We arrived in the beautiful city of Florence shortly before 2:00 pm on Thursday, May 24. A frustrating experience waiting to pick up our Firenze card, giving us three days of access to public transportation and museum admissions.
We will begin to use it Friday, so in the meantime, we bought a bus ticket and headed back into the Centro Storico. After a quick bite, we walked over to the Piazza del Duomo. Andrea was pinching herself as she stood by the famous bronze doors of the Baptistry and gazed up the cathedral. Yes Andrea, there really is a Santa Claus, and his name is Will. All those works you love teaching about exist outside of your books!
Per our plan, we ascended the 463 steps to the top of the dome of the cathedral. This was the modern world's first self-supported dome designed by Brunelleschi, and it is spectacular. The climb was a challenge to this man's twice-repaired right knee, but well worth the effort once we popped up atop the dome and took in the remarkable 360 degree view. At times, vertigo set in, especially when you see little kids running around up there so close to the belly-high railing.
In true Willie T. fashion, my camera battery died up there, and the photos posted last night were the only ones I can share. I did use the stupid iPad to take some photos and video, but I cannot upload from it. The frescoes of the dome visible to parishioners inside the church are fascinating with their images of very scary dark demons and goblins pulling humans down into hell's brimstone fire while transcendant angels and saints lift up souls to heavenly rewards. The message to mid 15th century citizens of how to live their lives on earth was painted perfectly clear.
After our descent, we sat on the cathedral steps and plotted our plans for dinner. After strolling the quaint, extremely narrow streets of this medieval town (about 370,000 souls today) and window shopping of what continues to be a thriving mercantile society, we sat down to a very satisfying meal at Alle Mossacce, famous for its Florentine dishes.
Seating in this cramped hole in the wall is family style, and we had the pleasure of being seated next to a young Aussie couple from Sydney. I ordered the ribollita, a mushy bean soup right up my alley, and bistecca Florentina, which is basically a grilled rib eye steak. Andrea ordered a meat antipasti, which she hated, and because the Aussie couple had just been seated at our table and she didn't hear them speaking "Australian," asked in Italian if they spoke English. The woman, said "no," obviously not understanding Andrea and thinking she was being asked if she spoke Italian. After that clarification, Andrea offered her the plate of salamis and hams, which gratefully she accepted. Andrea had ravioli and a mixed salad, which she did like.
There was a line waiting to get in the restaurant upon our exit, and we hopped on a bus back to our hotel, which is certainly within walking distance of central Florence, but just far out enough to expose us to the daily rhythms of Florentine life.
After a good night's sleep, I awoke and headed to a nearby laundromat, stopping in at a neighborhood "cremeria," a small place where the locals pop in for their morning coffee (typically what we would call capuccino or latte) and a pastry before work.
I was back at the hotel with clean, dry clothes by 9:45, just as Andrea was finishing her morning ablutions. Because Andrea misses Russia and the harships of life in Eastern Europe, she prefers to wash her clothes by hand in the bath tub!
As always, our breakfast was sumptuous, and we enjoyed a long conversation with a couple from Ojai, California, putting us way behind our schedule.
Regardless, we used our Firenze card, hopped a C3 bus and took it all the way to the Uffizi Gallery. We entered at 1:30 pm an exited at closing at 6:50 pm. Tons of fabulous art! Andrea noted Giotto's Maddona and Child Enthroned and the Portinari altar piece. She was constantly exclaiming, "I teach this work...!" I was most impressed with Bronzoni. I had not heard of him prior to today, but now I am a fan. Good Titians and other Venetian painters. The Botticellis were much more washed out of color than they appear in books. However, The two minis of Botticelli's Holofernes and Judith were the best.
After the Uffizi, we had dinner by the window at Il Pennello on Via del Dante Alighieri. Other than that one extraorinarily bad meal after the Vatican in Rome, our meals have been terrific. Tonight I went with the prix fixe meal: spaghetti Bolognese, veal scallopine limone, sauteed spinach, and panne cota with raspberry sauce for dessert. Andrea had a bruschetta with white beans, tomato and garlic, gnocchi for her entree, and the gelato in pastry with a thick, rich, hot chocolate sauce. We have not imbibed much wine, as we are far too exhausted from our ramblings, and wine would simply knock us over before we return to the hotel.
Sorry, but no photos to upload today, as I left the hotel without it! Tomorrow, we are committed to getting g a much earlier start, as we have a boatload to see and do before our departure Monday at noon.
Happy Memorial Day weekend America!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
AFTERNOON AT THE DUOMO IN FIRENZE
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| Will working on the Arriverdici Roma blog on the train to Florrence |
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| Countryside from train window |
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| Andrea at the Ghiberti's bronze doors |
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| Andrea climbing the 462 stairs up to the top of the Duomo and between the dome shells |
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| Catterdrale di Santa Maria del Fiore |
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| View from the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore |
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| Another view from the top |
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| Terrific dome with vivid images of hell and devils and heaven and angels |
ARRIVIDERCI ROMA
After a long, satisfying, and tiring day at Vatican City, we slept in and took it easy today.
Weather was great, as advertised: blue skies and temps in the low to mid 70s.
It was close to 1:30 pm before we headed out to catch a city bus. It must be time to leave Roma, because we have finally figured out so many things that we don't always look like bumbling tourists trying to find our way. Landmarks are now familiar. We walk like locals, sure of our steps, nonchalantly making our way up the metro stairs without wondering in which direction to go.
While staying at the Marriott Rome Park has been great in terms of amenities and facilities (how likely are we to be upgraded to a suite with two bathrooms?) its location in the suburbs has meant extra daily travel time. To me personally, that inconvenience was well worth it. Not because of the suite, but because it got us out of Rome's center where only the very well off Romans can live and the tourists stay. It enabled us to see how the vast majority of Romans make their way each day, the kind of places they live, the stores in which they buy produce, meat and all the daily essentials. It once again reinforces how lucky we are to have been born in the United States of America in the 20th Century. Repeating myself: Romans and Italians may enjoy a better quality of life (evident to me solely on the basis of how I see them work and play and spend time with their families), but Americans enjoy a higher/better standard of living.
We took our blue line metro train to Termini and transfered to the red line and got off at Piazza Republicca. On Via Orlando, we stopped i a Il Fratinelli, the Italian Barnes and Noble. You see these bookstores all over the city. We browsed the titles, all in Italian of course, and were excited when we found one of our favorite authors published with an Italian title and cover. Something I saw there for the first time are Smart Box. Perhaps they exist elsewhere, and in English, but it was an eye opener for me. For any where from 39 Euros and up, you get a full-color, glossy page guidebook with various options for bed and brakfast, agri-tourism, weekend getaways, bike tours, gourmet trips... And at least one, if not two nights, are then pre-paid for your vacation. Pretty neat concept, I thought.
