We got up this morning and hopped the bus and metro into the termini station. It looked all sunny and promising so we didn't take our rain gear. We went to the National Museum of Rome. Actually, there are at least 4 or 5 National Museums of Rome in Rome that cover various sections of time. The one we went to today covered the "antiquity" so there only art from BC to a few years AD. A large portion of the art was from Pompeii.
Incredibly, there were parts of walls to entire walls and some which were close to full rooms where they were able to "skin" the plaster artwork from the brick wall in usable shape and transfer it to walls which were then installed in lifesize rooms in the museum. After having been through Pompeii the other day and wondering what it must of looked like in it's heyday it was really cool to see the actual detailed paintings from the walls and mosaics from the floors. (There were many intact or close to intact mosaics.) The residents of Pompeii were obviously very artistic.
After the museum we went and had lunch near the museum. It was interrupted by a mad dash inside to escape the rain. Fortunately we were eating at an off time so the restaurant could accomodate us. We had lunch and dessert and I converted Jacob into a tiramisu fan. By that time the rain and quit and the sun and humidity were back out.
We hopped the metro two stops and went back and took some sunny photos at the colloseo including a couple to prove that both John and I were on this vacation together. LOL A nice American couple took a couple of family photos for us. Then we walked down into the part of the forum we missed. We still didn't get through all of it as it is HUGE and it was starting to look rainy again but we got some nice photos. Can't wait to get them all loaded to the website. So much better than putting them all onto slides and then inviting all your friends over and boring the crap out of them. LOL
Well, it's only 4:30pm but sadly we're back already. Time to pack up and get ready to head out in the morning. Gabriele has arranged to have a car service pick us up at 6:30am. (Ugh!) He will be here too to pick up the keys. We have to show him a couple of places where the roof is leaking too. He's taken over the rental business on this place since his brother Stephano had a motorcycle accident last July. Stephano is now a parapalegic and is still in between the hospital and rehab. They're both very nice though.
Gotta run but the next time I write, I will probably be "Back Home Again, In Indiana."
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Hey lady- you buy an umbrella? Cheap!
Yeah, real cheap. LOL the price depended on how far you were from the entrance to the site and how hard it was raining. Yesterday when it was dumping and we were standing outside St. Peter's umbrellas went for 16 euros for the little folding ones you can get for $5 or less. When it was lightly sprinking and we were just around the corner from the gate they were 5 euros. Both days the men selling them were about every 5 steps every time it would rain. The kids who were dubious about those LL Bean Tek jackets they got for Christmas were pretty darned happy they had them the last couple of days. Happily the forecast for tomorrow is only 20% chance of rain.
The good news is that we got ALOT accomplished today in between showers. We started out with the Pantheon. Of all the things we've seen on this trip it has been my favorite. Just to think that the Romans were able to construct something so massive between 27 and 25 BC that is A) beautiful beyond belief and B) still standing in 2008 is just unimaginable. It has been "catholicized" of course and has several frescos, paintings and inportant religious statues. That's what saved it from being torn down by the barbarians or melted down and recycled over the years. However, you can still see all the fabulous marble work that has many colors. Much of it came up from Egypt (I think at the time of Mark Anthony if I interpreted correctly.)
The dome is huge and was not replicated in size until St Peter's Basilica some 1500 years later. It has a hole in the center to let in light and, of course, on days like today rain. Watching the rain fall in from the sky was an indescribable experience. I wish you could catch it on film but of course, you just can't. They chain off a large section of the middle of the floor where it's wet but around the edges it's still very dry. You'd think that the floor would be a mess in the middle but it seems to be fine. Jacob and I got a good laugh though. The chain is attached to the backs of the pews (they still conduct mass every Saturday night and Sunday morning) and a few of the back pews were very wet. We decided that the pennance for being late to mass on rainy days was having to sit on the "rain" pews.
When we came out of the Pantheon we hit a McDonalds that was on the square there. The kids and John were having DT's for something besides pasta or pizza. Then we took the bus back to the Metro stop and had to make a choice. The Colloseo, Pallatine and Forum were RIGHT THERE or we could take the metro on to a museum and be inside. We had been told that a large portion of the Colloseo was inside so we went for it. Those people were with a tour and apparently never got outside. Poor them. Fortunately it didn't rain because very little of what there is to see is under cover. there are places to duck in but we only needed to do so once. By the time we headed over to the pallatine and forum it was sunny and we took our jackets off for a while.
After those we walked up the street and had dinner in a little restaurant overlooking the Colloseo. It was very good. The portions were huge though and most of us ended up bringing food home. We'll finish them up tomorrow evening or later tonight. I was a little confused though because my risotto with pumpkin actually was zucchini. LOL Ahh translation issues.
Well I'm off to go figure out our last day's agenda. So much to do and yet so little time. The weather has kept us from getting to so much. Hard to just get off the metro and just walk around when it's dumping rain and cold.
The good news is that we got ALOT accomplished today in between showers. We started out with the Pantheon. Of all the things we've seen on this trip it has been my favorite. Just to think that the Romans were able to construct something so massive between 27 and 25 BC that is A) beautiful beyond belief and B) still standing in 2008 is just unimaginable. It has been "catholicized" of course and has several frescos, paintings and inportant religious statues. That's what saved it from being torn down by the barbarians or melted down and recycled over the years. However, you can still see all the fabulous marble work that has many colors. Much of it came up from Egypt (I think at the time of Mark Anthony if I interpreted correctly.)
The dome is huge and was not replicated in size until St Peter's Basilica some 1500 years later. It has a hole in the center to let in light and, of course, on days like today rain. Watching the rain fall in from the sky was an indescribable experience. I wish you could catch it on film but of course, you just can't. They chain off a large section of the middle of the floor where it's wet but around the edges it's still very dry. You'd think that the floor would be a mess in the middle but it seems to be fine. Jacob and I got a good laugh though. The chain is attached to the backs of the pews (they still conduct mass every Saturday night and Sunday morning) and a few of the back pews were very wet. We decided that the pennance for being late to mass on rainy days was having to sit on the "rain" pews.
When we came out of the Pantheon we hit a McDonalds that was on the square there. The kids and John were having DT's for something besides pasta or pizza. Then we took the bus back to the Metro stop and had to make a choice. The Colloseo, Pallatine and Forum were RIGHT THERE or we could take the metro on to a museum and be inside. We had been told that a large portion of the Colloseo was inside so we went for it. Those people were with a tour and apparently never got outside. Poor them. Fortunately it didn't rain because very little of what there is to see is under cover. there are places to duck in but we only needed to do so once. By the time we headed over to the pallatine and forum it was sunny and we took our jackets off for a while.
After those we walked up the street and had dinner in a little restaurant overlooking the Colloseo. It was very good. The portions were huge though and most of us ended up bringing food home. We'll finish them up tomorrow evening or later tonight. I was a little confused though because my risotto with pumpkin actually was zucchini. LOL Ahh translation issues.
