Ciao, Roma

We spent the week of 18 September, including Chuck's birthday, in Rome, where Chuck was attending the 26th Symposium on Naval Hydrodynamics (don't you wish you could attend these conferences?). The organizers had planned conferences for the "accompanying persons" on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of the week.

We know many of our readers will be familiar with many Roman landmarks, either through personal visits or just as a result of their wide familiarity. But we will include a short listing of some of the places we visited. You can see some pictures at: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1923852.

On a previous visit to Rome both of us had visited the Villa Borghese, which now houses many great art treasures, including some Bernini sculptures which we think are among the best in the world. We both had our breath taken away by the life-size work of Apollo and Daphne, shown here. Kathi, along with many of the ladies accompanying their husbands to the conference, visited the Villa again and came away as impressed as she was the first time. Take a close look at the photo; the drapery, Daphne's hair, the leaves of the tree -- it's hard to believe these are made of marble. One can't help but think "what if the chisel had slipped?"

On our second evening in Rome we had dinner with three of Chuck's colleages at Alfredo's restaurant, recommended by the hotel's concierge. Before taking our order, the waiter gave us a short oral history of the restaurant, founded in 1914. It seems Alfredo had a recipe for fettucine that was very much appreciated by some of his patrons, including Douglas Fairbanks (Sr.) and Mary Pickford. After tasting it, they presented him with a golden fork and spoon and undertook to tell all their Hollywood pals about Fettucine Alfredo. The waiter insisted that if we had had the dish anywhere else it wasn't authentic, as at Alfredo's they use only the fettucine, butter and sliced parmesan cheese. Two of the five of us ordered it and both agreed it was the best Fettucine Alfredo they'd ever had.

Other day tours included "The Piazzas of Rome", which included the Palazzo Montecitorio, by Bernini (now the home of the Italian Parliament), the Pantheon, Campo dei Fiori (the ancient flower market) and many other glorious sites. The tour of Papal Rome included, of course, the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and other points. One of the most interesting sites was the ruins of Pompei, buried for centuries under the ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Excavation of the site started in 1749 and continues today, now including some 160 acres.

Nice, Monaco and the French Riviera

Chuck recently attended a conference on Maritime Systems Technologies, held in Nice on the French Riviera, and Kathi joined him on the trip. We won't go into the conference details here, but only report that it was professionally valuable for him, assisting in his job of enhancing opportunities for international research in science and technology.

The conference organizers had planned tours for the "accompanying persons" on several of the days, but, unfortunately, there were too few who signed up and the tours were canceled.

On the Saturday and Sunday before the conference we were able to take a couple of tours along the Riviera and into Monaco. One of our first stops was the very nearly complete Medieval village of Eze, which occupies a hilltop overlooking the sea. Today the village consists almost wholly of shops and cafes and is almost uninhabited in the off-season. While few people now live there year round, the village's structure and geography remain intact and walking its streets feels very much like stepping back through the centuries. We couldn't help but be heavily impressed at how difficult daily life must have been for the residents. Until 1939 the village had no water supply and water was carried up by the residents from a fountain at the foot of the steep hill; even after a water pipe reached the village, all the residents had to go to a single pipe to get water for cooking. Bathing was probably not a very frequent activity in such circumstances.

From Eze we continued along the beautiful Riviera coast to Monaco, passing and visiting so many places that evoke impressions of beauty, sopistication and glamor -- Villefranche, St. Jean cap Ferrat, Antibe, Cannes, Monaco and Monte Carlo. The beautiful blue (sometimes emerald) Mediterannean peeked at us around every turn, making it obvious why the area is called the Cote D' Azur, or Azure Coast.

Arriving in Monaco, we visited the area around the Palace, the beautiful cathedral where Prince Ranier and Princess Grace were married (and are buried) , passed the home of Princess Stephanie (second of Grace's children) and the Oceanographic Institute housed here, which is one of the world's best and was the professional home of Jacques Costeau. Everywhere in Monaco, one is reminded that this is, per capita, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and one of the safest and most heavily policed. But also one of the most pleasant and beautiful.

