Rome
June 6
Whew…am I tired. I didn’t really sleep well last night knowing I had to be up at 4:30 am to get ready for a long day to Rome and back. We went on the train again and also bought a ticket on the Green Line to be able to go on and off the bus for the “sights”. We spent most of the time in the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. We had a nice lunch at a restaurant near there and had a gelato on the way to the Trevi Fountain to throw a coin in for luck and that you will for sure come back to Rome one day………..then on to the Spanish Steps.
We barely made it back in time for the 5:12 pm return train trip. Tired for sure. I could see some of the other sights from the bus but we didn’t stay on it that long……also the Coliseum, etc. Maybe we’ll have time the evening before we return home to go into the city by metro …….and maybe not. We are staying at the Hilton at the airport so we can get out early for the 6:45am flight home on Wednesday. I took a couple of pictures at the signts we saw through the tour bus window……this one of the Coliseum is an example.
Oh yeah…………as we got home to Fabro, there was another rainbow waiting to greet us as we drove toward the house. It wasn’t anything like the sight that greeted us on the first day we were here, but it was a good omen we think.
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Another day in Umbria
June 5
Just a laundry etc. day in Umbria. We made a nice dinner again before our early trip to Rome in the morning…………..up at 4:30am tomorrow.
The dinners we cook are joint efforts…….Carolyn made chicken and wine sauce this night. I made farfalle with peso sauce. We threw together a salad, artichokes from the garden and I did the bruschetta again with olive oil, tomatoes, basil and pecorino…….woo woo…with rosso from Casa Rondini.
Cheers.
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Firenze/Florence
June 4
We’re driving to Florence today with a stop at the factory store (outlet) for the Siena leather shop (where I bought the red bag) is located.We made a little detour by getting off the A-1 one exit or so too soon. What the heck, we finally found it by following some parallel roads. In the shop I found just what I was looking for to take home as a couple of gifts. We headed on toward Florence and found a miraculously free parking spot right outside the pedestrian city center. We got our bearings (Carolyn is a good navigator) and started out. We found the San Lorenzo Market again where Carolyn was looking for a couple of things she saw previously and didn’t get. I also found me that great little hanging leather eyeglass case I spotted on a woman at Il Latini. Oh yeah…then something else and on and on. We left no leather wallet, coin purse, money clip or handbag uninspected in all of Florence, Siena and environs.
Off to Rome on Friday on the train. If we take the 5am we can stay all day and head back at 7pm or 9pm train back to Fabro. By not staying overnight, we can forgo hauling the rolling laptop cases for all that gear. It will be an exhausting day for sure. I’ve never been to Rome so we will go to the Vatican Museum, Coliseum, Pantheon, etc by buying a day ticket on the buses that make the rounds where we can get on and off at will. Hummm….better make a run to the ATM on Thursday and do laundry again on our “rest” day here at Casa Rondini. There is also a little ceramic place Franco told me about near here where you can buy or make your own little oil jugs. He had a really cute one with a saucer that was different than the ones you see in all the shops. (Wonder if my baggage allowance can stand another item???)
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Assisi
June 3…
We are off to Assisi this morning. The sun was shining as we got up but by the time we headed down the road, it had clouded up. We both took umbrellas this time and planned to carry them all day. Still no internet again this morning…………and none when we returned from the trip either. Who knows why as we’ve given up trying to figure out why it comes and goes. It doesn’t seen to really have anything to do with the weather like satellite internet does. I had to take this picture of the lilies in the flower beds……just think of the fragrance. I’d been watching them for several days. Bozena said we would find new delights each day as the flowers bloomed and she was right.
“Miss NUVI ” did a good job of getting us there and back since we had to skirt Perugia.We only disobeyed her directions a couple of times this time. We found a parking garage and got a ticket. Good thing I noticed the sign saying take your ticket with you as we needed it to get back in. Weird way they had to pay as we had to go back in and put the ticket in an automatic machine with cash and then go back out and put it in another machine at the gate going out. Wonder how many just drive away and get a big fine later.
