Excavation Continues

Excavation work continues at Pompeii. We found two men at work in one section. The first had a garden rake that he gently scraped over the surface and placed anything he found off to the side for later inspection. A second operated an earth mover which seemed to stroke the earth with the same gentleness.

We saw, behind locked fencing, stacks upon stacks upon stacks of containers of items found through similar activities--I assume fragments and pieces not readily identifiable or unique. Most of the artwork and artifacts uncovered now reside in a museum in Naples, including the casts of the Pompeians who died in the eruptions. Marianne and I saw these in Charlotte as part of a traveling exhibit. They were both fascinating and heartbreaking.

The fifth thing I will miss about Italy is being surrounded by the incredible history. The fourth thing I missed most about home was news, even our Winston-Salem Journal.

The Autogrill!

Mmmmmmmmmmm! The sixth thing I will miss most about Italy--Autogrills.

Found at regular intervals on the superstrade, the AutoGrills offer a consistently high quality selection of fresh sandwiches, made, of course, with hams, salamis and cheeses. We found an overwhelming offering of chocolates at most sites and, in some, a nice hot food line. Why can't we find the same consistent selection along our interstate highways?

As an added plus, the Autgrills included some of the nicest, cleanest bathrooms with reasonable toilet seats in the country!

The Benetton family owns Autogrill. You know, the United Colours of Benetton. Speaking of Benetton, these ubiquitous clothing stores pop up on every street corner, but the inventory appears the same. How do they financially support that kind of presence?

Try, try again

Marianne and I had a much larger appetite for museums and art galleries than the rest of the warriors, so we headed off early our third morning in Rome to see if we could score tickets to the Galleria Borghese which were sold out online. We stood in line and asked a young gentleman dispensing tickets if any were still available for the 9:00 slot. He politely, but unequivocably, told us that the morning slots were just too busy and we should return for the 1:00 entrance.

We headed off to the Galleria store to look at reproductions of what we'd be missing inside. A lot! As the line ended, I decided to go back and ask the young woman dispensing tickets if any were still availalble and we scored! I thanked her and could hear the young man giving her a piece of his mind as we walked away. She didn't seem any more bothered than we did.

The city of Roma nationalized the Borghese Villa and gardens in 1903 and opened them to the public. The grounds include a zoo in addition to walking/biking paths, the house and the aviary, and many liken it to Central Park in New York.

Decoration covers every square inch of the Villa's internal space--floors, walls and ceilings. Faux marble and gilt everywhere. The exhibit, Caravaggio Bacon, juxtaposed the well-known Baroque painter with a modern artist. Interesting work, if not my taste.

Marianne and I found the sculptures by Bernini the most wonderful of all. Pluto & Proserpina, Apollo & Daphne, David, and Aeneas, Anchises & Ascanius. The facial expressions illuminated these well-known stories. The texture of the skin bringing these marble recreations as close to real life as one could imagine. We especially fell in love with Tre-A and the poignant story of Aenes carrying his father to safety.

Roman Ruins

We spent the afternoon at the Forum and Pallatine Hill in ancient Roma. We rented the audio tour. Again. Not any clearer this time. Some people never learn.

Something Old, Something New

All over Italy, the old--very, very old--and the new comfortably sit side by side. In Ancient Roma, too, where they built this "new" church of San Lorenzo in Miranda inside the shell of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. Christians recycled pagan holidays, so why not their temples?

Democracy in Action

Jill and I visited the Coliseo that afternoon since the others went while we were in Pompeii. While there, we heard a voice coming through, we thought, a bullhorn. We looked through the outer wall and saw a protest getting underway. Democracy in action outside a spot where democracy was not.

The predominant message was anti-racism, but we think the subtext was pro-legalizing immigrants. The marchers had all the roads blocked, so Jill and I had to hoof it back to our hotel, past the lines of riot carabinieri.

Migliori Gelato

Marianne determined before we set out for Italy to have at least one gelato everyday. If you're gonna dream, dream big! We'd heard that we would find the best gelato in Rome at a small gelateria near the Vatican. Off we went and we found a delightful family-owned restaurant along the way-- Terno Secco--where we enjoyed another favorite meal.

And we did find the gelateria, although I can't remember the name, and it was good! Not willing to concede the gelato quest yet, though, because we heard Florence has the migliori gelato in Italy!

On the Road Again

Today we rented a "car" and headed off to Siena. This 9-seater provided plenty of interior space for our bodies and baggage. BUT, the roads through Tuscany did not always provide plenty of space for our carriage.

Orvieto

The only thing I wanted to buy while in Italy was pottery and Orvieto offers the best quality and selection, so we stopped there as we drove through Umbria on the way to Siena. What a charming town!

We enjoyed another superior meal at La Palomba. The owner welcomed us, sitting us at a cozy table near the door. While we ate, the owner turned away several others since we had apparently gotten the last unreserved table for lunch. Clearly a favorite among locals, four generations of one family occupied the table next to us and a group of twenty-somethings celebrating an engagement took up the rest of the small room.

After lunch, we browsed the ceremache shops and found just what we wanted at Fravolini Oggetti d'arte. So many beautiful patterns, all handpainted and signed. Marianne, Jill and I all purchased presents for family and ourselves there!

