Here we are, off again on our yearly Fall travel program. This year, 2012, unlike previous years, we will be spending two weeks in Italy. And then six weeks in our beloved Paris. This blog that you are now reading will be only about the Italian weeks. A second one will cover the remaining Parisian time. You will receive the address of the Paris blog shortly. That is, when we get to Paris.
We left home on Wednesday in the company of two good friends, Janet and Carl. We had spent some time before with them in Paris several years ago, and found them to be good travelling companions. We flew out of Newark on Open Skies, an all business class flight. The seats were very comfortable with lots of leg room. The food was mediocre at best. The last time we took this flight, the food was very good. The company was sold to Brit Air some time ago and I guess there was a change in operational procedures. The flight itself was good. We did leave an hour or so late, but made up all but fifteen minutes of the lost time. We landed in Orly Airport, took the shuttle bus to Charles de Gaulle Airport where we took an Air France flight to Rome. All went well and we arrived in Rome at our hotel about five. It is called the Hotel Portoghesi. Our room is small, but clean and comfortable.
Our hotel was well situated near the Piazza Navona. The first evening we went out for a short walk to explore the neighborhood, have a drink at a café/pizzeria on the piazza Sant’Apollinaire and then dinner at the Pistoia Ristorante nearby. Back to the hotel for a well-deserved sleep.
Friday, August 31
Today, in the late morning we explored the Piazza Navona and settled in for some lunch at a pizzeria on the piazza just before a heavy rain storm. The weather had cleared just before we were ready to leave and we had good weather the rest of the afternoon. We then headed for the Pantheon where we spent ½ hour exploring the interior along with hundreds of others. This was conceived in 27 BC as a temple and converted into a church in the 7th century. It has a magnificent ancient arched dome, and contains the tombs of a number of Italian kings. We wended our way back to the hotel via many little side streets. In the evening we spent 2 1/2 hours in the pizzeria on the Piazza Sant’Apollinaire with our friends, first over drinks, then a small pizza, and finally shared salads.
Saturday, Sept 1
After a lazy morning, we went for our walk and stopped at a pizzeria for bit of lunch. Two cokes cost more than the small pizza. Still, the pizza was good and served the purpose. We continued our walk toward the Fontana di Trevi. Along the way we passed by several large government buildings, one being the Palazzo Montecitorio. All of the government buildings have police contingencies around them. No photos of them since they don’t care to have their pictures taken. We continued on to the Trevi Fountain and I think most of the tourists in Rome must have been there. In addition to the area around the fountains, the street was filled with people.
The fountains are certainly impressive. You can see them here. After admiring the fountains, we went into a church that was located on the square. Not as impressive as most of the others. Not as well-maintained.After, we walked through one of the indoor galleries, not unlike the passageways of Paris in concept.. It had a number of chic stores and was shiny and modern. We enjoyed our walk. We met our friends at 6 pm and went off to the Pizza Ciro for a second evening. We had drinks and talked about our respected afternoons. About 7:30 we ordered dinner. We had decided to have the house specialty, a large platter of linguine with seafood which the four of us shared. Here you can see the head waiter bringing out the dish and then serving it. It was delicious with a large piece of sea bass, all kinds of shell fish, and of course the linguine. We also shared a carafe of red wine and a salad.
It was after nine when we left the pizzeria, having spent more than three hours there. Our friends had spent the day visiting the Forum and several other sites. We were more leisurely in our walks. Back at the hotel we prepared for another day.
Palace of Justice on the other side of the river at the Umberto I bridge
Castel Sant'Angelo
More about the Vatican in a few days.
In the afternoon, all four of us went to the Borghese Galleria and the Borghese Gardens.
The galleria has a marvelous collection of statues on the ground floor and an equally marvelous collection of paintings on the second floor, including Rafaellos and Carvaggio's famous Boy with a Basket of Fruit. After two hours of the galleria. we went outside and took the little Toonerville trolley around the rather extensive gardens. We finally went back to the hotel, rested up, and went out for drinks and dinner again at the Pizzeria Ciro.
Monday, Sept 3
Today each couple went its separate way, Alexandria and Erwin are going down to see the Colosseo and the Forum. We got there and just as we were deciding what to do, it started to rain heavily. The forecast was for some rain so we decided to go back to the piazza Navona where we had a bit of lunch at the Tre Scalini cafe. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel until the rain stopped. We then took a walk up by the river to see the same things Erwin had seen in Sunday morning.
