Stumbled Upon

August 23

More of the same, just a different spot on the same lake. We were on our own in this little cove for three hours. While this seems wonderfully romantic, there was the nagging thought, "Why aren't there any Italians here, too?" This deserted beach seemed the perfect spot...or was it?

Maybe it was just perfect for us. Us, the mud, and a bug-like fish they caught that kept them entertained.

Anyway...we had a lovely afternoon and then got in the rental car and drove to a town three miles away from Lake Vico called Caprarola. Here we are with our mini-car.

This is what we stumbled upon (I love the website stumbleupon.com - it takes your interests and finds websites that might interest you. Much like Italy. Interests: history, art, literature, architecture, etc. Stumbleupon might have placed us exactly where we were just now.)

We walked to the front of this building and simultaneously wowed. It's called Palazzo Farnese - just one of the country houses of the Farnese family, known for their banking connections. They were quite wealthy and, as this "country house" will demonstrate, they wanted their guests to know of their wealth and that consequent power that goes along with it.

I took this picture from a photo within the palace. It helps set the scene a bit and might give you a good sense of what we were about to see (the palace is the pentagon).

The palace was built and decorated from 1559-1575. I've never seen anything like it - there are detailed frescoes covering every inch of the walls and ceilings and mosaics covered the floors. It is just outrageous - it made our heads spin (or at least our necks ache from looking in every direction).

The photos just don't do it justice either. Each room had a different theme, as the Farnese family demonstrated their connections with Hercules (yes, Hercules - remember the creation of Lake Vico from yesterday?), various Popes, and Renaissance leaders of Europe that they did business with.

The map room had paintings of the world as the Renaissance knew it. Above you can see constellations.

And, a grotto outside to top it all off!

We really did stumble upon this. No prior preparation, guide book, or friendly recommendation. Serendipity at its best!

The saving grace of mud pies

August 22, 2011

I'll try to move from the more pedantic entries about our surroundings.

Today we rented a car and, in the outrageous heat of the early afternoon, set off for Lake Vico (around 15 minutes south of us). Like the other lakes in this area, Lake Vico was created by a volcano and now rests surrounded by a forest and nature preserve. The legend is equally fun to imagine and preferred by Alex and Eleni: Hercules struck his club in the ground and - there you go - a lake!

Neil and I found a great spot to sit under these trees. The kids are barely visible in the distance here (two dots to the left of the tree in the middle) happily making mud pies out of the lake grass and the volcanic mud. Big project. Kept them busy and focused for hours.

This is the view from our desk

Sunday, August 21

Our apartment is fully furnished. We want for nothing. We all have comfy beds and fans in each room. We've even got access to internet, although it's old school - no wifi - and quite temperamental. I'm plugged into the modem and this is the view from our desk in the late afternoon.

The heat caught up with me. I've been desperately hydrating all day. I think my fanatic "drink water" command for the kids was one I needed to follow better for myself. I'm ok now, but I had Neil researching how to get to the hospital (just in case) earlier in the day.

It's 7 PM and Neil is heroically at the playground with the kids. Me? I'm finally feeling like a human being again.

This is the view from our balcony

Saturday, August 20

This is where I hang laundry and watch the pigeons. It's not much of a balcony (no visions of me sitting on it drinking my expresso should come to mind. It's purely practical). The building on the bottom right seems deserted by humans and left as a pigeon coup. It's a pigeon haven/heaven...we wake up to them every morning.

It's incredibly hot here. A heat wave even.

Alex directed Neil around Viterbo with his map; they found a playground nearby. Eleni and I braved the supermarket and afterwards, found a McDonalds. I'll share the pathetic truth of keeping her sane right now with you here: Eleni had a happy meal and it really did make her happy.*

*I think once Eleni gets a routine (school, etc.), she will be fine. But, right now...it's a delicate situation.

This is the door to our apartment

Friday August 19

Aside from a few exploratory walks in the early morning and early evening, we spent most of our day behind this door. We're trying to escape the oppressive heat.