Tag: Italy
-
Napoli ~ amazing past, gritty present.
Founded by the Greeks, Naples is one of the oldest continually inhabited urban areas in the world. With its bay and cargo port, Naples sustained heavy damage in World War 2 and a large portion of the core city had to be reconstructed. Today that port is active with container ships and cruise ships disgorging…
-
Rome, the Eternal City
When you get the chance to spend 10 days in a city you tend to see it from a different angle. With 10 days in a location your schedule can include one intentional rest day and one unintentional sick day. You can see things at a different pace than folks who have only one, or…
-
Week #21 ~ Recap
2 countries (the Vatican is small but mighty!), 1 major American Holiday, 3 museums, 4 dinners cooked at home, 1 concert, 3 walking tours, 1 grand cathedral, 1 Swiss guard, 1 rest day, 1 afternoon spent in awe at the home of the Catholic Church, 3 protests, approximately 8 arancini from the street food vendor…
-
Siena waits…for you
Do you remember that color in your box of crayons called “Burnt Siena”? Maybe not, but that color comes from the color of the buildings made from the clay taken from the surrounding hills. Siena, a walled hill-town city in Tuscany, has all of the medieval magnificence of Florence on a smaller scale. What it…
-
Week #20 ~ Recap
477 miles, 4 towns, 1 major city, 6 train rides, 5 or 6 more tiramisus, 4,000 stairs (maybe not that many but it sure felt that way), 2 UNESCO world heritage sites, 1 duomo tour, 1 Michelangelo sculpture, 1 saint’s sanctuary, $649.40 UNDER budget. The week started in the Cinque Terre and ended in the…
-
The Cinque Terre, magic where there shouldn’t be any.
I apologize in advance to all of you who have already been to the Cinque Terre (five towns) area of Italy ~ this post may produce a yearning to return. Lots of people have heard of the Cinque Terre ~ a coastal area in northeast Italy consisting of five towns whose only defense against pirates…
-
Week #19 ~ Recap
206 Miles, 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites (1 World Heritage “cultural landscape” included in the count), 4 cities, 1 leaning tower, 3 trains, 3 boats (vaporetti), 2 tiramisu desserts, 3 gelatos, 1 moment of falling in love with Italy, and $28.74 UNDER budget. This week we moved from the NorthEast portion of Italy (Venice) to…
-
Venezia senza tempo e Verona moderna (timeless Venice, modern Verona)
Verona is a sister city to Venice, having historically been conquered by the same folks and/or formed alliances with each other, but they are as different in temperament as two sisters can be. Venice is timeless as a result of tourism and law, Verona has preserved the city’s art and architectural character, but is definitely…
-
Happy Birthday to Me
When we first started discussing this trip my two top priorities were: spend a month in Italy, and spend my birthday in Florence. I wanted to do a cultural deep dive, and what better place than the birthplace of the Renaissance? Florence is the home of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rafael, and Donatello—and I’m not…