Gone Dutch

I apologize for taking forever to update, but last week was crazy. I had a presentation on Tuesday, and my parents arrived the next day. It's been wonderful to see them; I spent the weekend driving around with them in southwestern England. But before I get into their visit, which isn't even over yet, I must back up a bit and tell you all about Amsterdam!

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Amsterdam is the city of canals, museums, bikes, hookers, and legalized decriminalized marijuana. Holland is known for its windmills, cheese, clogs, and tulips. I managed to see a little bit of everything (yes, everything) over the weekend.

We flew in Thursday evening, checked into our (very lovely) hotel, and then immediately went in search of food. We luckily found a nice restaurant in the Leidseplein area still serving food. After stuffing ourselves full of steak, we went out to a bar for a couple beers. Jen has a particular affinity for Duvel, a Belgian beer, so I followed suit.

The next morning, after eating pancakes the size of Luxemburg, we visited the Anne Frank Huis. It was fascinating to see the place she lived, along with seven others, during the German occupation of the Netherlands. The tour is definitely a sad one, especially the diary excerpts displayed at the appropriate points. I found this one particularly tragic:

You've known for a long time that my greatest wish it so be a journalist, and later on, a famous writer . . . after the war I'd like to publish a book called "The Secret Annex."

In the afternoon, we took an off-beat tour of Amsterdam through Mike's Bikes. The weather wasn't ideal (chilly and drizzling), but it was still great way to see the city. Amsterdam is designed for bikes; and it's so flat that riding a bike around is easy. Anyway, on our tour we'd stop various places to learn about the city from our guide. He told us about John Stuart Mill's Harm Principle ("people should be free to engage in whatever behavior they wish as long as it does not harm others"), which led to the decriminalization of marijuana and prostitution in Holland. He explained "coffeshops" (read: places where you can buy marijuana) and the regulation of the prostitution industry. Eventually, we rode our bikes through the red-light district, where women (and men) sit in the front windows selling themselves like mannequins selling clothes.

Lest you think the tour was all sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll, we also stopped by the Royal Palace and learned about the city's canal system. Apparently, some 50-60 bodies and 20-30 thousand bikes are found each year when they drain the canals. Our guide also talked about the canal houses; the older ones often start to sink (their wooden supports rot) and must be taken down and rebuilt. Many of the houses have quite a lean to them!

We also rode out of the city, stopping at Rembrandt's Amazing Transporting Windmill (see my Amsterdam pictures for details) and a farmhouse, where we learned how cheese and clogs are made. Our return trip into the city was delayed a bit by a mechanical problem on Jen's bike so the farmer's daughter showed our tour group around the barn. I giggled at the New Yorkers in our group who were having the time of their lives feeding the cows. After the tour ended back in town, Jen and I rushed home, had nice warm showers, and got ready for Boom Chicago, a long-running improv show. True to the form, the comedy was hit-or-miss (but thankfully mostly hit). After the show, we enjoyed a few more beers in the Leidseplein area.

The next morning, while Jen slept off our late night, I visited the Rijksmuseum, the Dutch National Museum. The first floor mostly holds works from the Dutch Golden Age. My favorite was the minature "bigature" dollhouse; a Amsterdam wife had a to-scale model made of her canal house, complete with marble floors, artwork, curtain, and silver tea set. The dollhouse cost as much as another canal house! I also enjoyed the silver pieces and Delft ceramics. The second floor holds an impressive collection of Dutch art, including numerous Rembrandts and four Vermeers. I love to see Vermeer's works in person. The way he paints color and light is truly amazing. (And yes, I think about Colin Firth now when I see a Vermeer painting. Is that so wrong?)

I couldn't believe how many Rembrandts the museum has, but then I never knew quite how prolific he had been. The museum used to think it had more; so many of its "Rembrandt" acquisitions have been questioned or re-attributed to other artists that they had an entire exhibit--"Really Rembrandt?"--dedicated to them. The highlights of the Rembrandt collection are two works of unquestioned authenticity--The Five Syndics and The Night Watch. The latter is particularly impressive. For one, it's massive, and it would be even bigger had it not been sliced down to fit on a wall back in the day. Moreover, it's such an active, moment-in-time piece. And I could've looked at it for an hour and still not caught all the fun details!

After meeting back up at the hotel, Jen and I had lunch at the Grand Cafe before heading to the Albert Cuyp market. Street markets are always an interesting experience; typically, anything and everything is being sold. This market was no exception. Jen bought--of all things--socks, while I just browsed. I'm too hesitant for market shopping! Next up was the Heineken Experience, which is not so much an experience as a chance to drink 3 beers and get a Heineken glass for ten Euros. And while I still don't understand how beer is made, I do like Heineken now (I was lukewarm about it before). In the evening, we had a nice dinner and kept rolling with the Heineken. We took it easier than we had the two previous nights, but we still managed to stay up until 3 AM somehow!

