Corfe Castle & the beach

It was a beautiful spring day. There was no soccer to go to so we looked in the National Trust book.

There was castle ruins that I wanted to see but wanted to find something nearby that everyone would like...but first the castle

Corfe Castle is in Dorset on the edge of the Isle of Purbeck. The castle sits in a gap of the chalk mountains that separate the Isle from the rest of England. In fact, the word "Corfe" is Saxon for gap. The castle dates back to the 11th century and has a very turbulent history. It was a royalist stronghold during the Civil War of the 1600s. When the castle was finally captured by the Parlementarians it was blown up.

After leaving the castle and the village of the same name(!) we drove a few miles down the road to a National Trust Beach, Studland Beach. The beach stretches for 3 miles along the edge of what is called the Jurassic Coast, a section of coast line that dates back over 100 million years and more.



We sat on the beach and enjoyed the sun. The temperature was in the high 60s with only a bit of wind. I looked, as usual, for sea shells while the kids dug in the sand. We brought a picnic lunch and ate it right there on the beach. Right next to the beach was a section of iron rocks where, when parts eroded, were left iron tubes and other interesting shapes. We made our way back home after a great day out only to discover that we left some books there...so I drove back the next Sunday.

Pompeii

We went to Sorrento so that we could visit Pompeii, a town near Naples that was buried in ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24th, 79.

Much can be said about Pompeii. The remains are in amazingly good shape: the arenas, theaters, temples, and the houses.





Everywhere you could easily imagine what the houses looked liked. The mosaics and wall paintings are still beautiful today.





Perhaps the most poignant reminders that this was a living town until the moment of the eruption are the bodies that have been preserved. You can feel the pain of the people. From the man covering his face



to the body of the man found crouching next to his donkey.

Sorrento

Leaving Rome we took a train down to Naples where we caught a local train service that took us down to Sorrento. Sorrento is a small beautiful town on the far side of the Gulf of Naples. Perhaps what struck me most was that pretty much all available land had lemons and oranges growing. We ate lunch as right after checking in (another great pizza / pasta / calzone meal) and then walked around town.



There were small stores up and down every street: inlaid wood carving, fruits, touristy items, butchers, etc.


I particularly liked the limoncello stores! Limoncello is a strong lemon-flavored alcohol drink that Sorrento is famous for. Yum!!! Creme di Limoncello is particularly tasty!

It was great just walking around the town: very calm and casual. Though I bet it gets crazy in the summer.

Both nights in Sorrento we decided to go to the local grocery store and by cheese and fruits for dinner. The locally-grown oranges were amazing. The best I've ever tasted. The second night I bought some fresh locally-produced cheese. Perfect way to end the vacation. The last night we also went out for our last gelato.

We left on Holy Thursday. At 3am that night there was going to be a Good Friday procession throughout town lasting 3 hours. All marchers were going to be dressed in all-black. It would've been great to see that!

Each of the three towns (Florence, Rome, and Sorrento) were different but each were also great to visit. Florence for its art and history. Rome for, well, Rome. And Sorrento for being the small and charming town that it is.

Rome - Vatican City

The last place that we were able to visit in Rome was Vatican City. We took the Rome Subway this time! We got there and noticed that a line had formed for the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. So we walked to the end of the line: around one corner and you could see the line extending two more blocks. We get to the 2nd corner and notice that the line extended almost all the way to St Peter's Square. We knew that we would be mad later if we didn't stay. 2.5 hours later we finally made it inside.

We made a little of a bee line to the Sistine Chapel but were lead through Raphael's Rooms: a number of rooms that Raphael had painted by commission for Pope Julius II.



Additional rooms included the Hall of Animals, Hall of Maps, a larger Egyptian collection, etc. But as everyone knows perhaps the main reason to wait 2.5 hours in line is to see Michelangelo's masterpieces in the Sistine Chapel. The Last Judgement and the ceiling! There were signs saying that taking pictures was forbidden but the staff that was everyone didn't seem to care.

Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508 to repaint the ceiling. It took him 4 years to paint the ceiling laying on his back the entire time on a tall scaffolding. The length of the ceiling is 40.5 meters!



Michelangelo's other masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel is the Last Judgement. Michelangelo worked on this painting from 1535 - 1541. The painting had been restored recently was the color was amazingly deep and bright.



I know I used the word "amazing" a number of times but it was very awe-inspiring.

