ferragosto
august 15, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a public holiday in Rome, as well as a holy day of obligation for Catholics. i woke up in the morning feeling inspired to take the girls on an adventure, knowing that Nick would be busy most of the morning and early afternoon. and it was a surprisingly cool 69 degrees, so i felt compelled to carpe diem and make that adventure a trek across town to the Trevi fountain. the google maps walking directions undoubtedly represent the shortest possible route, zigzagging up and down curving alleyways, but without access to the internet outside the apartment, i figured it was best to stick to main roads and major landmarks to plot our course. after slathering up in sunscreen, we started off down the hill, past the bus station, around the corner and over the bridge across the Tiber. the streets were quiet, with most of the foot traffic being tourists, since today is a holiday (although a fair number of restaurants and cafes were still open). we went through the north end of the Piazza Navona and continued on, stopping to admire some ancient Roman columns (still not sure of their significance - will have to do some more research)!
then a few steps beyond that we passed a McDonald's. the McDonald's menu in other countries always cracks me up. and i'm not sure that McDonald's even in the States has a gluten free bun?!
we kept on for several more minutes and then turned south. when we hit the via del Corso i thought the fountain should be close by, and in fact i spotted a huge monument a way down the road so we headed that direction. after walking several more minutes i thought something about it didn't look right, and pulled out my map (much to my consternation). even the map didn't help me much, as the tiny side streets i could see weren't listed on the map and i wasn't exactly sure what that big monument was. then i had the brilliant idea just to check google maps and see if the locator worked even without internet access, and it does!! thank you, little blue dot. now i could see that i was just a few streets over from the fountain and in fact, had headed the wrong direction down via del Corso. at this point, Greta was asking to go back home, but i promised her that it would only be a few more minutes. i started seeing bars and restaurants with "Trevi" as part of their names, which was promising.
and then, without any warning, i emerged out of a side street and there it was.
the Trevi Fountain is so-named because of the three roads (tre vie) that lead to the fountain. the water is supplied by an aqueduct built in the first century BC. the fountain was designed in 1732 and multiple artists contributed to the sculptures, which were complete in 1762.
tradition is to use your right hand to throw a coin over your right shoulder into the fountain, to ensure that you will return to Rome. at the end of the day, the change is collected and given to charity. you're not allowed to touch the water otherwise.
by the time we got there, it was a little after 11 and a little crowded, but people were quick to go up to the edge of the fountain, snap a few pictures, and then step back so others could have a chance. Greta and Cece both threw in coins (initially Cece threw hers on the ground, and a kind tourist returned it to her!).
after our little photo shoot, we headed back towards home. our route just happened to take us past the Pantheon, which was Greta's first time seeing it in the flesh since she was sleep when we went inside last week. something tells me this view will never get old.
shortly after this, Greta began to urgently tell me she needed to use the bathroom. "these bobbly roads really make me have to go!" she said (referring to the cobblestones). i knew we were only about a fifteen minute walk from home, but she assured me she couldn't hold it, so i looked for the next little cafe to dart into and bought a glass bottle of blood orange San Pellegrino for €2.50 so we could use their restroom. crisis averted, we continued our walk, spotting many Marian images (Greta said, "why is Mary everywhere?!") and stopping to rehydrate at a fontanella (also known as a nasone - literally a nose!).
just past the Piazza Navona, we stumbled across one of Rome's famous "talking statues" -- essentially a public bulletin board, which was used to make anonymous political statements centuries ago. the tradition continues today, although most of the messages i saw seemed to be of a more prosaic nature (apartments for rent, for example).
we continued home by way of Castel Sant'Angelo, the mausoleum of Hadrian. Greta was convinced that a real live princess lives in the castle tower, and she thought it was hilarious that seagulls were posing, statuesque, atop the sculptures lining the bridge. however, she was over the picture-taking by this point.
finally home to have lunch. sometimes there's just nothing better than a PBJ. (made with Skippy peanutbutter and the most delicious blueberry jam i've ever tasted, no less. i told Greta that the blueberry jam could remind us of Mary, as blue is traditionally associated with her, and she was so excited!).
that afternoon we had torrential rains and thunderstorms. Greta helped me make pizza (probably the first time in twenty years that i've made a homemade pizza crust!) and i downloaded the Google Translate app for assistance (thank you, Debbie, for telling me about it!). it's truly incredible -- it uses the camera function of your phone to scan text and then translates it immediately on your screen. for those who were wondering, a 7g packet of instant yeast is conveniently the equivalent of a 0.25 oz packet.
we topped the pizza with canned sauce (the horror!), freshly shredded provolone, salame and prosciutto cotto (ham). the pizza cooked up beautifully on the oven's black baking tray. we chowed down and then quickly got ready to head down the hill for 6:30 pm mass at Chiesa di Santo Spirito.
