Firenze, the city of Duomos and Davids, gelatto and gold

Getting to Florence (and my birthday day trip to Siena) was a great breather from the craziness of the cities. Well, I first had to deal with a slight train nightmare involving a briefcase. A man put a briefcase down next to me as he was settling he and his travelmates into their seats ahead of me, and he shouldn't have left it out of his sight, but being a decent person, I felt the responsibility to at least make sure that it is not stolen. Well, it is crowded on the train from Roma to Firenze and people are crunching into every free bit of space while people put their bags up on the racks and get seated, etc. This woman and her daughter saddle up next to my seat and I tell them that I have a reservation and that there is no room here for two. She gestures that she knows, but she can't get out to move yet. Then she starts playing with the buttons on the briefcase, and I say, "It's not mine, but it is his...not yours." She gestures that she is with him, which I knew definitely not to be true. So I take the bag and hold it up and tell the guy, "Your briefcase is here! Take it!" He says in English, "I know, just leave it there." Stupidly, I put it back down on the seat. For some reason, unclear to me, she puts the briefcase on the floor and her daughter sits in the chair. I'm watching her carefully because it isn't her bag and now it's out of my sightline. The guy who is supposed to sit next to me comes, and the girl gets up and he sits. The mother and the daughter start to move out and the mother "trips" over the bag...so I turned to the guy whose bag it is and says, "Your bag is on the floor and you need to take it now before someone gets hurt." He is still bustling around crazy and just gives me a thumbs up. I turn to get the bag and the woman, her daughter, and the bag are gone. Sigh. I turn back to the man and say, "Your bag is gone. She just took it." He doesn't get it and finally he asks for his bag and I explain to him, but I can't get through to chase her down. He bumbles around thinking that she just put it up on the rack, but I'm telling him to go after her because she stole it! We pull away from the station, and after a search of the train, the conductor deduces that she got off before the train pulled away. All their passports, documents, etc. were in the briefcase. Yes, he was stupid. But it was RIGHT next to me...sigh.

Anyway, when I arrive in Florence and the beautiful churches take my mind off things. I start with S. Maria Novella, a beautiful church whose facade is under renovation, and then I get to the Duomo. Wow. You just come around the corner and THERE IT IS! It's shiny white with a huge dome, a bell tower, and a baptistry...all to die for. Do it all if you go, which you should. I started with the baptistry, well, with the famous Doors of Paradise, which are copies by the way. Don't be fooled like all the tourist groups. Still, they are beautiful, bright gold, and just stunning in every way. But they are just a suggestion of what is to come when you go inside. My mouth dropped to the floor upon entering the baptistry. The dome is covered in gold mosaics and rings of angels, prophets and other bible stories with a huge Jesus Christ on one side. Unbelievable. Definitely work the pain in my neck and the dizziness from turning in circles to see it all! The inside of the Duomo nave, however, was a bit more austere than I had expected, but then you walk to the end and see its dome. Just as amazing as the baptistry, just in frescoes, and with a very detailed scene of devils eating the damned. This place wins for best ceilings in Europe so far. I decided that I was going to climb the dome, so I walked out one door and came first to the campanella, or Giotto's belltower. You can climb that as well. So I said, why not and started up the 441 steps. Wonderful views, but when I got to the top, I said, "Now I have to do the duomo dome too." Took a quick break at the museum which has the real gold panels of the Doors of Paradise. (Why save them in Nitrogen? Why can't we view them in the glory that they were supposed to be viewed in. Also, does anyone know if the Mona Lisa at the Louvre is a copy and the real one is in storage? This I heard and don't believe. I have some issues with conservation at the moment...but I digress. Oh also, the museum only has 7 of the 8 panels on display. When I asked where the 7th was, the lady said, "These are the panels." Yes, but where is the eighth. "Oh, these are all of them." There are only 7. "Um, these are the panels!" OK. The 8th is MIA.) Once my face turned its normal color from bright red, I decided to start up the Duomo dome, another 463 steps. 904 steps in total in one day! YES! I wonder how far up that is. 904x8inches or so...ok, you do the math. Well the views are absolutely stunning! If you do only one, which you should be smart and do, do the Duomo. This country is SO gorgeous!



