Rome: 
Day Three:
Friday September 25th, 2015

The Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica and Square, The Sistine Chapel

Again we booked a front-of-the-line tour and saved ourselves hours of wait time in the interminable lineups. Highly recommended. Our tour guide said that the mornings are worse, and the summer is impossible with even longer lineups, high humidity and heat. Something to consider when booking your holiday.

The security to get through the doors was comparable to that at an airport, with metal detectors, X-ray machines to scan bags, and security guards posted everywhere.

We took the metro to the Vatican, a wee bit confusing as the Vatican is not listed as a major stop. However when you read the fine print the train does stop at San Pietro's Square and the Vatican.





 Our trip was much smoother than the previous day. Coming home from the Coliseum during rush hour, we were 'stuffed' on to the train and had serious concerns whether we would actually be able to force our way out when we reached our stop at Manzoni. Made me think of the trains in Japan where they actually have staff to push people on the trains. Very warm, and unfortunately not enough space to bring out my trusty fan. Yeesh.

We met our tour guide on a set of steps just outside the entrance. Hundreds of people from all over the world mingled with each other, anticipation spread across the faces of all. Easily identifiable as tourists by the radios hanging around their necks via multi-coloured straps.

When we asked our tour guide's name, she paused and thought for a moment, "You can call me Maria." Made me wonder just how confusing her real name must be. Her knowledge was outstanding. She talked for three and a half hours non stop, sharing historical facts about the architecture, paintings, and sculptures, about the architects, painters and sculptures themselves, and about the emperors, and the popes who all had a hand in the creation of this amazing place. 

   When I commented on her extraordinary knowledge, she told me that being a tour guide in Rome     

   is a very difficult task. Each person  must pass a series of rigorous exams in order to qualify.

Be prepared for sensory overload

I knew the Sistine Chapel would be magnificent, but I had no concept of just how much art was held within those walls. Sculptures, paintings, tapestries, and mosaics cover every available space. even the buildings themselves are architectural wonders.

My hands itched to stroke the smooth marble surfaces and I vowed I would return to my own sculpturing when I returned home. I am not a carver, I  create my work by building up layers with clay. I would love to try my hand at carving, a very different and challenging process. Perhaps one day I will give it a go.

Stunning work; the detail is amazing, but you can see the variations in style from piece to piece. In some the proportions are just slightly off, in others, perfection. I could have spent hours just examining each piece, but we were hurried along. So much to take in, I felt dizzy with the beauty.

    Floors

Many of these incredible mosaic floors were disassembled and moved from their place of origin to the Vatican and relaid piece by piece. An incredible feat.

Ceilings

Ceiling after ceiling is covered in the works of the masters. Raphael is my favourite, (sorry Michelangelo, but then, you did try to tell the Pope you were a sculptor, not a painter.) 

We walked through hallways, courtyards, and rooms filled with treasures beyond belief, and again I found myself moved to tears. There was a presence in those rooms, a indefinable something that hinted of a power untold.

So much history. 

Walking through all those rooms, I realized something. Our future generations will not have such a wonderful record as this, for our time in history.  Our new works of art are not so enduring, many realistic paintings representing our world have been replaced by photographs and digital images. They will likely not endure in the same manner. How sad.

I also realized that my true passion lies in realism. While I can appreciate the beauty in works of modern abstract and conceptualized art, it is the depiction of the details of life with accurate realism that moves me the most. Walking through the collection of modern art in one part of the Vatican reaffirmed this.

I was quite taken aback by the number of pagan symbols throughout the Vatican City. Egyptian obelisks, Green gods, even a couple of Sphinx's. The Christians were the ultimate recyclers. They used the pagan symbols and re-purposed them into their own.

St. Peter's Basilica 





A choir was slinging while we were standing in awe in front of the alter. The voices reverberated through the basilica like the music of angels. 









The Holy Door. Opened only during Jubilee years. Following a Jubilee year, the door is walled off until the Pope takes a ammer and knocks down the wall to pen the doors to the pilgrims arriving by the thousands to celebrate the Jubilee.
The last time the door was opened was for the Great Jubilee of 2000. There will be an extra Jubilee this year, in December. Thousands of faithful Catholics from all over the world will flood the city. 


