Life with ArielWhen COVID-19 broke out in Italy, my heart tightened. It was horrifying to see the once crowded and lively plaza in front of the Milan Cathedral empty and dead quiet. I still remember the magnificent architecture from my Italy trip in November 2019, when everything was normal and everyone was healthy.
It was my first time to Europe. I picked Italy and only Italy as my destination because of the richness in its culture and art. Dan Brown‘s novels often use Italy as the setting. I’m a big fan and alway wanted to witness the beauty myself. Unsurprisingly, Italy immersed me in its beauty with its history, museums, arts, and food.
Family Time
It’s one of the most rewarding trips of mine, not only because of what I saw but also because it’s a trip with my mom to celebrate her retirement. Although I have been financially independent and living by myself for quite a while, it felt different when I started to take care of the family, pay for the bills, and arrange our daily activities. Our positions switched. The forever baby grew up and started to care for the parent.
It is also the first time I noticed my mom’s vulnerability. She has always been a positive, motivated, strong, and independent lady boss. Retirement hit her hard. With me being away and no job to fulfill her days, she found herself useless. I tried to convince her there are lots of things to do and it’s important for her to take a break and care for herself after working non-stop for over 30 years. As I saw her constantly scoping side jobs and trying to start her own company, I realized that’s just how she is. It’s not about money or fancy titles. Being helpful to others motivates her, brightens her up, and makes her smile.
I shouldn’t have forced my retirement philosophy on her. After working so hard and taking good care of her family, she deserves to do whatever she wants during her golden years. To her, this Italy trip was not a break, not a celebration, but an opportunity to spend time with her daughter who lives so far away from her.
Day 1: Religion Enlightenment – Vatican City
Vatican City is technically a different country. But it’s so close to Rome that it’s considered a must-go place when people visit Rome. To me, Vatican City is all about religion, which I was not that familiar with. Nonetheless, I was amazed by the masterpieces that were created by the greatest artists in history. It’s their interpretation of the deities and religious tales and vivid reflections of the society at the time. The artworks were all uniquely labeled by each artist’s personal experience and their mood at the moment, all expressed through brush strokes and clever use of color.
We visited the Vatican Museums in the morning. I booked a one-hour bus tour for the gardens and took my time to enjoy the artwork in the museum afterwards. Sistine Chapel required reservation to be booked in advance. We could spend only 15 minutes in it and had to stay quiet the whole time. No photos or videos were allowed. In the afternoon, we strolled around Vatican City and watched sunset in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Day 2: Richness in History – Rome
I’m always proud of the long, continuous history of my home country, China. If there is any other culture that is comparable, it would be that of Rome. This is a city where you can find both the traces of the past and the modernization of today. The center of the city remains ruins from thousands of years ago. Every brick on the ground has a story to tell.
On Day 2, I attended a guided tour of Colosseum and Roman Forum. While I admired the architectural design of the Colosseum, I also sensed the brutality shared by all monarchies around the world at the time. When I stood on the ruins of the Roman Forum, the bustling plaza and the cheering of the victories from centuries ago seemed to reappear in front of me. I highly recommend to get a guided tour when visiting because it can help you skip the line to get in and you will also learn about many anecdotes.
In the evening, we walked around the city, had dinner, and checked out Trevi Fountain. It was so crowded even though November was their off-peak season. My mom and I couldn’t even find a place to stand and take a photo together.
Day 3: All about Art – Florence (1)
If Rome is a solemn metropolitan of rich history, Florence, to me, feels like a free-spirit and artsy town. I liked the closeness brought by the small size of the city and the bright colors of the buildings. As the center of Renaissance, Florence witnessed the ups and downs of so many greatest artists in history: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello, Botticelli, Brunelleschi, Giotto, and the list goes on. You could tell that everyone living there was proud of its glorious art history.
In Florence, we visited the Uffizi Palace and Gallery and Galleria dell’Accademia for the artworks that defined Renaissance. Many of them are often cited in books. David of Michelangelo is a must-see at Galleria dell’Accademia. It’s much taller than I expected and a masterpiece indeed. Every muscle, joint, and hair made the statue vivid and living. Michelangelo was both a genius and a weirdo.
Uffizi Gallery
Day 4: All about Art – Florence (2)
I couldn’t get enough of the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower and never saw this color combination at any cathedral. It sets a warming and soft tone, like a mother waiting for its child to go home. You can spot this cathedral from everywhere in Florence. I passed by it more than ten times during my two days in Florence.
On the second day, my mom and I took a bus to Piazzale Michelangelo and hiked around it. It’s a perfect spot to enjoy the panoramic view of Florence. Every building is consistently in red and white color, reflecting golden sunshine. In the afternoon, we window-shopped at various stores along Ponte Vecchio – it’s a touristy spot and thus overpriced.
Day 5: Water City – Venice
November is probably not a good time to visit Venice. To make things worse, Venice was flooded when I arrived due to continuous rain. The city was vulnerable under crisis like that – its economy is based on tourism after all. People had to wear rubber boots and use temporary walkways – passarelle – elevated above the water to get around. But to my surprise, Venice’s beauty survived the flood which actually went away pretty fast in a few hours.
Venice was like a painting with the green waterways, red-walled buildings, white bridges, and the light-blue dome of St Mark’s Basilica. I could only imagine how beautiful it would be in good weather. Due to the rain, we spent only one day in Venice.
Days 6-7: Modern Charm – Milan
Our last stop in Italy – Milan – wrapped it all, cultural and artsy, historical and modern. Like all major cities in Italy, it has a grand dome cathedral – Milan Cathedral. The breathtaking, largest Gothic cathedral that took centuries to complete is right next to Italy’s oldest active shopping mall, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, where you can have a taste of an empire’s ambition at its peak while enjoying the contemporary and luxury shopping experience.
Furthermore, Milan boasts one of the most famous work of Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper. The mural painting miraculously survived centuries and brutal war times. It’s so fragile that each person is only allowed 15 minutes to appreciate the delicate art. I was fascinated by the amount of details da Vinci put into it, from the salt on the table to the gestures of each figure.
We booked a 3-hour walking tour with a guide to hit all the famous spots in Milan: Teatro Alla Scala, Milan Duomo (i.e., Milan Cathedral), the middle finger in front of its stock exchange, etc. It also included a skip-the-line ticket for The Last Super. I highly recommend it.
