Rome III - The Colosseum and Constantine's Arch

We continued walking along the Forum until we reached the Flavian Amphitheater.

Yes, thew Colosseum is not actually the Colosseum, its the Flavian Amphitheater.

It became misnamed as the Colosseum as a true colossus - a giant statue of the Emperor Nero, the Colossus of Nero, was located here after he was deposed it was changed to represent the Sun God and become the Colossus solis - so People on their way to see the statue were off to see the Colossus, and the name then got applied to the Flavian Amphitheater itself. It was built by Vespasian and completed under his son Titus.

With a capacity of 80,000 spectators the amphitheater is truly a colossus.

The multiple levels are neat to see:

 

Roman numerals identify the various entryways into seating areas, much as stadium entries are marked today.

A papal sign marks the Colosseum:

By the time we reached the Colosseum however, one of the ladies in our tour group had had enough of the sun and almost collapsed. We helped find her a place to sit in the shade and brought her water to drink and she recovered after a bit.

We then admired the Arch of Constantine: 

Built to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, the inscription on top of the arch can still be easily read 1707 years after it was dedicated.

Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity, which made for a logical transition on our way to our next stop.

Queen Elizabeth II Has Died

Her Majesty the Queen has died at the age of 96.

Queen Elizabeth II was a fixture on the world stage, and an example of class, grace, and dignity, that all world leaders could learn from and gain much from following her example.

Definitely, she showed the best possible side of a monarchy.

While not a monarchist myself, I can certainly admire how she was the United Kingdom's head of state for seventy years and conducted herself in both an inspiring and exemplary fashion the entire time.

May she rest in peace, knowing she did well by her country, and did all that duty required of her as Queen and much, much, more.

It's the end of a great era in the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth.

Flying: The Piper Dakota Checkout

I decided it was time to be able to fly the club's other aircraft.

After all, I'm contributing to it so might as well get some prop time. The club has a new instructor that is cleared to checkout pilots on the Dakota. Since I could never match schedules with the other club instructor as he's busy as heck in his corporate flight job, it's taken me awhile to get this arranged. Between the lost Covid year and then training for the instrument rating, the Dakota checkout then took a back seat.

So I met Mike at the hangar today at 7pm and did a preflight of the plane.  

The main differences between the Dakota and  the Archer are the constant speed prop, the higher performance, and the weight and nose-heaviness of the Dakota.

Started the plane up and did the run up, no issues.

Taxi'd to Runway  9L and there was a lot of traffic so Tower had us cross 9L for 9R and maintain runway heading, to get out of the traffic pattern, and so we flew on straight out until they let us head to the northeast.

Takeoff was a breeze,  the Dakota has power to spare and it effortlessly leaped into the air and started climbing.  Pretty soon had it up to 3,500 and moving along at 105 knots at 2,200 RPM/22 Manifold pressure.

Flew to the practice area and did steep turns, slow flight, power off, and power on stalls - all maneuvers I haven't done in a while.

Steep turns in a Dakota is kinda hilarious - you have to work to not climb during the steep turn, unlike in an Archer or Cessna 172 where you're trying not to lose altitude.  Much fun.

Slow flight took some getting used to, and making the plane stall in a power on condition took some serious pulling back on the yoke.  We also had to disable the GFC 500's protective environment that stops the plane from stalling even when the autopilot is off.  Very neat that GFC 500 is.   Good stalls, good recoveries, no major problems.

Then back to Pontiac for a landing which I did pretty well, though I have to work on keeping the nose up, unlike the Archer.  Landed pretty flat as a result.

You drop the power down in the Dakota and the nose wants to drop fast.  Short Final speed is 75 knots, and it pretty much handles just like an Archer with quite a bit more oomph. But, with the extra weight up front, you can't just chop and drop as you would with the Archer but have to leave some power in and mind your approach speed reasonably carefully.

Next week we will get a lot more landings in and complete the checkout.

That's 1.0 and 1 ok landing.

Rome II - The Way To the Forum

In Rome, history surrounds you, and being an aficionado of Ancient Roman history, this was awesome.

Leaving the Trevi fountain, we walked to the Forum.

 

 

Lots of ongoing archaeological activity was happening at the forum:

Things keep being discovered every day, as the ancient city is mainly buried under the dust and debris of history.

Many statues were on display along the Forum's edges. 

Julius Caesar:

 Augustus, as of course, there had to be a statue of Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, who found Rome made of bricks and left it made of marble. 

Not all were Emperors that would be readily recognized by many:

I mean the Nerva that guy. 

Yes, that's a statue of the Emperor Nerva Caesar Augustus, who was emperor from September 96 AD to December 98 AD. He succeeded Domitian, who was the second son of Vespasian and was emperor after Vespasian's elder son Titus died.  Nerva then adopted Trajan to succeed him as emperor, which leads us to:

Trajan's Column!  After viewing pictures of it only in books it was amazing to see it in person.

