Campotosto the First

"Do you think they have Chinese food here?"

"Why are you asking about Chinese food? You'll stick out like a sore thumb."
"Oh, yeah. You blend."

- Adrienne and Marco, reenacting a scene from My Cousin Vinny

We are way, WAY off the grid here but are coming to you live via blackberry! Thank goodness for a law job that sufficiently warped my thumbs so I can type on these things. More thanks to Emma for helping us access the interweb machine and posting for us! Grazie molto! (From Emma: "Prego!")

We are in Campotosto, the town where Marco's Dad, paternal grandparents and other family were born. The town is extremely small - the entire place is easily walkable in about 20 minutes. There are no traffic sounds here or other city noises - only birds and a few barking dogs. Campotosto is a village in the mountains where, traditionally, the people relied mostly on sheep for their livelihood. There are still a few working shepherds here today, although now the town is used mainly by Italians as a summer getaway.

In many ways, Campotosto seems frozen in time.


We are staying in Marco's family's house that they own here. This is the view of the front.


This is the view of the back (where we parked the car.)


Directly behind our house there is a little piazza with a church.


The house is quite large. Four bedrooms upstairs, two large bathrooms, an enormous kitchen and a couple of rooms on the main floor. Out of our bedroom windows, we can see the mountains and Lake Campotosto:


Campotosto is near L'Aquila, the site of the recent, devastating earthquakes in Italy. Unfortunately, some of Marco's family lost homes and businesses in the disaster, although luckily none were hurt. The quake was felt here (as were some aftershocks) but the town seems mostly unaffected. However, walking through town, you can see that some of the older buildings did not withstand the quakes:


As you all know we're dog lovers. Here dogs roam freely around the town. However, these guys are not like Rocky and Joey - no Christmas outfits or Buddy Rinse conditioner or booties for the snow for these guys. These dogs are working sheep dogs and they're nasty. Gina warned us about them. Now I understand why.

On a stroll through town, where I was (as Ray says) "looking for another vantage point", such as this:


Marco and I got a little too close to a flock of sheep. Now, if you're a ratty sheep dog and two very white people wielding two cameras approach the flock, this can only mean one thing: the sheep are under siege and you have to protect the flock. The dogs took one look at us, growled and then ran at us with their big, Canadian-biting teeth! Like the idiot tourists we are, we ran away and avoided injury, although not embarrassment. Note to self: do not attempt to hug sheep or sheer same to acquire sock yarn.

My hands are cramping up and I have no sensation in the fingers on my left hand. This may mean it's time to stop blogging. Tomorrow Sandra, Mario and kids will join us here. Until then, we are under the excellent care of Candida, Fausto and Mariapaola, which is lucky for us since we seem to be a bit ridiculous on our own.

Circeo

So, you both weren't married before to other people?
- Misunderstanding that arose with our dinner companions
after Marco said this trip was like a "second honeymoon"

Tah-tunn! We're back! Did you miss us? Perhaps a better (read: more likely) question is: did you even realize we were gone?

Well, we were gone. Gone to Circeo. Circeo is a beach area about 80 km south of Rome. Think of it as Muskoka, except with beaches and villas. We stayed here with our molto simpatici hosts, Barbara and Dario.




As you can see, we were roughing it. :-) After the non-stop touring of Rome, our feet needed a rest. We spent the past three days relaxing on the beach in front of the Mediterranean Sea. As we ate panini on the beach, this is what we were looking at:

Don't hate us too much. If it makes you feel any better back in Canada, the weather wasn't all sunshine and lollipops. It was actually cold and kind of rainy for a big part of the time... the time when we weren't sunning ourselves under our reserved umbrella, that is.

I created a minor beach sensation because I was so white. People could just not believe that someone could be so devoid of pigment. To be fair, it was true: I was by far the whitest person around for miles. I was practically translucent. Everyone else had serious tans and mini-bikinis. I was wearing a hat, a long-sleeved shirt and 40 sunscreen over my entire body. I actually almost matched the white plastic beach chair, which was rather dispiriting. (Despite all these precautions, I still managed to get a bit of sun).