Celebrated my birthday at midnight with my silent post.



But never fear, I did not spend my entire birthday alone! Thank you to all who sent birthday wishes! Sierra, the girl from Brandeis who is studying in Siena, invited me down to Siena to show me around and accompany me on my birthday! So off to beautiful Siena I went. We started off walking through a huge market to St. Catherine's cathedral that is famous for having the relic of St. Catherine's head, and they did a good job of embalming it too. In fact, it is such a good job that it looks like a woman's head with eyes and skin and everything...as if she was just sticking her head out of a box. I think I have deemed relics freakish. We scampered away to the grocery store for proscuitto, cheese, bread, and apples, basically ingredients for the ideal picnic at the Palazzo del Popolo. We come into the palazzo and I scream, "THIS IS IT!" During my Renaissance in Florence class, I think I was dozing off (the professor is terribly boring) and a slide popped up of Siena's Palazzo del Popolo. I remember it because I thought it was a well designed gathering area with a raked curved brick area for people to sit surrounded by beautiful buildings. For some reason I got it in my head that it was the Duomo in Milan. Got to Milan and it wasn't there. OK, Florence maybe. Nope. OK, where is this place? Siena! Had a wonderful birthday picnic while Sierra told me all about the Palio, the huge horse race around the Palazzo every July (getting excited, Sierra?), the history of Siena, and her amazing Italian love story with a Sicilian boy who is going to move to the US for her. (Wow. Way to go Sierra!) Anyway, we went inside and saw gorgeous frescoes devoted to the Siena Council of Nine, or the governing body. Meandered through the winding streets to come out at the Duomo, an amazing jewel box of a building that I like to call the Zebra or Referee Church. Everything is layered white on black stone, so all the columns and the walls are striped. Apparently Siena's flag is a black and white stripe, so the whole building screams the city. And the floors! Oh my, the floors! Beautiful marble inlay of biblical scenes covered the entire floor plane. And it is all under a ceiling of stars in a dark blue sky. Just stunning. Also, Raphael was "discovered" for his talents in a fresco in the library. Ended the day by overlooking the Siena countryside in the Medici fortress, eating birthday gelatto from the best gelatto store in the world, La Kopa Kabana. Tops anything you've ever had, and they give you your money's worth. I was going to splurge for a large, but Sierra said wait to see her medium. It was huge. Biggest medium I have ever seen. I can't even imagine what the large was, but I decided not to get it because I didn't feel like eating a Vermonster's worth of ice cream for a third time. Bacci, chocolate fondant (Nikki, we need to learn how to make this flavor!), and nutella. Unbelievable. Great birthday! Thank you, Sierra!

