Our first ports of call were in Italy....Naples, then Rome (port city of Civitavecchia), ending in Florence (port city of Livorno). Italy was by far my favorite country on our tour....it was amazing in a million ways. From the Colosseum in Rome to wandering the cobblestone streets of Florence to seeing Michaelangelo's David. There is really no way to capture it in words or pictures, but here is our best attempt to show the highlights :)
The guys getting espresso in Naples.
Enjoying pizza where pizza was created, Naples Italy. The girls had already headed back to the ship, but I hear we really missed out!!
Florence was the best. It was romantic and quaint and the colors were amazing.
Brandi being cute in her new Ferarri hat.
I loved all the outside cafes across all of Europe but they were concentrated in Florence, I think.
The group in front of the Colosseum, in Rome.
After climbing up 400-something stairs in the bell tower of the Duomo, we were treated to amazing views of Florence!
The Duomo (bell tower not in the pic). An amazing old cathedral.
Back to the Colosseum (thanks Blogger)....love this pic of me and Mike.
The Colosseum was the highlight of my entire trip, I think. I do realize I have lots of favorites :) It was unbelievable. We got a great interior tour of it, and the whole experience made me want to run home and watch The Gladiator again (still need to). I can't even fathom how stunning it was in its days of glory, with banners strung throughout on "game days" and with all sorts of royalty occupying it. Even in ruins it was breath taking.
This area is called the Roman forum. It's the old city of Rome found beneath the streets of the current Rome. Absolutely amazing and EXPANSIVE! Love the columns, and the stairs up to the platform that I'm sure once served as a community gathering and announcement place? I wish I'd had about six more hours to just explore this part. The sheer magnitude of the history in this city took my breath away and I still cannot grasp all of it. I think I'd still feel that way if I spent a week in Rome.
The best thing in my world? Fettucine alfredo & caprese salad in Italy.
Look what we found!
Ah, Trevi Fountain! We followed the tradition (thanks Ruth for the intel!) and stood with our backs to the fountain, throwing a coin over each shoulder into the water. One for a wish and one for our next trip to Rome. You better believe we want to go back!
Motorcycles are the vehicle of choice. An F-150 sure wouldn't fit down those narrow streets!
We did lots of this in Italy:
The Pantheon. Such an enormous structure right in the middle of "town."
And oh, the Vatican City! We didn't go inside as the line was a million miles long, but we did peek in St Peter's Basilica (pictured on the left) for a few minutes. The ceilings are painted in the most ornate ways, and the whole thing is so detailed you can't even possibly take it all in. It was gorgeous. To think of singing in a choir inside there - wow, Ruth, is all I can say! Great acoustics, I'd imagine.
Moment of silence please, for GELATO.
(sigh)
During our Naples stop, we took a boat over to the island of Capri. This is looking down from the top of the island after a hike up. It was beautiful! And it was the place I first tasted my beloved gelato....favorite flavor, coffee, of course. I think in our three Italian cities I had five cones. Yes, please. That alone was worth the plane ticket price :)
Overlooking the Med on Capri. Love Jeff's euro-hat. He's way too cool.
Picturesque views from the top!! We got to the very top of the island by a ski-lift thing, after a good hike.
Koepps chilling in a cafe - our favorite thing to do in Europe. Okay, one of our favorites.
Not sure who would fit in the back of this ambulance - you'd have to leave the back doors open for legs to stick out!
Look at the little kittums in this shop aspiring to be a big mean jaguar.
Next up: France.
1 comment:
Wow....umm...wow!!
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