Monday, July 2, 2012

nuntium septuagesimum sextum (76th post) Home again

I'm finally home!  I had a wonderful time both in Italy and in California but I am a homebody and being here with my family is a treat like none other.
I have had some access to the internet but not much time.  I couldn't wait to start Frivole's Flowering Quatrain but had to wait until I got home because the only thread I had in Italy was the Oliver Twists.  (I made a bunch of the same crosses I've been doing for graduation gifts.)
motif #23 Frivole's Flowering Quatrain bookmark in Lizbeth size 20
I did make the bookmark in the Oliver Twist but forgot to take a picture so that will have to wait.   As usual Frivole's pattern is a joy to tat so if you haven't tried it, I encourage you to.  Myself, I think it's time to finish that Quatrain dresser scarf now!
So would you like to see some pictures from my travels?  I have many wonderful pictures but they are mainly of the students so I won't share those with you.  We averaged 8 miles a day with me dragging those poor kids around.
This is from our re-created Ancient Roman dinner.  The foods are from Apicius' recipes which are barely recipes in that they have the ingredients but not quantities nor preparation methods.  An archeologist and a master chef worked together to develop modern recipes and here is the appetizer course.  Yum!
This is my absolute favorite thing from the Romans.  It's a frescoed dining room from the Empress Livia (Augustus' wife).  It was moved to my favorite museum to save it from the flooding of the Tiber.  It's on all four sides and absolutely peaceful and wonderful.  The colors are mostly true but there is NO way to capture the room and the feeling.
I love the details: the birds and the stone wall with its lattice work.

Here's something new for me this trip - caffè di nonno.  Grandpa's coffee.  Oh my.  Yummy frothy coffee, almost gelato but not the same.  (With it being 97 today, I could really have used one here!)

In the Roman forum, the House of the Vestals was open for the first time since I've been going to Rome since 1987.  It's been "restored" with the garden redone.  It might be a little difficult to understand but...

After 2 days of being home, I got on a plane to join two friends in Santa Monica, CA and go to the Getty Villa.  Here is a picture of one of the garden rooms which would give you a sense of the place and maybe of what the Vestals' atrium would have looked like.
The Getty Villa is a Latin teacher's dream come true.  It is based on a Roman Villa in Herculaneum with a staggering collection of antiquities.  The weather was glorious and we felt like at times we had the place to ourselves!
This was in the herb garden.  It's almost impossible to take a bad picture here.
Look at the workmanship on this piece of jewelry.  2,000 years old.  I'm not sure what it is (unmarked) but maybe a head piece.
And this is a collection box from a temple.  They would slide coins in the top.  The door on the bottom would open with the key which you see placed in front.  
I had this outdoor room to myself for almost 20 minutes!  Imagine the sound of the fountain and the glorious setting and weather.
Last but not least, we had lunch at a Greek restaurant in the Grove. Unusually, we had wine with lunch. Then I noticed the restroom sign and got seriously worried about how much I'd had to drink because the restroom people seemed to be dancing!  I took a picture and was quite relieved when I got home to see they are still dancing and it wasn't me!

Well, enough of the travelogue.  Back to tatting next time.

20 comments:

  1. Hi Michelle,
    Nice to see you back. Your bookmark looks great in purple, I'm glad you like the pattern. It looks like your trip was amazing (though no doubt tiring with school kids! :-) - great photos. And that villa looks very inviting...

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing your lovely pattern, it really is a joy to tat! You have really given the tatworld so much, thank you!

      It was a great trip but if anyone ever tells you the teacher gets to go for free- haha!!!

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  2. Nice to hear you had a great holiday here in Europe, thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures, Italy is an amazing place. , but we have places here in the uk that the Romans built too, I am only a few miles from Bath, with it's roman baths.

    The bookmark is a lovely pattern I can't say any more about that at the moment, you will see my efforts on the bookmarks soon.
    Nice to see you back
    Margaret

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    1. Thanks, Margaret. I've been fortunate enough to visit England and see some of your Roman treasures, including Bath. I've also been to Lullingstone, St. Albans (Verulamium) and had a marvelous day at Fishbourne. Someday I would love to bring a student group there!

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  5. Oh! I'm so in love with Roma! (it's probably normal because I'm Latin teacher ;) ). I was in Italy last summer and I wish to go to there again!
    I really love all these ancient stuff which come from ancient ages!

    But when I was in Rome Domus Aurea was closed. Did they open them now?

    And the foods from Apicius' recipes... :))) that's SOMETHING! :) Was it really good food?

    'I'd like to live in Rome, oh it would be such a good thing...'

    Have a nice day!

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    1. Ha- well the food was mostly good. We've done the Ancient Roman dinner for several trips and well it's always interesting, some of it is pretty unusual. Everyone's favorite is the dessert which is strawberries with thyme honey and cracked pepper. Amazing.

      I was fortunate enough to see the Domus Aurea in 2004 during the brief window when it had been restored (30 years to do that) but before the terrible rains which have severely damaged it and made it unsafe to visit. I don't think it will be open again for the public. It was quite staggering in its scope and opulence.

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  6. It looks like you had a fabulous trip! Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures of places I'll probably never visit. It's like a personal travelogue!

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    1. Thank you, I'm glad it wasn't too boring. ("Here's the 1,000th picture from my trip....")

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  7. Thank you for the lovely pictures,it sounds like you had a really great time. The fresco ~ wow.
    the tatted Quatrain bookmark is lovely in purple.
    Glad to have you back.
    have a fun rest of the summer.

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    1. Very nice to be back! Looks like there's a trip to North Dakota coming soon, we can't wait!

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    2. Let me know when, I'll wave as you go by

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  8. You had a great time! (What’s with the x-rated blog post? The whited-out part)

    Beautiful bookmark. Looks amazing in deep purple.
    Fox : )

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    1. I fixed the x-rated part. Mmm, technology. I went to use my old browser (Firefox) and Blogger said it wouldn't work so I moved to Chrome and that sentence was a copy and paste. (I know it's hard to believe that I actually reread and edit this nonsense...) I have no idea why it turned white.

      That bookmark is really a fun thing to tat!

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  9. Your travels are fascinating, love hearing about all of it! Frivole's pattern is so pretty...love the thread you chose, it looks so rich and beautiful tatted up in that pattern!

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    1. Thanks, you are always so kind. The bookmark is really lovely.

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  10. What the Romans accomplished is mind boggling, but I'm sure glad I wasn't around then, or any other time prior to the century I was born in! We have it so easy compared to even just 100 years ago! I'd love to see all these places but don't think it's going to happen. I love reading about others' adventures, though, and the internet is fabulous for learning so much. I can't believe you went on TWO trips, but the California trip must have been more 'relaxing.' I love the way you tied the two together. ( Funny about the restroom sign! ) I'm sure your students appreciated their exciting adventure!

    And I am so wanting to tat Frivole's beautiful bookmark. I can't imagine when you had the time! Hope you can 'rest' a little now!

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  11. Welcome Home! (to unrelenting heat warnings . . . ) Your trip to Italy sounds wonderful - I love that frescoed dining room. It looks wonderfully peaceful. You probably needed the California trip to relax from the Italy trip!

    I am tatting the flowering Quatrain now too - it's a wonderful pattern to tat.

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  12. Your bookmark is fabulous!!! :)

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gratias maximas- it's wonderful to hear what you have to say!