Spring Flowers in January

Rome had a very mild January. I have a friend who is my walking partner and we were surprised to see a patch of wild daffodils in bloom on one of our walks. Another day I saw wild daises. - Nancy

Walk along the Tiber

After visiting the Galleria Borghese I went to my appointment and Jim and Sara headed off for more sightseeing. It was a glorious day so I decided to walk along the Tiber River for several miles before getting the bus to head back to my apartment. I even saw a boat of rowers. -Nancy

Villa Borghese - Mosaics

There were mosaics on the floors, walls and very intricate mosaics with the tiniest pieces that looked like paintings.

On the Floor

A mosaic painting

Marble table with geometric pattern

There was one entire room with busts of Popes and cardinals. -Nancy

Look up when in the Galleria Borghese

When in the Galleria Borghese some to the most impressive art work in on the ceiling. Below are samples of some of the art on the ceilings.- Nancy

Visitors from Oregon - that is Oregon, Wisconsin

Jim and Sara in front of Galleria Borghese

Friends Jim and Sara Orvick arrived in Rome the morning of January 23. They got here just in time to put their suitcases in my place and walk me to work. They toured Rome on their own on Jan. 23 and 24. I had the day off on Jan. 25 for a noon appointment in the center of Rome so we took the bus to the Galleria Borghese. It has timed tours for 2 hours each and we were able to walk right in and get tickets. I guess January is the time to be a tourist in Rome. Normally it is hard to get tickets and you have to plan weeks in advance. "The Galleria Borghese houses a substantial part of the Borghese collection of paintings, sculpture and antiquities, begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V (reign 1605–1621)." from Wikipedia. Every area of the villa seems to be covered with art work.There are lots of statues by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, (7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) who was an Italian sculptor and architect. Bernini was also a major figure in the world of architecture. He is credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. - Nancy

Pauline Bonaparte by Antonio Canova

David by Bernini. c. 1623-1624

The Girl's BB Team need players from Iowa

I went to the girl's bb game on Jan. 12. They really need some players from Iowa. At the half the score was 4 for AOSR and 18 for the visiting team. It was painful to watch. One time the visiting team got 8 rebounds before they finally scored. AOSR players took crazy shots and obviously missed almost all of them. I left at the half. It was too discouraging to watch longer. - Nancy

Back to work

Ron flew to Oregon on January 9. I had returned to work on January 8. He changed his plans to return earlier so he could start a new treatment for his prostate cancer. He did really well on our travels in Italy. We were thankful for safe travels and for the time with Doug, Tracy, Reeve, Gabi, and Rania. They were very patient with us and having Doug drive a van large enough for all of us made travel much easier. When I went to work on January 9 Ron was already in Amsterdam as he had a very early flight. I had a lovely view from the AOSR Library with a layer of fog covering the valley. - Nancy

View from AOSR Library Jan. 9, 2018

Final Stop - Milan - Last Supper

The main purpose of our trip to Milan was to see the painting by Leonardo da Vinci of The Last Supper. First we visited the church next door to the monastery. It is Chiesa Di Santa Maria Delle Grazie (Holy Mother of Grace). We were there on January 6 which is the Day of Epiphany or called Three Kings' Day. A church service was just ending. It was a less ornate church than many others I have seen in Italy.

Leonardo began work on The Last Supper in 1495 and completed it in 1498. The Last Supper 180 in × 350 in and covers an end wall of what was the dining hall at the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Holy Mother of Grace). The painting has had lots of restoration and some of it has been highly criticized by art historians. They think very little of the original painting is still intact.  Leonardo painted The Last Supper on a dry wall and the paint did not adhere well. Very shortly the humidity caused the painting to deteriorate.  During World War II, on August 15, 1943, the monastery was struck by Allied bombing. Sandbagging prevented the painting from being struck by bomb splinters. There was a 21 year restoration from 1978 to 1999. The Last Supper specifically portrays the reaction given by each apostle when Jesus said one of them would betray him.

Next Stop - Tour of Milan - La Scala

La Scala

La Scala Theater was opened on 3 August 1778. It is considered one of the leading opera theaters in the world. Out tour included seeing the performance hall and the museum. The box seats are stacked on top of each other but it seats 1987 people. The museum displayed costumes and props from many operas. -Nancy

Ron in La Scala

Costume from Don Carlo Opera

Tour of Milan - First stops.

