Fall in Italy

We’ve been gone for the last few weeks.  This was a long in coming trip to Italy.  The tale goes back to 2001.  My sister, brother, their spouses and we were scheduled to go to Italy.  Our departure dates were September 11, 12 and 13.  Needless to say when 9/11 happened everything changed.  We have FINALLY made the trip and had an amazing time.

We started off in Rome.  The sights were so numerous and overwhelming.   I’m sure that even a year in Rome would barely scratch the surface.

Ruins in the Jewish Getto section.

 

The old city wall in Rome.

A view of St. Peter's from the river.

On our way to tour the Vatican and St. Peter's.

The ceilings along the route were spectacular.

Inside of St. Peter's with a stunning mosaic floor. 

The Colosseum

Inside of the Colosseum.

Dome of Pantheon

The Pantheon

Markers outside of a home in the cobblestones.  It makes one pause and remember some horrible times.

The Borghese Museum

This is how we felt after days of walking Rome!!!

Traffic entering Vatican City...as we were told, "the laws are simply suggestions"!!!  I now believe that.  I'll never complain about traffic in Los Angeles again.

From Rome it was on to Florence via the fast train.  Florence appeared to be a much easier city to navigate – much smaller too, but fabulous for it’s art.

The Duomo in Florence.

View of the Duomo at sunset from the rooftop bar of the hotel.

David at the Academia

The Uffizi Gallery - a must see if you visit.

The Ponte Vecchio - filled with gold merchants now.

We visited Cinque Terre and Pisa as well.

One of the five picturesque villages of Cinque Terre

The villages are accessible via boat.

We had lunch in this village...Everyday seemed to be laundry day in Italy.

Colorful doorway.

Charming stairs with the pots.

Pisa Duomo and Tower.

The beautiful white Carrera marble from the area.

Of course there was food, and food and more food to enjoy.  Every single meal was incredible.  We were able to tour the Centrale Mercado and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Greengrocers

Everything innards.

Parma Hams

Believe it or not, this is an amazing taste on crostinis.

Too many choices!!!

We definitely ate our share of Gelato there.

Spices

It was a wonderful trip, but it was nice to get home and away from the crowds and unimaginable traffic.  I must say that I was in awe of the ability of the drivers to park.  I can’t see myself getting into this spot.   I would have loved seeing him pull into it.