Blog
Why travel? Why spend a week or two or three plus your hard-earned dollars —to see, well, whatever you choose to see? Last year Mr. Penfire and I spent three weeks in Italy. Those weeks were filled with new experiences, excursions we had planned and unexpected surprises—a few wrong turns, a couple of mishaps, and…
My daughters claim I love paper way too much. And alas, they are no doubt right. For I am trying (it’s the zillionth time, at least) to “organize” my office, and it’s not going well. The file folders crammed with paper are mostly hidden in files drawers (and file boxes stashed under the desk). It’s…
Sometimes you can’t really sort out the sights (and sites) you’ve seen until you revisit them in memory weeks—or months—later. Such is the case when I ponder our brief encounter with the Spanish Steps. They were on our “not-to-be-missed” list for the city of Rome because they are on everyone’s list. See for yourself: Flip…
At many of Rome’s most popular (and crowded) tourist sights—the Colosseum and the Vatican spring to mind—prescheduled tours can save interminable waits in long lines. At the Gallery Borghese, pre-purchased tickets are mandatory. And are often sold out. Our plan for Friday, our third (and final) full day in Rome was built around our visit…
Castel Sant’Angelo. It started out as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian. A massive cylindrical drum sitting on an equally massive stone base and topped by a golden quadriga—sculpture of a chariot pulled by four horses running abreast. Visualize a giant stone birthday cake with horses on top! To connect his future burial place with…
When we first contemplated traveling to Italy, we thought we simply didn’t know enough to be do-it-ourselves travelers. Looking back now at the itinerary, I see that the tour we nearly booked would have been a big disappointment. The tour offered only a thirty-minute “orientation walk” on the day of arrival in Rome, with the…
Getting there The lovely young manager at our hotel explained how to get the bus to the Vatican. We walked the couple of blocks to Piazza Venezia, found the recommended Tabacchi (think corner convenience store), which is the place to purchase bigletti (tickets for the city’s buses) and headed for the nearby bus stop. On…
We trudged off the plane in Rome after a 12-hour flight, a bit disheveled and jet lagged, shuffled dutifully through zigzag lines to get our passports stamped, emerged into the terminal on a walkway lined by faces—drivers holding signs that named the travelers they were there to meet. We searched in vain for our names,…