On Sunday, we checked out of our hotel and arranged for our shuttle to the airport before heading to brunch. We returned to the Grand Cafe for the full European breakfast--bacon, eggs, toast, cheese, fruit, yogurt, juice, tea--before hitting the Van Gogh Museum. It's permanent collection is amazing, and it had a special Rembrandt/Caravaggio exhibition showing as well. The sheer number of Van Goghs is almost overwhelming; I mostly stuck to my audio guide and avoided the crowd as much as I could. I've decided yellow is his best color because most of my favorites--Still Life with Quinces and Lemons, The Reaper, and The Bedroom, are very yellow-intensive. I also enjoyed the special exhibition after seeing so many Caravaggio works in Italy. I think the side-by-side theme was a bit forced, but I'm not complaining about the chance to see so many wonderful paintings by two genuine masters. I resisted the urge to buy several posters in the museum shop, but I did get a small print of "The Harvest" because it reminds me of home.

After the museum, we got to the airport and returned to London without a hitch. Overall, I absolutely loved Amsterdam and cannot wait to go back some day. I'd love to see it during tulip season (which is right now!), and I could always return to the Van Gogh Museum. But my favorite part was the bike tour; anyone who knew me in undergrad knows how much I like to ride my bike!

To Napoli...and Beyond!

FRIDAY: Pompeii, Vesuvius, and Pizza
We woke up relatively early and caught an SITA bus from Naples to Pompeii. We arrived around 9:45 AM, which should've made us about 45 minutes "late" but in fact made us 45 minutes early. LP had the ruins opening at 8:30, but they actually opened at 10:30. We clearly weren’t the only ones with the wrong intel; there were about 100+ tourists waiting outside the gates when we got there. So we spent our extra time milling around the over-priced souvenir stands, and Ally and I bought cheap guidebooks to help us out. But holding these guidebooks didn’t save us from being accosted by several “licensed” tour guides outside the gates. They were quite relentless, but we weren’t fooled thanks to LP.

Once inside, we immediately walked as far away from the tour groups and masses of people as we possibly could. It was lovely to wander the ruins in quiet rather than in chaos. We checked out various buildings—baths, houses, temples, bakeries, brothels, etc. We also walked out beyond the city walls to two suburban villas—the Villa of Mysteries and the Villa of Diomedes. I enjoyed these a lot. The former had wonderfully preserved floor mosaics and wall paintings. The latter was a massive multi-story complex with a wonderful garden area. To think how beautiful it was before!

We also stopped by the Garden of Fugitives, where impressions of thirteen victims were found preserved in the ashes. They had all suffocated while trying to escape. Casts were taken and lined up in the garden as they were found. Seeing them definitely puts a more human face on the tragedy that befell Pompeii.

Did I mention the weather yet? No, I don’t think I did. Well, it was an absolutely gorgeous day. We all shed as many layers as we could. We’d had lovely weather our first two days in Rome, but the sun felt a bit warmer down in the Bay of Napoli. Anyway, after a few hours wandering about Pompeii, we finally exited and got some lunch. We really could have stayed the whole day, but we were anxious to visit Mt. Vesuvius and had to catch the last bus to the top.

We couldn’t resist the opportunity to visit an "active" volcano (last activity: 1944). But the bus only took us so far; we had to climb the last two kilometers ourselves. The bus ride itself was an adventure; the road winds and climbs up a narrow road. The driver had to honk the horn to warn oncoming traffic as we approached particuarly narrow corners, which is about every other turn. Now I have a pretty strong stomach, but even I was feeling a bit carsick toward the end. The bus made a temporary stop (aka a "shopping opportunity"), where we were given a brief history of Vesuvius. I bought a postcard and got it specially stamped.

The final climb was no picnic, but we managed it without much trouble. The top itself was mostly rock and mist (no swirling lava, which is fine by me), but we had fun climbing around and taking pictures. It was hard finding someone competent enough to take a decent picture of the three of us so we had to resort to using our timers. As I scurried over to join the girls in my photo (which can be seen in my photoset), I very nearly slid and fell down the side of the mountain. Now *that* would've been quite a story!

After walking back down to our bus, we bought some Vesuvian wine from a vendor. I brought it back with me in my pack; we plan to share it sometime over the next few weeks. As we waited for our bus to leave, I finally let myself read the part in which Vesuvius erupts in "Pompeii," a historical fiction book that covers a four-day span before, during, and after its most famous eruption in 79 AD. Am I a dork or what? (Don't answer that.)

Our trip back to Naples was uneventful. We had a delicious dinner at a pizzeria near our hostel. The pizza was excellent, but I expected no less from the town where it was invented.

SATURDAY: Buses and Beaches
The week was catching up with us so we took our time on Saturday morning. We got our bags packed and ready for our flight home and had a leisurely breakfast at our hostel. Our hostel in Naples—Hostel of the Sun--was great. If every you need a cheap, clean place to stay in Naples, I highly recommend it.

