Category: Photos

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The Meta Church

Rome is old
Rome is new
It’s tale’s fold
As times flew

By this time of the family vacation in Rome, there is a clear morning routine of showering, breakfast, commenting on how lucky we are about the perfectly cool weather, and so on.  For breakfast, Julie, I, sometimes George, and sometimes Mom would go to a nearby cafe for dopios and pastries.  The dopios we drink immediately and then we return to the apartment with the pastries soon after.

Roman Forum

After we figure out a way for all of us to get out of the apartment close to on time, we again meet up with Alessio to tour around ancient Rome.  The idea that these monuments are more than two millennia old takes a little time to register.  In California, if there is a building that is more than two centuries old, it is considered ancient; however that designation requires another order of magnitude of years in Rome.  The coliseum, the pantheon, and the forum are in such good condition despite their age, many still stand tall.  Because the factor of safety in those buildings’ columns is high, the main thing missing from them are materials that have now been “recycled” around Rome in palaces, homes, and the Vatican just to name a couple.

Ancient Rome

After a morning filled with Rome’s antiquities, we explore the Basilica of Saint Clement, which I have renamed Rome’s meta church because it is a church made of churches.  The structure is three-tiered with each tier serving as a religious building in its time.  The bottom tier was home to Roman nobleman with rooms set aside for worship.  The middle tier was a 4th century basilica.  And the top tier, built around the year 1100 is St. Clement’s Basilica.  This is the clearest demonstration that we see during our time of Rome that Rome is a city of layers that have been built on top of each other over the ages.

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Palazzo Colonna and the Villa Medici

I have spent a fair amount of time in Rome over the last month, but it is not until today that I realize what I may have been passing on the street.  Behind closed windows and plain facades, some of these buildings house ornate rooms with invaluable art collections.

walking through Rome

Today, we tour the Palazzo Colonna and Villa Medici with Filippo, a fabulous guide introduced to me by Gabe.  The Palazzo Colonna is in central Rome and has belonged to the Colonna family for about 900 years.  In that long history, the Colonna family had a Pope (Martin V) as well as many distinguished family members.  Every generation, the family picks four individuals to reside in the house and monitor its upkeep, and to their credit, the current condition of the palace is immaculate.

We walk through the Colonna Art Gallery, which is a series of rooms that grow in grandness as the tour progresses.  The last room can only be described as overwhelming.  The art, the furniture, the marble statues, the frescoed ceilings, and the chandeliers all create this masterpiece that is the final room of the art gallery.  This gallery is considered one of the largest private art collections in Rome.

After a short walk through the streets of Rome, we arrive at Villa Medici.  The Villa Medici is now property of the French State and houses the French Academy in Rome, which is used as a home for winners of a prestigious art prize.  The villa’s gardens and especially the view they provide of Rome will be my lasting memory from this visit.  Standing literally on the edge of the city, all of Rome is presented before us and we start to piece together all the different sites we had thus far seen.  Not only is today’s tour beautiful in its own right, Filippo and the sites we walk through help provide a context for the rest of our adventures in this historied city.

I also cannot forget to at least quickly mention that Charlotte decided to join us for today’s adventures.  At the young age of only 10 months, she also seemed to enjoy herself when she wasn’t hungry or tired.  Italians love their bambinos (babies), and this was made obvious on several occasions by how the rest of us were treated when accompanied by our newest family member.  Navigating through the supermarket was easier, finding places to sit was easier, getting attention in almost every endeavor was easier.  Charlotte, after all, is pretty cute with all her waving, clapping, humming along cobblestones, and giggling.

Villa Medici

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The Vatican

The Vatican

Although in my previous visits to Rome I had been staying just outside the walls of the Vatican, I did not previously venture inside knowing that I would be doing so with my family.  As per usual, I navigate the family to the meeting point with our guide, Alessio.  One big advantage of having a guide is that we get to hop into a much smaller and a much faster queue to enter the Vatican Museum.  Because it is the last week of July and therefore the peak of the tourist season, the regular museum queue stretches around the block, past the corner, and then through a piazza.

