Adventures of Lydia and Joe

This was a good day in spite of the unrelenting drizzle. In some parts of Spain, particularly Zaragoza, Oct. 12 is the feast of Our Lady of Pilar.  They have a huge fiesta and adorn the outside of the Church with floral designs topped by a tiny statue of Our Lady. But in much of Spain, this was Columbus Day, a national day to honor the military. Here in Madrid there was a huge parade of soldiers of various regiments, bands, and cavalry marching in front of a reviewing stand where the king and his family as well dignitaries from all over Spain were gathered. The king and his wife are an extremely handsome couple and their two little girls were so cute and so well-behaved. The regiments were from all branches of the service. Some were infantry or paratroopers in their fatigues; others were all spit and polish in dress uniforms, some wearing many medals. One unit wore capes and fezzes and looked like the Foreign Legion. The cavalry units were forming right in front of our hotel! We dashed out, umbrellas in hand, to see what we could see. Mainly what we could see was a sea of umbrellas. Joe gave up and went to watch it on TV. I hung in there for a while and saw the fly-overs. Three sets of jets went roaring by, one set let off a vapor trail in the colors of Spain, red and gold. Then I was getting a bit soggy and went back to see it on television.  After all that excitement, we decided to go to the Prado which is very near our hotel. All the museums were free of charge on this holiday. Katherine had told us of the Bosch exhibit and there were many other masters we hadn’t seen in a long time. We should have expected what we found which was a huge queue that snaked for what looked like blocks of people patiently waiting in the rain. Standing in line waiting is not our favorite thing to do so we decided to have lunch first and then reassess. We found a charming cafe, the Cafe Botanico, across the street, and had a good meal of soup for me and chicken with a delicious sauce for Joe. I had a pot of tea to warm me up while Joe chose a nice glass of rioja. Then we went back to the Prado. By now the line was much shorter. It wasn’t long before we were handed our free tickets. The Prado isn’t huge so it was fairly easy to find the masters we particularly enjoy such as Velazquez, Murillo, and Goya. Two men offered us their audioguides as they were leaving and didn’t need them anymore. I love random acts of kindness. The guides were quite helpful in explaining the Bosch tryptics. His fantastic interpretations of good and evil, heaven and hell, were very obscure without explanation. After a while we were both getting tired. I knew there was a Fra Angelico in the museum but just couldn’t figure out where it was. As we were looking for the exit, we went into a room and lo and behold, there was Fra Angelico’s Annunciation in all its glory. As a bonus there was also Virgin and Child with Pomegranate. My eyes were so happy! After gazing at them for a little while from a comfortable bench, we left. It was already 5:30 and we had a dinner date with Katherine at her apartment. We arrived promptly at 8:30 pm and were greeted warmly by her host mom, Dama. I brought her a little gift of candy from the hotel. The table was colorfully set for 8 with platters of salad, slices of semi-soft Manchego cheese, a basket of rolls. Dama brought out pitchers of sangria and water. And then the masterpiece – shrimp and chicken paella! What a feast! Dama professes to speak no English so the lively conversation was rather bilingual. Katherine’s roommates are all charming, quite different from one another, and obviously good friends with one another. We had a great time and were sad to leave. After hugs all around, we went out to find a taxi which took some doing. Katherine saw us off and we went home to bed, exhausted but very satisfied with the day.

Flyover

Marching in the rain

Cavalry leader

The king and his family (from TV)

From TV

Lunch at Cafe Botanico; salmorajo soup and chicken with sauce

The Prado

Fra Angelico at the Prado

Katherine presents the Paella

Dama’s dinner

Great room service at Circulo Equestre. Off to the train station for our AVE train and a 2 1/2 hour trip to Madrid. Our hotel is near the station. We were in touch with Katherine several times and made a plan to meet for dinner. We walked around the area, had lunch near the Reina Sophia Museum which was closed, walked past the interesting book stalls and briefly into Retiro Park. Then back to our hotel for a long nap. This traveling is tiring! Had a great dinner with Katherine. 

