A month in one place...

Is one month in one city in a foreign country too much?

Depends...

If you like to see a ton of stuff and always be on the go, yes... a month is too much.  You can pretty much see the highlights of Rome in 3-7 days.  Slam-bam, thank you ma’am... you won’t even have to get adjusted to the time zones.

If, on the other hand, you just want to ease into life, perhaps take in a movie or maybe the new Monet exhibit, well... that’s a different story.

We managed to do something different everyday.  Up by 7:30, coffee by 9:00, off on an adventure, lunch around 13:00, home by 15:00.  Rest.  Relax.  Siesta.  Discuss what we saw today.  Plan on tomorrow’s adventure.  Rinse.  Recycle. Repeat.

This idea is not new.  I read it on a “bucket list”, somewhere on the internet.  Immediately I liked the idea.  Would I choose a different city next time?  Maybe.

London and Paris are EXPENSIVE.  Maybe Madrid or Barcelona.  I like small towns, but the big cities sure do offer a person lots of options.

Just thinking...

Dubbing around...

Tuesday was a dub day... Caren and I ate mediocre Giaponese (Japanese) food and consumed copious amounts of Proseco.  Made for a great siesta!
Wednesday we took the train to Anzio (Nettuno actually) to visit the Sicily-Rome Cemetary, where 7.800 headstones are arranged in orderly rows.  This does not include thousands of unidentified bodies.  Pretty moving...
Today, Rosanne left early and power walked the Roman forum.  Caren and I went to the Marilyn Monroe collection, which was fantastic.  It was a huge exhibit and very touching.  Caren split to meet her friend Joyce and I had a pizza at Dar Poeta.  Ummm good.
I am really learning my way around.  Subway - busses - walking... it’s all coming together.

Tomorrow Caren goes for a Tuscan wine tasting tour.  Rosanne and I spend our last day in Rome, with a Saturday exit to Amsterdam.  Caren also leaves on Saturday... her plane to Amsterdam leaves at 06:30 (gawd).  Our plane leaves at 12:30 (so civilized!).  We spend the night at the airport hotel at AMS and fly home on Sunday.

I love it here...

High ground

This was one of the many hills the Germans occupied in Southern Italy.  They were entrenched on this sight.  The Allies, on the valley floor, never had a chance.

Rome was captured on June 4 1944.  D-Day and the Normandy invasion, on June 6, got all of the press.  Italy was the real bloodbath.  Reconnoiter patrols of six men would leave and never return.  Men drowned trying to cross the Rapido River.

 The view from the Abbey...

Fuel

You gotta have fuel to take on Italy.

Macchiato...

Marichino...

Food, as provided at a trattoria in Cassino yesterday...

Monte Cassino

Monday we took the 08:00 train to Cassino, site of a major WW2 battle in the Italian campaign of WW2.  We took an all day tour with Dr Danila Bracaglia.  We visited battlefields, vistas, cemeteries and the rebuilt Abbey at Monte Cassino.   This was the highlight of my trip.

This area was a bloodbath for the Allies.  The Germans held the high ground and were well supplied. To stand at these sights was horrifying, moving, staggering... I’m searching for the right words, but I do not have any.  It was a emotional day.

Our guide, Danila, on the high ground.

The abbey

A day I will never forget...

Rainout

Sunday was a rainout.
Yes, it rained for most of the day, so we lazed around.
Zzzzzzzzzz

Fosse Ardeatine

Today we travelled to the mausoleum at Fosse Ardeatine.  You can get the full story if you Google that name.  In a nutshell, in March of 1944, the Italian resistance put 25kg of TNT in a street cart, lit the fuse and killed 28 German soldiers.  The Nazis, with Adolf’s direct order (you remember Adolf... “Let’s Make Germany Great Again”), decided to retaliate and kill 330 people (10 or so Italians for every German death).  They ended up killing 335, in a cave in the suburbs of Rome.  Then they bombed the site cuz they wanted to keep it a big secret.  Well, the secret got out.

It’s pretty eerie.

A day in the life, part 2

Have another cup of coffee at the park...

View some art...

Lunch...

Siesta...........zzz..........zzz........zzz.....

