Torture chambers, medival towns and Casanova?... and you thought Italy was all about pasta LMAO

Did you notice the skulls stuck on the walls of this torture museum? Neither did I! Until I got closer...oh, and to answer your question, yes, those are real human skulls... creepy huh?

These two small hill top towns seemed to be trapped in time... medieval time that is. Surrounded by fortress towers and made of 500 yr old stone, the city felt like we were entering another world. And the creepy and beautiful aspect of this place was the smell... ancient linden trees lined the small streets and gardens. I don’t know if you’ve ever smelled linden before but it has a really strong, floral scent. At home, when I don’t feel well I usually have linden tea, and the smell of the tea alone makes me feel better :)

This small medieval town housed a gelato shop that has won the award for best gelato in the world in 2006 and 2008 - so of course we had tubs and tubs of gelato!


Sienna and San Gianino
Each town had a cathedral, and of course all cathedrals and churches in Italy are amazingly decorated, usually dedicated to the Virgin and contain some kind of a relic. The odd thing is that most of these relics are body parts from saints... I’m finding this tradition a bit creepy. For example, the church in Sienna is famous for housing the mummified head of St. Catherine, the patron saint of Italy. Her body is entombed in Vatican city... creepy to split a person in two, and people go and pray near the head or the body... there are plenty of churches who have pieces of famous people and saints - livers, kidneys, hearts, heads etc. In Florence, parts of Dante’s body are buried the Church of the Cross, and other parts are buried in different parts of the country... strange huh?

Florence


Florence was a bit of a disappointment. If it wasn’t for the visit to the Uffizi Museum to see the original Botticelli, Rafael, Michelangelo and Caravaggio, I would have written the whole day out of this blog. However, my opinion may have had something to do with our heavy partying the night before (I have been assured that video clips of this night of debauchery will be posted on youtube) and the lack of sleep we all suffered from by being forced to wake up at 6:30 in the morning. But it also probably had something to do with all the construction going on at the main sites, and the fact that the Florentians are ‘economizing’ their water supply by not turning on their famous fountains.

Sometimes, the central mood of a tour is dictated by the people on it. I am privileged to share this tour with a bunch of rowdy Aussies that have been on the road about as long as I have. Consequently, we were sooo ready to let our hair down (no significant reference to Spartan custom) and have a good time. I’m not going to share tales of bar hopping in Italy, but I will mention that it has been refreshing to finally hang out with women who share my enthusiasm for late nights and good looking men (though I cannot keep up with their enthusiasm for wine, but they’re ok with that).

*** I should note that since I’m more into the tall, dark and dangerous type, Italy really hasn’t had much temptations for me - but Italian men have earned their reputation for being forward and charming, and that’s still really sexy in a man :)


Overall, Florence was really crowded and polluted. Cars and vespas everywhere and the buildings, although built during the Renaissance, were fairly run down - they are slowly being rebuilt so I think Florence will one day be as beautiful as it once was. That being said, there is nothing like standing in front of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Michelangelo’s, The Holy Family. I stood in the galleria dumbfounded by the realization that art I've been looking at since I was a child stood all around me in its original form… it was almost a spiritual experience… no, it was better then religious… it was beautiful…

So far Italy has been everything it promised to be. With the exception of crowds of tourists, and long lines for towers and churches, Tuscany has given us breathtaking vistas and great food. This morning we’ve divided the bus between the ‘oldies’ (poor Brits) and the ’troublemakers’ (not my term, this is what the tour guide is taking to calling us). The so called troublemakers are sitting at the back of the bus LOL where I am right now, and the others at the front - the thing that makes me happy is that Mom has taken a seat at the back of the bus along with me - but those of you who know Mom already know she’s a troublemaker supreme, so its not really a surprise is it??? The honeymooners have chosen to hang with us though they’re not rowdy or causing too much trouble hahaha, of course, they’re in love and have no time for our antics hahaha….

Next, we are spending the weekend in Venice, and I hope it will be all that Shakespeare has promised it would be ;)