For Marthese’s birthday, I gave her Rome. She liked it! Thanks, Rome!

Marthese turned 25 today! And she did announce at one point this was her ???best birthday ever.??? Yes!

We basically did a walking tour of our local area in Rome, taking in an insane number of sights, drinking lots of coffee, and getting acquainted with the city. Walking around Rome so far is so easy, and we feel a lot ???safer??? than we did in Naples.

A short stroll from our hotel to the Spanish Steps. Saw the ???Keats and Shelley House??? but didn’t go in (it wasn’t open yet), checked out the cool church up there. Waved at Lord Byron’s old apartment.

Then over to Piazza del Popolo, the old entrance to Rome. Hugely spacious, with fabulous fountains, 3 churches, and an enormous Egyptian obelisk (there are Egyptian obelisks over Rome! The plunder of the conquerors.)

Some more wanderings led us to Sant Eustacio il Caffe, according to some the best Coffee in Italy. Might have to concur, we went there twice today 🙂

My highlight was next, the Pantheon. 2000 years old and still going strong. Such an impressive piece of architecture. We went inside where Raphael’s tomb was on display!

Piazza Navona was fantastic and gorgeous. We enjoyed the sun, the church, the fountain, and bought the CD of the great live band that were playing (the aptly named Piazza Navona Band).

A short walk away was the Campo de Fiori with a bustling market and a statue of a heretic who had been burned by the Vatican! And by ???burned??? I mean burned to death, not harshly insulted. Well…

We then checked out a few other sites around parliament and bumped into a huge rally to ???Save Italian Races???, which we have to assume refers to Italian horse racing.

Another highlight of the day was meeting up with Beth, Marthese’s sister, who was in Rome for the day on her Contiki tour. We had a lovely lunch, then returned to Sant Eustacio for another coffee!

After saying bye to Beth (off to the Coliseum & Forum) and acknowledging that we’d had too much coffee and needed to keep walking, we headed up to the Capuchin Chapel and visited the crypt there. Incredible. Several rooms of art constructed with the bones of deceased Capuchin monks. Pretty amazing , read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capuchin_Crypt

Right now we’ve retired to the hotel for some rest, potentially an Irish comedy (it IS Marthese’s birthday after all) and then out for dinner which promises to involve Nutella Pizza (yep, Marthese’s birthday).

Phew.

All roads lead to….

Roma!??We're right near the Trevi fountain and a delicious Gelato place. WHOOP!

Elias & Marthese – Live in Pompeii

When I was 17, I managed to track down a copy of “Pink Floyd in Pompeii” on VHS, a video I’d only read about on the Internet (which I got access to about 2 years prior) and had been aching to see. When I finally sat down to watch it, I was mesmerised. A combination of two of my passions; Pink Floyd and Ancient History! This was made before Dark Side of the Moon (around 1971/72), with Floyd playing their more instrumental and dark material in the Pompeii Amphitheatre to no audience, intercut with footage from around Pompeii and Vesuvius. This odd idea was Italian director Adrian Maben’s, and it worked wonderfully.*

I was hooked. I knew one day I had to visit Pompeii. And today I did!

Pompeii, frozen in time by ash from 79AD’s Mount Vesuvius explosion, is a huge ancient town that you can explore for hours. And we did. And it met every expectation I had. With the assistance of Rick Steve’s free audio guide (highly recommend for travelers with Androids or iPhones) we got an incredible glimpse into the lives of people 2000 years ago by strolling their streets, walking through their homes, bakeries, baths, theatres, gladiatorial training arenas and brothels. Incredible.

Sadly, the town around Pompeii is a real tourist trap. We had a pretty average lunch, but we were starving and the place we’d looked up was closed.

Next stop was Ercolano, another poorer town that we walked through to see an Italy quite different to the larger cities. High density apartment buildings, derelict streets, but a real liveliness. It was good to see this contrast to the very major cities and tourist destinations we’d been.

Of course our destination was certainly of the tourist variety – the ruins at Herculaneum. Preserved by the same 79AD Vesuvius eruption, Herculaneum is much smaller than Pompeii but much better preserved. Walking around, you get an even better sense of the streets and the homes, with many roofs remaining intact and wall mosaics and paintings being incredibly well preserved. Definitely a must-visit if you’re in the area.

