How to Cross a Street in Rome

We're discovering that Rome is a pretty pedestrian-friendly city, but it's not for the timid. You can't afford to be slow or indecisive when it comes to getting around on foot in a city of speeding and weaving motorini, motorcycles, tour buses, bicycles, trains, trams and kamikaze taxis.

If you follow the traffic lights 100% of the time, you'll probably stay safe... but you'll spend more time on a curb than seeing the sites.

So in the past few weeks, we've picked up a few tips on how to get from point A to point B in fast-paced Roma:

1. Follow street lights when possible, but don't pass up a gap in traffic unless you've had too much to drink or are wearing stilettos (or both).

2. When you come to a crazy intersection with no discernible crosswalk and you're fearing for your life, just latch onto the nearest local. Native Romans are usually well dressed (look at shoes on women/suits on men) and smoking (hold your breath). Don't follow another tourist unless they really look like they know what they're doing.

3. Walk confidently. Make eye contact with oncoming motorists and walk purposefully. They WILL stop for you.

4. Try to set aside the idea of American "personal space." Roman streets are filled with vehicles passing within inches of pedestrians. They're not being rude; no one here gets a wide berth.

5. Italians are expert, focused drivers. Generally, they do not talk, eat, apply makeup or text while at the wheel; they are concentrating on the road ahead and they are used to anticipating -- and accommodating -- distracted pedestrians. That's not an excuse to wander out into the street, but it's a comforting fact.

We've been talking about these things a lot lately as we adapt to the vehicular chaos that is Italy. Although it does not pretend to coddle its pedestrians, Rome really is walker-friendly. The thing is, you have to be bold enough to really own your pedestrian awesomeness.

So get moving, stare down that double decker bus and take your right of way!

Keeping in Touch

Hi everyone!
Sorry it's been so long since we last posted -- we're still figuring out class schedules and whatnot. In any case, we do have contact information to pass along!

If you're a writer, you can send us a letter or small package (mark value under $50 on customs form) at this address:

Christopher Teague
University of Notre Dame
Via Monterone 76
00186 Roma RM

(for Katie, just put Katie Teague c/o Christopher Teague since the mailbox is in his name)

If you prefer to hear our voices and have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, you can give us a call on our cell phones by dialing these numbers, in this order:

For Christopher: 011 39 06 331 719 6986
For Katie: 011 39 06 331 337 2300

We'd also love to set up skype phone dates for anyone with skype access.

Sorry to keep this so short, but we'll write more soon.
Love you all!

See Katie Skype

Hey kids!

I signed up for Skype as krteague.
And I really, really, really like gelato.
The end.

Ciao!

The Last Few Days - With Photos!

If you'll pardon a little overlap with Katie's post, I'd like to go over the last few days. Saturday we arrived in our apartment at 8pm or so local time, did as little organization as possible, then collapsed. Sunday was for more sleeping, off and on, although I did venture out to pick up some groceries late in the evening.

Saturday, we slept in late - still heavy under jet lag, 1 pm here feels like 7 am. After a shower and some breakfast/lunch we made our way to the Notre Dame building to let our families know we had arrived safely. Afterward, we did a small walking tour of our end of the city and returned home for some dinner.

Tuesday and Wednesday was more walking, in all we made it through almost the whole city. There are plenty of things we haven't seen yet, but we've at least walked most of the city.

From Rome!

From Rome!

Here's the view out our window, down and to the right, with the river Tiber off in the distance.

From Rome!

Across the street there is a convent. The nuns wake early every morning and sing a monastic service of some kind at 6:30.

From Rome!

Down on the street, here's a shot looking away from the river. We live on Vicolo Maroni, a narrow, comfortable kind of street in the Trastevere neighborhood. Its older and a little less clean than the main part of the city across the river, but its a lot less touristy as well.

From Rome!

For Dad and other car fans. This is an Audi R8 supercar that was parked in the Piazza near our apartment.

From Rome!

The Pantheon is just east of the Notre Dame building. We pass by on the way to the grocery store. Just a few weeks ago, we visited my parents in a small town outside of Philadelphia. We marveled at a house in town that was dated 1690. Here, we cross a bridge everyday that was built in 1475. Almost all the buildings around are from the 17th century, most are earlier. And of course, there's the occasional building from the 1st century AD.

From Rome!