It’s just like a Seinfeld show.  What was that show about?  Nothing...

A day in the life

Morning coffee at the corner cafe...

Get some cash and go to the store...

Catch the bus...

Go to the park...

Kaput

So we headed out this morning to the Museum of Rome Liberation.  Meh.  All in Italian and rather underwhelming, compared to the Gestapo museum in Cologne.

We pushed on to the Church of San Clemente.  A really cool archeological site, which (for a 10 Euro fee) allowed us to go deep underground to see 1st century ruins.  Pretty cool.  I surfaced and walked out onto a large sidewalk at a corner.  There was a women sitting on a park bench.

I sat down next to her, facing in the opposite direction.  She was desperately trying to light her cigarette with a BIC lighter.  Flick... Flick.. Flick she went and nothing.  Finally I turned and motioned for her to hand me the lighter.  She was an old woman, with years of experience on her face.  She handed me the lighter.  I shook it (that works sometimes) and flick... flick... flick.  Nada.  I looked her square in the eye and said “KAPUT”.

She erupted in an outrageous laugh, which was as infectious as a cold in a day care center.  Within seconds, we were both laughing hilariously (like a couple of teenagers at two in the morning).  We laughed for 45 non-top seconds - one of those stress relieving belly laughs that brings tears to your eyes.

I said “un momento”.  I stood up, spying a mini market across the street.  I walked there and for 1 Euro purchased a mini BIC lighter.  I returned, handed her the BIC and she lit her cigarette.  She started to hand me the lighter.  I held up my hand and said “no”.  She smiled, thanked me profusely and a minute later, we both departed.  

Just a moment in time...

Life is just more than a read through, part two

So on our walk thru Garbatella, we come across a small piazza, which in Italy is a gathering spot.  It’s like Starbucks in Amerika... a meeting place, where families meet, exchange gossip, have a drink or coffee, a slice of pizza, etc.

So we wander into the bar and see the barista squeezing fresh oranges.  We could not resist.  We each ordered a glass and a capaccuino.  He said he would deliver it to a table outside on the piazza.  Soon a  young waitress appeared and asked if we wanted ice.  ICE, how Amerikan!  Si.

And here is what showed up...

So, there we sat... it was quiet, peaceful almost.  It was one of those moments, when the sugar from the OJ and the caffeine from the coffee kicked in and you feel mildly euphoric and you are soaking up the scene like a freeze dried sponge thrown into a lake and you suddenly realize that it is just a moment in time, a blissful moment, that will soon pass into the past.  And you savor every nano-second of the experience.

And then... poof... you are back at the metro stop..

Life is just more than read through

Steve sailed today.  Caren went to Pompeii.
Rosanne & I headed to Garbatella, a neighborhood in the south of Rome.
It was built in the 1920’s, for blue collar workers.  It’s a bit rough today... it’s like NW PDX in the 60’s.  Cheap rent, kind of run down... just waiting to be discovered and gentrified.

Garbage

2.7M people live in this city.

Even with the garbage trucks rolling thru all hours of the night, garbage does pile up.

This is the scene outside our apartment.

Pretty gritty, eh!

So what else appears with garbage like this laying around...

More birds... check

More rats... check

Would you believe... wild boars ?

Yup !

The ropes

Steve’s last day in Rome.  He and Rosanne hit the train and headed to Tivoli to see Hadrian’s Villa.  It was a bust.  After waiting for a bus that never came, they headed back home... bummer.

Caren and I headed to Termini to purchase a TIM SIM card for her iPhone.  That went amazingly well, much easier than my earlier experience.  She is taking a tour of Pompeii tomorrow, so we went back to the subway to find her meeting place, a cafe in Piazza Republicca.  Pretty easy...

This is the escalator down to the subway.

    

This is Piazza Republicca.

Do nothing

Monday was a do nothing day.
Caren arrived @ 13:30, which broke up the day.
We did manage a neighborhood walk in the morning, and a return to our favorite lunch spot... but that was about it.

It’s the view

What I most enjoyed about yesterday’s museum were the rooftop decks, with an adjoining cafeteria.  I grabbed an espresso and an acqua.  Went outside and just stared at the Rome skyline.  I must have spent 45 minutes out there.  It was cool and quiet.  It allowed me to dream...

