True love in a small world

Driving into Orvieto – in the Umbria region – took my breath away. Our B&B owner picked us up at the train station, and thank goodness she did. This particular town requires a bus and/or a funicular to reach it. High up on a hill, this special place wasn’t bombed in World War II: everything else around it was, but Orvieto was salvaged. Beneath the city is a whole other world of caves, some dating back 3000 years. These caves were used for everything, from the production of olive oil, to mining for water, from providing quarry rock, to breeding pigeons. And these caves stay between 14 and 15 degrees Celcius all year round. Mom and I took a tour of them. We also hiked up yet another tower; to see a view from an already high place was so very stunning. And we had it all to ourselves! We just missed the bells going off by a couple seconds, both on the 30- and 45-minute marks. We were smart enough to duck back inside the stairwell before our ears were blasted off. We had an amazing dinner out. We shared a bottle of local wine and had some locally-made pasta (mine was with artichokes…yum)! They brought us dessert wine to accompany our melt-in-your-mouth tiramisu. It was a real treat.

Our accommodations themselves would suit me as living quarters. We had a quaint bedroom loft – living area and kitchen on the main floor, and bedroom and bathroom upstairs. It was lovely! When the owner dropped us off, she gave us the keys, and asked how we liked our eggs for breakfast the next morning. We knew we were staying in a really old building, because it’s actually marked on the map as one of the sites. It’s five hundred years old! At breakfast we learned that this old palace has been in the owner’s family for three hundred years. The other apartments are occupied by her nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, etc. So fantastic! We were very sad to go, and decided that next time we would definitely stay there as a base, because Rome is only about 90 minutes away, and Florence a couple of hours. Yes, I definitely need to explore Umbria more!

Our last day in Rome was wonderful. We had very little on our agenda – just having gelato and pizza – and it was fun to come back to a familiar place. Plus, of the three big cities (Rome, Venice, and Florence), I like Rome the best. We wandered back to our favourite areas, and had already planned our last dinner venue: a pizza place we noticed at the beginning of our travels, that was always CRAZY lined up. We got there and it was open for dinner yet, so we got gelato at the place next door. It was SO good. There was another mother/daughter pair doing the same – turns out also from K-W! Such a small world! Mom and Joanne actually have mutual contacts in their work circle, and Katherine is a teacher and has done lots of travelling too. We definitely had lots to talk about. The next gal to stand in line for this apparently world-famous pizza was Joo, a South Korean native! I got her contact information, as she lives close to Seoul, and we’ll keep in touch and hang out too! The five of us ended up sitting together, as this place gets so busy and lined up. It was quite the event. The owner is walking up and down the line – this cute, old Italian man – yelling at people here and there. A real character. And the pizza was pretty darn good!

We went to the Trevi Fountain, one last time, to see it at night. We threw coins again, as we had already returned to Rome since our first throw! Mom had an early flight Friday morning, so here I sit, alone again.
Forgot to mention that at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, mom and I ran into some folks we know from K-W! Of all places! We had a nice catch-up, chatting in front of a Da Vinci I think it was!

Oh, Italy, I would like to thank you for your espresso, your pizza and pasta, your gelato (of which mom and I compiled a list of all the flavours we tried while here!), your well-dressed men, your passionate artisans always wanting to share their stories, your warm hospitality, and your beauty and art. If I had to choose a favourite spot, I’d have to say Capri, and I’d also throw in Orvieto. The Amalfi Coast and the Umbria regions are pure bliss.

Tuscany

I think that if Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s (birth of) Venus had babies, they would so very beautiful. Either that, or they’d be exceptionally ugly, although no one would dare say so, because of the radiating elegance of their parents. (Excuse the repeat comment, for those of you on Facebook!)

Once again on a train, this time heading to Orvieto, in the Umbria region. We wave a fond farewell to lush nature of Tuscany. After a full couple days exploring Florence – the Accademia and its lovely David, the Duomo, the markets, the Uffizi and its many wonders, Michelangelo’s Piazza with its stunning views of the city – we took some day trips to the country side. Monday we were blown away by San Gimignano. If you want Tuscany, you want San Gimignana. We climbed the 218 steps of the tower (it was no 463 of the Duomo) and it took our breath away. The shades of greens and yellows that are possible in the fields make you want to roll down the hills and pick flowers and skip and hold hands. There are many ceramic shops too, and I like to imagine that someday – ten years from now? – I’ll be able to decorate my home with some of those pieces. We had amazing gelato, from a place that apparently has been named World’s Best Gelato, from 2006-2009. Who decides these things and how can I get involved? The latter half of the day we went to Siena. Now we’ve seen a lot of churches, but I especially loved the Duomo here. There were so many interesting features about it; so much to look at. It was a gothic-style church too, which I enjoy, and the blues of the ceiling were vibrant.

