Crypt Of The Capuchins

When we visited Rome in 2010, I was determined to visit the Crypt of the Capuchins, since I never did took the time to visit this place while I was living in Rome in 2007. The crypt is quite easy to find. It is walking distance from the Stazione Barberini (Metro Station Barberini), which is the same stop for the Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Barberini and Via Veneto, which is quite known for shopping and cozy cafes. When we found the Crypt, we paid about 2 Euros, which is more of a donation than an entrance fee. The nun who was manning the desk that day was very strict about observing silence at all times and pointed to my camera saying, "No photographs allowed."

My experience at the Crypt was both eerie and curious. Eeriness because I was walking in the presence of the departed and curiousness of how someone thought of turning bones into art. The place has a very peaceful feel and it was strangely cool inside. It's amazing how many bones they have in there and more interesting is how they are displayed. Since photography isn't allowed, I scanned the postcard I got during our visit.

Bones at the Capuchin Crypt

I thought this is an interesting quote.

From the postcard:

In 1630, the Capuchin friars - so-called because of the "capuche" or hood attached to their religious habit - left the friary of St. Bonaventure near the Trevi Fountain and came to live in the present one, of which only the church cemetery remain.  The remains of the deceased friars were transported from the old friary and laid to rest in this cemetery, underneath the present church. The bones were arranged along the walls, and the friars began to bury their own dead here, as well as the bodies of poor Romans... Here the Capuchins would come to pray and reflect each evening before retiring for the night. Over the years, until 1870, further alterations transformed this burial place into the work of art we see today. It's message is clear: death closes the gates of time, and opens those of eternity.

Apparently, "when the monks arrived at the church in 1631, they brought 300 cartloads of deceased friars. Fr. Michael of Bergamo oversaw the arrangement of the bones in the burial crypt. The soil in the crypt was brought from Jerusalem, by order of Pope Urban VIII. As monks died during the lifetime of the crypt, the longest-buried monk was exhumed to make room for the newly-deceased who was buried without a coffin, and the newly-reclaimed bones were added to the decorative motifs. Bodies typically spent 30 years decomposing in the soil, before being exhumed." (Source)

I thought this was a great way to save sacred space.

Milan And The Mal Educata Filipinas

I visited Milan in 2010, but I never got around to posting these photos until now.

Kepi and I spent most of our time in Venice, but we decided to hop on the train to Milan to visit an old friend and high school classmate, Vids. It was an emotional meeting as it's been ten years since I last saw her. After the unending hugs at the train station, we took the hop-on and hop-off bus to explore Milan.

We spent most of the bus ride just chatting. There were so many things to say. After all, stories and gossips repressed for years must come out. There were so many updates to be said - about former classmates, friends of old and who married who. We were busily chatting when an Italian lady told us sternly to shut-up. Okay, so Vids and I lowered our voice to a whisper and kept on talking anyway. The bus is a tourist bus filled with all sorts of people talking and laughing, but it bothers me that she singled us out. Also, her companion and herself were also loud in the bus. After a few minutes, the Italian lady stood up and started shouting, "Mal educata, Filippino!" (Bad mannered, Filipino!)

I was in total shock.

Vids got up and started a word fight with the woman. It's a good thing Vids is well-versed in Italian. I was shaking with anger and shock because no one has ever treated me that way. It was a good three minutes of word fight. When we reached our next stop, Vids, Kepi and I decided to get off the bus.

That's my story of Milan and the mal educata Filipinas. I think this is one reason why it took me longer to post my Milan adventure, as I was waiting for my shock and anger to subside. I've been trying to forget about that Milan incident and although it has given me a taste of how some people can be racist, that won't stop me from seeing my friend again and of course enjoying beautiful Milan.

Caffe Latte from Milan's McDonalds

Inside Duomo di Milano

One of the most beautiful cathedrals I've seen - Duomo di Milano

We took the elevators to check out the top of the Duomo. It's really beautiful up there.

An interesting statue I saw at the Duomo.

Gargoyle and on the bottom right is the Madonnina.

The top is filled with spires and I found it hard to photograph.

The roof is known for its pinnacles and spires, set upon delicate flying buttresses.