Joe, Monsy, and Manolo

Bar Taktica Berri

Joe and Manolo Banales

My usual end of the day activity

Tossa was the perfect place for us to rest. Now on to the final leg. We gathered our things, packed the car, got the GPS going and we’re off to Barcelona  Easy drive ; even finding the car return was easy because we’ve done it before at the train station. Next thing was to buy a train ticker for tomorrow to Madrid  Easy, peasy. Then taxi to our comfortable familiar hotel at the Circulo Equestre where we were warmly welcomed and escorted to our spacious double room. Next order was lunch in the Terrace. This is a private club so to go to the restaurant Joe would have to wear coat and tie. The Terrace was fine. Joe had the arroz of the day (risotto calamari) and I had assorted tapas.  I chose small scallops, chicken skewers teriyaki and bread with tomato spread (traditional Catalan). Then we retired for a little nap, 3 hours long! We were invited to join Manolo Banales and his lady, Monsy, for Basque tapas at the special restaurant we went to with them 3 years ago, Taktica Berri. This time he arranged for a table, so no standing at the bar. The wine, tapas, and conversation flowed with lots of laughs in spite of my limited Spanish. The waiter brought us plate after plate of deliciousness. I even tried the sausage and the smoked salmon. I drew the line at morcillo, a blood sausage which Joe downed with gusto.  We took a taxi back and Joe is already asleep as I finish this entry .

View from the castle, last night

Last window view before leaving

I will have to say it in photos. Tossa de Mar has been restorative and peaceful, just what we needed after all the hustle-bustle of the big cities.

Ariverderci Roma

Ensalada Mixta , first one

Paella, first one

Saldana concert day 1 of a weekend celebration of Catalan music and dance

Dancing the Saldana, day 1

Candles for our dear ones who are sick

Ensalada mixta with apple

Gathering of motorcycling with chapters all over Europe

Our hotel

Typical Tossa street

Our room

View from our room

View from our window at Hotel Cap d’Or

La Mer

Ariverderci Roma

Ensalada Mixta

Leaving  Rome was not that hard because we’d done about all one can do in two days. I was worried we’d have to fly in the rain but the weather report said it would clear up by noon. I put my guardian angel on it. Because of the storm there was no hot water for my shower so I only got to experience that wonderful rain shower once. That and the clingy foam mattress are the only things I have to complain about Navona Sweet Home. Our driver arrived and just as we were loading our luggage Daniele arrived. I gave him the key and we were off to Fuimicino and Ryanair. I had purchased 1 checked bag, priority boarding and seat selection in addition to the fare to Barcelona. I was a little concerned about all their rules. But we sailed through check-in and security. Our flight was uneventful and renting the car was less grueling than the last time. The GPS routed us on the coastal route instead of the Girona freeway for its own unfathomable reason so we drove through the entire length of Barcelona and then through every little town after that. But Joe is a champion driver and we got to Tossa de Mar and our hotel, the Cap d’Or with few problems. Parking is a big issue in this seaside village that is often over-run with tourists. Our hotel manager gave us some good directions and we were able to find free parking several blocks away. We don’t plan to move the car. We were here to do nothing and I hope that’s what we do. My list includes a walk up to the castle and a boat ride. That’s it. We got settled and found we have an awesome view of the shore from our window. The room has twin beds next to each other so we each have enough room. The bathroom is small but modern with a great shower. I want a hand held shower head at home! We went for a walk and had a really good dinner of ensalada mixta and Paella with chicken and vegetables. So good! So glad to be back in Tossa.

Sistine Chapel

Rome wasn’t built in a day but it was pretty well visited in two. We went to the Piazza Navona (several times), the Piazza Pantheon, the Trevi fountain (yes, we threw the traditional coin), the Vatican Museum and gardens, and St. Peter’s, as well as the Santa Maria sopra Minerva and our Lady of Peace which is located nearly outside our door. We had an amazing tour of the Vatican museum and gardens as well as a wonderful last night in Rome with a delicious dinner and a visit to the Trevi fountain to ensure our return.

