March 31st:
On our way once again! This time the adventure led us to Venice. My mother and I woke up early, ate breakfast at the hotel, and I was off to class. As soon as my classes were finished, we went to catch the bus and train connections to take us to Venice. This city is something that no one should miss; the spirits it inspire are unlike anything else. Due to the fact that everything was stressful up until my mother arrived, I made the reservations for our stay in Venice. I was somewhat nervous to see how the hotel turned out. It has been my experience that many hotels in Italy are very unpredictable. Luckily for me, the hotel I picked happened to be perfect. The Bisanzio (Best Western) Hotel, which I did not know was a Best Western at the time, turned out to be perfect for us. The hotel was not far from gondolas and main attractions which was helpful. We arrived in Venice later in the evening, and dropped our bags so we could find some dinner before it got too late. We asked the receptionist for a recommendation, and made a very persistent attempt to find the place. The streets in Venice are very small and never predictable, so we never did happen upon the restaurant. Instead, we found a small, very obviously local place. They were slightly skeptical to seat us, as we would be their last table of the night. When the waiter came over, I tried to speak to him in Italian but he was impatient and just told me to speak English. I was a little put off by his attitude but we had to eat and things were starting to close. As the meal went on, he relaxed a little and, I think, realized we were not going to be complicated for him. After a very well prepared dinner, we made our way back to the hotel for the night. My mother had been interested in going to see Murano while we were there, so we asked the receptionist the easiest way to get there. Murano is a large island close to Venice that is very well known for glass making. My mother was interested in a chandelier. Luckily for us, the hotel had a deal with the glass makers on the island. They would come by boat and pick up any guests of the hotel and take them over to Murano and then bring them back. My guess is that this was the best way for them to advertise.

April 1st:
So the next morning we caught the boat to see the glass making. When we arrived we were given a tour and small demonstration of how the glass was made. It was very interesting to watch, it was impossible to make the glass without at least 3 people helping, the technique was so precise. It took them almost 30 minutes to make one very small round cylinder, decorated of course.

After the demonstration, we made our way into rooms and rooms filled with beautiful glass everywhere. There was a sort of guide with us, he was in charge of showing us around and helping us should we be interesting in buying something. It was funny though, because every time we looked at a piece for too long he was right there to ask if we need the price or wanted to purchase it. Similar to a hawk, watching our every move! Now I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not, but without even knowing a price my mother is somehow always drawn to the most expensive things. I am pretty sure that every chandelier we looked at was “one of the most expensive ones we have.” We looked around there for a little while longer and then decided to explore the island a little more; we wanted to see the other glass makers on the island. As we walked from one shop to the next, she did find one that she liked significantly more than the others. However, she said that she “could spend that kind of money” without my dad seeing it.
We caught a water taxi back to Venice and still had some time left in the day to walk around and see some of the sights. When we walked into St. Mark’s square, I told my mother to look up and see the angel. I told her the story of how Dr. Webb told us all that should we get lost, just find the angel. She thought that surely all of us could find that. As silly as it sounds, that is what helped me in the end. At this point, it was mid afternoon. We had made reservations to see an opera later in the evening, but weren’t sure if we would be able to eat after. We were walking along and decided to stop in a small place to get a drink and maybe antipasta. The service and food were so good that we changed our plans while there. We just stayed and shared a meal. Since we were enjoying ourselves so much, we lost track of time.

By the time I looked at my watch, we had 30 minutes to pay get back to the hotel and then make it all the way to the opera. Tightly squeezed, and with much haste, we made it just in time. The opera was small and not at all like I would have imagined. That particular night they were doing a compilation of a few different operas all in one. It was very entertaining even though I could not understand anything they were saying. Maybe that is what made it more enjoyable, just listening to the tones of the vocals. After the show we were tired from all that we had done during the day that we went straight to bed when we got back to the hotel.

April 2nd:
Friday morning, we still had not figured out what we wanted to do for the remainder of the trip. We packed up and made our way back to Sansepolcro to plan the rest of our trip. It was funny how everything seemed to work out so perfectly even though it was all planned at the last minute.