It was back to the SITA bus stop, but this time we were catching one to Amalfi. The Amalfi Coast is legendary for its beauty—blue waters, pastel-colored houses built into the sides of mountain. We were excited to just sit on a beach for a bit and relax. Here’s a map I stole from Rick Steves to help illustrate our day:



Our bus ride took us across the the peninsula so Salerno, where we then started along the coastal road back toward Amalfi. To call this a winding road would be quite the understatement. I swear all the winding tripled the distance between towns. It was a beautiful drive. We finally reached Amalfi around noon. The weather was nice so we grabbed sandwiches, chips, and drinks and had a little picnic on the beach. Then we soaked up the sun for a bit and splashed around (briefly) in the Mediterranean. After drying off and checking out the city square, it was time for our final gelato of the trip. On such a special occasion, only a large will do!

It was time to return to Naples, so we got on the next bus to Sorrento. Once again, our bus wound along the coastal road. We saw several gorgeous towns along the way, including Positano, which is often filmed for movies. I can only imagine how lovely it is to wake up and look upon such places in the glowing sun.

From Sorrento we caught the Circumvesuviana train back to Naples. We picked up our bags at the hostel, hopped the shuttle to the airport and were on our way home! Well, it didn’t go quite that smoothly. Unfortunately, Ally and I had to check our backpacks), which neither of us had to do on the way to Italy. Then our plane was delayed over an hour and there was no food in our gate area. But finally, around 10:30 PM we landed at London Stanstead. We breezed through customs (one situation in which being from a non-EU country is helpful), grabbed our bags quick as we could and got the train back into central London. We were lucky to catch the last Tube of the night and immediately went to McDonald’s for some much-needed sustenance. Never before has a cheeseburger value meal tasted so good!

Here's the final photoset. Next up: Amsterdam!

Roamin Round Roma

TUESDAY: The Vatican Cattle Drive

We woke up early (though not as early as we’d planned) to beat the rush to the Vatican Museum. Apparently, it is not possible to beat the rush. By the time we got there the line was already three blocks long; we waited at least an hour to get inside. When we finally did, it was awful--not the exhibits, of course, but the experience itself. You can only move through the museum on a specific path. You can jump ahead to the more famous parts—the Rafael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel—but once you’re there you can’t backtrack. We chose to take the longer route and saw some neat things, but the congestion was such that we couldn’t stop to look at things properly. It just got worse as we neared the end. It truly felt like a cattle drive, and the Sistine Chapel was our Abilene.

By the time we reached the Chapel, I was pretty annoyed. And the throng’s blatant disregard for the chapel rules—be quiet, no photographs, etc.—just made it worse. So now that I’ve “been there, done that” at the Vatican, I don't plan to return next time I visit Rome. We stopped by a pizzeria for lunch and learned that LP was right—the pizza in Rome is nothing to write home about. I would suggest sticking with pasta dishes and save your pizza craving for Naples.

After the hectic morning and unsatisfying lunch, our first day in Rome wasn’t off to a great start. Luckily, the weather and St. Peter’s helped turn the tide. We strolled over to the Piazza San Pietro and basked in the warm glow of the sun for a while. The Piazza is a lovely open area. We stood on the two points from which all the outer columns perfectly align, which was quite neat, and then joined the queue to enter St. Peter’s Basilica.

The basilica is truly massive—the second largest in the world, I believe. Naturally, there’s a ton to see on the inside: Michelangelo’s Pieta (his only signed work), the red disk on which Charlemange was crowned emperor, the ornate altar, the statute of St. Peter (we all rubbed his right foot for good luck), etc. And I was just dying to climb the dome and look out upon the city. After our hill-topping adventure in Cortona the day before, Ally and Laura weren’t too keen on the idea so they waited for me in the piazza. The views were definitely worth a few more sore muscles, especially on such a gorgeous day.

After sending a quick postcard off from the Vatican, I rejoined the girls in the piazza. They were being harassed by chatting with an older Italian gentleman. He wanted us to meet him in the Piazza Navona for dinner, which meant we were going nowhere near it that night! We trekked over to the Spanish Steps, which I found to be a bit of a let down on such a pretty day. I think the construction at the bottom and the scaffolding on a building right behind the steps really detracted from their charm.

At this point, we were going into severe gelato withdrawal; it had been almost 48 hours! But as we were leaving the gellateria, my cone broke and my precious gelato plummeted to the sidewalk. I was devastated. Luckily, the sweet man in the shop took pity on me and gave me a replacement cone. We enjoyed our treat while lounging on the steps and basked in the waning sunlight of the afternoon. On our way back to our hostel, we stopped by the Trevi Fountain and insured our return to Rome by tossing in one coin each. None of us are too keen on Italian men so we didn’t throw in any more than that (a second coin means you’ll fall in love with an Italian while a third means you’ll marry him).

Dinner that night was at a lovely restaurant on Quirinale Hill. The place we originally went to was full so we were sent us next door to its sister restaurant. It was a fairly pricy meal, but it was also the best we had in Rome. I had salad followed by spaghetti with monkfish. Everything was simply delicious.

WEDNESDAY: The Ides of March

Is there a more fitting day to visit Ancient Rome than the Ides of March?

