Rome, Aug. 10

Aug. 10, 2012
Rome, Italy
Today was an optional trip to Pompeii which Gary and I chose not to do because of the heat and the crowds (it’s the most visited site in Italy). We decided it could wait for another visit, preferably in the fall when it should be cooler and less crowded.
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We spent the day exploring Rome instead. That is, we explored Rome after we figured out how to buy a Metro (subway) ticket. The ticket machine wouldn’t take our money because we only had high-denomination euro notes on us and the machine can only give out up to €6 in change, so we had to buy our tickets from a tabacchi (tobacco shop) instead. Then we took too long to insert our tickets into the automated ticket-taker and had to ask a guard to open the gate to admit us onto the platform. Once we were actually on the subway, it was easy to navigate our way around.

We began our day in the Piazza del Popolo because we wanted to visit the Santa Maria del Popolo, an Augustinian church on the north side of the square that contains artwork by famous Renaissance artists such as Raphael, Bernini, Carravagio, and Sansovino. (Unfortunately, the Chigi Chapel, which was designed by Raphael and completed by Bernini and which was also featured in Dan Brown’s book Angels and Demons, was undergoing restoration work and was covered over with canvas.) There is also a very nice contemporary portrait of Pope John Paul II in this church by Russian artist Natalie Tsarkova.

From there we window-shopped on the Via del Corso, which is where the average Roman goes shopping and contains lot of shoe stores, department stores, fashion outlets such as Benetton, Gucci, and Prada, and the Ferrari flagship store (which was way too expensive for even Gary to consider buying anything). Along the way we stopped in the Piazza Colonna to examine the ancient Column of Marcus Aurelius.

Then we had lunch at the nearby Alfredo alla Scrofa, which is the original location where the famous Italian dish Fettuccini Alfredo was invented. Gary has been spoiled for Fettuccini Alfredo ever since he first tasted the real thing at the location this restaurant used to run at the Epcot Center in Disney World, so of course we had to visit this place and sample it now that we were in Rome. Although this restaurant is no longer owned by the same family who invented the dish, it supposedly still uses the original recipe and still has pictures on the walls of all of the famous movie stars and celebrities who have visited it. They tossed the noodles with the butter and Parmesan cheese right at our table, and it was one of the richest, most satisfying meals I have ever tasted. (Gary said that while it was good, it was not quite as good as he remembers it to have been at the Disney World location. Maybe it’s always that way – nothing is ever as good as the first time we do something memorable.)

There is also another restaurant in Rome, Il Vero Alfredo at Piazza Augusto Imperatore, which is run by actual relatives of the man who invented the dish. We passed it on our wanderings during the day, and stopped to take a picture of it. We’ll have to visit that location the next time we’re in Rome to see if their version measures up to Gary’s memories.

We then explored the Piazza Navona, one of Rome’s main public squares, and located the nearby restaurant where we planned to have dinner that night, called Casa Coppelle at Piazza delle Coppelle. It had been highly recommended to us by an American couple from Virginia that we met in a snack bar in Florence.

We next visited the Ara Pacis Museum on Lungotevere in Augusta on the east bank of the Tiber River, which contains a modern reconstruction of an Altar to Peace built in 9 BC using original pieces that had been excavated or recovered from various other locations. The museum itself is a contemporary-style building that opened in 2006, and I have to say that the air conditioning in there was pretty refreshing.

While we were in the museum we picked up a brochure listing various things to see and do in Rome and it mentioned a traveling interactive exhibition called “Leonardo da Vinci: The Genius and the Inventions,” located in the Piazza della Cancelleria. It sounded fascinating, so after getting directions to the piazza from the bartenders in a snack bar we stopped at for a drink, we headed over there.

The exhibition consisted of 45 actual working replicas of da Vinci’s various machines based on his drawings and designs, such as his numerous flying apparatuses (apparently da Vinci understood the basic principles of flight but never actually built any of his designs), a hydraulic pump, a rolling mill, an Archimedean screw, musical instruments, a war machine resembling an armored tank, and webbed gloves for use in water.

There was also a bicycle supposedly designed by da Vinci (some scholars think someone else might have added the bicycle’s loom onto two wheels da Vinci had already designed), so of course Gary had to try it out.

A funny side-note: the sketch for this bicycle was found on the back of one of da Vinci’s drawings of sexual organs that he produced during his anatomical studies, so the whole sketch was censured and hidden for almost 500 years, until it was rediscovered in 1974 during the restoration of his Codex.