The next day was Melissa's treat day. Started off by seeing my favorite David, Varecchio's David, at the Bargello. Mom told me it was a must see and she is right, as always. It's a clothed David, and he is only about 2.5 feet tall, but he is exactly what I would picture a David to be. Absolutely beautiful. Almost got kicked out for taking pictures of it, but anything for you, Mom! Donatello's David was about to be cleaned, so it was down on its side in a cradle. You could see it, but it just wasn't the same. But I give a big thumbs up to the Bargello because it is a fabulous museum of sculpture. Best museum in Florence. Before splurging on my birthday gift, I saw some churches: the Orsan Michelle (wedding was going on...), the Badia (which has a beautiful carved wooden ceiling), and the Santa Croche (which is marvellous, even if the apse is being renovated). It houses the beautiful tombs of Gallileo, Dante, and Michelangelo (even though he isn't buried there, I think). Funerary statues are just so beautiful. OK, then it was shopping on the Ponte Vecchio time. So in junior year of high school, Mrs. Cosgrove, my English teacher, told us, "You WILL go to Florence. And you WILL go to the Pontevecchio. And you WILL buy gold." What she didn't tell us was HOW we WILL pay for said gold. My oh my. I said to myself, "Why not?!" and went into every store and tried on very, very expensive gold jewelry that I could never afford. It was really fun, actually. I walked away for a bit to digest what I had seen to rush to my reservation at the Academia, which was not worth it. Michelangelo's David is the UGLIEST statue I've ever seen! It's too big. It's too ugly. And it's too imposing. And it is too bad that it gets all the attention. Don't waste your money. See the fake one outside the Palazzo Vecchio and move on. To get rid of my hatred, I decided to go back and buy something beautiful and ended up with a gorgeous gold rose charm of yellow and pink gold. Happy birthday to me! (Family, thank you very much!) Ate dinner at a place near Santo Spirito and was put at a table with another single traveller, a woman from Germany. Had a great discussion about art and opera and called it a night.

Sorry, these posts are getting longer and longer. One more day in Florence, and I started out at the Uffizi. It's an amazing museum (make reservations way in advance), and there I solidified my love for Botticelli. An entire room of just his paintings, including the Birth of Venus, and they are all just beautiful. Quickly visited the Palazzo Vecchio and then spent way too much money to get into the Pitti Palace. It's a RIP OFF. To get into both the museum and the Boboli gardens, you have to buy both kinds of tickets, thus adding up to 20.50 euro. $30. Definitely not enough there to make it worth it. Luckily for me, there was a special exhibit on set and costume design which was really fabulous. Pictures of models to prove it coming later. Went to dinner near my hostel with Donna, a 64 year old woman from Wisconsin who was staying in the same room as me. When I first met her, she didn't have her teeth in and she said, "Hi! I'm a hick from WI." Yeah, no kidding. But she turned out to be one of the nicest people I've ever met. She had never been out of the country before, but she saved up all her money to do a 3.5 month trip all around the Mediterranean. Wow.

Overall, loved Florence.

Going to skip over my Venice travels until I get load pictures...but I loved it all well! Many more stories to come!

Long time, no post...

Hello all,

Sorry for the lack of posts in the last week or so, as I have been packing my schedule with things to see and not with hours at internet cafes. But, as it is pouring out, I shall try to catch up as much a possible in a few posts...so here we go...

Last time I left off, I had completed 3 full intinerary days in Rome, so I decided to take a day trip to Pompeii to get out of the city. I fully expected to start off alone, see some ruins, and then come back alone...but this was not to be the case. In fact, I met many interesting people alone the way, including some stone people...but we shall get to that in a second. While I was trying to figure out what train to get on and dealing with unhelpful information people, I meet two sisters who are also going to Pompeii, so we bonded together to figure it all out. After getting on the train and talking to them for awhile, I realize that they have a very different view of how to travel. Beaches and shopping. They were in Rome for about 24 hours and decided that they were bored (they went only to the Campo di Fiori and met some guys there who wanted them to met them in Naples or Sorrento later that day...I was quite confused with their train of thought...but they were done with seeing Rome...), so they wanted to go to Pompeii of all places in Italy for a day before jetting off to Nice and Cannes. No museums...no ancient city...no Vatican...but Pompeii is on their list. Fine, at least they remember 7th grade history class. Anyway, the older one said that they had to cut their travels short because she had to do a photo shoot at a farm in Normandy. OK. She said that she was living in Paris until Fashion Week, when she hoped to find work, and then live in Barcelona. I asked what she did. She models. Oh. Got it. In fact, it became a very interesting and intriguing discussion about the modelling world and the pressures and joys that go along with it. I still don't completely understand it, nor fully appreciate it, but I found out some very interesting things about the life of an aspiring top model. Again, travelling bonds together people who probably would never cross paths in real life.

