I like to write, and I love how Cary Tennis is able to create the environment where I write, and write, and write. And it helps that it's in Italy! A beautiful little ancient walled city called Castiglion Fiorentino. We were there for a previous workshop in 2017. Here are photos from both times. The town is behind us on the hill.
Same for me and Cary:
Our small group would sit down to write and Cary would first ask us to be quiet and meditate for a moment. I could hear birds singing, feel the sun, and listen to the voices in my head. One of them was my mother's. I ended up writing quite a bit about her.
Since I'm actually writing this long after we've been home, I can refer you to a speech I did for my Toastmaster's club about Italy and the writing class. It starts at the 20 minute point.
Drag the timeline to the 20 minute point to hear my speech or click this link to go to YouTube at the exact right spot
And, here's the piece I wrote about Mom that I reference in the speech:
Don't fence me in
It wasn't all writing and seriousness, we had plenty of social time during the afternoons and at meals. At one dinner, Cary brought his guitar and entertained us. I couldn't believe it when he started playing Don't Fence Me In. That was my moms theme song when she was 8 years old and bed ridden with polio in 1940. She taught it to me and I adopted it as our theme song for RVing.
If you really want to tour some place in Europe and do it right, you should get a guide. So many people have told us that. But we did not follow their advice. It's OK with us if we "didn't do it right", we just wanted to do it ourselves and it's so amazing that Google maps makes it possible to do so.
There was one place - the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel - where you couldn't get in without a guide. So Jim used his trusty website - Viator.com - to book a guided tour, 2 days away.
A hastily snapped picture looking up at the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo
Think about it, if you traveled to Rome 25 years ago, you'd have to do it without the Internet. I guess you'd use a paper map. It might be possible, but figuring out where you are is next to impossible when there are no dependable street signs. And, believe me, there are no dependable street signs anywhere in Italy!
With Google Maps, we could just ask for walking directions to the Colosseum from wherever we were and it would tell us where to go. We can even use the feature called Live View to see the real world around us and follow big blue arrows. The background is seen live thru your camera, then Google Maps uses Augmented Reality (AR) to superimpose the big blue arrows and instructions. It was very helpful. To see how it's done - here's my video: https://geeksontour.com/2019/11/590-gm-walking-directions-ar/
And, did we ever walk. For the 4 days we were in Rome, my Apple Watch recorded 8,500 16,000 13,500 and 16,300 steps. Whew! At home we're lucky to get 3,000 in a day. We didn't go out at night though - too bad, I'm sure the sights with the lights on at night are really beautiful. But, we've gotten used to early bed times and we are quite exhausted by then.
I was so happy with the technique I worked out with Google Maps that we did one of our "What Does This Button Do?" shows on it. See Episode 234: https://geeksontour.com/2022/05/234-how-we-used-google-maps-to-make-and-save-a-walking-tour-of-rome/login
We made a list in Google Maps of all the places we wanted to go. Then we saved it and sent the link to an email. Here is the link: https://goo.gl/maps/bj98ShMKw1YC2ub96. If you click it, you will get a google map with all our stops.
I know we would have learned a lot more about the places we visited if we had a guide, but I'm just so happy that we got to see these places at all. Then, later, we can watch YouTube videos about the place and learn more. Having been there gives us the foundation. For example we visited the Pantheon - and it was impressive. Huge columns - Greek Temple-like - in a very rectangular formation is the front of the very round - Roman - building that houses statues and artwork representing all the religions of the time. Pan = all Theon = religion. Loved it. Then, once we're back in our room with computer and internet, we can watch this video: https://youtu.be/TOVUeaudrC0 and learn so much more. You can watch the video too - but if you haven't experienced it, it's just not the same.
Here's Jim's 360 panorama of the Pantheon - you need to click on it to see it right, then you can scroll around to see the full 360 degrees.
