Third time was the charm

 
We left Venice early Sunday morning and spent almost twelve hours traveling to Paris. It was a long day, but I enjoyed having time to journal and read (I am almost halfway done with Robinson Crusoe; I have read it before but I had forgotten how much fun it is to reread). 

We arrived at our hostel in Paris without any of the travel mishaps that have occasionally befallen us in the past. Our receptionist recommended us to a nearby creperie stand and so we tried it. I ordered two crepes: a nutella and banana and then a cheese, while Ashley chose a combination egg and cheese crepe. They were huge and very filling. If my memory serves me correctly, this was only the second time i had ever eaten a crepe, and they were excellent. I agree with her opinion that France wins when it comes to the desert department.

Unlike our hostels in Venice or Rome, this one served breakfast. As you probably know, I love breakfast and therefore missed no time in taking advantage of the fresh baguettes and hot chocolate.

After breakfast, we took the metro to the Louvre Museum. I could barely believe it - after two unsuccessful attempts at visiting, I was finally here at the world's most famous museum! I knew from the beginning that we were would be forced to pace ourselves and so we decided upon the sections we wanted to prioritize. 

We started on the -1 floor (the Europeans have a funny way of numbering floors, by the way) where we walked on the bottom of a fully preserved Medieval moat. It had been disassembled and reconstructed to fit in the Louvre, and I think I can say I am one of a small group of people to walk through an authentic moat. Next, we walked up to the ground floor (floor 0) and walked through room after room of ancient Greek and Roman artifacts. There were scores of sculptures and I was doubly impressed by the fact that one museum had so many rare sculptures, and also by the sculptures themselves. There were busts, full-figure replicas of emperors, depictions of scenes from mythology, and more.

I hardly had time to dwell on these, however, before we transitioned to the ancient Egyptian and Etruscan rooms. These were equally interesting and, as someone who likes history, were just the sort of thing I enjoy. I liked all of it, from the 5000 year-old collections of jewelry to the pharaohs' gold plated burial costumes. My favorites in that section were the sphinxes and the Colossal statue of Ramses II (though he wasn't as colossal as the name suggests).

After we finished walking through the Egyptian area we paused to eat lunch. Our tickets allowed for readmittance, and so we returned after stopping at a nearby cafe and resumed our tour. As it turns out, we saved the best for last. We spent approximately two hours looking at the Louvre's collection of Italian, English, Spanish, and French paintings. It seemed as if every single one of them was a masterpiece, and it was awfully difficult to pick favorites. Off the top of my head, I particularly liked the paintings of Venice by Francesco Gardi, the Consecration of Emperor Napoleon I by Jean David, and a painting of two tigers by an artist that I can't remember.

By then, it was near closing time and so we climbed the stairs to the top floor to see the apartments of Napolean. This was sort of a misnomer, though; the apartments more closely resembled a palace. Apparently, The Louvre at one time served as one of Napolean's residences. I have been to the Palacio Real in Madrid and also the Potsdam Palaces and Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, and while all of them were expansive and ornate, Napolean's apartments may have had the most richly decorated rooms out of them all. Only a dozen or so rooms were open, but these were the most lavishly decorated spaces I have ever seen. The Grand Salon was the centerpiece of the apartments; this was a massive lounge and gathering room and five large, elaborate chandeliers. Imagine the biggest, grandest chandelier you know of. These were larger and more grand. The whole room was covered from ceiling to floor in guilded gold and red velvet tapestries, and it was incredible to realize that the Louvre contained such a truly incomprehensible number of treasures that some of the best remain undiscovered by many visitors.

Oh, and we also stopped to look at the Mona Lisa. I suppose it is neat to be able to brag about having seen it, but it honestly is one of the least memorable paintings I have seen. I still cannot figure out why this, of all paintings, holds the title of the world's most famous picture. If you ask me there were hundreds of more interesting paintings in the museum. Then again, I am just a simple museum-goer.

After the Louvre closed we walked to the Seine and sat by the river for a short time before heading East to the Champs Elysees. We walked almost all the way to the Arc De Triomph and decided to call it a day. What a day it was. On the way back to our hostel, we went by a pastry shop and the same crepe stand close by our hostel. My feet were pretty tired after so much walking and it was great to sit on a sidewalk bench, eat our snacks and drink Coca Cola. Sure it sounds simple, and it was, but the old adage is true: the simplest things in life are often the best.          

