it's been awhile...

but i have a really good excuse. i was too busy eating.

for breakfast every morning, fresh fruit at campo de' fiori!

then for a nice stroll in gianicolo, with a sweeping view of rome from the top.

grab a snack at aristocampo in trastevere...

the panini were so good, we went back four times and made friends with the owners...

one day we decided to check out david's ass in florence. michelangelo knew what he was doing.

why are all balconies so charming in italy? i found this one above ponte vecchio.

on that note, even random doors are so beautiful. though i don't know where the doorbell is.

another day, we decided to go to positano for lunch.

where i ate the most glorious homemade seafood pasta ever ever ever. if you are ever in positano, GO. you can find it at buca di bacco, right on the beach. i'm literally drooling as i type this right now.

aren't i an amazing photographer? :) more like, it's hard to take a bad picture of this place.. the sun, the sea, the flowers.. sigh.

the pantheon at night is magical.. something about the fact that it's been standing here, so solid, for so long. that i could stand in the exact same place as past romans, kings, gladiators, slaves, regular everyday people. it encompasses thousands of years of history, was built well enough to withstand all that wear and tear, and has witnessed so many stories played over and over again upon its front steps. i used to come here all the time to write in the evenings. thank goodness the mcdonald's that used to stand right in front of it is gone, that was kind of an eyesore (but i admit that i love their fries.. shhhh.... don't tell the italians!).

the time-old tradition of throwing a coin into the fontana di trevi for a speedy return to rome.

literally translates to "little one, you are mine." italian graffiti never gets old, even when it's just on the side of a trash can. roma, you are mine, as mine as you ever can be. ci vediamo presto, grazie mille per tutti i giorni, la mia famiglia e sempre la belleza...

(roma, firenze, positano, italia)

piazza sant'egidio

if you know where this particular piazza is, you're lucky, because i know i am:

it's in trastevere in rome, it's tiny and it's absolutely magical. that balcony on the right always has beautiful flowers, and during the day, there's a little fruit stand downstairs where the big gray door is. behind us is an awesome wine bar called ombre rosso and there's also an english language movie theater just off camera right (for those days when your head hurts from too much translating and you just need a break).

i used to live right down the street from here, past that big tree in the middle. and even though this piazza is nothing big or spectacular like some of the others in rome, to me, it was genuinely special. it felt like my own secret nook of the eternal city, hidden amongst the confusing cobblestones of this old roman neighborhood. i have lots of memories here, like the time two young carabinieri (italian policemen with their white mickey mouse gloves) harassed me and my sister just so that they could flirt with us (they were enchanted by her blonde hair). how very italian of them :) or the time my friend elle insisted that she could find her way back to my apartment but proceeded to get totally lost in the neighborhood maze, and i found her here. or the time i tried to finish a whole glass of fragolino (oh-so-girly strawberry wine) at the bar, failed miserably, yet still managed to walk home very tipsy by myself. i am so weak sauce.

i miss it. i really, really miss it. and i'm really, really grateful that i had the chance to live here and get to have such memories.

i'm not done with you yet trastevere, i'll be back... a presto.

(nyc)
  

 

big city life

by mattafix... remember this?? hahaha... only in rome :D

(nyc)

i stop for pudding

when my friend EL came to visit me in rome, we ended up giggling hysterically when she commented "wow, this fermata bus line goes everywhere in the city!" and i responded "el, fermata means stop!" hahahaha... even now, it makes me laugh!

she later made a separate observation in a different conversation about how people are always rushing to catch the bus or the subway, rushing to and fro from one thing to another, anxious to get to the next destination in a hurry. and meanwhile, it's all just a series of stops and starts and lots of waiting in between, in this constant state of frenzied anxiety to reach the final destination.

but is there ever truly a final destination?

life never stops. there will always be another place to get to, another stop along the journey. so why the rush? why the wait? why are we always anxiously awaiting that next step? why are we always trying to get there faster, wherever "there" is?

the flower never rushes. it blooms at its own perfect rate, and has time enough.

shouldn't we all just have a little bit more fun along the way? why walk the path when we can dance through it?

on that note, amidst all my running around today, i ate the super yummy banana pudding from magnolia bakery and it made me fat and happy ^_^

(nyc)

dance dance!

i have the musical tastes of a teenage girl :D

actually, scratch that. not even a teenage girl, but maybe more like a tween. should i be embarrassed? but i honestly love this stuff ^_^  (in my defense, the last video of hilary duff in the lizzie maguire movie was filmed in rome, which was the whole reason i watched the movie to begin with, b/c i was homesick after having just moved out of there!)

enjoy! :D

(nyc)