Tuscan Countryside

We departed Chianciano early for the day’s exploration.  The Tuscan countryside was a delight for the senses.  The crisp, fresh, air, beautiful golden wheat fields waving in the gentle breeze, peaceful quiet, and the texture of nature, are the images forever imprinted in my mind.  I absolutely love Tuscany!

famous image of zig zag cypress trees in Tuscany

Even the smallest of cypress trees are very expensive, so to have this splendid lined driveway full of them is surely a sign of great wealth.

Bagno Vignoni – Spa Town

Our first stop was in Bagno Vignoni, which is a spa town that has natural hot springs.

Bagno Vignoni

Our group got to soak our feet in this very hot water bath that ran through canals, while enjoying the surrounding views. Other than that, there really wasn’t a whole lot to do in this very small town. It was quite peaceful however.

Pienza
On the road to Pienza, we stopped and took some more photos of the gorgeous countryside.

famous photo op

The one particular place that generated a lot of interest, especially amongst the men, was this gated home, with two prominent rows of cypress trees in the wheat fields below.  It is the location of a legendary, running-through-the-wheat-fields scenes in the movie,  “Gladiator”.   Molto Bella!

Gladiator scene

Pienza is known as the “perfect renaissance town”, and is quaint and quiet. It also is known for Pius II Pope’s summer palace, built in 1459.  He was one of 18 children … wow!  (Sounds like the Duggers.)

Since photos weren’t allowed inside on the tour, I only got photos of the outer gardens and views.  His palace had beautiful carved wood, but felt depressing. There was a weapon room that the boys would of loved. It was filled with a great collection of torture items.

view from the palace

After a quick lunch in a corner cafe … I ate a ham, mozzarella and tomato sandwich and Dave ate a porcetta (spicy pork) sandwich, we departed at 1:30 to go to the next town.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot … I had my first experience with a squat toilet. Eww! For those of you who don’t know (I didn’t) it is simply a hole in the ground, in which you try your very best to take good aim and go. It was very, very, unsanitary, which is something I can’t stand. I tried to wash off my shoes in the sink, but there was no soap, so I felt slimy and wanted a Clorox wipe desperately! (For my shoes, not for me you know!) Yuck!

Montepulciano

Montepulciano is one of Tuscany’s highest hill towns, and its fortifications offered broad views over Umbria and Southern Tuscany (from tour guide).  This town is famous for its wine.  It is believed in Italy that all foods should come from the same soil.  They don’t cross wine from another region with their food from their own region.  Chianti wines make this region famous.  There are 70,000 acres of vineyards between Florence and Siena that grow the grapes for this wine.

lovely door and flowers

Since this was the highest hill town, it boasted splendid views of the countryside below.

There was a scene in the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun,” where the young Polish man performed the flag throwing in the Piazza Grande. Here is a photo of that area.

Piazza Grande ~ Montepulciano

We went on a self-tour of a wine cellar. I can’t believe how many stairs we had to go down in order to get to the huge wine barrels. It was kinda creepy down there and really quite dark too.

This wine is “Noble Wine,” and is considered to be quite good. I tasted it and thought … meh! Of course this is only because I wouldn’t be able to tell an exquisite wine from a cheapo one, and I’m not a big fan of wine drinking.

You may have noticed that I have a great fondness for the glorious flowers all over the many Italian towns we visited. Aren’t they just so refreshing, set against the old plastered walls? Love, love, love!

Italian friends knitting, and embroidering

Truly one of my most memorable experiences happened when Dave and I were wandering down quaint little cobbled streets in Montepulciano.  We stumbled upon three little old Italian ladies enjoying their needlework while chattering away.  Of course I had to stop and admire their work since needle arts are one of my passions.  The one woman on the right was very wary of me, but once she saw my joy and admiration of their work, she began to smile.  They only spoke Italian and I only could say a few key phrases like “Molto Bella” – very beautiful.  Through gestures and smiles, we began to understand one another perfectly.  I hope someday, when I reach their ages, I’ll be able to pass the afternoon with my best friends while knitting something I adore.  I absolutely loved the glimpses of the day to day life of Italians.

mosaic tile art

We happened upon this man who was sitting in his studio creating these amazing mosaic pieces of art.  He had a huge spread of tiny tile pieces and was selecting and placing them one at time, with a pair of tweezers.  He had the patience of a saint.  I wish I could afford this particular piece of art since irises are dear to me because they were my deceased Grandmother’s  favorite flowers.

It was back to the hotel after a long day in Tuscany.  We had dinner at the hotel and once again sat with Troy, Leigh and their parents for dinner.  The conversation was entertaining as usual, and then it was back to the room to get some rest for our trip into Rome the next day.

Buonanotte ~ Goodnight!

San Gimignano

fragrant flowers everywhere

outer wall

Ciao!

Today we started off with an hour and a half bus ride through the tranquil region of Tuscany.  Our first destination was San Gimignano ~ a smallish village, where we admired the Salucci Towers, Chigi Towers and Cathedral.  This town had an outer wall, which seemed to be rather common in this region.

Photographing these beautiful small Italian towns was amazing.  There was beauty everywhere!

Yup, it's a real boar!

Somehow this guy doesn’t make that scrumptious-looking ribbon pasta look more appetizing!

