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Buongiorno, fam! Still alive and kicking it in sunny Italiaā today marks the close of my first week in Rome. On my first night, I was walking around looking for this restaurant I went to 6 years ago when hit me just how surreal this city is. For example, buildings that are under maintenance often have aesthetic screens covering the scaffolding along the exterior that match the actual faƧade of the building, and Iāve had some trouble telling which ones were ārealā and which were being worked on, cleverly masked. Thereās so much character and history on every corner that this place almost feels inauthenticā¦ but itās the real deal. We had virtually no plan for the week other than working evening hours on weeknights, but it shaped up to be both productive and fun. We took Sunday to rest in the morning and explore a fair amount of the Old City on foot, making stops outside the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Piazza Venezia but not doing anything in depth. The first order of business on Monday was stocking up on groceries for the Airbnb and planning out the next few weeksā worth of touristic activities. Pro tipā book the Colosseum way in advance. The floor of the arena is open to tour, but those spots are extremely limited. We were barely able to get tickets before our time here is over. We scheduled an early Tuesday tour of Vatican City with LivTours, and because the other people in our small group didnāt show, we ended up getting a private tour with our amazing guide, Pamen. The galleries were virtually empty, and we had entire Rafael Rooms to ourselves more often than not. The Sistine Chapel is of course magnificent, and Pamen treated us to a crash course in the history of its execution, which made me want to read Michaelangelo and the Popeās Ceiling again. Our Vatican tour ended up going overtime, and we were too tired to climb the basilica dome. We made a note to go back and do that another day. In retrospect, starting out with the Vatican in all its (historically/contextually tone deaf) splendor was perhaps not the greatest idea. The impressive fortress of the Castel SantāAngelo paled in splendor by comparison, while the Trevi Fountain paled in size. The Capuchin Crypt easily offered the starkest contrast to the ostentatiousness of the Vatican. Who was really closer to God? A sect of Franciscans called to live in abject poverty, left to make art with the bones of their brethren for lack of anything else to do during their imprisonment? Or the pontificate? In other news, my big brilliant plan to move into shiny new condo when Iām done with this work-and-travel idea got scrapped this week. They wanted to raise the price 5% and push the timeline back 18 months past its original ETA, and I opted out of the deal without penalty. So, Iām completely at liberty to settle in again whenever the best real estate opportunity arises, whether thatās in January or sometime next summer. I do know thisā I donāt want to move into another apartment. Moving is terrible. Lastly, I made an Instagram reel of some of the video content I captured on the aerial cruise. Likes, comments, and other forms of social media engagement arenāt nearly as important to me as they used to be, but I love making these videos and Iām proud of them. I get to make it look like it was all a very intentional, choreographed dance when really Iām just messing around up there. So, check it out if youāre so inclined!
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