Venice during high tide

Venice at high tide. What an experience. I can only imagine what it's like to deal with this every day. Rubber boots are certainly the fashion. This first picture is just outisde of our hotel about 45 minutes after high tide. The hotel is in a part of the city that doesn't flood as much as other areas. Can you believe that?

I invented a new word in Rome and now one in Venice. In Rome, when women wear narrow heels on the cobblestones, they become "hobblestones". In venice they put out these raised walkways during hightide and I've named them "tidewalks". Get it? Sidewalks used during high tide. I'm so clever, aren't I?

I love these next two photographs. Along Piazza S. Marco are many nice restaurants. Not letting high tide affect business, you can still sit outside and enjoy your morning caffe' and pastry. Simply put on your rubber (or as some tourists use: baggie) boots, pull up a chair at a nice table, and well dressed waiters wearing boots will serve you. Ingenious, no? It is a testament to the determination of the italian people to continue with living full lives in spite of the circumstances.

You have to remember that this is a daily experience. Life must go on. People have to get to work, children to school, shopping, eating, laundry, etc. You have to be careful where you walk so you don't walk off the flood sidewalk into the canal. I was grateful to have my rain boots with me while we were there, although my boots are only rubber to the ankles and, as you can see, much of the water is above ankle depth so, while meeting Michael at S. Marco, the water did flood into my boots. They and my socks dried much quicker in rain boots than in my leather walking shoes.

It is an experience not to be missed. Too fun.

Venice

Venice is truly an amazing city. The canals, the boats, the quiet streets without any cars, the views..... just everything was amazing. We were blessed with fabulous weather even though the forecast called for rain. It is a city that I would enjoy spending more than 2 days exploring. Michael's hotel was wonderful. It was well maintained, beautiful, and had an amazing bathroom complete with bathtub which means room to shower without elbowing the walls!

Piazza S. Marco is quite large and has many restaurants and shops along both sides. The church, like much of Italy, was under renovation so the scaffolds took a little away from the beauty. Just a little.

We walked along the streets and over many, many bridges while we explored Venice. It has a feeling of tranquility when you get away from the main tourist areas. The hotel was in an area of town far away from the touristy sites, so it gave us a starting point to explore. Michael was staying another day and 2 nights, so I'm sure he saw places we didn't have time to see. The last picture is what I think of when I think of Venice. Isn't it like a postcard? Venice gets 2 blog entries because I've added one just for Venice during high tide. That, in itself, is quite an experience. Be sure to check it out.

Milan

It's almost midnight here and I just returned from a 3 day trip to Milan and Venice. I was pleasantly surprised by how spotlessly clean Milan is. After so much time in Rome, I didn't expect that. My first stop was the Duomo, a 14th century cathedral that took 400 years to complete. It has 135 spires on the roof area and over 3400 statues. Michael and I climbed the over 200 stairs to the roof area for a spectacular view of, not only the city of Milan, but the


intricate work on the outside of the Duomo. I was amazed that each statue and spire are different. I didn't realize there could be so many variations of shapes, faces, animals, etc. It was pretty amazing. We

were blessed with good weather for a portion of the day and certainly took advantage of it. The colors of the marble used for the construction of the cathedral shone various hues in the sunlight. Many other people took advantage of the opportunity to climb to the top and it was a little strange to see so many people walking and sitting on the massive roof.

After visiting the Duomo, we ventured just across the street to walk through the Vittorio Emanuele II shopping mall. It's actually open aired on all sides, but covered with a glass roof. It was built in the 1870's and houses many designer (read that really expensive) shops. One can easily spend the better portion of a year's wages in just one or two shops.

Sforza Castle is a Renaissance palace. It was actually lived in. The oldest section was began in 1360 and finished 10 years later. Other towers and areas were added later. There is a huge park area behing the castle that, to my understanding, used to be a garden area that is connected to the castle by underground tunnels so that, during seige, soldiers could still have access to fresh produce. Pretty smart, no?

