Milan, Florence and Rome
July 17
I spent last weekend in Italy. It was really amazing. It was a pretty intense weekend though. We hardly slept but we saw a lot in two days.
We first flew to Milan. It´s funny. You would think with a name like Milan it would be really amazing and beautiful. Milan struck me as a really industrial type place. There were unimpressive buildings. When we were waiting outside to buy train tickets we found a heart shaped bouquet of red roses. It was in a really random place. It was really beautiful though.
We decided to leave Milan early. We got on the train to Florence. The countryside was so beautiful. I couldn´t stop taking pictures. It´s too bad the train system is not more developed in the U.S. It´s a perfect way to see the countryside.
Florence was AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL....it was tranquil and peaceful. I felt like I could live in Florence. It was just so quiet and serene. We walked along the river after we checked into the hostal. It was really cool to see all the buildings lit up. My favorite was the cathedral. It had this sort of etheral white look to it. We had dinner at a restaurant where you could have pasta, salad and a wine with dessert for around $11 dollars.
The next day we took a biking trip around Florence. It was really fun. I would have liked the biking trip to be a little harder but we got to see the historic parts of Florence. We went by the government plaza, and a plaza where we saw a replica of Michaelanglo´s David. It´s interesting. David is the character that faced off against Galliah in the Bible and is supposed to be a weaker, smaller guy but Michaelanglo portrayed him as big and imposing. I guess that´s where the saying, ¨Larger then life comes in.¨ We also biked to the oldest perfume store in the world. I did indulge. I actually shopped a lot in Florence. I found an absolutely beautiful gold choker necklace, new shoes with Italian leather, a new shirt and a print of Florence.
Florence just has such a sense of history. The people seem gentle and easy going. I was sad to leave Florence.
Rome confused me.You definantly got the impression you were in a city with a strong sense of history and culture yet I found myself very unnerved by all the trash in the streets and the poverty. I liked Rome but it was a strange city in that regard. I also thought the people in Rome were a lot more rude then in Florence or Paris or Barcelona. We ended up going to the Vatican. We debated for a while about going inside. The line was quite long and the guided trip was around $45. In the end we opted to go inside. I´m glad we did. To be that close and not go in seems a little strange. What was good about the guided tour is we were able to bypass the lines and go right in right through security.
The Vatican is certainly very historic and amazing. However I just didn´t get the impression it was a holy place. It was a musuem. The tour guide was fun but it was a similar situation when I toured the Aushwitz concentration camp. I was on average two or three rooms behind the guide. We had walkie-talkie like devices so I could hear talking but of course I was so far behind it didn´t mean anything until about ten minutes later when I caught up. The Sistene Chapel was something else. It was AMAZING, INCREDIBLE.... I was incredibly humbled to be in the chapel gazing up at Michaelanglo´s masterpieces. I could not imagine being that talented. It was interesting to me that he did not enjoy painting. I was thinking for someone that didn´t like painting he certainly could blow the world away. A funny thing is we were not supposed to take pictures or be talking and that announcement came about every five minutes and so when it would come everyone would stop and listen and then start up with the pictures and their conversations again. I didn´t blame them. What did annoy me is that people were using flash photography when we were specifically told and there signs ordering the flashes be turned off to protect the artwork. I´m very glad we went to the Vatican. As a Catholic I think it´s an important sight to see.
After the Vatican we went to the fountain of San Miguel. It was amazing. The statutes were so noble and imposing and the water was so green. It was perfect and wonderful to be where it was cool again. Afterwards we went to the Collusum where we toured the ancient ruins. Mostly I was just staring open mouthed in awe completely amazed at the centuries old history I was priviledged to be standing in front of and appreciating it. I know some of my appreciation for this experience comes from my love of history. Before I had learned the stories in classes in high school, and of course my undergraduate degree is in history and now the stories are getting filled in by the visuals.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend. I can´t wait to go back.
