La Dolce Vita

Oh hey everyone!
After a long hiatus Genevieve is back to tell you about Prague! Basically, it's beautiful and completely picturesque. We decided to explore a little bit and then eventually head over to St. Vitus Cathedral and the Prague Castle. So, we found our way to the Old Town Square (definitely window shopping along the way). When we first saw Old Town Square it's like you have stepped back in time. All the buildings are from 18th or 19th century (or older) which means that they are beautiful and have awesome architecture. It looks like you have stepped into a story book. It's also really quiet because there aren't as many cars driving around in the Old Town part of the city. It's really nice.

Anyway, the main attraction in the Square is the Astronomical Clock which dates back to the early 1400s. It's way old. Not only does it tell time it also tells astrological time which is totally sweet. We weren't exactly sure how to read it exactly and we think it might even tell you what day it is...but we're not sure. We arrived in the Square just in time to see it strike the hour. At the hour there's a procession of the Apostles. It was quite awesome because you could kind of tell which Apostle was which because they were holding something that was significant to them. Also, there was a skeleton that was ringing the bells. I guess it's just one of those subtle reminders that death is always coming. It really was beautiful.

Then we headed down to the Charles Bridge because we needed to cross the huge Vltava River in order to get to the castle. Sidenote: I have been dying to see this bridge because there is this historical fiction book series that I read like Freshman year in high school and to make a long story short Charles Bridge is slightly significant and was definitely mentioned in these books. So I was totally psyched to see it. Anyway, it's huge. It's really impressive when you first walk up to it. What's almost more impressive is the fact that this bridge took 50 years to build which is no small wonder considering the fact that it was finished in 1402. Yeah, it's still standing. It's probably because they used eggs in the mortar to make it stronger (no joke). So, we walked across the bridge which has about 30 statues of Saints or other figures lining either side of the bridge. It has some fantastic views of Prague. Really beautiful.

After we crossed the bridge we started heading for the hill to get to the castle. As we were walking across one of the squares it started snowing? hailing? we weren't really sure. All we knew was that we were cold and wet.

Well, it eventually let up and we eventually made it to the top of the hill. When we got to the castle there were fence barricades and tons of people. And there were extra military personnel and the military band. We all just looked at each other and were like what's going on. Well, as it turns out, the President of the Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, was coming to meet and chat with the President of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus. So we waited around to see if maybe we could see one of them. Well, these two cars and then two huge buses and two more cars pull up and we're like is it him? Nope. Total fake out. But these guys get out of the car and we're like secret service guys. So, we wait around a little more and then these two other cars, tinted windows of course, and like 10 hcore guys on motorcycles, and some other intense looking vehicles pull up. And we're like, he's totally in the car with the Ukrainian flag. Yep, this time we were right. So, we saw the President of the Ukraine and the President of the Czech Republic, and we have the pictures and videos to prove it.

So, the Presidents shake hands and give the wives flowers and then the band plays and there's some sweet military marching stuff and that was that. It was really cool. Not everyone sees the President of a country, and we saw two. Legit.
Well, we're freezing but we decide to go see the Cathedral. Well, there was a line and we were waiting in a wind tunnel. We were frozen. And of course because the church is so ginormous it was cold in there too. But the church is beautiful, and very large. The stained glass windows were breathtaking. It really was awesome. But we were frozen.

So after seeing the church we decided to sit somewhere warm. Then we were hungry.
We walked around for a bit looking for a place to eat. We finally decided on The Three Violins and we sat there for hours, in the warmth. It was wonderful. After lunch we did some souvenir shopping. We even were in a music store that Anna Netrebko was in - sorry, music geek coming out. Then we walked across the bridge again and looked for the club that our friends had recommended. We found it and then it started pouring? hcore snowing? slushing? again we weren't sure. We just knew, again, that we were cold and wet. We did a little bit more souvenir shopping and then headed to the grocery store. That was definitely an interesting experience. But, as Alyssa said, they have macaroni! I see something orange - it's cheddar! Well, that ended our debate, macaroni and cheese it was. We also picked up some of the Czech beer, Kozel. The macaroni and cheese was an experiment in food. But it tasted good and we're all still alive so I don't think we did too badly. We then took naps because we were slightly exhausted. But we wanted to go out and we needed our energy.
So, at about 1130 and one beer later we head to Karlovy Lazne, a four story club right on the Vltava River right by the Charles Bridge. It was pretty good, even for a Tuesday night. We just wanted to be able to say that we had our clubbing experience in Prague.
We came back and went to bed and that was our first day in Prague! It was pretty legit. The city is beautiful! I love just seeing all the pretty buildings and feeling like I belong in a fairy tale. Everyone is really nice. It would have been way better if the weather weren't so awful (it was 60 in Rome, why did we go north for spring break?) I could definitely see myself living here. Definitely want to come back. It's just gorgeous.

