Rome - Final Days

 Rome – Day Three & Four

Sightseeing can be hard work.  Being a tourist in Rome can be overwhelming.  During a stay in Rome it is not “time” that is in short supply but simply the “capacity” to absorb what you are seeing.  There is so much to see and do that after awhile you reach your limit on fine art and antiquities.  You find yourself walking by paintings by Raphael or Matisse, barely giving them a second look, much like driving by a couple of cows in a field.

A few last words on driving and walking in Rome.  We were crossing a street at a pedestrian light controlled intersection.  As we walked by three lanes of stopped cars on our green light, suddenly a car accelerated through the fourth lane of the crosswalk, narrowly missing many of us.  An American tourist exclaimed loudly,  “did you see that guy, he didn't even slow down on the red light.”  A nearby local spoke to him and said, “you must remember, you are in Rome, there are no rules!”

Always Start the Day with a Good Breakfast.

Day Three was a productive sunny blue-sky tourist day.  We walked to St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican.  We had Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel tickets for 11 am.  Buying tickets ahead of time meant we didn’t have to stand in line to buy on the day.  We saved ourselves a few extra minutes of line waiting.  The Vatican is huge and the Sistine Chapel is one room amongst many.  Once inside with audio guides rented, we joined in the tourist throng of shoulder-to-shoulder and back-to-back mass of movement.  One hand on your partner and one on your wallet are "musts" as you let the currents of humanity carry you through the maze-like structure. 

Finding the Entrance to the Vatican can be Challenging.

The Inner Vatican Garden.

The Hallways are Over a Football Field in Length.

Your Neck Gets Sore From Looking Up.

The Vatican Museum is a huge business and much like Disneyland, they know how to move people efficiently and collect money.  You see priceless works of art, many of which you have read or heard about but most catch you by surprise by their beauty and antiquity.  The Catholic Church certainly has cornered the market on works of art.  I am sure Catholics would likely feel differently but it is almost "too much" when you consider the conditions of man when this wealth was accumulated.

The Sistine Chapel and its works of Michelangelo are worth the wait.   The beauty is underscored by the understanding that the massive work was done on wet mortar in the Fresco style and on scaffolding high in the air.  Pictures do not do it justice.

We finished the museum in about three hours.  We entered St. Peter’s next.  In the morning the line was about 800 m long but after 3 pm we walked straight in.  All cathedrals in Europe take your breath away with their grandeur and art but St. Peter’s simply takes it one step further.  We used a Steeves’ self-tour walking guide and spent nearly the next two hours in the basilica.

The Swiss Guards are Still At Work.

St. Peter's Basilica.

The huge number of sculptures and gold artistic creations was again, overwhelming. The alter was created by Bernini and is certainly a highlight as is the gilded vaulted ceiling domes.  There was a special service taking place for several hundred folks in wheelchairs and we were unable to gain access to the stairs for the dome view of Rome.  We didn’t remain long enough to see if any miracles took place.

With most of the days work done, we took the long walk back to our hotel.  Maps in hand we attempted to take different routes and discover new piazzas to explore.  We found a recommended restaurant, Roscioli near the Campe d’Fiori.  It was fully booked and we made a reservation for the following evening, our last night in Rome.

Foodie Shots.

We ended the day back in our neighborhood and explored our “own” Pantheon.  It dates back to early Roman times but survived the fall of the Roman Empire because martyrs against the Empire had used it.  Very cool hole in the roof and the floor is convex in the middle and slopes away to a concave perimeter allowing moisture to drain.  Of all the places we visited it was the only one that had constant audio reminders in multiple languages that this was a sacred place and we were to be silent.  (Of course we are in Italy so like all other rules it was ignored).

Pantheon - Our Home Piazza.

Pantheon At Night.

Day Four saw two weary tourists ready for another full tourist day.  We planned to use our purchased “Roma Passes” to ride transit to our chosen locations but alas, this is Italy and all transit was on strike for the day. 

