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Our Italy Vacation Notes & Pictures - November 19-26, 2006

Day 0 – Sunday
Fly out of Minneapolis at 3:30 p.m. 8 hour flight to Amsterdam Schiphol, then 2 hour flight to Rome. Lose 7 hours on the way due to time change, also.

Day 1 – Monday
Landed in Rome, local time 12:30 p.m. Tour coordinators met us at the airport and directed us to the hotel. At hotel, met our tour guide Muris and assistant Sabina. Took a driving tour of Rome by night. All monuments illuminated—driving by the Colisseum the first time, come around a corner and it takes your breath away. Saw the Roman city walls, the “wedding cake” palace, and other ruins. Supper at a restaurant—first good Italian meal, 6 courses and free-flowing wine, very good food. Just the antidote for jet lag. Then walking tour of the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. Spanish Steps are vibrant and alive with nightlife of Rome, many young people meeting there. Trevi fountain was romantic with water sparkling in the nighttime lights.

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Day 2 – Tuesday
An early day that started with the Vatican museums. Considered the richest in the world in terms of art, several galleries of statues, artifacts, maps, tapestries. All galleries are decorated with a carved/painted ceiling and elaborate inlaid floor. Then the Sistine Chapel. Very holy place, no pictures, no talking. Covered all over with paintings.

Saw St. Peter’s square. Basilica was closed due to the President of Italy visiting the Pope, saw his motorcade pull up. Then time for shopping and lunch at the Vatican gift shop.

Afternoon was archeological sites of Rome. Drove by Caesar’s palace and Circus Maximus. Walking tour of the Forum and Triumphal Arch and Colisseum. Very old, can feel the history and wondered how many feet had walked where we had.

Back at the hotel by late afternoon. Took a walk around the neighborhood, snack at a bar, did grocery shopping, found an Italian dojo. Was invited to watch class there. After class, back to the hotel restaurant for supper.

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Day 3 – Wednesday
Left Rome. Stopped in Orvieto, a small mountain-top town, needed to take a cablecar to get to. Main square has a huge cathedral, striking Gothic architecture with black basalt and white limestone striations. Impressively huge from the outside. Inside is cavernous, very hushed and holy. People spoke in whispers if they spoke at all.

Wandered around Orvieto for a while. It is known for its ceramics, many little shops. Did some shopping and had grilled pannini at a bar for lunch.

Then on to Siena. Took a walking tour of town. Siena has the world’s oldest running bank—over 500 years old. The bank gives half its profits back to the town, making Siena wealthy over the centuries. Then saw Church of St. Dominic, which holds relics of St. Catherine (patron Saint of Siena). Then the Siena Cathedral (Duomo), which is completely decorated. Even the floor has elaborately inlaid mosaics. A side room has medieval illuminated manuscripts and huge frescoes on the walls. Raining lightly, lights sparkling on the pavement in Il Campo, the main square and site of a famous horse race.

Supper was fast food pizza. Then back to the hotel for postcards and relaxing.

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Day 4 – Wednesday
A day for Tuscany!

Left Siena and traveled to San Gimignano. Wandered around town and tried to find the scenic overlook, and got lost. Did eventually find the main square and the church. Also had another square with a wishing well. Made a wish. Did some shopping, bought food souvenirs.

Then a driving tour of the Chianti area. Beautiful mountain vistas, with fall colors changing. Stopped at Castello Vichiomaggio for winery tour and wine tasting.

Then, on to Florence for the night. Supper was the Tuscan feast with music and dancing. Free-flowing wine, so by the end of the meal everyone was in a party mood. The singer put on some pre-recorded music, and we danced the YMCA and (tried to dance) the Funicula Funiculi.

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Day 5 – Thursday
Florence all day. Beautiful and decorated city, seat of the Medici family for over 300 years. First toured Peruzzi leather factory. Leather produced there is buttery soft and super expensive. Factory is near San Croce church, where many famous Italians are buried (Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli). Then through the narrow streets to the Duomo—Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. Fourth largest church in the world, covered with 3 colors of marble stone. Dizzying and beautiful to look at, difficult to take in completely. The Baptistry next to it has gilded bronze doors that Michelangelo called the Gates to Paradise.

