Buongiorno Mom and Dad!

I just finished an excellent 6 day adventure with mom and dad. The trip included many wanderings (mostly not on purpose) tripping (there are a lot of steps in Italy!), scarpe e sciarpe, an extreme overusage of the word "allora"  and of course visits to some of  "Verona's most suggestive locations" (recommendation from poorly translated Verona guidebook), oh and let's not forget that Hannah partied it up and burnt down half the house while Mom and Dad we gone (Facebook always tells the truth) 

 

Mom and dad arrived in Rome on Wednesday where I hear they stumbled around ancient roman ruins after not sleeping for 36 hours. I met up with them Thursday in the late morning. We quickly (well attempted to be quick but failed) to see the synagogue in Rome which was absolutely gorgeous. I will probably try to make my way back there so that I can have more time. We were only able to stay about a half hour but it was good to make it there. After that we had a quick lunch (where I impressed mom and dad with my spectacular Italian ordering skills recently acquired) and then met up with our tour guide near the Vatican. We signed up for a Jewish tour of the Vatican and I was curious to see what that meant. I quickly found out that the Vatican museums are ridiculously large. Our tour guide took us to different parts and explained some general history but also some Jewish origins that were found. She took us at first to an area that was roped off and showed us stones with Jewish references that were found under the Vatican. We then made our way through some of the art that had been collected by the popes, there was sooo much. Mom and I loved the story about how popes could stroll around Rome and if they saw a statue they liked they could just take it (see our imitation in the picture below) As a result, there were tons of statues, so much that the people in the Vatican had to aimlessly stack them on top of each other, even if they didn't go together. We also saw the Sistine Chapel (did you know there are Jews  there? Look for the little yellow or green hats)  and the famous Cathedral just outside the Vatican.  After the tour we picked up some gelato (my parent's first in Italy) and went back to the hotel to relax. We then went out to dinner and I finally got to try something I have read about and sounded delicious…fried artichokes. I know this sounds weird, but they were so good! It is also co to know that this dish was invented by Jews because sometimes they had to eat things, such as artichokes that they found in the forest when food was scarce. 

The next morning we took a train to Florence. The first thing that I noticed was that Pashmina scarves were only 5 euros each ( I have been waiting for this all semester). It was definitely a sign of good shopping to come. Our hotel was located in a beautiful Piazza, Piazza Santa Maria Novella. The weather was absolutely perfect and we really enjoyed walking around. The first place we found was the synagogue, which is by far my favorite Italian synagogue I have seen. 

Our plan was to maybe see one of the art museums that day, but there was a national strike on all museums in Italy (figures). It ended up being fine though because we made reservations for both the Ufizi and the Academia the following day.  After a great dinner (served by a waiter who lived in Wisconsin for awhile) we went to bed, (so early for me but I was totally fine with it)  The next day we  hit the museums. I was very excited for the Ufizi and absolutely loved seeing the Birth of Venus and the Painting I had been copying in class. Mom and Dad got a bit annoyed with me for going too slow but I got better as the visit went on. After that we had lunch and then went shopping.  San Lorenzo market was a lot of fun, but we sadly couldn’t find the stand that Suzy (author of Italy shopping book, mom and I pretend like we know her and always say "Suzy Says)"  suggested. After successfully getting only a few things (I totally had this many scarves and purses when I came here) we had our appointment at the Accademia. We were mostly going here to see David but a great bonus was a musical instrument museum. We saw instruments from the D'Medici court including Amatis (shout out to Pappa's viola in Highland Park) and Strativariusis. It was really hard not to break into the glass and just try to play them (such a shame they are stuck in there) One of my favorite things was this stringed instrument that plucked strings but had piano keys so that "ladies wouldn't ruin their fingers"  We of course saw the David after this. I was really surprised by how big it was and how amazing it was. After that we did a bit more shopping and rested before coming across a local restaurant called "La Spada" for dinner. The tiramisu we had there was the best I have ever had in my life, and the waitress even told us she gave us a little extra because we were all sharing. 

 

The next morning we woke up and headed to Venice. All I'm going to say is that is was rainy and stressful, we were not happy. Fortunately, our hotel room was gorgeous and happened to be an apartment which we did not expect at all. I remembered my way around San Marco's square from when I visited earlier in the month, so we had a good time wondering around. The whole point of us going to Venice for one day since my parents were returning was that so I could see the Jewish Ghetto there with them, unfortunately it was too late and rainy by the time we got there, but I may go on my on sometime soon.

The next morning we headed to Verona, although it was raining I was excited to go back to something familiar. As we were taking the train we saw a ton of traffic that we later learned was due to the highway flooding. We were lucky it didn't affect any of our travel, but unfortunately a lot of people around the area are even displaced from their homes, so it was definitely serious.  In Verona I showed mom and Dad around and we also ate a bunch of delicious pizza. On Tuesday I took them to Castelvecchio, a 13th Century Castle and Museum and the Ancient Roman theater and Archeological museum. Even though it was raining, it was still very enjoyable. 

Most importantly, I purchased my first pair of shoes here, a really cute pair of gray leather boots that were impossible to commit to without mom's approval. A final highlight of the stay in Verona was meeting up with Claudio my program director and his wife Rita on Tuesday night. Claudio drove us to the top of a hill to view Verona at night which was beautiful. Wednesday morning, I woke up early, was very thankful that mom and Dad were there because like everything else in my apartment (aka washing machine and internet) my shower, and for that matter all the hot water in my apartment was broken. I was able to shower at the hotel after lugging a lovely red duffle of "goodies" to be sent home before I get home (a bit heavy but with a modification of packing fine) I was then off to class and Mom and Dad were off to Venice. Overall a great visit. I can't believe I will actually be home in a little over a month, so it wasn't as hard for them to leave as I thought it would be.

 As for now, working on planning the last details of my fall break. Thanks to Mindy I have all of my flights figured out and will be going to Israel for the first 6 days and then Sevilla for the other 4. Who else would I be visiting but my dear friends from JRF.  I can't wait!