Day Five -- Florence

We got up at 7 am to be ready to catch our train to Florence. We actually got to eat breakfast in the hotel.  They served eggs, hot dogs, pizza, cheese, prunes, pastries and yogurt.  But mostly we just cared about the coffee. We decided not to hike to the bus stop and took a taxi. It was expensive.  The driver said it was because it was Sunday. I think it was because we were tourists. We arrived way early so I took the time to write in my journal. When the train arrived we found seats in the middle of the car where we can face forward. Gayle slept and I worked on my blog. We arrived in Florence (Firenze SMN) and went directly to the taxi stand. Can you tell we are done lugging our things down narrow, uneven streets? We are staying at Hotel Torre Guelfa, very close to Ponte Vecchio and with a great rooftop view of Florence.

 

Our room was not ready and we had timed tickets to the Uffizi and Accademia museums. We left our luggage at the hotel and took off in search of lunch. Next door to the hotel was a restaurant and we hurried in and found seats. When we were done eating we checked back with our hotel to see if our room was ready but it wasn't. We hurried off to the Uffizi. We had reservations for 2 p.m.  It is the weirdest system. First you stand in a long line to turn in your reservation number to get your ticket. You aren't allowed to pick up your tickets until 10 minutes before your assigned time.  Then you move over to another long line to get into the museum. There are a limited number of people allowed into the museum and so new visitors aren't allowed in until others leave. Other people hang out at the front of the line and try to step in while people aren't paying attention. It is a weird system but still better than waiting without a reservation -- a long line that seemed never to move.

 

The Uffizi is huge, hot and crowded. We saw Botticelli, Michelangelo and more paintings of Madonna and Child than I could absorb. 

 

By the end we were just rushing to get out. We also had a timed ticket for the Accademia for 5 p.m.  The reason we tried to do both these museums on the same day was because after we booked everything we read that both museums are closed on Monday....our only other day in Florence. Our plan was to take a taxi between the two museums. What we didn't know was that the mile between these two museums has a large area that is pedestrian only.  We took off at a quick pace but the sites between were so amazing we stopped repeatedly to look in awe.

 

We arrived at the Accademia hot, exhausted, limping and discouraged. We expected the same long process we experienced at the Uffizi. It was a two step process but no one was in front of us. We took a few minutes to get something cold to drink in an attempt to rejuvenate ourselves. The signature piece of art in the Accademia is Michelangelo's 17 foot tall statue of David.  It is of David just before slaying Goliath. It is mesmerizing....awe-inspiring...absolutely beautiful.  We walked around it several times. Sat down and stared at it from every angle. We took more photos than we will want later. What a masterpiece. 

 

We also spent time studying the statue of the Rape of the Sabines. 

 

There was a second floor to the Accademia but we did not go up. My ankle was screaming by then and we knew we had to walk back to our hotel. We slowly made our way back, taking more time to admire the Duomo. 

We found a restaurant down a side alley from the Duomo. I had a delicious plate of eggplant parmigiana. We continued to slowly stroll back to the hotel but with gelato in our hands this time. We got back to our hotel at 8 p.m. And collected our key and bags from the desk clerk named Luigi. We took the lift to room 202. We figured out how to unlock our room but couldn't get it to lock on the other side. I told Gayle that I would go down and tell Luigi that we needed help. When I went back to the elevator (the one we just came up on 5 minutes ago) there was a huge pile of poop in the middle of the elevator. I returned to the room. Gayle knows that I am having trouble with stairs so she headed down the stairs to get Luigi's help. He said we just needed to turn the knob. Gayle came back up but it was clear that the knob isn't even connected to the lock. She headed back down the stairs more frustrated than before. This time Luigi said he would send the maintenance guy but that he was busy at that moment cleaning up a mess in the elevator. I'm sure that is true. The maintenance guy came and as he tried to show us how to lock the door he struggled with the lock. I told him that even if we did get it locked it is so hard to maneuver that if there was a fire we would probably burn to death. He tried to get us a new room but the hotel was full. Gayle managed to lock the door.  We went to bed praying there wasn't a fire.

