Roma Dialogue - Part III Easter Sunday and leaving.....

Easter Sunday morning J in St. Peter’s Square…….. Following an earlier breakfast, I headed over to St. Peter’s Square along with the thousands of other people.  The Mass started at 10.30 and it was about 9.00 am when I arrived, already most people that had tickets for the seats were in there places and the square was filling up quickly – the side that the sun would shine on first was already packed.  Yes after the rain on Saturday night, Sunday was a glorious morning with bright blue skies and the sun shining – I guess if you have almost an entire city praying for a beautiful day, including the Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, etc. there was a pretty good chance those prayers would be answered J.  As I first walked into the square the choir was singing Jesus Lives – it was great!

I made my way to the steps over to the left of the center of the square and found myself quite a good spot to be able to see the big screen really well and the alter (although it was obviously easier to watch the big screen) and sat down to ‘save my spot’, because let me tell you if you moved your feet someone would sit in front of you so there was nowhere to place your feet – it was really busy, but I was really pleased that I had been able to get into the square as I had thought you needed a ticket even for that!

The arrival of the Pope at 10.30 am in his ‘Pope-mobile’ was announced by huge cheers from the crowd and many bells.  The Mass itself was very good; they had someone read in about 10 different languages (a native speaker) and actually included some women in the service – the Catholics are finally moving with the times a little I guess (sorry any of you reading this).  The Pope then served communion to a select few obviously representing different groups of people, nuns, monks, a family with two young children, a teenage boy and girl, etc., while many priests served communion to those in the reserved seating.   The music throughout the entire Mass was wonderful.  It was about 2 hours long in total before the service ended and the Pope went inside St Peter’s to go to the balcony to provide his Easter address to the crowd.  

I managed to worm my way through the crowds to get a pretty decent spot on which to get a couple of pictures of the Pope as he appeared on the balcony, but then have to say after spending about 3 ½ hours sitting and standing on the stone steps headed away from St Peter’s before the main exodus would happen following the Pope’s speech.  

I had decided that I would go to the Traverstere area of Rome as it was supposed to be a much quieter area of the city with nice little places to eat and cobbled roads with very little or no traffic is some areas.  The bus route was a little more difficult as it involved three changes and waiting for buses for a while, but I arrived in the area and it was well worth the effort.  Finding myself another gelato for my late lunch, I walked around the little Piazza’s and found one little Osteria that looked to be serving delicious seafood so decided I would come back here later in the day for an early dinner.  I walked across to the island in the middle of the Tiber and saw the oldest remaining part of the bridge crossing Ponte Rotto (214 BC) – it is pretty amazing it is still there after all these years!

From there I hopped on a bus to take me to the other side of town, back near the Spanish Steps as there was a doorway that was surrounded by stone carvings that looked like a face, having ‘hiked’ my way up a long street I found the house, covered in scaffolding – can you believe it!!  But I took the photo anyway, hopefully you can get an idea through the screen J.  From their it was only a short walk to the top of the Spanish Steps so I went on up and then headed down the steps for the Metro back to the area of the B&B.  Again thinking that a short nap would be good, before heading out to the little Osteria I had located for dinner.

I won’t dwell on the dinner as it was so disappointing – I clearly ordered badly!   I had the set menu for the fish and it really was awful – the pasta with salmon was almost made with a salmon paste, the grilled calamari was just a big slab of calamari that had a little butter on it before being grilled – the only thing that was good was the crème caramel – what a disappointment.  The plate I had seen at lunch time had beautiful looking calamari, shrimp, etc. L  So to make up for it I went in search of another gelato J but it was still a shame especially after the previous nights’ dinner.

The remainder of my last evening in Rome was spent wandering through the streets back towards the hotel just enjoying the freedom of walking in the evening with no worries.  It was back to Accra in the morning.

