Day 9

This was our last full day in Europe. We wound through the streets of Florence a little different than in past days (Nicola wanted to show us more of the city center). Our destination was the Uffizi galleries; however, when we reached the galleries there was a sign on the door saying that a union meeting had been called and the galleries were temporarily closed. This was somewhat troublesome to us because we had reserved tickets for a set time. Nicola decided to stay behind and wait to see what was happening at the galleries while he pointed us toward the nearby Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio is a bridge that spans the Arno river at its narrowest point in Florence. It is thought that there has been a bridge in this location since Roman times. Several of the previous bridges were washed away by floods over the centuries, and Rob says that the present bridge was spared in WWII when all the bridges were ordered to be blown up.

I got a call from Nicola while window shopped in the bridge (the bridge is filled with gold merchants). He said the doors were open to the Uffizi and the crowd was working its way into the galleries. The Uffizi is probably best known for housing "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli. The galleries are set up to track from the middle ages through the Baroque period (roughly 200-400 years of remarkable change in European art). I'm not a huge fan of Medieval art so I sifted through the crowds toward the later works. On the way I passed some work by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Parmigianino (I use one of his artworks as an example in second grade and was surprised to find it here).

After the galleries we split up for lunch. Some of us were after a light lunch... I was not. I was looking to fill my belly with as much authentic Italian food as possible in my time left. My lunch consisted of ravioli with a butter and sage sauce, and osso buco (braised veal). Both were very tasty. After lunch we met in front of a leather store that Nicola said was worth a look. He also set up a bit of an explanation for us. Two employees of the store taught us a bit about gold and leather. The lady who was teaching us about leather apparently thought a fashion show was in order and she went around the store grabbing different jackets for all of us. Then, right in the middle of the store, we tried on the clothes as she explained their various qualities (all while customers are shopping around us mind you). This turned out to be good fun and we took some time after to shop around and several of us grabbed some goodies for loved ones.

On this same piazza is the church where Michelangelo, Galileo, and some other notable Italians are buried so we peaked in there for a while. A short trip around the block led us to a wine shop where we were supposed to have some of the local wines explained to us, but they were closing when we got there... No worry, she reopened when she saw our sad faces. The lady who operated the shop was actually from New Zealand and she spent some time with us explaining the ins and outs of Chianti and Prosecco.

One last gelato stop and then we split again. Most of us (all but myself) were headed back to our hotel for a shower and to get ready for our last evening meal in Italy. I on the other hand had my mind set on climbing the 472 steps to the top of the Duomo. The line was pretty short when I got there and the climb was relatively painless. That's not to say I wasn't hot, sweaty, and ready for a break when I got to the top... I was, but I had a schedule to catch up with. I stayed on the top for a few minutes taking in the views of Florence and the surrounding Tuscan hills then it was back down the 472 steps. a Next was a brisk hike through the St. Lawrence market to purchase my son a t-shirt and leather money clip (he calls it his "money clipper").

Dinner was great! We went to a place both Nicola and Analiesa recommended and I was not disappointed. Nicola at one point during the meal leaned over and said, "You know this is authentic, right?" I turned my head a bit and looked back at him. He added, "This is a real Italian restaurant. The tables are not covered in red and white checkered table clothes and the waiters are not smiling."

After our wonderful dinner that was capped of my some dessert, we meandered our way back to the hotel. On our way we were sucked into a street show. We stayed and were amused for a while and then all decided our best bet was to get back to the hotel, hang out there, and get things packed.

Day 8

The first entry in my travel journal for this date says, "Going to Siena today. Hope it's worth it."


It was!

First, we had an hour ride on a double-decker bus through Tuscany. We were technically on a highway most of the way, but we still got some great looks at the hill towns, olive groves, and vineyards. Once in Siena, Nicola set the scene for us. He told us that Siena was the starting point for banking (good or bad, it started here). Over the centuries Siena has been a place where money has been present. This can still be seen today in the athletic teams Siena hosts. Even though it's just a tiny village, it still has highly competitive soccer and basketball teams. Siena is also one of the places in Italy where the most pure form of Italian is spoken. So much so that if you come to Italy and you want to go to school they will send you to Siena to learn Italian. Nicola likened the language here to listening to someone sing a song.


