Category: Italy - A Cottage by the Sea

Reading for silence, solitude and simplicity

11/16/2022

Can we attain the habit of silence, solitude and simplicity if our practice does not include reading? Well, speaking for myself, it would be mighty difficult without reading.
   I usually have three books going: fiction, history, and something spiritual. Presently I’m reading "Dissolution: A novel of Tudor England," by C.J. Sanson, set during the rise of Oliver Cromwell at the beginning of the dissolution of monasteries by Henry VIII. "The Pope’s War: The Secret History of Pope Pius XII, Mussolini, and Hitler," by David I. Kertzer is my history selection. "The Eremitic Life," by Fr. Cornelius Wencel fills the spiritual category.
   Two of the three, Dissolution and The Eremitic Life, satisfy my longing for silence, solitude and simplicity in the context of the monastic life I strive to lead. The Pope’s War, leads me to the streets of Rome and the country I love.
   My longing for silence, solitude, and simplicity is best satisfied by a ‘real” book that I can hold in my hand. Audio books are not silent; e-books are not simple.

Talk less--a good habit

10/5/2022

I’m starting this at Fiumico International Airport in Rome on 9/30. First a few travel notes. The half-hour 7:35AM tram to from Rome Termine to the airport was almost full, so no surprise that there were crowds of people at the airport. That being said, check-in, security, and passport control was efficient. That piece of the travel took a little less than 2 hours.
I have enjoyed my last cappuccino, and now I sit watching the travelers go by as I ponder this solitary trip that is ending. In the check-in lines I’ve heard snippets of conversations of Americans traveling together. That’s what people do when the travel together! They talk. That’s why I travel solo. I don’t have to talk, I don’t have to think about or consider an array of logistical topics, I don’t spend time judging or taking a position on things.
Fast forward, five days. I home, enjoying American coffee, and yes, talking with friends and family. But I am aware that I don’t have to talk, think, consider, judge or take a position all the time. An excellent habit.

Rome, October 2021

10/12/2021

Three days in Rome and now on the plane home. Too busy to post. I walked approximately 10 miles a day, and got full benefit out of my 72 hour bus pass. Big bus trip was to get a covid test in order to get into the U.S.. Negative; I could have told them that. I’ve felt super healthy the entire trip.
When I get home, or very likely on Tuesday, I’ll add a slide show to this. No theme, other than places and pictures I love of Rome.
But my energy will turn to being back home. Very grateful for both. Home made the trip possible and joyful.

Travel to Italy in 2021

9/30/2021

I’ve often said that if I were homeless I’d live in an airport. The ease of this trip is affirming that choice. We got off on time from Boston and arrive a half hour early in Paris— benefited from the headwinds and because there are fewer flights these days for air traffic control to manage.

Terminal E at Logan Airport looked like a ghost town. No waiting in line to check in or to pass through security. The security folk were serious but relaxed—they chatted with us as they did their job. Only a tiny bar and pizza place was available at this international terminal. Folks were spread out, waiting for one of the five or six evening flights to Europe.
I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the people on the flight were flying for the first time in over a year and a half (My last flight was in September 2019 to Florence). The new Air France jet was huge, with three seats along the window side and four in the middle. Covid safe! — one passenger for every three seat. We were spread out, one traveler per row, giving us pace to lie down to sleep and rest our legs. Service was prompt; no lines for the lavatory.
Charles de Gaul airport was busier. After all, I was in Europe! People were going places—within the EU, around the world. As I sat waiting for my flight to Rome, I felt I was stepping back into life—something I can’t do alone. I need all these other people leading their lives, checking their phones, going wherever they need to go, wearing their masks, showing their Covid vaccine card.
Now that I am in Florence, I am feeling that the U.S. is somewhere else, isolated, doing its thing, some trying to clean up the mess, others trying to rewrite its history, while the rest of the world is moving forward together.

Documents for travel to Italy in Covid times

9/22/2021

I’m getting my documents and other paperwork ready for next Monday’s flight to Italy. There are the pre-covid ones—passport and alerting my credit card banks that I will be away—so they don’t think my cards have been stolen and put a stop on them.
Then there are the new ones for the covid era we now live it. 1) The essential one is the card given to me when I received the two jabs of my Covid vaccine, which in Europe is referred to as the Green Card. 2) EU-PFL Document, required for air travel to Europe. It gives my flight information, including seat numbers! 3) A Covid test 72 hours before my arrival at my final destination. I’ve scheduled my test for 3:50PM Saturday afternoon at CVS; should get the results on my phone in 48 hours.
If you are traveling to Europe soon, check out these requirement. Keep current; regulations are changing all the time.
Now for the non-document preparations. Packing and sorting out the right computer plugs.

