Playing catch-up
Well I finally finished my travel journal about my trip to Rome. I hope you enjoyed reading it. In case you hadn’t figured it out, I have been backdating them. This entry is in “real time” :)
Today I am at my sister Allison’s house in Austin. I had a meeting in Kerrville, Texas earlier this week (which went very well) and extended through the weekend to spend time with her and her kids, as well as my other sister Danielle.
We’ve gone for pedicures, visited the wildflower center and last night went out to dinner at an Italian place called La Taverna. It wasn’t like what I enjoyed in Rome, but it was good! I had the caprese salad and margherita pizza, followed by creme brulee. Allison also let me have a taste of her balsamic ice cream which was excellent. The restaurant had a nice ambience but was very loud. They also had sidewalk seating for those who didn’t mind the passing traffic. Afterwards we changed into our jammies and watched “The Devil Wears Prada”. The weather has been grey and wet, but that’s OK, it’s a nice diversion from hot & sunny Phoenix.
Allison’s kids are getting big – her smallest one is about a year and a half now, and getting into everything. She’s constantly chasing after him to keep him out of trouble. I remember those days and I don’t miss them. Of course, he’s also an adorable little guy, as are her other two.
I will be returning home on a 6pm flight tonight. It’s been a nice – though short – visit, but it will be even nicer to get home. My next trip is to Spokane for a meeting but since I’m not the lead on it I will be taking orders instead of giving them – a little bit less stressful. Once I return from that trip I have a week before I leave for Orlando for a huge meeting that I am the lead on – so I’ve got a lot to do over the next couple weeks.
Rome Day 17 / Heading home
The taxi came by to get us early and we waved goodbye to Max & Lavinia who watched us pull away from their balcony. We went on our way to join the rest of the cattle moving through the Fiumicino airport en route to our home, the good old U S of A. Terry pointed out, as he often does, that traveling abroad is a fun adventure, but it also makes us realize how fortunate we are to live in the US.
This was truly the trip of a lifetime, so I was melancholy leaving the city. It is a beautiful city in its own way – from the warmth and friendliness of its people, to the majesty of its architecture, to the historical sagas portrayed in countless works of art. Equally enjoyable was the time that Terry and I spent together, just enjoying each other’s company and experiencing new things. We didn’t fight once, and we genuinely just enjoyed being with each other – it was thoroughly therapeutic.
We mostly slept on the flights home, and when we finally arrived at our house Justin had crashed on the couch, though Eric was still awake to welcome us home. Of course the dog was happy to see us, but things settled down well enough for us to get a good night’s sleep before returning to our regular routine the next day.
It was a wonderful trip – more wonderful that words could express – but it sure felt good to sleep in our bed again, back home at last.
Awesome photo galleries (not mine, but worth checking out):
Rome Day 16 / Making the last moments count
Here we are, our last day in Rome. We woke up wondering what to do, and decided it would be a good day to search for souvenirs, considering we didn’t have anything worthwhile to bring home just yet. We started out at one of the markets in the south area of Rome. There wasn’t much more there than clothing, but I got a couple fun handbags really cheap. One street guy tried to talk Terry into buying a watch. When Terry finally walked away, he shouted “Hey Rambo, come back!”
We hopped back on the subway and returned to Via Cola di Rienzo where we found a little souvenir shop (believe it or not, a rarity in Rome as most of the street peddlers sell trinkets) where we loaded up on cheap t-shirts and magnets. I also got a pretty multicolor glass dish for my windowsill and a couple of “Gatti di Roma” (Cats of Rome) mini calendars for some friends.
We made our way back to the B&B to drop off packages and have a quick lunch nearby. Faced with nothing planned for the afternoon, the one thing we hadn’t yet done was tour the inside of St. Peter’s Basilica. We still had a few hours left in the day so we decided to make our way down there and we are really glad we did!
Once again we joined throngs of people to enter the cathedral. The line was crazy – hundreds of feet long and 20+ people wide. There was this group of little old ladies that were all holding hands and being surprisingly pushy – even bullying! Eventually we made it into the church, and as it turned out the wait was only about 20 minutes total. We walked through the enourmous structure and were amazed – it is the largest religious structure in the world. Even though we had been in over 10 churches and cathedrals this trip, St. Peter’s was astonishing. The works of art, the beauty of its structure, the enormous organ and the individual sculptures were all breathtaking.
