Venice

We just got back from our weekend trip to Venice. This city was so beautiful. The girls did a lot of shopping while we were there. The hotel we stayed at was really cute. Sadly i forgot to take a picture of it. So we kept kept seeing this winged lion everywhere.  I was curious so i had to look up what it ment. Apparently he is the Lion of  St. Mark is the patron saint of Venice. His remains were brought to Venice from Alexandria in 828 A.D

Homesick hard rock

Tonight me and Amber were craving American food. So we set out on an expedition to find hard rock. We didn't know we could take the bus so we walked from the Argentina tram stop. That was quite the walk. Once we arrived we had a 40 minute wait. Apparently half the city was also wanting American food. It was so worth it. I got some southern Barbecue. ( Just like in Tennessee the menue said and Amber got a Hamburger. They also had iced Tea, which is something i had been missing greatly. Apparently Italians don't drink tea. This was the first place i had seen it. Our waiter was named Franco and he was hilarious. He kept us laughing. The whole night was a blast.

Orvieato

This Place was so neat! Definitely in my top 5 for the trip. Im once again going to quote wiki pedia cause im cruntched for time today. Heres some on the history before I talk about the trip there.

“Etruscan era

The ancient city (urbs vetus in Latin, whence "Orvieto"), populated since Etruscan times, has usually been associated with Etruscan Velzna, but some modern scholars differ. Orvieto was certainly a major centre of Etruscan civilization; the archaeological museum (Museo Claudio Faina e Museo Civico) houses some of the Etruscan artefacts that have been recovered in the immediate neighbourhood. An interesting survival that might show the complexity of ethnic relations in ancient Italy and how such relations could be peaceful, is the inscription on a tomb in the Orvieto Cannicella necropolis: mi aviles katacinas, "I am of Avile Katacina", with an Etruscan-Latin first name (Aulus) and a family name that is believed to be of Celtic ("Catacos") origin.

Roman and post-Roman eras

Orvieto was annexed by Rome in the third century BC. After the collapse of the Roman Empire its defensible site gained new importance: the episcopal seat was transferred from Bolsena, and the city was held by Goths and by Lombards before its self-governing commune was established in the tenth century, in which consuls governed under a feudal oath of fealty to the bishop. Orvieto's relationship to the papacy has been a close one; in the tenth century Pope Benedict VII visited the city of Orvieto with his nephew, Filippo Alberici, who later settled there and became Consul of the city-state in 1016.

Middle Ages

Orvieto, sitting on its impregnable rock controlling the road between Florence and Rome where it crossed the Chiana, was a large town: its population numbered about 30,000 at the end of the 13th century.[1] Its municipal institutions already recognized in a papal bull of 1157,[2] from 1201 Orvieto governed itself through a podestà, who was as often as not the bishop, however, acting in concert with a military governor, the "captain of the people". In the 13th century bitter feuds divided the city, which was at the apogée of its wealth but found itself often at odds with the papacy, even under interdict. Pope Urban IV stayed at Orvieto in 1262-1264.

Some of the families traditionally associated with major roles in Orvieto’s history are: Monaldeschi, Filippeschi, Alberici and Gualterio, of whom only the Alberici and the Gualterio have survived to the present day. The city became one of the major cultural attractions of its time when Thomas Aquinas taught at the Studium. A small university (now part of the University of Perugia), had its origins in a studium generale that was granted to the city by Pope Gregory XI in 1736.

Papal rule

The territory of Orvieto was under papal control long before it was officially added to the Papal States (various dates are quoted); it remained a papal possession until 1860, when it was annexed to unified Italy.”

The train ride was fun minus the tunnels were terrible on the ears. Once we got there we took this tram thing up the mountain. I don’t remember what its called. The town was like walking through oblivion. While we were there we got to go in the caves and see were the pigeon breeding use to take place. We also met the most adorable little kitty. He was super sweet and I wanted to take him home. I’ll post his pic.

Busses and trams

So busses and trams here are yeah….They crowd so many people in its like sardines and you have to stand up. You also have to be careful to hold on to your stuff so you do not get pick pocketed. 

Fanta

SO Fanta here is amazing. Instead of being like orange soda it’s more a carbonated orange juice. Seeing as history is my theme here’s a bit of history on Fanta. This is quoted from Wikipedia.

“Fanta originated due to difficulties importing Coca-cola syrup into Nazi Germany during World War II due to a trade embargo. To circumvent this, Max Keith, the man in charge of Coca-Cola Deutschland during the Second World War, decided to create a new product for the German market, using only ingredients available in Germany at the time, including Whey and pomance – the "leftovers of leftovers", as Keith later recalled The name was the result of a brief brainstorming session, which started with Keith exhorting his team to "use their imagination" ("Fantasie" in German), to which one of his salesmen, Joe Knipp, immediately retorted "Fanta!”

While the plant was effectively cut off from Coca Cola headquarters during the war, plant management did not join the Nazi party. After the war, the Coca Cola corporation regained control of the plant and the trademarks to the new Fanta product - as well as the plant profits made during the war”

The Vatican

I was very very excited for this part of the trip. Ever since studying it in arts and ideas I have dreamed of seeing the Vatican in person. We met up in the morning and headed that way. When we stopped for breakfast I noted that the prices were quite a bit higher then they are on our end of the city.  Words cannot describe how beautiful St. Peter's basilica is. Just the outside facade with all the statues around the top is amazing. As a history lover I have to detail a bit about this place before taking about it. St. Peters Basilica is said to be built on top of the tomb of St. Peter who was one of the 12 apostles and also the first pope. The tomb is supposed to be under the alter of the church. This is why the church is of such historic significance. It is also the largest Christian church in the world. Many famous architects and artist worked on the church as it was being constructed such as Michelangelo.  The museum is also here but we were going to see that another day. Today we were climbing up to the top of the dome to take pictures. O man those stairs. I hate stairs anyway but those were rough. However when we got to the top it was worth it. The choir was singing while we were up at the top of the dome. What a beautiful way to hear music, it was literally one of my favorite parts of the trip. Outside the dome had the mot breath taking views of the city. Definitely got some amazing pictures.