Chosen Fugue

My Bologna

Wrapping up our six weeks in Italy was kind of like cleaning out the fridge, what looks good? Venice was to follow Florence but we needed a palate cleanser in between these two major cities. Bologna it was (although traditionally Bologna is not a classic palate cleanser).

Once we started reading about Bologna, it was obvious we should go there as it seemed to a have a different flavor than other Italian settings. Bologna is nicknamed ” La Grassa” (the Fat City) due to it’s rich cuisine, the “La Rossa” (Red City) due to red roofs in the historic center and “La Dotta” (the learned one) since the University of Bologna is one of the oldest universities in Europe (and the world) founded in 1088 AD. We can’t resist three things mixed together.

Bologna DID feel different from the start. Our apartment was in a Facist, modernist building, a change from the early 1900s buildings we generally had been staying in. It was great. As usual, we were city-centered but not sandwiched in the middle of the tourist area. Again, it allowed us to sample neighborhoods that we probably would have not seen if we stayed in the thick of it.

Bologna was not the Italy we had come to know, definitely a different slice of Italian life. Maybe it was because it was further north or maybe it was the porticos. Miles and miles of portico (62 kilometers) providing shade and shelter while moving through the city since the 12th century https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1650/gallery/ Walking through Bologna, we felt swallowed into the city, looking at everything through the frame of the portico. When you step out of the portico there is weird feeling of exposure, unwrapped as we stepped back into the real world. (note the smog-we were pretty shocked how bad the air was in Northern Italy)

Walking the many stairs to the hilltop church Santuario Madonna di San Luca

Many of the other Italian cities we visited felt defined by specific time periods. While there were often differences in neighborhoods, there was frequently a visual cohesion of sorts. Not in Bologna, all the eras were cured and ground together. (notice all of the porticos!)

Neon John Lennon with trailing “Imagine” lyrics.

This time-mash up is evident in the Sette Chiese, Seven Churches, a matruska doll of a church. It was like an architectural Mystery Date, you walked through one church, opened the door and entered another church, etc. from the 4th century to the 17th. Which church will you choose from the Church of Saint Stephen, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Church of Saints Vitale and Agricola, Courtyard of Pilate, Church of the Trinity or of the Martyrium and Chapel of the Bandage (referring to Mary’s headband)?

As you walk along the porticos to the main square, there was another twist. As per most of Europe, we passed many stolpersteine https://chosenfugue.wordpress.com/2019/01/07/they-do-make-you-stumble/

https://www.comune.bologna.it/servizi-informazioni/pietre-inciampo

but we also passed a variation. A row of bronze rectangles memorializing the 85 people killed and 200 wounded in the 1980 bomb attack on the Bologna train station by a neo-facist group https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bologna_massacre

The smorgasbord of styles was evident in the the main square, bordered by an eclectic mix of structures.

The square is bordered on one side by a heart-felt memorial to the partisan and resistant fighters of WW 2. (Bologna has always been very independent and was a hotbed of resistance during the Facist era)

Finishing the sides of the square, are the Palazzos ( D’Accursio and del Podesta), started in 1200 and the Bascilica San Petronio. The Bascilica was started in 1308 as a public space not a church. In 1514, expansion began in the 1500s but was stopped by the Catholic church since it would have been bigger than St Peter’s in Rome. It actually remains unfinished. (A novel church claim to fame- the church has the longest indoor meridian line)

The Neptune fountain, created by the aptly named Flemish sculptor Giambologna is super popular because if you stand in a certain spot, it looks like he has a huge erection (yes that is noted in the tour books). The anti-David.

This desire for the biggest one was also on display in the nearby two towers, the Garisenda Tower and Asinelli Tower. These were built in 1000 AD by two families who each wanted the biggest tower. And yes, these are both truly leaning.

Even the type of museums we went to in Bologna were a bit different- the wax anatomical model museum https://sma.unibo.it/en/the-university-museum-network/luigi-cattaneo-anatomical-wax-collection and the natural history museum, both at the University. We even stopped at the Chemistry museum which was essentially was a hallway with old beakers and pipettes behind a glass door.

Bologna is considered a “foodie” destination. The area is the home of the Italian food classics- Bolognaise, prosciutto, mortadella (aka bologna), Parmigiano reggiano, Modena balsamic vinegar and tortellini. Although we did not eat any of these in Bologna, we did leave feeling pretty well sated.

