normandcindysadventures

2006-07-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

Goodbye to Italy. We flew back to the states today to continue our adventures in San Antonio.

2006-07-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

We took the train to Milan again today. We checked our luggage at the train station and spent the day touring. We visited the Da Vinci painting of The Last Supper. It was painted in the dining room for the monks at a monastery. Da Vinci used an experimental technique instead of using fresco painting. It turns out that it was not as reliable, and the painting started deteriorating after a few years. Then the monks decided they need a door into the kitchen, so they cut a hole in the wall painting. The painting has had many different restorations in the past. Historians currently have had to erase the restorations as they believe them to have actually been detrimental and not correct. The painting has been stripped back to original paint. What a lot of work. After touring, we collected our luggage and caught a bus to our hotel near the Milan airport. Like most large cities, the airport is an hour outside of the city.

2006-07-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

We visited Milan today. First stop the Duomo. It is unusual in that it is covered with spires and statues on the roof. We took an elevator to the roof and then walked up several flights of stairs outside to get to the spire area. Not only did we get a good view of the statues, we had a wonderful view of Milan.

2006-07-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

After the Duomo, we walked through the Galleria, a large outdoor shopping mall covered by a glass roof. Just outside is a statue to Da Vinci.

2006-07-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

Our adventure continued with a visit to the Castello Sforzesco. Who knew Italy had so many castles?

2006-07-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Cindy decided to take it easy today. Jeanine and Norm took the ferry boat to neighboring islands. We visited Menaggio and Bellagio. Both were picturesque small hill/fishing villages with stone streets and water views.

2006-07-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

We climbed further up the mountain to the Castello di Vezio. This is a feudal castle which is open to the public. We even got to see a knight in shining armor. Well, the armor at least. It was well worth the hike up the mountain. Great views. We also went into a bunker built in the 1800’s and used in the World Wars.

2006-07-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

Our hotel had a wonderful roof top restaurant looking out at Lake Como. We really did have an incredible view.

2006-07-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

Took the train to Lake Como in the Italian Alps today. Our hotel is on a cliff side with an elevator that runs up the mountain on an angle. Actually it is 2 elevators as the distance is so far. The views of the lake and other islands are beautiful.

2006-07-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

We took a boat to Murano Island to see glass blowing. It turns out that the process has not changed much in 19 centuries. We walked around town, had a nice Italian lunch and then back to Venice.

2006-07-23T18:38:00.000-07:00

We went to the Academia in Venice. It is here that they have the Da Vinci drawing of the perfect man. Unfortunately because they have no air conditioning, they never display the drawing as it is too fragile. Oh well, at least they told us it was kept here.
Afterwards, we walked to the Rialto bridge for Jeanine to do some shopping.

2006-07-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

On the way back, we stopped in St. Marks Square and birds landed right on Cindy’s arm. She really does have animal magnetism!

2006-07-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

We toured the Doges Palace. The Doge was the town head ruler for centuries until Venice was conquered by Napoleon. The palace is a combination of living quarters, official meeting and working rooms, and courts. The Doge eventually became a figure head who was not allowed to leave the palace without other town officials and really had very little power. They did know how to decorate. What a place.

2006-07-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

We had a walking tour of Venice this morning. We saw Piazza San Marco, many bridges including the Bridge of Sighs where prisoners had to cross before entering prison from the Doges Palace and of course San Marco School.

2006-07-21T16:59:00.000-07:00

There is a statue in front of the school of a Mercenary who lived in Venice, became rich and wanted to donate his money to Venice. His only stipulation was that a statue of him had to be erected in front of San Marco. He envisioned the church at the main square of town. The town officials decided to take his money and follow his wishes by placing the statue in front of San Marco Church. Since the mercenary had no surviving family members, who would complain?

2006-07-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

We also saw the oldest homes in Venice which just happen to be the ones where the Marco Polo family lived. Venice is known for a fruit flavored cocktail called a Bellini which was invented at Harry’s Bar. We went there to try one, were given a menu and a quick minute to study it when it was pulled away and the waiter told us to leave. Norm was wearing short pants and they have a dress code. No problem that Cindy had on short pants too. We tried a Bellini at another nice bar that did not care on a 100 plus degree day what kind of pants a man wears.

2006-07-20T16:45:00.000-07:00

We visited the Bargello museum of sculpture this morning. It contains sculptures by Michelangelo and Donatello among others. We had just enough time to see the museum, check out of our hotel and make it to the train to take us to Venice. Just before getting to the train, we visited the main post office to send a package back to the states. The only problem was that they had no forms to send the package slow boat, only air. They had been out of the forms for several weeks. When we asked why, the answer was “This is Italy”. What an expensive package of travel pamphlets we sent home.

2006-07-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Venice, found our hotel, walked around St Marcos square and just relaxed.

2006-07-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

We started our day visiting the Acadamia, the art museum built on the old art school. The paintings were beautiful but the price of the audio guide was too high. It cost Jeanine her drivers license. They gave it away to someone else by mistake. We should have been allowed to keep the audio guide since they gave away our security deposit.

2006-07-19T16:35:00.000-07:00

After collecting our thoughts, we decided that “The Tour Must Go On” and visited the San Marco Museum. This contains wall frescoes painted by a friar in all of the upstairs rooms.

2006-07-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

We went to the Uffizi Gallery this morning. This art museum contains paintings by Michelangelo, Caravaggio and many other famous painters. In the afternoon, we finally took time to explore the Boboli Gardens. There had not been enough time the other day to really look around.

2006-07-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

From inside the gardens, we were able to also visit Fort Belvedere which has the world’s largest sofa sitting outdoors. It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

2006-07-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

Back in Boboli gardens, they have a sculpture showing what happens after eating too much Italian food. We pity the turtle.

2006-07-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

We took the train to Pisa today. We figured out the bus schedule to get us the final part of the trip as there was yet another taxi strike. Pisa has a huge church, baptistery, and of course the tower.

2006-07-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

Cindy and Jeanine climbed the tower. Norm had enough towers at the Florence Duomo climb. After, we had “Pizza in Pisa” and then had time to take a picture of us leaning in by the leaning tower.

2006-07-16T15:50:00.000-07:00

We visited the Piazza della Republica and saw the bronze Wild Boar sculpture that if you rub its nose, you will return to Florence.

2006-07-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

Then we walked along the Ponte Vecchio bridge before going to the Pitti Palace which contains the Boboli gardens botanic and sculpture gardens.

2006-07-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

We went to the Duomo and climbed the stairs to the top observation area. The stairway was narrow, crowded and often two-way. Norm made it to the top even with his dislike for heights. We had great views of the Duomo along the way up and even better views of Florence from the top.

2006-07-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

After returning down, we made our way to the Santa Croce church. Inside is Michaelangelo’s tomb along with the tomb of Galileo. It also has a statue and tribute to Dante who was from Florence.

2006-07-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

After this church, we visited the Medici chapel which has sculptures by Michaelangelo. No photos allowed inside the chapel.

