The Vatican Tour

Today we did the wonderful Vatican Tour: the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s. It was awesome.

Our Tour Guide, Chiara, met us somewhat in front of the entrance to the Vatican Museum – although there was a growing crowd of tourist visitors that must have numbered more than 2,000 waiting to get in. Luckily we had a reservation and were able to pass the lines and go directly to the check-in area. The bad news was that the Vatican only allows reservations for groups of 11 or more and our guide was free. SO… Jackie and I were our own tour party of 11, making a donation to the Vatican for their overhead. The Vatican is an independent country that counts less than 1,000 citizens around the world: Cardinals, Bishops, Political figures and, of course, the Pope.

There are so many things to see at the Museum and it would take hours to go through all the halls and rooms. There are over 4 miles of displays. Most of the art owned by the Museum as paid for by grants and commissions to the artists. Raphael, Bernini and Michelangelo were among a large group of artists regularly under commission to paint, sculpt, or build artistic works. There are huge early Greek works (100 BC) as well as early Roman copies of early Greek works. There are long halls that have huge tapestries, hand-made wonders extolling the virtues of Christianity as well as very accurate maps of the known world.

We spent a good amount of time in the Raphael rooms – where Raphael was actively working at the same time Michelangelo was downstairs working on the Sistine Chapel – and they both added features to their work honoring the other. In one of Raphael’s frescos he paints a figure of Plato that is actually Leonardo di Vinci.

The Sistine Chapel was amazing – and now fully restored to its original brilliance. The Chapel is the Pope’s personal chapel, although he only uses it three or four times a year. The crowds were huge. They seemed to just stand and look for long periods of time: and talk, and talk and take pictures. Michelangelo’s work depicts the story of creation – with the famous scene of God reaching out and not quite touching Adam’s finger. But each of more than 40 scenes around the ceiling tell the story of Creation, the Fall, the Pain, the Birth of Christ, the Last Supper, Cruxifiction, the Resurrection and the Last Judgment (which alone takes an entire wall).

St. Peter’s Basilica is a wonder all its own. It is the richest, largest and most impressive Church in the World. There are marks in the center aisle to show where the next-largest churches would fit. The main altar of the Church, where the Pope says Mass, is located directly above the tomb of St. Peter who was crucified up-side-down just outside the front door of the Basilica. Peter was crucified for his love and devotion for our Lord and he did not feel it worthy to be crucified as Jesus was…so he chose to be crucified upside down. It has been amazing to walk the steps of Paul and Peter after so many years of following them through Bible Study and truly getting a sense of all they went through in Rome, during that time, to tell others of the love and forgiveness of Christ.

There used to be beautiful frescos on the wall, but they’ve been removed to the Museum and replaced by ornate mosaics. And of course, there’s the spectacular Pieta of Michelangelo: Mary holding Jesus after His being brought down from the Cross. It’s amazingly real and very moving. Michelangelo finished the Pieta when he was only 24 years old.
We left St. Peter’s and walked out into the square where hundreds of thousands of people have gathered over the years to hear and see the Pope – and celebrate various Holy Days. It’s a huge area and it’s also hard to imagine all the people that can gather there to hear the Pope speak.

After our four and a half hours at the Vatican, we said a sad good-bye to our guide and driver (they were great!!), walked back to the Campo de Fiori for lunch and a very long walk back to the hotel. As you can imagine, we are becoming a little weary! Today is the last day in Rome and the last full day of our wonderful trip. Tomorrow we’re off to a short stop-over in London and then the flight home on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to all who have followed our trip. We hope you have enjoyed it. We certainly have and it has been a fantastic way to celebrate 25 years of marriage.
See everyone next week….. CIAO!

