By Dixie Hughes

Part 2

Up early the next day to head for Rome. We drove through the Tuscany Hills and after many tunnels and a huge traffic jam, we finally arrived.

Our Rome tour started with the Coliseum, which we’ve all seen in hundreds of pictures

Only one side is still the original three stories, and, of course, all the wooden seats and flooring disappeared long ago. The inside is fascinating because of the maze like bottom of the arena that used to be where they kept the animals and other "dressing room" type things. With the wooden cover spread with sand (to soak up the blood) it was ready for action.

Interesting sidelight: each of the ground level entrances has a number over it (Roman numerals, of course) and the tickets had corresponding numbers so people going to the games knew which entrance to use. Class system determined your seating.

Gladiators were chosen from war prisoners and criminals, and were often grateful for the chance to fight and perhaps survive in battle, since the alternative was decapitation. 55,000 people could attend events in the Coliseum and often did. They even had a fabric roof system to give shade on hot days.

Coliseum in Rome, the mother of all sports arenas.

There’s not much left of the Circus Maximus where the chariot races were held, or the Forum where Romans met for shopping, visiting, and politics. There are only a few pillars and ruins of buildings, but it is still an impressive area. Especially when one considers that most of it is more than 2000 years old.

Next we went on another bus to the Vatican, which, since it was a Weds. morning, was very crowded while the pope was holding his weekly audience. We could barely see him, but there are big TV screens on either side to give closer views. We didn’t get the usual tour of St. Peter’s Basilica because of the audience time but it was still very interesting to see such a grand plaza area with 284 columns and 187 statues.

Vatican Grand Plaza, 187 statues, 284 columns

Next day we visited Pompeii and the Isle of Capri. One of the main reasons I selected this trip over several others was the opportunity to visit Pompeii, since I have read about it for years. Basically, it’s fascinating because it was a thriving Roman town of about 20,000 people in 74 A.D. when the nearby volcano, Vesuvius, erupted and covered the whole area with hot ash. After three days and nights of this, no one else came out and it was buried and forgotten until rediscovery in the 16th century during the building of an aqueduct. (Pompeii used to be right on the sea but after the 41 recorded eruptions from Vesuvius, it is much farther away now. And the people still live all around there.) Excavations were not done until 1748 and they are still being continued in the areas outside the walls. About 60% of the city is now uncovered.

Mt. Vesuvius can be seen dimly in the background.

About 60% of the city is now uncovered, typical areas shown in the pictures

Although much of Roman history can be examined from their writings and large constructions left, Pompeii was buried so quickly that this is one of the few areas that really can show the normal day to day life of the citizens of Rome.

Body casts. made when excavating victims buried by the eruption, are graphic illustrations of how they died.

Many people were also covered by the ash and archaeologists have made "body casts" with plaster of the hollowed spaces in the ash/rock that was left when the body decomposed. Thus they have examples showing how these individuals died – often holding their hands (cloths) over their mouth and nose to avoid breathing the gases. Of course, Pompeii is now a major tourist attraction and becomes very crowded. Between that and the heat and the difficulty walking on Roman roads while gawking around, I wasn’t too disappointed to leave after such a short visit. As our guide said, you need to stay a week to really see Pompeii. I may have to do that someday.

After a short train trip through the thousands of lemon and orange trees (lemons the size of cantaloupes) we arrived in Sorento for our boat trip to Capri, an island jutting out of the sea only three miles from the mainland.

(Pompeii used to be right on the sea but after the 41 recorded eruptions from Vesuvius, it is much farther away now. And the people still live all around there.)

View from cliff top restaurant, Beautiful Isle of Capri

From the boat we boarded tiny shuttle buses (tiny because on that narrow switchback road it wouldn’t be possible to take any normal vehicles) and had lunch at a restaurant at the top of a cliff looking over the harbor. The food was okay but the view is spectacular. I can see why this is a favorite vacationing spot for the jet set — they were on the other side of the island from us peons.

After our return to the mainland (at Naples) we boarded our bus again and returned for our last night in Rome. Early the next morning we were on the road again to Florence.

Our first stop was at Assisi which is famous for St. Francis. He seems to have been one of the first, during the middle ages, to promote the care of animals as one of God’s creatures rather than something to use/destroy. Anyway he’s now patron saint of such things. Part of the church was almost destroyed last year in an earthquake, but it has been rebuilt.

