Today I was a tourist, except I don't own the socks! I rode the hop-on-hop-off bus twice!  First time around I hopped off and took photos to support the app.  The second time around I rode on the top layer, relaxed and was chauffeured around the whole Green-Line route.

As I write, I am sitting in front of Vatican City.  It is sunny and a perfect temperature today.  The clouds in the photographs I have been posting don't seem real.  They don't seem real in real life life either. Brilliance and contrast compete for attention as the cloud is framed in a handful of white. The sun fills portions, while the rain hangs black and ready in another. 

Rome is packed with people, the tourist industry here must be in the billions of dollars. Stores, which look like they are doing are doing very well line the streets.  Today there is 30 to 70 percent discount at the Ferrari store! “Saldi” is posted in every store window and the stores are overflowing with people.  Bags and bags are being carried by hundreds.

Rome really is a beautiful city.  Where else can you see sites from the year 390 to 2014, all while sitting on a double-decker bus?  The buildings are incredible; laced with ornament and character, they are solid and covered with demons and angels; and they stand, imposing. They grace the streets and fill me with spacial relationship issues!  (..just what I need - more issues!) The architect of each has outdone the other and collectively they present a city like no other.

The portion of the city in which I am staying doesn't lend itself to sunset photography, which is a shame, for me, as it would be nice to play with the colours against the buildings;  the view isn’t wide enough, and we all know I long for the country anyhow...  I am two blocks from the train station which presents two extremes.  Beauty and amazing buildings are a feast for eyes while at the same time, the smell of urine fills the air.  Well dressed travellers and playwrights as beggars share the same space. Tonight, a woman with no fingers yelled at me for the amount of money I gave to her. I said it was all I had; she kept yelling.  I walked away.  What's a person to do?  It's not just this neighbourhood though, it's all through Rome and the other larger cities.  At the same time, I feel completely safe here and plan to stay at this B&B  (La Casa di Amy) the next time I am in Rome.

I have become very intimate with the room in which I am staying.  It is small enough to be an extension of my right arm but large enough to allow me to spread out maps and diagrams. The women who clean the rooms each day are delightful; kind, and they try so hard to communicate with me.  The owners of the B&B are very friendly and talk with me each day.

I am looking forward to Brittany arriving on Sunday. For a start, we will be back in the country and secondly, we will have so much fun!

There are at least 4,000 churches in Rome and 3,999 of them are Catholic.  Most of them are outrageous! You’d think the Pope lives here or something.  Imagine my surprise when this morning I found an un-catholic church.  And the funny thing about the catholic churches is that they are all beside each other.  How many churches do you need in a row?  I don’t have a good punch line for that question!  How many churches, in London, can you name that are on the same block? There’s King Street United and that evangelical on the corner, and there might be two downtown, and that’s it!  In Rome, you can go in the front door of one church, slip out the side door and meander into the side door of the next!  Maybe it’s so if purgatory has caught you by the tail in one you can scramble into the next unnoticed?

There are two other things I have figured out today.  The first is that all roads lead to Santa Maria Maggiore. Doesn't matter where you are, you end up on the front steps. The second thing is that this entire city is under surveillance.  You are being recorded every step of your day even as you slip out of one church into the next.  Cameras are mounted on buildings, stoplights and poles everywhere.  I don't know who is watching the activity on all these cameras because the entire police force, army and navy personnel are out on the streets telling you where not to park your bike!

And speaking of my bike.  Wilson is presently being boxed up for the flight to Palermo.  Cardboard box; not a hard case, which is available for purchase for 700 Euros! - I don’t think so!-  I found a bike store in the neighbourhood that will box Wilson.  I rode Wilson over there this morning and got dumped on by a big rain cloud with huge thunderbolts attached.  I was soaked; drenched all the way through.  If I was a smart tourist I would have bought one of those umbrellas from the million and one happy-to-serve-me vendors! But noooo, I am not paying 5 bucks for an umbrella.  I got soaked instead! The store was hilarious.  There I am standing, dripping wet,  with a tiny, cheap, fold up bike in the middle of a store where the cheapest bike is 3,600 Euros and the most expensive, that I managed to see as it wasn't stored in the “Golden Room”, was 10,700 Euros!  For a bike! -  ~I can’t even do that math!~ I pick up little Wilson on Friday!

I have also figured out that you look like a tourist if you wear capris, pocket shorts, a wide brim summer hat, white running shoes with those little socks, bounce your camera off your belly as you walk, wear a knapsack on your front or back, wear flip-flops, hold a map in your hand as you squint aimlessly up into the sky and if you carry gallons of water with you.  You look like an local if you wear a pocket vest and talk on your cell phone while driving your scooter.

Since I am bikeless and finished the photos I need, I wandered the neighbourhood.  The photos I have posted today are from the walk; to give you a sense of what I am seeing. It is a lovely neighbourhood with lots of decoration, and.. churches! 

What a purely delightful way to start my morning: The Church of Sta Pudenziana.  I loved the exterior the moment I saw the roofline appear as I turned the street corner to find it.  The state, colour and simplicity of the exterior is lovely! The picture above is a little warped as I took the shot with the fish-eye lens, but I thought it would be nice if you could see the setting in which the church sits.  It is one story below ground level.  You have to walk down an amazing set of steps to get to it and then a carpet of simple mosaics leads you inside. 

This church is the last stop in the app, and what a way to go! You'll have to buy the app to get all the photos and details but I will tell you that the apse mosaics were created in approximately 390, making them possibly the oldest mosaics in Rome; making this site definitely worth the time to visit.

I am back at the B&B now, filing and sorting photos into folders! I might pop down to the forum this afternoon to take a few shots there.  Basically, I am finished all the shots we need for the app, so now I am after bonus material.

