The Music of Rome from a musicians perspective

My personal music resume

I will start this blog with giving you a little personal history.  I come from a very musical family.  My grand father loved to yodel in the Swiss Alps.  My grandmother was a singer.  My mother was a singer and a conductor most of her life.  She was one of the first females to sing commercials on the radio.  My mother played classical music nearly every day at home.  I think there were times we (the kids, and dad) got a little tired of the genre.  My mother Shirley, was a beautiful soprano and could hit the high notes with pure lustre and sound.  My brother and sister were blessed with other talents, but Thomas was blessed with nearly a perfect pitch.  I played the part of Hansel in Hansel and Gretel in elementary school.  I even remember taking tap dance as directed from momma Shirley.  I was never a great dancer.

My mother Shirley Stephenson Schmuki during her later years

My early years as a singer

In elementary school and junior high school I played the cello.  I stopped playing it after 3 or so years because of the ribbing I got from my peers and also it was a very difficult instrument to carry to and from school up and down OAK street in 2-3 feet of snow in Colorado. It seems it was almost bigger than me.  I was very involved in vocal music in junior high and high school.  I sang in the choir and a select group of 20 or so singers Madrigal style.  I think there were about 4 singers per part (bass, tenor, soprano and altos).  I was selected many times by my choir conductor Monte Otto to sing solos in our performances. I also played the part of “The Padre” in Man of LaMancha.  To this day I still remember all the songs and most of the lines of Man of LaMancha.

Vocal Scholarship at BYU awarded

During the second half of my senior year in high school I tried out for a vocal scholarship from a professor from Brigham Young University.  He toured the country with tryouts requiring the candidates to sing six areas in Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, German and English.  After much preparation I was ready.  About 2,000 candidates across the country tried out for 20 spots.  I received the letter from BYU, that I was selected for the scholarship.  My choice was then made for me,  OFF to BYU I go with my golden voice attached. Amongst other things, I became the president of a 100+ all male member chorus.

I am retired from singing

It has been 40 years since I actually sang.  Maybe some day I will put out to the world why I actually quit singing.  In any case, I was very involved in music, classical vocal music to be specific.  I also sang vocal jazz and was the lead singer for “Miss Utah Review” with many previous winners of the Miss Utah pageant including a previous Miss USA.  For many years, I was the guy with the microphone in my hands and a supporting cast behind me.  Yes fans, I did have one talent in life, it was singing. Now I believe I have another talent…. photography. When I am dead and gone perhaps my work will get noticed.

The music of Rome

So when I talk about the music of Rome, I have a perspective that may be different than the normal tourist.  We have grown so attached to Rome because of the arts, the people and of course the music. We have attended 2 music operas at 2 different venues.  Just last night we attended a classical music orchestral concert with Antonio Pappano (director) and special guest pianist Igor Levit.  It was such an amazing experience,  We are many hours past the event and my heart is still full with the joy of it all.

Opera Concert- Roma opera greatest hits

At the Saint Andrew’s Church of scotland

This magical opera concert was in a beautiful church with perfect acoustics, a small venue and very personal. Highly recommended.

Alice with the two wonderful Opera singers at the Saint Andrews Church

Two opera singers in Rome

The 3 tenors

St pauls within the walls

We found this venue a little disappointing after our first great intimate experience a few nights earlier. The main problem was the acoustics of the church although it was very beautiful. Not nearly as intimate as there were hundreds in the crowd. Not being able to see, nor really hear properly was the main problem.

The 3 Tenors - Rome

What is the difference between Rome and the US

So what is so different about attending musical events in Rome versus the United States?  Last night it was clear with the thousands of attendees, most all were LOCALS and NOT tourists.  Most all were refinely dressed to the NINE and clearly were there because they understood and appreciate classical music.  It was a great experience.  The audience was SO respectful, during the extremely soft part of the music in pianissimo.  You could hear a pin drop.  Not a cough, no kids crying, no paper shuffling, pure respect for the artist and the music.  I remember singing solos and had the feeling of intense silence and reverence and the …. you could hear a pin drop.  This is the feeling all musical artists yearn for.

Parco Della Musica Ennio Morricone

I must also mention the comfort and spacing of the seats in the beautiful auditorium Parco Della Musica Ennio Morricone unlike the seating at Kravis and Broward Performance Center where you feel your 6’1” knees hit the back of the seat in front of you.  First class please, my old man knees demand it!

Orchestra Link

Before the show

Auditorium filled up

Outside auditorium

Parking lot to get in

Igor Levit - pianist of the century

IGOR's Website

The pianist last night, Igor Levit has been touted as one of the greatest piano players alive.  Truly a genius.  I have never observed a musician with more talent who could “FEEL” the music like no other.

The streets of Rome

A few days ago we were wanting the streets in front of the forum and just shy of the coliseum, and we heard a beautiful OPERA voice.  An older man in the form of Luciano Pavarotti and perhaps his SON were singing opera on the street with the backdrop of the FORUM behind them.  Pavarotti was truly amazing and we stayed for his full set of music.  I will include some videos and photos so you can appreciate what we observed.  When his set was over, I was holding back my tears.  Music still gets to me.

Opera singer on the streets of Rome

Street Opera singer

Just take a walk, music is every where

Musicians are everywhere playing nearly every genre, and frankly it seems a bit out of place when the genre is not opera or classical. None the less, I so enjoy it all. Pop, rock, classical, country, opera… bring it on Rome!

Street musician playing for a tip

Why go to Rome?

So why go to ROME?  One HUGE answer is the music.  Go to the OPERA concerts, attend the concerts and be prepared to be WOWED.

Yodilay, Yodilay, Yodalay Hi HOOOO.  Sing it Grandpa Stephenson.

Florence or Rome, what city is my favorite?

Last year we vacationed in Italy for 4 weeks staying approximately 11 days in Rome and 10 days in Florence.  Our stay last year was May-June.  This year we are based out of Rome with an apartment for 6 weeks here.  We visited Florence a few days ago for 3 days and 2 nights.  The two cities are vastly different in almost every way.  We have enjoyed watching many NETFLIX mini series on Rome and Florence including:

Recommended Netflix Series

• The Roman Empire: a 3 season documentary narrated by some current historians but likely scattered with presumptions and rumors. When I walk the streets of the FORUM, this series sort of puts perspective and knowledge into it. I saw the place where Caeser was stabbed to death multiple times by the members of his senate.

• The Two Popes: Behind Vatican walls, Pope Benedict and the future Pope Francis must face their pasts and find common ground in order to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.

