Borghese Museum

     A glorious day of sunshine here in Rome as we read about friends who spent last night on cots in the airport in Chicago because of snowstorms.  Hopefully they are safely back in California by now.  We headed out the door without umbrellas in our bags about ten o'clock.  Half way to the Metro I remembered my watch and then when we were ready to enter the Metro I realized I'd forgotten my cell phone/camera; Jim waited while I went back to the apartment again.  I found it under the umbrellas that I'd taken out of the backpacks! 

Soon we on our way the Republica Metro Stop where we walked around the corner and visited the Museums of the Baths of Dioclesian.  I walked by this so many times in the past and WOW...it's a great museum and we really enjoyed our hour.  And, it was free because we discovered that the seven euro ticket that we purchased for the Museum on Sunday is also good for entry over four days to three additional museums.  We did two of them today and will do the other one tomorrow!  What a bargain!  It pays to read the back of your ticket.

   

About noon we headed for the bus # 910 that took us right to the gates of the entry to the Borghese Museum.  There we picked up our tickets that we'd ordered months ago and then found a place to sit and have a snack while we waited for our entry time at 1:00 pm.  Every two hours they clear the museum and a new group enters for the following two hours.  We also had to check all bags including purses.  They asked if I had a camera when we checked the bags and I said only my cell phone.  He said the rules had just changed and contrary to the signs you are now allowed to take all the photos that you want without flash.  Another WOW for today!

I've been in this museum many times before and I definitely made up for the photos that I couldn't take then during my visit today...you are only going to see a small portion of what I took as there were way too many of them for the slideshow!  Jim was intent on seeing the Bernini sculptures and the Caravaggio painting; he was not disappointed...they were all there waiting for him.   I had fun with my photo shoot!

     Before three o'clock we were back outside and walking through the park all the way to the bluff that overlooks the Piazza dei Popolo and in the distance Saint Peters Basilica.  Had a fun photo of a group of kids taking a group shot with many of them holding their selfie sticks.  I have yet to learn how to use mine but will soon.  They are the rage here in Rome.  Vendors everywhere try to sell you one.  From there we continued to walk towards the Spanish Steps.  Just before we arrived we checked in at the Villa Medici,  now owned by France and is labeled the Academie Nationale De France....Napoleon inherited it when he married into the family and then he gave it to France.  You can only tour it on a tour and the English Tour is at noon so we'll go back tomorrow.

   

Down the stairs, through the crowds, and then continued walking towards our next museum...yes another free one from Sunday's ticket.   It took us a while and became necessary to use google maps on the cell phone but we finally found it just north of Plaza Navona.  It is called the Musee Nazionale Romano Palazzo Altemps.   Lots of statues and a beautiful restored palace from ancient times. 

   

On to the next stop even though our feet were barely moving by now.  Very close by was the Basilica of Saint Agostino where we had a beautiful painting by our friend Caravaggio above one of the side altars.  By now my cell phone battery was drained and I attached a power pack to it...worked beautifully and I continued to take photos, etc.  Holding both the phone and the tethered power pack.

     To find a bus home we walked across the Tiber River, walked around the Hall of Justice...a massive building...and on Piazza Cavor we found our bus #49 that would take us home.  Long day.  By the time we arrived home we'd logged 7.20 miles.  Dinner was soon ready and we're enjoying our evening.   Rain is predicted by midnight.

     I hope you've enjoyed our journey today...the link to photos is below:

Link to Picasa Photos

Visiting Cinecitta and the Aqueduct Park

     It's Monday morning and since most of the sites in Rome are closed on Monday we headed back out to the end of Metro A for another delightful day.  The weather was cool and we carried our umbrellas but it's now after 4 pm and it hasn't rained all day....yes...we're back in our apartment after walking five miles per the pedometer.  We started our journey at 10 am and arrived home just before 4 pm.  A full day for us old travelers!  We're looking forward to a nice dinner at home and a good game of Hand & Foot this evening.

  

It took just over half an hour to travel to the Cinecitta Metro A stop, the second from the last one, and the stop was right outside the door to the large movie studio by the same name that has existed since  before WW II.  It is now being used for television and commercial in addition to movies; both Italian and foreign including many American productions.

     Ben Hur....the remake with Morgan Freeman...is currently in production and since they are using the largest sound stage, Number Five, we could not see inside of it but did walk around

it.  A really large building.   We also got to see the creative arts people..but no photos allowed, making the chariots for the big race scene.   Everything is fiberglass now and stucco...nothing that we saw was real.

     Another film that has just finished and is being released soon, Christ The Lord, had some beautiful outdoor sets that we again were not allowed to take photos of.  But the slide show is full of many old sets including ones used in The Gangs of New York.  The large pool used for the harbor scenes was there and a portion in one corner held a container that will be used for Ben Hur.   Because of cg in today's world they didn't need the huge lake and will add in the background after the filming.

 

Loved the scenes of Rome and other Italian cities.  We saw the set used for Romeo and Juliet...but the balcony had rotted off!   There was a cathedral that is constantly changed to make it look different, they even used it on a production recently about Assisi.  We had an English Tour for an hour in the back lots and then spent unlimited time in several buildings that gave the historical exhibition over the last eighty years.  We enjoyed the spaghetti westerns stories and of course Federico Fellini was one of their most famous directors.  He used this studio so often for his films that he was allowed to create an apartment in the area of the dressing rooms in Stage Five.  Those are the upstairs windows in my photos.  We were there for over two hours and enjoyed every minute.  Even got a ten percent discount on our tickets because we came out on the Metro. 

  

After leaving the studio we climbed aboard the Metro for only one stop.  We left the train at Subaugusta Station; used Google Maps to see where the Aqueduct Park was by showing the map to a lady...it had the Italian spelling...and she told us which way to go.  Soon we could see the ancient aqueduct in the distance.  It was only a ten minute walk from the station.  They have created a long and narrow park that is a favorite with locals for running and biking.  A golf course borders the far side.  Very impressive and worth the walk to and from.  Soon we were back on the Metro and decided to call it a day.   It looked like rain but so far it hasn't happened.  And we may get lucky again tomorrow when we have tickets for the Borghese Museum.

