Originally posted on July 14, 2011 by Canicus

Friday the 13th came on Wednesday this month. Today definitely was not on the itinerary. The hotel serves a simple breakfast. Options include the makings of a simple sandwich: bread, cheese, and sliced ham. Everyday something would trigger my allergy, I suspected the bread. I tried omitting the sandwich and it seemed to help. I went back to my room to organize the activities of the day.

Then I noticed that my passport wasn’t where I usually have it. So I started a frantic search to see if I had dropped it in the room. I went through all my luggage a suitcase and backpack. No passport. So I went to the police station in the Termini to report it lost/stolen. They sent me to another place, that sent me back to the first. So I tried to find out where the American Embassy was. They did tell me it was near a particular Metro station. I’m trying to figure out something more specific.

Back in my room I consulted maps and a “Public Offices and How to Get There” that was attached to a map I have. No U.S. Embassy. Finally I did look in the back of “Rome for Dummies” and lo, there was the street address. So off to the embassy. It seems that the Metro station was at the bottom of a hill and the embassy at the top. There’s a line outside and a couple of guards. I explained my problem and was told to wait. After about 15 minutes they took a copy of my passport that I did have inside and came back to tell me to come back at 2 PM.

It’s now about 12:45 and I’ve not had anything to eat since breakfast. So, back down the hill for a leisurely lunch while I waited. Then back up the hill to the embassy. Now the guards outside give me a phone to talk to someone inside. The inside guy wants me to come back in the morning. I argued and finally he said to give the phone to the guard, who took me to the Department of Homeland Security. Almost like getting on an airplane. Empty pockets, confiscate cell phone and my dangerous weapon a Swiss Army knife about the size of my little finger. Empty pockets into tray to be scanned and go through the metal detector. I get a ticket “79″ and am told to go upstairs. Essentially I have to reapply for a passport. It involved going down stairs to get a passport photo and then back upstairs. I can’t really give them all the detailed information they needed because that (like emergency contact info) was on my confiscated cell phone. But they seemed to accept the incomplete information. Eventually, they gave me a temporary passport good for three months. And a letter that entitles me to a free passport when I get home.

The day is shot, so I return to the hotel. The day is shot, but not over. A few days ago I had noticed that my good walking shoes had caused blisters on the side of both feet at the point where the large toes join the foot. It wasn’t a big issue. The blisters had “popped” cleanly and all looked well. I decided to switch to a pair of sandals which would not contact the blisters. A side effect is that I have tanned feet now, but with light “Z” on each foot where the straps go.

But now I had a blister on the bottom of my right toe, which had ripped open and exposed a very raw skin underneath. So I went to the pharmacy in Termini and got some alcohol wipes, gauze and tape to treat it. Now I’m trying to decide whether to go back to wearing the shoes or stick with the sandals. No pictures today.

Originally posted on July 12, 2011 by Canicus

Whatever the problem was with the ATM yesterday, it seems to have resolved itself. If it had happened toward the end of the trip, I would have been less concerned. But I couldn’t imagine living in Italy for a couple of weeks with only 100 Euros.

Today I had planned to go to Ostia and the beaches, but then I realized that most everything in Italy seems to shut down on Mondays. I did go to see about setting up reservations for side trips. But “Customer Care” seems to consist of “Go to the other line.” There are a bunch of ticket windows fed by a huge queuing system. You know, that rat’s maze of fences that doubles back on itself numerous times. Except at Termini, the maze will not hold the whole line and it extends way out into the room. There doesn’t seem to be any “off time” in Rome. The Metro is full (according to the guide books) at rush hour. Rush hour seems to be 24/7.

Anyway, I ended up “attacking” the Palatine Hill. It was the “high rent district” where most of the important patrician families had their “town houses.” As impressive as the houses there were in the days of the Roman Republic, they were dwarfed by the later emperors. I did make it to the summit of the “hill.” But I didn’t go searching for Augustus Caesar’s house. Maybe later.

Today is my 74th birthday. As I ascended the hill, it occurred to me that Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus would have gone down to the Forum from the heights of the hill most days and then back up to his house when he was about my age. But then, in July he might have retreated to one of his country villas or to Capri. His house in Rome was rather modest (although the interiors were lavish and Livia had a more elaborate villa nearby). That was part of his “first citizen” propaganda. He wasn’t an Emperor or a King; he was the Princeps first citizen of the Republic. (Of course he was the son of the divine Caesar filius dei and Father of the Country Pater Patria.) He would mix with the crowds in the Forum, although he did wear a breastplate under his tunic.

Originally posted on July 10, 2011 by Canicus

Today didn’t go as planned. I woke early before the hotel breakfast room was opened, so I spent some time selecting some pictures from Friday to post. I’ll try to get them out to the website when I post this.

