Italy travel journal 2006

Travel Journal, Italy, October 2006


If all roads lead to Rome, some take longer than others to travel. We left home on a windy, rainy day that delayed our flight out of DC, and left us sitting on the runway in NY for 2 hours before taking off, finally, around 9 30 pm. The plane bounced all the way to Italy, making sleep impossible. When we landed around 11 am in Rome, it was about 17 hours since we’d left home.

We were met at the airport by a lovely Italian man who drove us the 45 minutes from the airport to our hotel in a Mercedes van. His English was limited, but better than our Italian, and he recommended sights to see, directing our attention to points of interest on the way. Our hotel, The Sofitel, was small, but beautiful, and comfortably elegant. Luigi, who showed us to our room, was just one of many charming and outgoing Italian men who gave us advice and help during our stay. He taught us the Italian words and phrases we needed to know just to be social in Rome. Buongiorno, buonasera, per favore, gratzie, and potrei avere ancora un po’ di vino? – Could I have a little more wine?

After we checked in, we went to the Spanish Steps. At the bottom is Piazza di Spagna, and the Barcaccia Fountain, the first of at least a dozen fountains we saw in Rome. At the top is Piazza Trinità dei Monti, and the church of the same name. In between are 138 wide, steep steps, usually full of people who are people watching, and vendors selling paintings, statues, flowers, and other things. We met Massimus and his horse, Kiko, at the bottom, and hopped aboard for a carriage ride around Rome.

Massimus was a real wise guy who kept us amused with jokes and anecdotes about the places he showed us. He took us to the Pantheon, where we got out and explored. It was built around 27 BC, as a temple devoted to the 7 deities of the 7 planets, and destroyed in the year 80. The current building was constructed in the year 125. It’s been a Christian church since the 7th century, consecrated by Pope Boniface IV, and is used mostly as a tomb.

He showed us Trajan’s Column, intricately carved, and depicting the wars of Rome in ancient times. We saw the Mausoleum of Augustus, and drove by many ancient ruins, which we would return to later, including the Coliseum, Forum, and Circus Maximus. We passed by Trevi Fountain for the first of several times.

As Massimus returned us to Piazza di Spagna, at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, I spotted my sister in law, Romana, in the crowd. She and Chuck’s brother flew in from Prague to spend a few days with us. We walked to Via Veneto, one of Rome’s main streets, and found a little restaurant for dinner. There were no more than 5 or 6 tables in the place, and the proprietor looked like Anthony Quinn in his later years. The food was delicious! When we left, he gave Romy and me yellow roses. We walked back to our hotel, stopping on the way in the Hard Rock Café, and made a fairly early night of it. We’d been up about 33 hours, and were starting to feel it!

Sunday morning dawned clear and bright, and ended up being about 75*. That’s a little too warm for me, and was the warmest of our days there. Most days were around 70*, with the mornings and evenings cool and fresh, and we didn’t have any rain at all. We caught the subway from Barberini Square. Luckily we had been warned about the pickpockets and gypsies in Rome, and made sure no wallets were in back pockets. As we boarded our train, Chuck felt fingers plucking at the side pocket of his cargo pants, which was double buttoned and velcroed! When he reacted, the man slithered away, but returned, not once, but twice more to try again! There was a pack of young girls with babies in slings who kept edging up to people in the station. I wonder how many tourists were victimized by that group. At the end of our day, we rode the subway back, but opted not to use it again. It’s a shame, because it’s cheap and easy to use.

Our subway adventure brought us to ancient Rome. We toured the Coliseum with an Italian guide who was full of information. There were too many people there to really get a feel for the history and grandeur of it, but I wouldn’t have missed it. We saw the Forum, the Temples of Venus and Romulus, Circus Maximus, where Ben Hur and Russell Crowe played, the Arch of Constantine, and the Palatine Hill, which is up, up, high, and overlooks it all. We tried to go into Domus Aurea, the Golden Palace of Nero, but it was being restored. We had a funny young Aussie girl give our tour of Palatine Hill. We ended up back at Trevi Fountain, where we threw coins over our shoulders into the fountain. According to legend, this assures you will return to Rome.

The plan for the evening was a bus tour of Rome after dark. As we waited for the driver to pick us up at our hotel, the doorman said to me, Lady!!!!! La Luna!!!! He stood in the road pointing up at the most beautiful full moon. Aside from being lovely, it was interesting because the moon we left at home was nowhere near full.

