Category: Tuscany

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Ian and Emily’s Visit

View from the stone wall of Tarquinia

My college friends from San Francisco, Ian and Emily have been trying to plan a trip to Italy for a while. Ian’s schedule is pretty busy with his startup, Artillery, who are doing console style games in HTML. But they finally made it this July, and Rome was their first stop!

They got in late on Saturday. We didn’t know if they would have eaten or not so we had a cold dinner of buffalo mozzarella, ricotta, prosciutto, bread, and those types of things ready for a dinner as light or heavy as one would want.

Sunday Daniele was off from work, so that was out excursion day. We went up north, just over the boarder into Tuscany. There we spent the morning at the Terme di Saturnia  (pictures). These are natural Hot Springs made of different pools. It was crowded since it was a Sunday in the summer, but we still had a little pool to ourselves some of the time.

Terme di Saturnia

In the afternoon we stopped at the small historical center of Saturnia. Then the very cute medieval town of Montemarano. Both of which are still on the Tuscany side. Our last stop was Tarqunia, an important Etruscan city and a little bigger than the other two. Tarquinia was having a special culture day, so we were able to enter and walk along the top of the ancient city walls and climb to the top of one of their towers.

Tower that is part of the stone wall of Tarquinia
Tower that is part of the stone wall of Tarquinia

At the end of this long day we had some nice thin Rome-style pizza from Dal Bersagliere, along with some fried appetizers and beers.

On Monday Emily and Ian took to Rome’s historical on their own. They saw most of the big sites.

Tuesday was Daniele’s 31st birthday. Ian and Emily continued seeing Rome’s center during the day, then after we all went out together for the evening. We started with Aventino Hill, where we polished off a bottle of prosecco with some cheese, boar sausage, and crackers while watching the sunset. Then we went to the restaurant Betto e Mary, which is known for its Roman cuisine. Daniele ordered some authentic, but unique, appetizers. He, Ian, and Emily all had some horse meat, veal intestines, cartilage, and pasta in a sauce made from the meat of a cow’s tail. I had cacio e pepe, basically a peppery mac ‘n cheese. After dinner we walked through the Lungotevere Expo, all the temporary bars, restaurants, and vendors that set up along the river banks in the summer.

Wednesday was their last day with us. Ian’s feet were bothering him, so Emily set off on her own to see the last few sites in Rome’s center that she didn’t want to miss. While she was out, Daniele made Ian and I lunch with gnocchi in seafood for them and pesto for me. Then he had to go to work in the hospital that night, while Ian, Emily, and I had dinner at the local Trattoria dar Bruttone on Via Taranto. A restaurant in the same Roman style as Betto e Mary, but we ordered more mainstream dishes.

Then on Thursday the two of them were off on the train to Almalfi!

Pictures:
https://plus.google.com/photos/+KaitlynHanrahanIsidori/albums/6038635653376643345

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Terme di Saturnia

Day trip with Daniele to Tuscan hot springs of Cascate del Gorello in Terme di Saturnia in the morning. Followed by visiting towns of Saturnia (Frazione di Manciano), Montemarano, and Tarquina in the afternoon.

Yesterday Daniele and I took a day trip two-hours north to some Tuscan hot springs, the Terme di Saturnia. There are a few spots, both open to the public and private pay-to-enter places to enjoy these Terme. We went to the public Cascate del Gorello (Cascate is Italian for waterfall). These are natural forming pools, similar to Bagni San Filipo, Castiglione d’Orcia also in Tuscany where we stayed in 2011. The alternative is man-built (or more likely Ancient-Roman-built) pools, like the ones in Viterbo. Where as Castiglione d’Orcia was a giant mound of calcium carbonate fit better for sun bathing as the water splashed by the smooth surface, the Cascate del Gorello were many small waterfalls each making a little pool with a whirlpool-like effect.

We headed out early (6 AM) to arrive at the Terme around 8 AM. Daniele had read it gets crowded, especially in the Summer. This is March, but it was also a Saturday. Personally, I think March is the perfect time to go. In the dead of winter I couldn’t stand getting out, and in the hot summer, I don’t think I would want to go in. There were only a few (~4) people already there, one other couple and some people alone who looked like “regulars”.

