Via Appia Antica

The saying goes that all roads lead to Rome. But history shows that it should actually be the opposite, all roads lead FROM Rome. Rome was the centre of an Empire for many years and from Rome were built many roads that would quickly take soldiers and good from one city to another. Via Appia was one of the major roads leading south from Rome. 

Building for the road started in 312 BC. It well over 2000 years old and much of the original stone work stills stands. It was history made tangible.

We took a hop-on-hop-off bus to get to the Appian Way. The first part of the trip down Via Appia Antica wasn't what we expected.  The road was narrow, with tall walls lining each side and business packed close together. We got off the bus near the tomb of Cecillia Metella and walked south on foot. For a while the road was still lined closely with walls and buildings. Not quite the open country side we had heard of.  After about 15 minutes of walking, we saw ahead some construction workers who had the road blocked off, but not the side grass. Many of the other tourists we saw were turning around at the construction fence. We decided to see if we could go past it. As we walked around the fence on the grass knoll that rises on either side of the road, the workers gave us a wave and we waved back with a 'Boungiorno!'.  Once on the other side of the construction  we were almost completely alone except for the odd cat and lizard.  That is when the country side opened up.

The high walls shrank to lower walls that were made more to keep animals in and to mark boundaries than to keep prying eyes out. Fields of tall grass and birds that were strange to us were our view on both sides, along with bits of old marble and brick work, all that is left of what used to be the tombs that lined Via Appia Antica. 

At one point we saw a field with a herd of sheep grazing. In the middle of the field was an abandoned building. I tried desperately to get a good shot from our side of the fence, but it just wasn't working. So I asked Mike to keep watch, and I jumped up on to the stone fence, bringing me above the low brushes that were obscuring my view. I snapped as many pictures as I could with all three of the camera's I had with me. I jumped down just in time as some came up the road. They didn't stop or say anything  so they probably didn't see me. There really isn't anything worse than being yelled at in a language you can't fully understand.

After we'd walked past the construction, the sheep and many many fields, we realized we were hungry, in fact, starving. But we were so far into residential area that we had no idea where to find a place to eat. We saw a sign that said 'Trattoria' and pointed to a road going off of the Appian Way. Rejoicing we turned and began walking, thinking we would find it soon. We walked and walked and each time we began to wonder if we were perhaps on a fools errand we would see another sign pointing us forward.  Eventually we came across what seemed to be a tennis club. There seemed to be a club house with a restaurant on the grounds. Uncertain and starving, we walked in. While admittedly the staff hadn't seen a lot of tourists and we communicated in gestures more than words, it was one of the best meals we had ever had. I have no idea what the name of the club was, but we were so happy to have found it! We returned to our bus stop satisfied and in awe of the beautiful Italian country side.

Trastevere and The Gianicolo Hill

Near the end of our trip we headed over to the Tiber Island, and beyond it to Trastevere.  We hadn't visited this much talked about area yet, and would have felt remiss if we didn't before we left. Admittedly though, we didn't spend much time in Trastevere itself, we headed up to the Gianicolo Hill and spent most of the day there, walking underneath the cool shade of trees.

I think I'm getting close to the end of my Rome photos! Finally! Then I can start telling you about what's currently going on in my life, it's been pretty exciting here so far in 2013.

Caffe Greco, The Spanish Steps and The Trevi Fountain

One day in Rome we decided to do a bit of shopping along Via del Corso. The shopping was mostly brand names and the prices were expensive and we couldn't find anything we liked. We did however take a detour along Via dei Condotti to see the Spanish Steps. 

We also stopped that the infamous Antico Caffe Greco. Caffe Greco was famously frequented by the likes of Goethe, Byron, Keats and Hans Christian Anderson. It was really thrilling to be sitting in the same big red booths as them.

Seeing the Spanish Steps was something we hadn't seen last time. And perhaps it was the fact that we were hot, tired and overwhelmed by the people, but the Spanish Steps... well, they're just a bunch of steps. Sorry everyone! Also, apologies for the Christian Louboutin store photo, I've never actually seen one in person, so I had to take a photo. 

We also visited the Trevi Fountain, it was just a beautiful as it was last time. A miraculous sight and piece of work.

