I arrived in Pisa yesterday afternoon after doing a last tour of Florence in the morning to say goodbye. Had my last Florentine gelato, said goodbye to San Marco del Fiore (most of the churches in Florence are pink, green and white because of the flower motif). I said hello to the leaning tower... it really does lean and I saw two unrelated people having their picture taken pretending to hold it up. Then found the hotel I'd booked. Another noisy one, another sleepless night which, once again, resulted in an incredibly good day. Why is that? A reward from the universe for taking it all in stride??? This morning I dragged my heavy suitcase back down the 6 half-flights of stairs (it's full of parmesan cheese and sundried tomatoes so it weighs a lot more than it did two days ago) and set out into the Sunday morning stillness of Pisa to find a quieter place to stay. And found... the Michele Guesthouse. Yes, I do recommend it. Kind people... made me a cappuccino while waiting for the room to be ready, assured me that the room would be too quiet for me, and gave me detailed instructions on what to see in Lucca and the best way to see Cinqueterra tomorrow, my last day in Italy.
I loved Lucca. I bought a glass bracelet at an antique market, and later, by following the noise of voices, discovered an indoor market and sampled polenta and olive oil, and fresh (somewhat undercooked) foccaccia, which I watched being made from a big circle of dough that a young woman was flinging in the air just like my Nonna used to do. I also lucked into hearing an Italian choir practising in an auditorium. Then walked about 3 km. around the city wall back to the Stazione.
Trouble is, I'm starting to limp. Every part of my body is begging for a day off walking. Michele (pronounced Mi kaylay) drew me a diagram showing me how to see Cinqueterre without a lot of walking, by skipping one of the 5 villages and taking a train between the 2nd and 4th. So of course I'll go. After 12 hours on my back. I can do it.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
San Marco and the Wizard of Oz
The trouble with going so long between blogs is that there is too much tell.
I forgot to tell that I went to mass in Florence's grand cathedral... San Marco del Fiore (St.Mark of the flowers) last Sunday night with a girl I met from Chile. She was going to have an audience with the Pope in a few days, and I was thrilled to be able to go to mass with her, if only as a respectful observer. The structure is sooo huuuuge, that the sound of the voices and organ keeps circling for several seconds after the end of the intentional sound... resonates and resonates, producing a huge, eery sound. We were sitting about 1/5th of the way back, and it wasn't until the people in front of me left that I realized that the huge voice was coming from a little tiny man in a large gold hat...Honestly, he was the size of my little finger nail... and I thought, he's like the Wizard of Oz!!! Not to be disrepectful, but it reminded me of that scene in the movie, when Toto pulls the curtain back and reveals the man behind the voice.
Then went to the opera on Tuesday, and heard La Traviata, done by a fairly young company in an Anglican church. It was lovely.
What else...OH! San Gimignano!!! Breath taking views of the surrounding Tuscan countryside. Absolutely lovely, and worth the tedious, endless bus ride to get there and back to Florence... I met up with a lovely woman from Texas who was staying at the same hostel... we walked around the outer wall and were equally smitten by the beautiful views, then had lunch together at a little place in the Cathedral piazza... delicious crostini. The best thing about staying in hostels is that you do meet people to travel with, and share what you know.
I'll explore Pisa and Lucca for a couple days, then fly back to London for a few days of free galleries before flying back to Canada. Sicily will have to wait for the next trip... though I love Northern Italy so much, think I'll be coming back.
I forgot to tell that I went to mass in Florence's grand cathedral... San Marco del Fiore (St.Mark of the flowers) last Sunday night with a girl I met from Chile. She was going to have an audience with the Pope in a few days, and I was thrilled to be able to go to mass with her, if only as a respectful observer. The structure is sooo huuuuge, that the sound of the voices and organ keeps circling for several seconds after the end of the intentional sound... resonates and resonates, producing a huge, eery sound. We were sitting about 1/5th of the way back, and it wasn't until the people in front of me left that I realized that the huge voice was coming from a little tiny man in a large gold hat...Honestly, he was the size of my little finger nail... and I thought, he's like the Wizard of Oz!!! Not to be disrepectful, but it reminded me of that scene in the movie, when Toto pulls the curtain back and reveals the man behind the voice.
