Fall Break Videos

Part 1: Rome

 Part 2: Siena                     Part 3: Sicily Pt. 1   

                              Part 4: Sicily Pt. 2

Sicily: Final: Favignana Island

Oct. 28th: Assisi

Assisi was totally amazing! My friend Alexis and I woke up early to take the 7:45am train (which we RAN to, getting there JUST in time), arriving in Assisi right at 10am. I had ripped out and read the section on Assisi from my “Italy 2011” tour book so we already knew to take a bus from the station up the mountain that Assisi is built into, to get to the main center. Well, I have never in all my travels been so impressed with a transportation system and its signage. First off it is not very hard to find as the sign as it was right there in bright orange, reading “To Assisi”. But also the lines (line a, b, and c) are all mapped out under their stops, so you know where you are, which stop number you are, and what place each following stop number is- with pictures and all! I wish more places had such an organized and visually pleasing layout. Anyway, when Alexis and I arrived we realized it would be a foggy day, but we were still in shock when we reached the top of Assisi. The entire town was covered in a thick blanket of fog, to the point where you weren’t sure if anything you thought you were seeing was really there. The day felt like a dream from the very start. The bus dropped us off at the top of the town, and we planned to work our way down(hill), so we went into the Cattedrale di San Rufino first. It was so beautiful and detailed, and even more fascinating to walk through as the floors were glass sections that allowed you to see through to the crypt underground, still preserved after all these years. Also, the baptismal font of St. Clare and St. Francis was marked off, and even had a photo of Pope Benedict standing in front of it in 2007. Also, each nave along the side was dedicated so beautifully- the second dedication on the left was to Pope John Paul II- it had a beautiful and colorful painting with candles all around it- this same artist in fact did an entire series, and an extension was put onto the church that allowed visitors to walk down a hallway completely lined with paintings of Pope John Paul II, all done in fresco form, then framed. It was amazing to see this dedication to him, incorporated into such an old church with so much history.

After this we wandered down a bit and ended up stopping at a pastry shop and bought “Il pane di San Francesco”- you can’t come to Assisi without eating this local specialty. Alexis and I split a loaf, and ate it immediately- a delicious thyme and raisin based bread- it was the perfect lunch. We were then at the Church of St. Clare, but it was closed for lunch at the time. Clare is almost as popular as St. Francis here, as she was his best known follower. In fact, we saw just how popular she really is in the form of a musical! Yes, they advertised EVERYWHERE for a musical called “Chiara di Dio” and we went into the small theater where it is held at 5pm every day- all decorated with costumes and videos- it’s a big thing! Anyway, her name, “Chiara” means “light”. She too was born into a wealthy church and in fact escaped in the night to leave her wealth behind and live in poverty with St. Francis and his followers. She lived for 42 years in San Damiano with her sisters, and called her community the “poor sisters”. We saw many, many nuns and many Franciscans throughout our day in Assisi- you can tell they have a great sense of community with each other and with the townspeople. It was nice to be in a town where everyone seems to live their lives with a humble attitude and grateful spirit.

We wandered around a bit more, stopping in local shops along the way. It was so cool to see an artist painting pottery right there in his shop and another sorting his spices in his. I know this is something I will miss back home. The next big location we hit was the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, which was a highly decorated structure built in the time of Emperor Augustus. Its gold leafing and elaborate engravings were overwhelming, and represented the expectations for “the perfect classical façade” subject to the baroque transformation in the 17^th century.

The next stop was my favorite- the home St. Francis was born and raised in. On the outside is a statue of his parents, standing together, with his mother holding a piece of chain. The building itself is a small church when you first walk in, as it had been converted many years ago. However, only a few steps from the door is a hollowed out piece of the stone wall with bars in front of it- apparently this was the prison cell in which St. Francis was forced into by his parents’ punishment and anger at his charity. It was so tiny- a person could only sit or kneel in it, and I imagine that is just what St. Francis did- lived on his knees praying all day and all night. It was the first moment I really felt like I was close to him, and that feeling continued as I exited the church to the side and entered the courtyard to the home, as it was originally, and even better- the DOOR to the Bernardone home! Original door, all broken down but still in place. That was awesome.  They also had the stock room open, just a large open room with stone walls and an amazing clay sculpture in the wall. Here we could just sit along the wall and think about how much this stone has seen. It was a great feeling.

We continued enjoying just walking around the town, admiring the shops and taking a million pictures. The fog broke around 2pm, and it was like a whole new look! I was glad we got the see the ghostly and also bright side of the day- it was interesting. Our last big stop was the Basilica itself. This place was HUGE! It has both an upper and lower church, as well as a crypt where St. Francis’ tomb is located. The upper church is best known for its 28 frescos, all depicting the life of St. Francis. I loved the ceiling- it was a bright, vivid blue with gorgeous gold reliefs- it almost looked like a dusk sky. The chairs that line the altar were also beautiful, each delicately made with inlaid wood scenes within them- it was amazing that even one chair could be so detailed, so to see dozens of them all lined up was overwhelming to think of the time and craft that went into creating them. The Lower Church is darker and more romantic, with a HUGE vaulted ceiling that centered over the altar. There were various sections along the edges with various artworks, in sculpture and painted form. There was also an additional altar in the back, where I witnessed a Catholic mass taking place in Italian right then. It again reminded me of the universality of the Catholic mass, in so many languages, but all saying the same thing at the same time. Pretty awesome. The crypt under the Basilica led to St. Francis’ tomb, which was much more open than I expected it would be. First off, all of this is totally free, so anyone can come at any time to pray in the Basilica and even at the body of St. Francis, as the room was more like a chapel, with high ceilings and two long rows of pews. Anyone can come and pray for as long or as often as they like, and built right into the stone walls lies the wooden coffin in which the body is held. There were no rails or bars or guards, it all felt very natural to be so close to the body of such an influential saint. The candle-lit atmosphere was quiet and respectful, but still very welcoming.

I really enjoyed this day trip- to the point that I would come back without hesitation. In fact, I would prefer to come back because I did not have time to see the original church that St. Francis himself rebuilt- that area is a bit of a walk outside town and we did not get a chance to go there. I would really like to see this simple wooden church, in comparison to the grandiose Cathedral built in his honor, where he dedicated his life’s work.

Fall Break: Part 2

October 18^th

Juliana: We woke up to another great breakfast, so we were actually sad to check out and say goodbye to Fabrizio. 

Colin: Fabrizio made a killer breakfast once again and without hesitation Juliana and I both had espresso- yum. It was funny concerning the coffee mugs at the table. Some were huge, like a soup bowl, and displayed fruit on the side. Some were regular size and had red flowers along the sides. I had a large one (lucky me), so of course I helped myself to two large cups of coffee with warm milk and sugar. The table laughed about the ridiculousness of the mugs and about how the Londoners pronounce omelet “ohm-lot”. Juliana and I were enjoying ourselves so we spent the full hour eating breakfast and then realized we only had 30 minutes to check out. We also met a couple nice girls from Switzerland who were vacationing together. Many foreigners call it “on holiday”. We said goodbye to all out friends and packed up our stuff in preparation for Pisa.

