The journey home

Our flight was Thursday morning. The hotel was very convenient to the airport, and made our morning much less rushed than if we would have stayed in the city. The shuttle driver also knew about the special American only International terminal, which from conversations we overheard from fellow travelers, was a source of confusion for many. We spent part of our time before the flight in the lounge, and rest shopping to spend the few Euros we had left. Between the easy ride over and the good luck with finding the right terminal and getting through security, we thought the bad luck from the day before was behind us. However, we soon got to experience the side effects of the Delta/Northwest merger as the boarding process started to spin out of control. It was apparent there was a lot of confusion amongst the crew. However, the seats were much nicer in the Northwest Airlines Airbus than we had in the Delta Boeing coming over. Although the seats were far superior in the Northwest plane, the safety demonstration video for Delta is the clear winner. Not only does the Delta video have a hotter actress, they don't subject you to 20 minutes of gay Air-robics before letting you start watching movies. The flight back was much longer (nearly 2 hours) than the flight over. The incompetence continued once we got here, as immigration was quick, but we waited over an hour for our bags before we could go through customs. Customs amounted to handing over the form we had filled out as we continued walking, so we could have brought whatever the heck we wanted back with us, so long as we got past the dogs in the baggage handling area. Oh well - lesson learned for next time.

Despite our sorrow for leaving Italia, nothing can beat seeing the look on Dominic's face when we met him at the airport. :)

Florence Days 3 and 4

Tuesday we had hired a tour guide for a couple of hours in the afternoon, but had the morning to continue exploring the city. After sleeping in and enjoying a leisurely breakfast, we headed out to challenge the street vendors. We headed directly to San Lorenza - where there are tons of open air booths and the prices are negotiable. After being there all of 10 minutes, we had a good sense of what goods there were to purchase. Leather was everywhere - belts, gloves, purses and coats. We got sucked in by a street vendor that actually had a full blown store right through the back of the tent. Their specialty was leather coats, and the sales guy sure knew his stuff - he had a coat in the right size on Rachel before she knew what was happening. Despite the numerous styles and sizes and colors, the first one turned out to be the best one. Regardless of how hard Erik tried to play hard to get, Rachel refused to walk out of the store as a negotiating tactic. In fact, declaring in front of the sales person that she was not leaving without this coat. But,, this was after some price negotiating, so it wasn't all lost. It wasn't long before Erik was trying on a fine Guido coat of his own while Rachel was checking out. We were both very pleased with our purchases, but were pretty much shopped out after that, much to the dismay of all the other street vendors who could spot us a mile away. We also explored the nearby central food market, which is also used by the locals for all the best meats, cheeses, wines and oils everyone could ever want. We cursed the restrictions on bringing food back to the US, and didn't spend much time looking at things we couldn't buy. It was lunch time by then, and our friend Heather had recommended a nearby Pizzaria with Neapolitan owners - supposedly the best pizza in town. It was definitely good - comparable to what we had in Sorrento. After a quick stop at the hotel to talk to Dominic, we headed out with our tour guide, Matalina.

Our plan for the couple of hours we had her was to do a little walking tour, and go through the Accademia to look at The David. It had started raining, which put a little damper on the walking tour, so we ended up going into Santa Croce Cathederal, which is where several famous people, including Galileo and Michelangelo, are buried. We were very thankful for Matalina's suggest to visit there, since it was not high on our list of destinations while we were in town. However, it turned out to be very beautiful and very important to the local history. Next stop was the Accademia. Again we enjoyed Matalina's insights, as well as bypassing long lines by using her privilege as a guide. She showed us things about The David we would not have otherwise noticed. She also explained about some of the other statues in the museum, although The David was the focus of our time there. The statue is much more impressive in person than we had imagined. We learned about Michelangelo's brillance as the statue was carved from a single block of marble, without any castings to practice before he started carving. A block of marble that was said to have waited 100 years for Michelangelo to come along. We also were pleasantly surprised that Matalina was able to purchase us tickets to go to the Uffizi the next morning, which we had already written off because we were unsuccessful in getting tickets in advance, and weren't sure we had the time to go. We had one more stop for the day - the Duomo Museum. Again, this museum wasn't high on our list, but was definitely worth going. One of Michelangelo's Pietas was here, as well as the original "Gates of Paradise" from the Baptistery (made of gold) and a haunting wood carving of Mary Magdalene by Donatello.