Thanks for reading through. I promise to have something more to say soon!

Guten Tag again friends!

So on Sunday, we headed over to St. Stephan’s first thing in the morning for Mass. I don’t know if it was just a tourist thing, but unlike all the churches in Italy, this cathedral was packed for Sunday Mass. We went to the special Cathedral Music Mass, so that we could hear the pipe organ played in all its glory. There was also a wonderful choir assembled. I loved listening to the music, especially when I couldn’t understand a thing that was being said! My favorite part of Mass was when my Dad called on my US cell phone, which I often forget about, and had forgotten to turn off. Suddenly, the song Shake It by Metro Station interrupted the beautiful song being sung by the choir, and echoed through the entire cathedral. I freaked out because all the Austrians were giving me disapproving stares. I don’t think my face has been that embarrassed shade of red in a long time! Overall, the verdict is, I love Cathedral music, it is simply awe-inspiring.

This video, and this piece, don't really give this organist or this organ the justice it deserves. But it's the only chance I had to take a video, so enjoy!

After church, we caught the Metro and went to the outskirts of Vienna to the Schönbrunn Palace. We weren’t allowed to take pictures otherwise I’d probably have a zillion! This palace was way more impressive than Versailles! It was the “summer home” of the Hapsburg dynasty. Most notably, Empress Maria Theresa, and her grandson Emperor Fraz Joseph I and his wife Elizabeth, fondly known as “Sisi.” Maria Theresa was the ultimate power-woman. She ruled the Hapsburg Empire, AND she had 16 children! She made important connections through Europe by making advantageous political matches for her children. For example, Maria Theresa was the mom of Marie Antoinette. Among the really cool rooms in this palace were a walnut room (perhaps the inspiration for the restaurant at Marshall Field’s?), and also a Hall of Mirrors, where Mozart first played a concert for Maria Theresa at the age of 6. The story goes that after his performance, Mozart jumped up onto the empress’s lap, hugged and kissed her. We only took the 35-min. Imperial Tour, so we didn’t get to see the entire palace, but we saw enough to realize how powerful this dynasty was in their prime.

After the Schönbrunn, we headed back into the city for more sight-seeing, but first, we stopped for some more authentic Austrian food. We found this very rustic Austrian pub called Zum Bettelstudent, where we enjoyed house beer, Weiner Schnitzel, Goulash, and Spaetzle! It was so delicious!

The next palace on our list was the Hofburg. The Hofburg is so huge though that it’s really a complex, including famous Imperial stables, and about 6-7 other museums as well. On our visit, we saw the Kaiserappartements, and the Silberkammer (the imperial silver collection!). Once again, no pictures allowed, and such a shame, because it was so cool! I’m not really a person who gets super excited by looking at lots of china, silver, and cutlery, but you wouldn’t believe how extensive their collection was. I can’t even imagine how many thousands, or even millions of dollars these people possessed in dishware alone! Each piece had its own story as well; there were some pretty china plates with green ribbons painted on it that had come as a gift from Marie Antoinette and her husband Louis XVI, in an outreach of political friendship between France and the Hapsburg Empire.

