Addio

Addio..

There are only so many duty-free shops one can go into before she gets bored…so therefore I am sitting at the Leonardo da Vinci airport with my laptop out.  Too bad there’s not a Starbucks in my hand, then I would REALLY be believable.  Little do the passersby know that I’m actually just writing a blog post and not some grand novel or the “work” I decided to do on the plane. 

Either way, this feeling is quite surreal.  After some massive rearranging of my bags (my large suitcase was 40 kilo!!!!  They laughed and said there was no way.  Thus 74 euro later – I have two checked bags which are both overweight, a handbag which is way too cumbersome for my liking, and a “purse” which is in actuality almost as large as my other bags) I am finally here.  

My show-off was quite nice.  I spent my last days in Rome having brunch at a fabulous restaurant with my friend Federica, perusing the city, dinner with Vera in the Jewish ghetto, and finally a stop off to the Trevi fountain for my favorite gelato.   I bought the girls Monsters Inc. because they know that’s my favorite Disney flick (sometimes we joke and they try to say Mike Wazowski).  They were just waking up for the day, so our good-bye was short because my driver was waiting.  I will truly miss those adorable little faces, but I am so eager to see all of the adorable faces that will be waiting for me when I arrive. 

I’ve been truly blessed here with a wonderful family and a chance to know a magnificent city, the eternal city.  I am even more blessed knowing that I have smiling faces waiting for me when I get back to Philadelphia.  It almost makes you want to cry, because I know how particularly lucky I am.  God must really love me; because I definitely don’t deserve the good things he gives me.  Thank you all for following my rambles and I hope you’ve enjoyed one or two of my posts.  Much love, as my boarding bell rings!

Baci e un forte abbraccio <3>

Carrie 

due settimane.

my bags are packed, i'm ready to go...

it's official.  in two weeks at this time i'll be on a plane headed for chicago.  i can't begin to tell you how hard that is to believe.  in actuality, this is my last week in beautiful roma.  next week i'll be in padova (a really cute city outside venice) with natalia and the girls.  i finish teaching in the next three days.  my bags are practically packed because when i return to rome, i'll have less than 24 hours until departure.  my mind is desperately trying to remember everything i wanted to do and buy before i leave.  a bit of coffee, a pashmina, little gifts for everyone.  oiy!  i'm a mess.  so anyone who's had dreams of something italian should speak now or forever hold their piece (or at least until my next trip..ha).  let me know, and i'll see what i can do.. ;^)  

see you all soo soo soon!

backtracker..

hello lovelies.  i never posted anything about my kickass easter weekend, so i will indulge..  this easter i went to a small town in tuscany with the family.  pitigliano is a little bitty cliffside town, where most of the buildings date back to the 1200's.  we arrived and i was immediately at a loss for words (ha, hard to believe, i know).  the house was divine.  high curved cathedral ceilings, carved from stone.  dark wooden rustic armoirs, that have been distressed naturally through time.  huge plush couchs, huge bay windows that overlook the rolling hills of tuscany.  the air smells better, the flowers are more colorful, the food tastes better.  

THE FOOD.  generally speaking, we run a tight ship here in rome.  we don't eat bread (italians who don't eat bread?!) and we usually only have pasta once or twice a week.  for easter weekend we started with a slough of carbonara.  for those of you who aren't familiar, carbonara is traditionally egg pasta with a creamy sauce of egg yolks, parmigiano, and LOTS of cream.  oh and then bacon to top of the heart attack.  we then had asparagus grilled with lemon and grated parmigiano, and a pate of salmon.  the weekend was strewn with homemade bruschetta and fig jam, the traditional "colomba" which is basically big cakey bread, and lots of wine.  we were in tuscany after all...  

easter in italy is much like how my family celebrates in the states.  there is a huge breakfast of cured meats, more colomba, easter eggs (of course), and fruits.  then about 4 hours later we ate the fire-roasted lamb.  roasted right in our fireplace, with rosemary and garlic (we had giovanni's brother pietro to thank for that).  then we roasted some potatoes and smothered them with gorgonzola.  we ate with our hands and drank wine.  it was heaven.

 

VERY important question:

how much would stephanie and jennie want to kill me if i dyed my hair like this before their weddings?