"Treat the galleries as museums, not stores"

The next day we woke up fairly early to take the train to Venice, and got to our hostel by early afternoon. Our hostel was wonderfully situated in the side of a charismatic town square and about 10 minutes from the train station. We decided to go to the iconic Piazza San Marco and optimistically did not think we would need to buy a map. We were wrong. We quickly realized we needed some help. Even so, we spent more time looking at our newly purchased map and trying to find our way around than we spent sightseeing, but that was okay. I was really surprised to see how different a city Venice was compared to all the other towns I'd visited up to that point. There were absolutely no roads or cars. Just tiny little alleyways and a myriad of crisscrossing canals. All of the buildings, almost without exception, appeared at least one hundred years old and it was one of the few cities that seemed to have retained a sense of character. 

On our second day we began sightseeing anew, making sure to bring our map, starting with a delicious lunch at a cafe in the piazza by our hostel. We didn't see a single McDonalds or Starbucks during our entire stay, and I thought it quite refreshing. After eating, we leisurely wandered through the maze-like alleys and over the nearly ubiquitous bridges that connect the city. There are no main boulevards there; instead, all of the roads are short, narrow things and you are forced to take a turn almost every minute. It was really fun to get a feel for the city as we ambled in and out of different mask shops. Yes, I realize that dozens of shops dedicated to paper mache masks sounds a litle corny, but these masks were awesome.

Masks are a part of Venetian heritage and tradition, dating back to the Commedia dell'arte and existing today via the two week carnival extravaganza that takes place every spring. The highlight of my day was easily the discovery of a bright orange jester mask. I had seen a couple similar ones, but they were either of the cheap, "made in China" variety or out of my price range. This one, however was my favorite and I was able to buy it for a bargain price. It is rare that I get excited over buying something, but this made my day. I can't help but smile whenever I put it on.

We ate dinner in our town square again, this time at a different but equally tasty restaurant. Yesterday, we walked to the Piazza San Marco again, but did not stay long as we were taking a "vaporetto" water ferry to the nearby island of Murano. This is the site of the world famous Murano glass and the entire island is dedicated to its creation and sale. We spent several hours drifting through galleries and shops, many with a particular style or specialty of glass. Literally every type of glass object imaginable was here, from chandeliers and chess sets to jewelry and tiny toy soldiers and animals. It was amazing how detailed some of the pieces were, and though I do not consider myself a dedicated shopper by any means, I did like looking at all of the swirling color combinations and 3D figures, particularly the ones where a fish was placed inside a cat's stomach or a fishbowl.

That evening we ate paninis at one of the city's many hole-in-the-wall restaurants and crossed over the Ponte de Rialto Bridge for the last time. It is Venice's most recognizable bridge, and for good reason. Its arch forms a triangular shape as it rises to a peak in the middle, allowing gondolas and water ferries to pass underneath. Personally, it seemed impossible to find a spot that was not picturesque. While Venice is simply too different to be compared to Florence, I like both of them equally well. Venice was definitely one of the towns I wish I could have spent more time in.

Rome Continued

Hopefully by the end of this post I will have completely caught you up so I am not behind on chronicling my days.

On the second day in Rome we walked to the Coliseum and spent most of the afternoon in the ancient quarter of the city. The Coliseum was in excellent condition, considering that it had withstood over one thousand years of wear and tear. It truly is a wonder of the world, I think, and the size alone was impressive even by today's standards. I tried to imagine what the scene would have been like when it was first being constructed, with hundreds of laborers, chariots, and senators in togas, and it was such a cool realization to know that I was standing where so much history had been made.  It really made me feel that I was in Rome.

After the Coliseum we walked across the road to the Roman Forum, which was the central meeting place and cultural heart of the ancient city. It was incredible to see so many ruins in such good condition; there were over a dozen columns, part of an aqueduct, a villa, and more, all mostly intact. I really enjoyed it as it allowed me to metaphorically go back in time and catch a glimpse of how the city would have appeared over one thousand years ago.

We concluded our day with a visit to the Pantheon, which was worthwhile but definitely not as striking as the Coliseum. Then again, I think most buildings would not fair well being compared to it. We ate dinner on the rooftop terrace of the McDonalds by the Trevi Fountain and then stopped by the fountain again before walking back to our hostel.

