Italy day 18 - A farewell to Florence and a better guide to Uffizi tickets

Today's our last full day in Florence. It's a bit of a bittersweet day. While we're determined to make the most of the day, we know our time here is almost up. Today's the day we're visiting the Uffizi and then our last fancy-pants dinner of the trip.

We headed over to Santa Croce to start the day. We took a rather meandering path to see of the neighborhoods we hadn't yet explored. We snuck up on the back of the church and actually headed into the Scuola del Cuoio. This is a leather working school that was started after World War I to help give war orphans a trade and a way to support themselves. The quality and craftsmanship of the goods here is fantastic, especially after days of seeing the knock-off stalls around the central market. Several of the purses actually caught my eye, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to make an investment.

We head to the front of the church and head inside. In addition to the frescos and other artworks, this church is home to both tombs and monuments of many famous people. Michelangelo's tomb is beautiful, but I was surprised to see a monument to Enrico Fermi sitting next to the monument to Marconi. It seemed that all too soon, even though we were only 3/4s way through the church, we needed to go to get to the Uffizi for our time slot.

Like many of the places we visited on this trip, reservations or pre-purchased tickets are a must, unless of course you enjoy standing on-line for hours. Beware, my fellow American travelers, that you use the correct Uffizi Gallery website to buy your tickets! You want to go to www.uffizi.it instead of the .com or .org that Google wants to send you to from the States. The official site will then send you, somewhat confusingly, to b-ticket.com. You can use this same site to purchase tickets to the Boboli Gardens, the Accademia Gallery, and other sites around town. For the Uffizi, you are purchasing tickets for a particular time slot. I found the directions that came with the tickets to be somewhat lacking. So that you may learn from my confusion:

After placing your order for a timeslot on b-ticket.com , you'll receive an email with a confirmation code. Note that much like the pass for the Duomo, you do not need to print out this email. On the day of your reservation, you'll want to get to the Uffizi 15-20 minutes prior to your time slot. Once there, you'll want to look for Door 3 as pictured here. This door will be on the west side of the 'U' formed by the wings of the Gallery.

The sign for the door where you'll pick up your tickets

There will likely be a short line at this door. Once you get in, you'll need to show your confirmation email and potentially a photo ID (I didn't have to show mine, but it does tell you that you'll need it in the confirmation email.) to get your tickets. With tickets firmly in hand, you'll had back, directly across the 'U' to door one. This is where reserved entrants get access.

Try to fend off the tour salespeople trying to convince you to join a guided tour for 'just' another 15 Euro while you wait for your chance to enter. Once they let you through the ropes, you'll have to go through security. You will not be able to take large backpacks or other luggage. You may want to use this time to download Rick Steves' Uffizi Gallery talk if you haven't already.

Rick's tour of the Gallery's was great, even though we had to skip around a little bit because they had rearranged some of the rooms since the tour was recorded. It was really interesting to see the progression of art from the Middle Ages into the Renascence. I particularly liked seeing Davinci's unfinished painting because of the insights it provided to his process. The only negative was that we had 12:45 reservations and the crowds were nearly intolerable. If at all possible, get the earliest reservation you can because it will mean fewer people crowding in to see the painting you're trying to look at.

After spending several hours at the Uffizi, we worked our way back to the leather school. I decided that my souvenir from this trip (in addition to the wine) would be a new purse, suitable for work events. If you happen to be in Florence, I highly recommend this school for your shopping needs.

We worked our way back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. We then walked back toward the Uffizi to La Bottega del Buon Cafe. I won't subject you to a slew of food photography (That was Kris' job on this trip! ;)) but suffice to say that dinner was lovely. All in all an excellent way to end a fabulous trip!

Italy day 17 - Conquering fears at the Duomo

We booked this trip sometime in November or December, I think, and Florence was always on the list.. And on the list of things to do in Florence, climb to the top of the Duomo was, well, at the top of the list. And today is the to we cross that one off of the list.

But this day isn't without some worry and some fear. You see, we were in Paris a couple of years ago for a different anniversary and we decided to do the bell tower at Notre Dame. This was where Kris learned he doesn't really like tight, narrow stairs with people rushing him and I learned I get motion sick or dizzy (I"m really not sure which it is) when I descend spiral stairs too quickly. And while I was excited about the views of the city, I find that I'm more height averse than I used to be. Oh, and it's somewhere between 411 and 463 steps to the top of the Dome, depending on who's counting.

So, with all of this in mind, I did what I could to stack the deck in our favor. I got tickets for the very first time slot in the morning, figuring the crowds would be thinner and it would still be fairly cool, even inside the dome. I made sure we didn't drink too much last night and that we got an early bedtime. Kris left his backpack in the hotel, but I took mine, about half full of water, so we could share. And we worked out a game plan of who would go first, what would happen if one of us wanted to bail, etc. For good measure, Kris played a YouTube video of a fairly young and fit looking couple who made the whole thing sound like torture, although they did exclaim that the view made it totally worth it.

So, we head out the door at around 8:15 for our 8:30 time slot and already there's a fairly good line. Kris joined it while I when to straighten out the tickets (more on that below...) By the time I got back, the line had just started moving. They seemed to be letting people in 4 to 6 at a time. There also seemed to be a LOT of drama surrounding the tickets. Soon enough, we're at the head of the line...And we're off!

The first portion of stairs run in a rectangular fashion like most modern stair cases, but shorter runs. In other words there would be 8 steps, then a landing with a right turn, then 3 steps, landing with a right turn, etc. Soon enough you're at a room at the top of the one drum that houses several of the original statues of popes. This room is a great place to take a quick breather (although the climb thus far hasn't been bad at all) or let faster climbers pass you. From here you enter two long runs of tightly spiraling staircases. The spiral is tight enough that you can't really see anyone in front or behind you, which can make pacing easier. Also, at the top of these stair, you end up on the lower interior ring of the Duomo where you can see the frescos. Here you are walking along a narrow ledge, but there's a high marble rail, so you never feel exposed.

You continue along this catwalk for half of the dome and then head back to the 'behind the scenes area. At this point you start your ascent between the two domes, since the outer skin is curving inward, you may have to lean to your right a bit as you go, especially if you are tall like Kris. This part gets a little tricky because the stairs are quit narrow and for a portion at least, people are headed in both directions; ascending and descending on the same stairs. However, this stretch feels somewhat shorter than the other two and soon enough you are on top of the dome, circling the lantern.

The views up here are stellar! Even though it was very hazy today, it was still fantastic. Much better than the Boboli Garden views from yesterday.You can take as long as you like up here, but I'm guessing as the day wears on it gets more and more crowded. I did okay with the heights, but as more people came up and I started getting jostled, I was kind of done.

Fortunately down is a lot easier than up. However the two tight spiral staircases? Fortunately you're headed down the drum on the other side of the church and there's a mirror image to the pope room except this one contains the tools they used to build the Duomo. I had to hang out there until my urge to hork settled down.

All in all, I thought this was a fairly easy climb. Notra Dame was way worse because a fair amount of what you were climbing on was wood and seemed to sway with footsteps and the breeze. I'm not sure why the YouTubers were saying it was so hard. If Kris and I can manage, so can you!

From there we grabbed a quick breakfast and headed into the Church itself. They definitely shot their was with the dome and the exterior facade here. The interior of the Church is pretty barren, especially in comparison with a number of the other churches we've seen on this trip. We took at like in the Crypt where they showed excavations of the various churches that had been on this site previously. This was a pretty decent exhibit, but it took me awhile to get the 'so what' of the stones in front of us with the line drawings of the site. We then toured the Baptristry (pro tip, if you're pressed for time, skip the church interior and just see the Baptistry.) The mix of styles and materials here is mind blowing. I also highly recommend the Museo that contains the original bronze doors and may of the original statues from the church. All in all, it makes for a pretty full Duomo day.