Our First Full Day in Rome

Our private guide, Carla, from IDI Tours in Italy (IDI is an absolutely wonderful travel resource in Italy - and perhaps other countries) arrived promptly at 9:00 this morning to take us on a tour of ancient Rome. It’s really great to have an intelligent, enthusiastic guide that knows so much about a city. We drove from the hotel to the Colosseum along the major streets of Rome, passing a number of important buildings and statues. One important one was that of Marcus Aurelius, one of the last 5 good Emperors of Rome who was really a “Philosopher – Emperor”. He was an educated man of letters and thought to be very strong in battle, but very just to the people.

The Colosseum was spectacular. It’s 2,000 years old and in pretty good condition, considering. As we walked through the entrance ways, it was almost like being in a football stadium. There are 58 entrances around the circumference of the building, each numbered, so the patrons could find their way to their correct seats. Of course the Emperor had his own entrance, which is now marked by a Cross, signifying the Christian victory over persecution in the arena. Over the years, Popes have blessed the area. The original name of the Colosseum was the Flavian Amphitheater. But Emperor Nero had a 100 foot bronze statue of himself constructed just outside the grounds that was so large and “ugly” (colossal) that the Amphitheater was then known as the “COLOSS-EUM”

Then, we walked to The Palatine Hill and the remains of the huge palaces of the Caesars. Palatine Hill is one of the 7 Hills of Rome and sits between the Colosseum and the original city location of the Forum. If you remember from your early History courses, the seven hills of Rome are: Aventine, Palatine, Caelian, Esquiline, Capitoline, Viminal and Quirinal. At one point there were so many palaces on Palatine Hill that the newer Emperors started building in the suburbs. Legend has it that the huts of Romulus and Remus are located at the top of Palatine Hill.

Just below Palatine Hill is the Roman Forum – the oldest section of ancient Rome and its original settlement. It’s located at the lowest point between the seven hills and has a number of temples built to honor the gods of the day. Building for the court system, the building for the money system and a tower to mark “Ground Zero” where all roads out of Rome, began measurement.

About this time, our guide left us and dropped us off at a small café in Campo di Fiori which has a lot of wonderful small artisan shops and office. We mapped out our walk home to include The Patheon and the Piazza Navona. These are two wonderful places in Rome that are filled with tourists that want to see FREE monuments, statues and fountains.

The Pantheon has the best preserved interior of any ancient Roman building and became a church in 64 AD, and was later dedicated to the martyrs killed after the fall of Rome. The dome of the Pantheon is amazing. It’s one, complete concrete cast, 142 feet high, and it gets thinner and lighter as it goes up. Raphael is buried in one section of the building.

The Piazza Navona has wonderful fountains by Bernini and great outdoor cafes. The area on the outside of the Piazza was originally a racetrack for the Emperor Domitian.

Well, we finally made it back to the hotel – in the heat of the Roman afternoon sun. We’re sitting down for a comfortable afternoon nap – and will set out again for dinner and wine about 8:30.

Tomorrow is a tour of the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum. Ciao!

From Florence To Rome

We planned for a long day of travel and left the Borgo San Felice at 8:15 to drive back to Florence. The highways weren’t crowded and it was an easy trip. Once we arrived at the Florence city line, we took a little detour and visited the Florence – American US Cemetery. This is a wonderful place that celebrates the valor of Americans who fought to free Italy and Europe from the Nazis and fascism. There are more than 4,000 graves here, on a hillside overlooking Florence.

From there, we drove through the little streets of Florence until we happened upon the car rental garage – down a one way street that was almost impossible to get to – especially in rush hour traffic. After a quick taxi ride to the train station, some wine and a pizza for lunch we boarded the EuropeStar train to Rome. Of course, we sat across from a couple – he was retired at 50 – from Colorado, on their way to Naples.

After a cab ride to our new, and last, hotel we ventured out to see the Spanish Steps just above the Piazza di Spagna. This is a great view of the city and the piazza is named for the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican which has been located at the bottom of the steps for over 300 years. They say that writers and composers from around the world used to hang out at the bottom of the steps and get their inspiration. There’s a fountain at the bottom built by Bernini which is still powered by an aqueduct.

