The winery was host to a tasting, tour, and an amazing lunch. After trying two different white wines and a red wine, we were given a tour of the wine making facilities. We then were seated on a covered patio to enjoy an Italian lunch together. After anti pasta of brushetta, barley risotto, salami, caramelized onions, and focaccia, we were served this amazing local soup known as Ribollita, in place of pasta. Ribollita is a dense, savory Tuscan bean soup. Called "ribollita" because it is generally made in large quantities and then literally "reboiled," this soup is actually designed to be leftovers. One of the best parts of eating this soup was that we poured extra virgin olive oil on top and then added fresh grated parmesan cheese – it was an amazing addition to this meal. After the soup we were then served baked ham and roasted potatoes, followed by honey wine to dip biscotti in and of course, espressos. For my first day in Italy, it was a memorable location, a nice opportunity to catch up with the Bride’s mother (whom I’ve known since I was 7), and a fantastic introduction to Italian cuisine.

Anti pasta as part of first Italian lunch

After we purchased wine and left the winery we stopped by a market to do some grocery shopping for our week at the villa. It was hilarious watching this large group of Americans descend on this modern day Italian grocery. You would have thought we’d never seen food or wine before. We all proceeded to fill our carts with cheese, meat, bread, fresh vegetables, desserts, water, and cheap wine. It was quite comical as we were given about 20 minutes to do this all in.

Day 4, Tuesday October 5th – Visiting Pisa and then the Wedding

We were up quite late (4:30 am) drinking wine and hanging out on our Villa apartment patio. So the few hours of sleep we received before starting our 2nd day in Italy was not enough, but it was going to have to do. We had a big day planned, visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa) and then the reason we were in Italy to begin with – a wedding. After making breakfast at the villa we left for Pisa around 11 am, five Americans very happy to be on the road, visiting a world renowned site none of us had ever seen in person. We detoured at the McDonald’s drive-thru, apparently the need for hot apple pies momentarily outweighing our need to be tourists (these pies were fried, like they used to be in the States before grease became unhealthy, and they were some pretty good pies I must admit).

We finally parked and walked to the Piazza del Duomo, a golf-course-green lawn which houses four white buildings that make up Pisa’s religious center, the duomo (church), its bell tower (the Leaning Tower), the baptistery, and Camposanto Cemetery. It is now known as the Campo dei Miracoli, or Field of Miracles. We really only went to see the Leaning Tower, which is over 200 feet high, 55 feet wide, and leans at an 85 degree angle (nearly 15 feet). There are 8 stories, and you can climb to the top for $15 Euros and a two hour wait in line. The tower was built over two centuries by three different architects. It was finally closed in 1990 for ten years to stabilize the building, and has been straightened by about 6 inches at a cost of US $40 million.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa’s first stones were laid in 1173

After wandering around the piazza, taking a few pictures, and purchasing our souvenirs, we left the crowded piazza, and Pisa, and stopped at a restaurant for a big bowl of Ribollita and some homemade focaccia. It was again an amazing treat with the olive oil and fresh parmesan. When we returned to the villa we were notified we had about 15 minutes to get ready for the bus, so we quickly changed our clothes and then boarded a bus to the other villa, La Cappella B&B, for the wedding of our friends Mark and Heather. We arrived with a little time to take some pictures and drink a glass of wine before the wedding ceremony began. The sunset Tuscan ceremony was beautiful, the sun slowly setting in the background, the mist covering the hillside, the small intimate ceremony watched by close friends and family. After this brief but beautiful ceremony, Mark and Heather exchanged vows, kissed, and were pronounced man and wife.

Mark and Heather, the newlyweds

After group pictures we were served some amazing hors de oeuvres (mushrooms on polenta, musky cheese, cheese and salami skewers, brushetta), then seated under lighted umbrellas overlooking the villa pool for a traditional Italian wedding dinner. We moved upstairs afterwards for toasts, speeches, and cake, then danced and drank until after midnight. It was a beautiful night for a wedding, everything about it enjoyable and exciting. Mark and Heather were honored that so many people had traveled so far to celebrate their special day. We were all thrilled to be in Italy.

Day 5, Wednesday October 6th
The Cinque Terre, a remote part of the Italian Riviera

The following day after breakfast and a late start we drove to La Spezia, the gateway to the Cinque Terre (Chink-way Ter-rey), a twenty minute drive from Viareggio, and parked the car so we could walk to the train station for our day trip to Italy’s coastal villages. We passed through the streets of La Spezia, and a piazza with an interesting fountain that reminded us of a female body part. We stopped for some pictures briefly before moving on.

Jules and Janet in front of a fountain in La Spezia

The Cinque Terre (www.cinqueterre.it) is five traffic-free villages with no museums or art galleries, just sun, beach, gelato, swimming, and hiking. You hike from one town to the next, or take a boat, or the train. We did all three, purchasing the Cinque Terre Card Plus Boats for $13.50 Euro. The Cinque Terre is a National Park and Protected Marine Area best discovered on foot. The name terra (land) meant village in medieval times, which is where Cinque (five) Terre (villages) comes from. It is the first Italian park created to safeguard a landscape that has been mostly built by humans.

We walked to the train station and took a 10 minute ride to the first town, Riomaggiore. We exited the train and wandered through the town, down through the marina, to the boat launch. We had unfortunately just missed the boat, so we decided to hike to the next town and grab lunch. The weather was beautiful, low 80’s, and it was sunny and slightly breezy. We followed the signs to the Via ‘dell Amore and walked the 20 minutes to Manarola (the second village) on a wide easy path, enjoying the sun and wind on our faces, and the flowers, cactus and agaves lining the cliffside path.

By the time we arrived in Manarola and wandered around this tiny picturesque town, we were ready for lunch. We stopped and purchased some Tuscan pottery before settling on an open air restaurant, Marina Piccola, overlooking the Ligurian Sea. We ordered white and red wine, and some amazing seafood. I had scampi with penne in a curry sauce. It was such a light creamy curry flavor, just delicate enough to go with the white wine and scampi. I had a moment of pause with the scampi as it stared back at me (the scampi still had the heads on and I had to remove them before I could eat my meal). Afterwards, we then waited for the boat to take us to Monterosso, the last of the villages, where we had our first gelato (pistachio flavor for me), wandered around this seaside resort, enjoyed a beer on the beach, and then took a train back to La Spezia.

