A Nice Set of Doors

This time last year we were in Italy on our honeymoon. While we were there I took many pictures of beautiful doors which I hoped to turn in to artwork. These are some of my favorites...

The handle on this one was a coiled snake.

The Honeymoon Part 3, Florence

Read Part 1 and Part 2

After Amalfi we took another terrifying bus ride back to the train station to get to Florence. Everyone I knew who had been to Italy had said that Florence was their favorite city and I can see why. One of the first things we saw was the beautiful duomo and this picture was the view from the front door of our apartment building.
Our apartment in Florence was very authentic. It was on the second floor and we had to walk through about 4 locked doors to get into it. It was a studio but it had wood floors, high ceilings, and old furniture. It also had a terrace with roses that was bigger than the apartment itself, amazing!

The great thing about Florence is that you could see the whole city on foot and in about 2 hours. The first day we spent just walking around and taking in the sights. Like the Ponte Vechio.

Carousel in one of the many squares

These sidewalk artists draw amazing works of art in chalk on the sidewalk everyday. Every night the street sweepers come by and clean it and the next day there they are again repainting.

The next day we went the Pitti Palace which is the former home of the Medici family. There was a costume museum there which I loved. Historical dress fascinates me. They seem so intricate and beautiful compared to today's dressing standards. They also had clothing that the mother and son of the family were buried in. The mother had caught what they believed to be tuberculosis and died suddenly. As you know this disease was very contagious so she was hastily dressed and prepared for burial. They showed what she had been wearing and how her corsets and garments had been laced improperly or been put on backwards. She was also buried in her everyday clothing instead of the more formal garb that royals were traditionally buried in. Her young son died shortly thereafter but I don't remember from what. Can you tell I love stuff like this? History of costume was one of my favorite classes in college.

There was also an expansive garden on the grounds called Giardino de Bambini or "Children's Garden" I believe. I was expecting a lot of flowers but it was mainly grassy areas so I was sort of dissapointed. Maybe it just wasn't in season that time of year (May).

There was an amazing view though

We also went to a gallery that housed the Statue of David. I could see why it is such an amazing piece of art. It was carved from one piece of marble that a church had just sitting outside in the weather. They also say the proportions match almost the exact proportions of the human body. They don't let you take pictures inside the museum but we did see an exact replica in one of the squares, close enough I guess.

Then we took a bus ride out to visit Pisa. On the way we drove by the ancient Roman Aqueducts that are still standing. I wish they would've stopped for us to see them up close. It's crazy to think that people in Europe just pass by ancient pieces of art and architecture everyday. The highway that people probably ride on to get to work just goes right by the aqueducts. It's this kind of thing that makes America feel so young and... so boring. One thing about Pisa though, the only thing in this town is the church with the leaning tower and a bunch of souvenir stands, that's it. So if you're planning on going there don't plan to spend the day or anything it's a 3 or 4 hour excursion from Florence and back tops, just an fyi.

There were a lot of people in this area doing the whole look like you're leaning against the tower picture thing

The inside of the church is very beautiful. At one point in time the church had no roof and the Medici family donated this vaulted cieling with 24 carat gold inlaid into it. There was also a dead guy in a box, I forget his name...

Interesting tidbit: they don't actually know who was the architect for the tower. It was such an embarassment that no one wanted to claim it. The tower also had two architects. After the first few floors were built and the tower started to lean the project was abandoned. Then, another brave architect thought he could correct it and finished the tower although it still leans. That is why the tower has a slight banana shape to it.

The next day we had a bicycle tour through the Tuscan countryside that we booked on expedia. If you are planning on going I highly recommend this tour. It was one our favorite things we did not just in Florence but in all of Italy. Not for the light of heart it was an 8 hour bicycle tour through the meandering hills of Tuscany. I think we rode about 15 miles that day and all but the last hour was uphill. There are frequent water breaks for rest and sightseeing though. Our first destination was to the hilltop town of Fiesole where we got some amazing pictures.

This is someone's awesome pool overlooking Florence

The view from Fiesole

Then we rode to a little cafe for lunch with locally produced wine, olive oil, and ingrediants. Very delicious! Afterwards we stopped at the vineyard where our lunch came from for a tour and wine tasting, very cool!

House on the vineyard

We got to sample wine and olive oil straight from the clay pots they keep them in. The oil was so unique, it had a certain zest to it that tickled the back of your throat.

Our tour guide was an American who had been living there for a few years which was nice. Obviously, I don't have to say how good all the food was but by this time there was one thing we were desperately needing, breakfast! And I don't mean some croissants and a cappucino, we wanted a real American breakfast with french toast (some fuckin french toast, 40 year old virgin anyone?), and pancakes, and potatoes, and some orange juice that while good you didn't have to chew. This is my only complaint about the food, there I said it. Luckily our guide told us about an "American Diner" that served such delicacies, we went that very night. We ordered so much food I wish I had a photo, it was ridiculous!

