Shopping!
The church and climbing to the roof
Monday, June 23, 2008
Milan, Italy
Milan is every bit the fashionable city that comes to mind when you hear its name. There is also lots of art and culture as well. And Milan has the 3rd largest church in Europe. I really enjoyed wandering the streets (and, yes shopping!) and exploring the church and its roof.
Shopping!
The church and climbing to the roof
Shopping!
The church and climbing to the roof
Side trips in Italy
We didn't stay for a day or two in every place we visited. There were a few stops we made that were only 1-4 hours long. That's the way you see so much of the country in just 12 days!
First, Pompeii. We all learned about this city in elementary history class. It was covered in the eruption from Mt. Vesuvius. But what I didn't know before was that many people actually escaped Pompeii before the eruption. What happened though was that they came back when the volcano quieted down and that was their fatal mistake. The volcano began spewing poisonous gas and that is how most of the people of Pompeii died.
The ruins of the city are amazing, but again hard to capture it all in pictures. I learned a lot about the city and living in the Roman empire in the first century - pretty amazing stuff! For instance, a smallish city like Pompeii had a gladiator training ground, two theatres and "advanced" sanitation ideas, as well as beautiful artwork and lots of temples. This is the ruins of the main political/social center of Pompeii - the Forum - with the volcano in the background. By the way, it's long overdue to erupt again!
We also stopped in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was meant to be the bell tower of the church in Pisa, but started sinking shortly after it was built. I couldn't resist trying to hold it up!
We also spent some time in the cities of Verona and Bologna and at Lake Garda. But since they weren't incredibly interesting places (although not bad places), I won't waste your time. On to Milan!
First, Pompeii. We all learned about this city in elementary history class. It was covered in the eruption from Mt. Vesuvius. But what I didn't know before was that many people actually escaped Pompeii before the eruption. What happened though was that they came back when the volcano quieted down and that was their fatal mistake. The volcano began spewing poisonous gas and that is how most of the people of Pompeii died.
The ruins of the city are amazing, but again hard to capture it all in pictures. I learned a lot about the city and living in the Roman empire in the first century - pretty amazing stuff! For instance, a smallish city like Pompeii had a gladiator training ground, two theatres and "advanced" sanitation ideas, as well as beautiful artwork and lots of temples. This is the ruins of the main political/social center of Pompeii - the Forum - with the volcano in the background. By the way, it's long overdue to erupt again!
We also stopped in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was meant to be the bell tower of the church in Pisa, but started sinking shortly after it was built. I couldn't resist trying to hold it up!
We also spent some time in the cities of Verona and Bologna and at Lake Garda. But since they weren't incredibly interesting places (although not bad places), I won't waste your time. On to Milan!
Cinque Terre, Italy
OK I'm still hanging in there for my 4th post tonight...about halfway there!
Cinque Terre is a beautiful area on the north west coast of Italy. It literally means 5 villages and is 5 small fishing villages famous for their brightly colored houses and precarious perches. You can't drive between them, but you can take a train or ferry or walk on a path. We took the ferry and stopped briefly in the first and fourth villages and stayed an afternoon in the last one (sorry I don't remember the names). Oh, they are also famous for the basil they grow and make into lovely pesto!!!
Enjoy the pictures - I don't have much else to say about this area besides it was absolutely stunning and I would love to go back!
Cinque Terre is a beautiful area on the north west coast of Italy. It literally means 5 villages and is 5 small fishing villages famous for their brightly colored houses and precarious perches. You can't drive between them, but you can take a train or ferry or walk on a path. We took the ferry and stopped briefly in the first and fourth villages and stayed an afternoon in the last one (sorry I don't remember the names). Oh, they are also famous for the basil they grow and make into lovely pesto!!!
Enjoy the pictures - I don't have much else to say about this area besides it was absolutely stunning and I would love to go back!
Florence, Italy
After Sorrento, we traveled back past Rome and into Tuscany to Florence. I took a few pictures of the Tuscan countryside, but none of them did any justice to the beauty, so I won't try to tell you. Google it or watch a movie or something and you'll get the idea. :)
Florence is a very historic and artistic city. It is the city where Da Vinci and other Renaissance men lived. The architecture and art were amazing. It is a city with massive art galleries, including the one that holds the famous statue of David. We took a tour of the city and watched a leather demonstration. After that sightseeing, I spent most of my day exploring the markets and stimulating the European economy!
