Rome: Colosseum

Inside the Colosseum

On Friday we again negotiated our way around Rome’s underground railway system, to meet up with Lucia, our Viator guide and the rest of our tour group. I had booked two Viator tours from Australia, partly because they promise a maximum of only fifteen per group and because you avoid the queues to get into the famous sites. On both days we had a delightful, enthusiastic and very knowledgeable leader, so I thoroughly recommend them. Go to www.viator.com/tours/Rome and scroll through their list.

That icon of ancient Rome, the Colosseum, built between 72 and 80AD is huge and impressive on the outside, but once we were inside its former glory was revealed, especially when we walked through an archway to what was once the giant Flavian Amphitheatre.

The lower level reserved for the emperor and senators

The lower levels of this vast stadium were for the state leaders, with the best position, in the middle of the long curve on the eastern side, near where we entered, reserved for the emperor and his entourage. Marble originally decorated these areas and slaves brought in comfortable seats for their masters, the senators. The equestrian classes and wealthy citizens were also given special treatment according to their status, but, and this surprised me, everyone was free to come along and enjoy the emperor’s gift.

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Rome: Santa Maria Maggiore and the Big Bus Tour

P1050760 (640x444) Day two began with a leisurely breakfast, (included in the price, and catering to our dietary requirements) in the rooftop cafe above our hotel. I must digress here to give the Hotel Farnese a plug. Small, convenient and quiet, with staff who seemed genuinely happy to help with all our requests. I felt confident that if we were seriously lost, I could phone for help and a taxi would arrive to deliver us safely back to our little Roman home. Check them out at www.hotelfarnese.com and if you say we recommended them I’m sure you’ll find them as helpful as we did.

In front of the Vatican

Rome, like many large European cities has The Big Bus Tour, so, with a selection of tour companies and routes to choose from, we headed for the local underground metro station, armed with the appropriate tickets (about 3 euros each for the return journey) and with multiple crosses and arrows on the hotel’s map, courtesy of our helpful concierge.

Finding our way out of the underground to the correct exit did test the bonds of sisterly love a wee bit. ‘It’s that way.’ ‘No, we need to go this way,’ but we managed a photo stop in front of the Vatican (sister looks pretty pleased) and eventually found the bus, bought our tickets, struggled with the earpieces and, after moving a few times, found two widely separated seats with radio connections that worked.

With cameras at the ready, we swept past remains of the original Roman wall, (built to protect the city way back then), a glimpse of the Borghese gardens, then around the Piazza Barbarini several times, making a figure eight around a huge fountain.

This site greeted us as we entered the Basilica

The Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore, a short walk from our last stop was well worth waiting for. I had seen it before but had forgotten the details that make it, in my opinion, one of the most magnificent churches in the world. Photographs (the best ones were taken by my sister) tell the story better than I can, but as far as I can work out, here are a few details about its history. The original church was built between 432 and 440; I couldn’t find any trace of that one. Like most of the ancient churches in Europe, exact dates are hard to follow, but this one appears to have been initially built and decorated in the 12^th and 13^th centuries.

Frescoes above the main altar

The frescoes above the

Detail of the frescoe immediately above the altar

The ceiling is decorated with gold.

main altar date from some time then and are still vividly coloured, quite breathtaking to behold. The ceiling, which dates from 1492 – 1503 is said to have been decorated with gold brought back from America and donated by Isabella of Spain. That’s the sort of opulence which has been used throughout Santa Maria Maggiore.

Exquisitely detailed marble floors

Looking up this is what we saw.

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ROME: 27th April 2016

In April this year, my sister and I left Western Australia for our second European holiday together. Arriving in Rome at the Fiumicino airport, we were greeted by our driver and whisked away to the Farnese Hotel which is situated in a quiet residential area, away from the central bustle, but close to

Situated in a quiet residential area – the view from our hotel window

a metro station and good quality restaurants, where the locals ate and where I had to use my limited Italian or hope for one English speaking staff member.

Tired after our long flight, we unpacked our cases and, with directions from the concierge, headed for a mini-mart nearby, intending to buy a bottle of wine for me and diet-coke for my sister, plus something simple to eat in our tiny suite as we were too tired to bother going out that night. The mini-mart was about to close, so, back to the hotel we went. With further directions from the concierge, we walked for several blocks in the opposite direction, ready to sit down and eat wherever we could find a place open. It was after 6pm, people sat outside several bars, drinking, but food wasn’t yet on the agenda.