A couple blocks over is the square of Palaccio Vecchio, the old palace. A square covered in sculpture. The famous David is there, as well as the Fountain of Neptune and a sculpture garden with Hercules and the Centaur, the Rape of the Sabines, and many more. The faces on the sculptures are all so expressive, and perfect. All details are perfect, from the muscles and veins to the flowing robes. It is like being in a courtyard of gods.The lunch in a small café. Then did a lot of walking—over the Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge in Florence that survived WWII. P.V. is lined with jewelry shops, since it was the direct route between the old palace, with the offices, and the new palace. When Cosimo Medici (ruler of the city) went back and forth each day, he wanted to see beauty rather than the butcher shops that had been there.

The New Palace is an amazing residence, huge. Behind it is Bobili Garden. Touring the Gardens was refreshing after many days spent in cities and on the roads. Green spreads, tree-lined walkways, and ponds and fountains. At the top of the hill, the ceramic museum. Wandered the Gardens for a couple hours, thought we saw most of it, then looked at a map and realized we were only in a small corner.

Walked slowly back to the bus meeting point and did some shopping on the way. Supper was at the hotel. Happy Thanksgiving! Had chicken for supper.

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Day 6 – Friday
From Florence to Pisa, to see the Square of Miracles. A very religious square, with the church, the baptistery, the holy burial ground, and the church bell tower, which leans. The church leans too. The whole experience throws perspective out of whack, since none of the buildings are in straight lines.

Lunch at an Autogrill, a highway stop. Neither of us knew exactly what we were eating (Joe – spaghetti with fish, TJ – egg dish something), but it was filling.

Then on to Venice. Supper at a Venetian hotel, the best meal so far. Then a walking tour of Venice by night. The lights on the water were sparkling and magical, the churches and bridges illuminated for the night. Ponte Rialto, the oldest bridge in Venice, arched over the Grand Canal. Definitely a romantic city.

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Day 7 – Saturday
All day in Venice. It is a different city by day, but still beautiful. Walking tour of Piazza San Marco and the Basilica. Venetians traveled extensively, so the decorations inside and out of the Basilica were not in any one style. Many different types of mosaic, carving, and painting. The floor was all inlaid. The statues above the altar were carved wood with the appearance of bronze. The outside square was large but too many pigeons! Venetians do not like the pigeons but tourists keep feeding them.

Toured the glass factory and watched a glass master at work, making a vase. He worked quickly and surely, and in 5 minutes had a small masterpiece.

A quick lunch at a hole-in-the-wall bar, then a gondola ride. The ride was relaxing, down at the level of water, gliding along between tall buildings and under low bridges. Very scenic.

Then wandered around Venice. Got lost on purpose but found St. Mark’s again. Then walked through the Doge’s palace. Doge, ruler of Venice, was very restricted in his movements—was essentially a prisoner in his palace, but what a prison! Fire destroyed internal parts of the palace many times so it was redecorated—so the interior is not from one single time period. Very rich in art and history. The across the Bridge of Sighs to the prisons, which were eerie to wander through. Very much a medieval dungeon, but in use up to the 1920’s.

Then caught a boat back to the mainland, bus to the hotel. Supper was buffet at the hotel.

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Day 8 – Sunday
Long journey back to Rome. On the way, stopped at Assisi and saw the church of St. Francis. Two churches actually, lower and upper. Lower church contains the tomb of St. Francis. This seemed the most spiritual of all the churches we toured, used regularly and actually had mass going on in part of the church. Visited the tomb, with a small chapel with many people deep in a prayer. Then back upstairs where a priest chanting the mass in Latin and the sweet smell of incense only heightened the mood. Very appropriate for a Sunday, and a very religious experience.

The upper church has huge frescoes covering the walls, depicting the life of St. Francis. They are considered the first works of Renaissance art.

Then a long bus ride back to Rome. Evening walking tour of the Pantheon, which has stood for 1900 years, and is very well preserved. Is very impressive to feel that ancient history. Also saw Piazza Navona with the three fountains by Bernini facing away from the church by Borromini. Atmostphere was festive for the Farewell Feast, with everyone together one last time. Dinner was accompanied by free-flowing wine and a flute player who was very good.

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Day 9 – Monday
Our cab for the airport left at 3:45 a.m. Sad. Then long flights back home.

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