Last Night in Italy

We took the train from Venice to Rome, to spend the last night of our honeymoon. We were flying out of the Rome airport early the next morning. There were still some places we wanted to see and we wanted to savor our last night together in Italy. Being good planners, we immediately bought train tickets to go to the airport tomorrow. After the purchase, I ask what time the train left in the am (it was supposed to leave every 1/2 hour) and the woman says, "6am." Hmm . . . our flight leaves at 7:20 and it takes 30 minutes to get to the airport. Oh well, we will figure it out.

So, we check into our hotel . . . it's raining pretty hard, luckily we don't have to walk far and Brook is doing great at navigating the winding streets. One place I really wanted to visit was the church of St. Cecilia's. She is the saint I chose at Confirmation to be my patron. So, we hop on the bus and go south, across the river, to Trastevere, which is a neighborhood in Rome. Just as we get to the church, the rain stops and the sun comes out. (Thanks, St. Cecilia!) She was martyred in the 3rd century for being a Christian. After they attempted to behead her, she lived for 3 days and legend has it that she died holding up 3 fingers, signifying the Trinity. The church was built on the spot where she was buried. The church is one of the simplest churches we have seen on our trip, but still very beautiful. Outside, the roses were in full bloom and it was quiet - also very different from the other churches!

After St. Cecilia's, we walked up to the Pantheon, one of the oldest buildings still standing in Rome. Wow, those ancient Roman engineers were something else! It is incredible that they could construct something so massive with such mathematical preciseness. We then went to St. Peter's Square, for one last view. . . I didn't want to leave . . . with so many other things to see in the world, who knows if we will ever be back?

Brook in front of the Pantheon

"Good-bye St. Peters!"

It was getting late, though, and we wanted one last good meal. So, we went to a restaurant we had enjoyed earlier in the trip. They have the most amazing bruschetta! Now, this in something I have not mentioned yet on the blog; I don't like tomatoes but LOVE bruschetta. Strange, I know. We have indulged in 2 things while we have been here - gelato and bruschetta. If a restaurant doesn't have bruschetta, we don't go there! (What am I going to do when I get home? Luckily, there is a shop that sells gelato in Grand Haven and we rec'd the topsy turvy tomato grower for our wedding! Crisis solved. Phew! :))))

Anyway, we have a nice dinner, but I am still thinking of what the lady told me about the train time - 6am? With a 7:20 departure time, that doesn't give us enough time to check in, go through security and get on the plane. I thought the train ran every 1/2 hour? So, after dinner, we go back to the train station to double check. Sure enough, the train runs every 1/2 hour until 11pm and starts again at 6am. This is not going to work for us. Our other options are to take a taxi ($105) or a shuttle ($60). Brook then says, "We could spend the night at the airport." Yes, you know what we did. We spent the last night of our honeymoon at the airport. I wanted to cry. But my husband, always the optimist, says, "It will be a good story." I guess that is one way to look at it!

We checked out of our hotel (quite an expensive baggage deposit!!) and hopped on one of the last trains to the airport. I had seen a Hilton attached one of the terminals, so we stopped there to see if they had any rooms available. They didn't. We found a seat and tried to sleep. Tried being the key word. It was a long night and we were glad to board the plane in the morning. I guess spending the night there made it easier to leave - I was definitely ready to come home and get a good night's sleep!

"Bride of the Sea" . . . Venice

Venice, the last city on our tour of Italy, was a wonderful place to end! This is my second time in Venice and, while some people complain about the city, I find it absolutely magical. Venice is everything I dreamt it to be and I love being here - it is even more special now that I am here with Brook.

We arrived by train in Mestre, a city on the mainland where our hotel was located, in the early afternoon, giving us the rest of the day to explore. I was excited when I saw our hotel - it was very American looking and modern. (More to come on this later!) We had to take the bus to Venice, since it is an island and connected to the mainland by a looonnngggg bridge. We then took a valapretto (Venice's bus system, but a boat!) to St. Mark's Square. We went into St. Mark's Basilica (picture below), which is decorated with the loot soldiers would bring home from their foreign conquests. Kind-of ironic that a church is decorated with stolen goods, huh? Gotta love those Middle Ages.

We then decided to explore the numerous islands that make up Venice on foot. We didn't make it far before it started raining and we stopped to stay dry at a cafe. We enjoyed a few cocktails and got to know our waiter, who is the only natural blond Italian we've seen. He also spends 1/2 of the year in the United States. Nice guy. After the rain cleared up, we just strolled through the streets, with no set agenda and took lots of pictures. We had dinner overlooking the Grand Canal and it was getting late, so we decided to head back to the bus station. I thought we would never get there! Even with a map, the streets are pretty tricky to navigate. Thank goodness for the signs that pointed in the direction of the station!

