Flying Nuns Return from Rome
Jan 9th, 2005, 05:09 PM
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Flying Nuns Return from Rome
Well the great home exchange in Rome is over and the two "Flying Nuns" have returned. The"Flying Nuns" designation refers to the awful weather we had during our stay. We were we constantly in our hideous rain ponchos. I had the green one and my girlfriend had the white one and we "flew" through Italy in the rain looking ridiculous until it cleared up (Was it December 27th or 28th? I am afraid it is a blur at this point.).
Unfortunately, we did not have a lot of time for long restaurant meals and, aside from Orso 80 we did not eat at any of the restaurants others recommended.
Also, unfortunately, we missed an internet friend and her group at the Borghese Gallery. We coordinated our reservation times so that we would be there at the same time and thought shouting, "Pamdea [her AOL moniker], where are you?" would be enough to find each other. Wrong. It was a mob scene and, if anyone shouted, no one could have heard. I did ask a few people if they were Pamdea and finally gave up. I found out later that Pamdea wasn't even there. She had a lot of delays getting to Rome and did not go to the Borghese until the next day.
We spent our entire stay in Rome with the exception of two days in Florence. Since I had arranged the home swap with the Rome residents, we had a free pad in Rome and it did not seem wise to run around all over paying for hotels when we had a penthouse in which to park ourselves. Home exchange does best when you stay put and exhaust your location--not when you run around all over ignoring the fact that your exchange home is free.
We saw all the main sites in Rome with the exception of the Colosseum and the Forum because we had been there before, and, well, the weather wasn't so great (remember the ponchos?). We especially enjoyed the tour of the excavations under St. Peter's and then climbing to the top in the same day Were we nuts or were we nuts? The weather broke that day long enough for the climb and some photos. By the end of the trip, I had trouble climbing out of bed.
We did not do the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel until the end of the trip. While I had been there before, it was always in connection with tours that give you just enough time to do the direct walk to the Sistine without any diversions. This time we took all the diversions and saw the Raphael Rooms--which are abosolutely stunning. I found "The School of Athens" almost as astounding as the Sistine ceiling. I brought binoculars to have a closer look at the ceiling. I recommend the acoustiguide, which is really well done.
In Florence, we did see the Uffizi and made reservations for that. No reservations were needed in Florence for anything and we could have walked in without them, by the way. We did spend 3-4 hours in the Uffizi and really enjoyed our time there. We also reserved the Accademia and the Medici Chapels and saw those. You cannot get into see the Michealangelo scriblings on the wall in the basement of the Chapels as it is closed (for restoration?). We took bus no. 7 to Fiesole and had a lovely lunch at a restaurant called Perseus. We also saw the Roman Theater and the Museum there. Unfortunately, the spectacular view of Florence seen from there was overcast and we did not take photos because they would not have been so great.
I am happy to report that my girlfriend and I are still on speaking terms despite discovering each others personal quirks. While we had done theater weekends to a nearby drama festival, we had never traveled together before. While I am a good solo traveler, company is always appreciated at dinner. However, any trip of this nature means compromise. Our main difference was the amount of time my girlfriend seemed to desire to aimlessly wonder and window shop. I have no patience for that. I spent most of what I spent in one shop in Florence and it was done in 10 minutes. I went to Italy looking for a piece to replace a smashed pottery bowl that had hung on my living room wall from a prior trip. I found a replacement in that shop--and a couple of other things--and then I was basically done. I tried not to think of the fact that 1 euro is now worth $1.36. It will be brough home to me as the bills come in.
We did get to an evening of opera arias at the Anglican Church in the via Babino near Piazza Spagna as well as an organ vespers there. The church is very nice and both were well done. The opera is not connected with the Church but simply uses it as a venue. We did not see "La Traviata" because it began later. Having had a bus odessy on New Year's Eve (we had to take the Metro when the buses stopped running at 9:00pm due to the crush in town and then got lost trying to walk home), we did not want to risk another by staying out too late. Besides, we were generally exhausted from touring at the end of the day and gave daytime activities a priority over nighttime ones.
Given our location near the Appian Way, we did see some of the catacombs out that way (we could walk there from the house easily). They were fascinating--especially the remaining frescos.
We did get out to Ostia Antica when the weather turned sunny and spent about 3 hours there. I finally saw my mithrium there--albeit totally by accident. Mithriums were sites of worship for a bull cult that flourished about the time Christianity got started.
