Italy Part Three: Venice

Hello Blog Readers!

As I said in my last post we caught our train from Florence to Venice. When we arrived in Venice we dropped our bags off at the inn, stopped for a pizza lunch, and then checked into our inn, the Casa del Melograno. Kathleen wasn't feeling to well so she had a nap. After she woke up we went for supper. After supper we walked through the neighbourhood for a bit and then spent the remainder of the evening relaxing at the inn.

The next morning we had breakfast at the inn and then started to explore Venice. Our first destination was the La Fenice, an opera house, that has burned several times, but has always been restored to its original state. After the opera house we continued down the streets and saw many beautiful churches on our way to the Piazza San Marco. The piazza is home to many of Venice's major attractions such as the Basilica di San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale (the Doge's Palace), and the Campanile (the basilica's bell tower). We walked through the piazza and took many pictures and then took the trip up the bell tower where we saw the beautiful view of Venice. After coming down from the tower we continued our way down the streets of Venice and saw many more sights such as the Scala Contarini del Bovolo which is a five storey spiral staircase attached to a palace. We then had lunch before crossing the Ponte di Rialto over the Grand Canal. On the other side of the canal we first saw one of the largest churches in the city, the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari and then continued onto the La Dogana da Mar and the Santa Maria della Salute (the church of Saint Mary of Health).  After finishing our sightseeing we stopped for a supper of salad and pizza and then went back to our inn for the night.

The next day we walked to the north side of Venice to catch a boat to the island of Murano, famous for its glassmaking. We wandered through Murano and looked at the many glass selling shops and glass sculptures Murano is famous for. We then went to the Glass Museum and saw many more modern and ancient glass of Murano. After lunch and a thorough walk through the streets of Murano we caught the next boat to the island of Burano. The main features of Burano is the multi coloured houses and its lacemaking. After the short stop in Burano we caught the boat back to Venice where we again had a supper of salad and pizza. We then returned back to the inn for the day.

Our final morning in Venice we were up early for breakfast and then we were off to the Venice Marco Polo Airport. Our plane took off shortly after lunch and we arrived back in London. We had supper in London before catching the train back to Ipswich and then on to Melton. We had an amazing time in Italy and can't wait for our next trip! Thanks for reading!

Till next time,
Rocky

Italy Part Two: Florence

Hello Again Everyone,

As I said in my last post I will continue telling you about our adventures in Italy. So, our last morning in Rome we left the hostel bright and early and caught our train to Florence. Upon arriving in Florence we headed straight to the Florence Youth Hostel. After dropping off our bags we found a little pizza restaurant and had lunch. While eating we had a perfect view across the square of replicas of many famous statues including Michelangelo's David. When we left the restaurant we walked through some of the neighbourhoods and went to the Museo del Bargello. At the museum we saw some of Florence's best artwork and statuary. After leaving the museum we went and saw the Florence Cathedral, also known as the Duomo. We explored the inside of the cathedral for a while before returning to the hostel to check in. We then returned to the cathedral area and climbed Giotto's Campanile. The campanile is the cathedral's bell tower, and after Kathleen and I climbed the 414 steps to the top we had a beautiful view of the city. Upon descending the bell tower Kathleen did some shopping and then we had some more pizza and pasta at another local restaurant. After finishing supper we headed back to the hostel and had a relaxing evening before going to bed.

