Italy 2009 Rome

Rome (Roma) The Eternal City

And The Vatican

We arrived in Rome, the capital of Italy, around lunchtime on Monday, June 15. After arriving , we checked into the Hotel Villafranca (Best Western). This was probably the closest to being an American hotel that I have ever stayed in while traveling abroad. We then walked a few blocks to the train terminal and had a very quick lunch (pasta again!). Our first stop was at the famous Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

I don't have to tell you what this is. Yes, it is the Colosseum. Construction of this supreme monument began in the year 72 AD and was completed in 80 AD. It is the symbol of the Eternal City.

A look inside the Colosseum. Over the years it suffered earthquakes and fires. In 1349 much of it was used to build other monuments and building. Many lost their lives to wild animals down below. When in use, the Romans had a system where the entire colosseum could be evacuated in 20 minutes. It could hold over 70,000 people. It was floored with wooden planks which covered the underground passageways used for storing equipment or for preparing the shows.

This is the Arch of Constantine built for the Emperor Constantine who once ruled Rome. It is the largest and best preserved of all Colassical triumphan arches. It marked the beginning of the decline of imperial Roman art. It reminded us of the Arch of Triumph in Paris.

The ruins of Rome at the Roman Forum.

More of the ruins.

Surprisingly-Julius Caesar's grave.

More Roman ruins. This is the Temple of Antonnius and Faustina.

After a hot afternoon of touring the Colosseum and the Roman ruins we headed back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. After dinner we all took the underground and headed for the
Trevi Fountain. Ten years ago when I was here I threw my two coins over my left shoulder. Legend has it that if you do this you will return to Rome one day--and I did! So, I threw my coins again. Maybe I will return again some day.

Actually, we all threw our coins.

Last day-Tuesday, June 16

Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basicilica Tour

This is the facade of St. Peter's Bascilica. It is the largest Catholic Basilica in the world. When I was here before I did not get to see the facade because they had scaffolding all on the front as they were preparing for the millenium. Chairs were set up for the next day for the Pope to do his usual Wed. speech. The Louisiana group was going to attend it as they were staying a day longer than we were.

Betty and me in front of St. Peter's.

The Pope's residence . The third window from the right on top is the window he comes out when he waves to the crowd. You have probably seen this on TV many times.

Michelangelo's Pieta inside St. Peter's. This is one of the most beautiful statues I have ever seen. I have a replica of it that I treasure.

A view as you enter St. Peter's Basilica. Would love to put lots of pictures of the inside, but I need to finish this blog and get it published. Below is a sample of what we saw in the Vatican Museum. Wish I could post all of them, but this will give a taste of the beautiful paintings on the walls and ceilings that we saw.

Last, but not least is St. Ignatius Church where our Sanctuary Choir from First Baptist Dothan sang The Creation in 1999. I just had to go back and I had tears in my eyes as I remembered that special time in my life. What an opportunity we had!! This just has to be my favorite of all the churches in Rome.

This is a picture above the altar of St. Ignatius.

We had pizza our last night at a brick oven pizza restaurant in Rome. We said good-bye to our Louisiana friends and headed back to our hotel for a short night's nap. We had to leave our hotel the next morning at 4 am in order to catch the 6 am flight out of Rome. We flew back to Frankfurt, Germany and then on to Atlanta.

We had one surprise when we arrived in Atlanta. Before we left Rome we were given a sack breakfast. An apple was one of the items that was in it. Friuts, vegetables, seeds, etc. are not allowed to be brought in the the USA. When we went through customs, the agriculture dog followed by his officer approached Betty's bag and started digging in it. She had forgotten to throw out the apple before leaving Rome. Then, he also sniffed out Wayne's bag and found the same. They were taken to customs security and then released. Betty's first thought was that someone had planted drugs in her bag. What a relief to find that it was just an apple!

We had a wonderful trip, but it is always good to be back in the best country in the world. The good ole USA!!!!!

Italy 2009 Isle of Capri

Isle of Capri

Summer Home of the Roman Emperor Tiberius

After crossing the Bay of Naples we arrived at the magnificent Isle of Capri. As we entered the harbor we saw huge yachts docked. This was our first indication that this was an exclusive island. All kinds of souvenier shops and restaurants lined the waterway. We took the funoclare to the top where we saw some fabulous scenery. The shops at the top were high end shops. It was so hot that day, so Kathy, Betty, and I found a shaded place to park and get something to drink. It was so good. It was a fruity watermelon drink that I think cost us around $13.00 plus tip. But, it was worth it to have a place to sit. We were a little disappointed because we wanted to go out to the Blue Grotto, but we were advised that since we did not have a lot of time to spend here we shouldn't. We were told that if we went out and the tide came in, we may not be able to get back for a while. As bad as we wanted to go, we decided against it. Here are some pictures we took on this island.