The Capitoline Museum

One unexpectedly lovely day in Rome, we decided to go to the Capitoline Museum. It has a few historic sculptures I remember learning about from my days in Art School, most notably the Capitoline She-Wolf sculpture  the Dying Gaul sculpture, and the Giant Head of Constantine. We figured it would be a good way to spend a low key day since it wasn't a far walk from where we were staying.

What we didn't expect was how super amazingly AWESOME the place was! It is full to the brim with Roman sculpture, Roman copies of Greek sculpture and some Etruscan sculpture. And while you couldn't touch any (obviously), for the most part you could get really close and the the beautiful detail of the sculptures.

These are just the best photos of the sculpture, some of the areas you weren't allowed to take photos in. But as if all this beauty wasn't enough, the roof top of the Museum had an amazing view.

There is nothing anywhere in Canada like those roof tops, nothing.

Flowers, Fountains and the Pantheon

The last time we were in Rome, we never got to see Campo dei Fiori, and it was something I really wanted to make sure we did this trip. So we planned out a route from our hotel to Campo dei Fiori, up to Piazza Navona, past the Pantheon and then back home. It was a beautiful beautiful walk.

Campo dei Fiori is well known for it's food market, and the market was in full swing when we arrived. Fruits and vegetables of every kind imaginable and a few kinds that I had never seen. All of it look incredible and delicious. The market itself was quite crowded and busy, lots of people bustling here and there. I could probably have stayed and taken photos of the market all afternoon, but as it was we needed to sit down and I only got a few shots.

Rising above the covered tables of the market is a statue of Giordano Bruno, a Dominican friar who was burnt at the stake in Campo dei Fiori in 1600 for heresy. The subject of his heresy is interesting because it's something that is common place knowledge now - He proposed that our Sun was in fact a star, and that in our universe there was an infinite number of inhabited worlds with intelligent life. (The first statement has been proven, the second is very likely but we haven't proved yet.)

After Campo dei Fiori we headed to Via Guilia, a street that is supposed to be lined with antique shops. Sadly, most of them were closed on the day we were there. Then we made our way over to Piazza Navona.

On our previous trip to Rome, the Fountain of the Four Rivers, a masterpiece by Bernini, was covered up and closed off for restoration, so it was a joy to be able to see it this time. We had the perfect weather for it too.

Piazza Navona is a large oval square, probably one of the largest piazza's in Rome. It's shape is due to an old chariot race track it was built over. Now there are no chariot races, but the tourists race up one side and down the other none the less. It's full of artists who have set up easels and portfolios of their work to sell to the tourists. When we first walked into the piazza, we went slow, admiring this artist or that artist, thinking perhaps we would buy one... but before we had even reached half way we began to notice that many many of the art works looked the same. Not just of the same thing (I mean, there's only so many ways to draw the Colosseum), but the technique and style was the same, as if everyone was using the same paint by number. We never bought a painting, and we're pretty okay with that.

Just a little south west of Piazza Navona, we found Pasquino, one of the famous 'talking statues' of Rome. The statues are called 'Talking statues' because in the 16th century people would post anonymous satirical poems on the statues  in reference to political events. It was apparently quite the thing and sometimes the various statues would have 'dialogues' between themselves.

Our last stop of the day was the Pantheon. Oh the beauty of the Pantheon is such that words cannot do it justice. It is grandeur and might and eternity, it makes you feel so small and yet the feats of humanity so big. I could spend hours staring at it's dome and the circle of celestial heaven that is visible through it. I wonder if you can see stars through there at night.

A quick story, because I was shooting a lot of instant film and medium format film on this trip, I became very very good at changing out film in the strangest circumstances. Normally I'm pretty fussy about where I change my film, but in Rome, I had to make do with any place I could sit down. Sometimes that was a bench outside a gelateria while Mike held my gelato (I always got it in a cup, less chance of it dripping on the gear then), sometimes it was a pew in a church, sometimes a grassy spot in a park. It was kind of liberating to just switch my films around and stuff the exposed ones in my purse like I was just putting on lip gloss. Honestly, I'm surprised none of them ended up accidentally over exposed.

