A Room with a View

Katie and I rushed to the train early Monday morning and watched the sun rise over Tuscan mountains and vineyards as we made our way to fabulous Florence.  Before I go any further, I need to take a moment and explain my need (yes, need) for visiting Florence.  Now this may come as a shock, but Florence first came to my attention when I was reading a book.  It was E.M. Forster's A Room with a View and it was magnificent.  Of course Masterpiece Theater was showing the film version of it one winter, and while I can assure you that the book far surpasses it, the movie did prove to be a source of inspiration as well.  In one scene the main character is walking around a pizza full of statues in the style of Michaelangelo's David.  I fell in love with that piazza as well as several other sights shown in the movie, so I made it my mission to find them.




Despite my mission, our first stop after dropping our things off at the hostel was Florence's Duomo.  Just like the one in Milan, the outside is beautiful with green, pink, and white marble designs, but the inside is very gray.  The best part of the Duomo was climbing 463 steps up to the dome (which is the largest brick dome in the world) and looking out onto the city.  Just see for yourself how beautiful it was!

After climbing back down, Katie and I walked to Santa Croce, which is a church that I first saw in A Room with a View.  Santa Croce can't really compete with the Duomo, but it was still very beautiful.  Inside are the tombs of Michaelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli among many other famous Italians.  There are several sunny courtyards just next to the church as well.

Before leaving I had tried looking up where the piazza of statues was located.  I thought I was successful in finding it but I misremembered the name of the piazza and led us to the wrong one.  However, this turned out to be in our favor because when I asked a guard for directions he had no idea what I was talking about but suggested that the Piazzale Michaelangelo might be what I was looking for.  So after stopping at Santa Croce, Katie and hiked up a steep hill to get a dish of chocolate and pistachio gelato and admire the magnificent sunset that turned all of Florence pink and purple.  I was extremely
                                                                                     jealous of the bronze copy of the statue
                                                                                     of David that stood watching over the city every day. 
                                                                                     What a view!

 

We took a quick peek at the Church of San Miniato al Monte before climbing back down the hill and crossing over the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge that is home to the gold market.  The entire bridge is lined with little shops with windows filled with jewelry of every kind.  You literally cannot turn your head without something glittering and catching your eye.  We continued past the bridge and followed the twinkle lights back towards our hostel.  On the way we passed the piazza della Republica complete with a carousel all lit up.

On the second day in Florence I finally had success in finding the piazza...sort of.  I remembered the name I had looked up online, so Katie and I went to the Piazza della Signoria and saw the Palazzo Vecchio.  The original statue of David once stood just outside the palace, but a copy has taken its place.  Next to the palace is the Loggia dei Lanzi, a brick building with large arches that are completely open to the piazza.  It serves as a kind of open-air gallery of statues.  It wasn't the piazza full of statues that I remembered but I guess my memory is flawed.  Still it houses some impressive statues.

My mission being officially accomplished, Katie and I took some time to shop.  Florence is known for its leather and everywhere it has stands selling belts, purses, gloves, and more.  We went to the Straw Market first.  It's not very large because it's in a building like the Loggia dei Lanzi with wide open arches allowing shoppers to walk right inside.  The Straw Market is known for a bronze statue of a boar.  There is a tradition that if you rub the nose of the boar then one day you will come back to Florence.  So many people have rubbed the snout that it's become shiny.  After giving the nose a good rub ourselves, Katie and I continued on to the leather
market which is huge and goes down several streets.  I don't
think I'll ever get used to the pushiness of vendors but
I'm proud to say that I practiced my haggling!

After seeing so many copies around the city, our next stop was the Galleria dell'Academia to see the real statue of David.  I had seen pictures of David before but I never expected it to be so big.  There were a couple of artists working on sketches of the statue and of course several tourists were milling about.  It was especially entertaining to watch other tourists try to sneak pictures but fail as the guards spotted them and called out, "No photo!"  Learning from their mistakes, I had Katie act as a shield so that I could steal my own picture.  After the museum we had just enough time to walk past Fortezza da Basso before we finally called it a night and tried to rest up for our train to Venice the next morning.

