Destination Assisi, the UNESCO World Heritage site best known for being the birthplace of Saint Francis, founder of the Franciscan order. Just like yesterday, we were the only ones on our tour, so the same sedan and driver arrived for us at 7:00 a.m. for the two and a half hour drive. We headed north out of Rome eventually veering east. We made one brief bathroom stop next door to a pottery place. Dan’s dream. He bought a beautiful biscotti jar.

There is lower Assisi and the walled town of upper Assisi. Our only stop in lower Assisi was to visit the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the seventh largest Christian church. It is like no other church I have ever seen in that it was built specifically to house two structures held most sacred by the Franciscans: the very small Porziuncola chapel, birthplace of the Franciscan order, and the Cappella del Transito, a teeny tiny chapel built expressly as a place for Francis to die (in 1226 at the age of 45). Picture a really small chapel sitting in the middle of a huge cathedral. Off to the side in back of the tiny chapel was the even smaller one. Construction began on the cathedral 343 years after Francis died. We were really taken by it.

In upper Assisi we saw the house where Francis was born into a wealthy merchant family; the family’s stable where his mother chose to give birth; a tiny stone nook in the family home where Francis’ father held him under lock and key so he could rethink his decision to follow the church’s call rather than become part of the family business; and a cave like place where Francis chose to sleep once he forsook his family for good. The sites are all very respectfully done and clearly held in high esteem by the visitors who were there at the same time we were. We also visited the impressive Basilica of Saint Francis which was begun the day after the canonization of St. Francis in  1228. It is monstrous with an upper and a lower basilica smothered in frescoes, the site of his simple grave, and is the main reason pilgrims visit Assisi today.

Assisi is also the birthplace of high-born Clare, who at 18 became a follower of Francis and later the founder of Clare’s Order of Poor Ladies (the Poor Clares), nuns who lived in the Franciscan tradition. Clare’s father did not like her decision to leave her family any more than Francis’ did, but she persisted. She wrote what is believed to be the first set of monastic guidelines written by a woman. Clare was canonized in 1255. We visited the Basilica of Saint Clare, a huge but simply constructed church built after her death. It was made of native pink stone in 1265. Six hundred years after Clare’s death and simple burial her remains were moved to a very elaborate marble grave/shrine in the basilica. It was deemed worthy of her by her followers but is in total contrast to the simple life she lived and believed in. We joined the procession of people very reverently paying their respects.

We loved Assisi! After our Francis- and Clare-centered tour we walked around town a bit and learned that even in Roman times Assisi was a spiritual center, as evidenced by the Temple of Minerva which dates back to the first century BC. Its columns are now in the center of town. We looked in a few shops, enjoyed the magnificent view of the Umbrian countryside and then headed to lunch. As you know by now, we don’t go very long without refueling.

We met our driver at 4:30 and were back at the hotel around 7:00. Time to pack and organize for our departure tomorrow.

Bet you didn’t remember…
Three Franciscan missions on the west coast became thriving
cities: San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles.

Dan’s selection for today was the hill town of Siena in the region of Tuscany, a two and a half hour ride north. We heard that trains from Rome are complicated and involve a couple changes, so we decided to take a tour with a 6:45 pick-up (ouch!) in front of the hotel. First surprise: a black Mercedes came for us. Second surprise: we got a password in the event we wanted to use WiFi in the car. Third surprise: no one else signed up, so there was no need for a minibus; we went alone in the sedan. Well, well, who can complain about that?

The two and a half hour drive took us out of town by way of some 1980’s Olympic facilities and onto the ring road. We exited toward Florence. Once out of town the scenery was beautiful as the mist was burning off the ever present rolling green hills. We passed part of a Roman aqueduct and lots of hill towns to include Orte which dates back to 200 BC.

Back in the day, think mid-1200s to mid-1300s, Siena was larger than Paris and had the infrastructure to prove it. As a major banking, trade, and military center, it was the archrival of Florence until the bubonic plague (Black Death) swept through and wiped out more than a third of the population. Bam, just like that it was sadly out of the game and never recovered.

With limited time we focused on two sites: the Duomo and Il Campo. There was some confusion over the local guide, so we toured the Duomo, a gigantic cathedral, by ourselves. It is in the almost unbelievable category. The front is not as imposing as the one yesterday in Orvieto, although fabulous, but the interior is just amazing. Black and dark green stripped columns support the building, a dozen intricate marble inlays are set into the floor, frescoes are all over the place as well as statues (think Michelangelo) and sculptures (think Bernini).

