Italy 2019

April - May 2019
We will be visiting Rome for 3 days then enjoying a 13-day tour with Great Tours of Italy. We are looking forward to soaking up the sights and sounds and smells and tastes of Bella Italia!
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  • 17days
  • 227photos
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  • 1.5kkilometers
  • Day 1 - Friday, April 19 - Off to Italy!

    April 15, 2019 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    And so, our next adventure has begun! It's a little weird to be traveling on Good Friday evening, but that's just the way the best flight arrangements worked out. Our last minute preparations (laundry - not critical; downloading movies from Netflix - critical) almost got scuttled by a power blackout in the morning. Fortunately, after marking time for 1.5 hours, we were back in gear. A few minutes after I got home from Good Friday service, we left home in rainy conditions and headed for the airport. We pulled into the parking lot where I had booked a reservation for 6:00 p.m. at exactly 6:00 p.m. A positive sign....

    After checking our luggage, we flashed our Nexus cards to bypass the regular security screening lineups. But, there was no lineup! Those cards have proven very useful in the past and will in the future for speeding up the screening process.

    Our flight on Air Transat left on time at 9:15 p.m. We were flying Club Class - larger seats and more importantly, more legroom. Lovely service. We bypassed the full dinner at 10:30 p.m. but indulged in the warm bread and a fabulous chocolate brownie.

    We had very mild turbulence along the way, and a call for a physician to deal with a medical emergency. Didn't relish the thought of having to do an emergency landing in London. So, it wasn't a good night for sleep. Breakfast at 4:30 a.m. our time. Yikes!

    We landed early due to the strong tail winds. Time was about noon - Italy is 6 hours ahead of Ontario. Passport control was fast but baggage claim was slow - those Club Class tags didn't seem to do much good. Doug, who is very, very prone to motion sickness when there is turbulence on planes, had no problems. So, we should be good to play tourist tomorrow.

    We finally rendezvoused with our driver. We lost some time there. Doug was looking for a sign with our surname - the way the swanky people are greeted at airports in the movies. The driver was holding a sign with the name of the tour company - Great Tours of Italy. Note to self - always make sure husband knows name of tour company!!

    Çiao from Bella Italia!
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  • Day 2

    Day 2 - Sat, April 20 - made it to Rome!

    April 20, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Our driver, Giuseppe, drove us in glorious sunshine to our hotel. The temperature is in the low 20s. Lovely after that depressing rain that hopefully we have left back home.

    We are staying for the next 6 nights at the Hotel Roma Aurelia Antica. We checked in and worked on our aim for tomorrow - mass for Easter Sunday at St. Patrick's Church at 10:30 a.m. The mass will be in English and have a full choir. Front desk will order a taxi for us. The church is about 11 km away. We plan to explore Rome afterwards - it's just 1.5 km to the famous Trevi Fountain. We might try the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus to get a feel for the old city.

    Our next effort - a 3-hr nap. We were both knackered. The room is very nice - lovely sheets. Temperature control is still a mystery. Not much English stuff on TV - we could be watching a lot of Bloomberg News over the next 2.5 weeks. Hey - there's a bidet in the bathroom. Might give that a whirl/swirl to add to our life experiences!

    Next step - dinner at 7:00 p.m. in the hotel restaurant. There are no shops or cafés anywhere near this hotel. It's pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Service at the restaurant was a bit haphazard. Food was good though - I had salmon and grilled vegetables. Doug did a carbo load with Spaghetti Carbonara. Had to pay for tap water. That just doesn't feel right. We skipped dessert - couldn't justify it after all the sitting around we had done in the preceding 24 hours.

    We went for a short walk around the building after dinner. We ventured out onto the access road, but there are no sidewalks and there is barbed wire on the fences. We scurried back to the hotel compound only to see many, many police officers. Whew - they were checking in. There is a convention centre attached to this hotel, so we assume that they are here for a conference.

    So, we are in for the night now after a side trip to the gift shop where we found good Italian chocolate. We earned it after that 10-minute walk. On the TV, we are watching the Copenhagen Symphony Orchestra playing Ravel. Music requires no translation. Lovely.

    No pics for today's footprint. Only selfie we took was a dud...we'll take two tomorrow.

    New adventures for tomorrow - Easter Sunday - the day our Lord rose from the dead. Alleluia!
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  • Day 3

    Day 3 - Sun, April 21 - Exploring Rome

    April 21, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Buona Pasqua!! Happy Easter to all!

