Packing It In

Most sights in Europe seem to choose at least one day a week where they close up. In Venezia Wednesday happened to be the day when most things I wanted to see were closed. Instead of perusing the buildings I had hoped to see, I spent the day hopping through churches and some museums I hadn't put too high on my list.

First was the Gallery of Modern and Oriental Art. The modern side I felt was lacking a bit, but there were a few pieces that caught my eye. Most of the art in this section was paintings that were from the 17-19th centuries. Only one room had what most people think of when they hear the words "modern art." Upstairs was a huge collection of Asian spears, clothing, battle gear, instruments, tea pots, chess sets, daily pottery and furniture. A relative of one of the doges' family had taken a 2 year trip to Asia from Venezia and collected vast amounts of stuff which changed hands to an antiquer upon his death and was now put on display at this museum.

My first church was Santa Maria de Visitaz on the far S coast of Venezia. This church had been built as a tiny chapel in the 10th century I think and was later rebuilt in the 13 or 14th century to its present size with about 6-8 side chapels and one large main sanctuary that could probably seat about 50-75 people tops. Like most church buildings in Italy everything is built out of marble. The second church was just down the coast about 150m named San Sebastiano. This one had been designed with the main entrance facing a bridge so as to be somewhat exclusive of who would enter the church. An attached convent (unviewable) indicated this was a pretty active church at one point. The choir box alone was completely carevd out of wood or finished with inlaid wood and seated about 40 I think. Huge sweeping spaces without pews or chairs and 2 smaller chapels on the left/right of the main one up front made for a vast building. There weren't side chapels per se, but multiple monuments to famous political leaders and local saints can be found all around the inside. From here I took the water bus back through the Grand Canal to San Stae.

Church #3 was San Stae which is situated right along the Grand Canal. Like all the churches along the water the facade is intricate, huge and white marble. The inside was very plain made of white marble and lacked any real character. Church #4 was by far my favorite--San Giacomo dell'Orio. Situated in a large piazza named after the church, the building was made out of brick with a mix of square and round rooms. I think it dated from somewhere in the 10-12 centuries. Inside was a cozy, open floor plan sanctuary spreading out in all directions. The roof was wood rafters. The main worship space was straight ahead with pews to seat about 75 people and plenty of space to add chairs. Off to the right were some side chapels. To the right side of the main altar was the eucharist altar with lush red fabric lining the walls. To the left of the main altar was a rather plain side chapel with one of many versions I've seen of a crucifix. To the left side of the main worship space was a sacristy filled with paintings on the ceiling and upper walls. Next door to the sacristy was a small room now being used as a chapel. It was plain brick with a cross on one wall and some candles and I think there was a font in there. I lit a couple candles before moving on. On my way out I noticed they had services listed for the rest of holy week. This would definitely be my Maundy Thursday destination.

Church #5 was San Polo, just SW of where my B&B was. Situated in a larger piazza than the last one, the church was much smaller and also made of brick. Inside was a fair amount of marble though it did have a wood roof. Quite a bit of water damage was visible around the roof edges and down the walls. In the back of the main sanctuary was the chapel of the crucifix where paintings of the stations of the cross could be seen. There were some lovely built arches in the church. It could seat about 200 people. Church #6 was Santa Maria del Frari. Another huge cathedral like church, the facade and campanile rose high above the surrounding buildings. The main sanctuary sprawled out in front of me which could easily seat close to 350 people in pews and chairs. I don't know that they ever see a crowd that big however. Off to the far right was a tiny side room which could have been a chapel or any number of things. This was the only part my church pass was necessary and it certainly wasn't worth paying E3 to see. The few paintings in the room were not that exciting and the bits of statues were nice, but nothing to write home about. I'm glad I had the pass and didn't waste a ton of cash to see this one;eventhough the main part was decent.

I took a break from churches here and stopped in at Piazza San Marco to take in the Correr Museum before it was too late and closed. The building is actually a compilation of 3 different museums housed together. Inadvertently I ended up seeing the Correr and National Archeological Museums and the Monumental Halls of Marciana National Library. My pass got me into all 3, I just hadn't planned on seeing all 3. All very interesting though. I'm not sure what the rooms in this building were used for originally, but it made for a nice museum.

Finally to the last 2 churches!! Church #7 was Santa Maria del Giglio. I don't actually remember what this one looked like after having seen so many. My map tells me it was very small. Church #8 was Santo Stefano. Also situated on a large piazza named for the church, I don't remember much from this one either. I know I saw another 2-3 free churches without my pass as well and after a while they all start to blend together. I started making notes on my map to help me remember, but apparently neglected that for these last two churches. In the end, it was a busy day.

Dinner was at La Zucca (Italian for pumpkin) where I arrived to a completely full restaurant. The head guy said unless I wanted to share a table with a couple, I'd have to wait until 9pm to get a seat. I'm all for sharing a table if it means I get to eat an hour before the place clears out so that I'm not starving or searching the evening streets of Venice for another place to eat. A couple who spoke French kindly allowed me to have the window seat at their table. I enjoyed some tagliatelli with gorgonzola cream sauce and pistaccios. Fabulous! The cheese was a bit strong to eat a whole plateful of without any other flavors, but all in all quite good.

