Oct 28 Wesnesday
Our last full day in Rome.
I have to say I have nothing but praise for the group: Road Scholar. It's really well organized & a pleasure to relax & see what each day will bring..
I was a bit under the weather this morning so I joined the group for lunch & the afternoon which was a visit to the Villa Borghese. It's a mansion of the Borghese family with treasures they collected, then turned over to the country to become a museum. The holdings were varied & beautiful--- especially some spectacular sculptures by Bernini. Our guide pointed out details about these works that I'm sure I would never have noticed without her guidance. I have some lovely pix but am unsure how to post them here.
I'm really enjoying meeting with a variety of fellow travelers -- mostly from the east coast, the Bay Area or upper Midwest. Interesting and very friendly folks.
My friend Jan & I decided not to get a big dinner tonight so we had gelato instead ! Last night in Rome...
Oct 29 Thursday
We were treated to a light & sound show in the middle of the night: tremendous thunder & lightening! I slept with the window open so it was quite a show!
The tour arranged to pick up our baggage at 6 am but I managed to go back to sleep for awhile. This morning we walked to the National Romano museum. It displayed articles discovered in " digs" in & around Rome. The best for me was a room set up like a dining room of a villa ( la villa di livia a Prime Porte) which was surrounded by wall paintings depicting garden scenes. Evidently the room had been a subterranean dining room and when the runis were uncovered, the paintings were in excellent condition. I took some lovely pictures & also bought a few souvenirs at the bookstore. The artist's style made you think of impressionists----- but they painted in Ancient Rome and their work was uncovered in 1863.
After lunch we set out for the bullet train to Florence.
Our hotel here is much nicer than the one in Rome and I'm delighted that my bed is a queen& not a tiny single! At dinner I was telling someone how many helpful things my mother taught me about traveling well --- then I said her name was Florence! So sis & bro--- this sure makes me think of Mom.
I'm a happy camper cuz there's a laundry across the street from the hotel and in a couple hours & for 20 euros I got ALL my clothes washed. Yippee. (I've been gone 9 days now. )
I called my friend Richard who is teaching a semester abroad in Florence & we will get together Sunday when I have the afternoon free. He did Academic Senate work with me & lives in Riverside.
Our group had a short walk before dinner to orient us to the city a little. Beautiful!
Jane
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