• Medici: 3 seasons (series) which interestingly enough cannot be seen in ROME. I wonder why? Perhaps they don’t like the content or how the city and leaders are portrayed. We will watch the end of this when we get back to Florida. After his father's murder, banking heir Cosimo Medici battles opponents of his artistic, economic and political visions for 15th-century Florence

Cosimo II De Medici Granduca N. 1590-1621

We so enjoyed the above series as they are well written, the cinematography is excellent, and we are assuming the historical details are moderately accurate.  Watching these series helped us have a real taste and flavor for Italy and specifically Rome and Florence.  I smile when I see the Royalty travel between on Rome and Florence on horseback and buggy as if it takes only a few hours.  It takes about 1 hour and 15 minute 120 MPG train ride between the cities.  A horse gallops around 25 MPH and walks about 4-5 MPH.  Lets just a assume a walking trotting horse and about a 170 mile travel three horse ride would take at least 12-20 hours.  In other words, DAYS.  We highly recommend the above 3 Netflix series.  Beware they may be sexy and explicit with a lot of bloodshed. Tom likes the sexy parts and Alice does not like the bloody parts.

So how are the two cities different from my perspective

The people

Rome:  We are living in an apartment and living like Alice says, “Like the locals”.  We can still walk to nearly all the tourist attractions like the Forum, the Coliseum, the Vatican and others  Walking distance can be up to 45 minutes from our location.  The PEOPLE at the main venues and attractions are similar as most of them are either tourists, tour guides, or those serving the tourist industry.  I must admit both of us are really CITY people and NOT rural people by nature.,  We love the theater, fine dining and beautiful big cities like Miami and Fort Lauderdale.  The people of Rome outside of the massive amount of tourists at the attractions are very genuine, hard working and sincere.  It has been much harder for us to find that in Florence, however, I must note that our waitress Julia at the wonderful Steak house in Florence who moved there from Rome prefers Florence over Rome primarily because of the people.  She said the people are friendlier and more like family in Florence than in Rome.

The tourists

Both Rome and Italy during this trip have been inundated  by tourists from all over the world.  We have met many American tourists, but the tourists are overwhelming these venues from all over the world.  I have never been one to appreciate being in a crowd feeling like a sardine in a can.  I get very paranoid, especially now because of the issues with thief’s and pick pockets.  They are everywhere.

Rome

Crowds of Rome

Florence

Crowds of Florence

The scammers

They are in both venues, everywhere.  They are selling everything from cheap wrist bracelets, scarfs, squishy balls of GLOB you throw on the ground and they hit with a big stupid sound.  It’s a setup to not only sell you JUNK but to engage you in a conversation so either they or their   co-conspirators are finding a way to sneak in your backpack or your wallet to get the mother load.  How many Nigerians have approached me with their only line….. “Are you African?”  I want to respond with, “Are you Swedish?”  I was approached by a Nigerian who asked, “can you tell me the time?”  I responded with, “No, I don’t know the time…”  He got real aggressive and almost accosted me right there.  Glad I had Alice with me to protect me with her coat of Armor…. IBKul.

I watched this scammer on the prowl and then chased after these poor souls.

The food

We are in Italy, 99.9% of all the restaurants we see, menus we look at are of course Italian food, with course 1-12.  How many course can a fat American eat in one setting?  Florence is world famous for its wonderful Steak houses.  Aside from that the restaurants are very similar.  However, there is no question the food and nearly everting in Florence is more expensive than Rome.  There is no question the food is fantastic in both places.  I can’t ignore the fact that often times I want anything but Italian lol.  Last night we went to a wonderful SUSHI/Japanese restaurant just down the street.  Lets talk more about cost of the food.

Our favorite local restaurant, just down the street: La Lampada.

The food is fantastic serving both lunch and dinner and is actually just down the stairs from our apartment,  Our server Angelo who is the self proclaimed “Best Waiter in all of Italy” is wonderful and we love to eat there often because of the food but perhaps mostly because of our new good friend Angelo.  We can eat 2-3 course meals there with a glass of wine for under $75 where the same meal in Delray Beach would be as much as $150.  We an have a wonderful bowl of soup and a short pasta meal for less than $25.00  We got spoiled as when we went to Florence the costs were nearly as high as Miami/Fort Lauderdale.

Angelo the Best Waiter in Italy

Take a look at the food of italy

Gnocchi and Seared Tuna

Mussels

Ravioli

Salmon and egg Benedict

Italian breakfast cheeses

Japanese Beer

Japanese Dinner

Charcuterie

Florence Steak

Fresh fruit with croissants

Gnudi

Italian desert

Pasta with Pesto

Veal with lemon sauce

Italian gelato

Florence steak

The sites and Venues

Florence:  Amazing, amazing, amazing,  Art and history every where.  Our favorite museum: Uffizi.  Of course you have the statue of David and others.  You also have the Arno river and all the beautiful bridges and the views of the Ponte Vecchio. All are amazing and most beautiful at sunrise and sunset.

Rome:  For me, the FORUM and Coliseum, are the wonders of the world.  Add to that the incredible churches, and of course Saint Peter’s Basilica are off the chart.    

Rome first

Borghese Gardens

The Colosseum

The Pantheon

Churches of Rome

Rome Walls

Spanish Steps

The Vatican

The Swiss Guard

The Vatican

Miss Alice

Florence next

Alice overlooking Arno River

The Duomo

Duomo

Duomo

Wedding time

Beauty everywhere

Traditional Wedding

Duomo

The David

Arno River

The winner

Rome.  It just does not feel as “touristy” as Florence.  Perhaps we need to figure out how “living like the locals” feels in Florence like it does in Rome.  Of course this is my opinion.  Both cities are fantastic and are currently inundated by a massive amount of tourists which really lessens the experience of being the wonderful venues.

Alice loves the sophistication and feel that is brought to the city of Rome. The office and business attire people are wearing. The hustle and bustle of each morning and evening as the business people commute to and from work. All the perfectly tailer made blue suits worn by the Italian men. It has and feels more like a real city …. with class.

This of course is my opinion and I invite you to Italy to discover these two beautiful cities and make up your own mind.

Are you African?

Italy tour groups: buyer beware

Blogger and photographer: Thomas Schmuki taken at the Uffizi

This is not our first dance with the tour groups

Most of you know that we spent a month in Italy last year.  We visited Venice, Verona, Amalfi, Teramo and Rome. We participated in a number of tours including group and private tours.  We are now nearly 3 weeks into our 6 week adventure in Italy and have yet to take a tour.

Overcrowded Italy

Here is my controversial commentary.  This year it seems that the overall crowd level is much larger than last year.  Last year we went in May-June.  This year we decided to go later for a number of reasons one being we thought the crowds would be less.  Perhaps there are less American families touring Italy this time of year but tourists from all over the world and especially Japan has dramatically increased.

