The Mediterranean adventure continues...

May 16, 2010

This is disturbing...and Jim and I will need to find the cause. I just opened Picasa to begin adding photos, and they all seem to have disappeared between the time I opened them and when I went to choose the first photo. Right now, I have decided to post my narratives, and will add photos when Jim helps me find my photos again. I know they still exist on the camera disks, so if Picasa has eaten them, they will be found.)

The day began early for breakfast in the hotel – eggs, muesli with yogurt and fruit, hot tea. Those of us who came to Rome early are getting to know each other. Audrey and her daughter Dana became my companions for the day. We decided to walk to St. Peter's square, not really realizing that it was Sunday and the square would be packed with worshipers for Mass. NOTE: I thought the crowds carrying signs which I could not read were protesting the Vatican lack of response to the abuse of children by priests. I learned after returning home that this particular crowd was filled with supporters of the Pope as he was back in Rome unexpectedly early.)

We bypassed entering the square to get to one of the city tour buses which would begin our horrible/wonderful day. The buses did not stop at their regulars locations near the Vatican because of the crowds of people coming for outdoor Mass. So we needed to look for the alternative stop which we finally found because we saw the bus, went running after it and caught it in a block or so. After paying for 2 days of riding, we were off, although we did not receive our earphones to hear the automatic commentary in time to learn about where we were going, and or, passing on the way. Our first stop was the Trevi fountain which was about 4-5 blocks from the bus stop. No guide came with us, just on and off service. Luckily there were signs on the corners of buildings, and lots of folks seeming to be traveling in the same direction. We reached the fountain in about 10 minutes.

The fountain area was very crowded so there was no way to get photographs of the entire fountain without the crowds, although this ultimately showed the fountain and how important it is to all Roman tourists. (This photo shows the parts that were interesting to me.)  It also began to rain while we were there, but not at hard as yesterday, nor as long. Our hotel loaned umbrellas, so I stayed dry and happy. Audrey and Dana had ponchos. The Trevi Fountain is at the back of a building and is essentially the back wall. It appears as if some of the top portions are windows, but I couldn't be sure. According to legend, tossing coins in the fountain will guarantee your return – so I tossed! Later I learned that you are to toss backward over your shoulder, so I don't know if my forward toss will be accepted by the gods of the fountain and Rome. The fountain's location was a surprise to me because I expected it to be free standing. I've only seen it in travelogues or movies, and I guess I never paid enough attention to its surroundings. The open area around the fountain is all bordered by buildings, so there isn't a large 'piazza' like other fountains we found.

As we walked back to the bus stop, we shopped a little bit in the shops of the alleys. One set of gifts that I am collecting will be for my nephew whose birthday was the Monday before I left. I wrote in his card that I would look for something wonderful from far, far, away, and would send it to him after I returned. According to his mother and after she showed him on a map how far away I would be, he is excited. Not knowing what might appeal to a 14 year old, I noticed a collection of baseball caps with Rome or Italy on them. Right then I decided that a cap from each country would be fun for a boy who loves baseball caps. One cap has been purchased! Now I need to find something for his older brother and for our two great god-daughters, who we will see later this summer in California. The boys live in Ohio.

At the bus stop we did not see our bus company, nor did we see the sign designating their stops. We weren't yet worried, although we should have been. This absence began the horrible part of our day. We examined our map and realized that we were not too far from the Pantheon – an important site for Dana. So we walked, and checked our progress with a policeman along the way. From him we learned that we were “5” minutes away. It seems as if Italians can get anywhere in 5 minutes, although we did not.

We did stumble upon an Egyptian obelisk from the 6th century BC in Piazza Colonna which was fun to find. The first building that was without marble near the obelisk did not really look like the Pantheon, but we took photos of it anyway, because it showed where the street level was when it was built. (NOTE – many of the oldest buildings have a 'moat-like' area around them, simply because of the years between their construction and today.)

We checked with another policeman who told us '5 minutes' and pointed his finger.