From there we walked to the Trevi Fountain – down a couple of small side streets and behind a church. As we walked, we could see the tourists ahead… and then, all of a sudden, there it was! The fountain is an example of the power of the aqueducts – and was built under the direction of several Popes to celebrate the opening of an ancient aqueduct that brought thousands of gallons of water into the city.

We walked back to the hotel through more small side streets and sidewalk Rome cafes. We ate a light dinner at a small hotel café that was pretty good and got a long night’s sleep.
Tomorrow is a tour day of the ancient city…. Ciao!

A Second Day in Tuscany

This morning we rose to travel North West of Siena. There are several small cities that are out of the way – off the beaten path of the tour buses – and that have a particular charm that must not be missed. We spent the day in San Gimignano and Volterra.

The first problem was getting to San Gimignano. We had to navigate traffic along the roads in and out Siena – and then along SR 2 through Poggibonsi to San Gimignano. The Italian road system is at best a little confusing. If Patton had followed the road signs as he moved through Italy, he would still be circling the round-abouts in Rome.

But, once we made it to San Gimignano, it was a great experience. We parked at a city parking area and took the city bus to the top of the Fortress. It saved us a lot of energy, walking the steep streets. And, we spent that saved energy shopping for things that we really wanted – at the best prices we’ve seen. The town is greatly preserved from the 13th century and the naturally fortified fortress is amazing. Most of the major buildings in the city centre date from the 1200s and the 1300s and the little buildings are amazingly well preserved examples of medieval architecture. There are 14 medieval towers in the town, all still standing and in pretty good condition. And the town is known for having probably the best saffron in Italy – and the best Tuscan white wines come from the vineyards around the fortress.

Then we headed west for one of the most rewarding experiences we’ve had on the entire trip. The drive from San Gimignano to the medieval city of Volterra. The drive was more than 40 kilometers along one of the most scenic road we’ve been on. The city is located on one of the highest points in all of Tuscany and, on a clear day you can see the Mediterranean. It was a wonderful drive and we looked down on miles and miles of Tuscan countryside. Volterra used to be one of the most important Etruscan cities in Italy and the Etruscan Museum in town is one of the best in the world, behind the Vatican Museum. We had lunch of the city square and looked on the City Hall which claims to be the oldest of any Tuscan village and was designed after the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.

On the way home we drove through Siena, following roads that went up, down, sideways and then up sideways and down sideways. By the time we got to the centre, we were too exhausted to fight the swarms of tourists that were starting to trek through the tourist sections. It seemed that we’d already seen the best of the best, so we decided to drive back to the hotel and have a good bottle of San Felice wine and relax.

After all, we had to pack and get ready for the trip back to Florence to catch the train, tomorrow, for Rome…… AH Roma…

A Day in Tuscany

We rose early, today, in order to get ready for a long day driving and walking through southern Tuscany. From San Felice we traveled south along route 451 through beautiful Italian country-side heading for the city of Montalcino. It is easy to understand why people around the world are so enthralled with Tuscany. The rolling hills, sharp mountain sides, green valleys are everywhere – all filled with rows of grapes, olives, wheat and flowers. I do believe that Steve's best time is driving as fast as possible through the winding, hilly roads...and doing a great job of it, I might add. The little villages along the route were right out of the Medieval Ages and the Renaissance.

Montalcino is a little village looking over vineyards and beautiful valleys. It’s in a wonderful area, surrounded by the red wines of Montalcino. Originally, it was one of Siena’s biggest allies after Siena beat Florence in a large battle in 1260. The center of town features a large fort – but it’s now primarily a wine tasting center. There are beautiful shops along the roads leading to and from the center. We parked on the outside of the city and walked up and down all the little streets for the fort and the City Hall Tower. Jackie shopped, loved all the little shops, saw a leather purse that she loved but chose to wait, which she regretted as we continued the day.

