California adventures---San Francisco, Day 1

On Sunday morning, after a nice service at E's church, we had another great meal: a brunch at a cute eatery called Dipsea cafe. After saying good-by to E's precious son, M and I started the drive to San Francisco, but, of course, couldn't pass the temptation of stopping by the Marin Headlands one more time for some extra shots of the bridge. Here are some more (I'm noticing a pattern and an emerging obsession with bridges).



After dropping off the rental car at SFO and experiencing BART, the San Francisco metro, we experienced another San Fran public transportation system and a must-do, the cable car. It was fun to ride up and down the city hills, enjoying great views of the city and the most crooked street (really windy street that is surprisingly open to one-way traffic).

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring Fisherman's Wharf, trying out some of the local delicacies (clam chowder in a sourdough bowl), exploring the fun shops at Pier 39, and walking all the way down the Embarcadero (street along the water) to the Ferry Building while enjoying the views of the Bay Bridge. After a long day of walking down the city streets, we happily settled into our hotel for the evening.

California adventures---Marin county

For the first few days of the trip we were staying in the beautiful Marin County that has a variety of natural sights. We started the day off in Muir woods, home to a lush grove of ancient and humongous redwood trees.


After a short walk around the grove, we drove up the top of Mount Tamalpais to get amazing vistas of the Bay area, including views of the city of San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, and even Alcatraz. We walked around the mountain and got some great shots of the beautiful surroundings.


After lunch, E's family joined us for a brief tour of the Marin Headlands, which offer breathtaking views of the Golden Gate bridge, which continues to be one of my favorite American landmarks. This impressive structure is truly immense, and I probably took 50 pictures of it, considering I already took about that many a few years ago on my previous visit.


We then descented to the Rodeo beach and walked around enjoying the water and the surrounding hills (and taking many more pictures). The cute town of Sausalito was next, where we enjoyed the nice harbor and views of the city across the bay.
After dropping off E's husband and son, we embarked on a fun girls' night: first, to my favorite Puerto Rican restaraunt, Sol Food, in San Rafael, and then some delicious gelato and a 3-D viewing of Alice in Wonderland (a bit disappointing).

California adventures---Wine Country

This year for my vacation I decided to go to the beautiful Bay Area where my dear friend E resides with her husband and baby son. One of my good friends from church here in DC came with me on her first visit to California. Since we were there for only a few days, we didn't waste our time and had quite a busy tourist agenda. On our first full day there, we decided to do a short tour of the wine country, visiting the cute town of Sonoma and some wineries in Sonoma and Napa valleys. Even though we were greeted by pouring rain and couldn't figure out how to operate our GPS, we still had a great time. We first walked around Sonoma and enjoying the Cheese Factory (great cheese, wine, and souvenir shop), visiting the Sonoma museum to learn that it once used to be one of the northern-most posts of the Mexican Catholic church (and also learning that part of California used to be colonized by the Russians!). Our lunch was perhaps one of the best meals I've ever had---it was at a cute French country restaurant called "Girl in a fig" where I had the most delicious parsnip soup, salad, and out-of-this-world creme brule. Next stop was Sebastiani winery, which is right in the Sonoma downtown. Even though I had been there on my previous visit to the area, I wanted to take M there since the people are very friendly and informative. After our wine tasting, we did a tour of the cellars and learned a lot of interesting things about winemaking (including seeing the largest wine barrel made out of redwood).

We then drove through the beautiful Sonoma Valley into the town of Napa past the wine groves and green hills, and and did a wine tasting at another winery called Black Stallion, very posh and actually relatively new to the area (about 3 years old). The grounds were really pretty, with a statue of a black stallion as you enter the premises.


Even though we did end up getting lost a few times on our adventures, we made it to my friend's house for a delicious dinner and great fellowship. Then the jetlag kicked in, and we quickly fell asleep back at our hotel.

The Vatican and other Roman sights

On Saturday, after all work-related stuff was over, I got up early (being the crazy tourist that I am) and once again set out to explore Rome, and once again it was raining (Amsterdam, anyone?). Even though I got to the Vatican Museums quite early, there was a line already, but moving quickly. Once I got in, I opted to get a tour, but had an hour to spare so I left the Vatican premises to get a delicious cappuccino before my tour.

