Friday the 13th and a full moon. The day in Venice

6/13:    90's, but only 42% humidity, for a change!!!

We walked to the water taxi to ride to the area of Venice that we would tour on foot.

On the boat, Igor pointed out Elton John's home on the canal.  A yacht owned by a lady in the crystal business always seems to be parked here, he said, as we went by it.  Cost $360 million and has been for sale for awhile.  Geez, at the bargain price she probably has on it!

Walked across a couple of small bridges-up a bunch of steps and then down a bunch of steps.  Here we go with starting the count for the day!

The first stop was the Doges Palace.  The Doges was like the head of state in Venice.  One section of the palace was built in 1300, the other section in the 1400s.  The palace has been added onto many times.  It served as a justice center, the Doges' residence, and the city prison, all at the same time.

Next, we viewed (later walked over) the Bridge of Sighs.  It was named for the feelings of the prisoners. On to the newer prison (still hundreds of years old). The cells still have grafitti on the walls.

Walked up many stairs to the magnificent rooms with the ceilings and walls covered with paintings of people, Christ, Mary, and St. Mark.  There was usually a lion shown with St. Mark.  It became his symbol and, later, the symbol of Italy.

Only 3 days ago the rules were changed, allowing "no flash" pictures to be taken in here!  We were all glad. Lots of "photographers" in our group.  Several took many hundreds more than Tom's hundreds.

We passed the stairway that the Doges used in the palace-it was made from gold.

On to St. Mark's Square and Church.  Once again we had been one of the first groups to arrive.  Now the square is full of people.  Two soldiers are walking around with a policeman.  Almost hidden behind the people in the line to enter was a woman beggar.  I saw one of the soldiers nod his head to the policeman, who told her to leave the area.

Inside this beautiful church, our guide said notice the sign which says no pictures are allowed inside.  So we all abided by the rule.  Of course many others didn't, including a group of nuns!  Digital cameras don't damage paintings, so it is aggravating.  We can't remember not being able to take pictures in any of the many churches we visited in Europe last year, but it happened most of the time here in Italy.

The beautiful, original mosaic floor is still in good shape.

The Murano Glass Factory

A glassblower demonstrated placing a bulb of glass on a pole and inserting the pole into a 1000 degree oven.  Very soon he removed it and starting forming it into a medium sized vase.  It probably took him less than 4 minutes, using tongs, blowing into the pipe, etc.  The glass was 800 degrees while he was working on it.  The narrator put a piece of paper next to it, immediately starting a fire.  Then he made a small cat figurine. They were both placed in an oven to temper for 24 hours.  If they didn't do this step, they would break when they cooled and the air hit them.

In a showroom a man dropped an expensive piece onto a piece of glass to show that their glass doesn't break easily, if at all.  The workers spend 10-15 years, maybe a lifetime, to become what they call master glass makers.

Walked through the showrooms with beautiful clear chandeliers, other smaller ones with colored glass-one was $3200.  Animals, plates, goblets, dish sets,  Every color imaginable.  I bought a small pair of their glass earrings.

We passed a Clark's and Disney stores.  By this time we had all walked about 450 stairs.  No one else counts, so they were amazed, though we knew we had gone up and down a lot of them.

Some people in our group went to a nearby area.  We had decided to just browse around the city.  We took 2-3 hours to walk back to the hotel.  Bought a cute, glass wine stopper in a store and a fan, which I used right then, with pictures of Venice on it.  Then to a produce stand for some fresh raspberries.  We had a good pizza and some beer from a brewery that has been in business in Italy since 1854.

Very crowded sidewalks.  It seems like Venice is one huge shopping area.  There are hundreds of small stores and boutiques.  Then vendors have tents many places.  Then the illegal sellers (no license) have the same stuff displayed on a rug or blanket on a sidewalk or street that we have seen in every city-knock off purses, toys, belts, hats, paintings.  As soon as someone sees a policeman, they quickly gather everything up and run off.

Italy is famous for lace and there were very beautiful items in lace stores.

Saw a man walking with a t-shirt of a parrot in a bar.  It said "Prepping for the bar exam."

We saw many beggars again today.  Many appear to be the Italian gypsies.  We are constantly reminded to be cautious of them.  If they see where you pulled money from, they or someone nearby knows where to pick your pocket.  They almost lay down on the sidewalks, arms outstretched, with a cup in front of them. And they always have such heavy clothes on.  They often are mumbling, or have their hands folded, as in prayer.

Venice's Mardi Gras lasts months.  We are so surprised at the number of stores that sell nothing but masks. Some are so beautiful.  They are made from paper, fabric, glass, feathers, with many being very elaborate. We never went inside to see prices.

Tom had a screw loose.  We all knew that, right?  Actually, it was on his glasses' ear piece and no one in our group or at the hotel had anything small enough to fix it.  He used dental floss that morning to hold it together. It worked!  We found an optical shop and the man fixed it in a minute and wouldn't let us pay him.

870 steps today-an all time record for this and last year.  Ugh.