Juliana: We hit the Cathedral of the Duomo first, only to find it didn’t open for another 30 minutes so we walked to Piazza del Campo a bit, and got some more money put on my phone- which always requires help. By the time that was figured out the church was open.  Siena Cathedral is an important point of reference for the whole of Italian Gothic architecture. Began around 1230, it provided a basic model for cathedrals and was later adopted in other cities. It’s black and white striped marble throughout is striking as it repeats on all walls and columns, almost giving it an Egyptian feel. The biggest draw, however, is the magnificent marble scenes created in the floor, which took a staggering 200 years to complete. We came at a great time because throughout the year the floors are covered for preservation but unveiled in September and October, so we got to walk right on these famous scenes in the floor. Well, this was our last site in Siena, and our adventure to Pisa began. And seriously, it was an adventure.

Ok- here we go. We got to the bus station right as number 10 bus arrived. Well we got right on it without thinking, but literally rode around the town in one big circle for over 45 minutes. With every stop that was clearly not the station, my stomach got tighter because I don’t love bus transportation in this country, and I hate being lost/ not knowing where I am going. When I asked the driver how long to the station I think he said 30 minutes, so we ended up getting off right where we started and figuring out the next one to take. We had to wait 20 minutes for that one so I was happy we had made a quick stop for break and meat for sandwiches to eat and run earlier. Packed lunches seem to be our thing.

Ok- try #2- the station was the 3^rd stop! HOWEVER, we took a MUCH later train than we planned on. 1.5 hours on the first train before ANOTHER transfer (that’s what you get for paying 7 euro for a ticket), and yet again we had to stand the remaining 30 minutes.  We were already fairly frazzled by the time we got to Pisa, and half and a half later than planned. (what’s that saying about God laughing at our plans again?) So we had a whopping 1.5 hours between our drop off in Pisa and our train for Rome. We didn’t both paying for a map, and just walked straight from the train station going off the map we found there. Well we walked and walked. And walked. We got a great view of residential homes. Yes, we were lost, just looking for a tower, thinking that would be more obvious than it was. Well, something hilarious happened. A very concerned woman asked us for directions to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, to which we laughed and told her we were looking for the same thing. Even funnier, though, was that she asked a local man behind us, who told us we were walking in the wrong direction and it was a 15 minute walk the other way. After we turned around Colin said, “It’s a shame because we need to walk back to the train station to get there in time, and we won’t be able to see the tower.” Well what do you know the next right we made was filled with people, all pointing to the Leaning Tower of Pisa! We actually made it! So what did we do? We resisted the urge to take the typical cheesy picture of one of us leaning with the tower, or worse, pushing it up or holding it by some imaginary string, as literally EVERY SINGLE person (tourist) was doing. I just could not bring myself to do it, they all looked so silly doing it at the same time. We took one normal picture of us, one of the tower, and walked away. Honestly, it was not much to see, and in the end I was fine with our shortened time. So we were walking back toward the station when we saw a bus stop right in front of us for FS Stazione. You must understand we were weary of buses at this point, so part of us doesn’t want to take it, but the more logical side took over, got on the bus, and arrived at the train station in 10 minutes with 30 minutes to spare before our departure. Life is crazy sometimes. So what did we do? We celebrated our success with a glass of Baileys on the rocks (note- this was my first time having ice since arriving in Italy!). A cold drink was just what we needed and deserved, and I was in high spirits when my glad was empty. It looked like our luck had turned around, and we made it to our train to Rome in time- on a nice train too! With assigned seats, a bathroom, and a man wheeling a cart around selling snacks and drinks- the works. We arrived back in Rome at 7:50pm, just in time to rush to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. I was happy to 1. Not need a map 2. Not be lost 3. Not have to pay for a guidebook! It was short walk to the Trevi Fountain, which Colin enjoyed very much. Even though it is always packed it is still romantic and always worth seeing. We then walked to the Spanish steps and hit one of my favorite gelatos spots located there. I got chocolate, caffe, and noicoletta- or hazelnut, and Colin got “after 8”- kind of like mint chocolate chip, with nutella and cookie- delicious! We walked to the top of the steps, avoided the annoying peddlers selling flowers and toys, took some pictures, and headed back to the Residence. Naturally, the second we walked in the door Colin sat down and passed right out- same clothes and all, poor guy.  So I showered, packed, and made preparations for our flight to Sicily. I think I’ll make a good wife ;)

October 19^th

Juliana: I made sure to wake Colin up at the crack of dawn in order to shower and pack for Sicily. We fit all our stuff into one suitcase, packed lunch, and left for the airport. We left at 8:40am, got to the airport at 10:15, flight leaving at 12:05 and closing boarding at 11:35. We took the same (free but longer) route that I took to pick Colin up- Line A to Ponte Lungo then FR1 to Fumincino- total time 1.5 hours. Naturally I could not relax until we got there, so I was just a ball of nerves all morning. Praying Hail Maries all the way worked (I have since bought a bracelet in Assisi with a decade of the rosary to wear and to keep me and my coming travel nerves company). Of course I was still freaking out that there wasn’t enough time AND I didn’t know where to go (first flight out of Italy, can you tell?) but we asked were Terminal 2 was when we saw it on the board and we found it fairly quickly. We walked into the departures for Terminal 2 and knew we were in the right place since “Easy Jet” was written all over the walls. Even better, be barley had to wait at all before the lady called “luggage for Palermo”, we checked it, left, walked through security no problem, and collected our things- all without a line to wait in. The ease and speed with which we got all this done made me feel 10 times better. We got to the terminal at 10:40am. Go us. What did we do? You can guess- bought cappuccino. I took the Italian route and paired it with a cornetto with chocolate and hazelnut, while Colin took the American route and got pizza. I was finally relaxed, happy, and ready to go. In the end, everything was completed early since they took us to our plane 5 minutes early (with cheap flights you get on a bus that drives you to your plane, where you walk up outdoor steps propped against the jet right on the tarmac- just like you see on TV and in the movies!), then the flight LEFT 10 minutes early (we assume everyone checked in early so there was no need to wait), AND we had a 45 minute flight instead of an hour and 15 minutes! So Buonvenuti a Sicilia! Time: 12:45pm

We had to wait a whopping 2 minutes for our luggage- it came right away AND ours was first! THEN we found the correct bus (going off direction I copied last night) right away- it was also first lined up. Man, this has been too easy!

Colin: The bus ride was about 45 minutes to Teatro Politeama and we got off. Along the way we saw amazing views of the terrain. On one side of the bus was the Mediterranean Sea and the other side had mountains! And palm trees! The weather was rather sunny and warm in comparison to the hills of Tuscany. We welcomed the change. From Teatro Politeama we took a bus for only two stops to Piazza Verde, where the Teatro Massimo was located. This was a beautiful old theater located right in the middle of the square. The atmosphere is so warm with the multitude of old buildings basking in the sun with palm trees. It is fascinating to think that part of Juliana’s ancestors lived on this splendid island.

We walked down Via Volturno where we found our hostel. Luckily, when we arrived, one of the hostel workers also arrived. She did not have a key on her, but in true Sicilian style rang the doorbell about 15 times and yelled up to the person on the balcony in Italian, probably something along the lines of, “Let me in! I forgot my key and I’m really animated!”  We worked our way up to the second floor and checked in. This hostel was called “Casa di Amici”. It was very colorful with bold solid colors on all the walls. Musical instruments that looked African in nature hung on the walls along with interesting artwork. Another man led us to our room which was actually down the street in another building. We had a total of 5 keys- 3 for our building and 2 for the reception building. Our room was the first on the left. It was named “Tama” for a type of drum. Let’s just say the color of the day was orange! With everything on Easy Jet being orange and our room being completely bright orange, including orange curtains, this was an orange day!

