Our, too short, trip to Italy

In 1967, Gail and I had a chance to visit Rome, Italy for three days with a group of friends and associates.  We traveled from Germany through the Alps to Rome by train, a trip that passed through some of the most beautiful country in Europe.

Although the trip across the Alps was only about 100 miles, as the crow flies, that part of the journey took the most time because of the switchback nature of the path we had to follow to get over the mountains.

Once over the Alps, the train made a stop in Milan, Italy where vendors were waiting to sell cheese, bread, and wine to the travelers.  There was no need to leave the train since the vendors conducted business through the windows of the passenger cars.  The wine, I remember, came in those familiar round-bottomed bottles encased in a straw basket, called a “fiasco.”  Needless to say, we were all in good spirits by the time we reached our final destination.

Our first day in Rome was spent visiting the Coliseum and several fountains, including the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi-Ganges, and the Trevi fountain (Three Coins in a Fountain). The Trevi Fountain is the largest and most spectacular of Rome's fountains, designed to glorify the three different Popes who created it.  It was built in 1730 at the terminus of the reconstructed Acqua Vergine aqueduct.

Trevi Fountain

 On our second day in Italy, we left the group we were with and took a train 130 miles south to visit the ancient ruins of Pompei.  We spent most of day day roaming the grounds and museum at Pompei and still didn’t see it all.  One unusual thing I remember about Pompei is the depth of the streets below the sidewalks.  If you stepped off the sidewalk, it was a two foot drop to the street!  At intervals and the intersections, there were three or four stepping stones, raised to sidewalk level, spaced just far enough apart to allow wheeled carts to pass through and over them while providing a convenient pathway for pedestrians.  I guess the entire street was used as a drainage system and, judging from the depth, they must have had lots of rain in Pompei.  We got back to the hotel late that evening, and did not see the group we were with.

Pompei Street

 The following morning, day three, we left the group yet again and took a train 170 miles to the north to visit the town of Pisa and the famous leaning tower.  In those days we were allowed to walk the spiral steps to the top of the tower, and we did.  After the obligatory photos, we hopped on a local bus and found our way to the nearby town of Torre del Lago, and their famous Marble factory.  I purchased a marble chess table with brass “catspaw” legs that I still have today.  We bought several other marble pieces and managed to lug it all back to our hotel room in Rome just before midnight that day.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

 Most of day three was spent in “recovery mode” from the first two days.  We had a late and casual lunch at a local bistro and visited Vatican City.  That evening, we met up again with the group we had come with, for the first time since day one.  We all met for a formal dinner at a very nice Italian Ristorante.  I remember the place being slightly below street level which leant an air of authenticity to the ambiance.  Again, we drank lots of wine and the live musicians played Arivederci Roma for us before we left to pack for the trip back to Germany.