First night in Venice

For the first time all week we woke up at a reasonable hour and since we had already packed there was nothing for us to do. Didn't have a breakfast though because my aunt bought a pastry a few days ago claiming it was filled with chocolate  It was actually filled with cream and nobody wants to eat 4 day old cream. So no breakfast for this guy.

On our way to the train station we didn't have the best luck finding a cab until we saw one waiting behind a streetcar and hurriedly asked him for a ride and he complied. We had to rush though cause there was another streetcar coming up right behind us.

After that debacle, we drove to the station. It was nice to see the city and our driver was very curious about America. Now, I would love to come up with another story for him like I did for the other driver but I am tired…I may do it anyways I need to wake up before dinner. WELL, his name is Guiseppe and he has been interested with America all his life. He loves everything about it -- the Big Mac and the Whopper, football (not socce,r actual American football). His favorite team is the St. Louis Rams, don't ask me why. He even supports the American soccer team instead of Italy's and I don't know why but we suck besides Landon Donavan of course. This fact he was always made fun of for though, until today when he can brag to his friends he taxied an American model to the train station…me. 

Got on our train and being the nice people we are, reunited a family whose girls were sitting in like a four chair/table combination with us as the other two. Also I feel the father was worried about them. Seeing as I was wearing my fedora/shade combination on the train that I was some scary, handsome Italian who would steal away his daughters. Nope. Taken, buddy. But once he saw past the exterior realized I was a nice guy and even gave me my luggage from the upper compartment. Downloaded a couple movies to watch for the train, them being Safehouse and Jeff, Who LIves at Home. Safehouse's sound didn't work which I was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED OVER. Because I love my man Denzel. He is a true champion of acting. The other movie was really good though. Ed Helms/Jason Segal combo killed it. Actually very deep and inspiring. Bravo!

Got on the vaporetto, which is the equivalent of a water bus, on the Grand Canal of Venice which was very busy and crowded. After that tight-closeness we got off at our stop and I believe Janey has found us a real nice place to stay. The apartment is nice. It's split over two floors, so we each have our own space, which is nice. But mine is very small. The size of the loft at our old one, but with a bathroom. It's decent though I'll just spend all my time up here in Aunt Jane's full-size apartment, with terrace by the way. Got a nice tour from our dude, Ettore. You can tell he isn't fully aware of everything going on but it's a nice place, just wasn't totally ready for us. Very hot! Might take a dip in the canal tomorrow. They say it isn't sanitary but how would they know if nobody goes in it? I'll have to test it out I guess. 

Took a tour of our district, Dorsoduro. Really nice with a lot of cool shops of glass and what not. Also gonna have to make some purchases of some of these silk ties they have here. Absolutely love this city. It is so beautiful I'll give you some nice pictures to hopefully wet your palette if you haven't been here already. 

Dinner was fabulous, had pizza again and I can't freaking believe it but it was just as good if not better than the other one I had. We had it on the Zattere which I'll let Jane go into more detail over cause I'm tired. Had a nice little show from an acrobat/tightrobe walker who was very good. Little show with dinner very nice. The view was absolutely amazing this is by far the most beautiful city in the world. Sorry Scotia but you are now #2. Kidding you're like #62,379,619. Had gelato from the apparently best gelatteria in Venice and I can attest for that. I have also had gelato every night here and I plan on doing that as well for the remainder. Well I'm pooped from my first day in Venezia and am going to sleep.

Ciao! 

Aunt Jane's take:

Venice is just as beautiful in the hot summer as it is in the springtime or fall. I was expecting the lagoon to be a little stinky, but it's not. Maybe they save that for August.

Up and out to catch our train this morning. Everett’s right, it was a little hairy finding a cab. For those of you who’ve traveled with me and know what a freak I am about getting to the station early, you can imagine my anxiety level. But it worked out in the end and we made the train no problem.