On my last day in Rome we took the metro to the Vatican, which was my primary sightseeing objective for the afternoon. As an interesting side note, Rome only has two metro lines and neither pass through the central district. I suppose that because the town is so old it is difficult to construct underground lines underneath the buildings. Anyways, we went to the Vatican and waited in line for St. peter's Basilica, all the while thankful that we were not part of the unlucky few that were denied because they were wearing tank tops or shorts.

As it turns out, they don't like certain types of dresses either because Ashley's was deemed "too short" and she was told to "step this way." Ah the irony. Thankfully I was still able to go inside and I spent at least half an hour wandering up and down the central hall and looking at the multitude of statues, frescoes, and side chapels. It is the largest cathedral I have been inside. It was truly colossal and a very impressive demonstration of the church's wealth and power. It was about 4pm by the time we left and started walking to the Vatican Museum. 

Unfortunately, the last admission to the museum was at 4pm exactly, so I wasn't able to visit. That was alright though, as I would have needed several hours to really appreciate it. Instead, we walked back toward the center of town, stopping to go by the Castel sant'Angelo and the sant'Angelo Bridge. I especially liked the bridge as it had winged angel statues standing as sentinels on top of the railings.

We stopped for dinner at a small street side restaurant tucked into a little secondary road; both ordered the special of the day, which included bruschetta, salad, bread, wine, and tortellini. It was a great finish to the day, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.           

Naples and Roma

After Florence we scheduled ourselves to go to Naples for the day. It was only a three hour train ride and we arrived at our hostel there by early afternoon. We were both very hungry after walking 45 minutes from the train station so we ate lunch at the Solo Pizza restaurant down the road. Our hostel receptionist recommended it to us as one of the "ok" pizzerias, so we did not have any huge expectations. The building was nothing special and the seating was pretty standard. However, the prices were dirt cheap and they had a very large menu. 

They brought out our pizzas - not personal pan pizzas but the large variety - and it was by far the best pizza I have ever tasted. I ordered Capricese, which was a mozzarella pizza with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil leaves. The crust was a perfect mix of doughy and crispy, but the cheese is what I liked the most. It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Oh, and did i mention that the pizzas cost 5€ a piece? For me, that lunch alone was worth going to Naples.

The town was not the nicest place, however, as it had mounds of garbage piled on the sides of the streets and there were not many touristic sights. Ashley asked our hostel receptionist about good places to go to the beach and was told that Sorrento was nice. We bordered a short regional train and got there in a little over an hour. We passed Mount Vesuvius and the town of Pompeii, and I think that if we had more time that would have been good place to visit.

Sorrento itself was quite a nice little town. It was larger than any of the Cinque Terre villages that I travelled to, but not by much. There were three main beaches/swimming areas along the coastline, and while there was not as much sand as one would have liked, we still found a free spot among the numerous umbrellas and fellow beach-goers. It was a very peaceful place, and we wound up reading and people-watching for a good while as we watched the sun go down. Afterwards, we headed back to the train station and were surprised to see that the town had been transformed. What was formerly a normal little fishing town had changed into a brightly lit scene with lots of street vendors, shoppers and a live outdoor opera. We didn't have time to stay long but it was still neat.

Oh, I guess you might find the following story pretty entertaining. I sure did. On our return journey back to Naples, we were not sure which station was ours. In the slight confusion, I got off and Ashley wasn't able to (I tried to stick my hand in between the doors but they would not open). I decided that this was no big problem, though, since the next station was only about 10 minutes away. I set off running towards it, but in the darkness took the wrong street. Naples has a seedy side, and I found it on that road. 

There were piles of streetside garbage everywhere, for Naples does not have any trash pick-up to speak of, and I had to avoid both stray dogs and a close call with a moped. I realized I was not on the correct street after about ten minutes, and stopped to ask a woman at a bustop for directions. Well, I was going to ask, but I soon realized that she was almost certainly a prostitute, and decided it would be prudent to continue. The next group of folks I encountered spoke no English at all, but I was able to communicate with them in Italian that I needed to get to the Termini train station. Before I could say anything further one of the young men told me to hop on the back of his souped-up moped and he could take me there. I didn't have much of a choice and so I accepted. After several adrenaline-filled minutes of weaving among traffic at 80kph along narrow roads, we arrived. Unfortunately, he mistook which station I was referring to and took me to the station where I began. 

This time I made sure to choose the correct street, and after an additional ten minutes of alternate jogging and running (I had a backpack with me after all) I finally reached the Termini Station. I looked up to see Ashley running towards me, and thankfully the crazy story had a happy ending. That was all the adventure I needed for one night.

