It's all about the books!

OH MY GOSH!!!! Irons from The Devil Wears Prada? How cool is that!!!! I never watched the first movie until the other night, but after all the hype, I'm obsessed and just watched Meryl Streep on Jimmy Kimmel. She is such an amazing actor (are we allowed to say actess?). And I even purchased a ticket for Tuesday to see the film. Holy cow -- I'm excited!!!!

That was in response to Barbara's comment!!!

I went to bed at my regular time and woke up 1 hour earlier than usual, but that's OK. I had some last-minute things to prep for the two presentations. I swear the SAME people send their stuff late at night, the night before. Why is that? 

Anyway -- everything is prepped and ready to go for the two presentations. I have so much fun putting them together. I love the research, and well, I just love the process. 

And OH --- I have the most amazing quote for you today. This came from James Clear's newsletter. I love it!!!!

That is a super motto for me because that's the only reason why I know as much as I do. It's because people have asked me questions, and I'm prepared to find out the answers. I love teaching only because it helps me to learn. The next time someone asks you to show them how to do something, take your time and show them. Don't do it for them. It's so rewarding to teach! And you'll be smarter. We need to tell that to the young people who would prefer to just do rather than show us older people how to make technology work. 

By the way, and I think I mentioned this before, but the day I was introduced to the library card system, I fell in love. I think I was about 22 at the time, and it was at Concordia University (Montreal). I had never had access to a library before, and I was mesmerized!!! Typing in a request on the computer is not nearly as fun!

OK -- enough about that. WAIT—I do have a story about a book today. Actually, MANY books. 

If any of you have been on a Zoom call with me, you know there is a wall of books in Studio B. I am embarrassed to say that the wall is about 20 feet long and is floor-to-ceiling. Of course, there are a few magazines on those shelves as well. I NEVER want to part with my books. BUT - I know that I must start the culling process. 

Plus, I see that some of the shelves are starting to sag, and the last thing I want is a collapsed shelf. It has happened once before when the small shelf support gave way. An entire unit of books cascaded to the floor. OH MY—when I moved the portable design wall, look what I found on the floor. Now, why is that still on the floor after how many years? Anyway -- I'll substitute this shelf support for one of the plastic ones. 

A found shelf support

I decided it was time and emptied one entire shelf. Doesn't that shelf look like it's sagging? I flipped it upside down (yes -- the same wood on both sides), and that will help with the sagging. 

The shelf is sagging.

I stacked the books on a table - that's a lot of books on one shelf, and they weigh a lot. 

The books from one shelf

And then I started to cull. I should have been doing this years ago, but it doesn't matter. I have started now. I will quickly leaf through the books I've pulled in case I've pulled something I may need/want. I doubt it, and that process will get faster as I move along. 

The culled books

By the way, I chatted with my mother yesterday, and she mentioned that she is cleaning out her filing cabinet of old expired subscriptions. WHAT????? How is this possible? While I'm stunned, I'm also very grateful, and how the heck can I get her to see that more of her crap isn't necessary? I'm also not very happy about the physio they set up. She will see the person TWICE, and then they (parents and physio) think everything is fine. Good grief—I will look into that when I'm out there next. The same goes for the medications -- they think everything is fine as is, and I'm sure they could make some changes. It's so darn hard to stay on top of things when you are not there to supervise the appointments. They (parents) will just listen to what the doctor/banker/accountant says, and then say, "Everything is fine." ACK!!!!!!

The reason that I was even looking at the books was that I wanted to find a particular book. I was about to give up, but then I found it and another one of the same genre. WOW!!!!! I can scan the spines of the books very quickly, but wouldn't it be so much easier if the same topics were grouped together? 

So, as I continue with the great book purge, I need to sort the books as well. And oh my—there are so many books I bought with great intentions, and yet I never did anything with them. I have new knowledge, new skills, and I think I might find a new use for a couple. But so many will need to go!!! 