Now, about those tickets. I did a less than great job of finishing my research for this trip. I knew from being here before that lines are long and reservations are a must. As mentioned yesterday, I didn't figure out the Firena card, so I've been doing one-off reservations or tickets at various sites. The process is a bit unclear and I couldn't find a straightforward answer to many of my questions.

First, make sure you're using the official Duomo museum site (link here). Apparently there are several middleman brokers that look alike, but charge very high reservation fees. Don't be alarmed when the tickets come from different site name. This seems to be normal. Also, make sure to complete the free time slot reservation for the Duomo climb and/or museum entrance. This time slot is the earliest you can arrive, however, we showed up to the museum two hours after our block and had no issues.

Now that you have your vouchers, I found it really unclear what needed to happen next. There was plenty of 'Not valid for entry' or 'Not valid without a ticket' and not much 'How you get your ticket.' Also, there was a ton of 'thall shall print your tickets' but if you're doing this from a hotel at the (relative) last minute, that's not going to work so well. So this morning, while Kris was on line for the climb, I ran to the ticket office to exchange my vouchers for tickets, much to the consternation of the folks in the ticket office.

It turns out that the voucher IS your ticket. If you make reservations for the climb and the museum, you'll get three pdfs. One has your tickets and the other two are 'proof' of your time slot. You just need to download the PDFs to your phone, and then be prepared to do some flipping back and forth at turnstiles. For the areas with reservations like the climb, you generally have to show a guard that you're hear at the right time slot, then flip over to your ticket PDF and scan the bar code to get through the turnstile. The only really tricky thing was that I hadn't sent the file to Kris, so I would scroll to the first bar code and scan myself in, then I'd have to scroll to his and scan again.

Also, this allows you to skip the 'I need ticket lines in places (like the crypt) where you get entry and tickets close together. The process seems to be similar for the Uffizi, so hopefully I worked out at the kinks today and tomorrow will be smooth sailing!

Italy Day 16 - Redo from the past

The object of today's excursions is the Boboli Gardens. When I was last in Florence, a million years ago, this was on my to-do list, but somehow never made it to the to-done list. We stopped by painfully hip coffee bar for breakfast (it was on the way, I swear!) and then headed across the river.

Along the way we encountered runners doing a 10k. The thought of running on these cobblestone streets makes *my* ankles hurt. However, it was a beautiful day for a race and it's not like it made Florence's traffic any worse.

We arrived at the Pitti Palace and had to wait online for tickets for about 30 minutes. I had looked into the Firenze Card, which would have allowed us to skip the line, but with the reservations you need to make for the Uffizi and the Duomo, I couldn't figure out how to make the card pay out. Clearly I missed something in my last minute, scrambled research, however, so don't let that deter you!

It turns out that there are separate tickets for the Pitti Palace and for the Gardens. With the Uffizi coming up in two days, I wasn't sure that I wanted to do museum walking today, so we just did the Gardens ticket. You walk through the Palace courtyard to get the Gardens and Kris tried to walk through the gate without presenting a ticket. Fortunately the gate agent and I were able to get him back on track before the ever-present Army guys intervened.

The entrance to the Gardens is absolutely stunning. It's difficult to keep in mind that these were the private relaxation areas for the Medici family. It is easy to see, however, that this would be a welcome respite from the noise and grime of the city, as it still serves that purpose today. We made out way up the main hill to the most amazing rose and peony garden. The roses here in Italy have been wonderful and almost overwhelmingly rose scented. The rose garden area offers almost panoramic views of the city. Unfortunately it's a bit hazy in Florence right now, so we couldn't see as far as we should be able to, but it's an amazing scene none the less.

From the rose garden and porcelain museum we made our way WSW to the island fountain and the cypress walkway. Along the way, we spotted a flock of parakeets nesting in elm trees. I didn't realize it was warm enough here for this species. Or, I guess that parakeets aren't tropical birds. Anyway, it was totally unexpected and pretty neat to see them flying free.

We worked out way back to the Palace where we realized that we had missed one of the main views, so up the hill we trudged again. Have I mentioned that I love my Camelback? By now the sun was pretty high and it was HOT climbing that hill! We curled our way to the Kaffehouse (alas, no coffee though) and were treated to yet another stunning view of the city. We worked our way down the hill again to the Medici Grotto. It's an amazing piece of sculpture, but it keep inappropriately reminding me of the one Pirates of the Caribbean  movie with Davey Jones where the ship consumes it's mates. All of the people were made out of shell and coral and looked vaguely unsettling to me.

At this point we realized that we had missed another garden that's just outside of the Boboli. However it would have meant yet another trip up the hill, and since we're climbing the Duomo tomorrow, we decided to rest our calves and save it for another trip. It was now well past lunchtime, so rather than head to a restaurant, we decided to go back to the central market to the food stalls. After sandwiches and a couple of adult beverages, we decided to head to the train station and check out the west side of town. The Santa Maria Novella is amazing. Running down the nave of Santa Maria is a sun  dial of sorts that shows you, at a certain time of day (noon, I'm assuming) where you are in the astrological calendar. Additionally, they have frescos over frescos and apparently if you are there on the right days, the open certain 'windows' such that you can see a fresco underneath a newer painting.

One of things I find different about this trip is the amount of Americans we're running into. It seems like the stream of annoying Americans is never ending! I really miss Grosseto where we heard almost no English and when we did hear some, it certainly had an accent. My apologies to Italy that we still seem to be living up to our stereotypes.

Anyway, tomorrow we're getting above it all by climbing to the top of the Duomo first thing in the morning. We're both a little nervous about this one. Kris doesn't love small spaces and lots of steps and I find my fear of heights is getting worse as I get older. But the view is supposed to be amazing from the top and along the way you get up close and personal with the dome frescos. We'll see 463 steps later if it's worth it!

Italy day 15 - Getting our feet under us in Florence

Today was a day to get acquainted with the city. We started with a Rick Steves' audio tour. His tours are a bit quirky, but they're very informational and the Florence Renascence tour was a good intro to why Florence is so important to modern culture.

We basically fell out of our hotel onto the front steps of the Duomo and then worked our way to the Palazzo Vecchio and then onto the Ponte Vecchio. It was good to see that not much has changed since I was here in my 20s. If nothing else because it makes it easier to find my way. ;)

We ducked into a couple of minor churches along the way and ended up at the Central Market for lunch and some sweets. I always recommend visiting markets while travelling because it gives you a good idea of what's locally in season and what you should be eating. The strawberries and artichokes look amazing right now!

Tonight we decided to embrace the Florentine appertivo culture. Somehow I managed to find a hipster coffee bar/bar-bar, Ditta Artigianale, that wouldn't be out of place in Seattle or Oregon. Now, as much as I might poke fun, the drinks were fantastic!

From there we headed to Trattoria Cammillo for bisteak Florentine with white beans and artichokes. All I can say is they know how to do steak in this city! Well, that and we didn't order an antipasti or a primi because we rightly figured that the steak and contorni would be plenty filling. However I think our waiter thought we were going to wither away and starve before our meal arrived. He assured us no fewer than three times that the food was, in deed, on it's way. To be fair though, I'm sure they get a lot of American diners who are less than thrilled with the more laid back approached to dining in Europe.