The Forum and Colosseum

The day we saw the Roman Forum and the Colosseum was one of the best days of our trip, largely because of the amazing tour we had booked. The tour was through a fantastic company called "Walks of Italy". They're all about encouraging people to enjoy places by walking and seeing, not just snapping photos out of a bus window.  The guides are very knowledgeable, the groups are small, and the experience is very interactive. 

The tour we took from them for the Forum and Colosseum had a special component. It included a look at the Underground of the Colosseum as well as the third tier. Both of these sites are heavily restricted in who can go, and how many people at a time. It was truly amazing to see them.

If your ever in Italy, look up Walks of Italy, they are great!

Rome - Aventine and Villa Borghese

Hello Sunday! Just a few photos today from the Mouth of Truth in the Aventine and Villa Borghese.  

Rome - The beginning

It's been hard for me to process everything about Rome. It's been 3 months and I think I'm finally getting a handle on things. It was really hard coming back from Rome for a variety of reasons, but now that things have stabilized a bit more, I think it's time for me to share more of my photos.

Journal Entry - Oct 12, 2012

This morning I woke up very early to the sound of rain and thunder outside. I could hear it pounding on the cobblestones outside our window. I fell back asleep quickly and by the time I got up the rain was gone, leaving only clinging drops on plant leaves and puddles in the street.

We arrived in Rome after a red eye flight on which neither Mike nor I slept. Our first day in Rome was characterized mostly by tiredly walking around and being overwhelmed with the humidity and heat, which I wasn't expecting. After a LONG sleep we were ready to take on the city. We visited Rome 4 years ago and spent one week seeing as much of it as possible. But we felt that while we saw a lot of history, we didn't really get to enjoy the city as much as we would have liked. The idea of this trip was to enjoy the city and soak up it's unique flavour of history and modernity, sorrow and joy and many more contradictions. 

Our trip this time began in the same area that we stayed last time, the Prati district, which is north of the Vatican. We decided to visit a restaurant we enjoyed previously, Gallo Brillo. We then wandered down to St. Peter's Basilica, planning on going in again to look in awe and wonder at the beautiful architecture and art.  Last time we were one of the first people in line. This time, the line went all the way around the very large piazza. We decided to skip the St. Peter's Basilica interior and just enjoyed wandering around the large piazza and taking as many photos as possible. 

We had thought that because our trip was in October there might not be as many other tourists. It seems that everyone else had the same idea. Just outside the walls of St. Peter's Basilica the booths of cheap souvenirs, the guides carrying flags of various colours and speaking in many languages, and the street vendors hoping to pawn their knock off sunglasses to the passing tourists filled the side walks and flooded onto the streets. We weaved in between people and made our way east to Castel Sant'Angelo. In front of Castel Sant'Angelo is the Ponte Sant'Angelo with many beautiful angels carved by Bernini and his students. The bridge was crowded with people so we decided to make our way through the large park behind the fortress. Thankfully it was mostly empty and it was a beautiful spot to sit for a moment, under the shade of the tall umbrella pines. We even found a carousel not far from there and a statue of Emperor Hadrian. 

As much as Rome is a modern metropolis, it is also a city steeped in history, the history of western civilization. You cannot separate the modern city from the ancient city, or the city that existed in the many many eras that came in between then and now. Each chapter of history is written on the city in ways that are both visible and invisible. And yet Rome is not just a city of history, it is still a city of the present in which people go about their daily lives the same as people do the world over.  

It is a complicated contradiction, but also a simple fact of life when you are in Rome.

Rome at Night

Hello 2013! I figure the best way to start off the new year is by reminiscing about my favorite part of 2012 - Rome.

Rome at night is a beautiful thing. 

Winter Day

A bit of a departure from my posts about Rome, but the snow the other day was too beautiful not to share.

Aren't snowflakes just so beautiful?

I'm going to be taking a bit of a break for Christmas, and then I will be back with many more photos from Rome to share! Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday's to everyone!

The Impossible Hand of Constantine

One of our favourite museums that we visited in Rome was the Musei Capitolini. It had an incredible amount of sculptures and art. Most famously the Capitoline She-Wolf, the Dying Gaul and of course, pieces of a huge statue of Emperor Constantine that used to sit in the Basilica he built in the Forum.

