A Bag Lady Lives Here

I love tote bags. Bags of all sizes. Canvas, nylon, it doesn't matter. I would switch my bags up that I hauled stuff in depending on my mood and what I needed to haul. Free bags are especially special. Last year on one of my Yahoo groups, I kept seeing pictures of bags made out of pet mesh. I had already made a couple of zippered pouches out of the pet mesh so I wasn't too fearful of the tote bag. Did a little bit of investigating and found out the pattern was from Nancy Ota. She actually has several patterns for pet mesh. You can purchase the pet mesh in the window screen dept at Home Depot. That is the cool thing about sewing, you can find supplies and gadgets in places other than the fabric store. So with my charge card in hand, I plugged my information in and a few short days later I received my patterns. This bag is very roomy and extremely strong. One of the great things is that it only takes about 3 hours to stitch up.

A few months ago, I decided to make a bag for my friend. I was hoping to finish this around the time we went to Italy. Not for her to bring but just to have to remember our trip by. I wanted to use fabric that I thought represented Italy, the sunsets, the ceramics, the colors of the stucco. Well, this fabric was really the best I could find. I finished this bag last week. It wouldn't be an Ellen project unless it took months to finish! When I went shopping for the fabric, I decided that I also wanted a matching bag. Mine has yet to be made, maybe in another few months. I do have the pet mesh cut out though.

The key fobs were made this afternoon. I decided to stitch out the embroidery after the fabric was stitched down onto the cotton webbing. I thought it would be better. I don't think I'll do that again. The stitch out is a little wonky due to the webbing. The lettering would have been much smoother had I just embroidered on the fabric then stitched it onto the webbing. Live and learn I guess. BTW, I found a tutorial on a sewing blog for the key fob.

Kim has been patiently awaiting a copy of all my pictures from Italy. I was waiting until I finished her bag. Now with her key fob and bag finished, it can go off in the mail.

Vatican City

The Vatican was the final stop in Rome. We took the bus across town. We got there a little later than anticipated due to my stopping at the fabric store. We arrived at our stop but I really couldn't tell which direction to go. I saw a young man with a collar and I told Kim to "Follow that priest. He's going to the same place we are". Well that didn't turn out to be true. We followed him for a couple of blocks. He turned into a McDonald's. We were going the direct opposite direction as the Vatican. As the bus was driving over the Tiber River, I saw to the right the Castel Sant'Angelo. It was such a massive structure that I thought that was the Vatican Museum. The priest was going in the right direction to head to the Castle. However, the Vatican was on our left. How I missed it, I don't know. It is really hard to miss. It is overwhelming. I didn't have a very good map of the Vatican and since I really hadn't studied up on it, we decided to get into the longest line. This was the line to get into St Peter's. The line moved quickly. You needed to go thru security before you could enter the church. It is really hard to show how massive of a complex the Vatican is via pictures. The marble structures inside St Peters are some of the largest pieces of art I have ever seen. It was interesting to find that so many men we had met were named Peter. There was also lot's of references to St Peter. "I am like San Pietro". The Italian people hold St Peter and their Catholic faith close to their hearts.

One of the first things you see as you enter St Peter's is Michelangelo's Pieta. This sculpture of Mary holding the body of Jesus is behind bullet proof glass. Michelangelo was an astonishing 24 year old when he sculpted this. Bernini was another sculpture who has work in San Pietro. It took Bernini nine years to create the 98 foot, seven story canopy that covers the main alter over St Peter's tomb. Along the side of the church is the tomb of Pope Alexander VII. Bernini had carved the tomb out of different marbles. The sculpture has a draped effect that is so lifelike.

After we finished up with the Basillica, we headed outside and around the complex to the Vatican Museums. I think we had about an hour and a half before closing time. The walk to the entrance to the museum was a brisk 10-15 minute walk. Once inside, there was a 30 minute brisk walk snaking your way thru the museum to the Sistine Chapel. I didn't really take time to stop and look at everything since it was a priority to see the Sistine Chapel. I know I'll get rotten tomatoes thrown at me but the chapel was a letdown for me. By the time we got there, I was hot, sweaty and tired. Also, there were a lot of other sweaty tourists. There is just a few benches that people can sit on but they were full. So, you stand in the middle of the chapel and you stare directly upwards. I couldn't do it for more than maybe 30 seconds. I would get dizzy staring upwards. I also really needed some fresh air. Like viewing the Mona Lisa or Whistler's Mother, the artwork isn't quite how you picture it's going to be. It was also a weird feeling to know that the Sistine Chapel is the Pope's private chapel. The place is just packed with people. It is hard to imagine it being a place where the Pope goes to pray. Pictures are not allowed in most places in the museum.