On the way back from dinner, we stopped by the cinghiale or wild boar statue that, like many fountains, is supposed to bring you good luck if you drop a coin just right. In this case, you slide the coin into the boar's mouth to let it drop. If it falls through a certain slot, you get good luck. If not, I'm assuming you get gored by a boar on your next hike through Tuscany. Kris' coin dropped correctly on the second attempt, so he'll be hiking alone on our next trip!

Tomorrow we hit the Boboli Gardens, a place I'm sorry to report that I missed the first time I was here. Hopefully the weather holds as they are predicting thunderstorms. :/

Italy day 14 - Arrival in Florence

It turns out that the strong suit of the spa's restaurant is actually breakfast, not dinner. I'm not a big breakfast fan, but put a spread of cured meats and some decent bread, and I"m a happy camper. After a snack, Kris and I headed back into the thermals to complete the process of turning ourselves into overcooked pasta. Too soon though it's time for us to take one last view of the amazing countryside and head back to the room to cleanup and head into Florence.

We go to checkout and the porters once again have all of our stuff moved and neatly loaded into the car in an amazing amount of time. We soon piled into the car as well and started for Florence. We picked our way through the countryside for a bit and then got onto the Autostrada A1. All of this was smooth sailing until we got to the exit for the Florence Airport. Here, traffic was just unbelievably awful, but somehow with Kris' excellent last-minute navigation work to correct my error for taking us to the airport instead of the rental car return area, we made it in one piece.

Now the last time I was in Florence, a hundred years ago, I came and left by train. I didn't realize that the Florence airport is basically Dayton, but since Europe is fairly small and they have a handful of flights to other countries, they can call it an 'international airport.' The rental car return area was a dirt lot with tents for the various companies. We unloaded the car (Where are those porters when you need them!) and completed the return process. Aside from a momentary snafu where the agent was trying to figure out how I put 25,000km on a car in a week (she somehow added an extra number to the mileage,) everything went smoothly. We were hoping we could grab a taxi into the city from the rental lot, but after waiting around for 30 minutes, it became apparent that wasn't going to happen.

We hopped on the next shuttle bus headed for the airport along and once there immediately found a cab. Pro tip, the rental car pick-up area is not the same spot as the drop-offs. If you are facing the front of the airport, head to the left and walk around the end of the airport. Once in the cab, we had less than 10km to go from the airport to our hotel in the heart of the city. To give you an idea of what Florence traffic is like, it took us almost 40 minutes to make the trip.

What our hotel lacks in luxury, it certainly makes up for in view. While lying in bed, you can see the dome of the Duomo. Amazingly, it's fairly quiet though, even in this busy area. I'm struck by the fact that window screens in Italy are pretty rare. It's fairly warm in Florence today, so we've opened the windows in the room and already I've got a ton of mosquito bites. :( This is very much like my last trip to Florence. It remains to be seen if I'll have to head to the pharmacia to ask for bug bite cream like I did the last time...

Italy day 13 - Goodbye to Grosseto, on to Florence with a layover at the Palace of Water

Today we leave Grosseto and the home of friend. We felt very lucky that friend's mom and dad both stopped by to see us off. We had a lovely chat (with the help of Google Translate) and they generously offered us the use of friend's apartment the next time we come back. :)

We feel very fortunate in deed to have seen this corner of Italy. Without friend, I don't know that we ever would have come to Grosseto and yet it has become a favorite place. We will definitely use this quaint little town as a home base for future visits to Tuscany. I do think I made a tactical error this time, however. I didn't realize that there was a conveniently located car rental agency in Grosseto. Next time, we'll fly into Rome (Bigger airport, easier flights) and take the train to Grosseto, use a car while we're there, and then return to Rome again via train.

When we were in Japan we very much enjoyed the onsen experience and there are many thermal spas in the Tuscan countryside. Since this is something of an anniversary trip, we decided to splurge with a night in a combination castle/thermal spa, the Castello di Velona. We drive through the countryside until we see a castle perched on top of a large hill. We work our way up the driveway and all I can say is wow...360 degree panoramic views of the countryside and wineries, and that's just from the car park.

Now, it turns out that we were supposed to valet the car, so I got some strange looks from the valets as we wander up the driveway, but we press on, undeterred. We head inside to an empty reception area, not realizing that it's 1pm and check-in isn't until 3pm. We eventually run into one of the staff members who immediately kicks it into high gear. After collecting our information, he asks if we'd like help with our bags (We had left everything in the car. That car park was a long way down the hill!) I'm normally a do-it-myself kind of traveler, but this seemed like a we-do-it-for-you kind of place. I flip him my keys and he hands us off to one of his peers for a tour of the castle.

Now, to be fair, this is a very small castle. Think less Buckingham Palace and more...erm...Millionaire's Row in Cleveland. They've added on to the original space, but there are still only 25 or 30 rooms in total to the place. And the rooms are nice, but that's not why you're there. What was a-maze-ing was the 'Palace of Water,'  an aquatic complex fed by the hot springs the building sits above. And oh my, palace doesn't do it justice. Outside there is an amazing split level pool with various in-water seating areas and lounges that overlook the vineyard and the mountains. The lower pool connects via a swim-through tunnel to the inner pool that also has a whirlpool tub big enough for 12 or 15 of your closest friends.

And then there's the downstairs complex. Here is the main really hot whirlpool, a series of 'emotional showers,' a shaved ice station (for cooling off your skin, not for eating...) two steam rooms, a sauna, and a relaxation area. Kris and I were giddy to try out everything, so we quickly went to our room, where the porters had brought in everything from the car, as if by magic, and hopped into swimsuits. We then proceeded to turn ourselves into prunes by hanging out in the various pools and rooms for the rest of the day.

The only downside of the whole experience was that the restaurant was pretty mediocre. However, when average food is accompanied by a sunset that looks like this one, I'll make allowances!

Sunset over the Palace of Water

Italy Day 12 - The perils of poor pre-planning and a trip to Siena

If you've been keeping score at home, you may have noticed that we've picked up some wine on this trip. You may also have noticed I haven't talked about how we're getting said wine home. As many times as we've been in Cali. we've always gotten a cardboard and Styrofoam shipper and either mailed home or taken the packs as checked bags on the plane. What we didn't stop to consider on this trip is manhandling a cardboard box of wine thru SFO with a luggage cart is pretty straightforward. Navigating the public transportation system and cobblestone streets in Italy, not as straightforward.

None of the wineries we visited had case shippers, so we stopped by the local Mailboxes Etc and discovered they had wine shippers...but only 6 bottle boxes. It quickly became clear that two of these boxes would hold the wine, but wouldn't be a practical solution. We had a brief moment of insanity where we considered Amazon Priming a wine suitcase to our hotel in Florence. Fortunately that passed quickly. Kris did some digging and found the the GIANT Banfi winery sells wine luggage at their tasting room in Montalcino.

Since we were planning on going to Siena today, this was a short detour to pick up something that we should have done years ago in California. We jog over to the Banfi Castle...and feel like we've stepped into all of the worst elements of a California tasting room. I am pretty certain the guy running the tasting room sniffed derisively at us when we walked in. And thing went downhill from there. Had we been smart, we would have picked up the bag and left, but we decided to actually taste the wines while we were there. The short version - The wines were pretty unremarkable, the tasting was way too pricey, and the staff was inattentive at best and downright rude to us at worst. If we didn't really need the case bag to ensure that the rest of our trip wasn't miserable, we would have left in a huff. Net however is we now have a case wine bag that's pretty slick and you get a strong recommendation to avoid the Banfi Castle at all costs.

