Rome

Tuesday, June 20

After a 90-minute super-fast, smooth, quiet, airline-type boxed snack provided train ride from Florence to Rome (we averaged 134 mile per hour) we were met by our driver at the Roma Termini who delivered us to our hotel with Mario Andretti-like race-car-driver skill.

With the experience and confidence we gained during our exploration of Florence, we headed out on our own onto the streets of the "Eternal City" with a walking-tour guide book that provided not only street by street directions but commentary on the history and significance of the piazzas, palazzi, and fountains we encountered. Within walking distance from our hotel, we found the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, numerous fountains and statues by Bernini, awe-inspiring church buildings with dazzling interiors - some housing relics of a saint or the tomb of a Pope. I was overwhelmed by the sense of history surrounding us.

Wednesday, June 21

Following a scrumptious breakfast at the hotel, we took a guided driving tour of the ancient part of Rome: some of the same places we walked to yesterday and places farther than we could walk comfortably. Our guide was engaging and informative. She handled the Mercedes Benz seven-passenger van with ease through the highly congested streets. In our tour group were two middle-aged sisters, one of whom had lived in Scottsdale, AZ until recently and an elderly husband and wife from Monterey, CA along with their just-graduated from high school grandson.

Our guide likened the stratification of the archaeological layers of the various ruins to the layers of a lasagna, which made a lot of sense to me. We stopped occasionally to take pictures or explore the inside of a church building. One church had a Michelangelo sculpture of Jesus on the cross. The church leaders had covered up the private areas with a cloth, feeling it was too provocative, not understanding Michelangelo's view that the beauty of the human form is God's crowning creation. We found a coveted parking place at the top of the so-called "Spanish Steps" and stopped for a breathtaking morning vista of the city with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the not-too-far distance. Beautiful.

Our tour ended a little after noon. We stopped by our room to clean up and rest a bit. Then headed out again on foot to explore more and look for a few gifts for our granddaughters.

Pizza shop across the street was recommended by our tour guide as the best in Rome. We stopped in for a late lunch and certainly would believe it! The pizza was sold, not by slice, but by weight. We chose zucchini and buffalo mozzarella. So good! Around the corner from our hotel was a gelato shop recommended by our taxi driver. It was a very popular spot. We waited in line for the best gelato ever.

We went back to the room to read, rest, and write. Surprisingly, by 8:00 p.m. our tummies were again a little hungry, so we went to the hotel roof garden for a glass of Chianti and to split a plate of spaghetti in the cooling breezes of sunset. It was lovely.

Thursday, June 22

Our morning schedule was open. We took our time with breakfast, took another short walk, spent some hours talking, writing, reading.

In the early afternoon we were picked up at our hotel for a semi-private guided tour of the Vatican, the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Cathedral. There was a huge crush of people queuing for the Vatican tour. Because we were with in a group tour, we had our own shorter lines but still had to squeeze through a sea of humanity to get through.

The Vatican buildings are filled with great artwork of the Masters given to the various Popes throughout the centuries. We viewed many of these enroute to the Sistine (Sistini) Chapel. Our guide rushed us through, and the rooms were crowded with visitors, but we still were able to gaze in awe at the art and history before us.

The tour's penultimate stop was the Sistine Chapel. To actually stand in the Sistine Chapel and to look up at the amazing art in the fresco of Michelangelo was breathtaking. It was aesthetically moving, but not a deeply spiritual experience, however, due to the crowd packed in shoulder to shoulder. And it was very noisy from the tour guides commenting and individuals speaking to one another. But the beauty of the art was unbelievable. We were allowed to look for about 20 minutes, then herded out to see the final spot, St. Peter's Cathedral. This building is the largest Cathedral in the world. We were allowed to roam through on our own. It is here we saw Michelangelo's Pieta. The depth of emotion in that piece is breathtaking, Mary grieving as she holds the lifeless body of our Lord.

We spent as long as we could in St. Peter's, but at about 5:30 p.m., we made a mad dash back to the museum entrance. We had made plans to meet up with friends from our seminary days who serve with WorldVenture in Ireland who "happened" to be in Rome for meetings the exact same days we were. We ate dinner with them at the Vatican Museum and then started walking back to our hotel. It ended up that we were able to walk together and continue our conversation for quite awhile until we arrived at an intersection that was the center point for us both. We said our final goodbye and headed in opposite directions.

That we were able to see the Poths was certainly a “God-thing.” A week before we left the US for Italy, Christine was reading their periodic missionary email which mentioned that they would be in Rome on dates overlapping our stay. After a series of internet chats, our plan to meet was set. It was wonderful to reconnect, even though it was so brief, and to catch-up on kids and grandkids and ministry doings, blessings, and challenges.

