Italy 2004 - Florence

Travel Diary

Day 9: Rome to Florence

Steve wrote:

We caught a cab to the train station for our trip to Florence. The "Termini" is a sprawling, bustling place, much like an airport. There are information booths, but the people there don’t speak much English, so you have to find your own way. The first info person we asked said that our train left from Gate 4, but all the signs indicated Gate 5. We put our faith in the written word and got on the Eurostar at Gate 5, with others who were also confused. Since we had purchased a first class ticket, we sat facing each other on the window in seats that were quite comfortable. We were able to store our suitcase at the head of the car and put our carry-on items overhead.

After a smooth and quiet 90 minute trip, we arrived in Florence. We got a cab to the Hotel Hermitage, just a block from the Pontevecchio, the famous bridge that crosses the Arno River. We climbed a flight of stairs to the elevator with a sign that reception is on the fifth floor. As the elevator opened, a bellman stepped out and said he would take care of our bags while we checked in. We were a little leery until we saw the videocameras and knew that they had seen us coming. We went up to reception and by the time we got to our room on the second floor, the bellman had already put our luggage inside.

We unpacked and went to the tour office to pay for our 3:00 tour of the Uffizi Gallery. The tour offices were behind the hotel and could actually be seen from our window, although we didn’t realize it at the time. The Uffizi Gallery has the greatest overall collection of Italian paintings anywhere. You can see the development of art from the Medieval era, which was flat with no perspective, to the dimensional works of the Renaissance, where the figures looked more human and natural. WAY too much in the gallery to describe, but a tour worth taking, even if you don’t get to see everything in two hours.

Rosemary wrote:

This is a very interesting town for walking. People swarm in the streets, and cars must move very carefully to get through the crowds. The streets are narrow and winding, and tend to change their names every few blocks. In fact, there is no such thing as walking around the block. Streets fork and fork again, going off at odd angles. Every wide spot where two or more streets meet is a piazza. It's a windy city, cooler than Rome, but it's not cold enough to require a sweater at night.

Steve wrote:

At the suggestion of some friends, we had made a 7:30 reservation (it was when they opened for dinner) at Il Latini, a local favorite. We arrived about 15 minutes early to find 100 people standing outside what appeared to be a small family restaurant. By 7:30, the crowd had grown to about 150. A man came out of the restaurant, with cries of “We’ve got reservations” coming from all sides. He paid no attention (personally, I think they only PRETEND to take reservations) but we were finally able to get close to the door and were ushered to a long table of for eight, with four chairs on each side, filled with three other couples, each sitting across from the other. One of the couples was Italian and spoke no English, but the other two couples were American. We were in for an unusual dining experience!

There were two jugs of wine of red wine and a couple of loaves of sliced bread already on the table, but no menus. A waiter came by and recited a few antipasti - prosciutto and melon, and a couple of different soups (there were more, but we never got to hear them) - and we each made a quick choice on the spot. Pretty soon, plates of food started flying in as if out of nowhere. We had no idea what was going on, be we ate, drank some wine and started to talk to our American tablemates. No sooner had we finished than the owner came by with a couple bowls of some different soups for us to try, and so we did.

The waiter then picked up the empty plates and bowls and told us about three different pasta courses for il primo. Again, we made our selections and plates started arriving. We still had no idea what was coming next or what all of this would cost, but by that time, we had decided to just go with the flow and waited.

Next came the waiter with our choices for the main course, or il secondo. Roasted beef, pork, lamb and chicken, or sausages with beans and a couple of more. We made our choices and he asked if we wanted some mixed vegetables for the table. By this time, we had learned to just say “Yes” and plates started appearing with HUGE hunks of meat, plus plates of carrots, mixed peppers and two kinds of beans. Now I know why the Romans invented the vomitorium.

We all ate as much as we could, but there was plenty left on our plates. We had eaten and drank ourselves into a stupor, unable to move without assistance, when our waiter showed up. “Dessert”, he proclaimed, not asked. Again, there were several choices and, surprisingly, everyone ordered something. It came with a sherry-like dessert wine. Then the owner came by and put champagne glasses on the table, opened a bottle of sparkling wine (a local tradition) and poured for all of us. A plate of biscotti then appeared. As an added bonus, each couple was given a bottle of private labeled red wine. At this point all the men were wondering, “How much is this going to be? Do I have enough cash? Do they take credit cards?” But we asked for the checks anyway. On each check, although there were other items pre-printed, the owner checked the "Chef’s Special Dinner", for a cost of 80 Euro, or about $100. (The tasting menu we had in Rome cost about twice as much, with about half as much food.) We paid the bill, left a good tip and wandered out to the street for the walk back to the hotel. We weren’t sure we were going to like this restaurant when we got there, but it was great fun, good food (and lots of it) and great people at the table.

