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Thursday, February 5, 2015

Jolly old England

The remaining pilgrims left Rome this morning, Jan, on the early flght left at 6:30. The rain sounded like a tsunami was on the way! The last three of us left right after breakfast. We were checked through security and sitting at our gate.  There was a mini spa right next to us so Joanie had a massage while I had a manicure and Sandy read her much neglected book.
When we deplaned we said goodbye, I was heading for London end Joanie and Sandy for their connecting flight to Vancouver.
After a ridiculously long wait at passport control!!!!! Really, there were 2 agents and hundreds of people waiting for clearance. I was not impressed, particularly as there appears to be many agents standing around not working. Grrrr!
 What a lovely surprise when I finally got through the door on the other side......not just Penny, but Lena and Isabella were also meeting me and little Isabella came running to welcome me!!!! What a little doll she is, and she continued to charm me in her sweet little English voice .
We drove to Susie's house and had a cup of tea (lovely English tea) and a chocolate biscuit while Isabella performed for us.  Penny and I then left for Claygate where we spent the rest of the afternoon yakking. We were just sitting down to a delicious fish pie when Clive arrived home and joined us in a glass of wine.
It was great to catch up with them both for a couple of hours. Tomorrow will be a fun day.
I love England and often say........I could live here!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Audience with the Pope!!!!!

Today is our last day in Rome. We found out last night that Pope Francis would be giving an audience At 10:30 Wednesday morning. Tickets were free but you had to previously order them on the Internet. Of course we had not done this. We were told by another guest in the hotel, who had the ticket,  that in order to get a seat she was leaving for the Vatican at 7:30am. Hmmmm, what to do?!
We decided we would have breakfast and leave the hotel at 9ish in a taxi. On arrival at the Vatican we    Breezed around, through the airport style security machine and to our surprise we were soon inside. Not a soul asked for the blue paper that was the ticket. The audience had already started by this time and there was standing room only at the very back. The room held about 6,500 people.
Various cardinals spoke and then the Pope stood from his white chair and spoke in Italian. Afterwards several of the cardinals repeated the Pope's message in English, French,  German and Spanish. It was incredibly hot in the room and we did not stay for the full audience.
We walked to the Castel St Angelo which is beside the Tiber River down the way from the Vatican. There is said to be a secret passage between the two where the Popes could go from one to the other, depending on the danger.
We then walked to a shopping district where Local Romans  shop......Armani, Versace, Coin and others. Romans must be rich! The Via Cola di Rienzo!
Feet were weary from tramping the cobbled streets and we took a taxi to the villa Farnesina which was merely a stones throw from our hotel.  This villa had large paintings by Raphael and others of the     1500's, and a  small formal garden.
We went Grazies and Grazillas for lunch, we had been there a few days previous and liked it. We shared some pastas, grilled vegetables and tiramisu and a bottle of white wine.  The rain was on again and we made our way back to the hotel , a bit of a rest before dinner. None of us were very hungry but after some packing and such we once again went out in the rain to Dar Poeta a delicious and popular pizza restaurant.. We shared a couple of pizzas, beer and a Nutella calzone!!!!! Yum! On returning to the hotel after dinner I went to the hotel reception to ask for another map, a girl we had talked to yesterday about the Audience with the Pope was there. I told her that we had actually been able to get into it as well and asked her how she and her mum and mother in law had enjoyed it. They had gone at 7:30 to get a good seat and were seated about the middle of the floor area, so not too far from the staging area. She told me that when the audience was over the Pope was walking down the aisle and as he was even with their seats a man jumped out of his seat, screamed "For Gods sake" and threw himself on the floor at the Popes feet. Immediately several security persons grabbed the man, but the Pope held them off and spoke with the man for several minutes and he calmed down. She said it was an unreal experience, scary at first and then not. Her mum and mum in law then got to shake hands with the Pope.
We have had such an amazing time exploring Rome and the two towns we visited outside of the city. Our time in Florence and Paris were memorable, we had so many adventures and laughs with all
seven of the Painters!!!! Prosecco and Pearls rule!!!!
Lastly we have to say our Hotel Santa Maria was such a great choice, central, friendly, reasonably priced, we would highly recommend it on your visit to Rome!
Arrivederci  and Ciao !!!!


Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Day trip to Tivoli

We awoke this morning to a forecast of heavy rain! Not what we expected in Rome but you take what you get!
We decided to do another day trip outside of Rome. Credit must go to Sandy and Joanie as they very diligently research where to go and what will be interesting to see.  It is decided we will go to Tivoli which is a 35 minute train ride away. This involves a taxi ride to the metro station near the coliseum, then a metro ride to the train station. This is a different train line then we took yesterday.  Two of the trainmen were chatting to us, they knew no English and our Italian was only very slightly better. The train was direct and we arrived after a pleasant ride through agriculture, olive trees, farms, and field of horses, cows and sheep, a refreshing change from Vespas, motorbikes, smart cars and all manner of trucks and buses.
Our focus was to visit the Villa d'Este and we found some signs with arrows pointing the way.  We walked toward the Centro of Tivoli and I asked a local passing by  if we were heading in the right direction....she responded with her arm pointing straight up...up...up. The narrow streets took us through the town. Up as far as we could go we found another directional arrow...which led us past the finest italian leather bags! They seem to be everywhere. One more gift was purchased and a few more we said we would think about after we toured the Villa.
The Villa itself was large with many rooms, what was spectacular was the gardens. The house sits on a hill overlooking the town, and countryside for miles. The gardens are designed in a formal way, with many large planters, sculptures, and fountains everywhere.  Large pools of water, many hedges, cypress trees, waterfalls, grottoes, cobbled walkways. We were told that One of the largest fountains played music in the afternoon at 2:30.  We were not sure exactly where the location would be and when we heard the music start we hurried up the garden toward it.....arriving just as it ceased!
Back inside the house we discovered an art room.  The artist Virginia Tomescu Scrocco's paintings covered the walls. She was inspired by the broken brushwork of Divisionism that she absorbed
during her youth in France. Her work is described as being enveloped in light. She lived in her beloved Tivoli until the war when she moved to Rome where she died in 1950.
It is hard to describe the beauty of the gardens, I recommend two things.......Google Villa D'Este and if you are visiting Rome it is definitely a day trip to remember.
We were making our way back down through the town and stopped at a cafe for a pastry and coffee in lieu of lunch. The cafe was quiet and the gregarious server was friendly, he made our lattes with chocolate coating the glass before he added the coffee....yum !  As we were leaving a couple came in and the server told him we were from Canada, this new guy went crazy.....English is my passion!!!!! His girlfriend was nodding and smiling, saying yes..it is his passion!!!! Quite funny!
Back to the train station, this time we were on the 4oclock which stopped everywhere on the way to Rome.
It was dark when we arrived and on the way home we walked the length of Circo Massimo, which is the area where in ancient times chariot races and other social events took place.  We are certainly taking in all historic sites in Rome.
We were glad to escape the rain for a little while, then it was back out to a nearby restaurant, the Frachetti.  Joanie pronounced it her best meal in Italy.
Tomorrow the sun may make an appearance for a short period. We are planning to revisit the Vatican, as the Pope is in residence and speaks to the people on  Wednesdays  at 10:30 am.  We expect there will be big crowds and although tickets are free to hear him speak you must apply for a ticket in advance......we will try our luck.
Going to sleep to the sound of rain. .....ciao!

Monday, February 2, 2015

What to Do, What to do!!!

Today the forecast was for rain, plus it was/is Monday and a lot of venues are closed on Mondays.  We set out after breakfast,  after finding out how and where to buy tickets. We walked to a tobacco shop, bought bus tickets....1.50 euros to ride the bus for 100 minutes. You validate your ticket once boarding the bus and your 100 minutes begins. Seemed simple.
The bus was very crowded and standing room only. The ride was quite rough as many streets are cobbled. One nice young couple offered me a seat that became empty.....yes, I am and look like, a senior citizen! We rode the bus to the end of the line which was at the train (trenitalia) station. Train tickets are very easy to buy from the ticket machines and we purchase four returns from Rome to Frascati. Franscati is about 35 minutes by train from Rome. It is in white white country and has a large villa, Aldobrandini, no longer used as a home, with large gardens, that were in a formal design They sold wine and olive oil there. The wine of the area,  which is one that we used to buy quite often is Colli Albani. We hiked up the cobbled street to see the view from the gardens.
At first we had a difficult time finding a restaurant that was open for lunch....but we were successful at the Cantina Bucciarelli. The owners, who also were the waiters, did not speak much English but we managed to muddle through together. They were very nice! We ordered some dishes to share and a litre of white wine from the region which they dispensed from a large wooden keg.
After lunch we wandered through the town and poked into a few shops. We almost got out of there purchase free......but ducked into a shop selling purses and shoes. 40% discount was on offer and we all are the owners of new bags!
We returned to the train station and caught the 4:30 back to Rome. The train passed through an airport and an area that is part of the Appian Way, with the ruins of an aquaduct partially standing.
Arriving at the train station we exited and found our way to the bus terminus outside. Once again we were back in the familiar Trastevere area and in the security of our walled hotel.
The other half of our painting group, who left us yesterday, will be happy to know we finally made it to the Der Poet Pizza!!!!!! And it was as fantastic as we had been told!  So sorry, Judy, Joan and Marion that we ran out of time to get there with you! We are hoping we can go again before it is our turn to leave Italy!
And so ends another wonderful day in Italia.
Ciao. ️️xo

