Today we were planning to rent a car to drive around Lake Garda. When we went for coffee, we saw long lines of people lined up for the Roman arena and many Pace (Peace) flags. The Pope was here!
Line of people, including a man with a Pace/Peace flag, lining up to enter the ancient Roman arena to see the Pope.
Below is a video of Pope Francis being fawned over by nuns at San Zeno, one of the churches we visited yesterday in Verona. You can see the sepulcher of San Zeno behind its glass case.
We rented a car to drive to the lake and to various spots today, but we had to change the day several weeks ago in order to have lunch at a restaurant Sandra learned about. I called and spoke to someone, who said he would switch the days, but when we got there, our reservation was for yesterday, and there were no cars left. The man was no sympathetic or helpful and blamed me.
But persistence pays. We took a taxi to the rental car places out at the airport and rented a lovely little Fiat CinqueCento with DolceVita written on the side.
Dolcevita!Sandra had done research about some trails, and we found one from Marniga near Brenzone on the east side of the lake. Some German hikers took this creative photo of us on the steep path/percorso.Sandra, la capra di montagne, the mountain goat, forges ahead and into an abandoned medieval borgo (village) called Campo. Notice the papaveri (poppies). Most of the buildings were abandoned, but some were being reclaimed. Una vista panoramica bellaChe verde! We found a tiny little church from the 12th century: San Pietro in Vincoli (chains) di Campo in Brenzone.Next we had lunch at Ristorante Giuly, a place Ali’s friend had recommended. We had this amazing lunch of spaghetti dello scoglio (from the shore rocks). Marco, the owner, prepares a fish prepared in salt. We noticed a little snow as we walked along the lake to Chiesa di San Nicola. We went for a lovely walk along the lake with the sun and a nice breeze. A mountain stream rushing into the lake. Another old church below the mountains. Things are beginning to look more Germanic.The water is so cold and clear.
After stopping for gelato and an affogato (espresso with gelato), we continued driving north along the east side of the lake and then cut over to Rovereto and then the autostrada for a quick drive home.
It was a fun day with many steps! But also strolls and relaxing. Un bel giorno, davvero.
When we got back, we looked for articles about the Pope’s visit here and found two short videos. The first one is many nuns fawning over Pope Francis in the very site we visited yesterday with San Zeno’s polished sepulcher.
Oggi visitiamo due più chiese qui: San Zeno e San Fermo. We visited two more churches today. It’s so fun looking at art with Sandra because together we notice so much and spend the same amount of time looking at and reading about all the art and figuring out the Biblical scenes and saints.
Chiostro a San ZenoSan ZenoMan dusting the tomb of San Zeno, the patron saint of fly fishing. Sandra looked it up. The Pope, Il Papa, va a San Zeno domani (today, but I’m writing about yesterday). I fiori per Il PapaSan Zeno. Notice the fish! He’s also half African and is the patron saint of Verona, living in the 4th century. We spent a lot of time studying these amazing bronze doors, created by three different masters over several centuries. We loved most the earliest artisan from the 10th century. Here is Jesus descending into hell/limbo after the resurrection. I love the demon on the left who looks like Shrek.This series, as in panels in a cartoon (fumetti) shows the decapitation of St. John the Baptist after Solome requests his head. In the next two panels, his head is passed on for some reason. Door handle lionSelf portrait of the artistWe love the little cone hats of the Roman soldiers. Il Ponte di CastelvecchioAfter my Italian lesson with Giorgia, we climbed il Torre dei Lamberti, 291 steps, for great views. Piazza dell’ ErbeIl Duomo e le colline e nuvoleThe lower Romanesque church below San FermoVery old frescoes. Love the water. These frescoes reminded me of the style of the mosaics in Ravenna. This panel is an amalgama di qualche stile combinato. It’s of St. Christopher holding Jesus, but not on his shoulder, as he crossed the water with his large feet at the base. And who knows what those designs are in between. Modern wooden sculpture of the Annunciation. The upper church, from the alta gotica (high Gothic) has the most amazing wooden ceiling! With 416 painted saints. Dettaglio del soffitto Coming home we chanced to walk by this palazzo with amazing karyatid sculptures. We found the wine bar, Vini Liquori, Ali suggested just around the corner from our apartment. Spritz in my new silk blouse. Forgot to mention we did a little shopping. We ate dinner at a place one of the salespeople recommended for Pizza Napolitana, Da Michele. For 30 Euro we split a giant pizza, an arancini, and two spritzes. We found out it was a catena (chain) that began in Napoli in the late 1800s. That’s our waiter who complimented my Italian. At the end of dinner, we had fun conversations with the Italian couple sitting next to us, Enrico and Barbara. Verona è bella!