From Il Fratinelli, we walked around the neighborhood, waiting for Santa Maria della Vittoria chiesa (church) to open. This little, out of the way church had a Bernini sculpture Andrea was dying to see. It depicts the the agony or the ecstasy of the barefoot nun. It's agreat little chapel, in this small, but rich church.
From there, we went in search of an espresso and gelato for Andrea (she has been jonesing for gelato for days because the freezer that contains gelato at the hotel has been on the "Fritz" if you get my meaning. Near Piazza Barberini, we found the perfect place; White (
Then we walked up the hill to Palazzo Barberini, which contains a unique collection of paintings and sculpture in this grand old palace of the famous Barberini clan. The ceiling frescoes in the rooms may be the best we've seen to date, and I encountered some new-to-me masters about whom I shan't bore you. Per usual, we closed the museum at 7:00 and like the rest of mostly working Rome, we hopped aboard a bus to take us cross town to a restaurant recommended by David and Ann Wilkins.
Da Constanza turned out to be the best meal so far, making up for Tuesday's meals turned terrors. It is located in the remains of Pompei's Theatre, in use during Julius Caesar's BC. The walls reveal the ancient brickwork, and the ceiling is curved, revealing the form of the old amphitheatre. Some Carpento chianti classico, San Pelligrino to drink. For antipasta, we had fried zuchinni, grilled eggplant, broiled peppers, sauteed mushrooms and the best little boiled onions. I ordered two oysters on the half shell (magnifico). For dinner, I ate turkey breast in the best mushroom and wine sauce I have had in years and a Jerusalem artichoke. Andrea had her usual mixed salad, but the dressing was perfecto. Her primary dish was the risotto verde, a green, pesto, cheese melange that was fantastico! For dessert, Andrea had a chamomille tea (it was nearly 9:30 pm, and you know she cannot have caffeine after 4:00 pm) with a heavenly, light, mousse zabglioni. Andrea thinks it had rum in it.
We then hopped the bus to the train station, and were home by 11:00 pm, to begin organizing to pack for Thursday's departure. Stupid Google. I didn't get to bed until 1:30 am because of the difficulties of uploading photos onto the blog
After some weird dreams that included my sister Leslie, her old high school friend Debbie Sher, my cousin Lila Beth, Aunto Dodo and Uncle Otto, among others way out of the blue, I could not sleep. So I got up and did some work, ordered our driver for the train station... Andrea awoke at 8:45 am.
While we arrived at the train station with plenty of time to spare, I made a near "fatal" mistake that "only cost 20€ to fix. We looked and looked on the departure board for our 12:15 train, but it never showed. Beginning to panic, I waited in a customer service line untol 12:05 when a hustler approached, asking who needed help. Per usual, his English was very good, and he told us we needed to stamp our tickets at a ticket stamping machine in order to see what track our train is on. Who knew? Obviously not me. We ran our butts off, and then had to go all the way down to the very end of the train, coach #1, to mount. After having arrived at the train station at 11:25, we barely made it and found room for our bags just as the train pulled away exactly at 12:15!
I am finishing writing this on the train, and the verdant, rolling, grape vineyard strewn landscape flows past our window. We are within 15 minutes of Florence...
Weather was great, as advertised: blue skies and temps in the low to mid 70s.
It was close to 1:30 pm before we headed out to catch a city bus. It must be time to leave Roma, because we have finally figured out so many things that we don't always look like bumbling tourists trying to find our way. Landmarks are now familiar. We walk like locals, sure of our steps, nonchalantly making our way up the metro stairs without wondering in which direction to go.
While staying at the Marriott Rome Park has been great in terms of amenities and facilities (how likely are we to be upgraded to a suite with two bathrooms?) its location in the suburbs has meant extra daily travel time. To me personally, that inconvenience was well worth it. Not because of the suite, but because it got us out of Rome's center where only the very well off Romans can live and the tourists stay. It enabled us to see how the vast majority of Romans make their way each day, the kind of places they live, the stores in which they buy produce, meat and all the daily essentials. It once again reinforces how lucky we are to have been born in the United States of America in the 20th Century. Repeating myself: Romans and Italians may enjoy a better quality of life (evident to me solely on the basis of how I see them work and play and spend time with their families), but Americans enjoy a higher/better standard of living.
We took our blue line metro train to Termini and transfered to the red line and got off at Piazza Republicca. On Via Orlando, we stopped i a Il Fratinelli, the Italian Barnes and Noble. You see these bookstores all over the city. We browsed the titles, all in Italian of course, and were excited when we found one of our favorite authors published with an Italian title and cover. Something I saw there for the first time are Smart Box. Perhaps they exist elsewhere, and in English, but it was an eye opener for me. For any where from 39 Euros and up, you get a full-color, glossy page guidebook with various options for bed and brakfast, agri-tourism, weekend getaways, bike tours, gourmet trips... And at least one, if not two nights, are then pre-paid for your vacation. Pretty neat concept, I thought.
From Il Fratinelli, we walked around the neighborhood, waiting for Santa Maria della Vittoria chiesa (church) to open. This little, out of the way church had a Bernini sculpture Andrea was dying to see. It depicts the the agony or the ecstasy of the barefoot nun. It's agreat little chapel, in this small, but rich church.
From there, we went in search of an espresso and gelato for Andrea (she has been jonesing for gelato for days because the freezer that contains gelato at the hotel has been on the "Fritz" if you get my meaning. Near Piazza Barberini, we found the perfect place; White (
Then we walked up the hill to Palazzo Barberini, which contains a unique collection of paintings and sculpture in this grand old palace of the famous Barberini clan. The ceiling frescoes in the rooms may be the best we've seen to date, and I encountered some new-to-me masters about whom I shan't bore you. Per usual, we closed the museum at 7:00 and like the rest of mostly working Rome, we hopped aboard a bus to take us cross town to a restaurant recommended by David and Ann Wilkins.