     Here is the link to the photos:

Link to Picasa Photo Album

Rome 2015 Marathon

    

Yes...it's the day of the Rome 2015 Marathon and it's raining steady since early this morning.  No problem with over-heating today!   I washed my hair early and we settled in to watch the race on the television in the comfort of our apartment.  Great morning.  Our landlord dropped by to pick up the linens that we'd just changed (he'd left us a second set per our request) and we had an opportunity to chat with him for a little while.  He is still on crutches...has a hair-line crack in his hip.  Painful but only time will heal it properly and it's important that he keeps moving.

   

There were two Italians that came in 3rd and I think 5th but definitely in the top seven.  The sun came out shortly have eleven o'clock...just after the winners finished.  The first woman came in about twenty minutes after the first man.  We watched until the laural wreath was placed on the winners head before turning it off.

      We decided to head into town on the Metro...buses were not running today!  There were several different races, the Marathon, a 5 K and several others so many different streets were being used.  By two o'clock we'd arrived at the Termini Station and walked across the street to the National Museum of Rome.  It was reasonable and crowded! 

The museum is all sculptures and one whole floor is the recreation of several different ancient homes that have been uncovered over the years during excavations for new buildings.   Entire rooms, walls, floors, etc.   It was four floors of double height rooms with no elevations.  We left late in the day but we accumulated about three and a half miles on the pedometer on my cell phone by the end of the day!

   

It was nearly four o'clock when we headed over to the Termini Train Station and stood in line to purchase our tickets for the train trip to Florence on March 30th.  But nice to know that we have them now and can confirm our arrival there with our new landlord.  We also took time to purchase a seven day pass for each of us for the Bus/Metro and that will take us to the end of our stay.  We should have done that a week ago but got lazy.  The difference:  24 hour pass is 7 euros....a 7 day pass is 24 euros.  But you have to go to the Tabacco Shop in the Train Station to get the seven day pass.  We were lazy and purchased our daily passes locally.

      Soon we were back on the Metro B for one stop as we jumped off at Cavor stop and walked the short distance to visit the church of St. Peter In Chains.  It required a walk up a flight of seventy-five steps to reach the church.  But, it is beautiful and there is a huge altar that was designed by Michelangelo and recreated death by his assistants.  It was designed for the tomb of Pope Julius II, there is a famous statue of Moses and a special one of Pope Julius II in a reclining pose, making him look a bit lazy.

His assistants cobbled it together with stray pieces of sculpture but using his directions.

     From there we walked back down the seventy-five steps and over towards the Victor Emanuel Monument by walking down the center of the streets in the midst of the cleanup for this mornings Marathon Race....right under the banner at the start/finish line.  Arrived in Piazza Venezia and found that our bus # 46 was finally running again since the race was now over.

     By 6:30 pm we were back in our apartment....no rain all afternoon.  A fun day and we soon had dinner on the table complete with wine and chocolate for dessert.  It was a cool but dry outing; our gloves and hats felt good.  I hope that you've enjoyed our afternoon with us....the link for photos is below:

Link to Picasa web photo albums





 

Museum Doria Pamphilj

     Today we stayed home until nearly noon working on bookkeeping and research; the hours flew by and we suddenly realized that the day was slipping away.  A bit cooler outside but occasional sunshine helped.  Our jackets with sweaters underneath felt good most of the day.

   

We caught Bus # 46 that took us directly to Piazza Venezia where we spent the majority of the afternoon.  We went left instead of right and ended up walking completely around the Palace of the Pamphilj family before finding the entrance.  This home and several others are still owned by the original family that traces it's growth of wealth back to the Sixteenth Century when an early ancestor was elected Pope and chose the name of Pope Innocent X.   The family has maintained it's wealth and the narrator on the audioguide today was a modern day member of the family.  At one point he spoke of "his mother" did.....

      We spent about an hour an a half in the privately owned museum; the admission was 11 euros each but included a very complete audio guide.   I had to pay a fee of 4 euros but was then given a token to wear around my neck and I could snap as many photos as I wanted without flash.  The ceilings were works of art.  There were several Caravaggio paintings; some others with candles I thought were beautiful.  They created their own hall of mirrors; and each room was coordinated with the wall coverings and matching furniture.   What is important about this Palazzo is that the family has not sold off it's great art collection over the centuries as so many other families have. 

     Leaving the museum we walked towards the Victor Emmanuel Monument (known by tourist as the "wedding cake") we passed the Palazzo Venezia and decided to check it out.  The admission price was reasonable...5 euros each....and a classic marble staircase made the decision easy.  The artwork was Medieval  and there were several rooms of china and bronzes.  This is also the same building where Mussolini made his speeches from the balcony that faces the Monument.  A fun hour of walking from room to room.   Heading outside we continued our quest for the steps designed by Michelangelo behind the Victor Emmanuel Monument. 

     But the steps of the wedding cake drew us in and up we climbed.  On the first level we stopped to take photos of the women soldiers who were standing at attention at the Altar of the Fatherland. Then up more steps and finally into the building.   We found a great display of photos all about the use of dirigibili (hot air ships) during WW I.   Soon we were out the top of the building where we discovered a very modern glass elevator built on the outside of the building where for seven euros you could go to the top of the roof to take photos.   Decided we had enough of a view and

went behind the bell tower of the church that attaches to the monument.  Overlooked the old Roman Forum and ancient Rome...even a view of the Colosseum in the distance.   We entered the church that is known as the Basilica of S. Maria in Aracoeli; beautiful and very old.  Once back outside we walked down the marble steps...counting as we went....120 steps to the bottom. 

