Florence...

Our last and final adventure in Italy...mind you, not our last adventure! Life is an adventure! Besides, we do still need to fly out of this joint...and who knows how that will go! But as for our exploring and adventuring in Italy...it has come to a close. But not before I got to go to Florence! Museums are not the best places for small children, so I have been scheming for a long time how to pull off Florence for a while...Tobin (the most wonderful husband ever) agreed to watch the kids on a Saturday...so I made my reservations for Uffizi and Accademia in Florence. It was SO worth it! Case and I made the adventure together...super fun memories! Here is a pic of Ponte Vecchio...

Here is the Santa Croce Church...

Covered markets near Uffizi...

And the Boar fountain in front of it...

The Duomo...

Case filling his water bottle in front of San Lorenzo...

Not being able to go to many museums, I have hand picked the few I wanted to go to. Vatican Museums, Uffizi, and Accademia...all well worth the price of admission. Uffizi was our first stop and it has the finest collection of Italian art anywhere...period. The art was absolutely spectacular...but it was the hottest place I have ever been! I don't know why I was thinking it was going to be air conditioned but I was sorely mistaken. I didn't spend as much time just absorbing the art, as it was meant to be, but I certainly hit the high points. The most striking pieces...at least to me...were two Carravagio paintings (not in the special exhibit) of Mary and Christ as a baby. Generally speaking, those kind of paintings tend to be very 'churchy' and full of Catholic doctrine and such. But these two paintings (one with Mary with an infant Christ, and one with toddler Christ) were absolutely breathtaking. The realism, the emotion, the images are forever burned into my memory. For a good reason.

Our second stop was Accademia (Micheangelo's David). Equally breathtaking! First, it was air conditioned and a welcome relief to the heat. Second, was David...absolutely exquisite! I, for one, was unsure that it was worth going to...you already know what David looks like, everyone has seen pictures. It was SO worth it! I truly appreciate being able to go. First, the sculpture is much bigger than imagined. Second, the detail is absolutely amazing (I am running out of adjectives here). It looked like he could just get up and move around...SO realistic. And out of marble! To make it more fascinating, they had on display several unfinished works of Michealangelo...it was almost like looking at his process...how the sculpture came out of the block of marble...being able to see some of the technique in sculpting...amazing!

So overall, I liked Florence and it's museums. I am glad that I made the effort even as I am packing the last few items in our suitcases (most of those last few items came from Florence!).

Have a wonderful and cool day!
Ciao a tutti!

Doge's Palace...

A quick history lesson...Venice was one of the most important, powerful, and wealthiest cities in Europe as a result of the East-West trade routes from the Far East to Europe. With the discovery of America and the new source of cheap goods, Venice's power ebbed but lived lavishly on it's aquired wealth during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Doge's Palace is where the Doge of Venice resided (think Duke of Venice)...It was built to show off the power and wealth of the Republic. The outside facade...

Directly inside is this great courtyard...this was the most powerful half-acre of Europe for 400 years!

Once inside, it is pretty amazing...though pretty sparse! The moulding, ceilings, doorways, stairways, and even wallpaper is terribly extravigant and beautiful. The Palace contained living quarters for the Doge and his family, rooms for the local senate to meet (the senate had 120 members), the judical branch of the government, and a prison. There were several paintings by Tintoretto, one of which is the largest oil painting in the world (this is located on the wall over the Doge's throne, of course!). We got to tour the armory, prison, and the Hall of the Grand Council...where the entire nobility met to elect senators and the Doge. Overall, it was pretty amazing...again, no pictures :(

Thankfully, we just happened to walk by when there was NO line...so we decided to go in! Go us!

Speaking of being lucky...just prior to our tour of Doge's Palace we went to St. Mark's Basilica (again, no pics)...we arrived pretty early and there was already a HUGE line! IN THE SUN!!! We were not super excited about this prospect...I remembered my handy Rick Steves book in my bag...SHORT CUT!!!! Apparently, they don't want people to wear backpacks into the Basilica...so there is a handy FREE bag check just around the corner (REALLY) and they give you the claim ticket and you BYPASS the terribly LONG line!!!! I really felt bad for the folks that waited in line with their backpacks just to be denied entrance! Thank you Rick Steves!

