Rome at night.

We only left our apartment at one, and wandered around for a very long time. When it got dark, we made our way to the Colosseum The moon was full, and right beside the Colosseum! I was SO mad that I forgot my camera! After that, we caught a bus to a restaurant, had a very good dinner, and went back. Rome was all lit up, and St. Peter's looked very nice. There were also a lot more people out.

The next day (today) we woke up late, and went to a market. It was so big, in an hour and a half, we only got through half of it. I found a really beautiful scarf, and it was only four euro! After the market we went back, and are doing nothing of insert of the rest of the day.


Josephine

CATS!

Today was a slow day, we left at 10 o'clock and went to a market. The things we successfully purchased were a backpack and a necklace. Then we walked to a place where they had some virtual thing about ancient Rome. First we walked through a dark corridor and then into a dark room with a glass floor. It lit up and we saw some mosaics under us. Then there was a loud noise and the trapdoor in the cieling opened and there was a virtual tiger staring at us through a grate. Then the floor started moving! When all that was finished we went back down and the wall slid open. Then we went into a room with a screen in it and put on some 3D glasses. We then watched a movie about ancient Rome. It was really cool. Then we went to find an Emily the strange purse. We couldn't find one so we went to a church which was closed. Then we went to a gelati place which we couldn't find so we went somewhere else. Then we walked to the cat sanctuary and got a tour. It was very interesting, the tour guide showed us the place where Julius Ceaser was killed and we also got to see a ton of cats.
Emily

The Colosseum

We left at nine, and jumped on the tram to the Colosseum. The huge brick structure is actually called the Flavian Ampatheater, but was called the Colosseum because of it's colosal size. It was origanally covered in marble, but it was all taken to build a certian huge cathedarl, who would perfer to say recycled then taken. *cough* St.Peter's *cough*. We found our tour giude, and went in. It is huge, and the nobles sat on the first floor, rich people on the second, the third for commoners, and the fourth for women. So we walked about, and some common myths where disspelled, they did not pit enemy against enemy, and the beasts rose out of the basment floor with chains. The shows were free, as well as meals... Anyway, you can find out more on the internet, so I will just move on. After the tour, we wandered around the general area for a while, as we were getting another free tour in an hour.
We found our tour giude, and walked 5 minutes away to Palentine hill, where the ruins of a great palace remain. They removed all of the marble for the same large church. The emporer (Who's name I can not recall) Even had his own stadium. His palace was devided into two parts: Public, and private.In the public part the marble was polished so he would be able to see if anyone was sneaking up on him to assainate him. The irony was, he was killed by a bowl of mushroom soup, compliments of his wife, whose lover he had killed.
After the palace, we went to see the ruins of the Roman Forum, not the internet one by the was. There are many ruined temples there. The ones best preserved are the senate, and a temple that was turned into a church. All the rest are simply columns and a bit of a base. The temple of Remus is pretty well preserved as well.
Then we went for lunch as we were very hungry. We went to a place for pasta. It was very good. Then we went to the Musei Capitolini on the top of Capital hill. We really just wanted to see the foot of Constentine, becuase we have seen it everywhere. But we ended up going around it and seeing a lot of other slightly boring stuff. After that we went home.




Josephine

Fountains

Today we went to the catacombs. They were a bit disappointing because the tour was so short and also because I thought we would see more then just some tunnels and places where people were buried. (they aren't there anymore)Then we went to the church of Saint Sebastian which is on top of the catacombs. Then we went to Trastavere which is on the other side of the river. It was kind of nice, my favorite thing was a church. It had a very beautiful mosaic ceiling over the alter. Then we went on a free tour! We saw the Trevi fountain, the Fountain of the four rivers, the spanish steps, the pantheon, and assorted buildings and piazzas. (Not pizza! A piazza is a square!) I really liked the Trevi fountain!

