italia 2014

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Italia 2014An account of our family vacation

Gonzalo Martinez

Italia 2014An account of our family vacation

Gonzalo Martinez

Zurich - Jet Lag & the TerminalGiovedì 15 Maggio 2014 4Venerdì 16 Maggio 2014 4

Venezia - One Day in la SerenissimaSabato 17 Maggio 2014 7

Firenze - Esplorando La Cittá BellaDomenica 18 Maggio 2014 15

Martedì 20 Maggio 2014 20

Modena & Maranello - An Italian Love AffairLunedì 19 Maggio 2014 25

Lucca, Pisa, & Siena - Road Trip Through TuscanyMercoledì 21 Maggio 2014 35

Roma - Monumental BeautyGiovedì 22 Maggio 2014 45

Venerdì 23 Maggio 2014 54

Sabato 24 Maggio 2014 62

Milano - Northern FlavorDomenica 25 Maggio 2014 73

Lago di Como - Visiting Italy’s Most Popular LakeLunedì 26 Maggio 2014 79

Cinque Terre - A Taste of the Italian RivieraMartedì 27 Maggio 2014 87

ContentsViaggio in Italia 2014

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Giovedì 15 Maggio, 2014

3 ,939 Miles. That is how much distance you will cover if you take the Swiss Air Flight 19 from Newark, New Jersey to Zurich Switzerland. Your trajectory will take you through Maine, arching

by way of Greenland, then back down across Ireland and the UK, through France, and into Switzerland. Now I can say I got close to London and Paris. Despite being an overnight flight, the trip was manageable due to a great plane, great service, and decent food from the fine folks at Swiss Air.

In any journey there has to be some conflict; some adversity to overcome. This time it manifested itself in the form of a missed connection due to a flight delay. We would be stuck in the Zurich airport terminal for several hours until the next Swiss Air connecting flight to Milano. Lucky for us, as far as terminals go, we could have done much worse.

Zurich airport is thoroughly Swedish. It is clean and minimalistic, modern - with glass and concrete dominating the material palette - and it is run like a Swiss watch. We arrived in Terminal E, which had a unique feature – frosted glass multi-story light wells that had real vines growing up the glass. The main Terminal, A/B, has a curving concourse that resembles a mall, with Duty-free shops, bars, and cafes. And of course, really cool chairs. Connecting the two terminals was the cleanest underground rail shuttle I have ever seen.

After some exploration and some Duty-free window shopping, we hunkered down at a sports café with a massive screen for some food and drinks. Although jetlagged, our spirits were high. We could not wait to see what was in store for us once we touched down in Italia!

Venerdì 16 Maggio 2014

T oday was a blur. Taking an overnight flight really messes with my system. I can hardly recollect our arrival in Milan and the drive to Venice. From what I can recall, we rented a silver Fiat Punto at the

Hertz rental office in the airport. From there we embarked on a drive that took nearly three hours on the Autostrada from Malpensa Airport in Milan to Mestre, just outside of Venice.

Driving in Italy is an experience in of itself. The autostrada has different speed limits for each lane – A great idea that would never work in the US. The left lane has the fastest limit; each consecutive lane to the right has a slower speed limit. However, speed limits here seem to be merely a suggestion – I was doing the speed limit and everyone was flying by me. At least they stick to passing on the left, which is about the only rule that keeps the motorway from becoming a complete free-for-all.

There is something about the about the autostrada that suggests more money was invested in it than your typical US Interstate. There are long stretches of sound barriers that not only are painted blue and green; they also contain windows. I even saw a barrier with built-in flower pots! Additonally, high speed turns feature Armco barriers that have turn signs with built in flashing lights, which light up consecutively in order to indicate the direction of the curve.

Zurich Jet Lag & the Terminal

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Sabato 17 Maggio 2014

B uongiorno Venezia! Or should I say Mestre. Our hotel, which has the tiniest of rooms, is located on the mainland, a few miles out from Venice proper. After colazione, Sebas and I went down the

street to the tabaccheria to buy the biglietti for the bus to Venezia. The bus ride took fifteen minutes and we ended up not using the tickets we bought – Everyone at our stop just boarded through the back of the already full bus per the bus driver’s directions. I was not impressed with the arrival into Venice via bus. Piazza Roma is a rather mundane bus terminal. Once you cross over the modern footbridge, however, everything changes.

All of the sudden you are immersed in the laberynth-like streets of Venezia. In la Serenissima, cars are prohibited, and small boats are king. The result is an urban experience unlike any other I’ve experienced. It is amazing how much quieter and more relaxing a street can become when you remove the cars from the equation. Not having to accommodate cars, the streets become much narrower and take on a more intimate scale. They are also more organic, winding through the city and opening up to a canal or piazza unexpectedly. Being lost becomes an indulgence that only costs time.

The texture is incredible and abundant – the ancient buildings create an envelope around you and no two are alike. Simple elements – shutters, pots, balconies, doors, windows, stones, bricks and lights – arranged in an organic fashion that could never be manufactured or reproduced quite the same way in our modern age. The very imperfections we strive to minimize in present day buildings create a palpable dynamic in the streets of Venice that is tantalizing. And then there is Piazza San Marco. Masses of tourists did not dull the splendor of the Basilica Di San Marco. It was here that I first became exposed to the fanatical level of detail that goes into these monumental architectural undertakings. I would not be exaggerating if I said that every square inch of the basilica had been detailed either by material selection, stone carvings, mosaics, artwork, sculpture, or gilding.

Then there was the Doge’s Palace right next door. Once the seat of power for all of Venice, the palace now serves as a museum housing precious antique art and relics from a bygone era. The building’s interior exhibited exquisite detailing, gilding, and marble extravagance. I was blown away by the gigantic assembly room – one of the largest in all antiquity.

