Mama Mia, Italy's Wonderful!!
OOH LA LA!
I actually heard that several times in Italy! I didn't know the Italians really said it; I thought it was just something Hollywood made up, but I have to admit, it fit what was happening at the time, and it sounded just right. So many things about Italy seemed just right. It was a dream adventure come true.
Tex and I landed in Rome and picked up our cute convertible Fiat. Thank goodness it was only the two of us, because our luggage barely fit in the trunk and the back seat of the car! Later we were very thankful that it was as small as it was.....but we'll talk about that later.
If you're unfamiliar with the geography of Italy, here is a map that shows the regions of the country. Rome is in the region of Lazia, which is the blue region in the middle. From there we headed north to Tuscany, the yellow area just above the blue. Tuscany's most famous cities are Pisa and Florence. At the top center of Italy is the pinkish area, known as the Lombardy region. Milan and Lake Como are in Lombardy. The small blue area in the northwest corner of Italy (or upper left, if you don't do compass directions) is Aosta Valley. If you want to follow our travels on the map, knowing those areas will be helpful.
Trip Itinerary:
Pisa
Lake Como
St. Bernard Monastery, Switzerland
Florence (AKA Firenze)
Rome
Outside the seaside town of Orbetello in Tuscany, we found fields and fields of sunflowers. Dying sunflowers. I assume they were waiting to harvest the seeds. Lots and lots of seeds.
On our way to Pisa, we made a quick stop at the Tyrrhinian Sea to walk on the beach and soak up the Italian sun. Tex got to try out his new lens, a birthday gift from his parents, and I found some beautifully smooth rocks on the beach. A perfect start to a dream vacation.
PISA
Our first planned stop: Pisa, leaning tower and all. We, of course, had to take the iconic "holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa" picture. It's hilarious to look back at our pictures in this town square, and see all the people around us holding up one hand. Everyone has to get one of "those" pictures!
The surprise was the two other beautiful buildings next to the tower. The building on the left is the Pisa Baptistery of St. John, and the one on the right is the incredible Primatial Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, most commonly known as the Pisa Cathedral. The three buildings together in the town square make an impressive sight!
After seeing the tower, I had my very first taste of Italian pizza. It was covered with something we can't get in Saudi--prosciutto! Yum!
It's never too early to start finding Italian souvenirs, right? I love collecting coffee cups from all of the places we visit, a habit that my friends find hilarious as I don't drink coffee or tea. I just like coffee cups!
After Pisa, we headed further north to the Lombardy region, traveling in and out of mountain ranges. Oh what beauty!! And oh what a balm to someone who has seen her share of sand in shades of tan, beige and brown over the last few months!!
Lake Como
We arrived at Lake Como a few hours later and made our way to Nesso, a little village between the towns of Como and Bellagio. What a beautiful surprise was there for us as we made our way into our house for the next 3 days.
The town of Nesso is a delight with levels of houses going down to the water from the main road--a very, very narrow main road, I might add, which is why we were EXTREMELY happy to have a small car!--and then houses built up the side of the mountain too. Living on Lake Como means walking up and down stairs...lots of stairs!
But the views are worth it. This was the view in Nesso from the main road. Can you see the walking bridge across the inlet with a boat sitting there in the shade?
Everywhere we went in Nesso, there were beautiful walkways, either going down to the water or up to the center of the town.
We spent our first full day on the lake in the small city of Como. It is the first place you reach when you come to Lake Como, and both sides of the lake branch out from here.
One of my favorite shots of Tex. You can see the gondola track on the mountainside behind him.
Seeing the Lake Como area from the water was delightful. The yellow house at the top of this picture was where we stayed. It was a 15-minute walk into the main area of Nesso, and then a whole lot of steps down to the ferry. You get quite a workout if you visit this area, but it's all beautiful, so I certainly didn't mind!
This is the house I THOUGHT was George Clooney's. And then I saw a picture online and realized I got it wrong. George's house is bigger, but not as cute! Can you call something this large cute? Well, I did. I love the blue shutters.
Lunch was at Swisse, where my favorite pasta dish, Fettucine Alfredo, was mixed inside a big wheel of parmesan. So interesting to watch!
And so yummy to eat! It doesn't look very interesting, but I can assure you it was quite tasty!
Exploring and shopping in Bellagio means walking up and down stairs. The city is built into the side of the mountain. It makes all the twists and turns that much more interesting and fun.