Monday morning in Rome (in all of Italy) was their equivalent of Independence Day so there were big parade’s planned and I knew that it would impact the bus routes I needed to travel on, so after a leisurely breakfast, I packed up and headed out for the Terminal Station where I wanted to pick up a couple of things before heading out.  I was glad I left early as the bus was diverted and was considerably slower than usual.  I arrived with about 40 minutes before my train, so headed for a supermarket to pick up some diced pancetta that I could use with my cheese and the pasta I can get in Accra.  It lasts for ages so that was a good find, then it was time to find my platform for the Leonardo Express again, which is at the far end of the station.

My last little ‘excitement’ in Rome was at the airport; at the Gate waiting for the flight to Accra (which went via Lagos, Nigeria).  As is typical for Africans’ in general they travel with a great deal of hand luggage, usually a minimum of two bags, and most at least three if not four.  Well the poor gate agents were trying to tell (what turned out to be nearly all Nigerians) that they couldn’t hand carry all that luggage and then starting tagging things and said that they would have to pay 200 Euro per checked bag.  It got crazy, they were all so mad, they had to call security to calm them down!  Then when it came to boarding that was another whole stampede to get on the plane (so that they could find spaces for all their luggage!).  Thankfully the gate agent had been kind enough to find me a window seat further back on the plane with the aisle seat next to it open – she actually blocked it for me to make sure that I would have the two seats to myself – I was so grateful J as I was tired and wanted to be able to sleep, which I did.

There ends my Roma Dialogue!

Roma Dialogue - Part II Easter Saturday

Easter Saturday I woke around 8.00 am which was good for me and made my way to the hotel for breakfast.  The restaurant was roof-top so it had a wonderful view across to St. Peter’s.  Breakfast wasn’t bad, although not as good as I had hoped, given that I was also in Rome for the food J.   What was funny, although very usual in some European countries (France and Italy in particular) is that there were several people with their small dogs in fashionable ‘handbags’ sitting at the tables with them.  It made me miss my ‘girls’ back home in Wilmington.   Who also went on a road-trip to the ‘foster grand-parents’ in SC for Easter!

My plan of ‘attack’ for the day was to start at the Piazza Campo de’ Fiori where I had read there was a great local market and I wanted to get a couple of things to bring back to Accra with me.  I found my way there without too much problem and my first sensation was the beautiful scents of all the flower stalls, they were just georgeous – I do so miss my garden, especially at this time of the year!  Other stalls included one that had just boxes and boxes of different types of sun-dried tomatoes, I probably should have got some of those in hindsight but didn’t, cheeses, olive oils and balsamic vinegars, pastas and all sorts of different herb mixes for pasta, etc.  A friend here in Accra had asked me to pick up some organic almonds for her which I did, although it was quite interesting explaining why an English, American was buying 1kg of Californian Almonds, but then I added I was living in West Africa and that seemed to make the stall owner happy again!   I also found some great hard roma cheeses for me and some olive oil and balsamic, so with all that in hand, I made my way quickly back to the B&B to drop that all in the room before heading for my next ‘attack’ on Rome.

My plan was to go to the Colosseum, Palantine Hill and the Roman Forum so I set of for the bus stop – I had taken time to know which number I need to catch by this time as I would have to change buses to cross town.  Making my way there fairly quickly I found that the lines to the Colosseum were very lengthy so I decided that maybe for this one (as it covered all three ‘sites’) I would join a guided group, which I did – this also meant not having to queue so was worth the 10 Euro’s just for that.   I have to say that I could easily have missed the Colosseum as it really is so ruined there isn’t much to see and it leaves a lot to your imagination, which is actually easier if you look at it from the outside!  Walking up to Palantine Hill and through the Roman Forum was really interesting, although I have to admit I tired of the whole ‘tour guide’ approach and abandoned them to walk through at my own pace.  It is pretty amazing if you really just think back to all the roman leaders, etc. having walked in that very area.  But for those of you who know me well, also know that I am somewhat ‘historically challenged’ and can only take so much history or ruins in one day, so by about 2.00 pm I was finished in the Roman Forum and headed back towards the Pantheon (since I hadn’t been able to get inside the day before).  I ended up walking my way back across the city and stopping at a couple of other Piazza’s on my way including the Piazza Venezia and the Piazza della Minerva, seeing the Elefanito della Minerva ‘arranged’ by Bernini – I have to say I am not to sure what arranged means, after all it was an obelisk sat on top of an elephant – how arranged can that be!!