Ally, Laura, and I split up until dinner. I woke up early and got to the Colosseum as it opened. It was a lovely morning so I drifted around the complex for a couple hours with my trusty audio guide. Among the things I learned: the Colosseum wasn't so named for its colossal size but rather after for the colossus of Nero that used to stand at the front gates. I'm fascinated by trapdoors and pulleys used to make animals and sets magically appear from the beneath the floor; they had a mininature showing how it was done. Such ingenuity in the name of gory entertainment!

Next up was the Palatine. It was here--legend has it--that Romulus killed his brother Remus and founded Rome in 753 BC. It used to be a posh Roman neighborhood, but the Palatine now resembles a lovely park checkered with ruins. I relaxed for a while on a bench overlooking the stadio and then headed down to the Roman Forum. It was all so overwhelming that I bought a book to help me understand just what I was looking at.

It would be futile for me to try and describe every detail so I'll just briefly discuss my personal highlights. I started from the Colosseum and walked along the Via Sacra (Sacred Way) to the Arch of Titus. The Arch commerates Vespasian and Titus' victories over Jerusalem. What I didn't know is that Roman Jews would avoid passing under it because it marked the beginning of the Jewish disapora (expulsion from Jerusalem). At the other end of the Via Sacra stands the Arch of Septimus Severus Snape, built to celebrate Rome's victory over the Parthians. This arch has very impressive reliefs but unfortunately I didn't get a good close-up of them.

In the center of the forum is the House of the Vestal Virgins. (I feel a particular affinity for my VV sisters, having played the (secretly slutty) Vestal Virgin at Leigh's murder mystery party back in the day!) Vestal Virgins led privileged lives (theater tickets, dinner parties, etc.) and were honored throughout Rome, but it all came at a price--30 years of celibacy, which could begin as early as age six. The punishment for breaking the vow of chastity was being buried alive!

After swinging by Trajan's Column (decorated with a spiral of beautiful reliefs of his battles against he Dacians), I headed to the Capotiline Museums. But as interesting as the exhibits sounded, I just wasn't up to spending time inside on such a lovely day. So I decided to head toward the Pantheon, searching for some sustinence along the way.

I sat down at a restaurant near the Pantheon. Somehow, I got to talking to two English men (father and son) who were sitting at the table next to mine. (I think I had noticed their Middlesbrough kits and asked if they were British.) They were in Rome for the Middlesbrough-Roma football match that night and informed me that I'd be seeing red-clad Middlesbrough fans all over Rome that day (and I did). I ended up chatting with them for a good 45 minutes. I told them about the Chelsea game I had attended, and we just talked about various things--British weather, rugby, skiing, the cost of living in Norway (random, I know). The father showed me pictures from the ski-jumping competition he had watched the week before, and I gave them advice on a gelato place they should try. Our checks came about the same time, and the father insisted on paying for mine. He explained it was for the "pleasant company," which was incredibly sweet of him. I really wish I'd taken a picture of my Middlesbrough friends for posterity's sake. Oh well, at least their team drew a tie that night and advanced in the Uefa Cup!

I wandered through Piazza Navona before stopping by the Pantheon, where I happened to run into Laura. We checked it out together before heading to Gelateria Giolitti, which is said to have been Pope John Paul II's favorite. I would say it was the best gelato I had all trip, not including the return trip I made the next day. ;P Laura and I split apart again; she wanted to visit a church, while I wanted to make one last visit to the Roman Forum and Colosseum area.

The three of us regrouped at the hostel later that evening. Ally had spent the day in Tivoli checking out Emperor Hadrian's villa. Laura had visited many of the same sights as I did but just as different times. We took it easy on our feet and just had dinner near our hostel.

THURSDAY: Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head

We split up again on Thursday. On the recommendation a couple girls staying in our hostel, I got up early and headed to the Borghese Gallery. I had to get there early because the gallery limits its tickets, which I didn't have yet. They assured me that 9 AM tickets would still be available this time of year, and they were right. I walked to the Museum through the grounds of the Villa Borghese. It was drizzling rain, but I didn't mind too much. It was a nice respite from the hectic streets of Rome.

The Gallery was created in the early 1600s by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the pope's nephew and passionate art collector. He was so passionate, in fact, that he would use whatever means--monetary or muscle--necessary to get the pieces he wanted. The Borghese family has kept up and added to the collection over the centuries, although many pieces were "sold" to Napoleon after his sister Pauline married into the Borghese family. These now sit in the Louvre.

I bought and audio guide on the advice of a Patricia, an older woman I met in the ticket line. I was glad I did. I got so much more out of the gallery because of the insightful commentary. And with only two hours to see everything, it was nice to have a more precise path to follow. One of the gallery's highlights is its collection of sculptures by Bernini. The Cardinal "discovered" the brilliant Bernini at a young age and commissioned many of his most famous works. I was particularly taken by his Apollo and Daphne, a dramatic piece which captures the moment Apollo catches Daphnes and she starts turning into a tree. Other wonderful Bernini works include Pluto and Proserpina, David, and the incomplete Truth Unveiled by Time.