And yes, we watched the sunset on the roof.  A wonderful way to experience Milan.

Boscolo Bellini Venezia: A Review

For our first night in Venice, we booked one night at the Boscolo Bellini Hotel. I love the location of this hotel. It is both walking distance from the Santa Lucia Station and the Piazalle Roma. There are also several vaporetto stops in close proximity to the hotel, so it's a great place if you like to stay close to all different types of transportation. Mind you but I still prefer to walk and get lost on the streets of Venice. Also, close to the hotel are a number of shops, cafe bars, restaurants and including a Farmacia right in front of the hotel.

For a hotel that claims to be a 4 star, I found our room to be good and adequate but not great. I did love the antique look and the beautifully painted ceiling, and the receptionist was helpful and polite. The bathroom was small and the shower area cramp that the water was splashing everywhere when I took a shower. In my travels within Italy though, I think bathrooms are a lot smaller compared to ones in American hotels. Still, our room provided what we needed - a clean bed and a place to shower. Since we were staying for one night, this room was manageable for us.

For this hotel, I have two main complaints: (1) Our room's heater was broken and kept the room so hot all night long. We had to sleep with the windows open, but I happen to observed that even the flooring was heated. We even turned off the heater, but it seems the heater has a mind of its own. Even the maintenance guy didn't know how to fix it and just left without resolving the problem or offering a solution to our heater concerns. Since we were staying for one night, we decided to keep the room and sleep with the windows open which did the trick. (2) The hotel's wireless Internet didn't work. When I asked the receptionist about the connection, she claims that their Internet doesn't work with American computers. Go figure! I think that's an easy reason for them to avoid dealing with the Internet problem.

This is actually two twin beds put together to make it look like a king.

I love this deco piece.

The is the ceiling and it's very relaxing to look at it before you sleep.

Shampoo and simple essentials.

Our room had the Venetian look and feel.

This hotel is good for a one night stay, and it provided what we needed for the time being. I'm really hoping they'd get that room's heater fixed soon and that Internet problem resolved. But then again, finding the best hotel that suits your needs is all in the matter of the consumer. I would recommend this hotel for a quick stay and that the location is GREAT, but if you were to stay for a longer period of time, maybe it's best to look and compare other hotels in the area. As for me, I still prefer a hotel that would go above and beyond to meet their customers' needs especially that we paid $125 for one night at this hotel.

Boscolo Bellini

Lista di Spagna, 116/A
30121 Venice, Italy
041 524 2488

Venice, The Second Time

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA!

I love you and I can't wait to see you soon.

Love,

Kayni

***********

It was my second visit to Venice, and boy, I was so thrilled to see the "City of Canals" again. We boarded the ATVO bus (make sure you board the Venice Piazzale Roma: Express Service) from the Marco Polo Airport, which only cost 3 Euros per person. This is a cheaper alternative to taking water or land taxis from the airport. And since we were taking a cruise ship the next day, we decided to stay at a hotel near Piazzale Roma, which is the main hub for all types of buses and is walking distance to the Venice Santa Lucia Train Station and the Stazione Marittima (Main Terminal). Also, cruise operators offer a free shuttle pick up from Piazalle Roma to the cruise ship.

Venice felt chilly in autumn, but it's the welcoming kind. As I dragged my noisy (thumping through the cobbler stones) wheeled luggage from Piazzale Roma to our hotel, I heard the familiar hum of the vaporetto (water taxis) making its way through the Grand Canal, a shop keeper shouting in Italian on the background (sounds more like singing actually), an elderly woman walking a poodle with a coat, a colorful fruit stand with chestnuts roasting on the side, and the churning of the canals' currents and tides as the water taxis buzzed their way to the next stop. Everything felt familiar yet also new. Seeing Venice again is like seeing an old friend because it was the city that I fell-in-love with during one of my trips to escape the noise and hustle of Rome.

Here are my first few shots of Venice on our first day.

Shops and shops

A man and his dog making their way through the canal

A mask shop

Blue moons

Sweets

Quiet

I took this photo from a mask shop display, but photos weren't allowed inside the store

A parked gondola

Waiting

Attraversiamo (borrowed from Eat, Pray, Love) or let's cross over

No traffic

Red boat

A Thought From Rainy Rome

What a day in Rome!