After traveling up some of the many, many stairs, you may find yourself in the center of the old town, the Piazza della Chiesa. It is a delightful area where people sit and talk while children run around and play games.
The Basilica of San Giacome is located here. It is a Romanesque church built between the 11th and 12th centuries.
Trees and shrubbery from all over the world are found here, making this a very interesting garden indeed.
And then.......on to Switzerland. I know, it's not Italy and this blogpost is about Italy, but we managed to squeeze a little of Switzerland into our trip too.
And then we reached my #2 Bucket List location:
The Grand St. Bernard Monastery
We went from an elevation of 984 feet to 8114 feet all in a few hours. I struggle with altitude sickness, so I entered Switzerland with trepidation about how I would feel while there. I also prayed a lot about this, and God answered my prayer! I had very little sickness from the high altitude. Yay! It would be very sad to check something off my bucket list while being violently ill!
Why was this on my bucket list? For the last 8 years, I have read Barry, The Bravest St. Bernard to my third grade students. It is set at this location, and while doing research on the book, I found that the monastery still existed. That's when I decided that if I ever got the chance, I wanted to come here and meet the monks and the dogs.
Background info about The Grand St. Bernard Monastery:
In this area, the monastery is called a hospice. It is very different from what we call a hospice in America. Here it is a place of refuge.
The first monastery (dedicated to St. Nicholas) in this area was built in the 9th century but was destroyed by Sarcenians in the 10th century. St. Bernard, the archdeacon of Aosta, got tired of seeing travelers come through the pass distressed and assaulted by robbers (and likely worse), so around 1050, he reestablished a monastery there. The monks offered help crossing the pass and also gave travelers a safe place to stay while on their way to Rome. The St. Bernard dog breed was created here to be guard dogs for the monastery. Later, they were trained to help with mountain rescues, because they were strong enough to cross deep snow drifts and had a keen sense of smell that helped them track lost travelers trapped under snow by avalanches. The first evidence that the dogs were in use at the monastery is around 1690. The last recorded rescue was in 1955. Since that time, the dogs have been bred and kept at Barryland in Martigny, Switzerland, where the St. Bernard museum is. They are brought back to the monastery during the summer months for visitors to see. Barryland is named after that original bravest St. Bernard I read about in my classroom.
We had a great time meeting these wonderful dogs. They were beautiful and patient, and had eyes only for their trainer.
The buildings across the lake are the hotel where we stayed and the hospice area where the monks live.
The buildings are constructed of white, pink, and green marble, and they are lit beautifully in the evening.
Another iconic spot in Florence: the Ponte Vecchio, the bridge behind us, which by the way, is full of jewelry shops.
First stop: The Accademia Gallery, where Michaelangelo's David statue is located. I love Michaelangelo's paintings, but it amazes me to think that he could sculpt a marble statue that is so beautiful and perfect, out of a medium as unforgiving as marble. It astounds me!
After the museum came lunch at Gastorium, where we had the best pizza I've ever tasted!
My pizza is on the right and it has ham, cheese and a bit of orange peel (!!) on it. Earl's, on the left, is a type of roasted pork tenderloin with onions and peppers. Wow!!
Strolling among 21st century artists outside the museums. I love seeing the different interpretations of their city.
While the previous day had been set aside for museums and churches, this next day was set aside for shopping. On our way to the main plaza, we found that a flea market had been set up in the park near our hotel. We had fun seeing what Italians consider buying secondhand.
My favorite booth wasn't actually Italian. It was very, very British. Beautifully made boxes for antique flatware from Britain. And it was great fun to talk to someone with perfect English!
ROME
We visited the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Vatican gardens--all were as beautiful as I imagined. My favorite was the Sistine Chapel; Tex's was St. Peter's.
Next stop: Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore
This stop was a last-minute impulse, and we are SO GLAD we went. We stopped in to see the church, a very vibrant one with mass in one chapel and confession being said in Italian, Spanish & English in several of the confessional booths. Tex decided to pay the small fee for the tour. We went upstairs to see this incredible mosaic on the balcony, AKA logia. I was stunned by the detail and beauty. I now can't decide if this or The Sistine Chapel is my favorite!
Flanking the mosaic were four sculpted angels with gold covering. The contrast between the white marble and the gold was stunning.
Inside, the docent opened 2 armoires with beautiful vestments worn by Pope Pius and a cardinal. I couldn't take my eyes off the incredible handwork. Embroidering with gold thread can't be that easy!
