Monday, September 10, 2007

My First Big Steps ...

I wrote this yesterday, but it was Sunday and there are VERY VERY few spots that have internet access so the date might be off, but this was what I was thinking yesterday! It was a big weekend, so this is kind of a long one :

It is four o'clock on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Perugia and I am thoroughly exhausted! This has been a whirlwind first weekend! We traveled to Florence (Firenze) on Friday for the day and then headed into Rome on Saturday night for an all a night festival called la Notte Bianco or White Night! I have managed to squeeze so many historical sites into just a few days its ridiculous!
Traveling around Italy while I am here, as well as the rest of Europe has been one of my biggest goals for this trip and I am beyond thrilled to have had such a productive first weekend!

First up was Florence; it was beautiful! We left Perugia on Friday morning with little more than a vague notion of where we were going to. We had no plan, no real idea of what sites we wanted to see or how we would find our way around beautiful Firenze. Luckily with a little help from a guide book and some map reading skills, we managed to guess our way to all of the big sites in Florence.

Florence is a big city, which I would say is much akin in size and population to Boston. Much, much bigger than Perugia, the small city that has become my home this past week. It was quite a shock. An overload of senses I would say. There were so many smells and sights and sounds that I wasn’t quite sure where to focus my attention. The city is much more “touristy”, if you will, than Perugia as well. With the city filled to the brim with people taking pictures shuffling from one historic point to the next added to the already bustling life in Firenze made for an almost overwhelming day. But the sights were breathtaking. I’m having a hard time finding better words for the sights that I have seen, so many of them have left me speechless. The Duomo, our first stop was a gorgeous huge basilica where they still hold Mass. The intricate details of the front of the Duomo are astounding. How anyone can attempt to even begin sculpting such a masterpiece is beyond my comprehension. The sheer magnitude of some of these pieces of architecture can make you feel quite small. The Ponte Vecchio, the most famous of the 6 bridges in Florence was also a beautiful sight to see. It extends over a murky river that several boats were rowing in. I can’t even fathom my morning exercise involving rowing past the Ponte Vecchio everyday!

The Museo di Accademia was also quite the experience! Seeing Michelangelo’s “David” was probably one of the remarkable things I have ever seen. The amount of talent that must go into sculpting such a large piece of marble is unfathomable! I can’t help but wonder if the amazing artists that built these phenomenal pieces were not also a little bit crazy. To focus all ones energy on the success of one particular project takes a lot of talent, but I would guess a little bit of gut instinct too. I applaud them, I really do, and I hope that in seeing some of these works a little bit of that gusto and hunger for perfection in your passion has rubbed on me!

The last stop of our day however, may have been my favorite of the trip to Florence. After a day of traveling, most of my travel mates were exhausted and ready to return to the train, but one of them had one more stop she wanted to see, the view from the top of the Duomo’s Bell Tower. After a little convincing we decided to all take the chance and try to climb to the top for what was promised to be the best view of Florence. Well, 414 steps later, that was exactly what we saw, possibly the best 360 view in Italy, or anywhere that I have seen thus far in my life. As scary as it was to be that high, I realized that sometimes it takes a little risk to get a big reward. And the view (left), was the best reward of the day! Though I must admit the picture does not do it nearly enough justice!

On Sautrday we went to Rome (Roma) for the 5th annual Notte Bianco in Rome (they have these festivals in alot of countries in Europe) was one of the most intense nights I believe that I have ever had in my life. The festival, which celebrates literally "a Night of White" or no sleep is an all night festival. Running from 8PM to 8AM, all of the Museums are free to the public and there is so much to see and do!

Well if Florence is akin to Boston, then Roma is most definitely akin to New York City, in size and human traffic. With so much to see and do, one night is certainly not enough to see everything! Though that did not keep us from trying! Making one giant loop of Rome we managed to see The Colosseum, the Capitol building, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Capitoline Museum and the Circus Maximus; all in about 10 or so hours!

I have been to Rome once before in my life, as a senior in high school with a class of mine in which I had been studying ancient civilizations, art and architecture. So I have see most of these sights before during the day, but what an experience seeing them at night! The Colosseum was lit up blue form the inside and symphony was playing. I couldn’t make out the song, but how unreal for those who were inside to actually be attending a concert inside the Colosseum! I was in awe just taking in its size and trying to wrap my mind around the history of it and what it must have been like is its glory days! And as we wound our way around the city into the wee hours of the morning, trying not to miss a single opportunity, we sought out the Circus Maximus and sat on one of its grassy hills and watched the sunrise over Roma! Seeing the morning sky change colors over such an amazingly beautiful and historic city was nothing short of breathtaking. On the way back to the train, running on absolutely no sleep, but lots of cappuccinos and pizza we stopped by the Colosseum for one last look in the early morning light. When looking at the Colosseum and especially when stopped overlooking the Roman Forum I couldn’t help but think about all of the people that had been in this exact same spot before me. And how absolutely beautiful these “ruins” (though I hate calling them that because they’re still so unbelievable) must have been to the people who lived when they were new and when the Roman Forum and the Colosseum were being used the way that they were intended to be used and not as a view into the past.

Probably the most amazing thing about the time I spent in Rome this weekend though was the festival of la Notte Bianco itself. I have never in my life seen so many people in the streets as I did last night. The major streets and all of the major sights were just wall to wall people. I can’t imagine living in Italy for my whole life and being able to come into the city for a night like this every year. And it was people of all ages, up the whole night! Even small children walking around with their parents got to experience this amazing event. I cannot express how glad I am that we decided to take our first trip into Rome this fall for this festival. I have never in my life seen anything like it, and I highly doubt I ever will. Unless by some miracle I make it back to Rome for another Notte Bianco celebration! The entire time we were there, the group I was with was trying to compare the crowds and the celebration to something in America, and it was physically impossible. The closest I could come up with was New Years Eve and even that is a terrible comparison. But it’s the closest thing to an all night celebration with millions and millions of people lining the streets.

All in all this was a perfect way to start off my time in Italy. There was great weather, I saw so many amazing things already and I took my first big steps outside the city limits that I have gotten used to the past week. But all in all I’m glad to be back in Perugia. The city is big, but not so big that I feel overwhelmed. The surroundings seem more authentically Italian that the more tourist populated cities like Rome and Florence. I am thrilled to have been able to travel to both of these amazing cities, but I am also happy to be back in my own Italian city. So far I think Perugia is the perfect place to be studying abroad! It has enough in it to keep me busy, but it has also is small enough that I feel safe living and studying here. But I suppose we’ll see how I feel after my first official day of class!

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