Rome

After touring in Italy for a few days, we met up with our travel group in Rome...where we had a meet and greet dinner, then spent the next two days touring Rome. (The sign on the dining room said "Welcome to the Bountiful Travel Beffet." Beffet was their attempt at translation of buffet! We had a good laugh over that. One of the restaurant managers actually came up to us before we were leaving and asked us to correctly translate some of the items on their menu. I shouldn't have told him the correct term of buffet since "beffet" brought us such great pleasure.)



I've tried to remember my favorite Rome experiences and will share just a few.




The first might seem odd when compared to the others. More exciting than hearing about the gladiators and chariots and seeing the cathedrals....and on and on....



1. was the DRIVING in Rome! CRAZY!!! I was pinned to my seat on the bus, shrieking with all the enthusiasm of a terror ride at Lagoon (our local amusement park.) It is a total free-for-all with buses and taxis vying for position (not in any kind of lanes) with motorcyclers darting in and out. The roads are NARROW and filled with pedestrians and everyone is driving FAST! It was exhaustingly fun! (I was excited to see a bus named after our daughter. ) Pedestrians truly take their life into their own hands.

2. The Colosseum. I have dreamt of the Colosseum since I was young....not from gladiator movies....but from a short story I read when I was a young teenager. If you have never read Roman Fever by Edith Wharton....you might. It was sensuous reading for that time....and I've never forgotten it. It is the story of two best friends and one love interest. A major part of the story is a clandestine meeting in the Colosseum, late at night

Below are two pictures of the Colosseum. It was the largest amphitheatre in Rome. It could hold 50,000-87,000 people (depending on who you are talking to) but what I thought was fascinating is how it was designed that in the case of an emergency, the people could exit in a matter of minutes. (okay, here is a little trivia I can't resist sharing. Lately I have been interested into the meaning of words and names....and the passageways that allowed this quick exit is called vomitoria- which is Latin for rapid discharge. Guess what English comes from that same word....) During it's heyday, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests, mock sea battles, animals hunts (the inaugural celebration killed 9,000 exotic animals in just a few day period) and executions. The huge productions were usually put on by politicians as a way to sway votes (they would entertain and feed people for free.) The basement layers are visible where they housed the animals and gladiators. All that very interesting but I was still caught up remembering the forbidden couple meeting in its corridors....sigh.

3- one of the next highlights had to do with the Spanish stairs. Not because I cared a bit about the Spanish stairs (but our guide thought we needed to see them.) The Spanish stairs were actually built and designed by the French to a French cathedral...but the Spanish embassy to the Vatican is next to it so people always refer to it as the Spanish stairs. (They are about 135 steps. Seemed like what we walked in Todi to find pizza.)

The reason why the Spanish stairs was a highlight is because of the older man below. His name is Gene, from Oregon and he was on the tour alone. He latched onto us the first day...and was constantly asking us to take his picture. At first we thought it was funny...then we became very attached to him and protective. He was quite delightful but hard of hearing....so he was constantly missing directions or instruction (and actually missed some of the tours because of it.) After a day of touring in Rome, he asked our local bus driver/tour guide why we hadn't been to St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican. (Apparently Gene didn't hear we would be touring St. Peter's and the Vatican all the next day.) He said to the bus driver, "I think people would rather see St. Peter's than a bunch of old stairs!" David and I thought that was so funny. (I've been sad thinking of all the pictures and video he took without someone at home to look at all his adventures. I asked him once what was waiting for him at home ...and he said "lonliness.")

4-One of my VERY favorite sites was the Pantheon (meaning to every God.) It really was built to honor all Gods (saints and mythological gods as well.) It was built over 2,000 years ago and the dome is breathtaking. It is the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome (142 ft. high) and it has a hole, called an oculos in the top. That hole is the only source of light in the building and creates kind of a backwards sundial. When it rains, it rains down through the hole and drains in the floor of the building which has a gentle slope with drain holes. The cathedral is actually dedicated to St.Mary and many martyrs are buried there. The painter Raphael (of Ninja Turtle fame) is buried there as well. Absolutely beautiful.

floor drain in the middle of the beautiful marble floor

(I didn't take pictures of the artwork since I am a little skiddish about picture taking in museums. Remember how I was snapping pictures right and left in Paris....in the Van Gogh exhibit...oblivious to the "no picture taking" signs. There is a funny story about Gene snapping pictures in Egypt but I can't tell that now since I'm talking about Rome.)

and finally, 5- St.Peter's Basilica and the Vatican. The Sicilian Chapel was over the top, the artwork unbelievable, the crowds suffocating (and we were there "off season").....but the icing on the cake was this. It was on my bucket list. Something I never thought I would ever see.


