My Florence

After we said good-bye to Mel and Joe Thursday morning, Scott and I headed out to do some site-seeing. Scott has never been to Florence, so I knew exactly what I wanted him to see. We started by walking down along the Arno, saw the Ponte Vechio and took some pictures. Then we headed toward the Piti Palace. I have been waiting to take Scott to the Boboli Gardens that are a part of this amazing Florentine palace for almost 9 years!

When I was at Harding University in Florence (HUF) in 2000, we toured the Piti Palace and its Boboli Gardens. Back then, I was blown away by the beauty of the gardens. I decided that it would have been a great place for someone to ask me to marry them. I even took a picture at the particular spot I liked with a space left in the picture for whoever would be my future husband. I knew it wouldn't happen of course; that did not become my expectation, I just thought it was a romantic place for something like that to happen. I was overjoyed when Scott asked me to marry him two years later at his apartment in College Station, Texas. I have wonderful memories of that moment and I wouldn't change them for the world, however, since he turned out to be the man of my dreams I hope you can understand why I would want him to see the Boboli Gardens -- the setting for the proposal of my dreams. It was double special because our 5 year anniversary was less than a month behind us. As I requested of him, when we reached a spot that, as best I could tell, was the spot from my picture Scott asked me to marry him again, and I gladly said yes again! Yes, I requested it. I didn't expect him to know just how much I wanted him to say those words to me in that spot. Now I have a new romantic memory of the Boboli Gardens.

After our romantic moment we walked around some more and enjoyed the general splendor. It happened to also be hot as well as sunny, so soon we headed back into town to find some lunch and some shade! On our way, we ran across the "Piggy" Market where Scott also got to rub the nose of the boar.

After lunch it was just too hot to go anywhere else outside, so we found an Internet cafe, and effectively killed the afternoon. After our final Florentine meal we headed to the train station to catch our night train to Berlin. If we had only known then what an adventure that would be...

Scott and me in the Boboli Gardens at the spot where
he asked me to marry him again!

Boboli Gardens: those trees are so cool!

Scott rubbing the nose of the boar at the "Piggy" Market in Florence

Italy Part 2: Ventimiglia and Firenze

After passing the relaxing weekend in Genova we took a truly ghetto train early in the morning to Ventimiglia on Monday. Before this trip I didn't even know this place existed; it's in no guidebooks to my knowledge. The only reason we were going was for science...and the BEACH!

"The Beach" pretty much sums up what we did that day. I felt bad for Scott because he had a really hard time getting to and from the fossil he was scheduled for that day. While he was hauling equipment and measuring a skull, we ate some more fantastic food(I had pumpkin filled pasta. It was excellent!), then we rented an umbrella and three chairs and laid out by the ocean all day! Now you could be thinking, "three chairs and one umbrella. Tressa that's not enough shade for everyone." You would be correct. This is how it worked: Joe and I are very white and pasty, so we cowered under the umbrella contorting our bodies in order to stay in the shade. We also both had on high SPF sunscreen. Mel, on the other hand, is Italian and Portuguese. She is not pasty, and grew up on the beach in Florida. She laid out in the sun all day, and she liked it! Now I'm not saying I didn't like lying around on the beach all day, but without the umbrella I would have roasted alive. Mel just got a little more beautiful!

When Scott was finished he was able to join us on the beach for awhile. We then had some more great seafood at a restaurant very close to the beach. Scott and I shared a seafood pizza! After this we got back on the ghetto train to Genova, and packed for Firenze (Florence)!

We got up early again on Tuesday to catch our train to Florence. We had to change trains in Pisa which Mel and Joe wanted to see, so Scott and I headed for Florence on our own. We arrived at the museum around lunch time, and I resumed my roll as "killer of time" until is was time for me to pick up Mel and Joe from the train station.

When Scott was done we all met for dinner where I ate some great pizza and finished off my meal with some lemoncello...mmmm.

While Florence is one of my favorite cities, and is full of great sites, for me the time here passed much like Genova. This particular time was my third time in Florence, my second time just on this trip, so it was more about time with friends than the city itself. I hope you will excuse my lack of city description. I did, however, take them to see the Duomo, Ponte Vechio, Piazza Vechio (where my favorite statue is), and Santa Croce. All are full of medieval Italian art! Love it!!!! We ended our last day with Mel and Joe at Piazzalle Michelangello where you can find the best view of Florence ever! The next day Mel and Joe took and early train to Naples while Scott and I had the day to site-see before we took a night train to Berlin. Enjoy the pics!