There is so much texture in these Italian villages, with the cobblestone roads, and old plastered walls. You definitely know you’re not in the States anymore.

view from the look-out

We took a short, but very steep hike up “La Rocca” (steep stairs) to get the most magnificent views of the Tuscan countryside. Our views were as far as the eye could see from the top of this stone look-out. Well worth it!

Is that tower growing out of Dave's head?

Exploring on our own was one of our favorite things to do. We always found very interesting shops and evidence of daily life in each place that we visited.

Although there weren’t many large grassy areas in these villages, there always were beautiful displays of flowers and greenery. So, so pretty!

laundry day~ I love the simplicity of this

Apparently each town is well-known for something, and in San Gimignano they’re famous for their gelato. They were world champions for multiple years. We can proudly say that we devoured the most creamy and tasty gelato on the planet. With our experience as our evidence, we strongly agree in the town’s reason for fame.

world's best gelato (thanks Vanna aka Dave)

too many choices

My choice was berries of the forest (much prettier in Italian – frutta de rosca … I think), which included strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. Very refreshing on this hot day.  Isn’t this display absolutely luscious?

Siena

When you hear Siena, you think of the earthy, reddish color … huh?  Well that is the covenant color, and is in abundance in the medieval hill town of Siena.  The emblem that can be seen all over town is the “She Wolf” suckling two infants.  There is historical significance to this dating way, way back.

In the center of town is the medieval public square, Piazza del Campo, which is shell shaped. The population here is about 50,000.

Campos Square - Siena

Twice a year the “Palio”, a medieval horse race, happens in Campos Square. Each of the 17 “contrade,” or neighborhoods, participate. Prior to the race itself, horses are led into church to be blessed. If the horse relieves itself while there, it is considered a sign of good luck … gross! The racers ride bareback around the square, while the audience is packed in the center like sardines. It can be quite dangerous for both riders and the audience, as you can imagine.

only a poster of the "Palio" horse race

The trophy for winning is a banner of the Virgin Mary. Huh?

We were spoiled by this scenery as we meandered through the streets while enjoying a slice of one of Italy’s tastiest pizza pies. YUM!
A local guide named Nicky took us on a tour through the zebra striped Cathedral of Siena.

Cathedral facade - Siena

Isn’t the outside of this Cathedral stunning?  I still can’t get over how ornate and intricate many of Italy’s churches are!  This cathedral’s interior boasts the fine art work of Donatello, Bernini and Michelangelo himself.

zebra striped stone, Gothic style Cathedral

The day was scorching hot, and dipping into the interior of this gorgeous Cathedral offered cool relief.  We were able to lean up against the cool marble striped pillars, and admire her beauty.  There were lovely frescoes, statues, brilliant mosaic art and stained glass, as well as pretty inlaid tile floors.

The ceiling was so lovely. The Piccolominis were a noble family who had their own chapel inside the cathedral, with paintings made by Raphael’s students. Their alter had four sculptures done by Michelangelo. The details were unbelievable!

Michelangelo's sculptures on the Piccolomini alter

Look at the intricate mosaic work on the ceiling of the Piccolomini’s library ceiling.  Can you imagine reading or studying in there? There were so many stories that were told through this gorgeous art.  Beautiful indeed!

overload of beauty

There were so many pieces of art work everywhere you looked.  The stained glass depicts the last supper.

After enjoying this Cathedral, we were able to snap a few photos of some points of interest: a Ferrari … (for the boys), and children playing … (for me).

We left Siena via bus and arrived at our hotel, the Grande Albergo Fortuna, in the spa town of Chianciano Terme. The grounds were very nicely landscaped with lovely views of the “old town” nestled on the hillside across the road. There was a refreshing pool, but there was no air conditioning in our hot, hot, room … again! What a drag! After voicing a a complaint to our tour guide, she was able to upgrade us to a suite with two bathrooms and a living room. SCORE! … especially since there was air conditioning (not great) in there.

This visual will forever be etched upon my mind. I can’t believe this was the view from our hotel room. Whoa!

view from hotel

After a little time on our own to relax, we boarded the bus for a dinner excursion at a Tuscany farmhouse ~ Ristorante Casale.

view from Ristorante Casale

We dined with our favorite Australian family – Norris, Faye, Leigh and Troy. Whenever we were with them, there was nothing but hilarious laughing and fun. Tonight was no different. When we were eating a delicious pasta dish, Troy reminded us that there was a duck sauce on it. Remember that Troy and I thought we saw a duck’s foot on the platter of food at the monastery the night before? It came back to haunt us! A few minutes later, I noticed a little, black hard thing on my plate, and Troy and I thought it was a duck’s eye. We all broke out in hilarious, uncontrollable laughter, which got the attention of our fellow (not as fun) diners. Troy then saw two more “duck eyes” on her plate, which only fueled the hysterical roar. Then, her mother Faye, started coughing and Troy said it was likely due to a duck feather stuck in her throat. We all burst out laughing again, and that was enough to spin us out of control with the giggles. I’m surprised we didn’t get kicked out of there! There is one thing for sure … whenever we dined with the Aussie’s, we were the table having the very most fun!

There was dancing tonight too, but it was to the horrid music of a lounge lizard singer. He was so very awful! We made the best of that inferior music and had a good time anyway.