The issue of a guide was sorted out by the time we were done with our self guided tour of the Duomo. She was wonderful and took us in hand for a walk around town. She explained that the walled city of 52,000 is divided into 17 distinct neighborhoods that date back centuries. The current boundaries go back at least 300 years and involve some long standing rivalries and a few undisputed neutral neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has unique colors and a crest of sorts that features a mascot (elephant, snail, tortoise, goose, etc.) or a thing (forest, shell). Neighborhoods vary in population with as few as 500 residents and as many as 5,000. Small porcelain tiles are on the city walls where one neighborhood starts and the other ends.

An understanding of the neighborhoods was critical before we got to Il Campo, a gigantic town square in the shape of a fan, surrounded by imposing buildings. It is here that the famous Palio horse races are run twice a year. Ten of the 17 neighborhoods are chosen by rotation and lot to sponsor a horse in each race. Each neighborhood hires a jockey (who must ride bareback) and gets a horse by drawing for it. Then the pregames begin as bribes are passed and influence is used to pull support one direction or the other. If by change a jockey falls off, his horse can still win as long as no other horse beats it across the finish line. Each neighborhood has a museum where its winning banners are displayed.

We had a brief time to stroll around after the tour and then we were off to lunch at the Tenuta Torciano winery. Oh boy were we in for a surprise! We were seated at a table with 16 wine glasses, eight for Dan and eight for me! A fun, happy great-great grandson of the original owner seated us and explained that we would be served a three course meal with wine pairings, one white and seven red, and then we would have a dessert wine (enter glass #9) with our biscotti. A lively Russian couple from Vancouver was seated at the table next to us. We enjoyed their enthusiasm for the meal and wines almost as much as we enjoyed our own experience.

After our looooong, delicious meal we piled in the car and drove to our last stop of the day, San Gimignano, a hill town a short distance away. It is famous for its 14 remaining (out of 72) towers once owned and occupied by the rich and influential that give the town of 7,00o a striking profile from a distance. Sort of like a bunch of smoke stacks popping straight up out of the ground. Dan and I walked the streets and poked in and out of shops and just enjoyed the ambiance of the quaint town that, like Siena, lost most of its influence after a six-month plaque wiped out two thirds of its population leaving it ripe to be overcome by a more powerful city. Think Florence.

Our long drive back at the end of a nice day was extended a bit by a traffic glitch of some sort. We got back after nine and headed straight to bed.

 

The conference ended yesterday, so the plan is for Dan to relax and be on vacation until we fly Sunday. He did some research before we left home and decided he’d like to spend the day exploring Orvieto, a small hill town just under an hour and a half by train.

We slept late and around 10:30 strolled down to the concierge and asked about trains. She made it sound like a kindergartner could do it with their eyes shut, so we grabbed a cab and headed to Roma Termini, the main terminal for this city of five million. We were stopped in our tracks by the sheer number of fellow travelers and all the ticket machines. We could make sense of none if it. With the help of two ticket agents, a nice worker who explained which train number we were looking for, and an American couple, we managed to get to track three in time for the 1:00 train. Assuming there’d be a coffee trolley on board we didn’t give much thought to the fact that we left the hotel without eating. No trolley.

We enjoyed the scenery on the way out of town, chatted with mother daughter travelers from San Diego, and reviewed the travel book for highlights and how-tos once we arrived. Orvieto has a three track station, so we easily found our way out and located the funicular up the hill to the old town. First order of business was a meal of some sort. Problem is, restaurants stopped serving at 3:00. We found one that could offer us a sandwich–if we took it to go–or lasagna if we wanted to sit down. We chose the lasagna and were not disappointed. It was smothered in shaved truffle. The most truffle I have ever eaten. Fabulous. Dan enjoyed his with a beer and I took mine with still  water.

We explored the small town until time for the 5:30 train. Besides the beautiful overlooks, there were two highlights for us: the magnificent Duomo and an amazing well, circa 1537.

The church dominated the town square at the top of the hill and had black and white prison stripe exterior and interior walls save for the front which was bedazzled with amazing mosaics and reliefs. It sort of sparkled in the sun. The interior had a few beautiful side chapels but was otherwise pretty plain.

The well was like nothing I have ever seen and for that reason my favorite site so far this trip. Don’t think winch and small bucket, think 248 deep steps down a one way spiral staircase and 248 steps up another spiral staircase. The steps were designed to accommodate donkeys used to carry the water up, so they were deep but not steep.  It’s dimly lit plus there are 70 windows cut into the wall to let in light from the surface. It was slow going, but we persevered and went to the very bottom and then huffed and puffed our way back!

