Thursday, October 4, 2007

One Day in Paris

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We arrived in Paris today at noon, dropped our bags at the hotel, and set off to explore. As we only have one day, we’ve decided to spend our time walking around versus spending the whole time at the Louve. We headed first to Notre Dame, crossing over the Seine on our way. The cathedral is gorgeous, and we hope to come back in a couple years so that we can explore the inside.
















Next, the Louve. We would really like to spend a few days just exploring the galleries of the Louve, but today we must be satisfied with just viewing the exterior. Spanning a couple of blocks in a “U” shape, the Louve is huge. There are two courtyards, and in the second is the glass pyrmid.











As you walk up through the courtyard, pass the pyrmid, there is a large arch, water fountains, and a park beyond.















We walked from here up the Champs Elysess to the
Arch of Triumph and then cut back to the river toward the Eiffel Tower. It was very cool to catch a glimpse of the tower every now and then as we walked.





We made the trip up for the view...incredible! All the way up the Parc du Champs de Mars to Ecole Militaire.




Wednesday, October 3, 2007

My Italy Diary: Florence, Part 5

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Our last day in Italy was spent visiting Palazzo Vecchio, which is still used as the town hall and Palazzo Pitti, which we didn’t get enough time in when we visited early in the week with Donna and Mary. There is a replic a Michaelangelo’s “David” in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The original is now inside the Galleria dell’ Accademia.

The grand salone is lined on both sides with statues of the “Deed of Hercules” by De Rossi—striking in their homoerotism.



















The Geographical Map room, “Mappa Mundi”.














Ciao!









Tuesday, October 2, 2007

My Italy Diary: Florence, Part 4

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Yesterday, Mr. Man and I met Donna and Mary at our usual spot for coffee and then headed for Mercato Nuovo, the local straw market. Donna was looking for a leather jacket, and we are looking for one for Manda, so we wanted to find a market a friend told them about near Stazione Centrale, but after walking around a bit “hunting” for it we gave up. Luckily we passed a leather store on our way back and decided to stop in. The salesperson, Liz, is from the U.S., and she made it such a pleasant experience, as did her boss Tommy. We actually wound up buying five coats; one for each of us, plus one for Manda.

We are back on our own today—Mr. Man and I managed to go to Santa Croce this morning; both Galieo’s and Michelangelo’s tombs are here. The altar was being restored so we were unable to view the crucifix, but we did go into the museum where there are many wonderfully restored pieces. We managed to spend about two hours in all at this wonderful Church (c. 1294).






















Next we headed for the Bargello, which we had missed earlier in the week, but unfortunately it closes at 1:00pm. So we headed for San Lorenzo with its unfinished facade—it was designed for the Medici family by Brunelleschi in 1425-26. We were unable to take photographs inside and for some reason they close the cloister with Michelangelo’s staircase at 1:00pm, but we were able to see Donatello’s beautiful bronze pulpits. There is also a beautiful modern painting by Pietro Annigoni, St. Joseph and the Christ Child. This is one of the few mordern works seen in Florence. We had to pay separately to access the Cappella dei Principi, The Medici Mausoleum. It is massive with extravagant marble walls in burgundy and green. The funerary figures, again under restoration, are by Michelangelo and are considered among his greatest works.





















We had reservations for the Galleria dell’ Accademia at 4:00pm, and were both feeling fatigued, so we skipped Palazzo Medici Riccardi (a must for tomorrow) and San Marco and opted to go straight to the museum, settling down close by for a glass of wine for an hour until our appointed entry time. Other than Michelangelo’s David, which is, of course, magnifisant, the Accademia didn’t hold much interest for us. It is small and only has paintings of religious motifs from the Byzantine era. There are several unfinished sculptures, the subjects of which seem to be struggling to free themselves from the marble.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

My Italy Diary: Florence, Part 3

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This weekend is Europe Arts Appreciation and all the museums are open free to the public; we toured both the Boboli Gardens and Palazzo Piti free yesterday. We met up with Donna and Mary this morning for coffee and then headed for the Uffizi to see about reservations for later in the day. The line were very long and there was an equally long line to get into Palazzo Vecchio, so we headed for the Duomo, Baptistery and Campanile.