My brother Dan enjoying his lunch in Manarola, a cool Cinque Terre mural in the background

Day 6, October 7th – Hanging around the Villa Le Rociane and Viareggio

We ran out of energy today. While everyone was in Florence my friend and I hung out at the villa, writing postcards, sunning ourselves by the pool, enjoying our patio, planning our four days in Florence. The villa was not the most beautiful place to stay, but it was pretty comfortable and very usable. We all had individual apartments that held 2-6 people with kitchens, living areas, and patios. The swimming pool was nice and the grounds were surrounded with fruit trees: figs, apple, olives, grapes, limes, oranges.

A cool wall in our villa, Le Rociane

In the afternoon we took a taxi into Viareggio, a renowned international seaside resort, known as the Pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea. We walked along the beach, had some gelato (lime flavor this time), and window shopped along the Viale Carducci. We stopped for snacks and drinks at a very modern bar playing American music and tried a Campari with soda (a very Italian, very bitter aperitif) and a Bellini (peach and champagne), another Italian cocktail. It took us nearly an hour to locate a taxi (and only after Jules asked the front desk at one of the hotels to call us one) and return to the villa, where we enjoyed a few drinks with our villa mates until bedtime.

After a leisurely morning of breakfast and coffee, Jules and I, along with villa mates Tara and Bret, headed to Lucca, an old Roman settlement, and an intact walled city near Pisa. In its heyday in the 12th century, Lucca had 160 towers and 70 churches. Lucca is surrounded by a well preserved wall with a grid layout town inside. The wall is nearly 4 km and was built with genuine defensive capability before being transformed to its present condition as a park, path, and garden.

We found it easy to wander, get lost, and get found in Lucca. We started in the main piazza, Piazza Napoleone, and enjoyed lunch (my first and best calzone in Italy), before heading through the Piazza San Giovanni (past the Chiesa di San Giovanni) to the Duomo di San Martino. The interior of the Duomo was in part sculpted by Nicola Pisano, and the large interior includes paintings by Tintoretto, Ghirlandaio and Lippi. The most famous item, Jacopo della Quercia's Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto, has been restored as well. Another of Lucca's sculptors was Matteo Civitali, whose Tempietto in the north aisle was sculpted to house the city's most famous and lucrative relic, the Volto Santo (Holy Face) - said to be the "true effigy of Christ" and the focal point for international pilgrimage.

We then headed over to the Piazza San Michele, once the Roman Forum, past the Chiesa di San Michele (Saint Michael), which is the center of town, and the intersection of two old Roman roads, Via Fillungo and Via Roma/Via Sante Croce. On top of Saint Michael’s the archangel Michael stands ready to flap his wings.

Archangel Michael on top of San Michele’s Church

After admiring the crowd, the church, and the archangel, we wandered up to the ramparts (walls) and around the city for a little ways until we came to the Piazza Santa Maria, near the Piazza Amfiteatro, or Roman Amphitheater. With the fall of Rome, the original 10,000-seat amphitheater was cannibalized for its stone. In the last century it was rebuilt in a circular piazza filled with shops, restaurants, and gelaterias (I of course had to have a gelato, so this time I tried coconut).

We left the Roman Amphitheater and found the Casa di Puccinni, a museum and gardens. This is the house where Giacomo Puccini was born in 1858. Now a small museum with portraits, scores, sketches and the Steinway piano at which Lucca's most famous son composed Turandot, just off Piazza San Michele, on Via di Poggio. We skipped the museum part for a tour of the gardens, a delightful place of statues, large fountain, trees and shrubs.

Fountain in Casa di Puccinni Garden

After we left the gardens we ended up back in the Piazza Napoleone, where we decided to call it quits for our day of exploring Lucca. We purchased some souvenirs, then headed back to the villa for an evening potluck with the inhabitants of both villas, and our final night together as a group.

Day 8, October 9th – Goodbyes at the Villa, Exploring Florence

The morning was filled with packing, cleaning, and saying goodbyes. Lots of tears were shed for friends departing back home, and fond farewells were passed around as we all headed in different directions throughout Italy for either the final days of our trips, or for Jules and I, the beginning of the second part of our adventure. We headed to the train station in Viareggio and barely caught the next train to Florence, the first stop on our four city tour.

After Jules and I arrived in Florence and checked into the Hotel Caravaggio we had 30 minutes to find the Medici Chapel, the first place we had reserved on our long list of museums and churches. The only problem was that we somehow got confused that the Medici Chapel was located in the Pitti Palace, a 25 minute walk away, and so when we showed up to the Pitti Palace we realized our error and missed our 3 pm reservation for the Medici Chapel. Regardless, Jules and I bought tickets for the Galleria Palatina (Royal Gallery and Apartments) in the Palazzo di Pitti, a lavish Florentine palace commissioned in 1448. We wandered through palatial rooms filled with masterpieces by minor artists and minor pieces by masters, and then through the royal apartments filled with large chandeliered rooms adorned with antique furniture and tapestries. Afterwards we purchased tickets for the huge landscaped Boboli Gardens and wandered around for several hours. The gardens were built in 1550 by the second owner of the palace. From atop a garden building originally used to house pots and vases known as the Casino del Cavaliere, we enjoyed the Tuscan views from the rooftop garden, known as the Knight’s Garden. Today the building houses a Porcelain Museum.

Path in the Boboli Garden at the Pitti Palace

We left the Pitti Palace, located in Oltrano, south of the Arno River, and headed to the famous Ponte Vecchio (Vecchio Bridge), filled with shops selling Florentine gifts and jewelry. We stopped to take a picture of the Arno River and I noticed all these locks hanging on the side of the bridge. I found out later that traditionally the locks are put there by young lovers and the keys thrown into the river to show their commitment to each other.

