This is why I love living in Rome

Yesterday is the reason why I love living here, let me share it with you:)
In the morning I went in the center of Rome to draw and sketch a little. For pranzo I met up with my friend Giulia and I spent my afternoon at her house. I was quite tired and ready to go home until I received a call from an unfamiliar number. It was Lina! (I met her last year at summer week, in Sardinia, and we clicked right away.) Although she visits Rome quite often (she actually lives in Cairo) we still haven't managed to meet up. That is until yesterday - an hour later from the call I was at the Spanish Steps meeting Lina who I haven't seen for a year, incredible! So we took a walk and did all the catch up and she later invited me with her family and friends on a drink. I was intentioned to go home in the beginning but as it was too late to catch the "last" train (remember I live outside Rome so I actually travel for an hour and a half, if I go by the public transport. I prefer not to do it alone late in the evening) I decided to stay at my grandparents house (they live in Garbatella, a nice zone just near the center). At 8.30 we went to meet her parents at de Russie hotel's cocktail lounge (it's just in the beginning of Via Babuino, near Piazza del Popolo) and soon her brother and other friends came a long.

The lounge, called "Le Jardin de Russie", is situated in the hotel's courtyard. It was originally designed by Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839), the man who projected the whole area as we see it today - from the Coffee House on Pincio hill, also known as Casina Valadier, to la Piazza del Popolo one of the biggest and nicest squares in Rome. This lovely cortile is organized in different levels: on the ground level there is the cocktail bar where we stayed and on the upper level, where the actual Secret Garden is, is the restaurant. For me, who I usually am ready to critique the interior design of the places I go (because unfortunately modern, clever and functional design is not their best here), this place was a real surprise! As we are talking about Rome, a city of a very strong architectural image, you can't totally forget about it's roots when creating a new space or re-organizing one which already excisted. That's why I loved it there: no ultra-modern design inventions but just sticking to the original romantical atmosphere and bringing the maximum out of it by a wise use of drammatical illumination and green plants.

After a few drinks and some great laughs it was getting late for me as I still had to take the metro to get to Garbatella (using taxi is out of the question in Rome- they cost more than a decent meal in a good restaurant in the center) and so there I was, ready to say good-bye and thank everyone for a very pleasant stay. The moment I stood up protesting started and soon enough I was convinced to stay. My worries of how to get back home were wiped away as a friend of Lina's promised to take me home. That was one of those moments I deeply hated the fact of living far away from the city. Anyways, we continued our evening in a restaurant called Il Bolognese (it's just on the Piazza del Popolo), the food was good and the wine also.. We stayed out until 1 o'clock, Lina's friends went on clubbing and invited us too, but unfortunatelly I had promised my grandparents to be home early! This was the second time that evening I hated to not live in the centre of Rome, this time all by myself. It was a lovely evening, very spontaneous and unexpected and due to the fact I live in a city where people from all around the world (read my friends around the world) keep coming back, once they've fallen with it, I manage to see my friends more often, without having to travel myself (and unfortunately I can't do it so often because of my studies). Besides this big advantage Rome is a city full of surprises and it's really lovely to discover them with your friends !

Thank you Lina!;)

It's time for YOU to speak out loud!

Audrey in Roman Holidays, 1953

My dear readers, I have a small request for you!

For now it seems that I have decided to move in London after finishing my studies and that means only a year is left for me in this magical city. Even though the thought of changing the country makes me shiver of excitement and joy, great sadness fulls my heart whenever I think about leaving Rome... But still.. a year is left so there is no reason to waste my time on crying in the pillow and that's why I came up with a brilliant idea of starting a "column" about The Must-Do Things in Rome to share with you guys on my blog. And this is where you come in - I have already many exciting ideas of what to "show" you and I'm not talking about the Colosseum or Vatican Museums (though.. if you're interested let me know!) but I'd like to hear from YOU what would you be interested in "seeing" and knowing more about Rome.. like whatever comes into your minds.. about romans eating habits or special shopping spots or specific museums and art galleries.. just write it down here!

