2015.10.10 Letchworth State Park, NY

Once or twice an year, my family and I would make the 5-plus hours drive for a short sojourn at our relative's place in upper New York state. Our usual itinerary: home->customs at Niagara->Waterloo Premium Outlet Mall->my relative's. It's a relatively easy and straightforward route that we've done for years.

This time, I decided to shake things up a bit (what can I say? I'm a maverick) - a detour to Letchworth State Park.

It was a risky move - an unfamiliar driving route, 6-plus hours with just me and my mom in the car, no buffer. This "#1 State Park as voted by Reader's Digest" had better be well worth it.

We left the house under the cover of darkness (5:30 am, only half an hour behind schedule - a rare event).

Crazy? Mayhaps.

For those of you rolling your eyes (you know exactly who you are), there IS logic behind the madness.

Customs went as smoothly as can be - I always find the US Customs Agents to be overtly intimidating. And even though there's no reasonable cause for it, crazy "what-ifs" scenarios that usually end with wrongful imprisonment still run through my head whenever I pass through the US Customs.

My truthful answer to the question frequented by schoolchildren and politicians alike - "What makes America great?" The National and State Parks. 

It's not just the land or the natural wonders, but the infrastructure within the parks. If you have ever visited a National/State Park in the States, I think you'll agree (even Ken Burns agree). 

A lot of the park lands were donated by wealthy industrialists of the Gilded Age, which is flabbergasting when you consider the size of the lands and their probable worth today.

Letchworth State Park was, of course, built upon a donation by a guy named Letchworth (William Pryor Letchworth, to be exact). Also known as the "Grand Canyon of the East", the park is about the size of Manhattan. 

Given our limited time, we focused primarily on the more scenic south end - where the waterfalls are (my obsession with falling water lives on). 

A little early for the full glory of the autumn foliage, but look at that view.

 

The Genesee (Tuscarora for "beautiful open valley") river runs through the park.

More views of the canyon

 Our drive+hike started with the Lower Falls, seen here.

 

It had rained the night before so the trail paths were pretty mud-tastic. But as you can seen, a good portion of the trail is stone-paved, which seems to be a common feature in the New York state parks I've visited, but a vast departure from the Ontario provincial park, which tend to learn towards the more natural wood chip-covered paths. A lot of effort and money went into these parks' infrastructure - to have these stone facilities (paths, washrooms, even picnic tables...) Extremely impressive.

The view of the Lower Falls from the platform

One of the random "scenic stops" - basically whenever we see a congregation of parked cars, we stop too. Eight times out of ten, this herd mentality works in our favour. This was definitely one of those times.

This vantage point offered a perfect view of the Middle Falls.

Known as "Ska-ga-dee" to the Seneca tribe, it is deemed the most beautiful of the three falls. Its name literally means "made the sun stop at mid-day". 

Double rainbow at the Middle Falls

The Middle Falls (pictured) and likely due to its proximity, the Upper Falls, were very popular and much more easily accessible than the Lower Falls. There's also a restaurant/inn, Glen Iris Inn, within walking distance. I think the Middle Falls would have been better appreciated from the riverbank, but unfortunately no one is allowed down there due to safety concerns.

Personally, I like the view of the Upper Falls better.

We then proceeded to drive along the length of the park, planning to exit through its northeast corner. Some more photos from random stops along the way.

On the way into the park, the ranger had mentioned an arts and crafts show happening in the park. We didn't think much of it until a nice lady we met in the park mentioned it as a must-go event.

It was on our way anyways, so we thought we'd stop by and check it out this "quaint" (my words) show. Umm... yeah, I honestly didn't think there would be so many people and cars. We were lucky and managed to get a spot within 10 minutes of walking to the fairgrounds. Many many others were not so lucky and had to park five huge lots over.

There were just so many artists and vendors - I think we managed to walk through about 1/4-1/8 before leaving - lots of paintings, jewelries, and woodworking. There was a fantastic handcrafted wooden ride-on airplane (oh, I wish I had a photo) that any kid would be lucky (and would have to have extremely wealthy parents) to own. 

If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend Letchworth State Park. Those people at the Reader's Digest know what they're talking about!

2015.05.15 Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Rome, Italy)

The couple of hours before the flight back home was spent visiting the beautiful Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore nearby our hotel. My travel companions wanted to rest a bit more, so it was doubly nice to have a moment to myself.

Interesting fact - the basilica is owned and operated by the Vatican and therefore enjoys the same immunity as a foreign embassy.

Piazza del Esquilino

Left: Front Facade, Right: Portico Ceiling

I really enjoyed visiting this church, maybe more so than St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. 

Maybe because it was so early in the morning, but it was indescribably peaceful.

Plus, it didn't hurt that the church was beautiful. I mean, look at those gilded rosettes on the coffered ceiling.

