Plan…Travel…Repeat

Palazzo Vechio, who knew.

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Becky

Palazzo Vechio, who knew?

Today was just going to be a day for wandering around. No agenda no plan.

After class I went back to the suggested pizza place for a delicious caprese pizza. It was the best pizza I think I have ever had. I tried not to eat it all but I couldn’t help myself. I just ordered a second glass of wine and enjoyed my break.

From there I just headed out to wander town. Sadly, I soon had to go to the bathroom. That can be difficult in florence. I

Best pizza ever

considered a bar but I probably didn’t need another glass of wine so I decided on the Palazzo Vechio. I had passed through it earlier and knew the bathrooms were conveniently located. Not wanting to hunt down another option and since I had never gone in I decided to spend the 10€ for the ticket (surprisingly it was not included in my pass). Sometimes a bathroom is worth ten bucks.

After Climbing 3 flights of stairs I was really hoping that there would be something to see. I was pleasantly surprised. It was beautiful. Every bit as elaborate as the Piti Palace but in a different style. The ceilings were done in the separate frame style of the Vatican museum with a different theme for each room. The Medici’s were the famous residents and each room referenced one of the men. (One of them became a cardinal at 13 and went on to become Pope.His room referenced his intellectual propensities.) The frescos were beautiful. The Renaissance had clearly began when they worked on these paintings. The women were beautiful very serene and angelic. Of course they seldom had on shirts so they were showed in all their glory. However, it wasn’t far into the Renaissance, the men were a little oddly shaped with all their muscles. The painters weren’t quite to the point where they showed restraint. But none the less they were as impressive as most I have seen and there was room after room of them.

They also had this elaborate map room. Again similar to the Vatican but on a smaller scale. It was a square room with a big metal globe in the middle with maps framed along the walls. The colors of the maps really made it for me. They were mostly pinks, light greens, browns and blues.

From there you entered an unfinished room. Supposedly everyone (the helper bees) was supposed to return from working on the Sistine chapel to paint one wall. Only one guy showed so the rest was done in the florentine fluer d’ lise of blue and gold. However this is where they showcased a Donetella sculpture of Judith slaying her attacker. Donetella is the creator of the girly David in the Bargello and
this is along those lines.

All in all I am glad I needed to go to the bathroom. Palazzo Vechio is getting a bad rap in the tour books. It is well worth the money.

I spent much longer in the palazzo than I thought and didn’t have much time for wandering before it got dark. I did try on some boots (damn my fat calves) but no luck for the ones I wanted and was willing to pay the primo price for. I guess it is probably for the best.

I did stumble on a women handing out flyers for a girls choir concert in one of the small churches. Having wandered enough I decided to check it out. I stayed for the whole concert. The girls were amazing. I forget how high young girl can sing and the stone church had amazing acoustics. There was one young girl on the front row that held my attention. Everyone was really serious but her. She couldn’t stand still. She played with her song book, picked at her nails, scratches her hair – pretty much just squirmed constantly. The teacher was right beside her but it didn’t help. During one of the sopranos solos she was playing with her shirt and she was never on the right page. It would be time for the choir to come in and she would be peeking at her neighbor for what page she should be on. Krisse, she reminded me of you. My pictures are not great but maybe you can pick her out.

As if I hadn’t eaten enough today I decided to stay out and have dinner. I wanted to stay in a relatively crowded section so I picked a place by the Duomo. Once there I decided to go big with the truffle pasta and florentine steak. They were both delicious. It was a splurge but since last night I had a 2€ slice of pizza I didn’t feel too bad about it. For a restaurant right off the main street to the Duomo, Giannino’s was really good.

Another great day in Florence.

Today was just going to be a day

Best pasta of the trip

I must have been hungry

Finally a photo of “Mama”

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Becky

Mama from the back at the market. I snuck this one while she wasn’t looking.

Ciao Firenze, ciao Milano

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Becky

Ciao Firenze, ciao Milano

It is hard to leave florence. It got off to a rocky start but I soon found my groove and I hated to see it end. Of course my checkbook needed for me to leave.