View of the Arno River from the Ponte Vecchio in Florence

From there we wandered through the Piazza della Republica, another old Roman Forum, and once the center of the Roman Empire. Florence was the capital of Rome from 1865 to 1870, and this large square marks the intersection of two main roads (Via Corso and Via Roma). We followed Via Roma past Piazza di San Giovanni and Piazza di Duomo, home to the Sante Maria del Fiore Duomo, the Baptistery, and its bell tower (known as Giotto’s Tower). We ended the night with a lovely dinner of vegetable soup and a simple tagliatelli with ragu.

I discovered one of the things I don’t like about Italy in Florence – crowds. Tourists everywhere, in your way, in front of you, in back of you, waiting in the same lines, going to the same restaurants. I also discovered that Italians, like most Europeans, have no concept of personal space or courtesy. Characteristics, to an American, that go against everything we are raised to believe. First of all, I have a boundary around me and the people in my life that I cross either randomly, or friends and family, do not get into my buffer zone when walking, when standing, when talking, when site seeing. They allow me the privilege of not being smacked into when walking down the street. They allow me the privilege of standing in line with a space around me instead of being pushed into and crowded. And they allow me the privilege of site seeing, taking pictures, and looking at a view without walking in front of me, ruining my photo, or ruining my view because they need to see it too, and their need is apparently more important than mine. Secondly, Americans are some of the most courteous people I have ever met. They open doors for you. They stop and let you take a picture without walking in front of you. They wait for you to look at a spectacular Tuscan view and move along before coming to stand in your spot to see that same view. Italians and most other European and Asian tourists do not have that same courtesy, or that same respect for personal space. And while I can appreciate that we are all different, I can’t say that on these issues that I care for it much.

On a different note, Florence was different than I expected, and definitely different than the villa. Where as the villa was quiet and not a lot of traffic and noise, Florence was a bustling city, not a big one, but a crowded one, filled with tourists, narrow streets, and lots of cars and motorcycles. But what was most surprising is that everywhere you go you stumble across a little piazza, hidden between buildings, or a big one, like the one near the Duomo. I discovered that I really liked Florence despite all the tourists and crowds and lines.

Day 9, October 10th – Exploring Florence, the Medici Legacy

Florence is a city surrounded by rivers, the Arno and the Mugnone. Up until about 1348, Florence was a thriving city until the Black Death wiped out half of the city’s population of 90,000. This led to a fall of the economy and threw this great European city into turbulent times. Rising to the top of this new government was a family of bankers called the Medicis. The Medicis were passionate about the arts and were informed and enlightened about what they supported. The family touched all three branches of art: musical, visual, and literary. Because they nurtured the greatest artists and thinkers of their day, the Medicis have been called the “Grandfathers of the Renaissance”.

Our first stop on this rainy Sunday was the Galleria dell ‘Accademia, otherwise known as the home to Michelangelo’s David (also known as Il Gigante) and the unfinished (Four) Prisoners. Having studied David in humanities and art history classes in college, I was excited about seeing this 434 cm (approximately 14 feet) tall marble statue (its 23 feet with the pedestal) depicting the slaying of Goliath. What I wasn’t prepared for was how beautiful it was, how life-like it was, and how proportional it was. It truly is one of the most amazing statues I have ever seen. When you look at the statue of David, you see the true Renaissance man, the supernatural feeling of other statues isn’t there, David is human, and he is perfect, his abs, his legs, his hands, his face, and yes, even his butt. This statue was started in 1501 and finished 3 years later. The original sculpture lived outside the Palazzo Vecchio until being moved to the Accademia in the 19th Century and a replica put in its place. We also visited Michelangelo’s unfinished Four Prisoners, which were meant to be completed for the Tomb of the Pope Julius II in the Saint Peter-in-Chains Church, but Michelangelo died before he could complete the statue.

We then went to the Bargello, also known as the National Museum, which is a sculpture museum housed in a former prison. It is home to Donatello’s David, the first male nude to be sculpted in 1,000 years, works by Michelangelo, and rooms of Medici treasures, including time pieces, guns, coins, china, tapestries, paintings, and suits and coats of armor. The Bargello is an under-marketed treasure, and a must see if you visit Florence.

We spent the afternoon shopping in the Mercado Centrale, outdoor stalls selling Italian leather, fake designer purses, pashminas, scarves, gloves, glass, pottery, and clothes. We had gelato (today’s flavor coffee) as we shopped, purchasing gifts for ourselves and our friends and families. This is also where I met my first Italian boyfriend, one of the vendors, who was devastated when I wouldn’t share my gelato, or a kiss with him.

It was Jules’ birthday so we had the guys at the hotel, Carlo and Joseph, help us make reservations at a local restaurant. They picked Accademia Restaurant in San Marco Square, known for its Florentine steaks. We arrived on time for our 8:30 reservation and were treated to a gregarious English-speaking waiter Gianni and a glass of champagne. We chose the fixed price four course meals that included wine with each course. Our first course was a mushroom strudel with a creamy parmesan sauce and a dry white Italian Pinot Grigio. The second course was fresh tagliatelli with a lamb ragu and a Chianti Classico. The third course was an 8 oz. Florentine Filet with a reduced port wine glaze with caramelized onions that was cooked to a perfect medium. For dessert they served a chocolate and banana torte with fresh raspberries, a strawberry sauce, and a chocolate sauce accompanied by a bubbly muscatel. It was a memorable meal, everything cooked and presented perfectly.

Day 10, October 11th – The Florence Finale, Churches and Chapels Galore

We visited the Duomo today. Florence’s Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo) is a large gothic cathedral with the third-longest nave in the world. The façade is covered in white, green, and pink Tuscan marble. The inside of the dome is decorated with one of the largest paintings of the Renaissance, a huge Last Judgment by Vasari and Zucharri. Underneath the Duomo are the crypts, which we also visited. Signs of a previous church could be seen, as well as the crypts themselves. Not a very exciting part of the visit, but interesting and educational. We could have climbed the bell tower, but the two hour wait didn’t seem all that appealing.

