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2017 Italy Rome & Umbria2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
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A 15-day adventure by Clark and Mary Read more
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  • Traveler2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
    Day 1

    And they're off

    September 3, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    After a final check of the place we were off on our trip to Rome and Umbria. Tomorrow we fly to Atlanta and then on to Rome. It's going to be a long day.

  • Traveler2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
    Day 2

    SEATAC to Atlanta

    September 4, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    At 6am the "arrival" lane at SEATAC was a "slow and go" traffic jam -- the end of a holiday weekend and everyone s heading home. So the decision to arrive 3 hours early seemed prudent. Since we have NEXUS cards we took the "fast lane" through security and found we had 2.5 hours to wait for our flight. Hm -- better late than never -- but better never late.

    This is only the first leg -- it's going to be a long day.    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
    Day 2

    Lesson one -- keep track of your STUFF

    September 4, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    OK -- It's been a few years since I did any serious traveling ( like 30 ). So by the time we got to Atlanta I was not sure where my credit card was. I thought Mary had it -- but of course her memory suggested another option. Mary called an immediate stop.

    OK look at my sheepish picture . . . Here I am diving for the money belt. Of course she had it right.

    Now for the "rest of the story".

    Mary handed me the iPad after taking the picture and I left it on a chair in the departure lounge! We were gone for about 10 minutes before we discovered this little issue.

    I've consumed one of my nine lives -- we found it sitting where I left it.

    Whew!    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
    111
    Day 3

    Roma!

    September 5, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    Our arrangements work well. The flight to Rome was smooth and the service was great -- but neither of us slept much. As we walked out of the customs area Ricardo Nemi was standing there holding a sign with our name on it. His limo took us to the hotel where we met Emerson our host at the AirB&B- which is simple but clean, private and quiet. Arrived at the airport at 10:30 and were relaxing on the patio of our hotel by noon. But I was knackered- and promptly crashed for a two hour nap.

    By 2pm local time we were out and about getting acquainted with the area. The location is pretty cool. We are three blocks from the Colosseum. One would expect this to be pretty cheesy with tourist junk (and some of that exists) but it is easy to dial into the local community that lives and works here.

    Our first meal out was at a family owned place that has been around since 1945 ( think end of the war). The wait-staff were having a fun time greeting friends as they walked by and the prices were really reasonable - at least $20 less than we would expect to spend for a similar meal on Lopez.

    We finished the evening with a visit to the locals grocery to get supplies for a picnic.    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
    1
    Day 4

    " Getting to know you ... "

    September 6, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Today we set off walking and did at least 7 miles before the heat and humidity told us it was time for a break. We began the process of understanding this city as more than a map or a chapter in a travel guide. With this in mind we selected two sub-communities, separated by the Tiber River. Trastevere and the Jewish ghetto. Here we got to experience some of Rome's history that is not simply ancient monuments.

    Trastevere retains the small single lane roads from the Middle Ages. Following a tip we looked for a sandwich place that features prosciutto-- WOW! This is nothing like what we get at Costco! A mixture of salt and fat that I have never experienced before. We will be eating here again before we leave Rome

    We also found the Santa Maria in Trastevere, one of Rome's oldest church sites where Christians worshipped illegally until the year 313. Most of the church is from the 12 century -- very peaceful -- in a city like this it does not stand out, yet it is certainly a magnificent example of citizens expressing their devotion to faith. This is negatively contrasted by the ghetto where "Christian" leaders defined Jews as second class citizens and forced them to live in difficult conditions.
    We walked through the section of town that was once the Jewish ghetto. In 1555 the pope forcibly moved all Jews to a confined space that became known as the Jewish ghetto. October 3rd, 1943 -- for the Roman Jews it was, to paraphrase Roosevelt "a day that will live in infamy " - the nazi's demanded 20 kilos of gold or they would deport Jews to concentration camps. It is reported that the citizens of Rome contributed their personal jewelry to pay the ransom -- and of course history reveals the deportation of Jews happened anyway.

    As I said, it was hot and humid today. Thank goodness it is possible to drink water "from the tap." In fact there are water fountains everywhere that can be used to fill water bottles.    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
    1
    Day 5

    Colloseum, forum and palitime hill

    September 7, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We spent the entire day doing the Caesar shuffle. A required Rome experience. Things have really changed since I was here in the 80's. Back then you just walked in: no lines, no fees, no explanatory signs, and actually not much of a crowd. Now everything has changed. I certainly learned more this time -- even without a guided tour you can read the signs and get a lot of formation.

    Still,for me, it is an exhausting experience -- never been much of a museum buff.    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
    1
    1
    Day 6

    Wrapping up phase one . . .