Thursday, June 12th                Pisa and arriving in Venice (interesting facts)

Pisa

We rode the bus for about 45 minutes from Monticatini.  We will only see the main attraction here-the leaning tower at the square-the religious center of the city.  It is a beautiful church and its bell tower, which is the leaning tower.  It was required to be separate from the church.  Builders miscalculated the soil-it wasn't compacted enough.  Stopped work on it for over one hundred years and then started again.

Pisa used to be on the coast, but the mountains have changed that.  Sailors used to be able to sail to all the known world from here.

Carrara Marble from this area is still used, just as Michelangelo did.

Galileo was born here and used the leaning tower as he started working on the laws of gravity.

Our guide gets us moving early and has early reservations if we are somewhere where they are needed.  It has proven so beneficial because today we were some of the first tourists at the tower and could take our pictures of us "holding it up".  By the time we'd been there less than an hour (of course standing in bathroom lines part of that time) and lines to buy water some of the time, there were countless busloads of tourists in line to even get near the church.  Don't know how they'd be able to take pictures.

Walking back to the little train that would take us to our bus, the guide pointed out the berries (inedible) on the cypress trees.  I've never been close to one to see them.  Then he said the female trees are flat at the top, whereas the males are pointed.  Someone in our group said, "well, we know Mother Nature is consistent!"  The trees date back to Roman times when they'd plant them almost like a tunnel, to provide shade.

Then he showed us a bush by a wall that had white flowers on it-it is a bush that capers grow on.  Sure never thought about where they came from.

The Wing family in our Group said whenever they travel they use their bodies and something in that area to form the word Ohio, since they live near Cleveland.  Today they used the leaning tower as the I.  Their local TV station shows the pictures viewers send in of unusual ways to spell it, so they're sure their picture will get on the program.

On the bus again.  Saw a sunflower field-one of the most common flowers in Tuscany.

Now driving to the Apennines mountains.  Guide points out what looks like snow at the top of one.  But is a Marble field!  Water in the soil produces sandstone, marble, travertine, etc.  In ancient times slaves in caves used metal ropes to cut it, added water and wood somehow to the Groove, it separated the Marble and they'd move it in a cart.  Now electric machines are used, of course.

Apennines-a million years ago they were a coastline.  Fossils and seashells have been found on their tops.  As Africa pushed Italy, they rose.

Now we're on our way to Venice on a highway that was built between WWI and WWII.  We're surrounded by trucks and see that a construction zone has slowed things down. One next to us has an Ireland address and says it delivers to Scandanavia.  Obviously it delivers here too or else his hopelessly lost!

Italy's highway system is second only to Germany's, in Europe, and is controlled by a private company.

Our new bus has a computer card that shows all activity.  We haven't had to stop at a toll booth, though we've gone through several, so they must read it and bill the company.   Guide told us if driver got pulled over by the police, by law they can read the last three months' activity on that card, including how many hours per day the bus was driven (there is a limit).

Rapeseed (what makes canola oil) is used to make gas for the homes.  After Chernobyl, the Italians closed down all nuclear plants.  Then some people thought it was silly to import the energy when the country could be producing it (Hmmm, sound familiar with our gas and oil?)  Anyway, a referendum was to be voted on.  A couple of days before the vote was to occur, the Japanese nuclear disaster happened, so it was vetoed.

Outside of Bologna

Marconi, inventor of the radio was born here.

Stopped at an auto grill-gas station, conv. store, deli and buffet type restaurant.  It was very crowded, but Igor said it was notnearly as busy as it could be.  Of course takes so long to get through bathroom line.  Even the men were lined up, because they had 6 urinals closed off.  We only had 40 mins. to do that, get our food, eat, and walk to the bus.  Felt really rushed, but Igor said we had to keep pushing to get to our boat in Venice.  Our total drive today was 242 miles, one of the 2 longest days.  Back on the bus for 2 more hours.  Speed limit for buses is 60.

Suddenly we were out of view of any mountains and driving on flat lands.  Igor is telling us that George Clooney and the Heinz Family own very expensive villas on Lake Como, in the North.  He said usually families keep the villas for generations, but eventually George was able to buy one.  (Aside:  we visited with an American couple from another tour today and they said they saw his villa yesterday and the story they're going to stick with at home is that he visited with them while he cleaned his dock.  Surrrre.)

As we passed a lot of poplar trees Igor told us Mussolini had thousands planted to protect crops.  They're still used for that purpose here and in America.

This is where the sharecropper concept was begun-by Caesar Augustus.

There is a Ferrari factory near Bologna.  Also in this area was a Lamborghini tractor factory.  Mr. L. bought a Ferrari, liked the engine, and asked that family to form a partnership.  They refused and the rest is history.

Pavorroti is from this area.  Passed 50+ miles of various agricultural fields.

Arrived in Venice   Very interesting info:

Second busiest city in the world-after NYC.  Comprised of 117 islands and over 400 bridges connecting them.

