An Afternoon of Exploration

 David and I planned an afternoon of exploration to keep the jet lag at bay. Walking, of course, is my favorite way to see everything and David was really into it.


Auto repair shop

 

Immediately around the corner from our hotel, tucked in beside the other, normally encountered shops, was a car repair place. Most of the cars in Italy are tiny and the streets are narrow, so this  little place was just the right size. They may have repaired the ubiquitous Vespas as well, but there was a small Fiat in front and the driver was entering the establishment.



Headed in a general direction of sites listed in the book, we did not have to venture far before discovering Roman ruins. The whole city is built on other layers of civilization and archaeologists are slowly peeling the layers back, like an onion.

Amidst the heavy traffic and modern buildings, the remains of the Aula Ottagona and the Baths of Diocletian suddenly appeared as we rounded a corner. These were built at the turn of the 4th century and have been used in various capacities over the centuries.

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently, they were open to the public at one time but now are closed. Here, centuries-old bricks have watched in silence as humankind has evolved to its present state. Here, in a sheltered corner, shaded by the stones of antiquity, I watched as a man prepared his "fix", took care of his body's craving, then shared with his female companion before they both quietly blended back in to the crowded street. I wonder, how far have we really evolved?

I would think summer is not the best time to visit Rome. Plus, it apparently has been an especially beastly summer, with weather much like that we left behind. David opted for some nice, cold watermelon from a street vendor and we found a bench where we could sit and rest our feet for a few minutes.

 

Departure and Arrival

Photo op at the airport on arrival.

My main flight criteria were to avoid the airports in New York and  Washington D.C. and to avoid long layovers. I found an American Airline flight that left at 11:15 a.m. and arrived in Rome about 9:30 a.m. the next day. Perfect! A 3 hour layover in Chicago and then straight through to Rome. Couldn't be better.

Almost every guide stresses using the train [11 Euros one way] to get from the airport to the Termini, where metro and buses can be accessed. We opted for a through bus [4 Euros one way if you buy a round trip ticket], but you do have to put your own luggage in the hold of the bus.



First you have to look high for the sign

Next task was to find lodging. Working on the Internet and using a map of Rome, I looked for a 2-3 star accommodation in a safe area and in my price range. This takes a lot of reading the reviews, reading between the lines of the reviews, and a lot of faith. Americans don't give the smaller places very good reviews because they judge the places by American standards. I think the place should be clean, comfortable, and safe. I know it won't be in the same league as our motels unless I go to a facility that caters to Americans. Why go to Europe to live like an American?

The Hotel Katty (pronounced Kaytee) was listed as being anywhere from "a few steps" to only a 10 minute walk from the Termini, depending on which review you believed. It seemed a long way when we walked the first time. I chalk that up to 14 hours on an airplane but it did feel good to stretch our legs. The hotel was near restaurants, a laundromat, and a couple of grocery stores which made us pretty self sufficient. I wish I had asked the location of the grocery when we arrived because the second one we found was larger and offered a lot more choices.




David in the minuscule lift

Hotel Katty was rather difficult to find and I am sure the elderly man who answered the doorbell we rang and shrugged his shoulders at our questions, was tired of being bothered by touristas. We finally found it tucked away in a corner. The hotel consisted of 18 rooms on the third floor of the building but we were blessed with an elevator. True to European style, it was a tiny elevator. We squeezed our two suitcases, two backpacks, and 2 weary bodies into the minuscule "lift" then figured out the proper workings to make it go - close the cage door, close the 2 wooden doors, and push the proper button for the labored trip to the 3rd floor. David always opted to walk after that.
The room was small so the twin beds had to be pushed together during the day so we could walk past them. A window with shutters overlooked the narrow street and we were serenaded each night by music from a bar or restaurant down the way. The noise did not bother us or keep us awake. We viewed it as colorful ambiance of the area.

 Arriving so early during the day, we had to fight the urge to nap, but we won. The secret of adjusting to the time change quickly is to stay awake the first day of your arrival. Feeling revived after a quick shower, we headed off to see what we could see for the rest of the afternoon and planned for an early night of much needed sleep.

The "Groupon" Caper

O.K. I will return to unfinished travels later.

I am starting afresh with the arrival of a "Groupon" in my e-mail box. [If you are not familiar with these, just type "groupon" in your search engine and  explore deals for the area of the country or activity you are interested in visiting.]

 David was ready for a trip with Grandma and I was having a difficult time finding anything to meet both our needs.When I travel with my grandchildren, I attempt to focus on an area of interest to them but one I will be able to enjoy with them as well. I had already made two trips to England with grandchildren focusing on Harry Potter and, although the trips were delightful, I did not particularly relish a third.  Among the interests David and I did share, "cooking" rated near the top but, after scouring Internet sites,  I had almost despaired of finding a cooking adventure that would challenge both our skills. Fortunately, even at age 11, he was beyond the beginner stage and was quite adventurous and creative in his kitchen at home.

