If you've read this post you'll understand why I'm just now getting these pictures up...
*I just finished this post and I think I'm going to enter it to win the Guinness Book of World Record's contest for longest blog post ever. Seriously, enter at your own risk.
Kyle and I took a very special vacation to the beautiful country of Italy back in September. There wasn't a special occasion - there were several. It was sort of a belated "yea, residency is over," + belated 5 year anniversary + we're in between making/nursing babies - trip. Of course we found out we were pregnant the week after we got back! What timing!
Anyways, we ended up with slightly over 1200 photos, so thought we'd share our favorite 1100 with you here. Okay, a few less, but still a lot. I have every intention of putting together a proper photo book of our trip, but I still have to finish Rebecca's baby book and it takes priority. So, just in case it never happens, at least our trip will end up in our end-of-the-year blog book. And let me just apologize up front there are going to be a lot of comments like, "this was really cool/important but I can't remember why"...
I have to start out with a little story about our flight from JFK-NY to Rome. We were on a huge plane (2 seats, 3 seats, 2 seats) an we were the 3rd row to the back in the middle--so we had a great view of what was going on. Interestingly, the plane which was 100% filled was made up of 20% Hasidic Jews (orthodox and mystical sect that wears all black, long dress coats, wide-brimmed hats and sidelocks (long, curly side-burns). We had the pleasure of sitting next to a young Reformed Jewish guy who was connecting in Rome for a two week religious holiday/vacation in Israel (as were the Hasidis) and he was very fun to talk to and very informative. We pretty much talked to him the entire flight. Anyways, we noticed pretty early on that the Hasidis (almost all men) were less than compliant with the directions given them by the flight attendants. There would be no sitting down and buckling up until they darn-well pleased. They congregated in small groups up and down the isles - think musical chairs without the chairs. They did a lot of fidgeting with their hats. Off and stowed in the hat boxes in the overhead bins, then a minute later, back on, then repeat. At one point we hit some pretty bad turbulence and the attendants asked everyone to sit down - no one budged. Then the pilot came on and repeated the request. That's when we started timing. It still took over a minute for everyone to grab a seat and that only lasted for 5 seconds before a few got up to retrieve (or put up?) their hats. Our friend wasn't surprised at their behavior - saying their culture is very isolated and doesn't tolerate outside authority well. Yes, indeed.
And then we arrived! I was so excited I kept punching Kyle in the arm and actually hurt him a little...
Here is Kyle studying up on some italiano in the airport in Rome while we waited on our shuttle. We of course appreciated that most people in the travel industry speak English, but we also used the handy trick of speaking in Spanish, making the end of each word a "sing-songy-er", and using our hands a lot. Worked like a charm.
Fighting off the jet-lag with a little cappuccino (the national breakfast) before we started Rome-Tour-Mania a la Rick Steves. Thanks Vincent and the Arena House for the vouchers!
First stop: the Colosseum. Just as impressive as you would imagine. I think I remember we learned a lot here...The "Flavian Amphitheater" was an engineering feat but all the details are Greek. Most of what is missing was carted off in the Middle Ages for other buildings. The Emporer's Box and Box of the Vestile Virgins, below-surface elevator shafts and trap doors - all just like the movie Gladiator!
FYI: Christians weren't martyred here. That was usually done at the Circus Maxiumus down the road.
Minor history buffs that we are...we kept saying things like - can you believe _______ walked here???
A close-up of a section of the Arch of Titus (along the Via Sacra almost to the Roman Forum). It commemorates the Romans sacking Jerusalem in 70AD. They're carrying away spoils, including a menorah. They're very distinct, but I can't seem to keep this Arch and the Arch of Constantine straight. Constantine's commemorates his battle at the Milvian Bridge (he attributed the win to the vision of a cross in the sky he saw the night before). And thus Christianity was the state religion of the western world.
I'm pretty sure we were really impressed with this door. It's bronze, and really really old. Like 1700 years?! It's part of the Temple of Romulus. (Remus and Romulus - brothers - were supposedly the founders of the city of Rome. There are tributes to them everywhere. They're usually pictured as two twins sucking a she-wolf. Nice, huh? The myth (mingled with some historical facts) is actually really interesting.