I only did two hours of class then back to mama’s to get my bags. Both mama and her husband met me at the house to say goodbye. We hugged like family and I got the two sided italian kiss. Think more grandma then friend. I hope to get to make it back to stay with them again. She claims to be a big fan of “chili beans” and just hearing her say it in her italian accent made me smile. I’ll have to send her some ingredients and an authentic Texas recipe for her to try.

Good thing the train ride was relatively short (1:40) since I couldn’t find a seat. By the time I got my extra large duffle up on the train there were no seats to be found. Me and three others camped out by the luggage rack area. A majority of the people got off in Bologna and I briefly had a seat but then I was seated in someone’s reserved spot. When I bought my ticket I could have reserved a seat but then I had to be able to find it. So I didn’t want to mess with it. I also didn’t do 1st class figuring there would be more seats in 2 to choose from and no reason to spend the extra $25. I bought first class from Rome and ended up in second but I should have splurged for this one as well. Since I had to stand the food I bought went uneaten and I was starving when I got to Milan.

I got off the train and a porter asked to get my bags. I almost said no. I had dragged that extra large bag through the florence station I could get it through Milan but on second thought it was super heavy and not the best roller and my overnight bag still had the 10 pounds of chocolate (no I haven’t eaten it all, there should be some when I make it back to Austin) so I went with the porter he zipped me through the station to a hidden elevator and out to the taxi stand before I would have found the exit sign. I wasn’t sure what to tip him generally there is no or limited tipping in Italy. So I just grabbed all the coin money I had a little over 5€. I think the best money I have spent the entire trip.

The taxi ride to the hotel was a round-about route. So I had no idea where I was. It was however much cheaper than the taxis in Florence. I was in the cab probably twice as long for several dollars less.

I arrived at the hotel just after 3 and I had a ticket for the 4:00 group to see the last supper. I barely had time to drop my stuff off and head out. It turned out that my hotel was supposedly a 10 minute walk the the church on somewhat of the same street. Not sure who timed it but it was not 10 minutes for me. The hotel said go left cross at the light and go left again. None of the street names matched what he gave me in the map. I panicked and waited at a taxi stand. When no taxi showed up I panicked again and took off walking. Deciding that was stupid I went back to the taxi stand and waited for a taxi. My ticket said to arrive 20 minutes early and I got in the taxi at 7 till 4. Good thing it was close we pulled up right at 4. Figuring my ticket had been released I was disappointed but went ahead and tried hoping I could get in on a later tour. But I made it just in time. It was like they were waiting on me.

I am really glad I made it. I was afraid I would be disappointed in the painting but I wasn’t. It is faded but it is much better in person than in the pictures. They say they have touched it up a lot and one thing I did understand in my italian tour was that some of the large areas of colors on the robes were new. They used a slightly lighter color so you could tell the difference.

I was surprised to see that the painting continued under the table. Most of the photos chop it off at the table but the disciples have feet. There is enough detail to make our toes and sandals. Jesus’ feet are lost to the door if they were ever included. The tour talked a lot about the food in the table. To me it looked like a big brown glob and some rolls but she spent a lot of time talking about it but I couldn’t make much of it out. Something about bowls of water to wash and communal plates but that is all I got.

Surprisingly it is in a very plan building. Even the church next door is plain from the outside by italian standards. Inside it is a very pretty church. It felt like a church. It has all the paintings and such but it wasn’t so big that it felt empty. It might of seemed more church like because their was music and a priest taking confessions. The dome and some of the walls were done in this strange etching. There wasn’t any color the design appeared to be just scratched into the plaster. I paid the 2€ to light up the dome and I was very glad I did. It looked completely bare without lights but there was etching all the way to the top.

There was a da Vinci museum in the cloister where they were showing some of his actual manuscripts. Seems he wrote this multi volume treatise on painting. They are in the process of removing the binding to better preserve the pages and are displaying some at a few places in Milan. There were probably two or three dozen pages with small sketches and his explanations on perspective and human form. He was very detailed on how someone should paint and study painting. I was amazed they have so many pages of his writings. It was very cool to see it.

I thought I would be able to find my way home relatively easy. Not sure why I thought this since I have struggled the whole trip with directions but still I thought I could do it. And eventually I did. As I said the street names
didn’t match the map. The map would say Cundicci and the street sign would say Conducce and of course the street names changed every so often but no indication of where on the map. But eventually I made it back. I had to stop in a gelateria to ask directions and to get my first Milano gelato but I was already on the right road supposedly just a straight shot. When the street Ys what is straight? I was on the wrong side of the road and choose poorly and had to back track a bit.

Luckily there were restaurants on my street so I didn’t have to go far for dinner. As I passed one coming in the people were eating pizza so I figured it wouldn’t be too fancy. However, by the time I got there they had switched to the dinner menu and is was very fancy and mostly fish. I am so glad I didn’t go with the shrimp when I saw it come out in all its glory with little feelers stretching across the plate. I went with sliced steak with arugula and Parmesan not really the Italian dish I was looking for but good. I had a nice montecino to go with it.

After dinner I walked around a bit and window shopped mostly jewelry and shoes (I still have a chance to come home with these italian oxfords I have been eyeing) and a few clothing stores. The clothes and jewelry are high end but fun too look at. Since it had been at least 3 hours from my first gelato (and it was piccolo) and it had been a long day I decided I could get another. Thankfully there is one right across the street from the hotel. It was full of kids in costumes coming in for their free taste so I had to wait but no problem. Finally my turn and they had my new favorite flavor fondante which is dark, dark chocolate. Since it was gelato two for the day I went with piccolo again. I should have gotten a larger size it was delicious.

Now back to the hotel to plan my day of seeing Milan and dreaming of fondante gelato.

My last day in Florence.

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Becky

“Ultimo goirni in Firenze”

I can’t believe I have been in Italy two weeks. It seems like I just arrived.

Class is going to be late today so I have my morning to wander around. Not sure where I am going to so I just head out at 8:30 on a street I have yet to take. I pass the botanical garden but it is closed due to damage from a tornado in September. I had no idea Italy had tornadoes. After peeking through the fence I continue on and stumble on St Mark’s. It was included in my Ufizzi pass so I went in to see the Fra Angelico paintings again. It was early and at the beginning I had the place to myself. His paintings are beautiful and I am glad I stumbled on it so that I saw them again this trip.

Before I finished my solitude was interrupted by a group of high school girls. They I think enjoyed being out of class more than the art. Basically they just made it hard to go to the bathroom because that is where they all congregated. Girls are girls doesn’t matter what nationality.

Having finished St Mark’s I headed to the Duomo. It had been my North Star if I could catch a glimpse of it I could at least get going in the right direction. Although I had passed it multiple times everyday I had not gone inside. It was still relatively early for Italy/tourist standards so it wasn’t too crowded.

I remembered it being more impressive inside. It is just so big that it looks empty. After having seen Santa Croce, St Spirito, and other smaller churches I wasn’t as in awe as I thought I would be. The dome painting is still quite impressive (nothing like the view of the medieval hell monster eating people to make you feel like your in church) and the stained glass is nice but that is about it.

I went down under the church to buy my ticket for the baptistry and stayed to see the roman ruins. I don’t remember this from my previous trip. The new church (as new as a 15 century church can be) was built over a smaller church which had been built over a roman temple. There were still some mosaic tiled floors to see and what looked like steps. They had also moved some additional pieces down, mostly grave markings. I wanted to go in the baptistry but you had to buy the ticket for everything. There were no solo tickets. So since I had paid I did the roman ruins museum otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it. Of course that philosophy did not hold out for the cupola tour or the tower. I considered climbing the tower. Kind of on the idea that it furthered the theme of the trip. However after doing just over 150 steps in the Ufizzi (and yes I counted or tried to when I wasnt concentrating on breathing) I decided I really wasn’t up to 400 stairs. I have no idea how we did it last time.

So I basically paid 10€ to see the baptistery. Of course I was not the only one assuming all the older people weren’t climbing all the stairs in the tower or cupola. I do really love the baptistry it is gold mosaic tiles similar to what is used in St. Mark’s in Venice. After all the frescos in florence the mosaics are a nice change of pace. The dome of the baptistry basically tells the bible from beginning to end. There is a picture for Adam and Eve, the annunciation, the birth of Jesus, the cruxifixction and everything in between.

