What I will remember about Rome

Hidden Meanings
In Rome, everything seemed to have symbolic meaning. One could know learn much, or so we were told,  about the historical figures depicted in various works of art, by the clothing worn by certain people, their accessories, their poses. Something as simple as a mitre or a crest spoke volumes and there are people who analyze and study and write and speak on these and have for centuries.



Tired eyes, tired neck,  tired feet...gorgeous sights
At the Vatican Museums I did not know where to look:
out the window at the gardens and piazzas
at ceilings , floors or the alcoves
at the maps, frescoes, tapestries or the carvings, mosaics
or the frescoes or the panels ...

we covered a big part of the 50 something galleries. By the time we got back to the hotel, I wasn't sure which was more tired, my feet, my eyes or my neck (from looking, up, down, all around...)

How big the colosseum is

(even with parts of it now missing...)

I finished reading "The Hunger Games" in Rome. At the Colosseum, I couldn't help but make comparisons to the ancient games there and those written of in the book. The game masters in ancient Rome did not have modern equipment...no computer graphics. Just pulley systems and real live wild animals. In the end, though, blood sport is just that.

The ancient pharmacy near the Trevi Fountain

Our guide pointed out to us, the  Farmacia Pesci, which opened in 1552. near the Trevi Fountain. We ducked in for just a few minutes to look at the beautiful dark wood furniture and shelves. Lovely  ceramic vases that once held medicinal herbs are other antiquities are still on display there.  Prescription are still being filled here and compounding done. Mortars and alembic remain.  The guide said medicines have been concocted for the popes here through its history. I took a picture for the pharmacist back home!

How expensive everything was:

Around the sites, where we spent our time, there were kiosks with trinket souvenirs. A lot of these were made in china or elsewhere and who really wants a souvenir from Italy that was made in china.Near the sites, there were shops with the genuine articles but most were way expensive.
Further into the city, where the people live, I imagine there were the kind of souvenirs we sought but we didn't have the time to seek them out and still see everything we wanted to see.
By the time we left Italy, we we getting and exchange rate of 64 cents on a euro. Gas in Italy was around $5 a liter. Space is at a premium.
 These are the reasons I came up with why everything seemed so expensive there.
In the travel folder my middle sister made me for the trip, I taped a picture of some of the things I hoped to bring back. Perhaps I was a little overly optimistic...

Bella Veneto

Venice is a beautiful place...

From the buildings...

to the famous clock in St. Mark's Square

The clock on Saint Mark's square is one of the most unique. The carvings round about the face are exquisite but the little men on top who ring the bells have become well known throughout the world.

to the Heraldic lions

The Lions with wingsm known in Venice as the Lions of St. Mark's,  were interesting and they were everywhere...in the architecture, on flags
my nephew's fraternity has a lion mascot so we scoured Venice for a souvenir with a lion for him. His mother, Karen the good, opted for a tie. In addition, a gold and maroon flag featuring a heraldic lion will fly on a certain Oklahoma Lake this summer.

to the Mosaics

Paintings do not fare well in Venice because of the ever present dampness. For this reason, mosaics are prevalent here. As in Rome, where they are considered high art, they are present on buildings and line many walls.
They have stood the test of time, just as the marble and stone flooring.

Venetian Lace

We had talked of going to Burano to watch lace making after we watched a clip from a travel video. Time just did not permit side trips but there were lace shops within Venice so my desire to bring a section of lace home to my baby daughter for her hope chest ( to be used to create a wedding veil someday) was fulfilled.

http://belovedlinens.net/lace/Venetian-lace.html

Night music

The restaurants and cafes in Saint Mark's square feature live music in the evenings. Picture the breeze off the Agean Sea, flags blowing in the breeze from the towers in the distance and orchestras playing, ever so softly. A latte and a sumptuous Italian dessert....

The Florian is about as lovely a place as you can imagine and had the loveliest setting for the partaking of an evening in Venice.