In the meanwhile I wish you a pleasant Sunday!
xxx

Word of the Day

Gold!

Enjoy your weekend;)

Deserted Rome in the middle of the night

Yesterday I went out with my friend who's leaving for Helsinki for some months with Erasmus programme. I'm very excited for him as I'm sure he'll love it and it'll be an experience of a lifetime! I'll definitely try to go to visit him and so I'll get the chance to meet up with my friend Kadri-Ann who aslo lives in Finland right now because of her job. But now back to Rome, it was deserted- everything is closed because of the holidays and if you see some soul hanging out here or there you may be sure it's a tourist. So it was kinda akward but yet charming.. At one point we ended up playing tourist ourselves too as we were lost in some streets we both haven't been before.

We went in a very nice birrificio, place where they sell special home-made beers, like a beer gourmet thing or something. It's called Open Baladin, it's on Via degli Specchi 6, just near Campo de' Fiori.






I really liked the interiors, nothing was wrong in that place... check out their gallery here!















A very spooky vicolo.. we were tempted to enter in it, it was really tiny, but a bad smell convinced us to turn around:D



An antique shop's window with very funny monkeys.






This one was my favourite, doesn't it remind you the monkeys from Planet of Ape's?



Me and Gabriele, sitting just infront of the shop on that strange Via we have never been before..






This fountain is just under Pincio, we were really shocked of how a beautiful construction like this (on the ceilings, which you can't see and I didn't make a picture good enough to be posted here, there are beautiful afrescos which, unfortunately because of the humid conditions are really damaged) is left in these kind of horrible conditions..






I love Rome at night, it's really something special.. We made a deal with Gabriele, the moment he gets back in Rome we'll go around the city and take some shoots in the very same places where Audrey was playing a tourist in "Roman Holidays". I love that movie, seen it for about 3 times for now and just can't get enough..

But.. isn't everything more charming by night?

A serious lack of inspiration..

So this is basically how my room looked like for a week. I quite can't say I produced much even though I had the perfect zen conditions. Sometimes it happens.. sometimes I can't seem to find the right inspiration and if usually under pressure I produce much more than in normal conditions then this time fortune was not at my side. Tried to figure out, to find some solutions but.. nothing. That's why I decided, I need a teacher, a mentor, someone who could guide me and bring out of me what seems to be stuck inside. From September I'm going to go in artclass. It's official.

La Natura Morta I created. The drawing is on the floor.. still unfinished.




This is a drawing Ive been working on for months. It reminds me a lot my dear friend Kàrt, accidentally.



Usually I'm most inspired at dark hours...



So.. ever happened the same to you too? Do you have any suggestions on how to deal with it?
:)

PS! I just received a very inspiring comment from my dear friend an for its brilliance I'm gonna post it here:


"well... I use the words of one of my favourite writers E.M. Remarque that is.
"Art is born in cold and hunger, in dispare and in incovenience..."
So stop creating these zen conditions as they are usually not at all helpful but even counterproductive.
Free your subconscious so art and creation could find the way to let itself out.
Don't try to succeed - just draw because you enjoy it.
oh and most important - have faith in what you do. Love it! If you don't believe in your creation and work, no one else will. :)"

Buongiorno

Hello everyone! Justed wanted to say good morning and share with you this wonderful picture my friend Kadri-Ann made of me about a week or more ago. I've got some more of me and more of her, I'll definitely share the rest of it with you soon enough. I decided to not blog as my mother and sister went to Estonia for a week and I had the house all for me! This happens so rarely! I was actually a little worried, I thought that I might be temptated by friends to go out and take the last of summer but then (un)fortunately I fell on the stairs and hurt my toe so bad I still can't walk normally. So.. that's why I took the whole week off to do some important things: as I'm hoping to get in the university in London (architecture) I needed to work on my drawings and stuff for the portfolio. I already "passed" the IELTS test, which I told you about, and for my surprise I got 7.5 as a result. I was really worried about it because I did find it difficult when I was preparing for it with the "Preparation Book for IELTS" and thank god I bought that book, wouldn't have done it without it. Recommending it warmly if you are about to take that test too. Now it's up to writing a good personal statement and then we'll see what life brings. Any tips from you guys? I'd be happy to get some advice from you. Running now, my mom is returning today and I need to tidy up a little. Really excited about it actually as she promised to bring some goodies from Estonia (black bread and chocolate!) plus a book and some other stuff.. In the meanwhile I wish you a pleasant day!

