Wednesday already?!?

How on earth did that happen? Ah well I guess it means my work is going well which is good.

Lets go backwards

Today
I am trying to get up and ready to start the day. LAst night we watched 'WIthnail and I' and I liked it much better this time, last time I saw it at the moonlight cinema and I was cold and being bitten, ha. Such a good film, Will said he would only watch 10 minutes but clearly he had to stay. He is going back to England today to hand in his thesis, I will miss him he is my breakfast companion, the only other person who turn up late at breakfast without having showered with messy hair. Though he did threaten to make me watch the last Ashes series so maybe not

It's funny how quickly you make friends here, because you see people all the time and have this shared experience, plus are often both doing PhDs and working on Rome.

Anyways, MArk has been ringing me heaps which is loverly, he has an interview for a new job on Friday so you all must cross your fingers for him. IT would be so good if he got it as his current job is just exhausting the poor muffin.

Yesterday
American Academy, took me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get there. Bloody 95 bus never came, so i walked down to Piazza del Popolo and caught a little electric bus to PIazza Venezia and then another up the hill. Was then forced, forced I say, to buy carciofi fritti (deep fried battered artichoke hearts) to regains my strength. Got lots of good work done, I just adore the American Academy library. HAd lunch with David and LIsa and another lady called Flavia (one of my favourite Iatlian names) Then had a long discussion about my paper with David, which I was a bit worried about but turned out to be really good (the discussion not the paper haha) well actually the paper is ok just needs some work and now I a know where I am going it should be easier. So after that I wlaked back to the school, takes about an hour and a quarter but it is a gorgeous walk, it goes American Academy - Acqua Paolo and gorgeous view of Rome right ot the moutnains beyond, down an old staircase - past the Bosco Parrasio (18th century theatre garden) - through Trastevere - across the Tiber - up via Giulia - past San Giovanni dei Fiorentini - up via dei coronari (where all teh antisue shops are) - through little back streets to Piazza Navona - through to via della Scrofa - up thh corso to Piazza del Popolo then home.

Monday
Worked in the library all day, then watched "before sunrise", hand't seen it since it came out over 10 years ago it was really good watching it again, I was never one of the addicted ones, but then seeing it again after I have travelled, and have had that experience of meeting a person who you just click with and wander around an amazing city and just chat all day made me it more. Then me and Alex decided to watch the next one, which was less satisfying, but still good, made me think alot about how you dream of re-capturing moments or meeting some person again and then what would happen if you actually did.

Anyway, then me and will had a good chat about it nextmorning over breakfast, between adding dessert spoons of sugar to our coffee and dropping our food, I think we are the two most un-morning people who actually make it to breakfast. haha bless

Sunday

I went out with Ellie today to see the Palazzo della Consulta on the Quirnal hill, it is one of the seats of government (the Constitutional court) but it is open to visitors on weekends in feb. It was apparently built with lottery money, even though gambling was forbidden in Rome on pain of excommunication, but the papacy recinded it just to raise funds to build themselves a new palace. Gotta love em.

It was very nice,a bit 19th century in some bits but I forgive them. The guided tour was in ITalian too and I pretty much followed everything so that made me happy.

Then we left and saw a military band getting off a bus in the piazza and they seemed to be going into the quirinal palace to welcome the president back as we saw them raise the flag as a helicopter was landing.

Then we got ice cream from San Crispino, so so delicious, I had whisky and nuts and dried fig


Pictures...


Palazzo della Consulta


The obelisk ( there are obelisks everywhere in Rome marking all the major points in teh papal procession route) and one of the discoboli, roman statues of horse tamers.


The door to the palazzo della consulta


Carabinieri outside the President's palace


The soldiers with the band going down the steps.


The musicians, note the amr on shoulder, such typical Italian men.


The staircase street, going toward the quirinal palace


Sunglasses I absolutely have to have!


A dress I have to have.


A bust of some dude with addded boogers

I will miss my lay-deees breakfast tomorrow. Hope you have fun, I will have a coffee for each of you.