       We decided to save the other steps of Michelangelo for another day and headed to catch a bus that would take us to Termini.  It was about four o'clock by then.  Arrived and walked several blocks to check out the Church of Santa Maria della Victoria that has the Bernini Altar  with the statute of St. Teresa in Ecstasy.  Yep...it was totally covered with restoration going on behind the netting.  But we've seen it several times before so we were actually just wasting some time by checking out a rumor we'd heard from another tourist last week.

    

We decided that we would find the local McDonalds and have a burger while we waiting for an hour for the English Mass at 5:45 pm at the same church we went to last Saturday.  It was just around the corner from the Piazza dei Republica.   Crowded but they never asked us to leave and we stayed for an hour.  Afterwards we walked a block to take photos of the beautiful Episcopal Church.  I'd seen it in 2013 but it was closed.  A beautiful interior made the extra block worthwhile.

     Soon we were over the Piazza, having to make our way past the myriad of equipment that we think is being set up for the Rome Marathon that is being run tomorrow.   A beautiful Mass with a young priest who gave the homely talking about how his mother told him at the age of eighteen that no matter what he did he would always find a welcome at home as he went off to college.  It was a good way to end the week.

     Crossed over the street to the Metro stop and arrived home before eight o'clock.  A clarification on our location.  I've discovered on Google Maps that we are actually south west of the Vatican.  The street that we live on starts uphill on the northwest side of the Vatican but then it wraps around the back of the Vatican.  Another good day and I hope that you've also enjoyed our journey.  Here is the link to the photos.

Link to Picasaweb Photos

Villa dei Quintili

  

  Our day started early and we were on the Metro by 9:30 am heading back out to the area we visited yesterday.  But today we caught a different bus after we got off of the Metro and within about ten minutes arrived at the vast ruins of the ancient Villa dei Quintili  built in the second century by two wealthy brothers by the name of Quintili.  When the ruins were first excavated they were called old Rome because it was so large they were sure that they'd discovered a city. Later it was determined that it was not a city but only a huge suburban home for a wealthy family.   The back of the property is on the Appian Way and is at about the five mile marker from the gates of the walls that surround the old center of Rome. But the entrance is out on the highway serviced by bus # 664 from the Metro A stop at Colli Albani.  You'll know where to get off because you can see the mammoth ruins from the bus.

   

It was a gem of a discovery and very few visitors.  The entrance was only a short walk from the bus stop and there was even a small museum with artifacts that they'd found as they continue to excavate the site.  Well worth the time to go visit.  We were finished and back on bus # 660 by 12:30 and headed back to Colli Albani where we caught the bus # 660 back to the main section of the Appian Way again where we'd been yesterday.  This time we had a ticket in hand for the exploration of the Tomb of Cecila Metella....our three part ticket from yesterday...we found it interesting but glad we hadn't paid a full six euros to enter. 

     From there we started back towards the Catacombs where the buses stopped.  Along the way we were passing the Circus and Villa of Maxentlus.  We asked how much it cost to go inside and were told because of our age it was FREE!    Enjoyed our visit and it would have been well worth the entry fee if we'd had to pay!  Very interesting and you'll enjoy the photos of a group of young nuns who were also visiting at the same time.  This was the suburban home of the emperor who was eventually defeated by Constantine in A.D. 312.  This former race track was so

huge that it held about ten thousand fans!  When you look at the photos...at the far end of the 260 yard track is the triumphal arch under which the winner rode to receive his reward.  Very impressive if you use your imagination.   We also visited the circular mausoleum of Maxentius' son, Romulus.

     Back to Bus #118 stop in front of the San Sebastiano Catacombs for a long ride back into town.  We arrived about 3 pm at the Porte of St. Paul and the Piramide which was a tomb for a

Roman who spent much of his time in Egypt.  It backs up to a cemetery for Protestants...but the sign says it is a cemetery for non-catholics.  Still active today but is home to the graves of many famous people including Keats and Shelley, famous poets who lived in and loved the city of Rome.  Keat's home is located at the foot of the Spanish Steps.

    We continued walking along the Tiber River until we reached the bridge at Ponte Sublicio at the southern end of the Trastevere area.  By this time it was nearly four o'clock and we were very tired.

We continued walking until we reached Via de Trastevere where we decided to call it a day and head for home.  Not as easy as it sounds.  We caught a tram that took us back over the river to Piazza Via Venezia.  There we walked several block and found a bus stop for bus # 46 that would take us home.  We just missed a bus and it was over half an hour until the next one arrived.  We stood on that one until it arrived at St. Peter's where we were able to get seats for the rest of the way home.  Thank goodness...we were both exhausted. We walked just under eight miles today according to my cell phone that keeps track of my steps.  By the way...google maps works great and I also have an apt that tells me how soon a bus will arrive at the stop that we're standing at.  T-Mobile has free texting and data when you're in Europe.

    Arrived back at the apartment about 5:30 pm.  I trotted off to the grocery store for food supplies.  By 6:30 pm we were back out and headed for the restaurant of the friend of our apartment owner that is only a couple of blocks.  Oops...he was closed tonight...or maybe we were too early??   But we walked on and finally purchased some delicious pizza to go and had dinner at home adding our own wine and salad plus dessert.  A good ending to a full day.  I'm hearing the tap tap of the tiny feet of the children that live upstairs.  We only hear them in the evening and it's kinda fun in a way, as it  reminds us of our grandchildren at home.

     Hope that you've enjoyed our journey today.  Here is the link to the photos.

link to Picasa Web Album

Walking on the Ancient Appian Way

   

It's Thursday and we were up and out the door by 9:30 am this morning.  First we caught the A Metro and road it all the way past Termini to Colli Albani; a long ways outside of the walls and on the way to the airport.   There we got off, crossed the street and found Bus # 660, confirmed with the driver that we were on the correct bus and climbed aboard.  We waited about fifteen minutes and then we were off for the fifteen minute drive to our starting point for visiting the Via Appia Antica...or the ancient road built by the Romans centuries ago.

