Final day

As with Paris, after a few days we have a feel for the city and are familiar with at least the part of it we have covered. Navigating is still a little hit and miss but any wrong turn just takes you to unexpected views. I am very aware that in this timespan we can only cover. A tiny percentage of what a city like this has to offer.
This morning we headed towards the Pantheon, determined to avoid the Main Street and negotiated our way successfully through alley after alley, across Piazza Navona, through a church (in one end out the other just to confuse Anita) and voila The Pantheon. Last night we found a website with podcasts of guides to many Rome sites. Having listened gave us a great insight Into what we were to see.... I have admitted before to painful ignorance of European history and this has become more obvious in a city with such rich history.
Coffee stop with a wonderful view and wander down towards the river and into Castel Sant'Angelo. Wow, what a structure and a great view from the top as well.
We all have that, 'ready to go home feeling' that occurs when you know it is close. So lucky that Rome is showing us some sun to end the journey.

Roma (continued)

After visiting the Vatican Museum yesterday and seeing the enormous crowd for St Peters, we decided to come back this morning. Our apartment is 5 - 10 mins walk away so we got up early and were thrilled we did. Straight to the security check and then into the Basilica while there was still a sense of peace. Serge has long wanted to relive the walk up the stairs inside the Cupola that had been the source of much fun when he was here with his dad in 1986. So up to the first level via the lift and then onward via the spiral staircase (he can describe this at a later time as only Nita and Serge ventured that far).

The timing in the early morning made for a spectacular scene as the lighting was superb as well as the fact that the crowds were thin. One of those moments that cameras (especially simple iPhone cameras will never truly record). We had plenty of time to return to the basilica afterwards. So glad we got up early !

So off to the other end of the city and a tour of the Colosseum. Blessed by perfect weather, we enjoyed the history lesson from the guide.

Last night we walked to the Spanish steps and I admit to being a bit underwhelmed.. Am I too hard to please? Do the hundreds of tourists milling around put me off? Do I get tired of the salesmen trying to give away roses ? I think so. I am far more affected by the little scenes we see in the side streets etc than some of THE sites!

The photos I am publishing are mainly taken on our iDevices and easily transported, many more to be filtered when we are home. (Don't worry, I will not bore anyone with them) One more full day to go ...

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Roma

So this morning our plan was to head to the Vatican City and connect with a walking tour. We headed off and noted how quiet things were... Oops... Despite being told to plan ahead and check for closure days (which we did) we failed to note that New Years Day was a public holiday which means all museums are closed. So Plan B, hop on board one of the Hop on Hop off tourist buses for a tour (cheaper at this time of year), meander through streets, have lunch, find Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, monuments, churches, fountains, coffee shop, tired feet and wine - not in any particular order. My usual reasonably good sense of direction is severely challenged in the tight and angled lanes, but it really does not matter as if you don't know where you are heading you can hardly get lost ! Highlights include deciding to pop in to one of the many churches we passed and being presented with an amazing gallery of art from 1500's Cesari if I remember correctly. The sun was out his morning but we felt the chilly air, it warmed as the day progressed but the clouds also arrived.

After the relative peace of Paris and non tourist trip to Sicily, we are surprised how busy Rome is. After our initial issues with the accommodation we have settled in well, not locked out again and have not tripped the fuse box again ;)

Comedy or tragedy?

This is the question we're asking ourselves at the moment. It is currently 10:48pm on New Year's Eve and we're settling in for our first night in Rome. Well, when I say 'settling', we're trying to at least. The last hour or so has been a series of unfortunate events - the likes of which will be retold for years, I'm sure.

We got home at about 9:45 and tried to let ourselves into the apartment, only to find that the key wouldn't turn in the front door lock. So we tried the other key. And the other lock. And turning it in the opposite direction. And every combination and permutation of the above. This continued rather un-humourously for around ten minutes until we finally gave in and called the accommodation contact who, despite saying she'd be there in 'a few minutes', arrived after about twenty minutes. She tried exactly what we'd been trying, and after a minute of this proved to her it wasn't just something we were doing wrong, she took both sets of keys, jumped in the elevator and left without any further explanation. Naturally we were a little perturbed by this, not knowing what she was doing, but she did appear again a couple of minutes later with a can of WD-40. Some spraying and jiggling of the door later and we were in. We WD-40ed the living daylights out of the bolts and established how to stop another lockout, and she was off again.

So we breathed a sigh of relief, turned the heaters on to warm the place up a bit and started making some coffee, glad those particular events of the evening were over. At which point, the power blew. We were plunged suddenly into darkness and having to delve through the metaphorical darkness of our collected memories to see if we could recall where the fuse box was. We found it, turned the power back on, and now I sit here relaying the story.

