Rome: DAY 5

FIFTH DAY

September 17, 2005

The Roman gods have spoken and I am now a blogger.  Having reread my first four days, I realize I should be writing the great American novel.  So much information and all of us with so little time; I will try not to waste our time.  It is beginning to sink in that we will be here for sometime.  It is such a luxury, and we are determined to make the most of it.  This is the first time in many years that I will be without a car and dependent on a system of transport that I never liked much.  After all, I am not the only one taking the bus.  It will take some getting used to.  We have been sightseeing everyday, and yesterday we went back to the Pantheon both to look at apartments and view this powerful center of old Rome.  Our agent arrived on her Motor Scooter.  Her husband is the headmaster of a big private school in Rome.  What a great neighborhood surrounds Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, hundreds of shops of all kinds, restaurants, bars, and loads of life.  We never saw the apartment as the agent’s key failed, so Roman.  We will go back next week when the key works. 

We walked back to the Argentino tram transferred to the bus up to our palace.  Last night several of the old fellows who have been here for a year already had a cocktail thing on the terrace of our floor.  Lots of people showed up.  Most of the fellows have brought their significant others. One of those is a man named Mark who recently with three other men started a new magazine called N+1.  Kim saw the review in the NY Times before we left and it was smashing.  Another guy named Don whose wife works for SF MOMA as a conservator, told me his wife had a press in her studio.  We went down to look and sure enough, she has a small tabletop monoprint press in her studio.  Don and I are going to try to have a monoprint day for kids and some of the other artists. I will need permission but it is such a fun idea that I hope they will let us try it. 

Out for a great local dinner very late.  Our whole schedule is about 2 hours later here.  Nobody is in any restaurant before 9PM.  I love eating late, but it is not so good for the sleeping path.  Still trying to get used to the time difference but doing well and walking our little butts off.  Tomorrow I will write more about this place, but I think my thoughts will keep changing.  Kimberly is working hard on Italian listening to tapes since classes aren’t available yet and will soon be talking like a local.