Italy!
For Spring Break this year, we decided to go to Italy! This has been my dream vacation since my family lived there before I was born :) We had an amazing time as we explored for about a week!
Naples/Pompeii/Vesuvius
We primarily stayed in Rome, however, we did take a day trip down to Naples so we could hike Mt. Vesuvius and walk around Pompeii. It was a sunny clear day, which made for perfect weather to hike in! Because it was so clear, we had an incredible view all the way up and at the top of the hike.
Side story: When my mom went to Italy 12ish years ago, she brought us all back little ceramic eggs. I thought it was the coolest thing (please keep in mind that I was 5 haha). However, when our house burned down in 2008, we lost the eggs. So when we got there, I was determined to get one. I have no idea why I thought it was so cool at the time, but regardless, we got eggs!
Walking around Pompeii was also pretty incredible. The way it has been preserved is remarkable. There is so much to see and lots of little (and big) ancient houses to explore. One of the coolest things was how in the stone roads, you could see the indentations that used to be where the chariots came through!
Florence
We also took a day trip up to Florence! In Florence we hit the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michelangelo's David, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Basilica of Santa Croce. Michelangelo's David was a whole lot bigger in person than I expected, which was cool to see. The gallery also had a lot of other stone carvings, and we all decided that we need to do more with stone carvings these days because they are insane! The Basilica of Santa Croce is where Galileo, Michelangelo, Rossini and quite a few others are buried. The sculptures by the tombs were intricate and again, breathtaking. We also wandered through the streets to find somewhere to eat. We didn't want to go somewhere super touristy so we walked for a bit. AND DID THAT PAY OFF! We walked into a little restaurant and sat down. When the lady asked what we wanted, my dad told her to surprise us. We ate some of the best food that day. She brought out pasta and soup, and we ate and ate and ate. But of course, the day couldn't be complete without some gelato.
Also, while in Florence, we might have driven through the narrow streets where we weren't exactly supposed to drive, but it's all okay, don't worry :)
On our way home from Florence, my dad needed to stop and take a work call so we stopped in a little town called Orvieto. It was freezing (okay lower 60s) and pitch black outside as we wondered up to the Duomo of Orvieto and stopped at a little pizza place. It was a cute little town that a had a fun view of the rest of Orvieto :)
Rome
We spent the majority of our time in Rome! This definitely kept us occupied. We saw everything that you would expect to see in Rome! The Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Colosseum, Roman Forum, St. Peter's Basilica, the Mouth of Truth, the Vatican, a bazillion cathedrals and the new Rome Temple! While at St Peter's Basilica, we got to hike to the top of the dome and that gave us some incredible views of Rome. We also saw Michelangelo's Pieta and all of the other incredibly carved pieces of art!
While we were waiting in line to go to the Vatican Museum, which was about a 90 minute wait (where the Sistine Chapel is), it started pouring on us. So, there we stood, out in the rain for 45 minutes waiting to go inside. We bought some umbrellas/ponchos, but poor Preston got very, very wet. Also, you can't take pictures of the Sistine Chapel so that is why there aren't any.
Catacombs of Rome
We spent a few hours one day exploring some of the Catacombs in Rome. I LOVED these, and they were a big hit for our family. The Catacombs are underground Catholic burial grounds that they used in the 2-4 centuries. The original idea behind them is actually really cool. The catholics wanted to be buried in these grounds together so that when Christ comes, they can all be together. It definitely made me want to do some more research on them because walking through them was something that was very new to me. Another cool part of it was that the oldest depiction of Mary and Jesus was in the catacombs that we walked through. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures in the catacombs, but they are definitely worth researching (and going to if you ever have the opportunity to go!)
Cathedrals/Basilicas
Like I previously said, we went into a bazillion cathedrals (I'm not even exaggerating. I counted). I wish I knew the names of all of them, but I don't. Overall, we were insanely impressed by all of the artistry, decorations and carvings in each one. One of Preston's favorite parts of the trip was St. Paul's Basilica, which is a HUGE basilica just outside of Rome.
And I can't forget all of the food we had. We didn't take time to take pictures of it because we were wayyy too focused on eating it, but let me tell you, the food was sooo good. We ate everything you'd expect to eat in Italy...pizza, pasta, cheese, gelato. And it was all 100% perfect. I'm definitely a fan of Italian cuisine.
I'm probably forgetting some things, but we had a lovely time while exploring Italy!
