Waiting For Twilight
According to my trusting traveling partner Rick, Venice is at its most beautiful during sunset. So I went to Venice, the dying city has undying charm. St. Mark's square was bustling and as crowded as ever, constant tourists queues became an almost permanent part of the Rialto bridge, and high school kids, while annoying to stand in line with, were actually waiting for an hour to see the ancient mosaics in St. Mark's basilica. And while pigeons overtook St. Mark's square, the manicore stares regally from Doges's palace reminding us of the empire's ancient glory. I met a fellow traveler to tour the basilica and the palace, and on Rick's advice, got lost in the charming back streets of Venice on my own. Through the often empty side streets you see Venetians, their lives simple and charismatic, through "getting lost" I was ensnared by the city's seductive beauty and experienced the qunintessential Venice. I walked by a friendly gondolier who offered me a free gondola ride, and insisting that it is tradition for the women to kiss the gondolier when going under bridges. I told him that my kisses are for another. And all the while, I waited for the sun to set, it never did. I reluctantly ran to the last train of the day at 8:04 leaving for Florence and said ciao to an amazingly beautiful city. On the way home I imagined a purple and blue Rialto bridge overlooking happy travelers, lovers, and waters. I then firmly decided to re-visit the city some day soon. Next time it'll be Chris and I sailing through the grand canal at twilight - perhaps with a different gondolier...

Siena and San Gimingnano

Went to Siena and San Gimingnano today and finally saw the Italy I had expected to see: rugged, quaint, and overlooking hills and fields of grape vines.

While Florence is cultured and sophisticated, Siena was beautifully peaceful and serene. And While Florence symbolizes the birth of Renaissance and carries with it the largest collection of art anywhere, Siena still resembles the medieval city it was born from, alluring in its quiet charm. Traveling through the 17 contrade of Siena (neighborhoods with its own flags, symbols and own sub-culture), I first visited st. Dominic, the cathedral that houses the relics of St. Catherine's head and thumb. I then traversed to the contrade of the Goose and saw St. Catherine's humble abode and saw the Siena Duomo. Siena's Duomo is covered in gorgeous green and pink marble, with a sky blue dome atop Gothic and Romanesque arches and windows (due to the long length of construction, the bottom of the cathedral was build Romanesque, and the top gothic due to change in time and architecture). The Siena Duomo is dedicated to Virgin Mary, and the cathedral houses the mosaic "slaughter of the innocents"; a beautifully constructed stained glass window depicting the assumption; sculpture of St. John the Baptist by Donatello; Piccolomini Altar complete with four small pre-David Michelangelo statutes; and the beautiful Piccolomini Library housing brilliant frescoes depicting the life of Aeneas Piccolomini. After the church I walked around Il Campo, Siena's great central piazza and home of the palio horse race (the most important race between the contrade, whereby the winner carries with him honor and glory for his neighborhood), and left for San Gimignano.

San Gimignano is "the epitome of Tuscan hill towns". With a drop dead gorgeous view of hills of green, San Gimignano is the Italy you typically see in tvs and movies. In this quaint town I visited a cathedral that was refreshingly simple. The churches in this hill town have not the elaborate frescoes and decorations of those in Florence, but perhaps they have more soul. I spend the rest of the time I had there enjoying the town and looking for wine. I eventually settled on 3: a 1999 reserved Vernaccia di San Gimignano for the family I will be staying with in Paris; another much cheaper (but highly recommended by the shopkeeper) Vernaccia di San Gimignano for myself; and a 1996 reserved Chianti Classico for Chris. Pleased with my purchase, and with the town, I concluded the day with a happy and noisy bus ride home with fellow friends and travelers.

Bouna Serra!

Stopped at a Kodak film store yesterday owned by this little, cute old Italian man. I walked in and he started chatting with me, showing me pictures of his daughter (who went to UCLA!),his son and his Chinese wife, and his grandson. We also talked a little about politics and he showed me a book with pictures from the era of Nazi occupation. The Nazis were actually going to blow up the Ponte Vecchio (the beautiful bridge with the Cellini statute) as well as the Medici corridors (housing hundreds of paintings), bastards! BUT, they ended up not doing so by some divine intervention...

I went to the Accademia on Wendesday and saw Daid, he was absolutely gorgeous. The Uffizi was amazing but we were rushed (had class at 2 and only had a hour and a half in there), so I will visit it again. The Birth of Venus is beautiful.

Gelatti update: have tried another flavor, Baci, will try another very soon.

Future updates: I am going to Sienna tomorrow, where I hope to find some good wine; Cinque Terre on Sunday and next weekend is Rome.

Am exhuasted from all the walking right now, will update soon. Ciao!

