April 2005 Archives

We've spent some time at Coyote Hills Regional Park, near the Dumbarton Bridge, and now it's time to explore the Hayward Regional Shoreline, near the San Mateo Bridge. Though not as beautiful and diverse as Coyote Hills, Hayward Shoreline has quite a number of birds and a nice spot to watch the the San Francisco Bay.

The ladies of the Sunol Homeowners Association are still impatiently awaiting their cable tv, and insist that they be hooked up before Constantine gets kicked off of American Idol. Thank you for your attention.

Click below to see Sunol's tiny version of Yosemite...

Another look at the this exclusive local plant.

I post more pictures of poppies not because it is prudent, but because I prefer it. I will post poppies until people pop from the persistence of poppies.

The yellow flowers in the middle, I believe, are the endemic Mt. Diablo Sunflowers, which only grow within a fairly close proximity of Mt. Diablo (this is about 40 miles away). They were all over the park.

What is that you say? That it is not possible to post more pictures of poppies? Pshaw! Pshaw!

For readers offended by the persistence of poppies, I post this picture, which I consider to be the anti-poppy, as consolation:

By the way, if anyone knows what species that is, I'm curious. Couldn't find him in the books. Found on the park road at Sunol Regional Wilderness Park, near the visitor's center.

After meeting the fine ladies of the Sunol Homeowners' Association (see previous post), I hiked through the Canyon View Trail at the Sunol Regional Wilderness park. This gorgeous park is in full bloom this year, as Northern California has had plenty of rain. The grasses are green, the variety of flowers can't be counted, and the endless green hills are disturbed only be the occasional artistically placed oak. This week we'll take a long, slow walk through a small portion of this huge complex of parks in the East Bay hills. The poppies were everywhere.

And the occasional dead tree--due to natural causes, or the Oak Death disease that many are worrying about here I don't know--contrasted against the bursting green hills.

Say it with me now, "The hills are alive! The hills are aliiiiiiiive!" Ok, don't. But check back in over the next few days to see a low elevation version of a Swiss landscape. And a teeny tiny version of Yosemite.

The ladies of th Sunol, California, homeowners' association would like to express their concern over the lack of cable television access in the Sunol Regional Wilderness park. The ladies would very much like to catch up on past episodes of CSI and Desperate Housewives. They also have some shopping to do on HSN. The ladies hereby warn the public that if they do not get what they want, they may spend even more time sleeping that would be considered prudent. Thank you for your attention.

Poppies are everywhere in the Bay Area right now. Some of the best displays are near freeways, but I found this bunch on the San Mateo County coastline.

Fremont, California is one of those cities in which no tourist ever sets foot. But like the rest of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, it hosts the East Bay Regional Parks District, a series of beautiful parks, many of which would be state parks in other parts of the country. One that is well known to commuters who cross the homely Dumbarton Bridge is Coyote Hills Regional Park.

This time of year the hills are emerald green, lush with wildflowers, brimming with squirrels.

Update: nice article on Coyote Hills here.

Fremont, California's Coyote Hills Regional Park is one of the Bay Area's hidden gems, and a place I enjoy stalking with my camera. This red-winged blackbird perched on the cattails in the marsh and posed nicely. More pictures from Coyote Hills coming up this week.

Well, after a couple of months and hundreds of photos, Susan the Human will cease to be All-Rome-All-the-Time after today. You might say I was ahead of my time, given that the news networks went All-Rome just in the last week. But that's the kind of cutting edge photojournalism you've come to expect from our little blog. Yes sirree. I've got lots of non-Roman pics on tap, but let's get that last batch of Rome out of our system right now, capisci?

I mean, really. How can you not feel like a princesa sitting on the can with floors like that. Fantastic. Our hotel was the Royal Court, near Termini Station but a couple of blocks away from the noise. It was actually very convenient. Travel guides tell you to avoid the area, and though I generally agree, this hotel was nice, and the convenience to the underused Metro system as well as all trains you could ever need can't be underestimated.

A lot of tourists never use the Metro. It's very crowded, and covered in graffitti, so I imagine that turns some people off. But it is extremely cheap (16 Euros for a one week unlimited pass), goes to the general vicinity of almost everything, and runs every couple of minutes making it incredibly convenient. If we had used cabs for all the things we used the Metro for in that week we would have spent a minimum of a hundred Euros. We didn't use a cab once. If you are able bodied, the Metro is the way to go. Make sure you get your Metro Pass from one of the many news vendors up top before you go down, and get it validated in one of the machines on the back of a public bus (works on all the bus and tram lines too--and they're very clean and convenient) or by a Metro employee at one of the entrances.

Don't worry if the train is too crowded for you to get on--just wait for the next one, which comes along in less than 3 minutes. And there are worse things than cramming yourself in a subway car full of handsome Italian men. Trust me.

Rick Steves, who wrote the excellent guide to Rome we followed throughout our trip, doesn't recommend the Metro as much as I do, and I think that's an error on his part.