The tour guide turned out to be this old Italian lady that actually gave us a great 2.5 hour overview of the highlights. Of course, the amazing art collection gathered in the Vatican walls cannot possibly be explored in such a short time, but getting even a glimpse of the collection was enough to see its richness. The first few halls that we visited had a lot of white marble statues, with various missing body parts---the reason being their antiquity and a number of "civilizations" that passed over the city, with new fads and plunders. More statues are being excavated as the archaeological digs continue. Some of these statues were quite impressive, but, to be honest, after seeing a number of them, they all sort of blended in.

One thing about the Vatican, which reminded me of some palaces in St Petersburg, were the lavishly decorated walls and ceilings---at one point, I kept walking with my head up because the frescoes and paintings on the ceilings were absolutely breathtaking. I also saw some interesting tapestries from 17th-18th centuries, an art form that I have not seen previously. Another interesting thing was to see so much of art from Greek and Roman mythology (sculpture, paintings, etc) in a Catholic stronghold.

Snapshot of Vatican Museum ceilings

Of course, some of the biggest attractions in the museum are the rooms done by Raphael and Michelangelo. Their styles are definitely different, but both interestingly chose between the Christian and non-Christian themes (mythology, philosophy) to paint their masterpieces. I learned that both worked at the Vatican at the same time (Michelangelo mostly on the Sistine Chapel and Raphael on other rooms in the Vatican).

One of Raphael's ceiling paintings

A wall-wide painting by Michelangelo

However, the most amazing site that left me almost in tears came at the end of the tour. I have heard of the beauty of the Sistine Chapel, but to see it in person was absolutely breathtaking. I stood awestruck for a long time just absorbing the wall-to-wall paintings that were centered around the theme of the Christian Gospel. The central picture in the ceiling depicted man being separated from God, with the rest of the paintings and frescoes focusing on various Biblical stories and characters. Besides the Taj Mahal, this was definitely the most amazing sight that I had ever laid my eyes on. The Chapel is still used, most notably during the election of a new pope.

Still under the impression from the Chapel, I walked into the bright sunlight and open area of St. Peter's Square, the heart of Vatican City (which is, by the way, a separate state within Italy, with its own postal service). It is quite spacious and beautiful in its simplicity. Before rushing of to other sights in Rome, I walked around the grand St. Peter's Basilica, which is by far the most lavish Catholic church I had ever been to. However, its lavishness is actually quite simple, which makes it appear even more grandiose. Near the altar there is a small structure that is supposed to be around the tomb of Apostle Peter---I'm not sure if his remains are actually there, but it did make me think of Jesus' words in Matthew 16 that He would build His church on Peter, the Rock.

Outside of St. Peter's Basilica

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Square

The next stop on my agenda was the Pantheon, but on my way there I left the state of Vatican (passing by several Embassies:), walked by Castel Sant'Angelo (a nice-looking castle that is also a museum, which I didn't have time to visit), and snapped some pictures of various fountains of the famous Piazza Navona. The Pantheon was another massive structure with a perfectly round hole in its perfectly-constructed rotunda dome (how did the Romans built it?) It was commissioned by one of the Roman emperors as a temple for all ancient Roman gods. The Christian popes later converted it to a Christian church, which is still active today. Interestingly, Raphael's sarcophagus is also found in this eclectic structure.

The Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

After a quick break of gelato, I rushed off to something that had miraculously fit into my agenda---the famous Capitoline Museums, founded by Michelangelo, who was also a great patron of arts. It is located on the Capitoline Hill and is a home to a lot of marble statues:), some of which are pretty old. The highlights include the bronze statue of the She-Wolf (the adopted mother of the twin founders), a very old statue of Marcus Aurelius, and many other artifacts of ancient Rome.

She-Wolf

The Capitoline Hill is located near the Palatine Hill and overlooks the Forum and the Coliseum. My new camera gave me one of the biggest thrill of my life by taking amazing night pictures of these priceless ruins.

Roman Forum at night

Coliseum at night

Before finishing off the day's adventure with a delicious Italian dinner of homemade pasta, I walked once again by one of my most favorite buildings in Rome, the monument of Victor Emanuel II (Il Vittoriano), the first emperor of unified Italy, the Spanish steps, and another Roman must-see, the Trevi Fountain (I didn't throw in a coin though:). Ahh, so much to see...Rome was indeed one of the most picturesque places that I had been to! Can't wait to go back one day.