This is just the hand from that statue and it's gigantic! It's bigger than me!  Just the hand! I can't even imagine what the statue looked like when it was fully assembled before the bronze and gold that was used to make other parts of it were melted down and used for other projects as history progressed.

Our Home in Rome - on Impossible Film

One of my favorite things about our trip to Rome was that we spent a whole 14 days there. Doing that let us learn about the neighborhood we were in and meet some people. We had our regular cafe's, our favorite streets to walk down, it was wonderful! Our own little home way from home.

The area we stayed in is called the Monti area. It's one of the oldest rione (districts) in Rome. Julius Cesar was supposedly born in the area. It has a lot of rich history and a lot of trendy, new history is being made there.  The photo above shows one of our favorite streets, Via del Boschetto. We loved to walk up and down it, or sit at a cafe there and just people watch.

Our favourite cafe on Via del Boschetto was Er Baretto. I am not a coffee person, though I do enjoy a good espresso from time to time, but the cappucinos that they make are Er Baretto are just heavenly and they have me fully converted! We first stopped at Er Baretto after a particularly horrible day where we got swindled out of 70 Euros, got stuck in a down pour, got lost, the restuarnt that we walked half way across the city for was closed unexpectedly and so we headed back to Monti. The warm light in Er Baretto beconed us in and so we sat down, wet and miserable. We ordered something to drink and to to our delight when it was served it had the most beautiful coffee art on it (sadly, it's lost in this particular photo). It was such a small thing, but after the day we'd had knowing that someone put in that extra little effort to make our coffee nice was one of the best feelings in the world. After that day we visited every day. I even left a polaroid there for them as a thank you.

So if anyone from Er Baretto is reading this, a big THANK YOU to them for their wonderful hospitality.

Our other local haunt was La Bottega del Caffe in the Piazza Madonna dei Monti. It was where we had breakfast every morning and it really was the perfect spot to start off the day. With beautiful canopies over their outdoor dining and long tendrils of ivy and other plants that created living curtains, it was like a whole other world there. Because it was right on the Piazza, which seemed to be where everyone would meet up, we got to do a lot of people watching while we ate and made plans for each day.  (Piazza Madonna dei Monti featured in photo below).

WTSB - Cheer

It's that time of year! The most wonderful time of year!

It's the time of year when I dress my cat up in a Santa hat, drape lights over him and desperately try to get him to stay still so I can take a photo.

These photos were taken for the last Words to Shoot by of 2012. The word was Cheer. That face is just a picture of cheer, don't you think.

Happy December everyone!

Impossible Villa Borghese

With so many photos, it's always hard to decide how best to share them. Chronologically? By medium? By whatever I upload first? So far, I'm going for a bit of a combination of all three by sharing whatever medium I upload first in chronological order.

Today's adventure - Villa Borhgese as seen through the Impossible Project film!

It was a Sunday when we went to Villa Borghese. I remember that the metro was much less busy than on other days. We exited at Piazza del Popolo and wandered around there a bit, grabbed a bite to eat and took some photos before we headed into the greenery and shade of Villa Borghese.

Villa Borghese is a huge park and green space fairly close to the centre of Rome. It is full of walking paths, fountains, statues and once you're inside, you can hardly even hear the sound of the city. It's like a whole other world. 

The reason we went to Villa Borghese was to go visit the Galleria Borghese, one of the most beautiful art museums with some incredible scultpures by Bernini, paintings by Caravaggio and other wonderful things. The gallery is not huge and so to go in you must book your ticket for a certain time slot. Only so many people are allowed in at each time slot, and once you're in you have 2 hours before they kick you out so the next group of people can go in. 

We arrived early than we had expected, so before we went in the gallery we walked around the park and came upon this lovely statue of the poet, Lord Byron.

No photography was allowed in the gallery (and to be honest, the 2 dimensional aspect of photography cannot do justice to the beauty of Bernini's sculptures), so the next photos from the day are from that evening. After a magnificent tour of the gallery (with the amazing group Walks of Italy) our guide suggested we walk to the Pincio Gardens, a small section of the Villa Borghese. It has one of the best views of Rome is what the guide books say. 