Anyway, we met 4 guys on the train from MD and join up with them to find the ruins, as there are no signs when one gets off the train in Pompeii to direct one to that part of the city. In fact, when we got off the train, there was no one around and nothing was open. Basically, it was like walking into a ghost town. Did Vesuvius go off again and no one told us? We meander and find our way to the ruins, which are actually really cool. Trying to understand the Forum and the Colisseum might be a stretch of the imagination, but Pompeii is a snapshot of a past time. You walk down streets lined with buildings that still retain their mosaics, frescoes, fountains, structures, and in some cases, their people. I really enjoyed seeing Pompeii, and I would recommend it as a day trip for anyone who ever studied Pompeii back in the day. (Again, pictures are coming, but there seems to be an issue with hooking up the card reader to the computer...eventually they will be posted.) So without pictures, I will retain more comment on the place, but you should go to Pompeii when in Rome.

As we get out of the Forum there, we see fireworks, randomly going off in the middle of the day. When we get out of the ruins, there is traffic everywhere! Horns are honking. Flags are waving. Drunk people are falling out of car windows and off mopeds. Completely insanity! Where'd they all come from. From the flags, we figured out that potentially Napoli had won a football (soccer) match, but this was more intense than when the Red Sox won the pendant! We cheer right along with the crowd all the way back to the train station where we are serenaded by soccer fans singing every Napoli song they know. (Don't worry, Fran, the British still have the best sports chants! Oh, who did eat all the pies?) We finally find out that Napoli had just beat Genoa, a huge rival whom they haven't beaten in years, and thus, they moved from B Class to A Class. Ah ha! So everyone who follows Napoli, which is everyone in the area, was out in the streets in full force cheering and celebrating. Really fun if you ask me! We find out this information from two middle-aged navy guys who start chatting with us. They had just been to the ruins to after being docked at the base in Naples before going home. One of them turned out to be...in their words...the ship's clown. All of a sudden he turns to me and asks, "Do you like teddy bears?" Um, yes... And he pulls out balloons and starts twisting them into a teddy bear with a heart and gives it to me! So random! He then started making them for everyone in the station. His philosophy...the bag of balloons costs me next to nothing, and it keeps me from being bored! The Navy...bringing smiles all over the world one balloon at a time. Amazing.

Unfortunately, when we get on the train in Naples to go to Rome, we have to stand because it is overbooked...kind of annoying, but we met Francesco, Francesco, and Ivan, three random guys who start asking us what we Americans think of Italy, sports, and Italian food. They laughed at us when we said that we've only eaten pasta and pizza the entire time. Ivan was translating between the two groups, and we all ended up laughing the whole way back. So overall, a great day. Met lots of new friends and had a great time!

OK, and for my last trick in Rome...I wandered all over the city to catch all the churches I hadn't seen in the first few days. Started with S. Maria Maggiore, which was just beautiful. Headed down south for S. Giovanni the Lateran...also gorgeous. It was funny because they were setting up for a papal visit that night, so this guy is taping down microphone and video cords to the nice marble and mosaic floor with duct tape... So in this silent church all you can here is the sounds of duct tape being unrolled with a priest looking on questioningly about whether or not the duct tape will ruin the floor. It was really amusing to watch. Duct tape? I guess so. Decided to just relax and walk around some more. Found myself at the Trevi fountain again and sat there for a long time watching the flow of tourists taking pictures, eating gelatto, and throwing money into the fountain (not hitting people in the process...not one hit person). Decided that the fountain was a good way to end my trip to Rome and headed back to the hostel. Hung out with my roommates a bit...two girls from New Orleans (one girl was the sister of a guy from Mather who graduated in 04...anyone know Chadwell Potts, on the sailing team?) and a girl from Australia. Rome is very big and very neat. I highly recommend it...but I also highly recommend getting out of the big cities to the smaller ones...which I will talk about in the next post.

