I can't believe I'm really here. Mom and Dad paid for Mandi and I, and Danielle and Gilbert on this tour of Italy. We left the kids Miami, OK with grandparents yesterday morning and hopped a plane to Milan, and here we are!
Today was such a whirlwind I honestly couldn't even name what we saw. There was a castle and a cathedral in Milan, and statues everywhere. We even saw one of Napoleon's arches. (I guess there's more than one.) Evidence of DaVinci is ubiquitous right now, which I think is because they're trying to capitalize on the "DaVinci Code" movie coming out next month.
He was left-handed you know, just like me. Smart guy.
Anyway, we were too rushed to actually absorb anything, which is sad because there's just so much to see. Today's cathedral, for instance, has hundreds of years of history and art living in it. The very walls are alive with the text of a thousand (million?) lives, but we had half an hour to catch it all. Tragic!
Tomorrow should be slower. I hope so since it will be our only day here in Venice. (We're actually sleeping at a hotel just outside the city.) Ahh, Venice...
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3.27.06 Venice, Italy
Today we toured the city, and let me tell you, touring Venice in a day is like trying to drive to Hawaii, it cannot be done. We were in St. Mark's Cathedral [Basilica] for all of, maybe, five minutes. All you could do was see the architecture and mosaics, but even that was stunted because you have to be silent inside the building, so there's no one to explain what you're looking at. Theoretically, Mark's body lies in there somewhere, but if we walked by it, it wasn't evident to me. All you do is walk along a predetermined path through it, following ropes all the way, continuously walking until you exit. Five minutes in one of Christendom's greatest edifices. Shameful!
We did make good use of our afternoon free time though. We shared a gondola ride w/mom and dad, Gilbert and Danielle. It was nice, relaxing, and Mandi and I kissed under every bridge we passed. We also made time to wander and shop.Shopping in Venice is an experience. Gucci, Prada, Armani, Versace, etc., all have stores here. Eddie Bauer and American Eagle do not. We saw a $1,900.00 purse, a $6,000.00 chess set, and hand-made blown glass baubles that would cost us more than our house payment. The best shopping for our meager budget was found on the north side of Rialto Bridge.
There we found trinkets forthe kids and plenty of affordable souvenirs. Perhaps the funnest thing we did all day was feed the pigeons in the Piazza San Marco. There are many thousands of pigeons on the piazza and numerous vendors selling small bags of corn for a Euro. Once you have the corn pigeons are your best friends. They perch all over you and will literally fight for the right to eat out of your outstretched palm. Mandi and I and Danielle and Gilbert all tried it, and not one of us so much as got pooped on!
I was reminded of how pigeons in Seville [Spain] and Charleston [South Carolina] also perched on Mandi, but much more freely. Perhaps Venetian pigeons are jaded, they wouldn't come to us until we offered real food.Man, I'm so tired now that every time I blink I start to dream. Time for sleep. G'nite!
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3.28.06 On the road to Assisi, Italy
This is a beautiful country. Something I omitted yesterday was lunch. The rest of the tour went to a 13Euro restaurant and ate lasagne. Mandi and I, however, went off on our own to explore the city (and try to find something cheaper that 13Euro!) Winding through the narrow streets of Venice we found a Burger King! Only I don't think they sell burgers there. Peeking through the window it appeared that their value menus were all about pizza. Needless to say, we didn't come all the way here just to sample BK pizza, so we settled into a small cafe across the piazza (not the piazza S. Marco). Sitting there, enjoying a focaccia sandwich with my wife at a window table was one of the most pleasant experiences of my life. Something about it was deeply fulfilling. Intimate. Wonderful.
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Republic of San Marino Still the 28th
This whole country is elevated. Its mountainous and independent and has great views of everything around it. We didn't climb to the top, only to the Piazza Della Liberta, but its everything you want in a postcard.
Had lunch, bought a national soccer team jersey, got back on the bus. Oh yeah, sent a postcard home to myself as well...
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Assisi, Italy Still the 28th
The speed with which this tour proceeds is ridiculous. After 8 hours of bus travel we had maybe 3 hours in San Marino and Assisi combined.
Assisi is breathtaking, and we had 15 minutes to fly through St. Francis' basilica, which sits atop a hill overlooking a plain. Its almost a sacrilege to come so far for so short an opportunity to see something so special. And I have to say that it must be very hard for the clerics here to do their job when there are a thousand or more tourists wandering about the church each day.