Those guide books were most certainly right about that. We arrived just in time to watch the sun hang low over the horizon, almost sitting on the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. The perfect end to a marvellous day.

Impossible in Rome

Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since I posted! Sorry to keep you all waiting, but this is officially the first of many posts about Rome!

I'm very honored to have some of my photos from Rome (including the one above) featured on the blog for The Impossible Project. It's part of a new series they're doing called 'Analog Travelog'. Here is the post if you're interested, I talk about shooting Impossible Film in Rome and share a story about one particular image.

The image above is actually the first Impossible image I shot in Rome and also the first one I shot using their new PX70 colour protection film. I took a lot of photos of streets in Rome, there is something about them that I just love! The closeness of them, the cobblestone, the tiny cars, it's so different from my own town! It's funny how something as simple as a street can take on so many different forms in so many different parts of the world.

Back from Rome

Rome, the Eternal City. Two weeks was I'm sure no where near enough time to learn your secrets, but it is good to be back home.

Mike and I are back in Canada now, and we arrived home to almost a foot of snow. I really wish I was joking. The change in weather is especially hard because, as you might be able to tell in these photos from instagram, summer is still hanging on in Rome. My body is certainly not ready for -10 Celcius.

Despite the weather, it is good to be home. Rome was amazing, beautiful, historically awe inducing and many more adjectives, but home has our cat, our bed, our friends and our family. 

I have many many photos that I'll be posting hopefully sooner than later. There are 8 rolls of 120 film I need to get developed, about 50 instant photos to scan and probably close to 1000 digital photos to sort through and edit. And the stories... we have many stories to share. For now, please enjoy these photos I posted on instagram. Here is a quick description of them.

1. A statue of Emperor Hadrian in a park behind Castel Sant'Angelo.
2. Gelato. Mmmmm.
3. Acorns I found in Villa Borghese
4. Mike and the Colosseum at night.
5. Evening scene from a big street festival that was happening in the area we stayed in.
6. A morning children's show from the same fesitval.
7. Via Appia Antica, one of the many roads that leads from Rome.
8. A last cappuccino and a parting polaroid gift for one of our favourite cafe's.

If you want to see more instagram photos that Mike and I took, check them out here. Be back soon with more photos and stories!

A Tale of Two Sunflowers

Since I woke up this morning to a frost covered lawn, I figured it was the perfect time to share some photos of sunflowers.

These two photos are both taken with film from The Impossible Project. The one on the right is from the first colour film they produced, PX70 First Flush, which was made about 2 years ago. The one on the left is from one of their newer colour films, PX70 COOL.

Looking at these two images, side by side, it just blows me away how far they have come in the last few years. Since I took these photos, TIP has released an even newer colour instant film which has a much improved opacification layer. That means that you don't have to shield the photo right out of the camera or fear the god of overexposure. They do suggest that it is still left to develop in a dark place, like a pocket, purse or backpack because the development time is longer, but the idea of no longer having to carry around a box that I shoot my photos into is AWESOME!

I'm going to be picking up some of this newest film at the Impossible Partner store in Rome, so when I get back I will be able to share some with you all.

Speaking of Rome, we leave in 4 days and I haven't even started packing. Initiate panic sequence!

Mental Preparations for Travel

Two more weeks till Rome! 

Can you tell I'm excited?

All

summer I've been 'preparing' by reading books about Rome. Travel books, history, personal stories and a photo book, Rome has been very much on my mind the last few months. Of course, now that it's so close the idea of it kind of stuns me. I look at photos and can hardly believe that I will be walking those streets soon. Recently I saw a photo of the Column of Marcus Aurelius and was hit by such a strong memory of our first trip to Rome in 2008. On the left side of the column (left, if you are standing on  Via del Corso and facing the column) there is a gelato shop. We stopped and ordered gelato there, it was a hot June day, and I remember that the shop was in the shade of the buildings. We got our gelato to go and ate it at the base of the column. I think somewhere I have a picture of Mike trying to grin with a mouth full of gelato. That day seemed so surreal, and it was strange to find that something so little was such a powerful memory.

