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Published: June 26th 2007
Duomo in Milan
Gothic style church we climbed to the top of. Beautiful views of the city. Hello all!
So far I’ve been in Italy 11 days and I’ve been soaking up every minute of it. The pre-planning has actually paid off. I am overjoyed when I know exactly where I’m going to be putting down my bags. It is a bit heavier than I intended, and when you add about 15 more pounds of camera equipment over my shoulder, it’s not quite that easy to move around. But, we’re still movingggggggg.
We started in Milan, arriving in the morning and spending the afternoon viewing the Last Supper and the famous gothic style Duomo. We climbed to the top and the city views were great. We found a park on the other side of a large castle, which reminded me of Golden Gate Park, with people playing sports and a drum circle in the middle with viewers drinking and smoking. Em and I left Caitlin shortly after that to return to the hotel, nap and eat. The food is amazing and I try to take pictures of everything I eat. So far I’ve tried salmon ravioli, clam spaghetti, salmon pizza, lasagna, ummmmm and more that I can’t think of now. It’s all delicious! Le Bene
(I like it!).
Then we headed to Cinque Terre. I was nervous about staying in Monterosso, because I heard that it can be crowded and touristic….but, quite the opposite. It was not too crowded, there was plenty of room on the beautiful beach by the boardwalk, and we were able to swim every day we were there. The Cinque Terre wine we tried was sooooooooooo smooth. I wish that I could take some home with me, but as I mentioned before, my bag is already full. 😉
We took a day trip to Portofino, which is a seaside town north of Cinque Terre…a bit more expensive, which is why we didn’t try to stay there at all. We arrived in San Margherita Ligure and walked along the coast for about an hour until we arrived in Portofino. We passed Paraggi on the way, and seriously….it looked like paradise. The water was crystal blue, shining bright from the sun. Houses that looked like castles were hanging on the cliffs…small and secluded…a perfect vacation spot it seemed. A funny happening on our stroll: we ran into a wild hog or pig on the trail. Caitlin and I were scared, but
Emily pushed through and the hog just stood about. So strange!
Portofino was just as beautiful with a rounded port with tons of boats docked in a way that seemed like rays coming out of the marina. We took a hike to Castle Brown on the peninsula, which offered amazing views of the town and harbor below, then continued on to the lighthouse at the end of the road. Narrow streets with high brick fences and decorated gates lined our path. It was quite fun walking through them.
We realized when we arrived that this place was for the rich, but we wanted to have lunch there. We looked at 5 restaurant menus before we accepted the fact that everywhere was going to be expensive, so we might as well eat near the water. We’re almost done with our entrée when Emily says “Is that Jay Z? Is that Beyonce?” while Caitlin was simultaneously commenting on the heels of the woman walking by. With the cobble stone roads, we couldn’t see how any woman could walk steadily. Low and behold it was Beyonce and Jay Z with family it seemed, and they chose to eat at a restaurant
just across from us. When we were done eating, we had to get a closer look, so we shopped at the souvenir shop right next door. We were only at that port for a couple of hours, so it’s amazing how the timing worked out. This was a highlight.
We did almost all the hikes from one city to the next before we left. The hike was a bit strenuous, but beautiful. Thankfully Caitlin knew that hiking from Vernazza to Monterosso was a bit easier than vice versa. We couldn’t believe how many steps there were as we were coming back down to Monterosso. I can’t say enough how beautiful this area of the coast was.
Moving on down South, we stopped at Pisa for a quick view of the leaning tower. The tower was a beautiful white due to the marble used to build this campanile. It looked a lot cleaner than I thought it would. We took some pictures of us pretending to hold up the tower, and watched hundreds of other people do the same. We took a quick look around the Piazzo del Duomo and headed back (quickly) to the train station. When I
say quickly, I mean that we had only 30 minutes to get across town, pick up our luggage from the check point, buy lunch and train tickets and get to the right boarding area to head for Rome. We all split up and ran to do our separate tasks and we made it in the nick of time!
