THE BEST OF ITALY!

Two years ago as the pandemic was ramping up we learned that our Trafalgar Tour to Italy was cancelled, literally just minutes before walking out the door for our flight to Rome. A few days ago we returned from the same 13 day adventure we planned back in 2020. 

Gondolas getting ready for a romantic day of cruising the canals of Venice. O Sole Mio.

Our "Best of Italy" tour began in Rome on March 20, 2022. I spent my birthday the next day visiting my 67th country, Vatican City. Patrizia, our tour director, was fantastic! I rank her in my top two, right up next to Gilbert in Costa Rica. She has a great sense of humor and genuinely loves her job. Vincenzo, our driver, was incredible as he guided our coach places I was certain it couldn't go. Kamila, the well-being director, did a great job keeping us all safe.

A view of Rome from the top of the Bramante Staircase (which is really a spiral ramp, not stairs) in the Vatican Museums.

A courtyard inside the walls of Vatican City.

The original Bramante Staircase built in the early 1500s.

St. Peter's Basilica, the largest cathedral in the world, within the Vatican walls. St. Peter's was designed in part by Michelangelo, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Donato Bramante. We were adamantly corrected that the sculptor and painter of the Sistine Chapel's name is not prononced MIKElangelo, but MICKlangelo. The Sistine Chapel was incredible but no photos were allowed.

St. Peter's Square or in Italian, Piazza San Pietro.

A small portion of the inside of the Basilica. I took about 20 photos here but it was tough narrowing all 700+ of my Italy photos down to about 70 for this blog.

The Pieta, a sculpture created by Michelangelo, which is housed inside St. Peter's. The statue is behind glass after an attack by a crazed visitor years ago.

 

Our tour continued with many of the well known sights in Rome - the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Circus Maximus and the Pantheon among them. I was reminded of how awestruck I felt seeing Paris with places I'd heard of, seen pictures of and read about my entire life.

The Colosseum in central Rome. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world today, despite its age.

Inside the Colosseum. Our tour guide told us stories of the events held here in ancient times. Most were not humane or pleasant. Again, lots of photos that had to be pared down.

The Trevi Fountain is an 18th century fountain designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi. It was larger than I anticipated and was much whiter than this picture. None of the sights of Rome are done justice by photographs, you have to see them in person to truly appreciate the grandeur.

Inside the Pantheon, a former Roman temple that since the early 600s has been a Catholic church.

I spent my 72nd birthday walking all over the Vatican and Rome - up and down literally thousands of stairs and Patrizia estimated we walked 10 kilometers or 6.2 miles this day! I earned my birthday dinner of Spaghetti Carbonara at this outdoor cafe in the Piazza Navona.

St. Peter's Basilica at night taken from our bus after a long, long day.

Patrizia commented, tongue-in-cheek, that Italians are required to take a class in "Creative Parking" since there are 60 million people and 40 million cars in the country. I've never seen so many tiny cars and motor bikes parked everywhere. I wish I would have taken more photos as Vincenzo maneuvered us around Rome in our 50 passenger coach.

This is one of the numerous goofy little cars everywhere in Rome.

Many of these are just enclosed scooters that can accommodate one person and a small bag. We would often see this type or smart cars parked straight into the curb between two parallel parked slightly larger vehicles.

The tiny cars were everywhere but I'll take this Lamborghini any day.

The following morning we headed south to Sorrento for two nights. Our first destination was Pompeii, buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. I was surprised at how large Pompeii was and how much has been excavated.

Our local guide told us this was a type of cafe where citizens could stop for a bite to eat.

One of the numerous stone roads that crisscrossed the city of 150+ acres and housed approximately 11,000 people. Pompeii was a thriving civilization with spas, housing, restaurants, etc. Oddly, the best preserved building was the bordello with its concrete beds and paintings on the walls of services offered.

Our guide liked to point out what he called the first pizza oven.

The main plaza of Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius looming in the background. Last erupting in 1944 Mount Vesuvius is still an active volcano.

Here we are near the end of our tour.

The optional tour of the picturesque cliffside village of Positano was one of the highlights for me. The drive along the rugged Amalfi Coast included some amazing scenery. The following day, we drove to Sorrento for a ferry ride to the Isle of Capri.

A turnout along the Amalfi Coast overlooking the village of Positano. I didn't really grow, we were on steps and I stood on a higher one than Lou. This drive rivaled the jaw-dropping beauty and sheer cliffs of our Northern California coastline.

Our fearless leader, Patrizia. She would write the meeting time and place then order us all to take a photo in order to remember. She always had her pink umbrella so we could locate her in a crowd. As we took off in a group the battle cry was "Follow the pink umbrella!"

