Lmnei - Wheels on the Go

Dubai – Walking Tour of the Souks! November 13, 2023

November 13, 2023November 22, 2023Lmnei

I got a solid 4 hours of sleep which was awesome! We had forgotten to close the dark curtains so when the sun was up so was I! It was a beautiful sunrise this morning! Andrew was still sleeping so I puttered around in the living room, took some pictures of the sunrise and got organized for the day – needed to optimize my knapsack and purse for the Walking Tour today. I just realized what I have forgotten at home – my sunscreen! Will have to deal with that fairly soon as it is pretty hot and sunny here and I do not want to get burnt! I am not that worried though as I have built up a bit of a base from my travels earlier this year. I am hungry! Time to check out breakfast! More important – time for Andrew to get up!

The breakfast at the Sheraton Dubai Creek is free for all guests of the hotel. There is an AMAZING buffet provided that covers many different cultures and what they would want to eat for breakfast. There was a Middle Eastern, European, cereal bar, omelette bar, hot breakfast area and cold food plates provided. We sat outside as it was beginning to be a very nice and warm day! When inside looking at the various parts of the buffet, I must have looked lost or something as one of the waiters wanted to help me. I said that I was just looking and wanted to know what on the buffet was gluten free. WELL, did that put them into ACTION! I will call the chef right away madam! Sure enough the chef came very promptly and walked me through the buffet and told me various items were GF, including the corn flakes (they looked like Schar ones), the omelette bar and various items on the hot and cold areas. So I ordered an omelette and got myself a bowl of corn flakes and dressed it up with lots of goodies like nuts and seeds! Just then the chef appeared and said he was wrong and the corn flakes have barley and he took my bowl away! Instead he said he would prepare me French Toast! I was all for that!

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast on the patio of the restaurant, which is next to the pool. There are some free range cats in the area that come to visit, however the servers tell them to get lost! Andrew had finished breakfast and his IV of coffee and I was still waiting on my French Toast. The waiter was very apologetic and told me that it had to come from a special kitchen. After about 20 minutes it arrived and it was SO GOOD! That made my day!

I then looked up on Google Maps where the closest drug and grocery store would be. We needed sun screen and I needed a couple of things that I had now realized I had also forgotten, along with my standard need of Coke Zero. We found one that looked not too far away so off we went to check it out. First, there are large roads in Dubai and the hotel was on one of them. They either have overpasses or traffic lights that are spaced quite a distance apart. So we had to walk to the left a distance to only cross the street and walk to the right, back to basically a road perpendicular to the hotel on the other side of the street. We were told that jay walking was illegal and we did not see that many people doing it. The first grocery type store that we found did not look appropriate for what we were looking for so we kept going. The temperature at this point was just over 30 degrees Celsius. We found what I would call an Arabic Dollar store, although the items were not in dollar increments, which seemed to fit the bill! I was able to purchase my hair ties, suntan lotion and Coke Zero all in the one store. It definitely was a cultural experience as my mother would say – very narrow aisles and dollar store type quality for many of the goods. Some people were buying a TON of stuff there! We sure stuck out like sore thumbs – me with my walker and blonde/grey hair and Andrew just in general. I do not think they normally see many visitors.

We then walked back to the hotel and had a snappy nap before taking a taxi to the meeting point of our tour which was across Dubai Creek from where we were staying. I had picked this particular tour as it ends up back on the Sheraton side of the creek.

We met our tour guide “Mouse” and the other 10 people on our tour – it was a small tour group on purpose, and we started walking through the “old Dubai” neighbourhood. It looked very authentic as you can see below however it is less than 10 years old! It was just build to look like the buildings originally did on Dubai Creek. The buildings are actually part of a Hilton hotel and house different rooms throughout them on the 2^nd level. Then we crossed a large street and in that area the houses are actually older and have the original “features” of the Emirate homes such as the two doors – men going in the front one which is quite large and women going in the back door (which we did not see an example of). Also, these homes were build with what looks to be a bell tower type structure on top and the houses are actually quite close together. The “bell tower” is their form of air conditioning – it forces the air downwards and therefore out of the home below and the close proximity of the houses are to create wind tunnel type features to keep the air moving.

We were then invited into a house to have some Arabic coffee – this was a strange experience for me – I had to lift my walker up and then down 2 stairs to get in and then down 3 stairs to the sunken living rooms where we all gathered. Leaving, up the 3 stairs out of the living room and around the corner we went and down a ramp to exit! Why they could not have brought us in that way is beyond me….

Now we walked to the Now we walked to the nearby textile souk area and we had a break to do whatever we wanted. This was our first day in Dubai so I was not into shopping so instead I decided to have my favourite drink (Coke Zero) and watch the abra traffic on Dubai Creek. An abra is a flat-bottomed boat that is used to transport people around the creek – sort of like the Granville Island Ferries but not as cute! They do have a top on them though!

Once the group re-convened, we walked to an abra so that we could cross Dubai Creek ourselves and go to the Spice and Gold Souks before the end of the tour. Crossing the Dubai Creek was fun – we passed by some very interesting ornately carved boats – we were not sure at that point if they were sea going ships however they seemed to be carrying a lot of goods and offloading them on the shore. The crossing took about 5 minutes and we were back on the side of Dubai Creek where our hotel was now. Slight problem though. To cross the street, you have to go down about 30 stairs, along a corridor and then up 30 stairs again! That was not in the plan when I selected this walking tour! The tour guide will not let me cross the road (there are barriers where we are preventing it) farther down as he says it is against the law and there are no lights with cross walks to walk to either! Well, down and back up I went! The stairs were not that high and I took it slowly. What was a bit of extra pain when my body was already REALLY confused as to what day and time it was? Well it was worth it – the Spice Souk was very interesting! The smells were fascinating!