Our final stop that night was a reservation at Santa Marie delle Grazie for a viewing of the original Last Supper painting by Leonardo da Vinci (no photos allowed). To be honest, this wasn't high on my list of things to see. I mean, I've seen pictures of it many times, however it was a highlight of my visit to Milan. It was originally painted on the back wall of the church's dining hall and is 15' x 29'. The church has been bombed, destroyed, pillaged, and the wall was used for target practice. But the painting, though faded and restored, remains. Seeing it in person helped me understand why such a big deal is made of it, not only because of the subject matter, but the actual brilliance of the painting. First of all, da Vinci depicts the moment when Jesus tells the disciples one will betray him and it shows the various reactions. (Other paintings of the last supper have focused on Judas dipping his bread - showing him to be the traitor.) Secondly, it actually looks 3 dimensional. The shading and composition are truly amazing..... and I know next to nothing about art appreciation. I am grateful that Michael took it upon himself to get us tickets to the viewing.

Tune in tomorrow when I will fill you in on our 2 days in Venice.

Sorrento Revisited

Sorrento has to win the award for posing for the prettiest photos, doesn't it?
I did find a spot in the town where you could sit and look down at the sea. How pretty is that water? It was just crystal clear. I was standing up quite a ways and I could see right down into the water. Today is just some of my favorite shots from this quaint town. For some reason, the shopping area reminded me of an alpine village. Now, I've never been to an alpine village, but that thought kept coming into my mind.



This shot was looking right from where I was sitting. Actually, I just sat there for a while and pondered things. Read a book, watched the very few people that walked by, marveled at the beauty of life in general. It was a pondering group of moments.

This was the view looking to my right. How cool is that? Doesn't it just look very old and medieval? I found myself wishing I was some sort of professional photographer with various lenses and a tripod. This town seems to just pose for pictures. To be there in various lighting would be cool. I'm guess it looks totally different throughout the year.

The last photo may just become my favorite Italy picture of this trip. Not only did I get in my laundry shot, but colorful vegetables, a great colored building, and Christmas decorations. What more could you want from a Italy poster shot?

Wandering aimlessly around Trastevere has become my favorite pastime here. It is such a lovely, old part of Rome. It has become touristy, but is still so authentic a neighborhood that it feels like home. Doesn't the term "wander aimlessly" sound so much better than "being lost"? I don't have to worry exactly where I am because I'm on vacation, right?

Sunday is flea market day at Porta Portese, which is just a couple of tram stops from me. You can, quite literally, walk for 2 hours and not come to the end of it. Clothes, shoes, household goods, antiques, etc., etc. The photos I took are from the sidelines because you can see nothing if you actually get in the thick of it.

My favorite part is this: there are tables here and there with piles of clothes for 1€. That's about $1.50. Too fun. The next time I come I will bring only one change of clothes and hit the market for all the things I will need for my stay. Seriously! It's too fun. Crazy, but fun. Some things are new and some are used. You can get heavy coats for 3€ or 5€. I got a really cool pair of dress shoes (used) for 3€. I am going to have to be really creative when I pack to return home because, though I have plenty of room, my luggage was close to the weight limit when I came. Hmmmm. My carryon backpack is going to be mighty heavy.

I got cussed out in italian for the first time today. I'm not exactly sure what he said, but it was clearly dramatic. I was walking between two tables and knocked over 2 shoe boxes. I was picking them up and this older gentleman came screaming at me and motioning for me to just leave. Now, I was totally boxed in and would have been happy to leave, but couldn't get past people. I just smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I don't speak italian. I don't understand what you're saying." He was not happy. I also got to briefly (pun intended) meet my upstairs neighbor when I knocked on her door to return her panties that had fallen from her clothesline onto my porch. She was sweet.... just laughed and said thank you, thank you.

Look at this picture of one of the many, many pastry shops I have to walk past every day. It's just not fair. Everything looks so good and, trust me, it tastes even better. Between pizza, gelato, and pastry every block, I may have to be one of those fliers that has to purchase an extra seat due to the fact that I won't fit in just one. Goodness.

As I was walking tonight I happened upon this cool group of kids playing in a piazza. There is always someone painting, playing accordian, singing, playing guitar, etc., on various spots in exchange for coins. There are also beggers at every church, on the trains, some busses, etc. This group was very good....... talented, colorful, energetic. Their instrument case was filling up quite rapidly as there was always a crowd around watching them. I enjoyed them. When I walked back toward home about one and a half hours later they were still going at it. Dancing, clapping, singing, and playing. I loved it.

Napoli: no, no. Sorrento: si, si.

