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!!!!!

My 1000th geocache!!!!

And another wonderful day of solo travel. I wasn’t too ambitious, but I managed to fill the day. I had three goals - visit the Archeological Museum, get that elusive geocache, and eat the most famous Napoli pizza in Italy! Mission accomplished!! Here’s what happened. 

I must admit that thanks to Google, it’s easy to get around almost any place in the world. It’s hard to believe how much mapping and resources went into creating Google Maps. The one thing about Google Maps is there should be a setting to avoid hills!! I swear I would walk up one slope and then go right back down the other side. Now why is that? Maybe when you’re walking, it takes the shortest distance. I don’t know, but it’s all good. 

Narrow streets in Naples

And the streets are just crazy. Some are narrow, some are wide. Some are long, some are short. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to them. Sometimes there is a sidewalk and sometimes there isn’t. And that path may have a rickety railing right on the edge of a drop off. One thing I love is that it’s every man for himself here. Europe doesn’t have much to do with safety precautions meaning they assume you have common sense. It’s very refreshing from being in NA where the slightest thing is blocked off!  

A sketchy looking railing

Let’s just say that one must be 1000 percent attentive at all times. The surface you are walking on is not for the faint of heart since it’s not always smooth, and there are holes, gaps, uneven surfaces to contend with. 

As a careful pedestrian back home who NEVER crosses in the middle of the street? Well, you can throw that concept out the window here. No one crosses at the corner, HECK—- I think I only seen one traffic light to help pedestrians across the street and that was at the train station. The streets are a zoo and literally, you scour for the slightest break in the traffic, then step out confidently and pray a lot that everyone will see you and stop or in the case of motorcycles/scooters that they will weave around you. It’s total chaos!!!!

I will confess that I suck at walking with Google Maps and so many times, I get going in the incorrect orientation. My brain just doesn’t get it, but I find where I’m going - it just may take longer than originally planned. 

I had not pre-bought tickets to the National Archaeological Museum, so I had to wait about 10 minutes before I could get in. But no big deal. The building is huge and we did not get a map. I was specifically looking for stuff related to Pompeii, which I found or overheard someone say it was on the second floor. 

The exhibits consist of many items that were found as Pompeii was excavated. It was totally fascinating and I definitely want to read more about it when I get home. I managed to find a small book in the bookstore to read more. 

Of course, anything organic (people, wood, textile, etc) were completely gone, but the things made from metal or stone were fine. There were loads of mosaics and look at the scale. Can you imagine working this small?

Tiny mosaics

The most fascinating thing was the model of the entire town. It had been replicated on a scale of 1 CM to 1 M and was absolutely breathtaking and that’s where you got a really good idea of the city and how big the ruins are. 

The model of Pompeii

This 3-D model has been explicated EXACTLY as the town was found. If the walls were missing in town, they are missing on the model. If the walls were painted, they are painted on the model. You can see some of the paint in the picture below. 

Detail of the Pompeii model

WOW —- I could have looked at that model for hours. In the foreground is one of the temples and can you see that larger square behind with the circle in the middle? We were there. That is a market and the circle was a large platform where fish were cleaned for market. Can you just imagine the smell?? 

More of the scale model

Our guide said a very interesting thing (he was 30) that the people of today would not last more than one day in Pompeii. Well, during that era. With the smells and the lack of services, most of the people from today would just die. I agree with him. Even back home, living in the country with few amenities would throw people off and if they didn’t have access to the internet, they would die. Well, I would die traveling if I didn’t have the internet. OK — maybe I wouldn’t die but it would take me a long time to get anything done! 

There was also a map of the city on the wall, but not in quite as much detail and I believe those two large sections are still covered in ash. Wow!!!! Those are probably more houses? But who knows. I wish I had seen that map before going to Pompeii, but it’s a reason to go back another time. In the middle on the right-hand side, you can just see the curvature of the large amphitheater, which held 20,000 people or something like that. The Colosseum in Rome holds 50,000. About 1/3 is left to be excavated and will likely ever be excavated. 

A wall map showing how much is still to be excavate

Many painted walls (fresco) have been removed from Pompeii and were in the Museum, but so many were damaged and then reassembled. What a job that must have been to reconstruct. 

This is the ceiling on the second floor of the Museum. It was a large room with paintings on the walls. 

The ceiling inside the Archeological Museum

The only negative about the day was the number of school groups. Good grief —- they are loud in that echoing place. I totally get that children should be exposed to museums, but I swear they were in and out in minutes, rather than learning anything. Maybe they need to be given a scavenger hunt or something to keep them engaged. 

And let’s not forget about the bookstore. I almost missed it. I had walked out of the Museum and then remembered I wanted to look at the books, so I went back only to discover a group of young children in the bookstore. They were ravaging the children’s area, but many of them had money to buy a souvenir. 

Since the maps were few and far between, it was very challenging to find the toilet. Yes — the toilet, not the washroom or the rest room. Call it as you need it! I think there were only two in the entire place, one in the basement and the second on the third floor up many stairs, or you could take the slow elevator. And of course, there was one door that doesn’t shut properly which is OK if you are two, but alone? I waited to get one with a door that closed. 