People dress here

There was a wedding taking place at the museum yesterday.
A pic of the bride is below... it’s the woman in the white dress, if you were wondering.
Her maid of honor, with beautiful Roman features, is in the green dress.
Note the men, all in suits.

Men wear suits here.  Not the Ross Dress for Less shit... I’m talking suits with some style.  I had a suit once.  I put it in the closet and it shrank.  Damn, they don’t make suits like they used to. Maybe I shoulda gotten an Italian suit.  Maybe after another year at Dyad Fitness with Bob & Maya... maybe...

Museo Capitolino

Yesterday, we went to the above museum.
As expected, it was full of old stuff.
However, they had some BIG old stuff...

This is my world

Rome, Italy
17:17
75 degrees

This is my world...
Or at least my view of it.

It’s Saturday here and the city is quiet.  Just a lazy fall day.  I am on the veranda.  In the background are the sounds of children playing, people talking, a Vespa, an occasional car.  This is my hood.

I never understood dense city living.  Could not comprehend it as I grew up in suburban PDX.  For those of you from Philly or New York or Baltimore, well, it’s old hat.  But it was foreign to me.  Now, perhaps, I am beginning to understand it.  It’s just a small town, my little three block area.  If I knew the language, I would know the people down the block and across the street... I would wave at the lady on her patio, because maybe I would have seen her this morning at the market.  I find the whole scene rather reassuring - comfortable - satisfying - warm...

A soft warm wind moves across my shoulders - church bells ring - it’s time to hang the laundry.

Getting around

Moving about the city is an experience.
Your head has to be on a swivel, cuz there is lots going on around you.

Traffic - there is a lot of it.

Best way to avoid it is the Metro (subway).  It costs 1.50 Euro and is fast. Just keep an eye out for pickpockets and you will be fine.  But you are 60 feet underground.  Not much to see down there.

A bus ride also cost 1.50 Euro and a ticket is good for 100 minutes.  Transfer as many times as you want.  It’s slower and hotter and a rougher ride, but if you want to be at ground level, this is a pretty good way of seeing the city.

Walking... hold on to your jock strap.  The sidewalks are wide, but most are filled with street vendors, which makes for about two feet of usable sidewalk.  Never cross a street without a crosswalk... it’s Russian roulette. Even a crosswalk is not a guaranteed safe zone.  It simple means that a driver is not allowed to hit you.  It’s ok for a driver to miss you, by a foot or so.  So, walkers beware, those drivers are NOT stopping.  This ain’t Amerika.

It’s noisy... horns, dogs, people, humanity, right up in your grill.  At first, it’s shocking.  But the shock wears off and pretty soon you can’t wait to get back into it.  It’s thrilling.  Never a dull moment.

Food... great so far.  No more expensive that the US.  We eat lunches out and just graze in the evening.  Beer is cold, as is the white wine.  Gelato is to die for... today we tried Come Il Latte, the BEST so far.  Coffee... an espresso shot is called “Cafe” and it costs 1 Euro.  As does a capaccuino or a Mari chino.  That’s a regulated price and it requires you to stand at the bar.  If you want the same drink served to you table side, that will be 3.50 Euro please.

Having an apartment has been great.  Cost is $120 US a night.  Great to have a place to take a siesta, have breakfast, and just hang out.  It’s 1,100 square feet, huge by Euro standards.

Ciao

Before the Romans

We’re the Etruscans.
We are talking 100BC - 800 BC.
That’s old.

Today we went to the Etruscan museum. It was filled with old stuff, mostly gathered from Etruscan tombs.

Here are samples...

Oh, by the way... In the Etruscan society, woman were considered equals.  The Greeks did not care for that; hence, lots of Greek trash talking, especially on Twitter.

Back to Borghese

We hopped the #61 bus this morning, heading back over to Borghese Park where we found the Museum of Modern Art.

Here is the building, which is bigly big...

They had some old stuff ...

And some new stuff - here is my favorite... It’s called Songi (Dreams) by Vittorio Coroso

Like the Sunday before Xmas

@ Washington Square.
@ Noon
With pent up demand after a weeklong snow storm.