We arrived back at the hotel at 10:30 ish and then we heard a knock on our door. It was Leigh inviting us to have drinks on the patio overlooking the pool. Of course we had to say yes! After all, we were the coolest bunch of people on our tour. Only Andie (tour guide), Maria (cool USA Italian from the East coast) and Troy and Leigh (awesome Aussie sisters) were privy to the after party. We talked about the culture of Italian men and their mistresses, drugs, and lots of other interesting Italian cultural conversations. We were having such a good time, and were so loud with our laughter that the hotel management basically kicked us out, due to noise complaints from the other guests. Ooops!  We finally got to bed around 1:00 a.m. and we needed to be up for breakfast at 6:30. Short night sleep, but very worth it!

Today’s events were many and very tiring. What wonderful, memorable experiences.

Ciao bellas!

Tomorrow is the hot baths of Bagno Vignoni, and Pienza.

Florence / Firenze (As the Italians say)

As I alluded to last post, we didn’t sleep a wink due to the fact that our air conditioning was broken and our room was about 100 degrees (barely exaggerating!).  Today was one of our biggest, most impressionable and cultural days on our trip, and I was definitely sleep deprived!  Bah!

Early today we had a guided tour with a local woman to the Academia Gallery where we saw Michelangelo’s “The David“… perfect!  The 6 ton marble statue is situated at the end of a longish hallway on a pedestal all by himself.

Michelangelo's David

Light streamed in through the dome up above him.  Upon first glimpse of this amazing piece of art, it literally took my breath away.  I was in awe!  Its beauty, size – 17 feet tall, protruding veins in his lowered hand, ribs, muscles, tendons, peaceful face … just the most beautiful piece of art I’ve ever seen.

His feet and hands were larger and out of proportion to the rest of his body.  It is believed by some that it was intentional since he was originally intended to be viewed from afar and from down below in a church.  Still others believe they are bigger to help the statue stay balanced.  Who knows?  I could have stayed there admiring Michelangelo’s finest work forever.

The David is from the biblical story of David and Goliath.  There is disagreement whether David was sculpted to depict him before, or after his battle with the much larger Goliath.  His veins are protruding on the downward hand, and are flat on the hand that is held upward, holding the slingshot.  The anatomy is so intricately depicted.  All of Michelangelo’s dissections of corpses certainly paid off!  David is magnificent!

The marble used for the statue was from a quarry in Northern Tuscany.  Michelangelo was only 26 years old when he was commissioned to complete the work that was barely started by another artist 25 years prior.  It only took him 3 years to complete David, and his reveal was in 1504.

According to Michelangelo,      ” … free forms are already inside the stone … the work of sculpting was simply a matter of chipping away all that was not part of the statue.”  Quite humble I might say!

David was originally placed in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, but was eventually moved to the Academia Gallery, where no photos are allowed.  A copy of David is in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence today.

Copy of David in front of Palazzo Vecchio

We toured the  Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze, or the Church of the Holy Cross of Florence.  The following photo is not mine, since we both forgot to photograph its facade.

Basilica di Santa Croce (wiki photo)

Inside this basilica are 16 different chapels.  The inside has plain wooden pews, but has marvelous frescoes by Giotto.

There are  tombs of  Galileo, the famous Italian astronomer and of Michelangelo, the famous artist.

Galileo's Tomb

Michelangelo's tomb

After a Florentine leather work demonstration, we ate lunch at a local pizzeria on Neri St.(quite tasteless, really). We picked up a gift and then we headed on over to Piazza della Signoria, to get in line for the Uffizi Museum.

Of course there were no photos allowed, but we did see some of the world’s most gorgeous and famous paintings here. Thanks to Wiki for their photos of famous paintings.

The Birth of Venus - Botticelli

Adoration of the Magi - Leonardo da Vinci

Doni Tondo (Holy Family) - Michelangelo

We could of spent days in this museum of world class paintings, but after a few hours, we needed to go back to the hotel to prepare for the evening festivities.

Our evening was spent in La Certosa at a 14th century monastery, followed by dinner and lively entertainment at a restaurant just across the way.

La Certosa - 14th Century Monastery

Apparently there are only 7 monks living in this massive monastery.  We were given strict instructions to not speak with them should our paths cross (which they didn’t of course)!

There was beautiful artwork, as well as a gorgeous church with amazing 3 dimensional paintings of angels in the corners.

Now take a look at those little angels just leaning straight out of the corners. They look like 3-D statues, but they’re just painted to look that way. That stuff really intrigues me!

3-D looking statues that are really just a flat painting

The gardens and grounds are kept by “lay men”, who deliver food and do everything else.  There is even a small graveyard in the center garden with monks on one side and lay men on the other.  Check out the skull and cross-bones on the stone supports.

We even got to tour a monk’s room. It was larger than I thought with an eating/ desk area, bedroom, longish corridor to walk in and get exercise, and a small outer garden area.

The lay men would deliver food through a small opening in double doors. If the food isn’t picked up within 3 days, then they could peek through a 3 inch peep hole to see if the monk is dead. Only twice a year, could the monks actually invite 2 family members to visit for the day, then it was back to silence.  Weird life!

