Italy – Page 3 – Destination NOW

Lucca Churches

I’m still thinking about Lucca’s amazing city wall. With a perimeter of approximately 2.5 miles, the interior space isn’t very big. I’ll leave it to the mathematicians to calculate the square footage within those walls. At times, though, it felt huge, particularly during the afternoon heat, when lost and walking in circles, for example. Not that I would have ever experienced anything like that..

So, what’s the point? Well, there is an incredible number of churches packed into that rather small patch of earth! The other walled cities I visited seemed to only have one or two churches within their enclosure, but Lucca had a whole overflowing collection basket load of them!

Fortunately, I didn’t feel compelled to photograph them all–just a few that caught my eye because to me, at least, they were rather unique.

I had never heard of San Frediano, and I still have no clue who he is, but he clearly was important enough to get a church named in his honor. The exterior wasn’t all that fancy, except for the beautiful mosaic balancing on that rather nondescript body.

It was particularly beautiful when the sun was directly shining on the gold, which it wasn’t when I took this photo, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

This next church has been re-purposed as an art museum. We never got around to going inside to see the Chagall exhibit, but I sure did like those green stripes decorating the arches, and posters fit so nicely under an arch, don’t you think?

This last one, built on the site of the old Roman Forum was my very favorite–the church of St. Michael, named after my husband, I believe.

You’ve got to love a church that looks like a wedding cake is balancing on its top. Instead of a bride and groom, however, this one has angels, spreading their wings and blowing their horns.

That brown fist on the right was not a church decoration. It was part of a citywide art exhibit. If it hadn’t taken me three months to write this blog, I probably would remember the name of the art festival, how MANY sculptures there were–but all I can recall is that they were all totally made from paper. AND that tourists and the locals were invited to vote for their favorite. (There is another sculpture in the photo of the church of San Frediano. It looks like a bunch of space vehicles suspended from strings).

Anyway, back to the church. St. Michael is definitely deserving of a closer look. The sculptor must have had that century’s equivalent of ADD, because each of the wedding cake’s columns is decorated differently. (I know–my future as an art expert has just been vaporized by my clumsy description of these edifices.)

P1030801 — The fake front of St Michael church, with all the cool, different columns

Check out the detail on the Archangel’s robe. (Click on the photo to enlarge for a better view).

P1030891 — Close up of the Archangel. I’m loving my camera’s zoom lens

That was definitely a labor of love, because you’d have to have super vision to see those “jewels” from the ground level. A tour guide told us that Michael is wearing a gold ring. We couldn’t tell one way or the other until my camera’s zoom lens disproved THAT claim.

I was thinking that Lucca’s churches were old Italy’s version of Starbucks …there was one on every corner. Then I happened to take a look at one of the arches.

Look closer…recognize anything?

P1030893 — Do they serve Starbuck’s here?

Looks like the command to “go forth and multiply” was also heeded by a certain Seattle company!

The City Walls of Lucca, Italy

It’s a rainy day in New Jersey–the perfect time to indulge in Part Three of this summer’s trip to Italy. To me, travel is composed of three equally enjoyable segments. Part One is the planning stage. Part Two is the actual travel, and Part Three occurs when your mind leaves your body as you relive those travel highs.

Our villa was a few miles from Lucca, a short (but harrowing) drive to the city gates. It was close enough so that we could see Lucca’s towers from the patio outside my room. The photo at the top of this post (if the”featured image” application works, that is) was taken from that very patio. But just in case it doesn’t, here’s the photo again.

There are city walls, and then there are CITY WALLS. Lucca’s are the latter. We are talking big, serious structures.

One day, we rented a “bicycle built for four” and tooled around the entire periphery.

And yes, those ARE trees growing on top of the wall.

That photo doesn’t give you an idea of how big the walls are, or how high up that bike path is–so here are a couple more shots to put it into perspective.

P1030859 — Restaurant and bar on Lucca’s wall

In fact, the wall is big enough for a restaurant and bar (the site of my birthday prosecco celebration), and a sculpture garden.

P1030972 — The July birthday girls, after several glasses of that bubbly stuff

Lucca also has an old Roman amphitheater within its walls.

No, I didn’t hang from a helicopter to take that aerial view. That is a photo of a poster in the Lucca Tourist office.