I liked Rome a lot. I had always thought of it as just a BIG city - and I'm not a fan of big cities. But, I also love history and, I can't imagine a city with more history than this one. And it's the history of the western world - our history. Before we left, one of our Geeks on Tour members recommended the book "Oil and Marble." If you're going to Rome, you gotta read Oil and Marble. I immediately purchased the Kindle version so I could read it on my phone any chance I got - great train ride reading! I put it at one of the top 10 books of my life. I LOVED it. And, it gave me a foundation for looking at the art. It's about Leonardo Da Vinci (Oil) and Michelangelo (Marble.) I've heard of them! This book, although using accurate historical references was written as a novel - there were conversations between Leonardo and Michelangelo. You learn about Michelangelo's father's attempt to prevent him from being a sculptor - he wanted Michelangelo to get a respectable government job! Did you know that Michelangelo did not paint the Sistine chapel while lying on his back? That's what I had always understood, but think about it, that's a big ceiling - how would he get into position? By wriggling like a snake? No, the scaffolding was at a height that allowed him to stand and he painted by raising his hand.
This photo was shot by the Forum Romana, just a few blocks from the Colloseum. What a trip to see Elephants in Rome. Come to find out the movie "Fast and Furious 10" was being filmed in Rome over some of the days we were there. We assume this was part of it.
Where we stayed in Rome. It's a hostel just a couple blocks from the main Train station "Termini" It was recommended by my friend, Arynne, and we're SO glad! The Beehive. You may think of hostels as dormitory style bunk beds, with bathrooms down the hall. Yes, those type of accomodations are available, but most all hostels these days also have private rooms with in-room baths. There is also a communal kitchen which is great. We picked up some eggs and cheese from a nearby store and Jim used the kitchen to make us omelettes!
Our Hostel in Rome - just 2 blocks from the main train station: Roma Termini
Jim took advantage of the communal kitchen at the hostel to make us breakfast
The second night we were there was game night. We got together in the garden with one of the volunteer staff, and a few other guests. We answered some trivia type questions, drank some wine and got to know each other. What fun.
Gabby on the left, works here and was posing the questions. She is from Chile. The woman in the middle is from France, the fellow is from Queens, NY, and there were a couple of guys from Netherlands. What fun.
It was roughly $100/night, plus taxes, and we originally were only able to score 2 nights. But, we enquired about extending when we were there and got 2 more nights. Someone must have cancelled. Our other choice was to leave Rome and head towards our next stay at Castiglion Fiorentino. We had heard there were hot springs at Chiusi along the way. I would love that! But, we were told a car would be necessary to get there - it wasn't close enough to the train station. So - maybe next time. Now let's enjoy Roma.
Jim booked the Hop-on Hop-off bus for 3 whole days, so we used that as our basic transportation and walked the rest. We saw all the basics:
The Colosseum
You could fill your water bottles for free with still water or frizzante! Also notice the phone charging stations.
I don't understand the business model of train travel. There's no one to check you in, there's rarely any signage on the train itself about it's destination or schedule. It's up to you to look up your destination and see what time and what platform your train will be on.
We were a little late into Naples, and therefore rushed, but I don't know if that made any difference. We studied the Departures electronic board and our train was not there yet, so we found a seat (on the floor - as the train station has no provision for waiting) Finally, we see our train number, headed for Rome and we do our best to find that platform. We approach someone at the gateway to the platforms, show him our tickets and he points - that way.
We got on the train that he pointed to, even though there was no identification, and got settled. We really like train travel. It's so comfortable. You can just sit and watch the view go by. And, it flew by. We were on our way to Rome! For our first time. After 30 minutes or so, an attendant came by to check our tickets. Jim showed her his phone and she looked confused. She said, Italo, pointing to the screen. Uh, so what's Italo? Well, come to find out it's another train company. The train we were on was run by TrenItalia, not Italo. The tickets we bought were for Italo. Ooops. We asked "Is this train going to Rome?" She said, "Yes." So, Ok, what now? She shrugged and walked off - we didn't see her again.