The Newer Structure at the Right Holds the Coliseum Up.

We hoofed it to the Coliseum to start the day.  Our Roma Passes did allow us to skip the long ticket lines and walk straight in.  The iconic sight is worth the visit and we learned much more about its history.  Built to satisfy the Roman need for violent sport, the wood floor had a large number of trap doors and elevator lifts that hoisted wild animals or armed criminals into disguised locations.  The gladiator(s) waited in the middle and were to be surprised by the location and foe they faced in battle.  Wild animals were the norm.  Lions and other exotic beasts were brought in to best the gladiators.  Apparently the whole Christian killing thing probably never happened since the arena was build about 200 years after the persecution of Christians.  We were also surprised to find out the building is not just eroding due to the passage of time.  When killing fell out of favor, the building materials were scavenged to build other buildings of the time.  The wood floor rotted and all the underground rooms and passageways were filled in with dirt.  There is little marble left from the original grand amphitheater.

The basement rooms and passage ways for the Gladiators and Foe.

After the Coliseum we walked next door to the Forum.  The Forum is the area of the original Rome.  You can walk around the ruins (but no longer touch) of the House of the Vestal Virgins, Julius Caesar's temple columns, the Rostrum and others.  It is cool to sit there and realize that some ancient Roman sat in the same place, in the same sunshine and took in the same view.

Yes... I am sitting on a Roman Marble Antiquity.

Romulus and Remus - Raised by a Wolf and Historical First Citizens of Rome.

The afternoon included a walk from our hotel to the Borghese Gallery, one of the “must see’s” of Rome. The Borghese includes Bernini’s “David” is one of the most remarkable sculptures in the world.    We almost missed going to the Gallery.  You must have a purchased appointment ticket and the numbers are strictly controlled so it is nothing like the Vatican experience.  Individual tickets were sold out until days after our scheduled departure.  We had to contact a tour operator on the Internet to get our tickets.  Again, the gallery was overwhelming and by the end you walk by Raphael paintings like they were discarded beer cans.  Sorry but no pictures due the strictly controlled "no photo" rule. The only time we saw a rule enforced in Rome.

Rome's "Stanley Park" - Borghese Gardens.

We had one of our best dinners on the entire trip at the Roscioli near the Campe d’Fiori and an evening walk to end our tour of Rome.

Our Last Dinner in Rome - Roscioli.

I am writing this last entry on the plane flying over southern France.  No airport change in London this time and we should be quickly on our way to Seattle.

Of Course as happened Everyday - We Finish with a Gelato!

That brings an end to this experience and to this blog.  We hope to look at it in the future and relive some of our wonderful experience.

Bye for now… 

P.S. despite the wine, beer and pasta, we did indeed lose weight on this trip. Some redistributed, and some lost altogether.


…what was that Jinder????  We have another planning meeting this month for our trip to India in March?

I guess there may be more to come in the future.

Rome - Day One and Two

Rome Day One

Before I begin, Deborah has been reminding me that I have not been including much in the blog about the food.  I’ll try to address that and must mention that we have really enjoyed the Pecorino cheese, special to Tuscany.  It is a delicious hard, white cheese aged like old cheddar at home.  It goes well with the Montepulciano’s Nobile wine and Montechino’s Brunello. 

Bye

Saturday was pretty much a travel day.  We had our last breakfast as a group of eight at the hotel and trundled down the cobble stone streets of the old city to the regional bus stop.  We all took a bus to Chiusi.  Thanks to Sam and Cheryl’s previous experience with the winding road we chose seats close to the front.  We were glad we did.  We said our good byes on apposing Chiusi railway platforms as we embarked in opposite directions only minutes apart.  Our trip to Rome’s Termini station was relaxed and we were joined in our compartment by a couple from south Surrey also headed to Rome to end their month long journey.  We were a little concerned about the Termini station.  Last year Cheryl’s brother had his valuables pick pocketed in the station.  I noticed locals stuffing money in their bras and pants.  We did the same.