The Italians, being masters of recycling, built houses out of amphitheater walls. Originally, poorer people lived in those structures, but now it is a very trendy locale, with great little cafes and shops.

That’s all for today–but that’s not all there is to Lucca!

A tale of two cities –Maglione and Capalbio

If you are thinking that I’d be tired of Italian hilltop towns by now, you’d be dead wrong. I love them! I love the walls, the winding streets, the little outdoor cafes, the cobblestones.

The prior post contains photos of the walls of Magliano, way in the distance, as seen from our Fattoria. Some of the more intrepid bikers actually rode into town during the heat of day, when all wise Italians were eating or snoozin’ and this American was cooling her easy–not moderate–biker body in the pool. They discovered there was not much to do in medieval Italian towns between 2 PM and 4 PM, other than sweat profusely and drink copious amounts of water.

My Best Biking Buddy Beth, and the rest of us wimps didn’t miss out though, because one night, we rode the van into Magliano for dinner.

P1030612 — A spectacular view of the countryside from one of the city gates

If a city has a wall, and said wall can be climbed, you’d best be believin’ I’m on it! My timing was perfect. I hustled to the top of the wall in time to capture the gorgeous sunset.

While peering through the slit, I found it easy to conjure up a brave knight of yesteryear. Can’t you just envision him on the wall, looking out into the countryside, ready to defend God, king and castle, while he rosined up his bow (or was that what the fiddler did)? Or maybe the Maglianese warriors dumped boiling oil on any invaders that attempted to storm the castle. If so, I sure hope it wasn’t the extra virgin stuff. Especially not after it had been cold pressed. (Hey, we learned all about that stuff on our tour of the olive farm).

Also while on the wall, girl scout songs kept running through my head, “the golden sun sinks in the west—something, something– calling girl scouts to rest… Day is done, gone the sun, from the east, from the west, from the sky. All is well…”. And it WAS.

Between the songs and my visions of manly knighthood, it’s a wonder I had the time or the energy to take photos, but I dug deep and managed to fire off a few shots for the folks back home.

I couldn’t decide which sunset photo I liked better, so I’m posting both. You get to be the judge.

For those of you that have had enough of the sunsets, amber waves of hay, old castle walls, here’s a change of pace. They DO hang colorful laundry out their windows, now don’t they?

On to the next subject. Talk about luck… We managed to be in town for the Soccer semi-finals, a very festive and exciting occasion. Big Screen TVs were strategically located in outdoor bars throughout the town, and it sure felt like the entire population gathered to root for the home team.

P1030624 — watching the soccer semifinals

Despite being the underdog, Italy trounced Germany. Unfortunately, a few days later they lost to Spain, but at least for that one glorious night, victory was oh, so sweet. Especially for sweet Angelo, our guide. Viva Italia!!

On our last biking day, we rode to Capalbio, another beautiful hilltop town with the requisite wall, castle and church. But this town had something that the others didn’t…a statue of Beth.

P1030670 — Beth, demonstrating how she modeled for the statue.

I can’t resist posting one last walled Italian city shot, so here it is. I’ll spare you the ones of the countryside taken from the wall. They look a lot like the other countryside photos. Beloved by me, but most likely boring to others.

And now it is time to end the bike trip saga. What better way, than to show the lengths to which I will go to get just the right shot. Here’s what I was photographing:

P1030579 — The grounds of Fattoria di Magliano

P1030581 — If I were good at panoramic shots, this would be on the right side of the photo above

And here’s what I had to do to make sure those wires didn’t appear in the photos. Thanks, Diane, for capturing my “good” side. See, Mike–I DO have one…

Although the bike trip has ended–Sally, Diane, Karen and I headed off for two more glorious weeks, sharing a villa in Italy, with yet another cast of characters.

Day Trippin’

If you are following this blog, you have probably guessed that this is not a day by day chronicle of the VBT bike trip. Our visit to Giglio Island occurred smack dab in the middle, and given how hot it had been, the timing was perfect. After all that pedaling along sunny roads, I was more than ready for some ocean breezes.

First stop, Porto Santo Stefano, where we had free time to wander thru the markets before boarding the ferry.

In addition to open-air meat, fish, cheese and flower markets, there were some clothing shops, where Becky made a purchase. She still hadn’t received her luggage–but somehow managed to always look great. And clean!!