So tired had a lovely dinner with friends over on the JAniculum, they made my absolute favourite salad, tomatoes with big slices of buffalo mozarella and basil leaves very fun, but am absolutely crashing now.

Argh I am only just up and dressed and it is midday I was meant to finish my bloody paper today. Note to self, do not try to drink beer as fast as englishmen, it ends in tears. Well not tears but me being enormously late to bed, forgetting mark was going to ring me, so ringing him and finding he was all anxious, meh he can get over it and now feeling a little tender. It was very fun though, but must try and be good for the weekend. Also pears and green tea are happy food.

I went bowling with some friends tonight, tres tres fun. Beers, bad scores, and strangely charades, blame it on the english.

I had a good day, am pretty knackered now but it is 10:30 so that is good. I worked in the library this morning, yay for me. I love love love the BSR library, I will take a photo, even the smell of it makes me want to work. Then I decided to go out for a walk as I needed some cash and some sunshine. It was sooooo warm I was walking around in just my jeans a t-shirt and a thin cardi. I seriously love this place so much.

So I went to the bank, then went and bought some bourjois eyeshadow then went to Zara and bought the bestest ever shirt, white in this beaitiful cotton weave with thin black stripes, then with even thinner silver stripes either side, it is a large but it fits ok, everything in their sales was bloody large, grrr. I also bought the most beautifulest waistcoat in deep charcoal. They also have some bloody gorgeous shoes, arghhh.

THen I went to Calzedonia (translate that as sockworld!) and bought girgeous stay up black opaques with thin white stripes for about $6.

Wandered home through the piazza del popolo, met up with my supervisor who had stolen my articles off my desk ahd a lovely dinner, went up the director's flat for awhisky, but mostly to visit their gorgeous cat, so beautiful and she was getting all faux vicious and hiding under rugs.

Just had dinner, had a sleep earlier, mark called me about 10:30am and we had a good chat.

Well anyways back to rome, turns out there are a few people here that I know, my friend Sue of course who is the assistant director. Also one of the artists is still here (I think he has a two year fellowship which is amazing), his girlfriend and research assistant Amy and another assistant called Ellie. And of course Reno who serves the dinner, he must be about 70 now, he is so funny I love him. When we have fruit after dinner he builds beautiful towers of fruit with a pear balanced on top, then you have to try to extract the fruit from underneath without toppling the pear (ok well you could just eat the pear but my way is more fun). Sue told me off for sleeping all day, but I am still buggered, I had a coffee at dinner and will try and stay up till maybe 10:30, 11pm and then hopefully sleep through the night. Hmmm what else. Do you like this pretty lady?



1960s Italian actress/model Adriana Fiorentini, I think she is gorgeous, plus I love the way she is on some Roman balcony with random antique busts strewn around. That is my idea of how I am in Rome, apart from it being too cold, lounging in pretty underwear on a roman balcony. Well one day perhaps. love to you all.

Roma roma

Here safe and sound, but very tired. I hardly slept at all just watched movies, (crying way too much, plane journeys always make me emotional) so now it is 9:05 am and I am exhausted, hello jet lag. Ah well maybe just a little nanna nap at lunch and I will be alright.

Nothing really eventful, though I think my driver from the airport was trying to chat me up, kept asking if I liked to go dancing and whether I had any friends in Rome, haha. I was too tired to chat properly. It feels quite surreal being back here, this trip has been one of my most 'off-the-cuff' as it were and in the absence of all my usual stresisng and frantice organisation I feel as though I shouldn't actually be here. But I am and the day is clear and cool, but not too cold, a nice 11 degrees, can pull on my opaques and winter skirts and little jumpers and off I will go into Roma. Well maybe tomorrow, today will be pajama pants and mooching.