I’m going to have to continue this while we are relaxing in Spain because I’m exhausted, as usual at the end of the day. If Jennifer is reading this, please cheer. We walked 15, 034 steps and had 116 continuous minutes of exercise. And I’ll bet it was even more than that!                                                                                     Continued below:  I wrote about our day in Rome and our wonderful visit to the Vatican Museum and garden and then I erased it all accidentally. So I will try to re-create what I already wrote once and hope it is enough to give you an idea of what a great day we had.
We were able to go on this special tour because we joined a group called the Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican. Their mission is to restore or preserve the works of art that are in the Vatican including maps, sculpture and paintings and even whole rooms. There was an exhibit coming to the Ronald Reagan Library called “The Splendors of the Vatican”. It turns out that the Patrons were the ones sponsoring the exhibit. At a gathering of American Pilgrims on the Camino, we were having a conversation with a fellow pilgrim and the subject of the Vatican exhibit came up. She told us about the Patrons and explained that there was to be a special opening of the exhibit with a dinner and private tour. She said the Patrons have other events in California related to Vatican history and also offer a special tour of the Vatican museum to Patrons visiting Rome. I knew we had a trip coming up and I’ve always wanted to see the Sistine Chapel without having to fight for space or have a guard yelling to the crowd to be quiet. And we were already planning on going to the exhibit. So we joined the Patrons.
We had to be at the Vatican Museum at 8 o’clock and we didn’t want to be late. So we got a taxi about 7 AM and went to the museum where we passed some time having a delicious cappuccino. At the appointed hour we met our guide as planned. Her name is Simona and she is from Czechoslovakia. We didn’t know until later what a scholar she is. She is an expert at Vatican art and has written a book about the Raphael rooms. Because of our affiliation with the Patrons, our guide was able to take us into rooms where normally one would not be allowed to go. Simona just needed to tell the guard or the Swiss guard the word “Patrons” and magically doors would be unlocked and we would be ushered into very private spaces including the area of the offices of the highest level staff. The first place we went was to the Sistine Chapel before the general public were allowed admission, so there were very few people there and Simona could explain to us the paintings and their significance. We learned a lot about Michelangelo’s intentions in the paintings. For instance, on either side of the ceiling are lunette shaped spaces painted with Biblical scenes , one from the Old Testament and one from the New and they complement each other in the lesson they’re trying to teach. She explained many other nuances that I’d never heard. Then we moved on to the Raphael rooms. I didn’t know the museum had so many shortcuts. The paintings in the different rooms were exquisite. We saw so much that it’s hard to remember all of it. I did take a lot of photos. One I remember particularly was a Pieta by Van Gogh. Another was a sculpture of Mary Magdalene and another sculpture of Jesus after he was taken down from the cross. He is upright and in one view she is supporting Him but if you look at it from another angle, He is supporting His mother. We walked on through passages, narrow stairways and even an elevator operated by a Swiss Guard until we were in an outdoor walkway. There Simona suddenly startled as she encountered a beloved professor and mentor she had not seen in a long time. She was so pleased to see him and delighted that he greeted her so warmly. Then another happy encounter was with Father Hennessy whom we were supposed to meet that morning as he is head of all the Patron groups. He was very gracious and said he hoped we would meet again in Los Angeles when he comes to open the exhibit on the history of the Swiss Guards. I suppose that we will only be allowed to come if we renew our membership in the Patrons. So we will see. But it’s a very good charity with a very worthy cause.(Aren’t they all!)
Soon we were in the gardens. I had no idea of the scale of the property. The gardens are huge and contain many beautiful structures including the monastery where Pope emeritus Benedict lives, small villas, the Vatican radio offices, and many more. There is also a lovely grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes with the original altar. When we finished our official tour, Simona escorted us into St. Peter’s, again through back passages and walkways. One special room Joe wants me to mention contained sarcophagus (the plural) and burial urns and monuments dating back over 2000 years. After the peace and quiet of our tour, St. Peter’s was a circus with hordes of people wandering everywhere, with selfie-sticks and video cameras pointed at themselves more often than anything else. Some appeared to know they were in a holy place, but most just gawked and snapped and moved on. We stopped in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament to reflect on our many blessings and to pray for ourselves and our friends and family, especially those who are very ill. One bright moment was meeting a jolly priest from Savannah, Georgia, who kindly took our picture. (Ok, I might have gawked a little, too ) Reluctantly we left, only to find ourselves in the rain. So we found a taxi and headed home for lunch and a siesta. Later we walked over to the Trevi fountain where we tossed in a coin in hopes of returning. I had hoped for a nice dinner to finish off our Rome experience and we happened on the perfect restaurant, Il Quirinal. White tablecloths, candle lit, and professional looking waiters. Our waiter, Antonio, struck just the right balance between efficient and friendly. He served us beautifully. Joe’s salmon and my saltimboca( a Roman specialty with strips of pancetta baked on pieces of tender veal) were delicious. Of course we started off with bruschetta. For dessert it will come as no surprise that Joe had ice cream, this time with fresh berries. I had the Tarta Nonna, a custardy concoction with lemon zest. We had vino tinto and paid the extra 2 Euros for bread. Then home for a good sleep. During the night a storm raged, with thunder and pouring rain. I prayed for it to pass for our flight the next day.

One of the Raphael rooms in the museum

Simona and the Swiss Guard

Van Gogh’s Pieta (who knew?)