We struggled for a little leaving our bag. We knew this moment was coming and had packed as light as possible reading that cars get broken into (like everywhere in Italy). Being there almost first we had a very good parking spot and we could choose anywhere to put our stuff, we put them on a mount of dirt I could see from almost anywhere in the waterfalls. An older couple that arrived as we were struggling with this, walked past us and put their stuff on the one hook. Clearly regulars. As more and more people arrived and everyone left their stuff more or less near ours and it felt safer.

The waterfalls couldn’t have been formed better. The river flows down in a more forceful waterfall at the top, then into dozens of small and medium sized pools. The ones farther down are calmer and later on there were families with children down there. In the middle the water flowing into each pool from the one above makes it like a jacuzzi, and most people lean up against the back of that wall so the water runs over their shoulders. At the top there are a few spots where you can sit and let the more powerful waterfall pound away and your back. I sat here at the end, it was amazing.

We stayed at the Terme from a bit after 8 AM until a bit after noon. On the road down we had stopped to take a picture of the waterfalls from above at a view point and noticed there was a little picnic / rest area there. So we returned there to have the lunch we packed. You can see it is much more crowded now.

After lunch we went to check out the little town of Saturnia. These were Terme di Saturnia after all. Saturnia is pretty small, in fact it is not a city in its own right, it is sort of a suburb of another city. Italians call this a Frazione. Saturnia is a frazione of Manciano, where we did not visit. Daniele spent a large amount of the time there complaining how the people of Tuscany turn everything into a tourist sight, and how even a little town like this with nothing to see has 15 “brown signs”.


View of private terme from center of Saturnia (Frazione di Manciano).

Next we went to the nearby city of Montemarano. Montemarano is really, really pretty. All the buildings here have the stone exposed, with cement holding them together, opposed to the more popular today stucco / cement siding. It was very charming. Thinking more about our water adventures (and the possibility of a car break in) than our afternoon walking around little Tuscan towns I didn’t have my good camera, just my waterproof point-and-shoot. Since I use this camera less often, I didn’t realize the battery was about to go dead, which it did shortly after we arrived here.

As sort of a random idea we made a quick stop on the way home in the city of Tarquina. This is just on the Lazio side of the boarder near Civitavecchia (where cruse ships come into Rome). Tarquina was the head city of the 12 that encompassed the Etruscan civilization (an important power in Italy overlapping and then consumed by early Ancient Romans). I got to know my Etruscan history staying in Volterra a little while back. The city is larger than the other two we visited today, but still charming. It had spread out beyond the walls of the historical center quite a bit, though we didn’t explore that much. What was really amazing is that you could see the Mediterranean from this ancient hill town. Many old cities are on the sea, but this one didn’t feel like a beach town, it felt like a hill town. We didn’t have time to see the beach there, but I would like to go back. This is only an hour away and there is a UNESCO World Heritage site there we didn’t get to see either.

We got home around 6 PM. Which gave us time to shower, unpack our things, clean up a bit, and heat up the frozen pizza I had specifically bought for tonight (don’t judge, this is a once in a blue moon, also it’s artichoke and ricotta in puff pastry, and it’s delicious!). We were both exhausted (and delightfully tanned) from our four-hours simmering in the Terme.

The rest of the photos from this day trip:
https://plus.google.com/photos/111221349198606775660/albums/5859007497821517137

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Proposal

This weekend (weekend for us) Daniele organized a surprise for me. It wasn’t a total surprise, I knew what was going on and had a rough idea even where we were going, but he organized everything by himself and actually managed quite a few surprises for the trip.

We left Sunday morning (8/21) when he finished his night shift. As soon as he got home we had a little breakfast together and headed north (about 90 minutes). That was when I found out our first destination because I had to get directions: Bagni San Filipo, Castiglione d’Orcia– so that’s why I needed a swimsuit!

Side Note
Bagno, plural Bagni is an interesting Italian noun that means both bathroom and an outdoor pool. Not a typical swimming pool, or “piscina”, though you can “fare bagno” or bathe (as in swim or wade) in one as well as the ocean. Bagni as I have come across them are typically natural man-enhanced pools or springs. End side note.

