... do as the Romans do." Which in our case was eat, explore, drink wine, explore some more, shop, go in some churches, eat, and drink more wine. We loved our trip to Italy and truly savored every moment (and morsel and sip!) Assuming you aren't interested in seeing every picture of the 750 we took, here is a look at our favorites by city. (And just an FYI, this is nothing short of a monster post, so hold onto your hats!)
In Rome, we did a lot of the site seeing things, which made Michael a happy camper - he doesn't want to miss a thing. When in Rome! I visited both Rome and Florence 10 years ago when I lived in Wales, but it was a very different trip this time around (for starters, we actually had a more generous budget than $30/day including lodging!), which meant we got to eat some fabulous food...
We ate so much pizza!! And some tiramisu too...
The wine at (almost) every meal was not only tasty but fiscally responsible - hear me out on this one. House wine was about $4 per glass. Bottled water was also $4. Diet coke was $6. In this economy, which one would you choose? (By the large carafe below, you can see which route we took.)
And more pizza and lasagna!
We burned off these delicious and totally-worth-it calories by walking and site-seeing around Rome. Piazza del Popolo (also called the entrance to Rome) was just a 5 minute walk from our hotel.
This is a photo of the Spanish Steps. We went into the church at the top of the steps too. (By the way, if the number of churches visited somehow qualifies a person for entry into heaven, I think we have a pretty good chance after this trip!)
And the Spanish Steps at night...
We stopped by Trevi Fountain on the way to the Coliseum. We both flipped a coin into the fountain over our shoulder. Legend has it, that act ensures we'll be back to visit Rome again someday - one can only hope!
We made it to the Coliseum! An absolutely amazing sight to behold and so interesting to learn about what went on inside, on stage, and underneath the stage.
This is a massive structure. I mean massive! (See the tiny shadows of people in the archways in the picture above?)
About a 20 minute walk from our hotel, we entered Vatican City. We toured the Vatican Museums (I think there were 20+ separate museums within the Vatican), visited the Sistine Chapel, took a nice hike up to the top of St. Peter's Basilica, and then went through the Basilica itself. That is St. Peter's behind us in this photo...
Everything in the museums is grandiose. This fella's important historical figure's chin is the size of Michael's head!
This image signifies the triumph of Christ and the fall of paganism.
This is Michelangelo's Pieta, a depiction of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after His crucifixion. Michelangelo was 24 years old at the time he sculpted it.
There were so many beautiful and moving works of art, but the
Sistine Chapel was by far the most incredible in our eyes; a visual display of The Bible's most powerful content. The majority of it, including the ceiling and main wall, was painted by Michelangelo with the detail and vision of an artistic genius. We enjoyed learning about Michelangelo as a person and his relationship with the Popes of his time.
They didn't allow photographs in the chapel as it is considered a most sacred space in the Vatican. So what would a good, photo-loving Christian do? Sneak a cell phone photo on our way out (which clearly does not give this masterpiece the justice it deserves and further validates a stop at the confession booth.)
St. Peter's square is a large area where people admire the Basilica and gather. The statues across the top of the structure are saints.
See the dome in the picture above? And see the round "pillared" part above it? We climbed all the way up there (500 steps in, at-times, tight and dizzying quarters) to take in this majestic view looking down on St. Peter's Square....
Completely and 100% worth it!
And we needed to refuel after that! We ate gelato at least once a day :)
Early on our last morning in Rome, Michael got up before dawn to visit one more site: The Pantheon. I'm telling you, he can't get enough of the attractions - meanwhile, I snored away. When in Rome! (ha!)
We took a train to Florence and discovered that our hotel was a 5 minute walk from the train station and also a 30-second walk from the
Florence Cathedral, also known as the Doumo. Nice location!
We climbed the bell tower to get a good look at Florence and because we were already warmed up from the St. Peter's Basilica hike!
We were surprised when we checked into our hotel by both a bottle of champagne and a free room upgrade!
This was the view from our room...
We loved roaming the streets and alleyways of Florence and in retrospect, it was our favorite place on the trip. We found Florence to be relaxed and down-to-earth, yet fun and friendly. Lots of great shopping too!
Cappuccinos were on tap every morning! Michael also enjoyed many espressos.
One of our favorite lunches was a "walk-up window" serving unique sandwiches (mine was goat cheese and sun-dried tomato) and glasses of wine (naturally!)
We shared a bottle of wine one afternoon on the steps of a church (told ya it's a laid-back city!) and toasted our anniversary. Such a fun memory!
We packed up and hopped the train to Venice the next day for our final stop on the trip. Venice is definitely a city like no other. It's built entirely on water and many believe it's the most romantic city around because the hustle and bustle of cars and buses does not exist (there are no roads - only canals!)
People either walk or take the water bus (which is basically a boat with stops along the route like a subway).
We visited Piazza San Marco during both the daytime and nighttime. It's amazing how a city can transform into a whole new beauty when it's lit by lamps and soft lights.
On the water bus...
Italian cities are packed with alleys and side streets. It's not surprising we got lost a few times - but it was so much fun to just wander and take it all in.
What is a trip to Venice without a gondola ride? We enjoyed the Venetian canals with a nice 40 minute ride. It was beautiful and definitely made us appreciate Venice even more. So glad we did that!
A wonderful, amazing, exceeded-expectations trip!! We feel blessed to have been able to honor and celebrate our marriage with such an incredible week. Here's to many more! (Anniversaries that is... but trips to Italy would be nice too :)
