I closed my eyes with views of nightfall off the Croatian coast swimming through my head and awoke to a crisp, sunny morning just off the Italian coast. We landed early in the morning in Ancona, Italy and I headed straight to the local "stazione" to procure myself a train ticket southwest to Rome. To my delight, the next departure was within the hour, which left just enough time for an Italian breakfast: cappuccino. I headed across the street to a small cafe full of older locals and run by a cheerful Italian couple. The gentleman served me, and smiled as I hacked through some broken Spitalian--my mix between the few Spanish and Italian words I knew--while the nice lady smiled as she read my bill in Italian, and then in English. The cappuccino and brioche was a wonderful start to the day, and I headed for the train.
I landed in Rome around lunchtime and went for my next essential: gelato. With a few hours until my family's arrival, I enjoyed the gelato and people-watched as many a Roman filed past on their way to and from lunch. I hopped the airport express to Fiumuncino, and en route fashioned a sign for my family, just in case they shrugged off the apparently homeless backpacker lurking at the arrivals gate waving at them. Fortunately, they recognized me--or at least my sign was effective--and after a brief, emotional reunion, we headed for the rental car pickup. The evening sailed smoothly after checking into our hotel in Fiumuncino and enjoying a walk and a grocery store dinner.
After a tumultuous night's sleep--especially for those not accustomed to the time zone--we departed early the next morning for our next destination, Umbertide in the Italian countryside.The first few minutes of the drive were crucial, as we determined the roles each of us would play pertaining to the transportation. I was selected as chief navigator, with little objection, and joined my father, the pilot, in the front seat to get us headed the right way. After mixing it up with the Italian drivers for a few hours, we arrived to our countryside town and followed the directions to the incredible guesthouse Kristen, location and activities scout, had booked for us. We settled in thanks to the direction of Mom, the Director, with the only glitch being the lack of heat or functioning stove. And after some help from the landlord, a kindly American-born but Germany-residing fellow named James, his two children Helen and Norman, plus a little Johansson ingenuity, we sorted out the appliances and enjoyed the heat in our cozy, stone villa. Next, we headed to the grocery store. This turned into quite the endeavor as we relied on our car's navigation and not the local's recommendations. Our navigation, whom we dubbed "Miss Moneypenny" due to her voice's resemblance to James Bond's assistant of the same name, gave us a really crazy route to the farthest grocery store in the direction opposite of town. However, after some uncomfortably windy roads, we made it and grabbed some essentials, most necessarily chocolate, to last us the next day or so. We got back and relaxed the day away, enjoyed a splendid dinner prepared by our very own Doug Johansson, and wandered down to town in search of internet for planning the next day's adventures.
First stop the next morning was the local market, as Wednesday is market day in Umbertide. All the vendors were out, from cheap clothing to fresh vegetables, but most important was the porchetta vendor. We bought four sandwiches for lunch and watched as the grandmotherly woman behind the counter carved us some fresh porchetta straight from the roasted pig. Mouths were watering (and one still is while writing) as she stuffed it into a bun accompanied with only a dash of salt--as no other seasoning or accompaniments were needed for this finest of smoked meats--and wrapped them tightly in wax paper. We quite willingly parted with a few euros a piece and packed them away--less willingly--for lunch later. After the market, we headed to the nearby town of Assisi, known as the home of the Catholic Saint Francis, inspiration for the Franciscan sect of Catholicism and for his focus on helping the poor and disenfranchised. We walked the old city on the hill, enjoyed some beautiful views of the Italian countryside and viewed the main cathedral in the town, complete with the burial place of St. Francis himself. After afternoon gelato, and some local lemon-pistachio pastries, we headed home and relaxed for the rest of the day, making one trip to town to pickup some freshly made ravioli from the local pasticceria and other accompaniments for dinner (including more chocolate). Another unsurprisingly incredible dinner followed and we were all content to sack out early.
The next day we headed to the famous Italian Renaissance city of Firenze. With nothing particular on our agenda, we headed to see Michelangelo's David, since I bear his name and was the only one not to have seen it. We wandered there slowly after passing the Duomo, the Ponteveccio bridge and the Ufizi Gallery, laughing at the crowds waiting to get in. Just our luck then that the wait to see the Galleria d'Accademia, home of the David, took a few hours. And each time our resolve waned, the line would move and our confidence in a timely entrance would rise, only to crash back down as we waited, prone, as the ushers allowed 15-20 people at a time. The line was not terribly long, but the rigidly managed capacity kept the line stalled. Eventually, we made it, in just enough time to breeze through the exhibits and see the David. It was a remarkable statue, but after the wait, and wading through the tour groups surrounding the statue, I was ready to move on having seen it. So, we headed for another walk through Firenze, pausing for more gelato, neither the first nor the last time such a stop was necessary, and headed up the hill to Piazzello Michelangelo for a beautiful view of the city. We wandered back through eastern streets of Firenze and back to the train station for our afternoon train. Once home, thanks to our trusty Skoda station wagon, we crashed for the evening.