2006-07-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

We took the train to Florence today. We got in trouble by the ticket conductor for not having our ticket stamped at the station before boarding. No one had explained that to us and luckily, she took pity on us and decided not to fine us for our mistake. We arrived just in time for another taxi strike. Lucky for us, the hotel was a 10 minute walk and we not a big problem. We spent the afternoon just walking around the piazza’s and down to the Ponte Vecchio bridge and to the Medici Palace.

2006-07-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

We got into town early and went to the Duomo first around 9:30. We saw the Basilica which was built in the 1300’s. Then we went to the crypt. It actually is not a crypt but was thought to be a crypt that has been written about in the past. It had been filled in and covered for over 600 years before it was found in the 1900’s and excavated. Due to the rooms being filled in and covered, the paintings on the walls had not had much deterioration. As they dug deeper, they found that this was the original church and before that, the grain storage room for a castle. It dates back to the 700’s for the castle.

2006-07-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

After seeing the Basilica, the crypt and the museum, we finally visited the inside of the Duomo. This took 2 hours to see and listen to audio. It is covered with marble sculptures, marble floors and paintings on the walls, created by the masters. At one point the Church was to be expanded into the “New Duomo” but it was never finished. The church still has the city decrees proclaiming that it had dedicated itself to the Virgin Mary for protection from the Plague. The town rededicated itself to The Virgin again in 1944 during the war. The next day the town was bombed. I guess Mary was not impressed.

2006-07-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

We had lunch at, guess what, an Italian restaurant. After lunch, we visited the Church and Basilica of Saint Catherine. She was made a saint because she convinced the Pope in France to move the Vatican back to Rome. She was made a saint when she died and accepted as the Patron Saint of Sienna. They have her head and one finger on display in the church. The belief is that the bones have a power to combat bad things and are a direct communication with God. We also learned this visiting the Duomo museum, as there are several bones of saints on display in glass cases along with the right arm of John the Baptist. It was like visiting the catacombs in Palermo all over again and seeing the skeletons.

Back to the hotel to wash up and then off to dinner and a Mozart concert tonight at a church in town. However, the trip back was not as easy as yesterday. We took a different bus back and asked the driver if it stopped in front of our hotel. He said it did. We drove by it twice and were told that we would still be dropped off by the hotel. He dropped us off on top of a hill that was all residential with no hotels and pointed to walk straight ahead. We started walking and then asked a woman if it was the correct direction to the hotel. She pointed us the other way. We then walked that way until we found 2 construction workers that also told us we were walking the correct way. Finally made it back and had a wonderful meal on the way to the church. The concert was great and we called for a taxi to take us back to the hotel as it was late.

2006-07-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

July 11- Took it easy today. Sunshine in the morning so we hiked to the hotel that our apartment is related to and sun bathed.

July 12- We walked our luggage and our tired bodies to the train station for a ride to Naples and then to Sienna. We found the correct train station and with a little help from people, found the city trains that took us to Sienna. When we arrived, we found our hotel, the Best Western Executive, settled in, and then took a bus into town. We are a kilometer or two from the main square where all the action is. A person was nice and told us where to get off. We walked around into the evening, inquired as to when the last bus back to our hotel was and were thoroughly confused. Tourist information had one time, our hotel had another, and the bus station information had a third time. We finally settled on a fourth time printed on the side of the bus shelter. We had a nice dinner on the square and then made an easy trip back. The driver was nice and helped us find the correct stop.

2006-07-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

We took a local bus along the Amalfi Coast to see the scenery. Amalfi has a cathedral built in 1000 AD still in use and the walls still have the original frescoes. In the afternoon we took another bus to Ravello which is a small town high in the hills overlooking the water. We visited Villa Cimbrone which is where Gretta Garbo used to stay to get away. On the way back to Amalfi, our bus driver took a detour for him to get a gelato cone. He did not offer us any!

2006-07-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

We took a boat back to Sorrento for the evening Football/soccer final match. We had reserved a table at our favorite local restaurant with a big screen TV and everyone ate and watched the final game. The town went crazy when Italy won the World Cup. Fireworks, honking horns and parades everywhere, most of the night!

2006-07-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

We took the train to Herculaneum today. This is another site that was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. It is supposed to be smaller than Ponpeii, but it is more intact and we could have spent just as much time as Pompeii. They are still unearthing sites that have been built over in the past.

2006-07-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

After leaving Herculaneum, we took the train to Naples. We went to the Archeology museum to see the statues and the remains unearthed from Pompeii which were mostly kitchen utensils. We also found our way to Castle Nuovo only to find out it was closed today. We walked through the main square where they were setting up for the World Cup Festivities.

2006-07-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Back to Pompeii for a visit with no rain. This place is enormous. The guide book said it should take 3 hours but we spent 5 and could have still spent more time. We saw plaster casts of actual bodies unearthed during the excavation of Pompeii. We even saw petrified bread and donuts. We spent so much time that we decided to wait to see Herculaneum.

2006-07-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Off to Mt Vesuvius and Pompeii today. We started by taking a bus up Vesuvius. It made a 20 minute stop at a small roadside café for a man to try and sell us his book on the mountain or food. We opted for food. The stop was supposed to be 20 minutes but was actually a lot longer. Finally we joined another bus and continued our climb to the mountain. We got out at the base and were told to walk to the top where a guide would meet us and show us around the mountain. When we hiked all the way to the top (no small task), we were told not to go any farther. The lightning was too bad and the guides were afraid for us. They let us go up to see into the crater but no further. Soon a monsoon came and buffeted the mountain. At a small break in the storm, we started down the mountain and back to the bus. At least we saw the crater. We have already climbed two volcanoes.

We got back to Pompeii and found the streets flooded. We decided to take off our shoes and walk in our socks to get back to the train and forget Pompeii for the day. We stopped under a small tent for a sandwich and then caught the train back to Sorrento.

2006-07-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Last night was the worst night we can remember in a long time. Our “quiet” apartment is located on the main street of Sorrento right above all of the bars. We assumed people would be out until 12am-1am, but no…they stayed out and kept getting noisier! And then, a group of men were talking really loudly from about 3am-4am, and after that a man and a woman had a horrible screaming fight right outside our windows for at least 45 minutes. Then there was quiet for about 30 minutes until around 5:30am when the garbage truck came by (or some kind of truck) that picked up glass bottles and made a ton of noise. We woke up at least 10 times and slept horribly. Our first thought was that we had to move to the hotel (which is along the cliff and very far away from the main street). We made breakfast and then we walked up to the hotel to talk to Joseph and to pick up our passports. He wasn’t there so we complained to the woman who was there (she told us that our apartment would not be quiet…Jeanine thought she should have been e-mailing her instead of Joseph because he told her it wouldn’t be a problem). We decided to try closing all the windows tonight and we paid for air conditioning (an extra 10 euros a day) - we will see what will happen tonight, if it will muffle the sounds at all. Our day was spent walking around and picking up information of everything to do. We decided that tomorrow we’re going to Pompeii, Vesuvius, and Herculaneum. We already have our train tickets so we will be ready in the morning. We ate lunch at a restaurant just down the street that had every kind of gelato concoction that you could possibly imagine! After walking around we came back to the apartment and mom went to get her hair done and dad and Jeanine checked internet. For dinner we went to Parucchiano’s- the oldest restaurant in town that happens to be literally right across the street!