After the duomo I had just enough time for one more pizza before my class’s at 2. I went back to the pizza place by the school and tried something different. I went with the prosciutto and mushroom. It was good but did not compare to the caprese one I had earlier this week.

There was a Halloween meets wurstfest market in the St. Croce piazza which made it very hard to go to class. I had time for a quick beer then off to study italian.

After class which was only 2 hours I went back to the festival for more beer. I thought I would get a little snack for the train ride tomorrow and tried to buy a little cheese. The cheese vendors in Italy must all go to the same school. I asked for a little and he starts to cut off a fourth of a round of cheese. I keep saying smaller and he moves his knife like a centimeter. Eventually you give up and end up with more cheese than you needed. My train snack cost me almost 10€. The extra large pretzel I bought to go with it was only 1€.

Having decided that I needed the brown purse I had seen at the leather school day one I went back to buy it. I know you are saying that I didn’t need another brown purse and technically that would be right but I didn’t want to get home and regret not getting it so I did need to buy it to make sure I had no regrets. I know crazy logic but I can justify anything. And now it has my initials in it so it is a done deal.

For my last night in florence I just wandered around a bit. I considered going back to where I had the really good dinner but decided to try someplace else. It was okay but I should have gone back to the other place. The gnocchi was a little different but the salad was good. It was covered with more prosciutto than I could eat. I did have a nice glass of nobile moltipucianno.

After dinner I headed back to the house to pack up. I had to try and fit all my purchases in my bag. It was a tight fit but everything mad it in. It weighs a ton and I might have to pay extra to bring it home but I didn’t have to leave anything behind but the pillow I stoles from my mom. I thought it would help me sleep on the plane. No such luck there but was super glad I had it at “mama’s” house. I basically had a cot with the hardest pillow in the world. I can’t fault her the bed at the hotel in Perugia was just as bad.

My final night in florence is over. I can’t wait to come back again.

The Uffizi And Santa Croce

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Becky

A full day of touring Florence. I started after class finally going in the Santa Croce. My school is right by it and I pass it coming and going everyday. I also spend my 20 minute “pausa” in its piazza every morning but I had not gone in. I was surprised that there was a 6€ charge for entering but oh well when in Rome and all that.

The church was definitely worth it. There was a museum attached and a beautiful courtyard. I wandered through for close to two hours. Glad I didn’t try to run in during my pausa which was my original thought. Dante’s grave is there as are several Medici of lessor notoriety. There was some mention of this church being part of the fall of the Medici but it was in italian and I couldn’t make it all out. There was also a memorial piece that was probably the precursor to the statute of liberty. She was very similar and started before the French started on the SoL. She was also called liberty and she was standing on books holding a broken chain. The ceiling of the church was just like the palazzo vechio. The same blue and red colors and everything.

After the church I shopped for a while. On day one I wandered around for a while looking for the Leather School when had I only gone in the church I would have been right there. You can move between the two, a back courtyard connects them. Still considering a purse there but I have already bought enough already. Knowing me I am won’t be surprised if I don’t go get it tomorrow.

I finally found some of the mosaic frames. My mom had asked for a large one and I hadn’t seen any. Finally a shop had a large collection and even had some on sale. I couldn’t help buying a few for myself as well.

I walked by all the high end designer stores but didn’t go in any. They were all very stuffy looking. Most had guards at the door. Not very inviting. I took a few pictures and went on my way.

I ate pizza on the run. It was good but nothing like Perugia. I think I will dream of those stuffed pizzas.

After piddling most of the afternoon I headed the the Uffizi. I had gone in last week but didn’t do much it was way to crowded. Yesterday was perfect. There was hardly anyone there. I forgot how big it was. I remembered the two main halls on the top but forgot all about all the others.

Surprisingly the Uffizi allows photos now (no flash). I was shocked but snapped a few along my tour. It is amazing how you can add light to a picture now so that even almost totally dark images can be lightened.

I remembered climbing stairs to get to the first exhibit but I didn’t remember it being so bad. Four long flights before you get to the top. I thought I was in better shape but I was winded when I finally made it.

Of course I hit all the highlights. The botecelli’s were first but they didn’t look as good as I remembered. The colors were not as bright. They are still beautiful but probably getting close to the time for them to be restored. Compared to the Michelangelo which is bright with color they looked dull. His Madonna and child is probably my favorite piece in the museum.

I went a little to slowly through the upper galleries and had to rush through the end. They kept playing “the museum will be closing in XX minutes” and it made me nervous. Like somehow I would be stuck in there over night. You are never real sure where the hallways lead so I didn’t know how far from the exit I was when we got the 5 minute warning. Turns out I was just basically around the corner.

From the Uffizi I walked around looking for somewhere for dinner. I didn’t choose as well as last night. It was okay but not great. I’ll have to do better tonight for my last night in Florence. They did serve me the biggest glass of prosecco I have ever had. Iight stop in there for a pre-dinner glass tonight.

Getting close to the end so I spent my evening looking for the things I haven’t done yet so I can make plans for my last day in Florence.

Michaelangelo

Leonardo

Santa Croce courtyard

Santa Croce

San Gimignano

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Becky

Finally, San Gimignano

I finally made to the one Italian town that has always been on my list of must sees but just didn’t work out on my previous trips. There was no way I wasn’t going to make it there this time.

After my successful use of public transportation to Perugia (even with the workers strike foiling my afternoon departure) I decided I was ready to brave the bus to San Gimignano.

I used a bit of my precious cell data service to look up the bus schedule and found a bus left at 1:40 then every hour after that. It takes about 2 hours by bus so I wanted to catch the 1:40 to maximize my time. The bus station is right beside the train station and it took me well over an hour to walk there on Friday. So to make the bus I was going to have to be on my most focused walk.

I mapped out my route and since I did better walking along the river I decided to walk out, down then b ack in instead of cutting through town. It was probably longer but fewer opportunities to get lost. I really only had one turn after I headed back in from the river there was just no way I could get lost. The question was could I get there and get my ticket in 40 minutes.

Anxiously watching my watch at the end of class I couldn’t focus on my work. When he said there was time for one more activity I almost groaned. I know I am an adult and could have said I needed to leave but I didn’t want them to think I didn’t like the knew set up so I stayed and did the assignment. Of course this was the first one that really hard and j missed several. When he checked it he didn’t just correct them he had me try again. Now by my watch it is after 1 and I need to be leaving not working on the plural versions of colors. Finally I get them all right and I run for the door. The whole way debating on if I’ll take the 2:40 train or wait till tomorrow and try again if I don’t make it in time.

Finally a plan that worked. I made it to the bus station with 8 minutes to spare. No wrong turns and only 3 people in line in front of me. I get my ticket and go to the bus parked in my spot only to be told it was the wrong bus San Gimignano would be the next bus in the slot. For a moment I felt like I hurried for nothing. But the buses changed quickly I got my seat and the bus took off at exactly 1:40. My watch was 5 minutes fast.

I had to transfer buses at poggibonsi (great name for a town) and that was a little confusing. Not really being much of a bus rider I thought the bus would go from one station to the next not stop occasionally along the way. I see the poggibonsi town sign and the bus is stopping but is is just at the grocery store one person gets off and the bus takes off. We meander through the town which is much bigger than its name implies all the while I thinking I missed my stop. But then finally we pull up to the bus/train station and the driver tells you to get off for the San Gimignano transfer.

After a 20 minute wait I am back on the bus heading up winding narrow roads to San Gimignano. I got my first glimpse just as we were coming around one of the too narrow for a bus curves. It really is impressive from a distance. It sits on the top of the hill with its medieval wall still completely intact. You could see it off in the distance but we never seemed to get to it. Once again I was reminded that I was on a city bus as we stopped at every possible place to pick up or drop off a local. When we got closer I got worried that I wouldn’t know when to get off and end up in sienna. We stopped several places that would have worked for getting into the town but the bus driver once again told you when to get off. It would have been hard to miss anyway since there was a big parking lot that said San Gimignano right beside the bus stop.

The town was smaller than I expected having just come from Perugia, San Gimignano seemed tiny. My first stop was an Enoteca where I tried some wines and cheeses. San Gimignano is basically a wine, prosciutto and cheese place. They had some great sheep milk cheeses. I wish I could have brought them home. She said they would be fine I unrefrigerated but I don’t think I could have handled the smell.

I basically walked around and enjoyed the views. It is a really pretty area. Vineyards and farm land surround the town.

I paid the $5 to go into the duomo which was small but nice. The walls were covered in frescos from floor to ceiling. They were some of the easier to understand or connect to the bible story. There was a series on creation and my favorite was eve coming out of Adam’s stomach. So basically Adam was lying on the ground and Eve was popping out his middle. Not exactly what I think of when I here about Adam and Eve but I knew exactly what they were referencing so I guess it worked.

I could have titled this post “the day day I saw a body” but decided against it. Saint Fina is displayed in the duomo in all her glory. Of course she is enshrined in a glass coffin and looks super fake but they claim it is her actually body. As saints are, she is well preserved and looks more like a wax figure than a corpse. I almost missed her the first time by. I had looked at the paintings but has not noticed her down on the ground. There was a pamphlet on her that for a small donation you could take and it talked about this board she laid on for five years. I thought I had seen wood so I went back to see if it was in fact the board. The sign claimed it was and while checking that out and getting grossed out by the fact that they kept this board where this young girl died with horrible sores all over body, I saw the coffin. At first I thought it was a figure placed to represent the young girl but I was wrong. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen the two popes at Saint Peter’s in Rome. Not exactly the highlight of my trip but something worthy of sharing. An surprising not an uncommon sight in Italy.

After the church I had a bit more wine and wondered around a bit and took a lot of pictures before heading back to the bus. Of course per my usual I went down the wrong street and came out somewhere different. I recognized the place as one of the earlier bus stops and considered just waiting there. But I was hungry and had intended to grab a pizza on my way to the bus so I climbed back up the street only to turn to my right and come back down again. Figuring I had worked out enough for the pizza I ordered the stuffed which was basically two crusts.

The bus ride back was pretty uneventful and I made it back safely to mamas about 8:30.

I enjoyed San Gimignano and it is a beautiful town but probably too touristy for some. It is well worth the hassle of getting there to me just to see the towers rising from the hill. Other than the steep ups and downs it is easy to walk around town since there are very few cars. I am glad I made the effort and would certainly go back if I have the chance. Although probably not for everyone I loved the lazy nature of San Gimignano.

All about school

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Becky

As I said, I didn’t showcase my italian skills on the first day and got put in the beginner class. I can’t decide if that was a good thing or not.

The school is full immersion and after the first day we are not supposed to speak any English. If I had been in level two I think that would have really thrown me. I was not ready to hear nothing but italian. However, level one is basically a repeat of things and words I already know. The main problem is that there are only two of us in the class and she is a complete beginner from Japan. She speaks a little English but not much. Her main problem is that she won’t even try. We do a lot of work matching words to pictures and she just sits there. It makes class awkward on occasion.

There has not been a lot of structure to the class. We jump around from nouns to verbs and only learn the singular terms for everything. We listen to a lot of lessons trying to pick out individual words and hopefully that will improve my conversation. That is if everyone would talk as slowly as they do on the lessons.

The Freestyle class at home has more structure and I think that might work better for me. However, I can see where this method works if you have the time to go straight through. My Japanese classmate is here for 8 weeks.

I got to try my skills in Perugia. I could never quite catch “can I help you” but I did okay after that. At least I could understand prices so i have improved a little. I also didn’t do to bad in the museums. There were some english interpretations but not many and I was able to make my way through it.

As usual I spoke to soon. You should be careful what you wish for or my case complain about because sometimes you get it. My brilliance finally showed through and they decided to advance me out of the beginners class. They said it was just not enough of a challenge for me. However, I wasn’t ready to join the next level of students (so much for my brilliance) and now I am in a class of one. I have one on one instruction for 2 hours where we work on conversation and then 2 hours of activities where someone pops in occasionally and goes over my finished assignments.

Today I had to talk about my typical day using the few verbs I know. So I could basically tell her when I got up, showered, got dressed, when and what I ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner, how long I worked, watched tv, read and finally when I went to bed. She was surprised by how early we get up and go to work but even more so by the fact we eat breakfast at the office and that it is a taco. She’s said she went to work early (9:00 am) ate lunch around 1:30 and never had dinner before 8. She is very nice so hopefully this week will be fun.