I Think We've Reached a Dead End. Pun Intended?

After saying goodbye to all the lovely SMC chicks staying only for the semester, my friend Katie and I grabbed the bus into the Dublin airport where we spent the night trying (unsuccessfully) to sleep as we waited for our 6:30 am flight. At times like these, I wish that public transport started earlier in the day.

We made it to Milan without any other difficulties, but getting to our hostel was another story.  Public transport failed us once again.  The bus and metro workers were striking, or as one Italian man informed me in broken English, "There is a manifestation."  I think he meant demonstration, but we got the gist.  Somehow we scrounged up a map and navigated our way to the hostel (which was luckily less than a half hour's walk from the train station).  After checking in we learned a little bit more about how Italians strike.  Apparently, workers inform everyone weeks beforehand when they'll be striking and they don't even strike for the entire day.  By late afternoon the metro was up and running again.  I'm not sure how effective a strike that was, but I certainly wasn't going to complain since we would have had to walk close to an hour to get to the center of Milan and see the sights.  I must say that once we were finally able to get down to the metro, I was pretty impressed with it.  The larger metro stations were brightly lit, clean, and had elaborate displays.  One in particular had several almost full-sized rooms behind glass to show off the interior decorating.


We emerged from the metro and were immediately struck by the awesome beauty of the Duomo.  I never would have imagined that such a large building could be so intricate.  Every inch of the Duomo had white marble carvings or statues.  However, the inside was surprisingly gray.  There were giant paintings hanging below the arches lining the way to the altar and beautiful little chapels tucked into the sides.  On our last day in Milan, we went back to the Duomo for mass.  It was entirely in Italian, so we had ample time to admire our surroundings again.

After touring the Duomo, Katie and I stepped outside and saw that night was coming on fast.  We did the most logical thing we could do in a situation like this: we followed the twinkle lights.  I must say that Italy does not mess around when it comes to Christmas.  Twinkle lights were everywhere!  They came down like rain on the side of one building and shone out from the giant Christmas tree in the piazza.  They also crisscrossed above our heads as we walked down the streets radiating from the Duomo.  Katie and I wandered through the different streets simply window shopping.  Milan is a fashion center and every way we turned our heads we were struck by the sight of some gorgeous dress that promised to cost more than our entire trip.  We also walked through the
                                                                                    Galleria Vittorio Emanuel II which is like a fancy strip
                                                                                    mall with a glass roof hanging over it.

The next day, Katie and I simply wandered.  We passed through the Sforza Castle and walked around the park behind it.  Heading down another street we passed several churches and saw a war memorial.  We also stumbled upon a market that was more our price range than the stylish shops we saw the night before, but it was too hectic with Christmas shoppers so we didn't stay long.  For lunch, we camped out in a small park next to one of the basilicas and watched as a group of boys started a game of soccer.  We also treated ourselves to gelato.  It was just as good in Milan as it was in Rome!

 My absolute favorite place in Milan was the Cimitero Monumentale.  It has a huge entry building but just behind is a cemetery that must contain thousands of headstones and mausoleums.  The mausoleums looked like miniature palaces or cathedrals and the headstones were often statues or stone tombs.  There were quite a few visitors and I noticed that very few graves were without flowers. The place was kind of a maze with all it's streets of graves, and we had some difficulty finding our way out.  Upon discovering our way blocked once again by a wall, I told Katie, "I think we've reached a dead end."  She immediately replied, "Pun intended?"  Haha!






After seeing the cemetery, we checked out the football stadium of San Siro because Katie is a huge fan.  We also got to see the racetrack on the way.  The wall surrounding the racetrack is entirely covered in graffiti.  Each section is like a small mural often with caricatures of popular football stars.  Running around the track were a few horses pulling small two-wheeled carts carrying their jockeys.  It looked like a bit of a crowd was gathering to watch the race and maybe place a few bets.

Besides mass at the Duomo, the stadium was our last adventure in Milan.  The next day we caught an early train to Florence!

Buon Giorno Princepessa!