Where to begin? Sandra and I had a cappuccino e cornetto in Piazza dell’ Erbe and then hiked up to the top of the hill on the other side of Ponte Pietra (the old Roman stone bridge) for beautiful views of the city below and the Adige River rushing below.
Una bella vista panoramicaBeautiful jasmine and roses on the way up
We went to two beautiful churches: Sant’ Anastasia and the Duomo.
Sant’ Anastasia
While looking at all the art and the beautiful painted vaulted ceilings, an organist was playing what we suddenly realized was Alleluia by Leonard Cohen. I love this hunchback holding up the Holy water font.
After lunch I had an hour and a half private conversation lesson with Giorgia, una insegnante alla scuola che si chiama Italiano con noi. I learned so much about the history of Verona. It’s interesting that we learn a lot about the ancient Romans and the Tuscan Renaissance, but very little about the history northern Italy back in the US.
When I told her about the hidden church below the medieval church in Rome, she told me of three places with hidden Roman treasures in Verona, and so I went and got Sandra to begin our explorations. The first is on the busy shopping pedestrian street, Via Mazzini, at a Benetton store. We went to the lower floor and there, in the middle of the clothes racks, was a Roman ruin of two wells, a fountain, a mosaic floor, and a brick wall. So incredible.
Roman ruins at Benetton
Next we went to the Duomo where there was again, a paleo-Christian church beneath a church:
So many layers in Italy!We also loved the Romanesque carvings outside the church.And the octagonal baptismal font with bas reliefs of Bible stories. This one, rather graphic, is the “Strage degli Innocenti” or the Massacre of the Innocents. Sandra noticed the dog that is biting the butt of the mythical creature.
We had another lovely dinner at Alcova dei Frati across the street from where we stayed in 2021.
This morning we went to the third stop of our underground tour. Right off of Piazza dell’Erbe, under a restaurant that’s called Ristorante Maffie, the name of a famous, historically rich Veronan family, the hostess took us underground to see the ruins of an old Roman capidoglio or town hall.
Rovine degli Antichi Romani
There’s also a special table for Giuliette e Romeo!
Alle Giuliette e Romeo tavolo. I notice that Juliet is always named first over here.
Dal nostro balcone a Verona: L’arena dei antichi Romani
Sandra and I met at the train station. Rather than spending a night in Rome, Sandra likes to power through and did an amazing job. It was so fun to see her over here!
We rode the train to Verona and sat across from a lovely couple with a one-year-old named Celeste. The mother was Laura, and we had fun talking in Italian. They gave us tips for our trip to Lago Garda on Saturday.
When we arrived, we took a short taxi ride to our apartment. I told driver it was “vicino al Colosseo” e lui mi ha risposto. “the Colosseum is in Rome! This is l’Arena!” Taking exaggerated umbrage. The arena was also built by the ancient Romans.
It rained all day, but we put on our raincoats and walked all around Verona, such a beautiful city. We had an aperitivo and a charcuterie at Prosciutteria in Piazza dell’Erbe, a lively place a young woman suggested, although the spritz was not up to our standards.
La Prosciutteria
We walked into the beautiful church, Sant’ Anastasia, but they soon rang the bell to close it. Will return today. Then we crossed the Ponte Pietra, the beautiful Roman footbridge over the Fiume Adige. The bridge was destroyed by the Nazis in retreat, but the locals dove into the river to recover the stones that they could and rebuilt it.
Sant’ AnastasiaPonte Pietra, the old Roman bridge
We had a reservation at Al Pompiere, where we ate in 2022, but when we arrived, it was all closed up with newspaper on the windows. We tried to go to another place without a reservation, but we couldn’t get in. When I asked the maitre’d about Al Pompiere, he said there was a new location and called for us. Sure enough, they had our reservation. We had a lovely fish dinner and sampled the local wines. The couple on the train suggested Amarone, a vino rosso made with three types of grapes, the local specialty, and Sandra had a delicious white wine.