But that memory also gives me a sigh of relief. One thing that I've been struggling with internally about this trip is my skill as a photographer. The first time we were there I was just starting to get into photography and I know I have grown and learned so much in the last four years. But a little piece of my brain keeps saying 'is it enough to be able to capture this beautiful city as it should be captured?'

And so I worry, or I should say I did worry. Because this memory, this sudden remembering of the gelato shop and the heat and the light and the shadows reminded me of something. Photographs and art, as beautiful as they are, are not the only way to remember things. Sometimes even the worst photo or the cheesiest one or the one where you look silly can be the best reminder of things that can't be captured in photos.

Now if only I can remember that when I'm there so I'm not to hard on myself if photos don't turn out the way I want.

In other news, welcome to anyone who has come here through East Side Bride! I did a guest post for her answering a question about wedding venues in Vancouver. You can see it here if you'd like.

Words to Shoot by - Water

This week's word for Words to Shoot by was 'Water'.

To be honest, water isn't something we've seen much of here lately. I think the last time we had a really good rain storm was in June. It rained once in August, for maybe a minute. The farmers here are in desperate need of it, though most of the growing season for this year is done. But if we don't get a good snow fall this winter then next summer is going to be even worse.  So it took me a long time to try and figure out what I would shoot for this word - Water.

Finally, on Saturday morning, I decided to go out in search of water.  We don't have a lot of lakes in our area, mostly rivers and even those aren't much to write home about, but we do have one really wonderful wetland. We call it McQueen Slough. It's a Ducks Unlimited conservation project and it's got a lovely board walk through tall marsh grasses.  Of course, even here the water level was really low and most of the stuff near the shore was just mud and duck refuse (which I wouldn't step in if you paid me too). So when I finally found this vista, I snapped three quick photos in panoramic sequence. Snap! Snap! Snap!

Ta da!

Water.

Time is Passing Me by

Is September really almost half over? Time is flying right by and I feel like I'm barely able to stay standing. There is so much to do in the next few weeks, it's hard to wrap my head around it all.

The biggest thing is that we're preparing for our trip to Rome in October. We have hotels, flights, long term parking and a couple of tours all booked. Now we just have to do the nitty-gritty of changing Canadian Dollars to Euros, letting the bank know we'll be going, arranging for someone to look after our cat, and packing. Oh, and I still need to order film. Yikes!

It's a constant battle in my head about what camera's to bring, how much film to take, etc. I think I've settled on taking 3 cameras - One SX-70 Polaroid, One Medium format, and One Digital with two lenses. The amount of film is something I'm still playing with. Should I bring 15 rolls of 120 film? Or 20? It's cheaper to order it from B&H and get it shipped than getting it there. I have 6 packs of expired 600 film to take, and a couple packs of TIP Blackframe film. But I'm hoping the new TIP opacification film will be out soon and that I'll be able to get it at the Impossible Partner store in Rome.  And every once in a while I look at my stash of pack film and think, should I bring my Polaroid 220? But it has a light leak in the bellows... so I'm thinking no. But it's a hard choice! The choice to leave my 35mm camera at home too was hard. ARGH!!! And I have hardly even started thinking about what clothes to bring!

And on top of all this, the season here has turned to autumn, and the colours are beautiful. I desperately want to spend half a day or a day out in the woods taking photos of the colours, but I keep holding myself back because what if I need that film for Rome? I think to much sometimes.

Now that I've sufficiently ranted and bored you all, here are some cool things from around the internet that are making me smile:

Words to Shoot By - The online project I submit to, (which admittedly I've missed the last two times) is having an open call for entries! If you want to be part of this super awesome project, then check out the information on this post!

Apollo 11 - Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, passed away recently. In memory of him I came across these out-take photos from the mission on the moon. They're pretty amazing and it's kind of cool to see the photos that didn't work out. Also, it makes me wonder... since these were all shot on a Hasselblad, how did they change the rolls of film on the moon?

Frolic! Scalloped Bag - I know summer is almost gone, but this bag would be just perfect for summer! Maybe if I start it now, I can have it finished for NEXT summer?

That's all for today folks! I hope you're all doing well!