We woke up early the next morning and took a train to Rome, the birthplace of the modern world. I was able to catch up on journaling in the train and just knew that it was going to be a good day. Our hostel was less than ten minutes away from the train station and we had all afternoon to walk around. We grabbed a quick yet filling lunch at a pizza shop on our street (notice a trend here?) and then headed to the Spanish Steps, passing through the Piazza Della Republica and the Piazza del Populo on the way. It was a very sunny day and fairly hot; even so, I enjoyed walking and thought it was a good way to get a feel for the town. On our return to the hostel we stopped at the Trevi Fountain, which definitely lived up to it's reputation as one of the prettier places in Rome. 

It was designed to look like it was coming out the building it jutted against and appeared almost natural. There were three main statues and a great many little  fountains among the various sculptures and terraces in it. We concluded our night with a trip to the Spanish steps again, where we joined several others for an impromptu guitar session. The Italian man who was playing knew more American songs than I did, and we had a great time listening and singing along. It was a fun end to a good day.  
     

Florence and San Gimignano

It is proving increasingly difficult to keep my blog updated, though I think this is a great problem to encounter. I will try to bring you up to speed as best as i can.

After our first day in Florence, we decided to take a day trip to San Gimignano. We encountered a slight delay, though, when I remembered that I had left my train pass in my backpack, which was at the hostel. Fortunately this was no big problem as we were able to take the train an hour later.

San Gimignano does not have a train station itself. Instead you take the train to a town called Poggibonsi and then transfer to a bus. Well, we (actually I) were not sure where to purchase the bus tickets and so by the time we realized how to buy them we had to wait two hours for the next bus - they only came once an hour. I continue to be reminded that plans should be regarded as tentative.

All of this waiting was very frustrating, and I was tempted to let myself fall in a bad mood. However, I realized that I would much rather be stuck in the beautiful Tuscan countryside than be working a summer job, so after stopping to buy a ridiculously cheap 25 cent bottle of lemonade we finally got on the bus and arrived at San Gimignano at around dinner time.

The town is set on a small hill and is more of a village than an actual town. After walking for a couple of minutes we reached the two interconnected town squares which formed the heart of the town. We grabbed a couple of slices of pizza to eat on the steps of the village church and then walked up a small street to the highest point of the city. The views here were almost postcard material. The sun was setting over slightly rolling hills which were covered in vineyards and pastures; the horizon stretched out for miles and the scenery consisted of a scattering of houses, squares of farmland and the iconic Italian trees whose name I do not know (the skinny coniferous looking ones). 

Without a doubt my favorite part of the town were its famous towers. Originally there were 72, but now there are only 12. They were built hundreds of years ago by individual families for protection against raids from neighboring villages, and boy, they were a neat sight to behold. They were all built within a couple hundred feet of each other and had narrow windows, bells, and crenellated roofs. I definitely would love to visit again.

My last day in Florence was more laid back and was a good way to conclude my visit to the city. Ashley had already been to the Galleria dell'Academia, but she insisted that we go again. The hour-long queue was well spent, for inside the museum was Michelangelo's most famous work, the statue of David. I was surprised at how tall he was, and realized that even my high expectations were not enough to prepare me for how awesome a sight it was. It is easily the most impressive statue I have ever seen.

We ate lunch at a Pizza shop along the edge of the main leather market, and it was quite good. I ordered a slice of eggplant, zucchini and tomato and Ashley got cauliflower and ham (unconventional choices I know, but they were very tasty). After eating, we walked down toward the Uffizi Gallery, which was commissioned by the Medici family. There were several statues in and around the nearby piazza, and quite a crowd was gathered around a mime who specialized in grabbing unsuspecting passers-by, carrying them and placing them into the laps of random people, dropping them into the passenger seats of random cars, etc. 

We walked again along the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and after three days i believe that it may be my favorite single spot in the city. After searching for the botanical gardens and finding that admission was a hefty 12€, we headed back to the river and stopped at a panini restaurant for dinner. We finished the evening by going back to the Piazza Michelangelo, where we joined a crowd of similar-minded locals and tourists to watch the sun set over Florence. It is an incredible city, and that's saying a lot coming from a country boy.

   

The Utter Amazingness of Italy!

