Mostri, Sole e Ninja Turtles

It's been a fun (and random) week here in the land of the pasta. Strange, too, with actually having to do schoolwork.

Anyway, instead of writing the papers that are due very soon, here's what I've been up to:



Last Monday I took a nice, long nap in the Circo Massimo, what used to be a large arena area for chariot races. Now it's a soft, cozy park. It is, also, I suspect, the best place in the world to play bocce ball.


This may look like any ordinary fountain in Rome. But here's the story that makes it so cool: Apparently, many many moons ago a young man suffering an extreme case of writer's block stepped out of his Roman apartment and took a stroll through the Jewish ghetto. He stopped for a rest in the Piazza Matteo, where this here fountain sits, and was suddenly inspired by the four small turtles that perch at the of the fountain. What a great idea, he thought, to create a story about four turtles. And better yet - name them after the four great Italian Renaissance artists: Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Rafael and Donatello. Voila! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were born.


On one magical evening last week I was walking home from Via Del Corso (where I bought some very rad neon green jelly sandals) and after randomly walking down a side street for a nice detour, I ran into the Associated Press Italy bureau. I'm going to go back during the day sometime this week and ask for a job. :o)


I spent nearly my whole weekend in Trastevere, my absolute favorite part of Rome. Trastevere is home to the Porta Portese, which is one of the largest outdoor flea markets in Europe. It is also home to the best gelato and cannoli shops I've ever frequented. Oh, and it's beautiful.

On Friday I went on a class trip to Bagnaia, home of the Villa Lante. The Villa is famous for its giardini (gardens), which have served as inspiration to several Italian literary Gods, including Boccaccio. I spent my time in the garden enjoying the beauty ... and climbing on things that I was probably not supposed to touch.

Pretty!

I giardini.

I am Queen of the Fountain!!!

Meet my roommate, Stephanie.

A part of the villa. The only thing missing from this photo is the chain link I jumped to get in there, which may (or may not) signify that that particular table was out of bounds.

This is why Stephanie and I are friends. Did I mention she lives in New York? Fun!

Resting among the garden bushes.

The cutest gatto ever! (Besides Juno and Hex, of course)

After Bagnaia, we took a bus to Bomarzo, where there is il Parco dei Mostri (the Monster Park). The park was apparently at one time part of a forest, and someone (I think it was Leonardo Da Vinci?) was strolling through the woods and he found all these crazy statues buried beneath the brush. Now it's a national park.

Don't eat me!

The best part about the park? The playground! My bum still hurts from this teeter totter. We noticed on the way out that the age limit for the playground is 12 ... I wonder if it counts if you ACT like you're 12 ...