Back from Venice, Florence, Rome & London stopover

[WillTravel]

Jan. 1
I have breakfast and head out. I walk over Ponte alla Carraia today. According to my guidebook, the Medici Chapel should be open. On the way, I notice an interesting-looking church, and realize after a bit that it is Santa Maria Novella. I decide to visit it. Just as I walk in, I notice visitors being turned away. I quickly drop my camera in my pocket, and my guidebook in the grocery bag I have with me, and I proceed into the service and sit quietly through the mass. One thing I notice about the masses in Italy is that they seem to feature people with beautiful voices. In this case, there was an older woman singing at various points who was standing next to the organist. I don't take my guidebook out, because that seems so indiscreet and inappropriate in the circumstances, so I don't see look for all the high points. But it's a beautiful church.

I then continue to San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapel. It turns out the Medici Chapel is closed. My online research and my guidebook both failed me. I decide to go into San Lorenzo. They're not allowing visitors either, and I don't feel like sitting through another mass.

So I head to the Duomo. They aren't allowing visitors until 15:45. The whole area between San Lorenzo and the Duomo is fairly crowded. An Asian woman tries to sell me one of her scarves, dropping the price from 5E to 4E, but I still don't, even when she almost begs. After that, I am completely stone-faced to all succeeding street vendors. Does anyone know where these Asian women street vendors are from?

I buy some almonds at a small Arab store, and these are a great snack for the rest of my trip. I also get some hot chocolate and even pay to sit down - 3E total - and the bathroom is in reasonable condition.

My next plan is to follow the Eyewitness Travel Guides walk on page 130 of the Florence and Tuscany book. This leads from the Ponte Vecchio to San Miniato and Piazzale Michelangelo.

I walk by Galileo's old house at Costa San Giorgio, 19.
I see some old walls and fortresses. I get rather off-track when I didn't pay close attention to the book and ended up on a long road, via di San Leonardo, with no exits for what seems to be almost a mile. This area is almost rural in terms of its development. All of Tuscany is surprisingly green for winter - it all looks much better than I expected. I finally get to Viale Galileo Galilei and walk north from there. Just when I'm about to get the best views, the batteries in my camera go dead. I try to switch them around, let them rest, etc. but there's no hope for them. Oh well.

I walk to San Miniato and tour the church and the grounds. It seems like a very steep flight of steps up to the church. The church has a chapel, built in honor of a 25-year-old Portuguese cardinal, where you have to put a Euro in to get 5 minutes of light. There's a few seconds where I consider doing this, but someone else always does it first. There are chairs where you can sit and view the paintings. My guidebook says he died in 1439, and these paintings are definitely pre-1500. I enjoy the more naive styles that have a lot of gold in them. The church also has restored 13th-century mosaics.

I then head over to Piazzale Michelangelo. I haven't seen many people at all on the way, but this area is crowded, with lots of tour buses, cars, and families. There are nice views there, but I saw some equally nice on the walk up and from San Miniato.

I head back to San Miniato so I can hear the Gregorian chant service. This is indeed as ethereal and other-worldly as described. The acoustics seem a little odd. Everything seems to be coming from the back left, even when I can see the person at the front is speaking. I notice at this service, and others, that the tsunami is mentioned.

I walk back to Piazzale Michelangelo and wait for the bus. It's very cold, and I seem to wait forever - well, about 25 minutes. I sort of wish I had walked back. Given my shortage of reading material, I buy an Economist magazine at the kiosk close to the convent. I make a phone call from the phone box. It's past 7 at this point, and I don't feel the need to go out anymore tonight.

[WillTravel]

Jan. 2
This turns out to be a pretty busy day. I start by dawdling over breakfast. My Uffizi reservation is at 9:15 AM, but I get there almost at 10 AM, because I thought I'd have just as much luck with lines as I did for David. Wrong! There must be a couple hundred people in line at least. I feel a little guilty, but decide to try my reservation anyway. Much to my surprise, they let me still use it.

I had read about the procedure for getting on the Vasari corridor tour, but I don't sign up right away, so I'm too late. I tour the Uffizi for four hours with the audiophone, which I think is pretty good. I'm paying particular attention to the babies, because many artists, in my opinion, have lovely, expressive Madonnas, but many fewer have babies that actually look like babies. Toddler John the Baptists tend to be better, in my opinion. I wrote numerous notes down about a lot of the paintings, but they're hard to understand without looking up the painting again. I also paid some attention to the figures of the women - thin, fat, muscular, etc. Madonnas tend to be on the thin side, although Durer has a plump Madonna. Judith is usually pretty substantial. The Three Graces are often quite plump. My notes say that Corregio, Tiziano, and Lippi had reasonable-looking babies. There's a painting by Masaccio showing the Madonna about to nurse the baby Jesus, which I quite like.

I finish up about 2 PM. I went in all of the available rooms, but of course did not see everything. I backtracked to look at the Fra Lippi paintings again, which have a particularly beautiful shade of blue.

I head up to the bar, but don't feel like having anything there. There's a nice view from the top, though.

I head out, and get a lamb kebab, which has nice meat and fresh vegetables, for 4E. I then go and look around inside the Duomo. This is sparer, without as much inside as one would expect. I then remember that now would be a good time to see the Medici Chapel I missed the day before.

So I hurry over to San Lorenzo, and get in. I look at the collection on the bottom, but of course the chapel is the real attraction. This small, beautiful chapel reminds me somewhat of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, because of the emphasis on beautiful, marble construction. There's a lot of scaffolding up to prevent marble falling on visitors (say the signs), so my guidebook picture looks somewhat different than what I see. But it is very impressive and gorgeous.

I then go into San Lorenzo, where there just happens to be a concert going on, with a large audience. They are playing what seem to be Italian devotional songs with a Christmas theme. I can't help but figure out what "Bambino divino" is about. They are playing what appear to be traditional instruments, of which I can't recall the names, and one woman is playing the tamborine. There are nuns, young people, middle-aged people, old people. I enjoy the music, and I had been thinking of going to a concert later, and here I get one for free! After the concert I get a chance to look around San Lorenzo. The inside, of course, is much more magnificent than the plain, undecorated facade.

I then take a look at my watch and see that if I hurry, I can probably go visit Sant'Apostoli before it closes. So I rush along and there is a mass going on. This is such a small church that I felt strange about going around gawping. (more later).