The palace faces the water – a much more worthy entrance into the city than by car. We took one of the many gondolas parked along the banks. Despite the blind corners, oncoming traffic, and low clearance of the footbridges, the trip was somehow serene. Our gondolier employed considerable skill in navigating the obstacle-filled canals, not once running into anything. The experience, short and sweet as it was, exposed me to a completely new way of navigating through the city.

Afterwards, Sebas and I ascended to the top of the Campanile di San Marco for a birds-eye view of the city in all directions. It was dark before we knew it, and our feet were tired, so we ventured back to the hotel. But not before eating some calzone along the banks of the Grand Canal, near the Ponte Rialto.

Venezia One day in la Serenissima

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Domenica 18 Maggio 2014

I slept like a rock, and awoke refreshed. After colazione, we quickly packed our bags and loaded up the car. On the way out of Mestre, we made a slight detour to stop at “La Malcontenta” – one of Renaissance

Architect Palladio’s many villas in Veneto. Unfortunately, it was closed and I wasn’t even able to get a peek at the building from outside the main gate.

The drive through Veneto was rather uneventful. The road was flat, straight, and surrounded by agriculture. As we passed by Bologna, the terrain started to change. As we emerged from one of what would be many tunnels on the autostrada, we were greeted with beautiful, tree covered hills enveloping a valley. The autostrada continued to wind through the increasingly steep terrain. I was blown away by the amount of bridges and tunnels that had been carved into the hillsides rising over the valley. This was no small undertaking, and it confirmed my suspicions that the autostrada must have taken a considerable sum of money to construct. I was so enthralled with the continuous elevation changes and high speed corners of the autostrada that it seemed like no time had passed before we hit our exit to Calenzano and paid our toll to get off the autostrada – it wasn’t cheap though.

Shortly after, we were overtaken by a pack of sports bikes going full bore through the small winding road. At one point, one of the bikers passed us on the inside of a sharp, banked curve and nearly missed the oncoming traffic before tucking into our lane and disappearing into the distance. After a fun descent down the hillside, we arrived at Hotel La Selva in Calenzano – our home base during our time in Firenze. We had no time to linger. We quickly dropped off our bags and headed to Firenze to make it in time for our ticket window to the Galleria degli Uffizi.

The Uffizi Gallery was immense, in physical size and in reference to the art collection it housed. For all the priceless works of the Byzantine and Renaissance art it housed, I was more impressed with the enormity of the building and the seemingly endless main corridors, with ceilings completely covered in painting and ornamentation, and lined with statues of Roman emperors, gods, saints, and the like. We had a quick, expensive lunch at the museum café, which was on a rooftop terrace overlooking the Piazza degli Uffizi and adjacent to the massive tower of the Palazzo Vecchio.

From the Uffizi, we scrambled north over to the Galleria dell’Academia to view Michaelangelo’s David statue. On the way there, we caught our first glimpse of the Florence’s Cathedral – Il Duomo – in all its massive, marble covered glory. We had to keep walking, however, to make it to our ticket window. I had my fill of art for the day, so I couldn’t retain much of what I saw at the academia besides a plaster study with remarkable dynamic, and – of course – Michelangelo’s David. David is perhaps 3 or 4 times the size of a normal human. His head and hands are exaggerated in scale –to better see them from far away in the large public square where the statue was originally placed – the display explained. The statue certainly did have a captivating quality about it.

It had been a long day, but we had to see Il Duomo up close again. As we headed there, we stopped by the Ospedale Degli Innocente. Upon reaching Il Duomo, you can’t help but gasp at the tremendous scale of the structure. The detailing of the multi-colored marble exterior is exquisite, especially in the façade which is also graced with statues. The day was all but gone by now, and my Dad’s knee was out of commission. Sebas and I decided to end the day on a good note by making a trek up to San Mignato al Monte for a breathtaking view of the city at sunset.

Firenze Esplorando la Cittá Bella

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Martedì 20 Maggio, 2014

S till recovering from last night’s indulgences, we were slow to get out the door in the morning and didn’t make it to the Museo Nazionale del Bargello until about 10:30 am, even though we had

planned to be there by 9:00 am. The rush hour traffic was rough and I accidentally took the wrong exit off of the autostrada which only made matters worse. The small setback did not hamper our spirits, however, and the Bargello did not disappoint.

I naturally gravitate more towards statues than paintings, and the Bargello had them in spades. Donatello’s room was particularly impressive, with many renditions of David – a character that Florentines associate with for his ability to defeat much stronger and larger opponents with his wit and agility. The many renditions of David on display, although done by various artists of the time, all show him in a similar pose – left hand on his waist with a sling over his shoulder.

Among the Bargello’s extensive collection were various artefacts from around the ancient world. The amount of detail found on many of them was just beyond words. The craftsmanship and hours spent on objects such as a comb made from bone, or a wooden lectern is beyond what I thought was possible at the time, or even now. These handmade objects posses an innate richness that we do not see in the objects that fill our contemporary everyday lives.

We grabbed lunch right outside of the Bargello at a trattoria that I thought for sure was a tourist trap. I was not expecting the food to be great, but it turned out to be pretty good. The service was not as good. Afterwards, Sebas and I headed over to Il Duomo trying to make up for some lost time. The sheer scale of the cathedral already makes it stand out among the four to five story buildings surrounding it (albeit they all have really tall floors). Not to mention the incredibly detailed multi-color marble exterior treatment it got in the 18th century. The interior is equally as impressive. The 4 massive piers supporting Brunelleschi’s dome were easily thirty feet thick. Every square inch of the massive dome was covered in paintings that appeared to be depicting heaven and hell. The top tier of paintings had a trick perspective that made the figures appear almost three-dimensional the way they were hanging from below the cupola.

