Day 6: Our last night

Our last night, a Saturday night, we booked in the worst hotel of our stay; it was large but the furniture dated back to 1965 and it reeked of stale cigarette smoke.
Needless to say we rushed out, gorged ourselves for a last nights feast at our favorite Trastevere restaurant and marveled at the crowds Rome produces on a Saturday night- the streets were alive with bodies. All in all an enjoyable trip to Rome!

Day 5: Orvieto

Day 5:

Day 5: Our story

Today we head out of the city and into the Umbria countryside, to Orvieto.
A word of advice if you’re buying tickets at the Rome train station, get there early!
We spend a grueling amount of time in the sweltering station, watching in misery while an attendant meticulously pieces together a transportation card; taking the same amount of time a four year old would to make a greeting from glue and paper.
On board the packed trained, I try to make conversation with Ali in Finnish, I have a feeling our presence as Americans might not be that welcome, but luckily we have the secret tool to confuse most anyone of our whereabouts- the Finnish language.

Arriving at a peaceful station, with no taxis, and little sign of people, we take a tram up to the city, which sits atop a large mountain.
Through the windows along the steep vertical climb we view vineyards clinging by their ancient gnarled roots to the dry craggy mountainside. Up- top the beautiful Umbrian landscape unfolds, soft green rolling farm terrain dotted with picturesque farmhouses.

Overcome with hunger we feast on a mozzarella salad, pizza and beer, and then wander down the many cobblestone streets. We find the side allies peacefully devoid of tourists.
After our walk about we settle down for a cocktail break at a corner cafe and amuse ourselves with the local entertainment; a clown dressed in a cheap outfit, his plastic clown shoes barely cover his tennis shoes, grease make up is smeared into an exaggerated smile but deep concentrated wrinkles furor his brow as he painstakingly produces what might be described as animal balloons (this requires a leap of imagination).
He has a steady stream of young customers, unfortunately he is not very fast, he works intensely, un-smiling, often a balloon pops or floats away and he has to begin the laborious task all over again. Sometimes he just hands them a single long skinny balloon- I guess this is supposed to be some sort of sword. Many young hopefuls gather around in their strollers to watching with amused anticipation, while the parents anxiously a-wait the triumphant moment of balloon completion.

It turns out that this weekend is a festival for street performers and families from many of the neighboring towns have come to Orvieto to see the shows.
After dinner wherever we wandered to we would catch an act.
We discovered our balloon man had stiff competition when we noticed children with elaborate fairy wings and majestic balloon hats, we knew this could not be the work of our perspiring corner clown. The new balloon man walked on stilts, mesmerizing the adults as well who peered up at him with child like awe as he expertly whipped up some extravagant creation, for a final insult to the other clown mans talent he could even tie them behind his back!
But the town was so full even the laborious corner clown maintained a steady stream of customers.
We noticed a huge crowd gathered next to the massive gold gilded church, we joined the circle to watch a clown in long pointed dress shoes, suspenders, and white tank top create his magic. We stood behind, with a view of the children who sat at his feet, their up turned faces full of gleeful delight. He stopped once to allow a moment for the church bells, removing his top hat, and bowing his long nosed head, then the show resumed- in excellent theater performer, he had us all entranced.

Day 4:

Day 4: Evening Trastevere

Day 4: Our Story

After days of sore feet, I decide its time for some wheels.
We rent a couple of ancient, heavy bicycles with baskets on the front and off we go!
We are headed to Borghese park, but before we enter the huge gated park we stop at the flea market in front of the gates, to see if we can find Ali a pair of shorts, no shorts, but I find a pair of lightweight, striped cotton drawstring pants. He slips these on in the railway station bathroom and comes out looking like he has pajamas on! But, they are cooler (in terms of heat) than his jeans, so I tell him "they look fine".
I peddle fast up the first sloping hill of the park, and once at the top, I feel like I am going to die! I sure hope the rest of the park is fairly flat, I am not an extreme bicyclist, if it takes effort, forget it.

