Rachel's Adventures in Rome!: May 2013

After our day in Grado and Aquilea, we went as a group to the train station. From there, our professors and some our classmates were returning to Rome, some were headed to Florence, and nine of us were off to Cinque Terre for a few days of fun in the sun. Cinque Terre are five fishing villages on the northwest part of the coast of Italy. The villages are connected by a train and also by walking paths, known as the “path of love.” After spending a night in a hostel on the outskirts of Venice, we took a three-hour train ride to La Spezia, the larger town outside of Cinque Terre. From La Spezia, the five towns are in this order down the coast: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. When we got to La Spezia, we learned that the walking paths were closed between all of the towns except between Vernazza and Monterosso due to landslides. We were staying in the fourth town over, Vernazza, so we caught the smaller train that runs between the villages and went to find our accommodations. Instead of booking a hostel, we had booked inexpensive apartments, so when we got there, the man in charge of the booking met us at the train station and showed us to our apartments. Originally, I was supposed to be sharing an apartment with three other girls, but unfortunately two of them had gotten sick and returned to Rome at the last minute, so I would just be sharing the apartment with one other person. As disappointed as I was that my friends couldn’t be there, this meant that I had a room and a king-sized bed to myself. I could tell right away that I would get a few nights of very good sleep. The apartment was light and open, with a sizable kitchen and a terrace on the top floor. The seven boys were staying in two apartments just down the street from us. After getting settled, we enjoyed our first seafood lunch in our little town. Then we explored around Vernazza, checking out the beach, the pier, and some of the little shops. The little beach was fun because to get there, you had to go through a cave open on either end--a natural tunnel of sorts, which opened you out onto a beautiful little rocky beach. The town was tiny--just several blocks of a main street--and beautiful! We spent the afternoon outside, reading and journalling out on the pier. That night we each picked our own dinner-to-go from a place in town, either pizza, a panino, or a kebab for most of us. We brought our dinner and some wine back to the girls’ apartment and sat out on the terrace eating and enjoying the evening and each other’s company.

The next morning we woke up to a steady rainfall that didn’t look like it would let up in the near future. We spent the morning in a wonderful little coffee shop reading and watching the rain fall outside the window. The rain continued into the early afternoon, so we decided it would be a good day to explore the other towns. We got a train pass for the day, and spent the rest of the day in Corniglia, Riomaggiore, and Manarola. My favorite of these three towns was Corniglia. The town itself is perched up on the cliff, so from the train station we walked up several flights of stairs to reach the main part of town. Because of its position, Corniglia had several lookout points, which gave us a view of the vast expanse of the Ligurian Sea. Although it was still raining on and off, the view was absolutely gorgeous. Like Vernazza, Rio Maggiore and Manarola were right on the water and little harbors for docking boats. All four of the towns that I had seen so far were colorful places, with red, yellow, and orange houses. One of my travel companions had been to Cinque Terre about four years ago, and she remembered a favorite seafood restaurant in Manarola, so we ended there for dinner. The restaurant had a wide variety of delicious-sounding fish dishes, and we all decided to splurge and order multiple dishes. Several of us started with a homemade pasta with tomato sauce and lobster, then I had a seafood salad and stuffed mussels (a typical dish). It was all delicious, but I think the seafood salad was probably my favorite. It’s hard to beat good old simple seafood with a little bit of lemon juice. We headed to bed hoping that the weather would be better the next day.

We were not disappointed. We awoke to a beautiful, sunny day, and decided to try the hike between our town and the farthest town, Monterosso, which we had not yet visited. The hike took about an hour and a half at a reasonably swift pace. I am not a big fan of heights, and so there were part of the hike that I found intimidating because we were high up and the trail was narrow, but the view was unbeatable. The hike was also fun because we ran into a world of tourists: French, German, American, Italian, etc. Everyone was enjoying themselves on a beautiful day and was friendly as we passed them on the trail. We were hot and sweaty by the time we reached Monterosso, but luckily it is the town with a beautiful wide beach, and we had our swimsuits with us! Several other members of our program had arrived in Cinque Terre the night before and were waiting for us on the beach in Monterosso. Once we found them and spread out our beach towels, I jumped right into the sea. It was chilly at first, but after swimming around for a few seconds it was perfect and very refreshing after the hike. We spent several hours on the beach, swimming, reading, sun bathing, and playing volleyball. Of course we made sure to grab lunch and gelato during that time! We had enjoyed the restaurant from the night before so much that we decided to take our friends there that evening. That night I had salmon ravioli--also delicious! Following dinner we went back to our apartment for some wine and time with friends. Eventually we went out and sat on the pier and looked up at the stars. After the hustle and bustle of multiple cities, it was amazing to be in a place that was so quiet, and lit by the stars instead of by streetlight.