Sono molto emozionata e molto grata essere qui a Roma!
Una scena a Trastevere
Dopo un pisolino (after a nap), ho fatto una passeggiata alla Fontana dell’ Acqua Paola con un bella vista panoramica di Roma.
Fontana dell’ Acqua di PaolaUna vista panoramica di Roma
Next I followed some advice for hidden gems in Rome that I saw on Instagram. It was so great. I went to this church I’ve passed many times before to discover it’s the third oldest church in Rome: La Basilica Sotterranea di San Crisogono in Trastevere.
It dates from the 4th century but was completely covered over by a medieval church in the 12th century. The ancient church wasn’t discovered until 1907 and then excavated finally after WWII.
There was only one other couple there from Scotland, and the priest, Augustino, gave us a private tour. When I spoke Italian, he asked if I was from Brazil because of my accent!
Una tombaGli affreschiThis marvelous fresco shows Saint Benedict curing a leper. The church built over the ancient church is beautiful also. Mosaic floorWhen I arrived, Fabrizia e Arturo mi hanno dato questo regalo per Preston James!
I had an early dinner at my favorite spot, Osteria della Quercia, and then wandered through my favorite piazzas until I reached the Tiber and the bridge of Bernini’s angels. Walked 7.3 miles!
Il ponte con gli angeli di Bernini con Castel Sant’ AngeloQuesto bar piccolino è spesso sul Instagram La mia prima collezione al Bar Calisto per 2.50 Euro. Un maritozzo con panna.
Anche se rimpiango un po’ la mia decisione viaggiare per un lungo tempo in Italia presto, a causa del mio nipotino bellissimo, so avrò un viaggio fantastico.
Even though I regret a little my decision to travel for so long to Italy soon, because of my beautiful grandson, I know I will have a fantastic trip.
Preston James
Itinerary:
13 -14 maggio: Fly to Rome. Spend night.
15 maggio: Meet Sandra at train station to take train to Verona for four nights:
Highlight will be seeing la Cappella dei Scrovegni with the famous Giotto frescoes.
Cappella Scrovegni
22 maggio: Train and taxi to Venice airport to fly to Catania, where I will meet Noelle.
22 maggio – 4 giugno: Noelle and I have this place in Taormina and will take classes, plus private lessons, at Babilonia, an Italian language school: https://www.airbnb.com/slink/PYLdB8Gx
The apartment is right across the street from our friend Tino, almost next door to Bam Bar, famous for granitas, and very close to our school.
Tino’s placeTino in his house
Noelle and I are taking two weekend trips before and after classes. The first one is Cefalu, one of my favorite places. I will stay here while Noelle stays at Hotel Le Calette. https://www.airbnb.com/slink/TjSM1Sqi
The following weekend we will check out Catania, one of Julian’s (Noelle’s son) favorite cities, and stay here: https://www.airbnb.com/slink/ISQ3vFlg
Cefalu
4 giugno: I will meet three of the Vandy girls, Laura, Anne, and Jan at Hotel Calette in Cefalu for one night. The place has a wonderful beach.
Le Calette
Our turning 65 Vandy Girls’ reunion begins! We are the Sicilia Six.
We have several activities planned, including a street and market tour, a tour of the Norman Palace and the Cappella Palatina, and then an afternoon in Monreale with a guide. Monreale is an amazing Norman cathedral:
I have never been here, but here’s an image of what’s in store:
Highlights include a birthday celebration for Laura and a tour of Mt. Etna. And of course we want to make it to the Greco-Roman theater and the spiaggia (beach).
I love Ortigia and am excited to stay longer to see the museum, the Greek ampitheater, and the Caravaggio in Siracusa.
Ortigia
14 – 16 giugno: Helen and I stay at Fabrizia’s one night in Trastevere, the “left bank” of Rome. We’ll go to a dinner party at Barbara’s. After Helen leaves, I have another day where I will meet with my UT Italian tutor, Amanda, and her family for dinner.
La cena con Barbara:
Barbara a Trastevere
16-20 giugno: Fly to London to meet Jacquie. We are staying four nights here at Sloane Square Hotel:
Last night we walked to Plaza de Espana to see the Templo de Debod, an Egyptian temple given to Franco in 1968 by the Egyptian leader in thanks for his help in saving the ancient sculptures when building the Aswan Dam.
