International Women’s Day - Italian Style

It is International Women’s Day today & they are celebrating BIG in Florence. All museums are free for any woman to enter & all over the city women are being given bunches of Wattle (they call it Mimosa here), to show the beauty and strength of women. 

We stumbled upon a pop-up bakery (The Mimosa Bakery), who had devine cookies. There were a bunch of women at the pop-up, celebrating Women’s Day & I mentioned to them this was very different to Women’s Day in Australia. All my experience of Women’s Day in Australia has been either at work (mainly in the ADF, but also attending some corporate Women’s Day breakfasts) or through Girl Guides, and that the women had to organise the celebrations themselves. The celebrations here seem much less corporate & much more authentic in their celebration of women (just my opinion). It was a lovely joyous celebration & we were grateful to join in. 

We took a photo of Paddington with the cookies for Alice.

Back in the apartment the cookies we got to taste our cookies and they were delicious. The Mimosa Bakery is definitely worth exploring if you are in Florence when they are doing a pop-up store https://www.mimosabakeryflorence.com/

My Wattle (out of the plastic, it smells amazing - just like home)

At the Markets yesterday, every stall was decorated with Wattle!

Osteria del Porcellino

 We went back to the Osteria del Porcellino for lunch & loved it, like we did 2 years ago. They didn’t remember us, but they did remember Skye ❤

https://osteriadelporcellino.com/

Wild Boar Ragu

Catching a glimpse of the Duomo on our afternoon stroll

Enjoying the sun, The Arno & the Ponte Vecchio ❤

A splurge in Rome

 This is from a few days ago, but I didn’t get the chance to put up the photos. We splurged on a suite at the Sofitel Roma Villa Borghese, using ALL our Qantas frequent flyer points from the last few years. It was wonderful to have a soft bed (all the beds on our holiday so far have been very firm) & a deep soaking tub. This gave us a great chance to relax and recharge before moving to Florence. 

We had a very small balcony that overlooked the Villa Borghese Gardens.

The staircase in the hotel was beautiful.

It was such a fancy hottel, the remote control for the TV came in a leather box!

They spoiled Skye with treats, which was a really lovely touch.

Even the door into our room was impressive.

A big soft bed was very welcome.

We took full advantage of the Villa Borghese Gardens for Skye. Whilst we were at the hotel we had delivered a “rollator” to give my neck a rest from the cobblestones and horrendous pavements in Italy. I’ve named it my chariot, because we bought it in Rome.

The rooftop restaurant & bar had an amazing view over Rome.

Rick Steves!!!!

We were VERY excited to stumble upon Rick Steves during our stroll this afternoon. We have been using Rick Steves Guidebooks and Audio guides for the past 15 years. He was very kind and spoke with us for a few minutes (including about his work with homeless people in the US) and took a selfie with us. 

The look on my face is “I can’t believe that Rick Steves is in Florence & he’s taking a selfie for us on my phone!!!”

Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio Food Tour

 We are staying a few blocks from the Sant’ Ambrogio market, so on our very first morning we did a Market Food Tour with Allen from Ciao Florence. He is a chef who has a passion for teaching about food and we were lucky enough to end up having a private tour with him. The Martcato di Sant’Ambrogio is 700 years old, and has fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese (!) & clothes and anything you might need for your house. 

Chef Allen from Ciao Florence Tours who taught us so much on our market food tour https://www.ciaoflorence.it/

The outside market has fruit & vegetables, but also clothes, crockery & leather goods.

Our first stop we tried a selection of pate, artichoke paste, cheese & cured meats.

Our second stop was a selection of cheese (one of which was parmigano) & some amazing slow cooked beef.

Our last stop was a delicious gelato shop, where all the ingredients are natural (the strawberry was amazing).

https://www.gelateriademedici.com/?

They were making a gelato easter egg when we visited!

Florence!!!!

 We caught the high speed train from Rome to Florence and are now in Florence for the next month ❤❤

We are now traveling with a “rollator” as well as the wheelchair, to give my neck a rest from the cobblestones & really bad pavements. It does mean we have a LOT of luggage to move. 

We were lucky to have seats near each other across the isle, with Skye & myself on one side & Steve on the other. It was a bit of a rush to get on board, but we enjoyed the 90 minute trip. 