Ciao!

and...

Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to Melissa!
Happy birthday to me!

Sorry, when one celebrates by oneself, one feels the need to tell the world...or whomever is reading this...

and it says that I posted on the 12th...but it's the 13th here!

When in Rome...

you do lots of walking...

Oh, Roma! Big city...and I've walked a lot of it. Again, this is going to seem like a list of things because I saw so much in a day. I do have to give a huge thanks to Rowan Dorin for making this part of the trip possible, as it was he who sat me down with pen and paper and told me to dictate his daily intineraries of Rome. Rowan, you never...well, almost never...led me astray. (PS...to get to the Campidoglio from the Capitoline Museums, you don't go back down the stairs and around...you go through the square to the left and down a tiny side street...it's ok, small 20 minute detour...)

OK, so I started my trip in Rome, after getting a good night's sleep from the previous day's train craziness, in the ancient city (might as well go chronologically, right?). Hit the Forum at 9AM when NO tour groups were around, and had the rocks to myself. It amazed me that a civilization such as Rome could be so eternal, and yet temporal at the same time. Standing in the middle of the Forum--THE place to be in ancient Rome--I was looking at complete destruction. You can't even start to imagine what it looked like, I felt. Bunch of overgrown rocks with a few standing columns...and arches...I couldn't picture it the way it must have been. And the same with the Pallatine Hill (though the ruins are a little bigger and more intact), which I went to afterwards. HINT: If you want to go to the Pallatine Hill and the Colosseo, buy your ticket at the booth in the Forum. Do not go to the Pallatine Hill street entrance or the Colosseo line...no need. No lines for me and I went right in to both. After wandering through the Pallatine Hill for a bit, went over to the Colosseo to see what it was all about. Well, not much. I mean, it's huge. (And yes, Dad, traffic is a bit crazy over in that area...) But again, ruins. No seats left. No floor. I took a tour and learned that the whole place was basically pillaged/recycled by the popes to make churches. The reason the travertine walls look like swiss cheese is that they took out the metal pieces holding the marble to the travertine to melt down and make guns and church bells. Interesting. Found out the hard way that the Domus Aurea, what is left of Nero's gigantic mansion complex, is closed for renovation. Backtracked to the Circus Maximus...not worth walking to. There is nothing there. I mean, nothing...just grass. But S. Maria in Cosmedin, a beautiful little church has gorgeous tiled floors, mosaics, and the Bocca della Verita, the Mouth of Truth. It's a huge stone face that you stick your hand in, and supposedly, if you are a liar, you get your hand bit off. Happy to say, I am still two handed. Walked back up to the Capitoline Museums, but I was so tired that I couldn't really register anything there. Saw some cool, probably important statues of Augustus, I think... Ended the rock part of the day with Trajan's Column and Market. All very impressive, just tough to visualize it all. Decided to pep up a bit with some gelatto that both Let's Go and the NY Times raved about, the gelatto of San Crispino. It is very good. Took a trip to the Trevi fountain. (Now I understand, Mom.) It's AMAZING! I love it! So powerful. Decided to splurge on a restaurant near the Trevi for some good pasta and bruchetta. Good stuff. Saw the Fountain of Triton and the 4 Fountains. The day of rocks and water. Overall, a good day.

