So it begins

Tuscany = Delicious!

Published Date : May 4, 1999

We were up with the sun this morning for a quick breakfast before driving into town.  Our day started back on Ponte Vecchio where we explored the shops and were treated to a demonstration in a leather shop.  My eye was caught by a beautiful ankle-length leather coat while we were there, but I decided not to do anything rash and opted to think on it for the day.

Winding streets of Florence

Leaving the shop we were picked up by a local tour guide who took us back to Piazza della Signoria, explaining the history of the surrounding buildings and the influence of the Medici family on the city.  From there we headed on to the centerpiece of the city: Santa Maria del Fiore, The Duomo.  The stunning cathedral is made of white, pink and green marble and towers over 300ft.  Our tour continued inside the cathedral where we saw the tombs of many historic figures like Nicholas Machiavelli and Galileo to name but two.

We were on our own for the rest of the day.  After grabbing lunch with Sandi, Nikki and Adele, the four of us parted ways.  The others wanted to head to the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo’s David, but I was content with having seen the replica at Piazza della Signoria.  I went off to explore on my own.

I spent most of the afternoon simply wandering the streets, admiring the architecture and car-free streets.  I stopped at Piazza Santa Croce, home of Florentine Football, for a break and sat enjoying some gelato and taking in the atmosphere.

Meandering my way back to our meeting point, I stopped in at the leather shop again.  I decided to be rash and bought the leather coat I had been eyeing earlier.  Going whole-hog, I said yes to the option of having my initials embossed in the leather in 24 carat gold.  Talk about a souvenir!!

After a quick pit stop at the campground to get cleaned up, we drove back into town for an authentic Tuscan dinner.  On the way there, we stopped at Piazza Michelangelo for a group photo overlooking the city at sunset.  Stunning!

On to dinner.  I was completely stuffed by the time Antipasti and Primi were finished – I chose a delicious ravioli dish.  When the bread and Secondi were served I forced myself to sample some beautifully cooked roast beef.  Unfortunately I was done by the time Dolce was served.  Between the fantastic food, the great chianti wine, and the fabulous company, I think this will go down in history as one of my best dining experiences ever.  Now if only, I had caught the name of the restaurant.  Doh!

Rolling out of the restaurant, our final stop was Space Electronic Disco for a night of dancing.  Never one for clubs, I stayed for a while, but took the first shuttle back to the campground.  What a fantastic day!

When in Rome

Published Date : May 5, 1999

The Roman Forum

Another scenic drive brought us to Rome.  Apparently the city randomly changes the rules regarding tour buses in the city.  Between construction, traffic, and changeable regulations, it was late afternoon when we finally arrived in the city.

Pip led us on a lightning speed tour of the key attractions: the Colosseum and Forum, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain.  One bonus to being late was having the opportunity to see Trevi Fountain at night.  Gorgeous!

I’m looking forward to coming back tomorrow to see everything again.

Rome & Vatican City

Published Date : May 6, 1999

Gorgeous Trevi Fountain

You may be noticing a pattern developing with this trip.  This morning we had a guided tour of the major attractions then we had the afternoon to explore on our own.

First stop today, the Colosseum!  I’m starting to wish I had taken History instead of Geography in high school.  History is so much more fascinating when you can see and touch it, rather than simply read it in a textbook.

Our guide explained to us how the Colosseum was used in its heyday and brought the ruins back to life with her stories and descriptions.  From the Colosseum, we walked through the Roman Forum.  We were shown how buildings were built on top of ruins and how the ground level had changed over time.  I found the entire morning to be fascinating.

Leaving the Forum, we drove toVatican City to explore St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.  Both were interesting, but far too crowded.  Worth seeing once, but not something I’ll go out of my way to see again.

We were dropped off near the Trevi Fountain again and left to our own devices for the rest of the afternoon.  I joined forces with Sheri, Shaun and Steve to search for the Capuchin Crypt.  None of us knew exactly where it was, but eventually we found the crypt beneath Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.  We had spent a lot of time looking for the crypts and unfortunately had to rush through them.  There were catacombes to see and we wanted to get there before they closed for siesta.  Even though we didn’t spend long in the crypts, they were worth the effort to find.  Where else can you see religious artwork composed of 4000 human bodies?  I hope to come back and see them properly sometime!

From the crypt we headed to Stazione Termini to experience the Roman metro.  We travelled by metro to Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterno, from there took a bus and arrived at the Catacombes di Roma, just in time for them to close for siesta.  Doh!

Our plan had been to see the Catacombs of San Callisto then head back to the city centre to see the Spanish Steps.  Due to siesta, we now had a 45-minute wait to get into the smaller and less interesting Catacombs of San Sebastiano.  It would have been a 90-minute wait to see San Callisto and we couldn’t afford to stay that late.  After much debate, we decided to wait to see the smaller catacomb and give up on seeing the Spanish Steps.

Unfortunately, the smaller catacomb wasn’t really worth the wait.  Being the most accessible of the forty-odd tombs, it was the most visited and therefore in terrible condition.  Plus all the relics had been removed to protect them from Stupid Tourist Syndrome.  Why people think it’s acceptable to steal “souvenirs” from historical sites is something that I will never understand.

Inside St Peter’s Cathedral

So our disappointing visit to the catacombs was followed with another bus and train ride into the city centre.  Meanwhile we were all paying extra attention to the time.  We were leaving it to the wire to make it back to our pickup location.  This was the last scheduled pickup of the day and if we missed it, we were looking at an expensive cab ride back to the campground.

Jumping off the train, we had a mad dash across the city.  Only a block away from the pickup spot, we saw our Contiki bus drive by.  Thinking we had missed it, Shaun put on the afterburners and managed to catch Darren’s attention.  Luckily, the bus was going TO the pickup and not leaving it – Darren had been caught in traffic and was late.

Most of the group had returned to the campground on an earlier bus, so it was less than half full for the trip back to the campground.  I was the only one still awake when we arrived.

The evening was spent playing beach volleyball at the campground and enjoying some wine.  Another fantastic day in Europe!