There were also reproductions of some of the most famous paintings and drawings from this very versatile Renaissance genius.

Dinner at Casa Coppelle was pretty good for the most part. The interior is more like the inside of someone’s elegant home, with lamps and bookshelves, and the background music was jazz, which was a nice change from “O Sole Mio” and “Volare.” Our entrees were excellent. I had a very good Niçoise salad, and Gary had beef fillet simmered in blackberry sauce and grappa (an Italian liquor).

The only problem was that service became much slower as the restaurant filled up and we had to wait a half-hour for our tiramisu, which turned out to be the only disappointing thing we ate in Italy (a thin layer of cake at the bottom of a glass with a lot of custard-like filling on top). It also got rather hot later on, since they had seated us at a table up front right near the door where we didn’t get any of the air conditioning from further inside. I would definitely try this restaurant again, but next time I would allow plenty of time, request a table outside or in the back, and try another dessert other than the tiramisu.

We had another subway adventure when we were ready to go back to the hotel. We first had to find a shop or restaurant willing to give us change for a €20 note, which is surprisingly hard to do. Then we took the wrong staircase when we got off at our stop, found ourselves in an unfamiliar part of the Bologna neighborhood, and had to wander around until we got our bearings again.

When we got back to our hotel room, we found a bottle of champagne in a cooler, two glasses, a flower, and a note saying “Happy Anniversary” from Monique. One of the girls from our tour group must have passed along the news to her. After all of the walking around we had done that day, it was very invigorating to pop open that bottle!

Rome, Aug. 11

Aug. 11, 2012
Rome, Italy
Our last day in Rome, and our tour company saved the best for the last by finishing up with a visit to the Vatican City.
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What a place! All the pomp, wealth, mystery, and magnificence of the Roman Catholic religion are concentrated here, and it’s hard to realize that there are actually some Catholic religious orders that take vows of poverty.

We began our tour in the Pinecone Courtyard (named for its sculpture of a pinecone, which represents the pineal gland, a symbol of eternal life), then walked through the Vatican Museums on our way to the Sistine Chapel as our guide, Alberto, explained some of the most important pieces of artwork we were seeing. (Alberto was a little long-winded, but very well-informed about the Vatican as well as very humorous, which made up for it.)

The Gallery of the Tapestries was especially fascinating, with its hand-woven 15th-century Flemish tapestries lining the walls. (The Resurrection Tapestry in this gallery has an interesting optical illusion – the eyes of Jesus appear to follow you no matter what angle you view it from. Kind of creepy, actually.)

To see in person Michelangelo’s iconic figure of the Hand of God giving life to Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Apostolic Palace that I’ve seen in reproductions all of my life was a very awe-inspiring experience.

It was also interesting to learn that Michelangelo slipped in some private little jokes when he painted the Sistine Chapel. The figure of St. Bartholomew in the fresco of “The Last Judgment” on the wall behind the main altar is displaying his flayed skin, and the face on this skin is supposedly a self-portrait of Michelangelo. Also, one of the figures shown in Hell in this fresco is a depiction of the Pope’s Master of Ceremonies, who had criticized Michelangelo for painting all of the figures in the fresco as nudes.

We then entered St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world, where we saw Michelangelo’s “Pietà,” (which is now behind a bullet-proof sheet of glass to protect it from vandalism), the shrine to St. Peter, the underground burial crypts, and the tomb of Pope John Paul II. (He used to be buried in the underground crypts with the rest of the Popes, but got “promoted” to the Chapel of St. Sebastian on the main floor of the church after he was beatified.)

We then finished up the tour in St. Peter’s Square, designed and built by Bernini, where we also saw the famous balcony at the back of the Papal Palace where the Pope appears to give his blessing, as well as some of the Pope’s Swiss Guards.

After the Vatican City, Monique took us on a private visit to four famous Roman spots that she said every visitor to Rome has to see: the Piazza Navona (which Gary and I had already experienced from our wanderings the day before); the Pantheon (where Raphael is buried); the Trevi Fountain (into which you’re supposed to throw a coin to ensure your return to Rome); and the Spanish Steps (the widest staircase in Europe, named after the nearby Spanish Embassy).

For me, the Pantheon was even more impressive and awe-inspiring than the Coliseum because of its antiquity, the fact that it’s still standing and in such good shape after more than 2000 years (that’s because the Catholic Church took it over for use as a church), its simple yet dignified design, and the engineering miracle of its dome (it’s still the largest un-reinforced concrete dome in the world). The open oculus in the dome is the only source of light besides the entry door and channels sunlight around the interior in a reverse sun-dial effect.

