Ciao, Italia

Roma July 30-August 6 2007

I board Tren Italia and find a sleeping car. Pietro the conductor introduces himself and takes fancy to me. He sees me eating a crummy sandwich and brings me a bottle of water. He then tells me (as he makes himself comfortable in my room!) about his father living in NY, his former Rome to Paris route, and his current Napoli to Rome route. He takes Salsa lessons and gives me his Ipod to listen to his Salsa tracks. He later brings me chocolates and hooks me up with a private sleeping car. I like Italy.....

I arrive at Roma Tiburtini station and think I am in South America Port Authority. It is 4000 degrees outside and it´s 8:00 in the morning, and all the hustlers are in full force! The heat slaps you in the face and just keeps on slapping you. The taxi driver takes the National Geographic scenic route to my hotel. I can always tell when I´m getting ripped off, even in a foreign language.

I check in to Hotel Colors (great place) and realize it is Sunday morning. What most people don´t know about me is: I actually go to church almost every Sunday, even after the 4am Brooklyn dance parties! So I went to chuch....at the VATICAN!!!!!!!!!! My hotel is just a 10 minute walk away. It was AMAZING. I know the word awesome is thrown around a lot, but Rome is the definition of awesome. To get to St. Peter´s Bascilica you walk through these MASSIVE archways and into a semi-circle of 100´ columns with statues on top. My mouth literally dropped open. I have never seen anything like it in my life (and I´ve seen a lot!). Words cannot describe the sensation of grandeur. The ancient Romans were no joke. They understood ambition. The structures are magnificent, symbolic and grandiose over the top. I was awestruck. If you only go to one city in Europe, go to Rome. It is unbelievable.
Ok, the bascilica is great but it only got better.......

Once inside I noticed a small group of people trying to get into a small room to the right. I thought it was an additional small gallery, so of course I walk my nosey self over there and get in the line. Little did I know, it wasn´t a gallery at all.......It was a small room that seated 100 people for a PRIVATE MASS WITH A VATICAN PRIEST AND ALTAR BOYS! HOLLA!!!!!!! You know I was all up in there being Catholic n´stuff! I was even blesseed by a VATICAN PRIEST and fed the waifer of the body of Christ by a VATICAN PRIEST!!!!! Yo, I´m from the Bronx, so this was Craaaaaaaaazy!

Day 2: Toured the Colliseum, Forum, Piazza Navona and the Pantheon with my Australian assistant Emily. I speak no Italian and she speaks just a little bit more than me. Rome has great architecture but it has even better ice cream. I love ice cream, it´s my weakness, so I was an ice cream eating fool the entire time I was in Rome. I´ll do sit ups later....like next year!

Day 3: Began shooting and visited the Sistine Chapel and Vatican museum.

Day 4: Shooting, sweating, shooting, sweating, sweating, shooting while sweating. I have photographed Romanians, Lithuanians, Brasilians, you name it I got it. Vittorio a Rhumba dancing, Yoga practicing, Orisha praying Italian bought me dinner (thanks Vittorio). Anyone giving me anything free in Italy was great because, Italy is a beautiful money pit.

Day 4: I see a man in a beret, and ask to photograph him. He says yes, we begin to talk and I learn he is Jerry Ellis a Puliter Prize nominated author! You just never know who you are going to run into doing this type of work.

Day 5: Photograph Italian Jews who remember being liberated by the Americans during World War II.

Day 6: This was photographer day. Every elderly person we ran into used to be a photographer and started reminiscing about all sorts of cameras they used to own. It was unbelievable.

Day 7: The last day of shooting was pure HELL. HOT HELL! We thought we were going to drop dead from exhaustion in the middle of the street. It was gruesome, grimey and HOT AS HELL. Disgusting! (as my cousin Marilynn would say).

Day 8: VENICE I am the luckiest girl in the world! I took an overnight train and arrived in Venice at 5:30 am. I saw the sun rise in Venice! It was beautiful. Because it was so early there were only about 20 tourist there. Just us and the Venitian waking up. Cobble stone streets, Moorish window, interconnecting winding streets, deep burnt orange wall and sculptures and gondolas! That´s Venice. I was alone in St. Marks square!!!! Damn I'm good!!!! Got pictures to prove it too. Had 4 scoops of ice cream on one cone, took a Gondola ride with 4 Korean tourists, got lost, bought a great dress and souvernirs. Once the massive hysterical crowds came in I jetted! I had Venice all to myself and loooooved it!

Next stop, Barcelona.......