Month: March 2015

First full day out and about with Rosa yesterday. What fun for me! Rose is still a bit jet lagged, so tired at times but we did a lot of walking…a few churches in the morning with my favourite mosaics and frescoes etc. That was fun (for me). Then we stopped for lunch and in the afternoon we went to the Forum and up the Palatine Hill. It was a beautiful sunny, even hot, day and the Palatine is lovely and green with the Wisteria coming out and beautiful blossom trees in bloom. It was lovely but tiring. Rose at one point grumbled at me that my enthusiasm was exhausting…so, home for a rest (and for her a sleep!!). Then out for a meal. Day over!! Rose didn’t sleep so well last night so I think she’s getting too much sleep during the day so I’m planning to kill her with enthusiasm again!!

Goodness me its been quite a few days since I last emailed. There was little to report on Thursday and Friday really. I spent the days going for a few walks, trying to do some Italian revision and basically going into shutdown mode waiting for Rose to arrive. I got a walk or two in each day, I ate and drank as per normal and all I could think about was Rose arriving. That is until Friday night when everything went haywire!!

Rose rang to say she was at the airport…all good!! Then she rang to say the plane was delayed for 2 hours. Still all OK because she had a 4 hr transit in Dubai. Then a 3 hour delay. Then a 5 + hour delay. By this time I was on the website watching as the delays got longer and longer and nervously hoping, hoping that they would hold the ongoing flight to Rome until they arrived. So to bed but not sleeping, not knowing whether I’d be going to the airport in the morning or not. I was up in the early hours of the morning and it was looking as if the connecting flight had departed but Rose’s flight hadn’t arrived. Very bad news but still not sure. Then finally a message from Rose confirming she had landed in Dubai but no connection and she was now arriving in Rome Sunday morning. SO depressing, such a build up but no Rose!! Poor thing, it was so awful for her. They put her in a hotel but it was 3 hours before that was sorted out and she could get some rest.

So another day of waiting!! Again what can you do? The sun was shining and it was lovely and warm…but that is the only good thing I can say about this day. In all other ways it was an absolutely crap day, everything that could go wrong did go wrong:

1. No Rose after so much anticipation
2. I managed to leave my apartment without the card/ key to get back in. So I had to try and get hold of the landlady, Eleonora. I couldn’t get on to her for about 3 hours. In that time I not only couldn’t get into the apartment but I couldn’t leave the vicinity for fear she arrived. So I sat about wherever I could!! Eventually I got on to her but she was at work and couldn’t come so I needed to get to her….a massive enterprise! But to cut a long story short I eventually got in but the effort involved was a shocker.
3. I stood up from a chair after coffee and felt severe pain in my leg. I’ d pulled something that left me in great pain in my leg. So much so that negotiating stairs was a killer. Bloody awful!! (improving now)
4. I went to buy a bus ticket to the airport online, in optimistic anticipation of going to meet Rose in the morning and booked it going the wrong way.

Blah blah…what more could go wrong??

Chris was feeling very sorry for me so I went over there for tea and to watch a film. I walked over and had a nice night…she had cooked a delicious meal. But I had to go home early because Rose was now arriving at 7.30 am and I had to get myself up to the station to get on the bus out to the airport. But in terms of bad luck it was daylight saving changeover night so the 5.30 am get up was actually 4.30 AM (old time)!!!! OK you win…as a day that wasn’t vying for any honours.

Today (Sunday) up at the crack of dawn…actually well before dawn. No problems. Out to the airport and eventually wahoo, there she was. Not in too bad shape for such a shitty flight. We came in by train to avoid delays and the pushing and shoving associated with the bus trip in.

After a shower and a beer we set off to walk to the market where we met Chris. It is such a glorious day and we sat in the sun and had a beer/wine before setting off for lunch in Trastevere. We had a lovely lunch, sitting outside on an unbeatable day. We walked around Trastevere, drove up the Gianicolo Hill, had a coffee, went back to Chris’ place then set off to walk home. Chris came with us as far as Piazza Venezia and on the way did one of her ‘tours’ through Piazza Navona, Piazza Minerva etc. I still love Chris’ tours and the walk in the lovely sun was a delight.

But by then we’d done a lot of walking and were both very tired. We collapsed back home and now Rose has done what I try to avoid…gone to sleep on the bed. Oh well, its been a massive couple of days for her. At least she finally here!!

I haven’t seen this much rain since Milan in November. It has rained (and this is rain not drizzle) all day. And all this after yesterday when I was hot even without a coat on and thinking I was going to have to move to lighter clothes.