We got back to the hotel and had them make us dinner reservations at Il Santo Bevitore, another place recommended by our friend Heather. This was definitely different than the other restaurants we had eaten at, and although we loved the atmosphere, there were a limited selection of dishes that appealed to us. But, in the end, what we did eat was really good, from the appetizer, to the pasta, to the wine, to the dessert.

Wednesday was supposed to be a half day in Florence, and the rest of the day traveling back to Rome. We had planned to meet Matalina at 10am for our visit to the Uffizi. However, we ran into a few obstacles that morning. Although we had no trouble getting a cash advance in Sorrento, we couldn't find a bank in Florence that was willing to. Poor Erik ran all over the bleepin city trying to get cash, as we had to pay Matalina in cash, and needed some money for taxis. He finally found a bank machine that worked, and we were on our way. Again Matalina's privilege saved us lots of time - we had only a short line to navigate to get into the Uffizi. A quick trip up a crowded elevator saved us a long climb with the rest of the tourists. She also knew where the important works of art were in the museum, so it was not nearly as overwhelming as it would have been if we went without her. This is where her art history education really began to shine. We saw a chronological evolution of Italian art styles, and learned that they really don't know much about the early works of art since there is little documentation. We were particularly impressed with the few paintings by da Vinci. The detail in these lesser known paintings was incredible. Our time with Matalina was over before we knew it. Our initial plan was to grab the 1:30pm train, but given the crazy morning, we decided to take a leisurely lunch at Natalinos - we just couldn't leave the city without eating there one more time!! We ordered the same bottle of wine we had last time, since it was so good. We asked if any of the local stores would carry this wine, and learned that they had a small store across the street where they sold it. We went there hoping to buy several bottles to ship home, but they didn't ship, and only had 2 bottles left. Since we're allowed 2 liters of alcohol through customs, we bought the 2 bottles to put in our luggage, in addition to the one in our bellies.:) We also couldn't leave without eating gelato one more time. YUM! At this point, we were looking at the 3:30 train, but learned when we arrived at the train station that it was cancelled, so we took the 3:50pm train. Thankfully it was only 1 1/2 hours to Rome, although the train station was a good 30 minutes from our hotel - which was near the airport. After another crazy taxi ride, we arrived at the hotel, which being a Marriott began our assimilation back to American culture. After the long journey behind us and ahead of us, we could only muster energy to go to the hotel restaurant which could only be described as a disappointment after a week and a half of excellent food.

Florence Day 1 and 2

Sunday morning we got up, checked out, and headed for the local train. Most of the day was spend traveling - just over an hour to get to Naples, then the high speed train for over 3 hours to get to Florence. We had about 30 minutes between trains, and I really needed to go to the bathroom. There was, of course, a long line for the women, and no line for the men. Not only was there a long line, but from what I could gather from folks in front of me, and the sign on the wall, it was going to cost me to use the bathroom. The line was moving so slow, that after 10 minutes or so, I gave up, and watched our bags while Erik went to the bathroom. He was done in a minute, and didn't have to pay, so perhaps the sexes are not yet equal in Naples! We grabbed some pizza to take on the train, and I used the free bathroom in first class.

