Suddenly, Last Summer

Just one year ago, I was boarding a plane for Italy, the start of our 12 day cruise along the Mediterranean Sea. Dad dropped us off at the airport. I remember weighing my baggage and checking my frequent flyer miles before I left the house. Just 9 hours later, we would be in a fast moving passenger van on our way to Civitavecchia, Italy where we would walk the streets and take photographs, enjoy pizza and gelato, see lots of scooters, and view the edge of the sea. I still recall the apartment we stayed in, an efficiency apartment with two bedrooms and one bathroom and a kitchenette. I remember having breakfast with Vivian and Greg, playing with our iPhones at the table and enjoying fresh cheese, peaches, and pear juice. Then we boarded and departed.
I still have fond memories of our journey. All fourteen days. Naples and Pompeii in Italy, Athens, Greece, the Island of Mykonos, the Island of Rhodes, Ephasus, Turkey, Egypt, the Island of Corfu, and then back to Rome and Vatican City. It was an amazing and humbling fourteen days abroad. I have to admit though that I was glad to get back to my baby Tula at home though.
After watching the movie "Letters to Juliet" over the weekend, I admit I would definitely be up for round two in the small towns of Italy; Verona, Florence, Naples, and Sienna. It brought back many memories of all of the architecture, people, and food.

NINE

For Valentines Day this year, I got to see the musical "NINE" at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art Theater. It was showing as part of the Oscar Nominated Film tribute held by the Film department in the Museum.

I have not often visited the Museum for films, a few during graduate school for design courses, but this one was purely for fun. After seeing the previews and learning about the fabulous cast of the musical, I wanted to see it. But after learning about the eye candy that was to be, I was intrigued and wanted to see it even more.

Aside from the music, it was a beautiful film visually, and I have to hand it to Danielle Day Lewis for his mostly believable Italian accent.

The film reminded me of Rome and when I visited this past summer. It was the most beautiful and upbeat place I have ever been. I would be happy to live there with only a Vespa scooter, a train ticket, and Tula. Oh, and maybe a job in a fabulous Italian Architectural office, too.

The architecture and costumes in the film were most magnificent and I enjoyed seeing Kate Hudson in a lively role. She has become one of my favorite actresses. (Perhaps yes, I am fascinated by chick flicks)... But the cast was spectacular too with Fergie, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard, and Sophia Loren.

I missed it while it was on it's run at the box office, but I am glad that I had the opportunity to pick it up at the museum.

Rome, Italy

I can now tell everyone that I did Rome in 14 hours. It was a long day, and I cannot wait to get on the plane tomorrow to go home. The port docked in Civitavecchia early and we had a uniform exit waiting for our color to be called. We left the ship and gathered our luggage. Everyone was tired, but ready to see Rome. We had two vans and drivers waiting for us at the port. We got all of our luggage and everything and headed off to our apartment in Rome. The drivers were well dressed, very European chic, and drove 200 km on the highway, and weaving in and out of the traffic.

We arrived at the apartment and took several trips on the elevator to the third floor with all of the luggage. I found a tiny room off of the kitchen to possibly sleep in. We freshened up a bit, looked at a map of Rome, and headed out to do some sight seeing.

We purchased bus tickets and found a bus to the Coliseum. We arrived and I was in awe and excited about how massive and extreme it really was. We waited in a very long line to enter, but it was worth it. It was the most interesting piece of history Ive seen since Pompeii. It is a very eroded structure though, and it is hard to fully imagine the way it looked in all of its glory and what it stood for.

We saw brides standing outside in the streets in their gowns, horse carriages with brides and grooms, and even a coming out parade complete with transvestites and visible body parts. It was an interesting combination of Basilica architecture and a sexual event. None the less, it is the local flavor and was a nice understanding of the culture.

We had pizza at a local restaurant for lunch, and then went around the city to the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica which I was very excited to see. Raphael's masterpiece and the center of attention just inside of St. Peter's Square. It is magnificent with all of the large statues of the popes, martyrs, and saints on the entry walls. The Sistine Chapel was closed for renovation so we did not get to experience it, but St. Peter's Basilica was definitely a humbling experience. I have seen photographs and learned about Bernini and the famous altar, but to go inside and see everything and the massive scale, detail, and triumph was breathtaking. I had studied the sculpture of Michaelangelo's Pieta, and for the first time laid eyes on it. There was a choir singing in the chapel and too many emotions and thoughts ran through my head, so all I could do was photograph the light shining into the structure from the dome and the windows in all of its magnificence.

