thanksgiving 2008 in the big apple

This year the four of us decided to invade brother J's place in NY for Thanksgiving. Subways, bright lights, utz, soap pump basted turkey and two buck chuck made for a delightful holiday.

Catchin' the subway...

Bright city lights...

When in Rome (or this case little Italy)...

Check out more NY pix at: Flickr.com

italy photos

Hi all,

I've finally gotten around to sifting through all my Italy photos. I've posted them on Flickr.com for all of you to see. They're not well annotated, so if you want the story line we'll have to meet up so I can give you a tour. But for a quick pass on what we saw, feel free to take a look!

Italy Photos on Flickr.com

ever wondered...

... what a liter of wine looks like? Wonder no more! Sister D and I have been on the investigative scene! After this investigation... Florence was much easier going.

relief!

The temperature finally dropped below 102 degrees making Florence so much more enjoyable.

We spent the morning at the Uffitzi (sp?) musum. With our audio guide it took 3.5 hours. Sister D has a nack for setting off museum alarms by getting too close to the paintings. Should we ever get separated, I just listen for the buzzer alarm and always know where to find her.

As we left the museum it was starting to rain so we ducked into a restaurant along the piazza and settled in for a long lunch.

Later this afternoon Sister D and I separated. I went to go ship things home and shop (the leather stores smell so good!) and she went to climb the bell tower of the Duomo.

Dinner was fun as we found a fun outdoor cafe just in time for an amazing downpour complete with thunder and lightening. Two ladies sat down next to us who only spoke French. They were struggling to communicate with the waitor who spoke Italian and English. They turned to Sister D and I several times for help, so we jumped in and added to the comedic scene. (mostly gesturing & laughter) I cant even fake my way through French. These was a good experience for us as weve both gotten lazy and relied on our English more than before.

local hangouts

One of our local hangouts here in Florence has been the Duomo steps. It seems to be a local teen hangout, and a good place to drink beer... which also makes it good for people watching.

We havent spent many late nights here. Our B&B has a midnight curfew. The woman who runs it is very sweet, and always worried about us. Pay Attention! is her stern warning each time we go out.

I had hoped to find a good salsa dancing joint here in Florence, and actually I found several. But on the map they seem far from our B&B, and with the curfew there may not be enough time to dance. Thats ok, Ill look up some places in Rome for next week.

still not feeling it...

Im still not fully into Florence. Its hot, muggy and dirty. Its been hard. The heat zaps our energy.

Today we checked out another two galleries. I cant remember the name of the first. Barello maybe? Then we wandered through town and ended up at Palentine Pitti. I could have the name of this wrong too. All I remember is that Sister D wanted to visit the modern art museum here, and that it was nine flights up. (Yup, I counted!) Boy can she pick em. I could have punched her...

Currently Im sitting in a laundry mat waiting for our clothes to wash. What a small luxury clean clothes are at this point! Our next debate is whether or not to try shipping our box of goodies home. The US customs office has some pretty stiff rules, and its just plain expensive. 100£ for 10 KG. Ouch! Plus the US charges an extra 30£ for shipping alcohol. What else would I want to ship?! But, I may pony up and do it. My suitcase is so heavy I may sink our vaparetto in Venice.

firenze is the armpit of italy

My experience in Florence has been hot, sweaty and dirty. Armpit is the only way to describe this city some how made chic by the artworld.

Traveling to Florence and finding our way around has been smooth thus far. The afternoon we arrived we had an appointment at the Accademia Museum to see Michaelangelo David. This figure of David is much larger than I had imagined from photos. However, I think even more interesting to me are his half finished pieces fromhis workshop. This style of carving is beyond my capabilities. I cant look at a block of marble and begin to imagine the figures like he could.

Later this afternoon as temperatures rose to what had to be over 100, we returned to our hotel for a much needed nap. We had caught a 7am train out of the Cinque Terra to make our accedamia appointment. We both felt like we were wimping out until we reminded ourselves that it was only yesterday that we climbed a freaking mountain!

bright idea #2

After reviving from our hike, we set out to do a little shopping. Several tourist shops sell food goods grown in the mountainside we hiked through. We thought it would be fun to pick up a few things. 3 bottles of wine, 6 jars of pesto and one T-shirt later, we had to laugh at what consumer whores the Cinque Terra had turned us into.