How the heck am I going to get rid of these books? I can save some for the various book sales (Mississauga Symphony), and donate some to the thrift store, and there will be certain ones I'll offer to you! They are great books!!!! Just not something that I need. 

And I was flipping through the second and third shelf and found this!!! OMG—I have been looking for this for quite some time. I swear - I need to make a list of things that are lost in Studio B because it would be so much fun to cross them off. 

A book I didn't remember buying.

And there is the elusive set of templates that I SWEAR I had purchased. EXCEPT—do you see that the templates have a different name than the book? Can you tell me why I did that? But it doesn't natter -- I found the darn templates!!!! I knew I bought them, but where did I put them? In a book that they don't even belong to, on a bookcase! Sigh....................

The missing templates

My favorite books, which I have NOT taken the time to read (so why do I call them my favorites? - I know you're asking that question!). These are books about quilts from other regions, historical quilts, and basically just picture books featuring quilts. These are the books I'll take with me when I downsize. I won't need the rest. 

HMMM --- an old book on historical quilts

But that brings to mind another quote by Henry David Thoreau, which I've made into a reading pillow for adults. I'll have to find a picture of the pillow tomorrow (if my pictures were all tagged, it would be easy), 

OK -- I may need to change my perspective on reading books, but I LOVE them all!!!

I found this price tag on that book. Oh my --- it's been a while since the book was originally purchased. For those who don't live in Canada. Eaton's was an iconic department store for 130 years, but it didn't keep up with the times and eventually declared bankruptcy in 1999. 

The original price tag

But look at the year it was published! This book is a keeper. These are the books that I want to keep. They provide so much history, and I'm afraid that no one cares about quilt history. It's just about MAKING as fast and as many as you can. I was just a babe!

Published in 1965

And I got a huge chuckle as I flipped through the book. Look at this quilt!!!! Does anyone recognize this quilt? 

Ii swear it was in the display at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) a few years back. Yep ---- check out this website!!!! The exhibit was in 2024. We need to go to these exhibits not only to support the Museums but also to understand our quilt history. NOTHING that anyone creates today is new. NOTHING. And if you can show me something new, I bet I can find a book on my shelf where that idea came from. And then if you think that's something, I bet if we go back in history, you're going to see a TON of stuff that makes what people produce today pale in comparison. I'll share what I discovered with you next week, along with the reason I went searching through my bookshelves. 

So this is one unit of the shelves. The bottom row is books about scrapbooking, which I seem to have amassed quite a collection of. I couldn't even sell them for the paper's value! I need to purge those, which would make spreading out the remainder easier. BUT I had such high hopes for all that material!!!!! This job is going to kill me!!!

My week's goal - to cull and sort

But if I can find someone else who can use the books, I'll be happy to pass them along. I'll be sure to post them on the blog to see if anyone wants some. Watch for the culled books tomorrow - at least some of them. 

I spent most of the day sewing or working on the presentations. And I did watch some YouTube videos that I had access to until 6 AM this morning. I did NOT like the way the material availability was presented, but so what. Let's move on. And most of the material, while interesting, wasn't necessary to watch. But that's OK. I did get a couple of inspirational ideas, so it was worth my time. 

However, as I worked, I had help. Of course I did. 

MOM - I'll press the pedal while you sew

And when she looks up at you with those eyes -- your heart just melts!!!! But it's a challenge to sew with a dog right in front of your sewing machine. I didn't post that picture, and I'm sure the ergonomic people would be yelling at me to move her. 

All dogs have a front and a back, so while practicing slow stitching on my sewing machine, this was the view from behind. 

Wedged in between the tables

I mean, seriously --- how can you move her? She is so dang cute and adorable, and she knows it!!!! The two girls had fun asking to be let in and let out all day. I'd love to leave the door open, but can you believe there was frost on the car when I took Murphy for a walk at 7:30 AM? 