Tour groups are just too big

Now to the tour groups.  Many tour groups of 20-35 people overtake the experience.  They all pile in front of a painting masterpiece leaving the general observer with no view.  The big crowds of large tour groups are everywhere with the tour leaders speaking every language known to man.  I am sure this is very profitable to the tour group companies.  I don't understand how the participants experience can be positive with 30 other participants.  Problems with hearing the leader from lack of attention on the very important question you want to ask but can't because the loud mouth in the group asks them all. I observe the trail end of the tour groups and see many laggers and disinterested participants. I believe this due mainly due to the size of the group.

The wonderful personal intimate experience of seeing these masterpieces is robbed by the large groups and predominantly the large tour groups that take over the venues.

Personal tous are the way to go

Alice is very strong on personal tours with only the 3 of us.  It gives her all the time to ask her great questions and me the time to snap some great pictures if I can get any line of site around the miriad of 30+ tour groups in front is the artwork, sculpture or architecture ahead.

Alice with our wonderful personal guide at Pompeii last year.

My recommendation

Recomendation: don't do tours with large groups.  I recommend no more than 10, but oh then the tour companies would have to take the bullet.

Pompeii the city of Sin?

Statue of Daedalus on the cities north side

Our vacation of a lifetime is now more than a month in the past and there was so much to see, so much to take in, so much to document, so many photos to edit, and now it is time to write my next and not final blog on our trip to Italy.

Warning: This BLOG contains some explicit sexual content. I am only attempting to document history!

Let me say right at the forefront, I knew nothing about Pompeii before our visit there and the few things I read about prior to this most incredible day.  I don’t want to pretend to be a historian, an expert nor am I even a great writer.  I write with my heart and my soul and leave it all on the table.  You can agree or disagree with my thoughts and conclusions, and that’s totally OK with me.  Perhaps that is why some people enjoy reading my blogs.

Our ride to Pompeii from Amalfi

Our trip to Pompeii started with a personal driver from our villa up the 250 steps in Amalfi.  The personal drivers in Pompeii never cease to amaze me.  The drive was hazardous, treacherous, beautiful and even made me a bit “motion sick…”. The drive seems to take about 1.5 or more hours.  Our driver stayed with us the entire day and took us home to the “stairs from hell” at the end.

Driver: Aut Matteo from Scialone Limo Service (Sorranto)

Pompeii has changed

Alice had already been to Pompeii Italy before and certainly had expectations of what to see, what was there, etc. Alice was certainly discouraged by many of the artifacts that have been moved to museums in Naples as well as the barrier to get into the colosseum.  For me, I was in AWE and wonderment.  Such an amazing place.  I wish there were NOT so many people there.  I was told they put NO limit on the amount of visitors during the day since the opening after COVID shutdown.  All the workers especially the tour guides were happy to be back to work.

All the above artifacts were at the entrance when Alice visited last previously are now in a museum in Naples

What was life like in Pompeii?

Shops were open, markets were ready, farmers were in the fields. Everyone was performing his/her personal job. Streets were crowded, market was full of life, sellers sold and citizens bought what they needed. In the forum people walked, talked, discussed about problems of the town.

Pompeii Italy was a city like many Roman towns in the area.  On August 24, 79 the city was about their normal hustle and bustle with children in the street, businessmen doing their thing, and bathers taking baths in the public bath houses.

The outer walls of the city -- Pompeii

The Forum

Business and living areas of Pompeii

The streets of Pompeii

Lined with huge paving stones and gutters for water runoff

Streets of Pompeii

Just after a rain shower

Courtyard

A garden including flowers and vegetables

Mt Vesuvius Volcanic irruption

Mt (Mount) Vesuvius a volcanic mountain towing above the city frequently had tremors.  This day in August will be their last.  A cloud shaped pillar rose in the sky.  Volcanic ash rain down hard and fast.  Thick ash clogged every ones nose and eyes.  Sixteen inches of pumice had fallen to the ground.  Only a few survived to tell the story.  Four days later, the pumice piled up to 8 feet deep.  One last time Mt. Vesuvius surged again with poisoned gas, ash and rock as it raced down the mountains.  This BIG city of Pompeii no longer exists.  Over 20,000 people had quickly died a very painful death only to be discovered nearly 1700 years later.

Ash hardened to form a mold around the person or animal that died. Of the 1,150 bodies recovered by archaeologists at Pompeii, 394 were killed by falling pumice and the debris of collapsing buildings.

This 2,000 year old ‘masturbating’ Pompeii man is going viral

The archeologic discovery of all time

The first discovery of the site was around 1710 when a farmer was digging a well on the slops of Mt. Vesuvius. The first official excavation was in 1860 by an archaeologist name Giuseppe Fiorelli. No question, this is this most incredible archeological find ever.  Even to this day, the day we were there, they are still carefully digging and finding new and exciting relics.

Pompeii Amphitheater

Dated 70 BC presumed to be the first arena build buy the Romans 20,000 spectators could fit (the total population of Pompeii) When Alice was here last she could go in and sit on the seats

The streets of Pompeii

Housing and commercial district

The streets of Pompeii, Lady in Red

Oven - Pizza please...

The Brothel’s of Pompeii

One of the most interesting and personally intriguing things about Pompeii is the Brothel found in the hearty of town.  The crowd was big and space was tight to get into the brothel that was buried in that terrible day in August 79 AD.  Our tour guide was attentive to show us all the SIGNS on the street leading to the Brothel. 

Our tour guide was attentive and very knowledgeable, Alice loves to bend their ears

I found it interesting our tour guide was carful to show us each and every phallic symbol “male penis” sign guiding its customers to the ever popular Brothel.

Phallic Symbols point the way to the Pompeii Brothels.

There are no words

Turn left here

Phallic symbols everywhere

Just in case you get lost

Because of the crowd I was unable to get proper photographs of all the interesting artifacts in this historic site.

Prostitution was permitted both socially and legally in Pompeii, and it was seen as a social norm for Roman men to engage in regular visits to the Brothels. Brothels had no stigma within the city, seen as a typical shop offering services like any other.

Pompeii once a popular vacation spot for high-class citizens, extravagances were bountiful in the form of exotic foods, fashion, and prostitutes. During the long-standing excavation of Pompeii, archaeologists have discovered at least 25 separate brothels scattered all over the city with each giving away numerous secrets to the city’s erotic past.

How about a Big Mac?

When you enter the brothel, you see the incredible frescos on the wall.  Sort of like walking into McDonald’s trying to choose between a Big Mac and a Quarter Pounder knowing nothing on the menu is good for you.  The moment you eat a Big Mac, the sensation is YUMMY. Tell me my friends, an hour after you eat a Big Mac, how do you feel?  I like McDonald’s because of their french fries and their custom blend of Diet Coke made only for McDonald’s.

