Public transportation? No thank-you!

Bright and early in the morning, Simone, hubby and their children marched down the stairs of their rented Rome apartment and hiked over to the nearest restaurant serving breakfast. They filled up on food and drinks then inquired on the closest bus route heading toward the Coliseum. They purchased tickets then lined up next to the bus stop, somewhat uncomfortable in the burgeoning heat. The bus, when it arrived, was packed solid with people. Still, the group gamely pushed their way in where all females in the group were promptly fondled by Italian pigs (men but, yeah: pigs). Elbows, shuffles, angles followed until a suitable distance was created between the pigs and the girls. Meanwhile, after another stop where people climbed off and on the bus, a woman started sobbing loudly: her purse had been stolen with all her ID and money. When at last their bus pulled up in front of the Coliseum, Simone and family gratefully climbed off. "We're taking taxis back, right?" Simone asked hubby. "Oh yeah," he agreed emphatically. "We're definitely taking taxis."

On se promène?

À peine installés dans leur appartement de location que déjà les enfants grouillaient d'impatience. "On est à Rome!" S'exclama une. "Gelato!" S'écria l'autre. "Shopping!" Un troisième ajouta. Bon. D'accord. Compris. Tout le monde s'aventura dehors où, comme tous les jours depuis leur arrivée, il faisait un soleil à tout casser. Ils s'arrêtèrent pour admirer quelques fringues puis... "Est-ce que tout le monde à faim?" Demanda Simone. Cette fois-ci, ce fut unanime. "OUI!" Ce n'est pas toujours évident de tomber d'accord sur où manger, surtout avec une dizaine de personnes, dont un de 6 ans mais on finit pas choisir un restaurant japonais et tout le monde se régala. Seul hic à l'horizon, la belle-soeur et son groupe sans voiture qui se promenaient dans le quartier voulaient savoir où Simone était (par texto). Ils finirent par trouver Simone alors que les enfants finissaient leur repas. Autant dire que la belle-soeur n'était pas tout à fait heureuse... Leur groupe n'avait ni bu ni mangé et celui de Simone s'apprêtait à partir en quête de

gelato...

Roma!

Packed into their vehicles, Simone, family and luggage travelled down the highway to Rome. The trip took close to three hours and included some serious circling, brought on by a GPS with a wicked sense of humour. Or perhaps the GPS was deficient. Regardless of the reason, the cavalcade of vehicles got a grand tour of Rome out of the deal. Simone, hubby and their kids miraculously found parking spots a few feet away from the apartment they had rented. Free parking - how cool is that? They decided not to tempt fate and to use a form of public transportation while they were in town, so as not to lose the parking spots. Simone's sister in law went a step further: she returned her rental car at the airport then cabbed it back to the apartment she had rented. Everyone oohed and ahed over their apartment. The overwhelmingly welcome feature? Air conditioning and fully functioning wifi. Yay! Okay. So now that we're settled in, can we go for gelato?

On déménage

Même suite à un séjour assez court de 6 jours, les objets s'accumulent. Même avec accès à une machine à laver, les vêtements sales s'accumulent. Et malheureusement, lorsque la location de leur villa près de Sorrento prit fin, il fallut tout emballer et aller vers Rome. Bon, d'accord, tout ce petit monde s'emballait à l'idée de visiter Rome mais, pour ce, il faudrait quitter vue sur la mer, piscine, oliviers et citronniers... Mais l'aventure, c'est l'aventure donc tout le monde boucla leurs valises et on s'enfonça dans les voitures. Au revoir, poissonnier et boucher! Au revoir grand jardin sur la côte! Au revoir la belle villa!

