Look kids, nuns, monks

After a very long day of travel (US Air, your seats are ridiculously close together and your flight attendants are not so nice, but God bless your in seat on demand video), we are home after the whirlwind that was Rome. As relaxing and peaceful our time was in Tuscany, Rome was the exact opposite! Here are some of my best memories from our time there:

When you walked out of our apartment and looked right, there was the colosseum. I know. It never got old.

Cappuccinos and cornetti for breakfast every morning-two doors away from the apartment entrance. The coffee was SO good.

I loved walking around Trastevere and eating there at 10 Friday night made me feel like a real Roman. The food was amazing. This is the recurring theme of our trip.

I was disappointed in St. Peter's and I really disliked the area around it. Every other church we went into in Italy had such a reverent feeling and people were posing for silly pictures by St. Peters' confession booths and making "I'm cool" signs for pictures in front of the Pieta (thankfully, none of them were Americans). It just didn't feel like I expected it to and while I'm glad I've seen it (the scale is hard to imagine without actually being there), I was really glad to leave. We decided ahead of time we were going to forgo the Vatican Museum and I'm glad we made that decision. So, we did, in fact, go to Rome and not see the Sistine Chapel.

Dinner Saturday night at der Pallaro was one of the best meals we had on the whole trip. I loved they just bring out whatever Signora Paola is cooking that day. It was all delicious and unique. The lentils were probably my favorite, maybe because they tasted a lot my my grandmother's black-eyed peas? That's kind of what it felt like, eating at your Italian grandmother's house.

Trevi Fountain is way bigger than I expected and you should definitely see it at night. Same for the Spanish steps. The colosseum looks smaller from the outside than I expected, but bigger once you are inside.

Bafetto for pizza on Saturday night was delicious and quite an experience. I loved watching the waiters yell at each other (really wish I understood more Italian) and Margaret did get a smile out of the very gruff pizza maker.

Walking through Piazza Navona one night, watching the street performers and listening to a guy play guitar. He happened to be playing one of my favorite songs (Fragile) and it was a beautiful combination of sights, sounds, smells, etc. Oddly, that song was also on the radio in the car on the way to the airport.

We had great Gelato in Rome, at Gelataria della Scalla, the Crematorium, and ending at Giolitti (probably the most famous) on our last night there. My favorite combo is a tie between dark chocolate/hazelnut and chocolate/pistachio.

One down side to all of these sights, is the constant hawking of roses, toys for the kids, etc. These are not like NY street vendors where you approach them if you are interested. They get up in your face and won't leave you alone. I know they are trying to make a living, but it is irritating when you just want to enjoy the moment.

Our new German friends had the perfect description for how we wanted to experience Italy. They describe it as "inhaling" a place. We didn't want to go from place to place, take pictures, walk by the art and hurry on to the next thing. Some of my favorite times on this trip have been sitting and eating or having a drink and watching the world go by.

Like Scott has said in previous posts, we will post more of the details of the trip. I plan on captioning the pictures, putting together a slide show (want to come over and see the slides from our vacation?), etc. That's assuming I ever get the laundry done.

Day Fifteen - Ostia Antica And Rome

We took a day trip out of Rome to the seaside village of Ostia Antica yesterday.  Ostia was the first and primary port city for the Roman civilization, founded about 400 years B.C.  The city was covered by a swamp during the middle ages, after the river changed direction and was abandoned.  It was first rediscovered in the 19th century and the archaeological digs started in earnest in the 20th century.

The trip to Ostia is an easy Metro ride of about 40 minutes.  We met Danilo there, a tour guide recommended to me by someone in the US.  It turned out that Danilo was much more than a tour guide, and he brought this ancient city to life.  We walked through each section of the city, which was much larger than we had expected.  The city is a picture of "real life" during ancient Rome.  Pompeii was the center of wealth, but Ostia was the center of commerce and regular people's way of life.  It was interesting to see not only where and how people lived, but where they worshiped the Roman gods, where they baked their bread, and where commerce was conducted.  There were stunning mosaics that are still very well preserved that told the story of life in the city.  The kids had an absolute ball, climbing all over the walls and ducking in and out of all of the housing, exploring tunnels and the theater.