Bye
Emy

The Vatican

Today, we went to the country of Vatican City. It is the smallest country in the world, and the population numbers 1,000. They have there own: Post stamp, pass port, and guard, from Switzerland. The outfits are something else!
So, we got a tour and the entrance fee for 100 euro, and then we went on out way. The first thing we saw was the Vatican museum. There, they have statues, stuff from Egypt, tapestries, and gems and such. Then we went to some rooms done by Raphael, who died at 33. He, and Michelangelo did frescoes (painting on wet plaster) The frescoes where beautiful, and full of elegant figures on horses marching into battle. Even though the room was full of people, the guide said there was no one there compared to in the summer.
Then we went into the Sistine Chapel. The first thing I did was gasp. It was beautiful, spectacular, and wonderful. My favorite Fresco was the last judgment. Michelangelo did the roof on scaffolding, and spent four years looking up at the ceiling and painting. Apparently he had to look up to read after that... The Last Judgment is full of more than 300 people in every imaginable pose. They defaced the painting, by painting clothes on all of them later.
After that, we went into St. Peter's church. Al I can saw about that is WOW! The amount of money put into that church must have been astronomical. They have writing on the walls that is taller then me! (6 feet) But it is so far away, if looks about 2 feet! The floor is covered in marble, and the alter piece in gold. It is the most elaborate church I have seen so far.
Later, we went walking around Rome, we didn't go to any sites, because we are going to some tomorrow. We stopped for a bit at a cafe, and then went back. We spent 5 hours at the Vatican.

Josephine

The church, Alter, and the Swiss guard+ me

Catania

Catania - land of great food, sunny weather and the craziest drivers! We have really enjoyed the different food here. At night you can find charcol BBQs along the streets where you pick your meat...horse, ass, pig, cow... and they cook it up for you right there. Last night we went out with some people we met at the hostel and Scott had an ass burger! The jokes didn't stop all night. Speaking of the hostel I was sitting in the lounge on the first day and started talking to a guy there, who said he recognized me? It ended up that he was from Winnipeg and had worked with Jennifer at the Panic restaurant! Wow!

Yesterday we also went to climb Mt. Etna. We doned snowshoes and explored craters. The mountain is still quite active, the last lava flow was in 2009. The day was really nice but crazy windy...see pic of Josephine! We were worried that Emily would blow off the crater. After hiking we went into a lava tube cave that had bats. We even saw 2 babies that the guide thought were only 2 days old. The mother gives birth and nurses them without waking up! My kind of labour!



Now on the subject of driving. Nuts hardly describes it. Everything here is a suggestion...red lights, lines on the road, right of way, one ways. You take your life into your hands just crossing the street. We were told the only way to cross is to not look and just walk. Ugh! Needless to say there are very few cars without dents and scratches.

Today we walked around the town enjoying all the markets and fresh food. The chesse, fruits and veggies are super. You can get any meat...body part too. I think it's intestine.

We're here for one more day and then off to Rome for a week.

Jane

The ruined city of Pompeii

February 14,

Today we drove to Pompeii! When we got to the ticket office a guy tried to sell us a tour for 100 euros. We declined the offer and went to buy our tickets. We found out that children were free and since it was valentines day we got a buy one get one free special! It ended up only being 11 euros! So then we shared the tour with two other people and it cost way less.
When we walked into Pompeii I noticed that there were three stones across the road. "That probably keeps the chariots from driving down the street" I said. Actually they were used when the citizens of Pompeii threw their liquid waste onto the street. People could then walk across the street without getting their sandals wet! Then we saw a basilica that has the same floor plan as some modern day basilicas! (The old type of basilica is like a court) We also saw some really cool baths. There was a fountain in there that has the price and who paid for it on the rim. The roof was also ribbed so that water wouldn't drip on your head. It was quite warm in there. They had a small bar with a marble counter top where they kept their wine cool. My favorite house was not the biggest house (which was owned by a lawyer). But a medium sized house that wasn't even half the size. The plaster casts were also pretty cool but I thought there would be more. It was raining the whole time we were there and at the end I just wanted to jump in the car and go. But we had a traditional pizza first. It's called a Margerhita and it is the colours of Italy. Red for the tomatoes, white for the mozzarella, and green for the basil. Sorry if I make it sound like the colours for the flag of Italy were chosen by different toppings on a pizza. Because that is completely untrue though it would be kind of funny if it was!

