Pizza, Gelato, and the Rest of Italy
Nate and I finally made it down to Italy last week and experienced a place that I would say is truly different from the rest of Europe that we have seen. The entire time we were there it was hot and humid, but that didn't stop us from doing all the things we had gone down there to do. We flew into Rome Sunday night and
got up early the next morning to see as much of ancient Rome as we could. We started with a tour at the Colosseum as an archaeologist told us about the different layers, how they brought the gladiators into the Colosseum, and showed us where the lifts in the floor were to bring the animals in. Once we were done exploring the 
Colosseum we moved on to the Roman Forum which looks like a relic graveyard, there are bits of columns, temples, signs, and other buildings everywhere. With a little imagination and help from a pamphlet we were able to piece together what we saw to get an idea of what it would have looked like in the prime of the 
Roman Empire. From there we walked over to the Pantheon to see the feat of ancient engineering that is the dome, then to Trevi Fountain with the hordes of people tossing in coins with hopes of returning to Rome one day (naturally we joined in as well), and then to the Spanish Steps where we sat with tons of others to take a break and do some people watching. We spent a good portion of the day just wandering through the main part of Rome which made us realize just how old Rome is. There are bits of relics at various points throughout the city and even the streets themselves have that old feeling.
That night we went back out onto the streets to see the monuments lit up (we had some fun taking pictures of ourselves using different camera settings as you can see in the picture a little lower) and wandered through the street vendors selling everything from mini statues of the Colosseum to a calendar with 
pictures of different Catholic priests which I didn't buy but did take a picture of and got more than one chuckle because of. The Piazzas come to life at night so after dinner we got some gelato and sat around watching the various street performers and the people watching them. Speaking of gelato, it's our new favorite thing and I don't think we'll ever be able to eat regular ice cream again. We got gelato every single night, sometimes multiple times, the best gelato being some that we got at the end of the week down on the coast. If you ever go to Italy don't forget to eat gelato.
On Tuesday we took the metro over to Vatican city and waited in the long line to get in to the museum so that we could see the Sistine chapel. I have to make note to you guys that while in the states a line is somewhat single file or at least a few 
people wide, a line in Europe is more along the lines of a moving crowd. We waited about an hour and a half smashed between people to get inside, but the Sistine chapel and the rest of the art inside the museum was worth it. After we had spent a few hours inside the museum we went over to St. Peter's Basilica and wandered around. It's an amazing church and supposedly has a great view from the top, but after everything we'd already done we were far to tired to stand in line for another hour or so just to get to walk up a ton of steps.
On Wednesday we said goodbye to Rome and got on a train to Naples where we then got on another train to go to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast. When we got to the hotel in Sorrento we found out that we were staying at an old time British resort hotel. It was a different kind of culture shock because everyone spoke English but we've never stayed in a hotel where everything is gold and turquoise and all the people that work there wear white dinner coats and bow ties, I liken it to what hotels in America used to look like in the 50s and 60s (not that I'm old enough to have seen them, but I did take a history of travel and tourism in America class so I have an image in my head). Needless to say we had a lot of fun laying by the pool during the ridiculously hot days we experienced down there, which is about all we did on Wednesday afternoon. That evening we got up and wandered through the town of Sorrento which is a little tourist town full of little trinket shops and a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea. 
The next day we got up early and caught a bus down to the Amalfi coast. The bus drove right along the cliff for an amazing view of the houses that were built into it and the water down below. Despite the view, the ride was a little crazy on the narrow cliff road with the bus driver honking at everybody and having to negotiate sharp turns and buses passing by the other way. When we got to Amalfi we wandered through some shops 
but had some time to kill before our boat ride back to Sorrento so we found a public beach (which is easier said then down in Europe where most of the beaches are private and you have to pay for a spot) and went down to the water. Being the ever prepared beach girl I had worn my bathing suit, just in case the opportunity presented itself, and went straight into the water to cool down. Nathan on the other hand decided against wearing his bathing suit and decided he didn't want to get his shorts wet (a decision 
he later regretted thanks to the ridiculously hot day it turned out to be). The water was a little cold but with how hot and humid it was it felt really good. After our time at the beach we headed back to Sorrento for our final night. Friday was our last day in Italy so we caught our train back to Naples but this time we made a stop in Pompeii to see the ruins of the ancient city
that was destroyed and at the same time preserved by a volcano in 79 a.d. We spent two hours wandering around the city and still only saw a fraction of what there was to see. We wandered through what would have been people's houses and neighborhoods, sat in the theater and wandered through the baths. We enjoyed our time in Italy and hope to be able to go back someday, after all that's why we threw our coins in Trevi Fountain.