The shops of Positano lined the steep narrow streets descending down the cliff to the sea.

The dark, sandy beach of Positano.

I needed a few rest stops on the journey back up the steep, winding paths to the parking lot.

That evening at our included dinner I was totally surprised by with a wild, flaming cake to celebrate my birthday. Patrizia apologized for not doing it on the actual day which made no difference to me. She also presented me with a leather bound journal from Florence. She always went above and beyond our expectations.

The Isle of Capri as we walked off our ferry ride into Capri Town.

The main street of the lower town. Mini vans take people to the upper level which is quite steep if you were to attempt to walk it.

I'm always fascinated by boats in the water and on shore. Not sure why but they just seem really scenic and beg me to take a picture.

As we returned to the ferry there were several jellyfish swimming by the pier.

An interesting building with an orange tree growing along this street in Sorrento.

Leaving Sorrento, our next stop was Assisi, birthplace of St. Francis, for a guided walking tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Assisi felt like stepping back in time a thousand years. 

This scene is almost identical to one we saw in Rottenburg, Germany, about 10 years ago. Both Lou and I immediately commented on the similarity.

Patrizia and Vincenzo drove a little past our hotel to give us this photo op at sunset of the cathedral and all of Assisi. While we were having our tour by a local guide they took our bags to the hotel, a former monastery, and they were waiting for us in our rooms after another long day.

Our next destination was the unique city of Venice. It was every bit as incredible as I thought it would be. I can't imagine building an entire city on islands with canals taking the place of streets and boats replacing cars. It is stunning. But I still have one unanswered question - why?

The Grand Canal, Venice's Main Street.

The Doge's Palace is a gothic style landmark built in the 1300s and modified over the years.

St. Mark's Cathedral and Square. We would tour it the next day but Patrizia knew the lighting for photos was much better in the late afternoon. She had water taxis lined up for us to visit after we arrived in Venice. Vincenzo had the day off after dropping us in Venice.

Detail of the dome and entrance to St. Mark's Cathedral.

You absolutely can't go to Venice without taking a ride in a gondola. Here is our gondolier and another on the Grand Canal with the Rialto Bridge in the background.

Our optional tour with Trafalgar didn't include a private gondola but we had several reserved for our group. The middle gondola included an opera singer and accordion player whose serenade was easily heard by all of us.

Our gondolas drifted under the Bridge of Sighs, named that because it was the route taken by convicted men as they walked from the court on the left to the prison on the right.

Inside St. Mark's Cathedral the following day during our tour.

Venice is made up of 117 islands (some accounts varied slightly) but our local guide said 117. Our trip included another boat ride and a visit to a glass factory on Murano. It was beautiful stuff but way out of my price range.

We continued on to the island of Burano, still part of Venice, for "linner" as Patrizia called our late lunch, early dinner. I loved this colorful village. This is one of my favorite photos of our trip.

There were a ton of colorful photo ops on Burano.

We continued our journey through Verona, and Milan ending up in Lake Como for the evening. More walking tours had my feet begging for mercy but I found a fun way to alleviate a little of the stress.

Juliet's Balcony in Verona. Supposedly this is a major tourist attraction that people seem to forget isn't real. Juliet was a fictional character. Patrizia called it the "real fake balcony" of Romeo and Juliet fame.

The buildings of Verona.

The Verona Arena is similar to the Colosseum but smaller. They still hold concerts there on a regular basis.

I've never understood the concept of charging people to use the facilities for a normal bodily function but public toilets cost from 50 cents to one Euro. Most are clean although many are missing toilet seats. Elaborate machines or even people are present to take your money. I loved this sign on the back of the stall door in Verona. People seemed to respect the polite "Graffiti Here Please" request.

Another walking tour - Mamma Mia! That seems to be the Italian replacement of "Oh, My God!" over here. Patrizia used the Mamma Mia expression often.This was a castle in Milan with a long name that our local guide said they have trouble pronouncing.

Next stop was La Scala Opera House. These are the box seats with floor seating also.The outside wasn't too impressive and covered with lots of scaffolding.

Finally the famous Galleria shopping mall housing all the upscale shops completed our tour. Lou wanted to tour the Milan Cathedral but I was already at the AFC point (world travelers know that is Another F**king Cathedral). Telling him I'd see him at our meeting point in an hour I found a cute glass cafe to have a glass of pinot grigio.

My feet had given out so I was content to sip my wine and people watch. After 15-20 minutes I was joined by a mom and daughter in our group who were also in need of vino and rested feet. We were on our second glasses when Lou spotted me after his cathedral tour. I'm pretty sure that Lady Gaga and Adam Driver were in this same cafe in a scene from "House of Gucci" that we watched on the flight home.