Dinner was down the road at the restaurant, La Certosa del Galuzzo (monks), that has a relationship with the monastery. They provide the monks with all their meals, and in turn, the monks allow select tour groups to visit their monastery. I guess that’s a win, win, win, situation for everybody!

The photo on the right shows the violinist, accordion player, and Valentina … the ear shattering opera singer. Who’d ever guess that such a small woman could produce such an enormous sound!  The servers were dressed as monks and also provided the entertainment.  The old, heavy set monk, was smitten with Maria in our group, and kept dancing and singing to her.  The night was very entertaining, and the food was superb!

The menu consisted of:

I sat next to the younger Australian, Troy, and we laughed the whole evening. One course on our menu was stuffed duck, and I thought I actually saw a little webbed duckling foot sticking up off of a plate across the room from us. We laughed so hard at this, that we could barely eat. This little “duck” joke would come back to haunt us the next day, so stay tuned for that funny episode.

We were offered “rocket fuel” liqueurs made by the Certosa Monks after dinner. Although we refused, some of our fellow travelers took the shots of alcohol which nearly knocked them on their a#*es.

Then it back to the hotel to rest up for tomorrow’s adventure in Southern Tuscany!

Molto Bella! Very Beautiful!
Ciao!

Aiuto! Help me!  Today was the best, but I was so exhausted!

Bologna

Grazie Tante – (Thank you a lot) for reading about my amazing trip!

Today we had a very long (approx. 6 hour) bus travel day.  We had a few stops along the way to help break up the trip.  Our first stop was at an “Auto Grill”.  As I said before, this is for the fast and furious who are on a mission to load up on caffeine.

We traveled another two hours and then stopped in Bologna, which is famous for it Bolognese meat sauce and its university.  It wasn’t my favorite place but had a few interesting sites to visit.

We went inside the  Basilica di San Petronio, which is the 5th largest church in the world.  It  houses some very beautiful frescos and Cassini’s (astronomer) Sundial which is a meridian line inlaid in the flooring back in 1665.

ornate ceiling

We were not allowed to take photos inside the Basilica, but there were a few frescoes done by Giovanni da Modena, that stood out to me.  These were based on the work called the “Divine Comedy”, by a 15th century Italian poet named Dante.  There was beautiful heaven, and then Giovanni depicted Dante’s inferno in the most detailed and disturbing fresco painting.  Apparently Satan is eating Judas and excreting him out the other end (if you know what I mean).  Also, there are two popes in hell, along with Muhammed being devoured by demons.  This painting has been quite controversial for the obvious reasons.  Click on link to see the fresco.

We toured the old University of Bologna and got to sit in the 16th century “Anatomical Theater”.  Back in those times, due to religious reasons, it was prohibited to dissect corpses. So dissections of corpses were done secretively in this room, on this very table (ignore electric stuff on the table – previous demonstration). It was quite eerie in there! I may be wrong, but I thought I heard that Michelangelo studied anatomy there.

This statue of Neptune is in the Piazza Maggiore, very near to where we had lunch. I had a lovely shell pasta salad with sweet cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, black olives and a light basil and olive oil dressing. Yum!

We walked through a deli before lunch and snapped some nice pictures of food!

sweet treats

After lunch we found our way to el poste, a post office, where we took a number and were “lost” trying to simply mail our postcards. Luckily we asked an nice American college student how it all worked, and she directed us to a drop box outside the building. You never really know how difficult simple things can be with a language barrier!

We then were back on the bus to our next destination: Florence!

Florence

It took about 2 hours on the bus to get to Florence and upon arrival we made a short stop at a tour attraction of a “fake green David.”  This statue paled in comparison to the Michelangelo’s real David!  The overlook of Florence was stunning nevertheless.

Benito, our tour bus driver had to have special permission to navigate the narrow roads of Florence in the coach, in order to drop us off near the town square at the Grand Hotel Cavour. Apparently it cost the tour company 500 Euro to have such a privilege… so those are the perks we paid for, ha!

Upon arrival, we did a short walking tour to the Neptune Fountain Piazza. Our guide pointed out the Academy Gallery – the home of Michelangelo’s original statue of  “David,” and the Uffizi Art Museum which is famous for its gorgeous paintings.

Neptune Fountain in the piazza

There also was another fake “David” in this piazza.

Fake David in Neptune Fountain Piazza

Dinner tonight was with the group at a cozy, charming, local Italian restaurant.  I actually ate some goose liver pate (first and last time … so sorry Mother Goose!) as an appetizer.  We sat with 3 other Aussie couples and had a really fun time.  Tim and Denise were just great to talk to.

After dinner we strolled around for awhile to admire Florence and her beauty in the evening.

Ponte Vecchio over the River Arno

Ponte Vecchio is well known for its high end shops, and has been in business as such for hundreds of years (Dave’s fact … not mine).

This is a statue of Giotto, who was a famous painter and architect during the late Middle Ages.  He broke away from the Byzantine crude style of painting and drew accurate paintings from life.  We saw his extraordinary fresco work in Assisi as well as his paintings in four chapels in Santa Croce in Florence.

Giotto - famous painter

We enjoyed the company of our “younger” new friends on the tour.

Italianas? No?

The church photos are of the Basilica di Santa Maria.