We then visited the San Lorenzo Church. We were on our continued quest to find the Medici Chapel, and while we were close, we had not found what we sought. When we were inside the San Lorenzo Church and discovered that we had once again been unable to successfully locate the Medici Chapel, Jules and I shared a giggle, and then were promptly shushed by one of the security persons inside the church, causing us to giggle all the more. It was hilarious and ludicrous that two thirty-somethings were hushed in a catholic church. But then, how perfect it was too.

We finally asked for directions and were told that the Medici Chapel was located on the other side of the church, in the New Sacristy, but that we had to go outside and around to find it. So we arrived at the Chapel and were told we had 10 minutes to see the two Medici Tombs and the Michelangelo interior with the Day, Night, Dawn, and Dusk statues. This was one of the most beautiful chapels I have ever seen, with dark green, red, and black marble. It was simply breathtaking. When you enter the Chapel there is a plain marble box containing the tombs of the fifteenth century Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent and his murdered brother Giuliano. A statue stands on the tomb, flanked by statues of the Medici patron saints, Cosmos and Damian. There are two other tombs of minor Medici dukes.

After our afternoon of churches and chapels we decided to see the Ponte Vecchio at night and have dinner at a recommended restaurant called the Golden View Open Bar. Because we didn’t have reservations we were given a table near the window, but not at the window overlooking the Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio. After a complimentary glass of champagne the host moved us to a reserved table on the window, with an amazing view of the river and bridge. We were very pleased with our new seats, and our waiter Ricardo, a very cute, helpful, and Italian waiter. I had an amazing first course, Risotto di Mare, a slightly spicy tomato-based risotto with baby clams, mussels, calamari, scampi, and scallops. It was truly one of the best risottos I’ve ever consumed.

After we left the restaurant we wandered up across the Ponte Vecchio, through the Uffizi courtyard, through several familiar piazzas (Republica, Duomo, San Giovanni) before ending up back at our hotel for our final night’s stay and a night cap with our new hotel friend Joseph.

Day 11, October 12th – Ciao Firenze, Buon Giornio Roma

We were up early, waited in line for over 2 hours, and finally entered the infamous Uffizi Gallery, known for the greatest collection of Italian paintings in the world. We wandered from one room to the next, viewing works by Giotto, Leonardo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Rubens, Titian, and Michelangelo, presented chronologically from the 13th Century to the 17th Century. There was also the amazing Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli and a roomful of other paintings by him. The Birth of Venus was painted in 1485 and is Boticelli’s most famous masterpiece. In the painting Venus emerges from the sea on a shell. As she is about to step onto land one of the Nymphs receives her with a purple cloak. She is beautiful and seeing the painting in person after studying it years ago in school is a wonderful experience.

We unfortunately worked our way quickly through the Uffizi Gallery in about an hour because we had a train ride to Rome ahead of us. We left Florence around 2 pm and arrived in Rome around 4 pm at the Stazione Termini. Rome, the capital of Italy, is filled with culture and art, tombs and ruins, palaces, basilicas, and towers. Silvio Negro once said, “Roma, non basta una vita!” (Rome, a lifetime is not enough!). We only had three days in Rome, so we had a lot to accomplish.

After checking into our very disappointing B& B we decided to go do laundry, jump on the internet to check email, and then unpack at our B&B. We headed out the door, map in hand, to walk the 25 minutes to the Spanish Steps and the destination of our dinner. We arrived at the Spanish Steps slightly after dusk, people sitting all over the stairs, lovers holding hands, tourists snapping pictures, children laughing and playing by the fountain. The Spanish Steps are a part of the Piazza di Spagna, named for the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican, which has been in Rome for 300 years. There is a fountain at the bottom of the steps, a sinking boat, which was created by Bernini and his father. Like all fountains in Rome it is powered by an aqueduct.

After dinner we wandered over to the Trevi Fountain, built in 1762 by Nicola Salvi. As you walk down Via della Stamperia you begin to hear the noise of the fountain, and as you come out of the street into the piazza where the fountain sits, you are amazed by the size of the fountain, and the sound of the water gushing from 24 spouts. The figure of Ocean (who represents water) is set in front of a palace for a theatrical look while Tritone blows his conch shell. It is a spectacular sight.

If you sit on the edge of the fountain and throw a coin over your shoulder, your wish is supposed to come true. It is also supposed to ensure your return to Rome. I can guarantee you that my return to Rome has nothing to do with a coin thrown into a fountain and everything to do with the fact that Rome is beautiful, crowded, fast paced, old, entertaining, and breath taking. And there is no way I’m going to get to see everything Rome has to offer in three short days. And as for my wish I made, well, that’s for another day. We did sit and enjoy the fountain and a gelato (melon flavor this time) and chatted with a few cute Roman boys (boyfriend number two) who were disappointed we did not want to have drinks with them.

As we were walking back to our B&B our attention was drawn to a rather large, well lit, and old looking building down the boulevard. We decided to walk to this building to see what it was. As we approached we realized this building was magnificent. But it wasn’t an ancient Roman building, it was the Victor Emmanuel Monument, built in 1903. This monument is larger than life, 200 feet high, 500 feet wide. Romans do not think of it as the tribute to the Fatherland it was intended to be, they call it “the wedding cake” or “the typewriter.” This building also houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is guarded by soldiers as the eternal flame flickers.

Day 12, October 13th – When in Rome Do as the Romans Do

An early morning walk to the Spanish Steps found them empty on this rainy day. A wonderful sight for a city filled with 2.3 million people and a ton of tourists. We enjoyed the solitude of these beautiful steps before heading to the American Express office and our need for a tour. There is a fountain at the bottom of the steps called the Fontana della Barcaccia. Because the fountain is powered by an aqueduct, the water is purified and drinkable.

The rainy morning found the Spanish Steps empty for our enjoyment

After signing up for two tours, one that afternoon for the Roman Forum, one the following day for Vatican City, we headed over to the Trevi Fountain to find coffee and breakfast. Another wonderful sight met us at the Trevi Fountain, an empty monument on a rainy day. The pictures are priceless with only one couple under an umbrella to ruin my shot.

