The Caesar Shuffle

The plan of attack for our first full day in Rome: see the great feats of Roman engineering....or whats left of them. Since the Colosseum and the Forum are right next to each other we decided to shuffle from one to the other...and quite literally for that matter, due to the extreme amount of tourists that had the same idea. After the awful bout with the subway the day before, we decided everything in Rome was walkable so we walked all the way from our hotel, which was clear across on the opposite end of the city center, probably a 45 minute walk. I'll take a 45 minute walk over staying close to a tourist vortex.

You have to have tickets to get into both the Colosseum and the Forum and of course we had nothing of the sort. The line at the Colosseum was beginning to wrap around the entire perimeter by the time we arrived but Rich, the ever-so-saavy ticket master had a feeling there would be a separate ticket line over at the entrance to the Forum but with a much shorter line, where you could purchase tickets for both sites. Of course he was right and we only waited in line for about 20 minutes. I need to start believing that sometimes (well, usually) he does know what he's doing and he's usually right.

First impression of the remains of the Holy Roman Empire? Truly impressive and awesome. I took a million and one pictures of it all, so only the ones that I think TRY to capture the grandeur and scale I posted below. The Colosseum was the most impressive, being the iconic symbol of Imperial Rome, especially if you picture scenes from the movie "The Gladiator", it kind of brings the whole thing to life. Walking through the Forum was a different kind of experience as it's not as grand of a structure, but rather a large spread of ruins that as you walk through you can really imagine what life was like 2000 years ago. We also walked through Palentine Hill which is even older than the Forum.

The Caesar Shuffle proved to be much more strenuous and exhausting than expected. We're blaming it on the incredibly tricky and large cobblestones that all of Rome seams to be paved with, along with the extremely irregular terrain of the ruins. That and it's getting hotter here in Italy. I still can't imagine being here in July and August. Anyway, as a result of the trekking we worked up quite an appetite and that evening decided to give into our heart's desire for something other than Italian food. Do you blame us? We've been eating Italian every single day for three weeks now....Well, I take that back. We had McDonald's at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Home Sweet Home while in Rome!

The Westin Excelsior. Before it was a Westin it was just the Excelsior, built in 1906.

We're located in the Via Veneto/Villa Borghese district which is in the city center, but north of

all the tourists. The area is beautiful, peaceful and the side streets look just like the streets

between Madison and Park back in NYC. It's just lovely.

And far away from the peace of 5-stars is the Colosseum, ancient Rome and the vortex of tourism.

The Colosseum, originally called the Flavian Amphitheater is an elliptical amphitheater
in the center of the city and was the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. 
It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

A Roman gladiator....and behind him the line to get in.

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.

While most of the seating is gone and the floor has given way to the labyrinth below, it is still
an amazingly magical site. It was also really hot, even without 50,000 spectators sitting side by side.
I can't imagine. Probably much worse than a U.T. football game.

In addition to the structure itself, there are remains everywhere, from fallen
columns to large chunks of sculptures. There is an open-air exhibit that
also has artifacts of things ancient Romans probably had with them 
while viewing an event...everything from glass bottles to hair combs.

There has been quite an amount of restoration work or where you can tell
their trying to save parts of the structure from completely disappearing
as over the years lots of damage has been done from earthquakes to 
stone robbers. For the most part though, it's all pretty original.

I thought this very ironic; two girls lounging on an ancient column and one of their
t-shirts says "Nothing lasts forever." So true. 

It's kind of impossible to stop taking pictures of the Colosseum. 

The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome 
and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It stands above the Forum.

According to Roman mythology, the Palatine Hill was the location of the cave, where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf that kept them alive (remember, back in Siena this image is everywhere in the city). According to this legend, the shepherd Faustulus found the infants, and with his wife Acca Larentia raised the children. When they were older, the boys killed their great-uncle (who seized the throne from their grandfather), and they both decided to build a new city of their own on the banks of the River Tiber. Suddenly, they had a violent argument with each other and in the end Romulus killed his twin brother Remus. This is how "Rome" got its name - from Romulus.

