Oct 2008

Monday

On Monday, we went to the Colosseum, which was a big disappointment for Joseph and not just because of the huge line to get in (and that was the shorter of the two lines — the security line for people who already had tickets; the other line was, even in late October, colossal). It’s an impressive spectacle from the outside. Inside, it still impressive, but not really any more so than from the outside. In fact, all of the really best details are on the outside. As for me, it was difficult to focus on all of the carnage that once took place at the Colosseum, including the slaughter of Christians, when the experience was shared with so many people all vying for the best viewpoints from which to take photos.

On Monday, we also visited the Spanish Steps and wandered about that part of the city. We found a nice little café in a park (the Pincio) and, since they weather was good, we had coffees (the kids had hot chocolate) and cannoli. Delicious. We wandered down to the Piazza del Popolo, where there was one of the super-touristy Leonardo da Vinci exhibits that seem to be franchised all around Europe. This time, we went in. Joseph thought it was so-so; the kids had a great time.

From the piazza, we walked to the Pantheon, which is a bit of a hike. We admired the architecture (including the little hole Brunelleschi was allowed to cut into the dome), and the tombs of two Italian kings and of Raphael. Then, it started to rain. We grabbed a taxi to get back to the flat.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, we started the day with some lessons. Then, we walked to the Crypto Balbi, which is not far from the flat. The Crypto Balbi is a bizarre little exhibition that is intended to show the various layers of development in Rome. The kids liked going underground (the old city of Rome is quite a bit deeper than today’s Rome), but our “tour guide” (you can only get there with a tour guide) didn’t guide us with English or Italian, so we had a hard time making out what we were looking at.

In the afternoon, we explored the Capotoline Museum, where we were hounded again by the exact change monsters. We admired the sculptures, etc. Joe was disappointed that there was no post card of the massive fresco depicting Brutus condemning his own sons for treason.

TIME FOR AN INTERESTING, IF UNSETTLING, FACT ABOUT ANCIENT ROME:
What did the upper class folks use for toilet paper when using the loo? They used the soft feathers on the underbelly of a small bird. Think about that! (Or this may just be a made up "fact" added to the guidebook to see how credulous guidebook readers are — but it's in the book Keys to Rome by Frederick and Vanessa Vreeland, p. 34!).

After the museum, the sky opened up once again. We took refuge in a church (Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ara Coeli), where John prayed for better weather. Following the advice of our kids’ guide to Rome, we looked for the bees of Urban VIII and the image of Emperor Augustus (on an altar!). That night, we called it an early evening, made a big visit to the Despar (that’s what the big “Spar” stores are called — no kidding!) and got ready for our big Wednesday. (And Joe wrote his KJ column about the Roman Republic).

Wednesday

We got up early and got ourselves together to storm the Vatican. We wanted to get to the Vatican Museum early to limit the time spent in line—because, well, there’s almost always a line! Well, when we arrived at the Museum, there was no line. Lots of tour groups going in, but hardly any individual tourists. This actually ended up causing all kinds of problems. Joseph was just not prepared to just walk in. It was the Vatican! There was supposed to be a line and . . . . suffering! That’s what is was all about.

When Joseph finally gathered himself, we made our way through the Museum, which is quite a large one. Although we spent a little time amid the Egyptian pieces, we soon figured out that we should get going toward the Sistine Chapel. The hordes of tourists were bound to come at some point. We knew they were out there somewhere (likely at the papal blessing that takes place on Wednesday mornings). So, we started off in earnest toward the Sistine Chapel, which turns out to be really quite far away.

Much of the way was littered with things we didn’t really want to spend much time gazing upon, but we were all left agape by the Raphael rooms. Very impressive (Margaret thought the rooms were the best part of the Museum). Joseph was pretty much rendered speechless by The School of Athens. The kids and I enjoyed the moment of silence!

Finally, we reached the Sistine Chapel. Almost immediately, Margaret declared it a let-down. It was too small. John seemed just overwhelmed. As we have written, John has become something of a Michelangelo fan. But, the Chapel was almost too much for him to appreciate. Our kids guidebook was helpful in pointing out the highlights of the ceiling. But, then we got to the wall behind the altar, The Last Judgement. Finding St. Bartholomew actually hanging onto his own skin (he was skinned alive) was about when the kids and I declared that we were done.

