Strolling the Backstreets of Rome

Shades of yesterday still conversing today–seen in some windows as I explored Rome’s back streets.

Sunday afternoon in Rome is a bustle of activity. Families, friends, tourists, and every conceivable group of people can be found roaming the cobbled streets and piazzas in search of good food, shopping, museums, fountains, or just enjoying the presence of good company. In the rush of activity I found it so easy to miss my surroundings and the intriguing sites that Rome has to offer.

Last September, as the days began to stretch into October, I found myself rambling away from the old familiar piazzas and landmarks. The bustling crowds had enveloped me and, like a river, taken me away with them in their enthusiastic and lively banter. It was all nice, but I needed a refresher. Moving away from the crowds was the perfect solution to really see some of the easily missed charms of Rome.

Gluten-Free, what a relief for many

Outside restaurant menus flourished everywhere with a list of mouth-watering meals, often accompanied by photos. This pizzeria offered gluten-free pasta which was the first I had seen it advertised here. The outdoor seating and ambience of the ancient surroundings was very charming. Combined with a delicious plate of pesto pasta and a good local red wine, it was the perfect recipe for a leisurely meal that could easily have lasted late into the afternoon.

A quiet street in Rome

A turn down this momentarily vacant street was a nice break from the maddening crowds. Hemmed in by cars and tall buildings, I could see greenery on the rooftops and beyond to distant hills. Voices from open windows that I passed brought up visions of sumptuous Sunday repasts leisurely shared with families and friends.

A gorgeous entry along the street

Geraniums, flowers and vines embellished this doorway in the most attractive manner, the results of a generous green thumb. What a burst of pleasure it offered to those passing by with its ambrosial display of vibrant whites, purples, reds and greens. Someone cared enough to bring life and color into a stone and stucco environment. Even a small bird house was attached to the wall with a little bird perched on it. It was all very captivating.

The Presidential Palace

Before long I had found the Quirinal Palace, known also as the Presidential Palace, elegantly placed on the highest of the seven hills of Rome. Pope Gregory XIII had it built as a summer residence for the papacy in 1573. After the unification of Italy in 1870 it became the royal residence and later the Presidents palace.

In the middle of the Piazza del Quirinale is an ancient obelisk next to the Dioscuri fountain. Nearby are 18 foot sculptures of Castor and Pollux, Roman replicas of the Greek originals from the fifth century BC.

Rocking Sculpture of Castor and Pollux. Pollux stands unseen on the right side.

Presidential Guard

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This palace guard was very serious but a good sport when I asked to take his photo. The guards are very watchful and appear to be quite aware of their surroundings.

Roman skies peak between tall elegant buildings toward the end of my meanderings.

My afternoon had been greatly enriched and I was ready to get back into the mainstream. Rome, I discovered, has many faces, more than I had previously thought. A verse written by Mark Twain came to mind just then. I challenged it….

“What is there in Rome for me to see that others have not seen before me? What is there for me to touch that others have not touched? What is there for me to feel, to learn, to hear, to know, that shall thrill me before it pass to others? What can I discover? Nothing. Nothing whatsoever.” From Mark Twain’s Innocents Abroad

What did I discover? Many things, wonderful things, all of it ready to share their wonderful stories if one just stops to listen.

Kayak Italy’s ‘Island of the Sirens’

Kayak along the Amalfi Coast

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain

Observing a kayak on glowing amber waters off the coast of Amalfi one evening made me think of Homer, Greece’s epic poet of antiquity. He described the Mediterranean as having wine-dark seas, but he was also blind. This evening, however, the usual cool blue waters gave way to a brilliant, fiery orange.

Paddling over the often-visual underwater ruins of ancient Roman and Greek civilizations is enough to excite anyone. Words often fail to express a kayaking day over the Bay of Naples, down the Amalfi Coast, or the many other crystalline waters off the shores of Italy.

Amalfi with a sprinkling of boats in the Mediterranean

This September, I will be exploring the wonders of Italy again for three weeks. Sea Kayaking is on my must-do list. Drifting by hidden grottos, dipping into caves, paddling through volcanic archways and observing castles and fortresses on the rocky mainland as I drift by is an experience I just can’t pass up. To see Italy from the water will be like getting to know it all over again.

