Our day in beautiful Siena!

Today we left Sansepolcro around 8 a.m. for a day trip to Siena, another Tuscan jewel only about two hours away. The ride was amazing. We had a charter bus so it was much quieter and more spacious than most of our travel modes, and the scenery along the way was amazing. Unfortunately the window glass always messes up pictures I take on the rode - or else I would have taken some shots of the majestic views I saw all morning. Who would have thought bus rides could be so romantic and aesthetically pleasing.

Upon arriving I immediately fell in love with the place. There were trees everywhere - something I have missed greatly of late, for Sansepolcro, with all its beauties, is lacking those big, tall, richly colored trees that I love so much back home within its city walls. There is plenty of greenery to be had, but it mostly consists of flowers in windows and vines on walls. Lovely, but not the kind of greenery I'm most especially fond of. There's nothing like a big leafy tree for company on a summer afternoon - it's the best place to read, journal, think, etc.

But I digress ... one of my favorite first looks of Siena was of a gorgeous fountain surrounded by shrubs and stoney pavement. It was already getting to be a warm day, and the splashes of the water provided a delicious sound for the ear.

As we got closer to the heart of the city, the magnitude of its hilly terrain became more and more apparent. To my right I could look out and see the tops of the highest trees, but if I looked a bit lower a huge drop revealed a small family garden and mountainside homes in the distance.

After a brief bathroom break, the group carried on to the main piazza in Siena, passing delightful little alleyways and tiny shops at every turn. Some side roads offered peeks of new wonders yet to come, including a shot of the Duomo and several glorious churches. However we had to keep our wits about us and not get too sucked into the beautiful views because like most Italian towns the cars are free to ride through the streets like bicycles!

Before long we reached the piazza - which, according to travel guru Rick Steves, is the most beautiful piazza in Italy. I only wish my photos accurately explained just how enormous it is, or at least, how vast the wide open space is in comparison to most piazzas.
Locals and tourists alike sat down on the bricked pavement and just soaked up the beauty of the morning. In the background local school kids splashed each other with water, chasing and laughing and goofing off to celebrate the end of the school year.

Our next stop was Siena's immaculate Duomo, similiar to the one in Florence but even more beautiful in certain ways. While the Florence Duomo was far more arresting and dumbfounding, the smaller Siena version had a charm and simple beauty to it that was more inviting. I loved the green doors :)

I was in awe yet again at the incredible ceilings the Italians were able to construct. I craned my neck to take in as much as I could, fighting to find places with good lighting so I could get a decent picture (flashes are almost never allowed because they aren't good for the paintings and are obtrusive in a holy place).

After the Duomo our tummies began to rumble so we decided to take a break and eat some lunch. By then it was getting so hot that ice cream was absolutely necessary to get us geared up for our next challenge ...

... the Museo dell'Opera with its tall, winding staircases that led all the way to the top of the lofty building. Hillary, Joy, Gesina and I all made it to the top in one piece (though it got awkward whenever we had to pass the people making their way down - it was a tight squeeze for one person much less two!) and thoroughly enjoyed the glorious views that awaited.

As you can see, it was well worth the effort! It's hard to tell in the picture, but from atop the museo we could see for miles and miles, and the beautiful Tuscan mountains and valleys made for a breathtaking view.

We also got a great look at the Duomo, a next door neighbor to the museum. Too bad that stupid crane ruined the shot! I wanted to push it out the way for my picture! And as you can see, the clouds, once again, were positively gorgeous.

If you think clouds are the same all around the world think again - the ones that float above Italy blow ours out of the park. The skies are also much bluer and the horizons more expansive. You haven't really seen a sunset (or sunrise) until you've seen one in Tuscany!

Here's a shot of the piazza and a good portion of central Siena from the very top of the museo tower. Unlike Sansepolcro, many of the building are of similar colors, mainly tans, browns, and whites, and all of the rooftops look the same. Isn't that bell tower gorgeous? Sansepolcro had one (as most piazzas should), but it was bombed during the second World War. We almost climbed it, but ended up being too short on time (plus it cost 7 euro just to climb it!) to actually attempt the trek to the top.

To top off our marvelous day, we were joined by Rebecca Lewis, a fellow Meredith sister (and English major) who is spending her entire summer in a nearby castle - yep, you heard me right, castle! She is living with a family and working an awesome summer job - teaching their two children English! We were excited to get to spend a couple of hours with her and exceedingly jealous of how well she fits in with the natives.