We managed to get the train back to town with no effort, grabbed a fabulous pizza near the station, and took a cab back to the hotel around 9:30.

Today was all thanks to Dan since he not only researched the destination, he chose the restaurants. What a guy!

Dan and I woke up talking about how our bellies were sending signals we had overdone it last night with food and the array of beverages. Very much in character, Dan skipped breakfast and headed off to his meetings. I, on the other hand, needed to keep up appearances so waddled off to the breakfast room thinking food would be just the tonic. Kate and Paula joined me for a hearty breakfast with the plan to skip lunch.

If it’s Wednesday it must be spa day! You betcha. After breakfast and a short stroll around the grounds, we three ladies met at the spa. First was steam followed by tea and snacks like walnuts, raw almonds, and dehydrated bananas. We indulged minimally having sworn off anything that could be construed as lunch. Then we soaked in the electrolyte zinc bath (pool). It’s a seasonal thing per our Roman hosts reputed to “tackle the negative impact of free radicals and promote the healing of wounds and ulcerations.” Then I had a massage of the relaxing, run of the mill type. I wanted to try a ‘lymphatic drain’ but was fearful I might feel less than great when it was over. I’ll save that for when I’m close to home and can take the rest of the day off if it does not go well. Anyway, the afternoon was relaxing and enjoyable.

Dan and I joined two of his guys for dinner at a little hole in the wall restaurant downtown reputed to have great food and limited availability before 10:00 pm. We snagged a reservation at 7:30 and got back to the hotel at 10:45. After all the party food earlier this week I took it easy with one glass of red, shared appetizers, and artichoke with pork cheek pasta. Period. No dessert. No seconds on wine.

 

Dan dashed off to his meetings just shy of 9:00. Kate, Paula, and I met in the dining room at 9:00 where we lingered over coffee and breakfast until 11:00. It’s obviously difficult to be in a hurry here.

Paula and I took a long stroll in a beautiful park, Villa Doria Pamphili, a short walk from the hotel. What a treasure for a city this size. It has thousands of acres with trails, fountains, a small lake, and a magnificent villa with formal gardens and a huge private chapel. A nice Italian woman out with her dogs stopped and gave us a little tutorial on the park and trails and made pizza and gelato recommendations should we be near the Pantheon during our visit. She prepared us for the fact that they would be holes in the wall but guaranteed the quality of the food. Speaking of food, which I rarely do (ha), once back at the hotel I enjoyed tea and chocolate past-trees, as the waiter pronounced it (pastries), overlooking the pool after the two and a half hour walk.

The conference planners sponsored a walking tour in central Rome in the late afternoon. Although I’ve done an exhaustive exploration of this area on a couple previous trips, I enjoyed seeing and hearing about it again. The beauty of a mind that retains very little is things previously enjoyed have a way of seeming entirely new later on. Lucky me. We stopped at the Forum, centre of political, social, and business affaires, as well the marketplace of Rome, which is a massive jumble of impressive ruins that date back to numerous centuries. The guide helped make sense of them. We walked the streets as a group and she pointed out all the different types of architecture, the periods they were popular, monuments that are centuries old, tombs, palaces, and finally the Pantheon which is 1,900 years old and considered to be The Sight in Rome. Its columns of Egyptian marble and concrete walls and ceiling have never been repaired, only cleaned. You have my permission to think of it as the architectural, mathematical, and engineering wonder that it is universally considered to be.

OK, back to food. Our tour ended at Casa Bleve, a restaurant in a former palace that dates back to the late 1400s, where we enjoyed a four course meal with three wine pairings plus Prosecco to start and limoncello (here’s to you Emily) to finish. Besides great food we enjoyed great dinner mates. One Swiss gentleman met his Chinese wife while living in China. They married in Singapore and he’s now living in Switzerland married to a Jordanian vegetarian. The second man is Swiss, living in Miami, married to a gal from Boston who is busy planning their vacation to Kyoto, Japan. The third was Canadian living in Toronto married to a Canadian detective. Without stretching the truth too far, we tried our best to sound intriguing.

We waddled to the bus for the ride to the hotel at 10:00 swearing off food at least until morning.