Not wanting to carry everything with us to dinner, I stupidly suggested we run it all back to our room. Our room is up about 100 steps, through narrow passageways, several switchbacks and a cave like tunnel. Choosing to run back to the room real fast was not a great idea, especially after a 7 mile hike. Stupid, stupid idea...

bright idea #1

After finishing our hike we were both exhausted and in desparate need of a shower. (Did I mention it was 7 miles long?) To return to Vernazza from the end point, we could either catch a train or a boat. Sister D suggested a boat to try something different. Stupidly, I agreed.

The minute we board it is all we can do not to toss our cookies. The water is so choppy we are being thrown from side to side. This nausuating motion on top of our near heat stroke from our hike.

This is not one of Sister Ds better decisions...

even uncle Ls fitness tours couldnt have prepared us...

Today Sister D and I chose to hike all seven miles of the Cinque Terra. We took a train to Monterroso and hiked the hardest leg first. Monterroso to Vernazza was beautiful, but full of stone stairs that went up straight for long stretches. Its a good thing we did this first or I may not have had the energy later. (Im also hoping this squelches Sister Ds fetish for stairs...)

The path was narrow and led you right along the cliffs edge. We made a rule that neither of us was allowed to fall as the other couldnt manage to carry two suitcases home.

This is a photo I took as we hiked into one of the small towns, where you can see another in the distance. Sister D took most of our photos on the hike, so they are all stored on her camera.

Vernazza to Corniglia did not have me excited. After the first leg I was pooped. As we climed 200 or more stairs up out of Vernazza to the trail head I stopped. Beyond the trailhead all I could see were stairs leading straight up the mountainside. That little voice inside my head was suggesting an afternoon of swimming and not climbing. I couldnt help but listen. Im not gonna lie, my senior age of 30 was starting to catch up to me. My knees constantly reminding me that Im not in my spry 20s anymore like Sister D. After an internal debate with myself I chose to continue, and was glad I did. While the next several legs of the hike were tough, they were far easier than the first from Monterosso. I just stopped a lot and made friends with the over 50 crowd. Sister D wont admit it, but secretly I could tell she was just as excited to stop and rest each time I did.

Each leg of the hike wound us up and down the mountainside. What makes these towns unique is that they farm the steep hillsides. We wound through vegetable gardens, vinyards and lemon tree groves. I cant imagine how labor intensive harvest time must be, packing out all the goods.

This is a picture of Vernazza where we stayed. Its beautiful here! Late one night Sister D and I bought a bottle of wine, grabbed two dixi cups and sat out here on the dock. She did a watercolor of the church tower, and I well... drank.

not a fan of those --foligno-- trains

Today was a travel day. We missed our Lucca to Pisa connection (slept in) and as a result spent most of the day in and out of train stations on our way to the Cinque Terra.

We have met plenty of other vacationers headed the same direction though. The train connection was tough here, but so far the smaller Cinque Terra train system has made the most sense to us.

Funny story... many of us travelers were excited to find others who were also headed to town #4 Vernazza. We quickly bonded with two cute older couples as we waited for what we were certain was our train. Just as the train arrives, one woman had not returned from a restroom trip. The two couples chose to separate and her husband would stay behind and wait for her. (There is always a certain type of panic that crosses ones mind when you miss a train, and havent figured out how to catch the next one.) Just as the train doors lock behind us she arrives with ice cream for everyone. She had picked some up on her way back from the restroom to cheer everyone up after a hard day of travel. All of us couldnt help but laugh. We have since bumped into them many times during our stay in the Cinque Terra, and we always have a good laugh.

angry italian boy bands

Tonight Im sitting at a restaurant in a piazza in Lucca. Beautiful dinner, wonderful vino, and an angry Italian boy band concert in front of me.

Oh wait, the band is switching... We are not really sure what this summer event is, but we recognize the poster design as being aname. Hmm... Im going to need more wine...

lucca, lucca, lucca

I think one of my new favorite cities in Italia is Lucca. It has a fun small town environment, its windy streets are fairly easy to get the hang of, and its an artisans mecca. After we arrived, found our B&B, we wandered the streets to find an art fair of sorts. Something like the Saturday Market in Portland, only the art was much more fantastic. We both bought fun art pieces to bring home as a memory of our new favorite spot, Lucca.

