We have finished our last day. We cleaned our apartment, packed, had dinner at Gino's (another favorite neighborhood haunt), shopped and even squeezed in a final educational visit at the Palazzo Massimo, where there is a statuary exhibit from the Julian-Augustan period. We ended the evening at the Square, which is sort of like our living room, where we went to say goodbye to the "stick men", the Hungarians who have given us a month's worth of entertainment, teaching all of us to twirl "flower sticks" and who themselves will leave for Croatia on Monday. We wanted to say goodbye to Sr. Marcello, the sweet proprieter at the Bar di San Calisto, who is Cecily's very special friend and who has a smile that lights up the room--only for Cecily when she comes in. (She returns it with similar wattage.) Unfortunately, a movie is being filmed at the end of the block, and we found the bar closed and the square cordoned off, causing Cecily and Meredith to burst into tears. It was a sad moment and a hard way to go, but perhaps there is a lesson here: All good things come to an end, even 31 glorious days in Rome, finding Peace and rest in the Eternal City and discovering the joy of time spent with each other, living the dulce vita. Farewell, Roma.
An American family's search for peace in the heart of one's of the world's busiest capitals.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Journal Entry by Olivia, Meredith, and Cecily: Top 10 (or 12) things to see in Rome
The assignment: From your vantage point, what are your recommendations for "Things You Must See in Rome." Our young ladies negotiated the list, and entered their observations separately below:
-1. (Negative is good. This was added as an afterthought once 1 was established, and then 0 had been taken by another afterthought!)
Gelato at Bar di San Calisto and night entertainment at Santa Maria Trastevere Square:
Meredith:The bar di San Calisto and the Santa Maria Trastevere Square aren't negitive 1 because they aren't horrible, they are negitive 1 because we had soooo many favorites to choose from and that is just how it worked out.The bar was one of my favorites because it had homemade geloto, cheap gelato,and really nice people working there.The square was also my favorite because we got to see a flame thrower,a spray painter,a pupetier,a different kind of mime, and stick people who we bought sticks from.
Cecily:This place has lots of activitie.Such as these guys, who have play stix and let kids do it.The flame thrower was cool to.Then there is the bar they have homemade gelato.You have to first go to one counter purches your order then go get what your having. The guy at the counter is so nice!!!!!!!It is allways fun to go see him.
Olivia: Not only is the gelato probably the least expensive in Rome but it's also the best. It's handmade every day and is absolutely delicious. After the gelato comes the best part; the square. We try to go every night and there's always something interesting going on. My favorite is probably the stick guys but i also enjoyed the fire lady.
0. Leonardo [da Vinci] Exhibit:
Meredith:I would recommend the Leonardo exhibit because Apple has looked at leonardos designes and recreated them so you can look and maybe touch them.The Leonardoes exhibit was my favorite exhibit of the week we went.
Cecily: This Exhibit was my favarite place there are things that you can touch.In one room there is a chamber of mirors you might miss it though because it lookes blocked off.
Olivia: A great place to see all the inventions of Leonardo. Make sure to try and see if you can build the bridge!
1. Cappuccin Crypt:
Meredith: If you have a child that is scared of bones (like me) it is a really bad idea to take them there.
Cecily: There are tons of bones but watch out for complete skeletons staring at you.
Olivia: The Cappuccin Crypt would have been my number 1 but I was outvoted. It's a basement with beautiful works of art made of human bones such as jawbones, vertebrae, leg bones, skulls and all other bones. Make sure you look up too because everything is covered from the bones on the floor to the chandeliers made of bones. It's just an amazing place.
2. Doria Panfilij:
Meredith:I loved the Doria Panfilij because I love art and it had a whole room of painted art and statuary.All the rooms there have so many peices of art I couldn't believe it only took us two hour to get through it.
Cecily:The dori Panfilj was a gorges sight. The reason I liked it is because I like art,and art is an amazing thing.
Olivia: The Doria Panfilij had lots of art which didn't appeal to me but I still found certain paintings and painters I liked so it wasn't all bad.
3. Castel Sant'Angelo
Meredith:So I really did love the Castel Sant'Angelo but if you walk there and you are so tired when you get there be careful where you sit because you may or may not be sitting on the pope's toilet.
Cecily:This palace is my favarite place i would recomind it to every one.This place used to be where the popes would stay when there would be a war.
Olivia: Castel Sant'Angelo was an impressive fortress. It had a great view on top and very friendly guards.
4.Colosseum:
Meredith: I really like the Colosseum because you get to see and learn about where the gladiators fought and died
Cecily: I think the Colosseum is interesting because the area is very old and gorgeous when you get to the top.
Olivia: The Colosseum is interesting because you can see a piece of history still mostly intact and you can see what people did and how they lived.
5. Forum
Meredith:When you get to the Forum it's fun to take a guided tour because you get to hear stories of how Rome may have been built and learn about the different sites in the forum.
Cecily:I would say to probably take a tour because you get more out of it.You would not get much out if you did not.
Olivia: The forum is a great piece of Roman history. Try to see it early on though because if you don't you will eventually just see it as more Roman ruins.
6. Four Papal Basilicas (St. Peters, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Maggiore)
Meredith:I really liked the four Papal Basilicas because as you know I love art and statuary and the Four Papal Basilicas have a lot of that.
Cecily:I liked the papal basilicas because all of the statues told interesting storys.
Olivia: The four Papal Basilicas are a must see because of the beautiful art inside and out. My favorite is St. Pauls outside the walls because of the huge scale and sheer size.
7. Trevi Fountain
Meredith:When we got to the Trevi Fountain we saw it was closed for construction and that was a big let down because I was so excited to see it.
Cecily:We saw the Trevi fountain, it was closed due of construction.It was weird.
Olivia: You ave to see the Trevi Fountain but my advice would be to make sure it's open. I've heard it's beautiful when it's not being renovated.
8. Baths of Carcalla
Meredith:The bathes of Carcalla were a lot or roman ruins that weren't all there but the stuff that was there was so beautiful that it was hard to imagine that the whole place was decorated with it.
Cecily:The place was filled with lots of old ruins it was interesting.
Olivia: The Baths of Carcalla are amazing becuase of how intact they are with having been around for so long. It has a fascinating history and it's fascinating to learn about the way people would have lived 2,000 years ago.
9. Jewish Quarter Tour
Meredith:The Jewish Quarter was really big and pretty.If you're planning on going there I would recommend a guided tour because then you get to see places that you wouldn't get to see on your own.
Cecily:This place was diffrent from the other places.You can see sights that not many people can see here.
Olivia: The Jewish Quarter Tour was one of the more interesting things we did that I don't think many do. You see a huge catholic influence in the Italian culture with 900 catholic churches in Rome alone. You don't really see other religions so taking a tour of the synagogues and learning about Jewish history from their perspective was very interesting and intriguing.