A bright moment happened while speed shopping through stores along one of the streets in Assisi today. I found a store, Gallo Nero, that specializes in chess sets. They had the most amazing selection of pieces I've ever seen. Truly I wished for deeper pockets and more opportunity to play. If I could change one thing about my life, "Play more chess," would be on the short list of options to choose from. Another shopping bonus today was finding that San Marino has far less tax than Italy. I paid 40Euro for a soccer jersey I saw for 75Euro in Venice and Milan. Yay!
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3-29-06 Sorrento, Italy
I am full. Breaded veal w/steamed carrots, fried potatoes, pizza margherita and a cherry tart topped with an apricot glaze (and tea) will do that to you. There was more than just food to keep us all full today though.
We spent the afternoon in Pompei, saw a wood shop, a coral shop and did a bit of shopping in Sorrento as well. I must emphasize "shop" here because that's all we did, shop. There was no buying. We can't afford any of the good master works we see here, so all we do is admire the art.
In truth, most of the day was spent on the bus. 7 or 8 hours. Ouch. It was nice though to see Pompei at last. After a lifetime of magazine articles and History Channel specials, it was nice to actually view Vesuvius and wander through the ruins of the once thriving town. We took plenty of pictures. The sad fact of it all is that as impressive as its made out to be, the Italian government has the place pretty well screwed up at the moment. All of the best preserved ruins are blocked off and they let so many people though the site at one time that the tour guides literally have to jocky for position, haggling and negotiating for a place for their group to hear what they're saying and see what they're talking about. It's a madhouse! Still, seeing the plaster molds of the bodies they have left visible to the public is something else.
The highest point of the day though was when my dad mistook the woman standing next to him to be my mom. He put his arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze before he realized it wasn't his wife! She later remarked that she figured it was best to just let him finish as it seemed the right thing to do. Witnesses howled with laughter, including Mandi, who saw the whole event unfold, but I'm not sure Dad thought it was all that funny. Although he's been a good sport about the whole thing, I think its embarrassed him quite a bit.
Like everything else here, Sorrento is beautiful.
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3-30-06 Rome, Italy
Travelled this morning to the isle of Capri. Amazing. Italy is easily one of the most spectacular places I've ever seen. The Amalfi coast is stunning. Capri is gorgeous. The views over the entire island are worthy of a postcard. The terrain is so rugged that I'm amazed anyone lives there at all. We saw several restaurants there (and in Sorrento) where the dining patio sits literally on the edge of sheer vertical cliffs hundreds of feet in the air.
And we caught the weather just right. Our guide, Nello, explained that it had been one of the worst and longest winters on record there, but we caught a beautiful spring day. I even managed to get a slight sunburn sitting at a sidewalk cafe in the town square at the top of the island.
Nello was a good guide. Funny. He spends five months a year in Florida. He made us wear stickers with his name on them for the duration of the tour so, if we got lost, he could easily identify our bodies later. (Just kidding)
Lunch was simple; the usual sandwich and coke, but in the beauty of the square it was wonderful. We all just sat and ate and talked. Danielle and Gilbert drank cappuccino, which I understand is their new substitute for water. Apparently they both down 5-6 cups a day, even at home.
Tonight we walked over to the Forum and the Colosseum. They're well lit at night. Beautiful. The Forum didn't impress me nearly as much as the Colosseum. As amazing as it seems on t.v., it's even MORE impressive in person. How did they build it? It's enormous! I'm looking forward to the tour tomorrow..........
Rome, Italy 3-31-06
Before I forget; we saw, a couple of days ago, an ad for Drive Beer. It featured a cop and a race car driver sharing a brew. The slogan? Drink Drive. Hmmm...
Also, there ought to be a saying in Italy, "Better to die full and smiling than live with a diet."
As for the Vatican City, I was amazed and appalled; amazed by the opulence, the artistry and the history, but appalled by the Papal veneration. As good as St. Peter's basilica truly is, it was saddening to see how little Christ was glorified in comparison to the Papacy. The basilica is filled with statues and tombs and monuments of dead popes. Where is Christ?
Compare that to the Sistine Chapel with it's frescoes of the life of Jesus, His ancestors and the prophets. No statues of dead popes, no actual dead popes at all, no monuments. It is almost entirely centered on the Bible and Jesus Christ, as all good churches ought to be. We had only 20 minutes in the chapel itself, but I wish it had been hours. It is such a masterpiece that it absolutely enthralls you. The art is special in a way only someone as inspired as Michelangelo could manage.