    

We talked about renting bicycles but were hesitating as we knew the road was difficult and often there would not be much space on the edge; but the choice was decided for us when we saw that they only had one bicycle available.   The weather was sunny and beautiful but still cool enough for light jackets. 

     There was lots of cars zipping by but we had a narrow strip to walk as we looked through gates at private home that border the ancient road.  This road is closed to traffic (except by permit for residents) on Sunday; but today there were many cars and buses on the road.

    We looked through the entry at the remains of the Tomb of Cecilia Metella....we may go back tomorrow to see more of this as we purchased a ticket later in the day that is good for three sites.  From there we walked along the edge of the Villa of Maxentius, the suburban home of the emperor who was eventually defeated by Constantine in A.D. 312.   The space is huge as it once contained a chariot racetrack for his personal pleasure.  It held ten thousand fans!

     Our next stop was to visit the church at the Catacombs of San Sebastiano.  The church was built by Constantine...not this one but an earlier one on the same spot.  St. Stephen was buried in the Catacombs below and his body was taken up into the church when they filled in the Catacombs below to surpport the weight of the church building.  The church is dedicated to him. 

     There is also a beautiful bust of Jesus by Bernini in the church; his last work that was completed when he was in his eighties.   It was lost for centuries and just recently found in 2004. 

  

  We had half an hour to wait for the English tour of the Catacombs but it was well worth it.  Sorry, no photos while we were down underground.   We were down there for about thirty-five minutes.  She told us how the earth in this area was rather soft and easy to dig, volcanic; but once exposed to the air it became rock hard.   Perfect for creating miles of burial sites under the ground. 

     Back above ground we started walking North towards Rome looking for bus # 118 that would take us back to Rome.  The road was extremely narrow and traffic was flying by us so close we could have touched the vehicles if we'd put our hands out.  And in this section there were tall walls on each side of the road with no walking paths.   But we found a bus heading back where we'd come from but at that point we really didn't care.  We hopped aboard and found out that it was a "circular route" bus and we eventually came back to where we boarded and were then heading North.  Patience was the name of the game today. 

  

  The bus took us all the way to the Baths of Caracalla (Terme di Caracalla), located on the edge of the city near the walls that surround Rome.  The buildings are huge and were built in A.D. 216; the baths were so large they could accommodate sixteen hundred visitors at a time.  In it's day it was the place to hang out but when Goths severed the aqueducts in the sixth century during a war they tumbled into ruins and were no more. 

     Soon we were back on the same bus and jumped off near Circus Maximus when we saw the Metro sign.  Heading home we were tucker out and called it a day about 4 pm.  We'd done four and a half miles by the time the day was over.  Once home we worked on the Italian cell phone and now have learned how to use it to text so Jim has a phone again.  It's a little flip phone but it works.

     Another day is nearly over and we've had our dinner in the apartment again.  One of these nights we'll had to go out to dinner again.  It's so easy to eat at home!   Thinking about playing some cards now that the blog is done early.  I finally gave up with using dropbox to transfer photos from my phone to the computer.  I attached the phone to the computer this evening and downloaded them instantly.  Here is the link in case the slideshow is not working below.

Picasa Web Album Link

Pick pockets in Roma

  

  Did we miss a day....yes and no....we started out on Tuesday for a grand day even though it was raining lightly.  I screwed up and took us out of the walls to the Metro Station Vittorio Emanuele thinking that it was the Victor Emmanuel Monument; where it was an easy walk to our destination.  Once out of the station...we were totally lost.  We should have gotten back on the Metro and returned to an area we were familiar with but this very nicely dress Italian man insisted he could get us to our destination by bus.

   

Biggest mistake was not trusting our instincts and not listening to the Italian lady who spoke limited English about getting back on the Metro.  But, he kept insisting that we could get there faster by the bus with him.  Sure enough...he waited until a really crowded bus came and we went with him like lambs to the slaughter.  At the next stop he got off rather hurriedly and pointed to the direction he said we should go.  We were still lost but things looked familiar to me from two years ago as I recognized the walls out near San Giovanni in Laterano Church.

     So we walked a few blocks, entered the church and came out near the Obelisk in the square and finally caught a bus towards Via Venezia, another familiar name.  At this stage we decided to get a bus to somewhere, we knew not where and that's when Jim discovered both his wallet and cell phone were missing from the zipper pockets of his jacket!  Now we knew why the man left us in such a hurry and why he was so upset when the lady tried to get us to go back to the Metro.

   

At that point, we forgot all about going to pick up our tickets for the Wednesday audience with the Pope.  Jim has a history of heart atrial fibrillation and we were concerned about the trauma creating a health problem for him.  I talked Jim into getting a taxi cab to take us to the entry to the Vatican Museum...negotiated a ride for eight euros...from there we caught our number 49 bus back to the apartment.   We actually walked a bit which was good for us to the next stop and along the way took a photo of the stairway that we'd climbed on Saturday when we got lost finding our metro stop.

     Jim was concerned about his Metro/Bus ticket that was in his wallet and I said just get on like you have your ticket in your pocket.  You only have to put an all day pass in once a day.  If for some reason an inspector gets on the bus....you will just have to realize for the first time that your wallet has been stolen.  But, just as I thought...no one asked to see his ticket.

     Back in the apartment much earlier than planned, we started the process of cancelling credit cards, etc. that happens when your wallet is stolen.  We contacted our son-in-law in the USA and he took care of turning the IPhone into a "brick" and hopefully worthless to the person who took it.  If they sign on to the Internet with it...it will take a photo of the location and send it to us which we can in turn give to the police.  But, that will probably never happen.   We had no ideal how to do this but figured our son-in-law did and sure enough he took care of it for us.  Using our International Skype we first contacted the bank and then the credit card companies.  We also filled a report with Equifax.com....no charge...and they noticed the other two credit reporting companies for us.  It's good for 90 days.  And so ended our day...we ate dinner and went to bed early.