Saturday March 27^th:

Mommy Arrives in Italy! A much anticipated day, good thing it came faster rather than slower. After a confusing and expensive situation, my mom managed to arrive in Florence. We took a group excursion to Assisi for the day and I met my mother in Florence later that evening when we got back. It took a bus and train and much eagerness before I was there. I am really enjoying Italy but it was so relaxing to see my mother, she just seems to make everything better. She has this weird way of making me level headed when all is going wrong. It’s really nice, she re-grounds me.

When I met up with her, I had been anticipating her telling me she had so much trouble she had and how everything was going wrong, but she didn’t. She managed just fine on her own in Florence, I was surprised, not because I didn’t think she could do it. I was over worrying and I think sometimes that keeps me sane. It must have been her charm and willingness to ask questions that helped her out. When I got to the train station, she called my cell phone and told me where to meet her, under a sign in the train station. I was looking but didn’t see her, but I guess she saw me because I heard her whistle. It is hard to describe this whistle, I can only say that it is an extremely familiar thing and my mom and dad can do it. I immediately could not stop smiling. We hugged for some time and then decided to get a move on. We walked for forever to get back to the hotel, Loggiato Dei Serviti.

After unpacking our bags, my mom and I went downstairs and asked the receptionist for a recommendation for dinner and headed towards his pick. We found it with no trouble; we walked into a small door that opened into a narrow room that seemed to go on forever. The room was so long, and from the look of the door it did not seem possible. We were immediately seated and brought water and white wine. As a side note: my mother never drinks…never, so this was quite a shock for me to see. We ordered antipasta of salami, cheeses, and bruschetta. I had lasagna, which was a first for me since I arrived in Italy. My mom ordered veal, she said it was good but I don’t think it was her favorite. Our waiter was very cute and spoke enough English, along with my bit of Italian. Too bad he didn’t have any family in Sansepolcro ;). My mom suggested we ask him out after he got off of work, but I quickly grew chicken feathers. We finished dinner and returned to the hotel for the evening. Waited patiently for the computer in the hotel, the Wi-Fi was not working. Made all of our necessary calls home, giving everyone the confirmation that we were still here.

Since my mom arrived in Italy, she had been trying to find anything close to American coffee. I warned her that it would not be possible to find it here, but she insisted it was possible because of all of the tourism. I told her a cappuccino was probably the closest thing she was going to find. This became her quest for the trip. Once we got back to the room, she was telling me about her first “caffe” experience. She went into a coffee shop close to the hotel and asked for coffee, he gave her espresso. She said she wanted to say “you’ve got to be kidding me.” As her story progresses I am laughing at her. She told me that the man knew she was confused with the coffee so she asked him for some milk and he made her a cappuccino. She told me that this whole time he was snickering to himself and she could help but be completely confused. At this point, I am just about falling off the bed laughing at her. I told her that I knew this would happen and told her she should have ordered a cappuccino from the get go. For once in my life, since I am rarely right, I could say “I told you so.” She just rolled her eyes at me and said she would have another go at it tomorrow. This lack of coffee was an issue because she is used to having coffee every morning. She tried caffe, caffe latte, cappuccino and a few other variations of the same drinks. It was amusing from where I was sitting; I just stuck with a normal cappuccino.

Sunday March 28^th:

Sunday morning was a later start that we wanted, which I really enjoyed. Since I have been in Italy I haven’t been able to sleep in much. It ended up working in to our benefit because the shops did not even start opening until around noon. We walked around Florence for a bit and did some light shopping. We walked by the Duomo of the Florence cathedral and just stared at it for a few minutes. It was even more beautiful than I remembered. The elaborate detail is so overwhelming; it must have taken quite a long time to complete. After wandering around the city for a bit, we made our way to the train station. I felt so empowered to be able to know exactly what I was doing, and be the navigator for my mom.

