I keep the admiration?! Will see….
If you haven’t seen ‘Vacanze romane’ with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn (1953), then do so! Thank you, my friend for recommending such a lovely movie which seems from a far forgotten era. A movie which made me appreciate the city even more and left a warm feeling in me. Vacanze romane
What amazes me after watching the movie is that these historic monuments in the city are not changed and continue standing as if frozen in time. So much around them has changed for the past 50 years (no need to look back hundreds of years ago) yet they stay here to remind us of times long gone. Times which have shaped the world……
‘Che bello!!!!’…
‘Che bello!!!!’
Exclamation for anything and anyone. Particularly cute when old ladies greet our local neighborhood veggie and fruit vendor, who is a young man of Indian descent, with ‘Ciao bello!’. It’s usually guys greetings girls with ‘Ciao bella’ but in this case it was just so sweet – che bello!!!!!!Â
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Out and about
I have to start with food again…. I’m sorry you will be reading about food pretty often ;). I thought I didn’t like gnocchi. I tried before a few times and was always wondering what people liked about them (there is a particular person from DC who comes to my mind ;). Little did I know that I had to come to Italy to enjoy them and start eating them! The first time was in Luca this summer and last night I actually cooked gnocchi with pesto! 🙂 Mmmmm delicious! However this morning either the pesto (I did put a bit much….) or the Nutella (which is on my bedside table…) turned out to be a surprise for my body. Pretty sure that there was some kind of food allergy which made my eyes look like someone had beaten me…… Anyway, no more Nutella….(I wish it was the Nutella)
I keep discovering Rome’s lovely parks! Totally by chance and usually when I’m on my way somewhere but I think that living without trees in Malta still has a deep effect on me. I admire everything green, the big trees, the grass. It is as if I’m discovering parks for the first time in my life. And when the weather is nice it’s even better!
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On Sunday I went to an international beer fest with some Italian friends :). Not a bug fan of beer but spent 7 hours there trying different beers. Some quite strange I must say…. Most from small breweries, interesting taste and color. The best part was that you pay for half a glass (which you take home as a present) and they fill almost the whole glass :). Needless to say some of the beers were 13% even 16%……I'm looking forward to going to a similar fest but with wine tasting. This felt a bit like Brussels but was quite interesting and fun! 🙂 Stay tuned!
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First days
The food…. Who doesn’t love Italian food!!!!! The greatest thing about being here is that wherever you go the food will be great. At some places it’s more than great but in general you can’t go wrong. How could you?!
With so much good food comes the question of staying in your own weight…. Haven’t figured out the secret of Italians yet. Eating pasta every day and not gaining weight might have a super secret. Apparently it could be in the way you cook pasta! pasta al dente
Stay tuned for more food as I continue to explore! And for those who might be asking: No, I haven’t started cooking. A desire might stir but for now the chances are quite limited ;).
How much pizza cat you eat?! Seriously… And it’s soooo good!
Welcome to Roma!
Ok, this is looking more and more like a traveling journal instead of my actual living experiences at different places :). I’ll try to keep this up for anyone who is interested (especially one friend 😉 and of course myself so that one day in the distant future I can go back and exclaim ‘Oh really?’ (which by the way is not far from the truth now…). So here I am on my next adventure — Rome, Italy :). Who would have thought……
After leaving the USA 3 years ago and moving to Europe I continue sticking to the south. Not sure why….. It must be something with the weather. Or the people. Who, at first in Barcelona, annoyed me with their disorganization and slow pace and lack of regard for those around them. But then, again in Barcelona and later Malta and now Rome, amazed me with their ability to enjoy and live life. In the disorganization I have found some sense and things which I enjoy.
This is not to say that I’m not looking at the north as well. Brussels was a great experience but I’m not convinced I can live there. I’ve discovered that the weather is a big factor… I need sun. And if it rains, then it should stop ;). Not sure I can enjoy the cloudy and dark days in the north. But for those who know me: I’m treading very lightly at the moment in Rome. Don’t be surprised if after a few months I post another blog from a completely different place. Honestly I have a feeling that I’m running out of places in Europe I’d like to try living. And it is not about survival as recently someone asked me if I’d survive Rome. I have survived many places. It is about if I will like it. If I do and enjoy it here, then maybe I’ll stay. If not…… Who knows – it could be time for the east ;).
I’m back to teaching in Rome. EU projects are not a thing in the past yet as I have some plans to continue in that direction but on my own. In the meantime, I am truly enjoying teaching! Not the first time I’m doing that but still figuring out why I like it so much here. Is it the school? The classes? The people? Yet to come… And at this stage of my life it is important to do something which I truly enjoy! And be in a city I feel good about. For now Rome is that place :). So stay tuned as I explore yet another place and meet some cool people.
Radost in Rome 