The Vatican Museum can easily be overwhelming as there are so many “important works” to see.  Even if one just wanted to see the highlights, there are so many pieces that can be considered highlights to make that an almost insurmountable task.  Initially, our guide indicates that we should skip the painting gallery and go straight to the sculptures.  However, my dad convinces Alessio to quickly run us through it and they compromise that Alessio will point out one, maybe two very beautiful, very influential paintings.  We enter the gallery, and only describing two paintings is impossible because part of the beauty of the paintings is understanding it in context and seeing what came before and what has come after.  Because it seems that many visitors skip the paintings, the family has quality one-on-one time with Raphael’s “Transfiguration”, possibly his last painting.  We will later see this same image in St. Peter’s Basilica except that there it is done as an intricately designed mosaic.  In fact, the mosaic is so intricate that it is only obvious it is not a painting from a foot away.

One unexpected highlight of the day for many of us is the Gallery of Maps.  The gallery includes topographical maps of all of Italy, and they were painted directly on the walls back in the 16th century.  The hall is still one of the world’s largest pictorial map collections.  We all are map people, a trait that is either genetically or environmentally acquired from our dad; therefore, this hall, which receives less recognition than the other exhibits, is a wonderful surprise.  In addition, I have to at least mention that the Sistine Chapel was breathtaking, the frescoes brilliant, and the marble and art exquisite throughout.

As with any guided tour, a big component to the success of the activity depends on the quality and character of the guide.  Alessio does a very good job, and we enjoy that he is also a real life caricature of a “suave” Italian.  He knows all the guards at the Vatican, which we later learn is because he was once a guard there himself.  He wears a nice yet very casual button down shirt with its sleeves rolled up and the two top buttons left undone.  He carries a brown leather messenger bag, rolls his own cigarettes on the go, and has a witty response to most questions.  In addition, he is knowledgeable about the art, the artists, and the sites and all of their significance.  His friendliness with the guards also pays dividends as he is able to give us a little extra time in areas to grab a group photo and he is able to convince a guard to keep a Sistine Chapel side door open long enough so that we can appreciate the private rooms located behind them.  By the end of the long morning, we all feel very satisfied about our Vatican Museum experience.

St. Peter's

The Map Room

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The New Modern Italian Style of Cooking

Appetizers:
Filangee of Carrots in white balsamic vinegar with black sesame seeds
Pancetta stuffed with prunes in Negroamaro wine sauce

First course:
Tagliolini with Guanciale and filangee of Roman zucchini on yellow pumpkin sauce

Second course:
Veal and pork “Straccetti” in the Pizzaiola style
Eggplant a la “Parmigiana”

Desserts:
Ricotta cheese mousse with Amaretta in “Nectarina” Peach sauce

Wines:
Prosecco di Valdobbiadene DOCG (Veneto)
Primitivo del Salento, Manduria IGT (Puglia)
Muscat de Samos AOC (Greece)

Working the prunes

After a relaxing first day in Rome allowing us all to adjust to the time difference and catch up on sleep where our main activities are eating and visiting the Trevi Fountain not far from the apartment, we were ready for a little more adventure on day two.

Eggplant a la Parmigiana

The most repeated phrase of the day is that we are practicing “the new modern Italian style of cooking.” The theme of this style is to make a healthier version of traditional Italian dishes without sacrificing taste. My brother-in-law, George is most skeptical that such a feat is possible. He cringes as he watches our teacher, Chef Stefano, pour the extra grease from the guanciale down the drain.

Dad chopping away

Although we only sign up for a half day of cooking, our lesson lasts until after 3:00pm. We alternate all day between cooking, eating, cooking, and eating. And when we eat, each course is substantial enough to be its own meal. The filangee of carrots (a.k.a. bed of carrots) in the appetizer would be enough to fill anyone of us up. But this does not stop Shana’s sweet tooth from downing three portions of dessert. The combination of eating and jet lag make some of us quite tired. We all start off really strong as active participants and asking a lot of questions, but by the end, all we can do is eat and laugh. I feel the more tired we got, the more we laughed. The meal was delicious and as a family activity, cooking was a great choice.

