11/15/23 Marina Scarlino, Italy
Sunshine, warm with a good breeze from the NW for drying
everything up. Laundry day! Pickled the water maker, a fairly automatic process
now that we have done it once. Started the process of deciding what stays and
what goes home. Canvas bimini and dodger put away.
Our neighbor Fillipo stopped by and we talked some more. It
turns out that he descended from Florence Royalty. The building that his wife
and son manage is actually the family palace in which you can book accommodations
in a royal apartment. He encouraged that we stay there when we return. The
family had two palaces, but sold one some time ago to care for the current
palace. I am not sure if they live there or not, but we will look forward to
learning more when we return in the spring.
11/16/23 Marina Scarlino, Italy
Up with the sun to prepare for the riggers to arrive at
0900. I swabbed the decks to expedite drying and cleared away anything that
would hinder their efforts. They arrived on time and set about checking and
tuning the rig. They worked diligently most of the day. After thorough
inspection they only found two items that needed to be addressed: the shackle
for the code zero halyard is rubbing at the mast head, damaging the mast and
there are some rusty bolts for the attachment of the bull horn on the mast. I
will put them on my list.
With the clouds building we pulled down the jib and rolled
it up just ahead of the rain starting. I covered up the lines and put the last
hatch covers on. We were pretty close to ready to leave the boat so we packed
an overnight bag and walked to our hotel room here at the resort. Spending the
night off the boat is the only way to get the final cleaning done, particularly
the bedding.
Our room was fabulous, large with a beautiful terrace. I particularly
enjoyed the huge shower and plush bath robes. Opened a bottle of wine and
settled in for a movie. Ironically, we watched Captain Ron having never seen
this quintessential sailor’s movie. Very entertaining.
11/17/23 Marina Scarlino, Italy
We enjoyed lingering in the comfort of the hotel room for
the morning. Back to the boat to wrap up the decommissioning. We were ready and
suitcases on the dock as we bid good bye to Raffaellesco. Lots of great
adventures on this trip as we covered nearly 1,000 nautical miles in 75 days.
We have left her in the care of Emilio to keep her clean and safely tied to the
dock.
It was a short taxi ride to the train station in Follonica. The day was sunny and breezy, but no rain. The train to Rome was on time and there was plenty of space for us and our luggage. We had a picnic on the train, fruit, cheese, jamone, wasa bread and chocolate. The beautiful green farmland slid by our window as we made our way south. In less than 3 hours we were pulling into Rome Termini station. It is a huge station and it seemed that we were walking forever before we finally found the exit and the Taxi stand.
Our taxi driver asked where we were from, we said California and he exclaimed “I love America!” That was about the only English he spoke, but he got us to our little VRBO and bid us ciao gratzi. A short walk in the narrow cobble stone alley and we found our flat for the weekend. A little fumbling with codes and keys, but we made our way in. It was a comfy little apartment, not much bigger than our boat, but much higher ceiling. We quickly settled in and went to explore the neighborhood. Rome is probably the most amazing of the big Italian cities. Incredible ancient architecture and sculpture where ever you go. We found ourselves at the Pantheon and marveled at its elaborate façade. Plenty of tourists in the streets.
Back our flat we regrouped and found a great little neighborhood restaurant for dinner. There were maybe 5 or 6 tables and it was fairly full. The owner was very gracious and said she could seat us but she had a reservation for the table at 2100, no problem. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and wine as the patrons ebbed and flowed. Many seemed to know the owner and others were here for the seasonal white truffles.
A very comfortable night’s sleep after a long day of work,
travel and sightseeing.
11/18/23 Rome Italy
Up early to the sound of church bells. The morning was cold,
clear and crisp as we lingered over coffee and biscotti. I had plotted out an
itinerary for the day so we dressed accordingly and headed out to the
Michealangelo Museum. On the way we passed through Piazza Navona and toured the
beautiful St Agnese in Agone. The marble reliefs that lined the walls were
nothing I had ever seen before. The central figures appeared in great detail
while the back ground figures were softer and less detailed giving the
sculpture depth and a feeling that there was activity in the scene.
The Michelangelo Museum was very interesting and interactive, it was like being a kid again playing with all the gadgets. Unlike Frank Lloyd Wright who felt that form should follow function, Michelangelo felt that architecture should be beautiful to the eye yet functional. He laid out cities accordingly and was the architect for several buildings and homes. He also was instrumental in how battles were fought and created weaponry. On top of all of that he was a great painter.
We continued south and crossed the Tiber River to the prestigess
neighborhood of Trastavere. You could see that the apartments were more upscale
and there were wider streets, but not much else. We made our way back to our
flat for lunch. From here we crossed the river to marvel at Castile St Angelo,
a castle that originated in 100 AD and was completed in the late 1600s. As we
walked we found ourselves near the Vatican and in Piazza San Pietro. It was
Saturday and packed with tourists. We decide to return the next day to see the
Pope give his speech.
