Being the neurotic, organized person I am, before I set about traversing Europe, I spent probably 4-6 weeks planning everything. From housing to transportation to estimations on the cost of food, I budgeted for everything. Before I left, I was going to know exactly how much money I would be spending. I knew there would be some additional expenses I wouldn't be able to account for exactly such as night train fees, but even these I put into my budget. What I didn't plan for, which is bad because it made me frustrated that I would have to spend more, was expenses due to unknown fees as well as what I will call "cultural expenses."
Reservation fees for the trains was the first big shocker. The EuroRail Pass was great and all the information provided online was quite helpful in terms of telling me what I needed to do when I got to Europe. In Paris and Italy, most of the trains I would be taking needed advance reservations, so when I got to Paris I went to the train station and made reservations. From what I remember, the EuroRail information said there would be fees for reservations, but I took that to mean that the fees were going to be only a few Euros. NOPE! Some had fees as much as 10-15 while others were as little as 5. And that is PER train ticket, not just for the collective purchase. With all the train travel I had planned on, those fees added up quick and sooner than I could blink I was out 75 Euros.
Another un-thought-of expense: internet. Some of the hostels I stayed in were really nice and had free internet. Some were not as nice and made you pay. And the fee was, in my opinion, a little high. Something like 1Euro for 10 minutes. Then when the hostels didn't have internet, or I needed to kill time and didn't feel like reading for fear of dozing off, I ventured into the internet cafes and depending on the location, some were nice (4Euro+soda for 1 hour) and some where pricey (5Euro for 30 minutes, I think). Though I probably could have done without some of those visits and held myself back from paying at the hostels, I am a sucker for the internet, and did, on many occasions need it to communicate with Anne in Vienna.
Lastly, there were the "cultural expenses." There were 2 that I encountered that, while I love many aspects of Europe, these things made me miss home a LOT: 1) Paying to pee and 2) Paying for tap water. I call these "cultural expenses" because almost all the other things I spent money on are kinds of things I would spend money on back home in the USA: reservation fees, museum entrance tickets, etc. Paying to pee and paying for tap water are both things I've never seen at home and have attributed as ways of the Europeans.
To me, going to the bathroom is part of human nature. Heck its part of all breathing creature's nature. Therefore, no one should have to pay a fee to use a facility that is built for this aspect of human nature. That's just cruel. What if I didn't have change on me, and my bowel decided to go on an adventure one morning? Or my monthly visitor decided to come a little early? What would I do then? The cities of Europe don't want me to relieve myself on the street corner, do they? No...because its unsanitary and I would get arrested. Therefore, you shouldn't have to pay to pee. It's just cruel. Especially in a train station!
Water is another thing I think is ridiculous to pay for when it doesn't come in a bottle. Before ordering water in the Italian restaurants I went to with Anne and Lauren, we had to ask if the it cost anything. If it did, I wasn't getting it. I had my water bottle on me and would gladly drink from that instead. We're already paying for the food and service, so I was not going to pay for water I could get by going into their bathroom and refilling my water bottle from the faucet.
I don't know where either of these "cultural expenses" come from and why they are in place, but I don't like them. I know someone could probably tell me why there are fees like this, but it doesn't make them any less annoying.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
when the bright angel dominates, out comes a great work of art, a michelangelo david or a beethoven symphony - madeleine l'engle
We descended the tower after soaking in the city and headed to the Galleria dell'Accademia. As I said before, everything in Florence had an admission price on the higher end and this museum was no different. Though the Ufizi Museum in Florence is better known and actually looked more interesting, the Accademia was the home of Michaelangelo's David and so if we could only choose one over the other, Accademia it was. David made the admission worth it. My only recollection of the other artwork was "eh." What stuck out most was that I first noticed the faces of the people in Renaissance art were all the same. Men's faces, unless there was facial hair, looked the same as women's. There was also a special photography exhibit which included nude photographs highlighting the greatness of the human body. Between them and David, the museum really had an ode to the gorgeousness of the human body going on.