Today was a loooong, but wonderful day. I found that, for me, Naples isn't somewhere I am comfortable. It's the first time in 18 months, since I've been traveling alone, that I have felt uncomfortable. Being a woman alone, I have to trust my senses. Rome is a quiet city compared to the confusion, crowdedness, and unpleasantness I found in Naples. There was, however, only one motorcycle driving on the sidewalk, so I guess sidewalks are relatively safe. The city is filled with the constant (and I do mean constant) sound of horns blowing. Being from the states, I just found it rude beyond rude. The people I encountered in the city were unfriendly and somber. I'm sure there is beauty there, I just couldn't find it. I walked to the port (about 45 minutes) and decided the ferry to Capri was more than I wanted to spend, so I headed back to the train station. I decided to give it another shot and, since I had a walking tour with map from Rick Steves, I began that, but quickly decided that I simply wasn't comfortable in the city, so I headed back to the train station and got a ticket to Sorrento. Thanks to Carrie Baker for suggesting that I see Sorrento, or I would have missed it.
The only pictures I took in Naples were of run down buildings along my walk. I couldn't find anything interesting to shoot. As I was on the train (after being on two, yes two, wrong trains) the scenery began to change.... thankfully. I did find some nice women on my second wrong train who overheard the english speaking employee of the train station guide me once again to the wrong train. After the second or third stop, a lady approached me and told me that the train didn't go to Sorrento and that I would have to change trains. Another woman worked with her to decide which stop would be the easiest for me to board the correct train. Thankfully, the change was an easy one.

This picture is at a bus stop in Sorrento. How would you like for that to be your bus stop? It was along the coast and I found the walk out of the city to be refreshing and fun. The town of Sorrento itself is beautiful and is already decked for the holidays. I didn't include any photos of it here because it's similar to other quaint towns that I've included in the blog. I do, however, have some lovely photos of the town. One thing I did notice, however, is that, although the town is so near the sea, you can't see the water while in the town because large hotels front the ocean and have tall walls that hinder the view. Seriously..... you can't see any water from the town. But a short walk outside the city and your senses are overloaded by the beauty all around.

I was above the town and looked down to see the boats harbored below. The colors of the buildings looked nice against the color of the sea. The water was very blue and calm. There are amazing cliffs on which the town sits. I found a little park along the sea that had this sweet set of steps. I know, I love concrete steps. They seem natural and inviting to me. These were under some great trees and it was cool, quiet, and peaceful sitting amongst that setting. I wish I had brought a book along to read for an hour or so.

In the main part of the town I found this communal garden loaded with fruit trees. It was just hidden above the main street, but, because there were great concrete steps leading to it, I had to check it out. I was so surprised to find this place! How special it must be to be a part of this. I'm ending the blog with my favorite picture of the day. I took quite a few pictures of the cliffs hoping to get one that somewhat captured how awesome this place is. I think this picture begins to do that. After figuring the days I have planned to travel by train, I have one train day left on my pass and I'm trying to decide whether to return to Sorrento (which I would love to do) or spend an extra day in Florence. Having not been to Florence yet, I'm not sure which I will choose. Because I began the day by spending over 2 hours in Naples, my time in Sorrento was shorter than I would have liked so I look forward to being able to more thoroughly explore this town in the Umbria region of Italy.

Spoleto

Before I headed to Spoleto, I ventured into a church on the way to the train station at the Piazza della Repubblica. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had a display of information and works by and about Galileo. It was beyond interesting and I will definitely go back there when I have more time. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed indoors. Then, it was off to Spoleto.

Spoleto is a medieval hill town in the Umbria region of Italy. It is a walled town build on a hillside whose most famous site is Ponte delle Torri or Bridge of Towers. It took one and a half hours by regional train to reach it. The rain was finished by the time I arrived. The first photo

shows where I headed off to from the train station. As usual, the direction to the city was uphill. It took almost 2 hours to reach the bridge, though it was mostly a gentle climb with beautiful sights to keep me company. As I walked, I went through the quaint center of town on narrow roads that were just fabulous. The second photo is of the rooftops of the lower city as I made my way up.

I had to take a picture of clothes hanging on the line because I am always drawn to that view. It just screams "old Italy" to me and causes

me to visualize times past. I've learned that electricity is quite expensive here and that's why most people don't own dryers. It's simply less costly to let them air dry. I actually was thrilled when I got home tonight to notice that my neighbors had hung their laundry today so, in the morning's light, I'll have to snap a picture of my "local" laundry.