The rest of the apartments we toured focused mainly on the Fraz Joseph I and his wife Sisi. Franz Joseph I took his role as a multi-national ruler very seriously. He woke up every day at about 3:30 am, and spent most of his days at his desk working through important documents. His wife Sisi was an interesting woman in her own right. Apparently she was a “free-spirited” woman, and barely fulfilled her royal duties as wife to the Emperor, much to the chagrin of others. She had this ridiculously long hair that reached all the way to her ankles, and took 2-3 hours to dress in the morning! She was very anxious about her figure: she maintained a 20 inch waist! She had exercise equipment in her dressing room and rarely came to the table for family dinners. She even refused to have any portraits done after she hit age 30. Although the emperor adored Sisi, she didn’t exactly adore him, and most of her later life was spent gallivanting between her estates throughout Europe. Sisi was assassinated (stabbed to death with a file) by an Italian anarchist during her trip to Geneva, Switzerland. Upon the news of her death, the Emperor stated, “You cannot understand how much I loved this woman.” I think it’s obvious that I enjoyed the history and the narrative of these people’s lives the most, their apartments were merely illustrations accompanying their fascinating lives.

After leaving the Hofburg, we headed over to the Staatsoper, the Vienna Opera House. After waiting in a really, really, long line, we bought standing-room only tickets for just 3€. The standing room area was on the awkward sides of the Staatsoper, but who cares when you’re only paying 3€ to see an opera? That night we saw the Russian opera Eugene Onegin which was composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. I’ve loved the music from this opera ever since I played it in the youth orchestra in high school. Speaking of high school, while I was at the opera, I ran into an old acquaintance from high school standing in the row in front of me! Her name is Kara Worthman, and we actually were roommates at Band Camp freshman year of high school. How about that for a small world?! She is a voice performance major, studying in Vienna for eight weeks. It was the coolest coincidence ever!

You mark your spot in the standing-room section by leaving your scarf on the railing!

Monday morning was our last few hours in Vienna. Genevieve and Tom’s family love this coffee they get from Gevalia called Café Sperl, and the original Café Sperl is in Vienna! Vienna is well-known for its café culture. This particular café is over 100 years old! I loved the antique atmosphere inside. It was definitely a place where you could sit back, enjoy some great coffee, and be left alone to spend a few hours reading a favorite book. We ordered the traditional Viennese Melange. It’s like a cappuccino made with special Viennese-blend coffee. We also ordered a slice of Apfelstrudel (Apple Strudel). It was the best apple strudel I think I’ve ever had!

After our delicious café experience, we hopped on a train for a 4.5 hour journey to Prague, Czech Republic!

We got bored on the train, so we decided to photograph all the special sweets made in Vienna, Haribo gummy bears, Mozart chocolates, and Manner choclate-hazelnut wafers!

A last look at the Wombat Hostel & the Trams that run all through Vienna!

Guten Tag!

Welcome along my Spring Break travels! Friday was our first day of Spring Break, and we had a looong day of travel to Vienna, Austria. We had a layover in Cologne, Germany for about 3 hours, and both Genevieve and I were SO impressed with how pristine it was. We almost forgot what modern civilization looked like! Not that Italy’s not modern per se, but compared with other European countries, it really seems like a 2nd world country sometimes. So far our favorite phrase on this trip is Sprechen Sie Englisch?, Do you speak English?. Neither of us knows a lick of German, so we’re relying on that phrase to get us through our travels!

We are staying at Wombat’s City Hostel. There are two in Vienna, and this one is called “The Lounge”. It has a very hip, young vibe, just like our hostel in Paris. It’s perfect for students like us. Our bedroom looks like Ikea furnished it. Our hostel has its own kitchen, where to our delight, there’s lots of free food! We had packed some food along with us since we knew we would be getting into Vienna pretty late in the evening. But we were happy to find boxes of pasta and unopened jars of tomato sauce left behind by other guests and free for the taking. So even though we were in Vienna, we ate Italian style, and spent a whole lot of nothing! Our hostel also comes with a pool table and foosball table, flat screen TVs, and a huge bar in the basement. They’ve definitely got a lot of amenities going for them.

Freshman year, I had this professor for my Romanticism in Art & Music seminar that would always talk about Vienna. Her name was Susan Youens, and she is a musicologist devoted to studying Schubert. Well, ever since I can remember, she told us to write her when we were abroad, and she would send us a list of all the best things to see. Since she is a music scholar, Vienna is like her European home base, she even lived here for part of her life. Susan was nice enough to write my recommendation letter to study abroad in Italy, and Genevieve and I have both had her for classes. We wrote to her that we were coming to Vienna, and she sent us back a two-page letter of things to see!