Da Constanza turned out to be the best meal so far, making up for Tuesday's meals turned terrors. It is located in the remains of Pompei's Theatre, in use during Julius Caesar's BC. The walls reveal the ancient brickwork, and the ceiling is curved, revealing the form of the old amphitheatre. Some Carpento chianti classico, San Pelligrino to drink. For antipasta, we had fried zuchinni, grilled eggplant, broiled peppers, sauteed mushrooms and the best little boiled onions. I ordered two oysters on the half shell (magnifico). For dinner, I ate turkey breast in the best mushroom and wine sauce I have had in years and a Jerusalem artichoke. Andrea had her usual mixed salad, but the dressing was perfecto. Her primary dish was the risotto verde, a green, pesto, cheese melange that was fantastico! For dessert, Andrea had a chamomille tea (it was nearly 9:30 pm, and you know she cannot have caffeine after 4:00 pm) with a heavenly, light, mousse zabglioni. Andrea thinks it had rum in it.
We then hopped the bus to the train station, and were home by 11:00 pm, to begin organizing to pack for Thursday's departure. Stupid Google. I didn't get to bed until 1:30 am because of the difficulties of uploading photos onto the blog
After some weird dreams that included my sister Leslie, her old high school friend Debbie Sher, my cousin Lila Beth, Aunto Dodo and Uncle Otto, among others way out of the blue, I could not sleep. So I got up and did some work, ordered our driver for the train station... Andrea awoke at 8:45 am.
While we arrived at the train station with plenty of time to spare, I made a near "fatal" mistake that "only cost 20€ to fix. We looked and looked on the departure board for our 12:15 train, but it never showed. Beginning to panic, I waited in a customer service line untol 12:05 when a hustler approached, asking who needed help. Per usual, his English was very good, and he told us we needed to stamp our tickets at a ticket stamping machine in order to see what track our train is on. Who knew? Obviously not me. We ran our butts off, and then had to go all the way down to the very end of the train, coach #1, to mount. After having arrived at the train station at 11:25, we barely made it and found room for our bags just as the train pulled away exactly at 12:15!
I am finishing writing this on the train, and the verdant, rolling, grape vineyard strewn landscape flows past our window. We are within 15 minutes of Florence...
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
VATICAN CITY PHOTOS
It is already 12:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 24, and we depart Rome in 12 hours. I will have to describe our last day in Rome tomorrow at some point (let us hope the hotel in Florence has a business center with PCs to use.)
Thanks to Aunt Diane for her comments. Yes. you figured it out!
Below are some photos from the May 23 visit to Vatican City.
PS: I hate Google and its products!
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| Entrance to the museums |
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| Dome of St. Peter's from entrance patio |
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| Papal Gardens |
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| A hard rain falling on the patio |
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| Hall of tapestries |
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School of Athens by Raphael in the Segnatura Room
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| Raphael' Transfiguration |
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| Laoonicis? |
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| The new wing |
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| Mr. August Maximus! |
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| St. Peter's Square in prep for Wednesday papal audience |
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| St. Peter's basilica |
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| Dr. Rusnock looking for bees on the Baldacchino |
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| Male Cena (bad dinner) |
CITTA DEL VATICANO
What a perfect day to visit Vatican City; it was a tad chilly and rained on (and sometimes off) all day long.
Purchasing our tickets to the Musei Vaticani online was key to our day: we bypassed the queue that literally runs for blocks, and on a cold and soggy day, that was crucial.
We literally walked up to the gate, showed our voucher and entered. After consolidating our belongings and checking them intothe cloak room, we ascended the winding stairs up to he official entrance.
Andrea was intent on seeing the Raphael rooms and Sistine Chapel, and she was not the only one. What distinguished us was that while we walked through and noted the Candelabra, Tapestry anf Map galleries, we did not stop to ogle them. While others may have chomping at the bit, a majority were in guided groups and had to listen to a lot of details I'm sure many may not have cared about.
The Stanze di Rafaello were fabulous, crowded, but fabulous. Andrea commented later that the rooms were so much smaller than she had imagined. These were the private rooms of Pope Julius II, and how he got anything done in them would have been a miracle, because there is just so much going on in the imagery on every square inch, from floor to ceiling. We spent a majority of our time in the Room of the Segnatura, in which Andrea pointed out all the defining characteristics of the School of Athens wall. As one might imagine, it is hard to turn around when these rooms are full of people. It was hot and cramped, so we pushed on to the Sistine Chapel, barely noting the contemporary art gallery that precedes it.
The Sistine Chapel was magnificent ( a word I waited to use and which applies to this space.) Of course, it too is jam packed with fellow touristas, and the guards are constantly calling out "silencio" and "no flash!" Those comments are punctuated with "you can't sit there." We found a spot in the middle of the chapel, and I would say we held our ground there for at least 20 minutes, taking it all in. I had questions, and Andrea had answers about Michaelangelo's work. We brought binoculars, and with them I was able to see figures and elements in the shadows I otherwise would have never noticed from ground level.
I believe when Mark, Greg, Ralph and I visited the Vatican in 1980, the Sistine Chapel was either under partial renovation or closed (or I was drunk and getting sick), because I don't remember having gone through there. Everyone is familiar with the image of God Creating Adam, and most would recognize Original Sin/The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. However, there are seven other major ceiling panels, that unless you just finished a Renaissance art history class, you probably don't know about; all just as rich in color and storytelling. Standing there looking up is numbing, to the body and mind.
But the Sistine Chapel is more than just the ceiling; it is also the west wall with the Last Judgment. Again, Andrea pointed all the elements in this huge mural. To be standing i front of it with people whispering in so many different languages is a life experience. Andrea wandered off to set herself in front of the Libyan Sibyl, one of her favorites. I found a spot on the pew that lines the chapel where I presume the cardinals sit when electing a new pope. There, I read more about the art that enveloped me. The north wall depicts scenes in the life of Christ, while the south wall depicts scenes from the life of Moses. The names of the artists who contributed to this masterpiece is "the who's who" of Renaissance art.
After ,oving around the room, getting new and different angles, we finally released ourselves from the chapel's captivity. It was here, in a very small pass-through room, that Andrea had her find of the day: the exhibit of papal chausibles. Never heard the word before yesterday, but these are the intricate, gold and silver vestments the popes wear over their linens on special ceremonies. Andrea loves textiles, and these finely embroidered (probably the incorrect term, sorry Andrea) and especially the one with the Barberini bees excited her immensely.
From there, one passes through a series of long rooms, at which are conveniently located souvenir shops. Apparently, the church need no longer sell "indulgences" to shorten lowly humans' time in Purgatory. Now it sells "indulgences" of another sort (key chains, jewelry, books...) to help finance operations. I enjoyed walking through these rooms (Museo Cristiano) because through open windows you could see the Vatican Gardens and the rain. Also, there are uncountable priceless objects, such as a rotating "map" of the world, a vise Bramante used, and a time piece. Many of these objects are made from jewels and other precious materials. These rooms seem to go forever, and we were quite content browsing at our leisure after the previous crushes in the Raphael rooms and Sistine Chapel.
