La Villa Adriana

La Villa Adriana

This poem is unfinished... anything highlighted in red I am rather unhappy with, anything written in blue, Stephanie is not content with. I'll post a better version when I have one.

Walking one spring afternoon,

I lost my voice

Beside the marble of the villa,

Everwhite, still gleaming

In the waning sun.

And I fell away from those beside me,

Who tired of the days walk,

Whispered that the ruins,

Were looking very much the same.

But I was still enchanted.

I sat beside a garden pool,

Where swans even now, shivering,

Dip their heads into the deep green,

Seeking something no stranger sees.

My mind drifted as easily as the wind,

That rustled the new and sunlit grass,

Smiling at those who passed on the road.

I fingered the mosaics, patterned stones,

And the spaces between them,

Where moss and ferns are taking root.

I wondered about those who laid the stones,

For the temple of Serapis, spreading them

Before the feet of the Karyatides,

Where philosophers once gathered and spoke,

And could not help but sound profound.

It was more than possible one had sat,

Where I sat then and wondered,

In much the same way,

About the meaning of our lives,

The absurdity of our existence,

To set a ripple in the water,

That moves and grows in a startling moment,

And vanishes forever.

Finnish in Rome

Prep For Italy....

Here's an overview, in pictures, of how I'll be spending next week.


First off, I'll be spending several hours in airplanes. It's three flights to get there, three to get back. Between layovers and time differences, I'll lose 24 hours in getting to Rome. Ah well, I posted this picture up mostly to acknowledge reality and to hope we fly Lufthansa...



Italian People! Yay! I've learned as much Italian as I could in two busy school months for them, so they better appreciate it! :D Hey, if the Germans did...



The first real attraction is Ostia Antica, the ancient port city of Rome. This is kind of cool, but very much a morning after destination. We'll all be hazy from Jet Lag...


From Ostia we'll drive to Naples, which has a very lovely view as shown. We won't be staying long here, though.

In Naples we hit some museums. I suspect we're hitting them on the first day so that the people who came for Italian guys or to hang out with friends can sleep walk through them! :P As for myself, the statues on Google Images looked similar to those in Greece.... So last fall... :P

Okay, Italy is so my personal version of heaven. They live off of Olive Oil! I love it!
Later, we'll still on the first day, we make our way to Sorrento. Again, it's very beautiful. It's famous for it's seacliffs, I gather, and we're going to use it as our jumping off point for Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc...

Vesuvio looks calm from so far, no? We fall asleep, knowing that we shall climb it tomorrow...

Vesuvius up close. Yeah... Apparently it's a tough hike. But then, most of these kids have never camped or been abroad before. They're rookies.... let me tell you. One of the parents asked if we would have to barter. Barter!

And this is what Vesuvius did. We'll see Pompeii after we make the summit. It's a city amazingly well preserved by the quickly falling lava. Much has been learned about Ancient Roman life by studying this city; it was so well preserved that when plaster casts were made, you could see meals of fish, bread, and eggs laid out on the tables... And dogs writhing in pain... and mothers clinging to children...

This is Pompeii's 'sister city', Herculaneum, also covered by the volcanic ashes but more recently unveiled. We'll be going there the next day in the early morning.

Part of Pompeii. This may not look like much, but it's somewhat of a personal pilgrimage for me, something I've waited a long time to see. It is the home of Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, well known and loved as the main character of the first book of the Cambridge Latin Course. Pages after introducing us to the Latin language with the line, "Caecilius est pater", the good fellow tragically meets his end in, what else? The eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Very sad story, with Cerberus (Cerberus est canis), watching over him in death.

Okay, a break from ruins. Take a look at all this tasty, Italian food!

Rome. What else needs to be said?

The Coliseum... yeah, this is going to be neat. Apparently it's near our hotel and we can take strolls there in the evening with a cone of Gelato... (see next slide).



Gelato. I recognize Vanila, Cioccolate, and Strachiatella. :D Oh man, oh man... It's going to be so good... I messed up ordering Gelato in Germany, my words fell through when it came to Ice Cream. I'm not making that mistake again; Agnese taught me specialized vocabulary... :D

Ending the trip on a spiritual-somber-artistic note, the Vatican, St. Peters Basilica, the Works. :D What an amazing trip!


I'm sooo excited! (And I did not have time to post this, but I had to...)