Out the door at 6:30, heading for The Pantheon.  Somehow, I managed to find the Spanish Steps instead, which were on my list for  early morning photos, just not on today's list! Once finished there, I pointed the bike in the direction of the Pantheon, and ended up at Fiume Tevere (Tiber River). Which was a lovely bike ride under a row of large shade trees with some beautiful reflections in the river.  Then I found Piazza Farnasi, Piazza Fiori, and Piazza Mattei where I was pleasantly surprised by the lovely turtle fountain.  I didn't have much time to admire the turtles as I was still trying to beat the crowd to The Pantheon and Piazza Navona. After spinning the wheels and spinning my head I finally made it to the Pantheon just before the horsemen started to place their carriages in front of the door, making for a lousy photo.  (I try not to have people or horses in my photos unless I choose to;  I am controlling that way!) I tried a few panoramic shots, which I will look at tonight to see if they worked.  Then I sped over to Piazza Navona and the crowds weren't too bad there yet so I took some decent shots.  Now back in '48 when I was building the Navona page in the app, I had filled the page with Navona content but still had a tiny empty spot on the screen.  I looked up on the internet anything else in Navona that might be worthwhile to see when a person is in the Piazza.  Online, I found a church called Nostra Signora del Sacro Coure; I put it in the app.  Today I found the church in real life.  It is nothing outside, and it isn't particularly interesting inside, but as I was staring at the blessed person at the front, I started to look at the dome above her.  Something was a little too perfect about it.  I stared until my eyes couldn't discern the reality from the image itself. I crept as close as I could to it, which means I think I stood on parts of the church where a mere mortal is not supposed to stand.  And you know what ? The dome is fake!  It was like being at Oz "Never mind that man behind the curtain!" The only way I could really tell was by a few scratches on it that go completely across some of the painting.  I don't know if this is app-worthy material, but it was fun to discover.

Next, I was heading over to Piazza Colonna area but made a quick stop into Sant' Agostino, because it was in front of me, and I didn't really know where I was, so thought I ought to go inside when I had the chance. Wouldn't you know it but there is a Caravaggio in there! Madonna of Loreto.  I actually remember studying this one because Mary said, in class, 40 years ago "Look at how dirty his feet are!"  So that made me wear a big smile today!  No one was in the church looking at it.  It is in a dark little chapel, with no lighting and a big sign saying "NO FLASH"  It was the NO FLASH sign that attracted me to the chapel, because NO FLASH means there is something good there!

On my way to Piazza Colonna I missed the turn by one block and ended up in Piazza Popolo, quite a distance away, but I needed some photos from there, so I made the best use of my directional challenges.   I made it back to Colonna, then headed home where I showered and had a big nap!  I am just heading out to find food now.

It was great... I slept in until 8:00 and had a leisurely breakfast in the breakfast room off Scala C. I am taking the day off from being on tour and am working on the Mac and the app.  I want to be sure I have all the directions and photos for the directions correct while I am here in case I need to retake any photos or recheck the routes. I also figured out how to make buttons call the correct photo and connected the direction text with the  directional photo. Isn't it just too exciting!  I don't plan on going out today at all; I am trying to be focused on this task so it is out of the way. Plus, I will plan what more needs to be done.  I have the window open so I am getting fresh air and listening to all the local folks that live out back yell at each other.

Trevi Fountain was first on my list this morning. I mapped it out on my iPad the night before, so I had proper directions.  GPS Florence isn’t much use to me when on the bicycle.  She only has programming for cars going the correct direction on, say, a one-way street!  If I used Flo, I would have perhaps a more successful trip, but a longer trip. Instead, I ride on the sidewalks, or the roads, or along the train tracks, or the storm sewer path on a set of steps, in whatever direction I want; just like all the other Romans. (Flo understands.)

I was a security breach this morning when I parked the bike at the front door of Palazzo Chigi.  A nice policeman, who I had noticed had been watching me intently, politely came over and told me to move it.  Sheesh, how's a person supposed to know that the Italian Prime Minister lives there!

The major, most amazing event of the day was seeing the three Caravaggio paintings in real life, in San Luigi dei Francesi.  I, along with about 10 other people, waited for the church to open. I didn't know where the paintings were located in the church, but I just followed the group, who didn't look at anything else in the building, they just headed directly for a chapel towards the front.  And what a dream to see them.  They are much larger than a 35mm slide, the colour is vivid, the details are incredible. To be able to paint like Caravaggio would be such a gift.  I am looking forward to watching the Caravaggio movie when I get home!

Let's talk about rain and that perhaps I should tune in to the weather network while I am here. It was a little cloudy when I left this morning, but the sun was breaking through the clouds presenting some nice lighting for photos. By the time I left sopra Minerva, it was dumping rain!  Umbrella vendor people had appeared out of nowhere pushing their wares into the faces of everyone who was getting soaked. I knew I had a half hour ride home and decided that each day I arrive home soaking wet, from the heat of the day and what a pleasure it would be to arrive home drenched by rain instead.  I tucked the only important thing, my camera, inside my clothes.

Today started at 5:45 when I heard some fanciful music playing in my ear.  I didn't know what it was... but it wouldn't stop, then I realized it was the iPad alarm clock!  I rolled out of bed, and there isn't much room for rolling, it is a single bed that measures about 29 inches across.  I was on the streets shortly after 6 thinking that I would be the first person up in Rome.  But as soon as I went out the door I saw two people walking, dragging their suitcases behind them.  I think they had been dragging them all night.  Then I hung a left and saw four busloads of tourists at Santa Maria Maggiore.  It wasn't even open.  They were standing in front of it taking pictures and staring.  Someone made them get up that early to stare at it from the outside! 

Onward to Trevi Fountain... except I never found Trevi Fountain; I think they moved it!  Instead, I found Trajan's Forum.  So I quickly changed my plans for the day and carried Wilson up million steps to Campodglio (The first picture below).  It was good to be there so early as there were mostly security guards and only a couple of tourists. I was at the church of Santi Cosmas & Damiano just before 9 and had to wait for them to open it. (Third and fourth pics below).  Then on to the Arch of Constantine and the Coloseum. It was now about 10:00 and the Coloseum was packed; there was a huge lineup to get inside it.  I was happy that I had no need to go inside. Vendors and men dressed in Roman warrior garb lined the streets.  I skeedaddled out of that area as quickly as possible and stopped for breakfast, as I was starving (Breakfast at the B&B starts at 7:30 and I was gone before then). I made a quick stop at San Celemente, saw the mosaics but couldn't take any pictures - a big no no.  I don't get it, they are mosaics; an infared light from a camera shining on them for 2 seconds isn't going to hurt them.  Plus, I just came from the church around the corner (Cosmos) with almost identical mosaics and you could snap all you wanted in there.  It's all about money.  They want you to buy the book!

I have been following the app to the destinations and being sure the directions are correct as I go.  The app said it was 1.2 km to get to the next stop, Maggiore; and I believe the app to be correct! I was happy it lead me to Maggiore because it is around the corner from where I am staying.  The directions in the app got me home for a nap!

There are so many people here, at Trevi Fountain, surely there is someone I know in the crowd!  I’ll keep looking…

Trevi is under wraps for restoration but it was still packed in the square; hundreds of people all staring at Trevi under wraps, and you couldn't see anything.  In fact, there were so many people in this area that I couldn't  take any photographs that will make any sense for directions in the app. It was a people traffic jam as the same amount of people as normal were there to see it but there was only half the space to put them all.

I left the B&B by 8:00 this morning to get over to Piazza Popolo, my furthest destination.  I made a couple of wrong turns getting there, but eventually found it.  My timing was good as I was alone in Santa Maria del Popolo for a great deal of the time, so I didn't have to work around people for photos. I was more than an hour in there and, I know I took more photos than I will ever use, but one never knows.  I managed a few photos of the Caravaggio's, even though there is a big warning sign that you will go to purgatory forever and onions will grow out of your ears, if you take any shots! They are on the side walls in the chapel, so I couldn't get good angles without climbing over the concrete barrier.  The paintings are vividly, beautiful and in perfect condition.  They were such a joy to see. 

I have been using the current version of the app to route me along and have been taking pictures to support the directions outlined in the app.  A woman tourist, from Russia, came to me to ask directions and I pulled out the iPad app to show her the way!  It is already being used by a tourist (besides me)! As lost as I may be on the inside, I think I look like a person who knows where they’re going on the outside; four other people asked for directions. I am trying to look like a local; no visible maps, no hat, no water bottles and only one crossover shoulder bag that my camera tucks into. The bike pack is loaded with water and maps.

I made it through all 5 scheduled locations today even though I didn't take any photos at Spanish Steps and Trevi, there was no point; too many people. The fountain at the steps is also under wraps. I am skipping breakfast tomorrow and heading out at sunrise before everyone is out of bed I’ll start at Trevi so I can take the direction shots over to Piazza Colonna.  I am hoping to be to the Pantheon by 8:00.

It is now 2:30 and I am back in the room.  It is boiling outside.

Last last evening I sent, to the big bell ringer in the sky, a request for the church bells to ring at 7:45 to wake me up this morning, but instead,  I was awake at 5:45 and on the road by 7:30, so if the bells rang they woke somebody else up!  (Hallelujah!) I had decided sometime through the night that I would solve the luggage transport issue by driving to the B&B near Terminal Centre, in the centre of Rome. I had no time to waste; I was up early and out the door.  I programmed Florence, the GPS, to avoid all toll roads so I could have a leisurely and scenic drive knowing it would take two hours and thirty minutes.  It worked like a charm and I drove to Rome on original Roman roads, that fortunately, have been repaved since the Roman days.  I arrived at the B&B by 10:30.  The hardest part of the trip was finding a parking spot on the street so I could unload the luggage. I couldn't find one so I double parked. Once unloaded, I turned the car around and headed for the airport.  The car checked in fine, (no damage);  I found my way to the airport train station, bought a ticket for Terminal Centre and currently am writing this while on the Leonardo Express. Total time from B&B door to airport and back was three hours; longer than the time it took to drive here from Spello!  I have decided to take a taxi from here to the airport when I  am finished in Rome.

I am staying at LaCasa di Amy, B&B, recommended by Mary.  It is wonderful!  Everyone in the family met me and introduced themselves, in English.  One person carried my suitcases and a son carried the bike. When they took me to my room I was surprised by a bottle of Prosecco, a fruit bowl, teas, coffee and a fridge full of snacks!  I realized that it didn't cost them much to do this, but it is the nicest touch from any of the places I have stayed. PLUS there is an elevator!  I had a big nap, then ironed a few blouses, with my Italian iron.   This B&B also has the best internet connection I have had all along. I am now heading out to find some dinner and then back here to get organized for the next 11 days of Two Day Walking Tour.  (No pics today - I packed my camera at the bottom of the knapsack so I wouldn't slow down my drive by stopping to take any pictures while driving; but let me just tell you there were pictures that should have been taken!)

The coolness of the morning invited me to climb to the top of the town. Spello is beautiful.  The roads, houses, piazza benches, flower arrangements, even the people; are all perfect. It is a really steep town, and the walking up involved continuous climbing.  It wasn’t as bad as the Raphael road two towns ago, but it was slow going as the roads up never seemed to end. The bike ride down was glorious!  People are envious of my bike rides down.  A number of people have made comments to me in all manner of languages, with all sorts of body language, suggesting how lucky it is to have a ride down.

My mission for the afternoon was to buy bungee cables since I plan to ride the bike, tomorrow, in Rome, from the Central Terminal to the B&B, and I want to strap my suitcase on the bike.  I hopped in the car and drove to numerous stores, along various roads, for great lengths of time, with no luck and then when I looked up and I was staring at Assisi! I’ve seen Assisi from all sides now…. I figured that since I was so close to Assisi, I might as well make a left turn and head to Perugia! 

I parked on the road above the Perugia Sanna train station, which seems to be located at the end of the tracks.  The trains don’t pass the station, they stop right at it! I took one escalator from track level up then climbed more roads  and steps to get to the viewing deck level at the top of the town.  It was an incredible view and the sky was magnificent. I rested at the top with a gin-tonic in hand. The header photo is the gin-tonic view.  (It's funny that when I am in a town, I want to look out of it.)

On the way home from Perugia, I took a lumpy, red gravel, single-lane, in need of a lot of work, in-the-middle-of-nowhere, top-of-the-mountain-who-on-earth-would-drive-this-road, road, which took me through some incredible farmland and beautiful olive groves. But the weirdest thing was that at the very top of the mountain, the road was lined with modern works of art. Yeah, It took me by surprise too!.   Parco della Scultura di Castelbuono, Bevagna. I took a few photos of them, but didn't really want to stop the car for long on this road as it wasn't the safest feeling road, in the sense that it didn't feel stable.  At one point I saw a road sign from the other direction displaying that there was a town in the direction from which I just came.  The existence of that sign, on the other side of the road for oncoming traffic let me know that the road actually did go somewhere and not just dead end on the top.  So, I kept going.

PS - No Bungee cables to be found.  Instead, I bought some kind of strapping for curtain repair and a pair of scissors. (I might take a taxi!)

I'll be darned if the Gubbio church bells didn't wake me up at 6:30 this morning!  I used to like the sound of church bells in Italy; soothing, romantic, cultural.  Now - to heck with all that!  If I hear another church bell I may need to damage them all.  Italian Headlines: Canadian Woman Goes Berserk Smashing Church Bells with Bocce Balls and  Strozzapreti Noodles!

I left Gubbio  early and was in Spello by 9:30.  But it was when I saw the storm brewing over Spello that I decided to be a Photo Journalist for the day and capture the mood in the clouds and the lighting.  I madly drove the car in all directions to try and find the best angle for the shots.  I drove under a train bridge that I wasn't sure if the SmartCar would fit under.  I got out to check and the bottom of the bridge was a little higher than my head so under the car went.  I drove over on a road with 8 inch deep crevices on the left tire side and 10 inch plants growing up between the tire grooves in the road.  I finally got the first three shots shown below. But I couldn't stop.... I decided to chase the sunshine that was lighting a couple of mountains in the distance, far over my left shoulder. I pointed the car in that direction. Up and up to the top, studying the light; watching the colours unfold.  It was like being in the middle of a Sweet Tart and "Biting for a Burst of Flavour" - but colour was the flavour!  Every view was stunning.  (I know you're tired of this - but go with me on it...) 

By this time, I was starving so I stopped at a small grocery store in Bastardo (I don't know how to say it) .  I pulled a strand of grapes off a bunch and put them in the bag.  A grocery man flew out from somewhere, grabbed the big bunch and tried to jam the whole bunch into my bag.  He was upset that I had pulled some off and not taken the whole thing.  So, we had words; his were Italian, mine were English.  I'll spare you the details, but I ended up with only what I wanted. He stomped away mumbling.

I continued with my journey as a large cloud swallowed the car, sheets of rain blasted down and nothing could be seen outside of the car except branches blowing across the road.  Everything was completely white. I rolled down the car window to take the sunflower picture (the last one posted) and got completely soaked without even getting out of the car.  The rain was blasting right into my face.  In the sunflower photo, there are mountains in the background, but you can't see them through the rain; if you can zoom in you will see the rain in the shot.  I found a safe place to park to wait it out and pulled the grapes out for lunch.  They were the most sour grapes I have ever tasted.  It's no wonder he wanted me to take the whole bunch because once tasted, no one would eat them!  He's probably been trying to sell them for a month!

When the storm slowed and driving was safe again, and I could see,  there were sticks, garbage cans and huge branches across the roads.  Trees were down. The roads were flooded and it was a mess. The car and I crawled slowly through it all only to be stopped by a transport and tractor that collided during the storm.  I detoured through a town around the accident and made it  safely to Spello.  I got settled in my room when a huge crack of thunder pierced the air and the storm was outside my window.

It's now 3:40 pm.  The rain has stopped. Grey clouds fill the sky; the colour is gone.  What a day!

Last night, Karen reminded me how close I am to Assisi.  This morning I threw the bike in the car and within an hour I was standing at Rocco Maggiore (The header photograph)  I decided I would ride the bike through town and go into buildings I hadn't been in before.  Assisi, was packed. I didn't see Sister Sue.  I stayed for a couple of hours and then drove up the road that Karen and I hiked two years ago to get to Eremo dell Carceri.  Karen!  What was I thinking when I agreed to walk up there with you??  It is 4 km in the blazing sun!  People were doing it today and were dripping wet at the side of the road!   Everyone who wasn't at the Basilica below had rented cars and were idling in front of the Eremo gates! There was a huge traffic jam of tourists in rental cars, with looks of terror on their faces, all trying to come down the hill, in little stick shift cars they have never driven before today.  They don't seem to know the rule that you let the cars going up the hill go up first.  Instead, they were all trying to make the hairpin turn at once, double file, without crashing in to each other and without their car going completely out of control. My little SmartCar and two cars behind were perched on the straight up hill waiting for them to pass.  I started to make Italian "Get out of my way" gestures at them.  I shook my head "No" and pointed at people where to go.  I was directing traffic from my little SmartCar and they all responded! It was inexperienced tourist bad driver nightmare.  I left a blaze  of dust behind me and ended up driving completely around the top and coming out at the other side at San Damiano.  

I haven't posted many landscape shots today as there are just too many incredible views to take pictures of them all.  I have posted a series of photos of a new permanent display in one of the churches in Assisi.  It was cool.  Also, I have been asked how the bike folds up.  There are three folds; pedals fold in, handle bars fold down and the cross bar folds in the middle so the front wheel is beside the back wheel.  The seat slides down.  I am getting better with the folding.  Also, I don't dislike the SmartCar anymore.  We have come to terms with each other.

I am back in Gubbio now. (3:30)  It is boiling outside; too hot to be out.  I have had an afternoon shower to cool off and am heading out to roam the town and have dinner.

Gubbio is wonderful!  I like the atmosphere, and the feeling while wandering the streets.  It reminds me of Assisi. I walked the bike all the way to the top and then leisurely road down stopping to admire buildings, lighting, flowers, windows, rooflines and the view.  The roads are wildly bumpy as they are stone pieces; not paved. (It's a good thing I have a decent bra!) I was quite some time in Palazzo dei Consoli; lovely building.  I looked at the building so much I barely saw the artwork and tables/tablets. (See pics)  It is Saturday night and there are wild and wonderful sounds coming from the streets below.  I am up rather late tonight (11:40) so I will stop writing and figure out what I am going to see tomorrow.  Ciao!

Simply the most graceful, grounding, of the earth interior I have been in...
And it's a museum too.
I've got nothing!

Apparently, I took too long loading the car this morning in the underground, paid parking lot in Urbino, and by the time I was ready to leave the facility my ticket wouldn't open the gate.  There were no people around to help as you give your money to a machine. I pushed a lot of buttons on the gate box but no little voice was to be summoned. I laid in wait for a woman to go out the gate with her car and I tailgated her all the way up the out ramp. Fortunately, the gate didn't slam down in to the roof of my car.

Gubbio is lovely!! I am pleasantly surprised and looking forward to visiting this town.  My room isn't ready until 2:00, (It is 12:30 as I write this) so I drove the car to the highest building outside of town, on the top of a mountain, which happens to be the Basilica of St Ubaldo.  It has some lovely stained glass windows, a nice glossy brochure that you can buy for 1 Euro and a dead guy on display in a glass case! No wax figure this time, nope,  it's the real thing!!! Right there at the front of the church and it's not like it's current funeral visitation heck, he died in 1160! I hate to tell you folks, but this is Old news... They also have on display a replica of the Shroud of Turin so I guess that saves me a trip over to that part of the country! Ha! Modern bronze works by Rabbini Luigi  were on display in the courtyard, and  were quite nice.

A few steps down from the basilica is a restaurant with a shaded patio area that overlooks the valley below.  The overview pics were taken from there.  As I wrapped up lunch I decided that since I still had a little time before I needed to head back into town, I would hunt for the next mountain range.  I felt a little bit like Julie Andrews and that Dawn Ellis should be sitting beside me singing some corny thing from the Sound of Music.  Instead of turning left to go back to Gubbio I hung a right and ended up going through Scheggia, Ponte Calara, and Valdorbia. Well, was I surprised.  It was magnificent.  I ended up in a national park and I got right to the base of the rock in the photos.  The road was getting more narrow as I proceeded, so I turned the car around when I had a safe opportunity.  The funny thing about the traffic signs in Italy is that I can’t read them! ~Makes me feel like a foreigner~ perhaps there was a sign saying that the road turns into single car only and be sure to watch out for the oncoming traffic, but I cant be too sure.

I am now in Gubbio; it is 4:00.  I have had a shower to cool down as it is over 30 today but seems to be hotter than that.  I am posting this now, while the heat is heavy outdoors and I will be heading out shortly to get a feel for the town.  The bike has worked well again today as the free parking is over by the Roman theatre and I am in the part of town where it is restricted traffic.  I have my overnight bag down to a single knapsack.  I leave everything else in the car except what I will need for one night. The funny part about that is, the knapsack is mostly full of electronics!

All for now.. I might post again later depending what I see over the next few hours.

It all started with the Cathedral.  I made myself to go inside because it was omnipotently staring at me with almighty force.   Upon Ingrese,  I was presented with great blobs of Baroqueness and a lot of nothing.. (Is that too strong?)  I skeedaddled my digs out of there quickly!  Perhaps it is a lovely church, just not right for me, today.

The Ducal Palace is huge, it has lovely doors, windows, fireplaces and a substantial art collection.  It was a pleasurable experience in this building.  The front and part of the interior is being restored so is covered. I have included a few interior photos below.  I talked at great length with a Dutch couple (The guy looks like Nico - must be cousins!) who were admiring a Piero. It was a fun conversation.

I was a little disappointed with Raphael’s house.  I was expecting it to be, well, a little more…. "Manger like"; you-know: humble; east-of-adelaide; poor kid makes a name for himself kind-of-place.   Instead, it looks like his parents were doing alright and could easily afford to send their kid to art school. I expected a “struggling atmosphere.” Curious though it may be, I didn't pay the fee  to see the "Birthing room", that seemed a little far fetched to me, instead, I persevered up the incredibly steep hill to the statue and park in his honour.  If you ever come to Urbino, just ask for a copy of my pictures, don’t actually walk up this hill yourself.  It is like scaling the side of a 10 story building without your spiderman outfit. 

I finished my museum run and bicycle tour by 2:00 and didn't want to stay in town anymore.  I got the car out of storage and pointed it away.  Eventually, I saw a tower that was calling to me, high on a hilltop, in the quasi-distant haze. The tower became my goal.  I was determined to stand right beside it. If I knew how I actually got there, I would share, but I don't have a clue.  I twisted and turned and upped and downed the car until I found the road.  In the meantime, I had slowly, creepingly, lurkingly, driven through a tiny town (Ca' Mazzasette, population 85), three times, where a group of afternoon seniors were sitting on their little chairs chatting as they faced the road.  I waved to them each time I went by them.  They stared and me and politely waved back!  I bet I am the talk of the town!  The road to the tower, was, shall I say,  "Unkept" - like a "morning-wake-up" hairdo; a little spiky  on one side with killer crevices on the other.  I decided that the rental car spring suspension wasn't really my worry. I stood right beside the tower! The view from the top was incredible as I really was on the top of Italy.

On another note.  I have seen two tourists, wearing their skin-tone colour, secret, save all your important documents, and fool the bad-guy, money belts on the outside of their clothes. How funny is that?

I woke up at 6:30 this morning and the rising sun was striking the same buildings that I posted as the header shot in yesterday's post, so it is posted as the first shot below so you too can see the difference in the lighting.  This is the first time I have been awake before morning church bells.  I was even awake before the street cleaner!

A few of you have suggested that the bike have a name, and that it be "Wilson." I am okay with that, but I just want you to know that I haven't started to "talk" to Wilson yet; we still have a fairly formal relationship.

Montrerchi was my goal this morning; Piero della Francesca, Madonna del Parto.  It was about a half hour drive, on the back roads.  It really does have an entire museum all to itself.  It is the only painting in the building and it's not even all there! Anyhow, it was lovely to see in person and Piero really does paint well! It has been so refreshing to become reacquainted with him.

I realized when I left the museum this morning, that I have been in too many cities, towns, museums and buildings in a short period of time, and I needed some country space today.  I looked through the map book and found Piobbico, a small town, on the way to Urbino, located on a yellow road!   Yellow on the map means that the road is in decent shape but is not a major highway; it's equivalent to Hwy 2. Wilson punched the request into Florence. (She is sitting in the front seat she needs to pull her weight!) It was an incredible, astounding, beautiful, unbelievable drive!  I couldn't stop stopping the car to admire what I was seeing and I couldn't stop taking pictures. (I used the real camera today).  The drive took at least three times as long as if it were a local person driving. The lighting was perfect. Every curve in the road presented an entire new, jaw-dropping, landscape.  Fields of sunflowers, harvested wheat, forests gripping to the sides of cliffs ... oh my...

It is 7:45 pm.  I am sitting in Piazza Torre di Berta in Sansepolcro  watching the sun get ready to set on two medieval towers,  a few arches, one church steeple and the Cyprus lined mountain range it the distance. A man with a Jack Russell who looks like Tyson (the dog, not the man) is sitting beside me while another man just walked by carrying a set of bed springs on his bicycle. A mother is teaching her young son how to use a public pay phone (which they still have in Italy) and two little kids are playing on the steps of Cattedrale di San Giovanni Evangelista (which is the first church I went into this morning) How perfect is this??

I left Arezzo around 11 this morning.  The bike indeed does fold up small enough to fit into the SmartCar.  Within a half hour of driving I could finally see some countryside and mountains.  The highway was busier than I had hoped, which meant it was not a leisurely drive, but on the other hand, I made it here in good  time and the Gps was excellent.

I am staying at Albergo Florentino, my room is on the third floor, which is really the fourth floor because in Italy they count the ground floor as zero! Staying on an Italian third floor sure makes me appreciate the one set of steps I need to go up and down at the Cumberland lower loft!

Seeing Italy on a bicycle is so rewarding and fun.  I feel like a modern Dervla Murphy without the gun (as introduced to me by Karen H).  Of course, she didn't have a SmartCar to get her from town to town, or an iPad, or a Gps... But she did have a bicycle!  I mostly ride downhill and walk the bike uphill. I have seen the whole town and I am not exhausted; the only exhausting part from today is climbing all the stairs to get to my room! I even made it over to the Medici Fortress, which is in pretty rough shape and not open to the public.

This whole town is Piero... (This is a switch for me as I am used to things being all about me!) A substantial street is named after him, there are posters everywhere, the museum has two wings; one devoted to Piero and the other devoted to a mish-mash of other guys.  No pictures of Piero art today as it was not allowed, and I was the only person in the room and I was being watched by two hefty take-me-to-the-floor-in-6-seconds museum guards, so the odds were against me!  I could though, get really close to them and could see the cartooning outlines in the frescoes, which was really neat to see.

Although I am sure you are getting tired of all these pictures by now…I have included below a few shots from around town so you can get the feel for the town.  I am staying in the walled part, the old part, but I rode the bike through the new part of town too and found a lovely street lined with trees leading to one of the old gates.  It is a slow paced  gem of a town, people step gently and slowly as they meander into the square. They all know each other and yell loudly at each other across the square to say hello.  It has been a pleasant day.

I began to be a tourist at 10 AM this morning.  It is now 3:50 and I am back in the room having a rest and cooling off before I head back out for the evening.  I saw everything today… and I saw everything because as I was by the old wall at the edge of the historic town (see photo below), I passed a bike shop.  They had a “City Free” bike that folds up and fits into a bag.  The man said it would fit in a SmartCar, so that means I am using a bike for the rest of the trip at least until the end of Rome.  It am thinking that will be great in Rome as the city is so big and I have so much territory to cover while I am there.  At the end of Rome, I will decide what I am doing with it. In the meantime, I rode the bike all over town and found everything, a beautiful park with a view, regular local streets, all kinds of churches that aren't on any tourist maps and the tourist office who charges 50 cents for a tourist map so I didn't buy it! I also rode it in to the main part of Arezzo, which is flat and very hot. It has bike paths all over the place so it was safe riding.  The bike will be a great benefit to the me for the area I can cover and for the reduced wear and tear on my knees! (which are doing okay today)
I am travelling with my tourist camera today - a little Sony, with an LED screen that is constantly blurry because of my eyes. I really can never tell if it is focused.  It’s one of those cameras that you have to hold in the air to shoot and because I cant see what’s on the LCD I am not really sure what I am pointing the thing at so I end up with "by chance" photographs. I am using it today to give my right arm a rest from the weight of my big camera. The shots posted below are from the tourist camera. Anyhow.. I saw the Cimabue ~really big smile~ and when I went to take the shot with my little blue tourist camera, lights turned on at the front of the church to light up the cross.  I took all the shots and then the lights went off.  They never came on again!  It’s a miracle I say! (The Sony Gods are trying to prove to me that the camera doesn't stink!)

… okay.. I am going out on the bike again… apresto!

Later the same day... It's now 6:47 PM - I did another trip around the town and now am sitting under a row of arches, I think designed by Vasari when he was a baby, in a caffe, that has good wireless, in a piazza where the sun is shining, crests of families of Italy line the square and Roy Rogers and Dale Evan are playing over the sound system - what could be better!

PS - Although it is in the cities where I see the most important works of art, it is the countryside to which I am drawn.

I chose the towns of Arezzo, Sansepolcro and Urbino for this part of the journey because my good friend Nancy, who holds great respect for the work of Piero della Francesca, suggested that his work is worth seeing. I am in Arezzo. My first stop was at the Basilica of San Francesco that was built mid 13th century. Thank you Nancy for suggesting that I follow the “Piero Trail”, it’s been excellent so far and I have only started.
Details started to flow back into my tiny little brain as soon as I saw the painting, “The Annunciation”.  I don’t remember what year I studied Piero in art history, as that was a kodachrome lifetime ago, but being surrounded by these full colour frescoes in real life is sure a lot different than studying slides. It is said (In the book I just bought) that the “The Cycle of the True Cross” frescoes (by Piero) are “among the most important works of Italian, and even of global, art.”  They were really amazing to see.

Tonight I wandered through town to get an overall feel about the place. The main streets are wide and busy with people; mostly tourists.  The stores on the main street are high-end and expensive. There are many street cafes and bars.  The street is crawling with people.

Even though the hours posted on the front of Pieve di Santa Maria (a church) stated that it was closed, the doors were not locked, so in I went!  To my surprise, I was the only person there.  I went everywhere in the building, up, down, in, out and as I was coming out of the crypt an older, small, dressed in overalls, grey haired, Italian man, came out of nowhere. He started talking quickly to me with his hands sailing through the air.  It seems we were both just as surprised as the other to see each other.  He was going on and on and I didn't have a clue what he was saying.  As I searched my brain for a response, a flood of broken Italian phrases were going through my head. I stopped myself  just as I was about to say  “No caprese” And that made me laugh as I almost told him I didn't want any tomatoes and mozzarella salad! He pointed to the Uscita sign and unbolted the big wooden door so I could leave.  It’s still making me laugh!

Today I saw an Eurasian Jay -  apparently it is a common bird, but it was my first sighting!

Title - the Mac won't  connect to the wireless at the B&B, as I was riding the bike around (see the blog I haven't posted yet) I spied, while sitting on the steps of some major church,  a man in a restaurant using a Mac - I assumed he was on wireless... so I rode the bike back to the room, grabbed my Mac and ordered the Gin....

It was wild commotion, pandemonium, noise, singing, bells ringing and hundreds of people gathered.  I grabbed my camera. All the excitement was happening at the square across from my hotel so it was easy access.  And the size of my camera makes all who look at it think that I am some kind of official photographer allowing me to walk right in to places.  It ends up that the district (contrade) I am staying in, won the July 2 Palio race and the party is tonight!  I started in the church where the kids were getting ready, I think they are poppies.  They were incredibly bored waiting for the event to start so to amuse themselves they would ring the bell inside the church and then run like mad before some parent grabbed them.  In the meantime, the grown-up parade participants were gathering outdoors dressed in all sorts of costumes.  The drummer started playing and the whole group started to march through the streets into the Piazza del Campo.  I joined in right at the beginning and marched the entire route along with my comrades, taking photos along the way.  The streets were lined with onlookers and everyone ended up in Piazza del campo. It was a lot of fun!

Even though there are about 25 churches, I couldn't seem to find one to attend this morning so I wandered the outskirts of town and followed the old wall for a while.  Siena looks like any other, ancient 400 year old Italian town when you get outside of the 800 year old part!  As I walked, church bells from all 25 rang all at once at 10:30, for about 5 minutes, non-stop.  I think they do that to wake everyone up so no one has an excuse for missing the Sunday tithing plate. 

I dug out my fish-eye lens this morning to play with it while I walked.  The fish-eye lens that I have is an 8mm.  The typical lens on a camera is a 50mm.  A 50 mm doesn't distort what you're looking at while an 8mm bends the image.  The shots below might make you feel a little dizzy, more dizzy than you usually feel when you look at my shots.  But they also let you see a unique perspective.

It's 4:15 pm and the clouds in the photos from this morning are in production mode so I came home to wait out the rain and eat lunch.

As I write today's blog, I am sitting in the Palazzo Pubblico  Museum, in the Hall of Peace. The frescoes displayed in this room were painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti between 1338 and 1340. Numerous people are sitting on the provided benches with art books in hand as they study each fresco.  There are no photos allowed. As you will see by the photos below, two of the three panels are in good condition while sadly, the panel of "Bad government" is very rough with segments missing and faded colour. Tour groups are coming through and particular attention is being given to this room. People are pointing and having quite the discussions. There is a man sitting beside me with a tablet, playing audio and showing text and pictures of what he is looking at... Hmm... What a great idea for an app!  I am touring this room with Mary's notes and the electronic copy of Wonders of Italy. Both have been very enlightening.

First thing this morning, I climbed up the wall at the Cathedral museum. I don't know why the portion of the wall still remains but it is a great view from the top.  Siena is a lovely town to view from this height and the countryside in the background is magnificent.  Apparently, on a clear day, you can see all the way to Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. Piazza Pubblico, below, is crawling with people.  This is the square from where Britt and I will watch the Palio later in the summer. The rest of the town is crawling with people too but because the town is so large it doesn't seem to be over-filled.  They limit the number of people allowed at one time in this open air wall so it is not any more dangerous than its height and the fact that there is no wire barracade.

Today, I bought an iron! Trevi Iron. Ferro da stir a vapore da viaggio.  I have found that it is one kind of experience to walk around town wrinkled with Karen or Keith, as they were wrinkled too, and so were their clothes. *S*  But it is another kind of experience  to walk around town alone all wrinkled.  It kind of made me feel homeless! So I bought a little travel iron that came with a completely in Italian manual.  I am not sure how I am going to carry this iron with me as there is no spare room in my travel bags!

Even though KLM had no record of Keith’s ticket for the flight, they finally gave him a boarding pass and he left Florence for Canada! We had so much fun together, I tried to get him to stay but he mumbled something about being responsible at work and needing to play Cribbage!  We tried to see everything on all the lists people gave us; we couldn’t see it all, plus our bodies told us to stop walking around so much. We saw many things and it was great fun! We will plan a trip back to Florence to see the remaining items on the list.

By the time Keith was taking off today, I was in San Gimignano.  By the time he was actually in the air I was leaving San Gimignano!  I managed to get there all right in my new little SmartCar (see notes below) but once I arrived there were about 2000 English speaking tourists on the main street of the town, running and jumping and yelling... the main street was lined with stores selling fridge magnets, aprons and little wooden Pinnochios. (Everyone is tired of Pinnochio!) I wandered through town long enough to see two towers, but there were really too many people so I turned the car toward Siena.

The Car: It’s called a SmartCar but it isn't really smart.  There is no clutch but you still have to change gears. What's with that?  It means that your right hand has to be constantly busy even though your left foot is hanging around on the floor doing nothing! And as you speed along “Shift” appears on the dashboard suggesting that you shift gears.  It doesn't come right out and say it, it just suggests it!  So you press your left foot to the floor for the clutch and there is nothing to press but your right hand has to shift anyway!  If the car is so smart don’t you think it would shift gears on its own? Maybe someone should invent that; a car that shifts gears on its own; they could call it an "Automatic". Instead, it gently (in case you have issues) encourages the driver, who is not necessarily smart either; to do the work the transmission should be doing!  It took me a while to figure out that there are 5 gears.  You have to gear up as you try to go faster, which is quite a chore for this little engine on an Italian hill.  There is no pattern to the shifting; remember the “H"; we all knew that H and what it meant.  You could tell what gear you were in by the position of the stick in the H.  Well  there is no "H", it doesn’t exist in this car, you just kind of punch the little stick forward and finally get it up to 5th and then break for something and it drops back to third so you have to start the punching process all over again!  It’s also very bumpy, any bump on the road at all and my friend Florence (the GPS) flew through the air! It’s NOT a Fiat, I know that... ~I will try to be understanding and welcoming!~

Siena is beautiful.  I have already found Catherine’s head, which actually looks to be in pretty bad shape. (Her body is in Rome in Sopra Minerva - see the Rome app!).  I also found the Siena Cathedral and Baptistry.  Photos are below.  When I first arrived at the Cathedral,  I sat on a bench across from it so I could, in complete amazement, stare at it for a while. I sat for 10 minutes or so, shifting and sliding around on the bench to get different viewpoints.  Then I wandered across the square, past a couple hundred people, and bought the ticket to go inside. I wandered through the buildings for about an hour and a half.  I left and walked back to my hotel (which is lovely) stopping in numerous stores on the way home.  Once back in my hotel room, I decided to do some laundry, so I took off the black capris I was wearing only to discover that when I sat on the bench to admire the church many hours ago, I had sat on a big blob of bird poop that was now brilliantly smeared all across my back end! I had leisurely wandered home, through the whole town, unknowingly covered in white slime! I threw them in the bathroom sink here in my room, turned the water on, and then started up my Mac to write this post.  About 5 minutes later, as I was having a nice time looking through the pictures from the day, I heard water moving somewhere.  I looked out the window; nothing there, I looked around the room, nothing there, then I looked in the bathroom.  I had completely forgotten that I had turned the water on in the sink. It was overflowing and the bathroom floor was flooded! It is now covered in wet towels.  I don’t know about this travelling alone gig… too much responsibility!