Italy, 12/15/05
Hi all! Well, I literally just returned from my trip to Italy. After getting a full 5 hours of sleep
from Atlanta to SFO, I'm now totally awake and not quite able to go back to sleep. Sooo....since I
didn't get a chance to email you my customary "this is what I'm up to" email while I was on my
trip, here it is!
I flew out with Dave and flew into Venice. Before anybody's mind starts to wander, Dave is my
friend who has never really traveled before. After getting some pressure from family members,
he decided to come along. I welcomed the extra company with open arms...plus I thought it
would be cool to be part of someone's first experience in Europe (albeit possibly a bit
challenging).
We flew into Venice and rented a car to go out in the Veneto region. This was something I
wanted to do since I had been to Venice before and just wanted to see other parts of that area.
Asolo was great (read about that in '1000 Places to See Before You Die')--such a picturesque
little hill town. We then went to Verona. How come nobody has ever told me about this
place??? I've obviously heard of it but it is so cute I would swear that somebody would have had
to have seen it! For those who don't know, this was where Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet.
We saw the (possibly fictional) balcony of Juliet's. It was actually a hoot to see--everybody
leaves notes, post-its, graffiti, etc to people that they love. That's really the only thing
super-touristy about Verona. Otherwise, it was just great. They have an Arena, the token tower
that you can climb (that virtually every city in Europe has) for a great view, a river with a nice
bridge and a great view from the other side, etc. The specialty over there is horse meat and, my
friends, I had some. Tasted just like beef that would be in stew. Very tender. Dave tried to say
that he didn't like it and it had a funky taste. He was just imagining things. Anyway, later on we
made our way to Venice. Meghan was then meeting us at the hotel. We went and
explored...without a map. Not a good idea. Especially when staying at a hotel that is pretty much
smack in the middle of a maze. Took us forever to find it...and that was asking at least 5-8
different bars along the way. After a couple bottles of wine and some bellinis (the noted drink of
Venice), we found it. It was now late. (Note to self: next time wandering through the maze that
we call "Venice", never assume that you can just trace your steps backwards and find where you
started!) We were never able to find our hotel without getting lost our entire time there. We
decided that should be the next place they do Amazing Race. All they should do is simply give
an address and make the teams find it. Sometimes it was seeming that impossible. Did the
typical Venice stuff and, of course, I did wake up early to see the sunset at St. Mark's. So
beautiful! St. Mark's was actually closed on Sunday but there was a mass going on. Meghan and
I went on in and sat in on part of it. The church is just so different from the Gothic ones (think
Notre Dame) and the artsy ones (think St. Peter's). There's a Byzantine feeling there. Definitely
a Turkish/almost Middle East feeling. Lots of gold mosaics inside. On the flip side, we also went
and saw the Jewish ghetto this time around. This is where the community of Jewish people
lived and, not shockingly, this is where the Nazis came during WWII to get them.
Before long, it was time to catch the train to Roma. We got in at night and ate dinner in the
Trastavere. Then it was all about the Night Walking Tour a la Rick Steves. Got to show Meghan
and Dave lots of the major Roman sites (since neither of them had been before). This tour goes
from the bridge at the Tiber River to Campo de Fiori-->Piazza Navona (where there was a
Christmas market set up in the entire piazza; also got an amazing tartufo from Tre Scalini
there..yum!; for any 'Angels and Demons' readers, this is the site of the water death)-->the
Pantheon-->the Trevi Fountain-->the Spanish Steps. Plus other grand statues and buildings
along the way.
The next day I woke up before everyone else and decided to go out for a bit while they still slept.
I went to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. When I came back, Dave and I headed out and
went to St. Peter's (more amazing than I remember), Trevi Fountain (near one of my favorite
gelato places) and the Pantheon (I forgot how incredible this place is--it really is just
breath-taking seeing this smack in the middle of a square with cafes and restaurants. Dave and
I walked over to the Colosseum and Roman Forum at night. Definitely has a different kind of
beauty at night. No tourists so it doesn't feel like it's just some site to go and see and then leave.