Everything has to be brought in from the mainland.  There are no buses, trucks, cars, motor scooters or bikes here!!  Even the police vehicles and ambulances are boats.  Wedding and funeral processions usually occur on the water.  You either walk, ride a water taxi or gondola, or drive your own boat.  We even saw a UPS boat.

The boats unload on the docks.  Men with pull or push carts pack the parcels, cases of drinks, whatever, on the carts and drag them through the thousands of locals and tourists walking on the sidewalks!

We saw a small barge with a small crane unloading the grocery cases at a grocery store.

Trash collection is very complicated and they recycle, too.

The huge lagoon is one of the most important ecological systems in Europe.  There aren't mountains here, so in ancient times the people moved around the lagoon because the barbarians who were invading everywhere couldn't get their boats in the lagoon.  The locals also had some gates in the water and cannons.  Now cruise ships can get pretty close on the Adriatic Sea.  The canals range from 15' to 45' deep.

The big shipyard here is one of the largest in Europe.

We drove across the lagoon on a very long bridge and it reminded us of driving to the Florida Keys.

We left the bus.  Our luggage was packed onto a boat by porters so they could get it to the hotel.  We walked a ways to our boat.  Had a short ride on it and then walked a ways to the hotel.  It is very non-desript on the outside, but beautiful inside.  We heard that is typical of Venice.  Down to the parlor for a welcome drink of proschetto (sp?) and a breadstick.

Tom and I walked to a cafe right on the canal.  Some of our group were going on a gondola ride.  We saw them coming and were able to wave and take their pictures in the 4 gondolas.  All the gondolas are shiny black, with red velvet seats and fancy decorations in them.

Traffic jams on the canals, with all kinds of boats.  So many very large water taxis passed us, all filled to the brim with people seated and standing.  It is 6:00 p.m., so probably a lot of locals, too.

Here came 2 gondolas, with people listening to the man seranading them (for a fee, of course).  Then roaring past them was a boat with 2 young guys and blaring music.

Tom tried some authentic spaghetti and I had potato gnochis with ham and zucchini.  Not crazy about them and so rich.

Guide told us the pilings under the buildings were made centuries ago from alder wood.  Over time they petrified.  The foundations were built on top of those.

One couple in our group flew for 24 hours from Australia to London, with only a short stop in Singapore.  Ugh.

92 degrees today       311 steps

Wednesday, June 11th            98 degrees.    Headed to Florence

I'm the only one who has taken any notes, I think.  Some on our tour want our blog address and others want to know what they have to do to be mentioned in it!

We were only about a half hour from Florence in Monticatini.  On the way there we saw hilltop fortresses.  The guide said the Etruscans used smoke signals to communicate between them.

In town, visited the 3rd largest Church in the world-behind St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London.

Leather is big business in Italy and it actually started with the Bible covers with 14 c gold on them,
centuries ago.

Florence was the cradle of the Renaissance and its original name of Fiorenzi means flowers.

1300     The Medici family were bankers.  In 1290 the oldest bank in the world was established.  This family invented the letter of credit, which banks still use, even in America.  If a person had a letter from them, they could obtain money anywhere in Europe.  They charged 70-80% interest, so they became very wealthy.

1492      The first election of a Pope was held in the Sistine Chapel.
              (Funny story:  Lisa, a young woman on our tour thought everyone was saying "the sixteen     chapels")

1870       Italy became a unified nation, after being thousands of independent areas.

The Italian flag:
Comprised of 3 rectangles
    Red symbolizes the blood shed by the soldiers who fought for the unification of the country
    Green symbolizes Italy's vegetation
    White symbolizes the snow on the Alps

1865      The architect,Poggi, visited Paris and decided Florence should look more like it.  He convinced the people to destroy the outer city walls and to build huge boulevards.  Later it became the capital.

While standing in line to enter the Academy of Arts we saw a group of 4 yr olds.  They stayed together by holding onto the shoulder of the child ahead of them.  So cute.

The highlight of the Academy is the statue of David, carved by Michelangelo 5 centuries ago.
It weighs 5 tons and stands 20' from his head to his feet.  It took almost 4 years to make.

Originally it stood outside, in front of the palace here, and served as a warning, like "Watch out, enemies!"  Later it was moved to the inside of the Academy-thank goodness.

He is the symbol of strength.  He was carved naked because he removed his armor in front of the Goliath before fighting him.  Symbolizes God The Father would protect him.

His right leg leans against what looks like a tree stump and it actually provides stability for the statue.

The Medicis were Michelangelo's patrons from the time he was 20.  He lived 1475-1564 and was carving a statue the week he died.

Also in the gallery are 6 other statues he never completed.  We could see his trademark technique of "setting a figure free" from the marble.  They look like they're moving out of the front of the stone.

Another completed statue of his there was of an elderly Mary holding the crucified Jesus, with Mary Magdalene at her side.

Holy Mary of the Flowers Church

We did not walk the 414 steps to the top of the bell tower!  Has the tallest dome in Florence and no structure can ever be built taller than it. 4th largest Church in the world, and of the Gothic style.  Green and white bricks were very dirty from pollution.