Frenzied Firenze

We popped off the train in Firenze aka Florence at a rather nondescript train station and followed the multitude of American college students down the cobblestone road passing the obligatory Italian shoe, perfume chain stores, jewelry stores and souvenir stands. Then, around the corner, there it was…. THE RENAISSANCE! The massive and spectacular Florence Cathedral, the nearby and also impressive Baptistery of St. John and Giotto’s Campanile. Florence was ranked as the most beautiful city in the world in 2010 by Forbes, and it has continued to age well.

Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance (15th and 16th century) which occurred right after the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages (14th and 15th century). Our nomadic travels could be considered late middle age crisis, at times they did feel a bit dark, and so paralleling, we must now be hitting a renaissance.

The hordes of study abroad American kids, even more than Rome, were right to have chosen Florence because there was a lot to see, and we saw a lot, but of course we didn’t see everything because we were too cheap. Also, we had begun to hit the religious art wall (mural?). There’s just so many Jesus, Mary and Josephs you can see. Actually, there were very few Josephs, he was, at least artistically, an absentee father. There were though, oddly, plenty of St. Sebastians and his Arrow shirts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sebastian . Plenty of Ascensions, crucifixions, halos, angels, saints (known and unknown), and lambs …. we saw them all. Rows and rows, walls and walls- more paintings than a Bob Ross warehouse, and enough statues to fill Dodger Stadium.

The sheer volume of religious art, well, all art in Florence was overwhelming. While the Vatican’s collection felt like hoarding, the Uffizi’s huge collection, from ancient to Renaissance, felt more discerning; like the product of a zealous collector with unlimited funds filling almost unlimited space. Oh, that actually was what it was. https://www.uffizi.it/en/the-uffizi.

The lack of crowds, stunning building plus the respectful and thoughtful curation made it a claustrophobic-free pleasure stroll.

And, it had an accidental(?) Hyperart Thomasson (https://www.messynessychic.com/2017/01/18/the-inexplicably-fascinating-secret-world-of-thomassons/)

After marveling at paintings and sculptures by every Renaissance artist and then some, we were a bit awestruck with the Botticelli’s and discovered that he was a lifelong Florence resident spending his entire life in the neighborhood where he was born. We visited his Parrish church for the fresco he painted and found a nun mopping the church floor and yelling at people. Yikes! Childhood flashbacks!

The wonders of Florence were both inside and outside. Walking was a series of “oh, wow, look at that”.

It was pretty amazing to experience the Renaissance where it began. Exhausted, we were ready to move on to the next period, Enlightenment and Reformation or at least Bologna.

Ravenna Pieces

Ravenna wasn’t initially on our map, but should have been considering that for almost 70 years (408-476 AD) it was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire. We have been to Benicia, the capital of California (from 1853-54), so we were obligated to go to Ravenna plus Patricia’s sister recommended it (hat tip to Lorie).
Ravenna is a UNESCO world heritage site due to its well-preserved Byzantine architecture and mosaics. You go to Ravenna, and you hit the circuit of the five buildings; two basilicas, a chapel, a mausoleum (although no one is buried there), and a baptistery. https://www.ravennamosaici.it/en/

It is difficult to describe the impact of walking into these impressive-but-rather bland on the outside building and being walloped by sparkling, deep-hued, intricate mosaics. Seeing religious mosaics were a nice break from seeing religious paintings and the themes of the mosaics were a bit different than the norm as well. They were primarily designed and created starting in 500 AD during the reigns of Justinian and Theodoric the Great, an Ostrogoth who conquered the city as the Roman Empire was waning. Theodoric practiced a slightly different form of Christianity, Arian (not to be confused with Aryan). When Theodoric was deposed, of course, some remodeling and re-mosaicing was done to align the imagery with the Roman Catholic symbology. As you look at these, consider that most of the ceilings and walls are mosaic, not painted. The paintings were added after the mosaics and have the more traditional Catholic images.

