andiamo a roma!

in a little over a week i'm off to rome to help lead uva students through the hallowed halls of the vatican and the villa borghese. we'll wander down the via giulia (so very lovely...) and marvel at the scale of the colosseum. 

"marveling" is pretty much a state of being in rome. wowee.

it's pretty hard to complain when you're studying michelangelo, raphael, and caravaggio everyday, especially when there's gelato from giolitti at the end of the day. (and paper stores galore!)

how one "experiences" the sistine chapel these days. 

shh, don't tell anyone i snapped a photo.

still, it's hard to leave o'suz for a month -- i miss the peeps and the goods! lucky for me, a little bit of o'suz travels to roma.  let's take a tour of my daily tote.

despite being the poster child for "directionally challenged," i've spent enough time in rome to avoid getting too terribly lost.  regardless, i never leave the apartment without my moleskine rome city notebook.  these relatively new pocket-sized notebooks are a departure from the traditional guidebook -- you won't find directions or dining suggestions;  instead, a series of pages for you to fill with notes about your favorite parts of the city as you learn its landscape. never fear, one classic guidebook feature remains -- a serious map of the city, divided over many pages, with important landmarks indicated.  one of my favorite parts about moleskine city guides is that they keep the street names and landmarks in the native language of your destination.  it's never a bad thing to know that what we call the "tiber" is to italians the "tevere." perfect for a more exploratory approach to the city, and a lot lighter than my old eyewitness travel guide! 

moleskine city notebook, dwell travel case with fluffy co passport wallet, and city walks rome deck. 

also featured is my pal, andiamo, who will be a regular guest blogger in the coming weeks.

i'll also be stuffing my burt's bees lip balm, sunscreen, and various other items into my new dwell travel case. i love the transportation motifs and the fun colors, and of equal importance is how functional this petite pouch is. laminated on the outside, lined in the inside, and equipped with additional interior and exterior pockets, this is my kind of travel pouch. (and there's a larger size good for shampoo, conditioner, etc.)

super sleek and a model of organization  -- highway messenger bag

all of these goods (along with my hobo wallet, saltygal ipod cozy, fluffy co passport cover -- oh my gosh, is everything i own from o'suzannah!?!?!) will be toted daily in my spankin' new highway bag.  i've traveled a good bit in europe and have never found the perfect bag for daily use -- they're always either too big or too small, not secure enough, not durable enough, etc. but now, perfection has arrived in the form of this sleek, multi-tasking messenger.  yay for functional, attractive design! this bag has seven pockets of varying sizes so that you always know what's where; it lies flat on the body and can be worn across the chest as an added safety precaution.  it's pretty much awesome, in every way.

this is just a tiny bit of the o'suz love i'll be taking with me to roma.  stay tuned for my next post, where i'll fill you in about the little bits of italy (and paris, you francophiles you) that can be found at the shop! ciao for now, j