Juliana: After unpacking we went back to the main building to eat our sandwiches and figure out what to do. We were totally confused with where to go or where anything was located, and wouldn’t you know just when you feel at a loss, something falls into your lap. Our lucky break came in the form of a tiny middle-ish aged woman (late 50s? early 60s?) who literally just walked into the room, saw we were confused, and asked if we needed help- both in Italian and English. We soon found out that English was her first language which was such a relief because apparently she knew a lot about Palermo. She was a visitor too, but had been here many times, so of course she felt that the amount of time we were spending in Palermo was not enough. But she highly recommended going to Monreale, a bit outside of Palermo, about 30 minutes by bus, a small town with a world famous Cathedral. She said we would be blown away by it, so we went! Getting out and walking the streets of a new city is terrifying but necessary, and it’s amazing how fast you are forced to learn the new public transportation system. We walked for about 20 minutes to get to Piazza Indipenzzia to buy our tickets and get on bus 389. We rode it all the way to the end, and had the most incredible view climbing the mountain that overlooked the city. When we reached the top, we were dropped off right in front of the church, and went straight in. It was truly breathtaking. It is a combination of Norman, Arabic, and Byzantine influence- all brought together to create an amazing Catholic Cathedral. It is also the most decorated mosaic location in the world. With over 68,000 square feet of mosaic, we were totally amazed at how each piece of tile was hand cut and placed- seeing such delicate handiwork up close and personal on such a massive scale really stood out. Each piece was different, each column was different- it was so clearly handmade. We headed back to the main center of Palermo just as the sun set, so it was a beautiful ride back down. We decided to stop at the main building for Casa di Amici to use the computer there, and we looked up our accommodations in Erice and Favignana island, talked about the plans for the coming days, and decided not to squeeze in Argrigento in the itinerary and instead enjoy Eric more, as it took 3 hours to get there anyway. We got rid of our bags, put on some warmer clothes, and hit a local apperitiv for dinner. I was excited to take Colin for his first apperitiv- it is a cultural way for Italians to snack at a local bar with a drink, for cheap, and it turned out to only be 4 euro each for a glass of wine for each of us as well as 4 small plates of food! They had pasta, olives, potatoes, bruscetta, and other finger foods. It was a lively place and a great place to stop. After this we still wanted to walk around town, however, this turned into about 20 minutes of being completely and utterly lost- which was fun and scary at the same time. We somehow walked down a random alley and found our way back. We were still hungry, so we hit a little restaurant around the corner from our hostel and ordered some wine. Colin and I could not read the menu or understand anything at all, and the waiter was nice but didn’t speak any English, so in the end Colin got a meat dish that was good, we just didn’t know what it was! O well!

October 20^th

Juliana: We woke up and hit the hostel’s breakfast at 8:30 am- turns out it’s just a roll and coffee (we were spoiled in Siena), and while we were eating my friend Sam from Temple Rome walked in! He was traveling in Sicily alone and flying out at 1- it’s such a small world! We took some time to figure out which bus we needed to take for the day before heading out. We got to see the Cathedral of Palermo in the morning, which was beautiful. After this we walked for what felt like forever to the Stazione Centrale, then asked around for the “Segesta” bus going to Trapani. We got there just in time- the bus pulled up as we bought our tickets! It was a 2 hour ride, which I pretty much passed out for from being both tired and hungry and tired since all I had was a roll for breakfast and it was already lunchtime. So we pulled into the bus station in Trapani totally confused and hungry. Both needs were fulfilled in the bar at the station, as we got sandwiches and found out that the bus to Erice was due to arrive in 15 minutes. Apparently that was Italian time, as it did not arrive for 40 minutes, but we were happy we didn’t miss it. He ride up to Erice was amazing- we started our climb up a huge mountain and immediately it was amazing! We went from being able to see all of Trapani to all of Sicily in a matter of minutes. But the most magical of all was when we reached the top. And so begins out “I can’t believe this is real” section:

Erice is a place that will live in Colin and my memories forever. It is magical and unreal, and I can’t believe we were lucky enough to stay there.

Colin: It was a dream world. We blinked our eyes and it was over and we wish we could revisit it.

Juliana: We were dropped off outside the city’s walls, and we immediately saw it would be a lot of walking- and mostly uphill.

Colin: We viewed the map of Erice and quickly realized that we were on the opposite side of town from where our hostel “Il Carmine” was. Luckily it was a small town and a joy to walk though. It only took 10 minutes and one turn to the left to get there. As usual we kind of stumbled upon it by hoping we were going in the right direction, looking up, and saying, “Oh, there it is.” We entered what might be the nicest hostel in Sicily. There was a splendid courtyard surrounded by walls of stone. There was a calm sitting area with an immediate sense of tranquility. Entering the large wooden door, we saw to the left a chapel, quaint and perfect and we knew we were entering a very spiritual and religious (Catholic) place. We felt closer to God just for entering this wonderful place.

Juliana: Our room was just as beautiful. It was #13, the last room at the end of a long hallway that had beautiful decorative wood molding throughout. Our room was spacious with a big window immediately to the left (again, orange curtains) and the best part- our own bathroom! I could not get over that we paid a hostel price for hotel quality. How was this place on hostelworld.com? We were excited to have the day in Erice, and of course the first place we went was a bar for 2 caffe lattes. Since we didn’t have a map, really, we just wandered a bit along the edge of town, enjoying the incredible view. It was totally unreal to be in this tiny town with tiny streets and barley any people, looking down on all of Sicily, so high above the world- in our own secluded world. As we continued along the edge we came to 3 castles, all stone and built into the edge of the rock, jutting out from the land so they floated above the town. Naturally, Colin and I left the safe, paved street for a dirt path that led down toward an old abandoned castle. Actually, we have no idea what it was- Colin says it was a castle- like-lookout, or maybe an old convent. Either way it was beautifully medieval, built around the 1500s. We got to the door, saw it was ajar, and walked in. The inside was barren and totally abandoned- basically we climbed through tile covered ruins with open, exposed windows and doorways and a broken-in roof. Needless to say we took a million pictures, while repeating over and over, “I can’t believe this. Is this really happening?” The ivy covered stone walls looked like something out of Braveheart. We even took a 4 minute long video because words could not describe this experience.

Once we climbed out we hiked up the mountain a little more (I was happy to have boots on) before hitting a dead end and turning back. We decided to go into another castle, a little higher up. We paid 1.50 euro to enter “Castello di Venere” or “Castle of Venus”. It was more like an open archeological site upon a castle foundation, which displayed the remains of thermal baths, wells, burial sites, and such. Before Christianity took hold, the city had fortresses like these dedicated to Gods and Goddesses, many of which were destroyed in the time of Constantine. This was again a beautiful view, where we could clearly see the most unique clouds ever. Instead of a normal hazy border these clouds had borders that looked like someone drew them with a pencil. They looked completely fake! Anyway, this was a beautiful place to watch the sunset, and we were sad for the night to come. It is not too often you get to see a sunset in a castle.

We walked back into town and wandered the streets a bit, stopping in the local stores along the way. First, we visited a local bakery, and having no idea what anything was but knowing it would be authentic and good, we just randomly picked various items to save for later. Then we visited a local wine shop, which also had homemade spreads and sauces. There was a table laid out with free samples of all the store had to offer, and the owner was a kind man who stumbled though very little English to explain what each one was as we tried it. I picked the sundried tomato spread, but the pistachio and Trapanese pesto were great as well. We also talked (this is a vague usage, more like used hand gestures) about his wine, and we bought a bottle of high quality red wine from Erice, one that spent a year fermenting in the barrels! Mr. and Mrs. Laury- this one’s for you! I hope you enjoyed it!

