Italy Day 0

Arrived at Pearson with Nancy, Nancy, Nancy and Dave. I was hoping for a discount in First Class – no go. Still think $1100 is worth a good night’s sleep on an overnighter.

Italy Day 1

Arrived in Roma with all our luggage – woo hoo. Off to the car rental place to pick up our vehicle, a nine passenger van (think mini bus). After a 45 minute wait (it was molto busy) we got the keys. We wandered the parking garage, found the van, stowed the luggage, primed the Garmin (gps) and settled in. Patti riding shotgun and navigating, Nancy Biondi and Rossi sitting in the second row and Nancy Ramatti stretched out in the first class pod seat at the back. We started to go. Ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk. It would seem the van barely fits the parking garage. Our antennae hit every support beam. It was slow going plus Dave needed a few turns to figure out the turning radius (It’s not much).Buying the Italy map for the Garmin was a blessing! It got us out of the airport and on the Autostrade without any mishaps. Directions to Cerchio were clear, in Cerchio not so much. We found the house but couldn’t stop on the narrow street. We continued up (everything is a necessary one way narrow street). We got to the top of the town (did I mention Cerchio is built UP a mountain) and made an inaccurate turn but continued anyway. As we went down the street we realized that it was actually really wide steps. We ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunked down the street. This woke up sleeping first class pod Nancy and made the rest of us squeal then laugh hysterically.

We stopped at the local piazza and went into the local bar (bathroom and vino) while Dave went to the B&B. He made a wrong turn and couldn’t find Via Umberto. He made the brave decision to ask. Unfortunately between his Italian and their English he was directed to a B&B. He knocked on the door. The owner was not expecting us or ready – but said she could be by 6 o’clock. He came back with the news. After a little probing (I know my guy) we concluded he was at the wrong place entirely and pressured some poor woman to clean and prep 3 or 4 bedrooms. We scanned the bar for likely English speakers. The bartender spoke some, but bar patron, Walter’s English was better. They all knew Liana and Francesco our host. They contacted Francesco (who was visiting his mother) and we planned to meet in the next few minutes. We walked over, met Francesco and Sienna, his daughter. He showed us our rooms, we figured out who was where – basically Dave and patti get the double bed on the top floor and the 3 Nancys share a bedroom on the second floor. Francesco was in his room and Sienna was in hers.

After settling in we went on a brief tour with Sienna as our guide. We found the grocery store, the pastry shop, the pizza place and visited two churches. We revisited our car and stair mishap and took a re-enactment photo. We made plans for dinner with Francesco’s help. There is no way anywhere that any kitchen is cooking dinner before 8 pm. We went back to the B&B for a quick nap (or maybe more vino…).

The Re-enactment of our drive down the steps upon arrival to Cerchio.

At 8 pm we went out for dinner. Francesco had ordered everything, spiedini, lamb chops, fries, salads and vino vino vino. Things got fuzzy around the salad course. Out came limoncello, grappa, and dessert. Some were ready to continue but cooler less drunk (not much tho) heads prevailed. Dave and Nancy Biondi held each other up – it was quite cute to watch. Nancy Ramatti held up Nancy Rossi. I walked along with Sienna. We got home – some crazy nameless person (and it wasn’t Dave) decided to open the duty free scotch. I went to bed. Nancy Rossi was ready to go out for more good times (apparently Francesco and Sienna stay out to well past midnight) but Nancy Ramatti put down her foot and hustled off the two Nancys to bed.

It was not a good night and it was an even worse morning. But that’s another day.

Italy Day 2

So I woke relatively ok. I drank a lot. More than I would normally. A little edgy but moving. Dave was waaaaay slower. We both got up showered and decided to zip out and buy coffee, milk, eggs for breakfast. We left all the Nancys asleep. Around 11, I finally went into their room to mention that perhaps they should get up soon or they would never quite acclimatize to Italy time. Nancy RA and Nancy RO did get up – Nancy B was a definite no go.As to the previous evening, Nancy RA and I were feeling ok and remembered everything. Nancy RO and Dave do not remember walking home, did not remember the limoncello nor how they got into bed (same to be said for Nancy B when she did get up).

