When I woke up this morning, I was dismayed to hear yet more rain pouring down. I had set my alarm early so I could take the early train, but decided to sleep in and catch the next one in the hopes the rain would let up. I was seriously debating whether I even wanted to go out. I don’t mind the rain too much, but the thought of another day getting drenched and the 30 minute walk to the train station was more than I could handle at 8AM.
Fortunately, by the time I was ready to go the rain had more or less quit and it was just looking a little cloudy. I left the apartment a little late so I rushed to the train station to catch the 10:00 train to Cremona. It was still drizzling when I got to Cremona, but it wasn’t too bad. Christine had recommended a pasticceria that was right outside the train station so I headed there for breakfast. She told me to try the pastry filled with Chantilly cream so that’s what I asked for. I was lucky enough to get the last one, which also turned out to be a very good thing because it was so delicious I could have had about five more of them.
Finished with my pastry, I headed back to the Stradivarius Museum. I’m glad I was able to make it back because the exhibit was pretty cool. They had a room that took you through all the steps of making a violin and how precise all the cuts and carving must be. There were also three or four rooms filled with stringed instruments from many different periods and instrument makers. The final room had a lot of Stradavari’s templates and tools from his workshop that he had used to create his masterpieces.
When I got out of the museum, the sun was shining and it was shaping up to be a beautiful day. I also had just enough time to get to the station and take the train to Mantova. The first thing I went to was the Casa del Mantegna, which is a building constructed by Andrea Mategna, a famous Italian painter and engraver. The outside is a square with a cylindrical garden within.
I continued down that street to the Palazzo Te. In addition to me needing a castle, I’ve decided I also need a hand-painted palazzo.
Every room has these ridiculous frescoes on the walls and ceilings. This particular one is of the chariots that bring the sun and moon for each day and night. You can’t really tell but all of the diamonds surrounding the fresco are carved out.
Every ceiling looked like this, most of them even more detailed than the one above. All of the walls were also covered in frescoes, some so well dimensioned they actually looked like carvings.
There were also exhibits of ancient coins and the stamps that were used to make them.
These coins were enormous! I can’t imagine that they were used for actual currency. I would think they were probably used more for decoration. All of the descriptions in this area were in Italian so I have no idea if they were used or not, but they were awesome nonetheless.
This is just a shot of the rest of the grounds of the palazzo. Further to the right, there was another little area called the secret garden apartment that had a grotto area. I’m not sure how secret the apartment actually was, but it was kind of off to the side and away from the rest of the palazzo.
After the Palazzo Te, I followed the “Prince’s Path” that connects the Palazzo Te with the Palazzo Ducale. I didn’t get to go in the Palazzo Ducale because I only had a little time before the last train left to get back home, but I assume it was similar with frescoes everywhere.
Ducale is also right next to the duomo of Mantova. Once again, I was completely blown away by the inside. It’s impossible not to be stunned when you walk into these churches. Every time, I find myself gasping and exclaiming “wow!”.
I grabbed a late lunch an Istanbul kebap (kebab) restaurant. I had a kebap panini with onions, tomatoes, and lettuce. Not Italian food but another thing Christine recommended. It was very tasty and a good thing to grab for the train ride back.
I made it back to Cremona at 5:24 and the next train back to Manerbio left at 5:23. I couldn’t believe I missed it by a minute! It turned out okay though because the weather was still beautiful so I sat outside enjoying the sun and reading. As I walking into the train station, I passed a guy who whistled at me and made a kissy face. I kind of smirked wondering to myself who that would possibly work on. I suppose some people find it flattering, I just found it creepy. Anyway, I made it into the station without any more issues and onto the train back home.
I met Christine back at her school and we came home to have a nice dinner of pasta with pesto sauce. We munched on cookies and drank tea while watching another episode of Psych. I also got to skype with my mommy tonight! I still find it incredible than I can video chat with someone thousands of miles away. I know the Mavs are playing tonight so, GO MAVERICKS! I would get up at 4AM to watch them play but I have to be up early early tomorrow so I’ll be supporting them in my dream world.
I’m venturing away from Manerbio for the next couple of days so I might not be able to post every night. I’ll still write them and put them up when I get back. Tomorrow I’m off to the Venetian Arc. The next few days I’ll be in Verona, Vicenza, and Padova, then to Venezia for four days!
Ciao!
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