2006-07-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Today we got up early and left Lipari to go to Sorrento for the next week. We rolled our luggage down to the dock and picked up some chocolate croissants along the way. The boat was bigger than the last one and the seats were nicer. Jeanine spent almost 4 hours of the trip updating the journal because she had done nothing since Cinque Terre! Good thing there was an outlet right next to our seat so that she could plug in the computer. We arrived at the Naples dock at 1:15. Joseph had told us that we could buy tickets to Sorrento and the boat left at 1:40pm, so we walked around to find that no one spoke English. Finally one person pointed us to a ticket booth a block away. We got in line only to find that this dock has a boat that left at 4pm, and there is no 1:40 boat, there is one at 1:05 or 3 from a different dock! He told me to take a taxi there. So, we walked back over to the taxi stand and waited and waited and waited…and no taxi’s came by! Finally one stopped to tell us that he wouldn’t pick us up because of the mandate (he didn’t speak English). A man walked by selling fans, and Jeanine told him we would pay him to find us a taxi, but we didn’t want a fan. So, he told us to wait and that he would find one, and he ran off! So we waited some more until almost 2 and we gave up and walked back to the ticket office and bought tickets for the 4pm boat to Sorrento. As Jeanine was calling the hotel in Sorrento to tell them the change in time, the man reappeared and said that he couldn’t find one (it had been over a half hour, we thought he had given up!). We told him thank you and gave him a few euros. So, we waited and read in the covered waiting area and got on the huge ferry that went to Sorrento. There was hardly anyone on this huge boat! We finally made it into Sorrento around 5:20pm and we ended up taking a bus up to the main square and walking the few blocks down to our apartment. Joseph met us there and showed us around and gave us wonderful maps and the timetables for the trains and buses around the Amalfi coast (much nicer than in Lipari). We went out to dinner to a restaurant he recommended, La Feniche, and it was wonderful! We asked if they could make gnocchi with cheese instead of tomato sauce, and it was great. Jeanine split it with mom along with the curry chicken that she got. We ate profiteroles for desert and then came back and watched the France vs. Portugal football game and watched France win- they will play Italy in the final game of the world cup on Sunday. We actually made a reservation at the restaurant to watch the final game this weekend! Should be fun. Then we went to bed.

2006-07-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July! Today we slept in and dad went down to the local bakery and bought us chocolate croissants for a late breakfast. We talked to Diana to see what she recommended to do on Lipari for the day. She said to rent scooters, but dad didn’t want to- oh well, might have been fun. Instead we walked down to the dock to get our ticket for the boat to Naples for tomorrow and then we walked up to the archaeological museum at the top of the hill. It was huge! They had to have had at least 6 different buildings dedicated to artifacts that they have found around Lipari and the other Aeolian Islands along with 2 churches. It was really neat. We walked back down and got lunch to go- mom and Jeanine got a chicken and a cold vegetable concoction, and dad got a hot dog. We went back to the hotel and ate on the terrace at the top of the building. It was very nice. After our late lunch mom took a nap while dad and Jeanine went to the post office to mail a box home- it was a good thing we went late afternoon because only 2 other people were there and it still took a good half hour! When we got back we put our swim suits on and we read out in the sun on the terrace for a few hours (too bad she didn’t have a pool). We showered and then went out for hamburgers (we celebrated 4th of July by eating American food) and then we went back to the room and watched a movie. Later that night we were really amused to hear random yelling from the street when Italy won the football match against Germany! We leave at 7:30am tomorrow morning for Naples and then to Sorrento.

2006-07-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

Today we slept in and ate our own breakfast in the room (much better). We decided to walk down to Elena’s early to pick up our tickets for our boat trip to Panarea and Stromboli (pronounced Strómboli) only to find that our boat that was supposed to leave at 12 was cancelled due to high winds! She told us we could get on the 2pm boat because it was a bigger boat and that it would do basically the same tour. We decided to do it because it stayed out late to watch the eruptions at Stromboli and we didn’t want to do that on our last night. The boat was big and it was very nice inside- there were big tables and benches inside and a sitting area upstairs. We put our stuff on a bench downstairs and went to sit up to enjoy the views. At first it was nice, but then we started going faster, and kept getting wet. Finally, it was at the point where it was really wet, and we could see that the child across from us (on the side that was leaning into the water) was soaked to the skin! We had to sit downstairs because we didn’t want to get all wet! Our driver was going way too fast over the waves. Also, as we came up on the island of Panarea, the woman who had been speaking on the intercom started talking in English! She said she had only just been told that there were English speakers on board! We assumed that she didn’t speak English because Elena had told us there would probably be no one who spoke English, so we didn’t even ask! Very odd. They gave us 45 minutes in Panarea which was a complete waste of time. Apparently there are old archaeology sites on the island, but there were no maps or signs telling s where to go and no one spoke English to ask! We got some chocolate muffins and walked around the three streets of town until it was time to go. They had said we could go swimming, but the very small beach was covered with fishing boats and there were no lounge chairs- not fun at all. We got back on the boat and re-claimed our seats downstairs which turned out to be a good idea because after about 10 minutes people came back downstairs completely soaked! The driver should have slowed down- what’s the point of having an observation deck if no one can enjoy it?

2006-07-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

We finally arrived at Stromboli around 5:45pm and they told us to be back at 8:30 to watch the volcanic eruptions from the boat. We were told we could sit on the nice black sand beach or walk around town and up to the church and get some food. Well, the sun set on the other side of the island, so even if there had been lounge chairs (which there weren’t), and if the beach had been nice (which it wasn’t), we still would not have wanted to sit on the beach because there was no sun! There was also a huge cloud directly over the crater of the volcano and it would not move and it kept getting worse as it got later! The entire sky was clear except for over the volcano! We started by sitting in a bar on the beach and drank strawberry granitas, and then we made our way up the hill into town. We walked around the big church and then made our way down to the beach- there was really nothing to see or do except sit on the beach (full of cigarette buts and trash with no lounge chairs) or shop. By 7:15pm we had seen the entire town and were really hungry but no place was open for dinner until 8pm! We finally found the 1 restaurant that was open around 7:40pm and we made them rush our food so we could make our 8:30pm boat. It was actually really good and Jeanine finally got chicken for the first time in over a week (no more pasta for me!). We walked very quickly back down to the dock and made it in time to get on the boat as it pulled up. The boat pulled out so we could watch the eruptions, and we saw nothing! Apparently it’s one of the most active volcanoes- erupting every few minutes- and we could see nothing because of the big cloud. It was a very disappointing day. We got back around 10:40pm and walking back to our hotel we saw both Elena and Diana- we told them how bad it was and that we would not recommend it to anyone.