Because this visit was somewhat unexpected, I didn't read ahead. So for the most part, I had no clue what I was looking at, save for the fact that they were beautiful.

It would be great to return better prepared and maybe even take in a guided tour.

Again, because it was still early morning, neither the guided tour or the museum were open. But, I did get to see this - the morning cleaning routine. 

Can't have those marble statues getting dusty and looking grimy now, can we?

Hmm... I wonder how they clean the floors... Would be hysterical if they use a little zamboni-like vehicle while rock music play in the background...

Sorry, what was I talking about?

Anyways.... found out afterwards that this is the church where the great Bernini and his family are buried. DRAT, DRAT, DRAT!!!

Airport Troubles in Rome

The coach bus ride to the airport was smooth as could be. But once we arrived at the airport, that is where the troubles began. When checking in online the previous day, there was a pop-up notice about a fire at the Fiumicino airport that had happened a few days prior causing possible terminal changes. However, our electronic boarding tickets still read terminal three.

When we got to the airport, it was complete chaos. Only when we finally found an available agent who actually knew what was going on, unlike the two we encountered before him, were we informed to go to terminal five using the shuttle.

Seemed simple enough. First thing we saw at terminal five was massive lines in front of a "security check", which was really just agents passing out plastic produce bags for everyone's electronics [feel free to insert your own look of incredulity here]. One bag per electronic item, we were told, including adapter cables. There were people with dozens of bags on their arms, looking very comical. Oh Italians and their germaphobia...

Once we passed the human produce bag dispensers, the check-in counters, the real security checkpoint, found our gate (after another shuttle ride) and had taken our seats on the plane, we thought it would be smooth flying from then on.

How naive we were.

It took another two hours of waiting before we could take off because apparently, the flight schedule was in complete disarray, even days after the fire. Even our pilots' tone of voice sounded like complete disbelief at the famed Italian inefficiency.

And the transat ride back home from the airport was certainly no picnic either, especially when you're already tired and hungry.

I'm so glad to be home.

Even gladder to report that everyone survived the trip and no one was robbed or pick-pocketed or conned.

2015.05.14 Villa Adriana/Hadrian's Villa (Tivoli, Italy)

The original itinerary included a visit to Parco Villa Gregoriana (ranked #2 in Tivoli Attractions on Tripadvisor) after Villa d'Este. The park boasts some wonderful scenery and waterfalls (Who doesn't like falling water?) And with a cool scenic point called the Valley of Hell? Sign me up.

But I opted to nix the park because by that point, we were nearing the end of the trip and people were just plain tired. The triple whammy of Villa d'Este+Parco Villa Gregoriana+Villa Adriana would have pushed them over the edge and I was not ready to handle a mutiny.

So add "Parco Villa Gregoriana" to the "For Next Time" list.

Even with the nicely annotated map in hand, I still needed help locating the CAT (Tivoli's local line) bus stop. My brain just had a hard time reconciling Tivoli's convoluted roads and hilly geography with the two-dimensional map.

While we were waiting for the CAT 4/4X bus, several Cotral buses heading towards Rome passed by, and sure enough, each of them were all standing room only. And this was in the middle of a weekday. I can only imagine what rush hours are like. A lady who was sitting next to us actually waited through several buses just to make sure a seat was available. So glad we took the train.

Villa Adriana
Also known as Hadrian's Villa. I've probably mentioned this on the blog before but Hadrian is one of my favourite Roman emperors. I mean, the guy was a soldier, an architect (Hadrian's Wall in Britain and the Pantheon in Rome, just to name a couple), and a scholar. Plus, he was the best traveled of all the emperors, having visited most of the Roman territories during his reign. He is pretty much up there with Augustus, who happened to be his idol.

So I was super excited to visit his villa.

Got our tickets from the sullen-looking ticket seller. I suspect her mood was probably due to the lack of visitors (at least none that I saw for the first 15 minutes of our visit).

How was this possible? Villa Adriana is a freakin' UNESCO World Heritage Site!!!

When inquired about a guide map, I was directed to a souvenir stand outside the gate, the proprietor of which then proceeded to sell me an overpriced map.

It was stupid of me to have forgotten about the simplified map already on my tablet. And there went my gelato money!


Okay, in retrospect, I will fully admit that the map did turn out to be quite useful, having three versions (aerial diagram, miniature model, and illustration) available for reference.

Even with the map, it was difficult to navigate for the following reasons:

1) The grounds are huge - almost 40 structures spanning 120 hectares (about 224 football fields)

2) The buildings are in very dilapidated states. So aside from a few notable structures, it was hard to tell the buildings apart.

3) The visitor's path (if there is one) was not clearly marked.

4) Some buildings are multi-storied, with courtyards on the second story or even the roof. Without knowing, you might well be standing on the roof of the very building you're looking for.

That being said, a lot of the photos were taken without knowing exactly what the buildings were. So bear with me as I try to figure them out.