We spent about four hours there, learning about not only this part of Rome but also the rule of the Caesars, the foundations of La Cosa Nostra, and also modern Italian politics.  Danilo, who is a teacher in Italy today, was fascinating and truly amazing in his depth of knowledge of the rich history of modern-day Italy.

We took the train back into Rome after eating a lunch of freshly sliced meats and cheeses in Ostia.  After some much-needed R&R, we took the bus over to Baffeto, a restaurant touted to have "the best pizza in Rome."  We heard about it from the guy who is renting us our apartment.  By the time we got there ( about 7:30 ) a small line had formed.  Given that Italians usually don't eat till at least 8, it was a good sign that there was already a line.  We got sat right beside where they actually make the pizzas, which initially I thought was a lousy seat.  However, after about five minutes we realized we had the best seats in the house.  The assembly line to crank out the pizzas was crazy fast.  There was a guy that, for the entire time we were there ( about 2 hours ), rolled out one pizza after another at a remarkable pace.  The next guy put all of the toppings on and managed the oven process.  The waiters periodically stopped by to pick up their orders and, from what we could tell, argue a lot about who got which pizzas.  The owner walked around just sort of keeping order, and the owner's wife managed the money.  It was completely insane, and a lot of fun to watch.  Oh, and the pizza was delicious.  Baffetos is an absolute must for a stop in Rome.

After dinner we went to Crematoria for gelato, which is right by the Pantheon.  They had peach gelato there ( it was the first time I had seen it on the trip ), so I got peach and banana.  Everyone else got pretty much their standard flavors.

After another short walk, we caught the bus back to our apartment and crashed.  Today is our last day in Italy.  We are headed to the coliseum and some of the other more famous landmarks right around us, then probably back to Baffetos for dinner to finish things off.

What an amazing trip it has been.  We leave Italy about 11:00 tomorrow morning and land in Charlotte around 4 in the afternoon.  We posted some pictures last night from the first few days in Rome, and will post a bunch more when we get home.

Thanks for reading along with us.  When we get back we will write in detail about what we packed, how we got around, and other things that might be interesting for anyone considering making a similar trip.

Day Fourteen - Day Two In Rome

We got a late start yesterday morning after having some difficulty locating either ( a ) a supermarket or ( b ) a decent breakfast place.  We eventually found some fuel to get going and headed for St. Peters Square.  It was our first trip on the Roman subway system and our first real encounter on this trip with massive crowds.  The day was going to be hot and long.

We got off the subway at St. Peters and walked into what has been our least favorite part of this trip.  The street from the subway to the Piazza was lined with all manner of people hawking all manner of goods and services, including private tours of the vatican, cheap luggage, sunglasses, and everything else under the sun.  The people selling were very aggressive, shoving things into our faces the entire way to the square.  Once we got to St. Peters, the line to get into the basilica was quite long.  As we took the time to look around, it was an amazing spectacle.  We happened to get in line behind this group of French tourists that were taking pictures every three steps.  Apparently they wanted pictures of each other from every possible angle in front of the church.  We were constantly getting people cutting in line because of the wide gaps they were causing, so I eventually got upset enough that I started to walk around them and get in front.  That seemed to put the kibosh on their picture taking for the time being.

We eventually made our way inside the church.  I can't begin to explain how massive the building itself is.  We had planned to make our way to the top of the dome, but the line for that was too long and moving too slow, so we passed on that.  The first part of the tour took us down into the crypt where all of the popes are buried.      We saw the grave of Pope John Paul II, the only pope I really remember in my lifetime.  There were people stopping to throw roses on his grave as we went past.  After a bit of delay, we made it up into the main sanctuary.  They had significant portions of it roped off, but we walked around the parts that were open and learned about the various points of important architecture.  Dominating the interior of the church is the eight-story bronze baldacchino, the papal alter.  The bronze to make the alter was taken from the pantheon.  This massive structure looks small in the context of the rest of the building, to give you some perspective on how large the interior space is.  There was also a mass happening in the midst of thousands of people milling about and taking pictures.  We saw people posing for pictures in confessionals and just about everywhere else.  After having been in cathedrals in other parts of Italy where silence was strictly enforced, as well as no picture taking, we found the scene at the root of Catholicism to be more than a bit strange.

We finished up our tour of St Peters with a few pictures from the outside.  We had decided to skip the Sistine Chapel before we got to Rome.  We got back on the metro after a quick lunch and went back to the apartment.  The kids were burnt out from a very late night the night before, so we spent an hour and a half or so letting them rest for a bit.

