This is my first summer off as a teacher. I've heard some teachers complain about boredom over the summers, but I have never been among them. Even this year without working I have found plenty of ways to spend my time: day trips and Italian lessons.
Here are the highlights of the cities I have visited:
1) Capri
Wow! I want to try to go back next summer. Carrie and I spent 5 days there right after school got out. It was a fabulous time. We spent our mornings exploring different parts of the island (and Sorrento and Napoli). Then our afternoons were spent sunning at the splendid pool or rocky beach. Evenings we went into the town to eat. The best meal we had was at a restaurant called Scialapopolo. I had absolutely amazing gnocchi and Carrie had tender, delicious beef and a baked veggie-noodle dish. Yum! We also ate pizza in Naples. It was quite tasty, but my taste has not yet developed enough to tell real differences between pizze (that's pizzas for all you English-speakers). I get the big picture but not the subtleties.
2) Verona
Verona was my first summer day trip. I showed up at the train station not 100% sure where I actually was going. I'd heard about Verona and what a cool city it is. Someone said they liked it because it was like Rome, but on a smaller scale. I found that to be true. For example, there is an ancient Roman arena. Now concerts and operas are performed there. Seeing the props for the summer Opera festival just sitting outside the arena was pretty cool. I went on a Rick Steves guided walk to hit some of the highlights. I was disappointed that I ran out of time to see the interior of the Duomo. Instead I went into St. Anastasia and was given a toasty black cloak to cover my shoulders. I was too hot to enjoy the experience of the church. I was sorry I couldn't eat dinner there because there is a piazza of cool looking restaurants. I hope to go back and see an art exhibit there and eat on the piazza.
3) Turin/Torino
For some reason I can never remember which is the English name. In any case, Turin/Torino was a bit of a messy trip. I went to the wrong departure station (thanks to the Trenitalia website) and ended up missing a train by 2 minutes. I had to wait an entire hour for the next train so my trip was a bit shorter than planned. The tourist bureau must be on strike because there were NO MAPS for sale, the tourist information was closed, and none of my trusty guidebooks suggests Torino so I had no map. With my new phone (more on that later) I found the movie museum. It is also called the Mole Antonelliana, a museum and lookout point that used to be the tallest brick building in the world. Now it has a cool lookout tower. Turin has beautiful rooftops! The movie museum was pretty cool, but not being big on Italian cinema, I missed out on some of the enjoyment that a true Italian film fanatic would get. Cool interior and exhibits. It was charmingly not overwhelming.
4) Como
I have been to the lake before but not the city. Another 1st grade teacher and I went for the day. We laid out on a grassy park next to the lake. The thing is though that you can't get in the water. We saw tourists getting yelled at by the police for swimming in the water.
5) Bologna
I have now been to Bologna twice. When my dad visited in the spring we went. That was the weekend before the earthquake hit. With dad the highlights were a market with awesome jewelry, the archeology museum, and St. Stephen's Church. St. Stephen's courtyard reminded me of the Cloisters in NYC. The church interior was deceptively large. It kept going and going and going. Plus, going to places like history museums and old churches with my dad is super nerdy fun because he knows so much and helps me appreciate what is inside. Thanks Dad.
I went back to Bologna last weekend with Sarah, a teacher from our school. I wanted to get back to the markets. We did a walking tour of the city. It was our own made up tour. In the middle we spent a good 2 hours eating lunch. Bologna is in an area of the country that is known for its tasty food. I had no such luck. I tried both pasta Bolognese (with dad) and a fresh veggie pasta (with Sarah) but neither were outstanding. They were just average good. Not the knock-my-socks-off experience I was hoping for.
6) Milan
With language classes and 5 days of being a tourist, Milan needs its own post so stay tuned...
Here are the highlights of the cities I have visited:
 |
| at Scialapopolo |
1) Capri
Wow! I want to try to go back next summer. Carrie and I spent 5 days there right after school got out. It was a fabulous time. We spent our mornings exploring different parts of the island (and Sorrento and Napoli). Then our afternoons were spent sunning at the splendid pool or rocky beach. Evenings we went into the town to eat. The best meal we had was at a restaurant called Scialapopolo. I had absolutely amazing gnocchi and Carrie had tender, delicious beef and a baked veggie-noodle dish. Yum! We also ate pizza in Naples. It was quite tasty, but my taste has not yet developed enough to tell real differences between pizze (that's pizzas for all you English-speakers). I get the big picture but not the subtleties.
 |
| Blue Grotto |
2) Verona
 |
| props outside the arena |
Verona was my first summer day trip. I showed up at the train station not 100% sure where I actually was going. I'd heard about Verona and what a cool city it is. Someone said they liked it because it was like Rome, but on a smaller scale. I found that to be true. For example, there is an ancient Roman arena. Now concerts and operas are performed there. Seeing the props for the summer Opera festival just sitting outside the arena was pretty cool. I went on a Rick Steves guided walk to hit some of the highlights. I was disappointed that I ran out of time to see the interior of the Duomo. Instead I went into St. Anastasia and was given a toasty black cloak to cover my shoulders. I was too hot to enjoy the experience of the church. I was sorry I couldn't eat dinner there because there is a piazza of cool looking restaurants. I hope to go back and see an art exhibit there and eat on the piazza.
 | ||
| Juliet's Balcony (hard to imagine Romeo serenading there with all the tourists) |
3) Turin/Torino
 |
| Rooftops of Turin |
For some reason I can never remember which is the English name. In any case, Turin/Torino was a bit of a messy trip. I went to the wrong departure station (thanks to the Trenitalia website) and ended up missing a train by 2 minutes. I had to wait an entire hour for the next train so my trip was a bit shorter than planned. The tourist bureau must be on strike because there were NO MAPS for sale, the tourist information was closed, and none of my trusty guidebooks suggests Torino so I had no map. With my new phone (more on that later) I found the movie museum. It is also called the Mole Antonelliana, a museum and lookout point that used to be the tallest brick building in the world. Now it has a cool lookout tower. Turin has beautiful rooftops! The movie museum was pretty cool, but not being big on Italian cinema, I missed out on some of the enjoyment that a true Italian film fanatic would get. Cool interior and exhibits. It was charmingly not overwhelming.
 | ||
| Mole Antonelliana |
4) Como
I have been to the lake before but not the city. Another 1st grade teacher and I went for the day. We laid out on a grassy park next to the lake. The thing is though that you can't get in the water. We saw tourists getting yelled at by the police for swimming in the water.
5) Bologna
 |
| Typical Bolognese architecture |
I have now been to Bologna twice. When my dad visited in the spring we went. That was the weekend before the earthquake hit. With dad the highlights were a market with awesome jewelry, the archeology museum, and St. Stephen's Church. St. Stephen's courtyard reminded me of the Cloisters in NYC. The church interior was deceptively large. It kept going and going and going. Plus, going to places like history museums and old churches with my dad is super nerdy fun because he knows so much and helps me appreciate what is inside. Thanks Dad.
 |
| Sights with dad |
I went back to Bologna last weekend with Sarah, a teacher from our school. I wanted to get back to the markets. We did a walking tour of the city. It was our own made up tour. In the middle we spent a good 2 hours eating lunch. Bologna is in an area of the country that is known for its tasty food. I had no such luck. I tried both pasta Bolognese (with dad) and a fresh veggie pasta (with Sarah) but neither were outstanding. They were just average good. Not the knock-my-socks-off experience I was hoping for.
6) Milan
With language classes and 5 days of being a tourist, Milan needs its own post so stay tuned...
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