Well I'm off to go figure out our last day's agenda. So much to do and yet so little time. The weather has kept us from getting to so much. Hard to just get off the metro and just walk around when it's dumping rain and cold.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
I left Ireland because of weather like this!
That was the quote from our guide today when she was telling us that it NEVER rains this much in Rome. LOL Cold and Cruddy is the only way to describe it. I wanted so much to spend a couple of hours puttering around St Peter's square but you just couldn't. Light rain was broken only by sudden downpours. The complex is huge and there's so much to take in.
We walked through all the galleries of Greek and Roman art that the church has collected. Most of them are copies done in marble some time in the second century AD of bronze work that was done in the first century AD which were long ago melted down. Funny that they are replicas but still almost 2000 years old. There is a huge thing in one room that looks like it should be a table that would take up an entire room and a large one at that. It's made from an "extinct" mineral and was for some emporer, I forget which one and is actually a birdbath, they think. I'd hate to fill that sucker.
The Sistine Chapel was .... I dunno. Not sure what I expected I guess. They always show the painting of Adam touching the finger of God by itself as though it's this grand thing so I expected it to be featured and large in the middle of the ceiling. It's not though. It's just the same size as the other panels on the ceiling. Wasn't expecting that. It's still a beautiful ceiling and I can't imagine spending 4 years standing on a scaffold, looking up. They said that Michaelangelo and fused vertebra in his neck after doing that ceiling and another. My favorite in the room was actually the Last Judgement. It was much more dramatic. I felt sorry for the guys who spend all day going "Shh, No Photo!" though. What a boring and stinking job.
After the Chapel we went over to the Basilica and toured it. The scope and scale of it are just amazing. Letters that look 18 inches or so tall are actually 7 feet tall but are just that high up. The bronze pulpit from which only the pope can give mass is just huge. How they got it from where Barbarini stole it (and he did) to the Vatican I'll never know. We didn't get to see a section of the basilica because the were holding mass at that time but we did get through most of it. I am not sure if any of the pictures came out because we weren't supposed to use flash inside anywhere. I'm looking for postcards or a good book of the sistine chapel and the basilica but haven't found one yet. Nippon paid for the cleaning of the chapel and has exclusive rights to all photos. It's interesting. They left two squares alone on the wall so you could see what they looked like before cleaning with the, what 500 years of candle smoke built up on them. When they cleaned them they found so many details that they didn't know existed. It's such a big difference.
Oh, also in St Peter's there's a concrete door, one of 4 holy doors in the city. Did you know about these? I had never heard about this. Apparently every 25 years on Dec 24 at midnight the pope breaks through the concrete sacred door that has a big iron cross on it starting at St Peter's and then goes on to do the same at the other 3 churches. Something about ridding the world of sin. So we know what the Pope will be doing on instead of waiting for Santa Claus in 2025.
Other interesting stuff about the Vatican. It has one of the world's most priceless collections of art. Most of the Greek and Roman stuff has been, ummm, altered though by some extra pious pope in the Renaissance days who had all the statues neutered and a figleaf placed strategically. The tour guides said that the joke is that there's a box of parts somewhere in a vault under the vatican.
Around the Vatican are tons of shops with a host of what I personally would consider to be "stuff" for lack of a better word. If you want anykind of crucifix or rosary bead or prayer card you can certainly find it. Also, some moderately demonic looking photos of the new pope and loads of tributes to JP2.
We walked through all the galleries of Greek and Roman art that the church has collected. Most of them are copies done in marble some time in the second century AD of bronze work that was done in the first century AD which were long ago melted down. Funny that they are replicas but still almost 2000 years old. There is a huge thing in one room that looks like it should be a table that would take up an entire room and a large one at that. It's made from an "extinct" mineral and was for some emporer, I forget which one and is actually a birdbath, they think. I'd hate to fill that sucker.
The Sistine Chapel was .... I dunno. Not sure what I expected I guess. They always show the painting of Adam touching the finger of God by itself as though it's this grand thing so I expected it to be featured and large in the middle of the ceiling. It's not though. It's just the same size as the other panels on the ceiling. Wasn't expecting that. It's still a beautiful ceiling and I can't imagine spending 4 years standing on a scaffold, looking up. They said that Michaelangelo and fused vertebra in his neck after doing that ceiling and another. My favorite in the room was actually the Last Judgement. It was much more dramatic. I felt sorry for the guys who spend all day going "Shh, No Photo!" though. What a boring and stinking job.
After the Chapel we went over to the Basilica and toured it. The scope and scale of it are just amazing. Letters that look 18 inches or so tall are actually 7 feet tall but are just that high up. The bronze pulpit from which only the pope can give mass is just huge. How they got it from where Barbarini stole it (and he did) to the Vatican I'll never know. We didn't get to see a section of the basilica because the were holding mass at that time but we did get through most of it. I am not sure if any of the pictures came out because we weren't supposed to use flash inside anywhere. I'm looking for postcards or a good book of the sistine chapel and the basilica but haven't found one yet. Nippon paid for the cleaning of the chapel and has exclusive rights to all photos. It's interesting. They left two squares alone on the wall so you could see what they looked like before cleaning with the, what 500 years of candle smoke built up on them. When they cleaned them they found so many details that they didn't know existed. It's such a big difference.
Oh, also in St Peter's there's a concrete door, one of 4 holy doors in the city. Did you know about these? I had never heard about this. Apparently every 25 years on Dec 24 at midnight the pope breaks through the concrete sacred door that has a big iron cross on it starting at St Peter's and then goes on to do the same at the other 3 churches. Something about ridding the world of sin. So we know what the Pope will be doing on instead of waiting for Santa Claus in 2025.
Other interesting stuff about the Vatican. It has one of the world's most priceless collections of art. Most of the Greek and Roman stuff has been, ummm, altered though by some extra pious pope in the Renaissance days who had all the statues neutered and a figleaf placed strategically. The tour guides said that the joke is that there's a box of parts somewhere in a vault under the vatican.
Around the Vatican are tons of shops with a host of what I personally would consider to be "stuff" for lack of a better word. If you want anykind of crucifix or rosary bead or prayer card you can certainly find it. Also, some moderately demonic looking photos of the new pope and loads of tributes to JP2.
Monday, May 19, 2008
LONG DAY
Just a short post. I'll try to catch you all up on Pompeii tomorrow. As usual we tried to use the directions from Mapquest and got lost. It took us to the town of Pompeii which is on the north side of Vesuvius instead of the archeological site which is on the south face. It was after 2pm when we finally made it and then we ate before we went in. Some of the food was a little wierd, John's bacon on his sandwich was not cooked well, but I had linguini puttensesca which was probably the second best dish I've had here. Beck's gnocchi was good too. He inhaled it.
We toured about 1/3 of the site. It's HUGE. Then headed back towards Rome. We dropped everything by the house and then went to the airport (Fuimincino which John and I have given up trying to pronounce and just call it Fu Man Chu) to drop off the car. With the evening train schedule we just decided to grab a taxi back to the house and it ended up being cheaper than the trains anyway.
Anyway, I'll post about Pompeii and the Vatican tomorrow.
