More Rome pics

Rome Photos

Italy 2006- 8.1

We walked and rode all over Rome today. The Pantheon, the Coloseum, the Imerial and Roman Forums, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and just about everything in between. Rome is signifcantly larger than Florence or Venice, and we appreciated the availablity of buses to help us get around. Rome seems to be about a curious but natural mix of stunning ancient monuments and street hawkers. Really, do I look like I want to buy a disc that lights up when it flies into the air? These guys need to focus on thier market. We did fend off folks selling scarves, shawls, bracelets, watched, tourist shlock, tours of the coloseum, and roses. The last insisted that it was a gift to Jene and then turned to me expectantly. I told him either gift it, or take it back. He took it back. Then there are the centurions who charge 20 Euro for a photo, black Nike High tops and all, and my personal favorite, the guy who couldn't sing or play the guitar but was putting on a heck of a show regardless. I think the idea was to pay him to go away. We also saw a violin player with more gold in his mouth than the average rapper. Seems the rappers are in the wrong business.

Despite the street hawkers, it was a great day, filled with unique sites that will draw people from all over the world, although today's mix seemed to be heavy with English and Japanese tourists.

Tomorrow will be Pompeii, followed by a fancy dinner to cap off the trip.

Italy 2006- 7.3

Ah the Vatican, where even the statues of the Popes get crapped on by pigeons and even the nuns cut the line. The piazza and Basilica are stunning, although it seems to me to be more corporate headquarters than a holy site. It is one of those places where you can hear 12 different languages at once. The story here was a group of four nuns, looking like they were from southeast Asia, cutting in front of us in the line, and then proceeding to “work” their way up through the line. I suppose they felt like they were entitled or something. One did have a guilty look on her face. I hope for her sake she went to confession inside. The highlight for me is Michelangelo’s Pieta. Simply a masterpiece.

We are going to skip the museum and the Sistine chapel, and concentrate tomorrow on seeing the ancient sites in the city.

Italy 2006- 7.2

Piazza Novona, probably the most touristy but still the coolest public space in Rome. This is where, in the words of my friend Jerry Jeter, one goes to get gelato faced. We are saving the gelato for later, however we did sit at the café Bernini and indulged the house wine. They were setting up for some sort of holiday market, and I am sure come tomorrow evening we could buy all sorts of Christmas gift type stuff of the cheesy variety. Despite this, the cafes, the people, the artists on the piazza all make it one of my favorite places in Rome. We simply aren’t used to this type of space in the US, and it is a shame.

Italy 2006- 7.1

We got an early start today on our trip to Rome, as today is the Florence Marathon and we did not want to get stuck in any crowds of runners or spectators on the way to the train station. Of course, we had no problem, got there early and managed to get on an earlier train, which is all great. We also were treated to the local football hooligans marching through the station on their way to wherever Florence is playing. They were singing, hooting, hollering and generally having a great time. It was fun to watch.

We are now rolling through Tuscany, which is all farm land and vineyards, and mostly fogged in. It is still very scenic however. The plan today is to get to the hotel, and then try to see St Peter’s.

Italy 2006-6.1

Ok, so Florence is about more than Michelangelo. There is also Donatello, Ammanati, and Da Vinci. Florence claims Da Vinci, rightly so, although a lot of his work was actually done in Milan. We saw the Bargello Museum, and admired Donnatello’s David, which has been described as less warrior like and more saddle up to the bar like than Michelangelo’s work. There was also the spirit of Architecture, dei Architectura rendered in female form. I prefer Jene…

The museum itself is the old “captain of the guard” type fortress and was apparently a prison at one point. The building was great, lots of stone, iron rings, frescos and carved coats of arms in the walls, but we couldn’t take any pictures.

After the Bargello we wandered around the area east of the city center, around Santa Croce. Lots of shops, very medieval streets, street artists hawking their watercolors, etc. We did find one Florence Skyscape that we liked, rendered all in blues so it feels like Florence at night. Liked it enough to buy it, so now all we need is art from Rome and I can complete my set, having already bought art from Venice the last time I came.