Really old and still standing.
The one with 7 visible columns is what remains of the Temple of Saturn.
All in all I found the Roman Forum overwhelming. There is 1000 years of Roman history - the rise of the empire (500 years), the Pax Romana (200 years), and the fall (300 years)...Julius Ceasar, Augustus, Brutus, Vestal Virgins, lots of other famous good guys and bad guys, the Senate and birth of democracy...lots of things the western world is based on (and doesn't even realize it)....all from right here. That's a lot to take in.
Hedge of Remus and Romulus and the She-Wolf.
Hedge of Remus and Romulus and the She-Wolf.
Detail on Trajan's column - 190 meters tall, tells the story of his victories. Build almost 2000 years ago.
How cool is that?
I was proud of myself for this picture. We're on top of the the Vittorio Emmanuel National Monument - not that impressive in itself (and only 100 years old), but gave us a great view of the city.
Paying homage to Rick Steves, with Constantine's Arch and the Colosseum behind me.
That was the end of day one. We went to Capitoline Hill too, but the museum was closed. And didn't make it to the Palatine Hill. Those just begin the list of things I had planned on seeing in our jam-packed schedule that we didn't see. I have a lot of work to do at getting better letting vacation to-do's go...
Bright and early the next morning at the Vatican Museum. We had a little transportation issue getting there (late bus, should we just take a cab???, running, running, running, mysterious/wrong ticket/paper, Vatican guard who took pitty on us)...
This mummy is nicknamed "Ginger". She is from 3300 BC. Wow is right. She still has hair and fingernails. Wow again.
This is a poster outside the Sistine Chapel of Michaelangelos' The Last Judgement. I am a rule-follower so while others snapped forbidden photos with their phones (signs and guards made it clear that photos were a major no-no) we just listened to our audio tour and took it all in. As much as I loved (and was a little obsessed) with taking photos. I sort of enjoyed places where we weren't aloud to because I could relax and enjoy it a little more easily.
The Chapel was definitely one of the most interesting places we went. From how he painted it (not lying on his back on scaffolding as is told), to the fact that Raphael was painting his rooms right down the hall at the same time, to the symbolism, mistakes, self-portraits...just fascinating.
The Laocoon (1st century AD).
Before they found his arm, they always thought it was reaching straight out.
The Belvedere Torso - Michaelangelo was around when it was dug out of some Greek ruins and brought to the Pope. He supposedly stared at it a long time and sketched it a lot and it inspired a lot of figures in his later work.
So, this purple marble stuff is really cool. Apparently, it's so hard you have to temper the tools to work on it. The Greeks knew how and then the art was lost for like thousands of years or something. Kyle - help me out here... Anyways, This is one of two tombs that Constantine had built for his daughter and mother (both reported to be Christians). For some reason they were never used. Did they not like?
Bacchus (the Roman god of wine) - can you see their eyes? These have been restored. We see white marble statues (Greek and Roman) but when they were made they were all painted to the hilt - bright colors, creepy real eyes. As a side- note, I think it was at about this point in our tour that we learned that all the really cool stuff was done by the Greeks and the Romans just did really good copies...Am I wrong?
Somewhere in the Gallery of Tapestries...this depiction of Jesus (Papal symbol in hand) was creepy - his eyes followed you.
This ceiling is from the Gallery of Maps. The maps were cool (they showed the history of the Roman Empire in picture), but the ceiling was incredible. It appeared entirely 3-dimensional, from every angle, but it's not. It's all done with paint. No relief work. No plaster. It goes on for ever and the detail is amazing.
I personally was really fascinated with all the stuff about Constantine - the historical impact of this guy is pretty staggering. This tiny portion of the ceiling in one of the Constantine Rooms shows a greco-roman statue on a pedestal knocked down and replaced by a large crucifix. I think the symbolism is pretty clear. Painted by one of Raphael's students.