Everett already told you about our little seat exchange on the train. We were seated across from two teenage American girls whose parents were sitting in the row behind them. And I have to say, Everett is not exaggerating. Those girls' eyes popped out of their heads and their jaws dropped when Mr. Italian-American GQ in his straw fedora took a seat across from them. Their Dad was not thrilled, but the parents were quickly won over when we offered to switch seats with them. Frankly, it would have been a very annoying ride if we hadn’t. They did us a favor.

Anyway, the heat followed us to Venice, but we’re not letting it get us down. After settling into our new digs, we stopped by Da Gino, an old favorite (Bob and MMM, wish you were with us), so I could have a spritz and Ev could have a pannino.

Refueled, we walked through Dorsoduro and San Polo, popping into a few churches, including one of my favorites, Saint Pants to see the cool trompe l'oeil ceiling. Ultimately wound up at the Rialto bridge. We crossed over and then made our way to Piazza San Marco, and then back across the Accademia bridge and home. A good little loop to (re)orient ourselves with Venezia. 



Ev in silhouette on Piazza San Marco.

 At sunset, the church of San Giorgio Maggiore. Check out the bella luna!

A new career for Everett if this whole college business doesn't work out?

Introduced Everett to gelato at Nico on the Zattere, the waterfront side of Venice facing the Giudecca.  I think we'll be making a return visit there.

It’s oddly not crowded. I don’t know if it’s the heat or what, but other than the Rialto bridge, we didn’t feel like there were hordes of touristi everywhere. 

We are both exhausted and we can’t figure out why. We spent the greater part of the day in an air conditioned train, and did about 1/3 of our usual walking today.



Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring!
 
Ciao and buona notte!

Last day in Roma!

Friday, June 29th 2012

Today is our last day in Rome and I am both glad and sad to spend it. I loved every minute spent here but I believe I have done as much as could be done for my 4 days here. Today was more of a day where we just decided what we should do so we got the most out of Roma. To me that meant shopping and seeing the last of the sights. If you know me, you know I like to look good. I was Best Dressed 2012 by the way.

First we went to Campo di Fiori for the purchasing of some gifts for friends and family, and a real nice straw fedora for moi. I don't wanna toot my own horn or anything, so I'll have my aunt do it. She said I was getting many-a-look from the ladies with my sweet fedora/Armani shades combo. Unlucky for them this fella is taken.

Then to the Pantheon which took us like 10 minutes. I mean it was cool but you walk in, take a picture of the light coming through the oculus and then leave. Next was the Trevi Fountain which was very nice but sort of just a fountain with a bunch of Italians in it.

After stopping at some churches during the walk to cool down, we arrived at the Spanish Steps. Which are really nice but mostly for the Italians to relax by. Now I fitted in just fine called out Roberto and Giovanni and a couple guys looked and waved to me…but sadly my aunt cannot blend in very well. She speaks pretty good Italian let me tell you, but her look just radiates tourist. Now this isn't meant as an insult to her. I love the girl, she just isn't European. 

After the Steps we went to a small restaurant for lunch. On the way there we past by many stores too wealthy for one Scotia kid. Gucci, Louis Vitton, and Prada are out of this kids price range. But I could maybe model them, doubt it though. One day I vow to go in those stores and buy at least something…probably a belt. The lunch wasn't much to talk about besides I made a few bird friends by giving them some bread. I named them Finchy, Fred and Estabon. Finchy and Fred looked to be a similar breed but Estabon was just too exotic to give him a boring name. In reality they weren't exotic at all I'm just trying to spice up the day.

Next we went to the Borghese Villa and Gardens which gave us a super duper nice view of Rome. The best view I have seen thus far. One problem about Rome is there aren't many good places for one to take pictures of the whole city. This worked pretty well though. We also walked along the gardens for a little til we got too hot and tired. Then instead of walking the hour it would've taken us to get back to the apartment we took a taxi. Best 14 euros spent so far. 