Neonian Baptistery

Saint Andrew Chapel and Museum

Calendar to note the day of Easter from 532 AD to 626 AD

Basilica Saint’ Apollinare Nuovo

Basilica San Vitale, good video that also explains Jesus, bearded or not? https://classroom.ricksteves.com/videos/ravenna-italy-exquisite-byzantine-mosaics

Mausoleum of Gaia Placidia

Dante’s (1265-1321) tomb is also in Ravenna, as he spent his last few years there in exile from his native Florence. Florence, later realized their error in condemning and wanting to execute him (for political reasons) and requested his bones back, even building their own tomb for him in 1829, but that tomb still sits empty in the Basilica de Santa Croce in Florence (we saw the outside of the church while in Florence), but felt no need to pay to see an empty tomb since we saw the real one for free in Ravenna.

We varied the theme of our lodging and stayed at a Bed and (Bad) Breakfast, mainly due to availability. It essentially was the person’s house, it seemed, with his two kids the only other guests for the weekend. They made efforts to create a modern, keyless hotel which resulted in us being locked out-twice.

Coast to Coast

Not ready to leave the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius, and wanting to stay south to stay warm, we took a short Flix bus ride from Napoli, just past Angri,( the town, not the mood) to Salerno which is wedged between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Dolomites of Campania mountains, at the edge of the famous Amalfi Coast, which was the main reason for the visit.

We had no expectations for Salerno, itself, viewing it as a good place to access the neighboring Amalfi coast, but as often is the case with a somewhat randomly chosen location, it ended up being unexpectedly great. It started with our “mini-hotel”, the Botticelli suite! It was inspiring, although seaside towns are not built for winter (it was freezing). So much for finding warmth.

The introductory walk-around-town led to more un-imagined surprises. (more on the murals https://travelamalficoast.travelmar.it/it/street-art-a-salerno-murales-e-graffiti-nella-citta-dai-mille-volti

An entire neighborhood covered with paintings and poems

An evening stroll was even more illuminating!

The Amalfi Coastline is a series of small picturesque seaside towns, best seen by approaching via a boat. But ferries don’t run during winter and the towns basically shut down in January and February. So we boarded the bus for a slightly harrowing, white-knuckle drive on a questionable two lane wide cliff-hanging road in an over crowded city bus. In fact, most of the drive consisted of the driver honking his horn and stopping as he approached every curve.

Safely disembarked from our bus, we spent an hour wandering around Amalfi, between the square and the pier, enough time to be glad to be off-season and to gain our composure for the bus ride back.

Staying south and warm but looking for something a bit different, we rolled the dice and took a chance and headed east towards the sun to the opposite coast and landed on Monopoli on the Adriatic Sea. We didn’t pass Go, but Monopoli had a nice boardwalk, railroad station, a few motels, plenty of free parking, a ship, some top hats, a canon, and a very old jail (okay, it was a Castle, but probably had a jail).

Bari, less than an hour north by railroad, was a one night stop over so we could catch an early train to a Ravenna. Even the 17 hours we spent there (including sleeping) may have been more than enough. We did enjoy a walk back through time, meandering along one street that started at the nondescript train station, then past striking early 1900s buildings

and ending up at the big old St. Nicholas church that housed THE St. Nicholas’s body. It was a combination Roman Catholic/Eastern Orthodox Church (upstairs/downstairs). Like a Certs, two churches in one, with that we kissed Bari goodbye.

Blast From the Past

Like Pisa, Pompeii was a “sure why not” stop It’s close, so okay. And, like Pisa, Pompei was a whim that was a Wow! Unexpected, it was truly moving. We arrived in Pompeii 20 minutes from Central Naples on the aptly named Circumvesuviana commuter rail. Mt. Vesuvius looming out one window and the Bay of Naples gleaming in the morning sun out the other window.

Pompeii is one of the most popular tourist sites in all of Italy with over 2.5 million visitors a year, so arriving right when the gates opened, during off season was a good choice plus it was a perfect, sunny day.

Mt. Vesuvius, 5 miles away, erupted in 79 AD (they believe in October or November) and then again in 471-3 and 512. These eruptions completely covered this city of 20,000 inhabitants in 20 feet of volcanic ash and pumice, almost perfectly preserving everything due to lack of air and moisture. In 1592, Pompeii was uncovered while architect Domenico Fontana was building aqueducts, but he kept his discovery secret. Surprise (to us), it took another 100 years, in the mid 1700s, before it was unearthed again, and then another 60 before formal excavations occurred. In the early 1880s, organized excavations were in full swing and continue since only a fraction of the city is believed to be excavated. Last year a chariot and a tomb for a freed slave were unearthed. Although, official exploration took hundreds of years to occur; survivors (within the first few days after the eruption) and looters (constantly) did some unofficial exploration first.