Next day, I woke up at the crack of dawn to get to the Vatican Museums. Rowan advised me to be there at 7AM, and I clocked in at 7:03. 90 or more people had clocked in even before me! You know what...you can't win against those people. As I was naively in line, thinking I would be getting in close to 9, someone said...oh no, we get in at 10. The tour groups get in at 8. What? Yeah...3 HOURS in line waiting for it to open. Granted, even by 8 the line was so far down the street that the people were probably IN the Vatican's piazza, but it was just so long. Passed the time talking to a couple from south of London and a lady from South Africa. Once the doors opened, we got right in, but I chose not to rush through and try to get to the Sistine Chapel first. You know what, nothing was crowded. Tourists go straight for the big pieces, and for la Sistina, but the rest of the museum was wide open for me to peruse. Saw some amazing stuff. The big gems are also very cool as well. But the Raffael Rooms and La Sistina were the best. The School of Athens is just amazing. And well, the Sistine Chapel ceiling...worth every minute in line. It was amazing! So breathtaking that they insure that silence is kept. I like that. Shut the tour guides up for a bit, I say. Anyway, left the museum and laughed at the people still in line as I went to St. Peter's Basilica. WOW. It's just so big and great. Too bad an axe wielding fiend cut off Mary's nose and Christ's hand so now the Pieta is behind glass. It is really beautiful. And what I liked most about it all was the chair and surrounding statue. Bernini really did it right. One would think that the Vatican would have a 30' gilded gold crucifix, perhaps with neon lights saying, WE ARE THE VATICAN. But no. There is no cross in the entire statue. Just the dove...a strong symbol nonetheless, but much less hitting you over the head than a cross, to me at least. It was quite glorious I would say. Another must when at the Vatican is walking up all 551 steps to the top of the dome. (I didn't have enough cash on me to take the lift...but it's better to walk anyway.) Beautiful views from up there! A short storm was coming in, and you could just see the clouds rolling in over Rome. Decided to try to get out of the rain by going to Castel Sant'Angelo, Hadrian's fortress, which is very interesting, but not nearly as cool as the Vatican. Trekked quite a long way to get to a place Let's Go recommended, but it had really good pasta. Well worth the walk.

The third day was supposed to be Big Church Day, but instead I spent most of the day going up and down the river. Started at the Piazza del Poppolo...saw the chapels and the church and the set up of the anti-war protest (did I mention that Bush is in town...). Decided to quickly move to the beautiful Borghese park to stroll amongst the trees, a copy of the Globe Theater, and the Galleria Borghese, a must-see, says all the guide books, but a can't see unless you get your tickets 4 days in advance. Be warned. Walked over to the Spanish Steps...yep, they are there...don't walk up them, no need, and then down to the ruins of the Mausoleo of Augustus and a new glass building by Richard Meier to house the ancient Ara Pacis, a large altar that I did my 7th grade Latin project on. It was really weird to walk up to it and remember all the research I did for that project. I drew up plans of each facade and everything. I think that might have been one of my middle school all nighters even. Oh, good times back at South... Anyway, recharged with gelatto at the Piazza Navona and sat with my feet in a fountain. Walked passed Campo de Fiore and over the bridge to Trastevere, a wonderful area to walk around. Stopped first at S. Maria in Trastevere, a gorgeous church with mosaics, and then walked down to San Francisco dell Ripa, another beautiful church, but not on the regular map. So the friars were going about their regular business and conducting a dress rehearsal for first communion. The little kids were just staring at me as I walked around. Saw a beautiful Bernini statue, checked the clock, and ran back to the Pantheon to make 5PM Mass. OK, so you are wondering, why would the Jew want to catch Mass, ever? Again, a brilliant Rowan tip! Go see a church during Mass! Firstly, you get to see the space as it is intended to be used. Secondly, they clear out all the tour groups who can't get enough of their tour guides annoying voice. Thirdly, you sit there and they sing to you in pretty languages. How can you go wrong? I got there as they were clearing everyone out and closing the doors. I ran up to some guy and said I wanted to go to Mass and he ushered me right in with a smile. Just had to stand and sit when I was told...no kneeling in this Mass oddly enough...and smile and shake hands with people who I think were saying, "Peace be with you." Not sure completely of what happens in a Mass, but I know a lot of it. Anyway, the priest was a very energetic guy. Couldn't understand a single word, but he was very emphatic on whatever topic he was talking about. Then another priest sang in a gorgeous voice. All the while, I'm just staring around the Pantheon, watching the circle of light get higher across the dome, and thinking, "Does anyone get bird pooped on through the hole in the ceiling?" I do wonder. And the building itself is wonderous...how did they do that ceiling? Amazing. I will say that the church doesn't really fit into the original structure, but who am I to judge such things? Ate overlooking the Pantheon in a lovely outdoor cafe and called it a day.