It kind of makes you feel like you know what you are doing! Since then, you can bet that I bring that dopey book with me everywhere!
Ciao a tutti!

Vulci...Part Due...

Thursday afternoon was just begging for an adventure! So off we went to Vulci (the local archeological park...think Etruscans) to visit the museum there. It is inside this great castle...

The kids really enjoyed running around the castle and throwing rocks in the spring-fed moat...

An example of Etruscan artifacts...

And our 'local' aquaducts...just down the road from Montalto...a little 4x4 on a dirt road, it felt just like home (aside from scraping the ground with the car, of course)...

Have a wonderful day!
Ciao a tutti!

Opportunity of a Lifetime...

I am not sure if you all know this about me, but I LOVE to go to museums...art, history, science...I just really enjoy them. Out of all museums, I love ART museums...I was almost an Art major in college...I love the use of color, texture, composition, etc. On Wednesday, I was able to go to one of THE most important museums in Europe...maybe the world...The Vatican Museum. What an amazing opportunity! The kids got to spend time with their Aunt Carolyn and Jamie and I went to the museum...Amazing!

Thanks to my guide book, I bought our tickets online...well worth the extra money to pre-register for your tickets...we bipassed ALL of the lines! Went through security, got our tickets and were on our way before we even new it...we called my ticket voucher 'the magic paper'...

As with just about everything lately, it was not what I was expecting...at all! It was very crowded (apparently the Catholics celebrate the Assumption of Mary on May 14th so there were tons of people there), hot, narrow, you end up in a maze of corridors, stairways, and passageways as you loop through the museum. That being said...it was absolutely amazing!

It almost seemed as if the museum itself was more beautiful than the actual works of art. The decoration of each of the rooms, were absolutely spectacular! The ceilings are ornately decorated, the floors are exquisite, and the amount of marble used is just staggering!

Of course, the art is spectacular...though it is hard to know how wonderful it is...they certainly are not big on signs or telling you what you are looking at! What these artist could do with marble is just staggering!

One of my favorite parts was the flooring (I know it sounds weird), but the tile work is just amazing! They are so detailed and the tiles are so tiny...amazing! Here is a close up of that floor above...

This is from the map room...the ceiling is just amazing...so intricately detailed in everyway!

Now on to the art...again, while I certainly enjoyed the museum, I wasn't too sure what exactly we were looking at! But the parts I did know, were spectular...this pic is from the Raphael rooms...the sheer size is staggering! No wonder people were artists for a lifetime! This is a fresco...the colors were just amazing...

As with everything, even the ceilings are decorated in the Raphael rooms...

Then when you think that you have seen it all, you walk into the Sistine Chapel...honestly, it is breath-taking! And utterly fascinating...I took a picture before I realized I wasn't supposed to...oops! The painting style is very interesting...forget historical...Rome was the center of the world so all the biblical stories are set in a medditeranean landscape, wearing clothing for that time and place...fascinating!

Of course, I have tons of pictures. The ancient egyptian items were awesome...the sculptures amazingly intricate...the tapestries were enormous...the frescos were awesome (I am certainly glad they underwent the renovation of the Sistine Chapel...the colors were so vibrant). Everything is so old and ornate and Catholic!

We didn't make it into St. Peter's Square or Basilica...the kids will enjoy that! If anyone has any specific questions...I would love to answer them if I can!

This weekend is pretty busy...apparently, the 8th annual Asparagus Festival is going on here in Montalto...Yes, I said asparagus! There is supposed to be a Mercantino...a market of antiques, arts and crafts, and other stuff! Now, if it would just stop raining...it should be alot of fun! Then on Sunday we have to turn in our rental car for another...goodbye 'sports car' :(

I hope that you have a wonderful day and weekend!

Ciao a tutti!