After a respite at the casa we then headed out on the streets to go shopping in our district. Our district had little to no shopping places we liked. We already had a reservation at our restaurant so we walked around by there waiting for dinner where I had better success shopping. I got a couple nice shirts that are very Italian. Aunt Jane says they're girly but I think they are quite sexy.

We then had an amazing dinner with risotto and veal for me and aunt jane had octopus and tuna tartare. We also sat next to a British couple who were on their honeymoon and had a pleasant conversation with them. We then went home with some gelato and packed for our train ride to Venice in the morning.

Aunt Jane's take:


After last night's experiment with me posting before Everett, I think I like this format better: he writes his impressions and then I get to do damage control for the occasional mis-statement or off-color remark.


For the most part, and once again, he pretty much nails our day. We started out in the Campo di Fiori and experienced Italian market shopping.

Yes, Everett is quite the shopper. Not exactly what I expected from a nephew, but the boy is a champ when it comes to "fare la spesa." I did help him out with some negotiating, but he knows what he wants and goes for it.

As for his remarks about me not "blending in," not quite sure what he's referring to. Capri pants and t-shirts are pretty innocuous travel wear and I would say I probably overly blend in. Am I sporting a fanny pack? No. American sports team garb? No. Socks and Birkenstocks? No. You better check yourself before you wreck yourself, buddy. 

Anyway, here's a picture of Everett Zoolander in front of the Pantheon.

After some lunch, we did MORE shopping, and then walked up to the Borghese gardens where we were treated to some great views of Rome.

Nice picture of Everett, the Piazza del Popolo and St. Peter's in the distance. He does cut quite the handsome figure, I must admit.

Now our bags are packed and we are ready for Venice! Hopefully, it will be a little cooler, but I'm sure no matter what the weather brings, we will have a good time.

Until then, Ciao and Buona Notte!

Day 3: Roma

Day 3: Rome

We thought we'd change things up a bit and Aunt Jane would post first this time and then Everett will post his thoughts on the day's events.

First, we had a bit of a relaxing morning. Jet lag was catching up with us, and we needed a few extra winks. Plus, I had to deal with the laundry.

Most Italian homes have only washers and no dryers (electricity is VERY expensive in Italy). They hang their laundry out to dry. Our flat faces into an interior courtyard, and there is a place to hang your laundry outside of the living room window. Feeling like a proper italian Nonna (minus the all-black outfit, sensible shoes and knee highs), I hung our laundry, praying I didn’t drop someone’s skivvies into the courtyard, six floors below.

Our destination today was back in time to ancient Roma. We walked from our flat, past the Circus Maximus (think NASCAR in the age of Ben Hur) to the Colosseum, which frankly hasn’t changed a whole lot since I first visited in 1986, or in 2004, or 2011.

Given the heat and not wanting to wait in line, we succumbed to the tour guides hawking tours outside the Colosseum. It was Everett’s suggestion and I must say, it was a good one. We skipped the line and were treated to a guided tour that was part stand-up comedy routine part history lesson part bizarre stream-of-consciousness rambling from Roberto, our guide. It was actually pretty good. At least it took our minds off the heat. Pix below.
 

Our tour continued onto Palatine Hill with a new guide, Ian from Scotland. I’ve actually never been to Palatine Hill. Adjacent to the Colosseum and Roman Forum, it was the site of Romulus’s home, the founder, with his brother Remus, of Rome. There’s actually a rather bizarre story involving inter-species relations with a she-wolf and fratricide that is behind the founding of Rome, but I’d rather not get into all that here. Google it or look on Wikipedia (the font of all knowledge) if you want the whole story.

Anyway, Palatine Hill is well worth a visit. Great views and great history. More pix below.

Next stop, the Roman Forum. Also, has not changed much since my first visit. However, NO ONE was there. I think the heat kept them away. I’ve never seen it so deserted. Which was fine by Everett and me. We saw all the great sites -- where Caesar was killed, where he was buried, Caligula’s house, and, of course, the House of the Vestal Virgins. Wow. Talk about a lousy deal those ladies got. Again, if you want to know more, use the Google.




