Rome, part 2

(Written on Thursday, June 11)

We are currently in the Rome airport headed to Athens in a few hours after spending the morning at Vatican City.  We had a scenic drive back from Cinque Terre yesterday afternoon, passing through the Liguria and Toscana regions and enjoying nice views of the coast as we entered Rome.  We stopped a few times for breaks along the way, too.  Our first stop was at a gas station to finish off the rest of the pasta we made the night before (neither of us remember the last time we ate out of a ziploc bag, but hey!).

We also stopped to enjoy a nice view of a beautiful field of wheat and poppy flowers.  The last time I was in Italy, I took the train from Rome to Florence and was awestruck as we went past a giant field of colorful sunflowers.  I promised myself that if I ever went back, I'd look for a field like this and take a picture.  And although we didn't see any sunflowers, this was a pretty spectacular view.  Don't you think?

Field of poppy flowers!

Ecstatic to be in a field of poppy flowers and wheat.

Lovely wheat field.

Our last stop was at a small beach town close to Rome called Civitavecchia, where we paused for a quick snack of dried salami and parmesan cheese and a scenic view of the Mediterranean Sea.

Joe enjoying a snack of parmesan and salami.
The parmesan was sold in small single-serving
packets, sort of like string cheese in the US.

Our view in Civitavecchia as we enjoyed our snack.

We tried to contact the rental car company before we left Cinque Terre to inquire about whether a late drop-off would be possible when we returned to Rome.  No one ever picked up the phone so we decided to aim to get back no later than 7 PM, when the Hertz office closed.  Well, we sort of misjudged the amount of traffic we'd encounter on the way back to Rome, and within the city.  Joe and I tried our darndest to navigate through the city without the ever useful traffic layer on Google Maps that has saved us so many times when we had regular internet access.  We did get back in one piece (not without a few mishaps with one-way roads, though) but it was well after 7 when we pulled into the Hertz car return area.  Thankfully, the garage was open 24/7 so we were able to return the car just fine.  We shared a chuckle, though, when we asked the Hertz attendant where the nearest taxi stand was so we could get to our hotel -- he mentioned we probably wouldn't be able get a cab because "Russia Putin here."  Ha!  Turns out Vladimir Putin was visiting with the Italian prime minister and Pope Francis.  (I can only imagine what Pope Francis might have said to Putin -- "Please be nice to the Ukranians!")

The next morning, we woke up early and headed to Vatican City to see St. Peter's Basilica and the surrounding square.  St. Peter's Basilica was first constructed in the fourth century CE on where Peter, one of the 12 apostles of Christ and the first pope, was believed to be buried.  The obelisk in the middle of St. Peter's Square is magnificent and is the only one in the entire city from ancient times (it dates back to the third millenium BC) that has survived natural disasters and major conflicts.  It has been moved around several times over the course of history and was originally brought to Rome from Alexandria by Emperor Augustus.  It is said that during Emperor Nero's brutal persecution of the Christians, Peter was crucified where the obelisk stands.  (Interestingly, Peter asked to be crucified with his head facing the ground since he did not feel worthy of being crucified in the same way Jesus was.)

St. Peter's was reconstructed in the 1500s since it was pretty much in shambles after centuries of wear and tear, war, and natural disaster.  The pope at the time, Pope Sixtus V, actually ordered for the destruction of the Colosseum to build St. Peter's Basilica (he actually was disgusted by the violence that went on in the Colosseum and instead wanted to turn it into a wool factory to provide employment for local prostitutes)!  We also read that he essentially wanted to make St. Peter's Basilica into an extravagant mausoleum for himself with beautiful statues and frescos.

The church itself is in the shape of a cross.  The interior walls are lined with beautiful Michelangelo statues.  The ceilings are covered with beautiful frescos, and an ornately decorated memorial honoring St. Peter at the center of the church.  I was actually pretty surprised to learn that even though St Peter's Basilica is a very important church, a pilgrimage site for Christians all over the world, and a common location for large events, it is not the center of the Catholic church.  The center of the Catholic church is actually the San Giovanni in Laterano, the archbasilica that we visited a few days ago.  *FYI: For visitors of St. Peter's Basilica, I do not recommend the museum inside -- it's a waste of time and money.  There are some pretty cool relics from previous popes (e.g. papal clothing and ornaments)  but nothing about the history of the Vatican or the church itself.)

Just outside St. Peter's Basilica, in the square.

The obelisk in St. Peter's square.

Beautifully decorated dome.

The tomb of St. Peter lies just below the memorial to him at the front of the church.

