Italy: The Final Chapter..almost (disclaimer...longest yet)

This is the first town we visited on our day trips, Monteriggioni from the main road. So here we go, the final days of our trip. We picked up Karen on Sunday in Florence and had a great dinner. We headed to the villa and prepared for the next day, day trips in Tuscany. Tuscany is more of a region than an actual location. Tuscany is to us like south Texas. Here is a quick map to let you know where we were throughout the trip and where we were headed. Google maps is awesome. Anyway, Stephen made breakfast the next morning, which side note, is a WAY better idea because it takes him half the time to get ready and by the time we were ready to go, he had breakfast ready. We ate and left. Guys, take note. It really saves time to cook for your women instead of having to wait around for them to feed you AFTER they are done primping. Just FYI.
So, our first stop was Monteriggioni. We drove into the town and noted the walled city up on the hill it is known for. We decided to drive up this narrow gravel drive up to the city wall. Scary and once at the top, realized it was a walking trail. It was early, our brains had not gotten up yet. SO, we drove back down and parked. Walked up to this little cafe on the side of the road and decided to get some caffeine before hiking back up the hill. We had Cappuccino and Espresso. It was very yummy. The town, like many of the towns in Italy are all a trip back in time once you step inside the walls of the center of the city. Small towns like this, the city only exists inside these walls. Larger cities like Siena and Florence, the people out grew the center and kept growing outward. Here are a few pics from Monteriggioni.Group picture at the top of the hill outside the city wall.Stephen and Karen enjoying their Cappuccino.
View from the top of the hill. Vineyards as far as the eye can see.

After we spent some time admiring the city, walking into a small gift shop with a wine tasting table set up in the basement and deciding it was a little early for a wine tasting, we headed back down the hill on to another town. The best thing about this town was it was our first experience with a small town. We were not expecting the inside of the wall to be inhabited. (don't ask me why). We thought of it as some sort of La Bahia or Goliad or something. Like a historical site. It was hysterical to all of us to walk in and find that it was completely inhabited by around 200 + people. Silly Americans, we are so narrow minded.
Our next stop was Colle di Val d' Elsa. This town was known for something we had read up on and were all very curious about. It has a church in it that supposedly has one of the nails from the cross of Jesus Christ's Crucifixion. It is kept in a marble vault and locked using four different locks with four separate keys kept by four different citizens as to keep it safe. It is only brought out once a year during a festival. After we arrived, we found parking and learned that most of the little towns are on a hill or multiple hills that require a LOT of walking and climbing. Needless to say we were working off the pasta. After a long walk up a steep road, we made it to the Cathedral di San Saeraore. We had hoped to see the nail through bullet proof Plexiglas or something, but to no avail, it was unavailable for viewing. We made our decent and found an elevator hanging out on the outside of the hill. After we got out, we saw the location where we chose to go left and had we gone right, we would have walked right into the elevator to take us up. We had lots of jokes on the way to the car about the little worm in the wall on the movie "Labyrinth". If you know you know, if you don't, sorry. Here are the photos from d' Elsa (as we called it, that name is TOO long)The location of the nail from Jesus' cross.
The elevator in the side of a hill. It really did look odd, almost like something out of a James Bond movie.
The infamous "fork in the road". The dark door, just out of sight on the right is the door that takes you into the elevator. Notice the plaque on the wall just next to it. It is clearly labeled "Lift". Didn't see it and we went left and walked about another 15 minutes uphill. Oh well.