Arriving in the Piazza della Rotonda which is where the Pantheon is located J, I first met an Italian selling tickets for a concert by the Rome Philharmonic Orchestra that evening at All Saints Church near the Spanish Steps.  They were performing Mozart’s Requiem K626; I really couldn’t believe my luck as I had tried to find a concert to attend on line before arriving but with no luck and I had been fortunate enough to be at the Piazza just at the right time – they were only there for 30 minutes J  God was certainly looking out for me!  I purchased a ticket and then headed into the Pantheon which was as incredible as I had anticipated.  It was amazing to think that people had been walking on those marble floors for the past 2000 years!  I took a picture of just the floor….

By the time I had seen the Pantheon I decided it was time for my first gelato – can you believe I didn’t even have one on my first day!  The first thought that went through my mind on that first mouthful was “heaven”, and the second was that I needed at least a couple more before I left Italy!

It was about 4.00 pm by this time so I decided I would head back to the B&B, take a little nap and then get ready to head out for an early dinner and then the concert which started at 8.30 pm.  Thankfully I set the alarm clock to wake me up as I went sound asleep and had a very good nap J  I had decided that I would go by Metro (as I hadn’t tried that yet) to the Piazza di Spagna and then find somewhere to eat once I had located the Church.  It all ended up being very easy and I found this amazing little Osteria – it only had tables to seat 24 people and there were already three tables full when I arrived.  I couldn’t have found a better place to eat – the food was delicious; starting with the tomato and mozzarella salad, and then having a local favorite (so I had read) which was pasta noodles with black pepper and roma cheese – very simple but delicious, plus a nice glass of red wine.  That was definitely my dinner of the trip!!  From there I walked back to the Church and found a seat (it was open seating) for the concert.  It was so beautiful, I thoroughly enjoyed it – just sitting their closing my eyes and listening I forgot about all my worries in Accra and loved every minute of the music.  What a perfect evening J

The concert ended at about 10.00 pm so I head back for the Metro station to work my way back to the B&B, however on arriving in the area of the Vatican, I could hear music coming from St. Peters Square so of course I had to go and investigate………. It was the Saturday night Mass which again was being broadcast on the big screens in the square, so I sat and listened to that for about 30 minutes, however it started to rain so I called it a night and headed for the B&B.

Roma Dialogue – April 2011 Part I (Good Friday)

After having learning that my belongings had missed the boat to Accra and I would not have them for the four day Easter weekend, I had decided to book a trip out of Ghana for the holiday.  Little did I know that three weeks later it could not have been better timing.  After a week of trying to obtain the tax exemption documents for my ‘stuff’ ending in failure, I was so ready to leave Accra for a few days.

The flight out of Accra was a direct one on Alitalia leaving at 11.30 pm on Thursday evening and arriving in Rome on Good Friday at 6.30 am.  A quick five hours, which wasn’t bad.  The flight was pretty uneventful once I had claimed my window seat back from a Ghanaian who said “I was here first” and then fighting off a Korean who kept trying to lean on me, I actually got a few hours sleep, arriving in Rome feeling reasonably good J.

Having first recovered from the shock of just how few Euro’s my dollars were worth and claiming my luggage I headed for the train station at the airport to catch the Leonardo Express train into the city – not too difficult, just follow the pictures of trains with arrows J and then purchase a round trip ticket to Termina station (the only stop!).  The train took about 30 minutes, similar to the Gatwick Express except there was no stop at Cockfosters (for the Zambia gang!) .  I arrived in Rome at the Termina station at about 8.00 am.  Realising that the quickest and easiest way around Rome is to get a bus/metro pass which was good for three days, I paid the extra for a Roma Pass which would also give me ‘free’ entry into three museums/sites, so all in all a good deal.  Connected to the Termina station was also the central Metro station (underground) and the main bus station.  Armed with my Roma Pass I set out to find express bus #40 which I had been told by the hotel/B&B would bring me to within 5/10 minutes walk of the hotel where I needed to check in.  Locating the #40 took a bit of doing as there were so many buses to choose from, but eventually I was on my way to the Orange B&B. 

