Cindybelle's Bella Notte TR COMPLETE!! - UPDATED 10/19 With Prices! - Page 11 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I think what you are experiencing is the result of a trompe-l'oeil ( I always want to stick a u in there somewhere). I'm guessing since it's a floor it was done with a mosaic, but it could also have been painted on the floor. It's an art effect that uses realistic imagery to create an optical illusion that what you are seeing is in 3D. So this floor seems to look like a tunnel that falls further down. That's the best way I can describe it.
Cindy couldn't you have yelled at the people below "in the tunnel" to look as if they were falling? What a great picture that would be. I bet that would have gone over really well in the cathedral .
Cindy couldn't you have yelled at the people below "in the tunnel" to look as if they were falling? What a great picture that would be. I bet that would have gone over really well in the cathedral .
Douglas, I guess I'd better go back for sure now so I can do just that. Yeah, that would have gone over REALLY well in the cathedral.
I think what you are experiencing is the result of a trompe-l'oeil ( I always want to stick a u in there somewhere). I'm guessing since it's a floor it was done with a mosaic, but it could also have been painted on the floor. It's an art effect that uses realistic imagery to create an optical illusion that what you are seeing is in 3D. So this floor seems to look like a tunnel that falls further down. That's the best way I can describe it.
Cindy couldn't you have yelled at the people below "in the tunnel" to look as if they were falling? What a great picture that would be. I bet that would have gone over really well in the cathedral .
So I had to get caught up from page 2!!! But here are my comments I made along the way:
The Colosseum looks awesome! Just unbelievable!
Thanks for telling us about the hotel in Rome. It sounds and looks great!
The Saint-Peter-in-Chains Basilica and Sta. Maria Maggiore Basilicas were beautiful. I know what you mean when you said:
Quote:
Rick and I were raised Lutheran, and yet these churches affected us deeply. We can only imagine the thrill these structures brought to our dear Catholic friends, Paul and Robbie.
I was raised (and still am) Lutheran and I felt the same way when we traveled to Paris & Germany in 2006. Gave me a much deeper appreciation. this:
Quote:
I gasped, "This is just like Extra Magic Hour!" Which made Rick cringe as he replied, "Must everything remind you of Disney?"
when you got into the Vatican museum early. J
The Good Shepherd sculpture – wow! And all the other paintings, sculptures, floor tiles, etc. too!
St. Peter's Basilica – I don’t know what else to say! It’s stunning!
Love the milk story. It is life’s simple pleasures!
The Trevi Fountain is beautiful! I hope I get to see it one day.
The Pantheon, the Spanish steps too!! Wow! You did fit a lot in your 3 days!
The nighttime shots of the Colosseum are amazing! Love the lighting you captured!
The Il Bargello Bed & Breakfast looks like a lovely place to stay. And with Mickey stuff to boot! The Duomo is quite amazing! I must say you all looked so nice in every picture too – not your typical t-shirt & jeans Americans. J
If you ever get around to making that book – we will have to have a PP meet so I can see it in person. I mean we can’t live that far apart from one another. J
Sign me up for the PP Italy meet!!
I can’t remember if you said you learned and spoke Italian for the trip. Did you? Or did you just rely on your English?
I must say you all looked so nice in every picture too – not your typical t-shirt & jeans Americans. J
I can’t remember if you said you learned and spoke Italian for the trip. Did you? Or did you just rely on your English?
Hey Toodles, I just read your critiaue of my TR thus far and really enjoyed your comments. And we can definitely get together after my books are done -- there's no "if" about it! I am the poster child for Type-A Overachievers Anonymous, and you live in the St. Louis area! (I work downtown and live in the Manchester/Ballwin area.) So we will set a date when my literary process gets done. Maybe I'll even bring Robbie along.
Clothes for trip: We'd read that many of the churches require shoulders to be covered and either skirts or slacks for women, but no shorts. As we went through Italy, Paul noted that we probably could have dressed "down" more -- but he was glad we didn't. We wanted to be respectful of the beautiful historic places we were visiting, and we also didn't want to have to change clothes -- I mean, when did we have the time? We also wanted to take Rick Steves' advice to "pack light," especially since we had to lug our suitcases to and from 3 hotels and to/from trains and planes.
I packed two pairs of black slacks and wore a third -- and all were hand washable. I brought 5 shirts/blouses, and again all could drip-dry in the hotel (or, in Firenze, out on Paul/Robbie's patio). I've got a bump on the underside of my right foot that gets painful at times, so I had one pair of black, orthopedic shoes along with my custom inserts, and that saved my feet like you wouldn't believe. Robbie brought one pair of comfortable sandals and a no-iron reversible skirt that she wore a couple times. It all worked beautifully.
While we saw some bare-shouldered women, many of the churches handed them shawls or really ugly ponchos to put on. I'm really glad we didn't have to wear those.
The clothes we all brought were lightweight. The guys didn't bring ties and jackets, because we decided beforehand that we'd never eat anyplace THAT fancy. So we always looked good but not TOO good, if you know what I mean.
We were all conscious of any ugly American behavior -- and we witnessed some of that. We wanted to represent the U.S. in a positive light, and we wanted to respect customs that are different from ours. I think we did in that department!