Before getting in the car, we noticed it was getting past our lunch time and decided to get a bite on the go. Sandwiches, which were awesome. We made our way to San Gimignano. We parked and waited a few minutes for a shuttle to take us to the center of the city. As the day progressed, we were getting to larger and larger towns. There were a ton of shops to see. We would walk and stop and walk and stop and so on. We headed towards the city center to see the Basillica Santa Maria Assanta. There is a fresco by Bartolo there depicting Good and Evil and a lot of frames depicting the life of Jesus. This was an enjoyable experience, the paintings were very interesting to look at not just technically, but the content was neat. We were playing name that story from the Bible and some were hard to name. Old Testament was on one wall and the Life of Jesus was on another. We stopped to have Gelato at "Italy's Best Gelataria" as voted in 2005, 2006 and 2007, "Pluripremiata Gelateria". It was good. Then we headed back to the car. We had thought to go to Sienna next, but the day had gotten away from us. We chose to drive to San Rocco a Pilli to the Coop market, get a few more groceries for breakfast ( we were running low) and eat at the pizza place Stephen and I went to our first night at the Villa. It was a nice dinner and we headed home to rest up for the next day in Florence and Siena.
The front of the Basillica. Notice what we thought was probably a May Pole.
The Gelateria that was Italy's best.Stephen and I on the road around the city. You can see how high up it was. All cities were built on hills. You can see how much time you would have as an advantage if you were being attacked by a neighboring country or town.

We prepared to head to Florence the next day so I could see the Duomo and then on to Siena
(which all the books suggested to see Siena at night ). We got up, ate and got on the road. It took about 45 minutes to get to Florence and park. We headed straight to the Duomo to see the inside of the cathedral. Once we got a good look, and smirked at the women and especially men who had to buy and then cover themselves with light blue fabric to cover their exposed arms and legs, we headed outside towards the line to walk up the dome to the very top of the Cathedral. 375 feet up in the air and 439 steps to get there. Let me just say, it was amazing. I am so glad I got to do this. Not to go into the whole lesson, Brunelleschi designed and created this dome using the Pantheon in Rome as his muse. He was the first to design an Octagon dome in history and the first to do it with out the use of support systems or scaffolding from the ground floor. Pretty much he is a genius. I think he is my favorite. Check out more on the Basillica di Santa Maria del Fiore. Here are some pretty awesome pics. We were really high.
: )Front of the Basillica.
Interior shot of the fresco's on Brunelleschi's Duomo. Notice the rails right in front of the circular windows and the rails right above those. Oh yeah, we were up there.

Pardon my behind, but this is the only picture we have of the interior of the corridor leading up to the top of the dome. I wanted you to see the small amount of space, the tiny window to let in light and all of the ridiculous graffiti. It was out of control. The exterior of the dome was even tagged up. So sad.A visual of the interior of the the Duomo for those of you who are mathematically challenged and 375 feet doesn't compute to you. Those little dots ...those are people. We were REALLY high up.Stephen and I at the top of the Duomo, exterior.
View of Florence from the highest point in the city.
The only graffiti that I approved of, because man is it true.

I had planned on finishing this post with the rest of this day in Sienna and then our day in Assisi and then our day in Pisa and Cinque Terra, but as you can tell, there is no way. So, I will post that info in the next two or three days. I cannot express how much of a dream come true this trip was for me. I realized the other day that I had said in the same breathe that I wanted to go to Maine one day and then Italy. I know, I know, why Maine? Someone had just returned from there and we were having a conversation about places we wanted to go. Anyway, last summer I went to Maine and had some lobster and this summer, I was in Italy at the top of the place I have always wanted to see. Crazy. Amazing. Thanks Karen. You are the reason for both.