2006-07-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

Today we got up and ate Diana’s breakfast, and then we went down to the dock to meet our boat at 10am to Vulcano. All Elena gave us was a name and a meeting point, but there was no one there! Mom had to walk around until finally we found someone who knew the person we were looking for! Turns out no one on the boat spoke English, so when they did commentaries explaining the different rock formations and bays around Lipari we had no idea what they were saying. They let us go for a swim in one cove, so dad and Jeanine went in. The water is very salty! Afterwards we headed over to Vulcano and they literally just dropped us off and said they would be back at 1:45, 4, or 6. We were very confused because Elena had told us they would pick us back up at 1 or 5. So, once we figured out the time schedule, we were on our own to figure out Vulcano.

2006-07-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

All we saw was the beach…no tourist information, no roads, nothing except 2 restaurants and 2 hotels. Mom plopped down with all our stuff on a lounge chair while dad and Jeanine went exploring along the beach to find someone who spoke English…we found one person. He told us we had to take the road behind the beach to get to path that goes up to the crater of the volcano. We made our way back to mom and decided to eat lunch at a pizzeria. So, we ate a really good “sandwich”-like stuffed pizza (not a calzone), sitting looking out at the black sand beach. During lunch we saw a man order a few pizza’s to go and he literally took them in the water with him and he swam to his boat holding the pizza’s above his head!!! Our waiter turned out to also speak English and he gave us better directions to the mud pools and to the crater. We walked to the mud pools and saw that they take bags and watch them (only if you go into the mud pool) so we paid for all of us to go in and told them we would be back in a little while (it turned out to be 2 hours later). We had brought a lot of stuff with us because we didn’t know all there was to do on the island. Once our bags were secured we walked around the mud pools (which smelled so bad it was very disgusting) and we found our way to the path up to the crater. The climb was literally straight up the mountain on volcanic gravel- Jeanine had on her sandals because she can hike in them, and didn’t realize it would be loose gravel. It wasn’t too bad going up. It only took us 40 minutes to get to the top (go us!) and we had a great view of Lipari and Vulcano. The volcano itself was very neat. It constantly let out steam from different places on the left side and there were yellow sulfur deposits on the rocks. Walking back down the volcano was harder, especially with sandals, but we made it! At the bottom we stopped for ice cream and water and a rest.

2006-07-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

Then we walked back down to the mud pools and mom and Jeanine went in while dad sat on a bench and watched. It smelled really bad and Jeanine thought it felt gross and didn’t go in all the way. Mom did and she actually rubbed mud all over her body and face (you’re supposed to do that to get the healing properties of it). There was a shower but it was a disappointment- it didn’t work very well, so we still had mud and silt on us and our swim suits. We went back to the pizza restaurant and had a drink and relaxed and watched the water for a while, and then we made our way over to the dock and made the 6pm boat. It was actually a very fun day once we figured out the island and what there was to do on it. For dinner we ate at a restaurant right on the dock in Lipari- it was pretty good. It was a good day all in all.

2006-07-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

Today we had the morning in Palermo to sleep in and eat a late breakfast because our boat to Lipari did not leave until 2pm. We said good-bye again to the other couples from our tour who were still here (most left early morning to go to the airport). After breakfast we decided we wanted to go to the Capuchin Monastery, so we called a taxi and he took us because it was pretty far away. It only cost euro 1.50 each (not bad). The catacombs were absolutely amazing! There are literally bodies hanging from the walls that have been mummified- unbelievable. They are clothed and some of them look to have been petrified and still have skin and hair! They hang from the walls and in open coffins. Jeanine is sure she has seen this place on TV before. We couldn’t take pictures inside, so we got a guide book and some post cards. We took another taxi back to the hotel and we took our time packing our bags and getting ready to cross the street to the boat dock. We decided we were wimps and didn’t want to cart all of our luggage through traffic across the busy street, so we paid a taxi to take us! We got there around 1pm and we got our tickets. We sat inside and ate really bad sandwiches and had to cart our luggage around a stray dog that was sleeping in the middle of the eating area inside…very sanitary. We then made our way over to the hydrofoil that took us to Lipari (pronounced Lípari). The boat was ok but the a/c didn’t work very well and our side was constantly in the sun. The seats were like airplane seats and it was first come, first serve, so it was a good thing that we were one of the first ones on the boat! Diana, the woman who runs the hotel, met us at the dock on her bike! We had to roll our luggage through town about 10 minutes to get down to her hotel. It’s very nice! We settled in and then talked to her daughter who sets up boat trips (the book had said that her husband took guests out on a boat, but that is definitely a lie). We made a reservation to go to Vulcano and around Lipari tomorrow. We ate out at a restaurant that Elena recommended. We went back and went to bed early.

2006-06-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of our bus tour. It has been a very fun week all in all and we’ve seen some amazing things. We would never want to drive in Sicily- the people here are crazy- they don’t stop at stop signs or traffic lights, and drive all over the road with no respect for anyone else. So, even though the tour wasn’t perfect, it was better than us driving. We checked out of our hotel in Acireale and left by 8:30 to go up to Cefalu (pronounced Chefalu). It took about 2 hours to get there and for the first time on the trip they stopped at a petrol station and let us use the bathroom (a nice surprise from the other days). Along the way the ceiling above my seat started dripping because of the A/C so Jeanine had to switch seats! When we got to town we walked as a group to the cathedral where a man was passing out pieces of cloth to people so they could cover their shoulders. It was a beautiful church. Then we only had 45 minutes to walk around and see the city before lunch- again, not long enough! The first course of lunch was parmiagianna (eggplant with ham) which was okay. The waiters were mad because no one ate a lot, but it was bad food! After lunch we drove back to Palermo and we said good-bye to Giovanna and Christina. We ended up getting two rooms because they didn’t have a triple, which was fine. Jeanine’s room was great and had good a/c, but mom and dad’s room wasn’t made up, so they changed, then the new room didn’t have a/c, so they had to change again! Really a classy hotel. In the afternoon we walked over to the archaeological museum and walked around for a while- it was okay. The people kept giving us looks like we should be leaving even though we had an hour before the place closed- very strange. We ate dinner as a group and said good-bye to everyone! Thankfully we don’t leave until 2pm, so we can sleep in and take our time tomorrow morning.