The upper level contains the bulk of the paintings. Titian's Sacred and Profane Love has become somewhat of a museum symbol. Rafael's Deposition, Caravaggio's Madonna, and Bassano's The Last Supper are among the "Life of Christ" highlights. But my favorite painting was Domenichino's Diana:



I just find it to be an interesting transposition--women (fittingly Diana and her nymphs) doing typically male pursuits--hunting, wrestling, running, etc. What you might not be able to see is the two young men spying on the nymphs from behind a bush (a big no-no). One is giving the viewer the "shhh" sign, but the woman bathing in the foreground sees you!

I barely made it through the collection when the two hours was up. After purchasing a book on the Gallery, it was back out into the rain. I didn't mind the rain that much. It wasn't coming down particularly hard, and it meant far fewer people on the streets. I walked back into town, swinging by the now-empty Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, and Giolitti. After a bit of shopping, I walked back by Ancient Rome on my way to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. I took refuge in the church for a while to write some postcards, and then I was off to meet up with my roommates at the hostel. Laura had spent her day checking out catacombs somewhere along the Appian Way. Ally had gone church-hopping.

After getting Ally a train ticket (Laura and I used rail passes all week), we stopped by a supermarket to get food for the road. When we went to get on our train, it was ridiculously full. Moreover, Ally had forgotten her Florence poster at the hostel. So instead of cramming onto the train and sacrificing the poster, we decided to wait an hour for the next one. It was definitely a good decision; our train was pratically empty. After a relaxing ride to Naples, we found our hostel and turned in for the night.

Here's the link to the second Italy photoset. Enjoy! Next up is Naples, Pompeii, Vesuvius, and the Amalfi Coast!

A blonde, a brunette, and a redhead travel to Italy...

and have a wonderful time! (The blonde would be Ally, another friend, who decided to join us at the last second.) We flew back in last night, returning to the chill of London after sitting on a beach in Amalfi just a few hours before. After a good night's sleep and a leisurely morning spent reading The Sunday Times and doing laundry, it's finally time to worry about blogging.

I originally intended to just "blog by bullet points," but I've decided to just go for and it do the usual write-up. (Please forgive me if I make more typos and grammatical errors than usual.) I'll do corresponding photosets as well. Feel free to leave questions in the comments; I promise to answer them. And Tim, I'll definitely put together a Top 10 list for you.

SATURDAY: The Day of a Thousand Steps
Backpacks in tow, Laura and I were off to London Stansted at 4:30 AM to catch our flight. We arrived in "near" Bologna around 10 AM and caught the 45-minute bus shuttle to the city. Our first stop? Gelato, of course! Our Lonely Planet (LP) guidebook sent us to the Gelateria delle Moline, where we enjoyed our first of many cones of gelato. Next we walked toward the central square, where we saw the Fountain of Neptune. Particularly noteworthy are the fountain's water jets, which are "cleverly integrated" into the statue. (See my photos for details.)

We then found the Le Due Torri, literally The Two Towers, both of which sport a sizeable lean. One leans so much it had to be cut in half. Perhaps it was the excitement of being in Italy or the sugar-rush of the gelato, but we thought climbing the 498 steps to the top of the taller tower with our backpacks sounded like a good idea. (The Big Ben climb had about 330 steps.) It wasn't fun, but we made it. We were rewarded with a wonderful view of the "Red Bologna". From the tower, we spotted an interesting building atop a hill in the distance, the Basilica Santurio della Madonna di San Luca, which could be reached by bus or on foot. We put it on our list of things to do after lunch and set off to find a recommended restaurant.

Except we didn't really eat lunch. By that time, it was 3 PM, and practically all the restaurants were closing until dinner. "No worries," we said. "We're not that hungry anyway. We'll just head over to the basilica and have an early dinner." Heh.

We took a bus to the base of the portico that leads up to the basilica. With 666 arches the portico is the longest in the world. Now as you'll recall, we could've taken a bus to the top or walked up the portico. Yet for some reason we decided to walk. "It's only 2 km!" we said. Somehow it escaped our notice that it’s 2 km uphill, but we did manage to make it to the top. It was gorgeous up there; the views were spectacular. But to this day we're aren't quite sure what possessed us to walk.

Yet the fun in Bologna didn't stop there! We walked (yes walked) back down to the bottom in search of dinner. Naturally, all the restaurants were still closed until 7 PM! Disgruntled, tired, and hungry, we plopped down in a cheap eatery near the train station and finally got some food. It was by far the worst food we ate in Italy, but it did the trick. Finally, we hopped on our train, arrived in Florence a few hours later, found our hostel without too much trouble, and got some much-needed rest.

Overall, I thought Bologna was definitely worth the time we spent there. Our day would've been more pleasant had we checked our bags at the train station (which we didn't realize we could do until later) and been more aware of Italian custom re restaurants, but Laura and I still had a good time. We laugh about what we call the "Day of a Thousand Steps" now, especially considering what happened a couple days later...

