Finally, the weekend! I slept in - til 9. Then I headed out to the park a block away. It's really the sprawling estate of the Villa Doria Pamphili (or Pamphilj). I went in, looked around, found the villa and its various gardens, then went back for lunch. On the way out, I ran into Julia Scarborough (also from Harvard - there are three of us total from my program here in Rome), who asked if I had made it to the lake with the swans and the turtles. So after lunch I headed back in, went past the villa, and found the lake. I think I spent over five hours in the park altogether. Here are some highlights:
First impressions:
Soccer (a.k.a. football):
Random ancient statue with later basin:
The Villa Doria Pamphili above the Fountain of Venus:
The Grotto:
The Theatre:
A bee:
A fountain in the shape of the she-wolf's head with inscription SPQR (Senatus Populusque Romanus - the Senate and People of Rome):
The Villa and its hedge maze:
On the way to the lake:
From the lake:
ETA: Ended the day with a cookout. We got permission from Franco to use the grill, and we finally found some charcoal for heat. Tripp, Tom, and Chris led the cooking side of things. In addition to veal, burger meat, and "pure swine" wurstel, there was mozzarella cheese, chocolate chip cookies, and a wine called Bacchus - which is particularly amusing to a classicist because the name Bacchus (as in the god of wine) can also be used as the word for wine in Latin.
From l. to r.: Chris, Tom, and Tripp
From l. to r.: Katie, Kenny, Ross, Colby (hiding), Erin
Bacchus, a red wine of Piceno:
Tom and Chris cross swords spatulas in front of the grill:
Beautiful villa!
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