Day 12: Rome

Hoorah! A big city. Even I get a little needy of some snap in the air after a week of port towns. I haven't seen Rome for 15 year and was so excited to fill my lungs with the air of history.

Mother and I made our own tour and it was delightful.

First stop was Le Domus Romane under the Palazzo Valentini pictured below. When they were excavating for a parking lot they discovered a wealthy Roman mansion and have done an incredible job presenting it. All the floors are glass so you walk over the entire home and with great video work they recreate the rooms as they might have been. It was rated the number one attraction on Trip Advisor and I can see why.

When we visited we were there for the French tour so we just took it and I translated what I could for mama. Still got it in me! 

Here is the column they describe in depth in the museum which you then see at the end of the tour.
No pics allowed in the museum but check out the site!

Next up was a walk to the Pantheon. My favorite building in Rome. I forgot how OLD it is. How divine is that dome? The light is magical. We wandered about gazing up and down and reading as much as we could on the history.

Look! Italian style....

Then we went to Monti, near the top of the Spanish steps to see some menswear stores that people had recommended. Closed on Monday! Oh Italy.

Then we drove 20 minutes away to a restaurant my friend Rocky recommended. We got there and -closed on Monday! Really Italy?

Our driver took us to a restaurant he likes and it was perfect- overlooking the Coliseum we had carbonara and one big ole beer. Perfecto.

Then we cabbed up to the Villa Borghese. I haven't been there before and we found it totally delightful. Of course we went to see the sculpture museum and it was-you guessed it- closed on Monday. But the grounds are a delight.

After my beer I thought I could do Tree pose on this pilar. It wasn't pretty and mother wasn't happy. But it happened.

The villa!

The gardens!

Bird cage roof?

Some other building of wonder.

And to celebrate a perfect day in Rome- dessert at the Piazza del Popolo. Last time I was there was during the Italian revolt against Brazil when they won the World Cup. It was a scene! I had never seen a taxi driver cry. All over soccer...

Here is the place I picked out for myself if I ever need to spend more time in the Eternal City.

Last picture before back to the ship. Perfect day!

Day Seven: Athens, Greece

It has been 15 years since I first sailed into Greece on the Windstar (now THAT'S a ship!) and it was equally as magical this go around. Just imagining all of the amazing people who have cruised into this same port over 4,000 years. Kind of mind boggling. Equally mind boggling was that I was up at 6am to watch the sun rise and we had to meet everyone at 8am for our tour.

 Lisa from our crew booked a private guide and he was stellar. We headed to the Parthenon at 9am and it was already buzzing but still manageable. It was great to see it again with a more mature eye. But it was equally as difficult to navigate and people dropped like flies on the slippery marble and cracked concrete that they flooded the pathways with at some point. It's really poorly done.

Note the horse peeping out the right side!

The world's oldest theater. I think Cher performed there for Plato.

Zeus' temple.

The first modern Olympic stadium built for the 1896 games. All marble. Not too shabby!

Downtown Athens.

Well hello there!

Next to this amazing pile used to be a monastery where Lord Byron was 'entertained'. Only in Greece my friends.

Now THIS was the highlight! The new Acropolis Museum opened in 2009. This is the entrance and it is built over ruins. Notice the 4th century AD mosaics under my feet.

On the top of the museum they replicated the size and scale of the Parthenon and erected all the friezes that had not been A) destroyed or B) taken back to England by Elgin. The pieces that are in England have been plaster casted and are lighter in color. Really fab.

Sadly I was not allowed to take pictures in here and I recall in 1995 when mother took a picture in the old museum and we nearly got kicked out. But tears nearly came to my eyes seeing Kouros, Korai, Caryatids and remarkable pediments all in this airy, modern, beautiful building.

I wish we had spent two hours there and one hour with the tourist masses at the real deal.

 According to Yanni, our guide, this frieze below is one of the most important in classical Greece as it is a beautiful rendering of movement. Something you didn't see in Egypt or anywhere else. 'Two Further Horsemen from Block IV'

 We ended the afternoon with a breezy lunch in the Plaka. I had dolmades like my Yaiyai used to make and we all had large Mythos beers to cool down.

Exhausted we boarded the ship, had an early dinner and headed back to the cabin, me to work, mother to do crosswords. Tomorrow we land in enemy territory- Turkey! ( well, at least according to my Yaiyai)