Saturday morning, we tackled Prof. Youens’ list. We walked down the street outside our hostel to reach the center of town, called the Inner Stadt; we found out that our hostel happens to be located on Vienna’s major shopping street. While walking down the street, I saw a lot of familiar American franchises, but one sign stopped me in my tracks: Aldi. My mom has always told me that Aldi was a German grocery store company, and here was the proof in the pudding! In Germany and Austria, it’s called Hofer, but it looks exactly like any other Aldi you’d see in America, only with more wursts in the refrigerator section! I know my mom and Aunt Bernice would love to hear this news, so I took pictures, and tonight we got our groceries for dinner there. We bought food for two days for only 14.25 €. Split between three people, we’re living like kings on a peasant’s budget! Note: In Austria they check you out even FASTER than they do in America, I was scrambling to throw my stuff in the bag as fast as I could, and the check-out lady was still glaring at me!

Our 45-minute walk ended at the Hofburg palace, which we would be touring on Sunday. From there we took a ride on the Ringstrasse (a street that rings around the city center) on tram #2. We must have the best luck ever, because just like in Siena, we got on the wrong #2 tram, and had to get off and backtrack. Once we got on the right tram, we had a nice little tour of all of Vienna’s most impressive buildings.

We got off at the Vienna Opera House, Staatsoper, to take pictures for Genevieve’s sake.

Then we caught tramline #71 to go out to the largest cemetery in Vienna. In this cemetery were buried some of the world’s most famous composers: Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, Schubert, and Brahms. We paid our respects, and then hurried back to the tram, because it was COLD outside!

Once we reached the Inner Stadt again, we were hungry! So we stopped the closest and best place we could find for some Austrian food. We enjoyed Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, and Weiner Schnitzel with potatoes for lunch. We then headed to the Haus der Musik to spend the afternoon.

Vienna is totally the city of music, and the Haus der Musik is an interactive museum highlighting this fact. This museum was so cool! It really paid homage to all kinds of music, new and old. We learned all about sound, how it behaves, etc… After the museum we walked up to Stephansdom, St. Stephan’s Cathedral, in Stephansplatz, St. Stephan’s Square. I’ve seen a lot of churches so far this semester, but this one was so different inside than the one’s I’ve seen before. I think it’s because it was built in a different architectural style. The organ was really impressive! We were going to “Cathedral Music” Mass at Stephansdom on Sunday, so I couldn’t wait to hear it played.

On Saturday, we also added a new friend to our traveling group. Genevieve’s brother Tom, a student at the University of Chicago, flew in from Chicago to join us on Spring Break. Genevieve’s so excited to see her brother, it always so nice to see someone from home!

Ciao a tutti!

On last Friday morning, my friends, Charlie, Fatima, Mark, Renae, and I boarded a train to Florence. Charlie and Renae are in an on-site art history class about the Renaissance, so they were going for a class field trip, and Fatima, Mark, and I decided to tag along for a weekend of sightseeing. I once read the classic novel, Room With A View, and I remember the plot being centered on a young woman’s first trip to Florence. So I downloaded the audio book version to my ipod and listened to it during the train ride. Between hearing about the character’s visits to Florence’s famous sites, and watching the Tuscan countryside pass by through the window, I couldn’t have spent a better 3 hours in preparation for my arrival to this famous city.

"He had asked the girl whether she knew Florence well, and was informed at some length, that she had never been there before..." -Room with a View

After disembarking from the train, we first decided to find our hostel. We noticed that Florence seemed to be more open and green than Rome. We ended up walking along the city’s bike path to get to our hostel. I wish Rome had trails and bike paths! 15 minutes later, we located our hostel. It’s called DanyHouse B&B, and it was more on the outskirts of Florence. It was another small, homey, kind of place. When we walked in, the people who ran the place asked if we were hungry, and set us down at the kitchen table with plates of pasta carbonara and some vino da tavola (the stuff in the box). The owners of the hostel were very nice and laid back. They spoke English well, but once they found out we spoke a little Italian, they wouldn’t let us speak English anymore, saying we should practice our Italian! They gave us a map of the city, and circled all the sights worth seeing, and suggested their favorite places in the city for gelato and dinner.

