Trenitalia - Rome to Pisa

Views from the train

Our trip from Rome to Pisa by train was a lovely interlude. As noted in the last post, we purchased 1st Class tickets for the first time. Except for the fact that our seats faced backwards (75% did in the First Class carriage) it was nice to have really comfortable seats with tray tables, a little garbage bin, and foot rests. Trying to stow all our baggage was a challenge. I felt a little conspicuous amongst all the chic Italians with their tiny suitcases. Mind you, they were only going away for a long weekend while we were carting all sorts of only slightly necessary stuff.

Before leaving Rome we went to a famous “deli” across from our hotel called Volpetti and purchased panini (sandwiches). Dom’s roll had mortadella and prosciutto with pecorino del fosso (pecorino aged “in a ditch”). Mine was the same minus the mortadella. With an apple from Washington State, a little chocolate and two bottles of water we had a nice feast as we sped northward on the rails. I thought it was quite amusing that pretty much right at 1 pm, all the Italians pulled out their picnic lunches. There was a lot of rustling of paper and hissing of twist tops. Although we could not see it I am sure some of the bottles contained vino.

The weather was beautiful and the views along the coast were spectacular. For quite some time we hugged the coast. It was fun to peer into the gardens of the seaside villas and check out the apartment balconies facing the tracks. In Civitavecchia, the cruise ship port for Rome, we could see four ships at the dock. Later in the trip we cruised quite close to Camp Darby, a U.S. Army supply depot near Pisa. Dom and I both read throughout the journey and felt quite relaxed when we hauled our luggage off the train.

Our car supplier, Rosario, pulled up at the curb right outside Pisa Centrale shortly after we arrived. As usual, the paperwork was completed on the hood of the car and we were on our way in about five minutes. It is soooo much easier picking up a car in Pisa rather than our old system of getting a Renault lease in Nice, France. We love the Renault system but Rosario is nearly as good. The only downside is that for the third time we have the same car. It started out nearly new a year ago and now it has about 65,000 km on the odometer.

As May 1 is a national holiday here we made a fairly quick stop at the supermercato to acquire a few supplies. The place was a mob scene but we managed to get enough to hold us for a while in short order.

At Partigliano we found all in order at the house. It took an hour or so to “open” the house—turn on the electricity, water and gas, get the hot water heater working properly, the luggage in from the car and the groceries put away. The interior of the house was, and still is, freezing in spite of the warm weather outside. I promptly put up the bug screens and opened the windows. Unfortunately by the time that was done, the sun was beginning to set and it was cooling off outside.

With no afternoon nap, Dom and I were overcome by jet lag by about 7 pm. I made us bowls of pasta, we ate and went to bed by 8 pm.

A Day in Rome

Hotel Santa Prisca

Yesterday we arrived safely in Rome after a rather boring flight from Seattle via Amsterdam. The most interesting part was that the plane we flew (NW/Delta) had individual viewing screens with on-demand movies. The lesson learned was do not start watching a movie too close to the end of the flight. They came and took the headphones away with five minutes left to go at the end of Slumdog Millionaire. Not reading lips well, I was left to guess at the dialogue but was able to get the gist of the ending.

Once here in Rome we made our way to Hotel Santa Prisca. It is a modest hotel located in the Testaccio district. We like it for a number of reasons not least because the area is less touristy than the Centro Storico. It is always very clean. The breakfast is good. It is close to Piramide Metro station and Roma Ostiense rail station. We have stayed here five or six times so we also know how to catch the bus to wherever we want to go in Rome.

Market stalls at Testaccio

After lugging our voluminous baggage (mostly “stuff” and few clothes!) to the hotel we took a nap from about 3:30 to 7:30. Then we went and had pizza for dinner. This morning we were awake early and were down for breakfast at 7 am. After that we wandered around the Testaccio daily market for a while. Yesterday’s rain had given way to blue skies and the sunshine promised a warm afternoon. Everything was freshly washed and sparkling in the early morning light. The market vendors were still setting up but it was fun to see their beautiful displays of vegetables, fruit, fish and meat. Meandering through the market always makes me long for a kitchen so I can prepare some of the interesting items on display. There were lovely looking zucchini with the flowers still attached, multiples sorts of tomatoes and a mixture of bite size pieces of sausage and meats marinating in oil and spices.

From there we went to the train station and bought our tickets for tomorrow’s trip to Pisa. We have not made a rail journey for some time so we are looking forward to the three hour trip.

Parking is limited in Rome so you see LOTS of tiny cars. Smart cars rule!

From one of the expat-in-Italy blogs that I follow we learned there is a temporary exhibit of early Renaissance paintings by Fra Angelico at the Capitoline Museums. These museums are the two buildings that bracket the famous Campidoglio piazza behind the Vittoriano monument at Piazza Venezia. The bus ride was about ten minutes but it was a great mini tour as it passed by the Colosseum and Foro Romano before we reached our destination.

Fontan di Trevi - note the guy in boots walking across the fountain. Almost no one was there at 9 in the morning.

It was still early so we walked a few blocks away to the Trevi Fountain. There were very few people there and the fountain was not running when we arrived. However, within a minute or two the water started flowing (Dom thinks they might have had to prime the system as a worker was doing something with a hose) and the piazza began to fill with tourists. One of the funny things we saw was a husband and wife taking pictures of each other tossing coins over there shoulders into the water. Unfortunately the wife looked like her coin was sure to bean someone on the head. It did not but also fell short of the fountain. She seemed oblivious to all this but Dom and I, as well as the Italians standing nearby, found it hilarious.