Bye
Emy

Florence

Feb. 10
Today, we went to Uffizi museum. My first view was of mideavel gold-back alter peices. My favorite painting there was the Annunciation by Lenard DaVaincie, because it is balanced, neat, beautiful, andmost importantly for me realistic. I also like the Birth of Venus.
After that, we went to another musum, It had mostly stuffed animals. They had entire rooms full of every animal imaginiable. Even a Lesser egyptian Jerboa! I also didn't know walruses were so big! They had mostly birds, in the most amazing colors, even neon! They also has the human anatomy made in wax. It took them ten years to make one body! After that we went back to the apartament.

Feb.11
We left our apartament at ten, and went to the Bargello musum. It was not as good as the Uffizi, and it was mostly statues. We only spent half an hour in their. Then we went back, and I read a book called DragonSong for a bit. It;s about a girl named Meonlly and her nine fire lizards in Harper hall. It's in the Dragon Riders of Pern, it's very good.
At seven, we went to meet Mom's email friend for dinner. They luckily have two children around our age, a 13 year old girl, and an 11 year old boy. They are VERY nice, and have even read warriors! They came over at 10 for coffe, and so we played on their DSI's with them.

Feb.12
We had to wake up early to make it to the anthropology museum, becuase it closed at one. It was very cool to see all this stuff from other cultures, they had some creepy skeletons that were doing the scream! They had fuzzy underwear as well!
After that we went to the Plazza Medici Ricardi. The first thing we saw was the famous chaple with another version of the "Adoration of the Magi" couvering it was very beautiful. All of thr rooms were lovely, but then we saw the roof of a ball room. It was couvered in Greek myths. It was sooo beautiful. After that we tried to go to some other musumes, but they were all closed. Mom's friend, and her family came over again at 6, and we also went for gelatie.

Josephine.

Lesser Egyptain Jerboa, and David!

Food

Today I was fortunate enough to do a Tuscan cooking class! I was picked up by one of the owners of the school and taken to a 14th villa to cook. I was joined by 2 other couples from Chicago (one was Kevin Kitching’s twin!) and our Chef for the day , Alberto. He was handsome, funny and a very good chef. We made a four course meal of stuffed onions, home pasta with meat sauce, veal rolls with spinach and ham, roasted potatoes and Tiramisu. I enjoyed making the pasta the most. He taught us how to make it with and without the pasta machine. It was a lot of work but very worth it. I learned a lot of little tips too, for example – when making roasted potatoes, wait until they cool before you try to get them off the pan, then they won’t stick. He suggested doing them ahead of time and them re-heating. At the end we sat down to a wonderful meal. I was so stuffed I didn’t eat again until the following lunch! It was a great morning and the other 2 couples were a lot of fun.

In the evening the girls and I went to an Opera – Guispee Verdi’s La Traviata. Mike opted for beer and snacks! We booked it on line where it said it was in a church. I assumed it was going to be a huge church with many people, but it was actually a very small church and only about 60 people, and we had front row seats! (great for Emy). Wow! What an experience to have the singers 10ft from you. It was very powerful and tragic – Voiletta dies in the end….of course! We also ended up sitting beside a women from Toronto! Small world.

Jane

Carnival... Finally!

Hello!!

