SIENA HEIGHTS

Siena Heights College in Adrian, Michigan, was where I spent my first year of college.  This town of Siena has nothing to do with that, but it is perched atop  three of the rolling hills of bella Toscana.  I took a bus there, and sometimes it's just a good idea to let someone else drive, because you could hurt yourself badly by gaping in awe at the countryside whilst sitting behind the wheel.  It was a rapid transit that took only an hour and 15 minutes.

There was a run taking place when we arrived in Siena, and a passel of runners sped by us as we stepped off the bus.  The run ended in the famous Piazza del Campo, which was my first destination.  

The Palazzo Pubblico was directly across the piazza from me as I relaxed and people watched whilst sipping my caffelatte and munching on a delicious cream-filled croissant.

I couldn't figure out whether these people were waiting for something to happen in the piazza or whether this is just how some Siena residents or tourists decided to spend Sunday afternoon.

I paid the 8 euro entry fee to get into the museum in the Palazzo Pubblico to see the frescoes  it is so famous for housing.  And I wasn't a smidgen disappointed.  They were fabulous!  Of course, no photos were allowed, so again I borrowed from the Internet.

This room houses an amazing fresco by Ambrogio Lorenzetti and is said to be one of the most remarkable accomplishments of the Renaissance.  The work was commissioned by the local government.

Lorenzetti was asked to paint allegorical depictions of good and bad government and the effects each would have in the town and the country.  This fresco represents "good" government".

And this wall depicts the effects of good government on life in the town.

This wall depicts bad government--you might see Satan sitting on his throne over toward the right.  Unfortunately, this fresco is deteriorating in several areas, while the "good government" frescoes are in very good condition.  Is that an allegory in progress?

  I really enjoyed my tour of this museum because it wasn't all religious art.  You could get a view of secular life from some of frescoes.  

My next stop was the Duomo.

Again, no photos allowed inside.  This is the pulpit and nave.

There's just no end to spectacular cathedrals in Italy.

When I stopped at an ATM to get some cash, I discovered that I didn't have my debit card, and I couldn't remember the PIN number for my credit card.  I had about enough cash left for a decent mid-afternoon lunch/dinner, but nothing for entry fees to other sights.  So I just wandered around town for a while.

This is the Basilica of San Domenica.  This view gives a sense of the character of Siena.

One of the many little side streets.

Typical of the more major streets.

A few flowers to remind us it's spring.

Another long view.

It was a nice way to spend a Sunday.

MORE HEART, LESS SOLE

I'm finally feeling human again, and today was a perfect day to get out and reacquaint myself with bella Firenze.  I wanted to go to the train station to get a ticket to Siena for tomorrow, so I just walked in that direction.  The sun was shining, it was 60 beautiful degrees, and for the first time since I arrived here, I felt warm!

After purchasing my bus ticket (no trains to Siena), I stopped for a special menu lunch (only 12 euro) of riboilita, roast pork, a lettuce salad and water.  

I was lucky to get a table in the garden patio with this beautiful view.  I was the only one there.  



The food was just okay, but it was quiet and I was able to call my Mom without a lot of noise interference.  (I can't get cell phone reception in my apartment.)

After lunch, I just wandered the streets with a bizillion other people.  There was an open street market, which reminded me of all the market in Asia, except the wares being hawked were quite different.

Lots of leather purses, belts, shoes, and coats 

And a variety of sweaters, cloth coats, and touristy 
t-shirts.  

Loads of scarves here too, just like in Asia.

And masks....love
'em!





In one piazza, I stumbled onto a major tourist attraction--the Bascilica di San Lorenzo.  I hadn't seen this on my last trip here.  

This early Renaissance-style church was designed by Brunelleschi and constructed in the mid-1400's.

The New Sacristy, called the Medici Chapel, is largely the work of Michelangelo, as are the Medici Tombs it houses. Michelangelo also designed the Laurentian Library, which is located off the cloister. 

There were several Donatello pieces here.  I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside, so I borrowed these from the web.