Of course, we had to play ball, and when she couldn't find it or get it since it was sitting on top of the bushes, she just sat there and waited. I did NOT go get it for her. She's smart enough to figure it out. 

MOM -- do you see me? See how cute and patient I am?

I'm home alone until tomorrow afternoon, so I took full advantage of the opportunity to make a mess in the kitchen. At one point, it looked like this. 

The kitchen looks a bit disheveled.

My gosh -- it looked like a couple of teenagers live here. Doors open, a chair hanging out by the stove, and crap everywhere! It doesn't look nearly as bad when I got disgusted and took a few minutes to tidy up!

I did not need a nap yesterday, so fingers crossed, I won't have jet lag to deal with. Drink lots of water. I had lots of catnaps during my travel day home, but not enough to interfere with my sleep pattern. The time difference was 6 hours.  

It's going to be another exciting day! I must find some boxes for those books, and I'm only going to focus on that one set of shelves until I find a home for everything. I do NOT need to have a huge mess in that space. Which reminds me that I have a few boxes of books still upstairs that belonged to M that I must process as well. 

On that note -- have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Curiosity is a great thing!

Thanks everyone for your comments! I must go back and digest them! There's a lot to be said about traveling light, but if you have or want a decluttered environment at home, it's a lot easier to "declutter" what you take on vacation. BUT --- and the airlines tell you this repeatedly -- DO NOT check your medications, important papers, laptops --- basically anything that cannot be easily replaced --- do NOT check it. Clothes? You can buy clothes anywhere, but you can't easily renew a prescription. 

And not having checked luggage gives you 100% flexibility to change flights (if yours gets delayed or canceled) or to adjust your plans. 

Thanks for the clarification about cathedrals and basilicas. I did NOT know that, and I didn't look it up. 

Someone mentioned on one of my social accounts the other day that my trip sounded way more interesting than theirs. Here's a very important thing to remember -- I look at almost everything through the eyes of a child!! And what is one of the things we love about children? When they start asking "Why". Why is the sky blue? Why is the air cold? Why do dogs walk on four feet? or whatever they decide to ask. 

Oh my— if you Google "children and curiosity," you get some interesting stuff. Things we know but didn't really think about. 

"Curiosity in children is but an appetite for knowledge!" OH MY --- that's me!!! 

OH -- Here's a quote from Albertein, "the important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

And that brings me to an interesting point. When I was on any of the booked tours, the tour guides were well-versed in their subject. They are licensed and probably need to demonstrate how much they know, so we, the customer, get the most information. Do you know how many people don't ask questions? Are they bored? Do they not care? Do they simply want the Coles notes so they can go home and tell everyone, they went to 100 places on their vacation, but don't have more than the basic knowledge? 

That thought boggles my mind. I know people get annoyed at me for asking so many questions, but I don't care. If I have someone with an expertise in my reach, I want to ask questions! Like what happened near the washroom on the plane yesterday. I'll tell you that in a second. 

And one more thing about asking questions. There are no dumb questions; perhaps others had the same question. And whether it is a tour or a class, when students ask questions, it makes the tour guide and the teacher more engaged. That shows people are listening and gives the leader a chance to explore more. 

OK -- so the Rome Airport isn't in the city of Rome, and it could take some time to get to it. My flight was at 8 AM and not international, as I had to connect through Munich. The lady at the hotel reception suggested I go for a 4 AM pickup, which was a bit excessive for me, but she said she is a worrywart and, with the potential for hideous traffic in Rome, that early was better. You know what? She was so helpful that I took her advice to respect her. 

I barely slept that night -- I have no idea, but sleep eluded me. Was I excited to get home? Was I not tired? Anyway, when my alarm went off at 3:25, I was now in a deep sleep and totally exhausted. But I packed up my few meager possessions and headed downstairs to catch my prearranged cab. 