We made our way out (fighting the crowd because by now, the hordes of tourists had most definitely arrived) catching a few of the other highlights of the Museum on the way. We also posted a few post cards, with the Pope’s special stamps. We had a simple picnic lunch just outside the gates of Vatican City. Then, it was time to go back in—this time to see St. Peter’s.

There is, as Rick Steeves tells you, a way to get straight from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s, but we couldn’t figure out how to do that and retrieve our bags with our lunch and jackets in them. So, after lunch we had to negotiate the 20 minute long security line to get into the Basilica.

Our first order of business was to climb to the top. Can you guess Margaret’s reaction?? It was pretty, let me tell you. Especially when she realized that there was an elevator that would have taken her about a third of the way up. Joe and I refused on principle, not because it would have cost 2 euros extra each.

The way up is quite an experience, especially with lots of other people you’ve never met (and speak an amazing array of languages). The staircase gets narrower and narrower as you ascend, but at least it’s enclosed (the stairs from the bottom of the dome to the very top at St. Paul’s in London is anopen, iron set of spiral stairs). Good thing, because once you start up, there’s really no way to change your mind. You must go along with the crowd. There’s no escape! I must be in a Catholic tower!!

Despite the iffy weather, we got a nice view from the top. Once we descended (and stopped at the roof-top snack bar), we were emptied into the church. The inside of St. Peter’s is almost impossible to take in. It’s just enormous. And, then, there are those hordes of tourists sharing the experience with you. And, some of them like to push and shove. We found a little place off to the side to read some excerpts from our trusty kids guidebook, which was helpful (although some of the best parts, pointed out by the book, were roped off).

By this time, it was late afternoon. Time to call it a day and head back to the flat?? No way! We walked over to the Castel Sant’Angelo, Handrian’s mausoleum. It probably would have been more fun during the day (Europe ended daylight savings time last weekend, so it’s getting dark quite early now), but we had fun exploring this very old site/museum.

And, still, the day wasn’t quite over. We decided to go out to eat. We went to a place recommended by Rick Steves, Trattoria da Lucia. It was just over the bridge, in the Trastevere neighborhood. We had a delightful Italian dinner of pasta, grilled veggies, wine, and fabulous desserts (chocolate mousse and panna cotta with fruit). Finally, it was time to call it a day, brush our teeth and crawl into bed.

Thursday

Yesterday, Thursday, we spent much of the morning ironing out details of our travels for next week (which had not been finalized before we left; we will be heading to Pompeii on Saturday and then to the Cinque Terre on Monday).

For our tourist endeavors, we headed first to the special Bellini exhibit in town (we’ve been noticing missing Bellini’s all over Europe, with notes that they are here, in Rome). Margaret has decided that she loves Bellini, so we decided to check it out. The exhibit is really very impressive and well displayed. But, the little guidebook that was provided was filled with the most ridiculous, pretentious sounding art-speak that we found ourselves laughing out loud at times as we read through (especially as John struggled to read through some of those very long words that don’t really mean anything).

We had a nice picnic just across the street from the exhibit, until we were shooed away by a police man. We have no idea what he objected to (other people were doing roughly what we were doing and he didn’t shoo them away), but we thought it best not to ask any questions. He wasn’t speaking English anyway.

In the afternoon, we visited Trajan’s market. Then, we hiked it over to the Diocletian Baths. We thought we found the Baths, only to find that we were really just in a museum of what was found at the Baths. We checked out the map again and felt pretty confident that we knew where we were going, so we headed in a new direction. That was when the sky opened up, with torrents of rain, and the place where we were sure we would find the entrance featured a locked gate with no information at all. So, we were soaking wet with no place to go!

So, we went to a café and got ourselves something warm and a couple of delicious Italian pastries to share. When the rain let up, we decided that we were done with trying to find the Baths, and we headed over the National Museum of Rome. It was very late in the afternoon, so no hordes of tourists to found anywhere near the Museum. Rick Steves gives the museum his top rating. We are not sure we agree exactly, although we did enjoy checking out the sculptures, the amazing display of mosaics and household frescoes (really, really impressive, beautiful, and well-displayed), and the collection of coins in the basement (with real and imposing vault doors). By the time we left the Museum, it was almost 7:00 o’clock. We were done.