Siren of the Archipelago

The Island of the Sirens (la Sireneuses) is an archipelago of tiny islands off the Amalfi Coast of Italy between the Isle of Capri and 6 miles SW of Positano. Kayaking throughout these ancient mythical islands is breathtaking. Made up of three main islands, mythical sirens are believed to have inhabited them. They sang or played the lyre and flute, and bedeviled anyone happening to hear them. Strabo, a 1st century BC geographer, would warn you to plug your ears and avoid crashing your kayak on the rocky coast. Go ahead and explore their secret hideaways along magical shores, but be careful!

Explore the coastline by kayak between Portofino and Cinque Terre on the turquoise Ligurian Sea. The subtle play of light on the colors of the landscape is spellbinding. Harbors of bobbing boats, homes that cling to rugged cliffs, vineyards and olive trees that dot the terraced hillsides envelope you as your kayak glides by. Coves and promontories provide enticing exploration moments. Sunlight gives way to the shadows of rocky outcrops.

Tofino Expeditions offers kayaking tours from the Italian Riviera and Cinque Terre. Top-rated by National Geographic Adventure and an established sea-kayaking outfitter for 25 years, they also offer an 11 day excursion by kayak combined with some great on-land adventures.

Amalfi Kayak provides excellent local knowledge and insight into the area along with Kayak rentals and expeditions. If you like to support local business, as I do, this is a great option. They offer customized itineraries based upon your interests, time available and level of skill. 

Italy Kayak Tours offers expeditions around the Island of the Sirens.

“At sea, I learned how little a person needs, not how much.”
– Robin Lee Graham

Welcoming waters on the Italian Riviera

Faun Memories of Pompeii

Mr. Faun Dancing in Front of His Elaborate Residence

“It was such a leafy wilderness; a place for fauns and satyrs, and where bats hung all day to the rocks, and at evening flitted over the water, and fireflies husbanded their light under the grass and leaves against the night”  Henry David Thoreau

The little Faun under the volcano.

When Mt. Vesuvius blew her top in 79 AD, ash rained down on the city of Pompeii for two days. The entire city was buried under 20 feet, encasing and preserving the many buildings and artwork of this fascinating port city for 1700 years. Archaeologically, this enabled the city to remain mostly untouched and encased in its original state.

One of the most unusual finds was this small bronze faun.

He Looks Alive!

This faun appears to be dancing lightly on tiptoe, possibly as part of a Bacchic celebration or one of religious ecstasy. His movements and form are strong and sure, his eyes fixed directly upward. I was drawn to the realistic twisting of the chest and shoulders and his controlled energy. He looks like he could awaken at any minute.

Swaying Gracefully in Perfect Form

The fauns home was the largest and most opulent residence in Pompeii. It took up an entire city block and has been named “The House of the Faun,” after his charming self. He was the showpiece in the elaborate pool, standing as the focus of the grand courtyard. The artist is unknown, but this refined workmanship in bronze, with the muscular physic, has been traced to the Nile Delta, most likely Alexandria.

Possible Composition of Faun in his pool called the Impluvium

Spirits of the untamed woodland, fauns were understood by the literate and Hellenized Romans to be connected to Pan and Greek satyrs, or possibly the wildflowers of Bacchus, the god of wine, theatre and revelry. They are mostly depicted in the pose of lilting gracefulness. Yet they are mischievous characters in Greek and Roman literature.

Today he lives in the National Archeological Museum in Naples

The National Archeological Museum is full of Roman and Greek antiquities, many from Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum. You will find several sculptures and mosaics, including one of Alexander the Great also found in the House of the Faun. Be prepared to spend a good part of the day as there is much to see. I found it very well displayed, organized and intriguing. Most of the artifacts from Pompeii are housed here.

National Archeological Museum, Piazza Museo 19, 80135 Napoli, closest underground station, Piazza Cavour, Hours: Wednesday – Monday 9-7:30pm, phone (0039) 081 44 22 149

Pompeii Hours: April-October every day from 8:30am-7:30pm, November-March 8:30am-5pm every day