Another thing I missed

This pizzeria in Orvieto reminded me of the fifth thing I missed about home. And I missed the rest of my family.

Up, Up, Up Again

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We stayed at the Hotel Antica Torre in Siena. My sleeping cubbie sat at the very tippy top of this 16th century building. The climb up required stamina. Once there, however, I could lay on my bed, open the shutters and look over the rooftops of Siena to the Tuscan hills.

Looking down, down, down the endless steps from my room.

I had to take care when leaving my room because the "landing" only covered half-of the doorway.

Fluffy Pillows

The sixth thing I missed about home. I slept comfortably in all of my beds, but wished for just a little more heft to the flattish pillows.

San Gimignano

On our first morning in Tuscany, we headed north from Siena to San Gimignano to try the Vernaccia white wine. We arrived to find market day in full swing and crowds of people already there. Marianne and I happily purchased packages of warm, stripped socks in purple/black, magenta/black and grey/black combinations. They're pretty. No, really! Much better than freezing our feet off.

While San Gimignano contains many lovely spots, the crowds made staying there unappealing, so we purchased our second picnic lunch and drove into the Chianti region.

A flock of starlings danced overhead, dense and undulating, as we left San Gimignano. (Of course, I missed most of it in my picture.) A group with plans to bring all birds mentioned in Shakespeare's writings to America brought the first starlings and the birds now present a hazard.

Picnics and Olives

Jill found herself enthralled by olives on our trip, and we found olive trees everywhere. On the way into the Chianti region we stopped and ate our picnic lunch among the olive trees...and the raindrops.

Rock Gut Whiskey...errrr....Wine

This brings up the seventh thing I will miss about Italy. Readily available, reasonably priced wine. Friends told us before we went to always order the house wine and that generally turned out to be a good thing. But not so much at one trattoria where the owner made the wine. Maybe that's what they use bathtubs for.

I'm so tired of these *%#@ clothes!

The weather suddenly turned cold just after we arrived in Italy. Luckily, I threw in a warmer sweater when I packed for the trip, and I probably wore that darn thing 10 out of the 14 days in Italy. And a scarf, a very "in" fashion accessory in Italy, thank goodness. And my yellow raincoat. Honestly, not a good look and I couldn't wait to put them out of sight. Marianne felt the same about her blue coat.

The seventh thing I missed about home was my closet, as pitiful as that sounds.

Reminded me of the trip to Hawaii Charlie and I took with friends in the early months of my pregnancy with Michael. I was soooooo sick and the sweet, flowery smell of Maui made it all worse. When I got home, I gave those clothes away because just looking at them brought back the nausea. Marianne got one watermelon sweater I particularly loved...before Maui!

Chianti

We stopped at two wineries. One very small family-owned and one large, family-owned. At the first, Poggerino, the gentleman who greeted us shocked us when he shared that he's from New York, USA. He married an Italian woman and has lived in this small town for the last twenty years. He only speaks Italian at home, but his English is still excellent. He provided an interesting background on Chianti, made largely with San Giovese grapes from vines of different ages and then blended with other grapes available, at the discretion of the winery.

We also stopped at Barone Ricasoli, originators of Chianti Classico.

Cane e Gatto

We enjoyed another favorite meal at this small restaurant in Siena. Paolo and Sonia cook while their daughter Carlotta serves. Dinner lasted three delightful hours and the travelers bemoaned our fifteen minute weeknight dinners at home. Why can't every meal be this relaxing? Our menu:
Prosecco Bellussi (sparkling wine)
Antipasti-bruschettta, chickent pate, zuccini & cheese quiche, pecorino with chestnut honey
Chickpea soup
Spinich and cheese ravioli served with porccini mushroom and pomodoro sauce
Grilled fillet with truffle sauce
Chicken orange
Bow e meow potatoes
Insalata misto with olive oil & lemon
Strawberries with cream
Tiramisu

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

(If you see Marianne, ask her about the picture hanging on the wall in front of her :D )

Renaissance

Amazing to think of the brilliance represented in Firenze during the 15th century Renaissance and largely underwritten by Lorenzo "the magnificent" de Medici whose father formed the Medici bank. (See, some bankers use their "ill-gotten gains" for good!) Lorenzo sponsored Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Botacelli among others. Here's the wall of the kitchen garden in the Medici Palazzo where they gathered to share ideas.

Firenze

We rode the rapida bus from Siena to Firenze (Florence) for the day. On my next trip to Italy, I will stay in the city and spend more time there. We toured the Uffizi and Academie Museos in one day and found ourselves overwhelmed!

Even outside the galleries, at the Palazzo Vecchio, famous statues line the loggia.

The artwork highlighted the evolution of perspective and proportion from Medieval to Rennaisance painting, although both earlier and later pieces are included. So many pieces of art that I studied in Art History right before my eyes.

Michaelangelo's David in the Acadmie took my breath away. So different in person than in pictures, especially David's expression. Michaelangelo created David to be perfectly proportioned when viewed from a certain distance and angle. As we moved closer, proportions shifted with David's hands and head now appearing much larger.

More spectacular sights--the Duomo of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiori and Giotti's tower. Intricate carvings and inlaid marble designs fully decorate the exterior facades of these buildings and the baptistery.