Mom & Mara Visit Italia!!!

On Wednesday April 17 my mom & aunt Mara made their voyage safely to Italia! I was so excited for them to be here and to get to show them around Florence, Rome and Castiglion Fiorentino! For the 9 days they were here I got to see them for 6 days, and it was an amazing beyond amazing trip! I was so glad to be able to take them around Rome, one of my favorite cities in Rome, and to get to be with the 2 of them their first time in Italy, and my mom's first time abroad!

When we first saw each other...I almost got hit by a car I was so excited to get to them!

When I first got there I took the 2 of them to enjoy their first Italian pastries (not so good) and cappuccions (very good) and catch up the past 2 and half months I've spent in Italy. We then went on my school field trip to the Accademia and Medici Chapel, which both, of course, don't allow pictures. We got to Michaelangelo's REAL "David" (yes, there is a replica one outside of Palazzo Vecchio) and some other sculptures by Michaelangelo. We toured the Medici Chapel and the two of them were introduced to our awful tour guide, and then we broke off to grab lunch. It just so happened my friend Clara's mom was in town too, so the 3 of us went to the San Lorenzo Market to get these amazing, cheap roast beef sandwiches. It's actually a funny story b/c as students we try to find the cheapest thing, and these sandwiches are delicious and cheap, but with our moms there we were able to discover the restaurant had other foods, like artichokes in olive oil, and caprese salad! 

First cappuccino for mommy!

We walked around the market for awhile to get some souvenirs and then it started POURING (Italy really does have April showers!). We were suppose to meet our professor at an art exhibit, but we didn't feel like running across town in the rain, so we stuck it out until it stopped and headed over to Santa Maria del Fiore, home of the Duomo.

In San Lorenzo Market buying souvenirs!

My mom, me & Aunt Mara outside Santa Maria del Fiore.

The inside of the Duomo

The 3 of us toured the inside for awhile, and then my mom suggested the 2 of us climb the 463 steps to the top. I was really proud of us that we could do, but once we got us there it was raining, so our victory was short lived before we headed back down to find Mara.

I took the 2 of them around the city to see a couple other famous sites, but I had to head back to Castiglion Fiorentino because my final studio presentation was the next day!

Climbing up to the top

View from the top of the Duomo

View from the top of the Duomo of Santa Croce

View from the top of the Duomo

View from the top of the Duomo of Palazzo Vecchio

View from the top of the Duomo of Piazza Republica

Some of the engineering tools Brunelleschi used to construct the Duomo

Mara & I at Piazza Republica

My mom outside of Santa Croce- I love this picture- Thanks Mara!

The next day, Thursday, I met the 2 of them on the train headed to Rome! We spent our first evening in Rome just finding the bed and breakfast and getting dinner. We spent a nice evening over wine catching up on mostly my life, but just getting to spend time each other was great!


The next morning the weather seemed to be fine as we stepped out the door, but it was good thing we brought umbrellas because it started to downpour on our way to the synagogue of Rome and Jewish museum. It was really cool for me to be able to compare a synagogue to all the churches I have seen throughout Europe, and luckily I was not let down- there is a difference between an ancient church and ancient synagogue.




We spent the rest of the day wandering through Roman ruins such as the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain, and we were able to enjoy a nice lunch on the Spanish Steps. One of the coolest things happened that day though- WE GOT TO SEE IT RAIN INSIDE THE PANTHEON! I may be an architecture nerd for being so excited about it, but it was beyond cool to see it rain through the oculus of the Pantheon and "flood" as the architects had intended.

Me at the Trevi Fountain

My mom at the Trevi Fountain

Dome of the Pantheon

Aunt Mara, my mom & I inside the Pantheon while it's raining!

Rafael's Tomb

After we ate our lunch on the Spanish Steps and soaked up some sun, we metroed over to Piazza del Popolo, a more metropolitan area of Rome and we visited the MAAXI museum. Last time I was in Rome I never got to see the exhibits, only the exterior. Well, as it turns out, all the exhibits were EXTREMELY too artsy for me and went right over my head. But the 3 of us enjoyed making fun of how we didn't understand that a wad of dirty clothes was art.