We actually managed to successfully navigate the bus system to get ourselves reasonably close to the flat, although the information desk guy Joe spoke to had some fun with us at the expense of Joe’s lame efforts to give an Italian pronunciation to the place we were aiming to get to. Once aboard but 64, we had to share our section of the bus with a large group of obnoxious young, male Brits, who were on a school trip and fretting about their accommodations: “Oh, I do hoooo-pe there will be caaaah-pet underfoot” (you must say with the worst sort of almost lisping, limpid toff (upper-crust) English accent).

Susan prepared a home-made tomato sauce, which we ate with some ravioli, a veggie, and some fresh mozzarella on toasted bits of baguette. Yummy.

Pictures to follow.

Ciao,

Susan and Joseph

Buon Giorno Friends,

First of all, we are having a great time in Rome, although our luck with the weather is beginning to fade. We are experiencing more rain here, some downpours even. Thankfully, the kids and I have really only been caught in one downpour so far.

We'll get back to the more serious blogging in a bit, but for now, I've just got to get out my list of grievances. Rome (and Italy in general) is packed full of all kinds of important things to see. Yet, the place is really starting to get to me. Our trusty guidebook warns us of the chaos and encourages us to "accept it all as a package deal." It's all part of the experience and we should just roll with it. Well, I'm starting to doubt that I have the mental fortitude for such an approach.

So, here's a little list of my frustrations:

1. In Rome, there is hardly a distinction between the sidewalk and the street. We have certainly seen scooters-- and even a car once-- riding on what seemed to us clearly to be the sidewalk. In all fairness, I must admit that we have, on occasion (and only when clear) have walked on the street (Romans don't walk especially fast and sometimes we are in a hurry).
2. Museum cloakrooms in Rome do not accept cloaks-- only bags. Go figure. Since the weather has been mixed, we have had to take rain jackets with us. The first time we marched up to a cloakroom to deposit our jackets, we were given a stern "no." So, now we bring one of those bags that stuffs into itself and we stuff our jackets into that. Take that, Rome!
3. Romans (and Italians in general) have a strange and unhealthy obsession with "correct change." In most museums we have visited, there is a clear sign posted (usually in Italian and in English): "correct change, please" (sometimes, there is no "please"). And, even in other, unexpected places we have found correct change (or close to it) to be expected. A couple of days ago, I went to our local little market to stock up on some groceries. The total came to 41.61 euros. I handed the guy a 50 euro bill. He clearly wanted something different. He just held onto the fifty (holding it up), and kept looking at me and muttering in Italian. After a day of sightseeing (including "correct change" signs everywhere), I didn't have anything else. But, he persisted. So, I persisted too, shrugging my shoulders and, in English, "I don't have anything else." Finally, he made change and grudgingly stuffed into my hand.
4. The post office isn't really in business to sell stamps. They seem to have more important things to do than to handle mail.
5. Beware large gatherings of birds-- and I mean really large gatherings of birds. In Rome, I have learned that where really large gatherings of birds congregate, there will be a very large quantity of bird poo which, a) is hazardous when wet (slippery underfoot when it's raining), and b) really, really, really stinky. The most horrendous, most foul stench of our whole trip has been here, in Rome, in this little park near our flat where the birds gather in very large numbers. Oh, and it's loud too.
6. Many sights have elaborate security procedures with metal detectors and x-ray machines to check bags. Yet, the security guards are usually chatting among themselves (and, sometimes arguing), so it seems clear that they are not really paying any attention to who or what is going through the machines.
7. Signs at tourist sites are almost non-existent. Now, to be fair, New England is not known for good tourist and road signage. But, Rome is on a whole different level. Here, even at the end of October, there are hordes of tourists. And, yet, at many places there is no way to know if you are in the right line (and there's almost always a line). When we went to the Colosseum (major tourist site, don't you think??), our trusty guidebook (and good thing we had that) told us that, if we had a ticket (which we did) to stay in the left line, with the tour groups, and just to "muscle our way" to the turnstile. Well, this felt like a weird place to be, but we got in that line and stayed there. After some time of moving pretty steadily in the line, we finally came upon a little sign (maybe a little bigger than a normal 8x11 piece of paper), close to the entrance, that divided the two lines-- one line for ticket holders and the other line for without. Thankfully, it turned out, we were in the correct line. Thank you, Rick Steves!