"Porcellino" - Little Pig

I tossed in a coin, and rubbed the nose of “Porcellino”, or “little pig.” It is believed that if you do this, you will return to Florence one day.  That would be nice!

Well it was off to bed for what turned out to the worst sleep of the entire vacation.   More about that tomorrow.

Maiale – pork
I guess I was thinking about Porcellino!
Buonanotte goodnight

Murano

docked sailboats on the way to Murano

Early this morning after breakfast, we took a boat ride over to the island of Murano.  This island is very famous for the beautiful glass that is blown there.  We saw a demonstration of  this very old art form.   There are only about four glass blowing businesses left there nowadays.

Don’t ask me how exactly, but this guy took a little sand, silica, and coloring,  then heated it way up in a furnace. Next, he spun it around and stretched it (creating a shape) with some tools, and then blew strong puffs of air into the tube to create a very pretty vase. Hence the glass blowing … duh! Simply amazing!

These little gems can cost upwards of thousands of dollars! There were showrooms where you could purchase glass blown items. It was like a shark feeding frenzy, only the sharks were women and the chum was glass jewelry. I had to leave, it was so overwhelming.

On our trip, our tour guide was sporting a marvelous lime green, three stranded, authentic Murano necklace that cost about $360 Euro or about $500 U.S. dollars. That instantly blew my desire to find and purchase one similar to it. People on our tour were saying she must get quite a hefty kick back for taking us there, especially since she was grabbing some earrings and such to go with it. Hmmmmm, quite some nice perks!

Venice

After Murano, we were once more boating back to Venice for a day to do what we pleased.  Along the walk to St. Mark’s Square, we saw  Lord Byron’s Bridge of Sighs, which connects the Doges’ Palace to the Prisons.

Bridge of Sighs

This bridge got its name because of the prisoners who were condemned to death.  When they walked over it on the way to be executed, they stopped and looked out over the waters of Venice one last time, and sighed. Although we didn’t see the Leaning Tower of Piza this trip, we did see the “Leaning tower of Venice,” as you can see in the photo.

leaning tower of Venice

I absolutely loved this Dolce & Gabbana wall mural on the side of this ancient building.  It was such irony, but I thought it looked very cool indeed!

huge, absolutely huge!

The first thing we did in Venice was to go to the top of the Basilica of St. Mark.  The actual Basilica didn’t open to the public until 1:00, but we were able to peek into it from the top walkways of the museum.  This was a Byzantine Basilica and all the art work was done with millions of  little mosaic tiles.

Everything here in Italy is so old and majestic! After the Basilica of St. Mark, we ate a picnic lunch in the shade beside it. Then we were off and about with the millions of other tourists exploring and enjoying the maze of Venice in the blistering heat.

There was an old gypsy beggar outside this church. In Italy you can go into any church you please, although some famous ones restrict your photography and dictate your dress code.

The Rialto bridge is just as lovely on land, as it is when you’re in a boat going under it.
Apparently eel is quite the delicacy in Italy. This shop owner tried to make a nice display with fruit and a lemon in it’s mouth, but as you can see, it is still horrid-looking! Gross!

There were many cart venders on the walkways. By 3:00 we were hot and tired, so we got on a boat to return to Lido for a quiet evening.

little sidewalk cafe on Lido

Dinner tonight was at a little cafe on the main street in Lido. We shared a spicy sausage pizza that was very good, along with a bottle of water that cost $3.60 Euro – ridiculous!  They almost never brought out tap water.
The sunset that night was outstanding, so we walked over to the pier and took lots, and lots, of photos of the sunset over Venice.
Molto bella!

Another amazing day in Italy! We fell into a deep slumber in order to be ready for Bologna and Florence tomorrow.

Buonasera – good evening!

Ravenna

Travel today was through the Apennine Mountains to the town of Ravenna, the meeting point of Roman, Christian and Byzantine cultures.  We visited the church of St. Apollinaris in Classe, which houses some of the finest mosaics in Europe.

St. Apollinaris Church in Classe - Ravenna

The mosaic tiles above the alter were done around 500 A.D.  At that time, there was no real perspective in the art work.  There was a green dome, many amazing mosaics, and stone tombs along the sides of the church.

Cesar statue in front of church

St. Apollinaris in Classe

Off to the right side there was a iron gated off room that housed a statue of Mother Mary. The sun was streaming in through the window, illuminating the space, thus creating a very peaceful scene. This was my favorite part of the church.

radiant Mother Mary

It was very strange to think that these tombs held the bodies of ancient Italians, as was so common in many of the basilicas we visited.

For lunch we shared a salad and then walked down the road in this sleepy little town. It was back on the bus as we headed down the coast towards Venice.

Venice

The road follows the coast around the Lagoon to reach Venice, “Queen of the Adriatic”. We spotted a gypsy in a long skirt and red shirt, begging for money, right when we were waiting for the gondolas. Our guide quickly hurried us along, as gypsies are known to devise clever distractions so they can steal your money. No money= no fun!

We were the last of our group to board the gondola for a ride through Venice’s canals. Dave and I were lucky enough assertive enough, to get to ride in the “sweetheart” seats on the boat. It is from this vantage point that we had the very best views of Venice and her grand style.