We took those slow movin’ asses out for fresh air and a walk. Somewhat reconstituted we were livening up. Nancy B was still a little under the weather. We found out that there was a mountain hike at the end of the town with the Stations of the Cross and a small chapel. Nancy RA and patti opted out. The really hung-over Dave and Nancy RO went. They survived the ‘stroll’ and came back sweaty, but fully hydrated. They drank a couple of litres of water while hiking. They tried to continue up, pass the 1st chapel to the 2nd chapel. That was a definite ‘not-so-much’ today.

While they were out Nancy B surfaced. Slow but ok-ish.

We relaxed for the rest of the day. We went for dinner at a local restro-pizza place outside of Cerchio. Some were up for a glass of wine – most said no. The food was fantastic. Nancys RA and RO had veal with arugula. Nancy B had beautiful ravioli stuffed with spinach and covered in a mushroom sauce. Dave and patti – not making it clear to our Italian speaking server were served a thin crust pizza each. Too much. The insalata was awesome. The grilled veggies to die for. The local liqueur not so much. Luckily our server/owner only let us try one glass between us – an all-around yuck! Nancy B didn’t even smell it. Afterword he brought us an amazing selection of dolce (desserts) – panna cotta, pastry with custard, chocolate cakes. It was definitely time to go. Happily in bed well before 11. Our host Francesco was out.

Day 3

Off to Villa Borghese in Roma, a 1 ½ hour drive or so. Once again Garmin Italia was fantastico!! Arrived at the parcheggio with no problems. Found the Villa – panicked. I forgot the reservation forms back at the B&B. The ticket woman was not impressed and would not help. She had to have the number and could not look it up by name. Felt bad bad bad. I tried using my iPhone to get onto my bell account to look in old folders. Could not find it anywhere. Meanwhile Dave and Nancy RO were trying to find out if I emailed her the information using the volunteers’ computer. That was also not working. Eventually one of the volunteers took pity on Dave and searched for the reservation under our name. After first searching under Beckett – realized that I booked under Randazzo-Beckett. YEAH we got our number – got our tickets. All of us HIGHLY recommend when in Roma – visit the Villa Borghese. It was built by Cardinal Scipione Borghese around 1600 to showcase his collection. It is filled with incredible Bernini sculptures, Caravaggio paintings, antique sculptures and on and on. Bellissimo.

After a lovely visit – off to the Spanish Steps and other sites in that part of Roma. There’s an underground passage from the Villa to the Steps. You avoid all the crazy traffic and intense heat. Just a quick look at the SS – we needed to eat first. We had a lovely simple lunch at an outside café. Off to find the Fontana di Trevi. It took a little doing (no maps and the Garmin is not a great walking guide) and we finally opted to use some of patti’s data on her iPhone. Awesome!

Not so awesome – the fountain is pretty much scaffolded and under extensive repair. Necessary but sad for us. We were able to see some of the figures. Now it was time to try and get back to the Spanish Steps. We tried to back track – hahaha. First the streets are crazy – crazy direction, crazy busy and crazy crazy intersections. Secondly the Nancys RO and RA kept going into shops (and Dave too – he is a shopaholic). Finally Nancy B and patti found a little cantina and got some wine. Eventually we all got to one place (where the wine was natch) and after a brief rest started off again. Repeat steps 1 and 2. At some point we made it back to the Spanish Steps, climbed, took pictures and took off back through the underground passage to our car – load the Garmin and away we go.

Off course there is now commuter traffic. No worries. Heavy traffic but we got out of the city without getting lost. Off to Avezzano for dinner. Using the Garmin we found some restaurants and headed that way. It was time to leave the Autostrade and pay the toll. Dave pulled up to the automatic machine. He kept putting in the ticket and it was rejected over and over again. The toll guy in the next booth kept talking at us through the speaker and of course language was an issue. Dave backed up and pulled into his booth. Dave gave him the ticket and the guy looked at it – looked at Dave and said ‘no good – parking ticket’. We laughed and laughed and the guy laughed too. Got the right ticket and off we went.Garmin failed us. The first restaurant didn’t exist. The second – ewww. Plugged in our home address – we decided to go back to the restaurant of the previous evening. The Garmin tried to make us turn on a one way street going the wrong way and then wanted us to make a sharp hair-pin turn to the right. Obviously it didn’t know we were driving a tank. We eventually got back to the Autostrade and to Cerchio and to our new favourite local-ish place. Nancy RA and I had spiedini – beef skewers. Nancy RO and Dave had pappradelle with cinghale ragu (wild boar). Nancy B had the veal dish. We had an incredible pomodori salad (that’s what tomatoes are supposed to taste like). For dessert I had the panna cotta – which is soooo good. Dave, Nancy B and Nancy RA had the tiramisu. So… judging by their faces it was pretty orgasmic. Nancy RA had a second helping. My little taste – it was impressive. Off to home and one more glass of vino and then bed.

