"Italy" Italy by ReetSLP

We started our trip in Venice. What an interesting city! We did justice to the whole "get lost down the alleys" thing. We visited Murano and Burano and did a gondola ride, but with only a day and a half in Venice, we missed out on a lot. I really hope to go back someday so I can see the Doge's Palace and see the inside of St. Marks.

Florence was a shock of movement after the slow pace of Venice. It is a city of surprises with beautiful churches and scuptures around the corner from cramped, dark streets. The duomo was probably the most beautiful building I've ever seen, and Boboli Gardens were magnificent.

We took a wine tour through Chianti country with Tuscan Trails (highly recommended!) and got to see the Tuscan countryside and taste some delicious wines, olive oil and food.

me at the House of the Cithara Player

Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast are BEAUTIFUL (even in the rain)!!! Yep, it pretty much rained the whole time we were in Sorrento, but I still think it might be my favorite place. The views were dramatic, the food was the best we had in Italy, and I was able to visit the place I've been fascinated by since 3rd grade-Pompeii.
I can't say anything about Pompeii that hasn't been said before, but it lived up to my expectations and I only wish we had more time to spend exploring. I also wish we had had time to visit Herculeneum. Maybe next time. =)
We took a bus along the Amalfi Coast with the plan to go to Ravello, Amalfi and Positano. By the time we arrived in Amalfi, we decided to skip Ravello despite the ruins we had wanted to see there. It was raining the whole time we were in Amalfi, so we spent the majority of our time exploring the Duomo. I would recommend seeing this beautiful building to anyone travelling in the area. The duomo contains the crypt of St. Andrew, which elicited a "whoa" out of all 4 of us as we entered. Beautiful frescoes, sculptures and a quiet peace fill this crypt. The church itself is also very impressive. Be sure to see the cross made out of mother of pearl. It is breath-taking. We ended up missing Positano on the way back for two reasons: we were too indecisive on which stop to get off at and we were all feeling a little sick from the bus fumes which were circulating through the bus.

stray cat at the Colosseum

Rome was our last city. We were all pretty exhausted by the time we got there, but I think we saw more sights here than anywhere. Our first day we saw the Forum, the Colosseum and all the things to see between the Colosseum and our hotel (not a short walk.)
We spent most of our second day in Vatican City. The Vatican Museum is amazing. Room after room of gorgeously decorated/painted/frescoed ceilings and priceless art can overwhelm a person, but we ended up going through it twice. Why? Because we went out the wrong way from the Sistine Chapel and couldn't get back to St. Peter's Square without either going out and waiting in line again or going back through the museum. Luckily we found a short cut that skipped all the things from the Raffeal Rooms to the Sistine Chapel. St. Peter's Basilica was almost as overwhelming as the museums. It was stunning. Two of our group climbed the dome. The other two (me included) sat and rested at the obelisk. We then headed out to find food and continued to explore. We saw Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and Piazza del Popolo. We were heading to the Spanish Steps when it started raining, so we got dinner instead. The final day we did Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps (holy tourists, Batman!) and had dinner before heading back to our hotel/B&B.

• Pros:history around every corner, beautiful scenery
• Cons:not enough time to see everything, fumes from the cars/buses/motorcycles were pretty bad
• In a nutshell:When can I go back?