We started walking into the city street area after getting off a new elevator….wow, an elevator was welcome here. It all looked new with a nice contemporary steel railing, etc. However, that euphoria over an elevator didn’t last long as the bridge ended and the walk began. It wasn’t too bad considering some we’ve made over the last couple of weeks. We started finding shops all over the place and wandered into many of them and found some cute stuff for the grand-kids in one. I also finally found an olive oil bottle made in Deruta that I liked that was actually a decent price. I decided to come back and get it later if it was still there when we walked back to the car (and it was). We finally found the Basilica San Francesco where Saint Francis of Assisi is interred. It really is a beautiful church with all the Giotto frescoes.No photography was allowed although there were so many people in there that some didn’t abide by the posted rules/signs………or the Silenzio signs either.
Oh yeah, did I mention it started pouring down rain right as we were getting ready to sit down for a bite of lunch? We sat there with our umbrellas, under the umbrellas…….but finally when I saw mats washing down the street it was time to move indoors. We waited it out for a time. Due to the rudeness of the woman working there as we stepped into the space with our umbrellas….we decided to take our business elsewhere for lunch.
So we found a spot, ordered, sat or whatever. They served us, we decided on a gelato for desert. When il conto came, it seems we had to pay double OR more to sit, We sat down and they made us order from there when we’d planned to just order and then sit. Whatever, the reason (and I’d read of this), we were encouraged to do it the expensive way and then billed accordingly. Not happy campers, us.
I’m sure we didn’t see much of what Assisi has to offer but the weather was not cooperating and it was time to head out for Casa Rondini………..we told NUVI, “Home, James” and headed out.
Some might wonder why I would show a picture of the edge of the Basilica, but my eye was caught by the verdant green of the landscape, the larger than life skies and the angles on the walk ways and buildings, with the curve arches just setting them off. These kinds of “marks” will show up in the paintings I will do after I return home from this inspiring land.
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Slow Day In Umbria
June 2
We decided to decide this morning if we would go to Assisi. We were really tired from going out all day and into the evening just about every day since we’ve been here. SO, we just woke up…and turned over and went back to sleep. We knew the forecast was for rain, too. So it’s been a lazy day around here….feels like a couple of weeks ago as it’s much cooler when all the rain and wind came blowing through here today.
Now if it just blew on through enough to give us a little better weather tomorrow to go to Assisi. We’re also looking at weather and schedules for a day by train to Rome but the weather looks like rain every day there as well except for Friday.
Late this morning I decided it was time for a pot of lentils since we bought them and the weather certainly called for something like this………yum, yum they are good. Especially, with garlic and shallots from the garden and some chopped proscuitto crudo sautéed in olive oil.
Carolyn decided we couldn’t let a day go by without a picture so here it is………the beautiful sunset looking off the bedroom terrace….if you look really closely you will see the sparkle of the lights of Montegabbione.
Buona notte, amici.
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Monte Oliveto Maggiore
June 1
Oh my…it’s June already. This afternoon we headed off to Monte Oliveto Maggiore. I’d been there before and Carolyn had not.
It shouldn’t have been hard to find, but somehow it was. We did get off the A-1 at the right place but wandered off course at one of the round-a-bouts or strangely marked turns. Anyway…..got into a tight squeeze and now know the meaning of the term. In Sinalunga, we went down a street that continued to get smaller until the passenger side outside rearview mirror scraped the side of a wall…….OOPS. Pulled those mirrors in for sure. I got out and helped direct Carolyn as she inched (I mean inched) the way back up the steep incline. At the end the transmission (or something) was smoking. We got the heck out of there and parked the car for a short time to cool it off. I was searching for numbers to call the rental office if necessary….but the auto kept on going although we would get a whiff now and then getting into the car the rest of the day.
Finally, we reached our destination. Beautiful and worth the trip for sure. More hills to climb, as I knew.
We considered a pizza again due to the later hour and being tired. Oh well………..home to Casa Rondini and the food we’d purchased earlier at the supermarket. Carolyn made a chicken saute/pasta sauce. We had a salad and the farfalle. We served it with some bread brushd with olive oil, and the Bianco we found at the supermarket…..Limoncello for the digestiv. Better watch out for Limoncello as it can make a person go dip their toes in the pool outside (cold water). No photos of this either even under the influence of Limoncello.