Day 4

Hopefully a blessed relaxing day in Cerchio.

Started that way.Leisurely breakfast, quiet time reading, more reading, and more reading. Then small panic attack because I thought I forgot the ticket form and reservation for our Vatican tour on Friday. Frantic texts to Jim to have him go to our house, open my mail and find the reservations and then forward them. Frantic texting… iPhone keyboards are tiny. Finally send and wait – of course it’s 2 in the morning in Hamilton. Dave eventually points out that I do have the reservations – I’m just blind or oblivious or just tired – I don’t know. Quick never mind email to Jim.

Then it was off for a hike in the mountains looking at the Stations of the Cross and ending at Chapel number 1. This is not a stroll. It was paved but was also steep and challenging. I can’t imagine little nonnas’ walking up this hill on Good Friday.

At the top we visited the Chiusa di S.S Trinita. It’s small but has an outdoor alter for mass. We went to the picnic area and had a wonderful lunch of local prosciutto and cheeses, with Cerignole olives and apples and peaches for dessert. It took a while but I finally figured out the timer on the new camera and got a picture of us enjoying our lunch.

Picnic half-way up the mountain at Cerchio

Nancy RO and Dave wanted to continue further up the mountain – the rest of us were pretty sure we didn’t want to. So off they went up and off we went down. Down is great – for the most part. I thought my knees were going to scream themselves right off my legs. We practiced our John Cleese silly walk, leaning waaaaay back as went down the hill. Worked pretty good. We were near the bottom and of course there is a short steep pitch back up to the road. We made it. None of our hearts exploded. Nancy B and RA and I decided to grab some milk before the shop closed so we could have a coffee. Headed home to find we were locked out. The gate to the property is over six feet tall and we couldn’t get over. Back to the piazza for coffee and wait for Dave and Nancy RO (not that they had keys).

When they showed up – we tried to figure out how to contact Francesco as none of us brought our phones with us. Luckily the bartender knows him and his cell number (seems lots of people know him). He let us in and off he went. We read some more and I started writing (had a lot to catch up on). Some of us even napped.Of course now comes the best part of the day – dinner. We actually dressed up and drove into Avezzano the neighbouring town/city. It is actually quite large with numerous restaurants (that are not just pizzerias). Our first choice, Osteria by Corrado, was hosting a scotch and cigar night. Too bad it looked wonderful. Even tho’ some were interested in the scotch, none of us wanted cigars. Found another restaurant nearby. It wasn’t open till 7:30 so we went to a local wine bar and sat in the patio. Lovely wine and great snacks (all the bars seem to serve free snacks).

7:30 rolled around and we went to (sorry miss placed the name). The waitress spoke no English but was incredibly patient with us. They did have menus translated into English – but they weren’t well translated. We figured it out.We shared an incredible porcini soup – best I’ve ever had. There was salads, buffalo mozz, bifstek, pastas and salmon. I had the Abruzzo region traditional pasta, chitarra, so named because it looks like guitar strings. Too much food! But so very good. Off to home, a glass of vino for some and aqua naturalle for others. Then off to bed.

Day 5

A tough morning. We had to be up between 6 – 6:30, to be ready to get on the road by 8. (5 people 1 shower). We were on our way to the Vatican for a guided tour.Did I mention that I love our Garmin? Truly it gets us in and out of Roma and through crazy traffic.We get close to the tour office – but parking is crazy. The women quickly jump out of the van and Dave looked for a parking spot. The three Nancys stop for a cappuccino and bagno break. Patti runs to the tour office to pick up the tix. Dave shows up – we meet our guide Angelo and get our headsets for the tour. We highly recommend pre-booking the tour. There is a two hour line up to get into the museum. The pre-book bypasses that.