Today we drove to Florence! We went to our apartment then we tried to navigate towards the Duomo. We found the tourist office and... got information! Then we walked back,got in the car and drove. After yelling at the GPS for a bit we reached our destination... the carnival!!! I put on my cat mask, Josephine put on hers and so did Mom and Dad.
We saw tons of people dressed up almost everyone was dressed up! There were at least 20 floats! Some up to 30 meters high! I felt soooo short :(
My favorite float was a dragon, he had moving eyes, wings and there was smoke coming out of his mouth. He was very pretty. There was also a hunchback of Notre Dame snd alot if other cool ones. It was very fun and we had a great time. After the carnival we drove to Ikea, still yelling at the GPS. We had a yummy supper there and then walked around the store. I found a really nice bed spread that I really really want. Sadly ut does not fit with what I want my room to look like... will have to change colour scheme... hmmm

Bye!
Emily

The bridge and the Ice Man

Feb. 5-6
Dad left for a museum early in the morning, while we were sleeping. Five minutes later, Mom read an email that told her about a man, 5600 years old, perfectly preserved. His name was the Ice Man. Mom, was miffed, as it was only one hour and 45 minutes to get there. Alas, she had no way to contact Dad, and just had to hope he would get back in time. Meanwhile, I enjoyed myself reading Dragon Riders of Pern, by Anne McCaffery. Dad, thank heavens got back in time, mostly because 1/3 of the museum was closed, and they were still charging full price. So, we went to visit the Ice Man.
At the museum: The first floor was devoted to the Ice Man and the stuff found on/around him. They learned that he had brown hair, and blue eyes. He was around 5 feet tall, 50-60 years old, and died of an arrow head that hit a major artery. It was very cool. He even had leggings. The rest of the museum was pretty good, and they had lots of dioramas. After that we drove back home.

Feb.6-The Bridge
This morning, we woke up leisurely and I went on the internet for a while. We made no plans, but Mom wanted to do something, so we went to a disused marble quarry, and the longest natural bridge in the world. The marble quarries were cool, and Dad found a dead sheep! The people around the area use the flawed marble as fences! Next, we went to the bridge. It was nice, but muddy. We also saw some icicles forming upside-down. There was a water fall under the bridge. After that we had some hot chocolate and went back to our apartment. Mom made apple crisp, and then we watched Up.

Verona - City of Love

What Shakespear play is based in Verona? Anyone? Romeo & Juliet! We found out that the story is actualy based on true facts. We also found the balcony where they never met but is a great tourist attraction.
But before we get to that....we need to talk about Mario & Anne - the people we are renting an apartment from. They are super! Our first day here they invited us to come with them to a classical music concert. Their friend had started a concert series with students from the university and we happily went along. It was an hour long with 4 groups. The best was a young women who play my favorite Chopin piece...it was incredible! We then went to dinner with them and then to an English quiz night. The we all had lots of fun and ended up winning 3 bottles of wine...Mike is very happy. The next day they took us to their favorite winery (again Mike is very happy) where Mike tried 5 different wines and I enjoyed the cheese and jelly. It is so nice to be shown around a town by locals.
Yesterday we did a self guided tour of Verona where we met Juliet, climbed the staircase of Reason and contemplated Dante's expression. Today...Mike and I went to visit the Campagnolo bicycle factory. It was really neat to see how they test the quailty of the parts, make bike chains and carbon fibre wheels. Discovery channel filmed an episode of "How it's Made" there. They don't usually give tours but the salesman said that Mike "asked so nicely that they couldn't refuse". Lastly, tonight we went to a thermal pool that was outside. The water was so warm and they had coloured lights everywhere...fun!

Jane

The City of Masks

Hello!
Today in Venice we decided to go to St. Mark’s cathedral. On the way we found a stand with a bunch of masks on it. Josephine bought a nice pink one and I got a blue and white cat one with music notes and gold swirly things on it!! Yay!! When went inside St. Mark’s cathedral we were amazed. Venice is famous for its mosaics, specifically the ones that are gold leaf covered in glass. While we were here we figured out why. It was beautiful, there was gold covering the ceiling! The ceiling was covered in mosaics of different scenes from the bible… well it was mostly scenes from the bible there was a mosaic of some people stealing the body of St. Mark. Then I looked down. The amount of different types of marble on the floor was staggering! There were at least twenty-five different types! There were also beautiful mosaics on the floor. There were peacocks and gryphons and lots more that I can’t remember. Then we walked out and met a guy who was giving out free tickets to see the glass factory. We took four and went on our merry way to the island of Murano. After getting off the boat we went inside and watched a man make a cute little glass horse. It didn’t take him very long; he started out with a ball of molten glass and shaped it into a horse! Then we watched a different guy make part of a chandelier. After that we went to look at some finished products. There were soooo many!!! My favorites were the glass animals, such as: the zebras’ camels’ horses’ fish penguins’ and much more. Then we didn’t buy anything and left the island after walking around and seeing a glass Don Quixote going over a fence on his horse and Sancho’s donkey jumping over the fence leaving him behind. Then we went for a long walk bought a mask for Mom and one for Dad and found inspiration for the title of this blog on the cover of a book. We also ate some giant pieces of pizza!