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Arezzo, Cortona and Fish Night
May 29-30-31
Oh my….what to say, what to say! So much to do and what to pick to talk about. The day after the trip to Florence, we did laundry, rested up and made a reservation with our hosts here at Casa Rondini for “fish night”. Previously they’d called it mussel night and we’d gone somewhere else. I’m fairly unsophisticated when it comes to various seafood you might say. But, what the heck, we decided to go anyway. We ended up with an insalada with eel, and something else that skips my brain right now. I was shocked that this dish was so good so I perked up some. The New Zealanders dining with us that night pronounced what we were eating or I mostly wouldn’t have known. Well, I say that I still would have known those baby octopus and I think I spied a snail. We even has a cuttlefish,crawfish, mussels, and some anchovies………oh me, if I hadn’t been too embarrassed I would have passed on the anchovies. I went ahead and got out two of them…Probably the best anchovies in the whole world if I could eat two. .They had a lot of garlic, oil and spices so that helped. The fried calimari was good. Wish I could remember what one of the other main dishes was with all the veggie stuffing but I can’t. We had a lot of courses including the wonderful torte with ice cream. One of the people from New Zealand informed us our host, Franco, had been a chef in London………wow, how lucky can you get!
Can’t wait for Pizza Night sometime before we leave.
The next day we made a drive to Arezzo and found a good parking place, walked around, ate again (of course) and happened upon a great little art supply store where,of course, we found a few things we couldn’t live without. I KNOW I WILL PAINT GREAT WORK WITH THESE PAINTING KNIVES. Or they will become a good souvenir of the trip. . We then stopped at an outlet mall on the way back that we heard of….but mostly USA brands. I did find a Moka pot to take home that was a good deal.
Today, we took our time getting out and about and then headed for Cortona. You have to go to the town where “Under the Tuscan Sun” was filmed, huh! We found a good place to park……….and lo and behold, a neat little shop with art glass jewelry. Woo-woo….just couldn’t pass up that lovely bracelet and Carolyn got a great, unique ring. Nice young artist guy there, too, to tell us about his work.
We did another of the wonderful lunches there………..this time the Bistecca Fiorentina…very delish. Then since we had all that food, we had energy for another marathon climb to another church, Santa Margherita. Mass was being held so we could only glance around inside this beautiful Romanesque-Gothic church.
I did make a few pictures in Cortona, none at Arezzo but decided to share a picture of one of the many rose bushes right here at Casa Rondini. There are wonderful beds of roses and other flowers all over this place. I told Carolyn I never knew Italy loved roses like they do here. They are everywhere you go, from the lowliest to the fanciest homes and businesses……..even the gasoline stations.
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Firenze, Italy
Florence/Firenze……….May 27-28
Hum, what to say, what to say! What can you say about places with such a long history. I’d visited briefly before and went to the main museums (Uffizi and the Academia) but really didn’t know or see that much but take in the old city near where we stayed.
This time I stayed at the same location just off the Doumo Piazza but had Carolyn with me. She teaches art history………..so for sure, I had a font of knowledge right there with me. She’s also been there many times in the past.
So we made the rounds…and I do mean rounds and at about 92 degrees and many miles of steps we were bone tired by the end of the two days.But, I digress as I’m prone to do . Carolyn had never been to the Santa Croce cathedral so we went there that first afternoon. The next morning we set out for another place she’s always wanted to see and hadn’t……The Basilica of San Miniato Al Monte (top of the mountain to you, and especially to me. I thought I’d never get to the top of the steps that seemed to go on to infinity. If there is a place like this worth the effort of the climb, this one could be included. It is so beautiful, this 1000 year old church.
The night came and we decided to go to Il Latini, a restaurant my daughter and I had a good time at previously.We shouldn’t have as we were so tired we felt ( or I did anyway) it an effort to eat and smile. they seat you at a table with 4-8 people communal style. Our bad luck was to get seated with a young woman who looked about 15 with her boyfriend who looked over 40. She was from Kent England she told us…and did not deign to make another comment even when prodded (graciously of course )…her date was nice and the other people on the other side were too far away with her in the middle to converse with much.
So ………early in the morning we got up never dreaming we would have the energy and headed up to the Basilica mentioned previously. We’re doing pretty good for two old (nah) broads. And, we got in a little leather shopping running around as well.
On the way to the train station to return to Umbria, Carolyn took this picture of me in front of the Baptistry at the Florence Cathedral. And I took hers.
By the way……..Carolyn’s blog for this trip is located here. I’m sure we’ll have some overlap but much with a totally different perspectiv.
