Photos of Life

So I have decided I need a place to put my best pictures, the ones that remind me of the best times that I have had in the past two years, as the decision to leave Roma is settled.  I will be leaving Rome on September 21st for a fourteen day cruise back to the states! I could not be more excited!  Living in Rome has been a wonderful experience and it is nice to know that somewhere out there there is a job that requires a degree in archaeology, but now I am leaving and want a place to have a reminder of the good times.  So this will now be a collection of my pictures from life abroad.

Istanbul

So I just got back from Istanbul, Turkey.  I was gone for ten days plus a little pit stop in Thessaloniki, which I absolutely love.  Alex and I went first to Thessaloniki and then took a ten hour bus to Turkey, it was a long day but the countryside between Greece and Turkey is beautiful, its so rocky and barren and then all of a sudden you will get a glimpse of the shimmering Aegean, its fantastic.  Then while we were there we met up with Mike and Olivia and some of their friends.  It was nice to go out and explore with people in a new city, however they left after the fourth day and after that Alex and I got down to business.  There were several places that I wanted to see and spend a lot of time on so we did some extensive site seeing, I think I wore Alex out but it was well worth it.  By far one of the best sites there was the Basilica Cistern, its an underground cistern with about 1000 columns, it was used to collect water for the Roman palaces.  I have seen a lot of Roman art and I was blown away by this, the lighting was dimmed, the water dripped down and the columns reflected themselves in the water, plus they had awesome creepy music to really set the tone, it was fantastic!  We also spent a lot of time at the Topaki palace, which was just gilded room after gilded room, it got a little overwhelming in the end but it was impressive.  Also the blue mosque was stunning, I find mosques so incredibly peaceful, more so than churches and I was really blown away by just the intricate patterns on the wall of the Blue Mosque.  Istanbul was really interesting for me because its the first city I have been to that does the call to prayer, I had been to Turkey before, but I did not hear the call to prayer in Bodrum; the call to prayer to me was something unique that I haven't experienced in other countries.  I am sure it won't be the last though, visiting Turkey has just pushed me even more in wanting to see new and unique places.  I always told my mom I wouldn't settle down until I had seen the whole world, just so I would know my options, and its looking more and more likely that that will be the truth!

The View of the Sea of Marmara

This man is famous in Istanbul for his kabops and I have to say I completely agree!

The Blue Mosque

1/30 - twenty random facts about me

So here is the first one, twenty random facts about me:

1.  I live in Rome, Italy but am originally from Martinez, CA
2.  I studied classical archaeology in school
3.  I am a tour guide
4.  I am obsessed with old movies
5.  Audrey Hepburn is my style icon
6.  I am a huge soccer fan, I actually played all the way up till college
7.  I can swear like a sailor and quite frequently do
8.  I love photography
9.  I wanted to be in musicals when I was younger but was always too shy to try out
10. I love Disneyland, probably more than a 24year old should, but every time i'm home I have to go!
11. I want to live on every continent, except Antarctica (2 down!)
12. I love Christmas lights and would have the white ones up year round
13. My favorite flower is the gerber daisy because they come in all different colors
14. My favorite number is 3 but 6 will do just as well
15. My favorite color is green, with yellow being a close second, I have always loved bright colors
16. My favorite place in the world is Rethymno, Crete
17. I could easily where a fascinator everyday
18. I want to learn how to sail
19. I want to work in a museum
20. I don't like cake or frosting or cupcakes but give me an ice cream cake any day

30 things about me

So I was reading on the blog Hopes and Dreams all about this list she made that would be perfect for date night. It was 30 things to know about you and I realized that some of them I didn't know the answers to about me so I have decided that I am going to go ahead and answer them here to the best of my ability.  We shall see what happens.  Here they are:




1. List 20 random facts about yourself.
2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.
3. Describe your relationship with your parents.
4. List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.
5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?
6. What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?
7. What is your dream job, and why?
8. What are 5 passions you have?
9. List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.
10. Describe your most embarrasing moment.
11. Describe 10 pet peeves you have.
12. Describe a typical day in your current life.
13. Describe 5 weaknesses you have.
14. Describe 5 strengths you have.
15. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
16. What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?
17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
18. What has been the most difficult thing you have had to forgive?
19. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
21. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it first?
22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
23. List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them.
24. Describe your family dynamic of your childhood vs. your family dynamic now.
25. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?
26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?
28. What is your love language?
29. What do you think people misundertand most about you?
30. List 10 things you would hope to be remembered for.