The Trevi Fountain during the day

We found our way over to the Pantheon, more or less stumbling upon it than actually searching for it. The Pantheon, an Ancient Roman temple dedicated to the 12 Olympian Gods, consists of a large circular drum topped with a hemispherical dome and was built in the 1st Century AD by an unknown architect. After Rome’s conversion to Catholicism, the Pantheon was converted to a church, which is now called the S. Maria della Rotonda. The inside of the Pantheon is large, open, and beautiful. From floor to ceiling it is 142 feet. The diameter of the dome is equal to the height of the walls. There is an intentional hole in the center of the ceiling that is still there today.

After exploring the Pantheon we wandered over to the Piazza Novana, a stadium in Roman times, this square still retains a bit of the oval track shape. In the center is Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Fountain of the Four Rivers, standing in front of the Church of Saint Agnes. Four figures represent a river from each of the four known continents of the day, towering over a lion, dragon, fish and plants, all surrounded by a dancing pool, topped by an obelisk (one of 13 throughout Rome). There are two other fountains in this piazza.

We decided to lunch at the Piazza Novana as the rain came pouring out of the sky, soaking us. During lunch I realized that I had heard the saying, “When in Rome do as the Romans do” many times. So what is it that Romans do that I should be doing? After less than 20 hours in Rome I think the answer is eating, drinking wine, and smoking. The Romans, like most Italians, like to smoke. They do it everywhere and at all times. And in typical oblivious fashion they throw the butts everywhere too, with no regard for liter or anyone else. This is one of my pet peeves of smokers in general, but became one of my biggest pet peeves of Italian smokers. How can you trash up such a beautiful and old city?

The afternoon found us on an amazing tour of Ancient Rome, or the Roman Forum, which started around 500 BC (Rome, not the tour). We learned the history of Rome, and the legend of hour Rome was founded. Legend has it that twin babies of Mars, the God of War, were cast adrift in the river Tiber and found and raised by a she-wolf. The brothers fought, and Romulus killed his brother Remus, and eventually founded Rome.

We started our tour at the Trajan’s Market, Column, and Forum, built by the Emporer Trajan in 98 AD. Over 2,500 figures scroll around the 130 foot high column, telling the story of one of Trajan’s victorious campaigns in AD 103. The Forum was built to manage the shopping needs of over one million Romans. The market was once filled with shops selling goods from all over the Roman Empire.

We then crossed the Via Fori Imperial and entered the Roman Forum, ancient Rome’s birthplace. The Forum Romanum is located in a valley between the Capitoline Hill on the west, the Palatine Hill on the south, the Velia on the east and Quirinal Hill and the Esquiline Hill to the north. The importance of the Forum is indicated by the presence of many of the central political, religious and judicial buildings from Ancient Rome. The Regia was the residence of the kings; the Curia was the meeting place of the Senate; and the Comitium and the Rostra, where public meetings were held. Major temples and sanctuaries in the Forum include the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the Temple of Saturn and the Temple of Vesta. Commercial and judicial activities took place in the basilicas, the two remaining are the Basilica Aemilia and the Basilica Julia. The forum also contains honorary monuments, such as the Arch of Augustus, the Arch of Titus and the Arch of Septimius Severus.

Honory monument, Arch of Septimius Severus in the Roman Forum

We then moved from the Roman Forum to the Colosseum (also known as the Amphitheatrum Flavium), the greatest amphitheatre in antiquity, built in the first century AD by Flavian emperors. It took about ten years to build the amphitheatre. Vespasian started the work in 72 AD and his son Titus dedicated it in the year 80 with magnificent games that lasted one hundred days. Games usually included hunts and gladiatorial games.

The amphitheater is an elliptical shape with tiers of seating for 50,000 spectators around a central arena. Below the wooden arena floor, there was a complex of rooms and passageways for wild beasts and other provisions for staging the games. Eighty walls radiated from the arena and supported vaults for passageways, stairways and the tiers of seats. There were 80 entrances/exits for the spectators to leave and arrive quickly.

The Colosseum held 50,000 spectators

Colosseum floors

Our final stop on our American Express Roman Forum tour was the St. Peter-in-Chains Church (San Pietro in Vincoli), built in the 15th Century. This church is most famous for its Michelangelo statue, a massive marble tomb intended to have 48 statues. When Pope Julius II died the work had barely been started, Michelangelo finished the Moses statue, and left a few unfinished ones (Leah and Rachel flanking Moses), Prisoners (now in the Accademia in Florence), and Slaves (now in the Louvre in Paris). We stopped at the end for gelato (chocolate) and lattes before being released from our tour.

That night my friend and I stayed close to the B&B, eating a simple meal of lasagna and calzone with a few glasses of wine before retiring early for the night.

Day 13, October 14th – Vatican City, The Smallest Country on Earth

A bus picked us up at 8:30 am for our tour of the Vatican, the center of the Roman Catholic Church, both city and country completely surrounded by the city of Rome. The Vatican is an independent country since 1929 with its own army (supplied by Switzerland), airport (actually a helipad), train station, radio station, currency and postal service. The Vatican money is legal everywhere in Italy, and I was told that the Vatican postal system is more reliable than the Italian postal system.

We were shuttled through the Borghese Park, known as the Central Park of Rome, which was built along with the Borghese Villa in 1605. We arrived in Vatican City within 20 minutes, and after a short wait in a long line we got through security and began our tour of the Vatican Museums. The Vatican Museums originated as a group of sculptures collected by Pope Julius II and placed within the museum complex. The Vatican Museums are a complex of different museums and galleries that began under the patronage of the popes Clement XIV and Pius VI, and include eight museums, two galleries, two chapels, the Borgia Apartment, the Papal Apartment, and two additional rooms. The Vatican houses over 35,000 pieces of artwork, statues, pottery, etc, and is the largest collection on earth.