The bridge was truly a spectacular sight because it crossed a deep gorge. The sun was high in the sky so it was difficult to get good scenic photographs that captured the immensity of the view, but you'll just have to take my word for it.


The Duomo (or main church) is being refurbished, but the inside was intact. I had to wait for a bit for it to open, but was kept company by two young boys who made very good use of the long span of gentle steps with their skateboards. When I first saw them walking with their boards, I thought it would be a shame to not take advantage of the cobblestone steps --- they didn't disappoint. As well as laundry hanging between buildings, I just love all the rosette shaped windows on the churches here. I have more photos of them than a person should. This is a short post because I am very tired and tomorrow is an early day because I'm planning to head for Naples. I'm unsure of what that day will be like because I want to see Naples and I want to see Capri (which is about an hour from Naples by ferry) and I want to see Sorrento (which is about an hour by train). I don't know how to squeeze it all in during one day. If I enjoy the day at all, I'll have to add another day to Naples on my schedule. I've heard that it is a very busy, chaotic city so I'm going to take it one day at a time.

Thanks for checking in. I'll see you soon.

Appia Antica

The Appian Way was built in 312 B.C. and connected Rome with Capua (near Naples). It eventually stretched 430 miles. Due to the fact that it was unlawful to bury people within the city gates of Rome, this road became a popular burial place for Christians. There are more than 60 catacombs; 5 of which are open to the public. Today the road and landscape around it are preserved as a cultural park. It was pretty cool to walk along such an historical road. The main part of the

road is closed to motorized traffic on Sundays, so that was a bonus. There were many ruins and tombs along the way. The weather was gorgeous, so that made everything just that much more beautiful. The photograph below is of a roadside shrine that I noticed as I walked along and

took the time to snap a photo of it. I visited the Catacombs of San Callisto and took a tour of the catacombs. It was pretty fascinating to walk underground and hear the accounts those who were originally buried there. There was no photography allowed, sorry. In these particular catacombs, there were over 500,000 people buried - that's pretty amazing. Although San Callisto are arguably the largest catacombs, remember that there are over 60 of them! The burial sites were small and crowded together. There were simply too many of them that were so small that it was apparent they belonged to children or infants. The Christians also met underground here to worship during times when it was unlawful to do so in public.

As I was waiting for the bus after my visit to the Appian Way, I noticed this colorful water fountain and couldn't resist taking a snapshot and sharing it with you.

The day when rapidly downhill from there as I once again got lost while trying to get home and ended up walking about one and a half hours home..... about 45 minutes of that in the rain without protection. I knew we had a chance of showers tonight, but didn't expect it to take me more than 2 hours to get home, so I didn't have an umbrella or even a coat. I arrived home wet, cold, and hungry. However, my apartment is dry and cozy and I've just finished some pasta with chicken. I may even "force" myself to head a couple of blocks away for gelato -- if my feet stop hurting a little.

Gionicolo

Today was an introspective day, so bear with me while I ruminate. I began the day by climbing many steps to reach Gionicolo hill, which is a spectacular hill within comfortable walking distance from my apartment. The hill overlooks Trastevere and ancient Rome with breathtaking views. The hill is green and lush with a variety of parks, walkways, and benches. As I stood there pondering the beauty of Rome many thoughts came into mind. You may not realize it, but, based on our Florida/fantasy world standards, Rome is quite dirty. There is litter around and graffiti everywhere. The city is old and you can always find scaffolding beside buildings. I realize that this is what I love about Rome - what Rome teaches me about myself and about God. I touched on this in an August blog post about why I feel drawn to Rome. It sort of expanded today. I had thought that there was value in finding beauty amidst the ruins and that it paralleled God's ability to find beauty in the ruins we sometimes create. That God looks beyond the ruin and sees beauty. I think that was wrong. I now feel that the ruins ARE the beauty. That, when one (be it person or city) lives - truly lives - there is ruin, messiness, and constant need for repair. When you open your arms to life.... to people.... you will most certainly get gritty and make mistakes. It's similar to gray hair or lines on the face as we age. Why try and erase the past? One doesn't tear down the past, one must work within the history to reinforce it. The history is what makes it beautiful.