We did well to get off the train and find the underground subway system.  We even found the right station to get off for the hotel.  That is where it got a little interesting.  With packs on our backs and the thermometer topping out at a very humid 30, we set off walking to the hotel following the GPS directions.  After walking for an hour, we arrived back at the railway station.  We had walked backward the length of two subway stops. Whether it was a GPS issue or operator error, we are not sure.  With only two of us travelling we are prepared to say it was the GPS.  After an earnest restart, we passed by the Trevi Fountain and arrived at our hotel located just four doors from the Pantheon.  Like Verona, the hotel sign was a 1” by 3.5” brass plate beside a 10’ by 6’ solid wood door.  It was very non descript and it took us a long time to find it even though the GPS said we were there.  Three heavily keyed doors later we were in the lobby.

The Dimora Degli Dei was built in 1879 and our room has a 20’ ceiling with exposed wood beams.  It is on the backside of the hotel and there isn’t a sound to be heard.

First night’s dinner was at the L’Antica Birreria Peroni, a Rick Steeves recommendation for fun, good food and yes, cheap.  It had a beer hall atmosphere and we dined on sautéed olive croquettes, tomato brochette, and rigatoni with sausage and cream sauce, and spinach ricotta ravioli.  We finished with salad (that’s the way it is done here), and enjoyed two liter sized Peroni beers, all for 30 Euros.

Rome is an intimidating city.  I cannot imagine driving here.  If the road has four clearly marked lanes, there will be six lanes of cars.  Clearly road rules are only guides that are ignored by everyone.  Traffic piazzas have no apparent rules.  Big is better and usually rules the confrontations but periodically you see someone on a bicycle or on foot, blissfully walking through the middle of it.  We stood gazing in amazement at the traffic in front of Capital Hill for over a half an hour watching near misses.  All the while we were there, two traffic cops stood chatting, smoking, and flirting with the female tourists.

No lines for Traffic - Chaos!

To be a driver is crazy, to be a pedestrian in truly heroic.  We think we have it figured out.  Crosswalk or not, (it makes no difference) you must launch yourself in front of a moving car; step determinedly, and aggressively if you are to have a chance.  Unless you leave the curb, cars are not going to slow down.  You must look the driver in the eye and step in front of the moving car.  If you are hesitant and stop part way through the crossing, the drivers take that as a sign of weakness and accelerates toward you, passing as close as they can, before whizzing by.  We were in a marked crosswalk after stepping in front of two nuns in a sedan.  The nuns with attitudes showed their displeasure for our impudent behaviour by leaning on the horn as we crossed.

Rome - Day Two

The Second Day looked promising while we had breakfast at the Scusate delle Ritardo on the piazza in front of the Pantheon.  It was sunny despite the weather forecast for rain.

After breakfast we wondered down the street and attended Gabriella and Alonzo’s wedding as uninvited guests at the St. Ignazio Church.  It was a long involved wedding but St. Ignazio is a registered tourist stop and the church itself was well worth the look, as well it was cool to be part of an authentic Rome experience.  The service included the playing of Santa Maria on the pipe organ and the music was well worth the wait.  We didn’t throw rice as the couple exited the church but we did applaud along with everyone else and the bride did wave the fifty assembled tourists across the street before they entered the matrimonial car.

After the wedding we joined the “Hop On Hop Off” tour bus.  We mostly just hopped on.  It began to rain and we were luck to secure two seats on the top, near the front, undercover.  We road the bus to every tourist site in the city and enjoyed the English audio explanation for all we saw.

Colosseum in the Rain.

Tiber River

The Vatican - St. Peter's Basilica.

Trevi Fountain

The rain really put a damper on the rest of the day and while it was still 23 degrees we decided to buy groceries at the nearby Mercado and spent the night in our room watching movies on the laptop.