.jpg)
Back to the flat for a change of clothes before heading out to the east to Palazzo Doria Pamphilj for a presentation of Vivaldi and Opera in the secret apartment. On the way we walked along the Via del Corso for some window shopping. Arriving at the palace we were informed that the show had been canceled, but they offered us a different show for the following night at Tarraza Borromini, a roof top performance at Palazzo Pamphilj. We accepted and they graciously offered a tour of the secret apartment since we were there. The apartment had been occupied by a cardinal and was furnished in 18th century paintings and furniture, pretty lavish.
We continued our walk along Via Del Corso arriving at the Piazza Venezia, normally the location of Romes grand Christmas Tree, but today the site of a huge excavation for a new subway station. From here we made to the obligatory stop at the Trevi Fountain along with the thousands of other tourists. We headed back to our flat for a leisurely pasta dinner and a nice bottle of wine from Frescobaldi. Dinner a movie and off to bed.
11/19/23 Rome, Italy
A lazy morning enjoying coffee and biscotti as we planned out the day. First stop was Piazza San Pietro to hear the Pope speak at noon. We were amazed that we were able to get as close as we did and see the Pope. It was very moving in spite of the language barrier. There were different groups represented in the audience and identified by their banners. The Pope saluted each one individually.
From here we had a long walk across town to the Villa Borghese and the beautiful grounds that surrounded the Villa. Along the way Suzette finally found the leather belt that she was in search of, maybe we can stop visiting every leather shop in town now. Borghese was a cardinal in the 16th century who was crazy about collecting art. He had a good head start on his collection as his family had been collecting since the 13th century when Pietro Borghese started the collection. The villa rooms were ornate and the walls were crowded with art and sculpture. There were even paintings on the ceiling, not just frescos, but paintings framed on the ceiling. At a point in history Napoleon’s Niece was associated with the Borghese family. Unfortunately, this only resulted in Napoleon absconding with many of the works of art and taking them to Paris. There were many works by Bernini and paintings by Titian, my personal favorite.
We made the long walk back toward the flat and, of course there was some shopping involved. We walked into this very cool designer clothing store for women and…wait for it…Suzette found a pair of leather boots that she had to have. Back at the Flat there was a quick change of clothes and we were off to see the Opera Performance in the Tarrazza Borromini , Palazzo Pomphilj. The view from the roof top was spectacular and the roof top setting was fabulous. They served wine and a Charcuterie platter with bread. We enjoyed a piano player, soprano and tenor performing 11 arias from various operas, mostly Puccini and Vivaldi. The palace had belonged to Pope Inocente X in the 16th century and was now a hotel and restaurant/bar facility.
On the way home we picked up a bottle of wine, cheese and chocolate from a very classy looking shop filled with lots of delicious specialties. This was a nice accompaniment to our evening dinner and last night in Rome.
11/20/23 Rome, Italy
Up and out to grab a Taxi to the train station. A 35-minute train
ride on the Leonardo Express had us at the Rome Airport near the coast. From
here we took the shuttle to the Hilton Hotel for the night as our plane was
scheduled in the morning tomorrow. We checked in and inquired about going into
the little seaside town of Fiumicino, but it sounded like it was not worth the
effort so we retired to our room. It was good opportunity to catch up on
personal things and start scheduling some activities for when we return to
Huntington Beach.
In the evening we picked up a bottle of wine in the bar and watched
the movie Three Coins in a Fountain, a 1956 romantic comedy set in Rome. It was
fun to see the sites as they were then, of course not much has changed.
11/21/23 Fiumicino, Italy
Up early to pack and take the shuttle to the airport. It was
not crowded so we quickly checked in and passed through security. We enjoyed
the KLM Lounge for a little breakfast and comfortable lounge chairs prior to
our flight. The plane boarded and we departed on time under very gray skies and
rain. Fair well to Italy, for now.
The stop in Amsterdam was amazingly easy, we were the only
ones in line at passport control. A walk around the airport and an on time
boarding. We binge watched 3 movies and started a series to pass the 8.5 hour
flight; Indiana Jones’s newest movie, The Compassionate Spy, Golda and 1923.
The food was good and our premium seats were very comfortable. The flight was
smooth and we landed pretty close to on time, thank you Delta Airlines.
The weather in Detroit was drizzly and a balmy 50 degrees.
Our luggage arrived in one piece and we headed to Suzette’s Dad’s house in no
time. It will always be Dad’s house in spite of his passing last year. We
arrived safely and brother Bobby greeted us. As it turned out, no one bought
anything for Thanksgiving dinner so we headed to the grocery store. They had
everything we needed, even a fresh turkey.
Comments
Post a Comment