O.K. maybe not so drastic, but you get the idea.  also, in a bright green dress will i look like a lost lass from ireland or worse, poison ivy?  that would be bad.  

who remembers my bout with red? so cool.  such a pain in the ass.  i know.  not that anyone cares...but i've found a NEW dye that stays in for weeks!   or so 

everyone claims...and there's a salon in philly that uses it.  let's imagine my past red obsession INTENSIFIED.  not so much the ronald mcdonald look (though i totally dig that).

then there's the whole pink thing.  i've been missing that for sure.  and have also gotten several suggestions to go back.  i definitely wouldn't be able to go pink before the weddings..  that would just be terrible.  

oh yes, and the whole job thing.  i suppose wild hair will limit my options more so then they already are, but honestly, when has that stopped me?  i'm feelin' a little drastic people.  hair change is inevitable.  i just need your solid advice.  these are very important life decisions!  so help me out!  grazie.

worse case scenario

it's 3:34 a.m and you are awoken by a strange rumbling.  you sit up immediately (is this the apocolypse?) and realize the entire building is shaking.  crap, it's an earthquake.  what do i do? i'm from scranton, earthquakes concern me about the same as being attacked by flying monkeys. of course, i stumble out of my room, shoeless, in my pajamas, and hurry to the girls room.  what the hell is earthquake survival? aren't we supposed to crotch in a ball under the bed or something?  no, i think that was atomic bomb survival..  anyway, it stopped.  it was hella scary though.  i wish i had my handy worse case scenario game to tell me what to do.  let's test your earthquake survival skills.  in case of an earthquake, you should:

a. hide in a large fixtured structure, like a bathtub or refrigerator.

b. stand in a doorway, or hide under a desk

c. stand near a window, and be prepared to jump

d. do whatever necessary to get outside.

we'll see who knows how to survive... you never know when an earthquake is going to be your alarm clock.

da baffetto

rachel 2's visit is officially over.  it's been really great to have my friends see my life here.  it reminds me how much i have learned about the city over the past few months, like: 

- the 84 bus is okay, but wait a minute and the express will probably come

- the best gelato is on via del lavatore near the trevi fountian.  (seriously though. i've had it all.  it's the best)

- the taralucce from Todis are divine.

- the night bus is NEVER a good idea

- if you want to eat well, and fairly cheap, go to the jewish ghetto

rachel's first night (actually both rachel's AND rachael's first night) i was insistent on going to this pizza place called da baffetto (the mustache).  three years ago when we were here we talked to a nice swedish actress who's name escapes me, perhaps sarah could help me out with that one, but anyway, she told us to go to this restaurant in trastevere.  i undoubtedly thought she said IL buffetto (the buffet) and we never found our destination.  this time around, when i heard of the famous pizzeria DA baffetto i immediately knew it was the place we were trying to find years ago (p.s. NOT in trastevere at all).  rachel of course didn't remember any of this, and i rolled my eyes.  SARAH would have!  

anyway, i remember meeting this girl, not much older than i am now...and saying to myself, "wow.  that's awesome.  she lives in rome, and knows all the hot spots.  i wish i could do something like that."  maybe not verbatim, but it went something like that.  i realized the other night (as i was recounting the story to rachel) that now - i'm now that girl.  

i'm feeling great tonight

the spring season has arrived!  hooray!  days are longer, the air is warmer, the trees are greener. no wonder spring is a natural high.  for my fabulous followers out there, most of you know that the winter was not the easiest, i definitely had my downfalls.  but now as i look back on the majority of my trip, i can be nothing but satisfied with all that i've done here in rome.  

i went for a run yesterday and i swear i felt like i was skipping.  the grass had just been cut, and the trees were trimmed, and i can't even begin to describe the smell of the air after the cool spring rain - i'll tell you one thing, you can't bottle that shit.  no.  it was marvelous.   i'm so excited to be home and to see you all.  it's been crazy being away for so long, but i know now that this definitely won't be the last time i'm away.  perhaps even next year, if i can't find a job in the U.S. (just giving ya'll a heads up...).  anyway, i know this is just a silly rant - but i'm feeling great tonight!