Angelo, our guide, was born in Roma and lived there all his life. He spent a few years in California getting a degree in Art History and Acting. His mother is from California, his father from Roma. He was extremely personable and knowledgeable on the history of the Vatican collection with a particular love of Michelangelo. He is one of 25 people who have been given a pass card to see the entire collection and historical archives. He lives and breathes love of Vatican City and its history.

He was able to make us forget the massive crowd of people surrounding us and focus on what was interesting and important. He would find a little niche, fit us in, and talk, all the while ensuring that we had an unobstructed view. This is my second tour of the collection. Naturally the first was memorable – but I couldn’t tell you if our guide was male or female the last time we were here. He/she were that uninteresting.

The only modern art in the entire Vatican collection.

The ancient Greek statue that Michelangelo based all his figures on in the Sistine Chapel.

When we got to the Sistine Chapel he reminded us, no… insisted that we just absorb and think about the history of this incredible work. Many people want to take pictures in the Chapel which is forbidden. The Vatican guards will actually take your camera and destroy your SIM card. The urge to take photos can be amazing. But as our guide told us – what would be the point – your photos would not do it justice. So just breathe it all in. I was able to completely lose myself and did not notice anyone around me.

Our tour was complete. Now we had free time to explore St. Peter’s Cathedral. Angelo offered a short 30 minute tour for an additional 10 euros. Nancy B, Nancy RO and I opted for the guided tour. Nancy RA and Dave opted out – but did go visit the crypt below the Cathedral.I had completely forgotten how stunning and overwhelming the Cathedral is. There are no words to describe the beauty and complexity of its design. That’s it. That’s all. Come to Roma.We said our goodbyes to Angelo (I did forget to mention that he was pretty nice eye-candy too) and went off for lunch.Found a great restaurant not too far away. As per usual, vino, aqua and bierre (further to be described as VAB) and pomodori insalata, vitello, pasta, carpaccio… OMG I need to walk more!!!

A hot hike to our toaster, crank up the air, program the Garmin and off we go!! Love that thing. Out of Roma in no time on our way home. Got home, more vino, more aqua – chilled out a bit.

Around 8-ish we went to the piazza where they were setting up for a concert. The band played ABBA and tons of traditional Italian music. More VAB, some snacks, porchetta, sausage, bread and some dancing. One set was a monologue by some Italian guy – with musical impersonations. Maybe he was good, some of the older folks were listening – but not so much for us. I thought Nancy B was going to go on stage and drag him off. Around 11 Nancy RA and I went home. The other two Nancys and Dave stayed for the last set and danced and drank (I think -- I’ve only heard second hand).Tho’ this am (Day 6) when we went to get some fresh bread the baker smiled and said to Dave and I something about ‘ballare’ which is dancing in Italian.

Day 6

We woke up to the sound of a marching band. They wandered all the streets. It was great (well I thought so). I should of mentioned earlier, September 6, 7, and 8th, is the Festival of the Madonna dei Mille Grazie. A three day festival celebrating the miracles that were performed at the local church 100’s of years ago. The town is lit up from one end to the other. I promise to take pictures on Sunday night. There are continual processions of the Madonna throughout the town.

Another beautiful and relaxing day in Cerchio.

We also found Wi-Fi!! We truly relaxed and did not do much.In the evening Nancy RA and RO went to bed early. Dave, Nancy B and I stayed out and watched the mega procession of the Madonna. Then with Sienna and Francesco, we quickly went up the hill to the top piazza with a 100 other people. Eventually joined by the rest of the procession we watched the most amazing fireworks we have ever seen in our lives. Seriously! I’ve not seen anything like it before. We were barely 100 feet from the firework cannons. It was ear-splitting, spectacular, and completely overwhelming. We found out later that they actually have a firework factory further up the mountain. The fireworks and display were designed and created here. AMAZING.

Festival lights in Cerchio in the piazza. The bandshell was built in an afternoon.

We topped off the evening with a glass of vino – then it was off to bed. Our hosts as per usual were out till 2 am.

