Off the beaten path?

As those of you who know me are well aware, I love to travel. And when I do so, I do my best to venture off the beaten path (can I really still use that exceptionally overused expression to describe something not many people do?). Anyways, my Dad has been living and working in Rome for a little over a year. Last August when I came to see him I hit a lot of the big touristy things: the colosseum, the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, you get the gist. This year I'm back, for a little over a week (minus an upcoming weekend trip to Paris) before heading off to Poland for six weeks and about a week again on the way back. Having done all of the "big" stuff in Rome, I feel a lot more free to do what I want. My Dad's apartment is in the fantastic neighborhood of Trastevere (literally "across the Tiber") which is full of fantastic restaurants and great architecture. I spent a decent amount of time in Trastevere last visit (although the apartment at the time was in Aventino) but I'm really excited to get to know it better.

The courtyard inside the apartment complex

The title of this blog is a little deceptive. I won't actually be writing purely about my adventures in Rome. As I mentioned earlier, I'll be in Poland for about six weeks, where I'll be helping run the lab at a 17th century cemetery excavation (see http://www.slavia.org/index.php for a little more detail). But part of my whole off the beaten path plan is to live at least somewhat like the locals. When in Rome, right?

(Apparently things aren't too different here, as I'm sleeping on the 

exact same Ikea bed I have at home.)