The last 5 days has been a bit of a whirlwind tour in Italy. Since this would be our third time in Italy we decided not to linger too long. Don't let that be misleading though. It is obviously an amazing country and absolutely littered with history and sights!
Rome
We began our Italian oddessy in Rome with a visit to the Flavian Amphitheater, AKA the Colosseum. It was a bit disappointing to see it half covered with scaffolding, but it shows how much they care for it and need to keep it in good shape for generations to come.
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| Dy at Trevi Foundation |
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| Here's a good "Where's Waldo" for you. Try to find Dy somewhere on the Spanish Steps. (Sorry about the blurry lens flare...she's not there.) |
On day 2 we headed to the Vatican City, officially our 16th country on this trip (but who's counting?!?). When we were here last we went into St. Peters Basilica, but unfortunately missed the museum and Sistine chapel, so we made sure to hit it this time. The Vatican is so very rich with some of the worlds most precious art. It was great to have the opportunity to view it in person. Stepping into the Sistine chapel and seeing the work of Michaelangelo and how detailed and very well preserved it is was incredible.
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| Vatican |
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| Sistine Chapel |
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| I actually thought this part of the painting was bigger.(Still, no less impressive though!) |
You may (or may not...) recall our story from earlier blogs about continuously running into an Aussie guy named Chris. We had been keeping in touch with Chris and his global adventures. Without planing it, Chris was in Rome the day before we arrived and for the same number of days! Of course we had to meet up and talk about where we've all been (...and drink a little too much vino!)
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| Maybe we had a beer in front of the Roman forum ruins...it's legal! |
Florence
Since we are not really planning much, and neither is Chris, we decided to travel together for a while. We all planned on heading to Venice (where we hadn't been before) and rather than take the boring old train we decided to rent a car and road trip it! I was actually a bit concerned with driving on the right side of the road again, since it's been left for so long for us! I'm glad to report that instincts are better than I thought. There were no, right...left...right...windshield wipers...wait..signal lights issues! Phew...yeah maybe a few wrong turns here or there, but that's it!
The nice thing about a road trip is having the freedom to go where you want, when you want. Hey look at that... Florence is on the way...might as well stop in for lunch! I can see why it's such a tourist destination. It's definitely a magnificent city with incredible architecture and piazza's full of great sculptures. We didn't take the time to explore the museums or see the infamous statue of David (or Dante's Inferno) but hey, you've got to save something for next time!
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| Ponte Veccio over the Arno in Florence |
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| The streets of Florence |
Venice
OK, so get this... There's a city in the north eastern part of Italy on the Adriatic sea... and instead of typical streets with cars, they have little canals, and they "drive" in these canals with boats! It's true! They call this place "Venice". I wonder if anyone has ever heard of this place, or did we just discover it!?! (I have a great idea for a hotel in Vegas...but that's for later!)
Alright! Seriously though, Venice was everything we expected it to be. Packed full of tourists (like us...!) and full of the clichés. That's OK though. They are pretty darn charming clichés. Really, men in striped shirts standing on the back of boats rowing tourists around...(no singing though!?!). The city itself is bigger than I thought, so it didn't feel overcrowded... Maybe in some spots, but not for the most part.
I do have a recommendation for Venice though. Ditch the map, get lost for hours, then get your cellphone out, crack open google maps and ask it for directions somewhere. Seriously! That's what we did! Two things will happen. One, it will try to give you the most direct route, which will NOT be the route most others are following (or where the signs are directing you). And two, it will inevitably stop working at times and you will be temporarily lost in a maze of small empty picturesque alleys. We found many alleys that just ended perpendicular to a canal, so keep your head up (or not... if you want a nice swim!)
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| Are there laws for texting and driving a gondola!?! |
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| Chris and I in Piazza San Marco |
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| Chris, myself and our trusty Google maps! |
Well it's been a short, but a great time in Italy. I think it's fair to say that it has grown on us and we've become quite fond of this place. I have absolutely no doubt that we'll be back again (and again...) some day.
We've come so far back west these last few months that I think it's about time to head a little bit east for a while.
Ciao!