Italy: part two

This is us on the train to Florence, and as you recall, after this pic was taken, Stephen was sleeping as I flipped through books furiously before our arrival. This was not a day for sight seeing, but for finding the Hertz rental office, getting our rental car, and heading towards our villa near Sienna. Karen was flying into Florence the next day and we were planning on getting a large amount of sight seeing done then. We got to the train station around 11:30 and had about two hours before we were supposed to pick up our car, so we checked our bags at the station and went in search of lunch and the Hertz office. Found the office and then an Internet cafe, so we stopped and checked up on Anna through email. We then started walking back towards the station and found a hole in the wall pizza vendor (really good food that was really cheap). We made it back to the station and sat on the marble floor at the station and enjoyed our lunch. Yeah, their train stations have marble floors..NUTS! OK, the weather there was never above 75 or so until right before we left, so sitting at the station (which is an open air station, not enclosed) on the floor was a very nice experience (if you don't mind sitting on the floor). While we ate, we had this little sparrow hop over to us like he was waiting for us to feed him. He was very sure of himself too, super cute. It was a very peaceful little lunch. So, we got our bags and headed back to the Hertz office to get our rental car. We got AWESOME directions out of town from the rental lady and were on our way. The streets in Italy are very small, especially in the center of the cities, which are mainly old stone buildings and cobblestone streets that were created centuries ago with the mind of only housing walking travelers. So, throw in a few cars, it gets a little hectic. Stephen did an AMAZING job and Karen and I were constantly thanking God that we were not the ones driving. : ) We arrived at our villa later that afternoon after a few detours (unwanted of course) and were overwhelmed with the beauty of the Tuscan countryside. The Pappini family was extremely generous and offered us complementary Red wine, Cherry marmalade and Lemionchello (lemon flavor liquor)..all made from their farm. Please enjoy the numerous pictures of our villa that we were so happy to have stayed in for 5 days and 6 nights.Our car. It was a Peugeot. The Italians are not NEAR as vain about their cars as Americans. It is all about economy.The villa, exterior. Apparently (we learned by reading the guest book) that the father of the household, Roberto, renovated and remodeled the entire villa with his son, Alesandro.
Stephen and I at the villa. They called their home Torrenpietra.The Papinni's home. It was not very far from the villa at all. Interior of the villa showing kitchen/living area. Stephen would write all the days happenings down each evening in a journal his mom had given him titled "Jots and Tittles", which apparently is a quote from a verse in the bible in good ole King James version. Matthew 5 :18, check it out if you have KJV. Pretty funny.
That is a tractor over there in the distance. It is not a motor bike. It was SO SMALL!
Stairs that lead to upstairs. It had one bath downstairs and one upstairs. It was a two bedroom and the windows opened up to the most gorgeous view in the morning.

Interior of the villa looking at the front door.
Their cherry tree that we saw one morning as we were leaving. We took a picture of it and Mr. Pappini saw us, walked over and offered us some. They were very good, ripe, but a little sour. That afternoon when we returned, the two grandmothers of the household had picked it clean.
The view from the villa at sunset in Italy. Those are vineyards. They were everywhere you looked, rows and rows of them. Just stunning.

So, the rest of the evening was filled with Stephen and I driving to a small town nearby and eating dinner, going to a small coop market and getting some groceries and another unwanted detour on the way back to the villa. Lets just say that there are not very many helpful street signs in Italy.
The rest of the post will be in itinerary form.

Sunday, June 15, 2008: Got up, ate breakfast that Stephen cooked. Eggs and toast with Cherry marmalade from our own villa's garden. YUM. Left for Florence. Karen's ETA is around 4 pm. So we are going to try to get as much done as possible before she arrives, because she has been to Florence before. Get to Florence with little problems, we feel that through our trials from previous evenings detours that we are becoming old pros at the Italy highway system. We get to the Duomo in Florence (Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore) and are DEVASTATED to learn that because it is Sunday, the church will not open until 1 pm and close at 4 pm. We had not thought of this and were frustrated at first when most all churches (which house most of the artwork in the city) were closed on Sunday morning. We have an appointment with the Uffizi gallery at 2pm, so we piddle around town and spend some time at the Baptistery doors in front of the Duomo. These doors were created by Lorenzo Ghiberti and it took him 28 years to complete them. When Michelangelo saw them for the first time, he dubbed them the "Gates of Paradise". They have remained by that title since then. I have always loved them and was able to actually see the 10 panels that depict various events in biblical history. Good moment.The "Gates of Paradise"

We went to Uffizi gallery and were able to see some amazing artworks. Botticelli's "Primavera" and "Birth of Venus". We were also able to see a few works by Michelangelo and Da Vinci. It was an amazing collection and I was so happy to see those works that I have wanted to see since I laid eyes on the slides in my Art History classes. Unfortunately we were unable to get pictures, they are not allowed.
The replica of Michelangelo's "David" outside Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. The original was here from 1504 until it was moved to the Academia Gallery in 1873 to protect it from the elements.
The center of the Uffizi gallery corridor. It is filled with statues of famous Florentines who since the middle ages until the 19th century were distinguished in some way. There were quite a few that I knew as major contributors to history. To name a few: Vespucci (as in Amerigo), Galileo, Michelangelo, Donatello.