Here we also attended mass. We gave up biking the Ramparts to do this, so hopefully our holy attitude will make our next train ride less confusing?

yep, still leaning

After arriving in Pisa, we were excited for the 30 minute walk to the tower to shake off the drive. As for the tower? Yep, its still leaning...Overall, Pisa seems like a dirty touristy town. So we stayed only long enough to take our cheesy touristy photos then moved on.

carsick

This morning we awoke and jumped into the car with our new friends. Thirty minutes into our hillside drive, both Sister D and I wore regret on our faces. Backseat riding is tough on ones stomach. We were ready for any adventyure, even when it ment arriving in Pisa an hour later than if we had taken the train, but we werent prepared for a nausiating, windy drive.

lets skip ahead to dinner...

This morning we awoke and spent a leisurely morning at Agritourismo Marciano. After breakfast we sat outside in our favorite spot so Sister D could sketch for awhile. After about an hour and a half, and an excellent watercolor of the building under Sister Ds belt... we decided to head into town.

Siena. We are perpetually lost inside its narrow maze of streets. This afternoon was no different as we spent the day exploring, eating gelatto and generally wasting time until our dinner back at the vineyard.

Dinner. Lets skip ahead to dinner...
Christaan our host had, at my request, promised us a traditional tuscan dinner with wine tasting and food from their organic farm. At 8pm Sister D and I, plus two friends we had made at breakfast and two other couples arrived for dinner. Christaan and his father had prepared a feast for us! Four courses, plus wine that never ended. Three hours of family style dining with the family of Agritourismo Marciano and its 8 guests. Four of us spoke English, and four spoke Italian... yet we had no issues communicating. We made such good friends that one couple offered to drive us to Pisa in the morning. I wish we could have dinner like this every night!

siena fun fact

Many of Sienas buildings are the same color as the earth they were built on. This is where crayola gets their color called -burnt sienna-.

my favorite italian word

Dové. This means -where- in Italian. With this word alone I can ask questions, and get directions. To me this word represents freedom.

(When I ask -dové- the general response is for someone to point to an area that is past the edge of my map. Meaning I have wandered off the map.)

we need your expertise uncle L

Tonight after dinner in the piazza Il Campo, old town Siena we stumbled out upon a procession. This procession consisted of countless priests followed by 4 priests carrying a canopy, followed by about 30 more priests. There was a man on a loud speaker changing prayers in Italian, then the crowd would sing back a response.
Fueled by liquid courage, I started asking everyone around me what this was for. The first older gentleman behind me only spoke Italian. This turned out to be ok, because drunk, I seem to believe that I too speak Italian. He told us that this was a procession to celebrate (what I thought he said) was a type of birthday or anniversary that would end at the Duomo. Realizing what was happening Sister D and I decided to jump in the procession. Next I asked a fellow in front of us what this was about. In broken English he told me that this was a celebration of the host. That even more than 200 years it was the same... that it was an anniversary of sorts for Corpus Domini. At one point as he and I struggled to exchanged words, I found I could articulate myself better in Spanish than Italian which he seemed to also speak. Very cool.


Next I asked a policeman. He said this was an annual celebration of God. (Obviously not very insiteful as I had already gathered this much.)


Finally, once inside the Duomo (large town cathedral) I was able to ask a priest and decon. The priest didnt speak English but the decon did. The two of them collaborated on how to tell us that this was a celebration of the eucharist. That even after three centuries it was as fresh as when it started.


This was all the information I was able to collect. Any ideas Uncle L on what this was we stumbled on? We had wanted to call you immediately after this happened, but it was 11:30pm and the streets were empty. We were immediately lost, and finding a phone, let alone a taxi to take us home felt impossible. We have a habit of getting lost in Siena. Assisi was a maze, and Siena is a labrynth. Instead, we decided to set out in search of a taxi.

dove una fermata de taxi?

Today we awoke and set out to catch the bus from Assisi to Siena. This proved to be a very seemles task and the bus ride very relaxing. Such beautiful countryside! It is as if you are driving in a movie.

