rome: day two

We had another jam packed day for Rome (why did we only plan for 2 days here????), so we had our complimentary room service and left for Vatican City (too bad we planned our trip in July when the Pope is at his vacation home).

On the trip over, we decided to play a game of “count the nuns,” but quickly lost count. We started at St. Peter’s Square. The Square (again not really a square, more of a circle) was immense and beautiful. The tour of St. Peter’s Basilica began with the crypts where we saw the tombs of numerous popes, St. Peter, and the beautiful tomb of Pope John Paul II that was crowded with people praying around his tomb. We then took the main entrance into the Basilica. We had seen a lot of churches up to this point but none of them could compare to this. Everything inside is truly amazing from Michelangelo’s Pieta to the Statute of St. Peter (Nick and Corinne rubbed his foot for blessings), to the Main Altar, to the Holy Door. Everything is huge, grand and impressive.

After leaving the church we walked down to the Vatican Museum. We expected long lines but were able to get right in. After a quick stop sending postcards from the Vatican post office, we explored the vast museum. We saw some amazing tapestries and maps and ended with one of most anticipated sights of the whole trip, the Sistine Chapel. It was as amazing as it was expected to be but we could have done without half of the people in there. It was so crowded we couldn’t take the time to really stand still and take it all in. We ate a quick lunch and then went back into Rome to visit the Baths of Caracalla. We were desperately hoping the baths were back in working order (it was the hottest city yet), but alas it was just ruins. While there wasn’t much left to see, the descriptions and explanations of what was what really gave us a good understanding of what we were standing on. There was one mosaic tile floor still intact that was incredible.

We then made our way back to the hotel to relax and get ready for our last night. Our concierge provided a recommendation to a nearby restaurant that he assured us would be just what we wanted. We weren’t sure what to expect but we could not have been happier with what we got. Once seated we were greeted and helped by some of the best wait staff anywhere. We ordered the house sparkling wine and had delicious meals. Our waiter was quite a jokester and made everything so enjoyable. To top it off, midway through dinner a man with a guitar began to serenade the restaurant. It was truly a wonderful final meal together. We finished it off with our final gelato stop and another trip back to Trevi Fountain. What a perfect ending to a perfect trip!

~Corinne, Nick, Anne & Chip

rome: day one

We managed to get one more free meal out of the hostel before taking off for Rome. We were all excited about our last stop. After arriving at the train station in Rome, we each bought a Roma Pass, good for free public transportation and free entrances to two major sites. We then hopped on the metro towards our hotel.

The metro was surprisingly clean and AIR CONDITIONED. We made it to the Hotel Doge and dropped our bags off before heading out to explore. We had so much to see and knew this would be a busy day. We started by using our first free pass at the National Museum of Rome. This museum was chock full of Roman art, statues, mosaics, coins, and jewelry. Among other things, we saw the Greek Discus Thrower statue and mosaic tile flooring taken from baths around Rome. After the museum, we went down to the Coliseum area. We were set to take a tour at 2:30 so we wandered around the area taking in the amazing sites, getting pictures, and getting lunch. We then went to check in for our tour of the Coliseum and Palatine Hill (the ONLY tour we scheduled for the whole trip) only to find out that Anne and Chip were the only ones on their list. After a lot of waiting, talking and getting nowhere, we all decided just to skip the tour and do it on our own.

Luckily, we had a free stop left on our Roma Pass which would cover the entrance to the Coliseum, Palatine Hill, and the Roman Forum. The Coliseum was the first stop. Once inside, we were all blown away by the history and the incredible engineering of the arena. We started on the top level where different seating used to be and looked down onto the ground level seating and to the uncovered level beneath the floor. We overheard some tour guides explaining the seating was established by social class, with senators sitting closest, followed by the upper class, the lower class, slaves, and finally women. It was amazing to look down under the flooring to see where the animals were held and lifted by elevator. It looked like a giant maze. They have reconstructed a partial floor to give you an idea of the arena's size. We then explored the ground level and saw the underground portion up close.

After the Coliseum, we passed the Arch of Constantine on our way to Palatine Hill. On Palatine Hill (where many Roman emperors lived), we saw the house of Augustus and the huts of Romulus and Remus. We then went down the hill to the Roman Forum. As we explored ancient Rome’s main square, we were all amazed to be walking on the same streets that Caesar walked on. Many portions of the Forum remain intact and we were able to see the Arch of Titus, the Basillica of Constantine, the Curia (Senate House), and the tomb of Julius Caesar (where people still lay fresh flowers). We were hoping to stop at the Mamertine Prison on our way out, but it was closed for renovations. Instead, we hiked up to Capitol Hill. We stood in the square and took in the impressive views from a piazza designed by Michelangelo, including the grand stairway and the statue of Marcus Aurelius. We then walked back to our hotel for a quick rest and change of clothes.

