Category: travel

After enjoying Florence, we were on to Rome. Again, the architecture, art, and urban life did not disappoint, nor did the food. Highlights included touristy stops at the Coloseum, Palantine, Forum, Pantheon and the Vatican Museums – as well as wandering and dining the twisting streets of Trastevere.

Conversations and critique regarding empire, power, politics, and religion intertwined with our site seeing. The Colossuem, impressive as an architectural wonder turned my stomach as I read about the spectacle of the games, the exploitation and death of slaves, political prisoners, and countless thousands of wild animals. The decay of the Forum and the overlapping of history, technology, and the politics of “civilization” – dating from before the Roman Empire to long after I will be capable of wandering the ruins – raised questions of our own empire here at home – and what will become of all that has been created in the name of democracy, government, civility, and “progress”. The perceived grandeur of what was Rome, and the reality of what is Rome (in all its historic and modern beauty) tugged at my thoughts. What are we doing? Where are we going? Is our fate (the royal “our” – that of the “enlightened” and “civilized” world of the global economy and “western” ideals) to be the same as Rome, Ancient Greece, and countless other city states and empires we have created? Are we doomed to collapse, decay, and destrcution – either from within or from without?

Pantheon

Vatican Museums

Bikes were scant compared to Florence. Rome seemed ruled by the Smart car, scooter, and private auto. The streets a bit meaner, the traffic a bit faster, and walking combined with the bus, metro, or light rail seemed a bit more sane way of getting about.

Smart Car

Italian Postal Scooter

Traffic signal for cyclists

Jen and I spent 10 days enjoying life in Florence and Rome. We planned our days around walking (and eating) tours of the two cities. Florence was our first stop – and for four days we wandered the labyrinthine streets crowded with scooters, cars, bicycles and pedestrians – a textured collision of history, technology, and life. Our days combined wandering through town and taking in city life (the market, cafes, relaxing on the piazza’s) with touristy bits of gallery browsing, architecture gawking, and sculpture sighting. Sites included the Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore, pictured above) which is Brunelleschi’s masterpiece of architecture in Florence, as well as the Uffizi Gallery, the Museo del Bargello, and a stop to see Michelangelo’s “David” and the Academia Gallerie. The art and architecture did not disappoint – “David” being incredible to behold in person – and as I took in the both the architecture and urban design I continually pondered the human energy and ingenuity required to create the thriving city of Florence – all with lack of computers, FEA analysis, tractor trailers, and cranes.

We planned our afternoons and evenings specifically around meals. The food was phenomenal – we typically chose small, out of the way eateries – taking in traditional food from family owned establishments. The combination of fresh local ingredients, wonderful atmostphere, incredibly friendly hosts (and other diners), and traditional recipes made the trip a gastronomic delight. We’ve had an odd re-adjustment upon landing back in the states – our first desperate meal in the Philadelphia airport (for our 5 hour layover) was disheartening. Back in Vermont we’re questing for tomatoes, bread, pasta, and mozzarella (and hopefully other seasonal and local ingredients) that will do our dining memories justice.

There were lots and lots of bikes in Florence – far more than in Rome. Florentines plyed the narrow, twisty streets on all sort of steed – commuter bikes, mountain bikes, 3 speeds, and even a few road bikes. All beautiful – and all typically rigged for “everyday” cycling. Most had fenders, bottle generators, headlight and tail lights, and some means of carrying things to and fro.

Bike parking at the train station

Fuzzy bike

Commuter

On street bike parking

Pink bike

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