[WillTravel]

Jan. 2, evening
So I again sit down for the mass. This features an old priest who has a beautiful voice.

Sant'Apostoli is the oldest church in Florence. I notice that the church looks a lot like San Lorenzo. After the service, I buy a pamphlet which explains that San Lorenzo was modeled on Sant'Apostoli.

I walk back to the convent, have dinner, and then head out for a walk. It's cold and there's a biting wind - a bit too much for a long, enjoyable walk, so I head back again. The only disadvantage I found from visiting in the winter was that it was dark and cold in Venice and Florence for night-time walks. I think it would be wonderful to walk around those cities late on a warm evening. But this disadvantage is offset by the fact that I don't have to put up with hot and humid days, which I really don't like.

I can't remember which nights I saw the following, but a few things I noticed walking back in the Oltrarno. An old man suddenly started singing something (I think an operatic air), and then down the street a group of young people started singing.

There were a group of young people going out together, and one of them was holding the arm of a nun - maybe her aunt? So maybe they were all heading out to dinner together. I actually noticed nuns and children together a lot in Rome also.

A group of young people met a young man walking a puppy. They stopped and petted the puppy, and then when departing made a special point of saying "Ciao" to the puppy.

[WillTravel]

Jan. 3
I have a very short walk of about 50 feet from the convent to Brancacci Chapel. I start by visiting the church itself. This also has a bare facade, likely because the patron was disgraced partway through the building project.

After visiting the church, I head over to the admissions area for the chapel. First I see a movie describing the chapel and the frescos. Then I go into the chapel itself. The Eyewitness DK book comes in very handy here for picking out the frescos of Masolino, completed by Masaccio and Lippi. The stories and meanings were explained in the movie as well. I remember a few characters who really seem to leap out of the fresco - even if an artist is great, not every character manages to do that. The one I noticed was a young man with longish, dark hair.

I then decide to head over to San Marco and see the Fra Angelico frescos and some lovely books in the San Marco library. This has a lovely courtyard. You can see the original convent cells (definitely not large!) I have a hard time finding the Crucifixion fresco, but finally do. This one has the inscription above Christ's head in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (many of the artists leave out the Hebrew or Greek or both).

Another thing I have been watching from time to time is Mary's expression in various paintings of the Annunciation.

After this, I decide to try McDonald's. I never eat there at home, but I am curious to see what an Italian one was like. Plus, I'm sure it will horrify someone . I had tried in Venice to get the Caprese salad, but they never had it, so I never ate there in Venice. They don't have a Caprese salad here either, but I decide to go with the vegetable salad, and then go for the sandwich and drink for a minimal extra charge. Then I have Macedonia fruit salad for dessert. The food is of reasonable quality, and lunch is only 7.30 Euros, and I can sit down while eating it. Actually the fruit salad is excellent, with ripe, good-quality fruit and a subtle syrup solution. Practically everyone in the restaurant is Italian. Presumably all the tourists stay away so no one will think they are tourists. I wouldn't recommend it necessarily, but the food was OK and the people-watching interesting.

I am still desperate for reading materials. I've gone through everything in English in the convent. My guidebook recommended the Paperback Exchange at via Fiesolana 31. This is more or less on the way to Santa Croce. I pick up four paperbacks for 9.50 Euros, all of which I enjoy reading over the course of the trip. I see an Internet cafe and stop in there for a bit. I then detour a bit to look at the synagogue, and proceed to Santa Croce.

I forgot to mention that I had tried to visit Santa Croce on Jan. 1 also, but a sign in Italian said that mass would be celebrated in the crypt on Jan. 1 and 2, and the church was obviously not open. Lucky for me it was open Jan. 3.

The first thing I think when I go in is that I really don't know where to start. It's so huge, and I can't pick out a focal point. My guidebook says that this church induces Stendhal syndrome in about a dozen visitors per year. This was the church where Lucy Honeychurch, in E.M. Forester's Room with a View, has to wander without her Baedeker guidebook. But I go over and listen to the audiophone (1 Euro) and that helps. My guidebook is pretty good. I pick up a schematic which has some description also. I try not to think about all the skeletons buried in the immediate vicinity. There are lots of the pre-1500 frescos, many magnificent tombs, an enjoyable courtyard, a small museum, and probably more.

I head out of the church (which has a puzzling Star of David on it, and I haven't found a definitive explanation online). I proceed over to a small caffe called Caffe Martin (or possibly Caffe St. Martin). I get some chocolate - very good and only 1.50E. That's so enjoyable I have a cappucino - 1E. This is standing at the bar.

I then walk over the Ponte Santa Trinita along via Maggio to the English church, because there's a concert there (15E). This is given by a young opera-singing couple, and the church organist (playing a grand piano). They go through various operatic airs and a few lighter songs. I really enjoy it, particularly given there are only 5 people in the audience. I chat with them afterwards. The tenor is from Denmark, and the soprano is from Poland. They're a couple, and have been living in Florence singer August, trying to make a go of it. I buy a CD for 15E. They sing at this church because the other churches want to charge fees like 3000E for a concert. I have to admit, by this point the churches are starting to run together a bit, but this is a lovely one too.

I head back to the convent, have dinner, and head out for another walk and to make a telephone call.

I think I had a good overview of Florence, and didn't miss anything I really wanted to see, although of course there is a lot more I'd like to see.

Jan. 4, morning
I pack up, have breakfast, and head out. I go to the nearby laundromat at 37 Borgo San Frediano (or possibly it's 39). This time laundry costs 10.30 Euros. I find it works out very well to do laundry when in transit between two cities, because you don't have to bother with lugging the laundry back to where you are staying. Then I walk across the river to the train station, get in the less-than-15-minutes before departure line, and almost immediately get a Eurostar ticket for the next train to Rome coming in less than 10 minutes (except that it is delayed for about 15).

[WillTravel]

I arrive at Termini, and with a little fumbling, find my way to buy a CIS transit pass (16 Euros) at a tabacchi inside Termini. Don't be fooled by the Ticket Sales signs that refer to trains. Then I find my way to Line A of the metro and take it two stops to Barberini. When I get out at Piazza Barberini, it takes a couple of minutes to orient myself but in very quick order, I'm at Hotel Julia. The metro was a bit crowded, but I personally prefer not to take taxis if I can help it, both in terms of feeling "in-charge" of the situation and being frugal.