Of course, we had to go up into the dome, but not before going down first. Underneath the nave by the entrance to the cathedral there was an interesting museum that showed the excavated remains of Santa Reparata – the church that stood there before the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore – and even some of the remains of the church before it. The remains included some very old skeletons that Sebas felt compelled to photograph. The 463 steps to the top of the Duomo were well worth the effort. We were rewarded with an amazing view of Firenze, of which I took many photos. It saddened me to see so many people had marred the ornate cupola by writing their names on the marble.

After rendezvousing with our parents, we headed over to the Basilica di Santa Croce. Along the way, we passed through a part of town known for its leather working. There were leather goods shops everywhere and I was tempted to stop and look inside every one we passed, but we were on a time crunch. Santa Croce houses a considerable number of tombs of some of the most notable names in renaissance Italy. Among them: Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Galilei. It is quite a large church as well, having served as Firenze’s principal church for some time, and it’s timber ceiling is immaculately detailed. I would have loved to have a guide, as the inscriptions on the tombs (and there were many) were all in latin.

Alas, the day was coming to an end. We finished our last remaining hours in Firenze with a stroll along the banks of the Arno River, across the Ponte Vechio and into the Piazza della Signoria.

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Lunedì 19 Maggio 2014

W oke up, showered, and ate breakfast at La Selva in a bit of a rush to make our 11:00 am appointment at Pagani. We trekked back through the autostrada to the cradle of Italian cars – the

area between Modena and Bologna that Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Pagani all call home. We arrived just in time at Pagani. I rang the doorbell and announced we were here for the tour. We were buzzed in and immediately greeted by a blue Huayra and a white Zonda Cinque at the center of the small showroom. Nearby, two AMG V12 power plants were displayed on pedestals – one with twin turbos, the other naturally aspirated. In the back of the showroom was a red open-wheel racecar – possibly GP2 – that, Horacio must have designed some time ago. Next thing I know, Horacio himself pops out of one of the doors showing two men in suits around. I was taken by surprise and could barely utter a “buongiorno.” I will forever regret not having my act together and going up to Horacio to shake his hand. The cars were partly to blame – I was completely absorbed in their beauty. I took a million pictures of them while our guide gave the first portion of our tour.

For the second part of the tour, they made us turn our cameras off as we entered the assembly rooms where the carbon fiber panels that make up each Pagani are created. We got to touch a few samples of the raw carbon that gets inlaid in the molds, including “carbotanium” which has strands of titanium in the weave. The carbon was a lot more malleable and stretchy than I thought it would. Remarkably, once layered and put in the autoclave, it becomes immensely hard and rigid. For the third part of the tour, we got to visit a portion of the considerably larger new facility down the street from the showroom where some of the last Zondas were being assembled. A legendary Zonda Rs was there as well, partially dismantled. In the back, there were some Huayras in different stages of assembly.

I knew Pagani was a low volume car manufacturer, but I had no idea it was that low. Total Huayra production is expected to be only 100 cars. It sounds too exclusive to be a viable business model, but somehow it works. With the expansion to their new facility, output is expected to grow from 25 to 35 cars a year. For such a world renowned name in the automobile industry, it was hard to wrap my head around how small of an operation it really is. It must be a privilege to be one of the 80 or so people that work there making the poster cars that capture the dreams and imaginations of millions of kids (and adults) around the world.

Ferrari, on the other hand, is a giant by comparison. We arrived in Maranello, and almost immediately noted that almost everyone we saw on the street was dressed in Ferrari garb. Granted, we were right next to Ferrari’s factory when we decided to take a lunch break. The pizza place we ate at had all of its walls covered from floor to ceiling in Ferrari pictures, posters, and models. The owner had autographs from Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa on his wall, as well as pictures of himself with the Scuderia Ferrari.

At the Museo Ferrari, I was like a man possessed taking pictures of the cars. So much so, that I completely missed looking at their Formula 1 trophy room – The Hall of Champions. In addition to that, I wish we could have gotten a better view of the LaFerrari that was on display in a small, dark room that briefly illuminated roughly every 30 seconds. Funny enough, as we left Maranello, a yellow LaFerrari appeared out of nowhere in the oncoming traffic. No one had time to take a photo, of course. The experience was much like catching the glimpse of a unicorn, for I might never see that car again in real life.

We stopped at Modena on the way back from Maranello, and toured around the centro storico. The town had a different vibe without the hordes of tourists and it was a welcome change. Modena’s cathedral was an interesting amalgamation of Romanesque architecture with a dark and rather creepy interior. We wandered around Modena a bit more before making the return trip to Calenzano.

It was beginning to get dark when we got back to the hotel, and we were starving. After some indecision, we agreed on getting a bite to eat at the restaurant next to the entrance of the winding driveway that leads up to our hotel. What was originally going to be a quick in-and-out situation, turned out to be a feast. Dario, our waiter, was super friendly, and the cook, Simone, talented and friendly as well. Everything about that particular moment felt perfect, and I think at this point we all fell in love with Italia. The food, the wine, the service, and the family bonding felt just right… and the Bistecca Fiorentina – to die for.

Modena & Maranello An Italian Love Afair

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Mercoledì 21 Maggio 2014

I t was time to leave Firenze and head over to Roma. It was a bittersweet moment, as Firenze is so beautiful and has so much to offer, but we just did not have enough time to see anymore. At the same time, we

were cheerful because we would be driving to Roma by way of Lucca, Pisa, and Siena.