Memorial dedicated to St. Peter.

Lovely lighting coming in from the back of the church.

The list of all of the popes throughout history.

Beautiful interior of St. Peter's Cathedral.

Shortly after visiting St. Peter's Basilica, we headed to the Sistine Chapel (where the pope lives and where important meetings happen, e.g. the papal conclaves).  The line to get into the chapel and surrounding areas, however, was unbelievably long.  Tourists were packed like sardines in the heat and we were constantly being hounded by people promising us no lines if we paid double the price of tickets (which we did not want to do).  I really enjoyed the Sistine Chapel when I visited several years ago and I wanted Joe to experience the amazing frescos painted by Michelangelo.  But our time was limited, as we had to check out of our hotel at 11 AM and head directly to the airport to catch our flight to Athens.  We ditched the line and instead walked around the corner to a cute little bakery shop where we enjoyed a nice breakfast (including cannolis!) before heading back to the hotel.

Holy cannoli!  We had to try some of these before we left Italy.

Joe and I evaluated the portion of our trip in Italy on the bus ride to the airport.  Our conclusion, unsurprisingly, was that it was amazing.  Rome appeals to lovers of both history and art.  The city has historical artifacts wherever you go and it is simply impossible to see everything in a day, a week, or even a month.  Driving through Umbria, Tuscany, and Liguria offered amazing views of vineyards, rolling hills and the Appenine Mountains, the Mediterranean Sea, and fields of poppy flowers, wheat, and olive groves.  Assisi, Montefalco, and other small towns were also rich in history, but had a sweet charm that we didn't necessarily see in a larger city like Rome.  The food in these small towns was fresher and tastier, and made with love by family-owned restaurants.  Cinque Terre was paradise on Earth with its beautiful villages built on jagged cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and nestled alongside the Appenine Mountains.

Despite Italy's beauty, history, and charm, it definitely has its problems.  Buses and trains run pretty inefficiently and are almost always running late.  Traffic is horrendous in Rome.  Public transit is limited, especially given the heavy traffic of tourists in the heart of the city.  The airport is a complete mess right now after the recent fire in Terminals G and H (in the center of the airport!).

All in all, though, Joe and I had an unforgettable time in Italy.  We will always cherish the memories we made in this amazing country.  We were lucky that we were able to even scratch the surface at experiencing the culture.  We ate our way through the Lazio, Umbria, Tuscany, and Liguria regions as we drove up the Italian peninsula.  We're so sad to leave but are thrilled to continue our adventures in Athens!  (speaking of which, our flight is delayed almost an hour...no surprise there...)

Our trip to Cinque Terre

(Written on Wednesday, June 10 on the drive from La Spezia to Rome)

Buongiorno!  We're headed back to Rome after two and a half days in Cinque Terre.  I think we've found Heaven on Earth, by the way.  Cinque Terre, Italian for "five lands," is a series of five small villages contained within a a large national park alongside the Apennine Mountains.  Located on the northwest coast of Italy, Cinque Terre has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site (I know, we've been visiting a lot of those lately).  Each of the villages is unique in its own way, but all offer spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea.  We stayed in Riomaggiore, one of the smaller and less touristy villages.

View of Riomaggiore at sunset.

A view of Riomaggiore during the day time (taken while kayaking).

A view of Riomaggiore surrounded by beautiful candles at night.  This was done
on a Sunday evening, shortly before a religious procession from the main church
in Riomaggiore to the marina.  Joe got to see part of the procession.  

Watching the sunset at the Riomaggiore marina.

To get to Cinque Terre, most people park at a nearby costal town, La Spezia, and take the train into one of the villages.  (This is what we decided to do.)  Some people do drive but we've read that this route is not for the "faint of heart" because of the narrow, winding roads through the mountains (and limited parking at each village, for that matter).

We took Tren Italia to get from La Spezia to Riomaggiore.

The night before we left Assisi, I felt an upper respiratory infection coming on.  Luckily, we were headed to La Spezia that day so I popped some ibuprofen and got a nap in while Joe drove us through the Liguria region in our awesome rental car, a cute little Fiat Panda.

Unfortunately, we had a few more obstacles in our way.  As we approached La Spezia, we had a hard time finding our way to the train station and long-term parking garage (where we would park while we were in Cinque Terre).  Further, we discovered that Tren Italia employees were on strike and the trains were not going to start running until 5:00 PM that evening.  Subsequently, many of the scheduled trains had been delayed or even canceled.  At that point, we had no idea if we were going to make it to Cinque Terre that evening.  We contemplated driving, or even hiking (not conceivable given my health that point) but decided to wait it out to see if our train showed up on time.  It was delayed fifty minutes, but it did show up and we somehow made it to our little home away from home in Riomaggiore.