Nate and I finally made it down to Italy last week and experienced a place that I would say is truly different from the rest of Europe that we have seen. The entire time we were there it was hot and humid, but that didn't stop us from doing all the things we had gone down there to do. We flew into Rome Sunday night and
got up early the next morning to see as much of ancient Rome as we could. We started with a tour at the Colosseum as an archaeologist told us about the different layers, how they brought the gladiators into the Colosseum, and showed us where the lifts in the floor were to bring the animals in. Once we were done exploring the 
Colosseum we moved on to the Roman Forum which looks like a relic graveyard, there are bits of columns, temples, signs, and other buildings everywhere. With a little imagination and help from a pamphlet we were able to piece together what we saw to get an idea of what it would have looked like in the prime of the 
Roman Empire. From there we walked over to the Pantheon to see the feat of ancient engineering that is the dome, then to Trevi Fountain with the hordes of people tossing in coins with hopes of returning to Rome one day (naturally we joined in as well), and then to the Spanish Steps where we sat with tons of others to take a break and do some people watching. We spent a good portion of the day just wandering through the main part of Rome which made us realize just how old Rome is. There are bits of relics at various points throughout the city and even the streets themselves have that old feeling.
That night we went back out onto the streets to see the monuments lit up (we had some fun taking pictures of ourselves using different camera settings as you can see in the picture a little lower) and wandered through the street vendors selling everything from mini statues of the Colosseum to a calendar with 
pictures of different Catholic priests which I didn't buy but did take a picture of and got more than one chuckle because of. The Piazzas come to life at night so after dinner we got some gelato and sat around watching the various street performers and the people watching them. Speaking of gelato, it's our new favorite thing and I don't think we'll ever be able to eat regular ice cream again. We got gelato every single night, sometimes multiple times, the best gelato being some that we got at the end of the week down on the coast. If you ever go to Italy don't forget to eat gelato.
On Tuesday we took the metro over to Vatican city and waited in the long line to get in to the museum so that we could see the Sistine chapel. I have to make note to you guys that while in the states a line is somewhat single file or at least a few 
people wide, a line in Europe is more along the lines of a moving crowd. We waited about an hour and a half smashed between people to get inside, but the Sistine chapel and the rest of the art inside the museum was worth it. After we had spent a few hours inside the museum we went over to St. Peter's Basilica and wandered around. It's an amazing church and supposedly has a great view from the top, but after everything we'd already done we were far to tired to stand in line for another hour or so just to get to walk up a ton of steps.
On Wednesday we said goodbye to Rome and got on a train to Naples where we then got on another train to go to Sorrento and the Amalfi coast. When we got to the hotel in Sorrento we found out that we were staying at an old time British resort hotel. It was a different kind of culture shock because everyone spoke English but we've never stayed in a hotel where everything is gold and turquoise and all the people that work there wear white dinner coats and bow ties, I liken it to what hotels in America used to look like in the 50s and 60s (not that I'm old enough to have seen them, but I did take a history of travel and tourism in America class so I have an image in my head). Needless to say we had a lot of fun laying by the pool during the ridiculously hot days we experienced down there, which is about all we did on Wednesday afternoon. That evening we got up and wandered through the town of Sorrento which is a little tourist town full of little trinket shops and a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea. 
The next day we got up early and caught a bus down to the Amalfi coast. The bus drove right along the cliff for an amazing view of the houses that were built into it and the water down below. Despite the view, the ride was a little crazy on the narrow cliff road with the bus driver honking at everybody and having to negotiate sharp turns and buses passing by the other way. When we got to Amalfi we wandered through some shops 
but had some time to kill before our boat ride back to Sorrento so we found a public beach (which is easier said then down in Europe where most of the beaches are private and you have to pay for a spot) and went down to the water. Being the ever prepared beach girl I had worn my bathing suit, just in case the opportunity presented itself, and went straight into the water to cool down. Nathan on the other hand decided against wearing his bathing suit and decided he didn't want to get his shorts wet (a decision 
he later regretted thanks to the ridiculously hot day it turned out to be). The water was a little cold but with how hot and humid it was it felt really good. After our time at the beach we headed back to Sorrento for our final night. Friday was our last day in Italy so we caught our train back to Naples but this time we made a stop in Pompeii to see the ruins of the ancient city
that was destroyed and at the same time preserved by a volcano in 79 a.d. We spent two hours wandering around the city and still only saw a fraction of what there was to see. We wandered through what would have been people's houses and neighborhoods, sat in the theater and wandered through the baths. We enjoyed our time in Italy and hope to be able to go back someday, after all that's why we threw our coins in Trevi Fountain.
2 comments:
Wow it looks like you had an amazing time! Your pictures are so cool, it looks like you got to see some really cool stuff. I'm really jealous of the gelato. I'll have to get some, not that it would rival what you had in any way I'm sure. Awesome blog!
that pizza looks soooo good!! I still can't believe you have not seen the sound of music! You had a deprived childhood!
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