It was an early start for Dave and myself to get to di Laggotto’s ‘8 Galeria’ where Dave had to catch a “flight”, coach to Milano with AItalia. Dave now gone home to Utrecht, Tim sleep until midday and I did my own thing for the morning. Tim and I then walked to Giorgio’s franchised stationary shop ‘Buffitti’, met his business partner and had a pasta lunch, which is the traditional thing to do. Tim had some shopping to do after siesta time, and because it was Monday most of the museums and galleries were closed.
For our last night Giorgio had booked seats to see the Swingle Singers from England at the Torino Opera House. An unexpected surprise for me was that the interior was designed by the architect and furniture designer Mauro Mazzolini. I had seen a model of the interia in an exhibition last year at the Galleria Art Moderna (GAM) in Torino. The group comprised of four blokes and four women. The first half was classical and the second modern with variations of Beatles songs as well as bb and bb.
Tuesday morning, and a seven hour train trip from Torino to Roma. This was a difficult trip for me because as well as going through Alessandria and Genova the train travelled through the five fishing villages of Cinque Terre and stopped at La Spezia where I was tempted to get off the train and head back to Riomaggiore but I don’t have my Italian passport as yet. Then to Massa past the marble and sandstone quarries where Michelangelo acquired his stone, Pisa, and on to Roma. Two couples from Perth having conversation on the train reminded us of home, even though the Americans were the loudest.
We arrived in Roma excited and rested, settled into the hotel and then walked the streets to find the Pantheon. This building exemplifies the grandeur of the Roman Empire to me. Walking into the space under the dome needs to be experienced to understand it. We sat and had a drink at a cafe in front of the building and watched the locals and tourists walk past. By now it was 7:00, still light so we headed back to the hotel past some of the Roman ruins and via the monument dedicated to Italy’s first king, Vittorio Emanuele II.
Dinner at a restaurant recommended by the hotel gave us a relatively early night.
1 comment:
MY darling Boys
What an exciting time you have had in Roma. Tim loks very pensive examining the Roman ruins. Perhaps comtemplating whether any of his ancestors may have built the now non-existent buildings. Looking forward to seeing you soon.
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