Before seeing David, I only knew a couple things about him. 1) There was a copy in a piazza somewhere else in Florence and 2) He is the David from the David vs. Goliath story. As I turned the bend leading to his location, I was in shock by how tall he was. Almost 8 feet tall, David stands strong, contemplating life. He's absolutely astounding. Not only is his body close to perfection, but the detail carved into the model is pitch-perfect. Somehow, Michaelangelo was able to carve the veins the run down David's outer forearm. It's magical. He looks so real. I walk around him a couple times and stare and stare and stare. And I swear I see a movement from his arm or leg. If he wasn't gray, I might have thought it was a real life model standing before me. David is so indescribably beautiful. Sad to leave, I knew I couldn't spend all day drooling so we parted ways and I bought a couple of postcards in memory of the perfect man.
The Medici Chapels were next but at this point I don't think anything in Florence could top David. The admission price here was also on the high end, and more expensive than Fodors had led us to believe so it was a little depressing for me when we bought our tickets. I don't like being fed false information so it was from this point on where I knew to not trust the guidebooks completely. Not only was the admission on the high end, but there wasn't that much to see. As we got there only 10 minutes before it closed, we thought that maybe we had missed a section or something because the ticket price was so high for such a small thing, but I don't think we did. The main chapel was pretty neat and different than other churches because it was all round and not rectangular in shape. However, it was under restoration so scaffolding was covering about 1/3 of the place and a few statues and pieces of artwork were missing from their homes. The most interesting part of the Medici Chapels was the side room that had tombs carved by Michaelangelo. We weren't allowed pictures so I don't remember the details of them well but I remember really enjoying them. According to my notes, there was a statue of half a man that I thought was really cool.
From the Medici Chapels we wondered through the Piazza della Repubblica with its carousel all lit up and then onto the Piazza della Signoria (home of Palazza Vecchio) where I finally got a picture with David as it's the location of the replica statue.
There were some other very interesting sculptures in the piazza as well and we spent a bit of time admiring them.
By the time we reached Ponte Vecchio it was almost completely dark and the covered bridge filled with small stores was lit up and reflecting beautifully in the still river. 
Dinner was had at a restaurant on the early side (which was nice as no one was there) and I had the most delicious Pasta Bolgonese ever. My first, true real meal...ahh, delicious! As we made our way back to the hotel, we passed through the Mercato and were almost plowed over by 2 men who were trying to sell knock-off bags which is VERY illegal. Anne suggested they were running from the cops but I thought that was a little absurd. Nope, a few feet in front of us they mentioned the word police...haha.
Before seeing David, I only knew a couple things about him. 1) There was a copy in a piazza somewhere else in Florence and 2) He is the David from the David vs. Goliath story. As I turned the bend leading to his location, I was in shock by how tall he was. Almost 8 feet tall, David stands strong, contemplating life. He's absolutely astounding. Not only is his body close to perfection, but the detail carved into the model is pitch-perfect. Somehow, Michaelangelo was able to carve the veins the run down David's outer forearm. It's magical. He looks so real. I walk around him a couple times and stare and stare and stare. And I swear I see a movement from his arm or leg. If he wasn't gray, I might have thought it was a real life model standing before me. David is so indescribably beautiful. Sad to leave, I knew I couldn't spend all day drooling so we parted ways and I bought a couple of postcards in memory of the perfect man.
The Medici Chapels were next but at this point I don't think anything in Florence could top David. The admission price here was also on the high end, and more expensive than Fodors had led us to believe so it was a little depressing for me when we bought our tickets. I don't like being fed false information so it was from this point on where I knew to not trust the guidebooks completely. Not only was the admission on the high end, but there wasn't that much to see. As we got there only 10 minutes before it closed, we thought that maybe we had missed a section or something because the ticket price was so high for such a small thing, but I don't think we did. The main chapel was pretty neat and different than other churches because it was all round and not rectangular in shape. However, it was under restoration so scaffolding was covering about 1/3 of the place and a few statues and pieces of artwork were missing from their homes. The most interesting part of the Medici Chapels was the side room that had tombs carved by Michaelangelo. We weren't allowed pictures so I don't remember the details of them well but I remember really enjoying them. According to my notes, there was a statue of half a man that I thought was really cool.From the Medici Chapels we wondered through the Piazza della Repubblica with its carousel all lit up and then onto the Piazza della Signoria (home of Palazza Vecchio) where I finally got a picture with David as it's the location of the replica statue.
There were some other very interesting sculptures in the piazza as well and we spent a bit of time admiring them.