Upon exiting the bus we wound ourselves up to the old town Siena looking for a taxi. We had arrangements to stay in Agritourismo Marciano, a vinyard outside of town. On the bus ride I had read in my Rick Steves book that Siena was always short on taxis, and that we should use a taxi stand. We wandered the streets, luggage in tow for about an hour without finding a taxi stand. Taxi stands, like taxis appear to be few and far between. We tried asking where one was, but the person didnt even know themselves. Finally a taxi happened to drive by and I flagged him down. We were easily taken through the windy streets out to our winery without a hitch.

I think the best way to describe Agritourismo Marciano is with pictures...

It is almost unbelievable that these places actually exist. Our host Christaan manages this vinyard/hotel which is his familys vinyard. In addition to the vinyards they also have many olive trees. Their vines are over 25 years old. Christaan gladly gave us a tour of his vinyards, the winemaking process, and his cellar. He is so passionate about his wine and speaks of the vines like they were his children. He has spent 10 years studying how to do this.

Christaan has offered to make dinner tomorrow night for the guests with food from their organic garden that would pair well with their organic wine. We can do a tasting at that time. We expect this to be a fun family style experience!

After our tour of the vinyard we decided to hike into town for dinner. The town is about an hour walk from the vinyard. (1.5 hours including the Jen/Sister D lost time.) The walk flys by quickly as we wind through ould country roads surrounded by rolling green vinyards on either side.

Before long we were back in Siena and lost as usual. With much wandering we managed to find the taxi stand for later that night, and then the Piazza Il Campo. Restaurants line the piazza with outdoor seating. We pick one and settle in for a paster dinner with much wine. People watching here is great. So many languages to listen to!

mission accomplished

All you Kirbys should know what this photo represents by now. If not, ask Mom to fill you in. Sister D kept this experience a surprise for me until the last minute. It was pretty special. Thanks for telling us about this Mom! And a quick shout out to Aunt J for starting what looks like a new family tradition.

kickin' it with st. francis

Today we woke up in Assisi, a small country town full of winding narrow cobblestone streets, dedicated to St. Francis. After yesterday's train fiasco put us in town late, we changed our plans to stay here a second night. And boy are we glad we did.

When we woke up we were slightly disappointed that it was raining again. This is until we broke down and made our 2nd best purchase of the trip. An umbrella. After that the rain made the windy streets of Assisi all the more enchanting. Everyone is so friendly here. Our broken Italian and hand gestures win us many smiles and helpful advice!

On the end of town sits the Basillica of San Franchesco. From the outside it is tall and robust, but from inside it feels like it belongs to a smaller community and provides a more personal experience.

Our day in Assisi was our first real day of leisure, where as Rome had been packed full of 'must see' locations. Here we wandered through town, stopped for a long lunch with much vino in a place tucked away up a windy side street, and just relaxed. Here is a photo of where we had lunch...

In every city we have enjoyed the gelatto. (This is where I have found a little flirting gets you the most milage!) Later this evening we enjoyed dinner and a galss of wine while sitting outside, in the Piazza Comino. The weather had long sense cleared and was quite sunny. This is what dreams of Italy are made of.

foligno - loosly translated means shitfuckshitfuck

Leaving Rome early afternoon, our goal was to catch a train to Assisi. However the travel Gods were not on our side. Roma Termini was easy enough to navigate, however we made a few amature mistakes - trying to board the wrong kind of train with the wrong kind of ticket. No biggie, we just waited and caught the next one.

To get to Assisi travelers must transfer in a smaller town of Foligno, about 10-15 minutes outside of Assisi. Here is where the adventure began. Being two relatively smart and college educated gals, we thought when the time table and announcement said to be on binario quattro that we should go to platform number four. The train... went to platform #2. Needless to say we missed that train. Confused, we second guessed ourselves and tried to lay this switcharoo game with the next train 20 minutes later. However as the time neared closer we choked and Sister D went inside the deli to ask. (small stations don't have an info desk.) The deli man read the same timetable we did and told her #1, not 2 like we had again thought. As Sister D returned, a train on #2 was approaching that was headed in the right direction, but Sister D didn't make it back in time with her info. Plus in our frantic state we miscommunicated and watched our second attempt to get to Assisi go by on platform #1.

