Rome, day 2…

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My first adventure of the day was shared with two of Hunt’s students, Clint and Cole. We walked to the American embassy, a block from our hotel.

I have never to one of our embassies when I’ve been out of the US. I thought it might be interesting to go inside for a quick visit.

The Italian guards outside were perplexed, but nice, as they said we could not go in. Only employees and probably those with appointments could go in. I’m sure there are many, many reasons why drop-ins are not welcome, plus today was Sunday. That said, I hope it’s easier for an American citizen to get in if help was really needed.

Next Hunt, Karen, and I went to the Colosseum. Imagine a football stadium that seats 80,000 people and you get an idea of the scale involved. It’s a well-maintained ruin. `

Notice the people in the photos and it puts the scale in perspective.

There’s a lot to be said for visiting Rome at this time of year. The crowds are much smaller and it’s not hot.

Hunt, a historian, shared the backstory of many of the places we went. I wish I remembered more but the biggest takeaway for me is that as the city evolved, new structures were built on top of older structures. Dig down, and there’s likely something built by man below.

The Romans knew how to move and manage the flow of water which was a key part of their empire building. They built sewers, aqueducts, baths, and lots of fountains!

We ended the day at the Spanish Steps. It was more crowded today, which made the people watching more interesting. Looking up the steps…

Looking down at the crowd coming our way…

Tomorrow Karen and I head to Florence on the train. Hunt and his class are flying to Tunis. Adventure awaits!

(That’s me, below, tempting fate by standing on a travertine post to get higher for the photo.)

I’m really not sure how Karen got me in a photo with no one else around because there really were a lot of people there.

The Vatican

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We got there early and Karen, Hunt, and I moved through quickly. I hate to admit this but there’s too much ‘there’ there for me. The statues, painted walls and ceilings all began to run together.

I did did like the floors!

This is a Sistine floor. I took it right before they said no photos.

Karen and Hunt did not want to go up into the dome at St. Peter’s, so I went by myself.

There is a lift, followed by a whole lot of stairs.

Along with dozens of others. First you are inside, looking down into the Basilica.

Then up more, and to the outside area very near the top. I do love seeing a city from above, outside.

Once down we had an amazing gluten free lunch. I had little round lemony donuts for dessert!

Then we met back up with Hunt’s students and went all over the place. Have I said this was a 9.8 mile day?

Everywhere you look, there seems to be a dome…

…or a fountain. Some are more famous than others. The Trevi Fountain is very famous, as indicated by the crowd.

But wait, there’s more!

And gelato, with crisp and tasty gluten free cones!

There are about 300 more photos but I’ll stop here. Good idea, right? Tomorrow we go out to see other things. I’ll be back.

London… been there, moving on…

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Karen and I have done our best to experience everything we could from Tuesday afternoon through Thursday night. I think we did pretty well! We’ve eaten at pubs, and mastered getting around on the Tube.

We went to two shows! Matilda on Tuesday night and, sad to say, I did a bit of napping once the lights went down. I do, however, remember a lot of it. Last night we saw The Play That Goes Wrong and that is one funny play! No photos allowed during either so you just have to take my word for it.

We went to the Imperial War Museum which I might not have visited but it was high on Karen’s list. It is a find museum, and very moving. Only some areas could be photographed.

We went to Westminster Abbey. Again, no photos in most of it and honestly, that was OK. It makes you live in the moment. I visited with one guard who ended up showing me places upstairs where boys long ago dug there names into the stone. Some things never change.

Downstairs I visited with a young electrician who was working on rewiring one of the chandeliers. Eventually they will all be dimmable and have the ability to change color. Cool, right?

I did take some interesting photos where they were allowed.

We had afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason on Wednesday. Very posh!

We did visit the other floors on our way out. What a beautiful building! We might have actually shopped if we hadn’t needed to make it to the show.

Thursday began with a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Karen suggested we take the hour long tour to learn about the building. You know, I don’t usually do that and I really should because it was fantastic! This is a wonderful museum and I am going to have to come back when I can stay longer.

I took quick photos, focusing on patterns in ceilings and floors.

The image in the center of the next photo is tile work. Look close and you’ll see that it’s all painted on hexagonal tiles! It made me think of English paper piecing.

There are halls with life-size plaster cast reproductions of famous statues. As our guide explained, they capture this art as it was, exactly, when the cast was made. And the original idea still holds… for the average individual who cannot see the real thing, this is an excellent alternative.

If you get close, you can see the seams in the plaster.

We took the Tube to head over to the Tower Bridge area and got to visiting with a couple sitting across from us, Mandy and Collin. They were on their way to the Spitalfields Market. Not only did they tell us about it… they became our tour guide. Along the way we stopped at White Chapel and detoured through the neighborhood made famous by Jack the Ripper.

And we shopped at the market…

We walked past London Bridge and the Tower of London…

And then, finally, we went to Liberty of London!!!!!

I resisted the urge to buy a Unicorn head. They were a little scary.

I did come away with several lovely bundles of fabric and I fully expect to be sewing with them soon. Some will surely end up in my Hand Sewing Adventure quilt. And, just so you know, you can buy from Liberty of London online.

We walked a lot, saw a lot, visited with a lot of people and just generally had a wonderful time! Tomorrow we leave really early for Rome. Maybe I’ll have time to sew on Block 1 on the plane :-).

Wednesday Giveaway

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I like short pins when I applique, and you can’t get any shorter than 1/2″! Short pins hold your applique neatly in place and they stay out of the way as you sew. What’s not to love?! Elaine is the lucky winner!

If you were not the lucky winner, you can order yours here.

Show and tell…

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Jean Seymour sent me the following story and photo. Her quilt is lovely and shows her adventurous spirit—it’s Jean’s first needleturn project I’m impressed!

Thank you for this pattern.  My first time at needle turn and bought everything I needed from you.  Some of the pieces got so small and I was taking so long getting it done that I switched to button hole stitching. But turned out not to bad.  Was quilted by my friend Sally Grimbrone here in Yuma Az.

I like the sideways orientation of the blocks. I’ll bet Jean has the perfect spot to hang this quilt. Thank you, Jean, for sharing your quilt with us :-).

Show and tell…

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Nancy Dahood sent me this photo of her Reindeer’s Playground quilt. Isn’t it cute!

I could tell you more except that I must have deleted her email… do you ever do that? I looked in my deleted emails and it is just gone. Deep sigh. I do remember that she made this quilt herself and, I’m making this up, she hangs it every year at Christmas!

My quilt has reindeer in bright colors… I really like them in realistic brown tones. You can click here to find the pattern. Start now and you’ll have your quilt ready for next Christmas!