If this isn't an eventful end to 2012, I don't know what is. One hour to go.

Happy New Year!

Alison

Sicily to Rome

Many people had told us that Catania was a city with little going for it. To be honest, we did not give it full credit, deciding to stay near the airport and booking the night before via the Internet. It turned out to to resemble a ghost town as it was low season and everything seemed closed,derelict or seedy in a seaside area that obviously thrives at other times of the year. The accommodation was perfectly adequate and cost less than a third than other nights. It lived up the "near the airport" description as we could see the end of the runway from the window (Kerrigan like). We had hoped that we did not have to venture far for Dinner but the hotel restaurant was closed. To our surprise, we happened upon the Happy Wok, which despite looking derelict and dangerous from the outside supplied a very adequate dinner (even an opportunity for some stir fried vegetables which have been looked forward to). It did take a few moments to adjust to the Chinese staff speaking to us in Italian and then immediately dropping into English when they heard us speak.

This morning, we happily delivered the hire car and relinquished that responsibility and flew to Rome. Timing was perfect to wander to Terminal 3 to meet Alison's Nathan and we arrived at our apartment with time for an introductory wander through local streets.

Photos follow, we think it is the Vatican tomorrow, but first, where shall we have dinner? Such is life.... No wait, it is wine o'clock !
Happy New Year ... Although as I type it is still 2012 here !

Sicily .. a photo story

Only have a few photos available on the iPad, but here is a short photo summary of Sicily, excluding Ferla that had it's own story.

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Off to Rome tomorrow.

Farewell Sicilia

A bit emotional today saying farewell to Zia Salvina and Patrizia (having left Zio Santo in Ferla) they have been wonderful hosts and made our trip to Sicily very special. We also said our farewells to Ma And Pa Coffa, but we will see them again in Melbourne in not too long. It was wonderful to share the time together.

A short drive to San Cataldo, reputed to have significant mafia connections in times gone past, but today a town like many others we drive through. It was Sunday morning and the local men stand outside the bars, chatting whilst the women folk were unseen behind closed doors. I would love to be privy to the content of the conversations as they look so earnest, but I would probably be disappointed to hear them talking about their sore toes or other ailments.

The Outlet centre was a bit of a disappointment, many upmarket clothing stores, still out of our reach and nothing really captivating our attention. I did score a pair of Geox shoes for 38€ .. A steal for shoes I love to wear and generally pay much more for at home. Alas, still no formal dress for Anita.
Photos below : a covert picture of the packs of long coated gents in San Cataldo, a few from the shopping expedition and finally Serge on the beach at Catania (not quite warm enough for a dip)

Touring ... Taormina and Piazza Amerina

The past two days have been spent sightseeing. Yesterday, Taormina, a seaside resort city with splendid views and picturesque streets and alleys serving the tourist trade. (See previous post for pics). Today Piazza Amerina and the nearby "Villa del Casale ... a supreme example of a luxury Roman villa. The mosaics that decorate it are exceptional for their artistic quality and invention as well as their extent."
After days of unseasonably warm weather, it turned chilly today. An evening out to see the city streets of Caltanisetta and back to pack for the next leg.... Catania for a night on the way to Rome. The girls have spotted an 'outlet' centre on the highway http://siciliaoutletvillage.it/, so that may be a stop along the way. It has a unique position. ... The backdrop being Mt Etna.
During our stay in Sicily, we have felt that we have seen how the Sicilans live, unlike visiting big cities of Rome and Paris, we are mingling with the locals and it has been a wonderful taste of Italian culture.. the local guides ... Our relatives have been very generous and caring.
We have one more day with the car and I think Serge will not be sad to hand over the driving duties .. It has been interesting but challenging.

Taormina

Bit too tired to write much tonight so photo gallery can tell some of the story... Maybe words later..

Driving in Sicily

An awe inspiring and often mildly terrifying drive from Ferla to Caltanisetta today. At one stage a request from the back seat came "get the camera out and film this", however this was impossible as I could not combine panicking with managing the camera at the same time. Relying on the car GPS, we squeezed through some of the tiniest streets I have have seen, let alone driven through in a car. "Take the next left", " Really ????? You want us to get this car up that street?!!! Many sighs of relief as we emerged into a wide street almost as wide as Little Bourke Street (now seems like a boulevard.). "Who needs exercise, you can get your heart rate up just driving through Italy" was Alison's response.

We marveled at the other obstacles in our way, cyclists, packs of tramping scouts, tractors as well as the variety and quality of the roads. Perhaps next time we will not select the 'Alternative Route' thinking it will be fun to see the less trodden paths.

Anyway, due to the calm and dexterous management of the vehicle by Serge, we arrived at our next destination and home for a few days ... Caltanisetta.