The pictures that are shown are the Vatican gardens taken from a window in the museum. An emblem on the floor of St Peter's Basillica in memory of Pope John Paul II. The Vatican is the world's smallest country, home to about 600 people who live inside the walls.

Encore Italia!

Arrivederci Italia!

What a truly spctacular trip we had. I didn't fully appreciate the sites until I came back to the states and could reflect on the food, people, art, history, etc. I think our days were packed with places to see and visit. I felt like I was doing the "when in Rome" thing, needing to check all these things off my to-do list. It was warmer than I had anticipated and that took some wind out of my sail each day. Poor Kim having to have me slow her down.

I hope to get back to Italy some day. Here are some things I would do differently next time.

1. I would take more pictures. I took over 700 pictures but as I look at my pictures I find myself saying "I can't believe I didn't take a picture of this". I wish I would have taken pictures of all the beautiful ceramics in Sorrento and Positano. I didn't bring any ceramics home so I wish I had taken pictures of the shops. I wish I would have taken lots of pictures of the jewelry stores and their display windows. I wish I would have taken more pictures of Kim's family. Everyone had opened their homes and hearts to us.

2. I packed light but I still could have done a better job. My messenger bag was quite heavy, 3 pounds before I even put stuff in it. It was a secure bag to bring on the trip though. I should have left my travel guides at home. That Rick Steves book was heavy. I brought two pairs of shoes but only wore one. Yes, another pair of shoes would have been helpful if we had torrential rain but that didn't happen. I could have scaled down on the cosmetics a little bit. I brought a jacket that I only used in the airplane. I would have bought a pair of cargo pants with larger pockets. I would have just put my camera in the pockets instead of the camera case. That was one more thing around my neck and it ruined my clothes.

3. I wished I could have purchased more Venetian glass, ceramics and the lemon perfume. The shipping costs was high to get stuff back to the states. I also knew that I couldn't carry anything fragile until the last stop. I picked up the lemon perfume in lots of shops but I told myself that I probably wouldn't wear it. Now that I'm back in the states, I want the lemon scent to remind me of the plants, water and food of Italy.

4. I would have opened up my Learn Italian book. My learn Italian book didn't arrive until 30 days before my trip. Needless to say, there was so much going on with Prom, graduation and work, I didn't open up my book. So I need to go back to Italy just so I can use my book.

5. I would do more research. This trip was a big trip to plan. I felt overwhelmed. We were traveling to four different regions of Italy. The history is so immense, I felt like I would never remember the significance of places.

6. I would have purchased my camera sooner. Not a good idea to go to Italy without understanding your camera.

Sicily

Sicily was the third leg on our trip. We had a driver take us to the Naples airport from Sorrento and from Naples we flew into Catania, Sicily. We had a small holdup at the Naples airport. The security officials did not like our Venetian glass. After taking the packages all out, the security officials decided that two middle-aged women would probably not be a threat with their Venetial glass cheese knives and wine openers. However, the Catania officials would not allow them in my carryon bag so I had to race back to the bag check to give them my backpack or have the officials take my knives. Flying in Italy is a little different. Our flight from Catania to Rome wasn't even on the boards so I thought they cancelled or delayed our flight to a later time. Kim was sure that the flight was still on. She was right. Don't ask me why our flight was posted on the departure board. She had said on more than one occassion "We're in Italy now". The trains and buses all ran on time. Exactly like we had expected to run.

Kim's family, Aldo and Graciela met us at the airport. Our first night, Aldo and Graciela took us to a wonderful family pizzaria. This was my first introduction to Sicilian stuffed pizza. The pizza just kept coming. I had counted about 14 pizza's that were ordered. Just when I thought I couldn't eat anymore, three more pizzas would arrive. The pizzas were always "different" so I had to try the new pizza. This was also my first experience with true Italian cannoli. Oh my Gosh!!! There were over 20 huge cannolis that arrived after already being stuffed with pizza. The cannoli's were stuffed with nutella or ricotta. I just had to have a nutella cannoli. There was probably close to a half cup of nutella in the middle of the cannoli. On the ends, there was cream with pistashios then they were doused with powdered sugar. I thought I was going to get sick from eating so much that night. I dream of the Italian desserts that we had.