I asked her what I could do to fit in more and her first suggestion was, "Dye your hair brown!" While that would of been helpful had I done so a few weeks back, it would be a dumb move to pull right now since we'll be heading to Switzerland and Austria at the end of next week :) I should fit in much better over there! However, I might make use of her suggestions the next time I visit ... the constant stares are now officially old. You'd think they had never seen a blonde-haired human being before!

Well that's all for now ... Joy and I need to get working on the reservations for Austria, Switzerland, and France!

Much love and many, many baci!

Bekah

Venice and Verona

Hello all! We just got back from our travels to Venice and Verona yesterday evening and I have all sorts of stories to tell! The group left Sansepolcro Monday afternoon just after lunchtime and grabbed a bus to the Arezzo train station. From Arezzo we rode a train to Bologna and then caught another train that took us all the way to Venezia. Below is one of my first looks at Venice (we spent a lot of time walking by this particular canal as we searched for our hotel).

Because we didn't arrive until evening, each travel group headed straight for their lodgings to settle in, eat dinner, then call it a day. However, my group (which consisted of Crystal, Joy, Hillary and myself) was not so fortunate in our choice of hotel. First off, the location was obscure and difficult to locate. The information desk at the termini had given us directions but those led to a sketchy dead end down a dark, creepy alley. Needless to say, we turned right back around and called the hotel to get help. Well that phone call ended with both Crystal and I being yelled at over the phone by a grumpy voice on the other end demanding that we stay right where we were to wait for him to come and find us. Not fun. Figuring we were safe in our number, we followed his advice and waited for fifteen minutes without any appearance of the "gentleman." By this point it was almost dark, we had no clue where we were, and as four young women in a strange city without any means of getting where we needed to go, we felt quite vulnerable!

Finally we decided that he must have been unable to find us - the hotel was supposedly just around the corner, and as it was almost dark at this point we decided to take action. We asked a few waiters from a nearby restaurant for the location of our hotel, and they politely pointed us in the right direction and told us where to turn. We were there in about two minutes! We got there and knocked on the door, then peeked in the window to discover a delightful little establishment - but no one was there. The desk was empty, the door was locked, and there was no one in sight. Unsure of what else we could do, the four of us just waited in the alleyway for the owner of the grumpy voice to appear.

A few minutes later, appear he did - a tall, thin old man with a face that frowned from his brow to his chin and a pale blue jacket that looked cold and hard instead of happy like the blue skies from which it seemed to be inspired. He was so thin that I think I could have blown him away if I tried. We must have passed him on the street - and we still wonder how he could have missed four young American women with umbrellas and overstuffed backpacks - and naturally, tired as we were, found the entire situation highly amusing. Mr. Blue Coat on the other hand did not. His first words were (in what could have been a deliciously thick Italian accent but came off as overwhelmingly mean and positively dripped with sarcasm): "Nice, girls ... that was very nice of you!"

After a few more disparaging comments, he took off in angry Italian berating us with many an unkind word ("stupidoso" was one word I heard repeated a time or two). After we got inside he yelled at us about how we hadn't waited for him and told us to shut up everytime we tried to explain our reasoning for leaving our vulnerable position by the canal. It was horrible! The yelling continued for a good five minutes but felt like an hour. Hillary started to get really angry but managed to say in calm, firm voice, "Sir, we'd like to check into our room please ..." After she had repeated this two or three times he finally stopped his verbal rampage and asked for our passports. Then, instead of showing us to our room and filling them out later, he made us stand there with our bags while he took at least ten, maybe as many as fifteen minutes to fill out our paperwork and check us in to the hotel. To top it off, he demanded that we pay him for the night on the spot - 50 euros! - without our having seen the room. He had obviously never heard the motif "the customer is always right," and had his own ideas about how customer relationships should work.

After all the preliminary work was completed and the bill paid, he pulled out two keys - one for the front door and one for the room. He explained that he didn't stay at the hotel past nine, so we would have to let ourselves in after dinner and lock the door behind us. The silence was deafening and the concept of us being alone in a "hotel" (which was really more like an old house with extra rooms) without anyone around if we needed help was a new one for us to swallow. Then he marched us up the stairs and showed us how to unlock our door with the old skeleton key before leaving us to shake our heads at what had just happened. By this time Hillary was piping mad and Joy and I were in shock, but all of a sudden Crystal fell on the bed and burst into hysterical laughter. She couldn't believe that grumpy old man had just yelled at four people about to give him 50 euros apiece ... the nerve was absolutely mindblowing, but so funny after the fact! I calapsed on the bed in giggles and Joy broke into her infectious smile while Hillary declared (though with a bit more good humor than before) that Mr. Blue Coat's parents had never been married ...