Now we're in the Raphael Rooms. This is probably his most famous fresco (paint into wet plaster) - The School of Athens. Everybody who is anybody of ancient days is featured: Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Epicurus, Pythagoras, Euclid/Archimedes and Ptolemy. You can't tell from my photo, but this fresco takes up an entire wall - a huge one.
Raphael painted a self-portrait of himself as Apelles (Greek painter)--he's the one in the middle looking at us. Michelangelo and Raphael loved to put their contemporaries faces "acting as" their characters. Michaelango put his face on St. Bartholomew's body in the Last Judgment.
This is supposed to be Michaelanglo.
Plato and Aristotle.
Close-up of Jesus in Raphael's The Transfiguration. Supposedly, the last thing he painted (ever) was Jesus' face (the rest was finished by his students).
St. Jerome by Leonardo da Vinci (unfinished). If you look closely you can see a square outline around his head - this portion was cut out, lost, and rediscovered and reattached. It was being used as a seat-cover of a stool in a shoemaker's shop.
This was the "holy hamburger" we ate in the Vatican cafeteria. I'll admit that I added the cross on top. Seemed appropriate.
Model of St. Peter's
One of the famous Swiss Guard. I was under the impression their uniforms were designed by Da Vinci but apparently that isn't true. Cool, and very old, nonetheless.
St. Paul
Bernini designed the square, the Doric colonnades and the 140 saints (his favorites) that line the top. Here, Jesus is in the middle.
The Baldacchino - bronze canopy also designed by Bernini, covers the Papal Alter over which St. Peter's body is reputedly buried. Let's take a little break and talk about Senor Bernini. I was particularly fascinated with him because of reading all the Dan Brown books (I know, I know). Anyways, he was a pretty interesting dude. Pretty much succeeded Michaelangelo as the best sculptor of the day. He (along with a guy named Boromini-his rival) pretty much invented the Baroque movement. His relationship to a specific Cardinal and the privileges it afforded him is where we get the word nepotism - that was Cardinal Borghese - whose estate is now the famous gallery that houses the coolest statue we saw...Apollo and Daphne - more on that later. Anyways, the guy had his hand in everything - St. Peter's, famous square and statues throughout Rome.
The foot of the statue of St. Peter inside the Basilica. His toes are worn down from people touching it (after waiting in quite a line) for a blessing.
An actual Pope. Apparently they were doing some work in the crypt and noticed he was particularly fresh so they brought him upstairs and put hi in a glass case. He looked like a skinny, beardless Santa.
One of the main reasons to come to the Basilica - Michaelangelo's Pieta - Mary holding Jesus after the crucifixion. Interesting things: very little indication of the Passion of Christ (only small wound in side visible), and Mary's face is really really young looking.
Michaelangelo finished it when he was only 25.
More of the cool purple marble. You can see that it's so hard that after hundreds years of being walked on it it hasn't been worn down like the other marble surrounding it.
More Swiss Guards.
St. Peter statue (huge!) - always pictured with the keys to the Kingdom.
Finally a picture of us, right?
Castel Sant' Angelo - we ran out of time and didn't go inside. This place has been everything from a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian, to a citadel, prison and residence of popes when times were rough. It got its name from the Pope who was visited by the Archangel Michael there. Oh, and (of course) Bernini did the bridge/statues leading to it.
Touring nuns. Loved the variety of habits (outfits). Also liked seeing them with Rick Steve's book and massive cameras just like all the rest of us.
The Pantheon was covered in scaffolding for a little face lift. Built by Hadrian (Castel Sant' Angelo guy) in the first century.
The coffered ceiling to reduce the dome's weight. The only light came in through the oculus at the top. Think huge huge huge dome.
This is Raphael's tomb inside.
Back outside for a night walk around, well, all over. This is the armadillo (yea Texas!) in the Four Rivers Fountain by, you guessed it, Bernini, in the Piazza Navona.