The further north the train went, the worse the weather got. First, just cloudy, but just before Florence, we hit rain. We decided to take a taxi rather than dragging our bags through the rain (only) 960 yards to the hotel. Once we arrived at the hotel, we had to haul our bags, which are getting heavier as we add souvenirs, up 26 steps to the hotel lobby. We dropped off our bags, and decided that despite the bad weather, we should do some sightseeing, since our time in Florence is short. We headed out to check out the Ufuzzi, hoping we would get lucky with short lines, but they were long as expected. Next stop was the Ponte Vecchio, where we window shopped the gorgeous but very expensive jewelry. We made our way across the river and ended up at the Pitti Palace. But not before getting gelato from a corner store with beautifully decorated mounds of gelato. It was late in the afternoon by then, so we only had time to see one of the museums in the Pitti Palace - the Palantine Gallery. The gallery featured many works by Pietro Benevenuti, but the real highlight was the architecture of the palace itself, especially the frescos on the ceilings and the ornate carvings. We then made our way back to the hotel, and asked for a dinner recommendation. Thomas, one of the hotel owners, suggested Restaurant Natalinos. He said it was only a 10 minute walk, but it seemed like we walked forever to get there. However, the walk was totally worth it. The food was the best we've had in Italy. And, the wine was as well. Their house special pasta is pear stuffed pasta in a gorgonzola sauce. Sounds crazy, but it was amazing!! We spent several hours eating and relaxing, and had a second course of chicken and peppers, capped off by a slice of chocolate cake which was closer to fudge in consistency than cake. The walk back to the hotel seemed shorter - somehow a full belly and a bottle of wine will do that, I guess.

Monday was a day trip to Tuscany. There were 4 other people from our hotel and us in a small van. We choose this day trip because it combined seeing some of the small towns in the area with visiting a winery and doing a wine tasting. The driver gave us an overview of the day when we got in the van, but little did we know that was the only speaking he had planned to do for the day. It was a sharp change from the constant narration we received from Carmello during our tours in Sorrento. Not for the better. Our first stop was a winery in Chianti country called Casa Sola. We got the grand tour of the fields and their wine and olive oil making process. We got lucky with the weather - although the ground was still quite soggy, it was sunny and beautiful. We learned that most of the process is still done by hand, and also learned the difference between hot pressed and cold pressed olive oil (yes, you can taste the difference). Of course, the best part was getting to taste the wines. After learning about the different aging processes for the different wines, we got to experience first hand the benefits of the additional time spent on the more expensive wines. Although they fed us meats and cheeses with the tasting, it did little to blunt the good buzz we had walking out of there. We're looking forward to receiving our case of chianti, uh I mean "olive oil" back here in the US.

The next stop on the tour was San Gimignano, a town on top of a hill entirely surrounded by a wall. It is quite impressive to see from afar, but is a cute little town once you get inside the walls. We were given about 1 1/2 hours to explore the town, but this included eating lunch, so to save time, we grabbed a slice of pizza (not nearly so good this far north - those Southern Italians have cornered the market on pizza), and sat on the steps of a well in the center of town to eat. We used the rest of our time to shop and check out the amazing views. We missed our chance to climb to the top of the tower in the middle of town, as they had it closed temporarily for a shift change. Oh darn. We enjoyed some gelato from the shop that was the World Champion in 2006-07, and it was quite yummy. Despite our drivers lack of commentary, he certainly knew how to drive us into restricted areas so we had little walking to do to enjoy the towns, which we appreciated as we passed tourist after tourist hiking up the hill from the parking lots outside the walls.

Next was a quick stop at another small town - Monteriggioni - which was even smaller village, surrounded by walls. It consisted of one church and a hand full of shops. We were able to pay to climb to the top of the wall, and could walk around part of the wall on a metal walkway they had constructed. Our final stop was Siena. Again, for a town where you're not allowed to drive, our driver found a way to take us all the way into the city's main square - Il Campo. We had more time to spend here, so started by hiking up to the duomo. It was late in the day by then, and many of the sites were nearing closing time. We opted not to go in, but instead used our time to walk around and see as much of the city as we could. We did some more shopping, and some more eating. The driver was scheduled to pick us up at 6:30 to head back to Florence. After relaxing and enjoying the weather in different places throughout the city, and exploring the many streets and back alley shops, we were more than ready for the trip back to Florence. We decided to do dinner on our own - without a recommendation, but paid for it with just so-so food at Trattoria Marione's. This restaurant was actually recommended to us as a great lunch spot for their soup, but I guess in comparison to the tour de force from the night before, anything would have seemed just so-so. I blame that on choosing the house wine instead of something a little more tasty.