So Siena has some things going for it... great location, beautiful medieval narrow streets, interesting local cuisine, and my personal favorite - the Palio. The Palio (which I knew nothing about prior to coming) is a horse race held in the main piazza in Siena twice a year in July and August. It's not your typical horse race. The jockeys ride bare-back and are dressed in renaissance era clothing. Dirt is brought into the piazza and the entire area except the track is crammed with spectators. Three times around and the race is done. If that's not exciting enough for you, allow me to add another layer to the story.

There are 17 neighborhoods in Siena. Each has thre own flag and distinct boundaries, and they are fiercly competitive. Only 14 neighborhoods get to race in the Palio. We happened to be in Siena the day they were drafting which neighborhoods, horses, and jockeys would be racing. In the middle of our amazing lunch at a little restaurant on the piazza (we had Pici - thick pasta in a meat ragu) we all were surprised to hear an absolute ROAR coming from outside. They were drafting the horses and the place was going nuts. It was really fun to watch. There's a ton more to learn about the history of the race, and there are some good links on YouTube if you want to watch the race.


Several of us in the group picked up some artwork while in Siena, and to finish off the day we stopped by a bakery Nicola knew about. One of their specialties are these little marzipan cookies (ricciarelli) that were better than Nicola advertised. We brought some home and are rationing them out. When the girls walked in the bakery and the smell hit them they were in heaven. I took the picture below right as they walked in.



On our return trip in the bus it hailed so we lucked out not having to deal with that. After a quick dinner, the girls put on a performance in the courtyard of the hotel. It was called, "The Singy Thingy." Mrs. Hampton would have been proud. And yes, video was taken.

** If anyone knows a good place to get almond flour, please let me know. I found it at Meijer but it's $13.99 per pound. It's a main ingredient in ricciarelli.

Day 7

This was the bullet train day! We met up with Nicola in the lobby of the hotel and walked as a group over to the train station (just a few blocks). There we boarded the bullet train to Florence. Despite one odd stop in the middle of our journey, it was pretty fast, and it was WAY cleaner than the night train. We did however have a little run in with some pickpockets. Two ladies from our group were caught in the traffic jam trying to get on the train and had some people try to reach in their purses. Nothing stolen.

A mini bus (since our group is now down to the much better size of 11) was waiting for us when we arrived in Florence. The name "Florence" has its roots in the name "flora" or flower. Apparently the area now taken up by the city of Florence was a huge field of flowers when the ancients headed up this way to settle.

The ride to our Hotel took about 5 minutes. After dropping our bags and having a brief rest we headed out in search of lunch. Our walk to lunch took us through the St. Lawrence market. Lunch itself offered some new insight into Florence. When we sat at our table we were offered bread. This leads to three things. First, Nicola said that an Italian would never serve bread with the pasta dish. "That's a carb with another carb," he said. Second, the bread has no salt in it which leads to it also having little to no taste. Nicola explained that some centuries ago this region was at odds with the region of Italy where they received their salt. Since salt was hard to come by the people of Florence started making bread without it... and never stopped. Kristin and I found that it was rather tasty to clean your plate with at the end of the meal. Third, Nicola says that dipping bread into oil is not traditionally Italian (like at Macaroni Grill). He explained that an Italian may choose to put olive oil on bread and eat it, but he would never expect a dish with oil in it to dip his bread in. Who knew?

Next we met our local guide Analeisa. Our first stop with Ms. Ana was to see Michelangelo's David. Our guide today was prepared! From the moment we met her we started playing a game. This was just the type of tour we needed. Something immediately fun to go with all the ancient dates and old churches. The statue of David was more remarkable than I had anticipated. The way Michelangelo was able to show the muscles and veins under the skin was stunning to me. After our brief visit with David we walked out into an alley where Analeisa had the girls pose Rob and myself as close to David's pose as possible (all as passers by looked on). I won!

The walking tour wound down by the Duomo (the large cathedral in Florence... you can't miss it. It's pretty big. 30 stories to the top of the dome). I'll write more on that later. It also took us through some of the older medieval streets and past some buildings and museums we may want to go back to and explore more thoroughly in our free time. Our tour ended by Santa Croce (Holy Cross Church). After all that walking, we needed some gelato. Nicola knew just the place!

