The National Museum - Written July 2013

Breakfast as usual, coffee / hot chocolate and pastry at the "Bar." The man behind the counter seems to be a little friendlier each day. David and I sit outside today and enjoy the coolness of a shaded table by the sidewalk. As we leave, we are focused on our planned visit to the National Museum. I vaguely register a disturbance from the area we left, so I quicken my pace hoping to avoid any trouble. Every day on our way here, we pass what we think is an embassy. We don't know which one and don't recognize the flag but there are always one or two armed military and a military vehicle stationed in front .
The shouting gets louder and David turns to see what is happening. Rushing along behind us is our "friend from behind the counter of the coffee shop." He is breathless, clearly annoyed, and shouting at us in Italian. We notice the man is waving David's camera in the air and clearly berating us. We don't understand any of his words, so David calmly retrieves his camera, we smile and say 'thank you'. Later, I theorize the man was concerned that we were very vulnerable to the thieves and  pickpockets that prompt all the warning signs. We'll see how he responds to us at breakfast tomorrow.

We tried to see the Capitolini Museum yesterday, but arrived too close to closing time. There was a huge crowd of people gathered in the Piazza so we waaited to see what was happening. After a long while, we asked around and discovered the Mayor of Rome was scheduled to speak to the assembled group. David took this photo:

Mayor of Rome, Italy

The National Museum is filled with statuary and artifacts dating from before Christ. It still amazes me that everything can be so old and well preserved. David states later that "everyone in Rome must have run around naked" because all the statues are naked or barely clothed. He is getting quite an education! We saw duplicate statues of a hermaphrodite in two different museums. She is lying on her side, only partially exposed. The difference is in presentation. One museum puts the art form in a central position where it can easily be seen from all sides. The other museum places the form at an angle near the wall that requires some serious neck-craning to get a full view. I wonder why.

Not being an artist, I find it difficult to maintain an interest in marble, carved heads. Then I notice a focus on hair styles, which are apparently useful in dating and identifying statues. Some of the men sport women's styles, especially the male sports figures.

Feminine style on male athlete

Style favored by matrons



Palatine Hill

I believe we were dealing with temperatures in Rome similar to the ones we left in Texas. The only difference was Roman temps were in Celsius compared to our Fahrenheit, which made the Celsius seem cooler. So, 32*C does not sound too hot before it is converted.  As a rule of thumb, David tells me, 28* C is about 82* F. We were not really thinking about temperature conversion and heat index, we were just plain hot and walking under a bright, bright sun. Nevertheless, we were drinking in every possible moment along with plenty of water.

Following the crowds from the Colosseum, we wandered across the street to Palatine Hill. This was a less crowded area with some shady spots along the way. This place, according to Roman mythology,  was where a she-wolf found Romulus and Remus and kept them alive. Palatine Hill stands at the center of the "seven hills of Rome" and is thought to have been inhabited as early as 10th century BC. There is archaeological evidence of a Bronze Age settlement. Palatine Hill became a fashionable place to live and, at one time, was covered with imperial palaces.

On Palatine Hill, amid the sheltering trees and centuries -old ruins, we had a lunch scavenged from our backpacks - cherries and bananas bought at a street market near the hotel and a packs of crackers/ snacks left from the airplane.

Somehow, Palatine Hill is impressive. Maybe it  has something to do with the view or the lack of crowds, but it holds its head high and says"accept me for what I am, and was."

We were met at the top of a lengthy set of stairs by a man offering bottles of water - 2 bottles for 1 Euro.

 We had depleted our water supply and were miserably thirsty, but I had not seen water that cheap anywhere else in Rome. Red Flags went off in my head - too cheap means trouble so, as thirsty as we were, I declined his offer. He had met us just before we hit the top step so he must have been a pro, knowing how thirsty the tourists would be. We had not gone 100 steps further when we discovered a water source in a nearby grotto. People were happily drinking and filling their bottles, so we joined them. The water was good and quite cold. We drank our fill and refilled our water bottles. I can only imagine that the man offering to sell us water had refilled some empty bottles of unknown and questionable source.

We continued traversing the extensive grounds, trying to visualize the life of affluent occupants from ages past. The "Hippodrome" was once a garden area with columns, statues, landscaping, and fountains. Currently, several displays of various art forms give a modern touch to the ancient ruins.

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Continuing on the upper level of the Hill, we discover remnants of "palaces" built by the affluent citizens of Rome. Here the air was cleaner, they could dodge the diseases of the common people, and they had beautiful views of the countryside.

The area consists mostly of ruins and excavated parts of buildings from which archaeologists continue to piece together the history surrounding the people of the area.

The Palatine Museum houses artifacts, excavated from the area,  dating as far back as the Middle Paleolithic Period, and works of art.

A fresco

There is much of interest here and it deserves more time, but the brain can only absorb so much at one time and the body can only endure so much heat. We reluctantly leave to find our way to the Roman Forum.

Journey to Japan - A Day on Our Own

We have intentionally arrived a day early. We want to relax a little and see some of the town on our own before the tour starts. Our first order of business is to find breakfast. Jonathan's coffee shop and grill is right across the street. Sounds friendly, though not very Japanese, but we head for it anyway. A friendly man welcomes us, shows us to our seats, and hands us a menu. He knows a few, heavily accented, English words. I have used my morning vocabulary saying "Ohio gozaimas."
We can't read the menu but it does have nice pictures. Unfortunately, some of the pictures are open to interpretation.























Before he walked away, our waiter explained everything to us (in Japanese of course) and pointed. with explanation, to the end of the table. We smiled at him. He walked away. We study the pictures on the menu.