Streets of Water

Not wanting to fool around with the 1km walk to the bus 25 stop, I opted for the bus 68 stop in front of the campground. I'm glad I switched to bus 25 which dropped me off right at the train station. I've been so tired lately that I'm trying to take it easy. The train ride was easy and straight forward as usual. I was a bit surpised how many people were on it though. This is the first time I've had people all around me in each of the other 3 seats. I would talk about the scenery, but I trance/slept through most of the trip. What I did notice was the rain just outside of Venezia. It's been so sunny lately I guess it had to rain sometime.

My next goal was to decide about which Venice Card to get. Include the transportation or not? For E66 and a 3 day pass I decided to go for everything: museum pass, church pass, public toilet pass and transportation pass. It was a bit hefty, but one trip on the water bus (vaporetto) is E6.50 and unless you want to walk an extra mile to cross one of the handful of bridges on the Grand Canal, you need to take the vaporetto. It's a fun ride too. Reminds me of all the fun times my family spent on our boat in the summers on Lake Erie. These drivers know just how to whip around the boat to dock without jostling the passengers. The directions to the B&B where I'm staying were pretty straight forward. Take line 1 to Rialto Mercato and walk about 150m. This has to be the easiest place I've booked so far in the last month! Plus it's really nice like a B&B should be. I feel so posh staying here.

Since I got in around 3:30pm I figured I should make use of my 3 day pass and start seeing things in the city. I didn't realize how much I would enjoy Venezia. I would have gladly left Bologna a day early had I known this. It's easy to see why people like it here. Everything is so picturesque. The streets are narrow with tall buildings on either side and occasionally a slice of sky at the very top. Some streets are completely built over and are more like tunnels. Everywhere you look there's another great view that's picture worthy. It's easy to get lost in the winding maze-like streets and easier to be so caught up in the sights you miss your turn. During winter hours (usually until April 1) most places close up between 4-5pm. It was a bit of a rush to fit in anything other than walking around the city. I had hoped to get to St. Mark's Basilica and maybe a museum. The basilica line was huge so I headed for the Palazzo Ducale next door. This was the seat of political life and justice for Venezia as far back as the 9th century. The doge's (head political figure of the Republic) house was also part of this building. I never realized Venezia was such an independent place. They deliberately chose St. Mark as their patron saint to avoid connections with Rome and the Holy See as well as to create a strong appearance through St. Mark's connected animal image of the lion. Most of the Republic's political positions were filled by the aristocracy; something which was carefully documented and watched by requiring proof of noble baptism and marriage certificates on file in the Coffer Room of the Palazzo Ducale. I walked through the former senate and council rooms where legislature and voting took place as well as the criminal and local court rooms and prison in the basement. The court rooms and prison were connected by the Bridge of Sighs where prisoners would catch a last glimpse of the lagoon and freedom before being placed in a cell. I also stood and sat in the voting room where new doges were elected--the largest room in Europe measuring 25m x 53m. En total, a very interesting and informative place to visit in understanding Venezia.

Now that daylight savings is underway here in Europe, it's light out until about 7pm. I wandered the streets and located a gelato shop where I sampled Alice (made with Mascarpone cheese) and Specialite de Riva Reno (it was honey brown in color with large candied nuts in it--no overwhelming flavor however). After moving about all day and missing lunch I thought a tasty treat was in order. I found a restaurant listed in my book for dinner, but they weren't serving meals until 7:30pm. Since it was highly touted I decided to search out a church for Thursday night while I waited. I came across two along with an ATM, street sellers of all kinds of things and a woman whose tiny dog was running ahead of her and over the bridge where I was standing. Instead of chasing after the dog (which she could easily have caught up to), she continued to talk on her cell phone and call out after the dog while being distressed at its running away. A very strange episode in deed, but something I believe is classically Italian.

The Antica Adelaide has been in operation under various owners and names since the 18th century. The menu in the window looked fantastic. I certainly wasn't disappointed! I enjoyed--perhaps relished or had a near ecstatic experience is more accurate--a mixed salad, the gnocci with guinea fowl in an orange ragu and a cinnamon/raisin tart all with a glass of the house pinot grigio. Everything in the restaurant is made from scratch the evening you order it. The lettuce tasted like it was just picked from the garden. The gnocci was so smooth and melted in your mouth from freshness. The tart tasted like it had cream cheese in it (though I don't think it did) and was a perfect finish to the rest of the meal. I didn't want to stop eating! I may have to go back tomorrow night for more tastiness.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

A brief sleep in was in order after a long day of walking yesterday. Roused by the sunlight I spent the morning making travel arrangements and booking places to stay. Breakfast finally happened around 11am once things were settled online. Before leaving my bungalow I managed to use tweezers to restitch part of the sleeve on my t-shirt. Now that's what I call resourceful! I picked up a train ticket to Venezia (Venice) in town and headed to the post office to mail home various souveniers and papers I've collected thus far. The woman who helped me didn't speak much English, but I was able to buy a box that fit everything and fill out all the custom forms. One and a half hours and E35 later and both packages were in the mail. Yea! Three kilos (6.6 lbx.) less weight to lug around!!