OMG -- I swear it was Mario Andretti who picked me up in the cab. It took a bit of time to get out of the twisty streets of Rome, but thankfully, at 4 AM, there wasn't much traffic. Then we hit the autoroute, and well, we were doing 140+!!! Let's just say that we got to the airport at 4:30. Perhaps he was just happy to drive with no traffic!!!

The airport was busy, with planes leaving at 6 AM or perhaps even earlier. Since I was checked in, I didn't need to see the gate agent or check in luggage, so I went straight to security. It's funny the things you see people do. This was a first. A youngish guy had a small duffel bag with him, and he tipped its entire contents into the bin. Why? Can you tell me why he did that? Even the agent was saying he didn't need to do that, but he did it anyway. Good luck packing all that crap back in!

I found the lounge, which is a wee bit more comfortable than the general waiting area, and since the gate hadn't been announced yet, everyone was there. The lounge only opened at 5:30, and I was the first one in. I had a snack, then found the quiet room in the back and tried to sleep for a bit. 

I set my alarm because I didn't want to sleep too much. I felt better after about 20 minutes of sleep. I mentioned it the other day, but DH decided we could splurge on the tickets, and that gave me access to the lounge. 

The quiet room in the lounge

Then we were finally on our way to Munich. I swear we booked direct flights, but there mustn't be a direct flight from Rome to Toronto every day. But no worries. It was beautiful to fly over the Alps. At this part, there didn't seem to be much snow on the tops. 

Flying over the Alps 

But as I was looking out the window, I saw something I had never seen before. The contrails of OTHER planes, and while I'm sure they were a safe distance away, they were close. And these ones were going FAST. 

You can only see two in this picture, but there were three. 

Two other planes (military jets?) flying "close."

My guess is they were military jets, since they were flying circles around us. I mean that metaphorically, not literally. But they were coming and going. Not sure what they were doing, but it was pretty cool to see. 

OH -- there's more snow on the Alps. I believe that was just south of Innsbruck, Austria. The pilot announced when we passed over Innsbruck. I'm not that smart! 

The Alps near Innsbruck, Austria

And then there is the beautiful farm country, with the Alps in the distance. 

Germany's farming country

And there is a traffic circle. It's kind of neat to see these complex systems from the air, and you wonder how long it took to develop that, so everyone gets where they want to go. But after seeing all the things that were created in ancient times, when they didn't have computers to do it, this is probably very simple work! 

Traffic circle

I had to go through passport control in Munich, and again, my passport failed in the automated machine, so I had to see an agent. It seems that in Europe (I could be wrong), it is the police who man these stations, whereas in Canada and the US, we have separate border-control agents. Perhaps it's just a translation mishap. 

I found the lounge and then had to wait for about an hour for the final flight. 

At one point, I looked out the window and WHAT????? I saw this plane, literally flying beside us. OK -- that's an exaggeration as it was miles away, but it was literally flying beside us. 

Another airliner flying "beside" us

And then at some point, it veered to the right, and we stayed straight, or whatever happened! But they went a different way. 

The flight was pretty smooth, although at one point I got worried. There was zero turbulence, and then the flight crew announced that all passengers should return to their seats and fasten their seat belts. This is never good news to me. I'm a decent flyer, but I'm not a fan of being in a skinny metal tube hurling through the air at close to 950 KPH at an altitude of 40,000 feet, when there is turbulence. OMG—do you see what I just did? I use both metric and imperial. Good grief!!!! 

However, there was some slight turbulence, but nothing like on the way over. We even got in about 10 minutes early!!! I watched two Harry Potter movies, which I had never watched. Now onto number 4!! I slept for a bit (set a timer so I wouldn't oversleep, but didn't need it), then amused myself by watching movies, eating, and going to the washroom. I have no idea, but my bladder wasn't happy on the plane. Thankfully, it was close by. 

At one point, when I went to the washroom, one of the first officers was standing in the galley. I wanted to ask him about the plane that had flown next to us, but I thought I had better not. But shoot -- I should have!!!!

