We finished our Italian adventure in Rome. We were tired when we arrived in Rome and exhausted as we left Rome, but we completed our mission: to leave no sight unseen and no dome unclimbed.

Our first day in Rome, we traveled to Vatican City (its own independent country). We were lucky enough to be in town on the last Sunday of the month because the Vatican Museum was free…but we had to wait in line for an hour just to pass through security! The Vatican Museum houses Greek and Roman sculptures dating back thousands of years as well as the famous Sistine Chapel. After lunch, we visited St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world. To climb its dome was 323 steps only because we paid two extra Euro to take an elevator instead of climb the first 231 steps.

We took our first night walk along Via del Corso and through the historic district. The ancient ruins glowed in the moonlight as we viewed history from long ago.

Our last day in Rome we spent seeing the ancient ruins. We visited the Colosseum, toured the Roman Forum, and visited the Pantheon. We were struck by how OLD everything was. Our last evening we dined in Campo de’ Fiori, visited Trevi Fountain, and walked to the Spanish Steps. It was amazing and romantic to enjoy Italy with one another. We loved learning, seeing, and experiencing another country on our greatest adventure yet.

We headed to Rome next but spent one day traveling the three hours by train to Naples and on to the ancient city of Pompeii.

A brief history lesson…Pompeii was a Roman city of about 20,000 people. It is so important because it was not a wealthy community but its citizens were average, middle class people. The city was founded in 600 BC and buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was rediscovered in the 1600s and excavations began in 1748. Similar to all the cities we visited, they have excavated the ruins of the forum (main square), basilica, and the main streets. One of the most interesting things we saw were plaster casts of some of the victims. Archeologists noticed empty spaces beneath the rubble where bodies had decomposed. They filled these spaces with plaster to show the forms of a few of the people who lived in Pompeii.

We spent the evening on our way back to Rome in Naples. Naples is the birthplace of pizza, so we enjoyed dinner at Antica Pizzeria da Michele. They only serve two kinds of pizza…with cheese and without. You may recognize this restaurant from the movie Eat, Pray, Love with Julia Roberts. She ate pizza there as well!

In our Italian travels, the train took us right through Pisa. We could not resist planning a six hour stop. Just like our quick journey into New York at the start of our trip, we checked our suitcases at the train station and headed into the city.

Our first stop was reservations to climb the leaning tower. The wait was about 2 hours. We decided to first visit the Duomo and Baptistry.

Pisa is known for its Pisan Romanesque architecture. Giovanni Pisano was the architect who designed and built the Field of Miracles buildings using a bright white marble. All of the buildings look light and elegant. Our favorite part of the Baptistry was the fact that it was built as a musical instrument. Every half an hour all of the doors close. A singer walks to the center and creates a beautiful melody and harmony with layers of sound. Every noise echoes for at least 10 seconds.

After a pizza lunch, we were ready to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The building was began in 1173 and finished in 1372. Every time construction started and stopped, the tower continued to lean. It now has about a 15-foot lean, which is about a five degree angle. Climbing the tower, gravity pulls you in each direction. It is truly a unique experience. After our short stop, we continued our train trip to Rome.

Our next stop was a recommendation from my co-worker, Teresa. This area on the west coast of Italy means the “five lands” or villages. We stayed in Monterosso al Mare. The five villages are connected by trains, boats, and a challenging hiking trail.

When we arrived, we followed our custom of climbing to the highest point for an overview of the area.

On our first evening, we took the train to Riomaggiore. We ate dinner at Bar & Vini A Pie de Ma, a little restaurant on the cliffs overlooking the ocean.

We then set out on the portion of the hiking trail named Via dell’Amore. This was the first portion of the hiking trail connecting the five villages in the 1920’s. It became a way for young lovers from the two towns to meet with one another. Today it is nicknamed the “Pathway of Love”. It is lit with floodlights in the evening, so couples can walk along the trail, gaze at the stars, and admire the amazing views.