Each night, we had gone out to a different restaurant. Kim's cousin Alberto would start our morning out by taking us for breakfast. We would have granita, which is an iced coffee and brioshe. Lunches were made by Graciela and Bina. We were exposed to Salomi Zurco and Italian Cream Cake. Absolutely heaven. I wish I had taken a picture of the Salomi Zurco. This is part cookie, part chocolate, dessert that is shaped into little logs then cut. The finished product looks like slices of salomi but only better because it's dessert.

Our last night in Sicily, Alberto and Tiziana took us to Siracusa which is about a 40 minute drive from Carlentini. We arrived right at sunset. Siracusa is south of Carlentini. As you can see on a map, we are so far south that we are close to the northern part of Africa. No wonder I felt like I was melting everyday.

Sicily was a different Italian adventure. This is where I got to be up close and personal to the Sicilian way of life. We stayed with Nettie's cousin Nino. His daughter and her family were gracious hosts taking us to the grocery store, fixing us meals and taking us to and from the airport. We were taken to an agroturismos outside of Carlentini for dinner one night. This is like the American bed and breakfast except you are on a farm. We had a plate of appetizers before our pasta arrived. Alberto ordered the appetizers for Kim and I. He said he ordered it because we don't eat fish. I really didn't know what he meant by that until the end of dinner. We all had plates of pasta. I would say we finished this about 10:30 pm that night. Then the plates of fried fish arrived. I'm glad I wasn't a fish eater that night. I don't know how I could have eaten fish after eating all the pasta. Dessert arrived at 11:00 pm.

But Is It a Safe Place to Visit?

Italy is very safe. Your biggest concern is pick-pockets. We found police and military personnel all over no matter what city we were in. Rome certainly had the highest amount of "protection". The Italians are funny about sirens. They love to see what is happening. We were in a shop in Sorrento. I was paying for my purchases and you could hear a police car coming down the street. The shop owner starts saying "police" and he runs to the front door to see what's going on. One morning, Kim and I were eating breakfast at our hotel in Sorrento. Once again, we heard the siren's make their way down the street. The gal who worked at the front desk came running out onto the balcony to see the rescue vehicles. She managed to bring her binoculars with her. I have a lot of things on my desk at work but binoculars isn't one of them.

One day, we were taking the bus thru Rome. We happened to drive by an area that had a lot of reporters and LOTS of police and military personnel. We later found out that the location was the president's house. The G8 meetings were being held in Rome. The ministers for Energy, Justice and Interior were meeting inRome. I've never seen so many Mercedes with drivers/bodyguards? in my life. You always knew something was going big was going on but you didn't know what. On our last day in Rome, there was something going down in our 'hood. Streets were blocked off with military personnel and military helicopters were flying around our location. We got to the street that our hotel was on and the police had our street blocked at both ends. The shop owner next to the hotel told Kim there was violence down the street. We asked the man at the front desk in the hotel. He said it was because of the G8 conference. It's a normal occurance in Italy but Americans have the real violence he said. Well he is right about America being violent because of weapons in the hands of individuals. We saw a couple of irate Italian women screaming and I do mean screaming at the police because they wouldn't let them down the street. We watched this go on for about 10 minutes. Now, in America, you don't scream at the police at the top of your lungs. You get the hell out of their way or you are off to jail.

There were always lots of police in the heavy touristy areas. I can't tell you how many times we asked the police for directions. They are all over the place. I certainly felt that they were doing their job with security issues. Heck, even the Vatican Guards had spears.