My favorite statue in Florence, Apollo victorious over Medusa!
I don't know why, but I could stare at it all day!

Rubbing the nose of the boar at the "piggy" market with Mel
Does this mean we are destined to return to Florence together?

Mel and me at Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence

Scott eating "lunch" in Ventimigilia

Joe is so silly :)

Italy Part 1: Genova

We arrived in Genova, Italy on Friday evening, July 17 along with one of my college roommates, Melanie Horst and her husband Joe. (Happy Anniversary Amy & Kent, and also Sharon & Steve!) Why Genova you ask? Well, we used it as a “home base” to get to a fossil that was actually in the small coastal city of Ventimiglia on Monday. If you are ever headed to the Italian coast, Genova is not so much of a destination. It turns out that many tourists use Genova to either access smaller costal cities, like we were, or to take a cruise. Genova is still one of the most important ports in Italy, and not just for crusies, but also for shipping and other everyday commerce. This means that, while it does have some site-seeing, and a historical center of town, it is an average work-a-day Italian city. It’s still awfully pretty for an “average Joe” Italian coastal city isn’t it.

Our hotel in Genova was the nicest we’ve had on the trip, and I’m not sure it will be surpassed. The interior was modern and chic, and was one of only a few hotels where we had air conditioning. We also had a great bed with our choice of pillow firmness!

As far as big sites go, there isn't much to report. We toured the historical light house, and a palace during our stay. This part of the trip was more about getting caught up with good friends, goofing around, and enjoying the general splendor of an old city with more history than the United States of America.

The part of Italy that I enjoy the most is the food! My favorite meal in Genova was on our second day. We ate dinner outside at a cafe on the water. Not only was it beautiful, but the seafood was great! Mel and I both ordered a big bowl of muscels pictured here. They were as delicious as they were beautiful!

Paris

We left lovely Leiden and arrived in Paris, France, birthplace of my husband, on Tuesday, July 14 (Bastille Day). Wednesday was a work day, so in the morning, we ate Parisian breakfast at a nearby cafe (Cappuccino, baguettes, and croissants with butter and jam...mmmmmm). Scott then headed off to measure skulls and I went shopping! I found some great deals and bought a couple shirts, and then headed to the Musee d'Orsay to feed my art addiction (no I didn't go to the Louvre; it's too big and overwhelming and I saw the highlights almost 10 years ago). I would also like to point out that the Muse d'Orsay actually has a discounted ticket for people under 30! I just made it! Anyway, I spent a lovely afternoon here gazing at art. I included a couple good pics here. Below is one of the sides of the main hallways of the museum -- very beautiful with lots of natural light for the statues. I love sculpture. The picture below that is my favorite sculpture in the museum. The girls "clothes" are sculpted from two different colors of marble while she is sculpted in the usual white marble. How did they do that?!



That evening Scott and I headed to the Eiffel Tower. We were not so keen on the massive crowds, or going to the top, so we got some dinner to go and ate on a park bench next to the river where we could still see the tower and take some good pics. The one just below, is me wearing one of my new shirts. The one under that is the pic I took of the two of us. Thus ended our first full day in Paris. Good times!



Thursday was beautiful. A perfect day to see churches. I started with Notre Dame (pictured immediately below). It was just as impressive as when I saw it almost ten years ago when I traveled here while I was studying a semester in college in Florence, Italy. This time I hadn't been there long before they announced they would soon start mass, so I took a respectful seat in the back and attended the service even though I am not Catholic. It found it beautiful and educational. I wanted to climb to the top of the towers to see the gargoyles, but the line was just WAY too long. Instead I walked over to see Sainte-Chapelle.


Like Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, is one of the oldest cathedrals in Paris. It's quite a bit smaller than Notre Dame, but surpasses it in interior decoration. The upper chapel is lined on every wall with impressive stained glass windows such as the one pictured below. Decorating the entrance are many relief carvings of different scenes from the Bible. At the bottom I have included a pic of one of these carvings that I find rather humorous. It is the scene after Adam and Eve have eaten from the forbidden tree and are confronted by God. Adam is covering himself with a leaf and pointing to Eve as if to say "she made me."



