Italy Blog #52: Hotel Bernini and The Tridente Fountain

Hotel Bernini Bristol behind fountain

In this blog, we'll give you a look inside our hotel and a famous fountain near it.

HOTEL BERNINI BRISTOL - This is a really elegant hotel, and was a great place to stay. We were on the fourth floor that overlooked the main street. It's located on Piazza Barberini, 23, 00187 Rome, Italy.

view from our hotel window at night

first floor of the hotel

ABOUT THE HOTEL -Housed in a 19th-century palace facing the Piazza Barberini, this luxury hotel is across the street from the Barberini metro station and 2.3 kilometers from the Colosseum. With eclectic decor mixing a range of eras, the rooms and suites feature marble bathrooms. Free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs and minibars are among the amenities. Upgraded rooms add balconies and piazza views. Suites feature living rooms. Breakfast is free, while other dining options include a gourmet restaurant open for lunch and dinner, plus a bar and grill serving American food. There's also a wellness center offering a whirlpool, sauna and Turkish bath, as well as a gym and massages.

The Triton Fountain

our room

THE TRITON FOUNTAIN -  known in Italy as "Fontana del Tritone is a seventeenth-century fountain in Rome, by the Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Commissioned by his patron, Pope Urban VIII.
At its center rises a larger than lifesize muscular Triton, a minor sea god of ancient Greco-Roman legend, depicted as a merman kneeling on the sum of four dolphin tailfins. His head is thrown back and his arms raise a conch shell to his lips; from it a jet of water spurts, formerly rising dramatically higher than it does today. The fountain has a base of four dolphins.

Wolverine drawing

WHO IS TRITON?  - is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the sea. He is the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, god and goddess of the sea respectively, and is herald for his father. He is usually represented as a merman, having the upper body of a human and the tail of a fish


HOTEL HEROES - We didn't eat dinner at the restaurant in the hotel, but we did go up there to look around. We were surprised to see drawings of some superheroes on the wall that included Wolverine and Daredevil. You never know where you'll find a superhero!

Daredevil drawing in the hotel restaurant

Dog Rescue Weekend! Tommy and Cleveland

Cleveland

Over Labor Day weekend we spent two of the days doing dog rescue work with Coast-to-Coast Dachshund Rescue.  Two beautiful slender, smooth,red male Dachshunds were transported up from Alabama where they were each found (at different times) walking along the side of a road.
 
NOTE: Alabama and other southern states are famous for stupid people "dropping" unwanted dogs off on the side of the road. Generally, residents of the bible belt (not all) don't believe in spaying and neutering and then dump unwanted dogs on the side of the road like pieces of old furniture. 99% of rescue dogs come from the south where people have ZERO regard for a dog's life.

Tommy

TRANSPORT TIME! -We met the transporter in Alexandria, Virginia and they handed us off the two boys, Cleveland and Tommy. Although the looked similar, they didn't care for each other so we put them in separate large caged crates at night. Because they weren't neutered, dogs tend to pee/mark even in the house... so we made a stop at Petsmart and got a "bellyband" which acts like a cloth diaper  that they walk around with. 
 - Both dogs are very, very sweet. We estimate that they're about 5 years old, because Tommy has a good bit of white on his face. Cleveland has two chipped canine teeth - and we have no idea how long they were out on their own

CLEAN UP TIME! - When we got them home the got ears cleaned and both got baths. We also had to check their #2 to ensure there were no little white worms (luckily there was not).

LABOR DAY ROAD TRIP - One of the dogs, Tommy, is being fostered in Central Pennsylvania, and we took the 5 hour round trip on Monday, Labor day to get him to his foster home. Fortunately, our friend Stacey let our kids and the other foster dog, Cleveland out while we were gone.  Cleveland went to his new foster home on Tuesday, Sept. 6th - in southern Maryland.

Tommy

 OVERNIGHT TIP - If you get a foster dog, put them in a large cage with a bed. Luckily, we have several extra beds. The dogs will likely be uneasy since they're in an unfamiliar place, so depending on their weight, give them 1/2 or 1 benadryl to help make them sleep through the night.