Pietà- by Michelangelo. Years ago I used to be in a small poetry writing group with fabulous women. One, Nancy Hanks Baird- wrote a poem about this statue and the passion and love between a mother and her son. (the statue is of Mary holding Christ after the crucifixition.) Standing before the statue...remembering the emotion of Nancy's poem....was just surreal. (When Michelangelo finished the sculpture, he overheard someone giving credit to another sculptor....which made Michelangelo promptly carve his name across Mary's sash on her robe. It is Michelangelo's only signed sculpture.)

I would tell you more but already the tour guide is saying, "Hurray up. We have to hurry. There isn't time to see everything. There isn't time to dally."

Rome in two days is a whirlwind. No time to dawdle! (I DID love Rome but you know me and cattle. I'm a "non-herd" person. I wanted to "moo" a couple of times.)

Todi, Italy

We began our trip, flying to Rome....first class. I can't complain. It was marvelous. Very spoiled.





When in Rome, we found our rental car, crammed in our luggage (always a trick) and headed to Umbria, a province of Italy. Why Umbria? My sweet neighbor, Arlene, gave me all her travel books when she heard last year we were going. At the time it was going to be exclusively an Italy trip. One of the beautiful books she gave me was a book entitled One Hundred and One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy. We picked one.





Todi, Italy. Todi is a wonderfully preserved (one of the best according to the book) medieval villages on the top of a hill. It is completely walled and we felt, as we walked around the cobble- stoned town- like we were on a movie set. It was quiet and peaceful. We stayed in a quaint hotel-the Fonte Cesia (built in the 1600's.) After we figured out how to keep the lights on in our room (if you've been in Europe, you'll understand)...and David figured out how to not pull the emergency cord (that we didn't know was an emergency cord) ( the front desk frequently called to see if we were okay)in the bathroom....and we finally found an open restaurant for dinner (they close after lunch until later for dinner)(we walked for hours)- we all would have been happy to stay there. Forever.





The roads in the villages are narrow and steep and winding (as are the roads in the valley.) Moving the car from "here to there" was always an adventure. We're talking narrow! We traveled to the accompanying village of Orvieto and we thought for a minute we were dead. (Think narrow enough street the doors of the car can't open on both sides at the same time. Faced straight downhill. Car stalls. Big time.) The book should have been warning enough: "At one time, the path to Todi was a perilous one. Arriving from Orvieto it was necessary to cross the Pontacuto Bridge, so steeply arched that it posed a threat to every carriage and cart. The bridge no longer exits, but legend has it that it was presided over by the devil himself, who stole the souls of passersby. It is said that the Archangel Michael destroyed the bridge, once again securing the journey." Well, THAT explains a lot!

You might wonder why I am now showing two pictures of the same narrow walkway. There is a reason. One is up. The other is down. It looks like a flat path but nothing is flat in Italy. There are probably 100 stairs that we walked down, looking for a restaurant. When we got down at the end...nothing. There was no where else to go but up. Up the 100 stairs. The restaurant was at the top, where we began. No worries. It wasn't open which is why we just passed it by. Either that or we're total idiots!

The artwork of this artist (I'll have to go look at my notes) was throughout the Forte. David thought it was crazy but of course, I was drawn to its funkiness. I especially liked this picture since we played hand and foot the entire trip.

Post Halloween Mummy

I received this darling sarcophagus mummy (can you tell I just got back from Egypt) filled with treats just before leaving for our trip. It was so over the top....





because it was delivered by this designer-dressed-mummy. (OOMS- Our Own Martha Stewart) (I wish you could have seen how fabulous this costume was...)

She had an important announcement to make!

Thanks, OOMS! You are amazing as always and totally made my day. (night.) (and excited for A. and N.!)

And since we are talking about mummies, one little party game that we've played is called "Unwrap the mummy." You take a small figure (like a plastic doll or Spiderman figure) and start wrapping it in toilet paper. Keep wrapping. Occasionally I would put a piece of paper that said, "Get a candy" or "Tell a joke" or "Sing Jingle Bells like a pig.." (I'm writing this at 5 am. What do you expect! lol. My time clock isn't ticking right yet!) Then continue to wrap, inserting papers along the way. When the mummy is as big as you want it, it is ready for play. Have the people in the game take turns rolling dice. Maybe two and when that person gets a double, they can unwrap the mummy until they find a treasure note. They either get a treat or have to do something. The last one to unwrap the mummy gets a big prize. Like a cruise somewhere. Kidding.

You might wonder why I'm telling about the mummy game AFTER Halloween. Well, it is part of my travelogue. We learned quite a bit about mummies in Egypt... all fascinating but what I was surprised to learn was that when they wrapped mummies, occasionally in the wrapping they would put tokens or amulets as charms of good luck or protection. So my mummy game isn't off the mark too much! And also, just so you know, King Tut is really pronounced King Toot. Your kiddos will love to know that!

