Last week in Italy for now

Bus Ride

I am back in Aviano before leaving this Friday to fly to Edinburgh.  It is bittersweet to be leaving Aviano and friends in this area. Debbie has been a treasured friend without whom this “sabbatical” would not be possible.  This time I had to travel on the bus the last leg of returning to Aviano. Debbie picked me up in Pordenone since the rental companies at the airport would not let me rent with just a paper replacement license.  (wallet with license has not turned up).

Another good friend, Liz, took me the next day to a local car rental and helped me rent a car for the week with just paper documents.  It helped that she owns the building they are renting! No matter where – it is always who you know! 

I have gone to the movies (Crazy Rich Asians -great), had a wonderful birthday celebration with Debbie and the Nothstine's, played bingo and just relaxed my last week here.

Today, I was able to go to the Italian hairdresser (they really know how to cut hair), get repacked for winter months, have lunch with a friend, take items to store at Debbie’s until December (a huge help), had a late afternoon going away prosecco with old book club group that are Italians or married to Italians, and turned in my car.  Heather Nothstine, a friend,   graciously agreed to take me to the VCE express bus in Pordenone in the morning.

I mostly want to stop today and give thanks for the journey that brought me here.  I have so much gratitude to all those who have made my journey possible, my cousin and his wife who are getting my mail and attending to anything that comes up, my sister and brother-in-law who are always there for anything I want to do, my dear friends who give me unfailing support, and my family who tries to understand my love of travel, and of course, the Matthews who are taking care of my house while theirs is being built.

Sometimes it feels longer, and sometimes much shorter, but I have been away about 2.5 months.  I have had time to read, think, clean up my computer, and try to make sense of what I really value and how I may want to spend my future time.  I am not nearly finished with this journey of mine, but the free time to “just be in the moment” has already been worth the effort and time away.

View of mountains in Aviano

My Desiree Hotel with pastry bar next door

I saw a quote I liked, “Loving life is easy when you are abroad. Where no one knows you and you hold your life in your hands all alone, you are more master of yourself than at any other time.” Hannah Arnedt

Florence by any Name is Always Wonderful

Florence was called Florentia in Latin, then Fiorenza in Old Italian, then Firenza. The names foreigners call it by, like Florence in English and Frence in French, and Florenz in German, are closer to the original.

Since the prices were down to almost half-price, I decided to stay in my very favorite hotel in Florence, the Palazzo del Borgo.  It is well located for everything and is only a block from one of my favorite restaurants known to locals, called the “100 Poveri”.

I did things this trip I have never done – as I really took time to ride the “Hop on Off” bus through both of their extended routes.  Only got off at the Piazzale Michelangelo and Fiesole to enjoy the fabulous vistas over Florence.  Fiesole is an ancient Etruscan city, on the opposite side of Rome overlooking the city. It was great to take the time to see so many areas of Florence.  Of course, from the time I got there, I enjoyed walking the city going by so many of the wonderful places I have loved to return to again and again over the years.

 

DANTE'S MASK

I also visited the Palazzo Vecchio inside for the first time and was amazed at all the arts and architecture of that amazing building.  Years ago, I had gone on a tour of the “Vasari Corridor” that runs from this building through the Uffizi and then across the top of the Ponte Vecchio bridge to the Pitti Palace.  I also found they have a “secret area” tour of the Palazzo Vecchio I hope to do in the future.  Vasari did most of the paintings in this building and they are magnificent.

Needless to say, after a few days in Rome and Florence, I realized the loss of a current driver’s license was something I could now deal with.

Roaming Around Rome

Rome was my next stop, and after losing my wallet, a welcome sight for me.  Not too crowded, tons of summer sales, plenty of places to eat solo in style, and people out and about all hours of the day and evening.  My hotel was well located and reasonable (note to others Booking.com and Hotel.com are the way to go for good deals) as summer is vacation time and most Italians stay at home or at the beaches, resulting in great pricing for nicer Rome hotels.

View from my hotel roof terrace

A highlight I have noted in a Facebook post, was time spent with Dr. Luisa Marquart, an internationally known library professor, I met at a conference in Padua 9 years ago.  She was so gracious to me and made sure I saw sights in her suburban Rome before we went to dinner.

I have been to Rome numerous times in the past, but have never seen the length of the Roman Aqueducts I saw in her area near the Appian Way.  She noted that each time she visited more vandalism had occurred from people taking marble signs, etc. off the fronts of buildings. Italy simply has so many amazing treasures that it is impossible to secure them all.  There were many people exercising, running, walking and viewing the area we visited during a late afternoon.

We ate at a very popular local restaurant that seems full when we arrived.  Luisa seemed to know everyone and we quickly were shown a table. It was fun to people watch the sophisticated looking group while we ate one of the best meals I have ever had in Italy. This restaurant was near Cine Citta movie studios and often had movie stars eat there.  Unfortunately, George C. did not show up on my night. (Restorante San Tarciscio)

After dinner, we visited the Basilica Di San Giovanni a Porta Latina. 

“According to Tertullian, as quoted by Saint Jerome, in year 92, St John the Evangelistsurvived martyrdom at Rome under the Emperor Domitian by being immersed in a vat of boiling oil, from which he emerged unharmed. He was later exiled to island of Patmos. This event was traditionally said to have occurred at the Latin Gate (located on the southern portion of the Roman wall). The nearby chapel of San Giovanni in Oleo is said to be on this very spot.”