     We were up early this morning on Wednesday, and by 10 am we were out the door.  First stop was at the TIM Store to activate the Italian  cell phone that I'd purchased in 2013.  Now Jim has that phone with him in case we get separated.   I have to teach him how to use it this evening.

   

Next we went to the local police station following the directions that our landlord had given to us when we notified him of the problem.  Before we left the apartment this morning, I went into google translate and typed the story and information about what had happened to us along with personal information.  I copied the Italian translation and pasted it into an email to myself.  When we arrived at the police station...only a couple of blocks from the apartment...I told them I had a translation on my cell phone...opened up the email and they were delighted.  The official report was made and we have a copy of it with us to take home just in case there are problems.  By this time is was noon.

     A short stop back at the apartment and we were on our way on bus 64 to Piazza Venezia...where we'd gotten the taxi cab yesterday.  We were back on schedule.  I knew that we could enter the old Rome on the tiny streets from here.  We walked a few blocks the wrong way at first but soon Jim turned us around...fyi...he has a sense of freedom today not worrying about his pockets...and we were at the Gesu Church.  Oops...it was closing for lunch as we entered and we were gently but firmly escorted to the door and told to come back at 4 pm.  Well...cross that one off of our list.  Back on the street we headed in towards the Pantheon; stopping first at the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva church that has the elephant and the obelisk in front of it.  Inside we found the body of St. Catherine under the main altar...her head is buried in Siena, Italy.  From there we walked to the French Church of San Luigi...it also was closed for lunch until three o'clock.

 

  Change of plans we walked back towards the Pantheon and along the way entered the church of St. Eustachio...they were just finishing up from feeding the homeless so we didn't stay long.  And we were on our way to the Jesuit Church of San Ignazio.  It has stunning art throughout, the ceiling looks like it belongs in the Sistine Chapel. 

     Then  we headed back to the French church...it has the paintings of St. Matthew by Caravaggio.  Oops...it was still closed.  So we walked a few blocks over by the Parliament building to one of the more famous places to get gelato (ice cream) known at Giolitti.   Very reasonable and good.  We each had a double scoop...the smallest they serve...and finished them by the time we arrived back at the french church that was now open!

  

  Our feet were very tired by now as it was after 4 pm.  But we started walking towards Trevi Fountain.  When we arrived it was surrounded by glass walls...they are restoring it.  Not what we wanted to see but took a few photos anyway.  I guess I'll have to toss that coin in another fountain to make sure that we come back to Rome someday.   Our goal was to go to Piazza del Popolo so we started walking towards Spanish Steps...Spanga.

     When we reached the large street of Via del Tritone we decided to hop a bus...we got engaged in conversation with a wonderful fellow from Pakistan as we passed several Metro Stops.  Soon we didn't see any more Metro stops and when we asked where we were going...oops...time to get off and make new plans.  We eventually found a bus heading towards Termini Station...just before it arrived we got off and entered the Metro at the Republica Station (across from the place we attended Mass on Saturday evening) and we finally knew where we were.

     Soon we were at Flaminio Station, hopped off and walked across the large piazza to the church we wee looking for in Piazza del Popolo.....yep....more Caravaggio paintings in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo that is right next to the arch where you enter the Piazza.

     Back on the Metro and home in minutes.  We made a quick trip to the grocery store...we're eating on about ten euros a day by cooking in the apartment.   Good meals including desserts and wine!   It was six o'clock when we reached home.  A good day of sightseeing.  For those that count steps, my cell phone said that we'd walked 15,293 steps today.

     I hope you've enjoyed this rather long journal of our past two days. The photos are loading slowly so will posr and add the rest of the photos to the web album tomorrow.   Here is the link for the picasa web photos if you don't see the slide show playing below.

Web Album Link

Necropolis Via Triumphalis

     Today is Tuesday afternoon and due to working with technological issues I'm still trying to post a blog from yesterday.  Sunday was a great day as we took the day off as we planned.  It rained all day but since we'd been to church on Saturday evening, we slept until noon and then ate good food, played cards, worked on computers and in the evening called all seven of our children using Skype International.

   

      Monday began with an alarm ringing at 7 am.  By 8:15 we were at the door of the Vatican Museum for our 9 am tour.  But, even though it was raining, the guard would not let us enter until 8:30.  We found an awning across the street to stay dry with hundreds of other people huddling under umbrellas. 

     By 9 am we were with our English speaking Italian guide, tethered with an audio system which made it very easy to hear everything she was saying.  Even though I've toured the gardens twice before there were two areas new to me.   Even in the rain the gardens are beautiful as you will see by the photos.   Especially the Fatima Shrine that has an altar that once was in Fatima.   We also saw the Monestary where Pope Benedict now lives that is located in the center of the gardens. 

     About 11:30 we entered into the gated area where all of the shops for people living inside of the Vatican are located.  Just past their post office we entered to a newly opened, December 2013, archeological site discovered when they decided to build a new parking lot inside the walls.  It is a cemetery that dates back to the first century, buried by land slides thousands of years ago.

 Known as the Necropolis Via Triumphalis, it has been carefully excavated to create a way to display what the burial process was in ancient times. 

We spent over an hour touring the site and even had two films during the tour showing us what it looked like in ancient times and the process of salvaging the site as an archeological study.

Leaving the Necropolis we walked back outside, still in the rain, and into the Vatican Museum.

     Our first stop was to visit the Pinacoteca that houses the paintings that Jim missed on Friday during his visit.  We were looking for one in particular:  Caravaggio's Deposition.  Not disappointed and we enjoyed the others also before heading back to the main section of the museum for a fast walk through to the Sistine Chapel.  Jim had spent four hours here on Friday.   I took three photos in the Sistine Chapel before the guard caught me and they are in the slideshow.  We followed instructions from our guide and slipped out the door on the right with the tour groups for a shortcut directly into St. Peter's Basilica.  Otherwise the door to the left would have taken us out of the building and then we would have had to stand in a line that stretched half way around the piazza to go through security to get back inside.  And yes, it was still raining. 