Rome has its origins on the Palatine and recent excavations 
show that people have lived there since approximately 1000 BC.
Many affluent Romans of the Republican period (c.509 BC – 44 BC)
 had their residences there and during the Empire (27 BC – 476 AD) 
several emperors resided there. 

And next to Palentine Hill is the Forum.
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins 
of several important ancient government buildings 
Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, 
as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.
Today is a sprawling ruin of architectural fragments and archeological excavations.

It was for centuries the center of Roman public life: 
the site of triumphal processions and elections, venue for public speeches, criminal trials, 
gladiatorial matches, and center of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments also
commemorated the city's great men.

The teeming heart of ancient Rome, the Forum has been called the most celebrated 
meeting place in the world, 

And that concludes our Caesar Shuffle.

Next it was time for lunch..

After lunch we made our way to The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II or Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland). It is a monument built to honor Victor Emmanuel, the first king of unified Italy. It was inaugurated in 1911 and completed in 1935 and is built of white marble.

The monument also holds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame, 

built under the statue of Italy after World War I. 

The monument was controversial since its construction destroyed a large area of the Capitoline Hill along with a

medieval neighborhood. You can see the Colosseum from the top. The monument itself is often regarded as 

pompous and too large. It is clearly visible to most of the city of Rome despite being boxy and lacking a dome or a tower. The monument is also glaringly white, making it stand out amidst the generally brownish buildings surrounding it. Also, it's stacked nature has lent it several nicknames. Foreigners often refer to it as "the wedding cake", whereas Romans commonly call it "the typewriter".

Exhaustion.

And despite its criticism, the monument was really beautiful, mainly

because it is so stark white. Inside there is a museum about the

Italian Reunification, but we did a run through, as it was just too much Italian

history to absorb that late in the day.

And then our American palettes and the deprivation

for "American-tasting" food that they've been enduring for the last 

2.5 week got the better of us..and it's down the street from the hotel.

Rich: "I can't believe people still eat here or that

I'm paying their ridiculous price for a hamburger."

Me: "It'll be good."

We waited close to 45 minutes.

And it was worth it....

...as all cares and worries quickly vanished into the vanilla milkshake.

And is that a real glass of iced tea!!?!? Quite possibly the only one to exist in Italy.

Benvenuto a Roma!

Sorry for the delay, but we've been conquering Rome by foot these last three days with the Holy Roman Empire, the Pope and the Borghese's taking up all our time. And when one has a schedule that includes such company there are few extra hours (or energy) left to write about them. Needless to say from the company we're keeping, Rome is absolutely incredible. It is fast-paced, crowded, loud, touristy, authentic, fancy, chic, ancient, mysterious, spiritual...probably everything a place could be, Rome is. The city is hard to describe because while parts appear and feel like other large European cities, like Paris, Rome is really like no where else. Rome's history spans about two and a half thousand years and it is often referred to as one of the birthplaces of western civilization. Because of that the city has a very powerful essence about it that reaches far beyond the droves of tourists.

We're scheduled to reside in Rome until Sunday and since we arrived in here with a seasoned tourist's vengeance three days ago, reservations for all sites printed and in hand, we've pretty much conquered all the major attractions. So in an effort to not make this post an endless scroll of pictures and to keep you coming back and reading, I'll divide it all up into a couple of days.

