long time no blog....

Well, it's been a while since I've updated this blog. Since I'm now working half days, you'd think it would be easier to keep up to date!

I returned from Canada on the 2nd of May, and since then have been stepping up my yoga practise to ready myself for July in Toronto. At the moment, everything on my body hurts as I'm not used to a 5 day a week practise. I do hope this gets easier!

Yesterday a friend and I went to a museum that juxtaposes statuary from ancient Rome with all the machinery from an old electrical turbine plant. It's very interesting, and I've attached a photo of me and one of the statues!

We then walked down to the non-catholic foreigner cemetery in Testaccio and wandered around. The tomb of Keats was there (a large crowd of people listening to someone recite his work in Italian gathered round -- quick impressive when you think he died in 1821!

From there we walked to the market in Testaccio to buy some fruit and veggies (Becky, we stopped off at the shop that sells Pomellato earring knock-offs and Michelle was almost tempted to buy some beautiful brown earrings!!). There is a stall in this market that sells only tomatoes (pic attached). Imagine - he has so many types of tomatoes, that's all he sells! You go to him - tell him what you're making and he selects the best type for you!

These Romans take their food very very seriously!

Hope you all have a great week!
diane

albrecht Durer

The above two pictures are -- St. Peter painted by Albrecht Durer and the fountain in Piazza Barberini as I walked to meet my friends at the Quirinale gallery to see the Durer exhibit yesterday evening.

The exhibit was lovely - we expected it to be jam-packed but there were few people, and we had the time to really see all the works of art there.

Afterwards we walked over to via dei serpenti and had a late dinner at a little hosteria that specializes in scamorza - fried cheese. For Becky's sake - there were roughly 15 types of scamorza including - with raddichio, with walnuts and gorgonzola, with honey and apples, the list goes on.

All in all, a lovely evening with Maria, Paolo and Mariagrazia!

Today I'm off to help celebrate Ronan's birthday with his wife and two kids, Sean and Fiona and their two kids, and another couple and their two kids! This is the time I need to borrow some nieces and nephews so I don't come 'empty-handed'!

Have a great sunday everyone!

D

chagall

saturday was a well spent - grocery shopping, cleaning and then the marc chagall exhibit with two friends.

i was very impressed with his work - the colors and the slightly childlike way he paints. For those of you in a couple, his work speaks about the power of love.

http://yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au/~mplog/Art/marc%20chagall%20woman_and_the_roses%201929.jpg

click above to see one of his pieces.

spring is coming to rome - the first picture is close to my home and is the ancient wall that surrounds the city. The second is of a fountain at city hall that is one of my favorites.

Must run.
d

Well, another week in Rome. Yesterday, I went to watch the Roman marathon as a colleague was running. Unfortunately, I didn't see him, but I did see a whole lot of people running. Young, old, disabled, blind. It was amazing. My hands are sore today from clapping!

In the afternoon, I met up with a friend at yoga, then out for a fresh squeezed spremuta (orange juice). The oranges now are the red ones from Sicilia. Lovely. She drove me home on her motorino and I LOVED it! I've decided if I come back for May/June, I will buy a motorino instead of a car. I'll take the metro/bus to work, then toodle around Rome on a bike!

an Inconvenient Truth

Hello everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my last blog, I seem to have gotten lost in work and yoga!

I'm attaching a picture of a friends terrace taken last Sunday - she lives near the Trevi Fountain and has this lovely rooftop apartment with the most amazing view of the center.

The weather here has been very warm - last Sunday was a summer day. Tourists walking around in shorts and sleeveless t-shirts (I was wearing a jacket in true Roman fashion!). It makes the movie I saw last night - An Inconvenient Truth - even more relevant. Please, if you haven't seen this documentary on the environment, go out and rent if from Blockbuster. It gives facts on what we're doing to our environment - indisputable facts that we can't deny. Worth seeing.

My original contract has been extended for one month. I fly back to Regina on April 13th. I then return here at the end of April to work for two months pro bono. I've decided to work half days for two months so I can spend the other half practicing at the yoga shala here and painting. I've never not worked full time in Rome, so I'm very excited to have this opportunity. It will be expensive for me, but studying at the shala here is important as they are quite famous internationally.

I shall sign off, hope you're all doing well.
diane

mars and venus

and my last post before i head off to yoga is my attempt at showing how a man's mind works. above is a picture of one of our whiteboards in the office, with part of our design.

this should be self explanatory to all you ladies why there is such a large gap between how men think and how women think!

happy saturday everyone.

da boys on my side....

of the desk are shown above, hamming it up for the camera.

on the left is Nicolas, our illustrious leader. he keeps us all laughing, which is a good thing as the only other option given the amount of work facing us, is to cry. On the right is Mario -he tries to remind us all that there is life outside of the office...

da boys on da other side...

you've probably all heard by now that the team i work with is composed mainly of men. last night i took pictures of four of them that share my small office space. above is a pic taken of the guys 'on the other side' of the desk! in the background is Ermanno laughing over something funny said by someon (usually Nic!). In the foreground is Joe who is actually answering a LIVE phone call!

finally... my friends!