The Milan Cathedral at the end of the Galleria. This was also in the "House of Gucci" film

Today's tour took us around the "Y" shaped Lake Como by bus to a port where we boarded a boat for Bellagio, not the hotel and casino in Las Vegas, but the charming village on Lake Como with lots more steps and walking. Another boat ride to the other side where we boarded our bus for a side trip to Lugano, Switzerland, before heading back to Lake Como.

The streets of Bellagio. Yet another uphill climb. The people of Italy are in great shape just going to the store or restaurant!

These gorgeous purple flowers made a great photo in Bellagio.

We took a side trip to Lugano, Switzerland, where many of the rich and famous vacation. While some were shopping in the fancy upscale malls we sat watching the people and water. That little dog in the left hand corner barked at EVERY dog, big or small, that walked by.

This little Disney Carousel was the envy of every little girl.

Beautiful daffodils and others in full bloom.

With no dinner plans we decided to take in the beauty of the Lake Como waterfront which seemed to be a favorite hang out for the locals after work.

Before dinner we strolled along the serene shoreline of Lake Como. Patrizia told us that George Clooney has a villa on Lake Como but it was many miles from here.

Looking across the inlet of Lake Como's marina you can see the funicular track leading up the right side of the mountain. One of our people told us it wasn't working but others found that later in the evening it was again traveling up the hill. Would have made for a beautiful view.

There were a bank of swans (yes, I looked up what they are called) avoiding the many kids trying to chase after them as they played in the water.

En route to Florence, we stopped in Pisa for a couple hours where Lou was able to climb the Leaning Tower, a "bucket list" item for him. No way was I climbing any more stairs! Pisa was the only place where we encountered vendors that seemed pushy making it difficult not to be rude.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, yes, it is leaning. Enough said.

Lou's view from the top of the tower. Patrizia helped him figure out what time we would be there to purchase his timed ticket for the climb. She really was such a great leader. Our experience has been that a tour director can make or break a trip. And she definitely did a fantastic job.

The 20 euro ticket to climb the Leaning Tower included the inside of the Pisa Cathedral so Lou made a quick trip through it while I did more people watching.

Florence, the capital of Italy's Tuscany region and home to many masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture was the final major city on our journey through Italy. We were blessed with beautiful clear weather for the first 10 days of our trip, but the much needed rain caught up with us in Florence, pouring or drizzling for our entire stay. Oh, well, we had umbrellas and our shoes eventually dried.

Michelangelo's David in all his glory!

This 17 foot tall statue carved out of one piece of marble by the master is truly the epitome of a work of art. Of course, I had to check out his butt. 

The Accademia Gallery is a fairly small museum with the focus being David but here are a few more similar works.

As much as I love pasta by the end of our trip I was getting kind of sick of it. We found the Hard Rock Cafe in Florence, rested our feet out of the rain and had a cheeseburger and pulled pork sandwich. Yum!

Dinner with fellow travelers at a Tuscany castle which also produces wine. 

On our way out of town we stopped at an overlook above Florence for these famous views of this incredible city. Dominated, of course, by their cathedral.

Another gorgeous view. Only some blue sky and white clouds could have made it better but we certainly can't complain.

I have to mention one evening returning to our hotel after a lovely dinner with free flowing wine in an estate once owned by Machiavelli, Patrizia played lots of fun songs to sing along with which we all did - Mamma Mia, Sweet Home Alabama and YMCA to name a few. It was a real party bus and at one point Vincenzo got in on the fun circling a roundabout 7 or 8 times before finally continuing on our way. Everyone loved it and getting "stuck in the traffic circle" was a big topic of conversation the next day.

Our final day of travel included at brief stop at an American Cemetery honoring World War II veterans who died and a stop at San Gimignano, yet another hilly medieval village. I stayed on the bus for the cemetery stop in the rain but trekked up the steep cobbled roads of San Gimignano for the last of our many gelato breaks.

The Florence American Cemetery where 4400 World War II casualties are buried. 

The entrance to the medieval walled town of San Gimignano. This was our final stop on our way back to Rome for our Farewell Dinner. 

Although the rain continued San Gimignano didn't disappoint. This truly was a amazing trip. What made it even more wonderful was that after two years of waiting during the pandemic we finally made it. All 31 of us were fully vaccinated and took all the precautions which worked. Everyone of us tested negative for covid and began the long trek back home. As we all marched into the airport, the last words I heard Patrizia utter were, "Mamma Mia, my babies are leaving."