The “Lady” thing was a source of constant amusement to us. It was the way most Italian men addressed women. “Lady, please”, when inviting us to follow, or sit, be aware of a skirt about to catch in the door, or look at something like the moon. It was always said with the utmost respect, and always caused us to smile.

So – Rome at night. We were driven around the ancient sites, and to Vatican City, which were all stunning in the light of la luna, but we weren’t allowed to get out and take pictures. This is the reason I would never take a group tour. I would be perpetually frustrated about things like that. We did get out twice – once at Trevi Fountain, which was as wildly crowded at night as during the day, and again up on a high hill, so we could look out over all of Rome. We finished up with a late dinner and a bottle of wine at a sidewalk café near our hotel.

Monday, and our last full day in Rome, was for the Vatican. Bruce and Romy opted to go shopping rather than go to the Vatican, so we were on our own. We took a taxi to Café Vaticano, where we were to meet our private Italian guide, Francesco. He was arranged for us by the Sofitel concierge, and this is a plan I would recommend to anyone who wants to tour the Vatican. When we arrived, there were 2 lines, as far as the eye could see, already snaking around both sides of the entrance. One side was for group tours. The other direction was for individuals on their own. The line literally stretched for blocks. I thought, we will be in that line for hours. Not so. Francesco had a sign with our name on it, and as soon as we said Hello, he steered us into the line at the front. Apparently he has an arrangement with a tour guide who gets there very early to slip in with them. An interesting point - No bare shoulders or knees are allowed at the Vatican, for women, and men must be covered to the ankle.

Francesco explained we would do the tour out of order, and he apologized in advance if we were rushed through the early part of the tour, but assured us we would return to those spots and see everything we wanted. I’m sure we walked 10 miles at the Vatican that day, starting with the long walk to the Sistine Chapel, where we were virtually alone. There were 10 or 15 other people there, and we were able to listen to him quietly explaining many facts about the paintings. No photos were allowed, but it’s okay because there’s no way to capture the beauty.

Francesco spent the next 3 hours with us, always managing to keep us a step ahead of the hordes. We could see them at various times, across the way, looking like the shoulder to shoulder crowds on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Eve. But we had the hall of statues, several courtyards, and Raphael’s apartments basically to ourselves. On the way out to the crypts, and St Peter’s Basilica, we passed back through the Sistine Chapel. It was packed to the rafters with people being continually shushed. I was so delighted with Francesco and our special tour!

The crypts and St Peter’s Basilica were crowded, as was the square, but not so much that Francesco couldn’t continue his quiet tour with us. We saw the Swiss Guard, and the Pope’s apartments (from outside!) and I sent myself a postcard with a Vatican City stamp, since they wouldn’t stamp my passport.

Back in Rome, we had lunch at a sidewalk café and rested our very weary feet. The one last thing on my “must do” list for Rome was a crypt in a church that was luckily nearby. The church is Santa Maria della Concezione, and Capuchin friars had unearthed the bones of thousands of their brethren, and created amazing and intricate artwork with the bones. There are 6 separate rooms, and each one, as well as the connecting hallway, is a Grateful Dead fan’s fantasy. There were floral patterns, and lanterns, and clocks and entire scenes, including one of Jesus raising Lazarus – all this and more, all formed with bones. I found it quite compelling and oddly beautiful. It ended with the warning: What you are, we once were. What we are, you shall become.

One of the many pleasant things about our hotel was a rooftop terrace that overlooked all of Rome. It immediately overlooked our neighbors at Villa Ludavisi, a family boasting at least 2 popes, and in the distance the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica dominated the skyline. Bruce and Romy came to meet us on our terrace, and we had our last dinner in Rome in town.

Tuesday we all met at the train station. We had booked 1st class seats to Venice, and enjoyed the 4 ½ hour ride immensely, sitting across a cozy table from each other and sharing Czech wine Romy had brought from home. We enjoyed the company of the adventurous older couple across the aisle, and against all odds, we saw them again in Piazza San Marco the next day!

The same driver took us to the train who had brought us to the hotel. He took us a roundabout way to the station so I could get a picture of the Spanish Steps deserted in the early morning. He and the hotel staff shared the opinion that we should skip Venice and stay in Rome. It’s cold, they said, and rainy, and nothing but “a bridge, and a bridge, and a bridge”. But Venice is a magical place. We knew that as soon as we arrived at the train station and were met by a girl holding a card with our name, who whisked us off to our own private water taxi. Our driver made his way down the Grand Canal, past looming old palaces and one grand, domed church after another. We were put out at a dock near Piazza San Marco and we dragged our bags through the square, past the birds of St. Mark’s, and the Doges’ Palace, and the basilica – past the square with cafes and string quartets that play pretty much around the clock. We were told our hotel, Plaza San Marco, was less than a minute’s walk from the square, so we asked, and were directed down a small cobbled lane full of shops, less than a minute’s walk away!