Like some of the other Cinque Terre villages, Riomaggiore is built up on a slope of a hill, so there are a gazillion stairs everywhere (No elevators! Keep in mind that these are small villages situated in a national park!).  So although the little apartment we were renting happened to have amazing views of the coast and the nearby marina, we had to take about fifty stairs to get there (with luggage).  Somehow, we got there in one piece, though, and immediately fell in love with the view from our balcony.

View from outside our rented villa.

View of the Riomaggiore marina from just outside our rented villa.

By the evening, my body was still raging with fever, the ibuprofen was not reducing my body temperature, and I was feeling pretty miserable.  Still, I was determined to hike, swim, and kayak my way through Cinque Terre.  The only regret from my last trip to Italy was that I did not make it to this beautiful utopia and I was not going to let a pesky throat infection get in my way.  Joe, who wins the award for the world's best husband, found a nearby laundromat to do some of our laundry (up and down fifty flights of stairs) and took care of me while I slept.  In a somewhat delirious state, I woke up with I thought was a brilliant idea!  I would start taking the round of broad-range antibiotics I brought with me on the trip in case either of us got sick.

In any case, I figured I had a 50/50 shot at the infection being bacterial (*Note: As a public health professional, I do not recommend self-medicating with antibiotics without consulting a physician).  Even if it was bacterial, I was assuming it was susceptible to amoxicillin.  I went ahead and took it anyway, though, because GOSH DARN IT WHEN AM I EVER GOING TO MAKE IT BACK TO CINQUE TERRE AGAIN?!

Feeling really proud of myself, I went back to bed, satisfied that I might be feeling healthy enough for a long hike by the morning.  Well, I was wrong.  In fact, I had gotten a lot worse the next day.  Joe and I weren't sure what to do by then.  I think I remember asking Joe whether he could go to the pharmacy and ask where the nearest doctor's office was, at which point he asked for the name of the medication I was taking.  "It's on that table," I weakly told him, pointing roughly in the direction of the dining table.  But when he picked up the medication packet, it turned out to be an over the counter medication for stomach trouble.  Gah!  I had been taking the wrong pills -- so of course I was feeling worse.

Anyway, once I started taking the antibiotic, I almost immediately started to feel better.  By noon, my fever had somewhat subsided, I started to feel more perky, and we both just decided to seize the day and go for a short hike.

As I mentioned, the five towns in Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso, hug the northwest coast of Italy and overlook the Mediterranean Sea.  Visitors can hike from village to village or choose to take the train.  Beyond the last town (the one furthest north and west), Monterosso, are more hiking trails to Punta Mesco, which we were told had great views, and another town called Levanto.  We decided to take the train to Monterosso and hike up to Punta Mesco since it looked relatively short and seemed like something I could handle.

Boy, was this a difficult hike!  The trail literally ascended straight up a mountain.  It was actually only about an hour and a fifteen minutes to Punta Mesco, but it was definitely one of the most strenuous hikes I've ever done.  It was so worth it though.  Since Punta Mesco juts out a little, hikers can see for MILES on a clear day.  We had views of all five villages, Porto Venere (the "gateway to Cinque Terre") and some of the islands of nearby Palmaria.  I would still say this was the most rewarding hike we took in Cinque Terre.

It's hard to see, but this map gives you an indication of where the Cinque Terre villages are in relation to one another.
We took the trail from Monterosso to Punta Mesco during our first hike.  Palmaria is includes a few islands
southeast of Punta Mesco, kind of close to La Spezia.  

 Shortly after, we headed back to Monterosso and grabbed a light lunch (it was a hot day...plus we were hiking in the middle of the day, so neither of us wanted anything too heavy), which included a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice from the Liguria region (well-known for their fresh oranges and lemons).  Monterosso is a nice place to walk around.  It is the largest, most developed village, and the only one that offers a large (ish) beachfront.

We saw fresh lemons all over Cinque Terre.  

Feeling proud that we finished the hike!

Happy to have finished the hike!

Unbelievably breathtaking view of the 5 villages and parts of Palmaria from Punta Mesco.

Instead of taking the train back to Riomaggiore that afternoon, we decided to take the ferry that regularly stops at each of the five villages (except for Corniglia which is built on a cliff and has no marina) and Porto Venere on a daily basis.  This gave us a unique opportunity to see each of the five towns by sea!  How beautiful!