Once I was done with these two sites I was very tired and out of spending money, so I headed over to the Luxembourg Garden for a couple of hours and did some reading. Unfortunately, this was all the site seeing Scott and I were able to do. Due to some unforeseen train scheduling problems we had to leave early Friday morning in order for us to be in Italy when we were supposed to be. All in all, that's not a bad problem. "I'm sorry, you'll have to leave Paris a day early in order to go to Italy and meet up with your former college roommate and her husband." "Oh no, not an extra day in Italy, my favorite European country, with one of my best friends!" (please insert the appropriate amount of sarcasm.)

We LOVED Paris, but duty, a dear friend, and awesome seafood called in Italy...OFF TO GENOVA!

A Walk Down Memeory Lane (but not mine)

Before I proceed with my update, I must apologize for not updating sooner. Since London we have been in the Netherlands, Paris, Italy, and I am currently in Berlin. I finally have the time and the reliable Internet connection to begin catching you up on our adventures.

From London, Scott and I traveled to the Leiden area in the Netherlands. This was a special trip for the two of us because this was one of the places Scott lived as a child. The museum where he was scheduled to do his research was the museum his mother used to take him to often. It was significant for me to watch him return to this museum as a grown man with his own questions to answer in the scientific world. It meant a lot to me witness such a milestone in his life and in his career. I am so proud of him!

We arrived on Saturday which meant we had all of Sunday to chill (after having a little Scott and Tressa church of course). The bus system was great there, so we just hopped on one and visited Scott's old house in the nearby community of Wassenaar. It was a rainy afternoon, so technically not ideal for walking around, but it was a soft rain -- the kind that makes everything look greener. The houses were quaint and neat with colorful shutters, and beautiful flower gardens. They looked like they came right out of a post card.

Soon we were able to find Scott's old street, Dominee Honderslaan, seen here in the the picture. From there we were able to find his old house, and the park he used to play in. Next to the park there is also a pond where Scott had an incident involving frogs, a bike, and a rusty nail. Scott is pictured on the left next to the infamous pond. Check out Scott's blog if you want to know the story (scottmaddux.blogspot.com), it's one of our favorites! We laughed at old stories and memories. Scott marveled at how so much hadn't changed, but at the same time looked so different simply because he was now grown.

We walked around the neighborhood some more, and unbelievably Scott was able to walk us right to the old pancake house he used to eat at! We stopped here and had some delicious lunch. Scott said it was just as good as he remembered it. We then continued our exploration of Scott's childhood by walking into the main part of town where we found Scott's favorite pastry shop (unfortunately it was not open), toy store, and the big windmill. We also stopped for a little "pick-me-up" of cappuccino and chocolate cake, mmmm...

On Monday, it was once again time for work. Since this was Scott's only day to work at the Naturalis museum in Leiden, I took my trusty "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" book and headed to the museum with Scott (pictured right). There I spent the day reading among shelved and shelves of mammoth fossils in the collection room where Scott was working. We did get out of the collections room some. We had some lunch with the curator and two other American anthropologists that Scott knew, and we also got to check out the museum itself. If you also read Scott's blog then you already know that they have the world's oldest rock, and the first H. erectus discovery (see Scott's blog for details), an amazing mammoth skeleton, and a tiny dwarfed elephant skeleton. For me, one of the highlight was imagining Scott running around reading everything he could and marveling at all the cool new things he was learning.

There is something special to me about being able to see and learn about the places significant to the childhood of those I love. As I develop friendships, and especially close friendships, I find conversations often go back to stories of childhood experiences. I think we tell those stories because those experiences were part of shaping who we are. The foundations of who we all turn out to be are laid in our childhood, so for me to now be able to see a place in my mind where my husband explored, and learned was an intimate experience. The park, the pond, number 11 Dominee Honderslaan, are all part of where my husband learned to be the man he is today, and I feel privileged to have been able to walk down memory lane with him.

I think God had a surprise for me today...

Well, I wasn't planning on updating my blog today, but I also wasn't expecting the kind of day I had today. I had an amazing afternoon. As I posted yesterday, my plan today was to go to St. Paul's. Quite honestly I was trying to think of other things to do that didn't cost money. However, I knew I wanted to see it, and I had financially planed all week to do so...so I went. Boy am I glad I didn't talk myself out of this one!