Door to the Vatican Library

Justin picked us up as promised at 6 am and got us to the Malta airport in plenty of time. The short flight was uneventful and, Pasquale, our driver, was right there to pick us up. We love our apartment. NO STAIRS! One of the best things about today was the long, luxurious shower to wash off all the Malta dust and sweat. I felt like a new person! We walked over 11,00 steps revisiting some of our favorite places and finding a new place for dinner. We were here 3 years ago with Janice and Tom Gutmann so we walked over to the Pantheon to revisit some of our favorites with them, especially the gelato store. Many happy memories in this area.

Gelato near the Pantheon

In a new area, we usually are hopeless at maps, and using our phone gps was genius until I found it uses up a lot of data. So we went back to our old fashioned way of remembering the streets by what we see on them. Today we needed to remember “important guy” street (a formidable looking building guarded by a lot of policemen with well-dressed men coming and going. One even looked like he was accompanied by bodyguards!). Then there was “glasses” street because of the optometrist’s sign, “Agnes in Agony” street, the church, and our street with something using the word Love in the ad, so “Love” street. We got around pretty well. It’s a straight shot from our apartment to the Piazza Navona and then on to the Pantheon.  One more  place to visit was the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva church (my favorite) and Bernini’s elephant.

St. Catherine of Siena in Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

Backside of Berninis elephant

Then dinner. We did use the phone GPS to guide us to Restaurant Il Buco, recommended by our hosts. It was about 1/2 mile away, a long walk. We start every dinner in Italy with bruschetta whether it’s on the menu or not. We followed twith veal with mushroom sauce for Joe and veal piccata for me. As usual, a little ice cream for Joe. After our memory lane tour and all that walking we were exhausted, as usual, and returned to our “Navona Sweet Home” apartment for what I hoped would be a good sleep. The mattress is one of those foam things that conforms to your body. It was kind of wierd. Tomorrow’s a big day with our special visit to the Vatican. Tell you later.

Dinner in Roma

Yummy bruschetta

Our VRBO apartment. 

Another amazing day! We bought a boat excursion to take us to two other Malta islands, Gozo and Comino. We had to be at the excursion boat by 9:30 am but to get it we had to take a ferry from Valletta to the other side of the bay to Sleima. We made it in plenty of time and even had a croissant and cappuccino before the boat sailed. It’s a smaller boat than some, holds about 200 people and it wasn’t full. It has an upper sun deck and a covered deck below. It took about an hour and 1/2 to reach Gozo. About 11 am I got a call from Neville who said he had to cancel our dinner plans due to a Knights of Malta meeting he had to attend. I was very disappointed, but wished him well and told him I’d send him a photo. Along the way we stopped at a place with caves and beautiful deep blue water. We were offered the opportunity for 4 Euros each to take a 20 minute boat ride (9 passenger motor boat) into some of the caves. It was a lovely experience. I managed to get in and out of the boat without falling in or breaking anything, a small victory! Then on to several villages with many churches pointed out along the way and finally to the capital of Gozo, Victoria (Rabat). There we could go to the citadel, uphill walk, or have lunch and poke around the shops. The vote was unanimous – no more hills! We found a little cafe that looked like it was part of a madame’s salon with red brocade chairs, red flocked wall paper, gilded tables, and portraits of some formidable looking Knights of Malta on the walls. Joe had a chicken sandwich with a small salad and french fries. I had a really good salad of grilled artichoke hearts on lettuce with tomatoes and olives. I asked them to add a hard boiled egg. We washed it down with orange Fanta. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned the heat and humidity adequately. It’s awful. Our clothes are soaked, my hair is a complete frizzy mess, and we can’t get enough water to make up for the sweat. Being dehydrated is the first step to a kidney stone, so I’m drinking water like mad. I’m also wearing a hat which covers up most of the problem hair. While we waited for the bus, I spied a small chapel and thought of Michael. It is a chapel dedicated to Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and there was a monstrance on the altar. I took a moment to have a serious chat with Jesus. The bus picked us up and off we went to see one more overlook – sea, sandstone, waterfront – and then back to the boat for the final treat of the day – Comino and the Blue Lagoon. It was truly beautiful. The water is turquoise in color and clear all the way to the bottom. Many of the people were prepared to go swimming. It looked so tempting. We did get off the boat and climb up the perilous stone steps to the top only to find there was no place in the shade to sit, and there was no breeze, so it was HOT! After a short while, we headed back to the boat to sit in the shade and hope for some wind to cool us off. More orange Fanta!  At 4 o’clock, everyone had boarded and we headed back for a long ride to Sliema, pausing at a couple of more caves along the way. Much as I was glad we had this opportunity to see more of Malta, the weather made it nearly impossible to fully enjoy the experience. We headed back to Strait Street and the welcome air conditioning. What an improvement. We got ready for dinner, but now we were on our own. We went to the Castile area. It is were we were going to meet Neville. It seems to be the center of government and the buildings are lit. After rejecting several cafes along the way, a Menu in a window at a hotel right in the square caught my eye. We went into the Castle hotel but there was no restaurant in sight.  The reception guy said something like go left and 5. What? Joe clarified. He meant go the the left, get on the elevator and go to the 5th floor. Ok. What did we find but a charming rooftop restaurant with seating on the terrace. The food was only ok, (chicken filets with Gorgonzola and walnut sauce for Joe and breaded cod for me. He started with a mixed salad and I had spinach soup. We did treat ourselves to dessert. I had banoffee, something I had in England a long time ago with banana and toffee. Joe had, surprise, ice cream. We could see into the square below and there were several young men all dressed alike in polos and slacks. When we got downstairs after dinner, they all seemed to be watching something in the distance so we looked too. Then I noticed the soccer logo on their shirts. They said they were the Malta Football Club. Of course I asked for a photo and told them about Jonny. I even met the two keepers! They were great and the coach ok’d the photo. How “Carpe Diem” is that? Now we’re back in our room trying to fit all the souvenirs into our luggage. We have to leave very early (6am) to catch our 8:30 am flight to Rome. Our new best friend Justin, the electric cab driver is picking us up in his car in the morning. (As I write this, I can still feel the sway of the boat!)