We toured about 1/3 of the site. It's HUGE. Then headed back towards Rome. We dropped everything by the house and then went to the airport (Fuimincino which John and I have given up trying to pronounce and just call it Fu Man Chu) to drop off the car. With the evening train schedule we just decided to grab a taxi back to the house and it ended up being cheaper than the trains anyway.
Anyway, I'll post about Pompeii and the Vatican tomorrow.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
First Day in Roma
Today started badly. It was raining like crazy this morning. In fact the weather reports for the entire week are 60% rain, 80% rain, 60% rain and 50% rain SO…. However, if it’s like today it rained in the morning and then cleared off beautifully by noon and was on the warm side in the afternoon and evening. Now it’s going on 6:30 and it’s gorgeous. We’re back at the apartment and since I have to write in Word and then copy into the blog, I’m sitting outside in the kids’ play area. Right now they’ve gone off to look at the donkeys which is nice because I can get in more than 2 words without an interruption. LOL
So far, our warnings about the water being off today have not held true for our part of the city or if they were, it was while we were gone and we weren’t bothered by it. We went to the Callisto Catacombs which happened to be the set of catacombs which were open on Sunday. They weren’t too far from our house and it only took us 20 minutes to get there. Finding things that are open on Sunday and Monday is entertaining. You definitely have to turn to the antiquities.
The catacombs were very interesting. Mostly now it’s a big hole in the ground with crypts carved out. There are still a lot of pieces of early carvings and paintings though and the occasional statue. Of course, you only get to explore a tiny bit of the known 33 acres worth of the complex. It’s at least 4 stories deep too. We had a really nice priest lead us through. I’m ASSUMING that most of the guides are priests although I really didn’t pay attention. All of the known Christian catacombs are owned and being explored and have been restored by the catholic church. The jewish ones are owned by the jewish community and he stated, no one has gone into the pagan ones. INTERESTING.
After the catacombs the boys were STARVING again, as usual, so we went for dinner even though it was a bit early. We decided that we couldn’t stand another pizza or pasta meal so we stopped at McDonald that was in a Servicio area beside the road. It’s official. McDonalds is dismal on this side of the world too. The only bright spot was that the servicio also had a pastry shop that served canoli that were very good. John didn’t like them but I did. Too much ricotta for him.
Yesterday we stopped in Orvieto on the way to Roma. Wow! I really want to go back there and spend the night and get a chance to really explore. The medieval duomo is more magnificent on the outside than the inside but both are something to behold. It was impossible to get a photo of the whole thing as usual and photos weren’t allowed inside. I picked up postcards Totally worth the drive and hike though.
We didn’t get to do anything other than the duomo. John fell on the stairs in Florence taking one of our big suitcases down. He whacked his little toe on one food and the suitcase landed on his ankle of the other foot. He was really limping so we didn’t walk too much. So Orvieto is on my TO DO list for next trip.
Tomorrow is supposed to be hideously rainy here but mostly sunny south and it’s the last day we’ll have the car so it’s off to Pompeii. Then on the way back we’ll swing by the airport and turn in the car. Then comes the challenge of getting back home. LOL Actually it’s pretty easy. Commuter train to the metro. Metro B to the terminal and the 797 Bus home. It comes right up to the apartment complex behind us and then we just take a little goat (ok here it’s a donkey) path to the house. On Tuesday morning we’ll reverse that only skip the commuter train and take the Metro A after B to get to the Vatican for our tour. At first we were told that the 797 bus only came every 55 minutes but John and I went up to the apartment complex this morning to let the kids play in the park. We were there 45 minutes and the 797 bus came in twice about 25 minutes apart and that was on a Sunday. The sign shows it running on the 30’s which is a much better schedule.
It isn’t convenient being out this far. We certainly would have crammed more into today if we had been downtown. However, it’s been kind of nice to have a down day and the kids are enjoying being out here even if it still isn’t like home. We still have to share everything with 7 other families.
I still hope to get through the collosseum, forum, Spanish steps and several other things over the three days we have left after Pompeii.
So far, our warnings about the water being off today have not held true for our part of the city or if they were, it was while we were gone and we weren’t bothered by it. We went to the Callisto Catacombs which happened to be the set of catacombs which were open on Sunday. They weren’t too far from our house and it only took us 20 minutes to get there. Finding things that are open on Sunday and Monday is entertaining. You definitely have to turn to the antiquities.
The catacombs were very interesting. Mostly now it’s a big hole in the ground with crypts carved out. There are still a lot of pieces of early carvings and paintings though and the occasional statue. Of course, you only get to explore a tiny bit of the known 33 acres worth of the complex. It’s at least 4 stories deep too. We had a really nice priest lead us through. I’m ASSUMING that most of the guides are priests although I really didn’t pay attention. All of the known Christian catacombs are owned and being explored and have been restored by the catholic church. The jewish ones are owned by the jewish community and he stated, no one has gone into the pagan ones. INTERESTING.
After the catacombs the boys were STARVING again, as usual, so we went for dinner even though it was a bit early. We decided that we couldn’t stand another pizza or pasta meal so we stopped at McDonald that was in a Servicio area beside the road. It’s official. McDonalds is dismal on this side of the world too. The only bright spot was that the servicio also had a pastry shop that served canoli that were very good. John didn’t like them but I did. Too much ricotta for him.
Yesterday we stopped in Orvieto on the way to Roma. Wow! I really want to go back there and spend the night and get a chance to really explore. The medieval duomo is more magnificent on the outside than the inside but both are something to behold. It was impossible to get a photo of the whole thing as usual and photos weren’t allowed inside. I picked up postcards Totally worth the drive and hike though.
We didn’t get to do anything other than the duomo. John fell on the stairs in Florence taking one of our big suitcases down. He whacked his little toe on one food and the suitcase landed on his ankle of the other foot. He was really limping so we didn’t walk too much. So Orvieto is on my TO DO list for next trip.
Tomorrow is supposed to be hideously rainy here but mostly sunny south and it’s the last day we’ll have the car so it’s off to Pompeii. Then on the way back we’ll swing by the airport and turn in the car. Then comes the challenge of getting back home. LOL Actually it’s pretty easy. Commuter train to the metro. Metro B to the terminal and the 797 Bus home. It comes right up to the apartment complex behind us and then we just take a little goat (ok here it’s a donkey) path to the house. On Tuesday morning we’ll reverse that only skip the commuter train and take the Metro A after B to get to the Vatican for our tour. At first we were told that the 797 bus only came every 55 minutes but John and I went up to the apartment complex this morning to let the kids play in the park. We were there 45 minutes and the 797 bus came in twice about 25 minutes apart and that was on a Sunday. The sign shows it running on the 30’s which is a much better schedule.
It isn’t convenient being out this far. We certainly would have crammed more into today if we had been downtown. However, it’s been kind of nice to have a down day and the kids are enjoying being out here even if it still isn’t like home. We still have to share everything with 7 other families.
I still hope to get through the collosseum, forum, Spanish steps and several other things over the three days we have left after Pompeii.