Our tour guide bemoaned the craziness this will bring to her beloved city.

Rome: 
Day Two:
Thursday September 24th, 2015
Woke up to a beautiful sunny day, with stunning azure skies. Ready to take on the day. Carpe diem.

Tim was up early and had already scoped out the route to the Colosseum, only a fifteen minute walk away. When he returned from his hour long jaunt I joined him for another quick walk around.  We grabbed our first cappuccino in Italy, with a freshly baked, warm, and sinfully delicious croissant. A most excellent start to our day.

We walked into a church, (still searching for the name) and came upon 'The Holy Stairs.' A beautiful old building, (aren't they all?) the walls and ceiling painted with beautiful scenes, and ancient marble steps where the devout lined up to take their turn to pray. 

The energy of that place was outstanding.

There was a power there, not sure what exactly, and for some inexplicable reason I found myself moved to tears.

Prayer is an entity of energy, never doubt that.

We booked a 'skip-the-line-tour' through City Wonders to The Colosseum, Palatine hill and the Roman Forum, thanks to our wonderful friend and travel agent, Kellie Neuenfeldt. Highly recommended because the line ups to get in as a single ticket purchaser are enormous.

We chose to walk, to enjoy the beautiful weather, and to take in a bit of Rome on the way. Peter navigated the uneven cobblestones well, but I can see why my friend, John, who is an amputee and often uses a chair, had difficulty during his visit. Accessibility is still an issue here.

                                          The Colosseum

Our tour guide, Helena, was fantastic, very knowledgeable and happy to answer any and all questions. I am in love with the history of this place. To experience it first hand is a dream. As a child I devoured any book I could find in our local library that had even a hint of days gone by. Too bad every student struggling through the history books in school couldn't come here for a field trip. I think we would create a whole new generation of historians if that were the case.

Hard to believe this structure has stood for almost 2000 years. Construction began in 72 AD under the guidance of the emperor Vepasian but it took two more emperors to complete the project. The correct name is actually the Flavian Amphitheatre in honour of those three Flavian emperors. It was built as a venue for public entertainment, to re-earn the favour of the Roman citizens following the turmoil of Nero's destructive reign. Entry to all shows was free. Historians have estimated that it could have held between 50,000 to 90,000 citizen.

The entire structure took only eight years to complete. Considering how long it is taking to put up and take down our Port Mann bridge, and that using every modern convenience, a pretty outstanding accomplishment.

Multiple earthquakes over the years have caused one side to collapse, but most still stands, a testament to the quality of the construction. The complexity of the architecture, including water fountains and toilets for the more important fans, is phenomenal. I can't help but think of our modern structures that are hard pressed to withstand the passage of a hundred years.

During the middle ages the Colosseum was used as a marble quarry and the beautiful white marble facade was stolen and reused, as was much of the iron used to hold the stones together. Now all that can be seen is the travertine stone used for the framework. These steps were once covered in that beautiful marble, and the bricks were not visible.

Palantine Hill

The palace on this hill was added to over the centuries by many different emperors until it covered the entire hill, complete with it's own private stadium, and an island surrounded by pools (for the emperor's use only). It faces the Circus Maximus, and arena used for executions and chariot races. The blood of more than one Christian was spilled on the sand covering the arena.  (The word arena actually means 'sand' in Latin.)

Shady spots were a blessing as the day turned out to be warmer than anticipated. The fan came out on more than one occasion. I think I saw a few women staring in envy. The sweater I brought was also great, for those brief moments when I was actually cool.

After an eight hour day of walking over uneven cobblestones and a few 2000 year old Roman roads, we were happy to return home for a dinner of, what else? Pasta.

Pasta again? I know, I know, wheat is bad for you, blah; blah, blah. But I'm in ITALY for goodness sake. I think if might actually be a sin to not eat pasta while you're in Italy. I'm only trying to be a good citizen.

Tomorrow: The Sistine Chapel, Raphael's Room, and The Vatican and San Pietro's Square, and there's a high probability of even more pasta being consumed.