Eventually (probably only about ten minutes down the road, but I was staggering with fatigue after a sleepless long flight) we found the second promised mini-mart. The site and smell of prosciuttos and cheeses, roasted and marinated capsicum, eggplant, artichokes, olives and crunchy breads delighted us. The whole shop was smaller than my kitchen, but from floor to ceiling it was crammed with everything that a busy worker might need to grab on the way home.

‘Parla Inglese per favore?’ I asked the pink cheeked, grandmotherly lady behind the counter. I’m not sure what she said, but, thanks to her apologetic tone and her hands waving about like flustered birds, the meaning was clear – ‘I’m very sorry, no. Do you speak Italian?’

And I had forgotten to take my pocket sized English/Italian language book with me.

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Cochem: The Town

Our bus returned to the castle to take us back down the hill,where we joined our guide for a walking tour of the old town. I saw no evidence of the bombing that took place during the second world war, but the condition of the buildings is too perfect for them to be several hundred years old.

Narrow streets, timber slats on walls and a minaret instead of a steeple

Nevertheless, Cochem is a photographer’s dream: stone cobbled streets, timber slatting on walls, (similar to that used in Tudor England),

narrow streets suitable only for walking or bike riding and roofs that are covered with grey tiles, which I assume are slate. Some of the roofs appear to undulate so that I wonder what sort of structure supports them.

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1332 seems unlikely

Stone buildings that appear to be very old, butt up against the more common plastered variety, but 1332 above a normal looking doorway, had me questioning the likelihood of that being true, even allowing for a restoration date of 1960 on the other end of the doorway.

Like other European cities, Cochem has its ground ‘slab’ in the form of a grate,

Proudly Cochem – pity about the smokers.

unfortunately, now used for cigarette disposal.

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England has its famous red letter boxes, but in Cochem we found these cheery boxes on walls, in blue and yellow.

Passageways for short people in the old town.

In old Cochem people could walk between streets via low and narrow passageways instead of having to go around the block of houses and shops. We saw this kind of thing in many European towns and cities – obviously for much shorter people than are common today.

Our ship was moored on the residential side of the river so we walked across the bridge from the business side and looked back to the castle towering over the city.

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Cochem – Reichsburg Castle

Cobblestones on a steep walk up to the castle gate

Cochem is a pretty village situated on both sides of the Moselle River and dominated by the Reischburg Castle.

View from the castle to the far side of the river.

Fortunately we caught buses up the hill. Our instructions were to wear sturdy shoes, which meant ‘Be prepared for steep, cobble-stoned streets.’

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Istanbul – The Taxi Route

I have just discovered another story that I wrote about my Turkish trip in 2013. Some of you may have read it, but I think it’s amusing and hope my newer followers enjoy it

Chora Museum at the top of the hill

After visiting the Chora Museum in Istanbul, our intention is to find an ancient wall, supposedly nearby. We set off, walking down a laneway, where our interest is captured by an old man with a white beard and moustache, leaning out of a window and chatting with a neighbour standing near us. He wears a small black fez pushed back to reveal a smattering of white hair and large ears. His face is lean, his nose long and his teeth are yellowing.

Leaning further out of the window, he smiles and waves to us, his pose creating the perfect photo for my collection of interesting characters. I wonder if he does this on a regular basis and wish it was possible to converse with him. We manage a Turkish thank you – te shekir edeem – as we wave goodbye; he disappears behind the potted red geranium on his window sill.

We continue walking down the hill, stopping everyone who might be able to point us in the direction of the elusive wall but, as we can’t speak Turkish and they don’t speak English, we have no luck.

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Walking the Narrow Streets of Rudesheim

A typical Rudesheim hotel

Steep narrow streets; Rudesheim ambiance

On leaving the amazing musical museum we had to decide whether to return to the river in the little train or on foot. I hoped that, despite the abundance of kitsch, I might find something worthwhile in a couple of shops and I still wanted to capture the ambience of Rudesheim on camera. David chose the train and I suspect that he might have tried some of the famous Rudesheimer coffee. Asbach – a special brandy – is poured into a mug and set on fire. Filled up with coffee which douses the flames, the concoction is then topped with whipped cream and chocolate flakes. I settled for a small box of brandy filled chocolates and a few more postcards, then couldn’t resist a silly sign that says VIP Parking Only. Unfortunately no-one will notice it on my driveway, so I’ll have to give it to someone who really is a VIP. One with a sense of humour of course.