And I'm going to call this a post and get off the computer. I do promise to post more pics as soon as I can get to a place that allows me to plug in my camera card.

PS

Mazel Tov to all the Harvard grads and all of the classes of 2007! I just know that Harvard seems to be the latest graduation, so I would cover all my bases at once.

Welcome to the real world! Well, I can't say that I spent the last year in the real world, but from the little bit I saw, it's great! Enjoy!

All Roads Lead to Rome...Right???

Well yesterday was a blast and a half. In case you believe in the above statement that all roads lead to Rome...you would be somewhat wrong. There are 2 train lines that go to Rome. One along the coast through Pisa, and one on the interior of the country that goes through Florence.

I started out the day with the lofty intentions of going to Pisa for a few hours, just to see if the tower really leans, and then head on to Rome. Got up early to catch my first leg of the trip to Genova at 9AM, where I would change for the train to Rome. Well, the set of tickets I had had me getting into Genova 15 minutes before my train to Pisa. With Italian trains, this is never a good thing. We were 30 minutes late, so I missed the train to Pisa. Got in line...got another ticket. Fine, whatever, two more hours, same route, just instead of 4 hours in Pisa, I had 2. Fine, how long does it really take to prove that it leans, right?

Waiting for the train at 12:52...12:52 comes along and they say the train is sopresso. I had no clue what that meant, and some women were trying to get across a concept, but I had no clue. I thought it meant delayed. It doesn't. It means cancelled. I get back in line...fine, get a ticket for 2:52 to Pisa, take the one later train to Rome (it's the same train line, so I would just be catching the next train coming through)...1:30 comes along...sopresso. Again?! OK, 4th attempt to get where I need to go...getting a little concerned as I would like to get to Rome. Get up to the ticket window, again, and they said...no ticket because we don't know when the train is coming, if it is coming. What. There was an accident. An accident. Yeah, in a place where there are only 2 lines. There are only 2 lines for one of the most major pathways from northern to southern Italy? Two trains collided and both lines are shut down. Oh really... People are getting angry now. Meet Chris (character: Chris, a master's grad student in International Relations, works on the Hill for a senator, is from Miami, has been on a train for 6 hours already coming from Nice) who is ripped about the situation, but we decide that with our powers combined, we could find a way to Rome...even if he had to drive.

Anyway, we are on the platform waiting for the next train, hoping it will come in 2 hours, and I'm just trying to be patient and naively think that the train will come and all will be well. Chris is getting pretty angry and eventually says, "I'm impatient...we are getting on the train to Milan and taking the other route to Rome." Back to Milan? Well, it was my only choice at the moment, and he was going to drag me onto the train, so we seek out a train conductor, ask if that is a viable option, and he says, get on this train to Milan, but get off in Voghera. Voghera...what? Where?

Apparently, they made announcements saying for people on the sopresso train to Rome should go to Voghera and there would be a train waiting for us at Voghera. Fine. But apparently no one told the train in Voghera this and it left before we got there. OK, so now we are stuck in Voghera, Italy. Again, where? Luckily, there were enough Italians screaming at a station officer that we figured this was the group we should join. We approached the angry crowd, having no clue what they were saying, and met Alessandra, who Chris dubbed "Mom" for the night. She spoke fluent English and she said, "Follow me. We will get to Rome." Great. After the train system tells us there is nothing they can do for us, they advise us to get on a train to Milan and go from there... The group, now livid (I have no clue, so I just keep on smiling) gets on the next train to Milan and we arrived at 6PM, 9 hours later than when I left, back in Milano Centrale. OK.