Here is the aerial view of the beach (beach is at far middle right).

Barbara keeps beautiful gardens at her villa.



The beach house also had a terrace. This is a photo of our bedroom door leading to the terrace.

To the left of the above door is a circular iron staircase leading to the roof where you can look at this:

This is the view from our bedroom window:

Needless to say, we had a great time. Our hosts were marvellous, we ate amazing food and we got to relax.

One night, we went to an Italian movie (actually a French movie but overdubbed in Italian), "Cash":

Cash – Bande Annonce
by TFMDistribution

Unfortunately, I understood very little about what went on - apparently, it was kind of like an "Oceans 11" in Italian. The scheming and counter-scheming were too complex to just get "get the idea" from the pictures. On an interesting note, the theatre we saw the film in was built by Mussolini.

Tomorrow we are off to the mythical Campotosto, home village of Marco's family. We may again be out of radio contact, but I am devising a schemetastic way to post, nonetheless. (Emma, this scheme might involve you, ever so slightly...)

Roma the Fifth/Vatican City

Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini
- Saying in Old Rome

Today we went to the Vatican.

Amazing. Although you know what? It's big, but I think it actually looks bigger on TV.

St. Peter's Basilica was amazing. This is the view that you see immediately when you walk in from the square.

This is the view from the front of the church looking toward the entrance from the square (as with all pictures, click to embiggen).

When you walk in, directly to the right, you see Michaelangelo's Pieta. I was surprised but photos were actually allowed in some parts of St Peter's, including of the Pieta, although I made sure to not to use the flash.

The line in the picture you see is because the Pieta is now behind glass. In the 1970s, a crazy guy attacked it with a hammer, lopping off either a hand or a foot (I can't remember). Too bad. Apparently, before, you could get right up close to it.

This picture shows a giant bronze nightmare: the Baldachin of St. Peter's. Believe it or not, it is even worse in person. It's not just me: this is widely considered to be the ugliest Bernini piece in existence. To make it, Bernini required so much bronze he got permission from the Pope at the time, a Barberini, to strip and melt down the existing bronze at the Pantheon, which scandalized the people of Rome. (This act is where the quote of the day comes from).

A small part of the incredible ceiling.

Truly, there is too much to take in in one visit. You could go every day for a year and see something new. (I saw a Franciscan monk wearing Ray-Bans a talking on a cell phone - that was also something new but of a different kind.)

After St. Peter's it was on to the Vatican Museum.

This picture is of Nero's bathtub. It's made of porphyry marble, a type of marble that was very, very rare and found only in Egypt. It was so prized by Roman emperors that they mined the entire vein of it and now there's no more of it in the world. The Vatican currently owns 70% of the world's known porphyry marble. Recently, geologists think they have discovered another vein of porphyry marble. The Vatican is extremely concerned about the possible existence of more porphyry since it would drive down the value of their existing porphyry collection.

This is Bill Clinton, the early fig leaf years (pre-Hillary).

Finally, a work from the Raphael room.

After this it was on to the Sistine Chapel, where no pictures were allowed at all. Many, many people disobeyed this rule but we felt that 800 people doing wrong doesn't make it any more right so we'll leave you to wiki this on your own, if you're so inclined. Needless to say, it was absolutely amazing!

Did you know that in the panel of the ceiling where God creates Adam, it has been theorized that God is actually giving Adam the spark of human intelligence, and that God is actually riding around on giant, anatomically correct brain? Check out the anatomical theories here.

We're off to Cicero tonight, one day ahead of schedule. Cicero is essentially a beach town... and maybe there's a national park somewhere? We plan to not walk or tour anywhere. Not sure if we'll be able to post for the next few days but if we are, we will. (Solider on without us).

Roma the Fourth

"I call that parking by ear... Ting!"

-Sandro

We tried to go to the Vatican today but Sean was right: we didn't get past the Heathen Detectors at the front gate. HA!