2006-06-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Mt. Etna- the highest active volcano in Europe. We went up to 2,000 meters with the bus, and then we paid extra to go up to 2,500 meters with a cable car and then took a bus to the top for a tour of the crater at 3,000 meters (about 10,000 feet). The cable ride up was very hot- there was no breeze even though the door was open a crack. Also, the car kept stopping and it swung back and forth- kind of strange. We got out of the cable car and along with Christina, Marie-Angelina, and Anna we went to the top of the crater in an oversized jeep on a windy, volcanic ash road. Jeanine asked Lisa if she could borrow her sweatshirt because it was really windy and she had forgotten hers. The guide at the top only spoke Italian, so Christina translated into English for us, and Jeanine translated into Spanish because she doesn’t speak Spanish. It wasn’t a lot of information, though, so it was not bad. When we first started walking up to the crater mom looked down and she had a butterfly on her foot! It had landed there and even though she kept walking it didn’t fly away. It must have caught a ride up on one of the jeeps, but there was no way it could survive up there- it was too windy and no food. The crater itself was amazing. There was smoke that constantly came up out of it and the ground was really hot. It was really windy and that was cold, but at the same time we were heated from below. It was a good thing Jeanine borrowed Lisa’s sweater because we literally had volcanic ash tornadoes!! Jeanine had a rock that flew into her ear and mom kept it! All in all it was really neat and we’re glad that we went all the way up. It was a good thing the other older couples didn’t come because it was a tough climb and so windy they may have fallen over- they need to write that in their description of Etna. We went back down and they gave us an extra half hour to walk around, so we walked over to crater Silvestre, an inactive crater. We walked all the way around it, but it took us longer than we though- we almost missed the bus! They were literally leaving the parking lot to come get us. We drove back down to Acireale to our hotel for lunch, which was strange, because we went to Taormina in the afternoon, and Etna was halfway between Acireale and Taormina. We sat down to lunch to realize that it wasn’t a buffet and we had to wait for them to bring our meal out…so we waited and waited and waited. We ate bread and fruit until they finally brought our meal. Then we waited until 3:30 to leave for Taormina. It took about an hour, and it was a very cute little town that only small cars and motorcycles can drive in. It reminded Jeanine of Toledo. We walked through the porto and went to the Greek-Roman theater. It was amazing! It’s one of the best preserved in the world. We then had about an hour of free time to walk around and see the town. We wish we had come here straight after Etna and had lunch, free time, and dinner all here. It was great. We saw the narrowest street (mom and Jeanine walked down it) and saw huge cannoli’s (one for a family). We went back to the hotel and had free time before dinner at 8:30. The American water polo team played Italy at 7 and Lucca’s family along with Toni went to watch it (we lost). We also found out that the guys are only 18 and 19! They are huge and very built so they look a lot older- oh well. At dinner we actually got food- the water polo teams were not there yet so we all got food right away and we beat the crowd. Later on they had a “band” playing at the pool so Jeanine went out with Christina and Giovanna to check it out. Turns out the band was 2 people who sang and had pre-recorded music playing. They ended up letting a Hispanic woman who turned out to be a singer, sing while they went on break! Very funny. Jeanine also had the privilege of being hit on by a mid-30’s man from Barcelona who was one of the water polo referee’s. He kept asking her to dance and kissing her hand. Jeanine was not impressed and ended up leaving because he was very creepy. She knows he was just trying to be funny, but was not amused.

2006-06-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

We also saw the ear of Dionysus- a big man made cave that the slaves made. They say that the emperor, Dionysus, would listen through a hole at the top of the cave to make sure the slaves were not talking about rebellion. We also walked to another amphitheater that was not as well preserved and some tombs that were literally just sitting above ground in front of the amphitheater. We then got back on the bus and drove to the docks of Siracusa where we left our bus and walked a long way to the cathedral in Ortiga (the center of Siracusa). The cathedral was very interesting (after a while all the churches seem very similar).

2006-06-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

We made it to Catania by 3:45 only to find that the church does not open until 4pm. Instead of walking around and giving us a tour (because the bus was too big to drive around) we waited for 20 minutes for it to open and did nothing! We ended up eating cannoli at the café across the street. We finally went in the church and it was beautiful and had old Greek columns that prove that it has been re-used many times during the centuries. We then decided that we wanted to go on the little blue train/trolley tour around the city. We argued with them for about 10 minutes before we left because they had originally told Giovanna that it would be 2 euros a person, and they wanted 3 euros (not like it was a huge deal, but it was the principal of the thing). Then we got on and they didn’t leave! Once we finally started moving we realized that the speakers were so loud that it was hard to understand what the girl was saying, then we realized that she was reading off a sheet of paper, and there was no way that she actually spoke English! We had no idea what we were seeing.

2006-06-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Today we packed our stuff again and left the nice hotel in Agrigento. We drove north to Piazza Armerina to see the Roman Villa. It was absolutely amazing! The house was huge and had running water, a communal bathroom, a swimming pool, a throne room, and many other- 40 rooms in all. And all of the flooring was done in mosaic tiles that we could still see! It had been covered by an earthquake and was very well preserved. Our tour guide was a retired teacher and he was great. We drove another hour into the countryside and went to a restaurant/hotel where they grow and use all their own products- it was wonderful! Our waiter was an old man who could not have had any teeth left. He and Anna, a 13 year old from Spain, got into a huge argument about the football match for this evening- Spain is going to play and he said they would lose. What made it even funnier was that Anna was talking in Spanish, and the man was talking in Italian, and Giovanna had to translate for both of them! He also did tricks for Anna after their shouting match- he put a small cigarette inside his mouth and turned it over with his tongue without burning himself. He also blew an egg from one shot glass to another (which Jeanine did also) and he turned a glass of water over real fast without spilling. He was very entertaining.

2006-06-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

After lunch we drove to Caltagirone where we walked up the mosaic steps and had a view of the city. We were supposed to go to a ceramics factory, but really just went to a ceramics shop where you could buy some. Nobody really cared about it and we were finished in 10 minutes. At dinner we were surprised to find that our hotel is housing different junior Olympic water polo teams- one from America!

2006-06-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

We drove to Erice, a very small medieval town at the top of a mountain. Apparently it’s only open in summer and no one goes there during the winter (it’s like a ghost town). We started by walking to the cathedral and watch tower at the bottom of the town and were told we would have time to go inside later before we left.

2006-06-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

We made our way up hill to a sweet shop where we used the bathroom and got cannoli’s. Jeanine ate hers as we walked, and a dog followed her all the way up to the castle at the top of the town! It was very funny. He looked like he was hungry but there was no way she was giving him a sweet. The castle was closed off and we would have had a great view of the sea and the countryside if it had not been so cloudy. As it was we didn’t get to see a lot. Then they told us we only had 30 minutes before we had to leave! It was not enough time (basically only enough to walk back down to the bus!). We walked quickly and went to the church to take some pictures but I didn’t get to go inside because you had to pay and I didn’t have time!

2006-06-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

We then drove down the center of Sicily to the Mediterranean coast to Selinute, an archaeological park with great Greek temple ruins! They drove us around in oversized golf carts that got us very dirty. The temple all have alphabetical names because there are no markings left in the temples to say who they were dedicated to. It was beautiful with a great location on the water- the Greeks really knew how to pick them! When we were done we went across the street for a wine tasting of marsala wine- We didn’t like it at all. We also saw a smart car that had been decorated all over- it looked very interesting.