Some 20 minutes later, we feel we have deciphered enough to order. There are two prices, one includs eshe "beverage bar." Our waiter seemed to have forgotten us, so I finally get up and peek around the corner. He sees me and hurries over. We order and he points us to the beverage bar. Sign language is to be a staple of our communication, although I begin to recall more and more of the words and phrases I used to use.

Em decides to try a green drink available at the beverage bar.

It is green Fanta. We have only seen orange in the U.S.

I start with a cup of coffee but there are several different possiblilities. Since I can't have milk, my choices are limited, but I can't tell what is what. I stand there for a while until a woman comes to fill her cup. Taking a chance she speaks some English, I ask which is the plain coffee. She shrugs and says "I don't know, I always get this one," as she fills her cup with a latte. I take a chance on a button, actually get it right, and head back to our table.

The silverware is available in a basket on the table, some condiments and tissue-paper thin napkins are at the end of the table where the waiter had indicated earlier. I do not see any sugar anywhere. I poke around at the end of the table and finally try to open a small, oval box. It doesn't seem to have a lid or any way to get into it, so I think perhaps it will pop open when I push down on the top. I push down, a bell rings, and the waiter comes running. Whoops!

Amid much laughter, we manag our meal without further incident and head out on our first full day in Tokyo, to explore the teen scene.

A Japanese Journey - The Arrival

What is the first thing you do after checking in and arriving at your room?

I always check out the view. We have a nice view of part of the city with some tall trees immediately in front of us. Very tall trees, considering we are on the 12th floor.

We are not fancy people but that doesn't men we can't enjoy luxury when we are in its lap. The hotel seems to have thought of everything to make a stay memorable and they present it in a typically warm Japanese manner.

Robes and slippers in the closet

If a robe is too hot and stuffy, try a cool, comfortable yukata. Ready and waiting in a drawer.

Hotpot filled with water and ready to plug in and heat water for tea. After some maneuvering, I discovered I was supposed to just put the plug in the pot, it was already plugged into the wall.

The bath was done in a sunny yellow, a royal color, that reminded me of chrysanthemums. Forget a toiletry? I am sure it was here.

Em's favorite - "What in the world is it?" The seat is heated, as it is almost everywhere - even in public toilets.

After we get settled, the first order of business is to let ABW know we have arrived safely.

A Japanese Journey - The Beginning

I know I haven't finished blogging the trip to England yet, but I will get back to it. I have dragged my computer half way around the world to see if it will make a difference in my being able to keep up with the outflow of information. So far, it has been worth it!
I have had this trip planned for a long time. I don't normally like "tours," but this one is a little different. My interest in it is twofold - the focus is "Cloth and Clay," studying the pottery and weaving related to specific areas. The fact that I lived in Okinawa when the wounds of war were still fresh, was the 2nd temptation.

The initial information arrived just a few weeks prior to our departure. Typically, they had been tied together with a length of ribbon. The Japanese observe strict modes of conduct in all their dealings. For so many people to live together peacefully in such a small country, they need to be aware of those around them.

The information was appreciated and read but, of course, I went to the computer and explored, looking for even more.

October was such a busy month, I did not feel completely ready for departure from Denver on Saturday, 30 October. I had driven to Colorado Springs to visit ABW and family and pick up Em to accompany me on this Asian trip. Fortunately, Em's (charter) school felt the travel experience would more than make up for the time she missed in class.

Friday evening, I checked over everything to make sure it was all in order. The most important things are passport, credit card, and money, almost everything else can be replaced. ABW, the three children, luggage, and I piled into the car, for the trip to Denver. Since we had a 9 AM flight, Em and I planned to spend the night in a hotel rather drive so early in the morning. Thanks to 911, we would need to be at the airport 2 hours early to get through security in a timely manner. In, larger airports and on international flights, I usually aim for 3 hours just to be on the safe side .

The hour drive was long for the children. Andrew decided to entertain us with his rendition of a deaf opera singer hitting the high notes. When he discovered that this annoyed not only his mother and grandmother, but Abs as well, only continued distraction kept the peace. We kept them somewhat mollified with the usual car games. Nevertheless, we were all relieved to arrive on the outskirts of Denver where there were restaurants. There aren't many between Colorado Springs and Denver. We chose a place that sounded healthy and not too quiet - something about a Tomato - serving a salad buffet. I reached in my backpack for my pouch / purse which held lipstick, brush, and, of course, all those vital documents I mentioned before - passport, credit card, and money. A cold chill ran down my spine as I searched frantically for the pouch! A few minutes later, I had to publicly admit that it was missing. Not the way to begin an international trip. The good news, we had not stopped anywhere else; the bad news, it was back in Colorado Springs at the house.
It only made sense to feed the masses first, then we would have to drive back. Ultimately, we found the pouch where I had placed it after checking the contents, and Em and I repeated the Denver drive leaving two very sleepy children at home with ABW.

Early arrival at the airport was a good idea. It was very busy even at that early hour. We made it through all the hoops and relaxed with a breakfast snack, ready to board. Then came the news that our flight had been delayed an hour. The delay was actually in San Francisco, but Southwest Airlines was kind enough to allow us to wait comfortably in the terminal rather than on a crowded plane. My laptop was put to good use and there were electrical outlets by the seats in the waiting area. My cell phone was still working. I had scheduled our flight out of San Francisco with some leeway built in. We had a nice delay.
The flight from San Francisco to Tokyo was like riding in a rowboat during a storm. We were tossed, buffeted, shaken, and could hear the plane groaning and rattling. The woman seated beside me had a very active startle reflex. I hope all that plane's screws, nuts, and bolts were checked and tightened before the next flight.

We did finally arrive in Tokyo, made it through immigration, and customs, then boarded the limo-bus for the hotel. Em was really tired, but put the time to good use.

Fortunately, it was almost bedtime when we arrived.