The destination was actually the Therme of San Felipo. Daniele had brought me to terme once before near Viterbo not far from us. Those were the typical Roman style with different pools filled with hot, medium, or cool water boiling up from the ground. These here were in a park. The hot water came up in different places and mixed with the fresh streams that flowed through the woods. There was also this giant white bolder-mountain perhaps made of the calcium that flows from the hot spring water, I’m not sure. The hot water poured all over it and you could also lay in the sun. At the top there were pools of the hot water and even a little cave. Some water showered down from an even higher level, but I avoided the boiling-shower and sat in the little pools instead.


Lunch hunger hit me pretty hard since we had left early and the restaurant that Daniele’s friends had recommended to him was closed for Sunday. There was one other restaurant near there and I was really hungry so we went there. It was OK, nothing special, but not bad either. Daniele is very picky about restaurants, him agreeing to eat here so easily was definitely for me. (Only a little complaining)

After lunch we continued North to the town of Pienza. This cute but small town had a surprising amount of Americans there. The houses on the edge of the old center were newer but in the typical Italian / Tuscan villa style, so beautiful! The center had a lot of cute stores. The obligatory main church and city hall were pretty impressive. There was a park just outside the center-center. Super cute little town and just the kinda of thing I love to visit in Italy!


(Old Tuscan sunflower farm house on road to Pienza)



(Kait in Pienza)



(Cheese store in Pienza)

After that we went to find and check into the hotel. We were staying in a hotel that used to be a tobacco farm. It was pretty cool. We got there like an hour before the pool closed, so we did that for a little while.


(Daniele and Kait at hotel pool)

Daniele had bought a package that included one night dinner in the hotel restaurant. Like he read about, the restaurant was high quality, but the service was like a trattoria (one guy who kept forgetting he still had not taken our order). It was a package, so we each got two big plates of food. I knew he had the ring with him, and he even did a few fake outs.

After we finished dinner we took a short walk around the grounds of the hotel. That is where he asked me.

The next day we went to the city of Arezzo. Besides being a super cute city they have a ton of history– that even I know about! Two important people from the renaissance were from here. First we visited the house of Giorgio Vasari. He was an artist and architect, but he really made a name for himself as a writer. Before him no one ever really knew much about the artists behind famous works of art. He wrote about the super stars of the renaissance and is the reason we know about the people they were today. Then we visited the first home of the poet Francesco Patrarca (in English Petrarch). He is one of three poets, along with Giovanni Boccaccio and Dante Alighieri primarily credited with fathering the Italian language. Even in the time of the renaissance, the Italian language did not exist. While the French and Spanish had united under a common dialect, Italy was still a collection of different regional dialects with Latin used in universities. Florence’s central part in the renaissance (much thanks to patronage from the Medici family) led to many important works being written in that region’s dialect. Then when the nation finally united 150 years ago they chose it as their language. However still today depending where you are you can hear words mixed in (think “hella” or “wicked”) or entire separate languages spoken in the different regions. The city of Arezzo was also dripping in medieval charm. There was big squares, gardens, and colorful flags and family plagues all over the place. Probably one of my favorite places I’ve been in Italy, though as a disclaimer, it might be less impressive if you didn’t geek out as much as I did at those two guy’s work.


(Family plaques in Arezzo)



(Pozzo (water well) in Piazza Grande of Arezzo with the Palazzo delle Logge del Vasari / Columns designed by Vasari on the right)



(Piazza Grande of Arezzo)

At night we went to the city of Laterina to get dinner. The city was small and cute. Most places in Italy close either Sunday or Monday. This was Monday and just about everything was closed. We did find a place called “Anema e Core” (Soul and Heart in Napoletano) where we were finally able to eat. And then just like that, our magical weekend was over.

The rest of the photos from this weekend are in my Proposal album:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111221349198606775660/20110821Proposal

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Places in Florence

This is a post just for me to remember my favorite places in Florence, I hope to add to it over time.

