20 days in Italy

We left Edmonton after waiting 3hrs for our KLM aircraft.  During the overnight, eight hour flight to Amsterdam we saw some of Greenland and Scotland through the clouds but our late departure from Edmonton made us too late for our interconnecting flight to Rome. After a six hour delay in Amsterdam and another two hour flight, we finally caught a glimpse of Rome where our Italian Adventure began. 

We spent our first two days touring and visiting the attractions in  Rome and the Vatican. Then, we rented a car and drove into central Umbria. Near Spoleto, we stayed in a 14th century fortress apparently built by the Papal State of the day. From there, we left for Venice by way of Rimini and Riccione along the Adriatic coastline. In Venice, we stayed in an old hotel near the Grand Canal. From Venice, we drove to La Spezia and trained into Cinque Terre. Next was Florence with side trips to Pisa and Lucca. After Florence, we ventured south towards Sorrento and the Amalfi coast and a day trip to Positano. We wrapped up our trip with a final night in Rome.  Here are a few pictures we took along the way.

First day in Rome. We are in good spirits dispute the jet lag, high humidity and occasional raindrop.

This place might sell wine. Let's check it out!

The owner of this restaurant let us sample everything in his cucina.

Tito was impressed. This is the way wine should be served.

The Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica.

FACT: The vast majority of the statues and paintings are of naked male figures. 

Ceiling paintings

Pope John Paul II

One of the Michelangelo's huge paintings in the Vatican Museum. In this piece, he included a self portrait of himself in the lower right hand corner.

OMG, what if these Romans are right about this Heaven and Hell stuff?

The official security force at the Vatican is the Swiss Guard.

The guy in the red shirt was our Vatican tour guide. The $80 fee was well worth it considering all of the "inside" information he shared and the fact that we were able to bypass all the tourist lineups.

The back-side view of the Colosseum. A section on the left is being resurfaced with brick.

We drove this little 5-speed diesel Fiat for two weeks and logged over 2,000 km. 

As great as it was to have the freedom to drive wherever we wanted, it was a huge relief to drop off the car in Rome at the end of the trip.  Driving in Italy is nothing like driving anywhere in North America. The toll freeways are excellent but in most Italian cities the streets are overcrowded with pedestrians, cars, cabs, motor scooters and busses. Most streets are too narrow to meet the oncoming traffic and people double park their vehicles wherever they please.  Traffic often comes to a halt and someone usually has to back up.

Most mountain-side and country roads that were designed for oxen drawn carts and have not been widened since cars were introduced.  Yet, people zoom around on roads without centre lines, miraculously avoiding each others' mirrors and parked cars while talking on their cell phones.

A stop in Spoleto for groceries and lunch.

Tito is happy because we managed to get out of Rome and arrive safely at our rental in Silvignano, Umbria.

Silvignano has one pool and it's in our yard.

Parts of this village (Silvignano) are over 1000 years old.

Apparently, most of the buildings in this tiny village are connected by underground passageways.

Supper in our Silvignano-Umbria house. Take-away ravioli from the local pasta shop.

Eating like the Italians.

Zuccini flowers stuffed with riccota cheese.

C'mon Tito, help Sandi with her bags.

Caged husband while the wife enjoys time with her lover. 

This print hung over the bed in Sandi and Tito's Silvignano room.

Arches in the St Francis of Assisi church.

Assisi knight statue.

The arched doorway is the courtyard entrance to our Umbria rental.

Once inside the courtyard, another door leads into the house.

Rimini beach on the Adriatic coast.

Venice, at last.

The gondola ride was pricey but worth the experience. Our guy didn't sing for us but he was very informative. Apparently his father did this for a living too.

Our Venice rooms.

The girls are friendly here.

Tito was tempted to move to Venice and become a gondolier.

Yvonne in our Venice suite.

Our modern farmhouse rental near La Spezia in Tuscany.

Mixed seafood dish on pasta. 

Plotting our way through Italy over drinks. No wonder we got lost so often.

Even the local take-out pizza shop makes you wait till 7:30 before they serve you. Their cat kept me company.

A Euro is worth around $1.45 Cdn. Much easier to understand compared to their old Lira.

Cinque Terre consists of five small colourful waterfront towns. The place is crowded with tourists who mostly arrive by train from La Spezia in the south or Monaco from the north. You can usually walk from one town to other but a recent landslide closed a major section of the trail. 

Part of the trail system that joins the 5 coastline towns in Cinque Terre.

Cured hams hanging in a small meat/produce/liquor shop near our rental in Vezzano. 

This photo was taken by an elderly gentleman who came from his yard to talk to us when he saw us stopped on the road. 

This hill-top town could be admired from our rental near Vezzano.

Pisa, too much?

Thanks Sandi.

This is the front door and courtyard at our B&B in Florence. The 3 story house was originally built in the early 1400's. The present owner/host is a well known painter/artist and her studio takes up most of the 3rd floor.

The kitchen remains part of the original 1472 structure and the floor tiles are original.

Florence's landmark Duomo.

Excellent Pizza at the Pipistrello (Bat) restaurant.

More of Florence, or Firenze, as it is locally referred to.

Not the real David but close enough. The lineup was just too long.

Roman drama. If you fancy somebody, go for it!

There it was, a small Irish tavern right in the middle of Florence.

We visited the Uffizi Art Gallery in Florence where the girls marvelled at all the amazing works of art.

So much to look at.

Geez, you can't take these two anywhere!!

It's been a long day.

A six hour drive from Florence and we arrive at the Amalfi coast.

View near Amalfi

Amalfi townsite

Settling into our cliff-side rental in Conca die Marini situated between Amalfi and Positano.

Sometimes, you have to share the road with the local folks.

Sandi and Yvonne enjoying lunch at a nearby restaurant. We loved this restaurant because they would actually come to pick up up at your home and drop you off after the meal. 

Terraced homes and gardens in Conca dei Marini.

Our rental house (in the centre of the picture) in Conca dei Marini was perched on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean.

Within eyesight of our rental was this fine restaurant.

Just below our house, this boat was anchored for the night. Check out the helicopter on the upper deck and the opened garage door at water level. That small 24 ft. boat on the left was launched from the open doorway.

Another plaything for the "Rich and Famous".  This one is flying a British flag. 

Positano beach, you can use an umbrella if you buy a beer. Best deal of the day.

Positano hillside housing.

Amalfi coast wine girls.

Let's toast to a great trip.