Doges Palace

Saturday morning we took a tour of the Doges Palace. It was a good history lesson about Venice. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Republic of Venice, opening as a museum in 1923.  -Nancy

Ornate Ceilings

The view from the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. The bridge's name, given by Lord Byron as a translation from the Italian "Ponte dei sospiri" in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built, and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals. In addition, little could be seen from inside the bridge due to the stone grills covering the windows.

Venice Canals

Tasha and I spent her second weekend in Italy in Venice. In between her first visit two weeks ago Tasha went to Ethiopia to see Mark and Marta, to Cairo and also scuba diving in the Red Sea. We arrived in Venice at night. You walk out of the train station and get a public water taxi. On Saturday we took a tour of the Grand Canal. It was a perfect weather day. - Nancy

View from my Library Window

The view from the AOSR Library is the best view in the school. The view is over a large nature reserve. I am so lucky to have this view. It is the best view I have ever had in any library where I worked. - Nancy

Almost Weeded a Very Precious Book

My family can tell you that I am not a saver. I discard things that are no longer needed. As I was weeding the AOSR Library there the book, The Story of My Life, by Helen Keller. There were two copies. One was old and the other was new. So I decided to discard the old copy. I didn't check the title page but thankfully a teacher found the book in my discard pile and told me this was a precious book. It has been signed by Helen Keller when she visited the school in 1947. The book is now in a safe place. - Nancy

Work and Weeding

Weeded books to give away

I know that the majority of my posts are are of my travels and visitors in Rome but most of my life here is quite routine. I leave my place about 8 am each day, arrive at the school by 8:15, work all day and leave at 4:45 each day except for Friday when I leave at 3:30. My main goal the first month has been to weed (discard) many old books that needed to be removed. The shelves in the library are so crowded that all of the books do not fit onto the shelves. Also the books being weeded are old, out-date, are duplicates or in very poor condition. So here are some pictures of the results of my work. - Nancy

Cart of books to be moved

Fiction books that are now in order

AOSR Picnic

It seems that most international school have a nice social event to gather families and celebrate the start of the school year. The American Overseass School of Rome (AOSR) held theirs on Saturday. It was fun to have a hamburger fresh off the barbecue. It was a lovely day with a nice band and time to visit with friends. - Nancy

Rome wtih Tasha - day 2

Spanish Steps

On our "Rome in 2 days" tour our second day was a walking tour of famous locations in the city center. We took the bus and suddenly it stopped and everyone got off. The roads were blocked due the Rome half-marathon on Sunday. We found our way to the Spanish steps by taking a tram and then the metro. It was a lovely day and it was fun to see the the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, and then the Pantheon.

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

The Pantheon is the best preserved Ancient Roman monument. The exact age of the pantheon remains unknown. In the year 609 The Pantheon was the first pagan temple to be transformed into a church and therefore it was saved from being destroyed during the middle Ages. Today it is a church dedicated to St. Mary of the Martyrs. The 16 massive Corinthian columns supporting the portico weigh 60 tons each. The most fascinating part of the Pantheon is its giant dome, with its famous hole in the top (The eye of the Pantheon, or oculus). The dome was the largest in the world for 1300 years and until today it remains the largest unsupported dome in the world! - Nancy

Last Stop on Saturday Tour - St. Peter's Basilica

Our last stop on our Saturday tour was St. Peter''s Basilica. Ground breaking was in 1506 and it was completed in 1626. After walking bout 7.5 miles on we took the bus home, purchased take-out on the walk to my place, and ate dinner just as a steady rain started. -Nancy

Vatican Tour Part 2 of Saturday

After spending the morning at the Colesseum we stopped for quick lunch, got a taxi to the Vatican and met up with our Vatican Museum Tour.  Our tour was interrupted by phone calls from the airport to make arrangements for Tasha's lost luggage to be delivered. We had made arrangements for a colleague of mine who lives just down the street to meet the delivery man. It was good news that when we got home Tasha's luggage in my place. The Vatican Museum is huge and needs much more than a two hour tour to explore but we got a taste of it. The Sistine Chapel is supposed to be a place of no talking and no photos but evidently some tourist don't follow the rules. Guards had to keep reminding the visitors of the rules. The ceilings, walls,  and courtyards are all covered with art. - Nancy

