May 18-31, 2016 Italy

May 18-24, 2016  Rome

What an incredible city for all of its thousands of years of history that you can walk around, touch and live. We walked a lot, saw a lot, and ate a lot of pizza (especially Axel). We stayed in a quaint apartment in Trastevere, so we were able to make breakfast and many dinners in. We found after big days of walking that no one had the energy to sit in a restaurant for dinner. That said we still ate plenty of yummy Italian food.

All of the historic sites seem more impressive than the last. There is so much to see in each building or even on each wall. We visited most of the 'must see' sites, such as the Pantheon, Coliseum, Forum, Vatican and St Peter's, many fountains, many churches, … Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here are many thousands of words showing some of the highlights of Rome.

We took a tour through the Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica. There is so much to see that realistically you should spend a few days there. We went to Sunday mass with Pope Francis. Even though it was in Latin and Italian, it was still quite moving. 

May 25  Pompeii

We spent a long day taking in the sites of Pompeii. It is mind blowing to think how wealthy and comfortable a life the people of Pompeii lived 2,000 years ago. It was sad to see the casts of the people buried and the anguished expressions on their faces.

May 26-31  Tuscany, Florence, Savona

After a long day of driving we stopped in Montepulciano to taste their fantastic wine and rented an apartment in a beautiful vineyard. The views across the countryside are as postcard like as the travel brochures.

In Florence we visited Il Duomo in the Cathedral Santa Maria. For a long time Gary has been very interested in the construction of the dome and how revolutionary it was when it was built. The exterior of the cathedral is made of stunningly beautiful multicolored marble. We had the fun of climbing up a very narrow staircase onto the roof of the dome and checking out the interesting painting on ceiling up close (lots of hell and damnation only a little heaven above). We also visited the Uffizi museum which houses a stunning collection of Roman through Renaissance art work from many famous artists.

Our last day in Italy was spent visiting an Aussie friend of ours that is currently living in Savona. Neil's apartment from the outside looks very average, but inside it had incredibly ornate plaster ceilings and intricate marble floors. On our way to France we stopped in Sanremo and had a picnic lunch at the beach. Gary and Gigi braved the cool waters of the Mediterranean.

Cheers,

Julie