Taking good notes

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The Reunion

Many moons have passed
With much happening anew
Since we had all amassed
But now to Rome we flew.

Early in the morn we start
We’re on the road by six
So that for Rome we can depart
Where we’ll meet the other kids

Tourists and cobble stones
In a city hard to navigate
Leave us with a few unknowns
But to our place we go straight.

Roman Roads

The rest have all arrived
With smiles and spirits high,
The journey they survived
Though not yet looking spry.

A nap is needed first
Followed by some food
And in Rome we’re immersed
All in a good mood.

Then gelato is activity one
So we venture from our home
Because the cold treat is so fun
And we’re finally all in Rome.

Gelato time in Rome

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Summer Festival – Lucca 2011

Like Perugia and like Spoleto and like probably many other small towns throughout Italy, Lucca hosts a summer music festival complete with big name artists.  This summer, some of the names that Lucca is or has already hosted includes Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Arcade Fire, Ben Harper, and James Blunt.  Timing worked out that we are able to watch J. Blunt.  The concert was fun, the music singable, and the crowd energized, but equally impressive to all of that is the setting.  Located in the heart of the old town in Piazza Napoleone, this festival transforms a piazza in a town that used to be a Roman colony in 180 BC into a modern theater.  Blunt’s song “You’re Beautiful” should be directed at the town, at the piazza, and at the entire surreal setting.

James Blunt in Lucca

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Tuscany Driving, Part II

Our first destination today is Pisa, where I have the chance to revisit its famous leaning tower.  Soon after arriving, the sky opens up and it starts to pour.  We avoid some of the rain in shops and some more with a cafe dopio.  It does eventually begin to clear and the sun even shows itself.  The area around the tower, duomo and chuch is a zoo– the zoo’s animals beings tourists and the cages being ropes.  Although not long after my last visit just a couple weeks ago, being back in Pisa feels a little like walking around my college campus well after graduation.  I am there in a new context, with new people, with new goals, and places with attached memories seem changed.  I enjoy being back, but everything seems strangely familiar.  After all, I was only there for 24 hours the time before.  Pisa is our main stop of the day, but we still have more of Tuscany to see before returning to Lucca.

The Arno in Pisa

Our next stop is the Marina di Pisa, a small town on the water that is logically close to Pisa.  The town feels like it used to be a hotter vacation spot than it is today, and in fact, the town was mostly built in the late 1800’s and then more in the 1930’s.  That said, our quick visit is not the best judge of Marina di Pisa’s popularity because the wind is strong, the sky is still cloudy, and the temperature isn’t warm.  People may be hiding from the elements.  After Pisa, we do a drive through of Tirrenia and a gelato stop in San Giuliano Terme.  San Giuliano Terme, according to Frommer’s, is a reminder of the 18th and 19th century golden age, when its hot springs were renowned throughout Europe and drew some famous visitors.  Today’s drive features more windy mountain roads, more tunnels, and more bridges, picturesque enough to encourage me to try to snap a couple photos from behind the wheel.

San Giuliano Terme

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Tuscany Driving, Part I

Lucca is our home base for exploring Tuscany.  As a gift to my parents while traveling, I ordered Frommer’s “25 Great Drives in Tuscany and Umbria” from Amazon to be sent home, and in doing so, I unknowingly signed myself up for much driving.  The book is nice in that outlines possible routes to take by car and what to look for at the various locations; however, places always have a tendency of looking closer together on a map.  In preparation for these drives, my parents also brought a Garmin navigation system.  The sentiment was good, but without the built in navigation system in the car, the Garmin may have caused us some trouble.  We used the Garmin for only the first couple days after which we start realizing that the routes it is providing us with are not very direct.  We feel that we are spending too much time in fields of grains or sunflowers making small, confusing turns on narrow roads.  And each time we would miss a turn, we would get the grumpy reminder that the Garmin had to recalculate.  However, once we started using the built in navigation, we put grumpy Garmin to rest.