Climbing 400 plus stairs to the top of the Campanile is not for the faint of heart, especially as there is no organization around ascending and descending, so there are people heading up and down at the same time. The winding staircase is very narrow, so narrow at the top that you have to hug the wall in order for anyone else to squeeze by. But you are rewarded at the top with a panaramic view of Florence. The facade is beautiful white, green and pink marble and together with the Baptistry and Duomo make up a stunning piazza.


















While we waited in line to get into the Duomo, Mr. Man and Donna went off in search of a pannini for each of us. The line moved so fast that Mary and I had to get out of line twice. We ate the sandwiches on the side steps and were harassed by a gypsy begging for money and rubbing her amply fed stomach. We finally had to move in order to get away from her. As it is Sunday, we were only allowed to enter the main aisle of the Duomo, but were immediately struck by its vastness and by its lack of interior decoration when compared to its exterior beauty and extravangance. Unfortunately, we were unable to see more than glimpses of the frescoes within the dome as we couldn’t really get close enough. Perhaps we’ll revisit this beautiful undertaking again before we leave.

The most famous thing about the Baptistry is, of course, its bronze doors. But, inside awaits beautiful mosaics in the dome. The original bronze doors are no longer in place, but the replicas are beautifully rendered. The giant figure of Christ in the dome is wonderfully colored against the gold background, and there is a great depliction of Hell which is so beautiful you almost forget its horrible content.


















San Lorenzo market was next on our list, but it wasn’t much more than a tourist trap filled with booths of largely non-Italians selling seemingly poor quality goods. We continued on to find Mercato Centrale, which unfortunately was closed. So we opted for a glass of wine. We stopped at an outdoor restaurant called Antica Taberna del Botticelli and had the worst experience of our entire trip (worse than our surly waiter and horrible food at Casa Blanca in Viareggio)! We ordered a liter of white wine and some water, and once the waitress discovered we didn’t intend to eat, she took up our paper placemats. The place was by no means busy; there were perhaps four other tables being occupied.

The owner, a very fat, sweaty gentleman (and I use the term very loosely) with a jowly face and bulbous lips was strutting around in a white shirt unbottoned to almost his navel with a large, brash gold chain around his neck, shouting orders. As soon as he saw we didn’t have placemats he had another waitress bring us our check. She then stood a little to the side making it very clear that she wanted us to pay. When we looked at the check and saw it was €30,00 we asked to see the menu as we certainly didn’t remember a liter of vino de casa being that expensive. Well, we must have offended our fat proprietor for he came stomping over barking at us about restaurant and cafeteria, yelling and sticking his finger in Donna’s face—he was practically foaming at the mouth. At one point during this exchange, I picked up my wine glass to take a drink and he began shouting at me; while I couldn’t understand what he was saying, it was clear he didn’t want me to drink it. He then tried to snatch the money from Donna. A totally horrible experience. We finally decided to just pay, finish our wine, and move on, vowing to post warnings to others on the Internet—I will also leave a note in the book here at the apartment for others who follow us.

It was a little hard to leave this experience behind us and recover our joy of being in Florence, but we tried. We retraced our steps to Piazza della Signoria and joined in the line for the last entrance into the Uffizi; with only an hour left for viewing we headed straight to the highlights—The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, along with his other works housed there; the Leonardo room; Michaelangelo’s The Holy Family and The Venus of Urbino by Titan. We didn’t make it passed the second collection (the Leonardo room) before announcements of closing began.

Both Mary and I had read a New York Times review of
Teatro del Sala and we all decided we would have dinner there tonight. We decided to go directly there, eat dinner, and make an early night of it. It’s located along Via de’ Macci between Santa Croce and Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti. It was closed so we backtracked to a small restaurant we had seen on our way called Osteria de' Macci. This restaurant and its proprietor Alessandro were the highlight of our day and the best meal by far Mr. Man and I have yet to have in Florence. It has only been open for a month and so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. It is very quaint and nicely appointed with white table clothes—a romantic atmosphere.