SUNDAY: Heady Times in Siena
We woke up early the next morning and headed to the Galleria dell'Accademia, mainly to see Michelangelo's David. The LP said to get there early, and we were sure glad we did. We walked straight in at 8:45 AM. By the time we left around 10, the line was a block-and-a-half long! The David itself exceeded my expectations; it's much larger (around 15 feet) than I anticipated and beautiful from every angle.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we hopped a bus to Siena. I enjoyed seeing the Tuscan scenery from the bus, although I’m sure it’s far more beautiful later in the year. We arrived in Siena and headed for the city center, the Piazza del Campo, a lovely, scallop-shaped space. We had lunch in the piazza (I had a wonderful ravioli) then set out to see the town. The cathedral is a massive Gothic church; highlights included the marble floor and Libreria Piccolomini, with colorful frescoes depicting the life of its namesake. Next up was the Chiesa di San Domenico, where we saw the preserved head of St. Catherine! It looked faked to me until we saw a close-up on a postcard. Gross.

Back in Florence, Ally had arrived at our hostel. After taking a quick siesta, the three of us went out to dinner at a restaurant nearby. Our food was fabulous; my Tuscan roasted pork (ariste di maiale al forno) practically melted in my mouth. The red wine was following as well, ensuring that we were quite giggly by the time we left.

We left in search of gelato. Ally led the way because she had studied in Florence one summer during undergrad and knew a place that would be open. After a few twists in turns, we finally stumbled upon the place she was talking about--Festival del Gelato—which has more than 70 flavors to choose from. It’s never hard for me—anything with chocolate will do. Now cold inside and out, we scurried back to the hostel and turned in for the night.

MONDAY: Duomo and Dumber
As the other two got ready the next morning, I ran off to the station to check train times. On the way, I stopped by the Mercato Centrale San Lorenzo, a large covered market not far from our hostel. I was tempted to buy some of the unique pastas they were selling but settled for just a banana instead.

Leaving our bags at the hostel, ventured out into Florence. After stopping by a patisterrie for some breakfast, we headed to the River Arno. We checked out the views generally and Ponte Vecchio in particular. This famous bridge has housed jewellery merchants for centuries. Unfortunately, the wares were quite out of our price range, but we enjoyed window-shopping nonetheless. After a stroll through the outdoor sculpture gallery that is the Piazza della Signoria (it holds copies of the David and Donatello’s Marcozzo), we finally visited Florence’s famed Duomo. We didn’t have time to climb the cupola (dome), but the interior of it was lovely (see my pictures for a glimpse).

As it was a Monday, many of the other attractions, including the Uffizi Gallery, were closed. So we decided to take an earlier train and make a brief stop in Cortona on our way to Rome. It ended up being quite a memorable stop.

Cortona was the setting for much of Under the Tuscan Sun (remember seeing that, Lori?). It’s set high upon a hill overlooking the Tuscan countryside. Because of said hill, we were hoping to drop our bags off at the station. Unfortunately, the Camucia-Cortona stop has no such service so we begrudgingly took them with us. We took a bus up to Cortona itself, and then the fun really started.

We did as the LP said and “wriggled up through a sleepy warren of steep cobbled lanes” to the Chiesa San Margherita. This stiff climb was made even more difficult by our backpacks. Laura and I were having Bologna flashbacks, and Ally struggled with the ill-fitting pack she had borrowed from a much taller friend. We finally made it to the top, and the views were lovely. After a brief rest, we literally shuffled back down the steep hill, bought some postcards, and caught the bus back down the hill.

Halfway down the hill, our bus picked up a ticket-checker. We showed him our tickets then he proceeded on up the aisle. But on his way back and stopped and started talking to us in Italian. Naturally, we couldn’t understand a word he was saying. Finally, he got out a ticket booklet and pointed to 40 Euros. Instantly, I understood that he wanted to fine us for not having a new ticket. But we were under the erroneous impression that our tickets were valid for a certain time period (I even asked the bus driver if we had the right ticket when we got on), while our tickets were actually only good for a one-way ride.

As Ally describes it, I had this look of utter disbelief on my face and simply stared straight ahead. I honestly didn’t know what to do; I didn’t want to pay that much for an honest mistake! Laura was frantically looking through her phrasebook, and Ally was trying to communicate with him best she could. We made little progress, and I wasn’t quite sure what we were going to do. Finally, a woman on the bus took pity on us and translated. We pleaded our case best we could, and she tried to help as well. We didn’t completely get out of it--we still had to pay ten Euros each. But at least he didn’t call the police like he was threatening to!

After he got off the bus, the woman and the driver talked about what happened. She explained that the driver was mad at the ticket man for doing that to us but there was nothing he could do; we thanked the woman for her help and got off. As we waited for our (late) train, we went through a range of emotions—confusion, anger, and amusement—about the whole affair. But we vowed not to dwell on it and had a rather enjoyable ride through Umbria. We found our hostel in Rome without much fanfare, and then sat down to a nice dinner (I had veal). We’d had an exhausting day--physically and emotionally—so it wasn’t hard falling asleep that night.

Here's the link to the photoset for these days. Stay tuned stories from Rome!

Greetings from Rome!

Just stopping by to say I am having a great time in Italy. It's rainy today (luckily the first bad weather we've had so far) so I'm taking a quick e-mail break.

I've seen so much I'm not quite sure how I'll find the time to blog about it all. Oh well, that's something to worry about later; there's plenty left to see in Naples and Pompeii!