Paula, my Portuguese friend, and I invited Kate, a spouse from Sante Fe we met last night, to join us for a day of roaming around downtown. We took a cab to the city center with the intent of visiting the Jewish quarter and having lunch. Before randomly choosing a dining experience we strolled down a few of the main streets and window shopped at high-end Italian stores displaying lovely merchandise WAY out of our price range. Monuments and ruins were a stone’s throw at all times. We popped into a small church to light a candle for Aunt Jerry. As soon as a man saw me get a coin out of my purse (for the candle), he produced a small paper cup and tried to convince me to donate it to him instead. He followed me around like a devoted puppy until we left him empty handed at which time he reversed tactics and began to tell us all off in passionate Italian.

The Jewish sector, formerly known as the Jewish Ghetto, was home to impoverished Jews living in miserable conditions for over 300 years until things slowly improved in the late 1800s. The most sobering thing we saw were small brass plaques set into the black cobbles in front of homes that housed Jews taken to Auschwitz during WWII. Unimaginable! Rome is still home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe.

Lunch was our reward for all the strolling around. We chose an outside table at a place called Ba’Ghetto which serves kosher food. We shared two amazing Jewish artichokes. The leaves were fried crispy and the hearts soft and mushy. We enjoyed them with thick slices of bread that were warm, soft, and as dense as a sponge! For the main course we shared one of the specials: salmon and pistachio linguine. We passed on fried brain with artichokes, lamb interiors with artichokes, (it’s clearly artichoke season) and a few other delicacies far too sophisticated for our palettes. Three cappuccinos and one shared dessert topped with pine nuts later and we got our €42 check for what was essentially one meal split three ways and three coffees. Ouch.

A quick €13 cab ride had us back at the hotel before 4:00 … just ahead of the rain. We toured the spa just in case the mood strikes in the next couple days and then separated for a little down time until dinner.

We three spouses were encouraged to join the conference attendees at a buffet dinner here in the hotel. We had a delicious array of Asian food to include all the sushi and sashimi you could possibly hold, lobster, Thai, and a few Italian dishes to make it interesting plus marinated artichokes cooked the Roman way. Dan and I enjoyed the chance to catch up with two Brits, one living in the UK and one living in Dubai.

Looks like we’ll make it to bed well before midnight since we did not stay to the bitter end. ;~}

You would have thought we are on a cruise, water bound, with nothing to do but sleep late and wile away the day. We got up mid-morning and ordered room service for lunch. Yawn…stretch. Dan touched up, as in ironed, his conference clothes, looked over his briefing, and somewhere south of 2:30 we showered, got dressed, and went out for a wee bit of fresh air. You could say we are heeding Murphy’s advice to relax and “enjoy life like an Italian.”

We decided to grab a cab to Trastevere, one of the neighborhoods in the center of town, (€13) and just stroll around. We had overcast skies and a soft breeze, perfect jacket weather. We strolled along the Tiber river, which runs through the center of Rome, and popped in and out of a couple small churches where we lit candles for Aunt Jerry. But mostly we just people-watched. Right off the bat we saw a guy juggling in front of four lanes of traffic stopped for a red light. Then there was a barefooted dog walker dressed in a sarong and granny sweater with his canvas man-bag, three guys sleeping it off on a pedestrian bridge, and about 1.5 zillion tourists referring to their maps. That we could relate to. The ancient is mixed with the old and new in an agreeable way somehow with monuments, ruins, and relics around every corner. Strolling around was a nice way to top off a lazy day.

Our hotel has a shuttle that runs from two locations in the city, so we hooked up with one of them and got back to the hotel in time to change for the welcoming reception and dinner at 6:30. The reception and buffet dinner were fun for me because I got to see a few of Dan’s Agility Logistics peeps from around the world whom I’ve met a few times and I chatted with a few new people. I was surprised so see three other spouses, two of whom I know, one from Northern Virginia and one from Portugal. True to form, Dan and I were among the last to leave just before 11:00. What we were thinking? We’ll regret that in the morning when we have to get up.

After we settled into our lovely hotel room this morning we headed out to visit the ancient port city of Ostia Antica. First order of business was to figure out how to get there. We checked with the hotel staff who advised us to take a cab to the train. We could manage that on our own but from there we were like little kids without a clue who can’t speak Italian. We got to the Piramide subway station that is connected to the Porta San Paolo train station but could not find the train station. Well, who would think it would be on the other side of the coffee shop! Dan stumbled onto it and then he got us tickets…€1.50 per person each way. (€1=$1.15) Thank heaven there was a person behind a desk because we had already checked out the ticket machines and short of a miracle could not have ever made heads or tails of them. Anyway, enough about our ineptitude; we got on and off the train with no assistance and enjoyed the thirty minute ride out of town.