It was a nice change of roles. Once in Arezzo, we had a short wait for the bus to Sansepolcro. When we were waiting on the bus, this man passed by the bus and I knew he was getting on. I explained to my mom that he was on the 7:15 bus every time I have ever been. He must work in Arezzo somewhere, but it is funny because we recognize each other. It is almost a greeting eye contact. After all of that traveling, we were relaxing at the “Magi”; a hotel in Sansepolcro that is not too far from the Palazzo Alberti. We unpacked our stuff in the wonderfully lavish room. Took a stroll through the town and stopped into the Fiorentino to have dinner. The food was phenomenal, but I wouldn’t ever expect anything less. The Fiorentino is always a wonderful and memorable meal. We tried to get a good night sleep because I knew we would be waking up early, the street sweepers are great for that.

The Cinque Terre Cont.:
Saturday March 20:

The great adventure continues!! I am not sure why I have been perpetually waking up way too early, but I have. Once again, we met for breakfast at 8 a.m.. Luckily for Kayley and me, we arrived in time to snag the last two chocolate croissants. After a full stomach, we headed back out for another day of surprises. This time we were headed to Corneglia . The train ride lasted only a few minutes and we were there. Since we had finished there the previous day, it was back to the trail we went. This trail was more rigid and less unified than the previous two. The trail between Corneglia and Vernazza was the longest of them all, measuring roughly 4 kilometers. I now know I they were trying to ease me into the stretch with the previous “walks”. This was far from the kind of “walk” I was used to. Steeper and steeper inclines, uneven stones and the best of all… the most magnificent views; what a way to take your mind off your aches and pains. I could not have imagined that that would happen. It seems to me that this was a moment for reflection. This beautiful town was dew covered, calm and simple ( or so it appeared). It had me fooled – thank fully. As we walked, with the morning fading away, it became considerably warmer and the town became more lively and awake. This leg of our journey however took the longest time but it was worth it.

Vernazza is one of the cities of the Cinque Terre. It is one that sits at sea level unlike the others that are up in the mountains of ____. Vernazza is beautiful and quaint. We watched the waves as they powerfully splashed against the rocky shoreline. Kayley kept trying to get pictures of the waves in mid-motion. All this walking (hiking) had built up our appetites so we stopped for a little gastronomic diversion. We happened upon a foccacia shop – yummm. I had the onion foccacia though I’m not sure if it was because I was starving or not, or if it was because we were in Italy, but it was DELICIOUS. After the foccacia, it seemed only right to follow it up with gelato!! A cup of stratchatella and chocolate later… then top it off with a cappuccino (the gastronomic experience seemed to never end). All this and we were still holding out for the next city to stop for lunch. After thoroughly exploring the city of Vernazza, we moved on to our next city. To our disappointment, the path to Monterosso was closed due to recent bad weather. So, like any explorer would do, we chose a different route, via the train to Monterosso. This is another lower lying city situated right on the beach. We had worked up an appetite and Kayley’s dad had made reservations at a (Michelin Guide Book eatery ) “2 Forker”. We found the restaurant with little difficulty! RISTORANTE MIKY, fine dining at its best on the sea side. We ate like kings and queens, literally. I ordered lobster scampi, getting the unexpected! When my meal arrived, there was a small bed of lettuce under a HUGE, full lobster and four fully headed prawns. I had hoped that my lunch would be slightly less complicated but it didn’t really matter much. I greatly enjoyed the food and the companionship of Kayley and her parents. How else to top off a great meal, order dessert. We ordered crème puffs with chocolate and cherry sauce. Could eating get any better? I don’t think so. I’ve always heard it is best to take a walk after eating a great meal and this was no exception. As we walked, it was not hard to really look at the city and its beauty. I’ve never thought of myself as a particularly beach-needy person before until I didn’t have it available. This beach particularly drew me in and the rocks screamed by name. Kayley laughed at me because I kept putting rocks in my pocket. Once she asked me how many I had. There were too many in my pocket to fit in one hand! Hope the Italian government doesn’t find out that I’m taking a little bit of Italy home with me. Interestingly, walking around the city, I noticed many homes with ivy meandering its way up the walls. My impression of Monterosso was one of it being a very peaceful and welcoming place. It was not overpopulated with tourists or densely populated with residents. Everything had its place.