So...after a few relaxing hours at the beach of Desenzano, I travelled to the Milan airport to meet Ashley. Her plane was about 15 minutes late, but besides that everything went smoothly and she arrived safely. It was great to see her and we spent several hours catching up.

The next morning we woke up and headed to the Duomo Cathedral. This is Milan's most famous church and is actually the oldest Gothic Cathedral in Italy. It was not incredibly large, but there were over one hundred spires and towers rising from the roof, so that was pretty neat. After a pausing to grab some Margherita pizza at a small street side bakery, we continued down the some of the main shopping avenues to the Castello Sforzesco. This was a fairly large castle in the center of town, and like many European castles, there was a park/garden complex bordering it. Milan's reputation as a fashion megacenter is well-deserved. Everywhere, and I do mean everywhere, there were tons of shoe stores, boutiques, urban wear, and on and on. While I am not convinced that there is much to see in the way of famous landmarks, Milan certainly delivered in the people watching department. There was a kitchen in the hostel, so we for dinner we cooked a huge pot of spaghetti bolognese, and I may or may have eaten three and Half plates.

Next morning we took an early train to Florence and checked into the B & B Maison Hostel by noon. We walked past a massive outdoor leather market and had some pasta and a panini at a nearby restaurant, before heading to the Duomo Cathedral. Yes, you might say, but didn't Milan have one of those too? Well, apparently a town's Duomo is simply the name for a big church that is famous and, like the name suggests, has a dome on top. Unlike Milan however, The Duomo in Florence was completely Italian-styled and strikingly beautiful. There was a bellower rising above the rest of the church on the right side, and the cathedral itself was covered with the usual gargoyles and elaborate windows. The part that really stood out, though, were the painted geometric designs on the outside. This church and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona have been my favorites.

Next, we walked South to the river and crossed at the Ponte Vecchio, Florence's most famous bridge. I truly think this is my favorite single part about the town. There are shops and homes built into the sides of the bridge, and a row of glittering gold and jewelry stores make the bridge simultaneously crowded and mesmerizing. We finished the day with a quick detour to a gelato shop( excellent), a walk to one of two main botanical gardens (with a great picturesque view of the entire city), a browse through another leather market, and a marvelous dinner of torteglioni and creamed penne at a restaurant in the Old Central Square. It may have been my favorite day thus far.

Italia

I continue to be amazed at how fast the days pass by. Time flies when you're having fun.

On Monday I woke up at 6:30am. I was planning on getting more sleep, but the hostel was oppressively hot. Italy in general has been very warm and I have long abandoned any hope of going outside without breaking a sweat. This probably sounds worse than it is - in fact, it is kind of nice to have a change from cold, rainy weather.

I decided to delay my sightseeing around Milan for a little while and therefore opted to go on a day trip to the town of La Spezia. I had heard from several folks that the Cinque Terre region was a must-see, so from La Spezia I took a short regional train to Monterosso, the fifth of the Cinque Terre towns. Well, it was supposed to be a short train. There were two trains leaving in quick succession from the same platform, so I accidentally boarded the wrong one and did not have a chance to get off until the first stop, which was past Cinque Terre! I reckon even a seasoned traveller has a thing or two to learn about traveling. It was no major problem though; I finally made it to Monterosso and had about three hours to go exploring. The town was utopic: it was nestled in the side of a hilly coastline with a small but quaint beachfront. The entire village was along a lagoon of sorts, and the emerald water was absolutely transparent- you could easily see twenty or thirty feet below the water. I know it may sound as though I am going on and on about Monterosso's appearance, but this was unbelievable. The ocean was completely devoid of waves; it was so smooth it seemed someone could skip a rock on it.

From Monterosso, I went hiking along a coastal trail to the next village, Vernazzo. This town didn't have as many beaches, was even smaller, and had about 50 houses of all different colors wedged on an outcropping of land. There were people boating and kayaking everywhere. It seemed to be the sort of place that had miraculously escaped development; so few of these places exist nowadays that it makes Cinque Terre even more special.

I would absolutely go back to Momterosso and Vernazzo again. Unfortunately, I didn't have time yesterday, so I checked out of my old hostel in Milan and into a new one ( I wasn't able to reserve contiguous days at just one). From there, I travelled about an hour East to Desenzano, which is a small town by Lake Guarda. It didn't have quite the same hiking or sun-bathing potential as Cinque Terre, but it was still really pretty and peaceful. There was a large contingent of boats and jet skis on the lake and it reminded me how nice the water is -