The Eternal City

A great flight over from Calgary to Amsterdam which took about eight and a half hours. Arrived in Rome on Wednesday, May 13th, 2015 mid afternoon.

Rome - "The Eternal City" or " The City of Seven Hills". The Eternal City because Ancient Romans believed that no matter what happened to the World or how many Empires came and collapsed, Rome would go on forever. The City of Seven Hills as there are seven hills located east of the river Tiber which form the geographical heart of Rome. These are Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal and Viminal. It is said that Rome was founded by Romulus on the Palatine Hill. I have always enjoyed hearing the tale of Remus and Romulus and have come across the statue of the twins being suckled by a she-wolf many times during our travels.

Got settled into our charming apartment in the Trastevere Area. Very well equipped and lucky to have an outdoor terrace, part of which is covered and has a comfortable sofa. The neighbourhood is made up of tiny cobbled streets and said to be one of the most picturesque old quarters of the City. Certainly wouldn't want to drive a car here due to the very narrow lanes or for that matter ride a bike due to the cobblestones. Walked around the neighbourhood to get our bearings and pick up a few groceries. Always a fun experience to find what you need.....grocery store in the back of a ladies department store.....nice bread in a shop that sells all types of Italian specialties ......and wine.....well....you can find that almost anywhere!

Our apartment has a lovely small outdoor sun room, so decided to enjoy a glass of wine before heading out for supper. Robin decides to have a nap as he is suffering from a bit of jet lag, I thought I lost him for the night. Managed to convince him to simply walk to the restaurant across our lane. Well he got his second wind and after our dinner, we headed out to explore the busy laneways filled with tourists. A walk to the closest bridge crossing the Tiber river to see the setting sun. The Trastevere area has now become very popular and is full of restaurants, night clubs and boutiques.

Pictures above starting at the top left:

Robin, first night in Rome

The Tiber River at sunset

The green door to the left us the entrance to our apartment building

One of the main Plaza's in Trastevere in the evening

Lots of vendors selling all kind of "kitschy" stuff. I always get a kick out of seeing what street vendors are selling and what tourists are buying. The "blob" still seems to be selling. Have seen these over the past two to three years all over Europe. A ball of "blob" shaped and coloured either like tomatoes, lemons, apples, etc. which one throws onto a board and it flattens out And regains it shape when you pick it up....not sure of the purpose of these things, but tourists must be buying as the vendors are still selling these "must haves". The "selfie stick" is the big seller this year. Oh my gosh, these are selling like hotcakes and people are using them everywhere. I must say they and the people that use them are annoying. They seem to be oblivious to the fact that they are obstructing other people. I know that numerous art galleries and museums haven banned them. Sorry if my comments have hurt anyone's feelings out there. Another big seller is necklaces made out of a fine wire which is shaped into your name. A lot of you out there, know I love jewellery, but this is not on my list.....I know my name and people who know me, know my name. O.K. enough said on this particular item. Scarves.....any colour and design; might have to check these out. See what kind of deal I can make by the end of the week.

On our first full day in Rome had a very early start as still a bit of jet lag, so up very early. Out around 8:30 a.m. and headed across the river into the historic parts of Rome. No real plan, thought we would just see where our feet brought us. As we are crossing the river, we spot some interesting statues on the tops of buildings, so we head in that direction.

We end of in the the Capitol area. In ancient times this was the centre of the Roman World. The Capitoline Museum is located here, but it wasn't opened yet. Will try to come back later in the week. Walked through the Forum ruins which are extensive and we spent quite of bit of time here wandering around. This area was the centre of political, commercial and judicial life. As in all tourist areas we came across a few men dressed as a Roman centurians. Needless to say, they try to talk you up so that you will agree to have your picture taken with them so they can make a living. No, I don't want my picture taken with a total stranger dressed like a "weirdo" carrying a plastic sword.

At one end of the ruins is the magnificent "Victor Emmanuel Monument", which was built starting in 1885 and took some 25+ years to build. It was built to honour Victor, the first king of a unified Italy. It is also nicknamed "the wedding cake" and one can understand why with its various tiers.