P1030416 — Becky, wearing her favorite (and only) outfit.

P1030421 — Porto Santo Stefano, as viewed from the ferry

On the boat, I was captivated by this charming Italian, who waved and said “ciao, ciao” to me. Finally, someone whose command of Italian equalled mine! (Yes, I DO have a thing for blue eyed males…)

Remember that Costa Cruise ship that sank off the coast of Italy? The captain abandoned his ship and passengers died? I hadn’t realized that it happened off the coast of Giglio Island.

P1030441 — Tourist attraction? The Costa Concordia

What was truly amazing was how close the ship was to shore when it sank.

P1030469 — Costa cruise ship in the background

The port was lovely, with all the usual shops, restaurants, gelato stands, pastel buildings and clean, clear water.

Fortunately we didn’t have to walk all the way up to Giglio Castello, which, like all good fortresses, was built at the highest point of island, to protect the citizenry from invaders.

P1030505 — The well, an important water source when the castle was under siege.

P1030516 — One of the many winding paths within the castle

The staircases were built on the outside of the houses to save space within. Can you imagine an exterior staircase in northern New England? Try climbing stairs like these during a blizzard!

Ipads and iPhones were everywhere. I caught sight of this castle resident using hers. Maybe reception is better near the window?

P1030511 — modern technology in ancient castle

After our tour of the castle, it was time for lunch on Campese Beach. Ordinarily, VBT offers an optional hike along the Faraglione cliffs, but with the temperature hovering over 100 degrees, all agreed hiking under the Tuscan sun would not be a pleasant alternative. Some of the group hit the beach. Others (that would be me) found yet another great gelato stand and indulged, while enjoying the scenery.

Finally, we headed to our next lodging, Fattoria di Magliano, another beautiful agritourismo location, with incredible food and wine, a million dollar view, and a wonderful pool. Such luxury!

P1030527 — Magliano, as seen from the Fattoria

This was the perfect opportunity to see what my Lumix zoom could do. I probably should have manually adjusted the focus. Oh well. You get the idea.

Next post–the grand finale–our visits to Magliano and Capalbio

Bike, Sweat, and Drink a whole lot more…

I’m not sure why it is taking me so long to finish posting about our VBT bike trip. I can’t use a bad wifi connection as an excuse, nor can I blame the tediousness of blogging via ipad. It could just be those lazy, hazy days of summer have made me even lazier and hazier than usual.

This bike trip was far more than just peddling my bony butt through Italy. It was far, FAR more–it was a trip of self discovery. (Voyage of self discovery SOUNDS so much better, but alas–you don’t “voyage” on a bike. At least not intentionally. )

Here’s the big insight: I learned, much to my chagrin (an SAT word that I so rarely get to use) , that I am easy. I THOUGHT I might have moved on up to easy/moderate, but one very long trek up a very steep hill brought me to my senses. In fact, I got brought to my senses a whole lot faster than I got to the top of that damn hill (which in my mind, and probably my mind alone, was more of a mini mountain).

The true beauty of VBT however is that you are able to design the trip that YOU want to take. So, in keeping with my new philosophy of “if it’s not fun, I ain’t doing it”, whenever I encountered a steep hill I shifted — not gears, but from 2 wheels to 4. I was humming that Lionel Ritchie song “That’s why I’m easy, e-e-ZEEE like Sunday mo-oo-r-nING”, while waving to my sweating friends as we zipped on by them, en route to the pool.

So, the biking photos you will see are all of flat lands, yet still lovely in their own special way.

P1030564 — Yet another beautiful hilltop town

Here’s Angelo, on “granny” duty. Okay, so technically, I’m NOT a grandmother–I just ride like one. And yes, I am smiling, because of my recent self discovery, happy in the knowledge that I have nothing to prove and that the van will be there when I need it.

Yet another great feature of VBT trips was no matter what your skill level, there was always SOMEONE you could ride with. For me, on THIS trip it was my BBBB (that’s my “Best Biking Buddy, Beth” in text talk). Last trip it was sweet Victoria. Here we are, ready to toss down some wine before lunch, after biking all morning.

Beth’s daughter, Susan (the baby of the group) was a biking superstar, going the distance every day. She and Diane paired up and truly earned those serious biker outfits!