Our gondolier (left photo) was one of the best because he sang partial bits of charming Italian songs along the way as he pointed out buildings and places of interest. I wanted this experience to go on and on forever!  It was so fabulous, but unfortunately it passed by much too quickly.

stunning Venetian canals

I’m still in awe at the fact that this entire city is barely above water level, and surrounded by it.  People must either walk, or use water transportation to get about- no cars allowed!  Due to this and other inconveniences, the population has declined more recently. With all that water, can you imagine the watchful eyes and vigilance parents must have for their child’s safety in Venice?

smooth ride under the bridges

After our gondola ride through the Venetian canals, we were whisked away, then boarded a boat to Lido. The boat ride wasn’t very long – about 15 minutes, as Lido is an island just across the water from Venice.

We stayed at the Hotel Le Boulevard, which was much nicer looking from the outside than in. Our room was very small and had an extremely tacky, moldy, bathroom … YUK! Thank goodness we spent very little time there.

We had several hours on our own before dinner, so we headed down the shop-lined boulevard to the ocean.  There were tons of people enjoying the sunshine on a mostly shelled, not sanded, beach.

Dinner tonight was bread sticks, ham, lasagna, salad, slice chicken, then tiramisu for dessert, whew! We were with the group at a local Italian restaurant that could of been a lot nicer if only we weren’t quickly rushed through our five courses.

After dinner, we walked down to the pier to board private water taxis to take us on an extra excursion down the Grand Canal to see magical Venice at night. These taxis were wicked fast, and were racing one another across the water.

boat race across the Adriatic

When Venice began to “light up” in the early evening, it truly was magical. We passed by twinkling chandeliers, and illuminated palazzi on our way to the romantic St. Mark’s Square.

Rialto Bridge

This bridge is famous for some reason I can’t remember.  We were told that if you kiss your honey while passing beneath it, it’ll bring you good luck.

near St. Mark's Square

In St. Mark’s Square, we sat under the stars at a famous cafe and listened to an orchestra quartet play some of Italy’s best loved music.  Of course I had to dance with Dave to the song “That’s Amore”.  He participated only because he said “these people will never see me again”.

St. Mark's Square

After a tasty gelato, we boarded the private taxi and headed back to our hotel in Lido.

It was a very long, but absolutely fun-filled day!  The memories are unforgettable.

Ciao!

Perugia

We spent the morning in the upper village of Perugia with a local tour guide.

The Cathedral displayed beautiful artwork on its ceiling and walls. There were stunning views from the upper village of the town below.

We were on our own for lunch so we went into a little market and bought some rustic bread, pecorino (best in the world!) cheese, and some chicken for a picnic on the church steps.

finely sculptured Great Fountain

lunch place on church steps

I was amazed at the impractical shoes some ladies were wearing on the uneven cobblestones.

cute but impractical shoes on cobblestone

I especially loved window shopping in this particular store.  Yarn is marvelous no matter where you are.

yarn, yarn, lovely yarn

Being a college town, there was evidence of graffiti.

graffiti bench

Parts of Perugia were very pretty, so we went off exploring lots of little streets and alley ways.

Tuscany / Cortona
After lunch, we paid for an extra excursion that took us to the home of Frances Maye, the author of Under the Tuscan Sun.  Our first stop on the panoramic drive to Cortona was a recently unearthed Etruscan Temple.

The cypress trees are very indicative of Tuscany. Cortona is visible in the distance.

recently unearth Etruscan Temple

Along this country road walk to the Etruscan sight, was a river bed lined with the most lovely, vibrant, poppies. Tuscany was draped with these beauties in many, many fields.

The drive to Cortona was wonderful!  It was very picturesque, and had a Tuscany feel, with its cypress and olive tree- lined country roads.

The lower part of Cortona was larger and more modern. We stopped at a junction where there was a small hotel and a restaurant with elderly Italian men enjoying a game of cards.

At this junction, we continued on foot, following a local guide named Giovanni. He should have been a comedian, as he had us laughing the entire time. We walked about 10 minutes down a quaint, hilltop, graveled narrow road, while admiring the gorgeous views of Tuscany down below on the left.

road to Villa Bramasole (Under the Tuscan Sun)

At first, I wasn’t paying attention / looking up, and almost walked right past Frances’s restored “Villa Bramasole (yearn for the sun).”   When I noticed others in my group had stopped, I turned back around, looked up to my right,  and then I saw the Villa …  it literally took my breath away!  It exuded such beauty and tranquility.  Everything I envisioned Tuscany to be!

Under the Tuscan Sun - Villa Bramasole

Frances Maye restored this dilapidated old villa, so that now it is tidy, painted a goldish-orangey-yellow, and was the prettiest villa I saw in all of Italy. Her garden has more than 90 varieties of roses and the grounds are impeccable. There is no security around it which I found surprising, just a lovely iron fence.  Giovanni told us that she should of named it “Under the Tuscan Shade”, since there isn’t a whole lot of sun in the location of her Villa.

fragrant display of flowers

This cut out in the wall was where the old Italian man in the movie would place flowers each day. It was a shrine of some sort.

Villa Bramasole - Under the Tuscan Sun

After this visit to Bramasole, we went into the town of Cortona where Giovanni got us oriented, then we were on our own to explore.

There were many attractive signs and places to photograph here.