With that experience behind us, we were off to Siena. We thought that seeing Siena right before we left for Florence would provide an interesting juxtaposition since the two cities have been rivals for centuries. Siena's cathedral is riotous in stripes and ornamentation. The inside is breathtaking as well even with much of the floors covered in carpet and the pulpit under wraps for restoration. The Piccolomini Library is a can't miss for music lovers with it's illustrated hymnals.

The crypt has a truly amazing exhibit right now of artifacts and treasures from churches destroyed in the 2016 earthquake. They've created an awesome fusion of modern and ancient by projecting news footage of the earthquake rescue teams and before and after videos of the various churches on the ancient brick walls of the crypt along side the artifacts that you can watch being pulled from the rubble. It's a very powerful display and one of the best uses of multimedia I've seen anywhere. Really impressive!

We decided to head back to Grosseto for a last dinner in town. We still needed to pack and we wanted to tidy up, even though friend said they were sending someone to clean. We are so sad to be leaving this charming city! If it weren't for friend's generous offer of their place, I don't know that we ever would have come to Grosseto, and now we're planning on how and when we'll come back! It's been a great jumping off point to see Tuscany and really, there's still so much to see here. Until tomorrow then...

Italy Day 11 - Second Round of Wine and how to wine, according to Kris and Erin

Today was our second round of wine tasting. I've gotten the hang of this driving thing, so no near death experiences today - Yay!

This first stop of the day was Col d'Orcia. The tasting room here was a bit tricky to find. I think I ended up parking in the employee parking lot. Then we seemed to have walked into an industrial bottling/packing area. Finally, we walked down a super long driveway and found the office and a startled looking young lady who ended up touring us. The wines here were fine, but nothing to write home about.

From Col d'Orcia we took a short detour to check out an artichoke garden nearby. Artichokes are actually a member of the thistle family, which becomes extremely evident when you see them growing. Kris hopped out of the car to grab this pic.

Kris' Tuscan artichoke pic

 We have eaten many, many of this guy's cousins on this trip! They are currently in season and are on menus everywhere. So very tasty baked, fried, steamed, pickled, etc. But I digress! Off to more wine!

Next on the list for the day was Siro Pacenti. Now, Kris had used the Visa Sapphire concierge to book appointments at these wineries. Unfortunately, Siro Pacenti apparently didn't get that memo as they had no record of talking to Visa Signature concierge or of us having an appointment. They were more than gracious, however, and took us on a brief tour and full tasting. We even got to meet the winemaker! This is a very modern facility and the winemaker has a bit of a rebel approach to brunello that has really paid off. We loved these wines and are bringing a couple home with us.

From here we had a bit of time to kill and we needed lunch so we headed to Montalcino (being careful to not actually drive thru the city center this time!) We ended up parking in a camper parking area a bit outside of town on an extremely steep hill (Mt. Adams ain't got nothing on this hill) and hiking into town. We grabbed a slice of pizza each and then started the vertical climb, I mean hike back to the car. I would highly recommend finding a parking spot closer to town if you decide to stop by. The slice was okay, but I think we passed a Sherpa on the way back.

Once we stopped sweating like farm animals from our exertions, we headed back down the mountain via car to Tenuta La Potazzine. We arrived just as it started to spit rain but couldn't find anyone in the office. We wandered around for a bit until the tour manger arrived. He provided us with an excellent overview of the winery and both Kris and I learned a couple of things here along the way. The wine here was fantastic! Some more wine comes with us...

Our last stop of the day was a tiny little place listed as #1 on the wineries of Montalcino map, Baricci. It turns out that this is still a family run winery and the grandfather of the two brothers doing much of the day to day was the first to sign the consolidated laws or rules of Brunello, hence they are listed as #1. This is a tiny little place doing some amazing wines at very popular prices. We were really impressed with what they're doing here.

We've been fortunate to go to California on several wine trips now, and one of the things we've learned there is when you find a winery doing things you like, as them who they like or who they'd drink. This has led us to some of our favorite 'off the beaten path' places and some amazing wine. So we reapplied this principal here. One of the wineries was kind enough to supply us with recos. Now, this list probably only makes sense if your tastes are similar to ours, but it's a starting point to the 250 Brunello producers, so there's that! 

- Barbi - We visted here the first day and thought it was really good.

- Canalicchio di Sopra

- Castiglion del Bosco - Also visited the first day. Owned by a son of Ferragamo. Really nice wines, I was surprised to say!

- Fattoi

- La Fornance

- Le Chiuse

- Le Ragnaie

- Mastrojanni

- Pietroso

- Sanlorenzo - We drove past this place and were super interested, but they seemed to be appointment only and we couldn't fit them in. Next time!

If you have been to any of this places (Or go to any of them based on seeing them here,) let me know what you think! We're already planning, or perhaps scheming our next trip here so we'd love additional input on what's good!

Italy Day 10 - A gift, the mountains, and the sea

This morning started off with a visit from friend's dad with gifts in hand. He brought us another bottle of local wine and a present from friend. Friend gave us a beautiful moka pot that I posted to Facebook earlier. It's a really lovely gift and much needed since I'm pretty sure Kris was already pricing them online for when we got home!

We drove up to San Gimignano today. This is a charming mountain top city that once again looks like it was lifted from a postcard. It features four prominent towers and a really interesting basilica. The man walls of the basilica are painted in sections detailing various stories from the Bible from Adam and Eve thru the Resurrection of Christ. I'm guessing that it was done in part because it's a powerful decoration, but also because when most of your congregants can't read, it's a helpful teaching mechanism. The Last Judgement was striking and almost unbelievably graphic. Talk about scared straight!

After having lunch and wandering the town, we decided to take a less than direct route back home. We headed almost due west to the sea and then started picking our way south. Kris detoured us to Castiglion della Pescaia. After a brief but vertical climb into the walled city center we were treated to a lovely view of the ocean.

Italy Day 9 – A home town lazy Sunday and the carry-on challenge

We treated ourselves to no alarms today. We had nowhere to rush off to, no traffic to beat, just a load of laundry to do and a city to explore. So, this of course meant that my eyes popped open at 6am and I was ready to go! With Kindle in hand, I managed to read/sleep for another hour or so until Kris got up too.

We explored the walled portion of Grosseto, the town we’re staying in, today. Unfortunately, because today is Sunday, a lot of the historical sites were closed as, oddly, were the churches. However we had a lovely stroll all around town. We even went outside of the walls to the train station (Hey, this is a thing elsewhere in the world. It’s generally a happening spot. Except for today. When it was not.) and the football stadium, which was also quiet.

I mentioned that we were doing laundry which is not generally high on the vacationer’s list of priorities, however when going on a fairly long trip, it’s really hard to pack enough and still be mobile enough navigation trains and buses. I’ve long ago learned that it’s a lot less frustrating to pack smaller and potentially spend some time washing clothes (Or pay the money to get them washed) than it is to man handle a HUGE suitcase over cobblestone streets. We’re gone for almost three weeks on this trip and Kris and I both managed to pack everything we need into our own carry-ons, plus a backpack. For me, that includes three pairs of shoes and a dress. Now, I’ll add that I’m embarrassed to have anyone pick up my bag, since it’s packed so tightly a lump of coal in the middle of the bag would be well on the way to being a diamond by the end of the trans-Atlantic flight, but still…I occasionally regret not having an extra whatever with me, but I always find when I pack heavier, I regret the weight ever more and usually end up with at least two things that never get used. YMMV, but I encourage you to take the carry-on challenge for your next trip of some length!