We were first taken into a small store (you know how these tours work – a friend of a friend’s store) where they talked about different teas. We sampled or smelled several which were lovely – except for the one that was like Halls Menthol! Then we moved onto saffron. I was not aware that saffron, which is very expensive, sometimes is “extended” by mixing it with sunflower stamens and obviously reduce the quality. How do you tell? The sunflower saffron mix when dropped in a glass of water will sink to the bottom of the glass where real saffron will float on the top of the water and start dying the water yellow/orange from the top.

After the stop at the store, we were given “shopping time” where we walked around the Grand Souk which contains several souks starting with the herb and spice souk. Wow are the vendors in the souk aggressive! They will say anything to try and get your attention! I found that the best way to walk around was to wear sunglasses so they could not see where I was looking… The spice souk then leads into the utensil souk which leads to the gold souk! At the entrance to the gold souk there was a huge ring at the entrance that is listed in the Guness World as the largest gold ring in the world.

After experiencing all this bling and smells along with harassment, we were ready to return to the hotel! With both of us getting tired, we decided to take a taxi instead of walking about 3 km back in the heat. It was a good decision! The taxi driver drove us down next to the Dubai River and explained that the ships that we ships that we saw with the ornate carvings on them are ocean going and are coming from Iran with various goods.

Back at the hotel, we both had a nap and then ordered room service for dinner – I ordered Butter Chicken and rice and Andrew ordered a wrap. I FORGOT the spice wimp that I am to order ZERO heat on the Butter Chicken so it was a sit and sweat situation for dinner! Early to bed as tomorrow we need to be up early for the Tour of Dubai we are taking at 9am!

Here we go again! Trip to Dubai and Thailand – Flight to Dubai Nov 11-13th 2023

November 12, 2023November 22, 2023Lmnei

Well we made it to the Maple Leaf Lounge! We got to the airport as planned about 6pm, got checked in, said good bye to our luggage and hoped to see it again in Dubai! We went through D or International Security (bad decision on my part) and all my bags were searched due to various items such as my laptop, cords, etc that seemed “interesting” to the CATSA security agents. Note to self: If one has a NEXUS card or YVR security badge, go through the C or Fast Track Domestic Security as they do not require shoes off, laptops out as you are a Trusted Traveler. Then walk to the D gates! It will save you time in the end!

I was impressed that the Maple Leaf lounge was not bursting at the seams – the last time I was in the International one as we were flying to Delhi, there were not many places to sit. I also applaud the Maple Leaf lounge now for showing allergens on their food – only issue was the only GF food were nacho chips for lunch of dinner! They do have an omelet that is GF for breakfast, but that did not help at 8pm when I was hungry!

We made our way to the flight at Gate 71, and I showed Andrew the “sights” while we walked there such as where I sit when volunteering in International, where the aquarium is etc. The next test is boarding and how Air Canada will do considering I am now wearing my sunflower lanyard which was part of the problem (not wearing it) when in Toronto. As a sidebar note, Air Canada has just this past week been in front of the Federal Government for some poor treatment of People with Disabilities and has come out with a statement on how they are going to do better and be more respectful. Time to see what will happen!

I saw the gate doors were open, so that means they were about to start boarding. So I went up to the gate agent next to the scanner for boarding cards and mentioned that I needed to pre-board not only due to my walker, but also due to high anxiety and that I need the area to be quiet so I can get onto the plane. I had previously spoken to this same agent when I checked in so it was not news to her. She told me to wait, they were yet to start boarding. Yet, on the scanner machine to the left, another gate agent was already scanning a line up of people who looked to be pre-boarding – there was one person with a visible disability using a cane, no sunflower lanyards being displayed and about 10 other family members with them getting on at the same time. So I asked the agent next to me what was going on and she said that they will be holding the boarding after this party and to hang on. Yet they did not – there was a constant stream of people boarding at this point. None of them were from the Business Class line either. Finally, they stopped boarding and told me to proceed. Well, that lasted about 5 seconds and there were more people behind me so Andrew and I stopped and waited until the “traffic cleared” I then put earplugs in my ears and was able after a few minutes to go down the jetway and onto the plane.

I do appreciate that the flight attendants are there to help you however when they see someone with ear plugs in and their accompanying person saying to leave me alone, I really wish they would respect that. It takes an incredible amount of focus to keep my anxiety at bay until I feel comfortable to board the plane and interference is not productive. It also frustrates the person travelling with me as the flight attendants are clearly ignoring the advice on how best to help me.

I had asked that my walker fly in the plane in one of the closets. The ability to do this was also confirmed recently with the government talks. Took a bit of convincing however they obliged and in the front closet it remained for the flight!