After about an hour and a half on the autostrada we arrived at Lucca. The most notable feature of this city is the enormous fortified walls that surround the centro storico. The walls are more like giant earth berms, easily wide enough to accommodate a two lane road on top of them. Thankfully though, cars don’t transit the top of the walls, only people walking, running, or riding bikes. Lucca’s Duomo was impressive, but I enjoyed the atmosphere of its streets even more. There were plenty of tourists, of course, but not enough to ruin the feeling. Its hard to put a finger on it, but something about Lucca just felt right. Then again, we were only there for a couple of hours.

Before I knew it we were on the road again, this time heading towards Pisa. A short stint on the autostrada and we arrived at the city limits. The centro storico shared a resemblance with Firenze, but we had no time to explore. this leg of our trip was going to be an in-and-out operation. Our only destination was Pisa’s Campanile, otherwise known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Navigation became tricky due to the ZTL (Zona a Trafico Limitato), and as the day’s temperatures rose, so did the tensions between my dad, my brother, and I. As a result, I was not in the best mindset to appreciate the beauty of Pisa’s Leaning Tower, and the adjacent Duomo and Battistero. The rather appalling €28.00 fee to climb up the Campanile did not help my mood either. Needless to say, I did not go up the crooked tower, but I did manage to take plenty of photographs.

It wasn’t long before we were back on the road and on the way to Siena. The sheer beauty of the Tuscan landscape was enough for me to leave my troubles behind. As we approached Chianti, we stopped in a little part of the Tuscan wine country called Talente. Sebas and I set out to obtain a bottle of wine, which led us to the gated entrance of a Tuscan Villa. The sign said they sold wine so we rang the doorbell. After a short pause the metal gates opened on their own, as if we were part of a scene in a movie. We went in and walked around the nicely appointed interior of the villa for a bit before we were greeted, and then purchased the bottle of wine we were seeking.

The stop confirmed my suspicions that the Italians really have the finer things in life nailed.

Besides the roadwork, and a cool partially underground hillside building that we passed by, the rest of the drive to Siena was rather unremarkable. Siena, on the other hand, is a spectacle to be seen. A medieval city built on a hilltop with labyrinth-like narrow streets that surround the central Piazza del Campo, where a horserace known as the Palio still takes place every year. Ironically, there was a series of escalators that took you could take up the steep hillside into the medieval city. We took this route due to my dad’s bad knee and headed for the Duomo to see if we could catch a glimpse of its interior. We just narrowly missed the opening hours, but at least were able to witness the exterior in the warm light of the early evening.

We were short on time and hunger levels were elevated, so we limited our wandering to a few streets and the Piazza del Campo before picking a place nearby to eat. We had another great dinner as a family, and it was evident the tension from earlier had subsided. We couldn’t linger for long after dinner, and it saddened me to leave Sienna so soon. We left towards Roma as the sun was starting to set. The last hours of daylight on the road afforded nice views of the countryside. Then it got dark and we had to imagine what treasures might be illuminating the hills we saw at a distance. At one point, Bohemian Rhapsody started to play on the radio of our little Fiat and we all broke out in song.

Our entrance into Roma was somewhat disappointing. I was expecting a great view or some monumental entrance into the Eternal City, but instead arrived rather abruptly at our hotel – the Crowne Plaza. You could say the hotel was certainly more monumental than the ones we had stayed in before it. It had all the western world conveniences such as a pool, sauna, and ice makers.

Lucca, Pisa, & Siena Road trip through Tuscany

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Giovedì 22 Maggio, 2014

I was starting to get used to seeing a fifteenth century treasure everywhere I turned my head; even a little jaded perhaps. Yet, nothing could have prepared me for the wonders of the Vatican Museum.

Circumstances saw us taking a cab from the hotel over to the walled- off city-state in order make it in time for our ticket window. Immediately, there were large crowds of tourists gathered around the rather unassuming entrance to the museum – not much more than an opening in the city’s fortified walls. Despite the crowds, entry into the museum was efficient and took much less time than I had anticipated.

We had a quick breakfast at the museum café and began to tour the museum, starting out with the Egyptian room. The word “ancient” took on a whole new meaning here. I could not believe I was looking at actual sarcophagi and statues that predated the birth of Christ by thousands of years. It was interesting to see how subsequent Roman art, such as the statues at Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli, would be influenced by the Egyptian art. And let me just tell you – the Vatican has no shortage of statues. As we exited the Egyptian room down a flight of stairs, a monumental hallway appeared, lined with statues as far as the eye could see. It flanked a massive courtyard that contained some larger sculptures including a modern revolving globe that was intricately carved out to reveal 2 counter-rotating spheres.

Already, it had been an enormous amount of art to digest, yet we had hardly scratched the surface of what the Vatican Museum had to offer. We proceeded onwards. Amazingly, each new room we entered was more impressive than the last. The crowds were growing larger as well. I had to time my shots in-between the tour groups – each one of them being conducted in a different language. The tour guides would always be holding up a colored flag, making the groups easy to point out. Frankly, it was all too overwhelming – the art, the architecture, the crowds. I had observed so much priceless art that by the time we reached the Sistine chapel, I was hardly impressed. There was a sizeable crowd gathered at Michelangelo’s masterpiece, and photography was prohibited. We didn’t linger there for long before making our way out. Surprisingly, there were still a few more galleries to see, but at this point all we wanted to do was find the exit and meet up with my dad who had long ago left us behind.