Fresco’s a menu of choice

The most well-known feature of the brothel are the erotic frescoes that are found lining the hallways above the door lintels. There are eight notable frescoes in total, although only seven are still in surviving condition. Of the frescoes still intact, five of them depict different sex positions between a male and female. frescoes illustrate the positions of Women on Top, Missionary Position, Doggy Style, 69 position and Anal sex. The sixth fresco shows a seated male accompanied by a standing woman; the male gestures towards what scholars believe to be a smaller sex image. The seventh fresco features a prominent deity, Priapus, a male god of fertility known for his permanent and pronounced erection, surrounded by two stylized erections. The eighth fresco is in incredibly poor condition but is believed to depict yet another sexual engagement.

The frescoes were originally discovered during an excavation in 1862. They can be dated back to 72 CE. This is because there is an impression of a coin within the walls' plaster that can be traced back to this date.

Man on Man

How about a curvaceous woman?

Doggie Style

69

Your choice

5 major flavors on the Menu

After studying the remaining frescoes, archaeologists have guessed there were five major services provided; intercourse, fellatio, cunnilingus, active anal sex, and passive anal sex.

The truth of these Pompeii brothels and the prostitutes within was, in fact, harsh and quite heartbreaking.

And then there are the beds found in these Brothels.  They were made out of stone, including a stone pillow of sorts.  Perhaps the owners did NOT want their customers getting too comfortable.  Even though there were no doors in each separate “bay” I am sure there were drapes, linens, and lots of “sexy” smelling perfumes.  Candles and incense galore I would guess.

Pompeii brothel, The brothel beds of Pompeii —- COMFY

Extra FIRM for me…

I’ll take a Big Mac, order of fries and a Diet Coke Please… to go!

The SEX Workers - Prostitutes

The majority of the sex workers within Pompeii were slaves who lived a harsh life until they were of no further use to the brothels. They were given only the basic essentials, with all the payments from their clients going to the brothel owners. It is suggested from the city’s remains that a large number of slaves were of Oriental or Greek origin, ripped from their families and taken into the slave trade when Romans or traders invaded their land.

Confined to the premises, the workers rarely saw the outside world, being under complete control of the brothel owner at all times. By being completely closed off, the salves had no other distractions from their work. Despite this cruel lifestyle, the workers were meant to put on a smiling face, with punishments if they misbehaved.

Lastly, although sex was an accepted and natural experience for the Pompeii men, prostitutes still lacked respect. Stigmatizing women that made them ineligible for any alternative and respectable work, committing them to the lower class of society.

The Roman word for brothel was lupanar, meaning a wolf den, and a prostitute was called a lupa (“she-wolf”).

What was it like to be a Woman in Pompeii?

Generally, the role of women was a domestic one. Women completed domestic duties and raised the children. Upper class women were often educated and could read and write. Wall paintings of women holding writing implements reveal that this ability was revered in Roman society.

The City of Sin?

This is where my moral conscience sets in.  I wonder what the state of morality was during this time and before.  The 10 Commandments given to MOSES by GOD on Mount Sinai.  Commandment # 6: “Thou shalt not commit adultery”.  In my MORMON growing up world this meant NO SEX before marriage, NO promiscuity ever, and NO having SEX with someone else outside your marriage.  These sins were severe even to the point of church excommunication.  Yes fans, I went on a mission for the Mormon church.  I was one of those young lads in a white shirt riding bicycles two by two and knocking on doors to convince the world they to repent and be baptized.  I have long left my Mormon upbringing and have not been to church for well over 30 years.  In any case the foundational thoughts still prevail in some part of my brain.

It seems from my studies that the Brothels of Rome were common and popular.  The treatment of the  “women of the night”.

Prostitution by definition is the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment.

What Are the Different Types of Prostitution?

• Street: Clients solicited on the street, park or other public places. ...

• Brothel: Premises explicitly dedicated to providing sex. ...

• Escort: Client contacts sex worker by phone or via hotel staff. ...

• Private: Client contacts sex worker by phone.

I digress, back to the moral conscience.  Did the Romans have NONE?  Are we all actually given a conscious as human beings even if we have never been trained nor tutored in the Judaeo Christian society?  We (the Mormons) were taught that at the age of 8 humans have the innate ability to discern and choose between right and wrong. They called it the “age of accountability”. I guess Exodus chapter 20 had not been written yet…

Did I miss the point

Of course I did. There are so many things that I could have written about this incredible place, including the incredible architecture, plumbing, advanced civilization and history of this amazing place. Perhaps another blog. Better yet, I suggest you go there yourself and discover one of the most incredible places on earth.

Houses, shops and bars of Pompeii

Notice Mt. Vesuvius

In a heartbeat, 20,000 people died

The Forum

Pompeii, The Forum

The Forum

The Forum

The Forum

The Forum

One of my favorites

The Forum

In the background is what is left of Mt. Vesuvius, which lost at least 1/3 of its size during the volcano

I will be adding a video to this post on the near future which will include videos from my GOPro, Alice’s iPhone and photos taken from my Nikon Z6 II.

Thomas Schmuki, Delray Beach Photographer

View a video on our visit to Pompeii Italy

If you are interested in some references used in this blog and other interesting links:

https://www.pompeiitours.it/attractions/brothels-of-pompeii/

Italy City by City - my favorites

We have had the vacation of a lifetime with a month in Italy. I thought it would be interesting for me to pull out some of the highlights in each city. This may be a very difficult task but I will focus on those moments and events that come to my mind most. I hope you enjoy this. This is a short list of my favorites and Alice may have a totally different list. This is NOT my final blog on our trip to Italy as I have a few more topics in mind. A little encouragement from my readers may help me create them.

I will attempt to go from city to city and point out a few things that bubbled to the top of my list in each city. This is an impossible task as each day we spent every waking moment and then some taking tours, visiting sites, taking thousand of photos, etc. Some moments are sort of a blur to me. This is a very good exercise to bring back clarity. The good thing is we have thousands of photos and videos to go back over to fill in all the details later.

Venice

About the city of Venice

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges.

Venice was our first city to visit on our trip to Italy. I really had no idea what the city was going to be like even though I had read about it and seen television shows about it.  We only spent two nights and three days in Venice. I would love to have spent at least one more day there. I believe it may be a very difficult city to live in if you don’t have a boat. The photography here was incredible. I just couldn’t stop taking photographs of the gondola riders and “captains”. I call them captains but they probably have a much more official name.

Gondola ride

This probably will end up one of the most memorable events of this trip for me. It was so incredible, so perfect. It was the golden hour of the gods when we went, right at sunset. Just before we entered our one hour trip the weather started turning bad and our gondola captain was concerned about it. The ride with Alice through the canals and rivers of Venice was most amazing and incredible. Words cannot describe nor pictures re-create the experience.

Our “captain” a very nice man. Very fit and needs no Peloton.

