Running on new terrain is always great but running on new
terrain in ITALY?
The best!
Meggin and I had the opportunity to see our oldest girls,
Carlin and Bella, perform with their school choir in Italy a few weeks ago. The plan was to follow them from city to city
to hear them sing in famous churches and venues. The tour started in Venice, then headed
southwest to Tuscany and Florence, with the finale in Rome. A total of 8 days in country and a total of 9
concerts.
Of course, my plan was to follow my girls from city to
city and to explore the area by foot.
Since I was with Meggin (and I already run way too much at home
anyways), I decided early on that I would run when able and wouldn’t force the
subject. If there was some downtime, I
would quickly put on my shoes and head out.
The plan actually worked great. I
was able to run in every city we stayed and loved every mile.
Venice. What a magical place. We arrived at dusk via water taxi and even in
our jetlag, were amazed at the beauty of the city. Tiny narrow streets surrounded by canals and
ancient buildings. Even in the off
season, the place was crowded. I cannot
imagine the summer months. Still, the
place was special. Knowing how crowded
it was at night, I knew that waking up early to run was a must. However, my body had different plans. We slept in and then Meggin and I walked the
city together and even ran into Bella and a bunch of other LCHS students. Such a wonderful day with perfect
weather. By midday, though, we were back
at the hotel and I was itching to get out there. I was only able to run 4 miles and followed
the Grand Canal till it ended. It was
like running in Balboa but without cars and with way more people. On the way back, I actually ran into Carlin
on one of the streets by St. Marks Basilica.
Super random given the amount of people everywhere. So fun to run in one of the most beautiful
places around.
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| Grand Canal |
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| St. Mark's Square and Basilica |
Tuscany. Not as much magical as it is beautiful. Rolling hills, grape vines, and large estates
seemingly mark every corner. After a
concert in Figline, we drove about an hour into the hills to a village called Greve
in Chianti which is about 3 kilometers away from Panzano (another village known
for the Butcher of Panzano). Our Airbnb
was charming and beautiful and the perfect place to unwind after a busy few
days in Venice.
After a wonderful breakfast the next morning and at the urging of our
caretaker, we opted to visit Siena and the Piazza del Campo instead of heading
to Florence.
Siena is a great city and
the Piazza is amazing.
During the 13
th
century, the Piazza was a marketplace and the center of town.
Now it’s surrounded by shops and restaurants
and a meeting place for residents and visitors alike.
We spent the better part of the afternoon in
Siena.
Upon our arrival back in Chianti,
I had about an hour to run.
I headed out
for a 6 miler and it was glorious.
Running through Panzano and through other tiny villages was pretty
special.
That night, we had dinner at
the Butcher of Panzano’s place.
Google
it.
What a great experience.
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| Tuscany from our window |
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| Concert in Figline, Tuscany |
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| Piazza del Campo, Siena |
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| Butcher of Panzano |
Rome. At first, Meggin and I were
disappointed. We drove from Venice to
Tuscany and a few spots in between and were amazed at the landscape and charm
and lack of crowds. Upon arrival at the
main train station, the drop off spot for our trusty Fiat 500, we were shocked
with the massive crowds and the massive amounts of graffiti. It. Was. Everywhere. After several failed attempts at finding the
parking structure, we finally found it and made our way to the train
station. At this point, we definitely
looked and felt like tourists. Thankfully,
we found someone who spoke English and were able to make our way to the proper train. We had 4 stops to get to our Airbnb. After 20 minutes or so, we exited the train,
walked about 200 meters and were in awe of what we saw. The Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica.
From our balcony, the dome at St. Peter’s was in full
view. If you haven’t been to Rome and
haven’t seen St. Peter’s, you are missing out on one of the world’s best
places. That is no exaggeration. St. Peter’s is by far the most amazing
structures I have ever seen.
After dinner across from the Vatican that night, the next
morning/day we were going to explore Rome.
Not knowing where to go, we decided that I would wake up early and run
the city. Of course, I obliged and with
Google Maps in hand, I headed out promptly at 7 am. I ran down to the Vatican, over the canal to
the cobble stone streets. From there I
headed south to the Monument of Victor Emmanuel and the Coliseum. Where am I?
I circled the Coliseum, pinched myself a few times, then headed up to
Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon before heading back over the canal and St.
Peter’s Square. It was one of my most
memorable runs of all time. I only ran 7
miles but covered a lot of ground and was able to see some of Earth’s most
coveted sites. I was also basically
alone at each spot which I would later find out, was a unique experience.
I was back to our flat by 8:30 am and excited to tell and
show Meggin all that I had seen. We left
the flat about 10 am and basically retraced my footsteps but added the Vatican
Museums and Sistine Chapel to our tour.
We walked for 7+ hours. The
quietness of the morning was a distance memory as the crowds in each spot were
overwhelming. We made it back by 5
pm. Tired but amazed by what we
saw. By days end, I had walked over
45,000 steps.
Rome is an amazing place.
It’s a blend of new and extremely old.
Someday, I would like to go back and do more exploring. For now, I’ll just remember the smile on my
face from that morning.
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| Roman ruins |
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| Coliseum |
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| Monument of Victor Emmanuel |
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| Pantheon |
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| St. Peter's Square and Basilica |
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| Trevi Fountain |
Orvieto. After nearly a week in country and several
concerts, the girls were wrapping up their trip. Meggin and I decided to stay through the
weekend and left Rome for Orvieto. My
sister, Allison, first told us about Orvieto and encouraged us to go
there. Orvieto was built during the
Etruscan times around 250 BC. The entire
town is built on top of a hill and is something to behold. By the end of the trip, Orvieto would prove
to be our favorite spot. It was
beautiful and interesting and just amazing.
After a tour of the city on Friday, I had the chance to run for the last
time in Italy. I chose to run opposite
Orvieto and found a trail at the top of the hill to the west. It was almost surreal running on a hillside
in Italy with views of Orvieto in the distance.
Only a 6 mile run but with a fair amount of climbing, it was the perfect
distance.
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| Orvieto in the distance |
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| Trail in Orvieto |
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| Cave just off the trail |
Italy was a trip of a lifetime. Meggin and I were able to reconnect and
enjoyed every minute of our time together.
We ate great food, drank our fair share of Chianti, saw amazing things,
and loved watching our girls perform.
What a trip!
