Spring Break Adventures

This past week was spring break and my parents and John were able to come and visit me. So, I got to play tour guide for a week!

Day #1 – Orvieto – “Jet Lag”
They arrived around noon and I met them at the top of the Funicular and show them to our hotel and get checked in. We went to a really good pizzeria for lunch and then I took them on a quick walk around the edge of town so they could see the view and get a better picture of how high up they really were from the town below. We also went to the Duomo and walked to the top of the Torre del Moro (the town’s clock tower), which was fun because I hadn’t gotten a chance to do that yet. Then I took them to my favorite wine bar, Vin Caffe until they all began to fall asleep at the table.

Day #2 – Pisa – “Is this our train?”
We took the early train to Florence and then hopped on another train to Pisa. We got into Pisa around noon and headed through the town on our way to the Field of Miracles (Duomo, Leaning tower, etc). We stopped for lunch at a pizzeria, which offered more types of pizza than I had ever seen before. We continued after lunch to our destination. We hung out for awhile and took some tacky tourist pictures along with everyone else, then we decided to sign up to climb the Leaning tower. Climbing the tower was an interesting experience considering it was leaning. So on one side it was extremely easy to climb and the other side was a little more difficult. We were even allowed to go and stand on the very top. Which, yes, is slanted so that was a little scary. We didn’t spend too much time up on top. Then we went inside the Duomo, which was the best collection of art/sculpture I had ever seen inside a church. Usually the art is all taken out and place else where in a museum. But in this case, they had left all the art and paintings along and it really made the interior look amazing. It also had an incredible golden ceiling and golden mosaic in the apse. By this time, we needed to catch a train back to Florence to make our way back to Orvieto. I was following a sheet of paper that I was given by a travel agency in Orvieto that listed all the times of the trains that ran from Florence and back and Rome and back. We successfully caught the correct train from Pisa to Florence. HOWEVER, we were apparently supposed to get off at the station before the Florence. (This was still a Florence station, just a smaller one). This was listed incorrectly on my train sheet and the ticket we were given did not successfully list the station we were supposed to exit at. So, we asked a conductor and he said we had one minute to run and catch the last train that heads back to the station we missed. Well, yea, we missed that train. So the conductor sent us on a different train to Orvieto (a very slow one). We boarded early, assuming that the permanent board that lists trains and platforms was correct. There was a train at the platform, but the platform board did not have a train listed on it. The train was supposed to leave at 7:20 and it began to move at 7:00. Very suspicious of this we finally asked the lady next to us if the train was headed to Rome and she said yes. HOWEVER, then the lady next to her said “no no no, this train goes to Arezzo”. So she told us to hurry and get off at the next stop and then catch the next passing train, because that one would go to Rome. So we got off again (with the other lady, who was also on the wrong train). The next train pulled up and we began to get on (well, mom did). The other lady was chasing down a little old lady asking if the train headed to Rome. So I became suspicious of this train as well and began yelling Roma?? Roma?? Into the train and finally someone answered and said no. So we got off again and a girl sitting on a bench explained to us that it was the “slower” train to Rome and that we would get on the next train. So we did. And yes, we did get home, around 10:00. I’ve used a train almost every weekend since I arrived in Italy and I’ve never had that many problems in one night. But the good news was that we did get home, eventually. And now we just have something to laugh about, even though at the time, it didn’t become funny until about the time we had to get off at some po-dunk stop and catch a different train.

Day #3 – Florence – “St. Matthew’s Finger??”
Again, we catch the early train to Florence and arrived around 9:30. We immediately headed to the Accademia Museum, because we knew there was a good chance we would be standing in a long line. This is the museum that houses the statue “David” by Michelangelo. We really didn’t wait too long in line and we were kept fairly entertained by a pair of boxers on sale and the vendor next to us that had a picture of David’s “family jewels” on them. So then we spent some time in the museum and saw the David. Then we went to a recommended sandwich shop and had some good toasted sandwiches. (When I say recommended I am usually referring to my Rick Steve’s Italy 2009 guidebook – he is the new Frommer’s). We walked to the Duomo after lunch and went inside and them walked to the top of the Dome. I had already climbed the dome, but it was still cool, and on the way down we stopped under the painted “Last Judgment” on the interior and laughed about all the creatures of the underworld that were depicted. Then I took them on a nice little hike to see more of the city. We walked by the Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi Galleries, Ponte Vecchio, Pitti Palace and back again. Then, of course, we stopped for Gelato. We made our way to the San Lorenzo church so that we could see the Medici chapel and Lorentian Library (staircase designed by Michelangelo). However, they were both closed, so we bought tickets to the church and “treasure” instead. The treasures were cool, they were mostly relics of the saints. And my dad was really excited that he got to see “St. Matthew’s finger”. The treasures also housed the tomb of Donatello, which I thought was pretty cool. We caught an earlier train home and we were able to come back and get dinner in Orvieto.