Wall to wall people; cruise ships are in

St. Francis (Franciscan Church)

St. John’s Co-Cathedral

Upper Bakkarra Gardens

View across the grand Harbor

British influence abounds; English spoken everywhere

Dancing fountains

My conclusions about our apartment were bunk. Turns out it’s an oasis in a sea of humanity and humidity. We found a close by place for breakfast – 5 euroes for a full English breakfast. The British governed Malta for about 50 years, leaving in 1965. So there’s still a heavy British presence here with Red phone boxes all around and a statue of Queen Victoria in front of the library. One of the must see sights is St. John’s Co-Cathedral so we set off to visit it. The narrow streets were almost shoulder to shoulder with people, many of whom were with cruise ship guides. There was a huge queue in front of the Cathedral but most were with large groups. There was a separate line for individual tickets which was much shorter. The Cathedral is as magnificent as expected and we did get to see its pride and joy – a painting by Caravaggio of the Beheading of John the Baptist. The next place on my list was the upper Barrakka Garden. At last, the sea! It is more of a protected plaza than a garden, with great views of the harbor and a breeze! We stopped to have a bite of lunch and a drink. Both of us were drenched with sweat. I couldn’t even eat. We checked out the War Rooms but the thought of descending and then ascending 120 stairs was more than we thought we could manage. So we did a little shopping and went home fore a siesta. That’s when I realized our apartment is perfect. It’s close to everything and air conditioned! After a good rest we went to St. John’s square to see about a tour of the city. There are electric vehicles in a stand and they offer tours. That’s when we met Justin. He gave us a great tour, full of information about the history and historic places in Valletta. Then we went down to the harbor to catch a ferry to Sliema to go on a harbor cruise. The short trip on the ferry was fun but we were too late for a harbor cruise. They stop at 5:15. Oh well. We did book a cruise and land package for tomorrow which will go to two more islands, Gozo and Comino. We went back to our place to freshen up for dinner. On the way we stopped at a men’s clothing store Joe had noticed in our walks and Justin had recommended. Joe needs a dress shirt for Rome. The store, Vigo, had such good prices that Joe inquired about a jacket. The one he’s been dragging everywhere for 3 1/2 weeks is old and tired and too big. Success! He’s very happy! We got ready for dinner and then walked to the end of our street where we came to a big square with a very nice restaurant. As 8 pm arrived, music started playing and jets of water in the square suddenly came to life and “danced” to the music. It was very entertaining. We stayed long enough that we saw it again at 9. The food here is not very exciting to me. But it is plentiful. We started with bruschetta. My pasta dish, a la Norma, had a tasty red sauce with eggplant. Joe had a ribeye steak, accompanied by a small salad and potatoes. We shared our dinners and a bottle of local red wine. After our excursion tomorrow, our final day in Malta will conclude with dinner with Neville Curmi, a special gentleman I worked with in Lourdes some years ago.  It will be good to see him again.