Recap and then Into the Mountains

Into the Mountains              

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.                  

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.

Our apartment is upstairs above the library.

Kitchen and eating area

Living Room

Hallway to bedrooms

           Rider loves the cool tile floors and the
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  

Rider's new room
bed which had been the owner's( Lynn Aeschliman) daughter's we took a quick tour and met                                    

some of our fellow travelers. Luckily for me there are two women not too much younger than I
so I am looking  forward to making my own friends the next six weeks. 

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.

Entrance to Guest building

Guest  and Caretakers'  building

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?

Arrival

I'm ready for the plane

First, the good news. The trip to the airport and check-in was easy. Lovely Delta agent got us settled even with all the luggage. We could check 2 bags each, the carseat and the carry ons plus the stroller at the gate which we did. We easily found our seats...Economy Plus...near the galley which were worth the extra dollars though the noise of chipping at the ice was a bit disconcerrting to Rider. Hooray, we were settled, the plane loaded and ready for take off. Wait, one small problem!

Evidently each plane must have a required medical kit and our fully loaded plane was missing said item. Now Betsy and I are thinking it should have been an easy fix as there was a plane at the next gate which wasn't scheduled out for an hour and borrowing would have solved the problem BUT that would have been too easy. Instead we waited for one to arrive from (probably) Outer Mongolia which took another hour. Rider remained cheerful and sweet as he made friends with fellow passengers that he hadn't already charmed in the gate area. Unfortunately the additional time on the ground put the baby into the suicide hour when little ones go from "everything's A-OK" to overtired and unable to be soothed. I discovered that he doesn't cry but instead morphs into Mr. Wiggle Worm. Neither his mother nor I could seem to soothe him and he desperately needed to fall asleep. Sparing the gory details, the first couple of hours of the flight totally made us rethink the entire notion of taking an eight month old on a trans Atlantic flight.


He finally fell asleep on his mother and we all slept fitfully for the next few hours awakening with about two hours left to touchdown. Amusing him with plenty of "puffs", bottles and assorted other food items plus playing peekaboo with the nice people behind us helped survive the last bit of air time. Betsy and I were so tired that we dissolved into giggles thinking about the explosion that was bound to happen when all the variety of food and drink ( most of which he had never tasted before) worked it's way through his system. We were thankful when the inevitable occurred that there was a changing table in one of the plane's bathrooms. He had extra clothes in the carry-on but Betsy never thought to carry extra clothes for herself and she endured a damp dress from the excess of liquid he consumed and that the diaper couldn't absorb. Note to moms: take extra clothes for yourself.

                                                                                               

       

Some of the luggage!

Landing was uneventful, passport control likewise and we were thrilled that the shuttle I booked was available and, after a thirty minute wait, took us directly to our hotel. The stroller was a godsend and Rider made many Italian friends before we got to the hotel.

                                                                                           

Arriving at the hotel

To our delight, Hotel Sonya is directly across from the Opera in a convenient section of Rome. The hotel staff has been more than accommodating, the room lovely and we count ourselves lucky.

Great staff at Hotel Sonya

              Upon arrival at the hotel around 10:30, we were told that the room was not ready but we could leave the luggage and that the room could be prepared within an hour. We took the time to walk the three blocks to Termini train station to pick up the Roma Passes. Point of interest: there are no signs to tell one where to find the information desk and it is difficult to find someone with the directions. We finally asked a shopkeeper and she told us near Track 24 which was at least in the general vicinity. Passes were retrieved, we checked in the hotel, had short naps and took a "walk about". Why is it more fun to walk around in foreign cities when one parks as close as possible to the store at home to avoid walking?


                                 

Nearby piazza

 So, it was time to learn another lesson about traveling with a baby. You have to constantly think about when the child is going to fall apart and schedule your life accordingly. Since we were hopeful at that junction that Rider would actually go to bed at his normal hour, we searched for a place to eat a light dinner. First of all, Roman restaurants aren't even serving at 5:30. Most restaurants open at 7 pm and the ones that do are trolling for unsuspecting tourists that don't know about local customs and will pay anything to eat.

