Day 16. Rome:Piazza Navona, Al Sogno, Campo de Fiore, Fontana della Tartughe, Colloseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum.

Today, we visited the Piazza Navona and admired the huge space with its 3 fountains and its obelisk..  Rome certainly does do fountains well!

 

 

 

We visited the Al Sogno, the wonderful gift store, and admired the soft toys, Pinocchio toys and puppets.  All so very tempting!

 

 

Then, we progressed to the Campo de Fiore, where we saw some beautiful flowers and gorgeous posies, stalls of fruit, vegetables, spices, bags, pasta, cheeses and hams.  It is very touristy and the stalls are mainly manned by Bangladeshi's.  Apparently, the Romans are shopping here less and less.

 

 

Our next stop was at the sweet little fountain Fontana della Tartughe.  I love the terrapins struggling to reach the top bowl of water.

 

 

After lunch, it was  time to start our tour of the Collosseum with Maximo, an art historian who was an excellent guide.  He escorted us through the dungeons, where the wild animals, gladiators and sewers existed, and where the pulleys and winches used to access the main arena were found.  we learned a lot about the history of the amphitheater.

Next, we went up to the second floor for a clearer view and explanation of the inner part of the stadium,

and a view of the Roman Forum, including the Arch of Titus

 

 

Later, we were taken outside where we  had a clearer view of the exterior of the Colosseum and an exploration of the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill.

 

 

 

We took note of the gardens and the rather impressive bird cage, but it is the views that one can see from the terrace of the Roman Forum that are stunning.  I found the whole area absolutely gobsmacking.  It truly is one of the wonders of our world.  How amazing that we can  still see so much of the past!  We were lucky enough to hear musicians practising for a future concert as we explored.  It made it even more of a stunning experience.  I will always treasure these memories of what ancient Rome was like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 15. Exploring Rome: the Pantheon, the Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Vivctor Emmanuel II and the Capitoline Museum

Normally, before I go to a country, I do a lot of research - about the history the characteristics, the culture, the language, of the place I am visiting.  I know some places I would like to visit.  This trip, apart from booking accommodation, I made no such preparations.  Life in the year ahead has been too stressful and complicated and busy to think more than one day at a time.  Consequently, I have relied heavily on the others in our group for guidance as to where to go, and have been just absorbing the experiences at the same time as I am trying to drain off accumulated stress.  I feel, nevertheless, that I know Italy, because of years of reading about it, knowing Italians, and loving Italian food.  I have found lots of things to like here: the strong noses, the pride in dressing well, the foot pedals to turn on taps, the variety, tastiness and deliciousness of the food, the ability to combine the classic and the kitsch, the beauty of nature, the frequent reminders of the past.  I have found much to bemuse me too - the ability to fit a bathroom into what should be a tiny cupboard, and the human ability to shower in minute spaces, the weirdness of some of the washing machines, the obsession with security - metal doors, bars on windows,  collections of locks and passcodes, walls, barbed wire, glass - the combination of beauty and plain ugliness, the lack of desexing of dogs - I haven’t seen this many dog’s balls in years! - , the importance of gelati.  I am also admiring of the sheer charm, ingenuity and audaciousness of the Africans trying to sell  their bracelets.  From bonding with you over the colour of your skin, to sympathising with you over your lack of a partner, to identifying your home country, to telling you stories about their brother living in your home town, to giving you a present, they never focus on the reason for  their approach until the last possible moment, hoping by that time you are too much of a friend to repel the sale.  Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi salesmen at markets are much more direct, but probably a lot more efficient.  Even as unprepared as I am, Italy has charmed and amused and intrigued me.

I wasn’t sure I would like Rome.  The sheer numbers of tourists and the stories I had heard about the crime and seediness and the jadedness of the city made me wary, but it has attracted me nevertheless. Bob and I went for a wander through the older part of the city with very little solid plan of attack and absolutely no real preparation.

