Rome day 2

We got into the city "early" today - and headed out to the girls' must-see sights - the Pantheon, the Trevi fountain, and the Coliseum. Most folks weren't out yet and we had the fountain mainly to ourselves! The girls drank from the fountain and tossed in a couple of coins - they chose not to throw in the 3rd - nnot decided yet about marrying an Italian. We caught a cab past the pallintine hill and got out to get tickets - no lines. We then walked a block and ran into the ticket line at the coliseum - about 1-2 hours long! Good to have a guide! We rode the elevator to the top and spent some time exploring and learning about the place. AFter a relaxing lunch nearby we caught the Metro and then a train to Ostia Antiqua - a terrific archeological site about 30 minutes outside of Rome. We climbed around the ruins and saw bathrooms with indoor plumbing, roman roads, aqueducts, and indoor heating as well as a bunch of cool mosaics. No one around - according to the guide, it is not well-known, and most folks choose the bigger but much more crowded Pompeii. This place was huge - more than enough to fill an afternoon. We caught the train to Lido, grabbed a cab, had dinner and crashed early.

Rome day 1

We caught the early, fast train to Rome and got there in just over an hour! We caught a cab - not easy in rome - Mommy figured out a way to beat the line and flagged down a cab on the road. Since we were running tight on time, we checked into the hotel and immediately grabbed another cab back in to town. We got to our meeting place for our tour by noon and found our guide. She was born in south Africa, but has been in Italy for 13 years. We were very lucky and had no line for the Vatican - we walked right in and after a quick intro about the Sistine Chapel, we stopped for lunch. We then spent the nexr 4 hours touring only a small portion of the enormous Vatican museum, ending up in the sistine chapel at 4pm. The cahpel closed at 4:30, and we made our way outside and then saw the basilica. We were pretty worn out and decided to get dinner at the hotel - caught a cab "home", ate a relaxing dinner and called it a day.

Rome

Lots to tell. Too tired. Check back soon.

Rome

Great day in Rome. Rode the train from Florence. Met a tour guide at the Vatican after catching a cab, thanks to C, and dropping the luggage at the Marriott near the airport. We enjoyed the wonderful sculptures, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's. Great day but we're all tired. More later.

Florence again

Today we left Cinque Terre early and headed back to Florence via the autostrada. We saw some more sunflowers but it was hard to photograph from the car while driving 60 miles an hour. We arrived in Florence and returned the car with no complications. We observed one American family that had to hire a taxi to take their luggage to their hotel because it wouldn't fit in the car with them and another that couldn't fit in their car either but hadn't decided how to get to Chianti with their four huge bags and 4 people. After walking about 8 blocks through Florence from the car rental return to our hotel and sweating like animals, set out to get lunch. We meandered through the market and found a great place recommended by, you guessed it, Rick Steves. It was lovely but Mommy ate something that started an allergy and we went back to our room for a 1-2 hour break while the benadryl took effect. After that we went to the Cezanne exhibit, got gelato (twice) and went to the Duomo and walked up to the top of the dome for a view of Florence. We walked for a while and sat around in front of the Uffizi listening to a man play guitar. Then we walked to a resaurant near our hotel. Mommy had mozzerella e pomodoro. Daddy had grilled eggplant and zucchini with grilled brie on top. It was really good. T had ravioli and I had brushetta a pomodoro. We all liked our food and enjoyed the atmosphere. We also got new desserts. T had cooked creme with mixed fruit. Daddy and I had tiramisu,for the first time in Italy, ever and T tried some. We then went home, checked email and posted to our blog. Tomorrow we leave for Rome on an early train.

Hiking 5 Terre

We got up this moring to a bright, sunny day, had breakfast at the hotel and headed to the train station. We caught the "milk run" cinque terre train and went 5 stops to the first of the 5 towns and got off. After wandering around the town and hiking up the mountain a bit, we headed out on the paved path to the next town. Beautiful views - easy walking. At each town along the way we did the same thing - walked around town, and then headed out along the path. At one town, the girls jumped into the ocean and did a little swimming - drying off on the next hike. Each hike got progressively more difficult and the day got a lot hotter. We stopped for lunch (and gelato of course) at Corneglia - the one town that is not on the water. We had a nice pasta lunch with fresh strawberries for dessert. The final leg of our walk was from Corneglia to Vernazza - hot and up hill for 45 minutes - then a tough downhill for another 45 minutes. The views were great. We were pretty worn out by the 4th town - and the day was a bit too hot for another 4 km hike - so we caught the train back home and had some of the very strong local lemon gelato to cool off. The girls worked on their journals and we'll probably head to the beach or catch a boat ride before dinner. Tomorrow we head out early for the drive back to Florence. If all goes well, we'll hit the modern art museum and climb the dome of the Duomo.