Taken right at sunset, maybe my favorite photo of our trip

Touring the town by foot and taking photos

The town of Venice seems to be built on a myriad of canals and waterways. Inside the heart of Venice very narrow roads and alleyways. No cars allowed. Only walking. I felt like I was a rat in a maze. It was very easy to get lost. I guess this was the fun of it. Walking around the city with my camera in hand and taking photos after photos. I couldn’t help taking so many photos of the gondola riders and passengers.

Hallways in Saint Mark's square

San Marco Square - floods full moon and high tide

St. Mark's Square

Model in Venice

Basilica di San Marco

Kids taking a break

Verona

About the city of Verona

Verona is a on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city munipality in the region and the second largest in northeast Italy. The metropolitan of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 (550.58 sq mi) and has a population of 714,310 inhabitants.[5] It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy because of its artistic heritage and several annual fairs and shows as well as the opera season in the Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater.

Verona was the second city on our vacation to Italy. To get to Verona from Venice we had to take a water taxi to the train station. We took a train from Venice to Verona. These trains are not like the trains we are used to in the United States. They are fast, clean, and efficient.  When we arrived in Verona at the train station we took a taxi cab to our hotel which was located only a few blocks from the Colosseum. We were both a very concerned about the “neighborhood”. Not the greatest location if safety is your main concern.  We only spent two evenings and three days in Verona.

Photographing the children musician by the Colosseum.

I was so very impressed by the children and young musicians in Verona. They had congregated near the Colosseum and we’re all practicing their own chosen instrument. They were all very focused on developing their craft. It was a pleasure to see young kids without a phone in their hand.

Young musician practicing her flute

Photographic art - musicians developing their craft

Music theory taught at a young age to these talented lads from Verona

Opera night at the Colosseum

There is no question in my mind that this evening will be the most memorable evening and event of our entire vacation for me.  On our way to dinner we walked past the Colosseum. It was about 6:00 PM there was a full-blown orchestra, choir, opera singers practicing and rehearsing for their performance soon to come. We were just so happy just to see them practice. We were even happier to find out that we could get tickets for free and sit nearly upfront to hear this incredible performance by the most professional musicians I have heard in a very long time. Alice kept pinching me just so we knew it was real. It was in the evening I will never forget.

Opera was held just in front of this government building adjacent to the coliseum

The Verona coliseum lit up at night

Male lead opera singer

Female lead opera singer

Conductor - amazing

View my 2 minute video on our Opera night. Turn your sound on!

A visit to Juliet’s house

On our last day in Verona we ventured out on her own and walked to the main part of old Verona city. We found Julia‘s house, I couldn’t find Romeo. Where art thou Romeo? It was fantastic to see Juliet‘s house and enjoy this time with Alice.

Juliet's bedroom

Juliet's balcony

A squeeze for good luck - Juliete

Alice inside Juliets house

Romeo's outfit

Dining table at Juliet's house

The line is long to get your photo with Juliet

Florence

About Florence

Florence is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.

Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is considered by many academics to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center.

We took the train from Verona to Florence. It was about an hour and a half ride. We stayed in Florence for 11 days. There are so many incredible things we did in Florence it is almost a blur to me at this moment. The art, the history, the food, the people.

Scooter ride in Tuscany

This was great fun for me. No a 50 cc scooter does not compare with my 114 cubic inch Harley, but it was so much fun. Take a look at my video which also include a very interesting tour of a private winery in Tuscany.

The Uffizi museum

The Gallery entirely occupies the first and second floors of the large building constructed between 1560 and 1580 and designed by Giorgio Vasari built by the Medici family.  We took a tour and of course I was overwhelmed. I was focused on getting the photographs while Alice paid close attention to the tour guides every word.  I was so impressed by all the tour guides that we used in our trip to Italy. They were all very educated, very engaging, They loved their art and history. We could’ve spent days there and never seen all of it. Wow. I plan on doing a separate post on the incredible art we saw in the Uffizi.

The statue of David

Again words could not describe the feelings when seeing this marvelous work of art for the first time. What a blessing to be able to see it in person.

David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture, created in marble between 1501 and 1504 by the Italian artist Michelangelo. David is 17 ft sculpture created 1501– c. June 8, 1504. I stood in the very spot the sculpture was created my Michelangelo.

David… The perfect man

Amalfi Coast

about the Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast is a 50-kilometer stretch of coastline along the southern edge of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula, in the Campania region. It’s a popular holiday destination, with sheer cliffs and a rugged shoreline dotted with small beaches and pastel-colored fishing villages. The coastal road between the port city of Salerno and clifftop Sorrento winds past grand villas, terraced vineyards and cliffside lemon groves

To get to the Amalfi coast we took the bullet train from Florence to Naples. From Naples we took a private ride to our hotel location in Amalfi. This was a most beautiful and incredible ride over and around the hills of Amalfi. The roads were narrow, curvy, and dangerous. Thank goodness we had a professional driver that could handle it.

Once we arrived at the street level of our villa I was very surprised to learn we had a 300 step climb to get to our Villa.  I think this small detail was left out of the marketing materials lol.  Even after arriving at our hotel villa we had to go up a number of stairs to our penthouse room which had the most incredible view I have ever seen.

The Amalfi coast, no stair master required

I took this photo from our patio at Villa Rina.

In the heart of Amalfi

In the heart of Amalfi

Alice overlooking Positano Italy

The hillside of Amalfi

Our view from Villa Rina

Alice enjoying the view at sunrise in Amalfi

Villa Rina, only 250+ steps up

Photograph taken from our Ferry to Positano

Cooking lessons

We took two cooking lessons at our villa in the Amalfi coast. Our first lesson wants to learn how to make limoncello. Let me give you one big tip: it’s all about the lemons. The lemons and Amalfi coast are probably the best in the world for limoncello. Most important thing is to only use fresh lemons pick that very same day. What a great experience.

Our second cooking lesson was fresh home made pasta. This was great fun and I think the results were fantastic as the food we made was served to all the guest for the villa that night.

Sea Bass

Caught the very same day in the Amalfi coast

Home made pasta ala Alice and Tom. How about some sauce?

Alice learning from the master Rina

Our boat rides to Positano and Sorrento

The destinations were fantastic but we are both very pleased with the ferry rides to and from Amalfi to Positano and Sorrento. Such a beautiful ride.

Not the boat we took, but I took this from our ferry

Pompay

Pompeii is a vast archaeological site in southern Italy’s Campania region, near the coast of the Bay of Naples. Once a thriving and sophisticated Roman city, Pompeii was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The preserved site features excavated ruins of streets and houses that visitors can freely explore. ― Google

The only remaining Pompey corpse, all others brought to museum in Naples

Lady in red - Pompay

The streets of Pompay

Amphitheater in Pompay

Alice with our tour guide - Pompay

The streets of Pompay

Teramo

About Teramo

Teramo is the capital of the province of Teramo.

The city, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines and the Adriatic coast.