The four great rivers: Ganges, Danube, Nile and Plate. All sorts of symbolism and legend, such as one of the statues being veiled because he faces a building designed by Bernini's rival Borromini - to show his dislike. How rude. (Once again, history proves legend to be interesting, but not reliable since the fountain was completed 2 years before Borromini started work on the church.)
Statue of Bruno in the Campo di' Fiori. He was burned at the stake for herresy (can't remember what variety). Now atheists and "freethinkers" like to congregate here. And Roman youth. And tourists. He was a fiery character to say the least.
Back to the Pantheon on our night walk.
The famous Trevi Fountain. Sooo new by Rome standards (1700s give or take). But really cool. Had something to do with commemorating the reopening of some of Rome's aqueducts.
The nighttime crowd at the fountain. Lovers and people trying to scam lovers into paying exorbitant prices to have their picture taken.
Where the Spanish steps are. Lots of recent history: Keats, Wagner, Goethe all frequented the spot. Keats died in apartment #25 directly across from it, and Lord Byron lived at #66.
Another aquaduct-powered fountain by Bernini - The Sinking Boat.
Another Remus, Romulus and the She-Wolf.
Next morning, bright and early (after a LONG night walk), we're at the Borghese Gallery.
Sad face. No cameras inside. Favorites by Bernini: David actively wielding a sling-shot, The Rape of Porsepine (incredible movement), his self-portraits, and our most, bestest favorite: Apollo and Daphne. The pictures don't due it justice and the myth is pretty fun too. We finished the tour earlier than our 2-hour allotted window (by the museum, not us) and Kyle just HAD to go back for another look. Never knew I married an art lover! The leaves her fingers turn into are so thin the light shines through them - through the marble! And supposedly, they ring like crystal if you tap them. Also, saw some creepy Caravaggio, more Raphael and Titian.
That's not an accident. That bus is driving right by that tiny car parked perpendicular to the curb - it's that small.
Santa Maria Maggiore Church. More purple marble.
More relics - remnants of the actual manger. Yep.
Bernini's tomb. Over on the side of what's pictured above. You'd hardly notice it if you weren't looking for it (which we were). Marble steps (that don't go anywhere) and a simple Latin inscription. Interesting for a guy who brought about the bigness and emotion of the Baroque period.
Again, no pictures inside, but really cool. Priscilla was a wealthy land owner and she let the early church bury their faithful in her land. (This is in the middle of Rome now.) Something like 140,000 people buried here. Only a small portion has been excavated and is open to tours. Incidentally, Kyle swears he saw a random jaw bone. And our tour guide sounded like the priest from the Princess Bride.
The pink Vespa of my dreams.
St. Peter-In-Chains (San Piedro en Vincoli) Church. Maybe more famous for Michaelangelo's Moses that is part of a Pope's tomb he was commissioned to do than the relic chains. This guy is angry (just found his people worshipping a golden calf) and huge (would be 13 ft. tall if standing). Famous for his horns (an old mistranslation of what should be "rays of light" and his beard, and for the chip in his knee that is rumored to be where Michaelangelo through his chisel at him saying "Speak, damn it, speak" when the project wasn't coming along as he wanted. Ironically, the tomb took Mr. M 30 years and the Pope wasn't even buried here.
Two sets of chains. One supposedly from when Peter was in prison at the Mammertime Prison (in Rome - we saw it, but the tour was stupid expensive so we skipped) and the other from Jerusalem when Peter was imprisoned by Hero. Clink! The chains are a perfect match!
This wasn't on my radar until we walked by it and I looked it up in my book (and later, sad face, realized it was closed)...the Scala Santa (Holy Stairs). Supposedly, the 28 step staircase inside the doors behind me were brought to Rome from Jerusalem by St. Helen (Constantine's believing mom). And not just from Jerusalem, from Pontius Pilate's house, which means Jesus walked up them during his trial. Like most of these "facts" around Rome, there are issues, like the fact that this fact can't be traced back further than the 7th century. Regardless, people climb up them on their knees for penance. Interesting.