Dial up!
going to keep this short for now. We have dial up! I'll write tonight in Word and then post our first Rome adventures to the blog but don't expect any more photos until we get back until we get home next weekend. We're waiting a bit longer to head out to the Catacombs this afternoon. It was raining alot this morning but the sun is out now. Tomorrow we're heading down to Pompeii and then turning in the car. Then it's public transportation for us. We're out a ways so that could be interesting but it's a nice area. My only issue with this house is that it has a terrifying open stairway. Otherwise there's a yard for the kids with pay equipment, dogs, cats and donkeys. Now if only it would quit raining.
Talk to you after the catacombs.
Talk to you after the catacombs.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Last day in Firenze
Well, today is our last day in Florence. We finally found the Duomo museum that I was looking for on Monday. They have the original panels from the Baptistry doors and also Donatello's Mary Magdelline.
Then we went back to a place where we had lunch before. It was very good and the staff was very nice. After that we walked around a while and did some shopping. Now we're waiting for Beckman to finish his nap. We did some packing up and are waiting for clothes to dry so we can finish. We're also watching the end of Kindergarten Cop, which I haven't seen in years. As soon as Beck gets up we'll head out again. It's raining a bit right now anyway.
Then we went back to a place where we had lunch before. It was very good and the staff was very nice. After that we walked around a while and did some shopping. Now we're waiting for Beckman to finish his nap. We did some packing up and are waiting for clothes to dry so we can finish. We're also watching the end of Kindergarten Cop, which I haven't seen in years. As soon as Beck gets up we'll head out again. It's raining a bit right now anyway.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Lost and found in a leaning town
Well, the good news is that we had a lovely EXTENSIVE walking tour of the town of Pisa. the bad news is that we didn't intend to. LOL Apparently we were supposed to go in on the south side of town and we went in on the North. There are ABSOLUTELY no markings from the highway and none of the directions or guidebooks said which one to choose. Actually, had there been any sort of sensible street signs in town we weren't that far from the tower, etc where we parked but we ended up walking all the way to the train station, found a TI office and got a map and then had to hike back 20 minutes in the opposite direction. It was probably and extra 40 minutes worth of walking.
We ate lunch at a ok place. It didn't taste bad but very limited menu and the food was microwaved. The tower really is spectacular though. I hope that some of the photos show the lean. It's hard to line up a shot that shows it well because it's just so improbable.
I must object though to all the tourist boards and guide books that say that Pisa is only worth a driveby and a snapshot. It's definitely not a weeklong destination but it's a nice town with lots of great architecture and a cool old medieval wall. One street we walked down had a very, old, stone, medieval looking church and much more "modern?" buildings built right up attached to it. It was a very wierd but definitely Pisa contrast. There's a big university here too.
Also, I posted a wrong link yesterday for our new photos. Here's the new link and the password is still "parknstore":
http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn138/jekwiatt
We ate lunch at a ok place. It didn't taste bad but very limited menu and the food was microwaved. The tower really is spectacular though. I hope that some of the photos show the lean. It's hard to line up a shot that shows it well because it's just so improbable.
I must object though to all the tourist boards and guide books that say that Pisa is only worth a driveby and a snapshot. It's definitely not a weeklong destination but it's a nice town with lots of great architecture and a cool old medieval wall. One street we walked down had a very, old, stone, medieval looking church and much more "modern?" buildings built right up attached to it. It was a very wierd but definitely Pisa contrast. There's a big university here too.
Also, I posted a wrong link yesterday for our new photos. Here's the new link and the password is still "parknstore":
http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn138/jekwiatt
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Here's a link to some more photos. The password is parknstore
You can put these into a slide show by clicking on the upper right and control the speed on the lower left. Some of them are labeled, some, not so much. I've been too busy in the evening researching the next day's agenda. Tomorrow it's off to Pisa.
No paintings today
Today we went to the National Science Museum. Unfortunately 2 of the floors were closed but we still got to see lots of really old telescopes and Galileo's middle finger. LOL We were OD'ed on paintings so we went and checked out the museum. Then we ate lunch in front of the Uffizi. We just picked up lunch at a little cart on the back side of the Uffizi that was less than half the price of yesterday's fiasco and MUCH BETTER. Then we took it around to the entrance side and people-watched and ate while JAcob got a cariacture draw.
We came back to the apartment for a while so Beck could nap. D and I went and did some puttering around shopping which was mostly unsuccessful. She did buy Green Eggs and Ham in Italian though and also toothpaste. We're getting ready to go out with the whole family and we have reservations at the little cafe right outside our apartment for dinner at 7pm. The food was so good there the othernight.
John and I went over there last night for lemoncello and dessert after the kiddos were in bed. The cake was good but the lemoncello tasted like a cross between nyqil and hooch. BLEH!
We came back to the apartment for a while so Beck could nap. D and I went and did some puttering around shopping which was mostly unsuccessful. She did buy Green Eggs and Ham in Italian though and also toothpaste. We're getting ready to go out with the whole family and we have reservations at the little cafe right outside our apartment for dinner at 7pm. The food was so good there the othernight.
John and I went over there last night for lemoncello and dessert after the kiddos were in bed. The cake was good but the lemoncello tasted like a cross between nyqil and hooch. BLEH!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Accademia and Uffizi
Today was a day of BIG art. Before lunch we took in the Accademia which is home for David. There are loads of paintings and sculptures but of course the main reason everyone goes is to see David "live and in person." He's massive. You just can't imagine that someone hauled that huge chunk of rock anywhere let alone carved it into a lifelike being.
The Uffizi wasn't as massive as the Pitti but there were Bottacellis, Leonardos and Michelangos. The downer to it was that there were also MASSIVE tour groups. They sometimes choked a room and made impossible to see an exhibit, especially the really important pieces.
We're going out for a walk now but I'll add more later.
The Uffizi wasn't as massive as the Pitti but there were Bottacellis, Leonardos and Michelangos. The downer to it was that there were also MASSIVE tour groups. They sometimes choked a room and made impossible to see an exhibit, especially the really important pieces.
We're going out for a walk now but I'll add more later.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Here's some pictures John took in Venice. Unfortunately most sites only let us post a small amount of pictures.
http://www.flickr.com/gp/26488872@N07/99SgQf
http://www.flickr.com/gp/26488872@N07/99SgQf
463 STEPS! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
I swear it seemed more like 4,063! Ok, so I guess with a title like that we'll go in reverse order today. Sometimes it pays to read signs correctly and well.... They're all in Italian here. No "hey stupid American go here" signs. LOL So, we were looking for the Duomo Museo Della Opera not the Museo Della Opera Duomo. There's a difference of Donatello statues verses climbing to the Dome of the duomo. Guess which one we did!
Yeah, we bought our tickets thinking we were going into the museum. We didn't think anything about it being the Dome because all the guide books say "no kids under age 8" and they let us take Beck right on through. It didn't take us long at all to figure out our mistake though. LOL Now, I will say that it was worth the near myocardial infarction and the fact that my legs shook for half an hour afterwards. The view of Florence from the top was spectacular. The view of the art inside the top of the dome was equally worth it. Jacob has some great pictures. I haven't viewed mine yet.