Ceiling in Room 3, The Map Gallery in the Vatican Museums

The most dissatisfying part of this tour is that the Vatican boasts a daily attendance of 30,000 people at $12 Euros a person ($360,000 EUROS per day) and you feel it. Pushing on you from all sides, tour groups, individuals, worry about pickpockets, those 30,000 people are packed into the Vatican, hundreds at a time set loose on the Vatican Museum, crowding around the same statues, through the rooms with large tapestries, into the Sistine Chapel, and onward to Saint Peters. It is the most annoying, claustrophobic, and overwhelming experience. And while the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and Saint Peters are all worth seeing, the experience was uncomfortable and overwhelming.

After visiting the first four rooms of the Vatican Museum we were allowed to enter the Sistine Chapel (Capella Sistina), where we were told to not talk, not take pictures, and not hover too long. Johann Wolfgang Goethe said, “Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving.” Goethe hit the nail on the head in describing Michelangelo’s amazing ceiling fresco and The Last Judgment, commissioned in 1508 and finished in 1541. The chapel itself was built between 1475 and 1483. Instead of the original 12 figures of the apostles that the pope had suggested for the ceiling, Michelangelo painted more than 3,000 in the nine paintings from the Old Testament. These paintings represent the stages of creation, Adam and Eve's temptation and fall, and Noah and the Deluge. Below these scenes are the statuesque figures of prophets and sibyls, with episodes from the Old Testament. Frescoes by Perugino, Pinturicchio, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Rosselli, and Signorelli cover the side walls of the chapel.

After leaving the Museum we got a tour of Saint Peters, the largest church in the world with the largest dome in Europe, and truly one of the most impressive churches I have ever seen. Named for Saint Peter, the first Pope, this massive church was built between 1546 and 1564, the brick dome is 138 feet in diameter rises 452 feet above the street, and 390 feet above the floor, with four iron chains for a compression ring. Michelangelo received architectural control of the church in 1548, and following the original architect’s (Donato Bramante) plan he strengthened the central piers making it possible for them to bear a dome. While Michelangelo did not live to see the completion of his artistic conception, a masterpiece was constructed by 1626 in accordance with his designs.

Saint Peter’s Basiclica has four principal divisions extending from the dome and are connected with each other by passages behind the dome piers. The right side is bordered by four lateral chapels and the left by three chapels. The centre of the entire structure is the tomb of St. Peter. We visited the Altar of the Lie, where the altarpiece illustrates a scene from the Bible where the couple Ananias and Sapphira lied to St. Peter and were struck dead. We also visited the ancient bronze statue of St. Peter, who has his right toes worn down by centuries of pilgrims who traditionally touch the foot. Returning to the entrance of St. Peter’s in the first lateral chapel of the right aisle we saw Michelangelo's "Pietà" (1498). Carved from a single block of marble when he was 25, this inspiring masterpiece epitomizes the grace and composition of Michelangelo’s work. This 9 feet tall piece was the only creation that Michelangelo ever signed.

Altar of the Lie, the lower part of the mosaic

Saint Peters, the largest church in the world

There is a large public square outside Saint Peter's Basilica designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The square is actually round, with the perimeter marked by two huge colonnades. The colonnades hold 140 Saint Statues, each made of marble and standing approximately 6 feet tall. This monumental space is enclosed by 284 Doric columns four rows deep. At the center of the square is an 85-foot-tall Egyptian obelisk which is flanked by two fountains, and halfway between the fountains and the obelisk are stone circles in the ground. Our tour guide, GianCarlo was a wonderful lecturer and as an art historian taught us a lot about the history of the Vatican and its artwork.

After we left Vatican City our tour bus dropped us off at the Spanish Steps and my friend and I wandered down the Via del Corso to the Piazza del Popolo. Where Via del Corso and Via di Ripetta meet, the oval-shaped piazza is the entrance to the City of Rome. The monumental entrance, Porta del Popolo, was constructed in 1655, and is the work of Bernini. The fountain was added in 1814. In the middle of the piazza is another obelisk (one of 13 in Rome), known as the Flaminio Obelisk, which was the first one installed in Rome. One of the square's attractions is the unbroken view it gives all the way back down Via del Corso, between the perfectly paired churches of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto, to the central columns of the Vittorio Emanuele Monument.

After wandering down Via di Ripetta, passing the wonderful shops that make up this fashion district of Rome (Chanel, Max Mara, Gucci, Prada, Versace, Bulgari, etc), we walked back to our B&B, located by the Teatro dell’Opera. This area is close to the train station, and the opera house is the leading theatre in Rome, known for its operas, orchestras, and ballet productions. We had a pizza at a local pizzeria for dinner (Jules impressing the cook so much that he sent over a heart-shaped focaccia for her to enjoy before dinner arrived) before going to bed for our early travel day to Venice the next morning.

Day 14, October 15th – Venice, The Sinking City

We caught our early train with no glitches, even enjoying our first class seats and the Americans sitting around us, sharing stories and travel books. After a two hour delay we arrived at the train station in Venice, only to find that our B&B was flooded. What appeared initially to be a serious problem was really only the daily tide flooding the walkway to our B&B, and an hour later the streets were clear and we checked into a wonderful little mosaic gallery and art studio (the Domus Orsani B&B) in Cannaregio, and then were on our way to Saint Mark’s Square for our first real taste of Venice.

The islands of the Venetian lagoon were first settled during barbarian invasions in the 5th and 6th centuries AD, when the people of the Veneto mainland sought refuge in the marshy region. The refugees built watery villages on rafts of wooden posts driven into the subsoil, laying the foundations for the floating palaces of today. Settlement became focused on the Rivo Alto (later known as Rialto, the highest point in the lagoon), and the first of Venice's eventual 118 doges (chief magistrates) was elected in 697.