It was a fascinating visit but after several hours, your brain just shuts down, so I left. 

The very noisy children in the bookstore

Oh shoot —- Google only shows me the first part of my pictures for yesterday, so I’m going to have to email them to myself. I’m going for breakfast and will finish later. I have the time advantage on my side this morning. 

And I’m back —— the free breakfast with the hotel room is amazing and I fuel up for the day!! However, I also needed to be sure to eat the most famous Napoli pizza. M had forwarded me the link to the restaurant and I took her word. Let’s say that finding the place was a bit challenging but was in the same area where I was. 

As I approached the restaurant on a odd little side street, I see the street teeming with people 

The line-ups outside the pizza restaurant

This is where you need to stand back a bit and observe what is happening and how the system works. You have a take away line beside the building and that line never stopped. The rest in the middle are either waiting for their take away or waiting for a table. At first, I got in the take away line, but then I wanted to be able to sit down and eat in comfort and there are NOT any public places to sit. So I got in the restaurant line. They were currently serving number 34 and I was number 48. But it went rather quickly. 

However once inside, the wait was LONG. The good news is that there were many Italians in the line so you knew the pizza was going to be good. When I asked M where she found this place, it was from a BOOK!!! Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. OH MY GOD — it was a movie. Now I have to watch that movie. The pizza is in the movie trailer!!!!

Julia Roberts is in the movie so you know it’s going to be good. Thanks M!!!!!

Pizzeria da Michele

They must have had to remake more dough or something because we all waited a long time for the pizza to arrive at our tables. The menu is short —- FOUR options. The actual pizza was so huge that it was falling off my plate. But remember, the crust is whisper thin. The lady at my table and the two beside me (we all arrived at the same time), they devoured their pizza and left immediately. I ate almost all except a bit of the crust. YES —- it was amazing and I’m so glad that I got to experience that. Thanks again M for showing me the way!!!

My world famous Napoli pizza

Before the pizza place, I found the geocache outside the Museum. It’s always fun to be reaching down to feel underneath planters or along fences in very public places. So when I couldn’t find it quickly, the thought breezed through my head to cheat and just log it without actually putting my hand on it. But then I went to the front of the planter which was along the street. This side was elevated so it was easy to peek underneath and there the darn thing was. 

The geocache

I took a picture of it so no one could accuse me of cheating!!! LOL. Only I would be know I had cheated. 

And thank goodness I did NOT because this was my 1000th find!!!!!  Yeah me!!!! 1000 geocaches in the many yeas I’ve been geocaching is small, but it was a milestone nevertheless  and to say I found it in Naples is pretty darn cool. 

My 1000th find!!!!

And there is that elusive virtual badge that I so desperately wanted. If I get any other geocaches, they are bonus, I got what I wanted. 

My virtual geocaching souvenir

I know it sounds like a totally juvenile thing to do, but seriously? I have discovered many places that I would never have gotten to otherwise. And it’s a virtual souvenir — so you don’t have to find a place for it when you get home. 

By this time, it was getting late and I wanted to get back to the hotel. I spotted this adorable little outfit on the way. 

How cute is this?

Here’s a picture of the streets and sidewalk. You must pay attention. I will confess that while I was searching for another geocache and not paying attention, I ran smack into a woman. No one fell and thankfully it was on the sidewalk and not on the street in the path of a motorcycle!! I was a bit embarrassed, but what can you do??? Pay more attention — that’s what!!!!

The rough pavement

I will spare you the photos of the garbage that lies everywhere on these streets. It’s insane and there seems to be homeless people living in the area as well. Just an observation, not a criticism. And of course, there are armed guards, mostly around the train station. Last night as I passed the train station, I noticed a very heavy police presence. It looked like multiple disciplines but lots of police. 

I guess then that it should have been no surprise when I passed this shop. One display was for scissors, along with swords, knives, and hand guns. 

Scissor display along with knives and swords

The other side had semi-automatic guns. 

Semi-automatic guns

It is a crazy city and so casual. But I’ve found that in the US as well. I remember visiting Missouri Star Company in September for their 9th birthday bash. There was a market on the Saturday, and you could buy a gun from a street vendor. WOW!!!!! I definitely live a sheltered life! And at a quilt store I visited in Iowa, you paid for your fabric purchases in the MASSIVE gun shop next door. 

Crap - I got a bug bite last night on my neck. Thankfully I have Afterbite with me, but even with that it’s itchy!!

Today is a transition day. It’s the final one until I need to catch my plane in a couple of days. 

OH —- I am just finishing a book about the Grand Canyon, called A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko. OH MY —— if you want to know anything about the canyon, this is the book to read. It starts off quite frustrating, but the message at the end is amazing and something that we need to take away for every natural site in the world. Communities and the world are too quick to exploit our natural resources, just so they can make money and we as tourists can just decimate the place. A very interesting read. 

Have an amazing day!!!

Ciao!!!!

PS — In case you are wondering, I haven’t even considered looking for a quilting store or even a fabric store. Like I need more!!!!!