Day 3: Florence

Got up bright and early (ok maybe just early) to catch our bus in front of the Hotel Columbus at 6:15. It turned out to be just a shuttle to take us to the actual tour bus. He made another stop at a hotel and told us the Trevi Fountain was just around the corner, so we ran down to take a picture.


I loved the bus rides. On the way there our tour guide pointed out a magnificent valley, almost right as we were passing it. I fumbled with my camera and this is the only shot I got:

I tried to take another picture of it on the way back, but didn't see it. :(

Our first stop in Florence was at the Piazza Michelangelo, which offers a spectacular view of the city (this was one of my must-sees in my own little Florence itinerary I made for myself):

(I was mad the Duomo had scaffolding on it)


(more of the city and Ponte Vecchio, the cool lookin bridge)

Once in Florence, we were led to that tourist-trap leather store first, walking by the Chiesa de Santa Croce (Michelangelo and Galileo are buried here):


We had lunch at a restaurant called Fantasia, which was spaghetti, beef, peas, potatoes, and mocha ice cream for dessert. Then we were handed over to another tour guide for a walk-around the city through various piazzas and by fountains and statues and quaint streets.






Finally we got to the Duomo, but only got chances to take pictures of the exterior; we didn't get time to go in. :( HMPH. It's pretty impressive even from the outside though...




Our tour ended at the Accademie, which of course houses the most famous naked man in the world:

He's not just David, he's THE David. :) All 17 feet.

I took some more Tuscany countryside shots from the bus on the way home:







This is the medieval town of Orte, perched high on a rocky cliff.

Next day: Papal audience, Colosseum, and more!

Day 2: Rome

The first thing we did Day 2 was run over to the Scavi Office at St. Peters to make sure we were still confirmed to take the Scavi Tour that morning (the underground excavations underneath St. Peters, including the "necropolis" mausoleums and the tomb of St. Peter). Fortunately, we were. So we got to take the tour which lasted maybe 30-45 minutes and was extremely cool. We weren't allowed to take pictures, so I don't have any to show from it...except this one of the entrance to the Scavi Office:

You have to have permission from the Swiss Guards to enter. Aren't we cool? :)

I can't recommend this tour enough. You need to contact the Scavi Office well in advance however. Mom had booked this tour in October last year.

We emerged from underneath the Basilica right at the spot where JPII is buried, so we got to see his tomb. Exited from that back into the Basilica. Decided to go get a drink somewhere and then hit the Vatican Museums.

Got a drink at a little sidewalk café and used the bathroom (always always use restaurant bathrooms rather than the public restrooms provided at attractions) and headed off to the Museums, or rather the LINE for the Museums.


The line moved quickly and we were in in about an hour I think. Here are just a few highlights from the Museums:


Can't remember where this cool staircase went, but it was somewhere near the beginning



The Gallery of Maps



The main event: The Sistene Chapel (illegal photo) :)



Me standing in front of a cool-looking room



The twisty exit from the Museums


On the way home, we made a stop at our neighborhood grocery store, the Di-per-Di:

...bought cheese and crackers and wine, and made ourselves a nice little dinner in the apartment.

The next day we were going to have to catch a shuttle to take us to our tour bus to Florence in front of the Hotel Columbus on the Via della Conciliazione, so Jen and Craig and I set off to find it just so we'd know how much time we'd need to get there by 6:15 in the morning (ugh!!). St. Peters looks quite lovely in the twilight:


We found the hotel easily enough. It wasn't far down the street. Then we glanced down a little sidestreet and caught this view:


Well we HAD to see what was through that awesome archway, and found a quaint little cobblestoned street with a big neon sign saying "BAR," so we figured we HAD to stop for a beer. (Pardon the blurriness on these next couple pictures... my night-exposure pictures always come out that way...)


We were serenaded by a street musician with an accordion:


After our perfect little Roman evening, we walked home through St. Peter's Square at night.