10. Capitolini
Meredith: The Capitalini was a fantastic place to be because there were a lot of statues and with each statue there was a story and when you put them together you could almost always asume I wouldn't want to leave.
Cecily:The capitalini was a new sight it was quite pretty.
Olivia: I liked the Capitalini but it wasn't one of my favorite places. I must admit though that I very much enjoyed seeing the huge statues of Constantine.
-1. (Negative is good. This was added as an afterthought once 1 was established, and then 0 had been taken by another afterthought!)
Gelato at Bar di San Calisto and night entertainment at Santa Maria Trastevere Square:
Meredith:The bar di San Calisto and the Santa Maria Trastevere Square aren't negitive 1 because they aren't horrible, they are negitive 1 because we had soooo many favorites to choose from and that is just how it worked out.The bar was one of my favorites because it had homemade geloto, cheap gelato,and really nice people working there.The square was also my favorite because we got to see a flame thrower,a spray painter,a pupetier,a different kind of mime, and stick people who we bought sticks from.
Cecily:This place has lots of activitie.Such as these guys, who have play stix and let kids do it.The flame thrower was cool to.Then there is the bar they have homemade gelato.You have to first go to one counter purches your order then go get what your having. The guy at the counter is so nice!!!!!!!It is allways fun to go see him.
Olivia: Not only is the gelato probably the least expensive in Rome but it's also the best. It's handmade every day and is absolutely delicious. After the gelato comes the best part; the square. We try to go every night and there's always something interesting going on. My favorite is probably the stick guys but i also enjoyed the fire lady.
0. Leonardo [da Vinci] Exhibit:
Meredith:I would recommend the Leonardo exhibit because Apple has looked at leonardos designes and recreated them so you can look and maybe touch them.The Leonardoes exhibit was my favorite exhibit of the week we went.
Cecily: This Exhibit was my favarite place there are things that you can touch.In one room there is a chamber of mirors you might miss it though because it lookes blocked off.
Olivia: A great place to see all the inventions of Leonardo. Make sure to try and see if you can build the bridge!
1. Cappuccin Crypt:
Meredith: If you have a child that is scared of bones (like me) it is a really bad idea to take them there.
Cecily: There are tons of bones but watch out for complete skeletons staring at you.
Olivia: The Cappuccin Crypt would have been my number 1 but I was outvoted. It's a basement with beautiful works of art made of human bones such as jawbones, vertebrae, leg bones, skulls and all other bones. Make sure you look up too because everything is covered from the bones on the floor to the chandeliers made of bones. It's just an amazing place.
2. Doria Panfilij:
Meredith:I loved the Doria Panfilij because I love art and it had a whole room of painted art and statuary.All the rooms there have so many peices of art I couldn't believe it only took us two hour to get through it.
Cecily:The dori Panfilj was a gorges sight. The reason I liked it is because I like art,and art is an amazing thing.
Olivia: The Doria Panfilij had lots of art which didn't appeal to me but I still found certain paintings and painters I liked so it wasn't all bad.
3. Castel Sant'Angelo
Meredith:So I really did love the Castel Sant'Angelo but if you walk there and you are so tired when you get there be careful where you sit because you may or may not be sitting on the pope's toilet.
Cecily:This palace is my favarite place i would recomind it to every one.This place used to be where the popes would stay when there would be a war.
Olivia: Castel Sant'Angelo was an impressive fortress. It had a great view on top and very friendly guards.
4.Colosseum:
Meredith: I really like the Colosseum because you get to see and learn about where the gladiators fought and died
Cecily: I think the Colosseum is interesting because the area is very old and gorgeous when you get to the top.
Olivia: The Colosseum is interesting because you can see a piece of history still mostly intact and you can see what people did and how they lived.
5. Forum
Meredith:When you get to the Forum it's fun to take a guided tour because you get to hear stories of how Rome may have been built and learn about the different sites in the forum.
Cecily:I would say to probably take a tour because you get more out of it.You would not get much out if you did not.
Olivia: The forum is a great piece of Roman history. Try to see it early on though because if you don't you will eventually just see it as more Roman ruins.
6. Four Papal Basilicas (St. Peters, St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Maggiore)
Meredith:I really liked the four Papal Basilicas because as you know I love art and statuary and the Four Papal Basilicas have a lot of that.
Cecily:I liked the papal basilicas because all of the statues told interesting storys.
Olivia: The four Papal Basilicas are a must see because of the beautiful art inside and out. My favorite is St. Pauls outside the walls because of the huge scale and sheer size.
7. Trevi Fountain
Meredith:When we got to the Trevi Fountain we saw it was closed for construction and that was a big let down because I was so excited to see it.
Cecily:We saw the Trevi fountain, it was closed due of construction.It was weird.
Olivia: You ave to see the Trevi Fountain but my advice would be to make sure it's open. I've heard it's beautiful when it's not being renovated.
8. Baths of Carcalla
Meredith:The bathes of Carcalla were a lot or roman ruins that weren't all there but the stuff that was there was so beautiful that it was hard to imagine that the whole place was decorated with it.
Cecily:The place was filled with lots of old ruins it was interesting.
Olivia: The Baths of Carcalla are amazing becuase of how intact they are with having been around for so long. It has a fascinating history and it's fascinating to learn about the way people would have lived 2,000 years ago.
9. Jewish Quarter Tour
Meredith:The Jewish Quarter was really big and pretty.If you're planning on going there I would recommend a guided tour because then you get to see places that you wouldn't get to see on your own.
Cecily:This place was diffrent from the other places.You can see sights that not many people can see here.
Olivia: The Jewish Quarter Tour was one of the more interesting things we did that I don't think many do. You see a huge catholic influence in the Italian culture with 900 catholic churches in Rome alone. You don't really see other religions so taking a tour of the synagogues and learning about Jewish history from their perspective was very interesting and intriguing.
10. Capitolini
Meredith: The Capitalini was a fantastic place to be because there were a lot of statues and with each statue there was a story and when you put them together you could almost always asume I wouldn't want to leave.
Cecily:The capitalini was a new sight it was quite pretty.
Olivia: I liked the Capitalini but it wasn't one of my favorite places. I must admit though that I very much enjoyed seeing the huge statues of Constantine.
Our Special List:
You can read the girls' impressions of things they thought were worthy of seeing and doing in the previous post. Here's Laura's and my additions and personal recommendations for "not to be missed" opportunities:
1. Sopra Minvera. This ancient church adjacent to the Pantheon was a pagan temple before it was a major basilica. It is beautiful in its own right. In the left hand corner near the altar is a statue of Christ with a cross. This is actually a Michelangelo sculpture, totally unprotected. It is as close as you will get to Michelangelo. Everything else is behind class or ropes. Simply beautiful and simply amazing.
