The Roman Mysteries

Friday, 7/23/10

 This was a quiet day. The morning was spent in lecture, discussion, and translation sessions. Nadine uses historical novels to teach her very diverse 6th-grade class. She shared selections from Caroline Lawrence's, The Thieves of Ostia, which were very good. Even though I teach high school students, I suspect I could get some of my own students hooked on these books. The series is called, “The Roman Mysteries.” After lunch I did my PT exercises, then wandered around this part of Rome a little. For tomorrow I want to visit the Vatican Museums. My friend Susan wants to go with me. We found a bus stop nearby where we can take a bus that will hopefully drop us off a little closer to the Vatican than we can get on the Metro system. I went to the Metro system and figured out how to purchase myself a week-long public transportation pass for 16 Euro. That will get me through the weekend and help out when we are at the Villa Rosa this coming week. My understanding is that it is not as conveniently located as this place, so we may want to take buses to find good restaurants, etc. I also took a picture of a sign near the ticket booth that said, in various languages, “Beware of pickpockets.” I had a nice Skype talk with Don this evening. It was pleasant; almost like sitting across from him at his kitchen table. We both miss each other and enjoyed the visit.

Beware of Pickpockets--Whatever Your Language!

I would like to thank the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this portion of my trip possible.

A Forum, St. Peter's, and Gladiators--Oh, My!

Tuesday, 7/20/10

Enjoying St. Peter's Basilica

 Today we had a brilliant and lively lecture by Henry Bender, an expert on Augustan Rome. We looked at Augustus' forum. Susan and I had a nice lunch near the Colosseum. We were  supposed to go in, but we didn't want to brave the crowds at that time of day. We have both been there before, although it might have been nice to see the special exhibit on gladiators on the top floor. I heard it was good. Susan and I did a little shopping and took each others' pictures in St. Peter's Square. After our presentation and translation session tonight, our group had a little picnic on the grounds of our hotel. The day would have been almost perfect if the internet had been working at the hotel. I would love to Skype my mom and Matthew. For more pictures of the monuments of Rome, visit this set on Flickr.

My thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this portion of my trip possible.

A Forum, St. Peter's, and Gladiators--Oh, My!

Tuesday, 7/20/10

Enjoying St. Peter's Basilica

 Today we had a brilliant and lively lecture by Henry Bender, an expert on Augustan Rome. We looked at Augustus' forum. Susan and I had a nice lunch near the Colosseum. We were  supposed to go in, but we didn't want to brave the crowds at that time of day. We have both been there before, although it might have been nice to see the special exhibit on gladiators on the top floor. I heard it was good. Susan and I did a little shopping and took each others' pictures in St. Peter's Square. After our presentation and translation session tonight, our group had a little picnic on the grounds of our hotel. The day would have been almost perfect if the internet had been working at the hotel. I would love to Skype my mom and Matthew. For more pictures of the monuments of Rome, visit this set on Flickr.

My thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities for making this portion of my trip possible.