Day 7

Marching band again. Seems it’s a tradition for the three days of the festival. Leisurely breakfast and then Dave and Nancy RA went in search of a Laundromat, patti Nancy RO and Sienna went to see Pegasus the local horse and Nancy B stayed home to read.

Pegasus was there in the run-in shed. He didn’t want to come out to visit. So we went on a walk. We took a new route and suddenly Sienna realized we were near her Nonna’s house. She went up to see if Nonna would mind a couple of visitors. She welcomed us in for cookies and aqua. She was great. Not one word of English. Sienna translated however I held my own trying to talk about kids and marriage and visiting Canada (she went 3 times, once for her son’s marriage, once for her granddaughter’s birth and once for a visit). She brought out Francesco and Lianna’s wedding album – very beautiful and looked pretty big!

Off we went after the visit to our casa. Nancy B was ready to go to the bar/café for cappuccino and wifi. We got caught up on all our correspondence, watched some funny videos, relaxed. Close to 1 or so (I’m never really sure of the time) we started back. We were stopped tho’ by another procession of the Madonna. Everyone was dressed up (it was Sunday!) women in stilettos and all walking on the cobblestones. As the procession ended we saw Nancy and Dave who were stuck behind the procession after parking the car and carrying all the groceries.

No luck with finding a Laundromat – they went to a couple of towns. So they bought soap and we washed our essentials in the sink and hung them on the clothesline (no pix!). I made some pasta with left over prosciutto, egg, milk and stuff (quick job on a carbonara sauce). Pretty damn good if I say so myself!! After lunch we went back to the café/bar for more cappuccino and wifi. Moved across to the other bar for mojitos and then it POURED rain. Rain, rain and more rain. Nancy RA and Dave ran back to bring in our laundry – the rest of us stood under the patio umbrella waiting for it to stop. We were there for 2 mojitos. I practised Italian words for rain, lightening, thunder – meanwhile an Italian gentleman standing under the umbrella with us just listened. It wasn’t until the rain stopped that we realized he spoke English….. I don’t think we said anything impolitic…Rain stopped, back to the casa for some good old fashion Canadian Euchre…Nancy RO and I could not win one match!! Nancy RA and Dave – must uncomfortable with all those horseshoes up those places we shall not name!

Dinner time was coming up – I grabbed the camera to make sure I got photos of the lit up town at night. Lots of pix. We went to the local pizzeria and ordered 5 different kinds of slices to taste and share and some baccala (dried cod, reconstituted and then deep fried in batter). Yummy!Nancy B went to bed – the rest of us went to the piazza to listen to the concert and have some birra and mojitos (I know not very Italian – but this bartender!!!). There was some fantastic opera – two men and two women. Bellissimo!I eventually went home while the two Nancys and Dave stayed for another drink. Dave got the band to play happy birthday to Nancy RO. Her birthday is on Monday. Buon Notte.

Day 8

The last day of the Festival. Woke up to a marching band…Had a quick breakfast – wished Nancy RO Happy Birthday!! Dave and I had ordered a birthday cake the first day we were here and got ready to go get it. Nancy was already for a walk – she’s a little like a puppy that way – ‘walksies…’ We said no-go – we were on an errand and she couldn’t come with us. Went with Nancy B, got the cake – it was beautiful! Back home, cake in fridge, some more coffee and then decided to check out the macelleria (butcher shop) for dinner. Walksies!! This time we let her come with us. It was a fantastic butchers – he sold everything. We bought some veal, eggs, prosciutto and dried sausage (pepperoni-like). I’m making a birthday dinner.

The Toaster or Tank... which ever you prefer...

Today we decided to go for a brief drive in the area. We invited Sienna to join us. At first Francesco said she couldn’t go. I don’t think he realized we invited her and probably thought perhaps she was inviting herself. Once it was clear it was our invitation everything was okay.

Dave and Patti visiting the observatory.