Italy Day 8 – Montalcino, a Monty Python moment, and exporting wine

Today is all about wine! We’re headed into the hills of Montalcino to visit four wineries. After a great night’s sleep, I felt ready to hit the back roads of Italy. I was talking with a friend before I left and she mentioned that she and her husband had been to Tuscany and found the roads to be quite stressful. Armed with this knowledge, and what feels like a huge SUV (the Nissan Juke in Pittsburgh black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow) I had some trepidation about how this day would go. But with wine at stake, I’m no quitter!

With Google maps queued up, we set out for Montalcino. I first decide to stop for gas. Now the rental agent made a big deal about how this car was a diesel engine. Fortunately, when I pulled into the gas station, I managed to pull up to a full-service pump (I didn’t think anyone outside of Jersey still did those!) The pump jockey asks me if it’s okay to fill it up, since it takes super premium. Since I was outside of the car to stretch my legs anyway, I took a look at the gas cap and sure enough, high octane required. I know that the diesel nozzle won’t fit in a regular gas fill tube, but I’m thinking that would have been a frustrating enterprise until I figured it out. Thanks, gas-guy!

Fully fueled, we head into the hills. Kris could do a better job of explaining the scenery, but from what I could pause to look at, it was even more amazing than yesterday. Somehow, while I was admiring the view I apparently missed a turn to go *around* Montalcino and we ended up *IN* Montalcino. Now this is a very old mountain city with charming, wending, not-made-for-cars streets. I knew we were in trouble when Kris asked twice ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to fold in my mirror?’ Now, I thought things were going fairly well until we popped out onto Via Landi where it meetings Via Soccorso Saloni and Via della Circonvallazione. I’m pretty sure this intersection will forever be seared into my brain. And perhaps Kris’ as well. Because this is the spot where I almost got us bludgeoned to death because of a Monty Python-esque moment. Via Landi joins the other roads I mentioned at something of a steep angle. And, even though I only mentioned two other roads, it’s really four because the one road is a hairpin curve at this ‘intersection. So, I’m at a steep incline, going onto a fairly major road, with an almost blind turn, and I’m in a still-unfamiliar manual car. So I take my first shot…and stall it out. So I take another go and immediately stall it out.

At this point, there’s a guy with hedge trimmers just outside my window tending his hedges. Kris later informed me that the look on his face in the midst of this was priceless. I, however, was more concerned about the one, two, now FOUR cars that have piled up behind me! Attempts 4, 5, and 6 also do not go well. At this point I have several thoughts going through my head: 1) OMYGOSH, I broke the brand new rental car, 2) can I quit now? 3) Well, this is where I live now and last, and perhaps least sensibly, 4) Do you suppose I can put parking brake on and Kris and I can get out and push the damn thing over the crest of this hill and then I can pop start it on the road? Stalls 6, 7, and 8. Okay, deep breath. I can do this….And somehow I red line it, don’t stall it out, and make it over the hill. I’m a bit disappointed hedge clippers didn’t give me a golf clap after that.

Now, you may be wondering how this is a Monty Python moment. Yeah, well, later in the day, when clearer heads prevailed, I accidentally recreated the problem. I stupidly had the thing in THIRD gear! So, I needed the Holy Grail ‘1, 2, 5, uh three sir!’ But in reverse, of course. Gah!

Anyway, from there we headed to the first stop of the day, Caparzo winery. A cute little spot, I immediately learned a lot about Brunellos. I was surprised that they use no more than half toasted oak barriques and some instances, only use untoasted casks for their aging of this wine. Other than that, the cellar tour was pretty much like every other one we’ve been on. The wine was good, but we didn’t pick up anything here.

From there we headed to Fattoria di Barbi (And drove past the spot of my shame…) It started to pour just as we pulled into the parking lot, so we walked into the Cantina looking like drowned rats. The other couple tasting here was from California, and while we were tasting, four more Californian’s showed up. It felt oddly familiar…We like much of the wine here and ended up buying a vertical of their 05, 06, and 07 vigne di fiore. We also got lunch here where I had an amazing stewed rabbit dish. Perfect for a wet, rainy day.

From here we drove back thru Montalcino, past the point of my shame AGAIN to head to Castiglion del Bosco. This place is owned by the son of designer Ferragamo. Had I known that before we came, I might have struck this from the list. However, they are doing some excellent wines. I mentioned that we were here for our anniversary (Sort of true) and that we had gotten married in a vineyard (actually true) and they brought us a library pour of their ’07 brunello. It was drinking very nicely in deed! However, it wasn’t for sale. We bought a bottle of their Millocento instead.

From there we headed thru the countryside over a rutted dirt road to our final stop of the day, Tenuta Fanti. A very different experience than Bosco! Much more down to earth and real. They’re doing dome really nice, easily drinkable wines. We started talking about their export percentages and I was shocked to learn that most of the wineries in the region export nearly 75% of their production. A big part of this is because wine in Italy is so highly regional and is made to be aged less. Anyway, we ended the day by picking up two bottles here.

The drive home was much less eventful than the drive in, however the rainy, cloudy weather made for very dramatic country sides. It feels like everything is in bloom here right now. Everything is surrounded in the most amazing cloud of perfume from the flowers on the trees and shrubs; it’s just delicious! Tomorrow, we’re staying close to home and out of the car and exploring Grosseto. Happy driving and remember, starting from third is hard, but not impossible!

Italy Day 7 – Goodbye Rome, hello Tuscany!

Today we say our goodbyes to Rome. While dinner and the late-night tour were fantastic, it made getting out the door this morning rough. We needed to be at the airport by 10 pick up the car so we could make it to Grosseto at a reasonable time to meet my friend’s family at the apartment we’re staying in. We cleaned up the AirBnB and ourselves, shoved everything back into suitcases as best we could and headed to the bus stop.

Rush hour buses with luggage and backpacks are not a whole lot of fun. In hindsight, we might have been better off splurging on a taxi here. However, if we had done that, Kris would have missed out on what he’s pretty sure was a pickpocketing attempt. The first (that we caught at any rate) for the Rome portion of the visit. We disgorged from the bus (along with what felt like half of Rome) at the train station and discovered the train we were planning on taking was first delayed, then cancelled all together. Fortunately, the train to the airport runs every 30 minutes, so we just had to find the right platform and hop on the next one.

Picking up the rental car was a pretty standard affair. I am supremely grateful to have gotten it at the airport where I had some time and space to remember how to drive a stick though, and wasn’t immediately thrown into Rome traffic. When the agent assigned the car to me, she handed over the paperwork with a ‘Don’t worry the car is brand new, only 1000km, so there’s no damage on it.’ I signed the waiver, but still did a thorough walk-around before we left. Turns out she was right. Who knew!

We left the airport grounds and got on the highway. In hindsight, I probably should have brushed up on Italian road signs before I got here. As it was, Kris was looking up signs and explaining them to me at 110km/h. But we lived, so there’s that! We had some time between when we picked up the car and when we were to meet my friend’s family to get the keys to her apartment, so we decided to head to Pitigliano, an ancient mountain citadel that was for years just at the edge of the Vatican’s power. This apparently meant that many Jews who had lived in Rome before the Popes started consolidating power fled here. Here we saw the first synagogue of the trip and while there are apparently no more Jews living in Pitigliano, they still hold services there on a regular basis.

Pitigliano is like something out of a postcard or a painting. Kris and I spent most of our time there saying ‘Oh my! Look at that!’ Oooh! Look at that!’ and ‘Wait! I need to take a picture of this!’ Unfortunately, I don’t have Wifi right now, so I’ll post the pictures when I get to Florence. Or, check out Kris’ Facebook page. The architecture was amazing. These ancient houses are perched or cantilevered over the edges of cliffs and are stacked on top of each other like a feverish child’s Lego set. This was a lovely detour and I’m glad we took the time to see it.