Due to transportation concerns, we did not go to Christmas Eve midnight mass at the Vatican. In fact, we were so tired we slept in and simply enjoyed the church bells at midnight.
In addition to all of the above, we visited some other museums as well as art exhibits at different sites. Yes, we hit Piazza Navonna, but, folks, one time was enough. There is a big "to do" there until January 6th every year until they burn the witch for the Italian holiday of Befana (Three Kings' Day in other countries). Most of the stand sell junk--fine for souvenirs for kids, etc., but no quality merchandise.
We also did a day trip to Fraschetti and enjoyed a nice lunch there. The guy tossed the spagetti in a hollowed out peccarino cheese. The wine was nice and we enjoyed the view before taking the bus back after lunch.
On our last day we had a lovely lunch at Le Bistrot at Via Sette Cheise 160. Despite its name, it did not serve French food. Nice Italian lunch though. Good house wine (for once).
We consumed more tiramisu and cappachini than gelatti due to the cold weather. All and all it was a good trip but I would not recommend Italy at Christmas due to the weather. Next time: Fall or spring.
In fact, I will be going back (to Sicily) for an elderhostel cruise on May 20th. Eat your hearts out!
Unfortunately, we did not have a lot of time for long restaurant meals and, aside from Orso 80 we did not eat at any of the restaurants others recommended.
Also, unfortunately, we missed an internet friend and her group at the Borghese Gallery. We coordinated our reservation times so that we would be there at the same time and thought shouting, "Pamdea [her AOL moniker], where are you?" would be enough to find each other. Wrong. It was a mob scene and, if anyone shouted, no one could have heard. I did ask a few people if they were Pamdea and finally gave up. I found out later that Pamdea wasn't even there. She had a lot of delays getting to Rome and did not go to the Borghese until the next day.
We spent our entire stay in Rome with the exception of two days in Florence. Since I had arranged the home swap with the Rome residents, we had a free pad in Rome and it did not seem wise to run around all over paying for hotels when we had a penthouse in which to park ourselves. Home exchange does best when you stay put and exhaust your location--not when you run around all over ignoring the fact that your exchange home is free.
We saw all the main sites in Rome with the exception of the Colosseum and the Forum because we had been there before, and, well, the weather wasn't so great (remember the ponchos?). We especially enjoyed the tour of the excavations under St. Peter's and then climbing to the top in the same day Were we nuts or were we nuts? The weather broke that day long enough for the climb and some photos. By the end of the trip, I had trouble climbing out of bed.
We did not do the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel until the end of the trip. While I had been there before, it was always in connection with tours that give you just enough time to do the direct walk to the Sistine without any diversions. This time we took all the diversions and saw the Raphael Rooms--which are abosolutely stunning. I found "The School of Athens" almost as astounding as the Sistine ceiling. I brought binoculars to have a closer look at the ceiling. I recommend the acoustiguide, which is really well done.
In Florence, we did see the Uffizi and made reservations for that. No reservations were needed in Florence for anything and we could have walked in without them, by the way. We did spend 3-4 hours in the Uffizi and really enjoyed our time there. We also reserved the Accademia and the Medici Chapels and saw those. You cannot get into see the Michealangelo scriblings on the wall in the basement of the Chapels as it is closed (for restoration?). We took bus no. 7 to Fiesole and had a lovely lunch at a restaurant called Perseus. We also saw the Roman Theater and the Museum there. Unfortunately, the spectacular view of Florence seen from there was overcast and we did not take photos because they would not have been so great.
I am happy to report that my girlfriend and I are still on speaking terms despite discovering each others personal quirks. While we had done theater weekends to a nearby drama festival, we had never traveled together before. While I am a good solo traveler, company is always appreciated at dinner. However, any trip of this nature means compromise. Our main difference was the amount of time my girlfriend seemed to desire to aimlessly wonder and window shop. I have no patience for that. I spent most of what I spent in one shop in Florence and it was done in 10 minutes. I went to Italy looking for a piece to replace a smashed pottery bowl that had hung on my living room wall from a prior trip. I found a replacement in that shop--and a couple of other things--and then I was basically done. I tried not to think of the fact that 1 euro is now worth $1.36. It will be brough home to me as the bills come in.
We did get to an evening of opera arias at the Anglican Church in the via Babino near Piazza Spagna as well as an organ vespers there. The church is very nice and both were well done. The opera is not connected with the Church but simply uses it as a venue. We did not see "La Traviata" because it began later. Having had a bus odessy on New Year's Eve (we had to take the Metro when the buses stopped running at 9:00pm due to the crush in town and then got lost trying to walk home), we did not want to risk another by staying out too late. Besides, we were generally exhausted from touring at the end of the day and gave daytime activities a priority over nighttime ones.