Venice is built on 117 small islands and has 150 canals and 409 bridges (only three of which cross the Grand Canal). The historic centre is divided into six quarters and covers a deceptively small area. The city's 'main street' is the Grand Canal, which passes each of the six quarters as it twists along the length of Venice from the railway station to San Marco, and Saint Mark’s Square. Venice is also surrounded by a lagoon - Laguna Veneta, a port - Porto Marghera, and several islands, including Murano, Burano, Torcello, and Lido di Venezia. And yes, Venice is sinking. The city has been slowly sinking for at least the last several centuries. If nothing is done, the city will certainly be totally destroyed by tides and storm waves within a few decades. There is a project in place, called Moses, to build a series of dams to protect the islands, but to date this project has not been completed. To learn more check out this website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venice/

We arrived at Saint Mark's Square about 30 minutes later, where visitors and pigeons alike have been flocking for centuries. As St Mark's Square is one of the lowest parts of the city, parts of it were still covered in water from the acqua alta (high tide), but quickly disappeared as we wandered around the square, enjoying the shops, cafes, and gellaterias. The high tides typically affect Venice in the fall, for about 90 days, and it usually happens twice a day (around noon and in the late evening). While a bit annoying, you can either buy rubber boots, some hotels have them on hand during this time of year, or you can walk on the scaffolding they set up in some of the lower parts of the island, such as St. Mark’s Square.

We found the American Express office and quickly signed up for two tours, one leaving in about 10 minutes, and one for the next day. We did a walking tour of Venice, including the Palazzo Bovolo, Frari Church, and a 45 minute gondola ride for about $35 Euros. Our first stop, the Palazzo Contarini di Bovolo, a Renaissance palace built in 1500 in the San Marco quarter, catches its name from the external spiral staircase (bovolo in the Venetian dialect). You can climb the staircase for $2 Euros. We then visited the Campo Manin, passing the statue of Daniele Manin (who led the anti-Austrian revolt in 1848) and headed to the Frari Church (Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari) in the San Polo quarter, known for its masterpieces, including Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin and Madonna di Ca’ Pesaro, Donatello’s John the Baptist statue, Giovanni Bellini’s Madonna and Child triptych (a work consisting of three painted or carved panels that are hinged together) in the apse (vaulted recess) of the sacristy (a room in a church housing the sacred vessels and vestments), and Canova’s neo-classical marble pyramid funeral monument.

After the Frari Church we lined up for a 45 minute gondola ride of the Grand Canal and some side canals. Fortunately our gondolier spoke English and was able to give us some history of Venice and names of palaces and buildings we passed along the way. Prior to our gondola ride there was much confusion about how much one should pay for a gondolier for a ride. Each gondola is owned by the gondolier, and usually the gondolier’s come from a long line of gondoliers, so the prices may vary. We were generally told to expect to pay upwards of $60 Euros per person. This seemed steep, so our $35 Euro walking tour and gondola ride seemed a bargain. The other thing to consider when paying for a gondola ride is ensuring that you understand how long your guided tour of the canals will be. My suggestion, pick a gondolier who speaks English well. I did try to get our gondoliler to sing for us, but apparently that wasn’t happening.

The Grand Canal, the main “road” in Venice

Towards the end of our gondola ride we crossed under the Rialto Bridge, the first bridge built over the Grand Canal. The Rialto quarter is the commercial heart of Venice, and the area is famous for its busy fruit, vegetable, and fish markets, and the bridge itself houses stalls selling tourist souvenirs and Italian goods.

Our gondolier and the Rialto Bridge

After our gondola ride we stopped for gelato (cherry flavor) and decided to quickly visit the Gallerie dell'Accademia which houses Venice's most important art collection, illustrating the progression of Venetian art from the 14th to 18th centuries. The highlights here are Paolo Veneziano's Madonna and Child with Two Donors, Carpaccio's altarpiece Crucifixion and Apotheosis, Giovanni Bellini, Madonna with Child Between Saints Catherine and Mary Magdalene, and Giorgione's mysterious Tempest. Works by Titian are followed by Lorenzo Lotto's Portrait of a Young Gentleman in His Studio and Tintoretto's Theft of St Mark's Body and Crucifixion.

As evening descended on Venice Jules and I decided it was time to go find dinner and then head back to our B&B. As we were walking back towards our B&B we immediately became lost in the maze of tiny streets and canals that make up Venice. Of course, this is an experience everyone encounters in Venice and is a part of the fun. Luckily Jules’ perseverance and a decent street map helped find our way back to civilization and a restaurant.

Day 15, October 16th – Getting Around Venice

Venice is a place to get lost, and found, according to all the tour books. For some reason you are supposed to find the charm of Venice in the back streets. Well maybe during the day, but our evening of getting lost the night before was not the charming adventure everyone promises it will be. Unfriendly locals and a lack of clear signage made it almost impossible to get found after we were lost. Fortunately Jules lead us out of the maze street by street until we found the familiar signs for Saint Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge.

But there are other ways to get around Venice that are easy, efficient, and inexpensive. We purchased a 24 hour pass for the Vaporetto (water bus) for $12 Euros (an individual ride is $5 Euros). This is the way the locals travel around Venice. Water taxis (motorboats) are very expensive so we avoided those. The traghetto is another good method, a commuter gondola that crosses the Grand Canal at strategic points. This is a test of balance for those of us not used to boats (sometimes you have to stand on the traghetto), but the handsome and strong “driver” will let you grab his arm as you board and unboard to stabilize yourself (this was NOT an unpleasant experience). However, walking in Venice is the best way to really “see” Venice. You can walk from one end to the other in about 35 minutes (providing you don’t get lost), and there are plenty of picture taking opportunities and shopping.

We met a colleague of mine, Ann, at the Caffe Florian in Saint Mark’s Square for a latte and biscuit before heading out to do some shopping. Caffe Florian was opened in 1720 and is the most famous coffee shop in the world. In 1900, Caffe Florian adopted the idea of a café-concert, a very Central European concept, employing a resident orchestra to entertain their upscale clientele in the summer. This tradition too has held and today you can sit outside in the square at Florian’s and listen to the dueling orchestras playing.

Ann and I at the Caffe Florian on Saint Mark’s Square

We left Saint Mark’s Square to do some shopping and some site seeing. We walked up and over the Rialto Bridge, purchasing a few little trinkets. We then wandered around the maze of streets near Saint Mark’s Square, purchasing Venetian lace handkerchiefs, glass, and jewelry. We had a leisurely day of sight seeing, purchasing gifts, and enjoying gelato (strawberry this time), espresso, and Venetian pastries.