Ok, now dinner. First off, how did we even find this place? We made a random turn, went down some stairs, and stared into a huge archway with a medieval gate leading to a small set of stairs. The place was called Ristorante Monte S. Guiliano (almost my name!). We decided to give it a shot, and we are forever grateful we did this. It was by far the best meal yet. We shared a bottle of red wine, an antipasto, and a pasta, then Colin got a fish for his second course and I got a meat. This is what we ordered:

1.       Antipasti: Marinated beef Carpaccio with rocket and parmesan

2.       1^st course/ Pasta: Ravioli with grouper sauce and parsley

3.       2^nd course/ Fish (Colin): Swordfish with garlic, capers, olives, parsley, and almonds    

Meat (Juliana): Stuffed sirloin (Zainetto) with mozzarella cheese and tomato

4.       Dessert: homemade tiramisu and espresso

We will remember this meal forever. Everything just melted in our mouths- the freshest ingredient and the boldest flavor. As if to mimic how we felt, we walked out of the restaurant into the most eerie scene- Erice disappeared into the thickest fog in the world. We could barely see in front of us, and to add to it, the place was silent. It was not even 9pm and everything was closed and no one was around. It literally felt like a ghost movie. On our way back we saw a woman and her son still in her small enoteca (wine bars). Really, it was a tiny room with one couch and bottles of wine on a rack. We went in and bought 2 glasses, sat in the little couch in the little shop (she and her son talked outside to give us privacy) and reflected on how crazy life is and how unreal everything feels in Erice. This is called “La Montagna del Signore”- “The Mountain of God”- and I really feel that this night brought us closer as a couple both in the fun we had and in growing in faith together.

October 21^st

Juliana: We woke up in beautiful Erice to a beautiful breakfast. It was so nicely displayed: yogurt, cornetti, rolls with prosciutto and provolone and tomato, as well as various fresh fruits. I even had my first fresh kiwi! I never thought to eat one whole but I loved it! I had two! Afterward we enjoyed our last 2 or 3 hours in Erice, walked around (along the way we ran into and said hi to our waiter from the night before! Tiny town, haha), got espresso, bought souvenirs, and visited the city’s Duomo. The church was beautiful, almost neoclassical. It stood out from many of the other churches we had seen, which were almost over the top. This one was uniform in color- an off white- and the reliefs were frequent but broken up, so we got to appreciate the intertwined faces within vines and sculptures between the columns. To the left was a small room, called a museum, holding some of the church’s oldest artifacts.

Colin: It was in this tiny museum that an elder Italian man started speaking to Juliana and me completely in Italian. We could tell he was explaining the amount of time it must have taken to sculpt some of the pieces of art, but we did not understand a word he said, and just kept nodding out heads. We kept looking at each other thinking, “I can’t believe this is happening!”- which is of course the headline for the trip.

Juliana: So we took the 12:45 bus from Erice to Trapani, where we wandered around, trying to find the port for the hydrofoil. Luckily, Colin is not afraid to ask for directions, asked a random man, turned us around, and got us there JUST in time to catch the next trip from Ustica Lines to Favignana island. It was about a 45 minute ride, and a pretty bumpy one. But the weather was very warm so I was happy! Except that didn’t last long…

We got off the boat and had an “O crap” moment. We had no idea what to do or where to go. We were dropped off in the middle of an island, and that was it. First, we tried a bike and scooter rental place- where no one spoke English (this turned out to be a reoccurring thing) who had a map and showed us where Nido del Pelligrino was on the map. Our conversation didn’t go anywhere until a man who spoke English came in to help. Basically he translated that if we rented from this company they would drive our luggage up in return- but we told him we didn’t know how to drive an Italian scooter so the deal was off. So we walked out of there empty handed and still lost. Next I tried calling a number I had brought for a taxi but they also did not speak English so it went nowhere as well. Finally an Italian helped us, spoke to the Italian who owned the bar at the port, and he called someone for us. He told us a blond woman was on her way. We bought 2 small sandwiches from him since we hadn’t eaten all day. The taxi driver’s name was Anna, and so was super nice. It was my first taxi ride in Italy, actually (obviously Colin’s first too), but turns out this was the only option since there is no public transportation and our residence was not in the town, and kind of in the middle of nowhere (for us). Nido del Pelligrino was secluded (obviously) and quite beautiful. We entered through a huge gate to a fully manicured courtyard- with the one and only worker waiting for us. She, too, spoke little English and used Google Translate on her computer a bit to help. She told us a young man could come and pick us up if we wanted to rent bikes or scooters to get around- and since we had no other way of getting anywhere, we agreed. We had all of 10 minutes to drop our stuff and freak out about how awesome our place was. It was hands down the most beautiful place I have ever stayed, and probably will stay for a long time. It was a little beach apartment, with a big living area and kitchen in the front (glass dinner table), fully stocked, with a huge bathroom to the right (blue, not orange this time) that had the biggest shower I’ve seen in Italy. Then, of course, our bedroom was gorgeous- 1 big bed facing two glass doors that led out to our own personal patio facing the water. It was rock-lined and jutted out over the ocean, so yes, we had a waterfront view from our room. Fabulous.

Like I said, we didn’t have much time to soak this in, as “Andrea” picked us up to take us to his shop in town.

Colin: We arrived at the shop and I showed him my license of which he made a copy and started to write out the paperwork. We handed over the money and we got fitted for helmets. We then were taken to the scooters and Andrea showed me how to start it. Easy enough… then he said I could hop on, showed me how to go and stop and then it was my turn to drive around in a circle. Well, here’s the fun part. Little did he know that we don’t all know how to drive scooters in America. I turned the handle a little, the engine revved up, but it did not go. So I turned it a little more… and next thing I know I was flying- and I don’t mean the scooter. The scooter flew forward and crashed to the ground and I was catapulted off and luckily landed on my feet. Great start…so then I was a little hesitant about this whole scooter thing. I could start to see the hesitiation in Andrea’s face but he was still willing to let me get on again. I  hopped on and made my way around a square, realizing just how challenging this is after have no experience. I couldn’t even turn without issues- I was so out of my element. I then realized that Juliana would have to ride behind me on the scooter. There was NO way that was happening. So then I just had to say, “Can we rent two bikes instead?” “O wait, what about renting a car?” “Wait, honey, I think they only have manual transmission here” “Do you have any automatics?” “No, tutti manual…” I then look at Juliana, shrug my shoulders, and point to the bicycles. We had to redo all the paperwork. I said, “Mi dispiace” which means “I’m sorry” in Italian and then the funniest thing happened. Andrea started singing “America!” to America the Beautiful. We all started laughing uproariously at the fact that he was outright mocking us. Juliana and I have been laughing about this since. So we hopped on our flashy bicycles and were on our way!