Ahhhh. A relaxing dinner in Trastavere - the "grittier" side of real Rome, south of the River. We wandered around this neighborhood for a long time. Super cool. Actually felt authentic. Even though we weren't the only people there trying to conceal our travel guides... Oh, and the food was amazing. I almost died over the pecorino romano (cheese) and honey. (Up until this point, most of our food at been so-so street food, so this was a real treat.)
Whew. You worn out yet? "Accidentally" bought first class tickets for our train ride to Florence. Don't worry, this would be the last relaxing train ride we'd have. Snack anyone?
Beautiful Italian countryside from the moving train.
Ah. Florence. I'll confess I have no guide book for this part of the trip so everything I write truly is from my memory...not that I cheated at all in any of the descriptions above.This is the view of the Ponte Vecchio from an open window from the Galeria Uffizi.
Love this. An old-timy horse-and-carriage in front of an upscale Chanel store.
The guy who wrote Pinocchio was from Florence, we think.
Street artist with classic oil paintings of Tuscan landscape and of course Leo Di Caprio who is not from Florence or anywhere else in Italy.
Towers dot the skyline from where competing families had their palaces/compounds.
Pretty sure when people decorate with Tuscany in mind, these are the colors.
This one might have been from the Pitti Palace, but I can't be sure.
Darn those bars.
The bronze "Gates of Paradise" on the Baptistry. Actually copies - the real ones are being restored in a museum. This was as close as we could get.
The main square at night.
The food. More importantly - the gelato.
The famous gold-smithing bridge (which use to house mostly butcher shops).
A shop all closed up. They just prop up the wooden window covers and start selling!
Our sunset over the Arno River couldn't have been any more beautiful.
And it kept changing.
Our posh hotel. A splurge, right in the middle of all the action. Still can't really pronounce it.
The lucky bronze boar - his nose his shiny from people petting it for good luck. Right up there with St. Peter's foot.
The Galileo Science Museum. Very interesting - crazy old scientific instruments, etc. The cartography section was my favorite. But I have to admit I was wanting more about the crazy life of Galileo which was sadly missing.
On the ground right outside. Some sort of sun dial.
The bridge during the day.
Brunelleschi's Duomo and Giotto's Campanile (bell tower). Really cool white and green.
The Baptistry with the Gates of Paradise. And to think our church baptizes at Deep Eddy. :)
Bronze all over everything. This guy's head is shiny as it all should be.
Oh, the shopping. Wine, olive oil, pesto, leather, leather, leather. Had fun running around like a chicken with my head cut off looking for "travel sussies" for the grandparents to thank them for taking the kiddos for the week.
Copy of the Michaelangelo's famous David - outside in the main plaza. The original is inside the Accademia dell'Arte (no pictures allowed.)
His hand is disproportionately large. Apparently, he was supposed to be on top of the Florence Cathedral and the scale would have been right for being seen from so far below. He never made it up there.
Throughout our trip we saw things that were supposed to be incredible that honestly didn't live up to the hype, and other things we adored that we had never heard of. The David is just as incredible as it's suppose to be.
I have to admit that after seeing The David in the museum (it's right in the front hall), we decided to forgo the rest of the tour. We were arted out. I couldn't even muster the energy to finish my Florence to-do list! Lots of famous people's graves, villas, palaces, etc. went unvisited. Gotta save something for next time, right? On to Cinque Terre...no museums, no art, no schedule (mostly). Just a sketchy couple of train rides away.
The view of Riomaggiore (the southernmost of the 5 villages) from our window at the Hotel La Zorza. We arrived the nigh before in the rain, but it cleared up beautifully. (We shared* a plate of "fried little fishies" - a local delicacy for dinner. They had eyes. *I didn't eat any.)
Um, wow, this picture is really out of place. But I'm too tired to move it. Here we are the morning before we flew out trying to capture one good photo of both of us in front of the Colosseum.
Okay, back to Cinque Terre.
We started here...
And took the train to here (the northern most town)...
...to start out hike. Lovely beaches. Too cold to enjoy.
Would have like to come back to eat at this place had we had another night. It has "Tortuga" (turtle) in the name which is all I remember.