We finished with dinner and ended our night picking up snacks and wine and having a girls night so we could get some rest for our next day at the Vatican!


Saturday we toured the Vatican museum first thing in the morning which is a beautiful museum but is so massive, it's hard to take everything in. I tried to point out most of the major works (once we finally got un-lost in the museum) and made our way to the finale of the tour, the Sistine Chapel. Though it doesn't feel very holy, I think the chapel is beautiful, and even more amazing once you know the rivalry story behind it. 


Luckily we were able to find the secret doorway that led us straight from the chapel in to St. Peter's Basilica, otherwise it would have been another 1.5 mile walk around the city walls, and an hour wait through security.


The two of them absolutely could not get over how beautiful it was and its massiveness. We spent a good amount of time walking around, and I finally got to see Michaelangelo's real "Pieta" since I didn't get to see it last time. We finished up with lunch by the Vatican and then observed Italian siesta till the early evening.


We went back out later that night to Piazza Navona, a piazza famous for it's street performers, and we saw some really incredible artists and dancers. We ended with a nice dinner outside and of course, gelato. On our way home we stopped by the Trevi Fountain again which is a completely different experience at night, and the 2 of them loved it as did I.

At the Vatican Museum

   

The Pieta

Inside Saint Peter's Basilica

Statue of Saint Peter

The outside of Saint Peter's

Piazza Vaticani

Some Police marching bands we saw on our way to Piazza Navona

Street artist at Piazza Navona

Sunday we spent the morning at the Roman  Forum & Colosseum which are both landmarks that just shock and awe because they are still standing and are so old! Neither of them realized how gruesome and barbaric that activity was that took place in Colosseum, so I may have ruined it for them, but as we exited we got to see the parade of soldiers that were protesting their extinction (the locals are trying to get rid of them b/c it is too touristy).


We grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the train station only to find out there was a train strike! A REAL Italian experience. In the past 2 and a half months I had never encountered one, but we were bale to figure out how to get to Florence, and by some stroke of luck I caught the ONLY train out of Florence that day that stopped in my town. The weekend ended perfectly and I was still going to see them one last time!

Roman Forum & Temple to Saturn

Me & Mara at the Roman Forum

My mom & I at the Colosseum

  

Roman Gladiators and Soldiers

The muses

The consuls

...and of course Julius Caesar

 Tuesday morning I made the walk down to the train station to meet the 2 of them as they came to visit the town of Castiglion Fiorentino- the small Tuscan town they had both been dreaming of and missing in the hustle and bustle of Florence and Venice. I took them around town to see the main corso and some of our favorite places to hang out, and then we went to nice lunch at a typical Italian cucina- underground built under bricks with wine bottles surrounding the walls. We enjoyed a nice lunch and then I took them of a tour of the study center where I live and study. They saw some of the breathe taking views I get to see every day as I walk around, and they saw the community I've been living in. We then went for the best cappuccino in town before I took them to my stone carving class to meet my instructor. They absolutely loved Alberto Bruni and all his work. They were astounded, and agreed that while he reminded me A LOT of my food-pushy Jewish grandmother, he was the cutest little old Italian man ever. We enjoyed some cake and got to tour his gallery, but unfortunately I didn't get to ride the stone tricycle.


I brought them back to the center to see my key I had carved (I had finished it the week before) and they decided to stay for dinner! They got to witness the 3 course meals I enjoy twice a day, 5 days a week, and we ended the night off with gelato back on the way to the train. 

my mom and I overlooking the valley of Castiglion Fiorentino

me & my stone carving instructor Alberto Bruni

The trip overall went better than I could have even TRIED to plan it, and I hope you two (yes, I know you are reading) enjoyed it as much as I did.

And for the rest of you readers, if you ever need a tour guide in Italy, you have my contact information, and I have two somewhat biased references!

My next and final post will be about preparing to leave Italy, Italian may-fest, and my bittersweet excitement to come back home! Thank you all for reading! Ce Vediamo! Ciao!