Trekking Day Three & Four - Pienza and Montepulciano

Much too busy (and tired) to write the last couple of days. 

As I write this I am sitting in the Albergo Duomo Hotel situated within the fortified walls of the hill city, Montepulciano established in the 900's.  The hotel served as accommodation and film location for the first vampire movie Blue Moon.  Have never seen the movie but can easily understand its allure.  Next door is the Museo della Torture.  

This is a rest and recuperation day.  It also marks the end or our group travel.

Day Three was the most serious hike of the first three days.  It was a 12 km hilly jaunt from San Quirico D’Orcia to Pienza.  I don’t know what got into us but we were rolling along at a fairly quick pace.  The experienced trekkers say it is normal.  Folks find new adjustments to their packs, adjust their walking gait to the new loads, and simply get stronger after the first two days, or in my case I threw out a shirt.  We left San Quirico D’Orcia at 9:30 am and had over an hour for lunch in an olive orchard.  We arrived at our destination two hours earlier than we planned.  The only downside (upside?) was that with time to kill and had four bottles of wine before pre-dinner drinks in addition to the obligatory liter of beer to end the day’s trek.  

We wandered the old town, met other trekkers and cyclists from around the world and enjoyed a fabulous dinner at the hotel.  Wild Boar was the restaurant specialty.  The only weird part of the evening was that we were so exhausted we were in bed before the children stopped playing in the street outside our room.  Italian little kids stay up much too late on school nights.

Deborah had a small "owie" but it didn't stop her from covering another  30 km.

Harvest Time In The Vineyards.

The final day four hike was the longest of all.  We covered 8 km before climbing and stopping for lunch at Monticchiello.  It was a little out of our way and had some 22% gravel grades but the view and lunch were worth it.  After lunch we covered the final 8 km to Montepulciano.  Evident in the pictures, it was hard slogging on the steep uphill’s but everyone in the group made it without complaint.

Entering Pienza.

Looking Toward Tomorrow's Trail from Pienza.

Leaving Pienza - Start of Day Four 

Very Top of the Hill on the Horizon - Lunch Stop - Monticchiello

Small Winery At Work.

Lunch Break in Monticchiello

Top Of the Hill.

Montepulciano - The End Is In sight.

Harvest Time.

Today marks the end for this travelling group.  Marci and Keith left us before the trekking and today we walked Sam and Cheryl to the Bus Depot and waived good bye as they left for Chiusi.  They are travelling to Rome to meet their daughters flying in from Vancouver.  They will spend the next couple of weeks with them visiting yet even more of Italy.  Tomorrow, Nola & Glen, Phil & Linda, Warren & Diane return to Florence and then on to Vancouver the next day.  We are going to look around today for bus tickets to Chuisi and will find a train to Rome.  Leave for Seattle next Wednesday and home Thursday.

Pretty Much Spent When We Arrived.

Really Big Beers to Close the Final Trekking Chapter.

Last night at the stinky beer table (in our group you are not allowed to shower and change before beers at the end of the work), Glen asked that everyone take a moment and think about what most impressed them on this trip.  The exercise didn’t make it very far around the table when we all realized we shared the same experience.  Everyone agreed that it was the "people" that made the experience so worthwhile.  Folks were most impressed with how well our group functioned.  In a group of 10 or 12 there is bound to be some friction over a two-week period.  In our case there was none.  In addition, there was not one (even minor) complaint from anyone about participating in the physically demanding activities.  Folks led when decisions needed to be made, folks followed when decisions were made.  Everyone displayed willingness at every turn to simply get a long.

Finished our stay in Montepulciano by attending a classical music concert at the Palazzo Ricci.  We listened to Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, and a bunch of Italian composers' music performed by the European Academy of Music.  Again, not my first choice of music but it was special in the moment.  Deborah found an interesting eatery for dinner and a good time was had by all.

The group chapter is ending but the Italian experience is not over for Deborah and I yet.  Stay tuned; there is more to come.