A parade was going on this day in Florence. I never found out what it was celebrating.


We met up with Karen right after the Uffizi gallery marathon ( it was a ton of stuff to see in a short time to see it) and went to the Duomo to sit for a while and find out where we wanted to go to dinner. I got a chance to check out the "Gates" again. : ) We had some time to kill since most all restaurants do not open until around 7:30 in Italy (they eat very late), so we decided to walk over to the Arno River since we were in spitting distance. Not a very pretty river. Very dirty. Anyway, we waited until 7:25 and we headed over to the restaurant.
The restaurant, "Trattoria dei 13 Gobbi" was recommended by one of the books we had. SO NICE. Was the best dining experience to date as far as atmosphere. We had a lemon tree behind us for goodness sakes. Our waiter was awesome. He was very nice and spoke really good English and he did not seem irritated by our questions at all, which is something we were beginning to get used to.


We headed back to the villa that evening pretty late. I did not get to see Duomo that day, but we discussed it, and my determination to see it brought us back on Tuesday of that week. I will talk more about that on the next post when I talk about our day trips to Sienna, Pisa, Assisi and many more. Sorry for the length, it was just so great, I hate to leave out too many things.

Hit the ground running....

Well, we made it back from Italy. We got back and immediately started running again. Kaylee, our 5 year old niece, is staying with us this week. Needless to say, I have had no time to post. So, to catch up on what all has been going on....Going to Italy was an awesome experience and I cannot be more thankful for Karen, my sister-in-law, who so graciously offered us this opportunity. It is truly a remarkable and magical place. For those of you who are curious of the itinerary, here is a run down from day to day. I am starting with Rome, this will have to be a three part post. I will start with Rome, then introduce Florence and Sienna. Lastly, day trips in Tuscany. SO, here is a run down of Rome.
Tuesday 6/10/08 12:20 pm (Houston flight to Atlanta that was to then connect to Rome at 3:45) ( we missed that flight thanks to the lovely weather in Houston that day)
Tuesday night 8pm made the next flight, not as many passengers, got the middle three seats all to ourselves...SCORE. Still slept terrible. 11 hours... man, it was rough. And those of you mission people who have been on like 20 hour flights, give me a break, this was my first international flight.
Wednesday oneish- we arrive in Rome. Get to the hotel. Meet some nice people from San Fransisco on the shuttle (rip off)...not the people, the shuttle.
Wednesday 5 pm -first walking tour of Rome with an Aussi named Jo from Angel Tours Rome. Good tour, lots of info, visited the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Campo di Fiori and Piazza Navona to name a few. Back to the hotel after an interesting study of Rome metro system and city buses, got some cash and went back out to get some dinner. Went close to the hotel to a little trattoria ( small restaurant that serves home cooked meals, often the establishment is in the back of the owners home ). It was really good, the waiter spilled my drink on me and he looked terribly embarrassed. We were so tired and once we were well fed, we headed back for a much needed nights rest. Pantheon Trevi Fountain
Thursday 9 am -after our AMAZING continental breakfast ( with the best coffee I have ever had, yummy pastries, eggs and interestingly enough, Agar agar, an Asian seaweed dish) we
headed to the Colosseum, got hooked up with another tour company and signed up. Side note: As we signed up, we were told we would get a free picture with a guy in Roman Soldier get up. Stephen took my picture first, my glasses fell off and the soldier grabbed them, while apologizing to Stephen, saying he was only helping. When Stephen walked over to take his picture, the guy said, as he moved his sword in, (imagine an Italian accent with this), "do you know? Lorana Bobit?" I shot the picture, it was too hysterical to pass up. This tour was WELL worth the time and money. An unbelievable (probably one of my most memorable) moments, walking out from the metro, turning to the left and seeing something that massive, that was completed in 80 AD right in front of me in the year 2008. Crazy moment. We then had a short break after the tour of the Colosseum to get some water before the Roman Forum tour. AWESOME. Our guide was a local ( as was the Colosseum guide ) but he had a true love of history. He made the tour really great. Later that day, we walked across the city, and had lunch, saw President Bush's motorcade drive by (for the first time) then ended up going to a performance of the Georgetown prep schools choir at one of the churches. It was a nice concert. We then went to dinner and headed back to the hotel. Exterior shot of the Colosseum just outside the metro exit.
Jody's "Roman Soldier" pic
Stephen's "Roman Soldier" pic
Interior of the Colosseum. This is a picture of the underground working halls the gladiators and animals would emerge from using dumb waiter type systems. The Romans were geniuses. The Roman Forum. The guy in the straw hat was our guide, Eugenio.
Stephen and I in the Roman Forum, picture courtesy of a nice older couple from England.