We kept looking for a place that had patrons who were not speaking English. Finally we gave up as time was of the essence and spent a fairly large sum of money for one small pizza, a small portion of spaghetti carbonara (not as good as my recipe), a couple of breadsticks, a bottle of water and (this was worth it but overpriced) a bottle of "ok" red wine. Then it was time for two tired optimists and a rambunctious small boy to contemplate going to bed. That occurred, at least the going to bed. Downside: Rider had no intention of sleeping in the port-a-crib. So ,after trying all the usual tricks, we put him in bed between us where we tried to stay awake and he rolled around and finally slipped off the bed on to the marble floor with a resounding thump. Luckily there was a bag of clothes exactly where he landed and he was unharmed. At that point, we seriously contemplated finding him a nice Italian home!

We think we ultimately slept about 5 hours and he slept about 6. So far, he's pretty much worn us out. If he wasn't so darn cute...

Today was a special day at the Forum and Coliseum but that tale must be saved for the next blog. Ciao.

Daddy Time before Takeoff

                                                                             

And They're Off

Rider with Nana Matz

At the lake

Today's the day. Rider, his mommy, daddy and dog arrived last Wednesday night from LA. His Great Aunt Poppy had arrived earlier in the day from Virginia and his other grandmother, Nana, arrived the next day from Pennsylvania. The mountain has been full with much visitin' from the out-of-towners and with his great-grandparents and my sisters and their husbands who live nearby. He's already had a baker's dozen of "firsts" including attending the Bent Tree Regatta, swimming in Lake Tamarack, spotting four ( yes, four ) bears in one day in our yard, antique shopping and eating cheese grits. I'd have to say that the antique trip was probably not his favorite first but we did get out of the store without anything breaking! 

Pappa Bear was the first visitor

We did have a 'bon voyage dinner" at Lesle and Fred's house up further on the mountain where he had more play time with Gigi ( Great Grandmother Joy) and a bath in the sink in preparation for bedtime. He and Papa ( Great Grandfather Charles) seem to be on the same wave length. One babbles and the other answers. Who knew Dad could speak "toddlerese"? He also spent time with Grandfather i.e. Paul learning more about sitting at the bar in the kitchen and ordering things from the computer!           

A sink can be a fine place for a bath

Discovering the freezer is just his height

I discovered he doesn't particularly like the car seat and basically cries pretty incessantly when deposited therein. Hopefully that is not an omen for airplane seats. We're on the last items on the ever expanding list which is good as we need to leave mid-morning for Atlanta to drop Nana at her friend's,Christmas
(the dog) at my sister's and be at the airport by around 2:30 pm to begin check-in. 


His daddy Steve left very early this morning on an adventure of his own. He is interviewing for diving jobs in Louisiana and Texas as he makes his way cross country back to LA. He'll keep in touch with his precious boy and Betsy through Skype if we set it up correctly. We're keeping our fingers crossed. Meanwhile, we're also in touch with Grandfather aka Paul who is presently in Kiev, Ukraine.
Seems our family is going in many directions right now and I pray that we'll all travel safely, savor the experiences and gather once again in a few weeks with many stories to share.

Pack Twice

Looks like I can't truly compose on the iPad so the font will change as I transfer the blog to the iPad.

We are only one day out from Rider and his parents arriving from LA and seven days from the plane flight to Rome. Today I unpacked my suitcase and took out about one-third of the clothes. The extraneous items including art supplies, beach towel, hair dryer and such take up about the same amount of space as clothes. There continues to be a lot of room in the bag and plenty of room in the carry-on. I think I'm doing well...do I truly need two pairs of walking sandals? I think "yes". It's so wonderful to be able to change shoes in the afternoon when you've been walking in all day. Wasn't planning to take athletic shoes but they were recommended by BU. Therefore, I threw in a light weight pair of Reeboks. Also opted for flat, dressy sandals rather than any heels to wear with the plain, but stylish, black "magic" dress.

I also decided to take only black and tan pants and tops that mix with both plus three throw-on dresses for sleeping, swim coverup or general wearing and the aforementioned black magic dress for dress-up. In addition, two small, trendy sweaters..one in black and one in yellow.

Baby Rider has his own zip loc bag for the carry on with a couple of miniature books, toy with chewable parts, sanitizer wipes and pouches of apple/banana baby food. Betsy will have more toys but I thought somethings he's never seen might be more amusing. Today I'll need to practice operating the stroller so I'll be proficient at handling that chore.

Hopefully, there will be a computer to use at the villa. This blogging is tough on the iPad.

