Rome

Rome was our last stop in Italy. While we were really excited about seeing Rome, we were also pretty weary of traveling at this point, especially in huge cities that spoke languages that we couldn't understand. By now, we had become experts at using the train and figuring out the bus and metro and we were able to find our way to our hotel with no problems (finally!). Once we got our first glimpse from the bus of all the famous Roman sights, we were once again ready to explore. Our first night in Rome, we just relaxed and had pizza (of course) for dinner. Have I mentioned how much pizza we ate in Italy? No? Well, we certainly had our fair share- we even had it 3 days in a row for lunch and dinner because it was a guaranteed cheap meal.

Rome was amazing to explore because everywhere we went we were reminded of the history that has taken place and how old the city actually is. Everywhere you look they are excavating more ancient ruins. The city has been built up in layers so that the ancient ruins are actually several feet below the present day street level. We loved seeing the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.

We also went to the Vatican City where we saw St. Peter's Basilica.

One night in Rome we took a "Night Walk Through Rome" from our Rick Steves guide book, of course. This ended up being one of our favorite nights of our whole trip. We started in one of the city squares, meandering through cobblestone streets and street performers. It is amazing what people will do for a euro. Our walk took us past the Pantheon (which we had toured earlier) and we stopped and had dinner at a little pasta place that faced the back of the Pantheon. We enjoyed some of the best pasta we have ever had- we would have licked our plates had we not been in public I think. This place was so good that we went back the very next night! After our dinner we continued our walk to the Trevi Fountain which was magical at night. We enjoyed sitting with a drink and watching the water with hundreds of other tourists and Romans. We ended our night at the famous Spanish Steps and then quickly rushed to catch the metro before it stopped running for the night.

Tuscany

Our next stop after Cinque Terre was Tuscany. We headed to a B&B in a small town, Pistoia, that Diane had recommended. I had been emailing with the owner Laura about our arrival. She explained that she spoke very little English and that her husband did not speak any, and she hoped this wouldn't be a problem. She said that her husband (Vlady) would be happy to pick up up at the train station. After an awkward start to our stay, we quickly grew to love our time there.

Each day after breakfast, Vlady would take us to the train station so we could explore the region by day trips. Each evening he would come and pick us back up when we arrived. Every time we would have the same conversation, with our limited understanding of the other language. It went something like this- "Ciao! Florence?" "Si, Florence was beautiful!" "Ah, okay" then when we got home, "Grazie!" "Prego!" (thank you, your welcome). Laura and Vlady were so sweet and treated us so well. We felt taken care of and started referring to then as our "Italian parents". It was so wonderful to get to know people from the culture in which we were staying. We actually stayed a day longer than we had planned and when we left we were sad to go. Laura told us that we were "beautiful people" and she said that we "stayed well with them."

On our day trips we went to Florence, Lucca and then spent a day exploring Pistoia and laying by the pool. Florence was beautiful and we loved exploring the small town of Lucca. We rented bikes and rode all over town and around the old city wall. Here are some pictures from our time-

Florence (thank goodness it didn't rain even though it looks like its about to pour!)

We walked up to Piazza de Michelangelo and were able to take in this amazing view of the city.

After leaving Tuscany, we headed out on the train to Rome. We decided to stop and see one more town, Orvieto. Orvieto was built high on a hill and then walled for extra protection from its enemies. We loved our short stop here.

We of course had pizza for lunch. Here is Nick at our sweet picnic spot high on the wall.

Via dell Amore

Our family friend, Diane recently visited Italy and Cinque Terre. While she was in Cinque Terre, she planned a little scavenger hunt for Nick and I. Part of the Cinque Terre hike is known as Via dell Amore, or the Walk of Love. It is a tradition with the locals and tourists to take this walk and place a padlock with your names on it on the fence. Diane actually painted our names with red fingernail polish (Laurie and Pat's too) on this walk and then sent Nick and I the padlocks with instructions on where to find our names! We decided that our last night in Cinque Terre we would have a nice dinner and take the Via dell Amore.

On the Walk of Love....

Here you can see the hundreds of locks on the fence.

We found our names!

Our locks on the fence.

This was the perfect way to end our time in Cinque Terre. Thanks Diane!

Cinque Terre

From the moment we started planning this trip, Cinque Terre was one of the places we were most excited about seeing. I have to say, this place did not disapoint! Cinque Terre are five small towns along the Italian coast. It is a national park and there is a hiking trail that connects the five towns. We spent five wonderful days here, just exploring the towns, hiking the trails and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. Cinque Terre is where pesto and foccacia originated and we enjoyed plenty of both. Here is a view from our hike-

This was such a nice break from all the sightseeing we have been doing throughout this trip. We were able to just relax and enjoy the beauty that the Lord created. We highly recommend it!