Itinerary here.
| Journals |
| Jim and Diana |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 1 The weather is glorious....bright sunshine, clear skies, a light breeze, and temperature in the 70s--just about perfect. We head over to the Piazza Navona, find a bench and hang out for a while. |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 2 Our initial destination is the Fellini show at the Vittoriano at Palazzo Venezia. |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 3 Our first stop is a church around the corner from our hotel...one that has not been open that I can remember since we started coming to Rome ten years ago. |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 4 Another sunny and warm day in Rome....we jump into a cab to go back to the Museo at the Terme di Diocleziano where we are meeting our friend Margaret at 10 am. |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 5 The cab driver drove past us first and about five minutes later, he returned--backing up the entire length of Via dei Coronari. He drove like the proverbial Rome cab driver....aggressively and skillfully |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 6 Our plan today is to follow the Touring Club Italiano's Heritage Guide plan for the area around Macerata. The Heritage Guide series are translations of the Italian guides so they are more detailed than most other English-language guides. However, the English translation often leaves a lot to be desired. |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 7 : Macerata We are planning to head to Ancona, the major port city in the area. I seem to have an affinity for Italian port cities, which Diana doesn't altogether share so she is dubious about this expedition |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 8 : Macerata We park right in the main square...actually a triangle surrounded by the public buildings all dating back to the 14th and 15th century--a very attractive piazza. Our first destination is the Museum of Paper and Watermarks, set in an old abbey. |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 9 : Macerata - Pesaro The arena is now the location of the opera festival each summer, but it was originally built in the early 19th century as a stadium where the local ballgame--pallone al bracciale--was played. |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 10: Pesaro The sea looks rough this morning and the sky is gray....not a promising sign. The Hotel Vittoria doesn't include breakfast in the room rate and we don't feel like paying $15.00 for their spread, no matter how good it might be. So we head out to town to find a bar where we can get our cappuccino, tea and sweet rolls. We actually end up sampling two bars (for future reference) and they are both fine. |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 11: Pesaro / Urbino The young waiter seats us and we tell him that we had been there ten years previously; he smiles and says it has taken us a long time to return. |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 12: Pesaro / Ferrara We make the turn into the piazza to the displeasure of cars waiting behind us who want to go straight, dodge strolling pedestrians and bicyclists and park in front of our hotel. |
| Italy
October 2003 Day 13: Ferrara We are the only people on the tour, which is led by a young Ferrarese woman (we assume that she is Jewish) who is the only employee of the museum. She takes us around the complex (which was not open when we first visited Ferrara) which includes three synagogues-one Ashkenazi, one Italian-rite and one that followed the Fano rite (a town just south of Pesaro). |