Better Sunday in Florence

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Becky

Duomo at night

After getting back from Perugia I cabbed back to mama’s to drop off my bag. It felt like I added ten pounds to it but I am pretty sure I didn’t buy that much chocolate (only 8 pounds my gelato Me and David. Allori paintings or so). It only took me a few minutes and about half a dozen tries to get the door unlocked then I was off to see the sights.

I headed out to the monthly antique flea market with just a small detour (3 blocks) to get gelato. I had not had any in a couple of days and needed to catch up. I know you are saying that I made up for it with chocolate and that would be true but I am on vacation and should be able to have dessert every day if I want.

I made it to the market with no problems but it was a little to junky even for me. I walked through most of it and was about to give up when I saw some great war postcards. I bought a couple WWI cards and headed out. Then I found somethings I had been hunting for as a gift. One was really nice and a bit expensive but they came down on the price and I bought them both. Very excited about them but since they are a gift I can’t tell what they are but they were the only two I have seen so far on this trip.

From the market I headed to the Accademia. Of course I wanted to see the David again but really was going to see the Alessandro Allori paintings that are hung right by it. I feel in love with them on the last trip and was looking forward to seeing them again. Allori studied botany and uses flowers in most of his paintings. They are also usually more about women and he paints beautiful faces. The no photo ban from the last trip has been lifted so I have some pictures of David and the Allori paintings. The pictures don’t do them justice but they give the idea of the work.

After the Museum it was starting to get dark so I headed back to the duomo to find someplace for dinner. It had been a long time since my second tomato thing in Perugia. (No it didn’t make it to the train ride. I ate it as soon as I got to the station a little less than 2 hours after I ate the first one.). However, no one was eating at any of the restaurants yet. People here eat way later than we do. Not as late as in Argentina but not on my time schedule either. At least they were opened unlike in Perugia. I could have gone to any of them but the only thing worse than eating alone is eating alone in an empty restaurant. I just wasn’t up to it so I shopped instead. The brown purse I looked at early was calling my name so I went back and bought it and picked up a few gifts as well. I decided it was getting too dark to wait on the restaurants so I just grabbed a prosciutto sandwich and headed back to mamas.

Not sure how eating on my own is going to work out his week with it getting dark so early. There are not a lot of choices by the house. However it will be nice not to race home at 5.

not sure why the photos went in the middle but too tired to deal with it now Krissee, these are the best hands I have seen on this trip.

Perugia day 2

Gallery | Posted on October 27, 2014 by Becky

My day in Perugia.

Saturday morning I started early and did most of the chocolate festival before the crowds really got going. By 11 I had amassed the collection of chocolate seen in the earlier post and it was time to see the sights of Perugia.

Perugia is a hillside Umbrian town with Etruscan roots. The “centro storica” sits at the top of the hill and looks down on the more modern city below. I never ventured outside the historic area other than the cabs to and from the train station. The historic area was full of narrow little lanes and staircases. It was very fun to wander around in but tiring for my legs.

First stop the tourist office. I basically saw that they were having a chocolate festival and decided Perugia for my weekend trip. I didn’t know what else the city had to offer. I was surprised to learn that Perugia has 10 museums. Not sure how many I would see, I went ahead and bought the city pass.

First stop the National Museum. It was an amazing collection of medieval and gothic art. If you like guilded triptychs then Perugia is the place for you. You ramble through an old palace with room after room of alter pieces. They do a good job of moving through time and mixing well known painters with local Umbrian work. There are a few by Raphael’ students (you can see his teachings in their work) and some by Felinpino Lippi.

You start off in a modern art room with just a few large Renaissance paintings and I thought I would blow through it quickly but then it got much better. There were some beautiful paintings. It also holds a lot of ornate church pieces like staffs and chalices. And of course what Italian museum would be complete without a few dozen relics. There is nothing like seeing old bones lovingly displayed in glass boxes or ornate pictures to make you love the Italians.

It took me much longer to go through the museum than I thought and I was starving by the time I was through. Having had nothing but chocolate so far I needed some real food. Thinking I didn’t have time to stop and sit down, I grabbed a tomato, basil and cheese bread thing (not quite a calzone but close) it was delicious. However when I got to the next museum it was closed till 2:30. I had 45 minutes to wait. Should have set down for lunch.