 

Construction of the gigantic dome:  no scaffolding was used.  Built on 2 support shelves.  Has a locked structure of bricks that can't collapse inside the Church-Amazing.

Statues of the 12 apostles on facade.

The Baptistry is a 1000 year old Church.  The door represents the gates of paradise and has raised carvings of the ark, Moses, the sacrifice of Isiah, Joshua conquering Jericho, David and Goliath, Queen of Sheba, and others.

The Tower of Florence has a large clock on it.

Stopped for a gelato cone.  Didn't ask price and they were equivalent to $15 each!  Furious!  Just a tapered cone that was full and one dip.  Usually $3 or so.

I was standing by the Wing family and suddenly a woman beggar with a white sheet on and her face painted white, and holding a small cup with flowers in it, came up and tried to kiss 18 yr old Anthony on the cheek.  It happened so fast that I couldn't warn him.  He sensed something and turned his head, just in time to look into that white face and dark mouth.  He jumped and she laughed and ran away.  She scared him, tough football player that he is!

Lots of walking in the heat today, but an "easy" stairs day-only 178!

Tuesday, June 10th Leaving Rome to drive to Orvieto and Montecatini

            98 degrees again - Italy's heatwave is coming from Africa

Besides the steps we walk, we go up and down countless curbs every day and some are as tall as small stairs.

More Rome tidbits:
The city used to be 40 feet lower
palm trees in town were imported from Arabia in the 8th century
In the city center, apartments run $7000-13,000 per square 10 feet.  No central air and no window ones are allowed, no balconies usually.   A parking space can cost thousands of dollars per year

We drove through an area of Rome called Parioni.  Billionaires live there in these older looking apartments.  (In Europe many apartments are owned).  Tom and I said no way would we live there if we had that kind of money-4 lanes of traffic below your windows and probably no a/c etc.

Drove to a very small town named Orvieto. Four volcanoes occurred and this sits on top of one of them..
Required to leave the tour bus and ride public bus into town center.  Very crowded and I sat by 3 young men.  One is a tour bus driver from Ireland.  I told him our O'Connell family history and he thought it was interesting.  He's been to 29 countries this year!  The other 2 guys had huge backpacks and are Australians.  One said "we worked 2 years so decided it was time to travel."  They've already been over here 6 months, covering several countries and all the Greek Islands.

We didn't bring our laptop this year, so I'm sorry we can't post pictures on here.  You can always ask to have a particular one emailed to you if you're really interested in something.

Two funny stories from the same family on our tour:
Most hotel rooms in Europe have a toilet and a bidette.  They are like an elongated toilet with a faucet and handles.  Their boys had bought little rubber toys that you throw down and they go splat.  She walked in front of the bathroom and they were washing them in the water in the bidette.  One said "mom, this low sink is cool."  She said "It isn't a sink"  "So, what is it?"  "I don't know!"  Of course she did know and then she and husband came to us because of our travels and asked who uses them and we said "Not us!"  They googled them and they said both sexes use them.

Then they went to get pizza and asked for a pepperoni pizza.  Since waiter didn't speak very good English, he brought them a peppers only pizza!  We've only seen pepperoni once anyway.

This family geocaches and found one in Florence.  They want to teach us how to do it since we travel a lot, saying it should be a lot of fun.  I told their 8 and 10 yr old boys if they get a signal in a canal in Venice, they may not jump in to find it.  The 8 yr old said, "Oh, darn, Ev", with a big grin.

Visited the Duomo Di Orvieto cathedral.  It had many different striped-like sections of bricks on outer walls and columns-unlike any we've seen.

Walked narrow streets, stopped for a sandwich.

Back onto the bus and driving through some of Tuscany.  Rolling Hills, agricultural fields, solar panel farms.  Grow grapes, olives, etc.  An add says it takes 5,204 olives to make one gallon of olive oil.  Reminded us of the Yakima Valley in Washington.  Guide said some crops are so good here, but there is so much competition from neighboring countries that some farmers are using their land for the solar farms.

2-1/2 hour drive to the resort town of Montecatini on a typical good 4 land highway.  Rolling Hills, brick houses, vineyards, cypress trees like you see in pictures or paintings of Italy.  But also pines and various other trees along the highway.  As we approach Florence, the Hills are forested.  Passed a Gucci factory.  Passed 10+ miles of tree farms, with a few rose bushes, also.

Africa and the Adriatic Sea are pushing against Italy, so there is a lot of underground activity, including spa areas with mineral water.  People visit them for health reasons-both to sit in and to drink.  Guide said it is even used to treat liver problems.  People can often get prescriptions to us these "free".  I believe it is probably part of that 50% income tax they pay!  Just as the Danish get "free" medical care from their 50% income tax.

Starting to see the Appenine Mountains.  Arrived at our hotel and our room was the only one not ready, as they needed to replace the air conditioning filter.  Would we care for a complimentary cocktail while we wait?  Sure, no plans anyway.  It took them over an hour!  Then we walked about an hour with the sweat rolling down our faces.  98 again.  We ate at an Italian restaurant-what a concept!  Tom had a small pizza and I had wide noodles with an asparagus sauce and about 6 little pcs of asparagus.  Almost like asparagus soup.