Every place I stayed at in Italy carefully explained that they would take the passport, but when I came down again, they would give it back to me. I knew why they needed the passport, but it was nice they were all so considerate about explaining and returning it.

I headed out and on via Rasella, there's a simple eatery called Luna Caprese where I had a quick, simple, and by now late lunch. After the lasagne I had in Venice, I was a bit scared to try it again, but it was fine. Then I decided to have some pizza, which is the square type with grilled vegetables and no tomatoes. That was very good too, and a substantial portion. I also had one of those small bottles of wine. So this was 10 Euros in all. Definitely not a gourmet lunch, but quite satisfactory, and I got to sit down while eating, and their bathroom was in reasonable shape.

Then I headed to Trevi, and was somewhat shocked by the large crowd there. Maybe if you visit really early in the morning, you can have it to yourself. It's a beautiful fountain, and I usually visited it twice per day, coming or going from the hotel. I then poked my head in the rather tiny Santa Maria in Trivio church. I hadn't read about it, but it was there. Lovely with lots of dark marble. My guidebook says it "conceals a rich Baroque interior", which is no doubt true, although I can't say I identified the elements that make it so.

I walked out onto via del Corso, and by happenstance found an AutoGrill. I can't say I needed this, but I went in and found they were serving some excellent-looking tortes. I chose one with amaretto and custard, although I sort of regret not choosing the chocolate-pear one. Then I paid for that and for a cappucino, which I then ordered from the bar, showing my receipt. Both were really good, and the total cost was something like 3.50 Euros. I always meant to get back there, but did not.

I walked over to the Pantheon, which as others have mentioned is a bit surprising, because it's hard to get a view of the whole building. It seemed like most of it was roped off inside, but I walked around for a bit.

Then on to Piazza Navona. Wow, this was even busier than the Trevi, because the Christmas market was up. I know some people say this is really tacky, but I actually quite like it because so many people were clearly having a great time. There were carousels, vendors of all sorts, and of course the fountain.

By this time, I realize I have to hurry if I am going to get my ticket for the papal audience at Santa Susanna, which is the English-speaking church in Rome. I consult my map and decide to walk over there. I barely make it by 6:30 and everyone is leaving, but I do get a ticket. I walk back to my hotel and rest for a while. I then decide I'll work over in the direction of Campo dei Fiori and have dinner.

Sadly, I didn't write down the restaurant names in Rome. I had positive experiences at all of them, and dinner with two courses, bread, and wine was usually somewhere around 20 Euros, depending what I ordered. I tended to go for anything with mozzarella and tomatoes (Caprese salad is my favorite), antipasti with lots of vegetables, and perhaps some sort of simple meat dish. As I was trying to keep both my budget and my weight down, I just wasn't up to full-course dinners, and I was always very full by the end of one of these dinners anyway. I was always an early diner, and never had trouble getting a table.

I did have more expensive restaurant dinners in Rome than I often have while traveling, but I do think it was worth it. It was just more enjoyable than another grocery store meal. Traveling cheaper takes me more time, and I was trying hard to save time to see as much as possible given the limits of my trip.

Anyway, dinner this night was fine, and I walked back from Campo dei Fiori to my hotel.

January 5
Although I like leisurely starts, I can't always have them, and I don't mind giving them up for a good cause. My family was back to early morning calls, and this morning I had the papal audience too. So I had breakfast, and off I went.

I walked over to Piazza Barberini and took the metro to Ottaviano. Once in St. Peter's Square, I got in the wrong lineup at first, the one to go into St. Peter's, but figured that out with help.

The papal audience chamber is one of the few modern buildings I saw in Italy. A priest told me it was built around 1970. I'm not sure if it holds 8000 or 12000. I got a reasonable seat in the middle, but I'd try to be there more than an hour early. The papal audience starts at 10:30.

I wasn't there for religious reasons, but to observe this from a social and cultural point of view. The crowd was one of the most interesting I've seen. Before the audience, there were groups all over the place that would spontaneously burst into song or chants. They were enthusiastic and jubilant. The positive energy was really quite incredible. It had never occurred to me before, but Italians call the pope "Giovanni Paolo". So a group of teenagers in front of me would periodically burst into song, and then periodically burst into a chant "Giovanni Paolo" (CLAP, CLAP, CLAP). A group of American and Puerto Rican young men, dressed in suits, did songs in both English and Spanish. They shouted, "John Paul Two, we love you!". Then there was another group singing what sounded like the chorus to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Then other groups elsewhere. There was some "wave-like" activity at one point.

Finally the pope was wheeled out in his wheelchair. Wow, he did indeed look frail. His head was bobbing down almost to his chest as he read, and his voice was weak. I could barely understand him when he spoke English. A priestly official who belonged to each linguistic group introduced the groups to the pope. So the Spanish official introduced the Spanish-speaking groups, an English-speaking official introduced the English-speaking groups, and so forth. When each group was introduced, they would clap, and if they were a musically gifted group, they would sing. All of the singing groups were indeed gifted. The audience had gone through several languages, when the Polish official started his introductions. Almost immediately the pope perked up, in a most astonishing way. I don't mean to imply he was suddenly well, but it was obvious how deeply important the Poles were to him. His voice became clearer, he held his head higher. He seemed particularly touched by the group from Krakow, which of course is where he was from. And it was also obvious how much the pope meant to the Poles. The Italians were introduced after the Poles, and he seemed to have residual energy from the Poles. When I saw a nearby group getting up and clapping after being introduced, I was able to notice that many had brought their rosaries and crucifixes. There had been an announcement at the start that all such items would be blessed.

After the papal audience, I realized I had messed things up a bit. I had brought along my larger tote, and I was going to the Scavi tour where they didn't allow it. I then looked at the lineup for the women's bathroom. I decided that it was quite likely I would do best to hurry up and take the metro back to my hotel, drop off the tote, use the facilities, and head back to St. Peters, rather than wait through that lineup. So I did that, and got back in plenty of time. I didn't time my roundtrip, but the metro is really quick. You do have to walk a few blocks from the metro to St. Peters.

