When in Rome....

Alas, Bryan has been waiting to use that blog title for quite some time now! About a week ago, we returned from a fabulous week-long trek through Italy (during Brandina's spring break from school), over half of which was spent with Brandina's parents, John & Elaine. Our trip was quite diverse - from the majestic, historic city of Rome, to the quaint walled cities of Tuscany, to the beautiful seaside of the Italian Riviera. Needless to say, this trip just about doubled the number of pins in our wall map :).

Rome

For our weekend in Rome, we began with a Friday "Night at the Museum," a new program that just started this month at the Vatican Museum, allowing for Friday evening, pre-booked tickets to the museum. It was excellent - we roamed through the museum at our leisure, often times with rooms of the museum completely to ourselves. We were able to spend at least 20 minutes sitting on the benches inside the Sistine Chapel, mesmerized by Michelangelo's infamous ceiling. For those of you who have been to the Vatican Museum, and know just how crowded and claustrophobic it can be, let me assure you that Friday "Night at the Museum" is a completely different, much more pleasurable experience. We highly recommend it! We spent Saturday in ancient Rome, treking through the cobblestones of the Roman Forum and Colosseum, humbled by the sheer size, complexity, and age of these ancient and impressive structures. Our sunny weekend in Rome was completed by a visit to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza del Popolo, St. Peters Basilica, St. Peters Square on a Sunday morning (where unbeknownst to us we happened to be there as the Pope gave his Sunday sermon, though we were never able to spot him - he was kind of hidden like the Wizard of Oz), and plenty of pizza and gelato! Our hostel was an experience in and of itself - centrally located (within walking distance of the Colosseum), but with a few cold showers and no electricity one morning. But, at least it was clean, and had free internet!

Spiral staircase (empty!), Vatican Museum

Roman Forum

Roman Forum: Temple of Saturn,
one of the earliest temples in Rome

Roman Forum: Temple of Saturn &
Arch of Septimius Severus,
standing on Via Sacra (Sacred Way,
route taken by generals riding into Capitoline
Hill on horses, carrying the riches of war)

Roman Forum & Colosseum, from viewpoint on Palantine Hill

Palantine Hill, once the wealthiest
residential district of Ancient Rome

The Colosseum, built in 72-80 AD, in all its glory

Trevi Fountain

St. Peters Square on a Sunday morning
(click on the picture to see the enlarged version,
to get a better feel for the size of the crowd!)

Florence

After spending our three nights in Rome, we took the train to Florence (about a 3-hour ride when not on a high-speed, more expensive train). For our half day in Florence, we climbed to the top of the Duomo (463 steps), visited the various piazzas (each accompanied by Bryan's historical narrative from our Berlitz travel guide), viewed and crossed Ponte Vecchio, ventured to the hilltop point of Piazza Michelangelo for yet another expansive view of the city, and settled down at a delightful pizzeria on the south side of the River Arno, where we were served by a Seattle-born American waitress, who is studying abroad in Florence :). As our one day in Florence was a Monday, all of the city's museums were closed....but rest assured, we saw plenty nude Davids around the rest of the city!

View of Florence from top of Duomo - Shades of Red

View of Florence from top of Duomo - Shades of Blue

Still atop the Duomo! (Mind you, it takes some talent
to master the one-armed self-picture with your eyes closed!)

Capturing Florence
River Arno, Ponte S. Trinita
(gentleman rowing towards Ponte Vecchio)

Siena

Following our day in Florence, Brandina's parents picked us up in their rental car, and off we went to Siena, south of Florence, and very Tuscan.

Mom & Brandina, Piazza del Campo

Mom, Dad, and Bryan, Piazza del Campo

Staggered rooftops of Siena

Lucca

For the second half of the trip, we stayed with Brandina's parents in Lucca, a small walled city near Pisa. Living like locals, we visited the weekly street market, walked atop the walls, roamed through the narrow streets, climbed to the top of the Tower Guinigi, and ate at local family Italian restaurants (such as La Cantina di Alfredo, by far the best meal of our entire trip!). Again, plenty of pizza and gelato to go around.

Mom & Dad, standing on the pathway
that sits on top of the city walls

Capturing Lucca

The Street Market

Bryan and Dad, picking out local salami, prosciutto, and cheese
for our Italian breakfasts (in their matching scarves)

View of Lucca, from the top of Tower Guinigi

Sunset outside Lucca

Cinque Terre

Venturing out again in the rental car, we took a day trip to Cinque Terre, driving up to La Spezia on the coast, and taking the train and ferry throughout the 5 small coastal, hilltop, villages. We had an absolutely gorgeous sunny day, as you can see in the photos!

All in all, a wonderful trip! From the ancient ruins, to the seaside, we definitely ate and drank our way through Italy :). Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful Italian holiday!

As our trip came to an end, mother nature decided to sound off in the form of an Icelandic volcano that added a whole new twist to the trip, but that's an entirely different blog entry....stay tuned....

Ciao!

-B&B

“I feast on wine and bread, and feasts they are.” - Michelangelo