To get to Teramo from Amalfi we took a private car over and around the Amalfi mountains to Naples. From there we took a Train to Rome.  From Rome we took a bus ride to Teramo. We went to Teramo to visit Alice’s good friends Brian and Julia.   We spent two nights in this beautiful country house. We had such a great time and it was such a different experience than the hustle and bustle of the big cities we had previously been in. Brian and Julia were such incredible hosts.

Great meals in their garden

Julia, Brian and Alice

Brian's paella

Julia - how about some wine

Brian, what is the meaning of life?

Visit to the Fortress of Civitella del Tronto

The Fortress of Civitella del Tronto is one of the largest and most important military strongholds in Europe and is situated on the top of a rocky cliff at an altitude of 600 m, a strategic location to control the borders between the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal State.
It is about 500 metres long, for a total surface of 25,000 square metres

The first building dates back to the Middle Ages, but it was renovated by Philip II of Spain in the second half of the 16th century and subsequently by the House of Bourbon (1734).

Fortress of Civitella del Tronto

Sculpture in the courtyard - amazing

The streets atop the fortress

An amazing place

Rome

About Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy. It is also the capital of the Lazio region.

Romes history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe.[9]

To get to Rome from Teramo we took a bus.  The bus ride took about three hours. We were in Rome for 11 days and was our final city on our fantastic vacation to Italy. We packed every day with tours and personal walks.  It was unseasonably hot in Rome.  We certainly understand why everyone in Rome takes a Siesta between 2 and 4 PM. It was just too hot to be outside.  Many establishments actually close our doors between two and four including pharmacies.

Vatican City and Saint Peters Cathedral

I am personally still digesting the majesty and historical impact of this place. I will remember it forever. I plan on writing a very personal blog on religion and my feelings as I walked through this hallowed grounds.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City.

Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelango, Carlo Madermno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world by interior measure

Our tour to the forum and the Colosseum

We had a fantastic tour guide take us to the forum and the Colosseum. Again that was such a great experience. Everything was absolutely breathtaking. Again Alice pinches me to make me realize this is real. The photography was off the chart.

the Roman Forum

The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Founded: 8th century BC-608. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.

For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men.

Magnificent temples the site of triumphal processions and elections

The Forum was the center of ancient Rome dated 5-600 BC

The Colosseum

The Colosseum is an oval amphitheater in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheater in the world today, despite its age.

Construction started in 70 A.D. and only took 10 years to complete. As is to be expected, there were a lot of deaths at the Colosseum. It was used for entertainment (mostly fights, of course) for just shy of 400 years and in this time, it is estimated that 400,000 people died within the walls of this particular amphitheater.

Let me put this in my perspective for a minute. The ancient Romans spent a fortune to boat the fiercest and wildest animals from Africa to Rome Italy. Lions and tigers and bears oh my, and of course anything else that would or could kill a man and eat him up in front of tens of thousand of onlookers. Now lets put these animals in a darken dungeon for 4-7 days, don’t feed them or even give them water. I can tell you being in Rome, it is HOT there. Lets pack this stadium on with the Romans thirsting to see blood and guts. The animals are worth a lot of money to the Romans, it took a lot of effort to get them there. Lets throw in some “worthless slaves” all adorned in costumes to entertain the crowd, open up the doors and let out 2-dozens of blood thirsty animals. Now lets watch the poor souls get bludgeoned to death. Oh MY!!!! 400,000 or more of them.

Note: Alice won’t even go to a boxing match because it is to barbaric!

The ancient Rome coliseum

Where the animals and slaves were winched up to the stage

The hallways under the coliseum

Underneath the stage floor

A great day at the colosseum

The upper left photo is where the winched the animals up to the stage so they could attack the costumed slaves.

The upper and lower right photos were taken from ground level where the slaves and animals were staged before the match

Our final night with Ilian Rachov

Our final night in Rome was a most incredible experience with my good friend Ilian. I have been privileged to know this man for a number of years now. After photographing his work at a show at the Versace mansion in Miami we have been following each other ever since. Ilian was gracious enough to give us an entire evening of his life. I photographed him in his studio in the heart of Rome and then we went for a very fun walk as I took some more photographs of him. We then had a very nice drink and chat with him in the courtyard of the Spanish steps.  During our walk to our hotel Ilian purchased some sandwiches to deliver to his homeless friend on the streets of Rome. He delivers this man sandwiches every day. What kind soul he is. Not only a fantastic artist but a real person. Thank you Ilian.

Ilian Rachov, painter and a great human being

Ilian Rachov, Alice Haigh and Tom Schmuki

Ilian outside his studio in Rome

His design, shirt 1/5

Alice and Ilian

Ilian in his studio in Rome

Venice Day 2

Breakfast its different in italy

We had breakfast on day 2 at the same little bakery/restaurant as day 1 which was only a half a block away from our hotel room.  Alice keeps reminding me, Italians don’t look at breakfast the same was as Americans.  It was difficult for Alice to give any kind of “custom” order to our waitress who spoke no english.  I knew her order would come out wrong for the second day in a row.  I smiled at her and told her it would be safer to just point at an item on the menu.  I had bacon and eggs both days with some really yummy pastries.  The “bacon” seemed more like a thinly sliced up HAM.  Our capachino both days was luke warm at best.  Many Italians eat a late breakfast standing up comprising mostly of a pastry and coffee.

Murano Glass - World Class glass blowers

Following breakfast we got on another boat (almost the only way to get around in Venice) to Murano Glass to watch the world famous glass blowers create works of art including chandeliers, glasses, statues, etc.  Truly an amazing experience.  I was wondering why the hotel offered this wonderful trip up for free. 

That’s one hot oven, how about cooking a pizza?

Glass blower creating a glass.

This guy created this horse from start to finish in less than 5 minutes

Finished product… less than 5 minutes and probably sells for $500

There is no such thing as a free lunch

Sure enough after observing the glass blowers do their thing we were then escorted to a huge show room escorted by a private HIGH end salesman dressed to the nines.  Their stuff was amazing, and we were not allowed to photograph nor video the showroom because they were one of a kind pieces of art.  Price range up to tens of thousands of dollars for a piece.  Of course we were offered a 30% discount.  Now I know why the trip was for free.

We meet such nice people on vacation

We boarded our boat with a couple other really nice couples, one from Dubai and the other from Kentucky and or California.  I observed the woman from Dubai with her Canon camera taking photos.  I knew she was very good with how she framed her shot.  We connected on the boat ride home and I think they may even read this blog.

A very nice couple from Dubai, she is a great photographer!

Couple from California on their honeymoon

Off the boat from the Murano Glass blowers and back to the courtyard we went to walk the streets and take photos.

We entered an Art Museum in the courtyard called: Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Venezia

Marc Quinn’s HISTORYNOW (220 - present) surveys the increasing digital interdependence at a vital point in history.