Christine and I stopped for one last gelato at the fabulous place around the corner from our hotel. We made it back to our room by 9 p.m., hot, sticky, a little sore and tired from all the walking, but with hearts and spirits full and inspired.

Friday, June 23

The alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. Breakfast at 7:00, then check out. The driver arrived at 8:00 to give us a ride to the airport for our flight home. We were flying to Phoenix by way of Detroit. At the Rome airport, we were given a bad direction and ended up at the wrong terminal. Fortunately it wasn’t far from the correct terminal and we had plenty of time to get to our gate. Good thing we had lots of time as we went through three security checks, walked and walked and walked until we finally found our gate.

We have discussed many of our impressions, insights, and inspirations, too many to write at this time, so here are just a few.

The new is built upon the old. Thousands of years of human endeavor precede us, as seen in the archaeological levels of our host cities – a reminder that someone has always gone before us.

The ancient architecture and art demonstrate the highly developed human knowledge and understanding that existed well before Industrial Age technology.

The influence of political, economic, and military power tends to corrupt true religion. Our American Founding Fathers were right to provide a separation between governance and religion.

Toscany!

Saturday, June 17

Today we took a three-hour guided English-language walking tour of Florence that ended at the Academia d’Art. Because of our pre-paid group reservation, we got to go to the head of the line with only a brief wait. We spent most of our time marveling at Michelangelo’s sculptural masterpiece David, also known as Il Gigante, the Giant. The artistry is truly amazing.

A modest view of the David

After the David, we greatly enjoyed the Academia's Musical Instrument Museum. It was no match to the Phoenix MIM, but they did have the original Cristofori harpsichord, the first in the development of the piano. And even better, they had a small collection of brass instruments: sackbuts (ancestor of the modern trombone) and a few sizes of natural horns ("french" horns without valves). There were also a couple Stradivari violins, and couple Amati celli, and a tenor and alto viola. These originally belonged to the Medici family string ensemble.

The Academia also had a computer center with many explanations of Medieval and Renaissance music, the composers, church music. etc. It was available in Italian and English text and audio. It was an excellent educational presentation.

Sunday, June 18

I’m calling today's adventure “Big bus, small curves.” We took a bus tour to San Gimignano (a world heritage site), Siena , Greve, and a “Chianti” winery. The driver of our 45-passenger bus performed marvels as he negotiated the narrow and winding country roads. The landscape reminded me very much of the hills around the San Francisco Bay Area and the vineyard areas of central California. We were at about 1500 feet elevation in the Chianti region we were touring, so the altitude and gentle breeze made the air noticeably cooler than the past couple of days in Florence.

San Gimignano

The medieval walled cities of San Gimignano and Greve with multiple towers located on hill tops or ridges were spectacular examples of city placement for strategic defense against outside invaders. Sienna is the home of the famous annual and grueling horse race which provides hearty competition between the districts of the city.

The last stop of our tour was a visit to a winery in the middle of the Chianti region. A young woman, the employee of a small family owned winery, gave us a talk about the wine-making process. We began by sampling the less expensive “young” Chianti and then moved on to the high-end “Premium” Chianti Classico wines. They were all very good. Now I know what wines to look for at the store.

In our English-speaking tour group, we met a friendly middle-aged couple from Denver, Colorado. The husband is an artist, a painter, who has also taught art at the college level. We exchanged business cards. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll purchase one of his pieces.

At the end of the day, I felt my throat getting sore. I think I am coming down with a head cold.

Monday, June 19

Yep, a head cold. I got a couple hours’ sleep before the cold took hold: congestion, sore throat, slight cough, moderate headache. I tossed and turned for a couple hours then got up and went on Facebook at around 3:30 a.m. local time to occupy my time since the cold wouldn't allow me to sleep. I took a decongestant and was finally able to back to bed and sleep for a few more hours. Fortunately, we had no time commitments today, so sleeping in a bit was very helpful.

Pitti Palace with Florence in the background

Our goal this day was to visit the Pitti Palace on the other side of the River Arno from where we have been exploring. We walked around the exterior of the palace, it is huge, and then found an entrance to the Boboli Gardens that surround it. The garden is not a vegetable or flower garden as we might think of a garden, but more of a manicured wood with statues placed throughout. It was located on hill with great views across the river of old Florence with the prominent dome of the Duomo and the various lesser domes, steeples, and towers. Very picturesque.

We walked back to the hotel through one of the many market areas and found small gifts for our children and grandchildren. Then we chose an outdoor ristorante for our last Florentine dinner: pear and spinach ravioli with Gorgonzola sauce; pizza with olives, prosciutto, and artichokes; plus a glass of red wine. So good!

Back at our hotel we found our way to the rooftop terrace. The air was beginning to cool as the sun set. We had a beautiful view of the city bathed in the rose colors of twilight. There, we met a couple from Kansas City. It was fun to compare travel experiences with them.

