Craig in Rome- Part One

As you can probably tell by the picture, my Dad's here in bella Roma! Seeing as how we have already done a lot of things, and still have a lot to do, I figured I would divvy up the blog entries into a couple individual ones, so you weren't all bombarded by a lot of crap at once. Dad got in on Friday, at around 10:30 AM. I was working, and didn't get off until 2, at which point I headed over to his hotel and woke him up from his well-deserved nap. Between leaving Colorado, flying into NYLGA, transferring to JFK and flying to Rome, it took him about 24 hours to get here, a Herculean effort which I hope to reward with fun experiences. We took it relatively easy that evening, just walking over the river to a restaurant which wasn't open, so we wound up going somewhere that neither of us enjoyed, but it was nice catching up. The next day, Saturday, we joined my friend Brandon's tour of some of the underground sites under churches, etc. I had already been on the tour, but it's truly fascinating what is just under our feet as we traipse along the streets of this city. We had to leave the tour a bit early, however, as we had dinner reservations at Il Pagliaccio, the only 2-Michelin-star restaurant in Rome. It was a superlative meal, and I can now say that I have eaten baby goat. Fantastic. When we sat down they presented us with a wine-list-type tome so that we could select...a bottled water. After asking for the waiter's expert recommendation, we settled on the San Faustino, a choice which indeed proved to be an excellent accompaniment to our repast. I mean, it's water, people. Anyway, like I said the meal was just amazing, and what's even better is that Dad and I got to catch up. I hadn't seen him since I left Vail after the holidays, and we always do have such a good time together. Today we went to Tivoli with Brandon, and got to see two UNESCO World Heritage sites (of which there are approximately 500 in Italy alone)- the country villa of the emperor Hadrian (which I'm pretty sure covers more acreage than my college), and the Villa d'Este, a magnificent villa overlooking the Lazio region with about 30 fountains of varying size and impressiveness, the coolest of which was one that, through water pressure alone, played a 16th-century Classical tune on an organ. I much preferred the Villa d'Este, which is from the 16th century, although Hadrian's villa is staggering both in its size and its architectural impressiveness, especially when you consider that it was built in the 2nd century AD. Tomorrow Dad's coming to see my apartment, and on Tuesday we have reservations at the Vatican, so I will post more about that as the time comes. Seeing my Dad reminds me of all the family and friends I miss so much, but I'm so thrilled to be able to share my life here with him, because as the two saccharine-sweet posts prior to this one may have hinted at, I'm kind of happy here. Don't worry to those who only read for my causticity-- I have a rant coming soon. XOXO