It was easy to get through the automated passport control here, and I breezed through the airport, skipping the luggage carousel since I didn't have any luggage. By the time we landed and I had made it to the car, it was probably 15 minutes or less. It's that easy when you travel light! 

I "cheated" and took a limo home. Hey, if DH can do it -- so can I. It saves the hassle of the chaos in the Uber line. And I just wanted to get home. All in all, it was about 17 hours of travel from the moment I left the hotel to the moment I got home. That's pretty decent!

Look who greeted me when I arrived!!!!! They were so happy. 

MOM --- You're home!!!!!

And within seconds, Murphy had her ball!! Of course she did. 

MOM -- let's play ball

And she was just a pain as she insisted there was a ball under this table, but when I got down to check, there was nothing. 

MOM -- there's a ball under this table! Yes -- Murphy - a GOOFBALL!!!

When I sat in the living room to relax, she got the blanket out in the middle of the floor. 

MOM -- look at me with my blanket

Where was Lexi in all this? Calm, cool, and collected. 

Now that I was home and had greeted the girls, what to do? It reminded me of when I got home from the hospital with M. We all sat on the sofa and then wondered what was next. 

I ended up reading a bit and did some Sudoku. I attempted to sew a bit, but struggled with the block pattern, so I abandoned that. Then I watched The Devil Wears Prada (never seen) as I want to watch the sequel. I'm all set and hope to see the sequel this week. Thank goodness I watched it on my computer at the kitchen table because I must have let the girls in and out about 100 times. They were so annoying. But they probably get the same kind of service from the house sitter!

I should have gone grocery shopping, as it was slim pickings for dinner last night and breakfast this morning. 

And there was my puzzle of Mount Etna, reminding me of the wonderful times we all had. I was going to pack this up and give it away, but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to pack it up so I can start the next one, but I'm going to keep it and do it multiple times because it reminds me of that trip. At some point, I'll give it away. 

My Mount Etna puzzle reminds me of good times.

I went to bed around 8 PM and woke up minutes before my regular alarm would ring. Hopefully, with all the cat naps yesterday, I've readjusted myself, and I shouldn't have any jet lag. Fingers crossed. 

And the best news? I have a quilt retreat at the end of this month, my regular classes (6 one-hour classes), and NOTHING else on my calendar. I'm practically giddy at the prospect, and I hope to make good use of that time. 

And on that happy note, I'm out of here. I bet the girls can hardly wait for me to take them for a walk!!!

And by the way -- it's ZERO this morning. Isn't this the month of May? 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

 

Off the beaten track in Rome

Sadly, this was my last day in Rome. I’ve got everything arranged and checked in for my long flight home tomorrow — well that will be today. I’m writing this the night before, so you have something to read. And then hopefully on Saturday everything will be back to normal - whatever that is. So as you read this, I’ll likely be on one of two planes. DH and I splurged on the fare, so don’t feel sorry for me and the long flights. 

As I’ve mentioned, I love traveling solo because I can do whatever I want, how I want, and spend as much or as little time doing it. 

Please do NOT judge me for what I am about to share with you. It’s MY vacation. And yes — I totally understand that I am in a very ancient city with many cultural things available. I also don’t want to spend my entire time in a queue doing what everyone else is doing. YES - I know you can buy skip the line tickets, but you are still immersed in huge crowds. I hate huge crowds with a passion. 

Here’s what happened. When I went to St. Peter’s Square which isn’t a square, but it’s called a square, I spotted a couple of geocaches on the app. Remember —- you can’t judge - this is my vacation. Well, both of them required taking a picture of something, which I either couldn’t access yesterday or didn’t have with me. 

So after getting things squared away at the hotel reception (booking a car at a ridiculous time in the morning), I was now off to return to Vatican City. And thankfully, the chairs were completely removed and the barricades were open. 

If I had just walked into the square, I would NOT have known this, but I discovered it by reading one of the geocaches. There are 142 pillars in four rows along each side of the semi circle. Many of you have seen them if you’ve been to the square. 