13th century cathedral in Florence

When we arrived at Florence there were lots of crowds, especially around the plaza where they were setting up for an upcoming "football" game — a 300 year tradition. The cathedral, built in the 13th century is interesting because of the different colors of marble used in the walls. In those days, building big was a sign of power and prestige — and the rich merchants of Florence (Medicis) were really into that. The dome of the cathedral is 637 ft. high and all painted with a mural on the inside.

After one night at Florence (being bit by mosquitoes) we were off again to Piza. And that tower really does lean — to the point where they now have cables holding it up and a restoration project underneath to try to keep it from going any farther.

Next we drove through beautiful country called the Pyrenees Mountains (87 tunnels and just as many bridges which makes for a rather flat, curvy road) and along the very blue Mediterranean. Miles of green houses where they raise the flowers used in the French perfume industry.

We finally reached our destination, the municipality of Nice, which is the heart of the French Riviera. This is a beautiful town with miles of beach — no sand, just smooth rocks. Our first night out was to a dinner in Monaco and a visit to the gambling area in Monte Carlo. Luckily we didn’t stay long. It was interesting to see them setting up for the Grand Prix, which was to be held the next week. Our bus even traveled on part of the course (since it’s right through the center of town.) Huge cruise ships and yachts are anchored in the harbor at Monaco — some people have such a rough life.

We then had a day to wander around Nice, stick our fingers in the Mediterranean, and enjoy the convivial atmosphere. These people are also French, but much friendlier than Parisians. (Our hotel had a rooftop swimming pool with a fantastic view of the town and the sea — we enjoyed staying there.)

Next day was our last ride in the old familiar bus (actually a very nice, luxurious one) and our trip to Avignon to catch the Paris train. Avignon is famous as a former residence of the popes — about 70 — years in the 12th century, so it has thick walls and a large cathedral; very pretty in the sunshine.

After saying good-bye to our bus driver, who had done a very impressive job in some difficult situations, we boarded another of the streamlined trains that are so popular in Europe for a 3 hour trip to Paris.

Our Paris hotel was not very close to the city but the Paris subways make everything close. Having had some experience on them from my trip last fall, I had a much better time in Paris this time than I had had before. We took the usual city tour to see Notre Dame Cathedral, the Arc de Triumphe, Eiffel Tower, and Napoleon’s Tomb , and then a boat trip down the Seine River (seeing the underside of 27 bridges).

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL

Napoleon's Tomb

Arc de Triumphe, Napoleon's record of battles and generals

I had never known the gargoyles on the eaves of Notre Dame were designed as drain spouts — water comes out of their mouths every time it rains!

The highpoint of our Paris visit was a trip to the Moulin Rouge, which we had voted on (expensive) a week ahead of time to get the reservations. Most of our group went, and it was a very exciting evening.

"Moulin" means windmill — there used to be a real one up there — so there is a red windmill over the entrance.

The floor show after dinner included acrobats, comedians, and at least 50 or 60 Las Vegas type showgirls. A huge production! But the thing that made everyone sit up and take notice was when one girl, in the usual sequins and bangles, jumped into a huge tank that came up from under the stage and swam around with four anacondas. Something you don’t see too often. The miniature ponies and the CanCan were a bit anticlimactic after that. All in all it was a very impressive production and a wonderful night out with our new friends to end our tour.

The next day was "at leisure" which meant we should rest, but of course it was also "shop till you drop" time. I don’t think anyone rested much. And the following morning began the long, long trip home. (Bus to DeGaulle airport at 7:15 a.m., wait 3 hours for late flight to Heathrow, then wait at Heathrow another two hours for flight to Seattle — which takes 10 hours. Made a very long day.)

It was a great trip in spite of minor irritations. It only rained on us twice, in Munich and in Venice, so the spring weather was quite mild and very green. I liked being on a tour where you got to see the noteworthy things with local guides, and didn’t have to mess with our big suitcases — they were picked up each travel morning and delivered to our room at the next hotel. The tour was designed for 48 people, and we only had 31, which made it much roomier on the bus than expected — plus the group itself turned out to be pretty congenial, which can’t be planned. I felt I made friends with nice people from all over the country, whom I hope to keep in touch with. So, in spite of the "bug" which had many coughing and sneezing, I think most of us had a good time covering almost 5000 miles, and are glad we did it.

A Rose from the Garden behind Notre Dame.

P.S. Two of my favorite pictures of the rose in the garden behind Notre Dame, and the flower market in Salzburg. Not noteworthy, just pretty.

From the flower market in Salzburg

"Goodbye, I hope you all enjoyed the trip as much as I did."