There is a charming village feel to the modern suburb of Ostia Antica with an impressive, well maintained old castle (that was not open) dominating the landscape. We visited the local church where we lit a candle for Josie’s Aunt Jerry and then headed to the ancient ruins for which Ostia is famous. Adult admission: €8. The ruins date back to the fourth century BC. Ostia’s hay day was between the first and third centuries AD when upwards of 100,000 people called it home and life revolved around its port’s support of  Rome with goods from all over the vast Roman Empire. The archaeological site today is 70 acres and is laid out like the city that it once was with the original Roman road made of huge black stones, an amphitheater, and the remains of a synagogue, public latrines, public water system, baths, and hundreds and hundreds of structures and side streets. A few places even have the original mosaic tile floors. It has the same basic feel as its more famous and far older cousin Pompeii (which was buried in Vesuvius’ volcanic ash before Ostia hit its stride) but is far less popular and is nestled in the country, not in a city. We thoroughly enjoyed it, so the credit has to go to Dan for doing the research and making the recommendation.

We enjoyed a pasta lunch in the archaeological park and a cappuccino and pastry before making our way back to the train station to retrace our steps to the hotel. Jet lag has a firm grip on us now (read: Dan is dozing), so no doubt we’ll skip dinner and struggle to stay awake until it’s dark.

 

Dan has to be in Rome for a three day conference and encouraged me to tag along for grins. I’ll be on my own while he’s in meetings, but that will still leave us a few days to explore together. Dan has done some research on things to see and do, so the plan is to play it by ear once we are settled in.

Close call: My ticket was upgradable in the hopes I could use miles to move from coach to business-first. This scheme has worked many times, however this coveted cabin must have been in high demand for this particular flight because the upgrade did not come through. In preparation to sleep sitting up, I packed my blow up neck pillow (thank you Barb), headphones (thank you Matt), sleeping mask, and ear plugs. The Greek goddess of good fortune, Tykhe, was smiling on me because one seat opened up and being number
one on the wait-list I got it! Thirty minutes before we boarded. Talk about a good way to start the trip!

The eight hour flight was smooth and uneventful. We took full advantage of our business-first seats and enjoyed cocktails followed by a smoked salmon starter, then salad followed by our choice of a main course (I chose salmon on barley with greens), sundaes, cheese and grapes, and then after dinner drinks. I made it dinner-and-a-movie by watching a comedy while dining. As soon as we were done we reclined our coveted seats and slept for four hours. Dan passed on the light breakfast, but I dug into the yogurt and fruit not knowing what the day would bring.

We set our watches ahead six hours and mentally moved from 1:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. just as the sun was rising over Italy. It was beautiful from the air. A van and driver were waiting for us and one other conference attendee, so as soon as we all had our bags we were delivered to our hotel, A. Roma, located in the southwestern side of Rome. We have a beautiful, modern mini-suite with a bath and a powder room, small balcony, sitting room, and bedroom.

The skies are clear and there’s a soft, cool breeze. We have the day to ourselves.

We covered the last 622 nautical miles from Haiti to Fort Lauderdale right on time and were docked and ready to get off first thing in the morning. Matt and Emily had a nice breakfast in the dining room and then transferred by bus to the airport for their flight across country. Dan and I had booked a late flight so we could spend a few hours with old friends from our days in Germany. They treated us to a lovely brunch and then we visited until time to head to the airport.

Questionable group decision: to avoid the elevators at all costs. Our staterooms were on the ninth deck, the theater was on four, dinner on three, cafeteria on 14, and we got on and off the ship on two. Going down was a breeze, but it was a long haul getting from two to nine after a long day at play onshore.

Favorite stops
Emily … Grand Cayman
Matt … Labadee
Dan … Cozumel
Schele … Cozumel

Favorite part of the cruise
Emily …dinner and entertainment
Matt … dinner and having a sommelier assigned to our table
Dan … happy hour
Schele … a double date every night (from happy hour through entertainment)

Random fun memory: Dan and I noticed that at cocktails and dinner the first couple of night Matt kicked things off with either a fun or a thought provoking question. Dan decided to surprise Matt and prepare a game. He passed our small papers and we had to answer random questions anonymously and then guess who said what. Matt surprised us all the following night with a game, and I had questions (but no game) the next night. Milton Bradley here we come.

We all agreed that besides not having Murphy and Josie with us, the trip was wonderful! No regrets. Total nautical miles covered: 2,052