At the end of this part of the Vatican Museums, we stopped for a bathroom break and lunch. My lunch was God Awful! First truly bad meal I have had since arriving in Italy. It looked good when separated by the glass of the cafeteria counter. I certainly hope Ben 16 eats better than this. Andrea had a hot dog (I wonder if it was kosher?) which suited her just fine.
After lunch, we wandered, hitting the Etruscan Museum, the octagonal cortyard...everything, including the Vatican post office (Andrea scoured the stamp collection.) Of course, we went through the Pinacoteca. Every piece of art I once studied in art history is here: from the 1100s through Giotto and the start of the Renaissance, through Raphael's "The Tranfiguration" and the start of the Baroque. Andrea's favorite painting of the day had to be "The Entombment" by Caravaggio.
The museums close at 6:00 pm, and around 4:45 or so, we started backtracking, hitting the museum's contmporary works. There is a room of huge Matisses, which amply impresed us. I was personally very moved by the Chagalls, and one in particular moved me to tears: "Between Heaven and Hell" the Otto Dix were also very heavy emotionally.
With less than one hour before closing time, we then headed back to the Sistine Chapel, almost empty at this hour and no less impressive. From there, we returned to the Raphael rooms, which were vietually empty! I took quite a bit of time in the first room, the Hall of Constantine. While the rooms may be small, the works are not, and the detail is unbelievable. Unrushed, I spent time in the Room of Helidorus and the Room of the Segnatura again.
As we mad our way out of the museum to the cloak room, we walked through galleries void of any people, except a security guard here and there just waiting to end their day. That was heaven on earth!
We had entered the Vatican Museums at 9:48 (per our stamped ticket) and walked out of there at 5:52 pm. We not only felt we got our money's worth, but we decided a second day would not be necessary.
It was shortly after 6:00 pm when we entered St. Peter's square. Again, the daily crowd was gone. Chairs for Wednesday's weekly papal audience were already set. We ventured inside the basilica, and Andrea was overcome by the sheer grandeur. First (and 14th) stop was at the Pieta. The sorrow, grief and pity are literally etched in stone. The Baldacchino is astounding, and we spent considerable time at its base. Andrea commented she had never seen such a large church, even in Russia. St. Peter's is just immense, in size and in the scope of work within it.
We were both amazed by a work depicting St. Jerome mear his death; it was a mosaic, but unless you read the description and double-checked with a guard (which we did), you would be convinced it was an oil painting. That is how small and tightly glued together the stones are.
Well, books have literally been written about the places and individual works we saw. To sum it up: A LOT. A lot of walking, a lot of great art, a lot to take in, a lot of fun, a lot to think about, and a lot to remember.
...Except my dinner! This was the worst day for eating. We walked to Piazza Cavour, which is close to Tribunali where we catch our bus, and decided on a restaurant. The bruschetta was too salty, and when my grilled shrimp arrived, I was in for the lowest, most disappointing part of the day. When most of us think about grilled shrimp, we think of the Crocodile Dundee TV commercial of huge, peeled shrimp curling up on a skewer, nicely blackened...NOT THESE!
They were the entire, raw shrimp, claws and eyeballs included. To make matters worse, they were small, so that when you were finally able to get to the meat, there was hardly any white meat at all! Some of the shrimp were not even cut properly to get to the meat. I was going to complain (14€ for these?) but Andrea prevailed, stating what good what it do? They certainly were not going to comp me, and as tourists, it's not like we are repeat customers who will refer our friends and return next week. And as you'll see from photos , it's not like I am going hungry or will faint from starvation.
As for photos of today, I certainly have too many, but will have to post them tonight upon our return, because today is our last day in Rome. (Hard to believe we arrived one week ago today.) Tomorrow, we take the 12:00 pm train to Florence.
Again apologies for all the typos, skipped letters...Phyliss, I will need to buy that keyboard when I get home, as pecking away on this iPad keyboard is for the birds!
Purchasing our tickets to the Musei Vaticani online was key to our day: we bypassed the queue that literally runs for blocks, and on a cold and soggy day, that was crucial.
We literally walked up to the gate, showed our voucher and entered. After consolidating our belongings and checking them intothe cloak room, we ascended the winding stairs up to he official entrance.
Andrea was intent on seeing the Raphael rooms and Sistine Chapel, and she was not the only one. What distinguished us was that while we walked through and noted the Candelabra, Tapestry anf Map galleries, we did not stop to ogle them. While others may have chomping at the bit, a majority were in guided groups and had to listen to a lot of details I'm sure many may not have cared about.
The Stanze di Rafaello were fabulous, crowded, but fabulous. Andrea commented later that the rooms were so much smaller than she had imagined. These were the private rooms of Pope Julius II, and how he got anything done in them would have been a miracle, because there is just so much going on in the imagery on every square inch, from floor to ceiling. We spent a majority of our time in the Room of the Segnatura, in which Andrea pointed out all the defining characteristics of the School of Athens wall. As one might imagine, it is hard to turn around when these rooms are full of people. It was hot and cramped, so we pushed on to the Sistine Chapel, barely noting the contemporary art gallery that precedes it.
The Sistine Chapel was magnificent ( a word I waited to use and which applies to this space.) Of course, it too is jam packed with fellow touristas, and the guards are constantly calling out "silencio" and "no flash!" Those comments are punctuated with "you can't sit there." We found a spot in the middle of the chapel, and I would say we held our ground there for at least 20 minutes, taking it all in. I had questions, and Andrea had answers about Michaelangelo's work. We brought binoculars, and with them I was able to see figures and elements in the shadows I otherwise would have never noticed from ground level.
I believe when Mark, Greg, Ralph and I visited the Vatican in 1980, the Sistine Chapel was either under partial renovation or closed (or I was drunk and getting sick), because I don't remember having gone through there. Everyone is familiar with the image of God Creating Adam, and most would recognize Original Sin/The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden. However, there are seven other major ceiling panels, that unless you just finished a Renaissance art history class, you probably don't know about; all just as rich in color and storytelling. Standing there looking up is numbing, to the body and mind.
But the Sistine Chapel is more than just the ceiling; it is also the west wall with the Last Judgment. Again, Andrea pointed all the elements in this huge mural. To be standing i front of it with people whispering in so many different languages is a life experience. Andrea wandered off to set herself in front of the Libyan Sibyl, one of her favorites. I found a spot on the pew that lines the chapel where I presume the cardinals sit when electing a new pope. There, I read more about the art that enveloped me. The north wall depicts scenes in the life of Christ, while the south wall depicts scenes from the life of Moses. The names of the artists who contributed to this masterpiece is "the who's who" of Renaissance art.
