Artsy Geek

Siena, the city with the most character that we were able to see during this trip.  The old town is divided into 17 wards where each is represented by an animal or a mascot (Eagle, Caterpillar, Snail, Little Owl, Dragon, Giraffe, Rested Porcupine, Unicorn, She-Wolf, Seashell, Goose, Wave, Panther, Forest, Tortoise, Tower and Valley of the Ram)  Each of the wards have a saint patron, flag and its own museum. They are also associated with one of the old guilds such as bakers, shoemakers and painters to name a few. In the middle of the old town, there was also a cathedral.  The story of the cathedral was that Siena was competing with a neighboring city to be the greatest.  One of the measure of that was the size of the cathedral. Unfortunately Siena is located on a hill so there was a limited space available for the cathedral and a plan was to extend the cathedral beyond the hill on a man made structure. This plan was soon abandoned when one of the new...

A day trip to a town of Lucca. It’s known for the thick walls encircling the city center where the city park is located. The wall park is popular for strolling and cycling. One thing to notice about the park, are the numerous sycamore trees. One of the unique detail about Lucca are the numerous towers. Some even growing trees on the roofs. The ancient amphitheater of Lucca has been transformed into a town square.  Now all of the houses create a round square filled with restaurants and coffee shops which is a unique design. We also can't forget about Puccini who was born, lived and composed here. He did not have a good reputation at the time. At the end of the guided tour we left the beaten path and the tourists to see the hidden Lucca. We found an art installation made from cardboard in the walls of the town, a hidden gem. On the way back to Florence we had a short stop for dinner at Montecatini Terme. On the way we passed ancie...

Bologna, also called by some a food capital of Italy. This short stop allowed us to enjoy the city by walking around the narrow alleys. We run into some market stores on the way to a restaurant. Meets, cheeses and fish set outside of the stores made the alleys even narrower.  Of course we tried the local specialty Ragu ala Bologense for lunch before leaving the city and heading towards Florence (In Italian Firenze). First stop in Florence was the Palazzo Medici Riccardi (Home to the Medici banking family) and the orange trees in the garden. The walking tour also took us to the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore. Construction of the cathedral was begun in 1296. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white. We did not stop into the cathedral, but moved towards the river and the old bridge.  It is the only bridge in the city that was not destroyed during WWII. T...

After a short bus ride, we arrived in Milan. From the side of the Teatro alla Scala we entered the The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which glass roof was one of a kind, oldest shopping mall. I always have had a soft spot for architecture and design. It was worth stopping by for these few pictures. On the other side of the shopping mall lay a large square with a large Gothic cathedral.  It took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the largest church in Italy and the third largest in the world. Gothic cathedrals do not have much decorations inside besides occasional carvings and stained windows. The heavy, gray structure however seems to be towering over the parishioners and visitors showing the marvel of the structure and design. One of the interesting details of the cathedral were the two sets of organ pipes on each side of the altar. Each organ pipe set has a painting on each side of it. It did not appear that the organs were at any time closed in by t...