Tuesday. Sept 4
Today, we went to the Vatican. We had arrangeed for a guided tour of about 3 hours that included the Vatican Museum, the Cistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. We arrived a bit early and it was a good thing since the place was mobbed. We started out with an introduction by the guide. Since she was not allowed to talk in the Cistine Chapel and no photos allowed, I took some of the ceiling that she showed in a large TV screen. They actually turned out very well. See for yourself.
We then into St. Peter's Basilica where we spent an hour with the guide. The basilica is immense. There are markers on the floor that can be used to compare its size with other great basilicas around the world. The first photo is of Michelangelo's Pieta.
The Swiss guard is the traditional military force that is used to guard the Pope and the Vatican. They usually wear more colorful uniforms but it was raining that day.
Saint Peter's Square is an immense area where people come to hear and see the Pope.
Wednesday, Sept 5
We just walked today to see new neighborhoods and revisit some others.
Thursday, Sept 6
Today is a travel day, We took the high speed train from Roma to Firenze travel time being 1 1/2 hours, with both departure and arrival on time. We taxied to our hotel, the Hotel Alessandra in a typical old neighbothood of Florence with narrow streets and small hotels on the second floor and up. It is a clean spacious room with AC, all we could ask for. The four of us went out after some unpacking. we explored the neighborhood a bit and then crossed over the Ponte Vecchio, which you can see is mainly pedestrian and loaded with jewelry shops.
That evening we had our first Tuscan dinner in a small family restaurant around the corner from the hotel called Trattoria Nella run by an older gentleman, his wife, and identical twin sons. We had a good meal, lots of fun, and we went back three more times. The web site is interesting to read.
The next week we visited many museums and palazzos, all interesting, about different aspects of art and culture. In most we were not allowed to take photos, so we will simply give a list of each one and its major features, then there will be a series of photos of the city with captions. Hope you enjoy.
The Piazza del Duomo is a large square that contains the Santa Maria dei Fiori cathedral, the bell tower, and the baptistery. The cathedral contains many pieces of well-known art.
The Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge over the Arno (crossword puzzle word) and is lined with jewelry shops.
We also visited the Uffizi Palace which is loaded down with great art, both painting and sculpture.
We spent some time on a number of the famous piazze: Piazza della Signoria, Piazza della Santissima Annunciata, Piazza Del Duomo.
Our friends visited most of the major museums and exhibitions. We did not do quite as many. We had been in Florence before and were starting to get a bit arted out. So we walked a lot and we cafe-sat a lot too.
Here are some photos of Florence. We took many more, some are repetitive and it's quite tedious in the blog program to down-load a lot of photos. But here goes!
Janet and Carl with the Ponte Vecchio in the background.
The facade of the Duomo
Poling on the Arno
Again
Alexandria and Erwin
Statue of ??? on the ??? palazzo
Ponte Vecchio at night
The Boboli Gardens behind the Palazzo Pitti
The merry-go-round in an imposing piazza
Copies of the bronze panels that grace the doors of the Battistero of the Duomo
The Duomo and the bell tower
The interior courtyard of a palazzo turned into businesses
A part of the service area of the Trattoria Nella
There are, obviously, many restaurants in Florence but we went only to three in seven nights because we liked all three so much. They were all located in the neighborhood of our hotel and all small family run. Two of them were located literally around the corner from the hotel and next to one another. Neither had more than a dozen tables. The Trattoria Nella, above, was run by a man and his identical twin sons. It was here that we all tried pici, a thick stringy pasta that we had never seen at home. It was delicious. Next door was the Hostaria il Desco which was the most sophisticated of the three.
Finally, we went several times to La Casalinga which had a plain, no-nonsence decor. In my opinion, the best of the three for its food. Again simple Tuscan food mixed in with some more contemporary plates. It was located across the Arno river near the St Spirito church. In all three restaurants, but especially at La Casalinga, there were many Italians along with a scattering of tourists. We all had pici here but with different sauces.
Thus, the end of our stay in Italy. We flew out on Thursday, September 13 for Paris and the longest part of our stay. If you have enjoyed this blog, please go to its successsor about Paris at the following internet address. www.Parisfall2012.blogspot.com