The column commemorates Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars.

The entire column is caved with images from the campaign.

The column provides exquisite detail of the Roman Army in the first century AD.

Interestingly, the very top of the column is not original.

It used to have a statue of Trajan on top, but the statue was removed in the middle ages, and then  adorned by Pope Sixtus V in 1587 with a bronze statue of Saint Peter which has been there ever since.

It was a really amazing feeling to be able to see Trajan's column in person. Truly a highlight of the visit to Rome.

Then we strolled down the Forum to our next stop.

Rome I

The next morning the ship docked at Civitavecchia, the old port of Rome.

We boarded a bus and headed to Rome, which was about an hour away.

It was going to be a hot day in Rome, over 95 degrees F in the shade, and there pretty much was no shade.

We walked until we reached our first stop, the Trevi fountain.

The fountain, completed in 1762 is rather famous, starring in multiple movies including Roman Holiday. 

Very crowded, but we made our way down and did the traditional coin toss with the right hand over our left shoulders into the waters of the fountain.  The single coin over the shoulder allegedly means we will return to Rome some day.  All four of us scored with hits in the fountain, which is really hard to miss, but a few tourists managed it.

Coins worth about 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each day, or over 1.5 million dollars a year.

The papal coat of arms surmounts the fountain:

Lots of fountains and water fountains in Rome, with lots of free water to drink as you wander to cool you off.

By the second fountain, I decided to douse my hat to cool off.  By the third fountain, the hat was almost completely dry.  It was that kind of hot day.

Such a hot day called for reinforcement to the water:

Gelato!:

The real Italian stuff, wonderfully creamy and tasty and just the thing to help you cool down.  I highly recommend the classic Limone flavor, but the others were awesome too.

So we continued our walk through Rome admiring the huge Palazzo Inail:

The building is absolutely huge.

Then we walked on to see some ancient Roman sites.

A Cloudy And Grey Monday

For Labor Day we decided to head off to Vemrillion, Ohio to spend a day at Lake Erie. Abby was staying at College so it was Tash, Leah, and I.

The forecast initially said thunderstorms, then no storms, then a 20% chance of rain, then no rain. So the forecast kept changing.

So we decided to try our luck, and luck was not quite with us. We got in the car and headed off with road-snacks and some in-car entertainment.

From Michgian through Ohio it was pretty solid overcast, if not low IFR conditions all the way. When we reached Vermillion, The weather did not improve, and there was indeed rain, which petered out shortly after we arrived at the beach, leaving there were lots of clouds with a fully overcast sky.

We did as the sign instructed.

No, the Clouds would not be overlooked.

Not a day for swimming, as due to the choppy water and there was a major undertow warning for the beach as well as quite constantly blowing wind.  A few people wandered the beach, but we had it practically to ourselves. On our previous visit when you could hardly find a spot.

So we pulled out our chairs and had some snacks on the beach and read a bit and watched the rather choppy waves.

After awhile it got a  bit chilly in the wind so we packed up and headed off. We walked around for a bit then drove home, stopping at IKEA for some items along the way. Got home, tended to lots of things that needed doing, made dinner, and now just relaxing for the rest of the night.

Still, it was a nice calm time, and not a bad little family road trip.

Pisa

The bus took us to the outskirts of Pisa and we had a decent sized walk in the sun to get to the old city.

You then cross some railroad tracks (complete with a delay from a train going by) and get to the old city walls.

Tons of permanent tent-like structures are setup selling all sorts of kitsch, hats of all sorts to handle the sun, leather goods, and drinks.

Then past all the kitsch, you get to see Pisa's number 1 attraction:

 

Yes, it's the leaning tower of Pisa.

Our tour guide was rather hilarious when she said, deadpan, that:

"I'm from Livorno and Livorno is less than happy with Pisa.  After all, Livorno isn't famous but we know how to work and build things.  Pisa gets to be famous because the people of Pisa don't know how to properly build a tower, seriously."

After seeing the tower we got some free time to wander around in the heat.

We sat in an outdoor cafe (which did not have any public restrooms) under some umbrellas and got out of the sun and hydrated.

We were joined at our table by a dog who was also happy to get a little shade.

 

We then wandered around the streets of Pisa some more, and public restrooms were rather hard to find.  So we found a McDonald's.  Even at McDonald's however, you need to buy something to use the washroom.

However, the McDonald's of Pisa, being highly civilized, offered cold beer for sale.

Problem solved.

We then took the long walk back to the bus, got on,  and headed back to the ship rather exhausted after a long hot, yet very eventful day.