    Our plan to get 8 full hours of deep sleep got scuttled at 12:30 a.m. by what I considered to be firecrackers and what Doug considered to be gunshots - seeing all those police in the lobby last night must have influenced his thinking. It took both of us a long time to resettle, so we were both a bit groggy when the alarm sounded at 7:30 a.m.

    Breakfast is included in our stay here. The buffet was very extensive and nicely presented. The strong Italian coffee was palatable once I added lots of milk. We reported to the lobby about 9:30 a.m. and had the lady at the desk call a taxi for us. They have a cool system - the desk person issues the customer a call receipt with the vehicle number of the taxi responding. No squabbling over whose taxi is whose. We got to St. Patrick's Church in good time, so we walked around the neighbourhood for a few minutes. We noticed that the buildings are a maximum of six storeys. I just Googled that - no building in the historic central part of Rome can exceed the height of dome of St. Peter's Basilica which is 136 meters. We also noticed that beautiful wrought iron is used on almost all buildings. It's an art form unto itself.

    Mass began at 10:30 a.m. Music was provided by the St. Patrick's Choristers, a group of 10 singers, many of whom are probably professional singers. They were glorious. The mass was said by Fr. Greg Apparcel; he was assisted by Fr. Tre Dong who was visiting from New York City. They are both Paulist priests. My uncle, Fr. Wilfrid (Bill) Dewan is a Paulist - he recently moved from NYC to Toronto. We talked to Fr. Greg and Fr. Tre after mass and Fr. Greg does indeed know Fr. Bill and sent his warm regards. What a delightful bit of travel serendipity!

    Next destination - Piazza del Popolo. The temperature was about 20 deg. C and a bit overcast - perfect for walking and gawking. We headed there via Piazza di Spagna, one of the most famous squares in Rome. Piazza di Spagna, at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, is one of the most famous squares in Rome (Italy). It owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, seat of the Embassy of Spain among the Holy See. The square is a riot of people milling around the fountain, mostly looking at the hundreds of people perched on the stairs. (Apparently, the stairs are a site of great canoodling by young and old alike in the evenings!)

    The Spanish Steps are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top.

    The monumental stairway of 174 steps was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds of 20,000 scudi, in 1723–1725 to link the Bourbon Spanish Embassy, and the Trinità dei Monti church that was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France, both located above — to the Holy See in Palazzo Monaldeschi located below. The stairway was designed by architects Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi.

    From there, we walked to Piazza del Popolo, a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the poplars (populus in Latin, pioppo in Italian) after which the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, in the northeast corner of the piazza, takes its name.

    The piazza lies inside the northern gate in the Aurelian Walls, once the Porta Flaminia of ancient Rome, and now called the Porta del Popolo. This was the starting point of the Via Flaminia, the road to Ariminum (modern-day Rimini) and the most important route to the north. At the same time, before the age of railroads, it was the traveller's first view of Rome upon arrival. Since it was our first time at the Piazza, we celebrated by having gelato for lunch.

    The centre of the square is dominated by a 10-storey obelisk that once graced the temple of Ramses II in Egypt and the Roman Circus Maximus racetrack. (We learned about Ramses II last year when we visited Egypt.) The obelisk was brought to Rome by Augustus after he conquered Egypt, and then moved from the racetrack to this location in 1589 as one of the square's beautification projects. In medieval times, this area was just inside Rome's main entry as evidenced by the thick iron-studded gates nearby.

    There are three churches, all dedicated to Mary in the square - one on the north side and two on the south side. Two large fountains, dedicated to Neptune (on the west) and Roma (on the east), grace the sides of the square.

    From there, we started heading south down the Via Del Corso, doing what Rick Steves, my favourite travel writer, calls "The Dolce Vita Stroll." (Keeping the street vehicle-free are soldiers armed with machine guns. Do not attempt to take a picture of them.) All along the street we saw shoppers, people watchers (ourselves included), incredibly expensive/high-end stores, Took a moment to duck into the Ferrari store and the Fendi shoe store. Such self-control. We detoured around the Mausoleum of Augustus. It's a massive, round, brick structure, overgrown with cypress trees. It honours Rome's first emperor. The sited is slated for restoration soon.

    We eventually found ourselves at the Victor Emmanuel Monument. This enormous monument to Italy's first king, built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's unification in 1861, was part of Italy's push to create a national identity. The place is simply over-the-top: 200 feet high, 500 feet wide. The 43-foot-long statue of the king on his horse is one of the biggest horse statues in the world. Italy's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is at the base of the statue.