Thanksgiving is Almost Here

Short Update

Just a little hi and bye. So far we've done Rome, Turkey and Cyprus.

Then two days in Israel and yesterday in Eygpt. I couldn't put Israel and Eygpt in the same paragraph as Turkey and Cyprus because there is no comparison. It was a heart-be-still the whole time in Israel...the garden of Gethsesame, the garden tomb, Jerusalem, Sea of Galilee (boat ride), Nazareth , the Jerusalem center and on and on. Can't wait to share thoughts and stories. Our guide in Israel was amazing in addition to our personal guides. Yesterday we landed in Port Said and drove to Cairo. 22 million people. The crazy driving has been almost worth the price of the cruise! But the pyramids, the camel rides, the street vendors, the Sphinx. Our guide was Islamic and it was so fascinating to hear "the other side of the coin" and the heartache yet hope he feels about his country. More about this man later. Learned so much about Islam (Islam and our LDS faith are very close in tenants.) and was impressed by the goodness of this man. Today we are in Alexandria and made the decision to not do the tours today. Five straight days has been wonderfully exhausting and we wanted to just lay back one day. Actually we have two straight days at sea beginning tomorrow but between the touring, all the thoughts and information in our hearts and heads, all the EATING, all the games playing with Kirk and Cathy.....we could be done. But then we would miss Venice at the end.

This little post isn't so interesting but mostly a note to our family that we are alive and having an amazing time. xoxo Your mummy from Eypt (and grandmummy.)

Almost Turkey

Not only is it almost Thanksgiving but tomorrow we reach Turkey! Our time in Italy was marvelous. I'll tell about it when we get home. Computer time is .75 a minute! Our first two days at sea were ROUGH. 12 foot waves. Have I mentioned how I get carsick on the way to the store sometimes? But life is great. Tomorrow we visit Turkey. I can't wait to see what trouble I can get into there. But I WILL leave you with this tidbit. I DID get my leg hung up on the metal turnstile at the entrance of the Collisium in Rome. The attendant was QUITE impressed and I don't think he had ever see someone do that before. It is so interesting being me.

To my family- LOVE you all! Ryan, David Hadlock is fabulous, as of course, and is Donald Parry. David's behaving himself quite well. We've only gained a few pounds. (ha!)

Trip

I can't think about it being Halloween since I'm not "doing" Halloween this year. Mal came for the weekend and she was so sad that I didn't have any of the "stuff" up. I have been taking a few treats around and did the s'more treats for the kiddos (not all delivered) but I'm missing a Halloween parade and all the fun stuff tonight. I hope I can get my list completed so I can enjoy seeing the kiddos dressed for all the fun.


~let's just mention that when your husband agrees that you need an Ipad.....and then he freaks (not really) when you want to buy a lime green protective cover (I came home with gray. GRAY!!!!).....and then he's downloading and downloading....for ME, I thought....and when I asked him to download Angry Birds...he was an angry bird (not really but he did roll his eyes)....and did I mention I went off my hormone cream and now we have a flock of annoyed birds (well, one annoyed bird.) .....and then "someone" was starting to act territorial over MY Ipad....and finally he said, "I don't think this is going to work." Really???? Just laughing. Some birds aren't meant to share...

~my list keeps GROWING instead of shrinking. But I can do anything in a day. Well, except lose two sizes. Can't do that.

~ We fly to New York, then to Rome. We've rented a car for a couple days of touring (that should be interesting....I remember a driving escapade in Germany where all these people were agitated and pointing at us. Just because we were driving in a foot traffic only zone! And David spoke German so we could understand a few things being said.)

Then touring in Rome Thursday and Friday, the ship leaves Saturday. The Norwegian Jade.

Two days at sea, then Haifa and Jerusalem, Israel. (heart be still!) Jerusalem, Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Nazareth, Jordan River, Mt. Carmel. Day two will be the Temple Mount, Mount of Olives, Dome of the Rock, Garden of Gethsemane. Garden Tomb, Western Wall, Dome of the Rock. Two heavenly days. Our guest lecturers are Donald Parry from Ancient Script. department at BYU and Dave Hadlock. My brain will pop with happiness.

then two days in Egypt-the Great Pyramids and the great sphinx and the camel rides. We will learn to walk like an Egyptian. (old song, now you won't be able to get that tune out of your head!)

Alanya, Turkey- more ancient theaters and lots of historic places where the Apostle Paul taught. The recent earthquake was on the north eastern side, we'll be on the west.

Cyprus- castles and picturesque villages, catacombs and mosaics.

Back to Rome and more rental car adventures. We are driving to Venice and spending a few days (I'm sure D. thinks he will be watering skiing on the canals.)


Trip of a lifetime. With bestie friends. Can't wait. It is worth missing Halloween for!