The Plastic Model Room
So important to visit this room to (at least try to) orient yourself. Maps might be helpful, but nothing beats a good miniature model.

Also, it gives you a sense of the size and grandeur of the estate back in its glory days.

Although it's called a villa, it is so much more than just a private residence. It also served as a place of government, and has three Baths, one Theatre, and even a Fire Station!

The Poecile
Originally, the pool was enclosed by a rectangular peristyle. The surrounding structure is all but gone save for one wall.

Still, it retained its peaceful atmosphere. I can totally see Hadrian strolling around the pool on a cool evening.

This is the Poecile, back in Hadrian's days. 

[Note: these labelled photos belong to villa-adriana.net]

The Hundred Rooms (Cento Camerelle)
Built directly underneath the Poecile, this was the servants' quarters.

An literal downstairs, upstairs situation.

And the emperor and his guests would have seen very little of the servants due to an extensive network of service tunnels underneath the estate.

Roman engineering, amazing!

The Building of Three Exedras
Or, as I like to call it, the Three-Leaf Clover Building.

A square surrounded by three semi-circular spaces. Function unclear.

Hadrian had some very unique ideas on architecture and a fascination with circles and spheres. This was definitely one of them.

Little Thermae (?)

For the upperclass.

Great Thermae

For the servants.

There was no mention of either places on the map, so I took a photo to remind myself to look them up afterwards. Turns out, Rocca Bruna and Alberobello are two restaurants nearby. I hope the villa gets monetary compensation for any tourists lured to the restaurants due to those signs.

Whole new meaning to the phrase "Tourist Trap". 

Canopus

The most photogenic area of the entire villa. It is so named after the river in Egypt where Hadrian's lover Antonius drowned. A little morbid, if you ask me.

Once, numerous statuary masterpieces lined the canal, most of which are now in museums (one of my favourite statues, Diana of Versailles, came from Villa Adriana). We saw quite of few of them in the Capitaline and Vatican museums. Only a few replicas remain on site.

At the other end of the canal is the Serapeum, a summer dining hall. It was designed so that continuous running water inside the Serapeum would cool the guests as they dined. Air-conditioning, Roman-style.

The concrete/plaster replicas are starting to show their age. As you can see by the metal rod supports poking out from the crocodile statue.

The museum, in the background, where some of the original statues are kept was not open. It might be that we were unlucky and it was just an one-time thing, but everything I've seen so far suggests a serious funding issue.

Praetorium

Living quarters - nobility in the upper levels with the view and service staff in the lower levels along with storage.  

Random photos.

Again, I have to stress just how vast Hadrian's Villa truly is. The premises also included libraries (one Latin, one Greek, and one private), guesthouses, temples, and a gymnasium. Unfortunately, they were in such dilapidated states that after a while, the ruins all started to blur together.

But every now and then, you catch a glimpse of of the villa's spectacular past. And your imagination just goes wild.

The other gem of Hadrian's Villa, the Maritime Theatre, Hadrian's private sanctuary. It follows a typical Roman residential layout but in a circular format, a daring innovation at the time. Plus, it has a moat!

Unfortunately, it was under renovations during our visit.

Temple of Venus

All that's left of the Greek Theatre.

I left Villa Adriana feeling conflicted.

On the one hand, it was disappointing to see the sorry states all the buildings were in and the lack of protection from further deterioration. And the buildings' interiors were all closed off to the public.

On the other hand, this is history - the plunderings (Villa d'Este used a lot of the marbles from here), wars, and time had all left their indelible marks. The simple fact that these buildings were still standing, even partially, after two centuries is amazing and a true testament to Roman construction.

Would I visit Vila Adriana again? I think so. Even if it's just to see the renovated Maritime Theatre.

We were lucky enough to to catch a train within minutes of departure. Even more luckily, it was the express. Dinner was had at a Chinese restaurant we had visited years ago. (I know, I know, Chinese food in Italy, land of cheese, pizza and pasta!?! What can I say except that I was outvoted. But at least the food wasn't terrible.)

Postscript: This post took a really long time to write up since I couldn't identify over half of the photos and required a lot of referencing maps and online images. This is where a GPS-enabled camera would have come in handy. 

The two websites below are must-reads for Villa Adriana. 

This website (http://www.villa-adriana.net/) reminds me of the old geocities websites. It provides a great comprehensive guide to Villa Adriana, its history, and architecture. It offers maps detailing various aspects of the grounds, such as types of waterworks and retaining walls. It even comes with a bibliography (yes, I'm impressed by that). Reading it before my visit would have helped.

Another cool site (http://vwhl.clas.virginia.edu/villa/index.php) offers building layouts, panoramic views, aerial photos, and even 3D models. It helps you understand the complexities of the architecture. Eventually, the entire Villa Adriana will be digitalized into a Sim-like game. I can't wait. The story behind the project: Link.