We also saw the Colosseum and the Trevi fountain. (It was a rather full day, even for the tour.) The Colosseum was breathtaking. I had no idea that it took its name from the Colossus. I guess I'm just a little dense that way. It never occurred to me that the Colossus once stood in the same location. Closing one's eyes and picturing it in its original glory one can only surmise that it would easily surpass any modern equivalent. Like many works we have seen here, it is unfathomable to think that they could be restored to their original grandeur, the cost being simply too high. And that is also the reason that nothing new is being built that could compare with the old masterpieces. I mean, seriously, look at the Trevi fountain. Who could imagine the cost to design and build its equivalent today?! Its sad to think that art has fallen so far.
A final note: Mandi and I haven't seen the kids now for nearly a full week. It wears on us. We love them so much, its hard to be away so long. How do couples who get divorced deal with us? It would be like having someone slice open your heart every time they left your custody.
Lord, keep them safe. I pray the time would pass quickly until we are all united again, happy, healthy and whole once more.
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Florence, Italy 4-1-06
April Fool's Day
No joke, we're seriously in Michelangelo's favorite haunt. Tomorrow we'll go to the Galleria dell' Academia and see the David. Today, however, sure felt like a joke. First, I had to wait for six elevators to go by before I finally caught the seventh, which was going up, not down as I wanted. I almost missed breakfast completely. Later, I tried to buy a liter of water, but only found 1.5L bottles, then mistakenly bought the type that contains gas, soda water! Finally, I thought I'd take a chance on a wild boar meat sandwich at lunch in San Gimignano... Big mistake. It was awful on a level I have rarely experienced. Even dad thought it was bad, and he knows wild game. Who would have thought that I'd ever meet a piece of pork I didn't like? Oh well.My dad today had his pocket picked at an open-air market a few blocks from our hotel here in Florence. The amazing thing is that my father, at 60 years old, chased the guy down and got his wallet back! Holy cow!
San Gimignano is amazing also. I know, I write that about every place we go here. Maybe I have a soft spot for medieval/renaissance towns, but it's true. San Gimignano is this tiny medieval town about an hour outside of Florence. It sits on top of a hill and is really the town that time forgot. There's an old well, stone, dead center in the middle of the town square, scored deeply y centuries of usage by the people. The square itself is framed all around by buildings dating back so far that there [are] only a few access streets to the square itself. Its like being in the bottom of a tall brick box, there are no alleys or back entrances- except perhaps through a shop. All you can see are medieval buildings that serve as homes and businesses for the people who live here. One has the impression that if you turned back the clock a millennium or so, there wouldn't be much difference. San Gimignano is beautiful, relaxed, inspiring. I wish we had more than 2 hours to enjoy it. I wish I hadn't ordered the wild boar at lunch in the square, but overall, it was one of those experiences you have that you just can't hardly believe are happening, even in the midst of it.
Our hotel here in Florence, the Hotel Albani, is NICE. We have a skylight in our room, and there is no closet, only a huge wardrobe I'd kill to have at home. Its in walking distance of Il Duomo as well. If we ever come back it will be to Venice, but if we ever wind up here in Florence again I'd love to stay here in the Albani. It's the only hotel on the trip I can say that about.
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Stresa, Italy 4.2.06
I can see Switzerland from here. Our hotel, the Hotel Speranza Au Lac, sits at the base of the Italian Alps, just north of Milan, and our room faces the mountains and overlooks the lake. I've seen the Andes, the Carpathians and every major mountain chain in North America (really!), but the view outside our window this morning, the sun rising over Lago Maggiore and the Italian Alps, tops them all. I am in love, or at least infatuated. I want to come back and hike here, and in Switzerland. It took us 5 hours to bus here from Florence, "Firenze," but it was worth it if we ever return.Florence itself was a letdown. I say that not because the city wasn't beautiful, but because there is far too much to see in the few hours we had to visit. Ponto Vecchio, Il Duomo, Galleria dell' Accademia, the Ufizzi... we saw only a fraction of any of it. Sad really.