After breakfast it was off to Termini with the idea of spending the day at Vatican City. But I was running low on cash so I visited the ATM machines, but I could not get them to produce any cash. So I went back to the hotel (fortunately it is quite close) to get the £50 I had stashed away. I figure I won’t need that in London on my return trip. So I took it to the money changers to get Euros. Then to the Metro. I followed the signs for Metro B to Battastini which led me down and up stairs and finally to the exit. Now it is getting toward lunch time. So lunch. Termini station has a jillion food places, but they are virtually all takeout. I went into one, got a Panini and water. It looked like they had some tables and chairs. But on closer inspection they are “reserved for waiter service.” The Panini was very dry; the water was wet, though.

Eventually I’ll go to the grocery store in Termini for some supper in my hotel room I had said I would check out the ruins in front of Termini this afternoon, which I did. The statue of John Paul II is indeed ghastly. Hardly worthy of the man or the city of such fine statuary (even if a good bit of it was stolen from the Greeks).I did manage to get into Santa Maria degli Angeli even though I had changed into shorts. The Baths of Diocletian are now a museum, or at least the parts that were not taken over by Our Lady. I did go part way into the grounds. But formal admission is for four museums good for three days. Since it is closed tomorrow, I figure it would be best to come back later when I am a year older. If the U.S. would join the European Union, I could get a reduced senior fair.

Rome seems to be booming economically. There are crowds everywhere. The Metro is jammed. There are venders crowding the streets. What you do not see are abandoned, closed store fronts. I need to get to the ticket desk at Termini to get a ticket to Ostia and reservations to Naples, Venice and Salerno. But whenever I go to that area there are huge lines. Apparently eventually I’ll just have to go stand in line.

Originally posted on July 10, 2011 by Canicus

One nice thing about traveling alone rather than in a group or tour is that one can always change plans on the spur of the moment. I decided not to catch the bus, but rather to catch the Metro to Colosseo and to spend the day in the Forum. I had stayed up late last night and slept in this morning. By the time I had gotten to the Coliseum it was nearly lunch time, so I decided to go ahead and eat first.

After lunch I walked up Via Dei Fori Imperiali to the visitor’s entrance. There are concessionaires everywhere selling virtually everything: hats, umbrellas, souvenirs of all kinds, Panini, soft drinks and water. I’d never paid much attention to the bottled water as I carry a couple of Camelback water bottles filled with tap water. After I had gotten into line to buy a ticket, I discovered that there is something special about the water bottles they sell they are frozen solid. So they can be held against the wrists or neck to cool you down. I didn’t want to give up my place in line to go back and buy one. I did drink my water and used the umbrella I carry in my backpack to avoid sunstroke.

The Roman Forum wasn’t built in a day more like between 800 to 1,000 years. Vandals (the barbarian tribe that gave us the modern meaning of the word) and other invaders, earthquakes, renaissance architects etc. took much less time to unbuild it. So today it is very much a jumble of ruble. Still standing at either end are the triumphal gates of Titus (with its image of the seven branch candlestick taken from the Temple in Jerusalem) and Severus. The new Senate House stands; reconstructed. It belies the Hollywood circular arrangements. It is very much rectangular. The seating of the Roman Senate would more resemble the House of Commons than the U.S. Senate.

The ancient Forum was one of two early engineering marvels of the Romans. The area was once a swamp which was drained and filled to create the earliest forum. The other was the sewer which was created to drain the swamp and is still in use today. While the general concept of the forum was a large rectangle, bordered on either side by basilicas, temples and other public building (e.g., the Senate building). What surprised me was that it wasn’t level. I’m not sure how much that is an artifact of the centuries. To be sure, there are numerous holes punched into the ground where archeological research is going on.

There are foundations under the present ground level. But the Arch of Titus is a good many meters higher than the Arch of Severus at the other end.

The plan is to go to Mass at St. Peter’s and to take in a bit of the Vatican. I may come back early to spend some time near the hotel. I discovered that it is a few blocks away from the Terme (Baths) of Diocletian which has been partly taken over by Santa Maria degli Angeli. There is a park between that and the Termini station which contains, I think, a ghastly statue of Pope John Paul II.

Originally posted on July 9, 2011 by Canicus

The day started with an Italian breakfast in my hotel. Not bad. But I am discovering that in Italy they never seem to make a full cup of coffee. The cups aren’t that big to begin with, but they only fill them half full.

Today was essentially an orientation day. I learned in Paris a couple of years ago that one of those open bus tours is really a good way to figure out where the tourist stuff is. So today I walked over to the Termini, which is also the “crossroads” of the “A” and “B” Roman metro lines. I bought a three day pass for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I’ve planned on Ostia for Monday and south of Rome Tuesday-Friday.) I then rode the very crowded B Metro to Colosseo.

You come up from the underworld to face the Coliseum. The Coliseum was built by the first Flavian emperor, Vespasian, using loot and slaves he had captured in the Jewish War. It was completed by his son Titus, who also completed the Jewish War at Masada. It was originally called the Flavian Amplitheater, but came to be known as the Coliseum because it was located near a colossal statue of Nero. The coliseum was also built on the site of Nero’s extravagant “Golden Palace.”