Juliana: Now I haven’t been on a bicycle in a very long time, so I needed some practice. I’ve really always avoided riding again, but really had no choice at this point so I sucked it up, and found out with a little more confidence it’s natural again. We got a map at the municipal building, and both the guide there and Andrea had told his to follow the coastline and we would get to various beaches. So off we went, just riding along dirt paths that line the water, enjoying the sights and realizing how unique this island is. Firstly, it is so quiet. There are no people, no towns, no inhabited buildings. Second, we often passed what looked like abandoned ruins. Kind of like homes were once there, people left, and no one ever cleaned up or did anything. It was so surreal, biking for miles with only the water to guide us, no signs, no shops, no people. The rocky land would often stop at a huge cave-like formation, or wall, or building, and we would just say, “what is that?” Unfortunately, at some point the road broke into two parts- the left along the water was a dead end so we had to take the right, but once the ocean was out of sight we REALLY had no idea where we were going, and after miles and miles of winding roads our stomachs turned to realize we were completely lost. This nervousness was only intensified when we took a wrong turn and started into the eyes of a donkey. When Colin said, “Back away slowly, if it charges you go the other way” I kind of freaked out in my head. It didn’t help to have a similar situation with a local dog not even half a mile later. Who knows how long we were biking for before we saw our first human being- a woman in her yard. She smiled at us and that was it, we ran to her with the map and she pointed to where we were. Just in time, too, since the road in front of her house broke into two- we took the right road and were totally relieved to see water again. At this point the sun was much lower in the sky- we had about one hour until nightfall. It was actually at this point that we found a beach! Not much of a beach by U.S. standards, but I was still proud of us. Still trying to beat the sunset, we spent all of 5 minutes there, then continued along the coast to our residence. Luckily, we found a tiny little sign for it on the only turn we had to make, and we knew we were close when we hit the tunnel. Biking though a tunnel is scary but kind of fun- and this one was long. Once we reached the end we saw our place, rejoiced, went in, and collapsed immediately. Our legs were totally dead from biking at least 10 to 15 miles- we could barely talk. However, I was also STARVING since we did not pass a single store, bar, or restaurant, or really any building that had lights on- so we had no choice but to get back on our bikes after a couple of showers. Literally, the only place to get food was in town and at this point it was dark out, so we strapped lights to the baskets of our bikes using my hair ties( dad- hair braids!) and faced a cold, dark night, and somehow successfully found our way into town. We ended up at a small local restaurant- we were the only ones there- and got enough food to choke a cow (we just let the waiter pick what we got since we couldn’t read this menu).

Ristorante a Lampara

Antipasta- Pepata di Cozze (mussels)

Primi Piatti- Spaghetti alla Lampara

Secondi Piatti di Pesce (fish)- Tonno alla Griglia (tuna)

Pizza- Speck e Gorgonzola

Vino Rosso- mezzo (half) litro

Acqua Naturale

With full stomachs we biked back uphill to the residence!

Oct 22^nd

Juliana: This was the first morning we did not set an alarm for, so we got a whopping 10 hours of sleep, waking up to our beautiful view with the Sicilian sunlight coming through the windows. We decided just to enjoy Nido del Pelligrino, so we hiked around and explored the area. Colin even found a dirt path that led to the water’s edge! The water was crystal clear and it crashed against huge rocks like something from a movie. We were very sad when Anna the taxi driver came at 11:30am to pick us up. Luckily, we knew where we were this time, so when she dropped us off in port we bought the tickets and walked into town for something to eat. We ended up stopping at the “hip” (is that the right word? Cool?) bar in town- the one that played music on our way out last night (a big thing in a silent town). We saw the first group of young people working there! They were super nice and energetic, playing music and speaking with everyone there- giving them a glass of water for free while they decided what to order (this was a first for us). We ordered 2 panini and 2 cornetti- 1 chocolate and hazelnut and 1 frutto di bosco- basically purple fruit jelly. They also got us 2 cappucini, and let me tell you they were the best we’ve had! They guy with the long hair even made a flower on the foam with chocolate syrup for us! I could have had 10 of them if you let me (now I sound like Colin). Also, the owner of the bar was a lively older guy with his hair tied back- he was laughing at how happy we were with our cappuccinos, and he nodded to pastry he hadn’t ordered, winking at me. They guy next to him who spoke a little English said, “My boss says this is free”- so we split one! It was a great stop, I felt so welcome there, and it was a good way to end our visit to Favignana island before taking the hydrofoil back to Trapani.

We got into Trapani around 1:30pm and decided to walk around this town a bit. We searched high and low for a famous pizza place called Calvano, but when we finally found it the doors were locked and a local woman said it doesn’t open until 5pm (good thing we at least know our numbers in Italian!). After this small defeat we walked the coast, a nice guy standing outside his pastry shop showed us a walking pathway that led to a beach (the people are so friendly here) and what do you know- we finally made it to a beach! Colin was super excited to put his feet in after dragging the suitcase across the sand, and I was super excited to finally take some pictures with my film camera! We finally relaxed for a bit before hitting the train station to buy our tickets for Palermo. We still had an hour and a half before it arrived so we ate some lunch and wrote in this journal! It has been a lot of work to keep up with but totally worth it and I am really proud of it and us.

It was nice to know where we were going and already have a map when we arrived back in Palermo around 7:30pm. We dropped our stuff back at Casa di Amici- we knew the drill- and got some AMAZING pizza at Pizzeria 59. I got one with a spicy sausage and meat combo, and Colin got the “random” pizza- it had little hot dogs call wurtzul and mushrooms and some other meat and cheese. Either way they were made really well- Colin said “You know it’s real mozzarella cheese when its floating in its own juice”- but really great pizza! I ate every bite. Then we got gelato at Ocean Ice (well I bought it since Colin was down to his last 6 euro, poor guy). Anyway, we got bacio (Colin’s favorite) and something new with chocolate in it. AMAZING! Up there on the best gelato yet- not Old Bridge, but a competitor. We made conversation with an American couple next to us who now live in Switzerland (we need to go there!) who were commenting on our journal which we carried around to catch up on. When we finished it was already 10:30pm and we had a bus to catch at 5:15am, so we got a few hours of sleep before the alarm woke us up at 4:15am. Yay.

October 23^rd

Juliana: Waking up at 4:15am was not fun, but luckily we were packed already and all we had to do was drop our key in a box to “check out”. We walked to Piazza Politeama and found our bus stop in front of the Prada store, as we had learned from the hostel worker. We actually got there a good 20 minutes early, so Colin played with a stray dog that lived in a local bush. He apparently protected/guarded this bus stop as he barked at every car but was nice to us. It was at this point that we THOUGHT we moved everything we needed to into the luggage to be checked. I had Colin take JUST the wine out of his backpack and put it in the baggage luggage- you will later learn what we also forgot to move. Anyway the 5:15 bus arrived, Colin handed over his last 5 euro bill he had to get on it, and we had a sleepy 30 minute ride to the airport. I was of course nervous this wouldn’t be enough time to prepare for the flight, but as soon as we walked into the airport, the first kiosk to the right was checking bags for the Easy Jet flight to Rome. It was the only kiosk open, and we were the only customers. That was easy. So we celebrated with 2 cappucini and 2 croissants, my treat. This seems to be a theme- we celebrate with coffee and pastries. We walked up to security, and this is where the real story lies. As soon as we put our things through both Colin and I are pulled aside by security guards. The one I had kept saying “knife” and I was so confused, until I realized with dismay that I had forgotten about the wooden knife I had bought for Eric was still in my backpack, shoved at the bottom. I felt so stupid, I can’t believe I forgot about that! So Eric, I am sorry, I DID have a sweet knife that had “Sicilia” carved in it for you, but now it’s in the trash. My bad. THEN the guard made am opening gesture and kept saying “vino” and again I was super confused until I again realized that I had a wine bottle opener in my outside pocket. Again, trash. I was totally annoyed with myself for forgetting to check these obviously prohibited objects, and further saddened to find out Colin was forced to throw out our sundried tomato spread from Erice because it was a liquid. FAIL! O well, worse things could have happened. Next time, no 6am airport stuff- our brains need to be turned on.