So there hasn’t been much happening today. I had a lovely long phone call from Ang this morning with good reception which is very satisfying. That was great and very exciting because plans are underway to see Ang and Kirst in August/ Sept.

Then I ducked down for my morning coffee. Then I went to my trans – sexual hairdresser and got another haircut, then and could do little more than duck back home again. I kept myself busy with Italian revision, sorting emails etc, tidying up. Then down I went again to have some lunch at the restaurant over the road. Then back.

Then down for my afternoon cappuccino then back …..and the day is over!!!
And still it is raining. I just hope it gets it out of its system before Saturday when I want to sun to shine!!

That’s it for now

I’m really getting excited now.

Nice treat this morning. Had a Skype date with my favourite work buddies who were out to dinner and set me up to dine with them vicariously. Must say the food Shamala cooked meant that the vicarious bit was rather hard to take. Still that was very nice and left me thinking about home for the rest of the day. Heard the goss, the good the bad and the ugly!!! Then Rose rang for a brief chat so by the time I got my morning coffee I was a bit desperate.

After I stoked up on my cappuccini I set off to a Museum that was a bit further away outside the walls, The Musei Capitolini Centrale Montemartini. Now this really id an interesting Museum. It’s housed in Rome’s first public electricity plant and all the massive turbine engines, massive steam boilers and diesel engines are all beautifully preserved and surrounded by magnificent classical roman sculptures. Really unique. The ultimate his and hers Museum!! I loved it, some gorgeous mosaics which always gets me going!!

I tried to walk home, got a bit boxed up so decided to jump on the subway to make my life easier. Then I indulged myself (probably because I was in a nostalgic, homesick type of mood) with a sit down lunch and glass of wine. Had a bit more of a wander then came home fairly early.

We’re down to 4 sleeps now til Rose arrives.

Bit of catching up to do I think.

Where was I? There was the weekend which was fairly low key. I went to another big basilica on Saturday. It had a lovely old cloister and some nice old mosaics but not a lot more to report. Saturday night was very noisy. Wales was playing something, somewhere so there were a lot of very drunk Welshmen getting around in Red and making life very noisy.

Then Sunday…the Rome Marathon!! Where was Ang???

I spent the day just chilling out with Chris and really doing nothing. I walked over to her place (the whole of Rome was shut down to traffic). I walked along the Marathon route and saw the leaders come in at the end. All Ethiopian/ Kenyan/ whatever and all looking like Olympians. I just gaze at their muscly legs mesmerised. I didn’t see a white man until way, way back. Anyway we had lunch at Chris’, and watched a movie (The Imitation Game) and then I walked home. It was a nice relaxed day.

Today was teeth clean day in Bologna. It was lovely going back to Bologna. It is a great place to be. My appointment with Fabrizia was at 12. I had a train that was supposed to get in at 11.12am but as my luck would have it it was 1 hour late so I was late for my appointment and I was fretting something terrible. You know how I hate to be late!! She was very good about it. She spent 1 hour and 10 min manually cleaning my teeth. She was pleased that it is working and my gums are much better etc etc. She is not too impressed with the dental care I’ve been getting. She insists I have to find someone who will keep up this regime!! Anyway the teeth feel good and for the hour she spent cleaning me up it wasn’t too expensive at all (150EU for the sake of comparison to the cost in Aust….I think it compares favourably!)

Then I spent a couple of hours wandering around Bologne. It looks different in the warmth with the blossoms out from the icey, dampness of Pre Christmas Bologna. I went back to my coffee shop and got and cappuccino and big hugs which felt really, really nice. I went back to my gelati shop and got a gelati. I wandered the streets, bought some food to bring back to Rome (Bologna really has to be the food capitol) and got back on the train to come back to Rome. This train was also 40 mins late which was most annoying. Usually the Italian trains are pretty much spot on timeless but I had a really bad run today.

I have a Skype date with my work friends in the morning. they are all going to Shamala’s for dinner and I’m invited!!!

It’s really getting close to Rosa arriving now and my excitement levels are rising!!

Definitely a low activity day today…a declared non-tourist day. I was out and about at the time there was supposed to be an eclipse of the sun…lots of hype but totally nothing to see for it. Not even a slight change. very disappointing.

I puttered around, went out for a walk. Was at home when the landlady, Eleonora, was around. very embarrassed when she knocked on the door and I had undies out drying etc.