    It began to spit rain a bit, so we hunkered down on a bench and consult the map for the 100th time of the day. See observation #7 below. The rain stopped so we headed west,. Along the way, we decided it was time for an early dinner. We found a little restaurant with good prices and split a pizza and a salad and then had tiramisu for dessert. Had to pay for water again. Sigh.....

    We found Piazza Navona. It's a long, oblong square full of fountains, outdoor cafés, churches and throngs of tourists. This piazza began as a racetrack, part of the training grounds built here by Emperor Domitian around A.D. 80. The Colosseum opened that years also - Rome was at its peak. Around 1600, the piazza got a major renovation as a result of beautification projects offered by scandalized popes as peace offerings to the public.

    On Easter Sunday night, commerce was alive well in the piazza with street vendors selling paintings and knock off merchandise (Michael Kors purses stacked on the curb). There were street performers (mimes, Bubbleman, magicians), portrait sketchers, spray paint artists and musicians. What a riot of sights and sounds and smells!

    We finally admitted that we were touristed out for the day. We got a taxi and came home. One of us tackled her homework; the other is reading an e-book - the internet speed is too slow for streaming videos. Good thing I got those downloads done on Friday.

    A few observations from today:

    1. "When in Rome, do as the Romans." That means cross on a red light or you will waste half your precious time in Rome at a standstill. So far, so good with that bit of dangerous living.
    2. Scooters (the Vespa type) and motorcycles in Rome are not the life-threatening machines to pedestrians that they are in Nice, France. Maybe weekday traffic will see that change.
    3. Legal taxis in Rome are white with blue lettering and a maroon medallion on the driver's side door. Good to know.
    4. Not all things get translated cleanly here. The sign on the window in our room claims, "The window opening breakdown the air condition working." Pretty sure that means, "Keep the window closed during the warm weather."
    5. You need to know your Roman numerals to decipher signs on monuments, buildings and gates. We are whizzes at this little game because we are almost as ancient as Rome and so had to study the Roman numeral system in school.
    6. Look for a foot pedal when there is no apparent way to get water to come out of a tap.
    7. When traveling with your spouse, consult the map often, really often. This will save your marriage.

    It's been a full day. Our plan for tomorrow: head back to the city. The hotel runs a shuttle bus that will drop us close to the Vatican. There is a "Heart of Rome Walk" in my Rick Steves' book. We will take a taxi home so we won't have to lock ourselves into the shuttle time schedule.

    Because I'm restricted to 10 photos per footprint, today will have several footprints.

    Hope you can continue to travel along with us!
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  • Day 4

    Day 4 - Mon, April 22 - More exploring

    April 22, 2019 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Our wakeup call for today at 8:15 a.m. was a dog (in the hotel!!!) howling to be let out. We were up for the day after the din went on for over 20 minutes.

    We took it easy after breakfast, opting for the 11:30 a.m. shuttle into the city rather than the 10:00 a.m. one. The shuttle dropped us a shopping centre. We booted up Google Maps (since we were out of the area shown on our paper maps) and plotted our walking route into the old part of the city. Our walk took us through some of the less glamorous areas of Rome. The city, outside of the main tourist areas, has a bad, bad litter problem.

    We eventually found ourselves at St. Peter's Square where I and 120,000 fellow pilgrims celebrated the canonization of Mother Teresa in September of 2016. That was a beautiful moment for me that I will cherish forever. The square was very busy, with many people pouring out of it. I found out later that the pope celebrated mass there at noon. We walked over one of the many bridges crossing the River Tiber than runs through Rome and made our way back to Piazza Navona. We had lunch in a little café and did some serious people watching. There were light sprinkles of rain - much better than the major downpour that had been predicted.

    Note - I thought that we were in Campo de' Fiori yesterday - nope, it was Piazza Navona. Have done some judicious editing and fixed the captions on the photos on yesterdays posts.

    From there, we walked a few minutes to Campo de' Fiori, a place recommended to us by our driver from the airport on Saturday. In ancient times, this was a pleasant meadow - literally a "campo de' fiori" - a field of flowers. Dominating the centre of the square is a statue of Giordano Bruno, an intellectual heretic who was burned on this spot in 1600. Today, the campo was full of vendors selling dry pasta, spices, fresh fruit, t-shirts, pashminas, flowers, vegetables and all sorts of other bits and bobs to the throngs of tourists. The place is rather like a cross between a farmers' market and the Toronto Exhibition.