Day Four -- Assisi

Gayle and I had both heard that you shouldn't travel between Rome and Florence without a stop in Assisi. We got up at 6 am to make our train to Assisi. Pastries and Nescafé in the room. We never were able to use our free hotel breakfast, delivered to your room, because our days began before the kitchen opened. We opted not to trek our luggage up and down the Metro steps and took a taxi to the Roma Termini station. Not wanting to miss the train, since the process of train transportation in Italy is a new adventure for us, we arrived early. We were early enough that our train hadn't even been posted yet. So we waited and people watched, patting ourselves on the back for not having excessive luggage like some of our fellow tourists. We made it onto our train and found appropriate seats in second class. This is what we learned from our first foray into train travel in Italy: face forward to keep from getting sick and don't sit near to the entrance/exit.

We arrived at the Assisi train stop and lined up to buy a bus ticket for 1,30 euros. We were crammed onto the bus like cattle. We got off at the second stop, Porta Nova. It was still a long walk to our hotel but it was mostly flat. It was Saturday morning and they were having their farmer's market. We found our hotel (Hotel Umbra) tucked down a little alley off the Piazza del Comune. The staff was the most attentive hotel staff I have ever experienced. And the rooftop terrace has great views. 

 

We set out in search of adventure. After a less than stellar lunch, we headed to the Basilica of St. Francis. Down a steep hill, we entered into the lower basilica, which is absolutely stunning. No photos are allowed so I have none to share. One side of the lower basilica is covered with paintings of the life of Christ and the other side are paintings of the life of St. Francis, including one of him preaching to the birds. Off of the altar area is the Reliquary Chapel where you can view the relics of St. Francis.  Below the lower basilica are the remains of St. Francis.  We went down and paid homage to this man who lived simply. Then we climbed the stairs to the upper basilica, which is considered the first Gothic church in Italy. Giotto' works cover the walls depicting the story of St. Francis' life. Some of the frescoes have tan patches, the result of an earthquake in 1997 that killed two monks and two art scholars. Then we were outside the building in the upper courtyard.

 

When we left we decided we wanted to take a walking tour of Assisi but we didn't want to walk up the steep slope. We got a taxi to drive us up to Porta Perlicci. As soon as the taxi dropped us off I realized I had left my camera in the car. I freaked out but Gayle reminded me that the taxi would have to turn around at the top of the hill and head back down. Sure enough he came right by and I flagged him down. Disaster averted. We started down the hill.

 

Assisi is one of the most beautiful places I have been. Every way you turn is beauty. We headed down narrow roads and steep alleys taking photos left and right. There are Roman columns and medieval castles. There are churches everywhere. You can tell that the people of Assisi take pride in their city.

 

We entered the church of San Rufino where St. Francis was baptized. A statue of a lion eating a Christian welcomes guests at the front door. Glass panels on the floor reveal excavation of the remains of a 9th century church below.

On to the Basilica of St. Clare, who started the Order of the Poor Clares. Inside is the crucifix St. Francis was praying to when he received his divine message to rebuild the church. St Clare's remains, relics (including hair) and wax likeness are all kept below the altar and you can go down. No photos were allowed inside. But the outside was amazing.

 

We walked the rest of the way past  little shops of gelato, pastries, embroidery, wood crafts and more until we got to the Piazza del Comune. At this Piazza is the impressive Temple of Minervea, built in the 1st Century BC which has became the Church of Santa Maria sopra (over) Minerva in the 9th century CE.

 

We returned to our hotel, crawled under the covers and slept for a couple of hours. At 7:30 pm we ventured out to eat and found a little restaurant down a candlelit alley. The food was unexciting. 

 

Back home through the Piazza del Comune to our welcoming hotel. We leave for Florence tomorrow.

An Anniversary

One year ago today I lost my beloved husband to a massive heart attack. A friend told me that death anniversaries are worse in the anticipation. All I know is that the anticipation of this day has been horrible. My sister and I are headed to Florence today and I am hoping that the schedule we have planned will get me through this day.

 

A couple months after Bryan died I took off my wedding ring. In most ways I still feel very married. My life and heart were completely intertwined with Bryan's and in some ways always will be. But I have had to fill out a multitude of forms in the last year in which I have had to check single. My wedding ring felt like a painful reminder of all I had lost. I have now gone 10 months without it on my finger.  But as you can see, my body and my skin carry the constant reminder of my loss.  Every time I look at my hand it lets me know that for 34 years I checked the box that said married.

