The Rolling Stones and My Last Day in Rome

Today the Rolling Stones play Circus Maximus to 70,000 Romans and countrymen.  

 I spend my last day in Rome at the Porte Portese market not buying much at all.  Just browsing stall after stall of used and new clothing, fake leather purses and cheap shoes. Toward the end I find the more interesting antique section, but it is time for them to pack up.  I did buy some vintage hand embroidered Italian table clothes.

I make my way into the working class become chic neighborhood of Trastevere to find my ultimate pizza.  Believe it or not, I have not sat down to have a pie yet.  I have read in my Rick Steve’s pocket guide that there is a really great wood fired spot called Dar Poeta, so I make my way and get lost, backtrack and take a different turn.  I turn on the street that I think it is on and then the numbers end.  I backtrack and then make a different turn and the numbers are getting bigger, I round the next turn and hear voices and see packed outdoor tables and voila!. I am here.

I sit next to, but actually at the same table (really just two tables next to each other) with a 20 something couple from Canada.  They are finishing their meal and I ask if the food was good and they smile and say “Great!”  I get their advice because it all looks so good.  I go for a pie with tomatoes sauce, olives, capers, anchovies and oregano.  It does not come with melted cheese, but add for one Euro the buffalo mozzarella.   Score.

It makes its way to my table in no time and I devour the whole thing.  Crispy and flavorful, just as it should be in Rome.  I am satisfied. 

Inside the Pantheon, looking up.

Returning to the streets, I make my way to visit the Pantheon, one more time.  My last day in Rome is fulfilled.

Summer Solstice in (Ancient) Rome

I thought…what a great place to celebrate the summer solstice or midsummer, but so far I have not come across any type of advertised festival or event online, so I must come up with something to do myself.  Thinking about the meaning of the longest day of the year….I look back at the year so far and think of all of those new year’s “intentions”.  How have they been going?  Am I on track?  Is there anything that needs adjustments?  I make some mental notes.

I make a plan to go a bit south to the Appian Way, the famous ancient Roman road that once stretched 430 miles to the sea.  I rent a bike and ride about a total of 10 miles round trip from the entrance of the park. Riding over the original large cobblestones, like the ones located around the Coliseum, I enjoy walls and gates with hidden villas behind, vast countryside and early Roman ruins.

Appia Antica

Villa along the way

Villa in the countryside

Ruins along the way

I stop for a salad of artichoke, watercress and mozzarella before a 45-minute tour of San Sebastian catacombs.  Simon, our English speaking tour guide, takes us 4 meters or more under the ground to reveal the 2^nd to 6^th century Christian catacombs or burial grounds. More than 100,000 bodies were buried in the over 65,000 graves that stretch out under Rome’s soil.  Only five of the sights are open to the public.   Walking through the narrow cool hallways, Simon describes the various Christian symbols, the anchor, the fish and the dove.  We see the stamp pressed into the soft terracotta that covers the chambers.  On this stamp is the ruler of Rome, so we have en exact time stamp for each grave.

 

SanSebastian Catacombs

Inside catacombs

One of the three masoleums

Close-up

But that is not all, Simon takes us several more meters deep to the earlier Roman (pagan) graves.  Unlike the Romans that slid the bodies into the walls, the Romans practiced cremation.  The structures where the cremanes are found are more like mausoleums, small buildings with elaborately decorated ceilings and frescos painted on the ceilings and walls.  When these mausoleums were discovered, they were in pristine condition and no restorations were needed.  They were beautifully preserved in the Roman soil.

My day was complete as I stumble onto one of the last areas of town that I want to visit… Capitoline Hill.  This area was the sight of the original Forum and Temple of Jupiter from the 1^st century and is considered the spiritual, economic and political center of ancient Rome.  Today is typifies the blending of the past and present as buildings from the various centuries are literally built one on top of the other.

It is also the sight of Michelangelo’s Marcus Aurelius on horseback in Piazza del Campidoglio, the Capitoline Museums, Santa Maria in Aracoeli church and the Victor Emmanuel monument. The sun is setting and my day is complete as I welcome the summer solstice, renewed and redirected.

Rick Steve’s Pocket Rome

A last minute purchase at my local Whole Earth Provisions Co., this guide is invaluable.  Mostly because it fits so discreetly into my small over the shoulder bag that I can whip it out to read and check out locations.  The small area maps depicting areas of interest or “tours” or “walks” is also handy except all of the streets are not listed.  The local map that Fabio at my hostel offers me fills in the blanks although I would probably need something much stronger than my eyeglass readers to actually be able to read the fine print.