After ,oving around the room, getting new and different angles, we finally released ourselves from the chapel's captivity. It was here, in a very small pass-through room, that Andrea had her find of the day: the exhibit of papal chausibles. Never heard the word before yesterday, but these are the intricate, gold and silver vestments the popes wear over their linens on special ceremonies. Andrea loves textiles, and these finely embroidered (probably the incorrect term, sorry Andrea) and especially the one with the Barberini bees excited her immensely.
From there, one passes through a series of long rooms, at which are conveniently located souvenir shops. Apparently, the church need no longer sell "indulgences" to shorten lowly humans' time in Purgatory. Now it sells "indulgences" of another sort (key chains, jewelry, books...) to help finance operations. I enjoyed walking through these rooms (Museo Cristiano) because through open windows you could see the Vatican Gardens and the rain. Also, there are uncountable priceless objects, such as a rotating "map" of the world, a vise Bramante used, and a time piece. Many of these objects are made from jewels and other precious materials. These rooms seem to go forever, and we were quite content browsing at our leisure after the previous crushes in the Raphael rooms and Sistine Chapel.
At the end of this part of the Vatican Museums, we stopped for a bathroom break and lunch. My lunch was God Awful! First truly bad meal I have had since arriving in Italy. It looked good when separated by the glass of the cafeteria counter. I certainly hope Ben 16 eats better than this. Andrea had a hot dog (I wonder if it was kosher?) which suited her just fine.
After lunch, we wandered, hitting the Etruscan Museum, the octagonal cortyard...everything, including the Vatican post office (Andrea scoured the stamp collection.) Of course, we went through the Pinacoteca. Every piece of art I once studied in art history is here: from the 1100s through Giotto and the start of the Renaissance, through Raphael's "The Tranfiguration" and the start of the Baroque. Andrea's favorite painting of the day had to be "The Entombment" by Caravaggio.
The museums close at 6:00 pm, and around 4:45 or so, we started backtracking, hitting the museum's contmporary works. There is a room of huge Matisses, which amply impresed us. I was personally very moved by the Chagalls, and one in particular moved me to tears: "Between Heaven and Hell" the Otto Dix were also very heavy emotionally.
With less than one hour before closing time, we then headed back to the Sistine Chapel, almost empty at this hour and no less impressive. From there, we returned to the Raphael rooms, which were vietually empty! I took quite a bit of time in the first room, the Hall of Constantine. While the rooms may be small, the works are not, and the detail is unbelievable. Unrushed, I spent time in the Room of Helidorus and the Room of the Segnatura again.
As we mad our way out of the museum to the cloak room, we walked through galleries void of any people, except a security guard here and there just waiting to end their day. That was heaven on earth!
We had entered the Vatican Museums at 9:48 (per our stamped ticket) and walked out of there at 5:52 pm. We not only felt we got our money's worth, but we decided a second day would not be necessary.
It was shortly after 6:00 pm when we entered St. Peter's square. Again, the daily crowd was gone. Chairs for Wednesday's weekly papal audience were already set. We ventured inside the basilica, and Andrea was overcome by the sheer grandeur. First (and 14th) stop was at the Pieta. The sorrow, grief and pity are literally etched in stone. The Baldacchino is astounding, and we spent considerable time at its base. Andrea commented she had never seen such a large church, even in Russia. St. Peter's is just immense, in size and in the scope of work within it.
We were both amazed by a work depicting St. Jerome mear his death; it was a mosaic, but unless you read the description and double-checked with a guard (which we did), you would be convinced it was an oil painting. That is how small and tightly glued together the stones are.
Well, books have literally been written about the places and individual works we saw. To sum it up: A LOT. A lot of walking, a lot of great art, a lot to take in, a lot of fun, a lot to think about, and a lot to remember.
...Except my dinner! This was the worst day for eating. We walked to Piazza Cavour, which is close to Tribunali where we catch our bus, and decided on a restaurant. The bruschetta was too salty, and when my grilled shrimp arrived, I was in for the lowest, most disappointing part of the day. When most of us think about grilled shrimp, we think of the Crocodile Dundee TV commercial of huge, peeled shrimp curling up on a skewer, nicely blackened...NOT THESE!
They were the entire, raw shrimp, claws and eyeballs included. To make matters worse, they were small, so that when you were finally able to get to the meat, there was hardly any white meat at all! Some of the shrimp were not even cut properly to get to the meat. I was going to complain (14€ for these?) but Andrea prevailed, stating what good what it do? They certainly were not going to comp me, and as tourists, it's not like we are repeat customers who will refer our friends and return next week. And as you'll see from photos , it's not like I am going hungry or will faint from starvation.
As for photos of today, I certainly have too many, but will have to post them tonight upon our return, because today is our last day in Rome. (Hard to believe we arrived one week ago today.) Tomorrow, we take the 12:00 pm train to Florence.
Again apologies for all the typos, skipped letters...Phyliss, I will need to buy that keyboard when I get home, as pecking away on this iPad keyboard is for the birds!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
MOLTO FATIGUO
Sorry if I am disappointing anyone, but I am too tired at the moment to update this blog and to relate our long and excellent day at the Vatican. I can gladly report that Andrea was up and at it at 6:15 am and on the 8:00 am bus into town! A domani...
Monday, May 21, 2012
A DAY OF GOOD LUCK
Early this morning, it rained very hard, and Andrea wanted 30 more minutes of sleep at 8:00 a.m. At 8:30, she wanted to blow off the 10:00 am bus and go back to sleep, but the prospect of seeing Villa Farnesina and the Raphael fresco pulled her out of bed.
By the time we arrived in Roma Centro, the rain had stopped. We hopped on a city bus, which dropped us at Villa Farnesina on the west side of the Tiber.
Without all the glitz and extravagence of the Doria Pamphili and the other grand palazzos, this place seemed ultimately more elegant and livable. Augustino Chigi, a rich banker, commissioned the villa from Baldassare Peruzzi. It is considered one of the first truly Renaissance villas. It was later purchaed by Cardinal Farnese.
Andrea was dying to see the Triumph of Galatea by Rapahel, a truly magnificent piece that seems nearly as vibrant today as it may have 500 years ago. Andrea spent at least 15 minutes standing in front of it as she spoke with a couple from Connecticut expounding on Raphael's work.
But Raphael's fresco was not the only wondrous work, either in the Loggia of Galatea, or in the villa. the marble floors and the vaulted ceilings with their decorative lunettes and spandrels all were masterfully executed. Even the outside of the shutters were painted with different classical scenes. I took way too many photos, but here are some.