Later that night, after a delicious dinner and some gelato to cheer us up from the lashing we'd just endured, we returned to the hotel, locked the front door, and then attempted to get into our room. Five minutes and four different attempters later, we were sprawled outside the door wondering how our gentlemen would react if he returned in the morning to find us asleep in his hallway. Thankfully we didn't have to find that out - a few more tries proved a charm and we made our way into the beautiful little room that in no way betrayed its owner's sour disposition. Yet we ran into another hitch when we tried to lock ourselves in for the night. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't seem to get that door locked! In the face of unknown terrors we had to resort to second best ... propping an old red velvet chair under the door handle.

We were a bit unnerved by the entire evening and got to bed as soon as we could. While Joy and Hillary conked out almost as soon as their heads hit their pillows, Crystal and I could not get over the fact that we were alone in a hotel in Venice with a door that refused to lock. Unaware that the other was having the same misgivings, we continued laying in bed in silence until a sudden banging was heard downstairs. I ignored it the first time, telling myself that it was only my overactive imagination that is always driving me crazy with dreadful visions of potential horrors. But the second time I heard banging my heart began to race, almost pounding right out of my chest.

"Crystal?" I said.
"Yep."
"Did you hear that banging?"
"I did," she replied.
"I'm not going to be able to sleep until we lock that door."
"Me either!" she whispered, "I was hoping you hadn't fallen asleep yet!"
"Let's try the lock again then," I replied, and with that we both scrambled out of bed and headed toward the door.

Silently praying that Jesus would allow the key to perform its duty and secure the lock, I slid the key into the hole as quietly as possible and slowly began to tinker with the lock. Crystal obtained a nearby flashlight and pointed the beam into the hole. A few moments later a small click caused a wave of relief to flow through my pulsing nerves. "Thank you Jesus!" I squealed! After we double-checked the lock to make sure it had really worked, we climbed back in bed and tried to calm the adrenaline rush spawned by our fright. Needless to say, we were supremely thankful for that little skeleton key, but I'm afraid I will never be filled with a romantic sensibility for them again. They are pretty and enchanting in movies and books, but in real life they can be a real pain.

The next morning a new adventure ensued. Hillary, who had been feeling a bit under the weather before, woke up with a full-fledged case of strep throat. Thankfully, she had an Italian nonna (grandmother) to take care of her. The woman in charge of breakfast (whether she was Mr. Blue Coat's wife - heaven forbid - sister, or of no relation we do not know) took sick Hillary under her wing and made her drink warm tea to soothe her throat. She spoke very little English, but I was able to converse with her enough to aquaint her with the problem. It was so cute! She kept feeling Hillary's head, exclaiming in Italian, and checking back to make sure she was taken care of that morning.

Meanwhile Crystal went down - brave girl! - to ask Mr. Blue Coat for directions to the nearest pharmacy so we could get Hillary a prescription (acquiring drugs is different in Italy). Ignoring her protests he dragged Crystal down to the pharmacy with him (which was kind but abruptly handled in what seems to be his only mode of speech) and got the prescription himself! We had no idea that it had happened until Crystal turned up with the medicine!

We were out of the hotel by 10:30 - a deadline we were reminded of at least three times that morning - and relieved to be out of the establishment for good (though we would miss our Italian nonna's kind ways and endearing spirit). We hopped on a vaporeto (the equivalent of a bus in any other city) and road the canal down to St. Mark's Basilica, the only site we had decided to see in light of Hillary's illness.

The water was not as clean as I had anticipated, and to be honest the city as a whole was abit disappointing. Unlike all the other old cities we had seen, Venice did not seem as well preserved and came across as being quite run down. It also felt very touristy and I nearly suffocated from the lack of genuine Italians.

While the idea of a city floating on water was highly appealing to my romantic sensibilities, I'm afraid my own imagination spoiled Venice for me. My visions of it had been quite different from the real thing, and while I see how it could be very enjoyable for those traveling with their soul mate with nothing else to think about, the city was not pleasant to me as a student interested in genuine Italian culture. This trip has taught me just how much of a city girl I am not, and showed me how greatly I value the small towns and real Italian hospitality that I have seen in places like Sansepolcro and Anghiari.

