Expats and adjusting to life in Italy
For our last day in the Tuscany area, Jeff and I signed up for a winery tour in the Chianti region south of Florence (on the way to Arezzo). Our guide for the day was an American named Todd who had lived in the Bay Area until about two years ago when he moved to Italy with his girlfriend to be closer to her family. He was an excellent guide, and in addition he filled many additional roles at the Tuscan Trails touring company - namely the answering service, the van driver, the liason with local winery staff, and the t-shirt shop. Having studied extensively both in Northern California and Tuscany, he was very knowledgeable about all aspects of winemaking and selling, and apparently he is about halfway to being a licensed somelier. The wines were excellent, the lunch was the best meal we have had since coming to Europe, and our fellow tour takers were good company for the day. If you're ever in the area and you would like to learn more about Italian wines, look up Tuscan Trails. I may post the number later if I can find the card.
Today was the Eurostar train to Rome and an afternoon at the Vatican. There was no line at the Vatican Museums, so we walked right in and worked our way through the majority of the popular exhibits. And yes we saw the Sistine Chapel. After we got out of there we walked around to Saint Peter's and I got to see my most favorite work of art in the world for the second time. I've written somewhere before about the reaction that you have when you walk into that space and it slowly sinks in just how big it actually is. Because the proportions of everything are so large, it looks almost normal sized, but when you look down to the far end of the nave and see how tiny the people down there are, you realize that this is the largest indoor space you have ever been in (outside of a domed stadium). But you forget all of that as soon as you turn your head to the right and see Michelangelo's Pieta. After Jeff flies home, I think I'll go back and spend some time just looking at it. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about; if you haven't seen it, you ought to - I still get chills every time I do.
After we left the Vatican, we took the Metro back across the Tiber to the Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps. There were a lot of people there. But there were far more people on the Roman Metro. We traveled on it twice today, once at about 12:30 and once at about 4:00, so I'm pretty sure that the crowds weren't due to the time of day. I've seen crowds like that before, but they're usually part of a 'how many college students can you fit in a phone booth' competition. It's like an underground railroad made up of clown cars. Oh, and all the cars are covered with graffiti. Pictures of that will follow at some point after Jeff gets home. Our hostel here is very crowded - like the rest of Rome, and very loud - like the rest of Rome, and very old - unlike the rest of Rome, which is ancient. Tomorrow should be a little more low key - less museums and less armed guards (just because those Swiss guys in the funny pants are carrying spears instead of guns doesn't mean they won't take you out if they feel it's necessary). I plan to throw my coin in the Trevi Fountain to ensure the I come back to Rome - if only so that I'll be in Italy and can then make my way to Florence or Venice (or Naples or elsewhere, but I can't say that yet since I haven't been to those places yet).
Today was the Eurostar train to Rome and an afternoon at the Vatican. There was no line at the Vatican Museums, so we walked right in and worked our way through the majority of the popular exhibits. And yes we saw the Sistine Chapel. After we got out of there we walked around to Saint Peter's and I got to see my most favorite work of art in the world for the second time. I've written somewhere before about the reaction that you have when you walk into that space and it slowly sinks in just how big it actually is. Because the proportions of everything are so large, it looks almost normal sized, but when you look down to the far end of the nave and see how tiny the people down there are, you realize that this is the largest indoor space you have ever been in (outside of a domed stadium). But you forget all of that as soon as you turn your head to the right and see Michelangelo's Pieta. After Jeff flies home, I think I'll go back and spend some time just looking at it. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about; if you haven't seen it, you ought to - I still get chills every time I do.
After we left the Vatican, we took the Metro back across the Tiber to the Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps. There were a lot of people there. But there were far more people on the Roman Metro. We traveled on it twice today, once at about 12:30 and once at about 4:00, so I'm pretty sure that the crowds weren't due to the time of day. I've seen crowds like that before, but they're usually part of a 'how many college students can you fit in a phone booth' competition. It's like an underground railroad made up of clown cars. Oh, and all the cars are covered with graffiti. Pictures of that will follow at some point after Jeff gets home. Our hostel here is very crowded - like the rest of Rome, and very loud - like the rest of Rome, and very old - unlike the rest of Rome, which is ancient. Tomorrow should be a little more low key - less museums and less armed guards (just because those Swiss guys in the funny pants are carrying spears instead of guns doesn't mean they won't take you out if they feel it's necessary). I plan to throw my coin in the Trevi Fountain to ensure the I come back to Rome - if only so that I'll be in Italy and can then make my way to Florence or Venice (or Naples or elsewhere, but I can't say that yet since I haven't been to those places yet).