Still tastes wonderful

Remember Amarula, the wonderful liqueur made from marula fruit in South Africa? We brought back 4 bottles and are trying to make it last. We shared some with company a couple of months ago, but basically we just savor the anticipation. Brian, my husband, learned recently that it is available in the states.

Perhaps we should anticipate less and drink more!

Siena (the city, not the color)

Wait! I promised readers some information about Siena. Siena's sister city in the United States is Buffalo, New York. The city (Siena) is spelled with one n, while the color has two n's. We drive a Toyota Sienna, and I can't explain that.

Even though we were coming back to Rome for the last day of our trip, I didn't want to leave. Ronda had caught onto some of the language, and it is just a fantastic place to visit. We headed out for Siena, a city that is famous for its ceramics. It is also charming in an old-world way but different from Rome and Florence.

Two things in Siena stand out in my mind. One is the very large plaza ("Piazzo del Campo") made of bricks and sloping down to the cathedral. I let myself imagine all the citizens gathering for meetings of various sorts, with announcements being shouted out from a stage. I'll bet the bricks were uncomfortable to sit on if there were many announcements.

The other vivid memory I have is of taking a shower. I really, really wanted a shower after the trip, but the water didn't warm up. I waited for a while and then spotted a coin depository. Oh! Cold water is included, but hot water is extra! I wanted a shower but eschew cold ones. Plus I didn't have any quarters (or the Italian equivalent) with me. I always assume that a hot shower will be readily available to me. It was, but I wasn't willing to feed coins into a slot. I compromised by standing back, cupping cold water in my hands until it warmed a little, and splashing it on my body. Not very satisfactory. I'm not even sure it could be called a shower, but there you go.

My souvenir from Siena was a set of salad spoon/fork with ceramic handles. There were bigger and better ceramic items to purchase, of course, but I'm happy with my choice.

I would eagerly revisit Siena but would make sure the hotel has hot running water included in the daily rate.

So this is where that happened!

Our last night in Rome was beautiful in a sad kind of way. We ate dinner at a cafe that had about 4 little tables inside, about 8 little tables on the sidewalk, and, because that was sometimes not enough, 4 tables in the street! We watched the moon and ate salads and dessert. We didn't hurry.

We got back to our hotel and had some time before the bus left. Ronda said, "Mom, I have something to show you, and it's close enough so that you won't hurt your feet any more." Yes, a week later after being lost for 4 hours, they still hurt. I trust Ronda. We left and walked a few blocks. She had discovered that we were staying only a short walk from the Colosseum! It was really old and falling down, but in the dark it looked old and falling down. I know a little bit about the early Christians. The Roman emperors enjoyed putting some hungry lions in the Colosseum with some Christians, just to see who would win. Seeing it brought tears to my eyes. There were people who were so dedicated to their new religion that they allowed themselves to be mauled and killed for the entertainment of the wealthy. That may not be true, but that's what I've heard. And I got to see the place!

The darkness and the hour pushed us forward, but I got to see the Colosseum!