Okay we're at the end of our Europe trip.
We've travelled to
London
Venice
Bologna Part 1 (Parmigiano Reggiano) and 2 (Balsamic Vinegar and Prosciutto)
Florence
Tuscany posts
Part 3 - Volterra - this post!
I'ved decided to add a Part 4 - Sienna because Volterra's is quite long.
Tuscany - Part 3 - Volterra
So it's about a 90 minute drive from Florence to Sienna on the
autostrada. We went to Sienna first and then headed west to Volterra before getting on a plane in Pisa to leave for London.
But I'll cover Volterra first because this is a Twilight blog :) Sienna will have to wait for the next post.
Volterra
Volterra is quite a big tourist attraction. And not because of the Twilight craze. It's got a lot of Etruscan ruins and is known for alabaster pottery.
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| beautiful alabaster lamps in a Volterra shop |
The place was very busy. Like tough to find parking and hard to see a map kind of busy.
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| First sign of Volterra |
This second sign for the
Museo della Tortura seemed to fit my idea of Volterra better.
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| Traffic jam going to Volterra |
Twilight
Once we parked in a multilevel underground parkade we managed to find our way to the
official Volterra tourist office in the
Piazza del Priori. This felt like Twilight tourism central. Click on their link to see official Volterra Twilight tours. Once again I was worried my husband would be bored so we did the self-guided thing.
They had great maps just for the Twilight fans. The staff were extremely friendly. The woman who helped me was a Twilight fan. You know how crazy people can tell who else is crazy? Yes, she was very specific about making sure we didn't miss small Twilight details in her town.
Shopping
Yes I have to segway into shopping here because the only Twilight stuff was really at the Volterra tourism office.
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| Displays full of random merchandise |
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| This poster column is quite giant. It dominates this place. That's the way it should be! |
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| Signs on the wall |
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| More signs |
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| Yes I saved the plastic bag |
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| It's the last one they had and it's XL but I'm so happy to own this |
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| free map |
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| I was walking with my head down in this town trying to follow this thing |
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| discusses Stephenie Meyer's choice of Volterra in New Moon |
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| couldn't manage to find a Pepsi can there but they gave out postcards for free |
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| bookmarks aren't that useful for us e-reader people |
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| I love my alabaster heart |
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| Yes it's silly but I'm glad to own an alabaster piece from Volterra, especially a shiny apple |
This completed my Twilight stash from the whole Europe trip. I'm glad I brought an extra suitcase.
Twilight Sights
According to the map these were all the places that correspond to important Twilight New Moon locations.
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| Alice drives into the city - these walls are well enforced |
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| The real Volterra clocktower |
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vicolo Mazzoni
Bella finds Edward in Mazzoni alley |
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| Entrance to the fancy Viti mansion - home of the Volturi |
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| Fancy lobby for the Viti mansion - no sign of Gianna |
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| Manhole in the alley |
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| No space to sign with all the other Twihards |
The wall of Twihard signatures that was in the Viti mansion has been moved for easier access. I asked the tourism office for directions.
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| I'm the "<3 Always TC" |
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| Cute set up by the wall |
Ancient Ruins
I'm glad that my husband loves things like ancient ruins. It made our Volterra trip enjoyable for both of us. He was actually quite stoked.
The Etruscan times date back to 5th-3rd BCE before the Roman times. There is a museum here for those artifacts but we stayed outdoors.
I wanted to look from afar but couldn't resist accompanying Mr. TC since he had so diligently followed me through all these Twilight locales. Anyone who knows me well may be shocked that I'd actually set foot in this area since I have a thing usually against dirt. Yes I know it makes me a total princess but I never said I wasn't one.
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| Ruins of an ancient Roman bath and theatre from 5th BCE. |
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| Stage and Roman baths behind it |
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| Corridor leading to circular seating |
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| Sorry - hard to read but I included it for completeness |
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| There's a lovely view |
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| Cool to imagine Romans sitting here over 2000 years ago |
Almost done, Sienna is next!
1 comments:
They didn't have all that stuff when I was there!!! I LOVE that postcard with the clock tower and the New Moon book. It also looks like they reprinted the map - it is a different cover than mine. I WANT that postcard... I guess I will just have to go back LOL!!!
Volterra was by far my favorite place. I loved it. I am sorry it was so busy for you - it was quiet when we were there and that was perfect.
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