Welcome Home ...& "Arrivederci"!

Wow!  Can you believe it's almost 2 weeks since we were enjoying the sights & sounds of Rome?!
Hopefully everyone recovered quickly from their jet-lag & has been enjoying a great summer.
I heard last week that we had more than one broken bone on our tour - as well as Andrew's unfortunate tumble in Siena it turns out Carol trekked all over Italy with a broken foot!

Henry & I want to thank you all for being such excellent travel companions.  We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves & hope that you all did too.
Best wishes & safe travels.

Rome - At Leisure & Ancient Rome (July 2nd)

This morning & much of the afternoon, our last day in Italy, were left entirely free for the group to enjoy at their leisure - some folks chose to sleep in, other to shop or to do more sightseeing.
In the mid-late afternoon we all rendezvoused at the Colosseum, perhaps the most spectacular sight in the city, to begin our in-depth tour of Ancient Rome with Stuart Harvey.

As well as seeing the sights our tour, as with any tour with Stuart, delved into the background - the history & even the bricks & mortar of Roman building techniques.

Outside the Colosseum we learned how the amphitheater got it's name (& no, it has nothing to do with it's size...).  Then we headed on to the nearby Forum, the very heart of Ancient Rome for centuries & the sight of countless events that shaped history.

Such as the very spot where Mark Anthony publicly mourned the slain Julius Ceasar...

At the end of our tour we passed a few other sights, such as the Vittoria Emmanuel monument (to Italy's first king), as we made our way to our restaurant for our farewell group dinner.

Dinner at Pietro al Pantheon was the perfect way to end our tour - an excellent meal with friendly service in a unique venue in the very heart of Rome.

Afterwards there was time for a short walk, with a gelato stop along the way of course, to the Trevi Fountain, before it was time to retire before our early starts tomorrow morning.

Rome - The Centro Storico & Vatican (July 1st)

Due to the usually-scheduled Papal Audience on Wednesday mornings this morning had originally been left free so those who wished could join the crowds of pilgrims in Saint Peter's Square.
Due to the Pope's travel pans & the excessive heat however this weeks' audience was cancelled so we instead enjoyed a relaxed walk through the Centro Storico - Rome's historic city center.

After a casual walk we then had to survive the over-crowded buses but made it successfully to our first stoop, Campo de' Fiori - 'Field of Flowers' - one of Rome's most popular & bustling squares, always busy on a weekday morning with its' market & cafes.

From Campo de' Fiori it was just a short walk to nearby Piazza Navona - a much grander 'square', formerly a Roman hippodrome, complete with the spectacular Bernini 'Fountain of the Four Rivers'.

After free time at the Pantheon or sightseeing & lunch, we regrouped & rode the bus to the Vatican for our afternoon tour - the Vatican Museum & Saint Peter's.
Our guide for the Vatican was the superb Stuart Harvey.  Stuart masterfully negotiated the bureaucracy & the crowds, entertaining us, educating & enthralling us with information on art, history, the church, & more.

This evening, after time to freshen-up at our hotel, we rode the metro to Piazza Barberini, for dinner at the fun Giardini d'Albino - Albino's Gardens.  

As well as a seemingly unending array of foods we were also serenaded by the house singer with Italian songs & even John Denver!  Lots of fun & the ideal venue for our two birthday girls.

From Albino's it was just a short walk to the top of the Spanish Steps - an iconic nighttime sight of Rome & a chance for us to see another of the city's 13 Egyptian obelisks.

Florence to Rome - Siena & Assisi (June 30th)

Sadly it was time to bid farewell to Florence this morning as we began the journey south to Italy's historic capital city, Rome

We had two important stops scheduled for today - the Tuscan city of Siena & the Umbrian hill-town of Assisi.

In Sienna we made a walking tour from our bus parking to the 'Campo' in the heart of the city, discovering the backstreets, seeing the huge San Domenico church & 'Duomo', & enjoying fantastic views of the city's preserved medieval skyline along the way.

We also saw preparations for the 'Palio', the historic horse race between the city's rival 'contrabass' or neighborhoods that will be taking place in just a couple of days around the main square.

There was free time for lunch & for shopping or sightseeing - including for some to climb one of the city's towers for spectacular views.  And of course there is always time for gelato!

Later in the day we also stopped in the picturesque hill-town of Assisi in neighboring Umbria.  Assisi is famous as the home town of St. Francis & is home to a beautiful basilica in his honor, its walls lined with priceless frescoes by artists including Giotto, Cimabue, & others.  We had time to visit the basilica, then to explore the village itself which is beautiful & spotlessly clean, built in the local pink & honey-colored stone.

Finally, at the end of a long day of traveling & sightseeing, we arrived in Rome.  We checked-in to our last hotel then walked to dinner nearby.

Tomorrow:  The Centro Storico & the Vatican!

The Cinque Terre (June 29th)

Our entire day today was dedicated to exploring the stretch of the Ligurian coastline known as the Cinque Terre - Five Lands.
This famed area, just over 20 miles in length, is home to the five villages of Monterosso, Vernazza, Cornelia, Manarola & Riomaggiore.  All were largely isolated from the outside world at one time & are thus preserved today as beautiful & charming fishing villages.

We began our day with a 2 hour bus ride to La Spezia, then took the train all the way to the northernmost village, Monterosso.  From there some intrepid travelers hiked almost 2 hours to the next village, Vernazza, whilst others rode the train along the coastal line.

There was plenty of free time in Vernazza for lunch & wandering,  before we regrouped & took a ferry along the coast to Manarola.

Another train ride, just 2 monists long, took us to the final village of Riomaggiore, where we had a group dinner of mixed fried seafood & grilled swordfish.
Another short train ride took us back to La Spezia where we met our bus for the 23 hour ride to Florence - arriving at our hotel around 9;30pm at the end of an excellent day.