Well, that felt good to get that out. Thankfully, it's not all bad. There is gelato (oh, the delicious gelato makes up for a lot!) and fabulous coffee (even in the most ridiculous and touristy places, they have real espresso machines and not those fake ones you find in the U.S.). And, in some places, they serve cookies at breakfast! Another good thing. Plus, we have found that there is a "discretionary" approach to admission prices at some tourist sites and churches (especially the smaller ones). Although most places post that children over six (and not citizens of an EU country) must pay the adult rate, we have found many sites take one look at John and hand us a free ticket. Sometimes for Margaret too.

We'll post more later. We have a lot to tell!

Ciao!
Susan

We arrived in Rome on Saturday. We caught an Italian Eurostar in Florence which zipped us to Rome in almost no time. The seat reservations were pretty steep, but it was worth it. We met up with our Rome host at the flat that we are renting and after getting settled and buying a few groceries at a market just around the corner, we were out exploring by the middle of the afternoon.

Our flat is great. The best flat we’ve rented so far; probably the most expensive, too. We are close to the Tiber River, across from the Trastevere neighborhood. We are close to the Campo de’ Fiori and not far at all from the Forum,, etc.

During our first afternoon, we wandered around to try to get a feel for our neighborhood, plus we wanted to see if we could make sense of our map. It became clear that the map wasn’t all that it could be (Knopf Mapguide), so our first stop (after the grocery store) was a book store. They didn’t have what we wanted either (why are so many tourist maps so big and bulky?), so we pressed on with what we had.

We went by the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona. We witnessed the end of a wedding along the way. Before heading back to the flat, we engaged in more people-watching and general marveling at how people get around in Rome. There are streets and alleyways that often match up to our map, but sometimes do not. Crossing the street can be a challenge, as those who ride scooters and motorcycles do not seem required to stop at red lights. And there are a lot of scooters in Rome.

On Sunday, we decided to head to the Forum first. The day, although the weather forecast claimed that it would be overcast, was beautiful—warm and sunny. A little too warm, though, for Margaret. She started wilting early.

The Forum was lots of fun and a great learning opportunity for the kids. John liked learning about legends—the legend of Romulus and Remus and the legend of the guy who galloped his horse into a hole in the ground. We saw lots of ruins and some grand arches

After the Forum, we went just next door to the Palatine Hill, where the emperors of Rome once lived. There, the kids could actually play among the ruins. Here they are showing how they felt ruined themselves (especially Margaret, as she was still complaining about the heat!):

Here are some other shots among the ruins of the former palaces:

After a very long day, we exited through the Forum and then we up to the top of the Victor Emmanuel monument and had little snack at a café on the terrace.

Then, it was time to make our way back to the flat. We caught up on what was going on with the Pats, called some relatives, and had a simple dinner of gnocchi.

But, the day wasn’t over yet! We decided, much to Margaret’s chagrin, to take an evening stroll, Rick Steves’ suggested “night walk.” It began at the Campo de’ Fiori, then through the Piazza Navona, where we braved the “gaunlet” of waiters and other restaurant personnel trying to get us to sit down at a restaurant table. We encountered lots of other people strolling about, after all it was a lovely Rome evening. We even saw another group with the very same Rick Steves walk/map guide. Only they were doing the walk in reverse.

After the Piazza Navona, we went by the Pantheon—an even more impressive sight all lit up. And, finally to the Trevi fountain. (Technically, the Rick Steeves walk proceeds from there to the Spanish Steps, but we were getting tired, so we called it a night at the fountain).

Then, it was time to find some delicious gelato, to reward Margaret for minimal complaining. We went a bit out of our way to get to the place recommended by Rick and by our Knopf Mapguide (which has some good recommendations, though its maps are inconveniently formatted) — Giolitti. Unfortunately, her choice of chocolate and kiwi was not the best combination. But, she managed to get through it.