Also, even though our apartment was in a great location by the duomo the problem with it was it was by the duomo. Which meant church bells, every 15 minutes, as loudly as possible, and starting at 7:30 am. Oh well, who wants to spend their vacation sleeping all day anyways.

If you have any fond memories of any of your trips please share in the comments. I would love to hear!

Stay tuned for the final installment, Part 4 in Venice!

The Honeymoon Part 2, The Amalfi Coast

Riding on the high speed train from Rome to Salerno was quite a treat. The Italian countryside just whips by you. Tiny villages are situated on the sides of towering mountains just so. Being from flat-as-a-pancake Texas, the mountains seemed enormous. Golden fields sprawled across rolling hills and we whipped through tunnels. It was incredible. When we arrived to Salerno we took a SITA bus to the tiny town of Atrani. The bus was an adventure to say the least. For those of you going to the Amalfi coast beware if you get motion sickness. There is only one "highway". I say "highway" because it's a two lane road that meanders along the coastline with hairpin turns around every corner. I also use the term two lane loosely. The road barely fits two cars side by side and a passenger bus even less so. You also cannot see oncoming traffic around these turns. The Italian solution this is to honk your horn incessantly while not slowing down in the least as you go around the corner. I imagine the honking means "I'm coming around this corner no matter what mother f*ckers, watch the f*ck out because I'm not slowing down". Motorcyclists will also pass you by going into oncoming lanes of traffic while going around said turns. This highway also had numerous bridges that passed high above gaps in the mountains that truly only fit one car crossing at a time, oh, and the railings on these bridges were pieces of wood that came up no higher than your knees. So there we are on the hour long bus ride holding on for dear life, struggling with an Italian woman who wanted to close the windows in 90+ degree heat, me trying not get car sick, and not knowing where in the least we are supposed to get off at. Luckily I was distracted by the incredible view outside.



Finally we made it to Atrani and waited for the landlady to come get us. To get up to our apartment was a trek all it's own. We had to cross through about 5 doors, all locked, and climb 121 steps (yes, I counted). Once we settled into our apartment Scott's words said it all, "Are you kidding me with this apartment?!". This was our view...



...no jokes here people. This was the view FROM OUR FREAKING BALCONY! After some squealing we decided to walk the 1 kilometer to Amalfi for dinner. On the walk there we turned a corner and viewed what could have only been the town of Amalfi and saw this...

"You've got to be kidding me!". Words (or pictures) can't describe our excitement at all of this. The sun was setting, the clouds were rolling out to the mediteranean sea between the mountains, the town was beginning to glitter with evening light. It was the quintisential Italian coastal town.

We walked past a row of buildings to the main square of the town. Amalfi is a total tourist town but it feels so quaint and authentic. We wandered to the end of all the shops and restaurants and back before settling on a place to eat.

This beautiful church overlooks the square. It has gold leaf on the side that makes it glitter at all times throughout the day.

The balcony of the church.

After we went to the apartment to sleep. We planned on waking up early the next day to catch a train to Pompeii. The next morning though we woke up early and decided not to go. We desperately wanted to just lay on the beach all day and take in the ocean. I thought we would later regret this decision but you know what? I don't in the least. We will have another chance to visit Pompeii and lounge on the mediteranean in this lifetime. So the next morning we walked back to Amalfi and the sight in the daylight took our breath away just like the night before.

There's not much else to say about what we did this day. We found some chairs on the beach to rent and pretty much layed there all day. Then we took a walk and went home. It was awesome.

The following day we took a hydrofoil boat to the Island of Capri. The view of the shoreline was amazing.

After we got to Capri we had some breakfast that cost 50 effing euros and then took this walkway we found that said "To Capri", meaning to the actual town of Capri, there are a few towns on the island. The walk up was pretty rough and steep. We had to stop several times to rest but as we made our way to the top we peeked in some beautiful courtyards.

At some point we stopped to pet this cat who promptly jumped in my lap. It was great!

Once at the top it was all worth it!

We spent a while walking around Capri, which has some amazing shopping if you're loaded. But we're not so it was not that fun. The streets are also very narrow (par for the course in Italy) and the sidewalks are narrow with tons of people and the cars are all noisy and smelly diesel ones, you get the point. Then we decided to take the trolley car back down to the beach.

Scott's hair and un-shaven face were getting scruffier by the day, it was so cute!

Once we go the water and realized, just like our breakfast and all the shops, the chairs were way too expensive to rent. Then I got a little cranky because we were spending too much money, we couldn't lay on the beach, and our boat didn't leave for another two hours so we were stuck there. Scott insisted that we blow about 80 euros on the grotto tour and I'm glad he did! The thing is a tourist trap don't get me wrong. You take a boat ride around to another side of the island for about 60 euros then you get into a smaller boat where you pay some other guys about 11 euros each to take you into the grotto for about 2 seconds. Then you're back at shore and the whole thing only took about 45 minutes. But you can see by the pictures it was like nothing you've ever seen before...