We then headed out for a night on the town.  We took the metro to Piazza Del Popolo and walked around there for a half an hour or so.  There was some definite sketchiness both in and around the piazza, and not much was happening, so we boarded a bus and went to Piazza Novana on our way to Campo D'Fiori.  We ate dinner at Trattoria Der Pallaro.  We had gotten several recommendations for this spot before our trip.  There is no menu at this restaurant.  You eat whatever they are making on that day, and the menu changes daily.  It is a four-course meal including wine, and it was easily the best meal of our trip.  We started the antipasti, which consisted of a plate of salami and some other meat that could have been pastrami or prosciutto.  We also had a plate of fresh fennel, some corn fritters ( or at least that is what they tasted like ) and a plate of spicy lentils.  The second course was a dish of two kinds of pasta.  There was a tomato pasta  and a butter pasta that had chunks of panchetta in it.  Both were delicious.  Following the pasta, we had a serving of what I would describe as pot roast, served with fresh mozzarella.  The last course was a healthy portion of pastry cake served with fresh strawberries.  It was an amazing meal.

We left the restaurant needing to walk off our food.   We wandered up the Via Del Corso to Trevi Fountain ( along with the rest of Rome it appeared ).  It is so nice to walk around Rome at night.  All of the monuments and things are lit up, making for some great scenery.  After leaving the Trevi fountain, we headed for the Spanish steps.  We made our way to the top which provided an incredible view of the top of the city.  It was 11:00 and our kids were about to drop over, so we jumped on the metro and headed for the apartment.

The day had started with a less than favorable experience at St Peters, but ended with a great night out, enjoying Rome at its finest.

Today we are going to Ostia Antica, and not sure what else.  We are meeting a friend of a friend there, who is  going to walk us around a bit today.

Until tomorrow...

Day Thirteen - Day One in Rome

Friday morning brought the unenviable task of having to pull away from San Giovanni and Tuscany.  We got on the A1 and drove the two and a half hours south, back to Fiumicino Airport to return our Fiat Grande Punto.  Though it was a very uncomfortable car, it for some reason was a teary ( OK, not really ) goodbye as we left it in the parking lot at the airport.

We took a taxi to our short term rental in Rome at 80 Via Labicana.  From the map, we knew we were close to the coliseum, but I don't think we were prepared for how close we actually were.  Our drive in was harrowing, confirming what everyone has said about driving in Rome.  It is Florence on steroids.  The streets go every direction except straight, and the cars again just sort of drive where they want.  The scooters are everywhere.  We were really glad we had decided not to attempt driving in Roma Centro.

We got to our apartment, got our things up the lift ( the kids love the lift because it has a gate and two doors you have to close on your own ), and went to get lunch and explore Rome for a bit.  We had some sandwiches at the tabaccheria right below our apartment, and it promptly started pouring rain.  Apparently whenever we enter an Italian city, it must rain to welcome us.  The rain persisted in varying strengths for a few hours, then about four or so it started to clear.

We made our way to Trestavere, a neat little neighborhood across the Tiber river from the rest of Rome.  We had read about a gelateria there that was supposedly out of this world, Gelateria De La Scalla.  We found it after getting a decent city map, and my oh my was it good.  I had banana for the first time, and it was fabulous.  Everyone agreed that this was our new favorite.

We took a walk back across the river and wandered through Piazza Navona and Campo Di Fiori.  Piazza Navona was great because there were lots of things happening.  The street performers were out in full force, and we enjoyed watching various musicians and performers do their thing.

We came back to the apartment after that and got dressed for dinner.  We took a short cab ride back to Trestavere and La Lucia for some pasta.  Shelley and Charlie had tortellini, Margaret had some fabulous pasta with panchetta in it, and I had some pasta that had a combination of crack cocaine and other fabulous ingredients.  We sat outside and ate dinner till close to 11 o'clock.  There were people everywhere as we wandered back to a main road and caught a cab back.  Rome was just getting started as we were turning in.

The kids did a fabulous job of hanging in there for a very long day, and crashed as soon as we got back to the apartment.  A day well spent.

Today we are going to the Vatican and St Peters.  We can't wait.

