Post by lapayin on Jul 9, 2006 8:14:46 GMT -5
Mark asked me to write a “little” about my trip to Italy. I hope I do not bore you, but here goes.
I took a tour with about 42 other people. Between the flights and time differences my sister, a friend and I were up for 38 hours straight with no sleep. We had a layover in Milano before proceeding to Roma.
My first impressions of Italia (at the Milano airport): one - none of us could figure out how to use the bathrooms. You needed a college education to use the knobs/locks on the doors and all bathrooms in Italy each had very different handles/peddles to flush the toilets. Some places you had to pay up to 50 Euros to use one. Two – the Dolce and Gabbana advertisements in the airport were awesome, though would be banned in Boston.
On the ride from the Roma airport to our hotel I quickly learned that the drivers in Roma are a million times worse than the drivers in Boston (how could that be possible?). There were tons of mopeds and the drivers would cut off any car or bus swerving in and out. Had I not done a tour and had to rent a car I would have killed at least 40 moped drivers in my first 30 minutes in Roma. The temperatures ranged from 95 – 105 degrees everyday. We had no rain.
One thing about Italia is just when you saw something that totally awestruck you and you thought nothing could top it, the next thing you saw totally topped it. We first saw the Vatican. I was expecting to be highly impressed. Words can not explain how stunning and spectacular the museum, Sistine Chapel, and St Peter’s Basilica are. As a tour we had to be in line by 7:30 AM to get in for 8:00 AM. If we got there at 7:45 AM we could not get in that day. Without a tour there was a three hour wait. It would be totally worth the wait. The wood carving, marble statues (especially the Pieta), marble floors, painted ceilings, frescos, painted walls and of course the ceilings, and tapestries were indescribable. Even the best photos do not do justice. I was surprised how small the Sistine Chapel was and how big St Peter’s was.
While in Roma we saw the Trevi Fountain (I hope my wish comes true), The Villa D’Este gardens (in the town of Tivoli a mountain top village) and the ruins, the coliseum, forum, circus maxima etc. All breathtaking and all taking you back into a different era. We went to the Pantheon, and Spanish Steps (where Lara performed La Solitudine, with Laura Pausini, Caruso, and Aimer Deja, in the first Dolce Italia).
Roma is a must see but I do not believe I would go back. Now that I have seen the sites the city itself is a very undesirable city for me. It is very crowded, polluted and lots of graffiti everywhere. The Italian people are awesome and were very helpful and nice.
We then proceeded south to the Amalfi Coast. On the way we stopped at Paestum, a Greek archeological site (still being worked) with the best preserved Greek and Roman temples in the world and then to a monastery built for the first Pope Benedict on the top of a mountain. Just a little note here. I have a problem with heights. I can not go higher than four steps (OKAY that’s a little exaggeration) but I do have trouble dealing with high places. Well let me just tell you I am cured. Almost everywhere in Italia is on the top of a mountain and the roads to reach your destination, are small and winding. The Almalfi Coast is stunning. It’s on the Mediterranean Sea and all the villages are tiny and carved into the mountains. It is postcard picturesque. Of course it is IN THE MOUNTAINS!!!! To get there and around you have to travel on these roads that are just wide enough for two vehicles to pass one another on a straight away. If you come to a curve (which you do every 20 feet) you have to backup to a straight away to be able to pass each other. Also on one side of the road is the mountain (you could stick your hand out of the bus and touch it), the other side is a million mile drop into the sea (yet another exaggeration). We were on these roads for three days. The first day I thought I was going to die, by the end I was leaning out the window taking the most spectacular pictures. We took a boat ride over to the Isle of Capri. I just can’t think of new words to describe these places – stunning, awesome and spectacular. Amalfi is a definite go back to.
We then went north to Tuscany and Firenza (Florence). On the way we stopped off at Pompeii. It was very somber. To think of the destruction Mt Vesuvius caused. Pompeii is also still an ongoing archeological site. Again there are no words to explain the feelings here. BTW I am surprised Mt Vesuvius didn’t erupt again when Italy beat Germany in soccer.
In Firenza we visited three famous Duomos (cathedrals), visited the Piazza Signoria where Lara performed in the second Dolce Italia and sang Adagio and Ne Lui Parlez Plus D’elle. In the Piazza (square) were some of the great statues. There is a copy of “David” there. The original is in the Academia Universite of Florence. Unfortunately we ran out of time and did not get to see that or the famous museum the Uffizi where all the great Italian paintings are. Both had lines of two hours to get into. We stopped at an American WWII cemetery. It was heart wrenching. To see the thousands of white Crosses and Star of Davids with and without names really brings you back to reality. I just had time to walk through two rows and I saw one person who was from Massachusetts (where I am from). This was one of three US cemeteries and one of the smaller ones.
We went into the Tuscan hills and did a wine and olive oil tasting, visited a Medieval village that has not changed in centuries (except for the shops and the best Gelato store in the world and it was). LOL The rolling hills and vineyards are phenomenal. The most spectacular scenery I have ever seen.
Florence and Tuscany will be my first place to go back to. A week there is not enough, we had three days.
We ended our tour in Lake Como at the base of the Alps and on the Swiss border. It is where the rich and famous go to play. It is a lake that is totally surrounded by mountains.