Florence is a very historic and artistic city. It is the city where Da Vinci and other Renaissance men lived. The architecture and art were amazing. It is a city with massive art galleries, including the one that holds the famous statue of David. We took a tour of the city and watched a leather demonstration. After that sightseeing, I spent most of my day exploring the markets and stimulating the European economy!
Sorrento & Capri, Italy
OK, well I'm clearly having problems with uploading pictures. It is working differently than normal, so forgive me if they aren't as neatly placed and organized as normal. It isn't being very user friendly :/
Sorrento and Capri were the most beautiful parts of my trip by far! The weather was amazing, the views were stunning and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of laying on the beach, crusing around Capri and visiting the Blue Grotto.
The view of our hotel area from above. Our hotel is not in sight, but we had a private beach and swimming area that we took full advantage of both nights we stayed there.
We had dinner in Sorrento that first night after a lounge on the beach. The sunset was an absolutely perfect dinner time view.
The next day we took a ferry to the Isle of Capri and cruised around the island first thing. Then we had the afternoon to explore (and hit the beach again!). The beaches on Capri are made of big rocks, not sand, so that was an interesting and painful experience. During our cruise, we stopped at the Blue Grotto and switched to smaller boats that we basically had to lie down in to get into the grotto. It was once Julius Caesar's private swimming area and the water reflects the rocks in such a way that makes the water shine bright blue - beautiful!
After our day on Capri, we headed back for more beach time (yes, I'm tan) and dinner at the hotel where we enjoyed another sunset. My roommate and I were lucky enough to have a top floor room that opened onto the roof top terrace. Both mornings I set out there and enjoyed the peacefulness and watched the fisherman. I was sad to leave Sorrento!!
Sorrento and Capri were the most beautiful parts of my trip by far! The weather was amazing, the views were stunning and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of laying on the beach, crusing around Capri and visiting the Blue Grotto.
The view of our hotel area from above. Our hotel is not in sight, but we had a private beach and swimming area that we took full advantage of both nights we stayed there.
We had dinner in Sorrento that first night after a lounge on the beach. The sunset was an absolutely perfect dinner time view.
The next day we took a ferry to the Isle of Capri and cruised around the island first thing. Then we had the afternoon to explore (and hit the beach again!). The beaches on Capri are made of big rocks, not sand, so that was an interesting and painful experience. During our cruise, we stopped at the Blue Grotto and switched to smaller boats that we basically had to lie down in to get into the grotto. It was once Julius Caesar's private swimming area and the water reflects the rocks in such a way that makes the water shine bright blue - beautiful!
After our day on Capri, we headed back for more beach time (yes, I'm tan) and dinner at the hotel where we enjoyed another sunset. My roommate and I were lucky enough to have a top floor room that opened onto the roof top terrace. Both mornings I set out there and enjoyed the peacefulness and watched the fisherman. I was sad to leave Sorrento!!
Rome, Italy
I must admit that I've been putting off my blog for a bit because it seems so daunting to blog a 12 day trip around Italy! But as I know some people are anxiously awaiting an update, I am going to try to make a good start tonight. So here goes!
I started my Italy trip 2 weeks ago on Sunday in Rome. I left London very early and was at my hotel by noon. I set off for sightseeing right away, even braving the HEAT (well, compared to London), humidity and occasional rain shower. The first thing I saw was the Coloseum and the neighboring ruins of the ancient Forum.
The thing that I noticed almost right away in Rome was how BIG everything is. Even the normal, everday buildings are large and the roads are wide and big. This is to say nothing of the Coloseum and other ancient buildings and monuments. Everything was on such a large scale!
After I soaked up some history in the most ancient area of Rome, I wandered through the streets to find the Trevi Fountain. The legend is that if you throw a coin over your shoulder and make a wish, the wish will come true and you will return to Rome. I had to try! I also had to try my first gelato of the trip nearby. After that, I wandered back to the hotel to meet up with my tour group.
That night we had dinner and the next morning we headed down towards the Amalfi coast. But we came back to Rome at the end of the trip so I'll go ahead and show those pictures now.