Looking for the place to get on an open tour bus I walked completely around the Coliseum. There are all kinds of souvenir hawkers you encounter. That probably was true in the early days of the Coliseum too. I did break down and by Rome…Past and Present a rather neat little book with pictures of many of the ancient sites which have overlays which show how they looked  originally and when you turn the overlay, you see what remains today. The real souvenir was an S.P.Q.R.ROMA cap. There were also a bunch of Roman Legionaries having their pictures taken with girls.

The first loop around the Coliseum did not turn up the bus stop and it was lunch time, so I decided to have lunch at an outdoor cafe‚. When I post the photos, I’ll include a shot of lunch. A violinist came around and entertained us with a ditty I didn’t know.

After lunch I started another loop around the Coliseum with better instructions as to where the busses hide. This time I found them. I looped twice around Rome in the afternoon, sitting on both the sinister and the dexter sides. I discovered that one of the stops the busses make is about 50 meters from my hotel. The ticket is good for two days. So tomorrow, I’ll do it again and this time get off at some of the stops.

Windows tells me I took 287 pictures today. There is no way I’m going to post them all. In many cases they were rapid fire shots of the same thing from a moving vehicle (that bus). So I’ll need to see which ones are the best of each set. I’ll also need to do serious cropping of virtually all of them and some serious “fixing” of some. They were shot with an extreme wide angle lens, which means they have more than is interesting and sometimes have building falling over that aren’t falling over.

Sunday I plan to go to Mass at St. Peter’s and then take in some of the sights there.

Originally posted on July 8, 2011 by Canicus

This was sort of a long day. Or was it two short days. It is hard to tell traveling east any distance. Anyway I’ll call it “Day Zero.” It started in at my apartment around 1400 CDT on Wednesday. A Supershuttle took me to DFW in 100F heat. There a long flight to Heathrow on a Boeing 747-400. For no discernible reason the plane was about a half hour leaving DFW.

Flying 38,000 feet above the earth at 500+ mph at night is always a strange sensation for me. When there is no turbulence and the only sound is maybe the air-conditioning, it is almost like being in suspended animation.

Then there is that strange time when it is tomorrow. Or is it yesterday? I’m in the Twilight Zone. Of course when I land in London it is today. And a madhouse. Of course you don’t land in the same terminal at Heathrow from DFW as you take off from for Rome. Then, when I got to the right terminal, they had no idea from what gate my flight was going to leave. Turned out it was about as far from the main waiting area as possible. Any the finally decided which gate and the plane left about a half hour late.

So, of course, I was arriving in Rome about a half hour late. Everything went smoothly at the airport no baggage hassle, no immigration hassle, no customs hassle. Caught the express rail to Termini. It was jam packed. With idiots storing their luggage in the aisle so I had trouble getting to the spot where the luggage is supposed to be put and then to a seat. (Yes, there was space in the luggage area.)

The plan was it was going to be very simple getting from Termini to my hotel. “Go to Dock 1, exit to Via Marsalla turn right. Via Milazo is 50 meters on your left. Hotel Mirage is number 4. Well, I think that the express train unloads at Dock 25 of 24. There were numerous signs pointing to Docks 1-24 but no sign of an actual Dock 1.

Eventually the signs led me out of the terminal, but on the wrong side. It is now getting to be around 1800 hours Rome time It has been a long day. I’m hot. I’m tired. I’m lugging a suitcase (thanks to the inventor of wheels on suitcases) and a backpack.

Eventually I do find the hotel. At first they seemed to think I didn’t have reservations, but that got straightened out. It is a bargain hotel maybe. I’m used to small hotel rooms in London and Paris, but this one takes the cake. It comes equipped with a twin bed, a night stand, a chair and one of those 4 foot columns suitable for a small bust of Caesar Augustus. But no bust. There’s also a wardrobe with three hangers. I brought 4 hangers but the idea was for those to be used to dry clothes I rinsed out. No shelves. There’s a shower in the bathroom barely big enough for me. No shelves in the bathroom, either. So there is no place to put much of anything. I’m sitting on my bed with the laptop on the chair to write this.

I also couldn’t get the air conditioner to work. And I’m not able to connect to the internet. Ack. But I am secure. There are bars on the windows. I can’t get into the hotel from the lobby. I have to ask the person at the desk to unlock the entrance to the elevator/stairs. Then when I get to my floor (it’s the first floor, with the ground level being floor 0) I have to press a button and ask them to unlock the door to the hallway to the room which has a lock. Time to hit the sack.

Originally posted on May 19, 2011 by Canicus

Canicus Modius sum. Canicus is Latin for Cainnech, which is Celtic for Kenneth. Modius is an ancient Roman dry measure, almost exactly equivalent to a peck.