    We doubled back through the Piazza Navona and headed west, past the Italian Senate (more armed guards) and down narrow streets lined with more vendors hawking their wares. We slipped into a gelateria for an afternoon snack. Yum..... for me, one scoop of Snickers flavour topped with a scoop of Dulce de Leche. I'm going to be at the gym a LOT when I get home..... We found a little supermarket and picked up some yogurt with muesli for dinner chez hotel room. We have some peanut butter that we brought with us and we scooped some melba toast at breakfast. Also bought salted caramel cheesecake for dessert. Yum. See comment above about the gym.....

    More narrow streets. We found ourselves in the Piazza della Rotonda. Here is where the Pantheon is located. It's a Roman temple dedicated to all (pan) of the gods (these). The original temple was build in 27 B.C. by Emperor Augustus' son-in-law, Marcus Agrippa. It was made to look like a Greek temple, with Corinthian columns, crossbeams and a pediment. We'll be touring inside the building on Wednesday with our tour group.

    We followed the throngs of tourists and finally found ourselves at the Trevi Fountain. To quote Rick Steves, "it is the ultimate showcase for Rome's love affair with water." This over-the-top example of Baroque design was built in 1762. The figure in the middle is known as "Ocean". Water gushes from 24 spouts and tumbles over 30 different types of plants. Winged horses represent waves. They are led by Tritons, blowing on their conch shells. The fountain is one of the oldest water sources in Rome, with water being brought into the city by its great aqueducts. In ancient times, there was a fountain here where locals came to get their water. We got close enough for a selfie, but not to toss the traditional coin for good luck into the fountain. According to legend, tossing one coin into the Trevi Fountain means you'll return to The Eternal City (Rome), tossing two coins means you'll return and fall in love, and tossing three coins means you'll return, find love, and marry. Luck or no luck, your money goes to a good charitable cause. This is another spot we will visit with the group on Tuesday. Coin tossing will definitely happen then!

    We were touristed out once again, and Doug was doing his gimpy walk, so it was time to head back to the hotel. Doug had a knee replacement 3 months ago and can expect some residual discomfort for another year or so. He's sure better than he was pre-surgery! We've both gotten our 10,000 steps in over the past two days. We found a taxi stand (thanks for marking them on your maps, Rick Steves!) and came home. It will be nice to have my homework done in good time this evening. More time to watch Netflix.

    Tomorrow, we have to meet up with our tour group at 3:00 p.m. in the hotel lobby. We will be heading into the city for a walking tour. We are going to simply veg until then. We have seen and done a lot in the past couple of days. At this age, we have to pace ourselves!
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  • Day 5

    Day 5 - Tues, Apr 23 - Start of Tour

    April 23, 2019 in Italy ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Not an auspicious beginning to the day - the same dog as yesterday was howling, but this time at 8:00 a.m. We were not impressed. Doug went to the front desk and complained. The agent was indifferent, justifying the canine's behaviour because the family had left the dog alone while they were at breakfast. We happened to run into the offending family at the elevators on our floor on our way back from breakfast. Doug chided the humans for their bad behaviour. More indifference. They were checking out, so hopefully, that's the end of that annoyance.

    It's an overcast, cool day here. I read the Globe and Mail on line and then watched Netflix. Doug had a post-breakfast nap. Tough life. The sun finally came out so we headed out for a walk along the barbed-wire fence road which is less scary in sunlight. We found that we are across the road from the European University of Rome which offers legally recognized degrees in Economics, Law, Psychology, Science of Primary Education and Tourism. We walked for about 20 minutes along the road, past several 6-storey apartment buildings. We didn't see one store or café or convenience. People living here must choose to do so for the affordable rents, because it sure isn't because of the availability of services. We also passed the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina, Apostolorum which educates priests and seminarians, religious, and lay people from all over the world. On 11 July 1998, Pope John Paul II gave permission for the institution to style itself as a Pontifical University. They even offer a course on exorcism!

    We had picnic lunch in our room which by the time we got back was very warm. (The room has been too warm during the nights too.) The AC doesn't get turned on in the hotel until May so we had to get a maintenance person come in and unlock the huge window in the room so we could get some cross ventilation. We sitting tight now until our 3:00 p.m. rendezvous with Simoni from Great Tours of Italy. Blessedly, all threat of rain had disappeared and the sun was shining brightly.