On route I asked a lady on the bus if she could tell me which stop the Piazza Pia was; it turned out she was German but she asked her tour guide if he could help the “young girl” J not bad for having flown all night!  Anyway it turned out it was only about 15 minutes ride and you could hardly miss the stop as it was right past the Vatican.

Arriving at the hotel I found that my room wasn’t ready (not surprising since it was only about 8.30 am) so I changed shoes, putting on my comfy sneakers/trainers and headed out to conquer Rome in three days!

I had purposefully found a hotel close to the Vatican City and it was just that, probably less than a mile and I was in St. Peter’s Square J.   Leading up the Via della Concillazione (the main avenue leading into St. Peter’s Square) there was an incredible art exhibition with the seven stations of the cross depicted in larger than life size bronze statues.  Because it was still early in the morning there were very few people around so I was able to take my time and really appreciate each of the stations and what they really meant to me and Christians throughout the world.  Having the opportunity to walk slowly down the avenue and appreciate the full mean of the events leading up to the crucifixion and the resurrection could not have been a more powerful or perfect way to start my Easter weekend in Roma.

Leading on from that it seemed only natural to make my way into St. Peter’s Square and join the

 line to go inside St. Peter’s Bascilica.  The line wasn’t bad and although it snaked ½ way round the Square, it moved very quickly and 15 minutes or so later I was standing at the entrance to St. Peter’s Bascilica.  It was just incredible, I really can’t begin to describe the amazing beauty and intricate artwork.  Each and every way I turned I looked at something else that just took my breath away.  One thought that crossed my mind very quickly is that the Taj Mahal is nothing compared to St. Peter’s.  I think I could visit there every week for years to come and be stunned each time by an overwhelming awe of the magnificent beauty.  The Taj I have seen and really don’t mind if I ever see it again.

I probably spent at least three hours inside St. Peter’s, including witnessing the end of a Mass in one particular area and the following processional march through the church.  I know I didn’t even see 1/3 of all there was to see and read about, however I also knew I had limited time in Rome so headed out for the next stop.    Before leaving the area I decided that I would see if I could check into my B&B room before leaving the immediate area and was lucky enough to be able to.  The room was small with two single beds pushed together and made up as a double, one side of which was higher than the other.  The TV was a 12” that didn’t even work and as I was to find out later I had a bath tub that drained 50% onto the bathroom floor.  So much for the comfy bed and TV that I had been looking forward to J!  I quickly unpacked a few things and lightened my load a little before venturing out again.

My next goal was to find a map with the bus routes which I was fortunate enough to do at a newsstand right across from the entrance to the B&B.   Right alongside a wonderful flower stall that smelled just perfect!!  Gosh I miss my garden at this time of year, with all those gardenias J.  With no time to spare to study the bus routes I decided the best plan was to go back to the stop where I got off the #40 and just hop on a bus and decide to go wherever the bus was going!  After all there were lots of places I wanted to see and the bus would almost certainly take me to at least one of them J.  I was fortunate the bus I had caught took me close enough to the Pantheon which was high on my list for an early visit as it is one of the very few examples of roman architecture in excellent condition.  Close to 2,000 years old it was just amazing, although I could only see inside the large doors as it was closed for mass at the time.  Undaunted I decided it was time to eat something, it was about 3.00 pm by this time.  I found a great little ‘sandwich shop’ that had lots of choices of pannini’s, tramazini’s, etc. to choose from which was perfect.  I settled on a prosciuttio, mozzarella and tomato Panini J.