     Visiting our old favorites in the Basilica, the Pieta, St. John Paul's Chapel, and walked the circle around the church to the exit before heading back out into the rain.   It was nearly three o'clock and we were starving so headed for the McDonalds near the Metro Stop at Occativa.  Enjoyed a bacon burger before boaarding the Metro for home.

     We're only half a block from the Metro...depending on which exit we take but it was good to be home and have dry feet....just me....my sandals are great except in the rain.  About 6 pm we headed back out...yes in the rain...to the Metro.  We rode the Metro to Spanga (Spanish Steps) for photos.  It was raining and between the umbrellas and the cell phone that I'm using for photos...I dropped the cell phone.  But, thank goodness, I've got a full case on it and it seems to be working just fine.

    We walked to the top, checked out a nice hotel that we used to stay at and found it has closed its doors.  Over to the elevator from the top to the Metro and got back on for one stop at Flamino Station where we walked over to visit the Piazza del Popolo.  We were looking for another Caravaggio painting in a church there.  Had the correct church but Mass was starting and we need to go back today to see the painting.  Home again, we enjoyed a late supper snack before bed. And then I started dealing with trying to transfer photos, etc.  Long night.  But, I do hope you enjoyed our journey.  Again here is a link to the photos if you don't see them below:

web albums

Visiting Outside The Walls

     Saturday morning we were up and out the door by 10:30, walked the half a block to the Metro Station and after purchasing some All Day Passes we were off on the A Line all the way to Termini where we switched to the B Line to St. Paul's Outside the Walls (Basilica San Paolo Fuori le Mura).  The walk from the Metro Station to the church is only two blocks.  Once you are outside, walk through the small open market, and you can see the back of the church and the bell tower immediately. 

     The church was originally built in A.D. 380 and was the last major construction project of Imperial Rome.  It was also the largest church until St. Peter's was built.  That church burned in 1823 and the neoclassical church we see today was built on its footprint.  The bones of St. Paul are buried under the altar per new tests conducted in 2009.
      Ringing the upper part of the church are round mosaic portraits of 266 popes, from St. Peter to Pope Francis.  There are only six empty ovals...what will happen when there is

"no room at St. Paul's" for a future pope?   Some believe that it may be the end of the world??   This is especially important because of the recent news that Pope Francis intends to also resign early like Pope Benedict...maybe we'll use the ovals faster than intended.  Since there have been seven (or eight) during my lifetime...will my grandchildren live to see the last oval portrait?

     We enjoyed the huge marble columns both inside and out in the courtyard entry.  The alabaster windows light the vase interior giving it a heavenly glow.  The 13th Century mosaic filling the dome is Byzantine in style...notice the tiny white bug washing Jesus' toe, it's Honorius II, the 13th century Pope who paid for the renovation and it reminds people of his humbleness while getting some credit for the renovation at the same time.

     I'm working on inserting photos differently so bear with me as I experiment today.

     Be sure to go to the Picsasweb link below for all the photos from St. Paul's Outside the Walls.






     Leaving St. Paul's we again boarded the Metro Train but only for one stop.  We got off at Garbatella to see a new Museum for both of us.  Not as easy to find; we made several starts before finding the correct one.  But in doing so we saw some great things in this rather industrial part of Rome that is still "outside the walls".  

     There was a beautiful new bridge, an extremely well done graffiti wall, a building painted in modern art...at first I thought that was the museum...but no...if we'd only read Rick Steve's directions more carefully, we would have saved some time.  But we finally arrived at the Montemartini Museum.  Rarely visited by "tourists" but well worth the time.  It is a 1932 former Electrical Power Plant that still has all of the machines but it also full of beautiful ancient statuary among the machines.  They are from the Capitoline Museum in the city.   By the time we'd finished it was after 2:30 pm and we decided to call it a day and headed back to the apartment.  On the way we had another "journal entry" when we forgot the name of our Metro Stop and got off at the wrong one.  Totally confused we ended up back on the Metro to a stop near the Vatican Museum, from there we had to walk several blocks including a stairway of fifty to seventy steps that took us to a familiar street and our bus # 49.  Ah....home at last and time for a nap and a snack.
       About 5:15 we were out the door, back to the Metro and off at Republica Stop for an English Mass in the chapel behind the Sacristy of Santa Maria degli Angelo dei Martiri.

  This is the church inside of the former baths at  Diocletian near the Termini Station.  The priests were the Paulist Fathers from Santa Suzanna, their church is now closed for renovation.
     Home again, we enjoyed fixing our dinner about 8:30 pm and then enjoyed a late evening getting to bed about midnight.
     We figured out how to open our table and found that we now have a large square table that will be perfect for playing Hand & Foot tonight.  Yes, it's raining outside today and we've taken the day off.  Tomorrow will be a busy day as we have the tour of the Vatican Gardens, Via Triumphalis (new excavations) that I've not seen; and the Vatican Museum including the Sistine Chapel and then into St. Peters.  It will be a long day starting at 9 am and possibly in the rain!  So no blog tomorrow as today's story is sleeping until noon...yes we did....and playing cards as we listen to the rain outside and watch the Formula One racing on television.  We purchased the supplies for our dinner yesterday.  But...if the rain lets up we may venture out to the Organ Concert where we went to church last night.
      Here is a link to the picsas web albums if the slideshow is not playing below; remember if you can see the slideshow you can click on the show and it should take you to the larger photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/marthajans



    

Visiting the Vatican Museum

     It's about 6:45 am on Saturday morning and Jim is sound asleep while I enjoy my quiet time with a cup of coffee; it's still very dark outside.  A perfect time to write about yesterday.    Jim enjoyed his four hours at the Vatican Museum.   He took loads of photos with his new IPhone...but in order to get them into my computer...no, I don't have a Mac...I had to email them to myself from his phone.  Must be an easier way but I've not figured it out yet.  We have an IPhone, my android phone, a mini IPad, and two laptops with us...if only they all worked together!  I am also attempting to learn how to blog from my phone....it's a Samsung Galaxy Note 4...easier said then done so I'm doing this blog on my laptop.