Tuesday we went to Lucca, to walk around the city’s wall. This city was so green, and had a lot of park space, something that is lacking in a lot of places we’ve been. I quite appreciated that. It was a leisurely day for a stroll. There were so many folks out biking, too, which was nice. There were a lot of tandem bikers. Mom and I agreed that we would never get on one of those things together, if ever at all: disaster waiting to happen. Lucca is said to have the best chocolate shop in all of Italy. I was all set on having a dark chocolate truffle. Sadly when we got to its doors, we read the sign saying they were closed from July 1 to August 8. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Oh! We totally went to Pisa on our way back to Florence. We got off, took silly photos at the tower, then caught the next train back. Haha.

Florence wins points for its views, its extra friendly and helpful people, Carabé gelato (another delicious stop), the art, and our pizza last night (I realized I hadn’t had pizza in almost a week…in Italy! Can you imagine?). It loses points for being smelly. Also, getting to the end of our travels in Italy, mom and I are both tired. We’ve been moving at what we call the “Florence pace”. The other evening, a walk that should have taken us about 25 minutes took us an hour, because we were moving so slowly. And of course, we had to stop at the outdoor couch. It had our names written all over it.

An Italian Gem

Not that you care, but I’ve been writing my blog entries in a word document, due to limited internet access, and then copy/pasting them onto my blog whenever I’m online…that was just to clarify any confusion around the posting dates. Minor detail; unimportant.

I forgot to mention that a hotty mchotterson totally checked out mom when she, Heather, and I were walking through Venice one afternoon. We were crossing over a bridge and he smiled when he saw her and gave her a very flirty “ciao”!

Currently on the train to Florence! We just had a wonderful couple of days in Vernazza, one of the five Cinque Terre villages. There was a train strike today, but a few started to run later this afternoon, so we were able to carry on and make our next trip, with no problems at all. In fact, we weren’t likely going to head out in the morning anyways.

Vernazza is the definition of quaint, colourful, and relaxed. The train station is literally within the small town; all we had to do was bring our luggage down the stairs from the station, walk down the main street into the main square, and bring our bags up to our room. Our room was literally in the centre of the main square; we had a top-floor room with a window, looking out to the water. The water, marina, and beach were within steps of our door. It was perfect.

We arrived Wednesday afternoon and settled in. Then we sat at the water, and I dove in. There are lots of fun rocks to climb, and it was amusing to watch the more daring jumpers. I simply went off the dock where the boats come in. And the water was so mild and refreshing…a welcome treat after all the sweating in Venice and Verona. We checked out some of the shops, and had an early night. Unfortunately mom wasn’t feeling too well, so I had a solo evening out for dinner. I had the best spot in town to watch the sunset: on the rocks at the water, with a beer and a delicious piece of pesto pizza. (Being so close to Genova, the Genovese pesto is all the rage; I definitely wanted to get my fill while I was there. Also, focaccia breads are really popular in all five villages. Heaven!) Thursday we headed out early to hike the trails between the villages. Our first trek between Vernazza and Corniglia was the most challenging. We took the higher trail rather than the lower one, unintentionally. The sweat and effort were totally worth it for the views. We stopped in Corniglia for an espresso. I really liked it there, because it was so different from the others. It’s fairly high up, and its people are so inviting. We took the lower trail to the next town, Manarola, and it was significantly easier. This town had some great rocks for jumping and swimming antics. We found a shady spot to enjoy our picnic. En route to the next town, Riomaggiore, we stopped at a little café for a cold treat. There was a lovely view of the coast that we took in. This walk was especially interesting, Via della Amore, with a graffiti-filled tunnel, much of it with themes of love. Riomaggiore was a bit bigger than the others so far. I had a laughing fit in the middle of the street, and I thought mom was still beside me. She wasn’t; I was just the crazy laughing girl. This town is technically the first town (and we stayed in the fourth), so then we took the ferry to the fifth town, Monterosso. In order to catch the last ferry back to Vernazza, we only had about 45 minutes there; because of the train strike, we decided to go back to Monterosso this afternoon, as it was the biggest and seemed to have the most going on.