Then went to the opera on Tuesday, and heard La Traviata, done by a fairly young company in an Anglican church. It was lovely.
What else...OH! San Gimignano!!! Breath taking views of the surrounding Tuscan countryside. Absolutely lovely, and worth the tedious, endless bus ride to get there and back to Florence... I met up with a lovely woman from Texas who was staying at the same hostel... we walked around the outer wall and were equally smitten by the beautiful views, then had lunch together at a little place in the Cathedral piazza... delicious crostini. The best thing about staying in hostels is that you do meet people to travel with, and share what you know.
I'll explore Pisa and Lucca for a couple days, then fly back to London for a few days of free galleries before flying back to Canada. Sicily will have to wait for the next trip... though I love Northern Italy so much, think I'll be coming back.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Palazza Pitti and Black Forest Cake
What do the Palazza Pitti and Black Forest Cake have in common?
Answer> if you try to take in too much of SUCH a rich thing, you'll explode. I could never have imagined such opulence before today. It was the Medici palace for 2 centuries after the downfall of the Pitti family... silk wallpaper, frescoed ceilings, stone inlaid tables, ebony and carved ivory, huge handmade carpets, walls covered with huge paintings by Rafael, Titian, Fra LippoLippi... Everywhere you look, there is wealth...
Going backwards a couple days...I must fill in the space after the last entry about my terrible, awful, no-good night at the hostel. It got worse, with loud arguments in the street and machines and people coming and going, and the girl who snored through it all of course woke up early... onandon...finally the whole mess turned into rain and just imagine a very deflated me sitting in the lobby of the hostel wondering where to start. I was just about to venture out into the Florentine wilderness when I heard a brisk Italian accent say, Now who is coming on this tour? The hostel offered a free walking tour of Florence. So off we all went under our umbrellas to see Santa Maria del Fiore, San Lorenzo etc. etc. The guide was very good and cheerful in spite of the rain. And I met 3 people ... Or from Israel, Macarena from Chile, and Alessandra from Brazil. We went to the Accademia together to see the real David... the REAL David!... and later had dinner together in the hostel where we were joined by Besan from Japan who played a mean classical guitar and could pick up most songs that Or threw at him... we sang for several hours and my heart was full.
I moved to a private room so have been sleeping... important on this kind of journey. Tomorrow I will take a bus to Siena and San Gimignano.
Answer> if you try to take in too much of SUCH a rich thing, you'll explode. I could never have imagined such opulence before today. It was the Medici palace for 2 centuries after the downfall of the Pitti family... silk wallpaper, frescoed ceilings, stone inlaid tables, ebony and carved ivory, huge handmade carpets, walls covered with huge paintings by Rafael, Titian, Fra LippoLippi... Everywhere you look, there is wealth...
Going backwards a couple days...I must fill in the space after the last entry about my terrible, awful, no-good night at the hostel. It got worse, with loud arguments in the street and machines and people coming and going, and the girl who snored through it all of course woke up early... onandon...finally the whole mess turned into rain and just imagine a very deflated me sitting in the lobby of the hostel wondering where to start. I was just about to venture out into the Florentine wilderness when I heard a brisk Italian accent say, Now who is coming on this tour? The hostel offered a free walking tour of Florence. So off we all went under our umbrellas to see Santa Maria del Fiore, San Lorenzo etc. etc. The guide was very good and cheerful in spite of the rain. And I met 3 people ... Or from Israel, Macarena from Chile, and Alessandra from Brazil. We went to the Accademia together to see the real David... the REAL David!... and later had dinner together in the hostel where we were joined by Besan from Japan who played a mean classical guitar and could pick up most songs that Or threw at him... we sang for several hours and my heart was full.
