Rome, Again

Fountain of the Turtles

Bill and I figured out how to take a bus to the  Jewish Ghetto neighborhood.  We started out at the Fountain of the Turtles, an attractive fountain in the center of a small piazza.  From there we walked to the Portico d’Ottavio, some impressive ruins were on display there, near the old synagogue. 

St. Cecilia Church

We then crossed the river to the Trastevere neighborhood. Saint Cecilia Church has frescoes from the 12th century and is crawling with nuns in traditional garb, the way I remember them from my childhood.

Colosseum

We had a delicious lunch, and then met up with Janet and John (who had spent the morning at the Vatican) at the Colosseum.  It was very crowded, with annoying vendors trying to sell private tours.  We were tired and decided to merely walk around the Colosseum rather than touring the interior.  I was not disappointed.   We finished off the day with the traditional gelato.

Genoa

We arrived in Genoa yesterday and started today with a minor problem.  I don't like to check baggage, so I brought only 3 pairs of pants and 3 shirts on this trip.  I also came down with a bad cold yesterday.  We were running out of clean clothes, so Bill volunteered to take our clothes to the neighborhood laundromat.  I put all 3 of my shirts in the laundry, but didn't mention to him that I had no other shirts.  We thought he was going to a laundromat where you wash and dry your own clothes in coin operated machines, but when he got there it was the type of laundry where you drop off the clothes and pick them up later in the day.  That meant I had no shirt to wear.  I solved this problem by wearing my pajama top as a shirt and wearing my hoodie over it.  Fortunately the weather was a bit cool, so this attire was comfortable.

We took a narrow gauge railroad to Casella, a small village in the hills above Genoa.  Lots of great views on the way up, but the train windows were too dirty for good photographs.  The town of Casella itself was unremarkable.

When we returned to Genoa, we picked up the laundry and I changed into an actual shirt.

Genoa's Cathedral

We went out for gelato at a gelateria near the cathedral,  a very impressive building.

Monterosso al Mare and Riomaggiore

St. John the Baptist Church in Monterosso al Mare

For our second full day in Cinque Terre we toured two more of the five villages.  First we went to the northernmost village, Monterosso al Mare.  They have a pretty church with stripes of white Carrera marble alternating with stripes of green marble from Punta Mesco.

















Next to the church is the Oratory of the Dead, the headquarters of a Confraternity whose mission is to arrange for funerals and take care of widows, orphans, and the shipwrecked. The interior decor is consistent with their mission.

At the cemetery in Monterosso al Mare

It's a long climb to the cemetery, but there's a pretty statue greeting you at the gate.

XXX with pesto

For lunch I had another local specialty, trofie (a short twisted tubular pasta) with pesto.  It also contained green beans.

Riomaggiore

The second town we visited was the southernmost town, Riomaggiore.  Once again there are colorful houses perched on the hillside.

Rocks to keep tiles on the roof during windstorms

In Manarola, on the walk to our hotel, I noticed a roof with rocks on it to prevent the tiles from
blowing away.  Placing rocks on the roof is a tradition in this area.

Manarola and Vernazza

Looking Down at Manarola

Our original plan for today was to hike the coastal trail from Manarola to Riomaggiore.  However, when we went to the national park office to buy our trail pass, the staff told us that that particular trail was closed.  So we did the Rick Steves walking tour of Manarola.  This walk took us up into the terraced vineyards above the town.  It involved some difficult climbing, but we were rewarded with beautiful views of Manarola.

Near the end of the Manarola Walking Tour

We finished up this walk at about 11:00 am and hopped on the train to Vernazza, considered by some to be the most beautiful of the 5 Cinque Terre villages.  Again we were in a seaside town that quickly climbed into very steep hills.  We followed only part of Rick Steve's tour because of the amount of climbing involved.  We made it up to the cemetery which is ridiculously high up over the village.

Marinated Anchovies

By now it was time for lunch, so we stopped at a small restaurant.  Bill had marinated anchovies for his appetizer, and they looked delicious.  I had a local specialty, pansotti, cheese ravioli in a rich walnut cream sauce.  It was delicious, but not as picturesque as Bill's anchovies.  We took the train back to Manarola.  Because our hotel is up a steep climb, we stopped for the daily gelato before making the trek to the hotel.

Venice to Cinque Terre

Today was not particularly productive because we spent most of the day on trains traveling from Venice to Cinque Terre.  Cinque Terre is also known as the Italian Riviera.  It's a series of 5 small coastal fishing villages connected by walking paths within a national park.  We arrived early in the evening, so didn't get a chance to do much exploring.

Grilled calamari

In fact, the only photo I have for this post is my dinner, which was grilled calamari.  Very tasty!

A Full Day in Venice

Gondolier on the Grand Canal

Yesterday was our only full day in Venice, so we had to pack in as much as possible.  In the morning we went to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum.  The modern art she collected was in striking contrast to the Renaissance art we saw at the Uffizi in Florence a couple of days ago.

Rialto Bridge

Next on the agenda was seeing the Rialto Bridge which crosses the Grand Canal.  From there we
wandered into a backstreet area we hadn't explored yet and found a place for lunch.

Burano

We decided to take a vaporetto to Burano, a fishing village and lace-making center.  It's very picturesque.

