"Every Mile A Memory"

"Every day, a page turned down; every night, a lonesome sound,
Like a freight train rollin' through my dreams:
Every mile, a memory."

 

A big thank you to Dierks Bentley for this week's title.  "Grazie" might be more appropriate, as I spent last week in Italy.  Long had it been a dream for me to be able to travel to the country shaped like a boot.  Casablanca is a very convenient spot from which to fly throughout Africa, the Middle East and Europe, and it can very often be done cheaply.  A colleague turned me onto a direct, roundtrip fare to Milan for just $133.  So, off I went via EasyJet.  Speaking of low cost transportation, the Italian rail system is a winner.  It can be (and was) maddening to navigate the website and/or contact reps on the phone, but I eventually bought all my tix and fortunately was not held hostage by the not-infequent worker strikes at any point.

 

The first leg of my journey took me to Venice.  If you're like me, the first (only?) thing you think of is gondolas paddling along the canals.  My colleagues are a very well-traveled bunch; I was able to ask several who had been to Venice what there is to do, and to a person they all said the same thing: you will get a lot of enjoyment just wandering around and getting lost in all the winding streets and alleys and nooks and crannies with loads of shops and restaurants - and they were absolutely right.  That is pretty much all I did the entire day I was there.

Of course, meandering around this city will bring you to a bridge at some point.  The oldest and most famous of the four crossing the Grand Canal is the Ponte di Rialto.  The crossing began as a 12th century pontoon bridge, was wood for a time, and eventually wound up in its present, stone form in the 16th century.   There is a portico in the center of the bridge with covered shops lining both sides of the ramps.  Here are some pix; note the grafitti on this architectural icon...

 

 

My Italian debut...

(A pause while I admire myself...)

Ok, back to work - as you might guess, there is no shortage of beautiful churches, especially in Venezia, which has such a luxurious history.  There is no greater example than the one at Piazza San Marco, which includes the Doge's Palace, belltower and eponymous Saint Mark's Basilica.  It has a lengthy history, beginning in the early 9th century, to the basic foundation of the present structure some 250 years later.  In the almost 1000 years since, it has grown significantly and houses countless, priceless treasures brought home by wealthy Venetian mechants.  The exterior architecture contains Byzantine, Romanesque and Gothic style elements, and the interior is best known for its extraordinary, gilded mosaics.

 

Between the weeklong grey weather, the inexpensive camera, the expansive subjects, and the amateur shooting them, the photos cannot do justice to the stunning sights I saw around every corner.  If I were you, I would go to Google to see Venice's Basilica San Marco and Florence's Il Duomo in order to see properly what I cannot give you.  Seriously, do it.  Now.  I'll wait.  Which, takes us to...

...Florence.  I spent an extremely pleasant day window shopping and noshing in pedestrian-friendly downtown Firenze.  Its landmark sight at the Piazza del Duomo, with St. John's Baptistery and the belltower, is the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly called the Duomo (its dome was the largest in the world for a very long time, and was unsupported, even).  Work began in the late 13th century and lasted for about a century and a half.  The size of this place is staggering - it had to be a city block.

Darn, just missed a cardinal - who cares - I'm going to the Vatican soon...

But, first...





You know what?  It's not easy taking your own photo!  This was my first attempt at snapping one of me and Il Porcellino (the piglet), a bronze (copy) of a 500 year-old statue that is a favorite tourist attraction in Florence.  Legend has it that if you put a coin in its gaping jaws and let it fall into the grating beneath, it is good luck; if you rub his snout, it ensures a return to Florence.

 

 

Another boar in a nearby shop.

 

 

In the bookshop of one of Florence's fine galleries.  Extra credit if you recognize the character...

 

Well, it's off to Rome and the Vatican city!

 

The train rolled into Roma on Christmas night, and I met up with colleagues for dinner and drinks.  Just walking around the city was a blast.  I had to pinch myself; I'm in Rome on Christmas!  The night did end on an interesting note: seeing a pair of homeless people rolling around on top of one another in the throes of passion.  At least, that was the opinion of a colleague and me.  You can't make up these things...

 

The day after Christmas.  St. Peter's Square.  High noon.  A papal blessing, called an Angelus.  Me and Bennie, Pope Benedict XVI to you.

 

I just can't get me enough me...

Now, pan right...

 

Mindblowing.  The guy may not be too popular in some quarters, but he is the spritual leader of the billion-member, two-millenia old, worldwide enterprise that is the Catholic church.  And I got to attend a blessing by him.  Wow.  I was raised in a home where both sides are Catholic, but neither side overly religious.  One side a little more than the other, and I did attend a Catholic high school, and we did go to Mass for a while when I was a teen, but all in all, religion wasn't a huge thing, and my parents never spoke to us in a religious context.  I married a minister's daughter, of all people, but we never darkened the doorway of a church, except for special occasions.  I only have one friend with whom I discuss religion.  Since I've been here, and I really don't know if it has anything to do at all with having many colleagues who are people of faith, but I've found myself more and more lately pushed/pulled in the direction of church.  We'll see, I guess.