2. Ara coeli. If you climb to the very top of the Vittorio Emanuele monument (the white wedding-cake looking building in the middle of the Piazza Venezia) you will be astonished to find an ancient and beautiful church. This is the official church of the Rome city council and dates back over 1,000 years. It is beautiful and little visited. Surprisingly and jarringly, it exists atop a monument built in the 20th century--by excavating the hill underneath it.
3. Tour of the Jewish Synagogue. Rome is home to Europe;s oldest continuous Jewish community. The great synagogue is home to 13,000 worshippers and includes two separate synagogues in one building. The synagogue includes an interesting museum. After several days of high baroque catholicism, the synagogue provides a nice break from intellectual conformity. Afterwards, you can enjoy dinner in the adjacent Jewish Quarter and a walk through the ruins of the Flavian Amphitheater and the Teatro Marcello, which are dramatically lit by night.
4. At the Coliseum: Hire the guide. Wander down to the Coliseum and you will be approached by someone offering you a guided tour. You will question the expense v. value ratio of this, but trust us: the guide is a much better way to see the Coliseum. Plus you can skip the LONG admission line, and you will learn a lot more. The same ticket should also get you preferential admission to the Roman Forum afterwards, making both sites doable in a single day.
5. Papal audience vs. Papal angelus. We've done both, and the audience is definitely better. The angelus involves the pope appearing in the window. The audience involves (Pope Francis, at least) driving around the square in his golf cart, greeting the crowd. Go early (like four hours early) to stake out a spot on the rope line, and you may find yourself up close and personal with a major world figure. Take plenty of water and something to keep the sun off your head. If you an find a spot in the shade, so much the better.
6. Catacombs--it takes some doing to get to the Catacombs, but they are really worth doing. You go nearly 80 feet underground and begin to get a sense of just how dreadful life was for the early Christians, fleeing persecution and how strongly they clung to their faith. In addition, it's just cool.
7. A day at the beach is really a cultural experience not to be missed. We took the regional train to Santa Marinella. From there it's an easy 5-minute walk to the beach. You will need to rent an umbrella and beach chair. Drinks are available at the beach. When you're done, walk back to the train station and take the half hour to sixty minute trip home. (Depending on which train you take.) It's a uniquely European experience, and the cool beach provides a nice break from the heat of Rome.
8. Roman Ruins: There are several ways to see the Roman ruins in Rome, all of which have their plusses and minuses. The "it" tour is the day trip to Pompeii, although we though Herculaneum was better. If you go, hire the professional guide (at the ruins) for a better understanding of what you are seeing. Lesser know, but easily done is the day trip to the ruins of Ostia Antica, the old port, about 40 minutes outside Rome. Take the metro to Pyramide and switch to the regional rail (same ticket). Get off at the Ostia stop and buy the map at the entrance. You can easily spend three to four hours at this site, so start early. Stop along the way at the St. Pauls stop and walk over to the least-visited of the four papal basilica--St. Paul's Outside the Walls, built over the spot where St. Paul was supposedly beheaded and containing his grave. If you're still in the mood for ruins, you can visit the gargantuan walls and the amazingly mosaic floors of the baths of Carcalla (take a local bus to Terme di Carcalla) or you can walk from S. Giovanni in Laterano (where you can also visit another papal basilica, a former bath itself.) You can also see the remains of the Stadio Domitian, underneath the present day Piazza Navona and accessible at the curved end of the piazza.
9. Palazzo Colonna. We hadn't visited this site before this trip, and it is open only on a limited schedule. Near its more famous cousin, the Palazzo Doria Pamphilij, the Colonna is an incredible art collection assembled over 80 years and housed in an architectural setting worthy of Versailles. It is worthy of a Saturday morning, if your visit happens to align with opening hours.
10. Drinks on the plazza of the Hotel Exedra, at Republicca metro stop. (The metro dumps out at the entrance to the hotel.). This is Scott's favorite venue in Rome. Sit on the covered portico and watch the the people go by in the Piazza popolo. The drinks even come with snacks! A really pleasant way to wind up a long day, and the cocktails are the best in Rome.
Bonus 1: If you need green space, spend an afternoon wandering around the grounds of the Villa Borghese. Rent bikes or segways or enjoy other entertainment. This is a huge urban green space and provides a little refreshing cool in a hot city.
Bonus 2: We simply loved the Bar di San Calisto adjacent to the Santa Maria Trastevere square. The gelato is artisinal and made on site. It is the least expensive in Rome, but oh so yummy and oh so authentic. You can also get a grande Pirone beer to enjoy with the locals and tourists or take it away to enjoy the street performers and ambiance at the square. A uniquely Roman experience. (If you need your soul cleansed in advance of all this merriment, you can also attend the community vespers service at S. Maria in Trastevere, one of Rome's oldest churches, at 8:30.)
1. Sopra Minvera. This ancient church adjacent to the Pantheon was a pagan temple before it was a major basilica. It is beautiful in its own right. In the left hand corner near the altar is a statue of Christ with a cross. This is actually a Michelangelo sculpture, totally unprotected. It is as close as you will get to Michelangelo. Everything else is behind class or ropes. Simply beautiful and simply amazing.
2. Ara coeli. If you climb to the very top of the Vittorio Emanuele monument (the white wedding-cake looking building in the middle of the Piazza Venezia) you will be astonished to find an ancient and beautiful church. This is the official church of the Rome city council and dates back over 1,000 years. It is beautiful and little visited. Surprisingly and jarringly, it exists atop a monument built in the 20th century--by excavating the hill underneath it.
3. Tour of the Jewish Synagogue. Rome is home to Europe;s oldest continuous Jewish community. The great synagogue is home to 13,000 worshippers and includes two separate synagogues in one building. The synagogue includes an interesting museum. After several days of high baroque catholicism, the synagogue provides a nice break from intellectual conformity. Afterwards, you can enjoy dinner in the adjacent Jewish Quarter and a walk through the ruins of the Flavian Amphitheater and the Teatro Marcello, which are dramatically lit by night.
4. At the Coliseum: Hire the guide. Wander down to the Coliseum and you will be approached by someone offering you a guided tour. You will question the expense v. value ratio of this, but trust us: the guide is a much better way to see the Coliseum. Plus you can skip the LONG admission line, and you will learn a lot more. The same ticket should also get you preferential admission to the Roman Forum afterwards, making both sites doable in a single day.
5. Papal audience vs. Papal angelus. We've done both, and the audience is definitely better. The angelus involves the pope appearing in the window. The audience involves (Pope Francis, at least) driving around the square in his golf cart, greeting the crowd. Go early (like four hours early) to stake out a spot on the rope line, and you may find yourself up close and personal with a major world figure. Take plenty of water and something to keep the sun off your head. If you an find a spot in the shade, so much the better.
6. Catacombs--it takes some doing to get to the Catacombs, but they are really worth doing. You go nearly 80 feet underground and begin to get a sense of just how dreadful life was for the early Christians, fleeing persecution and how strongly they clung to their faith. In addition, it's just cool.