The next morning we woke up and hiked the rest of the trail. Because of rock slides, we were only able to do two more of the four sections of the trail. Hiking in the cliffs, we had great views of the ocean, picturesque villages, and growing vineyards. The hike took us through the hottest portion of the day, so we spent our late afternoon at the beach enjoying the chill of the ocean water. We finished this perfect day with our first taste of anchovies (grilled). We had a wonderful dinner on the water before the locals celebrated their patron saint with fireworks over the ocean. The next morning we were very sad to leave this beautiful area of the Italian coast!

After being in Venice, the traffic in Florence seemed dangerous and crazy…until we got to Rome!

Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance. There are two famous art museums in the city. The Accademia includes many sculptures including Michelangelo’s David, and the Uffizi Gallery with paintings by Giotto, Raphael, Botticellis (Birth of Venus) and da Vinci. We visited both art museums on the two mornings we were in Florence.

We began our time in the city with the city Duomo or cathedral (think biggest church in town). Its exterior looks very different, but it is the first Renaissance dome created by Brunelleschi. Jesse with his extensive knowledge of art history (graphic design is an art major at UW-Eau Claire) explained to me that the Renaissance artists could do all forms of art (sculpture, architecture, painting, etc.). We climbed 463 steps to the top of the dome for expansive views of the city.

After our least favorite meal (my pizza had 4 different kinds of cheese in chunks and Jesse’s calzone had raw sausage), we headed up to Piazza Michelangelo for sunset views of the city.

After our first art museum the next morning, we also visited Santa Croce Church where Galileo and Michelangelo are buried. We then visited the Duomo Museum hoping to see Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, but they were under renovations. We spent the evening in Piazza Republica…with gelato of course (our second of the day)! Our last morning we spent at the Uffizi Gallery before boarding another train headed for the west coast.

I know, I know…I gave a sneak peak and now I have left you hanging for more than a week. In many ways, blogging about Italy is overwhelming. There is SO much to tell. My friend, Gina, asked me who had heard about the entire trip and so far only Jesse’s mom has lasted through the LONG version. I know my family will, but we wanted to wait until we had pictures in front of us…it makes it so much better.

Our first stop in Italy was the city of Venice. There are no cars in Venice…only a hundred islands joined by four hundred bridges. To get from the airport to the island, you have to take a water bus and water buses are the only public transportation available in the city.

We began with a prosciutto pizza lunch eaten on the edge of a canal.

We continued to explore by taking a water bus to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore where we climbed the bell tower for sprawling views of the city. Upon returning to Venice, we were beginning to feel tired, so we sat at a cafe on St. Mark’s Square and enjoyed our first cappuccino (even Jesse drank coffee). It became the first of many. We finished the evening by taking a trip down the Grand Canal and learning about many of the buildings along this famous canal.

We began the next morning at St. Mark’s Basilica. The entire interior was decorated with mosaics (tiny tiles combined to create elaborate scenes).

In the afternoon we traveled to nearby Murano island famous for its blown glass factories. We enjoyed seeing the artists at work and getting to browse through all of the shops. One tradition Jesse and I have is to come home with a Christmas ornament from each of our adventures. This way once a year we get to revisit our fun memories. We found a glass ornament and a decorative plate to remind us of our time in Italy.

We took our siesta at the hotel before heading out to dinner (around 8 pm). We decided to eat as Italians and enjoy an antipasto, pasta, and secondo courses. Dinners often take many hours. We were surprised by the “freshness” of our seafood (the crab still had eyes…and legs).

We finished our time in Venice the next morning by racing to the train station. The water bus was running late, and we raced into the train station, validated our ticket, jumped on the train, and it left the station 30 seconds later headed to…Florence.

Nights in Italy: 10

Cities visited: 11 (Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre-5, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Pompeii)

Public transportation traveled: 4 (Planes, Trains, Boats, Subway)

Train rides: 11

Pictures taken: 1, 430

Flavors of gelato eaten: 13 (Coconut, Cream, Lemon, Raspberry, Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Mixed Berry, Strawberry, Pistachio, Coffee, White Chocolate, Nutella, Cookies and Cream)

Stairs climbed: Uncountable

Money spent: I will leave this to your imagination…

Beautiful scenery, amazing history, time with one another, and unforgettable memories: Priceless

Check back for the details!