The roofs of Rome - multiples layers of history visible in the picture on right.

Dom and the giant foot of Rome + the original Marcus Aurelius statue

We made our way to the Capitoline Museums and went in. Neither of us had ever visited them before and we discovered some interesting things. The Fra Angelico exhibit was very well done. They had gathered works of his from museums all over the world and the display and commentary were all superb. On the top floor of the museum is a panoramic terrace where one can see all across the roofs of Rome. It was worth the price of admission just to go up there. The bulk of the museums are devoted to ancient Roman art—mostly statues. The most important item in the collection is the original equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. A copy is now the centerpiece of the Campidoglio (designed by Michelangelo) and the original is well displayed in a huge atrium style room.

A lovely little building in Trastevere I liked.

We finished up at the museums about 1 pm and then found a restaurant for a rather mediocre lunch. Afterwards we walked across the bridge to the Trastevere area. Meandering through there it took us about a half hour to walk back to our hotel. By 3 pm we were back in our room ready for our afternoon nap. At 7:30 pm the alarm went off, waking us for dinner. The evening air was still balmy when we left the hotel about 8:30. A nearby restaurant provided our best meal yet followed by a little cup of gelato for me.

It has really been a wonderful first day back in Italy. Strangely, once we arrive here my Italian language skills always seem to come to the forefront of my brain. Each trip it gets easier and easier.

Tomorrow we are off to Partigliano. I can hardly wait to get there!

The Bathroom is (mostly) finished!

Need art and towel bars.


We plan to eventually trade the shower curtain for a glass screen.



In the mirror you can see the unpainted door trim and the list of tasks to complete taped to the back of the door.

Our guest bath is once more useable. Dom even took a shower in the tub one morning. We still have a number of tasks to complete but they will mostly get done after we return from Italy at the end of June. We are really pleased with the way it turned out.

The Most Fun Ever!!!

Lou ready to drive fast!

Last Christmas Dom enrolled me in the one day High Performance Driving Course at Proformance Driving School. They run their programs at Pacific Raceway in Kent, WA. On March 30 we got up really early and made our way 2 1/2 hours south to the track for an 8 am start. I was so excited the night before I could hardly sleep!

The day started out with about an hour or so of classroom instruction and then we spent the morning doing a number of defensive driving drills. After lunch we got to the really exciting part of the day--driving fast on the track. Beforehand we had another classroom session where we learned about the correct line to take on the track, the track layout and the rules under which we would be driving. Then our twelve person class was split into two sections. I was in the first group.

Most of the students had their own cars but, since none of ours our suitable for track driving, I used a school car--a Chevy Cobalt with race seats, race belts, roll bars, etc. It was pretty zippy and, I thought, handled quite well at high speed. An instructor rode in each car during our track sessions. Each of the three sessions was about twenty minutes long.

It is hard to describe the experience except to say that it was the most fun I have EVER had bar none. The thrill of driving on the track at high speed (to me!) was just incredible. Even more fun was actually being good at it. Not only did my instructor tell me that I was pretty good but a total stranger (not affiliated with the school) told me "my" car looked pretty good on the track!

Of course the grin on my face was about a mile wide the entire afternoon. I spent a couple of days trying to figure out how soon I could get back to the track. Of course first we need to buy a sports car. I told Dom that next Christmas I want to do a three day open wheel car race driving course. We'll see if I get it.

In the meantime, I am really excited to get back to driving in Italy. It will be fun to once more be in a zippy little car taking the curves as fast as possible.


"My" car on the track. In the distance you can see how curvy the course is. It is over two miles long.


I did not get passed much but this Audi was REALLY fast and a great looking car as well.



My car is the first in the row. They had us line up every time we came back. Unfortunately being first in line meant I was always doing the exercises first. It would have been easier if I could have seen someone else do them first.

Abruzzo Earthquake

Several people have asked us if our house in Italy is near the earthquake affected area. No, we are at least 150 miles northwest of L'Aquila. Our corner of northern Tuscany was untouched by the tremors. Even so we have been very concerned. Thank goodness for the internet which allows us to follow the event in spite of limited U.S. and local coverage.

If you click on this post's title it will take you to CNN coverage of the Abruzzo earthquake with many pictures of the devastation. We visited L'Aquila in 1997 and found it a beautiful, vibrant city. It is located in the mountains about 60 miles east of Rome and is a popular locale for skiing and hiking. The first morning we were there we learned that it was a mistake to sleep in. The hikers going out for the day made quick work of the breakfast buffet as they filled their rucksacks with whatever was suitable for lunch. By the time we came down there was not much left except cereal! We loved the weekly market that filled the town's central square. A short way out of town was an incredible fountain that is one of the most beautiful I have seen anywere. To see the wreckage is truly heartbreaking but it is not the first time an earthquake has partially destroyed the town (see Wikipedia article on L'Aquila). The Italians are nothing if not resilient and they will recover.

Nonetheless, help is always appreciated. If you want to make a donation, the National Italian American Foundation has set up a fund to assist the survivors. Many thanks to Valerie at 2 Baci in a Pinon Tree who also has other links for donating.

Progress continues to be made on the bathroom remodel. However, we can't wait to be on our way to Italy on April 27th. Less than three weeks now!!!