7. A day at the beach is really a cultural experience not to be missed. We took the regional train to Santa Marinella. From there it's an easy 5-minute walk to the beach. You will need to rent an umbrella and beach chair. Drinks are available at the beach. When you're done, walk back to the train station and take the half hour to sixty minute trip home. (Depending on which train you take.) It's a uniquely European experience, and the cool beach provides a nice break from the heat of Rome.
8. Roman Ruins: There are several ways to see the Roman ruins in Rome, all of which have their plusses and minuses. The "it" tour is the day trip to Pompeii, although we though Herculaneum was better. If you go, hire the professional guide (at the ruins) for a better understanding of what you are seeing. Lesser know, but easily done is the day trip to the ruins of Ostia Antica, the old port, about 40 minutes outside Rome. Take the metro to Pyramide and switch to the regional rail (same ticket). Get off at the Ostia stop and buy the map at the entrance. You can easily spend three to four hours at this site, so start early. Stop along the way at the St. Pauls stop and walk over to the least-visited of the four papal basilica--St. Paul's Outside the Walls, built over the spot where St. Paul was supposedly beheaded and containing his grave. If you're still in the mood for ruins, you can visit the gargantuan walls and the amazingly mosaic floors of the baths of Carcalla (take a local bus to Terme di Carcalla) or you can walk from S. Giovanni in Laterano (where you can also visit another papal basilica, a former bath itself.) You can also see the remains of the Stadio Domitian, underneath the present day Piazza Navona and accessible at the curved end of the piazza.
9. Palazzo Colonna. We hadn't visited this site before this trip, and it is open only on a limited schedule. Near its more famous cousin, the Palazzo Doria Pamphilij, the Colonna is an incredible art collection assembled over 80 years and housed in an architectural setting worthy of Versailles. It is worthy of a Saturday morning, if your visit happens to align with opening hours.
10. Drinks on the plazza of the Hotel Exedra, at Republicca metro stop. (The metro dumps out at the entrance to the hotel.). This is Scott's favorite venue in Rome. Sit on the covered portico and watch the the people go by in the Piazza popolo. The drinks even come with snacks! A really pleasant way to wind up a long day, and the cocktails are the best in Rome.
Bonus 1: If you need green space, spend an afternoon wandering around the grounds of the Villa Borghese. Rent bikes or segways or enjoy other entertainment. This is a huge urban green space and provides a little refreshing cool in a hot city.
Bonus 2: We simply loved the Bar di San Calisto adjacent to the Santa Maria Trastevere square. The gelato is artisinal and made on site. It is the least expensive in Rome, but oh so yummy and oh so authentic. You can also get a grande Pirone beer to enjoy with the locals and tourists or take it away to enjoy the street performers and ambiance at the square. A uniquely Roman experience. (If you need your soul cleansed in advance of all this merriment, you can also attend the community vespers service at S. Maria in Trastevere, one of Rome's oldest churches, at 8:30.)
Unvarnished: Advice for Would-Be Visitors:
We've noticed that a lot of guidance provided to would be travellers tends to "pull the punches" and "hint" at conditions in Europe. I guess this is to try to support tourism while still giving people the general idea of how to prepare. The problem is, subtlety is generally lost an Americans. The following is our "unvarnished" truth about travelling in Italy. We aren't trying to discourage you from visiting. We are offering you practical and realistic tips to make your trip a success. Below is our collective wisdom.
1. Pay a little extra to enjoy the ride. There's no way around it: The trip to Europe is brutal, from the cramped seat to the long flights to the smelly bathrooms. You can make it a little better by minimizing stress. Pay the extra for more direct routes. Allow yourself plenty of time at each stopover to stretch your legs and to allow for late flights, lines at passport control and lines at customs (We allow 3 hours between international flights). We use British Airways, because the service is better and there is a little more legroom. If you want to go to hell on the cheap, fly United.
2. Before you leave, make photocopies of important documents--fronts and backs of credit cards and bank cards, passports and drivers licenses. You will have to turn over a copy of your passport at each hotel you stay at, so take multiple copies. Leave one copy at home where it can be accessed by someone you trust in case of emergency. Take one copy with you in case of theft, so you can contact your bank. Chances are you won't need this, but it's good to have. It is also advisable to purchase a good travel policy which covers medical emergencies and travel exigencies. Organize all your paperwork--airline itineraries, hotel reservations, car reservations, important papers, etc-- in some sort of binder in roughly chronological order. Be sure the binder has a pocket, as you will need to add loose papers and receipts as you go along. (At minimum you will need something in which you keep accumulated receipts for merchandise, which you can turn in at the end of your trip for refund of the 20 percent VAT tax that will be applied to all your purchases.)
3. Italy is not the 51st state. Rome is not America. It has at least 3000 years of known history and a tribal history before that. It would be well worth your time to read at least the Wikepedia entry before coming, if not something more substantial Once you are here, realize that you are not in America anymore. Be open to entirely new experiences and don't be one of the irritating Americans who walk into the trattoria and say, in LOUD English: "Do you have coffee? American coffee?" You will be disappointed in what you get, the Italians will think less of you, and you will not improve the image of your country. (Italian's don't know what drip coffee is. Or American-style bacon. Or scrambled eggs. Or hamburgers, tacos or orange cheese, so don't expect them. It is also helpful not to stand on one of the bridges shouting at your spouse, "Is it the Tiger or the Tiber?" (Yes, we saw this.)
4. You are in Italy. The national language is ITALIAN. Learn to speak it, at least a little. You have no more right to come to Italy, and ask Italians to speak English, than they have to come to Oregon and ask you to speak Italian. Learn to count to 20 and then how to count by 10s to 100. Learn the basic verbs like "to be", "to have", "to make", "to want" and the phrases such as "I'm sorry," "Excuse me" and "Where is the...bathroom, train station, bus stop, hotel, restaurant, etc." Your efforts, however clumsy to speak Italian and treat Italians with respect will open doors to you. Otherwise, you are just another boorish tourist with money.
5. This is a cash economy. Most Italian businesses do not take credit cards Even if they do, the internet probably won't be working on the day you try to use your card. Before leaving, talk to your bank and credit card companies and have them put travel alerts on your cards, so they will work here. (Take your bank's phone number, because banks cannot seem to get the travel alerts right and you will probably have to call your bank and remind them that you previously turned on a travel alert-- aggravating, but true.) Once here, withdraw euros in 300-euro increments and spend cash. Everything will go better. To withdraw cash conveniently look for an Italia Poste (post office.) There will be an ATM out front which is likely available day and night. It even has an English language button, which makes the ATM work just like it does in America.