Hope you're all well. Go Kansas!

Another Exhausting Weekend

SATURDAY
Our English Legal System final behind us, H and I traveled to Bath. I remember visiting Bath during a previous visit to England, but I had forgotten how gorgeous the city is. I almost gasped as the train rounded the corner and the city came into view.

Our first stop was the ancient Roman baths. It's always amazing to see something that's survived for so long. If only they could do more excavations.

I had visited the baths when I was younger, but nothing seemed familiar until I saw the caldarium (specfically, the stacked stones at left). These stones were used to create space beneath the floor of the caldarium so that hot air could circulate and warm the floor. Wooden shoes had to be worn in this room so the bathers didn't burn their feet!

We were positively starving after exploring the baths for two hours. On the advice of the trusty "Best Day Trips from London," we went to a local tearoom, Hands. We ordered the special tea, which included sandwiches, scones, and various biscuits and came on a cute two-tier tray. It was a very satisfying meal, though the teapots were smaller than one would hope.

After lunch, we headed to the Jane Austen Centre, a permanent exhibit about how living in Bath influenced her writings . It was a miracle we ever got past the front door, where Mr. Firth Darcy was keeping watch. The Centre has a wonderful gift shop that's also wonderfully tiny; we managed to resist the rare editions in favor of more affordable souvenirs.

Next, we strolled up to the Royal Crescent--a semicircle of lovely Georgian townhomes--before heading to the Museum of Costume. I really enjoyed the exhibit, which traced English fashion from the 17th century onward. Half-way through, H and I enjoyed trying on modern replicas of the corsets (see my Flickr page for the a photo). They weren't so bad until we tried to bend over! One of the last pieces in the museum was the infamous J-Lo Versace dress, which was really quite impressive.

We strolled around Bath a bit more, making a special stop at the local Waitrose to pick up brownie mix (which is difficult to find in central London), before catching our train back to the city. I really loved Bath. I think it's one of the places in England, along with London and Oxford, where I would could live.

SUNDAY
I caught an early bus to Oxford with H and Jen. Our trip had two purposes: visit infamous The Trout and shop. The former was a tremendous success, while the latter had mixed results.

The Trout is one of H's favorite places in Oxford. Actually, it's a pub a few miles north in Wolvercott. After falling in love with The Rose, I shouldn't have been surprised to find The Trout as good as advertised. We arrived (via cab) just in time to get a table, saving us from having to stand around like vultures to get one. Our food was wonderful, and we all splurged for some dessert as well.

Instead of cabbing it back to town, we walked via a popular path along the Thames. It was gorgeous day, and we took our time, enjoying the fresh air. I could see why H did this--the Trout and the stroll--nearly every Sunday during her year at Oxford.

Our next stop was Debenhams, where we hoped to find Jen a dress for a wedding she's attending...tonight back in Georgia. Unfortunately, she didn't find anything, but I did find a jacket, something I've been searching for since I got here. We shopped along Cornmarket Street until it started to drizzle, which "forced" us to take refuge in The Rose. We enjoyed tea and the delicious scones and then caught our bus back to London.

MONDAY
On Monday evening, H and I hosted an Oscar party. It was another successful gathering, if I may say so myself. We served wine and had various supplies for ice cream sundaes--brownies, sauces, fruit, etc. Our version of the Oscars consisted of a two-hour highlight show, which I actually preferred to the full broadcast. We saw the most important bits: the red carpet footage (Reese looked gorgeous), John Stewart's opening (hilarious), the cowboy movie montage (even more hilarious), and all the major awards. I was thrilled for all the winners, especially Reese, George (great acceptance speech), and Ang Lee. I was surprised that Crash beat Brokeback, but it certainly deserved to win.

SPRING BREAK
I'm heading to Italy for my break with my friend Laura. We're planning to see Florence, Siena, Rome, and Naples/Pompeii. All the hostels we're staying at have Internet so I will try to make a brief update at some point. Until then, arrivederci!

Parliament Tour

Last Monday, I went on a special tour of Parliament and Big Ben. It was led by Richard Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 4th Baron Acton and his wife, who happens to be our program director. He was a hereditary peer until the House of Lords Act 1999 abolished hereditary peers but was kept on as a life peer. Lord Acton is one of the few with "double peerage" in the House of Lords. At one time, Professor Acton was only one of two American women married to a Lord; the other was Jamie Lee Curtis, who is married to Christopher Guest.

Lord Acton and Professor Acton were a hilarious tour guide duo. He was the comic to her "straight man." He would make comments such as, "Nothing is scarier than an American woman than a small American woman" (when talking about his wife) or "It's quite plain, really" (in reference to the throne in the House of Lords Chamber, seen at right). She would dote on him and remind him what to point out mere moments after he warned us that she was about to do it. It was all too amusing.

We entered the Palace of Westminster through the "Sovereign's Entrance." As the name implies, this is the Queen's entrance when she visits Parliament for the yearly State Opening of Parliament. The security was expectedly tight, though the pat-down was more up close and personal than any I had ever had. We made all the usual stops: the robing room, the two House chambers, etc. We also saw the oldest part of the palace, Westminster Hall, which dates back to 1097!