Fast forward now! We are off into the clouds and dinner is served! Oh joy! Mushroom chicken AGAIN! I just had 4 of these last month and here we go again – perhaps breakfast will be better! So after being fed and burped (just kidding on that part) we both settled down for some well earned sleep. Well, someone slept – I did not! I probably should not have consumed that Coke Zero! Movie time! I rummaged through several movies and then settled on Sleepless in Seattle – a good classic movie! Who knows – perhaps it will put me to sleep! Nope. Moved on to You’ve Got Mail! Okay, now that the cabin is DARK I am going to try and sleep! I think I slept for about an hour and I was back watching movies AGAIN! While I do not believe in drinking coffee or tea on a plane due to the water supply issues, drastic measures had to be taken so I drank some tea and I think that worked as I have no idea what movie I watched next! Three hours later that was a great nap! Time to knit! I had LOTS of things with me to entertain me for this flight! So as I had purchased internet for this flight I tried to connect but it would not work. No idea why. The flight attendant finally told me – because we flew so high up over Canada the internet actually does not last very long and then will not be available for the rest of the flight. Oh darn! So now I cannot finish my Italy blog! Time to do something else! Next movie! As I have just come back from Italy, I decided on Mama Mia (I know that it is set in Greece). Well, that did the trick! Watched the first one and remember starting the sequel but did not remember watching it…. Sleep at last!

Andrew managed to sleep for about 8 hours which was awesome for him as I have never seen him sleep on a plane like this! It was funny as he did start watching a movie and he fell asleep so the flight attendant turned off his TV for him. It seemed that they did that for everyone who fell asleep with their TV’s on as the cabin was REALLY dark at one point and only I had on my seat light (which on the Dreamliner in Business is just over your shoulder so not obnoxious to other passengers). Also, as we were on a Dreamliner the windows went dark too – not that it mattered as I do not think the sun came out during our flight at all!

This is a strange flight though – we left at 9:30pm and we arrive 2 days later at 00:20 in the early morning. So really, you fall asleep on the plane but don’t want to sleep TOO much as when you get to Dubai, it is night time again! Very different from flying to NZ/AU where the flights leave in the evening and arrive 2 days later in the morning at about 6 or 7am. On those flights I have found I have had ZERO jet lag. We shall see what happens in Dubai as in order to get on the right schedule I have planned a walking tour for 2pm the afternoon we arrive!

Now it is breakfast time – or dinner? We are being fed another meal! Oh no, I can smell it coming – mushroom chicken repeat! Really Air Canada? You cannot figure out a different GF meal on a 2 meal flight? You did it on the Rome flight which was dinner and then breakfast…. Oh well I would rather be safe than sorry!

Then I watched a French movie whose name I forgot – something about a summer home and poof! It was time to land! I could not believe that the 15 hours went by so fast and we were about to land in Dubai! The flight attendants confirmed my wheelchair order with me (good) and very soon we were on the ground. We only circled once it looks like!

I was amazed by the path that we took to get here – from Vancouver up and over the top of Greenland – higher than I have ever flown and then sliced down over eastern Europe being careful of what countries we flew over and then down over the Middle East to Dubai. See the pictures of the flight map below.

I was greeted by a gentleman with a blue wheelchair similar to the ones we have at YVR. It had a feature that we do not have or use at YVR though – a seatbelt! I wondered if this was going to be a wild ride or it was just for safety purposes – hoping for the latter and it was! We did not have to wait for my walker as it rode in the cabin and was ready to go when we deplaned. As Andrew pushed my walker we merged into the heavy traffic (at almost 1am) walking to Immigration. All of a sudden I had a 2^nd escort with a man announcing to move aside so that the wheelchair could pass. I thought that was a bit much but whatever turns your crank! It made Andrew have to walk double speed to keep up though! And along we rolled, and rolled and rolled – holy smokes is this a BIG airport! My escort then told me that Air Canada’s gate is at once end of the terminal and the Immigration, Customs and luggage is at the other end AND 2 Emirates 380 flights had just landed – one from the USA and one from England. So now that makes sense for the traffic encountered!

It is a beautiful airport – mainly glass and like YVR we walked along a corridor in the ceiling until we got to some massive elevators to take us down to the Immigration Hall. Once in the Hall there were massive line ups to speak to an agent however my escort took us to the side, where the wheelchair and sunflower sign is and pushed me right up to an agent – who was wearing Emirates male clothing (white robe and black rope holding the scarf on his head. We each had our picture taken and then we were off to find our luggage! Already on the carousel Andrew picked it up, and we then went through “nothing to declare” at customs and we had arrived! Out into the airport I was pushed and low and behold there was a HUGE Starbucks! Around the Starbucks we went and to the taxi line so we could get to our hotel. Wait – the taxi line is to the left and my escort went to the right! I then suggested that I did not need a wheelchair cab, thinking that was where he was going, and he replied that I did not have to wait in line for a taxi – we take a different route to get one. Okay, go with the flow! Out the door and down ONE of the 4 lines of waiting taxis we went until one was available. He helped me into the car while Andrew dealt with the luggage and my walker and we were on our way to the Sheraton Dubai Creek to stay!

They were awaiting our arrival and what a beautiful hotel the Sheraton is! You get out of the taxi and walk into an atrium that is at least 10 floors high and there are two double high escalators going up to the reception desk area. There also is an elevator for those who need to take one like me. I know sometimes I am forced to ride an escalator, however those were a BIT intimidating with their height and in the open for me to get caught!

We were upgraded to a corner suite with a Juliette balcony, which was awesome, from the regular hotel room that I had booked (only type of room you can book on points). While being fairly high in the Marriott Bonvoy Rewards Program does allow for free upgrades, usually when you arrive about 2am you get what you are given, and upgrades are not always available.

I DO remember taking my medication and finding my PJ’s however as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light! All I knew was that breakfast started at 6am and I was not going to be eating mushroom chicken at that time!