Here's a typical Roman side street: narrow, crowded and refreshingly cool. These will hold pedestrian traffic primarily, but the occasional car, or, more often, motorino (scooter) will weave its way patiently through the ambling walkers.

From Rome!

For Annette, Katharine and the general enjoyment of all: The Trevi Fountain. It's really crowded in this picture, I intend to return for better photos during the siesta hours when it will be a lot more empty.

From Rome!

Every morning we get up and head over to the morning market in Campo De' Fiori, where we buy most of our food for the day. Fruit, vegetables, cheese or cured meats, all fresh or handmade, great quality, and great prices too, even with the € to $ conversion (currently $1 = €.75).

From Rome!

Down by the river, the Area Sacra (Sacred Area) of ancient Rome, a complex of three temples, doubles as a sanctuary for stray cats, who nap and play among the ancient ruins, fed and cared for by a charitable organization.

From Rome!

Castel St. Angelo was first Hadrian's mausoleum, then was converted into a round castle in the middle ages to guard the Vatican.

From Rome!

Looking toward new St. Peter's Basilica.

From Rome!

Sunrise washes the dome of St. Peter's in gold.

From Rome!

Katie, standing on the floor of Circus Maximus. I told her to watch out for the chariots with spiked wheels.

From Rome!

Not everything is dry in the Circus. We don't know what kind of flower this is.

From Rome!

A quaint medieval house in Trastevere

From Rome!

Rome still uses its ancient motto Senatus Populusque Romanus - SPQR - dating from the pre-imperial republican era of the last few centuries B.C. You'll find it everywhere from manhole covers, catch basin grates to police uniforms, soccer jerseys and more.

That's all the photos for now, many more to come. Looking at the above gigantic post, I think I'll do text links next time, with a few photo highlights, but I'm not going to retype this one.

I hope you enjoy,
Christopher

Jet Lag, Nutella and the Like

Hi everyone!

After one long flight, 7 hours in Schipol Airport (Amsterdam), one short flight and a cab ride through Rome, we arrived at our apartment building. We (ok, Christopher) lugged our bursting suitcases up three flights of stairs, fumbled with the key and... the lights went out. So Christopher, ever the manly man, navigated his way down the spiral staircase and down the hall to illuminate our way. We (ok, Christopher) struggled to get the door open before the lights went out again as I swiftly became the classic damsel in distress. Yes, there were tears. No, I am not too proud to admit to you that I am a wuss.

In any case, Christopher managed to get us into the apartment. Completely exhausted and dehydrated, we spent an hour or two unpacking the necessities, moving our nightstand to the side and pushing the two twin beds together (very I Love Lucy of them) and generally processing the stresses of the day. After all that and probably guzzling our weight in water, we collided with our pillows for the rest of the night... and morning... and afternoon. In fact, it wasn't until quite late on Sunday that either one of us got up the energy to move more than the short distance to the bathroom, kitchen sink and back to the bed(s). Thank you, jet lag.

Today has been a bit more productive, although not extraordinarily so. Christopher couldn't get to sleep until 5am which meant that he slept until 1pm, no problem; in the meantime, I mastered some key Italian phrases (Buon giorno, etc) ate a piece of bread with Nutella (oh Nutella, I love you), organized the bathroom and did a little reading to the pleasant sounds of the nuns singing next door. Since then, we've managed to explore our neighborhood a bit, look at some prices at the local grocery shops and -- obviously -- make our first internet connections since leaving the States. We're having a fabulous time walking around and getting acquainted with our neighborhood, but we miss everyone and are looking forward to staying in touch through email, skype, and phone (eventually). Next stop... a gelateria!

We're Here!

Dear Friends,

I just wanted to send you a short note saying that all is well. We're moving into our small apartment and having a great time exploring the neighborhood. I would say that it is surreal here, if not for the fact that the city is so gritty and unmistakably real. I haven't any pictures to post yet, but they will come with time. I hope you all are having a great time back in the US.

Contacting the Teagues

Hello everyone,

We use Vonage as our phone service in our apartment, and we'll be taking our number with us! Using an internet connection, we can call you for our usual rate, and all you have to do to call us is dial our home number, it won't cost you anymore than it would normally, a long distance call at worst. If you don't know our usual phone number, give us an email and we'll let you know! We won't always be connected, but if you leave a voice mail, we'll get back to you. We'll also use skype, Christopher's skyp username is mualphapiper , Katie doesn't have one yet, but we'll let you know when she does.

That's all for now,
The Teagues