Inviting is the word that I would describe it to be. I would love to return again.

Around 4 p.m., we hopped yet another train on our adventure and headed back to La Spezia. We were all so exhausted from the full day we decided to have a cappuccino in the hotel bar and relax. Once back in our room, Kayley and I napped and napped. We then decided to watch some TV. While I’m not sure why, I suddenly felt a burst of energy (probably the cappuccino) and could not sit still. I begged her to do something with me…anything. She refused. We watched a little more TV. An Italian show about mermaids was on. Kayley will lie but she enjoyed it. When the show ended, I was once again bored. Never leave me alone when I’m bored. I decided to be creative and use some of the hotel shampoo and fill the sink with bubbles. Quite interesting I thought. I then took a shower cap, put it on my head and made myself into a Bubble Medusa. Kayley was incredibly impressed and laughed at me for a while. I could tell she wanted to be a Bubble Medusa too but I said NO, there is only one Bubble Medusa in this twosome. So…I then cleaned up the mess and went to bed.

I had a wonderful time with Kayley and her parents. What an adventure!!

Bologna Continues...

Bologna cont.:

As our day in bologna continued, we wondered around the city and happened upon a fountain. The Neptune fountain! This fountain is located in the Piazza Nettuno. This fountain was commissioned by the cardinal legate for his uncle who had just become Pope. The fountain was designed by Tommaso Laureti in 1536. I especially liked this fountain, because it is seem so outrageous for the time period that it was constructed in. The women have water spouting out of their breasts. I find the fountain quite beautiful, but I am still shocked that it was accepted.

Not far from the fountain was the tower. Kayley insisted on climbing it, while I wasn’t too keen on the idea I decided it couldn’t hurt. The tower we climbed was one of 2 towers still standing in bologna. Due to Kayley’s extra project on towers, I have found myself looking for the towers everywhere we go. This tower was the straight one, the other is leaning but it is not climbable. Consisting of just about 1000 steps up and down, I am definitely getting my workout in. as we were climbing the stairs remained constant, unlike some other buildings we had climbed. Once we arrived at the top, the views were spectacular. It was nice to look out and see the entire city in its entire splendor. Until it began to rain and at that altitude, the wind was picking up as well. And then….. It began to SNOW! So that was that, we descended back down to the ground. At this point we moseyed our way through the streets heading back to our bed and breakfast. We were all so tired that we decided to be true Italians for the night…… take a nap and go to dinner really late!

We woke from our nap around 8:30 or so and head out towards the college district of Bologna to find something to eat. It was quite intimidating, we hadn’t seen that many Italians our age in a concentrated area yet and I speak for myself when I say I was being stared at. We finally came to a place that looked good enough, walked in and sat down. The place was filled with young people ranging from 18 to 25. We sat patiently and tried to not look so much like Americans, although it was hard to mistake. I ordered a pizza that was quite tasty. Half way through our dinner a large group of Italians came and sat at the table closest to us and began playing cards. They were extremely loud but it was interesting to see them interacting and I realized that we are not all that different after all. On our way back to the bed and breakfast, we kept ourselves occupied by glancing in all of the bars we happened across and the nightlife that was increasing as the hours did.

Saturday morning, we woke up slightly later that we had wanted to. We stopped in for a cappuccino and croissant from our new found favorite place, and then we were off to the train station. We were heading to Ferrara!! Once we arrived in Ferrara, we were greeted by an extremely lovely castle and moat in the center of town. Before exploring the castle, we decided to have a look around the market which was very close and small. The venders were less likely to bargain, but we attributed that to the fact that they didn’t need to. They don’t have any competition in the city. I purchased a few knickknacks and we were on our way.

The Castle Estense is one of the oldest castles that still have a moat around it. This castle has 3 entrances with drawbridges. These are still there, but they have been permanently left down. The castle does have a tower; however I did not climb it. I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed with the castle once inside. The exterior is so beautiful and I thought that surely there would have been something staged inside to make it look as it would have. It did not!!

The only thing of great interest to me in the interior was the ceiling décor. The ceilings were elaborate and detailed.