Reflection on Italy (and the trip in general) so far

The pace of our first five days seemed brisk to me. There wasn't much time to sit back and reflect on what was happening. Even now (I've been home almost a week) I find myself thinking back and enjoying my experiences more so now than when I was actually there.

As for Rome, I like it! There are so many stories that go with this city it could easily take a lifetime to learn them all. Our guide keeps reminding us of things in our lives that originate from here (words, symbols, food...). Here's one example: The symbol that hospitals use with the snake wrapped around the cane came from a legend about the island in the middle of the Tiber river (the Tiber flows through Rome). In ancient Rome, the island in the river was a place to send people who were sick so they could be healed. Nicola was not completely clear on the story but he knew enough to tell us that the symbol came from Rome... I'm inclined to believe him.

Did you know? In order to officially call yourself a Roman you must be able to trace your family back 7 generations. Nicola (our tour manager) is a third generation Roman. That means if his family stays in Rome his great-great-grand kids will be able to call themselves "true" Romans.

Day 6

We started with a guided tour of the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's. This alone took quite a while. During that tour we walked through the Sistine Chapel, past the "School of Athens" and past countless important sculptures. It was a ton for even me to take in. Our tour ended in St. Peter's Piazza. From there we ventured out for souvenirs and lunch. In my case this also included a little gelato.

The afternoon in Rome was wide open. We were dropped off near Piazza Navona and led from there to the Pantheon where we split up. Kristin and I charted a path that led us up one of the seven hills of Rome around and down the Spanish steps and eventually (hours later) back to Piazza Navona.

At dinner (pizza, Roman style) we met our new tour manager that would be taking us the rest of the way, Nicola (Nee-Ko-la). The girls also spent some time back in Piazza Navona watching street performers. They really seemed to get a kick out of watching the various characters perform.

This evening was spent on the roof of our hotel. We had quite a view.

Day 5

It was a 17 hour ride on the night train from Paris, France to Rome, Italy. It wouldn't have take so long but our late departure in Paris meant that we would run into morning train traffic in Italy.


Once out of the station in Rome we loaded our things onto a bus and began our tour of Italy's capital. Our first stop was the coliseum and the forum. We spent around 45 minutes winding our way up, through, and around the coliseum and then grabbed some lunch across the street. Due to time constraints we had a relatively short time to explore the forum, but we made the best of it.










Coolest part for me: We saw the place where Julius Caesar's body was cremated. To this day Romans still come and throw flowers on this spot.

We were running late after regrouping and had to double-time it back to the bus. Our next stop... the catacombs. These were farther out of central Rome than I was expecting. If you are unfamiliar with the catacombs they were an underground burial place and place of worship starting from the 200s. These underground passages were lost and rediscovered several times over the centuries.



Keep in mind we're still working off of yesterday's pre-Versailles shower.


One last stop before we head to our Hotel to get cleaned up and go to dinner. This time our target was the Trevi fountain. It is said that if you toss a coin in the fountain one of two thing will happen. Either you'll return to Rome some day, or whatever wish you make will come true (I tossed a coin in). The fountain is also place to get free Roman water. All over Rome there are spots with running water. You can lean over and take a drink, wash your hands, or fill up your water bottle. We took this chance to refill out water bottles. The water was very cold and refreshing. It was around this time we noticed how close we were to a gelato shop... lucky us!

This taste of gelato would lead to a one or two time per day habit of gelato for the remainder of the trip!

A reflection on France before we move on.

What caught my attention more than anything while we were touring around Paris was the attention to design. Whether is was the play between a statue and its surroundings or the addition of symbols to a church or palace facade, there was attention paid to how things looked and more importantly what they meant. This is a place where stories and traditions are not just brought out at holidays, and (lucky enough for someone visiting) there was a new and interesting story around every corner. This counts my fourth time in Paris. I hope that it will not be my last as there is still so much to see and learn about this beautiful city.

If there's anyone out there actually reading this, please let me know if there are specifics (or if you have questions) you would prefer I explain in more depth.