Back in Rome!

We arrived in Rome yesterday afternoon and took a walking tour of Rome. We saw the Cappuchino monks monestary (the drink was named after these monks because of their robes). As with all the churches we have seen the detail of the ceiling is remarkable, this one is just remarkably different, as the designs are done in bones of the dead monks. It's quite creepy really. It feels like something out of Tales from the Crypt. Next it was on to the famous Spanish steps. Who should we see running up the steps? Da-nu-nuuuuu! Daaa-nuuuu! Rocky Balboa! Yes we saw Sylvester Stalone, fake tan and all! Defintely unexpected and quite thrilling. Then the Trevi fountain where we threw in our three coins, one for luck, one for love and one to return to Rome.

When planning an Italian holiday, expect the unexpected. On our way to Rome we found out that the Vatican changed their group tour policy three days earlier and our guided tour was cancelled. No worries though, a tour of the Colesseum and the Roman Forum was substituted and we could do the Vatican on our own. However, upon arriving at the Colesseum, we found out that the Italian are on strike and the Colesseum and Forum was closed for the morning. We were able to take our tour wround the ruins with plans of taking the bus to the Vatican. When the tour was over and we headed for the bus, we found out that the bus drivers were on strike as well. Back to the Metro! We finally made it to the Vatican City where we went through the Museum to the Sistine Chapel. Allison had plenty of time to see the Sistine Chapel while she was closed in while the paramedics defibulized a man who had a heart attack. It was chaos, while the gaurds attended to the man and everyone snuck in pictures. They say it is amazing, just be careful because it can really take your breath away! Tonight we are going to dinner with some of the friends we've made to say farewell. Tomorrow is our last day and we plan to spend it leisurely. We might even sleep past 7am. No wake up call for us! We can't wait to see you all back home. Thanks for all your comments.

Auguri!

Allison and Amanda

A bus, a train and a boat to Venice

We arrived in St Mark's square where the famous basilica and bell tower are, as well as hundreds of pigoens cover the ground. It is really quite odd to see so many birds in one place. Their sound echoes off the buildings and you basically have to walk through them to get from one side to the other. Venice is famous for Murano glass and lace. We were able to see a glass blowing demonstration. It is amazing how easy it looks, but people study years to become a master. The lace making is just as amazing and becuase it is a dying art, it is subsidized by the government. After a little shopping, we walked through the streets where we found an Italian/Chinese pizzeria. Hmmmm? It was good and cheap. Just what we wanted. Venice wouldn't be complete without a gondola ride through the Grande Canal. Our gondolier didn't sing, but he sure did talk on his cell phone alot. I guess it's just not as romantic as it seems....he did wear stripes though! We saw Bridge of Sighs, Ponte de Rialto and ate dinner at another Italian\Chinese restaurant. Apparently in Venice, they're more common than you think. We took a boat, to the train station, train station to the hotel and got plenty of rest before the long trip back to Rome. We are getting really good at this whole public transportation thing.

Sermione, Lake Garda and Verona

You can see now why it has been so long since we have written. This contiki thing really is like boot camp. We pack a lot in to one day, but it is great. Sermione, near Lake Como, is a little penninsula in Lake Garda and is extremely picturesque. You have to walk through a little castle to get to the shops. We were able to take a boat tour around the penninsula to see the hot springs, ancient ruins and sail right through the castle. With Sermione behind us, we headed off to Verona, the city of Romeo and Giulette. We saw Giulette's balcony, the amphitheater ( a mini colesseum) and wandered around the town. Then we headed for Venice.

Everyday is a holiday in Italy!

In italy, witches don't come at Halloween but on La Bufana as well. Any reason to not work in Italy means everything is closed. So when we arrived in Milan, it was a ghost town. Something we are told we will never see again. There was nothing to do but walk around and stop in for some wine and gelatto. We saw the famous Gucci, Prada, Escada, Armani, etc stores, much like Rodeo Drive, the Duomo, walked through the castle and spun around the circle, which assures we will return to Milan.

Pisa, Cinque Terre and La Spezia all in one day!

One of the best part of the trips has been that not only do we get to see the big cities, we are able to stop in the small ones along the way. The first stop was Pisa. It's very small and not a place you need to spend much time in, but we got to see the leaning tower and it is defintely still leaning. We took all the classic shots, along with everyone else. The best part was watching everyone lined up on the street trying to take the perfect picture. We arrived in La Spezia where we took a train to the coast of Cinque Terre or 5 lands. We stopped in 3 of the five and spent a little time looking through shops and walking the trails along the coast. It was beautiful! The coast looks very similar to Northern CA. We spent the night in La Spezia, home of pesto, where we ate some for dinner and had more gelatto. The one thing you can be sure of is that the gelatto is always good!

463 stairs x 2

We began our full day in Florence with a walking tour around the city. It was much colder than the other Sorrento and Rome and it was even raining a little. There is so much art history in this city. It is also the home of leather and great deals. We saw a leather demonstration in the morning and had our first Cappuchino to warm up. The Duomo in Florence is beautiful and gives the best views of the city from the top, but you have to climb 463 narrow, deep and dark stairs to see it. It is actually not so bad unless people stop in the stairwells and you feel like panicking. We're just glad there wasn't an earhquake or tornado warning. As you climb the top you get a closer look at the frescos painted on the dome and also appreciate the artist's bravery to paint such detail so high. After the duomo we saw David. Wow! He really is the perfect man! He is 16 feet tall, carved out of one solid piece of marbel. We ate a fabulous lunch, pasta and of course wine. Then we walked through the leather markets and treated ourselves to the best gelatto ever....we figured we deserved it after 463 stairs! We said goodbye to Florence.

Wine tasting in Tuscany

Today we made the long trip to Florence through the Italian countryside. We stopped at a winery in Tuscany for wine, cheese and olive oil tasting. The olive oil in Italy is very different that the way we know it. It is much stronger, saltier and sometimes peppery. We bought three bottles. Tuscany is known for Chianti wine. We were able to taste a few bottles. It was great. We bout 7 bottles. We made it to our hotel in Florence where we had dinner at an Italian ristorante. The free meals from Contiki are not the best. Tomorrow we will have a walking tour of Florence, see a gold and leather demonstration, have time for shopping and head to the Tuscan hills once again, for dinner.

We hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for your comments. It's great to hear from all of you!