Next hurdle, getting on the train to Rome without reservations. Chris is freaking out because apparently in Spain, he and some other guys were left off in the middle of nowhere for not having the correct reservations with their eurail passes and had to walk over 20 miles they found out to a town. Um, ok. And if this train to Rome goes well, we get in late to Termini, not the best station in the world to walk around. Not good odds, but I thought...just get me to Rome.

The group fights with a train officer in Italian...Chris and I hover near the back and listen to the fighting. It's not looking good, when all of a sudden Mom tells us to just get on the train...they can't kick us all off. Reassuring, Mom. But we get on a train, supposedly to Rome, getting in at a somewhat decent hour...we are happy.

After some really good discussion about state versus nation, the term democracy, and the intricacies of Italian and American politics, along with some chats about children's literature and education, we make it to Rome. Now, the train hasn't stopped for long periods of time or anything, but we are 35 minutes late...now after 11PM at night. (I got to hostel just fine...there were lots of people around.)

But 9AM-11PM trying to get to a city that all roads supposedly lead to...oi vey.

Milano!

So again, with train schedules, I had two nights in Milan, and one full day. With tips from Gloria, my friend and TF from school who is from Milan, and Rowan, another friend from school who has spent lots of time in and studying Italy, I had a very full day planned. This is going to seem like a list of things, because it is. I walked for a good 12-13 hours straight today...my feet are definitely feeling it...and so it my brain. Lots to absorb.

Started off bright and early at the Brera, a museum Gloria absolutely loves, and has some real gems in the collection. I figured out what they were from a Chinese tourist group who was ushered from one gem to the next with no time to look around in between. Funny how tour groups work. Can't imagine just travelling on a tour. I can understand a day tour, so you get context and history, but then having time to go back and really study what you want to see. Didn't seem like that kind of tour. Maybe that's why John Harvard is so popular...how did it get on all those tour lists...like Plimouth Rock. Anyway...that's a completely different can of worms...

Then went down the street to the Teatro alla Scala, the famous opera house, which is also gorgeous! Every theater I have visited, the techies have been working...I miss tech already. I'll have to definitely keep in touch with it...either design, or even just a crew for awhile, moving stuff around. I wouldn't mind. OK, without getting too nostalgic and back on track, saw the museum there which was really cool, too. From there, walked through the 3 storey arcade of the Galleria Emannuele II to the Duomo. Wow. I didn't know what to expect, and then there it is! They are doing work on the lower front, but walking around it, it was gorgeous! All white and decorated. Beautiful. Went inside...gigantic! Walked around for a long time, and then tried to take the stairs up to the roof...but the stairs were "closed," so I had to take the lift. I felt like I was cheating the system, but I guess now my feet are thanking me for it. The roof is really designed for people to walk around it. It's a very cool space to be in. Great views of the city too! Walked down the stairs because they were now open...not the same...but will have to do. Went to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, which has the prep drawings for Raphael's School of Athens...again, HUGE. Can't wait to see the real thing. Had an interesting half English half Italian discussion with a guard about art...a little difficult you can imagine. Heading up to the Castello Sforzesco, another MASSIVE building that houses 10 museums. Hit about 3 of them and decided to move on to the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio, a favorite of both Rowan and Gloria. And it is gorgeous! (I know, it's a favorite word...along with huge...but that seems to be the trend in the places I'm going.) Anyway, Rowan, I saw your red haired Jesus. I even risked taking a picture. I'll post it for you at some point. From there, Gloria instructed me to walk down to the Navigli, a district of old canals and cheap eats. Had some pizza (glad to get Italian food!) and a cannoli.

Spending the night relaxing in the internet cafe across from my hotel to post pics, finally, and update the blog, hence the 3 posts in a few hours. Headed off tomorrow for Pisa for a few hours and then on to Rome! Ciao!