About Rome's International Airport, or Fumicino

I wrote the following long blog at the airport yesterday. I wasn't online, so this is a copy and paste. It was a loooong day... about 23 hours in transit from door to door.

I left the apartment really early, at 8:00, but I was ready to go. My flight didn't leave till 2:00, so I had 6 hours to find my way.

Thought I needed some exercise so I walked to the far end of the Termini bus station to buy some nuts to help get me through the 10 hour flight, and back again. In retrospect, this exercise would seem redundant 3 hours later.

I arrived at Fumicino at 9:30. There was quite a long walk from the train to terminal 3. I'd been notified that my terminal had been changed to terminal 5. An arrow pointed me outside. Curious... no sign of a terminal 5, so I went back in to look for an information booth.  Found it! "You take the shuttle, madam."

Back outside, I wait with a growing number of people for 10 minutes. The bus finally arrives and we crowd in. At Terminal 5, I take note that there is no desk for AirTransit and slightly anxiously search for information. It takes 5 minutes to find someone. "No madam. AirTransat flies from terminal 3." Curiouser and curiouser. Back to T3 where I find my way to Departures and again cannot see an AirTransat area, so I walk almost to the end of that long terminal looking for either AirTransat or information. It's such a relief every time you actually find someone to answer your question. "It is at the end of the terminal." No 'madam' this time. All the way back, and there it is at the very end where I just came from, set back and hidden behind unrelated signs. I go through that line quickly. I ask where is Security. "At the very end of the terminal, madam." So back I go, thinking that I'm definitely getting my exercise, and glad that my knees are behaving so well!

Security is pretty fast, partly because of the uniformed women who hurry us through, and I can't help thinking how dehumanizing this process is... Anyway, now I can relax. I think. But there is still the checking of the passports. Again rushed through like cattle but I'm grateful it doesn't take an hour, as it did on my arrival.

Ahhh. Finished. I'm now sitting near my Gate with a cappucino. It took close to 3 hours, but my flight doesn't leave till 2:00. If you ever fly in or out of Rome, allow lots of time. I don't plan to do this again. Mai piu. (Nevermore)

20 minutes later... I thought I was just across from my gate, but when I went around the corner...there  was yet another shuttle train to Gate G. Could there be a less efficient airport? Probably. Never doubt the ingenuity of the Peter Principle...Didn't have to wait long, but I was grateful I wasn't in a hurry.

The hoops jumped through, I now had time to browse. I'd purchased a pinocchio puppet in Florence, but decided I needed one more. The young woman behind me in line looked at the change in my hand, and asked me for a 50 euro piece. I gave it to her, expecting change in return, but she smiled sweetly and said, "I need it to pay for this (some little trinket) to get rid of my change". The banks of course, won't exchange change so you're stuck with it. I was kinda surprised, but didn't ask for it back. After all, she now had it in HER hand. And it was only a coin. But of course, when I paid for my last meal before boarding the plane (pizza and a bottle of water) I was almost exactly - you guessed it - 50 euros short. So I now have....because of that... 4.70E in coin instead of one .20E coin. I wonder what little trinket I can buy for 4.70E? And if I'm .50E short, would I have the nerve to ask someone to give it to me?

Life's like that.

The last post... hmmm...not

No this is definitely not "the last post". In fact, I have a strong feeling I'll return to Italy. Perhaps to visit the south next time. And I'll be more fluent. I have loved using the little Italian I know. But to be honest, all I have to do is breathe in and they speak to me in English! :)

The risotto was disappointing because the rice was undercooked. Delicious flavour though. Actually I enjoyed my taste of Serena's spaghetti with artichokes. If we travel together again, I'll let her order for me. She and Richard made pizzas on Hornby for years that would rival some that we had here, so maybe experience pays. Anyway, I'll post a couple pictures on facebook.

Of course I've missed a few things... like the night in Florence that Sarah and Anthony took us to a place that was originally a convent, turned prison, and now social housing with a restaurant, tables and stage in the courtyard. Many prison artefacts have been used, and one hall has been left intact with the doors to the cells. Serena took a pic of me trying to peer through the keyhole through which the guards could peak, perhaps to see if the prisoner was still alive. Shudder. There was a swing band that night, compsed of horns and a banjo. They were excellent, and so were half a dozen young couples who really knew what they were doing.

Well, arreverderci, Roma. though I don't think I'll return.

So I'll say Ciao, and grazie mille!

Our last day

We're about to have our last delicious meal in Italy! At - wait for it - the bus and train terminal. It is, without a doubt, the most delicious and exotic cafeteria I've ever been in! Serena had a plate of risotto with bits of salmon when we arrived yesterday. Granted we were hungry after our train trip from Orvieto, but still...  I tasted it and can't wait to have my own full plate. Now I know what risotto is supposed to taste like.

I haven't written about the food yet. As a wannabe vegan, I fell a little sheepish about how MUCH I've enjoyed the cheese! And especially the pecorino, which is, coincidentally, made from sheep's milk. And there's the pasta... And the pizza! It's easy to be vegetariano here though. 

The wine is excellent, and oh! the morning cappucino with a pastry, eaten sranding at the bar. (it's more than twice the price if you sit down....)

One last post to come... Check back in a while!

Exploring Orvieto

The morning after my night of misery, we went for a long walk with Serena's friends on a curving, hilly, unmapped path around Orvieto. It was not at the top of the hilled city, nor at the bottom, and meandered through some beautiful shady spots and below the tufa cliffs. Serena has a fitness tracker on her phone and checked it when we finally found our way back to the city. We had walked about 9,100 steps and climbed 21 stories. Quite an adventure!