You can actually just sit and stare for a while and be in complete awe of it. We all then met up
and went to dinner in the Piazza Navona. After that, we walked to the Ponte Sant'Angelo which
leads up to the church. This is also mentioned in Angels and Demons as having the bridge that
links it to Vatican City/St. Peter's. We walked to St. Peter's. Once again, totally different at
night. Beautiful with the lights and no tourists to be seen.
Yesterday, I was in the mood to do something different. Meghan still had more to see in Rome
so she didn't come but Dave and I took the train down to Naples. Well, to get to the port I
decided we would take the public bus...in Naples. Ummm....can I just say that the bus in Naples
makes a city like Rome (and its drivers) seem like the most mellow and peaceful thing???
Naples is enough to drive anyone out of their mind! Total chaos! We eventually got to the port
and made our way on the hydrofoil over to Capri (pronounced KAA-pree...not kuh-PREE)...who
knew???? Our first item on the agenda? The Blue Grotto! This was not only beautiful but the
experience itself is somewhat of a...well...experience! You take a 10 minute boat ride to the side
of the island with roughly 20-30 people on the boat (approx. 75% Japanese). From there you get
onto these little rowboats that hold 4-5 people. All of these people want tips, so they are eager
to get the Japanese on their rowboats first because they all know that that's where they're going
to get the tips! So, these little boats are so small that we have to keep our purses, etc on the
other boat that waits for us. We were lucky that a) it was sunny and b) the tide was low.
Otherwise, they don't let you go in. So we pay our money to enter once in the rowboat to
another guy who's docked in a boat in the water who is somewhat of a cashier. The opening of
the Blue Grotto is small. Very small. Three feet tall and very narrow. We all have to lean
backwards upon entering otherwise our heads will be smacked by the cave. Upon entering, Dave
labeled it correctly. It felt like a real-life Pirates of the Caribbean ride. A total cave and you
watch the other rowboats all in a line just like a ride at Disneyland. It's totally dark in there
when entering. When the boat turns around and gets ready to exit, that's when you see it. The
sun reflection from the small opening of the cave. We see the insane turquoise color. It's just
amazing how this happens. It's now time to exit the cave. The whole cave experience was
approximately 1-2 minutes long. Got back into our boat and went back to the marina in Capri.
Took the bus up to Capri Town. When I say 'up', I mean 'up'!!! This island is essentially a huge
cliff all the way around. After many sharp turns and barely edging by the on-coming traffic, we
made it up there. We walked around. Just tiny little streets/alleyways. Almost had a
Caribbean-like feeling to it. We made our up to the Public Gardens. This is what 'calm' is all
about! Just so tranquil up there. We just stayed up there and soaked in all of the peace and
quiet. From there you can see the Faraglioni Islands. You can hear the silence and peacefulness.
Ahhhh... From here we eventually took the bus back to the ferry and went over to Sorrento.
Walked around a bit. Then got on the train to go back to the Naples train station (luckily this
route bypasses having to get out at the Naples port and getting transportation back to the train
station). This train stopped in Pompeii. We got off. We knew it was already closed but I thought
it would be cool for Dave to see a bit of it since he had never been. Obviously not the same as
going inside but you can still get a bit of a feel for it. We then made it back to Naples and then
Rome. Then went to my last Roman dinner. :( I felt like I had prepped Dave well in his last four
days out there for him to go to Florence and then make his way back to Venice. Of course I wish
I could have stayed longer but no such luck. Happy I went back but I know that I've had a good
dose of Italy in the past 4 years and am looking forward to exploring other places in the world in
the coming years. But...Italy hasn't gone anywhere for quite sometime...so I'm pretty sure that
down the road...when I'm craving it again...it will still be there waiting for me!
I hope you are all doing well and can't wait to talk to you guys! Hope you're having a great
holiday season!
Ciao!
:) Jen