the beehive

Guest post by Tiffany Parks

Photographs by Luca and Antonella Cappellaro www.fineartwedding.it

They say that difficult journeys make the destination more rewarding, and when it comes to getting married in Italy, this is doubly true. Saying “I do” in Italian is not an easy task. Oh, it’s beautiful all right, and incredibly romantic and charming, but it’s certainly not easy. Particularly if one member of the couple is not Italian.

When my Italian husband and I began planning our wedding, I had already been living in Rome for five years. I was an official resident and what with permessi di soggiorno, work visas and the unavoidable marche da bollo (tax stamps), I thought I’d seen the worst of Italian bureaucracy. I had no idea.

Turns out, Italians are terrified of bigamy. Bigamy in Italy is what terrorism is in the US: a constant threat to be prevented at all costs. And so, I lost track of the number of times I was required to swear under oath that I was not already married: at my embassy, in front of witnesses, in a signed affidavit. I even had to drag in two friends and they had to swear I’d never been married.

Then there’s the run-around. This is a brilliant Italian invention that is a great way to spend your free time (because brides-to-be have so much of that) and get to know the obscure lines of the public transport system. The run-around consists of going to one office to pick up a document, paying the fee for it at a second, filling it out at a third, signing it with witnesses at a fourth only to submit it at a fifth. Repeat ad nauseum with any number of documents.

At about this point, you start towonder why you didn’t opt to wed in the US, where couples giddily skip into the city clerk’s office two weeks prior to the big day to pick up their marriage license, prepared why they wait. One-stop wedding shopping. Instead you look over at your haggard fiancé and think to yourself, “Do I really want to marry this person? Enough to go through this hell?” And you know he’s thinking the same thing about you. But by that point, you’re in too deep. You’ve sat through Catholic marriage school and learned all about the rhythm method, the bans have been posted on the church door for the requisite two Sundays, and you’ve bought so many marche da bollo, you can forget about that down payment on an apartment. There’s no turning back now; you’re in this together.

And somehow, even though it seemed impossible, the day arrives. When you finally make it to the altar, exhausted but elated, with your partner in crime beaming at you, all the fees and hassles and lines and endless documents only make the day that much sweeter, for what you had to overcome together to get there.

And the rest is a bonus, but what an amazing bonus! The day of our wedding the sun shone so brilliantly it seemed as if the heavens had been cracked open. Besides a few posies, the church needed no decoration. Bernini, Vasari and Sebastiano del Piombo had already taken care of that. As rice rained down on us, Rome was at our feet. It seemed that with just one leap we could land on the Palatine Hill. A walk through the narrow cobblestone alleys of Trastevere, the very first streets we walked down together, saw our first jaunt as husband and wife. Photos were snapped under festoons of drying laundry and explosions of bougainvillea that matched my scandalously pink shoes perfectly.

Our guests were welcomed by the sinewy façade of a converted monastery by Borromini. A rich soprano voice intoned an immortal Puccini melody on a terrace with the hills of Rome in the distance. The rest was a haze of improvised brindisis, sequined dresses, scrumptious food, teary speeches, frenzied dancing and infectious laughter. The magical end of a long and at times nightmarish journey was, ironically, the beginning of an exciting new one.

Tiffany Parks fulfilled a life-long dream by moving to Rome over seven years ago. She hails from the glorious Pacific Northwest, and has also lived in Boston and Montréal where she studied classical singing and opera. She now works as both a tour guide and a travel and culture writer and is working on her first book, an art mystery for young readers. She can be found musing about the wonders of her adopted city on her blog, The Pines of Rome. www.thepinesofrome.blogspot.com

photos by Alina Goroaia

We’ve been experiencing some incredible weather phenomona in Italy this past year – the most recent being the unbelievable amount of snowfall that has come down in central Italy -  Tuscany, Umbria and most surprisingly of all – Rome.  Rome hasn’t had a major snowfall in 26 years and some parts of Lazio (the region Rome is located in) haven’t seen this amount of snow in well over 50 years.  These weren’t just a few flakes, but a virtual winter wonderland which came as even more of a surprise after an unseasonably warm start to the winter season.  Here are some images captured by Beehive staff member, Alina Goroaia.  More snow is being forecast for tomorrow…..