Bye!
Emily

City of Water

Jan. 31

Venice

We left for St. Marco’s square at nine, so we could but tickets for the prison and the Doge’s Palace, but on the way we talked to a gondola man, who informed us that the gondola rides were 80 euro for all of us as opposed to 80 euro each. So we went on a gondola ride, but we got it for 70 euro, because we were stopping at the square. It was very fun to ride on the shiny, black gondola, even though it was rather rocky. When we got to St. Marco’s square, Dad realized he had forgotten his expensive hat on the gondola! The gondola man was already gone though. So we bought our tickets, (did I mention it was INCREDIBLY cold out?) and had a tour of the Doge’s palace. First we went into a very tiny office of the Grand Chancellor, who was in charge of secret documents, and got paid 600,000 euro a year! Then, we went into a bigger office of his where the secretaries worked. It was very cold inside too, and there were no fire places in the rooms. Venice has the third largest archive in the world! (I am supposed to mention that yesterday Dad became the proud new owner of a three cornered hat.) Then we moved on to the torture chamber, where the only torture device was a rope, with which they would tie the person’s hands behind their back and pull them up, very painful I am told. Then we went to the cells. The doors were so small even Emily couldn’t get through without ducking. We went into the room where Casanova spent several months as a political prisoner. It was there we learned back then you could be executed for littering, or crimes against the environment. I think Venice must have been very clean. Now, back to Casanova, he was allowed to go for walks in the attic while he was prisoner, because he was too tall to stand up in his cell. He found a piece of metal, and a piece of marble up there, and he used the marble to sharpen the metal (iron it was) and made a hole in the floor so he could escape. The day he finished (he was going to leave the next day, because there was a political holiday then) when the guard came to his cell and told him he was moving. So Casanova put the iron in his arm chair, and black mailed the guard when he moved the bed and saw the hole, by saying to the guard that he (the guard) gave Casanova the metal to make the hole. Now, we moved on to the attic, and will finish the story later. In the attic there where lots of swords, about 100 or so, and it was rather chilly (I’m not supposed to complain about the cold too much) Then we went back down to Casanova’s other cell. There, it was not a private cell, so he couldn’t try to escape again; also the guard was watching his every move. But next to his cell was a priest who was there because he had 12 illegitimate children. They were both allowed books, and loved books, so they were allowed to share, and in the books they passed messages and came up with a plan to escape. Casanova asked for a great, big bible and hid the piece of iron in that so the priest could get them out. So first he carved a hole in his roof, and crawled up into the rafters, and made a hole above Casanova’s cell. (I didn’t really get this part) I think they made a hole in the wall of the cell, and walked right out the front door of the palace, and then they went to Paris. The funny thing is several years later they made him a secret agent! Then we went to the normal rooms which were full of lovely paintings, (here I will say something about the cold as it is important) as it was cold, we went quickly through the rooms, until we found the biggest… canvas, I think. It has five hundred saints in it, and it was painted by Tintoretto, the day he finished, his daughter died, and he painted her in as saint 501. Then we went to the common prison which we flew through, and then we went back to our apartment for lunch. After wards, we walked around and looked at churches and stuff… I love the masks here, they are so beautiful and I even found a unicorn mask! I am getting a mask some time, for Carnival!

Josephine.