At this point I had been on my feet since 8.00 am so I decided to head back towards the Vatican where I could stop and visit the Castel d’Angelo.  It was really interesting and again the artwork on the walls, ceilings, etc. was just beautiful.  By the time I had walked throughout the rotunda and up to the top of the Castel my feet and knees were killing me (I may look young, but am clearly getting older!) so I decided to find a local café for a glass of wine and small dinner, since I head eaten lunch so late.  I found a place between St. Peter’s Square and the B&B that was reasonably priced and was OK, not the best but it hit the spot.  Leaving the café I was about to head back to the room for an early night (given I had only slept for about 3 hours on Thursday night) when I heard music coming from the Square so I walked over to see what was happening to find that it was the Friday evening Mass so I found a spot and watched the big screen broadcasting the mass from inside St. Peter’s for about an hour before finally dragging myself back to the B&B.  I was almost sleeping on my feet at that point.  The travel, the walking, the amazing sites and just the emotions of being in the Vatican City for the Holiest week of the Christian calendar had worn me flat out!  Although I had hoped to make it to the Colloseum for the Via Crucis it didn’t start until 9.00 pm and there was no way I could stay up any longer.

Easter in Rome and the Vatican City, 2011 – Highlights

For those of you interested I will be posting the longer “Roma Dialogue” later this week, in the meantime here are some of the lighter highlights of my Easter trip to Roma and the Vatican City.

Arriving thoughts:

·         Nuns everywhere J

·         “Real” shops

·         A huge bookstore – no I didn’t buy a book, but I could have!

·         No ‘odor’ as I got of the plane – Praise the Lord.

Some random thoughts and observations during the four days:

·         End everything with an a, i, e, or o and you can at least sound Italian J

·         First word that came to mind following the first mouthful of my first (I only had three) gelato = heaven!!!

·         If you haven’t worked out the buses just get on the first one that comes along and you will undoubtedly end up stopping at, at least one roman ruin, church or piazza J

·         Be prepared to walk until you drop – conquering Rome in three days is not recommended for children, babies, expectant mothers, people in wheelchairs, on crutches, with bad backs or high heels or stiletto’s (the last two are fine if you are Italian!) – the cobbled streets will be the death of you!

·         It is pretty amazing to think that so many of the leaders of the Roman Empire have probably walked on the very marble floors or pathways that you are walking on today, particularly in the Roman Forum and the Pantheon.

·         The Colloseum really is worth missing, the outside really is just as good to say that you have been there and seen it.

·         Dinner at Porto di Ripetta was magnifico!

·         Enjoying three days walking non-stop and not breaking a sweat or glistening at all – wonderful.

·         Picture this – three elderly nuns (probably in their 70’s) the tallest only about 5’3” in a black habit, the middle one in a grey habit and the littlest one only about 4’6” in a white habit in a row in that order “hot-footing” it across St Peter’s Square clearly on a mission.  Before I realized it would have made a fantastic photo they were too far gone and I could hardly start running along behind them!!

·         The market at Campo Di Fiore, the fresh salad greens, herbs, fruits, cheeses and best of all the fresh flowers including the glorious scent of gardenias (I will miss mine so much this year) – were just georgeous and so tantalizing – I had to ask myself the question “Why am I living in Accra? And not Italy?”

My own personal favorite quote of the weekend – by me “Now where has that Pantheon gone?”  ……. “Nowhere I guess since it has been in the same place for about 2000 years!”   Traveling on your own you have to be able to create your own funny moments!!

The highlights:

·         St. Peter’s Basilica – hands down beats the Taj Mahal!!!

·         The Pantheon

·         Mozart’s Requiem K626 by the Rome Philharmonic Orchestra – Saturday evening

·         Easter Mass celebrated in St. Peters Square

·         Stations of the Cross Exhibition

It was an amazing trip and I can’t wait to share more details……….

I hope everyone reading this had a blessed and very happy Easter weekend too – I certainly did J

Rome - so close..........

Oh my gosh – Rome is now just 3 days away J.   I am so excited for so many reasons including the following:

·         The once in a lifetime opportunity to be in Rome at Easter – I may not be attending a Vatican Mass (impossible to get tickets at the late stage I decided to go) but I will still be able to soak up the atmosphere.

·         Being a part of the crowd during the reenactment of Christ carrying the Cross from the Coliseum to Palestine Hill on Good Friday – just the thought of that gives me goose bumps!

·         Enjoying the undeniably Italian culture – strolling through a piazza, having coffee and lunch at a little café, the wonderful bread, creamy cheeses and wines.