Arriving at Capri.

The pictures above are the harbor area.
A view from the top overlooking the harbor. I would love to own one tile off one of these houses. There is no telling how much they are worth.It sure was nice to sit for a while.

This is the area where we took the funoclare (tram) back down to the harbor.

Isle of Capri.....WOW!

After leaving Capri, we boarded another boat and headed back across the Bay of Naples to Sorrento. There we had a nice Italian dinner in a local restaurant with with musical entertainment. We shopped in Sorrento and explored this beautiful town before heading back to Hotel Caravel to repack and get ready to head to Roma (Rome) tomorrow.

Italy 2009 Orvieto Sorrento Pompeii

Orvieto
On Saturday, June 13 we boarded the bus and began traveling to Florence. On the way we stopped by the charming village of Orvieto. We had to ride a tram to the top of the hill. We discovered a quaint Italian village with hand painted pottery everywhere.

This is a 14th century Roman Catholic Church in Orvieto. It is very famous for its blood stain on the altar. It has a beautiful facade.This is some of the beautiful pottery we saw. I bought a spoon rest and a tile with a georgeous scene of Tuscany for my kitchen. I am redecorating it in a Tuscany style and the colors are perfect.

After lunch (more pasta!) and shopping in Orvieto we took the tram back down. As we traveled up and down we could see them most beautiful vineyards and olive trees. Then it was back to the roads for some breathtaking views of rolling countrysides and vineyards as we travel by bus.

Sorrento

We arrived in Sorrento later that afternoon. We stopped for a breathtaking view of the coastline.

This is the area that I had never traveled before. We passed through Naples (Napoli) before arriving at Sorrento where we stayed at the Hotel Caravel. After checking into the hotel several of us walked a few blocks and had the most beautiful view of the coastline. We saw a bride engaged in a photo session. She was absolutely beautiful. Since it is Saturday, we saw many people on the beaches. I love this area!!This was a very pretty building in downtown Sorrento.A view of Sorrento from the water. This was actually taken on Sunday after we arrived back in Sorrento from the Isle of Capri. We took a bus up the hill. We were all too tired to walk up the steps.

The lemons were huge.This was one of the beaches. We are looking down from a cliff.

Pompeii

Pompeii stands on a lava spur which extends out into the plain from the slopes of Vesuvius. It was destroyed by an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Most of the residents were killed and the whole city was buried beneath a rain of ash and cinders. The first signs of the buried city came to light between 1594 and 1600. Since then excavations of this area have been in progress and continue to this day. The following are pictures of the ruins. This was an amazing tour. More recent excavations has presented the houses and streets as they were. The people in the pictures were preserved in the positions they were when this horrifying event happened.

This is the outside entrance to Pompeii.A man caught in the devastation.

A trapped dog.

Another man who died. The bodies were perserved just like they were when the eruption occurred.

This was a bakery. This was an actual oven used over 2000 years ago.

This was part of the Temple Fortuna Augusta. In 3 AD a cult was established in honor of Augustus who was the "Father of his Country".

Pottery found in the city.

We found Pompeii to be so very interesting. The last part of the tour took us inside a Brothel where we viewed cubicles with panels of erotic scenes. I chose not to post any of these pictures. The names scratched on the walls attest to the fact that the prostituted slaves were almost always of Greek or Eastern origin. Wish I could include more pictures of this interesting place. Maybe I will add some more later.

After touring Pompeii, we traveled to Naples where we boarded a water jet that took us over to the Isle of Capri. It took about 45 minutes over the Bay of Naples to the beautiful island.

Italy 2009 Venice Florence

Italy In Depth

June 8-17, 2009

Marilyn and Robert Ivey, Janice and Wayne LeCroy, Janice and Dennis Sloan, Kathy Lanford, Betty Odom, Shelby Wallace, and Me-Annetta Kilgore


Venice
City of Many Bridges

A group of ten of us traveled to Italy in June of 2009. We joined a group of 18 adults and students from a Catholic school in Louisiana when we arrived in Venice. We visited Venice, Florence, Orvieto, Sorrento, Isle of Capri, Pompeii, and Rome. We had a wonderful time and a great trip. At the airport we were a little concerned when we found out that we were flying on an airbus. A week before, one had crashed into the ocean. But, we knew that God was going to take care of us, so we did not worry. We flew to Frankfurt, Germany on Lufthsana Airlines. From there we flew on to Venice where we took a water taxi over to the island of Lido. We stayed on Lido and traveled back and forth to Venice on a water taxi.