After the villa and its garden, we walked around the surrounding neighborhood. We couldn't help but think it was a modest, working class area, but this is Rome, and the cobble stone streets, scrolled lamp posts hanging from buildings and the ability to see the sky... distinguish it from a similar socio-ecomomic neighborhood you might find the States.
The next museum we were to visit was closed, so we strolled through picturesque Trastavere, stopping for coffee. Without intending to, we inadvertently stepped inside a church on Trastavere square and were blown away by its beauty. It was Santa Maria in Trestavere!
From there, we continued to meander through Trastavere, which turned out to be lucky, too, because Andrea had stated no interest in seeing it due to all the other things on our agenda, but she was glad we did. A few more photos...
We crossed over the Tiber Island (Isola Tiberina) and into the old Jewish ghetto area again. We visited the synagogue and Jewish museum, at which we both spent much more than time than we ever would have guessed. (No, Alexi, we did not spit on Titus' Arch. We forgot until you reminded us today.)
There are about 14,000 Jews in Rome. While from a Sephardic tradition, they practice a Judaism that is distinctly Italian: Services are totally in Hebrew and the women sit separately from the men (orthodox) regardless of the way people live their every day lives (conservative, reform...) While we thought security was lax upon our entrance, we were assured that after the fatal 1982 synagogue bombing, everything and everyone are under constant surveillance. Carabinieri are constantly stationed around the temple complex. No photos are allowed within the complex, thus no new photos today.
By this time, it was 4:30 pm, and we headed up to Piazza Navona for dinner. We stopped at various places along the way, but by the time we finally reached the piazza and found the restaurant recommended by David and Ann Wilkins, we realized that we had eaten there for lunch on our first day here!
So we grabbed a seat at Ai Tre Tartufi in front of the famous Fountain of the Four Rivers by my new favorite scultptor, Bernini, on the plaza.
Andrea's lasagne was mediocre at best, but I enjoyed my ravioli well enough, as well as the waiter and maitr d', who lived in the States and had a story for everyone, such as telling the college girls from Tennessee that Elvis is still living in Memphis!
We also met a young couple from Bridgeport, who turned out to be staying at our Marriott. We conversed at length with them on the bus ride back to the hotel. The woman works in catering at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare!
By the time we got back up to the room, an unexpectedly beautiful day weather-wise had suddenly changed, and it began to pour rain with tremendous lightning strikes lighting up the valley below us. (Now that is luck, mazel, we don't typically enjoy!)
Andrea did some of her laundry in the bath tub tonight (a la Russia.) I had told her the string in the bathrooms was for hanging clothes to dry. After trying to show her how it worked, stretching it across the bathroom to no avail, Andrea went down to the front desk only to learn that the string is an emergency alert in case someone were to fall in the shower! Good going, Will.
Tomorrow is day one of our Vatican visit, and Andrea has to wake up early so we can be on the 8:00 am bus. Wish us more luck!
PS: sorry for all the typos, lack of spacing and missed letters. I loathe tapping away on this iPad.
By the time we arrived in Roma Centro, the rain had stopped. We hopped on a city bus, which dropped us at Villa Farnesina on the west side of the Tiber.
Without all the glitz and extravagence of the Doria Pamphili and the other grand palazzos, this place seemed ultimately more elegant and livable. Augustino Chigi, a rich banker, commissioned the villa from Baldassare Peruzzi. It is considered one of the first truly Renaissance villas. It was later purchaed by Cardinal Farnese.
Andrea was dying to see the Triumph of Galatea by Rapahel, a truly magnificent piece that seems nearly as vibrant today as it may have 500 years ago. Andrea spent at least 15 minutes standing in front of it as she spoke with a couple from Connecticut expounding on Raphael's work.
But Raphael's fresco was not the only wondrous work, either in the Loggia of Galatea, or in the villa. the marble floors and the vaulted ceilings with their decorative lunettes and spandrels all were masterfully executed. Even the outside of the shutters were painted with different classical scenes. I took way too many photos, but here are some.
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| The Triumph of Galatea |
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| Vault in Loggia of Galatea |
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| Vault in Loggia of Galatea |
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| Vault in Loggia of Cupid and Psyche |
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| Vault in Loggia of Cupid and Psyche |
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| Stairway to second floor |
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| Putti looking down |
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| Shutters |
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| Villa Farnesina front entrance |
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| Lemon trees in garden |
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| The roses were fragrant |
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| Back of the villa |
The next museum we were to visit was closed, so we strolled through picturesque Trastavere, stopping for coffee. Without intending to, we inadvertently stepped inside a church on Trastavere square and were blown away by its beauty. It was Santa Maria in Trestavere!
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| Trastrevere cafe for coffee |
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| Ceiling in chapel in Santa Maria |
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| SM in Trastavere |
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| The altar |
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| There's a dead guy in there! |
We crossed over the Tiber Island (Isola Tiberina) and into the old Jewish ghetto area again. We visited the synagogue and Jewish museum, at which we both spent much more than time than we ever would have guessed. (No, Alexi, we did not spit on Titus' Arch. We forgot until you reminded us today.)
There are about 14,000 Jews in Rome. While from a Sephardic tradition, they practice a Judaism that is distinctly Italian: Services are totally in Hebrew and the women sit separately from the men (orthodox) regardless of the way people live their every day lives (conservative, reform...) While we thought security was lax upon our entrance, we were assured that after the fatal 1982 synagogue bombing, everything and everyone are under constant surveillance. Carabinieri are constantly stationed around the temple complex. No photos are allowed within the complex, thus no new photos today.
By this time, it was 4:30 pm, and we headed up to Piazza Navona for dinner. We stopped at various places along the way, but by the time we finally reached the piazza and found the restaurant recommended by David and Ann Wilkins, we realized that we had eaten there for lunch on our first day here!
So we grabbed a seat at Ai Tre Tartufi in front of the famous Fountain of the Four Rivers by my new favorite scultptor, Bernini, on the plaza.
 |
| Piazza Navona |
 |
| Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini |
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| Ai Tre Tartufi |
By the time we got back up to the room, an unexpectedly beautiful day weather-wise had suddenly changed, and it began to pour rain with tremendous lightning strikes lighting up the valley below us. (Now that is luck, mazel, we don't typically enjoy!)
Andrea did some of her laundry in the bath tub tonight (a la Russia.) I had told her the string in the bathrooms was for hanging clothes to dry. After trying to show her how it worked, stretching it across the bathroom to no avail, Andrea went down to the front desk only to learn that the string is an emergency alert in case someone were to fall in the shower! Good going, Will.