What do you think? Do I make any sense at all? To me, Rome is real... it is so alive that it makes me feel more alive. Someone recently asked me if I get lonely here. Sure, I do. But I get lonely at home, too. Being alone has its challenges just like sharing your life does. I refuse to stop living because I must do it alone.

After I had my fill of Gionicolo, I listened to another podcast and took a walk through the Jewish Ghetto. I so enjoy these little walks that I downloaded from Rick Steve's website. They are informative, interesting, and encourage me to explore areas that I would otherwise overlook. The history of the jewish people in Rome is a testament to the tenacity of these people. Amazing and beautiful. This photo below is of the main synagogue in this area. I didn't realize that the synagogue has a square dome rather than a round one to differentiate it from a church. I thoroughly enjoyed my time listening to the podcast while walking through this area of Rome.

One of my silly favorite things in Rome are the water fountains. They flow freely all of the time and the water is refreshing and fine for drinking. Okay, here's the trick. Look closely at the picture below and notice that the spout looks sort of like a big nose. Right? Well how does one drink from it without kneeling down? If you stick your finger across the bottom where the water is coming out, it stops the water flow and forces the water out of a hole where the "nose" bends and you get a stream of water shooting up and out like our water fountains. If you look real closely, you can see the hole. I always make a mess, but love drinking this way.

So, that's it for today. There is a 20% chance of rain tomorrow and it goes up to 40% or 60% for the few days after that. Tomorrow I will stay in Rome, but then I plan to spend a few days chasing the sun by taking some day trips. I hope to see Naples and/or Capri (where the weather is supposed to reach the high 70's... uggghh) as well as just hopping the train and heading south and getting off where it looks interesting. Ciao!

Rome in 7 Hours

There were not very many pictures to choose from today. I had an unexpected surprise last night and found out that a friend would be in Rome today for one day. Julie and her friend Jennifer arrived from the states this morning and have to leave first thing tomorrow morning to catch a train to Florence. They didn't want to rest, but decided to see as much of Rome as they could in one day. That's a pretty big task. I served as their guide -- which is pretty scary as we all know how lost I get. My motto...... I'm lost, but I'm in Rome, so what's the problem? So, fasten your seatbelts and come along for a whirlwind.
We met up sometime between 11 and 11:30 at St. Peter's Basillica. As far as I could tell it was the closest main attraction to their hotel. We were all excited to actually be able to find eachother in the crowds. We decided to see the Basillica since we were there and skip the Vatican because the line there was, as usual, very long.


I just love the church. It is huge inside and there is beauty all around. It doesn't seem to matter how many people crowd in, it doesn't feel claustrophobic to me. I took the first picture of the outside of the church while waiting for the girls. We all entered together and spent time oohing and aahing over everything. Jennifer was thrilled to see things she have only studied and dreamed about before. This picture is the center area and, of course, the crowds of people.

After exploring St. Peter's we headed into the center of town. We stopped for gelato and to buy a bus ticket for each of them. We found a majorly -- I mean majorly -- crowded bus to take us closer to the town center. I'm going to tattle here. When you buy a bus ticket, it's good for any time. You validate it by sticking it in a machine that's located on the bus. The first bus we got on was soooo crowded that there was no way to get near the machine or even pass the ticket through the crowd to allow someone else to do it. SO..... they stole a bus ride. I have a month pass, so mine didn't need validated. I didn't steal, just they did. I'm joking. There truly was no way to validate their ticket. No one checked for tickets, so it wasn't a problem. Although they DID check for tickets on our next bus ride.
On with the day. As we headed toward Trevi Fountain (thanks to a beautiful elderly italian woman who walked with us and explained the directions to me until she was sure we couldn't get lost) we decided to stop for lunch. We shared our own little buffet at a very nice restaurant with helpful waiters. We shared bruchetta, pizza, and proscuitto with melon. Yum! It was difficult to get up and keep moving. But, we had to keep going. We went to the Trevi and took pictures of both ladies tossing their coins to ensure their return. I was frustrated when I couldn't find those pictures tonight, then remembered I took them on Julie's camera. You'll have to trust me. Then we headed to the Pantheon, whose outside is being restored. We went in and looked around for a bit. And,

because I am such a good photographer, this last photo is of a bread shop across the piazza from the Pantheon. I forgot to take a picture of the actual building! Then we headed over to the Piazza Navona, which I made them do since we were so close. They enjoyed it and were glad I encouraged them to experience it. I stopped taking pictures here because there was too much to keep up with.