We also had our first encounter with potential street crime. A beggar came to the table and simply wouldn’t leave. He then put his laminated sob story on the table directly on top of the video camera. I keyed to it and grabbed the camera, at which point he left after ignoring our No’s, goodbye’s, go away’s and hand gestures for almost a minute. I suppose I can’t be sure that he was going for the camera, but it felt like it. He was also well fed, groomed and dressed, so I don’t think there is any real danger of him starving today. He will find other tourists to fleece.

We got across the Ponte Vecchio and checked out that side for a bit, and then headed back toward the Central Market area. It was closed, however we did have dinner at a very nice osteria, Flexo. It was nice in the down home, comfortable sort of way that so many of the smaller restaurants in Italy exhibit. Great, simple food, and of course, Chianti. We ate out on the sidewalk café portion and were originally were seated at the restaurant right next store, sharing a table with 2 18 year old American student travelers. They were not pleased, gave us icy stares, and pretty much shut up as soon as we sat down. Apparently we are about the age of their parents. I was more than willing to ruin their day, but the heat lamps were up pretty high, and there was more comfortable seating next door. C’est la vie. They were then treated to two Italian girls closer to their age, whom they promptly shunned as well. All in all, they did not have a good meal. We had a blast listening to the American next to us, the bitchiest gay man I have ever encountered, who regaled half the osteria with his sex life until one of the waiters told him to keep it down (which he did with apologies). I wish I had the hot Gondolier calendar to give him, it probably would have made his day. Rude and loud Americans seems to be the norm early in the evening. We will stick to later dinners and try to put on a good face, assuming I don’t spill too much wine.

Pictures of Florence

More pictures of Venice

Pictures of Venice

italy 2006-5.1

Florence is indeed all about Michelangelo. We started the day at the Galleria dell’ Accademia, and spent quite a bit of time with David, and the prisoners. David is renowned, but the Prisoners less so. They are a group of unfinished sculptures (Michelangelo seemed to rarely finish anything) that seem to epitomize M. belief that he only freed the sculpture from the stone. They are quite evocative and emotional. David seems to breathe. It is really stunning. We also sought out the Medici Chapel so we could see M. Night, Day, Dawn and Dusk. All very stunning. We also went to the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo and were impressed by the models and drawings of the Dome and the façade. Donnatello’s Magdalene is the most haunting of what we say today, and ironically enough positioned gazing at a crucifixtion. Not quite DaVinci code-ish but certainly raises an eyebrow or two. I was almost jumped by the guards when I got too close to one of Michelangelo’s pieta’s and set off the alarm. I was just pointing at it…In truth they barely raised and eyebrow. I suppose it happens a lot.

Tomorrow will probably be more Michelangelo hunting at the Uffuzi and the Bargelo.

We also had time to wander, window shop, actually buy some leather goods and have a pretty good lunch at a backstreet trattoria. We also finally found an internet café that has a computer with a USB port so we could catch up on the blog. We were both quite amused with the commentary and are happy to be sharing our vacation with you all. Dinner was on the Piazza Republica at the Café Giebbe Rosse. Basic but very tasty Tuscan style cooking served on the patio under the canopy, right on the Piazza. There was gypsy folk/jazz band called Ballo Romm playing in the middle of the square. They were so good we succumbed and bought a CD. We continued to listen to them as we had dessert at Gilli, another café on the piazza.

Firenze is still casual, and still a lot of fun.

Italy 2006-4.2

Ciao Firenze! It is funny, Florence is a cosmopolitan city, however there is a casualness that seems to feel right here. Perhaps tomorrow will be different. We found our hotel, after navigating the streets that were made for pedestrians, not both cars and pedestrians. This was a bit of a balancing act, as the "sidewalks" are occasionally less than a meter wide. The hotel is fine, but not nearly as pleasant as the Corte Grimani. The room is small and looks out over the exterior smoking court that is adjacent to the bar in the hotel. This makes privacy a bit of an issue but nothing that is unmanageable. The aforementioned bar could be quite pleasant one afternoon. In addition, colazione in camera (breakfast in your room) is available.

