Firenze Trip-
While still beautiful because of its massive, awe-inspiring, pre-architecture duomo and other 600+ year old architectural wonders, all I could notice was how commercial and tourist-laden it is. It's not as if it wasn't four years ago, but I visited Florence, Rome, and Venice, making Florence the lesser of three evils, crowd-wise. I hate being with my fellow Aggies sometimes because the 50 of us take up so much space on narrow sidewalks and streets, and I feel like part of the congestion rather than someone uninterested in excessive gelato trips, Michelangelo's David('s package) boxers, and the like. Instead of being comforted by the American pop music and oldies I hear walking by cafes, I'm put off, and it makes me want to escape back to Castiglion (pronounced "cas-tee-yo-ne") and the tranquility one experiences walking through the nearly abandoned old town during the early afternoon siesta period, as in Spain. I still had a nice time on the day trip to Firenze and was at least able to further appreciate the significance and beauty of the art and architecture that should have never eluded my memory in the first place. I should note that I in no way hate any of my fellow Ags, either, just the presence we have as a giant tourist group. Anyway, for now, Siena takes the top spot on my list, aside from Castiglion, which feels more like a home-away-from-home every day...if only the Italian kids would come play soccer with me! We had an unsuccessful attempt at luring them to the field today. Maybe next time if we bring the soccer ball they'll think we're more serious.
Siena Trip-
As my parents already know, Siena is one-of-a-kind. An ancient hilltop city topped by a duomo almost as large as it's rival, Firenze, and one of the largest squares in Europe. I especially liked the sanctuary of Saint Catherine, who, among other things, experienced stigmata and whose journey into the cloth was not approved of by her family. Her sanctuary was comprised of relatively small chambers positively saturated with some of the most beautiful paintings, sculptures, and even flooring I've ever seen. Unfortunately, but understandably, cameras are not allowed in any of the rooms or chapel so I can't share them with you. But those who have seen them know what I mean.
After our tour we stopped for a longer-than-expected lunch at a cheaper-than-it-looked pizzeria recommended to us by Giovanni, our guide. As I worked through my pizza di prosciutto e funghi (ham and mushrooms) and guzzled non-gassato Acqua Panna (it was hot that day) with the rest of our ten-person-table, we gazed at the majority of the medieval skyline with uninterrupted views of the duomo and never wondered why we lingered there through almost all of our free time. Afterward we explored the narrow streets some more with no particular goal in mind, people-watched in the vast piazza, attempted stealthy pictures of local old people and chefs talking to their patrons, watched the Renaissance festival parade loudly pass, and unapologetically did nothing the way you can only do in Siena.
Arezzo Trip-
There's a lot to Arezzo that can't really be explained in words, and I don't have much time before dinner to write this and don't feel like picking it up later. Arezzo is a less-visited town and has a connection with Castiglion through the medieval festival in which both towns participate together. When I get enough internet capacity to upload my pictures as opposed to stealing others' from Facebook (what I did for my previous entry), I will, and that'll help show the way both towns and neighborhoods within the towns proudly display their ancient colors for the much-anticipated festival every year. It's pretty cool to see. But Arezzo is also famous for its scenes in Life is Beautiful, its French resident from hundreds of years ago who helped advance some early music notation (something pre-dating the Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do thing), and some more beautiful churches and hilly views. It's a nice place, but Siena trumps it easily. Again, I'm rushing this part but future pictures will help. Our tour of Arezzo was given by our very eccentric talks-a-lot-with-his-hands tour guide, Giovanni, so I actually have insightful captions and notes to accompany them. I can't promise it'll be interesting or do any of the works justice, but I took the notes so I may as well post them. He is pretty quotable.
Till next time,
Ciao!
No comments:
Post a Comment