Friday we started the morning with a trip to town to check internet, but more importantly, to procure me a trim. The family was starting to get embarrassed in my presence, and the least I could do was to negate their embarrassment with a beard trim. So, while the others sought out the internet for checking in back home and researching future plans, I struck out alone through the mean streets of Umbertide and eventually found a small barber's shop. The portly gentleman manning the shop and I exchanged a few words and gestures and eventually communicated our way into a three euro trim. Afterwards, I rejoined the family to much approval of the new look and we headed back to the villa for a relaxing afternoon and evening in the Italian countryside.
Our last day in Umbertide, Saturday, was a fitting conclusion to our countryside adventure. In the morning, we piled into the Skoda and trusted Miss Moneypenny to lead us to the nearby town of
Perugia. And thirty minutes later we landed in the town noteworthy for Amanda Knox's shenanigans a few years ago. Not much was happening in Perugia though. A small antiques market greeted us near the city center which we perused, before we browsed some shops, and saw loads of young kids gathered to receive some type of awards. After that, we roamed our way back to town and headed down for some final visiting of the city center. Then, in the evening, our host and landlord James invited us to his neighboring villa for a homemade dinner of sausage, lamb ribs and french fries, and of course wine. We enjoyed the dinner with James, his two children, and one of their friends while secretly wishing we could get updates on the Champions League final being played at the same time. The dinner and conversation were fantastic though, and we headed back satisfied with a fabulous evening to be greeted with a satisfactory result to the match. Though none of us had a vested interest in the outcome, we were happy to see Bayern Munich win the match to secure a historic season. We called it a night then, as Roma beckoned in the morning.
We awoke early, packed up our stuff and hit the road south, back toward Roma. First stop was Fiumuncino, and the airport, to return the car. We then took the airport train into the city and wandered our way to the (also fabulous) apartment my sister had secured for us near the Vatican. After getting settled into our flat, we decided to head for a walk around town, sure to see sights in the Eternal City. We hopped a metro to the stop Colosseo and what greeted our eyes as we exited the metro? The immediately recognizable Roman Colosseum. And what a magical sight it was. The rich blue sky contrasted wonderfully with the ancient stones illuminated in the afternoon sun. We walked around the structure, and with none of us crazy keen to fight the crowds inside, decided to continue onward through the city. From there it was up to Piazza Venezia, through the old streets of Rome to the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain finally ending at the Spanish Steps. After browsing the haute couture shops we found a small pizzeria broadcasting the Roma v. Lazio derby match between the two local soccer teams. The pizza was great, soured slightly by the 1-0 result in Lazio's favor; disappointing only for the fact that Roma has one of the USA's star players Michael Bradley on their side. The loss was quickly forgotten as we headed back to the apartment on foot. An ill-advised navigational risk failed to pay off and we found ourselves up against an insurmountable hill at which, exhausted, we opted for the efficiency of a Roman taxi.
Monday was a day of walking in Rome. First, we headed through the streets past the Vatican and Castello Lungotevere into the heart of Rome. After a pizza lunch we headed for more touring, a little shopping, and more exploring, before we sought gelato and people watching near the Pantheon. After the gelato, my dad and I were rudely awakened by a jean-clad undercover police officer who informed us we were not allowed to nap near the fountain in the square. So we decided more afternoon strolling was in order, before my dad and I headed for more shopping, but this time of the culinary variety. Another fresh pasta meal capped off a beautiful day in Rome.
To start our last day together we split up. My mom and I awoke early and headed for the Vatican while my dad and sister each headed off on their own jaunts around Rome. Our first stop was the stunning St. Peter's Basilica for a walk thorough the sacred hall which bears the name and holds the remains of the first Catholic pope. The imposing high ceilings, dark marble and vast gold sculptures gave the cathedral a truly powerful and reverential feel in the low light while simultaneously impressing upon visitors the massive historical wealth of the Catholic Church. After a fascinating walk through the Basilica, we headed to the line for the Vatican. Knowing that we only had a few hours before meeting up with the other half of the family, and thus in a vulnerable state, we succumbed to the hop-the-line scams and ended up paying a few extra euros for the privilege of switching one line for another. In the end, it turned into an adventure as my mom and I breezed through the Vatican with high priority on seeing the Sistine Chapel. We waded through the crowds of tourists through the textile galleries and famous paintings headed for Michelangelo's masterpiece, only to find it even more jammed with tourists and staffed with a few museum security guards trying to quiet the chatty hoards of tourists stuffed into such a beautiful room. Great as it was to see, it was truly a shame to see it so crowded and buzzing. Hardly the reverential room it was designed to be. That concluded my brief tour of the Vatican, however I hold solace in the fact that I had flicked a coin over my shoulder into the Trevi Fountain two days prior thus ensuring my return to the Eternal City. But on we went, meeting back up with my Dad and sister at Pizzarium, a highly acclaimed pizza place a few blocks from the Vatican's walls. And, despite the not very traditional Italian name, the pizza was superb and served as a great lunch. Afterwards, my mom, sister and I headed for more walking and shopping before being greeted with a fabulous baked pasta dinner from my father--a fitting cap to our family's stay in Italy.
That night we savored the dinner looking out over the streets of Rome knowing the next morning we would part again, the three others back stateside and me onward on my journey through Europe.
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