Rosemary wrote: The experience reminded me of the big dinner scene in Fellini's Roma.

Time limitations prevented us from visiting the Galleria dell'Accademia where Michelangelo's sculpture of David is kept. We had to settle for this small copy outside the Palazzo Vecchio (under major restoration, like so many of the buildings we encountered in this city).

Steve poses with the Pontevecchio in the background.

The Pontevecchio ("Old Bridge") originally held butcher shops and grocers, but in the 1400s they were replaced by gold and silversmiths.

A day and a half in Florence is not enough, especially if the day is Monday, when most of the the galleries and museums are closed. However, the city is like a huge outdoor museum, with lots of public artwork, including many highly decorated buildings, some dating back to the 15th century (or earlier).

The cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, known as the Duomo, was built during the 13th and 14th centuries. The original facade was destroyed by fire; the current one was created in the late 1800s.

One of ten panels by Lorenzo Ghiberti for the eastern door of the Baptistry, known as the "gate of Paradise".

Inside the Basilica di Santa Croce.

Galileo's tomb in the Basilica di Santa Croce.

At the Loggia dei Lanzi, this Giambologna sculpture of Hercules battling a centaur is one of several violent images on display.

At the Mercato Nuovo ("New Market") the snout of this 1612 bronze boar fountain is kept polished by tourists who believe that rubbing it will bring good luck. The market isn't really new, having been built in the 16th century. Boar sculptures are found throughout Florence, modeled after a famous marble sculpture of ancient Greece.

A river otter in the Arno.

Detail on the facade of the Duomo.

A statue of Dante outside the Basilica di Santa Croce.

This is one of many interesting buildings in Florence.

"The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian" by Andrea Sel Sarto at the Duomo museum in Florence.

This "Pieta" was one of the last two or three sculptures by Michelangelo. He probably intended it to decorate his own tomb. After smashing it because one leg had broken off, and because the marble was defective, he let a servant take the pieces. The servant sold them to someone who had them put back together, and now the statue resides in the Duomo museum.

This statue of Liberty by Pio Fredi stands atop the tomb of Giovanni Battista Niccolini at the Bascilia di Santa Croce in Florence.

Travel Diary

Day 10: Florence

Steve wrote:

We started the day with a continental breakfast at the hotel and tried to sketch out a plan for today. A lot of things of interest are either closed on Monday or, as we found out the hard way, close early in the afternoon. We set out up one of the main streets to Il Duomo, or the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. We knew from walking around the night before that there were many designer shops and other expensive stores, which were now open.

Rosemary wrote:

This town certainly deserves its reputation as a shopper's paradise. All the designers of clothing, jewelry, and home fashions have shops here. Especially clothing. The styles on view in the windows are several months ahead of what we will see at home. There are also shops selling amazing-looking sweets. We aren't interested in buying anything, but it is great fun to window shop.

Steve wrote:

We came to one shop that sold glass objects from Murano in Venice that were quite nice, including a multi-colored glass guitar for about $15,000, but since we are going to Venice, we decided to wait until we got there to buy anything (nothing that pricey).

We stopped at a few interesting churches and piazzas on the way before reaching Il Duomo (The Dome). The outside of the church is multi-colored, with paintings, carvings and statues. We went inside, forgoing the 500 steps to the top of the dome, and also went to the museum across the street, which houses works by Donatello and Michelangelo. We had some lunch and continued our tour. We tried to see Dante’s house, but it was closed for renovation. We then tried to see Michelangelo’s house, but it closed at 2:00 PM. The Accademia, which has Michelangelo's "David", is closed, so we never got to see that either. Next trip, we will make Monday a travel day!

Rosemary wrote:

We also tried to go the National Museum, but it closed at 1:00 PM. We found our way to the Basilica di Santa Croce, known for its Gothic architecture and Renaissance artwork, and especially for housing the tombs of many famous people, including Michelangelo and Galileo.

Steve wrote:

We found a gelato stand (there are more here than in Rome) and sat down in a piazza which had some statues showing more violent images than we had seen previously - Perseus beheading Medusa, Hercules killing a centaur, the rape of the Sabine women.

Not wanting to walk all over town in search of a restaurant for dinner, we consulted the book we have been using by Rick Steves. A note to travelers: we've been using Rick Steves' books in the three cities we've visited so far and find them excellent. They are up to date, very informative, easy to follow and written with a sense of humor. We've seen other tourists all over town carrying them, and I highly recommend them.