By the time we reached Ponte Vecchio it was almost completely dark and the covered bridge filled with small stores was lit up and reflecting beautifully in the still river. 
Dinner was had at a restaurant on the early side (which was nice as no one was there) and I had the most delicious Pasta Bolgonese ever. My first, true real meal...ahh, delicious! As we made our way back to the hotel, we passed through the Mercato and were almost plowed over by 2 men who were trying to sell knock-off bags which is VERY illegal. Anne suggested they were running from the cops but I thought that was a little absurd. Nope, a few feet in front of us they mentioned the word police...haha.
a traveler without observation is a bird without wings - moslih eddin saadi
We arrived back in Florence around noon and immediately began sightseeing. The Duomo complex was first and it was really magnificent. Though the interior wasn't terribly spectacular save for the frescoes on the dome ceiling, the facade of the cathedral, battistero and campanile (bell tower) were fabulous. The white and black with splashes of pink marble created a gorgeous pattern of stone. The brightness of the stone really contrasted well with the bright red roofs of the city allowing for the buildings to really stand out. After seeing a similar style of architecture in Siena, I assumed this was a Tuscan thing since Rome had nothing like this and when we went to Venice later, the architecture was vastly different. In addition, the carving work, though not as intense as Notre Dame, was still worthy of great praise.
As I said above, the interior of the cathedral wasn't that interesting. Like most other European churches there were side chapels containing statues, tombs and paintings and the rest of the cathedral was open and empty. There were only a few pews set up but this may be so in high tourist season it doesn't get too crowded.
The frescoes on the dome ceiling were really pretty and I wish I'd gotten a picture in focus. The colors were bright with lots of yellows and blues. The layout of the frescoes were unique as well since it had concentric circles, each with different images in the layers. Another unique facet of the Duomo was that the gift shop was in the basement adjacent to the tomb entrance. All the original foundation stonework is there so they have items laid out on rocks jutting out of the walls.
One thing that I didn't like about Florence was that everything had an admission price, unlike a lot of places in Rome which were free, and that the admission prices weren't 2-4 Euros, but 6-8 which puts a damper in plans when you're on a budget. The Duomo admission prices were no different so we had to decide whether to spend our money to climb the Duomo (485? steps) or the Campanile. A hostel roommate of mine in Rome told to me that if you could only do one, the Campanile is the better option because you get a view of the famous Red Roof Dome. If you're on the Dome, yes you're a little higher and you might feel more accomplished, but you don't get to see it in all its glory. Therefore, to the Campanile we went. By this point I was getting much better at climbing stairs in an efficient manner without losing my breath after 10 steps and not slowing down the people behind me. Even so, the different floors of the Campanile offered a nice breaking point and I got to see the carvings alongside the Duomo really close up.
From the top of the tower the 360 degree view of Florence was gorgeous! Red roofs seemed to go into the distance forever, much like Siena so it must be another Tuscan thing.
From the roof we had a wonderful view of the Dome on the Duomo, we could see the Medici Chapels, Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Repubblica, and Santa Croce, all places we had yet to visit. 
Seeing the layout of the city beforehand helped me a lot because when you're in a foreign city, knowing where things are in relation to one another helps a lot with direction. I also saw how small Florence was in comparison to Rome and Paris. Most things we were going to, or wanted to see, were within 15-20 minutes walking distance.
As I said above, the interior of the cathedral wasn't that interesting. Like most other European churches there were side chapels containing statues, tombs and paintings and the rest of the cathedral was open and empty. There were only a few pews set up but this may be so in high tourist season it doesn't get too crowded.
The frescoes on the dome ceiling were really pretty and I wish I'd gotten a picture in focus. The colors were bright with lots of yellows and blues. The layout of the frescoes were unique as well since it had concentric circles, each with different images in the layers. Another unique facet of the Duomo was that the gift shop was in the basement adjacent to the tomb entrance. All the original foundation stonework is there so they have items laid out on rocks jutting out of the walls.One thing that I didn't like about Florence was that everything had an admission price, unlike a lot of places in Rome which were free, and that the admission prices weren't 2-4 Euros, but 6-8 which puts a damper in plans when you're on a budget. The Duomo admission prices were no different so we had to decide whether to spend our money to climb the Duomo (485? steps) or the Campanile. A hostel roommate of mine in Rome told to me that if you could only do one, the Campanile is the better option because you get a view of the famous Red Roof Dome. If you're on the Dome, yes you're a little higher and you might feel more accomplished, but you don't get to see it in all its glory. Therefore, to the Campanile we went. By this point I was getting much better at climbing stairs in an efficient manner without losing my breath after 10 steps and not slowing down the people behind me. Even so, the different floors of the Campanile offered a nice breaking point and I got to see the carvings alongside the Duomo really close up.