Our friends in the Rome program, Maria and Christina, have three uncles in Florence who run a coffee bar. They gave us the address and told us to check it out while we were in Florence. Well, we found out that the caffè bar was only about two blocks from our B&B! So we decided to head over there first thing for an afternoon dose of espresso to wake us up. Once we got in the bar, we mentioned Maria and Christina to the guys working there, and they looked really excited and started chattering away in Italian. They only spoke Italian, so it was a little more difficult explaining how we knew the girls than we expected! I had a caffè latte, and when we went up to the register to pay they said of course not! It was on them! And they entreated us to come back tomorrow morning for breakfast! We promised to see them on the morrow, and then parted to do some sight-seeing.

The largest and most imposing sight in Florence is the Duomo. This Duomo is MASSIVE, it's impossible to capture it in one photo! This Duomo's name is Santa Maria del Fiore, and it is set right in the heart of Florence. It's size was meant to stand as a testament to Florentine determination to lead in all things, and even today, there are no buildings in the city taller than the Duomo. The Duomo has a Neo-Gothic marble façade The sanctuary inside is shaped like an octagon, and the entire interior was built to house 20,000 people! But by far the most impressive part of the Duomo is the dome itself. It was designed by Brunelleschi. This dome was a revolutionary achievement, because it was actually built without scaffolding! There's an inner shell that provides a platform for the timbers of the outer shell. It's a 463 step climb to the top, but it was worth every exasperated breath for the breathtaking view!

Next door to the Duomo is the Baptistry. It's known for its famous Doors of Paradise. The Baptistry is actually one of Florence's oldest buildings. It dates back to the 4th century! The doors of the Baptistry were commissoned in 1401 to mark Florence's deliverance from the plague, and Ghiberti was chosen from among the likes of Donatello and Brunelleschi for the honor of crafting them. Ghiberti worked on the doors for over 21 years. They were actually dubbed the "Doors of Paradise" by Michelangelo himself! Since the artistic style of the doors was so different from the Gothic art of the time, these doors were said to be the first product of the Renaissance.

The Campanile is the bell tower that stands next to the Duomo, it was designed by Giotto in 1334, and it was completed in 1359, 22 years after he died.

After exploring the Duomo, we checked out the San Lorenzo market. The San Lorenzo market gets its name from the San Lorenzo church in the center of all the shopping. This whole area is connected with the Medici family, especially Cosimo il Vecchio, who was the founder of the Medici dynasty. He commissioned San Lorenzo as well as the Palazzo Medici Riccardi which is located in the same area. This market is one of the best in Florence. Florence is known for its cows apparently; their specialties are Florentine steak, and Florentine leather! We would have loved to check out the interior of San Lorenzo, but unfortunately, every single church and monument in Florence has an entrance fee. During our trip, we had lots of WWJD? moments. If Jesus came back today he would totally be turning over tables all over Florence! After bargaining with market vendors for some souvenirs, and eating some delicious pear & chocolate gelato, we met up with our friends after they finished class and headed for dinner at the restaurant our hostel owner recommended. It was a delicious meal!

After dinner, we decided to walk down and see the Ponte Vecchio at night. It's this really old bridge with lots of expensive jewelry shops on it! We were all really beat from a day of traveling, but on our way back to the hostel, we heard music floating to our ears from the direction of the Uffizi Gallery, so we followed and much to our surprise, found an American folk singer playing Paul Simon on his guitar. He looked like a backpacker, and had only one amp, but the way the Uffizi gallery is situated, it naturally amplifies everything, so it sounded like a concert hall for the evening. He was really good, so we decided to hang out for a while, which ended up being over an hour! This guy played all our favorites, from Paul Simon, to Led Zeppelin, to James Taylor, to the Beatles, and even U2! Every time we got up to leave, he started playing another song that we loved, so we would sit back down! All in all, it was a great way to finish the evening, and get a wholesome dose of Americana to treat my homesickness.

For the life of me I cannot figure out how my computer turns these photos around the wrong way, so please don't look at the picture, and just enjoy the music!