I stopped at an open air cafe near the post office for a tasty lunch of tortelloni stuffed with cheese and green bits (basil or spinach??) in a light cream sauce with proscuitto and asparagus. Holy goodness! I paired it with a locally made white wine named Albana. Great combination. The wine smelled fruity, but had a clean, crisp flavor with just a hint of a buttery/chardonnay flavor in the background. Everything went down easy.

Most places worth visiting in Bologna are closed on Monday; hence the busy day yesterday. With really nothing to do or see today I decided to revisit Basilica di San Petronio to make sure I saw Giovanni da Modena's bizarre I'Inferno fresco. Bizarre it was. There were demon creatures eating people and strange horned creatures roaming about. The basilica is the 5th largest in the world even with it's incomplete facade. The bottom half is varying shades of white, green and red marble blocks and the top half is dark brown-black scalloped cement looking material. Gives two-toned a new meaning.

Having nothing better to do and really spending time in Bologna for the food, I stopped at a cafe for a cappuccino and pastry in the hopes that I could waste some time to stick around long enough for dinner. The pastry was surprisingly filled with vanilla custard and topped with almonds in a sugary glaze. A few sudoku puzzles later I decided to search out a place for dinner. I found the jazz club I had hoped to enjoy, but it didn't open until 8pm. Seemed a bit late to be in town when I still had to catch up on my blog, shower and pack up to leave tomorrow. Across the street was a movie theater with the show Remember Me starting in about 10 mins., but it was showing in Italian. No point in not understanding a great movie for E8. I gave up on eating in town and opted to eat later at the campground cafe. The evening's meal sampling was tagliatelli--1/4" wide pasta noodles with a beef bolognese sauce. Very tasty, but a bit too greasy for my liking.

Hosanna From The Salty Pork

Originally I planned to be at the bus 25 stop around 7am, in town around 7:30am and then have a half hour to try and catch a service at 8am. Still too tired from not sleeping in Firenze (slamming doors, noisy streets and children yelling in the street at 6:30am) and getting lost with luggage yesterday, I opted to get up at 7am and go from there. It's Roman Catholic land, so there must be 10 masses on Palm Sunday right?

My calculations were correct. Arriving in town around 9am I walked to one of the main cathedrals on my map and walked right into a service at 9:30am. Perfectly timed. They even had leaflets that outlined the mass in Italian so I was able to follow along and read the Italian to participate. It's close enough to Spanish and has enough Latin roots that you can piece together most (60-70%) of what you read. Also being well versed in Catholic services I could track with what was going on and even partially sing. Plus I got half of JC in bread form again. All in all, a good start to the day. I've always been intrigued by the translation of Hosanna--oh save now--which makes Palm Sunday and more meaningful celebration for me. Here in Bologna, as I guess most of Italy, they use olive branches instead of palms. I'm glad they're using local flora rather than importing palms.

I wandered through the Archeological Museum viewing old pots, arrowheads, vases and bones. As I soon discovered, every church in town (which is usually a fair portion of what you visit in Europe as that's where lots of history is) was offering Palm Sunday services. I decided to sit through mass again for a 2nd helping of JC to view a famous painting afterwards. I think I saw it, but I'm not sure as it wasn't labeled the same as my guidebook and an usher was shooing people out to close up the church.

Most of my day was spent wandering about catching a sight here and there. I stopped at a piazza to enjoy the sun, located a cafe for dinner, climbed 500 steps up a tower (much taller than the Leaning Tower as noted by a wall plaque), ate lunch, visited the Modern Art Museum, ate dinner, grabbed some gelato (chocolate and pistachio) on the way to the bus stop and plopped down in the hostel room. Dinner was not quite what I'd hoped to eat. I wanted something meaty and was looking forward to some pasta. I inadvertently ended up with what can only be described as a meat salad. Slices of cured pork meat (kind of looked like prosciutto but no fat) were topped with cooked spinach and a circle of tomato halves. Imagine eating a lunch meat sandwich in pieces. The meat was so salty I don't think I'll have a lunch meat sandwich the rest of the week. The wine was good however--frangalina (I think) white wine. A strong wine with just the right amount of fruitiness.

It was a long day of walking. Strangely I think I saw everything there is to see in Bologna. Mostly though I came here to eat good food. A good chance to sleep in and take the day slowly tomorrow.

Repent--Doing a 180

After doing some research into the next hostel I planned to book, I discovered I had to make a reservation 1 week in advance. Oops. I could still travel there and if they had rooms the day I showed up, I could stay. To travel 2.5 hours to Genova and another 2.5 hours to Cinque Terre and discover I had no where to stay did not sound very appealing. In true Lenten fashion I "repented" and did a 180 heading east instead of west. My new destination would be Bologna; a city known for great food having created lasagna, bolognese sauce/ragu, mortadella (i.e. bologna luncheon meat) and tortelloni.

I still had a ticket to the Giardino di Boboli including the Medici Silver and Porcelain Museums. After an early start (about 7:00am) with packing, breakfast and putting my luggage in storage at the hostel, I meandered to the park. That morning I noticed on the ticket that I had bought it on Tuesday and it was supposed to be good for 3 days. Fortunately the workers at the entrance didn't bother reading the ticket. The gardens were quite large and well groomed. No flowers or colors around, but the texture in the various greens, bushes, trees and paths provided nice scenery. One of the more strange features were very large, oval marble rocks. Two were laying flat on the ground like large, round seats and one was standing oblong titled "Secret of the Sky." I'm not sure what the artist meant to convey, but the stone was smooth, soft to the touch and nearly pure white. It looked like a large mint with a dimple/round indent on the one side. On the way out I breezed through the Silver Museum which had very little silver in it. It was more a collection of the Medici treasures and jewels.