Probably some more wine too.

Rome: 
Day One
Wednesday, September 23, 2015 

We took a taxi to our apartment from the Flumicino Airport for a flat rate of 60 Euro. Watch for unscrupulous drivers trying to charge more. Other options include taking the train, but with all the luggage and our level of fatigue, a taxi seemed simpler.

As our cab pulled up to the apartment, we were met at the door by Giogio, a friend of the owner's (who was in Brussels.) Impeccable timing, as I wasn't quite sure what we were going to do if no one had been there. He gave us the keys, some brief directions to orientate us, and said we could contact him with any questions.

The apartment at #92 Via Tasso was lovely, the pictures online were very accurate. Beautiful high ceilings, comfortable beds, and hot showers, couldn't ask for more. Well, maybe a dryer. During our search for accommodations, we discovered that all the apartments had washers, but none had dryers. A drying rack is included in most places. Our apartment had a clothesline strung against the side of the wall, just outside the kitchen window, six stories up. Wouldn't do to drop your unmentionables while hanging them to dry. It would be a long hike down to retrieve them.

The washers are slow, up to one and a half hours for one load. I can't imagine being a busy young  mother with two or more children, working and trying to keep up with the copious amount of dirty laundry all children seem to produce.

I recommend packing light, quick to dry items, otherwise you may have moved on to your next location before your jeans are dry.

The only down side to our location on the sixth floor, (the view was outstanding) was the very tiny, ancient, and bizarre elevator. Only three people, or one person and two suitcases, could be stuffed in at one time.

In a word, terrifying. I hate elevators. The 6th floor doesn't seem too far, but after walking for 8 hours I may succumb and climb in.

We spent most of our first day trying unsuccessfully to stay awake until at least 8:00 pm. I made it until 7:00 pm, everyone else crashed at 4:00. When I woke I was alone, Pat, Peter and Tim had headed out in search of food.

Ubiquitous coffee shops and pizzerias abound. We stumbled on one fantastic little spot only a block from our apartment. Absolutely fantastic pasta, so simple but perfectly cooked, freshly baked pizza,   pollo, insalata mista, e patata. Five euro for each, the best deal we found. It pays to check out more than one ristorante  before you decide. If you're on a budget, that is.

Back to bed by 10:30pm. Left the windows wide open, heavy rains and an excellent, cool breeze made sleeping wonderful, and the air-conditioning unnecessary. So far so good. didn't use the fan once today.

The Adventure Begins: 
Day 0:
Tuesday September 22rd, 2015

The plane ride:
We flew with Lufthansa from Vancouver to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Rome.
It was our first experience with this airline and for the most part, it was excellent. The staff were very helpful and attentive, the food palatable and despite the website assuring us that there would be alcoholic beverages for purchase, the wine was free. And after the scramble to get everything finished at work and home, making sure the dog and both daughters and my mother would be fine for the month of our absence, I needed that wine.

The seats appeared extra roomy at first glance.  I could actually cross my legs, unlike our flight on Air Transit to London last summer, due to the cut away bottom portion of the seat. However, be warned.

Do not cross your legs.

The person in front of me decided to push their seat back an hour into the flight. No warning, so slow move backwards, the seat crashed into my knees and almost crushed me. Gasping, I detangled my now bruised legs and slid further back into my seat.

Apparently I have a rather steep learning curve because I promptly forgot the pain of the moment and proceeded to cross my legs and have them crushed on three more occasions.

So much for roomy seats.

We were about thirty minutes late leaving, waiting for our last passenger who finally ran on board, panic oozing from every pore.

'Silly person,' I thought, 'who would take a chance like that.'

Never be smug.

We arrived in Frankfurt on schedule. Do pilots speed? We had 1 hour and 45 minutes to make our connection. Lots of time, right?

Wrong.

The line up at customs, the line up at the passport check, the line up to get out, the 20 minute frantic run through the airport to, of course, the very last gate took one hour and thirty five plus minutes. We were the last people on the plane.

That is an experience I do not wish to repeat. Ever.

Sorry panicked man on our morning flight. I did not understand.

