Arrivederci

On the road, for the last time in Europe 16, this time with Pietro Due.  As we had a late flight from Fiumicino Airport there were limited choices on what we could do.  Should we carry our bags around on the cobblestone streets? Should we try to check them at the train station. or should we use the new service available that will collect and deliver them to the airport for you? The last was one preferred option but in the end we selected renting Pietro Due. A Black Fiat Panda.



As I didn't have too many issues driving Pietro (Uno) for the 16 days in Northern Italy, we realised by renting a car we could spend the day in some of the places outside Rome that we haven't been able to see due to relying on public transport on previous visits.

To be honest. Driving in Italy is not as bad as I was lead to believe and I have found it requires two things at all times, caution and determination.

Caution; this is one of those things needed whenever and wherever someone is driving, but an extra dose is required in the country shaped like a boot. Too much will make the driver unable to function and is liable to make them give up on the task all together. When winding through narrow streets in a hill top town and the occupants can touch the walls of the buildings on either side of the car, caution is needed. When driving along a lane and one can't see much more than the bumper in front due to the bends in the road, caution is needed.
Too much caution will also cause you to skip a well know town, skip a place to see as you don't think you will be able to get in, get a park and get back out. A number of times I reduced my level of caution to visit that hill top town, drive in a city (Genoa or Rome for example).  By doing this we have been able to see much more than we ever could purely relying on public transport.

Determination; is what the driver needs, without this the car will sit in the garage and you will most likely end up sitting at the pool (mind you we did this also a couple of times at LaMaesta in Tuscany). When on the AutoStrada (freeway with a speed limit of around 130Kph) caution can hinder your progress, determination is needed.  I found it is be better to try to slip between the traffic, trying to predict the fellow commuters moves. Momentum in a small Fiat Panda is hard to gain and it is also a well know fact that rental cars do go faster.  Driving on the left and then coming to Europe and driving on the right needs determination, First time sitting on the 'other side' and driving was a little scary, but with Katie in the passenger seat and my determination, we did it.

One final thing that makes the driving easy is a SatNav system.  I use TomTom and honestly I don't think we would have travelled so far in the car each day without it.

Villa d'Este in Tivoli is about 45 minutes from Rome by car and is one place I have wanted to visit since our first trip to Italy in 2012.  The attraction to this place is the terraced gardens and the numerous fountains that cover the site. Without Pietro Due we would need to take the train which would be over 70 minutes and unfeasible with our suitcases.

Firstly we had a brief walk through the villa and admired the views over the valley and surrounds.

 Next was the walk down through the gardens. Seeing the impressive fountains was certainly a relaxing way to spend our last day.

The water was also drinkable and quite cool. I noticed when closer to the larger fountains, they had a cooling effect on the environment, again increasing the pleasure and ambiance.

 

At 12:30 the main attraction was the water fountain.  This fountain is powered by the force of the water and every couple of hours is activated and around 5 minutes of music is played.

Here is a sound recording of the Water Organ in action.

 

As you can see the photo opportunities were plentiful, and it is a place I would highly recomend to visit.

After lunch of pizza at a very close taverna, it was a matter of walking back to Pietro Due.  Unfortunately our timing was a little off and we happened to walk through Tivoli when around 90% of the shops were closed for afternoon break.  It is quite common in the small towns of Italy to close between 14:00 and 17:00. It is a different lifestyle than we are used to with shops being open from 9 to 18:00, here they are open in the morning and then open again from 17:00 to 19:30 or 20:00.

From Tivoli we headed for the coast and were a little disappointed by the two final destinations of the trip, but it is a reminder that not all of Italy is a postcard and not all towns are tourist attractions.

The first stop was Ostia, on the coast and a place I have heard is where the people of Rome go to relax. Well we drove through, walked a section of the town had a gelato and then left.  It was a little grotty and sure had remnants of past greatness, but needs some love to be a current destination

Our final stop before heading to the airport was Fiumicino. After Ostia I wasn't expecting too much but this was the better of the two.  It is certainly a working town connected with a fishing industry and the coast guard to the ocean.  We walked the dock area taking in the scenes, there were many locals fishing from the wharf and also a number of local cats getting their share of dinner from the fisherman's scraps.

Our 2016 tour has come to an end after 40 days on the plane, the road, the cable car, the train, the tram, the funicular, the coach, the metro, the van and of course the foot.  We have had an amazing time and hope you have also enjoyed following along. Thanks to all those who took the time to comment, just as you like reading our blog each day, we like reading your comments.

Finally, I would like to thank my travel companion, fellow blogger, and wife for being part of this journey.

Tomorrow; a little sleep

Next trip;.........We need at least a week at home before I mention this to Katie.

There is over 900 in Rome

Today you will find out what there is over 900 of in Rome.

We have noticed a type of shop in Rome we have never seen before. I'm sure there are other places where these shops exist, but in one area near The Pantheon is where men of the cloth go to buy, well, the cloth.

This is by no means a tourist attraction and is what makes the difference between being a tourist and a traveler.  There are a number of businesses in the area that have displays in the windows of differing garments available.  I can't provide much information as we didn't go in to browse, but from the outside could be seen other items available like gold and silver crosses, goblets and religious accessories.

I like to think of us as travelers as we spend a little more time in each destination than regular tourists allowing us to explore back streets and lanes.  This allows us to see beneath the blanket of common tourism that is covering many cities. It is not these shops that there are over 900 of in Rome.