Tom said it's no wonder Italians are known for their tempers.  It seems no matter what they are talking about, it sounds like they're arguing.  He thinks if  you cut off their arms they wouldn't be able to talk.

While laying our clothes out for the next day we couldn't find 2 new pairs of shorts we had bought for Tom for the trip.  $50 each-the most expensive ones ever.  He said he must have put them in a drawer.  We unpacked most things in Rome because everything was so damp from our timeshare week.  We told the guide and he said, "No problem.  Another of our tours will depart that hotel in the morning to arrive here so I will call the guide and she can bring them.  This will save you about $60 for having them taken to the hotel in Rome where we will stay our last night!"  So he called her, she talked to the front desk. They called housekeeping and the maid said nothing was left in the room.  Guide said let's have the current guests in that room check for sure.  Oh, but it is early and we cannot wake them.  If they do not wake soon, my tour will be leaving."  Somehow the current occupants were notified, they found the 2 pairs of shorts (and a pair of jeans!) in the drawer!  She brought them and our guide walked to her hotel in Montecatini to get them, refusing to let us go get them.  And he would not accept tips for he and her.

251 steps today.

Sunday, June 8th On our own in Rome-meet tour guide and others tonight

After the breakfast buffet (we need to teach European cooks how to COOK scrambled eggs and bacon, I think we could have sucked the scrambled eggs up through a straw and the bacon was damned near raw), we walked 4 hours and several miles to various piazzas-squares, for which Rome is famous.  Actually, every European town we've visited has several squares.  92 degrees and very humid.  Bought hats one place because we were so hot and sweat running down our faces.  15 euros each-we tried to get him down.  2 hrs later saw the same hats in a shop for 5 euros each.  Always get worked over one way or another, it seems. He told us they cost him 20 euros each and Tom said sure they did.

Looking at all the concrete ruins we eventually found, we wondered how in the world they constructed them close to 2000 years ago.  And they're still standing!  How many slaves died doing it?

Saw several beggars around.  Several looked needy.  Two others had 2 dogs apiece.  I suppose they are protection.  Some of them have a bed of blankets and whatever else they own, on top of a concrete abutment or somewhere.  We are surprised that some store owners let them camp right out in front of their windows.

I read last week that there are so many young people unemployed in Italy that many live with their families until they are 30 or older.

"When in Rome", eat a burger and have a Coke and beer at the Shamrock pub!  It didn't offer outdoor seating, but there are so many all over Rome, as in every European city.  I wish there were more in America.

We had a fun gathering evening for the tour.  A one hour meeting with the tour guide.  A neat 40 yr old guy named Igor.  He said it is a Russian name, but I am totally Italian and studied art and history and guided all over Europe and now decided to remain as a guide only in Italy.  Speaks very good English and has a cute laugh.

Then the 44 of us went to a big Italian restaurant.  What a fun time!  We sat with a family of 6 from Ohio and Texas.  The guy is a 43 yr old Brett, same as our son.  6 course meal:  seasoned tomatoes on crustini, a slice of cantaloupe and slice of prosciutto.  Stroganoff, pasta in white sauce, turkey slices and broasted potatoes, then a salad, and then gelato with strawberries.  Meanwhile, a guitarist and flutist played for us.  One couple is celebrating their 50th this week and another couple in their late 60's are on their honeymoon.  So, special music was played for them and they each received a bouquet of roses and each of we women received a rose.  The wine kept flowing and we drank lots of it and still left 2 full bottles on the table.  What a shame!
295 steps!

Monday 6/9:

Up at 6, breakfast, and get on bus at 7:15.  We have 8:00 reservations at the Vatican.

Romans invented cement.
We passed a 6 story shopping mall that was built many hundreds of years ago-the first mall in the world.
A tall column was built 1800 years ago.  A huge church was built in 1500 and later 40 carat gold from America was added to the ceiling.  Guide said there are 450 important churches in Rome and 1000 parishes.

We know some friends and relatives wonder why we take so many trips in a short time-China, Panama Canal, 7 European countries last year, Caribbean cruise, and now this.  It is because of the extremely exhausting days like we had today.  There is no way that we feel we could do this trip even 5 years from now, with Tom's knees and my hip problem.  Like our tour director told us:  this is a busy tour, not a relaxing cruise.  Today we were on the tour for 6-1/2 hours, with being on our feet 5-3/4 of it and we walked 532 stairs on it!  Everywhere outside was cobblestone walkways and even an old Roman road composed of huge rocks.  Everyplace is uneven.  We always wear tennis shoes and spend a lot of time looking down. One tourist fell on the cobblestones before she could even enter the Vatican.  Big bump on her head.

Just climbing on and off the bus' tall steps is tiring.  Beautiful, new bus, with plenty of leg room.  We'll ride in it the whole tour of Italy.

Because we are on the tour, we had tickets to go to the front of the line at all the places today.  Most people would be standing in line for hours in the 92 degree, humid weather.  The humidity is very hard on us again this summer since we haven't lived with it for 24 years.