One last thing on the Metro: I don't have any pictures. Why? Because it's a lousy idea to whip out an expensive camera on the Rome metro. Keep your belongings close. We had no problems, but hey, why take a chance.

Aaah, let's hop back to the Vatican for a moment, eh? Let's try the Pope's private chapel, otherwise known as the Sistine Chapel.

No pictures are allowed in the Sistine Chapel, but if you keep the flash off, there's really no harm, and the minders can't possibly keep track of you in the inevitable crowd, can they?

Besides, I asked God if he objected, and he didn't say anything, so that means it was ok.

I've gotta take another look at that Vatican Museum ceiling:

Back in St. Peter's, anotherlook at the alter, with the shining white dove stained glass peeking through from the back:

Oh, and the rest of our hotel room:

It's amazing how fast I can make a hotel room look like my apartment.

Over at the Collosseum (get off the Metro at Collosseo station, step onto the street, gawk) they had a nice exhibit of various disembodied heads:

Evenings in Campo di Fiori were lovely.

Emperor Nero's palace, known as Domus Aurea (near the Collosseum), is extraordinarily preserved underground with ceiling frescos largly intact:

The winding streets of Rome are often bordered by 2000 year old walls.

And so there it is. A week in Rome. Cost of the trip was less than $1200 per person, all told, including a day trip to Florence on the high speed train. Oh yeah, let's remember Florence, briefly, and our fist peek at that sunset from Il Duomo...

The city exceeded our expectations by a mile. We expected crowded, dirty, maybe even a little poor. We got (with the exception of the Metro) uncrowded (go in November! Trust me!), spotlessly clean in the tourist areas, and visibly prosperous, especially when compared to most American cities. We found the people abundantly friendly, experienced no anti-Americanism, and never ran out of things to do. In fact, we would need another entire week to catch up on everything we missed. Italy is the world's greatest tourist destination, and deservedly so. The food at cheap, family-owned restaurants was so good we could afford to eat out, exchange rate or no. We didn't buy many souveniers, but there were plenty to be had if we had wanted. The shopping is fantastic. What an amazing place. I will be back. Absolutely. Goodbye Rome, I miss you.

Rome is a big city, too big to wrap up in just one post. For all the places I've shown you, there are dozens of little pictures and tidbits that just didn't fit. So it'll take two photo-filled posts to finally get The Eternal City out of my system.

I don't know where to start. So let's just hop randomly through the week, shall we?

The Pope's death this week brought millions to Rome, and according to today's New York Times, 4 hundred thousand in the last two days have visited St. Peter's Square. All I can say is thank you, John Paul, thank you for not taking your bow while I was in town. Because St. Peter's Square photographs so much better when your dearly faithful are not in it.

A lone monk wanders by the fountain in St. Peter's square, looking for his cloister.

From the top of the Spanish Steps, you can see the ritzy shopping streets framed by towering old buildings, so close you pray for no earthquakes.

Gargoyles and little creatures peek out of stone all over Rome. I can't remember exactly, but I think this fellow was in the Villa Borghese.

Let's stop in St. Paul's Outside the Walls, subject of a lovely visit earlier in the week, where parishoners gathered below towering statues as a Cardinal gave his service.

And here's a masterpiece. We made a special stop on the metro to see this (get of at Pyramide). It seems that some 2000 years ago the Romans were very much into anything Egyptian. You can tell because Rome is littered with obelisks and other Egyptian artifacts carted off from the Middle East. In this case, a Roman aristocrat liked the Egyptians so much he decided to be buried like one. So he had a pyramid built to contain his empty vessel, hoping for immortality.

Well his name isn't too well known, but anybody who's been to this part of Rome sure knows about the Roman guy and his pyramid. 2000 years old but looking good as new. The city walls, this section built much later by the barbarians didn't disturb the structure, building neatly around it.

At the moment most Romans simply known it as a landmark that guides them to the metro station, but we had to take a peek.

Let's give a shout out to the spectacular Borghese Gallery, still owned by the Borghese family, still opulant as all get-out, and still to snippy to allow pictures. So this is all you'll see. But it's worth a stop. You must reserve in advance to get in.

At the National Museum of Rome, near Termini Station, the sarcophogi are plentiful, and beautifully preserved despite thousands of years in age.

Somewhere in central Rome the stray cats are fed by volunteers in a garden of ruins. They come in every possible color.

The Roman Forum, free of charge, is worth more than one visit. We must have walked through it four times and never stopped seeing something new.

The church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is humble on the outside an spectacularly beautiful on the inside.

It's just a short hop from there to Piazza Navona, Rome's biggest square, for a bite to eat.

The people watching and the pizza can't be beat.

If you wander back toward Santa Maria, you might peek out around the Pantheon in all its 2000 year old glory.

The Pantheon's columns dwarf anybody who wanders near.

Well, that's half a goodbye to Rome...stay tuned for Wrap-up-the-Second. Let's leave off with a church that overlooks the forum on a sunny day.

Next installment: I wrap up the trip to Rome, with some weird pictures that we missed before. Coming later this month, Monterey, San Francisco, Northern Minnesota, and much more, as The Human goes into photo-overdrive.