I'm glad I walked through as this gave me a brief look at how sumptuous the Medici life was without paying another E10 to see the lavish apartments upstairs in the Palzzo Pitti. Necklaces, pins, crowns, bibles, paintings, fountains in each room and large highbacked, leather covered wooden chairs gave the impressions you were in the presence of a very rich family.

After picking up my luggage and waiting a good 20 mins. for the bus to arrive, I made it to the train station. I didn't see Bologna listed on the departures and I'm glad I checked with the information desk. I would never have figured out which lines to take to get to Bologna with my regional (slow/local line and cheap) ticket. With a quick 5 minute change of trains in Prato (just NW of Firenze I think), I was headed direct to Bologna in 1.5 hours. So began the trial of arriving at the hostel.

From the train station there are two options of getting to the hostel: bus 68 goes direct to the hostel, but only runs every 2 hours, or bus 25 runs every 10-15 minutes, but stops 1km from the hostel. Since I arrived at 3pm and wouldn't make bus 68 until 5pm, I planned on waiting near/at the bus stop until 5pm. I should have stuck to my plan. Instead I opted for bus 25 to get there closer to my suggested arrival time of 4pm at the hostel. The guy at the bus info station told me to turn right and walk about 500m. The bus stop is in near a crossing of an interstate and some random business which on a Saturday were all closed. Down the road is a bit of small town civilization and a hotel. I didn't see how I could "turn right and go 500m" so I asked a few people on the street if they knew of the street the hostel was on and they all looked incredibly confused. It's common for hostels to be on tiny side streets no one has ever heard of. I stopped at the hotel and the lady directed me to the road I needed. The only problem was that it was about 30-40ft long and had no numbers near 12 which is what the hostel is at. The next closest thing along the road (about 100m) is a huge sports complex. I asked a few people and an older man on a bike said the name of the hostel like he knew it well, whistled and pointed off to the left behind me. I headed that way and ended up at the interstate (probably another 500m). Suddenly the older man on the bike appeared from behind me and started asking me in Italian what seemed to be something like "What are you doing here? Didn't you see the road back there?" After a few minutes of telling him I didn't see a road and no sign only the sports complex--in my best broken Italian of which I maybe know about 30 words--he seemed to offer to ride along and show me the road that was plainly in view (to him). We ended up just down the sidewalk from the sports complex and he directed me onto a path with metal poles to prevent cars driving on it which became a road with cars. Suddenly there were brown signs for the hostel. Apparently if you come to the bus stop from the other direction there are signs all over the place. Mind you I'm still dragging all my luggage with me and now still have about 1km to walk.

I wandered down the road quite a ways following the signs when a car behind me slowed down. The man inside rolled down the window and asked where I was headed. After I indicated I spoke no Italian he said something about "you want to pass." I thought perhaps he said I had passed it. He had a clipboard so then I thought he worked at the hostel and knew where I was headed and was offering to drive me the rest of the way. Then he started to drive away. Huh?? I checked the buzzers at the house in case I had passed it. Definitely not it. By then he had driven back and in better English said the hostel was another 500m and would I like a ride (must have been broken English for "you want to passenger?"). I accepted and we drove to the sign for the hostel which he indicated was camping and not a hostel. We figured out his name was Tom and he was reading meters in the area and had just been at the hostel and campground.

He had traveled alone for 10 years when he was 25-35 so he understood the troubles of finding places on your own. After a few streets away we had cleared up that I was not heading to San Sistro hostel like he thought, but actually to the campground which online claimed they had bungalows and rooms to rent. We headed back with a few turn arounds, since one of the streets had become a one way, and stopped at the campground. He offered to wait in case it wasn't the right place. Turns out it was! I thanked Tom and he drove off back to work. That's what I call grace. Undeserved gift, but very much needed. I think this suffices for my Lenten Journey.

Turns out the place is quite nice. It's all very strange though. It is a campground. There are sites for RV's and tents as well as 4 rows of these pink/red brick buildings that look like military housing. They're pretty nice inside. It's like a tile floored cabin with two beds in the "living room/kitchen" and two behind a sliding wood door. Tonight I plan out my discovery of Bologna and hopefully find a way to locate a church with a Palm Sunday service.

Leaning South

A short 1/2 hour train ride to the west of Firenze lands you in Pisa. A 25 minute walk from the train station gets you into the old part of town. Pisa was a long ago booming metropolis. Then a port town on the Mediterranean, it flourished with art, science and culture. The diversity of people included Africa, France, along with areas of western Asia. Galileo Galilei prospered here among many other brilliant people. After pummelings from various neighboring powers, Pisa declined and fell more toward the strong Medici influence of Firenze. Most notably we recognize the town for its famous campanile that is leaning south at a precarious angle. Upon reaching the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles), my first reaction was "I thought the tower would be taller." In pictures the tower looks to be 7-8 stories high. Standing there in person it seemed more like 5 stories.