A view of the Colosseum

A view through the Arch of Septimus Severus in the Roman Forum

The Roman Forum under snow

Walking on the Lungotevere road, too icy for the sidewalk

Along the Tiber River – Roma spelled backwards  – cute!

Detail on the Vittorio Emanuele bridge

These scooters aren’t going anywhere!

Confused seagulls on the steps of St. Peter’s

Nun and snowman in St. Peter’s square

Guest post by Beehivereceptionist & cafe chef -  Francesca Ruffo

photos by Beehive receptionist – Alina Goroaia

Bread is one of those things which for some of us is essential – a source of nourishment and even a comfort food.  In The Beehive’s cafe we like to make our bread from scratch, by hand, using a variety of organically grown flours and seeds.

We have a wonderful book of bread recipes which Linda and Steve bought to inspire and motivate us when we first made the switch, several years ago, from buying bread at a local bakery to baking it ourselves in the cafe. These days, my colleague Gianluca and I have got it pretty much down pat, but it is still nice to take the recipe book off the shelf and consider a fresh ingredient or different method for our daily breakfast loaves.

I strongly believe in the mind body connection and taking care of yourself physically while you are traveling is just as important as making sure you get to see all the sites and galleries in Rome that you’ve been dreaming about.  Many travelers suffer a lot physically – not only from a change in diet and the stress of air travel, but also from the practicalities of essentially carrying your temporary home with you – either literally on your back or struggling with a suitcase.  In Rome physical discomfort can be exacerbated by lugging your bags on and off trains, down cobblestone streets and in the summer – doing all this in the heat of the city.

Not many of our guests realize massage therapist and personal trainer, Jenifer Vinson, has her own little cozy space downstairs at The Beehive near our lounge.  For the past several years, Jenifer’s home for her private practice has been at The Beehive where she gives massage to our guests as well as her own permanent resident clientele.

Jenifer is an American who grew up studying ballet in her hometown of Tallahassee, Florida.  She later earned an MFA in Dance from Florida State University.  She then studied dance in New York City and received a BA in Humanites at FSU.  Jenifer is a graduate of New York’s Swedish Institute, College of Health Sciences and is a New York state-licensed Massage Therapist.

Recently, I asked Jenifer a few questions about her personal history with massage as well as her life in Rome.

How did you become interested in doing massage?    Being the one dancer in a family of three talented (but less flexibile) tennis players must have pricked my interest in loosening up others.  My teenage brother would ask for help executing a rather jarring abdominal exercise where I’d hurl his legs towards the floor (forcing him to catch his heavy legs with his ab strength).  I was always trying to get him to slow down and stretch his super tights legs.  Around fellow dancers in college  — folks who already stretched — I’d massage their shoulders and feet while we chatted after classes and rehearsals.    A fantastic massage therapist in Tallahassee was helping me with the excess tension in my back at that time,  and it felt natural to do the same for others.  I guess you could say I slid effortlessly into the role of caretaker and teacher.  By the time I started the Swedish Institute’s massage program I was quite used to massaging friends, and I’d been teaching dance and exercise for many years.

Any suggestions for how travelers can avoid back or neck trouble?     Yes!  Only pick up children or bags with a straight back and bent legs.  Brace your suitcase against your legs when going up stairs.  Stay balanced – frequently switching your rolling suitcase from left to right so you’re not holding the same twist for too long.  If carrying bags on your shoulders, try to balance your load.  On the airplane, get up frequently during your flight and make gentle circular movements with your ankles, shoulders and neck, both for your comfort during the flight and so you don’t hurt yourself taking your suitcase from the overhead compartment.

What would you say to someone who thinks it’s too indulgent to get a massage while they’re traveling on a budget?   Oh it’s maintenance, not indulgence:)  Your legs have never before stood on so many marble surfaces!  Pinch pennies instead by refilling your water bottle for free from Rome’s excellent fountains (the “nasone“) and by eating sandwiches or pizza picnic style or at the local tavola calda rather than having every meal at a sit-down restaurant.

How long have you lived here and what brought you to Rome?   I first came here in 1999 to live with my boyfriend (who’s now my friend, ex-husband and occasional client).

What are some of your favorites in Rome – places to go, things to do, restaurants?  I love the walk up Salita di Grillo in a part of the Monti neighborhood that’s uphill from Trajan’s Forum, and the walking up the Campidoglio stairs at night (then taking the less conspicuous stairs to the left down to Via Fori Imperiali.)  When I meet friends out we enjoy the older wine bars in the Monti neighborhood or other parts of the historic center.