I went to find the Swiss guard who would let me into the Scavi tour. The Swiss guard told me I was too early and to come back 15 minutes before the time. I went to the Vatican post office, got a postcard and stamp, sent them off, and walked around St. Peters Square for a bit.

Then it was time for my tour. The Swiss guard let me through into this open space, and it took me a bit of time to find out where the Scavi office was (it's easy, just walk straight ahead and look to your right). I was earliest, and chatted a bit with the priest who was giving the tour. He is Italian-American, from New Jersey, and studying in Rome in the third year of a five-year degree. Then the rest of the tour showed up. They were all on the same tour together from a church in New Jersey, and remarkably, they all knew this priest as well.

Next - the Scavi tour.

[WillTravel]

There's a lot to see and remember, so this will be quite abbreviated, and I apologize in advance for any errors. Also, some parts might be gruesome.

Also, I mix tradition and fact, and while I hope it's clear when I'm talking about each, I don't mean to imply scientific certainty for tradition.

But to start somewhere, Pope Pius XI wanted to be buried as close to Peter as possible. So Pope Pius XII started the process in motion after his predecessor's death in 1939. So in the course of digging a place and setting up his tomb, the hereditary workmen of the Vatican came across some old walls. Apparently there is still a tradition of hereditary workmen in the Vatican - the workmen there now had fathers and grandfathers with the same jobs, and so forth. Despite WWII and Mussolini and all, this discovery was kept secret and
the area was closed off, claiming water problems.

Much more digging and excavation later, the situation became clear. St. Peter's Basilica is on top of an ancient cemetery.

The current St. Peter's is actually a replacement for the fourth-century church authorized by Constantine, the emperor who legalized Christianity. The construction of the new St. Peter's took place over a 120-year-period during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

But to back up even more. The current Vatican area was where Nero first started the persecution of the
Christians. I believe the area was used for chariot practice and such - it was Circus Vaticanus. Nero was away from Rome when the great fire of AD 64 started, but when he found out about it he resolved to take advantage by using all the newly vacant land to his advantage. When his subjects protested, he proceeded to cast blame for the fire on the Christians. They were subject to the usual torturous deaths, like crucifixions, and some were rolled in tar and pitch and set aflame, to be used as torches.

Around this same time, by Christian tradition, Peter was crucified upside down, because he did not feel himself worthy to be crucified in the same manner as Jesus.

Fellow Christians took the bones down and buried them. The area around the Vatican was a cemetery,
and Peter's grave was just one of many, pagan and
Christian.

Christian pilgrims started visiting Peter's grave from the start. They threw coins down and etched graffiti in the walls. You can still see the graffiti. I'm not sure of the significance of the coins, but the discovery of the first-century coins and the graffiti during the excavations helped date the area around the tomb.

The other graves in the area under the basilica are basically family plots. The "niceness" and size of the plot was determined by how much you had to spend. During the tour, we walked along a 2000-year-old road that would have been used to walk along and between the various plots (and yes, this road is under the basilica). As anyone who's been to Rome knows, the ancient sites are typically some distance below the "normal" level of today's Rome. New buildings on top of old foundations, earthquakes, and accumulations from the Tiber's floods have raised the level of the city.

The pagan plots had statues of the dead, niches for slaves, staircases to put in more urns of other family
members, and so forth. The husband and wife were typically given the honored positions in the plot, and then other relatives were placed in various spots and of course the slaves had the worst positions.

Families considered honoring the dead to be very important, so they'd typically pack up some food and come for picnics in their grave plots. There were libation tubes so that the dead could get some of the wine as well. It wasn't clear to me who was buried whole and who was cremated in these plots. The walls were decorated with frescos (possibly mosaics?). We were able to see these wall decorations.

So Peter's grave and the pagan graves coexisted for a while. Over the next two or three hundred years, Peter's grave got progressively more embellishment and protection. A clay structure was built over it, and then what sort of looks like a house with pillars, and then a marble and porphyry box (this is more or less correct, but I could have these details wrong a bit). During the course of the tour, we were able to see these original structures.

Christians at the time wanted to be buried next to Peter. I'm not sure what blessing was thought to ensue from this, but it was sought-after real estate.

When Constantine decided to built the first St. Peter's church, he was faced with the problem of the cemetery. So he decided they'd just brick over it and proceed with the building. Around the time of construction, many or most of the pagans decided they would get their families' bones out of these. They weren't able to take out the marble boxes, though, and they seemed to leave the statues behind in many cases too. But the newly vacant plots meant the Christians could reuse
the same plots and bury their dead in there, which is what they did.

So the first St. Peter's church was built. The site continued to be a place of pilgrimage for Christians.

In the course of the excavations, the exact site of Peter's grave was discovered. The bones inside were examined. The bones in the main area proved to be those of three people (I think two men and a woman). But in a side niche of the grave, wrapped in a gold and purple cloth, were found the bones of one man. 1940s scientists examined these bones and found them to be the bones of a robust first-century man. And - amazingly - they were all intact except for the feet. But if Peter was crucified upside down, he was probably cut down at the ankles.

Oddly, I've thought about this, and although I know we did see Peter's grave, I am not sure if we saw the gold and purple cloth or not. I also can't recall what they have done with the bones, if anything. But a few of the bone fragments were taken out, and put in a reliquary, and I believe this reliquary has some part in the papal ceremony when a new pope is elected. When Pope John Paul II suffered the assassination attempt, this reliquary was brought to him in the hospital.

Near the end of the tour, we saw the tomb that Pope Pius XI ended up getting. It's not as close to Peter's as he wanted, but within a few meters. Other popes' tombs are placed around the general area. As usual, there's a statue of the pope lying on top of the glassed-in tomb area.

As you can no doubt tell, I think this is one of the more fascinating tours you can take in Rome. I admit to skepticism about a lot of things, but it does seem probable that the bones of Peter are really buried under St. Peter's Basilica - a lot more likely than Mark's body being in St. Mark's in Venice! The historical reality of the ancient cemetery is clear.

===========
Back to the trip report later.

[LHR02]

Looks like I need to return to Rome...again....(oh hurt me)...as it appears I have managed to miss a real highlight in my previous trips!

Thanks for posting this...but then again, damn you WT for setting my Italian wanderlust rampaging once more.