Even with centuries of vandalism and more recent exposure to the elements it’s incredible how well preserved and detailed the area is. You felt what life at that time was like walking through the streets,

Eery ambience way stronger when we were almost the only ones there

seeing the thermopolium (inn/snack-bar)

the central plaza and the amphitheater

and visiting houses (nice floor plans with central courtyards, gardens and a lot of wall decoration).

Apparently dog leash laws in effect in Pompeii

The visit to the archeologic museum the day before, https://chosenfugue.wordpress.com/2023/02/23/naples-theres-a-darkness-in-this-edgy-town/ definitely expanded our view of Pompeii; reading the museum commentaries, seeing the relocated sculptures, mosaics and frescos (up-close), which included advertisements, store signs and graffiti (in latin slang) Not much social change in two thousand years?

Instead of “exiting through the gift shop” the last stop was a small museum. Here were the plaster casts of people who died in the catastrophe, shifting the focus from the city structures to the about 18,000 inhabitants who died during the two day eruption; 2000 found so far in Pompeii, with 16,000 in total in the surrounding towns and villages. Many tried to flee after the first eruptions, some escaped, others didn’t as it was not the ash but the heat that killed people.

Historic note for beer lovers: Pliny the Younger, some 25 years after the disaster, wrote a first hand account of the eruption from his vantage point across the Bay of Naples. His uncle, Pliny the Elder, died trying to save evacuees as he loaded them onto his ships in the Bay. https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/pliny-the-younger-release/ https://www.russianriverbrewing.com/pliny-the-elder/

The other excavated ruins site is Herculaneum, 10 minutes up the coast back towards Naples. This ancient seaside retreat for Roman elite, is less visited than the more famous Pompeii but is promoted as more intact than Pompeii due to less looting (it has been protected since its discovery in 1709) and the type of dust that covered the town allowing fragile objects like wooden structures (roofs, beds) and food to be preserved . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herculaneum

We thought we would tackle Herculaneum after Pompeii. The ticket counter was set off to side AFTER you passed a perfect bird’s eye view of Herculaneum. Feeling burnt out, full of Pompeii, we decided this taste of Herculaneum was enough for one day.

Naples, there’s a darkness in this edgy town

Since we had just left Rome, it was hard not to compare Rome and Naples, two cities whose present is so imbued with their past.
Naples (Napoli in Italian) had a gritty underdog feel to it. Southern Italy, poorer and less cosmpolitan, has always been in the shadow of the more prosperous northern part of the country. This could explain why the city’s wore their history so differently. Rome basks in its glory as the center of the Roman Empire. Naples shrugs off its inglorious history as the home of Carmorra, a Mafia style criminal organization dating back to the 1700’s, although this OG persona seems to persist.
We immediately fell in love with the personality of Naples. It didn’t hurt that each time you turned around, when the rain clouds parted, there was the equally intriguing, ominous Mt Vesuvius.

You could spend weeks in Naples and every day would have a different ambience. You can walk along the Mediterranean, window shop at fancy stores, admire elegant buildings, eat at a seaside pizzeria. Naples is the famous creator of pizza, and we had pizza at the most highly rated pizzeria-and… not as good as Marseille’s Pizza Charley. https://www.lacucinaitaliana.com/trends/restaurants-and-chefs/pizza-chef-gino-sorbillo?refresh_ce= (see Vesuvius between the buildings in the picture)

The ‘new castle’ from the 13th Century (see Vesuvius on the left of the castle)

You can be more cultural, head into town and go to the Archaeological museum that has the Farnese Greek and Roman Collection. Here the highlight was learning that most of the Greek and Roman statues seen in museums are actually Frankensteins- with heads, torsos and limbs either made new or borrowed from another sculpture (kind of like exchanging Barbie heads). You can see many of the original frescos/mosaics from Pompeii- (kept here rather in Pompeii for protection) where the highlight was watching a woman methodically take pictures of every Pompeii pornographic artwork on display and then halfway through, need to take her jacket off. https://hyperallergic.com/725957/pompeii-erotic-art-exhibition/

You can also walk through the poorest neighborhood, straight up the hill, to the Capodimonte museum at Capodimonte’s Palace, the palace of the Bourbon rulers. .