Italian Fabric Stores

Talk about textile heaven. Italians love sumptuous fabrics. Silks like you wouldn't believe. I had a goal of shopping in one fabric store. I had seen a couple of stores in Venice but they were closed. Rome was going to be the place for fabric. I had done some pre-trip internet searching. Armed with the location of the textile area (Latin Quarters), we set off for the textile store (Bassetti Tessuti) across town. I was just in awe. Fabric stacked up to the ceiling. I didn't want to take a lot of time because Kim doesn't sew and we needed to hoof it to the Vatican that day. I came home with some bath towels and towel fabric. I wish I could have come home with much more but time and money were lacking. The silks were gorgeous but everything I looked at was about $150 euro/meter or about $200 a meter. Yikes! There was a small corner of bridal laces. Once again, I couldn't find anything less than $150 eu/meter. There were a couple of bridal parties looking at fabrics for dresses. The employees were very patient and helpful. I wish I could have found some fabrics and laces for heirloom sewing but that didn't happen. I am just grateful I had an opportunity to visit such a wonderful store.

Roman Holiday

I love Gregory Peck. My girls love Audrey Hepburn. I think we all have the movie Roman Holiday. Forget all the art and history, forget the Colliseum and the Forum, I really wanted to see some of the movie locations for Roman Holiday. I think we were able to make it to 5 locations. I really regret that I didn't have time to watch the movie before I left for Italy. I can't tell you how I felt standing at the Trevi Fountain in the same spot where Gregory Peck tried to take the camera away from the little girl and she yelled for her teacher. I just stood there and almost started to cry. I got goosebumps thinking about how he stood there so long ago. What a classy man.

One of my favorite stories on this trip was meeting three students from China. We were looking for Gregory Peck's apartment. We found it but it had scaffolding all around it. I'm standing there complaining that it was under construction then this young Chinese man asked if I was looking for "Number 51". I told him I was and I was so disappointed. Kim and I found out that these three "kids" were exchange students in Germany and they had a week off and were spending it in Italy. I said, looking at the girls, "So are you Roman Holiday fans too?" Then one of the girls said "No, he is". This young man had set out to see as many scene locations as possible. He was looking for the Wall of Wishes. I hadn't planned on seeing that because it looked to far from our hotel so I didn't write down the location. I did have the website with me with a map to the locations and he took a picture of the website address. Kim and I were surprised how well these kids spoke English. In fact, one of the gals had absolutely no accent whatsoever. They said that speaking English was a requirement for studying in Germany. We really thought the kids were Americans. I started to talk with the young man while Kim spoke with the girls. I'm like "so are you a Gregory Peck fan too?" He said "No, Audrey Hepburn." I thought that was so cute. Meanwhile, Kim was helping the girls with their Italian. The only word they knew was "Ciao". She wrote down some helpful phrases like "where is the bathroom?" As we were leaving, one of the girls said "Have a nice.....Roman Holiday." I wish I had taken a picture of the kids. They were so cute and so nice. I hope that they do well in life.

The Slice of Life

I'm talking about pizza of course! Pizza varied so much between the regions. Sicily wins the award for the most unusual toppings on pizza. I saw tuna, pumpkin, eggs, shrimp. We had excellent pizza's in Sicily. I think my favorite pizza was in Venice. A huge thick pepperoni pizza. Second place was the sun dried tomato pizza and stuffed pizza in Lentini. Sorry Alberto. I know that you said your favorite place was voted best pizza in the world but I'm liking the pizza in Lentini more.

Italian Driving

Watching people drive has been interesting. If you think it's crazy to drive and talk on you cell phone in America, you should see people doing it here. We noticed that many cars have dents in the side. Surely from coming too close to another car. People on motorcycles and scooters have no problems driving between cars. Speaking of scooters, it is amazing what can be carried on one. The Italians use them like a minivan. I saw someone carrying a 6 foot copper pipe and a lady carrying a 6 foot bamboo shade while riding the bike. Kim and I saw someone carrying three propane tanks on his scooter. BOOM! It is not unusual to see a family on the scooter. Child in front of dad and mom in back of Dad on the bike. There are scooters everywhere, especially in Sorrento. We had talked to our driver about the scooters. He said that cars have to stop and go. Scooters just go! Boy was he right.

Another thing that I noticed about Italian motorcyclists, everyone wears a helmet. Is it a law or are the people in Italy just value their grey matter a little more. The little girls have the cutest little helmets. They are pink or have flowers painted on them. I saw a father with two little girls on his bike and they both had matching pink floral helmets. cute, cute, cute.

In Italy, there are stop signs and stop lights. We still haven't figured out who they are for though. No one seems to stop at these.



Parking is a trip. If you can squeeze into a space, it's yours.
























Notice the dents on the car on the right.