My first goal was to secure a ticket for climbing the leaning tower just in case it turned out to be a busy day and the time slots were all filled. I managed to get the last spot for the 12:40pm climb. Apparently there was plenty of space, but I'm glad I started with the tower and then had the rest of the time slowly view the other areas. The climb to the top is 300 steps (though I only counted 295) spiraling around the inside to about the 6th floor and then spiraling in a smaller staircase on the north side up to the very top floor. The marble steps are deeply worn at varying angles as you feel the angle of the tower in the circular climb.

It looked to be about a good 1/2" depression in the stone. How long and how many people has it taken to make that kind of dent in marble?? When you finally reach the top, the view is fantastic and much higher than it looks from the ground. The height of the people on the ground looked to be about the size of my thumb.

Next door to the leaning tower is the duomo (cathedral) with the typical decorative ceiling, massive paintings in side chapels and ornate main altar. The raised pulpit was designed by Nicola Pisano and was it every large. The platform was roughly 6ft. in diameter. Imagine delivering a sermon from there! Behind the duomo is the baptistry. This circular building was designed after the one in Jerusalem. The most interesting feature is the acoustics.

Every half hour a woman sings a demonstration of the sound quality. By singing in a normal voice from the center, her voice filled the entire room (floor to ceiling) as she created beautiful chords with minimal effort. To the side of the baptistry is the Camposanto. This was probably the least interesting building as it is a cemetery filled with local Pisan civic, cultural and spiritual leaders. The frescoes were nice, but they really aren't my flavor of art. The initial sketches done in a red earthen mixture prior to the fresh (fresco) plaster layer were discovered when the frescoes peeled off from decay. These sketches are now preserved in a museum near the duomo. It was really stunning to see the plans laid out by these master artists and how they occasionally shifted a pose. My last stop was a more general museum housing various bits of art and history from the duomo, campanile and Camposanto.

Another quick 30 minute train ride brought me back to Firenze. Dinner was left overs again as I needed to finish off my food before moving on to my next stop. I'm planning on heading to Cinque Terre--a national park area with 5 resort villages along the western Mediterranean cost of Italy known as the Ligurian Sea or the Gulf of Genova.

Slow Down...Feeling Groovy

San Gimignano is a tiny town in the Tuscan countryside that thrives off of tourism. Its sleepy nature and history is attractive to all kinds of tourists--groups of students, couples, spring breakers, those tired of the city. The old part of town, like so many other cities, is a walled in section filled with stone walls, houses and tightly packed, winding streets. Grid work is not to be found in these places, but neither is fast paced, hurried living. The streets are meant to be strolled at an easy pace. Which is exactly what I did. No map is needed to enjoy the shops of trashy souvenirs or the quaint ones with pastries, local pottery and original watercolors.

After getting the lay of the land, I stopped at Enoteca Gustavo's (founded in 1946) for a salami and pecorino panini while sampling two of the local wines. The white was vernaccia--a medium dry wine with fruity undertones-- and the red was a chianti--dry, bold and pungent. The sandwich was excellent and paired reasonably well with my wine choices. From Gustavo's I wandered the outer edges of the walled city where there were great views and paths around the wall. Everything looks just like you would expect Tuscany to look: rolling green hills, small houses and farms, grapevines and olive groves, mountains in the distance.

In keeping with the town's lazy feel, I avoided the museums and duomo and sampled some sweets: nocini (a sugary dough ball dipped in chocolate with walnut wings), triangulino (pastry bottom with raisins sandwiched by a hazelnut crisp on top--this was my favorite), a chocolate hazelnut cookie mound and a dried fruit/dense cookie mound. The nocini was the only one I didn't like. Having finished my time in the town, I happened to hit the bus stop right on time to head to Ponggibonsi where I would again change for Firenze. The roads were just as rotten as yesterday, but the bus was a different style and took the rough road better. Dinner was left overs again and dessert was my afternoon sweets revisited.

Broken Glass Can Shine Brightly

Today's adventure was a day trip to Siena which is roughly halfway between Firenze and Roma. The boast of the town is the old walled in city with three notable churches, a main square and a few museums. I started out at Il Campo which is more of a semi-circle than a square. It was so built to continually play with the shifts in light and shadow. The center piece is the huge campanile at the semi-circle's center. According to my book, the one free church would be closed from 12-3pm so I headed out to enjoy the holy space. Once again my book is off a bit and the church didn't close up while I was there after 12pm. It was easy to hang around as this church had some of the most beautiful stained glass I think I've ever seen. It literally brought tears to my eyes. And not just one window, but one gargantuan one and a huge circular one. I wish I had pictures, but this was a no photo zone.

Fortunately I found some online. I sat and stared at the two pieces for a good 15 minutes straight. It was hard to leave here too much like trying not to stare at Michelangelo's David. While I sat there, I was reminded of the lyrics from a song sung by Tara Ward (music architect at Church of the Beloved while I interned in Lynnwood, WA).
Praise, praise to you Lord
for I never realized
broken glass could shine so brightly.
I was inspired to light a candle here before I left.
[Enjoy the rest of the lyrics and music at the album's web page.]

