Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Beginning...
Last fall I started playing with dates and itineraries and we settled on being gone for our 5th anniversary and hitting Florence, Siena and Rome. It seemed so far off and now it's come and gone. Oh yes, I'm writing these entries from our written journal of the trip, but I will date them with the days we were actually there. The blog will have them in reverse order.
So scroll to the bottom to start with day 1....
Saturday, February 10, 2007
dem bones

We had planned on this day being a Vatican day since we'd scheduled a tour of the Scavi for the afternoon. We didn't plan, however, for a rainy day in which every other tourist in Rome would try to seek shelter in the Vatican. The museums changed their admission times for individuals this year - tour groups get in at 8, individuals at 10. Since I didn't get a reservation, seeing the Sistine Chapel would have required a multi-hour wait. And since you can only enter the Basilica through one door with metal detectors, that line wrapped through the colonnade all the way around Piazza San Pietro. We quickly abandoned there and strolled along the Tiber toward Campo di Fiori (Field of Flowers) to see the outdoor market and a bite to eat.
Since we hadn't planned on visiting Gesu, we were surprised when they came shuffling us out after 15 minutes. They close for the afternoon so our exploration there was done.
The one thing I did have planned was a tour of the Vatican Necropolis. Since we had tickets, the Swiss Guard let us in the back entrance and we were able to skip the looong line and take a quick peek inside the Basilica. Back at the Scavi (necropolis) office we met out guide and began the descent. Here's the quick history courtesy of slowtrav.com:
The tour began by winding down a narrow path between the mausoleums of ancient Romans. We could see into several excavated crypts decorated with mosaics and many holding urns from pagan cremations. It was a narrow path but we had plenty of headroom. The guide had us imagine blue skies overhead, as that was the scene 2000 years ago. She told us of some pagan burial rituals, including large parties held several times a year at the crypt. The deceased weren't left out of these parties, as the survivors poured wine to them through tubes.After being crucified, Peter was buried in a hillside necropolis, a city of the dead. It was a place, fashioned to look like a city in miniature, where wealthy pagan families entombed their dead in houses where they could continue their new lives. Emperor Constantine eventually became a Christian and, in the 4th century, ordered the construction of a church over the tomb of St. Peter. The church also covered the other mausoleums in the ancient cemetery.
In the 16th century, the present basilica was built on the site. Donato Bramante designed the basilica; Raphael, Frea Giocondo da Verona, and Antionio da Sangallo continued the design after Bramante's death. When the last of the new architects, da Sangallo died, Michelangelo was commissioned to complete the design. He designed most of the apse and the main dome before dying. The dome was completed by Domenico Fontana in 1589, and inaugurated in 1593.
As the centuries passed, so did the memory of the necropolis beneath the basilica. In 1939 workers digging a tomb for the deceased Pope Pius XI, broke through a wall beneath the church and rediscovered the necropolis. Pope Pius XII ordered the excavation of the necropolis, but kept the work secret in case Peter's tomb was not found. Since the necropolis acts as the foundation for St. Peter's Basilica, the entire area could not be uncovered without the possibility of having the Basilica collapse. Work continued for a decade and on December 23, 1950, Pius XII announced the discovery of St. Peter's tomb. On June 26th 1968, Pope Paul VI announced that the remains of St. Peter had also been discovered.
As we progressed through up the street, she noted carvings on crypts that indicated Christian burials were taking place - words like "rest in peace" and mosaic scenes from scripture. All this was leading up the path to the place where St. Peter was buried after his own crucifixion. It was hard to tell exactly where, but they illuminated the spot with a red light. From there we ascended to see the monument erected over the grave by Constantine. The tour ended in a beautiful chapel adorned with green marble. The altar was erected in front of the grave of St. Peter, and apparently this was the original "St. Peter's." The Basilica was built over the chapel. Around the side of the altar, we could view the bones that were found and are said to be St. Peter's. While there is very little dispute of the site of Peter's grave, archaeologists have none of Peter's DNA to prove beyond a doubt that the bones are his. However, it is generally agreed that they are based on the age of the man at death and the fact that the dirt on the bones matches that in the grave.
The exit of the tour led through the grottoes of the past popes. I realized too late that the crowd was gathered around John Paul II's tomb. We couldn't get back to see it. We trudged back to the hotel, winding through streets and circling around a few times. We grabbed some pizza near Piazza Navona before heading in and crashing hard for a nap. I checked the pedometer - 24,558 steps before 3pm!!!
After our nap we got ready for dinner. We decided to stroll toward the Spanish Steps to find something. We enjoyed the window shopping at some designer shops, then found Hostaria al 31 on via delle Carrozza. We had some wine & bruschetta then I enjoyed spaghetti with pesto and Wayne had spaghetti with tomato, chili and bacon. All very delicious. On the way home we circled over to Giolitti for dessert - lemoncello & fragola for me, cafe & ciccolatta for Wayne. Yum! Hard to believe we only have one day left. Tomorrow it's off to the Forum of ancient Rome.
Friday, February 9, 2007
5 happy years