We reluctantly left and headed back to the highway to meet our friend’s family. This was when we discovered that the TIM sims that we thought included texting only included about 5 texts. And remember, no voice…So even though we had made arrangements to meet, he was relying on us sending him a text confirming that we were on time. Que much stressful downloading and discarding of apps, swapping out for US sims, frantic phone calls to the States, until finally Kris got Signal working and was able to get in touch (30 minutes later) with our friend’s brother. This was then compounded when the ENTIRE family showed up to meet us! Brother, brother’s wife, brother’s daughter, friend’s/brother’s dad. So now we’ve held up everyone. Great! In the moment, there is no worse feeling than knowing that you are further inconveniencing someone who is doing you a favor at someone else’s behest. (We both still feel cringe-y about this one.)

Anyway, we make our greetings and load our luggage into Dad’s car and then follow them into Grosseto. Dad waves us to a parking spot and lets out brother and family and then proceeds into the walled city center (Only certain people or licensed cars, I’m not sure exactly, can drive inside the walls.) Brother and family then walk us into the city and give us the dime tour, pointing out attractions, restaurants, introducing us to friends they encountered along the way. It reminded me very much of visiting my grandparents in small-town Midwest. Everyone knows everyone and sees all. But in a good way!

We arrive at the apartment and friend’s dad shows Kris how to work the keys to the front door and the apartment. He then proceeds to show us how everything works. Now in a hotel, I’d be super perturbed by now, but staying in someone else’s house? I felt like I should have been taking video to ensure we don’t break, damage, or ruin anything! Oh, and did I mention, friend’s mom left us a huge basket of cookies, and sweet breads, two bottles of wine, a bottle of olive oil, a bottle of vinegar, and cold beer and water in the fridge. Ah-maze-ing!

After ensuring that we were safely ensconced in our new home for the next seven days, the family took their leave after ensuring that we understood we should contact them if anything is needed. Kris and I took some time to settle in and semi-unpack. At this point, we decided that with the super late night last night, the super early morning today, and the 45-minute stress ball of trying to make contact (remember kids, always read the fine print on your Sim contracts…) we were toast for the night. We ate some of the excellent cookies and called it a night. Tomorrow, there will be wine!

Italy Day 6 - Gladiators, bones, Il Convivo, and a midnight tour

The original plan for yesterday was to do the Forum and the Colosseum together. You may recall that we got half way through Palatine Hill yesterday when I called it quits. There was no way I was leaving Rome without seeing the Colosseum though! We got to the site fairly early and didn’t really hit any lines to speak of. The Roma Pass is helpful here though. We got off the 64 bus on the north side of the building. The Roma Pass shortcut line was almost immediately in front of us.

After picking up our audio guides, we headed up the super steep stairs with the rest of the throngs to second level. The audio guide was supposed to start overlooking the space, but we were distracted by the permanent and semi-permanent exhibits they had setup in the outer concourses. The exhibits explained the history and use of the Colosseum through the ages and showed how it influenced European artists and architects for generations.

When we finally popped out into the seating area of the Colosseum, we started the audio tours. This is the first one on this trip that I felt was a waste. While the wayfinding for the Forum was awful, the content, storytelling, and delivery were fantastic! The one for the Colosseum was confusing and very dry. Since we have for all intents and purposes unlimited data on our TIM sims, we downloaded Rick Steves’ free audio guide. It was a little cheesy, but overall a fantastic tour of the space. We’ll download more of his guides for Florence. And did I mention they’re free?

The Colosseum is spectacular! I struggle to comprehend how they managed the engineering of the floor and managing of the set pieces. It’s hard to believe that they could put a retractable awning over much of the space! It appeared that floor seats were so close to the action, I’m surprised that more spectators weren’t killed either by an escaping wild animal or by an attempting-to-escape convict forced to fight.

After spending the morning at the Colosseum, we decided to wander the neighborhoods to the north before working our way home. In the process, we managed to stumble upon the President’s residence, another obelisk for Kris’ collection, and the Crypt of the Capuchin Monks.

The Capuchin Monks are an offshoot of the Franciscan friars. They maintain a crypt decorated in the bones of their brethren. I had seen pictures before and wasn’t sure if I really wanted to see this curiosity, but when we stumbled upon the church in our wandering, I decided it was a sign we should see it. Hands down, this was the best audio tour of the trip so far. Extremely engaging and very entertaining! By the time we headed into the crypt, I had a good understanding of why the brothers had created it, beyond just a macabre curiosity. This was a very interesting side bar and I’m very glad we happened upon it.

After stopping by the apartment to freshen up, we headed to dinner at Il Convivo. This was a pretty fancy-pants affair, as was confirmed when the head waiter handed me a water menu that listed dissolved mineral percentages as well as pH. It was further reinforced when they handed me a menu without prices, but Kris got a menu with. I haven’t see that schtick in a long time! Dinner was excellent and if you’d like to see more, check out Kris’ Facebook posts chronicling the meal.

After dinner, we met our AirBnB host for a tour of the hills. She generously offered to take us around to see some of the further-away sites that are best seen at night. We saw the complete panorama of the city and it was breath taking. She also took us to the hole in the door. The photo below doesn’t do it justice, but basically, someone built a compound in front of one of the best views of the city. But they preserved the view by framing it in an arch and then providing a hole in the guard door that perfectly aligns with the arch to double frame the view.

I’m sad to be leaving Rome, but excited for the rest of the trp. Here’s to seeing what Grosseto and Florence hold in store for us!

Italy Day 5 - The Forum and tips for a walking vacation

Today was all about The Forum and Palatine Hill. We headed out from our hotel and decided to take back streets to walk to the Forum. I wanted to stop by the touristy clothing stalls at the Campo de Fiori market to replace my AWOL hat, but alas, they hadn't set up for the day yet. On we went, wending our way through the tiny streets until we popped out by the humongous Vittorio Emanuele monument.

We worked our way between the monument and the Capital Museum and were treated to a nice view of the back of the Forum. We worked our way to the ticket counter and stood in a fairly short line. Now, we had purchased (But not activated) our Roma Passes two days before, but it was a bit unclear how to use them. It turns out that we needn't have waited in line at all. We could have just walked over to the turnstiles and gone straight in. It worked out just fine, however, because you rent the audio guides from the same booth.

We each got our own audio guide and I lucked out because I still had the headphones from one of our other guides tucked away in a pocket. Poor Kris was stuck holding the phone to his head the entire day. This brings me to tip number 2 for the day: Bring comfortable, wired headphones with you. The guided tours all give you receivers for the guides and provide terrible ear buds to go with. With the various rentable audio guides at historic sites like the Forum, Pompeii, etc, it's a bit hit or miss if headphones are included in the rental. And even if they are, they aren't necessarily that comfortable for extended use.

Anyway, we head into the Forum armed with our audio guide where we had the choice of a long or short tour. The short tour was listed at an hour and change and the long tour was billed at 2 hours and 15 minutes. We opted for the longer version. We found the sign for the 1st stop and started listening to the excellent audio tour. However, when the first one ended, it was totally unclear where stop 2 was, so we listened a bit, wandered a bit and stumbled upon where we were supposed to be. It wasn't until almost 2.5 hours and more than 30 stops that Kris realized that there was a map with a GPS dot showing where you were that also had pins for the various audio stops. Gah!