The advertised Caravacchio was out on loan but the eclectic collection was worth a visit

Yes, your grandmother’s Capodimonte porcelain

with the bonus of panoramic views of the city and Vesuvius.

You can walk through the Spanish Quarter (where we stayed), named for the Spanish Soldiers who occupied the area in the 16th century. Experience it here https://youtu.be/cGYtnYwsjBk . Walk through the VERY narrow streets, window shop at butcher or produce stores, admire street art or eat at a pizzeria while dodging grandmas in leopard print pants and high heeled boots zipping by on scooters (felt so stereotypic!)

.Most importantly, join the eternal celebration of Maradona.

Argentinian futbol star Maradona, himself from an impoverished background, immediately connected with this blue-collar city when he joined the then lowly Naples FC in 1984. Within a few years he led the city team to national and European championships at a time when tension between the Italian North and South were high and Naples was a mess. As a local newspaper said “despite the lack of mayor, houses, schools, buses, employment and sanitation, none of this matters because we have Maradona” (thank you, Wikipedia). His fan worship, even 30 years after he played continues despite his fall from grace in his later years due to drug abuse, tax evasion and infidelity. Maradona remained the saint that Naples, with its own sketchy past, could identify with.
Our initial reaction as we walked up the narrow vibrant hectic alley to our apartment adorned with Maradona banners was that we were in South America, although we’ve never been, it just gave that aura. We deep dived into the party by staying here https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/casa-maradona-napoli.en-gb.html?aid=356980&label=gog235jc-1DCAsocUIUY2FzYS1tYXJhZG9uYS1uYXBvbGlIM1gDaHGIAQGYAQm4AQfIAQ3YAQPoAQGIAgGoAgO4Apzx2J8GwAIB0gIkMDk4MmNkYTAtOWY0MC00ZDY0LWJjNWItMGM3MWM1Y2FmMmRk2AIE4AIB&sid=726586f2abc2d057b1c8e7f281a2ee0f&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&keep_landing=1&no_rooms=1&sb_price_type=total&type=total&

Like Rome, okay like every city in Italy, every block had at least one church, each was uniquely gorgeous. And as with every city in Italy, almost every other building facade had a small religious themed grottos, often of the Madonna (not to be confused with Maradona), or a family memorial.

If there wasn’t a Maradona or a Madonna there was graffiti, chain stores, souvenir shops or a pizzeria.

And sadly, even some Stoplesteines, (called Pietre d’Inciampo in Italian) reminder that nowhere in Europe seemed to escape. https://chosenfugue.wordpress.com/2019/01/07/they-do-make-you-stumble/

You can take day trips to various Islands (we didn’t), hike Vesuvius (closed off while we were there), take 20 minute train ride to visit amazing Pompeii and Herculeum (see next blog post), or Amalfi Coast (see next blog)
And experience all of this while eating pizza (we did) under the haunting shadow of Mt. Vesuvius.

Rome, if you want to

Between travel internet sites, advertisements, every old Italian movie (except spaghetti westerns), how could you not come to Rome with some idea of what you will be seeing. What you see is not surprising, but you are surprised when you see them. Pretty much everything in Rome defies expectations. The massive scale of centuries old buildings. The attention to every intricate detail. The skilled labor (often anonymous) that created the buildings, monuments, paintings, mosaics or frescos.

Everything in Rome overwhelms.This is what greeted us in Rome. After a rather nondescript walk from the train station, we turned onto our street and there they were, ancient ruins of Rome. (And, recent ruins under repair.)

Turn left and there was the Colosseum, far larger and more impressive than expected.

Pivot and the Arch of Constantine

Almost straight ahead, a partial view of the Forum. To the right, The Altar of the Fatherland (also called the Typewriter).

Every few blocks, another piazza (bordered by another pizzeria and another gelateria) with either a fountain,

pillar,

or obelisk (Italy really loves obelisks).

Walking through the city requires constantly stopping to admire everything around you.