Luisa could not have been more gracious and giving of her time and I felt I had made a good friend by the end of the evening.  She kindly drove me back into the city before midnight and made sure we passed the lighted Colosseum.

During the rest of my time in Italy, I visited two or three museums, shopped a little in a new large department store that had evacuations of a Roman area highlighted in the basement. Visited main sites again and my favorite street Via Margutta near Spanish Steps.   In short, took it easy and enjoyed the comfort of one location for a few days.  Walked over 12,000 steps most days!  Also went to see Mama Mia in Italian!

My sculpture should have looked this good

   Seems impossible to get these extra pictures in order!

Via Margutta

Via Margutta

Department Store evacuation

Break for Birthday

Thank you to all who wrote notes and sent well wishes on my birthday!  At 74 (yikes!) I need all the good wishes I can get.  Got up, remembered it was my birthday, and thanked God for all my blessings - many of which are dear friends throughout my life.

I went to my  Patisserie/Bar/Gelateria right next door for a coffee macchiato.  It was full of people on a Sunday morning.   Bruna and Lilianna were very busy waiting on customers.  I enjoyed my coffee and went back to my room to work on my Rome blog a bit more.




Debbie picked me up for what turned out to be a surprise birthday lunch with the Doug and Heather Nothstine and their darling children Jacob and Leah.  Useful birthday gifts and a great lunch .  Gelato at the best local place afterwards was a wonderful birthday treat!  I felt so blessed with their thoughtfulness.

Now back in my room, reading the weekend base newspaper, relaxing and just enjoying my day.

I was able to go to the base movie center with Debbie last night and highly recommend  Crazy Rich Asians as a must see!  I have a busy week planned and may train to Venice on Tuesday or Wednesday, and get my hair done on Thursday.  I leave here Friday for Scotland.

Kicking Myself for Days!

Well they say it is not an adventure unless something goes wrong.  I turned in my rental car near Venice and took the train to this well-known ceramic town near Bologna. I had wanted to visit Faenza for several years since I bought some unique Italian plates with a design only known in this area. 

When I arrived and walked from the train station to my hotel, I was surprised to see so few people out and about.  It was a hot Sunday, so I checked in and soon went out to see what the town had to offer. Not much!  A huge square with a few people riding bikes near few open bars and quick food places.  It seemed like a migrant town judging from those I saw who were obviously non-Italian.  It is near Bologna, so it could be a cheaper place to live.

 The next day, there were more people out and about and nice shops were open.  I visited several and decided with shipping, buying here was not a bargain.  I did buy one special item.

I was fascinated with all the bike riding going on – few people walked and no cars.  I thought Fairhope could benefit from larger bike-only lanes after seeing young and old riding.  After spending some time visiting a large ceramic museum that showed the early beginning of ceramics through today in Italy and walking around, I was bored to tears with this town.  My hotel was the nicest in town, which was not saying much.  It was a 4 star but did not serve lunch or dinner in the restaurant two of the 4 days I was there due to summer I guess.  I decided to travel to Bologna the next day.

In the middle of the night I woke up and thought “I have not seen my wallet for a few days”.  I immediately got up, turned on lights and looked everywhere for it.  I had been using a smaller, lighter, cross body leather pouch purse for a few days and not using my larger purse that had the wallet in it.  It was nowhere to be found and I could not even remember when or where I last had it (age setting in).  It was also a very nice woven Italian wallet I had used for 14 years and a favorite.

After a very restless night, I was really worried.  My driver’s license was in that wallet along with my health cards.  I had planned to rent a car in Umbria in a few days and that would be a huge problem! I also needed a car when returning from the airport/train to Aviano after this trip south.

 Thankfully, my credit cards and passport were in another location. I visited Bologna to try to relieve my stress and kicking myself all day for not thinking.  When I returned, I emailed every place I had been while trying to remember when I last saw it.  I think I had it in the car at one point – but never could remember more than that. One by one the emails came back with no good news.  I could not reach the Venice airport and my car rental place despite trying many numbers and getting nowhere.  I was bummed for at least two + days with the worry of it.  

I did immediately order a duplicate and received a temporary DL online.  Unfortunately, everything I read said you had to have the actual card in hand to rent a car! I had copies of my original on my phone – but it did not do me any good.  Note to self: in future – get a duplicate well before you leave and put them in two different places or have a checklist you look at of important documents every day or so!

I had looked forward to seeing friends that live in Fairhope and Umbria during each year for a couple of days.  I was renting a car to get to their area that did not have public transportation. Frankly, I was not in good enough spirits to visit Umbria after my visit to Rome in a few days. Renting a car to get there was impossible without a license, and I did not want to put them to any trouble knowing they would go out of their way to help and entertain me. Unfortunately, it was time for plan B.

My dishes

Ceramic Museum pics

My next stop before Umbria was to be a brief day or two in Rome where I was scheduled to have dinner with an Italian professional colleague.  With regrets,  I decided to forgo Umbria, give myself a needed break and attitude adjustment with two extra days in larger Rome where transportation, lodging, and dining was much easier. It was a needed decision during a stressful time.

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