Trattoria I’ Raddi
Via dell’ Ardiglione 47/R
Tel 055 211072
(Via Sant’Agostino and Via dei Serragli)

Flavio Pelletterie
Piazza Duomo, 37/R, 50122 Firenze
Tel 055.283503

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Fabiene’s Visit – Trip to Florence

During Fabienne’s visit to Rome (see last post) we went up to Florence for a day trip. We took an early morning train in, spent the night, and took a train the next day to Venice.

Florence is a small city and most of her sights are right in a line from the train station, but we didn’t do them at all in order. We were all over the place juggling opening hours and lines. But again, it’s small so no big deal. Rome about the ancient Romans, Vatican, and the political capital; Florence is all about museums and churches. It was the center of the world during the Renaissance. While Venice is overall the most expensive city in Italy (IMO), we actually spent less money there because we spent more of our time walking around enjoying the city’s beauty. Compared to everything we did in Florence which had a fee attached. Fabienne wanted to see as much as possible and they all nickle and dime you with their three to ten euro entrance frees.

Since we only had one day, I made Fabienne choose between the Academia and the Uffizi (the two largest museums in Florence). We went with the Uffizi, which I think was the best choice, but that meant we didn’t get to see David. I’ve seen him before, but it would have been nice to catch up on old times. We did see all of his replicas in various places so that is almost as good. The Uffizi is a great museum filled with works even a uneducated schmuck like me can recognize, but is was crowded. July is a busy tourists season in Europe.

Naturally we went in the Duomo with it’s beautiful pink and green marble facade. This was the first domed ceiling, if you don’t count the Pantheon, which no one ever does. It was built in the Renaissance and the technology of how the Romans built domed ceilings had been lost in the dark ages. The Florentines were so confident someone would figure it out that they build their church without a roof and waited for the technology to be invented. It took many years, but eventually Filippo Brunelleschi was visiting Rome and saw the dome of the Pantheon and immediately knew how to complete the Florence Cathedral. It took several more years for him to convince the city to give him the contract, but eventually Florence got their Duomo.


(Inside Florence’s Duomo)

We visited Opera di Santa Croce, the church where there are the tombs of Michelangelo and Galleleo. There are also some important fresco and the cowl and girdle worn by St Francis of Assisi. There is also a leather school attached to the back. We got to walk around old men hand making leather goods as well as a very expensive store.


(The tomb of Galleleo)


(The cowl and girdle of St. Frances of Assisi)

In between we saw some other important sights. We saw Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria, the Baptistry of the Duomo, and a few others.

Ponte Vecchio is the covered bridge that goes over the Arno. There are stores here, especially goldsmiths, and people hang out at night. There was a band performing on the bridge when we were there.


(Ponte Vecchio)

For a while now I have had the benefit of having Daniele tell me all the best restaurants, but he doesn’t know Florence. So I followed all the general rules: away from the main tourist hub, not right on a square or anything touristy, better if the menu is not in six languages. So as it got closer to dinner time we wondered away from the Duomo and on the other side of the river. There were still some churches near the Ponte Vecchio, so we walked some more. Just as Fabienne was saying maybe we should start working our way back, a presumably drugged out man did what I call the “zombi walk” out of a side street. That’s when I knew we were close! That street had a restaurant. A very drunk British woman who had just walked out saw us looking at the menu and gave it a recommendation. So we went for it. We split a bottle of their house white wine and a cheese platter. I got a zucchini crotchet thing, and Fabs got ravioli– best meal I have had in a long time! They had both Italians and foreigners eating there. It was called Trattoria I’ Raddi. Next time I’m in Florence I’m definitely going back… so good!

All the pictures from this day are in my “Fabienne Visit’s -Firenze ” album:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111221349198606775660/20110709FabienneVisitSFirenze

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Volterra

I spent four days in Volterra, though a bit of that up in my room or an internet cafe doing work. Lets hope that all works out and I can sustain this fabulous life of mine! That timing wasn’t an accident. I knew the work was coming in, and I knew Volterra was a town I wanted to visit that doesn’t take long to see the sights, that has an affordable hostel, but is hard to access.