I didn’t get as much knitting done as I would like, but it was because there was so much to see out the window.

The highest speed the train went was 260km per hour!

Given how much luggage we had, we were grateful that the train stopped for over 7 mins at the station in Florence.

We got the keys to our apartment.

Helpful Dog Travel Gear

For our friends thinking of travelling with their four legged family members, either overseas or interstate, I thought you might appreciate this list of gear we have found useful.

Dog Bowls

A collapsible silicone dog bowl. You can get them in lots of places 

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07F5X4GW8?

I found this folding dog bowl didn’t work (it leaked, so is ok for food, but not for water, which is a shame because it is so lightweight and small when it folds up). It is also super frustrating that is isn’t leak proof because it was so much more expensive than the silicone dog bowls. I got it here https://www.amazon.com.au/EzyDog-Fold-Bowl-Portable-Large/

Bed protector

The first thing we do when we walk into a hotel room or AirBnB is put this bed protector/beach “blanket” over the bed. Dog fur seems to cling to the white hotel sheets especially, and I’d really like to not be hit with an extra cleaning charge. 

We use this one https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B084Q4HQ7X? Unfortunately this is out of stock, but this is the same thing and I think roughly the same size https://www.amazon.com.au/Sunlit-Blanket-Pockets-Camping-Festival/dp/B0B28G5LZG/r 

There are other options out there - the main thing is get something really big so it covers the whole bed including the sides & get something that is “sand free” because dog hair won’t cling to it & just slides right off onto the floor when you are leaving. Before we used this “beach blanket” I was using a dark brown king size single sheet I got from Vinnies, but it was heavy and the dog hair stuck to it, which was a pain when you took it to the next hotel and accidentally put it on the bed upside down and added dog hair to the bed, rather than protecting it from dog hair. 

Roll up dog bed/boot pad

This is great for the floor of planes (the carpet is VERY thin and there is a lot of vibration, this is much more comfortable for your dog than just sitting on the floor), and as a bonus I use it as a travel bed for Skye. I added a shoulder strap to make it easier to carry through airports etc https://stylish-hound.com/products/dog-boot-pad-cons?variant=44389544820918 

A harness for the plane 

It is essential to have a harness on the plane in case of turbulence. We found the type that has the hard chest piece didn’t work for Skye because they were too uncomfortable, so now use a harness with a soft chest piece. This link is similar to what we have. The main thing is that it is comfortable and that you can clip your dog’s lead onto it and then onto the frame of your seat, so if there is turbulence the force is spread through the whole chest and not just the neck https://www.petbarn.com.au/p/all-day-seat-belt-dog-harness-black/142251 

S carabiner 

I find this really useful for clipping Skye’s vest into when she is toileting (so I don’t lose it in some random park). I got this one from daiso, but you can also get them online. The bigger the better, as you don’t want to fiddle with putting the vest onto the clip & if it is bigger you can do it without even looking at it. 

Treat Bag

A really good treat bag that can take your passport, in ear headphones, a rolled up shopping bag, some extra treats for you, as well as dog treats. I have this one from Stylish Hound (I took the label off the front of the bag), although I added the whole black section at the bottom for extra gear. https://stylish-hound.com/products/og-training-treat-pouch 

A poo bag holder 

You absolutely need to be carrying poo bags with you everywhere you go. I have one attached to my lead https://www.amazon.com.au/PuppyDoggy-Holder-Dispenser-Accessory-Bicycle/dp/B09L7L5BRC/?th=1 

A lint roller

I always think I won’t need this, but end up using it anyway. To get the clumps of dog hair off any pillow or lounge that Skye has lent on.

Dog Crate

Last time we flew internationally with Qantas they insisted we travel with a dog crate. Because normal dog crates are incredibly heavy, we bought a pop up dog crate like this one. It weigh’s about 1.3kg and goes in our suitcase. It is only for emergencies, for example should a plane be diverted and there is a need for the dog to go into a crate. Interestingly Qantas didn’t require the crate for this flight, but may require it for our return journey to Australia. We bought a similar crate to this one at Kmart, but unfortunately they don’t stock it anymore. So here is a link to a similar crate on ebay https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/357748722732? Skye likes to use the crate like a bouncy castle, rolling around in it around hotel rooms.