When the "Groupon" arrived in my inbox, I almost summarily dismissed it. The destination for a cooking course was in Italy. Could it be true? Was it a scam? Would they accept an 11 year old? Could I trust the source? A slew of questions invaded my thoughts and, although I did not delete the e-mail immediately, I did pass it by for more thought. I checked the reviews, the site, the proposed itinerary, and finally questioned my daughter on her view of David's readiness for such an adventure.

About a year earlier, I had asked David where he would like to go IF he could choose. He replied that he would like to "eat spaghetti in Italy."
"Well," I teased, "I can just take you to Olive Garden restaurant and save a lot of money."
When I reminded him of that conversation, he grimaced.
 "So, would you prefer to go to Olive Garden and we can take your brother and mom along, or would you rather go to Italy and make your own pasta?" I asked with a smile.
David is not given to outward bursts of enthusiasm but his big grin made his choice quite clear. All systems, it seemed, were a "go," so I made the commitment. David and I were scheduled to begin our culinary experience on 16 June 2013 when we would be met at the airport in Rome, Italy.

Although the trip was several months away, there was a lot to accomplish. David needed a passport and permission letters for me to take him out of the country.  I required that he do some independent research on the area/s we would visit, make a list of things he would like to see,  and learn something about Italian art and history. He exchanged his ever present novel for a Rick Steves' book on Rome and began to set up an itinerary for us. We would leave a few days early and spend some time in Rome on our own before traveling to Carunchio, Italy. My main tasks were to set up the travel and accommodation for the parts of the trip that were not covered.

Thus we began......

Casa de Luz and "this feather house"

Sister Bert and I headed out for an evening "out of the box." Austin's theme is "Keep Austin Weird" and I can only believe that evenings like this one certainly help maintain the tradition.

We began with dinner at Casa de Luz, a vegan restaurant adjacent to dystheater, the site of the play we planned to attend.  The food was quite good even though we were not sure what we were eating. We did read the reviews before going, so we took our own salt shaker and used it liberally. The restaurant was not too crowded. Several families and couples sat at the various tables and amiable conversations drifted across the room. I think you are expected to join in at the seated tables as the room fills. Bert and I sat at a large, round table for 8-10 all to ourselves. We felt as if we were obvious newcomers to the scene, but the people and staff were very friendly and helpful.

After paying a set price for a set meal when we entered, we found a table, served ourselves some soup, salad, and a drink, then proceeded to eat while waiting for our filled dinner plate to be brought to our table. There was a choice of beverages - water, cool hibiscus tea, cool lemon grass (and something) tea ( no ice), or an unpronounceable hot tea designed to relieve stress and pain.

Sunday Dinner
September 16th 2012
Always Vegan, Organic, Gluten & Allergen Aware
Soup - Sweet Potato This was good but too sweet for my taste. It was toned down somewhat after we sprinkled some stuff from a shaker jar sitting on the table and added some of our salt.

Salad - Mixed Greens with Casa Dressing and Almonds I think this had some kale, among other greens. I am not a fan of the stronger tasting greens, but this was actually a delightful salad. Still don't know what was in it. The dressing was delicious.

Entree:
Basmati Rice with Carrots - Had a thick sauce on top which added taste. I thought the sauce looked like B-B-Que sauce, although not as strong. Ever the cynic, Bert thought it was a dollop of tomato paste from the can. Quite good.
Pinto Beans - Very good. Not flavored as much as in our home cooking
Parsnips, Carrots, Snow Peas and Burdock - Burdock and parsnips were some other veggies I had always been curious about, but had not tried. This was a nice tasting dish.
Blanched Greens with a Pepita Basil Pesto - I think these greens may have been kale, but I am not sure. I did not like them but they were more palatable with the pesto. Loved the pesto.
Pickled Cabbage - Another very good dish.
Prepared with LOVE by:
Rosa, Sandra, Maria, Vega, Alfreda, Blanca - How nice that they recognize the efforts of he cooks!

All in all, the dinner was much better than I expected, but I will not become a vegetarian any time soon. The nicest thing about the meal is that  since it was vegan, I did not have to worry about ingesting dairy products. We were expected to bus our table after we finished eating, scraping the uneaten portion into a container for recycling.

The play,"this feather house," was was written by an Austin local, Linda Ramsey. It was definitely way out...or perhaps we are just not "hip" enough. The large audience in the small space laughed many times when neither of us got the joke. Still, we enjoyed the acting and it was definitely a different event.  I didn't mind busing our own tables, but drew the line at the sign in the bathroom urging us to clean it if we had a few spare minutes....LOL. It is a small theater group so it should not have surprised us when they asked us to put our chairs away.