What the weekend was for me.

friday - hot, grr, met lizey in the park after spending the day translating. We blobbed and waited for Sian who is coming to Italy with us. Lizey is worried I think, that Sian will 'invade' our trip and wanted to make sure everyone knew where they stood. PLus Sian is going ot be travelling with this guy who apparently loves to stay in 5 star hotels which we WILL NOT be doing. Then mark was sending me mesage sbaout the wine he was drinking so I wsa forced, forced I say, to go and meet him for a drink. On the way I got drenched running a block and a half, no shoes, willling myself not to slip over on the pavement, skirt went transparent So i arrived, dripping in the bar, amongst all the friday suits, and mark laughed but sweet phillipe bought me a big serviette to dry myself.

saturday - got up and went for breakky with lizey, ate pancakes, mango, nectarines, coffee, icypoles :ssh: sat outside, listened to nick cave, felt hot. Went home, drank some beer, then took inlaws to the rialto, then to mecca bah, so eating was in order. Went home and put my feet in cold water as they were swollen slept downstairs.

sunday - mucked around lying on our makeshift bed downstairs, finally got up and had a shower (sauna) in the bathroom, so bloody hot. Mark wne t and bought breakky, bless, read paper, read Zadie Smith, translated Italian, read book, sudoku, translated Italian, read book, paper, compained about heat, drank beer, watched cricket, got sick of translating, just read book.

Last night was funness at Katie's, though they were late getting home so I was stranded outside calling their home, and both mobiles with no answer! haha anyways a picture tells a thousand words.

We missed bribri so we made our own.


I made a crown for Carla.


then everyone had to wear it.




I look a bit angry, hmm, anyways I wore it out to the Nightcat.

where.....

Carla and Sam had not been drinking...


THere was no kissing....


and certainly no dancing



and an absolute ban on foolishly clumsy self photographing in the middle of the dance floor....

Had a lovelytime at Daylesford, my friends are minding my supervisor's house whilst he is in Rome so they invited us up. We caught the train to Woodend on Friday night armed with a few bottles of booze. Had a gorgeous dinner, minsetrone and then spnach and ricotta cannelloni DRank heaps of wine, finished the wine, me and Jarrod ate a whole panforte, then had three shots of San Benedictine. Sat around by the fire (it was quite cold). Stumbled into bed. Slept soooooo well, it was completely dark and so quiet, yay for the country life. Eventually got up and had coffee in various parts of the garden.
My supervisor has an amazing garden, really beautiful.

Dragged MArk out of bed after making their dog wake him up, actually the dog was more gentle than I would have been. Jarrod cooked us breakfast Walked down to the lake, spent about an hour in the bookshop there, had lunch by the lake, walked back into town and annoyed the fancy lady in the frangos and frangos shop by trying on her panama hat, she told me my head was too big and that it was a *cue snobby pru and trude voice from kath and kim* 'a maaaans haat' haha Bought supplies, walked up the bloody big hill home. Then sat around reading our books in the cute living room with dark green flowered William Morris wallpaper Jarrod's friend arrived, Rob, we went to look at the springs at hepburn Springs but you can only go in if you pay, so we tasted some spring water then went for a beer. Went home, started drinking again, Rob cooked us fish (he is a chef), soooo good. We all got drunk again, woke up late the next day, mucked around, went and tried more springs out, went canoeing, and for a walk. Went out with the boys to drive really fast in cars, hmm probably a bit silly of me. Tried to make MArk love the bush, I think it might be working a little bit.

Had a siesta then came home. Lovely weekend

Hehe, on Christmas Eve me and mark went to buy a bottle of wine for the next day and somehow ended up at Honky Tonks at 2am drinking beer and dancing. Before that we drank some wine, shared a bottle of some amazing Sicilan red wine with cezar, ate free berries and white chocolate ,mousse because the kitchen was being cleared out at the wine shop, then finished an opeened bottle of wine and got locked in Went to the Supper Club and drank some hellish Polish Vodka that is flavoured with a special grass that bison's piss on apprently, had a 'cleanisng' ale drank some other beer, went to Honky tonk's and cezar and ian made me drink so much more, damn them drank more, got in for free too, woo connections. I was a teensy bit hungover on Christmas Day and ended up sleeping on the couch after lunch. It was all fun though, heaps of yummy food. Boxing Day is boring I want to go out.