From the top of the tower the 360 degree view of Florence was gorgeous! Red roofs seemed to go into the distance forever, much like Siena so it must be another Tuscan thing.
From the roof we had a wonderful view of the Dome on the Duomo, we could see the Medici Chapels, Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Repubblica, and Santa Croce, all places we had yet to visit. 
Seeing the layout of the city beforehand helped me a lot because when you're in a foreign city, knowing where things are in relation to one another helps a lot with direction. I also saw how small Florence was in comparison to Rome and Paris. Most things we were going to, or wanted to see, were within 15-20 minutes walking distance.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
leaning tower of...pizza?
The train arrived in Florence on time and the city was bustling as I made my way down the main street. I had met an American family on the train who were returning to Florence after visiting Siena for the day and the parents said they would point me in the right direction since they'd been in the city for a few days now. I thought "what the hell? this is nice" and followed them. They pointed out a couple of the major areas and by the time we reached the river I realized they had taken me completely out of the way. I was about 2 bridges south of where I wanted to be. Normally I wouldn't have minded, but Florence is an old city with almost all of the roads and sidewalks being cobblestone. I was traveling with small carry-on rolling suitcase. Let's just say it wasn't easy, and one of wheels barely survived. And by the time I arrived at my hostel I was extremely relieved. Though the river was gorgeous at night and I took a moment to appreciate it, the extra walk was not what I had in mind after a long day already stricken with plenty of lost-ness.
The next morning was a very early one. Anne and Lauren were arriving from Vienna after an all-night train ride so I had to meet them at the station. Florence in the early morning hours was completely different than the previous night. Empty and silent, there was almost no one out and about. I met up with them on schedule and after walking to our hotel and dropping our bags off we headed back out and off to Pisa. Only an hour from Florence by train, we took the time to catch up and ended up reminiscing about how we learned to multiply. Anne learned the most bizarre way I have ever seen. Which is weird since we went to the same school...
We didn't spend much time in Pisa but it seemed like a very relaxed and laid back city. It's small, therefore it felt a lot like Tours, France; a residential city rather than a center of everything one. The Tower, Battisterto and Duomo is about a 5-10 minute walk from the train station and in a very nice area. It's nice and spread out and the rest of the city isn't towering around it. There's room to breathe and admire. The weather was gorgeous, with the bright blue sky only enhancing the beautiful, carved, white stone of the buildings. Even cooler was the old ancient city wall which sits around the far side of the complex.
Initially, the tower doesn't really look like it's leaning but as we walked around it the angle changed and you definitely see the shifted foundation. Because it kept changing I kept thinking my mind was playing tricks on me or something and it was all just an illusion. Nope, it is definitely leaning. Another thing I thought was interesting was that it wasn't very tall. Compared to the size of Pisa's other buildings, it was a little bit taller so it may provide a nice city view, but compared to the Eiffel Tower or even the tower on Notre Dame or the Cupola of St. Peter's, the tower wasn't tall at all. Maybe only 4 stories or so...
Inside the Duomo, there wasn't much of a difference compared to the other Italian churches. A beautifully carved ceiling, a wonderfully painted dome, the altar, side chapels and large paintings adorning the walls. Here, I liked the carved ceiling the best. There was variety in the carvings and as a whole they created a pattern which was visually stunning.
On our way back to the station, we crossed the river once again and the reflection was so picture perfect I had to stop and stare in awe. I can't remember seeing anything like it before. The water was still, nothing disturbing it floating up or down. No trash, boats, people, animals. Nothing. Its mirror properties were outstanding and the reflection was one of my favorite images to capture.