The Trevi Fountain is certainly a beautiful example of the Baroque style as well as the largest fountain in the city. However, we did not follow the traditional custom of throwing in a coin because we didn’t feel like fighting the crowds around it. Also because we’re cheap and didn’t want to waste a euro. If we want to return to Rome someday, I think we’ll get back here even without a coin in the fountain.

Same thing with the Spanish Steps – Gary and I felt no desire to climb to the top of the steps and have our picture taken, even though we’re certainly in good enough shape to do it if we wanted to. After all, we climbed all 527 stairs to the dome of St. Peter’s in London, and that’s way more than the 138 Spanish Steps. But it also wasn’t 100° when we climbed those stairs in London.

Even though we’re not traditional tourists, we’re still glad we got to see all of these iconic Roman spots!

When we were ready to go back to the hotel, we had another adventure involving the Metro – a group experience this time. It turned out the Metro station nearest to us had been closed that day for repairs, so Monique had us all walk to the closest bus stop several blocks away and herded us all onto a bus (it was as crowded in there as a tin of sardines), which took us to the next open Metro station. From there we got back to our hotel in the Bologna district. At least Gary and I had exact change for the tickets this time.

We had another group dinner tonight at some restaurant I was too tired to notice the name of, where we had the usual four courses (Chicken Marsala for our entrée this time) and exchanged contact information. Then we retired early to re-pack and get ready for our journey home tomorrow.

New Lenox, Aug. 12

We’re back home again! Our Alitalia flight, which was a direct one this time, took about 10 hours altogether.
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The pilot had to take us on a rather roundabout course over England, Scotland and Iceland before crossing the Atlantic. He was apparently avoiding flying over London because of all of the air traffic there from people leaving the Summer Olympics (which was about all we saw on television during our visit). This flight did not seem as bad as the flight out, maybe because we were flying in daylight this time and didn’t have to worry about sleeping.

I gained three pounds in Italy. I guess it could have been worse -- all of the walking we did must have counteracted at least some of that food!

My impressions of Italy are: the land itself is amazingly beautiful, historic and artistically significant. The food varies depending on what region you’re in, but all of it is good and worth every calorie. The people are very voluble, and intense about everything they do. They really do use lots of hand gestures. They’re friendly but also shrewd – not above trying to make a sale. They’re not shy about protesting against their government. They care deeply about beauty and aesthetics, how things look. They love life and enjoy all of its pleasures. They also live life at a much slower pace than Americans, because they want to savor all of these pleasures. Things take time in Italy.

There was so much we didn’t see, we’ll definitely have to go back some day. I think next time we’ll feel comfortable enough going on our own.

Virgin Islands, February 4 - 10, 2011

The U.S. Virgin Islands are made up of three main islands and a whole bunch of little ones. St. Thomas is about 10 miles east of Puerto Rico and has the main airport in Charlotte Amalie, which is also the capital and the largest city of the U.S. Virgin Islands. St. John is 3 miles east of St. Thomas and is where we spent most of our vacation. Then there is St. Croix, the largest of the three and located about 35 miles south of St. Thomas.

We rented a car at the airport, drove (they drive on the left side of the road here, since it was briefly a British colony... reportedly they tried to switch over to driving on the right a few years back but it was chaos...) to the east end of the island and took a ferry to St. John. Nine miles long and at only 20 square miles, it’s the smallest of the 3 main U.S. Virgin Islands and also closest to the British V.I. We arrived at the St. John Inn just after sundown on Friday, Feb 4.
It’s a small B&B about two blocks walk from the main drag in Cruz Bay, which is the only real town on St. John. They served a complimentary continental breakfast every morning and hosted a Rum Punch Happy Hour every evening on the deck to watch the sundown. We had dinner that night at the High Tide Bar and Seafood Grill in the "downtown" of Cruz Bay.


Saturday was spent hiking the Reef Bay Trail. Normal people do the tour where the Park Service drives you to the top of the trail, then you walk down hill 2.6 miles to the sea where they pick you up in a boat to bring you back to Cruz Bay. Of course Gary and I are not normal people, so we did the whole trail – 800 feet down and then up again -- on foot. A mile from the end there was a side trail that led about .3 miles to a spot where there is a waterfall and ancient petroglyphs carved by the original inhabitants (Taino Indians who migrated to the islands from South America).