So I won’t lie, one of the things that brought me here was the part this city plays in the Twilight books. When reading the books I assumed Volterra was a made up town. It sure sounds like a made up town where ancient Italian vampires would live. But when reading my trusty Rick Steves, I saw it listed as his favorite “Tuscan Hill Town”. I had given myself some time to explore the little Tuscan towns, so naturally I was going to stop here.

I was staying just outside the walled center, about a 15 minute walk. The area was once where all of Italy sent their crazy people. Eventually the Mayor said enough is enough and sent them all to their own towns. There were monks and nuns taking care of the crazy people, but they went elsewhere since they were no longer needed. My hostel was the monastery. It is actually very beautiful.

The city of Volterra itself, which means city of wind and rock, was once very important in the Etruscan Era. It was a key city in the Etruscan Dodecapolis (12 city league). The original city wall was much bigger then than it is today. There is still a standing door from that time, Porta all’Arco, dating from the 4th century BC. At some point the Romans came and concord and built some Roman things. There are ruins of a very distinctly Roman theater. After Florence took the city in 1472, they built the Madaci Fortress, which today is used as a maximum security prison.

The town itself is so small that even with it’s winding streets, I learned my way quickly. On my way in from Siena I made friends with an couple from Virginia. They were just staying the night, but we made friends for the long bus ride into town. I ran into them one night when we picked the same restaurant for dinner, they had extended their stay. Then another time at the grocery store, they had extended again. She was a huge Twilight fan, so it was fun to geek out about that.

I ate very well in Volterra. Best was that restaurant I mentioned above, Don Beta. They have course meals. So for 12 euro I had bruschetta, gnocchi, and beans. Those who know my eating habits know I’m not the biggest bean fan, but these were really good. There was a pizzeria I went to twice. Once I had a delicious slice with arugula all over it. The second time the pizza I picked was really different. The guy had no patience to explain how it was made, except that he uses chick pea flour. The pizza is just the dough, no toppings, and it tastes like potato. So delicious! There is also zuppa di volterra, which is a vegetable soup. I could have eaten this every day. It is really thick, there is no broth used, just yummy veggies.

And now I’m on the road again, reversing my way back North. I’m even stopping in Cinque Terra again because I liked it so much and I want more beach time. I was going to stop in Elba, but it is actually pretty big and it seems like you need a car or motorbike to get around there. After that, Zurich, then Octoberfest!

[Edit] Link to Volterra Photos:
https://picasaweb.google.com/kaitlyn.hanrahan/20100906Volterra#

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Leaving Siena

Since I didn’t feel well I took an extra day to have a low key pack up day on the 5th. I did laundry and packed most of my things. Did the last thing I needed to do in Siena: go to the best Gelateria. Koko kabana gelato was recommended to me by Fabio, like everything else. It was pretty amazing!

On my way back from enjoying said gelato, I heard some drums. Then coming at me in the narrow street was basically a parade. Young men were all dressed up in medieval garb with either flags or drums. And on the sides were women with scarves matching the flags. The procession goes by for quite a while and there were more people with scarves at the back. I asked a group of young girls what that was all about. Side note, young girls speak quickly and are hard to understand in any language. The gist that I got was that they are all from neighborhood [animal we don’t know the word for] and they are visiting all the other neighborhoods today with their drums and flags. What I couldn’t figure out, was if it was friendly or taunting. Either way, quite the sight!

Monday morning I packed up, sent a small package home to lighten my load, and hit the road. I walked about 10 minutes. Took a bus to Colle. A shuttle to another bus stop in Colle. A bus to Volterra. And then walked about 20 minutes to my hostel. I’m glad I am not trying to fit these towns into a 2 week trip and I can stay put after all the effort to get to these obscure places.

Volterra looks pretty small, but I still think any place is worth a few days. Also I don’t feel well, I have work to do, so I might as well stay here where there is a 17 euro hostel! My hostel is a converted monastery. It is about a 10 minute walk outside of town, but it is really nice!