That’s what it is like to travel to major tourist sights in Europe (or anywhere, for that matter) these days.  For a first time visitor, it’s pretty cool.  “Wow, there is the Colosseum!!”  “Holy Shit”.  On your second trip, you might go, just in case you missed something on the first trip.  By the third time, meh.

This is the Roman Forum, at ground level.  I distinctly remember walking through the place, with daughter, in ‘01.  Felt like we were the only ones there.  Not so these days.

Therefore, we prefer to travel to the small towns.  In the big cities, which offer a ton of things to do, we stay in outlying neighborhoods and make use of public transportation.  It’s a different story if you are only here for three days... by all means, stay downtown and pay lots of cash for hotels and food, but enjoy the easy access to all of the sights.  It’s just a different experience.

So why am I here...

The food and the wine, though I’ve drank very little wine.  Mostly beer cuz it’s been in the upper 70’s and who wants to drink big Italian reds in warm weather (well, I can think of a few people!!). But we’ve had some wonderful meals and killer gelato and there’s more to come.

Grab ur flak jacket

We headed into the Goliath this morning...
The Big Kahuna
Yup, the Colosseum, Forum and Palantine Hill.
When I was here in ‘01, with daughter in tow, this was all free, except for entrance to the Colosseum. Now, you pay 12E for the privilege of a walk thru.  Even had to go through a security check.  Shit.

This was our first sight upon stepping out of the Metro station.

We skipped the Colosseum, as we had all seen it before.  And trust me, it hasn’t changed.
We climbed up to Palatine Hill, where the emperors used to hang their togas.  Pretty impressive and great views of Rome.  Brother in law Steve took this panorama of the Roman Forum, from atop Palantine Hill.

After three hours, we needed fuel.  What to eat in Rome?  Chinese food.  With a Tsingtao.  Now you’re talking... !

On the 7th day

We rested.
A day of doing nothing.
Nada - zippo - well, mostly zippo.

We took a bus ride to the Borghese Park, which is like Central Park in NYC.
We saw a fountain.
It looked like this...

We went to lunch.

I had a pork chop.

We went back to the apartment and everyone took a looooong siesta.

We read.

We did the crossword in the Times.

No agenda is nice...

Clickity-clack

Goes the railroad track...

We hopped aboard the Italian cruiseliner, left Roma Tiburtina and headed to Orvieto.  I have been here before, once with my daughter in ‘01 and once with by brother in ‘05.  But that was a different lifetime...

This town is perched on a hilltop and we had to ride a funicolare to reach it.  The town is pretty impressive... larger than I remember.  The main church, the Duomo, is more beautiful than I recall.

Check it out...

 
My only bitch about the place... way too many Americanos.  Yakking about gawd knows what.  At least with the Italians, I have no idea what they are talking about.  It’s just background chatter.

16,143

# of steps walked today.
Yeah, I’m draggin...

We decided to Metro on down to the Appian Way, the ancient highway that leads south, just like I-5.
The Metro was the easy part... we then jumped on the #118 bus for a quick ride to the Appian Way park.  Well, it was supposed to be quick.  It drug on forever and we had no idea where to get off, so we just followed the Italians, who seemed to be navigating well.  Twenty minutes later, the bus dropped us off on the wrong side of no tomorrow.  Gawd, where in the hell are we??  Yeah, I got google maps, but even that barked at me.  So we felt our way on a path that eventually led to our destination.

I was really looking forward to the road.  But, as we all know, watch out for expectations... they’ll get you every time.  Here’s a pic of the actual road.

Looks nice.  But try walking on it.  You have to watch every step you take, like fording a bolder strewn creek.  Everyone of those crevices is a potential ankle twister.  Add horses to the mix and you have other disasters to avoid.  After a kilometer of horseshit, dust, cars, mountain bikers, I threw in the towel and reversed course, heading back to civilization.  I thot i would catch a bus... wrong vino breath... the busses are not on their normal route because we have a

 Bicycle race running through the park.  Oh joy...just keep walking, which I did.  Luckily I had water, which made the excursion bearable.  Onward I trudged, ending up at the Piramide metro stop... Deja vu all over again.