Every block there are 2-3 churches, as ubiquitous as Starbucks in the US. You go into church after church thinking “oh, another church” but then you go in and it is “OH”.

And then you go to the Vatican and it is UH OH. We started in St Peters which was massive but honestly, many of the smaller churches in Rome were as, if not more, stunning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Gesù

After St Peters we thought we were prepared for the Vatican Museum, we were not. By the time we got to the halls of statues, we were feeling a bit overwhelmed by the massive scale of the collection.

Statue after statue, painting after painting, unfortunately the lighting around most of the paintings was so poor, they were hard to see. Pictures displayed from floor to ceiling, and the ceilings! The ceiling were pretty much the highlight of every room, they were heavenly.

The walking tour through the Vatican museum ends at the Sistine Chapel. But despite our sensory overload and fatigue, the Chapel provided the energy to push us past the consumer corridor of the cafe, gift shop and pharmacy (which you may need at this point) which you have to pass through to exit.

Traveling off season, we had been encountering more rain than people, but not in Vatican City or Rome. It was crowded but not quite Sunday at Costco crowded. It was hard for us to imagine enjoying traveling in the summer with more people and heat.

Rome was more than just the sights, it was also the sounds. We loved overhearing conversations in Italian although we understood very little (some cross over with Spanish). The cadence, the emotion, the gestures; every conversation sounded like it was life changing, even when we could see they were just ordering coffee. (and yes, coffee can be life changing)

Over our 5 days we were able to walk through pretty much every neighborhood, wrapping it up by taking the subway to the EUR neighborhood in the southern part of town. The Facist inspired buildings provided an interesting visual counterbalance to the previous 4 days. https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/introducing-the-eur-district-in-rome.html

Rome not only surprised on what we saw but, also surprised on how we saw it. We could not separate the beauty from the context. It was hard to consider these massive, ancient buildings created by the powerful to promote themselves at the expense of the lives of soldiers, laborers and slaves. It was hard to separate our appreciation of the art in the churches from its use by the powerful to promote themselves, again at the expense of the lives of others. The eternal problem. Some things just don’t change.

Leaning In

Six weeks to explore Italy which is about 3/4 of the size of California. It was a given that we go to Rome, Florence, and Venice but where else? Generally, we like to be in a town for about a week and we also like seeing as much of a country as we can rather than just a few cities so that we have a more solid feeling for that country. The impression of California (okay it’s a state, but could be a country) would be dramatically different if you went just to San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco rather than going to Truckee, Monterey and Berkeley or to Bakersfield, Weed and Chino. Now picture hitting Sonoma, Death Valley and Yosemite. We could go on, but we won’t. So along with seeing the big three; Rome, Florence, and Venice; we wanted some small cities and prioritized staying south to stay warm and then filled in the rest of the map by ease of train/bus transport.

We left Marseille for Genoa (aka Genova in Italian) at 6 am for 6 hour ride amid a busload of coughing, sneezing, nose-blowing passengers on the Flixbus (aka Phlegmbus). The ride started out beautifully; driving along the edge of the mountains looking out over the sea, the sun rising, the pink sky, seeing Monaco in the distance and then seeing… nothing. We entered tunnel after tunnel, anticipating and then experiencing sporadic glimpses of the beautiful Ligurian Sea shoreline.

We survived the ride without a sniffle, which was good because we needed our stamina to traverse Genoa which is built on a terraced coast between the Mediterranean and the Ligurian Mountains. A lot of mountain goat walking up and down steep city streets and steps. The port, the twisting-narrow streets, the old villas, the crumbling apartment buildings built into/on/around hills were interesting, nothing extraordinary but we were in Italy, so it was all good. Of course, our first meal in Italy was pizza (and a Negroni), but the pizza was just… okay. The pizza in Marseille was better, so we regret not trying French tacos -maybe not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_tacos

What was extraordinary was the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno (aka Staglieno Cimitero Monumentale).

When do you order these? Is there a showroom where you select? Do you order years before your demise?

It was like a Michelangelo inspired Colma https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/colma-necropolis

After 2 nights in a small family run hotel (with this ceiling in an otherwise rather basic room) and walking 13 miles up and down, it was time to move on. It was really hard to decide where to go next considering the overwhelming plethora of websites, travel forums, family/friend’s recommendations and old Italian movies. The villages of the Cinque Terre constantly came up as a “must see” for the sea, shopping and dining out but it was too cold for the sea, we don’t shop or dine out plus these towns basically shut down for the winter.