Mom and I had a nice dinner out last night in the main square. We both ordered one of the town specialties – trofie noodles with Genovese pesto. The noodles look so tiny when you see them sold in the stories, but they puff right up and get quite large! We shared a bottle of wine and crème caramel for dessert. Sitting beside us was a fantastic newly-wed grad-student couple from North Carolina; they’re both studying environmental engineering at a school in France. Anyways, they were good company and it was fun to chat with them.
I had an especially memorable moment on the ferry yesterday between Monterosso and Vernazza. I saw a most beautiful family, and I wished I had the chance to tell them so. The bohemian-looking parents had both biological and adopted children, and there was so much love and affection you could see and feel among all of them. It was really heart-warming and gave me warm fuzzies.

I’m sweating again. It’s hot on the train. I’m contemplating changing my clothes…

Isn’t she lovely? Verona is WONDERful

After our opera pseudo-fail, pseudo-win, we DEFINITELY made up for it Monday evening. Stevie Wonder played at the Arena amphitheatre, and we, among others, were able to sit outside of it and listen to the whole thing. He was GREAT.

We arrived in fair Verona Monday afternoon, and settled into our place. First we went to St. Fermo church. It had a lower-level chapel that was beautifully kept; its style was nothing I had seen before: the paintings almost Aztec-like. Then we headed to Piazza Erbe, to take in the market, the bell tower, and Juliet’s house. It was super fun and cheesy to see the famous balcony, and also tour the rest of the house. It’s hands-down the busiest place in all of Verona. After that we made our way to Piazza Bra, got some picnic items, and settled in the little park by the Arena to people watch the concert-goers. Once it started we moved closer and sat at the steps of the venue. It was a fantastic night.

Tuesday we started our day at the Roman Theatre and archaeology museum; I would say this was the highlight of Verona for me (besides Mr. Wonder). There are still some shows that go on there, and the old statues, tombs, frescoes, bronze figures, all continue to fascinate. The views of the city were spectacular there as well, as it’s on the periphery of the old town. After that we went to the Duomo, a red- and white-striped church. Trendy, no? Stripes are the new solids. This church also had two smaller churches attached, one with a baptistery. Also beautiful, and also a lot cooler, temperature-wise, than anywhere else in the city. Our last church stop was St. Anastasia. It’s officially hard for me to keep track of all the churches I’ve seen over the past three years! Some really stand out for me, but three in one city is hard to distinguish. Again, very stunning. It’s hard to imagine all the work, money, and time that go into creating these masterpieces. We headed back to Piazza Erbe to check out the market again, then again back to Piazza Bra, to check out the Arena during the day. After having been inside for the opera event, however, seeing it without the crowds of people and the anticipation of a performance was a bit lack-lustre. After breaking at our little park spot, we went to Juliet’s tomb – another cold retreat – and the Radio Museum. This museum housed over 700 old radios! It was pretty neat to see.

Just after grabbing food last night, we decided to make it a relatively early night, as today we had to be up early, moving on to Cinque Terre. We got back to our place just in time. We had another big rain storm. It must be following us, and nicely, it’s taking a bit of the heat and humidity away too. We sat on the back porch to watch it.

I would like to thank Italy for all its water fountains and benches thus far, that have kept us hydrated and offered us resting places and lunch spots. The people-watching goes without saying. Verona had a very relaxed and friendly vibe to it, and it was a nice escape from the overflow in Venice.
Hope all is well with everyone and that the summer is treating you as it should! xo

Venice the Menace

Venice is a magical place, it is. It is a beautiful, floating city. Five nights was definitely plenty; I wouldn’t stay any longer what with its overflow of tourists and deadly humidity. Walking around each day was like being in a day-long Bikram yoga class – at least that’s how sweaty I felt.

We arrived Wednesday early afternoon, and right away we were introduced to the fabulous boat/bus (vapretto) system. Crammed tight with other recent arrivals and their luggage, we were instantly captivated by the city on water. En route to our hotel, we were warmly greeted by Heather. It felt like a lot of time had passed since we last saw each other, but at the same time not that long ago. Gosh it was great to see her again! After dropping our stuff, our new trio headed off to meander for the day: Rialto bridge and the bustling shops in the area, as well as taking some time to explore Lido island. Mom and I checked out San Marco Piazza that night, and took the vapretto all the way around. Day two in Venice we island hopped – thank goodness for the vapretto pass! – and saw Murano and all its beautiful glass creations, Burano and its vibrant-coloured houses, and Torcello and its, well, lone church and two restaurants. Day three we started at San Marco Basilica – a truly magnificent church with the most amazing mosaic floors, then wandered some backstreets and neighbourhoods: the Jewish ghetto is the oldest in all of Europe. We were in San Croce and San Polo. It goes without saying that all of our wandering also involved shopping. And Heather and I are too good at navigating to actually get lost. The more challenging part is actually finding yourself on the map! Once you have that solved, then you’re good to go. We went to this amazing gelato place called Alaska. All the flavours are made with fresh, organic produce each day, and the master himself is the one with the scoop. Round one I had banana. Round two – roughly ten minutes later – I had almond. Delicious!