Anyway, we boarded at 6:30am and the flight took off at 7am. We got to see the sunrise through the clouds as we flew over Sicily, which was gorgeous. 50 minutes later we landed. Home sweet Rome. J

Got our bags, did the usual train back to Termini, then the metro, where Colin had to use his last 1 euro piece- don’t worry I saved the ticket! We got back to the apartment (mine- room 47- Colin did not have a room for this night) and finally showered and relaxed a bit. I made a pasta dish for lunch with sausage and red tomato sauce, so we were all filled up, ready to head back out. Colin got a little more money and we finally went to the Colosseum! Apparently it was a good day to go because there was a street festival going on! When you get off the metro the Colosseum is right in front of you, and so were some roller skaters! We spent a lovely afternoon walking around different sections of the Forum as well as watching various games taking place in the street- such as a tug-of-war match with a local soccer team versus random spectators. It was really nice to see these fairly famous sports players just out in the street, playing tug of war with their fans, no guards to paparazzi like you would see in the states. It was a beautiful day out- jeans and a t-shirt weather (better weather for October than snow!)- and a fun environment to enjoy the Roman culture in.

After listening to some Native American performers, Colin and I walked back to the Colosseum to get in line for entry. We decided to skip the line and pay an extra 5 euro for an audio guide, which was a phone-like device that gave pre-recorded histories of the various sections. We learned about the games, the building techniques, and some historical information while it had us walk to the cavea, the south side, the valley, the west entrance, the service tunnel, and the senators’ podium. We spent a good two hours throughout, but I know we could have spent all day there. We headed back around 4:30pm, took the metro back to the Residence, packed Colin’s things, added mine and realized he would have to split some stuff up since his luggage was over 50 pounds, and then literally dragged (the wheels were broken) it over to the B&B to check in for the night. Since Colin is not permitted to spend the night in the Residence without paying for a room (which was full), we had to check into the B&B by 7:30 at the latest. Along the way we ran into Pasquele, so Colin got to meet him, and he joined our walk to talk about Fall Break stories. The place called “B&B at Home” was about 10 minutes from the Cipro metro stop, and when we got there we buzzed in, took the old school elevator to the 6^th floor (sliding door, wood paneling, tiny) where the hostel woman waited for us. She did not speak any English at all so she basically handed us the keys, we paid, and left. We walked back to the Residence to start preparing for dinner. I had planned a potluck dinner a couple of weeks back and made a Facebook event for it. All 15 or so people said they would come, so I had Allison buy lots of supplies while I was away. We planned to make 2 lasagnas- 1 meat and 1 vegetarian- as well as an entire batch of zeppolis. Well, I had never made lasagna from scratch so this was ambitious. We started preparing at 6pm and we didn’t eat the lasagna until 9:30. Although it was quite an undertaking it actually turned out perfect! Everyone loved it and Colin and I (and Sarah who helped A LOT) learned a new dish. Of course we had plenty of food both before and after- pretty much eating continuously from 7-10:30pm. Here are some examples of what we had:

-          Amanda and Paul and Sara brought tomato and mozzarella on crustini

-          Maddie, Lindsay, and Rachel brought a cold pasta with broccoli

-          Adam made a turkey breast with seasoning

-          Leann cooked ONE AT A TIME her homemade latakas- she loves her polish food. It is shredded potato and onion, fried- it’s time consuming but she is so good at it!

-          Our lasagna came about 2 hours after this first course

-          Pasquele brought his family’s homemade wine from Volterra where he stayed for break

-          Abe made a homemade chicken pie- he actually slow roasted the chicken for 3 hours earlier that day and did a homemade crust from scratch! Also, he did homemade apple pie, also good crust

-          I fried up some dough and covered them in powered sugar and cinnamon for zeppolis

Needless to say, we were totally full by the time Colin had to leave at 11pm. He rolled out full and totally exhausted after a long 19 hour day. Luckily, he could just sleep after already being packed- just what he needed.

The potluck was a success and Colin got a chance to meet the friends I’ve made and traveled with over the last month and a half- and they were just as excited to meet him! If not more… Everyone got along really well and I was happy to end with a big dinner to remember.

October 24^th

Juliana:

Worst day ever.

Never wanted to go to the airport.

Finally faced the music and hit the metro at 8am. Arrived at FCO at 9:30am. Colin flies out at 11:50am. I went all the way to Terminal 5 with him and even waited in line until he got his boarding pass. Cried when he was next in line, hugged, watched him go through, and cried all the way home.

As a side note, it felt really weird to go to the same Terminal at the same time of day that I will be taking to go home in 7 more weeks. I really felt like I was going home for a bit, just without my stuff. It was really hard to be around U.S. Airways stuff just to walk away feeling like 7 weeks is far away. At the same time, I know November is my last full month here and I still have so much planned. It’s a constant battle, but in the end no matter how homesick I get, I am still glad I am taking this semester to study abroad in Rome.

Final word count of blog (parts 1 and 2): 12,178 – 19 pages in Word

Fall Break: Part 1

OK SO….. FALL BREAK….

As many of you may or may not know, my wonderful, handsome, and perfect fiancée Colin Laury flew from Philadelphia all the way to Rome to stay with me during my entire 10 day Fall Break. It was the biggest gift I could have ever received, and before I recount our adventure, I would like to thank my parents. I wrote this in my journal somewhere on the way to Siena:

“I would like to thank my parents for many things. They instilled the importance of travel in me at a young age. And with that, the importance of documenting each trip in written form. I remember each family vacation that I have ever been privileged enough to have, and with each one I hear in my head, “Ok, time to journal!” I used to roll my eyes or groan, and try to avoid my turn. Even now, spending the time and effort it takes to write about a day feels like a chore, but I know that it is worth it, because not only do I want to remember every little detail (especially the funny, random things that happen in between), but I also want others to know what happened, because I know they care and deserve more than a simple, “It was nice.” So I will work to carry on the tradition. I also want to thank my parents for supporting my trip, especially Colin’s visit. It really means the world to me, more than I would ever put into words. I am beyond blessed to have such an open and loving relationship with the people who raised me, and it makes me so happy to see that circle of love extended to Colin so readily, loving and accepting him as a son already. My life just feels so complete. I love you, Mommy and Daddy, with all that I am.”

I did just as I said- I bought a leather bound journal in Florence, and told Colin when he arrived that we would write in it every day, and I would (and have) tape every train ticket, museum ticket, business card, map, etc. within it, and that in the end it would the ultimate souvenir. I am so glad we put the time and effort into it, I am very proud of the final product. You will see both he and I wrote separate sections, so where my name is would be where I wrote, and Colin’s name where he wrote. So, here it is:

October 14^th 2011

7:30am

Sometimes I just can’t believe this is my life.

Juliana:

To get to the airport:

1.       Line A Metro to Ponte Lungo

2.       Walk to FR1

3.       Take FR1 (Note: people stare on this train)

4.       Realize getting to the airport is only half the battle

5.       Wishing Colin would walk through the door is the other half

My dearest Colin,

The day has finally come. It makes me sick with anticipation. My every thought has been consumed by this day for the past week. I have not been able to focus on anything at all. I feel incomplete without you and this separation has only further reminded me how lucky I am to have you in my life- for the rest of my life. I love showing off my ring talking to everyone who will listen about you and our wonderful future together. I absolutely LOVE calling you my fiancée- proclaiming to the whole world that I have found the man I will spend all my days with. It is such an honor.

