Today I head to the Palace of the Quirinale, seat of the President of the Italian Republic. On the street in front of the palace, I’m surprised by a procession of men on horses. They are called corazzieri, or Cuirassiers, and are part of the President’s guard. I love the little animals that hang over …
Today I decide to visit the Villa Medici, which served as the home to Cardinal Fernando de’ Medici. I have a ticket for Noon so I take the Metro to save time. Unfortunately, I head down the wrong path in the Metro and end up way far away from the Villa into the Borghese Gardens. …
A mountain bike race happens on our last day in Agnone. All the town is out to send off the racers, along with these two strangers who add a decorative touch. The race runs through the mountains around Agnone. The Agnone Folklore group kicks off the race. They perform several dances, all in good form. …
The train from Fabriano gets increasingly crowded as we near Rome. We were lucky to board at Fabriano so we could sit down throughout the four-hour trip. Once at Roma Termini,I stop at the second floor of the station to photograph the many tracks. I find my monastery stay not far from the train station. …
I leave my luggage at the Termini train station. There’s a long line and lots of confusion. I decide to use lockers in the future as there’s no need to wait in line and no grumpy baggage handlers. I meet up with two other members of our tour and take off on the train to …
Last night I heard a lot of fireworks but was too tired to check them out. This morning from my window I see the colors of Italy’s flag, streams of red, green and white smoke, released by planes flying over Rome for the Republic Day celebration. It’s raining, and the buses have changed routes as …
With clothes washing done in the pleasant company of a traveler from Texas, I take the bus that stops right around the corner from my lodging to the Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj, thinking that this spot will have fewer tourists. I look up from the bus stop and see a building up on a hill that I …
Today I take off on a day tour outside of Rome. The weather is cloudy, and it might rain so I take an umbrella just in case. The bus passes by a boys’ school still yet to open. The makeshift awning captures much of Rome’s ambience from what I’ve seen. Work is underway for the …
I get up at 5am to get to the Valencia Airport for my flight to Rome. It all goes quite well, and I have some time on the plane to catch up on sleep. On landing in Italy, I see quite a contrast from the dry lands of Spain. Green and gold fields cover the …
In the afternoon, I took a different turn and visited the Circus Maximus, where thousands of spectators would watch chariots race around the track. While walking towards the Baths of Caracalla, I took a wrong turn and ended up on the Aventine Hill. It was a pleasant detour where I came across many beautiful residential …