After leaving the castle we mingled around the city! Seeing that there was nothing left to see we headed back to bologna. I’m sure you can guess, but next came another nap!! YAY.

Dinner came next and that is a evening all unto itself.

Bologna

Bologna:

Thursday March 4:

We left for Bologna Thursday afternoon around 3:30. Kayley, Hilary, Kelsey and I were off on our first travel break! Once we arrived in Arezzo, we took a train the rest of the way to Bologna. The train only lasted an hour and half. Unfortunately we had assigned seats and we had to kick someone out of our seat. This made for an interesting ride though. He was a young guy about 20 or so, he was in military attire. Hilary kept saying how sorry she felt for him and that she felt bad kicking him out of our seats. She even suggested that we all squeeze together so that he could sit with us. He was sitting in the aisle and I kept reminding them to speak quietly since we were all talking about him. They informed me that he could not hear us because the door was closed, however when he made a call on his cell phone, we could hear him. I laughed at Hilary, and she then resorted to “oh, well maybe he doesn’t speak English” which is a ridiculous assumption. It did suffice for the time being though. Meanwhile we continued to discuss how cute he was and were staring at him through the glass; must have been awkward for him. We never did find out if he spoke English, but either way I’m sure he didn’t mind. Once we arrived in Bologna we were met by Kyle, Hilary’s boyfriend, who accompanied us to the bed and breakfast we were staying at. The bed and breakfast Baroni was very nice; that is once we found it. It took us quite a while to weave through all of the little streets, but we made it there. We were given 2 rooms, one king bed and one with three single beds. The rooms were clean and the family running the B&B were very nice and homey. Although Kayley does not think it is true, I am convinced that the beds were temprapedic imitators, they were extremely comfortable to say the least. Once we were settles in, we decided to go out in search of food; the woman running the B&B gave us a suggestion. It was not one of our most memorable eating experiences, the food was good but it didn’t impress otherwise. After dinner, we were all so tired from traveling and wanted to be well rested for the coming day, we retired for the evening.

Friday March 5:

We woke at 8am to breakfast in our rooms. It was simple, some nutella and toast, but definitely nothing substantial. While the B&B was extremely safe and clean, it is not the place to go if you are excited for breakfast, because you will be disappointed. We got ourselves together and decided to find something else for breakfast. We happened upon this amazing place called La Raquette Caffetteria Aperitivi, we had the best cappuccinos and chocolate croissants. To add to that, it was really inexpensive. We then visited the oldest university in the world, the University of Bolgna. It was so interesting to see all of the old classrooms and all of the crests on the walls of all of the former students. We even eavesdropped on a tour group; the guide was telling them that one of the crests had come from an American that had come to Bologna to study there. The university was built in 1563 and is called the Archiginnasio Palace. The university was built by an architect from Bologna named Antonio Morandi. We were able to go into the classroom that was used for teaching about surgery and any medical classes. There was a piece of marble in the center of the room that the professor would use to show examples of medical procedures to the students. The university is still an acting university and there were parts of the newer university that we could not go into because they were for current students. I think that would be interesting to attend a university and have someone giving a tour on the other side of campus. It seems ironic to me!

After that we popped over to see the Archaeological museum. That museum was mainly focused on Egyptian and ancient artifacts. There was art from the prehistoric age, the Etruscan age, the Gallic age, and the roman age. As we were concluding the museum I happened upon an alligator that had been preserved in a way so that every part of it was still intact. I also saw mummified cats and dogs, quite interesting. I am not really sure what to think of that, on one hand they were taking their pets with them to the afterlife and on the other they were wrapping them up to bury with them. The museum had a fountain in the main courtyard, it had a small child and inside the fountain there were fish. It was raining that day and it looked so peaceful and serine with the rain hitting the water with the fish in it.

Lunch…… A whole other world of yummyness!!!

We ate lunch at a place called Cesari, it was wonderful! Kayley spotted the restraint because it had a Michelin sticker on it, indicating that it was recognized in a guide book. It was a wonderful meal and the price was moderate. The setting was quaint and family style.

