Rome’s Top Ten-Part 1

Posted on by
12

…..seeing Rome’s Top Ten in three days is not impossible

When we planned to stay in Rome for the final three days of our trip to Italy I never imagined that we would be able to see so many of the famous sites of this ancient city. To be honest some of the sites were under construction so we only did a quick pass and for others we only saw the exterior.

My top ten sites included:

The Colosseum

It was a very hot day when we finally walked to the Colosseum. We were accosted by dozens of vendors selling selfie sticks and tours. My husband and daughter took refuge in a caffe next to the Colosseum and enjoyed a cool drink while the rest of us including the baby took a closer look at the exterior of this ancient structure. Unfortunately we didn’t see the interior, partially because the heat was too much for the baby.

The Pantheon

We arrived early and there was a mass going on so we had to wait to get in to see the Pantheon. We wandered off to get a coffee in a nearby bistro but when we returned there was a line-up to get in. My husband hates line-ups so he passed on seeing the inside of the Pantheon. Luckily the line went pretty quickly and there was some very high quality entertainment on the street in the way of musicians.

Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain was a bit of a surprise for me. It’s a very large fountain but it’s crammed into a very small space and the crowds were huge. It’s almost impossible to get a camera shot that takes in the entire fountain. You just can’t stand far enough away. I would love to see the fountain at night when it’s all lit up.

The Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps was the one attraction that we didn’t spend much time at because it was under construction. I understand that it is now restored and open again for the public to walk on.

img_9592

In my next post I will share more photos of the following attractions in Rome:

Vatican City

Piazza Navona

Castel Sant’Angelo

Trastevere

Roman Forum

The National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II

*******************************************************************

Till next time.

Ciao!

 

 

Culture Days – Sept. 30, Oct. 1-2

Posted on by
Reply

…..last Saturday I attended a ‘culture days’ event at Humber College

Culture Days was founded in 2009 and raises the awareness and  participation of Canadians in the arts and cultural life of their communities. Hundreds of thousands of artists, cultural workers, organizations and groups, volunteers and supporters host free  public activities that take place in hundreds of cities and towns throughout the country over the last weekend of September each year.

Culture Days offers a wonderful opportunity for Canadians across the country to explore and participate in the cultural communities that exist in their neighbourhoods that they may have not even be aware of before.

The event that I was most excited about was the Tunnel Tour. Humber College by the Lakeshore took over the old psychiatric hospital which closed in 1979 and restored the original facades of all the the cottages and main buildings. The buildings were connected by an underground tunnel that were used to transport food and laundry to the patients. The tunnel itself was dug by the patients and a cross section cut out of the wall shows the primitive technique used to cement together the pieces of slate that were probably found on the property.

The tunnel is still used today to house gas, water and sewer pipes and to transport supplies from one cottage to another. Part of the tour included talking about the history of the psychiatric hospital and how the different cottages were used. Cottage D housed the detox patients and K cottage was home for the children who lived at the hospital. That was the saddest part of the tour. Apparently when children suffered from epilepsy and/or ADHA they were admitted to the hospital where they spent the rest of their lives. Nurses used to walk up and down Lakeshore Blvd. looking for children that had been deserted by their parents because they thought their seizures were signs of being possessed.

I also learned that a ghost lives in cottage G. She’s been seen by the care taking staff and security. Apparently she’s friendly and is a former nurse who worked at the hospital. Cottage G is the last cottage to be renovated. Our guide kindly took us inside. It certainly didn’t look haunted.

After the tour I took a walk over to the Assembly Hall and watched the dancers in the Pow Wow.

Later in the afternoon I took part in an art workshop. We were a very small group. First we took a walk through the grounds towards the lake and picked up natural materials off the ground. When we returned to the classroom we were presented with old nature books that were being discarded and numerous art supplies to create our nature inspired piece of art. It was very relaxing and I walked away with two samples that I can use in future art classes at school.