This is the last post in a series (so I could post multiple pictures). Start at 'weekend no. 5' and work your way up!

Here are my two friends. As they were wearing matching north face jackets, i took a picture of them shivering outside the exhibit. Maria is on the left and MariaGrazia is on the right!

the exhibit was interesting, and after we walked over to campidoglio and ate lunch at the gallery there (just sandwiches and cake). then Maria and i walked back to my car, and i drove her home!

spent the remainder of the day doing laundry, reading, and watching a movie.

it was a restful and relaxing weekend -hope you all had the same!

foro romano

then i walked down fori imperiale - the big street from the colosseo to piazza venezia where the big white typewriter-looking building sits (those of you who've been to rome will remember). i passed by the roman forum on the left, and stopped along with a gazillion tourists to take a picture.

the colosseo

above! overcast day - it poured rain while we ate lunch!

a mostra with my friends

yesterday (sunday) i walked to the centre to see an exhibition with two of my friends - maria and mariagrazia. i walked past the roman forum, and then next to the arch of constatine (it's right next to the colosseo which you can see on the right). Next blog is the colosseo as i walked by it.

weekend no. 5

well, i've now finished 5 weeks here in rome. this past weekend i took several pictures i wanted to share with everyone. the picture above is the little fountain at the end of the street where i practice yoga. it's lovely, and on saturdays when i leave it's clearly visible (hence the picture!).

i used to live just down the street from this area ... imagine how easy it would be for me just to WALK to yoga!

as far as my practice goes, there are so many people who are so much better then me here, it's both encouraging and discouraging at the same time. patience... that's the lesson i keep learning from yoga!

Happy Valentines Day!

Above is a picture taken of the colosseo on my way home from yoga monday night. Sights like this are so common here, it's easy to take them for granted. I've chosen a longer route home from yoga just so I can pass by the colosseo.

:o)

Tomorrow night I'm heading out to a quiz night with a group of girl friends. Wish me luck!

It's off to work - have a great Valentines Day everyone!

d.

saturday in rome.

I'm attaching a picture taken on my way to work last Monday. I was at the traffic light and thought the view was so beautiful i took a picture with my new phone. The view is the old wall that surrounded rome with a cemetary on the other side (where all the trees are).

It's a rainy saturday here in rome. Instead of yoga (I'll do it tomorrow!) I plan on meeting a friend at Le Pain Quotidien for a late breakfast, then we'll do a little shopping in the center. I have to buy a housewarming gift for friends who are throwing a dance party to celebrate their new apartment!

Last night I met up with a group of women at Gillian's place for a glass of wine, then headed out to a restaurant in Testaccio for dinner. The restaurant is having a tartufo week (truffles). Of course, being allergic I had fish instead! It was served with aqua pazza which translates to crazy water!

Tomorrow I am leaving open so I can go to an exhibition somewhere in the city.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

d.

Sunday in sunny Roma

Well I've done it! I have a phone with picture capability, and the software to load the pics on my laptop. This will be my first attempt at visual blogging. Bear with me!

Today I took the subway to Termini (main train station) and met my friend MariaGrazia for an exhibition of Caravaggio's work. The exhibition while tiny, was lovely. The picture above is one of the amazing pieces he did... taken with my new phone! It is a painting of the angel telling Isaac he needn't sacrifice his son (whew!). It's a beautiful piece, and was well worth the trip.

After the show, we went to a tavola caldo near piazza repubblica for lunch. This little restaurant specializes in sicilian food. I had the pasta alla norma - a lovely recipe with fusilli pasta with pine nuts and eggplant. I'll be checking out this recipe in my italian cookbook when i get home. here is a link to the recipe if you're interested!

http://ilforno.typepad.com/il_forno/2003/11/the_pasta_of_th.html

Afterwards, we had a little stroll, went into this lovely church renovated by michelangelo. It has a cool way of telling time on the floor - the angle of the sun comes in a small hole and hits a specific spot on the floor which is marked with a meridian line. Check out the following website for more into on the church http://www.answers.com/topic/santa-maria-degli-angeli-e-dei-martiri

I've realized i can only add 1 picture to each blog, so I shall have to be selective! I took two other photos today, but could only post one (the most important one... caravaggio!)

bye everyone and happy Sunday!

d.

One for Becky....

Well, while I wait for my 5:30 meeting to start (it's now 6.12pm and I'm looking at another 20 minutes before it even starts . . .) thought I'd update the blog.

I've realized that I can use a phone to take pictures which I can then upload to the blog... so I've decided that now I will buy myself a better quality phone with connection ability to the net, and then give my old (relatively new) phone to mom when i get home. This will replace my idea of purchasing a digital camera, as the phone can do double duty.

As Becky has asked for, following is a brief weather and food update for Becky's sake. . .

Last Saturday was one of those lovely days - chilly but sunny. I spent the morning doing my shopping at the commissary, getting things to populate my cupboards. Then it was home to dump off groceries, then off to the centre for a hair cut and color. I took the bus as the traffic was incredible earlier that morning. After my hair appoitnment I wandered into the center to meet up with Simone and Michelle, and we did a little shopping (I bought a suit jacket 50% off!) and then to the move 'Pursuit of Happyness' at the Metropolitan movie theatre.