Saturday - Off to Cinque Terre

We left Chianti early this morning and drove to the coast - with a lot of other folks from Florence - the traffic was much worse today. We wound our way through tiny roads, eventually making it to Monterossa al Mere. Our rroms weren't ready yet - but no problem - we headed out to explore the small town. A picture perfect day with amazing blue seas. We headed to the beach and had lunch overlooking the ocean. Then we hiked over the hill in town and saw the old cemetery. The newer section of town had more crowds and wasn't quite as pretty. AFter a snack we headed back to our hotel and checked in. After a short break, we updated the blog and will head out soon for dinner. We plan some hiking tomorrow and many more pictures in the fantastic spot.

Friday - Lucca and Pisa

After "checking out" and paying 65 Euros for the electricity and gas we used for the week, we piled into the car and drove to Lucca. The weather was a lot cooler than the day before with a few scattered light showers - but mainly sunshine. We drove around the walled town a few times before we found a place to park. Then we walked into the city and found a place for lunch. Everyone but Mommy had some kind of pizza (she stuck with the spaghetti pomodoro). H ordered pizza with egg - it came with a sunny-side up egg cooked in the very middle! AFter lunch, we rented bikes and rode around the town ramparts a few times. They were built a long time ago to protect the city from the new threat of cannons. They spent 1/3 of their income for 100 years on their production. They did the trick - no one ever attacked them (not even the nasty folks from Pisa). But they only saved the town once - when they sandbagged the gates to keep out a flood in 1812. After the ride and a wlk back through the city (and more gelato), we got back in the car and drove to Pisa. We got to see a few fields of sunflowers on the way. In Pisa, parking was a problem, but we eventually found a space. We walked in to the "field of miracles" and saw the leaning tower. Choosing not to walk up it, we enjoyed the good views - some of the cleanest, prettiest churches we've seen - and then headed home. The trip back was uneventful, but we did sit through a little traffic near Florence. Nothing like the peripherique in Paris, H noted.

Thursday - Long day in Florence

Today we got up really early and drove to a neighboring town to catch the 6:49 train into Florence. The bus is more convenient - but we were going to stay late and the buses stop running at 6:30. After a delay, we made it in to town and walked to our first tour. On the way, the girls found some shirts they had been looking for and their italian soccer jersies (at a store we had walked by and overlooked both previous days). We met our guide at Casa Buonaroti - a museum in one of Michelangelo's family homes. From there we went to the Bargello musuem, and finished at the Accademia. We learned about Michelangelo including his architecture, sculpture and painting. While he left a great deal of his work unfinished, this was due in part to being in great demand by several Popes - who kept giving him new jobs. David was really impressive - it looks much bigger inside the Accademia - compared to the copy in the piazza. We had a quick lunch near the Duomo - saw a family that we had seen at 4 prior cities (must have used our same tour company) and then made a bee-line for the other side of the Arno. We met the same retorer from the day before and he instructed us in the art of making frescoes. We each made a fresco while sitting around his dining room table. AAfter finishing, we made our way back to the train station where we caught a train back home (after some more gelato). We made a quick dinner at home and called it a day.

Wednesday - Florence

Today was a short day - we got up and rode the bus in to Florence. The ride was "scenic" and we got a bit tossed around on the way in - about a 75 minute ride - but no parking problems! We found our way from the bus station downtown and did a great tour of Palazza Davanzati (sp). This is a museum that is slowly being restored and only portions are open to the public. We were met there for a "restorer's tour" by one of the artists who has been restoring the frescoes in the building. It is one of the few museums that is a restored home - showing the rooms the way they may have been furnished and decorated in the 14-15th century. The frescoes were cool - one filled an entire room and told a famous story of a secret love affair - similar to romeo and juliet. The frescoes all were restored with water colors - a new law makes the artists use only techniques that are reversible. Unfortunately, this measn that the restored work is very fragile - it can be washed off with a wet washcloth! After the tour, we headed home by bus (after some more great gelato). We took the rest of the afternoon off - but posted some pictures that you saw earlier. We also went to a local restaurant called La Fattoria - great food, but we were the first people there (at 7:30pm).