Until next time, we will continue with the rest of my exciting day!!!!!

Florence/ Siena

Cont. Florence:

We woke up on Sunday, being our last day, and had breakfast. I finally decided to try the orange juice, I tend to be a little skeptical of orange juice sometimes. It probably comes from the fact that I have been raise on Florida oranges. We left the hotel and headed to the train station to store out luggage for a while. Concluding that task, we set out to visit the Uffizi museum. My favorite painting from the whole of the Uffizi was The Venus of Urbino. This painting was done during the renaissance by Titian. It captures many of the classical renaissance techniques, and is simply lovely. The painting is balanced and the artist has a good understanding of proportions.

We then ate lunch at The Oil Shoppe, recommended by one of Hilary’s friends. This is a small sandwich place that seems to be the most popular spot for a quick sandwich among young people. We were running late to catch out train back so we ate on the go. We arrived at the train station just in time to hop on our train. Then there was time to relax and get ourselves collected. We arrived back in Sansepolcro late that night and I went straight to bed.

Siena:

We departed for Siena on February 27^th, Saturday. We took a bus that morning at 7am to Arezzo and then from Arezzo to Siena. The whole trip there took around 2.5 hours. Once we arrived in the city, Bekah directed us to get a city map. This is the only city I have been in where we had to pay for a city map, 50 centesimi. I will definitely be keeping it as a souvenir. Bekah then took us on a mini tour of the city, while leading up to the main Piazza del Campo. We learned the story of the Palio, the great horse race between the different areas of Siena. We were able to see all of the different flags and animals associated with the different sections of the city. The different areas are called Contrade. The Palio is held twice every year during the summer.

We decided to go to the Palazzo Pubblico first, since it was extremely close. Once inside, we were trying to buy our tickets and we realized that we could buy a combination ticket that would allow us to visit multiple places on one ticket. As I am sure you can assume, we went with that option. So the Pubblico was first on the list. The Pubblico is the town hall for the city of Siena. This palace was originally supposed to house the republican government of Siena.

The exterior of this building has many features that make it of distinctly gothic architecture. This is the tower of the government building, and then the church has a tower. The story is that Siena believes in the balance of power between the church and the state. So they each had towers constructed, and they seem to be the same height but that is all relative to where you are in the city. The bell tower on this building was originally constructed to be taller than the one in Siena’s rival city of Florence. For a long time, it was the tallest tower governmental. Inside the Pubblico there were many interesting things. It was filled with tons of frescos. My favorite art of the Pubblico was the balcony. On the balcony, you can see most of the city and it had absolutely picturesque views. This must be the place where postcard pictures are taken!

The next stop on our list is FOOD! We were getting quite hungry and decided to get something to eat. Kayley had visited Siena about 4 years ago and I quote “had the best gnocchi she had ever tasted,” as you can imagine that is where we had to go. Osteria Boccon del Prete was the name of the restaurant that we went to. I am not sure what I ordered exactly, but when it came out it was noodles and a meat sauce. I was very pleased. However, Kayley who couldn’t live without that wonderful gnocchi was exceedingly disappointed. We all informed her that there could have been a chef change or management change. It had been 4 years since she had been there. This invited fun conversation though. The restraint was nice, nothing exceptional, but still quaint.

After lunch we went to the Duomo Museum. We climbed the Duomo Nuovo, which was an extended wall of the nave that was never finished. The interior, which is not enclosed, is now a courtyard. The nave was supposed to be added to make this cathedral larger than the one in Florence and it would have been, had it been finished. Are you sensing a theme? Siena and Florence are always competing!

Next we took a peak in the Baptistery. It was not all that impressive to me, but the detail in it was incomparable.

After that we moseyed through the city, did some shopping and took our moments to be the master photographers. Later we made it back to catch our train. Upon arriving back in Arezzo, we grabbed something quick to eat at a restraint not far from the bus station and then caught the last bus back into Sansepolcro. Overall, I think the trip was AMAZING!!! It is always nice to be able to talk about something in a class and then see it for yourself. The same with pictures, they never seem to do the view justice.