As we walked inside, the building immediately opened into a round room that, I learned, is as wide (diameter) as it is tall, up to the oculus (round window in the ceiling). The room has very little artificial light, but the light coming through the oculus lights the whole area.
 
It is a beautiful room with evidence of Roman gods and their worship, and the most prominent niche across from the entrance, which is now a Catholic religious area and has been for many years.

It was time for lunch, so we chose one of the sidewalk cafes and had a great meal – me, a house salad and my friends shared a pizza. Sustained again, we checked the map to compare where our bus stop should be, and discovered that we again were not too far from Piazza Navona, where there was a shop selling porcelain flowers by Capo di Monte, a very old and famous porcelain company. So we walked to the Piazza.

Piazza Navona is amazing, at least the day we were there. It is quite large with three fountains, a stage area where bands were playing, and a large area of sidewalk sellers of trinkets, paintings and photographs, and food. We spent most of our time with the fountains – a Bernini – Fountains of the Four Rivers. (This is the fountain that figures prominently in the ANGELS AND DEMONS Dan Brown novel and film.) The second fountain is called the Neptune Fountain and features Neptune fighting a sea creature and has horses with dolphin tails with other sea creatures. The third fountain was not as interesting. There is also a large palace-like building which stretches most of one of the long sides of the Piazza. (NOTE: This building is currently the Embassy of Brazil and was originally the palace of Pope Innocent X from 1644.) (NOTE: There are not identifying signs on much of Rome, so you aren't able to tell what you are looking at very easily. I'll have lots of research to do when I return home.)

The store Dana and Audrey wanted to visit was actually in the Piazza, but, unfortunately was closed on Sunday. Many were open, but not the most important one for my new friends.

The map suggested that a bus stop was only about 4 blocks from the Piazza, so we walked that way, got to where it was supposed to be and could not find it. We waited a bit, and then because we were on a main road that would take us back to the Tiber River near the Vatican, we walked. According to our map, there were to have been 2 more stops for our bus service on that road. We never found them, and so when we got to the river, we rested a bit, looking at Castle St. Angelo and the Bridge of Angels.

We also talked a little bit about Dan Brown's ANGELS AND DEMONS, which takes place in Rome, the Vatican, the Castle, and the main fountain in Piazza Navona. This was the fun part of our day, because I did not expect to find and see some of the important locations of the novel.

During our walk of about 20 minutes more, I took a photo of St. Peter's dome, which I really like, and then we were back in the street heading into St. Peter's square and there was the bus we had been looking for. Except they insisted that we had not purchased tickets from them in the morning. They told us that we had purchased tickets for the bus company that used orange signs to mark their stops, and we had been looking for blue stops, just like the one we got on and the one where we stopped for the Trevi Fountain. We were quite confused and angry, so we walked down to the orange sign stop and tried for a refund, which was of course not possible unless we went to the company office which would not reopen until Tuesday because Monday was a holiday. (It was not until Monday when we did go back to use the second day on our tickets, that we discovered that the blue sign and orange sign buses had been part of the same company, had parted ways, and were now separate companies.)

Another walk past the Vatican and to the hotel, with an hour or so to rest before dinner. A couple who was leaving the hotel on Saturday had recommended a great hotel for that evening's dinner. We all wanted something a bit different for Sunday evening, so we took the recommendation from the hotel staff. Again a 10 minute walk took closer to 45 minutes so we were late for our reservation. Our lateness did not seem to bother the restaurant staff as we were a group of 11. We did have a minor disagreement over what we were to eat, and politeness stopped us from becoming ugly Americans, which in hindsight, we should have insisted. We finally agreed to a PRIX FIXE meal to include bottled water, wines and 5 courses, but everything would feature fish. Several of our party do not eat fish willingly, and we were able to get agreement that some of us could have similar meals with meat. The meal was not as well cooked as the night before, and we ended up with extra charges for wine because the 11 of us drank more than two bottles of wine. Seems to me that two bottles should not have been expected as satisfactory for 11.