We strolled the old part of the city, seeing the Duomo, inside and out and had a brisk discussion about how the dome was constructed. Architecture geeks in love, there is nothing more exasperating but we are just fine with it. We managed to get across the Ponte Vecchio and then stopped for our caffe gelato fix. The facility in the gelato is in the basement, and required ducking under what looked like some of the original foundations, which made the trip kind of fun. In addition to caffe gelato being the caffeine of choice, Jene has observed that judging solely by the number of shops available, Italian women are partial to their saucy undies and their jewels. It stands to reason that one wears one in or order to obtain the other, thus resulting in the first being worn no longer, or something to that effect. For crying out loud, there was even a lingerie shop in the Venice train station! I love Italy…

We had dinner in the Restaurante Frescobaldi, just off the Piazza de Signoria. In a word, it was wonderful. The food was pure Tuscan, beef and pork simply prepared, in addition to crostini with chicken liver pate, bruschetta, and roasted potatoes. They also offered a great risotto with wine in the mix, and of course, we had a bottle of Chianti. The owners of the restaurant, the Frescobaldi family have their own vineyards, and serve primarly their own wines. This limitation is by no means a problem. The wine was great, and the service top notch. We were accidentally not charged for the wine, and when we pointed out the error, they were very appreciative, and treated us to the family’s premium grappa. Very, very good. What is amazing is that I can still type at the moment, but Italian wine seems to leave me buzzed but functional. Tomorrow will most likely be a museum day, as Florence is all about Michelangelo.

Italy 2006-4.1

We have said goodbye to Venice, although it seems certain we will return someday. We were perfectly content to just wander the city and be there together, but this also means that there is still a lot left to see. I could see spending some time on Murano and Burano, visiting the Guggenheim collection, and perhaps taking in a concert or play. We really only saw about half of the city and it would be nice to see more. We would absolutely return to the Residence Corte Grimani., but there may be other hotels that also appeal.

We had breakfast and then took the Vaporetto to the train station, picking it up at the Rialto stop. Of course, it is bright and sunny in Venice this morning, as opposed to the clouds and rain we have had the last few days. According to the hotel staff, we should probably have great weather in Florence as well.

The train is a bit of a trip. We are sitting across the aisle from each other in a first class EuroStar train (a very nice way to go). There are many other Americans on the train and they are all taking loudly about their personal lives. There is one young woman proclaiming that all the guys she has dated are jerks, thus she has always had to be the "boss." It makes me wonder why she dated them, as well as giving me incite into why the rest of the world thinks Americans are jerks. This is great, one of the Italians on the train a fairly attractive man, just introduced himself to her. Totally sarcastically, and she didn’t get it.

Luggage on the train is a bit of an issue. There is not enough room for everyone’s large cases, and there is one Italian woman who simply insisted that no one put anything in front of her suitcase, although she has put it in the middle of the luggage rack. Frankly she is being a bit of bitch about it. After sitting behind her for the last hour, I can’t figure out why it was so important. It isn’t like she is getting up and going to it every few minutes. She must be used to getting her way. La princessa…

There was also a luggage travesty. One American got on the train, and the doors closed behind him. This was fine, except that his luggage was still on the platform. The train began to pull out, and he freaked. The conductor calmed him down, and informed him that his only option was to get off at Mestre, about 5 minutes down the line, and go back. They called it in, and collected his luggage for him, and presumably he will get it back. I just can’t figure out why he would get on the train without it. The view from the train isn’t great at the moment, unlike Venice, the Italian countryside is fogged in. Hopefully it will get better. We are getting off in Florence, and there is about half a kilometer to the hotel. Then on to exploring the city.

Italy 2006-3.2

The folks at the hotel were correct, the flooding lasts about 2 hours, and then the tide recedes to the point where the vast majority of the city is once again accessible. A word about the Residence Corte Grimani and the staff. They are fantastic. Everyone was very friendly and helpful, and pleasant to speak with. They gave us great advice on where to make train reservations, eat, etc. The rooms are very comfortable, and the cleaning staff is the most efficient I have ever seen. There is a very complete breakfast every morning for 20 Euros, which is a deal in Venice; although, as in the rest of Italy, one should not expect eggs and bacon. Cereal, yogurt, cheese and salami, bread, fruit and the best croissant known to man are the standard fare. I believe I had already sung the praises of the cappuccino. The only downside to the hotel is the lack of in-room internet access. There is a station in the lobby for use by the guests, however it was a little difficult to blog there, as they ask that you keep your sessions to 15 minutes. Oh, and the beams on the ceiling are real. I forgot to ask how old the buildings were, however I would assume that they are several hundred years at least, just like everything else in Venice.