Il Vittoriano

Trevi Fountain

Italy, in between sightseeing

The few days in between sightseeing, better labeled as work days, were filled with productive interactions with our program committee, all great and fun people, while taking the train by the Vatican walls every day to and from the location of the meetings. The train system is great, with a choice between underground and above ground commuter trains. However, in the truly Italian fashion, the train schedule is adhered to very loosely. From the very first day I felt very comfortable in this country, despite the fact that most people don't speak English (with my knowledge of Spanish, it wasn't too difficult to figure out written signs). Walking around the city reminded me of walking around St. Petersburg, Russia---the streets had a very familiar feeling, with various ancient sights and brightly-lit storefronts. The people overall seemed very nice and friendly, the food was great, and I could get around easily.

The highlight of the week was a seminar we organized at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is a massive structure close to the Coliseum and the Palatine Hill. Interestingly, the building used to be Mussolini's headquarters of Colonies Administration, which was definitely reflected in the military-style hallways and impenetrable wooden doors. However, the building had a magnificent rooftop with views of some major Roman sights, including the Roman baths and the Circus Maximus, where the Romans used to hold chariot races.

View of Roman street from FAO roof (with blue UN flag and Coliseum in the background)


Circus Maximus


The FAO roof was also the place where I had my first real Italian cappuccino---even though it sent my heart into an almost audible pitter patter, I thoroughly enjoyed it, had another one, and from then on have been drinking coffee on and off...wow

Italy---Coliseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill

It has been over a month since I returned from my wonderful week in Italia. Even though I went there for work, I had time to roam around Rome (pun intended:) and see some of the highlights, while realizing that it would take much longer to see even a half of what that amazing city had to offer.

After taking a train to the hotel (oh, how I miss those eager luggage handlers in developing countries:) and discovering that I didn't have wifi in my room (which caused major panic attack that resulted in me running around trying to figure out how to get connected), I shrugged off the emerging sleepiness, packed my umbrella to withstand the downpour, and embarked on my first adventure in Rome. The first stop, however, involved a visit to a nearby ATM and my first taste of Italian food at lunch---the ATM turned out to be just a slot for a card and a pin pad in a graffiti covered wall, and the lunch consisted of a delicious eggplant lasagna served by a super friendly restaurant owner.

My first and perhaps the most important sightseeing endeavour was visiting my third Wonder of the World: the Roman Coliseum. The minute you walk out of the subway station you are greeted by this massive and impressive structure. It bears the evidence of being beaten by the time and the elements, but despite the "signs of aging," it is amazingly stunning. I did a guided tour and learned many interesting things about this ancient structure. In addition to being the center of the Roman leisure life, the guide mentioned that the gladiators were not victims sentenced to fight the lions, but well-paid and well-taken care of professional fighters whose job was to entertain (and not get killed---another major Hollywood myth). We could see the remaining frescoes and internal sections for the animal and gladiator quarters. The views from the top of the Coliseum also offered some breathtaking sights of other ancient Roman architectural remains (the Forum) surrounded by the beautiful stone pines(often referred to as "umbrella pines").





The next stop was the Palatine Hill, the residence site of the late Roman emperors and one of the seven hills of Rome. We toured the grounds where the former palaces, steam baths, temples, and gardens stood to house and entertain Roman royalty and nobility. Everything around was really old. Our excellent tour guide at one point casually referred to the remnants of a structure that was "not old---13th century"---since many other things in this biggest archeological dig in the world go back to the second-third centuries. (Palatine Hill is one of the most ancient areas of the city and considered to be the origins of the city as it had the cave where the twin founders Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf who kept them alive).

At the foothills of the Palatine Hill lied the remnants of the oldest part of the city, the Roman Forum, where Roman civilization developed. It had really ancient ruins of various Roman temples and shrines, several basilicas, and the site of Roman Senate. It also had the residence of the Vestal Virgins, the ancient clan of female priestesses who were charged with keeping the sacred fire of Vesta, the goddess of hearth. The ongoing excavations also revealed the "layers" of Roman---one civilization built on top of the other (pagans--Christians---Renessaince, etc). The newer building of the city government is actually built on the remains of another ancient structure.