I moved to a private room so have been sleeping... important on this kind of journey. Tomorrow I will take a bus to Siena and San Gimignano.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Highs and Lows
Along with the moments of bliss and real ecstasy are bound to be the other kind... yesterday the joy of being in my Nonna's birthplace, the day before the ecstasy of seeing Venice and eating TWO gelati. The day before the pleasure of exploring Ferrara with a friendly fellow traveller named Jim who retired from teaching 4 years ago and has been travelling ever since.
Today, a different kind of day. First, not one but two drunks accosted me in the train station in Bologna. The first called me a very rude name that starts with putt... when I refused him money, which actually led to a nice conversation with the Italian lady nearest me... and the second started yelling "pesante, pesante" at me and then followed me when I tried to get away... I hid behind a bunch of teenage girls who were being guarded by an older woman. We all moved away nervously. I haven't found out what pesante means yet.
I spent a few hours strolling down Bologna's main street, Via del Independenza, to the square. Missed the bus I was planning to take a tour on---yet another bus missed---so walked back to the station and enjoyed a slab of pizza standing in the street. Evidently this is an Italian tradition because the cost triples if you sit down to eat it. Then bought a ticket at the nifty machine and remembered to validate it, then, after escaping the pesante man, boarded the train to Florence where, once again, I went in the wrong direction and was helped by a friendly stranger.
Now, in a hostel... My experience in the hostel in Ferrara was so good I decided to try again. Not so lucky this time... young male party animals next door are stronger even than wax earplugs AND pillow wrapped around head. Might as well get up and write a blog. Wait... I think they've left to party elsewhere! Oh... Buona notte. Arrivederci!
Today, a different kind of day. First, not one but two drunks accosted me in the train station in Bologna. The first called me a very rude name that starts with putt... when I refused him money, which actually led to a nice conversation with the Italian lady nearest me... and the second started yelling "pesante, pesante" at me and then followed me when I tried to get away... I hid behind a bunch of teenage girls who were being guarded by an older woman. We all moved away nervously. I haven't found out what pesante means yet.
I spent a few hours strolling down Bologna's main street, Via del Independenza, to the square. Missed the bus I was planning to take a tour on---yet another bus missed---so walked back to the station and enjoyed a slab of pizza standing in the street. Evidently this is an Italian tradition because the cost triples if you sit down to eat it. Then bought a ticket at the nifty machine and remembered to validate it, then, after escaping the pesante man, boarded the train to Florence where, once again, I went in the wrong direction and was helped by a friendly stranger.
Now, in a hostel... My experience in the hostel in Ferrara was so good I decided to try again. Not so lucky this time... young male party animals next door are stronger even than wax earplugs AND pillow wrapped around head. Might as well get up and write a blog. Wait... I think they've left to party elsewhere! Oh... Buona notte. Arrivederci!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Ieri, Venezia
Ieri, Venezia...domani, Firenze!
(Yesterday, Venice, tomorrow, Florence...)
It sounds ridiculous to have had only one day in Venice, but at least I had a mini experience of the world's sinking city... water and bridges everywhere! And tourists everywhere, even in November. The sky cleared in the afternoon, and with the sun beating down in San Marco Square, everywhere you looked were people taking pictures of people. I walked from the train station through all the little alleys leading to the great square... so many craftspeople making glass beads and masks and leather book covers...Saw some exquisite jewellery, and also the Pala d'Oro with its 300 sapphires, 300 emeralds, 1300 pearls etc... I figure I was in the company of billions of dollars of precious things yesterday. Then I took the water bus back around the canal, back to the station. Interesting to see all the people who lived there hopping on and off with shopping bags and children... just normal life for them.