Whilst in this area Katie near the Pantheon found that the Church of St. Ignatius had a special display - "The Trees of life".  This art installation was a temporary exhibit that was quite impressive in an already impressive church.

One amazing thing about this is the ceiling, most churches in Rome have a dome that is painted and this church is no exception. No it wasn't this church that had over 900 trees in it.

This dome is an exception, it isn't actually a dome, it is a canvas that the artist painted to look like a dome, and it works well if you look from the correct direction. The dome painting on canvas, was originally created in 1685 and destroyed by fire, and the current in situ is an 1823 reproduction by Francesco Manno.

Next stop was the Church of Jesus, with a name like that it was unmissable and just around the corner.

We stopped in and took a few photos, it was good to see some of the church cordoned off allowing some restoration to be performed. With the country of Italy in such fiscal pressure it is relieving to see that places like these with such historic value are able to raise money for restoration and maintenance. No it isn't 900 maintenance projects either.

Lunch today was multicultural, with Nachos for entree, Katie having Fish and chips and me having Chili con Carne, all in a booth at an Irish pub.  We also got to read a menu where English was first and the barman and wait staff also spoke English.  It was a good reminder of what home will be like ever so soon.

Domus Romane was our next stop (this time I got the day and time right) with another 8 English speaking tourists we were taken underground and back to the Ancient Roman era.  The Domus Romane is modern multimedia exhibition that has been placed over an archaeological dig in Palazzo Valentini.  For about 90 minutes we walked underground on glass floors while projections and lighting explained the many layers of the dig.  Unfortunately we were unable to take photos but have a quick look at the Domus Romane website and you will understand the experience. Oh, there are many more than 900 archaeological sites in Rome.

With our last day in Rome today we needed to perform our ritual to ensure our return.

Up until now throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain has ensured our return, let's hope the luck continues. 

Finally, what are there over 900 in Rome? Churches. Yes, there are over 900 Churches in Rome, amazing.

Tomorrow, On the road again?  

Villa Borghese and garden

In Rome, we have walked and walked, and walked some more. Most attractions are easily reached by foot. We have walked many kilometres every day, so it was nice to have a slower paced day today. We both had a sleep in and relaxed at our apartment for the morning. I finished the book I have been reading over the last couple of weeks - The Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez. I had thoroughly enjoyed her other novel of a very similar nature, 'The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul'. Both novels tell stories of her experience living and working in Afghanistan. They make for quite eye opening reading. I have left this
latest read on the shelf in the apartment for someone else to enjoy.

We also began the inevitable task of going through our suitcases in preparation for our depart soon. We have picked up some souvenirs along the way over the last 5 and a half weeks and even bought a small case to manage the overflow! We've started building a pile of things to leave behind as well. We only pack enough clothes for a week on a long trip. While this has its pros, it also has cons. The biggest being, because you are washing the same clothes quite frequently, they get worn out sooner. We have t-shirts that are looking quite old, that were new at the start of this trip! So, leaving some things behind, will make life easier when it comes time to packing our suitcases properly tomorrow.

We left our apartment at midday and started the walk to Villa Borghese. This was the only place on this list today and we had a booking at 3pm. Like other places, you have to book a time to enter the gallery and your visit is limited. We would have 2 hours to explore the gallery. So we took our time getting there and stopped at a cafe on the edge of the gardens for some lunch. They had burgers on their menu and we were both feeling a little deprived of red meat, so we both ordered a burger and the aubergine balls to start. We ordered our burgers 'medium'. From the outside the meat looked well cooked. But, when I cut it open it was more rare than medium. I had a couple of mouthfuls and thought it tasted ok so didn't make any complaints, besides the paprika chips it came with were delicious! But after a couple more bites I was struggling. I could have summoned the waiter and had him order the chef to cook it longer, but I didn't think it was worth it. Shannon ate most of his and what meat I didn't eat, I covered with the napkin.

We had a lovely walk through the Borghese gardens. This is a very popular spot for tourists and locals. It is particularly lovely in the heat of the day, where you can feel a cool breeze under a canopy of leafy trees. Families congregate to have picnics, ride crazy four people bikes, roller blade and relax. We stopped to admire the water powered clock that was built in 1867. They spent some time restoring it in 2007, but it is no longer fully operational. The birds enjoyed bathing in the fountain that sat next to it.

We made our way to the villa four our 3pm entry. Villa Borhese is a gallery, that houses a large collection of paintings, marble statues and sculprtures and other antiques. This collection was started by the Cardinal Borghese, hence the name. Even though our entry time was at 3pm, we still had to join a lengthy queue to get in. The wait was worth it.

While we are not huge art lovers, we certainly can appreciate the beauty in magnificent pieces. We were pleased we had paid 5euro each for the audio guide, as the explanation of what we were looking at gave us a better understanding and made the visit more meaningful. It was the marble sculptures that impressed us the most. Many of these were by Bernini and were simply stunning to see. The detail in each sculpture was so impressive, making some appear even life like.

It was quite a fascinating place and easy to see why it is visited by thousands of people. The paintings seemed to come to life in between the sculptures and painted ceilings of each room.

We opted for cooking in our apartment tonight, as a change from dining in restaurants!

Tomorrow, the end is near