In addition to the biking, there are always special events. One day we visited an olive farm, where we had a tour, snorted extra virgin olive oil and then had a fantastic lunch, cooked by the owner. Best pasta EVER, fresh vegetables, beans–delicious!

The tour was called “Tuscany by the Sea”, so of course, there were more beaches to visit. The last beach had the “school locker” type changing rooms. THIS one had bushes. And driftwood. But the water was great–and the beach was not rocky.

I’m not positive what the sign meant, but I wasn’t going to mess with “waters not sured for unsafety service”! But hey, their English is far better than my Italian, or Spanish for that matter, so I’m not poking fun. I’m just reporting what I saw.

Our evening in Orbetello was great fun. First,a stop for what Franco insisted was the best gelato anywhere. And it was indeed quite amazing. The best part is you can get three different flavors at no additional charge So, of course I did. The next time you are in Orbetello, stop in at Le Logde and see for yourself!

Next, we experienced what the brochure described as a “romantic” cruise…see for yourself…are we not what you envision when you think of “romance”?

Finally, a whirl around the city then dinner at Tony’s on the waterfront, where we enjoyed great food and a beautiful sunset.

P1030393 — Sun, slowly sinking over the water

Last look at Orvieto

There’s something about towers that I find irresistible. And Orvieto’s was no exception, so Diane and I decided late in the day was the perfect time to climb it. Seen from this angle, it didn’t look all that high.

Inside had a bit of a different feel to it.

The view was well worth every one of those 250 steps.

I would have had to hang off the side to get a better shot of the front of the Duomo, but this gives you an idea of the size of that building.

We knew Torre del Moro was a clock tower, but we were not prepared for how loud the bell sounded when it is only a few feet away. By the way, it doesn’t only BOINNNNG on the hour. That sucker was sounding off every 15 minutes. We didn’t linger more than a half an hour–two ear drum piercing tolls were enough for us!

And now for some random memories of Orvieto:
Sally and I found a little wine shop that gave us a private wine tasting. After trying three local reds and four whites, we decided that this label was our favorite. Although, after all that wine, she could have poured us rat pee and we would have thought it was quite refreshing. (we don’t taste and spit…we are far too ladylike for that. Besides, why waste good wine?)

We managed to catch a couple of weddings on Saturday, and my favorite shot was this one. Bad news, little girls. If you think the sandals are uncomfortable, wait till you graduate to big girl shoes–platform stilettos.

Sister, let’s get these shoes off. My doggies are KILLING me!

Wild boar is considered quite the delicacy here in Tuscany. And yes, I DID try cingale, twice. Even after I saw this guy’s head outside of the restaurant.

Saturday night a group from Michigan State performed a trumpet concerto in one of the squares, so we sat in a little cafe, drank wine and enjoyed the music. Sally figured that since she lives in Florida and they were from Michigan, these guys were practically neighbors she should introduce herself, so she did.

The courtyard of Hotel Duomo was our favorite gathering spot for our evening wine, cheese and fruit party.

Everywhere we looked we saw something beautiful.

The city expanded beyond its walls and at the base of the hill.

Next post–the actual bike trip.

Orvieto’s Museums…and Dinner

Orvieto’s museums are small and are clustered around the Duomo. Friday afternoon was the perfect time to wander through all four. We quickly learned that weekdays are relatively quiet in Orvieto, but that changes on Saturday. Seems that even hilltop towns also have their weekend warriors.

The C. Faina museum is a three story palace facing the Duomo. In addition to the Etruscan vases and a stone coffin, it has a room chock full of ancient coins, with the modern convenience of trays that move when you press a button. If my cute boy had been by my side, I know he absolutely would have spent a fair amount of time in this room.

Ancient coin collection at Museo C. Faina

I have been more than slightly spoiled by NYC museums, so have already seen similar artifacts. What fascinated ME was the actual building itself. I wish I were more skilled at holding the camera correctly so that I could have better captured this ceiling. (I know Photoshop can work wonders but, as we say here in Italy “Io sono pigro”. Or that’s I would say if I knew how to speak Italian). But enough about my shortcomings, back to the museum tour.

