Updates

Hi all,

Sorry for my long absence from the ol' blog. Life has been fairly standard (although also being awesome) so I have nothing too exciting to report. I am very happy. I've been working a lot these weeks so I've been confined to my desk a lot of the time (see below). Then also going out with friends and eating lots of pasta. I plan to get some money shots of food soon.

I have been trying to decide whether to stay in Rome a little longer - til the end of February. But I decided instead to leave for South America as planned in early January, then return to Rome mid April to mid June. I will be back in New York Jan 5 - 10...clear your calendars! My birthday is January 8 so maybe I will have a little shindig while I'm in town.

xoxo, Kris

(Kris is what everyone here calls me, pronounced Kreese)

Rimini

This past weekend I went to Rimini with some friends. During the summer, Rimini is a ridiculously debaucherous party town. There are over 1000 hotels there. In October, we were able to find a hotel near the main drag for 35 euro/night, including breakfast and a 4 course dinner .

The town was deserted and had an eerie feeling. Rimini was the hometown of Fellini, and I could see the connection. For any of you who have seen the Fellini film, Amarcord (which, like Rimini, is a bit of a haunted, eerie movie), it is set in Rimini.

Unused pedicabs in front of the arcade:



Friend entering deserted Bagno 28. Beaches in Italy aren't quite like beaches in the US. Along a stretch of beach, different proprietors set up shop with changing rooms, restaurants, and umbrellas and chairs to rent. You have to pay to go on the beach. In Rimini, there are separate "lidi" (the individual ownerships) from numbers 1 to 100, all side by side. Our hotel was by #28:



The beach is huge. The plants are fake.



Me along the beach:

Taglio (Haircut)

It wouldn't be right if I came to Rome all this time and didn't get an awesome Italian haircut. My friend Fabrizio is a hairdresser so he cut my hair. It's a bob with a pretty severe angle from back to front. The best part is it only cost 25 euro. Love it!

Front:



Back:



Side:



With Fabrizio. Ironically, he is bald: