ROME TRIP 2012: A DAY OF ANCIENT ROME

On Monday, we flew from London to Rome, arriving in the afternoon and heading straight to the Hotel Maryelen & Giovy.  The hotel is situated  in a hotel district just a few minutes walk from the Termini.  Our room was on Floor 5 so we were just up above the top of this photo. 

 

Part of our room.

 

The hotel room was perfectly fine but the keys were a real treat. The small key opened the regular-sized door to our room.  The large key opened this door:

The heavy wooden door to the wing containing our room; the metal bar came in handy when pushing the door open.

We took this photo to show everyone how we spent a lot of time in Rome; yes, Don caught my cold.

On Tuesday, we bought Roma passes before we set out for a day exploring ancient Rome.   The Roma passes give you free entry to the first 2 museums/sites, discount admissions on others, free public transportation, and--the best part--permission to skip to the front of the lines.  Why is that important?  Well, look at the Colosseum, our first stop.

The Colosseum.  See all of those people?  Well, except for that group on the far right, that is the line to buy admission.

..and the line continues inside the Colosseum.  We got to skip all of that and save ourselves at least an hour. 

A view of the arena and structures below

The brick work was so interesting.



You thought graffiti was a modern problem?  It goes back centuries with men leaving their marks on the Colosseum walls.



A view from one of the openings in the structure.  Notice the umbrella pines that are found all over the city.



One of the public water fountains that are also found all over the city.  The water is fine and these spouts are very handy for filling your water bottle.



I am very pleased with this shot because I managed to photograph (for free) some of the men who dress as gladiators and cajole people to have their photos taken with a gladiator--for a stiff price, of course.



It is hard to find a place to eat right around the Colosseum but we wandered a few blocks away and stumbled on the Hostaria de Nerone, a restaurant next door to a cafe for students.  We sat outside and had antipasti plates and coffee for lunch.  The coffee in Rome is so good.

Fortified by lunch, we walked through the Roman Forum.



Wandering through the Forum



These impressive arches are only one-third of the original Basilica of Constantine, a hall of justice.

The ceiling in one of the arches

Heard of the Vestal Virgins?  This was their residence and garden.

     After the Forum, it was up to the Palatine Hill.



What is left of a huge palace on the hill that housed emperors for 3 centuries.



This is part of the Museo Palatino, which contains statues and frescoes that help you imagine the luxury of the imperial structures on the hill.

Portion of a marble floor displayed in the museum.

After immersing ourselves in ancient Rome, we decided to do some people watching by following Rick Steves' Dolce Vita Stroll through the city.  We got into the strolling and eating part so well that it took us 3 evenings to finish the walk.

Outside eating area for the Osteria da Mario


We chose to eat at the Osteria da Mario, a mom-and-pop restaurant near the Pantheon and even got a table in the outdoor seating located in an old, Roman square.  After that we stopped for gelato and continued walking.

ENGLAND TRIP 2012: BACK TO LONDON

     We took the train back to London on Friday and had dinner with friends that night.  Saturday was a day for sightseeing but I woke up with a cold, not surprising since everybody in England seemed to be sniffling or sneezing.  I soldiered on.

 Our first stop was the Churchill War Rooms, the wartime bunker that sheltered Churchill and his government during the Blitz, and the accompanying Churchill Museum.  Below are 2 photos of individual rooms. 

 

 

 

one of the Churchill war rooms

another room


After that, we wandered along the Thames Embankment to the modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre.

one of the decorative lamp posts

a closeup of the bottom

I soldiered on as best I could, but Don caught one of my Little Miss Grumpypants moments:

the modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre

     On the way back, we ran into a number of performers along the Embankment but this was our favorite.  Yes, he is playing a tuba that spouts fire.

     After a fish and chips dinner, we took ourselves to the Criterion Theatre to see The 39 Steps.

     Sunday was the Bead Fair, held by the Bead Society of Great Britain, at Uxbridge College where I had agreed to demonstrate bead crochet.

Here is the Bead Society's table with information about the group.

Two enthusiastic members taking their turn at the table.

My table was next to that of Anna Feher, a talented bead artist from Hungary, who was selling her felt, embroidered, and beaded items.

Anna Feher

Some of Anna's beadwork

A lovely pair of felt, embroidery, and beadwork earrings that I bought

To see more of Anna's work, you can visit Fannabead.

I was pleasantsly surprised to see Nadia Mewton, one of my star students in the London class, bring me her almost finished snake from class.

Nadia's snake

Nadia's initials on the belly

After we returned home to Brooklyn, Toni Fine, another student in the London class, sent me a photo of a necklace-length snake that she had made using the Turkish POW bead crochet stitch from class.