Following my inspiration, I stopped in at a nearby gelato shop to sample one of the waffle-gelato combinations Hannah (met her in Napoli) suggested I must try. It was quite tasty, but my waffle had large chunks of what I think was sugar. The gelato was superb. I opted for the fruit version so I had mandarin, strawberry, banana and blackberry/raspberry. With renewed energy I headed to the San Francesco church. Apparently this has been converted to a school. Teens and young adults were swarming about and signs posted mentioned language classes. It used to be a duomo and convent complex originally. I moved on to the duomo where for a E10 pass I could visit the duomo, baptistry, crypt, museum and see the panoramic view from high atop the tallest part of the duomo. The two most interesting parts were the baptistry for it's neat fresco on baptism and the climb to the view up top. The first level is at 61 steps up a tiny one person wide spiral staircase. If that wasn't enough, the second level is up another 71 spiral steps for a total of 132. The views were amazing and I met a young couple from Oregon with their little girl about 6-8 months. Thanks to them for taking this lovely picture of me.

Having felt like I had seen and done all there was to see and do in Siena, I purchased my bus ticket back to Firenze from underneath the piazza. It seemed strange at first going down to get my ticket, but it does provide one less ugly building up top.

As we bounced and crashed (the road was atrociously rough) our way back to Firenze, I noticed a sign for Volterra. Permit me a moment of insanity. For those of you who've read the second book in the Twilight Saga--New Moon--you will recognize this name as the city in Italy where the main characters converge to confront the ruling vampire family. I thought the name and the location in the movie were random. Oh no! It's a real city. I had heard a guy and girl in Roma talking about going there to satisfy her addiction to see it. I never planned on going, but when I saw the sign and realized it was not but 35km away...well I had to reconsider. Later that night I looked up transit to the city to discover it would have been very tricky to get there with the busses available--i.e. I would have had to get up really early and make a major effort to go. Seeing as I was not wedded to this idea, my moment of insanity began to abate and fade. Phew. That was a close one.

It's A Long, Long Road

Mistakenly I didn't set an alarm and woke up at 9:30am--a half hour before lock out time for cleaning. After a quick rush to get ready I decided to keep things simple and get familiar with the town. Firenze (Florence) is quite a nice town. It's big enough to have plenty of sights and interesting people doing their thing, but not so big that you are constantly breathing exhaust or having motorcycles blast by you every second. The old part of town is quite charming. Most of it is limited access to vehicles so you don't get run over while you're staring up at the large bell tower or gawking at a fountain.

I started out at the Palazzo Pitti where I booked tickets for later in the day to see David and the Uffizi Gallery along with a ticket to some local gardens. With a half hour before my slot to see David, I took my time working toward the Galleria dell' Accademia by passing through the Piazza della Signoria. This is the place where Florence's political life took shape. On the south end of the piazza is the Loggia della Signoria where David originally stood until 1873 when he was moved to the museum. A marble copy is now in his place where you can take photos (unlike the real one). A long street of prime shopping leads to the Galleria dell' Accademia. You can find anything here displayed in the windows from underwear to ties to scarves to purses to...well, you name it! Italy is definitely the perfect place to window shop where the displays are intriguing and invite you to take your time walking by.

Most of the Accademia is filled with paintings depicting the various scenes of Jesus' and other saints' lives. I did happen upon a music room where I viewed a Stradivarius collection and noted that all the instruments had animal based strings unlike today's metal ones. I guess I never realized strings weren't always metal (and I played the violin too!). It all happens so quickly as you are padding along through rooms of paintings when suddenly you turn the corner and POW! There's David standing high on a pedestal at the end of the hallway glowing from the skylight above. I stopped in my tracks and lost my breath. It's absolutely stunning. There really aren't words to describe how breathtaking it is to see a statue of this magnitude and perfection finished back in 1504 when Michelangelo was just 29. That means he started long before that. I can't imagine doing a work of art like that at my age now. The hair on David's head alone is so intricately carved let alone the veins in the arms. Photos don't even begin to do justice to seeing the statue in person. It was near impossible to pull myself away and finish the rest of the museum, but to make my 12:30 time slot at the Uffizi, such was necessary.

I passed some time around the Duomo (main church in the old city) and on to the Uffizi Gallery. This place and collection of art was started by the Medici family and given to the city in 1743 with the condition that the collection never leave the city. I was expecting to see a mix of paintings and antique items such as furniture or family treasures. All I got was art and I really only liked about 25% of it. Some of the highlights included Albrect Durer, Lukas Kranach (painted Martin and Katie Luther--the originals which I got to see), Vecchio, Carpaccio, Van Cleve, Rembrandt's The Rabbi, Pannini's Pool of Bethsaida, Caravaggio's Medussa and then the true highlights of my trip to the Uffizi: Michelangelo's Holy Family with St. John (the light and shading on this made it the brightest piece in the entire gallery!), Leonardo Da Vinci's Annunciation and Adoration of Mary and Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera. I can remember doing a special project on Primavera in school. Still really love that painting. It was great to see the original in it's hugeness (probably 10'x15' or so). What I learned from this visit is that I really am not a huge fan of 13th-16th century painting. I truly enjoy impressionist and abstract works far more. I appreciated these works for their intricacy, age and hard work, but in the end they just didn't inspire me much. The comedy relief came in the Niobe room where a series of about 20 statues placed around the room all had various stretching and reaching poses. It was hilarious. As if somone had frozen them in the middle of their workout routine. On my way out I noticed that amongst the carefully painted scenes on the ceiling where a series of words including: poetry, academia, music, history, mathematics, theology, medicine, politics, eloquence, philosophy and love of country. Clearly the Medici were patrons of the arts. Thank goodness they were or much of these works would have been destroyed--probably in the name of Christianity.