We were shown to a table with a view through a pass-through of the kitchen, where you can watch Alessandro and his assistant cook. Upon being seated, we were brought a delicious glass of Proseco and had a great discussion with Alessandro about the restaurant and Florence. Then he brought us the most wonderf
ul bruschetta with tomatoes and delicate flavors of garlic and vinegar. Mary and I each had the soup of mashed white beans and clams, which was incredible. Pureed to a smooth consistency, this soup was neither too thick nor too thin. The flavor of the white beans together with olive oil and spices melded together perfectly. There was also a good amount of clams, served still in their shells (Il Passatino di Fagioli con le Vongole Veraci). Donna had La Vera Ribollita con l’olio dell’ Osteria; a tomato and bread soup that was also delicious. The olive oil is made in house and Alessandro made a gift to us of a bottle.

Mr. Man and I shared both a primi and secondi piatti of risotto (Il Risotto Mantecato alle Punte di Asparagi) with asparagus sauce—the lightest risotto I’ve ever eaten with a delicate flavor of asparagus; devine. This was followed by La Vera Bistecca Fiorentian (Tuscan steak) served with oven baked potatoes. This is a huge T-bone, cooked rare with a seasoning of salt and pepper that melts in your mouth. Both of these were accompanied by bottles of Pian delle Vigne Brunello di Montalcino, which we enjoyed so much that Alessandro soaked off the label for me. We all had dessert and then Alessandro made us limoncello, which was so good we had two more rounds. We continued to speak with Alessandro throughout the meal, which added to the overall experience and made us feel extremely lucky to have come across this jewell of a restaurant.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

My Italy Diary: Florence, Part 2

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We met up with Donna and Mary this morning and spent the day exploring the Boboli Gardens and Palazzo Pitti.




View of Florence from Boboli Gardens.

Friday, September 28, 2007

My Italy Diary: Florence, Part 1

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We are staying on the residential side of the river, just a couple blocks from Piazza Santo Spirito. This area is much quieter—less tourists and lots of artistan shops and markets. We spent the morning just walking around familiarizing ourselves with our new neighborhood. We didn’t want to wander far as we were to meet our friends from Geneva, Donna and Mary, in Piazza Santo Spirito at 1:30pm. It is somewhat overcast today and we underestimated the temperature. While we waited for Donna and Mary we realized we were both very cold and when they hadn’t arrived by 2:00pm, we decided to risk a quick trip back to the apartment to change into warmer clothing and call Donna’s cell. We were not able to get through to them and spent the rest of the day hoping to connect at some point.

We headed out for dinner at Osteria on Via S. Spirito, which is close by. When we got home there was a note under our door from Donna! They didn't get in until 9:15pm, after a hellish day of one travel mishap after another. We have made plans to meet up tomorrow morning.








Thursday, September 27, 2007

My Italy Diary: Pisa

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We left Viareggio this morning and headed for Pisa—we had been told to skip Pisa on our last trip as “there’s nothing to see except the tower.” This couldn’t be more wrong, I only wish we’d planned more time there. We spent about four hours and managed to fit in the Baptistry, Duomo, Camposanto, and a long ascent up the Tower. The Baptistry of St. John is in such contrast to those we visited in Rome; very stark and minimally decorated. While we were inside, a young woman began to sing notes that reverberated to the top of the dome, the whole place just fell silent. It was so beautiful it actually gave me goose bumps.

The Duomo is splendid with smaller chapels lining each side and wonderful frescoes. Behind the pulpit is a wonderful mosaic which I’m sure my photos will not do justice; “Christ in Majesty” by Cimabue (c. 1302).













The funniest thing about Campo dei Miracoli is all the tourists (us excluded) taking snapshots of each other pretending to hold up the tower. Climbing the tower is certainly worth the effort as you won’t be disappointed once you reach the very top. You are offered panoramic views of all of Pisa, with the mountains and Tuscany as a backdrop. The closer you get to the top the more you “feel” the tilt of the tower. Going down was much easier.

