The Stairmaster

Well, I've officially finished my first week and a half of classes here in Rome, and I'm not sure yet if I should get credit for "going to school" here. Our classes consist of daily walking lectures, led by our brilliant professors, which I have to say, in some aspects I feel like I'm paying tuition for really, really good tour guides for a 3 1/2 month vacation. It's pretty sweet. Don't get me wrong, we're going to be doing a lot of work while we're here, too. But, who wouldn't want to walk the great city of Rome and diagram the streets while sitting in a sidewalk cafe...sipping on, what else...a caffe? Yes, this has really been my assignment for the last week. I would barely describe that as work. However, there is another aspect of Rome that is work...the climbing of the great stairs...

The only moment of my day that I have begun to dread is the time I turn the corner to see that the 125 stairs leading up to my apartment are...ugh...still there. Why is it that just when I think I've climbed all the way to the top, I break my concentrated stare (pun intended) at the ground (As an aside, I should tell you that Romans do not care about cleaning up after their dogs, and these dogs leave some stinkers right on the sidewalk! Point being, you must watch your every step or you might wind up with an unexpected "surprise" on your shoe.) to realize there are 2 more flights left to climb. Urgh! Damn steps make me out of breath and sweat everyday (but let's be honest, for those of you that really know me probably knew that the sweating was an issue before I even got to the stairs - ha). However, what really takes my breath away is the view from the top of the Janiculum Hill, the hill on which my apartment is located and one of the 7 hills of Rome.

I'm learning that these frequent "moments" are the ones that make Rome such a great place to visit and live. Every bend in the medieval streets, every balcony covered in flowers, every detail of the architecture provides an element of surprise and curiosity. These architectural and urban gems are making each day here different as I discover something new during my daily walks.

Posting pictures on this blog is almost more work than the stairmaster, sans the physical workout, so I am just going to keep my pictures on my Picasa account. You can find it here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Claire.E.Watson

Tomorrow we're off to visit Ostia, followed by a weekend trip to Orvieto, Todi, Perugia, Assisi, Spello, and Spoleto. I imagine I'll be walking more than ever in order to see 8 towns in 3 days!

Ciao Ciao!