My first half day in Rome includes getting on the shuttle bus to Rome’s Termini Train station and then onto Metro A toward Anagina and off at the third stop San Giovanni.  All is well until it becomes not so clear as to which exit is Magna Grecia.  I guess... and it isn’t until I have walked over four blocks that I realize it was not the correct guess.  Backtracking, I ask a local cabbie, who looks it up on an ancient dog-eared map book.

Right-Left-Right behind where I have been, and he points me toward my destination. Onward I trek.   It is now almost 5:00 as I come upon the front door of the building.  Inside a small car filled with Costco-like products is Domenico, one of the owners of "The Dreaming Rome Hostel". He lets me in and tells me to go to the 2^nd floor where brother, Fabio, greets me with a welcome drink and shows me around.

After setting up my bunk, I venture out on a backwards Rick Steve’s “Heart of Rome Walk”… starting at The Spanish Steps and ending at Piazza Navona.  After that, I walk the busy Corso Vittorio Emanuelle toward the Coliseum at dusk and come upon ancient, medieval and modern Rome., stacked on top of itself. I love this part of Rome as the melding of 2000 years comes together.  There is even a giant big screen playing the World Cup.

Our Last Day in the Riviera

Today we travel east to the small medieval town of Eze.  Here we visit the one of the Frogonard perfume factory.  We learn that it takes a ton of rose petals to make a very small amount of essential oil for perfume making.  This is why it is so expensive.  They also still make some items by hand, carefully packing each item for retail.  After the tour, we are let lose into the factory store where I purchase far too many items as gifts and for myself. 

 We wander up the stairs to the top of the hill where the castle of Eze sits perched atop for safety and security during medieval times.  Wandering the steep narrow passageway we climb to a lovely viewpoint.

Returning back to the bus we press on east to the tiny country of Monaco.  We learn that Monaco is the most densely populated country in the world.  It is only .7 square miles with over 32,000 inhabitants.  Thanks to the casino, it is also a tax-free haven.  We have lunch of moules and frites.  After lunch we wander the hilly terrain taking in the views of exotic yachts, exquisite gardens and fantastic coastal views.

Back in Nice, we swim the Mediterranean Sea and say good by to the French Riviera.

Thanks for a great tour EF.  See you next year in Spain!!

Toward Nice

Packing up for another town, this time toward the French Riviera we travel a few hours to Cassis.  Cassis sits on the southern coast just east of the larger port of Marseilles.  The tiny pleasant coastal town reminds me of northern California.  Grape vines cover most of the land. Tiled roof Mediterranean style homes with colorfully landscaped yards dot the rolling hillsides. 

Here we board a boat to take a ride through a few of the La Calanques.  La Calanques are fiord like inlets along the coast with dramatic shear cliffs and small sandy coves.  We visit three out of the possible eight calanques and return back to the marina to find lunch and shopping.

Our time in Cassis is over, but not before Auriel, our bus driver, takes us for a scenic (read harrowing for some) bus ride up and over the cliffs that surround the town of Cassis.  This too reminds me of northern California, specifically Highway 1, south of San Francisco, only not so long of a distance in our instance.  We stop for a picture taking moment before we find the highway and finish the final leg of our bus journey to Nice.

It is late when we return back to the hotel, but a few of us venture out into a near by square.  The cafes have the television playing the World Cup and France is playing.  When they score, cheers erupt from every corner of the square.

Paris to Provence

Our fourth day is our transfer to the south of France in the region of Provence.

The good news is we are going to take the fast train, the TGV that gets there in three hours.  

The bad news is the train workers are on strike**.  

The good news is that we have a bus. 

The bad news is that it is going to take nine hours. 

The good news is that the bus is coming from Italy and we are not going to leave until 8:00 am instead of 6:00 am.   

The bad news is that we get a flat tire.

The good news the driver can change it himself.  

The bad news the jack doesn’t work. 

The good news is that three other guys show up with a new jack and help him.  

We are on our way……

Finally arriving by 10:30 for our 7:30 dinner, we have made our destination.

After dinner and back at the hotel, we decide to take a night stroll  toward the Antique Amphitheatre which was build in the 2^nd century AD. Loud music is tumbling out of it and we see a poster for Abba Fever.  An Abba cover band is playing “Dancing Queen” to an all-age filled arena. The blend of antiquity with techno lighting seals the evening with delight.

** So I am told by Magali that the company that makes the trains is going to be sold to either an American or German company.  With either of these transfers of ownership,  There is always the possibility that  benefits will be cut.  As she told me, the workers on the trains are still getting a coal supplement even while trains are not run on coal anymore.