Actually, we woke up late and exhausted. When our host, Sandro, didn't have to work and offered to show us around Rome, we decided to adjust the plans and put the Vatican off until tomorrow. (The tabs of fun are still recovering from this adjustment).

Sandro showed us the Piazza della Veritas, the Trastevere neighbourhood (containing a prison), the Aventine Hill and San Giovanni (the old church where the Pope used to live in the days before the Vatican was built). We also went to this keyhole where, apparently, when you look through you can see a perfect view of Saint Peter's. However, a truck was blocking the drive and so all we saw was a bunch of sweaty delivery guys and their truck (I am reasonably sure that St. Peter's does not look like the inside of a U-Haul. If I'm wrong, tomorrow will be disappointing.)

We then went to see Sandro's new apartment - beautiful!

Throughout the excursion, we happily let Sandro drive. We drove to Fausta's house ourselves last night in rush hour. We made it but almost hit stuff 5 or 6 times and went the wrong way down a one-way street, forcing us to back up over half the length of the street while a line of cars waited impatiently.

Sandro managed to park the land boat in a space that in Canada we would beleive was reserved for compact cars:

At the conclusion of parking, this was the space at the front or our car.

This was the amount of space left at the back.

To accomplish this parking feat, Sandro had to "park by ear". Basically, this involved manoevering in one direction into the space until you heard a crunching sound (this sound being your car hitting the car in front or behind you) and then repeating in the opposite direction until the car was in the space.

I think I may have parked by ear myself, a few times.

Sandro dropped us off near the Colosseum and we walked over to the Complesso del Vittoriano where we saw the Giotto e il Trecento (Giotto and the 14th Century) exhibition. Giotto is "a symbol of the Middle Ages, the first truly 'Italian' artist" and as such had an extraordinary impact on every aspect of artistic language throughout Italy.

Example:


Of interest to certain blog readers, this is a copy of the Divine Comedy produced in Florence sometime between 1340-45 AD.

This is another typical example of the work of and inspired by Giotto:

Then the nice man asked me to stop taking photos (even though I was taking them senza flash.) Having seen the prison earlier, I decided to comply.

Following the exhibit, we decided to hit up the sites we hadn't yet seen, including the Piazza del Campidoglio:


It was then time for lunch, as we were both getting cranky. We stopped near the Piazza Navona and had good food for reasonable prices. I had the insalta caprese. Kate, this picture's for you (I know I don't need to tell you how delicious it was):

On the way over to Castel Sant'Angelo, I stopped to fill up our water bottle at one of the many public taps around the city.

Castel Sant'Angelo was built in the 2nd century for the Emperor Hadrian, and continued as an imperial mausoleum until the time of Caracalla. It functioned as a fortress in the Middle Ages, connected by tunnel to the Vatican by an underground passage (used by fleeing popes!) In the 14th century, it was a papal residence.

The Fromm says that this place is "an imposing fortress that has seen more blood, treachery, and turmoil than any other left in Rome. It is Rome's cheif citaldel and dungeon... The [walls of the papal apartments] have witnessed some of the most diaolical plots and intrigues of the High Residence."
This has only re-confirmed what I already knew: there's nothing like a good scheme!

There was some kind of function going on here after the Castel was closed to the public, hence the tables.

The outside:


From the very top of the Castel, on the terrace, you have an amazing view of the Eternal City. Because, aside from wedding photos, we have very few pictures of us together, we are now bringing the small blue camera with us (in addition to the giant black camera in the photo) to give to volunteer photographers. For some reason, the giant camera scares people off.

Following the Castel, we wandered back to Sandro's through an open-air market:

And passed some interesting signs (note the leash hoops):

We then bought food for dinner from the supermercato. Unfortunately, we caused a ruckus once we got to the front of the (very long) check-out line. Apparently, you have to weigh and price your own produce before going to the checkout (the cashier does not weight and price things for you.) Holding up about 20 people behind me, I had to go with the cashier back to the produce section to make this happen:

We know better for next time.

To the Vatican tomorrow, really!


