Bellissima!

If you haven't been to Arezzo, Italy, this is what you are missing. During October, it is warm during the day and chilly at night. I was in Italy same time last year and I guess I am just lucky to be here on a time when the weather is perfect.

Shopping is quite exciting as well in little quaint shops. Just having your espresso al fresco style and enjoying the European scenery is something that you must experience every now and then.

In Piazza Grande you will find San Francesco Duomo and other small churches that shows the intricate architecture that goes hundreds of years back.


Located in central Italy southeast of Florence, the town of Arezzo has a population of 91,600 as of 2001. The town is the center of agricultural trade in Italy. Its industries include clothing, gold, jewelry and machine.

Arezzo has been called home by some very prominent people of history and today, such as the botanist Andrea Cesalpino, Guido of Arezzo, famous for development of the music scale writing system, Michelangelo Buonarroti, one of the most fabulous painters and sculptors of all time, brilliant scholar Petrarch, and others.






History of Arezzo

Arezzo, originally an Etruscan town, was formed into a Roman military colony and station, and in the 11th century, became a free commune. Arezzo was defeated in 1289, when it sided with the Ghibellines, by Florence. In 1384, Arezzo was officially incorporated into the Tuscan State of Florence.

During Roman days, red-clay vases known as Arretine vases were produced in Arezzo. During this time, Arezzo was called "Arretium" by the Romans. Education and arts thrived in the town during the Middle Ages.

Maintaining many of its Medieval characteristics, Arezzo contains beautiful constructions worth seeing, including the Gothic cathedral which dates back to 1286, the Gothic Church of San Francesco from the 14th century, the Bruni Palace (15th century origin) which is now a museum and gallery, and Vasari's mansion. Many people find the Roman amphitheatre and museum thrilling as well!









Mom and I enjoying Italy.



Information by Candice Purdue.

Spoiled in Italy.

Airfare to Arezzo in Italy, 3 days 3 nights in a 4 star hotel, all meals, transfers and gifts and all for free. This is the good life.

We were billeted in AC Hotels which was a sweet brand new hotel that offered superb service and 3 meals a day for us guests of the Italian Trade Commission.

After 2 and half days of work, my mom and I went to Piazza Grande and took in the beautiful sights and enjoyable weather. Met a very nice man at the fair, Sean Lee, who treated mom and I to a fabulous dinner in Logge Vasari in Arezzo.







I had the lamb, mom the foie gras and he had the pasta and steak, a bottle of red wine for Sean and champagne for me.




It was a very memorable evening for all of us because of the many similarities that the Lee and the Dizon family have. Being 3 years older than me, Sean also belongs in the 3rd generation of jewelers in the family. His company is called Le Plus Joaillerie in Seoul, Korea. He is a middle child, and handles all the traveling for the company. He also studied in the US, as I did, and has family in California, as I do as well. His brother has the same birthday as mine and his mom and his dad are exactly the same age as my mom and dad. His mom's birthday is 4 days apart from my mom's. He is very well mannered, soft spoken and obviously educated. He is a Buddhist, the religion I am most inclined to adopt. He talks so freely and openly about his religion, country, politics and family life that we all felt very comfortable with one another and it just made the mother and daughter's trip even more delightful.

For the company, roses and dinner, thank you Sean.

St. Peter's Basilica, Rome and why we couldnt go in.

It wasn't because Steffie and I are evil. Of course we have done things in the past that may constitute as evil but I don't think that they are so bad that the Church doors would mistake us as 2 witches. Although I must admit, we are bewitching gals but that's about all the witchcraft we can handle.



It was our last day in Italy before we had to leave for Austria. We took the earliest train to Rome and as soon as we got off the taxi, I started walking towards the church only to find Steffie sitting on a nearby bench looking really disturbed. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that the taxi driver jipped her 20 euros.


Now, it might not be a lot to you folks living in Europe (you know who you are) but to us Flippers, 20 euros can already buy us the ff:

1. Bottomless ice tea at Marina - P50.00
2. Halo-halo at The Peninsula - P310.00
3. Sunglasses in Divisoria - P200.00
4. DVD, 16 movies in 1 disc - P80.00
5. Bathing suit in Greenhills - P400.00
6. Pedicure at Emphasis - P335.00
7. Small slurpee at 7-11 - P5.00

There you go! All those things that Steffie could have gotten, all down the drain. What a shame! Guess she forgot to wear lipstick that day. Going back to my story, if we were indeed witches, Steffie would have casted a spell on the taxi driver and turned him to escargot.



Now, the reason we weren't able to go inside the church was because we had 3 hours to spare in Rome and the line was about 3 miles long. All we could do is take pictures of the magnificent structures and scultptures of the richest Church in the world.




Guards in security golf cars would roam around the grounds and reprimand those who were misbehaving. In the fountain located at the center, we saw 2 boys almost swimming in it. They were drenched and splashing water everywhere. They got sooo busted! I say, don't mess with the Italians. They might talk your ear off.




Because groceries, giftshops and malls are amongst our favorite places, we spent about an hour at the souveneir store deciding whether buying a rosary there would make us more holy or if a pin with the photo of the Pope would take us straight to heaven when we go. I wanted to buy one for my Lola (Grandmother) who is a devout Catholic, but after a lot of thought, I decided that it would be useless to give my Lola one because she has about 2,000 rosaries and 800 Holy Bible in her house. Another one from me would be overdoing it. So in the end, I didn't get to buy a single thing. It was a lot to think about and my brain got tired. Religion can be very confusing and misleading and I believe that having faith in God and not being a witch will take me to heaven when my time comes.

Beam me up Scotty!

P.S.

FYI, the last line is a famous line from Star Trek.