It’s been almost a moth since I came back from Haiti. Now I am in Rome, in a completely different world. Of course, Rome is wonderful and I am very grateful for this opportunity to be here in such a cool city and such a great job! I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I keep thinking about Port au Prince and I truly miss being in the field. Being in Haiti was so intense and everywhere you looked truly apocalyptic. But being there and working there felt so real and so rewarding.

Anyway, I am here in Rome now and I will take advantage of all good things!

Rome is like a museum in itself. Everywhere you go, you see the remains of history.  Below are pictures I took today.

On my way from Circo Massimo –The House of the Vestal Vergins (constructed in the 2nd century AD):

Arco di Giano:

Near Piazza del Campidoglio:

Near Piazza del Campidoglio:

Piazza del Campidoglio:

Fori Imperiali (Imperial Palace):

A street that leads to the heart of old Ghetto:

A musician on a street that leads to the heart of old Ghetto:

A street that leads to the heart of old Ghetto:

Piazza Mattei — Fontana della Tartarughe (fountain of the tortoises) — next to the old ghetto in Rome:

A street that leads to the heart of old Ghetto:

A street that leads to the heart of old Ghetto:

Famous Sinagoga in the Ghetto:

The Ghetto –the heart of the old ghetto– many Jewish families and businesses are still there:

A church next to the Ghetto

The Portico d’Ottavia – a fragment of a Roman building (146BC) dedicated to Octavia, Augustus’ sister (next to the Ghetto)

A street in the Ghetto

A Jewish bakery in the Ghetto ( I was waiting in line for quite a while but got some really delicious cake with nuts, rasins, fruit, etc — warm right from the oven:)

Ponte Fabricio -Rome’s oldest bridge which crosses the Tiber to the Isola Tiberina and  Trastevere

Trastevere (it means across Tiber river) – a very popular place in Rome with lots of retaurants, narrow streets with medieval buildings

Trastevere -Piazza and the church of Santa Maria

Via Giulia — one of Rome’s most elegant streets (1508)

Castel Sant Angelo — from outside

 Pantheon from outside (one of the best preserved ancient Roman Buildings anywhere  — rebuilt in the 2nd C AD)

Inside the Pantheon (one of the best preserved ancient Roman Buildings anywhere  — rebuilt in the 2nd C AD)

Inside the Pantheon (one of the best preserved ancient Roman Buildings anywhere  — rebuilt in the 2nd C AD)

Inside the Pantheon — last resting place of the artist Raphael (tomb below)

Inside the Pantheon (one of the best preserved ancient Roman Buildings anywhere  — rebuilt in the 2nd C AD

Piazza Navona -Fontana Del Nettuno (piazza laid out un the mid-17thC; the fontana – in the 19th C – shows Neptune planked by nymphs as he battles with a sea monster)

And I walked up to this place — Gelato…

I saw a group of American women eating “icecream towers”,,,

So, I couldn’t resist: pistaccio, cafe, etc..

 After living in San Francisco, you naturally to pay attention to the food scene. Food is great in Rome!  Farmer’s markets are great here — you can discover best local foods.

At A Farmer’s Market, Rome (cheese table)

At A Farmer’s Market, Rome

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At A Farmer’s Market, Rome