When we arrived in Rome, I could already feel the energy of the city. I loved getting lost in the mazed streets. We used restaurants recommended in our Frommer’s book for the first two nights, and I truly thought I was in heaven. I tried some meatballs with a pear and walnut salad and could not stop awwwwing! I tried some tiramisu another night and have never had better!
The first full day in Rome we visited Vatican City. The lines scared us at first, but we moved quickly into St. Peter’s Basilica and viewed the Pieta by Michelangelo. This being the largest church in the world, the size and beauty blew me away. We rubbed St. Peter’s foot for good luck, and I continued the tour down below the church to view the grottoes or the popes tombs. I
had a moment with St. Peter’s tomb and could not deny a sense of spiritual lift. Visiting these places in Europe has given me a greater sense of how serious everyone took the words and sacrifice of Christ and His disciples. The followers and the people wanted to make sure His words were not forgotten. The artists did an amazing job creating masterpieces honoring God and the life of Christ, and my respect was sent to them.
We met a tour guide in the line to see the basilica, and he was starting another tour for the Vatican Museums around 1pm, giving us the tip that the sometimes 3 hour line to get in depletes to nothing around lunch time. We quickly agreed to meet him and his group, and were glad we did when he provided a wealth of knowledge about the Sistine Chapel. It’s truly a site everyone should see. I loved it. The rooms before Michelangelo’s famous frescoes were filled with maps, tapestries, sculptures and more. We were packed in like sardines, but fantastic none-the-less.
Our last night in Rome we ended up in Trastevere where a market with hundreds of vendors lined the streets
of the river. We found some gems and headed home by 3am.
The next morning we took a long haul down to Sorrento so we could visit Capri the next morning. Words cannot describe Capri, and it’s towards the end of my blog, so I am running out of energy and cannot do this place justice. AMAZING! Right when we came across via ferry, we were offered a private tour of the island for only 35 Euro. Quickly we agreed and headed out to see the famous Blue Grotto before there were too many people trying to do the same. We were in the Blue Grotto for a few moments alone and then the rest of the boats followed. SO BEAUFITUL! Our private tour continued around the island, passing old military forts on the side of cliffs from World War I, to the Green Grotto where we were able to jump in and swim. We were completely alone and having a blast using my new waterproof camera case, taking pictures under water since it was so clear and turquoise blue. We continued around the island to the three famous rocks where when you may enter you make a wish.
Nearby you could see billion dollar mansions hanging on the cliffs, and our tour guide mentioned that Keanu Reeves vacations there frequently. Not sure why I mention that, just thought it was funny. After the boat trip we headed up to the town of Capri and viewed the Augusto gardens and the amazing views from up top. We hiked for one hour up to the East side of the island where the emperor, Tiberious built his palace around 27 A.D. We were so high up, I couldn’t believe it. The views were probably the best I’ve seen all trip. Well worth the strenuous, treacherous hike. The walk up to this point was similar to the narrow winding streets in Portofino with high brick walls and glamorous gates, except these gates were much more glamorous. There was an art to the gardening around the walkways and we took many pictures. We took one more dip in the sea before heading back to Sorrento to begin our journey to Amalfi where we are today.
If any of you have been down Highway 1 in California, you can multiply the cliffs and seaside towns by hundred and you will get this coastal
Paraggi
Paradise! road here. The ride here via bus was awesome. I took hundreds of pictures. Problem is we switched buses halfway through and my phone was lost in the switch. I’ve not only lost my precious Blackberry, but I’ve lost my access to email, remote internet and the freedom to call my beau Dave and family whenever I choose. It’s been a sad loss, but I think I’ll survive.
I love you all and hope you are all well. Sorry for the huge blog. I will try to do them more frequently. Cheers to those who have made it all the way to these last words.
Ciao!
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Osaka
Erin Jones
Note on the pictures:
They're all mixed up. Hope you still enjoy the update! XO!