It is the out-of-the-ordinary things that make life so much more interesting
 

Spain 2012 - Settling In

Preparations for overseas travel begin long before the trip, especially when you are trying to mesh different activities. I thought everything was in place when Emily and I set off for the airport on July 1st. Unfortunately, we did not learn until after we arrived that our flight had been cancelled. Anger and disappointment mixed like oil and water. I didn't know which would win but instinctively knew that yelling and screaming would do no good. Fortunately, we had the option of turning around and going home until the next day. Also, I had planned a few extra days prior to the first event which meant we would still arrive on time.

Note to self: Always allow an extra day or so for unplanned delays. Find a way to check the flight status prior to departure, preferably a day ahead, even when it has been "confirmed" ahead of time.

The flight had been confirmed but then cancelled. The airline called a number (presumably the travel agent which subsequently denied having the message on their machine) and "No other flights " were available. I was geared to be upset with American Airlines but have since been tempered by their adequate service for the rest of the trip.

I had never before been to Spain so I was stumbling around on the Internet to find my way. After booking our flights, the next logical order of business was to find lodging. Lodging was plentiful in our first stop, Madrid, but there were many factors to consider. Price, of course, but even more important was safety. A woman and young girl traveling alone must make some allowances for their perceived vulnerability.

I finally settled on the Mora Hotel (Hostel Mora) which I booked through venere.com. There were a few negative reviews, probably disgruntled Americans who expected everything to be "just like at home" but the positives appeared to outweigh the negatives and the room was easily booked. I provided a credit card number which was not billed until we departed from the hotel. The flight delay had thrown a kink into our plans and I was concerned we would have to pay for a night when we had not been there, but I notified the hotel immediately and they were very accommodating.

Our room was small by American standards but adequate for us and we were out and about almost all day. The building was old but newly refurbished and held the  charm of an olde worlde hotel. We took an elevator to our room on the third floor and were grateful we did not have to walk and carry our luggage up the minuscule stairs. We wondered why there was no electricity when we first arrived in our room. Then we recalled that the room key had to be inserted in the slot by the door to activate everything. 

  A tiny balcony overlooked the busy street below, but the noise and light were blocked from our room by double windows / doors and, with the room fan on, we slept soundly without interference from the outside world.





The hotel was just across the street from the Botanical Gardens and very near El Prado, so we overlooked a nice little park with lovely, warm street lights.

Emily slept for 16 hours after we arrived then I let her choose what she wanted to do on the first day. Of course, the answer was "Go shopping!" 
We quickly learned that "Rebajas" meant "Sales"!

St Louis Transportation Museum

We opted for the St Louis Museum of Transportation today. We began with a tram ride to the miniature train - a 1/3 sized replica of a train in California (It was difficult to hear the descriptions). We took two turns around the area but could have stayed on and ridden as many times as we wanted until 1 PM. I bought the ticket on Groupon which made the costs much more  reasonable.

The children totally enjoyed the "Creation Station" and spent a good deal of time making unique crafts. There were lots of hands-on activities, mostly geared to much younger children but very much enjoyed by these young-at-heart kids.

We picnicked on the grounds and visited the welcomely, cool museum. I tried to explain the significance of a drive-in movie display to the children, but the concept was too far out for them. The cars were very grand and dreamy. We never made it to the locomotives or the area where kids can climb on everything. There is plenty to return for in the future.

 

"The Magic House"

Daughter refers to it as Camp Grandma which pleases the children more than "babysitting", because, of course, they are not "babies"! Entertaining active children on their own turf can be a challenge for anyone, but grandparents have the added responsibility of making it fun and making good memories. My goal is to have my grandchildren remember me as an active, productive member of society, not just an old lady who sat in a chair watching TV.

Yesterday, we visited the "Magic House" in Saint Louis. This is the stuff childhood dreams are made of....and the adults were enjoying it as well. It seems totally safe for children and has some areas that are strictly age appropriate and inaccessible to those not qualifying. A whole area with water fun and toys for ages 1-6, an area for very young toddlers, and slides , etc., for 7 and up. One area was devoted to sleuthing, which was very appropriate for "older" children and easily bypassed by my 7 and 4 year old (although they did enjoy entering a room via the fireplace. Some activities are easily accommodated to a particular age group by the amount of thought and energy put into it. A very young child can blow giant bubbles while an older child learns about cohesion and surfactants.

The "Magic House"definitely has a magic all its own......


An Alice in Wonderland perspective

Learning about shape, color, and size from bubbles.

We learned about sprouting seeds in an outdoor classroom.


Climbing Jack's Beanstalk was a favorite activity. It was three stories high with an entry/exit on each level - challenging and fun.

We spent 6 hours at the House with a break for a picnic lunch. There were still areas we did not have time to explore. It is well worth the full price, but watch for a Saint Louis Groupon coupon to make the whole venture more affordable.