Giorni di pioggia e lunedì ...

Howdy y'all!
To translate the title -
       (actually translation) Days of Rain & Monday...
       (as we know it) Rainy days and Monday...
If you have looked at the Rome weather lately you will notice that it has been doing A LOT of raining.
It doesn't help when you want to wander but it is great for the garden and the parks. Everything is blooming like crazy.
It's actually kind-of funny because you never know how to dress or what to bring when you go out. For example, this is what the day looks like from the Terrace this morning...

Some blue sky, some grey and lots of green!

The tempurature in the sun has been wonderful but in the shade very cool. I have learned a lot about layering lately...

On the terrace, everything is growing beautifully! I no longer have tomato plants I have tomato bushes. The herbs are growing like weeds and we can see the first signs of our future lemon harvest...

One of our tomato bushes...

...a look at toamtoes yet to come!

Herb-gone-wild!

Lots of lemoncello this year!

The little bit of sunshine and wandering done this week was very close to home. I decided to walk about 6 blocks from our house to an area called Porta Pia.
Porta Pia is one of the doors that open in the Aurelian Walls of Rome (the wall that surrounds the city of Rome). It is also well known because the door (the Nomentana Door) was one of Michelangelo's last works in or around 1565. Outside the wall is a monument to Sharpshooters. In 1932 the wall was breached during the war and the enemy was forced back by a group of sharpshooters. Also, on Sundays in this area they have a cute open-air market.
I hope you find the sights as charming as I do...
Just another of those amazing little gems you find while just walking out our door...

Porta Pia outside the wall...

...the wall adjacent to the door...

Porta Pia inside the wall...

Monument to the Sharpshooter...

That was my little adventure for this week...

To give everybody an update on my latest hobby. My first ceramic painting piece is officially done. It has been glazed, baked and here it is...

My latest project is underway - my teacher has me doing a mountain snow scene...

We shall see the outcome... Here is a sneak preview...

What it should look like...

What it looks like so far...



I will finish this piece this week before we head off on vacation...

Well I think that is all I have for y'all this week. Starting on Wednesday of this week Tom & I head off for a much needed vacation to Puglia (the heel of the boot). It should be a great vacation and in two weeks I will let you all see what we did!
For now - we wish you all the best and send our love to friends and family!
Abbracci a tutti!
Ron & Tom



Buona Pasqua a tutti!

In other words...Happy Easter to all!
It is now the week after Easter and Rome is still buzzing with German, American, and Chinese tourists (they are all over the place).
The weather has turned cooler and rainier than in previous weeks. We have slipped into the 60s during the day and the 50s at night. It is supposed to rain for the next 7 days - not a bad thing. It should be really good for the garden!
Speaking of the garden, everything is doing very nicely. The plants have doubled in size and we already have started to see flowers on some of the tomato plants. The herbs are growing like crazy and I have started to harvest and dry them for use later...

Tomatoes are getting big...

The herbs, already trimmed once...

The lemon tree is growing its leaves nicely and I already see flower-buds for a ton of new lemons! Lemoncello year, here we go... (oh yeah! And Lemon bars for our friend Erika - a special request).
Thank goodness I have enough of the last batch saved up to hold us over till the next batch comes along.

Let's get back to the subject at hand... Pasqua and our weekend trip to Sperlonga. Due to Easter and the Italians - Tom had a four day weekend for the holiday. Back in February we took a day trip about 1.5 hours south of Rome to a cute little beach town. After just being there for a few hours we decided we wanted to spend more time. We came home and booked the holiday weekend in this quaint little beach town. Unfortunately, the weather did not seem like it wanted to cooperate. The forecast was for rain the entire time we were there and the tempurature was only to be in the 50s-60s. We did get lucky and had some sunshine the day we arrived and the day we left. Even with the not-so-nice weather we had a peaceful, relaxing, delicious time!
I thought we would start by giving you the view from our room...

Now this is a terrace with a view...

It was truly an amazing place to spend Easter.
Saturday was rainy but this did not stop us from exploring. We decided to take a drive to a nearby town called Gaeta, known for its olive oil and military base. It was a really cute place to wander around even in the weather. We were amazed by the number of little produce stands and meat stores that lined the little roads that ran through this town. We were equally amazed with the fact that all (and I mean 'all') the churches were closed and were having renovations done. Though cold and wet we walked up the hill to see a huge church and look down at the view of the water below (and the battleship)...

Church on the hill...

A view from the church...

The battleship & the fisherman...

Gaeta, a step back in time...

Of course after walking in the cold and rain, what were we to do?
Have a wonderful local lunch at La Cantinella Gaetana. It was an intersting little place. During our meal one of the proprietors (an older man in his 60s) approached the table, asked us how our meal was, and then asked us if we were a couple... Very odd but funny!

After lunch we left Gaeta to drive back to Sperlonga - on the way back we decided to stop at another local landmark - The Tiberian Grotto and museum. The museum was erected on the ground of the former Villa of Tiberius. The villa included a grotto down by the beach where some amazing sculptures, now partially housed in the museum, had been found. The statuary celebrated the deeds of Odysseus. I guess Tiberius got bored with the area because in 26AD he moved to Capri (another fine choice according to me).
Let's take a look...

Walkway to the grotto...

...and the entrance...

...a nice place for lunch...

...or just to enjoy the view...

Replica of the sculpture that sat inside the grotto...

Some of the...

...original pieces...

...that still remain!

It was a wonderful experience being in and around these ancient works of art and history.

On top of everything that I have already written, one of the most amazing parts of the weekend happened at night. We were lucky enough to be in this location during a full moon! The images at night were absolutely outstanding...

A beautiful view of the moon over the mountains...

The sea looking like flowing black satin fabric...

On Monday we left early and came back home to Rome - it was a nice relaxing end to a wonderful hoilday weekend...
We have to thank the town of Sperlonga and the amazing Hotel Corallo for another great adventure...

On the home front, I started something new... I am taking a ceramic painting class. Something I thought would be lite, fluffy and simply fun - turned into a serious artistic adventure...
Here is what I have to show for it...so far!

The original artwork...

My version...

Watch out Sistine Chapel restoration - here I come...
More to come, I am presently working on a large plate with a snowy mountain scene...

Ok, enough for this week!
We hope that your Easter (Pasqua) was as relaxing, beautiful, and wonderful as ours!

To all - Abbracci a tutti (hugs to all), we send our love to all our friends and family.
With love always -
Ron & Tom