8am

I realize I have about another hour and a half to wait until you are in my arms again. After waiting 6.5 weeks you would think this is nothing, but every minute seems to take forever. It is the longest 90 minutes of my life, and the butterflies in my stomach keep getting worse.

8:30am

So I made it to the airport, waiting in the arrivals section, freaking out. Your plan is estimated to arrive 10 minutes early, which is great for me because every second that I get closer to you, the smile on my face gets bigger and bigger. I’ve never wanted to see the word “landed” next to US 718 more!

8:50- You landed

9:45 - We are reunited!!

Colin and Juliana’s Adventure Begins!!!!!

Next, we had to find our driver (I had pre-booked a shuttle service back to the Residence), which was not as easy as anticipated since it ended up being the last name on a whole list! We were lucky to be the first of the group to be dropped off. Arrival at the Residence: 11am.

Colin: We did not pass away as I thought we would on the way to the Residence. Italian traffic has no laws (or at least any that are observed). I received my Residence key when they finally found it. My room was 96 (on the 7^th floor) and they key was hung with room 69- easy mistake I suppose. So. About my room: It’s on the top floor. In fact, it’s the only room on the entire floor. We talked into one main living room with a double bed, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The tub is hard to shower in as the shower rod is hand held only. The best part about my room is the balcony. Being on the top floor, I have the best view of Rome.

Juliana: It is so nice to finally have Colin in Rome, but even better his first two nights are in the very building I have been living in! He really gets a true feel for my life here, and it is so convenient to have his room only 2 staircases away. I took Colin to a coffee bar (just called a bar here, but once I explained what it is- not like a bar in the U.S.- he started calling it a coffee bar) right across the street from the Residence. They may not have been smart for our finances….

Colin: Juliana would like to skip by one of the most substantial parts of the whole trip…the coffee at these coffee bars is AMAZING. Dunkin Donuts, what? Juliana ordered for both of us for the first time (ain’t she great) and we both got caffe lattes and croissants. And my life was changed forever… at these coffee bars (Juliana just calls them “bars”- weirdo) they have a simple countertop. One arrives, orders, drinks, pays, and leaves for their next destination. As soon as one walks in they say, “Ciao! Buongiorno!”- it’s an extremely friendly environment. One gentleman walked in with what appeared to be an expensive pin-striped suit and a motorcycle helmet, ordered an espresso. After saying “Ciao!” poured about as much sugar as there was espresso, downed it in one sip, and left. He hopped on his motorcycle with his fancy leather shoes and sped away. How cool!

Juliana: I’d just like to say that Colin went BACK to the same bar maybe an hour or two later and got a double (dopio) shot of espresso. Yeah, we found his weakness…

So, the first real place I took Colin was the market! I have been waiting for this all semester- it’s such a big part of life here, and a part of my daily life. First, we bought a slab of fresh salmon, bones and all, then some huge balls of fresh mozzarella, and finally Colin’s favorite- prosciutto! I wanted prosciutto crudo (raw- the darker colored option) and we found the nicest vendor who let us taste a piece first without us asking! Va bene! After buying bread, basil, tomato, and fruit we went back to make sandwiches! Colin loved the meal and it was the perfect way to show him Italian culture and people!

Then, off to the Vatican museum! We were very privileged- Uncle Bob Brucato’s secretary got us tickets for free! A big help! It was quite overwhelming- it went on FOREVER with priceless works of art! I even saw Laocoon, which I learned about in Art History 1- so it was totally overwhelming in so many ways. The various hallways leading up to the Sistine Chapel were so brilliant- they were covered floor to ceiling with frescos and carved reliefs. Of course the Sistine Chapel was beautiful, and people had a hard time following the “no photos” rule…

After this we went into St. Peter’s Basilica, which was our favorite part. It was just awe-inspiring in beauty and size. This history of this church was so present, from the list of Popes since St. Peter himself to Pope John Paul II’s tomb, it was all just so monumental.

Of course I had to take Colin to my favorite place for his first gelato- Old Bridge! He got bacio (hazelnut, his favorite), caramel, and caffe. I got bacio, caffe, and nutella. Perfection.

The nighttime was nice- I let Colin rest and catch on some sleep while I cooked dinner. It was 3 courses (I was obviously trying to show off)

1.       Caprese salad

2.       Pasta with ricotta cream sauce

3.       Salmon with light honey glaze and homemade apple sauce topping (I bought the apple sauce from the woman who made it, I didn’t make it myself unfortunately)

Colin: My turn! This meal was perfect. Juliana succeeded in showing off her culinary skills. The caprese salad was a blend of the freshest tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella with high quality olive oil- simply amazing. The flavors were simple yet complimented each other perfectly. The next course was a delight! Pasta with a fresh ricotta cream sauce- what’s Rome without a special pasta course! The sauce was made from scratch on the stovetop- I’m so proud of my girl! But then the salmon with the apple honey topping was simply cooked to perfection. The salmon was tender and melted in your mouth. The apple complemented it perfectly. I was full and happy, not to mention impressed. Great Job baby.

 

October 15^th

Juliana: We woke up at 6am in order to get ready and pack lunches for the day. Of course, we could not go anywhere without hitting the bar for Colin to get his fix. However, he failed to say “caffe latte” and just said “latte”, like he would in the states, and found just hot milk in his cup. Lesson learned. I took one for the team and swapped to give him my cappuccino. We hit the metro for the first time together and made it to Termini by 7:30 for the 7:43 train to Perugia for the chocolate festival. It was packed! We literally got the last two seats next to each other- there were people all along the aisles that had to stand the entire ride, it was that crowded. This was only a sign of things to come because after 2.5 hours we got to Perugia to find it packed. We figured out how to take a special bus running for transport to the festival, and made some American friends along the way. We went all the way to the top of this hilltop town, which was beautiful but very windy. I was unfortunately vastly underdressed with my skirt, light sweater and sandals, so this put a damper on the mood a bit since I already had a cold. The Chocolate Festival was packed, so our favorite parts ended up being our visits to the Duomo and Sandris. The Duomo was beautiful, and best known for housing the wedding ring of the Virgin Mary. Immediately to the right of walking in is a gated corner, and behind it an elegant box where the ring supposedly rests behind 14 locks. The huge painted portrait of Mary and Joseph’s wedding ceremony was so memorable to me, and very humbling, especially standing next to the man that I will pledge my life to in less than 2 years.

Colin: So we were standing in the middle of the Piazza when we realized we had no clue where we were going. An Italian man randomly came up to us and asked if we needed help. We showed him our little map that we ripped out of the Italy 2011 book and said we wanted to go south on a specific road. Well, he must have been more interested in his BBQ Restaurant that he was peddling to us, because we were sent in the completely wrong direction! But that was fine by us because we explored little windy streets with gorgeous views and Juliana’s hand felt nice in mine. We eventually found Sandris, which is a coffee/liquor/ pastry bar which was established in 1860. The place was beautiful and artwork was painted on the ceiling and a lot of old wood made up the architecture. Of course I had to get a caffe latte and then I bought one for Juliana because I love her!