Quinn’s ten year History Paintings project, which upends the grand tradition of history painting bussing recent images of crucial global moments drawn directly from the media, enlarged and painted with oil on canvas, or woven in silk and wool.

Alice was clearly disturbed the the awkward combination of the grandeur of historical paintings and sculptures combined with large paintings that often times either overwhelmed the room or covered up the great work behind them.  Me, I just went with it.  Here are some photos of our experience in the museum.

I am NOT Italian size large

Now it’s time to go shopping for Tom’s T shirts.  Why, because it is all about me.

We located a t-shirt shop we had seen earlier with shirts we both liked very much.  After trying on many shirts, I discovered my body was not the 18 year old Italian stud body the shirts were designed for.  So much for my massive effort to get in shape and loose weight before the trip.  I have found many of my large shirts made in the US are now a bit large on me.  In Italy these t-shirts were small.  A large felt like a small.  Even an extra large seemed smaller than a large.  Now I am motivated to continue my effort to loose some LB’s when I return,

After the shirt shop we continued to walk the street and take photos and videos. 

A beautiful church: S. Franceso della Vigna

We came across a church that seemed closed, with a big drape in the front.  We “snuck” in and took some photos.  A very great and humbling experience for me.  Alice lit a candle and made a wish.  I wonder what her wish was?  I guess you cannot ask, sort of like making a wish when you blow out candles on your birthday.

Gondola Ride, Romance on steroids

It is hard to not notice the gondola’s in all the waterways and canals taking couples and families for the ride of their life.  We had to do this, and it had to be during the golden hour of the Gods.  This was an experience of a lifetime.  Romantic and so breathtaking.  Our captain was so nice.  He was strong like bull.  A perfect muscular body,  I bet he fit into those medium t-shirts that I looked like a whale in.

Some of the things I noticed and learned about the Gondola boat captains.  They were all MEN, no women.  This was a family tradition passed down from generation to generation with the proud muscular Italians providing the TAXI cab ride of a lifetime to the tourists of Venice.  It seems like there were hundreds of them.  While riding our captain chatting and knew almost every captain on all the boats as they passed by us.  What an experience!  Thank you captain my captain.

Our Gondola boat captain

Photographic art courtesy of Venice and our captain

View a video of our romantic gondola ride here:

Dinner at Tattoria al gazzettino

For some reason I have been always hungry.  We started looking for a place to eat dinner after our Gondola ride.  We came across a place that Alice chose.  It was such a great experience.  It started with the owner of the restaurant who reminded me of the “SOUP NAZZI” guy on Seinfeld. The dinner was incredible.  We met a number of very nice couples from the United States and Holland.  They all happily allowed me to take their photos.

Just another Tom and Alice day!

Venice Day 1

Airport in Venice

The airport in Venice compared to the airport in Paris France was clearly a much different experience.  Flying in we could see the town of Venice and the water taxi’s and private boats buzzing down the waterway towards Venice.  Once we landed it was not long before we found our luggage and prepared to leave.  

Internet and cellular woes

Our very first struggle was dealing with internet and cellular connectivity.  Alice has a much stronger need to stay connected with her business and clients.  I was keenly focused on getting my next blog out which meant internet connectivity and maybe cellular services so I could transfer photos and content from my phone to my laptop.

Tmobile and Sprint you get 0 stars

Frankly this was a miserable experience for both of us.  Alice called and communicated with TMobile/Sprint left me wondering how the call center technical support people could actually hold down a job.  All we wanted was a breakdown of the expenses she would be charged by using her phone internationally in Venice  as if she were still located in South Florida. Of course we also needed to know what we needed to do to make it happen. It took 45 minutes before I took over the phone call and dealt with the imbeciles at Tmobile/Sprint.  After working in technology for nearly half my life and in call centers a good portion of that I understand most operators are just trained to READ a SCRIPT and really have no formal technical training.  Very frustrating. Of course at the end of the call they want you to give them a 5 star rating so they can keep their job. TMobile, you are fired.

I had a similar experience myself with TMobile.  We still are not confident what we are going to be charged for cellular phone calls, internet connectivity and or data or data roaming services.  We hope to not see a big huge LUMING bill when we get home.  Any help or advise from my colleagues would be much appreciated.

Boat ride to San Marco

The boat ride from the airport to San Marco - Venice was a lot of fun.  We rode with about 8 other passengers, and the ride took about 30 minutes.  I believe the cost for each of us was about $35.00 each.  It was a lot of fun and gave us a glimpse of the amazing city and area of Venice which is really mostly waterways with man made levy and land. 

Damaged luggage

After departing the water taxi, we lugged our luggage on route to locate our hotel.  We had discovered that somewhere along the trip the airlines had broken or sliced one of the wheels on my TUMI luggage which made it difficult to roll around. Lets see if TUMI’s lifetime warrantee will cover this damage.

Where is our hotel room?

Just locating our hotel room was very comical.  There seem to be really NO street signs or address, but just a bunch of very small alley ways.  I was initially very distracted by the beauty and immensity of the glorious courtyard of San Marco square.

San Marco Square

Considered one of the finest squares in the world and certainly Venice's prime attraction, it is surrounded on three sides by the stately arcades of public buildings and on the fourth, by Basilica di San Marco's riot of domes and arches and the soaring St. Mark's campanile. You will see many photos and videos we took in and around this square as it was basically only a hundred yards away from our Hotel entrance

St Marks Basilica

The Saint Mark’s Basilica

The Saint Mark’s Basilica, the most important church in Venice, and one of the most important and renown churches and landmarks in the world will celebrate its 400th anniversary since it was completed, the way we know it today, in 1617.

The Courtyard very close to our Hotel

The courtyard where it all comes alive and floods every evening during the winter months and high tide

Bands playing in the court yard. Amazing and romantic

Being without cellular connectivity google maps was worthless to us. Since we We asked one of the street vendors where our hotel was… He said, next left.  We took a look down the “next left” and there was nothing that appeared to be anything like a hotel.  We were lost and spent a good amount of time wheeling our luggage around to finally find our hotel which was down an alley way and certainly did NOT appear to be a hotel at all. The name of the hotel we stayed at in Venice was the Bellevue Suites. Now take a look at this door and you will understand why we couldn’t find it.

Our Hotel in Venice, down a narrow alley

Charging our devices dilemma

Now tell me again how we connect to this strange 3 pronged electrical outlet

Once we arrived at our hotel, our next challenge  was to begin charging all our electronic devices that had been depleted along the way including phones, watches, laptops, camera batteries and others.  We had previously purchased 2 converters on Amazon. Neither one of them seemed to work, or was it we just did NOT know how to use them? We were stuck, unable to charge our depleted phones and other electronic devices.  The front desk was perplexed. He even gave us a converter which also seem to not work.  Once we plugged it in, we still determined neither his device nor the devices we purchased from Amazon worked. After discussing this again with the front desk, all units seemed to magically work.  We then began to charge our devices and joined the “free world” of Al Gores invited internet.  Yea, we were in.  A big sigh of relief. What were we gong to do with out charging phone, camera, laptops, etc. NO BLOG and no work.  Yikes. What I finally discovered is that both the Amazon devices and the device provided by the hotel worked, but only worked on a subset of the outlets. The front desk was NOT aware of this problem. How many stars will I give them?