The Amalfi Coast

Somehow the days have gotten away from me, and it has been several days since the last post. I will therefore take the last few days in sections - first talking about our last day in the Sorrento area. As I mentioned before, we had hired Carmello for 2 days - the first was our trip to Pertosa, and the second was spending Saturday driving the Amalfi Coast. Sorrento is in the Bay of Naples, whereas the Amalfi Coast is in the Bay of Amalfi. This part of the country was more beautiful than Sorrento. You probably have heard about the winding and very narrow roads, and the towns that are built almost vertically. However, seeing it is even more impressive. In between the towns were little fisherman's villages that are tucked in the nook of the cliff with a small beach area, and no way to reach the town other than by water. It makes you imagine a very different lifestyle than what we are accustomed to.
We were so glad to have someone else driving so that we could enjoy the view. The road has more than 700 twists and turns from just south of Sorrento to Amalfi. We stopped several times along the way to take pictures, and again were blessed with perfect weather. This was actually the warmest day we have had yet - it was in the mid 60's. For the first time, I didn't need to wear a jacket! Carmello gave us lots of history and information as we drove along the road. The first town we stopped in was Positano. This is supposedly a very romantic city, but it didn't seem that different from the other towns - all of which are romantic in some way. Carmello told us that there is nothing that is made in Positano - all the items are brought in from other towns for the tourists. However, every town has it's own supply of fresh fruits and vegetables - there were gardens, olive and lemon trees everywhere we went. Although the towns were very small, you could imagine families walking hundreds of steps to get to the local market, and in fact we saw many locals carring bags of groceries and walking up the steep hills to get to their house.
Our next stop was to have lunch in Ravello. This town is up a very steep and even more narrow road - basically above Amalfi. Ravello is famous for the classical music concerts that occur from April to October. Also, Ravello is famous because Jackie and Caroline Kennedy stayed there for 3 weeks one summer when Caroline was little. The house they stayed in was across the street from the restaurant where we ate lunch, and is actually abandoned right now, so if you're looking for some real estate in the area, we've got the spot for you.:)
The restaurant is right on the edge of a cliff, and provided beautiful views while we ate. We also had our first taste of lemoncello, which was very good, but very strong, and only accentuated our wine buzz.
The next stop was in Amalfi, where we spent some time walking around. As Carmello had predicted, most of the tourists had cleared out by the time we got back from lunch. We walked on the beach, dipped our feet in the very cold Mediterranean, and shopped. We also learned that this is where the compass originated. On the way to and from Amalfi, we got a glimpse of the 1,000 steps that were used in Medieval times to get from Amalfi to Ravello. It was interesting to hear about the long history of the region, and to see the castles and monestaries that have been there for centuries.
The drive back to Sorrento was less beautiful, because the light was fading, and the weather was taking a turn for the worse. In fact, we learned that it had been so windy in Sorrento that they had to stop running the boat to Capri, and the closer we got to Sorrento, the worse the weather got. But that didn't stop us from having Carmello drop us off at Davida Gelato for the best gelato in Sorrento. We had nearly 50 flavors to choose from, and with the bad weather, the place was almost empty. We watched as all the street venders chasing their things down the street from the wind. That night we stayed in and ordered room service. A crime to miss out on the wonderful local food, but after a day of traveling, and some bad weather, we couldn't muster up the desire to go back out.