Tomorrow we check out of the Santa Maria Novella Hotel and board the high-speed train for Rome.

Buon Giorno Firenze!

The Duomo - Florence, Italy

The adventure to Italy begins. Our morning alarm was set for 3:00 a.m. We mostly slept soundly, but were both awake at 2:45 a.m. rarin’ to go. We breezed through TSA as “Pre-Check” travelers into Sky Harbor's terminal three. We were among the first to arrive for the 6:00 a.m. flight to New York City’s JFK. After a three and a half hour layover in New York, our journey continued to Paris where we landed at 7:00 a.m. local time.

Our seats on the plane to Paris were in the last row of the economy section. This put us next to the restrooms, a good thing, but we were dismayed to discover that our seats did not recline. Sleep eluded us during the flight, but we did watch a couple of good movies: Hidden Figures and La La Land. I won’t describe or critique these here, but Christine and I both considered them worthy viewing.

Our trans-Atlantic view

Because we were seated in the middle section there was no way to see out the windows. Our only view for the entire flight was the interior of the plane. Fortunately, the seat-back video monitors worked well and the audio was fantastic due to the inexpensive ears buds I bought at Walmart.

Two meals were served on this flight. Dinner came about two hours in and then breakfast about two hours before landing. The food was tasty and filling.

When we landed in Paris it was the next day – Friday. We went through Customs/Passport Control (now we have a French stamp in our US passport) and then navigated to our gate for Florence, switching from Delta Airlines to its French partner, Air France. We found the gate and then went for a walk around the terminal to stretch our legs after the long trans-Atlantic crossing. We were both a little fuzzy in our thinking as we were approaching the mile stone of no sleep for twenty-four hours.

The  ninety-minute flight from Paris to Florence traveled over the French and Italian Alps. This plane was smaller than the Boeing 777 and this time we could see out the window. There were clouds hugging the mountains, with their peaks jutting up through the cover. The scene was breathtaking in the early morning light.

The Florence Airport terminal

Twenty minutes before landing the pilot came on with the usual pre-landing instructions and added that the Florence runway was shorter than most so a quick stop was required. "OK," I thought, "Thank you for telling us." We put our stuff away and made certain our seat belts were secure. We touched down and I believe it was the hardest landing I have experienced. The wheels touched the pavement and the engines were thrust into full reverse. What a jolt and racket! It was also the quickest airplane stop I have experienced. I reminded myself, “He warned us.” We touched down in Italy at about noon local time.

Since we carried-on our luggage, we did not have to go to baggage claim. We proceeded directly to the exit. We had no items to declare, so we went out into the lobby without any further passport checks. We had arranged a car and driver to meet us and take us to the hotel. They were to be holding a sign with our name. There were several drivers there, but no one with a sign for us. We called the local agency responsible and they called the driver who materialized, it seems, from thin air. He was apologetic, but it all worked out fine. Fortunately, we had purchased an international calling plan for one of our iPhones before leaving the US. The ability to call from our mobile phone – just like being at home – was a great help.

The drive from the airport to our hotel was nothing short of wild. Vehicles were weaving in and out, lanes merging suddenly. It looked like utter chaos. Lane lines appeared to be mere suggestion. There was a little bit of horn tooting, but mostly the traffic moved right along. Our driver took it all in stride. Welcome to Italy!

The lovely Christine in front of our hotel

After about twenty-six hours of travel we were delivered to the front desk of the beautiful Santa Maria Novella Hotel in Florence, Italy. It was a sunny, warm, and humid afternoon. Our room would not be ready until 2:00 p.m. The concierge said they would hold our bags for us until then, so off we went to explore Florence on foot - our first time in Europe on our own. With thanks to our friends the Berscheids and the Shoops for sharing their Italy travel insights and books with us, I had a good general idea of how to navigate through the historic part of the city.

Italian security forces in the

Florence train terminal 

This was Friday afternoon and happened to be the next to last day of Florence Fashion Week. There were shoulder-to-shoulder crowds everywhere: fashion designers, buyers, models, photographers, limousines and chauffeurs - also Policia, Carabinieri, and Army soldiers in battle gear on nearly every corner. The pace was frenetic.

After taking in the sights and smells, we found a set of stairs on a piazza in the shade to eat the goodies we had gleaned on our flights. Then it was time to find our way back to the hotel, get our room, and take a nap - we were exhausted. Three hours later our bodies and spirits were revived so we headed out again to engage in what would become our daily ritual - the enjoyment of gelato.

Gelato!

The historic Ponte Vecchio Bridge

We had a fantastic start to our Italy adventure. Once we caught our breath, we'd be ready to explore in depth.