xxx

PS! I almost forgot, here's a nice track- push play and get the energy to start the day;)

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me present you Ichnusa - the best blonde made in Sardegna!

Well.. Imagine this: just another day at the Chia beach. It was circa 10 o'clock and all the (italian) families had settled down at their spot with the umbrellas and tends and mini-pools and luggages with beach toys for their children (in the hopes that somehow, someway an hour or two they could enjoy their newspaper or even, who knows, if today's their lucky day, have a rest at the shade. yeah, keep on hoping!).*

Some other people instead (without children ofcourse) were enjoying their lettino (chair) and serious adult company at a stabilimento or a bar, you could find three or four of them, one fancier than another.






Then some people started to arrive..

.. and then more of them arrived.. and it didn't stop - there were circa 200 of them!

Except for the massive number of them, they seemed abbastanza tranquilli (quite relaxed) and not as noisy as one could expect. Yes. They were putting their creams on.. and eating their paninis and taking pictures of the crystal blue sea and so on.. Pretty normal. The locals finally stopped staring suspiciously at them and after taking a deep breath continued chasing their kids. "No harm can be done by these lovely young people", they thought.

Yeah. This was until one by one, each of them, entered in that bar. That shy bar, no one seemed to notice much. After judging the youngsters harmless the locals didn't even pay attention that the beach was suddenly e m p t y. They probably got their 5 minutes to read the newspaper.

La perfetta quiete prima della tempesta (the perfect calm before the storm).

It was quiet.. Until... all of a sudden people coloured blue started to appear all over the beach... running... and singing... and jumping around like crazy!

Now the locals were seriously confused. The moms were angry as it certainly wasn't a good example for their kids, who, obviously were enjoying the show and started running around like crazy, a g a i n! The dads instead were amused and tried to get some colour for themselves too, the beer they already had.

That little bar served 244 bottles of magical Ichnusa beer to the lovely young people and the consequences are here, on the pictures. But not only Ichnusa makes you wanna look like an avatar and jump around like a monkey, it is also D E L I C I O U S ! And everybody, this is me who's talking, me who I usually hate beer and I never ever drink it.. I've tried, yes.. and sometimes I can make an exception with a bottle of Corona (Boooo!! I know:D) and that's it. So give me Chia beach, put me in that small bar and shout: JOG!.. and it's done.

Jimbo il Sindaco, he always held good speaches before drinking.






Men at work.

Taking a sip...



.. and then putting the colour on.



Robin;)









Some more arriving..

Work! Work!

Tiziana, one of the TDM girls, and Giorgia, the great photographer!



Girl power!



Baptizing!

Michele and Francesca! (very lovely people)



Washing off a little.. I told you the locals were amused, those guys behind them were taking some pictures of us!

I Romani- me and Fabrizio, a guy from Rome who's been living in Cagliari for some time for now..

xxx


*You can sense some irony when I'm writing about the italian families and their kids as I personally live in one and know exactly what it means to have a "day-off" at the beach with a three year old nuclear-energy-bomb. Even if it's three adults versus my sister, she heavily over-weights us when it comes to running at the beach. Incredible, and then you think, okay I'll let her run, I'll even run WITH her so she'll get tired in the end and sleep.. ha! good one! two hours later you hardly keep on breathing while chasing her and she doesn't seem to even know what the word "tired" means!!!