Sorrento Shopping and Capri

Given the long day we had on Wednesday, Thursday started by sleeping in! We went and ate our free continental breakfast, and finally ventured out in the late morning. Even though this is a rather small town, there are a ton of alleys off the main streets, which makes for lots of areas to explore, and lots of shopping to do! We started out by walking up near the train station to a supermarket, which contains not only food and toiletries, but also toys and clothes. Carmello (our driver from Wednesday) told us prices were cheaper here, so if they had something we wanted, this was the place to buy it. For now, we just looked, and continued on down the street. Because we got a late start, we ended up not having much time to shop before the stores started closing for the afternoon siesta. Most stores are closed from about 1pm until about 3:30pm, then open again until 8 or so. The things to buy here in Sorrento are anything lemon, and boxes and decorations that are made of inlaid wood. We had a great find in a little store in one of the alleys where the gentleman and his father make their own wood products. The store was tiny, as half of it was taken with the equipment to do the work. We found a beautiful wall hanging that we loved, so it should be on it's way to America right now.

By then, most of the stores had closed, so we stopped for lunch, and enjoyed a siesta with the rest of the town. I swear you can't get bad food over here. But, I'm ruined. Their pizza is so good, I can't imagine eating America's version of pizza for a long time. Once the stores opened again, we continued shopping as we headed back in the direction of the hotel. Erik has been fighting a chest cold since the beginning of our trip, but is getting worse not better, so we had the hotel call in a doctor. She said he doesn't have bronchitis yet, but is headed in that direction. So, he is now on antibiotics, which will hopefully help, as both of us are tired of him not feeling well and his hacking cough! We tried a place for dinner that was recommended both by the Rick Steves book and by Carmello - a pizza joint up near the train station. Their pizza was really good, and the atmosphere was casual. We stopped next door for some gelato afterwards, but much to my dismay, their version of pistachio here (which is a darker green than what we had in Rome) was not so good. Thankfully the other flavors seem to measure up. Not sure what's different about pistachio here versus in Rome, but I will stick to other flavors while I'm here.

Friday we had planned to spend the day in Capri, weather permitting. The weather was gorgeous, but Erik was still not feeling well, so we got a late start to the day. We didn't leave enough time to catch the 11:45 boat, so ate lunch at the dock and took the 1:30 boat. As soon as we arrived in Capri, we inquired about boats to the famous Blue Grotto, but they were not running because of the weather. Not sure what weather they were referring to - it was gorgeous - sunny with less wind than any other day we've been here. We were offered the option of hiring a boat for $100 to take us, but we didn't want to see it that bad. So, we took the funicular up to

the town center to look around. Although the books warned about the commercialism, I think Erik and I were still quite surprised. There wasn't much to the town other than fancy hotels and shops. They even have their own version of Rodeo Drive with a street of stores such as Gucchi, Versache, Louis Vitton, Dolce & Gabana, etc. Basically, it seems like Capri is where the rich go to vacation. Not many historical things to see, but of course still beautiful views. To try and get a different view of the city, Erik wanted to walk back to the marina. It started by us having to walk on an already narrow roadway and try not to get hit by the buses, cars, and scooters that were navigating the twists and turns. But, thankfully, not too far down the road there was a pedestrian walkway that wasn't well marked, but Erik assured me would take us to the marina. Of course, he was right, though we really weren't sure until we had walked for a bit and realized we were indeed headed towards the marina. It was a nice change of pace as we walked on the paved path between houses while winding our way down the mountain. But, it was well over a 30 minute walk, versus a 5 minute ride on the funicular. We walked quickly at the end and were able to catch the very crowded 4:25 boat back to Sorrento. There was only one more boat after that, so I can only imagine how crowded that would have been. Thirty minutes later, we're at the dock in Sorrento again, and debating whether to walk the huge set of stairs to get back up to our hotel, or take the bus. In the end, we walked. Now we're about to head out to dinner, and if the internet is working, get on Web cam with Dominic, who we miss a ton.

