The Latest...

First, there was the Mac-crash that left me without.  Then, the arrival of my twin-idiot.  These two elements have thrown me slightly off of my blog-game.  Here is a sampling of what I've not been able to share with the 'sphere...

The 'crash seems to be a hardware issue so tomorrow I shall be taking the little albino down to the local Mac-servicing establishment and explaining in Italian that the little guy is still under warranty but will not cooperate.  My Latin partner has been kind enough to lend me a replacement whilst we are on a week break from school.  So I have some access to the interweb from my apartment and am back on email and such. 

Secondly, Jessie, whose Italian name is Alessia, arrived only yesterday.  I was happy to see her though, admittedly, I was incredibly excited to have just stalked and seen Rem Koolhaas.  He was not happy to have me take his photograph and I was not happy to have a camera that has such a lengthy delay in powering on. 

lousy photo of Rem

Jessie and I left the apartment in almost identical dress, though it was completely unintentional.  Traditionally, we dress as opposites, which is perhaps best explained by the shoes now residing in our little cubby of a closet: white leather ballet slippers and black leather converse.  Traveling seems to bring out our similarities, however, as we noted that we were both wearing Patagonia puffers, the same cut of western shirt, and the same boots.  Our presence about town was met with several 'sister' comments, in at least three languages, and I had forgotten what a stir we seem to make out here.  We tooled around our usual few stops with a little experiment at the Pantheon.  I was interested in discerning the direction of the slope of the marble floor.  I noticed that there are drainage holes in the center, directly under the occulus.  This didn't mesh with my remembrance of the scheme of the building as having a sloping floor for drainage purposes.  I am presiding over the assumption that the center holes were a modern addition, and without going into it (and boring ALL of you), I am happy to report that the floor is, indeed, sloped but more research must be done to allow for any conclusions.  We topped off the evening with a little bit of American cinema and "Up in the Air" and a walk home in the rain.  Now, snugly at home, we are reading bits of Roman lore, eating pasta, with Satie and raindrops providing an ambient charm, sharing Rome together for the third time.  

 

Jess on via della Pace

  

Em just off via Babuino

 

Em conducting the 'sloping floor' experiment with a tube of chapstick

our customary 'travel frog' photo