2006-06-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

We met our guide who took us around the “Valle dei Templi”. He was great- he spoke both in English and Spanish, so while he was translating we had time to walk around and take pictures. It was very neat to see all of the old temples. We could not walk inside the temples like in Selinute but it was still really neat. We saw the temple of Hercules which a British retired Navy commander turned archaeologist had re-built part of. We also walked across the street to the temple of Zeus- it was huge- bigger than a football stadium! It also had giant statues that used to hold up the temple and are currently at the museum in Agrigento (we did not get to go), but they had a copy they had done that we saw. As we left all the cars were honking and flying Italy flags because Italy had won the football game. On the way to the hotel we stopped at a store so Lucca could buy some clothes (his luggage has still not come!)

2006-06-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

We started our official tour of Sicily today with a stop at the Royal Palace to see the Royal Church with its 12th Century gold leaf paintings. The church is a mixture of Norman, Roman, Byzantine and Moorish influence as all have been rulers of Sicily.

2006-06-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

We then went to the huge New Church of the Virgin Mary in Monreale. It is a giant version of the Royal Church. Lots of paintings and icons. Much of the church is under renovation due to an earthquake. Italy has over 2000 earthquakes each year. We hit the jackpot on postcards as they only cost .05 Euro each.

2006-06-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

We returned to Palermo and saw the Cathedral of Palermo. It sits on a large square with many statues on the outside and monuments to Saint Rosalia. She was a hermit who decided to give her life to God and lived and died in a cave in the mountains. Her bones were found 500 years later and brought back to Palermo during the Plague. Upon the arrival of her bones, the Plague stopped and she has been the patron saint of Palermo ever since. Her bones now are carried once a year from the cave back to Palermo to be placed back into this church. The festival is July 14. In September, there is another festival where people have a pilgrimage up to her cave.

2006-06-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Back to the hotel for lunch and then off to the cave of Saint Rosalia. There is a small church built attached to the cave and you walk directly from the church into the cave. The cave is covered with metal drain pipes to catch the water that drips through the cave. It is considered Holy Water. What an amazing place. People come to pray or to leave notes of thanks to the saint. Many people walk up the stairs and into the cave on their knees.

2006-06-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

After the cave, we went to Mendello beach for a bit of sun. Unfortunately, all one million people who live in Palermo also decided to go to the beach today. We walked just a bit and then went to get gelato.

2006-06-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Took the train to Rome this afternoon. For some reason we had more stops this direction. We got in just fine and went back to Villa Paola for one night.

June 24-Our taxi showed up right in time at 8:15 for our 10:30 flight. Got to the airport in great time only to have the person at check in look at us funny. She told us there was no flight to Palermo at that time. It turns out the flight was cancelled the day after Jeanine made the reservation and she was never notified. We were put on the 12:30 flight and all was well. Arrived in Sicily just in time to realize that it was really hot. That’s ok it feels good. We met our tour group for cocktails and dinner.

2006-06-22T18:22:00.000-07:00

Strike is over. We rode the train to Corneglia to climb the monk steps and see the ancient church and cemetery. This place is supposed to have graves from the middle ages but the oldest we found was the 1930’s. The church was interesting as they were chanting in a hidden room when we went in to observe. The sign in front said no singing or picnicking at the church. We went to the cemetery and had our picnic there. That was a truly new experience. We took the train back to Monterosso and eventually back to Levanto. We had dinner at The Cave where they cook all steaks right at your table. Cindy had an after birthday peach sundae complete with a small Roman candle. We shared a nice bottle of wine and had a really fun evening.

2006-06-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

We decided to make the walk from Levanto to Monterosso. The walk is listed as a 2-1/2 hour challenging walk. It was quite a lot of uneven trail that went up and down forever. We made it but it took us 3-1/2 hours. Of course 30 minutes was spent having a snack overlooking the mountainside and the sea. We had a light lunch in Monterosso and explored the town. We finally decided that the trains were not running so we booked passage on the only ferry to Levanto to leave at 6pm. This left us plenty of time to explore and eat gelato. At 6, a ship arrived, let off passengers and then left. Finally the real boat arrived 15-20 minutes late. We have learned that train and boat schedules are just an approximation of times to leave.

2006-06-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

We took the train to Riomaggiore and explored the town and churches. We found the restaurant and gelato store recommended in the Rick Steve’s guide quite by accident. We agree with him. Good food. We took a walk up the cliff to the Torre Guardiola botanic garden. The view of the Ligurian Sea was beautiful. We then walked 20 minutes to the next town, Manarola and explored its church , shops and shoreline. We then did another 20 minute walk to Corneglia. The book said 20 minutes, the signs said 45 minutes and we made it in about 30. Just in time to catch the train back.

2006-06-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Cindy. Wow, spent her birthday on trains traveling to Cinque Terre. We arrived in Levanto just fine and then were told there was a problem with our rooms. So instead of 2 rooms, we were given the apartment suite for less money than the two rooms combined. Cindy and Jeanine went shopping and Jeanine made potato cheese soup with cheese that never melted much. Still tasted good.

2006-06-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day in Rome. We slept in and trudged down to breakfast- we were tired (we’ve done so much in one week and we still have not seen everything!). We had wanted to go to the Tivoli gardens, but it looked like it was going rain so we decided against it. Instead we spent the morning laying our laundry out to dry in the room and then we packed small travel bags for Cinque Terre- Kathy and Gilbert are letting us leave our luggage as we are returning for one night. Around noon we headed into town- we wanted to eat lunch at the Tre Scalini café. We had a wonderful lunch. We got Tartufo’s to go again, and we ate it on the side of the fountain where the undercover police officer told us to get off! We decided he could be doing more important things than asking people to not sit on the fountain- like catching pick pockets… Oh well. When we finished we walked back to Flaminio and at Piazza Popolo we found a Leonardo daVinci museum attached to a church. They showed a lot of his inventions with alot of interesting information.

2006-06-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

Then to Villa Burghese park. We were not impressed by the huge public displays of affection by many in the park. We decided to rent a motorized bike pedal car for an hour which had three seats, but we were kind of falling off. Jeanine drove and had to detour around lots of people and other people on bikes and other carts. This has been such a wonderful week in Rome. It went by very fast. We are excited about going to Cinque Terre though and continuing our journey!

2006-06-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

We finally made it downtown around 11:30am. We went to the same restaurant at Piazza Spagna as yesterday and we all ordered the cheese gnocchi- it was so good! When we finished we checked e-mail again and then took the train over to San Giovanni. We found the blue 218 bus that went to the Catacombs. We asked the driver how long it would take, and asked if we had time to go to the bathroom before he left. We don’t think he totally understood us, but he held the bus for us to go to the bathroom and left as soon as we got on! It was really easy to get there as we got off at the Catacomb stop. We had to walk up this huge hill to get to the Catacomb San Sebastian, and then we waited about 25 minutes for a tour in English. This particular catacomb stretches for 7 miles under ground and has 3 levels. We only saw a little bit of it, but what we saw was amazing. As pictures were not allowed we bought great post cards that showed the tombs, the drawings, and the monuments. When we walked back down the hill a bus pulled upjust as we got to the stop (perfect timing). Then we went back to the San Giovanni in Laterano church. Apparently our Vatican tickets allowed us to get into a museum at the church, but it’s only open 9-12 Monday- Saturday so we did not get to go.