Once I arrived and bought my ticket, I heard music coming from the inside. I thought, "Cool. Is it a live group? Let see...why yes it is, and an orchestral group at that...wow, they sound really good I wonder If I can find out who it is? Oh look, a sign. I'll just go take a look." The sign said "Rehearsals in Progress for City of London Festival Concert. Symphony No 9 Bruckner. LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was all I could do to hold myself together! They were playing right there in front of me under the dome! I almost wept! I couldn't understand all the indifferent faces around me! Why were people just walking by and looking at other things?! I got as close as I was allowed, found the French horn section and stayed there for the next two hours until they finished rehearsing.

How did I get this awesome privilege to hear the London Symphony play Bruckner at St Paul's in London on my last day of site-seeing, for just the regular price of admission to see the church?! I hung on every note they played. Every time they would stop playing the sound would linger for several seconds in the acoustically perfect dome! I watched the conductor with wonder. How could he possibly hear anything to be improved upon? It was all liquid gold in my ears. To add to the beauty of the whole scene sometimes the sun would shine in just right through the side and dome windows and light up the violin section or the horn section. I hope and pray that I never forget those moments. I could have spent days in there listening to them under all those breathtaking Victorian mosaics.

The only sad part is that you have only my feeble words to experience the afternoon I had with the London Symphony and St. Paul's. No pictures were allowed inside, so I don't have a picture to share of the sparkling Victorian mosaics that decorate the ceiling above the choir and the high alter. Nor do I have any pictures of the orchestra, and it is impossible for me to recreate the sounds as I heard them today. I wish I could. It seems selfish to keep such an experience to myself.

Odds and Ends

This past weekend was our last opportunity to site-see together. Naturally, on Saturday we set a prioritized agenda of things we definitely didn't want to miss. Then we checked our London guide book and discovered that everything we wanted to do costs money. We then cut our list to ONE thing we were willing to pay for. All of a sudden most of the things on our list didn't seem so important. From the picture you see here, Westminster Abby made the cut. It's a good thing we cut so many other sites because we spent most of the day in here. It's hard to believe how long Westminster Abby has been around! Every ruler of the UK has been crowned and buried here going back to the 11th century! We saw the tomb of Edward the Longshanks. We were pretty excited about that considering our favorite movie is Braveheart. We were not disappointed with our choice for the day!

On Sunday, not knowing how to get back to the C of C we went to last weekend, we visited a church that was recommended to us that is actually quite close to the museum where Scott is working. We enjoyed the service, but we miss our home church back in Iowa. We then headed down the street to the Science museum. We walked around in there for a couple of hours, and then we just decided we were too tired to do any other site seeing. The rest of the day we spent lazing about -- it was nice.

On Monday afternoon, I enjoyed a trip to the Tate Britain museum. After that, I met Scott after work and we took the tube to Waterloo. There we ate some pub grub and headed to the Waterloo bridge to watch the sunset. We had a great view of London, and a great night out.

Tuesday, I enjoyed the afternoon at the National Gallery. This was a memorable visit for me. Courtesy of a Rick Steves London book, I took my own tour and saw so many great famous paintings. Some of these included paintings by Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Van Gogh and more! I was in art history heaven! They don't let you take pictures in that museum, so I have none to include here. :( After work, Scott and I needed to go to the train station to book our chunnel tickets out of London. Once we did that we had a chance to look around. It's a beautiful station. We had some good fish and chips there for dinner, and I took this picture with a statue while we were there. We had a nice time. :)

This brings me to today. Today I realized that I am just about museumed out. After some debate, I ended up back at the V&A. I had a scone and some tea at the cafe while I read "Pride and Prejudice With Zombies" (thanks Jerry it's great!). When I was done I was ready to see more. Today I saw the fashion exhibit, and one of the British history exhibits. Here are some highlights. Fashion: work by Prada, Westwood, Versaci etc including the work of the 2008 graduates of the Royal College of Art; British history: lots of beautiful old furniture (and other things that I wasn't quite as interested in). The more I go to the V&A museum the more I like it. It has a vast variety of things to see, something for everyone if you will, and there exhibits are accessible, informative, and just look great! In my limited world travel experiences I think its my favorite museum ever. Although it is not topped by the Corcorin's exhibit on modernism that I saw in DC.

Tomorrow, I am planning to visit the Borough Market, and St. Paul's. All too soon, Scott and I will be cleaning and packing up to go to Leiden. I am looking forward to it, but as all the other places I've been I will be sorry to leave London. Until next time...