The next morning was a very early one. Anne and Lauren were arriving from Vienna after an all-night train ride so I had to meet them at the station. Florence in the early morning hours was completely different than the previous night. Empty and silent, there was almost no one out and about. I met up with them on schedule and after walking to our hotel and dropping our bags off we headed back out and off to Pisa. Only an hour from Florence by train, we took the time to catch up and ended up reminiscing about how we learned to multiply. Anne learned the most bizarre way I have ever seen. Which is weird since we went to the same school...
We didn't spend much time in Pisa but it seemed like a very relaxed and laid back city. It's small, therefore it felt a lot like Tours, France; a residential city rather than a center of everything one. The Tower, Battisterto and Duomo is about a 5-10 minute walk from the train station and in a very nice area. It's nice and spread out and the rest of the city isn't towering around it. There's room to breathe and admire. The weather was gorgeous, with the bright blue sky only enhancing the beautiful, carved, white stone of the buildings. Even cooler was the old ancient city wall which sits around the far side of the complex.
Initially, the tower doesn't really look like it's leaning but as we walked around it the angle changed and you definitely see the shifted foundation. Because it kept changing I kept thinking my mind was playing tricks on me or something and it was all just an illusion. Nope, it is definitely leaning. Another thing I thought was interesting was that it wasn't very tall. Compared to the size of Pisa's other buildings, it was a little bit taller so it may provide a nice city view, but compared to the Eiffel Tower or even the tower on Notre Dame or the Cupola of St. Peter's, the tower wasn't tall at all. Maybe only 4 stories or so...
Inside the Duomo, there wasn't much of a difference compared to the other Italian churches. A beautifully carved ceiling, a wonderfully painted dome, the altar, side chapels and large paintings adorning the walls. Here, I liked the carved ceiling the best. There was variety in the carvings and as a whole they created a pattern which was visually stunning.
On our way back to the station, we crossed the river once again and the reflection was so picture perfect I had to stop and stare in awe. I can't remember seeing anything like it before. The water was still, nothing disturbing it floating up or down. No trash, boats, people, animals. Nothing. Its mirror properties were outstanding and the reflection was one of my favorite images to capture.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
ramblings on the language barrier
As an English language speaker, I knew there would be a language barrier from the moment I stepped onto European soil. First it was French where I was limited to knowing only a few phrases: "yes," "do you speak," "excuse me" and "thank you." As I was in Paris where English translations and bi-lingual citizens are common I didn't have trouble unless I was a train station (which I find funny as station workers interact with so many people, many of whom are probably foreign). When I bought my train tickets for my journey to Italy, the attendant didn't speak English well and even though it seemed like we communicated well enough, I ended up getting a ticket for the wrong date.
The morning I traveled to Tours, France I spent time at the station ticket windows trying to clarify or possibly change my overnight ticket to Italy. I went to 3 different windows, each subsequently sending me away to another window that were for English speakers and who could deal with the problem at the same time. Finally, when I arrived back in Paris, a Metro worker told me there was luggage storage at the Bercy station. There wasn't. I should have relied on the research I did at home. From then on I was going to do my best to not believe foreigners responses to my questions if I knew they didn't speak English well.
I had no problem with Italian in Rome, but the second I reached Siena I ran into many problems. Though Siena is a city, it is small compared to Rome therefore like many places, the farther you get from the metropolises the harder it is to find English. My attempts at communicating with the bus dude resulted in me believing that I could take any bus and it would take me to Piazza Gramsci. As I recounted here, it didn't.
The entire bus system is itself, a language barrier. Even when I was living in Tokyo, our orientation leaders advised us not to take the busses, or attempt to understand the bus system, unless we knew each bus' destination or could read and understand Japanese. Similarly, in Siena, the schedules were all in Italian, the driver only spoke in Italian, and even then he didn't announce the stops. Bus systems just don't cater to English speaking tourists. Therefore, in regards to Siena specifically, if you only speak English, I suggest bringing a map and walk despite the hills, or cough up the money and take a cab. My day certainly would have been less stressful.
Lucky for me, my language barrier problems ended in Siena and I had no problems throughout the rest of Italy and later in Germany and Austria. Though I knew less German than I did French and Italian, I learned from my earlier mistakes and changed my travel behaviors accordingly. It made for a less stressful vacation and if I ever go abroad again I will know how best to avoid all language barrier problems.
