Mary and Maurice World Tour 2023

We haven't blogged for a while because we haven't been travelling for a while. Instead we have been staying in Mary's Aunt Helen's cottage near Church Stretton clearing and cleaning it to prepare it for sale.  Mary started in fine style by painting the fences at the front and mowing the lawn at the back.  Then it was into all the cupboards, drawers, nooks and crannies where 52 years of Helen's life had been stored. We had the foresight to hire a small SUV and many loads of useful items have now been delivered to very grateful local charity shops for reselling and recycling.  Lest this imply we are ruthlessly stripping the cottage bare: all has been done at Helen's request; almost all has been recycled; and some of Helen's most treasured items have been moved to her room at Stretton Hall. And after all that clearance, the cottage is still fully furnished and looks fully occupied - and is now on the market : https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1...

We originally did not have Rome on our bucket list. Then Liz announced that she had entered her 1st marathon to celebrate turning 30. We weren't going to miss such an auspicious occasion and amended our plans accordingly.  Today was Marathon Day! The only difficulty we had to work around was trying to synchronise our vantage points to allow us to get to each one before Liz powered through.  In the end we managed to see her near the start at 2km, then 14km, 25km, 37km, and 42km. The atmosphere was amazing, with supporters lining the course cheering on random strangers as they waited for their friends and family to come through.  Even the Italian Airforce got into the act: Every time we saw Liz there was a big smile and an apparent relaxed gait.  Unknown to us, Liz had actually pulled a thigh muscle. Did it stop her? No! What was even more awe inspiring wasn't just that she kept going, it was that she even started in the first place - she pulled...

One of the few iconic tourist attractions we had not yet seen was the Trevi Fountain. This fountain has featured in so many equally iconic movies that we had very high expectations. It did not disappoint. Photos were duly taken and coins duly tossed.  The question then arose "What is left on the bucket list?".  Liz chose shopping and Mary tagged along to provide fashion advice, so I left them to it and headed for the Spanish Steps, on the basis that it was another iconic location featured in many movies. They were certainly steps, definitely went to a Spanish church, and without a shadow of doubt were busy with tourists. Slightly uncertain if it was worth the effort, I rejoined the ladies and it became apparent that the shopping trip was not a success. La Dolce Vita was starting to seem a little illusory...  In the spirit of reviving La Dolce Vita, we thought a fancy lunch at a Michelin starred restaurant would be a luxuriou...

Over the centuries subsequent Roman generations have simply built over what came before. In some cases, that is hidden below the surface, many metres below. In others that is very evident at just a casual glance: As well as providing lower levels for modern housing, the ancient Roman buildings also provided building materials. Our various guides gave different versions of how this occurred. For example, one of the iconic views of Rome is the Colesseum with chunks missing: One guide said that by paying a fee, the wealthy were able to remove parts of the building to use in their own homes. Another guide said that the earthquake in the 5th century collapsed part of the building and only the fallen pieces were reused elsewhere.  The truth is probably a mixture of both of those stories. Certainly, many parts were used in private palaces and in the Vatican, especially when building St Peter's Basilica.  What was evident was where, in the medieval period, peop...

My drinking problem arose again in Rome. Unbeknown to me, there was a bottle of prosecco in the door of the hotel minibar with no support, so when I opened the door looking for milk the prosecco came flying out and smashed on the floor. The force of the explosion spread glass fragments throughout the room - quite spectacular.  Not to worry, it was replaced. To enter Vatican City we had to dump our water bottles. We bought some more at an on-site vendor, and somehow it turned into wine...   We originally thought we were being clever going to the Vatican early Wednesday morning as we figured it would be quiet. When we arrived we were surprised by a crowd of many thousands. Google never mentioned that Wednesday morning was when the Pope gave a public audience in St Peter's Square, and this particular Wednesday was special as His Holiness was blessing those taking part in the marathon this weekend. As Liz observed, when there are so many people in a Catholic church "It...

Florence is a beautiful city. Clean, with quiet well behaved traffic, wonderful food, and amazing scenery. Basically a tourist marketer's ideal version of Italy. Near the top of all the 'must do' lists is the Uffizi Gallery. It must contain more than 1000 pieces of art and sculpture, the smallest of which would be valued more than our house. The total value must be in the billions of dollars yet most of them are not behind any sort of protective screens, so one could touch them easily. True, that would set off alarms, but by then any damage would already be done. Remarkable approach to security for some of the art world's greatest treasues . Oddly, we pretty quickly had seen enough. They were wonderful, however the sheer number was overwhelming. Our pace through the various rooms got faster and faster, and the time spent looking at the masterpieces got shorter and shorter. I have no doubt that art lovers could spend many days in the U...