Yet despite its flaws, the city did possess some truly grand sights. Though I was thoroughly grossed out by the tourists who ventured among the masses of pigeons in St. Mark's Square (even letting them perch on heads and arms and bags!), I was awed by the beauty of both the square and the basilica.

St. Mark's Basilica was breathtaking with its walls and walls of mosaics. The entire structure is covered with them inside and out and the effect is remarkable. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but I bought postcards from the giftshop of the inner walls and look forward to showing you all when I get home!

As I took one last look at Venice I was filled with mixed feelings. As unimpressed as I may have been, I know that the events surrounding our hotel mishaps and Hillary's illness affected our impressions of the fair city. I would love to go back sometime in the future (along with a second visit to Rome, Florence, etc) in the hopes that my first impression might be changed by a more pleasant second experience.

Now, on to pictures of VERONA ... a far more pleasant visit! Again, I'm running out if time, but I will post brief captions and then hopefully be able to update them later.

Verona is the town where Romeo and Juliet supposedly took place, and the town has capitalized off of that legend greatly! Yet it was a delightful town to visit and I wished we'd had longer to take it all in! Strangely enough, it felt a lot like Raleigh to me ... just Italian :)

The arena was similiar to the Colosseum of Rome but much smaller and better preserved. In fact, the city still uses it on a regular basis for concerts and other entertainment events.

Hanging from the arch is a whale bone that will supposedly fall only when someone who has never lied walks beneath it (and as Joy said, killing the truthful individual - not much insentive to be lieless!). As you have probably already surmised, all of us are alive and well and have not had any whalebones fall on our heads ...

We also visited Juliet's house - obviously a fake, but fun to visit regardless, especially since all four of us are English majors!

Juliet's balcony

Me and Will

The four of us on Juliet's balcony - we asked an older Greek man to take our picture and he literally pushed everyone else waiting in line out of our way for us! Embarrassing at the time, but hysterically funny to witness. We kept apologizing to the other people in line - he would not listen to our attempts at reason and politeness!

A few from Juliet's upper window ...

Me sitting on a gnome stool - this picture is for you Catherine Davis!

Another shot of the arena ...

The grande piazza in the evening ...
The beautiful fountain at the center of the piazza ...

Me and my girls on a bench resting our feet ...

The ride home on a bus that leaked like mad ... note the umbrella! I've never had to use one inside before!
Post-travel laundry madness! Isn't our drying method lovely?

That's all I have time for now! More later - I hope!

Much love and baci -

Bekah

Even more pictures from Rome ...

Well here I am yet again to pick up where I left off earlier this afternoon. I'm sorry my technical complications have made for such a broken up trail of blog posts! Anyway, back to Roma ...

On our way to the ruins and Colosseum area, we passed the building where Mussolini spoke (and eventually he was killed there too). The little balcony on the side of the building is where he stood:

Next we came across the Roman Forum - which, due to time and impending rain we were unable to actually tour - and I fell in love with the beautiful ruins. The overcast sky and scattered bits of sprinkles from above gave the ruins a purpleish hue that was gorgeous against the green of the trees. The beautiful hills in the distance were lovely ... I only wish the weather had allowed us to climb them!

And then at last came my favorite sight of the day: the Colosseum! When it first came into view I became absolutely giddy with excitement ... this was the real deal! I think that moment marked the first time reality actually sunk into my brain. I'd told myself again and again, "You're in Italy Bekah - you are in ITALY!" but it wasn't until I laid eyes on the outer walls of the ancient structure of the Colosseum that the surreal feeling passed and I fully comprehended where I was - Italy!

On our way inside we caught sight of the tall figure of the Arco di Constantino (see below). It was breathtaking to behold - so detailed, so regal - and left quite a memorable image imprinted on my brain.

Thanks to the RomaPasses we purchased (a must have for students on a budget with only a couple of days to tour the city) we didn't have to wait in any lines to make our way into the Colosseum. By the time we reached the site the sun had returned and brought more of that gorgeous Italian sky I described earlier.

It was breathtaking to be there, surrounded by thousands of years of history. I couldn't keep the early Christians that were persecuted there out of my head. One of my favorite books of all time is Quo Vadis - which is a must read! - the fictitious tale of a young tribune and his encounters with the early church. I kept picturing the events of the book in my head and imagining what it must have been like to live in that time. It was an amazing experience.