Travel back to Vancouver! October 26, 2023

October 26, 2023November 22, 2023Lmnei

Well, the day has come, it is the end of our travel adventure to Rome and we must return back to Vancouver and our real lives!

We were picked up by the pre-arranged airport transportation company on time and whisked away to the Rome airport in plenty of time for our 2pm flight to Toronto and then continuing onto Vancouver. Having never flown out of the Rome airport previously, this was a new experience for both of us! I do remember the route that the gentleman took when bringing us to baggage from hour flight to Rome, so I was anticipating a similar departure gate area again. I was wrong – what a surprise!

After check-in with Air Canada – which left something to be desired in the way that it was handled, or lack there of, the agent told us to go next door to get assistance to get to the plane. Well, we looked and no one was around other than WestJet and their passengers! So we just decided to proceed on our own – I had plenty of time to rest on the plane. First, we went to the VAT refund area, very cool process that you can do electronically by scanning your documents into an ATM type machine. You provide your passport and it figures out what flight you are on, scan the receipt from in this case, the leather goods store, and provide a credit card for the refund to be placed on. Took 5 minutes and within 24 hours the 19 Euros I was owed were going to be credited to my credit card! Not a big amount, but every Euro counts! We even helped the lady use the machine next to us (as Liz and I are such wizzes with machines!) and she was getting over 200 Euros returned from shopping! That will be some declaration of goods at customs wherever she is traveling to!

Next we made it through security with no issues and walked to where we thought the gate for our flight would be departing from. The gate had not been announced yet, however I remembered the area of the airport that we had been in at arrival. As we walked along, I decided that I needed to fill up my water bottle, so I saw a “Family” washroom sign and decided to explore! What a cool room it was with private cubicles for babies to be nursed and a huge changing area with garbage cans and a sink. But the CUTEST thing was the washroom! It had both an adult and kids toilet in it! They do think of everything here!

Back on our walk to our assumed gate, where we had arrived a couple of weeks prior, we spotted some lounging chairs to hang out in. The actual gate area that we experienced on our arrival on Oct 10th was pretty small so these looked like a good place to relax, have our sandwiches’ and drinks. While I contemplated the aircraft activity out the window through my eyelids, Liz decided to go for a walk and to also see if the gate for our flight had shown up yet or not. In about 20 minutes she was back – the gate had been posted and we were in the wrong area now! Off we went to the gate where the plane was located which was on a remote terminal one had to access by train.

Luckily the train ride was short and we got to the gate right when Air Canada was starting to pre-board! They were a little confused as to where Liz and I had come from, as they were expecting me in a wheelchair, however all was good and they took us downstairs to wait to board the plane. I am not sure if this is a common thing in Italy and Spain or not – it seems every time I have arrived or departed from a major airport we are taken “downstairs” in order to board a plane through a jetway. There were a LOT of people waiting to pre-board the flight – it seemed to me that there was some other type of “pre-board” going on at the same time such as Business Class. So we waited about 30 minutes to get onto the plane, however this time there were no screaming babies/kids and I was successful getting on the plane with no issues.

Our flight to Toronto was spectacular – a 9.5 hour flight during the day on a Dreamliner (787)! The windows tint as they are needed to, or you can make them darker yourself. It was really cook when ice crystals appeared too! See my pics below.

Arriving in Toronto was a nightmare from an accessibility standpoint. First, my gate checked walker did not show up, so they put me in a wheelchair to get to the top of the jetway. Then someone appeared from the elevator carrying it! So re-united with it, Liz and I proceeded to go upstairs to the Customs Hall, however that being a long walk in Toronto, we were put in a cart to be taken there. We were first taken to a “transfer point” where we were to wait to take another cart to the Customs Hall, however as we could see the Customs Hall from the transfer area, we just walked instead. We got through Customs in a flash and now were back in Canada! I knew based on the gate number for our Vancouver flight it was going to be quite the walk and we had about 10 minutes at that point to get to the flight for pre-boarding. So I asked for a cart or wheelchair to take us there.

What a gong show, no one was available to do so, instead we were told to walk to the security check point and there are “lots” of Air Canada personnel to assist me. So off we walked and got to the security checkpoint area behind security and there was ONE Air Canada representative, trying to keep about 20 people going to Delhi on a 9pm flight under control. I explained that we had a very short connection and I was concerned we were not going to make it on time. The Air Canada lady said she would help us, however after waiting for about 5 precious minutes, I decided that we needed to get going on our own. At that point the Air Canada person noticed us getting in the elevator to go downstairs and grabbed a wheelchair and joined us going down to the gate area. I got into the wheelchair and Liz pushed my walker and we express walked to the gate and low and behold – no plane! So we were not actually late after all! The 777-300 that we were to take to Vancouver had not arrived yet. The Air Canada escort parked me at the gate and went back to deal with her Delhi wheelchair situation!

The gate agent was really great and saw my sunflower lanyard and agreed that I could preboard. On that flight, for some UNKNOWN reason, I was the only person pre-boarding, so it worked out well. No issues getting onto the plane, once it arrived 30 minutes late and we were off on our last leg of our journey! We were fed mushroom chicken again (second time today) and a fruit plane – oh joy! I got some rest and soon we were landing in Vancouver and pulling up to Gate 52 which is a close in gate without much walking needed. However where was my walker? It is MIA! Finally it was found at the TOP of the gate area – not at the door of the plane. So into a wheelchair I went and was pushed to where my walker was located and then Liz and I walked to baggage claim to get our luggage. There we parted ways as Liz just takes the Canada Line home and Andrew was picking me up on the Departures Level – as he has done for years!