Tomorrow is day one of our Vatican visit, and Andrea has to wake up early so we can be on the 8:00 am bus. Wish us more luck!
PS: sorry for all the typos, lack of spacing and missed letters. I loathe tapping away on this iPad.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
RAIN DAY
1. Let it be noted that Andrea was out of bed by 8:15 am, although I cannot verify that since I was down in the fitness center. I will confirm that when I returned to the room after 9:00, there was no Andrea; just a note saying all the bath towels had been used and to meet her for breakfast.
2. The weather today was pretty much as advertised: coolish, gray, overcast and eventually rainy. Apparently Maria Sharapova was able to play and beat Li Na, but the Rome Masters Series tennis match between Andrea's Rafa and the guy I have to root for, Nole, was cancelled due to rain. Might we score tickets to the match tomorrow?
3. We mounted the 12:00 hotel shuttle bus to Piazza dei Tribunali. It departed promptly on Italian time at 12:20. Using the 110 Open bus tickets the kind woman gave us yesterday, we took the double decker bus from St. Peters Square and disembarked at Via del Tritone. From there we walked to Palazzo di Doria Pamphili. This old mansion near Piazza di Venezia is huge and holds works by many well known masters: Rapahel, Titian, Caravaggio, Guernico, Garafalo, Lippi... The family has been amassing works from the 1400-1700's, including a Velazquez portait of a descendant who became Pope Innocent X. My personal favorites were the Jan Breughels. People still live in this gargantuan palace. In the port cochere, I noticed a father taking his kids out for a drive. He had to open by hand one set of doors, drive the car into the port cochere, get out and close the first set of doors. Then he had to open by hand a second set of doors leading from the PC to the street, at which point he had to get out again to close those doors behind him. I guess that is a small price to pay for living in such an elegant, well-heeled residence!
4. After viewing the art and sculpture of this 400+ works gallery, we went into the tea room for afternoon refreshments. I had a cafe macchiato and a 3 chocolate pastry while Andrea ate the "obligatory whilst in Rome" spaghetti carbonara (don't tell Reb Michael!)
5. From there we meandered through the rain, photographed Marcus Aurelias' column and waited for our bus to take us to the Museo Nazionale Romano in the Palazzo Massimo near the train station. Another huge palace full of wonderful antiquities, including the frescoes of Livia, at which Andrea was totally thrilled. Both of us were surprisingly blown away by these ancient works and how well they have held up over time. Will our era ever leave behind for future generations anything quite so beautiful, important and telling of the way we live, especially in our ephemeral, digital age?
We closed the museum and ended up at Florian's Ristorane for supper. Good enough to satisfy our tired, hungry bodies, but not as good a dining experience as our previous culinary adventures. By the time we finished, we had to hail a taxi to run us up to Tribunali to catch our hotel shuttle bus. We entered our romm shortly after 9:30.
Tomorrow, we have Villa di Farnesina, the old synagogue/Hebrew museum, and Piazza Navona to conquer.
PS: some of you may heard about an earthquake here in Italy. While I read about it this morning, it had absolutely no affect on us here in Rome. We are quite happy and safe, and hoping for all the best for those who may been impacted by another Italian disaster (either natural or man made, such as yesterday's school bombing in Brindisi.)
PPS: No photos to upload today.
2. The weather today was pretty much as advertised: coolish, gray, overcast and eventually rainy. Apparently Maria Sharapova was able to play and beat Li Na, but the Rome Masters Series tennis match between Andrea's Rafa and the guy I have to root for, Nole, was cancelled due to rain. Might we score tickets to the match tomorrow?
3. We mounted the 12:00 hotel shuttle bus to Piazza dei Tribunali. It departed promptly on Italian time at 12:20. Using the 110 Open bus tickets the kind woman gave us yesterday, we took the double decker bus from St. Peters Square and disembarked at Via del Tritone. From there we walked to Palazzo di Doria Pamphili. This old mansion near Piazza di Venezia is huge and holds works by many well known masters: Rapahel, Titian, Caravaggio, Guernico, Garafalo, Lippi... The family has been amassing works from the 1400-1700's, including a Velazquez portait of a descendant who became Pope Innocent X. My personal favorites were the Jan Breughels. People still live in this gargantuan palace. In the port cochere, I noticed a father taking his kids out for a drive. He had to open by hand one set of doors, drive the car into the port cochere, get out and close the first set of doors. Then he had to open by hand a second set of doors leading from the PC to the street, at which point he had to get out again to close those doors behind him. I guess that is a small price to pay for living in such an elegant, well-heeled residence!
4. After viewing the art and sculpture of this 400+ works gallery, we went into the tea room for afternoon refreshments. I had a cafe macchiato and a 3 chocolate pastry while Andrea ate the "obligatory whilst in Rome" spaghetti carbonara (don't tell Reb Michael!)
5. From there we meandered through the rain, photographed Marcus Aurelias' column and waited for our bus to take us to the Museo Nazionale Romano in the Palazzo Massimo near the train station. Another huge palace full of wonderful antiquities, including the frescoes of Livia, at which Andrea was totally thrilled. Both of us were surprisingly blown away by these ancient works and how well they have held up over time. Will our era ever leave behind for future generations anything quite so beautiful, important and telling of the way we live, especially in our ephemeral, digital age?
We closed the museum and ended up at Florian's Ristorane for supper. Good enough to satisfy our tired, hungry bodies, but not as good a dining experience as our previous culinary adventures. By the time we finished, we had to hail a taxi to run us up to Tribunali to catch our hotel shuttle bus. We entered our romm shortly after 9:30.
Tomorrow, we have Villa di Farnesina, the old synagogue/Hebrew museum, and Piazza Navona to conquer.
PS: some of you may heard about an earthquake here in Italy. While I read about it this morning, it had absolutely no affect on us here in Rome. We are quite happy and safe, and hoping for all the best for those who may been impacted by another Italian disaster (either natural or man made, such as yesterday's school bombing in Brindisi.)
PPS: No photos to upload today.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
APPIAN WAY
Because today is the last day of good weather, according to the forecast, we opted to get out of the city proper and see some of the green, rolling country side.
Andrea awoke shortly after 10:00 am, and by the time we ate breakfast, showered, dressed and headed out the door, it was 12:30. Hey! We're on vacation! Unfortunately, we picked a bad day to be pokey, because the sites we wanted to see close at 6:00 pm.
On the way out, an American woman approached us with unused bus sightseeing tickets, which we may use tomorrow.