Our first full day of Rome was done.

Ciao!

Susan

There’s no way to see all the sites of Florence in anything less than a month, and we gave ourselves only three full days (plus the day in Lucca) to see as much as we could. Margaret’s must-see sight was the Uffizi — actually the Botticellis in the Uffizi. John’s must see-sight was Michelangelo’s David. John’s fascination with David began when we were in Amsterdam. That’s when we ran out of reading material for Margaret. At an English bookstore, she picked out something called the Plague Sorcerer, but fairness required that we get John something too. Most of what was there was either too babyish or too hard for him, but we found a book on the art of Michelangelo and, more generally, about Renaissance art. He devoured that book (having not much else to read) and has become a big fan of Michelangelo. He insisted that we find the Michelangelo Holy Family at the Uffizi and then that we go to the David.

We’re told that in the summer it’s necessary to book tickets in advance to get into the Accademia to see David, but we just showed up at about nine in the morning on Friday and walked right in, which saved us 16 Euros in booking fees (about $20). I have mixed feelings about the Accademia. On the one hand, David in person more than lives up to the hype, and it was worth the 10 Euro admission fee just to see it. It is difficult to write anything about it that isn’t clichéd or trite, so I won’t. But it is stunning. And it must have been, when it was first unveiled, awe-inspiring proof that in at least one domain the moderns had surpassed the ancients.

On the other hand, there was not much else that I desperately wanted to see there, though the Michelangelo Prisoners were also very fine. For the rest, we could have done without the early Gothic altarpieces, the plaster casts of ancient sculptures, and the later religious art.

With the altarpieces, the kids are getting very good at playing “name that saint” — trying to recognize the saints in the paintings by their distinctive attributes. St. Catherine with the wheel upon which she was martyred; St. Paul with the sword with which he was martyred; St. Lawrence with the grill upon which he was martyred by roasting alive (see a pattern here?).

After the Accademia, we headed home and ate lunch in the flat. Then it was off to the Santa Croce church to see the tombs of Machiavelli and Michelangelo and some amazing Giotto frescoes. Though they belong to Florence’s Franciscans, this lavish church and cloister hardly evoke the simplicity one associates with the name of Francis.

The piazza outside Santa Croce is beautiful, as is the church facade, but some people just don't like to have their pictures taken:

We spent a long while at Santa Croce, where John paid his respects to the tomb of Michelangelo

and Joseph pays his to Machiavelli's tomb. (Unfortunately, that picture was too dark).

After that, we visited the cloister, where Margaret proved that she can pose for a lovely picture when she really wants to:

Then we went off for an exploratory walk to see some remnants of the old medieval wall of Florence.

We hiked down to the Arno (a sluggish, brown, weedy looking river — at least in October) and across to a hill on the other side, at the Piazzale Michelangelo, where we were treated to a lovely view of Florence. And, John tried to mimic the pose of David (with his clothes on, of course) in front of the copy of the famous statue.

After slowly making our way back down the hill, we headed along the river to the Ponte Vecchio. Along the way, we found this:

Note the detail (Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott):

This is the only Protestant church we have seen so far in Italy.

When we got to the Piazza della Signoria, we stopped for our daily gelato. And, for our final tour of the day, we visited the Palazzo Vecchio, where Joe got to see and stand in the study of Machiavelli. (He had a very nice office).

After dragging him out of there (and then convincing him that it was too late to visit any other museums—which took some work!), we slowly headed back to the flat. We grabbed some groceries to make dinner. Then, it was time to eat and pack.

Arrivederci, Florence!

Joe and Susan

For the most part, our trip has been carefully planned out. We devised an itinerary, made hotel reservations, and decided on a few major things we wanted to do in each place. (Actually, by "we," I mean that Susan did all those things). But occasionally, we are able to be spontaneous. (And we will need to be again, the week after next, since we have not finalized our plans for the week between our departure from Rome and our arrival in Paris -- but that's another story).

Today's story begins in Salzburg, back on the 15th, when we were on the 21 bus from the Bloberger Hof into town. A few stops after we had gotten on the bus, another family of English-speaking foreigners boarded -- a Mom and Dad (about our ages), an older daughter with nose firmly planted in a book, and a younger son, bursting with energy. They were just like us... only Canadian!

