Saturday, July 17, 2010

Bertolotto Cova, Levanto
1947 EET

I had another night of good sleep and breakfast served by Mom was toast with jam, juice, and raspberries. After preparing for our day trip, we joined up with Zia Michela and Zio Jams to walk to the train station, and after Zia Michela instructed us on how to fully read the schedule, Mom and I caught the 0930 to La Spenzi and from there, the 1020 train to Pisa.

Disembarking in Pisa Centrale, we went left as instructed by Zia Michela and found a tourist information center where we were given a map and direct to various sights.

The first sight before we crossed Ponte Sofferina was the incredibly small and yet elaborate green and white marble with numerous statues of Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina. We did not go within as admission seemed to be charged, but just admired the exterior. Our next sight, although I didn’t know it as I was paying more attention to the map directions to the map highlights, was Mural Keith Haring, which I will have to investigate when I have access to Google.

First view of Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina.

Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina.

Entrance of Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina.

Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina from bridge.

Our next sight was of Piazza dei Miracoli of the Duomo and Battistero and then the Torre pendente came into view. After reading the information boards, I got camera happy, especially in regards to the tower of course. We did the traditional tourist pose holding the tower up, and like many I am sure, was absolutely perturbed by other tourists in my pictures and taking my spots.

Duomo and Battistero.

Duomo and Torre pendente.

Battistero.

Duomo.

Alanna and Torre pendente.

View from the souvenir section.

In one of the souvenir booths Mom selected t-shirts of Snoopy and Woodstock holding the leaning tower up. The tower incidentally, besides being constructed in three states with significant time between, its actually the bell tower, belfry, of the Duomo. When touring Firenze, Elizabetta stated that Pisa and Firenze are the only two places she knows where the belfry’s were not constructed as part of the church, but free standing. From there we progressed down Via Cardinale Pietro Maffi to the ruins of Terme di Nerone, across which in Pizzeria la Mura we had lunch. Large cheese and vegetable filled pizza pockets with two costing €5.00 [$6.8072].

Mom and eras of construction in Pisa.

Musician in Pisa that let a little girl play Happy Birthday.

 We began transverseing to our next destination, Meseo Nazionale San Matteo, but where is where a few errors occurred. I read the time out as fourteen-hundred which Mom associated with four o’clock, instead of correctly interpreting it as two p.m. So we began to hurry back to Pisa Centrale to begin our return trip to Levanto. At the station there was no postcards for sale, so selecting a later departure time, we began trekking back. We crossed the bridge for a third time (well, second for that bridge as we had chosen the "shop" route to the station) and in Piazza Cavallotti we found postcards. After purchasing five cards for €2.00[$2.7229], Mom bought our second gelato cone of the day at €1.70[$2.3145] each. My first two flavours were pistachio and vanilla and my second were pine nut and peach. Pine nut I was interest in, having seen the flavour in Firenze’s specialist shop and when we walked to the beach on our first day in Levanto, Nichola found and smashed a pine cone and cracked open the shells for the nuts and gave them to me.

So, we hurried back to the Pisa Centrale to make our 1509 selected train. When on the platform and waiting for the train, Mom was able to look at an analogue clock and realize it was only shortly after three o’clock. And as the very first return train we had selected was actually after 1600 hours, she offered that we could still see the museum. The amount of power walking in essentially the hottest part of the day under the sun had me declining and simply desiring to return to Levanto and a rest filled afternoon. The return trip was not smooth however, as we forgot to validate our return ticket and finally, an employee signed it. Not however, until after a heart pounding moment for me when I thought Mom had gotten off the train in a third attempt and not reappeared in the car after the train had started moving.

Back in Levanto we made our way to our apartment and passing through Pasticceria Bianchi and purchasing two desert pastries for €2.00[$2.7229] and admiring the other confectioneries, we returned to our place and an afternoon of delightful rest. We also opened up the apartment upon our return because returning to Levanto we found it overcast, our very first overcast day in Italia and the room and outside temperature didn’t differ noticeably.

Pasticceria Bianchi.

Supper was once again prepared by Mom, of scrambled eggs with cheese and zucchini. She also did dishes afterwards further pampering me and then we return to our reading. Sometime later, Mom had a balcony-and-across-the-road conversation with Zio James about when we would meet with them for an evening together once again. That settled, we continued relaxing and took the time to our cream-filled and chocolate-covered pastries.

Bertolotto Cova, Levanto
2345 EET

Zia Michela and Zio James fetched us at 2100 informing us at that time we were going to see a concert by Gruppo Vocale MusicaNova hosted in Chiesa di Sant’ Andrea, the oldest church in Levanto being constructed in the 13th-century and where they were wed. The church was of the green serpentine and white marble in the striped pattern that seems quite common in Italia. Before arriving at the church, we were treated to a gelato by Zia Michela in the shop that Zio James some days before reported as a close second to the best show and more known and frequented by locals. My selection was mesua and a created flavour. Upon reading the church, I went with Zio James, who showed me a serpentine quarry just on the other side of the old city walls and how the church and surrounding homes, as they are the old part of town with the castle just upon the ridge, were built together sharing walls with narrow allies all about. The interior of the church makes use of the green and white colouring to very nice effect, with relatively few large paintings on the walls and no decoration on the ceiling.

Zio James, Chiesa di Sant’ Andrea belfry, and an old section of Levanto.

Chiesa di Sant’ Andrea over the hill.

Interior of Chiesa di Sant’ Andrea.

Interior of Chiesa di Sant’ Andrea.

The concert itself was very nice with my favourite pieces being George Friederich Haendel’s Let the bright Seraphim and Aldo Viviani’s second piece which seemed to fill the atmosphere and the acoustics just perfectly. Not only was Aldo Viviani the convert director, he also lost fingers on his left hand and continues to play piano. After the concert we did a quick tour of the church and I wonder who is buried in certain floor vaults and how long ago with the lettering being worn away. Before exiting, Mom got the autograph of Zia Michela’s godmother Angele who is a member of the local choir who were a part of the concert and she stood front and centre.

Wondering back through town and enjoying the sights and activities of Levanto’s nightlife, we were shown the shop where Zio James and Zia Michela had purchased water colour postcards of Levanto and framed them. We selected a few ourselves for plaque-ing, our alternate to framing, as well as for mailing with each one being €0.50. Walking home and viewing a displayed temperature, 26°C also has me understanding just how drastically my judgement of what is hot, warm, and cool has changed. 26°C is cool.