I cannot possibly recount (nor remember) every interesting anecdote Lord Acton told us, but I found one in particular quite memorable. "The Usher of the Black Rod is a floor officer of the Senate and is responsible for security in the Senate Chamber. The Black Rod also leads the daily Speaker's Parade to and from the Senate Chamber." Every year for the State Opening of Parliament, the Black Rod is sent to summon the House of Commons to the Lords' Chamber for the sovereign's speech. As the Black Rod approaches the Commons, the doors are shut in his face. He then strikes the door three times with the staff. He is asked, "Who's there?" to which he answers, "Black Rod." Only then is he admitted to the chamber to summon to issue the monarch's invitation. Lord Acton showed us the door the Black Rod used to strike before the Commons had its own Chamber.

After the tour, we got to climb Big Ben! To be more accurate, we climbed the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster and saw Big Ben, the largest bell in the tower. We watched the clock's mechanism, one of the most accurate in the world, as it struck 11:45 AM. Then we climbed up into the clockface to watch/hear the bells actually being struck at noon. We had to be quiet, as it was being broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The view from the bell tower was impressive, but unfortunately I did not have my camera (we were told not to bring them at all).

We ate lunch at The Clarence and then returned to Parliament for the House of Lords "Question Time." As luck would have it, the "Black Rod" gave me our group ticket to the gallery. I saved it for my scrapbook, Mom! After watching the Lord Chancellor's procession into the chamber, we took our seats in the upper gallery. During Question Time, the government (currently Labour) is asked several pre-arranged ("starred") questions. Typically, the government's answer will incite other Lords to jump up (or in the case of the older members, simply rise) to ask further questions on the matter.

But the most exciting part of QT came after the starred questions. To put it briefly, a Lord's question had been rejected by the Leader of the House of Lords, Lady Amos (seen above), because it was not "sufficiently urgent." The question involved the government's plans to make the House of Lords at least partially elected, which is obviously a topic of interest to all the Lords. Lady Amos was quite impressive in explaining her decision, but as Lord Acton told us afterwards, the move was unprecedented.

Following Question Time, we met with Lord Acton and one of his friends, Lord Hunt to discuss current issues in British politics and the pros and cons of their political system. I've been following Tony Blair's recent political struggles (mostly due to education reform and Iraq) in the papers so I found their insight quite interesting.

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Whew! Expect another update tomorrow detailing my weekend trips to Bath and Oxford and offering a preview of my spring break plans!

Rugby Rules?!

On Sunday, I went to my first rugby match. I met up with Brian, who arranged the excursion, and Laura at Paddington to catch a train to Reading. (Note to Lori: I got a mango fruit smoothie at the station that reminded me of you!) After an uneventful train ride and a slightly more eventful search for transportation to the stadium, we arrived at Madejski Stadium, home of the London Irish!

Established in 1898 for young Irishmen living in London, the London Irish Rugby Football Club now plays in the 12-team Guinness Premiership. Brian particuarly wanted to see a London Irish game because of Irish descent, and Laura's father actually holds an Irish passport. Me? People just think I'm Irish.

Our first stop was the team store. Laura and I were tempted by the cheap t-shirts on the children's rack, while Brian went all out and bought a team jersey. Feeling the team spirit, we went into the stadium and found our seats. It was opening seating on our side so we managed some pretty nice seats near midfield. In retrospect, we wished we had sat just a few rows lower so we could have been in the sunlight. The temperature difference was amazing.

Luckily, I had looked up a few of the rugby rules the night before so I did my best to explain them before the match. And things started making more sense once the match actually started. I wouldn't say I understood everything I saw, but I definitely knew when good things were happening for the Irish. Here's a brief photo tutorial of my rudimentary understanding of the rules of rugby:


This is a "scrum." A player on one of the teams gets to toss the ball into the scrum. The position of the ball is the line of "scrummage," and thus players on the other side are not allowed to cross line where the ball is at. Once the ball is at the back of the scrum, a player not part of it can pick up the ball and start moving forward with it. Unlike American football, the ball cannot be thrown forward, but it can be run or kicked forward.



This is a thrown-in. The team with possession tosses the ball overhead (much like in soccer) to the teammates. They have elaborate throw-in plays that remind me of basketball, except the part where they hoist people up into the air. Throw-ins are my favorite part of the game.

I don't have any pictures of a "touchdown," which literally involving touching the ball down past a certain line, because they happen very, very quickly. But here's a two-point conversion kick:



The place from which the conversion is attempted depends on where the touchdown was scored. Because scoring a touchdown up the middle is more difficult, the team gets an easier placement for the conversion. This particular attempt failed.

The Irish ultimately won the game 30-3. We all enjoyed the game so much that we're organizing a trip to another in April. Several of our classmates have expressed interest so hopefully we'll get another chance to cheer on the Irish!

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I've definitely fallen behind on my blogging, but I am determined to catch-up before I leave for spring break. Expect at least two more updates this week.