by Greg | Jun 4, 2010 | Blog Posts
I am a bit late getting today’s blog in (actually it is 7:30 AM in the next day, 1:30 AM EST). Quite frankly, I was too pooped last night to even think about what I needed to write down. I think my haphazard sleep patterns, stress of getting lost everyday in the city center, and trying to communicate with my southern-fried-Italian is starting to catch up! Nonetheless yesterday was a good day. It began normal enough with a walk for my morning cappuccino and cornetto. The typical way to have a cup of coffee at these places is to stand at the bar and drink alongside the locals. Sitting at a table is for tourists, school children and the elderly. Still, I feel a bit out of place standing at the bar sipping and eating and trying not to look conspicuous. Afterwards I did a bit of shopping at one of the many fresh produce stands all around and bought a few essentials for the day and week, including more of that delicious asparagus and wonderful strawberries (they are red all the way through). Back in the apartment I sat down and read and wrote for most of the morning. Amy commenced on various household chores that she knows I either loathe or will ignore. Soon Clark was up and he commenced to fixing his own breakfast of fresh eggs, prosciutto and espresso. He is fitting in nicely. Aaron, by and large, misses breakfast because he would rather sleep. The family decided they would not join me for the day’s itinerary – visiting the historic (which is a redundant...
by Greg | Jun 2, 2010 | Blog Posts
Today is a national holiday and I was quickly reminded of this when I took my morning stroll and was intending to pick up a few grocery items for breakfast and lunch. Every little shop was closed with the exception of one bar. Let me explain what a bar is in Italy: it is not a tavern, or American pub, or otherwise a place that serves alcoholic drinks accompanied by bowls of stale peanuts or pretzels. An Italian “bar” does in fact serve mixed drinks, but it should be more thought of as a café (I wonder if it is okay to mix French with Italian?) At least around our neighborhood these bars are mostly used for espresso, cappuccino, baked goods and some grocery items. Furthermore Italian bars are everywhere. Our neighborhood, which is nearly exclusively apartment buildings with small stores on the first level have them on practically every corner. During our first few days I pondered how competitive these stores must be with one another since there were so many, but then I realized that there probably were not enough of these small shops to service all of the people living here. Anyway, now I can go on with my story of hanging out in bars every morning while in Italy. This solitary bar was open and while I was enjoying my daily cappuccino and cornet (Italian for croissant) I spied the grocery items I most needed – eggs and milk. I needed bread for sandwiches so I asked the indulgent owner about “pane” at which he disappeared into a back room and soon returned with this...
by Greg | Jun 1, 2010 | Blog Posts
We are now in our second week in Rome have more or less entered into a routine of keeping house, catching the bus to the city center, and walking – lots and lots of walking. We walk to the grocery store, to museums, through museums, to churches and to pizzerias. I shared in last week’s church newsletter article that the purpose of my sabbatical was to study sacred art with Rome serving as a primary source. Since last week I have visited twelve churches, two museums, one Coliseum, three arches, one Trajan column, one sprawling Roman Forum and I cannot even guess how many fountains. I have viewed great works of art from antiquity, Byzantine, Renaissance, Baroque, and modern. All of this, mind you, within just the first week. There is still plenty more left on the agenda although one of my sons openly protested that surely there was nothing left to see! Today, however, there was still more to see, but not without doing some walking. Our trek began unofficially with Clark and me walking around our neighborhood. We are about a ten minute walk from the historic Appian Way but I decided I could not wait until our class field trip to see it, so Clark and I made our way to this ancient passageway to the center of Rome. Instead of making it all the way to the road, we took a detour through the Catacombs of San Callisto. We took a leisurely stroll along the lanes lined by both cypress and olive trees. It is the first time since coming to Rome that we have...
by Greg | May 31, 2010 | Blog Posts
It is hard to believe a week has passed since leaving Augusta. Tomorrow starts our second week in Rome. Our day began fast and furious with a wake-up call (annoying alarm clock) at 6 am. While I think I got the full eight hours of sleep Clark and Aaron said they were well into the early morning hours before they fell asleep. By the time our bodies adjust it will no doubt be time to head back home. We caught our bus at 6:45 and were deposited right beside the Tiber River where we walked for about a half an hour until reaching our ultimate destination – the Vatican City. Since we had a few minutes extra before meeting up with the rest of the class, we enjoyed a brief breakfast of rolls and coffee. Aaron attempted to order milk and was presented with latte. He gave up, and I enjoyed an extra beverage. The time to visit the Vatican Museum is early in the morning. The crowds were not nearly the size they were when we left around 2:30. There are no words or space to describe our six hours in the Museum. I confess that for both boys this may have been too much, but it was not nearly enough time to spend with all the artifacts, paintings, frescoes, sculptures and tapestries. There were a few surprises I would like to share with you. Their section for religious modern art was quite good. I saw paintings by Weber, Klee, Chagall, Bianchini and my favorite – Dali. There were probably many more that I missed but I honestly...
by Greg | May 30, 2010 | Blog Posts
Due to what I assume are the lingering affects of jet lag, I am having enormous trouble getting to sleep at night. We sleep with our windows open and although it is a fairly quiet neighborhood, we can still hear neighbors talking, babies crying, dogs barking, etc.. Then again, it may be all the espresso and cappuccino I am drinking everyday. Speaking of espresso, our apartment has one of those stovetop espresso pots and thanks to “wiki-answers” I figured out how to use it. We enjoyed several cups for breakfast this morning with our toast, eggs and fresh strawberries. Today being Sunday I felt a bit out of sorts for a couple of reasons. First, I was not preaching. With the exception of summer vacation I am most always behind the pulpit either here at FBC or by invitation at another church. Secondly, we had no place to go to church this morning which I know sounds strange in a city like Rome. In our neighborhood, however, I have no idea where the nearest church is and I am certain that the closest church will be both Catholic and in Italian. This reinforced to me the importance of sharing community with a local church, which I always miss when I am away from FBC regardless of the circumstances. Worship on Sunday came for me not in a traditional service but through visiting – or actually revisiting – some churches in the Trastevere area of Rome. I am positive that you, careful reader, have already noted that is where I visited yesterday, and of course you are correct. Amy and...
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