Later this week, we'll post biographies for each dog and short videos, once they get neutered and vetted and are ready for adoption.

Make your Computer Work Better: Clearing your Temporary Files

Here's a tip for you to make your computer work more efficiently:

Clearing your Temporary Files

To delete your Windows temporary files, read the sections below for the operating system you are running:

To delete your Windows temporary files on Windows  

    Click on Start (OR Hit shortcut Windows key + R)

    Type %temp% in the search box, and then hit the Enter key.

    Click on one of the files in the folder that just opened, and press Ctrl + A to select all of the files in this folder.

    Press the Delete key on your keyboard.

    When prompted if you are sure, choose Yes.

If you receive a Error Deleting File or Folder message while the files are being deleted, it just means that one of the files is in use by a program right now. Click OK, close all open programs, and repeat the steps above. If this continues, try restarting your PC and repeating the process again.

Italy Blog #51: Arrival and Rome's Blue-Eyed Bellman

This guy looks like our bellman

On May 15, 2016 around 3:30 p.m local time we arrived in Rome! In this blog you'll get an introduction to our hotel, and a fun story about a bellman.

CHECKING IN AND CHECKING OUT -  After our car pulled up in front of the hotel, a bellman with deep blue eyes opened the front door for us as and took our luggage inside. We looked at each other and agreed he was hot. So, we "checked in" to the Hotel Bernini Bristol and we couldn't stop "checking out" the incredibly handsome, dark-haired, athletically built, blue-eyed bell man. We both went to the hotel desk to check in and we were looking for 5 Euro to tip the bellman. After checking in, we noticed the hot guy was back outside and another bellman took our luggage.  How disappointing. :)

FIRST IMPRESSION OF ROME - We took a short walk to the Trevi Fountain from our hotel. The streets were very crowded and there was heavy traffic. When we arrived at the fountain it was so jam-packed with people that it was hard to see it. We learned that Italians love their cigarettes. There were so many smokers walking all over the place!

Tridente Cafe booths

DINNER DILEMMA - Because the fountain was so crowded we opted to go to dinner. Despite the cloudy skies and on-and-off drizzle, we sat in outdoor cafe, but wound up getting up quickly because of so many smokers around us. We also learned that even in Rome, dinner was not served until 7pm.

GREAT TINY RESTAURANT IN ROME - Fortunately, we found a very small cafe  with indoor seating only (3 booths) called "Tridente Cafe."  It's located on Via del Tritone 170, Rome, Italy.  We wound up having a super-delicious pasta dinner there. Of course, it helped that the cook/waiter/everything was another handsome Italian man.

NEXT: THE HOTEL and TRITON FOUNTAIN

Italy Blog #50: Montepulciano's Underground Winery Tour- and Tom's Quote of the Week

In this 50th blog about our May 2016 trip to Italy, we'll take you on a tour of a winery in the medieval hilltop town

Talosa Winery Cellar

of Montepulciano. We'll even take you into the basement for an historic find. Read through to the end for Tom's "Quote of the Week."

THE TALOSA WINERY- We took the wine tour and had a wonderful guide. His name was Andrea.
Since 1972 the estate has been owned by Angelo Jacorossi. The wine is made from the grapes that cover an area of 32 hectares (79 arces) of vineyards in one of the most beautiful areas of Montepulciano at an altitude of 350-400 meters (.21 to .24 miles high).For the website, visit: www.talosa.it/en/company/.

DOWN INTO THE CELLAR - Andrea too is down into the historical wine cellar first. We learned that it was carved out in the 1500s, out of Etruscan caves. The main barrel-ageing cellar is in the old town center of Montepulciano, in an underground area between two of the oldest buildings in the city: Palazzo Tarugi and Palazzo Sinatti.

Tom , Andrea and Rob

THE WOODEN CASKS - It was there that we saw the massive wooden casks that held the wine. We learned that there were different woods that gave wine different flavors. For example, there were some oak wood from France, and other oak from Croatia.The oak from Croatia gave the wine a lighter taste. 

The vineyard

WHO WERE THE ETRUSCANS?  -  The Etruscan civilization is the modern name given to a powerful, wealthy and refined, though little known civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany, western Umbria, and northern Lazio. They lived and thrived between 700 B.C. and 4 A.D.