That night, we enjoyed some take out pasta (served in what we think of as Chinese take out containers) and enjoyed a lovely sunset over Riomaggiore along the marina.

Determined to hike through the five villages, we woke up at 6:30 to get an early start (to avoid the heat during the hottest part of the day).  There are two main trail systems going through Cinque Terre -- the red trail, which is an inland trail that connects the towns, and the blue trail, a coastal walkway.  We knew Via del Amour, the portion of the blue trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola (the next town), was closed, so we took the inland trail on this portion.  However, we found out this coastal trail was also closed from Manarola through Vernazza, and in fact, was only open between Vernazza and Monterosso!  This was a little disappointing (since we wanted views on the coastal trail the whole time), but we ended up taking the scenic inland route from Manarola to Corniglia, the train from Corniglia to Vernazza, and the coastal trail from Vernazza to Monterosso.

Beautiful view of Vernazza.

Happy we made it to Vernazza!

Gorgeous Manarola.

Beautiful Corniglia, the only one of the five Cinque Terre villages set on a cliff.

The hiking path went through tons of vineyards.

Some of the vegetation we saw on our way to Monterosso.

No caption needed.  

We saw so many unique flowers along the way!

We saw these flowers everywhere -
they look like some type of orchid!

Ecstatic that we made it to Monterosso in one piece!

The path from Manarola to Corniglia was the most difficult of the trails we took that day, but offered the most diverse and beautiful views.  All of the trails involved walking through farmland, but this one traced through vineyards, olive groves, and a large forest with much more variety in vegetation than the farmland on the coast (uncultivated by man).  The one downside of this trail is that I almost tumbled down the side of the mountain.  The one problem with the inland trails is that they're not as well-maintained/marked so even the slightest misstep in a narrow trail could result in injury.  Luckily, I fell in the "best" possible way -- I basically slipped into several bushes, which cushioned my fall and spared me from any major cuts/bruises.  (Joe is joking about how I'm undergoing my own personal version of the "Ten Plagues of Egypt" on this trip, between the sprained ankle, extreme seasonal allergies, severe infection, the plague of ants that attacked me while we watched the sunset during our first night in Riomaggiore...even though we haven't reached ten, it is quite the streak, isn't it?)

Each village was beautiful in its own way, but I found Vernazza and Riomaggiore to be the most picturesque:

We finally arrived in Monterosso a little before 2, after which we enjoyed a long, relaxed (and well-deserved) lunch and took a dip in the Mediterranean Sea before heading back to Riomaggiore.

Fresh orange juice - so refreshing after a long hike!

Focaccia topped with tomatoes and cheese!

Joe enjoyed a lovely lasagna after our long hike.

I was a little sad that we had to leave Cinque Terre the next day, but in celebration of a successful (and less disastrous than expected) trip, we made a pot of pesto pasta in our little kitchenette and paired it with a bowl of fresh local fruit (strawberries, cherries, oranges).

After watching the sunset on our balcony, we reminisced about our amazing time in Cinque Terre.  We ate fresh, local fruit every day for breakfast and as snacks throughout the day (oranges, apricots, cherries, strawberries).  We watched spectacular sunsets every night.  We went on unforgettably beautiful hikes along the Mediterranean coast.  We would miss Cinque Terre, but we were moving on from one paradise to another!

We couldn't leave Riomaggiore without a quick tandem kayak excursion, so the next morning, we rented a boat and explored the areas surrounding our little village.  The sea was so calm and easy to kayak and swim in!  Shortly after, we took a train back to La Spezia (which went seamlessly this time around, although I'm still not impressed by Tren Italia) and started driving back to Rome.

We found these rock formations beautiful!

We explored many caves while kayaking.

We're looking forward to exploring the Vatican early tomorrow morning before flying out to Athens!

Our trip to Assisi

(Written on Sunday, June 8, 2015)

We had a nice, relaxed drive to Assisi today.  The city has as much history as it does charm, beauty, and spectacular views of the Italian countryside in Umbria (a region in central Italy well-known for cheeses, wine, and olive oil).  We gawked in amazement as we drove through countless vineyards, olive groves, and fields of poppy flowers almost the entire way from Rome.

Our view during our drive to Assisi.