Speaking Italiano: Sure, before we left I could say "Como estai?" and "Molto bene!" That's about it. Robbie and I listened to some tapes. The Italians were fairly amused at our attempts to speak their language, but nearly everyone we talked to spoke WAY better Inglese than we spoke Italiano. Italy is such a tourist-friendly country. I simply can't recommend it highly enough to anyone who's ever considered a vacation in Europe.
I don't mean to be disrespectful, but when I saw this floor pattern, I just had to ask, "Am I the only one who sees hidden Mickeys here?" Rick's response:
But seriously, what a beautiful Cathedral.
Do you see the simple cross at the altar? It's w-a-a-y at the front of this huge space. The four of us attended Sunday Mass, and everyone present was invited to sit way up there, in an area that tourists aren't allowed to go into during public hours. We went for the 10:30 a.m. Gregorian chant service, and it was lovely. We were each handed a program with some of the service printed in Italian, English, German, Spanish, and French. We assume the service was in Latin, but even Paul wasn't sure. It certainly was beautiful -- and I know it meant a lot to Paul and Robbie to have Communion there.
We didn't take any photos during the service, of course. (But we saw one young man do so, until someone came over to him and said, "No photos.") But when I looked straight up from my seat, I could see a lot more of this beautiful ceiling than I can show you in this picture:
ok, so when are we leaving for the next trip???? for real.....
Sheri, I will keep ignoring you for as long as possible -- but don't stop asking; it makes me . I've simply got to start buying lottery tickets, or robbing banks, or something -- because I would really, seriously love nothing better than to go back with some of my PP buds. Now, back to my TR, if you don't mind.
Sunday after Mass we went back to Gusto Leo's for lunch -- but this time, none of us ordered Sangria or beer. We'd learned our lesson. My eyes were going to stay open all afternoon, without the need for straws or toothpicks or any other implements.
Then we walked to the most beautiful, famous plaza in all of Firenze. It certainly became our favorite place to go, especially in the evenings when we wanted to walk off our big dinners.
This is what you find in the daytime at the Piazza della Signoria:
A good copy of Michelangelo's David. Since photography is forbidden at the Accademia (where David is beautifully displayed), it was always nice to "bump into" copies of this incredible work. (We saw another copy at the end of our stay in Firenze.)
And you can walk around him and get photos from every possible angle. Forget the cheap jokes -- this is an absolutely mind-boggling masterpiece -- every muscle, every joint, David's gaze -- Michelangelo "freed" David from a block of stone so that generation after generation could marvel at the complexities of the human form.
At night, the statues in this plaza look even more amazing. They're lit so beautifully, it's fairly easy to get some good photos of these copies of masterworks. (Many of the originals can be found in the nearby Uffizi or Accademia museums. We visited both and recommend them highly. Photography is forbidden in both of these museums, which makes us prize these copies even more.)
Ah, the famous bridge, full of jewelry shops! On the way there, we spotted some Italians playing soccer. I'm pretty sure this fellow was giving me the , But Robbie thought he was looking at her. (Silly girl.)
Where was I? Oh yes, the Ponte Vechhio. It's just past the Piazza della Signoria, so we viewed this bridge many times during our delightful stay in Firenze. By the way, we purposely slowed our pace down after leaving Rome -- our intention was always to kick back and enjoy our stay in Firenze -- and that's just what we did.
On another evening:
Our first evening in Firenze (Saturday), we walked across the Ponte Vecchio. In the very center of it, a Polish classical guitarist was playing some lovely music. Robbie and I found it so romantic. We later saw the same musician at the Piazza della Signoria, where he apparently plays nearly every night. He has two CDs, so we took his 2-for-20 Euros deal and each took one home. I've been listening to mine on my way to and from work. I can feel the cool breeze across the Piazza della Signoria every time. The musician's name is Thadeusz Machalsky, and he is wonderful. Here he is from that first night we saw him, in the middle of the Ponte Vecchio.
We were all conscious of any ugly American behavior -- and we witnessed some of that. We wanted to represent the U.S. in a positive light, and we wanted to respect customs that are different from ours. I think we did in that department!
Speaking Italiano: Sure, before we left I could say "Como estai?" and "Molto bene!" That's about it. Robbie and I listened to some tapes. The Italians were fairly amused at our attempts to speak their language, but nearly everyone we talked to spoke WAY better Inglese than we spoke Italiano. Italy is such a tourist-friendly country. I simply can't recommend it highly enough to anyone who's ever considered a vacation in Europe.
That is so good to hear about your behaviour - you sound exactly like us. We just want to curl up and die when we see bad British behaviour and sadly we've seen the same with Americans in the past. I think our nations are very similar in that respect.
We had exactly the same experience about the language. I hold qualifications in Italian and, although I do confuse it with Spanish and French, because they're all so darned similar, I found that the Italians too were very amused with my attempts and would always answer in English - I quickly gave up trying to speak Italian! However, unlike the French, where I always got the feeling that they felt they have to speak English to you, I felt the Italians were only too delighted too - they are a lovely nation.
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But here are my comments I made along the way:
this: 
I don’t know what else to say! It’s stunning!
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
We also wanted to take Rick Steves' advice to "pack light," especially since we had to lug our suitcases to and from 3 hotels and to/from trains and planes. 
in that department!
Now, back to my TR, if you don't mind. 
Here he is from that first night we saw him, in the middle of the Ponte Vecchio.
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