Now, one last mention of our hotel . . . apparently, the place has some drainage issues! A number of employees were outside our door at 1am, having a wonderful time as they were cleaning up water from leaky pipes. Brook, being the heavy sleeper he is, didn't hear anything. (Lucky guy.) I was lying in bed, getting so angry! LOL. You know that feeling when you want to sleep SO badly, but someone is snoring next to you? Yeah, that was me. Finally, I had to go out and ask them to quiet down. They immediately left . . . not sure what happened to cleaning up the water, but it was quiet and I slept. The next morning, we were getting ready for breakfast and all of a sudden, there was a loud commotion outside our door . . . vacuums, people shouting, etc. There were some water issues again and it was like Niagara Falls out there! Adventures, adventures.

The Leaning Tower

Pisa was not on our original itinerary, b/c there isn't much there, besides the famous leaning bell tower. But it's only an hour from Florence and Brook really wanted to see it, so we took a short day trip to Pisa Sunday afternoon. I am so glad we did! Seeing the Tower in person was surreal and I didn't expect to be overtaken by it. There are 3 places on this trip that have made me feel this way - St. Peters, the David and the Leaning Tower. I didn't want to leave any of them.

The Tower is about a 30 minute stroll from the train station through street vendors selling everything from clothing to tacky souvenirs. As you come upon the Tower, it doesn't look like it is leaning much, but that is b/c we first saw it on the side it was leaning toward. The pictures below show just how much it is indeed leaning! Thanks to Rick Steves, we got a great history lesson on the Tower and the area around it. Beside it are the Baptistery and Duomo (cathedral) and all 3 sit on a beautiful grassy field, called the "Field of Miracles." (You can kind of see the Duomo in the picture above.) There was something magical about the area and I wish we would've had more time to just sit in the grass and take in the sights.

Our short trip to Pisa ended with dinner just outside the Field of Miracles. We then hopped on the train and headed back to Florence.

Sending love from Pisa

You know we had to take this shot! Brook is so strong. :)

Florence

Florence is absolutely amazing. There is no other way to describe it. It is full of open-air markets, great art, beautiful scenery and the best wine, as we are in the heart of wine country. We arrived after a rather uneventful bus ride (yes, we rode the bus again!) and actually got off at the right stop this time - we made sure of it! Haha! Our hotel - Hotel Angelica - was just a few blocks from the station and very easy to find. We checked in and went off to explore the city. We are staying 2 nights here and don't "have" to do anything until Sunday, when we see the David. Even though it is a rather large city, it is very easy to find our way around - everything leads to the piazza!

Just outside our hotel, just a few streets down, is the open air market, with hundreds of vendors selling cashmere scarfs, silk ties and knock-off purses. I am instantly in Heaven! :) We bought some things for ourselves and family, too. After shopping, we headed south to the river and the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, which is filled with jewelry shops - much too expensive for us! But a beautiful view and fun experience, none-the-less. We tried to get into the city's Duomo (Cathedral), but Florence charges - WTH? And there was a long line. Plus, those who want to go inside to worship or pray, instead of just sightsee, get in free at the side door. (Advantage of being Catholic, though technically you wouldn't need to be Catholic to go inside to pray) Since we were going to attend Mass there tomorrow, we thought we would wait. The day wrapped up with a lovely dinner on the Square. We are really getting the hang of the "Water is for washing" saying. Normally, I'm not a red wine fan, but their red wine is amazing here!

Sunday, we went to Mass at the Duomo - so beautiful! Even though Mass was in Italian, we still knew what was going on through most of it, since the Mass is the same no matter where you are. They even had a program with the scripture readings in 4 different languages, which I appreciated. I don't know why, but the readings of that Sunday really touched me. . . they spoke of God's amazing love for us. I guess I am really "feeling" just how much God loves me right now.

Mass ended at 11:30 and our appointment at the Accademia was at noon, which gave us just enough time to get there to see our buddy David. Luckily, I had bought tickets ahead of time, b/c the line was pretty long! We walk in and "Ta-Da," there he is - The David. I am in the middle of a biographical novel on Michelangelo and it has really made his art come alive to me. Did you know that 2 other sculptures tried to carve something out of the marble used for the David and said it was no good? Michelangelo was only in his early 20's when he was commissioned to carve "something" out of this marble. He wanted to portray David (as in David and Goliath) in a way that had never been done before. I think he did a pretty good job!

After the gallery, we took a stroll across the river to Piazza Michelangelo, which overlooks the city and provides a glorious view. We took the picture above from the piazza.

Michelangelo's David at the Accademia - MAGNIFICENT!

Standing on the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge - overlooking the Arno River

One of the shops at the 2 story food market - yum!