6. Lower your expectations. At some point while you are here, the power will cease to work, the internet will stop working, the hot water will stop working, or the restaurant which advertises "air-conditioning" will provide you with a trickle of air that barely cools the temperature around you or the pizza oven will stop working or the fire alarm will sound for no rason (This is Italy, not America, so if you want America, stay home.) When something essential isn't working, wait a while. It will probably fix itself. If it doesn't, alert management. Be prepared to make do.
7. Safe drinking water comes in bottles. Even the tap water may be contaminated, and there is nothing like spending your vacation hurling across the room. Italy is very hot, and it is important to stay hydrated, so order bottled water every time you get a chance and drink it all. You will need to specify whether you want "naturale" or "frizzante: (still or sparkling). Fountains on street corners spouting water in which lots of Italians are splashing and tourists are filling their water bottles may be safe--or may not. Assume they are not. If you are one of those people who wants every beverage served with ice, get over it. Ice is rare in Italy and a possible source of contamination.
8. Bring hand sanitizer. It is hard to find here, and it is, unfortunately, necessary. Bathrooms may or may not have soap in the dispensers. You will be sharing the countertops, grab bars, table tops and everything else with millions of other hands that have been God knows where. Be prepared to carry around and use the hand sanitizer for your own health. It is also handy to have a pack of tissue/Kleenex. Toilet paper may not be available in the bathroom you are using. Is this gross? Maybe. But this is Italy. If you want America, stay home.
8. Bring hand sanitizer. It is hard to find here, and it is, unfortunately, necessary. Bathrooms may or may not have soap in the dispensers. You will be sharing the countertops, grab bars, table tops and everything else with millions of other hands that have been God knows where. Be prepared to carry around and use the hand sanitizer for your own health. It is also handy to have a pack of tissue/Kleenex. Toilet paper may not be available in the bathroom you are using. Is this gross? Maybe. But this is Italy. If you want America, stay home.
9. When it comes to food, safety matters. Closely related to the concern over hand sanitizer has to be a concern for the safety of food. General lack of hygiene standards, the hot sun and a lack of environmental regulations, make this a potential disaster for anybody whose digestive tract isn't accustomed to such conditions. Generally, the rule is; Baked is good. Anything that comes hot from the oven or off the stove has a decent chance of being OK. Beware, however, of lavish buffets sitting on a front counter. That buffet is likely the source of what's going on your plate, even if you are seated inside a restaurant and ordered the dish off the menu. Beware of the sandwiches, sitting in an unrefrigerated counter at midday. Beware of fresh fruit unless you see it being washed. Sadly, being safe will mean missing out on some great options for enjoying Italy's cuisine. But a little vigilance will save you a LOT of unpleasantness the next day!
10. Enjoy the cultural venues. Being a world capital, Rome attracts all the major performers, and Rome does a good job of advertisng these venues--along with their healthy admission prices. However, youre options aren't limited to the blockbusters, especially if art or music are your things. As you travel around, keep your eyes open. You will likely see free concerts and ads for art exhibitions advertised on posters, usually posted only at or near the venue where vocal and string and brass performances will be staged or where exhibitions will be staged. These can almost never be found on the internet, but are part of the joy of Rome
11. Time your visit. Consider coming here in the fall. Or better yet, the winter. Italy is incredibly crowded in the summer months, and, frankly, it is oppressively hot. Why fight the lines? Everything is still open in the off season, but the lines are shorter and the prices are lower. You won't get a tan, but you will get a better experience, unless you are here specifically for the sun (which also shines in America.)
12. Americans drive cars; the rest of the world walks, or takes public transit. If taking a car everywhere is important to you, stay in America. If you come to Rome, learn to walk. Most of the sites for tourists in Rome are within walking distance of each other. The distances on the map are deceiving. Ancient Romans walked their city, because they had no other way to get places. You can, too. Buy a good pair of shoes and a good map. Wander down crooked streets, and when you get lost, consult your map and recalculate. When you are really lost use your broken Italian to ask someone to put you back on course, Most of the major sites have signage pointing the way. If you are not up for walking, you have public transportation options. Taxis are an easy, if somewhat expensive way to get around. The Metro is efficient. (That said, Italy lived on Metro Line A and Metro Line B is not real Italy but rather is a bizarre blend of real Italy and tourist Italy.) For maximum flexibility, learn to use the bus system and the trams and regional railroads. You can buy a one week multi-modal pass at Termini, where your credit card will work, or at the ticket machines at San Giovanni, which may require cash. If you have a map of the transit stops, you figure out which busses run from which locations to the places you want to visit. (GoogleMaps will tell you the same thing most of the time.) This is important because the names of the stops are likely unrelated to the places you are visiting. (Piazza Venezia, for example, may be Piazza Venezia. Or it might be Aracoeli or it might be Corso or it might be Foro Imperiali.) Don't be afraid to try. If you get off course, you can always get back on course by walking--with the aid of your maps and your good walking shoes.
13. A useful investment is a portable wifi device. This can be rented in the U.S. and brought with you, or rented online and delivered to your hotel in Italy. (You can also pick it up at a designated pick up pont. Since internet is somewhat unreliable, this will keep you connected and can help you power useful apps like Google Maps) while you are here. Also, we found halfway through our trip that portable batteries are very useful. The key to using these and all other electronics is to make sure you have enough adapters, converters and cords to plug in and recharge all your various devices. When you add up the price of all these, you will gasp, and you will probably conclude that you will make do with "serially charging" your electronics. This will not work, because you will not be willing to sit in your hotel room doing nothing while waiting for electronics to recharge, which you would otherwise be using while out and about. Make the investment. One adapter/converter and cord per device.)
14. Put some clothes on. Italians are conservative and modest, and God, apparently, doesn't like women's shoulders, too much cleavage or men's thighs (unless you happen to be a completely naked male statue, which you are not, no matter what your mirror tells you.) By wearing tank tops or short running shorts, you will be barred from entering the religious sites (such as the churches) or embarrassingly asked to leave or provided with an ugly wrap, which has been God knows where, to put over yourself while inside. In any case, you will look like an ignorant and boorish tourist. Put your clothes on. Outside of a romantic relationship, your body probably isn't worth sharing with the rest of us.
15. For women, consider a good cross-body purse. This will give you something in which to carry around water, sanitizer and your day's purchases and enhance your security. Women should also consider casual skirts and dresses, which are cooler. Bring fewer clothes, not more, especially if you can have access to laundry facilities. You aren't going to see the same people every day, and Italians wear the same clothes over and over anyway. Remember that Italians are modest people, so black and white are preferable to bright colors. Men visiting in summer should wear cargo shorts. You will need the pockets, and the front pockets can help add security for things stored there. Men do not wear pink in Italy. At some point, you will probably will need long pants and a long sleeve shirt (non patterned), so bring at least one set with a pair shoes appropriate for a formal setting.