One of many beautiful ceilings in C. Faina

Next stop, the Palazzi Papali which has been recycled into an archaeological museum. The nuns never mentioned that the popes owned quite a bit of real estate outside of the Vatican. Or if the dear sisters did, it was on one of the many days that I wasn’t listening, so finding Papal Palaces scattered throughout Europe has been a revelation to me.
This museum contained all the usual jewelry and vases, plus everything you needed to conduct your standard rape, pillage and plunder. But once again, I was completely entranced by the building. While I sat in a corner of the room, in the chair reserved for the guard who was out on the patio flirting with a sweet young thing, I was thinking deep thoughts. Let me share a couple of them:
“Man, I’m sure glad I was born in the 20th century”!
“Some of my friends have better houses than your standard 15th century Pope.”

THe Duomo Museum only had frescoes, either copies or originals, I guess they had to be one or the other since most museums don’t intentionally display fakes, but I really didn’t care one way or the other. 10 minutes later I was out the door.

The Emilio Greco Museum was my very favorite. His ability to make a few ink marks on paper into something beautiful kept me mesmerized for quite some time.

The museum was only one room. The beautiful sculptures we plopped amid a whole lot of stuff: a piano, chairs, a spiral staircase. Still, the drawings and sculptures made you forget the cluttered space around them.

Emilio also designed the Duomo’s huge green doors. Let me tell you, those doors have a whole lot of entwined bodies on them.

And since we are now back at the Duomo, here’s the story about how a little hilltop town got such a grand cathedral.
Back in the late 1400’s, one of the priests couldn’t quite wrap his head around the host literally being the body of Christ, until one day, while saying Mass, the host started to bleed. Fortunately, they didn’t have paper towels back then, so he quickly grabbed a linen cloth to tidy up. As mentioned earlier, popes were frequent visitors, and the Vicar of Rome just happened to be in town that weekend. He quickly decided that the cloth was “church worthy” and that a new cathedral would be ideal as a display case. And so the bloody cloth remains, up to this very day, in the little side chapel on the left of the main altar. No photos are allowed, but if the truth be told, I really wasn’t able to see the cloth anyway. I just had faith that it was there.

On to the next topic: Dinners in Orvieto are a magnificent thing, and the one we had at Restaurante Ancora was particularly grand. Diane and I discovered it while stumbling around town, looking for a bathroom. It looked interesting and Trip Advisor enlightened us further as to the merits of this particular establishment. We wisely allowed Carlo, the owner, to choose for us and it was fabulous. Delicious pizza bread, an amazing eggplant appetizer, a lasagna, a ravioli, veal with a delicious sauce, vegetables and dessert, plus wine–all for less than 35 Euros per person. Wow. What a way to end the evening.

Beautiful Orvieto

I had never heard of Orvieto prior to my VBT trip. What a charming little town! Founded by the Etruscans, it sits atop a pile of volcanic rock. It is a very walkable town, with enough to see and do to keep us all quite happy and occupied for several days.

P1030151 — Orvieto-one mile long and a half a mile wide

The VBT pre-trip package included a guided walking tour. Manuela explained that Orvieto’s three main squares corresponded to the three important functions: religion, commerce and government. We are standing in the “commerce” square. Deserted on a Friday morning, but bustling on Saturday, which is market day.

P1030013 — Manuela in the Piazza del Popolo

Sally and I had wandered the streets the day we arrived, but what a difference it made having our guide. (Or maybe being jet lagged had something to do with it.)

The market was a major disappointment, more like a low-end flea market. For example, they sold what my Grandma called “house” dresses. I thought that style died with her, decades ago.

Fortunately the little streets were lined with delightful shops loaded with crafts, ceramics, unique clothing, wine, cheese. You too can own one of these tee shirts if you have 125 Euros you don’t know what to do with!

The Government square wasn’t all that interesting, except for the tower that dates back to the 1000’s.

We said goodbye to Manuela after our visit to Orvieto’s main attraction, the Duomo.

P1030017 — The Duomo, as seen from one of the side streets

It was surprising to see such a grand church in a rather small town. There is quite a story behind it. Any guesses? I’ll tell all in the next post.

Star of David pattern on pavement in front of Duomo

P1030020 — Detail from Duomo facade. Are these the damned?