     The first of four photos on the slideshow are from Jim's phone yesterday in the Vatican.

  He took some lovely ones but in the process ran out of power early in the day.  Thus, he didn't get my text about having left the apartment for a walk to the park so when he decided to call it a day earlier than expected he arrived home to a locked door! 

     I enjoyed my morning working on the computer and then researched the route to a huge park that is only about forty minutes walking distance from our apartment.  I noted all of the streets that I needed to follow....sent Jim a text...that he never opened due to a dead phone from too many photos and videos...all started on my quest.   About twenty minutes into the walk I decided that I must have missed my first turn and turned around.   Walked all the way back to our street deciding to go back to the apartment and check the route again on my computer.  Actually, I think I could have checked it on my phone with the Rome Map App that I have but didn't think about that.  Just before turning down our street for some reason I turned around and there was the street I'd been looking for!  All I had to do was cross the street and the name had changed to the one I was looking for.  So back on my journey I went heading downhill.   In Rome you are either going up or down hill it seems.   I walked all the way to the Piazza Pio XI.  I was at the park but decided to turn around rather than going further, will save the visit to see the Villa Doria Pamphilj that sits on the edge of the park for another day.  I'd not heard from Jim for hours so decided I'd better head back up the hill.  I'd easily walked three miles; I'd turned on my "Map My Walk" app earlier and was delighted to find that it works here in Rome.

     I should have gotten a photo but didn't; as I walked up to the apartment, there sat Jim.  He'd decided to come home earlier and had been waiting about twenty minutes for me.  So glad I'd decided to stop by the apartment before going grocery shopping as planned.   Soon I was off again to the large grocery store to shop for dinner; Jim is cooking tonight.  Actually made two trips as I forgot to pick up a bottle of dressing for the salad; when I returned my only choice was a bottle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar...we must be in Italy!

     Enjoyed the rest of our afternoon before checking out the kitchen to figure out what pots and pans we had and how to work the appliances.  We managed and Jim prepared our dinner using the tools available.  I did the clean up afterwards.

Did I mention that we're on the ground level of the building so we don't have stairs to climb; a nice change that we hadn't expected.    We even have a small patio that we can enjoy.  

     During dinner I mentioned that sometime during our three weeks here in Rome I wanted to go out at night to show him how beautiful the city is when it's dark and the building have their lights on....there's magic in the darkness.  We decided to go tonight to see the Vatican as that is the closest one to our apartment.  We bundled up, the day had been warmer (still needed jackets) but the night air is cold; two layers plus hats, scarfs and gloves.   We walked to the bus stop and caught the number 49 bus...it's a block from the apartment.   A short ride...less than ten minutes....and we were at our destination. 

     The piazza was nearly empty and the lights were beautiful.  We each wandered off with our cell phones taking photos and suddenly I realized I could no longer see Jim.   I looked and looked and looked....soon I walked towards the Obelisk in the center and stood under a light post.

Suddenly I thought...I'll send him a text!   Yep....it worked....soon I had an answer.   He was just on the other side of the Obelisk; soon we were back together.  I mentioned that we need to establish a meeting point when we enter a big area like this!

     After taking way too many photos we walked back to the nearest bus stop that was just across the street from he entrance to the Vatican Museum.   It was about quarter to eight and our bus drove past us as we walked so we knew that we had to wait for the next bus; and they don't run as often in the evening as they do during the day.   I opened my phone and turned on a new app that I'd loaded at home for Rome Buses...I clicked on the option for the bus nearest to my location and it told me that a bus would arrive at 8:27 pm.   We waited and sure enough the bus pulled up to our stop right at 8:27 pm.   The magic of technology...it's wonderful when it works!

   Soon we were home; on the way we rode one stop past our street so that we could check out the restaurant that our apartment owner had told us about.  Found it easily now that we had the name.  It's a tiny little place but good prices and Riccardo tells us very good food; so we'll definitely have dinner there one night.   

     We enjoyed our dessert of sharing a chocolate bar plus a yogurt before calling it a night.   It's been a good second day in Rome and Saturday brings a journey together on the Metro outside of the walls of the city center.  Hope you're enjoying our journey as we see Rome on a slow pace!

The link to my photos:    https://picasaweb.google.com/117895434014273629374/Blog2Rome2015?authuser=0&feat=directlink

If you see the slideshow here remember that if you click on the photos it should take you to the large version of the photos in Picasaweb.... 

Arriving in Rome

     It's Friday morning here in Rome and Jim has left to spend a day with an audio guide in the Vatican Museum with no guilt feelings about keeping me on the bench too long.  This way when we visit together on Monday we can breeze through looking only at his very favorite pieces of art. 

     Our photos start with one of our luggage at home before we headed for the airport. 

Our first "journal entry" of the day came early when I was in the backseat of the car (our daughter Jenn was in the passenger seat) and was busy talking with my daughter!  Neither of us noticed that Jim left the 91 Freeway and headed south on the 55.   When I noticed some building that I knew were along the 55 I realized he was driving us to Orange County Airport!  Oops...guess I forgot to tell him which airport we were leaving from.  A fast drive through the airport and on to the 405 freeway...we were soon headed in the right direction!  Good thing we left early at 4:45 am.  We were lucky not to hit heavy traffic and breezed into LAX at 6 am....two hours before our flight and not the three hours I'd planned...but we were okay.  Checked in and went thru security within minutes.  We were lucky and put into the line that did not required us to take anything out of our carryon luggage and walked through the old scanner and not the body scanner! 

