vineri, 17 februarie 2012

This Moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. {from www.soulemama.com}

Rome, ©Bogdan Vasile

marți, 14 februarie 2012

Happy Valentine's!

Is not because in the morning we were at Fontana di Trevi and now, in the night, we are in 1 meter snow at home, but because we are in love since February 1998, till today. 14 years. More to come.
I love you, Bogdan!


Later edit: I don't like Valentine's day, I think is much over-rated and way too commercial for my taste. Is just a coincidence we fell in love in February, at that time we didn't pay any attention to this day. And neither we do now, it was just a coincidence :). We never needed a reason to celebrate our love.

San Pietro's Basilica.

Like the first  time we visited it, we had again the same unbelievable feeling in San Pietro's basilica in Vatican. Despite popular belief, San Pietro is not a cathedral but a "Pope basilica" as it has no bishop dwelling in it. It has the biggest interior of entire churches christian world and trust me, 
YOU FEEL THIS when entering.


Bogdan made an experiment for the next picture by putting the camera on it's back in the middle of the floor mosaic with very high exposure and hy aperture. Hope you'll like it.


The main Dome




Pieta by Michelangelo. Simple breathless, flowing stone. 
Almost feel impunity by using Bogdan's wallet as a tripod :)


The sun was waiting for us outside, beautiful and friendlier than ever!


We finished the 10 km walk by going back to the hotel, on foot again, on the right bank of Tevere.
Stay tune for the rest of the trip tomorrow!

duminică, 12 februarie 2012

Rome. Again.

Last October I saw on Vola's facebook page a simple note saying something about spending Valentine's Day in Rome. With the best price for two in a low-cost flight, I didn't think too much before buying the tickets, even if it seemed forever till in February.  
Forever passed quickly and yesterday evening we were in the plane for Rome, to spend here the next tree days. It was snowing in Bucharest when we took off, is was freezing and snowing in Rome when we landed.
But in the morning, when we woke up, the sun was wonderfully shining and our mini-holiday seemed already perfect. The plan was to go to see again Sant'Angelo castle and then to Vatican, to San Pietro's church. 
The hotel is situated just across the Vespa's Temple, on the left bank of Tevere River. It was very cold, but we decided to walk on the river bank to the castle, just because the bus didn't show up and we were freezing to death waiting for it.


So we took some pictures and went farther, to avoid becoming ice columns and being photographed as part of the landscape...



Crossing the river on the Cestio Bridge, on the right side was Tiberina Island, with the church of San Bartolomeo, built on the site of the Temple of Esculapius. On the island is also the hospital Fatebenefratelli, founded in 1583.



We stopped to see the Sisto bridge, build around 1470 on a site of an ancient Roman bridge. Is easily recognized by the round hole from the center, used as an alarm when the waters were high enough to surpass it.


The light was beautiful on Sisto bridge... I was there, too.


And, one hour later, we were on Sant'Angelo Bridge, built in the year 134, with a gorgeous view to the castle. Last time we came in Rome, in 2006, we didn't have the chance to go inside Sant'Angelo castle, it was too late and too crowded, this is why we visited it now.


This magnificent building was conceived as a mausoleum for the emperor Hadrianus and his family and it was built in 134-139 A.D. It was used later as a fortress and castle for the popes, as well as a prison, and is now a museum.

And now is used for love messages also :) "Veni da me"


After visiting it, we stopped for a cafe latte in the castle's cafeteria. Oh, the Italian coffee! Is not a coincidence using the Italian names for coffee all over the world: cappuccino, cafe latte, espresso, even americano, which I guess is not an Italian coffee, isn't it?


In Piazza Navona I met Pinocchio, so I took a picture with him before becoming a boy.


We hanged on for a while in the colorful Piazza Navona, watching the artists and the fountains...


... fooling around...


Finally, we have one picture together!


Huge soap balloons were flying all around, delicious for kids and for me also!


In a hidden corner we found those mosaic tables with bees, is exactly what I had in mind for my balcony from a very long time. Bookmarked them.


A very picturesque corner, near a gelateria, so nice to draw your breath for a while...


Bogdan, with his dolphin natural gps inside his head, found the restaurant we ate 6 years ago, and we ate again octopus with oranges and grapefruits, as well as their home made pasta. Just divine. 
If interested, just ask me the address, please!
See you tomorrow for fabulous San Pietro church interior pictures.

vineri, 10 februarie 2012

This Moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. {from www.soulemama.com}

joi, 9 februarie 2012

Maria Azaria - The Second Day Bath

Here, after baptizing a child, there is a habit of washing him the second day, as a ritual bath, to take the ointment from the church.  
We visited Maria Azaria on Sunday morning, to make the best wishes for her, to wish her a long and happy life. 
Something like Sleeping Beauty, but we call this Bathing Beauty, and without the Bad Fate Fairy.



Andreea, the Mommy, expected us with the prettiest baby ever.


The little bathtub was filled with flower petals (for a silky and soft skin), honey (her words to be sweet as honey), feathers (to be light as a feather - or, in some cases, it said to surpass the troubles easy as a feather), gold and money (to be wealthy). You can put lots of stuff in the tub (pebbles - for strenght, milk - for freshness, a wedding ring - to have curly hair, poppy seeds - for good sleep, eggs - for health), but actually is a good reason to cherish the baby's baptizing, to feel good and to keep the old traditions alive in these modern times. So, there is no need to make an omelet or pancakes with the baby in them, but to use the symbols as a way to reinforce the faith and the family relations.


I undressed Maria Azaria...


... wished her the best future in the whole world...


... we cuddled a little bit...


... then, we proceeded to the bath...


... which is always a pleasure for her...


.... I washed the front... 



... and the back...


Everybody wanted to help...

 

Then, we rinsed her with joy and happiness...


... wiped her with a soft towel...


... massage a little bit...


... and pampered a little bit more. 
But how to resist pampering such a gorgeous baby? 
Could do that the whole day, isn't it?


Then, we put on the prom dress and we went to the discoooooooo! 
Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad
I will be back before the midnigh, I promise!

We Love to Party!

I'd like to write more about the after-baptizing-party, but is not much to say... After three hours of church service at noon, with a freezing temperature outside, everybody was really hungry, so we went at the restaurant and devoured all the food with passion
NO PICTURES, guys, you might understand why! 
We just ate and watched the movie Petre did for the event, using Maria Azaria's pictures. Shall we mount it on YouTube? Guess is gonna take some time... it was a huge movie.
The atmosphere suddenly headed up when my kids went in, cause they are like a little heard full of
energy and fun!
BALLOONS! 
they said entering the doors, and all the evening we had a show for free! The other two kids at the party were far away from the fireworks spread by Radu, Mara and Runa together! Some samples behind! 















Stay tuned for the morning baby bath, coming soon!