16. Convert your measurements to continental before you go. Italy has great clothes, although you may have to search a bit to find the deals. (Hint: they are not in the tourist venues.) Italian clothes fit more tightly, and you are going to lose weight while you are here (due to all the walking; see above), So you are going to be tempted to buy something Italian. The problem: you'll have no clue what size you are. Fortunately, the internet can convert your American size to Continental sizes. Do the research and carry the information around with you. It will come in handly when you see that perfect little dress or that must-have pair of shoes. Just remember when you are buying XL and XXL, that's only a comparison relative to the size of the average Italian, which is smaller than the size of Americans (or even Germans for that matter). At home, you're still still an M-L and trying to squeeze into something smaller and flatter your ego will only flatter you, not your figure.
17. The shopping experience. There are several ways to shop in Italy: you can buy your stuff at the museum gift stores and at the popular tourist destinations such as the area around the Spanish steps or the Piazza Navona. This will be relatively hassle free but is the most expensive way to shop. You can also visit the street vendors (or worse yet, they will descend on you) who offer their wares at streetside tables. (These will mostly be Pakistani/Indian/Bangladeshis and other southeast Asians or the occasional African.) You can generally bargain with these vendors, and they expect you to do so. Getting off the beaten path will take you to local stores, where the prices will be much more reasonable, but Italian will likely be the only language spoken. Look for signs that say saldi (sale) and sconto (discount). Lastly, be sure to visit a grocery store. A visit to a grocery store (an actual grocery, not one that caters to tourists or a mini-market) is a glimpse of real life and offers a wealth of curiousities in any foreign country.
16. Convert your measurements to continental before you go. Italy has great clothes, although you may have to search a bit to find the deals. (Hint: they are not in the tourist venues.) Italian clothes fit more tightly, and you are going to lose weight while you are here (due to all the walking; see above), So you are going to be tempted to buy something Italian. The problem: you'll have no clue what size you are. Fortunately, the internet can convert your American size to Continental sizes. Do the research and carry the information around with you. It will come in handly when you see that perfect little dress or that must-have pair of shoes. Just remember when you are buying XL and XXL, that's only a comparison relative to the size of the average Italian, which is smaller than the size of Americans (or even Germans for that matter). At home, you're still still an M-L and trying to squeeze into something smaller and flatter your ego will only flatter you, not your figure.
17. The shopping experience. There are several ways to shop in Italy: you can buy your stuff at the museum gift stores and at the popular tourist destinations such as the area around the Spanish steps or the Piazza Navona. This will be relatively hassle free but is the most expensive way to shop. You can also visit the street vendors (or worse yet, they will descend on you) who offer their wares at streetside tables. (These will mostly be Pakistani/Indian/Bangladeshis and other southeast Asians or the occasional African.) You can generally bargain with these vendors, and they expect you to do so. Getting off the beaten path will take you to local stores, where the prices will be much more reasonable, but Italian will likely be the only language spoken. Look for signs that say saldi (sale) and sconto (discount). Lastly, be sure to visit a grocery store. A visit to a grocery store (an actual grocery, not one that caters to tourists or a mini-market) is a glimpse of real life and offers a wealth of curiousities in any foreign country.
17. Do you need a mobile phone in Italy? That's hard to say. We made do without one. We did have use of a Skype phone app, which sort of worked with wifi. When Linda visited us, her carrier allowed her to make calls over a wifi network. If staying connected to the mainland is that important to you and email just won't work, it probably won't hurt to invest in a sim card that will give your phone international calling ability.
18. There are 2.5 million people living in Rome. The pope counts as one person. Rome does not belong to the pope. (That city and country is called, The Vatican.) For historical reasons, Romans respect but don't particularly trust the pope, so don't think about Rome entirely as being Papa-centric, no matter how popular Francis may be in the rest of the world. Likewise, while Romans take great pride in their former glory as "capital of the world", Rome also has a medieval, renaissance and modern history. If you limit yourself to studying the Rome of 2000 years ago, you will miss the best of Rome. If you aren't interested in the culture and history of Rome, stay home.
19. Beware of strikes, slowdowns and unexpected closures. Italy is prone to labor strife. You may have a big trip planned and suddenly find that the bus that was going to take you there simply isn't running today. We travelled all the way to Herculaneum one day, only to find a labor dispute in progress, and uncertainty about whether the site would open or not. (Fortunately, it did.) We were surprised one morning when the tram lines stopped running for three weeks, apparently because the tram workers like to take their holiday at the same time as everyone else--at the peak of the tourist season. We also encountered a slow-down, caused by a fight between transit workers and management, because of management's unreasonable request that workers punch a time clock. As a result, it was decided to do everything slowly and by the book--including kicking off all the passengers in the middle of a route at the end of a shift and returning immediately to the terminal. There is nothing to do to prevent any of this, except to have a back up plan and be patient. Our last tip would be to check the hours when planning to visit any venue where your time is not flexibile. Italians generally work in the cool of the morning and late in the evening, and even churches will shut their doors from 1-4. Plan accordingly.
20. Consider the world beyond Rome. Rome is amazing, but Rome isn't all of Italy. In fact, the idea of Italy as a unified country is fairly new to the Italians and they still hang on pretty intensely to regional identify and local cultural preferences. Generally speaking, the farther north you go, the better things works, but that is by no means a universal truth! Day trips are easily accessible from Rome--to Pompeii or to Florence. We even made Venice with a day trip, although that is not for the faint of heart. For day trips outside Rome, consider a tour company (most likely Viator) or consider hiring a private driver to take you door to door. The Agent 365 at Termini can help you arrange train tickets to whisk you right to your favorite destination and home again on the Italian train system for a very reasonable feel.
19. Beware of strikes, slowdowns and unexpected closures. Italy is prone to labor strife. You may have a big trip planned and suddenly find that the bus that was going to take you there simply isn't running today. We travelled all the way to Herculaneum one day, only to find a labor dispute in progress, and uncertainty about whether the site would open or not. (Fortunately, it did.) We were surprised one morning when the tram lines stopped running for three weeks, apparently because the tram workers like to take their holiday at the same time as everyone else--at the peak of the tourist season. We also encountered a slow-down, caused by a fight between transit workers and management, because of management's unreasonable request that workers punch a time clock. As a result, it was decided to do everything slowly and by the book--including kicking off all the passengers in the middle of a route at the end of a shift and returning immediately to the terminal. There is nothing to do to prevent any of this, except to have a back up plan and be patient. Our last tip would be to check the hours when planning to visit any venue where your time is not flexibile. Italians generally work in the cool of the morning and late in the evening, and even churches will shut their doors from 1-4. Plan accordingly.
20. Consider the world beyond Rome. Rome is amazing, but Rome isn't all of Italy. In fact, the idea of Italy as a unified country is fairly new to the Italians and they still hang on pretty intensely to regional identify and local cultural preferences. Generally speaking, the farther north you go, the better things works, but that is by no means a universal truth! Day trips are easily accessible from Rome--to Pompeii or to Florence. We even made Venice with a day trip, although that is not for the faint of heart. For day trips outside Rome, consider a tour company (most likely Viator) or consider hiring a private driver to take you door to door. The Agent 365 at Termini can help you arrange train tickets to whisk you right to your favorite destination and home again on the Italian train system for a very reasonable feel.