Finishing Up, I Think

Can't believe it but I'm packed except for makeup and toiletries and there is room in the suitcase! I've included a few art supplies of my own in hope I'll have a little time to try my hand at exploring the thrill of capturing Tuscany in a personal way.


Our neighbors returned from Italy yesterday and I culled a few words from their trip report:


1. Take money...Italy is still expensive especially the restaurants and trains. If you opt for saving money by not taking the "fast" trains, you also don't get air conditioning.
2. Be sure to slip that train/bus ticket in the yellow validating machine or risk getting caught and having to pay a 40 Euro fine even if you didn't know the drill. 
( By the way, instructions are written in English on the back of the ticket.)
3.The latest fabulous gelato is something with triple chocolate.
4. Bologna is a big and not too interesting city, Siena and Ferrara are lovely and Venice was mobbed so avoid the first and the last. 
5. Many items for sale in Italy and the duty free shops can be bought for almost the same price in the US and (in the case of Chianti) one doesn't risk having red-dyed clothes.
6. Air France First Class is the loveliest way to travel. (These people obviously have more money than we do.)


Since I'm a little ahead on the list, I think I'll take a couple of days off from thinking about Tuscany and resume on Tuesday!


Ciao.

Dwindling

You know you're getting close to ready when the only trip preparations were utilizing 1000 Places To See Before You Die to highlight Italian sites in Rick Steves' Florence and Tuscany and sticking those free address labels we all get in the mail on tour books, maps and phrase books! Check two more items off the list...


Betsy did forward information from BU that is supplied to parents of students studying abroad. Included were emergency contacts and phone numbers in Italy. More importantly,  I was relieved to know that she does have worldwide medical  and travel assistance provided through the university. I have some coverage through an American Express program which seems prudent. Hopefully, we'll need neither medical nor travel assistance.




(Actually, today I did some cleaning chores around the house that I doubt will be done again until August. Those chores took up most of the day after my water aerobics class. I do not leave beds unmade, dishes in the sink nor anything else undone when I travel. I also always wear clean underwear but that's another discussion that involves advice from my grandmother. )

Checking Off

Continuing to check off the list. Today Rider's new stroller arrived and had to be assembled. You would think that two reasonably intelligent adults could speedily dispatch such a chore. Guess again! The directions were in one booklet and  another booklet contained the step-by-step "pictures". It took a little while but was accomplished with no backtracking because of assembling incorrectly. Hooray! ( This scenario was eerily similar to Christmas Eves in the past.) It is a great stroller with reclining seat, sunshade, cup holder and is fairly easy to fold. However, I truly don't know who can do it with one hand as is claimed. Next...do we need a travel bag for the stroller? I'll be combing the internet for parental blogs about transporting strollers.


I didn't really consider that when you will be gone from home for seven weeks, your life (at home) doesn't stop so you must plan ahead accordingly. Tonight was a time to make airplane and hotel reservations for a wedding that will be in Connecticut in August. Also needed to order a couple of wedding presents for the events we'll be missing. Picked up the extra cash for the trip and revised my packing list to conform to some informational tidbits from the BU Tuscany Handbook. Evidently, our locale will be about 10 degrees cooler than Florence and down to the 50's at night necessitating a sweater or light jacket. This was a good day to complete totally inane items on the list including changing over the "lock" on the hairdryer to European current, double checking with the bank and credit card companies about their rates for using the cards in Italy and letting them know the dates of the trips. I also checked with USAA about my home-owner insurance policy to be sure that the ipad will be covered. Some people reading this will remember the debacle when Betsy and Steve had their laptops stolen in Costa Rica only an hour after they arrived for the wedding! 


Additionally, I told my sister where to find the emergency information 
list (passwords, credit card numbers etc.) in the house in case Paul is out of town and I can't find the one I'm taking. And I packed the extra key for the car as Paul will be in California when we return and will park the car in Atlanta, email me the location and Betsy and I will retrieve it so we can drive ourselves home. Nothing is simple.


Of course, Betsy and I talked today and she continues to check things off but her list is more complicated as the renters in the guest house moved out yesterday and she and Steve are preparing for new renters to move in just one day before they leave to come here. With the possibility that Steve will not be living in the house all summer, many things have to be made "automatic" like outdoor sprinklers, thermostats and lists of emergency contacts for the renters. I can only imagine the logistics it took to move Napoleon's Army when I contemplate the details this little jaunt has generated.