Venetian glass

We did not take a tour to Murano to watch the glassblowers for the reason mentioned above...time was not permitting. Again, the shops in Venice offered enough of a selection to bring home some pieces of jewelry and a few other items to family and friends. Deciding between pizza cutters or bottle stoppers or magnifying glasses took a while for they were all lovely.
Of all the things we saw made of glass, however, my personal favorites were the light fixtures.

Artwork inside the Doge's Palace

The painting of the Doge with Peace and Justice was an especial favorite of mine.
Our guide explained that "Peace has her arm around her sister Justice" an idea which I liked very much.

Even the window displays were pretty in Venice

Gogo

Today I passed another milestone... I helped my baby sister start setting up a nursery for her first grandchild. When she becomes a grandmother in August it will be unanimous. The middle sister and I have been grandmothers for a while. The middle sister has two grandchildren. 
We've tried to tell her how wonderful grandmotherhood is but some things one must experience on their own to appreciate.
As for me,  grandmotherhood is one of the few things in my life that has lived up to the hype. And it keeps getting better.
The baby sister picked my grandma name. It started out as G.G. for Grandma Gayla but has since become Gigi. I wanted to pick out her Grandma name but I was too late. She is to be called Gogo. That seems appropriate as her kid's grandma always called them "Go Babies." The child of a Go baby would naturally be a Go Go. That the grandma of a Go Go baby would be called "Gogo" seems perfect to me!

Our grandmothers were called Grandma. Both of them. They were fabulous women. We have a lot to live up to.  I expect we'll spend some time discussing that as we work on the nursery upstairs at my baby sister's house.

Parting shots...bonjourno

Italy was as beautiful as I had imagined it would be and as I had been told it was. Bella Italia, it is called and with good reason. The pictures below are of  me at just a few of the many beautiful places we saw on our trip of a lifetime.


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Old School, as I am, I'malso  making a paper scrapbook as a keepsake.
The photo above is one of the page headings for the scrapbook.
 I cropped a section of a picture taken in from of the Trevi Fountain to make it.

My middle sister, Karen the Good, took this picture of me
 in front of the Hall of Justice. The pose is in honor her.

I was caught here resting a minute next to a marble column

in St. Peter's Basilica, just outside where the Pieta is on display.

What I'll always remember about Italy

The fact is, we barely scratched the surface  of all there is to see and do in Italy on our trip, yet when you look at lists of "must sees" and "must dos" we more than hit all the high spots. This is thanks to our fearless leader, Karen the Good.

 I have referenced this before,  still everytime I blog or sort more pictures I realize just how much ground we covered and how much we experienced thanks to her planning. It should also be mentioned, again, that she prodded us (especially me) along and kept us on track. That she endured our complaints and even at times, our ridicule is a testament to her gentle character.

And the baby sister made it fun. Where she is, there is almost always fun and this trip certainly was fun because of her wit and keen observations.  The Italian people we encountered seemed to enjoy her as much as I did.

How blessed I am to have taken this trip with these two sisters of mine.

I will always remember:

The  smiles of my sisters...

Romans drive fast and they walk fast, too.

My sisters are significantly taller than me. I had to work hard to keep up (plus my photoincessant  taking caused some delay)  I complained that i had to

take three steps to their two.


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The American cemetery at Anzio/Nettuno

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The Harbor in Anzio

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The fruit and flowers on display in Rome

There were flowers and gorgeous plants growing everywhere which yield some of the prettiest arrangements i have ever seen on tables.

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The Oculus in the Pantheon

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The Trevi Fountain at Night

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Those are pallets of sod to my sister's left. The next day we watched as palm fronds were brought in...

Watching St. Peter's Square being outfitted for Palm Sunday Service

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The frescoes and carvings and mosaics in Rome

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Outside in the Vatican Gardens

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Pretty things everywhere in Venice

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The Putti at the Vatican and elsewhere in Rome
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And...
I will always remember:
The kindness of the Italian people...
...they worked hard to understand our poor attempts at speaking Italian and were most gracious and patient with our tireless questions and requests for directions.


I will never forget:
The talks we had at bedtime
Sleeping with the windows opening listening to the sounds from outside as we drifted off to sleep...