The morning I traveled to Tours, France I spent time at the station ticket windows trying to clarify or possibly change my overnight ticket to Italy. I went to 3 different windows, each subsequently sending me away to another window that were for English speakers and who could deal with the problem at the same time. Finally, when I arrived back in Paris, a Metro worker told me there was luggage storage at the Bercy station. There wasn't. I should have relied on the research I did at home. From then on I was going to do my best to not believe foreigners responses to my questions if I knew they didn't speak English well.
I had no problem with Italian in Rome, but the second I reached Siena I ran into many problems. Though Siena is a city, it is small compared to Rome therefore like many places, the farther you get from the metropolises the harder it is to find English. My attempts at communicating with the bus dude resulted in me believing that I could take any bus and it would take me to Piazza Gramsci. As I recounted here, it didn't.
The entire bus system is itself, a language barrier. Even when I was living in Tokyo, our orientation leaders advised us not to take the busses, or attempt to understand the bus system, unless we knew each bus' destination or could read and understand Japanese. Similarly, in Siena, the schedules were all in Italian, the driver only spoke in Italian, and even then he didn't announce the stops. Bus systems just don't cater to English speaking tourists. Therefore, in regards to Siena specifically, if you only speak English, I suggest bringing a map and walk despite the hills, or cough up the money and take a cab. My day certainly would have been less stressful.
Lucky for me, my language barrier problems ended in Siena and I had no problems throughout the rest of Italy and later in Germany and Austria. Though I knew less German than I did French and Italian, I learned from my earlier mistakes and changed my travel behaviors accordingly. It made for a less stressful vacation and if I ever go abroad again I will know how best to avoid all language barrier problems.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
most of my treasured memories of travel are recollections of sitting - robert thomas allen
One week down...In 7 days I had seen Paris, Pompei, and Rome. Next up was meeting my sister, Anne, and her roommate, Lauren, in Florence. But since it was only Thursday (Thanksgiving, actually) and I wasn't meeting them until Friday morning, it meant I had a day to kill. I had spent enough time in Rome for my purposes and had seen most of what I wanted to on my budget so to Siena I went.
While in Italy I wanted to see some of the Tuscan countryside if I could, and though Siena was a city, it gave me the chance to see Tuscany while not being surrounded by cars and masses of people. And little did I know, that I would see a lot more of the area than I expected. I arrived around 10 or so if I remember correctly and according to a google search I'd done, there was baggage storage at the train station. When I asked the workers at the station about it they said they didn't have any in the station but there was storage at a Piazza Gramsci.
One thing that is important to know about Siena is that it is built amongst the hills. Therefore, my original plan of walking to the Duomo was not going to happen, especially if I had to roll my suitcase up the hills. So I go to the bus guy and as him what busses got to Piazza Gramsci. His English is VERY limited and I don't know if he ever fully understood my question. He told me all of the busses go there. The second I step out of the station there is a bus waiting to go. Going against all my instincts of checking the schedule and routes, I hop on and pray it goes to Gramsci.
We pull out and I have a general idea in the direction of the downtown area and we head in the complete opposite direction. Lo and behold we do not go to Gramsci. We drive around the outskirts of the city and it ends up being a nice bus tour of the area, but its quite frustrating that it doesn't go anywhere near where I want. When we pull back into the train station an hour later I get off and find a bus that will take me to where I want. By this point, I also never paid for that first bus ride which was really confusing so I end up buying a ticket this time as you're supposed to do before you get on.
The next bus I get on heads in the right direction, yay! NOT, since busses don't announce the stops and you have to know where you're going. I try and count the stops but as it doesn't stop at every stop that proves useless. We stop at a busy area and almost everyone gets off. I should have trusted my instincts and gotten off, especially since I could have easily gotten back on a different bus without paying again if it turned out to be the wrong place. However, right before we stopped we passed a piazza sign that wasn't Gramsci so I assumed this wasn't correct. Oh it was Gramsci I later learned.
So I ride the bus for a little longer and decide I need to get off and maybe I can figure it all out once I'm off the bus. Nope...I just start walking and end up in another more ritzy outskirts of the city (the "burbs"), which I later realize was on a completely different hill/section of the city where I wanted to be. After 30 minutes of wandering I find a bus stop and ask the woman there if this goes to Gramsci. She speaks English really well and assures me it does. YAY!!! So I get on and we head to Gramsci. She's kind enough to let me know this is the stop and I have finally arrived. I find the underground area used for bathrooms and luggage storage and its the most gosh darn expensive luggage storage ever!! BOOO!