Adventures in Siena

The quote of this day is "I hate buses." Yes, we have decided that we will not be traveling on buses any longer while we are in Italy. Friday started pretty uneventfully . . . got up, headed for the bus stop to catch the bus to Siena . . . no big deal. Well, the bus was 30 minutes late (at least). Then, we got to Siena . . . or so we thought! Imagine you are traveling from Kalamazoo to Jackson and need to get off the bus at the East Michigan Meijer, BUT get off at Westwood Mall!! Also, imagine it is a holiday, so the local bus service is not running. Yes, that is what happened to us, we got off the bus WAYYY too early! I am glad I can laugh about it now, but I was close to tears at the time.

After we figured out what happened, I showed a local where our hotel was and showed her the map we had. She pointed off the map for where we currently were and off the map (in the opposite direction) for where our hotel was. Then said, "Buses not running, b/c of Festival. You need to call taxi. I don't have number. Sorry." And off she went. So, we started walking. Now, imagine a busy country road, like M-60, but VERY winding and no shoulder. We see a taxi go by and try to wave it down, but the driver just waves back at us. At this point, I am praying like crazy for some divine intervention as we are now looking like the Griswolds, rolling our big red suitcases down the road. Luckily, we come to a train station or something and the kind woman tells us where we need to go and, more importantly, calls a taxi for us. The 10 minute taxi ride to the hotel cost almost as much as the 90 minute bus ride from Assisi. But I didn't care! We had made it without being hit by a speeding Italian and in less than an hour. Phew.

The rest of our time in Siena was pretty uneventful. We wandered the city, ate and relaxed. We needed it after the events of the morning! We are definitely getting our fill of pasta, pizza and gelato. Hopefully, all the walking is making up for all the consumption. :)

Next time . . . Michelangelo's magnificent David and Pisa's Leaning Tower.

Marriage

I thought I'd take a break from the honeymoon to blog about the wedding. For some pics from the day, you can go here. I have been meditating on "the" day, but I can't wrap words around what just happened in my life. In a way it seems so natural . . . I married my best friend and can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. When I think of my life without Brook . . . well, I don't like to think about that! But it's contemplating the sacrament of marriage that is such a mystery. The other sacraments seem somewhat simple - Baptism, Holy Communion, Confirmation, etc - they were (are) between God and I. Now, I have entered into a sacrament where I not only have to think about God, but another person. The Catholic Church teaches that through marriage, you help to lead your spouse to Heaven. WOW. How do you wrap your mind around THAT?

Back to the wedding . . . it was beautiful and went off without a hitch. I still have trouble thinking about the day without tearing up. We were humbled that people came from so far to celebrate our marriage and can't express how grateful we are to our parents and siblings who helped so much, especially my siblings who were there to set up on Friday and tear down Saturday night. We are so thankful and love you very much!

Ahhh . . . Assisi

We both agree that Assisi is a treasure in the heart of Italy. We loved being here. The 2 quotes of our day in the small city were "We have problem," and "Water is for washing." When we arrived, after taking the train from Rome (with no hiccups), we went to our hotel and the lady at the front desk says the first quote to us. She then says, "You see, we have group staying here and no rooms left." (Imagine her heavy Italian accent and broken English.) I had a feeling this would happen, since I had read reviews about this hotel before making the reservation. They did have another, just as nice, room waiting for us. It was simple, but only 55 Euro, so we weren't expecting the Hilton.

The view of Old Town Assisi from the valley

A pic of our hotel. We had to take this, b/c (as you can see) there is no sign. We were afraid we wouldn't be able to find it when we came back at night!!!

We spent the day leisurely walking through the city and going to the Basilicas of St. Clare and St. Francis. For our non-Catholic friends, St. Francis invented the custom of using the Nativity scene in the 1200's as a way to teach people about the birth of Christ. He is also one of the most beloved saints in the Church. In the evening, we found a quant little restaurant, overlooking the valley. We were enjoying a great Italian meal with homemade wine, when we struck up a conversation with 2 men at the next table. After 3 hours, we found out they were father and son and had walked from Germany on a sort of 40 day pilgrimage! The father also knew the owner of the restaurant and he joined us for much of the night. This is where the 2nd quote comes in. Noticing we had a bottle of water on the table, the men say to us "Water is for washing." LOL. It was a very memorable evening and at the end, we exchanged contact info with our new German friends. They invited us to Germany for Octoberfest and the owner of the restaurant says we have to return to Assisi with "bambino." We told him we would. :) Assisi is magical and we will be back.

In front of the basilica of St Francis - one of my favorite saints!

Our new friends

P.S. A HUGE thank-you to my friend Karen, who was so kind to offer her jacket to me for the trip. It has rained 3 of the 4 days we have been here and the jacket has been a Godsend!