Off to Italy--9/21

9/18/2021

I haven’t been blogging much lately because I’ve been sitting quietly with plans to go to Italy. To go, or not to go, that was the question. I made the reservations in July for the simple reason is that if I didn’t make them, the trip would never happen. Duh! I know it is meant to be. Here’s why. ( Italy 9/27-10/11)
   In filling out a Passenger Locator Form for travel to Europe, I discovered that my Alitalia flights (partnered with Delta) had been cancelled, and that I hadn’t been notified. The only reason I found this out is because the form asked for the seat numbers of my flight: so I checked my reservation … no flight.
It took 25 minutes to reach a live Delta representative on the phone and then an hour with a very patient the representative to sort it all out. I settled on the best alternative to the original direct Boston-Rome flight that had been cancelled. UGH, now a layover. Much to decide, with no more than a minute to process. Should I fly to Atlanta to avoid a layover in Europe? No! Is an hour and a half layover at JFK from Boston enough time to board an international flight? No! Is a six and a half hour layover at JFK too long? Yes.
   I finally decided on Paris, where at least I can buy a croissant with really butter. I fly at 5:15 PM instead of 9:45PM, and will get to Rome at 11:25AM, about the same time as my original non-stop flight— time enough to take a train to Florence supper at the Piazza della Signoria.
   With all of this change of plans, the trip is still meant to be. A plus to all of this is the awesome view flying over the Alps. I have a window seat.

Seizing the moment in Florence

9/18/2019

I am happy to be in Renaissance Florence after six days in Ancient and Counter-Reformation Rome. Tomorrow I look forward to stepping into a Renaissance church. Oh, I love Rome, its vastness, bus system, the Tiber, and ruins popping up everywhere. I prayed for peace in 36 of its 900 churches, so there is still work to do there, unless peace comes soon. I hope to return.
Here in Florence I will continue to pray for peace; the city is small and compact, so I will come upon churches with ease. My goal for the eight nights I’m here, however, is to wander about and seize the moment. I have a favorite places to visit for each of the seven days: The Uffizi, Bargello, San Marco, climb the Duomo, Duomo Museo, Fiesole, Santa Maria Novella. That’s one a day, giving plenty of time to wander. Oh dear, I just added another, San Miniato al Monte.
Here’s what I mean by wander and seize the moment. Just this afternoon I discovered that the cloister of SS. Annunziata was open to the public. It is always closed unless there is an art exhibit, Ai piedi nudi” (in bare feet) . The priest-artist, Nicolo Santamarina, was there to greet us.

Fountains at Villa d'Este

9/16/2019

No solitary traveling for me yesterday. Two long-time friends and I took the Metro and then a local bus to Tivoli to visit the fountains at Villa d’Este. Water power at its best. For a moment I could forget hurricanes, flood, drought, pollution.
“The villa occupies the site of an old Benedictine convent. In the 16th century, the estate was developed by Cardinal Ippolito d”Este, son of Lucrizia Borgia (Eyewitness Rome Travel Guide, 1997).

Off to Italy

9/11/2019

I fly to Rome tonight. I’ve flown on 9/11 before and have never considered the date when making the reservation. I don’t give it much attention today, at least not in any worrisome kind of way. I lead my life as best I can; I try to be cautious and sensible. That’s it.
As I write this I smile. There’s a good chance there will be no crowds; I will walk through the check-in and security lines with ease. And the ease will continue.
Here’s my plan, which I love anticipating. I have a direct flight to Rome. I know how to maneuver through the Fiumicino Airport to catch the train to Rome Termini where I will grab my first cappuccino of the trip. I’ll purchase a week-long bus pass and either take a bus or taxi to my hotel that is on a major bus line right in the center of everything. I’ll check in, take a forty minute nap, and out I’ll go. I’ll stop at the first church I come to and light a candle for world peace. My goal is to light a candle for peace in at least 100 of Rome’s 900 churches. Very grateful.

Solitude in Italy--again

8/27/2019

My need for an extensive period of solitude is emerging just at the right time. I make my Italy plans at least four months before I think I’ll be ready for the change of pace, and then as the departure date looms, I always say, “Yes, it is time.”
    Don’t get me wrong. My wonderful life is full of solitude. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: one of the reasons I love getting off for two weeks of solitary travel is that I have good things in place in my life--friends and family, health, and church community. For many, the amount of solitude I have at home would be enough. But for some reason, I love the day after day of truly being alone.
     “You must meet interesting people when you travel,” a friend commented.
      “No, I don’t. Maybe once or twice I chat with someone at the table next to me at a restaurant, and every fall I spend one day either in Rome or Florence with long time friends. That’s about it.
      Off I go on September 11; six nights in Rome, and eight in Florence. Home on the 26th. Very grateful.