After several hours we drove east along small Tuscan roads – little wide enough for a small Alfa Romeo, let alone a large truck.

Forty kilometers to the east of Montalcino was the little town of Pienza. In the 1400s this was the village of Pope Pius II and the city has kept his house in wonderful condition, ever since. The city also features some of the finest Renaissance architecture still preserved in all of Tuscany.

After a short lunch of Paninis (and, of course, Gelato!), we continued east to the remote city of Montepulciano. This city spent 200 years alternatively under the control of either Siena or Florence. After parking at a city lot, we waited a short time for a tourist bus – and decided, unfortunately, to walk to the Duomo at the top of the fortress. Montepuliciano is a beautiful city – and the center, now, of wine tasting shops. It is the home of Vino Nobile – a strong red that has attracted the attention of a number of Popes over the past 200 years. Because of carrying Rick Steve’s great tour book on Italy, we found the Vino Nobile wine cellar and enjoyed a taste.

On the way back to San Felice, we missed our exit of the A1 superhighway and found ourselves 40 km north of where we wanted to be. It seems like the Italians don’t like exits on their toll roads. By the time we were able to get off and turn around, we were halfway back to Florence. Oh Well….

We saw a lot more of the Tuscan countryside and more wonderful villages – and a long stretch of a superhighway with mile after mile of heavy duty diesel trucks pulling long loads between the industrial north and the south. Every once in awhile there was a bright red Ferrari weaving in and out of traffic – but we kept our pace and refused the urge to RACE!

But, we made it back to Borgo San Felice - and dinner. It seems that we're always getting to know the restaurant people: managers, wait staff, and chefs. Our waiter for the last 2 nights has been Marchello. He's been a professional waiter in Italy, London and Paris for many years - and speaks 4 languages. Some times we are amazed to find waiters that can speak ONE language. Marchello has become another friend to keep in touch with.

Tomorrow, more of the Tuscan countryside….. Ciao!

A Drive from Florence to Tuscany

We rose to rain and storms in Florence as we prepared to leave the Lungarno Suites for a drive to Tuscany. Grabbing a hotel umbrella, I walked the 5 blocks from Ponte Vecchio to the EuropCar office just outside the city centre on the west side of Florence. It was an easy walk – but now I’m trying to figure out an easy way to drop the car off in 4 days and get the entire luggage to the train station.
EuropCar gave us a great Alfa Romeo – with just enough power to be dangerous.

After picking up the luggage at the hotel we headed through the streets from Florence – a lot of one way streets that dead-end into other one-way streets going the opposite way – to find the S2 highway through the hills of Tuscany, to Siena and our hotel: Borgo San Felice. The streets of Florence are small and crowded and the traffic signs are mostly non-existent. Where traffic signs do appear, there is a long column of signs pointing in all directions for places you can’t understand – and in the middle of the column there is one small sign telling you to take a hard left on the other side of the round-about.

Once we found S2, the drive was great. The highway connects Florence directly with Siena and then to Rome – and has few large trucks. It winds through the northern Tuscany country and stops, occasionally, in a medieval village that has been unchanged for 1,200 years. As we got closer to Siena, the road widened and there was more commercial traffic – and we found ourselves back to trying to decipher traffic signs.

We finally made it to the hotel – a beautiful hotel that is actually the original hamlet (Borgo) of San Felice, located in the center of the Chianti region. The hotel is owned by the company that produces San Felice wine and surrounding the hamlet are vines and olive trees that produce 17 different Chianti specialties under the San Felice brand. It is part of the Relais & Chateaux group of hotels and has wonderful views of the country-side.

Of course there’s a wine store and tasting room on the property – but we figured that we could save time, money and luggage space by buying the wine at Majestic in Addison when we got home. There is also a golf course, swimming pool and a Beauty Center on the property. The SPA specializes in Vinoterapia – Wine Therapy. I guess you bathe in the wine and then drink the rest of the case!