[WillTravel]

The Scavi tour is definitely a highlight. But if you want to take it, you should book it as soon as you get a plane ticket, because the capacity is quite limited. The booking process takes several emails which can spread over a couple weeks. Quite worth it for 10 Euros, though.

[WillTravel]

The Scavi tour ended sometime after 3:00. I went to get what was by now a very late lunch (a good one - the restaurant is somewhere nearby and has Abruzzi in the name) and then briefly stopped at an Internet cafe. I decided to go back and see the basilica itself, so I had a brief wait to get through security and then in. I saw the Pieta right away. Most of Michelangelo's female characters are quite butch-looking, but not the Madonnas.

Oddly I didn't get the sense of hugeness from St. Peter's that I expected. Perhaps I wasn't able to see the whole thing at once due to the crowds. I loved looking out from St. Peter's, at the obelisk and the square and all the other buildings. I found it interesting to see the actual, literal walls of the Vatican.

I noticed that there's almost a limit to how much I can take in during one day. It's possible to view a lot more than it's possible to "see", if that makes any sense. In Italy, you are practically tripping from one amazingly impressive treasure to another. The best way to do this, I think, would be to stay there for a month, and maybe pick one thing per day, and just go very slowly. I'm happy I saw everything I did, but I'd be happy to see it again too!

Back to the hotel, and then it was time to head out for a concert at St. Paul's within the walls, the English church in Rome, just off via Nazionale. This was advertised as being movie music, and featured a number of classical scores, by both well=known Italian composers (like Verdi) and others I did not recognize. I also did not recognize any of the scores as being in movies, but presumably they mean Italian movies, or perhaps even more likely English-language movies I haven't seen. I enjoyed the trio, and this is another lovely church. The church newsletter was fun to read.

I had tried lemon gelato in Florence and while it tasted fine, I hadn't been wowed by it. So I decided to try a guidebook recommendation - San Crispini at via del Panetteria 42 near Trevi. I got lime and Mandarin orange. I tried the orange first, which was fine, but not exceptional. Then I tried the lime, which was indeed bursting with intense flavor. So for my next few nights in Rome, I always stopped at this gelateria. The Pantera wine, cocoa, and plum are also excellent. In my opinion, the 1.70E size is plenty, and the 2.30E size is extravagant. Be sure to ask for two or three flavors in one cup.

I always went by the Trevi on the way back to my hotel, and it always seemed to have lots of people around.

Jan. 6
Another day without sleeping in, because I wanted to make my 9 AM reservation at Villa Borghese. I walked there up the Via Veneto. I really enjoy this area, and the park surrounding the villa is gorgeous. There are several other museums there that I wouldn't mind seeing, like the Museum of Etruscan Art. I had my strictly limited time (we're rushed out at about 10:57) and used the audioguide. Bernini's sculptures are, of course, magnificent. The villa is a perfect setting for all that art. The way some pieces are a fusion of classical art and Baroque art was very interesting. Once again, one beautiful painting after another, and it was hard to keep them straight. The Apollo and Daphne sculpture by Bernini is what I best remember.

I walked back down the Via Veneto, and had a snack in my room and read and rested a bit before heading out to the Colosseum by metro. Then it was time for the 2 PM Enjoy Rome walk of Ancient Rome.

Our guide was Valentina, and she is Italian and trained as an archeologist. She is very knowledgeable and funny, with all sorts of interesting facts. She pointed out the various triumphal arches, explained in detail about the differing levels of the city, pointed out the temple which was turned into a church and how the door of the church was several feet above the original entrance to the temple, and so forth. There are lots of Roman superstitions and she shared a few with us. The walk starts at the Colosseum, goes to Piazza Venezia, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and then ends at Piazza Navona. Once we got to Trevi, we started noticing crowds that were incredible. It was shoulder-to-shoulder and the only way you could move was by pushing (and people were pushing you, so it's not as if you had a choice). These crowds continued to Piazza Navona, where the Christmas market continued. Of course Jan. 6 is Epiphany, so an Italian holiday, and the crowds were largely Italians taking their holiday.

I had thought of going to a 5 PM concert, but our walk stretched a little longer than that.

I walked further from Piazza Navona and found a bar where I had a hot chocolate. It's always a good idea to be prepared for an ill-equipped bathroom, and I was thankful I was.

Then I walked to the Bridge of Angels across from Castel d'Angelo. This is quite impressive lit up by night. Now I was in a dilemma. I had done a fair bit of walking, and didn't really feel like doing any more right then. I briefly considered walking across the bridge and getting the metro, but that seemed silly, and would be a fair walk anyway. I couldn't figure out where to pick up a bus. So I waited for a bit, and then felt like walking again, and walked along the Tiber for a while.

Then I headed back in the vague direction of Piazza Navona, and of course the crowds were still out in force all the way around. I found a small restaurant and had another nice, enjoyable meal, and took my time and rested my feet.

Then on to Trevi, I got my gelato, and I headed back to the hotel. It was probably only about 8:30 at this point, but I called it a day.

[WillTravel]

Jan. 7
I did not have any early morning appointments today. My family let me sleep in until 8 AM. So after a slow start, I headed out to Largo Argentina and saw the cat sanctuary, and then headed to the former Jewish Ghetto area. I saw the excavations at the Portico d'Octavia. These are right up against a residential area -I wonder if the work disturbed the residents at any point.

I then toured the museum and synagogue. The security is very tight, in part because there was a PLO terrorist attack in 1982 and of course just because this is generally necessary. The museum showed a prayer book that one of the survivors of the 1982 attack (it killed one person, but injured others) had been holding. It had splinters and blood on it, but had amazingly saved his life. Much of this small museum deals with WWII, but there are artifacts from earlier times. The stairway up to the museum features various engraved stones (gravestones?) with Hebrew writing that are very old. The synagogue offers a guided tour and the guide explained pertinent facts about the history of the ghetto and the present-day community. The synagogue building dates from the late 19th-century. The ghetto had been in place from the 1560s to 1870. Then embankments were built to prevent the Tiber flooding. One problem with the ghetto area had been that in winter it was always subject to significant flooding, so quite unhealthy, not to mention very crowded, with 8000 people in a 4-block area.