We first came across the Piazza de La Rotonda with its fountain and Egyptian obelisk.  Goodness people have removed a lot of Egyptian obelisks over the years!

In the same square we came across the  rather amazing Pantheon

We then popped into Santa Maria sopra Minerva, a church which appears rather bland on the outside but quite fascinating on the inside, with wonderful ceilings

stained glass

and the most bizarre collection of skulls!

Our next find was a shop where the clergy shop for their clothes and accessories.  Again, as a non Catholic, I found the shop rather bizarre.  The prices were horrendously expensive!

Then, we came upon the terribly imposing Victor Emmanuel II monument in the Piazza

Venezia

and circled round it until we came to the Capitoline museum and decided to explore.  We found it a bit confusing in that it is in 2 buildings and some of the stair wells were blocked off so we had to do a lot of backtracking, but we enjoyed  its imposing rooms

collection of candelabras

and stunning sculptures,

views,

jewellery

china ( I found the only funny one in the collection)

and paintings

 including some by Carvaggio.

we are getting very fit with all this walking, as well as more educated!

Day 14. Travelling from Porto Ercole to Rome.

This morning we drove across the island to explore the next bay, Porto Ercole, on the  Monte Argentario peninsula.  This little bay is inhabited by mostly Italian tourists who seemed to be relatively wealthy.  The harbour is full of yachts, cruisers and speedboats, the shops are full of lovely clothes and gifts, the cafes are full of people relaxing and chatting amiably.  So nice not to be near busloads of tourists taking selfies and following a flag waving, ranting guide.

We climbed upwards through the narrow streets of the old town vaguely following the Carvaggio trail (Carvaggio died in this town in 1610 of a fever).  This climb not only encouraged fitness, but also gave us the opportunity to obtain some glimpses of the lives of these ordinary inhabitants.

It also gave us great views of the neighbouring hills with Forte Santa Caterina and Forte Filippo

 

We climbed right up to the ruins of the Rocca Spagnola which is closed to the public.

And then, on the way down, we took in views of several churches

Later on, we took a drive around the island shores to view other towns, buildings and views, like Forte Stella

Then, we took off for Rome, stopping for a break at Santa Marinella, which, in spite of its rather uninviting beaches, proved to be popular as a holiday spot for less elevated Italians and their families.

We had the dubious pleasure of experiencing several traffic jams together with many families who were returning to Rome from a weekend in the country.  After long delays, we finally arrived in Rome and encountered the extraordinary strain of trying to find our apartment and deposit our bags, then trying to find some parking.  Once we finally parked the car, and sweating and trembling, emerged into the evening to walk back to our apartment we came across the Palazzo Cavour

the river Tiber

and the Chiesa di San Giacomo in Augusta.  Tomorrow proves to be very interesting.

Day 13:Leaving the farm in Vinci and travelling to Poggio Pertuso

This morning, the farmer of our property showed us around his winery

 and explained about how he was farming his grapes.  We had been given a bottle of his very good wine on our arrival, and it was very interesting learning the process of producing this wine from scratch.  In this region, he mainly uses Sangiovese grapes

 and tries to keep the management of the vines as organic as possible.  He travels regularly to his main market countries : Russia and China.  What a small world we are becoming.

Reluctantly leaving the farm, we travelled through the plains and hills, villages and towns, rural and urban areas of Italy towards the west coast.  Our new home for a night is  a little villa in Poggio Pertuso, overlooking the marina and the sea, and the Forte Stella, which was built by the Spanish.

 We discovered that we are surrounded by the wealthy:  apparently Vladimir Putin holidays near us!We walked down to explore the beach.  What a difference to an Australian beach!  Some private sections, complete with umbrellas and lay back seats, some with bars and restaurants, clothes stalls, slides and rafts and playgrounds for the children, others for the public, others with dog walking areas.  And the water never seemed to get above chest level.  Perfect for the many children we found playing there.

Hopefully tomorrow we will have time for another quick swim and an explore before we head to Rome.