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May 26 addendum Al Fresco
Later that evening of the 26th, we cooked a chicken breast cutlet, made a salad with some fresh peas from the garden here, walnuts, tomatoes, leeks from the garden and a vinagarette, and a pasta with tomato and percorino. Carolyn also steamed a couple of artichokes from the garden here. We served it outside on our front terrace with some of the house Bianco. Delish…………off to Florence in the morning on the train.
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Video experiment
My friend, Carolyn, took my two little camera videos and sized them down with some program her son gave her…it’s in I-phone cell format so it should be easier to show up on the internet……….hope I loaded it. We will see with this experiment…
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Montegabbione and environs
Sunday, May 25
We spent much of Sunday with laundry, trying to get on the internet to upload a blog entry interrupted the previous day. Finally, I got my entry and pictures uploaded but was in the middle of an IM sessionwith Cynthia when it went out again. No more internet for the rest of the day/night and none this morning on Monday as well.
We were talking with our hosts and accidentally (and fortunately for us) found out there was a celebration of some kind (religious) in the little town down the road…Montegabbione. They outlined all the major central streets with chalk and filled in the spaces with flower petals to “paint” symbols of Christianity. We got there early before a procession of some kind would wipe them out and took pictures and generally just took in the sights and preparations. Very beautiful, indeed. And so interesting to find the continuance of celebrations such as this that have come down probably from the ages to the present day.We left before the procession to head to Citta Della Pieve (one of the favorite towns for us around here) for another “celebration/procession” there. We found an ideal observance point in a small bar with outside tables right across from the main staging area. There was supposed to be jousting somewhere but we must have misunderstood the timing since we never found/saw it. We were there to record on two short two minute videos the procession through the streets. Men wearing robes……..all religious, etc, children (some so small to have their mamas escorting them, and the men having to bear the weight of numerous crosses and symbolic heavy decorations of all kinds. Forgive me for not knowing what much would mean as I’m not grounded in Catholicism at all….nor in art history. The videos are almost 200 mg each for two minutes each. I have no knowledge of compressing them so they can be up/downloaded so will have to figure that out at some point. The little Canon camera is great for these little short recordings. As an aside, we met some nice people from Cheshire UK there for a choir performance…but it started too late for us to hang around and still get back early enough to have something some dinner on the way back to the apartment.
We went back through Monteleone d’ Orvieto to stop at a place known to our hosts for barbecue and pizza, La Tana del Gufo (OWL) Wonderful thin crust Capricciosa pizza for both of us and a small bottle of the house Bianco. I think we may go back there again before leaving Umbria as this is on of the little towns we can see from our back terrace.
The rest of today (if no internet returns) will be spent trying to figure out what will fit in the small rolling laptop bag (sans laptop) for the trip by train to Florence early tomorrow morning. Or maybe also to just wander around as we are prone to do. The sun is shining …or comes and goes and we can hear the tractor and our host hard at work on the place.
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Surprise on the way to Deruta
Sunday, May 25
Yesterday I was able to get through to the Residenza Proconsolo and make a reservation for Tuesday night. We can also stay an extra night if we decide to. Will take train from Fabro station near here to Santa Maria Novella Station in Florence. We should have a 10 minute or so walk to the B & B. Having stayed there before, I know you only go out the front door and walk a block to the Doumo…you can even see it from the window of the room. We’ll be missing my Mississippi Art Colony friends as they will be arriving the day after we leave. Maybe we can still meet up in Assissi after the 31st.
We decided to make the drive to Deruta yesterday……..known all over the world for their ceramics. When we were driving along………..whoa, suddenly the road filled with goats. It was a large herd with its own “shepherd”………a herding dog. The dog barked at them to get the move on and over to the side of the road and barked at us for taking pictures of his “babies”.
Deruta was nice enough but we stayed a short time as they were preparing for a big celebration right there where we were for their soccer team’s big awards/celebration for wins.
We didn’t really see that much of Deruta probably since the town was preparing for a celebration/awards ceremony for their young soccer players to celebrate a big win. We did see quality work (according to my non-knowledge of ceramics) there in several shops we went in. One had PR posted on the wall about their work’s quality…..from the NY Times, no less. One other shop sends work to Neiman Marcus and to All Things Foreign in Snyder Plaza, Dallas, TX. I’ll have to remember to look for this in both places later on down the line. AND the prices were better for Olio bottles there than in Siena. I’m in the market for a new one so will keep looking as I broke one of mine not long ago.
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