I was delighted to be handed a big skeleton key on a massive bright red tassel, in lieu of the usual key card. I was more delighted to find our room was a corner suite with a wrap around balcony, opening from 3 separate sets of French doors – 2 from the sitting room, one from the bedroom – and overlooking a canal. It smelled like baby powder, and was very spacious. Even the foyer was roomy enough to hold a bench and a good sized chest.

Some things I learned about Venice – it consists of 120 islands, and on each of the 120 islands is a Catholic church. Marco, a gondolier we will meet later, told us, “Another island, and another church.” Big, ornate, domed churches, full of priceless art are everywhere in Venice. As for the Roman assessment of Venice, it was not cold or rainy while we were there, but they were right about the bridges. There are 427 of them connecting Venice’s islands. We may have crossed all of them in our days there, and I lost track of how many breathtaking churches we went in. I was amused that the Italian word for church is chiesa (kee-ay-za) but the phrase for place of worship is sala di culto.

Our first afternoon, we walked for miles and hours, exploring, and bought water taxi passes that allowed us to hop on any water taxi, any time, to go anywhere. They have a system and schedule as intricate as any subway. We ate dinner at an outdoor place overlooking the Grand Canal, and watched the sun set from the stately Rialto Bridge, first erected in 1181.

Our hotel package included a private tour of the Murano Glass Factory, on the island of Murano. It wasn’t part of Bruce and Romy’s package, so we went alone. This is not one of the islands connected by a bridge, so we were collected at our hotel by our first Marco of the day. He took us to our private taxi, which took us out into the Adriatic, where the boats must stay in lanes and follow speed limits. Stefano met us and took us on a tour of the part of the factory where men make the glassware and chandeliers, jewelry, statues, and home decorations Murano is famous for. Then we looked at showrooms filled with the finished product. Much of it was too big and too busy for my taste,but Chuck and I were both charmed by a wine decanter suggesting the shape of a cat prepared to pounce, delicately etched with grapes on vines. We bought that, and matching wine glasses. They will be made specifically for us, and shipped. They should arrive soon after the case of Italian wine Chuck ordered back in Venice! (In addition to glassware and wine, I bought a silver coliseum charm, a silver gondola passing beneath the Rialto Bridge charm, 2 oil paintings of Venice by a local artist, and many gifts!)

When we returned to Venice, we were let out at the dock near the hospital. Nearby, there were many ambulances “parked” at the dock – all boats. The ER entrance is through a tunnel under the hospital. The police “cars” are all boats, as well, with flashing lights.

We toured St, Mark’s, and the Doges’ Palace. Those Doges knew how to live. What art the churches don’t have, the Doges have. Absolutely amazing. There was too much to look at!

At twilight, Chuck and I took a gondola ride with the second Marco of the day. He pointed out the meanings of markings on the bridges, and which buildings are Unesco buildings, meaning renovations are being paid for by all of us. We actually own part of some buildings in Venice ;-) He didn’t sing, but some gondoliers did. We went along the Grand Canal, and through many of the canals that are like side streets and back streets. There are even stoplights!

We had dinner on our own, late, in a courtyard under bowers of vines, next to a statue of St Anthony in a wall grotto. Afterward, we strolled through Piazza San Marco, listening to the quartets, eating gelato in the shadow of St. Mark’s. At night, there are no birds. They all retreat to the roof and eaves of the buildings in the piazza.

Thursday was our last full day in Venice, we spent most of it on our own, shopping, and stopping into random churches and stores, and taking the water taxis from island to island. We went to San Giorgio, and Lido, and ended up in the campanile at Piazza San Marco, watching the sun set over all of Venice from 325 feet up. We had another wonderful Italian dinner (I had so much good pasta, I can’t ever hope to taste anything so good here!) at another friendly sidewalk restaurant, and ended the night at some pub that played nothing but Allman Brothers – the first music we heard in a week that wasn’t Italian!

Friday the 13th we woke early, and had a last walk around St. Mark’s. It was a much nicer day for travel, leaving, than we’d had coming. Our private water taxi picked us up at the dock at 10 30, and we went by water to the Venice airport. That was a pretty unusual experience!

I adored Rome, and Venice is a fairy tale place, and I loved the people, and their humor, as much as the magic of the places.


All photos by Judi