One side of the Colonade in St. Peter’s Square

But - did you know that if you stand on this circle which is the center of the semicircle, that the columns align and the four (one behind the other) look like ONE!!!!!

Center of one side of the Colonade

See how it looks like ONE pillar - the other three are hidden

And for good luck, I did the other side as well. 

The other side

Again, the pillars line up

So many people just walked right by or stood on the circle and took all kinds of pictures of themselves, but didn’t look once at the columns. 

How is this alignment possible? The Colonade of St. Peter’s Square was built between 1656 and 1657 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. There are 284 pillars in total, with four rows. Each row of columns increases laterally with the one nearest the center having the largest diameter (1.42 M). So when you stand in the middle on those circles, the widest one hides the others. 

It’s pretty amazing and considering when they were built —-I thought the architecture was unique enough to warrant going back to the Vatican City. The circles were behind the barricades yesterday and even though they were just clearing the chairs, they wouldn’t let us into this area. 

One other thing to keep in mind is that Vatican City is an independent sovereign country. In the geocaching world, that means, you can get a virtual badge for finding a geocache within the country. Now that was super exciting and I hadn’t even thought about that until yesterday. I was NOT going home without this virtual badge. 

My virtual badge for Vatican City

And just in case you are interested, I have virtual badges for 13 countries, 11 of the Canadian Provinces/Territories, and 15 of the US states. Not bad considering I’m not a wide traveler 

Do not roll your eyes —- it’s my vacation. I also got a second cache which required taking a picture of yourself in the square with a flag from your country. I happened to have this on my backpack, so I got that one as well. 

Me with my Canada flag in St. Peter’s Square

Trust me — that was way more fun and exciting to me than standing amongst throngs of people lining for hours to visit St. Peter’s Bascilica. 

What was shocking is that so many people do NOT read. The owner of the geocache for the optical illusion, where he tells you exactly where to stand and what to send him in order to get the credit, just didn’t do that. I watched someone yesterday, as the workers were putting the chairs away, to take a picture of the circles. There is even a picturing on the geocache website saying the cache owner will delete their log if they don’t post the correct picture. Sigh….

I debated how to get there - should I walk or should I take the metro? I decided to walk - it was a beautiful morning. And by George - I think I may have finally got the hang of walking with Google Maps. I know - it should be easy, but my brain just didn’t work well with it, but I seem to be OK now. About time —- how many year have I been trying to get the hang of it!!!

A friend of mine saw that I was here and suggested I hit a second hand shop!!! I know —- when in Rome - it’s OK to do things that no one expects you to do. It was only fifteen minutes from Vactican City. Now here’s one more thing about the darn maps. If you look at a paper map, there seems to be a relatively straight line from the train station to Vatican City. Google Maps? It took the scenic route!!!

But it was almost a straight line to the thrift shop. 

The thrift shop

It’s not large, and it’s organized by the type of clothing and then by color!!! I didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to look. No jean jackets in case anyone in my sewing group is going to ask. 

Jeans, but no jackets

Then it was off to catch up with my tour group for the afternoon. It was near a metro station, but I decided to walk since I had time. The station was called Pyramid. I wonder why! This was across the street from the station. It’s called the Pyramid of Cestius built between 18 and 12 BC near Porto San Pablo. 

Pyramid of Cestius

I was a bit early, so I went to find some place to eat and use the WC. This pizza was pretty decent, but I have had better. 

Lunch

Our group was meeting outside the metro and it was clearly indicated on Google Maps. However one person was missing and she came running over a few minutes after we were to start the tour, while her husband waited at the train side of this metro station. No worries —- we all got organized. And they had been waiting at the train for 90 minutes. I get it that it’s a bit unnerving to wait for a tour at a random spot!! I always look twice and when you follow the links on Google Maps —- it took us to the EXACT spot. We were also told to arrive 30 minutes before and when she didn’t spot anyone, maybe she should have started asking questions. But I digress. 

