Crossroads in Abu Dhabi: September 2011

This summer's trip to Italy was the trip of a lifetime!! I have broken it down into 4 parts: Rome, Amalfi Coast, Tuscany, and Venice.

I had to put this picture of the Eiffel Tower (taken from the plane) because Kim had been teasing Heather and me that he saw it the last time we were in Paris. Now I have at least seen it. Next time we have a connecting flight through Paris, we plan to stay a few days!!!

Rome:
We arrived in Rome to stay for 4 nights. We stayed on the Piazza Barberini at the Hotel Barocco. We could walk to Via Veneto, Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain. On Friday we walked around Rome looking at the beautiful gardens and architecture.

Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Looking out at the Roman skyline: St. Peter's Basilica in the distance

Gelato: Kim's favorite!!

Tiber River

War Memorial:Vittorio Emanuele II Monument

Saturday we took a tour of the Vatican. We saw the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Square.

Love this one: the sun is like a halo behind the cross

On Sunday we had a tour of Ancient Rome. Kim was in Heaven!! We saw all the ruins and finished with the Roman Forum, Colosseum, and Circus Maximus.

Circus Maximus

Amalfi Coast:
On Monday we drove to the Amalfi Coast, stopping by to see Pompeii on the way. Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried under 60 feet of ash and pumice during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was accidentally re-discovered in 1748 and has since been excavated. Since it was so well preserved, we were able to learn a lot about the Romans and how they lived. We had a guided tour of the Forum, the Thermal Baths, Vetti's House, and the Lupanare brothel. Our guide was hilarious and very informative.

Mt. Vesuvius in the distance

Sitting in front of one of the longest streets from ancient times

We then continued our drive to Positano to stay for the next 3 nights at Villa Rosa. We had a beautiful terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. We enjoyed our breakfast each morning watching the sun rise over the water!

Night view from the sidewalk overlooking the bay

One day there we rented a boat and Cory captained us around the sea, boating over to Capri. We saw many of the small towns along the Amalfi Coast: Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello. We sailed into several tiny caves or grottos and swam. We also just stopped out in the middle of the water and jumped in--it was amazingly blue!

Ready to enjoy the day!

Captains of the boat

The beautiful blue waters of the grotto

We definitely got our exercise walking up and down stairs. This was the path to the beach from one of the resorts. The ones we had to walk were not this dramatic!!

The Arch we rode through

We also had some amazing meals with gorgous views. It was difficult to decide where to eat each meal!

Tuscany:
On Thursday we took a high-speed train to Florence. There we stayed at the Santa Maria Novella, another amazing hotel in the downtown area. The rooms are all decorated with different Florentine decor. We did a walking tour of Florence and saw the Duomo, Santa Croce, Piazza Signoria, Ponte Vecchio, The Uffizi Corridor, Palazzo Medici, and many other sights! We enjoyed lots of pasta and gelato!

Train ride: NICE!!

One of our favorite places to eat was on the River Arno, looking out at the Ponte Vecchio.

Ponte Vecchio

Duomo

Random street market: It was all so delicious looking!

One nice thing about Italy was that you could drink from all the fountains, which brought fresh water from the mountains.

Kim found his namesake....and notice the date: 1861 ~ LOL!!

We also did a driving tour of Montalcino (wine tasting) and Siena. In Montalcino we visited the castle where the Senesi were besieged for 4 years before surrendering to the Medici. This is where the Brunello wine first started. We went for a wine tasting of the "Brunello de Montalcino" considered the best Italian wine. We toured the winery and saw how they made the wine.

In Siena we saw the Duomo and visited the Piazzo del Campo, where the race track for the Palio is located. They bring in dirt so that the horses can run the race once each year, but it is hard to imagine how difficult it must be and how many horses end up injured.

Beauty in the midst of decay....

Venice:
On Sunday we took another train to our final spot--Venice. We traveled by water taxi to the Hotel Flora, on Calle XXII Marzo. It is a 17th century palazzo. The rooms are decorated in 16th-century Venetian style. On Monday we took a private gondola ride through the canals of Venice.