On our last day in Rome, we had a bit of extra time, and the rain was coming down, so we dove into the closest museum to Termini station, The National Museum of Rome. Modest on the outside, the museum's modern interior features several levels of diverse attractions ranging from a massive fresco collection to a genuine treasure vault that would make any pirate drool. But first we must admire the discus man.

Well, maybe he is. Anyhow, the wide, spacious halls show off the statues in a minimalist elegance, in contrast to the palacial appointments of the Borghese Gallery (no pictures allowed, I'm afraid) or yesterday's Capitoline Museum.

The museum is in the final stages of a major renovation, but already interior walls have been opened up with glass, giving the museum an airy feel even on a rainy day.

If you are a student of ancient history, you may recognize this sarcophogis, with its relief of the Roman Senate. I remember this from one of my textbooks.

Homer is hanging around, making sure the Romans don't mess up any of his stories.

Of course, the museum also contains the requisite number of stairs, our final big climb of the trip.

At the top of those stairs is an exquisite fresco/mosaic exhibit, which requires reservations when you purchase your ticket. As we missed the last tour, we couldn't get in, and had to march all the way back down those many stairs. Not to be thwarted in our last attempt at fun, we decided to check out the basement.

Let's just say that Roman basements aren't like our basements. In Rome, the basements are full of millions of dollars worth of gold coins. I think that's what real estate people call a "finished" basement here in California. That would explain the prices around here.

Bank after bank of hundreds of gold, silver and bronze coins, tens of thousands in all, displayed behind thick glass. From ancient Rome through to today's Euro. Every era leaving its stamp on the money of Rome. Contemporary stained glass art is featured throughout showing the coin-making processes through the ages.

The collection's value is abundantly obvious, and although no armed guards can be seen, the doors are as thick as a Y2K shelter in Montana.

And this is yet another place in Rome where it's easy to get ahead.

Next installment: I wrap up the trip to Rome, with some weird pictures that we missed before. Coming later this month, Monterey, San Francisco, Northern Minnesota, and much more, as The Human goes into photo-overdrive.

From almost anywhere in central Rome you can see them, the flying horses on top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument. Well, ok, the horses aren't flying, the Hermes-type-guy is, but from a distance you can't see him, and it looks like flying horses.

The dome in the background is St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.

Rome is like a giant city-sized Stairmaster, and the Emmanuel monument is good for burning off that luscious Italian dinner you had the night before.

An angel keeps watch over Rome from the top:

Further up we climbed...

At the top, the view is lovely. The nearby neighborhoods sparkle with the famous pine-covered hills in the distance:

The King overlooks Piazza Venezia, which is somewhat useful as a transit point but is also a great place to play Frogger -- Tourist Edition.

Yes, if you'll recall, Frogger is that 1980's video game in which a hapless frog attempts to cross a freeway without getting splatted. In Piazza Venezia, like most of Rome, there aren't specific walk signals to hold the traffic for pedestrians. You have to get across on your own. As the traffic is heavy, the only way to do this is to get a couple of people with you in a group and step off en masse into the oncoming traffic. The cars will actually stop, but not before your heart does. The point is to look absolutely fearless and committed to your little jaunt. Otherwise the drivers think they can scare you back on the sidewalk.

In our entire time in Rome, only one driver didn't stop, and as I hopped out of the way, he honked rudely. Must have been a tourist.

The last sight on our way back down the steps was the guard for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, similar to the American version.

Italy isn't as united as King Victor might have liked, however, and I'm told the tomb itself is closed due to threats of mischief. But this changing of the guard is quite well done.

Next installment: Rome's hidden treasure horde...

Atop Capitoline Hill is a museum sandwiched between the enormous wedding-cake Emmanuel Monument and the stunning remains of The Forum. In a single day it's easily possible to do the Collosseum, Palatine Hill, The Forum--

--the Capitoline Museum, and the Emmanuel and still have time to walk into the heart of the old city for dinner.

The Capitoline's appeal is in its irreverent (perhaps unintentional) exhibits, such as this fine collection of disembodied parts:

And it certainly is one place in in the world where you know you can really get ahead.

Outside the museum is yet another European Guy Onna Horsey, a statue so common on the continent that it lends creedence to Jung's theory of collective consciousness. This one is nicely set off by the pastel colors of the museum.

The museum is inside a former palace, and many of the rooms still have palacial appointments, including chandeliers.

The paintings can be, er, intimidating.

There are the usual naked drunken men that one finds in Rome:

This reminds me: at the time we visited, the museum was undergoing some sort of renovation, and try as we might, we couldn't find our way from one side to the other. Somehow the two are connected, but I couldn't figure out how to get to the other side without walking across the small piazza. So remember, the Capitoline Museum is on BOTH sides of the square. You know you haven't seen both sides if you haven't seen the naked drunken man (above).

Aaack! What is this!

Two babies suckling on a gigantic she-wolf? How weird is that? Well, I just gave you directions involving a giant naked man, so actually, not weird at all.

And so after a brief visit, we set our sights on the rest of Rome.