Post Uffizi I located an excellent gelato shop which was in great need after such hard work. I sampled Rich Chocolate, Banana and Straccitelli (cream flavor with chocolate bits). I stopped at the Duomo and toured the inside. It's quite immaculate. There are inlayed marble floors throughout the church. Laying tile is hard enough let alone sizing and fitting pieces into a picture of people, etc. The last stop of the day was the Medici Chapel, but it was closed. Worked out okay since I was pretty tired by then. Before heading back to the hostel I decided to pass through the Piazzale Michelangelo for some sweeping views of Firenze. Good choice. I found the bronze version of David up there and got some good video of the area. On the way up I discovered the stations of the cross lining the stairway and I also learned that there is a protected feline colony along the stairs. Strange I know, but I kid you not.

After a nice rest I cooked up some strange concoction of steak strips, garlic, onion, zucchini, canellini beans, and some left over red pepper. It turned out quite good. Dessert was some peach yogurt which I haven't had in close to a month. Strange how you crave things like that. My only other discovery today was that one of the guys in my room has sleep apnea. Makes for a hard time sleeping.

Stating The Obvious

Another slow travel day through the countryside from Roma to Firenze (Florence). Today's scenery brought more sheep, goats, grapevines and farms. The change in scenery from Lazio (province where Roma is) to Tuscany was marked by an increase in hills turning to mountains and more houses built out of rocks from the fields. The majority of houses were still the classic Italian stucco or concrete sided multi-story houses, but I don't recall seeing many if any stone houses in southern Italy. Up in the hills you could see remains of stone towers and the old walled parts of cities. The green tones ranged from bright yellow-greens to deep verdant teals. More farms had freshly tilled dirt. It must be getting closer to planting time. There are far more deciduous (leafy) trees here in the hills. Down south it was definitely more conifers (pines).

Transit was relatively smooth today. The train ride was the usual--a few bumps and lots of pressure changes as the altitude shifted as well as when trains passed by us at high speeds. I ended up at the main train station, which is always helpful, and worked on finding the bus toward the hostel. I had to ask a very helpful Asian woman for directions as the place I ended up using the ticket counter guy's directions was not right. She had this fantastic, magical map of all the bus lines and exactly where they go. I wish I had maps like this for all the places I go and need a bus. I'm terrible with bus schedules and where they go. It's my public transit weak spot. In the end I found the right bus and made it to the stop I wanted.

The hostel is quite unique. It's a former convent from the 15th century. Walking around inside is like going through a maze or like being in the movie Labyrinth where David Bowie is walking upside down and such. There's no set 1st, 2nd floors and the like. A staircase can go up here, but to no other part of the building. To get to my room you take the added steps from the lobby through a door, up another flight that turns right, around the corner, up 1 step and down 2. The added bonus for this week is the opera being performed each night in the former church next to the hostel. Each night for a few hours I am serenaded with lovely music and very high notes.

I wandered around the local area to see if I could get tickets in advance to see Michelangelo's David and for the Uffizi Gallery. Everything was closed up tight. I did find a grocery store and picked up some staples for the week. Tonight I made a pouch of pasta e fagioli which turned out like soup because I had no way to measure 750mL of water. The kicker was that I started out with a leaky pot and it went downhill from there. It still tasted relatively well. Oh, and when I returned from my walk about I discovered that there is literally a grocery store right next door to the hostel. Good for future notice.

Il Papa and The Opera

Today I had three goals.
1. Get to St. Peter's Square by 12pm to witness the Pope bless the crowd.
2. Relax.
3. Attend the opera Mefistofele.
I left the hostel around 10:30am to head to St. Peter's and read for a bit while the crowds were assembling. Before I got too far I decided to check out the grocery store for some fruit which turned into a pear, mandarin oranges, a box of cereal, Nutella and a sunscreen stick (I think it might be chapstick, but it's hard to tell since I don't read Italian very well). Rather than carry around the weight I dropped off my goods and headed for the square. I arrived at just the right time. There was still plenty of space to move about and find a good spot--key for short people--plus I had a chance to read some of Romans while still in Roma. About 10 minutes to 12pm a deep maroon banner with the Pope's seal in gold rolled down from the 3rd story window of the building just to the right of the square to signify from where Il Papa would be speaking. Groups scattered throughout the crowd had banners and scarves/fabric/flags in bright colors to wave for the Pope's attention. Right on cue at 12pm Il Papa emerged and greeted his cheering public. He spoke in Italian briefly and then led a responsive prayer in Latin. He officially blessed all gathered wishing us a blessed Sunday and week. He continued on by making the same brief comments from before in French, English, Spanish, German, Polish and I think one or two other languages I didn't recognize. Each time he changed languages he recognized any groups present he was aware of and they would cheer, jump and generally be excited. All in all, it was very cool and a great way to wind down my time in Roma.