We decided to take a “night walk through rome” suggested by a travel book. After dinner, we were off on our stroll. We started at the Piazza di Spanga and the Spanish Steps. They were quite overrun with people, which is pretty typical most nights, but was still an impressive sight. Chip took a picture of Anne posing on the steps, and she literally got lost in the crowd. The sinking boat fountain at the bottom was also filled with people and feet (ewww).

The next stop was Trevi Fountain. We got there right as they turned the lights on. While also overrun with people, this was an amazing place that just exudes excitement. Nick and Corinne probably wasted 5 euros throwing coins over their shoulders and making wishes. We then took a walk over to the Pantheon which looked absolutely beautiful all lit up at night. Outside of the Pantheon, a group was forming around a wonderful opera singer out on the square. We stopped to listen and then strolled over to the final stop, Piazza Navona. This lively and large square--which is actually not square as it was once a racetrack for the Emperor Domitian--holds the Four Fivers Fountain designed by Bernini. We walked around and watched a magician, listened to music, and watched so many other fascinating performance artists.

Rome at night is truly wonderful and unique…we could have walked the streets all night except for the fact that we had been moving non-stop since 7am. It was time to call it a night.

~Corinne, Nick, Anne & Chip

florence: day 3

After another hot night, we stocked up on cheap bottled water, enjoyed our free breakfast and took off for our last day in Florence.

Our first stop was the Santa Croce Church, a 14^th century church filled with tombs of great Florentines. Unfortunately, the church was under construction so we did not get to see all of them, but we did see the tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo. The church also had a beautiful courtyard that led into Brunelleschi’s Pazzi Chapel. After admiring the beautiful artwork and architecture, we exited into a giant square with more shops and souvenir carts.

We then went over to the Science Museum excited to see all things Galileo. We found out that this museum was also under construction and that many of the relics were being housed at a nearby Galileo exhibit at the Palazzo Strozzi. We found our way there and strolled through the fascinating exhibit (including his finger!). After cooling off and eating lunch we went over to the Uffizi Gallery where we had made reservations earlier in the day. Inside we saw a wide array of Italian art including Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, Raphael’s Madonna of the Goldfinch, and the octagonal sculpture room. We decided to spend our last evening in Florence as the one before: free dinner, spades, and cheap beer.

~Corinne, Nick, Anne & Chip

florence: day two

On our second day in Florence, we discovered two of the best things about our hostel: free breakfast and cheap bottled water. After a quick meal, we headed out to see the Duomo, Florence’s famous gothic cathedral built with pink, green and white marble on the outside and the third longest nave in christendom on the inside. Formally named Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo is also one of several churches in Florence designed by the famous Florentine, Filippo Brunelleschi. We enjoyed the shade, but decided not to pay the extra fee to climb to the top of the dome.

We then moved onto our second church of the day, Church of San Lorenzo. The outside was not quite as fancy as the Duomo (not much could be though). Inside we got to see the tomb of Donatello. On our way to lunch, Corinne and Anne decided this was the perfect time to buy one of the many leather bags being sold by street vendors on just about every street. They both got great deals on their bags -- Anne was the best negotiator of the bunch. We then ate lunch and went to Accademia. We had been told to make a reservation ahead of time, which we thought we had done. When we arrived at our “scheduled” time, we were told that we were not on the list and our reservation had not gone through. Luckily the line moved fairly quickly and we were able to enter without a long wait. Inside, we saw many of Michelangelo’s works including the statue of David. The statue is enormous and overwhelming (in a good way). The trip to this museum was worth it just for this statue. It was beautifully sculpted from every angle, even though Chip thought his hands were not proportionate. There was also special musical instrument collection and a exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe photographs whose subjects were remarkably similar to the sculptures throughout the rest of the museum -- very impressive.

After a long, hot day we made it back to our very hot hostel. Luckily, the owner decided we looked pathetic enough and gave us an extra fan for the room which was helpful. We rested before trying out the hostel’s free dinner (in addition to our FREE breakfast). We had our choice between various pizzas, pastas, and salads and they actually weren’t bad! We spent the night playing card games in the hostel’s open air courtyard and later ventures out for some late night gelato to cool off before going to bed.