We ate a late lunch and decided to head back up to St Peter's Square to see if St. Peter's Basilica was open. Unfortunately it was closed. In fact there were barricades around the entire square and you could only get in with tickets. After asking a few questions we found out that Pope Benedict was going to be saying a mass to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of Pope John Paul II's death. If it wasn't our last night in Rome and if we didn't have a morning train to Naples we would've stayed. We went back to our hotel and saw the end of the mass on TV.

Rome - Colosseum and Forum

What can I say except "WOW." The scale and grandeur was simply amazing. I had booked a guided tour of the Colosseum ahead of time so, again, we were able to skip the long line.



The tour guide was very good and explained a lot of the history of the Colosseum and what you could still see today. The Colosseum is named after after a huge statue called "The Colossus of Nero" that was outside of the Colosseum. The amphitheater could hold up to 50,000 spectators for the games.

Much of the Colosseum is in ruins or missing because of forces both natural (earthquake) and man-made (material use elsewhere) but the scale of the building is still there for all to see.

We then walked past the Arch of Constantine just outside the Colosseum. Constantine had it build to commemorate his victory over Maxentius in the Battler of Milvian Bridge in October, 312.



Next we walked up to the Palantine. It is one of the seven hills of Rome and is one of the oldest sections of the town. It is supposedly where Romulus and Remus were found and cared for by the she-wolf.

Lastly we walked back down the Palantine to the Roman Forum. It was the administrative and judicial center of ancient Rome. The number of ruins and the quality of the remains is simply amazing: temples from the pre-Christian era, the Basilicas, the arches.




I could go on and one. Lastly we walked to see Trajan's Column just outside the main forum area. The column stands 30 meters high and was build to commemorate Trajan's two victories over the Dacians. The entire length of the column contain Roman military scenes.

Rome - Trevi fountain & many churches

After eating lunch and checking into our hotel we were energized and hit the streets. We decided to head to the Trevi fountain. It was a long walk but it was a great way to get out and see the town.



Our camera decided to take a "break" there and, while I was trying to figure things out, Jennifer and the kids were tossing coin after coin into the fountain.The camera started working again!

The crowd at the Trevi fountain was huge. The fountain itself is pretty easy to miss: It is in a little out of the way area. It was great just sitting there and watching people for a while.

Afterwards I wanted to visit a few churches that were in the area: Santa Maria in Trivio, San Marcello al Corso, and Santi Apostoli. The English churches can generally be described as subdued. The Austrian churches are bright. The churches in Rome are awe-inspiring: the age, the art work, the size, the organs, etc. Also there are churches everywhere! In the crypt of Santi Apostoli, below the altar, are the remains of two Apostles: St James and St Phillip.




In our later days in Rome we also visited Sanra Maria della Vitoria, Santa Susanna, Santo Maria degli Angeli, and Santa Maria Maggiore.

Santa Susanna was designed by the Vatican in the early 1900's as the American church in Rome. We attended Palm Sunday mass there. The walls of the church, from floor to ceiling, are paintings.




Santa Maria degli Angeli is unique for a couple of reasons. The church was designed by Michelangelo and is built in the remains of the tepidarium of the Baths of Diocletian. Unfortunately, the church was updated in the past and the only remains of Michelanglo's work is the main entrance.



Santa Maria Maggiore was the last church that we visited in Rome. A church was first constructed on this site in the year 360. Every August 5, a special mass in Santa Maria Maggiore's Cappella Sistina commemorates the miracle that led to the founding of the basilica: the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to Pope Liberio and ordered him to build a church in her honor on the spot where snow would fall on the night of August 5 (an event about as likely in a Roman August as snow in the Sahara). The Madonna of the Snows is celebrated with a shower of white rose petals from the ceiling.

Rome - Getting there and our hotel

We took the EurostarPlus train from Florence to Rome. Very Nice! The seats were great but, most of all, the travel time was cut down for ~1.5 hours from the normal 3 since we didn't make any stops. Train travel also enable us to look at the windows as we wound through wine country and also get a glimpse of the changing terrain.

The train station in Rome, Termini, is very big. Both of the city's two metro lines intersect at Termini, too. However it was easy to get in and out of the station. We walked to our hotel here, too, but it was only a 5 minute walk this time rather than the marathon through Florence. The family room at this hotel was one large room with 3 single beds and a double bed. It did the trick because after a long day of walking we were pretty much get back to the hotel after dinner and crash.

Our room wasn't ready when we got there since we were early so we got lunch at a local restaurant and then hit the street.