Day Three -- Pompeii

Up at 5:30 am to bananas and Nescafé in the room. We took the Metro one stop to Piazza Repubblic to meet our day tour to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. There were 13 people on the tour. We left at 7:08 am and arrived at 10:24. The man traveling with us, to make sure we connected with our guide  at Pompeii and got back on the van at the right time, spoke poor English and seemed completely uninterested in us having a good experience. I hoped it was not a foreshadowing of the whole day.  Our archaeological guide, Hillary, met us at the entrance to Pompeii on the side that had been the port. Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD covering this city with ash, pumus and poisonous gas, killing its citizens and making it an archaeological gold mine.

We hiked up a steep, uneven road to the business gate to the city. We stopped first at the basilica, the court of law. There were the most amazing sculptures there and I couldn't believe my eyes. It turns out that the sculptures were modern and added as an art exhibition.

 

Next to the forum (city square) with remains of the library, more columns, a good view of Mount Vesuvius and more sculptures.

 

We started down the streets where chariots rode and human waste flowed. It was a rigorous experience for two women with arthritis. We both arrived home sore and Gayle had a bruised knee. We saw homes where the colorful frescoes were partially intact and the mosaics on the floor were works of art. We saw the remains of stores that sold hot dishes and stores that sold bread. 

 

We saw tons of graffiti and stone depictions of penises used as signs pointing towards brothels or used as symbols of good luck. We walked through a brothel with frescoes of sexual positions so if the customer spoke a different language he could merely point to what he wanted to purchase. We learned that prostitutes were called lupas, or she wolves. This changes the mythological story of Romulus and Remus. Perhaps the story telling of them being raised by a she-wolf was a euphemism meaning they were raised by a prostitute.

 

Meanwhile, tons of children on field trips darted between us making the journey more perilous. We ended the tour at the ampitheatre -- a mini version of the Colosseum. They had a display (with sound included) as a tribute to the band Pink Floyd who played in the ampitheatre decades previous. 

 

We bid Hillary good-bye outside the gate looking at a display of body casts of victims of Mount Vesuvius -- frozen in time in the position of their deaths.

 

Back in the bus by 12:30 pm to head for the Amalfi Coast along a winding road on the cliff's edge. Never did our guide explain where we were or what we were seeing. We stopped once for a photo op and to purchase lemon granita (a delicious lemon slush of which I am a new fan). 

 

We arrived in Positano at 2 pm. Our guide said we had to be back at the van by 3:45 pm and that if we wanted to see the beach he would lead us down. It was such a steep descent we lost him around the first corner. We were the oldest two people on the tour and so the whole group was out of sight in no time. No worries. It is a narrow, steep town and it isn't hard to find the path that leads to the water. We ate at a restaurant that is situated next to the beach. The English translation of the restaurant's name is Three Sisters. Your bill comes with a postcard that you are supposed to send to your sister. I saved mine to write my sister when I get home and thank her for going on this adventure with me. We people watched while we ate sauted zucchini, roasted potatoes, grilled asparagus and caprese. Gayle and I gravitate to the side dishes portion of the menu. 

 

We hurried back up the hill to meet our crazy deadline. Little shops of art, clothing and ceramic dishes line the steep sidewalk. I bought myself a turquoise wool cape to remind me of this day.  Back on the van and the four and a half hour trek back to Piazza Repubblic. We took the Metro to Bernini and bought gelato and pastries. I got black cherry gelato -- my favorite so far. Back to the room to pack and charge our electronics. We leave for Assisi in the morning.

Day Two -- Rome

Up at 5:15 am to shower, drink Nescafé and eat pastries in the room we had purchased last night. We took the Metro to the stop nearest Vatican City. We had signed up for a walking tour of the Vatican. We had 12 people in our group and got Mauricio as our guide. He is a student of art and archaeology and, hands down, the best tour guide I have ever had. We picked this tour because it promised to get us in to the Sistine Chapel before it was open to the public. We waited in a short line and during that time Mauricio gave us a short tutorial on what we would see in the Sistine Chapel. As soon as we passed security we quickly made a beeline through most of the museums with the promise that we would circle back and take our time later. We did stop in the Raphael Rooms when we had them completely to our little group. It was a treat. Raphael's paintings seemed to come alive in emotion, action and color.

Then to the Sistine Chapel, where new Popes are elected. There were other people there but we were able to move wherever we wanted and were given 20 minutes to take in the room. It wasn't at all what I expected. I have seen many photos of Michelangelo's depiction of God creating Adam. I expected it to be the focal point of the room, but it was one small panel among many. What caught me was Michelangelo's painting of the last judgment which covers the whole front wall. We were not allowed to take photos or talk while in the Sistine Chapel.