On Saturday morning, we did indeed go back to our friends' uncles' bar, Caffè Guirovich, for breakfast. It was very busy that morning, and when we walked in we were greeted with a hearty Buon giorno! from the uncles. They were so glad to have us back! We drank the best cappuccinos of our lives! I'm serious, I've never had a cappuccino as good as this one, and one of the girls' uncles also recommended a delicious homemade pastry to go with it. I know now why Maria and Christina have such a penchant for baking! The uncles asked us what we had done the day before, and what our plans were for today, and I told him we were interested in going outside the city to the hill town of Fiesole. The uncle was so helpful, drawing us a map, and giving us directions to get to the bus stop, and of course, once again, they wouldn't let us pay for our wonderful breakfast! It was such a pleasure to meet them, they were so generous to people they didn't even know!

"It is delightful to advise a new-comer, and he was first in the field...'Don't neglect the country round,' said Mr. Beebe, 'the first fine afternoon drive up to Fiesole'"-Room with a View

As I just mentioned, that day I wanted to explore the hill town of Fiesole. It was only a short bus ride from Florence, and supposedly offered beautiful views. It was a gorgeous day, and Fiesole was beautiful as well! They had a quaint church, and a cool museum-park of an ancient ampitheater, and some Etruscan ruins. We followed a sign that said "passeggiata panoramica", "scenic walk", and found an awesome overlook of Florence. Unfortunately, the day was a bit hazy and we couldn't see the Duomo as clearly as we would have liked.

"Presently Mr. Eager gave a signal for the carriages to stop and marshalled the party for their ramble on the hill. A hollow like a great amphitheatre, full of terraced steps and misty olives, now lay between them and the heights of Fiesole, and the road, still following its curve, was about to sweep on to a promontory which stood out in the plain."-Room with a View

Ever since I watched Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe Florence episode on Travel Channel, I have wanted to check out the little Tuscan restaurant she visited on her trip. Well, we found out from the Travel Channel website that it was called Le Cave di Maiano, and was located just outside of Fiesole. We had an address, but no map, so we relied on directions from Italian people we asked to get there. They ended up entailing a 1 km walk down the hill on the main road to Florence, and then another 1 km walk on a narrow, winding country road to reach the village of Maiano. On our way, we saw a huge tract of fenced off property, and found out it belonged to the famous Italian shoemaker, Salvatore Ferragamo! This was probably the most beautiful walk I have ever taken along a country road, with views of the Tuscan countryside and Florence the whole way. Eventually, we reached Maiano, and found the street we were looking for. It was an even smaller country road that looked like it led to nowhere! I was starting to get nervous, considering the restaurant was #16, and building #14 was an abandoned olive press...but a lot further down the road, we turned a corner and discovered the cutest little Tuscan restaurant you ever saw. To check out the clip that started this whole adventure, visit: http://www.travelchannel.com/Video_%26_Photos/Video_Detail?videoRef=TITLE52

At the restaurant, we probably had one of the best meals we'll eat in Italy. Everything was fresh and homemade. The liver pâté crostini was scrumptious, and I don't even like pâté! My mom would have really appreciated it! Mark and I tried the Pappardelle alla cinghiale. A typical Tuscan dish of broad noodles covered in wild boar ragù. We washed it all down with a nice bottle of Chianti: the wine of the Tuscan region.

After our excursion up into the foothills, we were wiped out. We decided to take a short siesta before heading back out to sight-see! After a refreshing nap, we walked into Florence, and met up with our friend Renae to go see Dante's House. I'm studying Dante right now in a Dante's Divine Comedy class taught in Italian. Dante is EVERYWHERE in Florence, so the whole weekend was sort of a Dante pilgrimage for those of us in the class! Next to Dante's House, was Dante's Church, where his famed lady-love, Beatrice, is laid to rest. For the rest of the evening, we wandered around the city center, stopping it at shops, etc... while we passed the time before dinner. We saw the piazza di Santa Croce, where there is a huge statue of Dante, and is also the location where Roberto Benigni recited the entire Divine Comedy in front of all of Florence. He does a passionate rendition of it. Dinner was free at our hostel that night, so we returned and met up with a large group of our friends who had also traveled with us to Florence while on their spring break for the London Study Abroad Program. It was great to hang out in the hostel and talk, and for dessert we had some Cantucci, sweet almond biscotti, dipped in Vin Santo, a special Italian dessert wine. It was heavenly!