I decided I would try the famous fried artichokes, so I decided to have my main meal a little early. My lunch was very nice, but the artichoke side dish turned out to be a single fried artichoke (admittedly a reasonable size) for 4.50E. It was good, but I think I could get more excited about them if I got a plateful for that price. I talked to a man, at an adjoining table, who had emigrated from Romania to Israel but had come to Italy on business. Of course he was fluent in English too (not to mention several other languages).

I had an Enjoy Rome walk at 4 PM, but I figured I could still fit in the Villa Doria Pamphilij, which wasn't that far away. This place does not look like much from the outside - it really looked like it needed a good scrub actually. But inside it's a gorgeous palazzo, decorated with hundreds of paintings. I got the audioguide, which was put together by the latest descendant to own this place. Like the Borghese, this place had a powerful church patron (was it a pope or a cardinal?) who had almost unlimited resources to buy art. And in those days, they did not believe in setting each painting off individually - they are crammed in chock-a-block. Jonathan Pamphilij, the descendant who did the audiophone presentation, did strike me as a bit pretentious as he discussed "his family" when referring to events and people 500 years ago, but thinking about it - how else could he describe it?

Before long, it was time for the 4 PM Enjoy Rome walk of Trastevere and the Jewish Ghetto. Our guide was Agnes, a native of London who had been in Rome for five years, was married to an Italian, and could speak fluent Italian. She walked us around the ghetto area, explaining the history, and showing us a building from the 15th century (I think the oldest in the ghetto). We could still read the building inscription, which used a unique dating system - one based on the formation of Rome as a city in whatever year that was in the 8th century, rather than a system based on the birth of Christ.

Agnes explained some of the controversy about Pope Pius XII and discussed how he had made an arrangement with Hitler that hospitals, convents, etc. would not be entered by German soldiers, an arrangement which allowed many Jews to be hidden in those places. But many were deported to concentration camps in October 1943. The SS had promised that if the community could provide 50 kg of gold, they would be saved. The 50 kg was gathered up, but the SS reneged on their promise and deported everyone they could. There was also the massacre at Fosse Ardeatine, which involved several hundred political prisoners, Jews, and random people who were rounded up for execution because the partisan resistance fighters had killed 33 German soldiers, and Hitler demanded 10 to 1 retribution.

We saw the Portico d'Octavia again and the ruins at Largo Argentina (which contains 4 temples). The archeologists are not entirely sure which temple belongs to which god or goddess.

We saw the Theatre of Marcellus, which was originally built approximately 100 years before the Colosseum. Plays were held here, and at the end of the play (Greek tragedies translated to Latin I think), the actors would leave the stage and a bunch of condemned criminals would come on the stage. These criminals would then be executed.

In the Middle Ages, the Pierleoni family decided to take up residence in the theatre. It was useful as a fortress. They were driven out eventually, and another family, whose name escapes me, took over. By Renaissance times, this family wanted a proper palazzo rather than a drafty fortress, so they had a palazzo built on top of the theatre/fortress. Today this palazzo still holds the family residence, but also holds several luxury apartments.

On to Trastevere, where we saw Santa Maria in Trastavere. This has the wonderful 12th-century mosaics. For some reason this hadn't occurred to me, but Agnes explained that the gold really helps you see the picture when there is little light, which of course would be the case in most medieval churches.

Agnes also explained to us that the floors in this church and many others were made from marble ransacked from other Roman buildings and then chopped up. Basically all ancient Roman buildings were a huge quarry for anyone who wanted building materials. The marble pillars in the church are mismatched, because they came from various sites. The only exceptions to this ransacking were those pagan sites that became churches.

This church was the site of a legend, as a sibyl was said to have prophesied that a fountain of oil would issue from the spot when Jesus was born. Thus the building of the original 3rd-century church.

We walked back from Trastevere, and on to Campo dei Fiori. This was the spot where books and heretics were burnt, during the Counter Reformation. One of the books in the square is called Fahrenheit 451. Although I had read that Ray Bradbury book (which is about a world where books are burned at the temperature of Fahrenheit 451), I didn't make the connection until Agnes pointed it out.

Our tour was over, and it was now past 7. I had developed a blister and was very hungry. I found a cheap place near Piazza Venezia - I think this was a taverno caldo, as you ordered what you wanted from the counter and then had it heated up. It was fine for 9 Euros, but I have to say I like the food at the proper restaurants better. I found a bus and got off near Trevi. I got another gelato, and was done for another day.

[WillTravel]

Jan. 8
Today I was up early again, this time for the Vatican Museum. I took the Enjoy Rome tour, again with Agnes. Our group headed over to the Vatican lineup at about 9:40, and we were in probably a little after 10.

The Vatican, of course, is one impressive thing after another. In one of the rooms at the start, Agnes pointed out that we were standing and walking on ancient mosaics (about 2000 years old, I think), and this was one of the few museums in the world where you could do this. We hit numerous highlights and slowly wended our way to the Sistine Chapel. All along, Agnes was explaining to us about what was done by which pope, with particular focus on Julius II. She also gave us a lot of background info on Michelangelo.

As we got closer to the Sistine Chapel, the crowds became more and more intense. When we finally got in there, it was packed. In theory, no one is supposed to talk in there, but many of course were breaking the rule. Periodically the guards would say "Silence" in various languages.

One thing I did not realize about the famous fresco where Adam is about to get the gift of life.
www.artchive.com/artchive/M/michelangelo/creation.jpg.html
The Creator is placed on a cross-section of the human brain. Michelangelo took anatomy classes, so he knew what this looked like. Michelangelo is pointing out that intellect is the spark of life.

I could also see the influence of Masaccio in the serpent fresco, which features the serpent with the same face as Eve has.

The Last Judgment is indeed impressively awful (in the original sense of awe-inspiring).

In general, Michelangelo's females, as I mentioned, tend to be brawny and muscular. Agnes said she knew that some say this is due to Michelangelo using male models, but she felt it was more likely due to the fact that Michelangelo saw the human male form as perfect, and thus modeled the female form on the male form.

After the Sistine Chapel, we went into St. Peters - my second visit by now. Agnes pointed out the Bernini altar and the stained glass at the front - quite impressive indeed. The floor of St. Peters indicates the relative sizes of other churches compared to St. Peters. I have to admit this seems a bit on the tacky side; I'm curious who first had the idea to do this. But it's interesting anyway.