Arrival from Florence, First Night

After a near miss of a train cancellation in Florence on Monday, due to what we think was a train strike, we boarded Trinitalia once again and headed to Rome. The trip was 3.5 hours but was easy, comfortable and relaxing...until we arrived. Let's just say our hotel was one kilometer from the train station and it took close to an hour and a half to actually get there, mainly due to quite a series of events. First, we walked for 10 minutes just on the platform, just to get to the station from the train; the train could not have parked further away. Then a cab tried to charge 25 Euros PLUS 5 Euros per bag to go the one kilometer (Rich promptly said "Um, no, are you crazy?" and made him unload everything) (we have since done our research on the cab situation here...Rule #1 Look for the crest of the Holy Roman Empire...seriously). Next, after descending underground, the deepest I've ever gone to ride a subway (perhaps the deepest ever, for any reason) and walking the furthest I've ever walked in a subway system (all with our 50 lb rolling suitcases don't forget), Rich didn't make it off the train in time at our stop, the doors shut and off he went. We reunited about 10 minutes later, still underground, and only after an unnecessarily long ascent to the street (without elevators) the grit and graffiti were quickly washed away by gorgeous magnolia lined streets and beautiful outdoor trattorias. Ahhh, how wonderful familiarity is....the familiarity of a Westin in the non-gritty part of town. Note to Rich: No subways for the duration of this trip.

After a nice long shower and a short stint in the hotel robe and slippers (to completely wipe away the terrible bout with the subway) we headed out to dinner and what a walk it turned out to be. It was the most beautiful introduction to Rome we could have had and one of the most impressive walks to and from a dinner I've ever experienced.

Our train, at the very bottom, Roma Termini 13:12, followed by the list of the stops it makes...
narrowly missing the effects of a train strike -- what luck!

This is how you end up when you haul a 50 pound suitcase through Rome's subway tunnels...

The Pantheon!!! We just happened upon it on the way to dinner!!

We officially visited it, along with it's inside yesterday, so there will be much more 

of it's wonder and history to come.

The Temple of Hadrian!! 

Over 2000 years of history seen within a couple of blocks on the way to dinner.

So amazing.

This was old-school Roman dining at its best. 

Trattoria Costanza is located in the basement of the Theater of Pompey 

which was a structure in Ancient Rome dating back to 52 B.C.

It was one of the first permanent (non-wooden) theaters in Rome. 

As for the current establishment, the food was simple and classic, 

the waiters friendly and the house wine was fantastic.

We also met a wonderful family from Kansas who we chatted with the whole meal.

The walk home, post-dinner.

I think the real magic and mystery of Rome comes alive after dark.

The center of the piazza across from the Pantheon.

The Trevi Fountain!! Three huge sites in one evening!!

It's much more impressive at night, mainly because the hundreds of tourists

kind of disappear into the darkness...but it was still insanely crowded.

This picture also doesn't capture it's massive scale.

Told you it was crowded...and it's worse during the day.

Standing 85 ft high and 65 wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city 

and one of the most famous fountains in the world.

The history of the fountain is lengthy so I won't bore you with it.

 

Another thing I won't bore you with is pictures like this, but it's our 4th Anniversary today (Thursday)

so I have to commemorate it and the sillier the better.

Arrivederci Toscana!

We're off to Rome today! Sadly, our time in Tuscany has come to an end and what a time we have had here! Everything under the Tuscan sun was everything I thought it would be and more. What I will remember most is getting stuck in the middle of a vineyard, being towed out by a tractor, the wonderful winding roads that lead to some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen, the 600+ miles we drove over the 9 days to get to the views, laying in the grass reading Edith Wharton and smelling the sweet smell of our villa's roses mixed with the mint growing wild amongst the grass, cooking in our little kitchen that brought back memories of cooking in the cabin in Colorado, and most importantly the wonderful people we met along the way. The only thing we didn't see were those giant Tuscan sunflowers, but that's okay, I think it was a little too early in the season. We do have them at home but missing them gives us a reason to come back.

Due to time (and to avoid posting too many unnecessary pictures that could become a bore) below are only a few highlights from the events of Friday through Sunday. On Friday we drove to the ocean, on Saturday we went back to Florence and on Sunday we relaxed and then cooked ourselves a feast.

Arrivederci Toscana!

(Note: The posts from Rome may be fewer, shorter and maybe a little further between. I've found that there's less time to post when in the city since every day is packed with sightseeing, but I'll do my best to show you everything.)