There are over 100 tombs in St. Peter’s – mostly former Popes and other saints, including Pope John Paul II. Because it was the end of the day they had already closed the area leading to St. Peter’s remains (Peter being the very first Pope), so we never did get to see them, but we did get to see Michelangelo’s single signed work – his Pieta. It was enclosed behind bullet-proof glass because a lunatic had stormed in a few years back and started attacking it with an axe. Still, the work was amazing.
We didn’t have time to climb the stairway to the top of the dome, but our legs would be thankful for it. We had climbed plenty of stairs this trip - between that and the uneven cobblestone streets our ankles had gotten plenty of action.
After our visit to St. Peter’s we went back to the area of the B&B and enjoyed our final Roman dinner at La Fornace. I had the Caprese and Margherita pizza and enjoyed every last bite. Somehow I don’t think it will be the same back home in the States. Our flight leaves at 10:30 tomorrow morning so we decided to make it an early night.
Rome Day 15 / Ostia-Antica
This morning started early – we hopped on the A subway, transferred at Termini to the B line, then got off at Piramide where we found the train station. Tickets were only €1 per person each way to Ostica-Antica which ended up to be about a 25 minute ride from the Piramide/San Giovanni starting point. We really didn’t know what we were in for so we just followed the other pedestrians about two blocks and paid our entry into what turned out to be a ruins site (we were looking for a beach).
Walking through the ruins, we got a taste of what it was really like to live in an ancient colony – there were multi-story apartments, a forum, theater, bath house, merchants and more. The buildings were very well-preserved considering they were 2-3000 years old. Among the ruins there were many, many black and white mosaic floors – both inside and outside buildings – depicting sea life and other aspects of their community. We saw many similar floors in the Vatican Museums as they had been moved there from Ostia several years prior. Many of the sculptures in the Vatican were also from this anient city.
We followed along the recommended pathway toward a place marked “ancient beach” on the map, only to realize that the beach was no longer there – it was now a freeway and apparently the coastline is now about five miles away!
After a disappointing and overpriced lunch in the museum’s cafeteria (spent among countless Italian schoolkids), we took a walk back to the train station and asked the guy at the newsstand how to find the beach. Following his advice, we continued on the train to the end of the line (about 4-5 stops) which ended up being directly across the street from the beach. Of course it is March, cold and rainy, and especially on a Thursday nobody is really anxious to sunbathe. We made our way through a closed resort and passed through a small gate before coming upon the sandy shore. There was a lot of wind, cold, and rough waves but it was nice to see the water after being landlocked for so long. We did see a storm coming in the distance so we didn’t linger – instead we opted to have a bottle of wine at an (indoor) seaside restaurant before taking the train back to Rome. On our train ride back we encountered some gypsies playing the fiddle and accordion but fortunately we made it back to the B&B with all our gear/wallets/bags etc.
This night we went to dinner with our B&B hosts Max and Lavinia at Lo Scopettaro where I had been the week before with my group from work. It was a lot of fun – Max & Lavinia are nice people and it was great to get to know them better. I feel like we’ve made new friends, not just business associates. We were out until late that night just enjoying each others’ company. Tomorrow is our last full day before heading home.
Rome Day 14 / Vatican (part) II
We started out with our usual nice breakfast after sleeping in a bit – no need for the alarm today! At about 9:20 we ventured out into the cold and took the A Line only three stops to Leplanto and walked only about three blocks to Via Cola di Rienzo for some shopping. After discovering prices about what we’d pay in the mall at home (which weren’t great) I did find one shop called Chopin which had reasonably priced ladieswear. The overly-attentive saleslady spoke very good English and helped me pick out several cute outfits to try on. I ended up with a pretty black, white and red printed skirt and red top, plus a khaki green blazer/skirt suit that went very well with the same red top – all for only about €112.
We continued along but decided that there were really no other outstanding bargains to be had and brought my packages back to the B&B before stopping at a place a few doors down for lunch. I had some very good margherita pizza (this time with crust a bit thicker, but crispy on the bottom) and Terry opted for a “Kebap” which is basically a takeoff of the Greek gyro. This streetside cafe is owned by a middle-eastern guy and the music playing was, well, wierd. It was sort of this screechy, high-speed, whiny middle-eastern music – not what you’d expect to find in the heart of Rome. Terry pointed out some elaborately-decorated opium pipes “decorating” a high shelf on the wall. Interesting – and they didn’t have any dust on them either.
Next, we ventured on to the 492 bus and got off only a few stops away to wait in the long, long, long line for the Vatican Museums. As discouraging as it looked, the time span from when we stepped in line to when we entered the Vatican’s security gates was only about 40 minutes. Admission tickets were just €13 and the audioguides which later proved to be invaluable were only €6.