Off we went driving UP past Cerchio to Aielli, the neighbouring town. It’s amazing how a view changes by a few hundred feet (perhaps a thousand?). Aielli has a beautiful lookout where we could see all of Cerchio from above and more of the valley below that. They have a large tower and observatory – but it was Monday and it was closed.Back to the toaster – we’re driving to Celano – where there is a magnificently restored castle. We zigzagged down a different road. This is an Italian road that I remember from almost 40 years ago – not the Autostrade, smooth, straight and built through the mountains. A little scary and a little nauseating.In Celano we discovered that – ‘hey it’s Monday, the museums are closed’. So no castle visit today. Instead we found a beautiful restaurant with a patio hanging over a cliff and a view of everywhere. GREAT restaurant – Cittadella – if you are ever in Celano.

Quick visit to the bar for cappuccino and wifi. Some stayed at the bar, some of us went home for a nap. Right after our nap we decided to have birthday cake. Sienna’s birthday is in September as well and we wanted to make sure we could celebrate together. OMG!! I’m not a big cake fan. This cake was unbelievable!After the cake I started dinner. I made a veal ragu to serve over egg noodles, Sicilia orange and fennel salad and fried eggplant. Francesco dropped by while the ragu was simmering. He gave me this look like I couldn’t possibly know how to cook Italian. ‘Smells good – eh. How’s it taste?’ Two spoons later – grudging nod –‘it’s good.’

We ate on the terrace and enjoyed the night.

After dinner – off to the piazza for a concert by ‘Lui e degli amici del Re’. Not sure but I think it was an Italian cover band – or maybe a band that pays homage to Elvis (2 songs). Whatever it was everyone in the piazza was singing along.

We waited till midnight for the lottery draw. Big disappointment – none of us won – so no new iPad, Mac Air or new panda car. Time for bed. Ciao.

Day 9

Spiaggia, spiaggia, spiaggia (BEACH day) in Pescara. A different direction in the toaster, Francesco and Sienna joining us and off to the beach we go.

The Pescara beach goes on for MILES. We booked our large umbrella and chairs and settled in. Some read, some swam, some cooked their skins, and we all relaxed. Really there’s not much to report – it was the beach. Sunny and Warm and Wet. A few people selling trinkets and junk – a ‘no grazie’ and they moved on.

We left around five. The Garmin wanted us to go one way but Francesco new a better way – took longer – but hey – what the hell. I thought if it got us out of Rome…Home around 7 pm, quick showers for some and off for vino and wifi. After a glass or two (thank you Claudio for the round) back to our local pizza place for some pizza and beer for Dave. Another round of euchre, then off to bed!!

Day 10

Another early-ish start. We’re off to Roma to have a private guided tour of the Monti area just outside of the Forum and Coliseum. Elizabeth Minchelli is writer of art and design books and also has a blog about eating in Italy. Dave discovered her tour on Tripadvisor. It was in one of the top 50 things to do in Rome.

Monti is the neighbourhood that Elizabeth and her husband live in. It is the very first neighbourhood of Rome. If you were not of patrician heritage you lived here. It was also the place where all the shops were… meat, bread, people who fix things, bars and brothels. Rome continued to develop in this way with many neighbourhoods. Everything you need was where you lived.

With the change from the lira to the euro – everything began to change in Italy. Larger supermercato’s came in and smaller family butchers, grocers etc. began to close. This happened in Monti as well. There are still some shops – the local butcher is still there. Elizabeth would go everyday – talk to him – and then decide what to buy for dinner. They would discuss recipes and ideas on how to cook what she bought. There are still a few repair shops left as well. It isn’t all bad though. New businesses are developing. Younger people are creating unique one-of-kind of shops that sell special sandwiches where the bread is baked on site. Different types of bread for the different types of sandwiches. Restaurants with open kitchens where you can watch the cooks. Organic shops where you can buy produce, eat organic food, drink organic wine (which was really good!) and eat artisanal cheeses. Mini theatres (approx. 50 seats) where movies or live music is played and you can buy drinks at the bar. So it is sad that some of the old ways have stopped – but some of the new things are really exciting to see and visit.

We topped our tour with a visit to Elizabeth’s favourite restaurant. The chef/owner makes traditional dishes but adds a little twist. He uses really good ingredients and fresh pasta. We had a traditional bread salad with his fresh mozzarella on top – made buratta style with butter and cream. He made us a sampler plate of three pastas (I wish more restaurants would do this) ravioli stuffed with ricotta and covered in a parsley and pistachio pesto, linguine with ham, parm and pasta water and a curly pasta with truffle sauce. It was hard to decide what to end with and what would be the last flavour in your mouth.

