Easter 2000
Mom--Millennium Visit
ARRIVAL
We convinced my Mom to come to Europe again to visit Maggie and I. We were lucky and found a real inexpensive ticket and then Mom got upgraded for free and taken very good care of by the folks at Alitalia. Maggie and I think it is something about the Italians and "Mothers." When we went to the Airport Mom had her own escort (A nice Italian gentleman) from Alitalia helping her get the luggage... he just said, "She is a Mother and Moms have to be taken care of." Needless to say, Mom likes flying Alitalia. ...Oh yeah, the one misplaced bag made it the next day... Apparently it was the fault of the Milan Airport.
Naturally we kept Mom awake until evening (our time) so that the jet lag would not be so bad. Mom also had a cup of Maggie's wonderful cappuccino... honest Mom, it won't keep you awake ;-)
This trip Mom had a chance to experience Southern Italy at its best. Naples is where pizza was invented so naturally Mom sampled the local pizza (cooked on stone over a wood fire).
If my memory serves me correctly, this time Mom had a chance (not in order here) to go to the San Severo Church in Naples (with Maggie), to Rome right before the Jubilee Easter Celebration (a little more crowded than normal), to the Hard Rock Cafe in Rome, the Amalfi coast (Amalfi, Sorrento, Ravello/Villa Ruffalo and the entire coastline), and Assisi where all of us were impressed that such a small town could have SO MANY HILLS AND STEPS.
ROME
Starting off in Rome, I somewhat know my way around so we drove up to Rome (2.5 hours) and parked behind the Trevi Fountain :-) From there we walked around the corner, waited a few minutes for them to open and had a bite to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. Notice in this photo how well Mom has blended into the Rome atmosphere, styling with her shades and cape! (Yes Bill, Mom, Maggie and I went to the Hard Rock, nothing cooler than going to the Hard Rock with Mom where we all three enjoyed the music).
After a good lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, we took a short taxi ride to Saint Peters Square which from where we parked was only about $5.00 and well worth it since I know of no parking at the Vatican... unless you drive the Pope-Mobile of course! We got out and noticed right away that they were expecting a LARGE crowd for Easter Mass on Sunday. There were 10's of thousands of chairs in the square alone. There were even large groups of Nuns visiting for the Jubilee. One other thing we noticed was that everything had been cleaned (in the square) and Saint Peters Church was now visible and the facade was not covered in scaffolding like it had been for the past several years.
Once we went inside, we really noticed the difference. After watching some window cleaners in action, all three of us were convinced that it was the first time in 2000 years that someone actually climbed up and cleaned the windows!!!! Well, we started looking around and then Mom and Maggie went into their, "visiting St. Peters-mode" and took off like twin lightning bolts into the crowd of people with me trying to follow and take pictures! Sorry if some are out of focus. When I was taking pictures I realized just how giant this church is. This photo is of Mom at a small side chapel, note the marble columns that are 20 + feet tall. After about an hour Mom and Maggie slowed down a little so I was able to snap a quick shot of Mom. Some time later we went outside to the Vatican Post Office so Mom could pick up some stamps. We also got to see the Swiss Guards again with their traditional uniforms and weapons as well. It was a good thing because I was able to start snapping pictures again! ... Well at least until Maggie and Mom let me know I could set down the camera... I guess I got a little carried away but I found a neat little feature on our digital camera that allows black and white or special effects. When we were finished we took a taxi back to the American Embassy and then walked over to the Hard Rock for refreshments before driving home.