Today I took a local bus to Sant'Agostino, close to where my Nonna was born. Really not a tourist center, but it was good for my heart to travel through the country that she and my grandfather knew so well. It suddenly struck me while touring a grand palace in Ferrara, that my grandfather would never have been allowed to see what I was seeing, and I could almost feel him peeking through my eyes in complete amazement!
Tomorrow I will move all my belongings (a suitcase) to Florence, and immerse myself in the precious things there for a week or so.
After all this travelling, it will feel wonderful to unpack my suitcase and stay awhile!
(Yesterday, Venice, tomorrow, Florence...)
It sounds ridiculous to have had only one day in Venice, but at least I had a mini experience of the world's sinking city... water and bridges everywhere! And tourists everywhere, even in November. The sky cleared in the afternoon, and with the sun beating down in San Marco Square, everywhere you looked were people taking pictures of people. I walked from the train station through all the little alleys leading to the great square... so many craftspeople making glass beads and masks and leather book covers...Saw some exquisite jewellery, and also the Pala d'Oro with its 300 sapphires, 300 emeralds, 1300 pearls etc... I figure I was in the company of billions of dollars of precious things yesterday. Then I took the water bus back around the canal, back to the station. Interesting to see all the people who lived there hopping on and off with shopping bags and children... just normal life for them.
Today I took a local bus to Sant'Agostino, close to where my Nonna was born. Really not a tourist center, but it was good for my heart to travel through the country that she and my grandfather knew so well. It suddenly struck me while touring a grand palace in Ferrara, that my grandfather would never have been allowed to see what I was seeing, and I could almost feel him peeking through my eyes in complete amazement!
Tomorrow I will move all my belongings (a suitcase) to Florence, and immerse myself in the precious things there for a week or so.
After all this travelling, it will feel wonderful to unpack my suitcase and stay awhile!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
ferrara
First full day in Italy...disoriented and tired but also elated, especially after my first true gelato. A new flavour for me, called guili, filled with yummy crunchy bits of nuts and cioccolata. That's when I actually noticed it had stopped raining and the sky was blue!
I accomplished quite a lot, not least being that I'm actually using my Italian... awkwardly, but I'm making myself understood. Ho comprato formaggio (I bought cheese) and crackers and an apple for lunch under the Castle Estense, and cinque cartolini and francobelli (postcards and stamps) and some Maalox for this annoying heartburn... what a thing to be afflicted with in the land of wonderful food! I'm staying in the Hostel Estense in a dormer with one other woman, and it's clean, quiet and cheap.
Tomorrow I'll see if I can get to Buonacompra (my Nonna's village) on the bus. Or perhaps I'll get to a bigger center and take a cab... just don't want to chance driving here.
Now let's see if these two photos uploaded as I requested...
I accomplished quite a lot, not least being that I'm actually using my Italian... awkwardly, but I'm making myself understood. Ho comprato formaggio (I bought cheese) and crackers and an apple for lunch under the Castle Estense, and cinque cartolini and francobelli (postcards and stamps) and some Maalox for this annoying heartburn... what a thing to be afflicted with in the land of wonderful food! I'm staying in the Hostel Estense in a dormer with one other woman, and it's clean, quiet and cheap.
Tomorrow I'll see if I can get to Buonacompra (my Nonna's village) on the bus. Or perhaps I'll get to a bigger center and take a cab... just don't want to chance driving here.
Now let's see if these two photos uploaded as I requested...
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Luke at Harlech
Wow, I figured out how to upload a photo from my camera... Meet Luke, who posed for me at Harlech castle in Wales.
And if you scroll down to the bottom of the whole page, you'll see a pic of me on a beach outside Dublin. It was my first attempt at uploading and I don't know how to move it yet.
Tomorrow it's up at 5 am to fly to Bologna on Ryan Air, and I'll stay in a hostel in Ferrara ieri sera (tomorrow evening). Today I'm staying in out of the Dublin weather, listening to Italian tapes and playing with photos. And generally having a quiet day. Ahhhh.
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