Arrivaderci Roma! The last bits of Rome

Rome is a world,

and it would take years to become 

a true citizen of it.

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Letters from Italy, 1786

It was an amazing 9 days in Rome, though it wasn't always easy. It's hard to explain because though I enjoy traveling on my own, on the days when it was pouring down rain, in the city, and I was visiting all the martryed saint paintings, it got a little strange. 

Anyway, for the most part, I was ready to move on and very excited to be back in Assisi. But, it was still difficult to leave Rome, my favorite city. There is always so much left to see! I guess that just means ... I have to go back? ;)

Basilica of Santa Croce in Via Flaminia

December 6th was a full day. I'd started that morning in the Capuchin Crypt, visited the Caravaggios and Berninis in Santa Maria del Popolo, I took a million photos in the ultra modern MAXXI museum and had lunch, and now it was time for me to head back to the tram, and make my way South to meet up with my new friend Dawn. She had invited me over, for a home cooked meal, with her family in Monteverde. (Southeast of Trastevere)

Here's a little music for my last day in Rome ... ;)

I mentioned in the previous post, that MAXXI museum is in a lovely neighborhood ...

And as luck (or synchronicity) would have it, there was a little flower shop next to the tram, so I could pick up a hostess gift!

You can see the potted Christmas trees, in the photos below. It was the 6th of December, after all. I decided to give them a little holiday color with a pot of bright red cyclamen, with red wrapping. (also below!)

Below, I am heading from Piazzale Flamino, through the old Porta del Popolo. That's Piazza del Popolo, through the gate, with it's 73 foot Egyptian obelisk. The obelisk was originally from the Sun Temple in Heliopolis, and built in 1300 BC. Emperor Augustus apparently thought it would be nice to have it in Rome, and had it brought to town in 10 AD. 

Seriously, are there any obelisks left in Egypt?! 

The twin churches you see on either side of the obelisk are Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto.

I headed through the gates and made my way over to to Piazza di Spagna where I was to meet Dawn. I walked around the neighboring Piazza de Mignanelli and the Colonna dell'Immacolata, just to the East of Spagna.

Virgin Mary by Giuseppe Obici 

Colonna dell'Immacolata

Column on the Immaculate Conception

designed by Luigi Poletti 

It was commission by Ferdinand II, King of the Two Sicilies. It was dedicated in 1857. 

David, by Tadoni

The big tree lighting in Piazza di Spagna would be the following day, so many more lights were going up that day.

I'm hoping that pile of lights was more organized than it looked!

One last view of the Piazza!

Dawn met me on the Spanish Steps. We got in her car and headed to pick up her kids.

This, below, is Giovanni, a total sweetheart, who warmed up to me very quickly and had a lot to say! So cute and about the same age as my nephew, Benjamin ... and a fellow fan of Lego Spinjitzu. Some things are universal! 

They helped me find a striped neck warmer like Giovanni's, that evening, for Benjamin, for Christmas. Super cozy.

We went to the grocery store to pick some things up and the kids showed me this bag of cookies ... their favorite breakfast cookie. Don't you love the idea of a breakfast cookie? 

I promised I'd buy a bag before leaving Italy, and give them a try. I did. I got a huge back and lugged it in my carry-on back to California. Yum! Like a very crunchy butter cookie. Perfect for dunking, but I learned that sweets for breakfast aren't the best idea, unless you are walking all over Italy all day long. 

Anyway, the cookies were a great treat to have over Christmas, but now I'm obsessed. While putting this post together, I found them on Amazon. Danger!

Dawn and I met on this trip, through our mutual friend Mark Avery, who I've known since I was 21. She had me beat, though. I think they met in High School. 

Here we are talking to him on the phone in New York State!

Dawn says I should get one of these. An Italian food mill. 

She started up the veggies ...

Dawn and her darling daughter Elena. (Who is smart as a whip!)

For pasta al forno ...

Layers and layers of pasta, cheese, veggies and ...

bechamel ... mmmm

I had so much fun being with them and it felt so wonderful being around the warmth of a family. 

I wish I'd payed better attention. She learned the recipe from her Italian mother-in-law. Maybe she'll email me the recipe!

Thanks Dawn for showing me around, taking me shopping, to the amazing mural at the monastery at Trinità dei Monti, the Protestant Cemetery and inviting me into your home!

I left Rome the next morning. After closing the door to Golden Rooms, I realized the shop next door was finally open! I had been spying charms for my sister's and my charm bracelets, in the window, but it was never open when I came "home" in the evenings. 

I barely made it through the door with my huge bag and my carry on. I didn't want to be late to my train so I quickly asked to see the charms. The sweet older man and his granddaughter were very sweet.