Greetings!

Visited 2 churches today: Basilica Santuario della ss. Annunziata and Basilica of San Lorenzo. I also visited the Medici Tome.

Basilica Annunziata: The appearance of the cathedral was unassuming (no flying buttresses or anything like that), but the inside was absolutly stunning! When I walked in, there were approx. 8 frescos on the walls around the entrance, all dated about 600 years ago. Inside the catheral was an ongoing mass (I feel bad for the worshippers, they're constantly bothered by tourists and their cameras). The celiling was covered in magnificent carvings of angels and things in gold, and the sanctuary is stunning as well.

Basilica San Lorenzo: named after Lorenze de Medici (Lorenzo the Magnificent, the favorite son), Basilica San Lorenzo is the earliest documented church in Florence and was consencrated in 393. There was a fee to get in, 2.50 Euro, I suppose it's becuase it's one of the more famous churches in Florence. Inside the Catheral things looked very new, unlike Basilica Annunziata. The newness is due to the complete rebuilding of the church, commissioned to Michealangelo and Brunelleschi (and others) in 1418. The church floor plan is in the shape of a cross, and on the West side of the cross was a sarcaphogous done by Brunellesci of Giovanni de Medici (the oldest of all Medicis). The famous Brunelleschi dome can be seen on the West end, the octagonal mathematical discovery that benefited artists for generations. The rest of the Medici family tombs are embedded within the cathedral's "Medici Chapels", the resting place of among others, Lorenzo the Magnificent. The Chapel was commissioned to Michealangelo, the dome is identical to the West end of the Basilica. Within the Basilica is also a large wall fresco of the Anunciation done by Donatello. Also in the West end was another tomb with gorgeous scupltures dedicated to a martyr, the coffin was placed oppoite the sculptures and you can see inside the coffin to the skeleton (a very short saint) and the crown on his head and palms on his side (symbols of martyrdom (sp?), of a violent death etc).

My one woman tour was amazing. Florence is amazing. Can you imagine walking two feet out of your apartment, look up, and see art from over 600 years ago?

Tomorrow, the Accademia Museum, where I will have a date with the famous David, and Thursday, Uffizi Museum, Birth of Venus here I come! Will update soon.

Ciao!

Bon Gorino(?), greetings from Firenze! Sitting at an internet cafe paying euros so here's a quick update:

1. my apartment is a 2 minute walk from the Duomo, the 4th largest cathedral in the world, so says Rick Steves. A 10 minute walk from the David, 15 from Uffizi museum, and all markets within minutes, it's lovely.

2. must control gelatti intake. Have tried: strawberry and rum raisin. Will try: ...everything

3. Italian men: so far, all the stereotypes are true, have not had pleasant expriences with them. While walking by to a "ciao bella" is nice, aggressive groping is NOT. Will from now on hold up promise ring and yell "husband" in italian. (apprently yelling "fiance" doesn not work, so now will try husband).

4. Walking: when the Italians walk, you walk.

5. Food: we had the best gnocci with 4 cheeses, and the freshest capressi, all in all divine.

6. Sights: have not had a chance to visit much, was stuck in apartment for 2 whole days waiting for my luggage that they lost. But will visit asap and will updat soon.

7. The people: opened windows one day to people watch. Italians are a lot more affectionate with one another in public, it is a kind of sweet genuine passion, thought that was lovely as well.

PS: have not had purses stolen yet, am carrying pepper spray at all times due to unpleasant incident with certain italian men, will update soon!

Ciao!

Shout Out to K!
K’s so sweet. She informed me of a million airline deals she found for me on the net when I had no plane tickets and she just informed me the name of the virus on my computer! Awwww, warm fuzzies!

Corruption of Youth - Hemlock, Anyone?

There’s this little passageway between Chris’s townhouse and the much coveted fresh brewed coffee at 7-11 that only takes one about 8 minutes to tread there and back. Having only slept for 5 and ½ hours the night before, I heeded the siren’s call and took the road less traveled, only to emerge from the store 15 minutes later with a 20oz cup of French roast. Eager to dash back to catch the series finale of “Friends,” I looked around to make sure that no formal authorities were around and jaywalked across the street. And as I marveled at the 20 seconds that I saved, my eyes met these two young, impressionable kids looking at me, and in a split second they too, decided to ignore the traffic signals and jaywalked. Good Lord! Did I just corrupt the youth? Did they break the law because I did it first? Was I the bad example? I shuddered at the thought of the responsibility of being a role model and proceeded to feel really, really bad. So I guess the moral of the story is, next time when you’re thinking about jaywalking, look to see if there are cops AND/OR kids around first before making your move…