One of his two pulpits

  

A sarcophagus in the form of a woven basket

  

Statue of John the Baptist

Detailing in the Old Sacistry

Donatello's tomb is in this church.

There were some beautiful domes, one of which showed all the constellations, but I couldn't find a photograph that did it justice.  This one was pretty nice.

This is only part of a large fresco of Bronzino's Martrydom of Saint Lawrence



When I came out of the church, the streets were even more crowded.  I wanted to find my way back to the Arno, but I lost my sense of direction and later discovered I was going the opposite way, but it was one of those days that you just didn't care.  

This looked like something I should check out some other day.

I loved this window display, it was exotic Italian.

Somehow I find my way  back to the Duomo.

And I was lucky to happen upon my second favorite statue in this city--David, the outside copy.  He stands in the piazza near the Uffizi.  My niece Shelley and I loved to sit in this piazza and wondered if people ever took all this for granted.

Neptune and his
sea nymphs play in this piazza, too.

This is a view of my neighborhood from across the Arno...bella!  The bridge is called Ponte Grazie.  Not sure how that translates--Thank You Bridge or Bridge of Gratitude?

I walked the streets of Firenze for hours.  I may have lost a layer of my soles today, but this city makes my heart sing.

BOWS UP, PLEASE

Okay, everybody get out your tiny little violins and start playing something sad.  Yes, I can hear the violin section now, and it's just the background I need to do a little whining.  

I'm really sick of getting sick every time I get on an airplane.  I figure I've lost a whole month of my 10-month journey being sick because people who are totally inconsiderate get on planes without wearing a mask to keep their germs to themselves.  (Yeah, I can hear you saying "Oh poor Colleen....having the time of her life and complaining about a common cold!"  Please resume your violin playing.)  

I went to a couple of pharmacies before I left Bangkok looking for one of those masks--was told I could buy one anywhere, but that's not true.  So I got on the plane without one, and I've been hacking and sneezing endlessly for the last four days.  And this chilly, damp weather isn't lifting my spirits one bit.

When you're sick, it doesn't matter where you are....you just want your Mommy to make you some warm buttered milk toast!

FREEZING IN FIRENZE

It seems that every time I get on a plane, I get sick.  I have another bad cold, and the rainy chilly weather here doesn't help me to feel any better.  If I were still in the tropics, I could bake this cold out of me, but I don't have enough heat in my apartment here to bake anything.

Despite the chilly wet weather and this miserable cold, I decided to venture out on Easter Day to see Scoppio del Carro (Explosion of the Cart), the traditional Easter celebration here in Firenze (Florence).  The articles I read advised me to arrive early to get a good standing spot for viewing this spectacle.  So I arrived at the Piazza del Duomo at about 9:15 a.m., prepared to stand around for close to two hours until the big event at 11 a.m.

This Easter ritual dates back to the First Crusade, when, after the crusader army took Jerusalem, the commander-in-chief received a reward in the form of three chips of stone from the Holy Sepulcher of Christ.  These stones were brought to Florence in 1101 and were used to kindle the first spark of "new fire", a symbol of the new life that began with Easter.  All lights and hearth fires were extinguished on Good Friday in commemoration of Christ's death and relit with the coals of this "new fire".  

I arrived too late for a first row standing spot, but I got a pretty good second row place behind two short women.  

The celebration begins with a parade through the streets of Florence, with four white oxen pulling the cart.

Paraders sport costumes from centuries gone by, and there are lots of them.

The cart rests in the center of the plaza in front of Il Duomo, Florence's large cathedral.  It's lighted at 11 a.m. by the Bishop and the fireworks begin.....and go on for about 10 minutes.

If I were smarter, I could figure out how to post a video from youtube here, so all you'd have to do is click on the play button.  But I'm not, so you'll have to copy and paste this URL to see what I witnessed.  

http://youtu.be/KTSGmsjv3iQ

After this impressive spectacle, I walked back to my apartment on popsicle toes and crawled back into bed, where I've been ever since.  