Collecting myself, I move onto Piazza del Campo and the Duomo. From this point on, my visit to Siena got much better and I loved the layout of the city. Tight, small streets with almost no vehicles sit upon the hill and there's a lot of up and down walking. I enter the Piazza del Campo, a very famous piazza where they have a horse race once a year. The piazza is at an angle and is kind of like a shallow bowl...really neat.
I follow signs for the Duomo and it's hard to miss. The massive church sits at the peak of the hill and is a beautiful combination of stone and white and black marble. The white and black marble stripes I later learn very common among the architecture of Tuscan churches.
Inside, the massive cathedral is beautiful and is even striped inside. There are busts of all the popes, I think, along the top of the walls and the dome is painted beautifully.
There are gorgeous marble designs in the floor, particularly one of Romulus and Remus with the wolf which is the symbol of Siena. The pulpit is really spectacular; it looks like a carved marble mini carousel ride outside of BJs. But obviously not an actual carousel.
There's also a side room with a beautiful ceiling and has really really really old documents preserved.
I move onto the next part of the Duomo complex which is the Museo and it's pretty interesting. All of the artwork was religious themed but it was different than what I'd seen in Rome. The best part of this building was the tower/lookout they have. There's not too many stairs to climb since you start on the third floor and as the duomo is already on a high point of the hill, it doesn't take much height to be higher than the rest of the buildings. The lookout was wonderful and had two levels to it. To get to the upper level you walk through a teeny passageway onto the stairs.
From the top lookout you could see forever into the rolling hills of Tuscany. The farmlands and the vineyards...everything. It was gorgeous! There's also a great view of the church and of Piazza del Campo.
Because I had no other plans to see anything in particular besides the Duomo complex, I took the time to relax, clear my mind and enjoy the gorgeous, wonderful views. The wind made it a little chilly but I didn't care. I wish I could have stayed longer, but after 30-45 minutes I had to move on. The crypt and battistero were next and though interesting, there wasn't anything spectacular about either of them. I think it was this crypt that made me realize there wasn't anything special about crypts so unless it was free, I didn't need to visit anymore. The battistero on the other hand was a new feature to the ancient churches that I hadn't seen before but after just one, I was satisfied with not going to anymore. What I liked most was the innate carving and use of pink marble with the black and white on on the exterior of the battistero. Really pretty!
I still had some time before I needed to get my bag, ride back to the station and head to Florence for the night so I walked around the Piazze del Campo, got gelato, loved my gelato and walked around the shopping streets.
I visited a neat little bookstore and was shocked at how many more people were out and about after sundown than there were when I got there only a few hours before. The bus ride back to the train station is slow because of traffic, but its not bad. The train ride up to Florence gives me time to reflect about the day and I decide it definitely wasn't a total washout. I got to see the Duomo and Piazza del Campo, and I have now seen artwork by all 4 of the Ninja Turtles. I also got to see parts of Tuscany I never would have had I not gotten lost. All in all, not as bad a day as it might seem.
While in Italy I wanted to see some of the Tuscan countryside if I could, and though Siena was a city, it gave me the chance to see Tuscany while not being surrounded by cars and masses of people. And little did I know, that I would see a lot more of the area than I expected. I arrived around 10 or so if I remember correctly and according to a google search I'd done, there was baggage storage at the train station. When I asked the workers at the station about it they said they didn't have any in the station but there was storage at a Piazza Gramsci.
One thing that is important to know about Siena is that it is built amongst the hills. Therefore, my original plan of walking to the Duomo was not going to happen, especially if I had to roll my suitcase up the hills. So I go to the bus guy and as him what busses got to Piazza Gramsci. His English is VERY limited and I don't know if he ever fully understood my question. He told me all of the busses go there. The second I step out of the station there is a bus waiting to go. Going against all my instincts of checking the schedule and routes, I hop on and pray it goes to Gramsci.
We pull out and I have a general idea in the direction of the downtown area and we head in the complete opposite direction. Lo and behold we do not go to Gramsci. We drive around the outskirts of the city and it ends up being a nice bus tour of the area, but its quite frustrating that it doesn't go anywhere near where I want. When we pull back into the train station an hour later I get off and find a bus that will take me to where I want. By this point, I also never paid for that first bus ride which was really confusing so I end up buying a ticket this time as you're supposed to do before you get on.