It was raining again as we began to leave the restaurant, so 4 of us called a taxi rather than walk in the rain for so long. We got back to the hotel just as the fastest walkers arrived.

May 17, 2010

We were all up early because most of us had tickets to the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel at either 8 am or 9 am – I was with the 8 am group. However the reality was that when we walked the 2 blocks from our hotel to the entrance to the museums and the chapel, everyone(!) had tickets for the early entrance, so we ended up standing in line even with the tickets. (NOTE: these tickets can be purchased on the Internet. I suggest taking a slightly later entry time, as the 9 am group did bypass the line and go right in.)

All I knew as I walked through the museums(!), and there were lots of rooms with different themes, I wanted to get to the chapel before it became too crowded. Apologizes to Bucky who had made suggestions of specific items to see, but I really thought I would come back through the museums – nope, that's not the way the route works. Here are a couple of photos that I snapped while I was walking.

Simply walking through exhibit rooms, up and down staircases, across wings, up and down staircases, and in one area on a catwalk along the outside wall of some part of the buildings, I finally reached the Sistine Chapel. Glennor was the first friend to join me, with Margaret not too far behind. I had especially wanted to find room on the benches that line the room so we all could sit. Bucky had recommended this plan which included bringing small binoculars. Thank you, Bucky, for this suggestion, and I pass it along for future visitors. However, remember to get up and walk across the room to see the wall where you have been sitting, which I did not do. Guess I'll need to return to Rome!

The Sistine Chapel was a great surprise in many ways. It's bigger than I imagined, and the floor area is divided by a screen – visitors can be in either area, so I don't know exactly why the screen is there. (Another question to answer when I get home. As of 7-28, no answer.) Of course the famous painting of God with Adam is right in the middle of the ceiling, with the creation of Eve, the temptation and expulsion from Eden close. Other stories from the early books of the Bible are there as well. What I found really interesting was a series of panels near the bottom of the walls that depicted the stories of Jesus, from birth to last supper. Michelangelo's Last Supper is quite different from Leonardo de Vinci. All those sitting at the table have colorful cloaks with halos, and it is Judas who stands in front of the table with dark colored clothing. I did purchase a book on Rome and the Vatican, and I know I can find more information once I get home. When I got back to the room to look at this book, I realized from a map that I had walked almost half way across the Vatican grounds from where we entered through the wall that surrounds the small country to a building that sits right next to the Basilica of St. Peter.

Audrey and I met up in the Chapel and left together to find our bus company. This time we were simply riding to the Colosseum and getting back on at the same point after our visit. The bus was sitting by the orange sign in the VIA Pietro, which ends at St. Peter's square. Our tour guide was real instead of recorded and very interesting. She is the source of the information as to why we had so much trouble yesterday. We had a lovely tour through Rome on the way to the Coliseum. There is an entrance fee to go inside, and we were approached by a young man who offered an English speaking guide, a way to by-pass the entrance line and tours of both the Coliseum and the Roman forum area where there a remnants of temples as well. The price was right so we joined the tour.

Once again we had a good guide with interesting stories, lots of information, and a book which showed (through the use of plastic pages) the before and after views of many ancient buildings and areas of Rome. I'm hoping I will be able to find this book when I get home, because I did not have enough time to purchase one during the visit. (I also needed to replenish my euros before leaving for the cruise.) Near the end of his tour of the Colosseum, it began to rain too hard to remain outside in the open areas. We moved under the upper seats, and heard the rest of his presentation. That's when the surprise occurred.

We learned that they were breaking for lunch and the tour of the Forum and temples would recommence at 2 pm – 90 minutes later. It was still raining, and I was weary from touring, so I left Audrey and Dana to find someplace to eat and wait for the afternoon tour, while I made my way back to the hotel. (They told me that there was not too much to see in that area of the ruins.) By the time I got back to the Vatican stop, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. As I walked back to the hotel (about 6 blocks away), I looked for a place for lunch. I found a cafeteria style restaurant where you went through a self service line, and simply was served what you wanted. I found a tomato and mozzarella cheese plate with a selection of greens. After a dash of olive oil and dressing, I was ready. I joined a French couple and although we did not speak, I thanked them as I left.