Somehow, a conversation was started, and it turned out that their family is from the Toronto area, and the kids, Sarah and Alec are within months of Margaret's and John's ages. They are spending a few months in Italy, in Lucca, and after hearing that we would soon be in Florence, Andy and Kim (the parents) invited us to spend a day with them in Lucca, which is just over an hour to the east of Florence by train.

Florence is full of art treasures and amazing museums -- many more than we could see in the four full days we are staying here -- but it's been a long time since we spent any time with another family with kids. So we decided we'd skip some of the museums and picked a day (Thursday) for our visit and hopped on the train, hoping for the best.

The train ride was itself something of an adventure. We bought our tickets at a self-service electronic kiosk, and we think we probably bought the right tickets, but they were so cheap (10 Euros for the family to go to Lucca and back) we think we might have made a mistake. As it happens, no one ever checked our tickets (though I dutifully validated them on both legs of the journey), so we'll never know.

The train was old, dirty, and a local, so it stopped at every village and cow-crossing between here and Lucca (and a few that are a bit out of the way, too!). No announcements were made at any stop, and, for the most part, we could not see the names of the towns at which we had stopped. It was all very unnerving. But we had gotten on the correct train after all, and it terminated in Lucca, so we got off when everyone else did, and after a few moments met up with Andy, Kim and the kids.

The kids bonded instantly. John and Alec started running around, playing tag, and generally acting like nine-year-old boys, but they did pause for this picture.

Margaret and Sarah started talking about books.

Don't they all look cute together?

Andy led us on a "greatest hits" tour of Lucca. There was a Roman excavation under what was once Lucca's cathedral. Then we were off to the current Duomo, St. Martin's, where we paid our respects to the Volto Santo, an ancient crucifix, which was, according to tradition, carved by Nicodemus. After this, we admired the facade of yet another beautiful, marbled church, and then it was off to lunch.

Our hosts took us to a local, hole-in-the-wall pizza joint. The pizza was excellent, as good as (or better than) what we had on our first night in Venice. But the real treat was something called "cecina" -- a sort of baked pancake made out of chickpeas and who knows what else. It was great. And the whole meal, including sodas, set us back less than 11 Euros, which makes it the cheapest meal we've had out on our whole trip. And it was one of the best.

After lunch, we walked to the old Roman ampitheatre, which is now a piazza, which retains the oval shape of the original theater. Apparently some of the walls outside one of the entrances date back to Roman times, but we were never quite sure which ones. They all looked old to us.

Here's a random shot of John (near the "canal" or aqueduct in Lucca), looking happy as can be:

From there, we made our way to Lucca's old fortifications, which still form an intact ring around the old city. Unlike some of the old fortifications we've encountered (such as those in Conwy, in Wales, which we visited four years ago), these are wide (they are earthenworks with a facing of brick) and have a multi-purpose recreational path along the top. So we rented bikes and rode a couple of times around the city. The kids have been eager to rent bikes since we arrived in Belgium, and for one reason or another we had not yet managed it, though we've been in a number of good places for cycling (in Belgium or Haarlem, along the Rhine, or along the Danube or the Salzach). The Lucca ride was a real treat -- it was flat, highly scenic, and in an hour, we made it twice around the circuit of the old city.

The ride may have been the highlight for the kids, but the piece de resistance of Lucca must be the Torre Guinigi, the tower with the trees on top.

Naturally, we took some photos to take advantage of the unusual background:

Afterwards, we were glad to accept Kim and Andy's invitation to a simple Tuscan dinner at their flat. We had pasta, salads, and red wine out on their terrace. The girls enumerated points of similarity between them, and Margaret announced that they had between twenty five and thirty things in common (such as the fact that they both have close friends who are left-handed). The boys played on the game boy and watched "Fairly Oddparents" in Italian, seemingly finding it quite as funny as they would have done had they seen it in English.

Wiped out by our full day of activity, we took the 7:32 train back to Florence. This time, we had a clean, modern (double-decker) train, which had video screens and audio announcements informing us of where we were stopping. Still, no one checked our tickets.

ciao,
Joe