First Visitor to Rome

Friday Night Meal at Neighborhood Restaurant

Tasha arrived in Rome on at midnight on Thursday Sept. 14.  Her luggage did not arrive with her. Friday was her day of rest after a week of travel in Paris. Saturday we started on our "Rome in two days" tour. I had booked a morning tour of the Colesseum and then an afternoon tour of the Vatican Museum with the Sistine Chapel and the final stop at St. Peter's Church. -Nancy

Colesseum

At the Forum

Italian Civics Class

One of the requirements for living in Italy is to take a class on Italian Civics. So the ten new teachers went off on Tuesday afternoon to a four hour class at a local school that was a 45 minute drive across town. There was a Powerpoint presentation in in English and then the teacher explained it all in Italian. Italians are much more compassionate about immigrants. Any woman who is pregnant gets all medical care covered for her and her baby with no questions asked and no fear of being deported or arrested. Some of the laws seem much more humane than in the US. - Nancy

My Walk Home - Part 2

After passing all of the garbage collection points I arrive to my apartment. There is a grocery store right next door to gate to get to my place. The driveway has some potholes, the stone steps are fine, and the curved steps to my door are good. It only takes 4 keys to get from the street into my apartment. - Nanc

My Walk Home - Part 1

One thinks about the grandeur of the Colosseum and the Vatican when one is considering a trip to Rome. But living here is has a different feel. Rome is a crowded city that is densely populated. Garbage is disposed of by putting it in large bins in the streets. But they are often full to overflowing. So here is a some views of my 10 minute walk home from work. - Nancy

Garbage collection point 1 - very full!

Graffiti on my street

Garbage Collection Point 2 - a bit neater

No sidewalks - dodge cars to stay safe.

Garbage collection point 3 - overflowing. Pink house is where I live.

Lovely Garden

The place where I am staying has a lovely garden. Here are pictures of the the patio to my place and the garden. The bottom floor of this house is my apartment. It is a very pleasant place to be on a weekend in the fall.  - Nancy

Patio Project

Our "patio project" has been a long haul. We first sought permission from Friendsview Retirement Community last March, but approval was delayed until July due to the director of maintenance taking a long leave-of-absence prior to resigning. In the meantime, we used a "dining canopy" that previously had been in use while car camping. Then we worked with Square Deal Construction Co. here in Newberg, and they completed the project on Friday, Sept. 8, The screens (pix) do the trick!

Legal Issues

At the post office to get permesso appointments

It seems that there are several requirements for new residents to Italy. All of us who are new teachers at AOSR attend these together. On Friday it was a trip to the local post office to to present all of the papers that the school had prepared for permission to live in Rome. That was only a step to get an appointment for our permesso (permission) appointment that is on Nov. 7 at 10:30 am. The school gets subs for us on the days of official appointments. Next week on Tuesday Sept. 12 we all have to attend a civics training about living in Italy that is from 1 to 7 pm. Then the next 3 Wednesdays we the Italian Health and Safety training from 3:30 to 6 pm. These sessions certainly help all of us become well acquainted.

First Day of School

MS Assembly

Monday September 4 was orientation day for 6th graders and new students. Tuesday September 5 was the first day of school for everyone. I started my day at the middle school assembly on the steps by the tennis courts. The school day ended at the outdoor amphitheater with the high school assembly. It was a good day. The students are very nice. Of course I usually get the cream of the crop in the library. Students at AOSR do no wear uniforms. - Nancy

High School Assembly

These feet are made for walking

Castel Sant'Angelo

After Martha secured a rental agreement we explored at bit. We were going to go to the Castel Sant'Angelo because admission is free the first Sunday of the month but the line went on forever. So we walked over to St. Peter's Square. We thought we could get the bus back to my place at a stop by the Italian Supreme Court Building. We didn't locate the bus stop. The app on my iPhone said we walked 7.5 miles. I think it was correct. I felt a little tired when we got home.  - Nancy

St. Peter's Square

Italian Supreme Court Building