The next bus I get on heads in the right direction, yay! NOT, since busses don't announce the stops and you have to know where you're going. I try and count the stops but as it doesn't stop at every stop that proves useless. We stop at a busy area and almost everyone gets off. I should have trusted my instincts and gotten off, especially since I could have easily gotten back on a different bus without paying again if it turned out to be the wrong place. However, right before we stopped we passed a piazza sign that wasn't Gramsci so I assumed this wasn't correct. Oh it was Gramsci I later learned.
So I ride the bus for a little longer and decide I need to get off and maybe I can figure it all out once I'm off the bus. Nope...I just start walking and end up in another more ritzy outskirts of the city (the "burbs"), which I later realize was on a completely different hill/section of the city where I wanted to be. After 30 minutes of wandering I find a bus stop and ask the woman there if this goes to Gramsci. She speaks English really well and assures me it does. YAY!!! So I get on and we head to Gramsci. She's kind enough to let me know this is the stop and I have finally arrived. I find the underground area used for bathrooms and luggage storage and its the most gosh darn expensive luggage storage ever!! BOOO!
Collecting myself, I move onto Piazza del Campo and the Duomo. From this point on, my visit to Siena got much better and I loved the layout of the city. Tight, small streets with almost no vehicles sit upon the hill and there's a lot of up and down walking. I enter the Piazza del Campo, a very famous piazza where they have a horse race once a year. The piazza is at an angle and is kind of like a shallow bowl...really neat.
I follow signs for the Duomo and it's hard to miss. The massive church sits at the peak of the hill and is a beautiful combination of stone and white and black marble. The white and black marble stripes I later learn very common among the architecture of Tuscan churches.
Inside, the massive cathedral is beautiful and is even striped inside. There are busts of all the popes, I think, along the top of the walls and the dome is painted beautifully.
There are gorgeous marble designs in the floor, particularly one of Romulus and Remus with the wolf which is the symbol of Siena. The pulpit is really spectacular; it looks like a carved marble mini carousel ride outside of BJs. But obviously not an actual carousel.
There's also a side room with a beautiful ceiling and has really really really old documents preserved.
I move onto the next part of the Duomo complex which is the Museo and it's pretty interesting. All of the artwork was religious themed but it was different than what I'd seen in Rome. The best part of this building was the tower/lookout they have. There's not too many stairs to climb since you start on the third floor and as the duomo is already on a high point of the hill, it doesn't take much height to be higher than the rest of the buildings. The lookout was wonderful and had two levels to it. To get to the upper level you walk through a teeny passageway onto the stairs.
From the top lookout you could see forever into the rolling hills of Tuscany. The farmlands and the vineyards...everything. It was gorgeous! There's also a great view of the church and of Piazza del Campo.
Because I had no other plans to see anything in particular besides the Duomo complex, I took the time to relax, clear my mind and enjoy the gorgeous, wonderful views. The wind made it a little chilly but I didn't care. I wish I could have stayed longer, but after 30-45 minutes I had to move on. The crypt and battistero were next and though interesting, there wasn't anything spectacular about either of them. I think it was this crypt that made me realize there wasn't anything special about crypts so unless it was free, I didn't need to visit anymore. The battistero on the other hand was a new feature to the ancient churches that I hadn't seen before but after just one, I was satisfied with not going to anymore. What I liked most was the innate carving and use of pink marble with the black and white on on the exterior of the battistero. Really pretty!
I still had some time before I needed to get my bag, ride back to the station and head to Florence for the night so I walked around the Piazze del Campo, got gelato, loved my gelato and walked around the shopping streets.
I visited a neat little bookstore and was shocked at how many more people were out and about after sundown than there were when I got there only a few hours before. The bus ride back to the train station is slow because of traffic, but its not bad. The train ride up to Florence gives me time to reflect about the day and I decide it definitely wasn't a total washout. I got to see the Duomo and Piazza del Campo, and I have now seen artwork by all 4 of the Ninja Turtles. I also got to see parts of Tuscany I never would have had I not gotten lost. All in all, not as bad a day as it might seem.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)