We found the restaurant and had a good meal. We were harassed by the usual street musicians who came, played a couple of songs poorly and left after collecting a few Euros from the crowd. There must be some “Street Musician Fakebook” that everyone uses, because every time we heard "Over The Rainbow", they played the exact same phrase incorrectly. But after dinner, walking back to the hotel, we heard some music that sounded like a live orchestra. We followed the sound to the “violent” piazza that we had been to earlier and found an outdoor "West Side Story", the ultimate American musical, followed by some Beatles' songs and the theme from "Il Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo", also known as "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly". Quite a pleasant surprise! We bought some gelato for dessert and listened to the rest of the concert, a perfect end to our day in Florence.

 

Italy 2004 - Naples, Pompeii and More of Rome

Travel Diary

Day 7: Pompeii

Steve wrote:

We left an early wake-up call, had some fruit we purchased from a local market and went downstairs to be picked up at 7:00 AM for an all-day trip to Naples and Pompeii. The van made a couple more stops to pick up some others and went to the Green Line offices to meet our guide and get on the bus. Our guide was Antonella, who was quite charming. We sat behind the old couple from the Vatican Tour, who we nicknamed Edith (after Edith Bunker) and Charlie (he reminded me of my Uncle Charlie, but not in a good way). Edith answered every question with a story and Charlie couldn't understand why he couldn't get any baseball scores. Don't these people care about Major League Baseball?

Although mostly Americans, there were several Japanese tourists as well, so Antonella shared the mic with a Japanese guide. Upon arriving in Naples, we were joined by Franco, who narrated in English and German for the two German speaking women on the tour.

Rosemary wrote:

Naples: At last, a city whose traffic is worse than Los Angeles. This time-consuming side trip could just as well have been skipped. We also had the traditional souvenir stop at a cameo shop. Nice, but very, very pricey.

Steve wrote:

We went on to the “new city” of Pompeii, erected since the last eruption of Vesuvius in 1944 - for the 7th time. It's like people who build homes in the flood plain, get wiped out in a flood and rebuild in the same spot. We stopped for lunch at a decent, but not great, restaurant where a major disappointment among my fellow travelers was that dessert was an orange. Pardon me, but I just paid about $140 for this trip and dessert is an orange? No chocolate mousse, no cake, no gelato - an orange? Unfortunately, this was not the worst part of lunch, especially for us. Rosemary "rolled”" her ankle and it started swelling immediately.

Rosemary wrote:

I called for ice, and spent the rest of lunch time with my foot elevated. The ankle was painful and swollen, but after the long bus trip I would not miss Pompeii, so I limped through the three-hour tour. It was disappointing not to be able to hop over the stones and dart spontaneously into nooks and passageways. But there was still plenty to see.

Steve wrote:

I wasn’t sure that Rosemary was going to make it, especially when we had to climb steps to get in and immediately had to climb an uneven pathway with large rounded stones (the originals, by the way) to get into the city. But Rosemary was determined and leaned on me for leverage to get up and down steps, curbs, etc.

Pompeii was destroyed when Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. The city was covered in ash and other volcanic matter and not rediscovered until the 1700's by early archeologists. It has been a working "dig" ever since. What has been uncovered are the remains of a thriving city, with homes, shops, public baths and even a brothel. There are the "usual" piazzas with columns, statues, etc. and some art still visible on the floors and walls. Franco led us through the city in about two hours, but it could take days to examine everything. We might not have gotten everything or every potential picture out of the tour because of Rosemary’s injury, but it was still a unique experience.

The trip back to Rome was uneventful and by the time we got back to our hotel, it was almost 9:00 PM. Surprisingly, the swelling in Rosemary’s ankle actually seemed to go down and she was able to walk carefully without much pain. As it was late, we had dinner and then went back to the hotel. The laundry we had sent out yesterday was in our room, but missing two pairs of pants. We notified the front desk and hoped that they would show up the next day. As it was nearly 11:00 PM, we went to bed. No scheduled plans for tomorrow, but there are a few things we’d like to see before leaving.

Day 8: Rome

Steve wrote:

We slept until about 9:00 AM and got a call that our pants had been found. Rosemary’s ankle was somewhat better, so the day started pretty well.

After breakfast, we tried to keep our walking down to a minimum, so we took a cab to the National Museum. More amazing sculptures, some in better shape than others, ranging from the 1st century AD, some mosaics and frescoes that had survived and a history of Roman money from before the birth of Christ.

We had lunch at "Ciao Bella" on the Via Veneto - great pasta dishes, a little pricey but, hey, we're on vacation.

We tried to visit the Cappuccin crypt down the street, but it was closed for repairs until 2005. Instead, we took a cab out to the catacombs, ancient burial sites. The tour was led by Father Owen, a Catholic priest from England. We saw how the earth was dug out to a depth of about 100 feet, saw the spots where the bodies had lain and evidence of tablets describing the deceased and his family, including the remains of a woman from about the 3rd century.