When we came back, I visited the Vatican (I'll do a separate post), Spanish Steps, Trvei Fountain again (had to make another wish!) and the Pantheon.
Spanish Steps
Making a wish
Pantheon
I started my Italy trip 2 weeks ago on Sunday in Rome. I left London very early and was at my hotel by noon. I set off for sightseeing right away, even braving the HEAT (well, compared to London), humidity and occasional rain shower. The first thing I saw was the Coloseum and the neighboring ruins of the ancient Forum.
The thing that I noticed almost right away in Rome was how BIG everything is. Even the normal, everday buildings are large and the roads are wide and big. This is to say nothing of the Coloseum and other ancient buildings and monuments. Everything was on such a large scale!
After I soaked up some history in the most ancient area of Rome, I wandered through the streets to find the Trevi Fountain. The legend is that if you throw a coin over your shoulder and make a wish, the wish will come true and you will return to Rome. I had to try! I also had to try my first gelato of the trip nearby. After that, I wandered back to the hotel to meet up with my tour group.
That night we had dinner and the next morning we headed down towards the Amalfi coast. But we came back to Rome at the end of the trip so I'll go ahead and show those pictures now.
When we came back, I visited the Vatican (I'll do a separate post), Spanish Steps, Trvei Fountain again (had to make another wish!) and the Pantheon.
Spanish Steps
Making a wish
Pantheon
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Life Update
I realize my posts have been a bit less frequent than they previously were. I'm happy to say that's because more of my time has been taken up with new friends and researching new trips! After the frenzy of summer European travel dies down, I plan to start getting back into my UK weekend day trips and continuing to explore London.
But next on the travel calendar is Italy! I leave Sunday (very early in the morning) to travel to Rome where I will meet up with my tour group. From there we will drive all over Italy - Rome, Florence, Pisa, Sorrento, Cinque Terre, Venice, Bologna, etc, etc and back to Rome! I will have a roommate for the trip (hope she's nice!) who I won't meet until Sunday. I will be gone for 12 days and hopefully 7 MBs of camera memory is enough!!! I am excited to try this new form of travel and especially excited to experience all there is to see and do and TASTE in Italy.
Tonight I just booked a ticket for Athens to go visit friends (hi Jess!) who will be there in July. We're hoping to get out of Athens and experience some of the Greek Islands on this trip and "play in the Mediterranean" as Jess so aptly put it. After Greece I think I'm going to have to stay in or close to London for awhile to save my £££. All of this travel is fabulous and exciting, but it does come with a price tag!
On the work front, I've been busier than ever before this summer. I am working on a couple big and challenging clients. I have learned so much since I moved here and I'm really excited about the rest of this year work-wise as I take on more responsibilities and prove myself at a place that still feels very new to me.
I guess that's about it for now. I just wanted to let you know I'll be pretty quiet for the next couple of weeks, but expect a slew of posts toward the end of the month. Arrivederla!
But next on the travel calendar is Italy! I leave Sunday (very early in the morning) to travel to Rome where I will meet up with my tour group. From there we will drive all over Italy - Rome, Florence, Pisa, Sorrento, Cinque Terre, Venice, Bologna, etc, etc and back to Rome! I will have a roommate for the trip (hope she's nice!) who I won't meet until Sunday. I will be gone for 12 days and hopefully 7 MBs of camera memory is enough!!! I am excited to try this new form of travel and especially excited to experience all there is to see and do and TASTE in Italy.
Tonight I just booked a ticket for Athens to go visit friends (hi Jess!) who will be there in July. We're hoping to get out of Athens and experience some of the Greek Islands on this trip and "play in the Mediterranean" as Jess so aptly put it. After Greece I think I'm going to have to stay in or close to London for awhile to save my £££. All of this travel is fabulous and exciting, but it does come with a price tag!
On the work front, I've been busier than ever before this summer. I am working on a couple big and challenging clients. I have learned so much since I moved here and I'm really excited about the rest of this year work-wise as I take on more responsibilities and prove myself at a place that still feels very new to me.
I guess that's about it for now. I just wanted to let you know I'll be pretty quiet for the next couple of weeks, but expect a slew of posts toward the end of the month. Arrivederla!
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