We never did actually make it to the museum so we'll have to go back. We did the Duomo climb after lunch. When we first arrived at the square we went into the church and viewed it from the bottom level. It's very impressive in a size scale but not as ornate as San Marco. Again, it's just hard to imagine all the work that went into it, especially all the paintings.
We also saw the baptistry which was somewhat smaller but much more ornate. the entire ceiling was done in gold and colored mosaic. I hope some of my pictures come out as we were able to take pictures inside.
The only annoyance on the square were the band of professional beggars who were everywhere. They were women, sometimes with a child, always with a photo of a large family trying to get money. They were very persistant and it didn't take too many to figure out that they were using the same photo. It took the kids a little while to get through to them that these weren't homeless people but a band of professional beggars (and probably pickpockets) and we didn't need to feel sorry for them or give them money. It's difficult because you want them to have a heart for the less fortunate but also to not be taken for a sucker.
We had lunch at a cafe beside the duomo. Beck and I shared proscuito e melone and some kind of penne that I got about half of. Mr Beck-man was HUNGRY! He ate half of the one I got for us to share and then probably about a third of Carina's spaghetti a la frutti di mare. He would have eaten more but there wasn't any.
We're going to eat dinner in tonight. It's threatening to rain and we got back earlier than expected since we had to rescue the wash off the line. It was sprinkling a while back. An early night will do us all good too. We've been up until midnight the past several nights.
I went to the little mom and pop grocery store that's literally in the same building but around the corner. I'm pretty sure that my bedroom at home is bigger. Frankly, my bedroom here is bigger. It has a nice little deli and the basics though. I picked up "un etto" (about a quarter pound) each of salami milanese, salami toscona, mortadella, reggiano fresco, cured olives and a packet of mozzarella di buffala to go with the bread and fruit John bought this morning. It will give us some different things to try. We also have proscuito left from Venice. No one except Jacob and Beck will be all that hungry anyway. Lunch was huge, even with Beck eating half of mine.
Tomorrow is the Accademia and the Uffizi. We have reservations for both of those, although doing our late timing method has worked out well so far.
Yeah, we bought our tickets thinking we were going into the museum. We didn't think anything about it being the Dome because all the guide books say "no kids under age 8" and they let us take Beck right on through. It didn't take us long at all to figure out our mistake though. LOL Now, I will say that it was worth the near myocardial infarction and the fact that my legs shook for half an hour afterwards. The view of Florence from the top was spectacular. The view of the art inside the top of the dome was equally worth it. Jacob has some great pictures. I haven't viewed mine yet.
We never did actually make it to the museum so we'll have to go back. We did the Duomo climb after lunch. When we first arrived at the square we went into the church and viewed it from the bottom level. It's very impressive in a size scale but not as ornate as San Marco. Again, it's just hard to imagine all the work that went into it, especially all the paintings.
We also saw the baptistry which was somewhat smaller but much more ornate. the entire ceiling was done in gold and colored mosaic. I hope some of my pictures come out as we were able to take pictures inside.
The only annoyance on the square were the band of professional beggars who were everywhere. They were women, sometimes with a child, always with a photo of a large family trying to get money. They were very persistant and it didn't take too many to figure out that they were using the same photo. It took the kids a little while to get through to them that these weren't homeless people but a band of professional beggars (and probably pickpockets) and we didn't need to feel sorry for them or give them money. It's difficult because you want them to have a heart for the less fortunate but also to not be taken for a sucker.
We had lunch at a cafe beside the duomo. Beck and I shared proscuito e melone and some kind of penne that I got about half of. Mr Beck-man was HUNGRY! He ate half of the one I got for us to share and then probably about a third of Carina's spaghetti a la frutti di mare. He would have eaten more but there wasn't any.
We're going to eat dinner in tonight. It's threatening to rain and we got back earlier than expected since we had to rescue the wash off the line. It was sprinkling a while back. An early night will do us all good too. We've been up until midnight the past several nights.
I went to the little mom and pop grocery store that's literally in the same building but around the corner. I'm pretty sure that my bedroom at home is bigger. Frankly, my bedroom here is bigger. It has a nice little deli and the basics though. I picked up "un etto" (about a quarter pound) each of salami milanese, salami toscona, mortadella, reggiano fresco, cured olives and a packet of mozzarella di buffala to go with the bread and fruit John bought this morning. It will give us some different things to try. We also have proscuito left from Venice. No one except Jacob and Beck will be all that hungry anyway. Lunch was huge, even with Beck eating half of mine.
Tomorrow is the Accademia and the Uffizi. We have reservations for both of those, although doing our late timing method has worked out well so far.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Pitti Palace
Today was the Pitti Palace. Talk about a monstrosity of excess. Again, more beautiful paintings than I can remember. Alot of Rafaels, Titians, Van Dyks and more. Many rooms though it was a terrible shame to cover up any of the walls as the paintings, wall coverings, ceilings, frescos and carvings were far superior to what was on the canvas. There were marble tables in every room that were pictures done in colored inlaid marble that were incredible in detail. It's hard to believe that they were made without the benefit of modern tools. there were supposed to be Rembrants there but I didn't see them. Several paintings were out for restoration.
Beck crashed about halfway through and had to be carried. Fortunately John found benches to park on for a while and he was not as interested as I was in everything. He could take in a room in a few minutes while I had to stop, read the little card for each room and then go back and look at each painting, table, and then stare at the ceiling for a while. He was able to sit with Delaney and Carina for a while, then catch up. He handed Beck off to me and the little brat immediately woke up and decided to walk.
We ate lunch at the cafe at the palace which was nothing to write home about. It might have been good but we arrived at the end of the serving time so the pickings were slim. I did have a ham and cheese sandwhich with some kind of olive spread that was ok but not what I really wanted. It was a place to sit down though and it was looking rainy and spitting a bit so it was a good rest at least.
After that we walked across the Ponte Vecchio. We took advantage of the fact that the sun was covered a bit and took pictures. We're trying to find a place online to download some pictures now.
Beck crashed about halfway through and had to be carried. Fortunately John found benches to park on for a while and he was not as interested as I was in everything. He could take in a room in a few minutes while I had to stop, read the little card for each room and then go back and look at each painting, table, and then stare at the ceiling for a while. He was able to sit with Delaney and Carina for a while, then catch up. He handed Beck off to me and the little brat immediately woke up and decided to walk.
We ate lunch at the cafe at the palace which was nothing to write home about. It might have been good but we arrived at the end of the serving time so the pickings were slim. I did have a ham and cheese sandwhich with some kind of olive spread that was ok but not what I really wanted. It was a place to sit down though and it was looking rainy and spitting a bit so it was a good rest at least.
After that we walked across the Ponte Vecchio. We took advantage of the fact that the sun was covered a bit and took pictures. We're trying to find a place online to download some pictures now.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Florence-FINALLY!