A much needed lunch was had at the museum cafeteria again. We took the opportunity to rest our legs for a bit before making our way towards Saint Peters Basilica. The Basilica and the piazza leading up to it was an exercise in monumentality on a scale that I had yet to experience during my time in Italy. The elliptical piazza was impressive on its own. The Egyptian obelisk at the center was surrounded by seating and speaker systems, signaling that a mass or religious gathering had taken place there earlier. A good ways up from the colonnade was St. Peters Basilica. The line of tourists leading up to it’s entrance was almost as tremendous as it’s façade. Our feet were aching, our legs tired, and our energy was fading, but we waited out the line and eventually made it inside the Basilica. Our efforts were rewarded by an interior that had phenomenal grandeur and scale, exquisite Baroque architectural detail, and a Baldaccino that was out of this world. Once again, we would have no time to climb the Duomo, but we did manage to see the changing of the Swiss Guard on our way out. The visit to St. Peters had lifted our spirits and given our legs a second wind. It was enough to get us to the Piazza Navona, where we enjoyed dinner while people watching, and with free entertainment from the street performers. Afterwards, we headed over to the Trevi Fountain, passing by the Pantheon on the way there. Yet another obelisk graced the piazza in front of the Pantheon – the third I had seen in one day. We arrived at the mystical fountain right before dusk. As expected, there was a sea of people there, but we managed to find a place to sit and enjoy the theatrical nature of the fountain in it’s recessed half-moon amphitheater-like piazza. As it got darker out, the streetlamps and light fixtures illuminated the fountain. We all had our share of walking for the day, so we tossed our coins in the fountain and took an expensive cab back to the hotel and called it a night.

RomaMonumental Beauty

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I t was raining when I awakened. We had accumulated a fair share of dirty laundry during our trip and Sebas was nearly out of clean clothes to wear. In other words, it was the perfect time to do some

laundry. We packed our dirty clothes into some bags and took a cab over to a full service Laundromat that we looked up online. I was hardly surprised that when we arrived at the indicated address, there was no Laundromat to be found. We asked around, and after some conflicting directions and a bit of walking around, we found a place. This part of Roma was not a prime tourist destination and it showed. The midrise concrete construction residential buildings with small street level shops reminded me so much of Lima.

Following the Laundromat operator’s recommendation, we had a typical Roman collazione at a nearby café – cornetto, café, and esprimutto. The unassuming café was delicious. As we were having breakfast, my dad noticed a man walk in the door and told my brother and I “I bet you he is Peruvian.” He approached the mand and asked the question. Turns out that man was not only Peruvian, he was also the president of an organization representing Peruvians in Roma. The man informed us that the neighborhood were in had a large concentration of our fellow countrymen. No wonder I had felt a resemblance to Lima as we walked to the Laundromat earlier.

After breakfast, we walked over to the subway station – Aurelia – and bought our transit tickets for the day. The tickets worked for both the subway and the busses, and unlike the DC metro, were based on time rather than distance traveled. We returned to the nearby Laundromat to pick up our clean clothes. Instead of going to a restaurant for lunch, we thought it would be neat to make our own sandwiches. To our delight, there happened to be a large market just down the street from the Laundromat. It was hardly occupied and many of the shops were closed. Thankfully, Sebas and I were able to buy fruit while my father embarked on a 45 minute odyssey picking out the cheese and cured meats for our sandwiches.

Roma’s bus system is exceedingly confusing. We attempted to take a bus back to the hotel but ended up getting lost and had to take a taxi cab the rest of the way back. By the time we made it back, the skies had cleared and the sun was drying any traces of the earlier rain. We made our rather delicious sandwiches

in the hotel room and ate them before setting off to the Pantheon. We took a bus from the hotel to get to the Aurelia subway station and almost got lost again, had it not been for an old man giving me directions in Italian that I barely understood. But we made it. Roma’s red line trains are the newest and nicest in the city. The wagons are connected accordion style, such that you can walk from one end of the train to the other without ever having to open a door.

The Pantheon has two massive doors at the entrance. It’s exterior, which looks like it has endured a couple millennia’s worth of wear and tear, is in striking contrast to the interior which received a Christian facelift. While not the largest or most opulent church in Roma, the Pantheon left me in awe thinking about the engineering challenge it must have posed to the ancient Romans who constructed it. The fact that the unsupported, unreinforced concrete dome still stands today is a testament to the build quality of the structure. I stood outside the main gates next to one of the massive stone columns supporting the portico – it’s flutes worn down and chipped after thousands of years of weathering the elements and the inhabitants of the eternal city. I was awestruck, but alas, it was time to get going.

Gelato was on my mind and Giolitti, I read, was the place to get it. Unfortunately, it was too far out of the way from our next destination, the Piazza Venezia, which was dwarfed by the titanic white marble monument to Vittorio Emmanuel that towered in front of it. Just across the street from it was Trajan’s Forum – a collection of columns which were once used as a market. The focal point was Trajan’s Column with friezes winding up its massive diameter all the way up to the statue that capped the top of its considerable height. It was in remarkably good condition for its age.

We wandered up some winding streets and stumbled upon Il Quirinale. We kept walking after taking some photographs in front of yet another obelisk that graced the piazza, and eventually found ourselves at Piazza de la Republica. The ellipsoid piazza is said to follow the floor plan of what had once been a section of the colossal baths of Diocletian. The baths are now just a fraction of their original size, and have been repurposed into the church of Santa Maria Degli Angeli. The interior got a makeover similar to the Pantheon. What little is left of Diocletian’s baths is still impressive nonetheless.

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From there, we hopped on the tube towards Spagna station to go to the Spanish Steps at Piazza di Spagna. We arrived among a swarm of tourists, but there was plenty of space to appreciate the steps. The fountain at Piazza Spagna was covered in scaffolding and undergoing restoration, like so many other landmarks in Italia. We climbed the elegant steps to the top which was graced by a church, an obelisk, and a wonderful view. The timing was perfect, as the sun had started to set, covering the city in a warm glow. My brother was starting to get fed up with the pushy Muslim street vendors, so we got going – this time towards Piazza del Popolo.