Until then, please enjoy the Dude Scarf of the Day (it's an "action shot" and you have to squint but buddy is definitely debecked in scarffery - click to embiggen.)

Roma the Third

"I'm glad Romulus won over Remus. I wouldn't want to visit Reme."

-Adrienne

Greetings, Readership! Before we memorialize today's adventures, I just want to say thanks for the many great comments from some of our readers. (I love comments! Proof that people actually read the blog is tremendously gratifying.) Now, I know some of you read and don't comment - this is also completely fine (esp. if blog entries are later mentioned in common conversation, especially if such mentions are favourable or use the words "brilliant" or "outstanding" or the phrase "I wept at the sheer fantasticism of your prose").

Today was (more or less) ancient Rome day.

On the way to the super-old attractions, we passed a moderately old attraction: the Vittorio Emanuele Monument.

Frommer's notes it is "Italy's most flamboyant landmark". This is saying a lot from a city where it seems to be that bigger + more marble= meglio! It was built in the late 1800s to honour the first king of Italy. Apparently, it's been compared to both a wedding cake and a Victorian typewriter (I see cake, not typing - what does that say?)

After some light touring of the Roman forum (read: breezing by with the first gelato of the day), it was on to the highlight of the day:


The Colosseum, the greatest architectural legacy from ancient Rome. Built between 72 and 80 AD. As we all know from Russel Crowe's cinematic tour de force, Gladiator, the Colosseum was used to hold gladitorial contests (between men and men, men and exotic African animals, men and other not-so-exotic animals such as deer - vicious deer?). It was even possible to flood the place and stage "naval battles".

Sadly, Rusty and Ridley got some things wrong. For instance:

• Did you know there was no "thumbs up/thumbs down" (gladiator lives or dies) in real life?
• Most gladiators (9 for every 10) survived their gladitorial stints?
• It was not possible to "win" your freedom by fighting well? Gladiators were the property of their agents for a full 7 years, after which many continued to "freelance" as professional fighters.

The wooden floor where the fights were held is gone. And so, as these pictures show, we can see into the "basement" where the animals and men were held pre-contest before being hoisted onto the wooden floor by a series of er, hoists.


As an aside, for those of you wondering where I am in all this, here is photographic evidence that I am actually on this trip (AKA a moment where Marco was able to pry the camera from my vice grip.)

Just outside the Colosseum is the Arch of Constantine, erected by the Roman senate in AD 315 to honour Constantine's defeat of the pagan Maxentius. Interestingly, what's actually on the arch has little to nothing to do with Constantine or his works. But when the urge to build a giant arch strikes, Senates should not concern themselves with historical accuracy.

Next it was on to the Palatine Hill (where legend has it that Romulus and Remus founded the city of Rome), the Palatine Museum, and an aerial view of the Roman Forum. The site is more or less ruins today. While I have a keen eye for rocks and their meaning, having visited many a jewelry store, it was helpful having a guide point out their significance beyond the short tour I had prepared (Excerpt: "here is another pile of rocks. They are also dusty.")

Here's the ruins of Domition's personal stadium:

The remnants of his palace:
And the aerial view of the Forum, between the Palatine and Capitoline hills, the centre of Roman life in the days of the Republic.

This amounted to a lot of walking. Even though Marco believes our touring pace is "punishing", I still think this is only Fun Tabbing Lite. Even so, I was more than willing to take the subway. The subway was extremely dirty, crowded and very deep underground.

The subway has some funny warning signs. We were tired and punchy and made up meanings for them. Sadly, these meanings are too rude to print here. I'll let your imaginations run wild (as with all pics, click to embiggen):

People of the Italian Metro: what is going on in the lower right and left pictures? Esp. the right one. Honestly. Do the residents of the eternal city really need a warning against that?

In closing, I want to close on a hot topic. There's been a lot of talk in the comments of late about "dude scarfs". Who has one. Who wants one. Who wants to see Marco with one. We had another siting today. I Kinneared it for you all. This one was particularly egregious, style-wise, in my opinion.

See you tomorrow for the Vatican!