Time to stop for coffee/tea and take in the views of this spectacular monument. My first cappuccino in Italy....they do know coffee. I get corrected by the waitress in the way I say "grazie", think I am using Spanish instead of Italian, oh well, the thought was there.

Continue walking down Via del Corso, one of the main roads. Peer into some churches along the way, always amazed at the workmanship, the art work, statues and how very ornate these churches are. Continue onto the Trevi fountain. Alas, it is being refurbished. Partly boarded up, no water and a cat walk one can take to get across. Lots of tourists here however. The big question ......will we return to Rome if we are unable to throw a coin in this famous fountain? Does anyone remember the movie "Three Coins in the Fountain"? However, come to think if it, not sure I threw a coin in the fountain the first time we were here.

 

Stop for our first gelato.....yes, the Italians certainly know their gelato, as they do coffee. They still have a long way to go when it comes to their "cornetto". Their version of croissant doesn't even come close to the French.
Proceed to the Piazza di Spana (Spanish Square) and surprisingly not too many people here yet. Take a break on the steps and enjoy people watching for a while. Took a picture of Robin in front of the Fontana Della Barcaccia (meaning useless, old boat - that's the translation of the name of the fountain, not Robin!) a baroque style fountain at the bottom of the Spanish Steps. At the top of the steps are the bell towers of the Trinita dei Monticello, but they were obscured by hoarding as they were being cleaned. I was a little disappointed as the steps with the bell towers in the background really are a pretty sight. Robin reminded me that we have a picture of this from a previous trip we took here years ago.

Headed up the stairs to have lunch in the Borghese Gardens. Very quiet and not too many tourists here. Nice break, then back to our apartment.

While having dinner, noticed that all of a sudden, the street vendors packed up their goods and hightailed it off the lanes. A few seconds later, along comes the local police to check up on things. Not sure how much good this does, as the vendors were set up again for sales within 15 minutes. Seems to be different branches of the police, as the vendors don't scatter when different police in the area, I guess it's not their job.
When we were out and about today, noticed a flyer in one of the churches, advertising a free Sacred Music concert every Thursday night during May. We decide to take this in and what a pleasant evening out. A Soprano and a Baritone singing solos and duets accompanied by an organist in a church setting with great acoustics. Although free, a donation was requested and we gladly provided one for this magical "Concerto di Musica Sacra". Love running across these unexpected surprises.

O.K., update on the vendor's. Pope bobble heads.....do I need say more.....really!
Friday morning finds us up very early to walk to the Vatican, which took us about a half hour. I had purchased tickets on line, through the Vatican, to visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. Oh my gosh....you should see the line ups of people, must be at least a thousand at 9:00 a.m. Not sure why they are all here considering dwindling attendance at Catholic Churches....just me thinking out loud. Well, certainly glad I was smart enough to buy our tickets on-line. We pass all these crowds and only takes us about 10 minutes to get in. As my niece Nicole says, I am so SMRT!

Spend a couple of hours visiting the various museums and then finally the Sistine Chapel. The famous Michelangelo painting of the "Creation of Adam" was much smaller than I thought, but still magnificent. Michelangelo frescoed the ceiling between 1508-12 working on specially designed scaffolding. The main panels depict the Creation of the World and the Fall of Man. I also liked the panel depicting the Original Sin which shows Adam and Eve tasting the forbidden fruit from the Tree if Knowledge. Wouldn't the Nuns at the Academie Assumption,where I went to school, be impressed with me now...they certainly weren't when I attended! Unfortunately, cannot take pictures in the Sistine Chapel.

The art work throughout the various Museums are numerous. Came across some artists restoring some painted wall panels, appeared to be very meticulous, time consuming work. Beautiful tapestries along the main galleries. Must have gone through at least a dozen gift shops. Good business heads these guys at the Vatican. No Pope bobble heads to be found in these gift shops...wonder why!

I know you won't believe this, but guess who we see walking down one of the courtyards....Yup, the Main Man!

Actually, just kidding. Stopped at a shop near the Vatican to buy a lightbulb and the owner insisted we take this picture of the Pope.