While waiting, I needed the WC again. OH MY GOODNESS —- a self cleaning WC. Well, let’s give this a whirl. I inserted my .50 Euros and the door slide open. 

Self-cleaning WC

Yikes —- as I walked in the floor appeared to move and there was water everywhere. I think the floor sort of floated and as you stepped it sank into the water. Not much, but I bet if you jumped you would have got splashed!!!

The TP was metered out — maximum of ten sheets, but you had to press the button for that to happen. A place to get soap and water and blow dry the hands, although I couldn’t make them work. I think this was one of those things you must experience twice in order to get the full deal!!!! And there was a big yellow button on the side near the door which was a warning that your time was up. 

The self-clean toilet

Fortunately that light didn’t come on while I was in there, but can you imagine if the washing started while you were still inside. Imagine being in a car wash!!!! I had visions!!!! By the way —- the several car washes I’ve seen here look like the ones back home, EXCEPT there is no building around them. 

While I waited for the tour guide, I noticed these two cars in front of me. WAIT —- there were two Fords parked in front. They were the first NA cars I’d seen. Well, NA branded, but definitely not the kind of car we would drive back home. No trucks at all in the city and the cars are small —- well, they range from tiny to small. Although these two do look mid-sized. 

A Ford in Rome

One other thing I’ve noticed is that people YELL - a lot. I didn’t see exactly what happened, but a polizia walked between two cars to get to the metro and some lady (in one of the cars) started yelling her head off at the cop. As I watched, I realized that he parked his car behind hers so she couldn’t get out. Anyway —-she got out of her car and there was a shouting match. The cop let her stew for a while and eventually moved the car. 

I’m sure there was more to that story than met the eye. 

This is one of the gates to the Aurelian Walls which were built between 271 AD and 275 AD. I’m not sure if all the walls are still intact, but we saw miles of the walls as we drove in our bus for our tour. At one point (and perhaps still today), the walls enclose 3,500 acres of land!!!!!

Apparently, you can visit the walls and walk on top of one of the sections. That’s for next time. 

A gate in the Aurelian Walls

The tour I booked was not the traditional Rome tour and it took us to see some very unusual sites. As you know, I’ve been totally fascinated by the aqueducts on my Spanish hikes, so when I saw the opportunity to visit the Roman aqueducts, I was in. We had to drive about 16 miles out of the city. And well, you should know by now, that the traffic here is crazy. It’s rush hour all day, every day!!!!

But it was fascinating to hear the stories and did you know there are two aqueduct lines in these arches? 

Part of the aquaduct system

The aquaducts of Rome

Much of it was destroyed at some point because it was a way for their enemies to cripple the city by cutting off the water supply. Did you know that Trevi Fountain is fed by an aqueduct (Aqua Virgo) Obviously, not this one as it ends abruptly just beyond the left of the first photo. 

It was all super fascinating, but there was also another part to this tour —- catacombs!!!! I have never been to any catacombs and this was my chance. There are 66 catacombs in Rome!!!! Who knew! And apparently, they are not connected to each other. 

This is one of the largest with tunnels running up to 17 KM inside, although only about 12 KMs have been excavated. I’m guessing that is the TOTAL of all tunnels, not the distance from the entrance. We were not allowed to take pictures, but that didn’t stop someone (not from our group, but two people were asked to join our group) from taking a few until I told her it wasn’t allowed. She thought it was just flash photography. Apparently, she doesn’t listen and doesn’t read the signs. 

People are so ignorant or choose to follow their rules. It is a sacred place and you had to cover your knees if you were wearing shorts! Anyway —- no big deal. This picture was in the lobby and we were allowed to take pictures there. 

I cannot begin to describe the catacombs. First, there are no bones left —they were all moved into cemeteries many years ago. The catacombs were first started because it was against the law to bury people within the city. There’s a lot of history here and I believe at one point Christianity was illegal and well —it’s complicated. Christianity was finally tolerated after the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. 