The tour ended somewhere around 2. So it went rather longer than advertised, which was good, because we clearly saw only a small bit of the Vatican Museum, and it seemed we were moving along very quickly all the time.

After the Vatican, I was a bit worn out and it was time for lunch anyway. I chose a restaurant this time that looked a little more obviously touristy, but fortunately it was still fine. I had my usual Caprese salad, which was very nice, and decided to try gnocchi. These were well-made, but I have to say I find them more or less equivalent to perogies and rather bland. They'd be great with tons of butter, sour cream, and sauteed onions, but they weren't bad with marinara and olive oil anyway.

I decided I'd find some more English-language paperbacks. Sadly, the used bookstore recommended in my guidebook was still shut down for the holidays. I saw an Italian bookstore nearby and hoped to find something in English there - no luck.

I headed back to my hotel for a bit, and then decided I could still head out to see the churches of San Clemente and St. Giovanni in Laterano. I went to San Clemente first. The lower sections were supposed to be open until 6 - I arrived at 5:30 and that was too late. But I did walk around the main section of the church. I saw an Italian church group who appeared to be doing an intense prayer or study session in the corner. I then went to St. Giovanni in Laterano. I have to say this area of Rome is not my favorite. Some shops were closed down, and the area looked more economically depressed. There was more dog poop, some of which got on my shoe. It just wasn't as pleasant as the area of Rome near where I was staying.

St. Giovanni in Laterano is another impressive church - and although I know St. Peters is bigger, somehow I got more of a sense of size from this one. I couldn't get as good a look at the mosaics as the front as I would have liked, as there was a service going on. I saw the tomb monuments of various popes, and some classic-looking confessional booths. The nun who was leading much of the service sang periodically, and had a beautiful voice. There were numerous nuns who were visiting the church also. As I left, I heard one American nun say to another that she had made her profession in December.

One thing I noticed in both Rome and Florence is that there seemed to be many nuns who were out with young children, and there seemed to be a family relationship as they often walked along holding hands or such. Perhaps they were taking nieces or nephews out for the day? And the nuns are a truly multicultural lot, from all corners of the globe I'm sure.

I headed over to the bus loop near St. Giovanni in Laterano, but mistakenly waited for one that did not run on "sabato". I looked around a bit and realized I was a short distance from the Manzioni metro station.

I went to the EasyInternet cafe in Piazza Barberini and found this place had the cheapest rates of anywhere I had seen in Italy. I have little choice but to check my email every few days, because sometimes there's a business issue to address, and I could also delete the useless ones so I wouldn't have a couple thousand emails when I got back.

I had planned to go to another concert at St. Pauls within the walls. But it cost a little more than I thought I would, and I didn't want to withdraw any more money at this late stage (having less than one day to spend it and I hate paying a bank fee on just a small withdrawal). And I wanted to get another look at the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona. So I headed off on another walk through nighttime Rome.

The Spanish Steps, just as the first time I visited, had not much happening. The church at the top is scaffolded, and a large billboard featuring Mahatma Gandhi covers it (sponsored by a telecom company). There are no flowers along the steps. In fact, the first time I passed the steps early in the week, I think I missed them, although I later noticed them. A group of young Americans had several bottles of booze, and one of them played the guitar quite poorly. There was an Italian further up the steps playing the guitar, again quite poorly. There were several flower-sellers tryinig to foist flowers onto people, not allowing much peace.

So onto Piazza Navona. This looked empty with the Christmas Market gone, and there wasn't much happening there either. Several people, with folding chairs, were set up to do tarot and astrology readings. One older woman was reading her book and looked fairly bored. I have to wonder if they got any business. I wasn't curious enough to try them out.

I walked back to Trevi and got my gelato. I contemplated going to a restaurant where I could pay by credit card. I decided instead to eat what I had in my room - crackers, almonds, fruit.

I then set out to pack up. As mentioned earlier, my husband had stuck a whole bunch of useless things in at the last minute, one of which was glasses cleaner. Somehow or other in the last few hours, the glasses cleaner had leaked over all my clothes!

So I set the clothes out as best as I could, so they'd dry out by morning. Fortunately the two sets of clothes I had planned to wear for the last two days were not harmed.

[WillTravel]

Jan. 9
I had a last leisurely breakfast. I was sad to be leaving Rome, but at the same time, this was indeed the longest I had left my family (I've taken several trips where I had one kid with me, and I've taken shorter trips by myself, but this was the first 16-day trip by myself).

I went out to buy the Terravision ticket, and found the spot where the Terravision coaches leave from, near Termini.

My original plan had been to go to organ concerts, but I had the feeling I didn't want to do that. I decided to visit the Vatican post office again, and hopped on the #64 bus. This route is famous for its pickpockets, but I didn't see any. I got off a little short of the Vatican, and just walked around the area. I arrived just after the noontime mass, and found the Vatican post office closed. Of course it would be closed - this was Sunday!

I then decided I'd walk to Trastevere. I noticed what I think is the Vatican's one and only gas station - an Esso. Does anyone know?

The area that I walked through is called Gianicolo, and I really enjoyed it. It turned into a fine sunny day. I passed a street fair, sponsored by the municipality of Rome, with a Winnie the Pooh character dancing and waving around. Hmm, did Disney approve this trademark usage? Various fun attractions were set up for kids, including face painting. Although I don't think this was a tourist attraction, the words "face painting" were in English. I enjoyed seeing the little kids bouncing around and having a great time.

I walked on through a posh residential district that looked relatively new by Roman standards. I wasn't really adhering to any set route, just intending to go more or less in the direction of Trastevere. I saw a grocery store, and bought some provolone cheese and a bittersweet chocolate bar. The chocolate was perfect - which is so rare for me to find, because I can't stand it when it's too sweet. The bar cost only 0.85 Euros. It wasn't too sweet, and it was a fairly large bar. Cheese and chocolate is of course the perfect lunch - I enjoyed it thoroughly. I ran into problems when I snapped a picture of some Danish butter cookies, exactly the same tins as we buy at home. A clerk came up to me, and in a very friendly but firm voice, told me in a torrent of Italian not to take photos. I apologized.