After climbing several stairs we entered the Egyptian museum which I did not have access to on my previous trip. Its exhibits included a mummified woman from 1000 BC – yes that’s right, 3000 years old! It was kind of creepy and kind of fascinating at the same time. The same exhibit also housed some elaborately-painted sarcophagi and stone letters from ancient Egyptian times.
The next set of rooms included several Greek and Roman statues. Actually saying “several” is an understatement – more like hundreds, maybe thousands! Some of them had a distinct history (such as at least two works we saw of “the Nile”) but most of them were more anonymous than that.
After making way through this exhibit, we moved on to the long halls that would lead us to the Raphael rooms – these hallways were all painted floor to (and including) ceiling in elaborate frescoes. Our first grouping was of several “old world” maps, followed by a tapestry room which included a magnificent rendering of Christ – his eyes follow you as you walk down the hallway.
The Raphael rooms were beautiful and elaborate (as the rest of the Vatican Museums of course) and I was surprised to learn that he (and apparently Bernini) was little more than an art director. He was hired by the Pope to design artworks for each room and usually hired workers actually performed the brushwork. (Side note: Michelangelo painted all of his own works) Here is where the audioguide really came in handy – it was fascinating to learn about each separate painting rather than just taking it in and looking at all the pretty pictures without having a clue as to their history or meaning. One in particular that stands out is in the Constantine Room where Raphael painted a crucifix aglow with light, and a shattered Roman statue in pieces on the floor. This work depicts Constantine’s movement to leave behind the paganism of the former Roman beliefs and the beginning of their move to Christianity.
I looked at my watch and saw that we only had an hour left before the Vatican guards would kick us out of the museum, and since I was already out of their good graces from last week, Terry and I practically jogged through the ten or so rooms of “Modern Religious Art” which honestly was nothing special in my opinion, before finally reaching the Sistine Chapel.
As this was my second visit I couldn’t help but compare my previous experience of being there with just 60 people as opposed to several hundred as we were today. Still, I was very happy to be sharing the experience with my husband who, although his knee and ankle were swollen and sore, obviously was able to appreciate these works as much as I did. I again found the audioguide to be extremely helpful in explaining several of the stories behind the works, and it served as a good tool to appreciate them one by one instead of just seeing a large room all painted with two hundred or so different scenes. I especially liked the way it broke out elements of the Last Judgment though with over 300 persons depicted it could have taken hours to go through it all!
We opted to walk home rather than try and find the bus stop and it ended up to be not that far anyway. It also allowed us another stop at Millennium Gelateria where this time I opted for the Choco-orange mixed with Bounty (think Mounds candy bar) flavors. We ate these walking back to the B&B and I finished mine just in time to unlock the front door. My left hand was near frostbite but it was one of the rare occasions when I actually didn’t mind being cold, that’s how good this stuff is. Gosh, I wish someone in the US could figure out how to make this stuff – though maybe it’s better for our waistlines and cholesterol levels that no one has perfected the Italian recipe!
Back at the B&B I worked on writing my travel journal while Terry read for a little while, then we went out to eat at La Rustichella as recommended by Rick Steves. The place is just next door to Millennium but we managed to resist the temptation to visit for the second time in one day. I had a steak which they prepared specially for me with a “salad” (meaning a few lettuce leaves) and French fries. It wasn’t the best steak I’ve ever had but then Italians aren’t really known for this dish, are they? Terry had some items from the buffet which were primarily seafood and he said they were really good. In fact, this was probably our favorite dinner spot yet.
Rome Day 13 / Stepping back in time
This morning I woke up and the first thing I realized was that it’s my brother’s birthday. I felt bad that I wouldn’t be able to call or even email him a birthday wish, but also knew that he would understand. He was in Rome about a year and a half ago just after his deployment in the middle east ended and just before he visited us, so I often think about him here and wonder what his experience was like compared to ours.
We rushed through breakfast and hopped on the A line, transferred to the B line at Termini and got off at Coliseo. We exited the subway up to the street and there before us, lo and behold, one of the most magnificent structures ever known to man. We were to meet our tour guide here at 9am and we were about 15 minutes early. It was very cold and very windy so we opted to wait inside the building. When 9:15 rolled around and she was still not there we decided to just go by ourselves. The line was short, most likely because it was so early and the weather was unpleasant, but we were approached by a tour company that offered us a ticket and tour for only €21. Skeptical at first, we decided to join and were glad we did – we learned a lot and the experience was wonderful.
