The Garden and the Common

November 29, 2014 / Greg / 1 Comment

Boston felt a lot like my hometown of Halifax. That familiar feeling was strongest for me in two downtown parks – the Public Garden and the Boston Common. Here at home, we have two very similar parks in name and appearance, even if they’re both somewhat smaller in size. About an hour or so after first landing in Boston, my wife and I walked through the Public Garden and immediately felt at home as it has something strikingly in common with its namesake in Halifax: an abundance of friendly ducks:

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A surreal visit to the Colosseum

November 25, 2014 / Greg / 2 Comments

There were a lot of things I was excited to see in Rome, and right at the top of the list was the Colosseum. We decided for a later afternoon visit and were rewarded with a far less crowded experience. This site can be overrun with people, but holding off visiting until later in the day made for a very peaceful experience and plenty of room to move around. Armed with a Rick Steves podcast for a self-guided tour, we made our way inside the amphitheater to the most prime seats reserved for royalty back in the day. Walking into the seating section was definitely one of those “wow” life moments as the stadium opened up into full view:

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Catching a few Roman sights

November 20, 2014 / Greg / 2 Comments

For our second full day in Rome, it was time for us to stretch out our legs a bit and explore some of the city’s main sights. Another spectacular day (something that would be a constant through two weeks in Italy) gave us perfect wandering around weather for some exploration. We were planning on starting with a visit to Piazza Navona but got off our bus a stop too early, made a wrong right turn somewhere and ended up on a bridge to this unexpected, stunning view of St. Peter’s Basilica. Sometimes misreading a map is a good thing:

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Favourite 2014 travel photos. Rome, Italy. October 2014.

St. Peter

November 17, 2014 / Greg / Leave a comment

Risking a lightening bolt

November 13, 2014 / Greg / 2 Comments

Many times the best travel memories are the smaller, unexpected moments. After visiting the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica, my wife and I opted to walk up to the dome of St. Peter’s for a gorgeous view overlooking Rome. On our way back down from the dome, I caught a glimpse of something interesting out of the corner of my eye. There was a group of six women sitting along a wall on the roof of the Basilica and they were passing around a small glass. I noticed a bottle with a reddish/purple liquid, and catching the eye of one of the women, I gave an approving nod and a thumbs up. I’ve enjoyed a tipple or two in public in Europe and loved that the group was imbibing on top of a church on a beautiful afternoon.

With a smile, the woman with the bottle motioned for me to come over toward the group. Hearing that the women were speaking German, I kept it simple and pointed at the bottle and asked, “Strong?”

“No.” she said with a hearty laugh, then added, “Lady liquor” as she poured a shot and offered me a taste.

Never one to refuse a drink offered in a spirit of hospitality, I downed the shot. Kind of syrupy, fruity and sweet – it tasted like something that was made in a bathtub and reminded me vaguely of cough syrup. That I took the shot got everyone to laughing. They continued passing the bottle around and as I wandered past again a few minutes later, it was time for a second shot, a photo and a couple more laughs. A simple moment perhaps, but one that will bring a smile to my face whenever I think back on my visit to the Vatican.

Visiting the Vatican

November 10, 2014 / Greg / 1 Comment

Our trip to Italy had started on some high notes – a Sunday soccer match and a great first meal. After a deep, long, wonderful, jet lag induced sleep, our Monday in Rome got off to a planned later day start. We had entrance tickets for 1pm at the Vatican Museums to give us plenty of time to sleep. On that note, take it from me (and a host of other easily found information online) – buy your Vatican tickets in advance online. There’s a surcharge, but it saved us from at least two hours standing in line waiting to get in. We walked past an enormous line the likes of which I had never seen before, and right into the museum.

My art and painting interests lie more toward the modern end of the spectrum, so the trip through the Vatican Museums was more about seeing a few of the high points and not getting too bogged down in the details (of some truly amazing art… just not my particular cup of tea). One of the first stops was these three Raffaelo works, in particular, the middle one – “Transfiguration”:

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Rome: Let the eating begin

November 3, 2014 / Greg / 4 Comments

Our Italy trip was, of course, going to be about eating and drinking well for two weeks. We got that kicked off right away on our first night in Rome. Knowing we would be jet lagged and coming from a soccer match earlier that afternoon, we planned ahead and made reservations at a restaurant near St. Peter’s Basilica. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from a decade of serious traveling, it’s that you should plan your first meal post-arrival. There’s nothing more frustrating as being in a new place, tired and hungry.

Armed with great recommendations from some gluten-free bloggers (thanks!), we arrived at La Soffitta Renovatio about forty five minutes after leaving Stadio Olimpico. Not personally in need of their gluten free menu, I opted for an Italian beer, a Peroni rossa, to quench my thirst from sitting in the sun all afternoon:

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Sunday in Rome means football

October 29, 2014 / Greg / 7 Comments

After a long day traveling and an overnight flight from Montreal to Rome, my body’s natural inclination was to get to the hotel and lay down for a nap. But on this trip to Italy, there was one and only one chance to participate in the most Italian of traditions. A tradition bordering on religion to many Italians was to take place at 3pm on this Sunday afternoon.

Calcio. Football. Soccer. It was something I wasn’t going to miss. After a remarkable cultural experience watching my first European soccer match last year in Prague, weary body and mind wouldn’t keep me away from joining 30,000 others for the afternoon’s Lazio-Sassuolo match. From touchdown of our plane through train and subway to our hotel, then subway and tram to Stadio Olimpico, we made it just minutes before the match was to start. The Lazio supporters and ultras had already taken up their traditional place in the Curva Nord and were warming up their voices as the players were introduced:

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Exploring Boston’s North End

October 24, 2014 / Greg / 2 Comments

After spending a morning walking through Boston’s urban park, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, it left us just across the street from the city’s famed North End. There are many attractions in this area, the oldest residential neighbourhood of Boston. It’s well known for its Italian American population (which means outstanding food and drink!) and it’s also a great area for some picturesque urban exploring:

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When the moon hits your eye…

October 18, 2014 / Greg / Leave a comment

Rome, then Naples, then onto Sorrento, and then back to Rome for the flight home. For the better part of two weeks, this stretch of Italy dazzled me. My wife and I saw so much on this trip that it will take a while to process it all. The Roman Forum, Pompeii, St. Peter’s Basilica, the isle of Capri, the Colosseum, the Amalfi Coast… there was almost too much natural beauty and history to comprehend in two short weeks.

This trip had more than its share of pleasant surprises and great moments, and it didn’t hurt that not a drop of rain fell the entire time we were in Italy. We enjoyed a Sunday afternoon at a Lazio soccer match with the home team emerging victorious. We drank wine overlooking the Bay of Naples as the sun set. We hiked up Mount Vesuvius to look in its crater and to soak in the views from its peak. We sailed around Capri and along the Amalfi Coast. This was a trip of postcard views everywhere we looked:

In addition to the natural beauty, the eating on this trip was outstanding. A simple pasta dish in a small restaurant in the Monti neighbourhood of Rome was the best thing I’ve had on any trip this year. Pizza in Naples has spoiled me for what we call by the same name in Canada. I had the softest, most perfect gnocchi in Positano, spaghetti and clams in Sorrento, Trippa alla Romana in Rome, and the flaky, creamy concoction called sfogliatella in Naples which I will crave until my next visit.

More to come over the weeks and months ahead as I sort through thousands of photos and put words to what was a remarkable exploration of a beautiful slice of Italy.