Here's what's left of the Vestal Virgins' house

And the Forum. Notice the hordes of tourists. Not.

At that point, we were not only pooped, but parched. So we found a cafe for a good, but unremarkable lunch.

Refreshed, we resumed our tour with the Capitoline museum. This is a must see if you are interested in ancient Rome. It houses amazing sculpture, as well as some nice paintings. This museum has changed a lot since my first visit 8 years ago. They've done an amazing expansion and update. Really worth a visit.

They also had a great exhibit, Lux in Arcana, secret documents from the Vatican archives. This was really special. We saw the petition sent to the Pope by 81 English nobleman asking that King Henry the VIII’s marriage be annulled (BTW...Henry later had several of those guys executed for treason), documents from Galileo, and other historical figures. It was pretty cool. The only thing missing was the Colonel's secret recipe of herbs and spices that makes his chicken so good.

Pix from the museum below.
 

Aforementioned she-wolf and Romulus and Remus. I think you get the picture.

Back in Trastevere, we met friends of friends for a cocktail, which was really a treat. And then had dinner outside while watching Italia beat Germany. Many restaurants and bars had TVs set up inside and out so that patrons wouldn’t miss a minute of the game. Too much fun!

Now, it’s bedtime. Buona Notte!

Everett's take:

Woke up in the middle of the night around 2 am. Didn't fall asleep til like 4. Then woke up later then I was hoping too, for a to visit Ancient Roma. Luckily the worst part of my day.

Now we visited the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill which were amazing to say the least. I'm a bit of a history nerd so I know a bunch about gladiators and stuff like that. Always thought I'd be a good gladiator. I've been said to have the Moves like Jagger and I don't know how that would translate into gladiator battling buttt I'm assuming pretty freaking well. Got a tour from a guy named Roberto who was funny but kept making jokes about killing virgins and looking at this one chinese girl, who didn't look like a virgin if you know what I'm sayinnn. Creepy to say the least but he was really funny. Also made a lot of anti-women rights jokes which I did not approve of….PYSCH!

Then we took a tour from a Scottish lad named Ian. He was decent but a lot less anti-women's rights jokes. Did tell a pretty crazy story about how they first populated Rome which was pretty good. Also explained the reasoning behind the symbol of the two babies sucking on the teets of a she-wolf, which I didn't have a problem with cause I mean kids gotta eat right? But my aunt would have none of it claiming beastiality and such. Weirdo.

Also befriended a gay couple today. You know I'm not against it. It is legal in New York now sooo.. Anyway they set us up with a reservation to a good restaurant and good enough seats to watch the Italy-Germany game for the semi-finals of the European cup. That game was gooddd. Mario Balotelli is an absolute tank. His first goal as a header which was sweet and the second was just dirts ma gurts. I knew they were going to the finals. Back off all you haters. Will Quandt. Also had a table next to a bunch of Brits. One of there guys would yell "OH SHIT" anytime something was about to happen so I knew when to look up from my delicious dinner of cod fillet and rigatoni with bacon.

Overall a great day in Roma. My favorite part was definitely the Coliseum which I have been looking around Rome and see why they chose to put an Assassin's Creed game here, for all you fans. It's absolutely perfecto. Anyway off to bed after 6 glasses of wine ;). Caio!

Day 2: Rome

Wednesday, June 27 2012

Woke up to a hot day. A real hot day. Probably didn't help that my bed wasn't made. We took care of that one quick, though. We have nicknamed the bathroom the sauna due to the fact that it is hot as balls in there every time we go in. Luckily, the shower is in a room adjacent to said sauna, so entry is not always necessary. 

Now I'm sure all hundreds of thousands of readers of this blog would loveeeee me to post everything we do, but my aunt wants to post stuff herself and she did create this. So I figured I'd give her the credit and allow her to.