Florence - Michelangelo's David

Our tour group was split into two with a new guide joining and taking away half the group in order to enter the Academia Gallery. We stayed with the original guide.

Since we had booked the tour through the cruise line, our tickets for entry were already purchased as part of the tour with a designated time. 

 The line for those who did not yet have tickets was immense and pretty much unmoving - if you want to go in, plan ahead and be sure to have tickets ready before you get there or book a tour that arranges it ahead of time.

Some security and bag check to get in - even since a nutbar attacked the statue with a hammer, they've been rather careful about what you bring into the building.

After the main entrance you enter into smaller rooms filled with amazing art:

 

You then turn a corner and there it is, right in front of you in a room all to itself:

 Michelangelo's David inspires awe when you see it like that in person.  Simply breathtaking for a moment.  

Hard to explain why, but the masterpiece seemed to have that effect on everyone who entered the room and first saw it.

 

A true masterpiece in marble, 17 feet tall, completed in 1504 and perhaps the finest work of Renaissance sculpture. Placed on a pedestal it towers above the visitors.

After seeing David, you can see many unfinished sculptures created by Michelangelo on display:

 

There's also a plethora of amazing Renaissance art to view, most, if not all, with religious themes.  But, it is David that is the main attraction of the Academie and well worthy of being seen in person as one of the greatest works of art. 

Certainly this was a highlight of the trip and truly awe-inspiring.

We then got some free time to explore Florence and then boarded the tour bus and headed to Pisa.

Good Security Move By Anchor Bay Schools

It's long past time to guard our kids with as least as much effort as we use to guard a jewelry store or bank. After, all the contents of a bank or store are covered by insurance.  Our kids' lives are not.

The Detroit Free Press: Anchor Bay schools to hire 5 armed security guards

The Anchor Bay School District Board of Education voted 6-1 Wednesday evening to hire multiple armed security guards for the upcoming school year in a quarter-million dollar contract.

Certainly a good step to deter potential whackos trying to rack up a score.  Publicizing it makes it even more of a deterrent. Not a guarrantee, but better than doing nothing by far.

But, it is clear the school district has a lot more to be done to ensure at least a basic level of security:

In November, Anchor Bay residents will vote on whether to approve a $168 million bond issue that includes security measures such as a video surveillance system, replacing entrance intercoms, and installing emergency alert systems.

Long past time to have had all of that done as well. 

Of course Doofuses in the comments at the Freep are already going on about how the money would be better spent on education, or its a bad thing to have security. I wonder if they would also be against fire extinguishers and fire alarms in schools as well - after all school fires are a very rare occurrence and fires should be left for only professionals to handle, right?

Florence - Statues And The Ponte Vecchio

As we walked along, we passed along an alley at the Galleria Degli Uffizi which lined with statues of the great men and artists of Italy and Florence:

Of course, Cosimo was there:

 As was Macchiavelli:

Amerigo Vespucci:

Leonardo da Vinci

Donatello:

Galileo:

And many more.  All of the Ninja Turtles were well represented.

We then got to see and admire the Ponte Vecchio:

First built in Roman times, it was rebuilt on multiple occasions with the present bridge dating to a rebuild in 1345. Then off to the Academy.

Florence - The Piazza Della Signoria

So the ship docked at Livorno and we headed to a bus for an excursion to Florence and Pisa.  Our guide was from Livorno, and was quite funny and informative. 

First we headed to Florence.  

 The countryside on the way is rather gorgeous.

Florence in August is pretty darn hot, and we were walking around what became crowded streets as the day went on.  We walked to the main square, the Piazza della Signoria, which is rather impressive. First stop was a cafe to get a real Italian espresso to caffeinate and get the energy up for a long day of walking in the sun.

A statue of Dante Alighieri towers over the square and is rather prominent, and it later became the group's rally point after free time was over:

Yes, he is indeed glowering at the people in the square:

It turns out Dante had a rather rocky relationship with Florence and he continues to glower upon the city that did him dirty.  

After all,  being exiled from the city, with your assets being seized, and having a death sentence placed upon you should you ever return, can make you a little less than nostalgic about your hometown. 

Lots and lots of other statues are around the square.  This includes the great bronze statue of  Cosimo de' Medici.

Interestingly, while they are many other statutes in the square of mythical figures, many of them resemble Cosimo de' Medici. The resemblance is, as you might expect, deliberate.

Here's Cosimo as Neptune: 

Here's Cosimo as Perseus with the head of the slain Medusa:

You can play "Where's Cosimo?" all around the square.

There's also a copy of Michelangelo's David in the spot where it originally stood, before the original was moved indoors to the Academy of Florence to better protect it.

Then we left the square to head towards the Academy, but there were many other sights to see along the way.