The heat is pulsating, it wilts the grass into dry brown tufts- so different from the vibrant green parks of Helsinki. The bikes provide a relief of wind as we zip along, past all the miserable strollers.
In the center of the park we discover an amphitheater. The park is 148 acres, origianlly in the 16th century it was vineyard property, In 1911 the World Exposition was held here, there are a number of statues lining the tree shaded lanes, in fact the Triton statues are the originals from the Piazza Navona.
We have to make some change for the Borgese museum entrance fee, so we grab a mango ice cream from a kiosk cart, quickly downing the melting delicacy. Inside the museum is cool and quiet, we are the only people visiting! We get to peer into some of the rooms preserved in what was the Borghese family house.
From the top of the park we have an amazing view of Rome sprawled out, we bicycle down the hill and end up at the top of the Spanish Steps. We have to navigate our bikes through a herd of Japanese tourists and spend an excruciating 30 minutes trying to land at a cafe for snacks. Finally we settle near the Fountain de Trevi, munching on melon wrapped prosciutto and bread.

For dinner we head to the Trastever area again, and afterwards spend an enjoyable evening sipping lemon cello and people watching.

Day 3: Santa Maria Church (designed by Michelanglo)

The Trastevere area:

Day 3: Our story

Phew! We packed in a lot in the previous two days!

We decide (or rather, it is me that decides) that we should get in some more monumental sight seeing. We take the metro to another area of the city, and after walking a couple of blocks we find ourselves at an amazing building,

Ali says “it looks just like the Coliseum!”
“No, it’s not, we are in a totally different area-it’s some kind of circus building”
“Wow, they built it just the same; it looks exactly like the Coliseum!”
It is of course, the Coliseum.

For dinner we decide to head to the Trastevere area, known as the neighborhood where “the real Romans live” We catch a bus there, almost missing it because we have to find a coffee shop to buy the tickets at first. Luckily I’m wearing heels I can run in!

Trastevere has a whole different feel to it, more mellow and intimate, but as the night goes on it gets progressively wilder. One of the favorite hang outs for drinking is an outside bar; attractive young people drape themselves over the sidewalk patio railings and pack the square. We grab a couple of mojitos in plastic cups and enjoy some people watching, inside the bar is a long table filled with tapas which you can help yourself to.

Day 2: Evening in Jewish Ghetto

Day 2: Street Scenes

Day 2: champagne break

Day 2: Sistine Chapel

Day 2: Our story

Day 2:

The Sistine chapel, we dread the lines, but amazingly we scoot right in, no waiting!
Inside we are packed in like tuna, slowly drifting down the endless, wondrously painted corridors, our heads craned back to view the ornate ceilings.

At last there is entrance into a huge hall with the famous Michelangelo’s Genesis paintings and the most famous “Gods creation of mankind”, actually a bit disappointing for me (not the creation of mankind, but the painting). I was surprised at how small it is.
But, in context, ones senses are overwhelmed by the sheer multitude of paintings.

After a morning in the rich interior of the chapel we decide to go shopping; both of us find beautiful Italian cut winter coats, though in this heat it is impossible to imagine wearing them.

Our feet are painfully sore, calling for a champagne break. Inside the bar we plop ourselves down at there is a wide selection of deliciously cool bottles of champagne on ice. We sip champagne in the shade of the awning terrace and nibble on the numerous tapas brought to us with our drinks.

At night we catch a cab into the Jewish ghetto, grabbing a slanted table on the sidewalk we eat an exotic meal of; baked artichoke served with chili oil, garbanzo and noodle soup, and an entrée of grilled tuna with tomato ragu. We keep eyeing the gelato shop next to us, watching people leave with large cones of dripping ice cream. After dinner I take a short stroll to the end of the street and discover an ancient arched ruin, illuminated with night lights, and oddly next to it, built into it-as part of the ruin- is a brick apartment. It is a strange sight, to look at this ancient ruin and at the same time see, a lit window with someone inside going about their normal business.

Our Hotel: Hotel Cesare

Our Hotel: Hotel Cesare

Day 1: Monumento to the forgotten soldier

Day 1: Fontana de Trevi and the Pantheon

Day 1: More Street Scenes

Day 1: Street Scenes