Day #4 – Orvieto/Rome – “If I see one more rose guy…”
We got to sleep in for a chance to get some breakfast at the hotel. Then dad went back to see the Duomo once again and mom and I went shopping. Then we all got together and had lunch at a pizzeria on the main street. I had never been there before, but it was the best cheese pizza that I’ve had so far since I’ve been here. We headed to Rome after lunch and checked into our Hotel. After checking in, we were off again. We did a nice walk to some of the picturesque places of Rome. First we hit the Pantheon, which unfortunately was closed but was supposed to open back up around 6:00 pm. So we went to the Spanish Steps and fortunately managed to escape most of the men wanted to sell you roses, and then we headed to the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi was cool, because the sun was setting and the lights in the fountain were all lit up, giving it a nice evening ambiance (minus the other 300 tourists gathered around it). Then we headed back to the Pantheon, and this time it was open. We ate dinner at a really good pasta place that Rick (Steve’s) recommended. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and hung out for the rest of the evening.

Day #5 – Rome – “The men dressed as Gladiators are quite crafty”
We got up and ate breakfast out of the rooftop of our hotel and then spent the day doing “Ancient Rome”. We started out at the Santa Maria Maggiore church, because it was on our way. This is the church that has incredible gold frescoed ceilings, walls and alter. It is also claims to house pieces of wood from “the crib” (Jesus’ manger). Then we walked through the Roman Forum and the Colloseum. After the Colloseum, we ate lunch and continued our trek at Palatine Hill (the emperor’s hill that was an enormous palace). We then exited the Hill, and rounded to Circus Maximus. We ended our day at Capital Hill which Michelangelo’s staircase and this piazza (square). This man liked stairs apparently. By this point, everyone was getting worn down, so we split ways. Some of us went shopping (obviously, me and mom), some took a nap and some wandered to some neighboring sights. We found a nice restaurant just down the street from our hotel that had extremely good pasta. But in Italy, you will never find a bad pizza, or a bad pasta. Or at least, I’ve not discovered one yet.

Day #6 – Rome/Orvieto – “I feel like I’m being herded like a sheep…”
We did Vatican City on this day. We started with the Museum, because, once again, we knew we’d be standing in a line for a while. However, we actually were probably only in line for 30 minutes or so. The museum is 4 miles long, so we saw a lot. A lot of statues, a lot of paintings, a lot of maps, a lot of gold ceilings, a lot of tapestries, and A LOT of people. We were pretty much herded through the rooms as be began to get closer and closer to the Sistine Chapel. Finally, we reached the Chapel and it was amazing and extremely over whelming. The room as jammed tight with people and camera nazis, so it was had to enjoy ceiling and the space. But it was cool nonetheless. We grabbed some pizza at the cafeteria in the museum and then headed to St. Peter’s. We spent some time in St. Peter’s, which like the Duomo in Pisa, still has all its art and décor. (mainly because its still used and it’s the Pope’s personal cathedral. There were several tombs of former popes and it also houses the statue “Pieta” by Michelangelo (Madonna and child). It also housed several other works, and one by Raphael. In the afternoon, we caught a train back to Orvieto and spent the afternoon shopping to pass time before dinner. We ate dinner at restaurant close to my apartment, which I had eaten at before. It has very good pasta, and an incredible friendly waiter. After dinner, mom and dad crashed, but John and I spent the evening in true “Orvieto style”. We stayed at my favorite wine bar for a while and then headed to the club, where we ran into some friends of mine from the Arizona study program.

Day #7 – Orvieto – “I just bought like 7 oranges…”
I took my parents to the market in the morning, but it was a really cold day, so we shopped quickly. We picked up some things to make lunch with, but also some things that I would need for the week. We made sandwiches for breakfast, but mainly spent the afternoon bumming around. We went to the internet café for a little while, but I think we were all just exhausted for the crazy 6 days prior. I saw them all off at the top of the Funicular around 5:00 and they were once again on their own until their plane left from Rome.