Because I am the luckiest girl in all the world, a few weeks ago I flew to Rome to visit Allie, one of my besties from SMC.  I arrived Thursday night and after finding my way to the Hotel Tiziano where she lives (yeah, that's right, she lives in a hotel), I got the biggest hug of my life.  Once the air wasn't being squeezed out of my lungs and I could breathe again, I met all of the other SMC chicks taking up residence in the Tiziano.  We then went to one of the local bars and walked around a Christmas market in a nearby piazza before finally calling it a night.

Hadrian's Tomb

On Friday we started off our morning with breakfast at Pascucci's, the small cafe where all the girls get their breakfast and dinner, and then walked over to Vatican City for a tour of the Scavi.  We got to cross the Tiber River and see Castle Sant'Angelo or Hadrian's Tomb in the distance.  My favorite part of the walk was the old stone water fountain carved into one of the walls of a building.  The water was ice cold and very refreshing.  I made it my mission to drink from every one we passed.


Because Allie and the other SMC girls are friends with several of the seminarians and deacons, we got free tours of both the Scavi and St. Peter's Basilica.  When St. Peter died, he was buried with only a red rock marking his grave near a field where many Christians were martyred.  This area was a sort of necropolis for pagans with streets of mausoleums, but the graves were eventually taken over by Christians who needed to bury their dead.  Over time the mausoleums were covered by dirt and the basilica was built on the land above them many years later. When working on the foundation of the basilica in order to bury Pope Pius XI, workers discovered one of the mausoleums, and Pope Pius XII gave them permission to excavate the rest of the burial site.  However, because this discovery was made around WWII and the pope wanted to avoid Hitler's attention and interference, he required the excavators to only work at night.  Eventually a red wall with graffiti covering it was found.  Many symbols were used so as not to draw the attention of pagans, but one decoded message seemed to say "Peter is here."  Near this wall, archaeologists eventually discovered remains that are consistent with what was known of Peter at the time of his death and that were wrapped in special cloth.

Our tour of the basilica started outside in the square.  There are two arching walls on either side of the basilica and above are statues of various saints.  When one of these statues gets too worn down or broken it is replaced with an entirely new saint.  At one point in the piazza you can stand and look out at all the columns and it gives the optical illusion that there is only one set instead of two.  We caught sight of one of the Swiss guards on our way to the entrance and our guide, seminarian Doug, told us the story of the pope's protectors.  The Swiss Guards were mercenaries and mercenaries are notorious for being loyal only to money.  In 1527, Emperor Charles V marched on Rome to capture Pope Clement VII.  The pope had only Swiss Guards to defend him and instead of fleeing when they faced almost certain death, the guards fought to get the pope to safety in Hadrian's Tomb by way of a secret passage.  Only 42 of 189 guards survived.  To become a Swiss Guard today you must be Swiss, Catholic, male, single, at least 5 feet and 8.5 inches tall, and 19-30 years old.  I guess the benevolent dictator of Vatican City is not an equal opportunity employer haha!

When we finally walked into the church, I looked around and immediately started to tear up.  I'm not sure if this is because it was so beautiful or because my eyes were open so wide to take it all in that they started to water.  Either way, St. Peter's Basilica is magnificent!  Our tour guide was great in giving us information on every part of the church.  I don't have the space to put it all here but I'll mention a few of the things he taught us.

St. Peter's has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world.  The size is highlighted by markings along the floor that show the length of other large churches.  In other words, the builder is showing just how far short other churches fall.  I guess if you're building something that beautiful you're allowed some bragging rights haha!  There is one circle of red marble in the floor that was reserved for only emperors and popes, and they would usually only use during big events like a coronation.  It used to be located at the front of the basilica but it was moved to the back.  Of course, we all took turns stepping on it.

There are three sets of doors leading into the basilica.  The Door of Death is on the left and is used as an exit for funeral processions (Pope John Paul II was the first pope not to exit through these doors but the Filarete instead).  The Filarete Door is in the center and this is what we used to enter.  The Holy Door is on the right and is blocked up with concrete on the inside.  During a jubilee year, the concrete is broken and people are allowed to walk through the door.