At the end of the trail near the beach are the ruins of the Reef Bay Sugar Factory, which are still in very good condition. Also at the end of the trail are some old pit toilets, which Gary and I called the Ladybird Johnson Toilets. Apparently, the First Lady was taken on the Reef Bay hike in the early 1960s by the former island administrator and park ranger, Nobel Samuels. At the end of the hike, she asked where the bathrooms were. He admitted there were none and suggested she use the bushes. (We were hoping they would have a sign or marker by the bush she used, but we didn’t see one.) Later on, Ladybird donated money for the construction of the bathrooms, which are still there today for your convenience. Another great example of your tax dollars at work!

After we were done hiking, we stopped at the Le Chateau de Bordeaux restaurant. It’s located just a short drive from the Reef Bay trail head, and we discovered it after the climb when we were looking for a cold drink. Their specialty drink is the Dirty Monkey. They refused to tell us the ingredients (only the owner, Lorelei, knows and she makes a big secret out of it) but it tasted like bananas, coconut, malted milk and of course, rum. Oddly enough people looked at us funny when we told them we had just tasted a dirty monkey. Go figure! We had dinner later on that night at Morgan's Mango back in Cruz Bay (decent food, bad female lounge singer).

Sunday, we had breakfast at JJ's Texas Cafe, which has been run for 20+ years by a lady from Dallas. Then we lounged on Cinnamon Bay beach all day.

We also discovered St. John Brewers, located in the Mongoose Junction shopping center of Cruz Bay. Two guys started it about 8 years ago just after college. They make 4 different brews plus root beer and an energy drink. They sell their beers stateside but not in Illinois. What’s up with that? We had dinner later on at the Spy Glass Restaurant. After dinner, we watched the Super Bowl at JJ's for a while, but they closed early so we went back to the room to catch the end.

Monday, we hiked the Caneel Hill trail. The trail starts at the National Parks Visitor Center in Cruz Bay. The top of Caneel Mountain was a challenging hike (but not as steep or long as the Reef Bay trail). They built an elevated platform on top and you could see forever. Amazing views!

Lunched at Margarita Phil's. Had dinner that night at the Ocean Grill, where we sat at the bar for dinner due to a wedding party that had taken over the whole restaurant. They had an older gent playing classic guitar who was excellent, though.

Tuesday, we did a boat tour of the British Virgin Isles on a boat called The Bad Kitty. This tour included the Baths (gigantic granite rock formations) on Virgin Gorda Island, snorkeling (first time ever for Gary, who said it was phenomenal) off Norman Island, and a visit to (our new favorite) the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke Island.

















There is no pier at the Soggy Dollar, so you swim in, drink, and then swim back to your boat. Hence: Soggy Dollars. The best / worst part was getting me in and out, since I don’t swim. I made it with a flotation device and a lot of help from Gary.

Back on St. John that night, we dined at an Irish/Caribbean bar called "The Quiet Mon Pub" (I think every country in the world, no matter how remote, has an Irish bar.) Dinner was take-out from Woody's Seafood restaurant next door. Woody's is a tiny place, but the food was awesome.







Wednesday, we visited the sugar plantation ruins at Annaberg. This plantation was one of the largest ones on the island with about 600 slaves, who later on rebelled and took over the island for six months.






We then hiked the Leinster Bay trail around Watermelon Bay in the morning, then hiked the Salt Pond trail in the afternoon. We also hiked over to Drunk Bay, which was a very rocky beach with a strong westerly wind off the ocean and many rock sculptures left by previous visitors. We then stopped off at Skinny Legs Bar & Grill in Coral Bay on the east side of the island.







For dinner that night, we went back to Le Chateau de Bordeaux at the top of Bordeaux Mountain. What an amazing view of Coral Bay from about 1150 feet up!! The dinner was excellent. They also had an old guy dressed in West Indian garb playing live calypso music on a steel drum.



After dinner, we had one hell of a fun sing-along at the Castaways Bar in Cruz Bay. There was a barefoot guy with an acoustic guitar taking requests from the crowd. The guy had an amazing memory, so we kept trying to stump him. We were hooked when he did a whole song by Little Feat from memory. He knew every word to Dixie Chicken!!! The guy was married to Kelly, our boat captain from the boat tour the previous day. She was there cheering him on. Steve Sloan is his name but he goes by the moniker "the Barefoot White Boy." It was great fun.

Thursday was our travel day. We left St. John early and spent most of the day in St. Thomas shopping and checked out Blackbeard's Castle (kind of a tourist trap).

Sweet home Chicago was a mere 6 degrees when we landed. I think it was around 88 at the airport on St. Thomas when we took off.

I think we may try to do this trip every winter. What a great break!