I saw a lot of people coming in and out of these huge doors and decided o check it out. It was the Cathedral San Lorenzo. It didn’t look like a church from the outside but it was amazing inside. The ceilings were all painted and the stain glass was beautiful. Of course there were a few beheading scenes in the paintings. I don’t know why it is almost always a women holding the head. The signs looked like they said no pictures but turns out it was just no flash. I got a few good shots.

From there across the street was another big door that seemed popular. It led to a meeting room with frescos all over the walls. I had viewed it from windows in the national museum but didn’t know it had a separate entry. It also had this pane of stain glass that was just red and pink circles. I loved it. My picture doesn’t do it justice.

I wandered around a bit more before heading back down to the Severo Chapel. It has the only surviving fresco by Raphael. He painted it early in his career before heading to florence. The chapel was tiny just one small room attached to a palace that is no longer all there. I sat down to view it (really to rest a bit) and was joined by the chapel kitten. She came in wrapped herself around my feet then set down on my shoes. She gave me an excuse to linger longer hated to disturb her.

From the chapel I went down in the Etruscan well. I have to say that it was creepy. I don’t know how long the stairs have been there but they were worn with wear. I was the first in my group and had to go to the end so everyone could walk out over the well. Then I had to wait till they were all finished to leave. You had to look hard to see the pool of water at the bottom. I was right up next to the wall and the cold water oozing through the walls was splashing on me and I was getting creeped out. Finally everyone was done and we headed back up. Probably took no more than 5 minutes but I was glad it was over.

I stopped at the house museum which wasn’t on my pass but was only 3 € so decided to do it anyway. It was a house that had been in the same family for years and they were all collectors. They had a crazy book collection the portion on display filled two room. They also collected dishes. These were people I would have fit in with. Maybe some day my collections will be in a museum. One of the later matriarchs was an American who loved to stitch. She opened a stitching school and Perugian cloth became a big hit from the 1930-40s.

It was a guided tour so I learned all about the family. The tour guide would say it all in Italian then switch to english for me. The others were a family and they didn’t seem to be that into it so the tour guide spent most of the time telling me about the art. The best piece in the museum was the chandelier in the dining room. It was murano glass from the 1890s. There were also some great views of the city from the back of the house. They allowed pictures so there are several included in this post.

From there I wandered around trying to find the other places on my map and trying to avoid the festival crowds. I shopped a little and brought I nice necklace hand painted with decorations from a painting in the museum, a scarf (green with white polka dots) and something little for my mom.

I finally found another museum that was attached to the church that didn’t look like a church. It was mostly artifacts from the church. It did have some nice illuminated manuscripts and more alter pieces. The best part is that a lot of it was displayed in the catacombs under the church so you got to see the stone structure that was holding up the enormous building. Though parts looked like a good blow could knock it down. I am sure there is nothing to worry about the building has been standing for centuries.

Figuring I had done enough for one day I started hunting a place for dinner it was about 7 and most places were closed. I finally found something open but there were no seats. I should have just waited there but you never know if the people plan to be there all night or not. I couldn’t find anything else so I decided to just eat at my hotel but it didn’t open till 8. I had a few beers while I waited. Dinner was much fancier than I expected and I am sure I surprised them when I ordered a metzo litre instead of a quarter litre of wine. It took me a while to drink it so I ended up just prolonging my dinner. I had zucchini lasagna with white truffle sauce. It was really good and well worth the splurge. Though how big of a splurge could it be when the first thing they set on my table were some lays potato chips. I don’t know who thinks chips belong at a nice place is beyond me. It wasn’t bad enough that they were sitting on the table you could here other guests crunching on them.

After dinner I stumbled up to bed and said buonanotte to my day in Perugia.

Sewing desk in the House museum

Me at the chocolate festival

Cioccolatte, cioccolatte, cioccolatte

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Becky

I great day in Perugia. The chocolate festival is chocolate heaven. My day started with a chocolate covered pancake and I have been tasting and buying chocolate all morning. I am going to go see some of the other sites of Perugia but since I needes to drop off my chocolate purchases I thought I would do a quick post.

Breakfast in Perugia

Perugia cioccolatte festival