After a bit of a walk I went to my cafe. I sat at my bench with a coffee, then decided to have a glass of wine and sat at my window and read my book/kindle. Then the most exciting thing of the day happened. Some girls must have pinched something and the chase was on. They scuttled up the stairs in front of me with at least 3 people behind her. They were losing ground but the girls ran straight into the arms of the police at the top of the stairs. It was beautiful to watch. The whole neighbourhood came out to watch. Quite a carnival atmosphere. Very exciting.

I have just seen that Malcolm Fraser died, I feel really sad about that he was a wonderful voice of reason in a mad, racist world.
I’m redoing some of my Italian homework on my low activity days…can’t say it’s too exciting and it doesn’t stop most people saying ‘Thank you’ when I say ‘Grazie’…what can I do???

Firstly let me say that the sun is back with a vengeance. So much so I was sweating today even though I didn’t bring the coat out. I even harboured the thought that I may need to go to T-shirts before long!! Still unreliable but when the sun shines it is just wonderful.

So … in the sunshine, two more days of touristing to give me pleasure and make the time go so, so quickly.

Yesterday I wasn’t going to do much. I stayed home for the morning and then thought I’d go for a walk. As is always the case though, there is always something to tweek the interest and make you want to explore.
I was wandering along in the centre and was going to pop into a church to catch another Caravaggio I hadn’t yet seen. But the time was wrong and the churches were closed. So I decided to go into the Museo Nazionale Romano: Palazzo Attempts. I was great…an amazing collection of of classical sculpture which was part of the Ludovisi Collection. Some gorgeous pieces in there and once again the setting for the display of sculptures was just superb with frescoes decorating the rooms. I love it!!

When I finished there I went back to Chiesa di Sant’Agostino. I’d been wanting to go there. It is just near the church that holds the 3 Caravaggio’s but I had somehow always missed it. There is a lovely Caravaggio in there, ‘Madonna dei Pellegrini’, but the added bonus is that there is always a beautiful Rapheal frescoe of ‘Isaiah’. So I loved that. Then as I started to walk home again I stopped at the Chiesa di Sant’ Ignazio di Loyola. In here there is a ceiling frescoed in such a way as to defy the rules and creates an amazing optical illusion of a dome although it is actually flat. That was also great. So what started out as a quickish stroll meant that I didn’t get home until after 6. And a little tired I have to say!!

Didn’t know what I was going to do today but decided on a place I’d barely even heard of, The Terme di Caracalla. Again I was taken by surprise, it is an awe-inspiring, massive complex/ ruins from 216 AD that held an Olympic size swimming pool, thermal pools, large gymnasiums, libraries, shops etc. It was elaborately decorated with beautiful floor mosaics, superb sculptures etc. It is one of those places that you can really imagine the Romans lying around the pool playing games, going from hot to cold pools and working out in the gym. There are remains of the mosaics, There are stones with games carved into them that they used to play by the pool. The only other place I’ve seen such great examples is Ephesus.

The great thing for me was that I was able to make connections because most of the greatest works of art have been removed and displayed elsewhere. There is the wonderful ‘Farnese Bull’ that used to be there. It is now in the Archeological Museum in Naples and I remembered it so went back to my photos tonight and there it is. Also mosaics of athletes that are now in the Vatican Museum and same thing I remembered them and was able to go back to my photos and refresh my memory. Its like a jigsaw and it really is a wonderful feeling to be able to start to put it all together. You actually feel as if you are learning something with all this touristing!!

It was quite tricky to get to the Terme and I well and truly overshot it once I worked out which bus to get, so had to get on a bus going back and even then I didn’t find the right stop and had to walk back. Walking so much is harder in the heat…your feet don’t like it as much….I can hear your mocking ‘oh yeh’ as I explore the world!! But I was HOT today. Also the tourists in Rome are increasing by the day. Yesterday I stuck my head into Piazza Navona and pulled it straight back out again. It was FULL to the brim. I’m unaccustomed to it. The noise in my little apartment at night is really quite disturbing at times, although I tend to get used to it, but on St Pat’s Night it reached a crescendo with drunk idiots singing outside my window.

Enough!! Thinking constantly now of Rose arriving in 9 sleeps…can’t wait. Then Easter with Ham and Az as well, what a lucky possum I am. Only one thing missing and so wish you were here too Ang but great that I have August to look forward to with you and Kirsty.

Woke up this morning and still drizzling away…not much just not uplifting like the sunshine.