We had some blood orange gelato which tasted like sherbet and came displayed beautifully! A little party in a cone. It made me smile.

gelato party in a cone

Discovering the public gardens was very interesting. Its canopy of densely grown trees was almost eerie. In the center was a fountain of two women wrapped in fishes, and an ancient rock stadium off to one side.

passeggiata - stroll

We people watched from this vantage and saw a little old Italian couple out for a walk. We often saw this during the ritual of “passeggiata” which is a pre-dinner stroll, to “see and be seen”. Very endearing.

Perugia

Perugia was once again our stop for the night.  We went  to the upper village to enjoy a freshly baked pizza on the church steps in the piazza.

Ciao! Tomorrow is Venice!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Our travels took us on a religious exploration today as we visited several Basilicas. The coach trip took us first across the River Tiber in the foggy, mystical, Umbrian land, to St. Mary of the Angels Basilica.

St. Mary of the Angels Basilica

This church is located down the hill from Assisi and was erected where St. Francis of Assisi died.  There was a small pre-medieval church, or original church, inside of the massive outer church which was built around it.  An English speaking priest was conducting mass and giving communion to about 10 people who fit inside this tiny church.

pre-medieval church within a church

The frescos/ paintings were ornate and stunning, as St. Francis (the patron Saint of Italy, the garden and animals) was honored here.  St. Francis gave up the wealth of his father, a cloth merchant,  to live in poverty and preach the word of God.

Cross inside St. Mary of the Angels Basilica

After this visit, we got in the coach and headed to the hilltop of Assisi. Before proceeding to the Basilica of St. Francis, we strolled down the Via San Francesco to St. Clare’s church. This was built of pink and gray striped- looking stones on the outside. Clare was a nun who was one of St. Francis’s original followers.  St. Francis was christened here and we saw the baptismal front, and St. Clare’s  body entombed in her church.

far off view of the hilltop of Assisi

St. Clare's Church and olive groves

alter in St. Clare's Church

The Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi was very unassuming on the outside, although it housed some of the most gorgeous 3-D fresco paintings we saw on our trip.  The paintings were done in the late middle ages by Giotto, a famous Italian painter/architect from Florence, and depicted the story of Jesus.

There was no photography allowed in the Basilica of St. Francis, but Dave was able to sneak in a few of these incredible frescoes.

beauty in the village of Assisi

We had lunch at a small cafeteria style restaurant where I had lasagna and french fries (woo hoo!) for lunch.  Then we were off to Perugia, the capitol of Umbria, for the evening.  We had to take 3 escalators up from where our hotel was situated up to the higher village where there was lots of shopping, restaurants, piazza and a university too.

main street of Old Town Perugia

Our tour guide left us on our own to explore Perugia, where we found Bacci chocolates.  These chocolate wrapped hazelnuts are packaged much like a fortune cookie, with a little message of wisdom inside.  This idea originated when an Italian man, who was trying to communicate with his mistress (his wife’s friend) secretively.  He tucked little messages away for her inside the desserts his wife was giving to her.

bacci chocolates with hidden message inside

Buongiorno!

Today we had a travel day to the Castel Gandolfo, which is the Pope’s summer residence.  We stopped once again for a mid-morning break at a “Auto Grill”, just think Stuckey’s.  Little, short, Italian women would cut right in to the front of the long bathroom line without blinking an eye.  Thank goodness we had our own version on our tour, albeit an Aussie, who told them to “go back to the end of the line” and wouldn’t allow them to cut.  Hooray for spunky Aussie!  You wait in line to pay, then you wait in another line for them to fill your order.  Tiny cups of espresso and tiny tables = why bother?

auto grill = insanity

Castel Gandolfo – Pope’s Summer Residence

Castel Gandolfo

Pope's summer residence

This area  is located on the edge of a caldera, or an extinct volcano, which is now filled in with water.

Castel Gandolfo caldera

There were quaint, cobblestoned streets and this is where we were introduced to a tasty porchetta (pork), sandwich.  This is meat from a pig that has been stuffed with spices and roasted all day long.

front entry brilliance

There was a wedding at St. Marco’s Basilica in the main piazza.   The wedding was colorful , especially  the shiny lavender suit one of the guests was sporting.  He was totally pimped out Italian style.  Woo hoo!

wedding guest in lavender

Italian wedding

After lunch we stopped in a celebrated wine town of Frascati for some gelato.

Frascati

Frascati (known for wine)

Orvieto

Our final stop for the day was the ancient little hilltop town of Orvieto.  When our tour bus pulled up to a vast, empty, parking lot below, and an immense rock fortress encircling the village above, we had no idea how stunning the surrounding countryside would be from the birds-eye view from up above.

vast parking lot below Orvieto

After an elevator ride (of all things) up  through the rock, we were surprised by this view of the Umbrian countryside that took my breath away.  There were rolling hills and farmland, and beauty just as far as the eye can see from that vantage of 150 ft. or so above ground.  Just think of Tuscany, which is a neighboring region.