Monaco, of course, is also the site of the Casino at Monte Carlo. We visited the casino in the company of a very pleasant Australian couple who joined us in our tour van. We did each put 20 Euros at risk in the Casino -- and each left 20 Euros less wealthy. The usual experience in such places, isn't it?

One thing you can't help noticing as you travel in the area is the enormous number of absolutely stunning (and hugely expensive) yachts. We saw our share -- at least one of which was larger than the U.S. Navy destroyers Chuck served in. We did not seem to attract any offers to take a short sea voyage with any of the owners.

We happened to be in Nice for the town's traditional "Porte Feste", when about 30,000 locals descend on the old port area for entertainment, food booths, boat rides and parades. We enjoyed it immensely, getting the feeling of being in an old European city of 100 years ago. It was very traditional and great fun.

To see more of our Riviera interlude go to: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1887800/1

Wicked Good

The huge Broadway hit, "Wicked", opened recently in London and we went to see it last week. And what an entertaining show it was. We both gave it 5 stars in our 0 - to - 5 star system.

The premise of the story is that it's about the life of the Wicked Witch of the West (from the "Wizard of Oz") before the events of that story. It is based on the book "Wicked; The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West". The story line is very well-done and is filled with subtle and clever references to the "Wizard of Oz" story.

In addition, the events depicted in the early life of the Wicked Witch are very well done and, of course, the quality of the music, singing and dancing are absolutely first rate. Idena Menzel, who plays the Wicked Witch in London (and won a Tony for the role on Broadway) was fantastic. The Good Witch, Glinda, also figures in the story (the two witches are school friends as young girls) and is played very well by Helen Dallimore. The sets and staging were up to the highest standards of the British stage -- a great all-around production.

No pictures are allowed in theaters, so the graphic above is from the program.

By the way, our London theater total is now at 76; we love the half-price ticket booth!

London Museum Day

On a recent Saturday we spent the morning at the Royal Academy of Arts, in Burlington House on Picadilly, and the afternoon visiting (again) the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Burlington House is a former aristocratic residence, now housing the Royal Academy and its art collection. The entry is through an elaborate gate on Picadilly, the famous London street, and through a large courtyard, with Burlington House on the north side. The other three sides are made of building that house various learned societies, including the Royal Astronomical Society, the Society of Antiquarians and the Linnaean Society -- the oldest organization in the world devoted to natural history. It's a rather awe-inspiring array of historical and intellectual organizations.

We visited the art collection in the Royal Academy of Arts -- and while perusing the art in the ballroom of the former residence noticed a plaque on the wall informing the visitor that this is the room where Charles Darwin made the first presentation of his paper on "The Origin of Species". London is just overflowing with this kind of historically interesting discovery.

Some pictures from that day can be seen at:
http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/1874275/1/94285595

America's Jeweler

We recently took advantage of the never-ending variety of great exhibits in London museums to view the "Bejewelled by Tiffany" display at Somerset House -- one of London's great art museums (pictured at left).

The exhibition guide informs us that "Tiffany & Co. since its foundation has been a quintessentially American brand, famous for its glamour, design and craftsmanship." ("Glamour", of course is the British spelling.)

The guide goes on "At the forefront of America's emerging luxury trades, its designers .... created an aesthetic clearly distinct from contemporary European jewellery (Brit spelling) houses. They set vividly coloured stones, often from North America, in combinations rarely found in the largely monochrome European pieces of the period."

The company was also noted for the policy of including stock aimed at "all purses" -- from 50-cent items to fabulous diamonds. And, of course, Charles Lewis Tiffany (3rd generation in the family) was world famous for his lamp shades. The exhibit, though, concentrated on the company's jewelry.

There were approximately 200 items, varying from incredible diamond and emerald necklaces to enamel brooches modeled on flowers to exquisite jewels modelled on members of the insect world. The exhibit interspersed, among the beautiful jewelry, photographic exhibits illustrating the history of the company and its various New York stores.

Unfortunately, as in so many exhibits of highly valuable items, photos were not permitted. (Kathi was disappointed to find that souvenirs were also strongly discouraged.) We've scanned in images from some of the brochures and the exhibit guide and have included them with this article.