Based on train travel options and the goal of visiting a Tuscan, walled city, we decided to just ride the train through the Cinque Terre on our way to Lucca. Unfortunately the train that actually goes through the Cinque Terre is a special express train, and instead, our train just went through more tunnels. There was about a 20 second glimpse, it was truly eye opening and magnificent.

After our tunnel vision of the Cinque Terre, we made a quick stop in Pisa where we changed trains for Lucca. A 15 minute walk through town and you round the corner and THERE IT IS. Surreal and lopsided. We’re in Italy. The tower, cathedral, baptismal building surrounded by a castle wall. It was a medieval enclave populated by a circus of tourists, all making silly poses.

It was spectacular.

Twenty minutes later, we were in the medieval walled city of Lucca. It was walled, sedate, and rainy, very medieval level of excitement. We walked in the wall, on top of the wall, within the wall and outside of the wall. After three days we hit the wall.

But all was good. Our place had a washing machine, there was window shopping, repurposed buildings and Kiss was coming to town.

Once a Roman Amphitheater now a round square

From there we knew all roads lead to Rome.

San Frenchisco (?)

Our only plan for this entire trip, besides dog sitting ~~Chocho~~ Choco in Spain, was to see Italy. Other than a day trip to Trieste from Croatia, Patricia had never been. But to get to Italy from Valencia we needed to go through France. We always seem to just see the edge of France: Calais, Strasburg, and Metz. So Marseille fit our pattern of peripheral France, plus it was halfway between Spain and Italy and there was a cat sit with four cats, so Marseille it was. Turned out to be a great choice. We didn’t do anything different than we do in other cities, we just walked around. Usually we’ll go in and see churches (mainly because they are everywhere, they’re big, and they are recommended), we’ll walk up to a museum or an attraction and debate if we should go in. Usually, it’s a no, and so then we’ll walk around some more.

Coming to Marseille, we entered a radically different sphere; from a large, bright apartment with one old dog on the edge of Valencia to a somewhat dark, city centered apartment where you could not open the windows for fear of a cat jumping out (we were told that two of the cats had done it). Four cats; Brothers Sterling and Poopie, rescue cat Fruit and her son Pickle; on the 2nd floor in a classic Haussmann apartment ( that is the how the cat owner described the apartment, explained here https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-haussmann-architecture-5180196. )

clockwise from bottom left: Fruit, Pickle, Sterling, Poopie

Patricia, trying to minimize the cat allergies she decided to ignore when we accepted the sit, slept in the freezing bedroom, while Nick slept in the freezing living room or tried to sleep as the nocturnal cats vied for position on the favorite chair or used Nick as a launching or landing pad. But Marseille was great, despite or partially due to the cats, apartment and well, Marseille.

Marseille is an ancient city with it’s Africa-facing port attracting a revolving door of settlers, starting with the Greeks and Phoenicians who left their mark by establishing Marseille’s still-in-place street grid. Each subsequent conquerer destroyed, remodeled and built (well, like most European cities). This background coupled with the constant wave of immigrants, creates a very eclectic, vibrant and chaotic city. We heard a world of languages as we walked through narrow cobble-stoned streets and wide Haussmann designed Paris-style boulevards, dodging dog poop which was everywhere.

We walked along the windy Mediterranean and climbed the Calanques on the east end of town.

Passed trendy chain stores, tiny stores selling cheap knock offs, through flea markets lining boulevards of beautiful buildings, and iconic buildings including Le Corbusier’s Unité d’habitation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unité_d%27habitation . (far right)

We encountered huge monuments and statues, some traditional, some a bit confounding, like a 13 foot David located in the middle of the Le Prado roundabout, for the full view but with the risk of getting rear ended? “Not far from the beaches, it is the landmark that announces the sea, the beach, swimming but also surfing sessions....” according to tourism Marseille. Well, now we don’t need to see David in Florence.

A high point was stumbling on the zoo. This zoo was created in 2013 (by a 4 year old?) from the abandoned zoologic gardens that had been in existence from 1854-1987. While this zoo looked a bit pathetic, it was pretty fun being surprised by it.