My goodness.
Love all the colors.
Little "train" carrying bins of grapes and a few vineyard workers up the steep incline.
The Spanish Galleon started off far away and got closer and closer, but it put its sales down.
Speed boat escorts.
View coming in over Vernazza. Probably my favorite of the five towns.
Just like a post-card.
Crazy packed with tourists.
We ate at a little cafe right where the pier juts out into the water (you can see the umbrellas clustered together four pics up). Believe it or not, this was the first sit-down lunch we had had since arriving to Rome on Monday (it was Saturday)...that's how hard and fast we had been going.
The boats and the umbrellas the the buildings all sort of match.
Women were drying sand they had died or use in souvenirs right out in the middle of the square.
About as close as it got.
Windy!
The man was the real deal. Working on his nets.
And on to town #3: Corniglia.
Looking back to Vernazza.
Flouring cactus with the ocean below!
Beautiful grapes. There were vineyard workers selling fresh-picked grapes (wine rejects we're guessing) along the trail.
Looking down was just terrace after terrace. Lots of work to work these hillsides. I guess the view makes it worth it.
Traded in my pink Vespa for two matching red ones.
Right after we saw the Vespa's, Kyle got to "play doctor" to another tourist who fell and sprained her ankle pretty badly. They had already called an ambulance so she could get it x-rayed and there wasn't much he could really do, but I think it made her feel better that a doctor was there.
The trail between Corniglia and Manarola was washed out so we took the train. Crazy stairs down to the station.
Not a bad view while we waited on the platform.
Probably the least impressive of the towns. Cute nonetheless.
Not bad in the sun. Look how directly into the cliff those buildings are built!
Heavenly.
And here we are at the beginning of the "Via Dell Amore" - Walk of Love. It's the most open part of the train (and short) and connects Manarola to Riomaggiore. It's said that if you put a lock somewhere along the trail you're love will be secure forever.Our bags were heavy enough without packing a pad lock.
Our bags were heavy enough without packing a pad lock. And we forgot.
We couldn't have planned the time of day any better. Sunset was simply spectacular.
Here we are back in Riomaggiore. After a few more sunset shots we went back and cleaned up before a really nice dinner right on the edge of the water. I ate mussels - can you believe it?
Sunset light is sooo cool. Same time of day as above.
This was our view when we ate dinner. I branched out and ate mussels! And also the pesto that the region is famous for. Interestingly, the state CT is in is called "Liguria" and that was the name of my favorite restaurant in Santiago when I studied abroad in Chile. I had no idea it was a region in Italy.
Here's my best shot at getting the requisite "I'm holding up the tower shot". It was my job to direct Kyle so his hands would look good. I didn't do a very good job.
This picture shows all the tourists standing on the little whatever-you-call-those to get the same picture (that's not the tour behind them, but the baptistry).
Sometime in the 90's the tour was straightened out a bit - to it's (fomer date) leaning degree. It's not the leaningmost building in the world, but the oldest done on accident. That truly is all there is to see in Pisa. We ate at McDonalds. Ahhh...respite from the street panini.
Giving the ol' train station ticket machine a "we got you, man!" fist because we finally figured out the system, sort of. At one point, I think on our way to CT we got on a train at someone else's rushed direction (we were running and trying to ask for help in Italian), we realized we were on the wrong train, so grabbed our bags and tried to get off but the train started moving. We were stuck. Then we realized we were on the right train after all. Other than that first blessed first class ride to Florence, that's pretty much how our train travel was. So, feeling like we overcame the system means a lot!
The flight back was uneventful and a lot harder to tolerate comfort-wise I guess because we weren't being entertained by the Hasidis and we weren't all pumped about where we were going. Don't take that to mean we weren't super excited to get home and see the kids. We were. And the travel bug was taken care of, at least for a while. The kiddos did great, but the grandparents all needed a spa vacation!
There you have it. Or, there I have it, because I'm sure I'm the only one who has/will read this whole thing. What a great trip. Truly. Viva Italia!
