Day Six-May 16th

We're up at 6:00 am & no time for breakie..we've got a taxi ordered & a train departure at7:15. No problems and it's a sleek Eurostar, and plenty of room to view the beautiful countryside, with farms, vineyards, hay fields & rivers. We arrive in Florence at 8:50, right on time & depart the train for a short taxi ride to our hotel, The Annalena. More narrow streets with cars, bikes , scooters & buses everywhere. Here we are & up three flights of stairs to the hotel & a lovely room with a garden view & in by 9:15. We do eat a little breakie while we wait a few minutes for the room to be readied. A quick change of clothes & off we go to "town". It's supposed to rain, so I Pack some gear-it doesn't rain however. Across the "Ponte Vecchio" (bridge) over the Arno River & into the main part of Florence-some shopping, gelato & to the Palazzo Vecchio & the Santa Croce Church-Basilica actually. It is a Gothic church & one of the finest in Italy, over 700 years old. Quite an awesome place-tickets 5E. Galileo is buried here & a few famous Florence opera conductors/writers. The wooden ceiling is exquisite! Out in to the courtyard & a museum before we exit & stroll thru the streets to the Piazza Della Repubblica, with many vendors, bars & restaurants. We pick a good looking spot for lunch- The Grotta Gelph- & our waiter is nuts & we have a good time & a great meal. I order spaghetti with clams & he goes wild! A great choice he says! KK gets spaghetti carbonara & Cami the BIG salad & the house wine for all three. Now we're ready for the next church - The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore( the Duomo). Another great church & now out to the "small" baptistery of San Giovanni. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but the entire dome is done in mosaics, sumptuous small bits of tile & glass. Spectacular beyond belief! Various scenes of Christ, John the Baptist, Adam & Eve, etc. The outside doors are in a massive gold/bronze relief & were described by Michelangelo as the "Gates of Paradise", done by Ghiberti in 1330. Into the Cathedral (The Duomo) & it is massive & in the shape of a cross:90 meters high, 153 long and 170 years in the making. There were many great archeticts overthis period with Filippo Brunelleschi doing the gigantic dome in 1420-36. It is quite a site & under a 5-year renovation. So what's next? First a walk back toward the hotel & a stop at a local grocery & some "fixings" for supper, lunch, etc-bread, wine, cheeses, beer , fruit. (Pretty good buys as the beer is only 1.29 E & the wine is 2.09!) Back to the room and some breaking of the bread & sipping wine( spodie odie). We shower, blog, write post cards & talk about The FAB day! In bed by 10:00 & off to slumberland. Did I mention the Medici Family? They were the powerful rulers around here for over 300 years.

Day Five-May 15th

YEA! We slept in 'till 8:00! And then went down for our free breakie..good as usual & good coffee (Americano). The place was packed with Aussies, Brits & us Americans & I met some people from Portland who had been on a cruise from Ft Lauderdale. Back to the room & prepare for our day at the local ruins..the Colosseum & the Roman Forum. On our way to the subway, we stop at a local church, Santa Maria della Vittoria, just 3 blocks from our hotel, and it is fabulous in side! Lots of gold & a wonderful Bernini sculpture- "Ecstasy of St Teresa." (Nice stop!) Down to the metro to catch the subway to our destination & as we exit the underground, there it is! The Massive Colosseum! A huge crowd lined up to see the inside of this structure built by Vespasian in 72-82 AD. It took 10 years to build, but is still standing! The opening celebration was a 100 day ordeal & had many events, including hunts, gladiatorial combats,parades & festivals. Some 60,000 people crowded into this arena for all kinds of events. We once again opted out of the guided tours and saw it all on our on..and Cami's expert sidebars. There were all kinds of museums located inside, plus small scale models on how the animals & participants got to the floor of the arena. Now a little lunch on the grounds & over to the Forum. This was a huge area where there were shops, temples & all kinds of homes & of course the Vestal Virgins Quarters. It has clouded up a bit, and starts to sprinkle as we get to the end of the Forum, and here come the vendors selling umbrellas. We duck into some very nice displays of Nero items & other Roman emperors. The rain kind of dampened the day, but we had seen it all anyway by now, so back to the metro & to the hotel. We did go down to the PC's & checked a few e-mails & chatted with some people from Florida & I get summoned back to the room so we can go to dinner. On the bus to go to some ruins where there are lots of cats..an old temple that is now a cat sanctuary..interesting. A nice stroll thru the narrow streets (alleys) to the Piazza Novana, with 3 lovely fountains, vendors, performers, artwork & 100's of scooters. The fountains, by Bernini, are outstanding, but we wander on ,to the main fountain attraction of this area-The Trevi fountain, by Nicola Salvi in 1627, inspired by Roman triumphal arches. Another large crowd here, but the poliza are keeping them out of the water. (But no uzzies) Now we are looking for a nice place to eat & they're everywhere. Which one? The Hosteria la Danesina-outside on a nice cool night & good food-pasta, salads,& lasagna,plus a carafe of wine & great bread. Now back to the hotel and a good sleep, but some packing for tomorrow's trip to Florence.