Juliana: So because of the crowds and already seeing the main sites we decided to take an earlier train home. It took us quite awhile to get back, though, as our train had 2 transfers, which was quite an adventure trying to figure out. Let’s just say we were very happy to make it back home. Of course, naps were in order, and I made reservations for dinner as Colin passed right out.

We went to Tiepolo for dinner, right off Via Flamina (the road I walk on after the metro to get to school), a place Pasquele took Sarah and I to before, so I was excited for Colin to eat here with me. I was pretty good at ordering, and here is what we got:

Colin: Baltic salad and a beer- spinach, smoked salmon, mushrooms, and peas (we think?)

Juliana: Tre Stelle- radicchio, pears, gorgonzola cheese, gruyere cheese, gorgonzola vinaigrette dressing

Shared: Hot baked potato with sour cream and smoked salmon and dill

Delicious and affordable! Woot!

Unfortunately at this point I started feeling sick again, as I had earlier in the day, so we headed back and went to bed at a reasonable hour.

October 16^th

Juliana: Today we enjoyed a relaxing morning- I made potatoes with apple and applesauce for breakfast, we packed for Siena, and reviewed the game plan for the next 2 to 3 days. We decided we needed an earlier train than the one I booked, so we went to Termini to change it. The wait in line was worth the nice woman we get to help us, and she got us a cheaper train which gave us 14 euro credit- so we used it to buy our tickets from Siena to Pisa. We had a whopping 50 euro cent balance. Ouch.

We had almost 2 hours to kill, so I took Colin to the Pantheon! Getting there was nice and sweaty on a crowded bus, and I was just glad to know where I was going already, so we made it there in no time. We of course had to stop for a caffe latte for Colin, then walked maybe a few more feet before this alleyway just opens up into the Pantheon. I love this about Italy- the best sights are seemingly hidden gems, that always surprise you when you hit them. Colin really enjoyed the Pantheon, and I was glad we made some time for it.

So the trip to Siena was about 4 hours long- the tickets were cheap for a reason! We had 1 transfer- the first train we rode for 2.5 hours (after a short freak out in Termini, trying to find the train, then asking every possible person/conductor/worker if we were on the right one). We were dropped off at our stop around 4:50pm, called Montepesca. Well, it could have been the middle of nowhere for all we knew. We were surrounded by the countryside on all sides, and the “train station” was just 2 sets of tracks and one board with the trains written on it. When our train did arrive we had to do a double take. It was only 2 cars, so people were standing in the aisles. We, too, had no choice but to stand our remaining 1.5 hours, I didn’t mind too much, though, because it was a gorgeous ride- we saw gorgeous hill towns, fields, and castles just as the sun began to recede. My favorite memory so far is the various vineyard estates, all with an ancient look with sheep and live/grape trees lined up for miles. I feel so lucky to have seen these views people only dream of.

I will say this: no matter how many times it happens, by far the worst feeling of any trip is getting off a train with an address and no idea how to get there. A new city is terrifying at first, and the act of getting on a random bus, with no clue where it is going or, worse, where to get off, is my least favorite thing so far.

Colin: We randomly asked one of the bus drivers if the bus we were on goes to Via Tozzi where we needed to go and he said yes. In retrospect, I think all the buses stop there… Anyway we then had to enter a Tabacchi, which is like a convenience store, to buy a map of Siena. The nice Italian man, without even asking, drew an x-marks-the-spot on the map where we were- we clearly looked lost. We then asked where Via Delle Terme was and another x was placed- finally we knew where to go! We arrived after a five minute walk and rang the buzzer labeled “Casa di Antonella” next to a wooden door. The door buzzed open and we walked up three flights of stairs to the very last door and we rang the bell. We were greeted by Fabrizio, the hostel owner. He was incredibly nice and welcoming. He showed us which room was ours and told us that breakfast was from 8:30-9:30am. He asked us if we ate meat- ugh, duh, that’s our favorite food! Our room was incredibly clean and the bed was nice firm which supported my back nicely. Juliana and I decided to take a nighttime stroll. It was about 8pm at this point. We perused the stores which reminded me of Maine because they were small and intriguing. We visited the Piazza del Campo, the largest and most famous Piazza in Siena. It was simply stunning and romantic with all the restaurant tables in the Piazza and the lights. We ended up buying a bottle of Chianti and headed back to the hostel. We asked Fabrizio where a great place would be to go where we could enjoy the countryside. He recommended San Gimignano (I still can’t pronounce it!) Little did we know that the bottle of wine we purchased was made in San Gimignano. So we decided we would take a bus there tomorrow! We relaxed the rest of the night, drinking wine, and making friends with an Asian couple from Taiwan. They were travelling all over Europe for over 100 days- must be nice!

October 17^th

Juliana: Well breakfast was fabulous at Casa di Antonella, with a full spread of eggs, sausage, salami, yogurt, cheese, bread, and various pastries. I really hope Colin doesn’t get used to this (Fabrizio even made individual espressos for us!) We left around 9:30am to buy our tickets and hop on the 10:15 bus to San Gimignano. Our Asian friends did the same actually! It was a nice ride, about one hour, through Siena, then the countryside, before we saw the towers of San Gimignano. It supposedly has 13 towers, so it is very striking against the backdrop of a sprawling countryside. It was the perfect spot- an old medieval hill town, with an incredible view. At first we just wandered the shops and streets before visiting the Palace of the Commune and climbing the tower there. We got to see the General Council Hall where all political meetings took place from the 1300s onward, as well as multiple chambers filled with Florentine and Sienese frescos painted in the 19^th century. We then climbed something like 200 steps up to the Pinacoteca tower, and were rewarded by the most incredible view of the city, and all of Tuscany, even- it was magical. Our next stop was the town’s Duomo- the Collegiata Cathedral. It was a great stop because it was filled with history and art, dating back to the 12^th century. Broken into 5 aisles, the outer 2 are covered with frescos that depict stories of the Bible- the Old Testament on the left and the New Testament on the right. It was fun to follow the stories with my guidebook and discuss some stories Colin was not familiar with- we both learned a lot at this site.

On our way out we enjoyed some gelato and purchased some wine and pesto, which we enjoyed later with dinner. The ride back reminded us of how tired we were, but we pushed through- we only stopped at the hostel to drop our stuff off before hitting Siena’s sites. We bought a combination pass that was good for 3 days- it was for the Duomo (Cathedral) and its surrounding sites, so we started underneath the Duomo in the crypt, which was only recently uncovered and open to the public in 2003. We then saw the Baptistery, which centered around the baptismal font in the middle. It was a beautiful hexagonal shaped piece and above it, beautiful frescos of scenes from the Apostles Creed. We briefly saw the Museum of Art before climbing to the top to enter the Panorama. There was a bit of a wait since the walkway could only fit a few people at a time, but it was worth the wait because we stepped our right at sunset, and it was the perfect view at the perfect time. You could see for miles and the sun set right behind the Duomo- I felt really lucky to have that work out. The perfect ending to our adventures for the day.

For dinner, we had a “picnic”! We bought a loaf of bread, meat, and mozzarella cheese, and used our pesto and apples that we had, and made a mess of the dinner table at the hostel. It was a cheap but fun way to eat, and it ended up being the most social as well, as two girls from New Zealand also joined us for some wine. We had met them at breakfast- and they were hilarious! We laughed about everything from TV shows to relationships to family stories and so on. Soon, a couple form London also joined in, having a picnic and wine of their own. It was a fun night, and the hostel was a great way to meet new people (as well as enjoy speaking English again) and make some great memories.