Somewhere along the way, we stopped at a small family-owned vineyard called Romanelli to enjoy a nice lunch.  The farm was a bit off the beaten path and took a while to find, but was absolutely worth the drive.  It turns out we needed to make a reservation 24 hours in advance to have lunch there (which did not happen since we sort of accidentally found the farm), but fortunately, we were still able to sample some of the wines produced by the family.  We wanted to try some of the family-produced olive oils, too, but no luck there either, since apparently the weather conditions were not optimal for a good olive season (too much rain).  By the way, the reason we needed to provide 24 hour notice for a lunch reservation was that the owner's wife actually picks local produce from the family farm and procures other ingredients from nearby local stores to guarantee a delicious meal for their customers.

Luckily, we still got to pair one of the dessert wines with some of her homemade biscuits, made with love from local Montefalco (the name of the town) wine, wheat, pine nuts, and sugar.  The owner's son, who greeted us when we first arrived at the farm, was incredibly generous with his time considering we just showed up at his doorstep.  Even though we couldn't eat lunch there, we were still grateful we stopped by to sample some local products.  Plus, it was a good excuse for us to buy some wine. :)  Another thing -- the family owned an ADORABLE little terrier/hound mix named Emperor Nero (who, unlike the actual Emperor Nero, was super friendly and not a ferocious animal at all).  He was super happy to see us, greeting us with sweet puppy kisses and hugs (unlike most other dogs we've seen in the city, who are trained not to approach people).  Anti-ferocious Nero followed us out as we drove away from the farm.  He clearly wanted us to stay, which we thought was pretty adorable.  We remarked that he probably had a pretty good life on the farm, since he probably got to run around olive groves and vineyards all day, every day.

Delicious homemade biscuits!

View of the Italian countryside from the Romanelli farms.

Afterwards, we went in search for lunch at the nearby Montefalco Piazza (the only tiny square in a very tiny town).  We had the most amazing food (see below)!  The experience truly reminded us of the importance of fresh ingredients and how they speak for themselves when prepared correctly (no need to overspice foods to compensate for lack of freshness).

View of the Italian countryside from "downtown" Montefalco.

We enjoyed a lovely lunch at L'Alchimista in Montefalco.

This caprese salad had the best olive oil...
it was so good we had to buy a bottle for ourselves!

Joe's lasagna dish.  Lasagna in Italy is more like a rich, layered crepe dish.
This was packed with creamy mushroom filling and cheese.

My dish was homemade gnocchi with a sauce made with local Montefalco wine.

We made it to Assisi mid-afternoon.  Our hotel was a cute little place right off a hillside just outside the gates of Assisi.  Evidently, a sweet little cat named Camilla Teppista (no joke) lived on the hotel grounds, wandering around the terrace gardens and occasionally resting inside the lobby area when she got too hot.

Camilla Teppista comes inside when it's too hot and sunny out by the garden.

After a quick rest at the hotel, we went out for a stroll around the historic town.  Assisi is full of old medieval buildings that are ornately decorated with colorful terrace and balcony gardens.

The entire town has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a common destination for Christian pilgrims looking to visit the famous Basilica of St. Franchesco (Francis) d'Assisi .  Close by is the Basilica of Santa Chiara (Claire), dedicated to one of the first and most important female saints in Christianity.

Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

Basilica of St. Claire.

By the way, we also ran into more random Roman ruins which are the remains of the Temple of Minerva.  Not surprisingly, all Pagan statues and decorations were eventually removed and subsequently, the temple was converted to a Christian church.

Temple of Minerva, which was later converted to a church.

Random old fresco we saw across the street from the Temple of Minerva.

Old fresco juxtaposed with more modern art
(sculpture of a man and a woman intertwined,
forming a beautiful tree).

Per the hotel receptionist's suggestion, we drove down to a nearby town, Santa Maria Degli Angeli to have a nice dinner at a local restaurant.  Oh my gosh, the food was so good that I wanted to cry.  We were both blown away by our entrees, but I especially enjoyed my pasta carbonara, a simple but decadent dish.  The sauce was made with raw egg yolks, minimally fried bacon (so most of the fat still remains), and once mixed with pasta, was topped with fine bread crumbs and truffle shavings.  Side note: truffle shavings directly from the fungus have a much more subtle flavor (and better, in my opinion) than truffle oil.

The restaurant we went to close to Assisi.

Happy and relaxed in Assisi.

Joe's stuffed zucchini cream tortelloni with truffle oil.

Spaghetti carbonara topped with truffle shavings.

We ended the day by catching the UEFA final (Juventus vs. Barcelona).  It was a close game, but Barcelona took the cup!

Tomorrow, we drive to La Spezia, a small town just outside the Cinque Terre area!  We're so excited to continue our adventures in Italy!