2006-06-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

When we left Cindy wanted to find the St. Peter in Chains church to see Michelangelo’s Moses. It was really easy following the Rick Steve’s guide (the book is amazing!). We got off at the metrostop and walked up some really steep hills to the church. We even helped an 80 year old man find it- he had been there 50 years before! After we ate pizza on the Spanish steps we returned to the B&B.

2006-06-16T13:31:00.000-07:00

Today was another wonderful day in Rome. We went into the city around 11 and had a set plan. We took the metro to the Pyramid stop where we took a quick picture of the white pyramid and then left.

2006-06-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

We got back on the train and went one stop to see the Circus Maximus from the ground. We got a great view of the Forum and it was neat to be able to walk on it. We realized that we were across the street from the Roman houses that Cindy wanted to see, so we crossed the street- except we took a crazy way and we almost got run over. We made our way up into the park and saw a neat church where we had to ring a bell to get in. Outside was a monument to Mother Teresa. We finally found the Roman Houses and were so glad we went! It was amazing! They found the old houses under a church and had preserved them. Unfortunately we could not take any pictures. There were frescos on the walls and stairs going up into different rooms. There was even a little museum where they housed different relics that they had found.

2006-06-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

When we left we walked up the hill to the Colosseum (we could see the arch of Constantine and there was no reason to use the metro it was so close). We then went back inside the Colosseum - turns out you can only use the pass we had in each place once, but they let us in! We didn’t really feel bad though. We had more time to walk around and see everything. Jeanine was also able to buy her “Rome: past present” book that she had wanted to get yesterday (She got it for 18 euros instead of 25- go Jeanine). Then we took the metro back to Spagna and went to the American Express to purchase our train tickets. When we walked in we saw Q and Laurie Brown from church in Deerfield! Small world!

2006-06-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

We then decided to go to the Castle St. Angelo. We had a great time walking around the castle for 2 hours as it just kept going! There was a museum inside it which was huge and on every floor. A lot of it was a testament to Bernini and his students and family. We walked up to the very top and had a great view of St. Peter’s and Rome. It was about 6:30 by the time we were done, and we walked to Campo de’Fiore. We took the wrong way and we got a little lost (there were no signs and the streets were not clear, so we actually walked a block and a half past it!). We had a great dinner and then walked across the street to Piazza Navona where we had Tartufo ice cream at Tre Scalini café for desert (this was in the Rick Steve’s guide and it was amazing!). It is chocolate ice cream in the shape of a ball and they put some whipped cream on top along with a little cookie. Turns out it’s 3 euros cheaper if you get it to go, so we found a bench in front of the 4 rivers fountain.

2006-06-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

When we were done it was around 8:45pm and we decided to walk back to Spagna to get home, but made a side trip to the Trevi Fountain to show some other people how to get there. We had wanted a photo of the fountain all lit up at night anyway so it worked out well.

2006-06-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

We finally made it into town around 11:30 and we tried to buy train tickets at the American Express office at Spagna but their system was down (they told us to come back later or tomorrow), and then we tried to use the internet at a café, but they needed real ID (not a copy) so we did neither and wasted some time. Cindy wanted to go back to the Termini station to another National Museum (they are everywhere around Rome!) It was a great museum (better than yesterday) and we saw lots of statues, wall mosaics, and a huge coin collection- very interesting. It was 2 by the time we were done so we found a restaurant on the side of the road and had a good lunch with a British waiter. We finally made it to the Colosseum around 3:30pm. When we got there a woman asked us if we spoke English and if we wanted a tour of the Colosseum and a free tour of the Forum- it was 6 euros each- it sounded great so we said yes. The tour guide had a lot of interesting information to share, but he was kind of rude. We also only walked just inside the Colosseum and he talked for 30 minutes in 1 spot, so we didn’t see much.

2006-06-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

Then they rushed us over to the Forum where we were supposed to meet another tour guide. We’re going to come back tomorrow so we can actually walk around. Turns out our hour long tour only lasted 30 minutes and he, too, only walked a little way into the Forum and did not walk around the Palatine at all! What we could hear was great, but he did not use the microphone that sat around his neck and it was really hard to hear everything. When it was done we had a great time walking around the Forum and the Palatine along with the Palatine Museum where we saw lots of statues and parts of the original building that they had excavated.

2006-06-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

We walked around what had been the Emperor’s Palace (it was huge!) and looked down on the Circus Maximus where they had the chariot races (it held 300,000 people!) Of course, nothing is left now but the track, but that is unbelievable! When we left we saw another street that went uphill that Cindy just had to take- turns out it dead-ended at a tiny Church (not worth the climb)- oh well. We made our way back to Piazza Spagna around 7:30pm and found a small restaurant and had dinner. At first we were sitting on the street next to women who were chain smoking and cars passing within inches of us so we asked to be moved inside and it was then great. Cindy and Norm had cheese fondue which tasted wonderful and Jeanine had eggplant parmegiana. We talked to the owner during dinner- he was very nice. After dinner we walked back to Spagna and ate gelato on the Spanish Steps. It was a very fun day. We went back to Flaminio station and a train was there so we jumped right on! Great day.

2006-06-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

Today we were up early to go to the Vatican to be blessed by the Pope! We got to St. Peter’s around 8:15 and stood in a long line with crazy people who kept pushing and shoving to go through the metal detectors. Then we walked all the way up and found great seats in the first section in front of the red canopy where the Pope sat. Around 9, Cindy and Jeanine decided to go to the bathroom and before it started- bad idea. It took 45 minutes! The line was huge and they only had 4 stalls open! Crazy- and people kept going to the front to but in line (not cool). They missed some introductions but nothing important so it was okay. We saw the Pope come out in his Pope-mobile (a big white hummer) and all the Swiss Guards in their orange and blue dress. They then introduced the Pope, and he did a sermon in Latin. After that he explained his sermon, said hello, and gave a blessing in 6 different languages (German, French, English, Spanish, Polish and Italian)! Wow! It took a long time but it was really neat. When it was over we took the train to Termini station where we found a great restaurant (along the side of a skuzzy road across from the station). We walked across the street when we were done to the National Roman Museum, the Octagonal museum (where we could not take pictures but it was really neat), and some churches. We tried to find the baths of Diocletian but could not- we think it’s closed. We came back to the hotel and decided we wanted to order in- unfortunately it took 2 hours for our pizza, chicken, and “mozzarella sticks” to arrive! Kathy asked the driver what had happened and he said that they had called him 3 times, but he was at some people’s house and didn’t leave…very strange…in the US he would be fired! We watched Stealth in bed after dinner and then went to sleep!

2006-06-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

Today we slept in again and Kathy made us a reservation with a tour group to see the Vatican/St. Peter’s. It was amazing! Our tour guide, Dana, is from Chicago and she’s been studying art history abroad in Rome for a year. Her summer job is giving tours (sounds like fun). We spent about 3 ½ hours touring the museum, Sistine Chapel, and the Basilica. We saw the statue of Apollo and the torso that Michelangelo based his Christ figure on in “The Last Judgment” in the Sistine Chapel.