The next day was our travel day, but we didn’t leave until the afternoon, so we spent the day picking up souvenirs and hanging out by the pier. For lunch I grabbed Cinque Terre-style “fast food.” I got a paper cone filled with mixed fried seafood--calamari, shrimp, and anchovies. After lunch, we got gelato for dessert of course! After three-and-a-half wonderful days spent in the sun and on the beach with friends, it was finally time to head back to Rome and prepare ourselves to get back to work the next day. After such a full, fascinating and wonderful, but exhausting excursion north as a class, Cinque Terre was a beautiful and relaxing break. I enjoyed some hiking, beach time, and sleep, and lots of good food and good friends. At the end of the trip I was torn. I loved my new vacation spot and my spacious apartment, but I was also ready to go home, home to Rome where my apart-mates, classmates, and professors waited to continue our adventures in medieval history. We were lucky enough to get a direct fast train from La Spezia to Rome, and so after four hours we were back in the Eternal City. Although I was tired from my travel day, I was also refreshed from my days off, and I was ready to get back to school and back to work, ready to begin the second half of term!

On the train to La Spezia, we saw the part of the country where marble is mined

We made it to Vernazza!

The pier in Vernazza

The Pier

Looking back at Vernazza from the pier

The cave that led to the beach

The beach

Hanging out with friends before sunset

Sunset on our first night

The rocks out on the pier were beautiful--if you looked closely, this is what you might see

A view of Corniglia

We found lots of these guys on our walk up to Corniglia

The view from Corniglia

Rio Maggiore, I think

Manarola

I this looks like wood, but it is rock!

Pasta with lobster

Seafood salad

Stuffed mussels

Looking down at Vernazza while hiking

A view of Monterosso in the distance

My room

The kitchen and other bedroom

Our terrace

The view from our terrace

My lunch the last day--fried seafood!

I was particularly excied about the Venice portion of our trip because I had visited with my parents about a decade earlier and remembered the city fondly. Our hotel was right near the train station, so when we arrived, we only had to walk a few blocks to drop off our stuff. Right away, I was stuff by the intense volume and density of tourists. My guidebook had warned me that Venice was one of Italy’s most touristy, expensive, and confusing cities. My professor had also warned us that Venice is a very confusing city to navigate and that most people just follow the main routes (there are signs that will send you to the major sites--San Marco, the Rialto Bridge, etc.). Luckily, the train station was one of the locations marked on signs, so as long as I followed signs to the “Ferrovia,” I would eventually find my way home.

After checking in, we were free to grab lunch on our own before meeting at our first stop. I walked with friends, map in hand, towards the church where we would be meeting. I think my strongest memory from 10 years ago, is of the smell of the canals--I remember them being quite stinky and fishy. This time around they weren’t quite so pungent. This might have had something to do with the weather. The last time I was here it was July and it was hot and humid, probably holding in all the smells. Although I had been to Venice once before, I found myself taken with the beauty of the canals and the strangeness of the city in comparison with what we had seen so far on our trip. I also enjoyed seeing my travel companions experience the city for the first time. I could see their amazement as the canals unfolded before them. For me, there is something about being on the water that makes me feel more alive, and I felt a lightness come over me as we made our way towards lunch. We grabbed sandwiches from a coffee shop and sat on the edge a canal to eat before meeting our group. We then went on a guided tour throughout the city which included the Rialto Bridge, the Basilica of St. Mark’s, and St. Mark’s Square.

Our first view of the lagoon from the train

The Grand Canal

Watch out for gondolas!

The Gold Palace on the Grand Canal (Once covered in gold)

In the mornings, this is a fish market

A cool looking clock in one of the squares

The Rialto!