 

The last few days we’ve been to a dog park with Skye at Villa Borghese, as well as to Piazza Navona, had an amazing dinner & were refused entry to the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (you can only have an assistance dog in this art museum if you are blind….but how do they see the paintings?). We’ve also caught a LOT of buses & eaten a lot of pizza. 

The old entrance to the Piazza Navona - you can see how much the city has been built up around it height wise.

One of the three fountains in the Piazza Navona

I’m an angel! 

Skye has been really great looking after me, she’s the real angel

It was rare diseases day here on 28 Feb and these posters have been up everywhere - as someone with a “rare” disease it was really surprising to see these.

These are the “good cobblestones”. Surprisingly the cobblestones haven’t been the worst part of being in a wheelchair - it’s the massive potholes in the footpath, the many random cars parked across the lip to cross roads & the paving stones that move and shift under your weight like you are in an Indiana Jones movie. 

We found a shop for Mira!

Inside The Pantheon - it was enormous!

We don’t get to ride the bus at home very often, but here we’ve been using it a couple of times each day.

The Vatican and the Tiber - you see great things on the bus!

Each morning we’ve been having breakfast here at La Pasticciotteria. The coffee has been great, the cornettos have been buttery and the atmosphere has been very local. As a bonus, two coffees & two croissants has been costing us 5.90euros (sitting at the bar).

We had an amazing dinner at the Ristorante Classico Prati (we had dinner here the other night as well). The pasta was amazing, the staff were super friendly and they gave Skye a bowl of water and some dog treats. https://www.classicobistrot.com/ 

The dog park started off well…

… but when we took off Skye’s lead she took advantage of me being in a wheelchair and Steve not being her handler. She went a VERY far way away and refused to recall back (which is very unusual for her). She did have a fantastic time sniffing all the dog smells. 

Happy Smiles at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea before we pushed me up a very dodgy road, then a very steep ramp (it took Steve pushing and me using the power assist wheels to get me up the ramp), only to be told that only blind people may bring in an assistance dog. We were disappointed but it wasn’t the fault of the lovely lady who had to refuse us entry. We suspect they might be very strict on dogs here because they are only 100m from the biggest dog park in Rome. 

We had a bit of time to kill so I took out my frustration in ink & wash.

This is the saddest part about Rome. These plaques are all over the city (especially in the Jewish quarter). They plaques this the name, year of birth, when they were arrested, where they were sent and what year they died. These three people were sent to Auschwitz and were killed. These are at the doorstep of the building next to our apartment. It is very sobering walking past it every day.

There have been a number of American priests around town leading tour groups. I took this photo whilst we were on the bus. It was striking to me that this young man is quite welcome in Rome wearing his clerical collar, but for me to wear my clerical collar it would be seen as a sign of protest, and thus illegal. For several years Rome Police have been stopping women from even approaching St Peter’s square and refusing them entry unless they remove their clerical wear, like this shirt - it has become even more difficult since the Vatican issued a decree last year against the ordination of women. 

It annoys me enormously that I am not allowed to wear my clerical shirt, even after 25 years of ordination, but this young man is welcomed without any questions asked. Just in case you are wondering, it isn’t just catholic priests we’ve seen about, but also male priests from protestant denominations, so it isn’t a catholic/non-catholic thing, but rather a “woman thing”. I’ve tried very hard to not have it annoy me, but today we even saw people dressing up as priests for photos, and yet it is illegal for me to wear the clergy shirt I’ve been wearing for 27 years.

Weird cars of Italy - perhaps the ugly baby of the Fiat Mutlipla

I sublaxed my shoulder & had to have it in a sling for the day :(

Once upon a time this lift was coin operated (we are glad it isn’t now, and have been VERY grateful for the lift, especially since we are staying on the 5th floor)

How can you possibly fit 4 people in this lift!!!

Paddington continues his adventures on behalf of Alice. Here he was at a pizza shop called “Alice Pizza” and was very disappointed for Alice that this was not a pinapple pizza as he first thought, but potato. He will keep looking for pineapple pizza for Alice.