Sunday, October 21, 2012

Adventures in Italy

Reality bites!  (Name that movie - haha - trick question).  Once again, I've been M.I.A.   I was busy checking something off of my bucket list!  I went to Italy!  I am part Italian and as long as I can remember, I have wanted to go there.  My great-grandparents traveled by boat to the U.S. from Italy and ended up in the San Francisco/Oakland (California) area.  I have memories of visiting my great-grandparents when I was little and being frightened of them!  I think the fact that they spoke only Italian to me scared me, but I was always swayed by animal crackers.  :)

I went with some friends and we had a blast!  Here are some highlights from the trip (prepare for picture overload!).

ROME
Vatican
Rainbow over the Vatican
Spanish Steps
Colliseum
Inside the Colliseum

Colliseum

View of the Colliseum from Palatine
Pantheon

SORRENTO
Sorrento coast

Sorrento coast

Amalfi

Lemons are a big product here
 Kitchen in Pompeii

Pompeii

Pompeii victims of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD

The baths in Pompeii

Pompeii marina
View of Mt. Vesuvius from Pompeii
Capri
In Capri - my friend said she should have worn her capri pants in Capri! hahahaha

Capri

Blue Grotto - Capri
Blue Grotto
Blue Grotto

White Grotto - Capri

FLORENCE
On the Arno River

Us girls on the Ponte Vecchio

Duomo
"Perseus with the Head of Medusa" which is in the Loggia dei Lanzi

At the Ufizzi Museum (with our new purses!)

Florence view from the Piazelle Michelangelo

Enjoying the view from the Piazelle Michelangelo

View of Ponte Vecchio (bridge)

Ponte Vecchio

View of Florence at night from the Piazelle Michelangelo (and right before the clouds dumped rain on us while we were walking back to our hotel!)

Are you ready to see some of the food?
Ravioli

Spaghetti with meatballs

Gnocchi

Hawaiian Pizza

Margerita Pizza

Spaghetti Alio, Olio, y Peperoncino (spaghetti with garlic, oil, and peppers)

Chocolate gelato
Chocolate lava cake

We had such a wonderful time!  (although, all the walking, especially on the cobblestones, killed my feet!)  I love history, so it was an amazing experience and I would love to go back again.  The food was great, although, I wasn't impressed with the food in Rome, especially the pizza (thin crust).  The best pizza I had was in Amalfi (the Margerita pizza above) - so yummy.  And my favorite dish was the spaghetti alio, olio, y peperoncino in Sorrento - I had it twice!  There were TONS of gelato shops, so of course we had that too.  :)

I had to really prepare for the trip for about two weeks prior (shopping, cleaning the house, and finishing up any projects I started).  And for this week that I've been back, I've been a bit useless because of the jet lag.  But, I'm ready to enjoy my favorite month and holiday (Halloween) and ready to start some new projects.  Happy Fall!

posted by: Adventures in DIY

5 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a blast!! I want to eat all the food and the gelato, yum! Glad you made it to Italy.

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  2. omg, that pizza and the gelato! and, oh yeah, the views! you are soo lucky. i'd love to go all around italy someday. what was your favorite place??

    i'm super way behind on blog reading, just fyi.

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  3. WOW!! LOVE your pics of Italy!! ;) Right after high school (back in '96), I toured Europe with a group for 2 1/2 weeks. We only had 2 days in Italy (visiting Venice and Verona). Venice was hands down the highlight of the trip for me!! I said I left a little of my heart there. So beautiful!! That's wonderful you were able to tour many breathtaking cities & enjoyed plenty of delicious food too!! It looks like you enjoyed an AMAZING trip!! :)

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  4. Oh wow -- your pics are amazing!!! I can't wait to go back, and this time explore the southern parts!!

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