Central Italy

A friend said to me, "Do you know why Florence is so beautiful? Because the whole city is a museum." How very true! Every building is beautiful. The numerous churches, fountains, statues and museums are works of art. Not to mention the enormous and stunning Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral (aka The Dumo). With its beautiful green, white and pink marble exterior towering over the city it is difficult not to be awe struck.

In this city of Italian Renaissance I met up with Rowan, the Australian I'd met in Morocco. We spent three days playing tourist, doing a walking tour, visiting Michelangelo's David-so much more impressive in person!- and climbing up the 463 steps to the top of the dome to get a fantastic view of the city. It took a solid hour to get to the top and if this is low season I don't want to see it in high! In the Uffizi Gallery we gazed upon great works by the "masters" such as Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Giotto, Raphael. Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" was a big draw. They were all great however my personal favorite was by an artist I knew nothing of: Allegory of Virtue Rescued by Love from Ignorance and Prejudice by Jacopo Ligozzi. Not necessarily displaying any better talent than the others, I'm sure it was because of the subject that I favored it. 450 years later civilization still suffers the same struggle. Evidently evolution is an incredibly slow process.

Rowan and I decided to split a rental car for five days and explore Tuscany despite the rain. It really is the best way to see a country and get off the tour bus path. Without a plan beyond the first day and a half we set off. We avoided the highway whenever possible and drove through the twisty, hilly Tuscan roads flanked by vineyards and dotted with castles and walled cities. Our first stop was to the very cool, free Vespa museum in Pontedera where we met the 87 year old Giuseppe Cau, a once very famous Vespa racer who won a gold medal against drivers from all over the world. Still very alert and sharp it was a true honor to meet him.

We arrived at San Gimignano just as the rain stopped and spent an hour walking around this incredibly well preserved and beautiful medieval walled city at the top of a hill. Truly impressive but we had a lot a ground to cover and couldn't stay long. As soon as we got back to the car the rain started again; a blessing that we acknowledged.

The drive to Montepulciano, where we spent the night, was stunning. The town itself is fantastic and very much like San Gimignano but I prefer the former. We had lunch in charming Cortona, where Under The Tuscan Sun was filmed, drove to Lake Trasimeno and spent the night in Assisi. It was a town both of us were certain we wanted to visit. Not a religious person, St. Francis takes exception to my feelings about the subject. He led a humble life of service and 'A Simple Prayer' has stuck with me and been my favorite since I first read it decades ago.

Assisi is fantastic! Thanks to it being low season we got a fantastic deal on a room in the city center. It even included a wonderful breakfast and tea time with cakes, biscuits et al. By far my favorite city in Tuscany, I wish we'd had more than half a day to explore it. The basilica is beautiful on the outside and powerful on the inside. 800 year old frescoes cover the walls and ceilings but their simplicity honors the Saint and there is an absence of gaudy pretense. After an hour of exploring the church and St. Francis's tomb I was overwhelmed by the impression it left on me.

Italy is covered in mountains so we decided to check out Gran Sasso, Italy's largest national park. I would not have been happy if this road trip ended without a decent hike. However neither of us was prepared for the cold! There were only two places for accommodation in this tiny, medieval village dating from the 1200's. The first one was like an apartment but expensive and run by a grumpy old man and the second was a tiny hobbit house with a very kind owner. Obviously we chose the later. And even though it never warmed up-I had an extra blanket, slept in all my clothes, even ran the hair dryer for 30 minutes at a time to warm the air in my room-I'm still happy with the decision to stay there. It was such a cute little place. I thought Rowan's room would be warmer since he was on the floor above but apparently he froze all night too. When we woke up in the morning a light snow had fallen and dusted the village with a white blanket. By mid-morning it had warmed up enough for me to go out and I really enjoyed exploring all around and going for a nice hike in the mountain. It wasn't long enough, I could have continued on for a few more hours at least but the car had to be in Rome by 5:00 so I didn't have all day. Feeling content with the morning but doleful that the trip was ending, we coasted down the windy mountain road toward civilization.

Due to numerous reports of trickery theft, Rome wasn't a city I was looking forward to but I had to respect the immense history of the place and vowed to make the best of it. It turned out to be fantastic!

First time around I only had one day so I went to Vatican City and spent four hours in the the vast museum and Sistine Chapel. St. Peter's basilica was closed so I got a gelato and walked to Via del Fori Imperiali and all the amazing Roman ruins around there. I could see the Colosseum from the top of the monument. Exhausted I went back to the hostel, arriving just in time to find my roommate researching where to get to the "best gelato in Rome". I invited myself to join him and the bonus was that it was near the Trevi Fountain. It was dusk when we arrived and the lit fountain was quite a sight to behold. Absolutely worth fighting the masses with narcissistic (selfie) sticks to get a decent spot for a photo.

Upon my return to the hostel again I got a FB message from Antonio-my Italian friend in Genova that I'd be seeing the following day-checking in on me, asking how I was enjoying Rome. I said it was great and that I'd only had two gelato to eat all day. A good pizza would make my day perfect. So he said, "O.k. Hold on." What??? Next thing I know, Antonio is hooking me up with his cousin who lived nearby! I hopped on the back of his motorbike and we cruised around the Eternal City at night. He showed me the ruins lit up at night and took me to places tourists don't know about. We rode to an authentic Italian restaurant and he ordered traditional dishes for me. I even got a little history lesson. Did you know Italy, as a country, is only approximately 150 years old?? A super nice guy and great conversationalist, my day couldn't have ended more perfectly! Thank you, Roberto!

Three weeks and a few kilo later, I returned to Rome. Unfortunately the cousin was laid up in bed with a freshly fractured leg. I hope he heals quickly. Rome is less sprawling than I expected yet it's amazing how much there is to see in such a small area. I spent three days wandering around this incredible city; the ancient history is almost tangible. It is everywhere! Too much to take photos of everything because almost everywhere you look is something ancient. At some point I just stopped. I stayed in a nice hostel with fun guests from the Southern Hemisphere: Uruguay, Argentina and Australia. Together we went to receive the Pope's blessing from the Vatican window on a Sunday and I saw him much more up-close a few days later as I was walking into S. Peters Basilica. It was unexpected and very exciting even if he was 30 meters away.

Without planning it, we all left the hostel on the same day, each going in different directions. Me, I was headed south to Naples, home of Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, and Pizza!! The food in Italy has been great! From the pesto and focaccia in the north to creamy truffle sauces in the central area and gelato everywhere, I was always able to find a good meal and it was starting to weigh on me. Literally! My belly had developed a jiggle that had disappeared after so long in all the meat-heavy countries. But I have no intentions to stop. I anticipate this will be the last country of good food until I get to Israel so I'm storing up ;-)