Heather and I were back to our typical antics, objectifying men left, right, and centre, and singing to our hearts content. I would place high bets that we were the sweatiest people in Venice. Heath had an admirer on the vapretto, a handsome boat man. He said we were lost and held up her arm to guide us correctly, as he had noticed her fabulous compass tattoo. That, and inviting her to take her clothes off because it was so darn hot: in a non-creepy kind of way! Haha

I bid Heather farewell, early Saturday morning at the train station. We met for espresso and one last I-love-you-so-much-and-let’s-never-leave-each-other-again session. Then mom and I took a day-trip to Vicenza. What a difference from Venice! We picnicked in the park just outside the old town, and then made our way to the centre. It was a ghost-town comparatively; all the shops closed for an afternoon nap. With mom’s guidebook, we toured around, admiring all the Palladio architecture. It was a really sweet town, with friendly people. It was nice to escape the overflow of Venice. There was a most refreshing water fountain that I walked into for a cool-down. Walking back to the train, late afternoon, the city had changed significantly, and all of its people were out for the evening. It was nice to see the change. It was also a bonus to see, as it’s my cousin Diane’s old stomping ground!

That evening we then went to Verona, as we had opera tickets to see Aida at the amphitheatre. This was quite the event! You can’t imagine the number of people wandering about the main piazza. It’s a people-watching event not to be missed! Because mom and I were staying in Venice though, we knew we’d have to leave the performance early, to catch the last train back. Get this: it started spitting out right before we were due to leave, and immediately the show stopped; the orchestra cleared out (my immediate thought was to save the instruments), the lights came on, the 20 000-some crowd started to murmur, and an announcement blared that the show would be suspended until the weather let up. Even though it was barely sprinkling, the costumes, the set, EVERYTHING must be saved. So much for “the show must go on” mentality. Mom and I just left, to see a lot of the performers outside too, on their cell phones or having a smoke break, and we still don’t know what came of the remainder of the evening. We head to Verona today and we hope to hear what happened! The show itself was stunning. I’m always so impressed with the gusto of opera singers. The costumes were dazzling gold and they matched the set. It was my first opera. I’m not really an opera person; it was more the experience that I enjoyed. It was rather a special one too, with the stadium-like feel of the amphitheatre. People come with picnics and there are vendors walking around selling cold beverages and snacks. And the people with the floor-level seats are dressed to the nines.

Sunday mom and I did some more wandering. We went back to Alaska yet again, this time for the big cone. The gelato man remembered us, and we passed a couple more times that day and he greeted us with a friendly “ciao” while serving his other customers. This time I had three flavours: mint, chocolate, and orange and rucola. So fresh – pieces of mint leaf and orange and rucola! Mmm. We went to the Accademia Gallery to take in some Italian art, though it was more religious than I care for, it’s still something to see. That night there was a huge thunderstorm while we were out for dinner. It made a significant difference in the temperature. This morning we actually arrived at the train station without breaking a sweat! Now we're in fair Verona for a couple days!

I should mention that our hotel was right on a canal. We had a little balcony that hung over the water. Friday evening before heading back out we stopped at the room, and I could have stayed for hours, watching all the gondola rides go by. Heath and I may have witnessed a pre- or post-proposal ride, as the gondolier was singing, and the couple had champagne glasses. We thought it best not to shout out our congrats, in case that wasn’t what happened. There was one gondolier that was particularly handsome, and he saw me at the balcony and motioned for me to jump in the boat. He had his one arm stretched out to me and the other over his heart, and blew a kiss as he rounded the corner. Definition of cheesy? Hahaha The next morning, mom and I saw him again! His face lit up when he saw me, and he said he was heading to the Rialto Bridge. Well, that was our destination too! We had to catch the vapretto though, but our timing worked out because we were able to wave once again from the boat as his gondola arrived. It was quite the scene, as the boat crowd witnessed his “return to me” gestures. Haha I’ll take it. He was so handsome!