I’ve just returned from my Italian vacation and am working my way back into reality…not easy to do after two weeks of breathtaking scenery, delectable pasta and gelato, the relaxed pace of European life, and, oh yeah, no work! =) To quote from a dear literary friend, Anne of Green Gables, “I don’t know how I shall ever return to ordinary life after this.” From the rolling countryside of Tuscany to the picturesque towns perched on hilltops, from the historic ruins in Rome to the unique, watery streets of Venice, it was all simply amazing—just the way one imagines Italy to be.
First stop, Rome. Julie and I met up with our tour group there and spent the next seven days in a whirlwind of activity, led by our energetic and enthusiastic tour guide, Amedeo. There was no time for jetlag, since the first event on the agenda was a walking tour of Rome—at 10pm! What a unique first glimpse of the Eternal City, though! We climbed the Spanish Steps, threw coins in the Trevi Fountain (so we’ll be sure to return someday), and stopped by the Pantheon.
Day two took us toward Siena, our home base for most of the tour. We spent some time exploring quaint, centuries-old towns, took an 18km bike ride through the Chianti region to an old castle where we had a wine-tasting and basked under the Tuscan sun, saw Pisa’s famous leaning tower, spent an afternoon at the beach, splashing in the waves of the Mediterranean Sea, ate lots of gelato, and took hundreds of pictures. Julie and I even had the chance to meet some of my relatives—my second cousin and his wife—who have a villa in Tuscany!
After Siena, we spent some time in Florence, which is absolutely beautiful. We took one afternoon to “escape” our tour group and picnic and wander through the Giardini di Boboli (Boboli Gardens), which was the perfect, tranquil antidote to all the crowds of tourists in the streets of Florence. We managed to find some good shopping in Florence, too—the city is famous for jewelry and leather—and decided we’d just have to go back again someday to take in all the art museums we simply didn’t have time for. (When you only have a few hours, shopping of course takes precedence!)
Our tour ended back in Rome, where we got to walk through the ruins of the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. It really makes ancient history come to life when you’re in the place where so much of society as we know it today began, where Julius Caesar was buried, where the gladiators fought… Definitely my favorite part of Rome.
At the end of week one, we said arrivederci to our tour group and set out on our own for a relaxing week in Venice. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible not to get lost in Venice, although the maze-like streets could certainly cause confusion if you’re looking for a particular location. We had a delightful week wandering the streets, discovering great photo ops on all the little bridges connecting the city streets, and generally experiencing Venice. We rented an apartment right in the center of town, which was the perfect location for our home base. In the mornings, we’d take a 10-minute walk to the Rialto markets to get pastries for breakfast and fresh fruit, bread, and asiago cheese for lunch later in the day. The evenings took us along the Grand Canal, over the Ponte di Rialto, and to Piazza San Marco where the city’s best (or at least most expensive) restaurants had their outstanding musicians serenading the crowds in the moonlit square with classical selections from Vivaldi and other great composers. Our days were spent exploring Venice or riding the vaporetto (public transportation boats) to the glass-making island of Murano, the lace-making island of Burano, and the once-elite resort island and beach of Lido.
Venice highlights: Our second night in Venice, we attended perhaps the best chamber music concert I’ve ever heard…in the most perfect setting imaginable. We’d seen posters all over Venice advertising various classical concerts, most featuring some of Vivaldi’s compositions (since he was, after all, a Venetian), and loving Vivaldi as I do, we decided to get tickets to an Interpreti Veneziani concert…in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, a 500-year-old building with interior walls literally covered with the work of Renaissance painter Tintoretto. Talk about breathtaking! The music was fantastic, and the setting only made it better. We even got three encores from the musicians! Simply divine!
Wednesday afternoon we had another unique experience, although cultural in a completely different way. We were told that the owner of our apartment would need to stop by and “check something,” but it didn’t sound like anything major. Well, we wandered back to our apartment Wednesday after a day at Burano, only to find half a dozen people crammed into the entryway at our apartment, working on the sewer or some such thing. The apartment manager said we could go in if we wanted, but that it would be much better “to drink-a the spritzer” with him while we waited for them to finish. So, we walked around the corner to a little bar/café and drank-a the spritzer whilst getting an entire history of the spritzer, how to drink it, where to drink it, and why to drink it—and a bit of history about Venice and its 40,000 inhabitants, too—from our new Italian friend.
For those of you who may recall my now-infamous punting incident on the Thames in England several years ago, I’m pleased to report that I successfully managed to stay on all the boats in Venice. (I decided not to attempt gondoliering.) The Grand Canal was, however, the scene of a very tempting offer I received to stay in Venice…permanently. Julie and I were sauntering back from an evening in St. Mark’s Square, strolling past the restaurants along the Grand Canal, enjoying the comments of, “Ciao, bella!” from the very cute Italian boys. One such Italian boy was apparently so overwhelmed by my beauty that he proposed on the spot—“Shall we be married?” If I had been thinking, I would have asked to see the ring before so quickly declining—especially since he proceeded to explain that he owned the restaurant and so I would never have to work. Moonlight, flattery, the Grand Canal, a handsome boy, the promise of no work—very tempting offer indeed! =) But alas, reality beckoned, and I bid my would-be Prince Charming arrivederci. It was certainly quite the end to my Italian adventure!
For glimpses of Italy, check out my pictures posted here: http://picasaweb.google.com/bekaann/Italy2007
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