Templo de DebodViews from rooftop bar in Dear HotelRoyal Palace and CathedralLove the street signs. This is our street. I was looking up best empanadas in Madrid, and the address was ours. Right next door.
I’m waiting in fila at the Sorolla Museo in a different part of Madrid. The museum is free today. It’s about the only line I’ve had to wait in the whole trip. But I can blog.
The Royal Palace of Madrid is amazing! More beautiful inside than Versailles or Schonbrunn, although I haven’t seen either in over forty years.
We could only take photos in the entrance and exterior, so most of the interior shots are from the Internet.
I show up twice in this panoramic.
The Royal Palace has 2800 rooms!
Royal Family paintingExcept “someone” took this one.
From now on, no photos.
Royal chambers! Dining room! Throne roomLove this couch. Almost all the walls were woven silk. Family chapel Most amazing of all was the porcelain room! All ceramic.
Next we toured many other rooms and the armory. Most interesting were the ceremonial armors for children and the fact that all the men were so short!
CathedralInteriorMost of the art was modern, but I loved the ceiling. We saw many people in traditional outfits. Look at these shoes! Later Jan ran into a parade. Parade on Calle Mayor
Meanwhile, I went to the Sorolla museum in his former house in another part of Madrid.
Sorolla courtyardCourtyard tileSorolla did many paintings of families enjoying the beach. My mother and I love them. Aptly named: The SiestaFor a man artist, he was so attuned to the lives of women and children. So sweet of mother with newborn This was the best room. The artist A photograph of Sorolla painting in nature
Met Jan for lunch, and being Jan, not taking no for answer, she asked the maitre de at Botin, Hemingway’s favorite restaurant here and the “oldest restaurant in the world,” if there was a cancellation. He said to wait right here, and five minutes later we had a table in the front room.
Botin This corner upstairs was Hemingway’s favorite.
Siesta time. Fly home tomorrow morning. As Telmo would say, “My heart is full.”
This morning I found a coffee bar nearby. People don’t get going here, though, until around 9 am.
We walked to the Museo Reina Sofia to see Picasso’s Guernica and other works of modern art.
We got there right as it opened. DetailAnother detail
He painted it while in exile during the Spanish Civil War in reaction to the bombing of civilians and to raise money for the Republican side against Franco in the Spanish Civil War. After Franco won the war, Picasso loaned it to the MOMA in New York and vowed to return it to Spain only when Franco was no longer in power. Franco died in 1975, and it was returned to Madrid in 1982.
Another Picasso called The Swimmer. Don’t really see it, but it spoke to me. Love these flamenco drawings. Woman artist of drawing aboveThe Great Masturbator by Salvador DaliEarly DaliI love this one so much by a woman artist.Artist for painting aboveAnother Dali
Next we walked to the nearby Prado Museo.
Goya statue with Naked Maja outside of the Prado
We weren’t allowed to take photos in the Prado, but I didn’t notice until I took one 😱and a guard kindly told me not to. So all I got to capture was this El Greco.
The Annunciation by El Greco is so different from any others I have seen.
Following photos are from the Internet.
The large triptych of The Garden of Earthly Delights by H. BoschDetails from hell panel. I never connected Salvador Dali to Hieronymus Bosch until today. Bizarre detailsApples and fruits appear repeatedly in central panel.
I has no idea Francisco Goya was so prolific. I loved tracing his different styles and moods throughout this life. I can only show these with images from the Internet.
Early Goya commissioned for a palace Clothed Maja juxtaposed withNaked Maja
Like Titian’s “Venus at her Toilet,” this painting created a big scandal because she was a nude in a contemporary, not mythological or Biblical, setting.
The Second of May 1808
So powerful to see this large painting close up. It commemorates a firing squad during the Napoleonic wars and initiated Goya’s political activism.
Cronus Eating his Son
And then the dark paintings. Goya entered a depressed period of his life when he secluded himself in his home in Madrid and painted the entire walls with work in this extreme, dark style. They are shown all in one room and are extremely moving. In these later works, starting with May 2 1808, his brushstrokes become much looser and serve as a precursor to later styles, such as Impressionism.