Umbrian hills below Orvieto

We followed our guide through winding, narrow, cobblestoned walkways, or roads, since diminutive cars drive on them, to our 1800′s  hotel room at the Aquila Blanca.  Although this hotel had no frills, it did have a lovely cotton chenille bedspread trimmed with lace,walls that were 3 ft. thick, and shuttered windows that opened up to the cobblestone below.

welcome snacks and wine

hotel room

We walked with our tour guide to the Cathedral de Orvieto.  The sides of it were black and white striped (just think jail uniforms), due to the stone selection to build it.  The front of it was ornate and gorgeous, much the opposite of the inside that was quite plain in comparison to the many other churches we’ve seen.  Because of our inappropriate dress, shorts (think sinner) and exposing our knees (Lord have mercy!), we were not allowed to tour the inside.

Duomo de Orvieto

jail uniform colored stones on Duomo

close-up of Duomo

We next went into a ceramic shop, for which Orvieto is famous, and discovered that a hand painted lasagna dish cost $150 Euros, or $180 American dollars.  Way too expensive … whoa!

After that, we went down into a wine cellar in one of the numerous underground tunnels in the city.  There were thousands of dusty, cobwebbed bottles of wine and huge wooden wine barrels with lots of mold.  Yew … kinda creepy!

exploring the town

Dinner was at a “fast-food” like restaurant where we sat at the end of a long narrow hallway so that we could people watch out the big window at the end.  Little did we know that we were people watched by everybody passing by the window which displayed a beautiful red and silver chocolate candies.  This was kinda embarrassing as many of our tour group walked by and waved to the two people (us) eating yucky hummus ravioli drenched in olive oil and butter.  We could of kicked our fellow travelers who said this was a good restaurant.  Oh well … i cossi - “it is what it is”.

street of Orvieto

rock wall surrounding Orvieto at sunset

Bella! Beautiful

]]> http://www.capuchio.com/travels/italy-day-3-castel-gandolfo-orvieto/feed/ 4 http://www.capuchio.com/travels/italy-day-3-isle-of-capri/ http://www.capuchio.com/travels/italy-day-3-isle-of-capri/#comments Fri, 25 Jun 2010 03:28:17 +0000 P http://www.capuchio.com/?p=545 Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Isle of Capri

Buongiorno (good morning)!

Today we were up at the usual time for a 7:00 a.m. breakfast call at the hotel.  We boarded a small ferry that bounced along in choppy waters for about 25 minutes, on the way to the island of Capri.  For 2,000 years, Capri has beckoned many rich and famous visitors, and I can see why!  I definitely did not feel very well after that boat trip, but soon felt better when we were on solid ground.

first glimpse of the Isle of Capri

This island is absolutely gorgeous with its aquamarine colored ocean waters and the little villages rising right out of the ocean.

boats docked at the Marina Grande in Capri

The day was sunny and wonderful!  We opted out of an optional excursion here and spent the day exploring on our own.  We first rode the funicular (railway) up the steep mountainside to the main village where we parted from our group, then caught a bus to the the highest village of Anacapri.

We happened upon this funeral before catching our bus.

Italian funeral

Anacapri

Once at Anacapri, we rode a single seat ski lift to the top of Mt. Solaro, and saw so many spectacular views along the way.

chairlift to the top of Mt. Solaro

Capri below

more of Capri from the chairlift

famous ocean rocks

Capri Town

After enjoying the amazing Mt. top views, we rode the chairlift down to Anacapri, and took the bus back down to Capri Town.  We walked to some beautiful gardens and had a picnic lunch of salami, unknown cheese(pointed to select at an Italian deli), and rustic bread, while enjoying this ocean view.

aquamarine waters of the Mediterranean

Capri Town gardens at ocean's edge

Our next adventure was to hike 35 minutes to the Natural Arch, which is a circular rock formation.  We hiked at a fast pace, on a narrow route, partially through a residential area that displayed some of the most stunning gates and entryways above the crystal clear ocean below.  This arch was much like our “Royal Arch” on the Mesa Trail, but only with sparkling views of the Mediterranean visible through it.  Well worth the hike indeed!

Natural Arch

Here are some of the gorgeous gates/ entryways etc… we enjoyed on our Capri hike.

gate

another gate

gate

nice ocean views

yet another gate

my very favorite gate/ entryway

This little shrine was also along the path the the arch.  It looks like a wedding chapel of some sort … but I’m not sure.  Check out the brilliant floor.

matrimonial shrine?

This was someone’s patio area, very near the Natural Arch.

nice residential patio area

The Isle of Capri was one of my most favorite places in Italy!  This house ceramic says it best!

home of flowers

Sorrento

After crossing the rock beach of Capri and dipping our feet in the Mediterranean, it was time to board the boat back to Sorrento for our last evening there.  We passed on an optional excursion to a seafood restaurant with our tour group and instead ventured back into the heart of Sorrento, via hotel shuttle (whew) for dinner and a little sidewalk shopping.

We ate at a little sidewalk cafe trattoria hidden away in an alley, that Rick Steve’s recommended in his Italy book. This restaurant was filled with ambiance and we were not disappointed!  Dave had fish and veggies and I had a glorious pizza.

Viva Italia!  Bon Appetit!

quaint trattoria ala Rick Steves

the best of many pizzas in Italia

We enjoyed the window displays, bought a few souvenirs this evening, then it was off to bed.  What a marvelous day!

great display with "ice cream cones"

Va bene – that’s good/ fine.

Ciao