I can sum up our second day in Rome through these words: breakfast, nutella on toast, great coffee, roman forum, palatine hill, colloseo, saw lots of women in skin tight jeans and boots, lunch with pizza margherita and pasta carbonara, piazza navona, rain, san pietro, rain, fontana di trevi, gelato, rain, rain, rain...hotel.

But here's a little thought anyway:

Today, a lot of memories came pouring in apart from the rain. Rome has been my home as a student, and I can't believe I am back visiting. As we walked through the city, we visited familiar places including my old flat at Borgo Pio; the noisy bakery below our former apartment looks the same - dark and full of soot, the restaurants and souvenir shops on my street are still there. Everything seems to be where I left them. In my opinion, Rome hasn't changed since I left, and after all these years, I still feel at home.

Although PW and I were soaked and our shoes went squish, squish, squish as we waded through the flooded streets of Rome, our giggles and laughter drowned the loud rain. As we huddled under our little, cheap, red umbrella, it felt good to be back in Rome.

Velletri Wine Festival

More photos found from my photo disc.

My classmates and I decided to attend a wine festival in a town called Velletri (Lazio). From Roma Termini, it was a 45-minute train to Velletri. From noisy Rome, we were whisked to a quiet, mountainous town.

Wine and grapes

The town has an old, quiet and friendly feeling

The town center of Velletri

Decorations everywhere

This fountain is at the center of the town

You pay 1 Euro for an all-day event of tasting wine and eating all sorts of pastries and chocolates.

We spent most of the day wine testing and eating, so when it was time to go home, we were so buzzed that we missed our train; we then decided to take the bus instead. We trudged to the town's bus station, bought our tickets and boarded one of the parked buses. I dozed off after finding an empty seat. The bus was passing through mountains and villages when I woke up. I looked out the window and nothin looked familiar at all.  While one of my classmates started conversing with the bus driver, she just started laughing because we were heading further away from Rome. Unfortunately, we also boarded the wrong bus. All I could do was laugh in my seat while my classmates and I asked the bus driver to drop us at the next stop where we can catch a bus headed to Rome.

After sleepily waiting for an hour (seated on the side of the road), we finally boarded the right bus. At that time, all I wanted to do was sleep, and snooze I did all the way back to Rome.

Bel Tramonto

Earlier this week, I was browsing through old photographs and came across these sunset shots. These were taken during my last week in Rome; it was the end of my study abroad school-year. As a study abroad student in Italy, my life was truly enriched experiencing and witnessing the Italian way-of-life. Rome is a bustling city yet still embodies the true and vibrant Italian charm. All photos below were taken at the Villa Borghese overlooking Piazza del Popolo.  

Bel tramonto means beautiful sunset.

Happy Friday and enjoy the weekend!

Travel: Venice

For me, Venice is my favorite place in Italy. While Rome sizzles like a barbecue grill during the summer, Venice's water canals and highways keep the city cool throughout summer. Dining al fresco is perfect in this city. Whether you'll be content with a pizza or just plain bread dipped in olive oil, you can't avoid being amazed and entertained how a city can be utilizing canals instead of streets.

Riding a taxi boat as we sailed underneath this bridge to another.

Just another street canal...

We stayed at a camping site and slept in one of those cute cabins.

St. Mark's Square

I love how houses have flowers hanging from their balconies.

Taxi? Anyone?

Let's go for a gondola ride.

St. Mark's Basilica

Part of St. Mark's Basilica

This photo reminds me of the movie "Italian Job."

Travel: Florence

I am grateful I was given the chance to study in Rome. It was an exceptional opportunity to learn about Italy's history, culture, language and people. But what made studying there fun was the out-of-town trips I took during the weekends. Florence is quite small but definitely alluring. The city is best discovered by walking, shopping (there's a huge open market while I was there), eating gelato, and of course, dining. Here are a few photos from my weekend trip to Firenze.

Piazza della Signora - other statues adorned the piazza

Piazza della Signora

Santa Maria Novella

The River Arno

Hiked all the way the top of Piazalle Michelangelo

Ponte Vecchio Bridge

Facade of the Duomo

Florence Duomo or Cathedral