After lunch it was nap time, not surprisingly.

The next day,yesterday, I was ready for another church, the big cathedral. Every village in Italy has its giant cathedral. Our combined ticket included a tour of the workshop and a gallery display of yhe work of Emilio Greco... the door keeper, an angry young man, was scornful that we didn't know about Emilio Greco... So much to learn! And we also paid to see the Etruscan museum. Orvieto is 3000 years old!

We took a tour in the afrernoon with an enthusiastic Italian woman who told us that the cathedral took a full 300 years to build, so the huge square we were standing in was a construction site for 300 years. Then she led us through the cobblestone streets, pointing out signs of renovation over the ages. The whole city is built of the tufa on which it is built, on a 90 foot outcrop. The original buildings still stand, with evidence of arched windows and openings filled in or bricked over at various times through history. These people live with history as part of their daily lives.

Today we will take a tour through the underground cave system, which was created by the inhabitants over the millenia.... and see more evidence of history in faded frescoes and old churches. Our guide, cecilia (pronounced chechilia) told us there were 60 churches here in the middle ages... It was the reigning pope's fortress against the emperor.

And by the way, I found out how to get a full night's sleep. Close all the windows and turn on the air conditioner for white noise. Works a charm. Did I mention that there are pigeons in every nook and cranny? They are another bit of history, because they were bred here and used for food, and they're as loud as the church bells.

Orvieto: midnight misery

Well it can't all be perfect, so forgive me if I whine a bit...

It's 1:15 am. I know because the church bell rang once. I think it rings twice at every half hour, and 3 times at the 45 minute mark. Not sure what it does on the hour. It didn't ring 12 times at midnight so that's a blessing. I'm wearing the ear phones, the passive noise reducers I got for the flight over. The party in the restaurant downstairs is still going strong. These Italians know how to have a good time.

I had closed the windows but then opened them again, then closed them again... the excess of cleaning product is giving me a headache and affecting my sinuses. I've been alternating between opening and closing the windows for the last couple hours...

Tomorrow morning we're planning to walk around the outskirts of town. Orvieto is a walled city, so I expect the views will be lovely. I'll let you know tomorrow. After my nap.

Swingle singers in the Duomo

What an interesting concert. We all agreed that some songs were successful, and some not... Maybe half and half... because of the unbelievable resonance. The Duomo is a HUGE space, and the sound travels aroun'an aroun' an 'aroun'an around...The singers' notes overlap the previous notes sung, so that you get layers of dissonance. It worked favourably for the slower songs with simpler chord structures but was a bit painful to hear Bach, which The Swingle Singers are so famous for. The clean precision of Bach harmonies became a muddy swirl. Gothic Bach. One of the singers told us they had been in the Duomo for the first time that day, so not much time to tailor their musical choices. I found it all fascinating anyway.

I'd really like to hear a brilliant a cappella group like Rajaton there, if they composed music especially for that space. I can imagine there would be some ascensions in ecstasy, like Bernini's Ecstacy of St. Theresa.

Fabulous Firenze

We are staying in a 4th floor flat in Florence... 51 steps... So it's a great cardio workout, and I'm really glad I did some working out at the Y this summer! The flat is absolutely lovely, and I was thinking today that hanging laundry on a line while leaning out the window of a 4th floor kitchen, is not for the faint of heart. That was while I was doing it, actually!

I'm not sure if I mentioned that I am travelling with a friend from BC, Serena, and we are staying with her dear friend, Sarah Dunant, who's written many books on Renaissance Florence. Her book, The Birth of Venice, is the first of a trilogy looking at women's place in that world, and we took the train to Prato yesterday to hear her give an illustrated talk on women in Renaissance art. It was excellent! After the talk, there was a reception, and we met two young women from Canada who both married Italian men 20 years ago, have teenage children and live and teach English in an Italian school in Prato. Laura from Vancouver, and Carmen from Montreal. I'm reading her book, Blood and Beauty right now, about the Borgia pope, Augustus 6th. Wonderful detail and well-researched. She brings history to life.

That talk was at the end do a truly rich day yesterday. We started the day by going to the Sant' Ambrogio market to shop for used clothes. What fun! Serena and I each bought a couple skirts, and some gorgeous scarves for a Euro a piece (about $1.50)
But on the way to the market, we popped into a mosaic shop where they cut the stone to create extraordinary stone mosaics. It's a centuries old technique, and some of the new work is at least as complicated as the old. Serena asked if there were any stones from Cahada. He thought a moment and said "labradorite!" And showed  us how they used it to show blue sky reflecting in windows..... The perfect blend of grey and blue, with the illusion of depth.

After our cappuccino, we wandered and came across a wonderful jeweller who has been making jewellery as long as I have: Carla Montemerli. She also makes lovely white lamps and hanging sculptures using  gesso, on fibreglass I think, and showed us pictures of a beautifully lit show she'd had in church. My mind has started popping with jewellery ideas, not specifically from what I'm seeing, but just from the full-surround immersion in art. It's everywhere.

Tonight we are going to hear The Swingle Singers in the Duomo, which has the MOST amazing acoustics. Sorry to be using so many superlatives, but that's how it is. I heard a mass in the Duomo in 2009, and the sound echoed through the church so long that the priest waited for the sound to fade before he started the next prayer. So imagine hearing beautiful a Capella harmonies.

The flat is close the Santa Croce church and piazza, and the church bells sound lovely and resonant in the evening.

To be continued.
Buona Sera from hot and humid Florence!