Our first afternoon in Venice

We spent the afternoon discovering this amazing place called Venice. Much of this time was spent in the courtyard just a block or so from our hotel.

Tell me a bit about Venice

Venice, known also as the “City of Canals,” “The Floating City,” and “Serenissima,” is arguably one of Italy's most picturesque cities. With its winding canals, striking architecture, and beautiful bridges Venice is unlike any other city I have ever been to.

Our first night in Italy and date night was spent exploring the city, having dinner and taking photographs. 

Model radar is always ON

In the early evening I noticed a modelesque woman outside a store.  I told Alice, I would love to photograph her.  My WING MAN took over and went and asked her if I could photograph her.  Sure enough she was a model and right in the middle of doing a shoot for Banana Republic.  She gladly obliged and here are some of the photos I took of her.

Beautiful model in Venice

Perfection all with natural light

This young lady was a real pro

The flooding of Saint Marco Square

On our way back home we veered back through the Saint Marco Square only to find out the entire square had basically been flooded.  I guess this happens often this time of the year and during high tide.  The flooding was about 1-2 inches of water and seemed to be seeping out of the “man hole covers” in the middle of the square.  Alice refused to trudge through the water in her favorite new tennis shoes OC, white and comfortable.  She loves those shoes and has been bragging about them ever since we bought then in Delray Beach.  “I must save the shoes says Alice”, as she refused to get her tennies wet.  I smiled and knew she would walk an extra mile to keep her favorite new shoes white and dry. We finally found a long route around to keep her socks dry.  

Flooding in there courtyard

Flooding in the courtyard

At least I kept my shoes dry

Day one in our 1 month vacation of a lifetime is complete.  Just another Tom and Alice day, with no sleep for over 24 hours for me and just less than that for Alice. We are still running on adrenaline.  Maybe soon we will crash!

My experience on a Motorcycle written by Alice

Where to begin? A year ago, our second date Tom invited me to take a ride on his Harley down to South Beach. Having never ridden on a motorcycle, I was a bit intimidated and of course very concerned for my safety. In my mind, only wild crazy people with tattoos ride motorcycles….I really liked Tom, and he seemed to be very normal and cautious. I thought this could be something new and different and definitely out of my comfort zone. Could COVID had anything to do with this new attitude?

Tom’s tattoo I got him for his birthday

I called my friend Donna that rides with her husband and really enjoys their adventures. I told her Tom invited me to go to South Beach on his Harley. Her response was priceless…”OH, HELL NO!” She told me because I had never been on a bike, it was much too dangerous for me to have my first experience on I-95. She recommended I call Tom and tell him I was newbie and my first time should be a nice & easy scenic ride. I made the call and he was in total agreement. I drove up to Delray, a bit nervous and determined not to let it show. He explained the rules, seemed that I could do this. I put my complete trust in Tom.

Our first motorcycle date

Understand, I had to learn how to get on, get off, lean into the curves and much more. We went on a beautiful ride. We left Delray Beach and headed up to Palm Beach on A1A..WOW! What a great experience. It is like being in a really cool sporty convertible, only on steroids! To feel the total openness around me was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Tom told me I did great..On the way up, I held on a little tight and on the way back to Delray I was relaxed.

I was cautious and watched every move he made…It was a perfect introduction to being a passenger on the back of Tom’s Harley.

Tom on his new Harley

I LOVE bring on the bike and experiencing the openness and space around me! The physical experience is very unique. I like the sound of the engine, especially as Tom accelerants and changes gears. Our vacation on Auto-train with the bike up to DC, I have ridden1200+ miles on this trip. I did get a new comfortable seat for the trip. Yes, it goes in storage and the smaller (sexy) seat goes back on for our local rides. Most of our dates we use the bike because it is a special experience. Not bad for a newbie a year ago. Thank you Tom!

One of our rides to West Palm Beach

Yes, Tom now has a tattoo! I gave it to him for his birthday in September. Now he is the wild and crazy guy!

Me posing in front of Tom’s Harley in the Shenandoah Mountains

Tom’s birthday present to me…. my first leather Harley jacket. Love it!

Blog day 8 - Shenandoah Park Day 2

Confrontation with the next-door neighbor

We were warned by our Airbnb host that his next-door neighbor is not very friendly and doesn't like anyone to touch his 900+ acres of land.  In order for me to ride up the gravel steep hill leaving the property we unload everything off the bike. With a hope and a prayer at the bottom of the hill I accelerate up the hill up into the street where traffic could be.  After successfully making it up the hill I realized I was wearing my tennis shoes and not my Harley Davidson boots. Not a good idea for many reasons one of which is traction when I put my feet down on the ground. I asked Alice to go back to the room and get my boots while I hold the Harley up so I wouldn't fall over.

I parked the bike at the foot of the driveway of his neighbor.  Within a matter of minutes I was confronted by his neighbor asking me what I was doing. I told him I was simply trying to be safe and stay off the road while waiting for my partner. He seemed very annoyed and irritated and not friendly at all. Parking my Harley on anything but an up slope or flat surface is very dangerous and if I can go down way too easily. There's no place around for me to park my bike I'm a flat surface. 

Another ride in the park

Our ride in the Shenandoah national park was another glorious day of motorcycle. Yes I have created a monster. I think Alice had a smile on her face the whole day! We turn right At the park entrance instead of left as we did the day before.

Lunch with Alice on top of the world

We picked up a nice sandwich, chips and drinks at the gas station before heading to the park. I parked our bike on a beautiful overlook in the mountains and we had a great lunch. When we reached the end of the trail I told Alice we could go back a short way and she twisted my arm to turn around and hit the trail again one more time. It did not take much twisting!

Lots of hikers in the park

Hikers were every where young and old. We met one young man maybe in his mid 30’s He said he had been hiking since April 4th 2.5 months ago. Left his wife and child at home to do his thing.

Finished the Netflix series The Assassination of Gianni Versace an American Crime Story

In the evening we watched the final episode of the Netflix series on Versace's murder. We both loved the series very much. So well written, such great acting, such a moving and distressing story. It was very interesting for me to observe again the Versace mansion which I have photographed inside and out many times. I remember when they were filming the series at the mansion.

Now it's time to prepare to start our journey home. Today we drive back to Washington DC and spend the night there before getting on the auto train to head back to Orlando on Wednesday