To get into the grotto you have to lay down and they pull a chain to get you through the opening. This freaked me out because I hate small spaces but it only lasts a second and then you're in a huge open area with luminescent water all around you. Incredible!

The next day we took another hydrofoil to spend a few hours in Positano. While we waited for the bus we saw this super sleepy dog.

Notice the tongue

Positano was by far my favorite city on the coast. The town itself has buildings from every color of the rainbow. The chairs on the beach were affordable, I was able to do some souvenir shopping (there are also almost the same designer stores as Capri), and we had the best pasta in the entire country of Italy here. Should you visit I believe the restaurant was called Pergola, right along the beach.

This is the largest sailboat I have ever seen. It's just chillin in the port at Amalfi, probably some millionares just cruisin around.

That evening we decided to try out this trail near our apartment. Our landlady said it lead to the town of Ravello and we could get there if we were "good walkers". We thought "sure we're good walkers let's do it" We were sorely mistaken. I must preface this next photo that it was the lowest incline on that whole trail. Most of the trail was stone steps so steep we could reach out our arms and climb them like a ladder. Everytime we would see what we thought to be the top of the stairs hid more stairs around a corner. After 45 minutes of this and still seeing signs that said Ravello was a kilometer away we gave up.

The pink building with the green doors is our apartment.

The next day we took the frightening bus ride back to Salerno to catch a train to Florence. Part 3 is next!

The Honeymoon Part 1, Rome

For our honeymoon we planned the trip of a lifetime. Two and a half weeks in Italy covering 4 cities. I used the website homeaway.com to find apartments in each city. I figured it would be cheaper than a hotel and also give us a chance to stay somewhere more authentic and not in high-tourist areas. The first city we visted was Rome for 4 days.


We landed early in the morning and splurged 45 euros on a cheuffeured car to drive us to our apartment and it was worth it! We were so tired and had no energy or brain power to navigate our way around. When we got to our apartment and carried MY oversized suitcase up four or five flights of stairs to our studio apartment where we met Hanne, our landlady. Hanne is originally from Norway but has been living in Italy for over 30 years. She was very sweet and showed all around the apartment and the rooftop terrace which was absolutely beautiful. She was very chatty and unfortunately my head felt like it was going to explode from lack of sleep/food/and all other life comforts so I wasn't up for small talk. The apartment was tiny but clean and had these awesome keys. It seemed like everything in the apartment had to be done four times. To lock the door, four times, flush the toilet, four times.

Our apartment is on the top right with the pink flowers.

We slept for a few hours and awoke starving so we ventured out for food. We stayed in a part of Rome that was more suburban but we walked and got some pizza, some groceries, and ate the best gelato we'd had to date. That was until we had gelato everyday all over the entire country of Italy, all amazing by the way.

By then it was dark and we weren't sure what we had time to do. I decided, screw it, we're in Rome let's take the 20 minute bus ride to the city center and have dinner and see the Trevi fountain at night. If the buses stop running because it's too late we would just suck it up and pay the cab fair back. So we went into town and it was wonderful. Around every corner was an amazing looking building, cobblestone streets, everything was illuminated and we were in love. It was the perfect way to see Rome for the first time.



The next day we just wandered. Wandered to the Spanish Steps, the beautiful palazzos, and I did some shopping. We loved how all the cafes had outdoor seating and we could just sit and people watch. And since we don't eat meat, dining out was relatively inexpensive, we spent about 20 euros on each meal. Not too bad I guess.

The next day we made what turned out to be a long but worthwhile journey to see some catacombs that my brother suggested. The catacombs are located on a working monastery and the walk there (once off the two or three buses) was amazing. The picturesque Italian countryside...



Afterwards we had a tour around the Ancient Roman Forum and Collosium to get to. Our tour guide was quite informative and he loved to close his eyes while wafting back his hair and over-pronunciating words. I stopped listening after a while. The stories about Julius Cesaer and how life was in ancient Rome were quite interesting. The Colosseum was wonderful, tiny for a sports arena by today's standards. I wish we knew more about how all the contraptions they used to raise and lower gladiators and animals worked. Fascinating what their culture could create.


The next day we went to the Pantheon. I covertly mooched information of a nearby tour and found out that the only reason it has stood for so long and through so many earthquakes is of course it's innovative structure. Built in a dome shape the the thickness of it's walls gradually increases and you move further down the dome.


We also went to a flea market where I thought there would be cool Italian antiques but it was this...


...so we left.


We wandered around finding our way by the most impressive city hall I've ever seen.


Then stumbled upon this garden of every species of roses imaginable. It was beautiful!



We eventually made our way to The Vatican. However, it was late and it was closed for tours so we didn't get to see the inside, oh well.





The next day we woke up early to catch the train to the Amalfi coast. To be continued!