The guide showed us with a book how the structures once looked compared to how they look today. The Coliseum’s exterior is pitted with large holes because the marble façade was removed and used to decorate the Vatican – these holes are part of the system that held the marble onto the structure. In one of my pictures you can see an original base for a marble column – the place is literally littered with them and the columns they supported. It seemed odd to me that people could rest their backpacks on one while changing their camera batteries – these are 2000-year old artifacts! At one point while we were there, it began to rain, then hail! As with most hailstorms the sun remained out and it was overall a very strange weather day.
In another photo you can see the inside of a cell where slaves and animals were kept. There were several cells of course, but one day a cell would house animals and the next day it would house slaves – this was to give the slaves the scent of an animal to make for a more interesting slaughter onstage. We were also told about how the animals (lions, tigers, elephants – several species from Africa) were driven to the stage by guards using torches. The guards often burned the animals’ leg or side to make them even more angry and vicious. Those ancient Romans sure loved their bloodsports.
In one photo you will see how the arena/stage floor has been removed to expose several rows and 2-3 floors of cells where animals, slaves and Gladiators were kept before a fight.
After our tour, the guide left us to spend free time in the Coliseum which we opted to go one level up to view from above, as a Roman citizen would have. A stop in the bookstore was pointless as it was overpriced and the selection was not great – though I decided I wanted to learn more about this aspect of ancient Roman life and will soon be patronizing Amazon.com for some books and/or DVDs.
We decided to walk through the Roman Forum next, which is right across the street. The Forum is a huge area of land with surprisingly well-preserved structures, though few complete buildings still exist. Several of the palaces’/temples’ marble columns still stand and it was fun to think about where we would have fit in had we been a part of this ancient culture. It was amazing that we walked in the same steps as Julius Caesar, Nero and other revered and feared Roman emperors.
Exhausted from walking and near frozen from the cold and wind, we stopped in a small café to enjoy some pizza and pasta for lunch. We ran into a couple from Finland with their baby girl and discussed how difficult it is to travel with little ones – near impossible in Rome which is not a really child-friendly city (nor is it very accessible for the physically impaired). Basically, if you aren’t able-bodied Rome is not likely your best holiday option.
Because we were in the vicinity, we decided to take in the Pantheon before heading back to the B&B. It was still early in the day, maybe 2:00 or so, and it was only about four blocks away. From the outside (the back of the building where we approached), the Pantheon didn’t seem very impressive – another building with worn bricks and pits. As you walk through the impressive front columns into the building you are overcome by its magnificence. Now a chapel dedicated to the Holy Mother, it has beautiful marble accents and incredible architectural details throughout. It was also refreshing to see a building (especially a church) whose inside was not overrun by frescoes. Of course the most prominent part of this building is its oculus – the huge dome roof with a big open hole in the center.
After our Pantheon visit we decided to go back to the Bulldog Inn since we were in the neighborhood – had a glass of wine and beer, then returned to the B&B on the 492 bus for a short nap before dinner. We got back just before it started to pour and were not at all excited about going anywhere, but Max gave us a recommendation for Jolly a nice seafood and pasta place a few blocks away. We again ran into the language barrier but it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle – I suppose ordering food in Italy isn’t really that difficult even if you don’t know the language.
Rome Day 12 / Venturing out a bit
Today we had an early bus to catch so we were out of the B&B by 6:15 with a small “breakfast to go” thanks to Max. We hopped on the A Line to Termini and took a short walk to the Green Line Tours office where we checked in and boarded the bus. I don’t really have any concept of our transfer time for anything on this tour because I caught myself napping several times between each stop.
We first arrived in Orvieto, a tiny medieval town established in the 5th Century B.C. Because this city was built high on a hill (as most medieval towns are) we were dropped off by our motorcoach and took a tram up a steep track, then hopped on a little shuttle bus to the center of town where we saw cute little cobblestone streets. We took a look in St. Mary’s Church (1920) and viewed the very dramatic frescoes it had to offer. The outside of the church was done in a striking white and green marble which gave it a dramatic striped effect. As we were leaving we saw a small parade consisting of about a dozen men, and in front someone carrying a flag of some sort. This was to commemorate the holy day, the Feast of St. Joseph (Santo Giuseppe).
Our next stop was a wine & cheese tasting at a cute little villa in lower Orvieto. I wish we could have brought home some cheese and dried meat, but that pesky USFDA won’t let us bring it home from here (we will be sure to stop at the duty free shop in Fiumicino Airport where they package it specially for this purpose). We did get a bottle of their local wine and some dry mushroom soup mix, then we all enjoyed a lunch of pasta and veal, followed by the most delicious biscotti I’ve ever had.