Third times a charm right? We don't hesitate to ask which platform for the third attempt. Both a train 'official' and the deli guy both say platform #5. So on °5 we wait. Just as the clock strikes, something changes but we can't put our finger on it. All we know is that the new train for #5 hasn't arrived and the train behind us on #4 is suddenly ready to go. Again we frantically ask passengers boarding where they are headed. Confusion and relief cross our faces as more than one say Assisi. Whew, we finally did it. Only 3 hours past our expected time, we found our hostel and luckily still had a place to sleep for the night.

With this adventure behind use we were headed to bed. Somewhere between missing two and three trains we coined a new curseword for the remainder of our trip... Foligno!

top of the vatican

After our underground tour it was time to find our way to the top. Climbing to the top of the Duomo seemed easy enough. Fast directions to the entrance point, virtually no line and a lift. (Yes!) A few more easy steps beyond that and we had made it. The view from inside of the Dome of St. Peter's Basillica is beautiful. The people below look like tiny ants, the artwork is of the same grand scale, and seeing the color from this angle is even more brilliant. It is very cool to see all the mosiacs lining the walls up close.

As we left the inside of the Duomo we realized we could climb even further. 320 steps to be exact. Up a winding staircase that grew more windy as we progressed. At one point the staircase was so narrow you had to hold a rope that ran up the center to hold on. This took us to the outside top of the dome. The view from the top was a fun perspective. (Very windy though!) You could see all of Rome and all the detail within the walls of Vatican City. So beautiful...

scavi tour

The Scavi Tour takes you under St. Peter's Basillica through where archeologists have excavated in search of Peter the Apostle's remains. This is wild. Only 12 of us wound through narrow passage ways only as big as one small body to access a variety of mausoleums and family graves found along the way. This tour is so rich with history I can hardly remember it all, let alone retell it. Constantine built St. Peter's Basillica directly above where St. Peter was believed to be buried. He built a small table-like structure with columns over the tomb to protect it, when he leveled the hillside and built the Basillica. Archeologists have found this structure exactly where it was believed to b e under the Basillica's dome.

This is such a tiny maze of discovery. You are even asked not to touch the walls as they are centuries old and decompose easily. The guide pointed out several other mausoleums that will remain unopened. Archeologists have had to stop their work so as not to disturb the Basillica above. Many walls of these that are unopened are leaning under the weight of the Basillica.

At the end of the tour we did see through a small hole, the area where St. Peter's bones were found and are now preserved. On our way out we were led through the tombs of the Popes and got to see Pope John Paul's new tomb.

The Scavi Tour is relatively unadvertised and I would recommend it to anyone going to Rome!

st. peter's basillica

Today we have a large agenda before leaving for Assisi. Maybe too agressive for sum, but we've gotten good at busting it out.

Up early we were at St. Peter's Basillica at 8:30 am when there was no line to get in. It felt as though we had the place to ourselves compared to the busier times later in the day. Like I mentioned previously, this is one of my favorite places in Rome. The scale of the statues and artwork is unbelievable. After 30 minutes of taking as many photos as we could click, we set out to find the Excavations office for our Scavi tour we had scheduled at 9:30 am. We have no real sense of direction or a map for finding these lesser known opportunities. Instead we just started asking folks. Never once did we have trouble finding our access point.

For this tour we had to go to the entrance to the left of the Basillica and ask the Swiss Guiard. (It was so cool to talk to one. The other guard was standing at attention and didn't even flinch.) We were let into what felt like a secret or private back entrance to the Vatican and were ready for our tour.

We talked to the guard on the right in this photo.

sorry

The video below isn't posting very well. It says it's there, but it's not showing up on the live site. Unfortunately I don't have much time left to fool with it. You'll just have to see Sister D shake it when I return.

american pop culture

Most touristy places we've been we can't seem to escape our own pop culture. One prime example, although less 'touristy' is the metro system (subway). Each time we've used it we are welcomed by the music of American top 40 artists blasting over the speakers filling every crevas of the tunnels. The words are even in English. It's weirdly comforting and disappointing all rolled up into one.

In this short clip, Sister D is àshakinà her groove thang to Justin Timberlake, while purchasing her metro ticket. (I don't think my camera picked up the sound very well. Too bad, it was super loud!)