     The flight to NYC on American Airlines took us over the snow covered western mountain ranges for a beautiful photo out the window.  Jim was in the window seat and I was in the middle.  The gentleman to my right was very interesting.  For the last ten years he has moved between South America (Buenos Aires and Mexico City), Europe (Paris, Berlin, Barcelona) and Los Angeles and New York City in the USA.  Not sure what is job is but to me sounded wonderful.  Originally from Germany (I think) but had a Greek Name.  Spoke many different languages and is now learning Chinese which we talked about as he explained some of the basic principles to me.  You'll notice in the photos that there was snow on the ground in NYC but not at the airport; however, it was raining lightly all the time w were there.

     We arrived at JFK in NYC right on time and only had a two hour layover.  I met a delightful young girl while we waited.  Her name was Jenn and she was from Penn.  She was on her very first trip; a birthday gift to herself, meeting a friend in Sicily for 16 days.   We flew out of the same terminal but on British Air.  They fed us dinner and then the plan was to sleep through the night.  Didn't happen...we got caught up in two movies instead.  Enjoyed "Guardian of the Galaxy" and "100 Steps".   This was a brand new plane with all the controls on the back of the seat in front of us.  We had a choice of about a dozen movies, TV, etc.  Place to plug in for power and everything.  Wonderful!

     Arrived in Dusseldorf, Germany about seven hours later...now on Europe time which is eight hours ahead of California.  Their Daylight Time change happens March 29th...then we will be nine hours.  We had a ten hour layover here.  Since we're using "air miles" to travel they sometimes change our schedule...we originally only had two hours here!  But we decided to make the best of it.  Jenn was also here for an extended stay and we got to know her a little better.  She was having trouble getting her AT&T to work in the International mode.  Our T-Mobile was working great so she used my phone to text her family to let them know she'd arrived in Germany okay.  FYI...that was also her very first airplane trip.  We practiced texting family; seems to be working just fine and we were also able to get emails.  Supposedly we have free texting anywhere in the world and also free data here in europe using the roaming networks.  Anxious to see if it's actually free????

     We each tried to nap in the airport but had limited success.  Finally it was time to fly to Rome.  Great flight on British Air for two hours...most of which we slept...and we'd arrived!   Our next "journal entry" happened here.  We somehow got into the baggage claim area for Terminal One instead of Three...still not sure how we did that.  But with the help of strangers we found our way and had to enter through security to get our checked luggage which was there!  Then we had to find Fabio, our driver that was sent by the apartment owner; we saw a man with a sign that said "MARTA".... we approached him and asked him if he was Riccardo's driver?  Yes...we were soon in his van and off to the city.  It was now nearly eight o'clock in the evening.

     We stopped at a gate in the countryside...I was puzzled as I knew our apartment was in the city?  Shortly we understood; he was picking up the owner.  Riccardo was injured in a motorbike accident nine days ago and is on crutches.  Riccardo speaks wonderful English...Fabio almost none.  Soon we were in heavy traffic driving along high walls on narrow streets.  Our apartment is located about a mile northwest of Vatican City.  It was about nine o'clock by the time we were in the apartment.  We had some brief instructions, paid our fees in Euro's we'd gotten at the ATM in Dusseldorf; he showed us the keys and he was off.  See the slideshow with the link below to see our apartment. 

     We looked at each other and decided to venture outside to see the area.  We tried each key carefully and enjoyed our stroll along with a gelato (ice cream).  Returned shortly to the apartment and had our third "journal entry" when we attempted to enter the wrong apartment  building.  Long story but when someone finally let us in the front door and the key did not work for the second door we knew something was wrong.  We have three doors to go through to get to our apartment.  Until then we were not aware that the outside of all the buildings on the street look the same! 

     Finally to bed about midnight we slept straight through to noon on Thursday!   Spent a few hours organizing and about four o'clock we ventured out for the second time.  This time we walked up to Via Aurelia and walked to Vatican City.  It must be about a mile as it took us thirty minutes.  Mostly downhill.  We enjoyed seeing the Basilica without any scaffolding for the first time in many years.   They have finally finished cleaning everything!  It's beautiful! 

      We purchased some one trip tickets and enjoyed the bus ride back to the apartment.  Then we began walking further up the street to find the large grocery store for some shopping.  It was a few block; did some shopping and then walked back to the apartment.  Stowed the groceries and headed back out.  It was getting colder and colder.  We got out our gloves, scarf and hats.  People here are still wearing their down jackets.  I do hope that it warms up soon.  We're thinking about the heavy coats that we decided not to bring.  Our thought was to "layer" our lighter coat with sweaters, etc. on cool days!
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     Ate our first meal at Yummy's, a pizza restaurant nearby.  Very good.  Afterwards we walked more and found another large grocery store, nicer and closer than the first.  To bed about 10:30 for Jim and I tucked in by 11:30 pm. 

     The alarm rang at 8 am....Jim had a 10 am entry scheduled for the Vatican Museum.  I'm enjoying my morning and plan to get out and walk the area after I post this blog. 

The link to my slideshow for today is:   https://picasaweb.google.com/117895434014273629374/Blog1Rome2015?authuser=0&feat=directlink

I've not posted the link before so will also be embedding the slideshow for those that can get it:

We're On The Road Again

It's been several months since I've posted on my travel blog; busy life at home with a large family has kept us in Southern California since our return from Peru last December.

But the time has come and we're all packed for our next adventure.  We leave on Tuesday for two months in Europe beginning with three weeks in Rome, Italy.  Another two weeks in Florence and then we will be flying over the channel to England for two weeks of touring the countryside after a few days in London.

Our final week will be in Paris where we're meeting my twin sister and her husband for a springtime visit to the city of Love....see you next week here on my blog.....