Rome: DAY 7

SEVENTH DAY

September 19, 2005

Last night it rained so hard that we finally had to close the windows.  It has been sort of hot up in the loft and because the humidity is high and the temp consistently near 80 all the heat rises to the ceiling.  So our sleeping place stays pretty hot until the early hours of the morning.  So this morning because it was cooler, I finally slept with a shirt on.  I have asked for a fan and one of our neighbors gave us hers.  So, all is well in dreamland, I think.

We had a long day sightseeing yesterday.  We decided to go out to Renzo Piano’s new music center.  I mapped the whole thing out, but one of the buses I thought we would take does not run on Sunday.  It is all a great learning experience.  The experience is that one should have a car or a scooter.  We took the bus to the Coliseum, then the metro to P.de Popolo and finally a tram to the center.  We missed the music center and ended up walking back about a mile.  We did not plan our food right and sort of missed lunch but found an unexpected trattoria with a Sicilian menu.  Of course, it was good.  We ate too much and moved on the Parc de Music.  It was hidden inside the old (1960) Olympic Village, which is now a tenement, but the Nervi stadium is still outstanding.  Piano has created a wonderful place.  I am not a critic of Architecture but it seems beautiful. It has three large pods, each of a different size and shape surrounding a stunning amphitheater in the cavity between the pods. While they were building the project they came across some old ruins and held up the project for a year and built a museum around the dig.  It is all a modern wow and the café a stunningly good vibe place. The design is contemporary and delightful.   I recommend a visit.  Back to the tram, the subway, the buses and finally to the room; we were finally back a mere six hours after departure.

We had a potluck at the Academy and it reminded me of a fraternity party where everyone knew the food would run out.  Not too much to eat and the wine was quickly gone.  No matter, the conversation was fun.  Some of these people are in their forties and even fifties, but they don’t care much about the amenities, I could do some learning here.  I joined a small group up in the 2^nd floor kitchen for a little whiskey and conversation that seemed to be fun at the time but the subjects seem to elude me.  The days are full and the apartment chase continues.  Week two begins.