Pont du Gard-Nimes-Avignon

Today is jam-packed. Off to Pont du Gard which is a 2000 year old aqueduct built by the Romans to bring water from the Gard river to the people of Nimes.  It is a beautiful monument to the architectural intelligence of the Roman people. During the flood of 2002, the waters rose to the top of the first arch.  We bathe our toes in the river and climb to the edge of the top beam where it meets one side of the cliff.

 Back on the bus, we drive onto the town of Nimes, where the ancient aqueduct once delivered  water to its people.  In Nimes, we have lunch and visit the Arenes, a smaller version of the Coliseum found in Rome.  The audio tour describes it gory history of gladiator and animal fighting.  The sun is hot and a bit blinding.  Somehow I manage to miss step on the large stone stairs and roll my ankle.  A bandage ibuprofen and arnica later I am much better.  But I can’t say the same for the man that slipped and was taken out in a wheelchair with a temporary splint on his leg!

Avignon is our last destination.  Here we take a tour of the Pope’s Palace.  This was the home of only six Popes during the 14^th century.

Inside the palace, serene cement halls, sacristies and the grand chapelle are in sharp contrast with the ornate marble, mirrors and chandeliers of the rooms found at Versailles.  The energy of the palace has a certain peaceful majesty.  A contemporary art exhibit shares the space that was once occupied by the pope and his bishops.

 After the tour we exit onto a cobblestone street that gives way to a very large shopping district confined behind an impressive, fully intact medieval wall.  This area is considered downtown Avignon.  Today the city extends beyond the walls.

Sitting outside in a café, we hear rave style music and see rainbow flags. By chance, it is a gay pride festival complete with floats, music and a foam making machine.  We find ourselves in the center of the festivities as mostly young French people celebrate their personal choice rights in the streets of Avignon.

Paris- Day Three

Our day begins with a Metro ride to the Louvre, which at one time was the palace of the king and queen before Louis the XIV, not the world’s largest museum.  To understand the magnitude of the Louvre, if one were to spend only three seconds viewing each artwork, it would take over 3 months, day and night, to see all of the art housed within the museum.  We have 1 ½ hours. 

So our first mission is to seek out the Mona Lisa.  And along the way, we find another woman, Aphrodite aka: Venus de Milo. One floor later, we and about a hundred others, view her and take selfies.  Wandering into another gallery, we see the original painting depicting the coronation of Napoleon’s wife, Josephine.  A day earlier, we had seen the replica of this exact painting in the palace at Versailles. 

More wandering….Egyptian room…..French impressionists…..Flanders masterpieces….Roman statues….medieval frescoes…..Byzantine gold leaf Christian paintings…..and the gift shop.

We cross over “The Locks of Love” bridge again, with some of the group adding to the easy million locks attached to the bridge.  It is at this moment when three girls from our group witness a marriage proposal. The young American couple throw the key into the river to seal their love forever.  Onward to the Latin Quarter where much shopping and eating will be taking place.  I enjoy a fabulous three course lunch of escargots, poulett de coco and crème brulee.

After lunch, we all head over to the Eifel Tower, passing by the little green painted stalls called bouquinistes, that flank the Seine River walkway.  Originally these stands sold banned books, but now they sell used books, magazines and comics, prints, postcards and tasteful souvenirs.

At the Eifel Tower, some of us (me) walk up to the first and second floor to the middle observation platform, while others wait for the elevator to lift them up and over the 660 steps to the middle platform.  For some that is far enough, while others take the elevator to the tippy top some 1000 feet above Paris.  Whatever platform, the view….spectacular!

Getting near dinner time, we take the metro to Rue de Layfayette for a few more moments of shopping until our dinner reservations.  Tonight we try a traditional Alsace region food called flammekueche which is combination of cheese and toppings on a thin crispy bread…much like a pizza.  Even dessert of chocolate and apples and cinnamon is served up hot on this Alsace traditional food.

After dinner, about half of us decide to go back to the hotel and the other half press on for a evening Seine River cruise.  We board the boat at 10:00pm, sun setting and full moon rising for a one-hour boat cruise.  Our guide, speaking in both French and English, points out landmarks on both the Right and Left Bank.  We notice people on several bridges dining in white attire.  Our guide explains that it is the White Dinner.  With no further explanation, I have yet to check the internet for further details.

It is almost midnight when we make our way back to the hotel, another full day ending, happy and exhausted in Paris.