We were home from a very fun, but exhausting vacation, to Italy! Now I have just under 2 weeks to prepare for my next vacation with Andrew! Stay tuned!

Rome – Celiac Shopping and Dining October 25, 2023

October 25, 2023November 22, 2023Lmnei

Our LAST day in Rome and in Italy! Tomorrow we fly home. Time for some gluten free shopping! Luckily there is a Conad grocery store a block away from us so we popped in there and acquired a few gluten free items – Liz was purchasing for her next door neighbour who is a tween and has CD and I was basically just purchasing anything that looked interesting! I am not going to list what we purchased as that will give away some surpises however they ended up being both gluten free and regular items at the store.

Now, as this previously was forecasted to be a rainy day, and we were going to stay in, and it is now a LOVELY sunny day, Liz decided to accompany me on my “B” list item that I wanted to do – got to newer chain store in Rome called Celiac Laboratory (but in Italian). So off we went!

I knew that the subway stop near the Celiac Lab was accessible as it is one of the two stops near St. Peter’s and the Vatican that are advertised as such. However I did not notice that the stop nearest to where we were staying, on the same line, was NOT. So needless to say, Liz had to help me by carrying Hugo down some stairs while I used the railing to get down safely. After managing to buy tickets this time and scanning properly to take the train, we got onto a train and hoped we were going in the right direction – so we were and shortly we arrived at the correct stop. Now, where is the elevator that is supposed to be here? Nowhere to be found!

There are stairs going up to the next level and there at the top – a stair lift! How ingenious! Yet no way to call someone in the booth that I cannot see from down at the bottom of the stairs – so Liz had to go up and with the assistance of another lady, get the security guard to help me take the stair lift upstairs. Then we were on the main level underground and there was another set of stairs, with a lift, going up to the street. I went back and asked for assistance and was told the lift was broken. Okay, I get the picture – they did not want to help so in the end, Liz carried Hugo and I climbed the staircase, which was smaller than the one that I went down to get onto the subway near the convent and we were off to look for the Celiac store!

A short walk away we found it – thanks to Google Maps leading us there! What an experience it was! We do not have very many Celiac only stores in Vancouver anymore (in fact I think they have all closed now) and it is such a wonderful experience shopping at a store where you do not need to read all the ingredients and scrutinize them before putting them in your basket or cart. The store was a BIT small for my walker to get around however it was manageable. I did get some items – mainly tea cookies that I like and some small pasta that I can put in soup and then we were off and trying to figure out how to get home from there. At this point we were farther away from the convent than we had ever been!

So we started walking as I was NOT going to repeat the subway and busses were a no go for me. As we were near the Tiber river we walked to Castel S. Angelo which is a round building on the Vatican side of the Tiber River and had a break (that was so Lynda could have a cold drink) and then we kept walking towards the convent, where we ended up, funny enough at Volgia d Pizza Restaurant which is gluten free. There we had something different! A zucchini pizza along with my standard caprese salad. We also took home 2 Tiramisu`s for desert (and motivation to walk home). The pizza came with a sign on it indicating that it was made using celiac protocols. Very cool! It was a good pizza with a nice crispy crust.

Off we went walking again, through Trastevere, along to the Venetian piazza and around the Coliseum and up the hill to the convent! Wow – what an adventure we had today! Now it is time to pack and eat my desert! Well packing was SLOW and the desert went down FAST! I had not accumulated much on the trip however no matter how much you move things around, they never fit like they did when your originally packed them! Now it is time for bed as the morning is going to show up faster than I want it to!

Rome – Roman Forum, Pantheon and a walk October 24, 2023

October 24, 2023November 19, 2023Lmnei

Again, up in good time to partake in breakfast and to get going before the “big” crowds hit the tourist locations. Today we are going back to the Colosseum area and going to walk through the Roman Forum and then on to the Pantheon – which is the reverse of the tour that Andrew and I did the year prior.

Can I say how much I LOVE cobbled streets? My arms are really getting a shake down! In fact my whole body vibrates going over them. Then there are the LARGE cobbled streets going up the hill from the Colosseum and those are even MORE fun! Nothing like some morning exercise and vibration to go along with it!

So we entered the Roman Forum (yesterday we figured out we had 2 day tickets which was really cool) and walked along between the monuments and various statues and columns for a while – it is basically a long area sunk down next to the main road leading from the Venetian Piazza. It runs quite a long distance from the Colosseum right to the road (which was under construction) that joins into the piazza. The ONLY concern that I had, which I had not shared with Liz, is that the last time I was here, we entered the Roman Forum from the entrance near the piazza and the elevator to go down was not working so I had to walk down the stairs, with Andrew carrying my walker. I was *hoping* the elevator was working to go UP today! And low and behold – they had a new elevator and it worked perfectly fine!

While we were in the Roman Forum, both Liz and I were in awe of the tall columns which had pieces of marble placed across the top of them – such as 3 columns with 1 piece of marble across the top of all 3 of them. These columns are SO TALL and it is a wonder how they lifted this marble up so high with human power only! They were AWESOME master builders in those days!

Next on the list of sights was the Pantheon – which is a circular structural wonder due to how it was built. As most people have heard by now, it has an oculus or eye up to the sky which is open to the elements. If it rains, the rain comes cascading down onto the marble floor of the building. The Pantheon is an active church and holds services on Sunday and special occasions. People just do not sit under the occulus!