Tex was fascinated by the ancient copy of 1st Peter in one of the cabinets. You can see the very top of it at the bottom of this picture. You can tell I wasn't very interested in it, but focused all my attention on the vestments. Thank goodness Tex took some pictures.
It turns out I should have paid more attention. The docent told us it was a 5th century copy of 1st Peter, but after some research once we returned home, Tex found out that it was a 3rd century papyrus and is the oldest complete copy of I Peter!! It is on loan from the Vatican. Quite a find!
The next day we headed to the Coloseum. It is definitely a colossus and lives up to its name!
The white marble seats on the far right of the picture are where Caesar and the senators sat.
The floor of the Colosseum is only partially there, so it's easy to see what it was like underneath. Can you imagine what went on down there??
One of my favorite pictures of Rome. The beautiful iconic trees framed through a window of the Colosseum, with my favorite guy beside it all.
Tex had a bit of trouble believing I really wanted pictures of this guy, but once he accepted my request, he threw himself into it all quite nicely!
One last gelato at the shop near our hotel, which happened to be our favorite of the whole trip: La Romana. It was fun to watch them make the gelato here. Even more fun to eat it!
Our trip to Italy was truly a dream-come-true vacation. We enjoyed every minute of it, and hope you enjoyed visiting with us through this post.
Until the next blogpost, HAPPY TRAILS from Tex and me.
I actually heard that several times in Italy! I didn't know the Italians really said it; I thought it was just something Hollywood made up, but I have to admit, it fit what was happening at the time, and it sounded just right. So many things about Italy seemed just right. It was a dream adventure come true.
Tex and I landed in Rome and picked up our cute convertible Fiat. Thank goodness it was only the two of us, because our luggage barely fit in the trunk and the back seat of the car! Later we were very thankful that it was as small as it was.....but we'll talk about that later.
If you're unfamiliar with the geography of Italy, here is a map that shows the regions of the country. Rome is in the region of Lazia, which is the blue region in the middle. From there we headed north to Tuscany, the yellow area just above the blue. Tuscany's most famous cities are Pisa and Florence. At the top center of Italy is the pinkish area, known as the Lombardy region. Milan and Lake Como are in Lombardy. The small blue area in the northwest corner of Italy (or upper left, if you don't do compass directions) is Aosta Valley. If you want to follow our travels on the map, knowing those areas will be helpful.
Trip Itinerary:
Pisa
Lake Como
St. Bernard Monastery, Switzerland
Florence (AKA Firenze)
Rome
PISA
After Pisa, we headed further north to the Lombardy region, traveling in and out of mountain ranges. Oh what beauty!! And oh what a balm to someone who has seen her share of sand in shades of tan, beige and brown over the last few months!!
Lake Como
We arrived at Lake Como a few hours later and made our way to Nesso, a little village between the towns of Como and Bellagio. What a beautiful surprise was there for us as we made our way into our house for the next 3 days.
This view awaited us, and also beckoned us out often. The weather was quite warm, but the breeze coming off the lake made sitting on the balcony very, very pleasant.
Here is the view of that same inlet from the bridge. So beautiful!
On this path, I'm standing in front of one of the little Catholic creches we found in the town. There was a church close by with a bell tower, that rang out every hour and half hour....but 5 minutes before the actual hour and half hour. That was charming in its own way.
A beautiful flower garden outside the rowing club in Nesso.
The best way to travel on Lake Como is by ferry. Some are large, some are small, but seeing the area by boat is the BEST, and it's very inexpensive.
One of the things I love about traveling is the people we meet. In Nesso, we met two fun ladies from Texas and spent some time with them on the ferries. What made these two even more special were their names: Denise! Both of them! So here are the three Denises from Texas!!
Left to Right: Denise from Houston, Denise from Dallas and Denise from Austin.
So many beautiful homes and hotels on the lake!
On our second full day, we took the ferry to Bellagio and spent the day there.
After traveling up some of the many, many stairs, you may find yourself in the center of the old town, the Piazza della Chiesa. It is a delightful area where people sit and talk while children run around and play games.
It is beautiful on the inside, as all churches seem to be in Italy.
Back at the lake level, the gardens of Villa Melizi beckon. The Villa was built by Francesco Melizi d'Eril, a duke of Lodi.
Those of you who know Tex well know that the man loves trees, and this garden fascinated him with all the different varieties here. I simply enjoyed the beautiful greens in the garden next to the magnificent blues of the lake. What a treat for both of us!