That night, after many glasses of wine at Caffe Florian listening to the dueling orchestras, we had a long leisurely dinner near the Rialto Bridge, including medallions of veal for me, scampi for Ann, and spaghetti Bolognese for Jules. Several bottles of wine later we stopped into a little pub for a pint and some stories before heading back to our B&B.

Day 16, October 17th –Venice

Our day started with a not-so-tour Tour of St Mark's Basilica. Unfortunately due to Sunday Mass we were unable to visit the inside of the Basilica as a part of our tour. We did, however, spend some time discussing the exterior of this spectacular house of worship. It is adorned with ornate domes and arches and other items (supposedly plundered treasures). The basilica was modeled on Constantinople's Church of the Twelve Apostles and consecrated in 1094. It is famous for its golden mosaics, particularly those above the doorways in the facade and decorating the interior domes. The basilica's 10th-century campanile collapsed without warning on July 14, 1902, and was rebuilt brick by brick over the following 10 years. Apparently for a small fee you can take the lift to the top for some fabulous views over the Venetian rooftops and lagoon.

We then toured the Doge’s Palace, which was designed by Giovanni and Bartolomeo Buon, was originally started in the ninth century and finished in the 14th century.

The most impressive secular building in Venice, this palace served as the senate house, administrative center, hall of justice, public archive and prison up until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797.

The Doge’s Palace at St. Mark’s Square

After we left the Doge’s Palace we reunited with my friend Ann to go out to Murano Island for lunch and to see a glass blowing demonstration. We waited for the waterbus to come and I was approached several times by a tall, handsome man who was very intrigued by me. He came up and started talking to me and I think I about fell in love. As a 6 foot tall American, this 6 foot 6 inch tall Swiss man was a dream come true. We chatted for a bit, and then his friend he was with realized they were getting on the wrong waterbus and they departed. Before he left we had a brief introduction, Stefan and I, and then he walked away into the crowded Venetian streets. I thought about that man the rest of the day, kicking myself for not going with him as he had requested. So Stefan, if you are out there somewhere, email me. Any how, had to throw in my little love story there, it really was the most interesting 15 minutes of my life. When they say love at first sight, I think I now know what they mean. And so does Stefan.

We headed out to Murano Island via waterbus. Murano has been famous for its glass since the 10th century. The glass blowing secret is very guarded and it is actually considered treason for glass-workers to leave the city. Unfortunately we did not get to see any glass blowing that day. By the time our wrong waterbus took us the long way to Murano we were famished, so we had lunch. That took forever, or so it seemed, I still blame Ann for getting the spaghetti with lobster. I swear they must have made the spaghetti from scratch. So we did get to see some of the this quiet little island, and do a little sight seeing (not much to see, it’s a very sleepy island), and a little window shopping, but time got away from us and we had to hire a water taxi for $40 Euros to return us to Venice so Ann could catch her flight back to Frankfurt.

Janet and Jules in the water taxi on the way back to Venice

Jules and I on the other hand took a slow waterbus around the island from St. Mark’s Square to the train station. This gave me about an hour to ponder Venice, and my trip to Italy. Have you ever see David Lean’s Summertime, a 1950’s-ish movie with Katherine Hepburn, a secretary who travels to Venice on vacation, only to fall in love with a married man? She wants desperately to respond to and appreciate Venice, to become an acceptable American traveller. For Katherine Hepburn’s character Jane, Venice is a series of revealed enchantments. For me Venice was a series of revealed enchantments – beautiful palazzos floating on water; piazzas crowded with shops and people and cafes; canals filled with gondolas carting about couples for a romantic view of Venice; bridges here and there, seemingly leading to somewhere, and sometimes leading to nowhere; twisty, curvy pathways crossing small canals, passing old buildings, dropping you out in the middle of somewhere beautiful and spectacular. I was lost, but I felt I found myself in Venice.

We arrived in Milan the night before and uneventfully found our hotel and checked in. We were very tired and a good night’s sleep was in order, so we slept in, enjoyed the continental breakfast the hotel served, and then took the subway to the main piazza in Milan, the Piazza del Duomo, where you can find the 2nd largest church in Italy, next to the Vatican.

Immediately off this piazza is the fashion district in Milan with the highest concentration of shops, including Piazza della Scala, Corso Venezia, Via Torino, Via Dante and Castello Sforzesco, Corso di Porta Vittoria and the neighbouring areas, Corso di Porta Romana and Corso Magenta. This is where Jules and I spent our afternoon, our last day in Italy. Shopping in the fashion capital of the world. It was really quite an enjoyable day, and we purchased many gifts for ourselves and our friends.

That night we took a taxi to an incredible restaurant for our final meal. The restaurant, Stendhal, served the traditional Risotto Milanese, which we shared, along with several other wonderful items, including a cheese soufflé, and a fresh peach and cream tart for dessert. It was a bittersweet time, enjoying the food and the people around us in the restaurant that we met and talked with, but knowing it was our last night in Italy, our last fine meal and bottle of Italian wine.

Day 18, October 19th – Arrevederchi Italia!

We were able to sleep in a little, pack, eat breakfast, and head to the airport. As we were checking in we were told that there was not an 11 am flight out of the Milan Linate International Airport. Our travel agent had messed up and we were actually supposed to fly out of the Milan Malpensa Airport. Fortunately there was a 10 am flight from Milan to London that the ticket agent put us on, and we arrived in London with no problems, and then flew on home into Denver with no problems.

Our luggage, however, did not make it, and apparently liked Milan so much it waited there for about five days before it caught a Fedex flight to my house. But we were both relieved that nothing was missing, our luggage eventually arrived, and everything was safe and sound. I guess that’s better than the wine fiasco I had traveling home from Germany last year (you can check that story out at http://www.tripsource.com/stories/Janet/1.htm). Oh well, such is life. Ciao Italia, I will visit you again!