For the most part, the people were not buried with valuables - that tradition started years later. Families were buried together in a room. 

But when you talk about catacombs —- it’s like a bee hive down there. Narrow aisles, niches in the walls on both sides, dark and well — I would NOT want to get lost down there!!!! Apparently the guy (Antonio Bosini) who originally discovered the catacombs in the late 16th century got lost for three days when he first discovered them.!!! There are 40 skylights (now filled in) that lit the place and many oil lamps were found with the dead. 

The thing to remember is that this was the RESTING place as they waited for something better - the resurrection of Jesus. So when we say Rest in Peace, it’s not technically the end. I’m sure I have not explained that well and others may not feel the same way. 

This was our small bus and the guy did a pretty good job despite the horrific traffic!!! 

The final stop on the tour was the Appian Way. This was the first major road in Italy and the first section was completed in 312 BC and its goal was to connect Rome to Brindisi in southeast Italy. Part of the road is cobblestone, which is NEW. One family, who was running out of money made part of the highway a toll highway!!! That has something to do with the Castrum Caetani, but I can’t find all the details. 

These are the rocks from back in the day. It sure reminds me of Pompeii. 

Original stones on the Appian Way

And then we got back to the Pyramid metro station where we were let off. The tour was supposed to last 3 hours, but I think the traffic added at least an hour. I forgot to pack snacks, so I was getting hungry. 

It was about 3 KM to the main train station and I wasn’t even tempted to walk.  I paid 3 Euro and took the metro. Hey —- if you’ve taken the metro in one city- they are all alike. Just find the station you are at - find the one you want to get to. Check the end station, so you know what direction to get on and you are golden. 

The metro

Within a few minutes, I was at the main train station. I noticed that there are NO ads in the cars, unlike in NA where there were ads in the cars back when I took the metro daily in Montreal (1980s). 

NO ADS

Once I exited the metro, I had to find my way out of the train station, but that was easy enough. There is the metro (several lines), the commuter trains, the high speed trains - all converged in one spot, but just keep watching the signs — it’s super easy. 

While this may or may not work for you if you travel solo, but traveling by train and getting a hotel near that central train station is key to getting around. At least that’s what I’ve found. All roads lead to the train station!!!

I was so tired and hungry by this time, I sat in the little sidewalk restaurant just outside the door to my hotel, I didn’t care —- I had a beer and a coke. 

 Then some bruschetta. 

With pasta!!!!

The hotel just dropped off my box breakfast for tomorrow morning so I don’t have to buy expensive food in the airport. Which is good since I’m getting there very early and my flight is at 8 AM. I’ll have loads of time to kill, so I have lots of food to eat. It’ll be a surprise to see what they packed, but the darn thing is heavy!

And that pretty much wraps up my day. It was an amazing dive into history and I have literally just dipped my baby toe in. You could spend the rest of your life understanding the complexities of European history. I learned a lot, had fun with my geocaching and checked out some unusual things that didn’t require lining up in a queue — something I am NOT good at. 

I would definitely come back and I see by Nina’s comment that I also need to get to Florence. I need to get to Germany one year to visit with her!! I keep getting offers from people to travel with them and I have a trip planned for next year already. But MUM’s the word until things get confirmed. Yes — I will be travelling with someone — but that’s OK. 

And on that note, I must get ready for bed. 

Wait — I have a question for you. What kind of traveler are you? Do you open your suitcase and dump everything in the drawers and bathroom and then require lots of repacking time. Or do you put everything back in the suitcase/backpack so the room looks tidy? I’m the tidy one —— when I get into the room, I only unpack what I need that night and the rest stays in the suitcase. So if I needed to pack right now, it would take me 5 minutes!!! Of course, I don’t have tons to pack anyway and it’s all in separate plastic bags (at least what’s in the backpack) so fewer things to pack. 

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!!!