Portion of the front of St. Mark's Basilica

When we returned to Venice proper it was starting to get dark, but we hadn't yet been to St. Mark's
Square.  We managed to find our way using a combination of signage, phone apps, and intuition.  Very impressive, but not the perfect lighting for iPhone photography.

Last Day in Florence - First Day in Venice

Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" (severely cropped due to another
visitor getting in front of me at the left-hand corner)

  We had a train to catch in the early afternoon, so made an early morning visit to the Uffizi Museum, probably the most important collection of Renaissance art.  I'm not a fan of classical art, but couldn't help but be impressed by this collection.  Perhaps the most famous piece in the collection is the Birth of Venus by Botticelli.

Mask and puppet shop with way too much reflection

We had to quickly check out of our rooms and head to the train station for the 2-hour ride to Venice.  Now we were in an area with no cars and only canals for transportation.  The souvenir shops included lots of glass shops and mask shops.

Fried calamari with polenta

I treated myself to fried calamari for dinner.  It was delicious, but I can't keep eating it or I won't be able to fit into my pants when it's time to come home.

Florence

Candied fruit at the Central Market

This morning we visited the Central Market in Florence.  There were lots of vendors selling cheeses, meats, seafood, pastas, flowers, biscotti, and just about any other Italian food you can think of.  Some of them offered samples, which was lots of fun.  We bought some delicious salami with fennel and snacked on it during our walk.  On the outskirts of the covered market were vendors selling all kinds of leather goods, which Florence is famous for.

You can see the Duomo down below in the city.

After the market we took a city bus to Piazzalo Michelangiolo, located on a hill across the river overlooking the city.  We made good use of the photo opportunity and then walked down the hill.













We found a place for lunch, and afterward Bill and  I meandered back to our hotel room while Janet and John visited the Galileo Museum (which contains several of his fingers!).

We'd had a pretty substantial lunch, so settled for gelato for dinner.  Tomorrow we plan to visit the Uffizi and then take the train to Venice.

First Day in Florence

Santa Maria Novella

What an exhausting day!  I started out tired from all the walking we did yesterday.  This morning we took the train to Florence, arriving there around noon.  Our hotel is located on a piazza near the train station with a beautiful church, Santa Maria Novella.  We left our luggage at the hotel and went out in search of lunch.  

We found a restaurant that looked like it offered local specialties.  I had ribolita, a traditional Tuscan soup made with stale bread and vegetables.  I also had risotto with crispy pork cheek and truffles.  It was delicious!  

Ribolita

Risotto with pork cheek and truffles

The Duomo

Then we went in search of the most famous building in Florence, the Duomo.  It is the cathedral of Florence, a beautiful building, famous, of course, for its dome. 

Renaissance Parade

We prepared to move on from the piazza surrounding the Duomo, but were blocked by what I’m calling a Renaissance parade - probably 100 men dressed in Renaissance style clothing and playing music while they marched through the piazza. 

Marzipan Fruit

In the shopping district we saw a candy shop with a beautiful display of marzipan fruit. 

Reproduction of Michaelangelo's David

Our next stop was Piazza degli Uffizi the home of the Uffizi Gallery.  We're scheduled to visit the gallery 

Monday morning, before leaving for Venice.  However, due to time constraints it looks like we'll only be scratching the surface. The sculptures outside the gallery include a copy of Michaelangelo’s statue of David.  

At that point we were worn out and returned to our hotel for the evening gelato.

What? Not in Paris?

I know.  I'm a bit surprised too.  After several trips to Paris and other locations in France, we decided to go to Italy this year.

The travel day turned out to be a debacle.  Due to a cancelled flight we ended up spending 11 hours at Charles de Gaulle Airport.  We arrived in Rome after 10:00 pm and managed to find our hotel after dark, traveling by foot.

Trajan's Forum with the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II in the background

This morning our only agenda item was to find something to eat since we had overslept the hotel breakfast time.  We started out in a random direction and noticed an interesting looking dome in the distance.  It turned out to be a church that we'd never heard of.  But next to it was the Forum of Trajan.  I know.  I'd never heard of Trajan either, but it turned out to be an interesting archaeological site.  Behind the Forum of Trajan was the imposing Monument to Victor Emmanuel II.







By this time it was after

Four Cheese Pizza

noon so we decided to forgo breakfast and go directly to lunch.  Our pizzas were delicious!

Seeing the Trevi Fountain with 2,318 of my closest friends

During lunch we realized we were within walking distance of the Trevi Fountain, so that became our next destination.  We took a serpentine route that led through interesting cobblestone streets and took us past piazzas we'd never heard of.  The crowds at the Trevi Fountain were insane.

The Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps were within walking distance of the Fountain, so that was the next destination.  This was another mob scene, but we managed to climb to the top of the steps.

By this time we were ready for a gelato break.  We were not disappointed.  From there we returned to our hotel.  You may wonder who this "we" that I keep referring to is.  It's my husband Bill, my sister Janet, and her husband John.  Delightful traveling companions, except for the occasional whining.  Although, to be fair, it rained on and off last night and all of today, so some of that whining may have been justified.












For dinner we went to a restaurant near our hotel.  I had some delicious grilled vegetables and gelato while my co-diner had pizza (again!).