"The clever lady then said that she was going to spend a long morning in Santa Croce, and if Lucy would come too, she would be delighted."-Room with a View

On our final morning in Florence, we headed out early go to mass, and then to check out the museums. We attended mass at Santa Croce, because this was one of the churches you have to pay to get into, and it has lots of great things to see, such as some Giotto frescoes, and the tombs of Galileo, Machiavelli, and Michelangelo. After mass we wanted to see both the Uffizi and the Accademia, but the line at the Uffizi Gallery was so long that we realized we had to choose one, and went to the Accademia instead. You can't go to Florence and not see the David! Michelangelo's David is HUGE! I had never realized it was so big! I was mostly impressed how such a large sculpture could support itself and not fall over. Iwish I could have taken some pictures of David, but unfortunately, taking pictures in the Accademia is a death wish! Lining the hallway to the David was Michelangelo's Prigioni, Prisoners. These were sculptures Michelangelo never took the time to finish, so they were still "imprisoned" within the marble. These figures were really interesting, because you could sort of visualize how a sculpture comes to life out of the block of stone. After spending sufficient time admiring David, we took one last trip to the Ponte Vecchio during the day to say goodbye to Florence, and ran to catch the train to Rome.

Ciao belli!

So a couple of weekends ago, some of my friends and I decided to get out of Rome for the day, and check out Orvieto, a hill town about an hour outside of the city. As always when traveling through Italia, we jumped on a train and headed out of the Lazio region to Umbria. Rick Steves says that Umbia is like a less-expensive, lesser-known Tuscany. It's very similar, but doesn't have nearly the same amount of popularity as Tuscany. This is because Florence is in Tuscany, and there's all that Renaissance art to look at!

Orvieto is really interesting because the city is built upon a hill of volcanic rock. In art history class, we call this stuff tufa. This rock made for great building material, so centuries ago, the Etruscans built all kinds of cellars and tombs where Orvieto is now. There is almost another subterranean Etruscan city under the roads. Orvieto's known for the Orvieto Classico white wine they produce. Try a bottle the next time you run across one at the supermarket!

The hill is pretty inaccessible, so in order to get up there, you have to take this cool tram thing called a funicular, like you're traveling through the Swiss alps or something.

After our funicular ride, we arrived in town, and started exploring. Orvieto's so tiny, it's almost impossible to get lost! "Almost" is the key word. We Americans never fail to get lost among those narrow, winding alleyways!

First, we discovered this small park next to the funicular station. It had stunning views of the countryside, and a cool turret!

Then we headed over to check out the Pozzo di San Patrizio, or in English, St. Patrick's Well. This well was soooo deep!

According to the informational sign (one of the rare times I've seen one in English!): "St. Patrick's Well is a unique example of engineering audacity and architectural décor." It was commissioned by an important Pope back in the day because Rome was becoming unsafe and was in fact sacked by the Imperial army during the same year. So they figured that if the Pope was going to use Orvieto as a place of refuge, a siege would likely be attempted on the city, and they would need a good source of water to rely on. There was a man commissioned to build the well, because they figured there would be water from the springs of St. Zeno at the bottom of the hill, a mere 30 meters down. However, the builder dug 30 meters and discovered an Etruscan tomb instead. So he kept digging, and 53 meters later, he found water. The well is also 13 meters across. It's quite unique because instead of a bucket and a winch, there are two staircases leading down to the water. The staircases never meet; they are built as a double helix! There are 248 steps each way, and they are wide enough to accommodate the donkeys that carried the water up from the bottom. The 72 windows cut into the stone were supposed to use the light from the center shaft to illuminate the staircases, but it's still really gloomy.

The well is called St. Patrick's because it supposedly bears a resemblance to St. Patrick's Cavern in Ireland.

The view up from the bottom of the well! Creepy, no?

We got this shot, by doing this...

After climbing down and back up the well, we had worked up an appetite, so we headed across town for some lunch. Now, we knew this was going to be a good meal, because our friend Justin's parents work at Notre Dame and are coming to Italy for their 30th wedding anniversary. They asked all around the Italian and Architecture departments for a good dinner recommendation, and were told to come to Orvieto, to La Grotta del Funaro for an unforgettable experience.

