Padua, Italy

Aside from being the setting for Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”, the main attraction is the Scrovegni Chapel where Giotto’s frescoes are located.  The fresco cycle details the life of the Virgin Mary.  Giotto was a painter and architect from Florence.  The subjects of his frescoes are portrayed in perspective, more three dimensionally, and were painted in landscapes or surroundings.  This is significant in the art world because up until Giotto’s work, paintings were often done two-dimensionally and flat.  Because of this, Giotto is often described as one of the men who started the Italian Renaissance.  There was immense restoration done to the frescoes so when we saw them, the colors were supremely vivid.  The gold leaves sparkled and the blues looked as if they were freshly crushed from lapis.  No amount of photographs could ever do the frescoes justice.

Venice, Italy

Venezia.  This was my first glimpse of Italy ever and it was the reason why I never fell out of love with Italy.  It was pure nostalgia seeing it all over again.  The city remained unchanged as I walked through the alleys and remembered the signs that pointed to San Marco or Rialto or Accademia, the architecture, the hand blown glass and Carnivale masks in the shop windows, the numerous trattorias and tavola caldas, and of course, the canals and their gondolas.  I’ve walked these streets in my mind ever since I left them.  Ten years ago, I remember arriving at Venice Marco Polo Airport, boarding the speed boat that dropped us off at the pier just steps away from Piazza San Marco, and marveling at the beauty of Venice, believing that the sun would never stop shining here.  I still remember the surreal feeling of being in this timeless city, unable to believe that I had finally made it to Italy.  I remember that feeling so well because it was the same feeling I had when I first set foot on this country a month ago in Milan.  After all these years, Italy still has this magical pull from me. 

I was naïve to believe that the sun would never stop shining on Venice.  There was a downpour of rain during the day, so much rain had fallen that the Square at San Marco flooded.  Upon reflection, there was a storm when I was last here too.  My tour mates and I were on a day trip to Sottomarina.  The storm was looming beyond the horizon while we were laying out on the beach.  When we saw the sky get darker and the beach goers were all leaving, we packed up our things and found refuge under the awning of a souvenir shop just in time to miss the heavy pelts of rainfall.  Now, it was raining again and nothing like Seattle rain either. 

We got lost on our way back to San Lucia train station, but it was the best thing we could have done today.  I had to ask at least three different locals which way it was to San Lucia, therefore forcing me to understand more Italian, happened upon a friendly soccer game played by Italian boys, and ate the best slice of pizza I’ve had in Italy so far.  As we got closer to our final destination, we saw the sun set over one of the canals.  Venezia.

Lodging Review: La Dolce Vita, Treviso

The B&B is located in Treviso, a small town about half an hour north of Venice by train.  We finally found the lodging after consulting strangers at the bus stop, who, as luck would have it, had stayed there the night before, and asking an Italian-speaking woman walking her kids on the street near the B&B.  La Dolce Vita Treviso is a charming house located in a very residential area of Treviso.  Walking to the town center takes about 20-30 minutes.  The mistress of the house was young and attractive.  She was always in a pleasant mood and willing to help us with all the details.  I felt the hospitality very strongly.  In addition, the room was comfortable and clean and the shared bathroom was the most elegant I’d seen all summer.  There was finally a full size tub!  The bathroom was clean, brand new, and sunny.  The house was also inhabited by two darling Yorkshire Terriers named Jack and Chupy.  Chupy was the aggressive one.

Treviso, Italy

The small town of Treviso was a nice surprise.  The neighborhood in which we stayed was quiet, but one never feels in danger in Italy.  My instructor/tour guide had made me believe that Italy is a very safe country, safer than anywhere in the US.  The center of town was filled with charming shops, most of which were closed due to our late arrival.  We found a cozy pizzeria where we ordered a pizza and gnocchi.

Rome, Italy

Itinerary:

Day 1: Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps

Day 2: Vatican City, St. Peter's Cathedral

Day 3: Pantheon, Fountain of Four Rivers

26 August, 2007

I am in Rome.  I love this city.  My memories of Rome include two very sexy and good looking carabianiere checking me out as they walked by me, the bartender in our hotel who had a crush on me, the best roasted potatoes I’ve ever tasted, window shopping with my instructor/tour guide on Via Condotti, having lunch in the elaborate McDonald’s near the Spanish Steps, and the relentless heat.

27 August, 2007

I heard the Swiss guards, who guard the Vatican, are the best looking men in the world.  She said that they had to meet specific requirements to be a Swiss guard which is why they’re so good looking.  These requirements include:  minimum height requirement (I forget how tall), the ability to speak at least three languages, they must be single, and someone did the judging of their looks to pass the “ridiculously good-looking” test.  My assessment of the guards is that they were not the best looking men in the world.  Not even close.  I found the security guards inside the Vatican much more attractive. 

Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel is always something to marvel at.  A guard inside the chapel kept repeating the line, “No photo, no camera” but it appeared that my fingers didn’t understand his accent when they snapped a couple of pictures of the ceiling and the fresco of “Judgement Day” on my camera.

I was also excited to see Raphael’s “School of Athens” again, which is one of my favorite frescoes.  Ten years ago, my tour mate and I broke the rules by touching this fresco.  No one caught us, but I’m still nostalgic that my hand had once touched the work of Raphael. 

Toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain to ensure your speedy return to Rome.

After our day out to ooh and ahh over the amazing engineer work at the Pantheon, finding disappointment at the closure of the Fountain of the Four Rivers at Piazza Navona, and making a surprise discovery of a Valentino fashion exhibit at Museo dell’Ara Pacis.

Naples, Italy

I stopped in Napoli (Naples) on my way to Rome.  It’s touted as the birthplace of pizza and Sophia Loren.  I didn’t like it at all.  I’m also disappointed that I stayed safe from wild Italian drivers.  I heard there were many in this city.

Food: Gelato

I decided today that I’m really good at eating gelato.  I have at least one scoop of gelato everyday when I'm in Italy.  I’m partial to limone (lemon), but there are so many other flavors I should try.  The Gelateria Centrale in Riomaggiore has wonderfully creamy amarena (wild cherry) and ananas (pineapple).  

I don’t agree with people who say that gelato is ice cream.  Gelato is smoother and lighter without tasting like a low calorie product.  The flavors are always more explosive.    

There are two things constant about eating gelato: 1) I always enjoy and savor each lick or spoonful as long as it’s possible before it melts and 2) when it’s done, I always want another one.  And if there could be a third constant thing, it’s that I never do until the next day.

Pompeii, Italy

Pompeii was more magnificent than I had imagined.  I didn’t make Pompeii a priority on my travels because I had already seen the ancient town of Ostia Antica ten years ago and my instructor/tour guide always made me believe that Pompeii wasn’t worth the time due to the heavy throngs of tourists who visited the site.  I believed that Ostia Antica was the better alternative if you want to see an ancient city because it was less crowded, but I don’t remember that Ostia had the beautiful frescoes or mosaics still in tact as Pompeii does.  I was completely taken away by the size and preservation of Pompeii.  If you go early enough, the crowds are not as bad.  For some reason, the tourist groups like to arrive to all sites after noon, when the sun is the hottest.

Positano, Italy

I used my 24HR bus pass again to go to Positano, where I spent the day at the beach.  I was interested in Positano because parts of “Under the Tuscan” was filmed here.  The town was very cute and the shops were very adorably charming and sophisticated.  I paid 2.50EUR for a 1.5L bottle of water, which killed me because 2.50EUR can buy me a meal or 20 - 2L bottles of Aura water from the supermarket across from my hostel.  But I couldn’t find a fountain and I didn’t want to be stuck on the beach all day without water.

I spent about 4-5 hrs on the pebbly beach, mostly laying out and reading and sweating.  I can’t believe how much I sweat just laying on the blanket.  There were beads dripping off my neck and I wondered where they came from because either I hadn’t dipped in the water yet, or it had been an hour since I took a dip.  Then sometimes I felt something itch at my leg and I thought it was a fly.  When I felt something crawl down my leg, I was shocked to see a bead of water and wondered where the liquid came from!

Because I didn’t buy a bus ticket before going to the beach, I was forced to beach through siesta in anticipation that all Tabacchi shops would be closed until 4PM.  At about 3:30 I made my way back up the hill to the bus stop.  I bought a one-way bus ticket to Sorrento since my tourist card had expired.  I didn’t have to wait long for the bus, but I did end up in standing room only, at the front of the bus. 

Sorrento, Italy

***CULTURAL HIGHLIGHT***

We “passagiato’d” around the center of Sorrento and got to know each other.  It was great and we were practically best friends by the end of the night.  She told me ALL about her boy problems and surprisingly, I listened to every word.  I had also learned that Michele knew Hivo from Bar Centrale in Cinque Terre.  She told me that he had asked her out also and that he’s married.  Now I wonder if he was really telling me the truth about his wife and two lovers.