The Pantheon was originally built in 27 BC, however it was rebuilt by Hadrian, whom most people associate the building with, between 118 and 128 AD.

The great concrete faced with brick dome rises from the surrounding walls and there is a “front porch” of Corinthian columns which support a gabled roof on the front. To enter the Pantheon, you go through some HUGE bronze double doors which are 24 feet high.

The Pantheon is remarkable for its size, its construction, and its design. Until modern times, the dome was the largest built, measuring about 142 feet in diameter and rising to a height of 71 feet above the floor. There is no external evidence of brick arch support inside the dome, with the exact method of construction never been determined. On success factor for the building surviving through the ages has been the excellent quality of the mortar used in the concrete. One thing that has been discovered is that the dome is strengthened by huge brick arches and piers set above one another inside the walls, which are 20 feet thick.

So after experiencing this wonder, we decided to have an early dinner on the way home to the convent. As we were really close to Trastevere, we returned to Mama Eats! where we had eaten with Anne and Richard the first day in Rome. A short walk later and we had arrived! We are becoming creatures of habit – AGAIN it is a mozzarella pizza and caprese salad to share! Now that we have been fed, it was time to walk back to the convent! As this is a pretty long walk for me, we decided to take the tram half way – why not add another mode of transport to our list! There weren’t any ticket machines at the tram stop and so we decided to just get on the tram that was approaching and see what happened. The French speaking family next to us did not have tickets either. Onto the tram and there was a ticket machine so we could purchase tickets! Liz tried first and we were not quite sure if it worked or not by scanning her credit card as she received no receipts. There were signs everywhere indicating if you did not have a ticket you could be fined. And low and behold, right between stops the ticket police appeared! So we showed him Liz’s credit card and said we were not sure if it worked or not and the policeman scanned the card and said there was a valid ticket charged to the card. Then he scanned my credit card and no ticket! Well Liz and I knew that as I had not bought one yet as we were not sure if we had purchased Liz’s correctly. The policeman looked at us, my walker and I said “we told you we were not sure if it worked or not”! So he then took my credit card and tapped it on the ticket machine and voila! I had a ticket too! No actual ticket – it just was charged to my credit card. Then we noticed that we were at the next tram stop and the French family quickly got off before the policeman could get to them…

So we took the tram a total of 3 stops or to the Venetian piazza. From there it was an easy, and well practiced walk back to the convent! I stayed in for the evening in my cute little hotel room while Liz went for another walk. Tomorrow is another day! The forecast has changed from rain to sun so we shall see what we are going to do on our last day in Rome!

Rome – Colosseum and Palatine Hill October 23, 2023

October 23, 2023November 17, 2023Lmnei

Well, the early birds continue to rise and we are down to the breakfast area of the convent bright and early to see what damage we can do this time! Liz was able to operate the coffee machine no problem – check. Lynda did not make a mess getting her tomato and bocconcini cheese – check! We have gluten free items available – double check! No one is stealing our gluten free items – even better! Lets have breakfast!

We decided to strike out fairly early today and go to the Colosseum. Liz has only seen it from the outside and I was able to obtain tickets to the area (Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum) for us to visit without queuing in line. Let`s just call it the “rollator” express entrance to the Colosseum. I find the colosseum awe inspiring with how large it is along with the fact that those walls were built by hand – no cranes existed in those days! Andrew and I have taken a tour of the Colosseum previously so I went the same way that I had gone before and we checked out all the views. Basically we went up to the 2nd floor (elevator) and walked all the way around and then went down the elevator and based on my last experience, went to exit. However the guard looked at our tickets and said that we could also go to the ground floor of the Colosseum and check it out! So that was pretty cool – to be able to walk into the Colosseum where gladiators have walked and check out the views. This access is on a platform which used to be the floor of the Coloeum and underneath, but not accessible to me, is all the inner workings of the Colosseum from times past – such as rooms for the animals, gladiators etc. After exiting the Colosseum, we then walked over to Palatine Hill which I have never explored previously, so this was a new experience for me!

If you are walking away from the Colosseum and towards the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill is to your left. I think a lot of people miss it – the tour that I took with Andrew did not take us there and I can see how easy it would be for people to not understand what is up the hill. Palatine Hill is one of the 7 hills of Rome and based on what we saw. was inhabited by Romans many eons ago. Once up the hill (which is hard going due to the cobblestones) we saw some dwellings that had been restored along with some interesting sculptures. We walked over to a house looking structure and its gardens and found next to it, while probably was the peak of the hill, a wonderful HUGE patio or vantage point over the Roman Forum and looking towards the Venetian Piazza. We stat for a while and people watched and realized our tickets were for 2 days so we could do the Roman Forum tomorrow, so at that point started our walk back to the convent.

As we were in the area pf a restaurant that Andrew and I had been to previously, Liz and I decided to go there first for an early dinner of pizza and salad. That worked out well and then we were on our way back to the convent. At this point in time, the sky was a little bit grey and no sooner than 2 minutes after we each got into our rooms, the sky opened up with a torrential rain downpour! I was very glad that we had gotten back to the place were were staying on time! It was an early night for me, while Liz went for a walk after the rain storm just to up her total milage for the day.

Tomorrow – Pantheon and Roman Forum!