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Rudesheim and Siegfried’s Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum

AmaCello docked at Rudesheim

Sunday, May 31st we moored on the banks of the Rhine at Rudesheim.

Tower near the bridge where we docked

I have been to this town twice before, and although its famous narrow street, that rises up from the river, is terribly kitsch, I love it.

The famous narrow street of kitsch and Asbach coffee.

Cameras were even more essential than usual. The tourist train that pulled up in front of our ship was like something out of a children’s story book.

We all piled in, squashed into spaces which were only big enough for children, but the journey along the foreshore and up through narrow streets to the museum was fun. Not enough elbow space for photos, but I planned to walk back and capture the quaint buildings later.

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The Technical Museum of Speyer

Speyer Cathedral, completed in 1111 is the largest Romanesque church remaining in Europe.

The day that we went to Speyer, we were almost hit by a large plane as it flew over the bridge which took us into the town. The airport must be very close by as I later saw several planes flying in, equally low, over the river and the bridge. Our bus parked, amongst many others, below the town, with the largest and most important Romanesque building in Europe, completed in 1111 and dominating the skyline. (Thank goodness the planes stayed away from it’s medieval turrets) I wished I had booked for the city tour, but the technical museum sounded more interesting and I didn’t think I could manage both.

Zeppelin

Our guide pointed us in the direction of the museum and told us to return by 12.30pm for the return trip to the ship. An hour and a half seemed like plenty of time, until I walked into the main hall. My camera was busy trying to capture beautiful antique cars, aeroplanes hanging from the ceiling,steam engines, racing vehicles from early days to some of the latest models,

Full size steam engine

fire engines, motor bikes and even a space shuttle.

Our grandfather had a jaguar like this. He was so short and it was so hard to steer, he could barely drive it, but I loved the smell of the leather seats.

For racing fans

As I began my walk, I thought of my brother,

For you Rus

who was mad keen on motors (of any kind) and who could fix just about any of them. Remembering that he died last year, and could not see the photos I wanted to show him, caused a few tears, but hopefully his children will see them

Switzerland by coach in a day

Lake Geneva and surrounds

From Lyon to Basel

The morning of May 28 saw us up early as our packed cases had to be outside the cabins by 6.30am. I felt excited to be starting on the next stage of our holiday, but sad to leave the very friendly staff and happy memories made on AmaDagio.

David and I had become quite attached to our cabin and I wondered if the next one would feel as homely.Returning there after breakfast, I checked all the cupboards again to make sure we hadn’t left anything.‘I hope the internet works on the next one,’ I muttered, shoving the last of many cords into my hand luggage. David patted the bed in a proprietarial fashion; he appreciated its comfort and hoped that AmaCello’s would be as good.

Gunther was coming with us, which gave some continuity to the program. He had warned us two days earlier, that it would not be a good idea to pressure him on departure day as problems were bound to arise, despite his very detailed planning. He was Belgian, not German as his name suggested, and he stressed this fact, but his ability to organize all our trips, to be on hand and at his desk seemingly from dawn till late at night, was the kind of Germanic trait for which most of us were grateful.

Knowing that my back would not cope well with sitting for six hours on a bus, I reserved the back seat before everyone else got on, so that I could lie down. We had large, well sprung tourist coaches, but this gave me extra protection and meant that I reached Basel feeling fine; and I offered to swap seats for a while with anyone else needing a lie down. I think I dozed off a couple of times, but managed to see much of the countryside and if I snored it couldn’t have been louder than a few of the guys.

Heidi could yodel from the mountains

The scenery was so much like I had imagined it to be, that I almost expected a Heidi, with long, straw-coloured plaits, to yodel from the fir covered mountains.Everything about the land and the properties was neat and well maintained; vines grew up the hillsides from

Vines growing beside the lake.

Lake Geneva in perfectly straight lines, or in rows that were parallel to the lake, but aligned with Swiss precision.

Swiss village – steeply pitched roofs and shuttered windows

The houses, too, looked exactly as I expected, with steeply pitched roofs and the smaller, shuttered windows that are common in children’s picture books. Brown and white or black and white cows, fat and contented looking, munched on grass so green it had to produce incredibly rich milk and delicious meat. I knew, without question, when we crossed from France to Switzerland.

Lake Geneva itself, with snow-capped mountains on the far side, an almost clear blue sky above and villages and farms fitting snugly into the sides of the hills below us, was picture perfect.

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