    September 8, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Tomorrow we meet our Road Scholar group for transport to Foligno. Today we figured out how to use the light rail system and got oriented at the main train station for the train out to the airport where we will meet the RS group.

    The Baths of Diocletian were an easy walk away. Built in 10 years about 300 A.D. This was "Huuuge". It originally covered 30 acres and could accommodate 3000. The bath I am standing in was 4 feet deep with a surface area of 32,000 square feet. This facility was in service for 237 years.

    Next we found the Trevi fountain. It is impressive but probably more amazing was the number of people that where also there. Great watching couples, young and old toss coins in the fountain pool.

    Then on to the Spanish steps. Factoid of the day -- the Spanish consulate to the Vatican is located here and has been for 300 years. When the newly weds appeared everyone rushed to snap their picture.

    Last stop of the day was a church recommended by Val -- Santa Maria Della Vittorisa -- location of Bernini's best known statue -- the swooning Saint Teresa in ecstasy.    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
    Day 7

    Rome --> Foligno

    September 9, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Busy day -- We successfully met our group of 20 at the airport and took a bus to Foligno. With a single exception we are all retired. I was used to the vibe in Rome but was surprised how much different it was in Foligno. The town is in the midst of a month long festival similar to the Palio in Siene. Flags indicating different neighborhoods line every street. We walked around town to take on the sights. Much of the central core is a walking zone and at midday there was plenty of people watching to do.

    The shops are so classy -- Mary started collecting photos of clothing to share with her nieces. I like to glasses!

    At one point we happened upon an event where young boys were sitting on ponies practicing with a spear. The competition between neighborhoods features riding around an oval track with a spear trying to pass the spear through various rings. I captured the moment this young man captured a ring on his spear. Of course the task gets more difficult as you are expected to do this at a full gallop and the rings get smaller in diameter as you progress around the arena. We won't be here for the event but apparently this is one of the biggest events for this region in the entire year.    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
    11
    Day 8

    And then the heavens opened and . . .

    September 10, 2017 ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    It RAINED! It has not rained in Umbria since late May. Today that streak came to an end. Our hosts had the good sense to cancel the three hour walk portion of the plan. We did connect with several hilltop towns and learned about olive oil production and the medieval paper making process.

    Our first hill top village was Gualdo Cattaneo -- Mary found the town photo on the web -- when we arrived it was merged with a cloud and it was pouring down. We initially took refuge in a church. Here you see all of us looking pretty pathetic listening to an interesting lecture

    The round tower(s) are from 1492. We got to explore the main tower extensively. This was the high-tech development of its day. The round shape and 12 feet thick rock walls were designed to withstand the emerging war technology of the cannon.

    We were supposed to take a stroll through olive orchards but there was forked lightening happening around the hill so it did not seem prudent to walk with metal umbrellas over our heads -- Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.

    So we got on the bus and drove down to an olive oil facility. Main takeaway here was the fact that this product is manipulated by the industry. From what we learned it is likely that the "olive oil" we get in the states is "at best" a mixture of various cooking oils. At worst it can be 10% olive oil and 90% petroleum. Makes me wonder what we are actually getting at Costco.

    After another spectacular meal we bussed to Bevagna and learned about the paper making process using medieval technology. Mary was called into action when this watery mixture was placed in a frame and transferred to a stack in preparation for pressing to remove the water. Bad photo because it was pretty dark -- that's Mary with the white hat like thingy on her head.

    I had made rash predictions about the weather and was publicly humiliated to the great satisfaction / enjoyment of the group.    Read more

  • Traveler2017 Italy Rome & Umbria
    Day 9

    The hermitage of St. Francis

    September 11, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Cloudy but not much rain. We've learned that parts of Italy had flooding, loss of power and loss of life -- seen from that perspective, our yesterday experience was not really that bad. We found out that this was the first time in ten years that rain forced the cancellation of the walking part of a tour. I can verify that the footing can be treacherous and slippery on the paths so I'm glad they were being careful. We did tour St. Francis Hermitage, got a very good guided tour of the Basilica, and spent time walking around the city.

    Since I am limited to 6 photos in each post I will focus on the Hermitage in this one and add a second one for Assisi.

    Francis had the option to become a wealthy silk merchant through inheritance. Initially it looked like this would be his path. He led a high-spirited life and fought as a soldier for Assisi against the neighboring power of Perugia. But beginning in 1204 he had a series of visions that directed him to "Save the church". At first he thought the task was physical and began working on a small chapel in the valley. Latter he realized his task was more universal. Embracing poverty he and his small band of followers selected this site to contemplate in peace and serenity.    Read more

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