Tour – Goodbye! Liz and I Explore Rome! October 22, 2023

October 22, 2023November 16, 2023Lmnei

Up fairly early this morning not as early as other mornings to have suitcases out by 7am! Went to breakfast at a leisurely hour of 8am and chatted with our tour mates for the last time prior to them all getting on the bus to return to the Rome Airport to return to Toronto and places beyond. Liz and I are going to depart at checkout and make our way back to the convent to rest up and then do some exploring of our own! It will be a bit strange not having 30 other people with you!

It was a great breakfast that was available to us and an awesome sign for “Celiac People” on our table. As usual, people were taking some goodies to have on their trip home and unrenowned to us, you are not supposed to be taking food out of the breakfast all as you are not allowed to eat in your room. So the waiter got upset at us. I tried to explain they were going home and had checked out but to no avail. He had seen me put some crackers in my pocket (but not the sandwich) and I said that I needed them for the bus ride and he was then only with that. Then we saw the sign on the OTHER end of the buffet table about food in rooms. Oh well, we were leaving!

One of the views from this hotel was of St. Peters Basilica – some people had an excellent view from a balcony in their room! I had tried going up to the roof deck to see but alas, you needed to climb a tall staircase to get to the top and that was not in the cards for me. So I went down to Midge and Glady’s room as they had told me they had a balcony and low and behold – what a view!

So we saw everyone onto the bus and it departed about 9am and then Liz and I each went back to our rooms to pack and check out at noon. We then took a taxi (way to far to walk and I will not get on a Rome bus) to our convent and hoped they would store our luggage as their check-in time was 3pm. I was not feeling well due to some medication that I take once a week and when we arrived I must have not looked well either as the lady allowed me to go right to my room! It is either that or because our rooms were pre-assigned as I needed the twin accessible room they were expecting me, it was available early. So I had a nap while Liz went out for a walk and explored the area more.

Then we decided to get some dinner – there had to be a restaurant who served GF pasta around our hotel somewhere! After a bit of a walk and ending up close to the coliseum, we found a great restaurant and shared a pizza and I had my favourite salad while Liz had some vegetable soup. It was the start of our veggie intake! We sat next to a young couple from St. Pete’s in Florida and had a wonderful conversation with them during dinner. It is interesting as the restaurants are so small in Italy, how many people you meet and can chat with as your neighbours are so close to you! Then we worked off our dinner by walking back to the convent for an early evening!

Tomorrow we are going to attack Rome – Coliseum and Palatine Hill are our goals!

Tour – Return to Rome via Siena October 21, 2023

October 21, 2023November 16, 2023Lmnei

Well, again onto the bus we get for our last day on the tour! Today we are returning to Rome, however stopping at Siena on the way, which will make a nice break for the drive.

I really like Siena – Andrew and I were there a year ago and spent a nice day in the city with the culmination being I found a gelato store that served gelato on GF cones! I am wanting to return to that store again and have been waiting the whole tour to have a gelato on a cone experience!

Unlike when Andrew and I visited, where the hotel had asked the city to give us access to the “inner” area which you get a fine for entering unless your license plate is registered so that we could park in the VERY plentiful accessible parking areas, this time we had to walk from the bus parking location into the main Piazza del Campa. It was a fascinating walk – past a lot of different stores and one that happened to have wool in it! Location noted – will be returning! Eventually we arrived at the Piazza del Campa which for those who have been there has a bit of a steep ramp to get into it at one side – of course the side where we entered from!

We had heard about the history of the Piazza on the bus and the horse racing that takes place there called the Palio di Siena; also known as Il Palio; and it is a horse race held twice each year, on July 2nd and August 16th. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the appropriate colours, representing ten of the seventeen city wards race three laps of the Piazza del Campo, on which a thick layer of earth has been laid. The race usually lasts no more than 90 seconds and it is common for jockeys to be thrown off their horses during the treacherous turns in the piazza, and riderless horses finishing the race. A horse is not required to have a rider to win the race.

So Liz and I made a bee line to the gelato store where I had been previously and low and behold it was CLOSED! Oh dear! So we went into the shop next door and I asked about “sin glutine gelaton” and the man told me of another store at the other end of the piazza. So off we went! Success! I found GF cones and gelato to my liking! Now, lets walk that little delicacy off! After taking some pictures, Liz and I walked to the duomo in Siena – which was a bit of a backwards walk we took as not only is there the steep ramp out of the piazza, however there also is a VERY steep ramp to get up to the church where Andrew had to help me get down last year – which is fairly abnormal for me when using my walker. So instead we walked around Siena to get to the church (which was from my memory a year ago) and success! The striped duomo showed up exactly where it was supposed to be! I love my sense of direction at some times in my life…’

After taking some pictures we decided it was time to get going back to our group meetup point, with a side trip to the wool store! So that is what we did! I am fairly fast when shopping for wool as I generally know the type of wool that I want to purchase in Italy (merino) so it did not take long and we were off to meet up with the group. At that time we took a group picture also – a couple of people are missing as they had gone shopping on their own way back to the bus, however most of the group is below!

Now, it is time to get back onto the bus and head into Rome. We are going to stop for dinner, our Farewell Dinner prior to getting to the hotel. Dinner was just okay – I guess we are used to antipasti, pasta and then a meat dish and dessert. Tonight it was a very light meal of antipasti (which was cold cuts), pasta (pesto) and then dessert. Not much protein provided and again no vegetables! We found it weird with the “Mediterranean” diet being so healthy and popular in some places, that this lack of a food group was so prevalent on our trip. We then boarded the bus for out trip to our last hotel stay on the tour, which was very near to Vatican City.

