Italy
Buongiorno travelers - now andiamo to our next stops in the beautiful country of Italy!
Sunday September 11th - We started today packing up in Austria to head to Italy, VENICE OR BUST! A very scenic drive and getting to see the Dolomites made our bus ride fly by. We appreciated the time Dimitri took on the bus to prepare us for the upcoming stops. We would practice helpful phrases, learn about local food and wine and get a brief history lesson on the area. We stopped for our first Italian meal off the beaten path in a very quaint village - equipped with frescos, kids playing soccer and gelato.
Thanks for the introduction to Italy, Via Trento!
Venice
Our bus parked and we boarded our vaporetto to take us to the island of Venice - we could not have asked for a more beautiful day!
After checking into our hotel, we headed out for an orientation walk and a gondola ride! Our tour group generously let us honeymooners have a gondola to ourselves with the added bonus of a guitar player and singer to serenade us - WHAT A MEMORY!
One of the best tips we were given about Venice was to feel comfortable getting lost. It is an island so you really can't get THAT lost - wander the city and enjoy! The second tip is to get up super early if you want to see the iconic sights without all the tourists. This tip resulted in some amazing pictures.
Monday September 12th - We woke up early for tourist free photos. We then met the group for a walking tour, including the history of Carnival, mask making and the sights around the Rialto market. For time on our own we decided to tour Saint Mark's Basilica, tried some new food (hello Cuttlefish Ink Pasta), explored the Doge's Palace and ended our day in Saint Mark's Square listening to the dueling orchestras while enjoying a cocktail in the moonlight - MOLTO BENE!
Florence
Tuesday September 13th - Time to pack up and on to our next stop - Florence! We stopped at the fanciest gas station for lunch (who knew Europe had fancy gas stations with fresh cooked food and wine?!), had welcome drinks hosted by our hotel, then our orientation walk of the city, a tour of the Accademia and a group dinner where the family that owned the restaurant turned a meal into a show!
The orientation walks when we first arrived at our new locations were SO helpful and definitely improved our free time when we were out exploring on our own.
Wednesday September 14th - With our free morning we decided to climb Giotto's Bell Tower (Campanile) for the spectacular 360 degrees of beautiful views - stunning! We were glad we climbed the tower first thing in the morning before the heat of the day set in and before the long lines appeared. Then we headed to the Baptistery of Saint John and the Florence Cathedral before meeting back up with the tour group to visit the Ufizzi Gallery and see some real masterpieces. Then we visited the oldest pharmacy in Florence, which is now a purfumeria with a small pharmacy museum. We finished our evening with a date night.
Some of our favorites from the Ufizzi Gallery
Rome
Thursday September 15th - Let's head to ROME! After we checked into our hotel and grabbed a quick lunch, we met up with the group to tour the Vatican. We used our Rick Steves' audioguide to explore the museum and were able to see all the highlights including the Sistine Chapel (no pictures allowed - bummer). We made it back to our hotel to meet up for dinner and learn how to use public transportation on our way. After another delicious meal, the group had an evening walking tour back to our hotel. Seeing the city by moonlight added such a romantic glow to these spots that have been touched by history - Mamma Mia!
I was very surprised by Vatican City, the world's smallest country. I had always pictured it as a religious center and home of the Sistine Chapel, but it was so much more. I was most intrigued by the amount of art on display in the Vatican Museum - from wonders of the ancient world, to statues, tapestries, frescoes, painted ceilings (more than just the Sistine Chapel) and even a hall of animals!
After we exited the Map Gallery, our Rick Steves' audioguide told us to turn left instead of straight to the Sistine Chapel, and we are so glad we listened or we would have missed the Raphael Rooms - the amount of detail here is overwhelming!
Friday September 16 - We had an early start to the day so we could get a jump on seeing St. Peter's Basilica with as few tourists as possible, something we would DEFINITELY recommend! It just so happened there was a public transportation strike scheduled for today so thankfully our wonderful guide Dimitri was on top of it and was able to get us a personal bus so we didn't miss anything and Saint Peter's was basically empty, what a sight! After a quick security check to get in, we had the place to ourselves. Equipped with our Rick Steves' audioguide of the basilica, we were off. We then we took our personal bus to the Colosseum and met our local guide. She took us around the Colosseum, the Forum and the Pantheon. Our local guides have been wonderful! They are so passionate about their cities and it comes across as they take us on a virtual journey back in history. It adds another connection to the area that we would not have had otherwise - such a treat! The rest of the day was ours to explore. We had a quick pizza lunch then we were off to the Spanish Steps. From here we walked back to our hotel (it was quite the hike but public transportation was still down and waiting for an Uber showed a longer wait time than walking - so off we went). It ended up being a fun way to see the city as we had never planned, but I was thankful we packed comfortable shoes. We took a quick stop at the hotel to freshen up then it was off to the Borghese Gallery and Gardens.
A basically empty St. Peter's Square
Exploring the Roman Forum
Inside the Pantheon
Exploring the Borghese Gallery and Gardens
Orvieto
Saturday September 17th Part I - We started our morning by packing up and getting ready to head to the beach at Cinque Terre. We planned to stop at Orvieto, the charming hilltop town, for a few hours to grab lunch and explore. We took the funicular (or more commonly known as a tram) up the hill to get to Orvieto and were given a quick orientation and were then set free to do as we please. Steve and I started at the cathedral where you are immediately overwhelmed with the detail of the facade. We toured the cathedral on a special day since it was being set up for a wedding later that afternoon. The interior was just as impressive with the Chapel of San Brizio and the frescoes that adorn the walls. We continued on our way stopping to grab some gelato to cool off. We walked through the local market then grabbed lunch to eat in the park just outside the town.
Cinque Terre - Monterosso al Mare
Saturday September 17th Part II - We made it to our Mediterranean getaway just in time for a gorgeous sunset - just stop and breathe in that salty sea air and feel all your cares just drift away. We checked into our hotel, which offered a laundry service (YES!), and got ready for dinner. We chose the local seafood dish and it was wonderful! Then we took an evening stroll back to our hotel, stopping to enjoy some local musicians playing by the water.
Sunday September 18th - There is nothing like waking up at a beach to make you feel like you are on vacation. Today was a completely unscheduled free day for us to do anything we please. Steve and I decided to pay for the full day ferry to go and check out the little villages that make up the Cinque Terre. A train was also available but we could not wait to be out on the water on such a gorgeous day. The five villages that make up the Cinque Terre are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The ferry does not go to Corniglia because there is no docking point for this village, but the train does go here. We paid for our passes and got the ferry schedule and planned to start out at the farthest village and work our way back. We decided to do a little exploring, souvenir shopping and grab a cocktail at each stop. Once the ferry was done running for the day, we headed back to our hotel to change into our bathing suits and play Rummikub at the beach. It was a fun and relaxing way to wait for our dinner reservation, another ideal day spent with my favorite person!