Tomorrow Carmello will drive us to Positano, Ravello and Amalfi for a full day tour. Hopefully the driving will keep him distracted enough that he won't talk non stop like he did before, but I imagine we'll know more than we had ever wanted to about the area by the end of the day.

Sorrento

Well, again I have two days worth of travel to write about. And, as an added challenge, the internet connection here in Sorrento is sketchy at best, so who knows how long I have before the internet goes out again.

We begin with Tuesday, March 24. This was a travel day, but we spent the morning running a couple of errands in Rome. I had to get some warmer clothes (60 degrees somehow feels much colder over here - the wind doesn't help), and Erik had to get some medicine for his cough. Couldn't tell you what the pharmacist gave him, but it seems to be helping. We spent all afternoon on the train. First, a fast train from Rome to Naples, which only took 1 hour 20 minutes. Then, we had to wait for the "local train" that runs from Naples to Sorrento (and other towns along the coast). The local train is really a subway. Complete with pick pockets and cars covered in grafetti. On top of that, we happened to be there just before rush hour, so the cars were crowded, and we had to stand for the 70 minute trip, where the train stopped about 20 times in all the little towns in between. But, we made it to Sorrento, and walked about 10 minutes downhill (getting back to the train is going to suck!) to get to our hotel. The hotel is beautiful - we have a balcony overlooking the water, although it is too chilly to really use it. We walked about 10 minutes into the town square for dinner, and happened to pick a wonderful restaurant. The prices are much more reasonable here - about 50% cheaper for a dinner with wine than we were paying in Rome. This is definitley a tourist destination, as everyone else in the restaurant were tourists, and most spoke English. The town square is cute, and has a TON of cute stores that I can't wait to shop.

Wednesday was our big trip to Pertosa. We had planned to stay in Salerno Tuesday night, as it is much closer to Pertosa, but found a driver and guide in Sorrento that was willing to make the trip with us, and offered to contact the town hall to see if they could locate any documents for Erik's family, so we decided to take him up on that offer. We actually have to thank Rick Steve's for finding the driver for us - he specifically mentioned in his book on Italy that this gentleman specializes in helping Italian Americans find long lost relatives and information about their ancestors. So, this morning at 8am we met Carmello, a 70ish gentleman who speaks creative English. I think I understood about 70% of what he was saying, but perhaps less, because somehow he misunderstood us when we said our son's name is Dominic, and he is now calling Erik Dominico. Carmello is also taking us on a tour of the Amalfi Coast on Saturday, so Erik will get to be Dominico at least one more time.

Carmello loves history and information, and said he spends his off time in the library reading about the area, and the famous people that have either lived or visited here. Of course, he has had some famous people in his car (Woody Allen, Sophia Lauren), but he loves to find people from other countries that have lived here, or have family from the area. So, a trip that should have taken about 2 1/2 hours took well over 3 as we stopped several times along the way to take pictures and hear more trivia.

Granted, the views were beautiful, but our main goal was to get to Pertosa. We arrived in town around 11:30 and made our way to the Town Hall. The area is beautiful - lots of little towns set down in the valley of several mountains. Since Carmello's son had called ahead, they had 2 books for us to see - the original town register which contained information on the birth of both Erik's great grandfather and great great grandfather. After some challenging communications, we were also able to see entries about the great grandfather's two sisters. It was amazing to see these books from the late 1800's, and although we were not allowed to touch or photograph them, they did give us pieces of paper that contain the information from the books. We were also able to see the 3 streets where various family members lived, but none of the original buildings are left. We did get to see the church, which has been there for 1,000 years. It's mind boggling. Of course, the front has been rebuilt since then, but the brass bells are original to the church. This of course would have been the church where Erik's family would have been baptized, and married.