THE HISTORIC FIND - The lowest point of the  wine cellar was actually an Etruscan tomb from 6 A.D.! Andrea said that during World War II when the bombing of Italy occurred, townspeople flocked to the winery cave to hide. It was then that the ancient tomb was uncovered, and they found artifacts from 6 A.D.

WINE TASTING! - After climbing back up the stairs (it was a long stairway) we got to taste 3 different wines. Even I (Rob) tasted all three wines (although I really don't drink- but heck, I still had a sinus infection so it could only help). We sampled 3 house winds at 8 Euro, 16 Euro and 40 Euro. What's interesting is that I liked the cheapest wine. :) 

 TOM'S QUOTE OF THE WEEK - Give Tom a little wine and he is fearless. LOL. So, when we were wine tasting, Tom said to Andrea (the man who was our tour guide), "In the U.S., Andrea is a woman's name. What was wrong with your mother? 
  Fortunately, Andrea knew that Tom was kidding, so we all had a good laugh! 

NEXT: Arrival in Rome!

Italy Blog #49: The Beautiful Windows of Montepulciano, Italy

In this 49th Italy blog we're going to give you a tour of the picturesque windows in the medieval hilltop town of Montepulcino. The town is located between Florence and Rome.
  These beautiful windows adorned with flower are something that you could miss if you were walking through the town. Even a doorways were decorated with flowers. Fortunately, Tom paid special attention to these small spots of beauty. Enjoy!

NEXT: The Underground Winery Tour 

Shoes as planters outside a shoe store

A typical window

Another window with flowers

A beautiful entrance to a building

another flower window box

Arches in the city

Italy Blog #48- Welcome to the Quaint Town of Montepulciano

Ivy covered arches

Today in our Italy travel blog #48, we're taking you to a town called Montepulciano.  This is Part 1 of 2 blogs. In this blog we'll walk through the town and show you the beauty in the buildings and scenery. In the next blog we'll take you to a pretty cool winery.

Looking over the countryside from the top of the town

Another view from the top of the hill

One of the 2 gates to the city

 












ABOUT THE TOWN - Montepulciano is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and comune in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It's located at the entry of the state of Florence, 77 miles (124 kilometers) southeast of Florence, and 116 miles (186 kilometers) north of Rome by car.

A walkway

A picturesque stone walkway

WHAT IS THE TOWN FAMOUS FOR? Montepulciano is a major producer of food and drink. Renowned for its pork, cheese, "pici" pasta, lentils, and honey, it is known world-wide for its wine. Connoisseurs consider its Vino Nobile, which should not be confused with varietal wine merely made from the Montepulciano grape, among Italy's best.

The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie (late 16th century)

FAST FACT - The town is under historic protection for architecture and culture.  

There were flowers to brighten up corners and windows

HOW OLD IS THE TOWN? According to legend, it was founded by the Etruscan King Lars Porsena of Chiusi; recent findings prove that a settlement was already in existence in the 4th-3rd centuries B.C. In Roman times it was the seat of a garrison guarding the main roads of the area. The walls of the city date to around the 14th century.

FLOWERS EVERYWHERE - One charming aspect of this town was the small displays of flowers all over - windows, sidewalks, and everywhere they could put them. They brightened up the stone that made up the entire town. 

Looking at the top of Montepulciano's hill

HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE THERE? - According to the census taken in 2014, just 14,324 people reside in the town. There are a lot more tourists! 

NEXT: THE WINDOWS OF MONTEPULCIANO

Italy Blog #47 - On the Road to Rome: Olives, Terra Cotta and the Church of the Flea?!?