I spent last weekend in Italy. It was really amazing. It was a pretty intense weekend though. We hardly slept but we saw a lot in two days.
We first flew to Milan. It´s funny. You would think with a name like Milan it would be really amazing and beautiful. Milan struck me as a really industrial type place. There were unimpressive buildings. When we were waiting outside to buy train tickets we found a heart shaped bouquet of red roses. It was in a really random place. It was really beautiful though.
We decided to leave Milan early. We got on the train to Florence. The countryside was so beautiful. I couldn´t stop taking pictures. It´s too bad the train system is not more developed in the U.S. It´s a perfect way to see the countryside.
Florence was AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL....it was tranquil and peaceful. I felt like I could live in Florence. It was just so quiet and serene. We walked along the river after we checked into the hostal. It was really cool to see all the buildings lit up. My favorite was the cathedral. It had this sort of etheral white look to it. We had dinner at a restaurant where you could have pasta, salad and a wine with dessert for around $11 dollars.
The next day we took a biking trip around Florence. It was really fun. I would have liked the biking trip to be a little harder but we got to see the historic parts of Florence. We went by the government plaza, and a plaza where we saw a replica of Michaelanglo´s David. It´s interesting. David is the character that faced off against Galliah in the Bible and is supposed to be a weaker, smaller guy but Michaelanglo portrayed him as big and imposing. I guess that´s where the saying, ¨Larger then life comes in.¨ We also biked to the oldest perfume store in the world. I did indulge. I actually shopped a lot in Florence. I found an absolutely beautiful gold choker necklace, new shoes with Italian leather, a new shirt and a print of Florence.
Florence just has such a sense of history. The people seem gentle and easy going. I was sad to leave Florence.
Rome confused me.You definantly got the impression you were in a city with a strong sense of history and culture yet I found myself very unnerved by all the trash in the streets and the poverty. I liked Rome but it was a strange city in that regard. I also thought the people in Rome were a lot more rude then in Florence or Paris or Barcelona. We ended up going to the Vatican. We debated for a while about going inside. The line was quite long and the guided trip was around $45. In the end we opted to go inside. I´m glad we did. To be that close and not go in seems a little strange. What was good about the guided tour is we were able to bypass the lines and go right in right through security.
The Vatican is certainly very historic and amazing. However I just didn´t get the impression it was a holy place. It was a musuem. The tour guide was fun but it was a similar situation when I toured the Aushwitz concentration camp. I was on average two or three rooms behind the guide. We had walkie-talkie like devices so I could hear talking but of course I was so far behind it didn´t mean anything until about ten minutes later when I caught up. The Sistene Chapel was something else. It was AMAZING, INCREDIBLE.... I was incredibly humbled to be in the chapel gazing up at Michaelanglo´s masterpieces. I could not imagine being that talented. It was interesting to me that he did not enjoy painting. I was thinking for someone that didn´t like painting he certainly could blow the world away. A funny thing is we were not supposed to take pictures or be talking and that announcement came about every five minutes and so when it would come everyone would stop and listen and then start up with the pictures and their conversations again. I didn´t blame them. What did annoy me is that people were using flash photography when we were specifically told and there signs ordering the flashes be turned off to protect the artwork. I´m very glad we went to the Vatican. As a Catholic I think it´s an important sight to see.
After the Vatican we went to the fountain of San Miguel. It was amazing. The statutes were so noble and imposing and the water was so green. It was perfect and wonderful to be where it was cool again. Afterwards we went to the Collusum where we toured the ancient ruins. Mostly I was just staring open mouthed in awe completely amazed at the centuries old history I was priviledged to be standing in front of and appreciating it. I know some of my appreciation for this experience comes from my love of history. Before I had learned the stories in classes in high school, and of course my undergraduate degree is in history and now the stories are getting filled in by the visuals.
All in all it was a wonderful weekend. I can´t wait to go back.