It is interesting that when one travels in a foreign country (at least more so than when travelling in one's own country), conversations with people occur much easier and one finds oneself engaged with persons who you might never imagine speaking.
That was the case on several occassions today: waiting at the bus stop, we began talking to a Romanian couple, who approached us asking if we spoke English so they could ask us about the bus schedule; at Piramide, Piazalle Ostiense, a son, daughter and mother from Los Angeles approached us with questions about directions; and later, a young Canadian woman from Vancouver and us spoke waiting and while on the bus. That is a large part of what makes travel so fun, interesting and gratifying (although in my old age, I find I am much more reticent.)
So we ventured out to the Appian Way (Via Appica Antica). I must say that none of our guide books did a decent job of describing what to look for and where to go, so we wasted another 30-45 minutes going back and forth in search of where to rent bikes and find information on the "park."
Appian Way Park
It was 3:30 pm by the time we started rolling. By this time, Andrea was going ape shit on the Appian Way because she realized she was not dressed appropriately, she was hot, we were riding third rate bikes on cobblestones, uphill on a very busy road with speeding cars and motorbikes.
But once we went back to replace her bike and got on a peaceful stretch of road, calm returned. Absolutely gorgeous riding on the world's first super highway, past ancient burial places.
Catacombs of St. Sebastian
We stopped at St. Sebastian church (built by Constantine in 340) to visit the catacombs there. 100,000 Christians were entombed there over a 200 year period in 7 miles of underground tunnels. Apparently, St. Seastian, St. Peter and St. Paul were originally interred there before their bones were moved to their current resting places.
We then pedaled dowm a few more kilometres to he tomb of Cecilia Metella. We did not spend a long time there as itas 5:40 pm and we had to return the bikes at 6:00. However, Andrea said it was worth it because they weree the cleanest bathrooms she had seen outside of our hotel.
In fact, other than Cricket and Vixen, Andrea says the only thing she misses about the States are our bathrooms and to go coffee! (Really, we are so very lucky to be American citizens and to enjoy the standards, if not the quality, of life we do.)
Had we not been rushed to return the bikes, the Appian Way is an ideal place to spend an afternoon riding or walking and picnicing.
Waiting for he bus is when we met Meghan from Vancouver. We talked with her all the way back to Circo Massimo. AAt hat point, we separated and headed up he hill to St. Sabina church, a church Andrea wanted to see. there was a wedding going on, which made the trip worthwhile. we stopped at an overlook to see he hills and spires of Rome before heading back down the hill. At a rose garden, we read with interest that this plot of land was deeded to he Jews by he pope in 1645 as a cemetery to bury Chasidim outside the city walls.
After overlooking the place and stepping on the hallow ground where Charlton Heston raced chariots in Ben Hur, we found a fun little joint to eat some apertivos and dinner. 0.75 is he name of the establishment where I had roast beast (very thinly sliced and rare) with salad. Andrea had a really tasty dish of what I would describe as potato lasagne.
With food in our bellies, we trucked back to the metro and made our way home, arriving around 10:30 pm.
Tomorrow, Andrea gets to choose what to do...
Happy 24th birthday to my dear, sweet daughter, Alexi, who spent the day at Pimlico Park o view the running of the Preakness!
And thanks to Erin and Phyllis for your comments. Keep them coming!
Andrea awoke shortly after 10:00 am, and by the time we ate breakfast, showered, dressed and headed out the door, it was 12:30. Hey! We're on vacation! Unfortunately, we picked a bad day to be pokey, because the sites we wanted to see close at 6:00 pm.
On the way out, an American woman approached us with unused bus sightseeing tickets, which we may use tomorrow.
It is interesting that when one travels in a foreign country (at least more so than when travelling in one's own country), conversations with people occur much easier and one finds oneself engaged with persons who you might never imagine speaking.
That was the case on several occassions today: waiting at the bus stop, we began talking to a Romanian couple, who approached us asking if we spoke English so they could ask us about the bus schedule; at Piramide, Piazalle Ostiense, a son, daughter and mother from Los Angeles approached us with questions about directions; and later, a young Canadian woman from Vancouver and us spoke waiting and while on the bus. That is a large part of what makes travel so fun, interesting and gratifying (although in my old age, I find I am much more reticent.)
 |
| Piazzale Ostiense |
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| Piramide at Piazzale Ostiense |
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| Andrea on the Appian Way |
So we ventured out to the Appian Way (Via Appica Antica). I must say that none of our guide books did a decent job of describing what to look for and where to go, so we wasted another 30-45 minutes going back and forth in search of where to rent bikes and find information on the "park."
Appian Way Park
It was 3:30 pm by the time we started rolling. By this time, Andrea was going ape shit on the Appian Way because she realized she was not dressed appropriately, she was hot, we were riding third rate bikes on cobblestones, uphill on a very busy road with speeding cars and motorbikes.
 |
| and on the way to going Ape Shit |
Catacombs of St. Sebastian
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| To the church and catacombs |
 |
| St. Sebastians |
 |
| St. Sebastian relics |
We then pedaled dowm a few more kilometres to he tomb of Cecilia Metella. We did not spend a long time there as itas 5:40 pm and we had to return the bikes at 6:00. However, Andrea said it was worth it because they weree the cleanest bathrooms she had seen outside of our hotel.
 |
| Tomb of Cecilia Metella |
 |
| Inside examples of statues commemorating the dead along the Appian Way |
 |
| Inside Cecilias |
Had we not been rushed to return the bikes, the Appian Way is an ideal place to spend an afternoon riding or walking and picnicing.
Waiting for he bus is when we met Meghan from Vancouver. We talked with her all the way back to Circo Massimo. AAt hat point, we separated and headed up he hill to St. Sabina church, a church Andrea wanted to see. there was a wedding going on, which made the trip worthwhile. we stopped at an overlook to see he hills and spires of Rome before heading back down the hill. At a rose garden, we read with interest that this plot of land was deeded to he Jews by he pope in 1645 as a cemetery to bury Chasidim outside the city walls.
After overlooking the place and stepping on the hallow ground where Charlton Heston raced chariots in Ben Hur, we found a fun little joint to eat some apertivos and dinner. 0.75 is he name of the establishment where I had roast beast (very thinly sliced and rare) with salad. Andrea had a really tasty dish of what I would describe as potato lasagne.
With food in our bellies, we trucked back to the metro and made our way home, arriving around 10:30 pm.
Tomorrow, Andrea gets to choose what to do...
Happy 24th birthday to my dear, sweet daughter, Alexi, who spent the day at Pimlico Park o view the running of the Preakness!
And thanks to Erin and Phyllis for your comments. Keep them coming!
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