In the last Italy blog we showed you a pretty spectacular view of the city of Florence from a hill. In this blog, we've left Florence and had a driver who took us to Rome. However, along the way we made some interesting stops. Today we'll tell you about Chianti country and a "Church of the Flea."
   On Sunday, May 15, 2016 our driver Allessandro picked us up at our hotel and we began our day-long trip to Rome with some interesting stops that most people wouldn't likely know about.

 olive groves and vineyards. Credit  The Guardian.com

WHAT IS CHIANTI COUNTRY?  Chianti is one of the most attractive territories of Tuscany, Italy. The panorama of holme oak, pine and chestnut forests, olive groves, vineyards and cypresses, its steep hills and the red-tiled roofs of the farm houses make it instantly recognizable.(Thanks to http://www.chianti-chianti.net/ for the description). Allessandro told us that the region is characterized by the silver-green olive groves, vineyards, and small stone cottages.

OLIVE GROVES ABOUND! As we drove south from Florence on our way to Rome there were countless olive groves. Most of them seemed to be bordered by tall trees that looked almost like arbovitaes. (Since we were driving and I couldn't get a non-blurry photo of the olive trees, I found one on the Internet that resembles what we saw).

 

DO YOU KNOW THE VARIETIES OF ITALIAN OLIVE OIL?  Toscana,or Tuscany in English, is considered the classic olive oil region of Italy by many.  The oils of Lucca and the Chianti regions of Toscana are best known.
  The oils produced in the area around Lucca, near the coast, tend to be yellow, light and fluid. In the Chianti region, near Siena in the heart of Toscana, the oils tend to be more green, and spicy with hints of artichoke and pepper.  Further south in the area around Montalcino, the oils tend to be deeper colors, more rustic, and more intense flavors. (Info from http://www.olio2go.com)

Rob and Tom waiting to go to Rome

TERRA COTTA - Impruneta is famous as the main center for terracotta manufacture in Tuscany and, in the past few years, it has also become well-known for production of hand-painted ceramics, art and architecture.

CHURCH OF THE FLEA - We stopped at an ancient church (in need of restoration) called "Santa Braggio" Allessandro said it means church of the flea. Of course, we don't know if he was kidding us, but it was pretty well run-down, smelled musty and appeared "flea-bitten"!  Neither of us remember taking pictures of it, but we certainly remember the name of it!

NEXT: OUR FAVORITE TOWN: MONTEPULCIANO!

Great book- "Kill Shot" An American Assassin Thriller by Vince Flynn

My (Rob) dad loved to read thrillers, spy books, war novels, and mysteries. That's where I got it from. I'm not into
the war novels, but I do enjoy all the others.  Before my dad passed in 2008, he turned me onto author Vince Flynn (who I think was pretty new at the time). Vince Flynn created a fascinating character named Mitch Rapp. Mitch is an American Assassin who goes after terrorists.
    I just read  "Kill Shot" An American Assassin Thriller by Vince Flynn, which is the 12th novel in the series, and I've enjoyed every one of them. This one will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. I hated to stop reading it and do my daily stuff - it was that good.

SAD NOTE - I just found out that the author recently died from battling prostate cancer. If you're a man- please get screened for prostate cancer. 

If you like spy thrillers - this is a great book, as are all of the books by Vince Flynn (they're all about the same character). - Rob

Here's the summary: 
#1 internationally bestselling author Vince Flynn delivers the young, hungry, and lethal Mitch Rapp at the onset of his career as a CIA superagent.

In the year since the CIA trained and then unleashed him, Mitch Rapp has been steadily working his way through a list of men, bullet by bullet. With each swift and untraceable kill, the tangled network of monsters responsible for the slaughter of 270 civilians in the Pan Am Lockerbie attack become increasingly aware that someone is hunting them. Rapp is given his next target, and finds the man asleep in his bed in Paris. In the split second it takes the bullet to leave Rapp’s silenced pistol, the trap is sprung and he finds himself in the fight of his life.
     The next morning, nine bodies are discovered in one of Paris’s finest hotels—among them the Libyan oil minister. Back in Washington the finger-pointing begins in earnest as no one wants any part in what has become an international crisis and potential embarrassment for the CIA. Rapp’s handlers have only one choice—deny any responsibility for the incident and pray that their newest secret weapon stays that way.
     Rapp must avoid capture or die quietly. One person in the group, however, is not prone to leaving such important things to chance. Rapp has become a liability, and Stan Hurley will not allow Rapp to be taken alive by the French authorities, even if it means killing him. Operating on his own and outside the control of his handlers, it will soon become clear that nothing is more dangerous than a wounded and cornered Mitch Rapp.
     In Flynn’s newest page-turner, the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been as Mitch Rapp embarks on the journey that will turn him into America’s most deadly asset. The nonstop action in this shockingly realistic political thriller will keep your pulse pounding till the very end.