OK, we finally made it to Florence. Holy Cow! It started well. We got out of the apartment in Venice in plenty of time and made it TO the airport within a reasonable time. However, it took us another 2 hours just to get the car rental accomplished, clean carseat located and installed and then on the road. We didn't even get into Bologna. We just didn't have the time to go looking for the old city center.
The drive down was really beautiful. We took the autostrada. I was afraid that it would be kind of boring but when we hit the mountains it was really spectacular. So many places that I would like to go back and explore.
Once we got to Florence it was CRAZY. As I explained to Laura, it was like cramming Chicago traffic into a bunch of alleys. Then tossing in a ton of people walking everywhere and motorcycles whizzing in and out of traffic with no regards for lanes or traffic lights. Then for fun any "road" you might be on will dead end or decide to become a one way in the opposite direction with no warning. We were literally within a block of where we were going but "couldn't get there from here" and ended up driving for another half an hour trying to circle around.
Our apartment is really nice. Much larger than the last one. You can turn around in the kitchen so that's a huge bonus. We walked to a little restaurant down the street. I had some pasta that wasn't defined in the menu. I'd never heard of it before so I just went with blind faith. It was tortellini with a sauce that had eggplant, peppers and mushrooms. It actually kind of reminded me of Granny's goulash only with tortellini.
Well, I'm going to bed now. We'll hopefully post pictures tomorrow.
The drive down was really beautiful. We took the autostrada. I was afraid that it would be kind of boring but when we hit the mountains it was really spectacular. So many places that I would like to go back and explore.
Once we got to Florence it was CRAZY. As I explained to Laura, it was like cramming Chicago traffic into a bunch of alleys. Then tossing in a ton of people walking everywhere and motorcycles whizzing in and out of traffic with no regards for lanes or traffic lights. Then for fun any "road" you might be on will dead end or decide to become a one way in the opposite direction with no warning. We were literally within a block of where we were going but "couldn't get there from here" and ended up driving for another half an hour trying to circle around.
Our apartment is really nice. Much larger than the last one. You can turn around in the kitchen so that's a huge bonus. We walked to a little restaurant down the street. I had some pasta that wasn't defined in the menu. I'd never heard of it before so I just went with blind faith. It was tortellini with a sauce that had eggplant, peppers and mushrooms. It actually kind of reminded me of Granny's goulash only with tortellini.
Well, I'm going to bed now. We'll hopefully post pictures tomorrow.
May 8th - 9th
May 8, 2008
Today was a day of ups and downs. We started out by getting vaporetto tickets and heading up(?) the Grand Canal to Rialto Bridge. It’s a really cool bridge with a lot of vendors along the middle of it. Lots of crowds, and a bit of everything was for sale including New York Yankees clothing, which Jacob got a kick out of. We missed the famous fish market though. It’s more of a morning thing and we didn’t get there until closer to lunch time.
The vaporettos are an experience. I haven’t been on too many subways but they put subways to shame on the “overcrowded and smelly” scale. Then you throw in the fact that you’re on water and fighting the waves and you literally crash into every stop! They should come with a warning label. They gave Carina a migraine. Luckily we were right near our stop so we were able to bring her home, med her up and leave her to sleep it off.
After that we went down to Campo San Salute but for some reason didn’t get around to going inside. We walked back past the Peggy Gugenheim museum and all the little back alley ways and shops. We stopped at a little lunch place not too far from our apartment. Jacob, Beck and Delaney had…. Big surprise…. Pizza! Actually, Jacob had one with aged prosciutto and raddichio. He is trying lots of things, they’re just attached to a pizza. LOL
John had tortellini con proscuitto and I had eggplant parmesan. After lunch Beck went down for a nap and Delaney and I went for a tour of the Accademia. Talk about painting OVERLOAD! I would seriously have to go online and research what is there to tell you what all we saw other than “a lot of Madonna and childs” as D would tell you. It’s hard to explain to an 8yo the reason there’s more than one painting of them, why they look different, or “no, we really don’t know if god has a white beard and long hair that’s just what 17th century men looked like.” LOL
Seriously though, after about room 3 we lost track of which paintings and artists we had seen. I remember Tintoretto but most of the names are gone. I had seen photos of a lot of the works in books though. Books don’t give you any idea of the scale of most of the works though. They are beyond huge. It certainly gives you an idea for the wealth of the people who commissioned them since there was no Hobby Lobby to run out and get modern paints and supplies.
Tomorrow we’re going to try to hit several more places before we head out on Saturday. We’ll see how much we can get in. It’s just impossible to get everything I wanted to see done. Venice is WAY too much to take in during one short visit WITH KIDS!
May 9, 2008
Well, no internet connection again today so I guess I will just add to this word file and post to the blog when I can. HOPEFULLY we’ll have reliable service in Florence. We could go to one of the many internet café’s around here but it’s €5 per half hour so we haven’t gotten that desperate yet.
Today we went back to San Marco in the morning. We’d missed some things including the Doge’s palace the other day due to exhaustion. Yeah, we missed it again today. The line was incredible. For that matter, the line to the Basilica which took us 2 minutes to walk through was snaked back and forth everywhere plus there were tour group lines and baggage check lines. Lesson learned. When we come back, we will definitely do San Marco in the afternoon. At 1pm there was no one in line or inside comparatively speaking.
We did get tagged today by a vaporetto strike. We were leaving San Marco and heading back to check out another section of town. Fortunately San Marco was easy walking distance from our apartment and it was on the last hour of our 24 hour ticket, not the first. I did like how they waited until the locals got to work and then went on strike until 1:30 when it was time for the locals to go to lunch. LOL
The girls, Beck and I walked back and had lunch while John and Jacob took some more pictures. While Beck took a nap the girls and I did some shopping along Via Toleta, the walkway next to Canale Toleta, where we’re staying.
After naptime we walked over to Frari church. Very cool Tinteretto paintings, a Donatello carving and the huge inner workings of an old clock along with the graves of a bunch of dignitaries. Other than the fact that we all came out hacking from all the mustiness, it was very cool. The scale of these churches is just unbelievable.
For dinner it was back to Campo Santa Margherita for an outdoor café. Beck and Delaney had hotdogs. LOL John had a shrimp sandwich, Jacob a shrimp salad, Carina- Tortellini and I had risotto with seafood. Beck ate his hotdog and about 1/3 of my dinner too. The rest of the family would happily eat pizza every meal but I’m TRYING to insist that we get something else in or at least eat somewhere that I can eat something else at least once per day. The pizza is wonderful but I didn’t come halfway around the world to live on pizza.
We stopped and picked up some treats at a bakery too today. I picked up these cookies for John and I that had a slightly lemony taste. They were dipped in chocolate and filled with nutella. Yummy!
Now we’re doing laundry and packing up to head to Florence tomorrow. The plan is to make a run through Bologna tomorrow. (NO Oscar Mayer Jokes please. I’ve heard all the questions I can handle from Delaney, along with: Are we going back to Indianapolis to pick up the car? And How did they get our car over here? Oh yeah, and Can I buy that?)