Plans for the future?   I still need to see Sicily and Sardegna, and then a year or at least a summer working  in Berlin interests me.  I want to see Holland and Ireland as well…….and the parts of France I haven’t seen, but I’ll never move there as I can’t approximate those tricky vowel sounds.

Jenifer can be found at The Beehive, via Marghera, 8, by appointment, just ask at our reception or call 0644704553.

Her rate for an hour massage is €45 and Beehive guests receive a special rate of €35. 

She can also be reached directly at 3395399550 or jenifer_vinson@hotmail.com

The Beehive is conveniently located to Termini train station, but we often forget that many of our guests don’t have any idea just how close.  In addition, visitors unfamiliar with the area or train travel in general may find using the train and the arrival a bit intimidating – Termini is a large, loud and chaotic mess even for those of us who are used to it.

This past summer, my 11 year old daughter, Giulia, showed how painless it can be to take the train from Termini to the airport and essentially, you just need to do it in reverse to get to The Beehive.  In this post, I hope to show you how fairly straightforward it is on your arrival to Rome’s Termini train station on the Leonardo Express airport train (only available from Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) airport) to get to a friendly face at The Beehive.  (Arrivals from Ciampino airport will be another post)

From the baggage claim at Fiumicino you want to follow the signs to the trains.

It does take about a 10-15 minute walk (depending on your baggage situation), and several escalator rides to get you to the train departure point.  When you arrive, you’ll have several options to purchasing a ticket – ticket offices, tobacco shop or self-service machines.  My suggestion would be to use the self-service machines.

The machines are multi-lingual, quick and easy to use, you don’t pay an additional service charge like you do at the ticket offices and you usually don’t have to wait or wait very long to use one.  It accepts credit cards (with chip and with PIN) as well as cash in euro.  The price is €14 each for a one way ticket.  Please remember to stamp your ticket at these green and white ticket validation machines before boarding the train.  They do control tickets on the train and you will be fined €50 if it’s not stamped.

The journey from Fiumicino to Rome’s central train station Termini takes 30 minutes.  The train arrives at Platform 24 if you are lucky which is close to the main gallery, but sometimes it does disembark at Platform VERY FAR AWAY so note that this can change at the whims of Trenitalia.  If you are at the far away platforms, please note you’ll need to walk for about 10 minutes or so to the main gallery.  Do not take stairs or escalators leading down to the basement.

If you are lucky and get off at Platform 24, you’ll see this sign for the binario (track) number 24 and a slight ramp which leads you into the arrival/departure hall.

You want to continue going straight passing the hall and into the main gallery which is full of advertising and many shops.

The station has 3 main entrances/exits, and with the train tracks behind you, take the exit to your right which is the furthest exit from Platform 24.  So walk confidently towards that exit – you’ll pass many tempting little shops which continuously change (for example, this Perugina chocolate shop may no longer be there when you arrive), but in either case you might be inclined to have a little break on your way to The Beehive.

Unfortunately, thieves heavily target Termini train station.  It is VERY IMPORTANT that you keep an eye on your belongings and do not allow anyone to help you with your luggage or if you are alone – to try to distract you from your belongings by offering to help you while another team member opens up your purse or backpack.  Ladies, please do not have totes (unless they are zippered) or other open bags with you in Rome.

When you arrive at the large exit to the street, across the street you’ll see on the left corner a book shop called Don Bosco and on the right corner Bar Trombetta.  With the station exit behind you, continue walking straight ahead on the Don Bosco side of the street.  This is via Marghera.  You can see the street name on the building.

The walk is only 2 blocks, about 5 minutes from this exit.  It’s a non-eventful walk and soon you will arrive to this corner where there is large yellow building with a yellow wall.  Behind that yellow wall with the trees and vines is The Beehive – you are almost there!

Cross the street and soon afterward, you’ll notice on your left a silver door, our sign and the #8.  Press the buzzer on the wall to your right, soon you’ll hear a click – push open the door and there in front of you are our fish and our Welcome sign.

Up the couple of stairs and through the door and you’ll be cheerfully greeted by our manager Yuli (pictured here) or one of our other friendly faces – Francesca or Steve.

After you’ve done it one time, you’ll see how easy it is to get from the station to The Beehive, your home away from home in Rome.