After most of the crowds cleared out I munched my lunch on the steps of the square until it got breezy. Having some time to burn before I could return to the hostel (closed for cleaning), I wandered the mostly closed up streets for a cafe where I could sit and read. I finally found one about 4 blocks from the hostel named Piccolo Diavolo (Little Devil--fitting for a Sunday afternoon post Pope blessing). Nothing like some Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice along with a cappuccino.

A quick drop in at the hostel for a change into my "dressy" clothes which meant my black crinkle skirt (I think I got this one in high school??) and my colorful stained glass looking shirt from Lisa. With my red trekking shoes, it was quite a stylish outfit. I arrived at the Teatro dell'Opera at just the right time to get my seat and have the show begin. Four hours of excellent music, costumes, scenery and atmosphere made for a lovely evening. I'm no opera guru so I'm sure what I call great another would critique. For being quite literally in the last row at the top of the theater (probably 4 or 5 stories up) I thought is was tons of fun and a great way to spend the evening. I felt cultured and like a local for the night. For those of you not acquainted with Mefistofele, check out Wikipedia's short article. This gave me the background I needed to understand what was going on since there were no subtitles :) The Faustian themed Mefistofele is the only completed opera by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito.

I was finally able to dig into my second dessert--the chocolate mystery! Turns out it was two 1/2" layers of light chocolate cake with a spiced, orange/yellow jelly and a layer of sweet red jelly in-between. The entire treat was covered with a black colored dark chocolate coating. Definitely worth waiting for!!

Waiting For Godot

Close to fully recovered I headed out this morning for a day trip to Tivoli and the Villa d'Este. The estate was originally owned by a cardinal who had over ambitious plans for a ridiculous amount of fountains in his garden. The result? A gorgeous backyard that ended up being finished by those who owned the property after him. Much was done in his time, but originally planned fountains appeared after his death.

Transit was going well until I arrived at the Villa Adriana where I was informed I needed to take a bus to get into downtown Tivoli for the other villa. After an hour's wait I found out the bus stop I needed was 300m down the road, while two separate people had informed me the bus would come right to the villa. In the process I met two nice French people headed the same way and an Italian woman who made sure we all got off at the right place.

I wish I could say the grounds were up to par, but with about 40% of the fountains not even working and the rest on what appeared to be water conservation level, it was a bit of a downer. The gardens were lush and green for March. With my love of water, however, it would have been great to see the fountains in full array. Nevertheless I cannot knock the peace, quiet and relatively clean air I enjoyed for a couple hours. That made it worth the hassle of getting there.

Dinner was a rerun of my previous pasta dish, but it tasted ever so good after only eating sugared biscuits, bread and fruit for an entire day. Dessert was one of my two pastries acquired a few days ago--a fried dough with a creamy goo inside (perhaps with coconut?). All delicious and exciting my taste buds for my second mystery dessert.

Blah.

Something I ate yesterday at lunch seems to have turned my insides unhappy. I've spent the day hanging out in bed, sleeping and eating fruit with these light-weight cookies with vanilla sugar on them. I think I'm starting to feel better now. Lack of sleep the last few nights hasn't helped. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good start to a new day.

Feet Don't Fail Me Now

A slow morning was in order after two people joined our room in the middle of the night. I woke up multiple times from the girl flopping and rolling around above me. She hasn't been back all evening, so I'm sure I'm in for another fun night. After breakfast I blogged a bit to try and wake up more. Eventually I got bored which led to my walking. I stopped at a shop near the Vatican that sells the cheapest postcards I have found and then mailed them at the Vatican post office. I meandered along the Tiber River toward the Colosseum and Roman Forum. It took an hour to walk there which wasn't bad considering I had a nice stroll. I was rather tired when I reached the ruins and only had walking ahead of me.
[Temple of Saturn]
The map I had for the Roman Forum and Palatine was hard to read. It was more of a sketch and difficult to follow where the paths led to the interesting sites. After much circling about I had seen most of the sites, a few of which were closed (much to my disappointment) speeding along my visit. [Stadium] The Paltine area was pleasant. Agustus' house was there and the height of the area provided some excellent 360 views of Roma. The Colosseum, however, was quite a sight. Towering high into the sky its imposing form stops you in your tracks upon first sight. Even from a distance you will catch yourself looking twice before moving along. After so much walking I was in the mood for a snack and a place to sit to rest my feet. On the way through town I noticed a small cafe that was filled with sweet treats--right up my alley! If I had turned the way I had planned, I would have missed this shop and the Jewish ghetto I walked through where there were also delicious treats and cozy restaurants. I managed to find the shop--Bar Amore--again on the way back. I picked out a small confection that appeared to be a cookie dipped in chocolate and a cream filled pastry of sorts. The chocolate will remain a mystery until I dig into it tomorrow.

For dinner I cooked up a second batch of my chicken, basil pasta with the addition of a red pepper--most delicious! I think tomorrow will be a lazy day lounging around St. Peter's Square and perhaps a cafe unless I feel so inclined to a day trip to Tivoli for some gorgeous fountain action.