And if you want to go to the direct link for this check it out here 30 things

Spring is Coming!

Spring is on its way here, which is obviously making me happy!  I actually like the winter but rain in Italy is no fun.  Rome does not know how to function in the rain and people do not know how to hold onto umbrellas so I am looking forward to the sun and warm weather.  There is a fine line here though between spring and ridiculously hot summer, but I will enjoy it while I can.  The sun is out today and while it is still chilly I am ready to break out those spring colors.  I have always loved bright colors but as soon as the sun comes out it goes into overdrive.  I am currently on a mission to buy yellow, green and pink jeans so we shall see.  But I already have a lot of color in the wardrobe already, including two green jackets, a yellow jacket and a bright blue leather jacket and they are all perfect for spring.  Here are a few things I am in love with now:

This spring season I just cannot wait to mix colors and prints to give my clothes a bright fun look!  Its one of the things to combat the dull colors of the city and brighten my day!

Follow me on Pintreset to find more things I am loving for spring ashleydbabin

Soundwave

I am so excited!  I just bought my tickets to soundwave today in Croatia!  It is a five day music festival on the beach , how can you go wrong with that?  I have been wanting to go to this festival since I moved here and now this summer it is finally happening!  So I am naturally super excited!  I have been putting off buying them since money is kind of tight but finally Alex convinced me to just do it, it is not something I will regret.  And he is right, its not something I will regret and I am so happy he finally made me do it!

Also another thing that makes me happy is the fact that it was absolutely beautiful today.  I had a tour of the Broghese Villa today and we had a lovely walk in the gardens and everyone was out enjoying the sun.  Of course all the Italians were still wrapped up in their furs but at least it looked like they were enjoying the sun even though they were dressed for snow.  I went and had lunch at the GNAM, or Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna, and sat out on their lovely patio, then I had planned to go to the museum afterwards but of course they only take cash and I only had my card, go figure.  Just one of those things you have to get used to in Italy, they do not take card anywhere.  Of course,  I had assumed the museum would take card, but clearly they don't.  Its ok though because next week I have another borghese gallery tour and I will just go after with cash!  Lesson learned!  I am quite looking forward to this week, I only have one tour and then nannying so it should be quite relaxing.  Also Alex bought me this wonderful painting of Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffanys so we will be putting that up and fixing up/changing our room around this week!  Yay for change!

The Virgin Post

So first posting here and I have decided to start blogging again for several reasons.  One, I live in Rome, Italy and now while that is not always the greatest thing in the world (I bitch about it quite frequently), I still live in Italy and it's a great experience for me and I should have some documentation of my time here.  Two, I have been trying to see the good in everything to make myself happier and if I have some place where I can catalog all that then great.  Also I miss writing and having a place to put up the photos I have taken.  So really only three reasons but hopefully this will be a prefect outlet for me.  So here I am.

This month is quite exciting for me and I am quite looking forward to it.  I have decided that March will be a good month, granted it didn't start off to great yesterday as I may have a broken toe but i'm being positive, March will be great.  I am going to Istanbul for ten days so that can't be too bad plus a lovely stop over in Thessaloniki which I absolutely love, so good things are ahead.  Also the weather has been fantastic lately so as long as this continues I don't see March being bad.  But my goals this month are really to look for the good and all the things that make me happy.  Rome can be an oppressive city at times, especially when things don't work, transportation is unreliable, things like that, but it really is quite beautiful and there are several great exhibits coming to Rome this month!  I am determined to see the guggenhiem exhibit, the Miro exhibit and the Dali exhibit!  Rome does not seem to be the place for modern art but they actually have some great museums for modern art.  So I am determined to see as much as possible while I am still here.

Not only is March going to be an exciting month but it also is one more month closer to moving home, back to San Francisco!! I am moving back in September and cannot wait to be back home and living in the city! Rome has been a fantastic experience but I am really missing home, there is just something about San Francisco that draws me in.  I went home for Christmas and I just didn't want to leave at all!  There is just so much variety and life and energy in San Francisco that I sometimes think Rome is lacking.  But there are so many things to do before I leave here so I am so excited about heading home but I also am so excited for the things I need to do before I leave, especially heading to Croatia this summer!  So many great things to look forward to, how could I not be happy!

And here is one of the songs that is making me so happy lately, Gotan Project! I love them for their tango music, it is just such a fun and classy vibe!