I knew a different place for dinner would be important for most of us this last evening in Rome, and I also figured that most of us had done enough walking for a bit. Along the slightly different route that I took home, I noticed an interesting cafe whose menu showed inexpensive costs and a nice variety of choices. They advertised recommendations from Rick Steves, Frommers, and others, although I realized that anyone COULD say this. I was offered a small brochure which I took back to the hotel. As it turned out, Margaret and I decided to eat lightly in the small cafe in the hotel, and most everyone else went to the restaurant I recommended with virtually nothing to go on except it was only 4 blocks from the hotel! Margaret and I enjoyed risotto with mushrooms, she had a bowl of lovely fruit pieces, and I had spinach with Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Just the right amount of food for the smallest cost of any meal in Rome. The restaurant where everyone else went was a bit more expensive than the lunch menu I saw, but folks were pleased with my recommendation.

We went up to our room to pack for tomorrow morning when our bus will arrive to take us to the pier. Some members of our group are arriving tomorrow morning as well and are expected to meet us on the ship. Others came a bit later and are staying at other hotels, but will be joining us tomorrow morning to be on the bus with us. Margaret and I were getting ready for bed when our neighbors – Margaret's very good friends – invited us next door for some wine and conversation. Glennor and Bob and June joined us to chat until almost midnight. Margaret and I were happy that we could simply to to bed because all our bags were packed.


May 18, 2010

Margaret and I were both us fairly early for breakfast in the hotel before returning to our room for last minute packing. Our bus would arrive around 11:30 am for a noon departure. Check out at the hotel was 11 am. Everyone seemed to be ready to head toward the cruise ship. There is lots to Rome that I would like to see, so there will be many reasons to come back with Jim.

The bus was a bit early, the individuals staying at other hotels arrived on time, and we actually left a couple of minutes early. Our bus was too big to come down the narrow street by the hotel, so we needed to move our luggage to the corner. No bother because the bell boy was helping as well. There were enough seats so that everyone did not need to share a seat.

The ride south to the port (Civitavecchia), the name of which I can still not pronounce and will learn, was interesting – out through the suburbs of Rome and into the countryside where we saw small farms, vineyards, olive groves, and burgeoning suburbs with new housing developments. Since Margaret has visited this area several times when she has come to visit her son and family who are living in Naples, she was able to tell me about what we were passing. It's nice to have a knowledgeable friend..

We were at the dock in a little over an hour and then began the boarding process. Margaret had brought distilled water for my C-PAP from Naples via her son, and liquids coming on board have extra precautions. My two bottles were passed. We gave most of our luggage to be delivered to the room, but not the heavy water or my smallest bag with my electronic gear. After a quick visit to our room, we went up to the Windjammer cafe for lunch. We met up with some other members of our group and rested for a while. When we next went to the room, most of our luggage was waiting, and the other pieces arrived soon after. So, by dinner, we were all moved in.

Our group has an early dinner – even earlier than advertised which was 6:45. Now dinner is at 6 pm which seems to please most of us. First meal was watermelon gazpacho and roasted pork medallions with broccoli. Very good and tasty.

After dinner, I went with one of my table mates, Diane from Delaware, to the big theater for a FIRST NIGHT PROGRAM with a small sampling of the acts that will be entertaining us. A young couple danced wonderfully with lots of energy, and then the most amazing couple took the stage and using a strong projector light made shadow puppets with their hands and fingers. The effects were beautiful and unexpected. Their presentation ended with hand manipulations which created profiles of famous individuals from history, Hollywood, musicians and stories. If they perform again on the cruise I will definitely attend just to see how they can top this program. (They apparently were on board only the first night, so folks who missed the first program missed this amazing act.)

Into the casino which was conveniently located close to the theater to play for about an hour. I found a couple of new games which intrigue me, and left most of my daily allotted money in the machines.

Margaret was in the room so we were not too long before going to bed.