The Forum was amazing. I think I was most struck by the Temple of the Vestal Virgins. In my head this was a huge temple, but the reality is that you could fit the temple foot print in my living room. The living quarters for the Virgins on the other hand was huge!

Conversely, I was blown away by how huge the Basilica of Maxentius was. Built 1700 years ago, it dwarfs many modern buildings. The view of the city from the top of Palatine Hill is spectacular!

View from Palatine Hill

I'll admit, I hit the historical wall pretty shortly after seeing the excavation of the first huts of Rome. By this point we were a solid three hours in and the crowds were impressively thick. A surprising number of tours bore cruise ship logos and people who were clearly not prepared for a long city walking tour. Of special note was a woman in black wedges who was clearly in so much pain from ill fitting shoes it made my feet hurt to watch her. Which brings me to my tips for a walking vacation.

Now you're probably aware that both Kris and I are desk jockeys, i.e. we sit for a living. Going on vacation where you're suddenly standing or walking day in and day out for two or three weeks can be a jolt to the system if you aren't prepared. Hence, after many trips, some good, some absolutely miserable, here are the things we do stay happy, healthy, and sane.

First, good shoes, well broken in, are a must. I have long ago given up on 'cute' shoes for my main shoes when doing a trip like this one. I prefer a low ankle hiking boot; I'm currently using these Keen Voyagers. I highly recommend Smart Wool socks and while Kris also uses liners with his, I usually skip them for urban trips. I also really like having a pair of 'evening' walking shoes to change into. Right now I'm travelling with a very worn in pair of running shoes. Something about a different footbed profile for evening makes a world of difference. Now, this doesn't mean that I don't keep something cute stowed for a night out...it's just not the mainstay of my travelling shoe wardrobe.

Second, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. I am using a Camelback on this trip, and while I felt very self conscious about it at first, I firmly believe that Pompeii and the Forum both would have been miserable without it. I have come to believe that 'travelers tummy' is half due to getting dehydrated and half eating weird things at weird times. Even with the constant, simple supply of water a Camelback provides, I still find myself a bit parched at the end of the day.

Finally, make sure you have a tested travel system. By system I mean inner, main, and outer clothing and a way to transport necessities on a day to day basis and on a major destination to major destination basis. A big trip is not the time to break in a new pair of shoes, new shorts, or a backpack that looks 'fun'. Blisters, hot spots from a seam that rubs the wrong way, or a frustrating closure on a bag will be amplified significantly when you are tired and far from home with no ready replacement. Go for a long city hike (half a day minimum) with type of outfit you're thinking of. Do you still feel comfortable at the end? Good! Do you hate life when you're done? Better to find out now. Layers will be your friend! In Rome right now it's been in the 50s in the morning and in the mid-70s by evening. Unless you want to head back and forth to your room all day, there is no single outfit that will suit that temperature range. However, a couple of well planned layers will keep you covered in any situation. Also keep in mind that you may need to pack a bag in your bag. The suitcase you use to get across the pond probably won't help you much as you explore the city. I would recommend a small day pack or a Camelback with a small amount of storage.

Italy Day 4 - Vatican City, pizza worth writing about, and cons played on travelers

Today was our tour of the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's, and the Vatican Museum! For this experience, I actually booked a small group tour. You may be surprised to learn that I don't wait in line very well, and everything I read on the Vatican said lines are de rigueur, so in this particular instance I was happy to fork over a little extra cash to not spend three hours of my life in lines.

After our 'excitement' in almost missing the train to Naples, I may have padded our AM schedule a bit. We were out the door for our walk to the 8:10am tour at 7am. I should probably mention that we can practically see the Vatican from our AirBnB, so this lead to us arriving at the meeting point well before our appointed meeting time.

Now I had booked this tour through a site called Viator in a bit of haste while sitting at the Atlanta Sky Club (I know, I know! Works been super hectic though, so I didn't do  all my homework.) the first thing I didn't realize, and to be fair I'm not entirely sure I would have figured out with my usual research, is that Viator appears to sub out the work to a local company called City Wonders, Which isn't a huge deal, but does make me wonder how much of a mark-up Viator added. The other thing I didn't realize is that 'early access almost an hour before the general public' means practically nothing. At our meeting point alone there had to be 100+ people queuing. And as near as I could see, there were at least 4 other tour companies doing the same thing on streets nearby.

So, we join our 'semi-private' tour of 10 other people, get our stickers, our headsets, and our tour guide and head into Vatican City. After heading thru security and metal detectors (pro tip, do NOT bring a large bag or backpack with you. Security will make you store it for your visit as several people near us discovered,) you walk out onto a plaza with an amazing view of the papal gardens and the back of the Basilica.

The Dome of St Peter's as seen from the Balcony of the Vatican Museum

From there we raced through part of the Vatican Museum to the Courtyard of the Pine cone. This garden was dominated by a huge pine cone (a pagan symbol of fertility) at one end, and Egyptian statuary along the one side. Having gone thru an Egyptology phase when I was young, I was particularly caught by the Egyptian statues (As a side note, there are supposedly ~13 Egyptian obelisks scattered around Rome out of an original 20 something. Between the ones here and in London and elsewhere, I'm guessing Egypt would like some of their history back.)

A well guarded temple

Objects appear larger in photos. This was
actually the size of a small dog

Our guide then took us to several photographic panels in the courtyard to explain the Sistine Chapel and the significance of some of the artwork. I'll admit, this part was a bit long for me. It was somehow both too detailed and not detailed enough. Eventually, we headed back inside the Museum for a whirlwind tour of...Stuff. I know we saw statuary, and the Map Room, which is amazing and totally overwhelming in all it's rococo glory.

Pagan goddess. Oh my!

Imagine a football length hall in this style!

From there we moved onto tapestries and who boy did we see a number of them. Some from the 18th century and one even older if I understood correctly. Then it was on the old Papal apartments and Raphael and Botticelli and more. It was weird, I felt both rushed and like we were stalling for the main event. Oh, and it was crowded. I mean jostled at every turn, watch where you step, don't trip over that kid crowded.

Eventually we made our way down the stairs to the entrance Sistine Chapel. After you make it through the cattle chute like entrance and get a chance to catch your breath, it really is amazing. If you can, find a spot near the center where you can stand stock still and just absorb. Oh, and try to ignore the guard shouting 'No pictures!' every 20 seconds. Seriously though, even if you aren't Catholic or don't subscribe to Christianity, I think you have to admire the scale of the work that was undertaken in the Chapel. It's hard to comprehend that Michelangelo completed the whole thing in less than 10 years and mostly be himself.

After an all too brief 15 minutes in the Chapel, it was time for us to exit to make room for the next 'semi-private' group. We headed out what is actually the front entrance of the Chapel (Oh, btw, that means that you've entered from the back making most of the ceiling upside down from your perspective. Make sure you pause just before you leave to see the whole thing 'right side up' so to speak.) From there we headed downstairs to St. Peter's.

We paused to look at the Jubillee doors, which have once again been sealed and cemented until 2025 and then head to the entrance. Walking into St. Peter's is a bit disorienting. The scale of all of the artwork sculpture, and structure is so massive that it takes a few minutes to understand just how huge the space you're standing is. After catching our breath, we stopped by the Pieta and Pope John Paul II's tomb. They appear to be preparing for some sort of construction on PJPII's tomb as they were putting solid baracades in place that kept us at least 200' from either monument. Our guide thought they were preparing to add a glass coffin so they could display PJPII's embalmed remains.