Wedding guests
On our way to Parque de Retiro we came across the end of a wedding and loved the styles.
Parque de RetiroBeautiful buildings
Jan’s still walking, and I’m taking a brief pausa, or I should say, siesta. One more day in Spain and then home.
Last night we saw a flamenco show. We had to sit in the balcony, but we could see their footwork so well that I preferred it. The balding guy was having so much fun, and the guitarist did a solo that was incedibile. I love the way they encouraged each other with cries and claps and how they improvised. It’s such a beautiful blend of cultures: Jewish, Muslim, and gypsy, and I love the concept of duende: a soul-deep well of intense feeling that somehow encompasses a lust for life and a lament of death.
Here’s an Internet definition of duende, a concept expanded on by the Spanish poet, Lorca.
From Merriam-Webster: “The term is traditionally used in flamencomusic or other art forms to refer to the mystical or powerful force given off by a performer to draw in the audience. The Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorcawrote in his essay “Teoria y Juego del Duende” (“Play and Theory of the Duende”) that duende “is a power and not a behavior … a struggle and not a concept.”
We could not take photos until the very end, so this departure video dos not capture the hypnotic and intense performance.
Casa de Memoria
I love how the final dancer in the long dress had to kick her train out of the way as part of her dance. You can feel the stomping deep in your bones.
Third visit to new coffee bar: the waiter reminded the guy preparing my caffè con leche to add chocolate, which I asked for yesterday, and brought me a water. I had huevas con tortilla, which was bread, and the eggs were mainly potatoes.One of the men polished the lights in a Mary shrine behind the bar. Lovely, lively spot.
Santa Justa train stationWe arrived in Madrid! At Plaza Mayor across the street
Very smooth train ride, about two hours and twenty minutes to Madrid. Our Airbnb is one block from Plaza Mayor, the heart of the city, and across the street from Mercado de San Miguel. It began to rain slightly, and it was 1:30 pm, so it was packed, but we wanted to eat everything we saw!
Spritzeria! Olive barSwordfish and eel! Hemingway’s famous bar and restaurant: Botin booked until November! Beautiful buildings Got tricked by a mime! Four Seasons: is there a rooftop bar? Yes! Discovered lively Calle de Victoria on the way home and ate here at Carmela. Sea bass delicious but served differently
It’s been raining all day, but mostly a drizzle, so we just head out in our raincoats and each had a full day. Flamenco show tonight.
I found a new coffee bar nearby. No more churros.
Authentic
This morning I was on my way to Mass in the cathedral, but first stepped into the little church we pass often. Oh my! It was amazing! Pictures can’t capture my surprise.
Capillita de San Jose Interior AltarSide view
As I went around a corner, I was surprised by a priest waiting for someone to confess.
Then to Mass. They only open the altar gate for Mass and then swiftly closed it again. I loved the organ, but it was a bare bones with no homily that lasted less then thirty minutes.
Cathedral With my camera trickPriests and organ behind us before Mass.Casa Palacio de Contesa de Lebrija
After tapas with Jan at Catalina de Barra ( we have our favorite lunch and dinner tapas spots), I went to place above. A countess in the late 1800/early -1900s remodeled a Palacio and enlarged the rooms so she could move excavated Roman mosaic floors from the Roman ruins unearthed in nearby Italica and reassembled them here. They date from the 3rd century. This central one was fabulous. Here it is from the second floor.
It tells the story if all the times Zeus disguised himself to @ssteven2 “engage” with mortals. The four women in the corners represent the four seasons. View into her dining hall upstairsTiles!More Roman mosaics DetailsShe was not Jewish, but the Star of David often coexists here with Christian symbols because of our Old Testament roots. Love this onePortrait of Catalina by Murillo
Next to the art museum where they had one El Greco, two not exciting Velasquez paintings, but lots of Murillo and Zubaran.
Love this MurilloSanta Justa and Santa Rufina who saved the cathedral in an earthquake in the 1500s even though they died as martyrs in the third century. By Murillo.Moving Murillo CrucifixionBrueghel the Elder detail of Adam and EveDetail of them fleeing.
Bought some Toni Poms low-wedge espadrilles and now resting before flamenco show. If we go back to our tapas bar with all the bottles it will be three nights in a row. Manana train to Madrid!
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