A gondolier in his "uniform"

Another view of the Grand Canal

I think that St. Mark’s square is grand and beautiful. I loved the great winged lion against the starry background, and the majestic gold horses which sit atop St. Mark’s Basilica. I especially love thinking about how the square was designed to be seen and entered from the water. This means that the grandest part of the square opens up onto the water, flanked by two columns. Following our class visit to St. Mark’s, we were free for the afternoon. A friend and I decided to go up to the small museum on the second floor of St. Mark’s. There we saw the original gold horses--spoils of war from Constantinople (the ones that are now on the basilica are replicas), and we had access to the balcony which wraps around the outside of the basilica (we were able to stand at the replica horses’ feet). We stood there for quite a while, first looking out over the water, then looking out over the main part of the square, just watching life go by below us. After a while we headed down to get a coffee on the square, but after running into four friends who had ended up with a coffee bill of 50 Euro, we opted for a gelato to go instead. We sat on the stairs at the edge of the square and people-watched for a while longer before heading back to the hotel. To get home we caught a vaporetto (water bus) which took us back along the grand canal. The architecture along the canal is beautiful and some of the buildings have painted facades. I think the weirdest thing is seeing the water go right up to the edge of the buildings with no sidewalk or tapering of the land down to the water to protect the buildings. It’s like the buildings are simply sitting in the water with no land to protect them. Some buildings have doors that open right out onto the water so that you can hop right into your boat from your back door. After a short rest, I headed to dinner with some friends.

A St. Mark's Lion

Another lion

"Neigh" says the golden horse replica

I snuck a picture of the real horses

The flag of Venice

The square from the balcony of St. Mark's

The portion of the square that looks out over the water

The next day we were up nice and early to head to one of the outlying islands, Torcello. This trip was optional, so our group was smaller as some people stayed in the city to explore. In large part, I wanted to go for the boat ride which was about 40 minutes and took us out into the lagoon, giving us a better sense for the geography of Venice. During our tour the day before, our guide had shown us a map of the Venice lagoon and explained more about the geography and how the islands were originally populated. The islands are a good defensive position because the water in the lagoon is quite shallow and so attackers who don’t know the waters are likely to run aground before they ever reach land. It was a beautiful day, and a nice temperature, and the time on the boat passed quickly as we watched the islands and other boats fly by. We changed boats at Burano, the island of lace. When I visited Venice with my parents about ten years earlier, we took a day trip to Murano, the island of glass, and Burano, the island of lace. Both islands are also known for their brightly painted houses.

Torcello is a tiny little island, and today is barely populated. But it was the first continuously populated part of Venice, and once had the largest population in the Republic of Venice. After the fall of the Roman empire, Torcello was one of the first successfully populated lagoon islands when the Venetians fled barbarian invasions on the mainland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torcello). We walked about ten minutes along a footpath next to a canal until we reached a little church. We went inside Santa Maria Assunta to look in particular at the Last Judgment mosaic which took up the whole back wall of the church. There was a Byzantine influence in the design of the church because Torcello had enjoyed close cultural and trading ties with Constantinople (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torcello). Since we had quite a bit of time at the church, I sat down sketch. When I sketch, I enjoy picking out one detail and trying to recreate that smaller piece on my page. In the Last Judgment mosaic, I enjoyed the devils depicted in the hell corner of the mosaic. I picked one particular blue devil and sketched him. I took a bit of artistic license and gave him a tail. I thought it added a little character. I then walked around the side of the church and sat at the edge of a much larger canal for a bit. It was a relaxing trip and we weren’t trying to do too much at once, which was nice. We caught the boat back and had a free afternoon in Venice. I spent several hours walking around the city with friends, and picking up a few souvenirs.

A view from the boat to Torcello

This looked fun!

Burano

Another view of Burano--look at all those colors!