[Edit] Link to Siena Photos:
https://picasaweb.google.com/kaitlyn.hanrahan/20100902Siena#

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San Gimignano

Today I took a day trip to San Gimingnano. It is quite the tourist trap, small but famous for it’s beauty and still-standing towers, 14 of the original 60. My man, Rick Steves says “In the 13th century, back in the days of Romeo and Juliet, feuding noble families ran the towns. They’d periodically battle things out from the protection of their respective family towers. Pointy skylines like San Gimignano’s were the norm in medieval Tuscany.”

I walked around the town, checked out some panoramas, climbed up the one open tower, and had a nice lunch in the square. I was fortunate enough to be there on a good day “11′ Anniversario stada del vino Vernaccia di San Gimingnano”. As far as I can tell something happened 11 years ago– freedom from something, I guess– and now they are having a Vernaccia wine festival this day. There were several tables, maybe 10. Each with one or two different farms / wine makers. They each gave me a tasting or two, and their tastings are very generous. I had much more wine than I needed that afternoon. Then the local restaurants had exhibitions, and each gave samples of dishes. Only one was not vegetarian. Woo! I wish I had the food first and I could have asked about how they were made. As it was, it didn’t occur to me. I was also in a rush to eat and catch my bus, or so I thought. It turned out I had an extra hour, so I got to see the traditional games. A band came out in traditional garb. Then men fought with swards and shields. It was pretty awesome!

When I got home I felt pretty awful. Not from the wine, though I’m sure that didn’t help, turns out I had a 102′ fever. Decided to have a low key day in Siena tomorrow instead of going to Rapolano Terme, like I had planned.

[Edit] Link to San Gimignano Photos:
https://picasaweb.google.com/kaitlyn.hanrahan/20100904SanGimignano#

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Siena

When I first arrived in Siena I just crashed. I then took two full days to explore the city and it’s sights. The first day I got one of the tourist packages and did the Church, the Panorama, and a museum. The church was really quite something, all white and black marble. There is stone artwork in the floors. They keep them covered most of the year to preserve it, so I was there at a good time when it was uncovered. I also walked around getting a feel for the city. Checked out the center square: Il Campo or “the field” called so because it was once the field right outside the original walls.

Siena is divided into regions. Each one has a flag, with two colors and a mascot animal. The one you are born is is the one you belong to forever. Then twice a year there is a great horse race where each region has one rider. It’s a really big deal. My hostel is already booked for it next August. As you walk around, you know which area you are in because there are flags and pained lanterns along the street.

My second day I took a walk around the old fort. You can walk around the walls. I then went to one of the churches. They have a relic of Saint Caterina da Siena, her head. Her actual head in a little glass box. In the afternoon I made plans for the next few days. In the evening I went to this awesome bar, Key Largo, right on il Campo. They sell beers for a normal price, like 3 euro, and you can drink them on the balcony and watch everyone in the square drinking for way too much. It wasn’t even crowed. Tourists must not know about it, and the students were still away for summer.

[Edit] Link to Siena Photos:
https://picasaweb.google.com/kaitlyn.hanrahan/20100902Siena#

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Pisa

Today was a travel day. I left Cinque Terre in the morning, took the train to Pisa, visited Pisa, and took another train to Siena. Well, that was the plan anyway. In execution there were a few extra unadvertised transfers. Naturally every time I had to change trains or take a bus I needed to load all my things down and back up the sottopassagio onto a different platform. An exhausting day.

Now Pisa. I have to say I was very disappointed. All I wanted to do was stop over, see the iconic tower in person, spend a little time taking photos, and be on my way. It’s not really that easy. Most disappointing was that there was scaffolding on the tower. So not even good pictures. Second, there there were just loads of tourists. I mean there are always lots of tourists in Italy, but wow! Don’t they know how crappy it is? I mean I did, but I have a month to kill, so I figured why not? Also I guess I was just in a low mood from having a travel day after a week of beach days and Pisa sunk me further into it rather than pulled me out. I was still carrying lots of stuff even after I checked bags at the train station (45 minute walk away) so I opted not to pay to climb the tower. Maybe I’ll go back someday, but I’m going to call or something to be sure there is nothing covering the tower that day.

Good news: Siena looks beautiful. Just too tired to look at it much tonight.

[Edit] Link to Pisa Photos:
https://picasaweb.google.com/kaitlyn.hanrahan/20100901Pisa#