Travel Plans

Hi all!

I have plans to be traveling again soon. Cannot wait. Stay tuned for more details. I'll be posting photos here as well.

xox
S

image thesartorialist

Ostia, Italy

After site seeing in Roma for four straight, intense days we checked out to the relaxing and stunning city of Ostia. It's on the Mediterranean and exactly what is needed after mucking about in ancient ruins. Ostia back in the day was a major Roman port, but no longer. Now it's a tourist place, and the ancient part of the city is obviously a big touristy, historical area. We stayed on the sand:).

The parking here is insane. Anywhere and however is really taken to the extreme.

A third of a coconut was 3 euro, but I figured when in (the region of) Rome...

Roma, Italia

In Rome my Profesore gave us two days of the most intense walking tour of my life. Tuscany is cool and breezy and hot but not that hot. Rome is further south, and much much hotter than what I've gotten used to. So imagine walking intensely around August in Toronto for 6 hours straight. And I had two days of it. My Prof is a machine.

Rome is so old, and quite different from any other city I've ever been to. First off, it has so much ancient history which alters the vibe of the city. Rome was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, and then when it collasped it was the home of the Pope which essentially meant the political center of Italy. There was a period when the Pope didn't live here and the city basically shut down. It doesn't make anything, nor was it known for its banking like Florence, nor was it a port like Venice or Pisa...without the politically and religious stuff, it was nothing. Eventually the Pope came back and now it's the capital. Quite urban. Looks like it's about 60m long right? It's only 3m. It's mathematically created to give the illusion of depth and length. Insane. People did incredible things without digital entertainment.

Ancient ruins.

Trevi fountain. I got whistled at for putting my feet in the fountain, and then charmed my way out of a fine. Classy girl;).

Spanish steps. A friend and I sat at the base and people watched for a couple hours. Amazing area of Rome. Plus, so many people fall on the stairs. :)

This guy without a doubt had the best style out of anyone I've seen in Italy yet.

This symbolized a struggle. Before it was thought that self control and discipline were tantamount in a man's life. Then the focus was put on the human struggle. This sculpture epitomized that.

This is an ancient bronzed statue of Hercules. Very few are left because they were thought to be bad luck. It got hit by lightning, so they buried it. It was found much later when they were digging stuff up.

Since my Prof is amazing we got a moment inside the Pope's private Chapel in Vatican City. Obviously it's not open to the public.

St. Peter's tomb.

The Pope that died about 100yrs ago? Thats him.

Colliseum:

Firenze, Italia

Buongiorno,

Florence is about an hour north of Siena so it's really easy to get to, bus or train. Before I went there I had been told about Florence's leather industry and its beautiful buildings and fashion. I was not let down. It was beautiful, and pretty urban, and romantic, and everything you'd expect it to be. I was there for 4 days, one of which was with school, so I saw much of the city but certainly left with lots to explore for the next time.

This man wouldn't let me touch his horse without paying for a carriage ride, so I snuck a free photo of him instead. How stylish is he?!

The Duomo in Firenze. Huge Cathedral so it was hard to capture. This isn't a great photo but it shows just how massive it is. and absolutely beautiful and intricate.

Piazza Pitti. Really cool piazza, except for this man who evidently found it very warm. Pun intended. :)

House of Bianca Capella. Capella means hat in Italian. I forget the irony but I think Bianca liked her hats...some connection. Anyway...little history lesson. Marriage in this period was mostly for economic and political reasons, rarely was someone married out of love. Bianca was the mistress of someone important, yada yada yada... Her father was an influential guy. He declared her to be executed. Long story short, the man she loved created this building for her. And they lived happily ever after. Little more complicated than that, but my memory is becoming mush as the cities add up.

This is underneath a bridge that in the Medieval period had all butcher shops on it. The Duke of Florence (Cosimo the 1st I believe) didn't like walking around in all the blood and scattered flesh, so he had them banned. Now the bridge only has jewelry and something else.

Tourists will fall for anything;).

This is a Chapel that was created by a guy who was obsessed with math. Primarily I think he was a mathematician, geometry and then an artist. Renaissance was very much about quality of life, and to increase ones knowledge of the world, and culture and humanity. So this man created a Chapel that was exactly symmetrical, and mathematically even. It was pretty unbelieveable to be sitting in a room that is precisely measured to be symetric to the other side. This is the ceiling, which evenly splayed over the floor, which even fit into....you get the idea. Perfectionist doesn't even begin to describe this artist.

We climbed up to the top of Michaelangelo's Villa which was at the top of a beautiful hill. Big hike but worth it! Absolutely stunning view of Florence. This was just one angle of the city.

One of the bridges from above, at night.

A friend of mine and I were walking around Florence, and noticed a crowd. A performer! This guy was hilarious and had a child as a partner. I mentioned that I was glad he hadn't pulled me in, and then 5mins later he came up to me and made me go into the middle of the crowd and assist in his act. Next time I'll keep my mouth shut.

Florence was such an awesome weekend. Since it's so close so Siena, I may try to go back there briefly before I fly home. I w0uldn't mind more leather...:)

xo