Merry christmas bee-yatches.

I have decided that my holidays start today, hooray. I have to go Chrissie shopping, and tomorrow will be food shopping madness so I can't be arsed stressing about trying to write a PhD at the same time. Went out to the wine shop, it was lovely but a bit sd because it was the last night that Sarah and Cezar were working together Cezar has a job at the Rubicon in San Francisco in January, I will miss him. It was so funny the other night he came up to me and said 'that man outside just called me a cherry pie!' (he isn't at all cherry pie like) and we were laughing and Cezar was freaking out that the guy was trying to pick him up, then about 15 minutes later the guy comes in again and says, 'where is my cherry pie, I ordered that cherry trifle' hahah oh dear, it was on the menu and everything and Cezar didn't even notice.

Had a good weekend. Went to Roey's on Saturday and had a lovely dinner, chatted lots and got very drunk. she had this walknut liqueur and it was delish, so I polished it off.

We stayed till 3am and then spent ages trying to get a cab, we needed two so that Ro could take her friend to the doctor but we were only allowed one, and that didn't even turn up so I halied one and we shared.

Sunday morning I got up late for a family thing, missed the first train and had ten minutes to go from nude to sitting on a train. I did it, and I wasn't on the train nude either!

Did my family duties, decided that as I was hungover I should drink champagne for breakfast

Went to Carla and Katie's, had pizza, mooched, watched quality movies about talking horses. Bri dropped me home and then met Mark for a drink.


Photo time

me and lizey at Transport in thurs


delicious berries


me and mark (well mark being obscured by me)

It is one of those sad ironies of blogging that when one has interesting goings on to relate, the inetersting goings on tend to keep one from the computer.

In summary, well actually I can't be bothered relating all the inns and outs so just a few interesting tidbits.

Mark's parents arrived on Wednesday, seem to be settling in well, I took them Christmas shopping today, a surprisingly easy outing.

I drank far too much over the weekend, the weekend that began on Wednesday.

Had a good weekend. Went to Roey's on Saturday and had a lovely dinner, chatted lots and got very drunk. she had this walknut liqueur and it was delish, so I polished it off.
We stayed till 3am and then spent ages trying to get a cab, we needed two so that Ro could take her friend to the doctor but we were only allowed one, and that didn't even turn up so I halied one and we shared.

Sunday morning I got up late for a family thing, missed the first train and had ten minutes to go from nude to sitting on a train. I did it, and I wasn't on the train nude either!
Did my family duties, decided that as I was hungover I should drink champagne for breakfast.

Went to Carla and Katie's, had pizza, mooched, watched quality movies about talking horses, with some of the best ever montages ever seen on sunday afternoon tv.

Bri dropped me home and then Mark made me go out for a drink so he could get dinner.
Took my parentsinlaw shopping today so am now trying to get work done.

With uni friends, I ended up going over to my friend's in West Brunswick, arrived in the middle of dinner, had food and a beer. Then we went to the Retreat, after I tried to talk her into wearing a red belt over her black cotton dress, the beer garden is really nice there I had only ever been in the front bar which has a bad vibe, but out back is lovely, we sat on the grass and drank beers.

Then we mosied down to transport to see mohair, he's on pbs and plays soul music, had a boogie. two guys tried to pick us up, one leaned in to me and said "yourrrr gorgeoushhh" I said , his friend said 'sorry my friend is a bit, intox, intox, intox, intoximicated", once again we said then his friend came out with the best pick up line ever, he said "ladeeees I played golf today" we exited pronto

drank beers, hung out, chilled, then she wnet on to cherry and I went home about 1am.

Got up this morning for breakfast, met Ro's ex boy, he is loverly. Had pastries and five coffees.

Now I am relaxing a bit (ina sort of caffiene fuelled agitated way).