Rome - Lili on the Loose

28 09, 2015

Travel Missteps: Wrong Exit

By Lili|September 28th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2005, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Europe, Italy, Rome, Sistine Chapel, swiss guard, tour guide exit, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vatican City, Vatican Museum, wrong|0 Comments

The Sistine Chapel - known for Michelangelo’s beautiful ceiling and the grand finale of most Vatican Museum tours. After craning my neck trying to take it all in, it was time to leave...except I went through the wrong exit. There are two ways to exit the Sistine Chapel. The main exit is to the left of the room as you enter. I’m told that this has a long walk back. The other exit is for licensed group tours only, and lets you out close to the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica saving you a long hike back and skipping an

8 06, 2015

Travel Missteps: The Expensive Scarf

By Lili|June 8th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2005, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, euro, Europe, Italy, language, market, Rome, scarf, shopping, Trafalger, translation|0 Comments

My first morning in Italy I was so excited. I had a brand new DSLR Camera and I felt like a Pro photographer. I got up early and went into the piazza near our hotel. There was a local market going just getting ready for their first customers. I wandered through it, taking photos here and there. A festive fish stall My sister found me and we wandered towards the edge and found a woman selling pashmina scarves. It was late December and I realized I had forgotten yet again to bring a scarf for the cold weather.

10 01, 2015

Souvenir Saturday: La Befana

By Lili|January 10th, 2015|Categories: Souvenirs, Travel|Tags: 2006, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Christmas, Epiphany, Europe, Hag, Halloween, Italy, La Befana, Rome, Santa Claus, Venice, Witch|0 Comments

On Monday we discussed the story behind La Befana, the Italian gift giver around the Epiphany. I wanted to share with you the little La Befana that I got in a roadside shop on the way from Rome to Venice. The witch has wide eyes, warts, and a fur hood. She carries some straw on one side, a broom on the other, and a bag that held candies on her back. Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.

5 01, 2015

Travel Missteps: La Befana

By Lili|January 5th, 2015|Categories: Travel, Travel Missteps|Tags: 2006, All in the family Italy 2005/2006, Christ Child, Christmas, cookies, Epiphany, Europe, guide, Hag, Halloween, Italy, Jesus, La Befana, milk, Piazza Navona, Rome, Santa Claus, Three Kings, Three Wise Man, tour, tour group, Trafalger, travel, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Site, wine, Witch|0 Comments

Walking through Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy I hear the unmistakable cackling laugh of a witch! I turned towards a nearby stall and spy hundreds of flying witches hanging from the roof. Big ones, small ones. Some like an old woman, while others looked like a creepy old hag warts and all! Some even were animatronic whose eyes glowed red (and made the cackling laughter that caught my ear.) But surely this must be a mistake? For its not Halloween time, but after so soon after Christmas! I was confused but had no one to ask about this strange sight,