Day Four-May 14th

Up at 6:30 for a train ride to Naples, so no time for our "free" breakfast, but we walk down to the Termini for our train & a 7:40 departure & a 2 hour trip down the coast. There's a few stops, but our compartment is fine & the countryside is beautiful-farms, vineyards, ocean ( the Med Sea). Our stop is Naples & then a local train to Pompeii-The Circum-Vesuviana. We arrive ok & get some coffee & pastries and then get the local train to our site, where it's only a short walk to get a ticket to tour the ruins...and more hawkers too. This city of around 30-40, 000 was completely destroyed in 79 AD by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius over a two day period by a massive ash& rock cloud & a following pyroclastic flow from 7 miles away that crushed the village and literally cooked the people who were trying to escape to the sea. It was not re-discovered until the 1600's & is a bout 60% excavated. It's an amazing place & very eerie, making you wonder how they felt when the eruption was going on . The city itself was very advanced, with running water, baths, sewers & many fountains. It also had an amphitheatre that seated 20, 000, cobblestone streets, and wonderful frescos. A stop for lunch at the "Auto grill", an on site cafe-sandwiches, fruit, water. I loved this place! We're done & back to the train for a short ride back to Naples. We have a little time to walk around the square in Naples but it is pretty dirty, with lots of homeless & piles of trash & also some massive construction. Gelato anyway! On the train-a Euro Star- at 4:00 and a quick trip back to Roma. back to the hotel & discuss what's for supper. How about Italian food! We pick Andrea's Pizzeria & order 3 different kinds of pizza & share, and wine of course. Lots of people enjoying the evening & of course, scooters everywhere. Did I say there were thousands of them? And Smart cars, small cars & parked everywhere. It's a wild place to drive & also to avoid being hit while crossing the street. Anyway, another great day of seeing the things we want to see-at our speed. let's shower & take it easy for a bit...tomorrow? When in Rome....

Day Three-May 13th

Oh no, it's Friday the 13th! Let's go to the Vatican! we're up at 6:30 & go to breakie at the hotel. It's a very nice spread, with fruit, cereal, scrambled eggs, bacon (warm ham actually), bread & good coffee & juices. Off we go to the metro & a ride across the Tiber River to the Vatican & a nice long line of those damn' tourists. And of course, the hawkers trying to get you to go with them for a guided tour & jump the line. But we're not interested and in about 30 minutes, we're in. We buy our tickets & go on our own to see it all. Cami is a great "tour guide" and this is her speciality anyway, so off we go to this overwhelming museum. Lots of Egyptian artifacts from many dynasties, Roman sculptures in hall after hall. Many Etruscan treasures from 700-200 BC. they pre-dated the Romans. Then lunch in the museum cafe-sandwiches & chips..a nice break. Now down the corridor & follow the signs to the Sistine Chapel & of course it is amazing! But there are way too many people in this room! The ceiling is the Michelangelo project, with the rest done by other painters, but is also exquisite. On to the gift shop for some postcards & the use of the Vatican Post Office. out of this area & over to the very large "Church"..St Peter's Basilica. Once again, a line to get in, but not too bad and more hawkers. It's an enormous structure! There must be 20,000 people in here & there's still room. Many sculptures, mosaics, frescos and designed by Michelangelo--who else? You just have to stand there & take it all in..quite unbelievable. Out of the church & into St Peter's Square & more fountains & cobbles. A quick stop for some good Roman water from one of the many fountains in the city. And how about some gelato!!! back on the metro for a ride & walk to the hotel & discuss supper plans. We stroll down our street, looking at many restaurants & bars, but stop at the "Taverna Flavia". It turns out to be wonderful! Our waiter brings us a glass of bubbly & we toast the day! Next is the wine, beer & anti-pasta..wow! Then we order our main meals..pasta! It not only is excellent, but has some good local flavor & great old pics on the wall of famous people who had eaten there. Now a walk back to the room & some snoozin'.

Day two, May 12th

The taxi ride into Rome was fun, but the driver did not say a word. The traffic was pretty bad but we get there ok..The Hotel Ranieri. Took 60 E to get there..not bad. Our room is not ready so we get a few things and head down to the Termini to check on 3-day transit passes & our train tickets. We immediately jump on bus 64 & head toward some "old stuff". First stop? The Pantheon! What a sight! Designed by Hadrian around 120 AD, the dome is 142' high & is also it's diameter. Lunch at a neat spot just around the corner from the Pantheon & a table is set just for us! Pizzas, beer & wine for the menu items(the special). Back to the hotel to get into our room , unpack, shower & change clothes for some more sightseeing. Over to the Spanish Steps & lots of people, including a wedding, carriage rides & lots of vendors pestering everyone. The Piazza Di Spagna is fab! More Egyptian Obelisks & Roman columns. A short metro ride down to the Trevi Fountain area & some really good & cold gelato on the walk down. What a fountain! Built in 1732 by Bernini, and once again, lots of people & cops to keep you out of the water. Now let's eat! we find a neat little spot: The Hostaria De Pastini and have some great pasta & house wine...ahhh, the bread & fresh Mozzarella. We're stuffed! We find that the metro is closed for repairs, so we just stroll up the hill to our hotel..a good first day!

May 11th, Day one

Up at 4:00 am and off to get Cami for our flight from Will Rogers to Newark. No problems at the airport as we board our small plane for the cross country trip to lovely NJ. We've got a long layover there, so no hurry as we arrive on time. Everyone chooses a different spot to get a late lunch & we all meet at a central location to eat & discuss various things at the airport. A large contingent of Jewish folks headed for Tel-Aviv.." Will the passengers Schwatrz, Katz & Zimmerman & please report to gate 10!" Finally, a boarding call for our flight to Roma, Fiumicino Airport. It's a 81/2 hour trip on a 767, a 4300 mile journey, with meals, movies, snacks & hopefully some sleep. It will be day two when we arrive, May 12th. Where's the hotel? Grab a taxi & head into the city.

NO bikes, just Italy

This is the opening page of out trip to Italy: Mike, KK & Cami are off on a two week adventure across the BIG pond! This is our first trip to Europe & Cami's mulitple trip. She will act as our tour guide, and I'm sure a good one! We leave early on May 11th & to Rome by the 12th. A few days there & then to Florence, Venice & back to Rome. See you in Rome.