Picture Update

Here is a recent update of pictures (hopefully) including photos from the first dayin florence, sienna, san gimignano, and today in florence

San Gimignano

Another day of driving in the beautiful countryside - no sunflowers made Mommy sad, though. Even without the flowers, Chianti was still pretty. We drove to the hilltop town of San G, which is described as a "tourist trap which you don't mind enjoying." It was a great place to walk around and had great views from a park at the top. We looked in some art stores and inside an old curch. We then had a great lunch at a Trattoria -where the owner talked to us totally in Italian - and Mommy oredered for herself and asked about allergies also in Italian. We had some great Gelato for dessert and then drove into the countryside. There were lots of fields of wheat but no flowers. We then drove north into wine country and walked around Greve. We got home and had dinner after H bought us bus tickets for Florence for the next day - in Italian!

Sienna

Sorry - still no way to upload pictures....

Today we drove to Sienna after sleeping in late. We parked near the soccer stadium without any trouble this time. Then we walked to St. Catherine's church, but we didn't have time to get a picture of Mommy with St. Catherine's thumb. We then saw Il Campo, which was huge, but hard to believe that a horse race was held inside. After a very long, 2 hour lunch where we tried wild boar, we went to the beautiful Duoma and the museum next door. The girls braved a long winding stair case to get to the top of the section of the church that wasn't completed - for a great view. We then drove home and had - what else - pasta!

Florence Day 1

We braved the traffic and drove into Florence - the only hard part was finding a parking spot. We think we avoided the no-drive areas and did manage to find a place to park. We caught a txi accross town and met our tour guide overlooking the city in the Piaazale of Michelangelo. We learned about the history of florence and toured the oldest church in the city. After returning to the city we had some great Gelatto, searched for some Italian jerseys (no luck) and had a short lunch. At lunch we met some folks from the US who recognized our Rick steves book and chatted for a while. After lunch we climed the 414 stairs up the tower for a view of the city. We then found an internet hot-spot, did e-mail and updated the blog. In a few minutes we are going to the Uffizi gallery for another tour, and then will drive home. Don't know yet where we will go tomorrow - Sienna, Lucca, some other day trip. Will update when we can...hopefully with some pictures next time.

Arrival in Tuscany

We got up this morning and caught the train from Verona to Florence - no problems for us, but a lot of the other trains were delayed. We were accosted by a guy on the train platform who wanted money, a drink, a cigarrette, etc. and would not leave us alone. fortunately, a nice Italian woman next to us yelled at him in Italian and he went away. After an uneventful trip to Florence, we found our way several blocks by foot to the Hertz rental car place, got our brand new Ford focus, piled in and drove to the Villa. We had a short side trip as we got onto the A1 autostrada when we didnt need to, but C figured it out and got us to our new town. We went to the COOP (the small grocery store) and got some supplies. We then checked in at our house - great place with a big kitchen and two nice bedroomas, a dining room and sitting area. It shares a nice pool and flowered garden with 3 other homes. We met our neighbors who have 2 kids and their grandparents with them. they had been here once before and loved it. AFter another quick trip to the grocery, we made a dinner of pasta and fresh green beans, watched another episode of Northern Exposure and went to bed.

The girls birthday in Verona

We packed up and headed south by car back to Verona - an easy 2 hour drive. Without much trouble we found the trainstation, dumped the car and caught a taxi to our hotel. While Rick Steves has made great recommendations so far, and this was one of his highest rated hotels in Verona - none of us were very impressed. Turns out, one nice feature is a local internet hotspot which we are using now! It is also steps from the ancient roman colliseum (the 3rd largest in the roman world). We hit the pavement and got lunch followed by a walking tour of the city. We climbed the tower at Piazza Erbe, were grossed out by the tunnel coated with gum and messages leading to the balcony of Juliet, saw an ancient roman ampitheater and went to a great museum in the old castle by the river. After a soda on the way back, we took a break at the hotel and caught up on e-mail and blogging. We'll head back to the plaza for dinner. The girls had a nice day, but we are all eager to settle in to 1 place in tuscany for a break this next week.