La Grotta del Funaro was unforgettable alright, once you come in the door, you walk down two flights of stairs into an old Etruscan cellar converted into a restaurant.

It specializes in traditional Umbrian cuisine, and as we walked to our table we saw and smelled the wild boar steaks being grilled over a fire. We started with the house wine, Orvieto Classico, and for primi piatti, tried the Umbrian pasta specialty, called pasta con lardo di colonnato. It is what it sounds like, pasta with lard, and some delicious pecorino cheese grated over it. Although it sounds kind of repulsive, it was INCREDIBLE.

I savored every last bite!

For the 2nd course, we all tried the different grilled meats. (It's not often you can find Italian bbq!) I shared the grilled rib-rack of lamb with Molly, Justin tried the wild boar steaks, and Blair had the special Orvieto grass-fed, wild-range beef. They were all super tasty! Since we had already had such an extravagant lunch, we topped it all off with some panna cotta (like flan), and chocolate torte. Scrumptious! We left the restaurant fully satisfied, but with our wallets a little lighter...

After lunch, we strolled over to the Duomo to go inside and check it out.

I must say, the interior of the Duomo in Siena is much better preserved than this one, but this Duomo is significant because the Feast of Corpus Christi was launched here. For those interested, here is the story, courtesy of therealpresence.org:

"In 1263 a German priest, Peter of Prague, stopped at Bolsena while on a pilgrimage to Rome. He is described as being a pious priest, but one who found it difficult to believe that Christ was actually present in the consecrated Host. While celebrating Holy Mass above the tomb of St. Christina (located in the church named for this martyr), he had barely spoken the words of Consecration when blood started to seep from the consecrated Host and trickle over his hands onto the altar and the corporal.

The priest was immediately confused. At first he attempted to hide the blood, but then he interrupted the Mass and asked to be taken to the neighboring city of Orvieto, the city where Pope Ur ban IV was then residing.

The Pope listened to the priest's account and absolved him. He then sent emissaries for an immediate investigation. When all the facts were ascertained, he ordered the Bishop of the diocese to bring to Orvieto the Host and the linen cloth bearing the stains of blood. With archbishops, cardinals and other Church dignitaries in attendance, the Pope met the procession and, amid great pomp, had the relics placed in the cathedral. The linen corporal bearing the spots of blood is still reverently enshrined and exhibited in the Cathedral of Orvieto.

It is said that Pope Urban IV was prompted by this miracle to commission St. Thomas Aquinas to compose the Proper for a Mass and an Office honoring the Holy Eucharist as the Body of Christ. One year after the miracle, in August of 1264, Pope Urban IV introduced the saint's composition, and by means of a papal bull instituted the feast of Corpus Christi."

Our last to-do item of the day, was take a scenic walk outside of Orvieto into the Umbrian countryside. Did you know that the city of Orvieto has its own website? Well, it does, and on it they promote this "scenic hike". The directions said to just follow the metal signs out of the city. Well friends, there was about one metal sign sort of pointing in the general direction, we thought...

After getting lost and almost giving up on the excursion, we ran into a nice Italian woman who told us where to go, and wished us "una bella passeggiata", a pleasant walk. The walk wasn't really "scenic" as much as it led up a road across the way from Orvieto past some houses and a vineyard at two.

The road on the right is the "trail" we climbed.

The directions said, when you are appx. 300 meters high, turn right onto the dirt path...ok then... After walking for what seemed like forever, we found a dirt path that didn't seem to belong to anyone else, and we ran into a clearing with this view:

It was incredible. We made it just in time for sunset.

After hiking another 2.5 km back to Orvieto, we stopped for some gelato on our way to the train. Now this gelateria was pretty non-descript, but it was a regular gold mine when it came to innovative flavors. It was called La Musa and they had cinnamon, and apple cinnamon, and pear with chocolate. All the flavors were tasty, but when you sampled the pear with chocolate flavor it tasted as if you were biting into a perfectly ripe pear, divine!

And that was the end of our wonderful little day trip to Orvieto! There's a few more pictures in the photo gallery too. I'd add a lot more, but unfortunately the Italian internet is deciding to be difficult again, and I can only upload things one at a time...it takes FOREVER!