·         Having a delightful meal with fresh ingredients that I am familiar with J  Perhaps some fish, a salad, a little pasta or some gelato!  Oh my, my taste buds are excited just at the thought of it.

·         Enjoying not eating of a plastic plate (which I have done for the past two weeks), drinking wine or anything for that matter out of glass!

·         Enjoy an evening walk and being able to travel by bus.

·         Sleeping in a real bed again – two weeks on the blow up mattress is getting old, no matter how good it is, it is not the same as a bed.

·         Soaking in a modern European City.

·         Walking from historic building to historic building and appreciating them for the history that they have experienced.

The list could go on, but this is just a tease for myself as I still need to get there; and solve several more ‘living’ challenges in Accra before I leave...….. but, I cannot wait to celebrate the most important Christian holiday in Rome!!!

I am so blessed J

Travel dilemmas

In case you haven’t realized by now, most things in Ghana (and probably it is fairly true to say in Africa in general) don’t usually go as smoothly as those of use spoilt by the easy living in England and the USA are used to.





Visual aid just in case!

Our first country to initiate activities for the NTD (Neglected Tropical Diseases) program is Burkina Faso.   I am supposed to travel there for meetings the week of the 25^th April, but I can’t get to Ouagadougou J in time.  OK so it is complicating things that I am in Rome over Easter weekend and don’t arrive in Accra until late on Monday night.  However, in order to travel to Ouaga (the short version) which is approximately 450 miles away (Burkina borders the northern part of Ghana), my only option seems to be to fly from Accra to Lagos, Nigeria (three countries to the East), then fly to Tome, Togo two countries back to the West and then fly north to Ouaga, all of which will take me most of the day to do.  Coming back is equally as challenging.  Now on some days of the week it is certainly easier and you can actually fly from Accra to Ouaga – you just have to pick your days, which is difficult when scheduling meetings with Ministry officials.   So, I am probably going to have to miss those meetings and try again in May, however by then the ‘security’ concerns in Burkina may have improved which wouldn’t be a bad thing J.

So the first travel lesson is don’t assume that just because you are in one country in West Africa you can actually get to a neighboring country in West Africa easily – it doesn’t work that way!!  The second lesson is when deciding the most efficient location for a ‘regional hub’ consider the travel options first!!   Paris may have been a better bet J and I could have practiced my French everyday……….

Of course on the ‘up-side’ you can fly from Accra to Rome in ~ 6 hours and enjoy a long weekend in a major capital of Europe!

Feeling a litte more at home....

Moving into my house which will be home for the next couple of years has been wonderful at many levels, not least to say leaving ‘hotel living’ behind and actually being in my ‘own space’ with an opportunity to do those things many of us don’t enjoy such as cleaning the house and weeding outside.

Personally, I enjoy those things anyway so it was even more satisfying to finally get stuck into them here.

Turning left from the road

I thought you might like to see the scenery on the walk to Charity Baptist Church from ‘Plot # 147’.   As you can see it is quite interesting.

Passing the brilliant vegetable 'gardens' inspire
 me to grow my own!

Cross over the railway line - I have heard that there is one train
that runs on these tracks at 6.00 am and 6.00 pm but have yet to see it!! 

 

Passing through some homes ....

I have to share with you though that the ‘duelling’ Churches was the best thing.  Let me start by saying that on a Sunday morning pretty much everywhere you walk you can here worshippers in full song from 6.30 am until 1.00 pm – it is a great sound!  But, as I walked through the gateway having crossed the railway tracks I was met my one church on my right and one on my left, not 30 yards apart, both of which were in full praise, singing at the top of their lungs – words can’t really describe it, but it was pretty amazing!

These goats provided a scenic distraction
from the 'duelling' Churches

The walk is about 35 minutes, which with the temperatures in the low 90o F/32o C and some pretty good humidity after a major rainfall last night was warm to say the least, followed by a couple of hours in Church without the luxury of air conditioning before the walk back makes for a pretty tiring morning J, but I wouldn’t miss it!

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed week as we head towards Palm Sunday….



On the way home, almost at the railway tracks!