Today was a day of ups and downs. We started out by getting vaporetto tickets and heading up(?) the Grand Canal to Rialto Bridge. It’s a really cool bridge with a lot of vendors along the middle of it. Lots of crowds, and a bit of everything was for sale including New York Yankees clothing, which Jacob got a kick out of. We missed the famous fish market though. It’s more of a morning thing and we didn’t get there until closer to lunch time.
The vaporettos are an experience. I haven’t been on too many subways but they put subways to shame on the “overcrowded and smelly” scale. Then you throw in the fact that you’re on water and fighting the waves and you literally crash into every stop! They should come with a warning label. They gave Carina a migraine. Luckily we were right near our stop so we were able to bring her home, med her up and leave her to sleep it off.
After that we went down to Campo San Salute but for some reason didn’t get around to going inside. We walked back past the Peggy Gugenheim museum and all the little back alley ways and shops. We stopped at a little lunch place not too far from our apartment. Jacob, Beck and Delaney had…. Big surprise…. Pizza! Actually, Jacob had one with aged prosciutto and raddichio. He is trying lots of things, they’re just attached to a pizza. LOL
John had tortellini con proscuitto and I had eggplant parmesan. After lunch Beck went down for a nap and Delaney and I went for a tour of the Accademia. Talk about painting OVERLOAD! I would seriously have to go online and research what is there to tell you what all we saw other than “a lot of Madonna and childs” as D would tell you. It’s hard to explain to an 8yo the reason there’s more than one painting of them, why they look different, or “no, we really don’t know if god has a white beard and long hair that’s just what 17th century men looked like.” LOL
Seriously though, after about room 3 we lost track of which paintings and artists we had seen. I remember Tintoretto but most of the names are gone. I had seen photos of a lot of the works in books though. Books don’t give you any idea of the scale of most of the works though. They are beyond huge. It certainly gives you an idea for the wealth of the people who commissioned them since there was no Hobby Lobby to run out and get modern paints and supplies.
Tomorrow we’re going to try to hit several more places before we head out on Saturday. We’ll see how much we can get in. It’s just impossible to get everything I wanted to see done. Venice is WAY too much to take in during one short visit WITH KIDS!
May 9, 2008
Well, no internet connection again today so I guess I will just add to this word file and post to the blog when I can. HOPEFULLY we’ll have reliable service in Florence. We could go to one of the many internet café’s around here but it’s €5 per half hour so we haven’t gotten that desperate yet.
Today we went back to San Marco in the morning. We’d missed some things including the Doge’s palace the other day due to exhaustion. Yeah, we missed it again today. The line was incredible. For that matter, the line to the Basilica which took us 2 minutes to walk through was snaked back and forth everywhere plus there were tour group lines and baggage check lines. Lesson learned. When we come back, we will definitely do San Marco in the afternoon. At 1pm there was no one in line or inside comparatively speaking.
We did get tagged today by a vaporetto strike. We were leaving San Marco and heading back to check out another section of town. Fortunately San Marco was easy walking distance from our apartment and it was on the last hour of our 24 hour ticket, not the first. I did like how they waited until the locals got to work and then went on strike until 1:30 when it was time for the locals to go to lunch. LOL
The girls, Beck and I walked back and had lunch while John and Jacob took some more pictures. While Beck took a nap the girls and I did some shopping along Via Toleta, the walkway next to Canale Toleta, where we’re staying.
After naptime we walked over to Frari church. Very cool Tinteretto paintings, a Donatello carving and the huge inner workings of an old clock along with the graves of a bunch of dignitaries. Other than the fact that we all came out hacking from all the mustiness, it was very cool. The scale of these churches is just unbelievable.
For dinner it was back to Campo Santa Margherita for an outdoor café. Beck and Delaney had hotdogs. LOL John had a shrimp sandwich, Jacob a shrimp salad, Carina- Tortellini and I had risotto with seafood. Beck ate his hotdog and about 1/3 of my dinner too. The rest of the family would happily eat pizza every meal but I’m TRYING to insist that we get something else in or at least eat somewhere that I can eat something else at least once per day. The pizza is wonderful but I didn’t come halfway around the world to live on pizza.
We stopped and picked up some treats at a bakery too today. I picked up these cookies for John and I that had a slightly lemony taste. They were dipped in chocolate and filled with nutella. Yummy!
Now we’re doing laundry and packing up to head to Florence tomorrow. The plan is to make a run through Bologna tomorrow. (NO Oscar Mayer Jokes please. I’ve heard all the questions I can handle from Delaney, along with: Are we going back to Indianapolis to pick up the car? And How did they get our car over here? Oh yeah, and Can I buy that?)
Thursday, May 8, 2008
San Marco
Ok, last night continued… We walked around Campo San Barnaba and found a supermercato. Very different than our Marsh or Walmart you can bet. Everything is small and expensive. A liter of milk was over €3. We also stopped canal side to buy apples and pears from a salesman in a boat.
Today after everyone got up we decided to go to Piazza San Marco. Jacob spent most of his time there trying to convince the pigeons that they were more afraid of him than he was of them. LOL, Sadly they were NOT! Beck had a fine time chasing them for a while. We had a laugh over the fact that someone has the job of going around all day telling people that they can’t sit down in San Marco either. She’d no sooner move down the line than people would start sitting down again. Talk about useless.
We roamed the area for a while to find someplace to eat and then ended up in a pizza restaurant/burger king of all places. It had someplace to sit down though and since Delaney had forgotten to take her lactaid the Burger King came in handy. It was hard to pay €6 for a grilled chicken combo though. Nearly everything at San Marco was double the price of elsewhere in Venice. A €20 t-shirt at San Marco was €12 just a few blocks away.
San Marco itself was nearly indescribable. I expected the square to be completely packed since that’s how I’ve always heard it described. There were a lot of people but it was not overly crowded at all. We arrived at the traditional Italian lunch time and there was a tiny line to get inside the basilica. Their rules for entry are no joke. We saw them turn a couple of people away for inappropriate clothing. (In case you ever wondered, you should leave your Iron Maiden shirt at home. ) Jacob got asked to remove his ball cap too.
I hope to eventually be able to load some of the photos we took from outside San Marco. Our internet connection is slow and tenuous at best here. I got what I hope are some great pictures of the statues and frescos on the front of the building. It’s hard to imagine the time and detail that it took to put in each little piece of each huge mosaic by hand. There are no photos allowed inside so I will have to buy some.
Inside the basilica is just one of those “WOW” moments. I completely forgot every piece of art history I ever learned. You don’t even know where to look. The tiling on the floor is gorgeous, the woodwork and or course all the golden mosaics are just incredible. The basilica is free but I also paid the €2 to see the Golden Altar. It was very ornate and I really wished that I could have a picture. Not worth getting yelled at by the officials though. LOL
We did have a laugh though over how uneven the floor is inside the basilica. I had read in a tour book that the foundation was solid but the floor was uneven. I expected “a little uneven.” This was more “great rolling hills.”