As we exited the subway station, we walked under a gigantic archway and arrived upon an even more monumental piazza. It was wide open, paved in stone, elliptical in shape, and easily a quarter mile in diameter. At each end of the piazza there was a large fountain, and in the middle, a massive obelisk, of course. I caught sight of an overlook on an adjacent hill and signaled to make our way over there. My parent’s legs were too tired, but my brother was up for the task. It was well worth the effort – we were rewarded by a sweeping view of the city at dusk. The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, way off in the distance, seemingly aligned axially with the park.

Sebas and I made our way down from the hill before it got too dark and regrouped with our parents. I still wanted to get my Gelato fix, and luckily, there happened to be a Gelateria nearby. I wish I could remember the name because it was really good. We made it back to Aurelia station, and after a rather sketchy bus ride, arrived safely at our hotel.

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Sabato 24 Maggio, 2014

W e awoke to the hottest, sunniest day we had seen yet on our trip. After prosciutto sandwiches for breakfast, we made our way to the subway station to catch a train down to Termini, where

we would transfer from the red line to the blue line. There is a striking difference between the clean, modern “linea turistica” red line trains and the older, grungier blue line trains. What struck me the most was not the ubiquitous graffiti, but a little boy who would play the accordion on the subway car while his sister would go around collecting money from the passenger.

We were only on the blue line for a few stations before getting off at the Circo stop, which was right by the Circus Maximus. Unfortunately, this legendary sporting venue has been reduced to nothing more than a recessed mound of grass stretching about half a kilometer in length. On the end nearest the subway station, there was a fenced off area where an archeological dig going on in essentially the only remaining structure on site. On the fence were plans for proposed future renovations to the Circo Massimo.

More impressive was the structure right across the street – Palatine Hill. Its sheer immensity had me thinking it was the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, which led me to mistakenly take my family down the wrong street trying to find the entrance to the ruins. It turned out to be a fortunate accident, however, because we came upon an incline that had an amazing vantage point over the Roman Forum at the summit. We stopped here for a bit to take some pictures and rest our legs. We were a good 45-60 feet above the ancient Foro Romano and within a stone’s throw of some of the remaining structures. In fact, on top of the nearest lintel, there was a collection of coins presumably tossed there by turisti for good luck. I dared my dad to toss a coin and he was able to land it on the narrow plinth on his first attempt. I was impressed.

We continued along the path for a short ways and found ourselves at the Campidoglio, but didn’t linger long enough to appreciate the geometry of its piazza, or the elegant stairs leading up to it. We continued onwards down the other side of the hill towards the Colosseo, passing alongside the sunken remains of the forum on the way there. The sun and the crowds were out in full force. The heat was ramping up and there were street vendors everywhere, not to mention hordes of tourists.

Before long, we had arrived at the most famous of ancient Roman amphitheaters – the Coliseum. Despite having been stripped of its marble façade and reduced to ruins, it remains a marvel due to sheer scale and engineering genius. As expected, there was a long line to gain entry into the structure, but at least it was mostly assembled below the exterior arcade of the ruin where we were protected from the intense midday sun. The wait was worthwhile. Once inside, I was again blown away by the complexity and scale of Emperor Flavian’s Amphitheater, and picking up on the striking similarities it shares with modern sporting venues. I went crazy taking pictures, but the bright sun overhead meant very few of them turned out to my liking.

Eventually, we ventured to the second level of the Coliseum, which contains a museum of sorts. In a way, the history on display was even more impressive than the architecture. There were stories of naval battles that took place in the Coliseum prior to the construction of the hypogeum where they would fill the arena with thousands of gallons of water. Another story depicted an emperor who would release 300 wild animals onto the arena floor and hunt all of them down. The view from the second level was even more impressive than the first, but it was hard to appreciate due to all the tourists gathering at the vantage points.

We were hungry and thirsty at this point, so we migrated to a nearby restaurant with an exceptional view of the Colisseo. The fare wasn’t half bad either for being next to a tourist trap. The waiters had a sense of humor, and took selfies on my dad’s phone. It was mid afternoon by the time we were done with lunch and we had yet to explore the Roman Forum. We scrambled over to the Forum, passing by the enormous Arch of Constantine, which was next to the coliseum, on the way there. The incline leading up to the entrance of the Forum is capped by the also impressive Arch of Titus. There was a lot to explore and we were short on time, so we decided to check out a portion of Palatine Hill before descending into the Forum.

What was once the home of Roman Emperors is now just an intriguing hill – part natural, part manmade – that is overgrown with vegetation. We were only able to see a fraction of it, which included what is believed to be the original home of Romulus and Remus – characters central to the myth of the foundation of Rome. Nearby was an overlook where you could see some of the forum below, as well as much of Rome’s skyline.

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We strolled through some formal gardens on the hill, and through some sort of ancient brick service tunnels until we arrived back at the Arch of Titus. The sun was starting to set and the dramatic shadows generated by the ancient ruins were captivating. Unfortunately, there was no time to soak it all in. We had to keep moving because we had about an hour before the Forum’s visiting hours were coming to a close. I snapped as many pictures as I could as I walked among the Roman ruins with Sebas. My parents eventually met up with us right before we were ushered out of the Forum by guards.

It had been a long, hot day on our feet, and my parents were beat. They headed back to the hotel while Sebas and I wandered some more through Roma. We came across another Roman ruin – Largo di Torre Argentina – isolated in its recessed plaza below the modern streets that surrounded it. What was odd about this one was that it was inhabited by at least 25 stray cats. We then walked along the Tiber River and rested for a bit on the bridge in front of the majestic Piazza Del Tribunale before setting off to the ritzy streets of Spagna. After some more wandering we ended up at an Irish pub to watch the Athletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid final match.