Enjoyed the Movie "Suicide Squad"- based on a DC Comic

DC Comics put out another great film this year, and this is a follow up to Batman Vs. Superman. This one, though, is about villains who fight for the greater good - because they have to!
   Thanks to a government agent named Amanda Waller, she recruits the most vicious criminals to band together to fight immense evils.
   Based on the comic book series, this sticks pretty closely to the comic and both of us really enjoyed it!  
   The telling of the origins of each character was extremely well-done and short. The character's personalities shine through. The Harley Quinn character (who is in love with Batman's Joker) is as crazy as a loon, and a very likeable character.
  The actress playing Amanda Waller nailed the character, as did all of the villains. I thought the Rick Flag (commander of the team) was a great character, too and I don't remember him from the original series. 
 GO SEE IT!  - There's even a brief appearance from Batman (Ben Affleck) and there will be a 2nd Suicide Squad movie. 

Here's the summary: Figuring they're all expendable, a U.S. intelligence officer decides to assemble a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission. Now armed with government weapons, Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) [The Joker's Girlfriend], Captain Boomerang, Killer Croc and other despicable inmates must learn to work together. Dubbed Task Force X, the criminals unite to battle a mysterious and powerful entity, while the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto) launches an evil agenda of his own.

Suicide Squad Trailer 4 2016 | Suicide Squad Official Trailer #4 (2016) DC Superhero Movie HD
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/zmxz8WhyXZE

Italy Blog #46: A Look at Florence from a Distance

In this 46th blog of our May 2016 Italy trip this is a sight-seeing stop that most tourists apparently don't get to see - a look at the entire city of Florence from a nearby hill. After touring Monteriggioni and other medieval Italian towns our driver, who was amazing, stopped at a large hill that overlooks the city of Florence. He said that most people don't know about the view from there and it was spectacular. So, we're showing you what it looks like in photos.
 NEXT: ON THE ROAD TO ROME!

South Florence and the Arno River

Italy Blog #45: Monteriggioni - another cool Medieval Town!

The Main street of Monteriggioni

In this 45th blog about our adventures in Italy back in May of this year, we'll take you to another cool, small medieval town that has apparently become famous in video games!

One of the 2 main "portals" or gates

ABOUT THE TOWN: Monteriggioni is a township or "comune" in the province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany. It is another town built on a hill as a fortress, and is surrounded by walls. Today there are a lot of shops along the main streets. It was built by the Sienese in 1214–19 as a front line in their wars against Florence.

The other main gate

WALLS, TOWERS AND GATES - The roughly circular walls are about1,870 feet (570 meters) long and go around the natural contours of the big hill. The wall was built during the same 5 year period that town was developed.There are also 14 towers and 2 big gates called "portals."  One gate, the Porta Fiorentina opens toward Florence to the north, and the other, the Porta Romana, faces Rome to the south. The main street within the walls connects the two gates in a roughly straight line. The main piazza (square) or the Piazza Roma, is dominated by a Romanesque church with a simple, plain façade.

Rob and Tom stop for a picture in Monteriggiano

Tom in front of a medieval church still standing in the walled town

FEATURED IN TODAY'S VIDEO GAMES! The town is architecturally and culturally significant; it hosts several piazzas, and is referenced in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, as well as a playable locale in Ubisoft's video game installments Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

ANOTHER LINK TO DANTE'S INFERNO- As we heard in Florence, Dante's famous poem about the Inferno was all over the place! - Even this town has a link to the poem. In case you don't know about the Divine Comedy, here's some background. Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. The Inferno tells the journey of Dante through Hell, guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil.  As an allegory, the Divine Comedy represents the journey of the soul toward God, with the Inferno describing the recognition and rejection of sin. 

A muscular demon in Dante's inferno

NEXT: A LOOK AT FLORENCE FROM A DISTANCE