It took us about 20 minutes to get from our apartment to San Marco. We saw lots of little interesting piazzas with shops and fountains. Beck it most of the way without being carried. Venice is definitely not a stroller city. He did really well. He came back and took a nap while the rest of us had gelato. I have no idea how you would survive in Venice if you were wheel chair bound. Some of the main bridges have lifts but most of the smaller ones do not.
Tonight we went over to Campo San Margherita for dinner. We ate at a sidewalk ristorante. John had some sort of tortellini and I had gnocchi with gorgonzola. The kids, of course, had pizza. Jacob’s looked really good. It had artichokes and mushrooms on it.
Tomorrow we’ll probably do the Accademia and some other places of interest. John is reading the guide book right now. Don’t expect pictures of the Accademia though since it’s covered in scaffolding. Many buildings around town are at the moment.
Today after everyone got up we decided to go to Piazza San Marco. Jacob spent most of his time there trying to convince the pigeons that they were more afraid of him than he was of them. LOL, Sadly they were NOT! Beck had a fine time chasing them for a while. We had a laugh over the fact that someone has the job of going around all day telling people that they can’t sit down in San Marco either. She’d no sooner move down the line than people would start sitting down again. Talk about useless.
We roamed the area for a while to find someplace to eat and then ended up in a pizza restaurant/burger king of all places. It had someplace to sit down though and since Delaney had forgotten to take her lactaid the Burger King came in handy. It was hard to pay €6 for a grilled chicken combo though. Nearly everything at San Marco was double the price of elsewhere in Venice. A €20 t-shirt at San Marco was €12 just a few blocks away.
San Marco itself was nearly indescribable. I expected the square to be completely packed since that’s how I’ve always heard it described. There were a lot of people but it was not overly crowded at all. We arrived at the traditional Italian lunch time and there was a tiny line to get inside the basilica. Their rules for entry are no joke. We saw them turn a couple of people away for inappropriate clothing. (In case you ever wondered, you should leave your Iron Maiden shirt at home. ) Jacob got asked to remove his ball cap too.
I hope to eventually be able to load some of the photos we took from outside San Marco. Our internet connection is slow and tenuous at best here. I got what I hope are some great pictures of the statues and frescos on the front of the building. It’s hard to imagine the time and detail that it took to put in each little piece of each huge mosaic by hand. There are no photos allowed inside so I will have to buy some.
Inside the basilica is just one of those “WOW” moments. I completely forgot every piece of art history I ever learned. You don’t even know where to look. The tiling on the floor is gorgeous, the woodwork and or course all the golden mosaics are just incredible. The basilica is free but I also paid the €2 to see the Golden Altar. It was very ornate and I really wished that I could have a picture. Not worth getting yelled at by the officials though. LOL
We did have a laugh though over how uneven the floor is inside the basilica. I had read in a tour book that the foundation was solid but the floor was uneven. I expected “a little uneven.” This was more “great rolling hills.”
It took us about 20 minutes to get from our apartment to San Marco. We saw lots of little interesting piazzas with shops and fountains. Beck it most of the way without being carried. Venice is definitely not a stroller city. He did really well. He came back and took a nap while the rest of us had gelato. I have no idea how you would survive in Venice if you were wheel chair bound. Some of the main bridges have lifts but most of the smaller ones do not.
Tonight we went over to Campo San Margherita for dinner. We ate at a sidewalk ristorante. John had some sort of tortellini and I had gnocchi with gorgonzola. The kids, of course, had pizza. Jacob’s looked really good. It had artichokes and mushrooms on it.
Tomorrow we’ll probably do the Accademia and some other places of interest. John is reading the guide book right now. Don’t expect pictures of the Accademia though since it’s covered in scaffolding. Many buildings around town are at the moment.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Hi everyone,
I'm posting fast because our internet connection is iffy at best. This is our second day in Venice. Yesterday was a bit of a wash as far as activity and sightseeing. It was late afternoon by the time we got to our apartment. there was a bit of a mixup in our directions so we met up with Ariana much later than we had planned. Our apartment is near Campo San Barnaba in the Sestieri of Dorsoduro. It's about 5 minutes from the Accademia.
As fat would have it, there's a nice little pizza and gelato place across the canal from us. That's where we had dinner yesterday. We brought the pizza back to the apartment to eat. I had a slice of eggplant, roasted red pepper and corn. It was yummy. Afterwards we had gelato sitting on the steps of the bridge over our little canal. We all crashed by 8pm and most of us slept until 9am or later.
Today we went to San Marco. I'll post about it later but it's time to go eat.
I'm posting fast because our internet connection is iffy at best. This is our second day in Venice. Yesterday was a bit of a wash as far as activity and sightseeing. It was late afternoon by the time we got to our apartment. there was a bit of a mixup in our directions so we met up with Ariana much later than we had planned. Our apartment is near Campo San Barnaba in the Sestieri of Dorsoduro. It's about 5 minutes from the Accademia.
As fat would have it, there's a nice little pizza and gelato place across the canal from us. That's where we had dinner yesterday. We brought the pizza back to the apartment to eat. I had a slice of eggplant, roasted red pepper and corn. It was yummy. Afterwards we had gelato sitting on the steps of the bridge over our little canal. We all crashed by 8pm and most of us slept until 9am or later.
Today we went to San Marco. I'll post about it later but it's time to go eat.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
15 hours to go!
Well, Tomorrow is the big day. Our flight leaves at 12:30. We're going to leave here about 9ish and get to the airport with plenty of time to drop off the car, check in, eat, go through security and all of that. It's probably WAY more time than we need but I'd rather not run close on time and then hit some major traffic snafu on 465.
The nice thing about this flight is that we don't have to leave for the airport at some hideous hour. Our Jamaica flight left at something ridiculous like 6am so we had to be up at 3am. There are occasions where it would pay off to live closer to the airport.
So anyway, after tomorrow there will be way more interesting stuff to post. We arrive in Venice at 9:45am Italian time. That's 3:45am Indiana time. I'll post when we get to the apartment and get settled.
The nice thing about this flight is that we don't have to leave for the airport at some hideous hour. Our Jamaica flight left at something ridiculous like 6am so we had to be up at 3am. There are occasions where it would pay off to live closer to the airport.
So anyway, after tomorrow there will be way more interesting stuff to post. We arrive in Venice at 9:45am Italian time. That's 3:45am Indiana time. I'll post when we get to the apartment and get settled.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Four more days!
Hard to believe it's that close. I'm beginning to wonder if we're going to get to Italy because we seem to keep having one medical drama after another. I'm still waiting the results of the ultrasound that I had today. None of the doctors seem to be excited by anything or feel that it's a big deal but then they're not in pain or getting on a plane and flying halfway around the world.
Almost everything is packed, I THINK. Pretty much, at this point, if it's not done, it's not getting done. Hopefully we haven't forgotten anything major. LOL
Almost everything is packed, I THINK. Pretty much, at this point, if it's not done, it's not getting done. Hopefully we haven't forgotten anything major. LOL
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