Extra notes:

*You can see the Pink Floyd Live in Pompeii film on Youtube by CLICKING HERE. This is the original theatrical version without any of the interviews or Dark Side of the Moon behind the scenes stuff that was on the VHS. There is also a DVD Director’s Cut, but its the worst version. I personally like this version with just the music these days.

Another Pompeii related song which I’ve had stuck in my head all day is the Flaming Lips’ PompeiiAm Götterdämmerung. Its basically a fusion of Floyd’s One of the Days and the German national anthem, with lyrics about a couple running holding hands while a volcano explodes, preserving them forever. I didn’t tell Marthese I’d been thinking about this all day though, she’ll have to read it here.

Metro/train travel notes for the day:

Piazza Cavour Station → Napoli Centrale → Circumvesuviana to Pompeii Scavi → Ercolano Scavi → Napoli Centrale → Piazza Cavour.

THIS HAS BEEN THE BEST DAY EVER! Goodnight, folks.

Goodbye, Florence. Hello, Naples!

Sad arrividerci to Florence today, as we boarded a train to Naples.

Naples is ALIVE! Bustling streets, screaming locals, cars chasing down pedestrians, motorbikes swerving, aged buildings with modern adaptations, graffiti, baby stroller impaled on an old church gate. Awesome! Totally vibrant and passionate town.

Our train got stuck for a while, so by the time we checked into our hotel (the rather spacious Hotel Bellini) we were starving. Went to a place the Lonely Planet recommended called La Cantina Della Sapienza. Full of locals, loud and friendly, with a dude playing a drum and singing in the corner. We had Eggplant Parmigana which was delicious, and we fell in love with Naples rather quickly!

Maybe it was just what we ordered, but I really noticed that the food around here feels like Lebanese food. Lots of similar ingredients and flavours. Even the drummer/singer was drumming a beat that was familiar. I’m curious to see how common this is…

Marthese was exhausted so retired to the Hotel while I ventured forth to the Naples Archaeological Museum. We only have 2 nights here so I needed to check it out! And it was phenomenal, so far an absolute trip highlight. Full of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, mosaics, pottery, paintings and coins, much of it taken from nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum. Some parts had lots of info, others were extremely poorly signed and I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. Rick Steve’s Self-Guided Tour helped a little, but I still craved more info! Not nearly as bad as the Cairo Museum.

The whole thing was completely overwhelming, staring at 2000 year old sculptures and busts depicting Roman rulers and Greek Gods. A lot of them had been reconstructed, but considering the mammoth size of so many of the pieces I’m amazed so much survived!

Surprisingly the Museum was pretty much empty! Usually I was completely alone as I wandered the huge rooms (I think the museum was formerly a palace). Loved it, felt like everything was there just for me.

Am exhausted now, hoping I can muster the energy to hit the street again and try some Napoli Pizza!

Obligatory Leaning Tower Photos

After a bit of indecision, we finally made our way to Pisa and it was well worth it. Walked around town, markets and the Field of Miracles, got lost looking for coffee shops and museums that didn't exist, but mostly got to enjoy another outdoorsy day in sunny Tuscany. Perfetto!

Wrapping up our time in Florence with a few last sights

Busy day! We've spent the last week living next door to the Basilica di San Lorenzo, so decided to pop in! Another large cavernous church, this one particularly impressive as it is the burial place of all the major Medicis.

Next stop – Palazzo Vecchio. Again. Today was the soonest we could do the "secret passages" tour, where we got to travel through some escape routes of the palace, see some secret rooms (Francesco's private collection room being stupidly opulent and impressive) and even check out the roof to see how the massive roof and ceiling are kept from collapsing. Worthwhile tour, lots of insight on the artworks and Medicis.

A quick stroll across the river and lunch at Zeb – superfresh and delicious ravioli. Unlike anything I'd ever eaten before, and Marthese claims "some of the best pasta I've ever had."

Then a climb upto Piazzale Michelangelo for some spectacular views and some OK gelato. Also checked out a nice church up here.

Back across the river to the Basilica of Santa Croce. A really impressive church which is probably most famous for containing the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. I got a bit excited that Marconi might be buried there but it turned out to be just a memorial plaque. Lots of great art here too, but the tombs of legends were the major attraction. Some side chapels and museums, containing random things like St Francis' robes.