The next morning we were up early to catch the bus for our Tuscany tour. Our first stop was Siena. The first thing we learned about the city was its bi-annual horse race named the Palio which takes place at the centre of the city at the Piazza del Campo. Our tour guide informed us that its such a fast race with such sharp corners that it isn't uncommon for riders to fall off their horses during the race. The second thing we saw in Siena was the Sienna Cathedral. With its many different coloured marble columns and its interior mosaics it was easily the most beautiful cathedral we've seen since we came to Europe. We then got back on the bus and headed towards a tour restaurant and winery for lunch. When we arrived at the winery we had a tour of the winery itself and were shown how the wine was made and how it was stored. We then had lunch which was the most delicious meal I had in Italy. It was made up of four different courses including pasta and toast with olive oil, salad, meat and cheese, and dessert. Each course came with a different kind of wine including 2 red wines, a white wine, and a dessert wine. The next destination, San Gimignano, was beautiful with its 14 towers and medieval wall. Kathleen and I walked around, ate gelato, and enjoyed the many views the town had to offer. Continuing down the road about an hour and a half we reached Pisa. We took a road train to the Piazza del Duomo, also known as the Field of Miracles, where we saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Firstly, after getting off the road train, we did what every tourist does and took the picture that makes you look like your holding up or pushing down the tower. We then climbed the 296 steps to the top of the tower and had an amazing view of Pisa. After descending the tower we took the road train back to the bus and then were on our way back to Florence. When we arrived back in Florence we had supper and then went back to the hostel. The next morning we caught our train to Venice, but I'll tell you about that in my last post about Italy.

Until then,
Rocky

Italy Part One: Rome

Buon giorno Everyone!

How's everyone doing? Last time I wrote we talked about Scotland. Now I'm going to tell you all about Kathleen and I's ten day trip to Italy. I'm going to divide the blog post up into three different posts because we saw a lot in Italy. So, I'll start with Rome. Kathleen and I started our trip the same as we start many of our other trips with the walk to Melton, the train into Ipswich, and then the train into London. When we got to London we took the Tube to London Gatwick Airport. From there we took a bus to our nearby hotel. By the time we got to our hotel it was very late at night and we ended up getting about 3-4 hours of sleep before waking up and heading back to the airport. When we got back to the airport we had breakfast and then caught our plane to Rome.

Flying into Italy was a fairly short flight and had great views of the Swiss Alps. When we landed in Rome we took the train into the city centre and walked to our hostel, The Mamma Mia B&B. After checking in we walked a few blocks to the ancient city centre of Rome. We first went to a nearby cafe and had our lunch. After lunch we went to the Roman Forum. At the forum we saw many ancient buildings and structures such as the Temple of Vesta, the Rostra, and the Temple of Caesar. After touring throughout the forum we went to the Colosseum. The Colosseum was amazing and not in to bad of shape for being 2000 years old. It was by far the most pictures I took of any one single thing while I was in Italy. After taking a tour of the outside and inside of the Colosseum we walked by Trajan's Forum and Trajan's Column. The column was made to commemorate Emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. After that we headed on to our last tourist stop of the day, The Vittoriano. The Vittoriano, or the Victor Emmanuel Monument, was built as a tribute to the first King of a united Italy. We walked throughout the monument and then headed for our first of many pizza restaurants that we would eat at while in Italy. After supper we headed back to the hostel and got ready for our next day.

The next day we got up and had breakfast at the hostel and then headed out for our first full day in Rome. Our first stop was the Domus Aurea, the remains of Emperor Nero's Golden House, which we soon found out, by the locked gates, was closed due to water damage. We then headed past the Colosseum to the Circus Maximus, the ancient chariot racing stadium. After viewing the Circus Maximus for a bit we continued on to the Palatine Hill. The Palatine Hill had many things to see such as the remains of the House of Augustus. After spending much time on the Palatine Hill in the pouring rain we proceeded to the Mamertine Prison. The Mamertine Prison was a prison for Rome's high profile prisoners such as Vercingetorix, the chieftain of the Gauls, and the first pope, St. Peter. After a very informative tour of the prison we had paninis for lunch and then visited the Capitoline Hill Museums. The museums are home to some of Rome's most ancient artifacts and statues. The most famous however is the statue of the Capitoline Wolf suckling Remus and Romulus. Upon leaving the museums, after seeing many great works of art, we headed to the Pantheon. We walked through the Pantheon, the home of the tomb of the painter Raphael, and then had what would be the first of many gelatos in the square out front. After finishing our gelatos we walked through the neighbourhoods and shops towards the Spanish Steps. We relaxed on the steps for a while and then went to our last stop of the day, the Trevi Fountain. We admired the fountain for a bit and then I made one of the best decisions I've ever made. I reached into my pocket, pulled out an engagement ring, got down on one knee, and then asked Kathleen to marry me. She said yes and it was the best moment of my life. After sitting for a while at the fountain, and taking many pictures of the ring, and taking in the moment we continued on to have supper which ended up being pizza and pasta. When we were done supper we went back to the hostel.