When we left the basilica, we walked down to the tombs of the Popes. They are below the basilica and there are many tombs with the pope resting as a sculpture on top of them, then there are simple tombs like for John Paul, and then some which are entombed into the structure itself. Each one was unique, and there are several places left for future Popes. Everything was white except for the tomb of St. Peter, where relics and his body are supposedly kept.

Upon leaving the Vatican, the evening began to set in. We walked through the streets looking for more sites. We visited the exterior of the Parthenon, and had a dinner of pizza in the square just below. It was exciting to have dinner while sitting just several yards from one of the oldest structures in Rome.

We walked around all day long exploring, and did not get back to the apartment until nearly 01:00. We had just a few hours to get things together, get a shower and head to the airport for our 05:55 flight to Amsterdam.

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The Last Supper

The final day at sea. It was relaxing, and I am eager to get home to see my baby Tula. My neighbor who was kind enough to feed her every day and check on things had text messaged me just a few days into the trip telling me that Tula hissed and tried to bite her. I worried I would come home to angry cat. It has been a wonderful two weeks, but a little too much together time. Tomorrow we are visiting Rome. I am very excited to see more of the architecture that I studied in school, but the same time, want to vomit rock and marble.

We passed by an erupting volcano today, Stromboli. I studied this volcano in school when I took geology courses, and a special course titled "Earthquakes and Volcanos". There is a type of lava called stromboli, it is rope like, and is named after this particular volcano. There is a small village at the base of the mountain, and there were people on boats enjoying the sea. You can see a giant crater in the side of the volcano, and I wonder if the locals monitor it and whether they have planned emergency evacuations and such...

Our last night on the ship and a final formal evening. The dinner waiters and servers took photos with us and we said goodbye to our staff who had been most helpful and friendly during the stay.

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Civitavecchia, Italy

We landed approximately 16:03. The coliseum was visible from the plane, and was quite a sight to see from the air. We landed and I was the last off the plane. The plane ride from Minneapolis to Amsterdam was quite cozy with movies, games and good company of a woman sitting beside me on her way to Munich. Following, the plane ride to Rome was filled with locals who clapped when we left Amsterdam and also when we were descending to land in Rome. They clapped again when we landed, and due to the weather intense winds, we were thrown around a bit while landing on the runway.

We had a man waiting for us with a sign which had our name written on it. we som how managed to cram all five of us and many bags of luggage into a small van, where we drove approximately 60 miles or so down to Civitavecchia, Italy. The driver spoke little English and was signing to himself in the van. We smiled. We saw many types of trees and homes on the journey down. We held our breath while he drove through lanes of moving vehicles, and as he put the pedal to the metal to turn corners. I was familiar with the driving habits of those living in foreign locations, however had never experienced it for myself. Until now.

We drove past the choppy waters of the Mediterranean. The colors of the local town are muted with yellows, greens, and pink. The window shades and fins are fascinating. The city here looks old and new, unplanned and somewhat orderly. Our small apartment is tucked within the seams of the old and new.

We settled in, and quickly went out to sample the local cuisine. As we walked I followed behind the crowd, gawking at the structures, taking photographs and being called out as a slow poke. It is difficult being a designer, analyzing everything as I walk past and being unable to photograph, so I did. Others do not see the world as I do, and I have difficulty in understanding it through their eyes as well.

A small pizzeria is where we found ourselves, overlooking the sea. The restaurant was packed, and all eight of us where packed in and around the corner table. We conversed over several different types of pizza, and they brought out several samplings of various pizzas. A four cheese pizza with tomatoes and basil on a white sauce was delicious, and a squash and chicken pizza too. They cut the pizzas into squares and mix up all the of the slices to that there is no order and you get to try everything. They serve it on pieces of round plywood, approximately 1/4" thick and set them up on bases so that they sit above your plate. You can just see over them to the other side of the table. We followed the meal with a dessert pizza made with crust, nutella, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. We found ourselves indulging in gelato too as we walked the brick paved streets back to the apartment.

We slept for the night, the time change however is adjusting well, and it would be now nearly midnight where it is 06:00 here. It is lovely not to have to report to work just now today, but instead board a cruise ship within the coming hours.

Ciao!

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