Day Twelve - Podere Ampella

We spent Thursday hanging out at our new favorite home away from home.  We went and had pizza for lunch at Il Paradiso in Trequanda, then spent the afternoon washing clothes and enjoying the sunshine.  I took a nap out on the lawn while Shelley and the kids were reading.

We had planned to go to Monte Oliveto to hear the monk's services, but we decided to skip it.  We were getting ready to go have dinner when some of our neighbors staying in the same villas came over to chat.  They are a very nice German family whose son had taught our kids to play boccie earlier in the week.  We got to talking, opened a new bottle of wine, and ended up sitting there eating meets and cheeses and watching the sun go down.  It was a great way to end our time in Tuscany, a trip that I don't think any of us will soon forget.

It smells like Biloxi, Mississippi

So, I had pretty much written off Venice. It was niggling at me to be so close and not see it. When Scott proposed we go, I jumped at the chance. I knew it would be a long day for everyone, and just hoped it would be worth it, Like Florence, I have heard mixed reviews about Venice, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The drive in was ugly. I just didn't think any part of Italy should be ugly. It's even ugly as you are walking into the city. On the drive across the causeway, I said out loud, "It smells just like Biloxi, Mississippi." That's not something I wanted to utter while here. I was just thinking we were on a fool's errand when I rounded the corner and actually saw the city. I knew then it would be a special day. We kind of went bass-ackwards though the city, but it was like we were the only people there. Around every corner was a photo waiting to happen. We started to follow signs to San Marco and emerged on the grand canal by the Rialto bridge. Ah-here is where all the people are! We plunged into the throng and made our way to the end of the town. You are cramped all the way through Venice with tiny, almost claustrophobic streets until you come out into huge St. Mark's square.

I have seen a lot of things that amazed me, but this may take the cake. The sheer size of everything, the music playing, etc. It's like nothing I have ever seen before. It brought tears to my eyes. You just want to run through it yelling "I'm in Venice!" We usually abhor touristy things, and the gondola ride was outrageous, but we did it anyway.

I hate to think we almost missed Venice. Having said that, I don't know I would go back. I think it's one of those places that you should see, but it's not really a place I want to hang out. So, like others, I guess I have mixed reviews about Venice.

I've spent a little time today making some plans for Rome. I can't wait. The only bad thing about going to Rome is it means our trip is drawing to a close.

Look kids, olives, grapes

Whew-I have some catching up to do. We are spending the day lazing about, washing clothes and doing some re-grouping before we take on Rome.

A few things to add about our second day in Florence. Margaret and I did get to do some shopping, and went across town to the perfumerie at the Farmacia di Santa Maria Novella, where the nuns have been making perfume since 1612. It was the most beautiful place I have ever shopped, to say the least. We had a great time sniffing everything and peeking through a gate at the back of the shop into the courtyard of the convent. I bought some perfume for myself and some soap for Margaret. We also sprayed room spray on ourselves and were about to buy some....when the nice salesperson let us know what it was. The perfume is in the other room. Oops! We got lost in translation. I did buy some of the best smelling perfume. On that note, Italian men all seem to smell really good and dress nicely. They have earned their stereotype.

I had misplaced my lip gloss, and can not stand to have dry lips, so Margaret and I ducked into a farmacia and bought blistex from the most beautiful Italian pharmacist. Seriously, I could not stop staring at her.

It was a very tiring day, and I was a little grumbly about hiking up the Piazzale Michelangelo, then walking all the way across town to the car. Scott really wanted to do it and I am so glad we did. The view was stunning. I had heard pretty mixed review about Florence, but our experience there was great.

Montepulciano was beautiful, but as Charlie said when we pulled in "Haven't we already been here?" The hill towns do start to run together a bit. He had been excited to visit Adamo since we saw him on a Rick Steve's video. It was one of the best experiences of the trip. He was welcoming and funny and so worth going to see. When he said "American?, Adamo famoso in America," I knew it was going to be good. BTW, I know it's a bit of sacrilege around here, but I think I like the Vino Nobile better than the Brunello, but we will keep that to ourselves for now. I did buy some gorgeous, red, suede driving shoes at Maledetti Toscani (handmade Italian shoes since 1848). I could drop some serious dough in there...

All in all, wonderful days. Sitting on the back patio with a glass of wine (and no mosquitoes) watching the pink and purple sunset has been one of the best parts.