At this point I had no idea what time of day it was, morning I think. Probably not a good idea to have a glass of wine for breakfast, so I refrained. But let it be recorded here, I wanted that wine.

Our flight to Rome was 1 hour and 45 minutes. Our luggage took 1 hour and 10 minutes to arrive at the baggage terminal. I was beginning to think it had flown on a separate flight.

Thank goodness all finally bags arrived and we were met by Pat and Peter who had arrived an hour earlier from Halifax.

Next Post: 
Rome: Day One or Two, or something

Third Step: 

Packing

September in Italy can consist of warm days with warm nights, warm days with cold nights, cold days with cold nights, hot days with warm nights, or hot days with cold nights. So what to pack?

Layers. Always layers. Short sleeve tops, light sweaters, warm sweaters, and of course, rain coats for the surprise downpours that come from nowhere and pound down in intense sheets of water for a few minutes before disappearing in a burst of colorful glory. Or an umbrella, but I always lose those, so I tend to go with a raincoat. Found a great one that folds up into a tiny pouch.

A water bottle.

Fresh, cool, potable water flows from numerous sources throughout the city of Rome. Bring your own bottle and fill up as many times as needed. A welcome discovery for those of us looking for a nice cold drink to cool those overheated internal furnaces.

A fan. 

Not an electric fan, although those are great. I brought one to London last summer and fried it within the first minute of turning it on, even with a convertor. So ditch those and bring a person fan or a medieval-damsel, lady-from-the-deep-south manually operated fan. When you are trapped inside an overheated, muggy, or stuffy anything, and are desperate for a puff of air, any air, these can be a God-send.

Comfortable walking shoes.

Uneven cobblestones, extra-high curbs, and ancient Roman roads paved with irregular basalt stones can be a hazard for anyone with balance issues, ankle, knee, or hip problems. A sturdy pair of shoes with a nice shock-absorbing sole is invaluable and highly recommended.

Rick Steves Audio Europe.
Download this app on your phone, Ipod, Ipad, or whatever electronic device you can get it on. Then select the tours that you would like to listen to and download those as well. All free. And how many times to you find something for free? Well, except for all the wonderful cold drinking water in Rome, oh and all those samples from Costco.
But you get the idea.

A set of earphones.
Great for the plane ride, but also for listening to Rick Steves, or any guided tour where they give you those horrible don't-fit-into-anyone's-ears earphones. Then you can listen in the comfort of your own clean, and perfectly fitting earphones.

Maps:
You can purchase a version of Offline Maps for your electronice device and download the cities you need, (we did this) or you can stop at a gas station when you get to Italy and buy a hard copy. Invaluable for planning your day's excursions.

G.P.S.
Essential if you are driving anywhere. Not that I would recommend driving in the larger cities, especially Rome. Those drivers could give the ones in Paris a run for their money. However if you are driving in the country-side, having that annoying robotic voice tell you which way to turn will be a blessing. Bring yours from home and download the software for Italy. If you choose to get the GPS from the car rental places, it will cost a fortune.

International Driver's Licence.
According to our wonderful travel agent, Kellie Neuenfeldt, you can be fined if you don't have one with you. They are inexpensive and easy to get, so why take a chance?

Next post:
The Adventure Begins:

Italy 2015

The Plan

They say planning your trip can be as rewarding as the trip itself. Well, maybe.

No, let's be serious. It's not even close, but it can help build the anticipation and that in itself is a good thing.

Our planning started last fall, when my sister-in-law, Pat, and brother-in-law, Peter,
joined us in Hawaii for a short vacation. Peter had only recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's. His doctor told he and his wife, "If you want to travel, do it now."

One evening, while sipping our Mai Tai's, we decided mutually that our next adventure would be Italy. We knew that Peter could not tolerate the rigorous demands of a tour group, so decided to plan our own trip, one with a more leisurely schedule. We would spend three weeks travelling to our must see places, a few days in Rome, Florence, Venice, and a little longer in Tuscany.

Tim and I would add a one week cruise leaving from Venice, after Pat and Peter returned home. Our itinerary would include two other places on my bucket list, Turkey and Croatia.