For my sister, I got a tiny charm of a temple, at the Roman Forum, and gave it to her for Christmas. For myself, the Bernini Elephant and obelisk from Piazza Minerva, the first place I  ever stayed in Rome. It now lives between a little blue and white Dutch charm, from my grandmother, and a silver feather my parents got me in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 6th grade.

I hope you enjoyed this very long journey through Rome! 29 posts, including this one! It took sure took awhile. I can't believe I left 7 months ago!

Arrivederci Roma!

(Until we see each other again!)

There are many posts of Umbria, Liguria, Piedmont and Lombardy to come! (I got around!) Plus, an amazing dinner I helped cook with our friend from Afghanistan, and some recent Southern California day trips. It's been a busy summer! Hope yours is going great! 

Arrivederci, Roma

Goodbye, goodbye to Rome

City of a million moonlit faces

City of a million warm embraces

Where I found the one of all the faces

Far from home

~lyrics by Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini

blessings and light!

Maxxi ~ Thoroughly Modern Rome

MAXXI 

National Museum of 21st Century Art

Designed by Zaha Hadid

This museum opened only weeks after my previous trip to Rome! It's Italy's first national museum of contemporary art and architecture. I vowed to go back and see it, just to experience the unique and fantastical modern architecture.

The museum was awarded Royal Institute of British Architects 2010 Stirling Prize for architecture. 

The inside is open and light and very exciting. Everywhere you look makes you feel you have entered a new piece of modern art. It also reminds me of a spaceship where stormtroopers would feel at home! What could better? ;)

Architecture is really about well-being.

I think that people want to feel good in a space...

On the one hand it's about shelter,

but it's also about pleasure.

~Zaha Hadid

You are actually getting two museums in one. One for art and the other for architecture.

Just in case you were wondering, yes, you can take an elevator.

There was a very cool exhibition by William Kentridge going on at the museum when I was there. Since it was an installation I couldn't really take pictures ...

Here is a little video, which is partly in Italian, but the artist speaks English and the you can see some of his art, and and bits of his installations and films.

After going to the Capuchin Museum and Crypt that morning, then Santa Maria del Popolo, I was beginning to get hungry. Most museums these days have some sort of café and if they are art museums, it usually a pretty good bet that the food will be good.

It took me a while to figure out that the museum restaurant was across the courtyard. There were some people in line ordering paninis and vino.

But then I saw ... a buffet! 

And it looked good.

I ordered a glass of wine ...

And then I dug in to the buffet.

Tons of antipasti  and salad, and a variety of pastas in the hot food containers. I was trying to be low key about photographing the buffet. For some reason it felt extra silly taking picures here. Maybe it was the ultra sleek atmosphere and my little aqua colored point and shoot. I don't know.

That didn't stop me from photographing my own food, of course. My Italian teacher would have had a fit, that I piled it all on one plate, American Style. (Or at least, my style.) After all those stairs, in the museum, I was tired and just wanted to sit instead of getting up between every course. Besides, I knew I'd be getting up again ...

 ... for a cheese course! Oh, above at the top of my plate was this formed pasta thing with some kind of cream and cheese ... omg. Oh, and you see I did get salad and veggies, as well as penne and couscous.

Yum!!!! (I'm not doing dairy at the moment, so this photo, below, is killing me!) That's a pear sitting up top and if you look closely,  you can spy the banana in the top left corner that I threw in my purse for later. 

And then, I had to have dessert! I'm not so much of a dessert person normally ... just a chocolate person, but I really couldn't resist. I guess, that's obvious. 

The thing that looks like scrambled eggs, was actually some kind of custard thing, I think ... then I tried the raspberry dessert (up top) and whatever yummy mysterious confection that was in the front. 

It was all very yummy and I was happy to have splurged a little on the buffet. It was still less than my touristy pasta I had my first night in the city!

I was very happy I made it up there. What a building! It was pretty easy to get there too. I was already at Piazza del Popolo, just south of the Flaminio Metro Station. 

If you are at the Metro A Flaminio stop, at the north side of Piazzale Flaminio, there is an outdoor tram that takes you north to the Apollodoro stop. Then you are at Via Guido Reni. Head west a short distance, in a cute neighborhood, and you are there. 

If you are worried about missing the stop, do what I did and ask a nice Italian girl, and she'll signal you when to exit. The tram was very nice, by way.

Here's a video of the opening of MAXXI, and the awesome woman architect, who designed it - Zaha Hadid. Love her!

For more on MAXXI and how to find it, click here for their website.

One of the things I feel confident in saying we can do

is bring some excitement, and challenges, 

to peoples lives.

We want them to be able to 

embrace the unexpected.

~Zaha Hadid

architect of MAXXI