Forte dei Marmi is a resort town in the province of Lucca, located about an hour and twenty minutes northwest of
where we are in Tuscany.

In Italian Forte dei Marmi means "Fort of the marbles". The town takes its name from the fortress that rises in the middle of the main square, built under Grand Duke Peter Leopold, who was to become Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1788.

The population of the town, amounting to some 7,700, nearly triples during the summer,  due to tourists who mainly come from Florence, Milan, Germany, and Russia. Obviously we're still in the off-season but during the
high season the place is probably similar to Palm Beach.

The summer crowd hadn't arrived yet, but the hydrangeas were sure in full bloom...

...as were the Bottle Brush plants.

We took the bus back into Florence (which amazingly took about 20 minutes from the villa) just to see
the Pitti Palace and it's Bobboli Gardens. The core of the present palace dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. The palace was then bought by the Medici family in 1549. It grew as a great treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plates, jewelry and luxurious possessions.

In the late 18th century, it was used as a power base by Napoleon, and later served for a brief period as the principal royal palace of the newly united Italy. The palace and its contents were donated to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919, and its doors were opened to the public as one of Florence's largest art galleries. Today, it houses several minor collections in addition to those of the Medici family, and is fully open to the public.

Behind the palace are the Boboli Gardens -- the amphitheater.
The gardens are some of the first and most familiar formal 16th century Italian gardens. The mid-16th century garden style, as it was developed here, incorporated longer axial developments, wide gravel avenues, a considerable "built" element of stone, the lavish employment of statuary and fountains, and a proliferation of detail, coordinated in semi-private and public spaces that were informed by classical accents: grottos, nympheums, garden temples and the like. The openness of the garden, with an expansive view of the city, was unconventional for its time.

The Boboli Gardens were laid out for Eleonora di Toledo, the wife of Cosimo I de' Medici....
not bad for a backyard.

Who has a whole garden of peonies!?
The porcelain collection is also housed here.

 No idea who the artist is or what it's depicting but thought it was pretty dramatic.

I bed a Medici posed in a very similar way in front of this vast holding of palace.

It was just our luck that the Florence Gelato Festival was going on...
gelato at un-inflated tourist prices! Yes!

We also finally found some art that wasn't Renaissance or religious...finally.

Since no place opens for dinner until 7:30 (at the earliest) we settled into the Verrazano wine bar
(yes, part of the castle and winery visited a couple of days ago by the same name). Rich discussed NY sports
teams with the Bostonian waiter and I analyzed this plate of deliciousness in order to replicate it at home.
Rich is actually trying to make a reservation on the phone...but let's take a close look at the phone shall we?

Does the King of Electronics actually have a device that won't hold a charge?? And has to be connected to
a very unattractive battery pack??

Always connected...
and the phone actually works great, the battery just can't handle the excessive use of the navigation and maps,
but the Italian SIM card we bought allows us to calls and make our own hotspots when free WiFi isn't available.

I'm only highlighting our dinner in Florence because of the cheese.
It was a soft mozzarella made in the south of Italy. This was paired with sauteed spinach. Amazing.
We found this rather modern, quietly trendy but incredibly affordable place after walking
for about an hour, far from the tourists and way beyond the borders of the tourist eateries.

Last day in Tuscany!

We had big plans for our Tuscan feast...huge steaks, pasta, veggies...but this fire and it's coals didn't last long,
so we ended up having to pan fry them inside. We're blaming it on the Italian charcoal.

Eleanor's Meat and Cheese Platter
Prosciutto with melon, parmesan, salami and aged goat cheese...
the goat cheese isn't Italian and Rich has been hauling two huge blocks of it in his bag since Amsterdam...
yes, it's that good.

Just like we used to do in Colorado -- get rid of everything in fridge the last night by making dinner out of it.
We had the best time in our little Tuscan apartment, mainly because it was like the cabin in Rico,
which was the best vacation house ever!