Nick was playing for a service here at the NAC, so this was another solo-parent adventure. we had a bit of a late start as we got halfway down the hill when Greta said her flipflops hurt and wanted to go back for her sneakers. thankfully, once she had her sneakers on, she was a champion walker for the half-mile journey to church. we made it there halfway through the service, and the girls were quite well-behaved. instead of hiking back up the hill, we went around the other direction to avail ourselves of the bus station's ramps and elevator. this route just so happens to take us past St. Peter's, and Greta was delighted to see the fountains again.
my emotions were mixed as we walked around the square. just a few days ago, the grand jury report detailing sexual abuse perpetrated by Pennsylvania priests was released. we are reeling from the breadth and depth of these atrocities and how they were covered up for so long. reading just a fraction of the 1300+ page document, i almost threw up. as many of my friends posted on social media, our faith in God and the (capital C) Church is not shaken, but our trust in the (lowercase c) church hierarchy has been shattered. my prayer is that in the light of investigation, this pattern of subterfuge and whitewashing will be forced to change. more than ever, we need Jesus.
eventually i told Greta it was time to leave, and we traipsed through the bus station, took the elevator up one level, and came out the exit to see this beautiful view of the rain-washed city. somehow, this gave me hope.
from today's gospel reading (Luke 1):
then a few steps beyond that we passed a McDonald's. the McDonald's menu in other countries always cracks me up. and i'm not sure that McDonald's even in the States has a gluten free bun?!
we kept on for several more minutes and then turned south. when we hit the via del Corso i thought the fountain should be close by, and in fact i spotted a huge monument a way down the road so we headed that direction. after walking several more minutes i thought something about it didn't look right, and pulled out my map (much to my consternation). even the map didn't help me much, as the tiny side streets i could see weren't listed on the map and i wasn't exactly sure what that big monument was. then i had the brilliant idea just to check google maps and see if the locator worked even without internet access, and it does!! thank you, little blue dot. now i could see that i was just a few streets over from the fountain and in fact, had headed the wrong direction down via del Corso. at this point, Greta was asking to go back home, but i promised her that it would only be a few more minutes. i started seeing bars and restaurants with "Trevi" as part of their names, which was promising.
and then, without any warning, i emerged out of a side street and there it was.
the Trevi Fountain is so-named because of the three roads (tre vie) that lead to the fountain. the water is supplied by an aqueduct built in the first century BC. the fountain was designed in 1732 and multiple artists contributed to the sculptures, which were complete in 1762.
tradition is to use your right hand to throw a coin over your right shoulder into the fountain, to ensure that you will return to Rome. at the end of the day, the change is collected and given to charity. you're not allowed to touch the water otherwise.
by the time we got there, it was a little after 11 and a little crowded, but people were quick to go up to the edge of the fountain, snap a few pictures, and then step back so others could have a chance. Greta and Cece both threw in coins (initially Cece threw hers on the ground, and a kind tourist returned it to her!).
after our little photo shoot, we headed back towards home. our route just happened to take us past the Pantheon, which was Greta's first time seeing it in the flesh since she was sleep when we went inside last week. something tells me this view will never get old.
shortly after this, Greta began to urgently tell me she needed to use the bathroom. "these bobbly roads really make me have to go!" she said (referring to the cobblestones). i knew we were only about a fifteen minute walk from home, but she assured me she couldn't hold it, so i looked for the next little cafe to dart into and bought a glass bottle of blood orange San Pellegrino for €2.50 so we could use their restroom. crisis averted, we continued our walk, spotting many Marian images (Greta said, "why is Mary everywhere?!") and stopping to rehydrate at a fontanella (also known as a nasone - literally a nose!).
just past the Piazza Navona, we stumbled across one of Rome's famous "talking statues" -- essentially a public bulletin board, which was used to make anonymous political statements centuries ago. the tradition continues today, although most of the messages i saw seemed to be of a more prosaic nature (apartments for rent, for example).
we continued home by way of Castel Sant'Angelo, the mausoleum of Hadrian. Greta was convinced that a real live princess lives in the castle tower, and she thought it was hilarious that seagulls were posing, statuesque, atop the sculptures lining the bridge. however, she was over the picture-taking by this point.
finally home to have lunch. sometimes there's just nothing better than a PBJ. (made with Skippy peanutbutter and the most delicious blueberry jam i've ever tasted, no less. i told Greta that the blueberry jam could remind us of Mary, as blue is traditionally associated with her, and she was so excited!).
that afternoon we had torrential rains and thunderstorms. Greta helped me make pizza (probably the first time in twenty years that i've made a homemade pizza crust!) and i downloaded the Google Translate app for assistance (thank you, Debbie, for telling me about it!). it's truly incredible -- it uses the camera function of your phone to scan text and then translates it immediately on your screen. for those who were wondering, a 7g packet of instant yeast is conveniently the equivalent of a 0.25 oz packet.
we topped the pizza with canned sauce (the horror!), freshly shredded provolone, salame and prosciutto cotto (ham). the pizza cooked up beautifully on the oven's black baking tray. we chowed down and then quickly got ready to head down the hill for 6:30 pm mass at Chiesa di Santo Spirito.
Nick was playing for a service here at the NAC, so this was another solo-parent adventure. we had a bit of a late start as we got halfway down the hill when Greta said her flipflops hurt and wanted to go back for her sneakers. thankfully, once she had her sneakers on, she was a champion walker for the half-mile journey to church. we made it there halfway through the service, and the girls were quite well-behaved. instead of hiking back up the hill, we went around the other direction to avail ourselves of the bus station's ramps and elevator. this route just so happens to take us past St. Peter's, and Greta was delighted to see the fountains again.
my emotions were mixed as we walked around the square. just a few days ago, the grand jury report detailing sexual abuse perpetrated by Pennsylvania priests was released. we are reeling from the breadth and depth of these atrocities and how they were covered up for so long. reading just a fraction of the 1300+ page document, i almost threw up. as many of my friends posted on social media, our faith in God and the (capital C) Church is not shaken, but our trust in the (lowercase c) church hierarchy has been shattered. my prayer is that in the light of investigation, this pattern of subterfuge and whitewashing will be forced to change. more than ever, we need Jesus.
eventually i told Greta it was time to leave, and we traipsed through the bus station, took the elevator up one level, and came out the exit to see this beautiful view of the rain-washed city. somehow, this gave me hope.
from today's gospel reading (Luke 1):
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
and has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Comments
Post a Comment