Rome

View from the Capitoline Hill

Rome's mascot, the She-wolf, mothering Romulus and Remus (the founders of Rome).
On the way to the Forum from the Capitoline Hill.

These three trees have been maintained in the center of the Forum since the time of the Republic.
There are olive (oil), grape (wine), and fig (fruit) trees which they considered to bear the necessities of life.

In the Forum

View from a balcony inside of the Vatican Museum

A sacrifice to Dionysus in the Vatican sculpture garden.

Anyone recognize this little beauty?

I just thought she had the best face...

She is pretty gorgeous too!

At the top of the Spanish steps.

A man unknowingly bathing in a fountain full of pigeon poop at the Villa Borghese...
that's what he gets for sticking his fat head into my shot.

The side of the Colosseum.
Behind me is where the gladiators would train.

The Colosseum (as if you needed me to label it...)

Outside of the Arch of Constantine (? I think that's the right one)

Sitting in a really cool installation at the MAXI (Contemporary Museum) in Rome.

Ciao!

Bella's attempt to come along for the trip...

My amazing friend Michelle started this blog for me from e-mails that I had been sending home to friends and family and photos that I had been posting on Facebook.  She put together the design, title, and first several posts for which I am eternally grateful.  The title is inspired by (I believe) my kitty Bella, who had to stay home and I think she imagined me telling Bella the stories of my adventures a bit like Marco Polo telling Kublai Khan in Italo Calvino's "Invisible Cities".  This theme will occur later throughout the blog...
(Although, I am considering changing the name to "Confessions of a hopeless Italophile", but maybe that will be the name of my book...)


Ciao Tutti-

We made it safely to Canada and we are waiting patiently for our flight which will leave in about an hour.  Apparently we are boarding in about 5 mins.  We'll message when we are on the other side of the ocean.

View from the Capitoline Hill

A presto-

Marissa and Chris 


Ciao Everybody-
We're here in Rome! We are exhausted, but happy to be here. We're heading to bed, since he have an early start tomorrow. Have a good night. 
Love,
Marissa and Chris
PS Darren- we both have our laptops, so if you tell me how to set up Skype, we'll do it.

Ruined cloister connected to a Romanesque church in Viterbo

We made it to Florence yesterday. On our way to Florence from Rome we stopped in this really beautiful hill town called Viterbo. 

Wedding at San Miniato