Bottom line: Rome and Italy are wonderful experiences, but traveling there involves living in a foreign country. Things here will be FOREIGN. If you want America, stay in America. If you are ready to broaden your horizons, visit Italy and enjoy the Italian experience fully. You'll be back in America soon enough.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Back In Town, We Start the Wind Down
After three days of organizing out of town trips (Tivoli, S. Marinella and Venezia) today was a much- needed rest day. Laura and I have not killed each other in the last 72 hours as we tried to manage timetables, stops, maps, finding bathrooms at the right time and avoiding heat stroke. We probably shouldn't push our luck now. In addition, we've been a little worried about Meredith who has managed to spring impressive bloody noses twice in the last few days, suggesting some rest and hydration might be needed. We were probably right. We all slept in until 10:30, got ourselves ready for the day, headed for the grocery store and returned to cook breakfast and dye Olivia's hair one more time. By the time we got ourselves organized, it was nearly 4 p.m., which in American time would be considered a wasted day but by Italian standards is sort of like waiting until a reasonable hour to get moving. We headed over to Piazza Navona to return the portable wireless, and had gelatto at Sgr. Angelo's place. (He claims that he has the best gelatto in all of Rome, so it must be true.) We admired the street performers and then decided to head back to our neighborhood, taking another bus which dumped us somewhere near the Piazza Venezia. We remembered that we had intended to walk down to see a modern art installation near Santa Maria in Campitelli. Fortunately, S. Maria was also open, so we stuck our heads in for a look around there as well--much to the girls' delight. Afterwards, we wandered into the exhibition next door. Our expectation was that we were going to see a lot of artist's remembrances of the very tragic Srebrenica massacre in July 1995, in which 8,000 Bosnian men and boys, mostly muslim, were rounded up from a U.N."Safe Area" and murdered. Another 30,000 women, children and elderly people were forcibly transferred, demonstrating the genocidal intent of the opposition conducting the atrocity. What we saw, however, wasn't quite what we expected. The installation was one room--a decommissioned church. At one end was a polished stick of wood, vaguely reminiscent of a face. At another was a piece of polished, twisted wood, which looked sort of like a cross, laying on its side on the former altar of the church. on either side of the installation were gray chairs of varying heights turned in various directions, but mostly away from the "cross." We did our best to interpret the exhibit to the girls, explaining concepts like genocide and the fact that the various institutions put into place to prevent this sort of thing after the Second World War all failed to prevent Srebrenica. We talked a little bit about why Europeans are so troubled by this event, and we tried to explain as best we could how the various chairs likely represented the indifference and inaction shown by various nations to this event. We event concocted a description of how the space between the two piece of wood with chairs on either side represented the path of evil in our midst. (I have to say, the explanation was worthy of a New York Times review.) On our way out, we stopped to sign the guest book and exchanged a few words of broken Italian with the very nice hostess minding the exhibition. Realizing that we could speak at least some Italian, she told us that the artist himself was standing at the entry watching us the entire time. We proceeded to get a reinterpretation of the exhibition from the artist, who spoke no English, of what he intended to convey. Somehow, between words and sign language, he conveyed and we understood his meaning. It was a pretty impressive thing. We more or less had gotten the point right, except that our interpretation of the chairs as nation states was actually meant to represent the indifference of people, the "aisle of evil" turned out to be a pedestrian space for viewing the exhibit and nothing more, and while we had understood that the face at the start of the exhibit was an onlooker, we had missed that it was supposed to be crying and that that its lack of hands was intended as a statement that the segment of humanity which did see this tragedy unfold, lacked the hands to help. By the time we straightened everything out, I'm sure the girls were thoroughly confused, but it was still an extraordinary conversation between two sets of people speaking different languages, and understanding the world through two separate lenses. Afterwards it was pizza at our favorite place, and a sad farewell to "Nicole", our lovely waitress who has waited on us several times and who has taken upon herself the role of Cecily's personal Italian coach. She is quite lovely and knows our order and our preferences by heart. We will miss her warm smile and kindness. She has been a touchpoint throughout this trip.. We ended the evening with a second round of gelato at Bar di San Calisto, where Cecily once again greeted in Italian her very special friend Sgr. Marcello, and we wandered into the square, where the fire eater was performing. Meredith begged for a trip to the San Crisogono square as well, to purchase a bracelet from the craftsman we call the "Murano Man", who sold her a keepsake bracelet for 10 euro--but took time to show her the tiny loom on which it was made, telling her that this particularly blue and green glass bracelet took three hours to weave. Tomorrow, last day in Rome. What will it bring?
Venice, Citte Bellisima
Venice was on the itinerary today, 330 miles to the north of Rome. A unique city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a favorite destination for both Laura and Scott and a highly endangered place, there was never any doubt that we would somehow find our way to "La Serennissma". The question was, how: Rome is in the mid-southern part of Italy near the west coast. Venice by contrast is in the northeast corner, and while both Laura and Scott have driven Italy before, the idea of fighting Italian traffic for six to seven hours each way, incurring expense all along the way seemed not very appealing. Fortunately, we had heard about and decided this was the time to experiment with the Italian fast-train system. Our initial effort to by tickets wasn't successful. (Italy is maddeningly behind the rest of the world in access to the internet and as a result, many of its websites aren't well designed or don't work at all.), but we were able to find a travel agency at Termini, at which a Senegalese immigrant speaking perfectly passable English (along with French, Italian and German) was able to secure us tickets in about 10 minutes for around 400 Euro, commission included. The minimal commission was well worth avoiding the aggravation! Tickets in hand, we launched into our northern adventure around 7:30 a.m., via a bus to Piazza Venezia and a second bus to Termini. As always, there was someone confusion around which bus to take (we are forced to take busses at the busses because the trams have stopped operating for three weeks--at the peak of tourist season--while the staff are on holiday), but we got to Termini in time to search out a croissant before board our train. Once on board, we whisked to Venice in just under four hours, arriving just after noon. The train itself travels at over 150 miles per hour, which is unremarkable when you are sitting down but becomes perilously evident when one tries to navigate one's way through the crowded train aisle to the cafeteria car, to buy soft drinks, water, and for Cecily, of course, fresh squeezed orange juice. That latter, which was advertised as coming in a bottle, turned out to be in a styrofoam cup with a lid, and I thought more than once as we hurtled and were hurtled back through our train that it was going to end up on a fellow traveller! Once in Venice, we disembarked on the Grand Canal and bought a map to negotiate our way through the maze of streets to the Piazza San Marco. We couldn't help but notice as we arrived that the temperature dropped into the mid-70s/low-80s, a welcome relief from the burning and unrelenting heat of Rome. We had been