Naples/Pompeii/Vesuvius
We primarily stayed in Rome, however, we did take a day trip down to Naples so we could hike Mt. Vesuvius and walk around Pompeii. It was a sunny clear day, which made for perfect weather to hike in! Because it was so clear, we had an incredible view all the way up and at the top of the hike.
Side story: When my mom went to Italy 12ish years ago, she brought us all back little ceramic eggs. I thought it was the coolest thing (please keep in mind that I was 5 haha). However, when our house burned down in 2008, we lost the eggs. So when we got there, I was determined to get one. I have no idea why I thought it was so cool at the time, but regardless, we got eggs!
Walking around Pompeii was also pretty incredible. The way it has been preserved is remarkable. There is so much to see and lots of little (and big) ancient houses to explore. One of the coolest things was how in the stone roads, you could see the indentations that used to be where the chariots came through!
Florence
We also took a day trip up to Florence! In Florence we hit the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michelangelo's David, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Basilica of Santa Croce. Michelangelo's David was a whole lot bigger in person than I expected, which was cool to see. The gallery also had a lot of other stone carvings, and we all decided that we need to do more with stone carvings these days because they are insane! The Basilica of Santa Croce is where Galileo, Michelangelo, Rossini and quite a few others are buried. The sculptures by the tombs were intricate and again, breathtaking. We also wandered through the streets to find somewhere to eat. We didn't want to go somewhere super touristy so we walked for a bit. AND DID THAT PAY OFF! We walked into a little restaurant and sat down. When the lady asked what we wanted, my dad told her to surprise us. We ate some of the best food that day. She brought out pasta and soup, and we ate and ate and ate. But of course, the day couldn't be complete without some gelato.
Also, while in Florence, we might have driven through the narrow streets where we weren't exactly supposed to drive, but it's all okay, don't worry :)
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| Ok, is this not EXACTLY what you think of when you picture Italy?? |
Rome
We spent the majority of our time in Rome! This definitely kept us occupied. We saw everything that you would expect to see in Rome! The Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Colosseum, Roman Forum, St. Peter's Basilica, the Mouth of Truth, the Vatican, a bazillion cathedrals and the new Rome Temple! While at St Peter's Basilica, we got to hike to the top of the dome and that gave us some incredible views of Rome. We also saw Michelangelo's Pieta and all of the other incredibly carved pieces of art!
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| Roman Forum |
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| Um ok...little story...when they say "nutella gelato" they just mean cold nutella. But enjoy this blurry picture of us eating gelato while incredibly happy haha :) |
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| Michelangelo's Pieta |
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| Spanish Steps |
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| Random street in Rome....but I mean just look at how picturesque that is... |
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| View from the Dome at St. Peter's Basilica |
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| The other 2 people in this picture are some friends from when my family lived in Italy almost 20 years ago. Seriously the sweetest and most fun people! |
While we were waiting in line to go to the Vatican Museum, which was about a 90 minute wait (where the Sistine Chapel is), it started pouring on us. So, there we stood, out in the rain for 45 minutes waiting to go inside. We bought some umbrellas/ponchos, but poor Preston got very, very wet. Also, you can't take pictures of the Sistine Chapel so that is why there aren't any.
Catacombs of Rome
We spent a few hours one day exploring some of the Catacombs in Rome. I LOVED these, and they were a big hit for our family. The Catacombs are underground Catholic burial grounds that they used in the 2-4 centuries. The original idea behind them is actually really cool. The catholics wanted to be buried in these grounds together so that when Christ comes, they can all be together. It definitely made me want to do some more research on them because walking through them was something that was very new to me. Another cool part of it was that the oldest depiction of Mary and Jesus was in the catacombs that we walked through. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures in the catacombs, but they are definitely worth researching (and going to if you ever have the opportunity to go!)
Cathedrals/Basilicas
Like I previously said, we went into a bazillion cathedrals (I'm not even exaggerating. I counted). I wish I knew the names of all of them, but I don't. Overall, we were insanely impressed by all of the artistry, decorations and carvings in each one. One of Preston's favorite parts of the trip was St. Paul's Basilica, which is a HUGE basilica just outside of Rome.
And I can't forget all of the food we had. We didn't take time to take pictures of it because we were wayyy too focused on eating it, but let me tell you, the food was sooo good. We ate everything you'd expect to eat in Italy...pizza, pasta, cheese, gelato. And it was all 100% perfect. I'm definitely a fan of Italian cuisine.
I'm probably forgetting some things, but we had a lovely time while exploring Italy!
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