Surprise on the hillside

Breathtaking views behind us as we are overlooking the countryside of Florence, Italy while visiting the Boboli & Bardini Gardens. We didn't expect to see this when we got to the top! Makes you want to stay another week and get a Tuscan villa.

Florence was our last stop and believe me, by then, we were pros traveling with our railpass. It was great to travel by train in Italy because you got to see the country as you passed by. Here in Florence, we visited the Accademia Gallery (home to the famous "David" by Michelangelo), Uffizi Gallery (home to most of the Medici family fortune), National Museum of Bargello, and the Boboli & Bardini Gardens.

Continuing through Italy, we moved on to Venice. One word to describe Venice - Amazing! We loved it. My favorite part was walking through the labyrinth of cobblestone streets lined with cute little shops and restaurants and lots of gelaterias! I also loved the romance that filled this city - walking through St. Marks Square and hearing Vivaldi just makes you fall in love with being there and experiencing it all.

After Rome, we took off for Naples. Yuk! It was scary when we got there, but our goal was to catch the Ferry to the Isle of Capri. The only problem was that it was pouring rain when we arrived in Naples. So we sat and sat and sat in a little cafe drinking Cafe Americano for hours until the rain stopped. We immediately caught the Ferry to Capri and it was a breathtaking boat ride over to the island. We walked around the island and then stopped to have a Caprese Salad and some wine before we caught the boat back to Naples, where we had already planned to go for pizza since Naples is the birthplace for Italian Pizza. The next morning we caught a train to Pompei where we went to the ruins and spent the day walking down crooked cobblestone paths, not to mention uneven and hilly. It was definately worth it to see such history preserved in this vast area of land. Just to think that these people were subject to the horrible nature of that exploding volcano was a lot to soak in. After Pompei, we were exhausted and hungry but we continued our adventure. We took a train to Sorrento, then got on a bus to Positano on the Amalfi Coast. When we got to Positano, we had dinner overlooking a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea, and then got back on the bus to Sorrento and caught a train back to Naples. That was our longest day ever!

My photo of the hills in Positano, Amalfi Coast was featured in the Sunday Plain Dealer's travel section a month later!

We started our trip in Rome where we stayed for 2 days. I had arranged a private tour guide for the Vatican Museum and St. Peters Basilica. Our guide was an art historian and he lived in Rome. We got right into the Vatican without standing in line for hours. He gave us insight to the wonderful works of art by many famous artists. Of course, we loved the story of Michelangelo and the painting of the Sistine Chapel. We also toured Ancient Rome, the Colosseum, Pantheon, and sat on the famous Spanish Steps after we threw our coins in the Trevi Fountain.