Vatican City. Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, then on bus to ride to the coliseum and the forum.

Vatican City

44 acres hosts 6 million visitors annually.  Has its own embassy, newspaper, radio station, post office

It is supported by charities and the bulk of the money comes from New York City.

For 312 years, thousands of Christians were killed there.  168 popes are buried there.  The Pope's lodgings are a huge building.  This current Pope refuses to live there, like a king, but stays in the residence with the Cardinals.  The guide said the people absolutely adore this Pope.

We walked a long ways - 2-3 blocks? through the Great Hall, which is lined with fantastic paintings, painted ceilings of incredible art, and the best collection of tapestries in the world.  There is 24 carat gold, silver, and silk in them.  There is major cleaning and repair work being done-costing millions.  The bulk of it is being paid by a wealthy woman in Ohio and another American family is paying for the rest!

Sistine Chapel  (No photos allowed inside the Sistine Chapel)

The Pope told Michaelangelo to paint the ceiling and he kept refusing, until he was told to paint it or go to jail.  It took 4 years of grueling work.  The tapestries we saw had many people and their faces were plain and bland, with no expressions.  That is how people were painted-until Michaelangelo.  His faces had expressions, feelings, etc.  He had no models, but painted 399 different faces.  He said some were of people he knew.  One spot has a hole.  The guide told us a soldier accidentally shot a cannon from another building and it went through this roof and  beautiful ceiling.  The ceiling was cleaned in the 1970's and cost billions of euros (dollars), which were paid by patrons of the arts.

St. Peter's Basilica  This is the "mother of all churches."

Ceilings and columns, and various chapels are so high.  Imagine building them with no electricity, no cranes, etc.  Must have had some kind of scaffolding, obviously.  Building is designed like a cross facing Jerusalem.
A large red disc on the floor is where Charlemagne was crowned and where the Pope stands to give his blessing. There is a 2000-year old, intact cemetery below the floor.  The guide said most of the best part of Rome lies underneath it.

All over the walls are what look like beautiful oil paintings, but they are mosaics, done with ceramic tiles.

The Pieta statue (Mary holding dead Jesus)  Tom brought me a small replica from his '70's trip here.
It was sculpted in marble by Michaelangelo when he was only 23.  A few years ago a jealous sculptor somehow gained access to it and struck it 20 times with a hammer, damaging it in 58 places-broken arm, fingers, nose, etc.

There is a door called the Jubalae (spelling?) door.  It is only opened once every 25 years by the Pope and the next opening will be in 2025.  11 million people have already made reservations to see it open.

More Rome tidbits:
2 million cars, 1 million scooters, 360,000 parking spaces
the present mayor promised more parking and then only provided some for scooters
Romans pay 50% of their wages in taxes
Like all big cities and capitals, it is very expensive to live here

It has been thought for a long time that Rome was started in 753 B.C., but recent discoveries suggest it was more like 1200 B.C.

On the bus for a couple of miles to see:

The Coliseum
Built in 70 A.D. by 10,000 war prisoners.  The alive gate is where the gladiators entered.  Thousands of them and thousands of beasts were killed over time.  Of course it is huge and has some crumbling walls.

The Forum

The Circus Maximus held 250,000 spectators.  Guide said it was the original Yankees stadium and the chariot races held here were the original Formula One.  Interesting place, too.

Exhausted!!!  Got off the bus and went to McDonalds down the street from the hotel and back to room for a short nap.  Sweat has been running down our faces, even with our hats on whenever we were outside.

20 more steps in hotel, so a total of 552 for today!

Time to pack.  We leave early tomorrow for a fun day and evening in Tuscany!  More blogging whenever I a able to get on a computer.  Caio!

At the timeshare at Maratea

Wednesday 6/4:

Tom was awake much of the night, then slept till 11:20.  I felt like I was getting a cold, and luckily had brought several cold pills, or it would have cost us $45 to take the taxi into town, because the mini mart doesn't have any.  We relaxed the rest of the day in the sun on the patio and inside.  All our clothes, books, papers feel so damp.  We wish we could leave here, but have reservations Saturday for the train to Rome and don't want to spend many hundreds more for hotels, even if we could change them.  Zero steps today since we didn't leave!

Thursday 6/5:

Sat around apartment all day after sleeping until 9:30-good grief!  Walked down to mini mart for some groceries. I think I'm recovering from my cold.  Nice pool, but it isn't heated and it is only about 68 degrees this week-quite different from the 100 the day before we left home.  I asked a woman in it if they use cholorine in it and she said yes and Tom said they also use ice cubes in it.  TV has only 5 Italian stations. Last year we were able to pick up BBC in several cities.  Several times a day they have aerobics, etc., classes down by the pool and other areas and they blast loud music for over an hour.  It is ridiculous-maybe 1-3 people attending, yet the whole resort has to listen to it.