Next stop is Castel Sant'Angelo. This massive fortress was originally built in AD 139 and was originally a Mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian. Since then it has served many different purposes....part of the city wall, a medieval citadel a prison and as the residence of the Pope. In 1277 a corridor was built from the Vatican Palace to Castel Sant'Angelo to provide an escape route when the Pope was in danger. Not sure if the corridor still exists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, what's happening that is newsworthy in Rome and Italy. For starters, the Police are investigating a fire that took place at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome. Believe it not, this story affected us....no, we are not beIng investigated for arson, our flight from Amsterdam this past week was delayed due to the fire. Apparently fewer gates to fly into and out of, so many delayed flights. The fire affected the high end shopping area and some maintenance workers are being investigated for arson.....got to blame someone right. Perhaps there way of getting back at the 1%.

Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has claimed he’s a top target of the Islamic militant group, Isis, and for this reason he can only take part in closed-door political campaigns. He is now 78 and it is said he is contemplating running as the Mayor of Milan. Guess he can't do any more dancing ( is having someone dance on your lap considered dancing?), so might as well get back into politics.

Renaissance masterpieces, including a priceless painting by Raphael, are warping dramatically because of a failure to repair a broken air-conditioning system in the Borghese Museum, experts warned on Thursday. Museum curators have been begging for months for the air-conditioning system to be repaired or replaced, but said their appeals had been ignored by cultural heritage officials in the Italian government. Tells you of the financial woes of this country, very sad.

And finally in the news, the Vatican reserved front -row seats for the homeless at a charity concert held last night at the Vatican. In March a group of 150 homeless people were treated to an exclusive visit to the Sistine Chapel, as well as a stroll around the manicured grounds of the Vatican gardens and a glimpse of the treasures on display in the Vatican Museums. Wow, this guy Frances is good.

Love all the various bridges over the Tiber and the reflections.

Suzanne and Colin (Robin's sister and her husband) arrived late this afternoon (Friday) from England. Met them for dinner tonight and will be great to spend the next three days with them. Their flight also delayed due to the fire at the airport.

Saturday, the 16th of May, we meet Suzanne and Colin at 9:30 a.m. and we head out for a day of touring. No real agenda. Covered lots of territory today and not back to our apartment till 4:30 p.m. Feet are quite sore! Went back towards the Forum, as we missed the Colosseum and some of the ruins the other day. First stop was the Victo Emmanuel Monument, and climbed up to the second level as high as one can go without paying to go up to the top. Visited many churches today and must say all were quite magnificent and each one very different.

Santa Maria in Aracoeli was the first church we visited, located just behind the Victor Emmanuelle monument. This church dates back to the 6th century. The ceiling commemorates a famous battle and glass chandeliers are mounted on each column and fifteen in each of two altar alcoves, quite spectacular. There is a famous staircase leading up to the church, but we gained access via the monument. Walked down the staircase......now I read about a popular belief regarding the staircase. If you climb the staircase on your knees you could win the Italian lottery....now you tell me; right, I didn't buy a ticket anyhow!

Lots of crowds today as is the weekend, can't believe the difference from our two previous day's here. We continue onto the Forum, then the Colosseum. Stop at a coffee shop called "Coming Out" which caters to a decidedly gay crowd and couldn't resist the welcome of the male waiter. Quite cute, the back of his t-shirt said "YourToy Boy".

Then continue into the Esquline area, where we enter the Basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore. Wonderful marble floors and one of the Popes is buried here. Then head towards the train station as we noticed some spires in the distant.

We come across the Santa Maria degli Angeli. In 1561 the Pope commissioned Michaelangelo to transform a central hall into a church. We also go by the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian. You start to become blase to the all the ruins, hard to believe. These are located around the Piazza de la Republica, beautiful circular buildings surrounding the Piazza.

 

Start making our way back home and traverse Piazza Barberini with its fountain by Bernini which depicts a triton blowing his conch. Go by the Trevi Fountain and hard pressed to get by the crowds, yikes what a difference in the number of people on a weekend.

I lead us astray. Normally I gave a good sense of direction, but I probably added a half hour if not more onto our way home. Guess I will be buying the wine tonight.

Suzanne got her hair cut short since the last time we saw it. Love it!

 

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