Italy is definitely a must see for everyone. I will cherish all my memories there. I hope I did not bore you. If so I apologize. Was this too long?
I took a tour with about 42 other people. Between the flights and time differences my sister, a friend and I were up for 38 hours straight with no sleep. We had a layover in Milano before proceeding to Roma.
My first impressions of Italia (at the Milano airport): one - none of us could figure out how to use the bathrooms. You needed a college education to use the knobs/locks on the doors and all bathrooms in Italy each had very different handles/peddles to flush the toilets. Some places you had to pay up to 50 Euros to use one. Two – the Dolce and Gabbana advertisements in the airport were awesome, though would be banned in Boston.
On the ride from the Roma airport to our hotel I quickly learned that the drivers in Roma are a million times worse than the drivers in Boston (how could that be possible?). There were tons of mopeds and the drivers would cut off any car or bus swerving in and out. Had I not done a tour and had to rent a car I would have killed at least 40 moped drivers in my first 30 minutes in Roma. The temperatures ranged from 95 – 105 degrees everyday. We had no rain.
One thing about Italia is just when you saw something that totally awestruck you and you thought nothing could top it, the next thing you saw totally topped it. We first saw the Vatican. I was expecting to be highly impressed. Words can not explain how stunning and spectacular the museum, Sistine Chapel, and St Peter’s Basilica are. As a tour we had to be in line by 7:30 AM to get in for 8:00 AM. If we got there at 7:45 AM we could not get in that day. Without a tour there was a three hour wait. It would be totally worth the wait. The wood carving, marble statues (especially the Pieta), marble floors, painted ceilings, frescos, painted walls and of course the ceilings, and tapestries were indescribable. Even the best photos do not do justice. I was surprised how small the Sistine Chapel was and how big St Peter’s was.
While in Roma we saw the Trevi Fountain (I hope my wish comes true), The Villa D’Este gardens (in the town of Tivoli a mountain top village) and the ruins, the coliseum, forum, circus maxima etc. All breathtaking and all taking you back into a different era. We went to the Pantheon, and Spanish Steps (where Lara performed La Solitudine, with Laura Pausini, Caruso, and Aimer Deja, in the first Dolce Italia).
Roma is a must see but I do not believe I would go back. Now that I have seen the sites the city itself is a very undesirable city for me. It is very crowded, polluted and lots of graffiti everywhere. The Italian people are awesome and were very helpful and nice.
We then proceeded south to the Amalfi Coast. On the way we stopped at Paestum, a Greek archeological site (still being worked) with the best preserved Greek and Roman temples in the world and then to a monastery built for the first Pope Benedict on the top of a mountain. Just a little note here. I have a problem with heights. I can not go higher than four steps (OKAY that’s a little exaggeration) but I do have trouble dealing with high places. Well let me just tell you I am cured. Almost everywhere in Italia is on the top of a mountain and the roads to reach your destination, are small and winding. The Almalfi Coast is stunning. It’s on the Mediterranean Sea and all the villages are tiny and carved into the mountains. It is postcard picturesque. Of course it is IN THE MOUNTAINS!!!! To get there and around you have to travel on these roads that are just wide enough for two vehicles to pass one another on a straight away. If you come to a curve (which you do every 20 feet) you have to backup to a straight away to be able to pass each other. Also on one side of the road is the mountain (you could stick your hand out of the bus and touch it), the other side is a million mile drop into the sea (yet another exaggeration). We were on these roads for three days. The first day I thought I was going to die, by the end I was leaning out the window taking the most spectacular pictures. We took a boat ride over to the Isle of Capri. I just can’t think of new words to describe these places – stunning, awesome and spectacular. Amalfi is a definite go back to.
We then went north to Tuscany and Firenza (Florence). On the way we stopped off at Pompeii. It was very somber. To think of the destruction Mt Vesuvius caused. Pompeii is also still an ongoing archeological site. Again there are no words to explain the feelings here. BTW I am surprised Mt Vesuvius didn’t erupt again when Italy beat Germany in soccer.
In Firenza we visited three famous Duomos (cathedrals), visited the Piazza Signoria where Lara performed in the second Dolce Italia and sang Adagio and Ne Lui Parlez Plus D’elle. In the Piazza (square) were some of the great statues. There is a copy of “David” there. The original is in the Academia Universite of Florence. Unfortunately we ran out of time and did not get to see that or the famous museum the Uffizi where all the great Italian paintings are. Both had lines of two hours to get into. We stopped at an American WWII cemetery. It was heart wrenching. To see the thousands of white Crosses and Star of Davids with and without names really brings you back to reality. I just had time to walk through two rows and I saw one person who was from Massachusetts (where I am from). This was one of three US cemeteries and one of the smaller ones.
We went into the Tuscan hills and did a wine and olive oil tasting, visited a Medieval village that has not changed in centuries (except for the shops and the best Gelato store in the world and it was). LOL The rolling hills and vineyards are phenomenal. The most spectacular scenery I have ever seen.
Florence and Tuscany will be my first place to go back to. A week there is not enough, we had three days.
We ended our tour in Lake Como at the base of the Alps and on the Swiss border. It is where the rich and famous go to play. It is a lake that is totally surrounded by mountains.
Italy is definitely a must see for everyone. I will cherish all my memories there. I hope I did not bore you. If so I apologize. Was this too long?