Food in Rome, just like Florence, was great. Great for kids because everywhere had pizza and pasta. But the pizza and pasta were all very good and we all good experiment a little with tastes, etc. The Italians tend to eat dinner later in the evening and, after a long day of walking, we quickly fell into that, too. Things aren't rushed.

At one of the restaurants the waiter would talk alot with the kids and asked Rachel if she wanted to dance. Later during dinner that night he came back up and asked if he could bring over a surprise. A few minutes later the lights go out and then a piece of pie is brought over with a candle in it for Colin. The waiters all came over and sang happy birthday to him (no where near his birthday).

At another restaurant the night before we left the waiter brought over Limoncello for Jennifer and Amaro for me (both "digestives," after dinner drinks).

Florence - Santa Croce

The other "main" church in the old part of Florence is Santa Croce. It has been known as the place where the famous Florentines are buried. Those buried there include: Galileo, Michelangelo, Rossini, Marconi, Machiavelli. In addition there is a memorial to Dante, who is buried in Ravenna.




The facade of the church, which overlooks the piazza, is made of almost pure white Carrera marble.

There is a cloister next to the church. We took a little break in the courtyard and Rachel got out her sketch book and continued one of her drawings. Natalie and a were standing about 10 yards away and just watching as a group of German tourists came out. One noticed her drawing and called 2 others over and they stood behind her and watched. One commented "miniature Michelangelo."

Florence - The Duomo and Baptistry

The Duomo, officially called Santa Maria del Fiore, is the main cathedral in Florence. It was built on the remains of Santa Reparata, a 9th century church. The construction started in the late 1200's. The construction continued until the early 1400's when the dome as finally finished.



In the same square is the Baptistry. The Baptistery is renowned for Ghiberti's 15th century bronze doors with relief sculptures - considered so beautiful that Michelangelo christened them the "Gates of Paradise" - and his creation is often cited as the dawn of the Renaissance. The children of Florence would be baptized there in one big ceremony once a year.



The interior is decorated with a shimmering gold mosaic and features the tomb of the pirate pope, Baldassare Cossa, made by Donatello and paid for by the Medici family

Florence - Uffizi and Accademia Galleries

Florence has an almost untold number of galleries in the central part of town. But the two main galleries are the Uffizi and Accademia galleries. Unlike the British National Gallery and the Louvre, the galleries in Florence tend to be a bit smaller. It was suggested to us that we book our tickets in advance so that we don't have to wait in the loooooong lines in front of the galleries. Luckily our hotel was above to book the tickets so all we had to do was pick them up and head inside.

The Uffizi has a wide-ranging collection: Michelangelo, Raphael, Fra Lippi, Caravaggio, da Vinci, etc. The Virtual Ufizi website includes a picture of every work of art in the gallery arranged by room. Outside the gallery is almost a circus atmosphere. There is a long line (without reservations) to get in. A large number of artists selling their own paintings of Florence and a few unlicensed vendors. The Carabinieri are there to play cat-and-mouse with the unlicensed vendors.

The Accademia gallery has a smaller collection but the major attraction there is, without a doubt, Michelangelo's David. After walking down a corridor of unfinished Michelangelo works you get to David, all 4m (~ 14 ft) of him. The workers are very strict in not allowing any pictures but the detail of David was simply amazing. Outside this gallery the line was very festive. There was a group of students from Spain, I believe, singing and dancing while waiting for the non-reservation line to inch forward.

Florence - Ponte Vecchio and the hotel

Our hotel in Florence, Hotel Ritz, was a good bit away from the hotel. But we thought it would be nice...well..I did...to walk to the hotel. It was exhausting since we didn't really look at anything but only made out way to the hotel.

We did some walking around the town that day just to get our bearings and found a local Pizzeria to eat at.

The first stop on the first full day in Florence was to the Ponte Vecchio bridge over the River Arno. The jewelery stores, which line both sides of the bridge, are amazing. The lights just sparkle off all the gold in the windows. One can't help but stop!

Pisa Airport and the Train to Florence

While getting ready for the trip I (re)discovered that our flight from Gatwick Airport was a 8AM. Needing to get to the airport for the 8 AM flight at 6AM meant that either we leave our house around 4AM (!) or stay the night near Gatwick. We chose the later!

The BA flight was non-eventful. I was able to take a few pictures as we flew over the Alps.


We flew in Pisa Airport, the international hub for Florence, and then caught the train into the Santa Maria Novello station in Florence.