Pictures from Florence are next!

Italy Day 1: Rome

Our trip began with one slight snag: our flight to New York (JFK), where we were connecting, was cancelled. We had to have American put us on a flight to LaGuardia, where we could pick up car service to JFK in time for our flight. Had some stressful moments, but we ended up making it to JFK in just enough time to catch the flight, thanks to a driver who was willing to smash all five of us in her car, even though she only had space for four. (And I was actually grateful for the experience... now I know what a lot of my travelers go through.)

The flight to Rome was long and I only slept 10 minutes, while they were serving breakfast. Ugh. I don't know if I'll ever master the art of sleeping on airplanes.

After we collected our baggage, we were picked up by Renzo, who drove us to our apartment. The apartment was BEAUTIFUL. Smaller than we expected, but plenty big enough. A nice lady named Carla showed us around (she spoke mostly to me because I knew the most Italian, and her English wasn't great). :)

Here is what the view from our balcony looked like:


We had some time to crash and unpack and relax a little, then we had to head to St. Peter's to attend the 4:00 Mass (actually while THEY were relaxing, my dad and I headed over to see exactly where we'd need to go).

Some views of St. Peter's Square:




Inside St. Peter's:






After exploring St. Peter's, we had dinner at a little pizzeria (at a tavola calda, literally "hot table," a place to sit down and be served). :) Then we went back to the apartment and watched the lights come on in St. Peter's as the sun went down.


More to come soon...

Returned Home

I am home and will start posting updates soon, complete with pictures, like how I did it for France. Stay tuned! I've been busier than I expected my first few days back: saw the new Pirates movie (awesome!) and spent some time at the Renaissance Faire today, but will get to posting pictures soon!

Hello from Florence

Made it to Italy and spent two days in Rome; I am now in an internet cafe in Florence doing a real quick post. The bus ride here was awesome except our tour guide CAN'T STOP TALKING. Then the first place she brought us in Florence was a LEATHER STORE. Seriously. We walked right by the Duomo and went into a duty free shop and they started giving us a tour. Ridiculous. So the five of us walked out and came here. We have an hour. Sigh. I want to see the Duomo and the David. What are we doing here????

Anyways.... Rome has been great. We have a gorgeous apartment a 10 minute walk from the Vatican and see St. Peter's Dome from our balcony. We did the Scavi tour. We toured the Vatican Museum and saw the Sistene Chapel. Awesome but crowded.

Anyways I better go... see you all soon! :)

Addio!

Heading off for Rome! Please check back in the odd chance I am able to post an update of how it's going. Otherwise expect a run-down (with pictures!) when I get back (May 26). Love you all!

More on Rome

Here's an excellent website I found today while looking up info on Rome: Stuardt Clarke's "All Roads Lead to Roma." I spent hours on this site today pouring over all the great stuff. More info about public transportation, lots about the Vatican area, dining, shopping, and general need-to-knows. I feel a lot more prepared after perusing that site; in fact, I almost feel like I've already been there!

I'm sure his hand-drawn map of the Vatican area will prove to be invaluable (I printed off a copy to take with me). I'm also interested in trying a couple of his dining selections in the area. :)

Also... check out this SUPER COOL site that lets you click on any of several famous locations in Rome to get a panoramic view of the area. I had fun with that one!

Rome Transportation

I am putting myself in charge of public transportation on the Italy trip. If we're not being driven somewhere by our private driver (Rrrenzo) :) I need to know how we're getting around. This is Rule Number One of international travel: How you are getting from Point A to Point B. (Rule Number Two, of course, is keep a journal of your trip, but I've preached that one enough.) :)

So here's some helpful links just for me to refer to later if needed...

I found this helpful page about Rome city buses.

Here's a subway map, as well as info about tickets. (1 euro per 75 minute ride? Whoo hoo!)

And here's a cool Google Maps map of Rome. I noticed our apartment is right by train tracks. Yiee.