warned by some people that Venice in the mid summer is a smelly place, assaulting the nose with the rotting smell of canals. Neither of us had previously experienced that, but our visits were always in fall and winter, so we were braced for the worst. Those predictions proved unfounded, however. The canals were fine, the streets were clean and the only downside to the city was the crush of tourists which always threaten to overwhelm this precious gem of a city. Olivia noticed the difference from Rome immediately, and declared that while she has no intention of ever returning to Rome, Venice might well be on her list for another look. All the girls wanted to know why we didn't choose Venice over Rome as the site for our one-month stay. Well satisfied, we went in search of food, passing God-only-knows how many pizzas and trattorias as Laura pursued her "uncrowded, idyllic and not-priced-for-tourists" perfect eating place, a quest which she eventually acknowledged with a sigh was probably fruitless. We ended up in the upstairs of a pizzeria, enjoying Margherita pizza and a carafe of cold wine, adjacent to a table of German tourists who proved to have no more cultural sensitivity than Americans. The pizza, however, was deemed by our little food critics, to be the best in Italy so far Afterward, we finished our journey to the piazza and got in line for the cathedral. At the door we found out that backpacks aren't allowed inside, so Scott had to get out of line while Laura and the girls wandered through. The reaction from the girls was decidedly jaded. Turns out that when you've seen one fabulous cathedral and a hundred churches, pretty soon they all start to look the same. Next destination was the campanile next door, which we had planned to climb for the view. We were horrified, however, to find that since the last visit, they have installed an elevator and the experience of climbing the stairs is now not a part of the standard 8 Euro trip. Since the climb is half the fun, we stepped out of line, to some grumbling. The decision not to climb the bell tower, however, may have been pretty smart. It left enough time for another memory-making moment--a ride on a gondola, something neither Laura nor Scott had ever made time or had inclination to do in our previous trips. Sailing down the canals past the house of Marco Polo and the palazzo in which Don Juan stayed and the beautiful Rialto Bridge (covered in an advertisement) felt much like journeying back hundreds of years. In addition, there were also unanticipated lessons--such as the Middle Eastern man ahead of us at the Gondola line who tried to bribe the gondolier to ignore his six-person limit per boat and take a seventh. Even in Italian, the girls understood what was going on, and were impressed by the integrity of the gondolier, who under pressure of a potential 300 euro fine, steadfastly refused the gratuity. They were not so impressed, however, when 15 minutes into our 30 minute ride, the gondolier suddenly announced that he would be stopping the boat for a few minutes, so he could step off to take a cigarette break--while we were left drifting in an unmanned boat in the middle of a canal! (This might be part of what prompted Cecily to later observe that you can always tell an Italian because Italians speak Italian, smoke, have tattoos and they are never blond or blue-eyed.) Eventually, our ride resumed and we got back to the starting point no worse for the wear. We capped our day with a trip to the mask store, where the girls spent lots of time trying on their various faces and debating the value of 10-Euro vs. 30-Euro masks. (This debate was settled when Dad informed them that anything over 10 would need to be paid for from their allowance.) With masks intact, we suddenly realized that we were on the opposite side of Venice from the train station with just over an hour until our train departed. What came next was the unpleasant part of the day--a hot, forced march at top speed through the winding, twisting streets of Venice, attempting to follow the "alla ferrovia" signs, while moving at something approximating the speed of a TrenItalia high speed train! We arrived just in time, hot and sweaty with just enough time to grab gelato and water before jumping on the train for the ride home. Sleeping (and a little beer for Mom and Dad) was in order to complete the trip back to Rome, where we found slow bus service and a long walk home waiting for us. Needless to say, we tumbled into bed just after midnight, ready for a long-overdue lazy day on Wednesday. I'll end this post with the observation that with completion of this trip, we've managed to see all of Rome, Venice, Florence, and the Pompeii/Naples area. Combined with our trip to the Turin area in 2008, that means we've covered most of the major geography of Italy, leaving us feeling rather accomplished.
Monday, July 27, 2015
We're Not in Oregon Anymore
Last evening ended with a lot of noise, as the Madonna of Carmel festival continued, with parades and loud singing all around us. Scott expected quiet streets this morning, when he set out early to meet a Delta Sig, Will Ratliff, with whom he had attended the fraternity's national Leadership Academy a few years ago and who connected through Facebook after discovering that both of us were in Rome at the same time. Despite expectations, the streets were surprisingly busy this morning, with yet another procession underway--a bunch of elderly ladies following the omnipresent St. Agata priest and his bullhorn marching through the Trastevere carrying the madonna on a pole, while all the church bells rang. A little farther up the road, prayers gave way to noisy American students, heading to various tourist sites, recounting their activities of the night before. This is probably more Americans than we have usually seen. Apparently, the Americans start early and knock off before the heat sets in--about the time we tend to be setting out. The composition of the tourists has been changing lately. When we first arrived, most of the tourists were German and Chinese. In the last week, that group seems to have given way to Brits and Japanese. The French continue to provide a light background presence. Interesting how the different cultures move in groups. While Scott was out, Laura, Meredith and Cecily were getting ready to go out just as Scott returned, while Olivia elected to sleep in. Thus, four of us (minus Olivia) ended up at the "American breakfast" place, having a decidedly un-American breakfast again, including the yummy fresh squeezed orange and fresh-squeezed apple juice. We did a bit of shopping at the OVS, and then headed back to the flat to pick up Olivia and pack up for day. On the way, we stopped in a Roma Rentals for advice from Kyle, our rental agent, about how best to access the beach from Rome. He guided us to Santa Marinella, about 40 minutes by train outside of Rome. Kyle also told us that we had "dodged a bullet" today as a transportation strike had been scheduled but failed to materialize at the last minutes. However, he advised us to beware of the continuing slowdown being pursued by transportation workers--as a result of the demands of their employer that they punch a time clock. (How unreasonable!) Kyle's advice to try Santa Marinella turned out to be great. The train departed from Trastevere Station and zipped to the station in Santa Marinella. A five minute walk and we were on the sand, renting an umbrella and two chairs. A few minutes later we had acquired a bucket o' beers, and we were relaxing on the Mediterranean coast with just 500 or so of our newly acquired closest friends. We all swam in the ocean, enjoyed the breeze and the sun and generally found the experience of communal beaching to be wildly different from Oregon's "layer on, button up and find your lonely place" approach to beachgoing. Post beach, we zipped back to Rome and had frozen pizza from the supermarket. The girls noted that it tastes just like American frozen pizza. Meredith, Cecily and I headed to St. Maria Trastevere square to take out the trash and get gelatto. Cecily took a moment to greet her new friend, Sgr. Marcello in perfect Italian, and even managed a short conversation with hiim. Meredith said he looked sad when she walked away to pick up her ice cream. Tomorrow we start early--for Venice!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)