We continued our journey to Assisi where we braved more cold and rain to see the sights there. Starting with the Church of Santa Chiara (St. Claire), we viewed her magnificent church, though most of the frescoes were missing due to age and damage over the years, as well as a recent earthquake. We were able to see her remains in a glass tomb, her face covered by a mask.
We walked outside along the charming (though wet, windy and frigid) streets of Assisi and my umbrella turned inside out more than once. We came upon the Church of St. Francis which is actually two churches – one upstairs and one downstairs. A third church is an underground chapel which holds a sarcophagus with his remains and a few of the vestments of both saints. The upper church holds a famous crucifix you might recognize (look for picture on Internet). After visiting these churches the bus took us down the hill to view the church St. Francis built in this town which was very small (maybe 10’x20’, housed right in the middle of a large cathedral.
After our long, cold, wet day visiting several churches we were ready to return home and were dropped off at Termini Station by the bus. We decided we had better use the toilets before returning to the B&B so once we found them we had an adventure. In Rome, you usually have to pay for using a toilet (unless you are patronizing an establishment such as a restaurant). Well the ones in Termini are coin-operated €0,70 and apparently only take exact change. They have scary automatic doors which threaten to capture you if you don’t push through quickly enough. We did both make it after a few clumsy attempts and now I guess we know for next time!
Stop to get dinner near the B&B at LaRuota where we enjoyed house red wine and wood-fired pizza. The owner stopped us on the way out to hand us his card and ask that we send him a postcard from Arizona. This area of town is not really known for tourists so we usually get a few looks from people – I suppose it’s a novelty for them to have Americans in the house. On our way out we saw Jim & Ruth who had just been seated so I suppose he will also be getting a postcard from Rockford, Illinois.
Rome Day 11 / Sunday blessings
Today we started out with breakfast at the B&B. It was actually more than we expected – a nice spread of cold continental with yogurt, cereals, croissants, melba toast, juice and coffee & tea. Terry liked mixing his cereal with milk and yogurt which he started doing in Switzerland. We talked to the other American couple staying at the B&B with us. Jim and Ruth from Rockford, Illinois – they were visiting their son and also a young lady who was their foreign exchange student a few years back.
After breakfast we walked to Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square) for our Pope blessing at noon. After witnessing a marathon through the streets of Rome, we still got there with a lot of time to kill so we decided to walk around the area a little. We went up to one of the peddlers selling souvenirs and I got two pretty sterling silver rosaries in little metal boxes. These guys on the street – selling trinkets, counterfeit designer handbags, sunglasses and all kinds of other stuff – are the people you can bargain with. I know someone who talked a guy down from €80 to €25 for a watch, but of course you have to know how to “play the game”.
When the Pope came out – at noon on the dot – the crowd of 80,000+ went nuts! We aren’t much for crowds so we hung out towards the back of the piazza. If you look in my photo of Terry with the Pope you can see where the Pope’s window is – top floor, 2nd window from the right. There’s a big red banner hanging out. It was great to say that we were officially blessed by the Pope but as it turns out, it really wansn’t a huge production. They do it every Sunday when he is not traveling so I guess it’s pretty common.
After our Papal blessing we walked to Castel San Angelo which is an ancient structure used for many things including housing (and refuge) for former Popes, a prison and a fortress. Its strategic location at the top of a small hill allowed the residents to see an approaching enemy. Of course, we had to climb a LOT of stairs to get up there, but it was really worth it. It was a beautiful day, so we could see for miles and miles.
Just outside Castel San Angelo were the typical peddlers but also some really creepy human statues including a gold-painted motion picture guy, some kind of ghostly warrior, and a silver painted guy in an old fashioned suit. They make their money by charging €5 or so to have your photo taken with them. Of course with these guys you have to be careful too, because sometimes they have a partner planted in the crowd who will pick your pocket while you gawk at them.
We walked back to the B&B and decided to have dinner near Termini so we could scope out the location for our tour bus tomorrow. It was easy – we just hopped on the subway’s A-line and walked two blocks. We have to be there at 7:15am so we felt it was better to find it tonight than look around for it tomorrow morning. We didn’t find any restaurants we really wanted to eat at in the area, so we hopped back on the subway and went to La Fornace (means “the furnace”) which is a wood fired pizza place. I had my usual, Caprese salad (buffalo mozzarella and fresh tomatoes) and Margherita Pizza – the Roman version has a thin crust and is absolutely delicious! With all the stairs we climbed we didn’t feel at all guilty about eating – what’s the point of being in Italy and dieting???
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