We walked around the town for a bit, then headed to the Grotto di Pertosa. We thought we'd be able to just walk into the Grotto, because Erik's father said that his grandfather would tell them stories about people from town meeting there on Sunday afternoon for a picnic. But, when we got there, we found that it is now something you have to pay to see, and there are tours only at scheduled times. According to the literature we picked up, this change happened in the 1930's when they turned it into a tourist destination. We didn't time it right to go for a tour, but did spend some time eating lunch at the cafe, and talking to the English speaking owner about the area. He had lots of interesting information, including telling us that a big battle during World War II took place right in this area. His grandfather told him about how the Germans hid out in the Grotto, and the Americans were up on the hills above. He also pointed out a road that is more than 4,000 years old which the Romans, Greeks, Germans and Americans have marched on.
During the drive home, Carmello pointed out the castles perched on the hill tops of most towns we drove by. These were occupied by the Kings or rulers of the towns back when these were all separate communities. It's quite odd to see so many castles all by themselves on the hill top, with the town below.

Arrivederci for now.

Roma

We have spent two wonderful, but exhausting days in Rome. Since I didn't get to write on Sunday, I'll break it down by day.

As soon as we arrived on Sunday, we dropped our bags off at the hotel, and headed out to explore the city. Our first stop was to be the Trevi Fountain. We soon found out that the Rome Marathon was taking place, which meant streets were closed for the runners, and there were huge crowds. Of course, the race was headed right by all the famous sights - including the ones we had planned to see. It didn't deter us, but made things a little more challenging. Although we had been offered breakfast on the plane, that was hours before, so we tried to find a place to get a pastry and coffee to go. People in Rome don't do "to go" very well. In fact, as we've learned, meals are to be enjoyed, and are often rather long. So, my "to go" coffee was a small plastic cup (hot!) that makes a Starbucks Tall coffee look huge. We continued to the Trevi, which was amazing. Both Erik and I tosssed a coin over our shoulder to ensure a return trip to Rome.

The weather was gorgeous - although a bit windy. We spent an hour or so people watching and enjoying the weather, then moved on to the Spanish Steps. This proved challenging, as we had to cross the marathon to get to the steps. There were literally thousands of runners, with very few breaks where you could cross the street. But, eventually we made it to the other side. We ventured to the top of the steps, and enjoyed the view of the city. We also go to see the illegal street vendors grab their stuff and run from the police. Who knew you could move that fast with a big sheet full of purses and sunglasses on your back? Policia Policia! After a late lunch at a sidewalk cafe down the street from our hotel, we headed back for a nap while we adjusted to the time change.

Monday morning we had arranged to meet a tour guide for the morning. She gave us a tour of the Colesseum, Forum, and Pantheon. This was the best money we've spent so far. She was fantastic - an art history buff who is born and raised in Rome. The only way to truly appreciate the innovative engineering feats of the Romans is to see it. We were again blessed with beautiful weather, and the only challenge we enountered today was navigating the large groups of school children from across the world that are here on vacation (spring break?). Here's a bit of what we learned today. Ever heard the phrase "don't rest on your laurels"? We now know where that comes from. The life of a gladiator was very hard. Once they entered into that life, it was nearly impossible to leave. Because of this, gladiators entered each battle thinking it may be their last. When the gladiators won a battle, they were given many things, including coins that spectators had thrown into the arena, which was then used to buy food and drink to celebrate that night. They were also given a crown of leaves - laurel leaves (also known as Bay leaves). Since the gladiators knew that they were going to be in the arena fighting again the next day, they knew they could not "rest on their laurels", for their life may end the next day.

In the afternoon, we journeyed to the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. All were amazing, but I think we were most impressed by St. Peter's. The size is so vast that we didn't even make it to every nook and cranny before we were too tired to go on. Erik took this amazing picture of the sun streaming through a window.

We've had a long day, so it's time to say Ciao, as tomorrow we travel south to Sorrento for the next phase of our journey.