Etched in the floor of the main aisle are the locations and lengths of all of the major basillica's. We stopped by the marker for the one in Washington (which I visited not that long ago) and saw how relatively short it is in comparison. Our guide took us to the main alter and shared an amusing insite into meanings of the facial expressions of the woman on the coat of arms adorning the canopy pillars. From there we saw the tomb of the popes and walked thru a wedding being held at the Chapel. And just like that, our tour was done and we found our selves on the square.

We were both a bit wiped out from our early morning forced march to the meeting place, so we decided to head back to the hotel and change out of long pants and pick up our back packs. We also needed to refine our plan of attack for our last two days in Rome to make sure we didn't miss any of our 'must see' items.

We decided to grab some lunch and then hit the Tivoli Fountains and Spanish steps. We headed over to a market square at Campo De Fiori. I love open air markets because they give you a sense of the culture. I think Campo Fiori is getting pretty touristy though because probably a third of the booths were devoted to tourist wares like Roma t-shirts and souvenir packs of dried pastas. However there is a great bakery at one end called Forno Campo De Fiori. They do a thin, floppy rectangular style of pizza that is amazing. We had a piece of Margherita and a piece of potato; both were amazing! From there we wandered the market and picked up some amazing strawberries (Teeny, tiny, and so strawberry-y you'd link they were made in a lab,) cherries, and two pieces of cheese for later snacking. I also noticed that artichokes, a Roman delicacy, were in season.

We headed back to the room to drop off our purchases and then back out to the city. We worked our way over to Trevi Fountain. My grandmother used to sing the 'three pennies in the fountain' to me when I was kid and often told me about having been to Rome. And yes, she deposited her pennies there, but I don't recall her making a return trip. As it didn't seem to work for her, I elected to save my pennies for some other body of water.

We then turned and picked our way over to the Spanish Steps. Somehow I was expecting less outdoor mall and more...Something impressive. The Steps are neat; they sort of remind me of Lombard street in San Francisco, inexplicably, but I wouldn't make another trip to see them. However, they are pretty good for people watching and provide a tie-in for a note about scams while travelling.

So, you're headed to Rome and everyone tells you about the pickpockets. What no one seems to talk about are all of the scams that get run on tourists. Now, the guys aggressively selling scarves and selfie sticks (!!!) everywhere your turn aren't great, but at least you get some sort of thing in return for your money. At the Steps I experienced a new-to-me scam. As we were standing at the top level, a guy with a huge bouquet of roses comes over to me and tries to hand three to me 'For luck, lady.' I demurred with a 'No, thank you' and he starts insisting. 'They're free! I'm giving to you for free!' and he proceeds to try to jam them in my folded arms. At this point a raise my voice and sharply say NO! and he tries again! Kris' hackles are now raised so as I say no louder still, Kris takes a step towards the guy with a no for good measure. The guy finally backs away. But at this point, we're both a bit fascinated with how this could possibly end. So we watch two other guys working the same idea on the level below us. The woman in a young couple accepted the roses. The hawker then insists the pair kiss. they sheepishly do so. The hawker then starts talking to the couple. We were too far away to hear unfortunately, but he soon convinces them that they should take a picture. The couple hands over their phone (!!!) to the guy who snaps a couple shots and then again insists that they kiss and he hands their phone back. the hawker must have made some implication for a tip because the guy of the couple suddenly jams his one hand in his pocket and keeps it there. The hawker is clearly getting more insistent about a tip and follows the couple as they shy away a bit. Finally, the guy hands the hawker something that folds and the couple and the hawker part. Now, she did get three roses and I'm sure they got a couple of cute snaps, but was it worth whatever he handed over? And how often does 'Give me a tip!' turn into marking where a guy keeps his wallet when he goes to protect it so someone can steal it later? Tough to tell. Net, if someone tries to hand you roses on the Spanish Steps? I'd say no as much as it takes.

In Paris the scam was that a guy walking in front of you pretends to see a ring on the ground and 'picks' it up. He then tries to get you to split the windfall of 'finding' a gold ring on the street by getting you to buy him out. I've not seem that one work but it was everywhere when we were there last. Again, regardless of where you are, if a stranger is trying really hard to 'give' you something, it's probably a much better deal for them than it will be for you.

Italy Day 3 - A bit of a rest and a bit of a bummer

We got a slow start this morning, but on purpose this time. With nowhere to go, we slept in until at least 8am. Woo hoo! After we were up, we took our time getting ready and headed out to the city.

We went to a bookstore a number of years ago that was having a going-out-of-business sale and found these great cards called 'City Walks'. I think the set we bought that day was for Paris. Each deck has about fifty laminated, heavy card stock pages that gives you a walk with various points of interest. You can generally string together 4 or 5 cards to make a pretty decent day. So today, Kris used the deck to put together a day exploring the Pantheon and the area around the Piazza Navona.

The Piazza Navona reminded me a lot of Times Square. Lots of folks targeting tourists for lots of different things. It was pretty crowded, but the main fountain was worth it. From there, we worked our way over to the Pantheon. Now, keep in mind, we got a really late (for us) start. The crowds were daunting here t say the least. When I saw the line to get in, I was pretty much ready to bag it and head elsewhere. However, we dutifully found the end WAAAAAY at the back of the piazza. And I'm really glad we did. The line here actually moves really quickly and once inside. Oh my! The sunlight streaming in through the top of the dome was amazing!

 

The light had a physical presence to it that's indescribable. It was tough to keep in mind that this is an active church. Something about the round building I think. But periodically they played a SHHHHHH to quiet down the crowds.

Unfortunately, as we entered the structure, I took off my hat and tucked it into the back of my shorts. It should be noted, this was the perfect hat. It was white in a light-weight, quick dry fabric and had a terry cloth liner that was super comfy. You can probably guess by my use of the past tense that at some point during our visit to the Pantheon, I lost my hat. 😭 We retraced our steps from the Pantheon when I realized a short time later that it was gone, but to no avail.

This is vacation, however. There is no room for crying over lost hats! So, on to the next monument. I think my lost hat laid a pall over the rest of the day, however, as every church we went to after the Pantheon was closed. Either for the day (PSA - Labor day is kind of a big deal...) or for siesta (see the late start.) I know Kris was a bit frustrated, but on the plus side, the weather was beautiful (even if the sun was streaming into my eyes due to lack of hat) and the walks were pleasant.

We did get to Cheisa di Sant'Agostino just as they reopened for the afternoon to see the three Caravaggio's there. They're absolutely stunning! And mostly worth all of the pushy people trying to get just the right viewing angle on them. Sharp elbows are a must here!

Also along the way today, we say the Italian White House, the Senate building, and the Supreme Court. It was a government kind of day, it seems. I gotta say, we beat Italy for White Houses, but our Supreme Court doesn't hold a candle to theirs. It's the type of building that would lead gravitas to any decision.

After coming to two more closed churches on our list, we decided to call it an afternoon and head back to the apartment to rest and clean up for dinner. Kris got reservations at Restaurante All'Oro, which currently has one macaron. Kris has a full write-up of the meal on his Facebook page. All in all, it was pretty good, but some of the food was too clever by half. I don't know that I'd go back and they definitely don't get space on the powder room wall, but it was an enjoyable meal. I think the potato/cod tiramisu (really a deconstructed croquette) was my favorite dish. I thought it was odd that they served bread, but had no bread plates. And the check came on a tiny yellow couch.

Tomorrow we have a super early start again and we must be on time. The Vatican awaits! We'll see which one of us is turned into a pillar of salt upon walking thru the doors of the Basilica. If you don't hear from me again, you'll know!