AH, ITALIA

Ah, so delightful to be back in bella Italia once more!

It was a long, grueling journey to get here.  My flight from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Rome was delayed for several hours, so the airline put in route passengers up at a hotel there (a Sri Lanka stamp on my passport!).  The hotel was right on the ocean, but it had definitely seen its better days—it was very old and run down.  But the bed was comfortable and I had a sound four hours sleep before being roused at 4 a.m. to catch the bus back to the airport.  It was dark when I got there and, of course, dark at 4 a.m., but I saw a beautiful full moon shining on the waves as they lapped their way to the beach.  I'm not sure why we had to be at the airport 2 hours in advance of the flight, because we didn't have our luggage and didn't have to go through Immigration again.  So we all yawned our way through the 2 hours until departure.

On the flight to Rome, I sat next to a young man from Sri Lanka who works at a bed and breakfast hotel in Rome because he can't find a job in his home country.  His wife, 9-year-old daughter, and 2 month old son live with her parents and they see each other about 2 months each year.  He's been doing this for 7 years.  He was talking to his wife on the phone before we departure until the flight attendant had to ask him to turn it off.  He said his wife was crying and he was close to tears himself.  What sad stories this depressed world economy is creating.

 I had a scare in the Rome airport when I couldn’t find my passport during the boarding process for my flight to Florence.  It had somehow slipped out of the side pocket of my bag and was under the chair where I had been sitting.  Small panic attack!  But the universe seems to be taking good care of me, and I found it in the nick of time to catch the last transit bus to the plane.

I love my little apartment here in Florence.  It’s owned by two artists—a painter and a potter.  And their touches are everywhere. 

His painting in the living room.

Her sculpture in the living room.

My living room seating area.

The wall opposite.

His painting in the bedroom.

I have a very small kitchen. Those are dishes on the counter were made by my landlady.  There is no oven, but I have a couple of pans and can so some cooking here.  

I love the spoon handle on the front door.

 I wasn’t aware of this, but there’s a restriction on how much heat you can have here.  You’re limited to 6 hours a day!  I think this may be true for all of Italy, because I remember being cold when I stayed with my friends in Puglia in November.  I thought they just preferred to keep their house cool, but it may be that they had no choice.  It’s going to be in the low 50’s for the next week and I guess I hit the rainy season here, because there is rain and gray skies forecast for every day between now and April 12!  A different form of culture shock.  I’m going to have to buy some long underwear and maybe a couple of sweaters. 

I have a television with over 200 channels, but only two are in English and there is no news channel in English.  Back to NPR on my computer for the daily U.S. news.

My landlady here is very nice.  She took me on a tour of the neighborhood yesterday to show me the best coffee shop, bakery, and trattorie, as well as the supermarkets, pharmacy, and laundry.  I don’t have a washing machine in my apartment.  I had lunch at the trattoria she said was the most economical and had the best food, and I had serious sticker shock when presented with a bill of 22 euro.  Granted, I had the pasta with truffle sauce at 12 euro, which was a little disappointing (black instead of white truffle—huge difference in taste, and it isn’t truffle season), but only a salad and some water with it.  That was a $28 lunch!  So I promptly trotted off to the supermarket and bought about 60 euros worth of groceries.  I will be making most of my own meals here.

There are so many more cultural activities here, and I’m delighted about that.  Next week, there’s a Middleastern film festival sponsored by the local movie theaters (there’s one theater here that shows films in English—yea!) and there’s also a music festival.  Tomorrow, I’ll see the Florentine version of an Easter parade.  I’m going back to language school for a couple of weeks—there are several within a 10 minute walk of my apartment.  I’m in an ideal location, in a “local neighborhood” across the Arno from the city and within walking distance of almost everything.   The streets here aren’t crowded with tourists, so I will have a more authentic living experience.

I wish all my friends and family and unknown readers of my blog a very Happy Easter.  To my friends in Italy, Buona Pasqua!