ASSISI
From where we are in Naples it is quite a beautiful drive up to Assisi. We took Highway-1 north from the region of Campania up though Lazio (passing Rome) driving alongside the Tiber for a better part of the way. After leaving Lazio we entered Tuscany. Our trip started with some rare fog but once we were north of Rome, it cleared up. We had a good view along the way of such towns as Orvieto (White wine lovers paradise), Chiusi, and Montepulciano (the home of my personal favorite wine, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano). Once we hit Val di Chiana we headed east on Highway 41 along Lake Traimeno... I must say here that if you are a Red wine (Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, etc) then this is the place for you. Beautiful countryside, Castles on every hilltop, history of the world around every corner you peek. It is truly about as close to heaven that you can get without dying. Just don't every come with a diet in mind... The Tuscans can do some rather wicked things with truffles and cream sauce. Okay, back to the trip!!! So we kept going on 41 until we hit Perugia. From there we headed east and then took a side road to Assisi. Mom was telling Maggie and I how her friends said the hills were not too bad at Assisi and there were not too many steps. (One of our friends confirmed this earlier in the week saying it was pretty flat in town and not too many steps or steep hills) We were all happy since we rather worn out from the visit to Rome and talking all night... and then a small mountain rose up in front of us covered with a medieval village, small fortresses and Churches. Hmmmm., looks like Assisi. After 30 minutes of driving around we found a good parking place close to the entrance to the old part of town... good parking place means that the parking ticket wasn't over $50.00 :-) We unloaded the car and hit the streets. Note this photo of Mom... this is a typical street. Notice that grade? Rather steep eh? no, no hills here :-) As we were following the signs for the church and wondering how much farther it would be, Mom turned down a small street and all of a sudden we saw it. Here is a shot of Mom and Maggie in front of a church built in honor of St. Francis. Here is another shot, notice the inscription in the grass and the countryside below? This is the church that suffered great damage (and the death of one priest) during a recent earthquake. They have restored/rebuilt most of the damage and the frescos inside a awesome. Here is a photo of Mom and I. I keep thinking, "it is ok, there are no hills here and few stairs... ok, the church is three levels, one of which is down the side of the hill and then there is the crypt... no, not too many stairs here!" The church was just almost as we had imagined (a little older than I had assumed actually) and it was well worth the trip. After we climbed up towards the car, we had some ice cream (sorbet) in a small square and then passed a fountain on the way out. It was getting warm and we were thankful for the cafe with ice cream!
Barbeque with Friends
Although I don't have any pictures, we had a BBQ one lazy afternoon with our friends so Mom had a chance to meet them all. I made a vegetable lasagna with béchamel sauce that turned out pretty good and appetizers, salads, etc... It was pretty good and we ended up eating for 5 hours or so... typical for Southern Italy but about two hours after Mom said she was getting full it was time for the main course... she looked at me like I said something bad!!! All said it was a great afternoon and that evening we wandered around to the front of the house and watched the sun set over the Mediterranean...
AMALFI COASTLINE (Sorrento, Amalfi, Ravello)
Maggie had to work a little on a project for her degree so Mom and I took off one day for what is considered the most beautiful coastline in the world, the Amalfi coast. One the drive to Sorrento from the area of Pompeii, we stopped several times for photos. Once we walked to the cliffs, Mom had a chance to see how what Sorrento looked like. We did some window shopping in Sorrento, had a Cappuccino (naturally) and then headed up the coast towards Amalfi when we wanted to have lunch and look around. Again, we stopped to admire the view and blue water. Here Mom is breathing in the fresh air. We just had lunch at the place in the background overlooking the beach. (I think we had crab tortellini but I am not sure! I just remember being stuffed) Everything along the Amalfi coastline is right on the coast because of the cliffs and the town of Amalfi is no exception. It follows a small cut up into the rocks with little shops up the sides... picturesque. From Amalfi, we drive up a few miles and then headed up the cliffs to Ravello. Ravelo is where the Villa Ruffalo is. Wagner use to live and compose here (it was old then!) and they have restored the area somewhat. There are open air concerts starting in spring and the go to the fall throughout summer. For the concerts they build a stage/platform projecting out over the cliffs (right out in front of Mom in this photo) and then put the orchestra and singers out on the platform. It appears as though they are floating over the Amalfi coastline! Pavarotti among others has performed here. The Villa is covered in flowers with extremely well-maintained gardens.
New Stuff added 6 July, 2000
Armand and Roman Mom, Tony, Angela, Denise and Armand Maggie, Mom and Tony
Denise and Armand Maggie, Pam and Bob The Group Eating