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Domenica 25 Maggio, 2014

W e rushed out the door to catch our one-way flight to Milano, hailed one of the cabs that were always waiting by the hotel entrance, loaded our bags and hopped in. The half hour drive

to Leonardo da Vinci Airport was uneventful and quiet, and we were at the Easy Jet gate before I knew it. We stood in line for a while as people from all sorts of nationalities poured in. Eventually, were helped by a very attractive ticketing agent. Easy Jet charged us with additional fees for our carry-on luggage, which didn’t settle well with my dad, and directed us towards the security gate. There had been some tension that morning between my dad and my brother. Those tensions exploded when we reached the security gate and the rather expensive bottle of wine we had purchased in Talente was confiscated from my dad’s carry-on bag. Admittedly, I was also upset at the rookie mistake, but my brother let his temper get the best of him as it so often does.

Once in the air, we had nothing but clear skies, giving me an amazing aerial view of the intensely blue Mediterranean Sea. I saw clusters of little islands, a handful of ships, and what could have been the coast of France way off in the distance. The plane made its descent into Milano’s Malpensa Airport and we disembarked onto the tarmac once again, where a shuttle was waiting to take us back to the terminal. This was a different terminal than the one we had arrived to previously, but there were no car rental places here so we had to take a shuttle bus to the main terminal, where I experienced some major déjà-vu. After picking up our rental car at Hertz, we set off to the hotel. The Holiday Inn would we would be staying at was literally just around the corner from the airport. We had the worse dinner of our whole trip at the hotel before venturing into Milano, some 40 minutes away.

Parking was considerably easier to find downtown than we had expected. In comparison to our previous destinations in Italy, Milano was a thoroughly modern European city. For the first time during our trip, I saw skyscrapers. We made it past the crazy traffic circle at Piazza Firenze and drove down the ample Corso Sempione until we found parking a few blocks from Piazza Sempione. Corso Sempione terminates at the elliptical Piazza, which has the enormous Arco della Pace as its centerpiece in front of the lush green background of Parco Sempione. The grand classical arch is axially aligned with Corso Sempione, and – from our perspective – acted like one of the main gateways into the park.

The weather, was perfect and the parco was teeming with life. We saw children playing, people on bikes, couples displaying way too much affection in public, and even a group of body builders. Eventually, we ended up at the fortified walls of Castelo Sforzesco. My parents decided to go look for Sebastian, whom they had lost sight of, while I continued walking along the rather large perimeter walls of the castle. Soon after, I came across an entrance into the castle courtyard from one of the sides. The courtyard was much more intricately decorated than the austere exterior, with a sizable tower at one end. I took pictures, walked through the gate below the tower, and out to Via Dante. There were crowds of people now, many of which were attractive and very well dressed. You could tell Via Dante was a prime shopping destination – the street was essentially a pedestrian mall lined with high-end retail shops, cafes, and flags from around the world. Street performers abounded, including a band playing out of a VW bus that was jamming out to some classic Rock & Roll songs.

Finally, I caught a glance of the Duomo’s gothic façade and made my way over there. In front of the Duomo was a large piazza, complete with a subway station stop and an empty stage with red chairs. I waited here, taking photos of the immaculately detailed white marble façade, and admiring the thousands of statues that adorned every part of the Duomo’s exterior until I was reunited with my family. The timing was Bittersweet – we got there too late to climb to the cupola for a very special view of the city – but we did get to enjoy the music played by the behemoth organs, as there was a mass in session. The sound reverberated through the nave amidst the forest of tall, slender columns that supported its vaulted roof. The stained glass windows were impressive and really stood out in the dark interior.

I stepped outside through a side entrance by the transcept, walked around the exterior of the nave, and towards the front of the Duomo where I regrouped with my family. Afterwards, we walked across the street to the Galeria Vittorio Emanuel – another lovely building, and the prototype for the modern malls that we frequent. Inside were shops – Prada, Armani, among others – along a cross-shaped promenade that was shielded from the elements by an intricate glass and iron canopy. From there, we started making our way back to the car along Via Dante, and stopped at one of the many cafes for an early evening treat. Prices were high, as expected, but the Tiramisu was good, the coffee even better, and the people watching – superb.

Milano Northern Flavor

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Lunedì 26 Maggio, 2014

I awoke to a rather gloomy morning. Breakfast was had at the hotel yet again, and it was surprisingly better than I expected it – light years superior to the dinner we had the day prior. We got ready, loaded up

the car, and hit the road. Our destination: Lake Como. I was expecting to encounter some excellent driving roads on the hour drive there, but saw none before we arrived at the city of Como. A cool mist enveloped the streets that morning, giving an air of mysteriousness to Como. The streets were practically deserted as we walked towards the harbor. The closer we got to the shore, the more signs of life that started to appear. Regardless, it was a lot less people than what I had become accustomed to seeing in the touristic hubs of Italy.

Our original plan had been to take the Vaporetto from Como to Bellagio and other destinations around the lake, but confusing schedules and expensive fares kept us grounded on the shore. We opted instead to go for a quiet and peaceful stroll through Como’s marina and adjacent park, admiring the colorful homes that decorated the steep, green hills that surrounded the lake. We grabbed lunch from a food vendor in the park, and ate it on the shore while being entertained by a flock of ducks. Afterwards, we made our way back through the town to retrieve our car.

We decided to drive over to Bellagio in lieu of taking the Vaporetto. I never imagined that the road we would take to get there would be so narrow, windy, scenic, and challenging all at the same time. Although I was only driving at a moderate pace, the road was incredibly entertaining. The road had two-way traffic, but some parts of it seemed too narrow to accommodate that many cars side by side. We were pressed against the hillside, which had been carved to fit the little road we were on, and that made our rental Ford Focus feel much larger than it really is. I felt myself longing for Fiat on some parts of the route, and I scared my brother/copilot (and myself ) on several instances when we had to get within a couple inches of the rock face to let oncoming traffic through.