We had purchased a half day tour of Milan. The first stop was the Milan Cathedral. It is the second largest church in Italy (St. Peter's Bascilica is first although it technically in Vatican City not Italy.) Construction started in 1386 and it took 6 centuries to complete.

We walked from the Cathedral through The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which is a very high end shopping center. It is Italy's oldest shopping mall. Tradition says that if a person spins around three times with a heel on the bull from Turin coat of arms this will bring good luck.   - Nancy

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Bull from Turin coat of arms

A trip to Milan gets on the bucket list

I had asked Ron if he had a bucket list of any place to go or something to see before he left Italy. Initially he said nothing that was not already planned with our travels with Doug and his family. Then he read a biography of Leonardo da Vinci and put seeing di Vinci's painting of "The Last Supper" as the only thing on his bucket list. So the morning after Doug and Tracy left we headed to the train station and took the high speed train to Milan. I really enjoy traveling by train in Italy. The trains are fast, clean, and comfortable. When purchasing tickets you do have to make certain you get the fast train or the same trip can take 3 times longer. - Nancy

Reading or napping are great activities on the the train

243 kim/h is 151 miles/hr. The fastest speed I saw posted was 147 km/h or 154 miles/hr.

Saying good-bye

January 4 arrived and it was time for Doug, Tracy, Reeve, Gabi, and Rania to head back to Kuala Lumpur. They had gotten a taste of Italy. The day was spent packing. The girls wanted to go back to the park and jump on the trampolines. We got artichokes for dinner and Ron gave lessons in how to eat them to Tracy and Rania. The taxi arrived at 6:45 pm and they were off to warm weather. We were blessed to have them with us for Christmas and to travel with them.- Nancy

Last Day as Tourist in Rome

We drove from back to Rome on January 3rd. Doug had done all of the driving on the trip and did an excellent job. Having a large car on very narrow streets was a challenge. The road back was a freeway. After stopping at my apartment to unload the car Doug, Tracy, and I went return it to the small Ciampino Airport where we had rented it from. This is a very small airport for low cost airlines. We successfully turned in the car and then took a bus to the Termini Station in the center of Rome.

Termini is the main train, bus and metro station in Rome. It has many shops and my favorite is the Venchi Chocolate shop. I think it has the best gelato in Rome. We got some and enjoyed eating it. Very close to the Termini station is the Piazza della Repubblica and the Roman National Museum. The museum was four stories, not crowded and housed sculptures, frescoes and mosaics, coins and jewels. It was a very enjoyable place to end Doug and Tracy's visit to Rome. We took the public bus back to my apartment and headed to a local Italian restaurant to have of course some pasta. - Nancy

Piazza della Repubblica

 

 

 

Roman National Museum.

Final dinner out in Rome - pasta!

Pompeii

Top on Ron's list of what to see in Italy was Pompeii. After our decision to go to Mt. Vesuvius we arrived back at Pompeii and a guide met us at the entrance. We had paid for a two hour tour. We got into Pompeii just in time be there two hours before closing. A two hour tour was the perfect length and our guide was wonderful and kept the grand kids attention.

Cooking pot for serving food

The Forum with Mt. Vesuvius in the background

Small amphitheatre with great acoustics

The Forum

Walking on one of the stone streets

Well preserved mosaics in what were villas

Built in 70BC, Pompeii's amphitheatre is the oldest and most complete pre-Colosseum style amphitheatre in the Roman world. Our guide said it is older than the Colosseum in Rome.

Doug and Reeve standing in the amphitheatre in Pompeii

When you exit the see plaster casts of victims. This is from the Archeology Magazine website. "In 1860, Pompeii’s director of excavations Giuseppe Fiorelli developed a way to, in a sense, bring them back to life by creating plaster casts out of the voids left by the decay of organic materials in the hardened ash and pumice. Many of the casts are in dire need of conservation, and the current archaeological superintendency is now undertaking the task of moving, conserving, and restoring 86 of the 103 casts that were made, using both traditional techniques, as well as the latest technology, to ensure that they survive long into the future as well." - Nancy