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Julia Normand
I'm making a 30 year anniversary trip to Italy in mid-September. I'm mainly going to Reggio Calabria, an area I've never been before. I want to see "I Bronzi," two incredible Greek statues that were discovered in the water off Riace back in 1980.HoustonJulia
I was 40 when I went to Italy the first time, so you do the math on how old I am now. This is sort of a test to see if I can still hack it. The HoustonJulia moniker is because I live in Houston ALASKA.
Travel Blog Posts
May 2nd 2012
It is now about 8 pm Seattle time and I got up to start this trip home at 6 am from Rome. Adding in the 9 hour time change, I've been on the road, in the sky, or in some way or other making my way west for the past 24 hours, but since my math brain is not functioning too well, that may not be accurate. If you are reading this, you are more awake than I am, so you do the math. I just know it is a long time when you can watch most of three movies and still not be at your "final destination" and the airlines like to call, home. I'm throuwing in three final photos that reflect my last day in Rome. Friends were the high point of my trip, ... read more
May 1st 2012
I called sally and you will be happy to know she arrived home save and sound whild I spent the day in Aquata del Tronto, in the mountains north and way east of Rome with my friend Fulvia and her dear friend Niocolletta, see photo. At a rest stop, I saw the beautiful chjickens, see photo. Note there are not photos of the Coloseo or any of the other great sights in Italy. Professionaly photographers have done those quite well. The only other photo I'm posting is of Flat Stanly with a view of the mountains behind him.... read more
April 30th 2012
I put Sally on the plane to the Seattle via Newark. Traveling with another person, specifically Sally, turned out to be a great pleasure, having someone to share thoughts and visions. Now, I heading up to Trisungo in the mountains to see my old friend, Fulia for a day. Then back to Rome to see Stacy and family for the evening, and then I head home. I will get there the same day I leave due to the 10 hour time difference between Alaska and Italy. Hopefully, I make one more entry. Thanks for traveling with me.... read more
April 28th 2012
I called this a “Monster Day” for two reasons. First, we saw monster sculptures in a park in Bomarzo, near Viterbo, a town about 60 miles outside of Rome. Check out the website below for more info and good photos at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomarzo#Park_of_the_Monsters. It is like going through a fun house at an amusement park, except the horrors are made of tufo, a kind of volcanic rock, and were carved in the time of Michelangelo, perhaps even done by Michelangelo. You’ll see a photo of Sally trying to stand up in the crooked house. The photo is not tilted; the house is. It was amazing how disoriented we both got. I almost fell over. Some woman beside me caught me. The second reason it was a monster day is the amount of territory we covered in one ... read more
April 28th 2012
Most of the photos in this entry are from Sally’s amazing little camera. I think I’m busy navigating and don’t get out the camera, so Sally’s been the trip recorder. This days entry is kind a catch up on photos. I spent the morning reading in St. Peter’s Square while Sally went to see the Sistine Chapel. She looked like she’d just survived a tornado when she came out. I guess it is overwhelming, both the crowds and the art. Sally has been commenting that the cars seem to maneuver the incredibly small streets without having a lot of accidents. Then we began noticing how many cars have scrapes on their fenders and doors. She also was missing all the shouting and honking she’d heard about that the Italians are reputed to engage in. I told ... read more
April 26th 2012
OK, we arrived in Rome today around noon, after a four hour slow train trip from Florence. We did the slow train for two reasons: it's cheap and you can really see the countryside. The only photos that I took were of a yellow firld and some poppies next to the train track. We arrived at the train station around noon, fought our way on the bus to my friend stacy's house, had pasta, salad and wonderful greens stacy fixed for lunch. Then Sally and I caught a bus down to Piazza Navona, had a gelato, found the Trevi fountain, walked past the forum, saw Hadrian's Column, were overwhelmed by what Stacy calls the wedding cake (Victor Imanuel monument that commemorates the unification of Italy in 1861--making Italy, as a country, younger that the US,) walked ... read more
April 26th 2012
OK, we arrived in Rome today around noon, fought our way on the bus to my friend stacy's house, had pasta, salad and wonderful greens stacy fixed for lunch. Then Sally and I caught a bus down to Piazza Navona, had a gelato, found the Trevi fountain, walked past the forum, saw Hadrian's Column, were overwhelmed by what Stacy calls the wedding cake (Victor Imanuel monument that commemorates the unification of Italy in 1861--making Italy, as a country, younger that the US,) walked bny the forum and up via Cavour to see my favorite Michelangelo sculpture, the Moses in a church way off the beaten track, and hopped the bus back home for a wonderful dinner at Stacy and Gino's. tomorrow we go to the Sistine Chapel.... read more
April 25th 2012
I forgot to mention a couple things we learned in the cooking class yesterday. Actually, one of them I learned at a restaurant in Milano. NEVER EVER put cheese on a pasta dish that has seafood in it. “We don’t do that,” is all they can say. I asked for cheese for my mixed seafood dish, and the waiter put the cheese on the next table beside me and turned his head so as not to see me contaminate the dish with cheese. He was joking but very serious, too. Needless to say I didn’t touch the cheese. It stayed on the next table. Anyway, I asked the Chef Giovanni and Chef Giuseppe about this, and they also looked horrified and said, “We never put cheese on fish. You want to put things on fish that ... read more
April 24th 2012
I haven’t had internet access, so the Bergamo segment is a bit late. We caught the train, Frecia Rossa—the fast train that stopped only in Bologna on its way to Firenze (Florence.) We’ve spent the past two days with my friend, Rosamaria, who was born in Bergamo, studied law in Milano, and traveled to Seattle where we met in 1981 just after I’d come back from Rome. Either she or I put an ad in the paper for doing a language exchange. Anyway, we became close friends and talked about the problems of the world and our own lives in a mix of English Italian. She was in Seattle to be with a Seattle man she’d met in Bergamo where he was studying Montessori teaching methods. They eventually married, had a child, and moved back to ... read more
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