Bridge near Lucca

For our first drive, we roughly follow Frommer’s Tour 3: Garfagnana and the Apuan Alps.  Although our main stops throughout the day include Bagni di Lucca and its famous nearby bridge, Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, and Pietrasanta, the roads between the stops are the biggest highlight.  Never being a stretch of flat terrain, we are constantly alternating between bridge, tunnel, bridge, tunnel.  It reminds me of the drives in Sicily.  The bridges and tunnels aren’t small either.  The only places where the tunnels turned to switchbacks is near the marble deposits, and here the famous white Carrera Marble surrounds us.  From the mountains to the sea, today, we had a chance to experience small town Italy and explore the countryside between our meals and gelato breaks.

Marina di Pietrasanta

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Firenze

Firenze

With Lucio Dalla (listen here) playing through the car speakers, Mom, Dad, and I set off for Florence.  After the adrenaline rush of driving through the city and finding parking, we go straight to the Galleria degli Uffizi.   In one building, we are able to enjoy the works of Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Botticelli, Giotto, and all of the teenage mutant turtles (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael).  There is so much to see that so many other great paintings and sculptures get lost in the mix.  There is a bit of excitement getting into the museum because we have come to Florence at the peak of tourist season, but it ends up being well worthwhile.

Although only a short visit to a city that offers so much, we fill it with highlights.  We climb Giotto’s Campanile on the Piazza del Duomo and get an expansive view of the city from above.  We admire the Ponte Vecchio, Florence’s most famous bridge crossing the Arno at its narrowest point.  We have a big dinner at Gusta Pizza.  Dad finds an excellent souvenir, a copy of Leonardo’s perpetual clock.  And all of this despite a threatening drizzle all day.

Florence, the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, was one of the political, economic, and cultural centers of Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries.  The language of Florence is now accepted as what we know as Italian thanks to famous authors such as Dante.  Florentine money was responsible for the development of industry all over Europe, and Florentine locals financed governments and projects including the papacy not too far away.  It was home to the Medici’s, who had international influence and were one of the world’s most important families.  And this is just a start of what makes Florence so unique.

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Cinque Terre

Vernazza at sunset

Any day that ends with a sunset highlighting a colorful cliff-side town overlooking the sea is hard to beat. However, one way to improve said scenario is if that same day’s ending results from the sun sneaking beneath a layer of dark gray clouds to make the occasion seem supernatural. This sunset photo of Vernazza is only as seen by the lens of the camera despite its many high-dynamic range characteristics. That’s how the day ends, and that will probably remain one of the greatest memories of my Cinque Terre experience; however, the day is full of other highlights from beginning to end.

Cinque Terre

There is wind from the minute we arrive in Levanto, the town just north of the famous Cinque Terre. We (I) drive to Levanto and we immediately train down to the southern most town, Riomaggiore. We each grab a snack and a cafe dopio in Riomaggiore before taking the famous Via dell’Amore into the next town, Manarola. The Via dell’Amore is a beautiful path from one town to the next that maps along the sea. Although crowded with people, the path is almost perfect as the wind keeps the temperature very comfortable.

A hike's view

Manarola, like most of the five towns, is small and takes only a short time to explore its roads and passages. I run around the vineyards that occupy the top-most part of the hill before we all continue on to town number three, Corniglia. A lunch later, we take our longest hike of the day from Corniglia to Vernazza. The views along the trail make the climbs more than worthwhile. We end the day in Vernazza with our daily gelato, a delicious seafood dinner, and as I already mentioned, an unreal sunset. The blues of the sea, the pastels of the buildings, and the stark cliffs shooting up from the water all make this site unique.