The canal in Torcello

Ancient artifacts outside Santa Maria Assunta

Santa Maria Assunta

The canal behind the church on Torcello

In the late afternoon we met up at the Venice Jewish Museum for a tour of the Jewish ghetto and synagogues. I had been here before with my parents, but I didn’t remember much. One thing that I did remember was that from the outside, the only way to identify the synagogues was by their five arched windows. From the main piazza in the ghetto, I was able to pick out two of the three Ashkenazi, or Eastern European, synagogues. During the tour we got to visit the French and German synagogues. There is a third Ashkenazi synagogue that we were not able to visit. We also got to see one of the two Sephardic, or Spanish and Portuguese synagogues. Of the two Sephardic synagogues, one is significantly larger than the other. The modern Sephardic community uses the larger one in the summer and the smaller one in the winter because it’s cheaper to heat. Because they had already switched to the summer synagogue when we visited, the saw the smaller synagogue on our tour. This was the synagogue that was shown in the very first scene of the Merchant of Venice movie (which I have not actually seen--hopefully I will get around to it this summer!). Jews do not allow images in their places of worship, and being back in synagogues (I’ve grown up as a Reform Jew) reminded me why the Catholic churches that we have been visiting feel so strange as places of worship. While synagogues have beautiful ornamentation, they do not depict God, or tell stories on the walls. While I find the churches interesting as subjects of history and art history, they are more elaborate than any place of worship I have grown up with, and they feel distracting and overwhelming as places of prayer. It’s interesting to observe the ways in which what I’ve grown up with has changed my sense of spaces on this trip, and the meaning of these places for me.

Following our organized tour, I wandered around the neighborhood a bit more. That evening we had a group dinner at a kosher restaurant, Gam Gam. The food was Mediterranean style--we had pita with hummus and baba ganouj, and cous cous with meat, fish, and vegetables. After dinner I broke off from the group and hopped on a vaporetto to the Rialto. Then, I walked the rest of the way to St. Mark’s. Our guide had told us that the square should really be seen at night, and since it was our last night, I was determined to make it there despite being tired.

The square was lit up all around the edge, and there was live music coming from several of the restaurants. I wandered around for awhile, just enjoying the beauty of the place, and observing the people all around me. I walked from the square down to the water and looked out at the vast, dark expanse. Water always seems more mysterious and dangerous at night when you can’t see where it begins or ends. I had just missed the last vaporetto, so I started off for home on foot I started off following signs to the Rialto, but soon switched to following signs for the train station. The signage is pretty good, but there aren’t signs on every street corder, so occasionally you’ll turn a corner, not see a sign, and have to trust your gut as to which way you should continue. At one point, I got myself in a more residential area of smaller streets, and there weren’t any signs for several blocks. I continued wandering for a few more minutes, but still didn’t get myself found. Luckily, I remembered the way I’d come, so I back-tracked and got myself back on a main street. I think I ended up taking a long way home, but I got there eventually!

The piazza in the Jewish ghetto--you can see a synagogue on the left

A view of one of the synagogues

A fun sign in the Jewish ghetto!

The Rialto at night

St. Mark's Square at night

St. Mark's at night

On the final day of our trip,we took the People-Mover (!) back to the mainland to visit the towns of Grado and Aquilea. Grado is a town located on the peninsula of the Adriatic, and Aquilea is situated on the river Natissa about 10km from the sea. My favorite part of this day was our visit to the cathedral in Aquilea which has my favorite mosaic floors of the trip. They are largely secular, and depict all sorts of animals. My favorite scenes were images of the ocean, including fishermen, fish, octopus, and even sea monsters. We also visited a museum which housed many ancient Roman artifacts. Aquilea is believed to be the largest Roman city yet to be excavated. It will be interesting to visit again in a decade or so, and see how the excavations have progressed (I hope I am so lucky!).

Overall, I found our trip to Venice to be wonderful. I found it more draining than I expected to be in such a touristy city. I had to be more on my guard and navigating through people constantly, but it was worth it. Architecturally and geographically, Venice is just such an interesting place, and it was the first place that I was coming back to for a second time. I don’t remember a lot from my first visit, but I do remember the sort of magical and almost unreal feeling that comes with being in a city on the water. It feels like you’re floating, and that you want to hold on to solid ground because it could slip out from under you at any point. I enjoyed learning more about the history of Venice, why it was settled, and why it was such a good location defensively. In addition, I saw some of my favorite sites thus far, including St. Mark’s and the mosaic floors in Aquilea. Yet as someone who hates being lost, I also found Venice to be draining because there is always a sense that you are slightly lost in Venice which kept me slightly on edge whenever I was walking around by myself or trying to arrive somewhere at a particular time. If I have the opportunity, I would return to Venice yet again because it is such a unique experience, but I would keep my visit short because it is also an exhausting one.