September 2012 - Week 2 - Sorrento and Rome

We left Lucca on a Sunday and drove 5 hours to Sorrento.  Mostly highway driving, so nothing exciting except stopping at the rest stop on the highway.  The restaurant there was amazing.  They served fresh pasta, would cook you a t-bone steak and had all kind of great sandwiches.  The most odd thing was that they served wine, and then put you back on the highway!  So, mostly highway until we got near Naples and then back to small windy roads with people, motorcycles and bikes everywhere.  Our GPS did an amazing job because we would never have known the streets were actually streets because they seemed more like pedestrian walkways.  Beautiful drive along the coast for the last few miles.

We had an amazing hotel room with a huge balcony on the top floor overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.   It was so nice that the first night we got a bottle of wine and ordered a pizza to the room.  Sorrento was a great city with historic buildings and churches, cafes and restaurants everywhere and beautiful views all over.



Interesting...you could rent beach chairs right on the Sea

Fireworks from our balcony



The next day we took a tour of Pompei.  Pompei was covered by 27 feet of volcanic ash which killed all 14,000 people.  They have been removing the ash to see the remaining parts of the city.  Amazing how much was still intact.  Really interesting visit.

 

Unearthed part of the city with the volcano in the background



Arena

Streets filled with water and sewage and then people walked over it using the large stones

 

 

The next day we took a guided drive down the Amalfi Coast and to the towns of Positano, Amalfi and Revello.  The coastline was beautiful!  We have always loved Highway 1 in California, but I think this now is my favorite.  The road was extremely windy and narrow so we were happy to have a guide.

  

Houses built right into the hillside

 

Positano was a beautiful city.  White buildings everywhere and if you liked to shop, this was the place.  Stores were everywhere and offered beautiful clothing and hand made goods.  Linen is huge here and the clothes are spectacular.

Church in Positano

The next stop was Revello which was a much smaller city area, but the outlying hillsides were peppered with houses built on terraces.  Just beautiful.

The last stop of the day was in the town of Amalfi.  There was a beautiful church and lots of shopping here as well.  Cute little streets lined with cafes and fountains.  There was a marina and a pier you could sit on and enjoy the view back to shore.

Beautiful church

We absolutely loved Sorrento, mainly because of the views, the foods, and all the great areas surrounding it to visit.  Our next stop would be to Rome.  We drove back to the airport, dropped off the car and then hauled our 4 large bags and 2 backpacks to the Hilton for a ride into the City.  Thank goodness Greg ordered a car big enough for all our bags.

Once the driver hit the city limits, you could start to feel all that you had anticipated it would be.  Large statues and old buildings everywhere and our first view of the Colosseum, which was awesome.  We couldn't help but act like tourists gawking and pointing at everything.  Our hotel was steps away from the famous Trevi Fountain, and was certainly not on a street where we thought a car should be driven.   We were located in the hotel annex, which was a more quiet area and also part of an apartment building.  Lots of security measures in place - front door which needed our room key to open, a gate inside, another door into the hotel area and then our room.  Made you wonder how safe the area would be.  Nobody told us about the buttons you had to push when trying to get out, so we're certain they were laughing when watching their monitors of us trying to pull the gate open. The hotel had a rooftop dining area overlooking the Trevi Foundtain, so every morning started out with a great feel of the city. All the hotels in Italy include breakfast with your room, which was a nice plus.

 

We walked around the city, which had something to see around every corner.  We decided to stop for a glass of wine and an appetizer at this really cool building, only to find out afterwards that it was the Pantheon!  Too funny.

The Pantheon

Trevi Fountain

Our first full day was spent with a tour of the Colosseum, Palintine Hill and the Forum.  The Colosseum was amazing.  We took the VIP tour so got to walk out onto the "stage".  The guide set it up to make you feel like you were a gladiator walking out to fight, feeling the tension in the air, the smells and noises of all the animals. It was an overwhelming feeling.  We then got to go under the staging area and he did the same thing.  Lastly, we got to climb all the way to the top and look down.  The building is amazing.

 

Looking up fron the staging area

Looking into Colosseum from top level

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palintine Hill was next, which was the palace of a former Emporer. 

 

 

Lastly, was the Forum area.

 

 

 

We went that evening for a twilight city tour.  We met on the famous Spanish steps and visited some of the things we had already seen, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, but several new beautiful churches and a huge Piazza.

 

Spanish Steps - where's Waldo  er Beth?

Gorgeous church

Piazza the following day

Early start the next morning for our trip to Vatican City, which included the museum, the Basillica and the Sistine Chapel. Fortunately our guide, named Guido, knew the ropes and got us to the Sistine Chapel first because later on in the day it was a zoo there. It is beautiful, but also overwhelming. There is so much going on, that it's almost hard to focus and understand the meaning of the various pictures.  No photographs allowed.

 

The tour was 5 hours long and it was definitely sensory overload.  So much to learn and see, we could spend days there and it would still be fascinating.

 

Ceiling in museum

 

 

Gardens

Wall paintings

More ceiling - just amazing

Some of the many statues

Amazing ceiling

Inside the Basillica

Ceiling in Basillica

Just amazing

Outside Basillica

View from afar

It was an amazing day, but we were exhausted.  The tour ended up being 6 hours and walking on that marble and standing and learning was tough on our old bodies.  We loved that our hotel was within walking distance of every major place, so we strolled back to our place for a much needed nap so we could go out and enjoy dinner.

 

The next day was our food tour.  We met our guide at the market where we tasted various olive oils and balsamic vinegar on fresh bread.  I don't think I mentioned that the bread has been awesone, with the exception of Tuscany where they use no salt, so it's pretty tasteless.  Our next stop was the cheese shop where was tasted a variety of cheeses and then onto the butcher shop.  Everything was fresh and yummy.  We then went to a pizza shop and got to make and eat our own pizza.  Awesome!!!!!!  We then went for gelato and finally coffee.  Our guide was fantastic and explained all the foods, how they were made, the customs, etc.  Exceptional tour.

 

market

meat market

Pizza makers at work

The finished product

 

We then went walking on our own to burn all the calories we just ate.  First stop was the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.  Just like in the States, the grave is guarded and they have a changing of the guards.  there is a museum in there as well, and the view of the city are spectacular.  Found more ruins everywhere.  There is actually another city buried beneath the current Rome.

 

 

On our last day, we were scheduled for a tour of the Borghese Gallery.  It is an amazing art gallery but you are limited to a 2 hour tour.  They actually clear everyone out and then let the next group in.  We had a great tour guide, who not only knew the art well, but had a theatrical background, so made for a great guide.  Again, no photos, but a must see in Rome.

Spent more time walking around enjoying all there is to see and had one last gelato and then back to pack for our cruise.