We escaped the Arctic air of Finland and found ourselves on the Adriatic sea in the ancient city of Venice, Italy. Much like Amsterdam and Bruges that we had already visited, Venice is a city built around an intricate system of canals, though theirs are hundreds of years older and carry with them the stories of a mercantile history that made the city once the richest in the world. We luckily found our hotel by chance, as no streets run straight here, and quickly found that our map was going to be our best friend while here. However, at times it was so simple and fun to purposefully get lost--after all we were on an island an could only wander so far before running out of real estate. It was near the top of our lists for the trip on the best places we'd been so far and a great place to spend a few days of seeing an old city then end the day with some great Italian food and wine.
Architecture just off St. Mark's square, the center on the city.
The two blondest people in Italy on the Academia Bridge.
One night we came out of the square just as the sun was setting and Emelie got some wonderful shots of the night sky. Even those without a romantic bone in their body would have been rather impressed with what was before our eyes here.
Sunset on our last night in Venice, shot from the Rialto Bridge. Below, dinner afterward.
Having only a few days left on the European side of our three month adventure, we gradually started making our way south toward Rome where we'd eventually catch our long flight to Asia. The first stop was in Florence, home of Michaelangelo and the Medici family, and birthplace of the Renaissance. We only spent one day and night here as it is mainly a city people check out if they're into art and art history, which I must say, we are not too keen on. Not to say I don't appreciate it, I'd just rather see a snow-capped peak against a colorful sky or a winder river through a lush forest than some painting that showcases these same things, no matter how artistically sound it is. That's just me though, an no reflection on art itself.
Emelie standing above the Arno river that runs through Florence. Note how short her hair is! Sick of combing through a plethora of knots each morning and dealing with hair halfway down her back for the next two months, Emelie summoned the courage to randomly go into an Italian hair salon, and using nothing but her incredible charades skills and no Italian words, managed to get a beautiful short haircut. I was so proud of her courage, something she may not have done before this trip started.
We took a short train ride the following day to Siena, a sleepy old city that once rivaled Florence in the area for control of Tuscany. People had told me to check out this walled-city and admire its curving stone streets, magnificent duomo, and most impressively, the central square, the piazza del campo. Above is a picture of the city hall at the bottom of the square. I say bottom because all of Siena is built upon a large hill, and the general incline of the whole square I would guess to be at five degrees. Below is a picture of the square from the Duomo, slightly higher up the hill.
The coolest thing about this square, aside from its sheer size and obvious beauty, is the annual tradition that goes on inside. There are two annual horse races that take place around the exterior of the square. There are 17 districts in Siena, and 10 get to race in each given palio. The square is filled to the brim with locals who are pulling for their district to win the race. The horses run around the circle three times, and their jockeys who are riding bareback often do not finish the race on the horse's back due to the sharp turns and incline of the square. Though we were not there for one of these two summer races (or could have gotten a hotel), the races go back to the 14th century and the pride the locals have for their district within the city are a source of great pride and contention on race day and the weeks leading up to it. Check a youtube video for palio di Siena to see the madness.
One of my favorite places to relax after a long day, enjoying a beer and marveling at the dim lights that illuminated the piazza at night.
We went through a museum of ancient Sienan relics then climbed for a panorama of the city. Behind us is the Duomo, the massive church built in the 13th century. Its alternating dark and light marble gave it a unique look we hadn't seen, and at this point we'd seen quite a few large churches in Europe.
Below, views of the Tuscan countryside from above the city.
We left Siena for the Eternal City of Rome, thus named because it has seeming been around forever. Most know well from their 7th grade history the extensive history of the city that gave birth to modern civilization, so I won't bore you all with those details.
The impressive monument and building in honor of Vittore Emmanuel, the first president of a united Italy. This was just behind the impressive Forum, seen below.
We had lucked out with the weather for the most part in Europe, but on our last full day we got quite a bit of rain, so there aren't too many photos from all the places we saw throughout the city. It was really cool seeing all these ancient and dilapidated ruins that have been here for millenia.
That's me being a tough gladiator in front of the Colliseum.
I always wanted to be a cartographer deep down, so I had to admire this old map of Italy that was hung in the museum of the Vatican, just after the room with the Sistine Chapel.
The next day we took of to Rome's airport to board a plane destined for a layover in the Sri Lankan capital of Columbo before continuing on to Bangkok. Over a month and a half we had worked our way from Stockholm to Milan, backtracked to Finland, then made it to our southern terminus of Rome. Six weeks. Seven countries. Only halfway done with our trip around the globe.
No comments:
Post a Comment