18 August, 2007

Michele left the next morning to go to Amalfi.  Sandra and I hung out together for the day.  We stopped at a wood-inlay store and that’s where I met Ivan, a salesman, with grayish balding head, in his late 40’s or early 50’s.  He spoke nearly perfect English because he’d lived in California for ten years and he use to travel to Seattle twice a year for the Gift Show, lodging at the Edgewater Inn when he was there.  He knew Seattle really well and it felt nice to talk to someone about Seattle again.  Right off, he told me I was really pretty, very nice.  I thanked him.  He invited me to tour their factory and I thought Sandra would love that since it was her idea to look at the wood store.  Ivan saw me coughing and suggested I have a Mandarin Punch at the bar next door.  It’s made with Mandarin liqueur and brandy and something else and it’s served hot.  He said it would help soothe my throat.  So he took us next door and ordered us two punches.  Except that they didn’t have Mandarin so they made it with Frutti di Bosco (mixed fruit).

The drinks were really hot, but tasty.  I felt a good buzz by the time I finished, although I don’t know that it actually helped my throat any more.

We returned to Ivan next door thank him for suggesting the Mandarin punch.  I lied to Ivan when he asked if I felt better.  When we mentioned we were hungry, he suggested we dine at La Basilica and told us where to find it.  The owner was Paolo and he’s a friend of Ivan’s dad.  Ivan asked us to bring some brochures over to Paolo, something he’d been meaning to do for awhile.

Sandra and I found the restaurant and we asked for Paolo.  The gentleman led us through the kitchen into La Basilica and we met Paolo, a portly older man, who makes me think of …..  We delivered the brochures and Paolo asked if we wanted to eat.  We told him we’d love to.  La Basilica was a little overpriced for our budget, but we felt the splurge could be justified.  I ordered gnocchi and Sandra ordered ravioli.  Paolo personally took the order.  The gnocchi was fantastic, as was the ravioli, but I thoroughly enjoyed EVERY rich bite of the gnocchi.  I woke up after siesta craving more gnocchi. 

The bill came out to 29EUR which we paid.  Sandra and I were leisurely drinking the rest of our water while talking, when Paolo saw the bill folder on our table.  He said, “No!  You no pay!”  He took the bill folder although we told him it was OK and he insisted.  He got our money back and we left a large tip of 8EUR.  We were so thankful for the generosity and we left with nothing more than a “grazie mille” to Paolo and an extremely full stomach.

We didn’t go back to Ivan and we never made the trip to the factory.  I was in need of siesta and Sandra was happy to oblige.  I think I slept for four or five hours.

For dinner, Sandra and I ate at the pizzeria Michele and I ate at last night and took it to the view of the Bay of Naples to watch the sunset.  We had caught it just in time as it was starting.

Later we found the cheapest Internet point in town (3.50/hr) to send out some emails.  I was thrilled to see that I had emails from Kyle and Dave from the ferry to Greece, Mackenzie, Darrel, and several friends from home waiting in my inbox.  Kyle and Dave apologized for not meeting me in Athens and explained their absences.  Mackenzie’s email was dated the day after she left and she said she missed me already.  Darrel said he had a blast with me in Athens.  I emailed the Australian smurfie from the smoothie bar, Kyle, as promised.

After Internet time was over, the owner, Tomas, charged me only 45 minutes of time (3EUR) although I was on for nearly an hour.  Then he asked me where I was staying and told me he had an apartment for 20EUR per night.  It included a kitchen, washing machine, and private bathroom, but it was located further out of town, probably as distant as Hostel Sorrento had been.  He showed me pictures online and they looked decent.  He gave me the website address and his email so I could keep him in mind for the future.  Then he helped Sandra sort out her transportation trip to Salerno the next day so she could catch her train.

When we left Sandra said, “There is something about you that the men love.  Everywhere we go they all want to talk to you.  We get free lunches and info on bus schedules.  They’re always checking you out.  You’re the person to know in Italy.  Italy loves you.  You’re kind of a big deal.”

I made a day trip to Mt. Vesuvius.  The hike up to the crater was a little painful for me as I coughed and sniffled all the way.  Damn Manchester!  I persevered, made it all the way to the top, and got back down to the bus with ten minutes to spare.  The view from the top was disappointing because it was so hazy and unclear.

Amalfi and Ravello, Italy

I got on the bus and lucked out in getting a seat on the right side, which is the side you want to sit on so you can see the view of the Amalfi Coast.  Personally, I’m so in love with Cinque Terre that I didn’t find the Amalfi Coast as exciting.

I did the towns of Amalfi and Ravello.  The bus to Ravello took two hours to arrive; the bus just never came.  If I had known that the bus would miss all its time spots, I would’ve explored Amalfi in the meantime.

 

I really enjoyed Ravello.  It was really small, but lush and quaint.  It was quite beautiful and I wouldn’t have bothered if Tomas hadn’t encouraged it and told me that it was a free bus trip up there with my tourist pass.

I returned to Amalfi and explored the town.