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Sunday in Rome

This morning we were awakened by rolling Thunder and torrential rain! We were not meeting a guide   so we were having a bit of a sleep in! Heaven!
Marion had left at 6:30 as she had an early flight to London and we were to meet Judy and Joan for a last breakfast a bit later as they had a flight home at noon.
By the time we were ready to go out the rain had stopped and there was blue sky and sunshine! We did not have a "plan" so we were strolling in the Trastevere area, which is an made up of narrow streets, little shops, churches, bars, restaurants and markets. We hadn't gone too far when we popped into a shop where a purchase was made by Sandy.
We were heading for the church of saint Cecilia, who is the patron saint of music. It was recommended by Joan that we should visit it. Cecile's tomb was opened about 250 years after her death and her body was surprisingly intact. There was a beautiful white marble statue of her in repose that was done by Bernini. The church was built on Roman ruins that house the crypt under the floor of the church, a nun was present and would unlock the doorway so you could go down and have a look.....we did not as she didn't look very welcoming.
We decided to cross the river to the little island and when we went down the steps to the riverbank, which has a wide pedestrian walkway we had some fun taking pictures with the selfie stick. Selfie sticks are great fun and there are so many people hawking them that you see them in use everywhere you go. So now instead of asking a stranger to take a photo of your group you just pull out your selfie stick!
Back up from the river we left the island and walked through the Jewish section, there were some ruins in the process of restoration and we walked through the area. As we walked we were looking for a Jewish restaurant, hoping for some matzo ball soup or Flafels, after awhile having no success we decided on a busy little Italian place called Benito Osteria. Well, Sunday lunch is a big deal of which I'm convinced ALL Italians partake, and most,of them seemed to be at Benito's!!!! Sandy and I crowded into the small doorway while Joanie and Jan waited outside......how long for a table we Inquired......oh ...hand signals indicated 5-10minutes.......not so. More people arrived who seemed in some cases to be regulars and they miraculously found seats. I hate to report that we waited about 45! Minutes for a table......yes, Jeff, Mike, Chris and Graeme would have been out of there! The problem was we knew the situation would be similar all over and we decided to wait. Just before we were seated we were given a small glass of Prosecco, late but better than not.
We enjoyed most of the lunch, a couple of pasta dishes, a couple of appetizers and a wild boar dish, we shared it all,  along with a bottle of red., and two delicious desserts. By the time we finished there was just us and one other table in the restaurant...Sunday lunch was over!
We resumed our walk and arrived at a gigantic white building the Vicctori Emmanuel the first king of  United Italy completed in 1935, it houses the National Museum and there are awesome views from a walkway that can be reached after climbing many many many heart pounding steps! Once up the steps you can look down on the coliseum, the Forum, St Peters Basilica. We were there just before sunset and Rome looked beautiful as the sun went down and lights came on in the buildings. As we left the viewing area we entered a doorway and we were in the Basilica of Santa Maria, a very beautiful church with a gorgeous patchwork of marble floors and many hanging Chrystal chandeliers.
This building has huge pillars supporting a many curlicues on the roof and magnificent white statues of men on horses flanking each side......the word is that Romans do not like this building as they feel it is too ostentatious.  We descended the many steps, which was much easier than the ascending had been.
We then made our way back to our hotel, retracing our steps back through the Trastevere area where the shops were still open and people were out and about.
Our plan was to rest a little and visit a restaurant for a small snack.....truth is we were all still full from lunch and tired from our day, the rain was again teeming, thunder was booming and we stayed in! Weather report is fine.
Tomorrow will be another day!