ME: um, scusi? dov'e l'autobus per Roma? (believe me it sounds worse than it looks)
HIM: (through a haze of cigarette smoke) eh,lautobusperromaelafermatasena (grand gesturing with arms off to the left)
ME: grazie? (confusion)
So the grand gesture made me think we should be on the next little block, where I see many other buses lined up. Only thing is, they all look parked, like they're waiting for a trip later. Our 10:30 ticket time is drawing near so I stroll back by the drivers again.
ME: um, scusi? dov'e ......
HIM: (interrupting, rolling eyes) LA. FER-MA-TA SE-NA. LA. LA. (pointing to a pole 10 yards away that says "Fermata Sena".
ME: Ohhhhhh. Grazie! (Smiling sheepishly)
So this wouldn't be so difficult if the stop were marked better than a pole with a little placard on it. And if they told you 10:30 was when the bus left the main station, then made 3 more stops before getting to where we were. Whew!!
One of Wayne's favorite finds was ZaZa! This pizza place was about the size of 2 telephone booths, but man was it tasty. We got Pizza Bianchi, or white pizza. Basically it was focaccia with olive oil and herbs brushed on, topped with cherry tomatoes that had shriveled and burst while roasting in the oven. Did I say tasty? It was the best slice we had the whole trip.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Under the Tuscan Sun
For Thursday I scheduled a day with the highly touted Luca Garappa from Hills & Roads. He planned a day for us based on what I told him we were interested in: wine, small towns and beautiful scenery. He picked us up at our hotel at 9:30 and we were off.
We began with a winding drive through the beautiful hills of Crete Senesi, or "Sienese Clay". In the morning mist we were surrounded by vast farms such as the one pictured above. Luca told us that several farmers may share the land and rather than fence it, they know their boundaries by natural landmarks. The earth changes composition from hill to hill, so there were many variations in color and crop grown. Typical produce includes olives, grapes for wine, fava beans and sunflowers. We also saw animals - sheep, cows and horse which made us baa, moo & neigh and smile with thoughts of Miles.
We stopped in Asciano, a small medieval village and also Luca's home town. We strolled through the town while Luca pointed out buildings and fountains. He has a true love of the ancient buildings and scoffed at many of the modern renovations we saw.

The next stop was supposed to be a tour of Castle Brolio. I think the combination of lots of wine & riding in a car was taking its toll and Luca noticed. He offered us the option of a briefly stopping at the castle and then returning home, so we skipped the formal tour and wine tasting. We'll have to seek out their wine in the states since the Castle is a world-famous producer of great wine, the Brolio Chianti. Luca told us that the castle dates back to the 12th century and was a fortress on the edge of ongoing battles between Florence and Siena. As recently as the 20th century that castle was still used for military purposes when it was briefly occupied by Nazis during World War II.
This evening we were worn out from our day. It was truly a highlight and we're so glad we hired Luca. But for this evening we settled with sandwiches (panini!) made in the deli down the street. We managed to request them to be made without speaking English! Quite a step up from our first meal in Italy.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
But she's a good looking 660 year old!
From there we headed up the hill to the Duomo. Wow! The entire place is covered with carvings and mosaics. The floors are covered with inlay areas telling stories from the bible or about people of Siena. Around the ceiling of the nave (central area of church) there are busts of 172 popes peering down like gargoyles. Again we followed the Rick Steves' tour and enjoyed the education. Some areas were being cleaned so we couldn't get close. A Duccio stained glass was out for cleaning, so the place was much brighter than usual.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
reservations, schmeservations
Monday, February 5, 2007
to the Other Side

Sunday, February 4, 2007
Super what?
We cabbed it to the hotel and quickly realized we weren't staying at the Palazzo, but at the Hotel Davanzati next door. This hotel got great reviews everywhere I looked and our stay there confirmed them all. Yes, the room was comfy but beyond that there was free internet, a great breakfast, happy hour with delicious bruschetta and Prosecco. We borrowed guidebooks from the library and set out to roam the streets.
Yes, I said Sunday. As in Superbowl Sunday. Wayne realized about four days before we left that we would be in Italy for the Superbowl. Whoops! A few "pubs" had signs for the game, but since it would be shown at 1am the Erwins would not be in attendance. Sorry sweetie.
[Photos: a replica of Michelangelo's David in Piazza della Signoria, its original home; Nicole rubbing the boar's nose in Mercato Nuovo. This supposedly ensures a return to Florence; the carousel in Piazza della Repubblica; us at Il Latini - see the prosciutto hanging inside; a wild boar! (not my photo) ]
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Heading to Roma!

The flights I booked had us going through Charlotte to Philadelphia then on to Rome. Kind of a pain to take so many, but otherwise we'd have been sitting in the Philly airport for 8 hours. Ugh. Because I had soooo many miles we were able to get Envoy Class seats which made the trip much more enjoyable. We clinked mimosas as we awaited departure and perused the dinner menu. The plane we were on has individual entertainment centers at every seat, so Wayne & I selected our movie and started them simultaneously. Wouldn't want one to see the good part first!! The crew in our cabin was fantastic and the flight was smooth, but we still didn't get much sleep ~ maybe 2-3 hours or rest at most.
We landed in Rome the next morning around 8:30. We'd decided to start our trip in Florence and work our way back to Rome for the departure. I'd heard too many horror stories of strikes to risk being too far away from the airport. So that meant we got off the plane and hopped on the train for another hour and a half. That was very crowded but the views! The countryside was so lush and green, odd for this time of year we were told. I guess it has been warmer than usual this winter.
I'd bought a sandwich at the station in Rome so we weren't starving anymore. That was fun. The buying part, I mean. I studied French in high school and took some at UT also, so when we went to Paris for our honeymoon I listened to some CDs prior and managed to get us around pretty well. I impressed Wayne, that's what counts! So going to Italy I was nervous about not being so adept. I'd been before, so I knew we would manage. It's not like we were going to be in China where I couldn't even read the words. But when it came time to order that first sandwich I was a Mo-Ron. All I could do was point and look pleadingly. Totally blanked that the word for sandwich is... panini.