Next we backtracked and went through the museums.  We saw the tapestry room....

 

the map room where I was more captivated by the ceiling than the maps...

 

We saw statues like this one of Hercules...

 

and works of art like the crucifixion by Dali.

 

When we're finished with the museums we went back to the Sistine Chapel because it was our only exit to St. Peter's Basilica. This time the Sistine Chapel was wall to wall people. A priest was saying prayers. I have been in crowds before but nothing like that. I imagine it felt like being born. I felt smashed and forced out the door. I was so glad we had seen the Chapel when we had time to appreciate it. Past St. Peter's Square and into the basilica--the largest church in the world. The canopy over the altar was designed by Bernini and is 13 stories tall. The length of the church is two football fields long.

 

I got to see the Pieta by Michelangelo, housed in the basilica. This fulfilled a lifelong dream even if I couldn't get anywhere close to it.

 

That concluded our tour. We were left in the basilica. There was so much more to see but I was spent. I have been having trouble with my ankle, a leftover injury from childhood. We were agreed that the experience was amazing but our energy was all used up. We left the basilica and headed for St Peter's Square but we stopped to buy postcards and stamps so that we could send them from  this small country of Vatican City. Afterwards we identified the window from which the Pope blesses the crowds on Sunday. By now the crowd to get in seemed endless. 

 

We headed home for a nap and to rest our aching joints. After sleeping for several hours. We got up to make our way to the Pantheon. Back past the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon is not far from our hotel. But just as we arrived the door  was shut for the day. I was devastated. So we strolled north and found the  church of St. Mary Maddalena.

 

A short stroll home. We fell in bed. We have another early morning. When does the vacation begin?

Day One in Rome

I arrived in Rome at 9:30 am on Wednesday morning. My sister and I were scheduled to arrive on the same airline within 5 minutes of each other. We met up in baggage claim. When we exited that area I was not prepared for all the men hawking taxi rides into the city. We managed to shrug them all off. We bought 72 hour Roma passes and headed for the Leonardo Express train into downtown Rome. The train takes exactly 32 minutes. It leaves on time and arrives on time. Once in Rome we found the Metro and used our Roma Pass to get to our stop. I had made a 3x5 card with directions from our stop to our hotel. (As my sister likes to remind me, I am my mother's daughter.) But the card felt useless in the unfamiliarity of Rome. We dragged our luggage down cobblestone streets, frustrated and exhausted. We finally found our hotel down a narrow alley. It was noon and we assumed we would have to check our luggage and come back later. But when the clerk at the desk told us that our room was ready he became my new best friend. We fell exhausted into bed. It felt so good to stretch out!

After a nap, we left the hotel with adventure on our minds. Which started with gelato and a stop at the Trevi fountain, which is literally around the corner from our hotel.

 

Then we started walking towards the Colosseum. First we ran into the Monumento a Vitoria Emanuele II -- a tribute to soldiers.

 

Then we took a wrong turn and ended up at the Campidoglio. I found the capitoline wolf statue of which I had seen photos. The statue shows the twins Romulus and Remus (from Roman mythology) being nursed by a she wolf. 

 

From Capitoline Hill we got a good view of the Roman Forum, which is a good thing because by the time we got there it was closed.

 

We finally made it to the Colosseum. There was no line and we breezed through security.

 

We started at the bottom and got a sense of the maze under the arena where the animals were kept and the gladiators prepared. I could almost hear the lions roar and smell the blood. Then we took the lift to the second floor and were amazed by the scope of the place.

 

Since the Roman Forum was closed by the time we got there we hopped on the Metro and headed for the Spagna stop to see the Spanish Steps. There were happy people everywhere. 

 

We decided not to climb them but to find food instead. We used the aid of Yelp. We had lasagna, fried squash blossom, grilled artichokes (not a fan of grilled artichokes) and pears in chocolate cake. Well-sated we headed back to our hotel. We have an early day tomorrow.

My Italian Adventure Begins

I am staying near LAX tonight so I can leave first thing in the morning for Italy. This is the view from my room. It turns out that if they send you to a room that hasn't yet been cleaned you get upgraded to a room with a view! Too bad I need to go to sleep.