    And right on schedule, Simone met the eight members of the tour in the lobby - there are four people from California (Karen, Dave, Marge and Carol) and two from Michigan (Deb and Tony), plus ourselves. After we introduced ourselves and got details out of the way, we piled into the 9-passenger Mercedes Sprinter van. (That detail was supplied by Doug - I only knew it was a van.) We headed into the city. Our first stop was a little known spot called Piazzale Garibaldi which is dominated by an equestrian monument dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi, an Italian general and nationalist (1807-1882). From here, we were treated to glorious panoramic views of the city.

    From there, Simone drove us into the old city where disembarked by the Court House. Access for big buses is very limited in the old city - our little bus is going to give us much better access. We met up with the man who had headsets for us and then we rendezvoused with Monica, our local guide. The guide Simoni usually uses broke his ankle two days ago.

    Off we went with Monica in the lead - she may be short, but she is NOT short on humour, or knowledge or history! Our first stop was the Piazza Navona where Doug and I had been the previous two days. What a difference having a tour guide makes!

    This square used to be an arena for athletic events (rather like an Olympic stadium). Imagine 30,000 people cheering on chiseled Roman hunks. Must have been quite a sight. The church facing the square is the Church of St. Agnes who suffered martyrdom at this spot at the age of 12 or 13 during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, on 21 January 304. She was sentenced to death for following Christianity. She was bound to a stake, but the bundle of wood would not burn, or the flames parted away from her, whereupon the officer in charge of the troops drew his sword and beheaded her, or, in some other texts, stabbed her in the throat.

    From there, we headed to the Pantheon. It used to be a Roman temple, but is now a Catholic church dedicated to St. Mary and the Martyrs. The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43 metres (142 ft). (Thank you Wikipedia.) The top is open, so when it rains, water comes into the building, but the floor is sloped in the centre and water drains into an underground water tank. Romans know how to handle water. The building holds the tomb of Victor Emanuel whose huge monument we saw yesterday, the tomb of Queen Margharita (yes, after whom Margharita pizza is named), and Raphael, the painter (not the Ninja Turtle). On Pentecost Sunday, firefighters climb to the top of the dome and release thousands of red rose petals to symbolize the coming of the tongues of fire upon the Apostles on the first Pentecost. Monica has been at that ceremony and showed us her incredible photos.

    We made our way through the maze of narrow streets and alleys passing many street vendors and performers. The crowds were heavier today - we saw hundreds (thousands?) of young students on tours. We came out eventually at the Trevi Fountain where we, as I promised yesterday, tossed our coins for good luck. So far, so good!

    More maze walking until we came out near the Spanish Steps. We stopped at the statue commemorating the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Flowers are placed at the very top (via firefighters again) on December 8 each year to commemorate the feast day.

    The Spanish Steps were thronged, just as they had been on Sunday. This area is the high couture section of Rome. Many of the little shops in the area used to house photography studios who encouraged every family to have at least one nice family portrait done. Smart entrepreneurs latched onto the idea of renting out lovely, fashionable clothing for families who had only workday clothes. The photography studios eventually closed down, but the emphasis on fashion in the area stayed.

    Monica artfully guided us to our meeting with Simone who led us to a lively restaurant where we refuelled after all the walking we had done. We took the opportunity to get to know some of our fellow travellers better.

    Simone took us on a short drive around the city to see how some of the buildings are lit up at night. Most spectacular was St. Peter's Basilica.

    We have an 8:15 departure time tomorrow so we can meet Monica at 9:00 a.m. at the Colosseum. Time to add some pictures to this posting and get some sleep. We have a very full day tomorrow. We will be in excellent hands!

    Today's observations:
    1. Public trash containers are clear plastic bags suspended from a metal ring. Why so? To discourage planting of incendiary devices.
    2. The Canadian obsession with takeout coffee has not spread to Italy.
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  • Day 6

    Day 6 - Wed, Apr 24 - Forum & Colosseum

    April 24, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    It was an early morning, thankfully with no dogs barking. We had breakfast with Marge and Carolle and joined our fellow travellers promptly at 8:15 a.m. to meet Simone. We wound our way into the old city and rendezvoused with Monica. It was a warm, clear day.

    We spied the Colosseum, but Monica kept us chomping at the bit until after we visited the Roman Forum. From Wikipedia: For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has been called the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history. Located in the small valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, the Forum today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and off-and-on archaeological excavations.