Dolomites day 2 - Alpe di Suisi

We got up early today - woken up by the bells, had breakfast at the hotel, and caught a bus up the mountain to Compatch, a small town at the entry to Alpe di Suisi, one of the largest alpine meadows in the world. We then caught another bus to a small stop at the far end of the meadow. on the way we caught a few glimpses of cloud covered mountains, and large open grassy fields with cows and horses. Gram and Papa headed back on the bus to get their car and drive to Milan (to catch their plane to London). The rest of us caught a chair lift further up the mountain. After a short hike, the weather began to clear and we had fantastic views of the surrounding mountains. We headed back to Compatch and caught the next bus back to Castelrotto where we had a nice lunch at a cafe overlooking the valley. We then got in the car and drove down very curvy roads to the town of Bolzano. Following the instructions of our GPS system, we found ourselves in the midst of a street market (no cars allowed). Annoyed at the dumb tourists a couple of police women pointed us in the right direction after much rolling of eyes, and we found parking and enjoyed a walk through the archeaological museum. We saw the iceman, a mesolithic man who was found frozen in a glacier, nearly intact, and saw some of the only evidence of what people wore during that time (including shoes stuffed with grass). After a less eventful trip back to Castelrotto, we stumbled upon some interesting local cuisine which wasn't to all of our liking, but finished up with a great desert. We took a break from Italian and watched an episode of Northern Exposure on DVD (brough from home) and called it a day.

The Dolomites

On Wednesday, we caught the vaporretto to the train station at 730 am and got to see all of the barges and small boats full of fresh fruit and other supplies headed into Venice. We got on the train and after a short delay outside of Verona, made it to the rental car office before it closed for lunch. We got both cars and headed north by autostrada to Bolzano and then Castelrotto. It got more and more cloudy the further North we travelled. There was enough sun to enjoy the great small skiing and hiking town of Castelrotto where we found our terrific hotel (cavallino D'oro) which was right next to the old town square and bell tower. The bells rang every 15 minutes, all day and all night with 40 tolls of the bells every day at 7AM, noon and 7pm. Braving the weather, we all caught a chair lift to the top of a nearby mountain and got some cloud-covered views of the Dolomites. We returned to the hotel for a great dinner and went to bed early.

Gram's Birthday in Venice by Gram

We got up pretty earlly today so that we could get to the Doge Palace before the crowds got heavy. After a quick breakfast of fresh fruit, we hopped on the vaporetto to San Marco. Truly there was nto a line yet.

Doge means "duke" ; this ducal palace, built in 810, was the home of Venice dukes until the mid 1500s. Designed to show off the power and wealth of the republic, it is typical Venetian Gothic style on the bottom, but the top is kind of Islamic looking. From the Courtyard, visitors to the Doge climbed the grand staircase to the palace. We tromped up the Golden Staircase to the state apartments with richly carved ceilings, maps,and many paintings by Tintoretto, Titian, Donatello, and others. Papa says the government was a "democratic dictatorship." Cathy says, "No way, shape or form was there anything democratic about it; it was all about blood lines." The Council of 10 were the big honchos and they doled out the punishment. The became secretive like the CIA. Gradually they became the biggest power. The Senators, annually elected, ruled along with the Council of 10, the Doge, and the Grand Council. We saw an awful but enormous display of military weapons of the time. The Bridge of Sighs led to the prisons which seemed to go on forever -- most depressing.

After lunch, we wnet to La Chiesa dei Frari, a church built by Franciscan brothers, that was eclectic, combining art and architecture from multiple periods and styles. My favorite here included the high altar and Titian's piece, the Assumption of Mary.

Time for gelato. We ambled through the market on the way to the Realto Bridge -- the fruit looked wonderful. We bought T-shirts for the grandkids (Cole, Jake, and Emma); the girls bought some gifts for friends and they also bought some awful yet wonderful marshmallow-like stuff to eat. A perfect end to our trip to Venice. On to the Dolomites -- demani!

Venice by H

Today we went to the tower on St. Mark's square and we viewed the city from above. Then we had an early lunch at a really cool cafe. We had toast (bread without crust, filled with cheese, and then toasted). We also had a fruit juice drink that was made from fresh fruit. Then we headed to Murano island to see the glass there. We watched some glass blowers and it was very interesting. Then we had gelato, stopped and bought groceries and headed to our apartment to relax and fix dinner. Soon, we are heading out to catch a night-time gondola ride around the city.