Driving dangerously

The last day prior to leaving the Amalfi Coast for Rome, Simone et al decided to drive the tortuous road between Sorrento and Positano. What a harrowing drive! And yet, Simone's hubby, driving their trusty bus-sized vehicle, managed it with flair. The breathtaking vistas had Simone leaning precipitously out of her passenger window to take pictures. Simone's hubby, ever thoughtful, pulled over on a curb just short of their destination. Wow! Just wow! From their vantage point on the cliff, they could see the Mediterranean sea as it lapped at the shores of a city nestled in a hilly cove. Simply breathtaking, especially given the light blue sky, the azure waters dotted with sailboats and fishing dinghies, the green of the rock-fastening vegetation on the hillsides... They continued on to Positano where the narrow, winding, downhill all the way road that led to the beach had Simone wondering how on earth drivers managed it. They nonetheless reached the beach, a black pebbled affair that scorched bare feet in the blazing sun. Given the crowds and, more importantly, the number of beautiful shops that preceded their arrival at the beach, only B seemed interested in going swimming. So Simone gleefully joined him in the soupy, questionable water (given the crowds and

the extreme proximity of all manners of boats) before drying off and going for gelato. Positano, your beauty stunned us all and will stay in our hearts forever.

Pompéi

Finalement, Simone allait réaliser un de ses rêves: de visiter l'ancienne ville de Pompéi, enterrée sous de la poussière volcanique et oubliée pendant des siècles. Aujourd'hui, l'ancienne ville de Pompéi partage la frontière de la nouvelle ville de Pompéi. De la nouvelle ou de l'ancienne, on peut toujours voir le volcan Vesuvius, figure lointaine et pourtant meurtrière. Des rues entières, des immeubles, des frasques et les empreintes des morts ont été déterrés où l'on pourrait aisément passer des heures, voir des jours entiers à explorer. Munis de bouteilles d'eau, vu la chaleur infernale qui régnait le jour de leur visite, la famille de Simone se procura un guide qui ne se lassait pas de relater d'innombrables détails sordides au sujet de Pompéi et de ses défunts. Malgré la foule qui visitait, un silence presque révérenciel pesait lourd dans le coeur de toutes et tous. Nous faisons les mêmes erreurs que nos ancêtres. Nous bâtissons nos maisons aux abords de la mer. Nous construisons des villes par-dessus d'autres qui elles ont été détruites par des phénomènes naturels. Nous détruisons la nature qui nous entoure pour imposer notre vision d'un ordre qui n'en est pas un. Ce qui est arrivé à

Pompéi est une leçon que nous n'apprendrons peut-être jamais...

Bari

Today would be a very special day: for the first time, Simone's father-in-law would be taking his children (and grandchildren) to visit the city where he came from. The drive fr

om Sant'Agata to Bari would take over three hours each way, provided nobody got lost, but, filled with a sense of adventure, the group of 13, using two cars, went from one coast in Italy to the other. The scenery was breathtaking, filled with golden hues and splashes of green against a crystal blue sky. Given that the temperature, the BASE temperature, reached 40 Celsius that day, Simone blessed the air conditioning for working so well and amused herself by watching the natives putter around on their scooters. By and large, nobody used helmets; it was not unusual for a family of four to travel on one scooter (still no helmets); some riders wore flip flops, including the driver; nobody wore pants, opting instead for shorts and skirts; dogs and cats rode the scooters as well. One notable car driver was seen moving her standard vehicle out of a parking spot with a baby on her lap and a cigarette in her mouth and NO seatbelt. In spite of these (by North American standards) hazardous rules of the road, the group made it to Bari, father-in-law's hometown, without any mishaps. They drove through the city, searching for a restaurant, finally settling for a waterfront location that overcharged but did provide a stunning view of the sea. In fact, several party members climbed the rocks outside the restaurant in order to dip their feet in the lukewarm salt water. The group then headed to the very part of town where Simone's father in law was born. They saw the house where his mother died when he was just a toddler, the monastery that his father put him into (obviously to no avail) and met some of his family members. Before attempting the trek back to San'Agata, the group purchased a series of fans that would serve a dual purpose: they would make the still night air in their villa circulate AND, with any luck, drown out the sound of baying dogs.