Once the waters receded, we went out and explored the city some more, this time focusing on the eastern part of San Marco. Venice is its own museum, and Jene and I had a great time just wandering around, window shopping, eating from the stand up snack bars and being sickeningly cute. We decided that the cream cannoli is much better than the chocolate, and the Coke light is much too sweet even for diet.

We did visit the basilica, which is my favorite great church in Italy. The stonework, as well as the really obvious ancient tile work, etc. makes it a breathtaking site both inside and out. The Byzantine architecture also makes it unique. Although the altar is in the east as in most of the great churches, everything else seems to orbit around the center dome. This appeals to my architectural and religious sensibilities.

We went on the restaurant tour to figure out where to have dinner, and ended up a trattoria across the pizza from the Anticho Martini where we ate the evening before. Great risotto, although the rest was good but basic. We then did the touristy thing and had gelato at the Café Quadri on Piazza San Marco. Mine was drenched in amoretto, which appealed to my gastronomic sensibilities. It was a great evening.

Italy 2006-3.1

Venice is sinking! We awoke this morning to the sound of church bells, followed shortly thereafter by the flood sirens. You know it must have been bad, because even the spiders ended up on the second floor. One decided to hang out in our bathroom. It was huge, so big in fact that it needed more than one flush to dispose of it. Jene would not leave the shower until it was gone. All the way gone. I honestly don’t blame her, as I needed a shoe to kill it before I could pick it up. I believe killing spiders on two continents should qualify me for a merit badge or something, particularly when it was that big.

After breakfast we strolled around Piazza San Marco and admired the flooding. There was maybe as much as 18 inches at the lowest part of the piazza, under the porto at the north side, Most people seemed to ignore it, as long as they were wearing Wellies, and the rest went around or took advantage of the raised walkways. We window shopped a bit, took some video of the flood both in the piazza and where we picked up the gondola. There at least 4 of the steps we had climbed down the day before to get into the gondola were covered in water. We then retired back to the hotel for a few hours to wait out the worst of it. Apparently it lasts about two hours, and then we should have the run of the city again. It did give us the opportunity rest, get leg and neck massages, and catch up on the blog.

Italy 2006-2.2

We never made it to the Cannaregio, but no worries. We instead explored four of the the other Sestiere, San Marco, Dorsoduro, San Polo and Santa Croce. We spent the morning wandering through, gawking at everything, enjoying the small spaces, winding streets, lovely canals and the Venetian people, who are by and large very friendly. We generally were heading for the train station, where we purchased a Trenitalia pass for our travels to Florence and Rome, and on the way passed over the Ponte Rialto, through the Campo San Giocomo dell’Orio and about a dozen smaller Campo, bridges etc.

After getting our passes, we wandered back past the Giardini Papadopoli and ended up in the Campo Santa Margherita, which seems like more of the university district of Venice. We stopped for lunch (good calzone) and had a Gelato break. Jene has declared coffee gelato the caffeine of choice for the trip. I heartily agree, although the cappuccino that the hotel makes in the morning is quite good.

We made it back to San Marco across the Ponte del Academia and were able to see the temporary pontoon bridge that the Venetians erect every year for the procession from Piazza San Marco to the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute to commemorate the deliverance of Venice from the Plague. Unfortunately, the procession has already taken place. Fortunately, no plague in site.

We then did the ultimate in touristy things to do in Venice, hired ourselves a Gondola ride from the Campo di San Moise. We wound through the canals of San Marco, listening to the various singers on the other gondolas, and had a great time. All of the gondoliers talk to each other throughout the trip, laughing and joking. It seems they have quite a club going. Our gondolier didn’t really sing, although he and his colleagues took the opportunity to make fun of one of the other singers. They all seemed to be in on whatever the joke was, and it was fun to watch. We did wonder if the gondolier featured in the Discovery Channel’s Discovery Italy passed his tests, no one seemed to know. We ended up on the Grand Canal for a bit, under the Ponte Rialto and back down the Rio San Luca, and the Rio dei Barcoroli to our starting point. Definitely fun and worth it, although we did not get to hear O Sole Mio. Later on, we saw the 2007 Venice Caldo Gondolieri calendar, sort of the Venetian version of one hot fireman per month.
After that we went back to the hotel, had a jetlag nap until dinner, and then had a great meal at Antico Martini. Probably way too expensive, but very, very good.

