Italy Wrap-Up

Facts and Figures

Length of Stay: 19 Days

Miles Traveled to Enter: 300 by plane from Dubrovnik

Miles Traveled: 900 by train + 300 bus = 1,200 total (38,690 since landing in Quito)

Places Visited: Rome, Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Pompeii, Parma, Roccabianca, Venice

Trains Taken: 6
Tour Buses Taken: 2

Times We Were the Only Non-Italians at a Polka Festival: 2

Rankings in the full post.

A Couple Quiet Days in the Italian Countryside

On the suggestion of our friend Elizabeth (aka E-Beth), who had spent a month in Europe with her boyfriend Miles last Spring, we decided to spend a few days at a bed and breakfast outside Parma after we said goodbye to the Bells in Rome.  Run down from constantly being on the move, I developed a nasty head cold, so a few days in the quiet countryside sounded perfect to me.   Dalla Nonna Maria ended up being just what the doctor ordered. Jeff and I spent our first two days at the bed and breakfast just taking it easy. We only left the B&B to take some short strolls around the area and to get dinner.

Pictures from Venice

There isn't much to write about our time in Venice.  We didn't visit any museums, only stepped into one church and ate simply.  What we did do, when we weren't ducking the persistent rain, was a lot of walking.  Venice is a great city for exploring, and it's pretty easy to escape the crowds (and the crowds can be very bad in spots, like the Piazza San Marco) just by taking a random turn onto a narrow alley.  Since we didn't actually do that much, I'll just share some pictures.

Rome II

Our second stint in Rome was packed with tours.  This city gets mixed reviews from travelers, with many giving it poor marks because it's too dirty, too busy, or lacks the charm of many of Italy's smaller cities.  However, it may be my favorite Italian city, and the tours we did gave us a great a varied experience during our time there.  While many guidebooks say you only need to spend three or four days in Rome, Magge and I left feeling like we had just scratched the surface.

A Day in Kiersten's Italy Journal: Pompeii

I've already posted an entry from my youngest brother's Italy journal.  Here is a day from my sister's journal covering our day trip to Pompeii.  The pictures in this post are a mix of those taken by Kiersten and Magge.

The first time I ever read, or even heard about, Pompeii was when I was in second grade off a standard reading test. I just thought it was a made up little story about some small village in Italy.  As I found out more and more, I realized this place is not fictional, it’s real!  Pompeii soon made it on my list of Places I Want to Visit When I’m Older.  When I said “Older”, I was referring to when I was an adult, not a few years later. When I found out that I was actually going to Pompeii when visiting Magge and Jeffrey, I nearly wet myself.  I couldn’t wait to see this famous city.

Day Trips From Florence

As you all know, there is a great deal of logistical planning in our daily traveling lives.  While Jeff does the lion's share of the work (I'm generally busy conquering the world on my iPod - or so Jeff says), I do pitch in from time to time.  When we needed to plan our stay in Italy with the Bells, I decided I would look into the tour options available.  Though the Bells are far from difficult to please, I have to admit that I was quite nervous in trying to pick the right tours to fit everyone's tastes (I just wanted everyone to be happy!).  I struck gold when I found the Walkabout tours while planning our Florence leg of the trip.

One site we knew we wanted to visit during our time together was the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  I was worried, however, that making the two hour journey to Pisa just to see the tower might not be worth the hassle.  So I was pleased when I found the Best of Tuscany Tour, which included a stop in Pisa along with tours of Siena, San Gimignano, and lunch at a wine farm.  After reading all the glowing reviews on Tripadvisor.com, Jeff and I agreed that it would be a good choice.  We were thrilled we had found such a great way to fit in Pisa.  The company had another tour of Cinque Terre that had received rave reviews as well that I really wanted to also book.  Sadly, Jeff vetoed that tour because he had read that Cinque Terre was unpleasantly crowded in August.

Florence with the Family

When I was sixteen, I went on a whirlwind tour through Europe with a group from my high school.  We visited eight cities in five countries over seventeen days.  Of those cities, Florence was the least memorable.  (I think) we were there for two days, but all I remember was fighting through crowds to see Michelangelo's David and hopping the fence with my track team and coach to practice on a private local track.  For whatever reasons, the city just didn't stick in my mind.  Regardless, with my family meeting us in Italy, I was giving Florence a chance to prove my teenage sensibilities wrong.

A Day in Liam's Italy Journal: Rome

We have just capped ten days with my family in Rome and Florence.  My two youngest siblings are keeping journals to document their first trip in Europe.  Here is our first day in Rome as described in my nine year old brother's journal.  It follows the day that the family was supposed to leave for Rome, but their flight was canceled out of Charlotte and they had to spend a night in the Queen City.  I have edited it for spelling, but they are completely his own words.  All pictures were taken by him on his Nintendo DSi, unless stated otherwise.

Wednesday, July 25, 2010 - Fly in the Sky
In the second day in the airport we did the exact same thing as yesterday, except we rode the plane! The plane was humongous! There were about 45 rows! There was a movie/T.V. player but it cost money, though. I slept, read, ate and played DS the whole way. It was soooooooooo long! But we got there!

In Italy
Wow, in a whole different country. During the car ride, the driver was really nice. The drive was like a tour. I saw pyramids, bridges, lakes. Our REAL hotel was really nice. But it was exactly like our other hotel EXCEPT it had 3 big beds, a BIGGER T.V., and a great view. And a better thing than all those things, Jeffrey and Magge!!!!!!