The highlight of it all though, and one of the true highlights of the trip overall, was seeing Michelangelo's David in the Accademia. If I never see another pieve of art, I am satisfied. I have seen the Mona Lisa and the Venus in the L'Ouvre, I've toured the Prado and the Reina Sofia in Madrid, I've been inside castles and cathedrals all over Europe, I've even been to Petra, and David trumps them all. He seems alive, and very much reaches into your soul. It never occurred to me that a churck of simple rock could grab you like that, but David is riveting. The detail is incredible, but the emotion, the power of the piece, is just overwhelming. I could stare for hours and not get bored. Bravo, Michelangelo, bravo!
Lunch was again at a sidewalk cafe in the city square overlooking magnificent sculptures and architecture centuries older than the entire U.S.A. Wonderful! To sit there looking at cobblestones that felt the likes of Michelangelo, Da Vinci, the Medicis... Wonderful. And the weather was perfect as well. Warm and sunny, as it was all week. (It sprinkled one evening, and was cool enough for a windbreaker in Venice, but perfect all the same.)
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Somewhere over the Atlantic 4-3-06
We're going home now. My heart is saddened to know that it will be weeks (months?) before I see mom and dad, Danielle and Gilbert again. The trip was nice, a good introduction to Italy, if a bit of a whirlwind. Looking backon the past week and all that we saw, I am stunned. The breathtaking vistas, the medieval town squares, the highways and walkways and canals... Italy is a special place.
Still, in spite of the pain of leaving such a beautiful place and the joy of family, there is the blessing of returning to our childen. Nate, Alyssa and Anna are waiting for our return and I long to see them again.
Earlier in this flight they showed the film Cheaper By the Dozen 2, in which a zealous father struggles to come to terms with his children growing up- and away. It was all I could do to wipe away the tears of heartache watching him deal with one of his girls going on her first date. [As I type these notes out two years later, I am still totally unprepared for my own daughters to grow up. They will always be my baby girls.]
The movie is a comedy, but the thought of seeing Alyssa growing into that just hurts inside. She's six now, and in a few more years I'll have to deal with her dating. I'm SO not ready. She's my little girl, now and always. The idea of her reaching out to anyone not mommy or daddy for affection tears me apart. I love her too much to let go... She's growing so fast!
And about 2 seconds later there'll be Anna. I think she's growing up faster than Aly. They're just babies, and I wish I could keep it that way.
Lucky for me, there's Nate. My boy. My son. Of whom I have nothing but pride and love for. Whereas Anna and Alyssa will be forbidden to date until I'm dead, Nate could start now. Why is that I wonder? Why am I not afraid to lose him as I am the girls? Why this double standard? I don't know. Boys and girls are different. I only hope they understand. I will give them all I can as a father. Nothing else will do.
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Atlanta, GA 4-4-06
I pray, Lord, that you would curse Delta Airlines. Repay them ten-fold the frustration, stress and inconvenience they have caused us and countless others this day. Bring swiftly upon them the reckoning their foolishness, ineptitude and apathy has earned...
We've been traveling now for about 28 hours. Delta added a leg to our itinerary, Baltimore. Then they cancelled our flight out of Baltimore, reinstated it, then cancelled our next leg out of Atlanta. So we were issued travel vouchers for a hotel, only, by the time they finished rebooking us, the vouchers were invalid. Of course we didn't find that out until we'd cleared security and couldn't get back into the airport terminal to sleep somewhere "comfortable" like a carpeted floor. So, we scrambled some more and wound up paying $50- out of pocket for a room at the Motel 6. With luck, we'll be in Tulsa only 16 hours behind schedule.
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I learned on the same day that I prayed tha curse that Delta's pilot union went on strike shortly thereafter (hours, in fact). Yay God. Also, they stranded the rest of our family in Salt Lake City. So we all got the shaft. What really rubs salt in it all is that we were offered $1,000 each to get bumped back a day coming out of Milan. Why?! Next time, I'm taking the money.
Oh yeah, the final itinerary:
Delta Air from Milan to New York
Delta Air from New York to Baltimore
Delta Air from Baltimore to Atlanta
Continental Air from Baltimore to Houston
Continental Air from Houston to Tulsa
And you wouldn't believe this if it weren't true, but Delta, after having transferred us to Continental at 1am on Tuesday morning, fought with me for 30 minutes at 10am when we showed up at their counter to check in for the flight. Even though they knew we were already transferred, they tried to refuse us the documentation we needed to get cleared at Continental. Bastards! May Delta go bankrupt forever!