Friday 6/6:

We're having a terrible time sleeping.  Time change and too inactive.  Everything is so damp that I hate to think about packing.  New sponges in pkg feel like I used them.  Relaxed at apt. all day and by pool.  Took short walk-some bushes are so fragrant.  Dinner at restaurant for our last night.  Wonderful 30 yr old Peter is the head waiter, with 2 assistants.  He is so nice.  Speaks 5 languages and some Greek.  In the winter he paints houses and plays guitar in a band.  Thought it was very interesting that Tom has played so long and said "You're my hero."  He is half Dutch and half Italian, but was born in Belgium and lived there many years and had all his language classes there.  214 steps

Saturday 6/7:

Train back to Rome-212 miles.  Taxi driver and other guy carried our suitcases across the tracks, saving Tom so much energy and 104 stairs.  We had over 2 hr wait, so he decided to go after coffee and a croissant and they only had the very gross espresso, so I wish he would have saved the 104 steps!

Changed trains at Sapri this time.  Visited with several young teachers who had been at a math conference in that big hotel above our resort.  They were all from Italy, except one woman from Austin, TX.  She said most people think math is boring, but it really isnìt, especially when you get to travel!

Trains have Wifi and many people are using it.  We read right before we left that a bus company on our East Coast will provide it in the hopes of attracting more riders-even business people who will find it cheaper than planes and not have to drive.  Visited with a young man next to us who said his wife rides this train 5 days a week for 1-3/4 hours each way, then catches a bus to her office for 25 minutes.  Awful.


Arrived at Rome central train station and our hotel is only a block away, so we will pull luggage.  As with all the stations we saw last year, it is a 2 story mall.  Walked around just a bit and saw a McDonalds, Adidas store and Foot Locker.  As we walked outside we could see and hear a huge crowd up the street. Doorman said it was a Gay Pride demonstration.  Took stuff to room and then up to 10th floor rooftop restaurant for free spumante and snacks.

We could see the crowd a couple of blocks below.  Went downstairs to go out and walk around, but saw that the demonstration had now become a parade-right in front of our hotel.  No way were we going out there.  The noise was deafening-loudspeakers, drums, chanting.

The street was filled with hundreds of small flyers people had handed out, and water and beer bottles.  Carts went alongside the parade with drinks for sale.  It was 96 degrees and very humid. Immediately, several street cleaning machines went to work.  Some men shot streams of water from hoses, pushing the trash off the sidewalks and out from the curbs.  The next machines sucked everything up through their brushes. Within a few minutes the streets were spotless!

So we walked around a few blocks.  As usual in Europe, we saw so many races of people everywhere.  Ate a sandwich at a chicken place.  Pizza places everywhere-sometimes 2 or 3 on one block.  It is the fast food choice of Italians.  They serve catsup and mayo for fries here.  I bought a Rome t-shirt.  Tom didn't want one. Me 278 steps.  Tom an extra 208 from having to carry bags at second station and for going for the coffee. What a sweetheart.  He was trying to save my hip, which so far is doing very well, even after all these hundreds of steps and steep hill climbing.  I was in pain for 2 wks before we left and then found a new chiropractor, who I think will be my hip and back savior!

Since our clothes were damp when we packed, they are quite wrinkled.  They won't loan irons here-want you to use their extremely expensive laundry service-same all over Europe.  Like $12 to have a pair of slacks washed. What a beautiful room we have.  This is a 5-star hotel.  Thank-you Globus!

June 8th - We finally were able to log in to this site tonite!!  Will try to get some days written now.
May 31, 2014-up at 3:30 am.  7 am flight from Tucson to Chicago-3-1/2 hrs.  Then 4 hr layover before the 9-1/2 hr flight to Rome.  Sat next to a sick, coughing, crying 2 yr old.  Poor boy finally fell asleep for awhile and his brother then coughed for a couple of hours.

Seats so crowded, no leg room.  Finally dozed for an hour or so.  Landed in Rome.  Bus to train station for half hour or so.  New mall and many apartments being built.  Graffitti everywhere.  Some songs on bus' radio were in English.  Saw oleander bushes, nice parks, tennis courts, beautiful flower boxes on decks of apartments.  Several billboards for Angelina Jolie's brand new movie.  Many huge buildings.

Ooo-la la!  Lots of handsome Italian men at the airport and train station!  Welcome back to Europe, where yoou pay to use the restroom- usually 1 euro (today's exchange rate = $1.52)  Train to Maratea, where our timeshare is, 4 hours.  Several families traveling to other towns.  Most little kids and young adults are on ipads or phones.  One family is playing Uno.  Hundreds of houses and farms along track.  Lots of high hills, with some having villages way at the top.  Vineyards, orchards.  Went through many tunnels, some very long.  So many apartment buildings in pretty remote areas and we wonder where people work.  We were told very few dryers are over here, so there is laundry hanging out of hundreds of windows.  Unlike China, where they hang it from a bamboo pole sticking out of the window, the decks and patios here have some sort of racks that appear to have 3 or 4 wooden sticks from which everything from panties to sheets hang-often down over the side of the building.