Right next to the Holy Door stands Michaelangelo's Pieta.  When Michaelangelo finished sculpting it and put it on display, rumors circulated that it was the work of another famous artist.  This enraged Michaelangelo and he snuck in and carved his name across Mary's clothing.  He immediately regretted this and claimed that he had ruined the entire work.  Despite his requests, the pope wouldn't allow Michaelangelo to destroy it.  It is believed that this is why Michaelangelo never signed any more of his works.

I wish I could tell you everything I learned about the basilica, but you would have to see it for yourself to truly understand.  Pictures don't do it justice, but I've added some anyways!

My second day in Rome started out with blue skies which was a pleasant change from the slightly cloudy ones of the day before.  Grace (Allie's roommate), Allie, and I decided to take advantage of the good weather and climb all 320 steps up to the top of the cupola.  The view was spectacular!  We spent forever at the top just walking around and looking out at the city before we trudged back down the stairs.

Following our ascent of the cupola, we went to the Vatican museums to see the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican Museums seem to go on endlessly.  We wound through a countless number of rooms before we finally found the shortcut to the Sistine Chapel.  Then we walked through a great many more rooms before finally arriving there.  I don't even want to think about how long it would have taken if we hadn't used the shortcut!  However, the long walk was more than worth it!  Not one of the pictures or poster I've seen of the Sistine Chapel has ever captured the beauty of it.  The entire ceiling and wall behind the altar are covered in Michaelangelo's fresco paintings.  There are even walls that have been painted to look like they are covered in rich curtains.  The three of us spent over half an hour just gazing at everything.  Because it is a holy place, there are several guards watching the crowd and every once in a while shushing them.  Once when the noise level started to climb, I decided to give it a try and give a loud "SSSSSSSHHHHHH!"  No one even glanced at me!  They all just quieted down haha!  After my small success as a guard we walked back to the hotel but stopped first at Figidarium, Allie's and Grace's favorite gelato place.  I tried a chocolate and tiramisu.  They were delicious!

On my last day in fabulous Roma, Allie and I went to mass in the Pantheon which is a beautiful old building that reminds me of a temple.  It has a huge dome with a circular skylight at the very top which they never close.  It happened to be raining that morning so they simply roped off the area where all the rain was falling.  The mass was entirely in Italian, so I think I got a little taste of how churchgoers felt back in the day of Latin masses.  After mass, we headed back to Pascucci's for lunch and then walked down the street to get my first ever cannolo!  Needless to say it was delicious!  Afterwards, we walked across the bridge and along the river.  The funny thing about Rome is that it has palm trees everywhere, but the trees along the river look like fall.  On our walk we stumbled upon an entire market devoted to chocolate!  The little stands were actually quite elaborate.  They had shoes and even tools made out of chocolate!

Walking back across the river we also passed the site of some temple ruins that are still in the process of being excavated.  Funny enough, the place has been nicknamed "Cat Heaven" because of the large number of cats that have taken up residence there.  They even have a sign with names and pictures of a few of the cats.  While we were there, we counted 9 cats in just a small section of the ruins.

There are three in this picture!

Our next stop was the Trevi Fountain.  The thing is absolutely ginormous (not to mention gorgeous)!  I was surprised by how small the piazza around it was, but the fountain takes up most of the space.  Allie and I of course stood with our backs to the fountain and threw in coins over our left shoulders while making a wish (we used pennies because, as Mom always says, "we're broke college students" haha!).  And I'd tell you my wish, but it might not come true!

From the Trevi Fountain, we made our way to the Spanish Steps.  They weren't at all what I expected.  For some reason I had a picture in my mind of a plain staircase going straight up a hill.  In reality, the Spanish Steps are much more elaborate.  We climbed up and walked along a short path to find a breathtaking view of the city.  Unfortunately, that was our last Roman adventure.  We headed back to the hotel to grab my things and get to the airport.  As I was waiting at the airport, two cats walked in as the younger one roamed about, the older one gave itself a bath and then hopped up on the seat next to me.  It was still there when I left too!