Along the way, we stopped at a couple of overlooks to admire the scenery. The water had a dark blue, slightly grayish tone to it. Everywhere we looked, the steep, green hillsides were decorated by pastel colored houses – seemingly the same color pallet used everywhere else in Italy. Except for the occasional plane making a water landing, there was an air of calmness to the place.

The gloominess followed us into Bellagio, but it was not enough to mask Bellagio’s beauty. Walking through the town was like being in a postcard. With narrow, winding walkways that ascended from the shoreline, filled with cafes and boutique shops, I have no doubt words like “picturesque” were created to describe places like Bellagio. The sun started to emerge later in the afternoon and bathed the town in its warm glow. It was early in the evening when hunger struck. Most places were not open for dinner yet, but after some searching we found little glam restaurant called “Princess” that would serve us. It looked like a place that valued style over substance, yet the prices weren’t unreasonable and the food ended up being quite good. Since we were the only people there, the service was very attentive.

When dinner concluded, it was time to say goodbye to Bellagio. As we walked back to the car, it hit me – soon we would have to say bye to Italy as well. Lucky for me, the melancholic feelings went away shortly after I started driving on that thrilling road once again. We stopped one last time at an overlook high above Bellagio. With the mist now cleared, we could see snow capped mountains – presumably the Alps – far off in the distance. We did not go back the same way we came. The road took us along one of the “fingers” of Lake Como. Some very long tunnels had been carved out of the mountainside to make way for the two-way road we were on.

Eventually, we merged on a more conventional thoroughfare as we approached Milan. We were dropping off Sebas at a hotel downtown where a couple of his freinds were staying, which happened to be a few blocks from where we had been the day prior. I took the opportunity to walk over to a storefront that had caught my eye the day before – McLaren. To my surprise, Senna’s own Mp4/5B Formula 1 car was on display in the showroom. The two brand new 12C supercars it shared the room with, rendered all but invisible in its presence. My day could not have ended on a higher note. Back at the hotel, I shared some drinks with my parents and called it a night.

Lago di ComoVisiting Italy’s Most Popular Lake

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I ronically, our longest planned day trip was to take place on our last full day in Italia. Our destination, Cinque Terre, was a three hour drive away on the coast south of Genoa. Mislead by the weather

forecast, we did not dress appropriately to take advantage of the beautiful weather that would be waiting for us. Our journey would take place primarily on the Autostrada. Despite being long, it was not a boring drive by any means. As we approached the coast, the motorway transformed into a curvy, two lane mountain road, the likes of which we had yet to see on our trip. The mountain segment was followed by a coastal segment that ran parallel to the coastline, albeit a mile or so inland. This portion of Italy’s coast is very mountainous. Instead of cutting around the mountains, the motorway went right through them. I lost count of the number of tunnels we went through, many of which were over one kilometer in length, but I’m sure it was more than twenty.

We got off at the motorway at the rather unassuming exit to Monterosso al Mare and encountered a small road that twisted and turned down the hillside towards the coast where the first of the Cinque Terre was located. There was a big lot next to the beach where we could park the car. The moment we got out of the car I was kicking myself for having worn jeans and a long sleeve shirt. It was sunny and gorgeous outside, with a gentle sea breeze. Monteroso itself is quite small, and at first feels like a resort beach. Nestled between the sea and the rugged hillsides, it has one main strip with hotels and restaurants that overlooks the beach. It was midday already when we arrived, so we sat down at Il Gabbiano – one of the restaurants on the main strip with beachfront outdoor seating.

After some delicious coastal cuisine, my parents brother, and I parted ways. I was intent on hiking the coastal trail that connects Monteroso with Vernazza, the second of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre. My parents and brother did not feel so strongly about hiking. They would be taking the train to Vernaza. This meant I would be pressed for time as my hike would take over an hour. But what a hike it was! As I embarked on my journey, I realized there was more to Monterosso than I had thought. As the trail took me up and over a cliff jutting out over the water, I discovered a while new part of Monterosso tucked around a little bay. This part resembled an actual town more than a beach resort. I had to keep moving though.

The trail leading out of Monterosso has a steep ascent into the lush green hillsides that look over the bluest sea my eyes have ever seen. Vineyards surround me as I continue up the steep, narrow dirt path. The afternoon heat is quelled by the gentle sea breeze, but in my head I’m still longing for my shorts. After a while, the ascent levels off for the most part, but the terrain still drops and rises as the path hugs the hillsides high above the sea. I stop quickly every time a view emerges to take a photo before I continue onwards at an above average pace. Despite being against the clock, I do not feel stressed amidst such abundant natural beauty.

As I round the corner of another hill, I catch my first glimpse of Vernazza far off in the distance before the trail curves back inland and I lose sight of the picturesque town. This happens several times, with Vernazza appearing larger and larger each time. Each time I get closer, I notice more and more details. The coral and melon paint on the buildings contrasting with the blue of the ocean. I descend into the town and it isn’t long before I reunite with my parents who have been waiting for me for a while.

With no time left for me to explore Vernazza, we head towards the station and catch the first train back to Monterosso. An issue with our boarding pass caused Sebas and I to be harassed by the ticket officer, but we were able to get out of it. That marked the end of our brief visit to the Italian Riviera. The drive back was more or less the same as the way in, except that we accidentally got off the wrong exit and got lost in Genoa. As we tried to navigate the convoluted streets to get back on the Autostrada, we at least got to see a little of the big port city.

Cinque TerreA Taste of the Italian Riviera

La Fine

italia 2014

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