Toni's snake


While I was busy at the Bead Show, Don visited the Natural History Museum in London.

National History Museum

the museum's courtyard

more wildlife

After the show, we returned to the hotel and packed because we were off to Italy the next morning.  Next stop, Rome.

ENGLAND TRIP 2012: ON TO BARTON

The next two classes for the Bead Society of Great Britain were scheduled for Barton under Needwood, a charming village in Staffordshire, which is about 33 kilometers from Birmingham.  Stephaney Hornblow, our hostess, kindly drove down to London to pick us up after the class in Greenford while her husband Tim made dinner for the four of us. 

 

Here are Tim, Stephney, and I posing for Don.

Since we had 2 days before classes started, Tim and Stephney took us sightseeing.  The first day we visited neighboring Litchfield, the Cathedral, Dr. Johnson's house, and the National Memorial Arboretum.

Litchfield Cathedral

Part of the cathedral interior

Some of the lovely stonework in the cathedral

Part of the National Memorial Arboretum

 
                                                         Tuedsay, Steph and Tim kindly help Don fulfill a travel wish when they took us to the Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale; we have been trying to get there for the last 3 trips to England.  Opened in 1781, the bridge is the first arch bridge in the world to be made of cast iron.  Before the bridge, we stopped at the neighboring Jackfield Tile Museum, which houses many examples of magnificent tiles made for use in structures all over the world.  We were lucky enough to visit on a day when the tour of the Craven Dunnill Jackfield factory was being offered.  They would not allow photos of the factory but here are some photos from the museum: 

Then it was on to the Iron Bridge in the rain :

After that, we visited the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron, which showcases the manufacturing history and the versatility of cast iron for domestic and decorative use.  Here are a few cast iron items:  

Cast iron table

A green stove from the 1930s

After 2 days of exploring the area, it was back to the world of bead crochet with another 2-day class for the Bead Society at the St. James hall in Barton under Needwood.

Students had a lot of room in this airy hall. 

The other side of the class.  Notice the kitchen in back that allowed us to have tea and coffee accompanied by Tim's lovely scones and gluten-free cake throughout the day--as Liz Wilson  (2nd from the left) is doing in the photo below.



 

I mentioned Liz in particular because she mastered tubular bead crochet and finished her pendant in class.  Notice the lovely box where she kept her supplies.

That was the end of our stay in Barton and on Friday we took a train back to London for the Bead Fair organized by the Bead Society of Great Britain and held at Uxbridge College. 

 

 




ENGLAND 2012: LONDON

     Whew, things are a little slower and I finally have a few minutes to tell you about our trip to England and Rome in September and October. For those who missed it, Don and I spent 10 days in England while I taught 4 days of bead crochet classes for the Bead Society of Great Britain and demonstrated at their Bead Fair. We then went to Rome for 5 days as an anniversary present and thank you to Don for his help.

     We were fortunate to stay with our new friends Suzanne and Norman in London while we were there from September 28-30.  They spoiled us rotten and Suzanne made sure that I got to class on time.  The first two-day class was held at the Greeneford Community Center in Greeneford, Middlesex, a large suburb of London.  Beginning bead crocheters chose to work on a pendant while more advanced students made a modern version of a Turkish prisoner of war snake like those made in World War I using the stitch employed by those Ottoman soldiers.

Around the Bend pendant project

Goldilocks Snake

Sparklin' Jack

Here is part of the class at lunch.

        Since one of the class projects was the modern version of the Turkish POW snakes, Carole Morris and other members of the bead society brought examples of Turkish bead crochet for everyone to study.

A lovely example of a Turkish POW snake with a lizard in its mouth.

Purses, snakes, and another souvenir.

I was so busy that I didn't take any photos so I am grateful to Margaret Isaccs for sending me copies of her photos of the class and her snake for me to use. Margaret decided that while she could do the bead crochet stitch for the snake, she would rather make her snake with brick stitch so here is her finished project in brick stitch.




Margaret's Sparklin' Jack done in brick stitch

       I wish I had been less jetlagged so that I could show you Brenda, who made her first-ever, tubular bead crochet sample or the finished pendant from this class.
      While I was busy working, Don was off seeing the sights.  On Saturday, he visited Kew Gardens, Kew Bride Steam Museum, and Hammersmith Bridge.

Kew Gardens

Part of the machinery on display at the steam museum

Hammersmith Bridge

 On Sunday, Don took himself to the Cutty Sark, a 19th-century tea clipper that has been preserved as a museum.

Part of the deck of the Cutty Sark

Prow of the ship in front, human and wooden figures in back.

A close-up of some of the figureheads.

After class on Sunday, we were of to Barton under Needwood-but that's for another post.