Someone got engaged there that evening.

Not us, but the Americans at the table next to us. Sweet to watch, but we would never do anything so trite as to get engaged at a romantic restaraunt in the most romantic city in the world. Puhleeeease...

The evening was capped off with a drink at Harry’s Bar, where we got to watch one of the new guys get harassed and trained by the older bartender. We think Italy is where the New York attitude originated, and had a lot of fun watching it. Oh, and it was so wet out that one of the bartenders actually felt the need to towel off my coat with me still in it. Definitely would have gotten along fine in New York.

Italy 2006-2.1

Editing note: Internet access has been a bit of a problem, thus I have been writing off line. Today I can catch up...

We have arrived in Venice! We flew from Frankfurt to Venice directly over Innsbruck Switzerland and had a fantastic view of sunset over the Alps (sorry, no pictures). The wait in Frankfurt was pretty long, three hours and change. Coupled with how tired we were, that made the Germany experience less than stellar, however it was worth the wait. Despite some clouds, the view landing in Venice was great. We took the Alilaguna line vaporetto from the airport, and were treated to the laguna at night, complete with dodging cruise ships, banging into wharfs, etc. When we got to San Marco it was beautiful. completely overwhelming. We both had the same "are we really here experience" and stood there gawking like tourists. Actually we were gawking like architects; however the effect is the same. The scale, the stonework, the lighting are all very impressive and make a wonderful first impression.

We had a little trouble finding the hotel, Residence Corte Grimani, just as everyone else did who commented on the travel sites. It seems completely counterintuitive to dive down the path that actually cantilevers out over the canal. I plan on writing a very precise description, and maybe even post some video on Youtube to describe how to get to it. The hotel is very nice, very comfy. It is an apartment style, with each suite having a little kitchenette/living room, bathroom and bedroom. The whole thing has heavy timber beam work on the ceiling. We will debate whether they are real or not and let you all know. We are right off San Marco, and thus feel like we are in the middle of this ancient city, yet tucked away in our own little corner of it.

We ate at Trattoria da Zorza last night, had a lovely bottle of wine (Merlot, from the Veneto), veal scaloppini and fresh sea bass. The food was simply prepared, yet very satisfying. The only thing to give me a bit of pause was the head of the fish staring back at me. I had a "are they messing with the tourist?" moment there, but no one seemed to be snickering. We wandered a bit trying to find the place, but that is the point of the whole adventure. We had a great sleep and awoke to church bells and construction noise. A bit of juxtaposition, but not all unpleasant.
The plan today is to explore the Carneregio, and firm up train travel plans to Florence.

Italy 2006-1.2

From the flight...

First off, Lufthansa: Airbus A340-600, comfy seats, plenty of room even in economy class, decent food, free wine (notice the theme developing here) and best of all, Internet access. Free Internet access at that. This post is brought to you from 35000 feet, somewhere just south of James Bay in Canada. The GPS maps indicate that we will fly to Frankfurt passing over Newfoundland, Greenland, probably Denmark and then into Germany.

As a egocentric American, it is a little different hearing the in flight announcements and service requests in German first. However, they are pretty good at remembering that we are English speakers, either that or it is pretty easy to put us in the American slot. We have been pegged. I suspect we will get used to that.

They did change our seats from what we requested on Expedia. Hopefully that will be the last of any unexpected surprises from that quarter. I tried to book directly with everyone, however there were times that it was just easier, or not possible due to server errors, etc.

The movies should be starting soon, and sleep beckons.

Italy 2006-1.1

Welcome to WWwanderings, a blog intended to record our trips, showcase our point of view and share it with the world. We are inaugurating the blog with our trip to Italy, probably the most fabulous place in the world. Why you ask? Food, wine, Architecture, Michelangelo, romance, and of course, wine. We have both been looking forward to this for a long time for all the reasons above, and the chance to relax together.

So, the facts...

We leave today, Beth and Shad are taking us to the airport in two hours, Jene has just finished working and has not yet finished packing. We plan on reading travel guides and practicing Italian on the plane as we fly Luthansa to Frankfurt and then to Venice. Next post, the flight...