Thursday was visit the Forum and Coliseum day which really wasn't called a coliseum until well after the fact. Our Irish guide, Jimmy, with Roman Empire Tours had a plethora of facts and, if he hadn't spoken so quickly, I might have absorbed more. To our advantage, Rider, Betsy and I were the only ones on the tour so we could pace for a baby who actually had his diaper changed on the most important street in the Forum ( Via Appia ) under the laurel trees which provided laurel branches for the likes of Julius Caesar!
Rider didn't care but I was surprised to learn that the Forum was actually buried until excavation began in 1908. Evidently it was the habit of the Romans to build the city over the top of any and everything so most of the ancient ruins are literally buried under 20 feet or more of debris. Actually so much of antiquity is buried that only 2 metro lines have been built in Rome though more are needed. Each time one is contemplated, the engineers run into historically significant buildings. The toughest part of the tour, in terms of the baby, was the very uneven cobblestones. The Perego held up very well despite the rough treatment though it would have been easier if he could have been in a backpack. Overall, there are few provisions for handicaps or strollers in Rome.
The Forum buildings other than the Senate are very much partials so one needs to use a lot of imagination to picture daily life. Many people think Caesar was killed on the steps of Senate but that building was actually constructed after his murder! Once you pay your admission, you are free to wander around the Forum and Coliseum so we started with the Forum which wasn't too crowded but the crowds grew enormously as we approached the Coliseum. Because we had Roma Passes, we skipped the long lines, found the elevator which took us to the top level. I had forgotten that the building could hold 50,000 spectators and it was free admission on "gladiator days". Crowds were even fed a la "bread and circus".
Russell Crowe was nowhere in sight but you could imagine the scene if you had seen the movie. The pens for the animals ( and slaves) were a warren under the wooden floor of the arena. The arena was covered with sand. Other little known facts: all fights were not to the death and some people chose to be gladiators. Also, there was at least one black emperor of Rome chosen from north Africa. ( Well, that was an obscure fact intimated at the Forum. )
Rider enjoyed much of this part of the tour as the surface of the walkways was pretty smooth and he could people watch. Often people even asked to have their pictures taken with him. I'd say that Oriental people were particularly interested in this little blond haired, blue eyed fellow. Some actually pointed and stared...
Rider later enjoyed eating gelato, the Trevi Fountain, putting his hands in the water and making friends with the owner of a jewelry store who didn't want to put him down. He almost got to know her a lot better as he had a rough night and we threatened to take him back to her the next morning.
Then on Friday, after a delicious breakfast provided by Hotel Sonya, a long nap for Rider and rest time for Mimi and Mommy, we headed for the Vatican by metro. Again using Roma Passes, it wasn't too difficult to negotiate once we carried the stroller and baby down interminable stairs and discerned how to validate the pass so the turnstile would open. We were not pick-pocketed as I feared from reading too many posts about the possibility and found our meeting place at MekaBar near St. Peter's.
Again our tour leader was Jimmy and we only had one other couple in our group. The Vatican Museum was fantastic, the Sistine Chapel was amazing and the noisiest QUIET spot I've ever been. There was a palatable buzz from the crowd plus the guards loudly "shushing" the crowd with SILENCIO. Getting into and out of the chapel was a certain kind of purgatory not mentioned by Dante fraught with the STEPS from Hell which were numerous and steep. I can not recommend this tour if there is a bay in a stroller along. In fact, the stroller can not even be taken into St. Peter's so Betsy and I took turns entertaining Rider outside of the Basilica so could have a quick glimpse of The Pieta and the glorious interior.
If Rider could talk, I think he would list the highlights of the tour:
1. Having his diaper changed in the courtyard of the Vatican Museum ( Discern a pattern?)
2. Crowing on more than one occasion in the Sistine Chapel...babies are exempted from the silence rule and who could stop them anyway?
3. Crawling around the iron gates to St. Peter's and getting a lot of attention from the crowd
4. Leaving the Vatican and getting to eat pasta at a restaurant nearby where we shared a table with some Germans including a little girl
5. Watching lots of Roman birds, dogs and cats
After returning to the hotel, a quick playtime in the bidet ( yes, he loved it as a personal water table and we weren't using it anyway) and a shower, he went happily off to sleep. We found the best and almost only way to get him to sleep was to turn off all the lights and tv and just read on our ipads. No nightlife on this trip after 8:00 pm.
Today, after a quick breakfast, we bid arrivederci to Rome and took a taxi to
the Eurodrive office near the airport where we picked up our new
Renault Megane . The taxi driver seemed normal enough until he
actually started the engine where he became a contender for the
Indianapolis 500 with speeds topping 145 kilometers while weaving in
and out of traffic. However, one hardy noticed that any second could
be the last of one's life as several others on the road were also in a
real life race to the finish line.
The paper work was expediently completed, Betsy was checked out on the
operation of the car, as navigator my map was marked and we set out
north for Firenze(Florence).The car was equipped with GPS and Jane, British gal , led us up
the autostrada. Rider, unlike most babies I have known, detests the
car seat so it takes a bit of patience to let him whimper/cry until he
settles himself down or falls asleep. In this case, he was asleep
within five minutes and slept about an hour until we stopped at a rest
stop where we fed him a picnic lunch. Once underway again we completed
the journey to Borgo San Lorenzo and easily found the local
supermarket, the Coop. Betsy kept Rider outside while I made a foray
inside for the essentials: milk, eggs, bread, bananas and wine. With
concern, I bought a local Chiati for a little over 3 Euros ($4.50)
which proved to be lovely.
Within ten minutes we had found the single cypress with the shrine
along the road to San Crispi. We began climbing from the floor of the
Mugello Valley up to a peak with a stunning view and, indeed, that was
Capitignano.
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| Capitignano As legend has it, this piece of land was inhabited by the Etruscans which predates the Roman soldiers. The estate consists of several buildings and absolutely has the look of Tuscany. Our apartment is the second floor of a converted barn and is spacious with180 degree amazing views. |
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| Our apartment is upstairs above the library. |
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| Kitchen and eating area |
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| Living Room |
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| Hallway to bedrooms |
unique windows which have a brick lattice facade where he can poke out
his little head and squeal at anyone ambling by. There are also dogs,
cats, birds, bugs, butterflies and chickens to capture his attention.
After we unpacked and set Rider up in his room complete with a baby
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| Rider's new room bed which had been the owner's( Lynn Aeschliman) daughter's we took a quick tour and met
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| While I adore Rider, he does have a rather limited vocabulary. To see more about our new home, look up www.Capitignano. org. The caretakers, Maria and her husband are an extended family who live here year round and were very welcoming though I have to learn a lot more Italian to have many conversations with Maria and the gang. Our apartment has just been renovated and many accoutrements still have tags on them. The furniture itself consists mostly of sturdy and gorgeous Tuscan antique pieces. I plan to do a lot of hand wiping in the future! |
We're getting into a rhythm as we work around the school schedule for Betsy. Today we went back into Borgo and did a big shop. As it turns out we have a decent size refrigerator ( not a given in Europe) and can stock up on food. The other students all eat together with a private chef preparing the meals. We'll speak with Lynn tomorrow and try to plan some meals with them. I think part of the experience is living among other artists so we need to make that accommodation. Besides, I don't want to cook
every night.
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| Entrance to Guest building |
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| Guest and Caretakers' building |
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| Al fresco dining area on the patio |
It will be quiet...no tv, no radio and, at the present, no Internet
connection. The internet was knocked out by a storm last week and
things move slowly here so we'll hope it is repaired in the next few
days. Wondering if Betsy is desperate enough to learn to play bridge?
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