Disclaimer: Sister D is not a Timberlake fan, and only posed as one for this photo opportunity.

roman night walk

After the Vatican Museum we chose to stop over at our B&B for a quick reast and regroup. However we didn't rest long before we started plotting our route to see a few sites lit up at night. By now it had started raining pretty steadily, but it didn't bother us. We are Oregonians after all. Represent!

Our 1st night walk stop is the Colosseum. As we climb out of the metro tunnels we see thunder and lightning! We both whip out our cameras and start clicking. Seeing the Colosseum all lit at night with lightening bolts in the background is (for lack of a better term...) 'wicked cool'! We wandered through the sites again, then wasted a lot of time trying to take a short video clip of the lightening as it flickered behind the Colosseum. By the time we decided to move on, we were drenched to the bone. An easy target for umbrella vendors, we preferred wet. Next stop - Trevi Fountain at night. Finding this at night proved a little difficult. We finally decided we were 'slightly off our game' tonight trying to get directions in the dark. After walking the wrong direction about 3 times in a torrential downpour, we made it. We stayed about 7 minutes then decided we were wet, tired and ready to head back. Both sites were amazingly beautiful all lit up at night. Certainly worth the rainy walk.

Excited to find our metro stop, I looked like this... (sorry it's side ways, I don't know how to rotate it in this program.)
Yes, a tired, drowned rat. But that's not the reason this smile is disguising a 'pissed off look' on my face. This is...

Yes, the mtro was closed for the night. 11:30pm and across town from our B&B. Nothing a taxi ride wouldn't fix, but only after a few choice words. Best 10£ I've spent all day.

Oh how it hurts...

We put on a lot of milage thus far, and it hurts. My feet are more sore now than when I was studying dance 3 hours a night. (You salseras know what I mean!)

Today we started by heading over to the Colosseum. We picked up an audioguide and jumped in. Interesting landmark, but a pretty gory history. Personally I don't find killing a spectator sport. Those Romans were a hard core crowd. From there we walked up to Palatine Hill, checked out a few ruins, then walked down through the Roman Forum. The scale of each of these areas is gigantic! I can't imagine all the hard work put into building these. This picture below is us inside the Colosseum.

After a long morning visiting these ruins we wanted to head to the Vatican Museum and spend the afternoon there. I don't think either of us were ready for the sheer amount of famous artwork we would see on this tour. Two hours into the winding museum path and we wern't even at the Sistine Chapel yet! Sister D's art degree has been very useful. She's able to point out differences in artistic styles as we pass through each area. This tour would be interesting, but very dry without her input!

The Sistine Chapel is indescribable (sp?). The size and number of paintings... I worry I can't look at them all, and don't want to miss any. Both Sister D and I have trouble dragging ourselves out, still worried that we had missed something. Each of us snuck some photos. I'll post those another time.

long wondering day

What a long day! Sister D and I managed to meet up on our second try, and have been on the move ever since. After missing our connection the first time, I decided to head towards Vatican City and wander around a bit. Our host who's flat is right against the Vatican wall, suggested that mass was still going on. Wondering down the street towards the Vatican I ended up in St. Peter's square watching the Pope say mass on large screens. In the distance I can see a long line of people snaking into an entry point. Not knowing where they were headed I decide to jump in line hoping it would take me to where the Pope was saying mass.

Before long I found myself in St. Peter's Basilica. What beautiful sculptures and paintings. Still not knowing where I was headed I kept wandering through taking it all. In an attempt to get closer to the amazing display behind the alter, I followed a group of folks into a barracaded area. Almost at the alter we were suddenly shoo'd into pews. Immediately a procession started and mass was offered at the alter in Italian. I spent the next 30 minutes celebrating mass before it was time to meet Sister D.

Since we've hooked up, we've been to the Borghese Museum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and many gelato stops along the way. Seeing as I've officially been awake for almost 30 hours, we've decided to call it a night and start planning our day tomorrow. So much to see!

Celebrating mass at St. peter's.

This trip was meant to be. Look what Sister D is standing in front of.

tick tock, tick tock

Sister D has a head start.

After a 4:30 am airport run early Tuesday morning... my sister D should be landing in Rome sometime today and will start working her way to Sorrento. I wish I was with her...

Instead I'm left to finish my own packing, reading, repacking, daydreaming, studying Italian, planning, unpacking, running errands, repacking...

2 days, 12 hours, 30 minutes. Saturday. That's my departure date.