The picture below is the Campanile (Bell Tower) at San Marco.

After a good night's rest, we headed out the next morning to Venice. Our first stop was St. Mark's Square where we visited St. Mark's Church, the Doge's Palace, and saw a glass blowing demonstration. After that we had free time. I had been here 6 years ago, so I remembered my way around. My sister in law Kathy, friends Betty and Shelby and I took out on our own and explored and shopped the islands. We bought an oil painting and lots of jewelry. At dinner that night we celebrated Betty's 61st birthday. Our last event of the day was a gondola ride which we took that night. We then headed back to Lido for a good night's rest.
This is a picture of the Rialto Bridge in Venice. It is the most popular bridge and legend has it that if two kiss while traveling under the bridge they will stay in love forever.

This is the Bridge of Sighs. If you look behind us you will see some windows. As prisoners walked throught this bridgeway they looked out at the bridge and sighed because it was their last glimpse of Venice before they were taken to be killed. That is why it is called the Bridge of Sighs. It is one of hundreds of bridges in Venice.This is a scene along the Grand Canal at the Rialto Bridge. Restaurants line the streets and gondolas line the canal.Another image of the Grand Canal. We took a water bus up the canal and then we walked back to the Rialto Bridge where we boarded another one back to San Marco.

This is a vegetable stand in Venice. The fruits and vegetables were beautiful. We bought some fresh cherries and they were delicious!We took a gondola ride after dinner. Dennis took the picture.

The next day, which was Thursday, June 11, we boarded a ferry and left island of Lido. Our bus was in the bottom of the ferry and we went up to the top. Kathy is pictured here with a picture of San Marco in Venice in the background. After we reached land, we again boarded the bus and traveled through the beautiful countryside to Florence. One thing that I love about Italy and traveling through the countryside is passing hills and being able to see a whole city built at the top of the hill. The bell tower always stands out in each little city. It is a beautiful sight!

Florence

Birthplace of the Renaissance

As we arrived in Florence, we were taken to the top of a hill to view the city. This is one of my favorite pictures. It is an extraordinary view of The Cathedral and the Duomo. The architecture of this cathedral is incredible. It took 140 years to build it. It was completed in 1436. The Campanile (bell tower) was begun in 1334. After being under construction by three men, it was finally completed in 1359. There are 3 different styles in the campanile. Each one was the works of each overseerer.

The facade of the Duomo. Arnolfo di Cambio's unfinished facade of the Duomo was torn down in 1587. From then on, for almost three centuries, there was a continuous flow of projects and competitions for the new facade of the Cathedral until finally in 1871 the design presented by the artichitect Emilio de Fabris was approved (work ended in 1887).

These are the Gates of Paradise doors on the Baptistry. They depict episodes from the Old Testament from the Creation to Solomon receiving the Queen of Sheba.
There are other doors such as the South Doors with the Stories of the Baptist. Words cannot describe the beauty of these doors. In order to enter the cathedral, one had to be baptized in the Baptistry.

We attended a cooking school the first night in Florence at the Apicius Culinary Institute. We cooked our own meal which consisted of pasta (which we made from scratch), meatloaf, and a Mardi Gras cake. The sauce we cooked for the pasta and meatloaf was awesome. We all agreed that this was the best meal we had on the trip.

We enjoyed a guided tour of Florence. We visited the Piazza Della Signoria which was one of the most scenographic squares in Florence. One other stop was Plazzo Vecchio. The statue above of Hercules and Cacus is found there. There is also a repilca of The David. On the tour, we went to the Accademia where we saw Micelangelo's The David, but we were not allowed to take pictures. I do, however, have pictures of it from when I was here 10 years ago.

This is the equestrian statue in Palazzo Vecchio of Cosimo I dei Medici. The Medici family once ruled Florence.

We went down to the Arno River to catch a glimpse of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. It is the oldest bridge in the city. It now houses shops which we were warned as being very pricey.

After the guided tour we were given time to explore and shop. We visited several market areas, bought lots of leather goods, and other souveniers. We had some wonderful gelato after eating lunch in a little sandwich shop. The vegetarian panini we had was so good. We enjoyed a Coke with lunch today. We were all so tired from shopping. After returning to the Hotel Mediterranea we had a great dinner buffet at the hotel. I ate two BIG helping of salad. It was so good and I was craving something green instead of pasta or pizza. We all retired to our rooms, repacked and prepared for tomorrow's journed to Sorrento.