Just as fatigue was beginning to set in, Marthese and I decided to part ways – she went shopping while I ran off to find the supposed "Leonardo Da Vinci Museum". I found it, it was a mixed bag. Mostly it was a few large rooms with recreations of Leonardo's desgins and inventions, including flying machines, instruments of war and various cranks and gears. You could play with some of these, but it would have been nice to have more information and context with each item. Still, it was quite inspiring to see Da Vinci's ingenuity and creativity on display. They also had an art section up the back, so got to see prints of The Last Supper (take that, Milan!) and the Mona Lisa (cop it, Paris!). Bought a book about Da Vinci to make up for the lack of detail in the "museum" (it felt more like a temporary display, perhaps it is, I can't read Italian. Yet.)

A daytrip to Fiesole

A short 20-minute bus ride from the heart of Florence, Fiesole is a cute little town up a mountain. Loads of charm, gorgeous views, and some cool ruins to walk around. Its been raining the past couple of days, but today the sun was out, perfect day to view the Tuscan landscape. Photos do it no justice (also I'm still not sure how to use this camera).

Ate at I'polpa on Marthese's mother's recommendation. Lovely. Marthese had a tasty risotto, I had Wild Boar cooked in red wine and chocolate. Hell yes.

Spent a while today staring at a large naked man

David was awesome. Spine tingles. Not sure if its because of the quality of Michelangelo's work, or merely being in the presence??of such a cultural and artistic icon. But a wonderful experience.??

The Accademia Gallery was quiet while we were there, benefit of being here in Winter, only about a dozen people looking at David. The rest of the gallery was a bit hit and miss. The Bartolini exhibit was fantastic, a sculptor whose work I'd been unaware of but was really impressed by. I also enjoyed the section of the museum with antique instruments, and learning about how Bartolomeo Cristofori developed the Pianoforte (if I understand correctly, this was developing the method of hammer on strings used by modern pianos).

Otherwise, the rest of the artworks on display tended to be religious in nature and less impressive than what we've previously seen, although we may well be over-saturated at this point. And we haven't even been to Rome yet!

No photos from the Accademia. Hopefully we can get a photo with the David replica at the Piazzale Michelangelo on the weekend.

Excellent lunch at the Tratorria Mario (blurry pic below, next door to our other favourite Florence feeding hole) and then some market strolls.

Next visited the Palazzo Meddici-Riccardi, which is used by the current local council for meetings, events and such. More galleries, chapel and cool old palace stuff inside.??

Just another day in Florence – Palaces, Art and Science

Gloomier day today, ending in a little light rain, but not enough to sour Florence. You'd need a flood.

Strolled down to the Ponte Vecchio, then headed upto the Palazzo Pitti, former Medici and Savoy residences. More art overload in the Galleria Palatina & Galleria d'Arte Moderna ??? moving from renaissance to the romantic period and beyond, documenting the local and foreign powers that dominated Italy, with more religious works thrown in for good measure. 18^th century Austrian furnishings fill rooms below Greek gods on the ceiling. There was a lot going on.

We also checked out the Galleria del Costume which attempted to show the development of fashion trends over the past few hundred years. We did a quick stroll through the Boboli Gardens, but it wasn't so nice out there so we didn't linger.

Here is also where I received a phonecall from Schmoo. Hi, Schmoo!

After another sandwich lunch (yum!) we wandered over to the Galileo Museum which housed lots of scientific devices from the 14^th century onwards. Great to see the development of early cartography, physics, chemisty and astronomy. Mind blowing, and a good break from all the art.

Couldn't take photos in most of the places I describe. Now we're back at the hotel and zonked. Need a nap before dinner.

Ciao.

Today we saw artworks by the Ninja Turtles and got a glimpse of Medici lifestyle

Stop no. 1 today was the Uffizi museum – housing some remarkable works by the Ninja Turtles (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and, well there wasn’t a Donatello but there was one later on in the day at the Palazzo Vecchio) as well as some amazing Boticelli, Tintoretto and a gazillion other artists all on display. An amazing Classical Roman collection too. Totally overwhelming and easy to get “art fatigue” but I bought a great little book to take home and enjoy at my own pace. No photos allowed inside the muesum.

After stopping for a Porchetta Panini (Marthese had a rather delicious eggplant and cheese thingy) we ducked into the Palazzo Vecchio, currently a museum as well as Florence’s Town Hall, previously a Medici house of power/residence (?). Another amzing building, walls adorned with art, opulent and intimidating to visiting diplomats. I used to know so much about this period back in High School, really need a refresher!