Friday 9 am - Grabbed the metro headed for Vatican City. We enjoyed our Roman Forum tour guide so much, that when he began advertising for the tour of Vatican City the next morning, we said we were in. Found out once we arrived, we would have another guide, who was not so great, but we were OK with it. He was late. So apparently if you are late in Rome, you have to buy people drinks. So the guide company walked us down to a breakfast shop and we all got a free drink. It was nice. Afterwards we got to see St. Peters. CRAZY awesome church. Amazingly huge and makes you feel very small and unattractive...in comparison to its massive beauty. The pictures do NOT do it justice. We saw Michelangelo's Pieta. After that, we had a short break for lunch. We sat with a couple from Melbourne Australia that were really nice people. It was a nice lunch. We then went through the Vatican Museum, which according to our guide, if you spent 60 seconds on each artifact or piece of art in the collection, it would take seven years to see it all. NUTS! After all that we went through all the hallways to see the Sistine Chapel. I was sad to see it in such conditions, but understood the reasons. There were guards, shushing you constantly, because it is a holy place that requires reverence. There was very little light and the windows were not allowed to hold the daylight they could ( they were shrouded on the exterior of the building, so you could see the stained glass, but not its brilliance) This was all of course to protect the images from any damage or fading. There were hundreds of people in this little chapel with no furniture, only one row of seats along the walls. It just seemed to suck away the majesty of this amazing work of art for me. Anyway, enough of that. I got to go upstairs and see the paintings by Raphael, that I REALLY wanted to see. My favorite of all time, "The Freeing of St. Peter" and also the well known "School of Athens". Headed back to our hotel, changed and then went back over to take night pictures at the Colosseum. Had dinner, the best I had so far, Stephen and I shared a salad and four cheese pizza. Then went back to the hotel to pack.
St. Peter's Bascillica.
"The Freeing of St. Peter" by Raphael.
The interior of St. Peter's. The sun was coming through the upper windows and it was so angelic and holy. It really set a feel of reverence and beauty. I was so happy that the sunrays were captured on film.Last night in Rome in front of the Colosseum at night.
Stephen's awesome pic of the Colosseum at night.

Saturday 10 am - headed over to the train station ( not a far walk from our hotel ) to catch the train to Florence. We sat with a very nice couple from Pennsylvania. Stephen slept as I furiously looked through books to figure out what I wanted to see in Florence. I would love to go back to Rome later in life. Rome, for me, really was extremely magical. I kept visualizing how it all must have looked when Paul was there and how things have changed....and how things haven't. It is strange to be in a place that has history that can be taken back to those who lived in biblical times. I guess living in such a young country, I have nothing in which to compare. I truly enjoyed it and if you are one who loves history and wouldn't mind seeing some of it come to life for you, seriously, go to Rome. It was an awesome experience for us. See pics, and please forgive the long post, I just don't know how to condense such a great experience.