After Navona, we hopped a bus and headed to the Roman Forum and Colosseum (they're across the street from one another). We basically waved as we went past -- actually got out of the bus so they could photograph them -- then headed off to the main terminal so they could buy their train tickets form tomorrow's trip to Florence. They bought the tickets and we made sure we understood where they had to be in the morning. Then we took the metropolitana (subway). It was my first time on the metro. We got off at the Piazza Barberini where they were to meet the shuttle for the hotel. 6pm was the last shuttle for the night and we got there about 10 minutes until 6. We saw the shuttle pull in, we all ran across the street (not as easy in Rome as it sounds), gave quick hugs, and they were gone. How's that for a full day???

Orvieto

Welcome back to sharing my adventures in Italy. I took the train outside of Rome for the first time today and am pleased to announce that I didn't get lost even once. No problem. Walk 15 minutes to bus #8. Take the bus to Trastevere train station. Take train to Tiburtina train station. Get on train to Orvieto. Take train 1 hour and 10 minutes. Exit train, cross the street, buy ticket and board the funicolor (sort of like a cable car) for the ride up to Orvieto. Voila - two and a half hours after leaving the apartment............ Welcome to Orvieto. The trainitalia trains are very nice -- clean and quiet riding. It was quite relaxing. I had visited Orvieto last year by car and, entering this year via funicolor took me in the opposite side of the city so I was pleasantly surprised at seeing part of the city I didn't see last year. As always, it wasn't easy choosing which pictures to share with you. For some reason I really love laundry and stair shots, so you have to be exposed to them. The town is primarily medieval in style. I brought my guidebook from last year and used it to guide me through the town once again. It is peaceful and beautiful.
The roads are very narrow and it seems strange to realize that people live here and go about their jobs, school, and lives in the midst of this beauty. There are plants and flowers lining every stairway and pouring from window boxes throughout the city. The main contrast from this city and Rome and Capena (where I stayed last year) is the total absence of graffiti. Italians are very expressive and like to express themselves with spray cans wherever there is an opportunity to

do so. On trains, walls, doors, sidewalks, etc. I actually use the graffiti to help me find my way sometimes! But in Orvieto, there is none. Possibly because they are supported by tourism.

I really like this picture of an alleyway - a vicolo; which means small street. The stone of the walls and slate roofs surrounded by all the plants speaks to me. I enjoy the rooftops in these small cities. These type places always make me think of what Florida and its attractions make copies of to attract tourists. And yet, here is the original medieval city. I know I'm prattling on, but I really enjoy visiting this city.


The cathedral is breath-taking and it constantly frustrates me that there is no place to stand and get a picture of the entire building in one shot. It's simply too big. The colors on the front actually gleam in the sun. There are paintings upon paintings inside and I focused on a set of paintings in a "small" (compared to the main cathedral) chapel on the right side of the front of the cathedral. There are a series of paintings on the walls by Luca Signorelli that follow his vision of the end times. Preaching of the Antichrist; End of the World; Resurrection of the Flesh; The Damned are taken to Hell; The Elect Being led to Paradise by Angels. The images are captivating. Regardless of your beliefs, it's difficult not to be drawn into the scenes. They almost come alive. I didn't notice them before, so it was a new experience for me.





This last picture was in a different church and I loved the way I could see the rays of the sun pouring into the window.

After taking the previously mentioned means of transportation home again, I relaxed for a bit, got dressed up (yep, stocking, dress, heels - the whole thing) and took myself out to dinner at a restaurant around the corner from my apartment. It was fine, but sad. At home it doesn't bother me to go out alone, but it just seems wrong to eat alone in Italy. I think I'll save my solo eating for lunch when there are tons of people milling around and cook dinner for myself at home. I did learn a new word today...... when you have on narrow heels and walk along the cobblestones they become........wait for it.......... HOBBLESTONES! (I made that up) As much as I tried walking on the balls of my feet, my heels would slip between the cobblestones and I would sort of hobble. So, from now on, cobblestones will forever in my mind be hobblestones.