There is a really funny story, however, about when we were visiting the Vatican today, which she will allow me to tell. While going through it, we were looking at all the stuff it had in the museum and, for the people who didn't know there was one, like me this morning, there is! In my opinion its not as great as the Louvre but decent.

Anyway we were going through and about halfway she asked if I had to use the bathroom and I didn't. I took that as "okay, she's going to," cause you know about traveling with women. Well, I waited, being a gentleman, for 20 minutes until she never came back. So I went down the hall which I thought the bathroom was down and discovered this was the way towards the end of the museum. WHOOPS. So I backpedaled past families who gave me weird looks, who were obviously thinking that I was going the wrong way but probably thought I was some stupid American and didn't care.

I got back to the room where I had waited beforehand and went down another hallway to where the bathroom actually was. I used it. But turns out my aunt wasn't there either so she must have not used the bathroom. At this point I just sat down and cried. A security guard came over and asked me for help in Italian but he touched me and I got scared, so I ran away. I ran through Vatican City balling my eyes out screaming "Aunt Jane!!!" and tackled a few swiss guards who looked like they were dragging her away. Turns out it was a terrorist and they thought I was involved with the plot. So they took me and the terrorist, Rick, in front of the Pope to be questioned. Why the Pope? I don't know. My theory is it was a plot like in the Da Vinci Code, but failed because they already had Tom Hanks before it even started. I thought I saw him behind a door. Anyway they escorted me back to the Sistine Chapel, which is beautiful by the by some sweet ceiling I think they said Michael J Fox did it..? But I found my auntie there so it all turned out a-okay. Don't know what happened to Rick though, disappointed he wasn't Obi-Wan Kenobi.

To those who actually think this happened…it did except for the crying part. Cause I'm 100% man.

Aunt Jane's take:

Well, Everett seems to have captured the highlights, as usual. Now, not sure if you were able to separate the fact from creative fiction, so I'll offer a few more "real" details of note. 

We spent the morning in our neighborhood. First, having a doppio espresso (for me) and a sweet treat for Everett. Our intent was to meet our venetian landlord (Ettore) to conduct a little business (fare il affari) and also get the lowdown on our next destination, but he had a small emergency and had to depart as soon as he got there, so Ev and I toured around -- bought some beautiful peaches and strawberries in the market, checked out the bakery, etc., until Ettore returned.


Our "affari" complete, we explored Trastevere. First stop was the Church of St. Cecilia, who lived sometime when Christianity was not yet widely accepted in Rome. The daughter of a wealthy family, she announced her religious orientation to her pagan husband on her wedding night and that she planned to remain chaste (must have been an interesting conversation). Ultimately, he converted, too. 

Both were persecuted by the Romans. They tried to kill Cecilia by steaming her in her bathroom (must have been a lot like the "sauna" Everett mentions in our flat), but after three days it still didn't take, so they chopped her head off. Her home was ultimately the site of the present day church you see below. It's quite lovely, and we especially enjoyed the expansive crypt that was cool on this hot, hot day.

Next stop was Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere and the similarly named church, one of Rome's oldest and the first to be named after the Virgin Mary. Pix below.

We stopped for lunch and about 8 gallons of water (did we mention the heat?). I had a lovely seafood salad. Everett enjoyed a puffy pizza for his antipasta and spaghetti with a bunch of shellfish and seafood. I can vouch that his pasta was excellent. Dessert was some yummy fruit sorbet in the hollowed out fruits it came from. Refreshing.

On to the Vatican and St. Peter's. We were lucky to avoid long lines by purchasing our tix in advance online.

 

In addition to great art and the Sistine Chapel, we also had wonderful views of Roman rooftops from the Vatican Museum.

 And, of course, Everett has already regaled you with our little separation. Below is an almost exact replica of how I felt.

St. Peter's square and the basilica were also lovely.

 

Tomorrow, ancient Roma. Until then, Ciao!