Here are some facts that I have learned about Venice:

In every square in Italy the square slopes down into the middle towards the well. This is because in the 9th century Venetians devised a way to collect rainwater by usings town squares for a catchment system. The rain would fall into the square and flow through the pavement and onto or into the clay tub. Venice's population began to grow with safe drinking water. When an aqueduct was built, there was no need for wells anymore so they capped them all and now they just sit in the middle of each square.

In 1965, Venice's population was more than 150,000. Since the flood of 1966, the population has shrunk to 65,000.

The Grand Canal is Venice's main street. It is two miles long. It is nearly 150 feet wide and 15 feet deep.

Venice was built on the marshy islands of the former delta sittting on pilelings -- nearly 15 feet into the clay.

We went on the gondola ride around 9:00 PM tonight. It was awesome!

Venice by T

Once everyone woke up Daddy, H, and I headed for the restaurant car. On the way we stopped at Gram and Papa's "room" on the train. They told us about their sleep. It was a lot better than all of those in our car, but that might have been because their bed included an extra mattress. H stayed and chatted with them while Daddy and I headed to order water from the restaurant car. I ordered six waters in Italian, but the lady only gave me one. Then I said "sei" and she gave us them but spoke to us in English, she also rolled her eyes at me. Anyway, we headed back to Gram and Papa's car, picked up H, and went back to our car. Soon our stop arrived and we were in Venice!! We got off the train and lugged our luggage to the boats (the equivalent of buses or metros in Venice). Gram got the tickets and we were off. Well not really because the lines were long, but you get my point.

Our next stop in Venice was the place we were staying. Upon our arrival, we met up with Angelita and she told us in English that our rooms would be ready in fifteeen minutes but that we could go up to put our junk down. We all changed and Daddy took a shower but then we were off. Our first stop on the tour of Venice was San Marco square, and that was when we were bombarded with pigeons. We all dislike pigeons, but it seems that all the pigeons like Mommy because she kept getting peed on. Our second stop was San Marco Basilica. We all went in without waiting in the lines, thanks to a hint from Rick Steves, and stopped to look at the mosaics on the ceiling in awe. While Gram and Papa sat down, Mommy, Daddy, H, and I went into the treasury. Besides all of the wonderful gold, silver, gems, and stones, there were also displays of bones and brains of the saints. At first Daddy, Mommy, H and I didn't know they were bones but then we saw the hand, all shriveled and dry, and we then saw that the entire room consisted of containers of bones. We left the treasury and met up with Gram and Papa and Mommy joined them to wait for us while Daddy, H, and I climbed to the top of the basilica and saw the view below -- tons of pigeons, some alive some dead, and beyond that the waterways of Venice. We took pictures of Gram, Mommy, and Papa and they took pictures of us.

Once together again, we headed for the Peggy Guggenheim collection. Daddy, H and I walked in and I spoke Italian for the tickets. I asked for 4 adults and two students. Then the lady asked what age are the students and I said 12. Then she spoke English to make sure she understood, and I left. Daddy told me that she said that I spoke very good Italian and so she handed him an Italian Peggy Guggenheim book for me.

The Peggy Guggenheim collection was pretty and there was quite a variety of interesting pieces of art. Some famous artists in the collection were: Wassily Kandinsky, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Piet Mondrian and Max Ernst. After walking through the collection, we moved to another section with modern art. Some of these works included: animal fat with felt, a sled made out of felt and wood, and a video with a man lowering himself into petroleum jelly. More specifics on the video: this sman filmed it himself; he had himself strapped to the ceiling by leather; he was naked and he (literally) lowered himself into petroleum jelly. Maybe this work of art will be like Picasso's or Monet's and become famous at some time but I doubt that everyone will think that it's wonderful and should be put in the Louvre.

After we left the Peggy Guggenheim museum we took a boat to a restaurant Rick Steves recommended. It was like fast food but Italian style. I asked for pasta marinara. Mommy got the same thing. H got ravioli and Daddy got ravioli and pasta with white sauce. After we finished, we went to find gelato. We walked around Venice and eventually found a place for gelato. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as we had hoped. Mommy had limone. So did I. H had strawberry and chocolate. Gram had limone. Papa had mixed berry and Daddy had mixed and chocolate.

We went back to our apartment and after some conversation about plans for the next few days, we all went to bed and fell asleep in an instant.