 

I couldn't resist...

Finally, a castle along the Tiber that long ago protected the Holy See...

 

 

It is called the Castel Sant'Angelo, and was constructed in the 2nd century to be the tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian.  The 5th and 6th centuries weren't so good to the place.  In the 14th century it became a fortified castle, then a residence and even a prison at the hands of various pontiffs.  Yes, a prison.  Remember, the papacy wasn't what it is today.  Not that Ben doesn't dabble in politics - he is a ruling head of state, don't forget - and social issues are very much in the front of his mind, but he isn't what his predecesors were.

 

Oops, I almost forgot the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.  The highlight, of course, was entering the Sistine Chapel (sorry, no cameras allowed - we have to go to Google), walking to the center, looking up, and seeing the centerpiece of Michelangelo's signature work, the Creation of Adam:

 

 

 

I was flabbergasted standing there and looking up and seeing the entirety of this work.

 

Now, let us walk back across the bridge to...

 

...Rome!

 

I was ready and waiting for this!  The Colosseum was at the top of my list, but that tour wasn't til later..  First, was the Trevi fountain, the most famous of Rome's many beautiful fountains.  It has roots dating to the 1st century, but construction of the Baroque-style fountain as it is today began in the 17th century.  Took 3 good pics, like this one the best:

 

 

Not too far away were the Spanish Steps.  It is the widest staircase in Europe, totals 138 steps, and was built in the 18th century.  The Romantic poet John Keats lived in the yellow-cream home to the right.  It linked several notable structures; today, if go straight from the bottom, you will enter a high-end shopping district.

 

 

from the bottom...

 

 

 

 

huff, puff - getting there...

 

 

A view from the top!

 

Shortly after, I'm walking along, when all of a sudden...

 

...it's the Roman Pantheon, a remarkable structure in continuous use since the 2nd century!  Are you kidding me?!  Today it is a church.

 

 

I continue walking...

Yes, it is THE Roman Colosseum!

I took a massive amount of photos inside and out.  I'll go with a couple of the best interior shots.  Remember what happened in this place 2000 years ago...

Me!  Me!  It's all about ME!

My attempt to be artsy.

Next door is the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill...

The Roman Forum was the absolute epicenter of ancient Rome.

 

I could've used at least another day in Rome :(

Last, but not least, is Pisa.  Let us start with the Leaning Tower, actually, a bell tower for the next-door cathedral.  I took a ton of pix from every angle and distance I could.  Let's go with these for the exterior (of course, I am featured ;)

Lemme see which one I like best from outside...

I thought I was going to collapse walking the almost 300 steps inside to the top, then I got dizzy descending the same steps in that tight circular pattern.  Another chuckle...I don't speak Italian, but, like French (which I am learning) is similar to Spanish, a fellow Romance language that I happen to understand pretty well.  Anyway, I walk into a tiny little men's store, where the older lady proprietor was chatting with an older couple.  Me and my gym bag didn't fit in too well in small space, I admit.  I tried not to be too much of a bull in a china shop while I tried on hats.  I was going to buy a very nice one, in fact.  However, I got a little ticked off when I heard the lady badmouth me.  I heard a word that, while Italian, could only be a Spanish cognate.  I listened closer and figured out they were talking bad about the 'foreigner'.  Sorry, lady, you blew that sale... 

While doing some research beforehand, everyone said that is nothing else to do or see, that Pisa is otherwise not worth seeing. Well, after spending an afternoon there, I'd have to disagree. It's lacking in other landmarks, yes; however, the city of Pisa is 1000 years old, yet it looks to me as a shining example of what larger American cities are trying to do with their downtowns today.  The whole place is well-planned, well-preserved, walkable...and a whole host of other 'w' words :)  If I were a young urban professional or entrepreneur, I would come here to live and work in an instant.  It was so beautiful along the river as the sun began to set.  But, I had to catch a train back to Milan; I had a date to see The Last Supper before I said arrivederci to Italy.

But, first, a fashion review - after all, Milan is a leading fashion center in the world.  Thumbs up: leggings as pants.  Thumbs down: man purses - sorry, they ain't 'satchels'...

Our final stop is at the Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milano.  Sorry to say, but no photos were allowed in the room where Da Vinci's masterpiece is featured on an end wall of the monastery's refectory.

I will provide, however, a photograph of the very lovely cloister.  You see, Leo didn't want to paint TLS as a fresco, as fresh plaster required fast work.  He instead used a newer technique he was playing with that was not to fare well with the passage of time.  As such, it has to be extremely carefully maintained and protected.  Wait, what is this?!

Relax, it's just a copy in a room next door.  (The real deal is something like 15'x20' or so)  I just wanted one more photo of ME!

Alas, my whirlwind tour of Italy had to come to an end.  Ciao!  I promptly flew home and slept for 18 hours!  Ready to get back to it now.  There are a pair of one-week breaks in February and April.  Hmmm...

"Funny how no matter where I run,
Round every bend I only see,
Just how far I haven't come."