Hard to see but there is a stegosaurus with the elephants

We walked up to the ritzy area overlooking the city and down to the old port and adjacent Le Panier area, the traditional and current home of new immigrants.

It’s hard to pin point why we like one city, Marseille, more than another, Valencia. It is just a gestalt. Marseille kind of felt like San Francisco (Hello Lisbon!) it was kind of familiar-a port, hilly, an abandoned prison on an island in the Bay, great diversity, and even very good sourdough French bread. Wish we could figure out the algorithm, might make it easier for us to find a house.

Love and Travel in the Time of Covid*

*apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

We were diligent. We are diligent. When it first started we wore gloves and masks to go for walks, double, even triple masks. We made masks. We washed our bags of tortilla chips before we opened them. We waited days to open the mail. We avoided friends and family, now with a legitimate excuse. We carried and used hand sanitizer multiple times a day. We washed our hands incessantly until we needed moisturizing cream. We’ve gotten five vaccinations. Even mixed them up to give wider coverage. We knew travel was dangerous. We lived in a van. We knew travel to Europe was dangerous, but unlike the US, Europe loves vaccines and masks. We were going to Spain which has one of the lowest rates in the EU

We continued to wear our masks, wash our hands, use hand sanitizers, not go to restaurants and avoid people. But, we still got Covid. Well, Patricia did, in Valencia, the healthiest city in the healthiest country in the world,(https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/healthiest-countries-in-the-world) Fortunately, it was very very mild and towards the end of our 3 week stay.

We went to Spain to pet sit a dog, no other reason.( We could have stayed home, except we are homeless.) Chocho, his name was changed to Choco in Spain, because in Spain, Chocho is a derogatory slang term for female genitalia, but in Argentina, where the mother of the family we sat for is from, Chocho means a happy go lucky person. We first met ~~Chocho~~ Choco in Providence, RI last June for a pet sit. https://chosenfugue.wordpress.com/2022/07/06/the-dog-days-of-summer/ The family moved to Valencia, Spain a month later and asked if we could pet sit over the Christmas Holidays for them while they traveled to Buenas Aires.

We had a sweet setup, almost 3 weeks in an eighth floor penthouse apartment (4 bedrooms, helpful during Patricia’s quarantine) in an ideal location, near the university and the Valencia FC stadium. The historic center was just over the bridge, well, actually there were many bridges to chose from that went across not a river but a huge park, Jardin de Turia, which used to be a river.

The river was diverted after a massive flood in 1957 and replaced with a 9 km park which includes the City of Arts & Science Center and Aquarium ( can you see the guy cleaning the artificial river in the right hand picture?),

Gulliver Park

and a ton of different paths- for runners, for scooters, dog walkers, walkers, strollers, we actually never really figured out which lane was ours (analogous for life in general?).

Because ~~Chocho,~~ Choco loved walks we would wander 2-3 times a day for about an hour at a time. He had favorite routes; past the large Futbol stadium, through the park and specific neighborhoods.

We were in Valencia just before Christmastime until Epiphany (January 6), the streets were packed (possible source for Covid exposure, although mysteriously we did not see the building’s doorman for a few days just before Patricia got it ?). Valencia captured all the European tropes with a Spanish twist. Tons of parks, countless beautiful stately buildings surrounding plaza after plaza with cafe after cafe,

Impressive train station, in Valencia, decorated with orange-tree tiles and adjacent to a bull ring,

Wide sandy beach (although it was too cold and windy to spend time at)

Wonderful trees, many full of noisy parrots

Our last night, spent in separate hotel rooms due to Covid precautions (Nick never got it), was Epiphany (January 6) which is the actual Christmas celebration in Spain, and it was a celebration. Fortunately we stayed in the heart of Valencia.

We thankfully were there at the annual shaking of the Valencia orange trees lining the streets (12,000 orange trees!) .https://www.dreampropertiesvalencia.com/orange-shaking-in-valencia-a-must-see/

Since we are looking for a city to make our own, we are constantly asking “could we live here” both in Europe and the US. Valencia has a very large American ex-pat population which is understandable as it is a charming, pleasant city. Comparing any city to another city often feels like comparing apples to oranges, just too many differences. For us, though, while Valencia was sweet, it was overall not that appeeling.