Upon reaching a decision on our destination, and the time of year we would travel, (late September, early October) I immediately began to plan for my personal survival, i.e. how to cope with hot flashes in a warm environment not likely to have air conditioning.

I have spent the past ten months on this endeavour. I volunteered to look for places to stay. (I had an ulterior motive, I wanted to be sure any place we stayed would at least have a fan, or even better, air-conditioning.)

First step: Accommodations: We decided to go with VRBO - Vacation Rentals By Owner, to keep our costs down. Turns out there are literally thousands of places to stay. The trick was to narrow our search to places with two bedrooms, an elevator or at least no stairs, a central location and of course, air-conditioning. So many choices, and a bit nerve racking when your decision is based on whatever pictures you can find posted online and as many reviews as are available to read.

We settled on:
In Rome: a two bedroom apartment, newly renovated with a lovely updated kitchen, two beautiful bathrooms, living room, small veranda, five minutes from the Metro, ten minutes from the Central Train  Station, and fifteen minutes from the Colosseum, and most importantly, air-conditioning.

In Tuscany, or Montaione to be exact (a small rural community one hour from Florence, Pisa, and Sienna, and thirty minutes from the coast,) a 17th century mansion, later turned into a post office and later still into twenty one separate apartments. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, multi layer decks, two pools, overlooking an organic vineyard. The pictures look stunning.

No air-conditioning, which I was initially worried about, but upon corresponding with our host I discovered the building has two foot stone walls which are great insulators, and is on a hill top where the breezes are lovely and cool. Also, he will provide me with a fan. (I took my own to London last summer but even with a convertor, I fried it within two minutes of plugging it in.) So I am hopeful I will survive.

In Venice, I found a beautiful two bedroom apartment on the Grand Canal, directly across from the Frari church, (a must see for any art lovers, according to the esteemed Rick Steves, travel correspondent extraordinaire,) With air-conditioning and an extra fan, just in case.

Second step: What to see?
We are spending 18 days in Italy. Seems like a long time, but really, there are so many amazing things to see, do, eat, and drink, you must limit yourself. Otherwise you will be so busy travelling place to place you will be too exhausted and overwhelmed to embrace this wonderful country with the verve it deserves.
Pick and choose, and come back.

We chose:

Rome: Four days: The Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, The Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, with free time to just wander and enjoy the city.
And eat pasta, drink wine, and probably eat some more pasta.

Montaione: We will spend ten days here, in our hopefully wonderful apartment. We will rent a car in Florence so that we can make day trips to the surrounding areas.

Florence: We will make two separate day trips as this is an easy 50 km commute from Montaione. Our visit will include the Accademia Museum, because of course we need to see David, the Ponte Vecchio, and whatever museums/ churches we wander into.

Cinque Terre:
On my bucket list for sure. We will take the train from out place in Montaione and stay overnight, spending one day each visiting two or three towns.
It is always a good idea to check which trails are open as flooding and slides often close many. We discovered that several trails will be closed when we are there but there are other options for getting to each of the five towns: by boat, or train.

Of note, apparently 4:30 pm is the 'bug witching hour' where swarms of some sort of insects attack unwary travellers. Bring bug repellent of some form.

This is true for most of Tuscany, at least in the fall, in both cities and towns.

Pisa: because we have to take that silly picture holding up the tower, right?

San Gimignano a small walled medieval hill town known for its many intact tower houses and also for its white wine Vernaccia di San Gimignano, made from the ancient variety of Vernaccia grapes.
Of course we will be sampling, I'm sure it's obligatory.

Siena: The historic centre of Siena has been declared a World Heritage Site and is one of Italy's most visited tourist attractions. I see more pasta and wine consumption heading our way.

Venice: We will spend three days here, wandering the streets and getting lost, part of the Venetian experience I'm told. Our visit will include a gondola trip, because it's Venice and we HAVE to, a visit to the series of islands known as Murano, known for its stunning hand made glass, a visit to Burano, known for it's lovely coloured houses and lace making, and hopefully a Vivaldi concert in a church somewhere.

Next post: Third Step, packing.