Train stopped at Naples.  Men hug and kiss cheeks as they depart or enter the train.  Saw lots of greenhouses, orchards, several prickly pear cactus and then views of the ocean in several spots.  Changed trains at Sapri.  At 2 stations Tom had to haul our two 45 pound suitcases down 30 steps, then up 30.  He had a heavy backpack on, too.  Last time I insisted he take one at a time.  There isn't much in the way of handicapped access in Europe, and countless steps.

Arrived in Maratea and then an 8 kilometer taxi ride up the mountain to the resort.  We got our second wind and were hungry, so had a quick pizza and Tom a well-deserved good Italian beer.  A duet was singing and the first 2 songs were Love Me Tender and I'll Be Your Hero, Baby.  A couple of short snoozes on the train, but may as well say we had been up 29-1/2 hours by now!  Climbed into damp sheets and a thin fabric cover.  Both chilled.  No blankets or heater or central system.  Me 203 steps today-Tom 253.

Sunday 6/8:

Except for getting up for potty, we both slept 14 hours!  5 thunder clashes here on the mountain during the night and rain.  Cold.  Both woke with leg cramps.  This morning it is a little chilly, but the sun is out and we have many songbirds in the trees around our patio.  We walked down to the restaurant to have a cappucino and visited with a mom and daughter from New Jersey.  They said they froze last night, so it wasn't just we Arizonans!  Went into mini mart on property because no dishcloths or dish soap was provided as in all the others in which we've stayed.  Of course no washcloths, but I brought my own.  Saw a bouginvillea and agave plants, many small lizards. Seems strange on this mountain that is so forested.

Took the free bus down to the resort's private beach.  More prickly pears, agaves.  Beautiful beach with black sand and rocks, on the Mediterranean.  No seashells.  Everyone's t-shirts have English writing.  On the way to the beach are all kinds of trees, even pines, and picnic tables covered with moss.  Reminded us of the Pacific Northwest.

We are getting tired-9 hr time difference.  Restaurant doesn't open until 7:30.  Excellent wine with our shrimp and then the long walk up the steep hill to our unit.  Bed!  Tom asked for blankets and heater at noon and they weren't delivered by 6, so he went down and they made him carry them up the street's steep hill - 2 blankets in a bag and a heater in the other hand.  We are not happy with this timeshare.  258 steps today, plus steep hills.

Monday 6/9:

Took a tour by van to the Christ The Redeemer statue at the abandoned village at the top of the mountain above our resort.  The mountaintop is 19,800'.  Very scary switchbacks to get up there.

This racetrack looking structure is the road to the statue and village.






The statue was the second one built in the world - after Rio de Janeiro. It is 69' high and made of marble.  Built in 1965 by a sculptor from Florence, Italy.  Paid for by a wealthy woman.  There is an old church there, which is open to the public.  We walked up the many steps to the statue and there was a tiny lizard on almost every step.

There is a fancy hotel called The Grand Hotel between our resort and the mountaintop.  13,200' is our resort.  The road didn't pass it.

Then down to the port area (bought nice produce) and then to the old town center.  Saw a pretty scarf  I wanted and got. Then saw it was made in China.  Didn't think to look at tag.  Interesting architecture and narrow streets.  Hydrangeas, bouginvillea, grass that looks like corn, orange and apricot trees.  Had a cappucino and croissant-since the Italians eat dinner so late-even 10 or later-they typically have these 2 things for breakfast.  Later we had a gelato- the Italian ice cream- while we visited with a mother and son from our resort who are English.  She reminded us of our friend, Sheila, at home.  Walked up a long hill to a religious shrine.

Port area and restaurant.

                              City square with
                              municipal bldg.




Relaxed on patio this afternoon.  Sounds like a jungle with all the birds.  Short nap.  Ate at restaurant.  Tom had a pizza again.  They have very little meat, not crunchy crust, and he asked them to leave the olive oil off the top as the first one we had was so oily.  I had a pork chop and grilled endive.  438 steps today--ugh!

Tuesday 6/10:

This resort is in a very pretty setting.  Down by the restaurant, reception area, and mini mart you look down thousands of feet to the Mediterranean.  But it is so steep to walk to our unit.  As we age we will definitely have to ask about access.  Great if you have a car here, as most of the people did.  Did some laundry daily and hung on the drying rack on the patio-but it is so damp we often had to take it in, hang in bathroom, and then put on rack again the next day.  Both were awake several times during the night.  Hard to adjust to such a big time difference.  Tom got up and read.  After he came back to bed I got up and suddenly a squirrel jumped against the glass door 4 times.  I was glad it was closed.  Can't leave it open with all the lizards around and too damp anyway.  The morning we went on the area tour I had taken an Airborne tablet out of the tube to take later.  I forgot it laying in the pill container and when we got back the humidity in the room has started to dissolve it.

Luckily the office had decks of cards so we played, read, sat by the pool and on the patio.  Bought potatoes, ham slice and can of corn-all tasted good.  They only serve fries in the restaurant.  Meals so expensive.  Met couple next door-from Finland-own nursing homes.  Me 391 steps, Tom 362.