We had a wonderful dinner in the hotel – great Italian food and a piano player outside on the patio. Also at dinner was a group of people from around the world that gathered here to ride their bikes through the rolling Tuscan hills. I guess that’s a good way to stay in shape, but walking, eating and drinking can be just as grueling.

Tomorrow is a driving trip through southern Tuscany!

A Day in Florence

We met our guide promptly at 9:00 for our walking tour of Florence. Helena was born in Tuscany, studied in Florence, Venice, Paris and traveled extensively across Europe studying art and art history. At a young age, she has a Doctorate in Art and enjoys, most times, taking people on tours of the historic art treasures of Florence.

We started on the Ponte Vecchico Bridge and Helena talked about the history of the bridge and the private walkway constructed on the east side, above the shops. This was for Lorenzo Medici and his advisors so they could easily move from the Pitti Palace to Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi in case of attack or just going to work, away from the commonfolk. A statue of Cellini stands in the middle of the bridge – he was the first master goldsmith in Florence and there are a lot of small jewelry stores along the bridge.
We then walked along the Via Por Santa Maria to the Piazza della Repubblica – the old Florence city square, where the early Romans constructed the original city – in 45BC, under Julius Caesar. It was a 4 block area that was bounded by high buildings, acting as fort. Today, this is the center of the shopping district. Major fashion stores line the outside of the center – along with restaurants and a Merry-Go-Round for children.

From there we walked to the Santa Maria di Fiore (the Duomo completed by Berlesscui) with the Battistero (Bapistry) in front. Non-Christians could not enter the Cathedral without being baptized – so they would go through the Battistero first and then into the Cathedral. The church existed for many years without a dome in its roof. The technology did not exist to create a large enough dome to span the opening – but a local architect, Filippo Brunelleschi had a plan and created the first Renaissance dome for all others to follow.

From the Duomo we walked west a few blocks to the Galleria della Accademia – the art academy that houses rare art of the middle ages as well as Michelangelo’s best know “DAVID”. There are also a number of his unfinished works including Prisioners and St. Mathew. The Accademia also houses a vast collection of musical instruments including violins, violas and cellos by Stradivarius.

We then retraced our steps back towards the Ponte Vecchio and spent several hours walking through the Uffizi Gallery that contained more Middle Ages art as well as some of the early Italian Renaissance art. It was remarkable to see the transformation from art created on plaster which covered wood to art created on early canvas. The beginnings of the understanding of perspective was also evident in early Italian Renaissance art. The collection included works by Giotti, Leonardo, Raphael, Rubens, Botticellis and Michelangelo. It probably features more early Middle Ages and Italian Renaissance art than any museum outside the Louvre.
Then, back to the Piazza del Repubblica for some shopping, a large gelato for sugar and the hotel for a short nap.

Refreshed from a nap, we were off to the south side of the Arno river and the Pitti Palace. This was the home of the Medici family – while they ruled Florence for more than 400 years, and sponsored all the great artists in Italy during the time. We continued to walk on the south side of the river for a mile or so, passing the massive Santo Spirito Church built by Brunelleschi and features a wonderful crucifix by Michelangelo.

Of course we wound up back at Harry’s Bar for a lively discussion with Leo (52 years as Bartender, mostly at Harry’s). Leo had all the stories of Harry as he opened his restaurants in Venice, Florence, Milan, Rome, Paris and Frankfurt. AND the Harry’s Bar in New York city is a knock-off and NOT part of the Harry’s group. Leo brought out his memorabilia collection of pictures and signed autographs that included Elizabeth Taylor, James Stewart, Paul Newman and Mariel Hemmingway, among others. What a wonderful life. We were able to go down memory lane with Leo and thoroughly enjoyed it. Once again, you can see that Jackie conversed with Leo as if they were old friends, leaving with a hug and kiss on each cheek. Dinner was at a small café and we headed back to the Hotel to pack for our drive to Siena, tomorrow.