~Corinne, Nick, Anne & Chip

florence: day one

After an early morning train to Florence, we arrived at our home for the next three days, Ostello Archi Rossi. Our room was not available so we dropped off our bags and went exploring. Unfortunately for Nick and Chip, exploring led Anne and Corinne to find the many markets of Florence. Apparently Florence is known for their silver, gold, and leather. Leather bags were everywhere and the girls vowed to buy bags before they left. We also wanted to find Nick some leather “mandals” (men’s fashion sandals that we saw on every Italian man) but Nick was not as enthusiastic as we were.

When our room was ready we returned to the hostel to put our things away. Luckily we got a room with only four beds and a private bathroom. Unfortunately, the beds were bunk beds and there was no air conditioning. Most of our stops up to this point had been fairly comfortable weather wise but Florence was HOT!! The one little fan we had was not going to do much, especially for Chip and Corinne who got stuck with the top bunks. After putting our things away, we set out to find some sites we wanted to visit. We walked over the Ponte Vecchio, Florence’s famous covered bridge and tried to get into the Boboli Gardens outside the Pitti Palace but there was a steep fee for that we had not counted on. We continued our journey to head up to the Piazzale Michaelangelo. We were not aware it would be another hike rivaling Switzerland! We made it to the top to see amazing views of Florence and beyond. We were even treated to a greener and smaller version of David (a tease for the next day).

On our walk back, we stumbled across a restaurant where we had an amazing Italian pasta dinner. A few things got lost in translation here, so we ended up with four appetizers rather than the one we ordered to split but it did not matter because everything was so delicious. We made it back to our hostel and suffered through a very hot night, while still looking forward to the days to come.

~Corinne & Nick

venice: day three

our last day in venice began with a walk down the main pedestrian road back to st. mark’s square to get in an early visit at st. mark’s basilica since we weren’t able to make it the previous day. the basilica is one of the most beautiful churches we saw, and anne and corinne were glad they dressed appropriately (“modestly” with covered knees & shoulders) so they didn’t have to wear the ponchos being handed out which were basically just paper hospital gowns.

afterwards, we walked across the grand canal to the dorsoduro district where peggy guggenheim lived and where her personal art collection is now housed. peggy was an heiress of the guggenheim fortune who built an impressive collection from her network of friends in the modern art community including pablo picasso, jackson pollack, max ernst and other famous surrealists, cubists, abstractionists, and futurists that were painting and sculpting in the early 20th century. we also learned that after france became too dangerous for peggy to live during world war II (because she was jewish), she asked the louvre to hold her collection but the museum refused, dismissing them as “household objects.” so she was forced to hide her collection in a barn while she left for america. this was definitely an interesting stop on our tour.

after learning about peggy’s life, we ate lunch at a local café. at this point we were all tired of the 100 mph pace, but we decided to make one last stop at the customs house at the entrance to the grand canal. during venice’s trading days, venice was a major shipping port and the customs house was where incoming vessels paid their taxes. we then headed back to the hotel for a nap before dinner.

our final mission was to find a gondolier who could help make our experience in venice complete. We couldn’t have found a better guy for the job: he was a fifth-generation gondolier who loved singing and dancing while he maneuvered through the narrow back canals with ease. not only did he give us great tidbits of venetian history and point out historical buildings, but he also sang michael jackson songs, showed us where madonna shot a music video, and told us about his time meeting sting in the venice train station. this continued the “celebrity” theme of our travels, and was a great end to our time in venice.

~anne, chip, corinne & nick

venice: day two

We began our second day in Venice with a yummy breakfast at the hotel including the best coffee yet. We hopped back on the vaporetti (still as crowded as ever) to St. Mark’s Square. This time we started in the Correr Museum which was filled with Venetian art and history including coins, armor, and weaponry. After the Museum we went to Doge’s Palace and got to walk up the Golden Staircase and across the Bridge of Sighs. The tour of the prisons was especially interesting. After a quick lunch on “Sandwich Row”, we realized St. Mark’s Basilica was closing soon. Rather than cut that tour short, we decided to save it for the next day and head over to a different site on our list, Frari Church. This began our adventures in the back streets and alleys of Venice, which we all agreed was one of our favorite times in Venice. These back alleys give you a glimpse into the real life of Venice away from all the tourist traps. You see flowers in the windows, laundry hanging outside, smell dinner cooking, and hear music playing. You cross over small bridges and can see down into the tiny canals. It is absolutely beautiful. We did make it to Frari Church which houses some beautiful artwork in such a small church. On our way back from the church, we got even more lost which just meant it was time to get gelato and wine. We spent the walk back to our hotel shopping, although the wine may have made us shop a little too much. We were excited for another beautiful day to come in Venice.

~corinne