This Friday, Jodi asked if any of us would be interested in going on a short day trip to Arezzo which is a Tuscan city that is about an hourish southeast of Florence. It was not a mandatory trip and only 8 of us ended up going (plus Jodi totally nine) and we hopped on a train and we were whisked away to the charming little city.
Personally I think Arezzo is my favorite place that I have visited so far for the fact that it is so small. You can walk from one end of the city to the other in maybe 20 minutes/ half an hour. Its not jam packed with people (or tourists) and there is a lot of greenery (trees, un mowed grass, park space) and of course its in Tuscany territory so it is quaint and charming and full of history. It also happens to be the city that the 1997 film "La Vita è Bella" or "Life is Beautiful was filmed (and I have seen about half of it, in Italian in Italian class the day we took one of our final exams.) So when we first got there, one of our stops was the cafe that is featured in the movie. (And Jodi treated us to a cappuccino and a pastry too. (Since I don't drink coffee I had a really yummy hot chocolate. And they aren't joking when they say its hot.) Like true Italians, we stood at the bar, munched on rich pastries, and drank little cups of coffee before heading out on our days excursions!)
As always we toured a couple of churches (Santa Maria dela Pieve, Church of San Dominico, both of which were free I believe, the Basilica San Francesco and La Casa Museo de Ivan Bruschi) however the contrast of this trip was they were slightly more Gothic in style than they were Renaissance style (meaning less fresco work, and some stain glass windows with high high vaulted ceilings. While I personally really enjoy Renaissance style art (and not so much Gothic art) I much prefer Gothic architecture and churches. I love how grand they are with the high vaulted ceilings and the towering stain glass windows. It is interesting to me how they can make me feel so small and humble being surrounded by such beauty. So I really enjoyed these churches.
Jodi, who adores Vasari, took us to go see his house. Vasari is responsible for compiling a work of biographies of some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance era. He himself was not a nobleman, however is was upper class and had money to spend so his house is quiet grand and richly decorated with stunning fresco he had commissioned to decorate the house for his bride. It is a place I would defiantly recommend going too, especially since I wasn't allowed to take pictures. So you have to go see it for yourself. Its a really pretty home.
Armed with maps, we were released on our own to explore the city and return to Florence when we wanted after the trip. Megan, Anicka and I, not overly hungry, decided to wander around looking for a cheep sandwich for lunch. Not being terribly hungry, we forgot about lunch for a couple of hours and just wandered around the city (not getting lost because it was so small) finding pretty views, taking cute touristy pictures, and being mistaken as British people (by little 4 and 5 year old school children.) When we did remember about lunch, we found a cheep giant slice of pizza for 2 euro place (we all had spinach and mozzarella) before heading off to look at the Roman Amphitheater.
Unfortunately due to hoolagins with a need to deface things, the amphitheater is fenced off to help with a graffiti problem. I'm not going to lie, I was rather disappointed I couldn't get closer, but it was still cool to see it (and it got me super pumped for Rome!)
After the amphitheater the three of us headed home making it back just in time for supper. All around, it seemed that everyone I talk too, agreed they loved how quaint and classic Arezzo is. If I had to pick somewhere to live in Italy, I think it would be Arezzo. With a country home in Chianti country so I could have a sprawling villa and a wine/olive farm. So, if you find yourself in Italy, hit of Arezzo for a day.
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