2006-06-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

Then of course there is Michelangelo’s first work, Pieta. We think we could keep coming to the Vatican museum and always learn something new- there is just so much information and so much to see!

2006-06-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

When we left St. Peter’s we found the information booth to try to get tickets to see the Pope tomorrow. We had to get back in a line to go through security like we were going back into the basilica and then we had to ask where the Swiss Guards were- only one person was allowed up the stairs to get the tickets. Cindy went to inquire but the guard was very abrupt and asked if she had a reservation- of course she didn’t but he gave her tickets anyway. Afterward Jeanine read the map wrong to get to the metro station from St. Peter’s but we found a great café and had good lasagna and tuna sandwich. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store and bought cheese, strawberry’s, and wine for a snack. And that was our day!

2006-06-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

Today we started our tour of Italy. The B&B is only 20 minutes outside Rome by train- very easy. Today we slept in and Kathy made us breakfast then we ventured into town. We made it to the Spanish Steps no problem from Flaminio station (we didn’t do the metro today). Then from there we walked around without a map and got very lost for 2 hours! Turns out we were walking behind Piazza Navona and Trevi Fountain without realizing it. After asking many people and finally buying a map we found Piazza Navona.

2006-06-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

From there we made our way to the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain. We ate pizza twice today (for lunch and an afternoon snack) - it’s really good! We had trouble calling Kathy- the phones ate our money and would not work and the taxi lady at Saxa Rubra did not know where Villa Paola was and did not speak a word of English. We finally found a phone that worked and Gilbert picked us up from the train station. Fun but tiring day. Jeanine rested and mom and dad went out to dinner.

2006-06-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

Up early for our flight to Rome. The flight was fine and we met Jeanine in baggage claim. She arrived just 15 minutes before we did. The only hitch was the ride to our Bed and Breakfast which was arranged by the B&B. We were told he would be there in 20 minutes. After many calls and excuses, the driver showed up 2-1/2 hours later. Once we got to our place all was well. What a nice spot in the country with flowers and rolling hills. We are sharing a suite on the top level and while Fabiana owns the B&B, Kathy and Gilbert actually run things. Gilbert took us to a nearby restaurant for dinner and then we went to bed.

2006-06-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

Cindy and Diana spent the morning at the Hamamm getting the skin scraped off of their bodies. Norm and Abdou decided to take it easy at the apartment. They took care not to scrub too much on the tattoos. We had lunch on the square and then gradually worked out way to the train to Casablanca. A three hour ride into the night for an easy return to the hotel right next to the strain station. This is a great location except when the trains make noise in the night. We survived.

2006-06-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

After breakfast at the café next door, Abdou’s friend Rachid met us and took us touring through town. Our first stop was the Jardin Menara, once an exclusive preserve for sultans and high ministers from the 12th century. There is a large pool with olive groves and a pavilion built in 1869.

2006-06-09T09:38:00.000-07:00

Then we arrived at the Ali ben Youssef Mosque and Medersa, just as the call to prayer was being announced. While originally built in the 12th century, it was almost completely rebuilt in the 19th century in the Merenid style. We strolled past the Palais de la Bahia, but it was closed for afternoon siesta.

2006-06-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

So off we went for a drive to the Mid- Atlas Mountains for a tagine lunch at river side tables along the river. It was a beautiful drive with windy roads and once we arrived in the Ourika Valley, the air cooled and it was very pleasant.

2006-06-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

That evening, we had dinner on the square after having Henna tattoos for each of us. Dinner was Sheeps Head for Abdou. The rest of us just watched. We ate other food. Afterward, Abdou said his stomach was not feeling too good.

2006-06-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning at the beach playing soccer, beach volleyball, paddle ball and jogging in the sand. In the afternoon, we again went to the home of Abdou’s mom for another home cooked meal. Even though Couscous is a Friday tradition, Diana had requested it special for us on a Thursday while we were in town. His mom and sister spent over two hours preparing the feast which was served in the largest bowl ever seen. Again, we were to eat it with our hands. Cindy became a real pro sitting next to Abdou’s Mom observing how to roll the couscous into balls with her hand. A childhood dream, playing with her food. Norm, Diana, and Abdou were not good Moroccans as they ate with a spoon. Once again, while there were enormous portions, we somehow all managed to clean the plate.

2006-06-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

After lunch, we walked along the ramparts of the old portion of the El Jadida, Cite Portugese. In those days, it was called Mazagan, founded in 1513 and was named El Jadida (The New) in the 19th century. We saw the Citerne Portuguese that had been lost for centuries. It was a subterranean, vaulted cistern water collection facility. It was used in the Orson Wells movie “Othello” for the famous riot scene, so we read.

2006-06-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

Then we were off on our road trip again, but the road seemed to have as many donkey carts as it did cars on the way to Marrakesh, another imperial city. Current population is about 1 million and the city was founded in 1062 and still has 12 kilometers of worn ramparts from the past. The center of life is in the Dfemaa el-Fna, the main square which really comes to life in the evening with music of all sorts everywhere, and all expecting money, of course. As this area is filled with open air restaurants, we chose to have dinner here. Then back to the apartment that we have for a couple days.

2006-06-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

On the road again with a short stop at Meknes, the third Imperial City. We strolled past the original elaborate main gate, Bab El-Mansour, erected by Moulay Ismail’s son, Moulay Abdallah in 1732. Then we walked to the medina through the now current side gate to the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail the Sultan who made Meknes his capital in the 17th century. As non-Muslims we were able to go into the mosque but not the tomb.

2006-06-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

Then we were off to El Jadida, 90 kilometers from Casablanca and the home of Abdou’s family. We had dinner with his Mom and family. We were first served Moroccan Whiskey (tea) and cinmins, which are a folded flatbread cooked on a griddle with oil. Later the dinner was served which included salad and incredible fishballs made of sardines (but different than the sardines we know of) and vegetables. They were great. We had our first lesson in Moroccan eating learning that you are to take the food with bread (homemade by Abdou’s Mom) and your fingers. What fun as we ate and talked into the night.

2006-06-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Started our day with a lovely Moroccan breakfast served on the roof patio with insane amounts of food that all tasted great. We had soup for breakfast along with many Moroccan delicacies. We took a walking tour of Fes today. We wandered through the narrow, winding streets to see Mosques, shops and small museums. You have to be careful because the goods are moved by donkey and the donkeys take control of the road when they walk. When they yell Balek you are supposed to get out of the way. You also had to watch your step. We had a great walk that eventually wound us back at the bottom of the Medina and near to our hotel. Fes has 9400 streets, walkways and shops throughout. We again, had plenty of walking exercise. Back to the hotel to clean up and rest for our trip to the music festival tonight. Oh yes, before returning to our hotel, we tried a banana and strawberry ice cream cone. It tasted a bit like bubble gum and was a nice break from the 33 degree heat.