We walked off a little of the dinner and visited the local church, Maria dei Monti. This is the church where all the weddings, baptisms and funerals are held for local Romans. Up until recently this church was never opened to the public. They have a new priest and I think Papa Francesco has started a wave of openness. We finished our tour with a gelato at a unique place that makes flavours like dark chocolate and tobacco (amazing) or cardamom plus all the usual flavours. We said our good byes to Elizabeth after almost 4 hours of being together.

The cobble stones listing the names of the Jewish family that was detained and executed during the 2nd WW.

Along our walk we discovered some amazing public art by a German artist. He researched Jewish families that lived in Rome during the WW2. For example one house in the Monti area had about 2 dozen family members. They were rounded up by the Nazi. Some were executed immediately, many were sent to the concentration camps. The artist (so sorry don’t know his/her name) engraved each family member’s name on a bronze brick with their birthdate, arrest date, concentration camp and death. He then replaced the black cobble stones in front of the home with these new bricks. An amazing and thoughtful testament to the lives and deaths of these families.

Off to the Coliseum. Been there – done that – but no one else had. There was awe and amazement all around – but it was too bloody hot for me. I had to find shade – I was developing my usual sun allergy bumps, headaches and nausea. Yeah for me!

Garmined our way out of Rome – love that thing – and headed home for an early night. Tho’ I did try a ‘spritz’ at our local wifi bar (Elizabeth’s suggestion) – a combination of some type of bitters, Prosecco, aqua frizzante and a slice of orange. Ciao ciao.

Day 11 & 12

This will be my last post on Italia. I’m leaving this morning to go to Province for a much needed yoga retreat.

On day 11 we took it easy. Around 11 am we drove to L’aquila, a beautiful city north and higher than Cerchio. This once vibrant University City is suffering. Five years ago it was devastated by an earthquake. They are still recovering. There are scaffolds, cranes and construction everywhere. Dozens and dozens of cranes. Still beautiful.

We visited the Novantanove Cannelle. A fountain with 99 fountain heads spewing water. In the old days women would come here and do laundry. Amazingly it was not damaged. We went to the nearby Hotel Novantanove Cannelle and had one of the best lunches during our entire vacation. It was the chef’s tasting menu. Course after course after course. The owner’s daughter was our server, Massimiliana Ippolito. She hopes to visit Canada some day for experience in our hotel and dining establishments. We shared emails and I wrote down details about the Rotary Group Study Exchange… we’ll see.

Back home, Nancy B, Dave and I went for a walk, the other Nancys to the bar. While on our walk we met Enrico, a friend of Francesco’s. He was outside his brother’s home with his parents. Enrico lived in Montreal for 6 years and then came back to Italy. They invited us in. The house belonged to their parents before and they sold it to one of their sons. Enrico’s father’s wine collection is AMAZING!!! Well over 100 bottles of Amarone, Barolo, local vineyards and on and on. Nancy B was excited to see a bottle from the same year she was born (you figure it out). We talked, drank and had a lovely visit. We were discussing children and when they found out our daughter had a farm with 80 acres – the first question out of the mom’s mouth was – ‘is she married?. Farms here are very small.

Off to the bar – a few drinks and back home to bed.The next morning was an early start – and we were off to Pompei.

It is an overwhelming site and would take days to truly appreciate it. The bodies huddled with their children is enough to make you cry. The remaining foundations and partially restored buildings are awe inspiring. Definitely need to go back.

The bar before we went down the scary f******* road.

After about 3 ½ hours it was time to find the car and make a trip to the Amalfi coast. It is beautiful – but not my cup of tea. Although it is amazing to see where these homes and businesses are built into the sides of cliffs, the drive there is a frightening – switch back after switch back – narrow (had to back up once to let a full sized bus through) and for me a little nauseating. It’s very touristy and I could not imagine being anywhere near there in the height of tourist season. I think, for me, a smaller car would feel safer than driving an oversized tank.

After a long drive back – I fell into bed and slept like the dead.

Ciao for now – see you back in Canada. The computer is staying with Dave.

A Trip to Italy with My Husband and Three Nancys September 2014