I took my time. Favourite time of the day is my 2 morning cappuccinos and a read.

Then I tootled off to another church. The amazing thing about this one was that there sat Michelangelo’s Moses. A very ordinary church that doesn’t rate in the guidebooks yet there sits Moses. One of Michelangelo’s greatest pieces. It blows me away that these pieces of total brilliance just sit there in some obscure church.

After that I walked around a bit and decided I’d treat myself to lunch which I did…just a pasta and a glass of wine but it was nice (Pappardelle with wild boar sauce).

Not much else to report today. Just soup and broccoli for tea as penance for lunch.

I certainly think I spoke too soon about the gorgeous weather and the advent of Spring. Today was the second day of rain which is a pain. It’s not absolutely teaming but it is dampening. There’s nothing you can do unless you want to stay indoors all day and I can’t do that. So out comes the prickly Montenegran beanie, the overcoat is back in service and off I go for a walk down to Piazza Venezia and then up Via Corso to the Galleria Doria Pamphilj. The problem with walking in the rain in Rome is that so much walking space is shared with cars and that means getting splashed routinely. So you end up being wet around the cuffs of your pants Ho Hum! Anyway the Gallery was really lovely. It is a private collection in a family palace where they actually still live. It is one of this amazing collections…eclectic with rooms jammed full of paintings and sculptures. The best thing though is the palace itself and the frescoed walls, the amazing wallpaper, the gilded tables and mirrors. Just entrancing. So after that I walked back home via the supermarket to stock up a bit on food, then home again.

This afternoon I cooked up some Italian Broccoli (it’s different to broccoli as you know it) with garlic, oil, lemon juice and parmesan. It is delicious, gives me my vitamins and is great to have in the fridge for lunch. The other thing that is delicious here are the artichokes. I had one when I went out to dinner with Chris the other night. It was so delicious and different to what we know as artichoke hearts. I may even given cooking that a bit of a try but that might be a bit too complicated.

Apparently it’s supposed to clear up tomorrow…I hope so. When the weather is nice I want to take a bus outside Rome to Tivoli. Apparently the gardens are wonderful.

Off I go again. Hope Portugal is fantastic Hammy. 12 sleeps til Rosa arrives!!

Oh my god I can’t believe that 3 days have gone forever and I haven’t sent my catch up. Basically because they have been fairly low activity days. On Friday I had to use my 2 day Forum ticket to go to the Colosseum. Its just up the road so I took my time and then tootled on up. I had a good look at the Colosseum but it isn’t my favourite site and not a lot has changed since I last walked around it 13 years ago now. It was more something I had to do because I had the ticket and because I’m sussing everything out before Rose gets here so I can pretend to be informed!!

I then did what I do best and sat in the sun in my piazza, had a gelati and a coffee and eventually came back to the apt. Then yesterday was also slow. Each day I do a bit of Italian revision and try to learn a wee bit more. I went off for a walk up to the Quirnale and then down to the shopping area. I did a bit od surveillance re things I will see in the next week or so but I had decided it was going to be a non-tourist day so I just walked around. Later Chris cam over to my ‘hood’ for dinner. We walked around for a while, had an aperativo (or 2) then went over the road from my apt to a restaurant that always looks SO busy. The patrons have kept me awake every night as they make merry leaving the restaurant every night. I hadn’t been game to tackle it alone so it was good to have Chris to come there with me for a meal. Which was indeed delicious. They are fully booked every night with people waiting outside for a table. Good one for us to go to Rosa!! After dinner I walked up to the bus with Chris and then came home to tuck up.

Today(Sunday) it rained all day!!! It was a quiet morning mainly spent at home doing a bit of Italian and a bit of other stuff. Chris and I had planned to go to the EUR (an area of Rome where expos are held) in the afternoon but the weather was shit so instead I went over to her place to watch a set of interlinked fils/plays by David Herd, one is ‘Page 8’. They were great with Bill Nighy. Its nice to get a movie in at the weekend and Chris is very excited by her home movie set up inspired by Hammy. I then came back to Monti on the bus. I went via my lovely Ravioli shop where every time I go to get take away they give me a glass of wine and make me feel like a long lost friend. Very lovely really!!! So now I’m home with me friend Al Jazeera, a glass of wine and a delicious take-away ravioli. This morning I cooked up some lovely fresh asparagus to have for lunch during the week. So freshly picked and flavoursome.

So, another week is over. Only 13 sleeps until Rose arrives!! This time in Roma is just flying, there is always something amazing to see and do.