After I left the grocery store, I headed along a road which I think is in the back of the Janiculum Hill (but my map wasn't too good with this area). I could see the Garibaldi monument on the hill. This almost looked like a rural area. At the end of this road and after a few more twists, I passed by a villa with two Italian policemen holding machine guns. I decided this wasn't a good time to take a photo. I wondered whose villa this might be - perhaps an ambassador.

Shortly after passing the machine guns, and while walking up a hill on the uneven shoulder of the road, I tripped and fell down. The man in front of me stopped and looked back and waited. A car stopped and the driver looked at me - I knew they were waiting to see if I was okay. I was, and said so as best as possible. I got a bruise on my knee and cut my hand slightly, but no big deal. I think I was discombobulated by the clerk and then the machine guns, so this is just a reminder to gather your wits as needed to avoid this sort of thing.

I had been close to walking off the map, so I figured out the precise way I should go. I passed through some more lovely neighborhoods, with comfortable rather than stately looking apartment buildings. The views in this area were truly remarkable as I was at a high altitude above Rome - but I had run out of space on my digital camera memory cards, and didn't feel like figuring out which pictures to delete. This area doesn't seem to be recommended much in guidebooks, but I really enjoyed walking through it.

I got to Viale Trastevere. My plan had been to walk through Trastevere, but I was starting to feel a bit nervous, as it was after 3 PM. I hopped on the tram and went to Largo Argentina. I was thinking of my evening flight back to London.

I went by the Pantheon once again and took a quick look inside, visited the McDonald's bathroom (it's quite terrible - much better to use the pay WCs), and decided to walk past Santa Maria della Minera. By now I was feeling up to visiting one last church. And a good thing, as this one is gorgeous. www.basilicaminerva.it/

I noticed the Grand Minerva hotel and thought of taking a look inside, but didn't feel like getting past the doorman.

I headed over to Piazza San Silvestro, because there was one last bookstore possibility to check. This one had some photography books in English, but those would hardly keep me occupied for a flight. I checked the rest of the store carefully and found no English books. Luckily I had bought an Economist magazine in the morning near the Vatican. I visited Trevi one last time, and headed back to Hotel Julia to get my luggage.

So I went up that hill on Via Rasella one last time, headed over to the metro at Piazza Barberini, went to Termini, and headed over to the bus. I arrived there at 5:12 for the 5:30 bus. At 5:15, the bus began loading. At 5:23, the bus had backed out and left. So my advice is to be there early if you take Terravision.

We were supposed to arrive at Ciampino at 6:10. But the Roman highways were backed up with a traffic jam that wasn't moving much at all. My speculation is that people were finally returning from their Christmas/New Year's holidays on Sunday evening. Finally we arrived, and I got into the EasyJet checkin line. I was there exactly two hours before the departure of 8:40 PM, but other people were there first, so there was about a 15-20 minute wait.

I noticed some people had hugely overweight suitcases. I'm not positive if they were charged, but I suspect so. Somehow some passengers always seem to avoid reading about the luggage restrictions.

I used most of my few remaining Euros to get a light supper, which turned out to be surprisingly good - a tomato/mozzarella panini and Del Monte pineapple juice.

The flight was perfectly uneventful. We landed early at Gatwick, I got through the bureaucracy, my luggage arrived instantly, and off I went to get the National Express bus.

The bus arrived at 10:50. The driver complained about the fact I had a 20-pound bill and no change, but gave me the ticket. I hadn't been able to buy a ticket inside, because the booth was closed. This was only the start of his complaining - on and on it went about Tony Blair, George Bush, the cost of living, the terrible way his employers treated him, the raised retirement age, his 14-hour shifts (?!), how the country had degenerated, the uselessness of computers, and so on, all through the ride. We went to the other Gatwick terminal, and he picked up a couple passengers who had vouchers. But one Spanish woman was left there at the bus stop, because she had a 50-pound bill and he refused to take that, saying he had no way of knowing if it was counterfeit, and it would be taken out of his wages. So what happened to that woman, I wonder?

The bus driver now had these other people to complain to, and so on it went. We arrived at Central Bus Station at about 12:10 AM. I took the local bus to Holiday Inn Heathrow Ariel.

My experience this time was rather different than my stay at the beginning of the trip. The clerk explained they were sold out of regular rooms, so I would be given an executive room. Yay! This turned out to be about the standard of a US 4* business hotel. It had a comfy queen bed, bathrobe, slippers, washcloths, magazines, and a nice bathroom. The heat worked perfectly fine. I had a view out onto the airfields.

Jan. 10
My family woke me up just after 7 AM. Oh well, at this point it hardly mattered, as I could rest on the plane. I enjoyed watching the news in English, which I hadn't been able to do in Italy. I surprised myself by how slow I was at getting ready to go - I'm always afraid of missing a plane. I got to Heathrow around 10:45 (so almost three hours before departure), used the check-in kiosk, and got through that all pretty quickly. I made a quick circuit through the dutyfree stores, and then headed to the SAS/Air Canada lounge. I had been given a pass by someone, and this was a great luxury as you get free food and drink, a comfortable area to relax, computers to use, and magazines to read. I tried the cappucino - well, I could tell right away I wasn't in Italy anymore. My Air Canada flight actually boarded on time, so I had less time in the lounge than I thought I would.

So - THE END (finally, one might add!).

So to summarize, it was a very enjoyable trip, it cost more than I thought it would but all money was well-spent, the worst things that happened to me in Italy were waiting an hour for a train and having one bad meal, the best things happened continually, and I can hardly wait to go back.

[LHR02]

WT......just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to write up your JBR's. I have so enjoyed them all.

[WillTravel]

dustoffmom said:

WT......just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to write up your JBR's. I have so enjoyed them all.

You're welcome .

And thank you for all your generously provided tips and suggestions. They helped a lot. For this type of trip, lots of planning really worked, because I had so many specific things I wanted to see and I had to figure the logistics out.

Believe it or not, this is actually a short form. I keep on thinking of little incidents that happened now and then, like witnessing the aftermath of a fenderbender with two passionately angry Italian drivers.

I tried to speak Italian, but never got very far. Sometimes I got answers in Italian, and they observed my lack of comprehension, and switched to English . It's always worth a try to speak the language, though, no matter how feeble. I was able to read most things.

And I'm really glad I wrote this out, and I hope subsequent posters do the same . I didn't do this much with the other trips I've taken, and I've forgotten a lot.