    The fascinating thing about the Forum is how it built up in layers - like lasagna or tiramisu! Street level got progressively higher as sand, vegetation and rocks/bricks/columns accumulated and were just too much to excavate, so builders simply went up and over to a new level. It was here that the funeral of Julius Caesar took place in 44 B.C. We could see the pyre where his body was cremated. Every year on the ides of March, people still leave flowers on the site.

    The Monastery of Tor de' Specchi (literally "Tower of the Mirrors") is the home of the Oblates of St. Frances of Rome. It was established on March 25, 1433, the Feast of the Annunciation, by the foundress of the community, St. Frances of Rome.

    After behaving and listening really well, Monica took us to the Colosseum. Using her magic tickets and her beguiling smile as she had done at the Forum, we skipped the line and entered this magnificent structure. It is one of the Seven "New" Wonders of the World. The full list is:
    The Taj Mahal, India
    Christ the Redeemer
    Petra, Jordan
    The Great Wall of China
    The Colosseum, Rome
    Machu Picchu, Peru
    Chichen Itza, Mexico.

    The original name was the Flavian Amphitheatre, but the site became known colloquially as the Colosseum due to the immense bronze statue, Colossus of Nero, that used to be situated beside the amphitheatre. It was possibly destroyed during the Sack of Rome in 410, or toppled in one of a series of fifth-century earthquakes, and its metal scavenged.

    Monica stressed to us the three principles of Roman architecture: beauty, duration and function. The Colosseum certainly embodies all three. It was here that entertainment for average audiences of 65,000 of both the privileged and the common people took place - gladiator fights, hunting of exotic animals from all parts of the Roman Empire, mock sea battles, executions, reenactments of battles, dramas based on mythology, and other affairs meant to keep the people happy and not thinking about political revolt.

    Although partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is remains a breath-taking sight. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and also has links to the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.

    Finally, it was time for lunch. Monica led us back to where we would meet Simone. It was lovely to sit outside in the glorious warmth in April. Well, at least it was for the non-California members of the group!

    From there, we went to the Catacombs of Domitilla which are an underground cemetery named after the Domitilla family that had initially ordered them to be dug. They are situated over 16 metres underground, and span 15 kilometers in distance. They were actively used as a cemetery from around first through fifth centuries CE and were rediscovered in 1593 by Antonio Bosio, an archaeologist. They include more than 26,000 tombs. More recently they have been restored using lasers giving a much clearer view of the images on the walls.

    The catacombs are composed of tufa, a form of limestone that is porous. Finishing in 2017, restorers used lasers to help restore two rooms. The restorers worked to remove layers of algae, smoke deposits, and a chalky substance. What was revealed were both pagan and Christian inspired frescoes. So far, only 12 out of around 70 rooms have been restored.

    We graciously declined Simone's tongue-in-cheek offer to go back into the old city. The non-Californians had definitely had enough sun for the day! And we were all knackered. We were back at the hotel by 3:30 p.m. I suspect there were a few naps being enjoyed by 3:35 p.m. We will gather for dinner at 6:30 tonight to head to a nice restaurant.

    Odd bits of interesting information:

    Driving in Rome is a wild experience. We are going to implore the intercessions of two saints to keep Simoni and all of us safe:

    St. Fiacre: patron saint of gardeners, florists, herbalists, ploughboys, hosiers, pewterers, tile makers, box-makers, TAXI-DRIVERS, gardeners, horticulturists

    St. Christopher: patron saint of travellers, bookbinders, gardeners, mariners, DRIVERS, surfers, athletes, pilots

    Scooter and motorcycle drivers rarely pay attention to lane markings.

    Gas prices here are around 1.60 euro - about $2.60 CDN. Gulp. Not much wonder most cars here are very small. There is very little parking, so some ingenious parking methods must be employed to get cars into tiny spots.

    The 6-storey limitation on building heights applies outside of the old city centre. Rome is prone to earthquakes so buildings are kept low to hopefully minimize devastation in the event of a seismic event.

    Air conditioning can't be turned on across the country until near the middle of May. Going to have to use the double-window method of cooling the room while we are in this hotel. I wonder what we'll encounter in other hotels?
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  • Day 6

    Day 6 cont'd - It's dinner time!

    April 24, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Simone took us to what used to be a farm house that now is surrounded by apartment buildings and functions as a restaurant and wedding venue. We had a delightful 4-course dinner with lots of wine (please let all that walking be the equivalent number of calories.....) and were serenaded as we ate and drank. It was a lovely night - I think there will be more of them!Read more