Italy, June 2014

We settled into our quaint little apartment in Rome by the

white pyramid (who knew Rome had a pyramid?).  Built in 14 BC, it predates the Coliseum by 94 years.  

We put on our walking shoes and stepped back in time.

The Colosseum in all its majesty

and morbid history.

The Pantheon, one of the best preserved Roman buildings.  

The roof continues to be the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome almost two thousand years after its construction.  

The War Memorial continues to be one of my favourite buildings.  I can sit for hours and just look at the many details. 

Two soldiers and an eternal flame stand continuous guard

over the tomb of the Unknown Italian Soldier of World War 1.

The chariots are like beacons, seen from many places in the city.  

The city is built around ancient ruins at every turn.

Something new is always being excavated,

or given a facelift.  (The Arch of Constantine built in 315 AD)

The Trojan Tower.

Powerful stories are told

with and 

 

without words. 

Markets are the hub of the Italian communities.  

Husbands and wives, children and parents, work side by side, often using the same equipment and facilities that many prior generations also used. 

Great pride is taken in the products that they sell.  This pastry shop is preparing fresh cannoli.  Apparently, true cannoli is not pre-filled, but filled before your eyes as you purchase it.  

If I could bring back one thing from Italy that we just can't get here, it would be fresh tomatoes.  Nothing here comes close to the delicious taste of tomatoes in Italy.  Apparently, they are aren't native to the country. They were brought over in the 1400s from Mexico.  Originally, Italians wouldn't touch them as they were thought to be poisonous.  Today, Italians consume approximately 198 pounds per person per year, and that doesn’t include pasta sauce!

This is the remains of the largest slaughter house in the 1900s, the size of 17 Am football fields!  5 000 butchers were employed, paid in meat.  However, their meat came in the way of the remains…head, hooves, heart, lungs, snout, and intestines. Wives were given the task of making these pieces into edible meals.  Thus, through swapping ideas and trial and error, many of the classic Italian favourites were born.   Closed in 1975 and the operation was moved outside of the city limits.

Gelato facts that everyone should know...

To identify whether you are eating "true" gelato, check the colour.  The real stuff is made with natural ingredients.  For example, strawberry uses real strawberries.  Three flavours can help you identify if it is fake.    Pistachio…should be a brownish, earthy colour not bright green.  Banana should not resemble the bright yellow peel, but rather the pale flesh of the fruit.  Mint should be white not green.  In Rome, you are allowed to choose two flavours, for a one scoop price, and you should be offered whipped cream on top for no extra charge!

Florence is beautiful in a “same, same but different” way as Rome.

Space is at a premium, and it is quite the art to park and “unpark” your wheels on the narrow streets.

One of the views along the Arno River in Florence  

Built in the 13 and 15th centuries, Il Duomo, is an towering icon of the city.  

The exterior is covered in pink, white and green marble.

The dome remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

Think of how easy this would be to park!

How cool would it be to pick oranges and lemons from a tree in your backyard?

More historical buildings as we walked through the coastal city of Ancona.  

It was good to be on the sea again.

We stumbled upon a Sunday afternoon medieval battle.

Following a walking tour, we ran into sword fights.

It was tempting to throw on a costume and join in the fun.

It somehow seems a waste to have such beautiful water in a busy port.  The Jadrolinija would whisk us away to our next destination, Croatia.  

After Croatia, we went to Venice. 

Basilica St. Marco in

the Piazza San Marco.  

The Grand Canal. 

The watery “streets” of Venice.  

Gondolas in the canal.

More family pride in the market. 

Tasty, toasted bread bits while we were waiting for our lunch.