After dinner we wandered over to Gusto - a very upscale eatery with amazing food in cool surroundings. The dinner was simple but very very yummy. I chose the pasta a fagioli and ate a massive plate of spinach. Both were good, but Michelle's zuppa di ceci was amazing (wish I'd chosen that). Also michelle and Simone shared a big plate of cheese... some stinky and some not. As most of you know, I'm not much of a cheese fan, so I nibbled a bit but didn't consume a lot.

As we left the osteria someone noticed a beautiful frescoe on the side of a building in the distance, lit up in the dark, and I wished I'd had a camera to post that picture for you all.

The thing that is so hard to describe, for me, is the smell that Rome has a unique quality not found anywhere else.

My meeting just called, so I'm off.

Bye!

just too busy!

Hello from Rome.

I'm sorry I haven't yet responded to some of your emails but work is keeping me extremely busy here. Between yoga and work, I simply don't seem to have time to do much of anything!

I'm hoping it will calm down a little, so I can at least enjoy this beautiful city.

I now have internet at home, so I will be able to update the blog and send emails outside of work.

This past weekend I did some much needed shopping, spent a good chunk of yesterday at ikea (thank god for ikea!) and the remainder of the day assembling stuff.

Saturday I went to my hair dresser (pier luigi and giusi say hi to treena!!!) and met michelle and simone in the center for a little shopping, a movie (the pursuit of happyness) and dinner. All in all, a lovely fun weekend.

Now it's on to the next work week.

Take care everyone! And send me some comments.... I feel lonely in here!

Walking at Lago di Vico

Sunday I went with a group of people from WFP for a walk around the lake at Lago di Vico. It's a small volcanic lake near Rome (around 1 hour drive north).

the day was very foggy, and the climb up what I consider a mountain, resulted in a view of the trees in front! At some point, two people heard growling in the mist ... it was like a horror movie.

Luckily, no one was eaten by a wild boar or bear, and we eventually we made it down and back around the mountain back to our cars. We ended up at a lovely restaurant with exceptional food.

All in all, it was a fun day. Above is an action pose of Michelle and I for your viewing pleasure!

Still new to blogging....

And my apologies for cutting you all off.
:o(
I realized that I wanted to be the only person to post (since not everyone who reads this knows everyone else....) so I modified access to remove the ability to create new posts... leaving you all the ability to comment.

Aparantely that wasn't the case so I've re-instated everyone's access and will ask you all to please limit your 'blogging' to comments.

Life has been extremely busy with work. It's very interesting, but I'm leaving around 7:30 most nights, and just haven't had time to update this blog.

Looks like I'm heading out of Rome with a group tomorrow to walk around a little lake and eat a nice lunch, so will try and take some pics to post here!

As far as hitting the yoga shala - my hours have prevented me from doing that to date. I've been practicing in the mornings, but it's not the same. I hope to make it to mysore tonight... wish me luck!

Till next week.

it worked!

I'm so proud of myself . . . If I don't accomplish anything else all week, I can be satisfied to know that I am now a blogger! (or is that bloggee?)
Wise Diane . . .left North America at a very opportune time. The arctic air is sliding south and colliding with Gulf moisture. We've had three days of ice, freezing rain, raining ice and icing freeze. It seems to be moving Treena's way now.
So while you're enjoying Roma's many pleasures Diane, I'll be trying to remember why I wanted to return to the Midwest . . . . ;-) Keep us posted so that I can enjoy Roma vicariously!!

blog challenged

I'm just trying to see if I do this correctly. (My first post disappeared into cyberspace, evidently).

Hi Treena

don't know how you ended up managing to post a new entry... you are obviously very techno-savy!

i've started work - i have my building pass, a pc and a phone (tel from north america is 011.39.06.6513.3829).

email is diane.froh@wfp.org.

:o)

Benvenuto a Roma!

Diane, welcome back to Rome (again). Heard your flight was delayed, but I hope at least,
that your luggage arrived with you. Just a reminder that it was Michelle's birthday today,
but I'm sure you knew that already! All going well, I will see you in Roma in the second
week of Feb! Maybe we can all celebrate VD together. That would be Valentines Day,
of course : )

Becky...hellooo & happy new year!

Flight delayed out of Toronto

Well, the flight fromRegina to Toronto went well. Maggie and Rachel picked me up at the airport, and we met Betty and Caudy for dinner at the Keg.

They dropped me at the airport and as they drove away I saw my flight was delayed by 3 hours - apparantely the plane had some brake problems, so they're getting another one ready.

I talked my way into the air canada lounge so I'm watching bbc news, eating olives and writing this blog!

I will update you all when I arrive.

and Rachel, BCD is my friend Becky Doyle!
and for Becky's info, pooman is my brother peter.
bye all!

almost ready!

well... i'm almost finished my packing - only thing left to do is get some cash and clean my house!
the weather here is cold . . . -29C last night with wind chills as bad as -42C. brrr.

rome will feel like summer!