Given our location near the Appian Way, we did see some of the catacombs out that way (we could walk there from the house easily). They were fascinating--especially the remaining frescos.
We did get out to Ostia Antica when the weather turned sunny and spent about 3 hours there. I finally saw my mithrium there--albeit totally by accident. Mithriums were sites of worship for a bull cult that flourished about the time Christianity got started.
Due to transportation concerns, we did not go to Christmas Eve midnight mass at the Vatican. In fact, we were so tired we slept in and simply enjoyed the church bells at midnight.
In addition to all of the above, we visited some other museums as well as art exhibits at different sites. Yes, we hit Piazza Navonna, but, folks, one time was enough. There is a big "to do" there until January 6th every year until they burn the witch for the Italian holiday of Befana (Three Kings' Day in other countries). Most of the stand sell junk--fine for souvenirs for kids, etc., but no quality merchandise.
We also did a day trip to Fraschetti and enjoyed a nice lunch there. The guy tossed the spagetti in a hollowed out peccarino cheese. The wine was nice and we enjoyed the view before taking the bus back after lunch.
On our last day we had a lovely lunch at Le Bistrot at Via Sette Cheise 160. Despite its name, it did not serve French food. Nice Italian lunch though. Good house wine (for once).
We consumed more tiramisu and cappachini than gelatti due to the cold weather. All and all it was a good trip but I would not recommend Italy at Christmas due to the weather. Next time: Fall or spring.
In fact, I will be going back (to Sicily) for an elderhostel cruise on May 20th. Eat your hearts out!
Jan 9th, 2005, 05:27 PM
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Thanks for the report, Faux! I enjoyed reading it. Today I was on the internet trying to track down descriptions of some of the photos I took in the Vatican Museum (I swear, I learn more after my trip than during it, trying to figure what the heck I photographed!) Anyway, I definitely recognized how much I had missed in the few hours we spent in the Vatican Museum in October 2002.
Were you organized in your visit this time, with specific goals in mind as far as things you wanted to see? Or did you go with the flow?
Were you organized in your visit this time, with specific goals in mind as far as things you wanted to see? Or did you go with the flow?
Jan 9th, 2005, 05:40 PM
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It was fun despite the weather and the fact that I got a miserable cold.
How could Europe not be fun? Hey, I wasn't working, the phone was not ringing and I wasn't even checking my email. Now, that's a vacation!
Very little of the trip was acheduled. We had the St. Peter's excavation and Domus Aurea the day after we got there and some reservations in Florence. Otherwise my girlfriend and I had ideas about the things we would like to see and just made decisions each day. I was the one who had to figure out the bus routes--not always easy, I assure you.
Since our home exchange family did not have a car, they bought us bus passes for our stay and that worked just fine. Unfortunately, the home exchange family was swapping for the first time and there were some glitches because inadequate directions were given and they did not really prepare their home properly. On the other hand, these things happen with home exchanges and, well, I have stayed at much much worse hotels in Europe. Overall, the swap was just fine.
As usual, I did not see everything I originally set out to see, but I did see plenty.
How could Europe not be fun? Hey, I wasn't working, the phone was not ringing and I wasn't even checking my email. Now, that's a vacation!
Very little of the trip was acheduled. We had the St. Peter's excavation and Domus Aurea the day after we got there and some reservations in Florence. Otherwise my girlfriend and I had ideas about the things we would like to see and just made decisions each day. I was the one who had to figure out the bus routes--not always easy, I assure you.
Since our home exchange family did not have a car, they bought us bus passes for our stay and that worked just fine. Unfortunately, the home exchange family was swapping for the first time and there were some glitches because inadequate directions were given and they did not really prepare their home properly. On the other hand, these things happen with home exchanges and, well, I have stayed at much much worse hotels in Europe. Overall, the swap was just fine.
As usual, I did not see everything I originally set out to see, but I did see plenty.
Jan 20th, 2005, 03:49 PM
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By the way, I added some other things to my thread on "Amusing Things I have Learned on my European Travels" from some things on my Rome trip that, well, did not go exactly according to plan. If anyone wants to add to that post to give us all some laughs, go right ahead!
It is the things that do not go right that make your trips memorable!
It is the things that do not go right that make your trips memorable!
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