The day was very gray with the threat of rain at any moment. It was also quite cool, but we were warmed by the exersion of climbing—and we are in relatively good shape. We wanted to make a quick visit to the Camposante before we hit the road and it was while we were here that the rain finally came. There are some lovingly restored frescoes here, which were largely destroyed during WWII. We didn’t really have time to see any more of Pisa, although it would have been great to explore the much overlooked city.

We managed to arrive in Firenza at 5:00pm; David was an excellent driver and between the two of us we managed to find the car rental agency to return the car. The apartment is just across the Arno River and I had planned that we would walk to it, but as it was raining we decided to hail a cab, but there were none to be had, so we wound up walking after all. By the time we got to the apartment we were soaked. And then there were four flights of stairs as there is no lift in the building! The young woman who met us at the apartment spoke wonderful English and graciously showed us around the apartment.
The apartment, “Anna,” is wonderful! It is small, but perfect for two. It has been beautifully appointed, with a small galley kitchen, a bed tucked into an alcove with curtains to draw for privacy, a great bathroom with a large walk-in shower, and a living/dining area; we are very happy with it. There are books and cds and even a connection for your iPod to the stereo/speaker system. There was a bottle of wine and a few other niceties waiting for us upon our arrival. We ate dinner at Angiolino’s, which was wonderful.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

My Italy Diary: Viareggio

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We left Rome this morning; renting a Smart car to drive to Viareggio and then on to Florence tomorrow. On the way we planned to stop at the Etruscan Necropolis in Cerveteri. It was amazing walking around the old burial grounds—or cities, as they were built specifically for the dead. We spent a good deal of time wandering around, with only a couple of other tourists sharing the site with us. It was nice to get away from the crowds of Rome and be surrounded by quiet.
I underestimated how much time would be needed to make all the stops along the way that I wanted to make. In Santa Maria Severa we stopped to see the castle but it is under restoration so we were unable to view it.

As it was getting late in the day and beginning to rain, we decided to bypass our other stops and headed straight for Viareggio. As David was fatigued, I took over driving while he napped and drove us on the Autostrade, in the rain, in a car with a manuel transmission, at night. At one point we were driving up the coast with the sea churning and these huge waves crashing up against the rocks. It was awesome.









Tuesday, September 25, 2007

My Italy Diary: Rome, Part 6

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We had reservations for Museo e Galleria Borghese today (you absolutely need to have reservations for this museum as sales are by advance only and for a strict period of 2 hours). There are 3 sculptures by Bernini which are remarkable. First, is “Apollo and Daphne” which is so exquisitely rendered. The details are incredible, from Apollo’s flowing drapery to Daphne’s fingers and toes as she begins her transformation into a tree, to the tear on her check. The leaves are light and delicate and fragile looking. Bernini was only 26 years old at the time of its execution. It is situated in the room so that you see the statue as the story unfolds; Apollo from behind, then Daphne as she begins her metamorphosis into a laurel tree (supposedly Daphne called out to the Gods to save her). This piece brought tears to my eyes and I didn’t want to move on.

Second, is his work of “The Rape of Proserpina.” I have seen pictures of this work, but am glad to have the opportunity to see the actual piece. The passion and realism—you see where Pluto’s hands dig into Proserpina’s flesh, and feel the force of her desire to get away as she pushes against him, stretchng the skin around his eye. It is breathtaking. The third piece is his “David,” which is also full of emotion. There is also a sculpture of Pauline Bonaparte, which caused quite a stir when it was commissioned as she posed nude for it. The only downside to this museum is that once your reach the picture gallery, you are only allowed a 1/2 hour to view all the paintings, an inadequate amount of time. And they are strict about it. They actually find you and tell you it’s time to go.



We tried to see the gardens of the Medici Villa afterwards but they are only open on Saturday and Sunday. We did make it back to Castel Sant’Angelo, which has a great view of the city from the top.

We bought a painting in Piazza Navona this evening; a momento of our return trip. Tomorrow we are off to Viareggio.