Momster
Sharon B. Juhnke Joined: June 23rd 2008
Logged in: October 26th 2011
Logged in: October 26th 2011
Travel Blog Posts
The Duomo, Milan
Our day and a half spent in Milan were quite a contrast to the previous few in Cinque Terre! Back in a big city, we readjusted quickly to the pace and hit the ground running... After a tortuous three hour train ride, where we were plagued with luggage storage problems, we arrived to blue skies in Milan, and decided to take advantage of the good weather (since rain was predicted for the next day) and squeeze in some sight seeing before dark. We easily mastered the user-friendly metro system and headed to the Duomo. We waded through the hordes of tourists crowding the piazza, wandered through the massive interior of the church, then climbed up to the roof, where amazing views awaited amidst the stone spires, saints, and gargoyles... The next day, we returned to the ... read more
Morning Harbor Scene
We decided to spend our last morning exploring Vernazza's sights--something we really hadn't taken the time to do so far--and then ride the ferry between the towns during the afternoon, to get a different "perspective", literally, on the area. This made for a more relaxed day, although we got our hiking fix, by walking the trail straight up the hill above the town--gotta get in that "stairs work"! Dinner was at a highly recommended restaurant, Al Castello, perched high on the cliff above the harbor just below the castle ruins. Unfortunately, it was nearly deserted, no view since it was dark this time of year, and the clear plastic sheeting "walls", which probably would have been rolled up during the summer, let in very cold drafts. The few diners ate in silence huddled in their coats. ... read more
Sunny Skies Over Vernazza
We woke to glorious sunshine and felt energized to attempt the more difficult section of the Cinque Terre trail between Vernazza and Monterossa, the northern most town. Although shorter in length than yesterday's hikes, it was a steeper and longer climb up to and down from the trail at each end. Breath-taking views abounded that our photos don't do justice to. The clear blue skies intensified the color of the water and the coastline just popped. And wow, was it crowded! This is supposed to be the off-season, people--why are you all here??? Nothing could take away from the spectacular scenery, however. We thoroughly enjoyed this hike, and I was thrilled that despite my lingering cold (and resulting lack of sleep), I dominated all those "stairs" on the trail. We enjoyed meandering through Monterossa, which is ... read more
Blustery Morning in Vernazza
We were awoken in the middle of the night by a loud crash, followed by an unidentifiable eerie howling noise. Puzzled, I quickly stuck my head out the door and was nearly blown back into the room. We were in the midst of a roaring windstorm that had not only knocked over the furniture on our rooftop deck, but was rushing through the train tunnel below us creating the weirdest noise--a louder version of the sound you get from blowing into a bottle. Once we figured out what was happening, we returned to sleep, but the wind didn't let up and was pretty consistent throughout the next day. Nonetheless, we didn't let us stop us from our plan to hike part of the coastal trail that links the five towns, and is not only a national ... read more
Arrival in Cinque Terre
We were awoken in the very early morning by an intense thunder and lightening storm. Eventually we gave up on sleep, got busy packing, then caught the late morning train to Vernazza in the Cinque Terre area along the coast of Italy. The skies were clearing when we arrived in the mid-afternoon, and we found the enoteca where we were to meet Giuliano of "Camere Giuliano", our home for the next few days. He helped us carry our bags--good thing since it was all uphill and up lots of stairs to reach his 4 rooms carved out of the terraces that rise above the town--and we settled into our room. Next on the agenda was to buy some wine, bread and pesto (that the area is known for) to enjoy on our rooftop deck, with its ... read more
Orsanmichele Church
We spent our final day in Florence with Chris, starting with one of the most enjoyable tourist activities in the city--drinking hot chocolate at the Cafe Rivoire in the Piazza della Signoria. Feeling fortified, we headed along the Arno River to the location one of the pedestrian walkways up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. I was stunned to find the Piazzale filled with cars, tour buses, souvenir stands, and hordes of people! Not how I remembered it from my student days, where it was a quiet refuge overlooking the city. We headed a bit further up the hill to San Miniato al Monte Church, which was beautiful inside, but with Mass going on, we only took a quick look. We enjoyed some more great views of Florence, then headed back down to the river and across town ... read more
Arrival in Gombitelli
Today was slated for our dreaded "driving in Italy" experience, as we headed west to try to find the town where my grandfather was born. The night before we panicked a bit, as we "map-quested" the route from Florence to the tiny town of Gombitelli, perched on a mountainside, northwest of Lucca. We could only get the Italian version and found there were 35 lines of complicated directions--despite the fact that most of the drive was a straight shot on the Autostrada!! But Chris was excited about searching out his roots and strongly encouraged us to bite the bullet, so we headed over the a car rental office a few blocks from the train station. In return he navigated, hand-held and generally kept us positive and out of panic mode, as we frantically negotiated the rented ... read more
View of the "Oltrarno"
This morning we headed across the Arno again to see the wooden crucifix by Michelangelo in Santo Spirito Church. The story is that Michelangelo gave the crucifix to the church in gratitude for letting him sneak in to the affiliated hospital "where the young Michelangelo enjoyed free rein for his studies of anatomy". We briefly wandered through the market in the piazza outside the church, then went on to the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens where we ended up spending most of the day. At the Pitti, we viewed a special exhibit of Caravagio's and followers' paintings, had a tour of the "King's Apartments", wound our way through the many other Versailles-like rooms of the Apartmenti Reali, that had once been inhabited by Florentine movers & shakers---from the Pittis (big banking family) and their rivals the ... read more
Santa Maria Novella in the Sun
This morning Chris had class, so after a quick visit to the nearby Santa Maria Novella church, we headed over the Arno to Santa Maria del Carmine to view the Brancacci Chapel, with it's famous frescoes by Masaccio. Unexpectedly we found the obligatory 40 minute film prior to viewing the chapel to be fascinating, and it greatly enhanced our understanding and appreciation of the amazing frescoes and their context in art history and Florentine history. At noon we headed over to the Stanford Center, where we hooked up with Chris and some of his friends for lunch. They took us to the Enoteca Verdi, where the infamous Pino whipped up the most incredible foccacia sandwiches I have ever had--and cheap, too! We enjoyed chatting with Chris' cohorts, then the three of us headed over to the ... read more
Santa Maria Novella Plaza
Firenze in the fall=frenetic, filled with tourists, fantastically photogenic (but hard to capture with a camera)... Well, before I get too carried away with the alliterations, I plan to give a BRIEF summary of each day's adventures, and tell the story mostly with pictures--I know that's what you want, anyway! Day 1--We awoke to rain :-( and Dave starting to feel a cold coming on :-( :-( Chris had to go to Sienna for a class, so we spent the day revisiting some of our favorite haunts from previous visit: Santa Croce, Piazza della Signoria, Duomo Plaza, etc. Dinner at Osteria di Giovanni, where we were sat in the "American tourist" room in the back--felt a little disenfranchised, but our waiter was very good. The food was good, but not as wonderful as we'd hoped... But ... read more