We headed to the Aosta Valley region of Italy on our way to Switzerland. No surprise here; it was beautiful.
Just inside the border of Switzerland.
For years, I've read the book Heidi by Johanna Spyri to my kids and my 3rd grade students. I could just picture Heidi running around this little waterfall, picking the flowers while Peter tended the goats. It's exactly as I pictured it when reading the book!
And then we reached my #2 Bucket List location:
The Grand St. Bernard Monastery
Why was this on my bucket list? For the last 8 years, I have read Barry, The Bravest St. Bernard to my third grade students. It is set at this location, and while doing research on the book, I found that the monastery still existed. That's when I decided that if I ever got the chance, I wanted to come here and meet the monks and the dogs.
Background info about The Grand St. Bernard Monastery:
In this area, the monastery is called a hospice. It is very different from what we call a hospice in America. Here it is a place of refuge.
The first monastery (dedicated to St. Nicholas) in this area was built in the 9th century but was destroyed by Sarcenians in the 10th century. St. Bernard, the archdeacon of Aosta, got tired of seeing travelers come through the pass distressed and assaulted by robbers (and likely worse), so around 1050, he reestablished a monastery there. The monks offered help crossing the pass and also gave travelers a safe place to stay while on their way to Rome. The St. Bernard dog breed was created here to be guard dogs for the monastery. Later, they were trained to help with mountain rescues, because they were strong enough to cross deep snow drifts and had a keen sense of smell that helped them track lost travelers trapped under snow by avalanches. The first evidence that the dogs were in use at the monastery is around 1690. The last recorded rescue was in 1955. Since that time, the dogs have been bred and kept at Barryland in Martigny, Switzerland, where the St. Bernard museum is. They are brought back to the monastery during the summer months for visitors to see. Barryland is named after that original bravest St. Bernard I read about in my classroom.
One of the paintings at the Monastery exhibits
A bridge close to the hotel was being worked on. There's no way you can get a crane up to this pass, so a helicopter did the work of a crane. We were mesmerized by this, watching how work that is so simple in our part of the US is so complicated in these mountains.
Florence
We arrrived in Florence in the early evening and went in search of food. What we found was the incredible Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo, the most iconic building in Florence.
The bell tower
The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore was begun in the late 13th century. The dome wasn't added until the 15th century. Quite a while for construction to be completed!
The next morning was a special treat. We met a professional photographer from flytographer.com who took pictures of us in Florence's plazas. (If you're ever in Florence, book Emma for this. She was wonderful, and gave us history lessons as we walked through downtown Florence!) Below are two of my favorites from the pictures Emma took.
In front of the The Church of Santa Maria Novello.
What comes after an early-morning photo shoot? Breakfast at a sidewalk cafe, of course!
Next up....museums
Slushy drinks before we head to the next museum.
The Uffizi Museum, which houses many pieces of Renaissance art by artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, and Michaelangelo.
At the exit of the Uffizi, you get a nice view of the Duomo and the bell tower.
While the previous day had been set aside for museums and churches, this next day was set aside for shopping. On our way to the main plaza, we found that a flea market had been set up in the park near our hotel. We had fun seeing what Italians consider buying secondhand.
Tex's favorite booth: antique magnifying glasses
Normally we would stay far, far away from American-themed restaurants, but having been in Saudi for a while, we jumped at the chance to have an American-style bacon cheeseburger at this 1950's-American-themed diner.
After a bit of shopping in the market place and a good night's sleep, we waved goodbye to Florence, hoping we'd get the chance to come back some day. For now though, it was time to see the sights of Rome.
First up: Vatican City.
The ceilings in some of the halls were more impressive than the walls!
Next stop: Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore
Two Texas angels hanging out with two Italian ones.
The next day we headed to the Coloseum. It is definitely a colossus and lives up to its name!
The building is so big that it's difficult to know where to begin!
In this picture, you can see a bit of the green grass growing down at the bottom level.
Everything seems gigantic here, even the fallen columns.
Not one of Texas's proudest moments. Why do people feel the need to brand something like the Colosseum????
The Arch of Constantine
It is so difficult to take in the size and age of these monuments!
The Roman Forum off to the right. This was taken from one of the oldest parts of Rome, Palatine Hill.
Circus Maximus, where chariot races took place.
And then came along this guy!
Our trip to Italy was truly a dream-come-true vacation. We enjoyed every minute of it, and hope you enjoyed visiting with us through this post.
Until the next blogpost, HAPPY TRAILS from Tex and me.
