Italy Series: Rome: Pantheon

 

The Pantheon is a building in Rome, Italy, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD

I still remember the moment I first saw this building..it was amazing. All we could say to each other was.."wow". Everything about it, its scale, materials, detailing and phenomenal effects is just fantastic. Once we settled into a routine in Roma, we actually walked through Piazza della Rotonda and by the Pantheon several times a week going to and from our Italian class (yes, ..we took Italian with the students!) Imagine that commute everyday, meandering through the tight cobblestone streets, watching the ever-so stylish Italian women walk gracefully while I try not to lose me heels, seeing amazing structures along the way.. I'll trade NYC any day for that walk to work.

From Trastevere, we approached the Pantheon from the back and it appears to be completely unassuming, I think we initially started taking pictures of this statue in a smaller Piazza just before you reach it and the husband then noticed the back of the building and says "I think that might be the Pantheon.."..imagine that! We walked up and sure enough, there it was..we gazed at it in amazement then realized we were about to be late for Italian class so we rushed off. For the next four months, we would visit the Pantheon on our own, with family when they visited and of course walked by it almost everyday. Good morning Pantheon..hah.

The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).

It is one of the best-preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" but informally known as "Santa Maria della Rotonda." (..via)

On the inside, the Oculus provides an intense amount of natural light and the scale of the coffered dome becomes apparent. The ornate detail is beautiful and even though the space is filled with people at any given time, the acoustics of the Dome made it feel almost like we were alone. 

details on the columns

Underside of the exterior Portico

base of column

  

I love Beaba..

Just before Thanksgiving, Evalie's doctor suggested I start her on solids and so I thought this might be a great chance to get her used to others ways of getting nutrients besides her preferred method..which is...ME. Since I had already bought quite a few acorn squash for the holiday dinner, we started her with that. I had was steaming them in the oven so I just scooped one out for Evalie before I glazed the rest. Just as I was about to begin manually mushing it, I remembered I been given this Beaba Babycook as a shower gift. so I took it out and tried it! i loved it, in seconds I had perfectly mushed baby food!  

Now we're onto food number two ,carrots and I figured I should take advantage of all its capabilities so I steamed a few carrots in its cooking basket and then once it was done, poured the carrots right into the blending basket and immediately was able to puree them into this wonderfully fresh, smooth, bright orange baby food. It requires nothing else just a bit of water for a steaming. So I'm in love with it and am very excited to make more food. Apparently, you can make chicken, rice and more in it too...can't wait to make her something crazy like curry chicken in there..just kidding. Anyway, this may not be new to anyone but I remember trying this with a different food mill when Arielle was born and gave up very quickly because it was cumber some. 

Now, I take the pureed vegetable and put equal amounts in little baby storage cube and pop them in the fridge for dinner each night. tonight I'll be making sweet potatoes.

I am not being paid for this post..maybe I should be but I just really like the item!

Battling the bottle

Evalie is a few days shy of 5 months old ( can't believe it!) and is a great baby, right on track with everything..she sits up ( never rolled over..though), is vocal, reaches for things, does her tummy time, etc. She smiles, plays is so alert ( as every stranger who meets her reminds me!) BUT she absolutely detests that bottle.

Its the worst thing you could do to her in her little baby existence..nothing else makes her as mad and unsettled as the feeling of an artificial nipple in her mouth. She puts other things in her mouth..her fingers, my fingers, stuffed birds, burp cloths and more but when you attempt to feed her from a bottle the battle begins! She screams, cries, throws her head back and thrusts her feet forward as if she's trying to escape from the arms of who ever is feeding her. She won't stand for it! Its really making a bit of a problem for me because, I cannot be away from her for more than a couple of hours. We have been trying her at the bottle for several months actually, and have tried many bottles/nipples to no avail. I initially wanted to use glass bottles, so I bought four LifeFactory bottles before she came and just assumed when it was time, she'd take it..I was wrong. Its got a cool looking sillicone sleeve but, the nipple was hard and seemed to be choking her because its long so I went in search of a different bottle. We tried the bottles which her sister Arielle willingly took, the Playtex premium nurser and although it solved the choking problem and has a softer nipple shaped more like a natural nipple, she didn't like this one either. I then decided to try the bottle a few moms suggested was closest to natural, the Tommee Tippee and was pretty excited about it but she still would not latch on. My mother bought the NUK bottle which has a sculpted asymmetrical nipple and tried it on her and we began to make progess. She was willing to play with it and wasn't so mad during the feeding even though she still didn't actually latch on. We have since continued to feed her daily from that bottle but it become too stressful for the husband..coming home from work and having to be the bad guy (they advise having someone else feed her..not mommy) and deal with an extremely annoyed baby after missing her all day.

So a few days ago I had to go to a meeting and left at 10am and wouldn't return until 8pm, my husband took the day off to be on baby duty because we couldn't bear to leave her with anyone especially for the first time. He was nervous, I was nervous but we had to do it. I fed her before I left ( about 8:30am) and didn't come home until 7:45pm and she only took 1/4 of an ounce of milk from the bottle ( daddy had to squirt it in her mouth)..ALL DAY!
So now I ask, any suggestions people?..innovative ideas needed because I have tried it all. I will be returning to work in a few weeks and she will be with a nanny from 8:30 to 6:30 so she has to take the bottle, right? If you read this blog and have never commented, today is the day to start please because I am terrified to leave her if she plans on starving herself and clearly she does! Don't let those cheeks fool you!

These days..

These days, I am thankful for quiet mornings folding laundry with my little girl. She sits and plays while I organize her cloths. We smile at each other and silently assure each other that everything is OK. She doesn't realize how much her smile assures me. Happy Monday.