The third day of our trip we continued our adventures by having a full day at  the Vatican City. On our way there we passed by the Piazza Navona, the square with the Fountain of Neptune and also the Fountain of the Four Rivers. We also passed the Castel Sant'Angelo but it was closed so we decided to go the next day. When we got to the Vatican City, the world's smallest country, we first visited St. Peter's Basilica. After a while of touring the inside and outside grounds we went for lunch at a pizza place. After a delicious pizza lunch we went to the Vatican Museums including the Sistine Chapel. Just hearing about all these places all your life and then experiencing it in person was absolutely amazing. On concluding our walk of the museums we had gelato and then headed back in the direction of our hostel. On the way back we walked through a few shops, Kathleen looked for shoes in her size while I looked at different souvenirs. We then went for supper and had, you guessed it, pizza and pasta (you know I don't think I could ever get tired of Roman style pizza and pasta). We then went back to hostel and spent the remainder of the day relaxing.

Our last full day in Rome we went and saw everything else we wanted to see that we didn't get to see the first three days. We started off the day at the Castel Sant'Angelo because it was closed the previous day. The Castel Sant'Angelo was first created as Emperor Hadrian's Mausoleum and used later by the popes as a fortress and castle. It was awesome to see the resting place of Emperor Hadrian, his family, and other emperors. After a thorough tour of the castle we walked along the Tiber and past the Mausoleum of Augustus which was not open to tourists, but was amazing to see the tomb of so many emperors and their families from the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Continuing on we had lunch at a pizza restaurant in front of the Pantheon. We then walked past the Trevi Fountain to our next destination, the Crypt of the Capuchin Monks. The crypt is made up of six different rooms and each room has different parts of the skeleton displayed in it. Frommer's once described it as "one of the most horrifying images in all of Christendom." The only words that Kathleen and I could come up with when we left the crypt was "Well that was weird." Anyway, we continued on our way and stopped at Giolitti, and had some more gelato and ate it in front of the Pantheon. Since we were there we revisited the Pantheon and took some more pictures. Afterwards we went for supper where I had some of the best carbonara pasta I think I've ever had. We then went back to the hostel and went to bed early so we could get up early the next morning.


The next morning we caught a 7am bus tour to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. Our tour drove through many places on the way including Naples. Our tour guide described every region and town that we went through in great detail. When we reached Pompeii we had a Pompeiian guide and he told us about how Mount Vesuvius had erupted back in 79 AD burying Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum under 4-6 meters of ash and pumice. It was only in 1749 that the town was rediscovered being relatively well preserved. After a very informative tour we drove to a nearby coastal town for lunch where Kathleen and I took a walk in the Mediterranean Sea. We then walked back to the bus and continued our way back up the Amalfi Coast. On our way we stopped at another small town, home of a Bill Gates owned hotel, known for it's lemons and picked up some lemon drop candies. We then proceeded on and were shown different vacation residences of celebrities Sylvester Stallone and also Denzel Washington. We then carried on up the coast and arrived back in Rome where Kathleen and I had a late supper and then went back to the hostel. The next morning we caught our train to Florence, but I'll tell you all about that in my next post. I had one of the best times of my life in Rome and I truly hope I can go back some day.

Till my next post,
Rocky