I'm running out of time so my commentary will be brief from here on out until I can get back to a computer! In the picture above you can see where they are beginning to reconstruct part of the flooring to help visitors visualize what it would have looked like. Below is a shot of the lovely ladies I had with me ...

A cumulative view of the Colosseum, Arch, and ruins ...

The Circus Maximus - imagine Ben Hur racing his chariot here! It felt like a park and felt so peaceful, a stark contrast to what it was actually used for all those years ago.

And here is a shot of the lovely plate of lasagna I had for dinner that night. Note the heart made out of cheese at the center ... long but funny story (to come!)!

Yet for all our marvelous travels I can't tell you how happy I was to come back to Sansepolcro ... my Italian home! Here's a shot of me with a package of Italian pastries:

Gotta run to dinner! I'll enhance the commentary later tonight if I get the chance. Ciao!

Bekah

More Rome - finally!

Here they are! On the eve of my journey to Venice and Verona I'm at long last able to add more pictures from Rome! And FYI, I did go back and update my initial Rome post a few days back by beefing up the commentary, so if you're interested in more background on the first set of pictures be sure to check it out.

Our second full day in Rome was an excellent one. We began the day by sleeping in until 8:30, enjoying a lovely breakfast provided by the Hotel Joli, and then taking our own sweet time to get ready for the day. That was such a luxury and we loved it!

After venturing outside into the beautiful Roman sunshine we did a little "window shopping" before hitting the sight-seeing trail again. Our first tour of the day happened quite by accident. The Castel Sant'Angelo was the nearest building in sight when it began to rain a bit, so we decided it looked quite interesting and ran inside (and boy were we glad of our accidental discovery!).

Built in 139 A.D., the Castel Sant'Angelo was constructed as a tomb for Emperor Hadrian and was later used as a last resort hiding place for the pope in times of trouble. There was even a tunnel constructed that connects the castle directly to the Vatican itself! From each window a spectacular view of Rome awaits:

The structure now exists as a delightful museum that feels like a storybook fortress. As we climbed the staircase that wound about the entirety of the fort's cylinder shape, I remarked to Joy that this would be the perfect place to be held captive and then rescued by a prince in shining armour :) Its bowels were full of ancient prison cells and mysterious hidden chambers - my imagination was positively reeling!

In the upper level rooms of the castle we were able to view some magnificent works of art, mainly paintings and sculptures. But the real treat was reaching the top of the fortress, where a 360 degree view of Rome took my breath away. A beautiful sculpture of Michael the Archangel greeted us upon arrival (see above); by then the sky had cleared and the clouds displayed themselves proudly against a baby blue sky.

We had fun taking pictures against such a majectic backdrop! Check out the whole gang in the picture below hanging out in Hillary's shades:

By the time we left the castle it was past lunchtime and our stomachs were alerting us to the fact loud and clear! We figured out the direction of the Pantheon and kept our eyes peeled for a quick place to grab food along the way. We found a place with terrific pizza (which I proceeded to spill all over my purse because I have never been good at eating and walking at the same time) and then sallied forth towards the Pantheon. Along the way we got a bit turned around and ended up at - of all things - a cat sanctuary (hundreds of cats living together in a designated square of old ruins ... it was quite a sight to behold!). While the others labored over the map I struck up a conversation with a nearby British couple who looked like they knew what they were doing. The delightful old gentleman guided us in the right direction while his wife laughed about men, women, and their methods of remembering - and giving - directions.

When we finally reached the Pantheon I was overcome by a surreal sense of awe. I was in Rome - and the Pantheon was right before my eyes! There were tons of people about lobbying for a place to take pictures, but by the time we got inside there was a bit more room to enjoy the remarkable structure.


My favorite aspect of the Pantheon was by far the open dome at the height of the ceiling. It was so massive and perfect. There's just no other way to describe it. I stared until my neck rebelled and said I had looked long enough! One interesting thing about the Pantheon is that they still conduct mass within its walls. None of us had any idea it still functioned as anything but a tourist site.

As we left the Pantheon with Roman ruins, the Colosseum, and Circus Maximus in our heads, the weather began to take a turn for the worse. We never let it dampen our spirits though - after all, we were in ROME!

And now my camera battery has declared itself low and refuses to unload any more pictures ... the brute! Right before I posted about the Colosseum too! If I can I will run back later this afternoon to post a few more ... sorry about the abrupt stop.

Baci!

Bekah