Tomorrow Liz and I say goodbye to everyone on the tour and again, we return to the convent and strike out on our own to “do” Rome!

Tour – Day in Florence October 20, 2023

October 20, 2023November 15, 2023Lmnei

After a night of wine and dancing at the Vineyard, we AGAIN rose early for breakfast and to drive into Florence to spend the day. First we walked into to one of the squares with a beautiful church and then had a gold and leather demonstration including a try on for Liz and another member of our tour of some very nice leather jackets! I bought some little things to take home – just enough to get the VAT back! Then the Local Guide took us on a walking tour of Florence which ended up in the main piazza, where the famous Duomo and Baptistry are. Then we were free to go as we pleased until it was time to return to the bus.

Now comes Liz and Lynda`s big adventure! Actually not big, more fun! As we were a bit hungry we first went to a restaurant that advertises GF that I have successfully eaten at previously. Liz got to chatting with the couple next to us (you sit at tables very close to each other) and saw the soup they were having looked delicious and with our lack of vegetable intake for the week, and the fact that the soup was gluten free, we each had the vegetable soup and I also had my favorite Italian salad – Caprese!

Then we had to decide what museum to visit – Accademia where David is or Uffuzi which is HUGE. We decided that we would check out the Accademia museum as when Andrew and I had been there it was on a tour, and so we did not see the whole thing. It is an amazing museum in its own right and the highlight of seeing the large David statue is just icing on the cake. The interesting part of the museum that I had not seen previously was a room where some small sculptures were located with a bonus ramp to get in! Walking along looking at them it looked like they had a grid of pencil marks on them and one looked like it had little nails hammered into the marble. Low and behold we soon found out by watching a video, that this is the way the sculptures are reproduced – larger or smaller – to scale! It was fascinating. We were able to explore the 2nd floor of the museum too thanks to an elevator to a stair lift!

Then it was time to go for a walk – Liz likes walking and we needed some exercise considering the hours we had put on on the bus! So we went to visit the Ponte Vecchio also known as the “Bridge of Jewels” or “Old Bridge” was the only crossing across the Arno river until about 1200 and the only bridge the Germans did not destroy. A fun fact – people live on the bridge above their stores – must be very small apartments!

Then Liz and I had to make our way back to where we were going to meet the tour which was near the leather store that we had toured. I was shocked to see Liz do some actual shopping in the store at this time however I am a firm believer of bringing a special item home from vacation, so we both bought colapsable leather garbage bins! We then met the group and walked back to the bus which then took us to a family home in Montetermini for dinner. When we arrived, the skies had opened up and it was POURING rain and instead of being able to walk from the bus about 500 meters to the dining hall we had to be shuttled in cars! It was a delicious home cooked meal and the two ladies that cooked and served us the meal were awesome and it was an interesting experience to be in this large glass enclosed dining room while it poured rain all around us!

Then back to the bus in the car shuttle and off to bed for our last day on the road! We are going back to Rome with a stop in Siena where I will be going to my favourite gelato shop that I found on our previous trip that has GF cones! Ciao!

Tour – Visit to Pisa, stay in Montecatini, Tuscany October 19, 2023

October 19, 2023November 15, 2023Lmnei

Good morning everyone! We had a nice and early start today for our trip by water taxi to to bus loading area in Venice and then off down the highway from the Venitian area of Italy into Tuscany to visit Piza! It was a beautiful drive with the views changing to more wineries by the side of the road on flowing green hills.

As our fearless tour director said “Pisa is a stop only to check out the Square of Miracles”. As the bus had to park a ways from the Square, there was an alternate type of transportation waiting for us – a Choo Choo train! The train took us close to the entrance where we could walk in to see the Church/Duomo, Baptistry and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

We had a quick lunch and then walked back in the rain to where we met the Choo Choo train to take us back to Antonio and the bus.

Off again we went, now to Montecatini, which is where we are staying for the next 2 nights! Montecatini is also known as an Italian Spa town.

We arrived at our hotel in Montecatini and it was a beautiful old hotel – all of our hotels seem to have been unique and so far, all my rooms have been accessible except one, which was okay for the one night. One issue – as we are at this hotel for two nights – I cannot get near the bathroom with my walker! Back downstairs I went and thankfully Margaret and her husband were able to switch rooms with me – somehow they had been assigned the accessible room! Crisis averted!

Some of us had signed up for an optional dinner in Tuscany tonight so back onto the bus we got and drove the 20 minutes to a beautiful estate winery that hosts groups for dinner. On the way there we passed through the town where Pinocchio lived with Giuseppe and there was a huge Pinocchio statue in the middle of the round about! When we got to the Estate, first we visited the Vineyard and then we sat down for dinner. The Estate produces 7 different wines (maybe more) and all 7 were being served for dinner – starting off with 3 whites, then 3 reds and lastly a lovely dessert wine. I do not drink so I had 3 different vintages of an Italian specialty called Coca Cola Zero Zuccheri! Actually to be truthful, I had a mouthful of the dessert wine and it was pretty good! Dinner was awesome also – plate of fresh sliced meats along with bruschetta and then veggies for my non meat friend and I. Then boar pasta (or tomato pasta for us) and a selection of meats and chicken. Dessert was a Panna Cotta that was absolutely devine! The consumption of the wine led to some dancing in which an interesting picture just happened to find their way to my email! A great evening – tomorrow we take on Florence!