Rosemary wrote:

It was cold and damp in the catacombs - very refreshing after the summer heat above ground.

There was no good way to get a taxi back into town, so we decided to take the bus. You can't buy a bus ticket from the driver (who is enclosed in what looks like a bulletproof case), but must have one before entering the bus (and then validate it in a little machine inside the bus). Tickets are sold at newsstands, tobacco shops, etc. We managed to get one from the gift shop just as they were closing. The buses are designed for standing, not sitting, and are driven just as terrifyingly as taxis.

Steve wrote:

We caught the first bus which took us far enough back into town where we could catch a cab back to the hotel to shower before dinner. Speaking of which, what’s up with the Italian showers? There’s no partition, no curtain, just a handheld shower head in an open tub. It’s literally impossible for an adult to take a shower without flooding the entire bathroom.

But I digress. We were going to try this seemingly fancy restaurant around the corner at Piazza di Popoli, but right across the street on the steps of the church was an outdoor concert of gospel music. We listened to one song and couldn’t take it. Decided to cruise the neighborhood and saw a couple of restaurants down a side street/alley. Stopped at one of them for a really great meal.

We bought some gelato on the way home and stopped in the Piazza to eat it. By this time, the gospel concert had broken up. We had seen the building of a large stage, lighting riggings and speakers in the Piazza but had not been able to find out what it was for. We spoke to one of the stage hands, who said that they were working on a >operatic concert for Wednesday. I would guess that the Piazza would hold 10-15,000 people, so this was a pretty big deal. Too bad we’ll miss it.

Naples is a densely-packed city with terrible traffic problems.

From Naples, we can see Mt. Vesuvius.

Castel dell'Ovo (viewed through the bus window) is a 12th-century fortress.

The city of Pompeii was covered in hot ashes from the volcano Vesuvius
in the year 79. Excavations began in the mid-1700s and continue today.
The city was further damaged by bombing in World War II and an earthquake in 1980.

Frescoes decorate the interior walls of many houses.

Many homeless dogs live among the ruins, surviving on handouts from tourists and water that collects in the old fountains

This sculpture stands in front of the of "House of the Faun".

Bodies decomposed inside the hardened ash and left hollows which could be filled with plaster to reveal the appearance of the victims at the time of their death.

Stepping stones built into the streets allowed pedestrians to cross when the streets flooded.

Floor mosaics were popular.

The red brick sections are modern restorations.

From the entrance to the ancient city, we can see the modern city of Pompeii.

Ceiling art in the public bathhouse at Pompeii.

A dog of Pompeii snoozes on the marble tub at the baths.

Rome: The Arch of Constantine commemorated the victory of Constantine over the army of Maxentius in 312. It is 21 meters (69 feet) high and 26 meters (85 feet) wide.

Vatican: The "Holy Door" is kept shut by being bricked up on the other side. It is opened for special Jubilee celebrations, and is scheduled to remain closed until 2025.

St. Peter's Cathedral: The mummfied bodies of several popes are on view.

A mosaic of ancient Rome in the National Museum.

 

Italy 2004 - Rome, Part 2 of 2

This ceiling in the Vatican Museum looks like it is covered with sculptures, but the designs are actually two-dimensional paintings.

The huge crowds make it difficult to move, see, or take pictures.

Rosemary and a friendly lion in the courtyard of the Vatican Museums.

As you stroll through museums and cathedrals, never forget to look up.

In the foreground, a cosmetically-enhanced, official portrait of the emperor Claudius. In the background, a more realistic look.

St. Peter's Basilica is the largest church in the world. It is filled with works by some of world's greatest artists. The dome was designed by Michelangelo.

Tradition tells us that throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain will assure our return to Rome.

This entrepreneurial fellow will take your digital picture
and print it on the spot.

"Roman soldiers" can be found at most crowded tourist areas,
working the crowd for photo opportunities.

The Spanish Steps rise from the Piazza di Spagna (named after the Spanish embassy that is near here) and are approached through one of Rome's most fashionable and expensive shopping districts.

The view from the top.

You don't have to be Spanish to enjoy the Spanish Steps.

With the Colosseum's floor gone, we can see the corridors and dressing rooms below.

These tiny "Smart" cars are barely big enough to carry two adults (without any baggage). They are popular in Rome and other Italian cities with narrow streets and limited parking.

Michelangelo designed the Piazza del Campidoglio, but did not live to see it finished.

We enjoyed lunch in this sidewalk restaurant on the Via Veneto.

The Palazzo Massimo is a national museum known for its fine collection of sculptures, mosaics and frescoes. This discus thrower is a Roman copy of an ancient Greek sculpture.

This elaborate sarcophagus dates from 180-190 A.D.