By now, you’ve probably seen quite enough of the church, so off we go to the next attraction, Orvieto’s underground tour, the perfect place to hang out during the hottest part of the day. The Uniticket brochure describes Orvieto as the city of a thousand caves. That is likely true, however most of the caves are below people’s houses, and are not open to the public. They make the ideal wine cellar, staying at a uniform temperature.

The tour consisted of a couple of caves that have been linked together by some rather narrow passages. I am more than slightly claustrophobic, so when I saw the tiny, winding staircases carved in the rock, I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that I had passed through a birth canal once, I could do it again.

The caves functioned as bomb shelters during World War II, and in ancient times they were used as pigeon houses (pigeons were considered food in this area), for olive oil pressing and for storage. Because the volcanic rock is relatively soft, the Etruscans were able to dig down to the water table, so the caves were the source of their water. And no, I have no idea who the cute little girl was; she just made the photo more interesting.

The “other” caves, Pozzo Della Cava were discovered in the 1500’s when Pope Clement VII
decided to hang out in Orvieto while Rome was being sacked. He determined the city needed a reliable source of water so it could withstand sieges, so he had the Etruscan well enlarged, and in the process, the workers uncovered burial chambers and artifacts.

More to see, but it will have to wait till the next post.

Living the Dream in Lucca

I’ll never be rich (at least not in monetary terms) or famous, but for the next two weeks, I’ll be living as if I were.

Our villa in Lucca is exquisite. Because of bed type and bathroom preferences among the other villa mates, I ended up with this fantastic room. I’m so glad Sandy is joining me here on July 4th, to share this amazing experience with me. Get ready, everyone–once little sister arrives, the blog will likely become much more exciting (or maybe not, so it can keep its PG rating.)

Check out that terrace, right outside our room.

I’m quite proud of myself. I actually figured out how to use the shower on my own. Usually Mike does all the hard stuff. This shower has knobs galore to control overhead, side and hand sprays. The door reminds me of Star Trek, except it has a seat, so you can be comfy while being beamed up?

Ours is the only shared bathroom, (with the “twin bed” room) but there is also a bathroom on the first floor. The three other bedrooms (two on the third floor) have their own, equally magnificent bathrooms. So, five bedrooms in total, and five baths.

There is also a large, shady terrace on the first floor.

Goodbye Orvieto, hello Tuscany

Orvieto was wonderful; its wi-fi connection was not. So we will save the narrative and photos for that leg of our journey until uploading is not so arduous.

Those on the tour that were not doing the Orvieto pretrip arrived on Saturday night. Becky, who came from California, arrived minus her luggage. She and the thunder storms hit the east coast around the same time, so her journey was by far the most exciting, although Bud and Ruth also had a story to tell about their flight from Philadelphia. Seasoned travelers all, they took their adventures in stride. I, on the other hand, was quite glad to have been spared the experience.

We stopped on our way out of Orvieto for a photo-op.

Lunch was in the little fortress town of Pitigliano, and offered yet another departure photo-op.

Next stop, our beautiful 4 star resort, Antica Fattoria La Parrina. This “farm” produces its own wine, cheese, yogurt, vegetables, oil, balsamic vinegar, organic pasta, jams and sauces which we would soon be sampling.

We were greeted by Astrid, who served us wine and cheese while our luggage was being deposited in our rooms. I’m not normally a white wine fan, but their’s is delicious. So is their red, so I drank both.

Check out my gorgeous room.

I’m a little mystified by the table and chairs in the bathroom. Am I supposed to invite my two best friends in for tea while I take a bubble bath?

We met our team leaders, Franco and Angelo for a safety briefing. After they finished telling us about the fast moving traffic, I looked at Beth to see if she was as terrified as I was. When they said fast moving traffic, I visualized NYC, but fortunately their definition of traffic is quite different from ours.

There are 20 of us bikers, and as with our last VBT trip, it didn’t take long for us to feel like we had been friends for years. Getting lost is a particularly bonding experience. Plus the wine helps.

We had a short introductory ride to get used to our bikes. Well, short for some, longer for those that are directionally challenged. Can you guess which group I fit in?

Dinner was a typical Italian event that lasted for hours with glorious food, lots of wine, great company. This could be habit forming!

Today’s ride took us through the Tuscan countryside. This is postcard worthy scenery.

Those hills are beautiful, but they are a bit of a challenge for some of us.

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